Hidden Destiny (Redwood Pack)

by Ryan, Carrie Ann

  This wasn’t supposed to fucking happen.

  He knew how mates were supposed to find each other and find their happy endings—or whatever crap his sisters-in-law spouted. He’d thought he knew his destiny.

  He was the last single Jamenson brother.

  He wasn’t supposed to find her, only to find out he would never get the chance to have her.

  He’d blinked at Lexi when she’d said that name. Fucking blinked and walked away without saying a damn word. He left her standing in the room, her pain radiating off her like it had a tangible essence.

  “Fuck!” North yelled, his chest heaving. A thin trail of sweat rolled down his back, and he fisted his hands. He needed to run on four paws and get the adrenaline out of his system. If he didn’t…he wouldn’t be able to control his actions.

  His wolf knew this.

  The man didn’t want to think about it.

  He stood on the edge of where the forest met the open area for the den’s homes. The full moon was long past so it wasn’t the goddess calling him to run. Wolves didn’t need to shift with the moon anyway. They only shifted when they needed to and did on the nights of the full moon as tradition when they could.

  Now, though, North needed to move.

  He pulled his shirt over his head, toed off his shoes, and shucked off his pants in swift movements, leaving a trail of clothes behind him as he moved.

  Then he shifted.

  It was painful as hell—the same way it was for all wolves.

  However, unlike other wolves, he didn’t need to get on all fours and wait for the change to happen.

  No, he could run while he shifted.

  His wolf was special that way.

  He took off on two feet and ended up on four paws. They pounded into the dirt as he picked up speed. He let the light of the crescent moon wash over him, touching his fur through the trees. He jumped over a fallen log and moved even faster.

  He just needed to run.

  To feel free.

  To forget the worries that attacked his soul, his future.

  North let the wolf take over, the other part of himself darker, stronger than he’d let others know. His wolf wasn’t evil…far from it. No, his wolf was more primal than even the most dominant of wolves. Yes, all wolves were animals, but werewolves were sentient beings that had full-on conversations with their human halves. His wolf tended to think and act like a true wolf recognizing only prey and not-prey, and the most basic ways to fight battles. Not with words, but with claws and teeth. He knew his wolf stayed at the surface, unlike others. He knew his connection to his wolf was different. He didn’t need to speak to his wolf and hear its thoughts like his brothers. No, his wolf would control him if North wasn’t careful.

  He was always careful.

  He’d almost killed Maddox when they were boys because he hadn’t been careful. He could still remember the shocked look on his twin’s face, a mirror image of his own. North had backed off quickly then ran for his life, afraid Maddox would tell their father and Alpha that North had no control over his wolf.

  He’d underestimated his twin though.

  Maddox hadn’t told their father what had happened only letting North know that he would if it happened again.

  Their twin bond was far stronger than the familiar bonds that held their family together, and though North was grateful for the reprieve, it didn’t make him feel any better about how strong his wolf was.

  He ran at an unforgiving pace for over an hour, the scents of forest and its scared inhabitants rushing over him. The prey knew a predator was in their midst and were right to be afraid.

  The burn in his muscles echoed the one in his heart, but he couldn’t stop. He needed something more, something to take the darkness from him, but he didn’t know what.

  Another scent hit him hard, and he slowed down.

  Logan seemed eager to join him for some reason.

  Fuck.

  North turned on a dime, still in wolf form, hackles raised.

  Logan burst through the trees, his black wolf form large and intimidating.

  Well, at least it would be intimidating for most.

  North wasn’t most.

  Logan stopped in front of him, his fangs bared.

  North lunged.

  His teeth scraped against Logan’s neck but didn’t sink in. He didn’t want to kill the man, only get rid of the rage. Logan pivoted out of the way and nipped at North’s flank. North pulled back and growled, wanting, no, needing, to fight.

  Logan nodded then moved.

  North met him in the middle and clawed at him, the tips of his claws scraping against the flesh beneath Logan’s fur.

  They nipped, clawed, and growled at each other, both of them pulling back at just the right moment so they wouldn’t draw blood.

  The burn felt good across his skin as the rage poured out of him. Logan growled and started to shift to human form, surprising North.

  North changed as well, though faster than the other man.

  Not by much though, which again surprised him.

  It seemed Logan held secrets of his own.

  Before North could blink, he ducked Logan’s fist.

  The fight was over on four paws, but not two feet.

  North swung his arm, connecting with Logan’s chin. Logan’s head rocked back before he kicked North in the thigh. North’s stance didn’t waver, and he punched the man in the stomach. The breath whooshed out of Logan before he twisted, and North took a fist to the jaw as well.

  They fought, fists smashing against flesh, their kicks aiming at parts they wouldn’t break. It wasn’t lost on North that they were both very naked fighting each other, but nudity didn’t matter to wolves. He didn’t even know why he thought about it then.

  Finally, they each took a step back, both bruised and bleeding from where their punches, kicks, and claws had hit.

  “Feel better?” Logan rasped out, his breath uneven.

  Considering they’d both fought to the fullest they could without actually killing each other, North was out of breath too.

  The darkness, though, had receded. The run and battle had helped.

  It just didn’t help everything.

  “Some,” he said, his breath finally even.

  “You want to tell me what the fuck that was about?” Logan asked.

  They both sat down on the grass between the trees, not bothering to cover up since they didn’t have clothing. Neither looked at the other.

  “What do you mean?” North had assumed Lexi had told Logan that he’d broken her—or at least hurt her—and Logan had found him to kick his ass.

  He’d have done the same to any bastard who’d done anything like that to Cailin.

  “Fuck. I felt your rage from the other side of the house. I left Parker with Lexi and ran to find you.”

  North blinked. That hadn’t been what he’d been expecting. His family usually didn’t feel his rage, his darkness. He could hide it from everyone because it seemed only like the strength of his wolf. The only position in the Pack he normally wouldn’t have been able to hide from was the Omega. However, since Maddox was his twin and his brother could never feel him, North was able to hide.

  Logan, though, there was something wrong with that.

  The other wolf let out a breath. “I’m not saying that I have a power to do that, North. My wolf is just closer to the surface than most—same as yours. That’s why I felt it. I was also watching out because if you were to hurt my sister, I’d kill you.”

  “I’m not going to hurt Lexi,” he whispered, knowing that was true. No matter what happened or how he dealt with the impact of her confession, he wouldn’t hurt her.

  He couldn’t hurt her.

  “Are you sure about that?” the other man asked, rubbing a hand through his hair. Logan winced and looked at the cut on his inner arm. “How the hell did you cut me here?”

  North ignored the first part of Logan’s statement, unable to deal with exactly what Lexi’s
brother had meant, and raised a brow. “I’m better, stronger, faster, and cleverer than you?”

  Logan snorted. “You can tell yourself anything you want so you can sleep at night, but don’t lie to me.”

  “You don’t think I’m better, stronger, faster, and cleverer than you?”

  Logan let out a breath, all traces of humor gone from his face. As it was, North had long since lost the humor of this situation. In fact, there wasn’t any. He was just sitting in the middle of the forest with the brother of the woman he’d not only hurt, but lost before he’d even known he’d had a shot.

  Fate fucking sucked.

  A lot.

  “North, what the fuck happened?”

  “Don’t you already know?”

  Logan’s gaze met his, the angry burning there almost scalding. “I know what she was planning on telling you. I know that she’s been through hell and back because of others. I’ve had to sit back and let her take it without being able to do anything about it because I love my sister more than anything. I know that I’ve had to kill to protect my family, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I know that I left Parker with his mother because she needed someone to hold on to when I came after you, but she will only comfort him and not take his comfort because she doesn’t like to break down—no, she won’t—break down in front of her son…or anyone.

  “So, yes, I do know a few things, but why don’t you lay it out for me?”

  The fury slicing across North’s body was nothing compared to the anguish lying beneath Logan’s words. The man could do nothing for his sister more than he already had, and it was killing him.

  “I’m going to kill him, Logan,” North began.

  “Apparently it’s fated and all that shit, so it better fucking happen,” Logan spat. “Tell me what happened with Lexi, not what’s going to happen in the future. We’ll get to that in a minute.”

  “You didn’t just ask her?”

  “No. I came after you because I felt that anger. I wanted to take care of it or at least have it directed at me rather than my sister.” He let out a tired breath. “I’d do anything for my family, North.”

  “I’d do the same for mine.”

  “Then we understand each other. Tell me. Tell me what happened.”

  North swallowed hard and ran a hand over his face, wincing as he brushed against his cut lip. He would heal within the hour, at least that small cut, due to his strength and being a werewolf, but the pain helped him focus.

  “I thought we were mates. Hell, I thought that I was finally going to get what my brothers had. I stayed away when she first came here, or at least as far away as I could, because you guys were just settling in, but I never expected to be forced to stay away forever.”

  “She told you to stay away forever then?”

  North frowned. “No. Not exactly. Shit. I don’t know. Jesus, Logan. How the hell could this have happened?”

  “He fucking took her from our home and raped her, North,” Logan spat. “The Talons, under our old Alpha at least, were weak. At least weaker than the rest of you. Corbin saw her, wanted her despite her protests, and took everything he could from her. Everything.”

  North moved and punched the trunk of the tree behind him, the bite of the bark a sweet elixir against the pain already running through his body, his heart.

  “I don’t know what I’m going to do. Shit. Corbin is Parker’s father. That means Ellie’s his aunt. All these connections, this web, it’s getting crazy.” North took a deep breath. “How the hell did Corbin accomplish this? It makes no sense.”

  Logan growled, his eyes glowing gold. “I have a feeling you’re calling Lexi a liar.”

  “What? Fuck. No. I want to know how Corbin did it. I can feel here,” he slammed his fist against his chest, over his heart, “that Lexi didn’t want this. That she wanted nothing to do with it.”

  “At least you believe her on that part.”

  “Of course I do. God, my wolf knows she wants us. And I know the only good thing that ever came out of her being in this situation is that little boy.” Something then occurred to him that made his stomach tie itself into even more knots. “Does Parker know who his father is?”

  Logan narrowed his eyes and gave a sharp nod. “We don’t keep secrets from each other. Not when it could mean life or death. We’re all we have.”

  “All you had. You’re a Redwood now,” North said absently, knowing there were other things on the line and saying they were Redwoods meant nothing to those who wanted to cast all evil out. The others thought the Andersons were evil because they’d been kicked out of the Talons yet no one had proof of why they’d been kicked out.

  The Jamensons knew what had happened and trusted them but that didn’t mean others would.

  Lexi told him that there were those rumbling dissent, something North himself had been feeling recently. He’d have to warn his father and his family, though he had a feeling they might already know.

  He’d have to warn them of a lot of things now.

  There was no way he’d keep what he’d learned from his father.

  He couldn’t.

  He just had to decide whose side he’d take if he was forced to choose.

  He thought of the way Lexi made his wolf feel…of the way she made the man feel.

  There was no other choice.

  There couldn’t be.

  “Do you know what you’re going to do? You can’t mate with Lexi. Not with Corbin alive.”

  “I’m just going to have to kill him.”

  Logan nodded approvingly. “Good. I’ll have your back. Now, do we have your back when you go and run to your family to tell them what you know?”

  North looked up sharply.

  “Lexi knew you’d be forced to tell them. You should tell them now before you go to Lexi. That way you have answers for her.”

  His wolf wanted her now, but he knew he needed time to tuck the darkness away…bury it deep.

  “And what are you going to do?”

  “Protect my sister. Even from you. Think about what you want. What you really want. Talk to your father. He deserves to know the threat. Not from Parker or Lexi, but from Corbin.”

  The thought that should have come to him right away hit him like a blow. “Does Corbin know about Parker?”

  Logan met his gaze. “I don’t know.”

  “Shit.”

  “Shit.”

  Without another word, Logan rose and ran off the way he’d come but in human form, and North went back for his clothes at a steady run, also in human form. He and Logan had each run hard, fast, changed once already, and then fought, it wouldn’t make sense to spend more energy to shift into wolves so they could run harder. He made his way to his parents’ home, his mind going a thousand different directions.

  He needed to talk to Lexi and make sure she was okay. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t his mate in truth, not to his wolf, not to the man.

  He staggered to a stop in front of his parents’ home.

  It didn’t matter.

  Shit.

  It totally didn’t.

  He wanted her.

  He wanted that woman in his life, his bed, his future. He wanted to help her raise Parker—no matter who the boy’s father by blood was.

  He wanted to have everything he could possibly have with her…even if it wasn’t a true mating.

  His wolf howled, and he fought the urge to howl right along with him.

  “North? What’s wrong?” his mother said from the open door, a frown on her face. She looked just like she had all his life. Young, fair, and yet with an underlying strength that would make most bow under it.

  He went to her and wrapped his arms around her. She was short enough that she curled right in. He pressed his nose to her neck, needing the scent of sugar and home surrounding him.

  His mother patted his back then pulled away slightly. “What’s wrong, North?” she repeated.

  He scented his father in the living room, and he mo
ved, but kept his hand on hers. “We need to talk.”

  She blinked, her wolf coming to the surface with the gold in her eyes. There was a reason she was the Alpha’s mate.

  She was fucking strong.

  “Okay, honey. Let’s get going then.”

  He made his way to the living room and lowered his gaze in front of his father. No matter how strong North was, his father was even more powerful.

  “You’ve been fighting,” Edward said. “What happened?”

  A demand.

  “This was just letting out frustration with Logan.”

  “What caused you to need to let go of that frustration? Did he do something to Cailin?” he growled.

  Pat rubbed her husband’s arm. “Honey, if that’s what it was, I don’t think North would look so broken. Yes, he’d be hurt, but this is a different broken, my love. Tell us, baby, what’s the matter with Lexi?”

  Gods. No matter how old he was, his mother knew exactly how to get to the heart of the matter. He’d always envied the way his parents knew each other and their children. They knew what to say, what to do…just how to be...

  Now he might not have that.

  He swallowed hard, the sense of defeat all but clawing at him. This wasn’t who he was…who he needed to be.

  No.

  He would.

  Even if he had to do it in a way he’d never imagined.

  North let out a shaky breath. “Lexi is already mated.”

  “Is?” Pat asked, her eyes wide. “I thought her mate was dead considering the way you two are acting. Sorry. I can’t help being a mother and noticing when my youngest son finds his potential mate.”

  “You’re right, Mom. At least about the potential part. I had thought Lexi’s mate was dead too, but, in fact, he isn’t.”

  Edward frowned. “How is that possible?”

  This was the part that would hurt, but his parents weren’t like others. They wouldn’t blindly lash out because of who’d fathered Parker. They hadn’t when they’d learned that Bay was the daughter of Caym, the demon who hunted them by Corbin’s side.

  At least, North hoped his parents would be okay.

  A lot, no, everything, was riding on this.

  “Because the man who fathered Parker, the man who mated Lexi and raped her, used dark magic to make it happen. The mating was never completed. She never marked him.” It took two stages of mating to complete the bond. For the wolf, each had to mark the fleshy part of the shoulder where it met their neck. For the human, they had to have sex, and the male had to fill the female with his seed. Two souls within one body, two connections of mating.