24 Meg
Meg
How the hell was I supposed to sleep with my mate in my house, just in the other room, with only these thin walls separating us?
You’re not. Did you hear what he said? Let’s wake him up. I have needs.
But I couldn’t wake him. The man was out like a light. I guess he meant it that he and Marcus could sleep anywhere, because he’d fallen asleep before I’d even closed the door to my bedroom.
I couldn’t sleep.
I’d probably never sleep again.
What did he mean? In another life? Was he holding himself back too? I’d thought that at first, and he’d kissed me, and then he’d stonewalled me right after.
Why was this nothing like the romance books I read? Real life was too damn confusing. Add in the whole sacrifice for the greater good problems we had going on and everything turned into muck I couldn’t even begin to wade through.
I say we just go take him up on his offer. My wolf surged to the surface, trying to force my hand by pushing her animalistic instincts on me.
I will tie us to the bed if you don’t stop. I shoved her down, making her listen to the soft sounds of Justus crying himself to sleep in the other room.
My wolf growled her frustration.
True, our intended husband was an asshole, but I wasn’t a total one, and I wasn’t going to jump his friend’s bones while he cried in the other room.
We can be quiet…
What has gotten into you? I growled at my beast.
Nothing. That’s the problem.
We have bigger problems to focus on.
I needed a plan. I couldn’t keep living in all these half-truths and lies. Tomorrow morning, I had to come clean to both Roman and Justus. Everything felt so clear now. Roman would see we were meant for each other and Justus would understand.
And the gods would…
Dang it. This was a horrible plan.
And why is it so hot in here?
I tugged at the neckline of my shirt, almost missing the air-conditioned houses in the city. Roman must’ve been burning up.
See if he wants you to take off his pants.
I ignored my wolf as I went to open my bedroom window. The cool night air kissed my skin and I sucked down greedy gulps of it. At least the moon was out tonight.
A lone howl raised the hair on my spine, and the she-wolf stepped out from the cover of the trees.
“Finally.” Alec spoke through our pack mindlink as her wolf pawed the earth. “Were you planning to come say hi?”
My sister didn’t wait for me to follow. She’d have known I was coming anyway. And she was fast. By the time my wolf shifted and took off through the forest, Alec was already gone.
My wolf trotted a slower pace, heading to the old alpha’s mansion and looking over her shoulder every so often. The last time I’d run my own woods, a goddess messenger had descended on me. This time at least we made it where we were going without incident.
I still don’t like leaving Roman.
We’ll be right back.
Alpha Kera had refused to stay in the old alpha’s mansion, preferring the castle Uncle Jareth had built her just at the edge of our territory. Our uncle—her father—used to live in this house. The ‘Mad Alpha’ they’d called him.
After the renovations, visiting dignitaries would stay here sometimes if there wasn’t enough room at the inn.
They said the ghosts of our pack still haunted these grounds. So, of course, Alec had decided to live here by herself, away from me and Tisiphone.
I’d tried not to let on how much I hated it—how much I hated how far the three of us were drifting apart. But Alec was a sigma wolf, so she was always going to need her space, and Trish was now Luna of Cadejo Pack, and I…
I was still figuring my life out.
My wolf came to a stop in the front yard by the refurbished fountain that still gave me the creeps.
Alec had changed and turned on the lights. Music drifted outside from the record player Alec had scored at the market on one of our trips to Anubis Territory.
My human skin was still on fire as I shifted and grabbed an oversized soft cotton t-shirt from the bin by the front door.
Alec wore a loose-fitting dress that hung onto her shoulders by strings, swaying her hips to the music as she uncorked a bottle of wine with her teeth.
“Took you long enough.” She spit the cork on the coffee table, pouring us each a glass of wine before looking me up and down. “Did the humans poison you or something? You lost weight, and you look like shit.”
“Nice to see you too.” I grabbed a glass and downed it quick, hoping to soothe the heat in my throat, and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.
It didn’t help.
Alec didn’t look so great either. Her long hair couldn’t hide the quickly fading bruises on her skin or the mending cut just above her eyebrow. She wasn’t human, so the injuries wouldn’t linger like hers did, but it felt very déjà vu after seeing Katrina marked up like this.
The other difference was that I knew Alec had done this to herself.
“Alec…” I scolded.
“You should see the other guy.” She smiled.
I growled as a flash of heat raced over me again. “You promised.”
My sister shrugged with one shoulder, hiding her smile behind the wine glass. “You weren’t here, so why does it matter?”
I grabbed the bottle of wine. “My bad. I was busy doing the bidding of the goddess in order to save us all from the other gods waking and taking over the world. Speaking of which, you haven’t seen Morrigan lately, have you?”
Her cryptic warning hadn’t left me, but if anything, it made me want to abandon this plan so much more. The goddess had to know I was an alpha wolf that couldn’t back down from a challenge.
Finally, we’re on the same page.
“No, I haven’t seen your goddess.” Alec pulled the wine bottle back, topping off her glass. “How’s that plan going, by the way? I thought you were supposed to marry one human. Not two. But I probably wouldn’t be satisfied with one, either. Is it true what they say about their size?”
She held her pointer and thumb about an inch apart, still smiling.
I was on my feet and growling before I even knew what had gotten into me.
“Oh really?” Alec blinked.
Calm down, I scolded my beast, feeling her possessive warmth surge again.
I’m trying, she panted.
“We’re not talking about me, anyway,” I said. “We’re talking about you. It’s dangerous to keep going out there, especially alone.”
“That’s why I do it.” She shrugged.
“You promised you wouldn’t go by yourself.” I thought about throwing the wine glass across the room, and forced myself to set it down instead.
“No, you told me to promise. I didn’t respond.” Alec sat on the edge of the velvet sofa and crossed one long leg over the other. “I did consider your warning, if it makes you feel any better.”
Coming here was a mistake. I was too worked up with my own problems, and Alec and I never saw eye-to-eye. She always did her own thing. The pack—our family—it was never the same priority for her as it was for me.
“Stop it.” Alec sighed.
“Stop what?” I bit back.
My sister rolled her eyes. “The whole anxious spiral of thoughts thing you do when you’re stressed.”
“I wasn’t…” You were.
“I did miss you,” Alec said.
“You… what?” My jaw dropped. I sank back down on the sofa.
“There was no one else to fight with while you were gone. That’s why I had to go. You know my beast.” She sipped her wine. “How was the human city?”
I covered my face with my hands. “Awful. This whole thing was a mistake. The man they want me to marry is a complete jerk, and the humans don’t want a mutant marrying one of them anyway.
I was stuck in a house for weeks with no monster romance books, and I’m pretty sure Morrigan is lying to us about something. ”
“I’d say I told you so, but you already look like you’ve been through the wringer,” Alec smirked.
I crossed my arms over my breasts, wincing when I felt how swollen they were.
Wait…
“So one human is the jerk. Who is the other one?” Alec asked.
I started growling again.
“That’s what I thought.” My sister nodded. “Are we throwing this stupid plan out the window and challenging the gods ourselves while you seal the bond with your mate, or did you just come back to ride out your heat?”
My stomach bottomed out as I stared at my sister, realization dawning when all the symptoms for the past few days started to make sense. “Oh gods, how did I miss this?”