by Shannan Rhys
Fate.
Ash sucked in a breath and scratched at his jeans. “Do you trust Fate?”
“What?” Kara asked, pizza hanging out of her mouth.
“Fate. Do you trust it? Like…” He ran his fingers along his jeans, gripping his leg. Can’t stop now… “Fate makes these choices for you. But what if they’re counter to everything you thought you wanted. Do you trust Fate?”
“Like, me personally?”
“I mean, like, is it a benign force?”
She raised her brows, sitting back against the orange material like she was deep in thought. “That’s a good question, Ash. I don’t know if I can answer it. I guess…Luke trusts Fate. Aaron trusts Fate. The people who are closest to me all trust Fate.” She pushed out a long breath and her gaze shifted across the room. “I’ve had days where I didn’t. But I’m not sure that Fate controls things like car accidents, bad hair, or weather. The things the VonBrandts attribute to Fate are things I’m comfortable entrusting to it.”
“Like what?”
“Like bonds, and the presence of magick. The wolves. I’ve seen them…” Her voice caught. “I’ve seen them save people’s lives. Luke saved mine. Aaron uses his alpha instincts to run VonBrandt Energy, and he does so much good with his company. Helps so many people. I believe Fate plays a role in that.”
“And bonds?” he asked, looking down at the plate in his lap. “Mates? You trust those?”
“I trust my mate. I trust my bond.” A little smile crossed her lips, and she glanced up as Emma came back in with three dark bottles in her hands. “You trust Fate, Em?”
The pretty blonde sat beside him, offering him a bottle. “You want to know if you should believe the wolf who tells you that she’s your mate?”
“I want to know if Fate knows what it’s doing.” The words surprised him when they came out, but he could feel how right they were.
“As a rule, I would say yes,” Emma said, sipping her beer. “I know I wouldn’t have met Noah without Fate’s help…” Her eyes got a little glossy. “And I couldn’t imagine my life without him.”
“For a human, trusting Fate is hard at first.” Kara jumped up, grabbing a red packet with a white word on the back from the coffee table, and kneeling down to open the DVD player. “It’s easier for the wolves. They grew up knowing Fate, talking about it. They have a different understanding of it.”
Ash pulled his brows together and cocked his head at Emma, who was nodding. It was easier for the wolves. And yet…he was the one who trusted the feeling inside, who wanted to be with her more, who wanted her. Helena was the one who questioned their bond. What was up with that?
He opened his mouth to tell them about the hand-on-boob-hand-on-ass moment—and then promptly closed his lips. He couldn’t let people into Helena’s world like that. He didn’t know what the circumstances had been. For all he knew, it could have been some forced mating ritual her pack foisted on her when they found out she had a human for a mate. One thing had been made crystal clear to him: he couldn’t expect an open-armed welcome from her grandfather and pack.
The movie came on, and he settled in to watch it, trying to forget about what was going on with Helena. He tried to ignore her emotions, which were still roiling inside him. Everyone had assured him everything would be all right in the morning, but Ash wasn’t sure he believed that.
If Helena came back and had decided she didn’t want to be with him, it would slice him in half, and he might never recover. The longer this night went on, the more certain he was that he needed her.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ash woke up to Tonya’s voice. He was on the big leather couch where all the moon widows had been the previous night. He blinked and looked around, but the whole place was clean. He’d headed out there after the movie. All the women had already left, so he’d stretched out on the couch and Googled things on his phone until the battery went out.
For a long time, he had laid on the couch, feeling Helena, focusing on her emotions, trying to will her to return to him. He couldn’t help how he felt about her, and it wasn’t just Fate talking. Helena was incredible. She was as smart and sensual and beautiful as the day was long and hot in a Texas summer. He’d never met anyone like her.
When he felt Tonya’s hand on his shoulder, he sat up. The living room was dark and they were alone. The alpha’s wife, wrapped up in a plush gray robe, smiled down at him and handed him a cup of coffee.
“I thought you would want me to wake you before the wolves come back,” she said. “The moon just disappeared, although the sun hasn’t yet risen.”
Ash sat up and grabbed the mug of coffee, sniffing. It was a good roast. Why he had expected anything different was beyond him. Tonya was an immaculate hostess.
“You watch the moon?”
“Not always. But this is an important run. There were a lot of wolves out there, which means a lot of opportunities for trouble.” She grabbed her own coffee cup from the table and walked toward the foyer door, calling over her shoulder, “Come with me, Ash. Let’s watch them come back.”
Ash followed her, feeling the cold floor on his toes, and he looked down at his injured foot. Only…he’d taken the boot off to sleep, and now the injury was painless. No, it had healed. They’d told him it would happen, but it was still mind boggling.
“I see your foot healed all the way,” Tonya said as he padded out onto the porch behind her. She’d grabbed another robe, this one larger, from the back of the couch where she must have left it to wake him. “One of the benefits of the bond.”
“It’s incredible.” Ash came to stand beside her and they looked over the lawn, now dark in the blue of the oncoming morning. “But I still feel…”
He couldn’t quite put words to it. It wasn’t discomfort. It wasn’t frustration. It was just…restlessness.
“You’ll feel better when you see Helena. Trust me.” Tonya sipped on her coffee and perked up. “Here comes Aaron.”
A wolf came loping out of the woods, making a beeline straight for the porch. Tonya pulled the extra robe off her arm, holding it out for her husband. In a shimmer of air, Aaron shifted, walked into the robe and took his wife in his arms. Their kiss was so passionate, Ash looked away again, a little embarrassed. One night apart. That was it. Surely they could spend one night apart without needing to dry hump on the porch.
Tonya pulled away, giggling, and looked over at Ash. “See, Aaron. He came back. You were right. Couldn’t stay away from her.”
“I know the feeling,” Aaron said, sweeping his wife toward the door. “I didn’t see her all night, son. We had to stay with my nephew, since it was his first run. But I think the Quades left their clothes over by the barn. She’ll probably come out there.”
“Thanks,” Ash said, not quite sure if that was an invitation to leave or…
Yes, that was exactly what it had been. The alpha took his wife into the house. They were totally going to bang.
Ash understood.
After spending all night apart from Helena, feeling her emotions but physically separated from her, he was anxious to lay eyes on her. Or, preferably, lay hands on her.
He walked down the steps and headed off toward the barn. No other wolves had come out yet, but if they were all shifting back, then they could appear at any time. He heard a few howls, far back in the forest, quite a ways from where he stood.
When he reached the barn, he saw a woman’s naked back on the ground. He knew it wasn’t Helena, because he could still feel his girl padding through the forest. But it was definitely a woman. Long, dark hair, elegant body. The closer he got, he realized that she was sleeping, and he made his way around her. Didn’t want her to wake up and think he had nefarious intent.
He was just looking for his mate.
The full moon was over, but morning hadn’t quite risen. The sky was still a dark velvet blue. The bright scent of pine filled her nostrils and she came around a particularly large tree to find her pack waiting.
One of her cousins threw a red plaid shirt at her. It landed in front of her paws.
“Get dressed, Helena.” Her grandfather was already fully clothed and walking toward her. “Why didn’t you wait for us? You shifted early.”
She backed up a few steps, not wanting this confrontation. Not yet. If she shifted now, they’d ask questions she wasn’t ready to answer. She wanted to talk to Ash before she explained the situation to them. Everything had happened so fast last night. She’d made so many mistakes, and now she could feel his hurt as if it were her own.
The barn was in the distance and her clothes were there, where she’d dropped them…unless Ash had picked them up. She whined and shook her head, flapping her ears. No. Not yet.
Her grandfather frowned in impatience, and she felt his alpha magick sear through her consciousness like a hot branding iron pressing into her skin. All that was missing was the scent of burning hide. Her wolf released her and the air shimmered. She stood, shivering as the chilly air slid over her bare skin.
Nausea spiraled up through her body, first her stomach, then up into the back of her mouth. They looked so very angry.
She pulled the shirt on and buttoned it quickly as heat flared through her cheeks. She wasn’t usually embarrassed after a shift, but her pack mates were staring at her as if she’d grown a second head. So many eyes all looking at…
She unrolled the sleeves, trying to cover the marks on her wrists.
But they’d seen them. It was too late.
“Who mated you?” her grandfather asked, some of the harshness slipping out of his voice. “Why didn’t you tell me?” His eyes searched the woods behind her. “Where is he? You could’ve at least had the decency to introduce us before you bonded to him.”
“I—” she started, her voice shaking. “He’s not from the summit.”
“Meaning what? He’s a VonBrandt?”
“No,” Helena said, walking toward the treeline. She needed to get to Ash. Something inside her needed to touch him. To apologize. “I need to go, Grandfather. I’ll tell you later, okay?”
Her grandfather snarled and walked after her. She noted her male cousins in her peripheral vision—the females were notably absent—but none of them said a word. Just stood there in their black jeans and black hats. Even if they’d wanted to say something or stick up for her, they couldn’t. Everyone feared Phillip Quade, especially his pack. He used his alpha magick as a weapon, the way some men used belts or fists. Only these weapons, there was no escaping. He was unbeatable.
The house was in the distance. She could see people stirring on the patio. Others walking in from the surrounding sides of the forest. She could feel Ash’s presence, but she couldn’t see him. He’d stayed. He hadn’t left her. Even after everything.
“What’s wrong with him? Why are you hiding him from me?” Her grandfather grabbed her arm and jerked her around to face him again.
“He’s not a wolf,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.
His face twisted into a hideous mask of anger. “Stupid bitch. A traitor to your kind, just like your father. I should’ve known.” He shoved her to ground and spat at her. “You’re not worthy to be a part of this pack.”
The words hit Helena’s chest like daggers. She scrambled backward, wiping the spittle off her face. She closed her eyes and willed herself not to cry. She wouldn’t show any more weakness than she already had.
“Fate chose,” she said, saying the words slowly to ensure her voice didn’t shake or catch.
“I don’t give a shit about Fate and neither should you. Our pack keeps wolf business separate from humans. It has been the way ever since we were founded. Your father broke that rule by marrying your whore of a mother.”
“Grandfather, people are noticing,” Daniel murmured.
“Be silent,” the old man snarled, turning toward her cousin for a moment before settling his seething attention back on her. “Helena Quade. I should’ve punished your father when he mated that human slut bitch, but he was my son and I always hoped he’d see the error of his ways and come back. You will not receive that same mercy.” He reached down and grabbed her wrist, wrenching her from the ground. He may have looked like an old man, with his gray hair and wrinkled skin, but he was a wolf first. So strong. So dangerous. His grip bit into her like vise, iron fingers digging into her flesh. Her wolf whined inside and Helena whimpered.
“Please,” she begged. “I’m sorry.”
His eyes darkened and magick swirled around them. The alpha magick burned her from the inside out. Her head filled with pressure and she cried out as pain lanced through her temples. Her grandfather spoke again, but it was in another language—the language of the bond spell. What was he doing? She heard her cousins yelling behind the fog of white noise in her head, but none of the words registered in her mind. Then the pain inside tripled and she screamed again, yanking at her arm, struggling to free herself from the angry alpha. He wouldn’t let go. She was trapped.
Then the pain stopped and turned into something else. A sickening hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Her grandfather released her and she tumbled back onto the ground. “You are no longer pack, Helena. You are cast out.” He spat at her again and yelled something at her cousins she couldn’t make out.
So much noise swam through her head. Curling into a tight ball, she sobbed as the emptiness bloomed and filled her soul. Her wolf hid in the recesses of her mind, terrified. They’d been cut off. Abandoned. How would she function without a pack? No wolf survived alone. It wasn’t allowed. The Tribunal would send Rangers for her if it got out—that was the whole reason the alphas were meeting this weekend, to avoid having that happen to anyone related to the unbonded wolf they’d found. Unbonded wolves were a danger to pack structure. They were locked up. Sometimes destroyed.
That would happen to her, with no pack to protect her. No alpha. No family. Ash couldn’t stop them. No one could stop them.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ash dropped to the ground, choking on the sudden hollowness inside. The pain. He came up to his hands and knees and looked around the empty yard. Helena.
Her agonized scream split the air and every single nerve and muscle in his body went on high alert. He ran toward her. Had to get to her. Protect her. Save her.
His arms were pumping as he ran, and he could feel the throbbing hollowness get closer as he concentrated on it. Straight into the forest and through the trees. Her screams tore into him, propelling him even faster through the brush.
Need to get to her. My mate.
A low snag of bushes stood between him and a bunch of guys in black cowboy hats. An old, wrinkled man stood at the center of the group.
Ash didn’t see her until he got around the bushes. She was barely draped in a big plaid shirt, writhing and whimpering on the ground. That sound fueled his rage.
“What the fuck did you do to her?” he screamed, sliding to his knees beside her and drawing her into his arms. At last. Holding her. Touching her.
“You must be the human,” sneered the old man. “Well, now you can have the whore. She’s not part of my pack anymore.”
Ash felt the rage boil up to a point where words wouldn’t suffice. Only action. He jumped to his feet, hauled back and punched the old jackass straight in the face. His chest was pumping with deep breaths, his blood churning inside, and he stood over the old man, shouting, “I don’t care who or what you are. You talk about her like that again, and I will kill you.”
The cowboys around them all stared, alternately, from the old guy to Ash, like they didn’t quite know what to say.
“What the damn hell?” came Aaron VonBrandt’s voice from the other side of the bushes.
Ash got to his knees again, settling himself on the ground. He slid Helena into his lap and cradled her against him, stroking her back. “Helena. Tell me what happened.”
She whimpered into his chest, slipping her arms around him and not speaking. Like she couldn�
��t speak.
He glared up at the other guys around them—the Quade wolves, presumably—as Aaron come around the bushes. The big VonBrandt alpha’s eyes were glowing gold, and a vein was popping out of his neck. He looked from Helena to the old jackass, who was being helped to his feet by one of the cowboys. “Phillip Quade,” Aaron growled, “You tell me what the fuck is going on here, right now, or I’m going to kick you out of my home.”
“The little slut mated a human after a one-night stand,” said the old man, and Ash started to rise to punch him out again, but Aaron beat him to it. The smack of flesh on bone gave Ash a satisfied feeling deep in his gut, and he watched the old man fall down again.
“You talk about a woman like that one more time…” There was such threat under the alpha’s words, and Ash felt Helena relax even just the slightest bit under his hands.
“Did you hit her?” Aaron asked, looking down at Helena. “Did he hit you?”
But she was still nonverbal, clinging to Ash like a scared kid. It ripped his insides to pieces to see his strong woman like this, and he tried to tighten his grip on her. Show her he would always protect her. Always love her.
“He didn’t hit her,” said one of the cowboys. “He…” It was obvious the man was having difficulty saying the words out loud, and Ash noticed that they weren’t crowding around the old man to protect him. They were slowly backing away. Like they all wanted to distance themselves from him.
“What did he do?” Aaron’s voice dropped a whole octave and rumbled like a diesel engine. He pointed from cowboy to cowboy until one of them was brave enough to look straight in the eyes and speak.
“He took her alpha bond away.”
Ash’s mouth went dry. So that was the feeling that had choked him—that yawning hollowness that had felt like it would swallow them both. Aaron’s face went red and he looked down at the old man, who was grasping for a helping hand.
