It felt as if fireworks erupted in my body, with every nerve ending zapped simultaneously. The back of my neck burned for a moment, and I attempted to pull my hand from the fire, to no avail. My control over my body left, and I felt my mind drift away from this plane.
No! I needed to ask her what would happen if I failed.
“Then the wolves of the world will perish,” was whispered into my mind before the darkness took me once more.
Chapter Seven
Jameson
Mate. Mate. Mate.
I felt like a passenger in my own body when my wolf took over for the first time in my life. We howled and ran towards the scent of our mate, needing to secure the bond. The word circled on repeat through our head, ever since our souls had merged.
For the first time in sixteen years, a shred of happiness made its way into my heart. My mother had always told me that the joy of merging with your wolf was indescribable, and I finally understood what she meant. I was complete now with him, and I would never be alone again.
Please, don’t let my mate be Sofia.
Our white paws ate up the distance between us and our mate with ease, and I let him enjoy the thrill of our first run, allowing him the driver's seat. We were equals, and he deserved to have free rein while shifted.
With my senses heightened, the forest surrounding our home felt like I was seeing it for the first time again. I could only imagine how breathtaking it would look in the light of day. The full moon provided the night’s only light, illuminating our path with ease.
Mate. Mate. Mate.
The singular thought continued through our shared mind, and a brief moment of fear flickered through me at the thought of a mate bond confining me. I could admit to myself that I wasn’t the easiest person to be around, and I certainly didn’t know the first thing about a relationship or making someone happy.
No. Mate good.
His conviction stilled my fears, because I knew he would help us navigate this bond. I couldn’t even make myself happy. Not since my mother died, and the only ounce of love I received came from my father in the form of shared hatred. We had nothing else in common, except our need to kill all Daimona. Now that I could shift, I’d be able to participate in the hunt.
Did I have room in my heart to let myself love someone again, despite the fear of them being taken from me?
We neared the edge of the treeline, and the large dining hall loomed before us, bringing utter confusion to my mind.
Why were we back here? Wouldn’t our mate be running through the forest?
Two wolves came into view, and I was shocked that they were both white like me. One was lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious, and my draw to them confirmed my wolf’s thought.
Our mate.
Adrenaline and fear surged through us at seeing her unconscious with another wolf standing over her at such a vulnerable moment. We’d kill him.
I rushed the other white wolf, who spun around, showing a singular black tuft of fur on his chest. And familiar blue eyes. We bared our teeth at each other and growled before clashing together in a flurry of claws and dominance.
Protect mate.
Something in me knew that this wolf was Milo, who I respected despite his protection of the human, Kira. It didn't matter what I’d previously thought of him though, because right now my wolf saw him as a threat to our mate, and nothing would stand in the way of protecting her.
Snapping my teeth against the side of his neck, I surged my weight forward to knock him over. He quickly used his sharp claws to rake them against the soft skin of my belly. I ignored the pain there and clamped my jaw down further onto his neck, drawing blood this time.
A low whine came from my mate, and I let go of Milo's neck to turn to her. She stood on all fours now, and a blue crescent mark glowed on her forehead.
Taking advantage of my distraction, Milo jumped to all fours and growled menacingly at me, backing closer to my mate, but with his front facing me, as if protecting her.
Confusion blanketed my mind, but before I could process it, my wolf's rage at him standing that close to her took over, and we leapt at him again, teeth bared.
Before we could collide, a blue light flashed from my mate's direction, blinding us. A low whine came from me as I lay against the ground and covered my eyes with my paws.
The light dimmed, and thinking it was likely safe, I opened my eyes, needing to make sure she remained unharmed. My wolf and I stared in awe at our mate, standing there so proud and confident. Blue flames coated her from her paws to her tinged fur, and the crescent mark on her head pulsated.
What was this power?
We basked in the knowledge that she was strong and our equal. She was perfect.
She trotted over towards us, as Milo and I both climbed to all fours again, growling lightly at each other. A single growl came from her, but it was packed with authority, surprisingly causing Milo and I to both flatten our ears in submission.
This was unusual. I couldn't recall hearing of an alpha submiting to his bonded mate like my wolf was, and why the fuck was Milo acting the same way I was?
As she neared, she touched her nose to my own, and I shut my eyes, basking in the feeling of her nearness and attention. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect mate.
But who was she? I didn’t recognize her scent, and I should have been able to after growing up with every wolf here.
She gave a gentle nudge with her nose and a warning growl to me before she walked over to Milo. His tail and ears perked as she proceeded to give him the same attention she’d just given me.
While my human mind could not grasp why she would give him the same treatment as me, her mate, my wolf remained shockingly quiet. At my outrage, he sent me calming energy and a single word mentally:
Pack.
Well, yes, of course Milo was pack, but that didn't mean he was allowed to paw all over our mate.
Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, another wolf identical to Milo approached from the edge of the forest. A warning growl I thought was directed at the newcomer came from my mate, but when I moved to fend him off, she snapped at me.
My wolf forced us to the ground and whined at her, submitting to her request.
Why the hell did Milo and this new wolf both have white fur and a black tuft of fur on their chest? I was the only shifter with white hair. Our hair color always translated to the fur our wolf displayed.
As the new wolf approached and the wind carried his scent to us, my wolf settled at the recognition.
Seth.
Pack.
Was he here because he’d heard my howl and came to help? He had been my natural second in command our whole lives, so I assumed that's how our wolves would behave.
But it became clear that wasn't why he was here when she continued to greet him with the same affection she had us.
Internally I raged, but my wolf appeared settled on accepting this.
Was I not enough for her? Why the hell did she treat all three of us as her mates?
Mate and pack.
My wolf practically growled in my mind as he sensed my rage, but I couldn't find it in me to give a shit. I couldn't accept this. My mate was supposed to be mine and mine alone.
I tried to force our body to leave this situation so we could run in the forest and clear my thoughts. I needed to be anywhere but here, stewing in my anger, but the wolf held his position, refusing to move an inch.
Move.
No. Mate here.
I'd need to force myself to shift back to my human state to leave apparently. Thinking back to how my father told me to do that, I began.
Picturing my human form in my head, I focused on my limbs morphing back. My wolf whined in our head, but I ignored it. We needed to get away for a moment so I could just breathe and think while alone.
A slight discomfort rolled through me as I felt my wolf being tucked into my mind now, control shifting back to me. When I opened my eyes, I stood naked
before the remaining three wolves, whose focus was all on me.
I felt no shame in my nudity, knowing my body had been well honed by years of fighting, training, and working within the pack.
Shaking my head at the sight of the three of them huddled close, I scoffed and turned my back on them.
Her whine halted me, and my wolf pleaded with me internally to not walk away from her. We needed to cement our bond tonight or we'd be restless.
Fuck it. I refused to be runner up or third place with my mate. It was me or nothing.
A howl sounded from her, and I felt the sorrow in it as I walked away towards the dining hall. Hunger racked my body, my metabolism having been ramped up from the shift, and I needed to eat. We burned a lot of energy in the shifting process and would need to triple our food intake now as full-fledged shifters.
As I walked onto the patio, I grabbed some clothes from the pile left outside, and quickly put on the grey sweatpants and black shirt.
A crunching sound made me spin around, and I saw my mate morphing.
I guess it was time to reveal her identity—and hopefully find out what the hell was going on.
Desire pulsed through me as her human form appeared. Her tanned skin and lush curves drew me in, and I ached to move the long white hair that covered her breasts. As I moved my gaze up towards her face, I squashed any attraction in me and decided that the universe was playing a cruel fucking trick on me.
Kira.
Her face showed her own nerves and confusion about the situation, her eyes wide with tears gathering in them, and maybe it should have softened me towards her, but it did the opposite.
"I don't know how the hell you managed to hide that you were a shifter this entire time, but let me make myself perfectly clear, Kira. You will never be my mate," I spat at her and turned to go inside.
Her soft voice followed me, soothing my wolf who was raging at my denial of her.
"Jameson, I am just as confused as you are by what is going on."
I didn't bother stopping to acknowledge her, instead continuing to the kitchen. Grabbing a plate, I piled it full of the pulled pork, wincing at the pain of being at odds with my wolf. He wouldn't stop his whining for us to go to her and make it okay.
Too bad he didn't realize that she was the last person that I would ever be okay with as my mate. He’d just have to accept that we would find someone else. I didn’t give a shit what fate said in this instance.
A small hand rested on my back, and it made my wolf want to preen under her touch, while it made my skin crawl.
Whirling around, I gripped her wrist, giving me déjà vu of our earlier interaction here. She wore a long shirt that fell to just above her knees, and it made the animalistic side of me angry to smell another man's scent on her.
She winced as I gripped her roughly and backed her up to the edge of the sink while my wolf raged at me for bringing her even an ounce of pain.
“Do not ever touch me again. Do not ever speak to me. I don’t care what our wolves think. You will never be my mate,” I seethed down at her.
Tears flowed down her face, as she whispered, “I miss her too, Jameson. You aren’t alone in your grief.”
How fucking dare she think she understood anything. It was all her fault that we had even gone out there that day. She’d been relentless in begging Mom to go see that damn waterfall from the very first time she’d heard about it.
I dropped her wrist like she burned me and turned my back on her, leaving my food untouched and grabbing a bottle of whiskey instead as I headed to my home.
Fuck this night.
Chapter Eight
Kira
Grief unlike anything I'd ever felt before crashed through me in suffocating waves until I slid to the floor. I sobbed as I hugged my knees to my chest, crushed by the pain my wolf and I were enduring at his rejection. All the information from Selene threatened to overwhelm me, and I still hadn't quite come to terms with the fact that I was a shifter, but all I could think about right now was him walking away.
How could he deny fate? How could he deny our bond?
I tried to soothe my wolf, who cried out for him and didn't understand why he’d left us. It was barely any help, because I myself was an emotional wreck about it. You’d have thought, given my severe dislike of the man he'd become, that this wouldn't have gutted me so much.
For a moment, when he hadn't realized who I was in wolf form, I had allowed myself to think I would regain my best friend. That we could forgive each other for the distance and animosity over the last sixteen years and finally comfort one another in our ongoing grief, as we should have done all along.
It had been a beautiful thought, but now it made his rejection sting even more.
Perhaps fate itself wasn't strong enough to quell such a deep-seeded pain as what he harbored within. Maybe in another life we could have experienced the joys of a mate bond, but deep down I knew that he would never allow us to love him. Moreover, I knew he wouldn't allow himself an ounce of happiness, because it would feel like a betrayal to Maya.
Although I knew his reasons and even understood him more than he realized, it didn't dull the ache that spread through my soul and crushed my wolf's spirit.
Rejection wasn't an option in her mind. She wanted me to run after him and dominate him until he submitted to this bond he seemed so eager to be rid of.
She was an alpha through and through and would concede to no one, or so she thought.
The sudden appearance of my backbone today made complete sense. The impending full moon had brought her closer to the surface. I felt so at ease with her that it was hard to tell where her emotions began and mine ended.
The door from the patio opened, but I didn't have it in me to look and see who entered. Their scent hit me immediately, and I relaxed a minute amount, knowing it was Seth. He padded over to me, now in human form, and sank down onto the floor next to me.
He lifted an arm and pulled me into him, and it shocked me to find that he felt like home.
How was it possible that this man, one who’d never bothered to lift a finger to protect or defend me, could suddenly be such a safe place for me?
At that thought, the feeling of his protection and love in this moment opened the floodgates even further, and I sobbed into his shoulder until my tears drenched his chest. He hadn't bothered putting a shirt on, opting for black joggers only, and in the back of my mind I realized this must be so uncomfortable for him.
Here I was, soaking him with tears shed for another man.
I tried to pull away, but his arm tensed around me, holding me to him, so I stayed and sniffled, snuggling into him further.
I didn't know what to say to him or how to even broach the topic of this situation we found ourselves in. He had been right about this pull between us, but I had acted like a dick, thinking his intentions had been superficial and suspect.
My tears slowed, leaving me with hiccups and sniffles. I wiped my nose, feeling snot leaking out, and groaned at how unattractive I must look right now. Crying on one of my mates about my other mate’s rejection, while my third mate had disappeared somewhere in the midst of all this.
What had my life become in the past hour?
His hand trailed up my arm and settled against my head, running his fingers through my hair, which was probably a tangled mess at this point. He began to hum, and my wolf encouraged me to snuggle further into him at the sound.
After a few minutes of him humming and stroking my hair, I asked, "What is that song about?"
A soft chuckle escaped him. "I made it up. It's about how I tamed a ferocious Kitten."
It felt so cathartic to laugh, and my sorrows eased ever so slightly, knowing that he was willing to try this mate thing out with me. I still wasn’t quite sure what to do with the tension and uncertainty of our past dynamic, but at the moment, I allowed myself to bask in the comfort he provided.
I wished I knew where Milo was though. He had been injured while fighting
with Jameson, and I felt unsettled not knowing if he was okay.
As if the universe heard me, in walked my final mate. I bolted to my feet, not caring about the fact that I wore no pants. Milo had thrown on baggy, black sweatpants that hung loosely around his waist, exposing his slim hips with the 'v' cut, tempting me. I jumped at him, and he held me to him as we breathed in each other and this moment.
He was mine. My mate.
"You were right," I whispered.
He pulled his head back enough to rest our foreheads together, and he whispered back, "I knew you were mine."
I pressed my lips to his, and he tightened his arms around my back, molding me to him. This kiss was different from our last. It wasn't wanton desire. We took our time exploring each other, full of passion.
We pulled back and smiled at each other as he lowered me gently to the ground. At that point, I realized my ass was bare to the world, and my cheeks flamed, knowing that Seth had the perfect view. Turning around, I looked at him and wanted to immediately hide in embarrassment at how smug he looked. He grinned at me like he had won the lottery.
"Looking good, Kitten," He teased while climbing to his feet.
My heart fluttered at his strikingly handsome face and the ease with which he accepted my show of affection for Milo right in front of him. It emboldened me to walk up to him and, without warning, rise onto my tip toes while reaching for the back of his head. I pulled him down to meet me, and his warm lips devoured my own without hesitation.
I forgot about the world for a few moments as I lost myself in his touch. He was the one to pull back, grinning his devilish smile down at me and booping me on the nose.
Wiggling my nose around, scrunching it up, I asked incredulously, "Did you just boop me on the nose like a dog?"
"No, I booped you on the nose like a Kitten,” he corrected smugly.
Rolling my eyes at him, I noticed Milo happily munching on one of the three pulled pork sandwiches on his plate. He devoured it and moved on to the next in the blink of an eye. My eyes went to the plate Jameson had left behind, and my mood sombered once more.
Outcast: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (The Pack Prophecy Book 1) Page 5
