by Casey Lane
She wasn’t normally there this late in the day. That’s why she had Gen. She ran the diner in the afternoon so Isa could get the kids settled with Gen’s wife, Hadley before she had to go out on patrol. But today, she lingered, stomach fluttering each time she imagined this mystery man standing on her porch when she went home.
Gen refilled the condiments as they talked, stealing food from Isa’s plate each time she passed. Even in human form, Genevieve looked much like the fox living inside her. She had a pert nose and bristly russet-colored hair, her body small and lithe like her fox, though she still managed to be two inches taller than Isa.
“Typical macho dickbag thinks he can just show up and demand you marry him like you’re some romance novel heroine.”
Isa stuffed three more fries in her mouth, thinking about the wolf, with his stupid earnest face and his pretty blue eyes, trying to ignore the way her wolf started to pace at the casual insult to the stranger. “I wouldn’t say he was a macho dickbag. He didn’t demand anything exactly. I mean, he seemed...not scared, but...desperate? When I turned him away-”
Gen barked out a laugh. “Turned him away? You punched him in the face, sweetie.”
Isa glared at her. “When I turned him away…he looked so…disappointed…like I ruined his life.” Again, Isa’s stomach went slippery thinking about it. Maybe she should have at least heard him out. He’d said it was important. Maybe she’d been too hasty.
She shook the thought away, startled to find her friend narrowing her golden eyes at Isa. She shrank under the shifter’s shrewd gaze. “Oh. My. God. Isa McGowan...you like him.”
Isa gestured towards where the kids were doing their homework. “Shh.”
Gen was grinning now, leaning closer from her side of the counter. “You do. You totally do. You like him.”
Isa’s skin went hot, cheeks flushing at the way she drew out the word like. “Shut up. We aren’t in high school. I don’t even know him. He was just hot, and it’s not like many eligible bachelors are running around Belle Haven.”
“If you’re just looking to scratch an itch, I’m sure Alex would be willing to help you out with that.”
Isa flinched. Alex was nice and not hard on the eyes, but witch/werewolf relationships didn’t tend to end well, especially in a town like Belle Haven. “Don’t even joke about that. Besides, I just said this stranger was cute. That doesn’t mean I like him.” She licked her bottom lip, her wolf growing fidgety as she pictured his face. “But...”
Gen’s eyes lit up, apparently smelling blood in the water. “But what?” she pushed.
Isa had half a mind not to tell her. If she didn’t say it aloud, maybe it wouldn’t be real. She needed this feeling not to be real. But Gen was the only person she could confide in. She was the only truly neutral person in Belle Haven. She had no ties to a pack, and the druids didn’t bother getting involved with omega shifters. She was Isa’s only friend, aside from Hadley.
The words were pouring out before she could stop herself. “But...when he got close to me—close enough for me to smell him—something happened. I honestly felt like I was having a…I don’t know…like a panic attack? My heart was racing. My mouth went dry. I felt…overwhelmed?” She lowered her voice, once again glancing at the kids. “My wolf went crazy. I didn’t know if I wanted him closer or a million miles away.”
Gen’s face went from teasing to contemplative as she snagged more fries and chewed slowly. Time yawned, Isa’s anxiety ratcheting to full blown panic. “Say something!”
Rhys’s head snapped up, and Isa heard his heartbeat knocking in his chest, responding to her sudden shift in mood. She looked at him and smiled, hoping to reassure him. His face mirrored her internal anxiety, his jaw tense, brows furrowed. Her gaze strayed to his shirt without thought, noting for the first time that it wasn’t the same shirt he’d left the house in. Her heart sank. He’d left school.
If he’d changed, that meant he’d shifted at some point. When her gaze met his again, they both knew she knew, but she just looked away. She just didn’t have it in her to fight with him. She just wished she knew how to help him. The transition was so much harder for him than it ever had been for her and she’d had their mother there to help. Her mother had made being a parent—being an alpha—look so effortless. Isa failed on a spectacular level every day in comparison and Rhys was the one paying for it.
“Rhys will be okay,” Gen said as if reading her mind, drawing her attention back her friend. “As for your other problem…you know what your symptoms sound like.”
Isa rolled her eyes. “Symptoms? I think your healer wife is rubbing off on you. It’s not a medical condition.”
Gen arched a brow. “Don’t deflect. If my wife were here, she’d tell you the same thing; your wolf recognized him for what he was.”
“Don’t!” Isa said, through clenched teeth, stabbing a finger towards the fox. “Don’t you dare say it out loud.”
“You’re a bonded pair,” Gen said airily, before waggling her eyebrows and dropping her voice in some mockery of a seductive tone. “Destined to mate. You’re screwed. Might as well just marry him and get started on making the many, many genetically superior wolf babies in your future. You can’t fight a soul bond, cupcake.”
Watch me, Isa thought. Why should she be a slave to some bond she’d never agreed to? “Ugh, sometimes I really hate all this supernatural crap. I don’t want to be bonded to anybody, but I especially don’t want to be bonded to him.” Warmth pooled low in her belly, heart skipping.
Gen heard the skip. “Liar.”
She glowered at her friend. “Why should I have to give up my alpha status just because I wasn’t born with a penis? Like does that organ somehow give him some instinctual ability to lead? I think history has proven it doesn’t.”
Gen snorted. “Okay, real talk, sweetie. Yay, feminism and all that but…what are you actually leading? Your pack consists of a twelve-year-old wolf, an eleven-year-old reaper, and his probably human twin sister. If something truly dangerous comes through this town, the pack doesn’t stand a chance…unless you’re going to nag the grim to death about their homework. Maybe you should just hear him out?”
Heat flooded Isa’s cheeks. Gen wasn’t wrong, but it still stung. “I defend this town every night. I’ve got more supernatural kills under my belt than most alpha’s my age. Rhys is young, but he’s already growing so fast, and he’s really strong. He’s going to be a great soldier.”
“Rhys is struggling. Sure, he’s going to get it together as he gets older but what if the town gets attacked before then? What are you going to do…tell them to come back in a few years when Rhys is old enough to fight? The Red Oak coven is coming along nicely with their training, thanks to Alex, but they are a coven of middle schoolers. The town has no defenses. We patrol at night, and we can take on whatever creature blows across the border, but you and I both know it’s only a matter of time before we run into something that requires more than a wolf, a fox, a healer and a herbologist. Besides, all that aside, how are you going to fight a mating bond?”
Isa didn’t have an answer to any of those questions. She just wanted her mom. She would have known what to do about everything. She’d still be alpha, and Isa could be just a regular twenty-two-year-old girl without the worries of keeping three—usually four—children alive.
She looked to the corner booth again. Rhys was back to working on his homework, running a hand through his dark curls every few minutes. Kai sat beside him, casting nervous glances in her brother’s direction as he practiced his long division. Kai wanted to be close to her brother so badly, but something about the reaper terrified Rhys. She could smell it on him. The two of them were like magnets facing the wrong direction, always struggling to be closer and only growing further apart. But Kai kept trying.
Beside them, Tristin and Quinn were doing their best to roll the silverware, but Isa knew she would be doing half of them again later. She took a sip of her now cold coffee, grimacing at t
he taste. Gen was watching her in between replacing the caps on the bottles she’d refilled, but Isa didn’t want to think about it anymore.
The door chimed overhead, and Isa glanced at the door, sucking in a breath. It was him. Wren Davies, her brain supplied. She licked her bottom lip, swallowing the sudden lump in her throat. He spotted her immediately, either by scent or the uptick in her heartbeat. He had put on a shirt, thank god. A bright cornflower blue t-shirt that matched his eyes. She couldn’t help but feel a little guilty as she took in his still slightly swollen nose and the faint bruises smudged under his eyes.
Gen gaped, looking back and forth from the newcomer to Isa as she appeared to connect the dots. The fox turned her back to Wren, widening her eyes at Isa before whispering, “Holy shit. He’s so hot.”
Isa glared at Gen as Wren laughed quietly, overhearing the fox’s assessment. Isa’s cheeks flushed, fighting the urge to fidget. Why did it suddenly feel like the temperature in the room went up twenty degrees?
He slid onto the stool closest to the door, directly across from Isa. It was then that she noticed he wasn’t alone. A small girl with light blonde hair and enormous blue eyes climbed onto the stool beside him. She couldn’t have been more than ten or eleven.
A kid. She hadn’t seen that one coming.
Isa thought about letting Gen handle him for a full thirty seconds, before realizing that was a recipe for disaster. She’d be planning a claiming ceremony before she’d given the two their menus. Wren arched a brow at Isa, smirking as if he could read her mind. It was enough to spur her into action. Challenge accepted, pretty boy.
She steeled herself, straightening her spine as she approached. “You must be a slow learner, Wren Davies.”
He looked her in the eye, that smirk blossoming into a grin, bringing her attention to his perfect teeth. The bastard.
“I prefer the term tenacious. I’ve been told I can be stubborn when I want something.”
There was nothing overtly suggestive in his words or tone, but her stomach swooped at the notion she might be something he wanted. “I told you what would happen if I saw you again,” she said, tone conversational, aware of the little girl hanging on her every word. He needed to go. She didn’t have time for this.
He made a face as if recalling her words. “No, what you said was if I came back to your house, you’d take it as an official challenge…so I came here instead. Neutral territory, so to speak.”
“There’s nothing neutral about this place. My restaurant, my territory. If you are the blood heir to your pack as you claim, you have to know you are violating about a thousand different protocols by being here without my permission.”
She could feel Gen’s gaze burning holes in her back, but the fox said nothing, obviously content to eavesdrop from a distance.
He didn’t shift or avert his gaze. He made no attempt to apologize, instead saying, “Of course, I do, but I need-”
“Isa, can I have some water?” Kai interrupted, wrapping himself around her, watching the newcomers with interest.
“Yes, of course, you can. You know where the water is,” Isa said, still watching the wolf.
“Who are you?” Kai asked.
Isa flushed from her chest to her hairline at Kai’s abrupt question. “Manners. Don’t be rude to our customers.”
Wren laughed, and it felt like a caress. One she wanted to lean into. She needed to get him out of here. He was hazardous to her sanity.
His eyes were kind as he looked to Kai. “It’s okay. My name’s Wren, and this is Neoma. What’s your name?”
“Christopher Kai Lonergan, but everybody calls me Kai.” Kai’s eyes went wide then, looking at Neoma. “What are you anyway?”
“Kai!” Isa cried, exasperated, glancing around the empty restaurant before relaxing. “You know you have to be careful about talking about that stuff here. We aren’t in Belle Haven.”
“What?” Kai scoffed, looking around the empty restaurant. “Nobody’s even here.” He narrowed his eyes at Wren. “He’s obviously a wolf, but what’s she?”
This was why Isa was going to end up in an early grave. It was nearly impossible to get the kids to watch what they said outside of Belle Haven, and they couldn’t afford any mistakes. But she had to admit, she was curious. She could smell that the girl was some type of supernatural creature, a sprite, maybe.
The little girl looked to Wren, who nodded encouragingly. “An elemental,” the little girl said, dipping her head, cheeks red as she smiled at Kai like she was embarrassed by the attention. Isa’s heart swelled. She was adorable. Dammit.
Kai’s violet eyes were wide and hopeful as he asked, “Can she play with us? Please? My homework is done.”
Neoma looked to Wren, who shrugged. Isa combed her fingers through Kai’s hair. “Fine. Why don’t you get everybody some water? If Rhys is working on his homework, you guys need to play away from him so he can concentrate.”
Kai rolled his eyes. “Fine.”
“Gen, can you help them, please?”Isa said, seizing the opportunity to rid herself of both Gen and the kids.
Neoma slid off the stool and followed Kai to the water dispenser. She and Wren both watched as the two carefully filled up five glasses of water that Gen helped carry to the table.
“Already trying to get me alone?” he joked.
Isa leaned close, practically purring her words. “Maybe I just don’t want anybody throwing around the word premeditated when I kill you?”
Wren leaned in too. “Is this like foreplay? Because I can work with this.”
Isa heaved out a breath through her nose. “Listen, I don’t know what you’re hoping to accomplish, but nothing you say is going to make me agree to marry a total stranger. I don’t care how beautiful your eyes are or how good you smell. My pack might be small, but it’s still mine. I’m the alpha, and I plan on staying the alpha. Nothing will change my mind about that.” Wren was grinning again. Isa contemplated socking him in the face...again. Maybe she should have left out how pretty she thought he was, but it was too late now. “Don’t smile at me like that. You’re not as charming as you think you are.”
Wren’s smile faded, his expression defaulting to that same earnest expression from the morning. “I need you to hear me out. Please, just give me an hour.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “You think you can convince me to upend my entire life in an hour? That’s awfully cocky, Wren Davies.”
“I’m not cocky; I’m desperate. You’re the only one who can help.”
“You can’t just show up and tell me I’m your only hope like I’m Obi-Wan Kenobi.”
She watched him bite back a smile before his expression grew somber. “I’m not asking you to help me…I’m asking you to help her.” He pointed to Neoma, who was now sitting in the booth with the others, attempting to follow their lead as they showed her how to roll up the silverware.
Isa felt something twist behind her ribs. “Low blow. You had to throw a kid in there. Is she even yours or did you rent her for an afternoon after you saw all the kids in my house?”
He wiped his hands over his face, suddenly looking drained. “Look, all I’m asking is for you to hear me out. That’s it. If you don’t like what I have to say after that, I’ll leave you be.” She narrowed her eyes at him. He held his hands. “You have my word.”
Isa watched him, looking for any signs that he wasn’t what he seemed. His heartbeat was steady. His gaze direct. He didn’t smell as if he was lying. He smelled—she inhaled deeply—he smelled amazing, like all of her very favorite things. She wanted to bury her nose in this throat and soak in the scent. What was wrong with her? “Fine. You and your…daughter…can meet us at my house tomorrow at seven-thirty.”
His shoulders sagged, visibly relieved, eyes bleeding so much gratitude she fought not to squirm. “Thank you. Seriously.”
“It’s just dinner.”
He surged forward then, pressing warm, soft lips to hers in a boldly stupid move.
It was over before she could register what he’d done, her lips tingling where he’d kissed her.
She stared at him bemused. “You must have a death wish. Is that it? Are you crazy, Wren Davies?”
“Maybe,” he said. “But, I had to be sure.”
“Be sure that you're crazy?” she asked, feeling like she’d fallen into the Twilight Zone.
His fingers trailed over the back of her hand, his slight touch a full-scale assault on her senses, almost distracting her from his words. “I had to be sure that we’re kindred…bonded.”
“You are crazy.”
“You’re fated to be mine, Isa McGowan. I think you know it too. Now, usually, I’m a patient guy, but in this particular case, time is not on my side, so I’m going to have to work really hard, really fast, to prove that I was made to love you.”
“That’s never going to happen.”
“I think it’ll happen.” He gave her a half smile. “Hell, I’ve known you existed for less than six hours, and I’m already half in love. I might be on one knee proposing right now if you hadn’t punched me in the face.”
Isa’s heart knocked against her ribs, breathing hard as she felt her claws extend and her eyes bleed red. He had some nerve. “Like I said, you’re awfully cocky for somebody addressing an alpha in her own territory.”
“I’m not just addressing an alpha; I’m addressing my betrothed. The sooner you accept you're fated to be mine, the sooner I can get on with kissing you for the rest of our lives.”
When she spoke again, it was a barely controlled growl, “I don’t believe in soul mates, and I don’t believe in the codex’s archaic laws about your right to rule, so prepare to be disappointed, Wren Davies. I’ll never marry you, and I’ll never give up my alpha status. I’m nobody’s beta.”
By the time her words died on her lips, Wren was looking at her with enough heat to melt steel. He spoke softly, unaffected by her anger. “I don’t think you could ever disappoint me, Isa McGowan.” Then he was moving towards her again, slowly this time giving her a chance to escape. She wanted to run, her brain said to move away, but her wolf said move closer. Instead, she just stood frozen, mouth desert dry, as he pressed his lips against her ear, murmuring just loud enough for her to hear. “For the record, not every man wants to be alpha.”
