by Fel Fern
“Talon has a way of attracting broken and savage monsters like him. They all swore their loyalty to him even before I came here. I sometimes wonder why they did that, too. Dom tried to explain to me once, but I still don’t get it,” Teddy said.
“Alec’s not broken,” he blurted.
Sam placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and said softly, “They all are, Chip, but you know that already.”
He took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts. This mission was harder than he thought. How did Pete and Emmet expect him to persuade Alec to get out of Ashfall Mountain? Alec had already sworn himself to a crazy Alpha. Sam was right. Something wasn’t entirely right with Alec either—but he knew that. When Alec and Kris left the Fire Claws, he knew they’d already lost a part of themselves they couldn’t take back.
“Don’t worry about it. They’ll be fine,” Sam said quickly as Teddy bandaged his arm. Huh. Teddy hadn’t lied about being an okay medic.
“Do they fight each other all the time?” Chip asked.
“Yeah, you got to get used to that. It’s the only way to silence the violent beasts that share their skin, and Alec…” Teddy paused, as if he wasn’t sure how to continue.
“Alec is wondering what the fuck you bastards are doing in his cabin,” growled out a new and terrifying voice.
Chapter 4
Teddy and Sam looked at Alec with guilty expressions on their faces, like kids caught stealing at a candy store. Damn it. Teddy was a werewolf, so he understood a shifter’s den was his own private space. Alec never let anyone inside his home. Chip just stared at the floor, not meeting his gaze at all. That didn’t sit well with Alec.
Alec stomped his way to Chip. He could move quietly as a ghost when he hunted prey, but he wanted Chip to hear him. Chip finally looked up, then simply stared at him. Alec knew he didn’t look presentable, not splattered with blood and mud. Rake marks covered his body. Talon had gotten his left shoulder good, so there was a missing chunk of flesh there. He must look like a nightmare, and God. Alec hurt everywhere. What else was new?
Sam and Teddy had been here long enough. They’d gotten used to seeing naked and bloody men walking around the property, but not Chip. Spotting Chip’s bandaged hand, he forgave Teddy and Sam for barging into his home. They looked after Chip and he was grateful for that. Still, why hadn’t they left?
“What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded.
“I wanted to see you,” Chip blurted.
“Bullshit.” Alec wasn’t an idiot. Why would Chip come to him now of all times? Five years was a long time. Chip was lying to him. Alec could always tell. “Tell me the real reason.”
“T-that’s it,” Chip blurted.
Alec narrowed his eyes. He didn’t have time for games. Alec didn’t know what to feel when Sam had told him Chip was coming here. He had run to Chip without a second thought, thinking he’d be in danger. Alec was right. Did Chip realized how close he’d come to becoming monster chow?
Alec had too many problems to deal with. He also had beef with Talon. Fucking Alpha. Talon just attacked everything and anyone that he considered a threat. Teddy believed his brother could still be saved? Alec didn’t think so. Talon was going to drag all of them to hell with him, and the sad thing was, Alec didn’t care. He didn’t mind.
Chip being here ruined all his plans for self-destruction.
“You don’t belong here,” Alec told Chip, looking him right in the eye. “Leave.”
“Jesus, Alec. That’s cold,” Teddy commented. “Why don’t you give him a chance to—”
“Out,” Alec said with a growl. He glared at the two busybodies still in his cabin. “Both of you.”
Teddy and Sam still had some common sense, because they started for the door. Sam lingered and called out to Chip again, “Chip, if he throws you out, you can stay with Kris and me. Our place is two cabins down from Alec’s, okay?”
With Teddy and Sam gone, silence filled the space.
“You really want me gone?” Chip asked in a soft voice.
Alec studied him. Chip didn’t look like he could take many emotional blows. All he wanted to do was bring Chip close to him, but what if Chip scented the blood on him and recoiled? Not that Chip was better off. Chip still reminded him of a wet dog, completely drenched, his clothes covered in mud and blood. He held on to his bandaged left hand with his uninjured right.
Chip appeared vulnerable. Fragile. Looking at him like this gutted Alec, because Chip wouldn’t have been hurt in the first place if he hadn't come searching for Alec. Chip was the one man who didn’t flinch from him, who wasn’t afraid of him or the monster wolf inside him.
“Yeah,” he said, hating himself for the words that came out of his traitorous mouth. “You’re better off back in the Fire Claws.”
Chip took one look at him, before bolting past him and slamming the front door shut.
Alec closed his eyes for a moment. “Shit.”
Chip had always been emotional, always ran when it got too hard. Alec couldn’t blame him. Chip had been through hell. Literally. He’d been hunted and attacked. Here was Alec being a dick and making Chip feel unwelcomed.
“What the hell’s wrong with me?” Alec strode out of the cabin and stood on the porch, looking for signs of Chip.
“Your little wolf went that way,” drawled Ryder, who leaned against the railing of his porch. “You made him cry, Alec. Shame on you.”
The bastard looked clawed up and awful just like him, so Alec didn’t know how he managed to sound all amused and happy. Psycho. Everyone in this pack should be institutionalized, including him.
“So, about that wolf carving you promised me,” Ryder was saying.
“Fuck off.” Alec marched down the steps and went left, like Ryder mentioned. He lifted his head and sniffed. Damn rain muddied his sense of smell. At least the water washed off some of the grime and blood off him.
“Chip!”
He halted. Crap. Chip shouldn’t have gone this way. This downhill path led to the further cabin in the camp, the one that belonged to Talon. Alec broke into a run, shifting forms as he did so. It hurt to change so soon, but he didn’t care. Alec let the beast out again, just in case Talon decided to head back home to lick his wounds.
It didn’t matter if Talon was injured. That monster would attack anything that he considered a threat. Alec’s four paws hit the earth. He sprinted down the path that led to Talon’s territory. This area was off limits to everyone except Teddy and, on rare occasions, Dom, but Talon sometimes forgot that Dom was his best friend, or used to be.
Talon didn’t have that many friends lately, Alec mused. He panted, reaching the end of the trail. Talon’s dilapidated cabin looked back at him. He spotted Chip’s profile in the distance. Chip stood in front of the tiny pond right at the back of Talon’s cabin.
It was only for a second, but Alec glimpsed a hint of red in the bushes behind the pond. Talon. Heart racing, he ran like the wind towards Chip. Alec came to a halt next to Chip. He looked over the pond. No sign of Talon anywhere.
“Leave me alone. You said you don’t want me around, right?” Chip said, still staring out across the pond.
Alec changed back to human. He clenched his fists by his side. Alec had never been good with words. He wasn’t a charmer like Ryder either. “I’m sorry. I was angry, confused,” he said. “Fighting takes a lot out of me.”
“You like it, though. I remember.”
A growl rumbled from his chest. “I was made to like it.”
Chip touched his arm. He looked hesitant, bit on his lower lip. A nervous gesture. Still, Chip’s hand on his arm felt good. Alec forgot how it felt like to be touched by someone offering comfort. These last few years blurred in his mind. Bloodlust and violence.
Nothing else, except—Alec had to admit there were some decent moments too. Quiet times when the pack got together for a meal, with the exception of Talon and Max. They’d sit around the fire while Kris cooked and Ryder and he bickered.
>
“You’re forgiven,” Chip finally said. “You know, for being an ass earlier.”
“You feel sorry for me, Chip?” he asked in a biting voice.
Chip shook his head. “No. You’d hate that.”
Few people knew him the way Chip did. Chip was part of his past, of his history. Chip knew and everyone in the Fire Claws knew how his old man raised Kris and him. How he always set them on each other in the hopes someday, the victor would lead the Fire Claws as the next Alpha. Emmet didn’t care if one of them died. They were only pawns in his game.
“Did you really come all the way here, brave monsters to see me? Be honest,” Alec said.
“No. I was sent here.”
Chip cringed as Alec growled. He could feel his teeth lengthening. His eyes probably bled to gold. He willed the angry wolf back. What did he expect? Chip wanted something from him, that much was clear, but it unexpectedly hurt.
On the upside, Chip wasn’t hiding the truth from him anymore. Chip had his reasons. Alec had to hear them out.
“Sent by my father?” Alec asked. Chip nodded. The submissive werewolf stood closer to him until their shoulders brushed.
“Sorry,” Chip blurted. “It’s just, being with you is always calming.”
Alec had to laugh. “Only you’d say that. Most people, even the locals in town, are terrified of me, of us.”
“You’ve always been special to me.” Chip tentatively reached for his fingers. Alec closed his hand over Chip’s, unsure why he did that. He still didn’t know Chip’s motives. Was Chip lying to him with the hopes of getting under his skin?
“The truth, Chip. I want to hear it now.”
Chip blew out a breath. “I guess you should hear this. You’re right. Emmet sent me here in hopes of bringing you back. I think he wanted you both back, but he heard Kris mated a human.”
“Of course.” Alec let out a dry and brittle laugh. “That made my brother useless in his eyes.”
Chip swallowed. “Yeah, but you’re unmated. He wants you to take his place.”
“What’s he got on you?” Alec finally asked. Five years was plenty of time for a man to change, but he’d grown up with Chip. Chip was the only decent person in that poisonous pack, the one good in his life. Chip would never intentionally hurt him. Alec had to believe that.
“My dad.” Chip let out a slow breath. “My mom passed away three years ago. He’s never been the same. He developed a bad gambling habit. Emmet offered to pay his debts. I told him he shouldn’t trust Emmet, but he didn’t listen.”
Chip was trembling now. Alec unthinkingly pulled him close. Chip collapsed against him, shaking, resting his palms on his chest. Alec wrapped his arms around him, inhaling the familiar, sweet scent of him under the blood and mud.
Same old Chip. His dick thickened and Chip could no doubt feel it. Down boy, Alec thought. He had other problems to worry about now.
Alec was mad at Chip’s father, at his old man, at the entire fucking world. A shifter who lost his or her mate never recovered from the loss. They never stopped grieving. Usually, if one died, the other followed. He still didn’t understand it, why Chip’s dad would make a deal with the devil.
Emmet Ward saw the world different from everyone else. To him, people were chess pieces to be moved at his will. Chip’s dad must’ve been desperate or tricked into owing Emmet.
“Emmet has my dad. He’s locked him in the pack dungeon. Emmet told me he’s not letting my dad out unless I bring you back,” Chip whispered. “I’m so sorry, Alec. I didn’t want to do this. Hurting you is the last thing on my mind. I wish I came to you under different circumstances. I always wanted to see you again but not like this.”
Those last words moved him, stirred something in his chest, in his dead heart. His wolf opened its eyes and looked at Chip for the first time, really gazed at him.
“How long do you have?” Alec had to ask.
“A week. Pete’s going to contact me soon. Tomorrow.” Chip blew a breath. “He also said if I didn’t answer his call, Emmet would presume I’ve given up or that I’m dead. Either way, they’d kill my dad.”
Chip’s dad was lucky he had such a good son. If their positions were reserved, Alec didn’t think he’d do the same. He’d leave his old man to die because Chip’s father was the one who got them both in this mess. Alec stroked the line of Chip’s back. Chip stopped shaking. He seemed steady now, less miserable after he told Alec the truth. Good. Alec didn’t want any secrets between them. Not anymore.
“Alec, what am I going to do?” Chip whispered.
“We have time,” Alec finally said. “A week. We’ll find a solution together.”
Chapter 5
Chip stretched his good arm and yawned. He had the best sleep ever. Chip looked around Alec’s messy bedroom. Even though it looked so different from Alec’s old room in the Fire Claws pack house, it smelled safe. Alec had offered to sleep on the couch last night despite his protests. Chip felt so exhausted after a quick dinner and shower that he fell right onto Alec’s bed.
He blushed just thinking about it. After all the fuss he made about the couch being fine, he ended up here. He fingered the sheets. Part of him hoped he’d wake to see Alec’s sleeping profile next to him. Fat chance of that happening.
When Alec hugged him yesterday, Chip got inappropriately hard. Alec hadn’t commented on his erection, not when he rocked one, too. Chip kept hoping Alec would kiss him good night, but he guessed that wasn’t happening.
“Is he still mad at me?” Chip wondered out loud. He climbed out of bed and wandered outside. His clothes were in a duffel bag in the trunk of his car, so he was borrowing Alec’s clothes. “Alec?”
No answer. Chip took a quick shower, then borrowed more of Alec’s clothes. He looked a little silly in the oversized shirt and jogging shorts, but he made do. He cinched the shorts tight with the drawstrings. He still couldn’t believe Alec had gotten over his lie so quickly. Hell, Alec even promised to help him.
He was charging his phone. Pete would call today. He dreaded that particular conversation, but Chip counted his blessings. Pete was wrong. He managed to get here in one piece. Chip hurt his arm, sure, but the rest of him was intact. Chip was alive and he was relieved to be free of his lies. He had told Alec everything. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
Hearing laughter from outside the cabin, he put on his shoes from yesterday and went out.
The morning sunlight blinded him for a moment. Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he looked up, startled. Above the crest of towering trees, the sky was a bright, vivid shade of blue.
“Pretty,” he whispered.
“Chip, come join us,” yelled Sam.
He saw a group of men gathered by a campfire. Teddy and Sam sat on a log, while three other men sat on plastic chairs. He hopped down the stairs, looking for Alec, but he wasn’t there.
“Alec said he’s bringing up your car,” Sam said once he reached them.
“I’ll introduce everyone. That’s my mate, Dom,” Teddy said, nodding to the dark-haired giant by Kris. Kris seemed busy cooking sausages on a frying pan and didn’t look up, but Chip could sense his disapproval from a mile away. Kris undoubtedly had suspicions about why he was here. He didn’t think Alec told him. The two brothers weren’t exactly close.
Dom gave him a once-over and nodded. Teddy continued, “You already know Kris. Next to him is Max. He doesn’t talk much, and that over there in a ridiculous cowboy hat is—”
“Ryder.” The big dark-haired and green-eyed man grinned at him. “Pleased to meet you. So, I’m dying of curiosity. What’s a cutie like you doing with a grump like Alec?”
“Ignore him,” Sam said, patting the space next to him. Chip sat. Kris handed him a plate filled with sausages and eggs.
“Thanks,” Chip said.
“We’ll talk soon,” Kris told him. Both Alec and Kris might be mistaken for twins by some, but Kris’s hair was a shade darker, his features roughe
r.
“Okay,” Chip whispered.
“Babe, that sounded ominous,” Sam said. “He’s Alec’s and your childhood friend, right? Why don’t you be a little nicer?”
Chip still couldn’t believe Kris managed to mate a nice and sweet guy like Sam. Was Sam blind or something?
“He’s not my friend,” Kris muttered. “He used to follow Alec all the time.”
“Ouch,” Ryder said. “Someone doesn’t like you, Chippy.”
“Just Chip,” he corrected.
“I don’t trust his intentions,” Kris said.
Chip met his cold, icy blue stare. “Alec knows why I’m here. I’ve already told him.”
Kris grunted and went back to his sausages. Chip ate quietly, listening to the chatter among the Wild Manes. There was a lot of bickering, mostly between Ryder and someone else. Max walked off after finishing his meal without saying a word to anyone. Chip watched him leave.
Teddy noticed. “Max never says much, but he’s actually a pretty decent guy. You can definitely depend on him in a fight.”
“Talon’s not joining us?” Chip asked.
“Speak of the devil,” Ryder said with a chuckle.
He tensed up at the sight of the Alpha walking up to them. Chip had been spooked when he realized someone had been watching him across the pond yesterday. He’d freaked out when Alec told him who the dilapidated cabin that was built so far from the rest belonged to. Talon looked like a mess. Even in human form he looked monstrous. There were fresh rake marks on his chest, and he only wore a faded pair of jeans.
“Did you fight someone recently?” Teddy had the gall to ask. Kris mutely handed the Alpha a plate of food. Talon ignored Teddy, didn’t bother with a fork at all, and munched on a sausage, silently staring at Chip.
Chip set his plate down and stood up. He stopped a few feet from Talon, who let out a warning snarl.
“Thank you for saving me yesterday,” he said. He swallowed, aware Talon’s eyes were yellow. Were they always like that? Did he forget the original color?
“Did you forget he was about to eat you?” Ryder called out unhelpfully.