by Lily Cahill
Nina wrapped her arms around the swell of her stomach, fear gripping her. “I’m leaving LA, Gavin. No one knows yet, not even Rick. But I’ve been planning on leaving the city altogether, the business too.”
Gavin strolled closer, and Nina was frozen.
“I think it’s too late for that, Nina. There’s only one way I’ll only be truly rid of you.”
Then fast—so fast—Gavin reared back and cracked the gun against Nina’s temple, and the world went black.
Nina groaned and tried to sit up, but her hands were tied tight behind her back. She slit her eyes open and realized she was still in her apartment, but it was torn apart. Boxes were ripped open, papers torn.
And her manuscript. Nina groaned again as she recognized notebooks holding ten years of work, ripped to shreds and littering the floor around her. Gavin was bent over a box, rifling through her box of old photos and lighting each one on fire. But it was more than that … more sinister. Nina could see blown up pictures of Drew, the eyes exed out, and magazine clippings about the band with Drew’s head slashed off.
Her hands were sticky, her mouth too. Tentatively, Nina licked her lips, afraid she’d taste blood. Instead, she tasted … wine. In the corner, a bottle of red was smashed, the contents sprayed across the white walls and pooled on the concrete floor.
Terror shivered over Nina and settled like hard ice in her stomach as she realized what Gavin was doing. It was all a set-up. Gavin was making it look like she’d lost her mind over Drew. But what was his end game?
Nina squirmed up to sit and scanned her apartment. She had to get out. Beyond the windows, the night was tar black, but the world quiet. It had to be well after midnight. Maybe Clem had called Drew … maybe Drew was on his way. But could that even save her? He was in Texas and she was in California. Depending on when he got her message, it could be minutes … or it could be hours.
A flare of a new picture going up in flames lit up a corner of her apartment, and she noticed her phone laying not three feet away. If she got there … called 911. Inch by inch, Nina slid closer, her eyes on Gavin. But he was so consumed with destroying her life, he didn’t notice his captive awake.
She was close, so close. Close enough to see her phone blinking—someone had called, maybe help was on the way. Nina stretched, wrenching her bound hands toward the phone.
A boot smashed down on the phone, splintering the screen with an awful crunch.
Gavin hauled Nina to her feet, his mouth twitching. “I have one final assignment for you, Nina. Then we’re going for a little drive.”
Gavin held up a wicked looking knife, and Nina screamed, but Gavin shoved one hand over her mouth and sliced away the ropes tying her with the other. He pushed Nina to her desk and made her sit, then handed her the laptop.
“Open it, go to company email.”
Nina did as she was told.
“You’re going to write out a resignation note to Rick, and it’s going to say exactly what I tell you.”
Silently, her fingers trembling, Nina typed out the note. And it wasn’t just her resignation, it was her suicide note. With Gavin pressing the gun to her temple, he made Nina detail how Drew had knocked her up then left her, that she couldn’t bear to go on without him. Tears spilled over Nina’s eyelashes and dropped onto the keyboard.
“Please, Gavin,” she whispered.
Gavin didn’t respond. He hauled her to her feet once more and shoved her toward the stairs. The gun was cold and hard at the base of her spine as Gavin marched her outside to his waiting car.
The streets were deserted, the bars long since closed. They drove past The Bronze, and Nina sent up a silent supplication that Clem had called Drew. He was her only hope now.
Black faded to gray, and the first fingers of orange bled into the horizon as Gavin drove them toward Point Dume. Nina wrapped her hands around her stomach and closed her eyes.
I love you, she said silently to the baby growing inside of her. If I never meet you, know that I love you so much it scares me. Your father loves you fiercely. You had a family that couldn’t wait to meet you.
She let her head rest against the back of the seat and pictured the life she could have had. Being a seer was imperfect. She saw possibilities, but never certainty. Fate was funny that way. It could push you toward a certain path, but there was always a choice. Somewhere in her past, she must have made the wrong choice. But if these were her final hours, her final minutes, she was going to wash in the possibility of perfect that had once been hers.
She opened her mind, and the visions of one future flooded through her, filled her with light and happiness. Of standing on a ridge with a baby on her hip, watching Drew down in a valley run as a bear. Of three children running around her feet as she brewed coffee in the morning, the wide open Montana sky showing bright through her windows. Of finishing one novel, then another, of dedicating each work to her husband, her children. Of lying in bed with the love of her life, content, happy, fulfilled.
Too soon, the car stopped. Her door opened, and Gavin dragged Nina into the watery morning light. Wind whipped over the cliffs of Point Dume and buffeted Nina’s skin. She breathed deeply, the sharp tang of salt comforting.
“Come on,” Gavin growled.
The cliffs. He was dragging her for the cliffs. That’s how it was going to happen.
Deep inside her, Nina felt something stir. She gasped, and Gavin’s grip on her arm tightened.
He grinned. “You should be scared.”
But she wasn’t, not anymore. It’d been so faint, so slight, but there was no mistaking it. She’d felt her baby move inside her. This wasn’t just her life Gavin was trying to end, but her baby’s.
And there was no way that was going to happen.
Gavin shoved Nina toward the edge, then stopped. He yanked her around to stare at him, and he shoved his phone into her face again. The video of Drew shifting on the beach played again.
“He’s a monster, a freak,” Gavin hissed. “And the whole world is going to know. There’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
Nina watched the video, then flicked her eyes up to Gavin’s. He saw a monster, she saw love. She saw safety and a future and a reason to never give Gavin what he wanted.
“No, Gavin,” Nina whispered. “You’re the monster.”
She shoved him—hard. He stumbled back, his eyes going wide with shock. He lifted the gun, waving it wildly. But Nina stalked forward and slammed her arm into his. The gun knocked loose and skittered over the edge of the cliff.
“You bitch!”
Nina grinned. “Yeah, I am. I’m the bitch who will always always be better than you.”
Gavin screeched and lunged for Nina. Nina jumped out of the way, but Gavin’s arm tangled with hers. They crashed to the ground, knocking the wind out of Nina. She gasped for breath as Gavin crawled on top of her. Nina threw one arm out to grab a rock—grab anything—but her arm only met air. She glanced to her right and saw the lip of the cliff.
Gavin shouted with laughter and pressed his hands against Nina’s throat. Nina kneed him in the crotch, but he didn’t let up. Spots popped in her vision as she gasped for breath, but there was nothing. Nothing. She clawed at his hands, tried to wrench his fingers away, but they pressed pressed pressed. Blackness edged her vision, her lungs seared with pain.
Then there was an earth-shattered roar and a massive paw slammed into the side of Gavin’s head.
Chapter Sixteen
Drew
DREW WRAPPED ONE PAW AROUND Drew’s head and hauled him off Nina with such force his body flipped through the air like a rag doll. He charged forward, the demand for blood raging through him. He wanted to tear this man limb from limb, to destroy Gavin for hurting Nina and their baby.
Nina and their baby. His priority. Drew stumbled to a stop, his eyes on Gavin. The man pushed himself up on his arms, then collapsed back to the ground. Drew shifted back to his human form and whirled toward Nina. They ran to each other, they arms an
d lips crashing together.
“You’re hurt,” Nina said, running her hands over the deep cuts and bites marring Drew’s skin.
“I’ll live. Did he hurt you?”
Nina frowned and gently touched her temple, where a deep purple bruise was already blooming, but then shook her head. “Not really.” Nina looked up at him, her beautiful eyes troubled. “He knows, Drew. He has video. He was … he was stalking me and saw us at the beach.”
Drew buried his face in Nina’s hair, his arms wrapped around her. “Shh, shh. I don’t care about that. I only care about you.”
A terrible scream rent the early morning. Nina and Drew pulled apart to watch Gavin stagger toward them, his phone in his hands. “The world is going to know you’re a monster.”
Drew twined his hand with Nina’s and faced the real monster. “Let them,” he said.
Gavin’s mouth opened and closed. “I’ll send the footage,” he said. He came closer, his hand shaking where he clutched the phone. “You’ll be hunted, you’ll be—”
But what they’d be, Drew never found out. Nina snatched the phone out of Gavin’s hand and hurled it over the edge of the cliff.
“Oh, shut up. You never were good enough to get a real scoop.”
Gavin screamed, something high and primal that made Nina shudder beside Drew. His glassy eyes went wide, and he tore at the air where the phone had disappeared. But before he could do anything, sirens pierced the air and two cop cars screeched to a stop in the gravel lot.
Drew tugged his shirtsleeves down to hide his injuries and nodded at the cops.
“How did they …?” Nina asked, peering up at Drew.
“I called them on my way here.”
“Don’t you want to keep this internal to the shifter world?”
Drew wrapped his arm tightly around Nina’s shoulders as cops pressed Gavin to the ground and cuffed him. He was screaming about bears, about monsters. But the cops ignored him. Drew looked down into Nina’s eyes.
“That’s not how I’m going to rule, Nina. No more innocent lives at risk.”
Drew and Nina watched as Gavin was led to a police car and pushed inside. For the first time in hours, Drew let out a big, deep breath. It was over. It was really over.
Nina nestled against Drew as they watched the sun rise together. Drew was fairly sure he could fall asleep standing up right now, but he didn’t want to miss a second with Nina.
He’d never been more frightened in his entire life like he’d been on the flight to California. And he’d never been more certain of his love for this strong, capable woman as he’d been when he saw how she fought Gavin. There were still hurdles to their life of happiness—he had to face the conclave, and nothing good was going to come of fighting wolves from the Espinosa clan in Texas. But with Nina by his side, Drew knew he could get through anything.
He wrapped his arms around her and settled his hands against her stomach.
“How’s our little cub?”
Nina craned her neck to look up at Drew and grinned. “Oh, you’re so sure he’s a shifter? What if he’s a seer?”
“I’d love him even if he had two heads and a forked tail, Nina.”
Nina laughed. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
They fell into silence, their hands entwined over Nina’s stomach.
“I’m pretty sure Bret quit the band,” Drew said.
He’d told her about the fight in Texas, about his father, but possibly losing Bret felt like the biggest betrayal of all.
Nina squeezed his hands. “We’ll figure it out together.”
“I know we will.” And Drew believed that. With Nina at his side, he was a better version of himself. He was finally whole. He’d told her he loved her, made it plain he wanted his life with hers, but it still didn’t feel like enough. The love he felt for her was … consuming. It was all-encompassing. It felt so huge inside of him that he didn’t even think he could express it.
“Nina, what I feel for you … it’s … it’s … beyond words. I wish I could say just how much I love you, love our family but—”
“You’ve shown me just what you feel, Drew. I don’t need words.”
Drew nuzzled his lips against Nina’s neck, whispered into her ear. “What about a ring?”
Nina still for a moment, then purred. “I don’t need that either. I just need you.”
Drew gently turned her head toward his and captured her mouth with his lips. It was sweet and quiet, but full of the possibilities yet to come for them. After a moment, Nina smiled against Drew’s lips.
“Besides,” she said, laughter in her voice. “I’m an LA girl. I’m going to insist the jeweler to the stars fashions any ring you give me.”
A laugh rumbled out of Drew. “You’re so high maintenance.”
In the east, the sun arced above the horizon, painting the sky overhead in brilliance. They watched it inch higher as the world awoke. Drew closed his eyes and let the sun warm his face.
He’d nearly fallen asleep when he felt Nina stir. She stood up and held a hand down to Drew. He took it and let Nina pull him to his feet.
“What do you say?” she said. “Should we get this future started or what?”
Drew’s heart burst with love, and he hauled his mate into his arms.
Chapter One
Bret
BRET HART HAD ALWAYS FELT most at home on a stage.
Right now, though, as he shifted on his stool and fiddled with the worn leather strap of his guitar, nothing felt right. He sighed and looked down at his scuffed, dusty boots. Nothing had felt right since he’d strode away from his brothers in a fit of rage and never turned back.
That was more than a month ago now.
He’d thrown away his phone, left behind everything he’d owned. He’d even left behind his name.
Out beyond the stage, someone coughed. In a southern twang, another yelled, “get on with it, boy!”
Bret cleared his throat and pulled the mic closer. Where was he again? He’d lost track weeks ago. It always went the same way. He’d hitch a ride somewhere new, spend a few nights in a town just as dusty as his rumpled clothing, and try to forget what he was running from. It never worked.
Bret adjusted the strap of his guitar one last time and settled the instrument against his body.
“Hello, folks,” he drawled into the mic. “I’m Tim Smith, and this is a song I wrote about loss.”
The first few notes were always the hardest, like when he was a child at home in Montana and would be dared to hold his breath under water. His lungs always swelled at first, until he’d close his eyes, let the water rush over him, hold him.
Now, he closed his eyes again and let the music take hold.
Just his voice and his guitar, alone on stage in a smokey bar somewhere in Texas. The song started out rumbling and deep, his fingers slow on the strings. The lyrics were pulled from a place deep in his stomach, deep below the anger and jealousy that had eaten him alive to a place still stinging with loss and regret and shame.
She was never there, never there
Out in the dust, with the wind driving hard
I’m scraped clean, but what do I care
She’s never there
I’m losing them, losing love, losing me
But she’s never there
On paper, Bret wrote the song to be crooned, but it never came out that way. The richness of his voice would grow brittle and cracked by the end, until he was hoarse with it. His fingers were a blur against the guitar strings and he sang, sang, sang. Every night. Each time hoping he’d pour out his misery and finally find some peace.
But the song was true. She was never there.
That was the heart of it, the hole in his soul that could never be filled.
Bret Hart was a bear shifter, and he was alone. He would be alone until the end of his life. He had no soulmate. When his brothers had come of age and had their visions, they’d been promised a future, a woman to love them. Even if
the vision was hard to decipher or, in Chase’s case, if the man was unwilling to accept it, the vision told them all the same thing: They were loved. There was someone out there perfect for them.
But when Bret had come of age, it’d all gone so horribly wrong. He’d spent four days in the lodge, sweating, exhausted, hunger gnawing at him night and day. When the elders had given him the tonic to grant him a vision of his future mate, Bret had taken it almost ecstatically.
Blackness.
That’s what he saw in his vision. Complete, total blackness. No hope, nothing to cling to. There’d only been a single sound in the vision, far away and fleeting: A lone wolf howling into the void.
In the years since, Bret had interpreted the vision to see himself as the lone wolf. For a long time, there’d been a comfort in that. He could do as he pleased, not having to worry about fate coming for him. It’d been enough. More than enough.
And then Jax had found his key in Tiff. Their happiness hadn’t hurt him at first. Sure, it’d annoyed him that suddenly his brother—someone he’d always been able to have fun with—had become consumed with love for a woman. But Tiff was nice enough, and Jax was truly happy.
But then Chase had found Emily, and then Drew had found Nina. Each passing day seeing the love his brothers had found …. No, not found. Fate had picked them to experience true happiness, yet he’d been left in the dark. It tore at him, ripped him apart from the inside out, until he was left ragged. God, he’d been so angry, so damned angry that fate had smiled down on his brothers yet turned its back on him. What had he done to deserve this loneliness?
Then had come that night in Texas when Drew had announced Nina’s pregnancy, that he was leaving the band. It’d all been too much for Bret. His anger had felt righteous, his rage justified. So he left. Didn’t tell his brothers, didn’t say good-bye. And for the first few days—hell, probably the first week—he’d finally felt at peace.