Chapter 2
Halloween
“Feeling alright still?” I asked Chance as we stood in the foyer of our farmhouse.
Outside, the preserve was already hopping with cars and families that had come to the preserve to shift.
Food was being served early, and the potluck was held under the light of the sun this time instead of the full moon.
Several pups ran around in their Halloween costumes, consuming candy at an alarming rate while their parents chased after them.
There was an air of excitement as the sunset drew near.
However, inside the house, it felt like we were going to a funeral.
“I… I’m okay,” Chance said, shaking his head. “Just worried.”
“We’ll head out to the safe house whenever you’re ready,” I replied, patting him on the shoulder.
“If you want to be there well before dark, we can go. It’s all up to you.
Worst-case scenario, I eat leftovers tomorrow instead of getting my fix tonight.
” I glanced down at him. “I hope you understand how much that sentence conveys that I love you.”
He smiled. “I do.” His gaze lifted to mine as those sad puppy eyes came out once more.
"You wanna go right now, don't you?" I asked with a sigh.
"Y-yeah…"
"You owe me so much for this." I poked him in the chest repeatedly. "I wouldn't give up a meal for my own mother, much less anyone else. You're lucky that you're my husband."
"I will personally repay you in any way you see fit."
"I'll make a deal with you." I reached up, wrapping my hand around the back of his neck and pulling him close. "No more secrets. You're allowed to protect me, but not by keeping me in the dark."
He nodded, his breath playing across my lips. "I promise."
I placed a sweet kiss on his cheek. But before I could pull away, Chance wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close, pressing his lips against mine.
I opened up to him out of habit, his tongue swirling around mine.
He was an incredible kisser, and within seconds, I felt my knees buckle underneath me.
However, his strength kept me upright, his muscles bulging against my skin.
When he finally pulled away, I saw that his eyes had turned their Alpha gold once more.
And the scent of his pheromones filling my wolven senses did nothing to quell the raging hard-on fighting against my jeans.
"I thought you wanted to go?" I asked breathlessly.
"There's no way I'd turn down an opportunity to kiss the most beautiful man in the world."
I felt myself swoon even more. "I hate that you're so good to me. It makes it really hard to resist you."
He leaned in close, his lips brushing over my earlobe. "Good. The day you can resist me is the day I'm not doing my job as your Alpha."
"I love this, I really do, but weren't you worried about going feral and killing me a minute ago?"
"Oh yeah…"
"Come on, you big idiot," I said, pressing my forehead to his. "Sunset isn't far off, and you picked the only safe house on the other end of the preserve." I pulled back, giving him another small kiss. "But you're carrying the pack for me."
"What do you need all this for?" he asked, lifting it up from the floor near the front door. "Seems like a lot just to walk me out there and lock me up for the night."
"Oh, I'm not leaving your side," I replied with a smirk. His face fell, and I held my hands up. "Don't worry, I'm going to keep my distance. But I'm not going to leave you alone when you're scared."
"You don't have t–"
"I want to," I said, pressing a finger to his lips to shush him. "And there's no use arguing with me."
He breathed a sigh of relief, as if he'd been trying to hide how truly worried he was. Chance loved to talk a big game, but when it came down to it, he didn't like being alone when he was worried. That's why I stayed at his side, especially when he was upset.
"Thank you," he whispered, wrapping his hand around the back of my neck and kissing my forehead. "I don't deserve you."
"Damn right! You're lucky you caught me before some other handsome wolf snapped me up!"
We both laughed as we headed out of the house. I joked, but I was the lucky one, not Chance. If he hadn't found me… loved me, I don't know where I would have ended up.
Heading out the back gate, we cut into the tall grass and made our way into the woods.
It was surprisingly easy to avoid the pack, but then again, the entire place was overrun with children coked out on sugar, so we were fairly innocuous comparatively.
I secretly whispered a thank you to myself as we disappeared through the tree line.
Having to put up with a hundred kids going insane was definitely not my idea of an enjoyable evening. That I left up to their parents.
As soon as we entered the woods, the sounds of the preserve faded away behind us.
Under the canopy, it was already twilight, the sounds of the night coming on slowly.
My wolf senses perked up, the scent of damp leaves and compost thick in the air.
There was a sense of peace and tranquility there.
I often ran to the woods on the preserve whenever I needed a break from the pressures of running the pack.
When I could, I brought Chance along with me.
Instinctively, I grabbed his hand, lacing our fingers together as we walked under the trees.
All the world fell away when we were there, and today was no different.
For a long while, we just walked, our feet barely disturbing the damp leaves.
Autumn had come on quickly, and there was already quite a chill in the air.
The entire preserve was aflame with the colors of fall, a golden blanket of leaves coating the forest floor.
No matter how long I’d been in Marquette, I just couldn’t get used to this sudden flash of beauty as the year came to a close.
It was thrilling and fleeting, but I couldn’t think of a time I loved more.
Recently, when I wasn’t taking care of my pack duties, I found myself sitting out in the trees with my laptop, writing away as a thermos of tea steamed quietly beside me.
I couldn’t think of a time I’d felt more inspired or so happy.
I glanced up at Chance, his green eyes shifting to mine. It was hard to be grumpy when you got everything you ever wanted and more. I stopped, pulling him back, so that he was facing me.
“I hope you know how much I love you,” I said, looking up at him.
He lifted an eyebrow. “Where’s all this coming from?”
“Nowhere,” I replied with a shrug. “I just wanted you to know.” I reached up, placing my hand on his cheek. “You gave me the life I’ve always wanted and more. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“You built your own life,” he said, wrapping his hand around my waist. “You wrote the books, you built the coffee shop, and you are the one that does such a great job helping me lead this pack. The only thing I did was date you.”
“Maybe that’s all I needed…”
“I’m happy to be your muse,” he muttered, pulling me close. “And your foundation when you need one.”
“I love you, Chance.”
“I love you t–”
Chance froze, his face suddenly pale. He reached up, gripping his chest, a fearful look on his face.
“Chance? What’s wrong?!”
His eyes glazed over, the irises turning gold in an instant.
He swiveled his head up toward a gap in the canopy.
Following his gaze, I felt my heart sink.
The sun had set without us noticing, and the sky was growing dark.
Even though the last golds of the day were still visible, the full moon was already high in the sky.
“K-Kael,” Chance stammered, his voice deepening. “You have to run.”
“I’m not leaving you here!”
I felt the growl reverberate in the air around me.
“I said run…”
There was something about the tone of his voice that made my whole body tingle with fear. Still, I felt stuck in place, my feet glued to the ground. It wasn’t until I heard his bones begin to crack that I felt my fight or flight finally take over.
I took a few steps back, watching the nightmarish scene play out before me.
Usually, shifts were smooth and took mere seconds from beginning to end.
Sure, it hurt the first couple of times as a pup, but eventually, the pain went away, and shifting became just as second nature as walking or breathing.
Letting the wolf out was almost a relief in most cases, giving me a break from the racing thoughts of my human mind.
But this was different. I watched as Chance’s body swelled, his muscles bulging as he strained against his own skin.
Instead of shifting downward into his wolf form, his body arched backward, and his head craned up at the sky.
As the last remnants of sunset faded away, they were replaced by the bright orange light of the full moon shining down upon us both.
My own wolf senses surged, but nothing could pull me away as Chance’s body rearranged itself.
His arms grew longer, his fingers extending into dark claws.
His bones elongated, and the clothing covering his body tore away, shredding into a pile of nothing around his feet.
Fur sprouted from his pores, his chest and arms thickening until it looked as if he could snap a tree in half with his bare hands.
A long muzzle sprouted from his face, his gaping maw full of fangs, the tall, pointed ears accentuating his wolfish visage.
Leo hadn’t been kidding. What stood in front of me looked neither wolf nor human, but somewhere in between.
Like a monster out of a Hollywood movie, Chance heaved and panted.
He stood on dog-like legs, his massive paws digging into the wet leaves.
He hunched forward, his knuckles nearly dragging on the ground.
For a moment, he just stood there, trying to recover from the transformation.