~ CARA ~
“Cara—”
His voice twanged in my stomach like a guitar string. I shoved the feeling down deep, denying it. “You are holding me hostage at my job, Rig. That’s not fair. It’s completely fucked.”
He was quiet for a second. “I… I didn’t mean to do that.”
“Leave. Now. Or I’m calling security.”
The statement had echoes of that first time we met. I meant it even more now than I had then, and for some reason, that thought wanted to break my heart.
There was a heavy sigh on the other side of the door, another light thump like he’d flattened a hand against the door.
~ RIG ~ The days following the party were some of the hardest, and most frustrating of my life. And the nights were some of the simplest pleasures I’d ever experienced. Whatever was happening to Cara, she was giving over to the change. She’d clearly stopped resisting—or maybe the urges had just become too strong for her. I wasn’t sure. All I knew was, every night I waited in the woods as Ralf, and every night she came out and we spent hours searching the woods. I kept the guys on call and nearby, ready to shift, in case we crossed paths with the Night Walker—because it became clear very early on that that was who she searched for so diligently. And that worked for me. It was a relief to hunt and watch over Cara at the same time. And it gave me a chance to watch her blossom.
~ RIG ~ I was in the kitchen staring into the fridge and considering a beer—maybe that would ease this relentless tugging in my chest—when the doorbell rang. Jack opened the door, and the wind that blew inside sent the hair on the back of my neck to attention again. Natalie. She’d been a lot more quiet since all of this began. A lot more like the old Natalie who could be authentic, and sweet, and funny as hell. But my neck still itched every time she was near. I knew we needed to keep up appearances—I’d told her to make sure we didn’t go more than a day without seeing each other. But it still rankled. This wasn’t the female I yearned for, and that was becoming harder and harder to hide. I grabbed a coke instead of the be
~ RIG ~After Natalie left I found myself just standing there for a while, trying to tease apart all the threads of danger that were currently trying to choke me and Cara. But I was distracted by a scuttling behind me.Beans, body low and parallel to the ground, with head stooped and ears flat was darting along the wall, every inch of his body fluid and quivering at the same time. He was shaking.“Whassup, Beans?” I asked him quietly, but he only tucked his butt and hurried to the carrier, poking his nose at the little gated door like he wanted to get in.“Hey, hey, let’s relax—” I took a step towards him, but he spat and whipped himself around the carrier, hunching behind it. But when I moved closer he gave a strange yeowl, then strea
~ CARA ~I’d barely followed any of the discussion. My mind kept replaying that phone call and the tension in Rig’s voice, the edge of desperation.Was he really that good of an actor? And what did it mean if he wasn’t?Charlie’s words in the car came back to me. That little speech about Rig being different with me—and my conviction about that same thing. I’d seen the shift in him. Noticed it.I could feel myself wavering, and that scared the hell out of me.Natalie, I reminded myself. The sparks that flew between them whenever they were close—the way he touched her without even thinking about it. The way she was fearless around him and completely undisturbed by his touch. As if it we
~ CARA ~ A few days later, I walked out of the library after an evening shift, grateful that I didn’t need to close up. As soon as I stepped outside, the hair on my arms stood up and that tingling started in my stomach. It was surreal. The whole week had been surreal. The weather was growing colder and night fell earlier and earlier. And yet, when I walked into the woods to hunt, I never needed my jacket, or my shoes. I only wore my hoodie inside because it covered my body and made me feel safer. As if in response to the thought, a memory of that day in the bathroom with Rig flashed in my head and my entire body lit up. …Rig had shuddered against me. His hand on my stomach s
~ CARA ~ Natalie stood on the sidewalk behind me dressed in an elegant sweatsuit, her hair tied back and arms folded. My chest heaved with the rush of adrenalin from not knowing she was there. I should have scented her… shouldn’t I? “How did you—” “The wind was blowing the wrong way,” she said bluntly, then looked down at Ralf. “Who’s your friend?” “He’s just…” I trailed off, frowning. “None of your business,” I said quickly. “What are you doing here?” “I was looking for you.” “Oh? Why?” I let go of Ralf’s head and folded my arms to mirror her. “Because I need to talk to you.” She wasn’t smiling, but her tone wasn’t sharp. She l
~ CARA ~My entire body reacted to the sight and smell of him, looming over me there in the glare of the parking lot lights. My skin prickled, my breath got shallow, my belly tingled. And the hair on my arms stood up.Rig stared his face twisted and tense. He cleared his throat.“I heard Natalie calling, are you okay?” he asked quietly, his voice that low, husky hum that simmered in my belly.“I’m fine. I’m leaving. You guys have a good time,” I said quickly, then tried to step around him.But his hand shot out to curl around my stomach. “Cara, please—”“Don’t.”&l
~ RIG ~I'd realized Cara was close before the others. I'd been slow closing my side of the noose around this Night Walker because I was watching for her. But the wind was running in the wrong direction, and I got distracted by the creature. We finally cornered him.I could feel Cara was close, but after the guys called me to join the hunt, I wasn't paying enough attention. It wasn't until Charlie shifted and I heard Cara’s sharp intake of breath nearby that adrenaline flooded my system. I whirled, intending to get to her side, to calm her... Ralf always calmed her. But she was already running. And I could feel the jittering terror driving her forward.It was instinct. My mate was in need. I didn't even think.As my brothers shifted and raced afte
~ RIG ~ I let my upper lip curl up and bare my teeth. Let him see that he was dealing with a helluva lot more than a spoiled rich kid. His instincts were dulled by humanity and alcohol, but even his dimwitted senses caught the flash of my teeth. He stiffened. I smiled. “My wife wants to share her wedding with her Mom—we eloped, but we’ve just watched some friends getting married and it’s making her think about what we missed, so we’re going to do it properly. Make another memory. And Cara wants to share that with her mom. So, we’re going to renew our vows in front of everyone we care about. Which, sadly, includes you.” He smiled and I wanted to bite his face off. “You are invited,” I growled. “But you
SOUNDTRACK: “Your Daughter” by Chase McDaniel. ***** ~ RIG (Three weeks later) ~ Getting out of my jeep in the driveway of the house that was the site of Cara’s torture turned my stomach. My Alpha power—still difficult to contain at times, making me itchy and prone to aggression—surged as I took in the cracked cement with weeds and grass growing up, the overgrown flower beds now little jungles of three foot weeds, and the grass that was thin and patchy, and mostly dead. This was the place that her fucking father had made her believe no one could love her. This was the place she’d been hurt. This was the place I wanted to burn to the fucking ground. But for today, at least, that wasn’t the assig
SOUNDTRACK: “Unbearable” by Nathan Wagner. ***** ~ CHARLIE ~ Watching Mack salivate over Natalie as she walked up the aisle was a very specific kind of torment. Because even though I was supposed to be watching our friends publicly vow themselves, my eyes kept drifting back to Meg who, alongside Cara and Tessa, was standing with Natalie today. She looked… stunning. Natalie, always with the impeccable taste that I didn’t understand, but could fully appreciate, had draped all the girls in floor-length, light-green, figure-hugging-but-not-clinging dresses that revealed flesh without being suggestive. It was fucking torture.
~ MACK ~ When Natalie and Cara finally reached us on the stage, I knew that there was an exchange with the officiant. Cara and Rig said something, but I didn’t hear it. I just took Natalie’s hands and pulled her up to stand in front of me. I was aware of people speaking after that. The officiant—a wolf who’d been among the rebels, whose aunt was human, and had become ordained—spoke for a few minutes about marriage and what it meant, but all I could think about was the deep pools of her eyes, that hollow in her throat that she’d offered me the night before last, and how my entire blood hummed with love and desire and— There was a ripple of laughter. “Oh, what?” I asked. Someone had asked me something. Oh, right. “I do!”
SOUNDTRACK: “Don’t Give Up on Me” by Andy Grammar ***** ~ MACK ~ I had been shitting myself. Absolutely, one hundred percent, about-to-claw-my-own-hair-off, crapping my pants. When Cara told me about the human traditions around a wedding, and what she was planning to do with Rig for their vow renewal—which included not seeing or sleeping with each other the day before the ceremony, which sounded crazy—I’d joked with Natalie that we should do that too. I’d thought it would be cute and maybe increase anticipation for when we did come back together after the ceremony. I hadn’t banked on my mate getting cold feet about doing this in front of the packs, and how her nerves would kick my insecurities into gear—and that the whole damn thing would b
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
~ 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: “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 ~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