I didn’t hear the door open, or her footsteps, but I felt her slide into the booth, pressing up against me. Erika. I glanced at her. Nervous whispers and the synchronized clattering of mugs against tables suddenly invaded my brain. I glanced up to find the booths around me were now empty as people filed out the front door or moved to the opposite side of the coffee shop, giving me a wide birth.
I inched away from her, pressing closer to the wall. She wore her typical skintight black tank. It was cut so low that her breasts were barely covered, and she also sported black jeans and a leather jacket that fit like a glove. The only color on her was her bright blue eyes and her even brighter red lipstick.
Her nostrils flared, and her eyes sparked. She studied me long and hard, taking in deep breaths, and when her lips started to curve, my stomach sank.
“Leave it alone, Erika,” I warned, putting every bit of authority that I had into my tone. “She’s not part of this.”
She smiled, not a nice smile, and it sent a chill over my skin. “Too bad what you say doesn’t really matter, not when it comes to this. She’s left her stench all over you.”
CHAPTER 16
~ JADE ~
I could still feel Aidan pressed against me. The warmth of his body. The softness of his lips. The sweet taste of his tongue against mine. The butterflies in my stomach turned into a flapping nest of birds just from the thought of him. But then they stopped. How could someone so … so … perfect be such a monster?
It was strange how my perception of Aidan could change so drastically with a single word. I thought I had known who he was. Not that I really knew him, but I had this idea of who he was supposed to be, except that idea crumbled as soon as I heard alpha. In a split second, everything had clicked into place with surprising clarity. The pack loved him not because he was a nice guy, but because they had to. And it made me wonder how much of what I thought I knew about him was a lie.
The last few rays of sun had long since flickered out on the horizon, and the sun-warmed ground that I sat on had grown cold. The wind was fierce, cutting through my jeans and sending goose bumps rushing over my skin. Leaves flew around me, falling from the trees, and were yanked from the ground as another gust of bitter wind rushed through the park. I should have gone home. Marcy would be worried and so would Mom and Dad. But I didn’t want to leave. Not yet.
To be honest, I was a bit surprised that no one had come looking for me yet, but I figured Dominic had a hand in that. He was really the only person that Marcy or my parents would have listened to if they thought I was missing. I guessed I should thank him for that. For giving me time to breathe.
I traced the engraved stone, running my fingers along the grooves. The moon cast light in silver strips on the stone, cutting through the trees. I had always loved this place. The wall of faces. The monument stood in the center of the park. It was supposed to be a tribute to the alphas, their faces engraved there as they took over the pack. For me, though, it wasn’t a tribute. It was a reminder that they were not invincible.
Leaves crunched under shoes in the distance. I listened as they approached, not bothering to look behind me. I probably should have, but I couldn’t make myself care. The crunching stopped at what sounded like only a few feet from my back, and her voice cut through the air, making the already bitter night turn arctic. “You should have stayed away from Aidan.”
“Go away, Erika,” I said, letting my finger trail along the grooves of another face.
She laughed darkly. “I don’t think so.”
I straightened a little as tension flowed freely, thick and suffocating, between us, but I still didn’t bother to turn around. Erika was one of those girls that thrived on others’ fear, and I wasn’t going to let her think that her presence bothered me, not even for a second.
A string of snaps and pops echoed through the park. I leapt up from the ground, but not out of fear. I was furious. Why couldn’t she just leave me alone? I spun toward her and gasped. She was a white wolf, larger than I remembered her to be. Her eyes were wide, staring at me, and she bared her teeth, snarling.
I snarled back. I felt it in my belly, vibrating up my throat. All of my anger bubbled up, and it burst out into a growl. I stalked toward her. It was probably stupid. A voice in my head was screaming at me to run, but I couldn’t. I wasn’t going to let her think I was scared, and in all honesty, at that moment I was too angry, too hurt, to feel the fear that should have been jolting through me.
Erika snapped out at me, and let out a rumbling growl. But I kept moving in on her, my eyes locked with hers. “You’re not going to win,” I taunted. My voice sounded wrong — savage — and my lips twisted into a sneer as I snarled at her again. I sounded feral. Like an animal. It was wrong. So wrong. But at the same time, it felt … right. Strong and fervent. Eager to end her reign of terror once and for all.
I towered over her wolf form. She pulled her lips back further, the pink of her gums exposed. For a second, I froze, and white-hot anger surged through me as I stared into those yellow eyes. I blinked, only a quick flutter of my lashes, and when I opened my eyes, she lunged forward.
Raw adrenaline pumped fiercely through my veins. I jumped out of the way, hitting the ground hard. Grass and dirt bit into my side as I skidded along the ground. I rolled out of the skid, jumping back up to my feet.
Erika stalked toward me again, snarling savagely, and right then, my stomach rolled. What the hell am I doing? She circled to my right, and I swiveled, matching her movements. I swallowed the dread that had begun to prickle over my skin, and scanned around me looking for something, anything, I could use.
My eyes fell on a branch, and another frustrated growl ripped through me. The branch looked thick, sturdy, and perfect, and it lay on the ground just behind the snarling white wolf.
The fur along Erika’s back bristled, standing on end along her spine, and her ears straightened as she pushed them forward. With stiff, straight legs, she sidestepped, continuing to circle, and I kept moving, matching her pace. The branch was getting closer with each cautious step. Her eerie, glowing eyes never strayed from me. They were intense and cold and calculating.
Suddenly, Erika stopped and leapt into the air, moving faster than my eyes could follow. And then she was on me. I barely felt her teeth sink into my ankle. My blood was pumping fast, and my breath coming short as a new burst of energy coursed through me. I did the only thing I could think of. I kicked out at her, throwing her off balance enough that she let go, and before she could sink her teeth into me again, I lunged at her, grabbing her muzzle with both hands, and held it closed.
Erika bucked, and swung her head from side to side, but I held tight. Now that I was actually touching her, all the fear I should have felt in the first place was pressing at me from all sides. She growled and yanked, and I held on certain that if I let go, I’d be dead. My arms were throbbing and shaking, and my hands were slick with drool. I didn’t know how much longer I would be able to hold on. With every shake of her head, my hands slipped and I had to scramble to keep hold.
A low, rumbling, and more than a little frustrated, growl ripped from me. “Stop it!” I yelled, in a voice that did not sound like my own. It sounded too cold and too forceful, full of command that I had never known I had in me. And then, Erika just … stopped. She looked up at me, her eyes widened, and her entire body trembled. She bowed her head, breaking eye contact. Her ears flopped down, and she whimpered, lowering herself to the ground at my feet, as I let her muzzle slip from my hands.
~ AIDAN ~
“Did she …?” Dominic started, his voice trailing off.
We had been tracking Erika since she rushed out of the diner, watching and waiting. She had been right. I had no say in the alpha female games. I couldn’t stop Erika from challenging Jade, but Jade was just a human, and I figured that that fact alone could overrule the no alpha males allowed at a challenge rule. If Erika tried to pull the crap she had with Becca, Jade wouldn’t have stood a chance. Or
at least that’s what I had been trying to tell myself to justify my proximity to the challenge. Clearly, I had been wrong.
“She did,” I said, as Erika bowed her head, and sank to the ground. The copper scent of blood filled the air. I felt sick, and a cold sweat broke out over my back. I should have stopped this. I could have stepped in. And if I had, Jade wouldn’t be … She’ll hate you even more when it sinks in, a voice echoed through my head, triumphantly, as if my conscious was actually happy that my life was crumbling all around me.
Dominic looked at me, stunned. “Aidan, you’re not going to …” he started, but his voice trailed off again as he looked back at the girls. Erika lay silent, her tongue darting out as she licked at Jade’s ankle.
I nodded. “I am.” I wanted to smile; I could feel it in my belly, but I didn’t. The scent of blood was growing, wrapping around me, and I watched as Erika’s tongue darted out again, coating Jade’s bleeding ankle with her saliva. My conscious was yelling at me, telling me this was nothing to be happy about, but I couldn’t stop it. I was happy and sick and stunned.
“She doesn’t know what she did.”
“Doesn’t matter. You know the rules. She probably won’t win anyway. She’ll give up.” Even to my own ears, my voice sounded cold, uncaring and it was … odd. My heart was thumping; my nerves were alive, rushing and sparking over my skin. But my voice … my voice was like my conscious. Cold and disappointed.
“But she’s not one of us,” Dominic said, a pleading note to his voice. “And she doesn’t know how to give up.”
“Dominic, go help Jade,” I said, cutting him a look. “She’s bleeding.”
CHAPTER 17
~ JADE ~
She bit me. She bit me. She bit me.
My ankle was bleeding. Erika’s tongue tickled my skin as she lapped up the scarlet trail that leaked from my flesh, catching it before it reached the ground.
She bit me. She bit me. She bit me.
I couldn’t move away. I wanted her to stop. My stomach rolled and bile rushed up my throat.
She bit me. She bit me. She bit me.
Erika whimpered, and her tongue flicked out again, sending a hot rolling chill up my leg and over my skin. She was salivating. Her drool was warm and cool all at once. She nosed my leg, trying to get my attention.
She bit me. She bit me. She bit me.
“Erika!” The voice was loud. Commanding. Furious.
Erika whined and pressed her head against me, cowering at my feet. She looked up at me. Fear shone in her eyes, and she whined again.
“Erika, get away from her,” the voice demanded, but she didn’t move. I didn’t know how she could resist the urge to obey. That voice. It made my insides shiver, not in a good way.
She held my eyes and tilted her head to the side. She barked once, just a little yip, and then bowed her head again.
“Shit,” the voice said. A hand touched my shoulder. It was gentle and warm and familiar. “She’s waiting for your command,” it said softly in my ear.
“She bit me,” I said. I felt empty. Hollow. Vacant. “She bit me.”
A growl rumbled through the air. I shuddered. So did Erika. I felt her trembling against my leg. I bent beside her. I don’t know why. I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t stop it. “It’s okay,” I whispered, and patted her lightly, letting my fingers trail down her back.
The growl came again. Louder. Stronger. And the white wolf cringed into me. She licked my chin, and flattened her ears.
“Jade, stand up. Don’t let her hide behind you. You can’t protect her from her alpha. It’s not your place.”
“She bit me,” I said again, hating myself for saying it. I looked up, and Dominic smiled a sad, sad smile.
“I know, honey,” he said. “But you need to step away from her. Tell her to go with Aidan.”
I furrowed my brow and looked around. What was he talking about? There was no one else here. I opened my mouth, ready to demand an answer, when suddenly, I was face to face with the black wolf.
I jumped a little, and rocked on my feet. Erika whimpered, and Dominic snapped, “Don’t show fear. It’ll ruin what you’ve already done.” I started to look up, the realization of what had really happened hit me hard and fast. “No, don’t look away from him, Jade. Stand up slowly, keep your eyes open and fixed on him.”
The black wolf snarled, and bared his teeth, and I fought the urge to close my eyes. This was Aidan. Aidan was the black wolf. I thought I was going to be sick, and I swallowed hard, pushing the rising bile back down my throat. I stood up on shaky legs and held still. I wanted to run. I fought against the scream that was trying to push up from my stomach.
We locked eyes for an agonizing and terrifyingly long moment, the black wolf and me, and then he shifted his focus, growling at Dominic. And Dominic … Dominic dropped his eyes and shrunk, rolling his shoulders over, and making himself as small as he could without dropping to the ground.
Erika crawled toward Aidan, her belly dragging along the ground, and licked his chin until he snapped at her to stop. With one last piercing glare at me, he left, with Erika trailing behind him, her tail between her legs.
“Why did you make me do that?” I asked, my voice cracking over the words. The last bit of Erika’s white form disappeared into the trees.
“Because Erika is treating you like an alpha, and if you bowed to him, you would lose that respect,” Dominic said, as if it was matter-of-fact.
“But you bowed to him,” I countered. I wish I hadn’t said it. I didn’t want to talk. I didn’t want Dominic’s help. A cold sweat was dripping down my forehead, and the bitter, sour bile was fighting its way back up my throat.
“Yes, but I’m his beta,” Dominic said. He sounded so distant. So far away. “I’m lower than him.”
The world around me was spinning and shifting. The night seemed darker, blacker, and bitterer. My stomach rolled and my head spun. I looked at Dominic and whispered, “She bit me.”
I woke up to a wonderfully familiar smell. It was musky with a hint of apple, and I pulled in a long, deep breath, savoring it. His hand brushed lightly across my forehead, pushing away my hair, and I cuddled up closer to him, burying my head in his chest.
“How are you feeling?” he asked. His voice was whisper soft, and he pulled me closer still, wrapping his strong arms around me.
“Tired and thirsty. Really, really thirsty.” My voice was muffled by his sweater, but he still heard me and laughed.
“Thirsty?” he asked and chuckled again. “I think that’s the first time I’ve heard that one.”
I kept my eyes closed. I didn’t want to look at him. I didn’t want to see the pity or the understanding that I was sure would be on his face. The sun was beating through the window. Its warmth touched my exposed skin and it felt so … real. All of it felt real. I wondered how long I had slept. Was it a few hours? A few days? Was I already in transition? I wanted to be angry, but I couldn’t bring myself to drudge up the feeling. What point was there? It was done. I was, or soon would be, one of them. Anger seemed like such a waste of effort.
We lay there silently for a long while. Dominic rubbed soft and soothing circles onto my back, and although I couldn’t say it, I was glad he was there. Who would have thought that this would be what brought us back together? I surely hadn’t, but in a way, I was glad for it. His arms around me made everything a bit brighter. Fuller. Easier to handle. I could still feel Erika’s wet tongue on my ankle, tainting my blood.
“What’s going to happen, Dom?” I asked. I squeezed my eyes tighter, wishing I could just go back to sleep and pretend none of this had happened.
“Well, um …” he started, and squeezed me a bit tighter before continuing, “the first thing that’s going to happen is that you are going to have a shower, and then you’ll get dressed, and then you need to talk to Aidan.”
I bolted up, pushing him off me, and a surge of white-hot rage rushed over me. “What!” I shouted and then took a long brea
th, trying to rein in my voice. I narrowed my eyes at Dominic. He was still lying back on my bed, cool and calm, smirking at me. “I’m not going to talk to him. I never want to see that jerk again.” Okay, so maybe anger wasn’t all that hard to feel after all.
That wiped the smirk from his lips. “Jade,” he said, with a commanding force that made me sit a bit straighter. “There’s no place in this town for a lone wolf, and with what you did to Erika …” he trailed off and took a long, deep breath. “If you don’t join the pack, you’ll run the risk of creating your own, and trust me, you don’t want that. Not here.”
~ AIDAN ~
Dominic’s voice was loud. It drifted down the stairs as if it was seeking me out, making sure I didn’t miss a beat of his conversation with Jade. I wished I had missed it all. The venom in her voice when she said she never wanted to see me again had my inner-wolf doing back flips in my stomach, just itching to run to her and beg her to accept me.
She was meant to be an alpha. Not just an alpha, but my alpha mate. I could feel it with every fiber, every vessel, every nerve ending in my body. I wasn’t sure how Dominic was managing to speak to her the way he was. His voice held so much command. It didn’t waver in the slightest. I assumed it was because of their past, whatever that was, but still, the rest of the pack had been treating her with hostile caution and he acted as if she was just a girl. And right then, I wished I had done exactly that right from the start.
As it was, it took everything I had in me not to run up those steps and punish him for speaking to her that way. It was as if my inner-wolf had already claimed her and accepted her as my equal.
Mr. Shaw didn’t seem to notice my turmoil. He just stared at me, long and hard. It was distracting and annoying, and I could feel my blood pressure rising with every passing second.