5. Maddy
CHAPTER FIVE
MADDY
T he rusted bell above the diner’s door jangled as I stepped inside behind Kai. A hush fell over the handful of customers enjoying their lunches. Kai paid them no mind, striding toward the counter with that cocky swagger that used to get under my skin back home.
Still did here, too.
“You going to want anything?” he asked over his shoulder.
I slid into a cracked vinyl booth, taking in the water-stained ceiling tiles and peeling linoleum floor. So different from the rustic charm of the diner back in our old pack’s territory. There, everything didn’t look a health code violation away from closing. This place just felt... run down. Neglected.
“Might as well,” I muttered.
The grizzled cook behind the counter eyed us warily as Kai plucked two menus from the rack on the counter. Out of habit, I avoided eye contact, keeping my gaze down. Not that it seemed to matter; his attention quickly turned back to whipping up lunch orders.
That’d been a surprise. Or rather, the lack of care from the rest of the Dusk Valley pack on my whereabouts. I’d been raised to keep quiet and to the edges of any room the males walked through. Choked on the lessons, fought against them, but still dealt with the mess of stepping out of line. Purity and protection, according to those who benefited from the control, were necessary to our pack’s survival.
But no one gave a shit when I walked out of the Dusk Valley pack house with Kai. No one told me to go back inside and wait for permission from the alpha. Heading into what could charitably be called a pit-stop met zero resistance.
But holy hell, did I appreciate the change of scenery. Anything to get me out of the pack house and away from the cheek-reddening embarrassment of the scene with Rafe and the morning of awkward silence that followed.
Kai dropped into the seat across from me and tossed a menu my way. I caught it, barely, and flipped it open. The laminated pages were sticky, clinging together as I tried to pry them apart. Probably best not to dwell on the cause.
A waitress in a faded pink uniform approached, her hair piled high in a messy bun. She pulled out a notepad from her apron pocket and eyed us up and down. “Haven’t seen you two around before. Part of that Briar House business?”
“Actually, we just moved here,” Kai said, flashing her a grin that usually had women melting. “We’re at the end of Mill Road.”
“Huh.” Her pen stilled, and her gaze flicked between us. “Been a while since we’ve seen anyone new from out valley way.”
I tensed, waiting for the inevitable question or accusation. But she just shook her head slightly and forced a smile. “Well, welcome to Mill Creek. What can I get you?”
We placed our orders—a burger for Kai, a chicken sandwich for me—and she hurried off toward the kitchen, casting one last glance over her shoulder.
“This place is like something out of a horror movie,” Kai muttered across from me. He eyed the weathered storefronts with their peeling paint and crooked signs. “I keep expecting zombies to come shambling out of the alleyways.”
Yeah, there was probably a reason why no one tried to stop us. What trouble could we really get into?
I snorted but still shot him a warning look. “Keep your voice down.”
He rolled his eyes but obliged, lowering his tone. “I’m just saying, this place is a shithole. Falling apart at the seams.”
I couldn’t argue with that. Mill Creek had definitely seen better days. Boarded-up storefronts lined the main street, and even the businesses that were open looked like they were one strong wind away from collapsing.
“Luckily, it’s not your problem. You can go anywhere your little heart chooses,” I reminded him. “Unless you want to take your chances with Bowen.”
Kai’s jaw tightened at the mention of the alpha who wanted his head on a spike. “I’ll pass.”
A loud slam of a vehicle door drew my attention to the window. Orion’s tow truck had pulled up in front of the diner, its engine rumbling, as Elise stalked toward the gas station across the street.
Orion beeped his horn and waved, a broad grin on his face. Elise flipped him off without looking back.
Bowen would have ripped her throat out.
I didn’t understand why Rafe hadn’t, honestly. Even my old alpha dealt out harsh discipline when necessary, and he came nowhere near Bowen’s love for violence. If her outburst had been a first, sure, but the reactions from the others seemed suspiciously routine.
But Dusk Valley was not like my old pack, and even less like the Black Sands pack. They allowed humans, for one. Orion’s mate seemed pleasant enough, if a bit standoffish. With Elise stomping around and Kai extending his stay, I suspected Orion told her to keep her head down and stay out of the way.
Dusk Valley didn’t have the numbers for spreading out the aggression. Another difference. They weren’t the ten-plus members advertised on Rafe’s profile—numbers that wouldn’t stand up against the full might of Bowen’s pack, but could easily make any splinter group with orders to steal me back reconsider the fight. That—and a mate mark—were all the protection I needed.
Kai was another matter.
My brother drummed his fingers on the tabletop, his gaze wandering around the diner. I followed his line of sight to a community post board near our table, littered with faded flyers and notices. He squinted at the only fresh notice, missing just two of its ‘tear here’ snippets of information.
“Looks like someone bought that creepy old house on the hill,” he said, vaguely gesturing. “Turning it into some kind of artist’s retreat.”
I frowned. “An artist’s retreat? Here?”
Kai shrugged. “Says they want to ‘preserve the gloomy gothic Victorian vibes.’ Pretentious bullshit if you ask me.”
I rolled my eyes. Trust Kai to zero in on anything art-related. He’d always had a talent for drawing and painting, even if our old pack didn’t exactly encourage creative pursuits. He could lose himself for hours, hunched over a sketchpad, his hand flying across the page. It was the only time I didn’t need to worry about him getting into trouble.
“Maybe you should apply,” I teased. “Might be a good place to lay low for a while.”
Kai snorted, but I caught the flicker of interest in his eyes before he turned his attention out the window and resumed his restless drumming.
The door chimed, and a fraction of a second later, Kai’s fingers stopped.
His body went rigid. Then the scent hit my nose, and my blood ran cold.
No. It couldn’t be. Not now. Not here.
But there he was, sliding into the booth next to me like he owned the place. Like he owned me .
Bowen’s wide shoulders crowded the cracked vinyl booth. I wanted to shrink away, but the sheer dominance of his inner wolf kept me pinned in place. Our thighs touched, our knees bumped, and my wolf snarled to run as far from the Black Sand alpha as possible.
“Well, well, well,” Bowen drawled, his pale gray eyes glinting too brightly for the human world. He rarely left shifter territory; why would he bother to play by human rules? “If it isn’t the runaway bitch and her traitor brother.”
My fingers clenched around the cheap plastic water cup as a wave of anger washed over me. I opened my mouth to protest the crude assessment, but Kai kicked me under the table. A subtle warning to keep my mouth shut.
Just like old times.
“You didn’t really think you could escape me, did you?” Bowen chuckled, a cold, mirthless sound. “Thought you could just run off and play house with some other pack, like I wouldn’t find out?”
I swallowed hard, trying to keep my voice steady. “We’re not playing house. I’m to be mated to the alpha here.”
Bowen barked out a laugh. “Oh, sweetheart. You think that matters to me? You think some pissant little alpha can keep you safe from what’s coming?”
Kai slid back into his seat, his face pale. Bowen’s eyes flicked to him, a predatory gleam in their depths. “Here’s how this is going to go. For every day you don’t make good on your brother’s payment, I kill off another member of your old pack. And when I run out of them, I start on your new one.”
He leaned in closer, his breath hot on my cheek. “One by one, until only your brother is left. And then I’ll make you two fight to the death. Winner gets the honor of being my new chew toy.”
My stomach twisted into knots, bile rising in my throat as dread snaked through my veins. Bowen’s cruelty knew no bounds. He’d fought and warred his way to control the largest pack in northern California, killing sons and mating daughters to seal his rule. Rumor had it, he’d once picked apart a pack one patrol at a time for months because the alpha refused to share his mate, then added her to his harem anyway once the alpha gurgled his last breath.
I didn’t want to believe he was serious with his twisted ultimatum. But one look at his face told me he was deadly so.
The bell above the door jangled, and what was left of the air fled the diner. I didn’t need to look up to know who had walked in. Rafe’s presence filled the room, commanding attention without a word.
My wolf’s snarls quieted to a manageable buzz. A hush fell over the other patrons.
Even Bowen seemed to take notice, his eyes narrowing as Rafe slid into the booth next to Kai.
The diner patrons resumed their chatter, but at a subdued volume, like they were afraid to draw too much attention.
Rafe didn’t bother with greetings, his stone-cold gaze zeroing in on Bowen. “You must be the one prowling the edges of my territory.”
Bowen’s lip curled in a sneer. “You learn that yourself, or did you have to beg the real shifters for the information?”
Rafe’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t rise to the bait. “I don’t beg for anything. And I sure as hell don’t let other alphas threaten my pack on my own turf.”
Bowen propped an elbow on the back of the booth and toyed with a lock of my hair. I pressed my palms into my thighs and tried to breathe through my nose. My skin crawled. My wolf howled. I needed out. Out of the diner, out of my human form. Four legs and freedom were ten feet away, and there would be no more Bowen, no thick stench clouding the pine and leather of Rafe, no threats on my life and an easily predictable early death.
Kai caught my eyes and gave the barest of head shakes.
“Been asking around, and pay attention little Madison, so you know the measure of your intended.” Bowen’s lip curled into a sneer as he slashed his look to Rafe. “You’re no alpha. Hell, you’re barely even worthy of being a second. This soy-boy beta turned on the last alpha with his traitor ways.”
“We’d only be traitors if we lost,” Rafe said, his voice low and dangerous. “But Marcus is the one six feet deep. Should I have my pack start digging to the left or the right?”
A shiver ran down my spine at the casual threat, the hint of violence lurking beneath the surface. He didn’t know us. He didn’t owe us anything. The smart, easy thing would be washing his hands of the whole situation before Bowen steamrolled the tiny pack.
But Rafe’s quiet intensity bore right between Bowen’s eyes.
It shouldn’t have been attractive, shouldn’t have made my pulse race and my breath catch in my throat. But damn if it didn’t.
Bowen, however, seemed unimpressed. He leaned back in his seat, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. “Gonna have to do a lot of digging to make room for me and mine. Not even your friends in the next town or those bears flirting up your skirts will be able to handle that much work.”
He turned to run a finger down my face, and I froze, every muscle in my body locking up in instinctive fear. But before he could make contact, Rafe’s hand shot out, grabbing Bowen’s wrist in a bruising grip.
“I’d appreciate if you never even think of touching my mate again,” Rafe growled, his eyes flashing with barely contained rage.
Mate. The word hung in the air. A promise from one, a death sentence from the other.
Bowen just laughed, and leaned in close, his nose almost brushing against my neck as he inhaled deeply. “Doesn’t smell mated,” he murmured, his breath hot against my skin. “Smells like a conquest to be savored.”
Kai jerked forward with a snarl, ready to launch himself across the table at Bowen. But Rafe was faster, slamming him back into his seat without ever taking his eyes off the other alpha.
For a moment, something like hesitation flickered across Bowen’s face. But then that dangerous gleam was back, his eyes glinting with malice as he slowly spread his fingers in a mocking show of submission.
Rafe let him loose with a mocking nod of thanks the moment all his fingers were raised.
“I’ll be seeing you soon,” Bowen chuckled as he stood, eyeing each of us in turn. “Real soon.”
A muscle along Rafe’s jaw twitched. Silent, inhuman, not a single care who witnessed the alpha on the prowl in his domain, he pushed to his feet. Unblinking fury burned into Bowen’s back as he stalked after the other alpha, stopping in the doorway. His hands braced against the frame, knuckles white, and he craned his neck to watch Bowen saunter down the street.
Only when Bowen was out of sight did Rafe swivel his head to Kai, his expression hard. “Find Orion. Keep an eye on that one.”
Kai squared his shoulders as he glared at Rafe. “I’m not a member of your pack. You can’t just order me around like?—”
“Make yourself useful to me,” Rafe cut him off, his voice cold as ice, “or take your chances out there with him.”
Kai opened his mouth again, but I kicked him under the table this time. “Behave,” I hissed through gritted teeth.
For a moment, Kai looked like he might argue. With me or Rafe, I didn’t want to find out. I could handle his recklessness. But Rafe? Who stood between us and safety, and had no reason to put up with extra attitude from an unwanted guest?
I let go of a held breath when my brother shoved himself out of the booth. His jaw clenched tight and he threw a glare to Rafe as he passed, but he stalked through the door.
Rafe’s deep voice tied a stone around the already sinking feeling in my gut.
“We need to talk.”