We were all headed back to the center of the rogue’s camp when Stephen leaned in. ‘Can we talk. Alone?’
I nodded. I wanted to have some time with him before we left, too.
We both sent to our mates to let them know we were going to disappear for a few minutes. I asked Mack and Natalie to watch out for Cara. But since she was with Harmony, I doubted there’d be any trouble.
Natalie was still sullen, but Mack told me not to worry.
Then I followed the tip of Stephen’s head off to the west as he drew me away from the others before we made it to that central gathering area.
A few minutes later, i
~ CARA ~The drive home was tense. I struggled to sit still because I kept having that urge to get out of the closed space and run and hunt and… and it was just the tension getting to me. Getting to my cat… or whatever this thing was inside me.Everything was incredibly strained. Natalie was worried about Mack and mad as hell at Rig for it. While Rig was half-mad at his brother, and half-terrified to take these steps without him. And worried about me.He kept his mind open so I kept getting the flashes, seeing how his mind looped on the whole situation—his father’s subterfuge and the confusion there, about his motives and how much he knew. What it was going to be like to go back, and what danger that placed all of us in.His pride about his broth
~ CARA ~I’d been surprised how solid Rig felt in the car. How sure. Even the things we discussed that he couldn’t know ahead of time, he was clear about what to do about them. What the options were. He’d been encouraging Mack and reassuring Natalie, keeping me from getting too scared, and even made a joke or two.I think all of us took a breath when we got back to the property, and when we passed the main cabin, and there was no sign of intruders. He’d opened the windows so we could all track for scents while we drove, and there was nothing. Everything we smelled was us and our vehicle and the cold.It didn’t mean someone wasn’t in the property at all, but Rig was confident if the perimeter was breached, the system would tell us.A tri
Dedicated to reader, Jasmyn_Grier, who’s loved Natalie and Mack for a long time. ***** ~ MACK ~ I tipped my chin at Rig back in the car, then closed the door behind Natalie who’d stalked inside without even looking at him. I turned slowly to watch her stiff back stomping across the floor and into the kitchen where she started slamming around. Making coffee or killing something, I wasn’t sure. “Nat?” The only response was the sharp clang of the coffee pot on the countertop. I took a deep breath and followed her into the kitchen, stopping to lean on the breakfast bar, out of her way as she stalked back and forth from the pantry to the coffeemaker, th
~ RIG ~‘Mack?’‘Yeah?’‘You guys sleeping?’Mack snorted down the link. ‘Not even close.’‘Us, either.’We were both quiet for a second. What I was about to propose had seemed like such a good idea, but it was hitting me that Nat and Mack hadn’t had the time we’d had. I knew my idea was going to suck for them. But I also wondered if it was going to help all of us.‘I was just talki
~ CARA ~It all happened so fast, if I hadn’t had heightened senses I’m not even sure I would have seen it all.Natalie, twitching and nervous, went to give Charlie a hug.It seemed like Charlie’s eyes lit up and his nostrils flared in the same split second that Mack exploded, a vicious snarl tearing out of him that raised the hair on the back of my neck. Instinctively, I stopped, crouched, my claws suddenly there, but Rig just moved.He was a blur, a growl, a weighted shadow that moved faster than I could see—putting himself between Charlie and Mack, his back to Charlie and facing down Mack, who’d drawn up short when he met his Alpha—teeth bared and
SOUNDTRACK: “Masquerade” by Euphoria + Bolshiee.*****~ NATALIE ~Taking a shower was heavenly—even in a male’s bathroom that was a little more cramped than I was used to, and had a curtain instead of a door.Sharing the River House with Mack had been a treat—spacious and clean and quiet. This felt more… domesticated. Like it was real. Like he was mine.Washing my hair in the shower while he came in and out of the bathroom was a strange kind of comfort I hadn’t anticipated.There was still tension and nerves in me. Still fear wanting to claw its way to the surface. But I held it at bay. Helping Mack through that moment had helped me focus too, brought me ba
~ CARA ~I don’t know what time Rig came to bed because I fell asleep, and he obviously used that wolf stealth to sneak in with me without waking me up.But when his alarm went off so early the next morning that the sun hadn’t even finished coming up, I woke from a warm nest, curled up with Rig, and with Beans on the pillow above my head, to a jolt and a rush of adrenaline that raised all the hair on my arms and made my heart thunder in my ears.Rig groaned and rolled half-away, reaching for his phone, scrambling on the screen for a second until he got the alarm turned off, then let it drop the bed.The adrenaline didn’t stop pulsing through me, though. Even though I knew there was no immediate danger, I could feel the tension in Rig and… I just k
~ CARA ~I never even considered how it would feel to lose the link with Rig. I’d been out of his arms and out of his sight a few times since we completed the bond, but never out of range.When he drove away with Natalie in the jeep and twenty minutes later I was alone in my head it almost sent me into a panic.My scent must have changed, because I was sitting on the couch in the living room, intending to wait an hour before I went to see Meg since it was still so early, and I’d probably wake her up. But Charlie appeared suddenly out of the kitchen, frowning at me.“You okay?”It was embarrassing how intimately these wolves knew each other. Of course, I could scent his unease as well, so maybe we we