by E. M. Moore
Breaking into a sprint, she paws at the ground, kicking up dirt and grass behind her as she races across the lawn, entering the forest. She leaps over fallen trees and dodges large trunks with a focus only known to my animal side.
When she’s several miles away, her wolf hearing picks up on an alarm ringing from the school, and I can imagine it was raised by Lydia Greystone when she discovered I wasn’t there.
She ran my paternity test. That bitch.
My wolf stumbles. Run now. Think later, she grunts, and I quiet my mind as she leads me to freedom. All I have is my animal sense of direction and instinct to go on. I don’t know if they’ll chase after me, but she keeps running until she needs to rest. She finds a stream that she laps hungrily from, the cool water refreshing the dryness in her throat.
She stays alert, ears perking at every sound in the distance. Eventually, she sits back and allows me to think again. We work together as we sort through the mess in my head.
He’s not my dad?
If she’s telling the truth, I counter, not sure if it’s wolf-me or human-me talking. There’s not supposed to be a distinction, so I go with it anyway.
The adrenaline coursing through me never wavers. I left with nothing, not even my mate’s shirt to crawl into. A whimper works its way up my wolf’s throat. Jonah. When he finds out—
No, he said it was forever.
My wolf shakes her head, fur billowing around her. It’s as if she’s trying to focus my attention but I can’t. My mind is everywhere.
My parents. Pressing fear threatens to take me under. My wolf gets to her feet, sniffing in both directions. I have my doubts that she can take us there, but she starts off anyway. She doesn’t race through the forest this time—she jogs, staying in the dense trees even though she can hear a road in the distance. It would make life easier, but it’s much more of a risk.
She runs for hours, and eventually, she picks up on that familiar pack scent. It feels a little like going into the hornet’s nest, but if they’ve found out that my father isn’t really my father, then they’ll go to my parents next.
She sniffs until she singles out the scent of my childhood home and then takes off in that direction. A wolf howls in the distance, and she stumbles to the ground, the sound calling to her.
Little Mate.
Jonah’s voice presses in on her, but she resists. I can’t stop now. Parents need me.
Stay, he orders.
She whines, curling up into a ball in the middle of the forest floor.
So close, yet so far away.
26
After my mind quiets, I feel Jonah in my chest. I was so preoccupied with running before that I didn’t notice his presence. Now, my heart beats like crazy—a frenzy of mixed emotions swirling inside. My wolf stays where she is, ears flat to her head. When he closes in on us, I hear what he’s thinking.
He doesn’t want me to go to my parents.
Well, fuck that. My wolf gets to her feet, shakes off the forest floor, and starts running again. They need to be warned. They have as much at stake as I do.
Kinsey!
My wolf pushes past his fierce growl that nearly buckles her legs and keeps going. I need to tell them to hide, go somewhere, just like Ms. Ebon did for me.
And I also need to hear their explanation.
I’m not theirs.
I’m. Not. Theirs.
Everything the bitchy girls at school said about me when I was younger is true. I’m not a part of the pack. I should’ve been cast out. Gone Feral. Made to fend for myself.
Jonah won’t want me now. Our bond means nothing if I’m not allowed to be in the pack.
Pack above all else.
A howl splits the air, and my wolf loses her footing again. She shakes her head, her mane billowing out around her while she gets her paws underneath her. Alert, she scents the brisk air, then changes direction, curving inward toward my parents’ house.
A thrashing behind her increases. She peeks over her shoulder to find Jonah’s beautiful wolf sprinting toward her, hate in his eyes. He nips at her tail, and she scurries away.
Wait!
He lunges, and she’s able to change direction to make him miss by an inch. However, she’s not as lucky the second time. Jonah barrels into her side, causing them both to roll, switching dominant positions until he lands on top, baring his teeth at her.
My wolf whimpers, scratching at his chest, but he immediately lies down, dropping his head to her body. Please. Shift.
He does so first, leaving himself vulnerable. Standing above her, human Jonah pleads with his eyes. He knows my wolf could quickly outrun him. She could take off this second and be in my parents’ house before he had the chance to shift again.
“Please,” he begs.
The vulnerability in his eyes calls to me. My wolf gives way to my human side, and I land on all fours, barely standing before Jonah wraps me in a hug. I don’t return it. I’m not going to draw out this goodbye. If he can’t accept me for who I am, I’m not going to continue to fool my heart another second.
He pulls back, tugging at my hair to make me look at him. “Don’t you dare withdraw from me, Little Mate. You taught me fate doesn’t get things wrong. I don’t care who you are, you’re mine. Lineage or not. Don’t you see? If the legends were true, fate wouldn’t have paired you with anyone, so don’t you dare fucking retreat from me. You’re my life. My soul.”
I bite down on my lip as it starts to wobble. Tears prick my eyes, and I finally reach up and hug him. “If I’m not who I am, then who am I?”
“You’re my mate, and I’m going to take care of you. That’s all you need to know.”
“My parents, Jonah,” I rasp. “Lydia came for me. Ms. Ebon told me to run, so Lydia will go after them next. I have to warn them.”
“Kinsey.” He sighs. “She’s searching for you. You can’t even be near there. They’re not going to just cast you out. She’s lobbying for killing you since you’re an abomination,” he growls.
My heart splinters at that word from his lips. Abomination. I shake my head. Unbelievable. “Lunar Pack has it all wrong,” I tell him, my tongue thick in my mouth. If wolves born from non-fated pairings are supposed to come out screwed up or worse, I shouldn’t even be here. “We have to talk to my parents. We need them to tell us the story of what happened. That’s the only way we’ll know for sure. They love each other. My mom wouldn’t have strayed. I can promise you that.” Jonah wavers, his hulking shoulders and bare chest on prominent display. He keeps looking around as if a swarm of Council members are going to come from out of nowhere. “I have to,” I growl.
I walk away, marching in the direction of my parents’ house. The clothesline flutters with crisp linens in the beautiful backyard. My flower garden is bursting with a myriad of colors, and I can’t even take the time to soak in the familiarity. I pull on one of my dad’s shirts from the line and then tug free a bedsheet for Jonah. Turning, I find him striding after me like I knew he would. I offer him the sheet, and he raises his brows at it. “Nothing my family has is going to fit you. I’m sorry.”
He wraps it around himself, tucking it into the front like he’s walking around in a towel. “We should go in as wolves. What if it’s a trap?”
The back door flies open, and Jonah shifts immediately, baring his teeth. My mom stumbles backward into my father while Jonah growls at her. She presses her hand to her chest, staring warily at me. “Kinsey?”
Jonah shuffles past them into the house in his wolf form. I move forward, wrapping my mother in a hug. My father pats my back, checking over his shoulder at the huge russet wolf prowling through our small house. I pull away immediately. I’d love the time to reconnect with them, but there’s something much bigger at stake. “Lydia Greystone has done a paternity test, and she says I’m not yours.” My voice breaks, and as if on cue, Jonah comes traipsing out of the house and nudges me with his head. I sink my fingers into his fur for comfort.
“Oh, Kinse
y,” my mom sniffles, face morphing into pained anguish. My father holds her upright, lips in a thin line. I gaze between the two of them. They both look defeated but not as if this is news to them. My father, especially, would be freaking out if he hadn’t already known what I told him.
“Come inside,” he beckons.
Jonah nudges me again and shakes his head. I look back at my parents. “You don’t understand. Lydia Greystone is coming for me. She’s petitioning to have me killed.”
A growl rips from my father’s throat. His body heaves, and he hunches over, but my mother grabs his face. “Hold on. We knew this might happen someday. Calm yourself. We have plans in place. Look at me.”
His yellow eyes return to normal, and he breathes out deeply. He shivers until his shoulders settle, effectively shaking off the shift. “I’m good. I’m okay.”
Jonah licks my palm, and I peer at him. He leads me to the clothesline, and I hold the last sheet up so he can hide his shift. When he’s a fully naked human, I hand it to him so he can approach my parents with a little bit of dignity.
“Mom, Dad, you know Jonah Livestrong.” They both eye him suspiciously. I grab his hand, and he squeezes. “We’ve mated, and—”
“I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure nothing happens to Kinsey,” Jonah butts in, “but we need to know what we’re up against. Time is of the essence. I wish we could’ve been introduced under better circumstances, but please, we need to know everything you know now.”
“Lydia Greystone will have a fight on her hands if she dares step on this property,” my mom snarls, her sharp teeth elongating.
My eyes round. Damn. My mom is kind of badass. I’ve been wondering where I got my spunk from, and apparently, she’s been hiding this side of herself.
My dad grips her shoulders. “Kinsey, honey. You’re mine in all the ways that matter. If I ever had to tell you this, I was hoping it would be under different circumstances. I’m sterile, Kinsey.”
My heart drops. A sterile shifter? The truth kicks me upside the head. Of course. A mated pair has to bear shifters. If they don’t, they’re more than scrutinized. “You used someone else.”
Mom nods slowly. She clenches her chest and then reaches up to grab my father’s hands. “I couldn’t let anything happen to him. Your dad and I are true mates, but when we figured out I couldn’t conceive, we had to do something. We were desperate.”
“Who’s her father?” Jonah asks.
“I am,” my father growls.
“Biological,” Jonah mutters, grimacing. “Who’s her biological father?”
Tears track down my mother’s face. “He was your father’s best friend. We knew we could trust him. It’s just—” she breaks off.
My father rubs her shoulders. “It’s Shane Greystone.”
This revelation knocks me back a few steps, and I stumble into Jonah. “The alpha’s brother?”
Mom nods. “It took a few times; we didn’t know if it was your father or me. Then, we were blessed with you. If I’d been the sterile one, there was no helping us. It killed your father, but we knew we had to do it to save ourselves.”
“Lydia suspected something,” Dad growls. “That’s where the rumors started. We tried to be careful. Shane never would’ve said anything, but after the rude whispers, we had to stop seeing him altogether. We couldn’t keep perpetuating the idea that he and your mother were together. It put all of us in danger, including him. He hadn’t mated yet, of course, and then when he did in his second year post-graduation, he jumped at the chance to move to Daybreak. He couldn’t stand to see what the gossip did to our family, but at least we were alive.”
Jonah tucks me into his side. “Lydia can’t know she’s putting the Greystone name at risk.”
My father scowls. “There were already some whispers about the lateness of us having a pup. Then, when we suddenly got pregnant, everything spiraled. Jacqueline’s name was linked with several unmated males at the time. Shane came to see Kinsey when she was a baby, but he couldn’t stay. He felt the pull to her. He was relieved to leave after he mated.” Dad peers at me, lips turning down. “I want you to know I’ve always loved you as if you came from me. There was never any doubt that you were mine.”
I know we don’t have time for this—that I need to separate the imminent threat from right now—but I can’t let my father keep looking at me like that. I shrug away from Jonah and move toward him, throwing my arms around his shoulders. “You did what you had to do, Dad. If you hadn’t, you would both be dead. I get it. You couldn’t let that happen.”
“I wanted you,” Dad says, voice cracking. “I wanted you so badly, Kinsey. I wanted to do everything in my power to have a pup, and you haven’t disappointed. I would do anything for you.” He squeezes me tighter, and I press into his chest like it’s my last time. Everything is so uncertain right now.
Peeling myself away from him, I try to get myself under control. “What can we do to stop her? She’ll ruin us if she makes this public.”
“If she hasn’t already,” Jonah snaps. “We have to hope she won’t want to tarnish the Greystone name.”
My father’s face falls. “I hate bringing Shane into this. He’s so happy at Daybreak, and he already helped us once. If you have sexual relations with another person’s mate, you’re as much in the wrong as they are. This could—” He breaks off, his body tensing. “There’s a car coming up the road. You two go.”
I shake my head. “No. What will that serve? We need to stick together. We’ll tell them what happened.”
“Kinsey, you have the most at stake right now. Go,” my dad growls. He looks at Jonah who nods.
“No.”
Jonah takes my wrist. “Kinsey, they’re trying to keep you alive.”
“Run!” my mother urges.
The four of us sniff the air. Wolves are coming. Several by the different smells.
Jonah yanks me forward, pushing me in front of him. “Shift. Don’t look back.”
My heart careens in my chest. My wolf senses the danger and shifts before I even fall to my knees. Her paws sink into the grass. How many times did I fantasize about being a wolf, sunbathing in my backyard? Running with my parents.
My heart cracks in two as she takes off through the forest. Jonah nudges her backside, and she keeps running, doing as he wanted and not looking back. It feels as if I’m going to come apart.
Focus, Jonah’s wolf says. Run.
Shoulder-to-shoulder, they sprint through the woods. He leads, zigzagging a path through the brush and trees. His beautiful brown fur matted to his body with his speed.
When we’re miles away, a howl rips through the air, and my wolf stumbles until Jonah rights her again, pushing her further.
For the first time, my wolf shuts me out as I spiral. She takes the reins, and before I know it, I’m curled up in a ball inside her while she rescues us.
27
When I come to, Jonah’s wolf is standing above my own, and I’m being thrust into human form. He shifts at the same time, gains his footing, and cradles me in his arms. “We have to go back,” I keep telling him as he runs his fingers through my hair. I tighten my grip around him as the memory of that howl hits me with full force. It was one of my parents. I know it. They could be injured, or worse.
“We’re not going back without a plan. Let’s just think.”
He rubs his thumbs under my eyes until I peer up at him. His distraught face curdles my stomach. He lowers his gaze, traveling down the very naked length of me, and I finally peer around to find we’re in a huge family room in a somewhat swanky house. I cower next to him as unfamiliarity hits me with full force. My fingers sink into his biceps. He’s brought me to the alpha. Or someone else higher up in the pack. Just before I can really lose my mind, he soothes my worries. “It’s okay. You’re safe. My family owns a bunch of safe houses around Lunar in case we need them for the alpha. We’re in one. They’re top secret. No one but my father and his higher-ups know their
location.”
I relax into him, my frazzled brain sighing in relief. It feels as if two coarse pieces of sandpaper are being ground against each other in my head. I retreated so far into my wolf that it’s hard to wake up.
“There’s food and water. Showers. A nice place to lay our heads. All the security we could want. I also have easy access to my father so he can keep us updated.” He’s talking more to himself than me, as if he’s reassuring his own doubts that this was the best place to hide. He squeezes me again. “I knew I didn’t want to leave you for a reason. I felt it. I should’ve listened to my wolf.”
His behavior yesterday makes so much more sense now. His wolf was going nuts as if he could sense the danger that lie ahead. I don’t even know if that’s possible, but it makes me not want to second-guess him again.
“I wasn’t going to let them get to you,” he murmurs, staring straight into my eyes.
Of course he wouldn’t. My brief moment of doubt about us was just the past coming back to bite me. I cup his cheek. “Ms. Ebon saved me. She woke me up and told me to run.”
He nods. “She cares for you, Kinsey. You’re not just a job to her.”
I bite the inside of my cheek. Lydia must’ve been pissed when she got there and I wasn’t in my room. “Do you think they hurt her?”
He shakes his head. “As smart as she is, I’m sure she told them you ran off.”
That’s partially true anyway, so that makes the most sense. “How did you know where to find me anyway?”
He tucks me under his chin and continues to rock me. His fingers comb through my tangled hair as I press into his bare chest. “You were broadcasting on high, Little Mate. I felt your fear, your panic. Then, the alpha called my father to deliver the news.”
I suck in a breath. Dread shoots straight through me. If the alpha knows…. “Then it’s done,” I grind out. “What does it matter? If the alpha knows I’m not—”
Jonah pulls away to glare at me. “He’s a Greystone, Kinsey. Not to mention that he and my dad have been friends since they were kids. He won’t want this to come out either.”