by Tara West
“So, Annie,” Vidar slurred, spilling his mixed drink all over the table. “Rumor is you killed a human. Is that true?”
Wow. So he was finally addressing her? He hadn’t said two words to her since she’d sat at the table, and now he wanted to talk about the time she was forced to defend herself against a rapist? The way he smiled at her, a wild gleam in his eyes, made her flesh crawl. She refused to be intimidated by him. “Yes.”
His eyes lit like fireworks. “How did you do it?”
What a sick fuck. Did he really think she’d want to talk about something so traumatic? She set her fork down and folded her hands in front of her. “I really don’t like talking about it.”
“Nothing to be ashamed of.” Waving his drink in the air, he splashed amber liquid down his arm. “If I could kill every damn human on this planet, I would.”
She eyed him coolly. “My brother is human.”
“I know.” He flashed a fanged grin. “So how’d you do it?”
Her spine stiffened, her veins turning to icy sludge. “I’ve already said I don’t want to talk about it.” She shuddered at the memory of the taste of Gus’s coppery blood filling her mouth when she’d shifted into a wolf and bit down on his neck. She hadn’t meant to kill him, but the big, drunk bartender had nearly knocked her unconscious when he’d thrown her against the table and torn off her clothes. Instinct had taken over, and she’d reacted as a trapped, savage wolf.
His smile faded as he leaned toward her, his eyes shifting from brown to gold. “You realize I’m the fucking chieftain, don’t you?”
Tor and Van growled until Vidar leaned back, his eyes returning to brown.
Even though her heart was racing, she forced a note of indifference into her voice. “I know what you are.”
Stupid fucking cunt! Vidar’s virulent thought smacked her like a frying pan to the head. Vidar grabbed his steak knife, a look of pure murder in his eyes.
What a dick! No fucking way was she breeding with this asshat’s sons.
Tor threw a protective arm in front of her and spoke in a low, ominous rumble. “Put down the knife, Vidar.”
“Father, did you see beef prices have gone up?” Raine asked in a voice so upbeat, it had to be forced. He stared down his father.
Though she was grateful for his intervention, she wondered why his alpha brother didn’t intervene as well.
“Shut up,” Vidar slurred and pointed the knife at her once more. “You’re a mouthy bitch.” And you need to be taught respect, he projected into her head.
When Vidar glared at her, it was as if a thousand tiny spiders were crawling across her skin. Teach her respect? How about she teach the asshole some manners?
Tor’s growl was eclipsed by Raine’s roar. His eyes shifted and his nose lengthened as he jumped up and drove his steak knife into the table beside his belligerent father.
Vidar wrapped his fingers around the wooden handle of Raine’s knife and jerked it out of the wood. “Stand down, son,” he whispered.
She shivered. In that whisper, she felt the force of Vidar’s ominous threat in the marrow of her bones. For some reason she was more terrified of Vidar’s threats to her mates than to her. The hair stood up on the back of her neck, and her protective instinct roared to life.
Refusing to stand down, Raine picked up another knife, chest heaving, the scar across his cheek turning from pale white to pulsing red while he glared at his father.
When Vidar pushed back his chair, Annie knew she had to act.
“I ripped his goddamn throat out.” She jumped up, pointing her fork at Vidar’s chest. “Call me a bitch again, and I’ll show you how I did it.”
Vidar’s red-rimmed eyes turned murderous. He picked up a fork and snapped it in two.
Tor and Van stood, too, flanking her with steely expressions.
Holy shit. Annie hadn’t thought this through. She’d been trying to diffuse the tension between Raine and his father, but she might have made the situation worse.
Vidar gazed at her for a long, tense moment, his drunken brothers stumbling to their feet, clutching their knives as well. Raine’s brothers got up, though Magnus was the last to stand, hanging back and warily eyeing his family.
Annie clutched her fork like a lifeline, tension a knot in her gut. The testosterone in the room reached an all-time high. Every wolf shifter was growling, and she had no idea how to get Vidar to back down. Despite her nervousness, she narrowed her eyes at Vidar and read his thoughts.
Goddamn bitch. She’ll turn them against me if I’m not careful.
So he was scared of losing his sons’ loyalty. Good. She refused to break eye contact and let him intimidate her.
He did something unexpected. He tossed back his head and let out a hearty laugh. Whatever was so funny, she had no idea. Vidar’s thoughts hit her like a gust of wind, nearly knocking her back. He had many thoughts at once, and they were too jumbled to make sense. That’s when she realized he was beyond batshit crazy.
He let out a chuckle so deep, it reverberated through her bones. Losing control of the knife, he bent over, clutching the table. His brothers soon joined in while everyone else stared at him as if he’d lost his fucking mind.
After wiping moisture from his eyes, he pointed at Annie. “She’s got bigger balls than my sons. They’re going to have a hell of a time taming her.”
Anger flushed her cheeks. “Nobody’s taming me,” she said through clenched teeth.
“You think so?” The words rang with humor and condescension, making the wolf inside her want to snap him in half.
Still holding the fork, she crossed her arms. “I know so.” She knew his bout of manic laughter was a way to diffuse the tension, and she should have followed his lead if she wanted peace between her mates and their fathers, but she couldn’t help herself. It suddenly dawned on her that she hated the man more than any of the sleazy boyfriends her mother had paraded in front of the family while her “father” said nothing from his wheelchair.
Raine lowered his weapon, clearing his throat. “Annie, would you like us to show you around the ranch?”
She shrugged, relieved that he’d given her a way out. “Sure.”
“She hasn’t finished her meal.” Vidar said.
She scowled at what was supposed to pass for edible food. “I’ve lost my appetite.” Truthfully, she was ravenous. What she wouldn’t give to be home in Alaska, eating one of Rone Thunderfoot’s mooseburgers with a side of his beer-battered onion rings and a homemade strawberry milkshake. She missed his food. She also missed being around sane shifters.
“Go ahead,” Tor said as he sat down. “Vidar and I need to talk.”
THE RANCH WAS IN THE same condition as the house. Fences needed mending, and the barn was full of holes, making it look like a big red block of Swiss cheese. Annie didn’t have much, but she took pride in what little she did have. She understood the fathers were drunks, but couldn’t their sons have repaired things?
Noting how Magnus trailed behind them like he was the pack leper, she kept her distance from the other three brothers as they showed her a field with several dozen grazing cows. At least their livestock appeared to be healthy. She cast several wary glances over her shoulder, noting how Magnus always looked away, keeping his stump stuffed in his front pocket. What was wrong with him? Was he that self-conscious over his missing hand, or was it something more? And why the hell had he let Raine do all the heavy lifting with their father? Wasn’t he supposed to be head alpha? His inaction meant he didn’t care or he was a chickenshit. Either way, it didn’t bode well for her.
”Did you want to see the stables?”
She blinked up at Raine, who motioned to an old dilapidated building that looked like it should have been condemned.
“Or maybe the barn,” the beta named Jax said, a smile tugging at his mouth. “We’ve been rebuilding a ’65 Chevy.”
“Twice now he’s called me a bitch.” She glared at them, including Magnus.
Jax thumbed at his second alpha. “Raine stood up for you.”
Crossing her arms, she focused on Magnus, who leaned against the fence, staring out at the field as if she didn’t exist. “Not enough.”
Frey cleared his throat, voice shaking like wobbly glass. “We’ll talk to him later.”
“Not enough.”
Raine threw up his hands and shared a hopeless look with his younger brothers. “What is enough?”
“You’re men,” she spat, poking Magnus’s side while brushing past him. “You figure it out.”
Anger fueling her movements, she strode to their rental truck. Magnus hadn’t even grunted when she’d jabbed him. What the fuck was wrong with him?
She’d just reached the truck when a strong hand spun her around. She blinked up at Raine.
“There’s something you need to know about our dad,” he said.
“He’s a major fucking asshole,” she snapped.
The frown lines around his eyes made him look far older than mid-twenties. She briefly remembered him telling her at the table that he was twenty-five, and Magnus was twenty-six. Jax had just celebrated his twenty-third birthday, and Frey was twenty-two, two years older than her. They were hardly boys, so what was the problem?
Releasing a slow breath, Jax said, “Yeah, he’s an asshole, but he wasn’t always this way. He’s been like this since our mother and father were killed.”
“That’s no excuse.”
Raine held out both hands in an apologetic gesture. “We’re sorry for his behavior. He’s not usually this bad, but he’s been drinking.”
Seriously? As if that was an excuse for poor behavior? Disappointment in her mates widened a hole in her heart. “You need to quit making excuses for him.”
Jax frowned. “We’re not making excuses.”
“You are.” She lunged toward him, poking his chest. “You can call a monster by another name, but he’s still a monster.”
Eyes widening, Jax stared down at the spot where she’d jabbed him, a hurt look in his eyes as if she’d just shot him through the heart with an arrow.
“What are you doing?” Raine asked as she climbed into the backseat.
“Waiting for my uncles to come out.”
“Don’t you want to see the ranch?”
“Not really.” She scowled at Magnus, who’d stayed by the fence. He was still gazing at those cows as if in a trance. He didn’t give a damn about her. “I won’t be mating with you, so it doesn’t matter.” She angrily wiped away a tear while the sun set behind a copse of oak trees.
“What do you mean you won’t be mating with us?” Raine cried urgently.
“Do you honestly think I want to marry into this family? Bring up kids in the middle of a civil war?”
“It won’t turn into a civil war,” Raine said. “Our father will cool down.”
“Yeah, he does this from time to time.” Jax’s smile appeared forced. “The tribe will make up.”
She pulled back her shoulders, more resolved than ever to put distance between her and these pathetic shifters. “They should’ve never split.”
Raine dragged a hand through his hair. “You’re right, but the Coyotechasers—”
“Make better leaders than your dad. Isn’t it obvious that your father is out of his fucking mind?”
Raine grimaced slightly. “He will cool down.”
“Until the next time and the next.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m not putting up with a father-in-law who calls me a bitch or mates too weak-spined to tell him to shut the fuck up.”
Jax threw up his hands, then thumbed to his older brother. “But Raine—”
“Yeah, thanks, Raine,” she snapped. “What about the rest of you?”
“We stood with him,” Frey said, his boyish face marred by a heavy frown.
When her attention shot to him, he looked at his dirty, scuffed boots, his cheeks reddening.
She glanced at their oldest brother, who still hadn’t moved from the fence. “He didn’t.” Technically, Magnus had stood with them, but he’d been the last to get up, and he hadn’t said a word to his father. As head alpha, he should’ve been first to defend her.
Raine gaped at her, unable to defend his brother. Slamming the door shut, she pulled out her phone and scanned her messages while ignoring the three brooding brutes outside.
So much for her foolish dream of finding mates to complete her and spending the rest of eternity with them. These men were unsuitable. They weren’t strong and brave, like the Thunderfoots. Maybe Vidar had been right when he’d said she had bigger balls than his sons, and that was the problem. She couldn’t imagine what their children would be like, but one thing was certain—she wasn’t raising a pack of pussies.
She sent Amara a text, asking how her husky Mako was doing. When Amara fired back an image of Mako cuddled up with Amara’s two big dogs, her heart sang. He was so happy in Alaska with his best friends. One more reason she couldn’t mate with the Wolfstalkers. Mako would be heartbroken if she left him behind, and he’d be equally crushed if she moved him to Texas. Why couldn’t the Ancients have chosen Alaskan mates for her?
RAINE LEANED AGAINST the fence, staying in view of the truck where his mate had barricaded herself. Not that he blamed her for not wanting to spend time with them after the way their father had treated her. He should’ve done more when he’d called her a bitch, like break a glass dish over his head, but such an act of violence would’ve probably called for more violence and put Annie at risk of getting caught in the middle.
Raine’s two younger brothers stared at Annie like two mutts drooling over frying bacon. They had every reason to want her. She was a beauty, with long, smooth hair the color of midnight, alabaster skin, and bright blue eyes. Her generous curves made his dick as hard as iron, especially that sweet, round ass. He’d love to dig his fingers into those soft globes while ramming her from behind.
“Why is she so mad at us?” Frey’s lower lip hung down as he stared longingly at Annie’s truck like a starving child drooling over a cupcake. “It’s not our fault our father’s a dick.”
Jax leaned against the fence and cast Magnus a furtive glance. “This wasn’t how I envisioned our first date.”
“Me neither,” Frey said.
Magnus didn’t respond. He just kept staring at the field of grazing cows, his face a mask of indifference. Raine’s blood boiled. His brother should’ve been leading the fight to win over their mate.
Jax jerked upright as if he’d been jolted by a cattle prod. “We can’t let her go back to Alaska.”
“What are we supposed to do?” Frey asked.
“Exactly what she told us to do.” Raine shrugged, casting Magnus a sideways glare. “She’s right. We didn’t do enough when Father insulted her.”
Swearing, Magnus pushed off the fence and faced the rolling, grassy hills. “She expects too much of us,” he grumbled.
Ah, so the brooding alpha brother had something to say after all.
“No, you expect too little of yourself,” Raine grumbled. “You’re the oldest. We should be following your lead, and you should have been first to defend our mate.”
Magnus’s eyes flashed gold. “With this?” He thrust his stump in Raine’s face before shoving it back in his pocket.
“Stop using your disability as an excuse.” Raine was so pissed, he was seeing red. “I could kick that old man’s ass with one hand tied behind my back. So can you, so stop being a pussy.” To emphasize his point, Raine shoved one hand in his pocket and pushed Magnus with the other.
Magnus backed up a step, hurt flashing in his eyes before he turned and marched to the barn, refusing to spare any of them a backward glance.
“Damn you, Magnus!” Raine shook a fist at his retreating back. “Why don’t you get mad for once?” What the hell was the matter with him? Raine had been hoping that Annie’s presence would bring Magnus out of his shell, but he hid behind his disability even more with her around. If Raine didn’t know any bet
ter, he would’ve thought Magnus didn’t want to be loved. “Don’t fuck this up for us!” he hollered, and a moment later Magnus slammed the rusty doors shut.
Raine started to go after him, but Jax latched onto him. “Leave him alone.”
“I can’t.” Raine shook him off. “Don’t you see we need Magnus on our side?”
“He won’t help us until he’s ready.”
“We can’t do it without him.” He scowled at Annie’s truck. “Stay here and keep an eye on her.” Then he marched to the barn with purposeful strides.
Throwing open the door, he waited a moment while his eyes adjusted to the dim light. Magnus was at the workbench, slamming tools around while tearing apart an old carburetor.
Feeling Magnus’s tension radiating across the dirt floor, Raine approached his brother cautiously. “We can’t stand up to Father without you.”
Crashing a wrench on the counter, Magnus looked up at him with blazing eyes. “What good do you think it will do?”
“He called our mate a bitch. We can’t let that slide.”
Magnus let out a bitter laugh, tapping his head with the end of a screwdriver. “You don’t think his words are burning a hole through my skull right now?”
Something about the hopeless look in Magnus’s eyes made Raine’s anger deflate like a popped balloon. “She thinks we’re cowards.”
The creases in Magnus’s brow deepened. “Maybe she’s right.”
“Damn you.” How could his brother be so apathetic? “Get mad at that asshole for once!”
“You think I’m not mad as hell?” Magnus roared, punching the wooden bench and creating a fist-sized hole. “Every time I stand up to him, he just reminds me of what I am—half a wolf.”
He gazed at the damage Magnus had done. Their fathers had destroyed everything else they owned, but Raine and Jax had spent days building and sanding that bench. Was it too much to expect one thing in this shithole to stay intact? He looked at his brother, his heart stopping at the pain he saw in his glassy eyes. He knew Magnus had been transported back to the night of his fourteenth birthday, the night everyone’s lives went to hell.