I lay my head on his chest, feeling his heartbeat. “We need to get this curse undone yesterday. It’s the only answer that doesn’t end with the six of us dead.”
Wrath and Hazard stiffen.
“You are all doom and gloom first thing in the morning, aren’t you?” Wrath teases, stroking a hand down my spine. “We will sort it out.”
I blink back tears. “My mother was an omega wolf. I know what the pack did to her. You can’t be here when they come for me.”
“Then we all leave.”
The wave of hope that hits me is stronger than I expected, leaving my head spinning.
“We can’t get across the borders; the packs will bring me back. I’ve tried.”
Wrath curses.
“We will find an answer.”
I bury my face in his chest and try to hold back the emotion, but my body starts to get this full-body tremble that I can’t stop. “I have a wolf,” I whisper in horror.
What Jonas will do to me now, I have no idea, but it won’t be pretty. He will never let me go.
“You are a wolf.”
Hazard puts his furry face against mine. I throw an arm around his neck and cling to him in desperation.
“First things first. Tomorrow we teach you everything you need to know about shifting.”
“Tomorrow, I have another date,” I whisper in protest.
Wrath hesitates, his disapproval flooding the air. “Fine. But we will all sit down and talk about everything, including why that alpha was trying to beat you senseless.”
I lay there for a long time, holding onto him. Wishing that a million things could be different but knowing they aren’t, and no matter how much we might wish, some things aren’t going to change.
My date, Mike Sanderson, comes to my house. He’s funny and charming, and he shows the right level of interest in all things. Mike notices the wolves; he doesn’t pick any orifices. He’s neat and clean and smells okay, and he’s not drugged.
All pluses in his column. And yet, there is something off about him.
I struggle not to yawn when he speaks. He sips his coffee and talks about his job but gives very little details. His story is perfectly ironed out, and I can’t find a single hole in anything.
Which should be good.
And yet…
The three hours he spends before I can politely convince him to leave are excruciatingly slow. Wrath has been lying at my feet the whole time, his bulk pressing into my legs, a relief and a reminder of what we both stand to win or lose.
“So, for our date tomorrow, shall we go out to Erebus Pass?”
My eyebrows shoot up. That’s a day’s drive away and completely isolated. “Uh, that’s pretty far away, and I have to look after the dogs.”
“Oh, nonsense, it will be fun. We can bring a blanket and have a romantic lunch, and if one thing leads to another, we can make out. I’d love to see you looking so beautiful out in the wild.”
Isn’t my mountain wild enough? Erebus Pass is notoriously dangerous. People fall off the cliffs all the time. My nerves twang, and I find myself watching him intently. All the warnings that had been chiming are now peeling in my mind, huge alarm bells.
“I don’t think so.”
Mike’s smile slips. It shouldn’t mean anything, but the slip of the smile transforms him. His eyes are sharp, predatory, and he watches me with a little too much interest and intent to dismiss.
“I really want you to come with me.”
