by Ruby Brooks
He blinked in surprise. “As in, full on sex? None. I know you think I have, but I haven’t. I admit to fooling around though.” He ran his hand through his dark hair and groaned. “Fuck. I have so many regrets.”
“Ignore them. I just want you to focus on me tonight.”
I was thrilled that I was going to be his first, too. Our kiss was different this time. Slow and gentle, like we were learning about each other for the first time. He lifted my shirt and pulled it off, his hands coming up to caress my chest. We fumbled slightly, pulling my bra off, and he chuckled against my lips.
“You’re beautiful, Hayley. Never let anyone tell you otherwise.” His eyes were filled in awe and he replaced his hands with his lips, causing me to gasp. When his teeth brushed over my sensitive nipples, I moaned, making him growl.
“Fuck,” he groaned, and quickly flipped me over. I tugged at his shirt and he ripped it off. My hands ran down his chest, different to how I had done in the past. I felt every ridge of hard cut muscle of his chest and abs, which had come from years of training as a fighter. He was strong and powerful, but as he kissed me, he was gentle. Soft. His touches were more of a caress as he tried various ways to make me gasp and moan.
His pulled my jeans off and I felt the nerves flood my stomach again. Detecting the change in my mood, he pulled back, forcing me to look at him.
“If you want me to stop, you just have to say. I’d never push you further than you want, but you know I can’t pick up hints. Please, tell me.”
I kissed him, pulling him closer. I didn’t want any distance between us, not anymore.
✽✽✽
As he lay down next to me, pulling the sheet around us, I admired the ring on my finger.
I wonder what wedding band Cole would buy me.
I needed to get over that thought – this was moving quickly already, and I shouldn’t be letting myself get overwhelmed.
“This was the best birthday I could ever wish for,” I whispered.
It didn’t matter to me that Kian didn’t spend any time with us that day. It didn’t matter to me that my family had gone, leaving me all alone.
All that mattered to me in that moment was the man next to me.
“Mate,” my wolf agreed, itching to be with him. I knew he heard it and he stroked the blush that had burned on my cheeks.
“You’re welcome, Hales.”
“There is something I have been meaning to ask you.”
“Oh?” Cole picked up a strand of my hair between his fingers. I loved how he was always obsessed with it and tried to not to lose my nerve with my next question. It was about time I questioned him and I was feeling bold for a change.
“You’re an alpha, aren’t you?”
He released a breath. “Yeah, I guess. That wasn’t your question.”
“Have you been struggling with the curse?”
“The curse?”
“The alpha curse. You know what I’m talking about. When you start losing control of your wolf and become more of an animal.”
He froze but recovered quickly. “No.”
“You’re lying.”
“Hayley,” he let go of my hair and rubbed his face. “Yes, there have been moments when I felt like more of an animal. I’m fine though. Besides, I’m years away from the curse.”
“You’re not that far away.” The alpha curse was supposed to kick in at thirty, but I already felt he was becoming an animal. I worried about it more than I probably should.
“Exactly. Loads of time.” He pressed a kiss to my lips. “By the time it becomes a problem, we will have long gone with our own pack. You’d be ready for me to claim you.”
Our own pack.
“I’m sorry for ruining the evening I just-”
“You didn’t ruin anything.” He pulled him into his arms, so my head was resting on his chest. “You were perfect. You are perfect.”
I kissed his shoulder and he grumbled in appreciation. He took my hand with the ring on and pressed a kiss there.
“I’m glad you have the confidence to challenge me now,” he said, moments before he fell asleep.
I didn’t though. There was something he was hiding from me and I couldn’t figure out what it was.
Chapter 9
Hayley
Waking up next to Cole is the best thing to have ever happened to me. I was still a little sore from the previous night and I found myself blushing at the memory.
“Hayley?” He called out my name, groaning. He stretched, taking over all the space in the bed to do so before pulling me back into his arms. “Did you sleep okay?”
“This was the first night I slept without nightmares,” I admitted, curling up against him.
“Good, I’m glad.” He was still groggy from the sleep and I took the time to study him. He smiled slightly but the tension was still there, as though it never left.
“I want to tell you about what happened that day,” I bit my lip waiting for him to respond.
“Okay,” he trailed his fingers along my arm, lulling me into a sense of calm.
“You sure you don’t want a jacket, sweetie?” my mum asked.
“No. I’ll be fine. I want to try and connect with my wolf, use my powers, you know?”
“When did you grow up?” She kissed my head and left as my dad called her name.
I turned my attention back to the mirror, admiring the dress my mum had picked out for me. It was a deep green which offset my hazel eyes. Giving my hair one final fluff, I followed my parents downstairs.
It was their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary and they were originally planning on celebrating it between themselves, like most couples do, but our aunt Lorraine convinced them to have a party.
I didn’t want to go because there was something about this night that wasn’t sitting right with me.
My parents chose to leave their pack and raise me packless in Harrogate, a town they both fell in love with. It fell on neutral territory and I hardly met any shifters. I wanted to learn about myself, my wolf, but they always shunned it as though it was something I was supposed to be ashamed of.
Tonight though, there were lots of new smells in the town, more so than usual, and it was making me uncomfortable. I marched out into the waiting car and watched the town pass by on the familiar journey to my grandparents’ home.
Nan was a shifter, like me, and was trying to teach me how to shift on command. Currently, it was happening when I was emotional, like right now.
I focussed on breathing, forcing myself to relax. There was nothing to worry about tonight.
My wolf disagreed as we pulled up outside of the manor home. My grandmother lived in York, which was wolf-territory. The only reason we were allowed here was because she was a very well-respected member of the pack.
I asked her once if I could join and she told me that she would look into it. That was five years ago, and I was still alone as ever, struggling.
“Hayley, come here darling,” my nan came over to me, pulling me into a hug. “You need to relax,” she whispered, quiet enough that my parents wouldn’t hear. I doubted they used their wolf senses anyway.
“I’m trying. Nan, I think there is something wrong tonight.”
“Nonsense,” she dismissed me, turning her attention onto my parents. “Congratulations, both of you. I always knew you would make a man out of my son.” They laughed, making their way inside. I still needed some time to settle so I decided to go for a walk around the gardens.
The chatter of my family inside warmed me as I overheard snippets of conversation. They may be human, and different from me in many ways, but they were the closest thing I had to a sense of belonging.
There was nothing amiss outside, not that I would be able to handle it anyway, and I joined in with the party. I had barely made it into the large drawing room, where our party was, before my life completely changed.
Windows smashed all around and someone turned up the music. The music was a deafening volume to my sens
itive hearing, and the screams of my family only added to it. This was getting too much for my wolf who was at the surface.
I watched in horror as my arms turned furry, claws growing out of my fingernails.
Focus, Hayley. Focus.
I blocked out the chaos of the room for a moment, regaining my composure.
“Mum!” I screamed. “Dad!”
I had no idea where they were. Glass crunched under my pumps as I desperately ran, trying to make my way out. A large body blocked my exit and he roughly shoved me aside. The smell of wolf was overpowering, and I stumbled against the door frame.
I had to stop that man.
I grabbed a candelabra, my nan’s favourite, and ran after him with it held above my head. I had no other weapons and I didn’t trust my wolf form, not right now. My mum had already spotted him, and she snapped a chair leg easily against her knee, creating a stake.
“No!” I screamed. The man had a gun. All it took was seconds – seconds – and they were gone. Ripped from me.
My mother threw the stake the same time he fired, and it wedged itself in his gut.
He turned to face me as I fell to my knees on the ground. I didn’t hear what he said; every sound in the room was muffled like my head was underwater, but I would never forget his face as he grinned, dying.
The man made no attempt to control the bleeding and no back up came.
No one came for my parents, either.
Cole didn’t say anything for a while. He let me sob on his chest, continuing to stroke my arms.
“What happened after that?” he asked, breaking the silence at last.
“Tristan turned up. He must have known about this attack, right? I don’t understand why else my grandmother would call him.”
“You mentioned you wanted to join a pack… Perhaps he was coming to meet you? I do remember something about a young girl coming.” He was lying, but I couldn’t place it. I shrugged it off as his poor memory and he didn’t want to tell me anything that he wasn’t sure was correct.
“I feel like a confrontation with Tristan has been in the works for a long time. Why does everyone hide things from me?”
“To protect you.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“I don’t doubt for a minute that you can’t, Hales,” his arms tightened around me before he placed a kiss on my head. “Breakfast?”
✽✽✽
The drive up to York felt twice as long as when I left. My remaining family insisted on my nan’s burial up there, close to her old home, and Tristan got in touch with the land’s alpha for me so I could go up with Cole. We weren’t allowed to stay overnight, but we didn’t plan on it anyway.
“I have a bad feeling again,” I sighed, looking over at Cole. He was all in black, which brought out the blue in his eyes, and his hair was a little longer than his usual style. I loved it.
“I think it is just nerves,” he squeezed my leg before returning his hand back on the steering wheel. My skin was bare from my dress and his touch sent a pleasant shiver through my body.
“Maybe,” I muttered, unconvinced.
“I’ll look after you, Hayley. Try not to worry.”
My leg bounced even as we pulled up outside the church. I watched the throng of people go in, some of them I recognised as family.
“They never reached out to me,” I admitted, quietly. “I was always waiting for someone to reach out and ask me if I was okay. No one – not one fucking person – told me they were sorry for my loss, or asked me if I was even alive.”
Cole nodded, anger flashing across his face. “I’d tell you they must have had their reasons, but I don’t want to be making excuses for them. Are you sure you are up for this?”
“No, but let’s go anyway.”
He followed me out of the car and rested his hand on my lower back as we walked into the church. There were lilies everywhere making me wrinkle my nose in disgust.
“Nan hates – hated – lilies.”
“I can’t say I blame her,” Cole muttered, making me smile a little.
I marched us right to the very front, eliciting gasps from some of my family members.
“Hayley, is that you?” A woman asked, reaching out for me. “Oh, gosh. You have grown into quite the woman. Who is this handsome chap with you?”
I shook my head, my lips pursed in anger. “Seriously, Sophie? You never responded to me.”
“I—I couldn’t. Nan said… Nan said you didn’t want to talk to anyone. That you wanted time.”
“Right,” I scoffed. “Has it ever occurred to you that—”
My words were cut off from a pfft sound, which was followed by Cole slamming me onto the ground under the bench. People were gasping, some screaming, but I couldn’t see what was going on. All I could smell was the fear and sweat of the humans in the room.
“What the hell, Cole? I. Can’t. Breathe. Fuck.” He was crushing me, and he lifted himself slightly so I could breathe better. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Sniper,” he said, his voice cold. I had never seen him like before and it was scaring me. “Did you hear it?”
I nodded against his shoulder as we heard people scramble. “We should be helping.”
“No. They are after you.” I felt him pull out his phone and he dialled a number, leaving his phone on the floor next to us. I craned my neck to see he was calling Tristan. How the hell did he have our alpha’s personal number and I didn’t?
“Cole, what is happening?”
He lifted his head but immediately ducked it again. “Fuck’s sake. Hayley, I am so sorry, I should have listened to you when you said you have a bad feeling.”
“Cole,” I snapped, close to losing it. I felt my shift coming on.
“There are too many of them. Stay here, okay? Do not move. Don’t come out for anyone.”
“Oh, for the love of God,” I muttered, as Cole rolled off me.
I peered over the benches and bile rose to the back of my throat. He was disarming a man, shifter, as others came into the room.
I jumped over the bench with ease and started attacking the people that were coming in. They were dressed in all-black combat gear, with knives and guns strapped to their legs. This was completely different to fighting in the ring, and I didn’t know what I was doing.
One grabbed me by my hair, making my scalp burn, so I twisted out of their grip and landed a left hook to his jaw. He crumpled on the ground and I delivered a swift kick to his sternum, making him gasp.
I looked over at Cole, who was killing them, sparing no mercy.
This isn’t the first time he has taken someone’s life.
I didn’t know where the thought had come from, but as I watched I realised it was true.
Who are you, Cole Anderson?
I forced the thoughts away. I helped him disarm the guy he was fighting, and he snapped his neck. Together we worked at taking down as many of the people had come in.
“Who are they?” I asked, panting. The men were either gone or dead, and I didn’t want to hang around for any more of them.
“I don’t know.”
Cole’s tone was the same icy cold as his eyes but when they met mine, they softened.
“Are you okay? We need to run.”
“Yeah. You go and start the car. I will catch up.”
“I am not leaving you here.”
“And I’m not walking away from my grandmother. Go, Cole. I can take care of myself.”
We couldn’t detect anyone over the smell of blood, and I tried not to step into anyone’s remains. Bile rose to my throat as I realised some of the victims were humans.
“Hayley Morton.” A cold hand snaked around my throat, and Cole looked over to me in anguish. He was barely a few feet away.
“Fuck,” he whispered, dragging himself off a body. He had a bunch of hunting knives in his hands.
“Get off me,” I spat, wrestling out of this man’s iron grip. I tried to slamming my heel on his foot bu
t he was wearing steel toe boots and it hurt me more than him. Even more people trickled in, and they dived after Cole.
“Oh, Cole,” the man said. “I have heard great things about you. It’s a shame it has to be like this.”
I fought harder but the man’s hands tightened.
“Stop talking in fucking riddles. Cole, who is this guy?”
“I don’t know.” Cole was marching over to us, jumping over the church pews. He swatted the guys off him like they were flies. “Get the fuck off her, now.”
I flinched from the power in his voice, my wolf recoiling. The man behind me didn’t show any reaction and didn’t loosen his grip on my throat. I was still able to breathe, but if I fought anymore it would quickly turn into a proper choke hold.
Cole’s hands were in tight fists as he approached, and his usual blue eyes were amber.
“Don’t shift,” I whispered. I needed him in his human form to get me out of this.
The man holding me chuckled. “Let’s go, Hayley.”
He pulled me and made me stumble. He caught me with ease but his hands on my body made my skin crawl.
Cole grunted in pain and I turned to him, seeing him pinned down by four shifters. He was clawing at them, mid-shift, his large canines were snapping near their faces. The men holding him down weren’t here a moment ago and I wondered how fast these shifters were.
“Cole,” I screamed out his name. “Cole, please. Don’t let him take me.”
I tried punching the man dragging me, but his body was like iron, unyielding. Blood started leaking out of my burst knuckles and my throat was becoming hoarse from my screaming.
I needed to shift.
As soon as I tried, the man grabbed me by my chin, forcing me to look at him for the first time. He was much taller than me, taller than Cole, and I swallowed thickly. His eyes were dark and void of any emotion.
“Who are you?” I asked, desperately trying to wiggle out of his grip. Cole needed me and his screams of agony were echoing in the church.
“Don’t shift,” the man said, ignoring my question. He was human and, as he spoke, I felt a pinprick in my arm and a cold liquid seep inside me.
