James sighed, and I felt his taunt muscles under my hand start to relax. “Anna, Justin is going to use this as an excuse to come after us with the council’s blessing. She can’t stay.”
I gnawed on my lip. “But if Justin had found me first, that could have been me. He’s going to force Emily to mate with him.”
James’s eyes softened, and he brushed a hair out of my face. “It’s not you. You’re safe here with us.”
“But Emily isn’t?” I cried out.
His eyes hardened once again. “Emily isn’t one of us, she doesn’t belong here.”
Anger rose up inside of me, and I felt the answering call of my magic. “I think you forget just what I’m capable of,” I hissed at him. “If I don’t want her taken, then no one can take her.” I clenched my fists and stared him down. There was no way I was letting anyone hand Emily over to Justin to be abused. I remembered all too well what it was like to be the victim of an overbearing male who felt entitled to take advantage of his position of power over a young girl. The memory of huddling in a kitchen while a dark figure loomed over me flashed through my mind. The echoes of my past fear, pain, and despair haunted me, but I wasn’t that weak little girl anymore. Darkness clouded my vision and I heard the faint sound of whispers.
Show him how powerful you are.
Don’t let anyone else control you.
“Anna,” Caleb called to me. His voice sounded far away as if it were coming from the end of the tunnel. “I need you to relax for a moment and talk to us.” His voice alone didn’t get through to me, it was the wave of soothing energy wrapped in his love that broke me out of the spell I was under.
I recoiled in horror when I felt my magic crackling around me. “James,” I said in shame. “I’m sorry, I didn’t-”
James put his hands on my waist and looked into my eyes. “You have nothing to apologize for,” he said softly. “I never want you to be afraid to stand up for what’s right. Sometimes I need a reminder.” His last sentence was said in more of a grumble than his other words, but I understood the message he was trying to get across.
My emotions would usually get more intense around the time when I was about to go into heat, probably because of all the hormones that were surging through me. But I’d never had to keep control over a large amount of magic that’s use was partially tied to my emotions. I’ve also never been around other wolves, so I’d never had to deal with these protective and violent urges before.
This wasn’t the first time I’d felt the darkness creeping up inside of me like that, but it was the closest I’d ever felt to acting on it. I’d been hearing whispers like that intermittently for the past couple weeks, but it was usually only when I first woke up from a nightmare caused by memories of my past. It was often memories of being abused by my uncle that would cause me to spiral back down into darkness and depression, but one of my wolves were always there when I woke up to help pull me out of it.
Emily was staring at me in shock. I’m sure she felt the magic that was humming around me, giving her the impression that I was a powerful alpha – and stronger than just about every male that she may have encountered before. I doubted she would have had any contact with fae in the past, but I still made an effort to reign in my power and hide it behind a wall to keep my true nature hidden.
I gave Emily a mild smile. “Why don’t we get comfortable in the living room?” It seemed like none of the guys were willing to take their eyes off our visitor because they followed us to the living room but continued to loom over us as we sat on the couch. The idea of making small talk in this situation seemed ridiculous but sitting here in complete silence would be even worse. “What do you want to go to college for?” I asked Emily curiously. I wanted her to relax and feel more comfortable around us, but I also wanted to get a feel for what type of person she was.
Emily visibly brightened. “I want to go to veterinary school and medical school,” she told me cheerfully. “That way I can be a pack doctor.”
I scooted a little closer to her. “Really? I want to start a medical clinic for shifters.” I hesitated when all three guys gave me warning looks about mentioning my magic. “I’m just going about it a little differently.”
“Because you’re a nurse?” Emily asked with a smile. “Jessica said you’re going to help her give birth.”
“Uh…” I planned on using my magic to try to keep the babies alive while they were in the womb, and I definitely wanted to be on standby when Jessica gave birth, so I could step in and heal her if things went wrong. But actually acting as a midwife? I wasn’t qualified for that. “I’m a pharmacist, actually,” I told her weakly.
Emily frowned at me as if to ask what I thought a pharmacist could do in the labor room, but Caleb quickly covered for me. “Anna works in the NICU with babies born prematurely,” he explained. “She can use her expertise to help keep the babies healthy.”
Emily nodded as if that made complete sense to her - and maybe it did. I wondered what Jessica had been telling people that I had been doing for her? I know that she had felt my magic when I used it to help her pregnancy take, but it didn’t seem like she had shared any details with Emily.
Austin had suggested that I keep my magical abilities to myself for now because it was rare for wolves to use magic outside of shifting and our pack bonds. Our community had just recently learned that we were descendants of the fae, a race previously thought to be nothing more than a bedtime story for young pups. A lot of wolves were still struggling with that revelation, so Austin didn’t think it was a good idea to suddenly announce I was half-fae with the ability to use magic that other wolves wouldn’t understand. Only the white wolves from the pack in the north had experience with magic like mine, and they were very secretive about what they were actually able to do.
We lapsed into silence again, but I was relieved when I felt Austin and Cody growing closer. I knew Austin would take my side on this, he had to.
Neither of the guys was smiling when they walked in, and I stood nervously to greet them. Austin gave me a brief hug but kept his thoughts closed to me. That didn’t bode well. Cody stood next to me with his hand on my lower back while Austin introduced himself to Emily. She looked up at him with wide eyes and started to step closer to him. A growl from me stopped her in her tracks and made her flinch back. Cody rubbed my back reassuringly, but I still didn’t like how she was peeking up at Austin through her lashes. Austin was a good-looking guy – they all were. But he was mine.
Cody was the biggest of my wolves, and he was six and a half feet of pure muscle. But he also had the prettiest eyes – they were a Caribbean blue framed by thick lashes. Austin wasn’t quite as tall as Cody, but he exuded confidence and authority that left no doubt he was our pack master. He had dark gold hair, deep blue eyes, and a style that made him look like he belonged on the cover of GQ. But what I loved most about him was the dichotomy of all his tattoos that were hidden beneath the sleek clothing of a successful businessman. I liked that I was one of the few people who was able to see through the mask he wore and into the true man beneath.
Luckily for Emily, Austin crossed back to my side of the room after shaking her hand and taking in her scent. I calmed down even more when Cody and Austin sat on either side of me on the couch. Cody kept his arm over my shoulder and Austin rested his hand on my leg, right above the knee. Austin looked up at James, and it was apparent they were using the pack bond. James gave him a nod and motioned for the twins to follow him before striding purposefully out of the room. Mason started after him, but Jason hesitated for a moment and looked in my direction.
“Let’s go,” James grumbled. “We need to secure the perimeter and make sure there aren’t any more strays wandering around.” He sent a glare in Caleb’s direction. “And I believe you have an assignment to work on?” Caleb got up from where he had been leaning against the couch but dropped a kiss on the top of my head before leaving. And then it was just Cody, Aus, and me sitting opposite of Emily.
>
Emily looked even more nervous than she had before, so I gave her a reassuring smile. “Why don’t you tell the guys why you’re here?” I suggested.
Emily gave a nod and started to speak as Cody and Austin prompted her with questions. I stayed quiet because I wanted to watch as she answered. I had been practicing my ability to send out tendrils of magic to explore without making the other person aware of it. Talen’s memories had helped, but so had my experience with Drake. I had witnessed some of what Drake had done with his magic and had pulled apart some of the webs he had created, but Talen had given me an understanding of how it all worked. I was still experimenting cautiously and learning as I went, but I was careful not to harm anyone.
Emily’s intentions seemed pure. I didn’t sense any lies or deceit around her words, but I did feel how nervous she became whenever she mentioned Justin’s name. There was no doubt about it – she was afraid of him. Through our bond, I sensed sympathy from my two guys, but I didn’t hear the types of assurances I had expected from Austin. I had thought he would offer her protection and a place here in the pack.
Austin must have sensed my disappointment because he gave my knee a squeeze. “She can’t stay,” he warned me through the bond.
“Why not?” I asked out loud.
Austin sighed, but before he could answer, his phone started ringing. He grimaced when he looked down at the screen, but he answered in a pleasant voice. “Justin, I was just about to call.”
I used my wolf hearing to eavesdrop on both sides of the conversation, so I heard Justin snort in response. “I’m sure you were. I hear you have something that belongs to me?”
“I believe you mean someone,” Austin answered pointedly. He might have been calm on the outside, but I could feel the tension radiating off of him.
“I’m on my way,” Justin snapped. “Have her ready to go, and if any of your barbarians have even laid a hand on her-”
“She’s fine,” Austin interrupted sharply. There was no response from Justin and Austin’s phone beeped to show that Justin had already disconnected the call.
Austin looked tired. “I’d like to know how he knew you were here so quickly,” he murmured in Emily’s direction.
“Jessica sent her,” I said softly.
Cody and Austin exchanged a meaningful look. Did they think this was a setup of some kind?
“Austin,” I said hesitantly. “Are we really just going to send her back?”
“This is complicated, Anna,” he told me gently. “The council doesn’t look favorably on packs who steal females, and Justin could make a lot of problems for us.”
I cocked my head thoughtfully. Was that Justin’s plan? To set Austin up for something in retaliation for an imagined slight? I slid my eyes over to Emily. It didn’t seem fair that she was a pawn in something that really had nothing to do with her. She was innocent in all of this.
“Anna, would you mind staying with Emily?” Austin asked. “I’m sure she’d like the opportunity to freshen up in one of our guest rooms. I need to make some calls to the other council members so that they don’t hear from Justin first.”
“Of course,” I murmured. I leaned closer to Austin and slid my hand to the back of his neck to rub my thumb against the short hairs there.
Austin’s eyes brightened with interest, and I leaned forward to press my lips to his. It was a chaste kiss at first, but fire ignited in my veins. My pulse quickened, and I would have liked nothing better than to climb on his lap and take things further. I leaned away from him when I caught Emily staring at us with wide eyes. Seducing Austin would have to wait.
“I hope you have a kiss for me too,” Cody said with a grin.
I chuckled and ran my hand over his stubbly jaw before our lips met. My body throbbed with need, and I wished the three of us could be alone right now. Cody groaned, and I realized that I had been projecting my thoughts clearly to both of them through our bond. I pulled back and gave him a sheepish grin. “Sorry.”
“Believe me,” Cody said earnestly. “You have absolutely nothing to apologize for.”
I pulled away from him reluctantly, knowing that if I didn’t put some distance between us now, then I might get lost in my desires. My hormones were ramping up into overdrive right now, and it felt like being drunk on lust.
I stood up from the couch, distancing myself from the tempting heat of their bodies. It took some effort to tear my eyes off of them and look at Emily, but I accomplished it. “Why don’t we go upstairs?” I suggested.
She nodded and followed me as I led the way upstairs. My body protested with every step I took away from the guys, but now was not the time to get distracted. Austin was going to be busy doing damage control with the council, so I needed to get to the bottom of why Emily was here.
“Are you in love with both of them?” Emily asked me.
I looked sharply at her but saw only innocent curiosity, not judgment.
“Yeah,” I said as a happy smile slid over my face. Austin and I had been growing closer the more time we spent together. I was pleased that he was starting to see me as an equal and a dominant wolf in my own right. I wasn’t the lost orphan wolf that he had first met in what seemed like another life, I was stronger and surer of myself than ever. And Cody? He had been my rock in the tumultuous fall-out after everything that had happened with Gemma and Talen. I felt a pang in my heart when that reminded me of the twins, and how it felt like a giant chasm had opened up between us.
“Let’s use the blue room,” I suggested to Emily. “There are some spare dresses and stuff in the closet, so I’m sure something will fit you.”
“Thanks,” Emily said with a smile. “I didn’t want to say anything in front of the guys, but I’m pretty sure I have sand in just about every crevice imaginable.”
I laughed and led her to the bathroom. “I hope you’re not offended, but I don’t feel comfortable letting you out of my sight.”
Emily shrugged. “You’ve been a lot nicer than most females would have been in your situation. Most of them would have thrown me out on my ass, especially since we’re both so close to going into heat.”
I waved a casual hand at her. “Reagan and Jessica are the only female wolves I’ve ever spent any significant amount of time with, so you’re a breath of fresh air.”
Emily giggled, and I saw her start to relax as she undressed. “I’m still not sure if Reagan leaving was a good thing or not,” Emily admitted. “I thought it would ease the tension between the other females in the pack, but it just left Jessica room to become even more of a crazy bitch.”
I hopped up on the sink and dangled my feet as Emily started the water in the shower. “So, she’s the top female in your pack now?”
Emily snorted before stepping into the shower. “She wishes. Justin hasn’t given her any type of title or extra benefits like she thought she was going to get.”
“You don’t think he’s going to be her mate?” I asked curiously as I swung my feet. Females were rare enough that wolves fought over them, and pregnancies were few and far between. I would have thought he would be treating her like his most treasured possession.
Emily squished the water out of her hair. “I think he doesn’t want to share his power.”
“How do the other males in the pack feel about him taking multiple females for himself?”
There was silence from Emily’s side of the shower, but I waited patiently. I already knew there were problems in Justin’s pack, she wasn’t telling me any major secrets. But it sounded like Justin was making things worse for himself, not better. If a significant number of wolves wanted to leave the pack when he took power, he should be trying to win them back, not drive more away.
“Are you and Justin – together?” I asked her, trying another tactic.
“No,” Emily answered. “He’s barely even spoken to me since he’s made the announcement.”
“Do you feel safe there for another week or so? Or do you need us to get you out of there t
oday?” My pack mates wouldn’t agree with me if I made the decision to take Emily away from her pack today, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t do it. I had lived in fear of a pack of male wolves finding me my entire life, there was no way I would ever abandon another female to that fate.
“He’s not going to hurt me,” Emily said confidently. “He’s just going to wait for me to go into heat and then…” I could hear her swallow nervously. “Well, you know.”
I sighed. “Yeah, I know.”
I kept thinking about what I should do as Emily finished her shower and put on a flowery blue dress that had been too short for my long legs but that fit her perfectly. “Okay, Emily,” I told her confidently. “It’s not illegal for you to petition to join another pack now that you’re eighteen, so that’s what we’re going to do. In the meantime, I’ll see if we can arrange for you to visit Reagan. She was your pack master’s mate the entire time you were growing up, so it makes sense that you would want to seek her guidance at this tumultuous time in your life.”
Emily groaned. “I’m not excited about spending time with Reagan, but I’d prefer that over being forced to risk my life to have Justin’s pups.”
I gave her a wry look. Reagan and I had our struggles when she had come to visit Austin. She was a strong female wolf, and while we had clashed on some of our beliefs, I think we had both walked away with respect for one another. I never wanted to become as selfish and controlling as Reagan was, but I couldn’t deny that I had needed the push that she gave me to be more assertive. If I wanted the pack to respect me and consider me an equal, then I needed to exude the confidence and inner strength that would demonstrate that.
“Let’s go back downstairs so I can talk to Austin about our plan,” I suggested.
I found Austin in his office in between phone calls and practically drooled. Austin was always sharply dressed in slacks and button-down shirts, but he had rolled up his sleeves and his collar was unbuttoned and tied loosened. My body ached at the thought of unbuttoning that shirt the rest of the way and wrapping my hand in his tie to pull him close to me.
Finding My Breaking Point Page 3