Wolfish: Moonborne: A Fated Mates Paranormal Romance

by G. K. DeRosa

  “Get out,” I growled.

  Hunter took another step, and I slammed the door behind him. Bracing myself against the thick timber, another sob wracked my chest, and this time I didn’t hold back. I sank to the cold floor, my legs refusing to hold up my numb body a moment longer. A deluge of pain wrenched my insides, and tears streaked down my cheeks. Jagged fissures crisscrossed over my heart, splicing my broken organ into thousands of pieces. How could I have been so stupid? Hunter told me over and over again that we couldn’t be together, but I couldn’t—I didn’t want to believe him. Now he would sever the bond between us, and there would be nothing left.

  I’d been rejected. Rejected by my own mate. The one person that I was supposed to be tied to for life, who would love me forever. Streaks of pain jabbed my chest, and I struggled to breathe. I imagined a tourniquet wrapped around my heart, keeping the broken shards from completely shattering. If I felt this miserable now, how would it feel when Hunter actually broke the bond?

  The idea of watching him with someone else… Nausea clawed up my throat. No, he wouldn’t do that to me. He couldn’t.

  A loud ring tore me from my dark musings. I eyed my cellphone on the couch. It must have slipped out of my jeans when I’d gotten home. It seemed so far away now. My legs were still no stronger than wet noodles and mostly, I had zero desire to move, to do anything but wallow in self-pity.

  I’ll deal with it later. The ringing stopped, and I leaned my head against the door. How did I get here? My life had been flipped upside down in a matter of weeks. I was supposed to be back home in the human world, not mated to the alpha heir of Moon Valley.

  Maybe he was right, and we should just break the bond to put an end to all of this. I was never meant to stay in Azar. I just want to go home. Another swell of tears spilled over, and my shoulders shook with each sob.

  The phone rang again. And again. I muttered a curse and crawled over to the couch. This better be important… I dug my phone out from between the cushions and scanned the name on the screen.

  “I really don’t want to talk right now, Mom,” I started.

  “Are you okay?” Her panicked voice snapped me from my pity party for one.

  “Um, yeah, I will be. What’s the matter?”

  “I was attacked on my way back from the studio tonight.”

  My battered heart slammed against my ribcage. “Attacked?”

  “By wolves,” she stammered. “It’s wild, right?”

  Dammit. I was the worst daughter ever. I’d been meaning to call to check in, but with all the crazy in my life I hadn’t made the time. I’d never told her about the wolves that had come after me twice now. It couldn’t be a coincidence.

  “Mom, were these normal wolves or freakishly big wolves? Did their eyes glow?”

  “If you’re asking me if they were shifters, there’s no need to beat around the bush, Sierra. No, they were definitely not your run of the mill timber wolves.”

  I hissed out a breath. I couldn’t believe my mom had been ambushed in the human world, in our quiet little town of Maggie Valley in the hills of North Carolina. “What happened exactly, and how’d you get away?”

  “I was just lucky. I was walking back from my studio and three of them surrounded me. They tried to corner me, and I took off through the woods to the Donaldson’s farm. Fred happened to be in the barn because one of his mares is about to pop out a foal. He saw me running and screaming and came out with his shotgun. He even hit one of them. When they ran off, a big gray one was limping. I wanted to follow them, but you know Fred doesn’t know our history. He thought they were just some rabid wolves and wouldn’t let me go after them.”

  Our history? It wasn’t like I knew our history either. If I had, maybe I would’ve been better prepared for all of this.

  “I’m glad Fred didn’t let you. It would’ve been stupid and dangerous.” Like me, Mom was a magicless witch. I squeezed my eyes shut and pictured the wolf that had attacked me the first night in Maginaria. She was lucky to be alive. I shuddered at the thought.

  Now I had to find a wounded gray wolf in Moon Valley, and I had my stalker. I inhaled a deep breath and decided to come clean about my own run in with the werewolves. Whatever was going on went deeper than me. If my mom had been attacked too, maybe this had something to do with my mysterious father she refused to talk about.

  After my lengthy monologue, Mom remained silent on the other side of the phone. “Hello? Are you still there?”

  “Of course, I am.”

  “Well, aren’t you going to say something?”

  “I don’t know where to start.”

  “How about with the truth?”

  Silence again.

  “You’re right, Sierra. I owe you an explanation, but I don’t want to do it over the phone. I’ll come tomorrow afternoon once I turn in the commissioned piece I’m working on.”

  “Okay. See you tomorrow then.” I hung up, and a swirl of excitement battled the anxiety. Mom hadn’t come to Azar once in four years, and now just like that, she was on her way? This had to be big.

  I pushed myself off the couch, stripped off my clothes and sank into bed. The only good part about her attack was that it had gotten my mind off Hunter for an entire half hour. Now curled up in bed, the cold emptiness slapped me in the face.

  I stared up at the ceiling, replaying every single encounter I’d had with Hunter since I was sixteen. Sadly, there hadn’t been many, but each and every one had been permanently seared into my mind. My throat tightened, and hot tears pricked at my eyes once again.

  In the darkness, I let them fall, let the misery consume me. The shadows were my friend. Only they knew how long I cried, how deep the hurt. When the first rays of sunlight streamed into my room, my swollen lids grew heavy. Exhausted, I finally slept.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  “Come on, Sierra, I know you’re in there. Open up.” The knocking continued and despite the pillow over my head, I couldn’t drown out Vander’s incessant beating on my door.

  I shoved the comforter back and marched to the entrance of my wolfy abode. Whipping the door open, I glared at the male. “What do you want?”

  His smile waned as his eyes raked over me. I must’ve looked like complete crap to earn that expression of pity. Which made sense since I’d cried for hours and slept for maybe two.

  “Are you okay?” he whispered.

  “No,” I snapped and shoved the door, but his hand caught it before it closed. I let out a grunt, more wolf than human. “What do you want, Vander?” He pushed his way through the small opening and folded onto the barstool. I glared down at him. “I’m really in no mood to chitchat.”

  “That’s why I’m here. To check up on you.”

  Fury zipped through my veins, inciting my tongue. “You’re kidding me, right? The great Aristaeus sent you to make sure I was okay? Because he’s too much of a coward to do it himself.”

  Vander’s head dipped.

  I stomped closer and slapped my hands on my hips. “Did he tell you what happened? Do you know all the juicy details?”

  “Most of it, I imagine.” He wouldn’t meet my gaze. “He feels like shit, Sierra. You have no idea what this is doing to him.”

  I snorted. “Please, spare me. I feel like my heart just went through a meatgrinder. You think he feels like that too?”

  “Yes.” His warm hazel eyes met mine, and I almost believed him. “The mate bond weighs just as heavily on him as it does on you. There was a reason he kept going back over the years.”

  My jaw dropped. “He told you about that too?”

  “I told you, Hunter and I grew up together. There’s not a lot about him I don’t know.”

  “So you know about the curse?” I couldn’t help myself, the words just bubbled out. As easy as it was for me to hate Aristaeus for all of this, a tiny part of me couldn’t shake the feeling that this mysterious curse was the source of all our problems.

  Vander’s lips pressed into a tight line,
and the warmth in his eyes dimmed. “I know it exists,” he finally answered.

  “But you don’t know what it is or how to break it?”

  “Even if I did, it’s not my secret to share.”

  Wait a second. “Hunter is choosing not to tell me about it or can he physically not speak the words?”

  “I don’t know.” He let out a frustrated breath. “In any case, I didn’t come over here to discuss you and Hunter. I came to check on you, on my friend.”

  “Is that what we are, Vander? Because if you’re Hunter’s best friend and he’s working on a way to break the bond and break my heart, I really don’t see this working out for us long term.”

  “Gods, Sierra, don’t be so blind. He cares about you more than you’ll ever know, and this is killing him. He’s trying to do what’s best for both of you.”

  I folded my arms across my chest, flesh and blood armor to keep my heart from bleeding out. “I don’t see how this could ever be what’s best for either of us.”

  “Because you can’t see the whole picture.”

  “Because he won’t let me!”

  Vander rose, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Maybe coming here was a mistake.”

  Duh.

  He reached the door and turned back, one hand tight on the handle. “Despite everything, he’s still your beta, and he will continue to care for you in the only capacity he can right now.”

  Whatever. I almost let him leave, but the attack on my mom streaked across my mind. Vander was SIA after all and if Hunter really was tracking down those rogue wolves, it would help if he knew the whole story. “Wait,” I blurted. “Before you go, I have to tell you something about my mom.”

  I recounted the story, including all the limited details Mom had provided. I also mentioned her reticence to tell me anything about my father.

  “You did good telling me,” Vander said once I’d finished. “You’re right, there has to be a connection there, but it may not be because of your father. It could have something to do with your mom’s bloodline.”

  “My mom? But she’s barely a witch. She doesn’t even have any powers.”

  “Hunter mentioned you’re descendants of the Lune Sacré. That coven has deep ties to our goddess Luna and many of the original packs of Moon Valley.”

  “So what are you saying?”

  His brows furrowed as he rubbed at the day-old scruff on his jaw. “I’m not sure yet. I’m still trying to piece it together.”

  A bit of the anger melted away, and I gave him a half-smile. “Thanks for doing this for me.”

  “I like you, Sierra, don’t get me wrong, but I work for Hunter. I’m doing this because he gave me the task. To protect you. Just like—” He shook his head and dragged his palm over the back of his neck.

  My thoughts flashed back to the “warlock” Vander I’d met a month ago on my last night at the academy. “Just like the night I was attacked in Maginaria.”

  He slowly nodded. “Hunter didn’t want you to know, but I think you deserve to after all you’ve been through. He’s going to be angry as all hell with me, but I’ll take his wrath. As soon as he suspected you were his mate, he sent me to Arcane to keep an eye on you. He had no idea you were a wolf back then, or at least not consciously. He only wanted to protect you.”

  A stab to the heart would’ve hurt less. I buckled forward, wrapping my arms around my chest, my broken, bleeding, battered chest. I tried to remind myself that was an entire year ago, and it didn’t matter now. Because now he was intent on rejecting me, on dissolving the bond between us. The one piece of him I still had.

  “I don’t say this to cause you more pain. I only want you to know that he’s not the villain in this story. What he does next is truly what he feels is necessary. And despite what it looks like, just know that it’s tearing him up inside.”

  “Why would you tell me this?” I forced out around the knot of emotion in my throat.

  “Because Hunter is a good man, and he’ll be a worthy alpha. The harder you make this on him, the less likely he’ll win the trials. And he needs to win, Sierra.”

  The trials. I had completely forgotten about them. They had to be starting soon. “I’ll try to keep my emotions in check,” I spat. “Now if you don’t mind—” I ticked my head at the door. “My mom will be arriving soon, and I’d like to be alone with her.”

  “Sure.” He moved to the door, opened it and turned back. “Let me know if you discover anything else about your past. It could help with my investigation.”

  I nodded. “Fine.”

  As soon as he left, I dove back into bed. Was Vander telling me the truth or did the supreme beta just send him over to handle me? I buried my head in the pillow and let out a long sigh. I wasn’t sure what was worse, Hunter breaking the bond because he didn’t want to be with me or Hunter breaking the bond because he really thought he was helping me.

  When had my life become such an effing mess?

  Tapping my foot on the platform, I glanced at my watch. Three portal trains had come and gone and still no Mom. I’d been shocked when she’d agreed to come, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t show. And this time, it wouldn’t be because of her flighty nature. No, she was definitely keeping things for me, had been for my whole life. I’d been so torn up about Hunter and my new life in Moon Valley I hadn’t had time to process the other bombshell that had been dropped. My dad had died. He hadn’t abandoned us like I’d grown up believing.

  I hugged my arms around my middle. I had no idea what he looked like, what he liked, what his voice sounded like or even his name. Did I take after him? That would explain a lot. Mom had always been a free spirit, while I’d been the grounded one. Was his wolf an eerie luminescent purple too?

  The random thought flitted through my mind. In all the heartbreaking mess, I’d forgotten to ask Hunter more about my purple wolf after we left Bea’s. There had to be a reason he wanted to keep her on the lowdown.

  Streaks of deep purple whipped across my face, and I glanced up as the train sped by and ground to a halt. The doors opened and my mom stumbled out, her long dark hair cascading over her shoulders. I grabbed her outstretched hands, and she barreled into me. Luckily, the wall stopped our backward momentum. “Sorry, honey. It’s been forever since I rode one of these things.” She laughed as her arms tightened around me. “It’s so good to see you, my girl.” She held me out to arm’s length, examining me from head to toe. “You’re so grown up. I can’t believe it.”

  “Well, that’s what happens when you don’t see your daughter in years.” I hugged her back, and my nostrils flared as I lay my chin on her shoulder. Her typical scent of incense and patchouli was missing.

  “It hasn’t been that long, Sierra. A year and a half tops.”

  “Oh right, when I got a special one-day pass to visit you for Christmas. Balderrin was so generous.” The headmaster at Arcane had been a real hard ass about letting me return to the human world during my time at the academy. I’d been allotted exactly one pass a year, and since my mom never came to visit, I’d seen her about as often as I’d seen Hunter. I shook my head, chasing away thoughts of the maddening beta. Today was not about him. It was about me and discovering the truth about my family.

  I led Mom up the steps back to ground level, and we emerged in the middle of downtown Moon Valley. The square was abuzz with preparations for the Alpha Trials. Mom’s eyes widened as she took in the market, all the wooden stands filled with goods from clothing to weapons to fruits and vegetables. “It’s been a lifetime…” she whispered.

  “You’ve been here?”

  She nodded. “With your father.”

  I suppressed the swell of anger and inhaled a deep breath before speaking. “How could you keep his death from me all these years? Why did you lie and let me believe he abandoned us?”

  She slowly strolled through the market, glancing at all the items, her eyes glassy as if her thoughts were far away. “If I’d told you the truth, you would’ve
wanted to know more. To learn about him, his family. I thought I was doing what was best for you.”

  “There’s a lot of that going around these days,” I muttered.

  “What do you mean, honey?”

  I hadn’t told her about Hunter. I hadn’t spoken about him for years, not since he didn’t return after that third time when he’d promised. She thought I’d gotten over my long-lost crush ages ago. I’d have to fill her in eventually, but not right now, not in public when I was sure there’d be tears. “I’ll tell you about it later. Now, I want to hear more about Dad.” My throat tightened around the word.

  “I wanted to tell you when you first turned, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it over the phone. I’d hoped your wolf side would never emerge, just like your witch half.”

  “Well, no issue there.” I still cursed the four years I’d wasted at Arcane. “So what was his name?”

  She leaned in and murmured, “Alaric Wildstone.”

  “Why are you whispering?”

  The corners of her lips dipped, and she let out a long breath. “He was cast out of his pack for loving me. His family disowned him, and a lot of ill will remained between him and his brethren.”

  “Why? Why would they kick him out?”

  “I’m not a wolf, and he was mated to someone else. His father was the alpha of their pack, and Alaric was destined to inherit the role. But we met before the mate bond clicked into place and by the time it did, he was already in love with me. He rejected the female, and his father was furious.”

  Now that I’d felt the effects of the mate bond, I couldn’t imagine fighting it. The attraction was palpable, the bond between us had a life of its own. How had my father fought that? Had he had sex with my mom in front of the girl to break the bond? I shuddered at the nauseating thought.

  “We ran away together. Left Azar and hid in the human world. The flow of people between the two realms was monitored more strictly back then. Supes were required to have special permission to enter the human realm, so no one bothered us. Not for a while anyway. We got married, had you, and had a wonderful life together for a few years.” Tears filled her eyes, and her voice grew faint. “Until one day—” She clapped her hand over her mouth as a sob wrenched free.