Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2
S era
My fingers open and close into fists. The trickle of unease that races down my spine has me grasping for the bow and arrow that’s always nearby.
Correction: Almost always nearby.
Today, I planned to leave her home while I attend Chance and Emery’s wedding. The thought of why I’m so dressed up makes a smile crest on my lips. Beta Chance finally found his fated mate.
Mother Moon might be mysterious in her ways but she isn’t cruel.
At least, not to most of us.
She’s fair, and just, and yes, at times an enigma. But Chance is one of the best among us. He deserves his happiness. Emery is beautiful inside and out. I’ve gotten to know her a little since I’ve returned to New Mexico.
Given the circumstances, though, I haven’t spoken to her about the true reason I returned to the Nightwolf pack.
A lot has happened in the months I’ve been away from my pack.
Our Alpha Queen, Reese, is noticeably pregnant. She’s only a few months away from giving birth to Alpha Chael’s first pup. Though Reese won’t say for certain, I think it’s a boy.
The Nightwolf pack is doing well. Everyone is happy and healthy.
Which is why I can’t stick around for long.
“Are you sure you’re alright, Sera?”
Reese, the Alpha Queen of the Nightwolf pack, looks at me with worried eyes.
We’re in the alpha’s home doing some final touches on our makeup and appearances before Reese, Emery, Ms. Elsie, and I head over to the wedding ceremony.
Squaring my shoulders, I stand to my full five-foot-eleven height.
“I’m perfect.”
I’m proud of myself for sounding sort of chipper.
“Are you sure?” A deep V appears in between Reese’s eyebrows. “I know your mat— the brothers showing up here out of the blue like that would be nerve-wrecking for anybody.”
She waddles over to me, her belly leading the way, and wraps an arm around my waist. I tower over her by more than six inches.
“Chael and the betas got rid of them. Don’t worry,” she encourages, “I doubt they’ll show up again. They got the message that you don’t want them around.”
I swallow the lump in my throat.
The memory from only twenty minutes ago resurfaces. When the three imposing alpha triplets from the Blackclaw pack showed up. They tried to barge into Chael’s house, demanding I return with them to their home in Colorado.
The situation almost got out of control with the Nightwolf pack ready to step in to defend my decision not to take them up on their kind offer.
But after stepping outside and talking to them privately—and by talking, I mean telling them all to go screw themselves and that there will never come a day that I’ll ever surrender to their mate bond—a few of our betas helped escort them off of the Nightwolf premises.
I should feel relieved.
They got the message loud and clear.
Then why do my fingers twitch with the need for my bow and arrow?
Especially, when I’m surrounded by nothing but Nightwolves. I’m safe here. That’s what I want to believe anyway.
The problem is, I know the Nightwolves aren’t safe as long as I’m here.
No one I get close to is safe with me around. By my very nature—whatever that is—I’m destructive to those who love me.
So I’ve been told.
Which is why when I leave this time, there’s no coming back.
“I know,” I finally say to Reese. “Really, I’m cool,” I lie smoothly.
This time the smile I paste on my face isn’t nearly as brittle.
“Riley’s almost ready to head over,” I remind Reese. “How about you two go ahead while I go home to pick up something real quick?”
Reese tilts her head sideways. Just when I think she’s going to give me some pushback, Emery emerges from the bathroom.
“I’m ready,” she says, an effervescent smile on her face.
She looks gorgeous with her naturally coily, kinky hair styled into an updo, her gray streak that marks her as the pack’s storyteller on display, and the creme, sleeveless dress hugging her body beautifully.
Ms. Elsie emerges from outside and she and Reese gush over how stunning Emery is. I nod in agreement.
“I’ll meet you there,” I say the women. When they ask where I’m going, I tell them I won’t take long.
What I don’t say is that not only do I need my bow and arrow on me, but I also need a minute to myself.
As someone living in a world of wolf shifters without a wolf myself, the one way I’ve managed to give myself a sense of safety is through my bow and arrow. My Aunt Wilma, who raised me, taught me how to use the weapon.
I veer away from the women and head to the small house where I grew up with my Aunt Wilma for many years.
My chest tightens as I recall how much I miss her.
Her home is one of the things I’ll miss the most when I leave the Nightwolf pack again.
Eventually, I’ll send a note to Alpha Chael to have someone from the pack take it over. It would be a shame to let it go empty.
I shake my head free of those thoughts. Today is Beta Chance’s day, and I shouldn’t think of anything besides his happiness. Especially since the appearance of my supposed mates almost ruined it.
See? You shouldn’t be here.
Brushing aside the reminder, I enter the house.
I push down the sides of my lavender bridesmaid’s dress to give my hands something to do.
“Soon,” I whisper to myself. I’ll have our bow and arrow soon.
As I enter the front door, an eerie silence permeates the air, enveloping me. It wasn’t always this way. Aunt Wilma used to fill this small but comfortable space with laughter, melodies from her constant humming, and the scent of her freshly baked pies.
Now that it’s just me, all of the sounds and smells are nothing but memories. Soon, even that won’t remain. I find myself stopping to blink the sudden tears away.
A few seconds later, I head for the master bedroom, where I keep my most prized possession. However, something out of the corner of my eye stops me. Turning toward the tiny kitchen, I notice the pantry door is slightly ajar.
I rarely cook or store anything in the pantry, so it always remains closed. The fact that it isn’t right now sends a chill down my spine. My heartbeat quickens, and an odd quiver in my belly sets me on edge.
The anxiousness I’ve been feeling since my earlier run-in with my supposed mates grows.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
Should I head for the front door or to my bedroom for my weapon of choice?
Though my home is sort of on the outskirts of our pack’s territory, if I yelled loud enough, they would come running.
Yet, maybe I can handle this situation, whatever it is, by myself. Therefore, I wouldn’t have to interrupt the wedding.
I take a step toward my bedroom, wondering how quickly I can make it there without encountering whoever’s in here.
But I don’t get the chance to finish that calculation before the click of my front door locking sounds behind me. When I glance over my shoulder, my heart sinks.
“What the hell are you doing?” I growl, baring my teeth even though no incisors will appear.
“Don’t,” Montgomery’s sharp voice snaps when I make a move in his direction.
My body instantly stills.
There’s a coldness in that one word that has me freezing in place. Yet, I force myself to shake out of it.
“What the hell do you mean ‘don’t’?” I demand to know. “Get the hell out of my house.”
Again, I move in his direction and his light blue-gray eyes narrow. I stiffen at the same time I hear a sound behind me.
Pivoting, I come face-to-face with Montgomery’s two brothers. Noah, the broadest of the three, stands in front of Ronan, arms folded, glaring at me.
Hot anger shoots through me from the pit of my belly.
“Get. The. Hell. Out. Of. My. House,” I say through gritted teeth. My body begins to vibrate with anger.
“We will,” Ronan replies, his tone emotionless and matter-of-fact. “As soon as you agree to come with us.”
“Fuck you.” One might almost think I had a wolf somewhere inside of me from the deep growl that wraps around the curse.
Noah glances over his shoulder at Ronan. “Her fucking mouth is going to be a problem.”
“You son of a bi— Get out of my house,” I say, outraged he would dare talk about me like I’m not standing right here.
“Don’t come near me,” I tell Noah when he inches closer.
He doesn’t listen, though, and he continues to advance. “You’re coming with us.”
The son of a bitch actually starts to reach for me. Like he’s planning to carry me out of here, kicking and screaming.
These bastards have another thing coming if they think I’m about to let that happen.
“Noah, what are you—” Montgomery calls from behind me, momentarily distracting his brother.
I use the distraction to get close to knee Noah in the balls.
“Oof,” he grunts.
That move should’ve had him falling to his knees, clutching his family jewels. But these aren’t typical men I’m dealing with.
They’re wolf shifters.
Alphas of their pack, at that.
My knee was only enough to stun him for a second or two. So as soon as I drop my leg, I pivot around his body and somehow manage to dodge Ronan to make a beeline for my bedroom.
Once there, I slam the door, locking it, and scurry to my bed, instantly falling to my knees to reach for my bow underneath.
As soon as it’s in my grasp, I feel under my pillow for the two spare arrows I keep there. It takes me only seconds to load the arrow and take aim at the door.
“Open the door,” a deep voice demands from the other side. From the calm demeanor, despite the underlying anger, I know it’s Ronan.
He’s the one who always manages to keep his cool. The opposite to Noah’s ready-to-explode-at-any-given-moment attitude.
“Get out!” I yell, my arrow still pointed at the door.
“We’re not going anywhere,” he says, calmly. There’s a beat of silence before I hear, “Break it.”
In the next breath, a loud bang shakes the door before it bursts open.
An irate Noah stands in the doorframe, his stature taking up the entire thing. His dark brown, curly locks are as wild as the look in his hazel eyes. The redness of his cheeks and rapid up and down movement of his chest makes him look slightly deranged.
When his gaze finally lands on me, he starts for me, but then sees the bow and arrow in my hands.
I point my arrow directly at his chest.
“One more step and we’re going to find out what it looks like when a wolf has a silver arrow pierce his heart.”
The way my voice lacks shakiness is a direct contradiction to how I feel.
Noah bares his teeth, and unlike me, he does have incisors. Significant ones.
“Serafina, put the bow down,” comes from behind Noah. Ronan steps around his brother, again a bored expression on his face. No hint of any emotion in his light green eyes. Unlike his two brothers, he’s dressed in business attire. The only thing missing is the tie and suit jacket.
“You’ll become the second one to find out what it feels like to have silver in your heart,” I tell him while keeping my concentration trained on Noah.
He hasn’t moved but he’s ready to pounce.
“We all know silver doesn’t suit any of you,” I say into the silence. “I truly would hate to have the scent of burning flesh get into the walls of my house,” I threaten.
Ronan cocks his head to the side.
“Turn around and get out,” I order.
“We did not come all of this way for nothing,” Ronan responds as if they made this five-hour drive to buy lumber or something.
Montgomery stands behind Noah, just outside of the doorway, his eyes never meeting mine. Apparently, he has no intention of leaving either.
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“This is getting redundant,” Ronan says. “You are coming with us. Put the bow and arrow down, or so help me …”
Is that a flicker of emotion?
“You’ll what?” I taunt, raising the bow that’s begun to slip a little in my hold.
“You do not want to find out what will happen,” he claims.
The bow slips a little in my hands from the shiver that courses down my spine. But I quickly recover.
“You’ll have to pry this bow out of my hands first. And I’m an excellent shot. Do you think you’re faster than my arrow?”
No, my reflexes aren’t as fast as theirs, nor can my strength match that of theirs. But I, unlike them, am not allergic to silver. That, coupled with years of daily practice, and I can be just as deadly as any of them.
“Let’s fucking find out,” Noah growls, his frustration boiling over into his tone.
I draw the string of my bow back. Yet a split second before I let go, Ronan throws his arm over Noah’s chest, stopping him.
“Stop this childishness. You are our mate. You know it as much as the three of us,” Ronan insists.
A laugh of incredulity bursts from my lips. “Oh, so now I’m your mate? That’s not what you said five years ago,” I remind them. “Or is your wolf memory failing you?”
I tighten my hand around the bow.
“You’ve forsaken me once and I’ll never let any of you do it again.”
I swallow down the pain of their rejection. I learned to live with it, accept it, and yet years later, here they come, insisting that I’m theirs.
“Circumstances have changed,” Ronan tells me as if that explains it all.
“Too little. Too late. Now, get the hell out of my house!”
Something quick and fleeting crosses Ronan’s face. Was that another emotion?
I shake my head. What does that even matter?
“The past is the past. As such, you are coming with us to claim your rightful place as the Alpha Queen of the Blackclaw pack.”
“Why?” I throw back at him. “So you can keep your position as the alphas now that your grandfather died?”
Ronan and Noah look at one another.
Guess they didn’t expect me to know or uncover their true motives. I found out a lot in the months I was gone. None of it was helpful in finding out the truth about my past.
Yet, it yielded me with some knowledge of the Blackclaw pack.
“I absolutely will not be going anywhere with any of you. You can work your in-fighting problems out on your own and leave me the hell out of it. Now get out!”
My pissed off tone coupled with the arrow still pointed at Ronan’s chest doesn’t deter the stubborn trio, however.
Even Montgomery, who has yet to say more than two words directly to me during this exchange, doesn’t budge.
“You will be coming with us,” Ronan claims as he steps forward. He moves so fast that in less than a second he’s close enough that my arrow is not even an inch away from his chest.
I hate that I’ve stepped so far back that my back presses against a wall.
“What the hell makes you so confident?” I ask.
His cold eyes meet mine before he says, “Because I know the one thing you’re most afraid of.”