She took two steps toward Meg, fingers curling and uncurling as claws sprouted from both her “natural” and her cybernetic hands. Vaughn had gone a little overboard trying to make her new arms match, in both forms.
How the hell did he even do that?
Tessa’s nostrils flared as she sniffed the air above Meg. Brock could see everything from his elevated seat in the van. Another werewolf appeared in the doorway, staggering to the side of the frame and leaning one clawed hand against it. He rubbed his throat with his other hand and shook his head. Dark black fur covered his body.
Marcus…
Maybe this would work after all. Marcus wouldn’t let Tessa hurt Meg. Right?
Meg was still smiling. Tears streamed down her face. She lifted her arms, as if offering Tessa an embrace.
“I’m here,” Meg said. “It’s okay now. I’m here.”
Tessa reared back, letting out a howl that sounded more like a lion than a wolf. Then she jerked her head forward, her jaws snapping shut on Meg’s shoulder at the base of her neck.
Chapter Four
Pain was temporary. Pain could be overcome.
Mentally, Meg knew she would heal. Too bad her body didn’t.
Her nerves kept sending her warnings as Tessa bit down harder and shook her massive head. Meg ignored the screaming agony that ripped through her.
It’ll be over soon.
She heard pounding off to the side. Brock was beating on the glass of the van. She couldn’t hear him, but could see that he was shouting something.
Heat rushed through her body, almost strong enough to distract her from the pain. The kiss they’d shared had been completely unexpected—and the best of her life. She wanted more of that, more of him. She just had to get through this first.
He started kicking at the glass. She should have explained, but there was no time. Seeing him now, she knew that if she’d tried to tell him how omegas calm their pack, he wouldn’t have let her do it. He had promised no one would ever hurt her again, and she believed he would try to keep that promise.
But sometimes, pain was necessary. When she betrayed him, it was going to break her heart.
She looked away just as Marcus leapt next to Tessa. His claws sank into her arms as he tried to pry them apart. He was going to ruin everything.
Another sound joined the popping bones and ripping muscles in Meg’s back. A crackling hum that was all too familiar. But her collar wasn’t powering up. The sound was farther away. Tessa’s arm.
“Stop,” Meg screamed. “Leave her alone.”
“You’re fucking kidding me, right?” She barely recognized Vaughn’s voice on the intercom, it was so high and tight.
“I’m okay.” Meg wrapped her good arm around Tessa’s neck, then leaned against Tessa’s cheek.
“It’s okay,” she said. “I’m here.”
Marcus’s face was inches from hers, his breath hot in her face. His eyes were wide with panic, but as they stared at each other, his breathing calmed. Meg nodded, clamping down on the spike of pain the movement caused. She didn’t want him to see her wince. The fact that he’d tried to keep his mate from hurting others at all proved to her that he was unlike any werewolf she’d ever encountered before.
This is how it was supposed to be.
Her dreams were in reach. She just had to make it through this. She could do it. Her body was already healing—around the teeth still embedded in her flesh and bones.
Meg kept her cheek against Tessa’s as she reached out to Marcus with her free arm and squeezed his shoulder. He loosened his grip on Tessa, gripping Meg’s wrist.
Tessa let out a long growl.
“He’s yours,” Meg said. “He’s yours, I know.”
She pulled her hand away from Marcus and hugged Tessa’s neck again. Blood trailed down Meg’s other arm and back, hot and sticky. She braced herself for fresh pain as the copper-sharp scent inevitably set Tessa off again.
See me as prey. I am your prey. No other.
“I’m yours, too,” Meg said. “We belong with each other.”
Tessa abruptly unlatched her bite, freeing Meg without tearing her flesh. Meg didn’t know that was even possible. She stumbled, and Tessa caught her, keeping her upright.
Blue light rippled over Tessa’s body. Her fur dissolved in the light, revealing lithe muscle and pale skin. The light soaked into her skin, gleaming as her flesh reshaped itself into her human form.
Almost human.
Her right hand still glowed, its smooth chrome surface broken by a few lines of streaking blue. The metal faded into her arm just below her elbow, as if it and her body were one.
Meg had read a story once about a fairy with a silver arm. She wondered what kind of magic could have turned Tessa’s hand into this.
“What happened?” Tessa blinked her golden eyes a few times, the glow in them subsiding. As she noticed the wounds on Meg’s shoulder, she gasped and jerked back, releasing Meg.
“Tessa.” Marcus stepped to Tessa’s side, also in his human form. His hair was almost as dark as Brock’s, but was long enough to brush the tops of his shoulders. His bangs hung over his forehead.
Brock’s features were stark and harsh compared to Marcus’s rugged strength. Meg still preferred Brock’s look. Except for the scars.
Marcus was covered in them. His arms, his chest, his legs. Meg was sure his back was just as decorated in the compelling marks. Any injuries he sustained would have healed after he transformed. These were from his fight with the pack.
He had earned his right to be alpha after Roy was gone. He just had to claim his pack. And Tessa… Tessa seemed a perfect match for him.
As they stood next to each other, their strength bared for all to see, Meg felt a surge of emotion she couldn’t name. Almost happiness. Stronger than satisfaction. Was this pride? She remembered feeling something similar when she’d first been approached about joining the pack. They had picked her. She’d thought that meant she was special.
“Why didn’t you shock me?” Tessa lifted her gaze to the ceiling. “Vaughn, answer me.”
“I… Meg told me not to.” Vaughn said.
Meg would have to thank him later, when they finally met. He’d probably saved Meg’s ability to bond with Tessa by trusting them to work it out themselves.
“Tessa, it’s okay.” Marcus reached out to her, but Tessa shoved him away, hard. He staggered back a few paces.
“You weren’t supposed to let this happen,” she screamed. “You promised me I wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
“You didn’t hurt me.” Meg wiped at the blood covering her shoulder, smearing it over her skin so it would reabsorb quicker. The bite marks had already sealed. “There’s no damage, see?”
“How the fuck can you say I didn’t hurt you?” Tessa said. “I bit you.”
Meg was confused. “That was just pain. It’s fine.”
She stretched her arm, popping her shoulder back into its socket. Tessa winced at the sound.
“It is not fine.” Tessa put her hands on her head, pulling her dark red curls back behind her shoulders. “Not fine. It’ll never be fine. He’s always in my head. Always.”
“Was it the voice again?” Marcus asked.
“Of course it was the voice,” Tessa growled. “It’s always the fucking voice.”
That didn’t sound good. Most werewolves were turned when they were young, like Meg and Marcus. Children could adapt to the curse better. They didn’t go insane as often—or as quickly, in some cases. From what Meg knew, Tessa had only been turned a few weeks ago, and she looked like she was in her late twenties.
“When you have another fit, I’ll be here to help you deal with it,” Meg said.
“What, like you dealt with this one?” Tessa asked.
“I’m the omega.”
“The omega.” Tessa shook her head, muttering as she paced back and forth. “The omega. What does that even mean? You’re the one I attack when I feel a violent surge? The one I try to ri
p apart?”
“I heal fast,” Meg said. “Faster than normal werewolves, even.”
Tessa let out a laugh. “Well, great. That makes everything better.”
“But—”
Tessa cut Meg off, stepping close. “I am not going to beat on you every time the fucking puppetmaster pulls my strings and tries to get me to rip the head off of someone I love.”
“I’ll heal. They won’t.” Meg would never have dreamt of talking to anyone else in her pack like that, but she was desperate for Tessa to understand. If Tessa rejected Meg’s place in the pack…where would that leave Meg?
“I protect people,” Meg said. “And the pack. I always kept them calm in places where attacks would have made us too visible.” Or resulted in deaths Meg couldn’t live with—like the orphanage Lydia, the previous alpha female, had wanted to target. “I can keep us off the radar of hunters or—”
“Or Blades?” The low, cold voice behind Meg seemed to freeze her blood.
She turned to see Brock leaning against the van, arms crossed over his broad chest. He was smirking, but there was no laughter in his eyes. For a moment, she thought she saw a small smear of blood under his nose. It must have been a trick of the light, because the next instant, it was gone.
“Y… Yes.” Meg wasn’t sure why she stammered. This was the man she’d just shared the most passionate kiss of her life with. She’d entertained fantasies of turning him, of being with him, maybe even as mates.
Looking at him now, she wasn’t sure where those thoughts had come from. Yes, he was gorgeous, with his raven-black hair and epic physique. But he radiated cold, bursts of carefully contained malice breaking through.
Meg took a step back. She knew a threat when she saw one. This man was glaring at her like he wanted to kill her.
Was he that mad at her for locking him in the van? She’d just wanted to be sure he was safe. It was hard enough to keep everyone from interfering. Even Marcus had tried to stop Tessa. Meg was sure Brock would try to protect her, too.
At least, she had been.
“I helped your sister.” Suddenly, Meg felt like she was making a case for her life. What had happened?
“And we appreciate that.” Brock pushed off from the van, stalking over to her like a hunting cat.
Meg turned to Tessa, and said, “This is what I do. Who I am.”
“No,” Tessa said.
Meg’s heart sank. They were rejecting her. Brock seemed to have flipped a switch and no longer gave a damn.
Meg had failed in her mission. Worse than that, she felt alone in a way she hadn’t felt since her pack had been destroyed. This time, there was no hope left.
“Please,” Meg begged. “I can help you.”
Tessa shook her head. “Not like this. Not anymore.”
Meg looked up to see Marcus standing right behind her. He gripped her arms gently. What was he doing?
Tessa stepped closer again. She grabbed Meg…and pulled her into a hug.
Meg was too shocked to say anything. She stammered as Tessa wrapped her arms tight around Meg. Marcus leaned into Meg’s back, his arms around both of them, until the pair were enfolding her.
“No one is ever going to hurt you again,” Tessa said. “Do you hear me? You’re one of us, now. You’re ours. No one will ever hurt you.”
That was twice in one night someone had made that promise to her. She had believed Brock when he’d said it. And she believed Tessa now.
Meg peered out at Brock from between Marcus and Tessa’s arms. Brock was glaring at her from beneath his brows, his smirk gone, along with all pretense of warmth.
Had he been lying to her? Playing with her, like some of the others in her pack used to do?
She’d thought she felt something between them. A connection unlike anything she’d ever felt. A pull as strong as a mating bond.
Now, she felt nothing. Nothing but fear.
This man was her enemy.
She clenched her eyes shut, remembering her mission. She was here to destroy him. To destroy all of the Blades and rescue Tessa and Marcus. It was the only way their pack would ever truly be safe again.
Meg nestled into Tessa and Marcus’s embrace. This was her pack. She would do anything to protect it. Even try to seduce a man who both terrified and tantalized her.
Stay close to Brock, by any means necessary.
The trouble was, this didn’t feel like the same man. At least, not since the first few moments she’d seen him, after he’d killed all of those trolls.
Maybe it was the combat situation that had changed his demeanor. Dealing with Tessa could have set him off again.
Meg wanted him to change back. She wanted to see the spark in his gaze when he looked at her, to feel warmth from him instead of malice.
Then again, maybe this would make him easier to deal with. He’d certainly be easier to betray.
“If you could peel yourselves away from each other, we’d be happy to show Meg to her room.” Brock was standing right next to them. Meg couldn’t smell any fear from him, no lingering arousal from their kiss. Only a strange tinge of leaf-rot.
Marcus let out a low growl.
Oh shit.
She was going to have to calm Marcus down, now. Living in a pack of werewolves was tricky enough. Adding in humans was going to keep her busy.
“It’s okay,” Meg said. “You need to strengthen your bond. I’ll be fine.”
She hadn’t been with her full pack for very long before Dexter destroyed it, but Lydia and Roy had fought like this a couple of times. They’d ended by having angry sex—in front of the pack. Meg hoped that Marcus and Tessa were different in that way, too. Especially since they were already naked from the change.
“Marcus.” Somehow, Brock managed to make the word into a challenge.
He was just begging to get his face ripped off. Even Meg wanted to do something to him. Something violent.
She shook herself. That wasn’t her place. She couldn’t even transform, especially with Roy’s control collar around her neck.
And if Marcus looked threatening, Brock looked positively lethal. No one could be that relaxed while facing down a pack of werewolves. He was acting as if he was the alpha.
Marcus stepped away from her.
Meg was floored. How could Brock tell Marcus what to do without getting attacked?
She glanced up at Marcus, took in how his brow furrowed and his lips curled up from his teeth. He wanted to kill Brock, but he was holding himself back. She’d never seen a werewolf with so much control over himself.
Tessa was still holding on to Meg, glaring at Brock and growling low in her throat. Meg had to do something to diffuse the situation. Quickly.
“I promise, I’ll be okay,” Meg said. “Don’t you want to be with Marcus? Alone?”
“I do.” Tessa glanced over at Marcus. When their gazes met, Meg could almost feel a crackling energy between the pair. An energy she did not want to be in the middle of.
She slipped out from between them and stood next to Brock.
Meg wanted that connection for herself. She’d thought she felt the beginnings of it with Brock. Now, she wanted to run screaming away from him. The hair on the back of her neck prickled as she leaned even closer to him.
That was okay. She would seduce him anyway. She would.
“If you need anything at all, call for us,” Tessa said.
Meg nodded. Marcus and Tessa stepped through the mangled doorway, heading down what appeared to be a long hallway. As soon as Meg couldn’t hear their footsteps anymore, she turned to Brock.
“Thank you for trusting me,” she said.
Brock grabbed her arm. Hard. His fingers dug into her bicep.
“Let’s get one thing straight,” he said. “We don’t trust you.”
His words stung more than she expected. He had brought her to his home, let down his guard, kissed her with more passion and tenderness than she’d ever experienced. What had changed?
Maybe seei
ng Tessa attack Meg had shown Brock just how resilient she was. It was one thing to know Meg was a werewolf and another to see her withstand an attack like that and shrug it off. It was one of the few perks of being the pack’s omega.
“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” she said. It was mostly true.
“Save it. The others might be suckered in by your innocent act, but we don’t believe a word you’ve said. You’re an unknown werewolf. A threat. And if you give us any excuse whatsoever, we will cut off your head. Do you understand?”
What was with the ‘we’ he kept using? It was confusing, but at the same time, he was absolutely clear on his intentions toward her. Whatever they had shared was gone. This man would gladly kill her if she stepped out of line.
Just like Roy.
“I understand,” she said.
“Good.” Brock started walking toward the open doorway, jerking her along next to him.
“Brock.” Vaughn’s voice came over the intercom. “Brock,” he repeated. “Hold on a second.”
Brock didn’t slow his pace. Meg stumbled, and his fingers dug in deeper. If she hadn’t been a werewolf, she’d have a nasty bruise where he gripped her.
She heard a whooshing sound as a door opened in the hallway ahead of her. A man stuck his head out and glanced down to the end of the hall, then back in the direction of the garage.
His eyes were vibrantly blue, and he had short, light brown hair. There was a slight curl to it, and it stuck up in wavy spikes on top. He smiled at her, and Meg instantly liked him, despite the fear of her current situation.
Ducking into the hall, the man looked back over his shoulder one more time. There was a large door at the opposite end of the corridor that looked similar to the one Tessa had destroyed.
The man trotted toward them. His skin had an olive cast, but it looked like he hadn’t been out in the sun in a long time, not that the sun came out often in the area. He checked his watch quickly as he stopped in front of them.
“Sorry,” he said. “Just making sure Tessa’s safely upstairs, since she just tried to eat me and all. Again.”
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