“Macey, you have another visitor,” her dad called.
She groaned and rolled out of bed, glancing at the clock. Six-fifteen. Luke would be at his ceremony, so it couldn’t be him. A small part of her wished it was. If he came back now, she might not be able to say no. Would that be such a bad thing?
She pushed the thought aside and padded down the hallway into the living room. Alexis stood near the door while her mom and dad sat on the couch looking at her expectantly.
“Is this the Alexis?” Her mom’s eyes darted back and forth between them.
“Yeah, Mom. This is my sister.”
“We need to talk. Now,” Alexis said.
Macey turned to her mom. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later.” She motioned for Alexis to follow her. “Come on. We can talk in my room.”
“We don’t have much time,” Alexis said as Macey closed the bedroom door.
“Time for what?”
“To get you back to Luke and stop the ceremony.”
Macey let out a huff and plopped onto the bed. She picked up a fluffy pink pillow and hugged it to her chest. “I’m not going to stop him from becoming alpha.”
“No, but he needs you to be his mate.”
Mate. There was that word again. Luke had called her his soul mate, and the idea sounded too good to be true. They were meant to be together, though; she could feel it in her bones. But for something so huge…so monumental…she needed time to wrap her mind around it. Her entire world had changed in a matter of weeks, and she was still trying to absorb it all. She waved her hand dismissively. “He just thinks he needs me right now. I’ll call him next week after things settle down, and we’ll talk again. I don’t want to rush into anything.”
Alexis put her hands on her hips. “You don’t have a choice.”
“There’s always a choice.”
“Not if you want Luke. Do you love him?”
“Yes.” She narrowed her eyes at her sister. Why was Alexis so wound up about this? Why wouldn’t she have a choice?
“You’re losing him. Every second that you sit there holding that stupid pillow, he’s slipping further away.”
Macey tossed the pillow aside. “Come on. You’re being dramatic. I’m being cautious. It’s not my fault I have abandonment issues.”
Anger flashed in her sister’s eyes. “How long are you going to play the victim, Macey?”
“I’m not—”
“You’ve changed. You used to be a fighter. Tough. Resilient. Now look at you. So scared to get your poor little heart broken, you’re walking away from the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”
Macey clenched her hands into fists. How dare her sister talk to her that way? “You want to talk about walking away? You’ve been gone for twenty years, and suddenly you come back thinking you know what’s best for me? You don’t. I am strong. I am a fighter.”
Alexis took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “This isn’t about me, Macey.” Her voice was quiet. Calm. “This is about you and Luke. He’s not going to be available next week. Or ever again if you don’t get your ass to that ceremony right now and stop it.”
Her breath caught. “What are you talking about?”
“He has to have a mate to become alpha.” She glanced at her watch. “He’s about to select one now.”
Her heart stuttered, her veins running cold with ice. Did she hear that right? “He’s…getting married?”
Alexis shook her head. “He’s taking a mate. It’s more like a business deal to ensure the alpha has children. He won’t marry her, but he also won’t be able to marry anyone else. Werewolves mate for life.”
Her head spun. Or was it the room? Either way, her stomach lurched, and she ground her teeth to stop her lunch from making a reappearance. No wonder he was relentless in trying to talk to her. “Why didn’t he tell me?”
“Because he’s a man. He thought he’d pressured you enough. Said he wanted you to love him on your own.”
“I do love him.” She couldn’t let him take someone else as his mate. She was his soul mate, his…what did he call her? His fate-bound. Yes, they were bound by fate, but in her idiocy, she’d torn them apart. She had to repair their bond.
Alexis tugged her to her feet. “Then get dressed and let’s go. The ceremony is formal, and it’s a twenty-minute drive to New Orleans.”
She couldn’t make herself move. What if she was too late? Would he really go through with it? Her throat tightened, and she could barely force out the words, “I don’t have any clothes here.”
“Trade with me then.” Alexis unzipped her dress and tossed it to her sister.
Macey stared at the emerald fabric in her hands, the shock of the ordeal making her limbs heavy like lead. “What about you?”
“This isn’t about me. Hurry up.”
Her movements finally caught up with the urgency, and she stripped, giving her clothes to Alexis. Her sister’s dress was made for someone taller, and the straps slipped off her shoulders.
“Safety pins?” Alexis said.
“In the drawer.”
Alexis folded the straps and pinned them to the inside of the dress. The sparkling gown hugged Macey’s torso, flaring slightly at the hips to cascade down to her knees in the front. The back brushed the floor. “There. Now it’s perfect. Shoes?”
Macey stepped into the pair of black flats next to her bed. “These are all I have here.”
“They’ll do.” Alexis grabbed her by the arm and dragged her into the living room.
“Where are you going?” her mother asked as they rushed out the front door.
“To get Luke back,” Macey called over her shoulder.
“Have fun.”
Macey climbed into the passenger seat, and Alexis peeled out of the driveway. She tore through the neighborhood and merged onto the highway like a professional Indy Car driver. Macey clutched the door and closed her eyes. “How much time do we have?”
“Thirty minutes. Plenty of time if there’s no traffic.”
“Who is he going to choose if we don’t make it in time?” Pain pierced her heart at the thought of him in another woman’s arms.
“I don’t know. He let his parents pick for him, and they haven’t told anyone.” She squeezed Macey’s hand. “Don’t worry. We’ll make it.”
Alexis zipped in and out of traffic, bouncing between lanes and cursing at the slower cars. Macey dared to peek at the speedometer. They were pushing one hundred. She said a silent prayer that they’d make it there alive. She’d only thought her partner was a scary driver. Alexis was a maniac.
As they climbed an overpass, a sea of red brake lights stretched out before them, disappearing into the horizon. Traffic slowed to a crawl as they descended the bridge and inched their way forward at an excruciating speed.
“Oh, no. No, no, no.” Alexis blasted the horn. “Can’t you wave your badge around and get these people out of the way?”
“Where would they go? It looks like an accident up ahead.” She pulled out her phone and unlocked the screen. Six unread voicemail messages from Luke waited to be heard. Her fingers trembled as she opened the map app and typed in the hotel address. The phone slipped from her sweaty palm and bounced under the seat. “Damn it.”
She reached beneath the seat and found the phone. “If you can get off at the next exit, we can take back roads to the Quarter.”
Alexis gripped the steering wheel and checked her review mirror. “Screw the exit. I can run faster than this.” She slammed on the gas and cut across the grassy median onto the frontage road. “Which way?”
“Take the next right.”
She fishtailed around the corner and floored it. “Seriously, though. If it were dark out, I’d shift and run you there. It’d be faster than this.”
Macey crinkled her nose. “Then I’d smell like dog.”
“We all smell like dog.”
“Good point. Turn left.”
Alexis turned and rolled to a slow crawl b
ehind a city bus. The damn thing stopped every fifteen feet to pick up more passengers.
Macey’s head pounded. At this speed they’d never make it in time…and not making it was not an option. “Can’t you pass it?”
Alexis leaned her head out the window. “There’s too much traffic.” She eyed something to the right and raised her eyebrows at Macey. “You can get me out of a ticket, right?”
“Probably,” she said warily.
“Hold on.” She cut the wheel right and lurched onto the sidewalk. Pedestrians scattered as she barreled toward the bus stop and made a hard right turn to skirt behind it. They barely fit. Bushes scraped down the side of the car like claws on a windowpane. She jerked the wheel left, and they bumped over the curb, back onto the road.
If I survive this, I will never complain about Bryce’s driving again. “It’s a straight shot from here to the Quarter. What time is it?”
“We’ve got ten minutes.”
Her heart jack hammered in her chest. She dialed his number. Straight to voicemail. “He’s not answering his phone.”
“Text him.”
I’m on my way. Please don’t choose a mate. She pressed send and counted to fifty. No response. Tears stung her eyes. “We’re too late.”
“No, we’re not.”
“What if they started early?”
“They didn’t.”
“How do you know?”
“We’re going to make it.”
Finally, they crossed Rampart and entered the French Quarter. They raced up Bienville as fast as the bumpy, narrow road would allow and stopped just before Bourbon.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Alexis said. “A parade? On a Thursday?”
“New Orleanians will find any excuse they can to have a parade. Try to find a place to park.”
She pulled the car into an alley, and they jumped out. A man on a balcony yelled down to them. “Hey! You can’t park there. I’ll call the cops.”
“I am a cop.” Macey kept running. She plowed through the mass of spectators on Bourbon, shoving her way down the street, Alexis on her heels.
“It’s there.” Her sister pointed to a hotel across the street.
Macey leaped over a metal barricade and darted across the parade line, weaving her way through a sea of women in elaborate headdresses and sparkling masks, and narrowly missing a mounted patrol. She stumbled, caught herself with her hands before she fell, and looked up at the officer.
“Detective Carpenter?” The look on the man’s face was incredulous. “Do you need backup?”
“No. No worries.” She turned on her heel and dashed across the street.
“I’m right behind you,” Alexis called as Macey paused to look for her. “Go! Go!”
She pushed through the door and skidded to a stop in the lobby. “Where’s the ballroom?” she called to the hotel clerk.
“What?”
“The ballroom.”
“Down there.” He pointed. “But you can’t—”
Macey sprinted down the hall.
Two burly men stood guard outside a set of double doors. This had to be the place. As she approached, they crossed their arms, widening their stances and blocking the entrance. She adjusted the straps on her dress and smoothed the gown down her torso. “Sorry, I’m a little late for the ceremony. If you’ll excuse me.” She reached for the door handle, and a guard grabbed her wrist.
“This is a private event.” His grip was firm, his voice gravelly with warning.
“But I really need to talk to Luke.” She considered playing the cop card, but these guys didn’t seem like the type to back down, regardless of the law.
He released her arm and straightened his spine, crossing his thick arms over his chest. “Not today.”
“Macey!” Alexis sprinted toward her.
“They won’t let me in.”
“Out of the way, guys,” Alexis said. “This is official pack business.”
The other guard looked down his nose at her. “I don’t take orders from rogues.”
Alexis gave her sister a meaningful look, a tiny nod of her head letting Macey know they were about to do something they couldn’t take back. Then she launched herself at a guard. The surprise of her impact made him stumble far enough away from the door for Macey to get close. She threw herself at the entrance and screamed, “Luke!” Her fist slammed into the metal door with a thud, shooting tingling shards of pain up her arm. The guard grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back.
“Luke!” She flailed in his arms. “Luke, stop! Don’t do it!” This couldn’t’ be happening. She had to get through that door. She didn’t finally come to her senses and race across town to get to him, only to be stopped at the entrance.
She wiggled, twisting and turning, but the guard tightened his grip. Alexis climbed on the other guard’s back, doing everything she could to keep him away from the door. The entrance stood unguarded. If Macey could just wiggle free and get to the door before the guard, she’d be in. But he held her around the waist, her arms pinned at her sides. She wiggled some more and managed to shimmy down far enough for her mouth the reach his arm. Her teeth sank into his flesh. The guard yelped, loosening his grip enough for Macey to break free.
“Luke!” Macey screamed again. Flinging herself at the door, she pounded it with her fist. Her trembling hands reached for the handle, and she pressed it down. The door opened a crack before the guard snatched her up again, yanking her away. The handle slipped from her grasp. The door clicked shut.
“Luke, please!”
“Luke!” Alexis’s voice was hoarse. Her guard pinned her to the ground and slapped a hand over her mouth.
“Give it up, rogues,” Macey’s guard said. “You’re not getting in that room.”
“But I was supposed to be his mate.” Macey stopped struggling. By now, he’d probably already chosen another. And it was her fault. She’d been so afraid of letting him get close enough to hurt her, she’d driven him into someone else’s arms. She was too late.
Her body went slack in the guard’s arms, the will to fight—to do anything—draining away like flood water after a rain. He let her sink to the ground and released her as she crumpled to her knees and buried her face in her hands. A deep sob hitched in her throat. She’d been so stupid. Her sister was right; she’d been playing the victim for so long she didn’t know how else to act. Yes, she’d been abandoned. And, yes, it had hurt. But the events from her past didn’t have to control her future. She knew that now.
Now that it was too late.
“Macey?” Luke’s voice danced in her ears. She looked up to find him standing in the doorway, confusion furrowing his brow. He looked at the other guard. “Let her go.”
Alexis scrambled to her feet and pulled Macey up by the arm. “Go,” she whispered in her ear.
She took two tentative steps toward him. “Luke, I…”
He tilted his head and blinked. His left hand went to his pocket. “Macey.”
She ran. Throwing her arms around his neck, she buried her face in his chest. He stiffened. His heartbeat slammed against her cheek, but he hesitated to hold her.
“I’m so sorry, Luke. I was stupid, and immature, and…”
He patted her back awkwardly.
“Oh, no.” She covered her mouth with her hand as she stepped back to see his face. “I’m too late, aren’t I? Have you already chosen a mate?”
His gaze lingered on her eyes before traveling down her body and back up again, the intensity of his stare piercing her soul. Why wouldn’t he speak? “Say something. Please.”
He swallowed. “I have chosen.”
“No.” Her body trembled, her heart wrenching as if being ripped from her chest. Tears welled in her eyes, and she dropped her gaze to the floor to hide them.
She’d lost him.
“Macey, look at me.” He hooked a finger under her chin, raising her gaze to meet his. “I chose you. It’s always been you.” He took her in his arms, huggi
ng her tight.
“So you haven’t…”
“I told them they’d have to take me single or not at all.”
She melted into his warmth, sweet relief flooding her body as the tension drained away.
“Son?” An older man stepped through the doorway. “You can’t drop a bomb like that and walk away from the pack. You need to fix this.”
“Just a minute, Dad.” He gripped Macey’s shoulders and stared intently into her eyes. “You need to know what you’re getting yourself into. When we step into that ballroom, we’ll take an oath. A pledge to the pack to be mates. Once you’re in, there’s no way out. Werewolves mate for life.”
Life was exactly what she wanted. She slid her hands up his chest to cup his face. “Do you promise?”
A sly grin pulled up one corner of his mouth. “Yes, ma’am.”
“I’ll hold you to it.” She rose onto her toes to place a soft kiss on his lips. “I’m yours.”
Luke’s dad cleared his throat. “We need to finish the ceremony.” He motioned for them to enter the ballroom, his voice rough with warning. “The pack’s waiting.”
Luke nodded to his father and stepped toward Alexis, holding out his hand to shake. “Thank you for bringing her back to me.”
She hugged him. “Be good to my sister.”
“Always.”
His dad clutched the door handle. “If you don’t get your ass back in there, there’s going to be a riot.”
Macey took her sister’s hand. “Come on.”
Alexis shook her head. “Go in there? Dressed like this?” She motioned to Macey’s shorts and tank top she now wore. “No way. I’ve got some unfinished business to take care of outside of town, anyway.”
“You’re leaving? I just got you back.” Macey smiled at her sister. She could tell from the look in her eyes this wasn’t goodbye.
“Not permanently. I need to tie up some loose ends. I promise I’ll be back in time for the wedding.” She nodded toward Luke.
Macey turned to find him standing in front of her, toying with a ring in his hands.
“I’ll see you later, sister.” Alexis kissed her on the cheek and shoved Macey toward him.
Werewolves Only Page 28
