Winter's Rise (The Winter Series Book 1)

by Breezy Jones

  At least now I knew what kept Ryker from making a move on me last night.

  “She’s a pack princess,” Lexi chided in my ear as she came up behind me with a bowl of mashed potatoes.

  I glanced back at her confused. I’d never heard the title before. Lexi clearly knew what it meant, and I didn’t miss the look of pure disdain she gave Yasmin. Lexi’s scorn only made me more curious, but she’d already waltzed off to deliver another basket of rolls to the far end of the table.

  Beside Yasmin, Ryker glared at Lexi and I across the room, before schooling his features back into his natural brooding state. The action made me wonder if he could hear us, but I doubted it over the roar of so many people packed into such a small place.

  He’d been in a bad mood all day and based on his one-word grunting responses to Yasmin’s whiny questions, I could only hope his dark mood was thanks to his date. Yasmin was oblivious as all her spare attention was focused on the iPhone in her hand.

  I frowned and did a quick check of the rest of the guests rather than get hung up on Ryker’s love life. Joe, on Ryker’s left, was in deep conversation with Seth across from him. I assumed they were still going on about football since that’s how I’d left them a few minutes ago. I smiled, glad that Joe was fitting in.

  A few tables over, I spied Eric sitting with Pops and a few others that I recognized from the pack. As if feeling my gaze on him, Eric looked up and the moment his eyes locked with mine, they narrowed. A chill ran down my spine at the malice within them. Pops said something to him, and Eric dropped his gaze to respond. I released a breath of air.

  I forced Eric from my mind and leaned toward Lexi as she reappeared and whispered, “What’s a pack princess?”

  Lexi turned toward me, the food on the counter momentarily forgotten.

  “Either a daughter or a sister of an alpha,” she replied, keeping her voice low. I had to strain to hear over the noise of everyone’s conversations.

  “Ah,” I said. “Like you?”

  She nodded, her red curls bouncing, and I glanced back at Ryker and Yasmin. Ryker was engrossed in Seth and Joe’s conversation while his date continued to play with her phone. “The term is mostly used to reference a possible mate match for an alpha. The union is usually done to create a stronger link between packs, but unfortunately most pack princesses end up being shallow and petty and a pain in the ass to please. Why do you ask?”

  I shrugged, pretending not to care either way. “I’ve just never heard it before.”

  Lexi looked from Ryker to me, her face lighting up with recognition. “Oh, my gawd!” she whisper-shouted, poking me in the arm.

  “Shhh!” I chastised her as she mouthed the words, ‘You have a thing for my brother!’

  I glanced at Ryker to be sure he couldn’t hear her with my best withering glare.

  Lexi mouthed back, ‘OMG, you do!’

  Silently, I looked to the sky as if to ask for help and finally back at Lexi.

  “Food’s ready,” I shouted to the room.

  Lexi put a hand on her hip and handed me a plate with the other. I ignored her and spun around to find a place to sit.

  I didn’t want to think about my feelings for Ryker, especially when he had a date that wasn’t me at a dinner he’d invited me to himself. Had I thought there was something between the two of us? Yes. Was I going to let the obvious rejection get under my skin? Hell no.

  I’d come to this pack for answers and that was exactly what I was going to get. Romance had no place on my agenda.

  Chairs scraped, and the conversation died as everyone filed toward the counters grabbing plates and food. Lexi and I filled our own with meat and veggies before heading to the table where I’d left my water glass staking out a seat. Unfortunately, it was right across from Ryker’s. Lexi took the seat to my left across from Yasmin. His date hadn’t left and didn’t look up as we took our seats.

  Ryker returned with a full plate for his date. She took one look at it and wrinkled her nose in disgust. He set it down in front of her anyway, and she lifted her arms from the table with narrowed eyes.

  “Too many carbs,” Yasmin sniped, shoving the plate away before focusing on her phone again.

  Lexi shot me a look that said, See what I mean?

  I pressed my lips together, trying not to laugh. Instead, I focused on my corn, shoveling the kernels into my mouth.

  “You hear about them Steelers,” Joe said as he approached the table with Seth—both of them carrying heaping plates.

  “They tied the Browns in the first game of the season,” Ryker said, looking up from his plate as the other two men sat beside him.

  “Yeah, right. So much talent, and they can’t even beat the Browns.” Seth said with a shake of his head. He picked up his fork and dug in.

  Talk of football continued throughout the meal. I ate quietly, not much caring about where the conversation was going. Of course, I didn’t miss any light touch or flirty look Yasmin gave Ryker. Each one had my blood simmering a little more than the last though I told myself none of it mattered.

  When I was finished, I sat back in my chair and sipped a glass of wine. My stomach ached from being pushed to the limit, but who knew when I’d eat a meal like this again.

  “Hey, take a selfie with me,” Yasmin cooed, leaning into Ryker’s side with her phone already in the air. He didn’t smile, and she didn’t seem to care as she snapped the picture before sitting up straight and tapping away at the screen.

  Lexi threw a roll across the table at Ryker with a teasing glint to her eye. “You take selfies now?” she teased, and I snorted, the action earning us both a firm stare from Ryker.

  Yasmin ignored the interaction, pursing her lips into a kissy face for another selfie.

  Lexi and I sipped our drinks in silence after that. All around me, the noise level rose as everyone talked and joked.

  “How about a game of ice hockey?” someone shouted as dinner was coming to an end. A roar of yeah followed and everyone shuffled up from their tables and out of the diner.

  “Where are they going?” I asked Lexi.

  “The lake across the street is frozen over. It’s tradition to play a game of hockey to work off the calories,” she explained over the noise.

  By the time everyone started to clear out of the diner, my ears were ringing.

  “Thank goodness dinner’s over,” Yasmin said.

  She stood from the table smiling up at Ryker as he stood with her. She ran her hand lightly across his shoulder as she sashayed past him. He frowned, and I tensed narrowing my eyes at her manicured fingers.

  “See you guys outside,” he said to the rest of us.

  I bowed my head in his direction as Seth and Joe stood in unison, tilting their heads in our direction before heading out the door. Ryker turned and rested his hand against Yasmin’s lower back, steering her from the café. I couldn’t help but shoot daggers at their retreating forms.

  “Would you help me clear the tables?” Lexi asked, jolting me from the window where I stood watching them go.

  “Yeah,” I said with heavy shoulders.

  Now that it was just the two of us left, we walked from table to table clearing plates.

  “You don’t seem to like Yasmin very much,” I said.

  Lexi snorted. “What gave it away?” I grinned, but she waved it off. “Nah, I just don’t like all these princesses vying for my brother. It’s not as if they actually like him, they’re just after status.”

  “Status?” I repeated.

  Lexi scrunched up her nose. “Yeah, I know it’s hard to believe it, but Ryker’s sort of important in the supernatural community. Not just with our pack, but with werewolves in general.”

  “Really?” I quirked a brow. “Why is that?”

  Lexi looked up from the stack of plates she’d set on the counter, her brows cri
nkled. “Hasn’t Ryker told you any of this?”

  I shook my head. “He doesn’t talk much about the politics.”

  Or his personal life.

  Lexi shook her head. “Ryker’s advisors have been pushing a marriage pretty hard with Ryker for a while now and princesses are most useful when it comes to a strategic alliance.”

  “So, they want him to marry someone like Yasmin?” I huffed out and hoped Lexi didn’t catch the bitterness in my tone.

  “Ugh. Hopefully not her. The thing is, Ryker’s the youngest alpha we’ve ever had. He triggered the change really early—at thirteen, in fact—and took over as alpha at sixteen.”

  “Why so young?”

  “After our dad passed, we needed a new Alpha, so Ryker took his rightful place.”

  I blew out a breath. I couldn’t even imagine changing that early. Sixteen had been hard, but thirteen?

  “But why would these princesses want to be with Ryker just because he’s the youngest alpha?” I asked, still confused.

  Lexi shoved a curl behind her ear. “Princesses are a bargaining chip. A marriage would create an alliance between packs, and everyone wants cooperation with us.”

  “Why?”

  “Our dad was practically a legend, and Ryker is determined to follow in his footsteps. Between them, they’ve killed more vamps than half the pack combined.”

  “Partnership with another pack would make ours stronger?” I said, and Lexi sighed, piling another plate into her arms.

  “Yeah, a marriage will solidify Ryker’s role as alpha. As much for our pack as others, and it will show that Ryker can be as strong as his father was.”

  With every word Lexi spoke, my stomach twisted more and more. Any chance I had with Ryker was gone with Yasmin. She had more to offer him and the thought made me shift uncomfortably.

  Wincing, I said, “That must be awful having others choose who you’re going to marry. And not being able to fall in love…”

  “Yeah.” Lexi toyed with the hem of her shirt. “I’m lucky, though… Ryker wouldn’t ever force me into something like that.”

  That was a relief, but I still hadn’t figured out all the undercurrents from earlier today. “But I still don’t understand. Why don’t you like Yasmin if you feel so sorry for her?”

  Lexi laughed. “Because she’s a narcissistic twit. The poor girl has to let someone choose her partner because she can’t put her phone down long enough to do it herself. What’s really sad is that most of those girls are the same way. You, on the other hand, are a different story.” Lexi’s grin turned mischievous, and I threw up my hands.

  “Uh-uh. Don’t even start.”

  “You can’t just admit something like this and then refuse to—”

  “I’m serious, Lexi. I don’t want to get into it. Besides, there’s nothing to get into.”

  “You can tell yourself that, but I saw what I saw.” Her smile dimmed. “If you’re wondering, the answer is no.”

  “No to what?”

  “Those princesses don’t hold a candle to you.”

  “Ha. Thanks.” I smiled weakly, imagining Yasmin with her iPhone all day while she followed Ryker around wherever he led. She was pretty, but Lexi was right. Not a bit of brains in there. Was that what Ryker wanted? A mate who needed him to think for her? If so, maybe I’d dodged a bullet there because that would never, ever be me.

  Lexi and I finished with the cleanup and made our way outside to the town square. She took off to watch the hockey game out on the frozen lake.

  I paused beside the café door and watched the sun sink lower on the horizon. Most of the pack members sat in small groups scattered around the square talking, drinking, and enjoying the cool evening. Celebrating their reasons to be thankful I supposed. I could see Joe and Lexi standing together near the lake. They looked to be getting along well. The rest of the group had acted a bit hesitant toward him, except Seth who welcomed everyone, but Joe didn’t seem to mind. He also hadn’t said much to me today, but I tried not to read too much into that.

  Instead, I breathed in the cool night air, enjoying the quiet moment to myself.

  I gazed up at the darkening sky and realized the moon would be full soon. Closing my eyes, I allowed the pale light to wash over me, and settle the nervousness that a full moon brought on.

  “Beautiful, huh?” Ryker’s voice came from beside me.

  “Hmm,” I agreed without opening my eyes.

  When I heard heeled footsteps, I opened my eyes to see Yasmin joining us with crossed arms and a disdainful scowl.

  She was a visual reminder that I didn’t stand up next to her perfectly matching outfit, not a hair out of place. She screamed rich girl, and I wondered again if that was what Ryker wanted. I looked down at my ripped blue jeans and worn brown boots.

  A sharp breeze made the night colder than it should have been, and I could smell the frost on the air—and something else. I wrinkled my nose at the rotten meat smell and turned to ask Ryker if he’d noticed it too, but stopped, silenced immediately by the warning in his eyes.

  On high alert, his nostrils flared as he gave a low growl, his eyes scanning the distance.

  I searched around me, looking for the threat just as Lexi started running toward us. This time when the smell hit me, I recognized it: rotten flesh. The putrid scent wafted through the air, turning my stomach, and I noticed the others had shoved to their feet. Every single one of them was as tense as Ryker.

  The black mass of approaching bodies appeared too fast for me to focus on, but then more joined it, the group spreading out as they came forward from within the trees, and within seconds, they were everywhere.

  I was surrounded by maybe fifty men and women, all of them bent low as they came toward me. Their speed was incredible, and I gasped as they closed the distance, shocked to realize they were all headed straight for me.

  My fangs elongated as Ryker launched himself at them. Partially shifting, his hands and feet became clawed paws and his face elongated with razor-sharp teeth. As he continued transforming, he barreled into the mass of bodies before they could get to me.

  On my left, another group advanced toward me, and I lowered myself ready for the attack. They moved like lighting, so fast I didn’t see anything before I was knocked backward. The air rushed from my lungs as my body slammed onto the asphalt. Before I could get up, a man landed on top of me, his teeth long and sleek and already dripping with blood.

  Vampire.

  I’d never seen one before, but I was positive that’s what he was. It’s what they all were.

  But what were they doing here? Out in the open? It wasn’t even fully dark yet?

  I forced my hands against his chest, struggling to keep his teeth from tearing my flesh. In the next second, his weight was lifted off of me, and I looked up to see Seth peering down at me, shoulders heaving.

  “You okay?” he panted.

  I gave him a weak smile that I didn’t feel.

  He held out a hand, I took it, and he pulled me to my feet.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of another vampire already hurtling toward me. Seth’s eyes went wide.

  “Go,” he yelled over the roar of shrieks and snarls in the air.

  All around me, wolves were in the throes of battle with these creatures, some half-shifted while others were fully changed. I wove around them, searching for Ryker, panicked that he’d fallen underneath the sheer numbers he’d faced a moment ago.

  I caught sight of a vampire a few feet away, blood dripping from his lips. In the same moment he spotted me, and we ran at each other. Throwing my arms up to block him, I thrust a kick into his stomach. He stumbled back, and I used the opening to force my nails into claws. In the next second, he’d regained his balance and ran at me with arms extended.

  “Nina,” he snarled, and my heart stopped.
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  He knew who I was.

  My distraction gave him an advantage as he wrapped strong hands around my arms. I kicked out again, hitting his shin this time, and his hands released. He looked at me with piercing red eyes and his lips curled back into a sneer. I shoved my clawed hands into his chest and pushed against him with all my weight. My claws sunk in deeper, crunching against his hardened flesh. Seconds later, he fell to his knees.

  I slid my hand out and let his lifeless body collide with the street.

  A few yards away, I spotted a man I had talked to earlier—a pack member—lying on the ground, blood flowing from his chest. His hands were paws, and his canine teeth glistened in the moonlight. It did little to slow him down as he jumped back up and fought once more.

  I lowered myself into a protective stance, preparing to join the battle. My senses were overwhelmed with the sickening smell of rotted flesh, and I fought back the urge to vomit.

  I turned, searching for Lexi in the mass of bodies around me. I could just barely make out her curly red hair across the road, just outside the door at Hot Shots. When someone shoved me, I whipped around just in time. A half-shifted werewolf, sliced into a vampire who tried to get to me over his shoulder. The wolf dug his teeth into the vampire’s neck and yanked. With a strangled cry and a loud crack, the vampire’s neck snapped, and he fell at the wolf’s feet.

  Desperately, I searched the square for Ryker and found him locked in battle straight ahead. I wasn’t leaving him, but I couldn’t seem to find a way to join him either.

  The pack was closing ranks as someone pushed me further back. I fought against it until I realized they were creating a barrier between the vampires and myself. Protecting me. My heart thrummed against my chest with adrenaline.

  The enemy circled and darted toward the wall of werewolves, their jaws snapping as they tried to push past. A group of about ten broke through, and the pack wall split in half. The attackers ran right at me unconcerned with the rest of our squad.

  Before any of the vampires could get close, Ryker leaped, putting himself between me and the enemy. One tried to dart past him in the same moment as another lunged for his chest. Fluidly, Ryker blocked the path of the first as he grabbed the other by the throat with his paws. He crushed the assailant’s throat, the vampire’s snapping bones resounding in the air. I paced from side to side, snarling with my canines elongating. Ryker dropped the lifeless body as he growled viciously into the face of the other one now struggling in his firm grip.