by Callie Rose
I want to assure the shifters around me that I’m not their enemy. That I never wanted this, I didn’t ask for it. But what good would that do? Even Dare, who at one point had feelings for me, had a hard time coming to terms with me being a witch. So why would these people who don’t even know me trust that I mean them no harm?
Right now, Dare looks as horrified as the surrounding pack, but he doesn’t leave my side. He places a hand on my shoulder despite the black marks marring my skin, and I can’t help the small flicker of relief at the feel of his heavy palm. He still struggles with what I am, but that single gesture tells me that he’s on my side.
I see the moment Lawson decides to make his move.
Maybe he spies a way he can hurt Ridge even more than by taking the alpha spot away from him. I can almost sense his plan—make the girl collateral damage, and it will not only hurt Ridge, but make him a hero by defeating the witch who infiltrated their pack.
The big blond wolf leaps at me, sharp teeth bared and jaw open. In the same instant, Archer, Trystan, and Dare all shift, magic rippling over them. I have a brief moment of lucidity where I think, oh God, what does this mean for Ridge’s fight? And then I brace for the impact of his large body.
But Lawson never makes it to me.
Ridge heads him off in mid-air, and I hear the breath expelled from the vicious wolf’s lungs as Ridge slams into Lawson with his shoulder. I open my eyes in time to see both wolves go sprawling to the dusty ground.
A cry rises up in the crowd, and several angry faces turn my way.
Trystan growls and steps ahead of me, while Archer and Dare take either side. All three wolves have their hackles raised as they stare down Lawson. Ridge stands and bounds over to stand in front of all of us, baring his teeth at his brother.
Lawson gets to his four paws, and then magic shimmers over him as he shifts back to his human form. He laughs maniacally, pointing at me, an expression of disbelief on his meathead face. He looks around at the crowd, his eyes wild. “Are you seeing this? Your alpha is siding with filthy witches now.”
Ridge shifts back to human form before his brother stops speaking, and snarls, “Back the fuck off, Lawson. This fight is about us, not her.”
“This is just one more reason you need to be replaced as alpha,” Lawson says sharply, staring Ridge down as rage twists his features. “You brought the enemy into our territory where she could infiltrate our pack. I even recall someone suggesting the whore you found in the ravine could have been an undercover witch, and you swore she wasn’t. Said she was your mate.” He laughs again. “So you’re a liar now too.”
Ridge’s hands fist at his sides. “Sable is not the enemy. And she is my mate.”
Lawson guffaws. “How? How does a wolf mate with a witch?”
Tension spreads through the gathered shifters. The crowd begins to flow in two directions—some men and women joining Lawson in his face-off with us, but a surprising number of shifters choose to join us.
On the other side of the clearing, several shifters transform into wolves and stalk forward to flank Lawson. I sense the magic of others shifting behind me, and then half a dozen wolves walk around me and my men, joining Ridge at the front of our party with their teeth bared and hackles raised.
I’m happy to see that not everyone bought into Lawson’s smear campaign. I was appalled that no one stood up to the man in the beginning, but clearly, there are plenty who know Ridge is the alpha they need.
But now…
Shit, this just got more dangerous. It’s no longer Lawson versus Ridge, but a revolution within the pack, and it’s all my fault. The tension is so thick in the air that it’s almost impossible to breathe. Beside me, Archer’s ears lie flat on his head and a snarl reverberates in his throat. Trystan moves closer to me, snapping his teeth at the wolves on the other side of the circle.
A fight is brewing, and there’s nothing in the world that will keep it from happening.
Terror fills me, even stronger than the fear I felt while I watched Ridge fight Lawson. My magic hasn’t faded—it’s still clearly visible in every scar on my skin, and I can feel it pulsing inside me, ready to let loose if it feels the least bit threatened.
And I do feel threatened. Not because I’m worried about me. But because I know my four mates will die trying to protect me, and even though they’re powerful alphas and strong fighters, they can’t take on the entire pack if Lawson manages to turn everyone against us. We could all die tonight.
No! I didn’t come here today to lose my mates.
I refuse to let that happen.
But then I realize something even more startling—I just thought of these four men as my mates. Not just as shifters who’ve saved my life. Not just as men I’m falling in love with.
My mates.
Mine.
As the thought solidifies in my mind, I feel a sudden rush of certainty that they are my mates. All four of them. I know it, deep down inside of me where all my emotions are boiling. It’s the starkest truth I’ve ever faced.
These men are mine. And I’m theirs.
Something shifts in my heart. In my soul. Pieces I didn’t know were there began to slide into place, and magic ripples through me. But this isn’t witch magic—this isn’t black smoke and unsettled motion beneath my skin.
This magic shimmers over me and fills every corner of me with bright light.
My arms and legs elongate and shift.
My face twists into a new bone structure, and my palms hit the ground as paws.
I’ve shifted into a wolf.
22
Dare
While Archer and Trystan focused on the threat ahead of us, I took a step back to keep an eye on the rear.
I know intimately that it’s hard to keep an eye all around you. One wolf can’t watch three-hundred-sixty degrees. Not when standing. Not when moving. Your blind spot could easily turn into the place where your enemy attacks and kills you.
But with Sable and the other three shifters, I feel like we make a complete team. We have eyes on all points, and better still, we all trust one another to keep watch and protect each other.
It’s a weird feeling. I’m not used to it, and sometimes—especially after Sable’s transition to witch—I haven’t been sure I can even trust my own gut anymore. Because my gut told me we make a good team. My gut told me Sable was meant to be mine. Then everything fell apart.
Now, I’m standing behind a wolf more fucking beautiful than I’ve ever seen before. At first glance, her coat is white as snow, but a second look proves that’s not true. She’s shot through with the same flaxen color as her hair, giving her a dappled look, like sand in the moonlight beneath trees.
All four of my paws are frozen to the ground, and I’m not the only one. The entire group, both Lawson’s flunkies and those shifters who threw their support in with us, watch the magic ripple away from Sable with amazement. I can't tell what emotion is strongest in the crowd—shock or confusion.
But I can tell the emotion strongest in me. My wolf howls in my mind, and it takes everything in my power to not let the howl pour from my throat. My wolf knows more than ever before that Sable belongs to him. Despite the witch he’s seen in her.
Sable? Archer asks through the mind-link, projecting so that the rest of our group can hear him too. Is it really you?
She startles, whipping around to look at Archer. Her eyes are just as bright, just as big, just as deep blue as the sky.
I… think so? Yes. Everything is so... fluffy.
She looks down at her body and does a little prance on her front paws. It’s so fucking adorable it makes my chest ache.
I knew it! Trystan crows. We were all fucking right!
That’s mine, I think fondly as she tests out a couple of hesitant steps, wobbling like a newborn foal. But I keep my thoughts to myself.
“What the…” A younger shifter with an almost boyish face looks at Ridge, who’s still in human form. “Is she a wolf or a witch?”<
br />
Ridge doesn’t get a chance to answer. Lawson takes advantage of everyone’s stupefied shock as he growls, lunging at Sable.
Trystan, Archer, and I surround her in a heartbeat, ready to rip Lawson into tiny shreds if he so much as blows on her fur. But we aren’t needed. Ridge leaps into action and shifts into wolf in mid-air, taking down his brother with ferocity. There’s something more feral, more vicious, about Ridge’s movements now, and I get it. This is no longer just a fight for alpha status.
This is about a man threatening his mate.
Lawson hits the dirt head first with a solid thunk, and Ridge latches on to his neck with his teeth. He throws the larger wolf across the clearing, where he rolls several times as the crowd backs away. Ridge stalks forward, teeth bared, then attacks again. The fight is short, violent, and bloody. By the end, Lawson is pinned to the ground, bleeding into the grass and whimpering.
He yields. Too much of a coward to die with honor after threatening his brother.
Sable heaves a visible sigh of relief and sits on her haunches. I inch closer to her, my wolf scenting the air around her.
Ridge shifts back into human form and holds up both hands, calming the uneasy crowd.
“Fellow pack members, please give me your attention.” His voice takes the tone of a commanding alpha, and even my wolf sits up and pays attention. “As you can see,” he goes on, motioning to Sable with a beaming smile, “my mate is a wolf. Like all of you. However, she also happens to be a witch—a witch who did not know her heritage, and as such, was not raised to fear us or hate us. Sable is on our side.”
I huff and let my tongue loll out in a wolfish grin. Ridge is the biggest bullshitter—as if we didn’t all just fucking find out there was actually a wolf inside her. I’ve never seen a man so beautifully avoid the truth.
“She is not only my mate,” Ridge says, turning as he speaks, his gaze moving over the crowd of shifters. “But she is mated to these men as well.”
As Ridge indicates the three of us still standing protectively around Sable, Archer is the first to shift back to human. He steps forward and puts a hand on Sable’s head.
Jesus, she must be so fucking soft.
“Sable is my mate,” Archer says, also using his alpha tone.
Trystan shimmers with magic and stands, adding his hand to Sable’s neck. “And mine.”
They both look at me, and Sable glances over her shoulder. I’m stunned by the beauty of her wolf, and by the hurt already touching her gaze.
She thinks I’m going to reject her. Again. Because it’s a pattern I’ve been setting up since the day she turned witch. But God dammit, I was fucked up in the head. Terrified. I’m still terrified of what this all means, of the witch inside her, of sharing a mate. It’s all new territory.
But I shift back and take two steps forward to bury my hand in Sable’s fur. I was right—she’s the softest thing in the world.
“Sable is my mate too,” I say, glaring around the clearing with an expression that dares anyone to argue.
Elder Jihoon steps forward, his gaze darting over the four of us. “Alpha Ridge, this is highly unorthodox.”
Ridge opens his arms and makes a full circle, taking his time as he looks out over his pack. “If anyone wants to challenge our claims to Sable, we will die protecting her. Or you will.”
His last words are so pointed, he might as well have stabbed them all.
But no one speaks up to argue. All those shifters who transformed into their wolves begin to shimmer back into their human forms, and the overall air in the clearing grows a little calmer. Even Lawson’s loud-mouthed supporters seem cowed by the show of Ridge’s strength as he took his brother down in a bloody display of raw power.
Buoyed, no doubt, by Sable turning into a wolf. Finally.
“Lock this traitor up,” Ridge says loudly, pointing at Lawson. His brother has shifted into his human form but remains lying on the ground, covered in blood and looking petulant. “Peter, Davies, can you take care of this piece of shit?”
“You should banish him,” Trystan says, staring down his nose at the defeated man. “He doesn’t deserve your protection as alpha, nor does he deserve the privileges of living amongst a pack.”
“Banishing him would be a death sentence right now.” Ridge’s voice is controlled and measured. “I’m not willing to condemn him to death at the hands of the witches patrolling our borders. He can rot in a cell for a while, until the council decides what to do with him.”
I’ve never had a problem with Ridge. Matter of fact, I’ve always had a little respect for the man. He’s fair and kind, but hard when he needs to be. His compassionate judgment on the situation with his brother only helps me respect him more.
If I were in Ridge’s place, Lawson wouldn’t be so fucking lucky.
Two men come forward from the crowd and haul the defeated shifter to his feet. They’re none-too-gentle with the traitor as they drag him away from the council barn and disappear into the deepening twilight to throw him into the pack’s jail cell.
Ridge turns to the crowd again. The chaotic panic that was stirred up by the appearance of Sable’s smoky magic seems to have dissipated a bit. The pack no longer looks ready to revolt, although confusion still fills a lot of faces. He holds up a hand, drawing everyone’s attention.
“I know you’ll all have questions. And I intend to answer them. There have been several developments over the past several weeks that none of us expected, and I’m sure that’s left many of you feeling unsettled. But I promise you this. Sable is not now, nor will she ever be, a threat to you. I swear it on my life. I swear it on the memory of my father.”
A low murmur fills the air as people talk quietly among themselves, reacting to his words. But Ridge raises his hand again, and in a testament to his pack’s respect for him, silence falls immediately.
“I’ll hold a pack meeting soon, where you’ll be able to voice your concerns. But I meant what I said. My wolf has claimed Sable. She’s part of this pack now, just as much as any of you, and I expect her to be treated as such. For now, go back to your homes. Lawson’s challenge has been answered, and this meeting is over.”
My hand is still buried in Sable’s fur as I watch the crowd begin to disperse. I’m sure she can feel the tension powering through my body, because I can feel it in her, and see it in the way her ears perk in every direction. Ridge joins us, and we all remain silent, watching them go.
“Well,” Trystan says as the stragglers disappear into the evening. “That almost got ugly.”
Understatement of the fucking century.
23
Sable
I’m still trying to come to terms with what’s happened. A week ago, I convinced myself that I’d figure out a way to live with the witch. Archer would help me, just as he did during our time with his pack. I could make this work. I could be happy, and love these men, and just get on with my life as best I could.
And now I’m a wolf.
Not only that, but I have no fucking clue how to transform back into a human. I don’t know exactly how I shifted into wolf form in the first place, and it doesn’t seem like there’s some kind of internal switch to flip things back. None that I can sense anyway.
The more pressing issue is that now I’ll have to learn how to live with a witch and a wolf inside me.
Has this ever even happened before? How did I end up as both, when the two sides are mortal enemies? The entire situation is so insane and overwhelming that I want to curl into the dust and cry. Or at least eat an entire carton of ice cream.
But when Ridge turns to me and smiles, some of my insecurities and worries melt away. I’m not alone.
I’ll never be alone again.
“You okay?” he asks softly, kneeling so that we’re eye level.
If I were in my human form, I’d probably burst into tears. Instead, I snuffle and whine, then press my body into his chest in a strange, wolfish version of a hug. His intoxicating scent is so mu
ch sharper to my wolf nose. He smells like he belongs to me.
God, this is insane.
“Come on,” he says, trailing his fingers through the fur behind my ears. “We’ll get you inside, then help you shift back.”
I lean into his hand, urging him to keep petting me, and all four men chuckle. I glare at them, but I’m not sure it carries any weight with a wolf’s face.
It feels like a hundred years have passed since Ridge brought me to his cabin the night I ran away from Uncle Clint. We walk down the street, all four men naked and flanking me like my own army guard. This is all so utterly bonkers, I feel like I’m living inside a dream.
I can pick Ridge’s house out of the others in the neighborhood easily. He ushers us inside, and I’m surprised to see the cabin doesn’t smell musty and disused in our absence. Probably because of Amora watching out for the things Ridge cares about.
I wonder briefly how she feels about the chain of events that took place this evening, but the sight of Ridge’s old corduroy couch chases away all coherent thought. I clamber up onto the cushions, still kind of awkward on my unwieldy paws, and sink against the cushions.
“She’s like a brand new pup,” Trystan says with a grin, eyeing me as I sprawl out gracelessly with my nose on the armrest and all four legs akimbo.
“Oh, leave her alone.” Archer rolls his eyes, although amusement shines in their moss-green depths too. “She’s getting a later start than most.”
He kneels down in front of me, and the magic shimmers over him until his blond wolf is regarding me from the floor.
How you feeling? he asks.
His voice is inside my head, the words coming to me as clearly as if he’d spoken them out loud. It’s not any less weird the second time around.
Freaked out, I admit, going for candid honesty.
I’m going to help you shift back. It’s easy, okay? Just listen to me and follow my lead.
I nod my head, but the gesture feels strange and unnatural to my wolf. My gut tells me wolves don’t often nod.
