7
Amy shows up faster than she ever has, pounding on my door within 10 minutes. “Hey, babe! We’re here!”
But I swear I heard her at home, and it takes 30 minutes by car to get here. How is that even possible?
“Come in,” I say.
Amy and Kira rush into the cottage, their eyes widening at the state of my search’s destructive mess before finally finding me in it - shaking in pounding pain as I rise from the couch.
With silky, shoulder-length red hair framing her round cheeks, Amy looks beautiful even as her eyebrows warp in sorrow. But she still gives me the wide smile I’ve known and loved my whole life. “Hey, girl! Not doing too well, huh?”
“Hey, were you already on this side of town? How did you...?”
I trail off, stunned by the sudden, wide-eyed expression in Amy and Kira’s faces as they close the door.
Kira tenses, her short, baby blue hair fading at the roots - probably after having pool sex with Amy all night. I cringe at the thought, desperate for some pool sex of my own.
Kira scrunches her nose. “Fuck, Amy. Those pheromones.”
“I know. I recognize it from someone who does perimeter runs, but I have no idea who. He must be pretty powerful. Do you think–?”
Amy eyes Kira warily, but my jaw drops. Am I delirious, or are they talking about Noah?
“We’re safe. That’s not it.” Kira grits her teeth. “It’s a different... intoxicating smell.”
Amy grips Kira’s arm. “Oh, shit. Are you going to be okay?”
“Yes, but I’m dead serious when I say I had no idea about her.”
Now they’re both staring at me.
Amy swallows hard. “I... I can’t believe this either, so...”
I grip Noah’s shirt to my chest. “B-believe what? You’re freaking me out.”
Amy steadies my dizzy body, helping me lay back down. “I’m sorry, A., it’s just... I don’t know how this fever thing hasn’t happened before for you.”
Kira keeps her distance with a wide circle through my kitchen. Her voice is oddly rigid. “I’ll get her some cool washcloths.”
Amy smiles. “Thanks, babe.”
After making me drink water, Amy tests my temperature with her hand against my forehead. My head spins. Hugging the shirt Noah wore to my chest, I take a deep breath of the fabric, aching for his presence.
Heat swells in my core. My untouched arousal rises until my stomach gurgles in pain. I try my best to hide it, but I have to squeeze my knees together, arching my back in discomfort.
Amy holds my hand, pressing my cold water glass against my cheek. “I know you’re uncomfortable, babe. I’m so sorry your guy isn’t here. It hurts a lot without him, doesn’t it?”
What the hell? For how confusing this is, Amy isn’t asking enough questions.
“Amy, what’s wrong with me? What do you know?”
Amy groans, rubbing her head. “Thank God I can tell you all about it in a minute! You’re so damn perceptive, and I love you for it, but it’s really difficult too, you know? Your guy better not try to hide anything from you. It’ll never work.”
I whimper, realizing by “my guy,” Amy means Noah. “If he even comes back...”
“Oh, he’s coming back. Believe me.”
I grip the couch. “What?! How do you know?”
“His scent is everywhere. I’m surprised he left today at all, but this tells me he must’ve had to run for a huge reason.”
God, I hope she’s right, but not if that means something bad happened to him to make him leave.
“Wait, you can smell him too?”
Amy stares for a moment, sorting out my hair. “You’re pretty deep into this fever thing you’ve got going here, A. I want to explain some things to you before it fully hits, so pay close attention, okay?”
Sweat drips down my temple as I squirm again, my heartbeat pulsing between my legs. “It’s going to get worse?”
“I’m so sorry, but yes. I’ll be here the whole way through, though.”
“Amy, you’re starting to freak me out. I don’t feel like any of this is real.”
Taking my hand, Amy clears her throat. “Does the word ‘mate’ mean anything to you?”
I recoil where I lay, uncomfortable by the rising urge in my core strengthening at the word “mate” alone. “You’re scaring me, Amy.”
“I know you better than that. You know exactly what I’m saying, you just haven’t processed it enough yet to admit it.”
I swallow hard, feeling painfully called out. But a part of me is dying to hear more. For this to be real.
Amy strokes my hand. “I love you, okay? I just want you to know the truth.”
I nod, my desperation to hear more winning over anything else. “I love you too.”
Whatever the truth is, it makes Amy take a deep, shaky breath. “Do you remember that trip your dad would take every month? He’d go hunting for something special to cook?”
“Yes.”
“Do you happen to know which day he’d go?”
I think about it, long and hard...
But the words “long” and “hard” remind me of something else.
Dammit, I need to focus!
“I don’t know. My dad’s trips never really lined up on the same day of the week or month, I guess.”
“That’s because it was on a full moon. Your dad was a werewolf, hun.”
As if this is a rational explanation, Amy gazes into my eyes for a response.
“Well, wait, that’s what I’d tell a human, but it’s not exactly right. He was a Lycan. And he had to go wolf out somewhere else. But Lycans don’t spiral out of control like fictional werewolves, so it’s not the way you’re probably thinking. It was for a cultural ceremony we hold every Full Moon, and...” Amy trails off, frantically searching my expression. “Sorry. I’m getting ahead of myself.”
I gape at Amy, unsure whether this is some cruel joke.
But I didn’t tell her about the wolves from yesterday... at all.
“Amy, what are you talking about? Werewolves - well, Lycans - don’t exist... Do they?” I swallow hard, well aware of the shapeshifting man I met last night.
No, last night couldn’t have been real. This has to be a long, continuous dream.
Amy raises her eyebrows. “So you didn’t see any wolves last night? You didn’t find your fated mate, and he didn’t tell or show you he could shapeshift into a wolf?”
“I... I didn’t say that. It’s like you said - I just can’t believe it. Especially because–” My body stings with how hard my blood surges. “Why wouldn’t my parents tell me something that huge? And if my dad was a Lycan, and he was as giant as those wolves I saw, who could’ve been strong enough to take him from us, Amy?”
Amy’s eyebrows arch, reflecting my sorrow, and I have to fight back fresh sobs. “Aliya, I’m so sorry, truly. It wasn’t fair.”
I angrily swipe at my tears. “Are you trying to say you’re not human either?”
“Nope, I’m not. Neither is Kira.”
My gut burns. With how much has lined up in the past 24 hours, I’m starting to believe her. To believe everything.
But to believe is to accept I’ve been kept in the dark my entire life.
With one look at Amy, my crying warps into hot anger. We’re supposed to be the two A’s, sharing everything and more than our first initials.
My voice heightens despite warping into gutted tears. “What else are you hiding from me, then? I thought we didn’t keep big secrets.”
Amy shuffles in her seat, her eyes widening in panic. “I know, which is why before this goes any further, let me make this clear: I never wanted to keep this from you. If I didn’t think it was for your safety, I’d say ‘fuck it’ and tell you anyway.” Her tight grip on my hand tells me she’s serious. “And the same went for your parents. If they knew this would happen to you, your parents would’ve told you. I know it. They didn’t expect to die either. But your dad was killed by hunters.”
“I know that...”
“But you don’t know everything. He wasn’t out hunting like you think he was, getting shot by mistake.”
I’m ready to freak out. “What do you mean he wasn’t out hunting?! You didn’t think to tell me how my own father died?”
“It’s not like that, Aliya! You know the truth, just not the wolfy stuff!” She huffs in panic, and I sit back, stifling my rage.
I want to believe her, but how can I?
“A., please, listen. Human curiosity is too deadly to tempt, and I’d never want to put you in danger.” Amy shakes her head with bulging eyes, reading the doubt on my face. “All those hunters saw was a huge wolf on the run, and rather than staying curious, they stole him from us. ‘Curious’ humans made a split-second, permanent decision that changed everything.”
She swallows hard at my angry, pathetic whimper. I don’t know who I’m mad at anymore. Life, maybe.
Amy softens her tone, unable to keep looking me in the eyes. “This is exactly why wolves keep it a secret, even from your best friend. It was your parents’ choice while they were alive, but after your dad died, I was so terrified you could die from either side’s fear and prejudice that I realized why they did it. That could’ve been me. Fuck, that could’ve been you, getting shot by proxy.” Amy grips her head, her voice shaking. “I’ve had nightmares of you getting stripped away from me for our differences, A., even when we were kids. I’m lucky I got to be by your side at all.”
I feel sick. When Dad died, nothing added up. He could spot birds from distances I could never, follow any invisible trail in the forest to get us home, and hear a thousand times better than me. How could he not notice a hunter nearby and warn them that he was also hunting so he wouldn’t get shot? Killed.
But if he was a Lycan - shifted into a wolf, like Noah - it makes more sense why someone shot him. He was just another beast to display on their wall.
Or was that really all it was?
Fuck, I sound irrational again. Jenny, Amy, and Kira were gentle about it after Mom died, but no one believed me when I thought Dad was murdered on purpose, chalking my theories up to grief. Absolutely no one will believe it this time, now that I know he was a wolf being literally hunted.
But it just doesn’t feel right.
Although, I do believe Amy’s wide, petrified stare. Even if her explanation sounds like an irrational, imaginary tale, it’s her truth.
“You smell too much like a human for Lycans to not see you as a serious threat to their safety. I have no idea what they could do to you, and there was no reason to risk it and find out.” Amy winces as tears brim. “But I should’ve given you a choice somehow. I’m so sorry, Aliya. I fucked up. You don’t have to forgive me, but please know I just wanted to keep you alive and by my side.”
I never understood why my parents appeared so torn the first day I clung to Amy’s side after school, but it’s sinking in now. She was a wolf. A ticking bomb if she spilled the truth.
But she’s always been the only friend who understood my heart. Why even back then, the disapproval in my parents’ eyes gutted me, lapsing me into horrific, ear-piercing wails when I thought they’d never let me see her again.
They let me have her, and I never let go.
But neither did Amy. She kept this a secret: choosing to stay by my side too.
“I couldn’t risk losing you, even if there was only a chance,” Amy whispers.
I grip Amy’s hand to pull her closer, part of me still afraid to lose her. “I’m still hurt, but I love you.”
Amy dissolves into tears. “I love you too.”
We huddle together, a mess of soft sniffles as my overwhelming body heat boils us both. After a silent minute, Amy pulls back, testing my forehead with worry straining her eyes.
Tears scrape my throat when I try to speak. “Did my mom die thinking he was shot by mistake too?”
“No, but... Your poor mom...” Amy’s voice shakes as much as mine. “You’ve always been right by saying she died of heartbreak. It’s unlivable to lose a mate. Wolves are tied down to the soul.”
I swallow hard, graphic memories of Mom’s rapid decline searing my heart. “I’ve always thought it was like my dad’s death took her soul with him.”
“See? You’re so damn smart, girl. You knew this stuff all along, just in different words.” Amy squeezes my hand as I finally let myself crumble.
“But does that mean my mom...? Was she also a... Lycan?”
“No, she was a human. But she was your dad’s fated mate. It’s so rare that the wolves didn’t accept her at first. Or maybe they never truly did. I can only assume your parents lived outside of pack territory due to speciesism.”
My eyes widen, a glimpse of last night flashing past my eyes. “Just like Noah said might happen...”
Amy’s eyes bulge. “Did you just say Noah?”
“Yes? He’s– um... The guy I’m hoping comes back. My... Alpha.”
Amy gapes, sending a fresh wave of numbing anxiety down my limbs. “Oh, girl... Noah’s not just your Alpha. He’s the Alpha.”
My heart leaps into my throat. “What do you mean?”
“I knew whoever dumped his scent all over this place was powerful, but no wonder I couldn’t recognize him; he’s swamped with pack problems and supposedly super shy, so it’s rare to catch a glimpse of him. I’ve never met him up close. He’s the Greenfield territory’s pack leader. My pack leader. Kira’s pack leader...” Amy throws her head back, letting out a dramatic sigh. “Thank the Goddess! If he’s your mate, this changes everything. You’ll be safe if you’re with our top Alpha.”
My eyes widen with Amy’s every word. Amy winces, giving me a moment to process, but I can’t get over what she just said.
“He really was the pack leader? He told me Alphas weren’t necessarily leaders, so it wasn’t what this was between us...”
Amy breaks into a soft smile. “Oh, that’s Alpha Noah, alright. He wanted you to know he sees you as his equal when, historically, Alphas like to believe they’re destined for dominance, even over mates. It’s a bit patriarchal if you ask me.”
Just before I freak out at the thought of Noah domineering like Steven, Amy smirks.
“Not your Alpha, though. He’s pretty outspoken in hating Alpha domination, actually.”
My heart flips. Everything Amy is saying rings true to Noah’s words. “But it sounds like he still happened to be the pack leader?”
“He’s strong. No one here can dethrone him, so he’s the natural leader. But I think it’s a Greenfield family thing to be powerful as hell.” Amy’s smile fades. “Noah took over the pack after his dad passed... Ritchie Greenfield.”
I jolt upright, struggling to contain my rapid breath as my heart shatters.
My dad and Ritchie Greenfield were shot on that hunting trip, side-by-side. Noah had to experience this grief too?
But our dads were best friends, as tight-knit as Amy and me. “How the hell did I never meet Noah before?”
“All we knew was that you were a hybrid, but you never shifted into a wolf, so we had to protect you from both the pack and human hunters.” Amy rubs my arm as I groan, my head spinning. “We figured you were mostly human. Maybe entirely human. But after what I’m seeing right now... I think we were wrong.”
As Amy says those words, it finally sinks in - the piece of this story that isn’t adding up.
I already suspect the answer, but with how impossible it sounds, I ask the question anyway to be sure.
“Me... What about me?”
My heart pounds as Amy searches my eyes. “A., why do you think I decided to tell you this today? When before this, I couldn’t tell you, only because–”
“You thought I was human.” I shudder, the truth exploding from my chest - just like the moment I knew Noah was my mate.
My mind flashes through my entire life. That feeling something was always wrong with me, but I never knew what. All those moments my human authority figures berated me for being too loud. Too unruly. Too unladylike.
Until I became quiet. Shy.
Domesticated.
“Amy, oh, my God... I’m a wolf.”
Brushing my messy hair from my face, Amy looks me straight in the eyes. “I think you’re more Lycan than anything. And you’re in heat.”
My rapid breath turns into stressed whimpers, unsure of what she means. “Like... a cat?”
“More like a wolf.” Amy grins. “But cats are similar. You’ll be craving to mate with Noah, and it might be uncomfortable for a while.”
I gasp through panic. “A while? What about my kids? I can’t teach preschool like this.” But heat is all I can focus on, my body boiling to the point of delirium. “I don’t know how I’ll survive this, Amy.”
She grounds me with a sharp stare. “Listen to me closely, okay? Lycans can shapeshift, but only into their wolf. Our wolves are stable, individual beings - like alternate versions of ourselves with fairly strong opinions and personalities. Do you feel your wolf yet?”
“I don’t know. How can I tell?”
“My wolf feels like another side of me. A wild, unfiltered side that’s all gut instinct.”
In a rapid replay of my life - how much I stifled myself as a child and still continue to - I wonder if any wild, unfiltered side of me still exists.
“Amy, what if I killed her?”
She giggles, giving me a soft smile. “Trust me, she’s there. I smell her, and she’s absolutely an Omega in heat. But she’ll be strong enough to dramatically alter your behavior, and I don’t know how you’ll feel about that.”
I whimper, gripping my arms. “Not good, obviously.”
Amy smooths my hair, staring deep into my eyes with such worried eyebrows that I wish I could massage them back into tranquility.
“You have to keep listening closely, Aliya. Your wolf will want Noah to mark you - biting your neck to seal your mate connection.”
The urge pounds deeper. My nails dig into my thighs, imagining Noah’s teeth piercing my neck in vivid detail.
“He told me about that, and I... I can’t get enough of it.”
“Hey, stay with me.” Amy redirects my focus, hardening her tone. “Knowing you, you’ll need more time for a lifetime commitment. Do post-heat you a favor - do not let him mark you today.”
My heart throbs, torn on what to do. When I had a clearer head yesterday, I wanted to trade marks with Noah. But now I’m stressed as hell. Amy’s right - this could’ve been my silly heart talking all along, ignoring what’s truly right for me. My heart and brain will have to battle this one out, and I won’t win either way.
Amy frowns at my obvious disappointment. “Come here, girl. Your braid got all undone from last night. Let’s get you more comfortable, okay?”
I weep, unable to hold still as Amy unravels my hair, spreading it like a fountain of cool silk across my overheated back. “Amy, you really think he’s coming back?”
“I do. I have a lot to say to him for not being here, though.” As her fingertips brush my shoulder in reassurance, Amy gasps. “Oh, my God, your skin is practically on fire! This isn’t good.” She turns over her shoulder and bellows. “Kira, where’d you disappear to with those washcloths?!”
As Kira peeks into the room, my focus switches from the throbbing ache in my core to Kira’s penetrating stare. Her breath is rapid. Distressed. She doesn’t look happy, and she’s staring straight at us, ready to pounce.
I instinctually dive behind my best friend, but Kira doesn’t seem to like that. One glance at her clenched jaw sends me scrambling across the living room floor, backing into the brick fireplace. The frigid red bricks against my boiling skin startle a tiny yelp out of me, but it’s better than whatever Kira has in mind.
“Oh, my God! What’s wrong?!” Amy’s focus tracks my stare, zipping to Kira in the entryway.
Soaked washcloths trickle from Kira’s arms as she seems to forget she’s holding them.
Amy freezes. “Holy shit– Kira?! What’s gotten into you?”
My heartbeat skyrockets as Kira edges between wolf and human, her nostrils flaring and voice deepening as her eyes flicker into an even darker brown. “It smells like someone needs a good fuck in this house.”
Amy chucks a pillow at her. “You adorable, annoying Alpha! Are you seriously going to cheat on me with my best friend over some pheromones?!”
Kira gives a low growl, dropping the remaining washcloths onto the floor with a wet slap as she approaches Amy. “Don’t be ridiculous. I want you.”
Kira scoops Amy’s hair off her neck, hugging her from behind to lick that same sensitive gland. The breathy way Amy gasps spikes a thrill through me.
My insides ache for Noah to do the same thing. I shed a few extra tears.
Kira growls against Amy’s neck. “I want to strip you bare, Beta. Then I want to kiss you between your legs until you come against that coffee table.”
Amy’s voice clouds with desire. “Well, shit. This is objectively a bad situation... But that also sounds kinda good to my wolf.”
I wedge myself deeper into the fireplace. “Amy, is she going to hurt me?”
Amy snaps out of her haze with a gasp. “Oh, no, babe. I know you can smell that Alpha musk, and it’s probably driving your instincts wild. But it looks like she’s only got eyes for me. I’ve got it under control...” Amy’s half-hearted smile can hardly hide her arousal. Then she gasps. “Kira! I’m still talking. You need to wait.” Kira removes her hands from Amy’s bra with a frustrated huff. After a grounding breath, Amy lowers her voice. “I don’t know how to control two Alphas slipping into a hormonal rut, so let’s hope Noah has more self-control than my horny Alph–”
Amy is cut off by Kira’s sultry kiss. Amy’s eyes shift with need, clinging to her wife’s arms. This only encourages Kira. She deepens their kiss, a heavy touch climbing Amy’s body until she reaches Amy’s neck. Amy’s voice erupts with bleating, desperate breaths. “Oh, Goddess, Kira...”
They’re not helping. Whether it’s right or not, my eyes lock on the two wolves nuzzling. I feel every touch of their skin as if it’s Noah. His hands on my breasts, caressing my nipples. His grip latching onto my thighs, wrapping my legs around him. I swallow hard, rubbing my legs together on instinct with soaking wet underwear.
But here I am, all alone. Heat stabs me over and over again, burying pain down to my bones. My tears turn into heaving sobs.
“It hurts! I’m on fire, Amy!”
“Oh, shit, Aliya. I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to–” Amy reaches for my hand, and Kira snarls at her. “Excuse me!?”
I huddle deeper into my fireplace, silencing my tears out of fear. Kira slinks back too, her eyes locked on Amy as she curls into herself from being scolded.
“That’s right, Alpha. Get your gorgeous ass outside so we can fuck in the woods.”
Before I can blink, Kira sprints for the door, and Amy bites back an amused laugh.
Until Kira flings open the door, crashing face-first into a wide torso.