Both of my parents were stunned. My mother looked like she’d been rocked back on her heels. Her mouth kept opening and closing, but she didn’t say anything.
My father recovered faster, his shocked expression giving way to snarling rage. “I can’t believe I have to say this, but grow up, Natalie. There will be no offspring with a dead wolf,” he spat, then advanced on me, grabbing my arm, and this time not letting go when I tried to yank away from him.
“Dad, what are you doing, I’m not—”
“It’s clear to me you’ve lost your fucking mind. I thought you were an adult, but if you can’t be trusted to even understand where to align yourself then you’re still a child, and you’ll ret
~ CARA ~'Cara, are you okay? Are you hurt?' Rig sent for the third time since we’d backed out of his father’s driveway so fast the tires squealed on the cobblestones.Charlie drove and Rig sat in the back of his big truck with me, gripping my hand and staring in every direction like he was certain we'd be ambushed at any second, even in the moving vehicle. Mack was behind us in his car with Avery, and Jack drove ahead in the Jeep.No one was talking. Even Charlie was pale.'I'm fine. I'm telling you, Troy is on our side, Rig. Or at least, on mine. He wants a family. He wants his own pack. He's sick of your dad's control.'‘He didn’t
~ RIG ~It was instinct to keep Cara on my injured side like a shield. I held her hand so tightly as we walked inside I was afraid I might hurt her. But she gripped me back just as strong.A strange thing was happening in me and I was scared to hope.Every time Cara told me she knew I could win, my strength grew.When my pack-brothers circled us to usher us inside, my strength thrummed.It was like something had infected me and was coursing through my system. Except, instead of weakening my body, it did the opposite. I felt like I was taller suddenly, stronger definitely. Sharper.Ready.Then we stepped inside the doors into
~ RIG ~My father was huge as a wolf, his ruff so thick I wondered if my jaws would be wide enough to penetrate it. As he surged forward, launching himself towards me, I swore, then shifted myself, hearing Cara gasp, because I really had grown.I was brimming with a new strength, a new energy. My power had surged again when he shifted so quickly—by doing so he’d recognized my strength, which weakened him a little in the eyes of other wolves, and risked the wavering of their belief in him.But that just meant he was so confident, he thought he could lose a little of their power and still beat me.Cocky bastard.As the noise of the wolves cheering and howling swelled to shake the rafters, I threw myself across th
SOUNDTRACK: “Legendz” by AG and Devvon Terrell*****~ RIG ~I was bleeding from a dozen places, my chest heaving, my fur wet with blood and my father’s saliva. But I was fighting and I wasn’t giving up.My father was strong. So much stronger than even I had imagined. And smart.After the fourth time he fled to reposition, I realized what he was doing—trying to wear me out—and I stopped sprinting after him. But any breather I took, only gave him a chance to catch his breath too. And so we clashed, and snapped, twisted, and wrestled.We snarled and yelped, growled and rolled.His body, older than mine, but bigger too, di
~ RIG ~My father saw the opening he’d been waiting for, gathered himself on his haunches and launched at me, the light of victory in his eyes.Instinctively, I didn’t even try to meet the attack, just leaped straight into the air in an attempt to deflect, dropping my chin, trying to hide my throat as my father snaked in—and to my horror, he would have taken me, except that was the moment Stephen howled in the link, then sent images to us both:Himself. Head bowed. Shoulders rolled forward. His human form submitted.To me.It was a boom of thunder right over my head. In any context, the submission of an Alpha brought al
SOUNDTRACK: “Legendz” by AG and Devvon Terrell ***** ~ RIG ~ Everything slowed to a crawl, time seemed almost not to move at all as I watched my father go for my mate and I turned, twisting, pushing my body in ways I never had, panic screaming in my head, frantic to reach him before he got her. I couldn’t move fast enough. He was going to land at her feet before I did and his power would carry him right to her throat. She wasn’t equipped for this… It all washed through me in that second—the rage for what he’d done, the fury about his injustices, the anger that he would still cheat, even before the witnesses, and the shocking weight of grief because that was my mate. But then the second wave arrived that left me desperate, panicked, humiliated and hating myself. If she died right now it was my fault. My side screamed in pain as I launched myself after him, but my father seemed to hang in mid-air. I had time to see Cara bare her teeth and crouch. Everything moved so slowly I could
~ RIG ~I started towards her, but was halted almost immediately as I watched in awe while my mate carved through lines of wolves as if they were butter.Claws, teeth, whirling body—despite her bulk, she moved like liquid, tail lashing and claws like wicked hooks designed to tear through fur and flesh.I shook and trembled because my father’s power was shifting to me and my veins were boiling with it—while the rest of me simmered in the rising rage and terror of the wolves around us.The transfer of Alpha should have been peaceful. There was an established hierarchy waiting, swelling with the newfound power. But my father was a liar and cheat, and he’d encouraged his wolves towards the same.The hierarchy, the elders, his advisors, every pack and family of power rolled towards us, howling in rage and fear.And my wolves, newly risen and brimming with the triumph of victory and the added confidence of success, tore right back to meet them.Mack, Charlie, Jack, and Natalie tore for me,
SOUNDTRACK: “Break Your Fall” by UNSECRET and Marc Scibilia. ***** ~ NATALIE ~ “This is stupid and… and indulgent and it doesn’t matter! I should never have agreed to this. It’s nothing but a dumb, human tradition and… it means nothing. I’m not doing it.” I stood in the bedroom that we’d made into a bridal suite—complete with three-way mirror—and folded my arms. I’d been staring at myself and all I could see were the imperfections. Tessa had done a beautiful job on my make up, but everything else just felt… sticky. My dress was a touch too tight around my breasts. There were too many people here and they were all going to be staring. I could feel Mack out there panting with nerves, but what if he didn’t like the dress? I should have shown it to him! Why had I let Cara talk me into all this traditional nonsense? “Natalie, you get your gorgeous ass out there and marry that man before he sweats through his Armani suit,” Cara growled. “Seriously, don’t make me turn it into an orde