“Done?” she whispered.
“An Alpha can end a fight for dominance by submitting. But few will. Because what kind of Alpha are you if you’re willing to just… give up?”
“Rig,” her eyes went wide. “If he’s going to beat you, you have to submit. Don’t force him to kill you!”
“There’s no forcing, Cara, it’s what he’ll be trying to do from the second we face off.”
“But—”
“Cara, you said don’t sugar coat this, so I’m not. If that rogue is as strong as Natalie believed—and the way he’s responded to this makes me think he might be even stronger—then there’s no other way through this.”
“No, you can’t—”
SOUNDTRACK: “I Guess I’m in Love” by Clinton Kane.*****~ MACK ~It took us hours to get back to the cabin, circling and testing, making certain we weren’t followed. A part of me had been pissed that Rig would even think he needed to warn us, but then I realized I would have done the same thing.This whole situation was fucked.Natalie was next to me in the car, her hands tight in her lap, her face pale.She was blaming herself.We’d opened a door with this rogue pack, and now she felt like it was her fault that it wasn’t going down the way we wanted it to.“I really
~ NATALIE ~I hated myself, hated myself, for the fickleness of my heart. For all the ways I feared and doubted, and dragged other wolves down with me.I knew it about myself and if there was anything I could change, that would be it.It was a fierce irony to me that everyone liked to talk about how strong I was, when I knew the truth was that I wasn’t strong at all. I was stubborn as fuck, and prideful—some might say narcissistic, but I didn’t think that was it.The truth was, I was so scared most of the time, I was ready to fight even when I shouldn’t. I created conflict because I was terrified of being surprised by it. And other wolves saw that as strength.
~ NATALIE ~Those scattered tines of hair that were just a touch too long at the front, fell over his eyes and I combed them back with my fingers, while I stroked his chest and arms with my other hand, waiting for him to be ready.But to my surprise, he didn’t groan and press me into the mattress, but sat back on his heels between my bent knees, his hands roaming every inch of my chest, stomach, legs as he followed their progress with his eyes.‘You’re so fucking beautiful, Natalie.’ And his eyes told the story and that it was truth. He was drinking in the sight of me, praising me with his gaze.‘Come closer,’ I urged him, reaching for him. B
~ NATALIE ~A happy sob broke in my throat and I clawed into his back with my fingernails. Mack raised his head, arching his back again to find me deeper and my jaw dropped.Then he muttered, “hold on!” and hooked his hands under my arms.Teeth gritted and muscles flexing, he sat back, pulling me with him until I was in his lap, sitting on his thighs, pressed down onto him and… holy shit.“Mack—” My body trembled and ached. I suddenly felt perched over him, unsteady.“I’ve got you, babe,” he rasped. “I’ve got you. Relax.”He stroked my back, held my hip, kissed me, and kept murmuring. Relax… rel
~ CARA ~Rig was loading drinks and clothes in the car when Natalie and Mack showed up looking like they had been at a rave all night--eyes bright and energy high, but there were dark circles under their eyes and I was pretty sure this was the first time I'd ever seen Natalie in a messy bun."Are you okay?" I murmured to her when she hugged me.She nodded as she pulled away, her eyes immediately finding Mack, who'd gone to talk to Rig at the back of the car.There was a tense moment when there was no movement that I could see through the windows of the car. It seemed like the two just stared at each other. But I guessed they were talking in the link.Then suddenly... nothing. Rig leaned down to pick up his bag,
~ CARA ~Rig held my eyes without a hint of doubt. “She’s my mate. She’ll be their Luna. She’s coming—”“And if they’ve got Sentries posted because they know we’re coming, and one of them gets overzealous and wants to bind us or something stupid? You really think you’ve got the control to watch them tie up your mate? Because Natalie knows how to fight, and I still thought twice about that—I still don’t know if I can handle it, Rig. Can you seriously tell me that you know you can?”Power and aggression wafted off Rig like heat, his body seemed to swell.It took my breath away to watch him just… get strong.I swallowed. “If we get tied
~ CARA ~The male’s eyes never left Rig. “So, you’re the one,” he said quietly, thoughtfully. “I’ll admit, when we heard you were coming, I expected… more.”I wanted to get offended, but I looked at Rig and he smiled a smile I’d never seen on his face before—the look he’d given when I first met him, the one that reminded me of a predator had its roots here. But this was far, far more dangerous.“Feel free to underestimate me,” Rig said with a sinister smile. “That will go well for you.”The male smiled casually. But before he could respond, Rig spoke again.“If you aren’t familiar with the language, I’m bringing a f
~ RIG ~I’d had hope at the beginning—it was a wolf’s way to taunt, to try to get an adversary off balance, and to use a pack to keep prey turning and uncertain. But their attention shifted too quickly to anticipate.The male in front of me had completely dismissed Cara which was offensive. But then his friend huffed, his eyes raking down her form appreciatively, and the wolf inside my skin snapped.They felt it, how closely my beast shivered beneath my skin, and they were confused. Instinctively they flinched, but it was too late.“Eyes. Off. My. Mate,” I snarled.