My skin was a rosy tan, a color I held naturally all year, and the smattering of freckles across my cheeks and nose never went anywhere. The arctic blue of my eyes were the only real reminder of my mom, while the rest of my features must have been fromfather-unknown, who fled the moment Mom fell pregnant. Not that I blamed him, after living with her for the first fourteen years of my life. If I’d had the means to escape her, I’d have been gone in a flash.
I considered myself an orphan now. Family-less. Alone.
Perpetually fucking alone.
Pawing through the clothes in the bags, I found a loose pair of shorts and matching tank. It was warm out today, and we’d be ditching the clothes soon enough, so I didn’t bother with underwear or shoes.
Moving faster because I’d already left them waiting too long, I hurried into the living room to find Warrick dressed in a loose pair of basketball shorts and nothing else. He was fit, with corded muscles across his shoulders and down his abdomen. I wasn’t surprised that he led one of their enforcer groups. He had that badasscould snap your neck with one handlook about him.
Yet he’d still been cowed by Hunter Reeves.
“Ready for a run?” he said, glancing over as I entered the living room. “My wolf is clawing at my insides like a fucking pup right now. Nothing like a good pack run to get the blood pumping.”
I shrugged, even though I was thrilled to be taking part in a run. “I’ll take your word for it.”
He prowled closer, observing me like I was a particularly perplexing science experiment. “You’ve never run with a pack before? Not even when your mom was alive?”
Mom refused to allow my wolf out when she was alive, so I’d been forced to change in my room and run in circles until I’d thought I would both puke and lose my mind. “Nope.” That was all I’d say since there was no need for my pathetic past to ruin our run.
“That all ends today,” Cora said as she breezed in, dressed in an almost identical set of my shorts and tank. Only hers were pink. “Let’s get moving.”
The black Range Rover was still parked out front, and I hopped into the back, trying not to bounce in excitement. My wolf didn’t have the same reticence; she howled and scratched inside me.
“I’ve called in a few of my enforcers to give us security while we’re out here,” Warrick said as he exited through their gate. “Not that I’m worried, but you are an unbonded omega, and I promised you safety. I take my word very seriously.”
Leaning forward, I went to pat his arm before remembering it was safer for me not to touch another alpha. “Thank you.”
Warrick and Cora exchanged a glance and smiled back at me. “It’s our pleasure,” he replied simply.
I settled in for the drive, and it was less than ten minutes until he parked in a spot at the edge of what looked like a national park. The trees were so huge that I could barely see the top of some.
As Warrick opened his door, the scent of dirt, leaves, and decaying foliage lingered in the air—along with a sweet scent I couldn’t quite identify but had me craving candy.
There were a couple of other cars parked in the lot. “Enforcers are already patrolling,” Warrick said, casing the area. He paused when he noticed a blue and black Bugatti Veyron, in a model that I was fairly sure was one of only fifty in the world.
Just sitting here in a Golden Claw parking lot.
I let out a low whistle. “Not the only car enthusiast with money in this town I see.”
I meant it as a joke, but Warrick didn’t look amused. “There are a few of us,” he muttered, shaking his head and turning away. “Come on, let’s take that run and hope for minimal surprises.”
I swore his gaze darted to the Bugatti once more before he got ready to shift. Cora moved to his side and the bonded pair shed their clothes quickly. I averted my eyes while I stepped out of mine.
My hangups with nudity would hopefully ease over time, especially if I remained in Golden Claw for a while. For now,though, I wished we weren’t standing out here in the open. Exposed.
When I was naked, I closed my eyes and handed the reins over to my beast. She burst from me with ease. The pain was minimal these days as the magic of my body did the rest.
Mom’s pack taught me that shifters were originally cursed by the first-blooded witches, long before we had a peace treaty with them, forcing us to share our souls with ahideous creature.Theirpunishmentturned out to be a beautiful symbiotic relationship between man and beast, giving us strength and longevity over humans. Giving us packs and bonding and a lot of amazing abilities. There was truth to the saying that from shit the best flowers grew.
Shaking off the shift, I rose to my full height, finding I was bigger than Cora’s wolf. Her mahogany-colored pelt was thick and shiny as she bounded toward me, while the blue of her eyes remained the same. She nuzzled against my neck, and I marveled at the sensation.
Warrick joined us and he was massive, towering over me. He was easily large enough to double as a small horse if needed, and unlike his mate, he didn’t bound… he prowled.
This was a predator through and through, despite the generally gentle nature of the alpha in his human form.
My wolf gave zero fucks that the alpha wolf was a beast, she was just elated to be here. We were about to run with a pack, which was all of her dreams colliding in one perfect moment.
Warrick got closer to me but didn’t nuzzle in like Cora, remembering to keep his male scent away.Find mates,my wolf whined, and in this form I couldn’t recall why we stayed away from Hunter and his pack.So close.
