“I can show you—” Shira started, but I cut her off.
“I don’t care,” I said, jumping to my feet. “I’m not your pet, and I’m not your property. I belong to myself now. Myself and my wolf.”
I couldn’t hold the howl inside me any longer. Stumbling back from the table, I let it out as pain gripped my body. Relief washed over me as I stopped fighting my other half and let her out.
I had to tear at the clothes on my body, and by the time I’d ripped them off with my wolf teeth, Maximus had undressed and shifted, too. He lowered his head and drew his lips back, his nose wrinkling as he bared his teeth and growled.
Without having been raised in a pack, I was surprised at how instinctually my wolf interpreted his warning snarl. He was telling me to straighten up or he’d make me. And I wasn’t about to let him.
I lunged for him, going right for his front legs. Maximus's head slammed into mine, knocking me off course, and he snapped loudly. I was within reach, and he could have bitten me, but instead, he slammed his shoulder into me. My body went flying, crashing to the floor. As I rolled over, ready to spring to my feet, Maximus leapt onto me, pinning me down.
He growled low in his throat, his eyes locking on mine.
Obey your alpha.
His words crashed into my head, so intense I was forced to drop my gaze. A hideously pitiful whine escaped my wolf throat. Maximus lowered his head and licked my cheek. Instead of submitting further, I used his vulnerable moment to take him by surprise. I lunged at him, sinking my teeth into the side of his neck.
With a howl of pain, he wrenched free. Blood splattered across my face and the floor. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I heard the fading sound of the pack, but it didn’t register. I was in fight mode now, like I’d been in the pits. I’d drawn blood, and my only job now was to finish him off.
Lunging again, I went for his throat. Maximus leapt off me, and I was back on my feet in seconds. He sprang aside when I went for his legs, and before I could turn and go back in, something heavy crashed onto my back. I went rolling again, and this time, two wolves pinned me while Maximus stood over me, his tail held high, like the bastard was proud of having me subdued in this humiliating way.
Even worse, a second later, Shira circled around behind me and pulled a muzzle over my snout, pinning my mouth shut. I roared in rage inside the thing, straining every muscle to break free.
Maximus swiftly transformed back into human form, and together with Shira and two others I didn’t know, he hauled me through a door at the side of the kitchen. A dark opening gaped before me, smelling like dank dirt and mildew. I tried to brace my legs against the door, but they forced me through, carrying me down a set of stairs.
No, no, no…this couldn’t be happening. No more cages.
“Then don’t act like an animal,” Maximus said gruffly.
My rage had not diminished, but I couldn’t get free in my wolf form. In an effort to surprise them, I forced back my wolf side and shifted into human form. I regretted it the instant I felt their hands on my bare skin.
“Let me go, you sick bastards!” I screamed.
“Put her in there until she calms down,” Maximus said, nodding at one of three large silver cages.
But no matter how pretty they were, no matter how the silver bars gleamed, they were still cages. Prisons like the ones I’d lived in for so long.
They pushed me inside, and I flew at the bars, screaming and yanking on them even as I heard the lock click into place. Maximus stood looking at me with a haughty, superior expression even as he held his shirt against his bleeding neck. He’d even taken the time to put his pants on while the others forced me into submission. Blood bloomed on the fabric he held to his wound, but I was too angry to care that I’d bitten the man who had shared his house with me and showed me such generosity. Underneath it all, he was like all the others in my life who had wanted to control me, own me, cage me.
“You won’t get away with this,” I snarled at him. “I’ll fucking kill you next time.”
“I’m not your owner, but I am your alpha,” he said coolly, arching one eyebrow. “You can cool down in there, as any of our pack members must when they get out of control. When you’re in your right mind, I’ll be ready to talk to you.”
The others rushed to follow when he turned and walked away, his head held high.
6
Owen
The Silver Shifter was found. Excitement thrummed inside me as I drove my pickup truck into wolf territory. The scent of the beasts hit me and a breath hissed between my teeth. It wasn’t often shifters crossed into one another’s territory. In fact, it was forbidden unless given express permission or there was an emergency. So when Cash had arrived in bear territory last night, I knew something was up.
The same elation his words had given me then filled me now. Maximus had found the Silver Shifter. She was a wolf and apparently had a habit of falling off cliffs. I smiled at the thought of the Silver Shifter being clumsy. I’d never lived through the reign of another, but Cash had. His mother had been the last Silver Shifter.
I was glad to be the alpha of the bears in the time when a legendary Silver Shifter had been found. It was an exciting time. I wondered what gift she would have, how she would bring harmony to our clans. The fact that she was supposedly the last Silver Shifter ever made it even more of an honor to meet and negotiate with her.
The trees lining the long dirt driveway widened to circle an enormous clearing with Maximus’s lodge at the center. If I wasn’t a part of the supernatural world, I might have thought it was just a ski lodge closed for the season, but the strong scent of wolves made it clear who owned the surrounding area.
A dark blue Jeep was parked beside a silver Lincoln next to the entrance of the lodge. My eyebrows shot up as I inspected the sleek curves. I’d never been one for luxury cars, but damn, I think this was the first time I’d ever been jealous of Cash. That was one nice car.
I pulled in next to the others, ripping the e-brake and silencing the hum of my truck before climbing out. For a pack that just found their Silver Shifter after years of searching, the lodge was awfully quiet. I’d expected some sort of grand celebration or at least a barbeque. Crickets chirped in the heat of the sun, and birds fluttered from the treetops. Nothing else moved.
Confusion furrowed my brow as I approached the front door. Seriously, what was going on? Where was everyone?
I took one last look around before knocking, three swift raps on the door. The door creaked open, and the pack’s second-in-command stood in the doorway.
“Owen,” Shira said.
“Shira.” I furrowed my brow at her curt nod. Normally, Shira was all smiles and wore some pretty intensely colored clothes. But today, her lips curved into a frown, and she worried the edge of her gray blouse.
“Come in.” She stepped aside to let me through and closed the door behind me.
Cash stood from the leather sofa in the living room. His dark gaze met mine, and I knew immediately something was wrong.
“What’s going on?” I asked. I tried to keep my tone light, more like a joke, but it fell flat.
Cash grimaced. “I’m not sure yet.” He looked around the living room, then at the door to the kitchen and the stairs to the second floor. He was looking for something or someone. The Silver Shifter?
“So, where is she?”
“Ariana,” Cash said.
It was a pretty name for what I was sure was a pretty girl. The Silver Shifters were known for their ethereal beauty. I tested out her name. “Ariana.”
Cash met my eyes, and his jaw hardened. He didn’t say anything as Maximus descended the stairs to join us.
Maximus greeted us curtly, wearing the same surly look as Cash, but with the worried brow of Shira.
“Will someone tell me what’s going on already?” My hands fisted at my sides. Irritation shot through me. I’d been so excited to come and meet the new Silver Shifter. I’d heard so many things about what
she might be like and the peace she would bring. After the Silver Dragon was assassinated, the clans had fallen back to their old ways. We all distrusted one another, and with no idea who’d ended the life of the last Silver Shifter, we’d never had a reason to find peace when any one of us could be the killer.
“I’ll explain once Jett arrives.” Maximus avoided both of our gazes, instead staring at the door to the basement.
“Jett’s always late,” Cash said. I wasn’t sure if it was a complaint or just an observation.
A growl interrupted the quiet, emanating from the door Maximus stared at. My heart lurched with the realization a shifter was down there. “Maximus,” I said. “What are you keeping down there?”
Maximus shot me a look, and my irritation turned to outrage.
This better not be what I think it is.
I stormed over to the door and yanked it open.
The growling grew louder, and the distinct scent of an angry werewolf flew up my nostrils. I looked back in time to see realization cross Cash’s face, too. Maximus looked between us and the door. At least he had the decency to look guilty.
“It’s where we keep werewolves who break laws,” he said quickly. “It’s just a holding cell for them to cool down. A time out.”
I turned back to the darkness of the stairs and flicked on the overhead light before descending to a landing and turning left to finish the rest of the steps to the basement floor.
Snarls ripped through the quiet, and claws grated the cement floor. I squinted through the dim light, looking for the source of the sound. Only faint daylight streamed through two tiny basement windows on the edge of the basement. The rest was left in shadow.
The tread of boots and the light click of dress shoes told me Cash and Maximus followed.
“You don’t understand what she came from,” Max said.
Finally, I spied the light switch and flicked it on. Blinding fluorescent light sent sparks of white across my vision. I blinked to clear them. Shadows merged into shapes and left me staring at a row of cages lining the back wall. Each had silver bars, unbreakable to werewolves. Only one cell was occupied by a thin silver wolf with her head lowered and her lips pulled back, baring her teeth in a snarl.
The wolf snapped at the bars before pulling back and pacing the cell.
It took me a moment to collect my thoughts and process what I was seeing. A wolf with silver pelt, locked inside a cage.
“Ariana?” I whispered.
The wolf paused, her ears swivelling. Her growling ceased.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Cash snapped at Maximus.
The two alphas stood side by side next to the stairs. Cash motioned at the cage, embers of rage kindling in his eye just like the ones in my belly.
“You don’t understand,” Maximus said again.
“No, we don’t!” I bellowed. “So why don’t you explain to us why you’d lock the Silver Shifter in a cage?”
Ariana tilted her head as she considered us. Gone was the fierce animal that prowled the cell. She was beautiful but small, her ribs nearly visible on her thin haunches.
“How long has she been down here?” I demanded.
“Only the night,” Maximus said.
Cash laid a hand on my arm. “He’s telling the truth. I saw her just yesterday, remember?”
His words calmed my bear, whose instincts flared inside my head, snapping at me to release Ariana now.
“Still,” I insisted. I couldn’t believe the wolves were keeping her down there. They should be worshipping the ground she walked on. I took a step toward the cage. “You can’t keep her in there.”
“I had to do this, Owen,” Maximus said.
“Like hell!” I stormed forward, and in one swift yank, tore the lock from the front of the cage.
Ariana’s silver gaze widened as she looked between me and the lock I’d tossed to the floor. I pulled the cage bars back just as Maximus yelled for me to stop. It was too late. The gate was already open before I saw the murder in Ariana’s eyes.
7
Ariana
I bolted out of the cage with one thought on my mind—freedom.
“Ariana, stop!” Maximus yelled, but I wasn’t about to obey him. Not after he’d stuck me in a cage just like Dante. Fuck that shit. I was so out of there.
I lunged past the man they’d called Owen, ignoring Cash and Maximus. Scrambling up the stairs, I charged for the open door. I would never be put in a cage again. If I had to die to make that vow come true, so be it. They’d have to take me down fighting.
When I reached the top of the stairs, I leapt, sailing through the opening.
A wall of muscle met me in midair, and I thudded to the floor. In seconds I was back on my feet, going straight for the man’s groin. That always took down a human. A fist slammed straight into my mouth, crushing into the back of my throat. Gagging, I tried to pull back, but he grabbed the skin at the back of my neck with his free hand, maneuvering me. I couldn’t breathe, and I couldn’t bite down because his fist was in my throat. Panic swelled inside me at my helpless position.
“So nice of you to finally join us, Jett,” Maximus said behind me. “Late, as usual.”
“Ain’t this some shit,” Jett drawled in a slow, slight southern accent. “I thought I was coming for a civil discussion. If you don’t change my mind in a hurry, I’m going to assume this is an ambush.”
“It’s not an ambush,” Maximus growled. “That’s her. So get your fist out of her throat before you kill her.”
The man holding me straddled by back, wrapping his arm around my neck in warning before removing his hand. A piteous whimper escaped my throat, though inside, it was more like a roar of rage. I stood catching my breath, my muscles trembling.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” my attacker said. He started laughing then, hooting and slapping his knee as he held me in a headlock. “Your Silver Shifter mate is feral. That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all year.”
“I’m glad you’re amused,” Maximus said stiffly. “Now bring her back downstairs.”
At that, I began to struggle. The bond he’d forced on me was almost completely gone, but I could feel a command worming through what was left of it. He wanted me to shift back to human form. Yeah, right. I had no intention of making this easy for them.
“I won’t put you in a cage,” Maximus said when they reached the bottom of the stairs. He didn’t bother with the telepathic shit this time, just said it out loud. “Stop attacking us for a minute, and we can help you understand what’s going on.”
“You sure you want me to let her go?” asked Jett. “I know how to fight a dog. I’ve had a few fights with y’all before. But you might want to shift first.”
“We’re not dogs,” Maximus snapped.
“It’s your neck,” the guy said, releasing his choke hold on me.
I darted away, crossing the room to the far wall, where I spun to face them. This time, they’d closed the basement door behind them, which meant that even if I could make it past them again, I’d have to shift to human form to open it. And if I couldn’t fight them off as a wolf, I sure as hell couldn’t do it as a human.
“Ariana, you’re welcome to join us when you’re ready,” Maximus said. “We’d be happy to have you as part of this discussion. I’ll have Shira bring you some clothes.”
I bared my teeth and growled.
Maximus turned to the others. “She was in the pits in the city,” he said. “Fighting other shifters. I don’t know how long she’s been there.”
“Nobody lasts long in that place,” Owen said, his brow furrowed with concern as he studied me.
“I know,” Maximus said, shaking his head.
As my wolf calmed, human thoughts crept in again. Thoughts that did not fit into an escape plan at all. The four of them stood watching me, lined up with their arms crossed. My human side wanted to get out, to be with them. To see them as a human would see them.
My wolf side…
she had something else on her mind, too. Less coherent, but no less confusing.
Mine, mine, mine, mine, echoed through her head like a chant. My wolf wanted to taste their blood, to claim them as her own. But which one?
Wolves had one mate. And since I was a wolf, that meant only Maximus could be my mate, as much as I despised the thought. Sure, he looked good standing there with the others, his dark hair swept back from his forehead, those angular cheekbones and strong jaw set as he looked at me. But the guy was a hard-ass control freak, and that didn’t go over well with me.
The others couldn’t be my mates. Wolves didn’t mate with dragon men or whatever the others were.
But they looked so good I was nearly salivating. I wanted to bite them. To make them mine. All of them, not just Maximus. The new guy, Jett, stood a step apart from the others, his stance relaxed and easy. His brown skin had a slight sheen like silk, his bald head gleaming in the overhead light. A broad grin stretched across his face as if delighted by this turn of events.
Next to him, Cash stood with his wings folded behind him, watching me with slight amusement, a smirk on his fine lips, his dark curls spilling over his forehead. Owen was a big, burly man with a barrel chest straining against his flannel shirt and sturdy, tree-trunk thighs. His blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail, his beard neatly trimmed.
My wolf must be a greedy bitch, because she wanted him, too. And the guy who had stuck his fist down her throat.
Mine mine mine mine…
Shira slipped through the door and trotted down the stairs, delivering a set of folded clothes to Maximus.
“Let me know if you need anything else,” she said.
“I will,” Maximus said.
Shira turned and disappeared up the stairs again. I eyed the door, but I wasn’t crazy enough to make a run for it again. Last time, I’d taken them by surprise. I wouldn’t have that advantage again.
Her Wolf: A Why Choose Urban Fantasy Romance (Silver Shifter Book 1) Page 4