Page 43

SASHA

W hat did it take for a girl to get some damn peace?

Eyes narrowed, I glared at the door, more specifically at Beta Garret. He’d entered uninvited into my office. My inner wolf’s upper lip trembled. We both concurred that this wasn’t the first time the male had failed to knock and pushed his way inside like a damn bull.

But he was an outstanding sniper, second only to myself—his brain as quick as his weapon.

I guess I’ll keep him around…

My lips curled in a wry smile at the thought.

Garret flashed a grin, his attention dropping to my hand. “Sugar cookies for breakfast? Aren’t alphas too much of a hard ass to enjoy sugar?” Mischief twinkled in his eyes.

I flipped him off, taking another bite and chewing slowly for emphasis.

He threw back his head and laughed. “Saucy bitch.”

“Nosy bastard.”

He nodded in concurrence. “True.”

I dusted my sugar-flaked fingers on my jeans. “Anything pressing on the morning report?”

He circled the metal desk I rested a hip against, coming to stand in front of the windows.

The early light of dawn peeked over the horizon, smattering the sky in a soft honey hue. Garret’s hair shimmered in the rays. His body seemed haloed, as if the sun illuminated his sunshine disposition for all the world to see.

My lips pinched. It was a conundrum how he could always see the bright side—live in the light despite being a latent himself.

From my youth, I dwelled in the darkness, didn’t belong, and never looked up into the light.

The light was not an ally to Latents. We were the darkness, the misfits, the undesirables of the packs.

A satisfied smirk touched my lips as I joined Garret at the window and looked upon the pack. My pack. A pair of warrior latents kept up a brisk pace, jogging beyond the boundary of the cabins. They lead a row of adolescent warriors tagging on their heels—their training regimen well underway.

Maternal females sat in groups along porches, basking in the rays of dawn.

Warm pride swelled in my chest. My pack of latents thrived.

Unwanted. No assets. I united rebels and trained them to be skilled fighters and guards, despite not being able to shift into their second skins.

Two years of painstaking work turned the Hopecrest pack into a formidable pack.

“There’s been another report of a tourist killed on a trail.”

My head whipped to Garret. “Where?”

“Uplands trail. A female human. Killed in broad daylight.”

Lips thinned, my brain raced with possibilities, processing the disturbing news.

“That’s the fifth human slain.”

Garret nodded. Raking a large hand through his pale gold strands, he growled out, “They mauled the victims. News reports claim the bite wounds and claw marks belong to a bear.”

“But they do not consume the bodies. Wild bears don’t behave in that manner.”

“Yeah. That rules out every predator in this region.”

Ice crept down my spine as dread mounted. I slid Garret a cool look. “Not every predator.”

His eyes hardened to steel flints as cold realization sank in. “Werebears.”

Jaw clenched, I said, “It’s too close to the town center and in broad daylight. Highly unlikely a bear would attack in such conditions.” My hands fisted, the nails biting into my palms.

“But those goddamn bears would.” He bared his teeth. “The humans’ safety isn’t their jurisdiction. Bastards might’ve stooped to killing humans when tearing into wolf’s fur wasn’t bloody enough.”

My mind chose that moment to flashback to the battle two years ago. The metallic tang of blood coated the air. The snarls and cries of pain resounded as fangs sank into fur. Warmth pooled in my belly at the thought of the werebear alpha, whose blue eyes touched my soul in ways I’d never imagined.

Damon.

My mate.

The male who rejected me. I bit my lower lip as a burning sensation touched my eyes.

Shit.

My hair bristled, resembling raised hackles. I would not let that male affect me. Not anymore. I’d spilled enough tears.

The office door flew open, slamming back against the wall. I felt the resounding thwack down my spine.

Whirling around, I yelled, “Does anyone not see there’s a door meant for knocking?”

Kimberly, an adolescent warrior in training, stood on the threshold. Her chest heaving in ragged pants, and wiry frame trembling, she cried, “T-the werebears are coming!”

My lungs seized. My limbs were numb. I couldn’t draw breath.

“The hell did you just say?” Garret roared.

“W-what should we do, Alpha?”

I didn’t answer Kimberly. Couldn’t. My brain was a scrambled lump.

Thoughts spun through my mind, spiraling like a vortex.

A tight knot fisted in my chest, the familiar pain an echo of the forest so long ago, where I lay straddled by my mate.

Scratch that—my former mate. But not a former memory of my body.

Even now, my heart picked up, delicious warmth pooling in my lower abdomen.

A flicker of joy welled inside my core. My inner wolf lifted her head, ears pricked. My veins burned at the hope flickering in her eyes.

Hell no.

Shouldering past Kimberly, I stalked toward the front door to the cabin—the heavy footfalls at my rear signaled Garret’s simmering anger.

After grabbing the door handle, I flung it open and marched onto the porch.

All eyes swung to me. But I only had one male in my field of vision.

Damon Hunter.

The male’s muscular build was just as I remembered, despite having only seen him briefly all those nights ago.

A black tank top that hugged his body sculpted his broad chest. His toned biceps were visible, the tendons in stark relief to the smooth muscle overlay with bronzed skin.

My gaze dropped unbidden to his legs. He wore jeans; the fabric highlighting his muscular thighs.

My wolf almost purred as the image of those thighs bracketing my hips flitted to mind.

I banished the memory into the darkest corner of my mind as my teeth clenched. I crossed my arms over my chest. “Get your flea-bitten ass out of my territory.”

Damon’s gaze didn’t connect with mine. No, he took his sweet time, giving me a cursory once over. I bristled as his gaze caught on my hips and lingered a little too long on my chest.

I snapped my fingers.

That caught his attention. His eyes tightened, upper lip trembling in a restrained growl. I allowed a smug grin to curl my lips.

The two sentinels at Damon’s side let out warning growls.

The Hopecrest pack fell into action. Maternal females shielded the young and ushered them inside.

Warriors flanked the bears on either side, sentinels drawing closer to my cabin, creating a living shield around me.

Weapons drawn, the tension in the air mounted to stifling proportions.

Damon’s sharp gaze flitted between my pack mates. My claws sliced out at the cool, calculating look as he swept over each member. Latent members.

“What is your purpose here?” I asked.

I needed to hold his attention—let him roar and slash at me. Never my pack.

He stared back at me and said, “I have an important matter that needs to be discussed.”

With a curt nod, I responded, “Speak.”

A muscle feathered along Damon’s hard jaw. He shared a glance with the female sentinel at his side. A hidden observation seemed to be shared between the two. Damon swung to face me. “What needs to be discussed is for your ears only.”

Low snarls rippled through the courtyard.

I fisted my hands at my sides. “I am not yours to command.”

Not yours any longer.

“If you can’t open your mouth here, then take your ass on.” Chest lifted, I pushed every ounce of dominance I possessed at the alpha. His gritting teeth hinted at him feeling my power as a fellow alpha. The knowledge bolstered me, and I stepped down the porch steps to stand before the werebear.

I am no longer that weakling latent you rejected in the woods. You will not renounce my words.

Alpha Damon’s feet remained rooted to the ground. The hard planes of his face were severe as he glowered at me.

“Hell, let me pop a cap in his ass, Alpha,” Garret barked from behind me. “Perhaps a bullet in his asshole will get the message across.”

Damon’s gaze never strayed from mine. “Either you hear what the hell I have to say, or you’ve got three new pack mates here to stay.”

I stiffened. “You wouldn’t.” A whispered snarl passed my lips.

A wicked smirk played along his mouth. “Bears are patient, darling. We’ll wait.”

My sentinels pressed in closer. Alarm spiked my heartbeats as several guns raised, muzzles aimed at the werebears. Immediately, the bear sentinels dropped to a defensive crouch before their alpha. They eyed the threat snarling, thick fur already sprouting from their necks.

No!

I held the utmost faith in my warriors. My sentinels would give their life defending me, their alpha, and protect the pack. But I would not allow unnecessary bloodshed.

Not when Damon was seeking me out.

I thrust out my hand. “Stand down.”

The sentinels flanking me shot disbelieving glances. At my repeated command, they lowered their weapons.

Garret sidled up behind me.

“Ya sure you know what the hell you’re doing?”

I growled low over my shoulder, whispering, “I think I can take care of a mangy bear, sniffing his nose where it’s not wanted.”

Garret cast a hard glare over my shoulder at Damon. One look at the alpha werebear’s satisfied grin had my hackles up.

Too bad my inner wolf didn’t share the same sentiments.

She pranced in place, her tongue lolled as she yipped in joy.

I jutted out my chin and told Damon, “Step into my office.”

He gave a curt nod and, after telling his sentinels to stand back, followed me.

We slipped inside the room, and I swung around my desk and lowered into the high-back office chair. Damon lingered in the doorway, his eyes flitting around the small space.

My hands fisted in my lap.

“You have three minutes to talk. Then I bite your ass.”