“How are you healed now?”
Finn let out a curse. These people wouldn’t understand. They wouldn’t until something happened to make them understand. Only Finn didn’t know what that was. He’d damn well figure it out in the near future, though. They all had to.
“We will not stand for you hurting our children, our families,” Finn said, his voice firm. You lived with us once, and I hope that one day you will do so again.” He faced one onlooker who held a phone, the camera facing him. “We are not the animals you fear, but if you hurt our children, if you bomb us and threaten to kill us, then we will show you the strength we have. We are wolves, but we are not evil.”
With that, he turned his back to the humans. Brynn following suit. They’d tried acting as if they weren’t a threat and they’d been hurt. His mate had been hurt. It was time the humans knew the truth behind what they feared. The shifters wouldn’t hurt those who didn’t hurt them, but maybe it was good that some feared them.
Shifters were dominant predators for a reason.
He and Brynn made it back to his car and then drove back to the den in silence. Brynn hadn’t fully moved in yet, but she had most of her stuff at his place. Thinking of little things like that helped him keep his wolf in check. As it was, he wanted to shift and roam through the forest, in need of nature and their connections.
“Well, Kade told us to show our strength,” Brynn said wryly. “I guess words are a form of strength today. I’m glad we didn’t have to show that strength another way.”
He gripped her hand as he made his way through the den wards and toward their home. “I hate that we left and didn’t make it to the café, but I wasn’t in the mood to fight them. They might have had weapons. But worse, we would have had to show the humans exactly how strong we are physically. And I wasn’t in the mood for them to catch that on camera.”
“Again,” Brynn said softly. “They’ve seen us fighting before, and they will again.”
“It’s not over.”
“Nope. And I fear it won’t be for a while.”
When they pulled up to his—not their—home, he turned off the car then pulled her hand to his, brushing his lips over her skin.
She leaned over the console and kissed his shoulder. His wolf nudged at him, and he smiled, despite the climate of the world around him. He had his mate and his wolf, that had to count for something.
They got out of the car and went inside. He turned on the TV, needing background noise, and wanting to know if what had happened had made the local news. It was most likely on social media sites, and their team within the Pack that dealt with monitoring that would have reports for him and the Alpha soon.
“We are aware of the violence occurring between us and the ones that call themselves shifters.”
Us.
That was a telling word.
“Brynn, come listen,” Finn said as he watched Senator McMaster talk to the camera, a wooden podium in front of him, and an American flag behind him.
“Dear, goddess,” Brynn murmured. “He’s putting humans against wolves but on a national scale now.”
“I’m texting Dad.” His phone beeped. “They’re already watching.”
“We are looking into these people. We will not allow fear to overrule our actions and society. We will protect our own.” McMaster faced the camera head on. “At all costs.”
With that, he answered a few questions with non-answers, but it all left Finn with a cold feeling down his spine.
“He didn’t declare war, but damn close,” Brynn snapped. “And what about the President? Has he said anything? Damn it. We have wolves in Senate seats. Are they going to speak now?”
Finn ran a hand over his face and shook his head. “We knew it was coming. Those wolves in Senate seats will do what needs to be done. It’s not about the Talons or the Redwoods. It’s about all of us. All of our people. I don’t know what is going to happen next, but we aren’t helpless here.”
“I know, but I still feel sick.”
He held her close, his wolf nudging harder at him. “Me, too, Brynn. Me, too.”
The next step in the Unveiling had begun, and Finn didn’t know what would happen. They had tried to project the face of calm and peace, and he prayed that some of those who had watched had seen it and been convinced. He didn’t want to think of the alternative.
The wolves were out, and those in power on the human side were coming.
It had begun.
LEAH
Leah ran behind her twin brother, her pulse racing in her throat. They were coming. They knew. Roland reached out behind him, and she pushed his hand away.
“Keep going. I can keep up. Don’t worry about me and end up tripping.”
She wished she could pull on the water around them to protect her and her brother, but it was too dangerous. With those behind him and her body wearing down after running for far too long, using magic would be a death sentence.
“I’m not leaving you behind, Leah. So run your fucking ass off. There’s a safe house up the road.” He grinned over his shoulder, that lock of hair she loved falling over his forehead. “I’ll never lead you astray, little sister.”
She smiled at him despite the fact that they were both running for their lives. “You’re not that much older than me, Ro.”
“It’s enough. Now let’s go.”
He turned back, only to freeze in his tracks. It took a minute for the crack in the air to register to her. Roland fell to his knees, and Leah screamed.
“Roland!”
She raised her hands, the water on the leaves of the trees from that morning’s rainfall rising into the air with her pain, her agony.
Another crack in the air.
A gunshot. That’s what that was.
A sizzling pain along her side, a fiery heat that wouldn’t be quenched by the water at her fingertips. She tried to breathe, only to cough, her legs going out from under her.
She fell beside her brother, her arms reaching for him, only to come up short.
Roland lay at an odd angle, his face toward her. His eyes wide, unseeing in death. While the shot had hit her in the side, his had hit him directly in the chest.
Her brother, her twin, her fellow witch.
Gone.
The darkness came, and she didn’t fight. She’d been running for so long, and now she had nothing left.
Only hollowness.
They had come for the witches…and they had won.
Epilogue
Brynn held back a groan as she finished shifting back to human. It had been her first hunt with the Redwoods, and it had gone well. Now she and Finn were safely behind the den wards and she really wanted to jump him. Of course, she always wanted to jump him so this wasn’t really different than most days.
They hadn’t been outside the wards in the past three days. Not since the broadcast from McMaster. They would eventually, but right now, they were regrouping and ensuring their Pack was whole and healthy before anything else came at them.
She was using this time to get used to the idea of a new Pack. She missed her Talons like crazy, but with the underground tunnels and phones, she spoke with and saw them almost daily.
She would be fine. And she’d be a fucking amazing Redwood.
“I love the sight of your naked ass in the moonlight,” Finn drawled.
Brynn rolled her eyes. “Thanks.” She wiggled for him, and he groaned.
She turned for him and almost swallowed her tongue at the sight of him naked, hard, and hers.
“Damn, you’re fucking gorgeous.” She didn’t realize she’d said that aloud until Finn winked at her.
“Thank you, darling.” He moved closer. “What do you say we—”
A gunshot.
The scent of blood.
A scream.
Another gunshot.
More blood.
“Finn.”
He ran toward the sound and she cursed, following him. They were far away from the others now because she’d wan
ted time alone with him. She hoped others would come, as she didn’t have a phone on her. But damn it, if a Pack member were hurt, this would mean war for sure.
“Damn it. It’s right outside the wards.” Finn growled and kept moving, through the wards.
She followed. It didn’t matter that it might be a trap. Someone was hurt, and they weren’t going to let someone die because they were afraid. That wasn’t who they were. That wasn’t who wolves were.
They made their way to a small clearing, their claws out, and on high alert. On the dirt ahead of them were two bodies, a male and a female. Both lay in pools of blood. Brynn inhaled deeply and cursed.
“Witches. Finn, they’re both witches. I don’t scent anyone else. Whoever did this is long gone.”
Finn knelt naked beside both of them. “He’s gone, but she has a weak pulse. Fuck. I don’t recognize them as part of the covens we work with, but we can’t leave them here.”
Brynn knelt down as well, as Finn worked to help the woman. She checked both bodies for weapons and didn’t find any. “Are we bringing them to the den?”
Finn nodded. “We have to. She’ll die without medical care. And damn it, if they were running this way, they might have been running towards us for help. I don’t know, but we don’t have long.”
She nodded and lifted the man over her shoulder in a fireman’s carry. “Take her and run. I’ll be behind you. You’re faster than me.”
He picked the woman up, careful of her wounds. “Be right behind me. Just because we can’t scent others, doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Not anymore.”
“I know,” Brynn said fiercely. “Now go, mate of mine. I love you. Don’t be stupid and get hurt.”
“Love you, too, Brynn darling.”
With that, he turned and ran, the dying woman in his arms. Brynn followed, her pace just as brutal. Someone had killed and injured witches near Redwood and Talon land. That couldn’t be a coincidence.
Not anymore.
The world was at a tipping point. One wrong move, and it would all crumble around them. She only prayed that she’d be able to hold on in the aftermath. Because now she had her mate, her one true path. She’d found her Finn, her soul. And no matter what, she wouldn’t let him out of her grasp.
Fate had given her a choice and she’d taken it.
Now it was up to the world to make theirs.
THE END
Next in the Talon Pack World….
Ryder finds the path he’s been missing.
A Note from Carrie Ann
Thank you so much for reading AN ALPHA’S CHOICE. I do hope if you liked this story, that you would please leave a review. Not only does a review spread the word to other readers, they let us authors know if you’d like to see more stories like this from us. I love hearing from readers and talking to them when I can. If you want to make sure you know what’s coming next from me, you can sign up for my newsletter at www.CarrieAnnRyan.com; follow me on twitter at @CarrieAnnRyan, or like my Facebook page. I also have a Facebook Fan Club where we have trivia, chats, and other goodies. You guys are the reason I get to do what I do and I thank you.
Make sure you’re signed up for my MAILING LIST so you can know when the next releases are available as well as find giveaways and FREE READS.
The Talon Pack series is an ongoing series. I hope you get a chance to catch up!
The Talon Pack (Following the Redwood Pack Series):
Book 1: Tattered Loyalties
Book 2: An Alpha’s Choice
Book 3: Mated in Mist (Coming in 2016)
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About Carrie Ann and her Books
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan never thought she’d be a writer. Not really. No, she loved math and science and even went on to graduate school in chemistry. Yes, she read as a kid and devoured teen fiction and Harry Potter, but it wasn’t until someone handed her a romance book in her late teens that she realized that there was something out there just for her. When another author suggested she use the voices in her head for good and not evil, The Redwood Pack and all her other stories were born.
Carrie Ann is a bestselling author of over twenty novels and novellas and has so much more on her mind (and on her spreadsheets *grins*) that she isn’t planning on giving up her dream anytime soon.
www.CarrieAnnRyan.com
Redwood Pack Series:
Book 1: An Alpha’s Path
Book 2: A Taste for a Mate
Book 3: Trinity Bound
Book 3.5: A Night Away
Book 4: Enforcer’s Redemption
Book 4.5: Blurred Expectations
Book 4.7: Forgiveness
Book 5: Shattered Emotions
Book 6: Hidden Destiny
Book 6.5: A Beta’s Haven
Book 7: Fighting Fate
Book 7.5 Loving the Omega
Book 7.7: The Hunted Heart
Book 8: Wicked Wolf
The Talon Pack (Following the Redwood Pack Series):
Book 1: Tattered Loyalties
Book 2: An Alpha’s Choice
Book 3: Mated in Mist (Coming in 2016)
The Redwood Pack Volumes:
Redwood Pack Vol 1
Redwood Pack Vol 2
Redwood Pack Vol 3
Redwood Pack Vol 4
Redwood Pack Vol 5
Redwood Pack Vol 6
Montgomery Ink:
Book 0.5: Ink Inspired
Book 0.6: Ink Reunited
Book 1: Delicate Ink
Book 1.5 Forever Ink
Book 2: Tempting Boundaries
Book 3: Harder than Words
Book 4: Written in Ink (Coming Oct 2015)
The Branded Pack Series:
(Written with Alexandra Ivy)
Books 1 & 2: Stolen and Forgiven
Books 3 & 4: Abandoned and Unseen (Coming Sept 2015)
Dante’s Circle Series:
Book 1: Dust of My Wings
Book 2: Her Warriors’ Three Wishes
Book 3: An Unlucky Moon
The Dante’s Circle Box Set (Contains Books 1-3)
Book 3.5: His Choice
Book 4: Tangled Innocence
Book 5: Fierce Enchantment
Book 6: An Immortal’s Song (Coming in 2016)
Holiday, Montana Series:
Book 1: Charmed Spirits
Book 2: Santa’s Executive
Book 3: Finding Abigail
The Holiday Montana Box Set (Contains Books 1-3)
Book 4: Her Lucky Love
Book 5: Dreams of Ivory
Excerpt: Wicked Wolf
From New York Times Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan’s Redwood Pack Series
Wicked Wolf
There were times to drool over a sexy wolf.
Sitting in the middle of a war room disguised as a board meeting was not one of those times.
Gina Jamenson did her best not to stare at the dark-haired, dark-eyed man across the room. The hint of ink peeking out from under his shirt made her want to pant. She loved ink and this wolf clearly had a lot of it. Her own wolf within nudged at her, a soft brush beneath her skin, but she ignored her. When her wolf whimpered, Gina promised herself that she’d go on a long run in the forest later. She didn’t understand why her wolf was acting like this, but she’d deal with it when she was in a better place. She just couldn’t let her wolf have control right then—even for a man such as the gorgeous specimen a mere ten feet from her.
Today was more important than the wants and feelings of a half wolf, half witch hybrid.
Today was the start of a new beginning.
At least that’s what her dad had told her.
Considering her father was also the Alpha of the Redwood Pack, he would be in the know. She’d been adopted into the family when she’d been a young girl. A rogue wolf during the war had killed her parents, s
etting off a long line of events that had changed her life.
As it was, Gina wasn’t quite sure how she’d ended up in the meeting between the two Packs, the Redwoods and the Talons. Sure, the Packs had met before over the past fifteen years of their treaty, but this meeting seemed different.
This one seemed more important somehow.
And they’d invited—more like demanded—Gina to attend.
At twenty-six, she knew she was the youngest wolf in the room by far. Most of the wolves were around her father’s age, somewhere in the hundreds. The dark-eyed wolf might have been slightly younger than that, but only slightly if the power radiating off of him was any indication.
Wolves lived a long, long time. She’d heard stories of her people living into their thousands, but she’d never met any of the wolves who had. The oldest wolf she’d met was a friend of the family, Emeline, who was over five hundred. That number boggled her mind even though she’d grown up knowing the things that went bump in the night were real.
Actually, she was one of the things that went bump in the night.
“Are we ready to begin?” Gideon, the Talon Alpha, asked, his voice low. It held that dangerous edge that spoke of power and authority.
Her wolf didn’t react the way most wolves would, head and eyes down, shoulders dropped. Maybe if she’d been a weaker wolf, she’d have bowed to his power, but as it was, her wolf was firmly entrenched within the Redwoods. Plus, it wasn’t as if Gideon was trying to make her bow just then. No, those words had simply been spoken in his own voice.
Commanding without even trying.
Then again, he was an Alpha.
Kade, her father, looked around the room at each of his wolves and nodded. “Yes. It is time.”
Their formality intrigued her. Yes, they were two Alphas who held a treaty and worked together in times of war, but she had thought they were also friends.
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