by Jess Bryant
“Michael…” Rafe tried again but his brother cut him off with a cruel laugh.
“I guess it means you were telling the truth at least. You didn’t come home to take the pack from me. You really don’t want to be part of the Moirae pack at all.”
Zoey could sense the hurt in Michael’s words and from the way Rafe tensed she knew he could too. Rafe had come home. Michael had gotten his brother back. But Rafe had lost his link to the pack and now he’d taken Zoey from them too.
“Michael…” She reached out for him but he stepped back and she winced at the slice of pain his avoidance caused. “Don’t. Don’t be upset. It just… happened. He didn’t plan it. We didn’t even know!”
“I know.” Michael nodded again but he wouldn’t look at them, “It explains a lot though. Explains why our wolves are so at odds. Two Pack Alphas on the same land. Two Pack Alphas fighting over a member of their pack. Mine wanted to keep Zoey human so she was Moirae. Yours had to make her a wolf to create yours. Two Alphas this close to one another, with a claim on one person, of course it caused trouble. Alphas of separate packs aren’t meant to coexist peacefully.”
Zoey frowned at that. What did that mean? The pack dealt with plenty of other Alphas. Michael met with all the local packs once a month to keep the peace. How was this different?
“This doesn’t have to mean what you think it means.” Rafe frowned. “We’re not leaving, Michael. We’re not starting our own pack. I may be a born Alpha but I’m not Pack Alpha material. Not anymore. I claimed Zoey. She’s mine. Fine. But as far as I’m concerned, our pack is big enough with just the two of us. We’re not going anywhere.”
Zoey could hear the truth in everything that Rafe said. She could feel the worry that he was losing his brother again, right in front of his eyes. They hadn’t known. How could they have known? But Moirae pack or not, she knew Michael well enough to know that he was upset and that he didn’t quite believe his brother.
He didn’t trust him. Not yet. Not after he’d left. Not after he’d stayed gone for years. Not when he didn’t trust Rafe with her.
She bit her lip, “Babe, why don’t you give me and Michael a minute to talk?”
Rafe growled low in his throat.
“Stop it.” She turned to face him and forced him to look at her, “You’re asking him to trust you, right? Trust that you’re not taking me away from my home and my family? Trust that you didn’t come here to break up the pack?” Rafe gave a slight nod. “Then I’m asking you to trust me. Let me talk to him. Alone. Please?”
“Zo…”
“I know.” She reached up and cupped his face, “I know you’re worried about me but you don’t have to protect me from Michael. He’s your brother and he’s my best friend. He won’t hurt me.”
“Never.” Michael confirmed from behind her.
Rafe growled again but he gave another nod, “Fine. I don’t like it, but fine.”
“Thank you.”
“The Enforcer stays with me though.” Rafe snapped over her head. “He stays here where I can keep an eye on him and you stay on the property, where I can sense you and get to you fast if I need to. That’s the only way this happens.”
Zoey rolled her eyes, “Rafe…”
“Deal.” Michael spoke over her and then, louder, “Darius, I know you heard all that. Get your ass up here and keep my brother company while Zo and I go for a little walk.”
Rafe glared, “Where I can see you. At. All. Times.”
Zoey sighed, “Okay but…”
“No buts.” Rafe swept down and sealed his lips over hers, stopping her protest before it could even get started.
If she’d been teaching Michael a lesson when she’d kissed him earlier, Rafe was giving him a show.
He took her mouth as if he would never get to taste her again. Heat flared despite their audience and she moaned and tiptoed up for more. He took advantage and swiped his tongue into her mouth, greedily stroking hers until the fire between them threatened to burn out of control. She whimpered when he broke the kiss just as quickly as he’d started it and he smirked as if he was proud of himself.
She smacked his chest playfully, “Possessive bastard.”
He caught her hand and kissed her palm before placing it over his heart, with a shake of his head “Possessive mate.”
“Yeah, yeah, we all get it.” Michael snorted from behind her, “You already marked her no need to tattoo your name on her forehead. She’s yours.”
Zoey blushed slightly but that only made Rafe’s grin widen even more. God, he actually liked the idea of tattooing his name on her. She rolled her eyes and pushed away from him despite her hormones itching to climb him like a tree.
“I’ll be right back.” She promised.
“I’ll be waiting.” He swore right back and then glared at his brother, “And watching.”
Chapter 17
It was strange, being so close to Michael and not feeling anything but the warmth of familiarity. No longing. No sadness. Just comfort and friendship.
Still, she’d ducked inside and pulled a jacket on over her tank top. She’d thought it would make Rafe a little more accepting of her talking to his brother privately. Instead, he’d unzipped it and pulled it to the side, kissing her mark that he’d put back on display before letting her step off the porch.
Darius glared at her as she slipped past him and she contemplated flipping him off. Asshole Enforcer. Darius was stone cold and he cared about exactly one person and one person only. Michael. He protected his Pack Alpha at all costs and he’d clearly decided that Michael now needed to be protected from her.
She didn’t bother waiting to comment on it until they had walked out of earshot because they were all wolves here now, “I take it Darius now considers me the enemy?”
Michael shot a look at his Enforcer and his friend, “Don’t take it personally.”
“Oh, I’m taking it personally because that’s exactly what it is.”
“Zo,” Michael used that warning tone with her, “He protects me from anyone that’s not pack.”
“And I’m not pack anymore.” She scoffed, “So it doesn’t matter that I’m your best friend? That I’m your brothers mate? I’m a threat now?”
“No. You’re just… different. And Darius doesn’t like different. He doesn’t like change.”
“Yeah, neither do you.”
Michael scrubbed his face and then tucked his hands into his pockets, “You’re right. I don’t. I don’t like surprises and I don’t like change and I really, really don’t like that you’re a wolf, Zoey.”
She winced, “You really never wanted me to be a wolf, did you?”
“No.”
The slash of pain in her chest surprised her. She hadn’t thought her heart would still hurt so badly to know that Michael had never considered her worthy of truly being part of his pack. Somehow, her wolf growling at him didn’t surprise her at all though. She was strong, even newborn, and she wasn’t a big fan of Michael saying she shouldn’t exist.
He sighed, “It’s not what you think, Zo. It’s just… being what I am, it’s controlled my entire life. I never had a chance to make my own decisions. Being a shifter, having a wolf, it takes away your freedom and I never wanted that for you. I wanted so much more for you than this life.”
Zoey jammed her hands in the pockets of her jacket and considered what he was saying as they walked along the edge of the forest. She knew Michael wanted the best for her. She’d always known that. But she still couldn’t understand why he thought there was a better life for her than this one.
The one fate had chosen for her.
“Michael.” She chose her words carefully, “This is the life I’ve always wanted. To be one of you. To be a wolf and truly be part of the pack. To be with…”
“Me.” He snorted, “You wanted to be with me.”
She winced because she’d been going to say that she wanted to be someone’s mate. She wanted that kind of love and devotion.
The kind that meant two souls were stitched together as one. But he was right too, as much as it made things awkward. She wasn’t confused anymore. She didn’t want Michael anymore. She only wanted her mate because he’d given her those other things.
“Michael…”
“Don’t bother denying it, Zo. I know you. I know you wanted it to be me just as much as I wanted it to be you.”
She groaned because she knew those words would hurt her mate, could practically feel him flinch through the bond, “But it’s not. It’s not and we were only hurting each other pretending otherwise. You said so yourself.”
“I know.”
“So why can’t you just be happy for me?”
Michael sighed, “Zo, if I thought you were happy maybe I could be but…”
“I am.” She growled when he shot her a skeptical gaze, “I am!”
“Zo…”
“Damn it Michael! You’re a wolf. You can sense that our scents are already mixing. You can sense our bond and it’s strong. I know you damn well heard us before you slammed that car door and…”
“That’s the heat.” He growled.
“No. It’s not.” Zoey stopped walking and shook her head at him sadly, “The heats waned. It pushed us together but it’s not what’s keeping me here. I’m here because this is where I’m supposed to be. This is where I want to be. He’s who I want to be with. He’s who I was meant to be with.”
She meant every word. Rafe was hers. She was his. Their wolves would bond tonight and the circle would be complete, just the way fate intended it. Whatever thoughts she may have had about fighting it when she first found out, whatever confusion she’d felt when she spontaneously developed feelings for Rafe that outweighed years of what she felt for Michael, she knew there was no going back. And she didn’t want to.
She finally belonged and it was with Rafe.
“You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.” Michael argued.
“Look, I know you’re still trying to protect me but…”
“No. It’s my turn to say something.” He turned her around by the shoulders until she was facing the cabin, until she could see Rafe standing on the edge of the porch watching them. His shoulders were tense and his eyes were narrowed and she could see him scowling even from here, probably because Michael was touching her. Michael continued, “You think his bossy, protective stance is what… hot right now? It’s hot that he wants you this much. But it’ll get old, Zo. You can’t stand being micromanaged and he’s going to try and control your every move.”
She pulled away from Michael’s hands, “He’s my mate. Of course he’s going to be protective.”
“It’s more than that. After what happened to our parents, to Gabe… he’s never going to be comfortable letting you out of his sight.”
Zoey’s heart squeezed at the reminder of all her mate had lost, of all her friend had lost, and just why it was so important for them to find a way to come back together, if not as pack, then as family, “I know he’s had a rough time but I think… I think that’s part of the reason fate put us together. For this. To bring him home and keep him here. To help you two fix things.”
“You can’t fix him, Zo.”
She turned back to face her friend, “I can try.”
“He’s feral. His wolf is uncontrollable.”
Her jaw clenched, “He controlled his wolf last night. He’s in control with me. The bond, it helps.”
Michael’s throat bobbed and she knew he was swallowing something he wanted to say. Something that would likely piss her off. She knew him well but he knew her too. This wasn’t a fight he could win. It was already done. It was time to move on… for both of them.
He finally sighed, “Just don’t get your hopes up, okay?”
She narrowed her eyes at that, wanting to tell him, again, that Rafe would never hurt her. Instead, she did the same thing he’d done. She swallowed back the argument. Instead, she turned and started walking again and only once she felt him fall into step beside her did she try to lighten the mood.
“I think what you’re meaning to say is, ‘wow, look at that, I was right all along. You’re my sister now and I’m so happy that you and my brother are going to build a life here in Noir where we can all be together.’ Right?”
Michael barked a laugh and Zoey smiled. That was a laugh she’d heard all her laugh. Michael had always been quick to it, at least with her. He was serious with the rest of the pack, with the rest of the world, but he was just Michael with her. Maybe because somewhere deep inside they’d always known they were family. Rafe’s laugh sounded a lot like Michael’s only rougher, like it had never been used. But maybe she could change that too.
They walked in silence for a bit before she brought up the real problem at hand, “We’re not going anywhere.”
Michael groaned, “Zo…”
“He meant what he said.” She cut him off quickly, “He doesn’t want to run away with me. He wants to finally come home. This is his home.”
“Zo, two Alphas on the same land, even if he wants to stay… it’s a bad idea.”
“You really think your wolves will have that much of a problem sharing space?”
“Well they certainly didn’t like the idea of sharing you, did they?”
She snorted, “It’s different now. Rafe and I are mated.”
“It is different now.” Michael conceded, “You’re not pack anymore.” He must have seen her wince because he sighed, “I’m not saying that to hurt you. It’s just the truth. You’re Rafe’s now. You belong with him. Fine. But neither of you are Moirae pack.”
“Hey.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop, “I’m Moirae pack. I’ll always be Moirae pack. And Rafe’s your brother. So is he.”
“But...”
“You heard him. We’re not starting our own pack. He never wanted to be Pack Alpha. If he did, he’d have stayed instead of giving it to you and leaving. He’d have fought for it when he came back. He doesn’t want to be Alpha of a pack.”
“It doesn’t matter what he wants, Zo. He’s a born Alpha. He has his mate. When you two make pups… they’ll be part of your pack. Their mates and their kids will be your pack. They won’t be Moirae.”
Zoey almost smiled at the mention of her and Rafe having pups. She liked that idea. She liked it a lot. She really liked it that Michael was acknowledging she was Rafe’s and that they would have a family together. But then it hit her in the gut that he was right. If she and Rafe weren’t Moirae pack then their children wouldn’t be either. And that hurt because she’d always wanted her children to be part of the pack that was her family.
Only, Rafe was her family now.
“And it doesn’t help that the cabin is on Moirae land.” Michael was still talking and she shook off the moment of melancholy.
Rafe was her family. They would make their own family. But her parents were Moirae pack. She would always be Moirae pack in her heart no matter what.
“What?” She blinked in confusion. “What’s the cabin have to do with anything?”
“My wolf considers it his because it sits on his land. Maybe Rafe was supposed to be Moirae Alpha but he isn’t. I am. It’s mine. My wolf’s claim on it still stands because the pack owns it.”
“Property law? We’re going to get into property law now?” She rolled her eyes, “That’s an easy fix, Michael. Sell us the cabin and the land here around it.”
“My wolf…”
“Won’t like giving up part of what he considers his land. Fine. But isn’t it better than driving me and Rafe away because your animal is a possessive bastard?”
Michael opened his mouth, shut it again and then sighed, “I’ll think about it.”
“Thank you.” She nodded gratefully.
She hadn’t expected him to simply agree. Giving up land was a big deal to shifters. Their animals bonded to the land. It was their safe place to run and be themselves in any form. Michael was a good Alpha and no good Alpha would giv
e up his land easily. But she trusted that he would, because he wanted his brother to stay, wanted her to stay, even if he wouldn’t say so.
They headed back towards the house and Zoey easily changed the subject by asking about the problem with the Crescent pack. Michael scowled at her and told her to stay out of it, that it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle. Which meant he was intending to get the Moirae pack involved, and that made her smile.
He really was a good Pack Alpha. He couldn’t stand the thought of a bad one destroying a pack. And, it had the added advantage that it was Rafe’s friend that had asked them to get involved. They would stand together on this and then, when the time came, Michael’s wolf would know that Rafe, and his pack, no matter how big or small they ended up being, would have his back.
Win. Win. Well, for everyone but that bastard Alpha, Maddox.
Michael stopped at his truck, “Stay safe tonight.”
Zoey smiled, “I’ll be fine. I promise. I’m going to change tonight for the first time, with Rafe, and we’re going to finalize the bond.”
“I know just…”
“He won’t hurt me.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Zoey hugged her friend for worrying about her. Michael wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. She smiled against his chest. Friendship. Family. That’s all there was between them. All there had ever been, really, despite what they’d wanted. And that was okay, because this was what felt right.
“I’m not going to hurt him either.” She said softly and Michael’s grip on her tightened before he released her.
“Take care of each other.” Michael smiled softly as he stepped back from her and motioned for Darius to come as he waved goodbye to his brother, “Please.”
“Always.”
Michael chuckled, “And don’t let his wolf push you around too much.”
“It’s like you don’t know me at all.” She winked as she slid past a still glaring Darius and back towards her mate.
He was scowling. Of course. But she couldn’t stop smiling. Because for the first time, she knew that everything was going to be okay for them. For all of them.