18

As I prepared for the day and tried to ignore the physical ache from my rejection, a bitter sense of loss settled in my heart when I looked at my Tranquility ops gear in my closet. I’d never wear it again. The one thing I was really good at, the one thing that made me whole, and now it was gone, too. That hurt almost as much as letting down my family. If I still had my job, at least I could have buried myself in work. Catching bad guys was a surefire way to get my mind off everything else.

I’d tried that as soon as the mating ceremony fell apart. Within hours of Jayson rejecting me, I called my superiors and asked to get back to work. I had hoped I would get a new case, a new project that would preoccupy me. Instead, they terminated me over the phone. There had been no build-up, no fake apologies. Just a couple sentences about cutbacks, a week’s severance pay, and a boot in the ass. I’d put my life on the line for the council for years, and then Jayson’s bitch of an aunt pulled a few strings and ended it just like that.

Shoving aside the gear, I grabbed a sweatshirt and pulled it over my head. I didn’t have any plans for the day and had no clue what to do with myself. The only place I would be welcomed and not ostracized was Zoe’s place.

I grabbed my car keys and headed to the front door. I was one of the few shifters who owned a car. In wolf form, we could run nearly forty miles an hour. Almost no one drove. The very fact that I had a car was another badge of dishonor, but I’d never cared about that. And anyone who thought it was weird could go screw themselves.

I was only a few steps off the porch when I froze in place. My keys slipped from my hand, clattering to the concrete. My tires had been slashed. Deep scratches scored the car’s paint right down to the metal beneath. My jaw slowly fell open at the words spraypainted on the side:

Real wolves don’t need cars

I circled the car, reading the other profanities that had been scratched into the metal or painted. Whore, slut, traitor, and fake were a few. My vision blurred red at the edges, and I had to look away before my rage took control.

This was dead center in Eleventh Pack territory. Fifty feet from my house. This wasn’t the work of another pack. My packmates had done this. My own people were turning on me. Gods, things were really bad if some of my packmates had the balls to do this. Anger was a strong drug. It made you do crazy things.

I was appalled, but part of me had expected something like this. The pack’s hopelessness had been evident for days. Everyone was jumpy and distraught. My pairing with Jayson had been one of the biggest things to happen to our pack in recent memory. The Ninth Pack had better connections and more strength than we could ever have dreamed of. Being fated to Jayson meant that power and influence would have carried.

For the past five years, my pack had looked to me as a savior, as the person who would secure our future and raise our standing. Now that this dream had been ripped away, there were bound to be desperate and furious people who wanted to act out. Teenagers, probably, reacting to the terrible rumors floating around about me.

I kicked my keys aside. I could shrug off the vandalism, but it didn’t mean I couldn’t be pissed about it. I was already frustrated about losing my mate, my parents’ pride, and my job. My car being destroyed was the icing on top of a shit cake.

Grabbing an old tarp from the shed out back, I tossed it over the car to hide the damage, then pinned it down with some rocks. I sent Zoe a text, asking her to come over. I was obviously not driving anywhere.

I’d hoped the tarp would hide my car and keep it from being a conversation piece. Except, it had slipped my mind that Zoe, as loving and loyal as she was, was equally nosy. She barged in twenty minutes later, dragging the tarp behind her.

“I’ll kill them,” she grunted, shaking the tarp for emphasis. “I’ll kill every single son of a bitch if I find them. You hear me?”

Sighing, I took the tea bag out of the cup it had been steeping in. “It’s fine, Zoe. Really. Let them vent. I did a pretty good job of screwing up everyone’s life.”

Her eyes widened. “Are you serious? You’re letting these people blame you for Jayson being a dick? For almost dying? This pack has always expected too much from you and Kolton. You especially, though. And now, the one time things don’t go perfectly, they turn on you? That’s bullshit.”

She dropped the tarp on the floor and strode over to me. Shoving her hand into her pocket, she pulled out a key ring. “Here. We’ll fix this right now.”

A moment later, the keys duplicated, and she handed them to me.

“What are those?” I asked.

“Keys to my car and apartment. Your own set of each. You need to get away from this place, Kira. Come stay with me for a few weeks until you get back on your feet.”

As I looked down at the keys, I had a strong urge to agree. A lump formed in my throat. Knowing at least one person had my back was making me emotional. It was tempting to get away, get out from under the weight of expectation and hide at my friend’s place for a while.

But as soon as the thought entered my mind, I pushed it away. I swallowed hard, reining in my emotions. I had to stay strong now.

I smiled warmly at Zoe. “Thank you. That means a lot, but I can’t run away from this problem. I’ve got to push through. I need to fix this.”