by Ellis Leigh
As she crossed the street and headed for the road that would take her to the airport, her neck tingled, the telltale sense of someone watching her strong. This town was too small, too quiet, and too lacking other women for her not to be noticed, which was the last thing she needed at the moment. She wanted to hide—to hole up in a den and let her wolf howl her sorrows to the moon, but she couldn’t. Not yet, at least. Once she was home, back in the city where she could disappear, she’d give in to her need to wallow in the sadness that was her shattered heart. For now, she had to pretend she wasn’t falling apart inside. Pretend she wasn’t about to leave the man she’d not just been mated to but fallen in love with behind.
Yeah. Love. Of all the fucking luck.
Just the thought of flying away from Alaska—the man, not the state—made her feel worse. It killed her to think of leaving her mate, but there was nothing she could do. She refused to be with a liar. Refused to even contemplate the option. How could she? She knew what it was like to live with people who never told the truth. Who used and twisted and bastardized the concept of partnership and connection to get their way. She’d been taken from her family, caged, and starved, all so her pack could gain access to the powers she’d never understood. The ones she’d never learned to use. If her parents hadn’t snatched her back and run, she’d likely have ended up in that cage for her entire life. She would have been nothing but a tool for someone else to use.
She didn’t want that for her future.
She wanted trust and companionship, passion and security. Wanted to be a partner with someone, to work together and know they respected one another. Wanted to be independent while sharing her life with another.
Sadly, she wouldn’t find that with Alaska.
Her wolf whined in her head, sending her thoughts and pictures of being with Alaska, talking with him. Of their time together so far and how they could still go back and try to get answers to why he’d betrayed them. Perhaps that would be the wolf thing to do—confront him about his deception and see what he had to say. Ask him about his life, his plans, and his pack. But Zoe couldn’t trust his answers, so what was the point of being the mature one and initiating such a difficult conversation? The wicked, spiteful side of her—the part she usually kept hidden deep down—said fuck that. Their love story was over, finito, happily ever after canceled. No way back and no way forward either. Done.
And by the fates, did that thought hurt.
But pain ended eventually. Zoe needed to go home. Needed to get some breathing room. She didn’t need to turn around and go looking for more heartache. Why give the man the chance to hurt her again? Hell, she never should have opened herself up to him in the first place. She’d fallen for that mate pull and let it tug her toward someone who would only drag her ass back to the life she’d already left behind. Back to the cage. Never again.
Zoe finally reached the airport—a much longer trek on foot than in a car, it seemed—and headed for the hangar. She could only hope Alaska hadn’t done something shady like tell the pilot not to allow her to leave. She didn’t even know if commercial planes flew out this way—she’d arrived on a private plane. Alaska’s private plane.
“He’d better not try to stop me,” she muttered as she reached for the door handle and yanked it open. She took one step inside, ready to yell for someone to help her, when she froze.
Wolves.
The smell of them permeated the air. So strong, so thick—as if a pack had bedded down in that very hangar for days on end. They had to be there somewhere in the shadows, watching her. Waiting. She couldn’t run from them, couldn’t hide either, because she’d been too caught up in her own thoughts and rage to think before she came barging inside. All she could do at that moment was keep moving forward, fake some confidence, and hope she made it out unscathed.
And maybe she could call for backup.
One text message—one word—was all she managed before the pack broke free from the dim corners of the open space and moved toward her as a unit. She tucked her phone away and watched them come, her only escape a plane at the other end of the building or the door she’d walked in, which she’d left slightly ajar by accident. Might be one heck of a happy accident if this went the way she had a feeling it would.
Dirty, scraggly, and hungry-looking, the pack stalked closer. Herding her back. Hunting her. Most couldn’t hold eye contact, too weak of spirit to go up against her at that basic wolf challenge. A few growled, but all of them—every last one—seemed to be breathing way too hard for their level of exertion. Beyond the fact that they needed a shower, a change in attitude, and a little backbone, something wasn’t right with them. And they were looking at her as if she were some sort of prize.
Shit, shit, shit.
As much as she hated to admit it, she was going to need some help. A lot of it. And she’d already sent for him. Alaska had better be on his toes if she had any hope of getting out of there alive, let alone unscathed.
The huge wolf she’d seen around town approached first, leading a band of six males. “I told you to leave.”
Time to play up her attitude. She cocked a hip and raised an eyebrow while motioning to the room around her. “And I’m at the airport. Trust me, it’s not because I like watching planes land.”
The man growled low and deep, his eyes hard, his teeth showing as he said, “You’re already late getting out of my town.”
“I didn’t realize I had a time limit.” She rolled her eyes and moved as if to go around them, feigning a surety she definitely didn’t feel. But the pack kept her half surrounded. Kept her away from the single plane at the far end of the building. Escape route number one, blocked. Route number two…definitely still an option, but she really wanted to fly the hell out of that town, not run back through it. “I’m trying to leave on that perfectly good airplane over there. Why don’t you call off your dogs so I can?”
The way his lips turned up in a sneering sort of smile made her blood run cold and set every instinct she had for self-preservation on fire. “I think we’ll keep you instead. Teach you a lesson, Dina.”
It took Zoe a full two seconds to register the name he’d used. Dina…her mother’s name. The woman who’d busted into the place where her daughter was being held captive and killed three wolves to get her out. The woman who’d figured out how to make something from nothing—from less than nothing—and pushed Zoe to do the same. The woman who’d told her from the time she was a tiny, scraggly child hanging off her hip to stay independent. “Never trust a pack, baby. Their best interests will never line up with yours.”
Zoe hadn’t even known what best interests had meant then, but she’d listened. Had absorbed the words, the fear, and the warning. If this pack knew her mother—a woman who’d never once mentioned spending time in Alaska—Zoe was in a lot more danger than she’d originally thought. Which was saying something, because she’d figured she was in some pretty ugly danger from the moment she’d walked into the hangar.
Tall, Dirty, and Psychotic took another step closer, and her world shattered before coming back together. Her wolf exploded from within her, sensing the danger and taking over without giving Zoe the chance to argue the move. She shifted without thinking about doing it, her claws scrabbling on the cement before she was even fully through the change. She wasn’t the biggest wolf, not the best fighter either, but she was smart and fast. Something that had benefited Zoe in her job as a thief and would hopefully work to her advantage with the pack. At least, she hoped so. It needed to be enough to get her away from them because there was no way she could win in a true fight.
Only three wolves followed her as she slipped out the open door, which meant the rest of the pack was confident they’d be able to bring her back. That thought only added more fuel to her fear. No fucking way were they taking her alive. She’d run until her paws bled, fight until she had nothing left. Something about those wolves in there was wrong—sick. Something screamed at her to get the hell away from them as fa
st as she could. To never stop running.
To do whatever it took to stay out of their cage.
Zoe made it halfway across the tarmac when the sweetest sight she’d ever seen played out before her, the only thing that could have possibly brought her comfort in that moment. A deep silver wolf was running full out across the pavement, racing toward her with his teeth bared and his ears pinned back. Ready to dive headfirst into a fight. But this wolf wasn’t dirty or scraggly—he was huge. Massive, really, with dark spots along his back, and hips and paws big enough to shake the earth. She knew that wolf—loved him, too. She didn’t need to know his real name to know that Alaska had come to help her fight.
That huge wolf was truly the best thing she’d seen all day.
Zoe yipped once to get his attention and headed directly for him. He didn’t stop when she reached him, didn’t pause a beat. He barreled past her instead, snarling his warning to the men behind her. His growl shook her to her very core, and his paw strikes sounded like thunder as he ran straight at the three wolves chasing her. He was pissed, and she’d never been more grateful than in that moment to have such a strong and healthy mate.
For the first time, she was so very thankful for the mating bond pulling them together—not just any male had been paired with her, but a giant guardian of a male. A true warrior. He’d defend her because he saw her as his. As property he owned. And at that moment? Between being his and having to fight off an entire pack? She’d take the first option. Besides, she’d let him think whatever he wanted, let him believe he had some sort of control over her, so long as he got them out of there alive. The details could be worked out later.
Alaska slammed into the wolf closest to her without even pausing, sending the poor beast flying and immediately diving for the second. Her mate’s teeth actually crunched as he bit into his adversary’s neck. Zoe crouched in place, bouncing on the toes of her paws and watching the battle as Alaska tore his way through the shadows of what he truly was. His wolf skated and twisted, agile and strong in his movements. Aggressive and powerful. Winning from the start, while the pack wolves practically stumbled over themselves.
All except one.
The third wolf circled Alaska, looking as if he would mount a sneak attack on her mate. Something she couldn’t abide. Alaska had come for her, had rushed into a fight to help her; she could at least return the favor. Instead of running off as her instincts told her to do, she dove at the wolf, knocking him off course and giving Alaska a heads-up that his flank wasn’t protected. Her mate had the two on the ground—both likely dead from the look of things—when he finally spun and focused on the last one.
The third wolf shifted human, showing himself as the same man from town and the library. As weak, too, because he sprawled on the concrete, gasping for air. Obviously not in the shape necessary to both keep up with Zoe and fight off her mate. Thank the fates for small favors.
Alaska kept himself between the man and Zoe, rubbing his body against hers and making soft, breathy sounds in his throat. Chuffing. His wolf checking in on hers to make sure she was unharmed even as he kept up his guard pose. Zoe whimpered and nuzzled him right back, needing a moment to reconnect. Unsure what the next step would be and how the hell she was going to get out of town since the airport was overrun with the pack. And how she was going to leave Alaska behind again after feeling so relieved to see him in the first place.
She was distracted by her mate, which shouldn’t have surprised her. But it did. Mostly because that lack of focus wasn’t like her. She should have been watching the other wolf. Should have been paying attention.
She didn’t, which was why his voice carrying across the cold Alaska air surprised her almost as much as his words did.
“Well, what do you know? Looks like the thief’s got herself a Dire Wolf.”
20
“Looks like the thief’s got herself a Dire Wolf.”
The words pulled Deus up short. Fuck, this wouldn’t be good. The second those words escaped the shifter’s lips—a man the local pack called Rudkin, if his research was correct—Deus knew he was screwed. Again. Not even the scent of her so close, her wolf body brushing his, could calm the alarms inside his head.
He hadn’t told Zoe about his lineage, hadn’t gotten to explain how he and his Dire brothers had survived, how they had formed their pack. How they were who they were. She didn’t yet understand all that went into his life because he’d failed to tell her any of it. There was no way Zoe would forgive him for keeping another secret from her.
Deus shifted human, keeping wolf Zoe close by his side. Ready to fight with fists if teeth and claw wasn’t Rudkin’s style. Ready to do anything to protect his mate, whether she wanted to be his or not.
“The thief’s got herself more than just a Dire Wolf,” Deus said, keeping his voice calm but strong. Not releasing Rudkin from his hard stare as he went for the only thing pack wolves like him understood—dominance. “She’s got herself a mate, so don’t fuck with her.”
Rudkin grinned, looking both amused and treacherous all at once. Or possibly just unhinged. “She was leaving without you. Couldn’t be much of a mating bond if you’d let her go all alone.”
There was no letting her go—she wanted to leave. If he’d tried to stop her, he would have been ignoring her wishes. Would have been trying to control her. And though he’d do anything to keep her by his side, he knew Zoe would have hated him for it. She wasn’t the type of woman to be okay with asking for permission. And Deus wasn’t about to try to make her one.
Zoe weaved through Deus’ legs, growling continuously. She didn’t move even an inch away from him, didn’t break the physical connection of her wolf body touching his human one. He tried to keep her behind him while she refused to hold still. Typical. At least she wasn’t running anymore, though. That was something working in his favor. At least, he hoped it was.
Still, Deus wasn’t done fighting for her freedom just yet. “You told her to leave, and she’s leaving. You’re getting what you want.”
“It’s too late,” Rudkin screamed, his eyes blazing with a frenzied sort of energy that made Deus want to toss Zoe’s ass on the plane and fly her out of there himself. “Already, the other Dire Wolf stalks our camp, gathering information to bring the Lycan Brotherhood here. Our pack, our lifestyle, will be over. And it’s her fault. That bitch—” he pointed right at Zoe, who froze in her tracks “—is a curse on our pack. She always has been.”
In for a penny, in for a pound. If digging his own grave with his mate meant he kept her alive, he’d do it. He had to. Time to admit even more of his mistakes. “This isn’t Dina. And even if it was, she never did anything to your pack besides leave it. Dina wasn’t cursed—she was smart enough to run the fuck away from a pack like yours where anyone not seen as a higher dominant is subjected to abuse.”
“We don’t abuse the females.”
“I find that hard to believe. Two hundred years of your pack making this region their home, yet there’s no picture or mention of a female in the records. Not one…besides Zoe’s mom, Dina.”
Rudkin smirked. “We have almost forty males and two females in our pack. We keep the women away from others so they don’t try to steal them away.”
“You can’t steal someone who doesn’t want to leave in the first place.”
The zeal returned to Rudkin’s eyes, the fire of his insanity burning hotly. “They’re our females, and they’ll stay ours. We get to keep them both.”
And suddenly, everything made sense. Luc’s premonition of something wrong in the region, the fact that the pack had a strange and unsettling dominance dynamic, the overabundance of men in town. The pack had the only two women in the region, and they would stop at nothing to keep them.
And if his instincts were right, they also wanted his mate to add to their very limited collection.
Deus’ stomach turned, his worry for the safety of those women growing with every second. His rage at the idea of some twisted fu
ckers taking away his mate to be some sort of pack slave burning bright.
“You can’t have her,” Deus said, letting his wolf growl over the words to make his point. “Whether she stays with me or not, Zoe is not yours to keep. She doesn’t want to be here, doesn’t want anything to do with your pack, so she’s going home.”
“If a female steps foot in our region, we get to keep her. That’s the law.”
“Your law is perverse.”
“We had to do it. She cursed us.” Rudkin pointed right at Zoe, an act that made Deus’ wolf snarl and whip his body between the two. The beast could be the brawn—Deus needed to be the brain.
“Your pack has two females but no matings, right? Tell me something, brainiac. When was the last time the fates gifted someone in your pack with a true mate? It was likely Dina and her mate, Zesthial. Zoe’s mom and dad, wasn’t it?” Deus stepped forward, keeping his eyes locked on the other man’s. Letting his wolf shine through to make sure Rudkin knew he was dealing with a much stronger animal. “You’re the ones who are cursed, and it’s not Dina’s fault or influence. You betrayed the fates by your actions, and you continue to pay the consequences because you don’t change.”
“The fates gave you the daughter of a thief who leaves you behind at the drop of a hat. What did you do to deserve that?”
Deus shook his head, not falling for the deflection. Also not willing to let any blame land on his mate’s shoulders for his situation. “I’ll never deserve Zoe. I’ll never be so arrogant as to see her as anything other than a gift bestowed upon me by the highest powers. One I need to cherish and respect, not control. See, that’s why I let her leave without me. Because she wanted to. Because I have no dominion over her. I don’t own her—I’m just thankful every time she grants me the gift of her presence.”
Zoe shifted to her human self behind him, pressing her warm, soft body against his. Hanging on to his hips as she rested her chin on his shoulder. It felt so good to touch her again. The contact soothed something inside of him, even as his beast continued to stand in protection mode. Hard to the outside world, soft to his mate. That was the balance he needed to find. Aggression versus affection. He’d fight for that. He’d fight for her.