Ace Grant, Tyler’s dad, and our pack’s alpha, was standing outside the barn with a small group of other shifters when we arrived. I quickly found Tyler, Julian, and Marion Reed, my classmate who shared the same birth month. In addition to them, I recognized Marion’s parents and the other shifters present. It was a small town after all, and even if I was an outcast, I still knew everyone’s name.Jenny Ortega, the high priestess, was the only person in the gathered group smiling at me. She’d always been pleasant with me, but never kind. Of all the adults in town, she was the only one who might have been able to speak up on my behalf and go against the alpha. She never did. To make matters worse, everything I knew about the moon goddess and general shifter religion came from what I read in books. I wasn’t allowed to attend other ceremonies since I wasn’t considered a full wolf. Not that I fought hard against that. Most of my classmates complained about how boring they were. But, it was a
Jenny lifted her hands into the air, sending dozens of gold bangles sliding down her wrists and pooling near her elbows. They made a melodic sound as they shifted and moved with her motions. The others were silent, staring at her. Even I found myself more focused on her than Tyler’s grip on my arm.“The goddess shows us favor this night,” Jenny said. “The wolf born of tonight’s moon will be a powerful force in the universe.”Marian looked smug and she batted her lashes in Tyler’s direction. I resisted the urge to hurl. Every woman around our age wanted to be the next mate to the alpha. It was enough to make me lose my lunch. Wait. I didn’t eat lunch today. But I still felt sick at the thought of anyone being permanently stuck with Tyler. Nobody deserved that kind of eternal punishment.“Pack, family, new wolves, it is time to connect with your soul’s twin, your inner form freed.” Jenny lowered her hands. “It is time to shift.”Whoops and cheers rose from the group and everyone started
It wasn’t possible. There was no way the fates were cruel enough to put the two of us together. He had to be messing with me. Besides, our pack took mating bonds very seriously. If a wolf was lucky enough to form a bond, it usually meant increased strength and other perks. Things like possibly even breaking curses.He had to know that myth. He was trying to get one last dig at me. “That’s a fucked up thing to joke about, even for you.”“I wish it was a joke,” he said. “I wasn’t certain until this past week. As we got closer to the time you should have shifted, my wolf made it pretty fucking clear we’re supposed to be together.”My insides twisted as my emotions went to war. There was a tiny glimmer of hope trying to fight through the other negative emotions. I hated Tyler and I wanted nothing to do with him. The thought of being intimate with him made my skin crawl. But there was that rumor about the bond breaking the curse. I’d given up long ago of ever feeling my wolf rise to the su
When they finally released their jaws, I was dumped on the ground, in the dirt. Every inch of my body hurt. My arms and legs felt like they were on fire and my head throbbed. My skin was sticky with blood and sweat and all my open wounds were full of dirt. Even if I survived this, infection would set in if I didn’t get medical attention. I knew all this, but I couldn’t make myself move. Rolling to my side, I tried to catch my breath. Maybe they were done with me. Maybe they’d leave and hope I’d die. If I could find some strength, I could limp or crawl out of here, right?I looked around, trying to assess my surroundings. We were out of the cover of the woods now, somewhere different. The full moon was so bright I could see everything clearly. In front of me was a huge rock formation that took up most of my line of sight. Behind me, was the woods. I hadn’t been this far before. We were either at the border of pack lands, or we’d ventured beyond.“Are you dead yet?” Tyler asked.I turned
Everything hurt but I wasn’t ready to die and I knew the cave was a death sentence. I turned on my side, telling myself that I was fine. I didn’t have a broken wrist or a torn up back or bite marks on my arms. I was just imagining it, right? Okay, fine, I still felt like I was nearing death’s door, but I had to try.Kyle and Julian were pushing on a huge boulder that sealed off the entry. Now that I knew it was the cave, it was hard to miss the obviously placed stone that acted as a door.Turning my attention from Kyle and Julian, I looked over at Tyler. He was watching his friends, oblivious to me. If I was going to attempt to run, this was it. Holding my breath, I braced for the pain.Wincing, I pushed myself to standing as quietly as I could. Already panting from the strain, I stood on shaky legs. With a quick glance at the distracted shifters, I took off.The searing pain escalated with each pump of my arms, but I forced it down. I had to get away from these psycho wolves. Under t
I wasn’t about to let him feel like he was the victim here. “First of all, Tyler is not the pack alpha. Second, he doesn’t have the fucking mark or he’d have shown it to everyone.”“Nobody else has the mark so he’ll be alpha by birth,” Kyle said. “Look, I know you don’t deserve this, but just stop fighting.”“You’re a prick, you know that? You act like you’re trying to help me but you’re just as bad as them,” I said through gritted teeth.“You know that’s not the case,” he said. “I’m nothing like them.”“Oh yeah? Then why didn’t you stand up for me when I was ten and Tyler gave me two black eyes? Where were you when Julian pushed me down the stairs or broke my ribs? Or the time you stood by and watched while Tyler held me under the water in the lake until I passed out?”“I’m the one who dragged you to shore,” he said.“Doesn’t make you a good person,” I said. “It makes you a weak follower. You stood by and did nothing. One time of saving me doesn’t undo all the hurt you were silent fo
Someone was talking and my head was pounding. My mouth felt like sandpaper. What the fuck was going on?The memories of the cave and Tyler came flooding back like a tidal wave. I should be dead. But I didn’t feel dead. I felt like shit. I was pretty sure if I were dead, I’d be feeling nothing, right?I could feel the ground under me and the breeze moving the air. The smell of campfire and pine filled my nostrils. It was clear I was outside and it seemed dark enough through my eyelids to be nighttime. There was something covering me, a blanket maybe?I kept my eyes closed and listened for the voices. Had Tyler and his friends come back for me? Were they going to finish me themselves or had they brought me back to save me? Was this all sort of some fucked up head-trip?A chill went through me when I realized I didn’t know these voices. I would recognize Tyler’s voice anywhere. I hated that I could, but it was true. And this was not Tyler.“She’s awake,” someone said.Silence fell around
As soon as I released Sheila’s hand, I rose to my feet and started patting myself down, feeling for injuries. I felt my shoulder, my wrist, my head. My hair was matted with dried blood. My arms and legs were covered in dirt. Some of it stuck there by blood from phantom wounds. There were no signs of the bite marks or broken limbs.I knew shifters were fast healers, but even my injuries would have taken time. “How long have I been here?”“We found you last night. You’ve been sleeping for almost twenty-four hours,” Sheila confirmed.That didn’t seem long enough. “How long ago was the full moon?”“Four days,” Sheila said. “Is that when you fell?”I nodded.“You were wandering in your wolf form for a while,” she said.“Why are you here?” Sexy Voice asked.“Can you give her a few minutes before you interrogate her? She’s been through a lot.” Sheila turned to me. “Ignore Alec, he’s an asshole.”“What about me?” The other man asked. I’d almost forgotten he was there.“That’s Malcom, he’s als