My wolf could feel Tyler. She was desperate to be with her mate. Reason didn’t matter, none of my human emotions mattered, she was determined to reach him.Every muscle hurt as I fought against my wolf. She was stronger than me and she was fully keeping me out of the discussion. With each footfall, I could feel Tyler getting closer, but I could also sense my friends.See? They are trying to keep Tyler from us because he’s bad for us.I changed my tactic, hoping the loyalty I could sense for Alec, Malcom, and Kyle could somehow sway her opinion.My wolf growled, pissed that there was a threat to Tyler. She picked up the pace. Everything I tried seemed to backfire. What was wrong with my wolf? Why had I shifted like that? I’d lost all control, forced to make the change.Star’s warning about magic having a price seemed so long ago. I should know better than to not take chances with magic. The gamble hadn’t paid off.My muscles ached; my lungs burned. I had never moved so quickly in my life

My chest tightened and I squeezed my hands into fists. I didn’t want to watch, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away. The two wolves circled each other. They were nearly equally matched. Alec’s wolf slightly larger than Tyler’s. After their last encounter, I knew Alec was the superior fighter. It didn’t surprise me after seeing how Tyler would default to those around him to finish his dirty work.Even though I was pretty confident that Alec could handle himself, I was still terrified. I didn’t want anything to happen to him and I hated that this whole thing was my fault.No.It wasn’t my fault. I was done with self-blame. I gave Tyler the option to break the bond. He brought all this on himself.To my surprise, my wolf seemed to be backing me up. She was ready to be done with all of this once and for all. I realized I was holding my breath and released it before forcing myself into a steady breathing pattern.It seemed like an eternity of glaring and snapping and circling before either wolf

It was a different kind of shower pep talk. While growing up, I’d broken down in the shower more times than I’d like to admit. I’d cried there to hide my pain. I’d talked myself into simply surviving. Making it until I was old enough to get out.Now, I had the power and the capability of setting my standards higher. I no longer needed just to survive, I could start thinking about enjoying my life. I deserved happiness, love, and support. As did all the people in Wolf Creek who couldn’t stand up for themselves.By the time I was finished in the shower, I was feeling renewed. Sure, I was tired from the run, and my emotions were still a messy roller coaster, but I felt like I deserved more than I’d let myself hope for.Tyler was broken, but his kind of broken caused more damage. Aside from the occasional flicker of sympathy or sadness, mostly I felt relief. I wasn’t sure what it said about me that I wasn’t mourning my mate. Or feeling guilt about his death. I doubted he’d felt any sensat

Spencer touched the rock and the stone sealing Star’s home moved. I’d seen Sheila and Alec do that, but they had been visiting Star regularly. “Wait, how did you know how to do that?” I looked over at Star. “Did you teach him that?”“Nope, as far as I know, he’s the first to figure it out on his own. I taught Alec and Sheila when we started working together,” she said.“Well? How did you figure it out? And how did you find us in the first place?” They were probably questions I should have asked before, but they wouldn’t have changed anything. Plus, I’d been distracted by Alec’s injuries, my mating bond, and the fact that my father was a royal. My mind had been a little preoccupied.“I made a lot of friends with witches while I was living with the vampires. There wasn’t much to do, so I learned as much as I could. See this little mark here?” Spencer pointed to a divit in the stone that could have been anything. “The key to get in isn’t all that well hidden if you know what you’re looki

“Wow,” Star said. “Now I know where you got your cheesy shifter love fest from.”“I guess so,” I said. “I certainly didn’t learn it from my mom.”“Tell me about her,” Spencer said. “You said she’s not like she used to be.”“You don’t want to know,” I said.“That bad?” he asked.I hummed, not trusting myself to open my mouth and speak. My childhood had been miserable all around. Much of it could have been avoided had I been cared for by a parent.“Well, Malcom should be all set,” Star announced.“You’re sure?” Malcom asked.“Pretty sure,” she said.“Guess we’ll find out when I try to walk in the front door,” Malcom said.“I’m sure Star has you covered. Besides, she’ll be with you and I have a feeling she can handle herself and take care of you,” I said.“That’s the truth,” Star said.The drive felt less tense for a while as conversation turned in other directions. Star shared about her training as a witch, and Spencer shared about what vampires were really like.Both conversations were