by Renee Carr
“If I do this, the family will no longer be secret,” I told her. “I never knew why we were secret in the first place, but Mom and Dad made it sound like life or death.”
My grandmother nodded. “It was at my request. Things have become strange after the dark wolves went into hiding. There were wolves amongst our own people that were turning, and nobody really understood it until your grandfather realized that when the agreement was made, it was sealed in a dark magic created by the dark wolves. Some of that magic was put in each medallion. And that magic had seeped over to the founders of the pack. For two of them, it turned them dark, and eventually they were killed. For the rest of us, it didn’t really do much more than our wolves did. But as we got older and reached the point where we had to choose between living our lives as our wolves or living the rest of our lives as our humans, the magic seemed to prolong that choice. And once the choice was passed, the magic helped keep us well and prolong our lives.”
I shook my head. “But you were just sick.”
My grandmother smiled and closed my hand around the medallion. “Because it no longer belongs to me. Your mother chose not to live the life of a shifter. She shifts for fun but has never joined a pack. The magic knows who deserves that medallion and who doesn’t. You, on the other hand, are a warrior at heart; I’ve always known that. And now you need to retrieve another shifter, one who has recently joined the Galena wolf shifter pack. So the medallion doesn’t work for me anymore, but now it works for you.”
She reached out and touched my hand, her eyes shimmering with just a bit of gold. “But you have to hurry. Brighton is not ready. And last night, when I got dizzy, I knew it was more than just the flu. The new pack leader of the dark wolves has emerged. And the man you love, the wolf you love, is headed straight for him.”
“I’m supposed to give this medallion to him and just walk away?” I asked. “Leave him to continue his reign of terror?”
My grandmother leaned up and kissed me on the cheek. “The one who drops the medallion at the foot of the pack leader cannot be the one to attack first. Now hurry.”
25
Brighton
My wolf crept quietly, using its stealth and grace to walk between the leaves and twigs. The dark wolves’ scent was very strong, and it wasn’t difficult to find my way to the broken-down cabin on the south side of the forest. I would’ve thought with the current issues they were having with the regular shifters, they would’ve been more careful. Then again, none of them looked too bright. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that I could take those five idiots down, but I had to admit I was a little bit nervous about who the pack Alpha was. If he was a leader, there was a very good chance that he was the strongest out of all of them, which meant he had stronger magic than them as well.
Stepping through the shadows, I came up to the right side of the cabin, hunkering down and scooting between the bushes, situating myself directly below the window. I couldn’t allow them in my head, as they would sense that, but the men inside weren’t in their wolf forms. I focused my hearing, pushing out the humming of the insects around me. The first voice I heard was very familiar—it was the largest guy from the bar.
“We’ve been tracking them,” he said. “We were able to make a move at the caves, and took down three of them. They didn’t make it back and we took the bodies.”
A deep growl echoed through the cabin, and I could feel the burning in my wolf’s chest just as I had in my own when I was sitting at the bar. An unfamiliar voice responded, “Good. And what of these new leaders? Have you figured anything out about them?”
“Yes, they are brothers,” the guy replied. “They both live in Galena. From what our intel has said, there’s a third brother who’s just joined. Apparently, he made a pact promising to not attack the dark wolves until his training is over.”
The leader laughed maniacally. “Too bad they’ll all be dead before that can happen. Tonight, I will send word to all the dark shifters. It’s time to come out of hiding. There will be no more hiding in the history of dark wolves. For far too long, we’ve run with our tails between our legs, and that will never happen again. I do not fear the inferior. The last leader died from stupidity, underestimating the strength of the wolves, but I will not make the same mistake.”
“And what about the leaders?” one of the others asked.
The Dark Alpha breathed heavily, sitting close to the window. “We kill them first. We give the others a chance to join us if they’re willing to take in the magic. They will have just watched their fearless leaders being slaughtered in front of them. I will make a pelt out of their fur and hang it on the walls as a reminder.”
The anger boiled up inside of me, hitting me fast and hard. Not only was it my human anger, but my wolf was enraged as well. He had joined the pack, and my brothers were his leaders. Wolves were intensely loyal and incredibly protective of the people they cared about. My brothers’ wolves were family just like mine was.
My upper lip began to tremble, and I crept back, working my way out of the bushes and toward the front door. I couldn’t let the dark wolves leave that cabin, even if it meant I died killing them. They were going to leave there and kill my brothers before unleashing the savagery of the entire force of dark wolves on everyone. They were going to destroy Galena, and everybody in it that I loved. And once they did that, there would be no stopping them. They would move from town to town, rewriting the rules of who protected who.
I mustered up my strength, my muscles growing stronger and wider as I grew closer and closer to the Dark Alpha. My wolf could sense it, and it was ready to fight. I listened closely, hearing the shuffle of a pair of boots toward the door. As the doorknob turned, I leaped forward, tackling one of the lower wolves and rolling across the floor. I growled loudly, slashing from side to side, cutting the wolf’s throat open on the floor. It whined before its eyes rolled back in its head, dying beneath me.
Before I could move, though, another one hit me hard in the side, slamming me across the room into the wall. My wolf whimpered slightly but stumbled back onto its feet. When I looked around, there were six dark wolves, one dead on the floor, the other five walking toward me. I snarled and growled, readying myself to attack. Before I could, though, the burning in my chest increased and my legs crumpled beneath me. I tried everything I could to stand up, but my body was revolting.
From the shadows in the corner of the room, the Alpha emerged, still in his human form, laughing deeply. He had his hands out, and what looked like ribbons of sparkling black fog drifted through the air, wrapping themselves around me. I mustered everything I had and got myself to my feet, backing up into the corner. The Alpha dropped his magic and shook his head. “You must be the third brother. Did it bother you that we were talking about killing your brothers? I said that little piece just to get to you. Of course, it’s true, but yes, I knew you were sitting right outside the window the whole time.”
I growled and snapped at him, no longer fearing anything about the Alpha. He was flesh and bones like the rest of us. He narrowed his eyes, stomping toward me. He whipped his wrist through the air, and my body began to shift and morph without my control. I could feel my wolf slipping away from me, but there was nothing I could do, I was powerless. The change happened, fast and harsh, and I found myself crouched in the corner, naked, in my human form.
“Now, who wants to take care of this human for me? I want you guys to leave his face unharmed so that when we drop his mangled body with the pack, they’ll know exactly who we killed.”
The five guys began to shift, all turning into enormous black wolves. Their eyes were red and their teeth dripped with saliva. They began to inch forward, but the Alpha put up his human hand. “Wait. I’d like to get in the first hit.”
He stepped toward me, pulling a knife from his belt. I tried to move, but whatever he had done to me had zapped all the energy from my body. He smiled as he pulled his dagger back, ready to slash it across my skin. Just as he was about
to swing, we heard a thud and the sound of something rolling across the floor. We both looked down as a medallion, just like the one I had found in my father’s trophy case, rolled between the Alpha’s feet and came to a stop between us.
There was a second thud, and another coin landed right next to it. The Alpha’s face grew angry and he dropped his magic, sticking his dagger in the floor and shifting immediately into his wolf. With his magic no longer holding my wolf at bay, it exploded out of me, turning me back into my beast. But I was still very weak, and could barely hold myself up. Everyone turned and looked at the doorway. Standing there were my two brothers in their wolf form, and another wolf I didn’t recognize.
This wolf was different, a bit larger than my brothers, and shimmering white. My oldest brother’s voice rang out in my head. “Stop. We are the descendants of those that defeated your predecessor. On the night of his death, a pact was made. Those medallions represent a cease-fire where you will turn our brother back over to us.”
Everything was silent for a moment and then the Dark Alpha’s voice began to roll with laughter. “Fools. Do you think I have to bend to the will of every idiot that makes a pact with someone?”
Eric spoke angrily. “They were stamped with dark magic from your own people.”
The Alpha took a step forward. “Good for me, I’m not a blood descendant of any of them. I used to be one of you, in another town, but I was able to pull in the dark magic and I became what I am today.” He stepped back, digging his claws into the two medallions. “But it’s nice that you’ve arrived, and brought your friend. It saves us the hassle of chasing you down.”
The five dark wolves, my two brothers, and the stranger all collided in the center of the room, immediately battling for survival. The dark wolves were strong, but my brothers were fast and met them blow for blow. The Alpha paced back and forth in front of me, and I tried to pick myself up, but I was far too weak. I felt as if he had injured my wolf, who had given everything just to turn me back into animal form to protect me. One by one, I watched as my brothers and the white stranger took down all but two of the dark wolf followers.
The Alpha roared in anger and moved toward me. “No matter, there are more hiding and waiting. I will take your body back to them to show them what is done when you go against the dark wolves.”
With my legs shaking, I stood up, ready to face him with valor. I glanced over as my brothers fought the two remaining wolves. As the Alpha reared back, ready to strike, the white wolf flew through the air and rammed him hard into the wall. It growled and howled loudly, piercing its claws through the Dark Alpha’s chest, and ripping through its flesh. The Dark Alpha had forgotten about this one and was completely taken by surprise.
The shimmering white wolf stared down at the Alpha, its eyes a crystal blue with specks of gold throughout them. It snarled wildly and then snapped its jaws around the Alpha’s throat, ripping its life from its body. As he fell, the others did too, leaving my brothers triumphant as the strange but beautiful white wolf stood over the dead body of the Dark Wolf Alpha.
My brothers hurried over to me, rubbing their heads against mine, sensing my wolf and its exhaustion. Christian spoke to me calmly. “You need to turn back into your human. Your wolf cannot hold its form any longer. This will give your wolf a chance to regenerate. It has saved your life, and now you must do the same for it.”
I nodded and allowed my human form to take over. As I did, my brothers shifted as well, Eric reaching around the corner of the cabin and pulling over a backpack. He threw Christian a pair of pants, and me a pair of shorts. As I dressed, I glanced up at Christian. “I’m sorry. I thought if I did this myself, you would understand that I was strong enough. I didn’t quite understand the magnitude of what the Alpha was.”
Christian put his hand on my shoulder and looked at me kindly. “You are brave. And the Alpha is dead. I’m just glad we got to you in time.”
“How did you find me? How did you know?” I asked.
“I told them,” Lily’s voice rang out from behind Christian.
Christian stepped to the side, and my mouth fell open, watching as Lily pulled her shirt down, blood caked to her skin, standing up from a pile of shimmering white fur. She walked over to me and put her hand on my face. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. My grandmother had asked a long time ago that we stay in hiding. She was one of the founders of the Galena pack. When she felt the return of the Dark Wolf Alpha, she knew it was time. I saw you disappear into the woods when I arrived at the bar, and I could smell dark wolf all over the place. I called your brothers and revealed my secret to them, explaining the medallion that you found in the trophy case at your father’s house.”
I looked up at Christian and Eric. “Who does that belong to?”
“I knew what you were talking about when you first told me,” Christian explained. “That medallion was given to me by our grandfather when I was a little boy. I didn’t know what it was for, but he told me I would know in time. Our father never became a shifter, but he understood the medallion and he put it in the trophy case for safekeeping. Lily explained to me what it was for, so we went and got it from there and that’s how we ended up here.”
I turned back to Lily and shook my head. “I would’ve never put you in danger.” I looked down at the dead Alpha. “Though it looks as though you can handle yourself.”
She giggled, shaking her head. “I’m just glad you’re safe.”
She went to turn but I grabbed her wrist, pulling her toward me. I kissed her lips gently and leaned back, looking deeply into her eyes. “I love you.”
Lily smiled brightly. “I love you too. Now, can we all go get something to eat because I’m starving.”
We all laughed, and my brothers got on both sides of me, putting my arms over their shoulders to help me out of the house. I wasn’t the hero of the story, but the Galena wolf pack wasn’t about heroes. It was about working together, being a family, and protecting everyone around us as much as we could. I didn’t know what we would do next, or what would happen to the wolf shifters, but I was sure of one thing. I was never going to let Lily go. I loved her, and I knew without a doubt that I’d found my mate.
Epilogue - Brighton
One Year Later
My father stood up at the head of a long table at the dinner party that he was hosting in honor of Lily’s and my upcoming wedding. I sat to the right of him, with Lily next to me, and my brothers on the other side with their wives. My father held up his glass, and the crowd of people that had been invited quieted down. The night was cool and refreshing. The perfect night for a party.
“Thank you all for coming here tonight,” my father said. “They always say good things come in threes, and I think I found that’s true in both my sons and now my daughters-in-law. There have definitely been some ups and downs over the last 10 years, but sitting here tonight, surrounded by friends and family, I have to say I couldn’t be much happier.”
My father turned to me, his glass still raised in the air. “Brighton, how far you’ve come in the last three years. You’ve not only proven yourself as a leader within our family-owned company, making changes that have taken us to the next level, but you’ve shown a kind heart and a work ethic that I couldn’t be prouder of. When I see you working, whether it’s going over spreadsheets, or picking out fabric, I see your mother in you. I see her smile, her good heart, and her desire to do what is best for everyone in the family. I know that she’s looking down today and she’s incredibly proud of you, as she is all of you.”
I swallowed hard, feeling my emotion surging inside of me. Lily reached over and took my hand, winking at me and smiling. My father’s eyes shifted to Lily. “And Lily, welcome to the family. We can be kind of a strange group at times, but we love fiercely, we protect our own, and we have a hell of a good time doing it. I couldn’t imagine a more perfect match for Brighton. I hope that the two of you have a long and beautiful life together.”
My father turned back
to the crowd and lifted his glass high. Everyone raised theirs to his and then took a sip. As a wave of conversation came back over the hundred or so people that my father had invited, I turned toward Lily, putting her hands in mine. “Did you hear that? The whole part about us being a strange group of people? Are you sure you’re up for this?”
She wrinkled her nose and laughed. “Have you met me? I’m pretty much you, except a way cooler female version.”
I rolled my eyes, tapping her on the nose. “You only wish you could be as cool as me. But that’s okay. I’m holding onto those genes to pass down to whatever kids we have.”
Her cheeks went bright red and she looked down. I reached over and tipped her chin up toward me. “What’s wrong? I probably shouldn’t have assumed we were having children.”
She chuckled, shaking her head. “No, it’s fine. Actually, you’re right on target.”
I lowered my brows, looking at her in confusion. She grinned from ear to ear and glanced down at her belly. My eyes went wide and I laughed so loud, everyone turned and looked at us. I put my hand up and grabbed Lily by the wrist, pulling her away from everyone else. “Really? Are you…?”
She nodded her head with a huge smile. “I am. Are you okay with that? My grandmother told me that with two parents in active shifter form, it’s a really high likelihood that our child will be a shifter as well.”
Excitement was not even the word for what I was feeling in that moment. Even my wolf was excited, bouncing around inside of me. I put my arms out and wrapped them around her, leaning back to stare into her eyes. “I couldn’t be happier. This is absolutely amazing. I’m so lucky to have you.”
