Page 7 of A Twist of Luck (Shifter City Fated Mates #2)
CHAPTER 7
EMME
H unter’s expression reminded me of an icy winter morning, frosty and biting, as he observed me. We hadn’t had a chance to talk yet, as he’d been occupied with the witch, but now I had his full focus.
Like with Kellan, seeing the massive alpha kitted out in full black including armored vests and weapons was a new, sexy experience. He usually wore suits, and I’d thought that was his hottest look, but this… oh fuck, this was so much hotter. His six-foot-six frame looked massive, topped off by heavy shitkicker boots. Not to mention the stormy darkness in his gold-threaded irises, letting us all know his wolf was present.
“Jewels can release the cuffs,” he said, indicating toward my wrists.
“Of course,” she purred, hurrying for Slade, only to pause when he leveled a furious stare in her direction.
“Remove Emme’s first,” the dragon shifter ordered, and if that expression had been directed at me, I’d have sprinted the other way.
Jewels released an exaggerated huff as she turned to me, moving much slower. “Hello, Omega,” she said, just the slightest hint of an accent in her husky tones.
My wolf was annoyed at how tiny and blond she was, all pale curls and richly tanned skin. Her dark eyes examined me as closely as I was examining her, and while she didn’t look older than me, her energy felt ancient. Instinct told me she was a powerful witch, and I hated her connection to my pack. Magic felt wrong against our beasts, and I wouldn’t want that sulfuric scent of her magic to taint any of us.
It was hard to dislike her as much when she released me from the itchy, irritating cuffs though. “Ahhh, that feels so good,” I said, rubbing my reddened skin. “Thank you for your help.”
“No worries. Your mates pay very well for my services.”
And what in the hell did that mean? She better be talking about cash… Or we were going to have a larger problem.
When she released Slade’s cuffs, I noticed her tuck the discarded magical bands into the pocket of her jeans, and despite their bulkiness, they somehow fit perfectly.
Finley stood a few feet away, arms crossed, wearing his usual grouchy expression. His glorious hair was out, angled down just below his ears and sliding toward his jawline. He didn’t have a weapon, but wore the same tactical uniform as the others. It did add to his appeal, and even scowling, there was no taking away from his beauty.
If I had to guess, the moody bear was pissed off that I’d survived and would live to annoy him another day. Warrick, though, who stood by his side, was all smiles. “Cora is going to be so relieved when I tell her you’re okay,” he told me.
“Thank you for coming with them,” I said again, touched that he’d come into a dangerous situation that involved alphas and magic for me.
The entitled alpha shook his head as his forehead wrinkled. “Sweetheart, you're part of our extended family. Cora and the others are going out of their minds with worry.”
Cora was my newly claimed best friend, and I equally liked the other members of Warrick’s pack too. They did feel a little like extended family. I would have to call them when we finished dealing with our current situation.
Hunter stepped into the conversation finally: “We need every detail from when you were taken to the moment we appeared.” The fury he’d barely contained since they’d arrived finally boiled over. I tried not to feel bothered that unlike the last time I was attacked, he hadn’t touched me once since they’d tracked me down.
Subconsciously, a part of me had been waiting for a dose of the entitled alpha’s claiming touch. A part of me needed it to right my omega and beast.
“I'll tell you everything I know, but I was unconscious for a lot of it.”
As uneasy as it was to remain here, lingering on the edge of our enemy’s house, this information was important. I didn’t want to have to run from my mom’s pack for the rest of my life, and now that they knew of my existence and city affiliation, they’d come after me again. No doubt they wanted to use my power the same way they’d used mom’s. Which I could never let happen.
I needed the alphas’ help.
Kellan stroked my back in a soothing rhythm as I started to explain: “It was my mom’s old pack: the Rogers pack. Blaine is the entitled alpha, and then there’s Josiah, Donnie, and Hewie, all alphas as well. I don’t know anything else about them these days—I haven’t seen them since I was fourteen when they destroyed my mom and I took off. That was the last time I was around shifters until I was dragged to Golden Claw. Slade believes they found me through my registration with the cities, which makes sense.”
“What do they want with you?” Hunter asked, his expression unchanging, but I felt the surge in his energy.
“Most likely the same thing they wanted from my mom. To bond an omega and use me for their own gain.”
It was as much of the truth as I could reveal, without telling them everything they did to Mom—what they took from her, and the tragic ending that was the result.
Finley released a disparaging sound, and I found myself leaning to the side to see around Hunter and meet his glare. I’d spent most of our brief time together ignoring his moody, surly ass, but today I couldn’t hold back. “Do you have something to say, Finley Thornton? Let it all out, you big grouchy asshole.”
The handsome shifter’s face wasn’t drawn like Kellan’s or racked in worry like Hunter’s. He appeared to be the pinnacle of virility, and even dressed as he was, he gave off woodsman vibes with his light brown skin, shiny chestnut hair, and whiskey eyes.
I’d felt a connection to him from the first moment I stared into his fractured gaze, but his attitude was frankly starting to piss me off.
“Nothing of any importance to say,” he said calmy, showing no sign he was offended by being called an asshole. “It’s just hard to believe that you didn’t do anything to get yourself into this situation. You’ve been so determined to escape us, Ice Queen.” I started at the nickname, which was the first he’d ever given me. Typically, it was not a nice one.
He grinned, showing me all his perfect, white teeth. “Ah, that struck a nerve, did it? Well, Slade called you Snow, and it reminded me that you’re as cold and unforgiving as that element, and just as deadly.”
Even though I knew that wasn’t the reason for Slade’s nickname—his was actual perfection—I could see why Finley took it that way. As I’d said before, he was an asshole.
“Have I tried to escape though?” I shot back. “Think about it, meathead. In all the time I’ve been in Golden Claw, have I attempted even once to escape?”
The answer to that was no, and he couldn’t remotely argue it. I’d justified my lack of escape attempts in multiple ways: the alphas hadn’t been pushing me to bond; I needed to get a stash of cash together; it’d be easier once they trusted me and left me alone. But still, even with all of that, the number one reason was how good it felt to be with them. I’d been desperately consuming this pack and family life, all the while fearing the day it would come to an end.
“You might not have had an opportunity yet, but you’ve made it very clear that you want to leave. You haven’t even bonded with Kellan, who you hang off constantly, or created any sort of permanent place in our pack. You’re still just using us until you have your chance to escape. We’re not a fucking stopgap on your way to something better.”
Hunter moved forward, as if to stand as a barrier between us, but I placed my hand on his chest to hold him back. His chest rumbled, but he didn’t fight me. This was my battle with Finley, and I didn’t need help. Yet . “There’s nothing better than this pack,” I told Finley softly. “Nothing. And I have a very good reason for not wanting to bond, and that reason has little to do with how much I want Kellan, Hunter, or Slade.”
I deliberately didn’t say his name, but once again he showed no sign of reaction.
Fucker . I wished I could be this indifferent, but it was impossible.
“And what pray tell is this very serious reason you’ve never shared with us?”
Staying with them meant my death. If I revealed that though, I would have to elaborate on the why, and once they knew they could gain power from our bonding…
Every shifter wanted more power—it was the core component of our beasts. Especially alphas.
“I didn’t ask to be dragged to Golden Claw,” I bit out through gritted teeth in an attempt to keep my voice steady. “And I didn’t ask to live in your house. Hunter all but forced me into it. In the end, I think I’ve been more than gracious with the way you’ve all dominated and controlled my life. Maybe you need to look harder at your own actions and worry less about hating me. As far as I can tell, you’re the one with a problem, when I’ve done nothing to you. Nothing! ”
With his expression darkening, Finley took a step toward me, and it was intimidating to be in the shadow of a massive alpha. It was also the first time we’d been this close, and the strong scent of vanilla cherry melded into my chocolate honey like we’d been made for each other. “You’re my only fucking problem, Ice Queen?—”
“You’re out of line, Fin,” Kellan growled, stepping between us before I could say another word. “You have to stop blaming Emme for both your own trauma and for other shifters’ actions. This…” He waved his hand around “…was not her fault. She didn’t ask to be taken.”
Finley shrugged, his expression smoothing as he got himself under control. “She didn’t not ask to be taken. If we were all bonded, we could have tracked her. Thankfully, once we found the city, with the help of the witch and our connection to Slade, we managed to track them down. But even the most uneducated shifter knows a completed quintet is the strongest. It’s almost as if Emmeline doesn’t really care if she’s stolen from us.”
“Enough!” Slade silenced the room, and I noticed witchy pouting even harder. She’d been enjoying the drama of the bear tearing into me. “Firstly, don’t presume to know why I call her snow. That’s between Emme and me. Secondly, you’re being an asshole and it’s not the time. I can confirm that Emme had nothing to do with orchestrating our kidnapping, and she was quite hurt in the process. Her spine was broken, amongst other injuries.”
Finley’s head jerked back, and this time when he looked me over, I could not mistake the concern in his expression. It was briefly there, oh so briefly, but my body thrummed from that one intense visual scan.
Goddess knew I wouldn’t survive if I had his full, undivided attention in a positive way.
“And thirdly…” Slade continued. “We need to get back to the issue at hand: do we wait for the pack to return, or should we head out and track them down ourselves?”
“They won’t be back, my darling dragon,” the witch said with a shrug, and my wolf briefly debated clawing her eyes out. “There are magical boobytraps all over the yard that we triggered upon arrival. My guess is that they’ll disappear for a few weeks to regroup and replan. They won’t take you on with your full pack.”
“Boobytraps,” Hunter snapped, giving the area a sharp once-over, his dominance stronger than ever. His wolf flashed until the gold almost drowned out the storminess of his eyes. “What the fuck does that mean? I felt nothing when we approached.”
She shook her head, pursing her lips. “Sorry, that wasn’t the correct adjective. More like alerts. Security . They’d be alerted if anyone escaped, but it works the opposite way as well. They felt our arrival before we reached the house.”
The entitled alpha looked frustrated with this information.
“What city are we even in?” I asked, trying not to dwell on my fight with Finley, even though his words swirled like missiles in my head. Targeted and painful every time they hit.
“Silver City,” Hunter said, stepping closer to me, the hard expression he’d worn since they arrived finally easing. “The pack who took you make their home here, and two of the alphas are on the council. The entire pack is unusually dominant and connected within the community. It’d be foolish to hunt them here, in their own territory. We need to plan first.”
I nodded, already agreeing. “They have a lot of magic on their side too, though we never saw signs of a witch.”
Jewels looked around, sniffing the air. “There’s no recognizable essence here. I don’t know the witch they’re using, which is… odd.”
Kellan cursed. “How the hell are these alphas so powerful and magically connected? It makes no sense. We’ve never even heard of them before—I thought we held the most powerful pack spot.”
There was a huff from the dragon shifter. “Only the two with council seats came up on my radar.” He sounded annoyed. “They’re keeping their exploits offline as much as possible, which makes sense now that I know what they’ve been planning.” He turned his piercing green gaze on Kellan. “And we are the most powerful, because I am the most powerful. But that pack is not to be underestimated. They’re dabbling heavily in magic, and have full use of Reeves Industries tech, which means they’re rich enough to buy the best.”
Hunter growled, inching closer to me again, until I could feel his energy racing over my skin. The urge to lean forward and bury my face against his chest was strong. I wanted to soak up his comforting and supportive presence for a few seconds. “Sounds like we need to be more careful with who we allow to buy from us,” he said, the rumble unmistakable in his tone. “These bastards must have loved using our technology to attack and contain our pack mates. Makes me want to ensure they’re buried ten feet under in a permanent dirt nap.”
Finally, fucking finally, Hunter wrapped his arms around me and hauled me up into his chest. He must have heard Slade’s advice to be gentle, as his hold wasn’t as tight as normal, and I sank against him, realizing how out of sorts I’d been with his distance. He’d been in full entitled alpha mode, but I finally sensed a small snippet of my Hunter returning—the one who had claimed me with a tattoo and who cared for and protected me with every part of himself; who’d saved me from the guard by destroying him where he stood.
My Hunter.
“Were the Rogers pack this powerful when your mom was their mate?” he asked in a low uncertain voice, his mouth close to my cheek as he breathed me in. “Do you have any theories of where their strength originates?”
I had theories alright, and maybe it was the emotional upheaval from my kidnapping, or the way he hugged me so perfectly, but for the first time I was on the verge of revealing the truth.
I wanted to stop hiding what happened to Mom and what I feared would also happen to me.
To trust that we could all work this out together .
Taking a deep breath, I lifted my head and said, “Mom’s pack knows exactly what an omega’s power can do?—”
Slade’s roar cut me off, and I smelled sulfur a second before the most eerie, surreal energy washed through the living room.
A force hit me in the side, and still wrapped around Hunter, I was thrown into the yard as the house blasted to pieces around us, raining down debris in its wake.
“ Conquesta marina tulula mergan ,” Jewels shouted as we flew, her magic cushioning our landing on the icy dirt. Even with her magical help, we still should have felt more impact from an explosion, and I couldn’t figure out why we weren’t injured until I was hauled to my feet by Hunter. We both turned to see a giant, scaled form blocking the side of the house.
Or where the house used to be.
It was Slade. In his dragon form.
Holy goddess . He’d shifted and taken the brunt of the magical attack, leaving the rest of us safe and uninjured. I stepped forward, concerned he’d been hurt, only to pause as I took in the sheer size of his beast.
He was massive, maybe fifty times the size of me, towering high into the sky as the sunlight reflected off his scales, which were mostly green with black-tipped edges. “Slade,” I whispered, gazing up and up and up to find his colossal head.
The dragon’s long neck swung around, his gaze snapping toward me, and I drowned in the depths of sharp, biting green eyes that never blinked as they held me in place. The green that appeared so unnatural in his bipedal form felt just right in this mystical, incredible beast.
My mind whirled, and I swear my soul left my body when his long neck bent to bring massive rows of razor-sharp teeth closer to my face. The heat he exuded left my face feeling raw and slightly singed.
“Slade,” Hunter murmured in a low, soothing tone as he shuffled closer to my back, apparently hesitant to move any faster. “What are you doing? Control your beast.”
The dragon’s huge chest rumbled, and we were blasted with wafts of fire-touched air. Tension filled the yard, and even Hunter stopped moving. In fact, the only one of us who appeared to even be breathing was the dragon.
He was graceful as he moved forward, his thick, heavy legs stomping down the browned bushes that made up the bulk of the yard. He was so massive that when he stopped in front of me, I stood under his front legs and chest, and my head didn’t touch him.
My body refused to obey my command to move as paralyzing fear held me in place. Was this the moment Slade decided I was an annoyance and a risk to his pack and gulped me up?
He sniffed me, heat blasting my face again until I was sweating, and when his nose brushed across my stomach, I sucked it in harshly. “Uh, g-good d-dragon,” I stuttered, my voice barely working too. “You don’t want to eat me, right? I’m way too scrawny to satisfy your big appetite.”
He huffed again, blasting hot air right at my stomach, and the ache of my period eased.
I had no idea if that had been his intention all along, but as I stared into his unblinking eyes, the fear thrumming through me eased. Without thought, I reached out toward him. It was more than a want, it was a desperate, driving need to connect us.
Just before my hand made contact, Hunter noticed my intentions and roared as he dove for me, but he was too late.