“He’s protecting you.”
She shot him a fierce look. “I don’t need protection. I need room to breathe and the freedom to fight my own battles.”
“If you move to the city—”
“This has nothing to do with the city or with forests and chirping crickets!”
Blake’s lips became a tight line. She thought he was angry until the corner of his mouth ticked up. “Chirping crickets?”
“Shut up, Blake.” Her cell vibrated in her pocket, an almost silent sound every wolf in the clearing picked up. Pasting a haughty look on her face, she took it out. It was another text from Craig, Jennifer’s ex, asking to take her out.
This wasn’t the first time he’d asked. It wasn’t the second or third time either, and that was unusual. Craig was the type of guy to ask once, then move on to some other pretty woman. His persistence and the fact that he wanted to take her to Swirl made her suspect the texts weren’t entirely of his own doing.
She slipped the phone back into her pocket without responding, then refocused on Tate. Blake didn’t have to worry about killing the young wolf. Her father would order Luke to do it to create more animosity between them. It was a test of his second, a way for the alpha to be sure both men were still loyal and subservient to him. They’d been told not to fight. The one who broke that order first would be the one killed or kicked out of the pack.
It was all about control.
Blake sighed. “You’re pack, Nora. If you’re out of our sensing range, we won’t know if you need help.”
“There’s this thing called a cell phone.”
“Other alphas will try to absorb you into their packs.”
“At least I’d have freedom in another pack.”
Blake’s expression hardened, and she almost regretted her words. She didn’t want another pack. Not really. She wanted to fight for her place within this one.
“They will use you to gain power over their rivals and over us. They’ll leverage you for access to The Rain.”
“I can handle myself.”
“I know you can,” he said. “But I worry about you too. You’re my sister.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not.”
“In every way that matters, you are. Your father wants you to be happy. Whatever you want that will make you happy here, he will give to you.” He bumped his shoulder against hers. “Not sure he can do anything about the crickets, though.”
“Ha ha,” she said.
A grin flashed across his face before he grew serious again. “Move to Knoxville. See if it helps.”
She slipped the check into her pocket. Maybe distance and the noise and chaos of the city would drown out itch she had to fight for her place in the pack. Maybe it would let her ignore the paradox of her existence. “You just want my house.”
He shrugged. “It’s a good location, and I hear the—”
A whoosh of magic burst across the clearing. The hair on the back of Nora’s neck stood on end, and her wolf raged against her mind, demanding to be set free.
Tate was no longer alone in the center of the pack’s circle. Luke had shifted. His massive wolf form shot forward. His teeth sank into the side of Tate’s face.
The younger wolf yelped and counterattacked, but Luke was quick and brutal, darting in to rip out a chunk of fur and flesh from Tate’s shoulder.
Tate snarled and snapped.
Blood and violence permeated the air. It vibrated through Nora, increasing her heart rate, her sensitivity to the sounds and smells of the forest. The pack would run long and hard after this.
Another cry of pain pierced the cool night. Then another. And another. Luke wasn’t just carrying out his alpha’s orders; he was toying with Tate. Hurting him. Dragging out the inevitable.
Jasmine and another watching werewolf shifted, eager to join the butchery.
