by Kimber White
Jarred’s wolf strained to get out. My own tore at me. This was bad. Catastrophic. I read Peter Matthews’s need just as clearly. The men behind him strained against their own wolves, forming a line of threat behind their Alpha.
He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. Not here. Not like this. Peter curled his fists and widened his stance, signaling a clear challenge.
Marcus rose up just behind the Matthews pack. He stayed human, but his fangs dropped and he bit the air behind Roy. Locked in Peter’s mind, Roy stayed stone still, his eyes focused straight on Jarred.
Where was the rest of the pack? I closed my eyes and reached out with my mind. They were too far away, hunting near Jarred’s house. I sensed Charlie the strongest. Jarred put out a preternatural signal. Charlie would guard Camilla with his life. Then, another presence rose up, drawn by the energy around me.
Clint. In my mind’s eye, I could see his tiger, pacing along the lakeshore. He felt me. How was that possible? He knew I was in danger. My senses overloaded with his. My blood boiled and my breath came hot.
Peter sensed the change in me and misread it. He moved, reaching for me.
Jarred struck. He pulled me behind him and dropped his fangs. Curling his lips back, he snarled; his eyes blazed white.
Peter went deathly still. Only a bulging vein in his neck indicated the fury simmering just below the surface. “Consider this a formal challenge, Jarred,” he said, mustering more calm than I knew I could.
Jarred snapped his jaw. I put a hand on his back, trying to settle him. It only made his skin flush redder. If he shifted now, Peter’s pack would take it for the threat it was and all hell would break loose. Tuned in to his Alpha, Marcus was losing control too.
“Peter, don’t do this,” Jarred said.
“Pack law,” Peter said, his lips curling into a sinister smile. “I’ll give you until the next full moon.”
“Jarred?”
My brother reached back and gripped my arm hard. He was beyond words.
“In front of all these witnesses!” Peter shouted. “Here and now, as Alpha of the Matthews pack, I challenge you for the right to mate with Lucia!”
“The hell!” I said. I strained against Jarred’s grip but today he was stronger. “And I reject your challenge!”
Unfazed, Peter just kept on smiling. “Then your brother shall pay with his life and his pack.”
Before I could even respond, Peter turned and shifted on a dime. The rest of his pack followed. Six full-blooded wolf shifters bounded out of the store, fangs bared and fur flying, while what seemed like half the population of Wild Lake stood slack-jawed watching.
Seven
I wanted to shift. I wanted to run and never look back. It was as if every cell in my body had magnetized and tried to pull me northeast to Wild Lake. Jarred’s strong hands on my shoulders kept me seated. He’d threatened to chain me in dragonsteel if I tried to bolt.
After the skirmish with Peter’s pack, Jarred took control and called his own pack to the house. Now, we sat around Camilla’s long dining room table with me at the head and Jarred standing behind me. Marcus sat to my right. Charlie Devane to my left. Rounding out the table were Kyle, Joe, Jody, Zeke, Collin and Mitch. Camilla leaned against the far wall with Tucker in her arms, his sleeping head slumped against her shoulder. Marcus’s boy, Asher, played with toy blocks at her feet.
“My answer is still no,” I said. Camilla shot me a soft smile. I knew she was at least happy that I’d stopped yelling. And breaking stuff. It took Jarred, Marcus and one of the Lanier boys to subdue me back at the store.
Marcus grew brave. He leaned over and put a hand over mine. I let him. “We know. We get it.”
Hot tears threatened to spill. If I wasn’t smashing things, I just wanted to cry.
“The trouble is,” Marcus continued. “Peter’s escalated this to another level. I mean, I haven’t heard of a real mate challenge in, well, not in my lifetime. Not in my father’s either. What about the packs in the Pacific Northwest, Camilla?”
Tucker stirred in her arms, she adjusted him to her other shoulder. Camilla rocked him while she spoke. “One. About forty years ago.”
“Yeah?” Jarred asked, his tone flat. “Do I want to know how that turned out?”
Camilla tilted her head and raised a brow. How the hell could she always stay so calm? I don’t think I’d ever seen her fly into a rage unless she felt Tucker threatened. She was so many things I didn’t know how to be.
“Depends on who’s telling the story, I guess,” she answered. “It was for my Great Aunt Mary. My grandfather’s sister. Until I came along, she was the only she-wolf around. Anyway, a rival Alpha challenged my grandpa for her. He lost. But…”
“But what?” I said, rising from my seat. Jarred shoved me back down. I nipped at his hand and growled.
“After Granddad won the fight, it left a power vacuum in the other pack. My grandpa tried to assimilate them into his own pack, but it was a mess. The whole thing ended in a kind of civil war. Aunt Mary ended up mating with another member of the rival pack just to keep the peace. Things never really did calm down after that. It’s one of the reasons my father thought it might be a good idea to send me to Wild Lake. He didn’t want the same thing happening all over again.”
“You can take him,” Kyle said. He was younger than Jarred and me, more hotheaded. “Peter’s done nothing but cause trouble since…” He stopped himself, realizing the blunder he was about to make. I knew what he meant. Peter had been trouble ever since our father died and Jarred took over as pack Alpha.
Marcus shot a look to Kyle. As Jarred’s second and my father’s best friend, Marcus was a natural diplomat. He’d already filled the rest of the pack in on Peter’s attempts to stop the new exit from going in on the interstate.
“There has to be a solution,” Camilla said.
“Kyle’s right,” Charlie added. “Peter’s a problem. This shit he’s pulling over the exit going in hurts everyone’s bottom line. Jarred, your dad set it up so all of the packs would benefit from Wild Lake Outfitters. I think Peter knows this expansion is going to be the game changer Luke envisioned. It’s a power play. That’s all it is.”
“Is there any chance you can get him to withdraw this challenge and back off?” Joe asked. Along with Charlie, Marcus and Jody, he was the last of my father’s original pack.
“I’m not done trying,” Jarred said.
“It shouldn’t be you,” Marcus said. “It’ll make you look weak to the other pack members. Let me try to talk to him. Peter’s father and I were good friends once upon a time. That might still mean something to him.”
“And how does he not look weak by withdrawing?” Jody asked.
“Then I take it to him,” Jarred answered, growling. He finally took his hands off my shoulders but shot me a warning look. “It won’t be pretty, but I’ll end it.”
I caught Camilla’s eyes. She was worried.
“Why does it have to be you?” I said. “This is about me. If Peter wants a challenge, I’ll give him one.”
Mouths dropped around the table. Jarred went nonverbal, emitting a low, vibrating growl that subdued the others. In my case, it just stirred me back to anger.
“No,” Jarred finally said in that deep staccato. I knew him so well. I knew the words he wasn’t saying. I’d caused enough trouble. He didn’t blame me for not wanting anything to do with Peter. My brother was a lot of things, but it had been unfair of me to call him a pimp the other day. I’d said it to hurt him. But, I knew he wished I’d handled everything else better. More like...Camilla.
“Lucia,” she said. She leaned forward and deposited Tucker into Joe’s waiting arms. Tucker grumbled, but didn’t wake.
“This is ridiculous!” I shouted. Tucker’s eyes popped open and I wanted to kick myself. But, I’d started down the path, no sense stopping now. “I mean it. Peter doesn’t get me. No matter what. He can threaten you. He can try to rip the pack apart. It won’t change how I feel. I’m s
orry if it causes problems. But I just cannot compromise who I am.”
My wolf rumbled. I realized too late the Jarred hadn’t just been trying to keep me in my seat. He’d been helping me stave off the shift I’d wanted to make since Peter stormed into the store.
My brother turned to me, his eyes pleading. Camilla sensed my distress and put a hand on Jarred’s arm. She mouthed something to him. Let her go.
I didn’t wait for permission. I just made it out the door as my wolf ripped out of me. Dawn began to break over the horizon. The pack meeting had lasted all night. It would go on without me. I did what I always did. I took to the lake. That magnet pull feeling came back. It made my blood hot, my heart race. Beneath all of that, another, deeper sensation started to grow.
The Rise.
Could Jarred be right? For weeks now I’d struggled for control. Even before Peter’s challenge, I’d felt so unsettled. A craving I didn’t know how to quench. As pink bands streaked across the sky, I opened my heart and let instinct propel me forward.
Eight
Before I knew what was happening, I reached the edge of the lake on the north edge of Aunt Pat’s farm. The cabin hideaway was just around the corner. A rocky ledge jutted out over the water. In the summer, I liked to sunbathe on it. If I kicked out far enough, I could dive to the deepest part of the lake from it.
I stood on the ledge and arched my back. As night gave way to day, both the sun and moon were still out. Irony washed over me. The sky mirrored the conflict inside of me. Something was wrong with me. Two forces pulled at me. The one tethering me to my brother’s pack and the things I was raised to be. The other...more dangerous, wild, wanting to run.
I let out a baleful howl that echoed across the lake. Every pack could hear it if they were listening. But, I was safe here. No man’s land. If only I could stay here for the rest of my life.
Then, I knew I wasn’t alone. My heart skipped as twin golden orbs hovered low in the tree line to my right. My breath caught and I swayed on my feet.
Raising my snout, I breathed in his scent. It warmed me, sending waves of desire through me.
Clint’s tiger took the first few loping steps out of the trees toward me. He was still here. He should have run for Canada when he had the chance. Bonner property or not, the packs would never leave him alone if they figured out he was here.
I froze. Magic swirled all around me. With the sun and moon bearing witness, the tiger moved toward me. His stripes rippled with each slow, graceful stride. His massive paws left deep prints in the sand.
My wolf could move with agile speed. Clint’s tiger had a different kind of strength, moving with regal, powerful steps. He joined me on the rock. We stood nose to nose as he lowered his head. Tiger and wolf. As different as the sun and the moon. His nostrils flared as he took in my scent. My fur rippled with pleasure as Clint chuffed and rubbed his cheek against mine.
He stepped away first. Sitting on his haunches, he was taller than me by more than a foot. His breath came hot and hard, his huge chest heaving. I wanted to touch him. Needed it. Slowly, I lowered myself to my front paws and shifted.
Clint jerked his head sideways, his tiger inviting me closer. He yawned, letting out a rumbling growl. I knelt before him, sliding my fingers into the thick, white fur on his chest. I could feel his heartbeat, pumping like a bass drum as I leaned in closer.
His green eyes locked with mine. His were keen, inquisitive, with a simmering fury just below the surface. As I slid my hands down his back, Clint purred with pleasure. Then, with a pop of energy, he shifted. Seamless. Graceful. My fingers played over the taut, tanned skin of his arms until I stepped back.
We stood there, staring into each other’s eyes for a moment. Neither of us knowing quite what to say. For my part, I was afraid I’d break whatever spell this was between us. For his, maybe it was the same.
“You’re still here,” I finally said.
He gave me the hint of a smirk. “It didn’t seem safe to leave.”
“For you?”
Clint looked out at the lake. It was still as glass. Three young swans glided across the surface. They were part of this year’s group of cygnets. Their parents had long since cast them off, but these three stayed together.
“Something’s happened,” he said, stepping off the rock onto the shore. He turned his back to me. I couldn’t help but stare at the rock hard curve of his ass as he found his jeans and put them on. I suddenly became aware of my own nakedness. Clint tossed me his shirt before he turned back around. Red and white checkered flannel, the hem hung almost to my knees as I quickly buttoned it and went to the beach to join him.
“Are you going to tell me what it was?” he asked. His eyes flashed with dark mystery. “There’s a pack prowling the northwest border of Wild Lake. Five of them. I thought they were looking for me at first. They weren’t though, were they?”
My throat ran dry. It could only be one thing. “No,” I answered.
Clint made a noise deep in his chest, part growl, part purr, all danger. “What do they want with you?”
Instinct told me it was dangerous to tell him. He was an outsider, not even a wolf. Jarred would want to strangle me if he knew I was even talking to someone like Clint. Fire lit inside me. Danger drew me even closer.
“It’s complicated,” I said.
Clint stood in front of me like a stone mountain, tall, broad, looming. His eyes were hard. “I think it’s pretty simple. I saw what happened back at the bar. Are you going to try and tell me it’s something else? I know some of the wolves I ran into up here are the same ones who tried to mess with you. I know what they want, Lucia.”
He clenched his jaw. He seemed barely able to contain his tiger.
“It’s being handled,” I lied. I don’t know what made me do it, but my senses told me Clint might lose control if I told him the full truth.
“You shouldn’t be out here alone,” he said, sounding a hell of a lot like my brother.
“Well, I’m not alone now, am I?” I tried to make my tone light. It did nothing to take that look of protective fury off Clint’s face. Just like my brother, indeed. He didn’t know me. We’d only just met. So why was he looking at me like that? Why did I like it so much?
“Come on,” I said. “I told you you’re safe enough to hide out at the cabin. Do you want to head back there?”
I started to walk past him. Clint shot out a hand. He gripped my arm, not hard, but firm. “Those wolves,” he said. “That pack. I think you’d better tell me what’s going on.”
“Only if you tell me who’s really after you.” I turned his question right back on him. Clint lifted his chin then his stone-cold expression melted into a smile.
“It’s complicated.” I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Well, you first.”
He let out a sigh. “You have something unique here. Wolf packs don’t live close like this in other parts of the world. Not many other groups of shifters either. Nobody. You’ve never lived anywhere but here, have you?”
“Not since I was little, no.”
“Well, you’re lucky. I don’t know how you guys have done it. I mean, I can sense the territorial boundaries, but how many packs are there in Wild Lake?”
“Five at the moment,” I answered. “And they don’t always get along.”
“Right. But you’re not trying to kill each other on a regular basis. Rumor is you’re all in business together.”
I couldn’t tell if this was an interrogation or genuine curiosity. Instinct told me it was the latter. I prayed I hadn’t misjudged Clint.
“We are. Wild Lake Outfitters. But, that’s complicated too.”
“I can imagine. I was working for a group of jaguar shifters down in Venezuela. Deep sea gold mining. Things went south. Another group of shifters came in and took the operation over by force.”
“And you couldn’t just go to work for the new management?” We walked along the shoreline, the rising sun beating down on our backs.<
br />
“I told you, it doesn’t work that way in most other places. It was brutal and bloody. They wiped out every jag within a twenty-mile radius. I was out of allies. Couldn’t take on a whole pride by myself. It was time to move on. I heard some rumors there might be mining work up in Canada. So, I packed what was left of my gear and came. I was meeting with a guy at that bar where I first met you.”
I stopped walking and turned to him. “You came all the way from Venezuela on your way to Canada by way of Michigan? That’s what I’d call the long way, my friend.”
A silence fell between us as Clint directed that hard gaze back at me. He looked on the verge of telling me something else, but stopped himself. Instead, he reached for me, tucking the hair behind my shoulder. My whole body quivered with heat at his touch. It got hard to see straight.
“Those wolves were hunting you, weren’t they?”
My pulse skipped. “It’s not like that.” Except, I knew it was. It was exactly like that. Clint seemed able to read the answer in my eyes instead of the lie on my lips.
He threw his head back and let out a roar that rattled my jaw. His hands were on me, gripping me tight.
“I can handle it,” I said. It seemed vitally important to calm him down. “It’s not your problem. It sounds like you have enough of your own. But, it’s going to be my problem if any of the Wild Lake wolves find me talking to you. We should get you back to the cabin.”
I meant to pull away from him. But, Clint stayed as immovable as the rock ledge where he’d found me. His eyes burned with green fire and the same question.
“Yes,” I said, breathless. “The Alpha of that pack you sensed, he...he wants me.”
Clint’s lips curled back in a snarl. My blood caught fire.
He wants me. He wants me.
Clint tucked his finger under my chin, lifting my face so I had to meet his gaze. “Do you want him?” he asked, his voice low.
One beat. Two. My heartbeat slammed between my ears. Heat. Fire. The sun and moon.
“No,” I said. My hands took on a life of their own. I slid them up Clint’s arms until my fingers ran through his hair, pulling him down to me. I went up on my tiptoes. Clint’s lips found mine, igniting my soul.