Chapter 1
Evan
PRESENT DAY
Alot of things had changed over the past thirteen years. The most notable being my standing in the pack.
When Danny had returned last year and officially announced that he wouldn’t ever take the leadership role again, all of us betas had realised the same thing.
A spot would be open in the inner circle.
Technically, it had existed since the attack that had claimed Danny’s family, leading to him walking away from the clan.
Thanks to the deal he’d struck with the council, we’d all expected him to return at some point.
Well, we had. Knowing Finn, Logan, and Calan as I now did, I didn’t think any of them had expected it.
None of them thought he’d risk taking a mate after what he’d been through.
But love, and life, had other plans for Danny.
Ones that involved him handing over his heart and claiming his human best friend, Riley, as the other half of his soul.
Shifters didn’t have fated mates, but you wouldn’t know that if you spent any time around the two of them.
I’d wondered why the inner circle hadn’t filled his spot earlier, given none of them expected him to come back to claim it, but I think Finn had held out hope.
He and Danny had been best friends growing up.
Letting go of the idea of him returning and casting someone else in the empty spot…
I think it was too difficult for him to do.
With Danny and Riley’s visit last year and the events that had followed, our former leader had formally ceded power to Finlay. Over a century of uncertainty had been settled in one very traumatic day. Everyone knew now who was in charge.
But to us betas in training? It meant so much more.
It meant a spot was open for one of us to rise into.
A more arrogant wolf would’ve taken being sent to the summit all those years ago as a sign that I was a shoo-in. But I wasn’t that arrogant.
And I also wasn’t leaving anything to chance.
Training kicked up several notches as the sense of competition grew. I barely slept, resting only when my wolf demanded it. I ran until I was the fastest. Sparred until no one was able to take me down.
But there was something else I did that I think gave me the edge I needed.
I studied.
I might not have been the best student as a kid, but I didn’t have the same motivation back then. Being chosen for the inner circle was an honour.
An honour I desperately wanted.
Knowing they were recruiting someone to be a diplomatic peacekeeper, I pored over every text I could get my hands on.
I memorised the history of not only our clan, but the ones nearest to us too.
I traced the lineage of the alphas back through the centuries.
I studied the changing boundary lines, noting how the dates coincided with either wars or treaties.
I didn’t stop there.
I travelled to the library over at the University of Edinburgh. I read everything I could about diplomacy and negotiation. Management and tribal dynamics. I soaked up every drop, trying to prepare myself for any potential situation.
I even tagged along after Calan, hoping to learn more about his role as enforcer. He answered my questions. He was grumpy about it, but once he got talking, he gave me more information than I could’ve hoped for.
Logan was an easier nut to crack in terms of getting him to chat.
Finding out about his role was trickier.
As the spy for the clan, he was used to keeping his cards close to his chest. While he’d been happy to prepare me for the summit way back when, it was evident that there was a lot he wasn’t willing to share outside the inner circle.
Learning that only made me more desperate to be a part of it.
In the end, it came down to myself and my two best friends—Hamish and Brodie. It hadn’t been decided in a battle, but through a series of intense interviews with each of the current members.
Finlay had asked us how we’d respond to various hypothetical scenarios covering everything from settling clan disputes to representing the McCarthys at events. Given I had experience with the latter, it was a topic I was relieved had come up.
Meanwhile, Calan’s questions had focused on how we’d protect the clan from various forms of attack. He’d grilled us on the details, finding the potential pitfalls in our suggestions before making us come up with countermeasures.
By the time I got to Logan, my mind was reeling. I felt like I’d been put through the wringer. And, while Logan might have been the most approachable member of the inner circle, he was also the most terrifying.
Something he seemed determined to prove by staring straight at me throughout my interview.
That’s right. Logan didn’t actually interview me. He partially shifted until just his claws were on display and proceeded to sharpen them while staring at me.
For. Three. Whole. Hours.
Whatever test that was meant to be, I must’ve passed. The next day, my name was the one announced. I was formally inducted into the inner circle later that night.
To their credit, neither Hamish nor Brodie held my success against me. They celebrated my win, taking their losses on the chin.
“If it had to be anyone, I’m glad it was you.” That was what Hamish had said. Brodie had nodded in agreement, but that wasn’t a shock. He was a wolf of few words—even fewer than Calan, which was saying something.
I was the youngest beta to be assigned to the inner circle since Finlay himself. It was indeed an honour, just as I’d hoped. Sitting in on that first meeting had been the proudest day of my life.
Several months later, and I was still incredibly proud to be a part of it. However, I could safely say that our meetings didn’t always go the way I’d once imagined. It wasn’t so much dignified discussion and debate as it was…well, carnage.
All it’d take was egos to clash, usually between Logan and Calan, and the next thing I knew there’d be blood spraying and furniture broken.
How Finn hadn’t pulled his hair out before now, I’d never understand.
I’d known going in that my role was to be a peacekeeper; that had been made clear during the selection process.
I hadn’t realised I’d need to use those skills on the inner circle too.
What was happening today though, was new. Brand spanking new. Finn was opening up to us.
Willingly.
Calan hadn’t had to threaten him. I hadn’t had to kindly encourage him. Logan hadn’t teased him in any way.
He’d just ended the meeting and started talking. About a man he’d met recently. A human who he suspected was in danger. Finn was proposing that he guard this human until he could be certain of his safety.
Let me be clear—not a single one of us had an issue with this. But knowing why Finn cared so much? That we were very interested in.
It wasn’t going the way I suspected Finn had hoped—short and sweet. Mainly thanks to the conversation being derailed several times by both Logan and Calan.
I’d managed to drag us back on course, but even I hadn’t been able to resist joining in on the teasing when Logan accused Finn of having a crush.
I couldn’t help it. I’d never seen Finn…
flustered before. Like the others, I wanted to know more about whichever human had our leader tying himself in knots.
All supes love a bit of good tea. And this tea? It was Twinings’ fucking finest.
Tapping my fingers against my chin, I addressed Calan. “Has Finn ever brought a human up like this before?”
“Never.” Calan grinned widely. “Nor a supe. Definitely not stalked anyone either, as far as I know.”
Finn sighed. “Are you all done?”
“Nope.” Logan hopped off the desk. “And apparently, neither are you. Live in denial all ye want, Finn, but don’t lie to yourself.”
Finn gritted his teeth. “I’m not. I just want to make sure he’s safe.”
Sure. From how Calan covered his laugh with a cough, he believed that as much as I did. He might not have been able to admit it, but we all knew Finn wanted to be the one to guard the human. It was honestly adorable.
Logan gave Finn a smile—one that generally made others run in the opposite direction. “Okay, so have Evan watch him.”
A low growl rattled up from Finn’s chest. “Absolutely not.”
Not in denial, my arse. I saluted Finn lazily from my chair. “Thanks for the ringing endorsement, chief.”
Finn winced. “I’m not saying you’re not capable, but you’re very new to this role and—”
“So send me or Logan,” Calan interjected. “Unless there’s a reason why it has to be you specifically?”
Logan stretched. “Sounds fun! I could do with some new eye candy, seeing as none of you fuckers do anything for me.”
I bit back a groan. Come on, Finn. He’s baiting you.
Finn wasn’t rising to it, but he was close. He was white-knuckling the arms of his chair while his entire body vibrated.
Then Logan winked. “After I save him, maybe he’ll be up for some fun. God knows I’m hotter than you.”
Finn was on him before he finished speaking.
Calan and I got to our feet as they crashed over an armchair and landed hard on the floor. “Should we intervene?”
“Nah,” Calan said. “Finn’s not shifted, so he’s still in control.”
That was debatable. He might have been in human form, but from how he was trying to crush Logan’s throat with his forearm, he was far from in control.
“Touch him and I’ll peel the fur from your bones,” Finn snarled.
Logan wheezed out a laugh. “No one important, my arse. You like the man, Finn. Just admit it.”
Finn growled and released him. Getting to his feet, he all but spat the words at Logan. “Fine. He’s attractive. He’s smart, funny, creative, and would look like fucking heaven on his knees for me. Ye happy now?”
I didn’t hear Logan’s reply. My mind was focused on unpicking what had just happened. Finn, our normally unflappable leader, had just been pushed to the brink of his control. The shifter who refused to open up had bared his feelings and concerns to the three of us.