by Emma Dawn
“Tell me about the one who bit me,” I whispered, desperate to push my mind elsewhere.
She butted her nose against me. “He was the Alpha who’d run from his pack, and left his son behind in order to try and break the cycle of corrupt power. He realized too late what he’d become, so he ran from himself to save his son. I believe he did the best he could.”
I lifted my head. “Wilder’s father is the one who bit me?”
“Yes. And it is part of our tie with Wilder. A true bond of pack mates long before you ever knew him. It is why you have connected with the men in the Windrun pack so easily. His father is the one who turned Havoc as well. Their blood is your blood, their past is your past. You belong here, we both do.”
“We belong here,” I whispered and held her tightly. I was home. I was whole for the first time in my entire life, everything made sense. The past was in the past and I was leaving it there. Now I just had to survive the gunshot and all would be well. I smiled to myself and opened my eyes.
I was in Ralph’s hut, flat on my back, a blanket pulled up to my chin.
Ralph had his back to me and was muttering under his breath something about bossy women.
I turned my head to see Janna on a stool, her eyes closed and her hands folded in her lap. As if she’d been unable to stay awake any longer. I reached under the blankets and felt along my belly.
There was a scar, and it was a thick ridged circle that I had a feeling would take much longer to heal than if I’d just gotten a simple cut.
I rolled to my side, wincing at the pain. “Janna.”
Her eyes flew open and I gave her a smile. “You keeping Ralph from peeking under the covers?”
Her smile was wobbly as she went to her knees beside the bed and took my hands in hers. “Cassie, we thought we’d lost you.”
“Nah,” I gave her a wink, “too stubborn for that dying shit.”
Her laugh was full of tears. She actually cared for me. Almost as if reading my mind, she nodded. “All the women have taken turns watching over you for an hour or so.”
My heart clenched and once more, I let the instincts that had protected me for so long open more fully. “What about Willow?”
Janna frowned. “No, she’s been busy.”
“That’s good.” I held my hands out to her and she helped me sit up while Ralph spluttered that I was to stay where I was, goddamn it.
I waved at him. “We have work to do, Ralph.”
“Work to do!” He spit the words at me. “I barely get you stitched up and you want to what, continue with the ceremony?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
His shoulders slumped and Janna tssked at him. “She’s the Alpha. She knows what she’s doing, Ralphie.”
I grinned at her. “Ralphie?”
She blushed and ‘Ralphie’ stormed past us and out of the hut. The door slammed behind him and I let out a sigh. “He’s a good guy.”
Janna nodded. “He is. I just wish he understood that there are things only a woman can know. He thinks because he’s a healer, he knows everything.”
I snorted, and instantly regretted the motion. “Can you help me get clothes on?”
She handed me a loose pull-over shirt and helped me shimmy into it. Then a pair of sweatpants that smelled like Havoc. I carefully put my feet into each leg hole and pulled the pants up. They were way too big, but with my wound that was perfect.
“Where are the Alphas?” I asked.
She looked away and swallowed hard. “They are putting on the trial.”
I frowned. “Trial?”
“Raider and Lisa. She was helping him sneak in and out of the castle, and she was the one trying to stir up the women against you.”
Well, shit, that was not good. “Shouldn’t I be there?”
“Normally, yes. But . . . well, we weren’t sure you would make it or even wake up. Silver poisoning is deadly.”
I touched the wound in my belly. “Let’s go. I might need to lean on you.”
“That’s okay.” She brightened up. I put one arm over her shoulders and wrapped the other around my middle.
“We have to make it all the way to the central courtyard in the Haven,” Janna said. “The trial only just started, so we have time to get there.”
“Good,” I said, though my teeth gritted against the pain in my middle. I kept my eyes on my feet and let Janna lead me through the forest. The snow was melting with a sudden flush of heat that was spring fighting to make itself known. Warm wind curled around me and I was shocked to see how much the snow had retreated already.
“It’s like I killed the Ice Queen,” I muttered.
Janna just laughed and tightened her hold around my waist.
The walk made my wound ache, and made me catch my breath every time I slid on the remaining icy slush.
But then we were at the steps of the Haven, and I was staring up at the entryway. Havoc’s voice reached me first.
“You claim you did all this to help the pack. How is that possible?”
Raider’s answer could not have shocked me more. “Because that bitch you call your Alpha is a threat to our pack. We would be better off with a submissive female, one who knows her place and who cares for those around her and doesn’t stir the women up to learn to fight.”
I let go of Janna and strode up the steps, anger fueling my movement and giving me the strength to get to the top on my own.
The crowd of wolves curled around the edges of the courtyard. “You mean you didn’t want them to learn to stand up for themselves? You wanted to keep them under your heel so you could rule them like a tyrant?”
My words echoed across the open space and the crowd pulled back, opening a space for me to walk through. My pack members reached out to touch me as I passed them, their touch filling my heart like nothing else could have.
This was my family.
This was my home.
And I was going to kick Raider’s ass out.
Chapter 20
Raider smiled at me as I approached him, and the courtyard seemed to melt away. On the peripherals, I could sense more than see my men.
Lyric, Brennan, Keenan, Colt, Tarack, Havoc, and Wilder, whether he liked it or not. He was mine too.
Their tension slid through the air, but I kept my eyes on Raider. “You are no longer a part of this pack.”
“So they tell me. But I claim the right to fight for my place here, and the place of my woman.”
I didn’t look left or right. “For Lisa.”
“No,” Willow said, “for me.”
I did turn then, shock filtering through me. “What did you do to Lisa?”
Willow shook her head. “She caught me and Raider planning. She was a liability and I killed her. She was the perfect scapegoat.”
A murmur went through the crowd.
“You . . . you can make yourself look like someone else, you can block the ability to send a message to someone bonded to another?” I couldn’t believe it. Willow had been my friend. I thought she was one of the few I could have trusted.
She shrugged her slender shoulders and took her place not beside Raider, but a half-step behind him. Submissive to that asshole. I felt bad for her, but I could see she liked her spot, and she didn’t want out of his shadow.
I shrugged. “Then you both can leave.”
“I’m not leaving,” Raider snarled. “This is my pack, and I claim it as my own.”
A gasp rippled around the edges of the courtyard and I realized he was doing some ceremonial shit that I should have probably asked about. But Ally’s words to me about breaking tradition still rang true in my heart.
“You can just piss off.” I straightened my back. “You want to fight for it? That’s what you’re saying?”
He grinned. “Yes, I would fight you and your chosen mate for this pack right here, right now.”
There was a chorus of ‘unfair, dirty pool, asshole’ thrown around. I smiled slowly at Raider. “You want to know who I’
ve chosen as my mate?”
“Ah, Cassie, this isn’t the ceremony,” Havoc said softly from my left. I looked at him, saw the strength in him and felt the bond that had tied him to me from the beginning. “I choose Havoc.”
There was a gasp, but I didn’t slow.
“I choose Lyric. I choose Brennan. I choose Keenan. I choose Colt. I choose Tarack.” I paused and let my eyes find the last of my men.
“I choose Wilder.”
There was a silence that fell over the crowd and I let my eyes drift back to Raider, words spilling up and out of me from a place that was all instinct. “I have chosen my mates, and it is their turn to decide if they will choose me in return.”
One by one, the men moved to stand in a loose ring around me, reaching out and touching me, until just Wilder remained on the edges. I wanted to explain to him why this would work, if only he could see past his fear and trust his wolf.
Slowly, he made his way to my group that faced a rather pale Raider and even paler Willow.
“Impossible.”
“I have made my choice, and you want to fight us for the leadership of the pack,” I said softly.
He took a step back, and then another and another. Willow went with him, her eyes wide and afraid, but there was also a splash of hatred. I didn’t move.
They turned and fled from the courtyard, their footsteps turning into the pad of paws on the stairs as they shifted.
A cheer went up through the pack, and I let myself slump. Havoc caught me in his arms and held me to his chest. “Cass, you should not be up and about.”
I managed to give him a smile. “Couldn’t let you boys think you were in charge on your own, now could I?”
His face was serious. “We need to talk about this.”
My heart sank, but I let my head drop to his chest. He carried me out of the courtyard and into the Haven to what I assumed was his room. Larger than the other bedrooms, there was plenty of space for all eight of us to be in there together.
Wilder stood by the door, but the others drew close to me and I reached out, touching them each.
“You can’t choose us all,” Wilder said. “It isn’t done.”
I shrugged. “I was told to choose the mate my wolf wanted. And she wants you all for different reasons. Lyric for the music only you and I hear. Brennan for your gentle touch. Keenan for your laughter. Colt for the understanding you give me. Tarack for the way you let me go my own way. Havoc for your strength I can lean on. Wilder for the loyalty you didn’t have to give me, but did.” I paused and motioned for Havoc to let me down. I slid to my feet and moved among them, touching them again, needing to feel the truth of my own words under their skin. “I know it is unconventional. I know wolves mate for life. But there was never any rule about having multiple mates. I would keep you all, if you would stay with me. But . . . I won’t force you.” My eyes, as did six other pairs, drifted to Wilder.
He stared at the floor. “Being an Alpha terrifies me.”
I went to him and took his hand. “You won’t be the only Alpha. There will be eight of us. You step out of line, I’m sure one of us will kick your ass.”
His eyes shot to mine. “A safety net.”
Havoc slipped up behind me, reached over my shoulder and put a hand on Wilder’s. “We’ll catch you if you fall, my friend.”
There was a murmuring of consent to the idea. I turned around. “I will give you a few days to think about this, until the ceremony.” I made my way to the bed and lay down. “I need to sleep.”
The fatigue of the walk, facing down Raider, baring my heart open for these men had drained the last of my reserves. Except I didn’t stay alone in the bed for long. My men curled up around me, reaching across one another to touch me, and give me their strength.
I only hoped this would remain the way of us, that they would all stay at my side. But already I felt one drifting away, uncertain and scared. Afraid to see this through, unwilling to fully share me.
I took his hand and lifted it to my lips. “There will always be a spot for you here in the pack. But if you must go, then go, and know you can always come home.”
He slipped away from me, a mournful look in his eyes that I knew would haunt me for a long time. But I would not force him, and if his place was not with me, then he would never be happy if he stayed.
The others tightened their hold on me and I let my body relax into their hands and arms, knowing I was safe. The pack was safe. And all I had left to do was some silly ceremony.
Right, as if becoming the official Alpha female of a werewolf pack was going to be anything even close to silly.
Chapter 21
Two days in bed with six amazing men sounds like the start of either a really sexy book, or a really dirty dream. In my case, while my spirit and mind were willing, my body was most certainly not. The gunshot wound in my belly was still healing—faster than if I’d been human, of course—but it would be another week before I would be back to normal, according to Ralph.
He bent over me, peering into my eyes with a tiny light. “Well, I think the ceremony will be fine to go ahead. You got Janna to help you dress?”
I nodded and slung my legs where I sat on the side of the bed like a kid. “Yes, Ralphie, I do.”
He grimaced at me. “Damn it, stop calling me that. Everyone is calling me that now!”
I grinned. “I know. It’s awesome.”
“Bah.” He shook both hands at me. “Go on, get dressed. Ceremony starts with the full moon. The Hive is already filling seats.”
Ralph left with a swirl of his robes and Janna grinned at me over a swath of satin in her arms. Dark deep burgundy satin, to be exact. “This will look stunning with your coloring.” Janna held the material out and helped me get the dress on and cinched it up in the back. The corseting helped my wound feel less like it was going to pop open with every breath, which I counted as a good thing.
I smoothed my hands down the upper part of the dress. It clung to me all the way down to my thighs, and from there flared outward in a scooping train that swirled around me as I tried it out. I walked around the room a few times before sitting and letting Janna work on my hair. She swept part of it up on top of my head, turning it into a beautiful piece of art rather than the tangled mess it had been all week.
“Thank you, for all your help,” I said.
She patted me on the shoulder. “Glad to have a woman here who knows her strength and isn’t afraid to use it. We are all better for it. Me especially.”
I stood and she hurried ahead of me. We worked our way through the castle and out the main doors. Out in the forest, my pack called to me.
I felt it in my bones, but it was the smell of ginger and pine that stopped me. “You go ahead,” I said to her. “I’ll follow in a bit.”
Janna gave me a wave. I let myself sink onto the stairs, my skirts pooling out around me.
I waited a good ten seconds before I called out to him. “Tarack . . .you came back.”
“To see you become the Alpha you were meant to be.” He crouched beside me. “I’m so sorry, Cass. When you gave me the choice, it was the first time it had been offered to me.” He reached up and ran a finger down my cheek. “That is a gift I cannot thank you enough for.”
A tear slid down my cheek, tracing the line he’d drawn. “You are sure you want to go?”
He nodded. “Something is calling to me out there. I don’t know what, but I know I have to follow it.” He leaned in and kissed me lightly. “I will be back, one day, I think.”
I touched his face. “Be safe, Tarack. And we will wait for you to come home.”
He pressed something into my hands, then stood and took a step back. “You are beauty and strength, Cass. Don’t forget that thorns are a part of that beauty.”
I looked down at what he’d put into my hand. A single red rose with thorns peeking out of the stem around my fingers. When I lifted my head, he was gone and a tiny piece of my heart went with him.
&nb
sp; “Goodbye, Tarack,” I whispered into the night air.
I wasn’t as sure as he was that he would be back. But I would not force him to stay for anything in the world. He had his path, and I had mine. I stood, clutching the rose in my hands and made my way out into the forest, the full moon my guide.
I walked between the trees, ghosting on my bare feet. Here and there, I caught a glimpse of one of my pack members, or one of Ally’s vampires.
Ralph stood on a thick slab of stone, his eyes on me. He was going to be inducting me into the pack? Maybe I shouldn’t have been calling him Ralphie the last few days.
Ah, well, my bad.
I gave him a grin and he pointed at the base of the rock and gave me a mock glare. “We’re going to keep this simple. You’ve chosen your mate?”
“Mates,” I corrected him. The six men I’d chosen, and who’d chosen to stay with me, stepped up to stand with me.
Ralph blew out a breath. “Fine. Mates. They agreed to this nonsense?”
One by one the men answered in the affirmative, each of their voices speaking to parts of me. I grinned like a kid in a candy store full of the most delicious, delectable—
“Stop with the dirty thoughts, you’re killing me,” Colt muttered.
I bit my lower lip but I couldn’t help it. Whatever these men had turned on in me wouldn’t be turned off. I wanted them all, and the injury in my belly didn’t seem to be the barrier my brain had first thought it would be.
I glanced at Havoc, and then Wilder. I hadn’t been with either of them, and I very badly wanted to rectify that.
Ralph was talking above us and then he snapped his fingers in front of my face, breaking the spell I seemed to be under. “Pay attention, this is the part where you tell us why you are the right Alpha, and then you have to shift to prove yourself.”
“I’ll ruin the dress,” I said.
“You could always strip,” Keenan offered with a grin and a wink.
He had a point. Not like I hadn’t been naked in front of a fair number of the pack already. I turned to face them. At the back of the crowd Ally and her men stood, watching. She glowed in the moonlight, shining like the beauty she’d always been.