Liam
The feeling of her skin on mine was too much. I couldn’t take it. The fire that ignited with the smell of spiced raspberries was one that threatened to never be extinguished. I lost myself, and I would have marked her right then if I had an ounce less control.
The smell of a rogue was getting closer, and a pack wolf was hovering nearby, a few others not too far off. A sense of foreboding overcame me. She wasn’t safe here.
I didn’t know why I cared. This wasn’t what I wanted. It was the damn mate bond that was forcing these emotions on me, and I wanted none of it.
“Run now, bunny,” I murmured into her ear before slinking back into the cover of trees.
My heart panged when she collapsed, and I fought the urge to go pick her up. But the scents were drifting closer and I needed her away from here.
I could smell three, maybe four pack wolves approaching. I wouldn’t be able to focus if she hung around.
“Leave,” I growled.
Her wolf was unwilling, but I could feel Alo pouring reassurance through the tendrils of the bond that had already started to take hold.
It was torture pulling my eyes away from my little mate and refocusing on the task at hand. I stared down a scrawny, mousy colored rogue being pursued by a large, gray wolf.
I shifted, but remained in the shadows. I wouldn’t show myself until I knew I was needed.
The scents got closer and Alo’s hackles rose. I knew one of those scents. The wolf in the shadows crouched, ready to defend. There were very few people on this earth Alo and I deemed worth stepping out of line for, and the little rogue dashing toward us was one of them.
The gray wolf was closing in on the little rogue, snapping at her tail. The smell of terror was evident in the air. We stayed stationary just a moment longer, until it was almost too late.
And then we leaped.
Alo landed on the girl, effectively rolling her. When he got to his feet, he was standing above her, growling at the gray wolf. Times like this I really wished the Wulvers had the additional privilege of being able to mindlink just anyone, because I wanted to know exactly who this wolf was.
We were ready to lunge at the pack wolf, but he must have thought better. Just one menacing growl and he took off. I would think, if he had a valid reason to be pursuing a rogue, he would have simply shifted and explained.
Alo stood protectively over the rogue for a few more moments, ensuring no one was returning, before turning to her and nosing her side. All she did was cower away from us, making no move to stand, no move to defend herself.
Alo huffed before begrudgingly receding. I stood over her, hoping she would recognize me.
“Danica, you need to shift,” I insisted. The she-wolf just stared up at me, wide eyes full of fear. “Danica, please. I’ll take you to Lya.”
Her lack of response was due to terror, but I couldn’t tell if that terror stemmed from just being chased or the idea of being taken to a pack. I didn’t know if she ever truly realized I was one of the good guys when our paths diverged.
With a sigh, I shifted back. The girl was small in frame, and malnourished on top of that. It was disturbing to see that she actually gained weight when held captive. Alo picked her up by the scruff, carrying her back out the way we had come. She didn’t struggle, at the very least. Maybe she was just hurt, or nervous to shift in front of a male.
When we got to my clothes, I quickly shifted and changed, not taking my eyes off of her for a second. By this point, she seemed closer to comatose than just electing to be unhelpful. So, I scooped up the wolf and placed her in the back seat of my truck, hoping her wolf would let go by the time we got back to the packhouse.
I felt Alo settle and purr in contentment. It took me a moment to realize it must have been because that mate of his had also headed south. I rolled my eyes at the wolf. For so many years we had been on the same page about mates. They were a hindrance and would just get in the way. We had more important things to do than fawn over a single person - especially when the lives of so many were dependent on us. Funny how quickly the tides changed when fate was thrown in the mix, though.
I spared one quick glance back to Danica before putting the car in gear. Why her?
As soon as there was enough reception, I pulled out my phone. I didn’t even wait for a greeting as soon as the call was answered.
“I’m headed back, and I have enough ammunition to put this situation to bed,” I grumbled. “Have the Little Alpha on standby.”
There was no conversation. I ended the call, tossing it to the seat beside me, and ignored the subsequent vibrations. Any minute now, mindlinks would start coming in. It was a long drive, so I let my mind wander instead.
Spiced raspberries. What the hell kind of smell was that? Tantalizing and so rich I still felt like I could taste the fruity notes dancing along her skin. Her body melded so perfectly against mine, it was hard not thinking of all the other ways we could fit.
If I was a kinder man, I wouldn’t be thinking about if I’d have the opportunity to fuck her before I rejected her.
Because that was the only way this could go. She would be rejected. I had no time, no mental capacity, and no desire for a mate - no matter if every single one of my senses fought against that. Fighting my wolf off long enough to allow me enough time to reject her, though. That would be the problem. I could already foresee there was no convincing him that a mate was wrong for us.
Wolves and their love affair with fate. It was a little repulsive. If you asked a wolf, everything - everything - was meant to be, supposed to happen, written in the stars. All the way down to tripping on a sidewalk. I had always hoped my wolf had a little more sense than that, but apparently I was wrong.
That Moon Goddess of ours certainly could make mistakes, and giving me a mate was a big one.
Alo rumbled in my head, immediately jumping to our mate’s defense. 'It would appear she deserves better than you, anyway.'
'Well, then she can go find better,' I told him.
'A chosen mate never replaces a fated mate,' Alo reminded me. 'You are sealing our mate’s fate, guaranteeing her a life of suffering.'
I rolled my eyes. I knew plenty of people with chosen mates, and they were perfectly happy.
'But they could be - should be - happier. So much happier.'
I growled in retaliation, shoving him to the back of my mind, where he could dwell on his mate uninterrupted. I did not need his thoughts to rub off on me.
I think I've figured it out. The thing that makes me enjoy a werewolf story so much is when I can easily make a connection to the characters. As I don't turn into a wolf (although I think I have a true mate bond with my fiance), their human skin bears the weight of making these characters 'real.' Their actions, reactions, internal monologue - you know, the things that make you want to hang out for a sunny afternoon and smoke meats with Liam, or sneak away for a glass of wine to gossip with Rose. It's for that reason I tackled a very toxic relationship in this story. I see them written all the time, but so often, there's just this magical moment where everything changes. It makes me roll my eyes and put the book down. My characters have very real reactions to what it is like to live in that kind of situation. There were heavy, heavy topics here, and I applaud you all for sitting through and reading them. I seriously did consider putting additional trigger/content warnings a couple tim
Liam I wanted to be angry with Jade. Furious, really. Rose’s injuries had been much more significant than she thought, and worse than the bond indicated to me. After her second surgery, it was my bunny that reined me in, encouraging me to think about what her friend - my cousin - was going through. Rose was convinced Jade was taking a slow walk to a shallow grave. But, I knew better. The death of a mate, especially an unmarked mate, affects everyone differently. Thom had been mostly fine, I was dying at the same rate as Rose, and Jade was somewhere in the middle. I didn’t quite know how to tell Rose their bond was much more pathetic than ours had ever been. They would have committed to each other without ever imprinting on each other’s souls. They were dead wolves walking, so it was a strange sort of blessing that neither had to live like that anymore. If I was a good man, I would have reached out to my cousin, ensured she was holding up okay, but Cody had been there for her, a
Rose I didn’t want to tell LIam the way he was carrying me hurt, but I wasn’t sure how much longer I could take it. Everything probably would have hurt right now, though. I settled for distraction. “Is it over?” I mumbled. I could feel him tense against me. “Today it is, but the war is far from won.” I pursed my lips. “Seems anticlimactic. Lya made it sound like she got a better battle scene.” “You’re a scout,” he reminded me. “Your contribution will always be in the way of information and perception.” He was right. I was hopeful that over the next few days it would come to light that perception had changed, and this was all worth it. At the very least, I hoped we got important information out of the deal. Maybe they caught the traitors, or the wolf that had attacked me. “Did anyone die?” I asked quietly. It was silent. I didn’t even know if Liam would know the answer to that question. It was the voice of a person I hadn’t even realized was there that answered. “Onl
Liam I looked down at my hands, unsure if the blood covering them was my own. I was no longer in the chains I had been imprisoned by for the last day. Hell, I wasn’t even in my house, and I had no idea how I got to the middle of the forest surrounding Lake Solitude. The last thing I recalled was sensing my mate’s distress. SIlver burned her wrists the same as it had been doing to mine, and I felt the wolf of mine fight through the toxic bonds. He must have taken over. For a fleeting moment, I thought about the unfortunate fuck who had been put in charge of watching me. Oliver and Gregory left to supervise the Cold Moon transfers who were running “patrols” while Lya, Cody, and Brandon were assisting Jade in preparing the barely functional hospital for the influx of emergencies they expected to receive tonight. That had been an oversight. That left only poor Daniel as the last of the folks present who was fully aware of what was going on. He had been a pack warrior, but had trans
Rose Silver burned my wrists as my wolf tried to burst through, oblivious to the pain it was causing me. Nothing mattered to her other than getting to her mate. Vivian had stopped forcing the tea down my throat last night. I had thought my heat had to be over, but when I woke up in the middle of the night, shackled to the bed, I discovered I was wrong. So painfully wrong. They were actual silver chains this time, not just a rope laced with silver. Vivian had explained that it was because at this point in my heat, we needed to keep my wolf at bay as well, but I had hardly listened. The only thing I cared about was that I was here, and my mate was not. As soon as I was free, everyone would pay for this. It was a dumb plan, and they had been cruel to put me through this torture. I’d make Liam kill them all for me. I tried desperately to reach out to him, beg him to come rescue me, but the silver prevented even a taste of the bond. All I needed was a taste, though. Just the smalle
Liam I was getting twitchy. Rose had been gone for a grant total of three days, and I was well on my way to insanity. I was absolutely certain if I had to sleep a third night in a row without her, I wouldn’t want up. So I wasn’t sleeping. An illogical plan, but the only one that I foresaw as having any hope of working if the members of this pack wanted to stay alive when they asked stupid questions. I was teetering on the edge, trying to keep myself drunk enough that I legitimately could’t go find Rose and ruin the plan that had been orchestrated. I had called in sick today, and knew I would do the same thing tomorrow. Brandon would tell Oliver soon, and then one of the Alphas would start asking questions, but I couldn’t find it in me to care. Lya had done a good job of deflecting her mate’s curiosity, but it wouldn’t last forever. He was overprotective of both her and his pack, and as it stood, I was surprised he hadn’t noticed that Rose was now a rogue. That, or my sister