Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHASE
I go absolutely still as Lizzy kisses me, the pillowy softness of her lips like an electric jolt to my system. Her kiss is tentative, her lips so sweet, and my wolf howls with elation.
I can’t believe that this gorgeous human is kissing me — a wolf — after everything she’s been through.
A hungry moan slips out of me, and I trace my thumb along her jawline and slide my hands into her hair. Silky strands tangle in my fingertips as I angle her head to the side for better access.
Lizzy gives a needy little whimper, which sends all the blood rushing straight to my cock.
My tongue darts out, caressing the seam of her soft lips, and she opens for me. She tastes like warm vanilla and everything that’s good in the world.
I want to devour her.
The beast within me howls in satisfaction as I plunder her mouth, my tongue twisting around hers as her sweet, feminine scent washes over me.
Lizzy spears her fingers through my hair, her tiny, blunt nails scraping against my scalp and sending little tingles of pleasure coursing down my spine.
Next thing I know, I’m pulling her into my lap, cupping the backs of her thighs so my fingers can skim the swell of her ass. Lizzy moans and grinds against me, her soft core pressing into my erection.
The motion sends a rush of heat blazing through me. I stroke her legs before wandering up to feel the gentle curve of her hips, her waist.
Nipping my bottom lip, Lizzy arches into me so that the tips of her breasts brush my chest. I growl and grip the back of her neck, moving her head so I can take her deeper with my tongue as my other hand slides up beneath her shirt.
Mine.
The word clangs through me with a startling degree of certainty. I can feel my wolf surging to the fore, anxious for me to claim her. Mark her. Mate her.
I shouldn’t even be having these thoughts. Lizzy isn’t mine. And thanks to Bryce, she never will be.
We shouldn’t be doing this. It isn’t right.
As much as I might want her, I know that Lizzy would never choose me if she knew what I was. That realization is like a splinter through my soul, but I won’t take advantage of this woman who’s already been through so much.
Drawing back, I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and press a light kiss to her lips. When those gorgeous green eyes meet mine, I try to memorize the flare of heat in them, the slight flush to her cheeks, and her swollen lips. I want to remember her just like this.
“Lizzy,” I rumble, my voice coming out gruff with need. “As much as I’m enjoying this . . . there’s something I need to tell you.”
Lizzy’s brow furrows, her chest still heaving.
My throat feels scratchy as I swallow. It’s the right thing, I remind myself. “I . . . haven’t been totally honest with you.”
Lizzy’s eyes widen as I set her down, get to my feet, and pace the length of the room. I feel her watching me as my beast edges to the surface, and she grips her forearm as if it pains her.
Taking a deep breath, I pull off my shirt and allow the Change to take over. My skin prickles, and pain lances down my spine as I surrender to the wolf inside.
I bite back a howl as my bones break, muscles and tendons reshaping themselves. It feels as though I’m being ripped apart as my wolf turns me inside out, fur sprouting all over my skin.
I’m distantly aware of Lizzy’s horrified expression before my vision changes, the world around me taking on a slightly muddy hue.
She scrambles to her feet, eyes bulging, and a few seconds later, I’m standing in front of her on all fours. My hind legs are tangled in my pants, but I don’t take a step forward to get out of them. I want to give her space.
Even in wolf form, my head is level with her stomach. My paws are nearly as large as her head, claws digging into the hardwood. I know my animal is a terrifying sight.
A chair scrapes against the floor as Lizzy backs away and bumps into the corner of the table. Her eyes dart to the door behind me, and I curse myself for blocking her only exit.
It isn’t pleasant to transform back so quickly after shifting, but I force the Change, shaking my head like a dog as the lingering sensation of fur recedes.
Lizzy’s face has gone deathly pale, her eyes so wide they look in danger of popping out of her head. I’m completely naked. It’s not how I envisioned this moment between us, but I don’t want to make any sudden movements, so I leave my clothes where they lie.
“You’re one of them,” she rasps, her face draining of what little color it had left.
“I’m a shifter,” I say, my voice rough after the Change. “I know your ex is one too, but I swear I’m nothing like him, Lizzy.”
“How do you know about Bryce?” she asks, her voice sharp and accusatory.
My nostrils flare at the sound of his name on her lips as I stand before her, completely bare. My wolf is still riding me hard, and the urge to rip the other male’s throat out and claim what’s mine is nearly overpowering.
“Every shifter in the state knows about Bryce. He’s a rogue wolf. No pack or alpha. No pack will have him because he’s so violent. But even if I hadn’t known — even if I hadn’t seen those scratches on your arm — I would have been able to smell it on him.”
I watch as she takes in this information, but that terrified look doesn’t abate. Tears well up in her eyes as she stares at me, shaking her head in disbelief.
To her, I’m no different from the man who hurt her. The realization kills me. My girl can’t see me for me. All she sees is a terrifying monster.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers, glancing furtively toward the door. “I have to go.”
I swallow down the words burning in my throat. I want to tell her to stay so I can show her that she doesn’t have to be afraid. That, unlike Bryce, I am fully in control of my wolf. And that I would never, ever hurt her.
But Lizzy’s been burned too badly to ever take a chance on me. And even though it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, I force myself to step aside.
The sun has set by the time I hear the insistent knock at my front door.
Riley.
My wolf picked up on the familiar sound of her engine as she pulled up, but I can’t bring myself to face my sister.
I’ve been staring at my dark computer screen for hours, unable to reconcile the fact that I was sitting here with Lizzy straddling my lap moments before she walked out of my life for good.
I should have taken things slower with her.
Maybe if she’d had the chance to get to know me, she would have realized I never would have hurt her. That I never could hurt her.
Because in the time I’ve been sitting here, one thing has become painfully clear. Lizzy isn’t just some woman I let myself become infatuated with.
She’s my fated mate — my soul’s other half.
My beast is inconsolable, of course. He’s been whining and pacing ever since she left, begging to be let out.
He wants me to go to her. He wants me to drag her back here and claim her as my own, but I can’t do that to Lizzy.
After what Bryce put her through, she deserves a fresh start. A beautiful new life filled with peace and happiness.
It just kills me to know I won’t be a part of it.
But before I can go any further down the self-pity rabbit hole, my front door bangs open, and my sister storms inside.
I smell her anger, mixed with concern. Her wolf is also close to the surface, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
“There you are! Why haven’t you been answering your phone? I’ve been calling and texting you for two hours!”
Guilt knots my stomach. I haven’t looked at my phone since Lizzy left — a selfish, careless thing to do with my sister being nine months pregnant.
“You all right?” I ask, rubbing my eyes as I try to focus on her. “Is it the baby?”
“No,” Riley says with a sigh, striding past me and plopping down on the couch as if she owns the place. “The little booger seems content to stay exactly where he is. I just needed to come over to escape the other two.”
“Your other two pups?”
“Pups. Satan’s hellhounds. Whatever you want to call them.”
“Jonas is with them?”
Riley lets out a long-suffering sigh. “No, jackass. I thought I’d leave my four-year-old and my eighteen-month-old home alone and see what they get up to.”
When I don’t respond right away, she wheels around to glare at me. “That was a joke. Of course Jonas is with them, you idiot. I needed to get away from him, too. He keeps telling me not to overexert myself every time I get off the couch.”
I don’t say anything.
“What’s with you?” my sister demands.
“N-nothing,” I lie, dragging a hand through my hair and shutting my laptop in resignation. “Sorry. I just . . .”
But my sister’s face has transformed. Her eyes widen, and she breaks into a demented grin that has me genuinely concerned for her sanity. “It’s a she-wolf!” she squeals. “It has to be. I’ve never seen you this agitated!”
“She’s not a she-wolf,” I mutter. “She’s human.”
Riley shrieks again, springing to her feet and clapping her hands together. “I knew it! What’s she like? I’ll bet she’s pretty. I —” Riley’s face abruptly changes, and I hear a soft splash on the other side of the couch.
My sister’s face goes slack with shock, and then she winces apologetically. “Whoops. I’ll clean that up —” She breaks off with a loud moan, gripping under her bump. Her sweatpants are soaked through, and she looks as though she’s in pain.
All the blood drains from my face — my own problems forgotten as Riley staggers forward.
In an instant, I’m at her side, gripping her under the elbow. “Are you in labor?”
“Yes, I’m in fucking labor!” she shrieks, gesturing at the small puddle on the floor. “My water broke. And —” She makes a face, pressing her lips together and swaying on her feet. “We should go.”
“I’ll call Jonas.”
She shakes her head. “Call him from the car. We need to fucking go.”
She doesn’t have to tell me twice. The last thing I want is to deliver my sister’s pup in the backseat of my SUV.
Supporting her by the arm, I help her hobble out the front door and get her into the passenger seat. I’m already dialing my pack brother as I cross to the driver’s side, not bothering to put on my seatbelt as I peel out of the driveway.
“What hospital?” I ask.
“Summit,” she groans, her brow pinching as she rides the wave of the contraction.
I nod in relief. That’s only twenty minutes away.
“Tell me about this girl,” Riley says, leaning back in the seat and raising her hips as she tries to get comfortable.
“What?”
“Distract me.”
I drag a hand through my hair, the tires losing traction momentarily as I skid around a bend. “She’s my new neighbor.”
“And?”
“And I like her.” I shake my head. “No, it’s more than that. I think she’s . . .”
“What?”
“I think she’s my fated mate.”
Riley turns to gape at me, but then she’s hit by another contraction, and her eyes snap shut as she breathes through the pain.
Once it’s passed, she shakes her head, holding her belly as if bracing for the next one. “You think this woman’s your fated mate?”
“And she wants nothing to do with me.”
Riley gives me a look that says this must be my fault before asking, “What happened?”
“It’s her ex. He’s a shifter, and . . .” My wolf snarls at the thought. “He hurt her.”
“Whose pack?”
I shake my head. “Lone wolf. Bryce Baker.”
Her eyes widen, and I know she’s familiar with the bastard. “And you told her that you’re a shifter?”
“I mean, I showed her.”
“You showed her?” Riley repeats incredulously. “You probably scared the shit out of her!”
“I thought she should know before things . . . escalated.”
The words come out sounding defensive, and when my sister shakes her head, I know I went about this all wrong.
“I fucked up, Riley. After Bryce, she doesn’t want anything to do with shifters. She probably never wants to see me again.”
“You’ll get her back.”
“You say this based on what? My stellar track record with women? With my family? With you?”
Riley narrows her eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“I wasn’t there for you growing up after Mom died. Dad was a wreck after her death, and what did I do? I left for the Marines.”
“You did what you should have done, Chase. Live your life. It wasn’t your job to stick around for me. You were only eighteen.”
I shake my head. “You needed me, Riles. I should have been there for you, and I wasn’t. Now, I don’t know where the fuck I fit in.”
“You fit in right here with us,” says Riley, reaching over and taking my hand.
I squeeze it back, but I keep my eyes on the road as I try to put into words everything I’ve been feeling.
“With Lizzy, it felt like I had a chance to do the right thing. To be there for someone. She made me feel like . . . like I was in the right place at the right time for the first time in my life. But I probably came on too strong by telling her what I am, and now she doesn’t want anything to do with me. ”
“You? Come on too strong?” Riley gives a sarcastic scoff before shooting me a grin. “It’s part of your charm.”
“I’m not sure she sees it that way. Especially since she already had a bad experience with a possessive, dominant wolf.”
“You aren’t him, Chase,” she says, giving my hand another squeeze. “You’re the best man I know, apart from the father of my pups. It doesn’t matter that you left home after Mom died. I always knew that no matter what, my big brother would be there to catch me when I fell.”
A smile tugs at the corners of my lips, but then Riley’s grip on my hand turns bruising. “Ooh,” she groans. “They’re getting worse!”
“What does that mean?”
She lets out a growl that sounds more wolf than human, squeezing her eyes shut. “It means the baby’s coming!”