It’s scary but also feels really, really right.
After all, Coventon does have one of the best research universities in the country and it is my top choice for graduate school. So what if it also happens to be where Carter lives.
I sit on a fallen log letting the warmth of the fire seep into my bones. It’s been a long, strange night. My first shift and a mating bond. They say the solstice does strange things to us.
Carter walks back over and takes a seat next to me. “How are you doing? That first shift can be tough.”
“I’m good,” I say, surprised that I am. “My father would lose his damn mind, but I think I’m okay.”
“Did I just hear correctly?” An older woman asks as she takes a seat next to me. “Was this your first shift?”
My face heats. I know I’m much older than most wolves when they have their first shift. “Yes.”
She smiles, the lines on her face making her look kind and wise. She’s got small watery blue eyes and white hair. She looks like she’s seen everything and I feel instantly comfortable with her.
“This is Agnes,” Carter says. “She’s our pack elder, she’s got a connection to the elements that the rest of us don’t have.”
“Nice to meet you, Agnes, I’m Lucy,” I say.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” she says. “I’ve been telling this one since he was a child that he better get his act together for his future mate.”
Carter laughs. “You did tell me that, but I nearly forgot.” He runs a hand through his dark hair. “I was a bit of a troublemaker when I was a kid.”
I smile. Most of my childhood is a blur but I recall Lucas telling me I was a handful. “I think I was too.”
Agnes’s brow furrows and deep creases show on her forehead. “I know why you didn’t shift, little wolf.”
“Why’s that?” I ask.
“Because you repressed something and it kept your wolf hidden,” she says.
My pulse races. “What do you mean?”
“Something painful, something that happened to you,” she says. “You must have blocked it out.”
“I don’t know what that could be,” I say. “I mean, I lost my dad young and my godfather raised me. He was a nightmare, but I was thirteen. I hated everyone at that age.”
“Maybe you had a good reason to hate him,” she says.
“Well, he’s controlling and prone to temper tantrums that would make a two-year-old blush, but he did teach me how to fix cars,” I say.
Carter sets his warm hand on top of mine and I can feel his concern and worry for me through his touch. I’m not sure how that’s possible, but I do. It must be the mating bond.
Suddenly, a memory flashes through my head. My dad and Lucas arguing. I’m screaming. I’m telling them to stop. My dad sends me to my room and I refuse to go. Lucas is still screaming. My dad grabs me and carries me to my room and closes the door, shutting me in.
I hear a scuffle and more yelling, then it all goes silent. When I emerge from my room, both Lucas and my dad are gone, and the door is ripped from its hinges. The claw marks on the ground and shredded furniture tell me they shifted.
They were out there somewhere in their wolf form.
The memory fades and the meaning comes crashing into my head in a rush. Lights flashing outside my house, the police officer telling me they found my dad’s body on the road, hit by a car. They asked me a million questions. Treating the whole thing as if he was some addict out for a late-night walk, naked.
I always thought my dad had been running in his wolf form and was hit by a car. That’s what Lucas told me happened.
But it wasn’t the whole truth. He’d been fighting with Lucas that night and Lucas came back. My dad didn’t.
“Oh my god,” I say. “I think my godfather killed my dad.”
“It’s okay,” Agnes says. She sets her hand on top of mine. Her skin is paper thin and dry but she’s comforting in a way I’ve never known. “We’re here now. We’re all family. And when you found him, you gained all of us.”
I smile. When I was a kid, the pack had felt like family but after my dad died, I pulled away and Lucas took over. When I didn’t shift at fifteen, I started getting left out altogether.
Lucas had taught me how to fix cars. And I still felt like the guys who worked for my dad’s shop would do anything for me, but it wasn’t the same as it had been.
I missed that sense of community. That sense of family.
“Thank you,” I say.
“I won’t ever let him hurt you,” Carter says. “Whoever your godfather is, he’s never going to get near you.”
“No,” I say. “I have to go back.”
“You can stay here with us,” Carter says. “Stay with me.”
“You don’t understand. I was going to walk away from all of it. Everything. My inheritance included. I just wanted my freedom. But now that I know the truth, I can’t let him win.”
“Who’s your godfather, exactly?” Carter says.
“Lucas Black,” I say.
Carter blows out a breath. “Of course, it’s Lucas Black.”
“I know, it’s crazy, but I can’t let him win. Not like this,” I say.
He nods, then stands, extending a hand. “Come on.”
I take it and rise.
“Jim, I’m going to need to borrow your trailer,” he says.
The gathered people whoop and whistle and my cheeks heat but I follow Carter toward the trailer a few feet away.
“The pond wasn’t enough?” I ask.
He laughs. “Well, that’s not what I had in mind, but I do plan on having you again soon.”
I grin. Even in the mix of the tangle of emotions I’m still drawn to Carter.
“Your stepfather isn’t well liked around here,” he says. “It’s better if we talk out of earshot. I think I have an idea.”
9
Lucy
I look around the barren room. Aside from the couch I’m sitting on, there’s an ancient television on a small stand, a folding card table with a metal folding chair and a threadbare rug. This place is a dump.
Carter is pacing on the floor in front of me. He looks completely distressed and I can’t figure out the tangle of emotions I’m getting from him. I can feel his confusion and his anger. I can also feel a touch of what I think is lust and I swallow, realizing I still want him despite his odd behavior.
“Carter,” I say. “Why are you pacing?”
“Because I have an idea but I’m not sure I want to go through with it,” he says.
“You’re going to have to spill,” I say.
He stops walking and looks at me, his jaw tense.
“If I tell you this idea, I’m worried you’re going to want to act on it,” he says.
“I have to face him one way or another so if you’ve got an idea, you should share,” I say.
“Your father is brutal,” he says. “Though I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that. You’ve probably seen it.”
“First of all, Lucas is not my father,” I say. “He’s an asshole who happens to be in charge of my inheritance until I’m twenty-five.”
“Okay, well, your godfather is brutal,” I say. “He could probably keep Mr. Wolf in business all by himself.”
I’ve heard the stories. And I’ve been at the other end of the violence a time or two. Mostly, I learned to stay away from him. Especially when he had been drinking. Despite how painful it was to walk away from it all earlier today, I was willing to run. But now that I knew the truth, I couldn’t let Lucas win.
Had I really run away? I’d left behind my family home and the one thing that my dad cared about all because I was afraid of Lucas and his plans.
I shudder, realizing that the plan to get me to marry Jack might have been put into action long ago.
Carter kneels down in front of me, his green eyes searching mine. “Tell me the whole story first. Then I’ll tell you my idea.”
“I left tonight becaus
e Lucas told me he wanted to marry me off to someone,” I say. “Kicked me out of my own parent’s house.” I shake my head. When I say it out loud, I sound pathetic. What kind of shifter runs like that? I gave in to a bully.
Carter sets his hand on my thigh. It sends a tingle right up my leg to my core.
“You can shift now,” he says, as if reading my thoughts.
“I can,” I say.
“And that house, that pack, they’re yours if you want them,” he says. “That’s my idea. You can claim your birthright. Not just your inheritance, but your birthright as a shifter.”
My mouth feels dry. The pack. I look up at Carter. “I can challenge him.”
Carter nods. “You can.”
I take a deep breath. My hands are trembling. I was supposed to be the next leader of the pack, but my dad died and I never shifted. Lucas was my godfather and my dad’s number two. He stepped in, but it wasn’t his pack. It was my dad’s pack. My pack.
I grew up around all of them and even though I’d been distanced from them over the last several years, it was in my blood.
“What about you?” I ask. “I can’t leave you, but I can’t let him get away with this.”
“You know how the rules work, don’t you?” He’s wearing a mischievous smirk.
“Which rules?” I ask. “I’m rusty.”
“Mating bonds supersede all other titles,” he says. “You and me, we’re one. I’m the pack leader here and you get to step in next to me.”
“How does that help me challenge Lucas?” I ask.
“It means that if you challenge him, I’m challenging him, too,” he says.
“But I thought you said you don’t cross him or his pack,” I say.
“I didn’t know it wasn’t his pack,” he says.
Everything is happening so fast. But I know Carter is right. The only thing Lucas understands is pack. He’s always used it over me as the thing that made me undeserving of my inheritance. The thing that made me different from the guys working at the shop.
And all this time, he was preparing to send me off while he moved his girlfriend into my parent’s house.
My wolf seems to rise to attention at the thought of storming into the party and demanding my godfather step down. Fear and excitement fight for dominance. When I was struggling to find my place in a life full of shifters as a mere human, I thought all I could do was wait until I was twenty-five.
Now I feel like I have some power.
There are still people who are loyal to my dad and I have a feeling some of them will join me. I look over at Cater. The whole thing is insane. I don’t even know his last name or his favorite food. All I know is that the two of us complete one another. And that he’s amazing at sex.
“Alright, when are we doing this?” I ask.
“Now sounds good,” he says.
I know it’s the smart thing to do. Act now, before Lucas can claim that I ran out on my birthright and my inheritance. Cause, well, I did, but he doesn’t know that.
“Alright,” I say. “Let’s go challenge him.”
10
Lucy
It takes a half hour to get to Jack’s family’s ranch. The drive should feel tense, but it doesn’t. Instead it feels like all the pieces are falling into place where they are supposed to be.
“You know, I never met your dad,” Carter says, “but I think he’d be proud of you.”
“Thanks,” I say. “How about you? Are your parents still around?”
“No, my dad died a few years ago,” he says. “Mom died when I was a kid.”
“I’m sorry,” I say.
“Tell me how you ended up in Coventon today?” he says.
“I was picking up parts for the shop,” I say.
“Do you want the shop?” he asks.
“I didn’t think I did, but now I want it out of Lucas’s hands. One of the other guys can run it. But not him,” I say.
“You get sexier with each new thing I learn about you,” he says.
It was odd, this bond between us. Like we were doing everything backwards. We fell hard and now we’re learning about each other.
I feel my cheeks heat. “What about you?”
“I run my dad’s old gym,” he says. “Not as cool as fixing cars but it’s familiar and I like the work. What would you do if you weren’t fixing cars?”
“I want to be a professor,” I say. “History.”
“If I knew professors could look like you, I might have finished college,” he says.
I laugh. “I’m not a professor yet.”
“But that’s your plan?” He asks.
“I was saving for grad school,” I say.
“You should do it,” he says. “Apply.”
“Maybe I will,” I say. Lucas laughed at me for having this dream. Nobody ever told me to go for it. It was nice to hear.
As we get closer, tension seeps into my veins and my stomach is filled with knots. I’ve stood up to Lucas over the years, but never like this.
“You can do this,” Carter says without even looking away from the road.
I nod, even though I’m not sure if he can see me. “Turn there.”
Carter turns, the car bumping over the dirt road that leads to Jack’s property. I’ve been here so many times I could easily find my way in the dark, but I’d never been on the solstice. I wasn’t even sure what they’d be doing or if I’d be able to find them.
For all I know, they’re out running in the woods till dawn.
I see a bonfire in the distance, similar to what was going on at the party in Coventon. I shouldn’t be surprised, really. The traditions between packs usually don’t vary all that much.
A group of men start walking toward the car, illuminated by the headlights. I can see from their posture that they are not expecting any visitors. Luckily, I recognize them and I know they’ll settle as soon as they see me. “Wait here,” I say to Carter.
I step out of the car. “Hey, guys.”
“Lucy?” Kyle, an older member who has been around as long as I can remember squints into the headlights. “You shouldn’t be here tonight.”
The headlights turn off and we’re standing in the firelight now. Kyle and a few other members of the pack have gathered around me but Lucas and Jack are both missing. I glance toward the house in the distance. It’s a huge sprawling sort of house and I frown at the sight of it. Did Lucas seriously expect me to move in there and become a docile little wife?
“Where’s Lucas?” I ask.
“Out running,” Kyle says. “Is something wrong?”
I blow out a breath. Now or never. “I’m here to challenge him for the pack.”
A few people gasp and someone laughs.
“I’m not joking,” I say. “It’s my pack.”
“Sweetie,” Kyle says, his voice kind, “you need to be a wolf to be the alpha.”
“I had my first shift tonight,” I say.
Kyle’s whole face lights up. “You did?”
I gesture to the oversized tee shirt I’m wearing. “It’s how I came to be in this lovely outfit.”
He laughs, a deep chuckle. “I remember my first shift. Woke up naked as a newborn in my mom’s back yard.”
“Congratulations, Lucy,” Jamie, another long time member calls.
“Thanks,” I say. “Turns out I was repressing part of myself to block out the memory of what happened the night my dad died.”
Everyone is silent and I spill the details before I lose my nerve. I tell them about Carter and his pack, about Agnes and my shift. Nobody speaks.
“Where’s this mate of yours?” Jamie asks.
“Carter?” I call.
He opens the car door and steps out, closing the door before walking over to me. “Hey, everyone.”
Jamie whistles. “Lucky girl, you got a good one.”
“Hey,” Micah, her mate says.
Jamie laughs. “You know I’d never trade you for anything.”
“Damn ri
ght,” Micah says with a growl.
“What’s all this?” A male voice calls.
I’d know that voice anywhere. I turn to see Lucas and Jack walking toward the group. They’re both shirtless, only wearing a pair of jeans. Their skin shines with sweat and it’s clear they just came back from running in wolf form.
“I thought I told you to stay in,” Lucas says.
“Aw, don’t be too hard on her,” Jack says, “maybe she couldn’t wait till tomorrow. Is that what it is sweetheart?”
Carter growls and I move in front of him, already feeling the anger rising in my mate. I don’t need him to lose his cool. Especially not over Jack. He isn’t worth it.
“Who’s he? And what is he doing here?” Lucas asks.
“He’s my mate, which means he has a right to be here,” I say.
“You can’t have a mate,” he snaps. “You’re human. Humans don’t form bonds.”
“I’m a wolf,” I say. “And I’m here to reclaim my pack.”
Lucas laughs. “Your pack?”
“My pack,” I say. “You kept it warm, but your term is done.”
“Like I’d hand it over to you, little girl. Even if you shifted, you’re a late bloomer. You’ll never be as strong as a true wolf.”
“You’re a murderer,” I say.
I hear footsteps behind me and I know the rest of the pack is moving closer. They know the truth. I told them everything. The question is, which side are they on? Do they believe me?
“You have no evidence,” he says with a snarl.
“You hand over my pack, or I will challenge you,” I say.
“Which means you’ll get to fight me too,” Carter says. “Please agree to the challenge. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a good fight.”
“Is this true, Lucas?” Jack asks.
I turn to look at him, checking his expression for signs of playing along. His brow is furrowed and he looks concerned. He didn’t know.
“You going to believe some half human over me?” Lucas asks.
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