Bridged by Love

by Nancy Corrigan

  He scanned the lot. Near the side door, a section of gravel had been removed. Dirt showed in the circle. He walked toward it. The stench intensified. He knelt and studied the disturbed earth. Blood had seeped into the soil. Someone had tried to counter the evidence by dumping diluted bleach onto the spot, but it should’ve been covered with fresh topsoil too.

  Had he not spoken to his father a few hours ago, Nic might’ve worried it’d been him who’d died. No, the male who’d created him still breathed. Good thing too. His death would’ve made the next full moon a free-for-all to determine the new alpha. He could win it. The fight didn’t worry him. Knowing he’d be killing his own pack members to earn the position did, however. He pushed the thought away. It hadn’t happened. His return ensured it wouldn’t happen.

  With his hand inches above the marred area, he said a prayer for the deceased’s spirit. If the person had been a member of the Kagan pack, the shifter’s wolf would return to Nic as the new alpha during the next full moon. Of course, the unfortunate victim could’ve belonged to any pack. Riley’s Sanctuary stood on neutral ground. No shifter in need was turned away.

  He stood and swept his gaze over the surrounding area. Woods flanked the back and sides. He didn’t see the wolves he knew were hidden in it. The pack’s protectors had been taking turns guarding the place while their alpha recovered. They’d remain hidden and only emerge if needed.

  He faced the single-story brick building that had acted as their hospital for close to eighty years. Advertisements for various pet medicines and the generic posting of hours covered the front door. Above it, a sign identified the veterinarian as Riley…

  Riley Kagan.

  His heart stuttered before racing hard. He hadn’t known she’d taken the Kagan name. She had every right to do so. After the way he’d treated her, however, he hadn’t expected it.

  She and Alex had been abandoned as infants, tossed away in a goddamn garbage bag along the side of the road. They were found by one of the older shifters and became honorary members of the pack. With the nearby towns consisting of mostly wolves, it had been easy to keep their existence secret. There’d been no need for either of them to leave. Well, no need until Riley enrolled in vet school. She would’ve needed an identity.

  Why the hell did she have to pick my name? Slap a wedding band on her, and she might as well be my fucking wife.

  He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The animosity wouldn’t help. She’d established herself as Riley Kagan. He could piss and moan all he wanted. It didn’t change the facts.

  And what does it matter? She’s leaving. She’ll be gone before the week is out.

  His throat tightened. He rubbed at it and cursed. She was twisting him up, just like she’d always done. He inhaled and held his breath until his lungs burned. His pent-up air escaped in a slow hiss, draining the tension with it. He pulled his key out and unlocked the door.

  Riley’s sweet fragrance hit him. His body reacted to the trigger she posed, thickening his cock.

  Home. That was what she smelled like. My home.

  Dammit, no. Anger rushed up, replacing the first stirrings of desire. He curled his fingers. The tips of his claws dented his palm. A week. She’ll be gone in seven days. Then, I won’t ever have to deal with her again.

  He slammed the door behind him and strode across the waiting area. Details registered—paintings of wolves, cute stuffed dogs dressed up as doctors and patients, and a play area for kids. He locked his jaw and focused on the door at the end. He didn’t want to know how she’d left her mark on the old barren hospital. It’s just a damn building anyway. The next doctor will decorate it too. Better probably.

  He reached for the door handle. It opened before he could touch it. Jenna, a shifter who’d mated his best friend Sean while Nic had been gone, stood on the other side. He’d heard she was pretty, but nobody had mentioned the strength that radiated from her. Her platinum blonde hair and pale blue eyes explained why. Jenna housed the second rarest wolf, the arctic wolf.

  She dropped her gaze. “Welcome home. We’re so glad you decided to return.”

  “Yeah, thrilled to be home.” He let the sarcasm drip from his words. “Where’s my dad?”

  She pointed at the stairs behind her. “Room three.”

  “Thanks.” He stepped around her, careful not to brush against her. He might be set to take the role as alpha, but Sean would still come after him if he scented an unmated male on her, friend or not.

  “Nicholas?”

  He paused mid-step. “Call me Nic. My dad is Nicholas.”

  “Nic.” She cleared her throat. “Your father has allowed my younger cousin to live with me. Ben will come into his first shift in a few months. I was hoping he’d be accepted into the Kagan pack.”

  He glanced over his shoulder. “What pack are you originally from?” He should know, but he hadn’t spoken to Sean much since he’d mated. Nic was envious of him. Sean was living the life Nic wanted—married and mated to the woman he loved.

  “The Tanner pack.” She twisted her fingers together. “His parents were killed. They got caught in a dominance fight. Ben was only a baby. Our aunt raised him, but when she died, I—”

  “Stop.” He raised a hand. “He can be presented at the full moon after his shift. Whether our spirit wolf accepts him is not up to me. You know that. Only the worthy are joined to our communal pack.”

  She smiled. “He’s a good man. Ben helps out at the Sanctuary all the time. He and Riley are close, close friends.”

  He tensed. The thought of how close Ben and Riley were stirred his jealousy. Nic had no right to feel it. He’d left her. Fucked dozens of women. Allowed dozens more to pleasure him. What Riley had done while he’d been gone was none of his business. He turned away without a word and jogged down the stairs.

  A week. That’s all.

  The reminder didn’t soothe him. The annoying lump in his throat returned. He swallowed past it and strode down the hall. Overhead lights brightened the wide corridor. More paintings lined the walls. He didn’t know who’d made them, but they were good. He let his gaze scan them. A familiar face caught his eye—his face. He paused and studied the portrait. In it, he knelt in the field they used for gatherings. The artist had depicted him with the shadowy spirit of the wolf behind him.

  The transfer.

  Somebody had captured the sacred ceremony and embodied it into a detailed painting. It was…

  Beautiful.

  He trailed his fingertips over the oil brushstrokes. A sense of rightness swept through him. He might not want to become alpha, but it was his fate. The pack depended on him. He would do what was right by them. If he didn’t, a male like Derek Tanner would take control of his loved ones. They’d suffer. More than that, their pack’s spirit would be tainted, corrupted, freakin’ used to cause harm. He couldn’t let that happen. The spirit wolf was the Kagan pack—past, present and future.

  It was his responsibility to protect it. No matter the sacrifice.

  Determination settled over him. He turned his back on the painting and made his way to the door at the end of the hall. The sign on it marked it as a restricted access area. There was an additional lock and a keypad on it. He used his key, then punched in the security code. A green light flashed. He opened the door and slipped inside.

  The large room reminded him of one he’d seen in a human’s hospital. A few uncomfortable-looking chairs offered a spot to sit while visiting. A moveable table held a tray with a half-eaten meal, while monitors, tubes and equipment surrounded the hospital bed. He took it all in, then turned his attention to the male lying on the bed.

  A thin sheet covered his older, muscled frame. His sandy blond hair showed no white or gray streaks, but the lines on his face hinted at his age. At over five hundred years, Nicholas Kagan was one of the oldest leaders in the country. He’d fathered seven kids in his life
time. Only Nic and Hannah had lived to see their twenties. The last millennia had nearly pushed the shifters into extinction, but with the decision to disclose their existence to a select group of human leaders, they’d finally begun to recover.

  The general populace hadn’t learned of them yet. Soon, though, everyone would know the truth. In the modern world, there were only so many things shifters could do to hide their longer lives.

  The Kagan wolves had to be ready. He had to be ready.

  “You came.”

  His dad’s voice yanked Nic out of his thoughts. He dragged a plastic chair to the side of the bed and straddled it. “Yeah, I came. Why didn’t you call me sooner?”

  “Hannah sent you that text, not me.” His dad hit the control on the bedrail to raise the mattress. He grunted and pushed himself into a semi-reclined position with pillows supporting him. “You made it clear you’d only return when you had to. I was fine after that fight. Took the kid out in less than five minutes. Hell, we never even made it to the circle. The little prick knew he’d die there, so he jumped me in our backyard.”

  Nic pointedly motioned to the monitors behind the bed. “And those are there for decoration?”

  “You didn’t talk to Riley, then?”

  The memory of her draped over the human returned. Anger surged, tightening his muscles. Nic rubbed the back of his neck where a knot formed. “Briefly. She was in a hurry.”

  “I walked away from that fight with only a few scratches.” His dad whipped the bed sheet down and tugged his hospital gown up. He ripped the bandage off. Four red and puffy marks stretched over his stomach. The cuts had barely broken the skin, but pus oozed from them. “That’s the extent of my injuries.”

  Nic met his dad’s hazel eyes. Nothing showed in them. He’d been pack leader too long. Nic, on the other hand, still struggled to keep his emotions hidden. He’d learn. He just needed time. “Hannah said you almost died, that you’d been fighting dominants nearly every month for the past year.”

  “Yes, and I have, but none have officially challenged me. They’re testing the waters, so to speak. Picking fights and trying to see if I’m getting weak.” He dropped his gown, covering the raw wound. “Derek was no different. He came over, running his mouth, saying he was going to take my pack from me. I reminded him if he challenged me, he’d die, ’cause he was too damn weak to take me out. He got pissed and rushed me. I proved myself right, though. Kid was as uncoordinated as shit.”

  Nic nodded. That was the way of an alpha. Once they accepted their pack’s spirit, they only passed it on to a pack member who’d carry on the bloodline, and then only when they had to or risk losing it to an outsider. Nic wouldn’t be any different once he took over. Being alpha offered the best damn power rush any shifter could experience. No human drug could compare to the high it gave.

  “So how did you go from winning the fight to almost dying?” Nic asked.

  “Morning after the fight, I woke up with a fever. Sick as shit, you understand? Throwing up, chills, the whole nine yards. Then, the seizures started. My heart stopped. If it wasn’t for Riley, I’d be dead. That girl’s a miracle worker. Our pack’s guardian angel.”

  And she was leaving in less than a week. Nic shoved the thought aside. “What did she say was wrong?”

  “Infection, but it looks like it’s just about run its course. She’s put me on some last-ditch antibiotics.” He pointed to the IV in his arm. “Seems to be doing the trick, except…”

  “Except what?”

  “I can’t call my wolf.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I can feel him. He’s there, but I can’t reach him. I doubt I’ll be able to shift again.” His dad glanced away. “It happens sometimes when a shifter is pulled back from the brink of death. Like a rubber band, you know? My wolf’s spirit was ready to depart, but when Riley restarted my heart, I pulled him back. He’s caught in limbo.”

  A shiver ran down Nic’s spine. “You’re not going to be able to transfer our pack’s spirit to me, are you?”

  Gaze on the wrinkled bedsheet, he shook his head. “I was going to call you as soon as I got out of this bed. We need to plan for the ceremony.”

  “Nobody else knows?”

  His dad glanced at him, brow raised. “Do you think I’m a fool? Hannah knows. That’s it. Our dominants might be loyal, but the lure of power does crazy shit to people. And if word got out?” He snorted. “We’d have wolves from all over the country congregating here, ready to claim our pack. Not happening. You hear me? Our bloodline has housed our pack’s spirit wolf for thousands of years. Our ancestors are here.” He thumped his chest. “You will welcome it into your soul, or I’ll take your head myself, son or not.”

  Nic closed his eyes. “Of course I will. I’ve always known I’d take your place.”

  “Good.” He awkwardly patted Nic’s arm. “But we need to keep this between us. If it gets out, the challengers will gang up on you. They’ll take you out, then fight among themselves.”

  Nic nodded, knowing it was the only way.

  “You’ll need to pick a mate and be ready to claim her after the—”

  “I know how it works,” Nic snapped. He didn’t want to think about the poor woman who’d be stuck with him for the next few hundred years. He needed to change the subject. “Do you think you got the infection from the fight?”

  His dad shrugged. “It wouldn’t surprise me. Derek knew he was no match for me. He had to tip the scales someway.”

  Nic shifted his gaze to his dad’s stomach. “So he purposely infected you.”

  “Yeah.” He nodded. “Think about it. Infect me, and then swoop in and claim my pack next month. Snotty prick probably had some plan to take out his rivals. Wouldn’t surprise me either. Dominants have been dying left and right in our neighboring packs.”

  Nic stared at him a moment. He’d been in California for the past few months and had kept his nose out of shifter affairs for years. “The shifter who died outside—”

  “Belonged to the Tanner pack. Derek’s younger brother. He drove himself here because his pack refused to help him. Never made it inside.”

  Nic cursed. “Great communal bond.”

  “They believe in the old ways—only the strong survive. I’m done with their games. If Derek comes after me again, he dies, even if I have to shoot him. It’s my right. I’ve only been tolerant of him because I want peace between our packs, but no longer, not after Riley’s accident. No one goes after my pack’s weaker members and lives. I don’t condone that. Our pack never has.”

  Nic stiffened. “The car accident?”

  “That’s my guess. Course, I don’t know for sure, but it’s too coincidental. Kill her the same night as he fights me so she can’t save me, but according to her, the car looked like the one her ex drove. So?” He shrugged. “Who knows?”

  “Her ex?” A low growl rumbled in his chest. Claws punched out. He curled them before his dad noticed. “Who has she been dating?”

  His dad held his gaze for a long moment before shifting his focus to Nic’s hands. “A few different guys since she’s been home. Mostly humans.”

  “Mostly? What do you mean mostly? Shifters have been dating her?”

  “Yeah. You have a problem with that?” His dad leveled a hard look at him. “I’ve encouraged our males to consider mating her. She’s like my daughter. I don’t want to see her grow old and die before I do.”

  Nic ignored his primitive response that wanted to claim her. Only half of him shared the desire. His wolf had no interest in Riley or any of the humans Nic had fucked over the years. No, it made its wants known every time he walked by an unmated female shifter. His animal spirit wanted to breed. It understood the rules. The Kagan line had to continue.

  “You won’t have to. Riley said she’s moving.” Nic caught his dad’s gaze and lied. “Not sure why she decid
ed to go now, but she said she’d recommend a new pack doctor before she leaves.”

  His dad cursed. “We’ve got to talk her out of it.”

  “There are other doctors, and Jenna can handle things until we get one. If Riley wants to go, I say let her.”

  His dad stared at him. Nic saw the truth in his eyes. His dad knew, or at least suspected the real reason she’d decided to up and leave. He finally sighed. “I’ll send one of the protectors with her to make sure trouble doesn’t follow her.”

  As much as Nic didn’t like the idea of a shifter with her, the knowledge that she’d be watched over eased him. “Good.” He stood and walked toward the door. “I’ll check in with you tomorrow.”

  “Son?”

  Nic paused with his hand on the doorknob. “Yeah?”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Nic glanced over his shoulder. Sympathy softened his dad’s normally impassive features.

  “I eventually came to care for your mother.” His dad dropped his gaze to the bed. “Sometimes I even miss her now that she’s gone.”

  Cared for, not loved.

  Nic grunted and walked out. He didn’t want to think about his future. He wanted to shift into his wolf and run. Too damn bad it wouldn’t help him escape his fate.

  Chapter Three

  Riley sat in the back office of the bar, her feet propped on a case of vodka. Tears burned her eyes. The weakness shamed her. So did the fact that she was hiding in Alex’s cluttered space instead of enjoying the company of her friends. Well, her pack mates. She had very few human friends, not surprising really. She’d rarely associated with her kind before she’d left for school. There’d never been a reason to seek anyone else’s companionship. She’d had Nona, the widowed shifter who’d raised her, Alex, Hannah and Nic.