by River Ramsey
“If you have an issue with my appointment, take it up with the commander,” I reply, refusing to dignify his remark. “We’re done here. Come on, Aspen.”
Before I can reach for the boy’s hand, Travis backhands me in the rear of my skull, sending me flying forward into the table.
“Dani!” Aspen cries, at my side in an instant.
I push him away because I know Travis isn’t done and I don’t want him to get hurt trying to defend me. I’m barely on my feet before the beta grabs a fistful of the front of my shirt and hoists me into the air. “Thinkin’ it’s about time we reminded the omega of her place,” he says bitterly.
My throat tightens and he’s got such a firm grip on me that it’s hard to breathe. My sneakers barely scrape the floor as I grasp behind me on the table for something to hit him with.
A bottle finds its way into my hand, and I’m sure Aspen put it there. I bring it up and crack it against the beta’s temple. The force is enough to make him drop me, and I cling to the neck of the shattered bottle, my only weapon. Brandishing it keeps the other snarling beta at bay while one of the women cries out something about me going savage.
“Aspen, run!” I cry, turning toward the rear door in the dining hall. His short legs carry him fast, and he flings the door open into the cold night air. My plan is to get within sight of an Eternus guard and hope the fact that they’re everywhere like cockroaches works in my favor.
Before I can make it two steps away from the shelter, someone grabs me from behind—the other beta, Dan—and throws me to the ground. The snow breaks my fall, but not by much. My head still cracks against a stone on the ground and the world begins to spin.
I try to push myself up, to gather my thoughts enough to tell Aspen to flee without me, but when my vision finally clears, I see one of the female betas holding him in a chokehold.
“Get your hands off him!” I snarl. My voice sounds guttural, like an animal’s. As the others surround me, I sense another presence in our midst.
“Hey!” A familiar voice bellows. “Get away from them!”
“Christopher!” I cry. My relief fades when I see who’s with him. Mace.
The other alpha looks absolutely livid. I’ve never seen him like this. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen an emotion other than smug satisfaction on his face at all.
Christopher is running to my aid, but Mace has the beta who threw me to the ground up against the wall in an instant. He wraps his hand around the back of the other man’s neck and with one slick move, the beta’s skull cracks audibly against the brick.
“Having a little fun, you coward?” he seethes in a voice I don’t recognize. “You like roughing up omegas and children? That how you get your kicks?”
Before Dan can respond, Mace forms a blade with his hand and lowers it to the base of the beta’s spine. He juts his fingertips in sharply and I hear another crack that sickens me to my core as Dan lets out a scream that alerts every Eternus guard in the vicinity.
Christopher is already beating the crap out of Travis, but even he stops short when he realizes what Mace has done. The doctor is still panting with rage as he lets his victim crumple to the ground, writhing in agony.
“No!” one of the women cries, sinking to her knees. She looks down at the tortured soul and back up at Mace with tears of horror in her eyes. It’s rare that someone dares to challenge him on anything, but rarer still that he reminds us all of why. “Look what you’ve done! You’ve paralyzed him!”
“And he can consider himself lucky,” Mace says, calm and collected once more as he straightens his tie. His eyes are still alight with the rage that came so close to turning deadly as he looks at the beta on the ground. “If he ever puts a hand on anyone else, he’s in for a far less pleasant fate.”
“What’s going on here?” the Eternus guards demand as they surround us, their detonators drawn. After the incident with the boy in the market, they’ve started brandishing those in lieu of their sidearms. Less of a PR disaster.
“Just dealing with the trash,” Christopher mutters. Evidently, he and Mace are working together now. I stare at him in disbelief, but I’m afraid Christopher will get wrapped up in it if I say a word to the guards.
“Everything is fine,” Mace assures them, his usual charming self once again. The change happened so quickly it makes me shudder. It’s one thing to see him as this emotionless fiend who preys on every opportunity he gets, but knowing even he has a dark side…
That anger was genuine, but why? I know he can’t actually care about me, or Aspen. Is he just enraged that another shifter would dare to touch what he views as his property?
“She shouldn’t be out here,” one of the guards says, looking at me. I’m used to alphas talking about me like I’m not even here. Marok or Eternus, it’s all the same.
“She’s not going to be,” Christopher says, putting a hand on my back. “Come on, Dani.”
“No,” I cry, looking back at Aspen. “Not without him.”
The boy’s eyes are wide with terror. One of the women who was all too happy to join forces against us has her hand on his shoulder, and I’m ready to bite it off. Aspen breaks away from her and runs to my side, clinging to me. I lift him into my arms as Christopher leads me away from the guards, and the pack members I trust even less.
I realize too little, too late that Mace is close behind us. At least no one else is going to attack with these two flanking me.
“This way,” says Mace, motioning for us to follow him to the house where he’s set up his clinic as he takes the lead. Christopher nods, and I can’t believe he’s actually taking orders from that creep, but as long as I don’t have to be alone with Mace, I decide it’s better than staying out here.
Once we’re inside, I realize that Mace’s house is a lot homier than I expected. I’m not sure what I expected, really. Maybe that even the living quarters would be as cold and clinical as his hospital.
I’m ushered into a room with a fireplace and a big, comfortable sofa, and it takes some coaxing to convince Aspen to sit down rather than clinging to me. I grab the blanket off the back of the couch and drape it around him. Something brushes against my arm and I look up to see Mace doing the same for me, dropping a tartan blanket around my shoulders.
I frown at him, not about to let what I just witnessed go even if I’m not willing to fight in front of Aspen. I let the blanket fall off my shoulders and the look of resignation on his face tells me he didn’t expect a thank-you for his valiant efforts.
“What the hell happened back there?” Christopher demands, his arms still folded as he looks down at me. “I would’ve thought the damn women’s shelter was safe.”
“So would I,” I shoot back.
“What happened?” Mace asks, calmer.
“Nothing. Aspen and I were eating dinner and those four just came in and started threatening me,” I insist. “I cracked a bottle over Travis’ head when he grabbed me.”
Christopher stares at me like he’s in shock. Mace snorts but quickly covers his mouth. Did he actually laugh? I guess it is at someone else’s expense, but still.
I glance over and realize Aspen has already fallen asleep against the arm of the couch. Poor kid. Life itself is exhausting, let alone this day. I motion for them not to wake him and Mace jerks his head for me to follow him into the kitchen. I reluctantly do, with Christopher in the lead.
“Sit down,” Mace orders, disappearing into another room. He returns a moment later with a first aid kit. “I need to have a look at you.”
“I’m fine,” I insist. I’d rather deal with a concussion than let him touch me.
Christopher gives me a withering look. “Let him treat your head, Danica. Don’t be a martyr.”
“Screw you,” I mutter. “Since when are you two best friends?”
“We’re not. We just have a common interest in keeping you alive, which seems to be more difficult these days,” Christopher shoots back.
I reluctantly sit d
own at a stool on the counter. The kitchen is surprisingly modern and warm. Mace rummages through his kit and douses a cotton pad with something that looks like it burns.
“I can do that,” I say.
“I’m sure you can,” he answers without missing a beat. “But I’d feel better if I did it all the same.”
I grunt my displeasure, but I let him clean the wound. I hiss air through my teeth. It stings, but not quite as bad as I expected.
“It’s deeper than it looked with all the dirt,” Mace remarks. “You’re going to need a few stitches.”
“Stitches?”
“I can give you a local anesthetic,” he offers.
I think about it for a moment before shaking my head, which just makes it hurt worse. “Just do it.”
“I still don’t get what started all that,” Christopher says, like I don’t have anything else to think about right now.
“What started it is that I announced my role in the pack and they wanted to punish me for it,” I answer.
“Which brings me to my next question. Why the hell did you come out about that anyway?” Christopher asks, growing indignant once again. It’s not his best look.
“Because if I hadn’t, they would’ve dragged Rowan off and he never would’ve been heard from again, that’s why,” I snap.
“Not really seeing how that’s a problem,” Christopher mutters.
I glare at him. “He saved me, and that kid. I wasn’t going to let them kill him, but that’s not the only reason.”
“She has a point,” Mace muses. I see him preparing the sterile needle packet out of the corner of my eye and wish I hadn’t looked. “As long as she stayed silent, Eternus could change their minds and depose her without anyone being the wiser. By coming out, she forced their hand. Now they have a timetable, and the pack will expect them to leave by the time it’s up.”
I’m surprised he’s actually defending me, and more than a little annoyed that Christopher seems to be considering his words while he dismissed mine out of the gate.
“Still, that’s just going to put more pressure on her to choose Rowan,” Christopher says. “That’s what the pack obviously wants.”
“Of course. But that could work to our advantage,” says Mace.
“How do you figure that?” I wince as he sews the first stitch. He’s being gentle, I think, but it still stings.
“Deep breaths through the nose,” Mace coaches. “Think about it this way. If they think there’s a chance of Rowan winning her hand, then they’re more inclined to go along with the new order of things than to rebel. The last thing we need is more bloodshed.”
I’m even more surprised that Mace of all people doesn’t revel in the idea of more bloodshed, but I’m sure he just wants his dynasty intact to take over. “Rowan isn’t winning anything,” I remind them. “It’s my choice.”
Both Christopher and Mace give me a condescending “poor baby” look that makes my blood boil. “I know what you think,” I say. “But I’m not letting Eternus make this choice for me.”
“Eternus isn’t your biggest issue,” says Christopher. “Everyone in this pack is going to have a meltdown if you don’t choose Rowan.”
“He’s right. It’s not safe for you to be out there alone,” says Mace. “This evening is proof of that.”
“Well, I’m not staying here.”
“Danica, try to be reasonable,” Christopher pleads, as if he’s exhausted. What the hell happened to him, anyway?
“Reasonable?” I cry, pushing away from Mace. I doubt he’s finished with the stitches, but he’s done. “Have you actually forgotten who he is in all of this? What he did to my father?”
Mace is silent, but the look on Christopher’s face tells me he hasn’t forgotten at all. He’s just moved on. “Dani, please.”
“Don’t ‘Dani’ me,” I hiss, brushing past him. He moves quickly, blocking my path through the kitchen door. “Move.”
“No,” Christopher says, folding his arms with a sanctimonious expression I absolutely hate seeing on a face I once loved. It’s only become more clear in this moment that he’s gone over to the dark side.
He’s not my childhood friend anymore. He’s one of them.
“You’re not going anywhere, but try to understand. It’s for your own good.’
“Go to hell, Christopher,” I seethe.
“I’ve prepared a room for you,” Mace quietly says from behind me. “There’s another I can clear out for Aspen in the morning.”
I turn to face him, suppressing all the hate that hasn’t faded in the least. How could it? What he did to my father will never go away. Some things can’t be undone, and he’s the last person who would want to try. I know the truth behind the civility, even if Christopher bought it hook, line and sinker.
Mace holds open the door to a surprisingly normal-looking bedroom and I step inside, pushing it shut behind me. I sink back against the frame and let out the sigh I’ve been holding in. Tonight went downhill from the moment those jerks approached us in the dining hall, but this is a new kind of defeat.
Christopher—my Christopher—is gone, which makes my choice even harder than it was.
Chapter 10
After a fitful night of sleep, I drag myself out of bed and force myself to face the waking world. I’m exhausted both emotionally and physically, and I know things aren’t going to get any easier. My conversation with Christopher and Mace is still fresh in my memory, and as much as I don’t want to admit it, I know they’re right.
I’m being used as a pawn by the commander and her men, but knowing it doesn’t change anything. What am I supposed to do, just give up and choose who they want? Or who the pack wants? Either way, there will be more bloodshed. Either way, my heart won’t be satisfied.
I’m not even sure what my heart wants at this point.
I walk into the kitchen to the smell of food already cooking. Bacon and eggs, if my nostrils don’t deceive me. Toast, too. To my amazement, Mace is the one at the stove. The only thing more shocking would be if he was wearing an apron.
Aspen is already awake, sitting at the counter munching on a plate of toast and jam. He looks happy, for someone in the presence of a practical serial killer. Guess he’s too young to know better. Then again, his instincts have always been pretty spot on and he’s smiling and chatting away to Mace about his lessons at school. Even more surprisingly, Mace is listening with interest.
It’s a side of him I’ve never seen before. I don’t know why, but I just expected that he’d be cruel to everyone the way he was to my father. Maybe even he has his limits, as hard as that is to believe.
“Ah, there she is,” he says, glancing over at me as he holds the pan of eggs in his left hand. “Sleep well, I take it?”
“Not really,” I mutter, sitting next to Aspen. “What’s this?”
“Breakfast,” Aspen says cheerfully. I can’t help but smile. I haven’t seen him in a good mood in as long as I can remember. Maybe life at the shelter took more of a toll on him than I thought.
“Did you sleep good?”
“Yeah! The couch is comfortable and Mace says I get a room.” The excitement in his voice hurts my heart. He makes it sound like something most kids take for granted is winning the lottery.
“That’s great,” I say stiffly, deciding he doesn’t need to know I have no plans of staying here long-term. They’re right about it probably not being safe to be on our own right now, all things considered, but I’ll die before Mace becomes my permanent roommate.
Still, as long as he’s being nice to Aspen, I’ll play along for the moment.
“Hungry?” Mace asks, setting a plate in front of me. “I don’t know how you like your eggs, so I went with over-easy.”
“Safe choice. Thank you,” I say, taking a fork. It pains me to thank him for anything, but I don’t want to set a bad example for Aspen.
“Don’t mention it,” Mace says, sitting across from us at the kitchen island. “I have to go do
wnstairs to work soon, but I trust that you two will be alright up here until one of the others arrives?”
“The others?” I ask.
“We’ve discussed it, and the four of us will be taking shifts,” says Mace.
“Shifts doing what?”
“Guarding you, primarily. And there is a certain expectation of courtship, or at least the appearance of it.” I can tell he’s choosing his words carefully around Aspen, so I decide to do the same, even though I’d like to tell Mace exactly what I think of courtship that involves him.
“Right,” I mutter. “Any idea who’s taking first shift?”
“Rowan, the last I heard.”
I grunt, unwilling to say anything else in front of our innocent company. Aspen continues to eat, blissfully unaware of the adult drama going on around him. Sometimes I miss those days when life was simple, if boring.
“I’ve arranged for a tutor to come here during the day, so Aspen can continue his lessons,” Mace announces. “All things considered, I don’t think it would be safe for him to return to school with the other children.”
I blink. “That’s… thoughtful of you.”
“Can’t have him falling behind,” he says with a shrug.
I can’t tell if his concern and fatherly disposition is an act, and I’m not sure I want to know. For the time being, it doesn’t matter. Aspen does need to be in school and I’m afraid his connection to me has only further isolated him from the rest of the pack.
“Go on and brush your teeth, and get changed before the tutor comes,” I tell him once he’s finished with his breakfast.
“Okay, Dani!” He runs off obediently to get ready for the day.
“He minds you well,” Mace remarks. “I think he sees you as his mother.”
“I’m the closest thing he has,” I admit.
“It’s admirable of you to take on that kind of responsibility. I’m sure life in this pack has been difficult enough.”