First Shift (The Wolves of Rock Falls Book 1)

by AJ Skelly

  Rachel’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline. Mary was so calm about this, so collected. Part of me wanted to scream at her that shifting was anything but calm, and the other part of me wanted Sam to be here. Wolf agreed with that part, which only irritated me more.

  Sam? I called without meaning to.

  Megan? His answer was immediate.

  She wants to get out. I’m not sure what to do.

  You can control it. Call her up and shift before she demands it.

  I hated how vulnerable I felt. I wanted to ask him to come up but wanted to be able to do this on my own.

  Meg? His mental voice was uncertain.

  I’m fine. I gritted out between my mental teeth. I would do this on my own. I could do this. There was a forethought of tingling where my tail would come out. Crap. My clothes.

  Without another thought, I tore my shirt off over my head in front of everyone and darted to the bathroom, trying to wiggle out of my jeans before I couldn’t control myself.

  “Megan?”

  “Meg? What’s wrong?”

  “Stay back, Rachel!”

  It was a semi-mutual melding of wills. Wolf desperately wanted out; I wanted to control the shift. In the end, we both sort of got what we wanted. Wolf was out. She was happy. I hadn’t entirely controlled the shift, and my wolf nails were definitely painted. We weren’t on the same page.

  “Let me know when you’re ready, and we’ll fix your hair,” Mary called into the bathroom. Because that was normal.

  Chapter 19

  Sam

  I twirled the phone around in my hands, excitement and anxiety warring for prominence. It had been several hours. We’d eaten twice. And I was still wrestling with my decision. I bit my lip. Dad probably wouldn’t appreciate it—he didn’t appreciate much I did without his express permission—but this was my wedding. Sort of.

  I pulled up Cade’s info and shot him a quick text.

  —Getting married. Want you here.—

  —???—

  —Meg. Dad’s rules. Cabin.—

  —Finding pants. Don’t start without me.—

  I grinned and slipped a finger between my neck and the stiff collar of my white dress shirt.

  Another phone buzzed, and I glanced up as Dad answered.

  “Ready? About time.” He clicked the phone shut and shoved it into the pocket of his navy pants, his suit coat floating down to hide the bulge it made. He wasn’t glaring anymore, but he was still far from happy. I guess the disappointment would take a bit longer to fade. I tried to ignore the gnawing ache it set in my bones.

  “It’s time,” Mr. Carmichael said, a genuine smile in my direction. “There is one more thing before we go. Dominic, Rev, you all go on out to the car. Sam and I will be along shortly.” Dad bristled, and Rev gave me a knowing smile as he exited behind Dad. I picked up my own suit coat and shrugged into it as Mr. Carmichael cleared his throat.

  “Son,” Mr. Carmichael began. “This is a big day for you. A big day for Meggie, too. She isn’t thinking about this like you are.”

  I swallowed. I wasn’t sure where this was going, but I really hoped I wasn’t about to get a sex talk from a ninety-something-year-old man.

  He went on. “You are going to make a promise in a little while. A promise I expect you to keep with your life.” He had my complete attention. “When you sign that piece of paper that legally makes you Megan’s husband, you take on the commitment to honor her wishes above your own.” He gave me a significant look, and I felt the tips of my ears get hot. “And to protect her. I’m old. You are a young man full of promise and fully aware of the dangers of the world in which she now lives. You will be her guardian, her protector, her man. You see that you live up to that.”

  I had never felt so inadequately small or so full of pride all at once as George Carmichael dropped those heavy words on me.

  “And one more thing,” he said, a definite twinkle in his eyes as his hand fished around in his pocket. “Meggie isn’t ready for this yet. And she might never be, but if she is, you’ll have this for her.”

  My hand closed around a tiny metal object. Opening my hand, in my palm sat a simple but elegant ring. It had Megan written all over it.

  “That was my sweet Elsie’s ring. She wore it for seventy years.” His eyes misted, and I put a hand on the old man’s arm. He blinked rapidly and cleared his throat so hard that his mustache twitched. “You’ll know what to do with it if it comes to that.” He clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Right then. Let’s get you up to the cabin and get you hitched.”

  ****

  The cabin was lit up like a beacon of warm yellow light as the sun started its retreat into the purple clouds at the base of the horizon. Cade’s car slid into the drive right before we did.

  “Sam?” Dad’s voice had a hard edge.

  “He already knows anyway. I wanted him here.” Rev nodded at my dad as some unreadable emotion flashed across my father’s face.

  “Fine,” he said softly. It was the closest thing to acceptance my dad had voiced all day.

  Cade stepped out of his car, nodding respectfully to my dad and Rev before coming over to me and slinging an arm around my shoulders. The sunset made his black hair appear purple.

  “You okay?” he asked quietly. Emotion suddenly clogged my throat. Why couldn’t my dad have been the one to ask me that?

  Was I okay? I was elated, terrified, in awe, and in agony.

  “I guess” tumbled out my mouth. Cade squeezed my shoulders. He knew I’d been head over heels for Megan Carmichael for years.

  “I hope it works out,” Cade said simply. He didn’t need to say anything else. Even without knowing the situation aside from the few short texts we’d sent, he knew me well enough to get an accurate read on things.

  Rev opened the door, and Dad and Mr. Carmichael went through. Cade gave my shoulder one last bump with his fist and then he disappeared into the warmth of the cabin, too.

  I hesitated there in the cooling air. Rev waited expectantly. With a deep breath, I let go of every dream and expectation I’d ever had about my future mate. My dream was more dead than alive and waiting for me inside the cabin.

  Chapter 20

  Megan

  The door opened, and Grandpa shuffled in, his eyes twinkling, grin turning his mouth up under his bushy mustache. I was glad at least one of us was happy at this turn of events. My stomach rolled, sour and uneasy. The wolf pranced around, ecstatic at the prospect of being near Sam. My human frustration and apprehension were warring against the wolf’s happiness and giving me a serious fit of nerves.

  I stood from the chair I’d been sitting in and turned to face the door as Mr. Wolfe walked in. Mary sidled up to him, a serene smile of anticipation making her glow.

  “Brides are supposed to be nervous on their wedding day,” Rachel whispered so low in my ear I didn’t think the others could overhear. She squeezed my hand supportively. The fabric of her light gray dress crinkled against our clasped hands.

  I turned to her, fighting panic, and she squeezed my hand again.

  “One month. You can do this. You’ll be human again before you know it.” Her reminder was a balm on my frazzled nerves. My lungs filled with oxygen as I gripped her hand. Sam’s friend Cade walked in, and the wolf sniffed suspiciously at the new male scent that came in with him. I’d known Cade as long as I’d known Sam. I shouldn’t have been surprised to find he was a werewolf, too. Rachel’s quick intake of breath confirmed she must have come to the same conclusion.

  Cade turned his bright blue eyes on me, his dark head tipping in my direction. While it was a hello to my human half, the wolf calmed, recognizing the gesture in a primal way that acknowledged my dominance. It was a weird sensation that took my human half a second to recognize.

  And then Sam came in.

  My heart lurched as I took in his shaggy blond head, his blue eyes, his wide shoulders in a crisp white shirt and black suit with a silver tie. A shiver whispered over me, both from
nerves and appreciation at the fine figure Sam Wolfe cut. The wolf preened. I hoped her blatant ogling didn’t show on my human face. I tried to shush her. She growled but calmed down. At last, I was glad for the dress and my hair that I’d decided to leave loose but curled in big waves—the way Grandma had always liked it.

  His gaze met mine across the room, and he offered a half smile, unsure but widening as his eyes swept over me appreciatively. My shoulders shrugged slightly, unsure myself. I tried to keep my face neutral. I was anxious, apprehensive, but if I was totally honest with myself, part of me was a little excited.

  Rev closed the door, and the tiny band of witnesses to our wedding was complete.

  “Let’s move this couch back. I want to have some sort of aisle to walk Meggie down.” Grandpa motioned to make a walkway. Red swarmed my cheeks. I just wanted to get this over with.

  Cade and Tammy both jumped in before anyone else could get to the couch and made quick work of moving the furniture. And then there was nothing left to do.

  Rev stood in front of the table in the kitchen with Sam at his side. The others in the room had fanned out along the sides of the small space. Grandpa leaned down and kissed my cheek. He smiled, sadness touching the corners of his eyes. He nodded to me and propped his cane on the side of Sam’s bed before looping my arm through his. There was a soft click, and I realized Rachel was taking pictures.

  Our footsteps boomed in the deafening silence as he led me down the short makeshift aisle to the kitchen.

  Just like in the movies, Grandpa leaned down and kissed my cheek one more time before taking my hand and putting it in Sam’s.

  Sam looked into my eyes, and I felt a slight tremor go through his hand as he clasped mine. Could he possibly be as nervous as me?

  Ready? echoed in my head.

  I closed my eyes. I didn’t have the emotional energy to respond. I took a breath and opened my eyes, biting the inside of my lip as the wolf seemed to offer me comfort by rubbing her head against me affectionately.

  Rev was saying something, but I couldn’t hear the words or make the syllables into anything coherent. It was just noise as I stood there, staring at Sam, wondering how my life had suddenly taken such a drastic turn in such an unexpected direction. Sam’s thumb rubbed across my skin, bringing me back to the present and exciting the wolf. She basked in his attention.

  I jerked at my name.

  “Megan Elizabeth Carmichael, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband for as long as you both shall remain tethered by the laws of nature?”

  For as long as I remained a wolf? Was that what Rev meant? It was better than the traditional “for as long as you both shall live.” I couldn’t give my word to that. It was probably Grandpa’s doing. I snuck a peek at him, and his face was crinkled in understanding. Definitely Grandpa’s doing.

  The silence was pressing in around me, and my stomach lurched painfully against my ribs.

  Sam’s eyes were blue and hopeful, waiting for me. He squeezed my hands softly. This was it.

  “I do,” squeaked from my lips and hung in the air.

  “Samuel Lawson Wolfe, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife for as long as you both shall remain tethered by the laws of nature?”

  “I do.” No hesitation. He smiled at me.

  “Then by the power vested in me—”

  The tingling started—not the quiet lead up, these were full stabs that jerked my arms. No, no, no, no! Not now, not in front of these people, not right after my wedding vows! I tried to calm the wolf, but she was having none of it. She needed out now.

  Clearly interpreting my anguish, without waiting for Rev to finish, Sam leaned forward and kissed me. Wolf immediately calmed. It might have been Sam’s kiss she’d wanted all along. His lips weren’t insistent. He didn’t push me. Lingering only a second more than he needed to calm her, he slowly lifted his head.

  “—man and wife,” Rev finished. A collective sigh of relief floated up from those gathered around us.

  And just like that, I was a married woman.

  In name only.

  Chapter 21

  Sam

  We were married. She’d actually gone through with it. Man, I wanted to kiss her for real. I couldn’t help the smile that broke across my face. I probably looked like a grinning idiot, but I couldn’t rein it in. My wolf was totally puffed up. He might as well have been a king basking in the adoration of his people. My smile faded as Megan’s expression turned a little lost. I squeezed her hand again. Her eyes met mine as her shoulders sagged with a quick breath out her mouth.

  “I think we should have cake,” Rachel offered into the silence. That cracked Megan’s face into a tiny smile. She glanced at Rachel appreciatively. I glanced at Cade. He winked back.

  “Cake appears to be in order,” Rev conceded, a smile hiding in the corner of his mouth.

  Megan gently extracted her hands and clasped them in front of her. My heart squeezed painfully as I was reminded that she wasn’t really mine for keeps.

  Mom was on the move. “I’ll be right back!” she called as she flew out the front door.

  “Why don’t we sign this and get all the formalities out of the way,” Rev interjected, pointing to a piece of paper on the table. Dad nodded authoritatively. The marriage license. What this whole debacle had been about. Rev motioned for Cade and Rachel to come up, too.

  “Will you two sign as witnesses?” Rev asked. Cade grinned at me. There was no one’s signature I’d rather have next to mine as witness to this monumental, possibly catastrophic event.

  Rev handed me the pen. I signed, bold and confident. The pen shook as Megan held it. She hesitated.

  My insides withered a little. My lungs expanded as her trembling hand signed her name.

  Rachel was next. Her eyebrows rose questioningly at Meg. Megan nodded, and Rachel signed her name, a tiny flourish on the b of Crumb, her last name.

  Cade made quick work with the pen. Last came George Carmichael. I held my breath, wondering if Megan would comment. She watched in silence, a blank expression on her face.

  There was time for nothing else as Mom jetted back into the cabin carrying a large box. Cake. How or when she had time to find a cake for the occasion escaped me, but one more peek at Megan said this was the distraction she needed to break up the tension between us.

  We broke apart as Mom put the cake box on the table. Rachel quickly moved forward to help her. It was a small two-tiered cake done up in simple white frosting with a few elegant frosted swirls along the edges of the tiers.

  Plates of cake were handed out, but before I could take a bite, Mom pushed the envelope too far.

  “All right you two, it’s tradition to feed each other a bite of your wedding cake.”

  Meg’s face paled. I could tell she was barely holding it together.

  “I don’t think we need to stand on every tradition, Mom.”

  Mom’s face fell slightly. I didn’t know why she was trying to make this such a to-do. She knew as well as anyone this was an in-name-only marriage. As much as I wanted it to be otherwise.

  “Aunt Mary, this cake is awesome. Is this spice cake?” Tammy interjected around a mouthful. It was enough to start small talk up to fill the awkward emptiness.

  The sun made its complete disappearance as everyone was finishing up with their dessert. My skin prickled as the chill descended, and I wondered if Meg would need to shift again soon.

  “How is your wolf?” I asked her quietly, nudging her knee with mine. She’d been sitting quietly in the chair beside mine, facing toward the room as we’d eaten. She’d picked at her cake and offered nothing to the conversations around us.

  “Um, still quiet for now. I imagine she’ll need to get out soon though. She was pretty insistent at the altar,” she quipped.

  I chuckled in spite of her dry tone. I glanced at Cade, giving him a quick nod. He got the drift.

  “Guys, I appreciate you inviting me”—he conveniently did n
ot encompass my father—“but it’s dark, and I’ll be needing to get back. Sam, Megan, congratulations.” He flashed a genuine smile at us. I knew he was resisting the urge to say something suggestive about wedding night activities. One perk of my dad in attendance. I nodded and met him at the door. Meg stood politely with me.

  Cade gave Megan a short hug, and Wolf snorted at their contact. I shushed him. Cade was no threat. He moved to me, and I got a hug and quick pound on the back.

  “Later, man.” With his back to my dad, Cade raised both eyebrows suggestively. I punched his shoulder.

  “Later.”

  Everyone else took the hint and started trailing out the door. Mom hugged us both. Hard.

  “Congratulations, Sammy,” she whispered. I hugged her back, glad for the support, even if it was misplaced.

  “Sam,” Dad said. He shook my hand firmly. Some emotion I couldn’t interpret crossed his face. Sadness? Longing? It was gone before I could decide. He awkwardly patted Megan on the shoulder, saying nothing.

  Tammy didn’t say anything either but gave us each a hurried hug and trotted out the door. Rev’s hugs were short and to the point, his smile fatherly.

  Rachel gave me a quick hug before wrapping Megan in a massive bear hug. They clung to each other for a full minute or two before letting go. Rachel tipped back enough to look Meg fully in the face.

  “To the ends of the earth,” she said softly.

  Megan blew a breath out through her mouth. “To the ends of the earth,” she repeated.

  “I’ll call you tomorrow, yeah?” Rachel confirmed.

  “Please.”

  Rachel’s mouth pulled into a cheeky grin. “Congrats, Mrs.” She winked as Meg swatted her arm.

  “Twerp.”

  Rachel’s laugh was like a silvery ball as she exited, leaving only George Carmichael in the cabin with us.

  His gaze encompassed us, warmth and pride lighting his face. Without a word, he gathered both of us in his arms at once. Old Spice aftershave and something lightly orangey drifted from his skin.