As soon as I was struck, Coal's clothing was torn to shreds as fur and claws exploded out of him.Jax felt the change and heard the fabric rip. He shifted instantly, spinning around to meet the assault. Coal's teeth were bared, revealing deadly canines.Growl after growl erupted from his chest as he attacked with full force, teeth digging into Jax's flank, throwing him to the ground as he pounced on top of him.Jax yelped in pain."Coal...No!!!" I screamed, terrified by his evident lethal intent.Daniel, Langdon, and Amber all shifted and jumped on top of them, until there was a very large wolf-pile in the basement, a living mass of growling, writhing fur.Working as a unit, Daniel and Langdon sliced into Coal's side and leg, causing blood to flow. The maneuver was successful. Coal released Jax and spun around, glaring at all of them, deciding which one would die first.My Wolf was equally frantic, worried about her mate who was bleeding. Without another thought, we shifted, and she d
Brutal. Dangerous. Deadly.BrinleyThe meeting continued for several hours. Both Beta Dean and Alpha watched me like a hawk, but thankfully, with the conference in session, neither could really bother me.I was also relieved to find Beta Dean taking an interest in several other shewolves, not just me. And Calla had not fallen off of his radar completely. She made a point to stay front and center, making sure his beverage stayed full, bringing him refills even when it wasn't necessary.I made a point to be as scarce and unnoticeable as possible.Walking back to the serving stations, I tried not to hobble, the pain in my toes excruciating from standing in these damned shoes for so long. Lena watched me, her face screwed into the perpetual scowl of disgust she wore every time she laid eyes on me.I turned away, busying myself with useless tasks like stacking napkins and organizing glasses that were already in perfect order.The noise of the crowd became louder. Glancing up, I found sever
I didn't reply as they walked away.I didn't know if his choice of wording was purposeful, but that was the second time he'd said he was going to catch me. A cold shudder ran down my spine.I followed Langdon out the opposite door. As soon as we were alone, he stopped to face me and growled quietly, "I don't like him.""Me either," I replied. "The male comes across as an ass, but maybe he's harmless. He seems to be interested in all of the single female population, not just me."Langdon's brow furrowed, his lips pulled thin. "I asked around about him."His expression caused alarm bells to go off in my head. "What did you find?""Apparently, he's on the hunt for a mate."I had thought the same thing, but something wasn't right.I touched Langdon's arm. "Wait a minute. Why would Alpha try to encourage him with me? He's already told me he'd never let me leave. Surely, he's not going to try to set me up with a wolf from another pack."A muscle in Langdon's jaw clenched. "No, it doesn't ma
Lies & AccusationsCoalRyder and I walked toward the packhouse. Several wolves milled around, remnants from the recently disbanded meeting.I hoped I found my father quickly because I was eager to get this debriefing over with. The trip couldn't have gone more shockingly different than I expected-first with the vampires, and then our meeting with Alpha Mason.The only thing I wanted to do was hold Brinley in my arms and make sure she was okay. But the instant we walked through the door, everything changed.He was here......that bastard who raped Brinley!No communication passed between my Wolf and me, it wasn't necessary. The instant we smelled him, we were in agreement, our shift instantaneous.Adrenaline and bloodlust pushed hard through my body like a drug, exploding neurons firing in my brain, chaotic and frenzied all toward one goal, one purpose-the despicable male was going to die!Every nerve ending in my body crackled with anticipation of the kill.Rip him apart! Until nothi
She was deathly pale, shaking. Langdon was behind her. His eyes were anguished. He knew if I died, Brinley would as well. And even if I didn't lose my life, Alpha might still decide to take her out, right here in front of me, in a room full of wolves, just to punish me for defying him.He continued to snap his teeth displaying his dominance and anger. I couldn't focus because now that we stopped, the pain was excruciating, too much. Shifting back into skin, I lay on the floor, bloodied and broken.Alpha shifted as well and yelled furiously, "What the fuck are you doing? Are you trying to start a war?!" He spit blood from his mouth.I didn't answer, my damaged lung making it hard for me to even breathe let alone talk."You can't just declare a death sentence on another pack's Beta! And then, without another word, carry it out! You know better than that. That's not how our laws work!"My words had returned, but my lungs burned when I ground out, "That fucker will die."His eyes narrowed
For Your CourageBrinleyMy world fractured around me, little tiny pieces of my heart and soul drifted down like snowflakes.That Wolf...That Wolf who violated me.Beta Dean.He was here. And he lied. In front of several packs of wolves, he'd basically called me a whore and said I'd had sex with him willingly! The thought caused my belly to roil. I swallowed back my bile.And Alpha believed him. I could see it in his angry glare. Alpha also made it very clear how he saw me--a piece of ass. That was it. I was worth no more than that. Humiliation washed over me, leaving my cheeks red, as every wolf in the room stared.I tried to control my shaking as Alpha turned his glare from Coal to me and back again. I didn't like the look in his eyes. It made me feel as though the next words from his mouth were going to destroy me. However before he could speak, Amber rushed through the crowd and crouched next to Coal's bleeding body, gushing about how thankful she was that he was okay....what wa
When Coal was settled, Daniel joined in and the four of them, along with Amber, walked out the door.Alpha looked at me. "Dismissed!"I couldn't be happier to comply.Langdon and I exited the room, but I veered away from the exit, realizing I still wore the foolishly short dress. I needed to change. Making my way to the closest bathroom, I tried to keep my hands from trembling as I redressed.When I finished, Langdon and I headed out into the forest. Neither of us spoke as Langdon just followed me in the dark.When we made it to the waterfall cave, Langdon looked around in surprise, taking in the small stash of food, propane heater, and fur blankets. And Darcie had insisted I take a pillow-my little teddy bear was perched on top of it.My cheeks warmed in embarrassment.Langdon murmured reassuringly, "I love the bear."I gave him a ghost of a smile, but even that was hard. My body didn't want to smile knowing Coal was in so much pain.Langdon turned on the propane heater, filling the
No Going BackBrinley"What do we do now?" I whispered, my voice hoarse with anxiety, as I shakily stood, following Langdon to his feet."We shift, travel as wolves. We need to hurry," lips pressed together, Langdon's expression was grim.His last sentence caused cold fear to trickle down my spine. What if we were already too late? Even with accelerated healing from the mate bond, was Coal too severely injured to be saved? As if reading my thoughts, Langdon stopped. His eyes bore into mine. "You can do this. Pull yourself together and focus. It will take everything you have. But you can do it."I nodded, blinking back the moisture in my eyes, my heart thumping loudly in my chest.Langdon said nothing else, just began to undress. I was past the point of worrying about his or my nakedness and quickly shed my shirt and pants, sliding off my bra and finally my panties.To Langdon's credit, he didn't stare directly at me, but nor did he turn fully away. He could see me from his peripheral