PROLOGUE
The roads east of Black Ice wound through thick green pines and uneven terrain. Hunter Chain didn’t seem to notice. His hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly it creaked, and the tendons in his forearms stood out as if they too couldn’t wait for him to reach Birchwood Pack. Hunter’s reflection floated in the glass: black hair, silver eyes, a chiseled jaw set in the determined mask of a wolf on a mission.
Chasen, his adopted brother, sat shotgun, taking up most of the seat. He was a mountain of muscle, brown hair cropped close and eyes the color of freshly-turned soil. He was a werebear, not a werewolf. And though he was raised as his brother, he was tasked with being his guardian.
“You’re going to break that thing,” Chasen said. “Hands at ten and two, not death grip and tourniquet.”
Hunter blinked, forcing his fingers to relax. “I just want to get there is all.”
“Your mate won’t vanish if you show up five minutes late. You’ve waited a month, Hunter. She’ll wait another quarter hour.”
That earned a snort, but not a smile. Hunter’s gaze returned to the road, where icy patches glimmered in the pale sun. Allmonth, all he’d wanted was to see Kristy. He met her shortly after his world split open. His parents, his whole axis, moved to Elysia to protect his sister from a demon bastard. She was a welcome find when everything felt dark. He replayed every message she’d sent, each sweetly formal note that promised she’d be waiting. She’d asked, just once, if he could wait to claim her until her father returned from overseas, and he’d agreed. Of course he’d agreed, even though his wolf howled for her every damn day. But he’d heard that Beta Henry had finally returned, and he was now on his way to claim his mate.
“Think this is a mistake to surprise her?” Hunter asked, voice low.
Chasen rolled his eyes. “It’s not my place to say. But if you ask me?—”
“Never mind, I’m not.”
Chasen laughed, a deep, gravelly rumble. “Fine, fine. I’m just along for the ride, as always.”
They made the last turn, gravel crunching under tires, and Birchwood Pack’s territory unfurled ahead in orderly rows of pines and sturdy houses. The main lodge stood at the heart, a log cabin with twin stone chimneys.
Hunter’s pulse roared as he pulled in next to the walkway. An omega greeted them at the door, his pale hair slicked flat, posture bent in a subtle, habitual bow.
“I am Alpha Hunter of Black Ice. Is Beta Henry back?” Hunter asked, already knowing the answer.
“Yes, I will link him for you.” The omega bowed his head and brought them to the parlor.
A few moments later, the front door opened, revealing a muscular man with a salt-and-pepper beard and eyes the same pale blue as Kristy’s. He smiled, but it was an apologetic twitch of the mouth, not the broad greeting Hunter expected.
“Alpha Chain. I’ve heard all about you from Kristy. You’re her mate, and I’m guessing you’re here to take her home?” He gave him a sad, fatherly smile.
“Yes, we were just waiting for your return. Is Kristy here?”
“She’s here somewhere. Alpha Will is probably at the training grounds. I noticed he has a block up, so it must be an intense match. I’ll go find him. He will want to meet you personally. Please, excuse me.” Beta Henry gave Hunter a polite nod before he excused himself.
Hunter checked his phone. He scrolled through old texts from Kristy, each one warmer and sweeter than the last. He stared at the last message, sent two days ago:
Can’t wait to see you. Counting the hours. XO.
As he paced, a faint scent drifted down the stairs. Her scent. The rooms used scent blockers, but he could smell that she’d been in the hall recently. She was up there somewhere.
Hunter was already moving. He left the lounge, ignoring the omega’s wide-eyed protest, and headed up the stairs two at a time. Chasen followed, boots thudding. At the top, another hallway stretched long and dark, lined with closed doors.
Hunter followed the scent, heart jackhammering. He stopped at a plain white door.
“You planning on invading her private space?” Chasen snorted right behind him.
“I think she’s in there.” Hunter reached for the door, turning the knob. He stepped into the room, and the world froze.
The bedroom was bright sunlight everywhere, cutting through gauzy white curtains and spilling onto the tangle of bodies on the bed. Every sense in Hunter’s body detonated at once. The scent hit him first, a muddy mix of Kristy’s sweetness that was faint, almost lost beneath a chemical cloud of masking agents that were smeared with the raw, musky stink of another man’s rut. His stomach flipped, bile rising.
The air thrummed with movement: a flash of pale limbs, a man’s broad back, Kristy’s legs wrapped around his hips. A muscular man was slamming into her, growling her name in a way that made Hunter’s wolf claw at the inside of his ribcage. Kristy’s face was turned away, but her moans made it clear she was enjoying the encounter. The man above her thrust once, twice, and then stilled, his head falling forward.
Hunter’s vision tunneled. He didn’t feel Chasen’s hand on his shoulder, the grounding grip; he didn’t hear the faint snarl vibrating in his brother’s chest. All he could hear was the alpha’s voice, low and smug, as he panted in Kristy’s ear.
“You will remember me and how I feel,” the man muttered, each word thick and hot. “You will raise our pup as his. I’ll have control of Birchwood and Black Ice, with my heirs running them.” This wasn’t just any man, but Alpha Will of Birchwood.
