[Mammoth Forest Wolves 01.0] Liam

by Kimber White

  I grabbed one of the paper mats we kept on the exam table and handed it to him so he could cover his privates. Brady looked too ill to muster embarrassment though. He leaned his head against Keara’s shoulder. She made soft, cooing noises to comfort him. For as big as he was, at fourteen, Brady was really just a little boy.

  I expected him to withdraw from my touch, but he didn’t. Gone was the stubborn kid from the other night who’d jammed his own shoulder back into joint. I ran my fingers along that shoulder and checked his range of motion. What drew my attention, though, were the angry welts along his other side. He also had deep bruising on both thighs and up through his groin.

  “What on earth happened to you? Who did this?”

  “No one,” Brady said, his voice a defensive snap. Keara gave him a look then slid out from under him.

  “Is there somewhere we can talk in private?”

  “Why bother?” Brady said, his voice cracking. “I know what I am, Keara. Molly had questions about the Chief Pack. Well, aren’t I a living answer? Take a good look. I’m a freak. I’m what they made me.”

  “Brady!” Keara’s voice lowered to a hushed whisper, but her anger rose. She turned to me.

  “Come with me,” I said. The exam room adjoined one of the labs. With Bess tied up in surgery for the better part of an hour, it would be quiet there. We left Brady sulking on the bench.

  I shut the door behind me and rounded on Keara. She stood with her arms folded in front of her, her color nearly ashen.

  “He’s not like Liam and Jagger,” I said, stating the obvious. “He’s weak. Why?”

  “He gets picked on,” Keara said. “I guess you could call it a form of hazing, but the other shifters near his age constantly try to test Brady.”

  “Liam said he’s been genetically engineered or altered somehow.”

  Keara nodded. “Something like that. The Alpha dictates who breeds with whom. It’s not natural. There’s a reason regular Alphas are drawn to the mates they’re supposed to have. It’s a biological imperative that the Chief Alpha is trying to subvert so he can stay in power. It serves him to keep the other shifters in his pack weaker. Unfortunately, in Brady’s case, it’s a line too far. Shifting is torture for him. The other pack members his age taunt him. They beat him to see how much he can take. And in a few weeks, he’s supposed to report to the Chief Pack.”

  I felt like I had needles stabbing through my gut. “What happens to him when he does?”

  Keara walked toward one of the counters. She absently fingered a microscope. “I don’t know what happens there. They won’t tell me. I just know Payne and Gunnar got the worst of whatever it was. They’d be the ones to ask, but they’d never share it with me. I just remember how it was when we found them. They were broken. At first they seemed stuck in their wolves. Liam and Jagger are so strong. They’re all so strong. They’re meant to be Alphas. It’s why they pose such a threat to the Chief Pack.”

  “Brady won’t survive it,” I said, feeling sicker by the second. “He’ll get weeded out. He’ll die.”

  “That’s my fear,” Keara said. “And there are so many more like him. I’ve been trying to convince Bernie and Ellie to let me take him underground with us permanently.”

  “And it’s the main reason you want my help,” I said.

  Keara gave me a weak smile and came to me. She put a sisterly hand on my shoulder. “Yes. Once Brady and others like him live with us down there full time, they’re going to need care. I don’t know if there’s a cure or treatment, but I want to try.”

  A heavy silence grew between us. Who was this woman, I wondered? She was soft-spoken and slight. Yet, she had iron strength running through her. She’d been willing to throw over her whole life for Jagger and these wolves But, something she said burned through me.

  “Alphas. All of...your wolves in the cave.”

  “Yes. You have to sense that yourself, don’t you? With Liam, I mean?”

  I swallowed hard. My vision blurred and tears threatened to form. Yes. I sensed it. I sensed everything about Liam when he was near. When he wasn’t, a hole seemed to form inside my chest. It was as if I lived underwater waiting to come up for air.

  “You said shifters are drawn to the mates they’re supposed to have?” My heart jackhammered inside of me.

  I knew the pull she was talking about. I just couldn’t bring myself to face it.

  Keara’s kind eyes gutted me. She looked at me as if she knew my deepest secrets. “Well, it’s like that with Jagger and me,” she answered.

  “How did...how did you know?”

  Keara’s eyes took on a dreamy quality. She took two steps back and leaned against the wall. She really was tiny. Though I was only maybe an inch taller, Keara was fine-boned with small wrists and collarbones that jutted out against the vee of her t-shirt. She was the physical opposite of Jagger. He was dark, looming, broad. She was light, her strawberry-blonde hair falling in waving wisps around her face. Light and dark. Sunshine and moonlight. And yet, anyone could see their connection. When they were in a room together, each seemed to orbit the other, always finding small ways to touch each other.

  “I was born for Jagger,” she finally said. “It’s the best I can come to explaining it.”

  “Did you know instantly?”

  A hint of a blush rose high in her cheeks. “No. Actually, I didn’t.”

  “Liam said you’d been...chosen for one of the Alpha’s generals.”

  The dreamlike gaze left her face and Keara’s eyes grew hard. She pushed herself off the wall. “I would have died before I let that happen. Many girls have. But, many haven’t. Brady’s mother was one. She mated with one of the Chief Alpha’s right-hand men. They weren’t fated. It wasn’t natural. She was marked against her will.”

  Marked against her will. Ice bled through me. Keara didn’t have to tell me anymore for me to understand. Still, she turned her head slightly so the scar she bore shone clear beneath the fluorescent lighting. Kera had a crescent-shaped mark at the base of her neck. Jagger had bitten her there. Her fingers went reflexively to it.

  “Did it hurt?” I grew bold. I reached for her. Keara stood very still and let me, sensing what I needed. I traced the outlines of her scar. It was very faint, but raised at the edges. Tiny goosebumps ran down her neck at my touch.

  “No,” she said, finally turning. “It didn’t hurt. If you can imagine, the craving for it hurt worse than the act of it. It was like a release, if you want to know the truth. But, that’s because Jagger is mine. We’re supposed to be together. For Brady’s mother, she was taken against her will. I can’t even let myself think about the hell that would have put her in. She was a prisoner to her wolf, not a partner. It drove her mad. That’s what happened to her. Did Liam tell you that? Brady’s mother found a way to end her life. She was that brave.”

  “Brave? But look at Brady. He’s suffering. Surely having his mother nearby could have lessened that.”

  Keara shrugged. “Maybe. But he also suffered from watching her having to submit to his father when it wasn’t her nature.”

  “And that’s why Bernie and Ellie do so much to help you and the others. It’s their way of throwing a middle finger to the Chief Pack for what they did to their daughter?”

  Keara raised a brow. “That’s a colorful way of putting it, but yes. And also because they’re hoping we can find a way to get Brady to safety.”

  “Liam said something about that. The first night I came to the caves, he said Payne was out helping some other shifters cross the border into Ohio. Why don’t you all do that? Why stay behind?”

  There was a scratching at the door as Brady grew restless. In another few minutes, Bess and the others might come in.

  Keara took my hand again. “Jagger, Liam, Mac, Gunnar, Payne...you have to understand, you have to sense it. They are so much stronger than shifters like Brady. They were meant to lead their own packs as Alphas. Most of the rest of the Kentucky wolves are betas or omegas even. Eas
ier to control. So yes, it makes them stronger. But it also puts them at the greatest risk. The Chief Pack can track and sense those boys unlike any others. They can’t get out, Molly. The longer they spend above ground, the easier it is for the Chief Pack to find them. Even if they did get out, they’d have nowhere to go. No territory to claim. They’d be hunted for the rest of their lives. Packs from other territories would try to drive them back. So, they do what they can. They help others to escape. They watch and wait.”

  “Wait for what?”

  A tear formed in the corner of Keara’s eyes. “I don’t know. The Chief Alpha can’t live forever. Rumor is he’s in his eighties. That’s an impossible age for an Alpha and he’s... If it’s true, no one knows how he does it. I think he draws strength from the wolves under his control.”

  “Have you ever seen him?”

  A shadow passed over Keara. The question brought fresh terror into her eyes. It was all the answer I needed.

  I went to her, putting a light hand on her shoulder. Keara had told me so much, but she kept some secrets to herself. “Did he...oh, Keara. The wolf you were meant for. Did he force himself on you?”

  Sniffing, she ran a hand beneath her nose. “No. It didn’t come to that. Thank God. And thank God Jagger never knew who he was. Even now, he’d try to kill him. It wouldn’t matter to him that doing so would be so dangerous for all of us.”

  “That’s your biggest fear, isn’t it?”

  She nodded. “That wolf is so strong, Molly. Not as strong as the Alpha, but I think he’s strong enough to make any of our wolves submit to him. They can’t get close to him. They can’t. Not ever. And the Alpha, he can’t live forever.” This time, her voice dropped to a terrified whisper.

  “Where is he? I mean...who is he?”

  Keara brushed a hair from her eyes. “No one speaks his name. There are rumors, but the Pack keeps that secret to protect him.”

  “What are they afraid of? If he’s so strong, what does it matter if anyone knows his identity?”

  I didn’t get a chance to hear her answer.

  “Keara!” Brady shouted from the other side of the wall.

  “He’s got to shift,” she said. “I’ve got to get him back to his grandparents. The Pack’s going to come looking for him.”

  “Come on,” I said. “You can go out the back.”

  She put a hand on my arm. “Thank you. Molly...I know how much you’ve risked already. You barely know me.”

  I reared back. She was right, of course. But somehow, Keara was starting to feel like family. We walked into the exam room together. Brady had already shifted. His baleful eyes tore at me. As much as I felt for him, it strengthened my resolve. I picked up the box of medication and handed it to Keara. It felt woefully inadequate for what was to come.

  “Next week,” I said. “I’ll try and get so much more.”

  Keara smiled and leaned in to hug me. “I’ll have to send Liam,” she said.

  My heart tripped. I couldn’t hide my gasp for air at the mention of him. So much of what Keara said drummed through me.

  Fated mates. That’s what she’d called Jagger. Her heart beat for him. God. Is that what Liam was to me?

  “It’ll be all right,” Keara said, answering the question I hadn’t voiced. She put a gentle hand on Brady and the two of them disappeared into the alley.

  Eleven

  Liam

  A month ago, I found solace underground. Now, it felt like the tomb it was. The tons of rock separating me from Molly weighed on my soul. Each night, I woke in a cold sweat, half man, half wolf, clawing at the stone walls until my fingers bled.

  I told no one. Mac, Gunnar, and Payne knew something was off with me, but they didn’t question it. We all had our own shit to deal with. Jagger was different. I caught him lurking near the tunnel closest to the alcove where I slept. His silvery wolf eyes flashed a warning.

  I sat up, hiding my hands behind me. It was no use though. Jagger could smell the blood.

  “You plan on doing something about that, or are you just going to drive yourself insane underground?”

  I bristled. He’d caught me in the midst of a fever dream. Above me, the rock seemed to pulse. I knew in my heart it wasn’t the rock itself though. Weeks ago, before I’d even laid eyes on Molly, I’d found this cavern. It was a good distance away from the main passageways and antechambers we used. Something drew me to it. Now I knew. It was situated directly beneath the trailer park where Molly lived. Even before I laid eyes on her, her nature had called to mine.

  “Why don’t you worry about yourself?” I snapped my answer. The wolf was still mostly in control.

  Jagger moved into the cavern. “I do worry about myself. I worry about you. I worry about Keara. I worry about all of it. She went to Molly yesterday. But, you knew that. You were up there too. Keara said you tried to be sneaky, but she can pick you out from a mile away almost as well as I can.”

  “You prefer Keara just waltzes through town unguarded? You were busy.”

  Jagger drew a hand across his face. He was hanging on by the same thin thread as the rest of us. I was being an asshole and I knew it. I also didn’t care.

  “It was stupid, Liam, and you know it. Keara’s safer without us near her. And you know it fucking kills me that that’s true. It tears my guts out. What the hell were you planning to do if the Chief Pack scented you?”

  I punched my fist against the wall. The blood beneath my fingernails heated like the rest of me. “You think I don’t know how to stay clear of them by now? Jesus, Jagger. I’ve been doing it for more than a year. A hell of a lot more than you have.”

  “Maybe so, but you’ve been taking chances you shouldn’t. Don’t deny it.”

  I didn’t. I sat as still as the stone encasing us. I couldn’t meet Jagger’s eyes. How could he of all people confront me on any of this? He’d taken his mate. In the two years since he’d found Keara, I’d never once begrudged him of it. That changed the instant I met Molly. Jealousy burned a path through my heart. I hated myself for it. But, I just...wanted.

  “It’s killing you,” Jagger said. He took a softer tone and came further into the cavern. He sat beside me.

  “I can handle it,” I said through gritted teeth. “I’ve been handling it.”

  “I know. And I also know you’re stronger than I was. By a lot. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”

  A heavy silence hung between us. God, it hurt to blink. The bond Jagger and I shared had been among the strongest I’d ever shared with another person. Until Molly. Only I could never act on it without putting her life at risk.

  “She’s mine,” I said, quietly. Admitting it to Jagger as much as myself. “I can’t breathe when she’s not near.”

  “I know.” Jagger put a hand on my back. I flinched, but then exhaled, settling myself.

  “She doesn’t,” I said.

  Jagger let out a bitter laugh. “You really believe that? Come on, man. She knew you for, what, a day? You steal meds from her clinic and yet she turns around and trusts you with her life? She was all in the minute she saw you. She just didn’t understand why.”

  I couldn’t sit still. I rose and started to pace near the mouth of the cavern. God, if I could just go topside. If I could let my wolf out and run free through Mammoth Forest. I knew I could ease the ache burning through me. It wouldn’t fix all of it. But maybe I could take the edge off the yearning I had for Molly. Maybe I could feel more like myself.

  “So what the hell do I do with this?”

  Jagger leaned back, resting one booted foot on the rocky ledge. “Hell if I know. I think we’ve already established I’m the last person to ask. I did everything wrong as far as Keara was concerned. I should have been stronger and just got her the hell out of Kentucky. At least then she’d be safe.”

  “Is that what I should do? Should I ask Molly to run?”

  Jagger shook his head. His eyes glistened in the dark. “I don’t know. I know what I’d like to have you do.
I’d like to have you forget about her and go back to the way things were. But, I know that’s not an option. All I can do is beg you, man. For her sake and for yours. This isn’t the life for her. Things being what they are, the best thing for Molly is to get gone.”

  I wanted to rip his throat out even though I knew he was right.

  “I don’t know if I can. Hell, you’ve met her. I don’t know if she will.”

  Jagger stood up. “She’s feisty. If it weren’t for the fact her very existence could bring this whole thing crashing down...well...I think I’d love her a little bit too. Familial, obviously.”

  “You’re a dick.”

  “Obviously.”

  The air changed in the passageway to the east. Gunnar came to the mouth of the cavern.

  “Don’t tell me you have bad news,” Jagger said.

  Gunnar grinned. “Is there ever any other kind these days? No, man. Nothing dire. It’s just Keara’s back. She said your girl Molly has another shipment. Keara says Liam should pick it up. She also said you’d know why.”

  Gunnar was also, apparently, a dick. He ran a hand through his light brown, surfer-style hair. I was beyond fucking with him though. All I could think about was seeing Molly again.

  Jagger was right. I hated him a little for it, but there it was. I stayed in the shadows as I always did. She’d put in a long day at the clinic. I watched Dr. Kennedy and four other techs leave the building. Each time the back door opened, my heart tripped a little even though I knew it wasn’t Molly. She was deeper inside the building. Her sweet scent reached my pores and filled me with calming peace. Beneath that, desire simmered.

  Finally, about twenty minutes after the last employee left the building, I heard Molly’s slow footsteps on the tile floor as she approached the back door. She opened it slowly. Her pulse quickened. I let out a deep breath, slowing my own. In another instant, she’d feel the calm I projected. It was fake, of course. This close to he every nerve ending in my body felt raw, exposed. Animal lust coursed through me.