Book 2 Not his Werewolf

by Annie Nicholas

  A shifter had hurt his soulmate and she had lied about it. He watched her face from under his eyelashes.

  Her brows were drawn down and her lips thin. She didn't shy from his touch though. “I wanted to—” Her eyes went wide. “Ryota.” Fear tinged her voice.

  Ken spun on his knee. The alpha should strike fear in his pack’s heart but only if punishment was merited. Respect, trust, and love should be there as well to be a good leader. These were things Ryota had taught him, so why was she so fearful?

  She rose slowly and pulled a slip of paper out of her pocket, even though the movement obviously hurt her. “I'm not leaving New Port.”

  Ryota raised his eyebrows. “No matter the consequences?”

  Ken jumped to his feet, snatching the slip from her fingers. “What is this?” A check. He whistled at the figure. “Is this all I'm worth?” He crumpled the paper and whipped it at his father.

  The ball of paper bounced off Ryota's head. “You don't understand.”

  The pounding in his head grew worse but the nausea vanished. Ken clenched his fist as his gaze landed on Betty's wound. “You did this.” He pointed at her arm, closing the distance to his so-called father who always said he prized him above all others. His little alpha in the making. Ken had him by the throat before either of them blinked. Claws digging into Ryota’s skin, Ken shook him. “How dare you touch her?”

  Betty gasped. She pulled at his hands, trying to make him release Ryota. Would Ken ever understand his mate? He was protecting her. She said things, but the blood rushing past his ears made him deaf.

  “Why would you send my soulmate away?” If he didn't shift, he'd explode in a mass of flesh and teeth. The change took hold, tearing his clothes as he grew in size.

  Ryota clutched at his hands but remained in human form. “Save…her,” he managed to say past Ken’s strangling hold.

  “Save me?” asked Betty, dropping her hold on Ken’s hands.

  “Save her?” Ken repeated at the same time. He set his father on his feet but kept a hold on his neck. “Explain.”

  Ryota took a deep, exaggerated breath. “Gave her a choice.”

  She set her hands on her hips. “And the consequences if I stayed?”

  Ryota laughed. It was so startling Ken dropped his hands as if stung. He couldn't recall his father making that sound often. Ryota bent forward leaning on his knees, laughing even harder. Then he pointed at Ken.

  “He's your consequence.” He wiped his eyes. “That felt good. You gave up a fortune and remained in the city.” He gave Betty a sad look. “You can't possibly think you can break up with your soulmate?” Ryota patted his shoulder and Ken clicked his muzzle shut. “Go getter, son.” Then the alpha straightened his polo shirt, the wounds on his neck already healed and strode out of the tent. “Keep it PG. There are kids out here,” he said over his shoulders as the tent flap shut.

  Betty picked up the paper ball and un-crumpled the check. “We should cash this and donate it to the orphanage.”

  Ken loved the way she thought.

  Ken snorted and hugged her tight against his chest. “I'll never forgive him for hurting you.”

  She cleared her throat. “Um… About that. Eoin tore the tattoo off my arm. Not Ryota.”

  The world froze. “I'm going to kill him.”

  “That's suicide.” Betty blocked Ken’s exit from the First Aid tent and explained Eoin's crazy reasoning for maiming her. She caressed Ken's wolf-like face and drew it closer to hers. “I'm sorry.”

  He blinked. “For what? I was the jerk. I'm the one who is sorry.”

  “I shouldn't have blown—”

  “I should've told you—”

  They interrupted each other, then silence filled the tent.

  Ken was willing to fight his alpha for her. No amount of money, freedom, or promises would make her leave his side. She ran her fingers through his fur and recalled the day they met. How his eyes had gone from feral fury to wide wonder when he'd first seen her. Something had clicked inside her. She hadn't been ready to admit it then, but boy, was she ever ready now.

  Betty jerked from his hold as a sharp pain ran along her spine, cracking all her joints. Gasping, she clutched his shoulders. She held her hand in front of her face. Claws grew from under her nail beds! “Ken.” Panic laced her voice.

  “Your eyes…” He supported her by the elbows, eyes growing big. “You're changing shape.”

  She couldn't breathe, the pain was so blinding.

  Ken laid her on the ground. “The dragon was actually right?” He stroked her fur.

  She raised her head, staring at the black silken fur coating her body. Joints popped, limbs and face elongated. On unsteady legs, she climbed to her feet and compared herself to Ken. “I'm still short.”

  He threw back his head and howled.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Betty flexed her clawed hand, watching in fascination as it followed her command. It was her.

  She had shifted.

  Ken paced around the tent, checking her out from every angle. “I can’t believe the dragon was right,” he whispered.

  “Yeah…” She glanced at her arm where the tattoo had blocked her magic. There was a patch of missing fur now. “Why would someone stop me from shifting? I’m a nobody.” She’d gotten the skin art just after she’d started dating Chris.

  A soft growl pulled her out of her thoughts. Ken stared at her healing wound as well. “What was the artist’s name? I’ll find them and we’ll find out.”

  She rubbed the raw area. The pain a distant ache now. “The shop closed when I was still in high school, and…” She grimaced. “I’m the one who picked out the design.” Could it have been so silly that all this had been an accident? “She had a book that I flipped through. I liked the way it flowed and thought it looked cool.” She pressed her hands to her face. Ears pinned to the top of her head. Chest burning, she whined since, in this form, she couldn’t shed tears. “I did this to myself.”

  Slowly, she sank to her knees. She had blamed her pack and her family for her failure to change shape. Not once had it occurred to her that she was the one at fault.

  “Betty?” Ken knelt with her, pulling her hands free. “You’re pack now.” He rubbed his muzzle against hers.

  She sighed and leaned against him. “That means I’m the beta’s mate.” Her shoulders shook under the weight of all that responsibility. “I don’t know if I can do it.”

  “Do what?”

  “Be a part of your life. Fit in. I’ve never been good at fitting in.”

  “What are you talking about?” His eyes narrowed. “Don’t try that breaking up shit with me again. Not unless you really don’t love me.”

  She stroked the hurt from his face. It took a few minutes before the lines faded. “What am I supposed to do as your mate? I’m not well educated or even have a resume.”

  His ears came forward. “I expect you to open another animal shelter. In the same neighborhood if you want. Mind you, there will be construction starting so you might want to reconsider relocation for a year or two.”

  She ran her hand over her muzzle. “You’re serious?”

  He tilted his head in a very canine manner. “What did you think I’d want?”

  She shrugged, so happy the fur covered her full-body blush. “Nothing…”

  “Betty.” Amusement coating her name. “You broke up with me over nothing?”

  “Ugh, when you put it that way.” She shook her furry head. “Host meetings and business parties.” She shrugged. “Rub elbows with prominent business people.”

  He snorted. “The only elbows you’re rubbing are mine.” He licked her forehead. “You don’t have to be part of my business life. I’ve handled that alone for a long time. I don’t want you to change. I need you to be you. The person who shows me how to have fun and teases me, with crazy friends and gets into fist fights with dragons.” He licked her face, soothing her worries away.

  The tent entrance
flapped open and her dad barreled in. “Betty…” He stood stunned in the streaming sunlight. Mouth open, he stepped inside the tent. For once they stood eye to eye. So she had grown taller as a shifter.

  “I changed shape, Dad.”

  “How?” He stroked her fur.

  “It’s a long story. We’ll tell you and Mom over dinner tonight, with the alpha.” She glanced at Ken who nodded. Ryota was part of her family now.

  Oh, wow.

  Dad still petted her face, a tear forming in the corner of his eye. He rubbed it away before it escaped. The little teacup Chihuahua popped its adorable head out of Dad’s vest pocket and yapped.

  “Dad! Put Princess Buttercup back so she can be adopted.”

  “Princess Buttercup? Do you hear that protective bark? She’s Demon Dog Hellraiser.” He eyed them. “Everything fixed between the two of you? Do I need to use my dad voice?”

  Ken hung his arm over her shoulder. “Everything is perfect, but I hope one day soon you can show me how to use the dad voice.”

  She leaned against Ken, enjoying the wonder in her father’s face as Ken’s meaning sank in. Grandpups. Not yet, but soon, if they worked hard at it.

  “Come on.” He gestured for them to follow. “We have to show your mom.”

  She glanced at Ken, knowing Ryota had strict rules about public displays of their wolfish form.

  “It’s fine,” Ken said. “This is a pack funded event. We just don’t want any public shape changing.” They stepped outside of the First Aid tent.

  The orphanage property was full. The air rang with laughter, scents of greasy meat, and the colors of summer.

  “What now?” she asked as people turned in their direction.

  Ken grabbed an empty donation jug by the tent and set it by their feet. “Come pet the wolf shifters.”

  People started to form a line.

  He shrugged. “I’m good at making money. I can’t ignore an opportunity.”

  A few hours later, Ken stood beside Ryota, eating the burgers he had provided. Betty sat in the grass surrounded by pack kids, both human and shifter. Her fur mane and head were decorated with paper flowers that she was teaching them how to fold. Their donation jug was almost full again. He would need to find another replacement soon.

  Many humans had wanted a close meeting with a wolf shifter in beast form.

  Ryota toed the jug. “This was good PR for the pack.” That was as close to a compliment as the alpha could manage. Ken would take it. Ryota eyed Ken’s mate. “She shifted well.”

  Ken growled. “She’s taken.” But his father was right. No matter what shape, Betty’s beauty stole his breath away. Midnight black fur coated her body. Sunlight poured over her, glossing the hairs until it appeared a liquid. The amber of her eyes shone golden and pure. He let out a breath. The knot in his chest constricting his lungs since he’d first told Ryota about her finally vanished. “She shifted.”

  The alpha patted Ken on the back. “She’s safe and she’s yours. Good job, son.”

  Ken gave him a side-eye. “What if she had cashed the check and left? I would have killed you for chasing her off.”

  Ryota shrugged. “Then you would be alpha.” The smile on his face was very wolf-like. “But she didn’t and now you know she’s truly yours, heart and soul.”

  “I knew that the moment I met her. I didn’t need that kind of test.” As far as he knew, his father never had a mate. Definitely not a soulmate like him and Betty, but a regular mate, someone to love.

  “I needed it.” Ryota handed him another burger, while eating his own.

  Betty rose to her feet gingerly, still adjusting to balancing on her hind paws. The crowds were thinning and some vendors were closing shop. Her parents waited on the other side.

  Ken waved them over. “You’re about to meet her parents and my future in-laws. Behave or I’ll bite you.”

  Ryota chuckled and Ken ignored its hint of evil.

  They gathered his mate and met her parents. Ken handed out burgers and glanced at the full tray Ryota had brought. He had made some food truck’s day.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Newman, meet my father, Ryota, alpha of New Port pack.” He bit his tongue trying to eat and pay close attention to their polite exchange. It would be great if they could be—friends would be stretching it. As alpha, Ryota couldn’t help being dominant, but he could be amicable.

  “Mom and Dad managed to find homes for all the animals.” Betty spoke between bites of her second burger. “They’re amazing.” She gave her mother a side hug.

  Her mother didn’t seem to notice though. She was busy staring at Chuck’s vest. “What is moving in your pocket?”

  Betty’s father covered it with one hand. “Nothing.”

  Betty’s eyes sparkled with amusement. She tilted her head in a gesture for Ken to move aside with her.

  “Is that a Chihuahua?” Her mom’s voice rose. “Charles Newman, what did we discuss about more canines in the house?”

  “It’s so small, I doubt it is canine.” Ryota leaned forward to peek at the little goblin-looking dog.

  “Let’s go home,” Betty whispered to Ken. “This is about to get ugly.”

  He slipped his hand into hers. “You read my mind.”

  As they slid behind the First Aid tent, he could hear Betty’s mother’s voice join the others. “Where did they go? We still need to plan the soulmating ceremony.”

  Chapter Thirty

  The full moon hung above the grove, lighting the group of shifters and humans. Betty peeked out of the tent. Still no sign of Ken. Her heart pounded.

  “Come away from there, Betty.” Dad hovered behind her. He did his best to hide his worry, but he wasn’t good at acting. He pulled her away from the tent flap gently. “You look beautiful.”

  “You already told me that.” She swept her hand over the long soulmating gown that clung to her curves. She’d chosen a white one as a nod toward her human heritage. Though the pack now considered her a shifter, Betty was still half-human and proud of it.

  Her mother sat at the front of the crowd. A little Chihuahua in a tutu on her lap.

  “I’ll say it again.” Her father twirled her around. “You look beautiful.”

  Betty had chosen her own gown but she had left the details of the ceremony in Beth and Mom’s capable hands. With all the animal adoptions to complete and a move to Ken’s home, she hadn’t the time to invest in such a short notice ceremony. Everyone was anxious for the formality of their soulmating to happen sooner rather than later.

  The hum of the crowd outside quieted.

  Betty rushed back to the tent flap. Her father hot on her heels.

  Outside, Ryota stood on a raised platform. As the New Port alpha, he had the right to perform the ritual. Ken stood at the base, eyes focused on her tent. His tux fit him to perfection and moonlight shone on his golden-blond hair. He looked so classy, but she knew the shifter in him wasn’t far from the surface.

  “Ready?” asked her dad.

  “Yes!” She slipped her arm around his and waited for their cue.

  “Betty?”

  She twisted to meet her father’s gaze. “Yes?”

  “I’m so proud of you. No matter what the universe tossed at you, you took it on with Newman style.”

  She leaned her head on his shoulder. “Of course, I did. I had the best teacher.” She’d been so lucky to have such loving and supportive parents. In coming years, she and Ken could only hope to be as good with their pups.

  The music started and they both startled.

  “It’s time.” Dad straightened his bowtie. She’d never seen her father in a tux. He was more of a grease and jeans kind of guy.

  She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Yes.” Finally, she and Ken would be bonded together officially in the eyes of the pack.

  With her father in tow, she stepped out of the tent, eager to reach her mate.

  The crowd turned as one and she halted mid-step. It seemed like every shifter in the city f
rom wolf, to bear, to feline was in attendance. She couldn’t see the edge of the grove it was so full of people.

  “Your story touched the hearts of many,” her father whispered in her ear. “I bet every half-shifter in driving range is here to witness this moment. You give them hope.”

  A tear spilled down her cheek. She knew firsthand how those who couldn’t shift felt. Lost and alone. Packless. Many of them adjusted to human life very well, embracing their heritage, but others like her, struggled. She opened her mouth but nothing came out. How could she voice all those emotions without falling apart?

  Ken took a step toward her as if sensing her distress.

  Betty gave him a reassuring smile. She was living the dream and wouldn’t take a single moment for granted ever.

  Dad wiped her cheek clean before leading her down the aisle and toward her bright future. He placed her hand within Ken’s. “I pass on the responsibility to protect my only daughter to you.”

  The pack beta kissed her fingers. “It’s a privilege that I eagerly accept.”

  Ryota joined them, placing his hand on Betty’s shoulder. “I pass on the responsibility to guard my son’s heart and the pack’s future.”

  For a second, Betty couldn’t breathe. “It’s a privilege that I eagerly accept.” Her voice shook.

  The alpha returned to the stage and addressed the crowd. “Soulmates are a rare gift. We’re led to believe that it’s an instant bond and an easy path to happiness, but I have never seen two people fight for the right to be together as these two. They showed us that to achieve what we want, we need to be ready to fight for it. To sacrifice everything to be with the one we love. I have never been more proud or pleased to perform this ceremony as I am tonight.”

  Under the moonlight, the alpha spoke the sacred words of a shifter soulmating. Something passed on from pack to pack spanning centuries.

  Ken’s gaze never left hers. In his eyes were unspoken promises. In her heart were hers.

  “Welcome to the New Port Pack, Betty Birch,” Ken whispered. “I love you so much.”