A lantern maybe? Something with glass.
I grabbed it and, when it came free, brought it down hard over Travis’s head.
He yelled and jumped back, holding his eye.
I took off, feeling for anything that might trip me up as I hurried toward what I hoped was the door.
It flew open just as I reached it, revealing a large figure silhouetted against the night sky. I tried sidestepping the intruder at the last minute then shrieked as hands came up to grip my shoulders.
“It’s me, Cat. It’s okay.”
I nearly crumpled at the sound of East’s voice and instead plastered my body to his and hung on.
“It’s okay. I’m here.” His voice was like music to my ears. “Are you hurt?” he asks.
I shook my head, not trusting my own voice.
“Stay here.” He picked me up and set me aside just as Travis launched himself toward us.
I found myself outside on the sagging front porch and watched as East disappeared inside the cabin. A crash sounded, then another, followed by a menacing growl that was more wolf than human. Inching toward the open door, I peered in and strained to see what was happening.
“You’re going to pay for putting your hands on her.” East’s voice held a note of violence I’d never heard before, and I shivered with the promise of what he was going to do.
“Oh, it was more than hands, mutt.”
East growled and attacked.
Figures moved among the broken furniture. Thumps and thuds echoed between them as they knocked things out of the way to get closer. A punch was thrown, and I couldn’t be sure, but it looked like Travis went down on one knee.
One of the figures transformed from two legs to four. Then, the second one did the same.
My heart pounded as the two collided.
I wanted to believe East would be stronger than Travis, but worry kept me from feeling any kind of relief. The fight looked vicious even in the dark.
I had to help him.
Creeping back inside, I used the grainy light coming through the open door to find a piece of the chair I’d broken earlier when I fell. Gripping it in my hands, I inched closer to the fight.
Fur and claws flew as they came at each other again and again.
This close, it was easy to recognize East. His light gray coat contrasted with the shadows, but more than that, his wolf was much bigger than Travis’s wiry, brown frame.
Their next tumble nearly took me out. I leaped clear before a claw could slash through my skin then scrambled up onto the kitchen table. In high school, I’d secretly dreamed of becoming a werewolf like Easton. But I’d never wanted it more than I did in this moment.
To protect the man I loved.
East tossed me a look that I knew was meant to reprimand me. I didn’t need words to know he wanted me to get the hell out of here. But I wasn’t leaving without him. Instead, I hovered on top of the table, watching and waiting for some opening that I could use to help.
Travis’s claw buried itself in East’s throat and pulled. East’s fur tore, leaving a thin red line of blood.
“No!” The scream ripped from my throat, the pain of his wound echoing in my own body.
I gasped, but East only looked more furious. He doubled down, swiping at Travis then snapping out with his canines. Travis dodged both, the effort sending him reeling away. Off-balance. Creating a gap between them the size of a human woman.
Urgency gripped me, and a voice inside me whispered, now.
I leaped from the table, clearing the space below me where East still crouched. Both wolves stopped moving, too surprised by my attack to do anything but watch me fall.
The moment felt suspended like magic had slowed it to allow all my slower senses to keep up.
Below me, Travis began to straighten, but it was too late. The chair leg in my hands sank into his exposed throat. He yelped, twisting away, but I held on, using all my strength to shove the wooden shard as far as it would go.
“Cat, look out!”
Travis’s paw swung blindly, catching me in the thigh.
My skin sliced open. Blood pooled then dripped down my knee.
I rolled away, not stopping until I hit the wall with a thud that stole my breath. My vision blurred, and I squinted up at the sight of a female silhouette framed in the open doorway.
Outside, thunder boomed, and lightning cracked, illuminating the woman for a split second. Long, reedy-thin arms lifted to the sky, and sharp, dark eyes found mine, intense enough to make me forget about my injury for a moment.
I’d never seen her before, but I knew instinctively she was here to help me. Her mouth opened, but when she spoke, I swore it was an echoing voice inside my head rather than anything spoken aloud.
When blood is spilled under the moon, the fates will have their offering.
Her cryptic words were unsettling like a warning. Or a solution to a problem I didn’t yet understand. I tried scooting closer, to ask her what they meant. But her form shimmered like moonlight over a pond. Then I blinked, and she was gone.
Beyond where she’d stood, I caught sight of a slivered moon hanging low between parted clouds. And all I could think of was unleashing the wolf. If only the thought made sense.
East jumped up and moved in, putting himself between Travis and me. Then, he stalked to where Travis now lay, bleeding from his throat.
Travis’s eyes were still crazed, but he didn’t move as East approached.
I held my breath, terrified it was some trick to lure East in too far. He was already bleeding from where Travis’s claws had gotten him earlier.
But when East got close, Travis only blinked in a slow, desperate motion. Mercy, his eyes seemed to plead.
Screw that.
I started to get to my feet, but East was faster.
He bit down on Travis’s throat, sinking his teeth in past fur and flesh. There was a ripping sound as East tore away tissue and muscle and tossed it aside. Travis whimpered, blood pouring from his ripped neck, puddling on the floor.
Even from here, I could see the dark stain spreading around him.
East didn’t move again until the life left Travis’s eyes, dead where he lay in a pool of his own blood.
The silence became a roar in my ears.
Slowly, East turned from Travis’s body and approached me. My leg was covered in blood, and I had a puddle of my own underneath where I sat. But all I cared about was East. He was bleeding—badly—from the cut on his neck and another along his ribs. Scattered over his body, there were several more patches of fur stained with blood. It was impossible to know how bad those were while he was a wolf.
When he got close, he stopped, and the air between us thickened with a mystical energy. The ends of my hair danced on an invisible wind. I shut my eyes against the sawdust flying. When I opened them, East stood on two legs again.
He crouched in front of me, concern lining his shadowy features.
“How bad is it?” he asked in a strained voice.
I noted the open wounds slashing across his collarbone and hip then followed his gaze down to where he was staring at my still-bleeding leg. I swallowed hard at the amount of blood pooling beneath me. It was a lot. Too much.
“Not terrible,” I said. “Just a lot of blood. I’ll be fine.”
East’s eyes filled with sadness. We both knew I wouldn’t be fine.
He took off his shirt and wrapped it around my leg above the cut, tying it tightly to stem the bleeding. I stared at his torso, completely in awe of his defined chest and rippling abs, and horrified at the angry slashes marring that perfection.
“Cat?”
East’s voice brought me back.
It was still so damn quiet.
“I’m going to carry you out of here, all right?”
Why did he sound like that? So careful and bland? Where was his temper? His worry?
I fought back the urge to cry. “Okay.”
He scooped me carefully into his arms, and
I should have been glad at the way he made sure not to jostle my injured leg. But as he carried me outside, all I could think about was how mad he should be right now.
Outside, the light from the stars made it easier to see his face. It was set in hard lines, but when he saw me watching, it smoothed into an expression I’d never seen him wear before. Gentleness mixed with a terror that broke my heart.
I tapped his cheek. He looked down at me as he stopped beside Travis’s truck.
“You came for me.”
He arched a brow. “Did you think I would just leave you out here with that psycho?”
My thoughts were slow to come through the haze of pain. “And you’re glad to see me now?”
“What the hell kind of question is that?” he asked, and I was glad to hear some of his temper creeping in. It made me feel more normal somehow. “Of course I’m glad.”
“But you’re mad, too, right?”
He used his free hand to open the passenger door to Travis’s truck. As he talked, he set me on the bench seat. “I’m not mad.”
I took his hand. “East, I need you to bite me.”
He stared at me for long enough that I knew he didn’t understand. Or think I was sane anymore.
“Cat, listen, you’re obviously in shock. I’m going to put you right here in the truck and go find Travis’s keys so we can get you back to town and have your leg fixed up.”
I grabbed his arm before he could walk away. “I’m not in shock.”
His expression made it clear he didn’t believe me.
“I saw a woman. Earlier. Inside the cabin. She said some things.”
His eyes narrowed. “What kind of things?”
I shook my head, knowing I wouldn’t get this right. “A mate for a mate is what the fates demand.”
I could feel his shock in the same way I could feel the pain of his wounds echoing inside me.
“What does it mean?” I asked.
“What did she look like?” East’s voice was hoarse now.
“Tall, thin. I can’t be sure because the lighting sucked, but I had the sense of serious resting bitch face.”
He growled, and I knew it all meant something. Something important. I had a feeling I already knew what. Now, I just had to accept it.
“East,” I said when he stared up at the moon. A vein in his throat was pulsing in the same place my own thudded with my erratic heartbeat, and I knew my gut instinct was correct on this.
When he looked back at me, I shoved the pain in my leg aside and gave him my “I mean business” face. “I need you to bite me. I think it’s the only way to save you.”
“This isn’t about me,” he said, squeezing his eyes shut in a desperation that meant we were running out of time. “This is about you, Cat. I can’t . . . If I bite you, I think it means…”
“Means what?” I demanded. I needed to hear him say it. To know I wasn’t crazy.
And we needed to hurry.
“Okay, listen to me.” He grabbed both my hands and squeezed tight. “I went to the witches. I met with their coven leader, and she said my healing wasn’t up to me. It was up to someone else. A woman whose fate was tangled with mine.”
My brows shot up. “And you don’t believe me because you have another woman in mind?”
“What? No, of course not.”
“Okay, so then why are we still arguing about this?”
“Because.” He hesitated and then said, “I think if I bite you . . . you’ll become a werewolf. Like me.”
Any other night, under any other moon—okay, if I wasn’t already bleeding out—I might have paused over that. But too much had happened tonight, and this was honestly not the craziest part, in my opinion. I didn’t even flinch as I said, “Don’t you think I’ve already figured that out?”
He dropped my hands, jaw hanging half-open. I filed that away for later. For once, I’d made him speechless.
It wasn’t nearly as satisfying as I’d hoped, though. Not when I could already see his refusal in his eyes. And I couldn’t blame him. He’d watched his werewolf father abuse his human mother over and over again. I knew he was terrified of doing anything to hurt me. But I wasn’t her, and East damn sure wasn’t his father.
I pushed ahead, impatience making the words blunt.
“If you don’t bite me, I’ll die. And so will you.”
“Cat.” Anguish shone in his eyes as he glanced down at the blood pouring steadily from my wounded leg.
“Is that what you want?” I pressed, my voice rough.
“Of course not.”
“Then what are you waiting for?”
“I don’t want you to regret it,” he blurted. “I don’t want you to regret me!”
I blinked, my anger draining away faster than the blood from my leg. Grabbing his hand, I pulled him close.
“I have never regretted you, East. Not once. Not even when you left me without so much as a goodbye text. And I won’t regret this now. It’s what I want. Even if it wasn’t a package deal.” My lips twitched. “And I’m hoping it is. But even if it wasn’t, I’d still choose to become a wolf. Now, stop being angsty and save my life already.”
East stared back at me, and for a second, I thought he’d still refuse. But then he growled, his expression flashing with determination as he shifted. I watched him approach, his enormous body taking up all the space in the open door of the truck where I sat. It was the first time I’d ever seen him fully shifted. He’d always been too afraid of hurting me to let me see him like this before.
When he hesitated, I knew he was still afraid of that.
I eased out of the truck and sat on the grass, my legs outstretched. I leaned against the truck bed and looked at East, smiling in reassurance.
“I know you don’t want to hurt me,” I said. “But if you don’t do this, you’ll lose me.”
He huffed.
“Please, East.”
He came forward, and when his lips pulled back to reveal sharp canines, I squeezed my hands together to keep from flinching. Then I turned so my throat was bared to him and closed my eyes.
“Do it,” I whispered.
Hot breath tickled my skin as he inched closer, but I braced myself, knowing there was more to come.
When he bit, I moaned. It hurt like hell, but the pain receded far quicker than I expected. In its place was a strange tingling sensation that started in my throat where he’d torn my skin and spread to the rest of me.
East whined and stayed close, his furry body pressing against my good leg for comfort. His large yellow eyes watched me sharply, and I did my best to hold his gaze, but as the pain disappeared, my lids drooped.
Exhaustion, like I’d never known, came over me.
I smiled as I gave in to it. “Thank you,” I whispered. “It’s okay now.”
As I slipped away, a long, low howl filled the silence.
20
Easton
Cat’s transition nearly killed me.
If I had to bite her to save her, I’d do it. Again and again. but the idea of hurting her—or that we’d misinterpreted Delphine’s words—was an agonizing torture beyond anything I’d ever felt before. Sitting and waiting for something to happen was the worst hour of my life.
The first thing to change was her breathing.
The fact that I could clearly see a steady rise and fall of her chest was the only reason I didn’t completely lose my shit as I sat and watched her. But slow and steady turned to rapid and shallow, and I could hear her heartbeat accelerating—a sign of the shift.
My wolf whined, and I began to pace.
After that, her bleeding stopped, and her wounds closed.
Healing.
This was a good sign.
But she still wasn’t awake. And she was still human.
Fuck. The stress of waiting was going to kill me before any of these deep, slicing wounds did.
They were bad. Travis had gotten me good. I didn’t bother telling Cat, and I had no idea if
she’d noticed that if you looked closely enough at the one on my hip, you could see tissue and bone.
It hurt like a motherfucker.
My wolf didn’t even register the pain, though. Not while I waited for my mate to complete the change.
My mate.
The words gave me chills and filled my heart in all the hollow places. She had to survive this.
Or Delphine would wish she’d never met with me that day on her piece of shit porch. I’d make her pay if she took Cat from me.
Finally . . . finally, Cat’s body began to change.
First, fur sprouted along her arms and legs, and then her limbs morphed. The snap of her bones breaking and reforming echoed through the trees.
I stilled, watching and waiting.
And praying to whatever fate had sent us this gift.
At last, the change was finished. Cat as a wolf was fucking glorious. Beautiful and graceful and with fur the color of snow. My wolf was mesmerized.
It wasn’t until she began to wake that I jumped up and realized the movement hadn’t sent shooting pain through my organs.
I looked down and found all my wounds healed and closed—just like hers. Delphine had been telling the truth. Cat’s choice had saved us both.
Then I looked back at Cat, and our eyes locked. The feeling of seeing her awake and whole was one thing. Seeing her as a wolf on top of it all was like nothing I could have imagined. Happiness. Relief. Hope.
It was more than I deserved. She was more than I deserved.
I went to her then, my wolf tongue swiping over her furry face until she was pawing at me to get away. My wolf was undeterred, and we rolled over the grass, nipping and licking at each other.
Finally, I’d had enough. I needed to hold her, man and woman.
Shifting back to human form, I coaxed Cat along until she found the reflexes that allowed her to do the same.
When we were both back on two legs again, I scooped her into my arms and lifted her off her feet, kissing her with the force of everything I felt.
“East, I need to breathe.” Cat laughed, finally prying us apart, but I didn’t let her go.
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