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CHAPTER TWO

JAKE

Elena.

My heart squeezes as my eyes lock on hers, and I blink to clear my vision. Either the bright cage lights are making me see things that aren’t there, or I’m so nervous that I’m hallucinating.

Elena is supposed to be in Boston — at least, that’s what Raf told me. But when I open my eyes, I see her standing there, and everything else melts away.

The cage.

The crowd.

My opponent.

Suddenly, none of it seems to matter one bit. My whole world narrows to her .

What the hell is Elena doing here of all places? She can’t have come all this way to see my fight — not after the way I left things.

Last I heard, she had a shifter boyfriend that Raf didn’t approve of. But maybe they broke up.

Before I can let myself get too excited by that prospect, the ref yells “fight” to begin the match, and I yank myself back to reality.

My opponent stalks toward me, and beneath the permanent stench of old sweat and blood that coats the cage mat, I catch his feline scent. He’s not as tall as me, but he’s got a thicker build. I also know from watching his fights that the dude is fast as fuck.

His golden eyes are rimmed with black as we circle one another — the only sign that his lion is close to the surface. His ebony skin glistens with sweat, but his breathing is controlled.

I want this fight to be over quickly, so I throw out an experimental jab. The mountain lion slips my punch effortlessly and comes back with a cross of his own. I parry his strike and turn with a side kick that sends him sailing back.

The big cat recovers almost instantaneously and launches himself at me. I keep my hands up and weather his hailstorm of punches, but my head isn’t in the fight.

Of all the people I thought might show up tonight, I never expected to see Elena. And yet here she is, watching my fight. My wolf whines in delight.

My opponent dodges my sloppy left hook, circling out with a bizarre expression. Shifters are sensitive to one another’s energy, and I know I must be putting out some super-weird vibes. I’m anxious and horny and beside myself with longing.

Focus, Carson. Focus.

This fight is a crucial stepping stone on my path toward the title, but I’m finding it hard to care.

The mountain lion dances in for another attack — an impressive combo that culminates in a roundhouse kick to the body. I reach down instinctively to capture his leg, driving him into the cage wall. The whole thing rattles as he hits the chain-link panel, catching me with a knee to the chest.

I grunt and dig in with a strike to his liver, but the bastard doesn’t even seem to feel it. Heat stings my cheek as his fist grazes the side of my face, and I pummel him back.

The horn blows, signaling the end of the round, and I stagger to my corner. I can see Coach’s lips moving as he shoots water into my mouth, his eyes wide and animated as he explains what he wants me to do.

I’m only half listening. My every thought is consumed with her .

Elena at my twenty-first birthday, her face lit by the glow of candles as she beamed up at me and stole the breath from my lungs.

It took me two tries to blow out my candles.

Elena under the glittering streamers at her sweet sixteen, eyes full of expectation.

Elena standing on tiptoe, smelling like coconut, as her small hands curled around my shoulders.

Elena’s lips pressing against mine as soft as a butterfly’s wings.

I shake my head and get to my feet a second before the horn blares. The mountain lion stalks toward me looking more feline than ever, and my body moves on autopilot as I deflect each of his strikes.

When I counter, I throw as much power behind my punches as I can muster. I want to end this fight so I can get down there and see if it’s really her.

My kick to the guy’s head stuns him briefly, and I follow it up with a punishing combination that drives him back to the cage wall. The crowd goes wild, but my wolf doesn’t preen. He’s completely focused on eliminating the threat.

My opponent surges forward, trying to take me down, but then my fist flies out of its own accord and connects cleanly with his jaw.

I see the light leave his eyes a split second before he drops to the mat like a sack of potatoes. The ref yells at me to step back, and my wolf bristles at the man’s sudden proximity.

The mountain lion doesn’t stir as the ref counts it out.

One.

Two.

Three.

The crowd explodes in a deafening storm of cheers, boos, whistles, and claps. The wolves are celebrating, the big cats are sore, and I don’t care about any of it.

I barely have the patience to stand there and acknowledge my victory as someone yanks my arm into the air. Two shifters I don’t know bound into the cage, and Coach pulls me into a hug that’s more backslap than embrace.

I was considered the underdog in this fight, which is why my win is such a big deal.

I stagger out of the cage, blinded by the lights, and search the shadowy faces in the crowd for hers. The rest of my team tackles me before I make it off the steps, and I’m dragged forward into the sea of bodies and noise.

I think I grin, but I’m moving in a daze. Then I see Raf, and behind him is . . .

Her.

She’s even more beautiful than I remember — golden skin, dark eyes, glossy black hair, and lush pink lips that have haunted me for years. She’s petite enough to tuck under my arm.

When she sees me, her lips part slightly, and a hard look passes through those chocolate-brown eyes. The look is gone as soon as I see it, replaced by a congratulatory smile.

“Congrats, bro,” Raf hollers, throwing an arm around my shoulders and slapping me on the back.

“Thanks, man.”

Elena’s friend Carmen appears behind Raf. “You were . . . scary . And amazing. Scary amazing.”

A chuckle rumbles through me, and I grin at Carmen. Elena shoots her friend an annoyed look and finally meets my gaze.

“Hey, Lena,” I say, my voice softening automatically the way it used to whenever I talked to her.

It started because she was Raf’s little sister — five years younger than me. Even when I was eight or nine, I felt intensely protective of her.

“Hey, Jake.”

My smile widens. “Long time no see.”

I have to hold back a grimace at my own lame greeting. Long time no see?

Elena gives me a squinty sideways look, but I catch the twinkle in her eyes.

“What are you doing here?” I ask. “Shouldn’t you be in Boston?”

“She’s here for Carmen’s wedding ,” says Raf, his voice dripping with disapproval. “I told her it wasn’t a good idea.”

“Will you tell him he’s being ridiculous?” Elena cuts in, crossing her arms over her chest and drawing my eyes to her perky little breasts.

I clear my throat and look away. In that moment, it’s as though no time has passed. Raf and Elena are still bickering. Raf is still trying to control her life. The two of them were always putting me in the middle.

Raf probably assumes I’ll take his side. He thinks I see Elena as a little sister.

For years I told myself that was all I felt — that platonic, brotherly love. But the night Elena kissed me in her living room, that illusion was shattered forever.

“I don’t know,” I say slowly. “There are gonna be a lot of wolves there.”

I don’t voice the second part of that statement, but the spike of irritation I sense from Elena is so intense that I might as well have.

Elena is human.

She’s always resented the way Rafael treats her, which is why I choose my next words carefully. “But Elena’s a big girl,” I say to Raf. “I’m sure she can handle herself.”

Raf shakes his head and drags a hand through his hair, which is the same raven black as his sister’s. “I don’t like it.”

Of course he doesn’t.

Rafael is an alpha, and alphas like to control everything. It’s the reason he went from being her big brother to being her prison warden as soon as he came of age.

“I’d feel a lot better if one of us was there . . .” Raf continues.

Suddenly, it’s as if a lightbulb has just gone off in his head. “ You should go with her. ”

“What?” Elena and I speak at the exact same time. Our eyes meet, and we both look away.

“A bunch of your pack brothers will be there,” he says. “And I can’t go.”

“You’re not invited,” Carmen grumbles.

Rafael ignores her. “It would look like I’m trying to exert my authority as alpha, since the wedding’s in my territory.”

“Not to mention that bringing your brother as your date to a wedding is super fucking weird,” Carmen adds.

“Raf, stop,” Elena snaps, stepping between me and her brother. “I don’t need a bodyguard. It’s just a wedding. Besides . . . maybe I already have a plus-one.”

Inside, my wolf lets out a low growl. He can’t stand the thought of Elena walking in with another man on her arm.

“Better not be that Derek fucker,” Raf grumbles.

“He is going to be there,” says Carmen in that annoying, teasing voice of hers. “He’s Rowan’s best man.”

My wolf gives a menacing snarl. Derek is the shifter guy Elena was dating around the time she had her accident.

“Do you already have a plus-one?” Raf asks his sister.

“No.”

She sounds a little disappointed at the admission, but my wolf relaxes.

“Perfect,” says Raf, clapping his hands together. “You can take Jake.”

A mixture of horror, embarrassment, and anger flits across Elena’s face. “I’m not taking Jake!” She glances awkwardly in my direction. “I already told you I don’t need a chaperone. Anyway, I’ll be busy Thursday through Sunday. I’m sure Jake has better things to do than babysit me all weekend.”

I cringe inwardly at her use of the word “babysit,” but I guess it’s not reasonable for her to consider it a date.

“Nope,” I say quickly, smiling despite my disappointment. “No plans.”

Raf raises his eyebrows at Elena as if to say all their problems are solved.

Heat blooms on her cheeks, and I can scent the frustration pouring off her. It’s a little insulting, but I’m so excited by the prospect of an entire weekend with Elena that it’s difficult to care.

“I’ll go,” I say before this can escalate into World War III. “I love weddings.” Not true. “It’ll be fun.” Possibly true — if Elena can loosen up and see me as something other than her chaperone.

She crosses her arms and lets out a petulant huff.

“Either you go with Jake, or you don’t go at all,” says Raf.

“You aren’t my keeper,” Elena protests. “You don’t get to tell me what to do anymore.”

Raf lifts his eyebrows in warning. “You want to test that theory?”

A chilling silence passes between them. I’m simultaneously disgusted and impressed that Raf is threatening to use alpha command — disgusted, because it essentially strips away a person’s free will, and impressed that he’s never tried to use it on Elena before now.

Raf’s been threatening to use alpha command on his sister since she got her first boyfriend, but it was always just a threat. None of us even knows if it works on humans .

Elena’s nostrils flare with anger, and she gives Raf a look that would make any lesser man back down. But the Garcias are a stubborn bunch.

“Fine,” Elena grits out.

It takes every ounce of my self-control not to thrust my fist in the air and whoop.

Elena turns to look at me. “Can you get off early on Thursday? Carmen’s bachelorette party starts at eight, and I need to get to the hotel and make sure everything’s ready.”

I nod. “Pick you up at three.”

“Sounds good,” Elena sighs. She looks as though Raf is forcing her to eat a bowl of sand for dinner, but I’m too stoked to mind.

A whole weekend with Elena? My wolf can hardly believe our luck.