by Kimber White
Joel’s eyes narrowed. I saw the hint of his wolf within them, flashing dark. The shudder that went through me didn’t escape his notice.
“It’s a good idea,” he said.
“I’m sorry,” I said, rising. “I’ve got a project due later in the week. I’m behind.”
“No, you’re not,” Nikki said. “Eve, come on. I told you, you need to live a little.”
Joel moved away from Nikki and toward me. With his broad shoulders and towering height, he blocked out the sun streaming in from the windows behind him.
His presence here drew some stares from some of the other girls at the tables around us. But, when Joel turned around to stare back, they quickly diverted their attention. It wasn’t just me. This guy put off a dangerous vibe. Up until a few days ago, Nikki had thought so too. Her change of heart struck cold fear in mine. What had he done to her?
Joel touched me. On the surface, it was nothing, just a light brushing of his fingers against my arm. It set off every alarm bell my body could produce. A cold sweat made me shiver. My breath left me in a whoosh. It took everything in me not to recoil. Somehow, I knew that would be a sign of weakness that wouldn’t serve me well with him.
“You should really listen to your friend,” he said. “You’ll have a good time. There are some people I think you should meet. I hear you’ve already met one the other night. It’s a good thing you did.”
Was that a threat? Joel’s cold expression alone would have made anyone shudder. Nikki beamed up at him. It was if he’d pulled her into his orbit somehow.
“I’ll think about it,” I found myself saying. I didn’t mean it. But my need to get away from this guy and whatever power he had over Nikki burned through me.
“Good,” Nikki said, clasping her hands together. She went up on the balls of her feet. I think she would have kissed Joel if his quick glance hadn’t frozen her. He did reach for her though, trailing his fingers against hers. Nikki’s cheeks colored again and a groan escaped from her lips. A wave of nausea rolled through me.
“See you tonight,” Joel whispered to her, though he fixed his eyes on me.
Nikki dared a quick squeeze of his shoulder before Joel finally turned and walked away.
I didn’t wait for Nikki to start in on me again. Instead, I grabbed my laptop case and went out the other door. I couldn’t stand to hear more lies coming out of her mouth. There was no getting to know Joel Wisher. He wasn’t some different guy the more familiar you got. I knew his type. I’d known dozens of them weaving in and out of my mother’s life. I only hoped Nikki would be strong enough to come to her senses before she got hurt. My mother never did.
Nikki didn’t come back to the room until just before dinner. When she did, she was happy, singing a song in her high soprano as she threw practically every article of clothing she owned on top of her bed. I kept my nose in my laptop, pretending disinterest. After all that, she settled on a tee shirt and tight jeans. She pulled her blue suede cowboy boots up her calves and sat on the edge of her bed.
“We’ll be down at the park,” she said. “I’m not going to beg you to come, but I really wish you would.”
I turned to her. “Nikki, you’re an adult. More or less. So am I. I can’t tell you what to do or who to date. But, I’m not going to pretend this shit with Joel isn’t disturbing. You go from healthy suspicion and downright loathing in less than twenty-four hours. Plus, he’s, I don’t know...creepy, Nik. Red flags everywhere. Plus, he’s a shifter. You shouldn’t mess with him. Trust me on this.”
She bolted up and got in my face. Her move was so quick, so aggressive it startled me. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was the one who had wolf in her. “And you don’t know what you’re talking about. You might want to shut your mouth until you do.”
I think I would have been less shocked if she’d actually slapped me. This wasn’t Nikki. She didn’t have a temper. I’d never heard her utter an unkind word to anyone, let alone me, her supposed best friend.
As quickly as she snapped, she plastered that bright, familiar smile on her face and turned to leave. Her hair swung with the movement and I got a look at the back of her neck. That’s when my heart turned to stone.
I bolted out of my seat and grabbed her arm. “Nikki, what is that?” I pulled the hair away from her neck. Nikki resisted, trying to jerk away from me, but it was too late. I’d seen enough. At the nape of her neck, Nikki had an angry, crescent-shaped red welt. There were tiny puncture wounds all around it. It got hard to breathe as I realized what it was. This was a bite mark. That motherfucker had taken a chunk out of her.
“It’s none of your business,” Nikki said, finally freeing herself from my grip. “I told you, it’s not what you think it is.”
“He bit you? It looks like more than once. Are you going to stand there and deny it?”
Nikki’s eyes widened, reddening as she searched my face. She held back tears and backed away toward the door. “Just forget about it, okay? Joel hasn’t done anything I didn’t want him to. I wish you’d come down to the park with me. See for yourself.”
“Uh. Thanks, I’ll pass.”
Nikki’s shoulders dropped. “Please, Eve? For me? Just this once? I promise you won’t regret it.”
I hated disappointing her. Something very terrible was going on between Nikki and Joel. Anyone could see it. I just wasn’t sure I was willing to let myself get sucked under by it. But, what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t step in to help her?
“Maybe,” I found myself saying. “If I have time.”
Nikki rushed forward and hugged me. There was desperation in the gesture, but it passed just as quickly. In the distance, I swore I could hear a rising howl. It was faint, but out there nonetheless. When I turned toward the sound, I heard the door slam shut. Nikki had bolted at the sound. I knew in my heart it was Joel, calling for her.
I went to the window and watched her race across the quad toward the park.
The park. I’d been just steps away from leaving Birch Haven behind for good. At least, that’s what I’d told myself. But what really might have happened if I’d kept on running? My thoughts drifted back to Mac. The moment they did, my pulse quickened. Was I any different than Nikki? There’d been something about Mac that drew me to him when I knew I should probably be afraid.
I didn’t know him. I had every reason to be afraid of him. And yet, every night since, his silver wolf eyes came to me in my dreams. He wasn’t like Joel. He wasn’t from Birch Haven and he’d been just as afraid as I was.
The smartest thing to have done was stay away. I was smart, but I was also Nikki’s friend. She and I had been thrown together freshman year. I would have understood if she’d just been polite to me. We had to live together, after all. My whole life, I’d made an art form out of pushing people away. It was easier that way. Less painful when they inevitably let you down. But, Nikki had stuck with me. She could have easily roomed with someone else this year. I would have understood. Hell, I would have expected it. She didn’t though.
“Dammit, Nikki!” I muttered as I grabbed my hoodie off the back of my desk chair and headed out the door.
What would work against a wolf shifter? Pepper spray? A swift kick in the balls? I knew the answer was nothing. Shifters can move so fast you can’t even see it until after they’re across the room. My heart raced thinking of what Joel could do to Nikki...what he had already done to her. That bite meant something.
I thrust my hands into the pockets of my hoodie as I made my way across the quad and back toward the park. It was dinner time; most of the students of Birch Haven College were back in the cafeteria. Day classes were over. There were no evening classes on Fridays. Still, it seemed strange that campus was this deserted. The lights from the town twinkled in the distance, but no cars turned down Campus Drive. It was almost as if Joel had planned things this way. The air itself seemed to turn sinister and cold as I took the trail down to the riverbank.
Light laughter reached my ears. My pulse qu
ickened as I got closer to the sound. It was Nikki, all right. She sounded happy, not the least bit distressed. I stepped off the trail and headed for the woods, letting the thick brush shield me as I approached. If Joel tried to hurt her, I didn’t know what the hell I could do about it, but Nikki was my friend. She deserved for me to try.
They sat on a bench together, facing the river. Joel had his arm around Nikki. She sank into him.
“Do you think she’ll come?” A voice came from the west, further down the embankment. It was Chris Woods. He was out of uniform, just like Joel. Somehow, he looked even more imposing in his dry-fit tee shirt stretched taut over solid muscle. His wolf eyes glinted nearly red. I’d come to recognize that as a sign of a wolf barely in control.
Nikki seemed so calm as she sat at Joel’s side. It was odd. She stared straight ahead almost as though she were in a trance. She didn’t even turn toward Chris as he approached.
“Wait here,” Joel said to her. Nikki gave him an absent nod and stared out at the water. Chris and Joel stepped away from her. I crouched lower, hiding behind a thick bush.
“You’ve got to be patient, man,” Joel said. “I told you. I put in a good word for you, but these things take time.”
“I don’t have time,” Chris snapped. He growled and bared his teeth. Joel growled back. The sound of it came to me first as a feeling, sparking through my nerve endings. Every cell in my body wanted to run. I tried to keep my eyes fixed on Nikki. She sat still as a statue, looking out at the water.
“You have as much time as the Alpha says you have,” Joel snapped. “You know how this works.”
“Yeah? What makes you so special with her? It was my turn, Joel. I outrank you.”
Joel squared his shoulders and put his body between Chris and Nikki, blocking the other man’s view of her.
“It works how it works,” Joel said. “It’s not just about rank. There’s politics involved. I’ve been telling you that for years. You want special consideration from the Alpha? Do something to let him know you deserve it. Nobody’s entitled to anything the Alpha doesn’t want to give.”
“So maybe it’s time I just take what I want.” Chris turned on Joel. His eyes were blood red and his fangs came out. It was as if the air in my lungs turned to ice. Chris was dangerous. Deadly. Nikki was sitting so close to them. Couldn’t she see what was happening? If Joel and Chris came to blows, she wasn’t safe there. I wanted desperately to call her to me.
“Don’t be a fucking idiot, Chris,” Joel said. “I told you. The Alpha will be here soon. You ask for a meeting with him. I’ll go with you. I’ll put in a good word for you. You have been in service to the Pack for a lot of years. That won’t go unnoticed. But if you charge in there eyes blazing and pissed off, you’ll be lucky to get out of it with your head still attached to your shoulders.”
“I. Want. Her. Friend.” Chris’s voice barely sounded human. And I could barely keep my balance. Her friend. Nikki’s friend. Chris was talking about me.
“You’ll get her, man. You will. If you play it cool, you’ll be next in line for a mate. I know what I’m talking about. Nikki was worth the wait. Eve will be too.”
I don’t remember moving. I don’t remember making a conscious choice to run. But, before I knew it, branches clawed at my hair as I went as fast as I could through the trees.
Chris wanted a mate. He wanted me to be his mate. Oh, God. And Joel had done something to Nikki. Is that what Chris was planning for me? Would he bite me like that and subject me to whatever fucked up mind control Joel seemed to have Nikki under?
I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.
I was luckier than I was smart that night. Before I knew what was happening, I’d crossed over a steep embankment, scrambling my way up the brush. I wanted to scream. I wanted to shout and fight and put as much distance between myself and Birch Haven as possible. It didn’t occur to me what I’d do if Joel and Chris realized I was there. I just knew I needed to get away.
Something happened.
My pulse beat a furious pace, but then it slowed, growing steady and calm, almost as if I were outside of myself. A shadow crossed my path and I ran smack into a brick wall. When I looked up, I realized it wasn’t a wall at all.
Mac caught me by the elbows, his eyes silver and wild. A low growl tore through him as he broke my fall.
Seven
Mac
If I’d doubted it before, three seconds changed all of that. I’d stayed low and in the shadows along the riverbank. The raging waters helped hide my scent. But, I was drawn to hers. At first, I tried to deny it. I was just keyed up from being so close to Birch Haven and members of the Pack. I was spoiling for something.
Then, Eve’s distress transmitted to me like a thunderbolt straight through my heart. It didn’t matter if they sensed me. It didn’t matter if they tore me limb from limb. It only mattered that I closed the distance between us and held Eve in my arms.
She fell against me, gasping. Terror lit her eyes. Her pupils widened as she looked up and up. She should have been scared. She’d run from the threat of one shifter straight into the arms of another. Eve wasn’t afraid of me though. On a preternatural level, she knew what I was. It was no coincidence that the path she took led straight to me. Her body knew the way.
“Mac!” she cried out. Eve had the presence of mind not to scream. I felt other shifters close by. They were Pack, of course, but they didn’t realize I was there. It meant they were weaker betas. Whoever the Alpha had overseeing Birch Haven, he wasn’t in the park that night.
“Did they hurt you?” My voice didn’t sound familiar to my own ears. My words came out as a growl. My eyes traveled to the delicate bones of Eve’s clavicle beneath the straps of her red tank top where her hoodie opened up. Her breaths came hard and uneven. Without even thinking, I concentrated on slowing my own breathing. Hers calmed to match mine. She didn’t realize it.
“No.” She shook her head. I looked toward the west, over her shoulder. Whoever she’d run from, they hadn’t given chase. Yet.
“Come here,” I said, pulling her out of the clearing and back into the denser part of the woods. We skirted the boundary of Birch Haven here. The brick walls rose just beyond the trees to my left.
Eve followed me, unquestioning. I kept a tight grip on her hand. Heat seared me as I felt her pulse against my fingers. I wanted to feel so much more.
“Tell me what happened,” I said, my tone urgent. She was scared. Adrenaline coursed through her, making her bold. Had she been calmer, she might not have let me touch her. I smoothed a hair out of her eyes and ran my thumb along her cheekbone. Eve’s rosy lips parted as she let a breath out. Little things. Gooseflesh on her upper arms, a tiny bead of sweat on her brow. Her body was already responding to mine. My wolf clamored inside of me, screaming the meaning of it all. Not now. It was far too dangerous for both of us.
“My friend, Nikki,” Eve said, her voice catching. “One of the shifters, Joel. He did something to her. It’s like she’s in a trance around him.”
My heart twisted. “Did he mark her? Do you know?”
If I closed my eyes, I could envision doing the exact same thing to Eve, God help me. I tried to concentrate on keeping my own breathing even. If she saw the instinct flare in my eyes, it would scare her, and rightly so. But I knew what she couldn’t yet. No matter what happened, I would never hurt Eve. I would kill any man or wolf who tried to harm her.
“He bit her, I think,” Eve said. Her hand flew to the nape of her own neck. An answering heat flared within me. I wasn’t sure I could keep my own fangs from dropping if she showed me the back of her neck.
Swallowing hard, I nodded. “That’s his mark,” I said.
“What do you know about it?” she asked. Eve finally came into herself enough to pull away from me. She backed up against a tree. “She’s different. She hated this guy two days ago. He’s a creep. There’s just something...wrong...about him.”
Rage bubbled to the surface. What Eve was des
cribing was abhorrent to me. It went against everything shifters were supposed to stand for. We didn’t force markings on our mates. Doing so was the greatest sin there was.
“Mac,” she said, taking a bold step toward me. “This place. Birch Haven. Do you know what it is?”
She looked at me with pain in her eyes. Eve was trusting me with something. Me. A perfect stranger as far as she was concerned. And yet, she was drawn to me as I was to her. It was the very thing that might get us both killed before the night was through.
“You said you were looking for someone,” she said, taking yet another step toward me. “Tell me who. Tell me what you know. Why are you here?”
“You ask a lot of questions,” I said, though I couldn’t hold back a smirk. Eve. Beautiful. Strong. Defiant. She had no idea what she was walking into with me.
“There’s something wrong about this place. The shifters...they patrol the grounds. No one talks about it, but no one is allowed to leave. Do you know what I think would have happened the other night if I kept on running?”
I couldn’t hold back the protective growl that ripped from my throat. My vision went dark and I knew Eve saw my silver wolf eyes flash pure. It should have scared her. It didn’t. Instead, she took another step toward me. Just a few inches separated us. My fingers quivered with the urge to touch her.
“Everyone here...all the girls... I think we were lured here for a reason. Nikki and me? It’s all the same story. No families. No real money. I came because they offered me a full scholarship. Where else was I going to go? Nikki’s parents were killed in a car crash when she was sixteen. Her uncle mismanaged her money. There’s another girl, Jasmine. She grew up in foster care. The cops, the mayor, everyone in a position of authority behind these walls are men. Shifter men. What is this place? You know, don’t you? Tell me. Dammit, I need to know.”
My heart broke into a thousand pieces as pain etched deep lines in Eve’s forehead. She was just like Lena. Her mother was dead. Our father had been a member of the Pack. Neither of us ever knew him. Until one day, he came back. When he left, he took Lena with him.
