by Bella Night
The very foundation of which she’d built her life upon had been shaken today. She needed some fresh air to clear her head. She rose from the couch and moved toward the front door when it flew open.
Wes burst in, breathless and shouting. “Did I miss it? Is she—” His words cut off when he locked eyes with Etti. His movement never stopped. In two quick strides he was across the room and Etti was in his arms. Wes crushed her to him, not seeming to notice that her feet were no longer on the ground. “Jesus, Etti. I was so fucking scared you weren’t going to be here.”
“Where would I be?” she asked in a strangled voice.
Wes seemed to realize he was crushing her and set her down. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “I just thought . . .”
Grey was at their side now. “Were you followed?” he asked Wes.
“No. Marc called right on cue and I was out of there before her parents even knew she was missing.”
“Good,” Grey replied. “And they believed you?”
Wes rolled his eyes. “Does a bear shit in the woods?”
“Wes, this isn’t a joke,” Grey snapped.
“I know. I told the Blackwells there was an emergency at the Painted Wolf that I needed to take care of and that I’d be back to check in on Etti in the morning. I dropped my car off and took a cab here just like you said.”
“Thank you. We can’t be too careful. The hunt could be tracking our scents. I don’t know how much time we have but I’m grateful for every second you’ve given us.” Grey clapped Wes on the shoulder and walked out of the room.
When he was gone Wes pulled Etti into his arms again and kissed the top of her head. “God, Etti, I know this is your decision but I’m not ready to lose you. You’re my best friend.”
A sob shuddered through Wes and Etti clung to him, her own tears flowing. She felt warm and safe in Wes’s familiar arms. There had been so many times in her life when she’d wished things had been different—that she and Wes had been more than friends. It would have made her life so much easier. But there, standing in Cali’s house, with Wes sobbing into her hair, Etti knew she wouldn’t change a thing. Being in Wes’s arms was the sharp reminder she needed. He wasn’t Grey. There was no substitute for what she felt for her mate. And nothing could make her give him up.
She’d made her choice. It hadn’t really been a choice at all. She’d always choose life. Her spirit was too strong and her will too stubborn to let the darkness win. Especially now that she’d found love.
“Are you sure?” Grey asked for the hundredth time.
“Don’t make me regret my decision,” Etti teased while Cali methodically hooked up the IV. “I don’t know if I can handle a lifetime of you second-guessing me.”
Grey grinned as he stroked Etti’s soft hair. “I pray I get a lifetime with you.”
“Okay,” Cali proclaimed after inspecting the IV line. “My work here is done. The serum is pumping. It might make you a little cold, Etti. Grey, there are blankets in that closet if she needs them.”
“How will I know when it’s done?” Etti asked.
“There’s not a specific timeframe. It’ll depend how much of the toxin is built up in your system, but you’ll know when you’re free of it.” Cali smiled. “It’ll feel like you’ve awoken from a dull dream into a world of vivid color.” Cali crossed the room and took Wes by the hand. “Come on, broody. Let’s give these two some privacy.”
Wes looked like he didn’t want to leave but Etti smiled encouragingly at him. “See ya on the other side,” she joked.
“You better,” Wes grumbled.
When the door shut Etti smiled at Grey and patted the bed. “Will you lay here with me?”
He carefully climbed into the bed next to her and stroked her long hair. “How do you feel?”
“Better now that you’re next to me.”
“Etti . . .”
“What? Can’t a girl joke on her deathbed?”
Grey shut his eyes and sighed. “You’re gonna be the death of me.”
“Not too soon I hope.” She smiled and kissed him, snuggling closer.
Etti didn’t know how much time had passed but she was starting to feel cold. She nestled closer to Grey. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“For what?”
“Everything. For giving me a choice and for being by my side right now.”
“There’s nowhere else I could be, Etti. You’re it for me, babe.”
It was Etti’s turn to close her eyes. She’d been keeping her fear at bay with her usual sarcasm, but she was starting to feel the effects of the serum now. Her veins felt like ice and her vision swam a bit. She shivered involuntarily.
“Are you alright? Do you want another blanket?”
“No. Stay here,” Etti whispered clutching onto Grey’s arm tighter. “Grey, what if I can’t do it?”
“Do what? Shift?”
She nodded.
“Babe, I have absolutely no doubt that you’ll shift the second that poison is out of you. I already had faith that you could do it and that was before we learned of your shifter heritage. It’s going to be a piece of cake,” he said kissing her temple.
“What does it feel like?”
“Your skin will get hot, but that’s normal. It just means your body is getting ready to stretch and mold into your wolf form.”
Etti nodded, feeling her own skin growing warmer by the second.
“Then your bones begin to ache. They feel like they’re going to splinter and pop, but it’s because they’re learning the new structure they’ll take while memorizing your human shape so you can shift back. It’s all perfectly natural.” Grey’s voice continued to soothe her nerves as Etti tried not to fight the ache she felt lancing through her bones.
“Then you might get a headache. It’s because you’re letting your wolf’s mind reach into yours. It’s okay. You both have your own separate wills, but you control your wolf. She will always yield to your commands. Remember that.”
Etti was panting from the pain now. She brought her hands to her head, pressing against the force that would surely split her skull any moment.
“Breathe, babe. Deep breaths. I’m right here.”
“It hurts,” Etti groaned.
“Don’t fight it. Let go, Etti. Let go and your wolf will take all the pain away. Let her free.”
And with that last word, Etti let go.
She released all her fears, her pain, her pent up frustrations, her anger at her parents, her regrets at disappointing them. She let go of everything and gazed into her mate’s beautiful gray eyes, letting the love she saw fill her heart.
Then she shifted.
38
Greyson
Grey thought his heart would explode from sheer joy as he watched the most beautiful wolf he’d ever seen leap off the bed. Her jet-black coat shimmered in the moonlight that streamed in from the window, making it look as iridescent as the feathers of a raven. Smooth muscles rippled down her lithe frame as the black wolf shook her coat, turning her gaze on Grey. He’d never seen a wolf with eyes so dark. He would know those eyes anywhere. They were the eyes of his mate—his Etti.
It only took Grey an instant to shift. His wolf rubbed its large gray frame against Etti’s, nuzzling with affection. She barked gleefully, her tail swishing back and forth with excitement. Bliss filled Grey to see his mate enjoying her new form. He nudged the door open and urged Etti to follow him. They trotted through Cali’s house, past the stunned humans and out the back door, streaking into the dark wilderness, where Grey would finally claim his mate once and for all.
39
Etti
New. Beautiful. Free. They were the only words that kept repeating in Etti’s mind as she stared at her mate through new eyes. She was a wolf, yet still herself, just somehow better—stronger, more confident, more beautiful.
Everything was more beautiful in this form. The world seemed to come alive beneath her feet as she streaked through the forest with Grey—two wolves rac
ing the night. The starlight lit their way, making even the tiniest beads of dew glisten like diamonds. The sounds of the night birds were like the most complex symphony Etti had ever heard. And the smells . . . there were no words for the way the world smelled to her now. No words except new, beautiful and free.
As her claws dug into the earth, connecting her with primal instinct, she felt alive. She’d finally done it. She’d finally figured out who she’d always been meant to be and she was never going back to her old life. She had Grey. He was her mate, her heart, her everything. And no matter where they had to go, no matter what happened with the hunt, he would always give her the one thing she’d ached for—a home.
The next morning Etti awoke in a mess of tangled sheets. Warm sunlight was streaming in from the window above her. She rolled over, reaching a hand out for Grey, a faint smile on her lips as she remembered the various ways their wolves had claimed each other last night. Her lips slipped into a frown when she felt emptiness in the bed beside her. She sat up, suddenly realizing she was in Cali’s guest room and still completely naked. She glanced around the room and spotted a robe hanging on the back of the door.
Two robes had been waiting outside for them on the porch when their wolves returned from their romp in the woods. Etti was grateful Cali had the foresight to leave them out for her and Grey. This whole naked shifter thing would take time to adjust to. Etti would have to be much more careful about what she wore. She’d die if she shredded through her favorite motorcycle jacket.
Etti slipped into the warm robe and secured it tightly before padding out into the living room. The smell of coffee and bacon hit her as soon as she opened the bedroom door. Her stomach growled. She followed her nose to the bustling kitchen. The cozy scene almost made her cry. Wes stood at the stove dancing while he cooked. It was so familiar that it made her heart wrench with joy. But there were new additions to the breakfast scene Etti knew so well. To Wes’s left, sharing his ear buds and dancing like a fool right along with him, was Cali. And she was wearing his t-shirt from last night.
Etti smiled. She was happy for Wes. He’d been pining after Cali for a while and they made a great pair. She had no doubt that if anyone could tame his manwhoring ways it would be the pretty shifter who was currently singing along to the Violent Femmes with him.
But the sight that made Etti happiest was the man sitting at the kitchen table with his head buried in the newspaper. She leaned against the doorframe and took in his rumpled morning-sex hair and the sexy stubble that had begun to show on his jawline. The way he chewed his lip when he read . . . God, she wanted to be the one chewing his lip.
Etti sighed. She could be content staring at Grey for the rest of her life. As if he heard her thoughts, Grey looked up. When he spotted her, the wolfish grin he sent her way would have torched her panties—had she been wearing any.
“Good morning, gorgeous,” Grey said, dropping the paper and moving to greet her. He wrapped his arms around Etti and buried his face in her neck. He breathed in deeply and growled into her neck before kissing it and working his way to her mouth.
Goddamn he smelled good. There really was something incredibly sexy about the whole shifter-scent thing he had going on.
“Get a room!” Wes called without even turning his back.
Etti giggled but kissed Grey back unabashed.
“What’d I miss?” called a voice from the foyer.
Etti turned to see Marc striding toward them. “Marc! What are you doing here?” she exclaimed rushing over to hug him.
“Wes told me everything went well last night, but I had to come over and see for myself. You know, since he’s always so full of shit.” Marc winked at Etti and then asked quietly. “Seriously though, are you okay?”
Etti grinned. “I’ve never been better.”
She marveled at the little group around Cali’s kitchen table. It was strange to see these two worlds colliding—her Painted Wolf family and . . . well, her new shifter family. But they were family none-the-less. The word left a dim echo of pain in her heart as she thought about the family she’d lost last night. Her parents would never forgive her for choosing this life. But she hoped over time the people currently surrounding her with love would heal the parts of her that her parents had tried to break.
Marc helped himself to some coffee then sat down at the table. He looked more chipper than usual.
“I still can’t believe you were in on this whole thing,” Etti said to Marc.
He raised a pale eyebrow. “Why?”
Wes chimed in. “Well, because you’re usually so useless.”
Marc huffed. “Am not! I can be tough when I have to. Besides somebody has to keep things together around here. The Painted Wolf doesn’t run itself, ya know?”
Wes rolled his eyes. “Please, all you had to do was sit there and report if any rogue shifters were lurking around.”
“And I had to drive your beater-ass truck around,” Marc added. “Would it kill you to get a tune-up every once in a while? The damn thing sounds like a tractor.”
“Pfft! Like you’d know what a tractor sounds like.”
Grey chimed in, disrupting the bickering. “Thanks for all of your help. Seriously, I can’t thank you all enough for what you did for us.”
“You’re welcome,” Wes said. “But I still get to punch you in the face, twice.”
“Wes!” Etti yelled, outraged.
Grey just laughed and shrugged his shoulders. “A deal’s a deal.”
Before Etti had time to question what kind of crazy deal they were talking about, Cali interrupted. “You may not want to thank me yet,” she said sheepishly.
Everyone turned to look at her.
“Don’t get mad at her,” Wes said defensively. “I pretty much would have agreed to anything she said to get her to help you, Etti,” he said apologetically.
“What’d you agree to?” Etti asked, unsure she wanted to know.
“If he wanted my help he had to do things my way and that meant alerting the local shifter pack.”
“What? Cali! I didn’t want to involve anyone else in this mess. It’s too dangerous. I can’t have innocent people getting hurt.”
“First of all, the Lupin family can take care of themselves. Secondly, as a shifter in their territory, and part of their family, I could’ve gotten in trouble for not reporting this. Besides, it all worked out. You shifted and I heard that my uncle’s enforcers drove the hunt out of their territory early this morning.”
“Are you serious?” Grey asked, sounding astonished.
Cali smiled. “Sure am.”
“That means we’re safe! Right?” Etti asked.
“Yeah until the next hunter’s moon, when the hunt comes looking for us.”
“That gives us a year to plan,” Wes said. “We’ll be ready for them.”
Grey looked worried. “If we’re plotting how to take them out, you can bet they’ll be doing the same thing.”
“A lot can happen in a year,” Etti said trying to sound optimistic.
Cali laughed. “You can say that again. I barely survived forty-eight hours with you guys.”
40
Etti
After breakfast Etti’s heart was light. She felt like a death row inmate who’d just earned a reprieve. She had fully expected to wake up this morning and dive right into plotting how to take out Derik and the hunt, because there was no way she was giving up the life she had now. But because of Cali’s instincts and the amazing Lupin family, Etti now had a whole year to live her life with Grey. They wouldn’t have to look over their shoulders until the next hunter’s moon.
After the intensity of the past few days, a year felt like forever. When Grey asked Etti if she wanted to go on a hike with him after breakfast, she couldn’t think of a better way to start their year together.
“Not so fast,” Cali scolded. “I haven’t discharged my patient yet. Come on,” she said, leading Etti back to the guest room.
“Really, I feel fi
ne, Cali. I promise,” Etti argued.
“I know you do.” Cali shut the door. “I just wanted a moment alone with you. I have to ask you something.”
Fear bubbled in Etti’s stomach. She was beginning to hate conversations that started this way. “Okay.”
“I had to tell the Lupin pack that your parents had been drugging you. It was the only way to get the serum to help you. They’re not happy. Your parents broke a lot of shifter laws with their actions, but ultimately, you’re an adult in the shifter community now. It’s up to you if you want to have them punished.”
Etti swallowed hard. “Punished?”
“It’s a lot to take in, I know. I’d like you to talk to my uncle to go over your options.”
“Okay. I can do that.” Etti narrowed her eyes at Cali. It seemed she still had more on her mind. “Is there something else?”
“Actually, yeah. There’s no easy way to approach this, so I’m just gonna be straightforward. Have you and Grey been using protection?”
“Protection?” Etti’s cheeks flushed scarlet when she realized what Cali meant. “Oh! No, but I’m on the pill.”
Cali smiled kindly, “Well, unfortunately . . . or maybe fortunately—it really depends on how you view this—the tonic your mother was feeding you sort of negated the effects of oral contraceptives.”
“What?” Etti suddenly felt dizzy.
“It means the pill wasn’t working,” Cali said, speaking slowly.
“I know what it means!” Etti hissed. “I just can’t believe it. Am I pregnant?”
Cali nodded. “It’s really too early to get excited, but I had to tell you.”
Holy shit! Etti quickly sat down on the bed as she felt her knees go weak. “Are you sure?”