Her gaze lifted to stare into her blue-and-yellow eyes. The yellow flecks in her irises seemed more pronounced from crying. She reached for the contacts that hid that uniqueness from humans and made her appear totally normal.
There was only one thing to do. She had to leave Brand to spare him more pain. She loved him too much to be selfish. More tears spilled until they blinded her but she moved on wooden legs to pack her things. She needed to be gone before he returned.
She threw back her head in anguish and stifled a scream.
* * * * *
Brand howled with grief after a quick search of their home.
Charma’s clothes no longer hung in the closet with his and her car wasn’t parked next to his truck when he rushed outside. He panted, sniffing. No gas exhaust hung in the air. She’d been gone for at least half an hour or he’d have smelled the engine still.
He spun and went back inside the house. NO! He couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing her again. The first shirt he grabbed ripped in his hands, making him aware that his claws were out.
“Fuck!” He had to pull himself together enough to get dressed without damaging everything he owned. He didn’t bother to put on shoes, just jeans and a T-shirt. He snagged his keys and rushed out the door.
Please break down, he prayed as he threw his truck in reverse and nearly slammed the tailgate into a tree in his rush. Her car was an old clunker and had an oil leak he’d planned to fix but she hardly drove it. He threw the vehicle in drive and punched it. The ass end slid on the grass as he took off.
His frantic gaze scanned the road ahead as he took the curves far too fast for safety. He only slowed when he entered town, afraid the cops would pull him over. He couldn’t waste time getting a ticket.
Where would she go? She didn’t have many friends. The fear of discovery was too great. The college girls loved to go swimming at the river but his Charma was afraid they’d see the faint spots trailing down her spine. He’d assured her a hundred times she could say they were tattoos but she didn’t like to lie.
Oh, baby. Where are you? Don’t do this. Don’t leave me. He drove past one of the dorms, searching for her car. It wasn’t there. Within ten minutes he was sure she hadn’t gone to crash with Dina or Barbara.
Panic set in. She might have left town altogether. He made his way to the main highway and checked out the gas station. She wasn’t there but he stopped anyway and went inside.
The guy behind the counter frowned at his bare feet. “No shoes, no service.”
Brand wanted to snarl but terrifying the clerk wouldn’t be to his advantage. “I’m sorry. My girlfriend is missing and I’m worried something has happened to her. She drives an old rusted ford.”
“Ah. The one with the cool two-toned hair down to her butt?”
“Yeah. Charma. Have you seen her lately?”
The clerk nodded. “She was in here about forty minutes ago. She filled up her tank and bought a few candy bars.”
Filled the tank. He felt as if someone had punched him in the gut. “Did she say where she was heading? Ask for directions? That car breaks down.”
Suspicion narrowed the clerk’s eyes. “You guys have a fight?”
Brand reached up and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Yeah. It was stupid and I stormed out. I came back and she was gone. Please tell me what you know. I can’t lose her.”
“I don’t blame you. She’s a babe.”
It took a lot of control for Brand not to lunge over the counter and tear the asshole’s throat out for noticing that about his woman. “Did she say where she was heading? I have to find her and tell her I’m sorry.”
The clerk hesitated. “No but I saw her get on the freeway. She went east.”
“Thank you!” Brand rushed outside, realizing he’d left his door open and the motor running. He jumped in the truck and drove like a madman, pushing the engine to the limit as he surpassed speeds of over a hundred and ten, weaving through traffic, searching for her car. His enhanced reflexes saved him from crashing a few times. The hope of catching up to her lasted until he reached a four-way split on the freeway.
He tried to feel out her presence, using his senses to see if he could track her, but nothing happened. “NO!”
He checked his mirrors and crossed four lanes, only to slam on the brakes along the shoulder. He got out and sniffed the air, hoping to catch her scent. It was a long shot but he was desperate. Exhaust from the traffic choked him and he dropped to his knees beside the open truck door. He bellowed, “CHARMA!”
Chapter One
Nine years later
“Charma?”
She turned her head to peer at her sister. “What, Bree?”
“You’ve got that sad look on your face again. I thought we were past this. You can’t stop me from growing up. I’m an adult.”
“I’m fine.” She lied with ease, something she’d spent years perfecting. “I was just thinking about Dad.”
“Oh.” Her younger sister reached out to squeeze her hand. “He’s going to do great. You heard Garrett. This won’t be his first surgery or his last. This new procedure will help him get more use out of his leg so he doesn’t have to keep depending on the cane.”
She had to turn away to hide the anger. “Yes. I heard him.”
“Garrett is so hot. I envy you. I want to find a mate as fine as him now that I’m of age.”
A shudder ran down Charma’s spine. “I hope not,” she whispered.
“I heard that.” Her sister snagged her arm and spun her around.
Charma couldn’t suppress a gasp of pain. Bree frowned and her gaze lowered from her sister’s face to her arm. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing.”
“Let me see your arm. Pull up your sleeve.”
“It’s nothing. I bumped it last night.” She eased out of her sister’s hold and forced another smile. “What dress do you want to buy? This is your party. Garrett said to spare no expense.”
“Char,” Bree’s green eyes narrowed. “Show me your fucking arm.”
“Such language from a teenager. Is that what they taught you in school?”
Her sister hissed. “Show me your arm. You have a lot of accidents. Is…” Her sister paled. “Does Garrett hit you? We had an assembly at school about domestic abuse before graduation and I’m doing the math. I don’t like what I’m coming up with.”
“Of course not.”
“Then show me this bump.”
“It’s just a bruise.” Charma tried to turn away but her sister moved to block her.
“Show it to me now or I’ll assume your mate is hurting you.”
“Mind your own business.”
Her sister paled even more. “Oh. My. God!” Tears filled her eyes. “I knew it wasn’t a love match, but shit. Do our parents know?”
Charma glanced around the dress shop. “Lower your voice.”
“Your mate is abusing you and you’re worried about what someone else will think? You’re not someone who would take that bullshit!”
She gripped her sister’s hand and tugged her inside the dressing room, alert for any sign of someone approaching. The flimsy door sealed them into the small area.
“You’ve got to calm down.”
“No! I’m going to tell his father. I’m going to tell everyone!”
“No,” Charma hissed. “Listen to me. You’re old enough to know the truth since you stumbled on to it. Everyone in the pride has known for years about what’s been going on. It’s not a secret that I was forced to mate with Garrett. He’s a cold bastard but he’s the future pride leader. His father paid for me to go to college after he decided I was the one he wanted.”
“But you never finished. You came home. You couldn’t owe that much money, and that’s no reason to agree to mate someone.”
“Dad was crippled and mom was badly scarred. He could never shift again after their car accident. He couldn’t protect our family so he made a deal. He asked
Garrett’s dad to allow me to go to college first. I had to submit to the mating after I came home, regardless of whether I’d finished or not. Do you understand?”
“No, I don’t. Why would you agree to that bullshit? You could have taken a loan or something. Gotten a scholarship. How could you sell yourself that way?”
“It wasn’t about money.” Charma took a deep breath. “Listen to me closely, Bree. You don’t walk away from a pride unless you’re prepared to die. And I don’t mean just one member, but the entire family. Weakness is not tolerated. That was the deal. I agreed to the terms to keep us safe. All of us. Dad was deemed useless after that accident, unworthy of living.”
Horror crept across her sister’s features and she leaned heavily against the wall. “Are you saying if you hadn’t mated with that prick…?” Her voice trailed off.
“Yes. Percy would have killed Dad, and if he had, Mom’s scars and her surgery would have made it impossible for her to mate with someone else to protect us. She can’t have more children and what male in a pride wants a scarred-up human woman who’s unable to give him offspring? It’s unfair but it’s reality. You know Percy is ruthless—and his son takes after him. I wanted nothing to do with Garrett, then the car accident happened, and they had the perfect leverage to get their way. I had no choice, and neither did our parents.”
“You could have run away.” Bree nodded frantically. “We could have fled as a family.”
“Do you think I didn’t consider that? Where would we have gone? We’d have been inside werewolf territory if we’d gone anywhere other than pride lands. We had to avoid other prides because death is basic protocol when dealing with the weak. They’d have killed our parents and the worst would have happened.”
“What could be worse than death?”
Charma hesitated. “Some prides—not ours, but a lot of them—use half-blooded females for breeders to increase their numbers. They won’t mate with them but instead force them to accept any male who wants to impregnate them. Many of them at once, if she can’t shift, since ones like us can breed litters. We wouldn’t have been given a choice and they don’t even allow you to keep your babies. They’re given to others to raise.”
“No.” Bree noticeably paled, horror reflected in her wide eyes. “That’s barbaric.”
“Yes. You’ve been shielded from a lot of harsh truths, Bree. Some other pride wouldn’t have waited until you turned eighteen or finished high school before that hellish life was shoved on you. You get to pick your mate now, because we’re in a pride that doesn’t condone that kind of shit. Only one man will touch you and your babies are your own to keep. Percy may be a cruel asshole but he abides by the old traditions.”
Anger showed on Bree’s face. “That doesn’t change the fact that we can’t stay here. Your mate is abusing you.”
Charma wanted to hug her sister but refrained. “You’re safe in our pride. Megan mated a good male and his family protects ours now. I’m just trapped because I belong to Garrett.”
“You should flee.”
“Where would I go?” Her shoulders straightened. “Do you think I haven’t considered that? At least here, only one male abuses me and I get to see my family. It’s not so bad, Bree. Really. Garrett and I avoid each other as much as possible and he’s seeing other women who take care of his physical needs.”
Shock widened her sister’s eyes. “But you’re mated!”
“Lower your voice!”
“He can’t cheat on you,” Bree hissed. “He’s your mate. It’s unnatural.”
“So is a loveless mating. It happens sometimes though. I’m actually grateful he seeks other women. I keep praying he gets one of them pregnant and sets me aside. It’s forbidden for me to leave him.”
“He’ll kill you. That’s the only way a mating ends.”
“He’s been ordered by his father to keep me alive. He’ll shun me, toss me out of his home, and mate the new female as though I’d died if he impregnates one of them. It’s rare but it’s happened. Percy told him to keep me as a mate for now because he doesn’t want to make waves unless he can justify Garrett setting me aside.” She absently rubbed her sore arm. “That’s why he occasionally attacks me. He’s just angry that he can’t snap my neck. Shunning a sterile mate for a woman who can breed is acceptable to the pride.”
“You’re sterile? Oh my god.” Tears filled her sister’s eyes. “I’m so sorry. Are you sure?”
A hum startled Charma and she reached inside her purse to withdraw her cell phone. The timing was perfect, saving her from answering the question. She read the display. “Quiet. It’s Percy.” She answered. “Hello.”
“Get back here. We have a situation,” Percy snapped. “Where are you?”
“I’m a few minutes away. I’m coming back to the office now.”
“Hurry.” He hung up.
Charma studied her younger sister. “The important thing is, what I did safeguarded our family long enough for Megan to mature and find her own mate. Our family is protected now. That alone has been worth everything. I have to go.”
“But—”
“I love you. Buy something nice for your party but not too revealing.” She shoved cash at her sister and yanked open the door to flee.
“Charma?”
She paused, turning back to hold her sister’s gaze. “What?”
“You shouldn’t take that shit from Garrett.”
“I know but I don’t have a choice. Life isn’t always fair, hon.”
“You mean like this party? It’s so old-fashioned to dress me up as if I’m a piece of meat to shove in front of all the guys until one of them wants to bite.” Her voice lowered. “Why do they make us find mates so fast?”
“It’s because of the heat. They want women mated and settled so there’s little to no risk of fights. Some guys kill each other if they want a woman bad enough when she’s in heat. Percy also doesn’t ever want children born outside matehood. He thinks it undermines our society.”
“Haven’t they heard of birth control? I have.” Her voice lowered. “Sex toys handle the heat just fine. It doesn’t mean I have to let any jerk nail me because it’s that time of the month.”
“I don’t agree with these parties either but I can’t do anything to stop it. It’s ultimately up to you whom you decide to mate. Remember that, and don’t allow Percy or anyone else to push you at someone you don’t love. Trust me when I tell you that a loveless mating is the worst. I have to go.”
She rushed outside and wasted no time reaching the edge of town, where the pride kept an office. She knew when she stepped inside the building that something serious had happened. Nine of the strongest fighters were clustered in the waiting room, all grim-faced. The door on the other side of the room jerked open.
Percy Alter stepped out of his private office. To Charma, he was the epitome of hypocrisy. He may have appeared to be in his mid-forties, handsome and kind, but looks were deceiving. He neared eighty in real years, the good-looking face masked an ugly beast, and he relished ruling his pride with sheer cruelty.
“One of the prides has been attacked by werewolves.” Rage sparked in his green eyes. “The pride leader lost two of his sons, as well as an unknown number of males. The joining call has been accepted.”
Fear instantly gripped Charma. She knew what that meant. The pride council had ordered some of the larger prides to send males to assist a smaller group in a fight. They were at war.
Had the werewolves finally decided to wipe out all cat-shifter prides? It had been a threat hanging over them for all of history.
“You nine will go to represent our pride. At least thirty males in all will be sent to the pride in need. That should immediately wipe out the threat.” Percy turned his focus on Charma. “Turn on that damn computer and make yourself useful. Pull up the information. The council sent pictures of the targets.”
She rushed to her desk, tried to ignore her trembling hands and sat heavily on her chair. The computer had be
en left on but the pride leader didn’t know how to work one or even turn on a monitor. Most of the pride males didn’t excel in in school except for sports. Gaining an education wasn’t something they did beyond high school since it elevated the risk of discovery of what they truly were. Charma had been the exception.
Of course, she’d never finished college. Charma had been forced to be the leader’s secretary after she’d returned home from Texas. He depended on her skills, which afforded her some protection from his son.
The email waited in the pride’s inbox and she turned the monitor until everyone in the room could see it. She gripped the mouse, opened the file, and pictures loaded on the screen. She kept her attention on Percy as he stomped forward.
“There’s the enemy. They are vicious killers.”
When the outer door opened to admit her mate, the scent of him made her cringe. She avoided glancing his way.
“Father, what’s happened?”
“A joining has been called by the council. You didn’t need to come, Garrett. I’m not sending you. You’re too valuable for me to risk losing in this battle.”
Charma fought to suppress her disappointment. For an instant she’d hoped her mate might leave and she’d contemplated the idea of him being killed. That would have been too neat, too wonderful, and good things never happened to her. She turned her focus to the monitor instead, the angle of the screen just out of her view until she pushed her chair over enough to see it more clearly.
The first face she glimpsed was of a young, handsome blond male. Under his picture a name—Yon—had been typed in bold white letters.
The next picture flashed. The guy had black hair and intense dark eyes. Another good-looking wolf who seemed to be in his forties. Alpha Elroy. He didn’t appear mean but her gaze shifted to Percy. He doesn’t either but…total nightmare.
“That’s the pack next to the Bowmont pride, right?” Randy, the lead enforcer, stepped closer. “I’ve heard of them. They’re known to be pretty tough fighters and very territorial.”