“Come on.” Simon curled his fingers in invitation. “I’m standing right here in front of you. Or are you afraid. That’s it, isn’t it?” He raised his arms in the air. “I’m the winner because this loser won’t fight. I beat him once and he’s afraid.”
“The only thing I fear right now is being bored to death.”
Face turning red, Simon threw back his head and howled. No longer concerned about fighting fair, he shifted. Even though Billy knew what was coming, he barely had time to brace before the large wolf pounced.
Addie screamed.
Long claws ripped down one of his arms. Ignoring the pain, he caught the wolf in his arms and, in a show of strength, threw him to one side, almost taking out several spectators before they scrambled out of the way. The wolf rolled in the dirt and sprang back to his feet.
Saliva dripped from his fangs. His growl was low and menacing. Beyond angry and out of control, he attacked.
Relying on his newfound strength and agility, he managed to evade the angry wolf several times, but that couldn’t last. He had to find a way to defeat Simon.
Blood dripped down his arm, but already the worst of the injuries were healing.
When the wolf glanced toward the right, Billy followed his gaze and his heart almost stopped. Addie had moved closer to the fighting and was no longer protected by her father or his.
Fuck, he was going to attack her. Maybe it was simply a distraction ploy, but he wasn’t willing to take that chance.
Heart in his throat, he threw himself toward her. He couldn’t get to her in time, wouldn’t be fast enough to save her.
Something inside him splintered. A powerful force surged from the depths of his soul and exploded outward. His jeans ripped. The crowd gasped.
All Billy cared about was getting to Addie.
His body changed. It was like pulling on an unfamiliar skin. One that was stronger than the old one. Sights and sounds were magnified.
He stretched, pushing himself beyond his limits … and landed in front of Addie. But it wasn’t a man who hit Simon. No, this time it was a wolf. A very large, very pissed off wolf. No one attacked his mate. They slammed to the ground, a tangled mass of claws, fangs, and blood.
He’d watched members of his pack sparring since he was a child, but fighting as a wolf was new to him. He should have been uncoordinated, uncertain, but he wasn’t. He let the wolf take control, trusting the beast to protect its mate.
His wolf didn’t let him down. Sharp claws raked across Simon’s underbelly, drawing blood. Not willing to give him another opportunity to hurt Addie, he struck with fangs and claws, a relentless and untiring fighting machine.
Simon got in several hard strikes, but the pain didn’t register. He ignored the blood running from his hind quarters, chest, and back.
Both man and beast were united in one cause—winning.
He couldn’t hear anything over the pounding of his heart. Nothing existed in his field of vision but his prey. The ground was hard beneath his large paws. He growled a warning and jumped on Simon’s back, digging his claws into the wolf’s sides and biting the back of his neck before taking him down onto the ground.
He struggled, but Billy held firm, refusing to be bucked or shaken off. Finally, Simon stilled. He wasn’t dead, but seriously wounded. His wolf didn’t want to back off, but he took control and forced him to. It was probably a mistake, but he didn’t want to kill the other man unless absolutely necessary.
The crowd was unnaturally quiet. Addie had her hand to her mouth, eyes wide and skin deathly pale.
When he took a step toward her, the other wolf growled, rolled to his feet, and sprang into the air. He had been half expecting it. Simon should have stayed down. No one had to die here today.
He steeled himself, preparing for what he had to do. There would be no peace for any of them if he didn’t.
But before the wolf reached him, Ryan Hatfield stepped in. Moving fast, he grabbed Simon by the back of the neck and twisted. The loud crack echoed around the clearing. A woman cried out, many gasped, and some yelled in anger.
It was a brutal demonstration of swift and violent pack justice.
Ryan cradled the wolf’s limp body in his arms and raised it high. “Simon was beaten, but he couldn’t accept that outcome, was given a chance to live but didn’t take it.” The crowd went deathly quiet. “As much as it pained me to do this, he left me no choice. He dishonored himself and this pack. He wouldn’t let this go. We all know he would have gone back to Salvation at some point and attacked them.”
That would have ended in war. One in which many of them would have likely died.
Ryan carried Simon over to his father. “Take him home.”
The man shook his head. “He was never strong.” With that, he turned and walked away.
With a father like that, it was little wonder he’d ended up like he had. If he’d grown up with someone like Elias as a parent, he might have turned out differently. But there was no going back, only moving forward.
Surprisingly, it was the older woman, the one with the cane, who came forward. “I’ll take him.”
Ryan shook his head. “Seth.” One of the men who’d been by the alpha’s side earlier came forward and took the limp body of the wolf.
Everyone was silent as they walked away. Ryan addressed the crowd. “There will be no forced matings in my pack. Do I make myself clear?”
Everyone nodded and many looked down at their feet.
“Good.” He then turned to Addie. “I expect you’ll be going with him.” Ryan pointed at Billy.
He was still in wolf form, not quite sure how to change back. All it took was a single thought and his body began to change. His limbs shifted and contorted. His fur retreated under his skin, and his jaw shortened. It was over before he could process it all.
Naked, he sat in the dirt.
Addie flew to his side and fell to her knees beside him. “You shifted.” There was awe in her voice.
“I did. Didn’t I?” He still couldn’t quite believe it.
“Billy.” Elias crouched beside him, hooked his hand around the back of his neck, and pulled him close. He leaned into his father, overwhelmed by it all—the fight, the blood, the death, but most of all by the love he had for Addie and his family.
“You’re hurt.” Addie bit her bottom lip. Elias already had his shirt off and was pressing it against the worst of the gashes on Billy’s chest.
“It will heal.” Already he was feeling better. The threat was gone.
The crowd had mostly gone home, except for the Salvation Pack, Ryan and his family, and a couple of other tough-looking men who were there to support their alpha in case a fight broke out.
The Pike County Pack was a good one, but it was large. And in any large group there would always be troublemakers like Simon. Billy pushed to his feet and swayed before righting himself. Addie slipped her arm around his waist, supporting him without seeming to.
“I’m sorry for the trouble,” he told Ryan.
The alpha shook his head. “Not your fault.” Then he faced Jacque. “Take your people and go. I don’t think it’s wise for any of you to come back anytime soon.”
Addie’s mother made a sound of dismay. It hurt him to see her so distressed. It was too easy to imagine his mother in such a situation.
“Addie’s parents are welcome to visit Salvation.” Jacque made the invitation formal. Billy had never been more proud to be a member of his pack.
It was Orin who stepped forward. “We’ll collect some of Addie’s things and come tomorrow, if that’s all right?”
Jacque nodded. “That will be fine.” He turned to the others. “We need to go.” It went unsaid that some of the pack members might be feeling less than kindly toward them.
Now that he wasn’t fighting, wasn’t focused on staying alive and keeping Addie safe, every single gash, every bruise hurt. Still, it was nothing compared to what he’d already been through.
Jacque stepped into his path.
The wolf inside Billy reacted to the alpha’s presence. He gave a low rumble that ended almost on a whine. Jacque reached out and, like Elias had done, hooked his hand behind Billy’s neck. Their foreheads touched and a sense of acceptance flowed through him. He had a pack. He belonged.
In his heart, he’d always known it, but now it went deeper, to a wilder part of his soul. Billy pulled Addie close and then stared at Jacque, silently asking him to include her.
“Stubborn, aren’t you?” Hooking his hand around the back of her neck, the alpha pulled her forward. “I accept both of you into my pack. Now let’s go home.”
It was strange to be walking around naked, but his jeans had been torn to shreds, and he had no idea where his shirt was. His father took care of the problem by handing him a blanket as soon as they reached the truck.
“Thanks.” He wrapped it around his waist and turned to Addie. She had been silent for way too long. “Are you all right?” He wanted her to be happy. Did she want to stay here with her family? He wasn’t sure he’d be able to leave without her.
“I’m fine.” She climbed into the back of the truck.
Jacque had already gotten into one of the other trucks so it would be just himself, Addie, and his father on the way home. He looked at the front seat but climbed in the back beside her.
Elias slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine. He looked as worried as Billy felt.
“Addie?” He wasn’t sure what to ask her. It was stupid to ask if she was all right again. Obviously, she wasn’t. He hated not knowing what to do for her.
“Not now. Okay?” She seemed fragile, not a state he associated with her. She was strong and resilient, a fighter. But everyone had a breaking point.
“Okay.” He wrapped his arm around her and heaved a sigh of relief when she leaned into him. “Okay,” he repeated. They had a lot to settle between them, but at least the immediate danger was gone. There was time to figure out all the rest.
His injuries were no longer seeping blood. It was as though having his wolf finally come out had accelerated his healing abilities. But he was tired and weak and hungry. Closing his eyes, he inhaled her sweet scent. It comforted him in ways he couldn’t put into words.
He heard his dad calling home to let his mom know that everything was okay and they were on their way back to Salvation.
The steady rhythm of the truck rolling down the highway and Addie’s weight resting against him lulled him. He kissed her temple, gave in to the exhaustion, and slept.
Chapter Nineteen
Billy had shifted into a wolf. And what a wolf. The creature was huge, with brown and blond fur and those familiar blue eyes. He’d fought with a skill that should have been impossible, hadn’t even had a moment to get used to his wolf’s body, but had taken to it like a duck to water.
Maybe it was all those years of watching pack members move and train. Maybe it was because he’d grown up around wolves and simply accepted it as a fact of life. He hadn’t fought his wolf, allowing it to take the lead.
Even she hadn’t done that during her first shift. There was always a period of awkwardness getting used to the new form.
Not with Billy. He was exceptional in so many ways. Even when he could have ended Simon, he’d hesitated. Some people might see that as weakness. She saw it as strength.
It was only right that her former alpha had dealt with the problem. After all, Simon had been a member of his pack who’d broken the rules—ironically enough, not by trying to force her to mate with him, but by attacking Billy and possibly exposing their existence to the world. That was a huge no-no.
He’d also attacked an opponent from behind once the battle was over and he’d been defeated, breaking the laws of challenge, flouting pack law. The alpha would have looked weak to the rest of the pack and outsiders if he hadn’t acted. That would have led to more bloodshed as other males would have challenged Ryan for his position.
At least the situation hadn’t been for nothing. The rules had been changed, and forced matings would no longer be accepted. While it came too late to help her, she was glad another woman wouldn’t have to go through what she had. She trusted Ryan to enforce his edict. And so did the pack after today’s demonstration.
“You doing okay?” Elias asked in a low tone.
She was still feeling responsible for everything that had happened today. Logically, it wasn’t her fault, but that didn’t stop the guilt from bubbling up at the strangest times.
“I’m fine.” She whispered, not wanting to wake Billy. Although, given all the energy he’d expended, not only in the fight but during his first shift, she doubted he’d wake anytime soon.
The night wrapped around them like a blanket. A few stars twinkled in the sky, but other than the trucks in their small convoy, there was no sign of anyone else on the road.
“He’s something, isn’t he?”
She heard his pride and agreed, “He is.” There was no one quite like Billy. He was one of a kind.
“I wasn’t sure he’d be able to shift.”
“You’re worried about Sue, aren’t you?” So was she. How would his momma react to being the only human in the pack?
“Yeah. She loves that boy to death.”
While he was a grown man, he would always be Sue’s baby boy. Addie’s parents felt the same way about her.
With his head resting on her shoulder, his breath warm against her skin, she felt safe for the first time in months. She hadn’t realized how much pressure she’d been under until it was gone.
“How do you feel about it?” she asked.
Several miles passed before he finally answered. “I’m happy for him. It means he’ll live longer, be stronger, but mostly it makes him more acceptable to your family and pack. That’s important, because he doesn’t want to let you go.”
She didn’t want him to let her go. But she wasn’t confident about what his momma would think about the situation now that her son had fully embraced his wolf side. Sue would age and die while her son and husband lived on. While she had plenty more years yet, it would be incredibly difficult for her.
“You’re staying, aren’t you?”
Addie wasn’t about to answer that, not before she and Billy had time to discuss it. “That’s something Billy and I need to talk about.”
“Fair enough.” He continued to stare out the window at the dark ribbon of highway in front of them. “Sue is aging slowly.”
“What?”
“I think it’s the mating mark. It was the slightest of bites, just enough to mark her, but I’m not sure it didn’t change her slightly. Her intuition is more honed, even though she’d deny it. She doesn’t need glasses, has good hearing, and still looks pretty much the same as she did when I met her more than twenty years ago.”
Her heart picked up speed, pounding in her chest. Not only because she was shocked, but because she knew Billy was awake and listening. She’d been so intent on the conversation, she hadn’t noticed.
“Have you told her?” Billy asked as he sat upright. His eyes were glassy with unshed tears.
“I didn’t want to get her hopes up in case I’m wrong.”
“You should tell her.” He leaned forward and rested his hand on Elias’s shoulder. “She needs to hear it.”
“You’re right. I’ll tell her tonight or tomorrow. I don’t know what the hell time it is.”
“It’s mealtime. I’m starving.”
The two men laughed. Addie sat back and simply enjoyed listening to the two of them talk. They were so close, such a tight-knit family. And she had a chance to be a part of it.
But what about her parents? Jacque said they could visit. That was something. Honestly, she wouldn’t miss much about her old pack, but she would miss them. Her activities had been restricted the past few years, simply to avoid being pressured into mating. And that hadn’t worked out so well for her.
The girls she’d grown up with had all mated and had families of their own to occupy them. She’
d gradually spent more and more time home or alone. She hadn’t understood just how isolated and lonely she’d become until she’d met Billy and his pack.
Her parents had tried to fill the void, but it wasn’t the same.
“We’re home,” Elias announced. The lead truck turned off onto the dirt road and they followed.
“I’m making breakfast,” Gator announced as soon as they exited the trucks. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m starving.”
“You’re always hungry,” Jacque told him.
“So true, mon ami.” He slapped the alpha on the back. “Am I cooking for everyone?”
“I’ll be there,” Cole told him. “I’ll check on Cherise and Amy first, see if they want to join us.”
Gator chuckled. “I’d say yes for Cherise but no for Amy. That girl does love to sleep.”
“I’m going to get your mother. Take Addie and go on.” Elias headed off and the group dispersed.
As much as she wanted some alone time, Billy’s father was right. Something monumental had happened, and the pack needed to be together, to bond.
“That okay with you?” Billy asked.
Her heart seemed to swell in her chest and she nodded. “I’d like that.”
Both Reece and Sage hovered beside them. Addie took a step back and motioned them forward.
“I see you were listening all those years we tried to teach you how to fight.” Reece’s voice was gruff, but there was love and pride reflected in his eyes.
“Yeah, thanks for that. I might not have made it otherwise.” The two men hugged and slapped each other on the back. It was a stark reminder the fight could have just as easily gone the other way. She pushed that thought out of her mind. It served no purpose to dwell on something that hadn’t happened.
Sage yanked his cousin from Reece’s arms. “Don’t hog him.” He hugged Billy. “I’m so damn glad you’re okay.”
Reece threw his arms around the two of them. The bond, the love, was palpable. I’m an outsider. The pang of jealousy was unexpected. It was followed by anger—at herself for reacting that way. Then Reece snaked his arm out and pulled her into the group, sandwiching her between all of them.
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