Rex “Fine. But we have new guests coming tomorrow, shifters. I can’t leave until I have cover arranged. Let me get back to you,” I grit out. I’m furious that she’s forcing my hand. The last thing I need right now is to leave Grey Ridge and Leah, with six male shifters arriving tomorrow. All the activities planned for their visitors need to be led by me. I can’t dump them on Ethan or Nathan, either. They’ve been helpful, but they have full-time jobs to do, and I certainly can’t leave Leah to handle them on their own. Just the idea of her being alone with them makes me seethe with jealousy. They are arriving from our neighbouring packs, a test of sorts by Alpha Steel to see if his region should run more advanced training for more members of the packs to develop relationships and allegiances beyond just the Alphas. “I’ll be waiting. And Rex, I can’t wait to see you again,” she whispers like we’re long-lost lovers reuniting after being forced apart by some terrible set of circumstances.
Rex Cooper mind-links me, and my wolf pushes forward, shifting before I even realise what’s happening. Within seconds, we’re eating up the ground between bed-and-breakfast and the packhouse, pushing as hard as we can to get to Leah. The lush green forest is silent save for the pounding of my paws on the soft forest floor. It’s beautiful up here in the summer, but I don’t see any of it as I charge through the woods at full speed. I take the most direct route, through streams and thick undergrowth, to get there as quickly as possible. Stacey lied to me. She was probably right outside the café when she called me, sitting there waiting to see if I was with Leah or whether she was on her own. Exposed and vulnerable. She must have thought Hayley was just another human that she didn’t need to concern herself with. A serious miscalculation on her part. Stacey should have been able to smell that Hayley is mated to a wolf. She obviously didn’t think highly enough of her to even pause and analy
Rex Six unmated male wolves arriving to spend the next three nights in close quarters with the woman I adore are the very last thing I need right now. Ethan gives me a sympathetic smile as he introduces himself to everyone. Very generously, he has offered to cover for me last minute while I’m gone today. Greg is going to stay overnight in the house while Ethan goes to work in the brewery, and Leah is sleeping in my place in the packhouse. She’s not one bit happy about being forced out of the house, but she’s playing along because she can see how tense I am. And I appreciate her not fighting me on this when her instinct is to rebel against being told what to do. Nothing about this feels right. Even though Stacey is completely in the wrong, she has engineered things so that she gets her way. It kills me to be the one running to see her, but here’s no other choice. Leah elbows me as a low growl escapes my lips when the last of the wolves arrive. They’re two wolves from Lucia Anderson’
Nathan Crouching down beside Rex, I give him a gentle slap across the face to rouse him. Probably unnecessary, but I’ll take the opportunity to rough him up some more while I can. Stacey is wailing like a banshee on the other side of the room, being comforted by a very impatient Alpha Steel who burst in the second he heard Rex crash to the ground. It was a great punch I got him with. I’m pretty proud of that one. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to catch Rex off guard and if there was ever a time to do it, this was it. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but there is no way I was letting Rex do something rash like claim Stacey as his mate again. The elders once told us a story of a couple of wolves so perfectly suited that even though their parents forced them to reject each other, the Goddess made them second-chance mates. Hence, the bond snapped back into place again immediately after the rejections were complete because it was outside forces conspiring to force them
Rex The second I open the door to the bed-and-breakfast, my senses are overloaded with Leah’s scent. It’s heaven and hell at the same time, because all I want to do is soak it in. It’s the most amazing smell in the world. My entire body longs to find her and bury my nose in her neck to get my fill. But Leah’s not here. And Ethan’s glum face is not the welcome home I had wanted. I’ve returned successfully from my mission to rid myself of Stacey, but my mate — Leah — is gone. “You’re brave,” I growl out as he meets me in the hallway. Ethan is like a brother to me. He practically became part of our family when his parents passed away. But right now, I am too furious to be near him. He promised me he would watch out for her. “Rex, I…” he says as I barge past. At the sound of his voice, my wolf sees red. He blames Ethan for our mate being in danger. I whirl around and grab the front of his shirt with both hands, shoving him hard against the wall beside us. “Where were you?” My voice is
Leah Back and forth, side to side. The gentle rocking motion would be calming if I didn’t feel like I was suffering from the worst hangover ever. I have a splitting headache and my stomach churns with every slight movement. Why is my bed rolling? Swallowing hard, I attempt to keep my lunch from reappearing as I crack open one eye and shut it immediately when bright daylight burns my retina. I was expecting the cool darkness of my bedroom. So I don’t just have the spins, I actually am moving. I take a second to breathe in through my nose and calm my senses. The sound of water gently lapping close by reaches my ears as the feel of something damp and rough presses against my cheek, a splinter digging into my soft skin. Beneath my fingertips, I detect the texture of unvarnished wood. Possibly worst of all is the burn of rope wound tightly around my wrists and ankles, as the acrid stench of sweat and fear fills my nose. This is bad. Pulling my legs up in front of me, I attempt to roll
Rex It’s like watching my entire universe collapse as Toby’s foot connects with Leah and she tips backward over the old wooden railing. As soon as I got the best of Mike, my wolf sped toward Toby. Determined to draw his attention, and hopefully gunfire, allowing Nathan to reach Leah and get her to safety. But Toby seemed to know exactly what I was planning. He also knew that I wouldn’t care what happened to me once Leah was safe. The only thing guaranteed to distract me from coming for him was putting her in mortal danger. If Toby shot her, he knew he’d be dead where he stood in the very next breath. So he did something just plain evil, in a last-ditch attempt to save his own skin. I instantly change direction and leap over the side, where Leah disappeared, at a dead sprint; shifting back into a man in mid-air. I hear gunfire and something slams into my side, but it barely registers as I plunge into the cold water. In the back of my mind, I realise I’ve been shot, but I can’t allow
Leah Since being brought to a private room, I’ve drifted in and out of sleep, exhausted. Other than checking my vitals regularly and hooking me up to oxygen when we arrived, the doctors have left me alone. They want to monitor me overnight, but provided I have no complications from inhaling water, like developing pneumonia, but rest is really all I need. Rex hasn’t left my side. Which would reassure me if he wasn’t acting so strange. Normally, he is the strong, silent type in an annoyingly calm and confident way. I think back to when I first arrived in Grey Ridge and he’d just watch me, arms crossed and stony faced as I tried to get a reaction out of him. Now, he’s silent, but he’s not one bit calm. Try as he might to hide it. “If you need to go outside, to run or whatever, just go. It’s okay,” I say without opening my eyes, shifting in the bed to get comfortable. A stabbing pain cuts through my right side, and I regret it immediately. I hiss and the hand gripping mine tightens imme