Katherine lay sleeping. Moaning. Hurting and he couldn’t do anything. They couldn’t call a healer. No one knew what they were, and they couldn’t risk a doctor exposing them. Now he had Callum lying through his teeth. The only positive was that the Tribe wasn’t trying to execute him anymore.
As long as he played by the rules.
He pushed off the door and paced back and forth in her living room. He needed to run. Needed to hunt. Needed to clear his mind of all the guilt. Needed to assure himself that Tai was either dead or gone…for now.
Katherine had woken and looked at him, asked for water, but not really spoken otherwise.
Did she know he’d changed her?
Could she feel the wolf?
Was she going to hate him when she finally woke up?
Would she reject him as her mate?
Dalmeck.
Doubt ricocheted in his mind like wolves fighting over bones. It never stopped. He’d taken her choice away from her. It had been to save her life, but still—he’d made her take the wolf and she hadn’t wanted it. She’d said specifically that she didn’t want to be changed.
Thunk. Thunk.
His gaze shot back to the front door. What could Callum possibly want now? Knox yanked open the front door.
“Just go—” Knox snapped his mouth shut. Callum wasn’t on the porch. Instead he was staring into the eyes of his brother’s second. Raish’s Beta, Ryder. The wolf who’d had Knox’s rightful place in the pack all along. Knox and Raish had never truly gotten along and once his brother took over the pack, he’d quickly pushed Knox aside.
Challenges were never made.
Knox had simply stepped down.
The pack adored Raish in the beginning. He was a great hunter. A good leader. It just hadn’t lasted and by the time anyone realized Raish was losing his mind, it was too late. His brother was cunning and deadly and paranoid. Raish’s mate had been the same. The pair had been a wickedly unstoppable match. When she had been killed accidentally by Owen here on Earth, it’d destroyed whatever shred of sanity Raish had remaining. Still, Ryder had been loyal to Raish right until the end.
Right until he’d found his mate.
Knox knew how that felt. Like the whole world turned upside down. Like the whole world was dark except when he was with her. Like nothing in the world mattered except her.
“Knox. Ava and I thought—” Ryder said, his tone hesitant. Like he was waiting for Knox to launch an attack. The thought did cross Knox’s mind.
“Let me pass.” A tall brunette interrupted and elbowed past Ryder, under Knox’s arm, and right into the house behind him.
“Wait, who—”
“I can’t believe you people took three days to tell me she was hurt,” she shouted over her shoulder. She was already halfway down the hallway to the bedroom where Katherine was sleeping before Knox’s brain caught up with what his eyes had already witnessed and his nose had already smelled.
“You brought a human? Another human?” He said, his voice a bellow of rage.
Ryder didn’t even flinch. Neither did his bear mate, Owen’s sister, standing next to him with her arms crossed and an I-dare-you-to-roar-at-me-one-more-time look on her face.
“I’m in your little secret club. Animal. Shifter. Alien. Blah, blah, blah,” the woman called from just outside Katherine’s bedroom door.
Knox’s gaze flicked to the female. He curled his top lip, not bothering to dampen the irritated growl rattling in his chest. The she-bear just shrugged and pushed past him too, into the house.
“I’ll be with her while you two catch up. No claws.”
Knox took a step after her, then paused and looked back at Ryder who was still standing on the porch. How had he just been dismissed by two women he didn’t know?
Ryder met his look of confusion and nodded in agreement. “I ask myself the same thing regularly. Mostly it’s best just to let them do what they want. They will anyway.”
Knox hadn’t spoken. He knew he hadn’t. “Who is the human?”
“A healer friend of Ava’s.”
Knox relaxed the slightest. Out of all her visitors, Katherine needed a healer the most.
Ryder leaned against one of the porch posts. “You know Raish knew you were sneaking off. He couldn’t ever figure out where. I couldn’t either. And I tried to follow you several times. You were like a shadow at midnight.”
“I know. I saw you.”
“He thought you were plotting against him.”
“Wasn’t me.”
“You were visiting Katherine all this time.” Ryder’s eyes raised with understanding. “You already knew you’d found a mate in a human.”
Knox tipped his chin, confirming Ryder’s statement. “Who’s the woman you brought with you? What’s her name?” He asked.
“Connie. She works for the sheriff’s office as the town EMT. She has the emergency truck you might have seen around town. Connie hid me and Ava after shit went down on the mountain with the dragon and the rest of the Tribe.” Ryder shifted his weight and met Knox’s gaze. “She’s a good person. And she’s trustworthy.”
An angry snarl from inside the house had both men rushing through the door.
“Knox!” It was a female voice calling his name, but not Katherine’s or Ava’s. It was the one Ryder had called Connie. “Knox. You should get in here. Now.”
Knox’s heart was in his throat choking him. Katherine had been fine. She was healing. He couldn’t lose her. He grabbed the bedroom door handle and yanked it open.
A huge white wolf was tangled up in Katherine’s bed vacillating between growling and snapping and whining and cowering. She was beautiful, but Knox could feel her terror like a thick cord tightening around his neck. She was choking on confusion and fear and she was going to pull her down with him. Their bond was so strong.
He took a deep breath to settle his wolf and center his mind on hers. “Katherine.” He held up his hands to show he held nothing. Her big snout swung in his direction, fangs bared. Her eyes were gold, but he could see she was still there. The beast had not completely taken over. She hadn’t lunged at any of them and that was a good sign. “It’s going to be okay. I promise.” He took a step closer, reaching toward her slowly. “Change back for me, shuarra.”
She whined and shook her head, flapping her ears in that cute way that all younglings did when they were first adjusting to their beast form.
At least she wasn’t still snarling at them.
Using his beast’s alpha magick, he pushed the command onto her, forcing the change. She was the equivalent of a youngling with no control. Shifting back and forth for the first time as an adult was going to take some practice.
It only took a moment.
Her body shifted back.
She was naked on the bed, wrapped in ripped clothes and a twisted shredded sheet.
He took a blanket from the foot of her bed and threw it over her shoulders. “Get out,” he said, his voice an alpha command all three of the others instantly obeyed without a word.
Connie shut the door behind them to offer more privacy, which he appreciated.
Knox sat on the edge of the bed and pulled Katherine, blankets and all, into his lap. The last thing he wanted to do was give her time to reject him. He was quite sure the anger would be coming along any moment. Right now, he needed to hold her. He needed her to feel how much he cared about her.
Her glow had faded from her skin after he’d bitten her on the side of the road three days ago. They were bonded now. He prayed that Fate would give her the ability to recognize their completed bond.
“Forgive me, shuarra. I couldn’t lose you.”
“What happened to me. I don’t. I don’t feel right.” She shivered in his arms and leaned closer, melting into him. She was so soft and curved in all the right places. He wanted to crawl into the bed with her and never let her go. But that was the last thing he could do right now. Right now, he had to get her through this first traumatic transition
. Get the terror leaking out of her like sap from a split tree to stop and hopefully salvage any remnants of their relationship.
“You changed into your wolf.”
“But I’m not…” She paused, craning her neck to look up at him.
Katherine
He bent his head down to meet her gaze. His eyes were dark with shame and guilt. She could feel his sorrow in her chest like a brick weighing down her lungs. And his remorse. It was eating at his heart like a vulture tearing scraps from a carcass.
She wanted to be mad.
She wanted to hate him for what he’d done, but she remembered the fight with the other wolf. She remembered the yelling and screaming and crying as she lay on the ground and everyone around her faded into darkness.
Her hand went to her stomach. The wound was there. The one that should’ve killed her.
She’d woken to pain. Someone prodding at her wound and that thing in her mind had leaped to the front. She could still feel the presence of another consciousness.
She.
It was a she—the wolf. And she was also repentant for scaring everyone.
Knox’s scent filled her lungs, calming her scattered worried mind. It felt so good to be held by him again. His touch soothed the nerves throughout her body that burned from the unfamiliar transition.
She belonged with him. In his arms. In his life. Forever. Desire welled from the very deepest part of her consciousness. Even the other mind within her agreed.
“I would’ve died. I was dying, wasn’t I?”
Knox squeezed her closer like even the memory of that afternoon scared him. “Your heart was slowing as I held you. I wasn’t even sure the bite would be enough to stem the tide. You’d lost so much blood.” His voice broke with emotion. “But it was. In a few minutes your heart grew stronger. The bleeding slowed. And then I just had to wait for you to wake up and…”
Katherine leaned closer, appreciating the familiar calming rumble of his voice vibrating through his chest. He smelled like pine and the wild.
She could feel the tension in the air like someone was pulling a rope and any second now the house would snap and collapse on top of him. He was dreading her next words. He was waiting for her to send him away.
But she had to be honest with herself. She’d felt connected to him long before he’d bitten her, and this wolf beast spirit had expanded and taken over her mind. Well, not taken over. It shared. It’s just that she could feel the wolf’s wants and desires as well as her own.
Funny thing.
They matched.
She’d been scared of the bonding. Scared of what it would mean, but now that she had it. Now that the wolf was a part of her, she couldn’t help but wonder if it was going to be as bad as she’d first thought.
Well. Unless. “Will I be able to control when I shift? She can’t take control whenever she wants?”
“In time. Yes. Young struggle to find a balance with their beast. Time gives cohesion between the two and control.” He paused, looking away as though he couldn’t find the words he wanted. “The beast is symbiotic, not oppressive,” he said, finally, his tone reassuring and steady.
Katherine knew no matter what happened. No matter how long it took, he would be there to help her through it. Together they would be safe. He could help her learn this new side of herself and she could do this.
“I forgive you, Knox.”
He shuddered around her and she felt a sharp intake of breath through her hair. His arms tightened around her, his pain melting from him like thawing ice and falling away in ugly chunks. There weren’t any tears. But she didn’t miss the next few ragged breaths that shook his chest.
“You are everything to me, Katherine. I would never have gone against your wishes if—”
“I believe you and I forgive you. I do Knox. Thank you for saving me.” She reached up, cupped the back of his head, and pulled his mouth to meet hers. The taste of him sent a jolt through her body. He was so strong and rough around the edges, but his lips at that moment were so soft. He let her explore and memorize the feel of his mouth on hers. She needed with a desperation she couldn’t explain. And she needed him to know she accepted him.
She could feel the bond between them pulsing with shared desire and love. A moan slipped from her lips. He was everything she’d ever dreamed of finding. Made her feel the way she’d always imagined it would feel.
Knox growled into her mouth. His hands slid into her hair and he took control of the kiss, sliding his tongue against hers. The warmth of the connection was something she knew she’d never get enough of.
He pulled back for a moment, breaking their kiss, and met her gaze, his eyes glowing gold with passion. “I love you, Katherine. I am yours until my last breath.”
“I’m yours too, Knox. Forever.”
Epilogue
A few more days later…
Knox
Knox trotted through the trees north of the small airfield in Mystery. Everything was blooming and green. The dirt smelled rich and was moist beneath his paws. The air was crisp and bright. The scent of a half dozen different animals filtered through his nostrils.
Knox entered a small clearing and put his nose to the ground, breathing in Tai’s faint scent. The one he’d followed from the bridge, through town, and then up into the woods. Callum had said they fought north of the airfield. He’d said Tai’s body would be lying next to a fallen tree and a jagged outcropping of rocks.
It’d been a while since the fight. Almost a week. Most of the scents had disappeared, replaced by natural wildlife and scavengers. Still, some remained. Enough to follow. Enough to know this was where Callum and Tai’s scent mixed together a lot.
The wind changed. The scent of something feline drifted close.
Knox perked his ears and took a step backward, but it wouldn’t do any good. There was no way the cat hadn’t caught Knox’s scent long before the wind shifted.
Knox shifted and stood up. “I’m not on your land,” he called out, refusing to be intimidated. The truce had been put in place by the dragon, Col. Knox hadn’t crossed the border. What was the damned tiger doing out this far?
Greenery parted a dozen yards away, directly ahead of Knox. The orange and black-striped body of the predator emerged into the clearing. A few seconds later the figure magickally shifted into a tall man in jeans and green flannel. His bright shock of orange hair matched his animal’s fur. His boots crunched the twigs beneath his feet, and he flashed Knox a wry grin.
“Wondered if you’d ever notice I was here.”
“Focused on the trail.” Knox frowned, annoyed with himself for being so careless. He was spoiled in this new world. The only natural predator strong enough to take him on in this area was a bear, and those stank to high heaven. No one with a Reylean nose would miss one.
“The wolf you fought was here. Lots of blood around the other side of those rocks. So was your young wolf, but both of them walked away from this clearing.”
“Callum lied.”
The other male nodded in agreement.
“I had my doubts already.” Knox’s shoulders dropped. He hadn’t wanted to believe the worst of what remained of his pack. Perhaps the other two youths weren’t involved. Perhaps they were. Only time would tell, and he’d have to watch every move each of them made.
“You going after the one who almost killed Katherine? Cause I already tracked him nearly a day’s run north of town. Lost his scent on a main road. I assume he hitched a ride with a human.”
“Are you sure?” Knox stifled the growl rising in his chest.
“He’s gone.” The tiger shifted his weight from foot to foot, glancing to the east. “But the other one is still in town—the younger one.”
A snarl slipped between Knox’s lips. He’d wanted Tai’s head at his feet. He’d wanted his blood to soak the ground. He’d wanted the bastard to be dead and taken care of and gone.
He’d desperately wanted Callum’s claim to be truthful.
&n
bsp; But he wasn’t getting what he wanted.
Not only was Tai alive. He’d escaped. And Callum was probably still helping him.
“Will you punish him?”
“He’s my best chance to finding Tai. For now, I’ll play along,” Knox answered, hoping that would be enough to get the cat to leave the whole situation alone.
“I’ll report to Col. Let me know if anything changes.”
“How? It’s not like I can knock on your door.” Knox’s tone was full of annoyance. He wasn’t going to report to the Tiger or anyone else in the Tribe. He was going to take care of his problems himself. All of them. Even if it meant eliminating more of his pack.
The redheaded male chuckled. “If you do need to get us a message. Just stop in the Jenkins’ store. Tara can get us a message.” The male turned his back to him, shifted again, and Knox watched the enormous feline melt back into the greenery.
Knox wasn’t going to need to get anyone a message, but he could play nice. He would do anything to make sure the truce stayed in place.
Anything to keep Katherine happy and safe in Mystery.
The last thing he’d wanted was to be an enemy of the dragon, but Raish had ripped that dream to shreds and left it out rotting for the vultures to clean. Now with the incident with Tai and his escape. The knowledge that Callum was also lying to him. There was no way he’d ever convince the Tribe he was different.
That he was honorable and worthy of trust.
In their eyes he was still just a wolf—an outcast Reylean beast not worth the air he breathed. Without honor. Barbaric. More beast than man.
Before Katherine, some of that had been true.
But not anymore, and he wouldn’t rest until he and the dragon finally saw eye to eye. And he would start with Tai and make sure his cousin didn’t cause any more problems with the Tribe.
Afterword
Thank you for coming along on this fantastic ride with me. Katherine and Knox’s story is really just getting started. The Tribe dynamics are being tested now that there are two couples in town. There’s so much more to come and I’m excited to share this world with you. I hope you loved Wolf At The Door!
Wolf At The Door: Soulmate Shifters World (Soulmate Shifters in Mystery, Alaska Book 5) Page 18
