by Celia Kyle
“That’s hardly compelling evidence,” he spat.
“A damn sight better than your so-called ‘reliable witness,’ who I happen to know has an axe to grind with Val.”
Interrupting Zeke and Calhoun’s glaring contest, one of the other town cops—another human—strolled in, completely oblivious.
“Hey, Cap,” the young man said as he carried a box filled with plastic evidence bags. “Found blood at the scene. Leads away from the blast, into the woods. I’m just gonna send it off to test for DNA.”
Zeke turned a smug smile on Calhoun, whose face had turned so red it was almost purple.
“Oh, and security cameras caught the perp,” the cop said as he unpacked his box, still clueless about the tension in the station. “Large male, over six feet, wearing a gray hoodie, and carrying a bag onsite. He disappeared for a minute, but then he ran back into view without the bag, heading for the woods. He was holding his arm like he’d hurt it. Then everything went dead, presumably from the explosion.”
Before the cop finished, Zeke pushed past Calhoun and Meeker and stormed into the station’s holding area.
“Zeke, wait!” Meeker shouted, but Zeke ignored him.
Val sat in the same cell he’d found her in a few days earlier. Her lips were pressed into a thin, angry line and he couldn’t blame her.
“Release her!” His voice echoed against the walls, making Meeker wince as he scrambled for his keys.
Fifteen minutes later, Zeke ushered a furious Val out of the station. Calhoun and McNish had whined and complained, but thankfully Meeker ignored them.
“Just don’t leave town until the investigation is complete,” Meeker called after them.
The silence between them grew thick. They were both so angry, neither could speak. Thankfully, they were angry at the same people, but that didn’t ease the tension once they headed off toward the relative safety of the pack house.
Angry, confused thoughts ping-ponged around in his brain so wildly he barely could make sense of them. Calhoun was obviously going to do everything in his power to get his way, even if it meant taking down a perfectly innocent outsider. That one of his own…not just one of his own, but a member of his ruling circle had turned her in like that… He wasn’t sure exactly what Levi’s punishment would be, but it wasn’t going to be pleasant.
Val had helped the pack without expectations or demands, and she’d been repaid with betrayal. And she’d done it all without even knowing who she was helping. She deserved better. She deserved the truth.
As they approached the hateful McNish Construction sign at the entrance to Wolf Woods, Zeke slowed and rumbled into the rough, completely empty parking area. He pulled up just far enough that he didn’t have to look at the sign, and then he slammed the rig into park.
“Why are we stopping?” Val asked through clenched teeth.
“Come on,” he said, opening the door.
Before he could jump out, she asked, “Where are we going?”
He shot her a pained smile. “To our spot.”
Zeke didn’t give her time to object or to question him further. He simply climbed out and, on reflex, made his way to her side of the SUV. His mind raced so fast he barely noticed she wasn’t climbing out on her own until he reached for the door handle. She took his hand and even let him help her down. Without thinking, he maintained a grip on her hand and led her into the woods.
He’d been so preoccupied with saving McNish’s surveyor from the rogue wolf the day before, he’d completely forgotten about their picnic. Not surprisingly, the basket had long been raided and dragged off by wild animals, leaving only crumbs and scraps behind, but the blanket lay untouched. He sat down and patted the spot next to him, but Val looked around impatiently.
“Why are we here, Zeke?”
“I—” he started but then stopped. “Please sit. I need to tell you something, and it would be a lot easier if you were sitting next to me.”
With an eye roll and a huff, she plopped down and glared at the beautiful scene, which had stunned just her twenty-four hours prior. It wasn’t exactly how he’d imagined the moment playing out, but he couldn’t put it off any longer. If he got in trouble for it with the National Ruling Circle, so be it.
“Val, there’s something you need to know about me. Us. I mean, my family. I, uh… Listen, this is going to sound crazy. You’re going to have a hard time wrapping your head around it… Shit, this was so much easier in my head.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Val breathed, giving him a nonplussed look. “I know, okay? I know.”
Zeke blinked at her a few times. “Huh?”
“I know,” she said again, her tone softening some. “I know you’re a werewolf.”
She said it with such casual confidence that he was totally taken aback. He opened his mouth again, but she cut him off.
“I know you’re the alpha of your pack. I know you were the wolf at my door that first morning. I know we’ve been staying at the pack house. I know pretty much everything.”
Zeke looked at Val as if she’d just told him she was a vampire.
“How?”
She gave him a You really have to ask? look. “Duh, Chloe. She told me—and showed me—back in our freshman year.”
Zeke could have sworn he heard Chloe laughing. Even from miles away, his sister had one-upped him.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” he blurted, throwing his hands up in frustration.
“Don’t get mad at her. It was totally an accident. I caught her mid-shift once, and nearly lost my mind. She didn’t have much choice but to explain it all to me. You can’t blame her, and she swore me to secrecy. And as you might have guessed, I’m very good at keeping secrets.”
“You mean to tell me you’ve known all this time?” he asked, totally gobsmacked, the humor of the situation finally trickling in past his shock. “You’ve had some fun fucking with me. Haven’t you?”
Her triumphant grin told him everything he needed to know. He’d been had, fair and square.
“Being with you was only half the fun. Okay, maybe two-thirds. But I also had to keep my promise to Chloe. That included not telling you that I knew. But since you were just about to tell me, I figured I’d take pity on you.”
Val leaned back on her elbows, staring up at the birds flitting around the treetops. “Honestly, I don’t know why you wolves think you’re so special. I mean, you lick your own assholes. That can’t be hygienic.”
Zeke gaped at her for a heartbeat, and then his booming laugh sent the birds scattering in a panic. His face and belly hurt from laughing so hard, and he dropped next to her, never taking his eyes off her face.
Emotion he’d never really felt before flowed into him and threatened to burst his heart. It wasn’t that he hadn’t felt it before, but never for anyone but a family member, and never so strongly.
Love.
As crazy as it was to fall for a human, Zeke could no longer deny it. This gorgeous, brilliant, crackerjack of a woman had blasted into his life like a cannonball and turned it completely upside down. She’d made him question everything he’d ever presumed to know about females, and he felt like a better man for it. Beyond that, she was loyal to a fault, and he couldn’t have asked for more in a mate.
“Well, if we’re ripping off the bandage…” he started, taking one of her hands in his and staring deeply into her fathomless eyes. “I love you, Valerie Logan. My wolf has been telling me we’re mates from the moment I walked into the police station that first night, but I stupidly tried to ignore him. But I see the truth now. I love you.”
Zeke held her gaze, unwavering, unfaltering, waiting for her reply. Each second that ticked by felt like an hour. Finally, after an eternity, she broke the silence with a response that surprised him in a way only Val could manage.
“So?”
Chapter Seventeen
Valerie felt his heart shattering before she saw it flash in his eyes. That deep, gut-wrenching ache that hit him like a
fist. She didn’t want to hurt him. In fact, that was the last thing she wanted. Her own heart longed for him, her body instinctively lurching toward him as though the space between them was an unbearable burden. She wanted to go to him, to caress his face and coax back the handsome smile that made her heart flutter. She wanted to stroke the pain away, take the disappointment and the dismay into her arms and carry them off to lighten the weight on his shoulders as he gazed at her, hurt.
But she needed to know the why of the thing. Always had, just like when she questioned their desire to maintain control of Wolf Woods. Rushing into a situation without thinking through the obstacles and possibilities was foolhardy. She knew that from painful experience. Still, before the word had fully spilled from her lips, she realized how cruel it sounded.
“That sounded harsh,” she said softly. “I only meant that, despite our feelings, I’m not sure how this… thing between us can work.”
“What are you talking about? We work great together. Don’t you think?”
Her heart crumpled at the pain in his voice. “Of course I do, but you can’t deny the facts, Zeke. You’re a wolf. I’m a human. I don’t need to read Werewolves for Idiots to know that your kind and mine don’t really intermingle. Right?”
He remained mute, a muscle in his jaw twitching his answer.
“On top of that, you’re an alpha. But guess what? I’m not afraid to say that I am too. Maybe not the furry, lick your own ass kind, but I’ve led a lot of men into some very dangerous situations. We’re both dominant, independent people. How could that possibly work out in the long run? We’d fight all the time, and I don’t want that.”
Zeke dropped his gaze to the hand he was holding, his thumb contrasting against her richer skin tone. His touch felt like heaven, but his despair leaked through his skin and into her soul.
“Love can overcome all of that,” he said quietly and then met her gaze again. “I love you, Val, and I know you have feelings for me.”
Reaching over with her free hand, she let her fingers caress the side of his face, tracing the line of his strong jaw and reveling in the roughness of the morning beard he hadn’t had time to shave.
“Of course I do. I never thought I’d feel this way about anyone, to be honest, but love is just a feeling, not a fix-all. I’ve seen and lived through enough in my life to know that it isn’t always enough.”
“Then what else is there? What could possibly be a more powerful force than love?”
“Belonging,” she answered easily. “Finding a place in this fucked up world where you belong and making it yours. I’ve never belonged anywhere. Not at home. Not at college. Nowhere, except for the military. I joined a gigantic, structured family. They made a place for me when no one else—except Chloe—would. They gave me a place that felt more like home than anywhere else I’d been, and in exchange I gave them everything I have. It’s the closest feeling to belonging I will ever know.” She took a deep, bracing breath before continuing. “And that’s why I’ve decided to go back.”
Zeke blinked in surprise. “You’re… you’re going back? What, today?”
“Not today. I mean I’m re-upping my contract as soon as I get back. It’s where I belong. They’ve done so much for me.”
“I love your loyalty, Val, but you don’t owe them anything,” he countered fiercely.
Val gently pulled her hand from his, her heart shattering at the moment of separation. “I owe them everything, actually. I’ve sacrificed a lot to get where I am. Besides, where else am I going to fit in, Zeke? Here? In Tremble? Where literally everyone thinks I’m some kind of loose cannon psycho?”
“I thought you were on leave. What’s the rush?” he asked, changing tactics.
“I am, but my CO wants me to return and I’ve decided to go.”
“Why?” Zeke asked softly. “You say the why of a thing is the most important thing. So… why?”
“I told you, Zeke. The Army is the only place I belong. Kind of. At least, I fit in there more than anywhere else. And all the discipline and hard work keep me busy.”
“You mean they keep you distracted from being alone,” he grumbled.
“Zeke, please…”
He sat up and pulled her up to face him. “You could belong here, you know. With the Soren pack.”
Val rolled her eyes. “Sure, I’ll just run down to the Halloween aisle at the supermarket and buy myself a werewolf costume. I’m sure no one will know the difference.”
“I’m serious, Valerie. I mean it. There’s a way you could belong here. All you have to do is accept me as your mate,” Zeke explained slowly. “And then I can give you the bite.”
“The bite, as in…?” she trailed off, raising an eyebrow.
“You know, the bite. The one that will turn you into one of us. Then nobody could deny where you truly belong because it would be here. With me.”
“Oh, it’s just that simple, huh?” she said, pushing off the ground to stare down at him. “You think the moment you sink your fangs into my neck everyone around here will decide they don’t hate my guts after all?”
How gullible did he think she was? He was just clutching at straws for anything to get her to stay. If that wasn’t bad enough, she was almost tempted because despite her hard as steel exterior, the idea of spending the rest of her life nestled in Zeke’s embrace didn’t sound half-bad.
“You know, Zeke, if it was just a matter of the townsfolk, like the mayor or McNish, I could deal with it. I didn’t reach the rank of captain because I wanted people to like me. But what about the members of your pack? Levi and those two old guys hate me. I already have one dysfunctional family back home. I don’t need another.”
“They’ll change their minds,” Zeke insisted, but before he could continue, she cut him off.
“No, they won’t. How can you suggest I’ll feel like I belong knowing one of my fellow pack members betrayed me?”
Zeke jumped up and turned away, burying his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans. He was angry, that much she could intuit, but she knew he wasn’t angry with her. He was still pissed off at Levi, and she couldn’t really blame him. If she’d had a subordinate go behind her back like that…well, there would be hell to pay, and she suspected Zeke already had a suitable punishment in mind for Levi.
“Besides,” she said, holding her ground and not going to him, despite every cell in her body screaming to do so. “Isn’t there something kinda sorta super important you’re not mentioning?”
Turning to face her, Zeke furrowed his brow and tilted his head to one side, looking every bit a curious dog. “What?”
“The bite?” She waited for him to fess up, but he still looked confused. With a pointed sigh, she gave up. “Chloe told me all about it, Zeke.”
His eyes narrowed and he took a step closer. “What did she tell you?”
“A lot more than she was supposed to, obviously, but I’m talking about how when a werewolf bites a human, it’s almost always fatal. If you supposedly love me so much, how could you be willing to risk my life like that?”
Zeke’s skin went from tanned to pallid in the space of a heartbeat. “Valerie, if you think I’d ever intentionally hurt you, you’ve got me all wrong.”
“Then set me right,” she said, crossing her arms defiantly, daring him to tell her she was wrong. “Tell me what piece of this puzzle I’m missing.”
“Fate.”
She winced at his flat, confident tone. “I don’t believe in fate.”
That hadn’t always been the case. When she was a kid, she’d thought her fate would be for Prince Charming to come and rescue her from trailer park hell. It hadn’t taken long for her to realize that if she wanted to get out, she’d have to do it on her own. No one would swoop in on a white horse, no long-lost aunt would bequeath her a bajillionty bucks, no one would save her… except herself.
Zeke nodded his understanding. “I understand as a human, you might not. But for wolves…”
He edged closer
as he scratched the back of his neck, and as much as Val wanted to go to him, she couldn’t risk getting too close or his presence would overwhelm her own good—as questionable as it was—sense.
“Chloe was right,” he said, his gaze almost pleading. “But it sounds like she gave you the ten thousand-foot overview and left out the finer nuances. If I went and bit a random human, then yes, they’d probably die. But if that human was my fated mate, she would have a painless transition into a wolf and we would rule the Soren pack for as long as we lived.”
She squinted at him, grinding her jaw so hard it popped. All of this was just too much. “You’re telling me no one’s ever gotten it wrong before? That every time some random wolf thinks a human chick is his mate and he bites her, she’s survived?”
“Shifters are half-human, so yeah. There may have been a few cases of mistaken identity here or there, or maybe a wolf went feral and claimed a human female in desperation. But those are rare, Val.”
“Rare,” she snorted, taking a step back to put more distance between them. Her emotions bubbled close to the surface, causing her to nearly choke on her words. “I probably have a better chance of surviving a firefight in a hot zone.”
As soon as the words fell from her lips, images from another firefight flashed in her brain. Blasts of light and sound, shouts in the distance and far too close for comfort, blazing heat that singed her flesh and freezing cold that gripped her heart.
She stumbled backward another couple of steps, pressing her fingertips to her temples, trying to will the memories away. They refused to obey. Instead they hurtled at her like a surprise punch in the face. Her vision blurred from the onslaught, and then she was back in Afghanistan. The grass under her feet turned to hot sand. All the air left her lungs, leaving her hunched, weak and dizzy.
Clutching at the knowledge this was only another flashback, Val squinted her eyes shut and clutched at her chest. The thundering hooves she heard was really her heart pounding a million times a second. If she could just get one good, deep breath…