by Kimber White
Not wanting to draw any more attention to myself, I went into the cabin and made sure everything was ready. Kane had me make venison stew. And he’d make me serve the pack like some kitchen maid. Fine. Tonight I’d make no waves. With the pack all in one place, it meant Jaxson was alone wherever he was. At a minimum, it would hopefully give him an hour or two of peace.
A few minutes later, the pack came in. They’d shifted back. Fur and fangs replaced with denim and leather over hard muscles. Kane was laughing, talking. He gave Alec a hearty slap on the back like they were old friends. Alec stiffened and locked eyes with me. A tiny, barely perceptible twitch near the corner of his mouth belied his true feelings. And he saved that look just for me.
I sat at Kane’s side through dinner and made small talk, answering yes or no or laughing at Kane’s jokes when it seemed warranted. I played his dutiful girlfriend. Laughing. Vapid. Careful not to overdo it because he would have noticed that too. Or Wade would.
They men talked about business. The Wild Lake packs had an interest in a wilderness store in the northern part of the state. Other than running the ranger station, their stock dividends were how Kane’s pack survived. Though Kane himself had no part of the day-to-day operations, I learned Alec’s Alpha, Sebastien Lanier, served as CEO. So Kane was happy to take the money Bas doled out, and yet seemed to resent him for it behind his back.
Kane answered Alec’s questions. Laughed at his jokes. For once, I felt grateful for the distance Kane put between Alec and me. He sat at the far end of the table near Cole and Daniel. I couldn’t reach him with my hands, but my whole body seemed tuned to his presence. I craved his touch. If I’d been able, I knew my fingers might travel under the table in search of his. If I felt that electric spark with Kane so close, surely he’d sense it too. God, as much as I wanted Alec close, I knew the danger it put us in. How could Alec ever take on six wolves at once? And if they tore him to pieces right in front of me, I didn’t think I could survive it either.
How did I get to this point? I met him days ago on the lake’s edge. He was trouble to me. And I was to him. And yet, something linked us stronger than the bond Kane had forced on me. But it felt so different. Kane’s touch was a violation. With Alec, it felt . . . like fate. I shuddered as the word took shape in my mind. Fate. It couldn’t be that. I couldn’t let it. If and when I broke free from Kane, I never wanted to feel drawn to something I couldn’t control, even if it felt so good.
Kane touched me, and my body went rigid. I plastered a smile on my face as Kane rested a hand at the center of my back and nudged me toward him. Alec’s knuckles went white where he gripped his fork. His eyes flashed, but he got himself under control as Kane’s lips pressed against my ear. Careful. I couldn’t let Kane or any of them notice anything. Doing so would put Alec’s life in danger and maybe even my own.
“You’re doing well. Keep it up.” I brightened my smile and put a hand up to touch his cheek. I locked eyes with Alec. He looked ready to shift. None of the other pack members seemed to sense his distress. Only I could. I steadied my heartbeat and tried to will Alec’s to calm. God. Don’t do it. Stay with me. I need you.
“How about a hunt after dinner?” Kane said, nearly shouting it. He framed it as a question, but no one at the table would have even considered disagreeing with him. Except of course, Alec. But he seemed ready to go berserk with Kane’s hands still on me. He clenched his jaw hard and a muscle jumped near his temple.
The meal ended. The pack would hunt. Fear flared behind my chest as I worried Kane might chain me again. Tonight, though, he had other ideas. He leaned forward again and whispered in my ear.
“You stay put here. I’m going to make sure our friend heads back to his area of Wild Lake before the sun rises. I’ll send Wade back to check on you. Don’t give me a reason to regret trusting you. And more importantly, don’t make me have to do anything that would make your brother regret that I trusted you.”
I nodded and touched his cheek again, playing the faithful hostess, the loving girlfriend. In my mind I envisioned stabbing my fork through the top of his hand where he rested it on the table. I rose and cleared my plate and Kane’s. The others got to their feet, banging chairs and clanging silverware as they made their way back out into the courtyard. Wade and Brandon shifted immediately, antsy for the promise of another hunt. Kane hung back and said something to Cole and Christian. A warning perhaps, like the one he’d given me. Behave. Or else.
As I walked by Alec, he reached out and grabbed my wrist. That bolt of lightning went through me, nearly dropping me to my knees. Each time he touched me, the connection seemed to grow stronger. My want deepened. The mark on my neck pulsed a warning. But, Alec was quick, he drew me to him. His voice against my ear sent goosebumps skittering across my flesh.
“Near midnight. Head to the edge of the lake where I met you before. Trust me.”
Then, with the rest of the pack just a few feet away, he took a bold chance and nipped my earlobe, sending my nerves into a frenzy. Heat unfurled within me, sending shuddering waves of pleasure through me and settling deep in my core.
“Meet me there,” Alec said, then he let go of my wrist.
When Kane turned back toward me, all he saw was my plastered-on smile.
Chapter Ten
Midnight took forever to get here. But, when the time came, the moon cooperated, giving me a lighted trail to guide me back to the water’s edge. With each step I took, I knew I might be sealing my fate or Jaxson’s. What if Alec lied just like Kane did? I thought it, but something in my heart told me it couldn’t be true. But, my head told me I’d thought that before too, and look where it got me. Still, I ran. If nothing else, if I made it through tonight, I could draw strength from the tiny taste of freedom it gave me.
As I burst through the trees, my heart caught in my throat and fear threatened to drive me to my knees. What if he didn’t come? What if something happened to him? What if Kane figured out my plans? My breath went out of my lungs in a whoosh as I stepped into the clearing and saw him.
Alec.
He emerged from the water like some luminous sea creature. I could tell by the glint in his eyes and the way his chest heaved that he’d just shifted. Water sluiced off him, making his skin shine as he came toward me. God. He was so beautiful. I took a hesitant step toward him. Then another. Then, I started to run. Alec reached me in three forceful strides and got his arms up just in time to catch me as I crashed into his chest.
Instinct. Carnal lust took over as I wrapped my arms around him. I’d spent the night so close to him but unable to touch. Now, I needed to make up for it. We both did. He winced as I ran my hand down the hard slope of his pecs. He had a wound I hadn’t seen in the dim light until now. Three long gashes were torn through his perfect skin. They were healing, but I shuddered imagining the brutality with which they’d been inflicted.
“Kane?” I said past a dry throat. Alec shook his head. “Not now.” His eyes flashed with a wild lust that echoed inside my own body. There would be time for talking later. Now, I just needed to feel him.
“Olivia,” he gasped as he drew me close and lifted me off my feet. He kissed me. Everywhere. His tongue feathered against my neck, over my collarbone. He tore at the buttons of the silk blouse I wore. We ended up a tangle of limbs as we staggered to the beach and toward the woods. Alec pressed me against a tree and I ran my hands over the solid warmth of his back, his strong arms, down the rippled planes of his stomach. He was huge and hard and I bit my lips, wanting desperately to wrap my fingers around the length of his cock and bring him into me. My knees went weak from the urge to spread my legs and let him take me. Right here. Right now. Forever.
“Alec. Please!” I couldn’t get enough of him. I was wild, desperate. This was me and it wasn’t me. I felt as though I were some wild thing, unable to control the shift within me. Alec was strong. Herculean. With his broad back and concrete abs. I did touch him. I couldn’t help myself. I ran my fingers along his shaft
. He was turgid and hard, and I felt the throbbing swell of my own sex as I opened for him.
But, thank God for both of us, Alec’s will was every bit as strong as his body. He groaned against my temple then tore himself away, staggering backward toward the water. He put his hands on his knees and bent forward, reminding me of an airplane crash position. He put a hand up to stop me as I moved toward him again. “Stop,” he gasped. “Oh, God. We have to stop.”
I took a halting step forward, then sideways. Then, my knees finally gave out and I plopped down on the sand. Alec tore a hand through his hair and sat down next to me. I leaned my head against his shoulder and we stayed like that for a few moments, staring at the glass-like water with the silvery moon reflected in it.
Finally, my heart slowed enough, and I got my wits about me. “Why do I want you so much?”
Alec’s reaction was unexpected. He let out a hard laugh and drew me against him. Then, he kissed the top of my head. Finally, he answered me with a question.
“Don’t you know? Isn’t it like this for werebears too?”
I shrugged. “How would I know that? I’m not a werebear.”
“But, you’ve lived among them. Your parents . . .”
“My mother died having me. I don’t know how it was between them. I know my dad was never the same after. My brother said he even tried to kill himself in those first few weeks. Jaxson was only five, but he says he remembers every second of that time and what came after.”
Alec smoothed a hair away from my forehead and turned me toward him. “That’s because your father lost half of himself. I take it your mother was human? Like you?”
I nodded.
“Well, then bears are more like wolves than you think. They were fated mates.”
Buzzing filled my brain. There was that word again. Fate. Loss of control. But there was something else too. The promise of sweet submission. Joy. Belonging. An answer to a question I hadn’t known I needed. An ache filled me, like some hollowed out space. Fated mates. Two halves of a whole. My father wouldn’t talk about my mother to me. Not ever. Jaxson said it hurt him too much.
Alec went very still beside me. Daring not even to breathe, I think. But, he kept his solid arms around me. Waiting. I closed my eyes against the truth and let out a breath. It was right there. In front of me. Then curling around me like a blanket of stars. Alec’s eyes were in those stars. They were in me. He was in me. Two halves of a whole. I’d gone hollow for an instant, but when I finally opened my eyes again, I understood. God help us both, I understood.
“You’re mine,” I said, swallowing hard past the lump in my throat. Alec blinked back at me. His arms stayed around me, solid and sure. I knew what he was doing. He couldn’t say the words. He couldn’t tell me these things. It was something I had to know from within. And I did.
Finally, when I didn’t break his gaze, he slowly nodded. “And you’re mine.” His voice choked when he said it. He shifted; putting some space between us, he faced me.
“Oh, Alec, what the hell are we going to do about it?”
Chapter Eleven
“How long have you known?” I said. I was pacing along the beach now. In some far corner of my brain I knew I had to look like he had the other night in the cabin. He sat on the beach with his knees drawn up, his arms draped casually over them and his chin resting against his forearms.
“The second I touched you. The second I saw you.”
“Well, why didn’t you do something about it?” I flapped my hands wildly.
His low laughter sent waves of pleasure through me at the same time it infuriated me. How could he be so calm?
“Well, fated mate or not, I’m not in the business of forcing myself on women who don’t even know me. And I wasn’t looking for it. I came here for a very specific purpose. I told you.”
“Right. The great Sebastian Lanier’s pack enforcer. I got that. Well, that’s just terrific. If he’s so great why doesn’t he get his ass down here and help us deal with Kane?”
“That’s the nuclear option. That’ll cause a full-on pack war, and it’s not a decision Bas can make by himself.”
“Jesus. And that’s what Kane wants, isn’t it? You start a war and he plans to finish it with the help of my father and the bears.”
Alec nodded. “That’s the fix we’re in. Yes.”
“He won’t go for it. You’ve got to get to my father and make him understand.”
Alec pulled himself to his feet and came to me. He gripped my elbows and pulled me forward. “Olivia. I’ve seen your father.”
My heart stopped. The way Alec’s eyes went dark couldn’t mean good news. “Oh, God. What is it? Tell me.”
His pursed his lips into a grim line. “Well, you were right about his feelings on wolves right now. He’s gone feral. I got this when I tried to talk to him.” He waved his hand over the gashes across his chest. I sucked air through my teeth and rested my fingers against the healing wounds. A strange sensation went through me. I felt horror for my father’s cruelty. It wasn’t like him. Not this. At the same time, this brought me oddly closer to him. His blood mixed with Alec’s just for an instant.
“I talked to some of the locals on Wild Ridge.” Alec continued. “They say Caleb hasn’t shifted back to human in weeks. Months, maybe. Right after your brother disappeared he retreated into his bear and hasn’t come back out. Those closest to him are worried about him. And nobody up there seems too interested in distinguishing Kane’s actions from the rest of the Wild Lake wolves. Kane’s been smart about it. They’re spoiling for a fight.”
“So what the hell do we do?”
Alec ran a hand along my arm. He was trying to handle me. I didn’t like it one bit. I planted my feet into a wide stance and crossed my arms in front of me. Alec reached forward and fingered the edges of the scar on my neck. Pain came into his eyes and my skin prickled.
“Alec, what?”
“This is what makes things so damn complicated.”
“Why?”
Alec let out a breath. “Because, for the moment, Kane has a claim on you. It’s . . . uh, pack law.”
“What?” Rage bubbled like lava beneath my skin. “I told you. He forced this on me. I didn’t consent. You’re telling me this is pack law? You can just bite any woman you want and that’s the end of it?”
“God. Olivia. No.” Alec’s wolf eyes glinted. His skin shimmered and his shoulders rose up and rolled. My accusation brought his own rage to the surface, and it took him a second to keep his wolf in check. “No. What Kane did is not how this pack does things. I said for the moment, he’s got a claim on you. We can break his mark. There are options.”
“What options?” I took a step back and covered the scar with my palm. My heart dropped to my feet. Alec didn’t have to say anything for me to understand these options had to be drastic. And that I wouldn’t like them one damn bit.
“Well, a mark can be broken if another wolf marks you instead. That’s the quickest way, but probably the most dangerous. It’ll bring the whole pack down on me.”
My throat went dry. “If another wolf marks me?” I knew what he meant. A part of me cried out yes the moment he said it. But, only part of me.
“I can’t.” I blurted it. “God. Alec. I can’t.”
“Olivia . . .”
“No!” Panic rose inside of me, making my breath catch. I nearly lost my balance. Alec reached out and steadied me.
“Olivia. Calm down.”
Tears rolled down my cheeks. Alec’s eyes went wide as though he too could feel the panic and pain inside of me. And in that instant I knew he could. But, it didn’t make it any easier.
“Alec. I’m not ready. I can’t do it. Not now. Not again.”
“Not even if it were me?”
“What? Of course it would have to be you. That’s not even a question. But, God. I’ve spent six months with Kane . . . inside my head. Inside my heart. I can’t go from one wolf to the next. I need to find me again before I’m
ready for something like that. And they’ll kill you! You’re strong. You’re . . . you. But there are six of them. And they want you dead. I can feel their hate boiling off of them.”
Alec pulled me against him and kissed the top of my head. “God. Shh. Olivia. Please don’t cry. Don’t worry. It’s going to be okay. I’m going to make it okay. That he fucking put you through that. I will never do that to you. That’s a promise. If I mark you. Someday. It will be your choice. Do you hear me? You choose. You’re safe with me. On my life. You’re safe with me.”
My heartbeat slowed and calm settled over me again in Alec’s strong arms. I did feel safe with him. Part of me hated that I couldn’t just make things simple for him and say yes. As much as my head recoiled from the idea of letting another wolf mark me, my heart told me something very, very different. But, I couldn’t. Not yet. I wiped a tear away and looked up at him.
“You said options. Plural. What else have you got?”
He smiled and kissed my forehead. “We take it to the Alphas. They can make Kane release you if there’s evidence he marked you without your consent. I told you, that’s not how this pack operates.”
“Evidence? You mean like in a court of law?
Alec laughed. “Well, not really a court exactly. There’d be beer involved.”
“Alec!” I slapped his chest. He winced and I remembered the healing claw marks. I covered my mouth with one hand and placed the other more gently against his chest.
“And we like to grill,” he said. “Sometimes there’s even cornhole.”
I laughed in earnest, snorting against his chest.
“Fine. I’ll go to beer court. When? How?”
Alec’s face grew serious again. “It has to be soon. Now.”
Then, it was as if the stars had spies. Howls rose to the east of us. Alec’s ears perked up and his eyes flashed blue.
“Shit. They’re coming this way.”
I squeezed him tight. Every time he came to me, it got harder and harder to break away.
“Olivia, you have to come away with me.”
