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“I haven’t been part of the legion for many years,” I quickly explain. “Over three hundred, to be exact.” I don’t tell him why I’m no longer part of the legion.

“Why are you here?”his voice appears in my head.

“Because this is the only place I can be safe. I promise I’m not here to hurt any of your pack members. I just need to hide.”

He doesn’t speak. His golden eyes watch me closely. I told him the truth. I had nowhere to go and being here kept me safe.

Finally, he dips his head.“If you betray my pack, I will spend my life hunting you down until I kill you.”

I don’t speak about my skills or how hard he would find it to kill me. I don’t boast about my abilities. Instead, I take the threat as what it is, a truce.

“I understand,” I say.

He walks over to me, stopping beside me. His enormous body towering over mine. He then walks past, heading back the way we entered. Finally, all my secrets are out. Well, most of them.

chapter twenty

Assistance

Michaela

The night after the Beta and I killed the vampire and feral, I truly expected to wake up to Chayton kicking me out of the pack. I just knew that after the Beta told him I was once a member of the legion, the very people that were often called upon to hash out punishment on shifters on behalf of the vampire council, he was going to demand me off his land. That was three weeks ago.

A lot has changed in that time. The very next day, the she-wolf that was attacked with Torak, showed up at my door to ask if Marley wanted to go to breakfast with her. Since then, she and Anya have been inseparable. This has made life with the wolves much better for her.

“I’m telling you, Michaela, you need to go out. There are plenty of local guys around here.” Elizabeth says as she rubs her nearly seven-month pregnant belly.

We were in the dining hall preparing for the festival. Tonight was some kind of moon holiday for the wolves. There’s going to be a huge feast and dancing. I have to admit, I was excited. Vampires had celebrations too, but they were always so stiff and formal. From what Liz has been telling me, this is like a big backyard party.

“Why are you so hell bent on me dating?” I ask my best friend as I hand her the flowers I’m holding. She’s making centerpieces for the tables tonight.

She turns to look at me. “Because after I thought about it, I realized I’ve never seen you date anyone. I mean, you’ve gone on dates here and there, but not once have you been in a serious relationship.”

Probably because the last one was so damn bad.

“I don’t need to date.”

“Lies, everyone needs to date,” Rue says, placing another empty jar down in front of us.

I didn’t think that after saving Torak, I’d be so well received. Yet, here we are.

It started the morning after it all went down. Phaedra showed up on my doorstep with tears in her eyes. As soon as I stepped onto the porch, she wrapped her arms around me and hugged me while apologizing and thanking me profusely. That day, we sat down and talked about her husband and her anger toward vampires.

It broke my heart to explain to her it sounded like her old Alpha may have sacrificed her husband to the vampire. Often, in order to find favor with vampires, other beings would show their loyalty by offering members of their pack or coven. I think this was the case with her husband. She cried even more when she realized the truth.

Despite what these wolves may think, vampires aren’t inherently violent. They don’t just go around killing for fun. There is always a reason. Since our conversation, she and I have grown closer.

“I’m not interested.”

“And how long has it been since you’ve …. spent time with a man?” Phaedra asks.

“I spend time with men every day at training,” I say, even though I know that’s not what she’s talking about.

Rue laughs.

“She’s not talking about being around the opposite sex. She’s talking about when’s the last time you’ve slept with a man?” Elizabeth asks.

Just as the words come out of her mouth, the door to the dining hall opens, and the Beta walks in. The guys have been back-and-forth today. They’ve been busy preparing some type of arch thing for the celebration. Apparently, it requires a lot of exertion, because the Beta is shirtless.