The woman was trying to be kind, but Harper was already crying. Foster care wasn’t what I’d promised her. I’d promised her a real home and a real family. I intended to make that promise stick.
To that end, I shouldered my way into the huddle. The cop had moved her flashlight away from the paper but I pulled upon my wolf until I could read the dark squiggles on the birth certificate.
There was Harper’s name, the date, the location. Mom’s name and....
Now my smile was as wide as Tank’s had been. “How about we let Harper’s father decide?”
THE LAST TIME ACE HAD been called upon to act like a parent, he’d dropped the ball so fast it might as well have been greased and lit on fire. This time, though, he had an alpha pushing him toward us rather than away from us.
Or so I gathered by the way Ace fell all over himself to make things right.
“Of course this is my daughter,” he lied, causing every werewolf in the vicinity to wrinkle our noses at the stench of his assertion. Why my mom had listed him on the birth certificate was beyond me since he clearly wasn’t Harper’s father....
Although, considering the contrast as Ace’s strength faced off against Nick’s weakness, I wasn’t so surprised after all. Mom hadn’t felt able to leave Nick, but she’d wanted a better life for her children. And that was what we were about to ensure.
Unfortunately, the cops remained dubious. It wasn’t lost on them that Harper had run to me but hadn’t even recognized Ace until he started speaking. Luckily, my biological father appeared to be cannier than I would have expected.
“I wasn’t able to take care of Harper the way I wanted to, so I gave my older daughter custody.” He nodded his head at me, and Tank slid into the conversational gap.
“We have financial records to back this up. Athena has been paying for her sister’s schooling for some time now. Harper has spent breaks with her sister. Ms. D’Argent has clearly been acting in loco parentis.”
The male cop wavered. “A judge will have to make that determination.”
“Of course,” Tank agreed. “But until that time, doesn’t it seem like the best-case scenario to remand Harper into the custody of the person she clearly wants to spend time with? Her sister? The one her father has chosen to keep her safe?”
If Nick had been a werewolf, his teeth would have sharpened. He was losing the battle, but he wasn’t quite ready to concede defeat yet. “Perhaps you should let us discuss this between ourselves,” he suggested. I could almost see the dollar bills reflected in his pupils.
And the female cop nodded. “If the family is able to come to a consensus, that would be in the best interests of the child. Come on, Harper. Let’s give the adults a few minutes to talk.”
“HOW MUCH?” TANK ASKED the moment the officers were too far away to hear us. Then, being a lawyer, he clarified his question. “How much to testify in court that Harper is not your daughter?”
“She’s very important to me.” Nick’s voice was oily. And I should have flinched.
Because “very important” meant six figures at least. Maybe seven figures. And I had negative dollars in my bank account at the present moment.
Meanwhile, Tank glanced at me. A question. Was I willing to cede this financial responsibility? For a second, I found it hard to meet his gaze.
After all, I’d lost so much independence when I accepted Rowan’s money years ago. Had gotten swallowed up in a different sort of lopsided financial relationship with my stepfather, one he summed up with the farcical: “Family gives and family takes.”
From Nick, the statement had been a joke. But sometime in the past twenty-four hours I’d stopped worrying about being in debt to Tank. Money, I gathered, was easy for him. So was lawyering. And members of a pack took what was easily and willingly offered while giving from their own strength in return.
Tank was my pack and my family. I’d decided that. I trusted him not to hold this over my head.
So I lifted my chin and nodded. And rather than debt, heat flared between us. Tank was pleased by my willingness. Not so pleased, however, that he let Nick off the hook.
“I’ll be assuming responsibility for Harper’s tuition, of course,” Tank continued. “You will be expected to bow out of that facet of her life as well as all others.”
Tank’s voice was level, but for one split second his wolf rose huge and ferocious behind his eyes. The old scars and new wounds turned his face into a monster’s mask....
And Nick backpedalled so quickly he literally stumbled over himself. “I... You....”
My stepfather turned away from Tank to glare at me, his face red and his eyes furious. Of course Nick knew I was a werewolf. It was one more reason for him to resent me. But I’d always tried to keep my furry side under wraps around him. Perhaps that decision had been a mistake.
Because, after one split second, his glare turned into a cringe. No wonder when my inner wolf had risen to face him. When I didn’t even try to stop her as she sharpened my teeth and brightened my eyes.
Nick’s gaze dropped to the ground and stuck there. He wasn’t trying to prove his dominance over me at this point. He was just trying to protect his skinny neck.
First the stick...then the carrot. “Is this sufficient?” Tank tapped a number into his phone and held the device out to Nick. The gesture changed the mood instantly. My stepfather’s ratty little head nodded up and down so quickly he once again lost his balance.
“You’ll receive one third now,” Tank continued, as if he brokered deals with greedy fathers every day of the week. “The remaining two-thirds will come when you sign the final custody paperwork.”
“Of course.” Nick’s voice sweetened. Now he sounded like he was toadying up to rich parents at Highlands.
I turned away, disgusted that I’d let myself lose sleep over such a small, small man.
Then Harper was sidling back under my arm, her cop minders left behind for the moment. Her words, when they emerged, were mouse-like. “I don’t have to go to Highlands if it’s too expensive....”
I winced. Harper had seen what I’d been hoping to shield her from. If her father was willing to sell her to the highest bidder, of course she’d consider her place with anyone else threatened by thin ice.
But there was no ice beneath her feet when it came to me. And the assurance of continuing at Highlands, at least, I could offer her.
Or, rather, Tank could offer it to her. I risked a single glance in his direction, my head cocked in question. He rolled his eyes as if to say, Didn’t I already make that clear?
Smiling, I hugged Harper a little closer. Then I told her: “You can go wherever you want to go. You’re my sister.”
Harper’s body tensed rather than relaxing. “Half sister,” she whispered, low enough so the police officers couldn’t hear her. “Tank gave me the idea to hunt for the birth certificate, but I’m pretty sure Nick’s my father.”
I was too...and that made exactly zero difference. “You’re my sister,” I repeated. “And I would do anything to give you what you want. I can talk to Clara if that’s the hangup....”
“Naw, she already texted.” Harper shrugged, but this time her cheeks bunched up into a half-squashed smile. “We’re going to ask to room together again next year. If you can afford it, I want to go back.”
I swallowed against the lump in my throat. Soon, Harper wouldn’t need me. She was already starting to fight her own battles.
So instead of asking more questions, I hugged her closer. For this instant, at least, my sister was all mine.
Epilogue
Seven weeks later....
Frosty leaves crunched beneath my paws. The red fox in front of me—Kira—turned her head to glare backwards. Then she gestured with her chin toward Harper, who had managed to stay completely silent despite walking beside us in clunky human form.
I rolled my eyes at the two of them. Yes, I got it. I was a slow learner. I hadn’t spent much of my life four-legged, so there was ple
nty left to pick up on.
Still, it wasn’t as if we were in any danger. We were out for a solstice stroll on Gunner’s land, a prelude to the wild and crazy party I’d heard would take place that evening. I inhaled a deep breath of cold forest and trotted after Kira’s receding tail tip, trying a little harder to keep quiet.
Harper didn’t try so hard. She giggled at our exchange, and neither Kira nor I glared at her. Instead, I grinned and the scent drifting off Kira suggested she did as well.
This was what it had been like ever since we arrived for my sister’s winter break. Tank had broached the topic during one of our ill-fated fae-hunting trips, and as soon as my sister heard about the offer to spend winter break among werewolves she’d insisted I accept. Her instincts had been good. The gruff, growly alpha I’d spoken to on the phone turned out to be a cuddly teddy bear. Mai, his mate, was a font of knowledge about raising a teenaged sister. And the rest of the pack fell all over themselves to make us both feel at home.
Only Tank remained strangely standoffish. That first day, he’d shown me and Harper to a two-bedroom house in the middle of the pack village, one that appeared to have been emptied out just for our use. He dutifully checked on us once a day. Otherwise, though, he left us to our own devices. He’d even taken to dipping his chin around me, as if he was afraid of being judged for his new scars.
Which was why Kira had decided we were going Tank hunting. “I watched him yesterday,” she’d told me and Harper over breakfast. “He heads out into the woods every morning. Doesn’t come back until after sunset. We should follow him. See what he’s up to.”
I’d agreed because of the way Harper’s eyes lit up at the prospect of hunting. But also because a few hours alone in the forest sounded blissful. Gunner’s pack was almost too welcoming. I hadn’t enjoyed a moment to myself since we’d arrived.
And I wasn’t fated to enjoy a moment to myself now either. Kira, despite her chiding over my loud footsteps, wasn’t able to restrain her mischievous nature. As Harper and I rounded a boulder, my sister shrieked as a fox landed atop her head.
They spun in a tight circle, my sister lunging at Kira and Kira dancing from head to shoulders and back again. Add in teenage emoting and the result sounded like a massacre.
No wonder Tank came running. A flannel shirt hung half off his lupine body as he barreled toward us four-legged....
Of course, there’d been no need to run. Because Harper had grown into herself over the last seven weeks. No longer did she default to her friends’ wisdom. Now she made one final grab, this time connecting with the ruff of the fox’s neck. Then she shook Kira just hard enough to get her attention before dropping the smaller creature to the ground.
“Shift back. Now.” Harper’s furrowed brows made her look an awful lot like the pack’s alpha during one of his rare growly moments. And, despite her lack of shifter blood, the effort worked.
A two-legged Kira peered up at us from where she’d landed, buck naked atop the frozen leaves. She didn’t exactly look contrite, but she did look adorable. “Aw, come on. I was just having fun.”
Harper wasn’t so easily swayed. She’d already removed her backpack and now she dropped layers of fabric onto Kira’s head and shoulders. “Clothes. Shoes. Get dressed. It’s time to leave the love birds alone.”
Love birds? Okay, they had a point. Tank and I had both turned human while my sister was dealing with her friend. His flannel shirt had made its way around my shoulders, his right arm settling around my waist.
My left arm followed suit, cupping naked muscles. No wonder the cold of the day abruptly warmed.
“Scat,” Tank growled, pretending to be mad at the teenagers.
Kira hissed at him, even though she was now fully human. “Whatever. Didn’t want to see your naked butt anyway.”
“Yeah, I’ve seen way too many of those lately,” Harper agreed. She graced us both with an attitude-enhanced wave, then she and Kira scampered back the way they’d come.
ALONE, THE EASE WITH which my body had pressed up against Tank faltered. During the last seven weeks when we’d been living separately, he and I had carved out date nights and filled entire days with joint projects. The shared hours had melted in my mouth like rich chocolate. Still, it felt strangely different to be here with him amid his pack.
Perhaps that’s why I took a step backwards, regretting it the moment his arm fell away from me. The absence of warmth reminded me that Tank was completely naked. “You must be frozen.”
“Colder now.” His eyes crinkled and then, yes, his chin dipped.
“What’s with that?” I tilted his face back level with one finger. Asked the question I’d been wondering about ever since I’d made my decision to use Marina’s boon for Butch’s sake. “Do you wish I’d asked Marina to take away your scars?”
Maddeningly, he answered my question with a question. “Do the scars bother you?”
My wolf was the one who growled out our answer. “You know they don’t.”
And...Tank smiled. Didn’t dip his chin at all as he answered. “Then, no. I wouldn’t change a thing about the past.”
For one long moment we stood there, separated by air and unasked questions. His eyes were all I saw, deep wells of kindness and understanding.
Then he rumbled out what sounded like an invitation. “I’d wanted to wait until tonight to show you. Put in a few finishing touches. But we can go now if you want.”
Show me what? Rather than asking, I cocked my head then nodded. And...my hand was in his, Tank’s forward momentum pulling me deeper into the forest.
All the while, I had the most stunning view imaginable. Tank’s naked butt.
I was so intent on the shifting musculature, in fact, that I didn’t realize what he’d led me to. Not until he tilted my chin upwards just like I’d done to him a moment earlier. My cheeks reddened as my jaw dropped.
Because there was a tiny house in front of us. Like the witch’s gingerbread cottage out of Hansel and Gretel. Small but so carefully constructed it was a thing of beauty. I itched to pull out my sketchbook and capture the way the structure perched beside an icy waterfall.
“What do you think?” Tank sounded shy now. Which made no sense.
“It’s stunning. What is it?”
“A retreat. For when the pack gets to be too packish. A place to paint maybe. Or to draw.”
I frowned. Tank was many things, but I hadn’t realized he was an artist. “You draw?”
“You draw,” he corrected. Then he opened the door and led me inside.
There was a fire in a pint-sized wood stove, or so I assumed when I drew closer to the room’s center and was hit by a cascade of warmth. Windows were placed just right to capture the sunlight, which in turn illuminated an easel. One side of the room opened into a miniature kitchen. Above us, a loft was filled with what appeared to be a queen-sized bed.
I raised my eyebrows. Felt my cheeks bunching up into a grin that felt like one of Kira’s. “Tank Morales. Is this a love nest?”
I didn’t realize what I was saying until the words emerged. Love nest. By silent yet mutual consent, Tank and I hadn’t talked about this whatever-it-was growing between us. Hadn’t tried to pin our emotions down into words.
And even though I wasn’t very experienced with relationships, I had a feeling two months together might be too soon to throw around the L word. Once again, I’d put my foot into my mouth.
I started to backpedal and Tank spoke right over me. He straightened, looked me directly in the eyes as if he’d never dipped his chin once. “I want you to know that I would never use an alpha compulsion against you.”
“An alpha compulsion?” I cocked my head, realizing that concern had never even occurred to me. And why should it? I trusted Tank. He’d never order me around the way Rowan had.
“Our partnership would be equal,” he continued. “I want my mate to be happy.”
His mate. The heat from the wood stove was blazing now. As if someone had
thrown on ten extra logs...which clearly hadn’t happened. I unbuttoned the top of my borrowed flannel, feeling Tank’s eyes latch onto the triangle of bared skin as if I’d just stripped myself bare.
Well, why not? I undid another button. Another. “Is that a question?” I demanded.
“Would you like it to be?” He stepped forward, huge and imposing and wonderful. His hands helped me wriggle out of the arms of the shirt he’d lent me.
And I didn’t flinch away from either his words or his fingers. Instead, I leaned into both of them.
“Yes,” I told him. “Yes, I would.”
I HOPE YOU ENJOYED Moon Glamour! Rune’s adventure is up next in Charmed Wolf, a sneak preview of which beings on the next page. You can also enjoy a bonus scene through Tank’s eyes and a tidbit about face blindness (along with two free werewolf novels) when you sign up for my email list.
Meanwhile, if you haven’t already checked out the Moon Marked series, you’re in for a treat. The trilogy follows Mai and Gunner while allotting plenty of page time for Tank and Kira. The first book, Wolf’s Bane, is free on all retailers.
Thank you for reading. You are why I write.
Charmed Wolf
There are few things more amusing than growly, dominant werewolves coated in glitter. No wonder my friend Ash raised a hand to cover his grin as Willa stormed into my office without knocking.
“Alpha,” she addressed me, ignoring Ash as irrelevant, “you have an appointment in half an hour.”
And she had a streak of glitter that started below her right eyebrow and arched up wildly toward her buzz-cut hairline. As if she’d tried to apply mascara and had her elbow jiggled at just the wrong moment.
Which, knowing the fifty-something, ramrod-spine Beta that I’d inherited from my father, was nowhere near the origin of that smear of cornstarch-based metal-mimic marring her forehead. When you run a glitter factory, sometimes sparkles end up in the wrong place.
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