Lacey slanted him a warning look. “Shut up, you. You’re still in trouble.” She smiled as she turned back to Tasha. “I’m sorry for knocking down your mate. But he deserved it.”
It was Tasha’s turn to stutter. “He’s not my mate. He’s just… It’s—”
Lacey let out a laugh, holding her stomach as she finally relaxed. “Oh good, there’s still time to convince you otherwise.” She sent Lock a mean look, making him wither.
“I don’t know what I want,” Tasha said quietly. “Except to figure out more about what I am. I do owe a debt to Lock, though. He’s been very patient with me.”
“I bet he has,” Lacey said sarcastically. “With an unmated alpha female on the line.”
Tasha looked between Lock and Lacey, confused. “Um. Sure. Anyway, he’s been helping me out. I was pretty sure up until yesterday that I wasn’t a wolf. Still don’t know what I am exactly. But you’re right, I felt something when you hit him.” She shrugged. “Whatever that means.”
“So,” Lacey said, leaning back and resting her hands behind her head. “Tell me why you’ve brought me an unmated alpha female who has no idea who she is and smells almost exactly like my cousin.”
Lock chuckled nervously. “I thought you would like to meet her?”
Lacey raised an eyebrow. “And?”
“And… we thought you might have information on Fifi. He seems to have disappeared.”
Lacey sat forward, looking worried. “I’m afraid I can’t help you on that front.” She glanced at Tasha. “I presume she’s his sister, though I never knew about her. Have they been in contact at all?”
“No,” Lock said. “Fifi’s been sending her letters and perfumes since she was little. Probably to hide her scent.”
“I knew Felix was being blackmailed,” Lacey said solemnly. “I wasn’t aware of the fine details at all.” She sighed. “Now I am, I guess. So the perfume was probably pheromone blockers, right?”
“And maybe something to suppress memory or shifting ability, if that’s possible,” Lock said. “She has no idea how to access her wolf. She’s never even shifted.”
Lacey looked to Tasha in shock. “I’m sorry. That must feel terrible for your wolf.” She stood, rolling her sleeves up with a gleam in her bright-blue eyes. “But you know, I bet I could get her to shift right away in a minute. I just have to punch you in the face a few times.” She cocked her head, cracking her neck. “It won’t even be a hardship.”
She was standing in front of Lock now, glaring down as Lock ducked and covered his head.
“Thor, save me from your harpy mate.”
Thor let out a laugh. “Now you’re really gonna get it.”
Lacey pulled back her fist but stopped when Tasha placed a hand on her arm.
“Can you really help me remember?” Tasha asked quietly, looking up at her cousin, feeling that same swell of familiarity taking hold. A sense of… belonging. Of… pack?
Lacey looked down at her, confusion mirrored in her eyes. She slowly lowered her arm. “Yes, I can help you.” She held out a hand to help Tasha up. “We’re going outside for some air. You stay here, you indigent uncle. Spend some time with your brother and nephew for once.”
Tasha stifled a chuckle as Lacey pulled her out into the sunlight, knowing there was a lot of love behind Lacey’s stern words.
This visit apparently wouldn’t help lead her to Fifi, but at least it had led Lock to the people that were his home.
“It’s uncanny,” Lacey said, folding her arms in a distinctly masculine way as she walked around Tasha in a circle. “In some ways, you really remind me of Felix and in other ways, not at all.”
Tasha walked to a nearby log that seemed perfect for sitting in the sunshine and sat down, wanting to rest. It was mostly dry, though it was clear there had been rainfall earlier that morning and probably would be again, based on the clouds overhead.
“This is a lot,” Tasha said warily. She looked up as Lacey moved to sit down next to her, making the log creak. “Even I can sense something when I’m around you. It’s weird.”
Lacey nodded. “You can probably feel our pack link, however faintly. Tell me again. What did you feel when I punched Lock, even though it was well deserved?”
Tasha snorted a laugh. “It definitely was deserved. I know that. I just can’t explain my reaction. It was angry, like something was threatening to burst out of me.”
Lacey grabbed Tasha’s wrist, bringing it up nearly to her nose to scent it, then shook her head. “I can’t smell anything of the perfume Fifi sent you, so I’m not sure how he kept you from shifting or even knowing you were a wolf. Very odd.”
“I know,” Tasha said.
Lacey narrowed her blue eyes thoughtfully. “I mean, they could have some new tech or serums there. I haven’t seen any of that side of my family in a long time.”
“Why?”
Lacey’s brows lowered in consternation as she plucked a nearby dandelion, pulling at the tiny yellow petals. “They betrayed me. Except for Fifi. He’s the only one I miss.”
“You two were close?”
“Yeah.” Lacey chucked the dandelion stem, and her eyes looked kind of misty. She swiped at them and then smiled at Tasha. “He was more like my big brother than anything.”
Tasha pushed back the hint of jealousy that came with hearing that. “I’m glad you had each other.”
“Me too,” Lacey said quietly.
“I’ve never met him,” Tasha said. “What’s he like?”
Lacey snorted, then full out laughed, a melodic sound like the tinkle of a bell. “That’s hard to explain. What has Lock said?”
Tasha cocked her head. “That he’s almost feminine but still a badass.”
“That’s one way to describe Fifi.” Lacey leaned back on the log, looking pensive. “He’s also intensely loyal to those he cares about. Playful. A lot deeper than most people think when meeting him. Not afraid to speak his mind. A lot of things.” She sighed. “How do you condense any one person into a few words?”
Tasha sucked in her cheeks. “I don’t know. I’ll just have to meet him, I guess.”
“So do you even know what your alpha powers are?” Lacey asked. “Most of us this high in the hierarchy have two.”
“What are yours?”
Lacey sighed. “I really shouldn’t be telling you. I only have one power, and it’s the most closely guarded in our world.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “I can take away other alpha powers. Temporarily or more… permanently.”
“Really?” Tasha’s eyes widened. “That’s crazy. That’s like a huge advantage.” She looked down at the discarded dandelion. “I don’t have anything like that. I can just make people sleep.”
“Yeah, well, mine makes me exhausted. I can’t just whip it out. It disables me as well.” She shrugged. “And to permanently take someone’s power would probably kill me. But don’t underestimate the sleep power. Fifi is super dangerous because of it. It renders anyone unable to attack him and doesn’t affect him at all, and then while they’re asleep, he can…” Lacey trailed off, biting her lower lip.
“Kill them,” Tasha said blankly.
“Yes.”
“But you think I have something else as well? Something different?”
“Possibly,” Lacey said. “But I wouldn’t know what it could be. Most of us keep them very hidden. I think sleep is all Fifi has. Maybe. Fifi keeps things very close to the chest. He’s always one step ahead of most people around him. And with the sharpness of the people around him, that’s saying a lot.”
Tasha nodded, and longing filled her as she looked out at the wildflower field on the other side of Lacey’s house. She wanted to see her brother, wanted to meet him. But what would he think of Lock?
“Do you know how Lock knows Fifi?”
“We all met at an alpha challenge. You can ask Lock about that as well. Some interesting things happened. But I’m sure you have enough to focus on.”
“I do,” Tasha said. “In
fact, I’m pretty overwhelmed by all of this. If people didn’t keep falling asleep everywhere, I’m not sure Lock could have ever convinced me. I was pretty deep in denial.”
“It makes sense,” Lacey said. “It’s the opposite of everything you knew. But as someone who left her entire world for something better and different, I can promise you a new life is possible. One you might even enjoy more than the first.”
“That’s good to know,” Tasha said hesitantly. “Because I admit I have my doubts.”
“Well, doubt isn’t always bad.” Lacey leaned back on the log, crossing her legs in front of her. “You should still be careful, especially about Lock.”
“Is Lock really that bad of a person?” Tasha asked hesitantly. “You seem to really hate him, despite him being your spouse’s brother.”
Lacey sighed in aggravation. “I don’t hate him. I just think you should be really aware of his history. Lock carries a lot of baggage. He goes where he wants and does what he wants and lets everyone else pick up the pieces.”
But Tasha knew that wasn’t the whole story. Did Lacey know how much Lock had protected Thor as a kid? It wasn’t Tasha’s secret to tell.
“Oh, I know Lock did a lot for Thor before,” Lacey said. “I’m just not sure it makes up for the years and years of trouble he has caused since. At some point, he needs to turn things around.”
“I agree,” Tasha said. “But I mean, he does do good things. He has helped me a lot.”
Lacey slid her a dubious glance. “As I said before, check his motives.” She sighed, looking up at the clouds as they covered the sun. “Anyway, just be careful. I know he can charm the shell off a ladybug.”
Tasha snorted. “I suppose. But that’s why I want to find my brother. I’m hoping he can give me unbiased advice.”
Lacey laughed. “Oh, Fifi’s advice would be biased. He just would be overprotective as hell. He is of all the women in his life. Some men, too.”
Tasha considered that. “All the more reason to get his opinion.” Because to be honest, it was getting harder not to fall for Lock.
“I agree,” Lacey said. She put a hand around Tasha’s shoulders. “And you’ve already got my opinion as an overprotective cousin, so use it as you will.”
“Thank you.”
“All right,” Lacey said, standing and stretching her hands out together in front of her, cracking her knuckles and then her neck side to side. “I guess we can start. You want to send Lock a text? We’ll need him for the next part.”
“Um, sure,” Tasha said, taking out her phone.
“I wanted to talk to you alone, just to make sure you were doing okay. But you’re a smart enough person. I trust you.” Her bright-blue eyes sparkled. “Plus, if you tame that weirdo, I’ll get to see you and him a lot more often, which would be nice.” Lacey’s smile was warm. “I’d love to have another cousin.”
“Me too,” Tasha said with a grin. Then she sent Lock a quick text to draw him out.
“One more thing,” Lacey said, looking down at her. “Do you particularly like those clothes?”
“No,” Tasha said. “Why?”
“Um, because after you shift, you’ll be naked. And your clothes will probably be too messed up.” She raised an eyebrow. “Unless you want to take them off in advance?”
Tasha felt a blush creep into her cheeks, warming her even more than the sunlight. “No, thanks. The clothes are fine if they get messed up. It’d be worth it to meet my wolf.”
The more people she met who believed in her, the more Tasha believed in herself. That she was something other than human, that her formerly blank history wasn’t really blank at all.
“All right,” Tasha said, cracking her knuckles. “I’m ready.”
As Lock exited the front door and jogged toward them, a smile on his face, Lacey broke into a run, headed straight for him.
When she was a few steps away, she turned into a huge, golden-haired wolf, making Tasha gasp at the sight of her.
But as Lacey prowled forward, toward a defenseless, hands-up Lock, Tasha felt something inside her burn white hot.
A growl shot out of her as she felt her entire body breaking around her in a way that was explosive, but not painful at all.
Powerful, like trapped lightning was finally being allowed to escape her.
Suddenly, scraps of clothing were flying in the air and Tasha was running, running toward her mate, all human sense gone as incredible smell, taste, and sight overwhelmed her.
The feel of her paws on the dirt, the way she knew her claws could rend and tear. The sense that someone was trying to take what was hers.
Tasha skidded to a halt between Lacey and Lock, digging her claws into the ground. She didn’t even care what form she was in.
She just knew no one could hurt her mate.
Chapter 13
“That was fast,” Lock said, looking down at the two she-wolves who were squaring off.
Tasha could barely hear him. She was so intensely focused on the yellow wolf in front of her who needed to get away from her mate.
Tasha heard Lock’s laugh of amusement and looked up at him, befuddled.
“You’re gorgeous,” he said, coming forward to stroke her fur. She made as if to snap at him, and he pulled back. But then she focused in on his eyes, trying to remember what he meant to the human part of her.
As soon as she stared into those long-lashed amber irises, she was calm. Like something in him was calling to her and she had to answer.
She pressed her face into his waiting hand, trying not to freak out about how different everything felt.
She could see her paws beneath her, bright white like her hair. She could feel the shape of her body. She was definitely a wolf.
“Well, looks like you’ve got this from here,” Lacey said, startling Tasha as she spoke in her wolf form.
“How are you talking?” Tasha asked before realizing she’d just spoken as well, though her voice sounded a little gravelly.
Thunder cracked overhead, and Tasha felt the electricity in the air, scented rain, and felt something light up in her.
“I’m going to go transform around back,” Lacey said. “I think you two can handle this together. But call if you need me.”
“Thanks,” Tasha called out, looking after her.
“Warm day,” Lock said, looking up at the clouds above him. “I love when it rains on a warm day.”
A cool breeze blew through, humid and tinged with the scent of rain.
“Me too,” Tasha said, feeling awkward with him in his human form.
Part of her still wanted to argue with all of this, but it was pointless when she was sitting there, four paws on the ground.
In front of a beautiful man that she couldn’t help getting closer and closer to.
Despite what Lacey had said, despite her warnings about Lock, Tasha couldn’t help seeing something in him that no one else did.
Something that was just on the verge of good.
“Do you want me to transform also?” He looked up at the sky. “It might be fun to run in the rain in our wolf forms.”
Tasha nodded, still in a daze about how natural everything felt.
Lock grinned, and the next moment, he was tearing into his wolf, clothing flying everywhere.
When he landed on the ground, it made everything shake, and she gasped as she looked up to see a huge, reddish-brown wolf in front of her. She was big for a wolf, but he was gigantic.
Beautiful and lustrous in the sunlight, with the same amber eyes.
Everything about him just called to her, and in this form, she didn’t have any of her human reservations.
Even looking at him just made her feel… safe.
She wondered how he felt when he looked at her.
Lightning flashed in the distance, and thunder cracked a few seconds later, making her fur rise.
Lock pointed his nose toward the road. “You ready to follow me?”
Anywhere, something in her heart
answered.
Anywhere, any adventure, as long as she was with him.
He dug into the dirt with his huge back paws and took off, launching over the ground to the main road.
She followed him, shocked at first by the speed she was gaining. They crossed the road, and he led her to a tiny trail that wound deeper into the trees, up toward the mountain.
As she followed him, she was surprised by her body’s adeptness at leaping over falling logs, dodging rocks, switching directions at the turn of a dime.
As she caught the scent of fresh pine mingled with oncoming rain and her mate’s burnt-vanilla fragrance, she felt a jolt of adrenaline and leapt forward to run alongside him.
She’d never felt so free.
Suddenly, she felt powerful, like she really could go track down her brother and face the secrets of this new world and accept that there were things about her that she just hadn’t known.
She was so grateful to Lacey for helping her transform. For helping her accept who she was.
She had been hiding for such a long time, even from herself, that it felt unbelievably good to meet herself again.
“God, I love this,” she muttered, and Lock turned to face her, skidding in the mulch and stopping between two trees.
Sunlight streamed between them, but it didn’t stop rain from starting to fall, patting the ground gently around them as clouds warred with sunlight.
She’d never had such a beautiful moment, where she was so one with nature. Where the sights and sounds all around her were so raw and so natural and she was a part of it.
Lock’s burnt-vanilla smell surrounded her, making even her wolf hungry inside, and she approached him, nuzzling into his neck so they could be close.
Even in these forms, it felt right to be next to him.
Why had she fought it for so long? Was it perhaps because she’d been holding back this side of her, and this side wanted him even more?
“I wish I could be as sure of everything as you are,” she murmured against him. “You’re always so confident, like nothing could ever go wrong. You just helped me and followed me and kept me safe and gave me whatever I wanted.” She looked up at him. “Why aren’t you ever afraid?”
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