by Kimber White
A sliver of light fell across the alley. I stayed tucked in the shadows, my back pressed against the brick wall.
“You might as well come in,” Molly whispered. Her voice shot through me, quickening my pulse.
God, Jagger was right. This was dangerous. As Molly filled my senses, it got harder to listen for the sounds and smells of the Chief Pack. I moved quickly, joining Molly inside.
I towered over her. It took everything in me not to reach for her and pull her close. I wanted to run my hands along her bare shoulders. She wore a tank top again, her heavy breasts nearly spilling over the top. She covered them with scrubs when she was working, but now she’d cast them aside. Her own heat pricked.
“I thought you’d come yesterday,” she said, her voice raw. She looked up at me, those luminous brown eyes blinking.
“It’s better...safer…if Keara comes sometimes.”
Molly nodded and closed the door. We stood frozen in the hallway for a moment. Both of us afraid to move, afraid of what might happen if her skin brushed mine. Except, I knew exactly what would happen. My body craved it. I curled my fists to my sides to keep her from seeing me tremble with the effort of staying away.
“How’s Brady?” she asked. “When Keara brought him in he was...he wasn’t well.”
I didn’t know how to answer her. Brady would probably never get better. At best, we’d bring him underground where he could live in hiding. His shift would always be agony. At worst, the Chief Pack would see how weak he was and exterminate him. He was on borrowed time. Both Bernie and Ellie knew it.
“I haven’t seen him. He’s probably spending most of his time with his grandparents now.”
“But you have a plan for him, right?” Molly’s eyes searched my face. She wanted pretty answers that I couldn’t give. God, I hated this. I just wanted to hold her close. I wanted to feel the press of her breasts against me. My wolf stirred. I turned away so she wouldn’t see my eyes.
“Liam,” she said. It was my eyes she wanted most. Molly reached for me. Her fingers brushed against my jaw. An electric current shot through me. My vision tunneled and I could barely stay upright. My wolf’s passion raged within me.
“Don’t!” My voice ripped from me and I staggered away from her. Jagger had been right about all of it. Damn him. Just days ago, I’d been able to control this so much better.
“Don’t,” I said again, forcing myself calm. “It’s better if you don’t…”
“Don’t what? Don’t touch you?”
I pressed a palm flat against the wall, seeking the cool hardness. Anything to draw my mind away from the heat in front of me.
Molly came to me. She was bold. Curious. Fueled by a powerful passion she hadn’t yet named. “I dreamed about you,” she said. “It felt so real, Liam. It felt like you were in the room with me. But, I know that’s not possible. I went outside. I was barefoot. I may be losing my mind, but you felt so close. What is this? You have to tell me. I have to know what I’m getting into.”
I barked out a bitter laugh. How the hell could I answer that? What was she getting into? Just a thousand of years of instinct, nature, and magic. Again, I cursed Jagger for being so fucking right all the time.
“I think you already know.” I hadn’t meant to say it like that. I hadn’t meant to say anything. I dug my fingers into the grout in the tile wall. Molly advanced.
“Liam...I want…”
She took yet another step toward me. Only a few inches separated us. My heartbeat became her heartbeat. My need, her need.
“Molly.”
I should have been stronger. I knew what this was, or at least I should have. I should have listened to Jagger and never come at all. But, she was so close. She was mine. She was mine!
Molly went up on her tiptoes. Her hair fell away from her eyes. They darted over my face, searching for answers, searching for release. I wasn’t strong enough. I ran my hands up over her bare arms, loving the way her skin turned to gooseflesh. Her breath caught and her breasts heaved.
There was a moment. A fraction of a second, really. Just a tiny separation between before and after. I kissed her. Desire poured through me. My wolf ignited. A lustful growl ripped from my throat as my tongue found hers.
God, she tasted so good. Thousands of years of instinct, nature, and magic. It all came spooling out of me. It drove the reason from my mind, the breath from my lungs. In its place was Molly. This was more than lust. More than everything.
She was mine.
Molly sank into the kiss. Her hands went up. Her fingertips trailed along my biceps then laced behind my head as she drew me even further down into her. I was unbearably hard. My fangs came out and the urge to bite her, to mark her raged through me. I knew she felt it too. I could sense it in the urgency of her kiss. All she’d have to do was turn, exposing the back of her neck. My eyes snapped open and that’s exactly what she did.
Then, she gasped and drew away. The moment passed the instant she realized what it was.
“Liam,” she said. She took two clumsy steps backward.
“It’s okay,” I said, amazed I could even form words.
“I’m scared.” Her voice was so small. She shrank against the wall.
“It’s okay,” I said again. “So am I. I should go.”
Swallowing hard, she nodded. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have...tempted…”
There was a small cardboard box against the floor. Molly’s eyes went to it. She pressed herself against the wall as I passed her. She knew as well as I did neither of us could resist it if we touched again.
Twelve
Molly
Liam filled my thoughts. During the day, it felt as though I spent each minute holding my breath, waiting for the telltale signs that meant he was close. I would feel it in my pulse. Mine would grow stronger, filling my head until I realized it wasn’t my heartbeat anymore at all. It was ours. Impossible as that may seem.
At night, Liam came to me in my dreams. I awoke aching for his touch, my sex throbbing as I chased a phantom orgasm. Everything Keara told me replayed in my mind. I wanted to deny it. It would be so much easier. But, the truth slammed into my heart with growing thunder.
I was meant for Liam. He was meant for me.
Fated mates. That’s what Keara had called it. Just a few short months ago, I would have thought I was losing my mind. Now, it seemed I was about to lose my heart.
“You doing okay there, chief?” Jason leaned across the counter, putting his smiling face in my line of sight.
“What?” Absent-minded, I shuffled through some of Bess’s notes. I’d gotten woefully behind transcribing yesterday’s treatment plans.
“You’ve been off lately,” he said. “Like you’re in a fog. Something you wanna tell me about? Hell, you’re starting to remind me of Dr. Bess.”
“I’m what now?” I turned, facing Justin head on.
“The way she gets when a new man starts sniffing around her. In her case, we’re always waiting for the next shoe to drop. You? Girl, you’ve been as dry as the desert.”
I balled up a blank piece of paper and threw at him. “Never you mind. Pay attention to your own sex life. There’s nothing to see here.”
Jason snorted. “Yeah. That’s my point. I’ve seen you though. You think you’re being all sneaky. But, I caught you talking to that hunk of muscle out in the alley the other day. He’s come around here more than once. You gotta introduce me to him.”
My heart raced. I thought I’d been more careful. God. If Liam and I couldn’t stay discreet around Jason, how the hell did I think we’d evade the Chief Pack?
“Like I said, pay attention to your own sex life.”
Jason laughed and gave me playful but hard thump on the back. “You are so busted. So there is a sex life to pay attention to. Well, thank God. Michael and I were starting to get worried about you.”
I was about to snap back a sassy retort when Bess came around the corner, her expression stern. She didn’t like infor
mal conversations up at the front desk, even when there were no patients in the lobby.
Jason cleared his throat and straightened. He shot me a conspiratorial wink then made himself scarce in the back room.
Bess didn’t say anything at first. She hung back by the wall staring at me. I knew her well enough to guess what was coming next. She hated being a boss. Whenever she had to correct one of us or give instructions she knew we wouldn’t like, she did this. She’d stare at us like a statue until she drew the courage to say her piece. Today, I just plain wasn’t in the mood for it.
“Sorry,” I said, turning to her and smiling. “Jason and I got a little bored. We’ll make sure to keep the jokes to the breakroom or after hours. You should join us sometime.”
Bess held a clipboard to her chest. She kept her weak smile plastered on then finally came toward me. “What? Oh. No. I mean, geez, Molly, I’m not that much of a stick in the mud. It’s just, forgive me, but I overheard some of what Jason was asking you. Was he right? Is there a new someone special in your life?”
I took a beat. This wasn’t the kind of thing I could answer yes or no to. Yes, Liam was someone special. But no, it wasn’t what any of them thought. So, I gave her a non-answer.
“Listen, whenever I have something interesting to regale you all with about my personal life, I promise you’ll be the first to know. What about you though? You seem...more content. Things all settled with Zeke?”
It was a little bit of a low blow on my part diverting attention back to Bess’s wreck of a personal life, but it seemed fair play under the circumstances.
Bess’s mouth formed a tight little “o” and she tried to figure out her own way to deflect. “Things are settled. Thanks for asking.”
Touché, I thought. Bess Kennedy was the master of her own non-answers it seemed.
“Look,” she said coming to stand beside me. She set her clipboard down and leaned against the counter, facing me. “We all spend a lot of time together in this office. I see you people more than I see my own family. And I know it’s the same for you. I care about you, Molly. I like to consider you a friend. So, as your friend, maybe you’ll take some well-intentioned advice. And I hope you don’t think I’m stepping out of line.”
My gut clenched. This wasn’t like Bess at all. I couldn’t imagine where the hell she was going with this.
“Go on?” I said, raising a curious brow. From the corner of my eye, I saw Jason poke his head out of Exam Room One. I tried to keep my posture neutral so Bess wouldn’t look over her shoulder and see him eavesdropping.
“Zeke’s got his problems. I’m not denying that. We’re taking a break and he’s promised to get some help. That doesn’t mean we’re ever going to be anything more than friends after this. I get it. But, he told me some things about some of the company you’ve been keeping.”
My heart turned to stone. What in the hell was she talking about? What was Zeke talking about? I swallowed hard to try and keep my temper in check. Behind Bess’s shoulder, Jason’s eyes went wide as dinner plates.
“Bess,” I said. “I’m sorry, but whatever you have to say, we’re talking about Zeke here. To put it bluntly, I’d say he’s a shitty judge of character.”
Bess’s face went white. She cleared her throat and picked up her clipboard, holding it in front of her like a shield. “I don’t mean any harm, Molly. Honestly. But, if it’s okay for you to worry about me, then you can’t fault me for having the same concerns about you. I’ve seen you talking to that man from the alley a few times myself. Just be careful. I’m giving you the same advice you gave me.”
“Thanks,” I said, my tone clipped. I picked up my stack of papers and walked away from her. Fuming, I went to the back office to log in Bess’s notes. I shut the door and turned on the television she kept back there. I cranked the volume up hoping it would give Bess the hint to stay the hell away from me for a few minutes if she walked by.
It worked for a little while. My blood pressure started to normalize. Then, something on the screen drew my eye. I hadn’t paid attention to the channel; I just wanted the noise. The noon local news came on.
Still seething, my focus went absently from the images on the screen to the stack of papers in front of me, neither one making sense. How dare Bess try to lecture me on the company I kept? Had she not seen me take a damn baseball bat to her boyfriend to keep him from caving her face in? And it wasn’t like that was the only time. Zeke was just the latest in a string of losers she hooked up with. God. It was infuriating.
Liam was nothing like Zeke. They weren’t even the same literal species. I wasn’t proud, but a part of me relished the memory of Zeke’s face when Liam grabbed him by the arm that night. He could have torn him in half, and Zeke knew it. I saw it in his eyes.
I crashed my head to the desk. This was no good. Liam consumed my every waking thought, it seemed. On that score, Bess was right. I had to try and remind myself where I began and he ended.
Resting my chin on my forearm, I looked back up at the television. A perky, blonde reporter with big eyes and pink lipstick droned on as the camera angle panned out. Icy tendrils of fear crawled up my spine. It took a moment for my brain to process what I was seeing and hearing.
The reporter stood in front of a smoldering building, her expression grave. To her left, just inside the shot, a red Shadow Springs V.F.D. fire truck was parked at a severe angle against the curb. Water spewed from its hoses and firefighters emerged running. One of them shouted and waved to the cameraman and the reporter to step back.
My heart seemed to turn to ash right along with the flaming building. It was three blocks over. I shook my head, trying to deny the truth staring back at me in hi-def.
It was Bernie and Ellie’s grocery store on Duncan Street.
My brain couldn’t seem to hear or accept the words the reporter spoke. Total devastation. Fire crews have been unable to extinguish.
The office door cracked open and Jason stuck his head in. He read something in my eyes because he didn’t say anything. He just edged his way in, crossed his arms in front of him, and watched along with me.
“Mother of Christ!” he said. “That’s Bernie Langley’s store. I do my grocery shopping there. He’s got all the organic stuff Michael likes. Are they okay? Did they say?”
I was already up on my feet. “I can’t. I mean...I have to go. Can you handle things for the rest of the day without me?”
Jason didn’t take his eyes off the TV set. He just flapped a dismissive hand at me and crossed his arms again. “Go on. Get outta here.”
My heartbeat raging, I edged around Jason. He slowly sank into the chair I’d just vacated. I grabbed my purse and ran down the hall. Bess called after me, but I couldn’t stop.
Once the cool air hit my face, I caught a whiff of smoke and the wailing fire engines rose as another pumper truck whizzed past, headed in the same direction I was.
Bernie and Ellie. Oh, God. Brady!
I ran as fast as I could. My car would have been faster, but somehow, I needed to feel the ground beneath my feet. I broke into a cold sweat as I rounded the last corner and saw the inferno before me.
Giant tongues of flame licked the sky and a plume of black smoke rose high. A crowd had gathered on the opposite sidewalk, and I ducked a line of police tape to get closer. I had to see for myself. I had to know.
In the chaos, no one stopped me. Movement to my left drew my eye. Firemen in full gear stood around a large black canvas. As I drew closer, my insides turned hollow. It was a body bag and there was someone in it.
“Oh, God!” I covered my mouth with my hands and edged closer. Strong hands grabbed me by the shoulders and shoved me back.
Two firemen blocked my path. They stared down at me with grim faces.
“Ma’am,” one of them said. “You need to stay back.”
“The Langleys,” I said, choking back tears. “Was anyone inside? Did you get them out?”
My spine pricked. A familiar sensation pour
ed through me. In the chaos and tragedy, I almost didn’t recognize it for what it was. Then, my heartbeat slowed and I locked eyes with the larger of the two firemen. He towered over me. His dark eyes flashed. It took only a fraction of a second, and a few months ago, I might never have caught it. But, I did.
I took a step backward, wanting to put as much distance between myself and these two as possible. They regarded me with renewed interest that made my throat run dry. I had to get the hell out of here fast.
“Are you a member of the family?” The taller of the two asked. I read the canvas strip at his right chest. Tenley. He came to me, stepping into my personal space. His brown eyes glinted gold. I might have convinced myself it was a mere trick of the light or a reflection from the flames. But, I knew better.
He was strong. God. Being near him seemed to ignite my nerve endings. It was so much like what Liam did to me except in reverse. Where my body seemed drawn to Liam’s, this man’s energy repelled me. Sweat trickled down my spine and every instinct in me told me to run. I held my ground though.
“No,” I said. “A friend. I...I shop here. That’s all. The Langleys are nice people.”
“Why don’t you come with us?” Tenley said. He looked at his partner, eyes glinting again. I knew with absolute certainty these two were communicating with each other on some telepathic level. Liam told me it was like that with pack members. I took a deep breath, trying desperately to stave off the rising panic. I stood no more than a foot away from two members of the Chief Pack and one of them had his hand on my arm.
“No,” I said. “I have to go.”
Shouts drew the firemen's attention away for a second. A beam cracked and part of the roof caved in on the Langleys’ store. Before either of them could react, I was on the run again.
My heart thundered inside of me as I headed south. Instinct drove me. God, why hadn’t I brought my car? The flesh burned at the base of my neck. It pulled me, forcing my legs to pump faster. I needed to get as much distance between myself and those men as I could. It would only take a split second for one of them to reach me. My only hope was that neither of them picked up on what I was.