by Ava Mason
She smiled and it almost reached her eyes. “I have everything you will need inside. And Liam will be your point of contact. If anything goes wrong, anything at all, he will be the one you call.”
I nodded. Her hand was on the door but she didn’t open it, her thumb fiddled with the latch. She was trying to decide if she was going to tell me something. “During the Alpha ceremony, you know that you marked James as yours, right?”
What. The. Actual. Fuck.
I was driving home now, reeling from Queen Aria’s revelation.
What the hell was wrong with me? Didn’t I have enough men on my plate? Not to mention the fact that James was seriously pissed at me right now.
My mind went to the night before my fight with Sophia and the way his hands touched mine. And that vulnerable look on his face when he’d told me about his sister… My hands trembled on the steering wheel. He fucking trusted me. And then I let him down. Now I knew that it was him who was mad at me at the Alpha ceremony. When everyone’s feelings came rushing in and I’d felt anger.
That was him. I had no doubt.
And yet, I couldn’t deny that the thought of him made me shiver. I pretended like he didn’t do things to me. Apparently my wolf, or whatever the ‘F’ it was, didn’t care that I was pretending. That bitch just took whoever the hell she wanted and didn’t care that four fucking men was enough for one woman.
I careened around the corner a little too fast. The snow was finally beginning to melt, making the roads slippery. I downshifted to force myself to slow down; I didn’t want to wreck Easton’s car. He’d probably kill me. I took in a deep breath and suddenly thoughts of my parents filled my mind. Talking about my dad had brought up the pain of their death. I realized that every attempt to suppress thoughts of home were slowly leaking back through my walls. I took in another deep breath to face reality. I missed it.
I wanted to go back. To save my pack. To be home again.
But as much as I wanted to go home, I was also afraid to do it. To see my parents’ house empty and destroyed; the stains from my parents’ blood, it would destroy me. I sucked in a breath. Just the thought of it made tears splotch my eyes, clouding my vision. I didn’t know if I was brave enough to face that right now. I wasn’t sure that was something I would ever be ready to face.
So even though I wanted to return home, I could put it off. For now.
I’d help the Queen. Aria. I’d help her; she trusted me and I could do this for her.
And, I’d find a way to release my hold on James. Just because I’d marked him, didn’t mean I had to have him. I wouldn’t force this on him. I would find a way to free him, to break the bond.
The voice from the GPS interrupted my thoughts and I skidded as I made the next turn. A horn blared from behind me and I opened my window. “My bad!”
Shit. I needed to get myself together before I wrecked and hurt someone. I slowed down and pulled to a stop into the closest parking lot.
Something was wrong with Avery.
Someone was trying to kill me.
Someone was trying to overthrow Aria.
I had to make Sophia spy on her surrogate father and not lose my shit around her.
I have to go home and kick Garrett’s ass.
Shit. Everything was coming to a head all at once.
I pulled out my phone, staring at it. Old habits were hard to break. Every time I was overwhelmed, I wanted to call Aaron.
My fingers punched the number that was as familiar as my parent’s number. As my own. A number that I’d seen hundreds of times. I didn’t hit send.
Was I really going to do this?
Hunter showed me how to make my number untraceable but that didn’t mean that there would be no consequences from this act. I could put myself in serious danger. The question was, did I trust him?
I thought of Aaron crawling his way towards me, sacrificing himself and his dignity for me. How he tried to save me. He, alone, stared down two packs of wolves.
I hit enter, wiping at my cheeks.
The phone rang once, twice. My stomach twisted in knots.
“Hello?”
I inhaled a sharp breath. God, it felt so good to hear his voice.
“Hello?”
I couldn’t answer. I couldn’t breathe.
“Lizzy?” His voice. It sounded so… hopeful. And so… broken.
Panicking, I hit the ‘end’ button and threw my phone to the other side of the car, like it was on fire and would burn me up. Could it… Did he…
Did he marry Olivia? I didn’t know for sure, did I? I’d taken Shayne at his word. I didn’t believe that Shayne would lie to me but maybe… maybe Aaron defied his father. Maybe he rebelled.
I rubbed my face. Shit. I needed to know for sure.
Frowning, I reached across the car to grab my phone again. I had things I needed to do first, to fix.
Number one: Avery.
He was my top priority. I took in a deep breath. He wasn’t going to be an easy fix but it didn’t matter. He was worth whatever hell he dragged me through; I’d do whatever it took to get him back.
I put the car back in drive and pulled out onto the road, a little calmer, and dialed Easton.
Number two: put my clan together and get shit done.
When I pulled up the driveway, Easton was outside, waiting for me. I couldn’t stop the grin that spread out on my face. Damn if he didn’t heal my heart a little bit each time I saw him. He jogged to the car, his footsteps light on the melting snow, and opened my door. A blast of love overwhelmed me and I looked up to his smiling face. It was exactly what I needed right now.
“Hi.” His white t-shirt gripped his muscled chest and his jeans clung to his hips.
“Hi.” I couldn’t stop thinking of our night together, the way his sexy body wrapped me up in kisses and commands.
He pulled me out of the car and folded his arms around me. I stared into his dark brown eyes, a blush marking my cheeks as his finger traced them.
“I called Sophia; she should be here soon.”
“Good.” My hand fell to his chest and he stepped forward, pushing me against his car and trapping my hand between us. His lips touched the top of my head and he rubbed across it, causing a burning heat to shoot to my chest. Then his mouth moved to my ear, his voice, dark and delicious, tickled my skin.
“Do you feel what you do to me, Lizzy?” He pressed his hardness against me. “Right now I want to tell you to drop to your knees and take care of my problem.”
Shit. That voice. The way it made me tremble. “Yes.”
His hands roamed up my side and I pressed myself into him. Willing the world around us to end, wishing we didn’t have a mission to complete. His fingers burned through the thin material of my dress and I was putty in his hands. Then his fingers crossed the span of my back and he tugged the back of my hair, forcing my head back to look into his face. His eyes were dark and smoldering.
I groaned and the temptation to fall at his feet was so strong, that I almost did it. Fuck the icy slush, fuck that we were out in the open and fuck all my problems. I wanted Easton right here, right now.
But his fingers caught at my elbow and I leaned into him so that he was supporting me.
“Next time I see you in that sexy dress, I’m going to make you kneel at my feet and beg me to put my thick cock in that pouty mouth of yours.” I shivered. “I’m going to touch you in all your secret places so inappropriately that you’ll beg me to never let you go.”
I nipped at his shoulder and his grip on my hair tightened. We stood like that for a moment, just staring into each others eyes, unwilling to look away. And then he glanced behind me and, for a second I thought that Sophia was pulling up. He nodded at someone passing by and suddenly the spell between us broke.
He reached his hand down to fix himself and I closed my eyes, reigning in my emotions. I had to be a leader and not be jerked around by my hormones. Sighing, he took a step back and I let him create distance between us
. Now wasn’t the time. I bit my lip harshly, bringing me back to face my task.
I took in a deep breath and bent back down to grab my bag from the Queen out of the passenger seat. I handed it to him. “Has anything changed?”
He turned his face to the side, looking towards the house. “Nothing new. Christian’s in there with him now.”
“Alright,” I turned my body towards the house determinedly. “Let’s get ready.”
2
As soon as I opened the door, Christian’s loud voice broke through my thoughts. “You have to tell her what happened. It’s the only way to fix this.”
Avery growled in response. “I’m leaving. You won’t change my mind.”
“You can’t leave her; she has a right to know. And you can’t just abandon the team.” Something shattered.
Avery’s voice was sarcastic. “Oh, nice. Real mature. And you say I’m the one throwing a hissy fit.”
Easton and I rushed into Avery’s room. The emotion level in the house was so high, that I was surprised it hadn’t exploded. I looked at Christian, eyeing the broken lamp. “What’s going on?”
He sat down on Avery’s bed, right on top of Avery’s bag that he was trying to pack. We’d held him off for two days, but apparently he’d decided he wouldn’t wait any longer.
“Avery has to talk to you about something.” Christian didn’t look as angry as I thought he would be.
But Avery - his face was lit with rage. “You have no idea what you’re talking about, even if you think you do. But it doesn’t matter. I don’t have time for this; I have to get out of here.” He tried to yank his bag out from under Christian, who grabbed it tight. Avery yanked it off the bed, pulling Christian with him.
“Let go.” Avery dragged Christian across the room, who looked at me, grinning. I held in the laugh that threatened to spill from my lips.
After pulling him almost into his closet, Avery dropped the handle.
“I don’t care about the bag anyway. I’ll just buy what I need.” He looked up at Easton and me and I knew he wanted to bolt for the door. But we were standing in his way.
Then the doorbell rang and I jumped. “Sophia.”
I was looking at Avery when I said it and his face grew a deep red. He ran towards the door, pushing me and Easton out of the way with such force that we grabbed at the frame, surprised. Then we all rushed out after him.
His footsteps across the wooden floor were surprisingly light and he yanked the door open. Sophia’s face changed from a scowl into shock as soon as she saw Avery. He blocked her from entering. “No.”
She was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, with her hair piled on her head. There were deep, dark lines under her bloodshot eyes. She looked horrible. Every ounce of anger I had towards her melted at the harrowed look on her face.
She frowned. “She asked me to come here.”
Suddenly, Avery emitted a loud, strangling noise. He grabbed Sophia’s shirt and yanked her forward. She cried out as he turned and slammed her against the wall. “You fucking bitch, I can’t believe you did that to me!”
Her mouth dropped and she pulled at his hands which were clinched in her sweatshirt.
His wings popped out from his back, tearing his shirt as his dragon magic spilled out into the room.
Sophia’s mascara was smeared across her face. Had she been crying? “I swear I didn’t know. I swear it!”
He was in her face now, his features scrunched up in anger. Scales rippled across his skin; he was losing control. “How could you not know? It’s your fucking job! It’s your fucking job to know every little thing.” He shook his head. “No. You knew. You knew it!” Suddenly his magic exploded, pushing Easton, Christian and I across the room. Christian wrapped his arms around me, breaking my fall.
Easton groaned from his spot on the floor. “Dammit, Avery.”
“Give me one reason not to rip your head from your body.” Avery wasn’t yelling anymore, but his voice had grown low, dangerous. Threatening. Deadly.
Growling, she threw out her own dragon magic and it slammed against him. He kept a tight hold on her sweatshirt and they flew across the room, landing to the floor together. They grappled for control and she landed on top.
“I told you, I didn’t know. There are people who were given permission and I had no idea what the hell was going on. I just followed orders.” She leaned forward, and her nose touched his. “Just like you did.”
He growled. “You had no problem disobeying orders when it came to Hunter.”
She gasped, then her face became a mask of rage. She punched him in the face. Avery’s mouth dropped open and his hands loosened on her sweatshirt. Then she was hitting him, over and over, in an uncontrolled frenzy of anger. I scrambled to my feet and Christian pushed on my butt to help me up.
“Sophia!”
Avery didn’t stop her, didn’t move to block her blows. He just let her hit him.
Her rings cut his face and blood sprayed across her shirt when she broke his nose. But she didn’t stop, even after his blood was all over her, even though he lay there, not even blocking her blows. She kept hitting him, screaming an unintelligible mix of words and cusses.
“Sophia, stop!” It was a command and she stopped mid-air. Then her face crumpled and she fell into Avery’s arms, crying. Avery pushed her off him and scrambled to his feet.
“I’m not falling for that.”
She didn’t stop crying but balled up on the floor, moving her arm across her to cover her face. Easton pulled Christian to his feet and I ran towards them. Staring down at Sophia, I rubbed my face. Holy shite, what the hell was going on?
“Sophia.” I bent over, my voice soft.
“No.” Her hand flew out, stopping me, and her voice held a warning.
I looked up at Avery, frowning. He was looming over her, breathing heavily. His hands were balled up in fists and he was looking at her like he wanted to hit her.
“Avery.” My voice was sharp. He looked at me and his face softened when he saw me.
“I wasn’t… I wouldn’t…” He couldn’t finish.
Then a shadow filled the doorway and we all looked up. Hunter was standing there and damn if he wasn’t glorious. It was the first time I’d seen him since the Alpha fight; they’d taken him back to the hospital.
He frowned, looking over the room. The furniture had been pushed in all directions and several books had fallen off the shelves. All the pictures on the wall were crooked, hanging haphazardly. One of the framed pictures had fallen to the floor; a cracked selfie of the team, grinning like crazyheads, stared up at us.
“What’s going on?” Hunter looked at me.
Avery grabbed his keys; dried blood caked his shirt, and stark blue bruises made his face look hollow. He still hadn’t shaven and his beard gave him a ragged look. “None of your business.” He began to walk towards the door. “Get out of my way.”
Hunter frowned, crossed his arms and leaned against the doorjamb. He wasn’t completely blocking it, but he also looked like he would if Avery tried to brush past him. “Really?”
“Avery.” I had to make him stay, stop him from leaving.
Ignoring me, Avery paused at the door to give Hunter a hard glare. Hunter met his eyes and he didn’t move out of Avery’s way.
I began to feel desperate. Avery couldn’t leave. Not now. Panic rose in my chest, threatening to choke my air. If he left now, would I ever see him again? “Don’t leave. Please. Not like this. Not after this.”
Avery stilled, but kept staring at Hunter. For some reason he didn’t brush past him. I growled, knowing I would do whatever it took to keep him here.
“Don’t make me use my Alpha on you.”
His head snapped towards me. “You wouldn’t.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “Try me.”
He scowled, then turned around and threw his keys on the console table. “Fine.” He looked up at me as he stepped over Sophia, who was still on the floor, and walked to
wards his room. “But I’m leaving by tonight.”
I sighed and Christian’s soft fingers were on my arm. It tingled and then there was a shot of warmth through me. He was my very own little calming machine. I needed to figure out a way to just insert him into my chest. Want to kill me? No problem. I’m a calm motherpucker who can do anything.
“Sophia.” Hunter bent over her. “Are you okay?”
She wouldn’t look at him.
Christian went to her side. “Look, everything will work itself out, I’m sure.”
She closed her eyes, ignoring them.
I brushed my hand through my hair then looked at Easton. He gave me a reassuring smile.
I took in a deep breath and waved my hands at the disheveled room. “Easton and Christian, can you put the room back together?” They nodded. “Hunter, go talk to Avery. Maybe you can talk some sense into him. Sophia, I need you in my room, we need to talk.”
“But—”
“That’s not a question.”
She was quiet and Hunter held his hand to her. She took it and stood up. Half of her hair was out of her hairband and she yanked the band out. Pulling it into a loose ponytail, she began to walk towards my room, not looking at me.
“Third one on the right,” I called out to her.
She didn’t answer and at this point, I didn’t care. Christian pushed the couches back where they belonged and Hunter picked up the picture, looking at it sadly. Easton held his hand towards him and Hunter passed him the photo.
I put my hand over Hunter’s. “It’ll be okay. We’ll work this out.”
He met my eyes. “I know.” His confidence washed over me like a warm blanket. He caught my face with his palm. “I missed you.”
I leaned into him, loving the way he felt against me. I could feel his heart beating through his chest. It was strong and steady. That was Hunter for you.
“I missed you, too. I’m glad you’re out of the hospital.” They’d kept him to make sure he would recover.
He chuckled. “Ain’t no hospital keeping me from you.”
I grinned, then looked up into his face. He reached down and tenderly met my lips with his. His kiss was soft and probing, as if he was questioning my love for him after my time with Easton. I took his face in my hands, answering him with my kiss. My whole body felt warm and tingly, and he squeezed me tighter. I wanted to stay in his embrace forever. He let me down, breaking the kiss.
