Page 5

“I want her.”

The words rang in my ears, not fully registering in the shock of seeing Jackson again.

Jackson. Here. After all these years.

I had never expected to see him again. Had never wanted to see him again. Now that he was here, standing in front of me, it felt almost surreal. Like I was in a dream. Or a nightmare.

The last eleven years had only enhanced his features. His light brown hair had always been a little on the wild side. Now, it had a natural, windswept look to it that accentuated his strong square jaw and high cheekbones. Muscles rippled with every movement. He had always been tall, but now he towered over me, his broad shoulders making him seem even bigger.

Over the last few years, I had sometimes imagined what it would be like if I ever ran into him again. Not that I had ever expected it to happen, not with my being confined to the pack. I had imagined how I would feel, what I might say. I had expected it to be along the lines of “fuck you” or “you have some nerve showing your face.” But that wasn’t who I was anymore. And now that he stood in front of me, I couldn’t find the words.

Anger coursed through my veins. He had ruined my life, and now he was here, staring at me as if none of that had ever happened. I wanted to yell at him, to hit him. I wanted to scream at him to get the hell out of my town, spin on my heels, and march out of the room. But I couldn’t seem to move.

My traitorous wolf, on the other hand, didn’t seem to feel any of the anger and bitterness radiating through me. All she wanted to do was get close to him, to nuzzle against him, to wrap herself in his scent. She was positively thrilled to see him.

I stifled her urges, not wanting to even humor them. I didn’t know what he was doing here, and I didn’t particularly care. I just wanted him to leave and never come back.

And what the hell did he mean by saying, “I want her?”

I took in the tableau, trying to discern more about what was going on. Two unfamiliar shifters beside Jackson looked as confused as I felt. One of them gaped at Jackson as though he had gone insane. The other observed the situation with narrow, shrewd eyes.

Jackson was staring at Reacher, his chin jutted out. Reacher continued to glance between me and Jackson as though trying to come to terms with something. What, I had no idea. Meanwhile, Dad had a similar expression to Reacher, his brow furrowed, his lips turned downward in disapproval as if he had just heard something that didn’t add up.

“Really?” Reacher looked at me with disbelief, then back at Jackson. “Her?”

“Her,” Jackson repeated.

All five shifters now stared at me. My face grew hot, and I knew it was turning a brilliant crimson. I looked down at the floor.

“I’m sorry for interrupting,” I said, trying not to sound like I was babbling. “I’ll leave now. Sorry.”

“You’ll stay where you are,” Reacher commanded.

I froze, even more confused than I had been a minute ago.

Then, like I wasn’t even there, Reacher turned back to look at Jackson. “You’re sure?” he asked.

“I’m sure,” Jackson said.

Sure of what? I wanted to scream, but no words would come out.

“We have an agreement, then,” Reacher said. When Jackson gave a short, curt nod, the alpha broke into a wide, triumphant grin. “Excellent. See, I knew we could find some sort of arrangement that would benefit both of us.”

I finally found my voice. “What’s going on?” I asked.

Reacher chortled, getting to his feet and walking around the desk until he stood next to Jackson. He looked as though he had just won the lottery.

“This is Jackson,” Reacher said to me, clapping the other shifter on the shoulder. “You’re going to go with him.”

My mouth went dry as the words swirled in my head, refusing to make sense. Go with him? Go with him where? And why?

I looked between Reacher and Jackson and my father, waiting for one of them to burst into laughter and reveal this was some sort of terrible, cruel prank for their own enjoyment. Except none of them were laughing. None of them were acting remotely like this was a joke.

“What?” I croaked, my throat dry. It was the only thing I could think to say.

Reacher rolled his eyes, his content smirk turning into a scowl. “This is Jackson,” he repeated slowly, enunciating every syllable.

A brief shock of annoyance flared inside me. I opened my mouth to explain that I knew exactly who this jerk was. But he seemed to sense what I was about to do and gave a barely perceptible shake of his head. The motion made me stop. I didn’t know why he wanted to pretend we didn’t know each other, but I was more than happy to go along with that part of his plan.

Reacher was still talking. “He and I just came to an agreement. A trade of sorts. As part of it, this fine gentleman has agreed to let you go with him back to his pack.”

What Reacher was implying sounded so absurd, so ridiculous, that I initially thought he was joking. I even gave a soft laugh. There was no way he had just sold me in a trade with Jackson. But then I saw the bewildered expressions on the two unfamiliar shifters’ faces and the grim look of acceptance on Dad’s face.

Oh, God. They were serious.

“I don’t follow,” I said. I had to be missing something. That was the only explanation.

“He’s going to be your mate,” Reacher said in that same slow, mocking tone he used with me sometimes. “It’s all been decided. You’re lucky.”

Jackson’s mate? No. I wouldn’t. Not after the way he broke my heart.

“I don’t want—” I began.

“I think in order to make everything official, we should have a ceremony,” Reacher said, speaking to Jackson as if I hadn’t said anything.

Ceremony ? The word sounded so foreign that I couldn’t properly process the meaning.

“Is she all right with that?” Jackson asked.

“Of course she is,” Reacher answered for me before I could say anything. “And I’m going to insist on one, I’m afraid. I think it will be best for both sides.”

Jackson nodded.

“Fantastic!” Reacher beamed. “I think tomorrow will do fine. No use dawdling, and that way, you can get back to your pack as soon as possible.”

Tomorrow? That word seemed to break the mute spell that gripped me, and I finally managed to find my voice.

“N-no,” I said, eyes wide as I shook my head. “No, I’m not—”

“You’ll do what your alpha says,” Dad growled.

My mind reeled as I thought desperately. There had to be a way for me to get out of this. I couldn’t go with Jackson. Not after everything he had put me through.

“You don’t want me,” I said to Jackson, finding an edge of steel I had forgotten I had. “Seriously.”

Reacher’s eyes flashed with warning as he shot me a withering look. “I believe that he just said he does,” he retorted in a voice that said I wasn’t to argue. I didn’t know exactly what was going on, but I knew that I was jeopardizing some larger plan of Reacher’s.

Normally, I would shrink away and obey Reacher. But not about this. Not when he was planning on selling me like livestock. I wasn’t going to let him do that without some sort of fight. At the same time, I knew that fighting back directly would get me in serious trouble. The best way to get out of this was to make Jackson change his mind.

So, I said the one thing I could think of that might scare him off.

“I’m not going anywhere without my daughter,” I blurted out.

It made sense to me to mention Claire. Jackson had abandoned me for a hell of a lot less eleven years ago. If he was anything like how he used to be, he wouldn’t want that extra burden. Hell, he hadn’t even wanted me alone.

A resounding silence fell over the group after I made that statement. Dad looked annoyed. Reacher looked like he might want to murder me. Jackson stared, his mouth open. I waited, heart pounding, for him to turn around and tell Reacher the deal was off. Surely he would do that. It was the only chance I had to get out of this.

“Daughter?” Jackson asked, still gaping at me. “You have a daughter?”

“Yes.”

For a wild, panicked moment, I worried that he might ask if Claire was his, or that he might guess it out of sheer luck. I hadn’t been with anyone but him. I hadn’t ever wanted anyone else. Even if I had, none of the males here would touch me with a ten-foot pole, considering Reacher and Dad had made me a social pariah. Claire could only be his. But there was no way he could know that.

I hoped that if Jackson knew I had a daughter, he would change his mind. Who wanted a kid to go along with their forced bride? I waited for him to turn to Reacher and tell him the deal was off, that he had changed his mind. He had rejected me on my own. There was no way he wouldn’t do the same if I had a kid.

Instead, he asked, “What’s her name?”

I frowned. “Claire,” I said.

He nodded, looking over at Reacher. “Naturally, Claire will come with her mother,” he stated.

Reacher nodded. “If that’s what you want, then of course.”

This was horrible. Not horrible—surreal. I wasn’t going to go with this man.

“No,” I said. “I’ve already said it once. I’m not going anywhere.”

All five shifters again turned their attention to me. My skin prickled as my wolf snarled, wanting to claw each of these shifters for even considering treating me like a commodity. Even if she wanted to go with Jackson, to be with the wolf who used to drive her wild with need, she wasn’t going to take this transaction lying down.

Reacher glowered at me. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled, signaling the danger I was wading into. I knew that warning look in his eye. It was the one he gave me when he wanted me to shut my mouth and mind my business. Part of me wanted to shrink back from it as I always did, to cower and go along with whatever he wanted. Except I couldn’t. Not this time.

“Would you excuse us for just a moment, gentlemen?” Reacher asked, his eyes locked on me. “I think Audrey and I need to have a quick conversation to go over logistics.”

Without waiting for permission, Reacher stalked forward, his eyes shooting daggers at me. He took me by the arm, guiding me with surprising gentleness out of the room.

The instant we were out of sight of the other shifters, his grip tightened. I sucked in a breath as he squeezed my bicep painfully and jerked me down the hall. He walked at such a fast clip that I stumbled to keep up as he dragged me along. He didn’t so much as glance at me as he marched me down the hall, but I could sense the anger radiating off him in sickening waves as he steered me toward an empty meeting room. He shoved me inside before following me in, closing the door behind him.

I backed up until I hit the wall. He stalked toward me, only stopping when he was inches away, effectively pinning me in place.

“Do you have a death wish, you little brat?” he snarled. “Or are you just that stupid?”

“I’m not going with him, and you can’t make me,” I bit out.

“The hell I can’t. I don’t know where this back-talking is coming from, but you better knock it off right now.”

“Please don’t do this,” I said, pleading now.

“Why not?” Reacher sneered. “You should be thrilled. You’re getting a mate out of this. A powerful one. It isn’t like anyone else is going to want you. I don’t know what he does, but I don’t particularly care. You should be thanking me.”

“Let me go.” I reached out and pushed him back.

The instant I did, I knew I had made a dire mistake. His eyes darkened, and before I could apologize or run or do anything, his hand lashed out and grabbed my forearm, squeezing tight enough for me to wince.

“Now you listen here,” he hissed, his face so close to mine that I could see his every pore. “You’re going to go with this man whether you like it or not. Take your bastard daughter with you if you want. I don’t give a fuck. But you’re going with him whether you like it or not.”

“You’re basically selling me,” I said. I meant to sound angry, to have some kind of bite to the words. Instead, they came out feeble and timid, a slight tremor in my voice that I hated.

“Damn right, I’m selling you. And your father’s already backing me up, so you don’t have a choice in this. Do you understand?”

“I’m not going with him,” I repeated, though the words sounded feeble even to myself. I could feel myself shrinking inward. “You can’t do this.”

“I can. I just did. Get used to the idea and stop whining. Be grateful some shifter wants anything to do with you.”

I stayed silent, jaw set as I looked up at him in silence. There were plenty of ways I could get around this. I could run away. I could attack Jackson. I could—

As if he could read my thoughts, Reacher snarled, “This deal needs to go through. If you do anything, anything to jeopardize this, I will take that daughter of yours and make sure you never see her again. Do you understand?”

At the threat, all the fight I had been able to muster died in an instant. My shoulders sagged, and I glanced away, looking down at the floor.

“All right,” I muttered.

“Good.” He gave my arm another squeeze, this one tight enough to make me wince. “And just to make perfectly clear that we are on the same page, if you breathe a word of anything you think you might have heard from me or your father about what we may or may not be planning, then I will make sure both you and your daughter regret it. Do you understand?”

And there it was. Why I was being sold. I didn’t know all the details, but I was basically a bribe. Something to stop Jackson and the other shifters from looking into the Blood Moon pack and discovering what Reacher was planning.

“Do you understand?” he repeated when I remained mute.

“I understand,” I said.

A knock sounded on the door. Reacher’s head whipped around, eyes narrowing. He released me and marched to the door. My hand went to the place on my arm where I could still feel phantom fingers gripping tight. I didn’t need to look to know that there were red marks there that would ultimately turn into long, thin bruises.

Reacher shot me a look that very clearly communicated I should keep my mouth shut. Then he turned back to the door and opened it.

Jackson stood in the hall, his hands in his pockets. The slight frown on his lips and the small furrow in his brow gave him gravitas that sent shivers down my spine. I wanted to fall into his arms despite myself, despite the great anger I still had toward him.

“Everything all right?” he asked, his tone making it clear that he already knew the answer was no.

“Of course,” Reacher said. “Audrey’s just so excited that she isn’t able to properly articulate it. I was just trying to help calm her down a bit so she could properly express her enthusiasm.”

Jackson gave me a look that told me he didn’t believe Reacher for a second. “Are you all right?”

“I just told you, she’s fine,” Reacher said impatiently.

“I asked her, not you,” Jackson snapped, a hint of wolf flashing in his gaze. He turned back to look at me, and an old softness returned. He was looking at me the way he did all those years ago. “Are you all right?” he asked.

I couldn’t help myself. I glanced over at Reacher. I didn’t need the withering glare my alpha shot me when he was certain Jackson wasn’t looking to know how I was supposed to answer. Part of me wanted to be honest, to tell him that no, in no way was I all right. But the thought of what Reacher might do to me or Claire if I told the truth made the words lodge in my throat.

“I’m fine,” I said.

“See?” Reacher said. “She’s fine. Just excitable. You know how women can be. I’m sure that once she gets used to everything, she’ll settle down a bit. Right, Audrey?”

“Right,” I said, unable to look at either of them. All I wanted in that moment was to get out of there as quickly as possible. “I have to go pack,” I muttered.

“I can help,” Jackson said.

“I can manage on my own,” I said.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Yes. And besides, I want to talk to Claire about this alone.”

Jackson looked as though he was about to argue. Reacher didn’t look particularly pleased about me going off on my own, either. Probably figured I was a flight risk and would have someone tailing me the instant I left. But there was no need. I wasn’t going to try and run, not when Claire could get caught in the crossfire.

Before either of them could say anything else, I dipped around them and hurried off down the hall, not looking back.

***

While I waited for Claire to get home, I started packing, throwing all the things I cared about into a suitcase. It didn’t take long for me to realize how little I actually owned and how small a percentage of it I actually cared about. Even after I finished packing Claire’s things, I still had ample time before she would come home.

To pass the time, I baked her favorite cookies: peanut butter and chocolate chip. At the very least, she would have something to enjoy as I told her our entire lives were about to change.

Jackson. I was going to be married to Jackson. I was being sold off to the man who rejected me all those years ago. The irony was so strong that I would have laughed had I not been so overwhelmed with conflicting emotions. On the one hand, I was getting out of here for good. I wouldn’t have to live in fear of Reacher or my father ever again. I was getting what I thought I had always wanted: a way out of this pack for me and my daughter. I should have been ecstatic. I wasn’t going to be under Reacher and Dad’s thumb anymore. On the other hand, I was about to be tethered to the man who had broken my heart. I was going to be trapped in another way by being tethered to another person I hated, and one I could never trust again.

These emotions and thoughts swirled in my head, the tempest refusing to settle as I made the dough, lasting as I rolled it into balls and put them in the oven, lodging themselves in my brain as I pulled them out and waited for them to cool.

By the time the front door opened and I heard Claire’s tiny footsteps hurry into the kitchen, I was no closer to sorting out any of my emotions.

“You made cookies!” Claire exclaimed as she raced into the kitchen. “I could smell them from the yard.” Her face lit up as she caught sight of the cookies cooling on the rack. The smile ebbed as she looked at my face.

“Mom?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Sit down,” I said. “Have a cookie.”

She obeyed, sitting at the table as she ate the still-warm cookie, fresh enough that it fell apart in her hand as she nibbled on it. She stared at me anxiously, waiting for the bad news.

“Something happened,” I said, my leg jittering up and down. How the hell was I supposed to explain to her that I had basically just been sold and we had to move? Let alone that the guy I had just been sold to was her father?

The last part, at least, I could omit. I had no intention of telling Jackson who Claire really was. And Claire had gone this long without knowing her father. I wasn’t going to spring that bit of information on her at the same time as everything else I had to explain.

“We’re… going to be moving,” I finally said.

She perked up. “To a new house? We won’t have to live with Grandpa anymore?”

“We won’t… but we’re moving to a different pack. In Colorado.”

Confusion filled her gaze. “Colorado? Why?”

Because your grandfather and our alpha sold me to prevent people from looking too hard into what they were doing, I thought, but how the hell did you explain that to a ten-year-old?

“I… met another shifter,” I said. “He’s going to be my mate, and we’re going to move with him and live with his pack.”

Claire just stared at me as if unable to process what I was saying. I couldn’t blame her. I could barely understand what I was saying.

“But… my friends…” Claire said.

I winced. I knew she didn’t have many friends, not with how most of the town treated us. But the friends she did have, she cared about. I didn’t want her to have to leave everything she knew. But the alternative was keeping her here with Dad and Reacher, and that was out of the question.

“I know, sweetie.” I reached out and grabbed her hand. “Trust me. I know this is sudden, and if there was any other way, we wouldn’t be having this conversation at all.”

She went silent for another moment.

“Do you love him?” she finally asked.

I hesitated. How the hell was I supposed to answer that? Once upon a time, a long time ago, I thought I did. I was convinced he was the one. Then he broke my heart, and the resulting chain of events led me straight back into the life I had tried so hard to leave.

Despite this, it was hard not to feel a flutter of affection when I thought back on the man I remembered. Until that final night, he had been kind, sweet, fun to be around. He’d seemed like a caring guy, someone I had imagined starting a life with.

I pushed those thoughts away. That had been years ago. The man who was dragging me away from here, whether I wanted to go or not, wasn’t the person I had fallen for when we were younger. He was a stranger. A stranger my alpha had just sold me to.

Claire was still waiting for an answer, looking up at me expectantly, her head tilted like a wolf.

“It’s complicated,” I said. “The bottom line is that we don’t have a choice this time. I’ll explain when you’re older. I promise.”

She gave me a defiant look, one that I knew I used to give on any number of occasions, though I wasn’t sure of the last time I had done so. After a moment, though, as if she read my features and could read how torn and reluctant I was about the situation, the fire in her eyes flickered and went out.

“Okay,” Claire said. “When do we leave?”

“Tomorrow,” I said. “After… after the mating ceremony.”

She didn’t say anything as she stared at her shoes. I could see her working through a myriad of emotions. I couldn’t blame her. I’d had hours to process it, and I was nowhere near close to fully grasping the sudden change. I didn’t blame her for being upset. After all, I was.

“All right,” Claire said after a moment. “I’m going to go up to my room for a bit.”

“You do that,” I said gently.

She shuffled away, leaving the rest of the cookies untouched. My heart broke a little as I listened to the stairs creak under her weight. I had dreamed of moving out since coming back here—if Dad would ever allow it. But I had never imagined it would be like this. I didn’t want to uproot my daughter’s entire life and drag her away from everything she knew. But it was either that or leave her alone with Dad and Reacher, and there was no way in hell that was ever going to happen. Not as long as I had anything to say about it.

I could only hope that where we were going would be better than here.