by T. S. Joyce
“Called.” Dean sounded unsurprised and almost bored. “Rodrigo Valderez gives. Greyson Crawford wins the challenge.” He almost, almost sounded like he wanted to yawn.
Grey snarled and his jaws tightened ever so slightly against the mud-colored wolf’s throat. He waited a moment, then released him. He hovered dangerously above the challenger with his glistening blood-soaked teeth bared. Still as a stone, Rodrigo lay under him in submission, his throat exposed.
So many emotions were pounding through her as Morgan stepped off the porch and onto the grass in front of the wolves. Swallowing a lump in her throat, she untied the leather necklace and pulled the ring off it.
She cast a glance at Grey, who stepped back a few paces and watched her. She slipped the ring back onto her finger, where it belonged.
“Enough of this. I’ll be claimed immediately by Grey,” she told the second, who still stood near the SUV. “Since the packs like to talk so much, why don’t you go ahead and spread that around.”
Chapter Four
This was the weirdest birthday party ever.
The boys were downstairs in the great room talking while Wade stitched up Grey’s side where Rodrigo had torn into him. It looked painful, but either it wasn’t, or Grey was getting used to pain because he laughed and joked with the others like he was having a back massage. When Morgan’s light footfall hit a creak in the stairs, his eyes lifted straight to her. A grin lit up his entire face. He was captivating when he was like this.
“Come here,” he rumbled. Motioning her over to his chair, he waited for her to approach, then pulled her onto his lap. “Did you mean it?”
The big wolfy grin on his face made it impossible to keep hers straight. She flashed her ring for all of the waiting wolves and nodded. “Hell yeah I mean it! Let’s get hitched!”
“And branded,” Dean told her.
“Ew, what?” she asked.
“Grey has to brand you and Marissa into his pack to make it official. It’s tradition.”
She squished up her nose. “Being a werewolf is weird. I don’t even have any tattoos. Where do we put the brands?”
“Shoulder,” Rachel said from where she was putting birthday candles on a cake. She lifted the sleeve of her T-shirt and exposed an intricate design in the form of a burn scar.
“Okay, that actually looks pretty cool,” she conceded.
“I need to make a call to the Old Ones too,” Grey murmured.
“Good luck getting ahold of them,” Dean muttered. “They always go quiet right before Summit.”
“When?” Grey asked, wincing slightly as Wade pulled another loop of stitching through the skin under his arm.
Morgan twisted the ring on her finger. “I kind of wanted a little wedding ceremony too, you know?”
“Of course,” Grey said. “You deserve the exact day you want.”
“I was thinking this Saturday before the Full Moon Hunt? And then we can do the branding ceremony afterward? We’ll make it all official in one day.” She looked over at Rachel and Marissa in the kitchen. “Will y’all help me plan a quick wedding?”
Rachel’s dark eyebrows nearly went into her hairline. “Yes,” she rushed out on a breath. “I was made for this.”
Marissa giggled and gave Morgan a thumbs up. “I will help as much as Rachel will let me.”
Grey was just grinning ear to ear.
“Are you happy?” she asked him softly.
He pulled her in for a kiss and rested his forehead against hers. Then winced again. “Ridiculously happy.”
“Beer toast,” Jason announced. “This is a special moment and deserves a beer toast.”
“What’s beer?” Lana asked from where she was sitting on the counter playing with the extra birthday candles.
“Something you won’t drink until you’re thirty-six,” Morgan said.
“You get apple juice,” Jason told her as he dug through the fridge.
The metal tops of the beers hit the tile floor one by one as Jason opened and passed them out.
“Who is doing the toast?” Grey asked.
“Me!” Jason said, lifting his bottle high.
“No, you’re the worst at them,” Wade complained.
Jason shot him a dirty look and then lifted his bottle even higher. “To Grey being a badass.”
“That’s a bad word!” Lana exclaimed from the kitchen.
“Oops, sorry.” He didn’t look sorry. “And to Morgan. Welcome home.”
Grey pulled her in close against his side as they sipped.
God, how could happiness like this exist? And especially after such a scary event, like the formal Challenge. Grey had just gotten into a fight to protect her, and here they were, half an hour later, feeling like nothing could touch them.
She wanted to cry and laugh and hug everyone in this room all at once. The feeling of joy was almost overwhelming.
Grey stroked his finger across her cheek. “You’re so damn beautiful, especially when your wolf is all worked up.”
“You like me this way?” she asked.
“No.” He nipped at her neck and let off a growl. “I love you this way.”
“Barf!” Jason said. “Were are we going for Marissa’s birthday dinner. I’m starving.”
“Chinese food buffet, duh,” Rachel said.
“Duh,” Lana repeated with a sassy little shake of her head. Was she licking the birthday candles? Marissa hadn’t even blown them out yet.
“And who said you were going?” Marissa asked Jason, her delicate eyebrow arching high.
Jason looked dumbfounded and Morgan understood. Marissa had never been so vocal around the pack than she was right here, in the safety of Grey’s home. Probably because she knew she had a right to her voice, and Grey would put a stop to any backlash.
“Well…uuuuuh…” Jason stammered.
“Just kidding,” Marissa said with a smirk. “But you don’t get to sit by me and if you flirt at all, Grey will eat you like an eggroll.” She grinned brightly. “Shotgun,” she called as she walked out of the house.
The entire room was doused in silence as they watched her walk out.
“I love eggrolls,” Grey said to Jason with zero emotion on his face.
Morgan pursed her lips against a belly laugh as Jason went pale as a ghost, and murmured, “I’ll ride in whatever car Marissa isn’t riding in.”
Chapter Five
Alexis slammed the door. If only it would drown out the sound of the men fighting downstairs. What was Jonathan’s problem anyway? All the Denver alpha had to do was order them to leave her alone. Sure, it would be a temporary fix, but she would take anything at this point. Things had been better in Dean’s pack. It wasn’t that Jonathan couldn’t lead his wolves with a firmer hand. He just wouldn’t.
She sat on the bed of her new room and puffed air out of her cheeks. She leaned over and pulled a picture of the Dallas pack out of the bottom drawer of her bedside table. It had been taken not long after Grey had been found. Even in the picture, he looked hungry and dangerous. He glared at the camera with those bright gold eyes like he hated the contraption. A delectable shiver zinged up her spine. Dangerous was sexy.
In the picture, Brandon, Logan, Jason, and Brent all laughed with their arms draped comfortably around each other’s shoulders. Dean leaned against the front porch railing of his house with his arm around Rachel’s waist. Marissa stood further off with her arms crossed and a slight frown across her face. Pathetic girl. Wade stood solemnly by Dean, and Grey hovered over the others in the back, like a ghost that followed the pack. He was never a true member, but the beast that dwelled inside him needed more than puny humans could provide. She had been kicked out of Dean’s pack just as Grey had given her the challenge she had been searching for.
She didn’t care for love’s sappy sentiments, but if ever she had come close, it was with Grey. He was the most dominant creature walking the planet, and so damn hot. And Wolf. Mmmmm. Anyone with eyes in their head could see he
was the best of them. Ruthless, cunning, violent, remorseless, and then at times, tender and protective around females. Not ever with her of course, but she didn’t mind. She liked rough. She liked him the way he was meant to be. Demon Wolf.
That’s where Morgan got it wrong. She brought out his weak side, which left him exposed. Alexis’s worst decision had been the day she Turned Morgan into a Silver Wolf instead of killing her. So what if she could bear him a cub? That would only leave him more mouths to feed and more weak little mewling things to protect. More little Morgans.
She flipped the picture back into the nightstand and slammed the drawer closed. What did he see in her anyway? She was obviously too sweet to be a good werewolf.
Alexis leaned over her dresser and admired her platinum blond highlights and crystal blue eyes. It had been a slap in the face the day he picked a woman exactly the opposite of her. Morgan was short and slight with dark hair and green eyes, when they weren’t a raging light purple. Alexis slumped onto the bed and crossed her arms. She looked like some fairy come to life out of a children’s book. Morgan wasn’t dangerous. Not like her.
Grey would figure it out eventually. He would tire of protecting that useless she-wolf and move on. And when he did, Alexis would be there. He would be ready for a strong mate by then.
Her head jerked as her ears picked up the command in Jonathan’s voice downstairs. Finally, he’d grown some balls and told his pack to shut up. She had already picked a mate. She just had to wait for him to come around. The rest of the males in her new pack could fight to the death for all she cared. They wouldn’t get a single dick-tug from her.
She narrowed her eyes at the door. Jonathan’s heavy footsteps thudded up the stairs. Her wolf perked up. If it was up to her animal, Jonathan would be her mate. Alexis had more control than that, though. The human in her was in charge, always.
He opened the door without knocking and slammed it closed behind him. “Why do you tease them like that?”
She smirked. “I’m not teasing them. They just have to get used to how I am. I’m not changing just because your dopey wolves can’t control their peckers.”
“You do tease. Dean said you did it to one of his pack members, too.”
“Who, Brandon? That poor sap couldn’t handle me if he tried. Doesn’t mean I didn’t like him looking, though. I have needs, Jonathan. He fucked me when I wanted. That’s all he was.” She twitched her head toward the door. “And I’ll keep fucking them whenever I want, too.”
Jonathan wasn’t as tall as Grey, but he was built. He had a straight Grecian nose that said he hadn’t been in enough fights to suit her taste. Or perhaps he’d protected his face. His sandy brown hair was short on the sides but longer on top, hanging attractively in front of his forest-green eyes. At the moment, they were a sparking light gray. His anger brought a warm sensation to the deepest parts of her. He flared his nostrils, and she smiled. And then she relaxed back on the bed and spread her knees apart. “You want in on it too, don’t you? I can add you to the rotation,” she purred.
Jonathan backed up a few paces and adjusted his dick. “You’re teasing again,” he said gruffly.
“Yeah, I don’t think you’re listening. I really, really don’t care.”
“Look, maybe you don’t understand. My boys haven’t had a female in their pack before. It’s hard enough on them getting their bearings with the new pecking order. They don’t need you screwing with their heads, okay?”
“Still not changing. You can come in my room tonight, Jonathan. Give me some of that alpha dick. I know it’s big. Imagine how it could be, sliding into me. I bet I’ll be so wet.”
He growled in frustration. “Dammit, Alexis. I’m trying to have a civil conversation with you. There has to be some give and take if this is going to work. Compromise. Everything can’t go your way all of the time.”
“You’re not hearing me,” she said menacingly as she sat up and clapped her legs closed. “It can go my way, and it will. I was queen in Dean’s pack, and I’ll be queen here, too. Accept it quick, Jonny boy.”
“You want to be queen? Then choose a mate! Allow the bond and stop torturing everyone.”
“I’m not choosing any of your pathetic wolves. There are bigger fish in the ocean.”
“You mean Demon Wolf? Is that who you’re talking about? Because from what I hear, he didn’t want you back. Or maybe that’s the draw. You like a challenge, don’t you?”
Jonathan’s anger filled the room until she would surely drown. He strode deliberately over to her and pulled her off the bed by the back of her neck until she stood, inches away from his glorious face. In a dangerously low voice, he said, “You really want to be queen? Choose me.”
And then he kissed her. It wasn’t tender or apologetic. It was violent like a twister. She bit his lip on principle but wanted more. He drew back, bleeding. A wicked smile hovered just over his lips. “I won’t wait forever.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Yes, you will.”
As he turned to leave, he hesitated. “Dean sent word to the masses. Greyson is claiming Morgan by the end of the week.”
Dread paralyzed her. “What do you mean?”
“He’s marrying her, allowing the bond, branding her, initiating her into his pack as second and claiming her as his mate. The whole nine yards. Your Demon Wolf is off the table.” He shut the door behind him and left her shocked.
He was claiming her and allowing the bond? Alexis wouldn’t have a chance with Grey if that happened. She wouldn’t get her prize, and it would be the first she had been denied in her entire life. The taste was too bitter to swallow.
That stupid skank didn’t know who she was dealing with. She had connections. Dark and dangerous connections from a past even Dean didn’t know about. She had carefully hidden so much from the Dallas pack about the creatures she used to run with. She could easily have Morgan snuffed out of existence. Alexis sat up straighter as her mind raced.
One call and her little problem would be fixed.
One little call and her failure to kill the tramp in the first place would be remedied. She couldn’t do anything from Denver, but a favor from an old acquaintance could change that. She’d created Silver Wolf, and she sure as hell could destroy her.
Oh, she’d figured out what Morgan was fast enough. A white-furred werewolf? She just hadn’t known how to use the information to her advantage—until now.
An entire species stood to lose even more than she did with Morgan’s existence. All she had to do was use that to her advantage. It was dangerous dealing with Aelred again, but this had sealed it. She was angry enough that she didn’t care about consequences. Sure, it could end badly for werewolves, but if this worked, Morgan’s life would be just a sad smudge of ink in the werewolf history books. And to Alexis, that was worth the risk.
She yanked her cell phone off its charger and stabbed in the number before she could change her mind.
She knew exactly how to end the Silver Wolf line.
Chapter Six
“Greyson,” a voice hissed.
Not much scared him anymore, but the fine hairs on his arms stood upright at the evil in that voice.
He looked around but there wasn’t enough light to make out where he was, much less who he was speaking to. “Who’s there?”
“The who doesn’t matter. It’s the what you should be concerned with.”
A blinding spotlight shone down on Grey, and he lifted his forearm to shield his eyes. The floor was covered in ancient stone, uneven and crumbling with age. Red stained arches surrounded him in an unending chain but he couldn’t see into the shadows outside the circle of light.
“Okay. What are you then?” His fingers tingled with the urge to Change. He was vulnerable in his paper-thin human skin.
A chuckle, long and deep, trilled around him. “You werewolves and your formalities. Fine. You may call me Aelred. I’ve sought you out as a warning. If you claim the Silver Wolf, you and your newborn family will be
slaughtered.”
“Doesn’t sound like a warning. Sounds like a threat.”
“Don’t step on my courtesy, dog. Use it. Run away from the Silver Wolf and you will live. Claim her and I will take my time with you.”
Something even darker than the shadows stood on the edge of the light. Grey squinted but couldn’t make out the face.
“Why do you care?”
A long hiss sounded. “Because she and her kind are a threat to my people.”
Grey’s eyelids sagged, and his limbs became too heavy to move. He fought to keep his eyes on the veiled figure. As he fell backward, a shadow lurched from the dark, its gleaming white fangs intent on his throat.
Grey sat up in bed, gasping for breath. A dream. It was just a dream. An awful nightmare.
His body ached and sweat soaked his clammy skin. When he looked down at his hands, they were already mid Change, with black fur, and claws. He yelled as the final wave of pain took him.
“Grey!” Dean said as he pounded on the door. “You okay, man? Crap. Don’t attack me!” He opened the door slowly as Grey hunched defensively on his bed. He pulled his lips over his teeth and focused on Dean’s tripping pulse. His eyes were wide and the stink of worry and confusion filled the room.
“Look, boss. We don’t have time for this. We have a meeting with the silversmith and we are already going to be late. This guy doesn’t wait around, and it’s not like we can find another one on short notice. I’m going to shut the door and give you some space to Change. We have to go, though. Grey? Think about Morgan.” The door clicked closed.
Morgan. She would be running wedding errands. For their wedding. He sighed and let go of the bloodlust. Killing his friend wouldn’t fix the dream. He lay on the bed and let the pain wash over him again.