by SM Reine
Austin Cole walked coolly into my apartment, closing the door behind him. “Did he hurt you?” He placed his large hand across my forehead and then touched my feverish cheek. “He put his hands on you, didn’t he? I could smash his face in for trying to take advantage of you.”
“I think you did smash his face open,” I murmured.
Before I knew it, my feet were off the ground. Austin lifted me in his arms and carried me to the bedroom. I mumbled incoherently and everything became hazy and dreamlike. He placed me gently on the bed and kicked off his shoes, climbing in.
“What are you—no, Austin. No,” I said firmly, trying to roll off the bed.
He tucked himself against my back, holding my body in a tight grip. Something strange began to happen. The sensation was similar to having hunger pangs and taking that first bite of a cracker. My body filled with relief, and I suddenly craved more of Austin, as if he weren’t just a cracker, but a Ritz.
“That’s it,” he said, brushing his hand through my hair. “Relax. It’s my power you feel. Perfectly natural.”
My left leg slid over his and he hissed, pushing it back. Austin was essentially spooning me and trying to hold me still at the same time.
“I need to see a doctor,” I groaned. “I’m sick.”
His chest filled with air and a deep sigh warmed my shoulder in the most delicious way.
Oh, God. Austin was turning me on.
That’s when I knew I must have been running a high fever, because the control button in my brain was out of order.
When his hand curved around my hip, I brought it between my legs. A deep growl rumbled in his throat and he immediately pulled it back to my waist.
So I arched my back until I pushed against his groin. He didn’t move, but I could feel how much he enjoyed it. A deep ache filled my body, one that made me desire the man behind me like never before. Now he was in my bed—all these years, something I’d dreamed about for so long. I reached around, clawing at his jeans with my fingernails.
“Lexi, no,” he said firmly. Something compelled me to obey. He gently pulled loose strands of hair away from my face with his right hand. “I need to tell you something.” Austin swallowed thickly. He played it cool and stayed absolutely still. I could smell his skin and taste his power. “When we had the talk in the Laundromat, I got close to you and picked up on something I hadn’t before. You’re a Shifter.”
I stopped moving while Austin spoke against my ear.
“I didn’t know it when we were younger, but now that you’re going through the change, it’s like turbulence on my body. It explains why you were so drawn to me, Lexi. I’m an alpha wolf, and females respond to alphas. It’s instinct. I’ve always felt protective of you and now it all makes sense. Humans are naturally attracted to female Shifters, but it’s sexual, and some are weak and unable to control those urges. Most of our women don’t date humans because they have trouble letting go and become obsessive. It’s why we’re protective of our women when it comes to humans or any other Breed.”
“I’m not a Shifter,” I protested, struggling to get free.
He kept a tight hold and threw his left leg over mine to tether my legs down.
“A Shifter can only come from Shifter parents—no exceptions. You must have been adopted or something.”
Finally, my mouth began to work. “What are you saying? Why are you doing this to me? I’m sick, Austin. Don’t fill my head with—”
“With the truth. We don’t shift until we’re adults, and it’s different for everyone. Usually the first time occurs in our late teens to early twenties. You’re a late bloomer; maybe your animal was suppressed for so long because you’ve lived with humans all your life. If you’ve felt sick the past day or two it’s because your animal is getting restless and trying to come out. It’s nothing to be afraid of, and it won’t hurt. You’re going through the change, Lexi. Don’t fight it; just relax and let your animal free.”
I wriggled away from him and he finally let go. I wasn’t thinking straight and everything felt like a dream. “Are you the cause of this? Are you the trigger that’s making me change because you’re some kind of an alpha wolf?”
Had I a non-feverish cell in my brain, I wouldn’t have even entertained the idea.
Austin sat up and leaned forward on his knuckles, lowering his dark brows. I flinched a little from his intense stare and he spoke in a rich and textured voice. “If that’s true, then this is the proudest fucking day of my life.”
And then I blacked out.
Chapter Nine
My tired legs stretched beneath silken sheets, and my limp body relaxed on the soft mattress. The wooden ceiling fan rotated above my head, swirling a cool breeze around my bedroom. It was a quaint little room with a shelf full of movies and photo albums sitting below a painting. Two black lamps were on either side of my bed, and the dresser had a few photographs of my family.
I touched my cheek and blinked a few times. My fever must have broken.
“How you feeling?”
Oh shit. It wasn’t just that Austin was in my bedroom, it was the feeling of complete nakedness beneath the covers.
I scrambled beneath the sheets and sat up, my hair a tangled mess.
“Eat this,” he said, carrying in a large plate of food.
As he sat on the edge of the mattress, my stomach did a flip. Austin had several bandages patched to his left arm and a gnarly cut on his chin.
“Where are my clothes? What happened to you?”
He wasn’t listening. He held a sausage between his fingers and tapped it against my mouth. “You need your strength.”
“Tell me what happened,” I ground through my teeth. “You’re scratched up, I’m naked, and I have no memory of last night.”
That’s when I noticed the condition of the room. The curtain rod was hanging down at an angle and the drapes were shredded. There were long scratches on the bedroom door and tiny feathers covered the bed from a torn pillow.
“What happened to my room?” My tone wasn’t hostile, but accusatory.
“Before you get riled up, Lexi, it’s not what you’re thinking. You know me better than that. I didn’t dress you because it would have meant handling you naked. Better that you just slept it off. We have all day to talk about this, but right now you’re going to eat.”
Thanks to my voracious appetite, I bit into the most delicious piece of meat I’d ever put in my mouth, as if I’d been on a deserted island for years and it was my first taste of home. It was gone in five seconds.
He chuckled and cocked an eyebrow. “You’re ravenous this morning. Any unusual cravings?”
What an odd question. Although now that he mentioned it, I was having a severe, unexplainable craving.
“So? Tell me what you’re hungry for, Ladybug.”
“Why are you still here?” I said with a mouthful of food. I started to eat a pineapple ring, but couldn’t remember buying any in the past year, so I tossed it to the side.
“Do you have any memory of what happened? Most don’t.”
I frowned and pulled the sheet tighter. “What’s that supposed to mean—most don’t?”
He set the plate on the bed and wiped his hands along his jeans. “Do you remember our conversation last night?”
I thought about it through the hazy fog and shook my head. “A little bit, but… was Beckett here?”
His jaw tightened enough that it sharpened the angled line of his jaw. Austin always had strong features and maybe that’s why I was attracted to him. There was nothing soft or feminine about his face… except when he smiled. Then his pale eyes sparkled so brightly that it became difficult to remember what the hell he was even laughing about.
“We’re going to talk about that later. You’re a Shifter, Lexi. Do you remember our conversation?”
“Oh, hell,” I grumbled, falling onto my back and throwing my right arm over my face. “I was really hoping that was part of the dream. Why did you come back here,
Austin? To show me how crazy you’ve become? I don’t have room for crazy in my life right now.”
The sound of him chewing filled the quiet room. When he spoke, he was calm, as if we weren’t about to begin an argument. “You’re a wolf. That came as a surprise. Most of us know what our animal is before our first change because of what our parents are, unless they’re mixed, and then it’s a fifty-fifty thing. It usually shows in how we socialize with family. If both parents are leopards, the kids will be too. Not many Shifters mate outside their animal; it creates a shitload of friction in the house, from what I’ve heard.”
“Then why don’t I remember anything?”
“Few do,” he said. “The majority of Shifters either remember nothing at all, or just the first few minutes after the shift. A few outliers can remember more, if not all. Our animal prefers to be in control and there would be too much internal conflict, so they block us out. Let her out every so often or she’ll get restless and try to take over. You’re going to have to learn to be in tune with her needs, because you’re two halves that make a whole.”
He took another bite of something and sucked on his fingers.
“Are you going to eat all my breakfast?” I managed.
He set the plate on my stomach. “There’s more in the kitchen. Trust me, you’re going to want at least three helpings before it’s all said and done,” he added with a smile in his voice. “The first time is always like that. Tell me what you’re craving and I’ll have it ready for you the next time you shift.”
My chin touched my chest as I looked down and picked up a few scrambled eggs with my fingers. My appetite was waning; this was too much to accept.
“Did Beckett bruise up your face?” I cringed at the thought. Beckett was the kind of guy who held grudges against any man that showed him up, which wasn’t often.
“No. You did it.”
I blinked in surprise and Austin stood up and stretched out his toned arms. His dirty blue T-shirt was thin, faded, threadbare, and way too sexy for me to be ogling while naked in bed. It looked like one of his favorites—washed a million times. We all have a favorite shirt that the love’s been worn into.
“You can’t trust your animal until you bond with her. Introductions to someone new are usually supervised because there’s a potential for them to attack. I swear, Lexi,” he said laughing. “I seriously thought you were going to be a panther or some shit. The way we fought like cats and dogs sometimes, and hell… the way you move.”
Just then, scarlet bled into his face and he spun around, staring at a picture of sailboats in a harbor.
When I looked down at my plate, I noticed something else. Hairs on the bed. I pinched one between my fingers and it was silver.
“You can’t be serious,” I said, beginning to feel my own doubt.
“What I don’t understand is why you attacked me,” he said to himself. “I’m an alpha and you should have submitted. Most will, except for other alphas or wolves who are no good for pack life. I’ve heard about women who have alpha personalities, just never thought it was true. I’ve never met a female with as much bite as you.” He peered over his shoulder and his dark brow slanted in a way that made my toes involuntarily curl. “No pun intended.”
I stared at the hair again, rolling it between my fingers. “You’re serious? Then why don’t I remember? Seems like I’d remember turning into a dog.”
“Wolf,” he corrected with intolerant eyes. “We’re not dogs, Lexi. It’s something to be proud of.”
He scolded me with his tone and turned around, stuffing his hands in his deep pockets. “Don’t ever talk down about your animal, especially not around me. I won’t tolerate it. I’ve always considered your family my pack.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It’s common for an alpha to find his own pack outside the family, although usually it’s just a bunch of friends. That’s why I hung out at your house a lot. My brothers sure as hell weren’t going to let a nine-year-old kid try to boss them around. My parents were careful not to… damn, what’s the word? Reprimand me too much, I guess. It would be a detriment to the leader I’d one day become. I needed another family unit. I was born to lead, and having older brothers trying to put me in my place went against every shred of instinct I had. Now that I’m grown, it’s cool. Everyone knows their rank.”
“And your brothers are wolves?” I couldn’t believe I was getting sucked into his delusions.
“Yeah. In fact, that’s why I’m back in town. I’m ready to settle and they’re ready to be led.”
A mockingbird sang outside my window and a smile wound up my face.
“You don’t believe me, Lexi. But you will. I’m going to take you to meet my brothers and I’ll introduce you to one of them in their wolf form.”
“Why not you?” I scraped my fingers through my matted hair and frowned when I snagged a tangle. Damn, I must have looked like a nightmare.
He pulled his hands from his pockets and folded his arms, pacing to the door. “My wolf is dangerous.” He paused, dropping his eyes to the floor. “He’s aggressive, and I don’t completely trust him around someone new. I can’t risk hurting you.”
“How is it my mom didn’t notice I was changing into a wolf?”
“Because it’s kind of like puberty. Your body goes through the change when it’s mature, and we’re all different. It’s not triggered by anything except your own hormones or genetics. You wouldn’t want a bunch of little kids who were mad at their parents to shift into a wolf and attack them or run away. Their animal would be volatile and hard to control.”
“Austin, you do realize you’re dropping a bomb on me, don’t you? You’re not just telling me I’m a Shifter, but that I’m not even related to my family. I don’t believe this.”
He turned on his heel and leaned against the door. “Family isn’t blood—it’s who has your back.”
I chewed on my lip. The only way to know the truth was to talk to my mom. I’d know it if she was lying to me—she was a horrible liar and had a habit of doing dishes or cleaning if I asked her a question and she was untruthful. It’s how I knew that the separation between her and my dad wasn’t amicable. He’d left her, and that infuriated me almost as much as the fact he’d left his daughters behind.
“I’m going to take a shower and go to my mom’s house. Then we’ll see what’s what.”
“You need help?”
“Austin, I’ve been taking showers for twenty-seven years now. I think I got it.”
A full-bodied laugh filled the room as he struggled to contain it. “I meant to talk to your mom.”
When I clenched my teeth, he took that as a no. My mom was going to be giving me a straightjacket for Christmas after this convo. A sinking feeling settled at the possibility they might not be my real family. I loved Maizy and my mom with all the fire in me. I’d die to protect them. When my dad left, I was around as much as possible to make sure my mom didn’t succumb to depression. We joined art classes, went shopping, and I spent a lot of time watching Maizy so she didn’t overwhelm my mom, who wasn’t exactly in her prime for motherhood.
I was the glue in my family.
~ ~ ~
I’d been stalling the conversation ever since arriving at my mom’s house. She sensed a serious talk coming and plopped Maizy in front of the TV with one of her favorite fairy princess movies. That was one little girl who had her heart set on marrying a prince.
The coffee burned against my upper lip and I blew off the steam, pensively watching my mother across the table.
She smiled and touched her hoop earring. “I remember when you made that cup. You were so proud of it and I thought it was the most hideous thing ever created.”
I snorted and admired my mug. It was a regular coffee cup, but we’d painted them ourselves. In kindergarten, my obsession with dragons began. While Maizy adores fairy tales and happy endings, I used to want to slay dragons. So, my half-assed attempt at painting a dragon on the mug e
nded up being the family joke for years. It curved around the mug and looked like a green anaconda with spider legs, throwing up mustard. I’d never seen a dragon, so in my defense, I wasn’t sure how many legs they had.
Apparently, seventeen was too many.
“Mom, I have something serious to ask you and I want the truth. I’m not even sure where to begin.”
“You know you can ask me anything,” she said in the way all moms do when they have no idea you’re about to drop the mother lode of bombs on them.
Maizy giggled in the other room and I scratched my neck nervously. “Am I adopted?”
“Now why would you ask a silly thing like that?” she said, rising from the table and turning on the faucet. She rinsed out her mug, then wiped it dry with a paper towel. “Would you like some pie with your coffee? I think I’m more in the mood for iced tea—it’s too hot today for coffee.”
“Mom, turn off the water and sit down. I don’t want pie or anything else.”
That’s when I knew Austin had told me the truth. Maybe not about being a Shifter, but now it was clear my life had been manufactured from a lie.
“I’m not going to get mad about it. I just want to know who I am and where I came from. You’ll always be my family, Mom. Please, don’t lie to me. Not now, not after everything we’ve been through.”
When she turned around, tears stained her cheeks. “I never wanted you to know. You were our baby and my little girl.”
I covered my eyes before she made me cry. I needed to keep my head straight. “Mom, please sit down.”
She quietly sniffed and took a seat, avoiding eye contact. I reached across the table and held her hand. “You’re my mom. You’ll always be my mom and nothing will change that. I promise. I just… I can’t believe this is true. How did I not know? I always thought I kind of looked like Dad, but…”
“Lexi, we never wanted you to grow up feeling separate from us—different. I was afraid that’s how kids felt in your situation, so we decided not to tell you.”
