Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
LIZZY
“I think I made a mistake, Cinders,” I whisper, stroking the cat’s fur. We’re curled up together on the threadbare couch, which I’ve upgraded with a pretty blanket to hide the ratty upholstery.
My new roommate looks up at me with those big yellow eyes and blinks.
“I realize he might not be your favorite person, considering what he is . . .”
Absently, I run a hand over my scarred forearm, trying to wrap my brain around the fact that there’s an entire group of people who transform into giant wolves. It had been terrifying enough to learn the truth about Bryce.
The night I found out, I’d made him angry, and I don’t think he meant to shift. He lunged at me, and I’d thrown up an arm to cover my face. Those huge claws had ripped right through my fragile skin — skin that’s only beginning to heal.
It wasn’t my first time seeing Bryce’s violent streak. Once he grabbed my wrist hard enough to bruise. A few months after that, he got drunk and backhanded me when he thought I’d been out with another man.
I haven’t known Chase for very long, but I don’t sense any violence lurking beneath the surface. Of course, I didn’t sense that there was a giant wolf hiding behind that handsome face, but maybe shifters are just like humans. Individuals with their own set of flaws.
My stomach twists with regret as the image of Chase standing before me flashes through my mind. He bared himself to me physically and emotionally, and I reacted in the worst way possible.
What kind of person runs away the second someone reveals their deepest truth?
“I’ve just made so many bad choices lately,” I sigh, stroking Cinders between the ears. It’s probably wishful thinking, but the cat seems to be listening with rapt attention.
Looking over at the photo of my dad, I try to imagine how he’d react if I brought Chase to his house for dinner.
I know he’d approve of human Chase. He’s a man who, like my father, has devoted his life to protecting others.
He’s kind and brave and looks out for me.
But if I told my dad I was dating a shifter . . .
I scrub a hand down my face. Chase can’t help the fact that he sometimes turns into a wolf. It’s just who he is.
His wolf didn’t attack me or even growl. He just stood there and let me look at him.
“I’m an asshole,” I groan, letting my head fall back against the couch.
Cinders lets out a soft “ree-ow!” and across the room, my laptop dings.
Eager for a distraction, I get up and go over to check my inbox. There’s a new message from a visitor to my website, and my heart leaps when I see it.
It’s from a woman whose boyfriend recently proposed inquiring about engagement photos. Apparently, her guy is about to be deployed, and she wants to know if I have any last-minute openings for a shoot.
My chest swells with hope. She’s my second potential new client this week. Maybe this is the universe’s way of telling me that everything is going to work out.
Fingers trembling, I type out a message asking when and where she’d like to do the shoot.
She responds less than a minute later: Are you available tomorrow evening?
I can’t respond fast enough.
Engagement photos are a piece of cake, and if I do a good job, there’s a strong chance she’ll ask me to photograph the wedding.
My skin tingles with excitement, and my first thought is that I can’t wait to tell Chase that I just secured a new gig. But then I remember that I ran out on him the second he was honest with me.
I glance out the window, ready to go back and apologize for my abhorrent behavior. But Chase’s SUV isn’t in the driveway, and the windows at his place are dark.
I tell myself he probably went to see his sister — not that he went into town to drink and get laid.
Not going there, I think. Things are finally looking up for my business, and I can’t let myself believe that I’ve destroyed my chance at happiness with Chase.
CHASE
My newborn nephew squirms in my arms, clenching and unclenching his tiny fists.
I’ve never thought of myself as a baby person, but damn, he is cute.
Jonas didn’t want to leave Riley at the hospital by herself while he went to take over kid duty, so I’m here holding the little guy while his mama takes a shower.
They still haven’t decided on a name, but I’ve cast my vote for Chase Junior. It seems fitting after all the traffic laws I broke to get Riley to the hospital before the tiny pup was born.
There’s a soft knock at the door to her room, and my wolf snarls in protest. It’s been a nonstop parade of nurses, techs, and hospital people with clipboards ever since the little guy was born.
It’s any animal’s instinct to hunker down with its young in privacy immediately after birth, and my beast is feeling extra-protective of my sister and her newborn.
But when the door slides open, I’m surprised to see my pack brothers standing in the hall — Hatch, our alpha, and Razor. Both of them look intensely uncomfortable being at the hospital, but I don’t miss the way Hatch’s eyes soften when they land on the little bundle in my arms.
“Did you steal their baby?” Razor asks with a smirk.
“I just babysat Wilder and Alice for twenty-four hours,” I say. “I’m not in any hurry to kidnap a child that came out of my sister.”
Razor chuckles, and Hatch’s lips twitch — the closest the gruff bastard ever comes to laughing.
“Riley doing okay?” my alpha asks, sending a searching glance around the room. Hatch is also a combat vet, and his awareness is as keen as my own.
I nod. “She’s in the shower. If you’re still here when she gets out, she’s probably going to send you on a mission to retrieve some Dippin’ Dots. She’s having a serious craving.”
Hatch grunts, but I’m not sure if that’s because he doesn’t plan on indulging a new mother’s cravings or if he just doesn’t know what Dippin’ Dots are.
Just then, my phone buzzes in my pocket, and my mind snaps to the cute little human whom I scared the shit out of. Between rushing Riley to the hospital, driving back to Bristlecone to watch my niece and nephew, and returning to the hospital, I’ve barely had a chance to think about my mate.
“Do you want to hold him?” I ask, looking between my pack brothers.
“No way,” says Razor, staring at the bundle in my arms as if he’s something terrifying. “Pups seem to be contagious around here.”
Hatch mutters something that sounds a lot like “idiot” and shuffles over to take my nephew. I get up and offer him my seat, carefully transferring the swaddled baby.
Hatch’s entire body goes stiff as he takes the pup, but something in his eyes softens as he looks down at the little guy.
Pulling out my phone, I glance down at the name on the display, and my heart flips over.
It isn’t Lizzy. It’s Sebastian — one of the wolves from the Gold Creek pack and the best hacker I know.
“What is it?” I ask by way of an answer, keenly aware that both shifters in this room can hear every word on the other end of the line.
“We’ve had some movement on the target,” comes Sebastian’s smooth British voice.
My stomach clenches, and my wolf sits up in interest.
I didn’t trust that weasel Bryce to leave my girl alone, so I’ve had Sebastian keep an eye on him just in case he decides to come near Lizzy again.
“What sort of movement?” I ask, dread pooling in my gut.
“Bryce created a new email account.”
“Is that unusual?”
“It is when a violent shifter chooses the username BrendaLoves2Dance.”
A faint prickle of unease dances down my spine. “And?”
“And he used that new email address to send a message via the contact form on Lizzy’s website.”
Bile rises in my throat.
“He’s posing as a woman named Brenda who’s interested in having your girl take engagement photos. They’ve arranged to meet at a trailhead near Bristlecone.”
“Shit.” Panic surges through my veins, and my skin prickles with the urge to shift. “When?”
“Less than an hour from now.”
Shit, shit, shit, shit.
“Are you tracking his phone?” I ask, feeling frantic.
“I’m a little hurt that you think I wouldn’t be.”
“Great,” I say. “Send me a pin with their meeting location. Call me if anything changes.”
I hang up the phone to find Hatch and Razor staring at me as though I’ve lost my mind.
Just then, the bathroom door flies open, and Riley emerges wearing a fluffy pink bathrobe over a sports bra and an adult diaper. She seems unfazed by our pack brothers’ presence, though both males avert their gazes.
“What’s going on?” she asks, her blue eyes flashing with alertness despite the dark circles beneath them.
“Oh, nothing,” says Razor, carefully looking anywhere but at Jonas’s mate. “Just a little light stalking.”
“I gotta go,” I say, taking hold of my sister and pressing a light kiss to her temple. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
I shoot my younger pack brother a hard look that I hope conveys my seriousness. “Razor is in awe of the female body and the miracles it performs. He said he’d love to get you some Dippin’ Dots.”