Show No Fear (Rising Goddess Book 1)

by Tamara White

  "You're fucking crazy! Just leave me the hell alone!" the woman screams, slapping her mate. I suck in a shocked breath, as does Kaden.

  Shit just escalated to supernova.

  The wolf growls and Kaden and I glance at each other, both of us knowing this is going to turn bad fast. I try to tell him with my eyes to let me handle this, but he steps forward anyway, ignoring my pleading expression.

  If this were any other situation, I would have slapped the girl myself, because mate or not, she shouldn’t have hit him. I get they were arguing, but I abhor people who hit their partner, whether it be male or female. That’s just never okay in my book. But we can deal with that later, because right now we have to calm down a wolf who is on the verge of losing it.

  The woman, who still holds the angry wolf’s attention, backs up a step with fear in her eyes. Over the next few moments, the guy seems to grow taller. I know it’s a sign his wolf is taking over and if Kaden and I don't control this situation immediately, then he may just shift.

  I drop my bag to the ground as Kaden slides in between the male and female, trying to get the guy to shift his focus to him.

  "Colby." Kaden snaps his fingers to get the other man’s attention. "Look at me, not her," he demands when Colby looks at him only briefly before turning his attention back to the girl.

  Colby growls and takes a threatening step forward. Kaden, meanwhile, scoots back a little, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "Come on, man. Let's go home and we can talk about this there."

  Why the hell is Kaden being so soft with this guy? Why not use his Alpha influence over him? Unless he isn’t an Alpha? I don't understand, but I don't get a chance to ask either because Colby and his wolf have apparently decided they’ve had enough of this.

  In a blur of motion, he throws a punch, which sends Kaden flying past the terrified girl and slamming into the wall behind her.

  I sigh heavily, knowing I need to step in. This wolf is too far gone to see reason from either of us, so this is really the only way.

  I slide in front of Colby and put my hand on his chest to stop him from moving forward. Then I let the power I usually keep hidden rise up inside me, ready to use if I need it. "Stop," I demand, trying convince him without being forced to use my power. But he still tries to push past me, completely ignoring my hand on his chest.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I can see that Kaden has gotten to his feet and his edging closer to Colby's mate. I just want to shout at him to stay still. Why the hell is he approaching an angry wolf's mate? Has he got a fucking death wish?!

  Fuck, I guess I have to use everything I’ve got. Power rushes through me, the intensity of my rage something I'm unprepared for as it hits me with what feels like the full force of a semi.

  "Colby!" I growl in between pants as the power overwhelms and begins to suffocate my very being. He finally seems to notice my hand on him and that I’m trying to hold him back. I raise my other hand and place it on his chest, before pushing my Alpha command through him. “You will stop right this instant!”

  He looks down at me with surprised blue eyes.

  I turn my head minutely towards Kaden. "You deal with the girl, while I take care of this. Oh, and sweetheart," I add, my gaze narrowing in on the girl. "If you repeat a word of what happened here tonight, or lay a hand on him in anger again, it won't be good for you. Understood?"

  She nods hurriedly and then Kaden leads her out of the room. He turns back, giving me one last look to ensure I’ll be alright alone with Colby. At my nod, Kaden closes the door behind him.

  My attention turns back to Colby, who’s vibrating with anger. "If I let go of you, are you going to be calm enough to have a rational conversation? Or do I need to command you to go back to the frat house?"

  After a moment of him staring at me, his shoulders finally sag in defeat. "Yes, I'm calm enough."

  I remove my hands from his chest at lightning fast speed, hating the fact I had to use my power on him.

  The moment he's free of me, he hurries over to the door Kaden and his mate disappeared through, but I manage to intercept him before he can leave.

  I step between him and the door with my hand raised. "Please don't make me do that again. I don't want to have to control you to keep you here, but I will if I have to. You have royally fucked up whatever it was you were hoping to achieve tonight. So why don't we just stay right here and you can tell me what happened. Who knows, I may even be able to help you," I say with a soft smile, trying to appear calm and neutral, hoping he will be more receptive to the idea if I appear relaxed.

  Colby sighs and begins stalking around the room, running his hand through his golden hair in frustration. Finally he stops and turns to me. "I told Emily what I was and who she was to me. She laughed in my face and told me I was crazy. When I tried to explain that I was being serious, she got angry and came back here. I followed after, of course, but then she tried to kick me out. Now, I have no clue what to do," he admits quietly, his eyes filled with despair.

  Even though I understand the girl’s reaction, I still feel sorry for him and for the pain he's feeling from his mate not accepting him. So I do the only thing I think might help. I hug him, letting that Alpha power soothe him while I do the same physically.

  After a moment, I hear the door open behind us. The smell of buttered popcorn filters into the room, announcing Kaden's return. He enters the room and stares at me in shock. I guess he didn’t think I would be able to calm Colby’s wolf down, but like I told Alex earlier, I have many secrets.

  After a moment, Colby pulls away and smiles down at me, looking a lot more relaxed.

  "Okay, so I have a plan," I say, looking between Kaden and Colby with a wicked smirk.

  "Do you have any female wolves on campus?" I ask, directing the question to Kaden.

  "Uh, no. All the wolves going to school here are part of our fraternity. Why? What kind of plan are you thinking of?"

  "Shit, okay well that changes things a little, but it's still doable. Firstly, you need to find a way to get back in your mate’s good graces," I tell Colby with a stern look. He nods hastily, a small flair of hope entering his eyes.

  "First and foremost, I need to speak to your Alpha. Colby, you disobeyed pack law by revealing your nature without prior approval. The last thing I would want is to see you executed before you even have a chance to claim your mate.”

  Colby drops his head in shame, refusing to look at Kaden or me. He knows he screwed up epically. While I don’t want to make him feel any worse, we really need to sort this out.

  Kaden, on the other hand, rubs a hand on the back of his neck, looking slightly guilty and nervous. What does he have to feel guilty about?

  “Our Alpha is away and won’t be back for some time. Alex and I are acting Alphas in his stead, and as such, we hold the power to make those decisions.”

  I nod slowly, remembering how Drew used to say that sometimes when an Alpha went out of town on business, or to meet with another pack or whatnot, there was someone else left in charge in their absence. But from what I remember, that person should be a wolf almost equal in power to the Alpha.

  The weird thing is that the power I felt coming from Kaden and Alex when I touched them is not even close to what an Alpha would have. Colby, however, has a well of untapped power just waiting to break free. I wonder why he wasn’t the one left in charge then?

  “Okay, well my suggestion was going to be to ask one of your female pack members to cozy up to your mate, and maybe slowly introduce her to the possibility that you were telling the truth. With the Alpha’s permission of course. But now that I think of it, she might be too afraid for that to work anyway. Hmmm..." I consider the situation for a moment and then an idea comes to mind.

  "Right, what you need to do is woo her. Leave her flowers, notes, all that sappy stuff in places she will find them, without being creepy about it that is. Don’t leave poems for her in her room, or anywhere private that she hasn’t invited you. That ju
st screams stalkerish.

  “If after a few days, she still hasn’t approached you, then go talk to one of your female pack members into raising the stakes. When Emily’s around, do things like brushing your pack mate’s hair behind her ear or running your hand down her arm. Things that seem intimate but in reality are completely harmless.

  “Just be careful not to do anything that would hurt your mate’s heart," I advise, thinking back to my own experiences. Drew tried something like this on me when he and Seth first started going to school with me. He ignored me for the most part, at least as far as I could tell, but he left little love notes and flowers on the front porch. For a while I thought it was Seth. But by the time I realized it was actually Drew, he had taken his plan to the next level. He’d already chosen a girl at school to cozy up to in front of me. My jealousy caused the mate instinct to kick in, making me claim him as my own.

  "That's it?" both guys ask in union.

  I laugh at that. "Trust me, guys. Never underestimate how simple things can make a girl feel. Besides you have no idea how jealous a female, even a human, gets when she sees her mate touching someone other than her. It’ll work, I promise." I try not to grimace at my own memory of this, but judging by their curious looks, I didn't hide my expression too well.

  "Would you do it?" Colby asks me.

  I startle at his request, not having expected that.

  "Uhhhhh, I guess I could. Actually, that might work well, since I’ve seen both you and Emily in a few of my classes. Sure, yeah, I'll help. But if she hasn't come to terms with things after a week, then we’ll move onto Plan B, aka me tricking her into following me into the woods where you’ll shift in front of her." I’ll just have to make sure she doesn’t bring a gun with her...

  His blue eyes fill with a renewed hope as he gazes down at me. "You would really do that for me?”

  At my nod, Colby throws himself at me, wrapping his arms around me. Then he begins sobbing into my shoulder.

  I hesitantly reach up to pat his back. "There, there," I say, looking around for Kaden for a lifeline. What the hell? I thought there was some guy rule that says they can’t cry in front of one another? How the fuck do I handle this?

  Kaden grins and shrugs his shoulders with an evil smirk. 'Ass,' I mouth and he flips me off in response.

  I soothe Colby for the next few minutes, all the while glaring daggers at Kaden. After what feels like ages, he finally takes pity on me. "Alright Colby, let's get back to the house. Katie needs to get some rest. She’s staying with us because her own room is… occupied," he explains at Colby's questioning glance.

  I give a relieved smile when Colby finally lets me go. He gives me one last grateful look before walking from the foyer of the building and out into the cool night air. He starts heading down the path to the frat house. Kaden and I follow after him, with me picking up my bag as we pass by it.

  "You don't have to help Colby. We can handle the situation ourselves," Kaden murmurs as we walk.

  I cock my head at Kaden, intrigued that he thinks they can solve this situation on their own. "Really? Because what I saw back there was a wolf with no authority whatsoever, trying to calm down an angry wolf with no success."

  He flushes, then opens his mouth to defend himself but I keep going. I start pointing out everything that could have gone wrong, ticking them off on my hand one by one. "First, you went in there without any kind of backup. Then you tried to touch the mate of a pissed off wolf. And don't even get me started on the fact that you had no real authority over him to begin with. You were practically pleading with him because you knew you didn't stand a chance against him if shit hit the fan."

  He sighs and starts running his hand through his hair. "You're right. Our Alpha is MIA, though. And none of the others hold even a smidgen of dominance apart from Alex and me. I didn't want to escalate the situation, but I'm just so not cut out to be Alpha. Which reminds me, how the hell did you use an Alpha command on him? You're human, well the mate of a wolf, but still human."

  We continue in silence for a minute while I try to gather my thoughts. "Well, I found out not long after meeting my mates that I was actually born to two Alpha wolves. As you probably know, that’s forbidden, and while I wasn’t born crazy, I didn’t have the ability to shift either. They gave me up in the hopes of protecting me from their pack, and my human parents adopted me.

  “Anyway, one of my mates shifted and revealed himself as a wolf when I almost shot my other mate. When the mate I almost shot, who was the Alpha of the pack, told me what the repercussions would be, I got super pissed. Like 'I'm gonna cut a bitch’ angry and it just rose up out of me without thought. It came with a catch though. The first time I used my Alpha command, a swirling ball of rage accompanied it, which has been a part of me ever since. Now it’s a constant effort, trying to keep it locked up tight and keep from losing control."

  "Is that what happened when I hit you?" he asks, his tone questioning.

  I laugh loudly, which causes Colby to stop in his tracks and turn back towards us. When I regain my composure, I grin at Kaden. "That was not my ball of rage, man. If you even suspect that it’s been unleashed, you’d better run for your life. I keep a tight hold on it, but every day it grows stronger and the day I finally snap, I may just go insane like they say the children of Alpha wolves all inevitably do.”

  "Noted," he says quickly. Then he shivers slightly as a tremor of fear runs through him.

  I really don’t blame him for being so afraid because I was being one hundred percent honest. I have no idea what will happen when that rage finally takes control of me. My parents thought it may trigger my ability to shift but I have this feeling that whatever it is is something much, much worse.

  Kaden changes the subject back to Colby. "You never really explained why you are willing to help, though. There's a vast difference between listing my faults and telling me why you're so keen to help," he says with a smirk, bumping my shoulder playfully.

  I sigh heavily, knowing I’ll have to reveal more of my past in order for him to understand exactly where I'm coming from.

  "I want to help Colby because when I found out about my mates, I wanted to run screaming. I literally shot one of them when he shifted in front of me. Then I proceeded to push them away out of fear. Now, when I look back on that time, it’s the one thing I regret most. If I had accepted them sooner, then I would have had more time with them. Maybe then, things would have turned out differently."

  "So you do have more than one mate, then,” Kaden mused. “I heard you mention having one that passed away. But then you mention this other one, and no offense, but the guy sounds like a major dick."

  I chuckle at his description of Drew, because Kaden is spot on with his assessment. Drew is a dick. One that I hate to love. Even now, after everything that happened between us, I still care for him, much as I’d like to deny it.

  "Yes, I have two mates technically. The first one died. The second, well suffice it to say I wish that fate had taken him instead of Seth. My other mate is an arrogant prick. He's the guy I was talking about back there, the one who used another female to make me jealous, but the difference is he never kept it innocent. He was a fucking horn dog and he used my jealousy to try and manipulate me. He thought just because he was an Alpha that he had every right to do the things he did. But I don't care who the fuck he is, there are some things you do not do, and touching another woman when you know you have a mate, even if she’s still undecided, is just sick."

  "I'm sorry, Katie. He sounds like an absolute douche. Is he here? On campus, I mean?"

  I shake my head at the sheer ridiculousness of the question. As if Drew would ever care about another person enough to follow them away to college. "I have no idea where Drew is. The last time I saw him was the day of Seth's funeral. He mocked me, claiming that I would call him again because my heat would strike and I'd need him to get through it. Well, the joke was on him because I got through it without his fucking help. Anyway, that
was the last time I saw the man who claimed to be my true mate."

  I hear Colby gasp from up ahead. He turns and looks back at me in complete awe, and Kaden appears floored by the news as well.

  It takes him a few minutes, but Kaden finally regains the ability to speak. "True mates... That's... Shit, Katie, I really want to find this guy and punch him for you."

  "You'll have to get in line." I wink at him and then continue walking, catching up to Colby. Kaden runs to catch up, neither of them saying anything. We walk the rest of the way back to the frat house in silence while I think about Drew.

  I never thought it would be possible to both love and hate a person like I do him. Drew seemed to be the perfect mate until he started teaching me about everything to do with the packs. That was the beginning of the end of us. Things between Seth and I changed, with us spending less and less time together because Drew was keeping me busy with learning about the pack.

  Drew changed during those lessons. At the end of each session, he would insist my true mate was the only one I needed. Then, he finally forced the issue, demanding that I choose. And when Seth told me he wanted me to choose his brother over him to avoid any conflict between us, that settled it for me. I wanted to be with a man who was capable of love, not one who was happy to manipulate me at every turn.

  And then there was everything that happened with the accident. I blame Drew in part for that as well, because one of the reasons I held back from going through a successful heat cycle with Seth was because I wanted Drew too. I felt it would be unfair to rub his face in the fact that we were trying for a child when I knew Drew wanted one more than anything. At least he did before he left, but still it felt like I was betraying him.

  On some level, I think Seth knew I was holding back because of Drew, despite reassuring him that he was more than enough for me. Even after he left, Drew hovered over our relationship. I hated that he hadn’t been willing to share me like Seth had suggested. It had seemed like the perfect situation to me. They both got me, and I got both of them. But that wasn't enough for Drew. And now they’re both gone and I’m all alone.