by Renee Rose
“Says the liar,” I snapped.
She flinched at the words.
I took a step closer and pointed at her. “You mess with my brothers, my pack… any shifter, I’ll know. As alpha, I have the responsibility to protect everyone and that includes eliminating all threats.”
“Rob…”
I didn’t give her the chance to talk. She’d had days. Days to tell me the truth.
“Get the fuck off my property before anyone else finds out you’re a fake. They won’t be so kind. Trust me.”
I didn’t say anything else, only turned my back on her, just as she had me. My wolf may have thought Natalie was my mate, but he was wrong. The woman who was walking through the house to the front door wasn’t even Natalie Shefield.
“Rob,” Boyd said, but I held up a hand to keep him silent.
I listened for her car to pull away, but before it did, I heard another arrive. We followed Natalie’s—no, Willow’s—path to the front porch. Three men and a beautiful young woman piled out of a big truck with Canadian plates.
“Alpha Wolf?” the man rumbled.
I couldn’t focus on him because Natalie—fuck!—Willow was standing with her car door open, leaving. I stared at her, my chest ripped open and bleeding onto the ground.
“Yes?”
“I’m Alpha Jackson, from Manitoba. This is my daughter Kara.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
This night couldn’t get any worse.
23
WILLOW
I stood rooted to the ground, staring at the beautiful alpha wolf meant for Rob. The one Marina had told me about.
Oh God.
This was the train wreck I saw coming.
Rob wasn’t looking at her, though. He was looking at me—the pain of betrayal burning in his gaze. I’d made him look at me that way. It was my own doing.
I scrambled into the car and rushed to start it. I had to get away. Leave him to get on with his life. I backed up fast, tires skidding the dirt, then took off for home.
Home. Ha. What a joke.
I tried to stay strong, but halfway back to the house, I broke down and cried the whole rest of the short drive. It was any wonder I didn’t end up in a ditch. Everything I’d thought would happen, had. Rob learned the truth and felt slighted. No, that wasn’t the right word. Betrayed.
He’d bared his soul, and that of his community, to me, and I’d given him nothing in return. Only lies.
Not everything had been fake though. How I felt about him and how I showed it hadn’t been pretend. I felt for Rob. Deeply. For once in my life, I cared for someone else. I cared that I’d hurt him, that my real life had ruined the only good thing that had ever happened to me.
I’d been on my own for so long, I didn’t even know I was able to fall for a man. I’d thought I was unlovable. Unwanted. I’d never been adopted, only coasted through my entire childhood in the system, at the whims of selfish adults who only wanted me for the money I could bring them from the state.
I’d built a wall around my heart, a wall so big that it had kept me safe from hurt, otherwise I’d have crumbled so long ago. I’d thought love made one weak. In fact, loving Rob had made me strong. I hadn’t had to rely on myself. I’d trusted.
I’d destroyed that, though, all by myself.
I turned off my car and stared at the Shefield house. I was becoming charmed by the old quirks of the place. The slanted porch floor, the old windows that took muscle to open. Every door in the house squeaked. It was… charming. Unique, as if it was a living thing. A home.
Up until I’d driven into Cooper Valley, my job as a DEA agent had been my life. Rob made me realize there was more to me than just my badge. In fact, he hadn’t even known I was law enforcement. He’d shown me all the dark and empty corners that had been waiting to be filled.
God, the picnic today had been incredible. And scary. Everyone there belonged. Not everyone was related by blood but a bond of being shifters. There was no question they were a family in their own special way. They took care of each other. Protected. Lifted up. Helped.
They’d welcomed Audrey and Marina, and they were human. They were quickly incorporating me into their group as Mr. Shefield’s relative. He’d belonged, so I belonged, too.
That welcoming spirit was uncomfortable to me. I wasn’t used to the idea of immediate acceptance. Even within the DEA, one had to earn respect and friendship. My job depended on the outcome of the Markle case. If I failed, I’d be moved to some crap work detail. There was no allegiance, no bond. My role would be filled by someone else. Immediately replaced and forgotten.
Vaughn was getting antsy with my lack of momentum on the case. I’d figured out the outgoing drugs, but the incoming… nothing had happened for a week. Had I been wrong or were they taking their time?
I climbed from the car and went up the steps to the front door.
The same would be said for the Wolf pack. My role as Rob’s female was to be replaced by someone else.
How timely.
The Canadian female wolf with long dark hair, olive complexion, high cheekbones, lush curves. Young. Probably a virgin who Rob could mold to his every desire. Who was probably ridiculously fertile and would give him a shifter baby on the first go.
I’d scratched an itch. Lots of itches, but nothing more. I wasn’t perfect. I had a past that was tainted and made me… defective. Rob was better off without me. As alpha, he had to be proud of his mate, and surely, he hated my guts.
My phone buzzed, and I saw a text from Vaughn. Natalie Shefield called to say Boyd Wolf called her about a BBQ.
Yeah, no shit. Could’ve used that info a few hours ago, thanks.
I picked up my gun from the kitchen counter, checked the magazine even though I knew it was loaded. It was time to finish my job, get Markle behind bars and get the fuck out of Montana. The place only brought me heartache after heartache.
ROB
What the fuck was I going to do? In the past eighteen years as alpha, I’d never come across such a fucking mess. I was used to working out problems for other people. Handling disputes. Leading mating ceremonies. Funerals. But this?
It was all about me.
I stood stiff and still as the she-wolf was brought to me for introductions. My pack wanted to match me to this alpha’s daughter. I’d balked at the idea because Natalie was to be mine.
But what in the fuck did it matter?
Natalie wasn’t Natalie. The whole thing had been a lie.
I didn’t have a mate.
And my pack needed me to take one.
Maybe they were right. Maybe I had no fucking sense of what a mate was. That had been proven, loud and clear, when Boyd had helped suss out the truth. How long would she have faked it with me?
Unlike Willow, this pack princess was a shifter. She would ease the minds of assholes like Nathan as well as elders who’d stood beside me all these years. Tom and Janet wouldn’t bring someone untrustworthy. They wouldn’t bring a liar, like Willow. I trusted their judgement just as they’d trusted mine all this time.
The sooner I forgot about the fake Natalie Shefield the better. My wolf was angry, but not with me this time. He’d been betrayed, too. He’d mark the pack princess because she was our last chance. There were no other options. That was all we’d ever get out of life.
Happiness wasn’t in the books for me, but if I mated her, at least I wouldn’t die of moon madness. Hopefully.
“Well,” I said. I couldn’t think of anything else to say. It seemed I’d turned to stone. Completely dead.
Boyd took over for me. “We’re having a barbecue,” he said to the newcomers. “Why don’t you come on back?”
Tom and Janet appeared out of nowhere, tentative smiles on their faces.
“We were thinking you and Kara could head up to the lodgehouse on the mountain. Show her the hunting grounds and have some private time together,” Janet said.
Jesus fucking Christ. They wanted me to take her up the
re and fuck her.
Mark her youthful flesh with my teeth. First thing.
The idea turned my stomach, but my knees had been knocked out from under me by Willow.
Fucking Willow who wasn’t Natalie. The human who tricked me to use for her investigation.
“Fine,” I muttered, pulling the keys out of my pocket for the truck. I tipped my head at her. “Let’s go.”
Her eyes were big, face pale. The poor girl didn’t want this any more than I did, and I wasn’t being all that nice. That wasn’t fair to her, so I took a deep breath, let it out, to calm myself. Of course, that meant I picked up her scent.
Sweet. Gentle. It did nothing for my wolf.
I opened the passenger door for her and helped her climb in, even though she was perfectly capable of doing so herself.
I started the truck and drove up the mountain, happy to leave the fucking festivities behind.
It took me a while before I noticed the tension in the cab. The awkward silence.
Now we were alone together, driving further up into the hills, for the two of us to “get to know each other.”
I couldn’t blame Kara. She sat beside me, ankles crossed, shoulders back. A small smile played at her lips, but I could tell it was forced. She was tense, and if I felt like I was being set up, then she must feel like she was being sold off.
“I’m sorry,” I said, looking over from my seat as we bumped along down the dirt road.
She looked up at me through her dark lashes. I had to admit, she was beautiful. Strong. Well-built. Dark haired, full curves, a sweet scent. My wolf couldn’t find anything truly unappealing about her.
“I’m sorry,” she said back and laughed awkwardly.
“Kara—” I began.
“I don’t want this,” she blurted.
Something in me relaxed. My wolf, maybe.
“I’m twenty-two and know my own mind.” Her voice was soft but adamant. “I’m sorry, Alpha, but it’s the truth.”
The truth. Fuck, the first thing this woman gave me was honesty.
“I don’t want this either.” The words sounded rough but true. I may not want Willow any longer, but there was no way I could mark another female. It would be impossible.
She relaxed. “You’re older.” Her tanned skin glowed with embarrassment as she looked away. “I mean, older than me. You’re alpha. I think you know your mind, too.”
“I do.”
“Can’t you stop this?”
I pulled over in a turnaround and parked the truck. No way I was taking her up to that cabin like a virgin sacrifice.
“It’s stopped,” I promised.
“Just like that?” she asked, with almost wonder.
“Just like that,” I repeated. Cocking my head, I studied her. “Do you want a mate?”
Her eyes lit up with pleasure. “Oh yes. Very much so.” That didn’t bode well. “But not you,” she added. “With all due respect, Alpha—”
“Rob, please. If a couple of elders think they can sequester us until our wolves have decided we’re to be mates, then you should at least call me by my name.”
She studied me for a minute, bit her lip. “Can I tell you the truth?”
I sighed. “Please.” My mind immediately went to Natalie. To Willow. To her lies. Truth seemed to be a good thing right about now.
“I know who my mate is… and it’s not you.”
I almost laughed—relief my only response. “You’ve found your mate?”
I was fourteen years older, and I’d finally thought I’d found mine. Too bad she wasn’t worthy.
“Yes. He’s in the Wind Rivers pack. We met in January at the winter games. I told my father, but Callum’s not an alpha. He’s an artist. A glass blower and makes the most beautiful pieces.” Her hand went to a glass pendant attached to a chain about her neck.
I didn’t like the idea of a father forcing his daughter into an unhappy mating, even if it was because he thought it was best for her. “I can speak to your father.”
She quickly shook her head, her long hair sliding across her shoulders. “No, that’s all right. He knows how I feel but says I’m too young to know my own mind.”
“And I’m too old to find my own mate,” I added.
“You should be able to choose.”
“I thought I had,” I admitted before I caught myself.
She grinned then. “Ooooh. Tell me about her.”
I didn’t say anything.
“You’re a nice guy, Rob. I think we could be friends, right? Tell me about her. I told you about Callum.”
I set my elbows on the steering wheel and looked out the windshield, unseeing. “My wolf found our mate, but she’s human.”
I left out the part that she’d fooled me, that she was a liar. That wasn’t part of this. It was about the wolf’s connection to another.
“Human,” she replied, surprised.
I blew out my breath. “Yeah, you can see why that’s a problem. If your dad wants you matched to an alpha, you can see that my pack wants me to be matched to another wolf.”
“You don’t want me then,” she said, without the least bit of upset in her voice.
I shook my head. “And you don’t want me.”
“You know what we should do?” she asked. “We go out there and tell everyone we found our mates.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s going to go over like a lead balloon.”
“So? Don’t you want to be happy?”
Happiness.
Happiness was out of fucking reach for me. Fate made sure of that when she paired me with a lying human. “I’m alpha,” I said more sternly than I meant to. “My needs and happiness come second to my pack.”
“That’s not fair,” she countered.
I started the truck and turned it around to head back. “One thing you’ll learn with age is that life sure as fuck isn’t fair. Where’s your mate now?”
If I couldn’t have my mate, it didn’t mean Kara couldn’t be happy with hers.
“On his pack land.”
“I’ll summon him here and arrange the mating myself. As alpha, I can see it done.”
Her mouth fell open, and I remembered when Natalie had done the same thing. All I’d thought about at the time was what my dick would look like with those full lips around it. With Kara, I thought nothing of the sort.
“Really?”
I reached over and gave her hand a squeeze. “You found your mate. Nothing should keep you apart.”
I let go, then rubbed the ache in my chest. My words rang true for everyone…but me.
I wouldn’t have Kara, although she seemed to be a strong, kind, smart woman. She’d make an excellent alpha mate, but she didn’t belong to me. And honestly, I wouldn’t have her.
My wolf wanted Nat—Willow—even though I’d known all along I couldn’t have her. Her duplicity was the perfect excuse I needed to steer clear. She’d do her job and go home, wherever the fuck that was.
I’d had fun. My wolf had had some fun times. Enough to carry us over until the moon madness finished us. I’d just ensure the alpha line was secure before that happened.
24
WILLOW
I marched to the end of the Shefield property and split the barbed wire to step between it.
Rob and I had repaired the fence where the bull came through, but I had yet to confront Markle about it. I’d been saving it as an excuse to be on his property at some point. And truthfully? I’d been too wrapped up in spending time with Rob for the last week to use that excuse.
Now? It was time.
I’d wasted a week, but now I was back on the job.
Except the time hadn’t been wasted. It had been everything I needed to live. Now it was all gone. Returning to the life I had before Rob felt like jumping in a lake with cement shoes on.
Nothing could be done about that.
I’d hurt him. He wasn’t going to forgive me. Even if he did, I couldn’t stay. I had a job back in Phoen
ix. Or wherever I went on assignment next.
Except that thought made the brick in the pit of my stomach sink even deeper.
I walked toward Markle’s barn and stable, keeping a wary eye out for that damn bull, in case Markle had moved it again. I couldn’t decide if he’d put it on my property to scare me or as revenge for dating Rob.
I saw the young ranch hand come out of the stable. Jack, if I remembered correctly.
“Hi!” I made my voice bright and friendly and waved with a smile when he looked over.
God, I used to love playing this part—the sexy girl next door asking for a cup of sugar. This time, it turned my stomach.
I didn’t want to live a lie any more.
I didn’t want to do it ever again.
Which meant… my life had been completely blown to smithereens.
“Hi!” The young ranch hand walked over and tipped his hat. “Mr. Markle isn’t around right now.”
“Oh, okay. Maybe you can help me. The other day, I found his bull on my property.”
The young man’s eyes widened. “Oh no.”
“Yeah, it scared the bejeezus out of me. Lucky for me it wandered back, but I was wondering if you knew how it got over to my side of the fence?” I laughed gently. “I mean, it didn’t fly over.”
Jack took his hat off and scratched his head. “No ma’am, I don’t. I’m sorry. I will check all the fences right away.”
“Thanks, I would appreciate that.” I played dumb. “What’s the bull for, anyway? Are you going to sell him?”
“No, he’s here for breeding. We just sell a few cows off every so often.”
“Oh yeah?” I twirled a lock of hair around my finger and sat into one hip. “Just a few?”
His eyes tracked my movements.
“I know, it’s strange if you ask me. Seems like it’d make more sense to sell them all at once. Maybe he don’t want to buy another trailer. Not the way I’d do it, but it’s not my ranch.” He shrugged.
“Well, I’d love to watch you load them up. The cows, I mean. I’ve never seen a working ranch before.”
A grin creased his youthful face. “Well, I don’t load them. I just bring ‘em down into the chute. Mr. Markle likes to load them himself after sundown and transport at night, so it’s not too hot and uncomfortable for the cattle.”
