The Wide Receiver Outcast

by Emma Wolfe

  It was a stupid question. If he’d found Rose, she would be standing in front of me. I would be able to see her. Touch her.

  But the only thing I could see, besides Liam, was a bunch of trees covered in leaves. That was it.

  No Rose. No Grayson.

  I felt as dark as the sky above me.

  “Where did she go?” I asked, my voice breaking along with my heart.

  Liam ran his hands through his hair and shook his head. “I don’t know. The trail went cold…like they were expecting us.” He blew out his breath as he scrubbed his face and then tipped it toward the sky. His eyes were closed, and I could see the way his shoulders sagged.

  This was weighing on him as well.

  “Do you think Grayson…” I allowed my question to taper off as I studied Liam.

  Just saying Grayson’s name caused Liam’s body to tense. He glanced over at me, and I could see the pain in his gaze.

  “I don’t know,” he whispered, no doubt from the emotion clinging to his throat. It matched my own.

  “What are we going to do?” I asked, wrapping my arms around myself as if that was the way to keep a heart from breaking. Just hold it together. Then I could survive.

  He glanced over at me, down at the ground, and then into the woods around us. I could see his thoughts spinning as he squinted and shrugged. “I have to tell my dad. He’ll know what to do. Those wolves”—he waved his hand toward the trees—“I think they are finally going to get what they want.”

  From the seriousness of his tone, I wasn’t sure what to think.

  “What do they want?” I whispered, scared to learn the answer.

  Liam glanced over at me, his lips drawn into a tight line. Then he blew out his breath. “A war.”

  My stomach sank as I took in those two little words.

  A war.

  What did that mean? And who was going to fight? Liam? Grayson?

  Would they have to fight each other?

  Liam must have sensed my questions, because his hand appeared in my line of sight and hovered just above my arm. It was as if he were assessing whether he should actually touch me or not.

  I glanced up to see him studying me. His brow was furrowed, and I could there was something there. Something he wanted—no, needed—to say.

  But he wasn’t sure how.

  And I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear it.

  And that made me angry. Like, fire-in-the-pit-of-my-stomach mad. I wasn’t going to just stand by when my best friend was kidnapped. I wasn’t going to wait any longer. I wanted answers. I wanted normalcy. I wanted my previous life back.

  “We have to go after her,” I said through my tears, and I pushed past him and into the woods.

  “Cora,” Liam said, grabbing my hand and halting my advance.

  That was the wrong move. I whipped around and glared at him as I twisted my arm, trying to break our contact. In a matter of seconds, I broke away. Either I’d suddenly gotten extremely strong, or he’d taken pity on me.

  I hoped, for his sake, it was the first.

  “I can’t just leave my best friend out in the woods by herself. If you cared about me at all, you’d come with me. You’d help me.” If I were honest with myself, I had no idea what I was walking into. Who was on the other side of these trees? If I even managed to find Rose, what would those who’d taken her do to me?

  Would they hurt me?

  Probably.

  And then I felt weak, useless, and hopeless.

  There was nothing I was going to be able to do against wolves. Not when they held such disdain for humans. I had nothing. Just the clothes on my back.

  I was the idiot who thought she could fight a wolf.

  Maybe I needed to regroup. Go back home and figure out what I was going to do from here. Running into the woods with guns blazing didn’t feel like the smartest move.

  Right now, helping Rose didn’t include getting myself killed. I had to trust that Grayson was out there somewhere. That he would find her and rescue her.

  If not, I’d come back. I was going to make sure that my best friend came home safe. No matter what.

  “Take me home,” I whispered as I pulled away from him and turned toward where I thought the town was. “Please,” I begged.

  “Cora, I want to find her too.” His voice drew near as he approached me.

  I tensed as I tipped my head to the side to verify what I had felt. I could see him as he stood behind me.

  I could feel his desperation. I could feel his presence as he stood inches away from me. But I couldn’t do this again. I didn’t want to open up to him just to have him pull back.

  “Can I…” His voice drifted off, and I was intrigued enough to glance over at him.

  “Can you what?” I asked.

  His gaze remained trained on the ground as I saw his shoulders rise and fall from the deep breaths he was taking. “Can I give you a ride?”

  I stared at him, confused at what he was talking about. And then the memory of riding on his back at the waterfall entered my mind. The idea of being that close made me nervous, but probably not for the reasons he thought.

  I worried that if I allowed myself to touch him—to trust him—I just might never come back from that. And right now, with Chris, I could at least pretend to be happy. I could pretend to be normal.

  Right?

  But the desperation in Liam’s gaze when he glanced up at me forced all thoughts from my mind. All I could see was him. The raw, hurting wolf shifter who was completely consumed with my safety.

  And I couldn’t tell him no.

  “Why?” I choked out. The pain flowing through me didn’t allow any other words to escape. Instead, I just pinched my lips together, silently begging him to let it go. To let me go. He was the stronger of the two of us. He should be able to walk away when I couldn’t.

  Liam sighed as he reached out and broke a dried branch from a nearby tree. He snapped a few pieces off and threw them into the woods. “I want to keep you safe. I…have to keep you safe.”

  He paused, and I waited for him to expound more. When he didn’t, I asked, “And me riding you while you are in wolf form will help keep me safe?”

  He broke the stick in half and threw it into the woods. It hit a tree, and the hollow sound rang through the woods. “Yes. I hear better in wolf form. I smell better. I’m stronger,” he said as he glanced over at me. “Are you scared?”

  I furrowed my brow. It was out of instinct. Like that was an absurd question—’cause it was. I didn’t fear him. I didn’t fear his wolf. “No.”

  He studied me and then scoffed. “You can tell me.”

  Frustrated, I stepped closer to him. Then, without thinking, I grabbed his hand and pressed it to my heart. “Feel this. Hear this. The only reason it’s pounding is…”

  Realizing what I was doing—what I was about to confess—would only leave me with a broken heart, I stopped talking and stepped away, letting go of Liam’s hand. It slowly fell to his side.

  “For someone who thinks he knows a lot about me, you really don’t know a lot about me.” I folded my arms across my chest and glowered at him.

  It was the only thing I could do to remind myself that I wasn’t supposed to like Liam. That he was off-limits.

  He was not meant for me. Nor I for him.

  “Come on,” I said, waving in his direction.

  His once stoic expression turned to surprise as he raised his eyebrows. “What?”

  I sighed, ready to get this evening over with. I really wanted to wake up tomorrow morning in my bed, with Rose home and this whole experience behind me.

  “You want to give me a ride. Let’s do this.”

  Liam’s surprised expression was frustrating me. Not wanting to stand here and go another round with him, I turned and started making my way through the woods. If he wanted to stay here, more power to him.

  I was finding my way out.

  “Wait.”

  Liam’s voice caused me to stop in m
y tracks. I hesitated and turned just in time to see Liam shift. It was smooth, and if I’d blinked I would have missed it.

  But I couldn’t miss what he turned into. Instead of Liam’s frame towering over me, his wolf form stood there with his dark brown eyes staring back at me.

  My heart picked up speed as I stared at him. I guess I was still shocked that he was actually a wolf. That I hadn’t dreamed this all up.

  And then, all I wanted to do was touch him. For some reason, there was something so open about him standing in front of me in wolf form. Like he trusted me above everyone else.

  Reaching out, I rested my hand on his nose. He leaned into it, and I saw his eyes close slightly. I heard him growl. It was low and rattled in his throat. I could see his chest expanding as if he were breathing me in.

  “Liam,” I whispered.

  He opened his eyes and met my gaze. He held it for a moment before he whipped his head toward his back. His signature get on my back move.

  Not wanting to stand here anymore, I nodded and moved to his side as he lowered himself so that it would take just one swift movement for me to swing my leg over and climb on.

  And I did.

  Without hesitation. Without worry. I climbed onto Liam’s back. As soon as I was situated, he straightened. I fisted my hands in his fur as I lowered my chest to his back, bringing me closer to him.

  I could feel his breath deepen as I rested my face close to his ear.

  “I’m ready,” I whispered.

  He nodded and then took off through the woods. I had to clamp my legs tight as he ran. The wind whipped my face, so I closed my eyes and allowed the feeling of his paws landing on the ground to rattle through my body.

  There was something about being around Liam while he was in wolf form that calmed me. Like, no matter what was happening in the world, all I needed to know was that Liam was here.

  I felt safe and protected next to him.

  It was something I hadn’t felt in a very long time. And I missed it. My body longed for it in a way I could no longer deny.

  And that scared me. Opening up to Liam was only going to break me once he left. Again.

  I was the fool that kept thinking that, this time, it would be different.

  Liam never indicated that was the case. He never led me on. Sure, he’d kissed me in the hallway, but then he’d pulled back. I was the idiot who couldn’t seem to accept what he’d said.

  Humans and wolf shifters were never meant to fall in love.

  We were a violation of the way things were.

  If we loved each other and wanted each other to be safe, we needed to stay away from each other.

  It was the only way.

  Because the only thing more painful than staying away from the person you love is watching them suffer.

  And I didn’t want Liam to suffer.

  I wasn’t strong in a lot of things, but I could be strong in this. I could walk away when he couldn’t. I could push myself to turn away from the one person who made me feel complete.

  Liam deserved my strength, not my weakness.

  And I would give it to him.

  Wholly and completely.

  I would do it.

  For him.

  14

  Grayson

  How did this happen?

  How did they find her?

  There was a fire burning in me as I stood in front of my father. I was trying to concentrate, I was, but it was almost impossible. All I could think about was Rose, alone and, knowing my father’s goons, injured.

  It was taking all my strength not to shift and run to her side. I wanted to take her far, far away from here. Away from my world. Away from the person I was and the people I came from.

  If they had their claws in her already, she was never going to be safe.

  Ever.

  I was the idiotic fool who’d thought leaving her defenseless was the answer to my problems. She was here because of me. Her life was on the line because of me.

  Why did I ever let her in? Why did I ever let myself love her?

  My heart ached, but I kept my expression stoic as my father rose to his feet. He’d been sitting on a recliner in his tent, texting someone on his phone. When Oliver forced me inside, Dad hadn’t moved to acknowledge me.

  It was as if he knew he had something to hold over me, something I wanted. And now that he had it, he was going to take his sweet time addressing me.

  This act. This ridiculous power struggle my father had with me and the rest of the Mother pack just angered me. He wanted to reign. He wanted all power to go to a Smith, but he needed me to get it.

  Now that Rose was here, he had me.

  He was going to use Rose to get what he wanted, and there was nothing I could do to stop him. Not when I loved Rose like I did.

  I would stop at nothing to keep her safe.

  He knew it. I knew it.

  “Geez, boy, calm down,” Dad said as he slipped his phone into his back pocket and glanced over at me.

  I wanted to show him how I felt. I wanted to let him know what I thought of him. But that wasn’t going to help me, so I just let out a deep growl.

  “Ooo, I’m scared,” he said as he raised his hands and shot me an exaggerated fearful expression.

  I knew he was mocking me. He was enjoying this a little too much. How could someone be so heartless to his son? Messing with another wolf’s fate was against the code of a shifter. And normally they were considered off-limits—unless they were a human.

  The wolves in my family—in the Mother pack—didn’t respect human life. To them, they were as disposable as tissue paper. Wipe one out and another pops up in their place.

  “What do you want?” I growled. I was done playing games. I was done being the person they wanted me to be. I’d done it to keep those I loved in Smoky Hills safe. But now I realized I’d given my father the one thing I’d wanted to keep away from him.

  Power over me.

  Dad chuckled as he walked over to the small fridge he had at the edge of his tent. I could hear the hum of his generator as he pulled open the door and removed a beer. After cracking the tab, he glanced at me as he tipped the can to his lips. “Don’t play games, Grayson. You know why you are here. This dance we’ve been doing? It ends tonight.”

  My throat tightened as I stared at him. I narrowed my eyes. “How?” I asked and inwardly winced.

  I didn’t want to provoke my father—even though every fiber of my being was begging me to. I wanted to keep a safe distance from him. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, he did have the power. At least, until Rose was in my grasp. Then I would come for him.

  He was never going to do this to me or those I loved again.

  Dad scoffed. “Oh, Grayson. You think I’m so stupid, don’t you? You think I haven’t been watching you? That I don’t know about your little human pet?” He downed the rest of his beer and crumpled his can in his fist. “She makes you weak. Fating with a human. What were you thinking?”

  I growled as I lunged forward. Oliver stepped in front of me, his hand on my shoulder. I glared at him as I rose to my full height. Was he seriously threatening me? What did he think he could do?

  Dad paused and turned to study me. His gaze flicked between Oliver and me. Then, I saw him pause. I could tell he was concentrating. He was speaking to someone, but it wasn’t me.

  If I was going to get out of this alive and save Rose, I needed to act now.

  But, just as I moved to grab Oliver, hands grabbed my wrists, and suddenly my hands were pinned behind my back. I struggled and strained to free them, but I couldn’t. Nothing would free me. And then there were too many.

  They dragged me down to the ground, where they began to tie my hands, my feet, and even gag me.

  A piece of fabric was shoved into my mouth and rope was tied around my head to keep it in place. I glared at the faces that peered down at me as they worked. I didn’t know them, and I didn’t care to. They were loyal to my father. I was a nobody
to them.

  I channeled my father’s frequency and pushed into his mind. He didn’t fight me. Instead, he studied me as he allowed me to speak.

  What are you doing? I asked.

  A sadistic smile spread across his lips. You’re weak, Grayson. Being around humans has made you weak. He paused as he took in a deep breath and glanced around. Can’t you feel it? The winds of change are here. You either join us, or you fight against us.

  I glared at him. I would never join you. You killed my fate’s parents. You are nothing to me.

  Dad forced a disappointed expression. You’ll see. Once you evolve, you’ll see. Things change when you become a wolf. You will no longer be satisfied with the wolf you are. You’ll see what humans are and will always be. You’ll become one of us. You’ll fight for us.

  I wanted to speak more. I wanted to shout that I would never become like him. That once I was free, I was going to run. I would take Brielle and Rose with me, and I would never look back. They were my family, not this man standing in front of me.

  But I didn’t have a chance. Instead, four sets of hands grabbed me and dragged me from my father’s tent. They pulled me through the camp, not really caring if I was scraped or bumped against the ground. I had to hold up my head to keep it from smacking a rock or exposed tree root.

  They brought me over to the campfire, which was roaring now. It lit up the world around us. I could see the light dance off the eager faces of those around me. I could feel their energy as it coursed through the fabric that tied us all together.

  They knew what I hoped wasn’t true.

  Something was about to happen.

  And that something dealt with Rose.

  I didn’t have to see her to know she was here. My body. My heart. My every sense was heightened from her presence. I could hear her rapid heartbeat, and I craned my neck to see her. I needed to make sure she was okay.

  I needed to protect her.

  “Calm down, son. You’ll see her soon enough.”

  I pulled and twisted, trying to free myself from the hands that held me up, but without the use of my limbs, I was helpless. I was dragged over to a chair that had been set up next to the fire. They dumped me there.