A shadow

We drive in silence for the rest of the trip, Tatum growing more anxious by the minute as she checks her phone, and looks out the window regularly. I find myself looking at her more than I should, my eyes lingering, and I try to convince myself it’s because it’s been so long. Seeing her has brought back many emotions I never dealt with. Memories I buried without so much as thinking I would ever have to face them again. 

Yeah, that’s all it is. The memories, not the curve of her lips when she smiles anxiously to herself. It’s not the way the light bounces off her perfectly smooth skin or gleams in her hair. No. It’s the memories and once we get there, I won’t have to be troubled to be near her enough to worry about those.

“We are here,” I tell her, my eyes connecting with hers as she looks up from her phone and then she glances out the window, perking up. 

The excitement on her face as we turn into the Fallen Star Pack is contagious, as I struggle to hide my grin and watch the road ahead of me. We weave through the roads that wind up the countryside with stunning views of the lake, with the sun glistening in the gentle ripples of the wind. We pull up to the massive pack house, or rather the massive mansion, and I see the staff rushing out to greet us. All of them floundering to welcome Tatum to her new home for the duration of her stay.

They open her door offering inviting smiles as they usher away with pleasantries and promises. A butler unloads her luggage from the trunk before I even have a moment to step out of the vehicle. I watch her back, waiting for her to glance over her shoulder at me, wave goodbye, something, but she doesn’t spare me a glance as I watch her enter the house. 

Her eyes seem to look everywhere but at me, and I loathe how much it makes my chest burn. There is no goodbye, best of luck or have a good life. She just simply disappears from my life the same way I had done to her. My throat thickens with an emotion I don’t dare try to define, so I clear my throat and tell myself it’s simply the past trying to crawl back to the surface.

“So? What do we think of her?” Tess, the she-wolf who manages the pack house, asks me with a giddy grin on her face. “I’ve met two of the others and they seem…okay.”

I turn to look at the older woman with a small smile on my lips. Tess has always been one for gossip and by that I mean she always is ‘in the know.’ It’s kind of refreshing to be the one with information this time.

“She is fine.” I respond and she gives me a taken aback look as I round the car and head toward the stairs with her rushing to catch up.

“Fine as in like ‘She is outstanding’ or fine as in ‘Meh, I’ve met better.’ We want the best for Alpha Artemis.” She scolds me and I sigh, closing my eyes briefly before stopping to look at her. 

“Tess, she is a pleasant woman and very pretty. Alpha seems to like her just fine, so maybe we should just give them all a chance?” I offer, but in reality, I don’t want Artemis to choose Tatum.

Not that I don’t want her to be happy. I do, I really do. I just want her to be happy where I don’t have to witness it every single day until I die. The car ride was torture but manageable since it was just us. But a lifetime of seeing her love someone else? I’d rather claw my eyes out. 

Tess narrows her eyes and then they turn to a look of shock before her jaw drops open and pain rushes up my spine, forcing me to my knees, gritting my teeth. I watch as Tess falls to the ground before me. Her head cracks against a brick lining the stairs and she flops to the side, landing face down. A wolf bounds over her and spins to snarl at me. 

—Rogues! — I shoot through the mind link just as everyone else seems to do the same. 

With no time to waste, I push the pain to the back of my mind like I was trained and draw on my wolf’s power. Then I stand and lunge toward the wolf as it leaps for me. I skirt to the right side, reaching across with my right hand as I grab it by the scruff of the neck and swing it into the pillar next to me.

The dull thud tells me I’ve not hit hard enough to break anything, so I wind up again and grunt with effort, swinging the flailing animal’s body into the hard surface. The snap of bone radiates up my arm and I release the furred beast, scooping up Tess and rushing inside the pack house with her.

—One paralyzed outside the pack house ready for the dungeon—I send a mindlink to the collection team. The group of us that in the event of attacks collects all living attackers and will then get whatever information they can from them.

I find a couch in the living room and lay Tess down, a healer already rushing over to check on her when I hear a sharp shrill of a scream. A sick shudder runs down my spine and panic grips me hard. 

Tatum is in here somewhere. 

Tatum is in danger. 

A growl escapes me as I rush through the pack house, frantically looking for her. Warriors fight off the assholes who seem to crawl out of every surface, but I push on, determined to make sure she is safe. She has to be safe.

Something hits the side of my head, setting me off balance as I slam into the hallway wall. I turn, a sneer on my lips, when I find a black-eyed rogue snarling at me, holding a baseball bat with spikes on the ends. I don’t have time to think about the pain that will come later as I duck and fly under the second swing.

His hands extend out as he tries to bring the bat back into his chest for another blow. In a second, my fist cracks into his exposed ribcage. The little resistance there gives way as his lungs hiss and he groans, crumbling in pain. The bat tumbles to the ground as I move away, leaving him in my wake. In ordinary circumstances, I would break his neck, but right now I need to find her. 

I need to save her. 

“Tatum,” I call out, waiting for a response. I hear nothing and blood rushes in my ears, panic trying to rise to the surface, but I smother it instead with anger. The easiest band aid when you are losing yourself in battle. “Tatum!” I growl louder. 

“Get off of me!” I hear her muffled scream above me and every sound in the world fades out. 

I jet up the stairs to my side, leaping over fighting warriors, ignoring the swings of rogues as they try to grip onto me in passing. There is not a damn thing that can stop me on this mission as I kick open the bedroom door.

Tatum stands, shaking with a wrought iron lamp in her hands, over a man on the ground holding his head. Her hair fans out around her as she turns to me in fear, expecting to see another rogue. 

Her lips move, as if she is speaking, but they fall on deaf ears as I focus on the blood on her cheek. 

She is injured.

The fucking asshole touched her. 

In two solid strides, I am across the room straddling the unfortunate soul who thought they could touch what is mine.

Strangled yelling seems to echo in the room as I rain my fist down repeatedly into the bastard’s face. A frightened whimper catches my attention and I turn my face to see Tatum staring at me wide eyed. I glance down at the bludgeoned guy beneath me and back up at her.

She covers her mouth, tears in her eyes, and guilt rushes through my veins like morphine in a drip line. I’m nauseous as I stand, my hands extended out to calm her as I take measured steps toward her. Tatum slowly backs into the wall away from me. Like she is afraid of me. Afraid I might hurt her and it makes my ribcage ache. 

“Tatum…” I say, trying to get her to look at me. She shakes her head like she can’t and I place my hands on either side of her, caging her in. “Look at me.” I demand. 

She doesn’t budge. Her body shakes as I run my eyes over her, looking for any sign of serious injury. I see bruises on her wrists and my jaw clenches in desire to go back to pummeling the bloody punching bag on the ground behind me. But beating a dead man won’t make Tatum feel better.

“Tatum,” I whisper in a softer, gentle tone, “I need you to look at me, Tater tot…”

Her eyes slide up to mine and my mouth goes dry. My heart pumps loud in my ear. “There she is…” I swallow.

“You are hurt.” She says, reaching out to touch me. I yearn for her fingers to connect with my skin. I fucking need that connection with her. But she stops, lowers her hand and takes a deep breath. 

“Are you okay?” I ask her and she nods. 

“Just…caught off guard…” she says and I chuckle before pushing off the wall and giving us both space we need. 

“Yeah, I think we all were.”

“Did you kill him…?” She asks, her voice shaking. 

–Pack is clear. If you have bodies to report, make sure it’s done–Beta Milo says to the whole of the pack before his voice sounds in my head for a private conversation.–I need you to find Tatum. She is the only girl I don’t have accounted for. When you do, I want you both in my office–

“Beta Milo is looking for you.” I tell her, choosing not to tell her the rogue is definitely dead. She clears her throat, smoothing out her shirt before she releases a heavy sigh. In that one second, she went from shaken to calm and collected.

“Okay.” She says. “I know you want to get away from me, but…would you mind walking me there…? I don’t know the way and I kind of—” she asks and I give her a tight smile.

“Of course.” I cut her off before she goes on. I don’t bother telling her I was requested either, honestly I’m relishing the fact that she feels safe with me, that she wants me to take her to him.

“Thank you.” She whispers as she steps past me and toward the door without a glance back. 

We walk silently to Beta Milo’s, her eyes scanning around the halls as if she is expecting someone to jump out at any moment. 

“I won’t let anyone hurt you.” I tell her, and she gives me a thin smile, though she says nothing.

By the time we make it to our destination, Milo is opening the door to look out. He relaxes when he sees an uninjured Tatum and winces when he looks at my head. 

“That looks like you’re in for a rough night.” He says, and I give him a nod. 

“Anything worse than my usual?” I ask him and he grins, knowing I’ve had way worse. 

“No, I guess it’s more a cosmetic thing.”

“I’ve heard chicks dig scars.” I joke and he laughs, shaking his head.

“I am going to cut right to the point. I have a lot of shit to deal with and Alpha will be here soon to give you more details, but…I am sorry to be the one to tell you this, Mav…”

“What?” I ask, exhaling. 

“You are off Artemis’s detail.” My heart falls, my mouth dropping open as I try to process what he has said. 

“I have been on his detail for three years…” I remind Milo.

“He has requested you for something he deems more important.” he clears his throat and shifts his eyes to Tatum and I groan. Shit. I know where this is going and I am not okay with this. It wasn’t part of the plan. 

“Fuck no,” I say firmly and Milo frowns.

“That ‘Yes, Beta’ sure sounded a lot like a ‘Fuck no’ Maverick.” He says. His lips pressed together in disappointment.

“What?” Tatum asks, looking between us.

“They have assigned me to you.” I grit out. 

“Yes,” she says, her nose scrunching adorably as she tries to understand. “But that was until I got here…”

“Circumstances have changed…” Beta Milo says as his phone rings and he looks down.

He motions for me to fill Tatum in before he exits the room to take the call. Leaving us in stunned silence. I groan, placing my hands on my hips and not bothering to hide my frustration, not that I could hide it if I wanted to. My ability to mask my pain is waning and this new curve ball isn’t helping matters, so my emotions are the last thing on my mind.

“What the hell does that mean?” she asks, and I pinch the bridge of my nose. 

“We are going to be seeing a lot of each other.” I grumble.

“No,” she hisses, stepping closer to me. “You are supposed to keep your distance, you promised.”

“I have a job and I do it.” I tell her, “You are now that job.”

“So, what are you like, my actual bodyguard now?” She asks, throwing her hand in the air in disbelief, and I nod. “How often will you be around?”

“I’m your shadow now, Tater tot. So safe to say, all the time.”