An awkward silence settled between Alec and I as we traversed the rough terrain. I wasn’t sure how far out he wanted to go, but with each step, we were getting farther from the entrance where I’d sensed Tyler. I was grateful for the distance. Especially since I was about to attempt to spend an entire night in wolf form. I had no idea how my wolf was going to respond. Since returning to human form, she’d made herself scarce.My connection with my wolf had been tenuous from the start, but I thought things were improving. I should never have involved magic in this mating bond. There was only one way forward and that was through my own grit and determination. I had fought my way out of hell my whole life but in the last few weeks, I’d let go of who I was. I was the girl who spit blood back in the face of my attacker. I wasn’t the type to take a back seat and watch the world pass me by and I needed to reclaim my identity. But this time, I was going to be able to have a chance when I fought
Remember what he did to us.I always felt a little crazy when I talked to my wolf, but it had helped in the past.He isn’t right for us. He hurt us.Sadness, deep and profound, gripped us. It was tangled with regret, desire, and longing. The emotions were intense and confusing, and I pawed at the ground, trying to shake some of the negativity away with movement.My wolf wanted to understand, but she was struggling. Tyler was connected to us, fated to be our other half.The fates made a mistake.I looked up from the ground and saw Alec’s dark gray wolf slowly approaching. My wolf backed up, then held her ground as she realized that Alec wasn’t a threat.He’s a friend, I assured her.My wolf seemed unwilling to go as far as claiming Alec a friend, but I could tell she was willing to concede that he wasn’t a threat. We’d run with him before, but things changed so quickly once I added magic to the mix.Alec’s wolf backed up and lowered his head, as if bowing. I was confused by the action, but
Shelia and I jogged through the woods, leaping over roots, and ducking under low branches. The way back to the cave felt like an eternity. Neither of us spoke, but the tension hung heavy in the air. As we neared the entry, I realized I wasn’t concerned about Tyler at all. At least I had that going for me.Instead, a weight settled in my stomach as I worried about Alec. I wish I could say I was equally worried about Kyle and Malcom, but I wasn’t. All I could think of was that I needed him to be safe.I told myself it was because last time we’d met Tyler, he’d nearly died, but I had a feeling there was more to it than that. It made me feel guilty. I was a terrible friend. Kyle had broken me out of captivity, and Malcom was literally blood. Why couldn’t I worry for them on the same level?“Stay close,” Shelia warned. “If you feel the urge to shift, run. You can’t risk completing that bond unless you want to be stuck with him.”“Oh, I’ll run.” It was good advice. The last thing I needed w
To my surprise, Kyle’s light gray wolf was the first to jump at the tree. He landed with all four paws against the trunk, causing the tree to sway. The branches shook and a few pinecones fell to the ground.I looked up at Tyler and noted that his smug expression was gone. He was gripping the branch tighter and actually looked a little nervous.I had no intention of letting Tyler try to break the bond again. He’d proven he couldn’t be trusted, but I needed him down from the tree. Then, my friends could do whatever they wanted with him. Any sympathy I had for him was buried deep within my wolf and as long as I didn’t shift, I wasn’t at risk of having an ounce of compassion for him. The only regret I had was that I couldn’t help. The threat of mourning him for the rest of my life was enough to make me hold myself back. It sucked, but the bond had been bad enough.“Alright, I’ll bite,” he said, his tone mocking. “Call off your dogs.”I ignored the insult at calling a group of wolf shifter
My wolf could feel Tyler. She was desperate to be with her mate. Reason didn’t matter, none of my human emotions mattered, she was determined to reach him.Every muscle hurt as I fought against my wolf. She was stronger than me and she was fully keeping me out of the discussion. With each footfall, I could feel Tyler getting closer, but I could also sense my friends.See? They are trying to keep Tyler from us because he’s bad for us.I changed my tactic, hoping the loyalty I could sense for Alec, Malcom, and Kyle could somehow sway her opinion.My wolf growled, pissed that there was a threat to Tyler. She picked up the pace. Everything I tried seemed to backfire. What was wrong with my wolf? Why had I shifted like that? I’d lost all control, forced to make the change.Star’s warning about magic having a price seemed so long ago. I should know better than to not take chances with magic. The gamble hadn’t paid off.My muscles ached; my lungs burned. I had never moved so quickly in my life
I crawled toward the wolves, giving myself more space between the drop off before trying to stand again. Nausea rolled in my stomach as I made it to my knees, but I fought against it. Ignoring the pain and double vision, I finally found my feet. Slowly, I walked toward my friends.“I can’t kill you myself, but I can watch as they rip you to pieces, you son of a bitch,” I said through gritted teeth.Tyler whined, his wolf looking up at me with sad, pathetic eyes. As if attempting one last time to pull me in.My nostrils flared and anger surged. I owed him nothing. “You should have broken the bond when you had the chance.”He moved faster than I anticipated and suddenly, Tyler’s wolf was on top of me, knocking me to the ground. His paws on my chest, he pinned me down. His jaws snapped in my face, and I winced, turning away from him. My wolf’s sense of loyalty to her mate was bubbling just under the surface. I could feel her desperation to connect with him. She wanted me to shift. She wa
My chest tightened and I squeezed my hands into fists. I didn’t want to watch, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away. The two wolves circled each other. They were nearly equally matched. Alec’s wolf slightly larger than Tyler’s. After their last encounter, I knew Alec was the superior fighter. It didn’t surprise me after seeing how Tyler would default to those around him to finish his dirty work.Even though I was pretty confident that Alec could handle himself, I was still terrified. I didn’t want anything to happen to him and I hated that this whole thing was my fault.No.It wasn’t my fault. I was done with self-blame. I gave Tyler the option to break the bond. He brought all this on himself.To my surprise, my wolf seemed to be backing me up. She was ready to be done with all of this once and for all. I realized I was holding my breath and released it before forcing myself into a steady breathing pattern.It seemed like an eternity of glaring and snapping and circling before either wolf
“How long have you known?” My voice was breathy, coming out as a whisper.“I suspected during our full moon shift, but I didn’t know for sure until just now,” he confessed.“But Tyler…” I knew you could have another chance at a mate if your mate was dead, but it seemed impossible for me to have found a second when so few wolves even found their first.“He’s gone,” Alec said.I knew there were unfinished thoughts in that statement. Alec’s mate was also gone. He’d loved deeply and lost tragically. If anyone deserved another chance at happiness, it was him.Alec caressed the side of my face gently with his thumb. His touch was a balm, soothing and comfortable. I never wanted him to stop.“What does this mean?” I asked.“It means that if you’ll have me, we can complete the bond,” he said.“But we’ve already had sex,” I said.“You were fated for someone else then,” he said.“I hate to interrupt the moment,” Sheila cut in, “but did I just overhear that correctly? You two are feeling a matin