Alpha energy rippled off him, and I drew back. Tak was ready for a confrontation, and by the sheer size of him, he could take on anyone in human form. But could he take on a tiger?
A black Camaro rolled up their driveway in the darkness, Catcher chasing after it.
Tak descended the steps and veered right toward the paved driveway.
“I fucking warned him,” I heard Archer growl.
“That shows how much you know about tigers,” Krys remarked as he walked up to the railing. “Someone got a boo-boo. What’s up with the cast?”
I stepped onto the lawn to see what he was talking about.
Floodlights at the side of the house revealed Noah standing on the hood of his car, a cast on his left arm.
A cast?
“Cecilia, I’m leaving town,” he said, loud enough for me to hear. “I need to talk to you.”
Archer jumped down the steps and sprinted across the lawn. “Get the fuck out of here! Who the hell gave you permission?—?”
“Cecilia!” Noah called out. “This is the last time we’ll talk! I need to tell you something. At least let me apologize.”
Tak propped his foot on the front end of the Camaro. “Long ago, a saber-toothed tiger threatened my people. A Shifter! Can you believe it? I haven’t seen one before or since, but that skull looks impressive on my father’s wall.”
“I’m not here to start anything,” Noah told him.
Tak put his foot down. “That’s up for debate.”
Lakota walked into view from the side yard and gracefully shifted into a silver wolf—a beautiful color I’d never seen. His posture made me step back as he approached the vehicle, a threatening growl rumbling in his throat.
The pack had formed a semicircle behind me. I had wolves ahead of me and behind. I’d never felt more vulnerable and yet protected.
“Get off my land, interloper,” Tak ordered him, “or else I’ll release mypack on you.”
Noah looked more defeated than I’d ever seen him. His stubble had grown out to a short beard, his hair wild.
“I just want to talk,” he said, ignoring the threats.
When I moved forward, Archer headed me off. “Don’t let him have that control over you.”
“I need to do this, Archer.” Glancing at the others, I could see they didn’t understand. “I can’t let him have the last memory of us. Not the way it happened. I need to do this—for me.”
Krys grabbed Archer’s arm, and with that touch, he capitulated.
As I approached the car, Catcher’s barking ceased.
Noah dropped to his knees and looked down at me. “I’m sorry, Cecilia. You’re everything to me, and you know that. But when I found out you had sex with that tripod, I lost it. You don’t understand—I can’t think about you being with another man.”
Tak turned and looked at his pack, and I gathered they were putting the pieces together.
Noah wiped crocodile tears from his eyes. “I’m quitting the bottle. I let the alcohol control me. I’m not that guy. Youknowhow good it was before all the money and stress got in the way. Remember?”
A tear rolled down my cheek. “I remember.”
“We were happy—before the drinking. It was a lot of pressure to drive back and forth, work long hours, all to give you a good life. I’ll never touch another drop again. I swear it,” he said in that soothing cadence he always used after a fight. “We’ll get away from here—anywhere you want to go. You pick. Colorado, California, Washington—we can even go to Canada like you talked about once. It’ll be like it was before. You can work if you want to. And I’m not mad about the TV.”
A ruckus sounded behind me, but I didn’t look back.
“I hope you get clean, Noah. And I don’t just mean the alcohol but the women and your whole life. Not because youdeserve it, but because when you find someone else, I hope she has the better version of you. But it won’t be me. You hurt me.”
