by Kamryn Hart
“You’re a good man,” she told him. “I think you’re perfect for Karol and her family. I hope you keep working on her until she sees that too. I think she’s already started to. She was happier today than I’ve seen her in a long time.”
“Thank you,” Casey said.
When he left the house and was safely in his car, he pulled out his cell phone and called Isabelle.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I showed Karol what I am. Sort of hinted at it with her siblings too.”
“And?”
“And I figured you’d want to know because of that Trinity thing you’re a part of, and I figured I should tell you because you’ve done a lot for me.”
She laughed. “How considerate of you, Casey. I’ll take care of any problems if they happen. So, how did it go?”
“Karol totally passed out on me.”
She laughed even harder. “That’s a good start. Seems the beta wolf has moved up.”
“What do you mean?”
“I heard about Otto. You beat his ass and now he’s at the bottom of the line with all of the shifters in complex C. Everyone’s thinking of you as the new alpha in that complex.”
“Hah. Alpha. Yeah, right,” Casey replied.
“Good luck with Karol. If you keep fighting for her, she’ll come around. She is your Fated Mate after all. I’ve seen it before.”
“But why don’t you have a Fated Mate?” Casey asked.
“The Moon Alpha says Fated Mates are just the Moon’s handpicked pairings for one reason or another. Just because one of the Moon’s shifters doesn’t have a Fated Mate, doesn’t mean they won’t find a mate and true happiness along with them.”
Casey shook his head. “The Celestial Alphas sound like something else.”
“They are the heads of Trinity. They’re easily the most powerful Alphas in the world.”
“That’s what you tell me.”
“Maybe someday you’ll meet one.”
“No, thanks.”
“We’ll see. Goodnight, Casey.”
“Night.”
Casey drove through the night, thinking only of Karol. Soon he would learn what showing his wolf meant for the two of them. Soon he would know if he had pushed her away or brought her closer to him.
Chapter 8
THE CLANG OF CERAMICS startled Karol awake. She shot upright on the couch and looked around her. The kids were putting their dishes in the sink. They all had their backpacks and shoes and were leaving for school.
“What?” Karol croaked.
“Jeez, finally awake?” Sarah asked. “What were you doing last night?” She gave her sister a sideways glance. “You should wash off your makeup before you sleep. You look like a mess.”
Karol shook her head. “Went for a long walk. That’s it,” she replied. But there was a sinking feeling in her chest. Uncertainty. Holy fuck. Was she dreaming all that stuff about Casey or was he really a wolf? She distractedly touched her left earlobe and felt a fraction of the electrical sensation she felt when Casey touched her last night.
It wasn’t a dream.
“You feeling okay?” Dale asked with concern.
Karol smiled. “Totally fine. Like I said. Stayed out too late. Was so tired I crashed on the couch when I got in.” She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall in front of her. “You guys better get going before you’re late.”
“Are we going to see Casey again?” Cora asked. “He didn’t carve wood with me like he promised he would.”
Karol forced a smile.
Old Mary opened the door. “No more questions for the morning. Off you go, kids.”
One by one, the kids followed each other out of the house. When the last one left, Mary shut the door and looked at Karol expectantly.
“How did I get here?” Karol asked hesitantly.
“Casey carried you home.”
“And you didn’t think that was weird? I was passed out.”
Mary smiled. “Casey’s a good man.”
Man… not so much. He was a wolf shifter. How could Karol be so infatuated with a wolf shifter? It didn’t seem right. But when he was in that human body of his he didn’t seem anything less than human. Maybe it wasn’t so weird for her to feel the way she did, but it wasn’t just attraction. That mark on her ear and these strong feelings of wanting to be with Casey always exploded when she touched him. She felt them when she thought about him too. That was why she went along with him last night. She somehow felt safe with him. Oh, God, but the wolf.
She was so confused.
“Let me tell you a story,” Mary said as she sat down next to Karol on the couch. “Years ago when I was a young and beautiful thing like you, I met a tiger shifter who swept me off my feet. Of course, at the time, I had no idea he was a shifter.”
“What!?” Karol exclaimed. “Y-you know what Casey is?”
Mary nodded her head. “Well, I know that he’s a shifter of some kind.”
“A wolf,” Karol clarified and immediately felt crazy for saying it.
“I know it’s hard to believe, but we share the world with shifters. The tiger shifter I was talking about showed me what he was one night, and I reacted a lot the same way you did. Except I ran. I ran and I vowed I’d never look back because I was terrified. I needed time to process everything, so I went to my best friend and told her about the guy I left, minus the shifter part, and she said he sounded fantastic and asked me why the hell I was running away from him. That made me think. He was perfect. In every way. I even loved him. If he hadn’t shown me he was a shifter, I wouldn’t have had any second thoughts about him or what I felt for him. He was as perfect as a man could be. So I mustered up my courage, and I decided to trust him. To be with him. My days with him were the happiest days of my life.”
“What happened to him?” Karol asked.
“I got into a lot of trouble when I was young. Got mixed up with the wrong people. He paid the ultimate price for that, and I got a bum leg.”
“I’m sorry, Mary. I had no idea.” Karol fiddled with her hands in her lap. “This whole shifter thing is crazy. I don’t know if I even believe it. I remember a wolf, but the memory’s foggy. It feels like a dream.”
Mary placed her hand on Karol’s leg. “It’s all real. All I’m asking is that you keep an open mind. Shifters aren’t so different from us in a lot of ways. And Casey loves you.”
“Loves me?” Karol choked. “How can you know that?”
“I see it in the way he looks at you.”
This was too much. How was she supposed to deal with this? Should she ignore Casey? Should she go to his apartment? Maybe a bunch of other shifters lived at the Jones Apartments. Her head was spinning.
“I know you need time to think,” Mary said, “but you also need to wash up and get ready for work. You’re going to miss your bus.”
Karol looked at the time again and hopped off the couch. She couldn’t afford to be late on her second day of work. As she sped through washing and getting dressed, she thought about Casey, and she made a decision. After work, she would walk to his apartment. Hopefully, he’d be home, and she’d be able to get some answers. She needed to see him shift again. She needed to confront him again.
Maybe he was different, but she wanted to trust him. There was something inside of her that assured her she could. He was so sweet with her, great with her kid brothers and sisters, and she wanted to hold on to him. She decided she would give him a chance, and that was what she was going to do. He had done nothing but be honest. He risked exposing a huge secret to her. He seemed to like and trust her as an equal. That meant he deserved an honest chance.
Man, wolf, she had closed herself off so long from trying to see the good in anyone outside of her family. She had closed herself off from anyone outside of her family completely. She had condemned all men. But now she was ready to try getting to know a man. She was ready to risk getting hurt because there was the possibility she would find something wonderful in Cas
ey.
There was a chance he was true.
Work was a blur, but Karol did well and it was low stress compared to working at The Red Maiden. Now she was outside of Casey’s apartment. Just standing there. It had been five minutes since she got there, and all she could bring herself to do was stare at the door to apartment thirteen. She knew she should knock and get it over with. There was a possibility he wasn’t even home. If he wasn’t, she could go home and say she tried. The reason she didn’t knock was because of the possibility he was home.
She decided to give him a real chance, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t scared out of her goddamn mind. This was the craziest thing she had ever done in her life. It would have been crazy enough if Casey was an ordinary man. But he wasn’t. The whole shifter thing was a fog in her memory, but she knew he was different. The mark on his and her ear. The way he made her feel. The way he treated her and her family. The time they spent together had been short, but he had already found a way inside of her heart.
Finally, she knocked on the door. Casey opened it a moment later.
“I need to see again,” Karol rushed the words out, neglecting to say hello.
Casey let her inside, and she went straight to the couch in the living room. She sat board straight and watched Casey’s every move as he stood in front of her. She wanted him to sit down next to her, but she was also afraid of him doing that. What did it mean if he was a wolf shifter? Nothing? Mary said humans and shifters were very similar, and Karol would have had no idea about Casey being different if she hadn’t seen him display his strength and show her the wolf that was a haze in her memory.
“Are you afraid of me?” Casey asked. The hurt was clear in his voice and his brown-green eyes were soft as he looked at her. Her chest squeezed in response. She didn’t like hearing that obvious sadness in his voice.
Karol shook her head and bunched up the fabric of her slacks as she shook her head. “I don’t know. A little?” she said quietly. “Show me again.” She tilted her head up to look him in the eye. “Show me I don’t have to be afraid of you.”
Casey folded his arms. “Only if you promise not to pass out again. If you do pass out, you’re never seeing my wolf again.”
A smile played on her lips as she replied, “Deal.”
He didn’t look convinced.
“I can handle it this time,” she said resolutely. “Mary talked to me a little. She knew a shifter too. I’m more prepared this time.”
Casey released his arms back down to his sides. “Okay. Let’s try this again then.”
He started by taking off his shirt. This time Karol watched unabashedly. She was determined not to miss anything, but his hot body was seriously distracting. As if his face wasn’t gorgeous enough. The bruise on his chest was lighter still, less of a distraction from his rippling muscles—which impressed the hell out of her. She could admire those muscles all day.
Next off were his jeans. Her eyes drifted right to his fully erect cock. It was huge and as impressive as the rest of him. Seeing him wanting her made her wet. Her legs trembled at the sight, at the thought. Every fucking time. She forced her eyes lower to distract herself, and she was curious about his left foot. It looked like it had really hurt from what she could remember from yesterday. Like shifting made the wound worse somehow. His body completely changed with a shift, right? So it made sense. And it looked like she was right. His foot looked worse today than it did yesterday.
“I think you need stitches,” she said quickly.
“It’s fine,” he replied. “Besides, it’d just open again when I shift anyway.”
“M-maybe you shouldn’t shift then.” She felt guilty, and now she was eyeing the cut above his eye, the gash in his arm, the bruise on his chest. They all looked just a little worse than they had yesterday. He really did shift, and he really did tear himself open again just to show her he was a wolf shifter? Because he was determined for her not to run away and call him a liar?
Before Karol could insist on him not shifting after all, his body started to change. The snapping of his bones was like gunfire in her head. She couldn’t blink as Casey fell down onto his hands and his features changed. Paws replaced his hands and feet. He sprouted a tail. His face changed shape and elongated. Dark brown fur grew all over his body, covering him in a thick, warm coat.
A wolf was standing before her, his bright yellow-green eyes regarding her as she was him. At last, she could blink. She blinked several times to make up for the dryness in her eyes. She blinked so much her eyes watered. Darkness was creeping in on her vision, threatening the possibility of passing out.
The wolf barked, and Karol snapped out of her stupor.
“S-sorry,” she said. She shook her head, cleared her throat, and stood. She was shaking badly, but she bridged the small space between her and the wolf and held out her hand, trying to seem friendly. She felt terrible seeing the wounds on Casey’s body transferred to his wolf and how they were a little worse than before. Did this wolf still have Casey’s mind or was he more like a wild animal when he looked like this? He didn’t feel different. That was the only reason she had any courage right now.
Her hand shook above his head. He tilted his black nose up and pressed it into her palm. She got that same warm feeling from touching him like this. But he was a wolf! She let her fear consume her. Her breaths came in fast and shallow, and she was lightheaded. She fell back onto her ass and managed to steady herself with her hands before she could fall back completely. Casey shifted in a blur of motion and snapping bones, but she only caught glimpses because she was breathing so erratically she couldn’t focus.
Before she knew it, Casey was human and kneeling in front of her. He caught her face in his hands, his touch gentle and soothing.
“Breathe, Karol,” he said softly. “Everything is fine.”
“Oh my God,” she managed to say. “I don’t understand anything that’s going on.”
Casey hushed her. “You saw it with your own two eyes. It’s not so complicated.”
She laughed at that, but it released some of her anxiety. “Fine, okay. You’re a wolf shifter. It’s that simple.”
He grinned at her. His smile was perfect, white teeth all aligned. His eyes were gleaming. And he was close. Very close. And naked.
He was naked.
Her face went hot. She brought her hands up to his still holding her face gently, making it so she could only see his face. Her fingers trembled as they touched the backs of his hands. She moved to his wrists and squeezed. He got the message and let her go.
She stood on shaky legs while Casey stayed on his knees, looking up at her.
“I… have a lot of questions about this shifter stuff,” Karol said as she sat back down on the couch.
“Ask away. I’ll tell you anything you want to know,” Casey replied as he stood. “I’m just glad you’re not running away.”
Karol watched as he slipped on his clothes. She was glad he did. Her body was betraying her at every turn. Maybe it wasn’t betraying her. Her heart was feeling much the same way. She wanted to touch Casey and to have him touch her. She wanted to feel him on top of her. He was so huge, he’d probably smother her, but she would die happy.
She shook her head, reminding herself that she needed to focus. Right now, they needed to talk.
Once dressed, Casey took a seat at her side, hunched over with his hands clasped in between his legs. “I started telling you stuff last night.” He tapped his earlobe. “I guess you could call me being a shifter and this mark I have magic. In my case, all of this comes from the Moon.”
“Does that mean you’re actually a man but this magic stuff makes it so you can be a wolf too?” Karol asked, trying to suspend her knowledge of reality.
Casey shook his head. “No. My wolf is half of me. You couldn’t really call me a human because of how much it influences what I am.”
“You said you’re a shifter because of the moon. So all shifters and magic come from the moon?�
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“That was what I thought before I left my pack. Turns out there are shifters created by the Earth and Sun. There are witches too—not that I’ve ever met one.”
Karol rubbed her temples. “Okay, you said pack. You lived in a pack of wolf shifters before you came here?”
Casey nodded.
“Why did you leave?”
“I was curious about the world outside of my pack. My pack keeps to themselves. We hardly ever associated with humans and got away with it because my pack owns a small town in Idaho.” Casey held his hands tighter together in between his legs, turning his knuckles white. “I probably would have stayed, but my Alpha wanted me to claim his daughter. But I didn’t love her. I messed around with her and we had sex. It never meant anything more than that for me, but it did for her. I couldn’t go through with claiming her when I didn’t love her the way she loved me and I… I knew my Fated Mate was out there somewhere. So I left. I regret hurting Willow, but I don’t regret leaving.”
“Claiming? Fated Mate?”
“A male wolf shifter claims the female he wants by biting her during sex. It combines scents, making it clear to other wolf shifters that the two are mated.”
Karol bit her lip and said, “That sounds… violent.”
Casey shrugged. “Wolf shifters heal fast.”
“That explains that cut over your eye, that bruise on your chest, and your foot. Even though they look a lot worse now that I made you shift a few times.” She bit her lip again.
Casey just smiled at her. “No big deal. Anyway, Fated Mates are two wolf shifters destined to be together. Well, I thought it only included wolf shifters. That’s obviously not the case. Whatever the case, Fated Mates will end up being marked by the Moon with a Lunas Sigil, the kind of mark you and I have on our ears.” He looked at her intensely, with eyes more green than brown. More wolf. “The Moon decided you are my Fated Mate.”
Karol’s heart lurched. Partly because she liked the sound of that and partly because it scared the hell out of her. “What?” she said flatly.