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ASPEN

Since I was already alone, and nowhere near brave enough to venture outside on my own, I pulled on the robe and walked around the apartment.

To be honest, it was beautiful. There was real, rough stone all over the place. The headboard was modern and metal, both simple and sturdy. The duvet was dark gray, and the sheets were too.

The bathroom was modern but rustic-style, with that ginormous shower and an equally huge bathtub.

The kitchen was large, with nice wooden cabinets, a gorgeous red brick backsplash, and white stone countertops. A few dishes sat in the sink, making me think Enzo had cooked for himself, rather than eating with the rest of his pack like most Alphas. When I opened the fridge, I found it full of leftovers and ingredients, including raw meat that wasn’t expired yet. That confirmed my suspicions.

The dishwasher was full of clean dishes, though about half of them had been pulled out. Maybe he didn’t like to unload the dishes all at once, and just used them as he needed them.

Hmm.

Not a particularly attractive habit, but I had never dated anyone, so I didn’t have anyone except Fletcher to compare him to. Maybe most guys did that. Fletcher and I split the housework equally, but we both ate with the pack rather than cooking for ourselves most of the time.

The kitchen counters weren’t dirty, but they weren’t clean. Neither were the floors.

Which meant he probably didn’t let anyone in to clean his room. That was different. Fletch and I didn’t have a cleaner because of my scent, but everyone else in the Creek Pack had their space cleaned by the paid service.

At the far side of the kitchen, I noticed a door that led out to a small porch, with a large, outdoor rocking chair and direct forest access. When I checked it, I found it locked from both sides, so I couldn’t leave that way. But it would be nice for when I wanted to shift and run. If I was allowed to.

While I obviously wasn’t considering the king my future mate, I also wasn’t sure how I’d be able to get out of the situation. Given the size and speed of the Savage brothers, Fletcher and his pack had no chance. Not even a little. And none of them would fight for me, except my brother. And maybe Lucas, the Beta who was sort of in love with me.

He was the one person I didn’t want to fight for me.

Our adopted parents would come out to defend me if Fletcher asked them to, but considering the mess in our past, neither of us would let them go against the king. The last thing either of us wanted was for more of the people we loved to get hurt, or worse.

But if I was going to stop Fletcher from doing something extreme when he got Enzo’s gift basket and wedding invitation, I needed to talk to him.

Which required a phone.

I started to search Enzo’s apartment, looking for his. I was crossing my fingers that he’d left the device inside, even if that seemed unlikely.

His closet was bigger than I expected, and mostly empty. On hangers, Enzo had two pairs of jeans, and two button-up shirts that still had tags on them. There were a couple of white tank tops, one black t-shirt, and two long-sleeved tees with the names of bands I didn’t recognize. Those both looked old and very worn.

Tucked away on a shelf, I noticed two pairs of brand-new shoes.

In the custom-made dresser, I found a drawer full of folded boxer-briefs that still smelled like a store, having clearly never been used. A drawer of new socks, too. The only clothes that actually looked like they’d been through the wash were three drawers of unfolded sweatpants in shades of gray, black, and navy.

I wandered back to the bedroom and opened the nightstand drawers. When I found a phone in one of them that was empty otherwise, I barely held back a cheer.

Except when I tried to turn it on, it was dead.

Dammit.

I looked through the rest of the nightstand drawers, but no charger appeared.

Guess the Alpha really didn’t have a use for a phone.

I had nothing else to do, and no way to even tell what time it was, so I spent the next little while digging through bathroom drawers and cupboards, hoping I’d find a charger.

Nothing was organized. It was chaos. He obviously purchased the things he liked in bulk and just tossed the extras in the cabinets, because the stuff was literally in grocery bags, just piled on top of each other.

I itched to organize it as I looked through, but that would make it seem way too much like I was interested in him or trying to make his life easier or something. I wasn’t. I just wanted to call my brother before he got himself or the rest of our family killed.

With a frustrated huff, I sat back on my heels after I finished looking through the last of the stuff.

I’d gone through everything else, except…

The kitchen.

My robe was abandoned at the foot of the bed, so I made my way into the kitchen in my sports bra and spandex shorts. When I found a charger in the back of a drawer, I almost let out a whoop of victory.

It would take a few minutes to get the phone to start again, so I plugged it in and headed for the shower. Might as well get clean myself more thoroughly, if I wasn’t hiding anymore.

I grabbed the robe on my way, tossing it back on the hook. Now that I knew every single item in the room, I was actually feeling pretty comfortable there. That would change if the Alpha was with me, of course, but it was nice not to be worried for the moment.

Stepping toward an overflowing clothes hamper, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and froze.

Turning quickly, I surveyed my appearance.

The blood drained slowly from my face as I lifted my hand to my throat. To the scars the Alpha had left there. They weren’t raised. They weren’t dark red, either. They were just pink enough that there was no way anyone could deny what they were.

An Alpha’s claim.

Not the mark of a deep wound, or a cruel cut, but one left in a place that everyone in their right mind would call barbaric. Right across my throat, where no one could miss them. Even the highest turtleneck would show a little of the markings.

Emotions flooded me. I didn’t have names for them. Sadness? Anger? Overwhelm? Fear? Hurt? Relief?

I wasn’t sure.

I didn’t have to hide anymore. That was a massive weight off my shoulders. I didn’t have to hold back the truth about what I was, or keep everyone at a distance.

But I wasn’t free. Not free to be myself, or free to live how I wanted. I still couldn’t date. I still couldn’t have my own place, or wander a grocery store without worrying about the way I smelled, or get a job away from an Alpha.

I was just trapped in a different way, now.

Unless Enzo changed his mind.

Considering he was at the very top of the food chain, I would probably die if I tried to make him change his mind. That wasn’t a risk I should take.

But maybe I could push him just a little, to see how he reacted and where we stood. To see if I could wiggle my way into a little freedom.

I’d have to play along at first, of course. Wear his clothes. Follow his orders. Do what he wanted, to a reasonable extent. My wolf didn’t like to obey anyone, but she had seemed unsure enough of the Alpha that I hoped she would go along with it.

“We’re going to play along with what he wants until we know whether or not he’s going to kill us,” I whispered, lifting my fingers to touch the pink skin on my throat.

She yawned.

Shit.

Not a good sign.

“His own brother said he would kill us if we got in his way,” I whispered, frustration rising. “He’s more beast than man. He’s not safe. We need to be careful.”

She snapped her teeth.

Fuck.

She didn’t want to play nice. Not even with the Alpha King. She had to be losing her shit, because she had never gone against my plan to keep us safe before.

“Please?” I nearly begged.

She plopped down on her belly, and dropped her head on top of her paws.

I groaned.

Enzo was totally going to kill us.

After a quick shower, I dried off in my—well, Enzo’s—robe, inhaling deeply.

My chest rumbled with my wolf’s happiness.

No more stinky, human chemical perfumes.

No more hiding.

I padded back to the phone, and immediately realized my conundrum.

I didn’t have the passcode.

My hope deflated instantly.

I tried a few simple passcodes.

0000

1111

2222

4444

7777

9999

1234

1212

It locked me out of the phone for five minutes after that last one.

I let out a frustrated huff and dropped the now-useless device on the countertop. A shit ton of messages appeared on the screen a minute later, though, and that caught my attention.

I scrolled through the newest ones. It looked like a group conversation, though it didn’t tell me the names of who he was messaging, just their phone numbers.

I opened all of the messages it showed and scrolled through from bottom to top, so I could read the conversation from start to end. Or the portion of it on the screen, at least.

Unknown

That fucker probably doesn’t even know where his phone is

Unknown

I tracked it last week and it said it had been offline for four months

Unknown

If he’s going to force the princess to mate with him, the least he could do is stay around to help deal with the fallout

If I get one more text about whether or not we’re allowing groupies now, I’m going to lose it

AND THERE IT IS

Unknown

Just ignore them

Unknown

If I ignore them, they will track me down

Unknown

Stop being so nice

Unknown

I’M NOT NICE, DAMMIT

And I’m already getting threatening phone calls from her brother. Apparently he tracked her phone

This shit is not good

If he’s going to mate with her, he needs to do it now, before someone challenges him. The last thing we need is more bloodshed

Where the fuck is he?

Unknown

I think he’s meeting with a few enforcers about the rogue pack on the north side of the forest. He’d just gotten out of bed when you showed up with the princess, and you know he was out there for days

Enforcers weren’t technically a ranking of wolves. In large packs, they were just guys who worked under the Alpha trio. They were usually in charge of smaller groups of wolves or assigned to specific roles, to help keep things running smoothly. Fletcher had a few of them in the Creek Pack.

Unknown

How many wolves are left?

Unknown

We’re not sure

At least a few dozen. It was the biggest rogue pack we’d ever seen

Unknown

Fuck

Who’s out there now?

Unknown

Yates and Johns

He’s sending a handful of others out too

Unkown

It’s a miracle that he’s sending anyone instead of taking over himself again

Unknown

The wolf probably doesn’t want to be away from her long, I’m sure you saw him in Enzo’s eyes. He’s the one who claimed her. Don’t know what the man thinks about it

Unknown

Enzo’s probably pissed

Unknown

Probably

Unknown

Her brother is calling me again

Fuck me

Unknown

I’ll pass

I couldn’t help my snort at the shitty joke, even though I was already heading toward the door.

I had no idea what they meant when they were talking about rogues, but I was the only one who could talk Fletcher out of coming after me. And coming after me could get him killed.

My hand was an inch away from the doorknob when I realized I wasn’t wearing anything but the robe.

Crap .

I made a quick pitstop in the closet for one of the worn, long-sleeve tees, and nearly tripped over my own feet as I yanked a pair of boxer-briefs up my legs on my way out of the room.

My feet and legs were bare as I stumbled out of the room, settling my shorts on my hips.

I stopped just outside when I realized there were multiple men in the hallway just outside, watching the door.

Waiting.

Or were they guarding me?

I scanned them quickly.

They didn’t look like guards. None of them were wolfed out, and they were fully dressed.

The Alpha’s phone was still clutched in my hand, probably at 10% battery or less. His brothers were still texting, too, so it vibrated twice.

“Do any of you have a phone I can borrow?” I asked the guys.

One of them inhaled deeply.

The others were sniffing the air more sneakily.

All of their eyes went wide.

“I’ll answer all of your questions if you let me borrow your phone. Please. My family is in danger.” I was nearly begging them, but I didn’t care.

They didn’t answer.

My wolf growled, vibrating my chest.

She parted her jaws in a snarl.

She thought they needed to answer to us. That we were going to mate with their Alpha, which was just as good as being their Alpha.

I tried to squash her down, and she snapped her teeth at me.

“You belong to the Alpha,” one of the guys said, his voice only slightly apologetic. “If we help you, we’re siding against him. And siding against him is never a good idea.”

My wolf roared.

My eyes widened, and I rubbed at my chest.

“You can borrow mine, if you ask him to let us have groupies here,” one of the guys offered.

I wasn’t promising to ask him anything.

Enzo already disliked me, scarred my throat with his claws, and announced to his brothers that he was forcing me to mate with him.

Reasoning with him didn’t seem like it was even possible.

“Just point me in the direction of where his brother works. The nice one. Clay,” I said.

Multiple sets of eyebrows lifted.

Someone asked, “You think Clay is the nice one?”

“Where is he?” I demanded, my wolf throwing her weight into the words.

She wanted out.

I could feel it.

Now that shifting wasn’t risky, she wanted to be free, and she wanted it soon. As soon as our family was safe, because she couldn’t make that happen.

“Two minutes down the hall. Room 105. Red door. Can’t miss it,” someone blurted.

I didn’t thank them as I took off at a run. My tits were bouncing, and my hair had made my shirt so wet that everyone could probably see my nipples through the fabric, but I didn’t give a damn. It wasn’t like the men hadn’t seen breasts before.

And my brother—my best and only friend—was in danger.

I found the red door quickly, and threw it open without knocking.

“Yes, Fletcher, I understand that you’re angry.” Clay sounded annoyed, his voice coming from a room attached to the small waiting area I’d found myself in.

This was not good.

He was the nice brother, but he was still part of the king trio.

I rushed through the waiting room and into the office, ignoring the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door.

“Right, but—” Clay cut himself as his eyes widened at the sight of me. “Tell me you haven’t been wearing that through the Lodge.”

“Give me the phone.” I held out my hand.

“No, Fletcher, not you. Your sister is here. I told you, she’s fine.”

I leaned over the desk, and his eyes went straight to my tits.

They definitely weren’t hidden.

He put in a bit of a battle, but after a moment of reluctance, let me take the phone from him.

“Hey, Fletch.” I was breathless.

“What the fuck happened?” he snarled into the phone. “You were supposed to be careful. I?—”

“I was careful. The Savages’ noses just work too well. Hunter found me on the trail, and he realized exactly what I was. Their mother was a born wolf shifter.”

Clay pinched his nose. “That’s not supposed to be shared, Princess.”

“Did that fucker just call you Princess?” Fletcher demanded.

“Yeah. It’s fine. Don’t tell anyone about their mom. And really, no one has hurt me. I’m safe. Kind of safe, at least. The Alpha—the king—he thinks he can force me to marry him. He’s going to keep people away from me. They’re all afraid of him.”

“He never said force ,” Clay grumbled.

“If that fucker touches you, he dies.”

“You’ve met him, Fletch. You know you can’t win that fight. Anyone who’s met him knows they can’t win that fight. I don’t even think his brothers can win that fight, and they’re just as big as him. You can’t fight us out of this.”

“Aspen…” his voice was raw.

Desperate.

We were all each other had. And had been, for years.

My gaze flicked to Clay, who was eyeing me with something that looked a little like approval.

“Please keep the people we love away. Tell them, but don’t let them interfere. I’ll find a way out of this. Enzo doesn’t seem to like me. I’ll make him like me less.”

He growled. “I can’t leave you there and do nothing, Aspen. He could kill you.”

“Better me than the rest of our family.”

He was quiet for a minute.

A long minute.

“I would trade myself for you in a heartbeat,” he said, pain in his voice.

“I know. I love you.”

“I love you too. Tell them I’ll be visiting or sending my Beta, every day, to make sure you’re still alive.”

Shit.

I bit the inside of my cheek. “I don’t think Lucas is a great idea.”

“Why not?”

I nearly groaned.

Guess I should’ve told him earlier that his closest friend was interested in me.

I turned away from Clay and lowered my voice. “Just ask him how he feels about me. Enzo might want to kill him if he finds out. If the king is possessive.”

“He’s a wolf, and he’s the fucking king. He’s going to be possessive. I don’t see what that has to do with Lucas, though.”

Clay cleared his throat.

My time was over.

“Just ask him. I have to go, okay? I love you,” I repeated. “Don’t come by every day. Don’t send anyone. I’ll text you and let you know when it’s safe.”

“Fine. Be careful.”

I hung up the phone and handed it back to Clay, fighting to control my emotions again.

“If there’s another male involved, Enzo will need to know. The other man will die if he finds out when the guy is here,” Clay warned.

“Can we avoid it even if I tell him first?” I countered.

Clay lifted a shoulder. “Depends how serious it was.”

“We aren’t together. He has a harmless crush on me.”

“Then he might survive.”

I groaned, collapsing in the chair on the other side of his desk. “This is insane. Enzo wants me to, what, breed the next generation of Savages for him? Then what? Mating is permanent. Is he going to lock me up like your mother? Am I?—”

“Don’t even fucking suggest that,” Clay said, his blue eyes flashing and his voice straining. I watched closely, waiting for his wolf to show through, but he kept his beast suppressed carefully. “We are not our father. No one will ever be locked up.”

“You literally told me he might kill me earlier.” I tossed a hand in the general direction of his room, where we’d been when the conversation happened. “And he said I have to stay in his room.”

“Do you want the truth, Princess?”

“I am not a princess,” I growled back, my wolf rising on her haunches.

She didn’t like this Gamma—or Beta—talking down to her. Whatever he was, he wasn’t her mate.

“Well, the truth is that I don’t know why my brother announced that he wanted to mate with you. I can’t read his mind. No one can. His wolf seems to have decided he wants you, and in this city, his wolf is judge, jury, and executioner. Without Enzo, this place would’ve been overrun with rogue and rabid wolves decades ago. It nearly was when our dad was in charge.”

He leaned forward, his eyes brightening. I forced myself not to lean away. “The things he’s had to do—the things all of us have had to do—would give you nightmares. So yes, compared to us, you are a princess. Your brother kept you safe in a tower while we fought, bled, and killed for this city. Enzo even more than the rest of us, while he fights to maintain and grow the biggest pack this world has ever seen.”

“So if my brother’s wolf wants you as his mate, I’m going to make it happen. If he wants your head on a platter, roasted to medium-rare for dinner, I’ll throw you in the pan myself. Because yeah, you’re a special, born-female wolf, but this city can’t survive without him. None of us can. If you want to try to make him hate you, go ahead. The only person it hurts is you.” He leaned back in his seat, apparently done with the lecture.

My wolf was officially intrigued.

And I was officially in deep, deep shit.

So much deeper than I’d realized.

Hell, maybe I was drowning in shit. Because as far as I could see, there was no way out.

Suddenly, I could understand why the men in the hallway all looked surprised when I said Clay was the nice one. He was friendly on the outside, but when it came down to it, he was the one who would stab you in the back. Enzo wouldn’t bother with the bullshit. You’d see him coming when he killed you.

So, when Clay held his hand out for his and Enzo’s phones, I gave them to him.

And when he pointed me down the hall, back toward the Alpha’s apartment, I walked.

Live to fight another day and all that, right?

My wolf growled the whole way back to his apartment, but I would figure out what her issue was.

Hopefully before she made the Alpha kill us.