by Eva Harper
“I don’t know why I’m crying,” I claimed, laughing again. “She kidnapped me and gave me to humans. She could’ve killed our baby. She marked Harrison’s nephew.”
“I know,” he soothed, curling his hand around the back of my head and bringing me to his chest.
“It’s stupid, right?” I cackled, knowing how ridiculous I sounded.
“It’s not stupid.” His voice was strong. “She was your friend. She was the last person you thought would betray you.”
“You’re the last person I think would betray me,” I argued.
He smiled against my forehead. “You’re right,” he agreed. “But I would never do anything to hurt you.” I hummed in agreement and let him carry me to bed. He climbed in next to me and pulled me towards him.
“What time is it?”
“It’s four,” he told me, pulling the blankets up to us.
“We can’t go to bed, it’s nearly dinner time.”
“We’re the Alpha and Luna,” he boasted proudly. “They can bring us our dinner in bed.”
He fell asleep quickly next to me, the emotional toll of killing two people was enough to put him into a deep slumber. I, on the other hand, laid awake while he slept, listening to the repetition of Kenna and Joel’s neck’s breaking. Every twist of door handles in the building was a reminder, every clattering of knives and forks sent me shuttering, fighting the urge to expel my food.
I could barely eat when they brought up our dinner, blaming it on my temperamental pregnancy stomach. It wasn’t a complete lie, the bump demanded what the bump wanted, and it was never anything I wanted to eat.
“You look exhausted,” Rush commented, stretching from his nap. I pushed the food around my plate.
“Thanks,” I grumbled.
“You didn’t eat?”
His tone was soft, endearing in reality, but things got misconstrued in my head. The hormones and exhaustion and death had me fighting a loud sob. Rush sat up quickly and had his arms around me before the first yowl erupted.
“Sweetheart, I’m sorry,” he whimpered, kissing my temple. “I’m just worried. You’re still beautiful, you’re always beautiful. Beautiful and strong. Beautiful and strong and smart and amazing,” he chanted.
“I need tomatoes,” I wailed, sniffling into my shirt sleeve. He pulled away and looked at my blotchy face.
“Tomatoes?”
“Yes!” I yelled. He shot up from the bed and held his hands up innocently. “The bump wants tomatoes, not chicken!”
“The bump?” Rush snickered, trying not to smile.
“I don’t know if it’s a boy or girl yet, it’s just a bump right now,” I cried. He stopped smiling and went to the kitchen. “Bring salt, too!”
Rush returned with two tomatoes and a shaker of salt on a plate with a sharp knife. I sliced the tomato into sliced and doused them with salt. The bite was heavenly, although I had no taste for tomatoes before getting pregnant, it felt like candy on my tongue.
Rush watched me, scrunching up his face as I sprinkled more salt on top.
“This is your child,” I shot. “It wants tomatoes with salt, so it gets tomatoes with salt.”
He didn’t disrupt me anymore until I finished eating. I set the plate on the bed, licking the juices from my fingers. My eyes snapped open as a loud crash from downstairs shocked the two of us. Rush’s eyes glazed over for a moment before he growled.
“What is it?” I asked frantically.
“Emily told Casey who she is,” he growled, grabbing my hand and pulling me behind him. “I’ll kill him before he hurts her.” My heart swelled slightly at the protectiveness that I missed the step in front of me and crashed into the back of Rush.
“Steady,” he warned, more for himself than me. He took a deep breath and paused, steadying himself. There was only so much more we could handle. “Just…breathe.”
Bad Instincts
“Just stop yelling at me!” Emily screamed, covering her ears with her hands. Casey stood against the opposite wall, repeatedly punching the wall. It wasn’t hard enough to break the drywall, but it was enough to shake the curtain rod and picture frames.
“How are you even allowed in this territory?” Casey yelled.
“Casey, please!”
“Casey, stop!” Rush’s Alpha tone reverberated around us. Casey stopped moving and talking, his hands shook against the order. I quickly moved past Rush and over to Emily. I brought her into my arms and shushed her.
“Why are you screaming in the packhouse? Do you know how many people live here?”
“She’s Harrison’s daughter,” Casey strained, the veins in his face plumping up under the skin.
“Yes, we are aware of this. What is the problem?”
“The problem?” Casey shuddered. “The problem is that she’s human, she’s part of that God-forsaken family. My men died on the border the day her father gave that order. Kenna’s dead, I’ve known her since we were in diapers. Her brother is one of my best friends.”
“You don’t get to choose what family you’re born into,” Rush pointed out, stepping closer to Casey. “She chose to help Sloane and the other Lunas escape instead of beating them and killing them like her family wanted to.”
“How can you be friends with her?” Casey sneered at me. I fought back the growl that wanted to burst from my mouth. “Her people are the reason your sister is dead, Luna.”
“You don’t think I know that?” I gently let go of Emily. “You act like she’s the one who killed her. Emily is a good person, regardless of her species.”
Casey grunted, grinding his teeth together.
“She’s your mate,” I stressed, glaring at him. “How can you act this way towards her? She’s done nothing wrong.”
“She’s his daughter,” he repeated, snarling.
“And you’re her mate,” I spat. “Get the hell over yourself, Casey. We could quite literally all be wiped out in a few days because of this sort of blatant hatred and fear.”
“It’s not the same,” he denied, huffing.
“It’s not the same because you’re a wolf, and she’s human?” I snorted. “You are so dense.”
“If anyone found out about her…”
“Well, that’s a hell of a lot more likely seeing as you’re screaming about it in the packhouse.” Rush shoved Casey back a step.
“That’s it, isn’t it?” My eyes lit up with recognition, I could feel it dripping off of Casey. “You’re scared.”
“I’m not scared.”
“You’re scared that she’ll be killed before you even get to spend any time with her. You’re scared that someone will take her away from you because of who she is,” I said softly, stepping further away from Emily.
Casey’s wolf was surfacing, it had been since the beginning of the screaming match, and my words were enough to push his resolve the last inch.
“She’s weak,” his voice spluttered out, more animal than man.
“She’s your mate,” I reminded him, squinting at his flittering eyes.
He shivered and bucked his back, fighting the shift. His blue eyes grew sad, and he staggered forward under the weight of his animal side.
“She’s your mate,” I said again, fighting for his human side to take back control. He clenched his hands a few times and moved closer to Emily, reaching out to her. She struggled to move backward, frozen under his gaze.
“Emily,” he whined. She whimpered and hit her back against a chair. He finally approached her, grabbing one side of her face with his left hand and the right gripped her waist, pulling her to him. She was flush against him, whimpering and crying.
Rush’s front side pressed against my back, watching the exchange.
He bent his head down, and when I thought he was going to kiss her, he shifted instantaneously and his incisors into her neck. My limbs became concrete.
Emily’s eyes widened fully, and she choked on her own saliva before she started clawing at Casey’s neck, face, shoulders
, anything she could grab. The horrifying notion of a wolf shifter on top of her was only made more terrifying by the fact that his teeth were embedded in her neck.
I ran forward, eclipsed only by Rush’s longer stride. We couldn’t pull them apart; it would harm Emily more than the bite would.
A marking bite usually lasted five seconds, it was shallow, and though it hurt for a brief time, it was nothing compared to the shifting bite. Casey’s teeth had been latched around her neck for over a minute as we grabbed his back, trying to call to him. Rush ordered him to release her with his Alpha tone, but in Casey’s hyper-masculine, protective, animal state, it did nothing. An Alpha tone couldn’t break through a shifting bite.
I stroked Emily’s hair, trying to calm her. I had only seen the shifting bite one other time, and the boy cried for hours after.
Casey finally retracted his teeth and licked his bite. Immediately, Rush threw Casey by his shoulders, and his body hit the floor loudly. Stunned, he blinked and looking around before shifting back into his human form.
A mixture of an injured moan and a screech exploded from Emily. She fought to stand up against her aching limbs. I put my arm around her waist and moved her gently to the couch. Her temperature was quickly rising, and her skin began to take on a purplish hue. She couldn’t breathe because of the pain; it was too difficult for her to inhale and exhale amongst the agony.
I glanced up at Rush, who was lifting Casey off the ground by his collar.
“What the hell were you thinking?”
Casey blinked again, coming back from the brink of his shift. He looked to Emily on the couch and heaved up a shocked huff.
“Emily?” he called softly. “Emily!”
He began to struggle in Rush’s arms and threw a punch that made Rush drop him to the ground. Casey scrambled over to the couch before Rush could grab him again.
I bared my teeth to him, standing protectively in front of Emily.
“Luna,” Casey cried. “Please, she’s not breathing.”
I growled loudly and placed my hands on her chest. It took a lot of energy for me to draw a breath from her mouth. After the first breath, the next ones came easier, but they were accompanied by loud, heartbreaking screams.
I slumped next to her on the ground, worn out from the action. Casey reached over me and brought Emily into his arms, cautiously stroking her hair and cheeks.
“Please, Emily,” he begged. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to, I didn’t know what I was doing.”
Rush came around the other side of the couch and picked me off the ground.
“What about Emily?” I asked as he moved me upstairs.
“She’s with her mate.”
“Yeah, a mate who forcibly turned her and yelled at her,” I fought. He shifted me so that he wouldn’t be hit by my flying hands.
“I mind-linked a doctor, he’ll be here in a few minutes. He will help Emily. For now, you need to rest. You used a lot of energy, and the little bump of ours is taking a lot from you as well.”
He was in a no-nonsense mood. Casey’s actions had pushed him into a protective state, where he was only worried about the baby and me. He brought snacks up to our room and fed them to me, cooing at how safe I was.
My mind was focused on Emily, listening closely to hear her whimpers. Rush was trying his hardest to make me forget about what happened, but the Luna inside me demanded Casey’s blood. Not only had he put my friend in danger, but he put the pack in danger. Harrison’s reaction to his daughter shifting could be catastrophic.
“Little wolf,” Rush grunted, grabbing my chin in his fingers. “Will you quit trying to eavesdrop and pay attention to me, I’m giving you my best moves here.”
“I’m sorry.” I ran my hand over my face, rubbing furiously beneath my eyes. “I didn’t even realize I was still doing it.”
“I know,” he said lightly, grabbing the hand closest to him and kissing it. “I just want you to be able to relax. The humans will be here soon, and that’ll be hard enough for us all.”
“You better not do anything stupid,” I warned.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, don’t go running in front of any bullets or anything,” I looked sternly at him. “You better not make me raise this baby alone. I don’t know the first thing about babies!”
“And you think I do?” His eyes grew wide as he laughed.
“You’re the one who kept saying ‘oh let’s make a baby, Sloane,’” I mimicked.
He laughed loudly and threw his head back on the pillow. “Is that what I sound like?” I glared. “I just said I wanted to have a baby, not that I knew how to care for one.”
I looked down at my small bump and rubbed it affectionately. “I’m sorry, baby. You’re kind of screwed with us as your parents.”
“No, he’s not.” Rush sat back up.
“He?”
“Yes, he. I have a feeling about this,” he said smugly. “He has Alpha blood in him, he’ll be fine.”
“Bump will not be fine if we don’t know how to feed, bathe, or take care of them.”
“Bump?” he snickered.
“If you get to call the baby a ‘he’ then I can call the baby ‘bump.’”
“Agreed.” He snuggled down next to me and placed his hand on the side of my stomach. “Promise me you’ll try to sleep tonight?”
“I’ll try, I don’t know how well that will work, but I will try.”
It wasn’t easy for me to sleep, especially when I could hear Emily crying down the hallway. Both times I tried to go console her, Rush placed his arm around my waist and pulled me back down. Rush allowed me to sleep in later than I normally would since I didn’t fall asleep until three in the morning.
The next three days were anything but relaxing. Every pack member seemed on edge, waiting for the horns to sound the arrival of the humans.
Emily hardly came out of her room, and when she did, it was only to tell Casey to stop sitting outside of her bedroom door.
He was distracted, something he didn’t need to be before the arrival of Harrison and his army. On the day before Harrison’s arrival, I snuck into Emily’s room from the closet, a secret hallway Rush had pointed out to me.
She was lying on her bed, looking through her phone. Her body snapped up, and she looked at me, shocked.
“How did you get in here?”
“There’s a passageway.” I waved it off. “You need to talk to Casey.”
“You aren’t serious?”
“I am.” She could tell by my serious expression that I was kidding around. “He’s sleep-deprived, crying, and he hasn’t eaten. Your father will be here any day now, and he’s our Head Warrior. We need him on the top of his game, to protect this pack. I don’t care what you tell him, but you need to tell him something.”
“I can’t talk to him!”
“You’ll have to eventually,” I pointed out, sitting next to her on the gray bedspread.
“I don’t know what to say,” Emily sighed.
“Tell him your father will be here in a day, and he needs to focus.”
“All he ever says when I open the door is sorry.” She looked down, flicking her finger against the comforter.
“Okay.” I nodded. “What have you said?”
She gulped. “I only tell him to leave me alone.”
“Maybe if you just talk-”
“I don’t want to talk,” she spat. “I want him to talk this stupid bite back.”
“You know he can’t do that,” I said sympathetically. “You’ll shift any day now, and you’ll need him by your side. Shifting for changed wolves isn’t easy the first few times. You will be in a lot of pain, and your mate can help with that.”
“I’m just scared,” she whimpered.
At the sound, Casey shifted outside of her door and whined.
“I know.” I reached for her hand, squeezing it in mine. “But it’s only going to get more difficult from here on out,
and having Casey by your side is a good thing. I’m not saying to forgive him right now, but he genuinely did seem sorry. He hasn’t moved in three days, Em.”
“Yeah,” she muttered.
“I’ll leave,” I told her, standing up. “But, please just say something to him.”
She nodded as I left through the small passage in her closet. I exited in the hallway, glancing back to her door. Emily had opened it, and Casey was standing in the silhouette. Emily stepped aside, and Casey hesitantly entered her bedroom. As she closed the door, she caught my eyes and nodded her head, telling me she was okay.
“Did you fix it?” Rush asked, approaching me.
“I think so,” I said distractedly, still watching her door.
“That’s good, because Harrison will be here tomorrow, and we don’t have any time to be fooling around.” He placed his hand on my shoulder and rubbed the skin a little. I shivered.
“Is everything ready?”
“Almost.” He stepped away from me, turning to head downstairs. I followed behind him, holding the back of his shoulder for support as we climbed down the stairs. I had been off-balance for weeks because of the baby. “We’ve told the elderly pack members and parents where to go and drop off their children tomorrow before the battle.”
“That’s good.” I smiled. Rush stopped on the bottom step, turning to place his hands on my hips and kiss my forehead.
“Everything will be fine,” he declared, leaning to touch his forehead against mine.
I opened my mouth to answer him but was interrupted by the sound of a low horn, vibrating around my bones and the wall.
Rush tipped his head back, gulping as we listened to the three other loud blows of the horn.
“They came early,” he whispered.
“We aren’t ready.” I began to shake. Rush grabbed my shoulders and smirked.
“Yes, we are. Harrison won’t know what hit him.”
Bunker
Casey and Emily were immediately bounding down the stairs towards us, the same fragmented looks on their face. The other officials that live in the packhouse sprinted out of their rooms, shifting as they barreled out of the front door.