by Rose, Renee
Bullshit.
I don’t even need my wolf to snarl it at me. I know it myself.
It was total self-preservation.
I didn’t want to get kicked out of the pack over a female again, so I acted like a coward.
But it’s okay, if I can just get out of here, I’ll find Sunny and we can talk about our future. If she agrees to let me be a part of her life, I can deal with Green then.
Even that doesn’t mollify my wolf or me. I have a current of uneasiness running through me at a mounting level.
To make it even worse, I can’t spot Sunny anywhere. I haven’t seen her for a couple hours now—not since we came inside, and she hasn’t answered my text asking where she is.
Of course, Green’s eye is on me the whole fucking time, so I haven’t been able to shirk my duties and go find her, either.
At long last, I finish debriefing the pack council.
“Good work, everyone,” Alpha Green congratulates the room. We interviewed a few of the shifters and conferenced in the tech guru Jackson King and his wife Kylie, a shifter with amazing hacking abilities. They’re working on contacting the pack or family of each of the stolen shifters—those who want to go back. If the shifters prefer not to return to their homes, we’ll help them settle. In the meantime, the Phoenix pack will continue to host everyone.
I give a vague nod when Pierce, one of my council buddies, claps me on the shoulder. “Good work, Titus.”
“Yeah, thanks. I gotta get going, though. I’ll see you all later.”
I tried to get out of the meeting early a few times, but every time my Alpha would shoot me another question.
Sunny’s a big girl. She can handle herself. Or so I keep telling my wolf. But nothing feels right about this.
In the main hall, only half the new shifters remain, helping clean up dinner or perusing the tables in the back covered with donated clothes and toiletries. The rest of the new shifters have been picked up by pack members who offered places to stay in their homes.
Allison and Fiona are still here, sitting with the two strange shifters from Tucson. I pause at the end of their table
“Where’s Sunny?”
Allison frowns, exchanging a look with Fiona. “I haven’t seen her in a while.”
“Yeah, she didn’t eat with us. Last I saw her was outside by her VW.”
“Thanks.” I head outside, an inexplicable sense of dread twisting in my gut.
“Sunny?” The low-slung sun slants into my eyes and I shade them, heading around the bus and SUVs, searching for the familiar silver flash. Amid the sea of smells, Sunny’s fruit and herb scent teases me. I stride to the end of the parking lot. Where did she go? Did she pull around to the front of the building for some reason?
My wolf snarls insults at me and I ignore him. Not now. I gotta find Sunny. I need to get this shit figured out with her. Right away. Either we’re together, or we’re not. But I gotta know.
My wolf howls. Mine. Our mate.
I rub the back of my neck. I really gotta figure this situation out. I care for Sunny but I belong with my pack.
I blow out a breath and stare at the ground, my wolf tugging at my attention. It takes me a moment to understand what I’m seeing: a set of tire tracks curving through the dust.
Fuck. I guess this means we’re not going to be together.
She left me.
Again.
* * *
Sunny
Foxfire fills my mug with chamomile tea. Behind her, Tank takes up all the available space in the kitchen, leaning against the cabinets. His big form is so like Titus’, it hurts to look in his direction.
“So you just left?” my daughter asks softly. She’s calm but her colorful aura pulses with alarm. It’s not everyday I surprise her on her doorstep and burst into tears.
“Yes.” I wipe my eyes. “I didn’t want to stay where I wasn’t wanted. Given the choice between me and his pack, who is he going to choose?” I try to scoff. The bite on my shoulder throbs and I rub it with my palm. The pain radiates through my arm. “Do you have any arnica?” I tug on my collar.
Foxfire sucks in a breath, grabs my shirt and stares at the enormous hickey. “What the hell? Did Titus do this?”
“It’s all right, darling.” I push away her hand and cover the mark again. “Just a love bite.” A big one.
“That’s not a love bite. That’s a mating mark.”
I blink at her serious tone. “What?”
“Tank?” my daughter calls. Her man is already standing over me. “Let him see.”
With a sigh, I drop my hand. His gaze zeroes in on the mark.
“It’s nothing,” I insist.
“It’s not nothing. See?” Foxfire tugs away her own shirt and shows me a healed bite. “It’s a wolf thing. They do it when they want to claim you. If Titus did that it means you’re his mate.”
“But… I’m human.”
“Doesn’t matter. His wolf claimed you as his.”
“And then Titus renounced me. He called what we had ‘a fling’ and told his alpha it didn’t mean anything.” The words stab my heart all over again.
“Fuck,” Tank mutters, and stomps off. The act is so Titus, tears fill my eyes.
“It’s okay, Sunny.” Foxfire covers my hand. “I promise, it’ll be okay.”
* * *
Titus
She left. She fucking left.
I try to call her all the names I called my ex-wife. Bitch. Traitor. But my wolf doesn’t want to play. He was glad to be rid of my ex wife, who lied to us from the beginning. Sunny didn’t lie. She was true to herself, every day, and let me in knowing I might judge her.
I bring my phone to my ear before I realize it’s buzzing.
Junior the screen reads. I answer. “Tank? Everything all right?”
“Nope. Gotta situation.”
My heart falls to my boots. “Is it Foxfire? Did someone come for her?” Shit, I knew there’d be blowback. Didn’t realize it would be so soon.
“Not Foxfire. She and I are fine. It’s Sunny.”
The world spins. “Sunny? She… she’s there?”
“Yep. Turned up a half an hour ago, crying her eyes out. Apparently she heard you denounce her to Alpha Green.”
The pieces rearrange and snap into place. My mind spins. What did I say to Green? Oh fates, it was bad. Really bad. “Fuck.”
“Yeah.”
“Tank, I—”
“You marked her, Dad. I saw the bite.”
I can’t speak.
“Listen, you can’t put pack above your personal happiness. Pack isn’t everything. And Sunny—she’s not Mom. Not every female is like that.”
It hurts, hearing Tank bring up his mother. He never talks about her if he can help it. I’d rather take a bullet than make my son remember the female who abandoned him.
“I know.”
“Sunny isn’t like that. She’s loving and loyal.”
“She left,” I remind him. “Twice.”
“Foxfire left me. These Hines women will do that rather than face rejection.”
“I didn’t reject her.” The lie tastes like ashes in my mouth.
“You did. You brought her into your life, and threw her to the wolves. That’s not how you treat a mate. That’s not how you raised me.”
Ours. My wolf howls. Our mate.
I swallow the pain. “She left of her own accord.”
“Then get her back,” my son snarls. “Lay down your damn pride and protect your mate.”
Yes! My wolf agrees.
“—Sir,” Tank adds.
“You’re a good man, son.”
“I’m what you raised me to be.”
“Proud of you.”
“Dad…” Tank sighs. Whatever he says next is gonna be heavy. “I love you.”
I grip the phone tighter. Try to swallow. “I love you, too.” We don’t say these words aloud. But why not? Life’s too damn short to keep everything bottled up.
Tank and I clear our throats simultaneously. He speaks first. “Sunny’s here. We’ll keep her safe until you come. Just don’t take too long.”
We say our goodbyes and hang up.
Sunny. Fuck. I have to get her back. Now.
I stride back inside to get my keys and my vest.
“Titus?” Alpha Green calls from the corner. The rest of the council ranges around the room, eating leftover sandwiches. “Can you take the pack bus to the hotel down the road and get the rest of our guests settled?”
“No. I’m leaving.”
“What? Is this about the human?” Green’s eyes narrow. “Because she left. Pierce saw her take off as he was walking in.”
I stop at the door. “You knew she left and didn’t tell me?” I snarl at my alpha.
His nostrils flare. “I thought you were getting rid of her.” There’s warning in his voice, but I don’t give a shit.
“You had no right to send her away!” I’m outright yelling now. The rest of the council members’ mouths are hanging open. No one challenges Green this way.
“I didn’t send her away. Anyway, she’s a human. She doesn’t belong among shifters, and she knows that. Better than you it seems. Where are you going?”
I grab my vest off the chair and shrug it on. “To get her back.”
“Titus, you can’t be with her. I forbid it.”
“Fuck that.” The words are out of my mouth before I can think.
“Excuse me? What did you say—”
“I’m going after Sunny. She’s mine.”
“She’s human. You’re pack. She doesn’t belong.”
“She’s my mate.”
“You can’t bring a human in here. Not to my pack.”
“Then I’m out,” I bark.
“What?” Pierce gasps. The room full of shifters quiets. They’re all watching—Allison, Fiona, Declan, Laurie, and the rest. The entire council.
Goosebumps dance on my arm. My wolf holds his breath. He knows what I’m about to say can’t be rescinded.
“I’m out,” I repeat. “Out of the pack.”
Alpha Green is almost purple. He doesn’t take well to people standing up to him. “You leave here, Titus, you don’t come back.”
“Sounds good to me.” I turn on my heel and head for the door. Not smart to turn your back to an angry wolf—and Green is angry like I’ve never seen before—but I don’t give a fuck. None of the council can take me. I’m too big, too strong.
My rage carries me halfway across the parking lot. When I get to my bike, I slow.
Fuck. I left my pack. Fuck! It’s my past all over again. Kicked out because of a woman. But this time is different. Tank was just a little guy, and I had to protect him. Now he’s grown. My choices are my own. They affect no one but me.
And Sunny. My wolf reminds me.
Right. Sunny. Nothing matters except getting her back. For the first time in a long time, I’m seeing clearly.
I throw my leg over my bike and rev it into gear. With the sun sinking over my shoulder, I head to Tucson.
No more running. This ends tonight.
Chapter 13
Sunny
“Sunny?”
“Foxfire, what? It’s late,” I squint at her silhouette in the hall light. My head throbs in protest.
“Sorry. Someone’s here to talk to you.”
What? “Who…” I sense the change in the air. A prickle of a familiar presence. Only Titus sets off my senses like this. “No.”
“I think you should talk to him. ”
“Foxfire,” Tank calls. My daughter disappears. I roll off the bed. If I’m going to face him, I’m going to stand on my own two freak. Feet.
Oh who am I kidding? I’m a freak. I’ll always be a freak. I set my shoulders. I’m not changing for a man. Not even Titus.
His frame fills the doorway and the room falls away. He’s the only thing I see.
“Sunny.”
“Titus.” On second thought, I’m not going to stand. I sink back gracefully a second before my knees give out. “What do you want?”
“You.”
“Funny, that’s not what I heard.” Yes, this is what it sounds like when a fifty-something-year-old woman acts like a teenager. But I’m entitled to some attitude.
“I know what you heard.” He spreads his hands. If he didn’t look so damn contrite I would kick him out of the room right now.
“I fucked up. For a minute—for one stupid minute—I actually thought my place in the pack was more important than you are. But I was wrong.”
To my shock, he drops to his knees in front of me. I must be nuts, because all I can think of is climbing on, straddling his waist the way I did at the waterfall.
Instead, I press my knuckles into my mouth to keep him from seeing the wobble of my chin. It’s a failed attempt because some tears fall onto the back of my hand.
“Baby,” he says softly. He covers the hand at my mouth with his own and gently pulls it away, stroking the back of it with his thumb. “I hurt you. I’m so sorry. I had my head shoved up my ass. I planned on talking to you after the meeting about our future. Because I love you and I want to be with you. But then when Alpha Green came at me with questions, I panicked. And believe me, I felt the betrayal of those words the moment they came from my mouth. And I told myself it would all be okay, because once I talked to you, I could set Green straight.”
Even if I couldn’t feel his energy, misery’s painted all over his face. I can’t doubt his words. Titus has never been a player or liar, anyway.
“But that part’s done already, so I’m sure as hell hoping I can convince you to keep me around.”
“What part’s done already?”
“I quit the pack. Told Green you were my mate and he can shove it because I’m sticking with you.”
I gasp. “No… Titus.”
Alarm creeps into his gaze.
“The pack means everything to you. I don’t want you to give it up for me.”
He brushes a lock of hair away from my face. “I don’t care about the pack. All I care about is you. Please say you’ll have me. I won’t slow you down, I promise. We’ll have to get a bigger RV, but I’ll go with you—wherever your free spirit wants to go.”
I give a watery laugh. “Titus, no,” I repeat and he looks even more alarmed. “I mean no, we don’t have to live in an RV. I wouldn’t drag you around the country on the craft circuit.”
Titus’ brows draw together. “I’m not sure what you’re saying, sunshine. Please tell me it’s that you’ll let me be your mate.”
I touch the bite mark. “From what I understand, that’s already a done deal.”
Guilt washes over Titus’ face. “I’m sorry. I should’ve told you. I just didn’t want to scare you. I know how you don’t like to settle down.”
I reach out and touch his face. His silver beard is soft beneath my fingers. “Titus, you have it all wrong. I’d be happy to settle down.”
His brows go up. “You would?”
“Yes. With you. Here. Or anywhere. If you’re really looking for a mate.”
He gives a pained laugh. “I’m not looking for a mate.”
I flush. “Oh, I—”
“I already found her.”
“You did?” I whisper.
He reaches up to cup my face with both hands. “I did. She’s right here in front of me.”
“You don’t mind that I’m human?” I have to ask. I can’t be in this relationship feeling inadequate. I’ve been there, done that. Not doing it again.
“I fucking love that you’re human.” He pulls me onto his lap, where I wanted to be all along.
I wrap my arms around his neck. “You do?”
“Hell yes. It means I get to impress you with my massive strength.” He flexes his thighs beneath me, making me rise an inch.
I laugh and nip at his lip. “And your tremendous prowess.”
His cock gets hard, lifting me some more. “Yes, that.”
>
“And your beautiful silver wolf.” I kiss him.
He takes the lead, holding the sides of my face to claim my mouth. “Yes, that, too.” His tongue slides against mine, mustache tickles my lips.
“I love you, Sunny Hines.”
“I love you, too, wolf-man.”
Somehow, he stands up with me still wrapped around his waist.
“Where are we going?” I ask as he carries me out of the guest room.
“To the VW.” He lowers his voice to a quiet rumble only I can hear. “I can’t fuck you in my son’s house. It feels too weird.”
I laugh. “I’m sure Foxfire and Tank will both thank you for that.”
“I guaran—fucking-tee it,” he says. “Especially with how loud I’m gonna make you scream.”
“Maybe we’d better drive Daisy a few blocks away, then,” I suggest, nipping at his neck.
“A few miles away,” he agrees.
Epilogue
Sunny
“A toast,” Foxfire says.
“To what?” Tank sets down the heaping platter on the picnic table. Titus is cleaning the grill, prepping to cook a mountain of meat.
“To love.” I grin up at Titus. He’s wearing a May I Suggest the Sausage apron with an arrow pointing downwards. I bought it for him at a farmer’s market and he swore he wouldn’t wear it… until I spent a few nights sampling his meat. Foxfire threatened to blind herself when he came out wearing it.
“Love? Too cheesy,” Foxfire complains.
“No wonder I don’t have grandbabies.”
“Sunny!” She glares at me, then at Titus, and averts her eyes to the sky. “Why me? What have I done to deserve this?”
“Stop being so dramatic. Titus and I are adults with healthy, normal libidos—”
“Do not ever mention your libido to me again.”
“—and we’re meant for each other. We’re making up for lost time.” After a few days of sneaking away to the VW bus, we finally broke in the bed in Foxfire’s guest room last night. I blow a kiss to Titus. “Love you, man-wolf.”
