Page 3 of Contested Crown

Even my mother hadn’t managed to wear that crown.

There was a sharp roar, and the three wolves were off me in an instant.

The enormous wolf leapt the fence in a single jump, landing in front of me and spinning to face me. I staggered to my feet, the bones in my arms aching, blood dripping from my neck and arms.

I knew what I needed to do. I needed to yield. To give up. That was the only chance out of this.

Instead, a growl built in my throat. I was an alpha, heir to the strongest alpha in North America. Ididn’tyield.

The large wolf moved, but I already knew where he was weak. As he surged at me, I jammed my fist upward, slamming his jaw shut, digging the glass deeper into his soft palate, cheeks, and tongue.

I used my strength to push him up onto his hind legs, exposing his underbelly, dragging my claws across his stomach, and then I slipped around him. The back door burst open, and the bride emerged.

Her white dress, with its cinched waist and wide skirt, was out of place in the bloody fight. She took in the situation with one sweep of her eyes.

“Are you kidding, Max?” She strode over to the massive werewolf, her heels clicking on the pavement. Grabbing his muzzle in her hand, she stared into his eyes. “Are you on Reaper at my wedding?”

All the wolves seemed to be attempting to blend back into the shadows. Her sharp gaze caught them, narrowing on each one.

When her eyes settled on me, I saw her nostrils flare as she scented me, my blood, and then what was underneath all that.

“An alpha? Hanging outside my wedding?” At her sharp words, I inhaled more deeply, the mistake I had made becoming clearer.

“I’m not here for any trouble, Alpha,” I said. I didn’t duck my head, or bow, or show any other evidence of submission. “I’ll be out of your town in the morning.”

“Did you shred yourrental suits?” The alpha turned back to the shifted wolves, plucking a piece of white fabric from Max’s fur. “You know, I put those on my credit card.”

Then she turned back to me, all of her teeth on display, her eyes flashing. “The only reason you and I are not throwing down right now is because we haven’t done the father-daughter dance yet, and I don’t want to redo my makeup. But let’s be clear. If you aren’t out of my territory in the next hour, after me and my daddy have done the waltz I paid five hundred dollars to learn, me and my pack are going to celebrate my nuptials with a little hunt. Are we clear?”

I pulled my lips back from my teeth in a snarl. “As a bell.”

“Good,” she enunciated. “Go.”

I backed away, keeping my eyes on the wolves, aware that even an alpha with authority as tight as an iron fist would have a hard time controlling her pack when their blood was up, when they were halfway through a fight.

I was having trouble controlling my own urge to finish what Max and I had started. Instead, I scrambled up the fence, dropping down to the other side and grabbing what was left of my trip to the convenience store.

Bag in hand, I headed out to the street, then straight to the motel. It didn’t matter if anyone saw me at this point. If they had missed the Werewolf Wrestling Entertainment fight I had just been in, it wouldn’t matter, anyway. The wolves would be able to track me by the drops of blood I was leaving behind.

Cade and I needed to get out of town now.

As I loped into the motel parking lot, my eyes caught movement, and I turned my head, ready to get into round two, whether or not Vince McMahon blessed the match. Someone was leaning against the dark SUV. Their eyes followed me, and mine dropped to the gold pin fastened to their jacket.

I froze, nearly stumbling before I spun back toward the motel, sprinting for our room. House Morrison had found us.

ChapterTwo

When I saw the door, thick curtains closed over the window, I didn’t bother with any of the knocking codes I’d set up, slamming the key card into the lock and opening the door in one swift movement.

Cade was standing in the middle of the room, staring into the full-length mirror, and he startled when the door burst open, his hands going up. Black tattoos sped toward me, and I raised my arms, crossing them in front of my face.

Nothing. The magic hit me like an arsenal of Nerf guns, enough that I felt the impact but not hard enough to hurt. I lowered my arms, and Cade stood, eyes wide, mouth slightly open. He shut his mouth with an audible click, jaw going tight, eyes pinched.

Looking away from me, he turned back to the mirror. The magic that had bounced off my arms slid slowly across the gray, stained carpet and touched his bare feet, slithering under the hem of his dark jeans and up his legs.

With one last glance out into the parking lot, I shut the door, locking it, even though I knew that wouldn’t do anything against a fully powered mage. No one had followed me, but theyetwas thrumming under my skin. No one had followed meyet, but they would be here soon, and we weren’t even remotely ready.

“You can’t insist that we have all these safety codes like we’re in some Cold War spy movie and then not use them,” Cade said petulantly. “What’s the point in me learning them at all?”