DUSK
The Dire Wolves Chronicles
Alyssa Rose Ivy
Copyright © 2015 Alyssa Rose Ivy
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written approval of the author.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Cover Design: Cover It! Designs
Cover Photography: CJC Photography
Formatting: Polgarus Studio
Other Books by Alyssa Rose Ivy
Dire (The Dire Wolves Chronicles #1)
Flight (The Crescent Chronicles #1)
Focus (The Crescent Chronicles #2)
Found (The Crescent Chronicles #3)
First & Forever (The Crescent Chronicles #4)
Soar (The Empire Chronicles #1)
Search (The Empire Chronicles #2)
Stay (The Empire Chronicles #3)
The Hazards of Skinny Dipping (Hazards)
The Hazards of a One Night Stand (Hazards)
The Hazards of Sex on the Beach (Hazards)
The Hazards of Mistletoe (Hazards)
Shaken Not Stirred (Mixology)
On The Rocks (Mixology)
Derailed (Clayton Falls)
Veer (Clayton Falls)
Wrecked (Clayton Falls)
Beckoning Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #1)
Perilous Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #2)
Enduring Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #3)
www.AlyssaRoseIvy.com
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Preface
Gage
I don’t do hopeless. I’ve never liked the feeling, but now I can’t handle it. I’m strong, stronger than 99% of all beings on earth, and that alone means I’m not capable of sitting back and letting someone else take what I want most. What I need most. Because the way I feel about Mary Anne, it’s need. She might as well be my oxygen for the way I crave her body, mind, and soul. When I close my eyes, she’s the only the thing I see. And she will be mine.
Chapter One
Gage
The light beckoned. It wasn’t white; it was more a combination of every color I’d ever seen. I was ready to accept it, to move on to a place of warmth, but then I heard her cry. I heard Mary Anne’s sobs, and every moment from the past few days flew through my mind. I saw her face. I felt her skin, her lips. I heard her voice begging for me. I couldn’t leave her behind.
I tried to push through the fog, but her voice only seemed farther away. The light got brighter and brighter until I knew I couldn’t hold it off. I tried to cry out to her. To let her know I didn’t want to leave, but my voice failed.
Just as I was ready to reach the light, I was hit by a searing pain like nothing I’d ever felt before. The light faded, and it was replaced by a darkness so complete it nearly overwhelmed me.
I tried to listen for Mary Anne, but I heard nothing. The only sensation was the pain pulsating through my body. It’s as though my blood was on fire. I tried to calm my body, to fight off the pain, but the intensity was like nothing I’d ever experienced before.
The pain finally began to subside, and I could hear, and almost feel, her heart beating. She had to be right next to me. I reached out, but my fingers only touched the frozen ground. I opened my eyes.
That’s when I saw her next to him. He had his hands on her. Hunter had his hands on my Mary Anne. Without a second to think, I jumped to my feet and growled.
I lost sense of everything as I prepared to lunge for Hunter, to push him away from the girl who was clearly mine. My body convulsed, and I lost all control. My vision deepened, and I leapt.
I was struck in mid-air and pulled back to the ground. I was vaguely aware of Mary Anne’s cry of anguish before I watched her being pulled away from me. I fought against whoever held me so I could get to her, to stop her from running away.
“Keep him away from her,” Hunter ordered, but it wasn’t in his normal voice. It was in my head. Hunter was in my mind. I shook myself, trying to get rid of the sensation. I looked up in time to watch Marni hurrying Mary Anne away.
“Listen to me.” Hunter’s voice screamed in my head. “Focus.”
“No!” I wasn’t listening to that monster. I was getting Mary Anne and leaving.
“You’re one of us now,” Hunter’s gruff voice hit me like a punch to the gut. I looked down at the ground, at the paws leaving tracks in the snow. I tried to scream, but it came out as a howl.
“Calm down. Focus.” Hunter strode in front of me in wolf form.
I blinked a few times. This couldn’t be real. This couldn’t be happening.
I needed to find Mary Anne. I had to protect her. Everything would be okay once I had her with me again.
“She’s not yours. She’s mine.” Hunter’s words echoed through my head.
I growled.
“She has sworn herself to me. She is not yours.”
Sworn herself? No. I shook my head. There was no way Mary Anne would ever do that.
“She traded herself for your life. I put a lot on the line to save you. Be grateful that we were willing to make such a sacrifice.”
“Grateful!” I lunged at him, unable to control the anger coursing through me.
Before I could make contact three sets of arms grabbed me.
Hunter snarled. “Take him to the shed!”
That wasn’t happening. They weren’t pulling me farther away from Mary Anne. I fought against them. They held on tight, but I could feel them struggle. I was strong. I was stronger than any of them.
“Stop!” Hunter sprung for me and pinned me to the ground. “You do not know your strength yet. Besides, there is nowhere for you to run.”
“I need to see Mary Anne.”
“Like this?” He transformed back into his human form. “Do you really want to risk hurting her?”
“I wouldn’t hurt her.” I couldn’t. She was the only thing that seemed real to me anymore.
“Shift back,” he ordered.
“How?”
“Think like a human.”
I thought of Mary Anne, the way I felt when she touched me. I felt a shudder run through my body, and then once again my vision was back to normal.
“You will have to come up with a new way to stay in touch with your humanity.” Hunter stepped away from me.
That’s when I realized I was completely naked. It didn’t bother me as much as it should have, but I still tried unsuccessfully to cover myself. “Why?”
“Because Mary Anne is mine. As the Alpha of the pack I cannot allow an inferior to harbor those types of feelings uncontrolled.”
“I can’t stop my feelings, and she isn’t yours.”
“She has sworn to be my mate. She is mine.” He stood up.
“She only did it out of desperation.” I grabbed a scrap of fabric that had once been my pants to cover myself. I wasn’t cold, strangely the snow didn’t bother me, but I didn’t want to be exposed.
“That doesn’t change anything.” He strode away toward the house, leaving me in the snow.
“Let’s go, kid.” Chet glared down at me where I still sat on the ground. “We don’t have all day.”
“What else do you have to do? What else do any of us have to do now?”
“You owe him.” Chet didn’t look at me as he spoke.
“Owe him? For what? Turning me into a monster? Trying to steal Mary Anne?”
“He’s not trying anything.” Semi leaned over me. “It’s done.”
The anger inside
me boiled again.
“Easy there. Don’t let the Dire take over.” Chet sounded more worried than angry this time.
It was too late. The change was coming, and there was absolutely nothing I could do. I felt my strength surge and warmth enveloped me as my vision deepened.
“What the fuck did Hunter do to us?” Semi’s question was the last thing I heard before I Iet go of my human side. My first instinct was to run to the house, but I couldn’t. Even if everything they were feeding me was lies, I couldn’t risk hurting Mary Anne. I had to find a way to control myself. I had to learn to stop the transformations from taking over. I’d do whatever it took to be with Mary Anne again.
Chapter Two
Mary Anne
I’d made a mistake; a huge, never going back mistake that was going to haunt me for the rest of my life. But it was worth it. Gage had another chance at life. That was what mattered.
“Mary Anne?” Marni said my name softly.
I turned from the window. I’d been watching for Gage for over an hour. We had to stay here whether he liked it or not. He needed the help of Hunter and his pack. He couldn’t make it on his own. I hoped the new wolf side of him realized that. I couldn’t get the image of his dark angry eyes out of my head. Was it still Gage, or had he become someone else entirely?
“Yes?” I finally answered. I couldn’t ignore her forever.
“You need to stop watching.”
“Why? Why does it matter if I stand here?”
“It’s going to be hours. You’ve been through so much today. You need to rest.”
“Rest?” I laughed dryly. “How can I rest knowing what Gage is going through?”
Marni opened her mouth and then closed it.
“Just say it. Say whatever it is you want to say.”
“You might not like what I have to say.”
“My guess is I won’t, but if you’re going to say it, just get it over with.” I crossed my arms over my chest. The fireplace was doing nothing to help the cold growing inside me.
“You promised yourself to Hunter.”
“I’m aware of what I did.” I knew Marni wasn’t the cause of my current situation—at least not directly, but she was part of the pack, and currently she was the only member around. Fair or not, she was on the receiving end of my anger.
“I’m not sure you are.” She stepped toward me. “If you were, you wouldn’t be watching for Gage.”
“I can’t shut my feelings off.” I wrapped my arms tighter around me. “I can’t push it all away.” I felt tears streaming down my face, but I ignored them. I wasn’t allowed to cry. I was still human. I’d given up so little compared to Gage.
“You have to.”
“I can’t.”
She put her hands on my arms. “Do it for Gage. The longer you hold onto those feelings, the harder things are going to be for him.”
“Hunter didn’t make me promise not to feel.”
“He made you promise to be his in every way. That means more than your body, Mary Anne. That means your heart.”
“I’m not sure I even have one anymore.”
“That’s bullshit.” She shook me lightly until I looked at her. “If you didn’t you wouldn’t be crying.”
“What am I supposed to do now?”
“You’re supposed to walk away from the window and start your new life.”
“You make that seem so easy.” I wasn’t ready to leave my old life behind. What about my family? And Gage’s? Had they found the truck yet? Were they really going to think I was dead?
“I never said it was easy, but it’s the only thing you can do.” She released my arms and stepped back.
“Why does he want me?” It was time to try my questions again. There was nothing I could do about it, but I still wanted to know. “You can tell me now. Can’t you?”
“It’s not my story to tell. The only thing that matters is that he does want you, and you’re his.”
“So it’s automatic? There’s no mating ritual I have to go through first?” I shuddered. The thought of being with anyone but Gage left me even colder.
“You’re going to have to discuss that with Hunter.”
“Great.” I had no interest in discussing anything with him. I owed him, he’d saved us both, but he’d been the one to put us in the line of danger to begin with.
“Why don’t you go take a hot shower? You’re shivering.”
“I can handle being cold.” I knew that coldness was going to be my new state of normal.
Marni sighed. “You know, I like you Mary Anne, so I’m going to do my best to help you. Part of helping you is giving you advice.”
“I’m listening.” I’d take any help I could get.
“Your life as you knew it is over. The only way you’re going to make things better is if you learn to accept that. Take what time you can for yourself, heal, get over your feelings for Gage, or bury them so deep you’ll never find them again.” She spoke as though either of her suggestions were possible. She had no idea how intense my feelings for Gage were. “You gave Gage life. He’d be dead without you. That should be enough. He’ll meet someone else, and you already have someone. That someone is trying to help Gage right now. He’s risked his neck and all of ours to do it. Cut Hunter a break. Give him a chance.”
“I just want to wake up from this nightmare.” I wanted to be back at school, or even better at my parents’ house.
“It isn’t a nightmare. You aren’t sleeping. Stop trying to get lost in delusions. They won’t help you. Focus on what’s real.”
“Nothing’s real.”
“You’ll accept it eventually. Take my advice. Go take a hot shower and get some sleep. Hunter’s going to be out there with Gage and the guys for hours. Use this time for yourself. You’re not going to get much more of that.”
“Can I trust you, Marni?” I knew I couldn’t really, but I needed to believe she actually cared about my well-being.
“Yes. I’m duty bound to Hunter, but as long as your interests align, I’ll help you when I can.”
“If I go shower, will you make sure he’s okay?”
“Hunter doesn’t want me to leave you alone.”
“Do you really think I’m going to run away now?”
She shook her head. “No. You’re not that stupid. Plus, you wouldn’t leave Gage.”
“So what’s it going to hurt?”
“Will you really go take care of yourself?” She seemed torn.
“Yes. I need to know he’s okay.”
“All right. Go shower. I’ll check on him.”
I walked upstairs. There was no point in trying to run anymore. I took the steps slowly, in no rush to do something that on all accounts felt selfish. Hot water sounded fantastic, but I didn’t deserve that while Gage was outside fighting to figure out what he was. Hopefully he’d find a way to forgive me one day. He had to understand I had no other choice. I couldn’t let him die.
I stripped off my dirty clothes and stepped into the shower. I was using the guest shower, because using Hunter’s seemed even more of a betrayal to Gage. Of course I’d be betraying him more than that soon enough. I shivered. Even the hot water couldn’t get rid of the chill. I stood still as the running water streamed over my body for several minutes, trying to wash away the nightmare we were living, and the image of Gage’s haunting eyes.
I turned off the shower and dried off. I reached for the door, but before I touched the knob, the door was jerked open. I held my towel against me tighter. I let out a sigh of relief when I realized it was Marni.
“Aren’t you in the wrong bathroom?” She leaned against the door frame.
“I like this one.”
“That wasn’t a long shower.”
“And that’s no one’s problem but mine. How is he?”
“He was fine until he saw me. Then he started asking questions about you, and he ended up shifting again.”
“You’re saying it was my fault?”
&nb
sp; “I’m saying you need to stay back. You aren’t doing him any favors by checking in on him.”
“But I didn’t check in. You did.”
“And he knew I’d been with you. That’s how Hunter was calming him down. He assured him I was the one with you.”
“Gage likes you.” It wasn’t a question. I knew it. I wasn’t saying it out of jealousy. I had no right to feel that way.
“He trusts me.”
“Then shouldn’t you be with him? Couldn’t you help? He’s not going to flip out a second time.”
“Are you going to be okay here?”
“Yes. Well once I get dressed. It’s freezing.”
“Come on, get dressed. I’ll start the fire in Hunter’s room for you. If you want me to help Gage I need to be able to reassure Hunter that you’re okay without me. The best way to convince him of that is to make sure he knows you’re warm and in his bed.”
“When you say things like that I feel like a kept woman or something. Is my only value being in his bed?” Even as I argued, I walked across the drafty hall to Hunter’s room. I needed to get dressed.
“No, but you’re of no value to anyone if you don’t take care of yourself. Get some rest. You’re going to need it.”
“Why? So I can be ready for Hunter?” I snapped.
“So you can take over more responsibility. We’re going to be busy with Gage. That means you’re going to have to step up and help with everything else.” She set to work on the fire.
I pulled out fresh clothes from the drawer of ‘my stuff,’ in other words, Marni’s stuff. I went for the yoga pants, they were the most comfortable.
Dire Page 1
