by Kimber White
“Eve,” I said. What could I tell her that would lessen the fear behind her eyes?
“Are you one of them?” She finally took a step back. “Is this another trick to lure me into doing something I don’t want?”
I reared back. Her words hit me like a blow to the gut.
“No,” I said. “I am nothing like the men who run this town. I swear it on my life.”
“Your life? What does that mean to me? I don’t even know you.” She was bold, rebellious, standing before me with her chin up and her hazel eyes locked with mine.
I straightened my back and bared my teeth, letting the wolf out just a little bit. Eve’s eyes flickered, but she didn’t back down.
“Don’t know me? You know enough. You know what I am. You know that if I wanted to hurt you, you wouldn’t even see it coming.”
It was my turn to take a step toward her. If she knew the strength it took for me to hold back, she might not have held her ground. She did though. She knew me, knew what I was. Just as I knew what she was.
Mine.
“What is this place?” she said, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.
I dropped my shoulders and looked toward the high brick wall. How could I explain? Birch Haven made me ashamed to be a shifter. When I told her what we believed, what was to stop her from hating me?
“Not all shifters are like the ones in Kentucky,” I said. It seemed as good enough a place as any to start.
“You’re a Kentucky shifter,” she said.
“I mean the Pack. The Chief Pack. The Alpha rules absolutely. In other places, far away, shifter packs form naturally. There are many Alphas and we don’t...at least...I’ve heard...they’re free to choose their own mates. Here, the Alpha chooses for the members of his pack as he sees fit.”
“Chooses.” Eve’s voice broke. “Forces, you mean.”
She was truly scared now. The color drained from her face. I wanted to go to her, take her in my arms, kiss the pain away.
“That’s what Chris meant. That’s what Joel meant.” She took a step away, pressing herself against the tree again.
“What they meant by what?” My growl came back. I didn’t want to scare her. But, the terror in her eyes called to my darkest nature. I knew with absolute certainty that I would kill for her tonight if it came to it.
“That bite. That marking on Nikki. Joel did it to her. He said something about the Alpha letting him have her. Chris was jealous. He said...he wanted…”
She didn’t have to finish her thought. It poured off of her in the fear in her eyes and the sweat between her breasts. “You,” I said, my voice dropping low. My nostrils flared with the heavy breaths I took.
“Yes,” she said. “That’s what I was running from. I heard it all.”
“No,” I said.
Eve shook her head. “That’s what this place is, isn’t it? It’s a breeding farm for Kentucky shifters. Oh, God. I won’t. I can’t. I’d rather die than…”
I went to her. To hell with scaring her. To hell with being gentle. I would never do to her what the Pack intended, but I would put my body between her and danger. I pounded my fist into the tree bark above her head.
“No,” I said. “You won’t. I won’t allow it.”
Eve didn’t flinch. She seemed to know my heart, impossible as it was. “You said you were looking for someone. The other night. That’s why you came. Is it your mate? Did they take her from you?”
I hovered above her, my arm resting against the tree. We were so close, just inches apart. I knew she could see the truth in my eyes even if neither of us was brave enough to give voice to it.
“No,” I said, barely above a whisper. “Not my mate. I believe they have my sister in there.”
Eve cocked her head. “What’s her name? Who is she?”
My throat ran dry. Eve had put her trust in me just by standing here. Now, I put my trust in her.
“Lena Morris. She has auburn hair like I do. She’d be twenty-two now. Five years younger than me. I think she would have fought it. And I think it might already be too late.”
Eve reached up. She let her fingers trace a line along my jaw. I clenched my teeth and dug my own fingers into the bark. Anything to hold back the urge to kiss this woman. I had no right.
A howl rose in the air. My spine stiffened and my heart turned to stone.
“Did they see you?” I asked her.
Eve shook her head. “No. I’m sure they didn’t.”
“Fuck,” I said pushing myself off the tree. Deep in my belly, I felt the pull. The Pack was getting close. Oh, how easy it would be to just give over to it. No more fighting. No more pain.
“Mac!” Eve slapped me. I staggered back, letting out a primal growl.
“Don’t you dare,” she whispered. “Don’t you dare let them pull you over.”
How did she know? I’d been an idiot. I swore I’d protect her with my life, but then what? If those Pack members found us, I wouldn’t be strong enough to hold them all back. Then, they’d take Eve anyway. I couldn’t do this alone.
“You have to go back,” I said, swaying on my feet. I hated myself for it.
But, Eve came to me, nodding with understanding. “You have friends? A place you can go?”
“Yes,” I said.
She looked over her shoulders. “They’re coming. Can you help me over the wall?”
“What?” She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the lowest point.
“Can you lift me over? They’ll do something to you if they find you. Is that it? God help me, but I can feel it too. You’re losing your grip, Mac.”
She cupped my face in her hands. Her eyes seared through me. Electricity sparked where our skin touched.
“You have to remember what I told you,” I said. “You have to be careful. Don’t let any of those shifters get you alone. Not until I can…”
“Right,” she said. “Not planning on it.”
A chorus of howls reached me and I dropped to my knees. There were too many of them. They were coming too fast. The command to shift burned strong through me. Oh, God. If I let my wolf out now, they’d scent me. They’d pull me back in.
“Mac!” Eve dropped to her knees in front of me and cupped my face again.
She saw something in my eyes. Her own instincts burned strong. Then, Eve did the one thing powerful enough to help me fight off the pull of the Pack and keep my wolf at bay.
She kissed me.
Eight
Eve
It came as naturally to me as breathing. One moment, I felt Mac’s wolf stirring, struggling to get out. I don’t know how I knew, but I knew if he shifted, the others would be able to sense it. The closer they got, the harder it was for him to stay in control. Some dark part of me didn’t want him in control. I wanted to be in the presence of his wildness. My body seemed attuned to it.
But, if Mac shifted now, we were both screwed.
Fire burned inside of me as I brought Mac’s lips down to mine. Heat, light, electricity sparked through me. Something feral came alive inside of me as well. My kiss might have helped Mac keep his wild side contained, but it brought mine to life. The kiss was hot, wet heaven. The kind that could make you forget the rest of the world.
We couldn’t forget. The howling grew louder and I finally pulled away. Mac’s wolf eyes glinted bright silver, igniting the fire in my belly.
“Eve,” he said, his voice low and ragged.
“What was that?” I asked wiping my lips with the back of my hand. Mac’s touch still burned through me. I wanted more. So much more.
“They’re coming,” he said. He spanned my waist with his hands and turned me toward the brick wall. “You have to run!”
The air went out of me in a whoosh as Mac lifted me as if I weighed nothing. My skin ached with pleasure where he touched me. Every instinct in me burned to stay by his side. But, he was right; there was no more time.
With dizzying strength, he hoisted me to the top of the wall. It w
as a short drop down. I just prayed there were no cameras or patrols anywhere nearby. I’d never seen any in this part of campus. Squatting, I turned to Mac one last time.
“Will you be safe?” I asked. I could see the same question in his eyes.
“Meet me back in the park,” he said. “Two nights from now. I’ll find a way to get to you.” The desperation in his voice matched the rising hunger in me.
Two nights. It would feel like an eternity. I nodded, breathless, then jumped.
Running as fast as my legs would carry me, I headed straight for Camden Hall. The clock chimed the quarter hour. I’d make it back before curfew with fifteen minutes to spare. Was Nikki still with Joel? Did it even matter anymore?
Mercifully, Jasmine had the night off. The girl working the desk in her place didn’t look up from her phone when I waltzed through the double doors, trying not to seem out of breath. I kept my head down and went upstairs.
My room was quiet, Nikki hadn’t come back. I checked the window, but the quad was empty. It meant she was still with Joel. Fear for her snaked through me.
I grabbed my caddy and headed for the shower. Mac hadn’t told me to do it, but instinct told me another shifter might be able to pick up his scent on me. I let hot water sluice over my body and part of me regretted it. Mac’s scent was a heady, intoxicating mix of the woods and his own feral musk. I didn’t want to wash it away.
What the hell was happening to me? Mac had some sort of power over me. There could be no doubt. Was it any different than what Joel was doing to Nikki? The moment I thought it, the answer slammed into me. No. This was nothing like Joel and Nikki. Mac had been careful not to touch me. I’d been the one doing the touching. The mark on Nikki’s neck was brutal, as if it had been done by force.
Or was I just kidding myself? Was this some sort of shifter magic meant to lure me into doing something I wouldn’t otherwise? It didn’t feel like it. But, how could I be sure? Right now, the only thing I had to go on was instinct, and it burned like wildfire through me.
My fingers went to my lips. They were still swollen from Mac’s kiss. He’d been so careful, not even daring to put his hands on me. He let me lead the way. How had I known I had the power to help control his wolf? Again, it was instinct. I’d felt as though I could tether Mac somehow. I had so many questions. Would I be brave enough to ask them? Could I be daring enough to risk another meeting with him two nights from now? God, was I strong enough to stay away?
Nikki didn’t come home that night. She didn’t show up for our Psych class either. With each passing hour, the alarm bells clanged even louder inside of me. I just prayed whatever happened, Joel wouldn’t hurt her.
I was going crazy with worry. The one person I knew who might have answers was Mac. Would he tell me the truth? I passed the time trying to find out what I could about his sister. My resources were limited. I had the online student directory. But, that would only show me students who were currently enrolled. There was no Lena Morris listed anywhere. No one by that first name either. I had one other idea and a plausible enough reason to try it. Midterms were still in full swing, so I headed to the library.
The college still kept an archive of physical directories in the reference section. Most students never ventured back here, preferring to read their textbooks and do research online. I found the books easily enough. Birch Haven College was only thirty years old. Mac said his sister went missing two years ago. I pulled the volumes I needed, looking cautiously over my shoulder. Luckily, no one had much cause to be back here. I picked a study carol and started leafing through the yearbooks.
Lena Morris was easy to find. Her freshman orientation photo looked like my own and the dozens more on the page with her. She stared blankly at the camera, not frowning, but not quite smiling either. She looked enough like her brother that it sparked heat through me remembering Mac’s smoldering green eyes that went silver when he was stirred.
Lena was beautiful with straight auburn hair that she wore parted down the middle in this photo. In a simple black top, she cocked her head slightly to the side as if she were about to smirk as soon as the camera clicked.
I ran my fingers over the small square bearing Lena’s picture. She had no extracurricular activities listed below her name. That alone wasn’t surprising. I didn’t either. Lena looked cool and serious. I flipped to the contact information section of the volume. Lena had lived in Covey Hall on the first floor two years ago. This was the only picture I could find. She should be at least a junior by now, one year ahead of me. But, I couldn’t find her anywhere.
Had she changed her name? Gotten married perhaps? I flipped through, focusing on faces. No Lena. She’d dropped out or transferred.
Hunching over the table, I carefully tore the pages with Lena’s picture and address out of the books. Folding them, I shoved them in my backpack and put the directories back where I found them. I had another plan.
One of the girls who worked the day shift in Covey Hall, April Darcy, was an acquaintance of mine. She was a junior like Lena should be. Chances were, April at least knew who Lena was. It was just past two when I left the library and headed across the quad. I sent a quick text to April to make sure she was working. She answered back that she was just about to get off and we made plans to head over to the cafeteria for lunch.
I just prayed I could be casual about this and not rouse April’s suspicions. She was a sensible girl, not prone to gossip like Nikki and Jasmine were. If I told April I was asking for a friend, she’d take that at face value.
Just before I got to Covey Hall, I saw Deputy Joel standing on the sidewalk. He was deep in conversation with one of the groundskeepers. But, he saw me as I approached, his eyes narrowing. There had still been no word from Nikki.
I stuffed my hands into my jean pockets and tried to keep my head down. The last thing I needed was a confrontation with Joel. Still, a million awful scenarios raced through my head. Lena Morris had been a student at BHC. Then, she just dropped off the face of the earth if Mac was to be believed. I hadn’t seen or heard from Nikki in almost twenty-four hours. Was the same thing about to happen to her?
Joel saw me approach, jerked his chin toward the groundskeeper, and stepped right in my path. As much as I felt a pull preternatural pull toward Mac, I felt a strong revulsion toward Joel. My palms began to sweat and my heartbeat became a hammer blow behind my breastbone.
“Eve,” he said, his smile already fixed in place.
Joel’s shadow darkened my path. The torn yearbook pages in my backpack seemed to burn there. What would Joel do if he saw them?
“Hello,” I said, trying to fix my own bright smile. Behind Joel, April came out the front doors of Covey Hall. She saw me and lifted her hand to wave. Then, something changed in her as she saw who I was talking to. Her shoulders dropped and she looked quickly left then right.
“I’m glad I ran into you,” he said. “We were really hoping to see you last night.”
“What? Oh. Right. Sorry about that. I wasn’t kidding about the work I had piled up. I assume you had a good enough time without me. I didn’t get a chance to ask Nikki about it. I missed her this morning.”
I don’t know why I said it. Even worse, I don’t know what I was expecting Joel to say in return. Had she stayed at his place? That had to break a score of department rules. Nikki stayed out past curfew. Joel was an officer and she was a student. I’d never heard about an outright ban on fraternization, but I had to believe that sort of thing was frowned upon. And here he was trying to fix me up with his partner.
“Well, it was nice to see you,” I said, not waiting for him to respond. “I’ve got to get going.”
“Sure,” Joel said. He turned and let his eyes travel toward Covey Hall. April had stepped into the shadows of the stone alcove over the main entrance. There was no doubt she was hiding from him. She and I needed to talk about a hell of a lot more than Lena Morris, it seemed. My concern for Nikki grew to a near fever pitch. Instinct told me not to co
nfront Joel about it. Not yet. I just prayed she’d be safely back in our dorm room by the time I returned.
Joel tilted his head toward me and smiled. He turned and walked away. Only then did April emerge from the shadows. She held her backpack in front of her like a shield as she came down the steps toward me.
“Hey,” I said, forcing a smile. “Thanks for meeting with me.”
April looked at Joel’s retreating back. “What are you doing talking to him?” Contempt dripped from her voice and she held her backpack that much tighter.
“I’m not,” I said. “He just sort of got in my way.”
April’s eyes flicked to mine. Hers were amber and wide. She had her long brown hair pulled back in a tight ponytail and a tremor ran through her as she looked back to Joel. He was moving at a brisk pace down the sidewalk, but it was as if he sensed April’s eyes on him, watching. He turned again and looked back.
“Yeah. I’m sorry,” April said, her voice cracking. “I thought I had some time for you, but I don’t. I gotta get to class.”
“Class? What class? How can you just forget you have a class?”
April’s face had gone sheet white. Seeing me with Joel had really spooked her. My own pulse quickened and my need to talk to her about Lena Morris seemed that much more urgent.
“Fine,” I said, before she could answer. “I’ll just walk with you for a few minutes. Do you mind? I’ve got something I want to ask you.”
April’s mouth opened and closed, reminding me of a beached trout as she tried to think of a quick reason to tell me no. I didn’t give her a chance. Instead, I linked my arm through hers and pulled her toward the lecture hall. Though I suspected she was lying about needing to go there, unless she bolted into a run, she wasn’t getting rid of me.
“Real quick,” she said. She stiffened as we started walking and I let her go.
A part of me thought it might be wiser to just turn tail myself and forget this whole thing. But, the more information I had about what might really be going on in Birch Haven, the better. Knowledge could be power.