by Lola Gabriel
Ellery thought for a moment as a hundred reasons not to do that flooded into her mind. Before she even got started on the reasons she didn’t want to be a wolf, she decided to concentrate on the one practical objection she had.
“How will that help?” she asked. “Won’t it just mean there’s even less work for Alex to do? If I’m already a wolf, he won’t have to turn me. He’ll just have to do whatever it is they mean by the mating ceremony.”
She shuddered as she said the words “mating ceremony” and Grey smiled.
“Look, I know the thought of being mated to Alex is far from pleasant, but you shudder at the words like you think the mating ceremony is a big, horrific ritual,” Grey said.
“Isn’t it?” Ellery asked.
“No,” Grey smiled. “It’s just shifter speak for a wedding ceremony.”
“Then that’s nowhere near as bad as I was imagining it to be, but I still don’t want any part of that with Alex. You didn’t answer my question. How will making me a wolf quicker stop Alex from wanting to marry me?”
“Because, and I mean this with all due respect, you’ll be used goods,” Grey said.
“I think I’m already used goods,” Ellery smirked, looking pointedly down into her lap.
Grey laughed softly and shook his head.
“Sex isn’t what I mean. There are instances of shifters turning people—a friend maybe, or in our situation, say I wasn’t here and Ariel executed our plan and turned you—where it doesn’t really matter who turns a person. But technically, a shifter wants to turn any woman who’s going to be his mate himself. In the case of nice guys who have found someone who they love and who loves them, it’s because they want to be there with them for something that’s kind of like a rebirth and marks the start of their life together. With someone like Alex, it’s purely territorial. He doesn’t want a mate who bears the mark of another man.”
“So if Alex finds out someone beat him to it, he won’t want me anymore,” Ellery said, catching on to Grey’s meaning. “But surely he won’t just free me. Won’t he just get angry and kill me?”
“No,” Grey says. “He’ll keep you alive to use you as bait to lure me in. But that’s okay because I’ll be coming back for you anyway. Much quicker than Alex will be anticipating.”
“So what’s the catch?” Ellery said.
“What do you mean?” Grey asked.
“You said I’d hate the plan. What’s the catch?” she repeated.
“You told me earlier you don’t want to be a wolf. That’s the catch. You’ll hate me for turning you,” Grey said. “And once you’ve been turned, there’s no way to go back. You’ll be a shifter and an immortal.”
Ellery thought for a moment. Grey was right. She didn’t want to be a wolf, and the thought of immortality terrified her. But she had promised herself when she heard Grey tell Ariel he loved her that she would do whatever she had to do to make this plan work. And maybe eternity would be okay if she had Grey by her side for all of it. And he could teach her about being a wolf. She wouldn’t have to do it alone, or worse, with Alex.
“I won’t hate you,” she said. “How can I hate you for saving me from a fate worse than death?”
“Because I’ll be as bad as Alex. I’ll be doing this against your will,” Grey said, looking down at the ground.
Ellery reached out and touched his chin, gently pushing his head up until he was looking her in the eye again.
“No. You won’t,” she said. “I’ve only known this world existed for, like, four days, and yes, my first thought was that I don’t want to be an immortal wolf shifter. Honestly, I’m still not overly taken by the idea. But one way or the other, by the end of today, I’m going to be a wolf shifter whether I like it or not. And if I had to choose between you and Alex for who turns me into one, well, I think it’s fair to say it’s a no-brainer.”
“So you choose Alex, then,” Grey said, the start of a grin forming on his mouth.
Ellery laughed and gently swatted his arm.
“Don’t even think it,” she said.
Grey leaned in and kissed Ellery gently on the mouth.
“You’re the bravest woman I’ve ever met, Ellery,” he said.
“I don’t know about that. Honestly, the thought of it terrifies me,” she admitted.
Grey moved on the ground, changing position so he sat behind Ellery. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back against his chest.
“What part of it scares you?” he asked. “Maybe I can help.”
“Eating human flesh, for one thing,” she said.
She felt a rush of air on her neck as Grey laughed.
“Okay. That’s zombies,” he said. “We eat a normal human diet. Although honestly, we eat way more junk food because we don’t have to worry about cholesterol or high blood pressure. You won’t be undead, Ellery. You don’t have to die to become a wolf.”
She felt herself relax a little. That had been one of her chief concerns.
“Alex’s pack kills humans because they’re nasty,” Grey went on. “My pack isn’t like that. We go out of our way to protect humans.”
“Okay, that’s something,” Ellery admitted. “But the thought of immortality scares me. Like being alive forever scares me and I don’t really know why. I guess it feels like it will be lonely. Do I have to spend eternity on the move, never putting down roots, never making friends?”
“Yes and no,” Grey said. “We do have to move around or people will become suspicious when we don’t age. And it’s hard to form real friendships with humans for that reason. But as my mate—wait, I’m getting ahead of myself. I haven’t even asked you if you want to be my mate…”
“I thought that went without saying,” Ellery interrupted him. “The only thing that makes an eternal life sound bearable is the thought of eternal love with you.”
Grey tightened his hold on her for a moment and he kissed her neck.
“Then you’ll be my mate. You’ll join my pack and those will be your friends. It’s more than just friendship too. Your pack becomes your family.”
“That actually sounds quite nice,” Ellery said.
She thought for a moment. What else scared her about this? Admittedly, there was a lot less to fear when she pictured Grey turning her than there had been when she had thought it would be Alex doing it. She still had one more question she needed answering, though. She didn’t think the answer would change her mind about doing this; she just needed to know for her own peace of mind.
“Will it hurt? Turning?” Ellery asked.
“To turn you, I have to scratch you and then bite you. That will sting a little, but I won’t go too deep. Just enough to break the skin. I’m not going to lie to you. The first time you turn is agony, but after that, it’s painless. You don’t ever have to turn if you don’t want to, though. And when I first turn you, you won’t be able to turn because of the cuff. If you decide you do want to, we’ll go somewhere private, just the two of us, and I’ll be there through every step of it with you.”
“How will we know it’s worked if I can’t turn here?” Ellery asked.
“We’ll know,” Grey said.
He didn’t elaborate, but Ellery trusted the certainty in his voice.
“Okay. Let’s do it,” she said with a nod.
“We don’t have to do it yet. The sun is barely starting to rise. I’m guessing it’s only around five a.m. Let’s wait a while, see if Ariel manages to pull something else off,” Grey said.
Ellery shook her head. She knew as well as Grey did that he was only clutching at straws. There wasn’t anything else.
“I don’t want to do it in front of Lisa and Ava. I just want to get it over with,” she said.
“Okay. If you’re sure,” Grey said.
“I’m sure,” she said.
She shuffled around in Grey’s arms so she was facing him. She leaned forward and ran her lips over his.
“I’m sure,” she said again.
Gre
y nodded. He gently pushed Ellery’s skirt up a bit.
“It won’t be as painful here as there’s a big muscle right here, so it’s not like I’ll be getting close to the bone,” he explained, pointing to the front of Ellery’s thigh.
Ellery nodded. Her stomach was rolling and her palms were sweaty. She had never been so afraid in her whole life, but she knew she had made the right choice. It was this, or a lifetime of serving Alex. And something told her Alex wouldn’t be gentle about turning her either. Grey reached out and stroked her cheek.
“It’ll be okay,” he reassured her.
She nodded, although she wasn’t sure it would be. It would be a whole new life. Oh well, she thought to herself. I came here for a fresh start, and how’s this for the ultimate in fresh starts?
“This will sting a bit,” Grey said.
He rubbed his fingers over the skin on her thigh, and despite her fear at what was to come, Ellery felt her skin responding to his touch. Her thigh tingled and the tingles rose up her leg, awakening her clit again. She ignored the feeling, concentrating on what was about to happen.
Grey dug his nails into her flesh hard enough that she gasped and then he moved his hand swiftly downward, cutting three matching red streaks. Blood welled up on the surface of the three scratches. Ellery’s thigh hurt, but it was nothing she couldn’t handle.
“This is your last chance to change your mind?” Grey said.
It was a statement, but he phrased it like a question, his voice rising slightly at the end of his sentence. Ellery shook her head. She wasn’t backing out now.
She squeezed her eyes tightly closed as Grey ducked his head and kissed her where he had scratched her. She felt his lips open and then he nipped her skin between his teeth, gently at first. She rubbed her hand over his head, wanting to let him know it was okay. He seemed as perturbed by this as she was in some ways.
He bit down on Ellery’s thigh and she pressed her hand over her mouth to keep from crying out. Grey’s mouth left her thigh and she opened her eyes. Grey was peering at her, looking nervous now. He had a smear of her blood on his chin, and she reached out and wiped it away, smiling at him.
For the first few seconds after Grey bit Ellery, she didn’t feel any different, but then, in a flash, everything changed.
She could see better than she had ever seen in her life. She could see tiny cracks in the concrete floor that she hadn’t known existed before now. She could hear noises from outside the warehouse—bird song and cars in the distance. She could smell Grey much stronger than before and the smell of him set her pussy on fire. As she thought of Grey, her feelings flooded her in a wave, the love for him that she had already accepted multiplying by a thousand.
She felt something stirring inside of her and it felt weird, but good. The thing inside of her howled and then settled, and she realized it was her own wolf. It would live inside of her now.
She took a moment to consider how she felt. She was no longer afraid. She felt strong and empowered, and more alive than she had ever felt before. She looked at Grey and her stomach lurched. The wolf inside of her made a low growl of lust and Ellery threw herself at Grey and kissed him hard on the mouth. He returned the kiss. Ellery wanted to go further, but she knew Lisa and Ava could wake up at any second, and besides, she and Grey needed to get some sleep if they were to stand any chance in a fight with Alex’s men. She pulled away and smiled at Grey.
“That’s how you know it worked,” she laughed.
“And this,” Grey said.
He pushed her dress up again and the tingling in her skin was so intense that a shiver ran through her body. Even that lightest of touches made it feel like Grey was touching her everywhere at once and she let out a moan.
“You’ll get used to that. Once you’ve been a wolf for a while, you’ll learn to control it. The wolf controls your carnal desires. Control the wolf, and you won’t be like a walking hormone all the time,” Grey smiled.
“I think I can live with that part,” Ellery grinned.
“This is also how I know it worked,” Grey said, nodding down to Ellery’s thigh.
She felt her mouth drop open in surprise. The scratch marks on her thigh were gone.
“I can heal myself without even knowing it,” she whispered.
“Yeah. It’s not a conscious process,” Grey smiled. “It just happens.”
Ellery kissed Grey again.
“I don’t know why I was so against this. It’s amazing,” she laughed.
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool,” Grey said. He stifled a yawn and shook his head. “Sorry.”
“No, you’re right. We should try and get some sleep before this whole messy day starts,” Ellery said, voicing her thought from earlier.
Grey nodded his head, looking relieved. He lay down and held his arm out, making a pillow for Ellery’s head. She scooted closer to him and lay on her side, her head on his arm and her arm draped over his chest. She didn’t think she would be able to sleep. She had too much energy. But she could think of worse ways to pass the time than lying in Grey’s arms.
He put his hand over hers, tracing little circles on the back of her hand. Circles that spread delicious shivers up her arm. After a couple of minutes, he stopped, his hand slipping away and falling to the ground. His deep and even breathing told Ellery he had fallen asleep. She closed her eyes, listening to the rhythm of his breaths, letting them calm her and lull her into sleep too.
10
Grey jumped awake at the sound of the warehouse door slamming open. He felt Ellery jumping awake beside him. Ava and Lisa were already on their feet. They had obviously already been awake when the door burst open.
Two men ran in, men Grey didn’t recognize. They were obviously part of Alex’s pack, or they wouldn’t be here, but they weren’t anyone Grey had ever seen roaming the streets or frequenting the bars Alex’s pack favored. They had to be guards, pack members so low down in the ranks that their only purpose was to be a part of Alex’s staff.
Grey was already getting to his feet as the men approached him.
“Who are you? What are you going to do to us?” Ava asked, her voice shaking with fear.
The men ignored her, focusing only on Grey. One of them pulled a set of keys from his pocket. The other one pulled out a gun. Lisa shrieked. Ellery and Ava looked on in horrified silence.
“We’re going to unlock your chains,” the guard with the keys said to Grey. “One wrong move and you will all be shot. Do you understand?”
Grey nodded. He did understand. Ariel had pulled her part of the plan off. This was the exchange. His hunch had been right. Alex wasn’t about to lose his head Matchmaker just to keep Grey in his warehouse.
The guard with the keys turned his attention to the three women.
“Get back,” he commanded.
Ava and Lisa shrank back immediately. Ellery shuffled back slightly, but not far enough to satisfy the guards.
“Now!” the guard with the gun yelled, pointing the gun at Ellery. “These are silver bullets. They’ll kill a shifter in seconds. But they’re pretty damned lethal to humans too.”
Grey nodded to Ellery, afraid she was going to attempt something stupid and get herself killed. If a bullet didn’t hit a vital organ on a human, there was a chance they could survive a gunshot wound. There was no chance for a shifter. If they got hit by a silver bullet, they were as good as dead. The few shifters who managed to survive being hit by a silver bullet usually had only a scratch. Even a flesh wound could kill them.
Ellery moved back and stood with Lisa and Ava. Grey was relieved she was following his instructions. The worst thing he could imagine was her getting herself killed now when he was so close to freeing her.
“If any of you three try anything, it’s the same deal. You’ll all be shot and killed. Is that clear?” the guard with the keys asked the women.
They all nodded.
“We’re not going to try anything,” Ava confirmed. “No one needs to be shot.”
>
The guard nodded, satisfied with her promise. They were used to the prisoners complying so they had no reason to doubt Ava’s word. The guard with the gun kept the gun on Grey, but his attention shifted between Grey and the women. Grey wondered momentarily if he could take down the two guards quickly enough to save everyone and then use the keys to unlock the women’s chains. He decided it was too risky to even try it. The guard only needed one lucky shot and he could lose Ellery.
Within less than a minute, Grey’s ankle cuff was off and the two guards were leading him toward the door.
“It looks like you have friends in high places,” one of the guards commented as they left the warehouse.
He slammed the door behind them and Grey glanced back over his shoulder. He hated having to leave Ellery behind, but he knew that if he tried anything without the back-up of the pack, he was signing all of their death warrants.
“I guess so,” Grey said when it was clear the guard was waiting for an answer.
The two guards marched him back across the industrial complex. People were milling around now and Grey felt eyes on him everywhere. People even peered out of windows to get a glimpse of him as he was escorted past the buildings.
“See how famous you are?” one of the guards remarked as they reached the edge of the industrial property. “That means we all know your face now. And if any of us sees you within a mile of this place, you’re dead.”
The matter-of-fact way he said it told Grey this wasn’t so much a threat as it was a casual statement of truth. He shrugged his shoulders, equally casually.
“Yeah. I figured as much,” he said.
“Go. Before we change our minds,” one of the guards sneered at Grey, pushing him the rest of the way out of the industrial complex and laughing when he stumbled slightly.
Grey debated calling the guard’s bluff, taunting him, reminding him he didn’t get any say in what went on here, and whether or not Grey lived wasn’t his choice to make. He decided against it. He had no idea where Ariel was with Kiefer and if Kiefer had already been handed over, then maybe the guards would be allowed to kill him. Alex was hardly known for playing fair, and he would likely reward the guards for ending Grey’s life rather than be annoyed that they’d made the decision without his direct approval. Saving Ellery was much more important than Grey’s pride, so he just turned and walked away from the guards, resisting the urge to look back.
