by Anna Lowe
No! Carly yelped as three more rogues pushed forward in a coordinated attack.
A two-pronged attack, he realized, with Steen coming his way and three headed for Carly.
Everything became a blur of sound and motion. The ivory of his attackers’ fangs stained crimson with blood. The flash of fur in shades of brown and gray. Carly’s grunts of defiance as the rogues mobbed her. The crush of pebbles and dry earth under his paws. The void of the cliff’s face just inches to his right.
Steen was bigger but a little too slow, and Luke managed to sidestep his attacks. But the bastard formed a wall between him and Carly, making it impossible to see how she was faring.
Steen reared up and tackled him, and they wrestled perilously close to the cliff’s edge. Luke’s shoulder throbbed, but he kept all his focus on the enemy, looking for an opening until finally — there! — the wolf’s neck flashed, unprotected for a split second.
Luke opened his jaws and snapped, locking the rogue in a death hold. The acrid taste of blood flooded his mouth, and the wolf moaned, then slowly went limp.
Get off me! Carly’s wolf cries said. No! No!
Luke held his enemy until the life bled right out of him, then released Steen and spun around, snarling so hard his throat hurt.
Luke! Carly screamed.
Mine! Craig howled, helping the two rogues who’d overpowered her. They dragged her forward by the paw as she wrestled and lashed out with her free limbs.
Not yours! Luke growled, barreling forward. In his mind, the real-life image of Craig merged with an ugly image from his memory — Greer, the ruthless alpha of North Ridge pack. Greer, coming to claim whatever he deemed his.
Get him, Luke urged his wolf. Let Greer feel our revenge.
He’d once met an old coyote shifter who’d had a theory that all evil was connected. That an attack on one manifestation of evil could make itself felt on all evil.
Luke pushed forward, hoping to hell that was true. Because he was about to rip Craig to pieces, and he wanted Greer to feel that pain all the way from his grave.
You die, he roared, launching himself at Craig.
They slammed together a second later, then broke apart, both reeling from the impact.
Luke! Carly cried as one of her attackers bit deeper into her leg.
Luke blinked the stars out of his eyes just in time to see Craig leap at him. On a good day, Luke would have pivoted at the last second then whipped around to grab Craig by the neck. But Craig had been staying at the periphery of the fight, saving his strength, while Luke had been fighting for dear life. Was his timing sharp enough to pull off that move?
Concentrate! his human side yelled at his wolf. Get Greer!
The thought caught in his mind. Was that Greer or Craig?
Whatever, his wolf snarled, shifting its haunches for the move he had to get exactly right.
Craig came at him with jaws gaping wide, but Luke kept his focus on the wolf’s shoulders. The angle, the distance, the speed—
Now! he urged his wolf.
His rear leg nearly gave out on him, but he darted aside then twisted and buried his teeth in the side of Craig’s neck. Craig howled in pain and rolled, crushing Luke, who refused to let go.
Craig is Greer. Greer is Craig, his wolf chanted, releasing his jaws just long enough to work his way closer to his foe’s neck. He clamped down hard, and Craig twisted under him.
Kill him. Kill him, he told himself, feeling the blood flow.
Craig choked and kicked.
Mercy… Mercy…
Luke snarled. Had Craig ever shown anyone mercy? Had Greer?
This is for Carly. For my sister. For every victim Greer ever claimed, he told himself, giving a mighty shake until he heard Craig’s neck snap.
Luke nearly flopped to the ground, but he dragged himself up to help Carly. Two wolves remained, and they were hustling her away.
No, they won’t, his wolf growled, attacking the one with its jaws clamped around her leg.
The rogue howled and released Carly, who immediately rolled to her feet. Luke used his remaining strength to bulldoze the nearest wolf over the edge and into oblivion, while Carly fought in a series of lightning-fast bites and slashes.
But damn. They were fighting on the edge of the cliff now. The sheer, crumbling edge.
Luke saw it all in slow motion as he turned to help. The wide whites of the last rogue’s eyes. The flaying motion of its front legs that swept Carly sideways, toward the precipice.
The rogue reached forward as its rear legs went over the cliff. It clamped its jaws over Carly’s rear leg in a last-ditch effort that said, If I die, you die.
Carly scrambled to get free, but the wolf was too big, and Luke’s exhausted wolf was a tick too slow. The rogue disappeared over the edge, dragging Carly with it.
No! Luke howled, stretching forward. No!
Luke! Carly’s eyes went wide as her paws scratched helplessly at the loose soil.
Chapter Sixteen
The world tipped sideways, and thin air pulled at Carly’s limbs.
If I die, you die, the rogue clamped to her leg snarled as he dragged her over the edge.
She wanted to turn and spit at him. You’re the only one who’s going to die, asshole.
She gathered all her energy for a mighty kick the way she’d seen Luke summon the last of his energy to fight Craig. Luke, who’d fought with the strength of ten wolves, exactly the way her brothers had fought for their mates.
Mate, her wolf whispered. Mate.
She took a deep breath and kicked with her free leg, dislodging the rogue. He screamed and clawed at thin air as he fell. And fell and fell and—
The rogue’s cry was cut short by a heavy thump.
Carly yelped, finding herself sliding after him. The wind whistled beneath her, pulling at her legs.
The world decelerated into super slow motion, and all sound faded away as she observed her own doom in a surprisingly detached way. Her wolf claws raked parallel lines into the earth, unable to find a grip. Luke’s eyes went wide, and his lips moved as he lunged for her.
Shift, his voice boomed into her mind. Shift!
He seemed so panicked. So scared. And shit, so was she.
Because you’re about to die, you idiot, her wolf screamed.
Which was strange, because she’d brushed shoulders with death before. Why was this different? Why was she so scared this time?
Because you have so much to lose now, her wolf cried as her fate unfolded, one agonizing millisecond at a time.
Another inch of her body slipped over the edge, tipping her center of gravity as her mind spun with a dozen I’m-not-ready-to-die thoughts she’d never had before.
My mate. My future. My life, her wolf mourned.
Luke’s eyes flashed, and she saw the same regrets there. The heart-to-heart talk they’d never had the courage to have. The hand-in-hand walks, living life at a slower, stop-and-smell-the-roses pace. The challenges they’d never take on together because it all ended right here.
Shift! Luke yelled, reaching for her. Shift!
His paw uncurled and became a hand, and his fur receded into a field of skin covered with dirt and blood.
“Shift!”
The words echoed off the hills and in her mind.
She stretched her right leg forward, and it hurt like hell because wolf shoulders didn’t hinge that far.
Shift, she cried at her wolf. Let me shift.
The beast gave in, letting her human side emerge. She reached farther, crying out at the scrape of dry earth against her bare skin. She aimed for Luke’s fingertips, but they seemed so far. Her upper body slid over the edge of the cliff.
Time to free fall, the wind whispered, swirling around her torso. Come on. It will be a thrill.
For the first time in her life, she didn’t want a thrill.
“Hold on!” Luke yelled, his human voice still scratchy with the sound of his beast.
Their hands slapped tog
ether, and his fingers curled around hers in a steely grip.
“Luke,” she screamed as gravity yanked her the rest of the way off the ledge. To the void. To the three-hundred-foot drop. To certain death.
Tight as Luke’s hand was around hers, she was still falling. Which meant Luke was falling, too. Both of them, going over the edge.
Then Carly lurched. Her shoulder wrenched. Luke grunted.
She looked down, and the distance to the ground wasn’t decreasing, because she wasn’t falling any more. She was swinging in midair, suspended from above by the man who refused to let go.
“Hang on,” Luke said.
She looked up and understood why his voice was so shaky. He was hanging on to a root with one hand while the other clung to her. They both swung in thin air.
When she locked eyes with Luke, the words he’d challenged Craig with echoed through her mind. She’s not yours. She’s not mine. She’s her own person.
A worthy mate. A mate who won’t rob you of your freedom, her wolf cried. You see?
She gulped. Yes. Now she could see. But was it too late? Luke couldn’t support the weight of them both with only one hand. Not for long, anyway.
“Swing me closer,” she said, reaching around blindly with her feet. “I can grab hold of something.”
“Grab hold of what?” His face pinched with the strain.
She cursed inside, because he was right. The cliff fell away in a concave sweep, and no matter what she tried, there was nothing within reach.
“You can’t hold us both.”
“Watch me,” he said through clenched teeth.
His deep, dark eyes swirled with fear and determination. Fear for what might happen to her, not him. And determination for…for…
“No, Luke. Don’t,” she cried, watching a crazy plan unfold in his eyes.
Her feet were dangling in midair, and his eyes focused on the long, terrible fall behind her. She had an awful vision of both of them tumbling to their deaths, with Luke attempting a stunt like wrapping himself around her body to take the brunt of the fall. She might survive, but he wouldn’t.
She could see him calculating it all out, and it scared her to death.
“Don’t you dare be my hero,” she said fiercely.
He let out a bitter chuckle. “At least I’ll be that.”
She shook her head. “You said no regrets.”
“I meant our night together — not the mess I’ve made of my life.”
The glint in his eye let her know he was keeping her distracted while he calculated what he had to do. How much twist he’d need in midair to be able to grab her around the waist. How he’d clamp his arms and legs around her body and swing around, making sure he’d be the first to hit.
She started playing it out for herself, hoping to find some way to survive, but no matter what she imagined, the fall always ended in a slamming halt and death.
My death, his eyes said. Not yours.
“No. No way,” she said. There had to be some other way. “What if we—”
She jerked her head up without finishing her sentence. The ground above them had filled with the sound of scuffling feet.
No! her wolf cried, picturing more rogues. Maybe Craig had reinforcements. Maybe some of the rogues they’d thought dead were wounded and limping back to finish her and Luke off. Maybe—
“Holy shit,” someone cried, and a wave of blond hair appeared above Luke at the ledge.
“Cody!” she cried. Never had she been so glad to see her brother. Never.
“Christ. Don’t let go,” Cody barked.
“Never crossed my mind,” Luke murmured.
More voices sounded and arms reached down, hauling Luke up — and Carly with him. Luke’s body scraped over the ground as the wolves of Twin Moon Ranch manhandled him up.
“We got you, Carly.”
“Hang on, sweetheart.”
All those words of encouragement were aimed at her, not Luke, and she wanted to scream. She nearly did, too, but something better crossed her mind.
I got you, Luke. She pushed the words into his mind. Hang on.
He grinned despite the hell he had to be going through. I got you, too.
Someone grabbed her arm and pulled her to safety, but when they tore her away from Luke, she almost cried.
“Oh, my God,” someone said.
“Are you all right?”
“Carly, are you okay?”
She ignored all of them and used her last ounce of energy to crawl over to where Luke lay. His chest heaved, and his hands were clenched as if he was still holding her. She half fell, half flung herself at him in an embrace.
“Now wait a minute,” Ty protested.
“Carly,” Cody warned.
Something in her snapped, and she whirled. “This is my mate, got it? Mine.”
“But—” Ty started.
She snarled back, out of patience, out of energy. “He slaved away for our pack. He did everything you asked for and more. He saved the kids, and he saved me. Jesus, what more do you want?”
The landscape seemed to go totally still — just like her packmates.
Ty looked at Cody. Cody looked at the ground. Tina was there, too, staring.
“Your mate, huh?” Tina whispered. To her credit, though, her voice was sincere, not doubtful or teasing.
“My mate,” Carly cried, glaring at them all. One by one, her siblings had won their mates. Well, it was her turn now. Who cared if she’d been wrong about how important mates were? Now, she understood. And no one was stopping her. No one.
She must have made it pretty damn clear, because Ty flipped his hands up, giving in.
“Well…all right, then,” Cody murmured, backing away with the dawn of a grin.
Tina nodded and motioned to Luke. “All yours, then. Your mate.”
The adrenaline spike that had fueled Carly’s outburst faded away. She collapsed over Luke, hugging him fiercely.
“My turn to hold you tight,” she murmured, burying her face against his neck.
Luke’s arms curled around her body, and they lay together, panting as one, ignoring the voices that slowly, carefully piped up again.
“Um, Carly…”
Yes, she was naked after shifting, and so was Luke. Who cared?
“Carly, we really ought to…”
Someone touched her shoulder, and she growled. Let anyone try to get a crowbar between her and Luke. She’d never, ever let go. Never.
“Carly, are you sure you’re all right?”
That was Tina, and at first, Carly ignored the light touches on her back. But when she caught the pain in her sister’s voice, she softened. There was pain and worry in all those voices surrounding her.
“God, Carly, you nearly fell.”
Her brothers and sister were there, worried out of their minds. They were chattering, pleading, checking that she was all right. She could hear their inner wolves whining with emotion — even Ty, who never let any emotion slip out through the chinks in his armor. Never.
Except for right now.
Tears welled up in her eyes. Hot, blinding tears that took her by surprise, because she never cried. Never.
But, crap. She was doing it now.
How much pain had she inflicted on her family all these years? How many thrill-seeking acts had she jumped into without thinking of anyone else? Late nights in iffy bars. Hurtling along on her motorcycle at breakneck speeds. Thousand-foot free-climbs. If her loved ones felt even a fraction of the fear she experienced at the idea of losing Luke, it would be shattering.
The tears became sobs that wracked her body. How would she ever make up what she’d done to them? How could she have been so selfish for so long? How—
Two strong arms circled her and pulled her tight. Luke rocked her gently. Her siblings murmured, assuring her it would be all right. Love poured in from every side, warming her like the sun. Love so real and intense, it hurt, but it felt good at the same time. The way crying felt right n
ow.
She cried until the tears dried up — although not against Luke’s neck, which was a sticky mess, not that he seemed to mind. Someone threw a shirt over her, and slowly, she caught her breath.
“You okay?” Luke whispered.
She ran a hand over his shoulder then stroked his cheek. “Yeah. Are you?”
He tightened his hug, and his voice was muffled, but she caught his words, all right. “I am now.”
She took a deep breath and pulled away just far enough to speak to the others. “I’m okay. Thanks. I’m okay.”
Her wolf wagged its tail weakly, and in her mind, she wound her furry body around Luke’s. We’re okay. We’re okay.
We? he asked quietly.
We, she said firmly.
Chapter Seventeen
One week later…
Carly stood at the ranch gate with her arms wrapped around her middle. It was almost time to leave Arizona, and she was still digesting recent events. A fresh breeze ruffled her hair, and the scent of spring was everywhere. Soon, the cacti would come alive with vivid pinkish-purple flowers, and the first of the snapdragons wouldn’t be far behind.
Spring. A fresh start. She could feel it right around the corner.
Her own personal spring, too.
She snuggled deeper into Luke’s leather jacket and fingered the bite mark on her neck, reliving the best moment of her life — the moment Luke had claimed her as his mate. He’d let her mark him first — the man knew her too well — and that had been the best moment of her life until a few minutes later when he reciprocated. They’d just reached the peak of incredibly fiery sex, and the second he sank his teeth into her neck, her world exploded with light. Love. Hope.
“Told you you don’t have to speed around on motorcycles to get a real thrill.” Tina had said with a wicked grin when Carly shared how good it felt. “And the best thing is, you can do it again and again.”
As if Carly hadn’t figured that out yet. She and Luke had sequestered themselves away for most of the past week, going at it like bunnies. Making up for a lifetime of loneliness, it felt like. A loneliness she’d always managed to hide from herself until she met him.
Lonely no more, her wolf smiled. And never again.