by Celia Kyle
“You don’t drive the Granny Mobile?” he chuckled and flashed her a smile—was that a dimple?—while he nodded at the ancient Le Baron sitting next to her Focus.
Okay, first, dimples on a sexy guy needed to be against the law. It just wasn’t fair. Second, the same needed to be applied to laughter that she felt to her toes and everywhere in between. Third, he was trying to charm her, and she was not going to be charmed by this hunk of hot fur.
Ally was surrounded by a ten-foot wall of steel and concrete. She was a cold, hard glacier with a heart to match. She was impervious to any emotions.
The garage door trundled open while he tugged open the car door. He lowered himself into the passenger seat, the afghan slipping open to reveal his bulging thigh.
And Ally wasn’t looking or anything. She definitely wasn’t wondering what else remained covered by the blanket. Nope, her eyes remained locked on the rearview mirror, stuck like glue, while her mind stayed focused on her task—getting the wolf’s clothes.
“My stuff isn’t far from here,” he said as she backed out into the street. “After I get decent, we can grab my suitcase from the motel.”
There was only one motel in Pepper, the Sleep Inn on the other side of town. That meant even more time with him in an enclosed space. Ally held her breath for as long as she could while his scent filled the car, but as her vision dimmed, she allowed herself to breathe again. Passing out behind the wheel didn’t seem like a good idea. Instead, she rolled the window down and sucked in the crisp outside air.
“Down the street and around the corner,” he instructed quietly.
They fell into a tense silence, but it wasn’t long before Kade shattered the quiet. “Can I ask you something?”
Ally hummed in response, careful to keep her attention on the road and not on the muscles of the half-naked man beside her.
“Why does your car smell like dog?” He sniffed. “Or rather, dogs.”
“I’m a dog walker “
“Ah. Passion for animals?”
Ally shrugged. “As much as anyone else, I suppose.”
Kade was shrewd and caught her ambivalence about her occupation. Sure, she loved animals, but getting dragged around by unruly mutts had never been her lifelong dream.
“Why do you do it then?”
“It’s fun and easy and I can bug out in a hurry, if need be.”
She tightened her grip on the wheel, knuckles turning white. She hadn’t intended on sharing anything, much less something so revealing, to him. In fact, she’d tried very hard not to say anything at all. It just popped out. And it was something she’d never revealed to another soul. Ever.
His damn scent must have done something to her.
“Mind if I roll down your window?” Without waiting for an answer, she pressed the button to lower the glass and breathed in the fresh air until she almost couldn’t smell his musk at all.
Almost.
“Why would you need to bug out?”
Dammit! Of course, he’d picked up on that. His curious gaze heated her cheeks until they burned. She cursed herself for opening her big mouth. Time for a change of subject.
“Why don’t we focus on something else? Like, why the hell did Lucy send a werewolf to retrieve Tessa? Does she know what you really are?”
She hadn’t meant to let herself slip into a sneer, but that was how it came out. Kade pretended not to notice, but she caught the way he tensed at her tone.
“Turn here. And yes, Lucy knows what I am.”
Ally slowed to a stop at the cross street, thank God, because his next words might have sent the car careening into the corner market rather than onto the other road.
“I’m the Beta of the Blackwood pack just outside of Ashtown. My brother is the Alpha and Lucy is his mate.”
Alpha.
Mate.
Alpha.
And Lucy was his mate.
Pain stabbed her in the gut and she curled over the steering wheel. The past surged, visions of teeth, flesh and blood consuming her thoughts. Her entire world centered around the violent images in her mind. Ally remembered all too well what happened when an Alpha decided he wanted a specific female for his mate. Shock and horror rolled over her, nearly stealing her sanity as the truth settled inside her.
Lucy was a werewolf. Like her.
Doomed to a life of misery. Like her.
Cursed. Like her.
Her heart shattered. Lucy was the kindest, sweetest person in the world. She’d suffered so much in her life and deserved better than a life tied to an Alpha. Horror was soon overcome by a tsunami of guilt and she wondered if she’d somehow been the cause behind Lucy’s claiming.
“H-how?” She managed to push the words out of her mouth as she pulled into the intersection. She needed to distract herself by focusing on driving. Otherwise she’d shatter. She tapped the gas only to hear a blaring horn. A quick look revealed an oncoming car and she slammed her foot on the brake, bringing them to a jolting stop. All the while Kade stayed silent. The next time she was more careful and checked traffic before moving once again.
Once they were rolling along, Kade spoke again. “It was an accident. She jumped out in front of a car to save a pup’s life.”
That didn’t surprise her. Lucy always gave everything to others even if she never received anything in return.
“The pup got scared and bit her. Thankfully, my brother found her before things got bad. They’re very happy together.”
Ally snorted her disbelief and rolled her eyes. And Ally was the Easter Bunny.
“Right.”
The weight of Kade’s frown rested on her shoulders for a moment before he returned his gaze to the road. “Just up here on the right.”
He pointed at a spot at the end of the street. Just beyond the asphalt lay the path near the woods—where she’d first caught his scent.
And Brian’s.
A tremble ran through her and she gritted her teeth, refusing to show weakness to the wolf at her side. He couldn’t know how much he—and the news about Lucy—frightened her. It added another emotion to the mix, too.
Fury. At herself. At Lucy’s “mate.”
Why the hell hadn’t Lucy called her? Ally would do anything for her!
Though the better question was why would Lucy have contacted her about anything wolf-y? Ally had never revealed her darkest secret. Had never explained what sent Ally careening into Pepper, intent on hiding from everyone and everything.
“Does Tessa know?” she asked.
Kade shook his head. “No. Their plan is to reveal it to her gently once she’s settled in the pack house. They couldn’t keep it a secret even if they wanted to and Lucy definitely doesn’t want to.”
That sounded like Lucy, which gave Ally a glimmer of hope that her friend wasn’t living a life of utter despair and misery.
Kade reached for the door handle as he spoke. “How long will it take you to pack up your things? Tessa wasn’t kidding about Lucy getting impatient. I got my ass handed to me over the matter this morning by my brother, who apparently got his ass handed to him by Lucy.”
When she didn’t move, he settled back into his seat. She couldn’t have heard him right. Her things? No, he had to be talking about Tessa.
“My things? Huh?”
“I can’t imagine it will take long, since you’re ready to ‘bug out’ at a moment’s notice.” His lips twitched a little and she curled her lip, glaring at him for laughing at her.
“Uh, why would I go anywhere?”
Sure, she wanted to see Lucy with her own eyes, but she wasn’t sure she could force herself to walk into the territory of a pack of werewolves. The mere idea gave her a tight, bubbly feeling inside her chest. The firm grip of fear snared her, squeezing her in a strangling hold. It’d been a long time since her last panic attack, but this one promised to be a doozy. Shit.
Kade gave her a soft smile and rested his hand on hers, his fingers curling around her own where she still grip
ped the steering wheel. “We’re mates, Ally. Can’t you feel it?”
Something wrapped around her chest, compressing her ribs and snatching the ability to breathe out of reach. The pressure increased, tightening more and more the harder she fought for air. Her heart raced, threatening to burst from her chest, and she couldn’t suppress the whimper as it vibrated in her throat.
Long ago, a different wolf had said those same words and she was still on the run from him.
What had she done in a past life to deserve two rabid psycho stalkers?
Except, was that an accurate description for Kade? When she was human, she hadn’t been able to sense Brian’s insanity. It was no wonder he’d been able to trick her. Now, her wolf’s senses were sharper than ever, and she wasn’t getting a “rabid stalker” vibe from Kade. He seemed so sincere, so gentle, despite his bulging muscles, which she was sure could do a lot of damage.
Fool me once… her brain whispered, and her wolf grumbled at her. It tried to tell her that she was wrong. Wrong about Lucy and wrong about Kade.
Yeah, Ally wasn’t going there. She cleared her throat before speaking again. “If you keep to the shadows for a few feet, I think you can sneak into the woods without anyone seeing you.”
“Sounds good.” Kade nodded and slipped from the passenger seat before darting into the woods, the bright afghan trailing behind him.
And like the good little babysitter, Ally followed. Though she moved like her blood had been replaced by molasses. She had to go with him on the off chance he was spied by one of Pepper’s residents. At least with her at his side, she could sweet talk whoever saw the half-naked man traipsing through the woods.
If he were alone, he would have ended up face down and eating dirt courtesy of a half-dozen good old boys from the sheriff’s office.
So, yeah, no matter how much she wanted to stay put and think about how a five-minute conversation changed her whole life, she slowly followed in Kade’s wake.
Attention split between the hot werewolf and the forest floor, Ally allowed her whirling thoughts free reign.
Her best friend was a werewolf.
Her best friend would finally find out she was a werewolf.
And worst of all, another presumptuous, jerk male werewolf set his sights on her.
Her fingers twitched, and muscles tensed, human form anxious to leap back into her car and head for the hills. But she couldn’t leave Tessa at the mercy of this strange werewolf. One who made her feel all sorts of funny things and drove her inner beast wild with his scent alone. He seemed nice enough, but she knew better than to trust him.
Wolves could never be trusted. Period.
In fact, he’d been out of her sight for far too long. She’d watched him duck out of sight behind a large gathering of bushes, but that’d been a bit ago. God only knew what he was up to now that she wasn’t riding his ass.
Swallowing hard, she picked up her pace and followed Kade’s scent. At least, until it was drowned out by a much stronger smell—one of rotten oranges and sickly wood.
Brian’s scent. He’d been through here. Recently.
A twig snapped behind her and to the left. Ally spun, arms immediately raised and hands curled into fists. Adrenaline poured through her, body preparing to fight the owner of that scent. She’d lost a lot to Brian. She wasn’t losing anything else.
Except it wasn’t Brian at her back, but Kade.
She’d expected him to be less appealing once he covered himself. Unfortunately, she’d been wrong. With his muscles hidden from sight, she was tempted by him even more.
“Are you okay?” Concern flooded his expression. He took a step closer, brow furrowed. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
She forced a small smile to her lips and pretended she was okay, even if her heart threatened to burst through her chest. With the imagined threat gone, her hands trembled, and she tucked them into her pockets. “I’m fine. Got everything?”
“Uh-huh.” He nodded, and the look he shot her said he didn’t believe a word she’d said.
Well, she was lying, so she couldn’t blame him. He turned back the way they’d come and took a few steps before he stopped once more.
He cocked his head to the side and tipped it back, drawing in the air. He held the breath for a moment before lowering his attention to her. “Who’s the other wolf?” A soft rumble peppered his words and Ally forced herself not to react to an angry wolf. “His scent is all over town. I don’t like it.”
Ally shrugged and strode past him toward the car. Desperation drove her. Desperation to get out of town and as far away from Brian Riverson as possible.
The sharp ring of a phone followed her and Kade sighed. “Shit. My cell phone. Hang on a sec.”
Kade moved back through the undergrowth and Ally closed her eyes and focused on blocking the noxious odor. And failed miserably. The scent was simply too strong. Too fresh for her wolf to ignore. She needed to physically leave the area to be free of the stench. No amount of mind tricks, hoping, or praying would banish the smell.
A smell that got stronger as she stood there. It didn’t lessen with the breeze as it should. The wind should have snatched the flavors and spirited them away by now. Yet it hadn’t. Opening her eyes again, she scanned the trees. Was he still close? Did he hide in the forest surrounding them?
And then she saw it. Something that had her gasping, heartbeat stuttering. A few feet away, letters carved deeply into the bark, an old tree had been vandalized. Its surface now marred with four letters.
A-L-L-Y.
Any delusional thoughts that she’d evaded Brian were destroyed in that moment. She’d played “pretend” and refused to accept that he was truly in the tiny town of Pepper, Georgia, but there was no denying the truth now.
There was another truth, as well. She needed to get away from Pepper as soon as possible. Now if she could have swung it, but that wasn’t going to happen. Kade had spouted all this mate stuff. She didn’t think he’d be okay with her disappearing into the wilds.
New plan. Tessa was almost packed, and it wouldn’t take Ally long to tuck away what few things she’d acquired over the years. She could go with Kade and hope he could protect her from Brian’s wrath.
Then, once they got to Ashtown, Ally could escape.
She was just… so tired. Tired of running. Tired of the constant fear. Tired of not having a life. Exhaustion led to mistakes, and if she made one false move, Brian would get her. She’d been lucky as hell to dodge him this long. It was only a matter of time before what little luck she had left vanished into thin air.
Except, unlike all the previous times she’d bolted, she had a place to go—even if it was temporary. Going to the wolf pack would be a risk, but the possibility of pain and death was a helluva lot better than the certainty she’d have with Brian.
Kade reappeared through the trees, more twigs snapping under his heavy gait as he moved, and she swiveled around to face him. Determination filled her. Determination and a strength she hadn’t experienced in a long time. “I’m not interested in hearing about all that mate stuff.” She held up a hand to silence him when he looked like he might speak. “If the invitation to hitch a ride with you to Ashtown is still open, I want to go. Today. Now.”
Chapter Six
Kade watched Ally out of the corner of his eye as she drove them back to Tessa’s. She obeyed the traffic laws to the letter, each movement slow and deliberate as she navigated Pepper’s streets. As if taking her time would somehow solve whatever bothered her.
A bother she hadn’t revealed to him. He opened his mouth, his wolf urging him to question her, but then snapped it closed just as quick. The harsh, grim set of her mouth stopped him from speaking. Whatever had made her change her mind about accompanying them to Ashtown, she clearly had no intention of sharing. At least not with him.
Yet.
But she would. Something had destroyed her trust in all things. He had no idea what happened to her, but he would work hard to
earn her trust. His wolf growled, furious that their mate refused to recognize them immediately. He struggled to soothe the beast, assuring the wolf that they simply needed patience.
They would spend hours together finishing the packing. Hopefully by the time they were done, she would have come to her senses. He sensed her wolf just beneath the surface of her skin, her inner animal strong and ever-present inside her. Hopefully it wouldn’t take her beast long to convince her that they were fated mates.
They found Tessa on the front porch when they returned. The older woman was rocking softly while reading a romance novel featuring a bare-chested hunk on the cover. More than he needed to know about Lucy’s grandmother. Much more.
Ally didn’t pull her little car into the garage, simply throwing it into park once they neared the house. She jumped out and hurried up the cobblestone path and Kade fought his body’s response to the sight. Her lush curves jiggled as she rushed toward the home. Her ass bounced and swayed with her hurried steps and his palms tingled, fingertips aching as his wolf pushed forward. It wanted them to trace her curves, squeeze that plump ass, and explore every inch of her body.
He lost himself in that fantasy for a moment, desire for his mate flooding him.
At least until he noticed her behavior. The way her attention flicked from left to right and occasionally paused to stare into the deep shadows.
As if she searched for danger.
There was no reason for his mate to ever be fearful. Ever. Though he sensed that if he tried to command her not to be afraid, it wouldn’t go over well.
“Tessa, why aren’t you inside packing?” Ally’s tone verged on worried.
“I’ve been packed for days,” Tessa said, taking a long sip from a tall, sweating glass of lemonade that made Kade’s mouth water. “At least, all my personals. You didn’t think I’d let some stranger paw through my unmentionables, did you?”
