She didn’t hesitate and said, “Yes, please take a new mate. Please. I’ll leave town.” Her voice was weak, and she dropped her gaze back to the ground. She quivered, shrinking closer to the floor with every passing second. I should have felt sorry for her. An alpha female should never show fear, not like this, and I couldn’t even begin to imagine how broken she must have been. But right then, I had no sympathy for her. I only felt relief. I would not have to babysit a mate that I did not want, and clearly, she did not want me either.
“Go,” I said. Just that. A simple command I had heard my father use countless times.
She let out a shaky pent-up breath and whispered, “Thank you,” still refusing to meet my eyes, and she scurried from the bar, without so much as a backward glance.
In all my nineteen years, I had never seen a pack like this. Werewolves were supposed to be a protective bunch. It was ingrained in us. In our blood — our bones. But this pack … whatever Ray (and I was certain it was because of Ray) had done, had ruined them. Right now, though, my biggest worry was how close Dominic really had been to his old alpha. I needed to be sure he was with me. Tonight could change everything and if he wasn’t backing me … I didn’t even want to think of the chaos that could happen.
My phone began to vibrate against my hip, jerking me from my thoughts, and I fished it out of my pocket. Dominic. His name flashed on the screen. I tapped the flashing call button, and brought the phone to my ear.
“I’m going to be late,” Dominic barked into the speaker before I even had a chance to say hello.
“Anything wrong?” I asked, keeping my voice low, and peeking at him again. He had folded one arm across his chest, and his body tensed, as he leaned against the car.
He looked like he was considering what to tell me and then, after a moment, he said, “No. I just need to deal with something.” He relaxed slightly, and sighed into the speaker, or at least I thought it was a sigh; it sounded like a crackly burst in my ear.
“With what?” I pressed, wishing I could get closer. From this far away, I could barely pick up his scent, and I wasn’t entirely sure if he was lusting after someone or completely frustrated. The scent was so diluted; mixing with the grass and leaves, and most of it was taken away on the breeze before it reached my senses.
“It’s personal,” he snapped with a rumbling growl.
I was about to tell him that nothing — absolutely nothing — was personal when his alpha was asking, but right then, the double doors banged open and a girl stormed out of the school. She was average height, maybe five-foot-six, slim with curvy hips, and long brown hair that curled softly at the edges and around her shoulders. She was cute and she looked furious, which in my opinion, made her look even cuter. She had a fiery spirit; anyone could have seen it just by looking at her. Her hands were clenched at her sides and her cheeks were bright red. She squinted against the glare from the sun and then her eyes landed on Dominic. If she had been furious before, she was murderous now.
For a second, she looked as if she was about to dart back into the school, but then Dominic turned to her and she froze.
“I’ve got to go,” Dominic growled into my ear, and the phone went dead.
CHAPTER 3
~ JADE ~
As soon as I walked out of the school, I spotted his silver VW. And then I saw him. Dominic was waiting for me. He was leaning against the driver’s side door with one arm folded across his chest and his cell phone glued to his ear with the other. His short blond hair was sticking up as if he had been running his hands through it over and over. His jaw was set in a rigid line, and he really didn’t look happy.
I probably should have guessed he’d be waiting for me, but in my defense, I was a tiny bit flustered. I figured I had an excuse, though, seeing as my clothes had been stolen, and my head was pounding as if it had its own heartbeat. I was about to turn around and run back into the school to find another exit, when his hazel eyes met mine. He snapped his phone shut before I could make a move and strutted up to me. Yes, strutted. It wasn’t a walk or a stroll; it was full of coolness and confidence, and more than a little conceit.
Dominic closed the distance between us faster than I would have liked, and when he was only inches away, he asked, “You okay?” although the tone of his voice insinuated that he really didn’t care if I was or not, and he scanned me over, from head to toe — twice.
I wanted to yell at him, because really, I wasn’t fine. Far from fine. And it was his fault that Erika was picking on me. He could stop it. He could make them leave me alone. He was the beta for Pete’s sake. They had to listen to him. But he hadn’t done anything about them, and clearly, he knew what they had been up to. He had just brought my clothes back.
I looked up at him with narrowed eyes and I straightened my shoulders, masking myself with an air of confidence that I really didn’t feel. “I’m fine,” I said through clenched teeth, and with my chin held high, because I seriously didn’t want him to know how much the she wolves had upset me this time, I walked past him and into the parking lot. And the whole time my werewolf survival mantra echoed through my brain, Don’t show fear. Stay strong. Be the dominant one.
“Jade, just get in the car,” he called after me.
I huffed, and kept walking. “Leave me alone, Dominic.”
“I don’t think you should walk home alone.” His footfalls echoed around me and I almost started running — almost. It took a heck of a lot of restraint not to. Dealing with werewolves was kind of like being trapped in a horror movie; no matter how fast you ran, the evil villain would still catch you at a walk.
Suddenly, Dominic was in front of me, blocking my path. I gritted my teeth and glared at him. “I don’t care what you think,” I said, sidestepping him.
“Come on, Jade.” He groaned and darted back in front of me. “Just get in the car. I said I was sorry. What more do you want?”
He towered a good six inches over my five-foot-six frame. I glared up at him; his broad shoulders blocked out the glare from the sun that was starting to make its slow descent, and he smiled sheepishly down at me, as if his perfectly white smile could wipe out what had just happened. And dammit, but I missed that smile so much that I almost caved right there and then.
But I didn’t. I rubbed my temples in small circles, wishing the headache away. I needed a clear head to deal with this. It helped a little. I forced my lips into a smile and said as sweetly as I could, “What I want is for you and your stupid pack to disappear.” I batted my eyes at him, in a way that I hoped was a tiny bit mocking, and then I stepped around him and started for the trail at the back of the parking lot.
I hadn’t made it two steps when he grabbed my arm, not unkindly, but still with a firm grip, and started pulling me over to the car. “Just get in the car. The pack is stressed, and you’re the last person that should be walking around alone right now.”
“Let go of me, Dominic!” I squealed. My heart jumped into my throat, and my stomach twisted into a painful knot. I pulled back, trying to rip out of his vice-grip hold. I was pretty sure he was just trying to look out for me, but the thing was, he was creeping me out — just a little. I didn’t like this Dominic. He was cold and intense, and he made my skin crawl.
Dominic stopped pulling me. He grabbed my other arm, spinning me in front of him and holding me tightly. He looked down at me and rolled his eyes. “I know you think I’m an ass, but I’m really just trying to help you here.”
I laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. “It’s your so called help that got me into this mess.” I yanked again, and he clamped his grip a bit tighter, pinching my skin. I could feel the bruises starting to form under his grip, but he seemed oblivious to it. He looked … distant … hurt, gazing down at me, but not seeing me. I almost felt bad for saying it. Almost.
After a long moment, Dominic blinked. “Jade …” he growled. His eyes started to shimmer, golden yellow, around the edges, and I shuddered, completely involuntarily. Deep down I
knew he wouldn’t hurt me. Out of all of them, Dominic was one of the best. Most of the time he tried to keep the others under control, well, he did when Ray wasn’t watching. I knew it was Ray’s fault that the pack was the way they were. They were being run by a drunken jerk that didn’t care about anyone but himself.
Dominic opened his mouth, but he didn’t get a chance to spit out whatever he was about to say. “The girl said, ‘Let go.’”
Dominic didn’t move, and he didn’t let go. He glared down at me, still holding me tightly in front of him, as he growled, “Stay out of this, Aidan,” sounding more animal than human.
Aidan? Who was Aidan? I looked over my shoulder, spotting the owner of the voice. He smiled and winked at me. “I don’t think I will,” the new guy — Aidan — said, folding his arms over his chest, making his broad shoulders look even larger. “Let her go.”
I stared at him and my jaw dropped. He was definitely new. He had to be, because I knew I would have recognized that face if I had seen it before. He was smiling or smirking. It was hard to tell. It was one sided, and his jaw twitched a little with tension. He was trying to look gentle, but there was a rough side to him that he couldn’t quite mask. It shone through his chocolaty eyes, deadly and sweet all in one.
Dominic’s grip tightened again and a low growl rumbled from his chest. I winced, pulling my eyes away from Aidan’s brown ones. “Dominic, you’re hurting me,” I said, just barely audible.
Dominic flinched, as if my words were a physical slap, and the shimmer of golden yellow in his eyes vanished. For about half a second, he looked like he was actually sorry.
It didn’t last.
“Whatever,” Dominic snapped, as he dropped his hands from my arms. He shot me an ice-cold look. “You want to walk home with Erika lurking about, then fine. Don’t blame me when she finds you.”
Dominic stepped around me then, glaring daggers at the new guy, as he went to his car. The new guy didn’t flinch. He stared back with the same intensity, as if he was daring Dominic to come back. When Dominic opened the driver’s side door, he growled something unintelligible, and then jumped in, slamming the door shut, and his car rumbled to life.
What just happened? a voice in my head asked, as I watched Dominic peel out of the parking lot. In all the years I’d known him, I’d never seen Dominic back away from anyone, even before he became a werewolf.
“You okay?” the new guy asked, pulling me back to the parking lot.
I glanced at him and offered what I was sure was a scary looking smile. It felt forced and strained. “Um, yeah, thank you, um, Aidan, was it?” I asked. Confused didn’t even begin to explain the turmoil that was swarming my brain.
“No problem,” he said with a wink. His voice was deep, but warm, and held a bit of laughter in it, and I had to admit, the sound of his voice made tiny little butterflies flap in my belly. Or were the butterflies from relief? I wasn’t entirely sure.
“You know Dominic?” I asked, squinting up at him, and raising my hand to shield the glare from the sun. He was cute, in a rugged sort of way. His hair was shaggy, light brown, and uneven, and his strong jaw line was rough looking with stubble. He looked to be about six-foot, and he was built, but not in a muscle builder kind of way — it was softer — but still showed his undeniable strength.
Aidan chuckled. It was deep and soft and the best sound ever, and he gave me a knowing kind of smile as he watched me take him in. I blushed. “Doesn’t everyone in this town know him?” he asked.
“Yeah, they do, but you’re clearly new.” Because if you weren’t new, you would have pretended not to see Dominic dragging me to his car. Aidan may have looked strong, but human muscles were more of a decoration than anything else against the werewolves.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked. A wide grin curled his lips. “I can’t know people because I’m new?” Aidan chuckled again, and I couldn’t help but smile at him. I just loved that sound. It vibrated through me and made my skin tingle.
“Okay, so that probably came out wrong.” I dropped my gaze to the ground, trying to hide the burning blush that was rushing up my neck.
A thought dawned on me then; maybe he didn’t know what Dominic was. Maybe the new guy wasn’t stupid, just ignorant. And maybe that was why Dominic walked away. Dominic was giving him a chance to learn the pecking order, giving him a free pass this time. I looked up at him and blurted, “You should be careful. You don’t know what you’re getting into talking to Dominic like that.”
He cocked his head to the side, searching my face. He frowned and sighed softly, and right then I wished I could read his mind. The look he was giving me was so complex; full of sympathy and anger and something else that I couldn’t place, except it did vaguely resemble guilt. He stared at me for a long time, long enough that I started to feel awkward, and it took everything I had not to start fidgeting. After what seemed like hours, he cracked a small smile. “Let’s start again,” he said, and he stuck his hand out to me. “I’m Aidan Collins.”
“Jade Shaw,” I said, accepting his hand and pumping it twice, and effectively lifting the tension that had been brewing between us. “What are you doing here anyway?”
Aidan smirked. “Just finished registering for classes,” he said in a way that made me feel like it should have been obvious.
“On a Friday when the school is closed.” It was supposed to be a question, but it came out as a challenge. Maybe it was because new people never moved to Dog Mountain. It was a pack thing. There were never houses available for new residents unless they had the pack’s endorsement, and with the way Dominic had acted, Aidan clearly didn’t have it.
If Aidan caught my tone, he didn’t let on. He just shrugged his shoulders as if to say obviously, and asked, “You need a ride somewhere?”
Yes. That’s what I wanted to say. The way he was watching, as if he wanted nothing more than to get to know me, had my heart jumping like crazy. It was such a tentative look, as if I was the only person around. But then I guess I was. We were standing in an empty parking lot, except the look in his brown eyes gave me the impression that it wouldn’t have mattered if the lot was full. And it made me want to know him, too, even if it would be stupid to try. Aidan had just placed a huge target on his back and he didn’t even know it. Strangely enough, knowing that he was trouble, or more like knowing he had pissed off the beta, only made me want to know him more. But no matter how much I wanted to say yes, what came out was, “Actually, I don’t live that far. I’ll walk. But thanks.”
“Sure,” he said, sounding a little disappointed, or maybe that was just me hoping he was disappointed, because well, he was a cutie. He looked at me awkwardly for a second and raked his hand through his hair before sticking his thumbs in his back pockets. “I guess I’ll see you around?” Was that a hint of hopefulness I heard in his voice?
“Yeah, um, sure,” I said, stuttering slightly over my tongue. “See you.” I turned from him, which was actually more of an effort than I had thought it would be, and started for the path. After a few steps, I glanced over my shoulder, and I was a bit shocked, and more than a little thrilled, that he was still standing there watching me. “Oh, and really, thanks,” I called and gave a little wave, and then, before I lost my nerve and fully turned back to him, I headed for the trees.
CHAPTER 4
~ AIDAN ~
Jade disappeared into the trees. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to follow her or pretend as if I had never met her. The one thing that I knew for sure about Dominic was that he didn’t get angry, or anything, really. He kept his emotions bottled up, hidden behind a mask. But that girl … the way he had looked at me when I stepped in … if I had to guess, I’d say he was jealous.
But then I really didn’t have to guess. I could smell it on him, and I also caught a whiff of her hatred. It’s funny how emotions could tamper with someone’s scent. It made them an open book, really.
What was going on between them? Dominic hadn’t taken her as
his mate. Their scents were still distinctly separate. But there was something about the way that he had looked at her. It was as if she was his. It was full of safety — a guarded protection. He may have been angry, but it had been clear that he would have never hurt her. Not really.
And I didn’t know how I felt about that. When a wolf picked a mate that was it. It was for life, and the thought of her being someone else’s made my stomach clench. It was stupid. I didn’t know anything about the girl other than that she was cute and she had pissed off more than one of my pack members, but when I spoke to her, I couldn’t deny that I never wanted to stop hearing the sound of her voice. Even when she was clearly nervous, she had been confident about it. Her voice hadn’t wavered. It was strong, and sweet. Sure and stable. She knew exactly who she was, and she was so positive about it, that I wanted nothing more than to know her, too. She was definitely … intriguing.
Why had I told her I was registering for school? I should have come up with a better lie than that. I graduated last year. Ugh! I should have just left it alone. She was obviously on the verge of being spoken for, and besides that, I no longer had the luxury of choice. Alphas don’t get to choose. A frustrated growl rumbled up my throat and after another long look at the path that Jade had disappeared down, I turned and started for my car.
The cool breeze was refreshing, as I made my way to the front of the school. Everything was still green, but soon it would change. The grass would die, the leaves would fall. Longer nights under the moon. For the first time in years, I was excited for the winter to come. I actually had a pack to run with. One that was not my father’s.
Dog Mountain was small. Everything connected to the one street that ran through its center. There were a few shops, a handful of restaurants, a grocery store, and a hardware store. I was told that in the summer months, it was a busy place, packed full of tourists coming to enjoy the hot springs that were tucked in the mountain, but it was hard to imagine it as I drove through the empty looking town. There were a few people walking on the street. Out of the ten people I saw, six of them were werewolves. At only 4:15, most of the shops were already closed for the day, with only the grocery store and restaurants still open.