by Casey Morgan
There was a gentle knock at the hotel door and my whole body rejoiced at the sound. She had come back.
Part of me wanted to cry out with joy and take my mate into my arms. But I reminded myself that nothing had changed. We couldn’t be together and that was that. Celeste coming back, begging, was not going to make anything different.
My temper flared. She had disobeyed.
“I told you to go home, Celeste!” I yelled towards the door.
She knocked again. She was determined.
My body got up with a will of its own. She had come back, and I needed her so much. I tried to stay angry, but the rage fell off me. I just wanted her in my arms again. It was stupid and selfish, but I couldn’t do anything else.
“I’m so sorry, my love. I don’t want to push you away, but I don’t know how to fix this…” I swung open the door and looked down at Mary.
I must have blushed. I could feel my cheeks go hot.
Mary looked a little embarrassed for me. She gave me a sideways glance but didn’t quite meet my eyes.
“Hello, Mr. Whitepaw…” she stuttered. “I mean Mason. I’m sorry… I’m not Celeste.”
Her shoulders were hunched, and her voice shook as she spoke.
“Come on in from the cold, Mary.”
I walked away from the door, so the girl could come inside. She followed me, inching forward reluctantly and eyeing every bit of my dilapidated room.
I sat in one of the kitchenette’s chairs and looked at her. Mary was so small. She was hardly five foot tall. Had Celeste sent her closest friend to plead with me? I had heard that humans did that sometimes. It seemed weak for a wolf.
She settled into the wooden chair opposite of me, looking like a child pretending to be an adult. We sat in an uncomfortable silence. Mary’s eyes roamed all over my face.
I wasn’t sure what her scrutiny was for. Was she deciding if I was good enough for her best friend?
“Can I get you a drink?”
“Celeste is a dog.”
We spoke at the same time.
I felt like I had been punched in the gut.
“What?”
Mary’s hands fidgeted on the arms of her chair.
“She’s a dog. Or a wolf, really. I guess she is a wolf. Big, gray and fluffy,” she rambled.
I couldn’t find my voice.
Celeste had shifted?
It was so soon.
Or was it?
I had never gone through this process before.
Oh, God!
I should have warned her about how much it hurt. Hell, I should have been there to guide her through it!
“…and well, I read a book that had werewolves in it. It was a fantasy. I think. Maybe not. But that is what she is, right? And you, too?”
Mary’s big blue eyes searched my face.
“Yes,” I told her, deciding that she deserved to know the full truth, after coming here to help her friend. I knew she wasn’t normally so brave.
Her lips clamped together, and her eyes went wide.
“Did you make her a werewolf? Did you bite her? Or…”
She leaned in.
“Was it a sexual thing?” she whispered, a hand held up to cover part of her mouth.
I tried not to laugh.
“No. No, Mary. I didn’t do anything to her. She has always been a werewolf. You knew she was adopted, right?”
Mary nodded.
“Do her parents know?”
“Yes, but they don’t like it.”
My mind snapped back to the issue at hand.
“So, she’s in wolf form now?”
She nodded again.
“But unharmed.”
Another nod.
“Where is she? She didn’t go home?”
“There’s a shed on the grounds of the Gray Acres High School. The lock has been broken for years. We used to hide there at lunch, for fun, or sometimes when we got bullied, which wasn’t very fun. I told her to go there.”
She glanced away from me.
“She didn’t want to come here, but I knew we needed your help.”
“Smart girl!”
Mary smiled under my praise and seemed a little taller.
I stood and grabbed my duster.
“Lead on,” I commanded. “The sooner we get to her, the sooner I can guide her through the change back.”
Mary jumped up and we both hurried out the door.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Mason
It started snowing as we walked through the town. I offered Mary my duster, but she refused. She just huddled further into her own thread-bare coat and wrapped her arms around her chest.
After about three blocks, she was shaking so visibly that she could hardly walk. She had her head pulled down so low, she bumped into a mailbox.
“Stop.”
I reached out and put a hand on her shoulder.
I took off my coat and set it on the mailbox. I pulled my hoodie off next. Mary looked up at me with large blue eyes.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
I handed her the hoodie.
“Put this on over your coat,” I ordered.
She blinked at me and didn’t move.
“Go on. You’re freezing. Put it on.”
She pulled my ratty blue hoodie over her head and then smoothed it down. It came to her knees and the sleeves flopped over her hands.
“Now the coat.”
She pulled the duster from the mailbox and wiggled into it as well. It was going to drag on the ground as she walked, but there was little I could do to prevent that.
“Better?” I asked.
She gave me a small nod; her breath was more even, and her face was less pale, so I knew it helped.
“I’m going to shift. Don’t be scared,” I told her. “I can still understand you in wolf form. Just please pick up my pants and the rest for me.”
Mary’s eyes were a bit wide with fear, but she gave me another quick nod.
I woke my inner wolf and gave him the power. I felt my eyes start to glow and Mary took a few steps back.
Fire burned in my limbs as they moved and shrunk. My nose broke and elongated into my snout. Fur covered my skin. My paws hit the ground and I shook my clothing off me.
I looked up—it was only a few inches—into Mary’s eyes. Her mouth formed a little O and she was frozen to the spot where she stood.
I nudged her with my head, trying to get her to gather my things and go. She wasn’t quite sure what I wanted, so she petted me and scratched my ears. I had to pull back. It felt good but was a bit undignified.
“Let’s go!” I tried to bark at her, and I circled my pile of clothing.
She shook herself a bit.
“Oh! Okay,” she muttered. “Sorry, Mason.”
The small girl took the time to fold my things and set them into a nice pile, before she pulled them into her arms. Then she continued down the street towards the High School. I trotted at her side, just like a trained pet.
As we walked, I caught her glancing at me. I gave her a look and nodded my head to tell her to say what she was thinking.
“You’re big for a dog.”
I growled a bit. I wasn’t a dog.
Her eyebrows shot up.
“Oh! Was that insulting? You’re a wolf, right? I shouldn’t call you a dog.”
I barked my approval with a loud yip. When we rounded the last few blocks and came up to the high school’s football field, Mary started running. I trotted along beside her, keeping up easily with her short little legs.
A run-down tan shed came into view between the school buildings and the field. That was where Celeste was hiding. My heart ached to see her and apologize for not guiding her through her first shift.
“Celeste!” Mary called, as we ran towards the shack. “I knew I wasn’t supposed to, but I brought Mason. He’s going to help you change back.”
She grabbed the door to the shed and pulled it open.
&nbs
p; It was empty.
There was no wolf inside.
Celeste was gone.
I whined and stalked around the narrow shed. There was evidence of where Celeste slept, but nothing to indicate where she had gone.
Mary was so scared that she sat down, her legs too shaky to stand on. I trotted over to her to make sure she was okay. She wound her little arms around my neck and pulled me close like a teddy bear. I bore it, but told myself that when things calmed down, Mary needed instructions on how to deal with werewolves.
“I don’t understand,” she cried into my fur. “I told her to stay here. Why would she leave?”
As I was struggling to breathe in Mary’s tight grip, my eyes caught sight of a scrap of paper. I whined until she let me go and then I scooped it up with my teeth. I gave it to Mary to read.
“Pup,” she read, “I have the—oh, I’m not going to say that word, but I think he means Celeste—at The Grinder. I told you to keep your hands off my things. If you try to come get her, I will teach you the lesson you deserve.”
She blinked down at the piece of paper for a few seconds.
“It’s not signed.”
Terrell.
I sat back on my haunches and dropped my head. He had probably already bound her to him.
Should I even go over there?
My heart said yes, but I still didn’t know if I was alpha enough to help Celeste.
Mary eyed me.
“Are we going?” she asked.
I shook my head.
“Why? Are you scared of this kidnapper?”
I barked no.
“Then what’s the problem? Celeste needs you. And for some reason, she wants you. Shouldn’t you go help her?”
Something about her words rang true. Celeste wanted me. She knew I was broken and yet, that didn’t matter to her. She kept trying to be with me and I pushed her away.
I should have listened to her and fought to be by her side. That was exactly what I was going to do now.
Determined, I barked happily at Mary, then I put my snout to my pile of clothing. I needed to shift back and head to The Grinder. I was trying to indicate to Mary for her to turn her head, but she just stared at me wide-eyed with misunderstanding.
Finally, I gave up and started the shift. At first, she was watching the whole thing, but she turned away when she realized that I was going to be nude. Once I was human, I grabbed my boxers and put them on first.
“You can hold onto my coat,” I told her as I dressed. “But I’ll need the hoodie for the few blocks to The Grinder.”
She pulled off the jacket and then the hoodie.
“So, we are going to get Celeste?”
“Yep.”
She nodded. “And after this, you’re never going to let her go or push her away?”
I turned to look into her eyes.
“I promise, Mary.”
And I meant it. But first I hoped to have the chance to have any kind of a future at all with Celeste. We had to get to The Grinder—and quickly.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Celeste
I was mad as hell. Sure, any girl who gets kidnapped would be mad, but normally they would also be scared.
I wasn’t scared, not at all. All I could feel was rage. In that moment, with a black bag over my head and my wrists bound, I knew I was capable of horrible things. I would rip these men apart to get free.
What would my father think? Maybe I am a monster.
I shifted my weight and leaned to the wall or whatever it was that was closest to my back. It felt pretty solid, so I figured that it wasn’t a car door. I tried to keep the windbreaker down and covering my thighs, but it was hard, with my hands tied.
The air smelled. There was a putrid scent that was like a combination of wet dog and rancid meat. It was overwhelming. I longed to hold my nose but couldn’t. Annoyed, I rolled my shoulders back and pulled at the chains that bound me.
“Little pup is still fighting.”
The gruff voice came from my left and I turned towards it quickly. Part of me wanted to growl or snap my jaws.
“Woohoo,” the same voice swore. “Look at her flinch. She’s a real wild one.”
“Indeed,” said another voice, this one deeper. “Take off that hood and let’s have a look at my new mate.”
Mate? Oh no! What the fuck?
I heard footsteps and could smell a man coming towards me. It wasn’t just his cologne that filled my nostrils. There was something underneath, musky and raw—like a wild animal. I pulled back into myself, just as a voice rang out in my head.
Woof!
It wasn’t so much words, but feelings and images that plagued my brain.
Maybe they were memories?
I saw, in my mind, a pack of wolf pups hunting and snarling together. I remembered how cold noses felt as they burrowed into my fur when my brothers and sisters were cuddling with me. There were four of us, close in age, all playful and loving—until they were gone, and I was alone.
A hand gripped the hood that covered my head and pulled. My thoughts were interrupted by the flash of light that blinded me for a second. I blinked rapidly, hoping that my eyes would adjust soon.
The smell was slightly better. At least there was some fresh air coming from somewhere.
When my eyes adjusted, I looked around a bit. The two men who stood before me seemed to wait for me to do so. They lounged against the wall and just watched me as I glanced from side to side.
I was in the corner of a small room. The walls were concrete, with no insulation, so it must have been some kind of warehouse. A look at the ceiling confirmed that. It had exposed metal beams and I could see ventilation shafts.
There were two metal doors. They both looked thick and had large locks.
“Well, she’s certainly well endowed.”
My eyes shot back to the two men. I recognized one as the bartender from The Grinder. Tall, thin and with a narrow face, what I remembered most was his long, dark brown braid. When I first talked to him, I noticed it, because I had never seen a man with hair so long.
He was dressed similarly to how he was the day that I went to The Grinder, in black jeans and a leather vest with no shirt. It wasn’t exactly a style I cared for.
His beady eyes were focused on my breasts, or rather, their shape beneath my sweater. I hunched my shoulders to hide them as best I could.
“Leon, stop,” the other man commanded. “You’re making her uncomfortable.”
The other man was taller—close to Mason’s height. He was broad in the shoulders as well, but that was where the similarities ended. This man had a long face with a beak-like nose and a very large chin.
His eyes, which were almost black, were so small they hid under his brutish brows. He noticed me looking at him, walked the few steps towards me, and knelt.
Woof! my mind screamed, and I bid it to be silent.
“I’m Terrell. If you promise to be a good girl, I will unbind you,” he offered, in a kind voice.
That grated on my nerves. Nothing he did was kind and he couldn’t convince me that it was.
“I will promise no such thing,” I barked.
I pulled at my binds again, trying to shift onto my knees. The ropes around my ankles kept me from doing so.
The ugly man pulled back like I had bitten him. Leon laughed.
“She’s got a temper on her, eh?” he said, absentmindedly pulling at the braid that fell over his shoulder.
Terrell scratched the oily stubble his chin.
“That’s not all,” he mumbled to his associate. “Look at her eyes. She’s going to try to shift down here.”
Leon dropped his braid and looked over at me. His bushy brows pulled together and caused his forehead to wrinkle.
When Terrell met his gaze, he gave the bigger man a slight nod.
“Yep, she is on the cusp and unbound. Best rebind her in silver.”
“Go get the chains.”
Leon left, out the door dire
ctly behind him, and I was alone with Terrell. I didn’t feel any safer. He reached forward to grab my leg, but then seemed to think better of it and stopped. He stood and went to lean on the rough concrete wall.
“I regret that this had to happen this way.” I hated his light conversational tone. “I should have come to you earlier. But I had to wait until your first shift. When I saw you as a wolf tonight, well, let’s just say that it was a dream come true. This was longer than I wanted to wait. I would have preferred to have had you right after your eighteenth birthday.”
He seemed to almost say this last part to himself, but then he looked over at me and ran his eyes up and down my body.
“My original plan was to woo you like a proper suiter. But having that lame wolf in town really messed that up.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I snapped.
Nothing ever made sense anymore.
“You were born to be a queen, Celeste. My werewolf queen. And I have been waiting to taste you, to make you mine for a long time.”
He put out his hands like he was going to take me in his arms.
I scooted closer to the wall.
“Eww! Gross!”
Terrell frowned. If this was the moment he had been dreaming of, then it was going poorly for him.
He moved closer to me and leaned down. His face hovered inches from mine.
“You accept that you are a werewolf?”
I nodded.
“When a werewolf is without a pack and shifts for the first time, they start to go mad. You need to commit yourself to an alpha or the beast will take over,” he explained.
He inched closer to me.
His were lips just inches from my skin and I could feel his hot breath.
“Once you commit yourself to me, all the rage and blood lust you feel will go away. I will lead you and mate with you and our pack will be stronger because of it.”
This guy was nuts. I had no intention of doing anything with him— especially not mating.
“I already have a boyfriend,” I lied—sort of.
Mason may have rejected me, but I hadn’t forgotten about him. He was still the only one I wanted.
Terrell chuckled.
“That lone wolf that was protecting your father’s bakery? He’s damaged. He may have been an alpha at one point but now he can’t even tell where another pack is. He walked into my bar, a bar full of his own kind, and thought we were human!”