It’s so refreshing to be put in one’s place by their so-called mate. Not.
Something is going on with Brady, and I don’t like it one bit. He’s never disregarded me. When my parents died, it was Brady who told me I wasn’t alone as long as I had him. He was my family. I guess he lied right along with his parents. Santiago and Brenna welcomed me into their home and treated me like a daughter. I thought of Brady’s siblings as my own.
Family business my ass.
Something I’m not a part of.
But if you marry Brady, enact the bond, then you’ll be part of the family.
Yeah, right.
Enacting the bond and committing to marriage requires relinquishing control and my leadership—something I can’t do to the pack. The members helped take care of us—food, clothing, advice—until I could do more for my siblings. I owe the pack my loyalty.
“Take it easy before you break a bottle.”
I flinch and stop restocking the bar. Turning around, I’m ready to attack, and then I see my brother. Pushing the box to the side, I ask, “What are you doing here?”
“Looking for you, of course.” He takes a seat on a stool and leans over the counter. “Want to tell me what crawled up your ass?”
Wearing my emotions on the surface so that all can see them has always been a problem for me. Being alpha hasn’t helped me learn to hide my feelings though. When I’m pissed, the entire pack knows. Hell, the whole town knows.
“Brady.”
“TMI, sis.”
I smack Greg’s arm. “Not like that, you ass. Brady left early this morning for a family meeting.”
Greg grabs one of the beer bottles on the bar and twists off the cap. “Without you?”
“Exactly.” I snatch the drink from him. “It’s too early for this, besides it’s warm.”
He snatches it back. “It’s the right time somewhere. People in England drink shit warm.” Greg takes a long swig. “So what’s the meeting about?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.” Removing the last bottle of gin, I drop the empty box on the floor. “Brady didn’t tell me shit.”
A smile tugs at Greg’s lips. “Then you’ll want to hear what I learned.”
My brother is the biggest gossip peddler in Falls Creek. Sometimes the words he spouts are worth hearing. Other times they need to be weighed against the possibilities—both real and imaginary.
“What?”
“Rumor has it the Romero pack is going through some shit. Members doubt Brady’s ability to lead them.”
“Who told you that bullshit?” How dare anyone question his leadership? When it comes to alphas, Brady is one of the best. He doesn’t rule with a heavy hand. If anything, he’s too considerate of the opinions of the pack—always taking emotions into account before acting.
“That cute waitress from last night, the one from a founding family.” Greg lifts a hand. “But I’m just the messenger. According to her, older members are challenging Brady because he doesn’t have a mate.”
I was ready to dispute what Candace told Greg until he said mate. My heart sinks as I grasp the neck of the bottle. There it is. The real reason why Brady proposed again although we’d discussed it last time. He said he’d give me a year. Enough time for Greg to either straighten his shit out or position my beta for leadership.
Damn pack rules.
“What happens if he doesn’t have one?” I have no idea why I bothered to ask. Any alpha worth a damn knows the answer. It’s an old rule that no one really challenges anymore.
Greg squints at me before taking another pull on the bottle. He knows the answer as well as I do. “He’ll be deposed, but Audra, you know that.”
I keep quiet.
My brother lowers the bottle while pointing a finger toward me. “Here’s the best part of the news… The part that should interest you. Supposedly there’s a she-wolf down in New Orleans lined up to become his wife—a Broussard.”
I see red. Glass breaks. The clean smell of Beefeater’s Reserve brand gin surrounds me, but I don’t feel pain. Only fury so strong I want to rip someone apart.
“Audra!” Greg grabs my hand and yanks me out of the fog. “What the fuck?”
I snap out of my trance. A glass shard sticks out of my palm. Blood drips onto the counter, but I’m too shocked to speak or move. Thankfully, my brother springs into action. He jumps over the bar and finds a clean towel. He removes the glass fragment before pressing the cloth over the wound. “Where’s the first-aid kit?”
Absently, I say, “In the office.”
“Hold this. I’ll be back.” His heavy footsteps pound the floor as he runs from the room.
Greg’s words swirl inside my head. Would Brady marry someone else? A Broussard isn’t just anyone. Would the only wolf I’ve ever loved stoop so low just because I said no?
“Let me see.” Greg is by my side again. He inspects the cut on my hand. “Thankfully, you won’t need stitches. I’ll clean it and bandage it. It’s going to be sore for a while. What were you thinking, Audra?”
I wasn’t. All rational thought takes a back seat when it comes to the Broussard pack. The females are plain hateful. And the males? So full of themselves their arrogance has a stench.
Swallowing hard, I regain the ability to speak. “Which Broussard is he supposed to marry?”
“Huh?” Greg looks up from the first aid kit. “Oh… I heard it’s Amber.”
Jerking my hand away, I stomp around the bar. Like hell will Brady marry that wench.
“Where are you going? I need to bandage—”
“I’ll be fine. Stay here and keep an eye on things. And don’t drink up all the liquor. That’s an order. Break it and you’ll pay.” For once, I need my brother to listen to his alpha. To listen to me. “There’s something I need to do.”
The pain in my hand doesn’t come close to the ache in my heart. Brady knows how much I despise Amber Broussard. How could he even think about hooking up with that skank?
Amber and I met during a national convocation of alphas about two years ago. The wench took one look at Brady and wanted to stake a claim. I told Amber that Brady was mine. She let me know without his mark, Brady was free to claim anyone he pleased. Lucky for Amber, her brother stepped in and saved her ass. Then, Brady set the record straight with her.
As if I summoned him, my phone lights up with Brady’s name. Honestly, I’m not in a frame of mind to speak to him. I need to clear my head. Move past my anger and hurt first. Ignoring Brady, however, isn’t the wisest decision. After all, this isn’t a situation I can run from.
Reluctantly, I accept the call, not hiding my displeasure. “Yeah.”
“Whoa. Sugar, what’s wrong?”
Just hearing Brady’s voice makes me more angry. Will he call Amber sugar? “Tell me what’s right.”
Suddenly the car veers onto the wrong side of the street. Brakes squeal. Horns blare. Staying calm, I grip the wheel tightly and keep the Jeep from crashing into a pole or worse.
“Audra!” Brady shouts. “What the hell’s going on?”
“I’m fine. What did you want?”
My wolf claws at the surface, wanting to destroy all in her path. I should let her out, but that’s a dumb move too. I know what she’ll do. She won’t stop running until she gets to New Orleans. She won’t stop moving until she’s ripped out Amber’s throat. My wolf won’t stop until a Broussard returns the favor, and Greg is making my funeral arrangements. Unfortunately, my wolf is as reckless as I am stubborn.
Brady breathes into the phone. “We need to talk. Are you at the bar?”
His voice lacks power—its usual conviction. It’s strained.
“No. I’m on my way to you. Are you still at your parents’?”
“No. I just pulled up at the house.” He turns off the music—something by Farruko—playing in the background. Brady only listens to Farruko when he’s troubled. “Can you come home instead?”
“Be there in ten minutes.” I disconnect and continue up Main Street, heading toward the hills overlooking Falls Creek. Too bad my heart doesn’t want to make the trip.
Brady’s black Mustang sits in the circular driveway when I pull up. Driven by fury, I got home in record time. Thankfully, the Falls Creek police know my red Jeep. If they see me tearing through the streets, they usually keep a wide berth—definitely a benefit of living in a small town. They only step in if it looks like I’m going to injure someone. The police chief once asked me if I wanted to join the force so that I had a legal reason for speeding. Maybe if I had, my life would be more normal.
But there’s nothing normal about two alphas in a relationship. Normal can’t possibly explain why my love, my heart and soul, would betray me and agree to marry my enemy.
Calm down.
How? If what Greg told me is true, Brady is either playing me or about to betray me. Neither bodes well for him. We don’t play games. Flaunting Amber Broussard in front of me would be an attempt to manipulate me.
Brady would never do that.
Unfortunately, males revert to dumb-ass behavior when they’re desperate. If Brady wants to maintain his status, he’ll pull Neanderthal tricks to get what he wants. All males, regardless of species, do that type of shit, especially Romero males. Can’t trust any of them.
You don’t really believe that. Brady has always been different.
I slam the car door and practically run toward the house. Brady meets me before I put my key in the lock.
“That was quick.” He holds the door open for me. Usually, he greets me with a wide smile and a hug. Neither of them are present at the moment.
“You made it sound important.”
Brady’s mouth twists grimly. “It is.”
Pushing past him, I go straight to the kitchen. If he’s about to shatter my world, I need a little fortification. Opening the fridge, I find the remains of a cheesecake I brought home earlier in the week.
“Don’t.” Brady covers my hand and prevents me from pulling out the treat. “If anyone should be stress eating, it should be me.”
My gaze rocks to him. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“Sugar, we’ve got a situation. There’s three ways we can handle it. Only one of them is good for everyone.”
“You’re scaring me.” And I don’t scare easily. I draw in a deep breath before closing the fridge, leaving the sweet morsel behind. “Tell me if it’s true. Does your pack want to depose you?”
Brady’s eyebrows squeeze together. “Yes… Who told you?”
“Greg.” I step away from Brady and take a seat at the farmhouse table made from a tree that grew on the Romero property. My fingers trace our carved initials surrounded by a heart. When the tree was cut down, Brady had it made into the table. Our table. The things we’ve done on the surface. None of it matters, however, if he’s about to destroy my world. “What about Amber Broussard? Is that true too?”
“Yes and no.”
Anger swells inside me, replacing the fear. I forget about my ripped-up hand and dig my nails into my palm. The pain keeps me focused. “Which is it, Brady? It can’t be both.”
His eyes go to the blood pooling on the floor. Brady grabs a dish towel from the counter and crouches in front of me. He wraps the cloth around my palm and presses hard. “What did you do?”
“Never mind,” I snap. “Answer my question.”
Brady gently caresses my knee with his free hand. “You need to hear all of it, sugar. Not just some hearsay from your brother.”
Ignoring the searing pain beneath the towel, I mumble, “I’m listening.”
“Someone in the pack is stirring up trouble.” Brady stands. “They’re trying to enact the old rule—alphas should be bonded and married.”
I press harder on the makeshift tourniquet as my blood pressure climbs. “Where does Amber fit into this?”
“She doesn’t. I have a week to fix this.” He scrubs a hand over his face. “Sugar, I don’t want anyone else but you. Ideally, you and I marry. We perform the bonding ceremony, and my pack shuts up.”
My blood boils hotter. I feel like the prey stuck up a tree—disaster waits if I climb down, and starvation is certain if I stay put. No real options for me. “If we don’t…”
Brady locks eyes with me. “If we don’t, my mother makes a phone call, and I have to marry Amber.”
He slumps against the counter while his arms hang by his side. Brady doesn’t want to do this. I’m certain of it. Surely there has to be another way.
I glance down at the blood-soaked cloth. It’s too obvious my brother had no idea about the depth of my wound. That shouldn’t surprise me though. Healing will either come from changing or a trip to the emergency room. “You said there were three ways.”
“The second way requires we forget each other. Go our separate ways forever.”
“No.” Shaking my head, I affirm, “We don’t want that. What’s the other way?”
Brady’s voice goes flat. “You won’t like it either. We’ve talked about it.”
He’s right. It’s the one option we agreed a long time ago wasn’t for us. We swore neither of us would ask the other to do it. It’s a choice that means leaving our families and friends. We’d have to abandon our hometown and all we hold dear. Wolves only become outcasts when they’re forced. Yes, we’re in a difficult situation, but it can’t be that desperate.
Really it isn’t. You’re just being stubborn.
No. I’m doing what’s needed for the pack. It won’t survive without me. Greg’s not ready and neither is my beta. Both wolves need at least a year to train. I doubt if my brother even knows the first thing about pack politics.
Keep telling yourself that one, and you’ll be alone with just the pack. What happens when someone challenges your authority?
It won’t happen. Not with my pack. Regardless, I won’t ask Brady to leave his family and pack for me. “Brady, I’m not asking—”
“You’re not asking, but I refuse to lose you.” He lifts his eyes to mine as his forehead wrinkles. “Make this easier on all of us, Audra. I can’t live without you.”
I rise to my feet. “And I can’t live with someone dictating how I should live. You know that, Brady.”
His fist hits the front of the sink. “What do you want? Would you prefer me marrying Amber? You know I’ll never cheat. We…” Brady’s finger wags in the air between us. “We’ll be finished. Is that what you want?”
“Time is what I want.” I walk toward the door.
“Where are you going?” he growls.
“Some place I can think.”
Thankfully, Brady and I chose a house in the hills. We planned on tearing down the modest building and remodeling it to fit our needs. For now, the woods behind it serves me well. Moving through the copse of trees at the perimeter of our backyard, I remove my sweater and unzip my jeans. Brady did us a favor and placed a small wooden box behind the trees just for this purpose. I tuck my clothing and then my shoes inside.
Nausea hits me as I summon my wolf. Dropping to my knees, pain takes over as bones snap and ligaments stretch. Brown fur sprouts out over my hands while my claws take purchase in the rich soil beneath me. My thoughts untangle, and I trot off deeper into the forest.
An hour later, I enter the back door of the house. It’s quiet, but I know Brady’s not far away. Most likely he’s upstairs. I’m ravenous.
“You’re home.” His voice sounds behind me.
“Yeah. I’m starving.”
Brady pads across the kitchen floor, barefoot and only wearing a pair of pajama bottoms. “Let me fix you something. I took out a steak for you. Want anything else?”
“Just you,” I say softly.
He opens the fridge and takes out a seasoned steak. “You said you needed to think.”
“I did.”
“And?” Brady places a skillet on the burner. “Did you come up with a solution?”
“No. You said we have a week.”
A slight grimace sneaks past Brady’s lips.
“Brady, what are you keeping from me?” I lean against the counter. Close enough to touch him, but I keep my hands to myself. One, I need a shower, and two, if he’s keeping something from me, I don’t want him to think I’ll give in easily.
Now there’s a laugh. You’ve never done anything easy.
He drops the steak into the skillet and faces me. “Promise me you won’t get mad.”
“Just tell me. I’m not making any promises.”
“Technically, we have a month before anything changes. Mom wants the problem solved in a week. She wants to meet with you.”
Folding my arms over my chest, I ask, “What the hell for?”
“She thinks she can convince you to go through with the ceremony.”
If my hand hadn’t healed, I would have torn it open digging my nails into it. How dare Brenna think she can control me? “What else?”
Brady’s gaze goes to the floor. “I saw my lawyer today. He said that whoever is challenging me has to file a claim with Council. It hasn’t happened yet.”
I drop my head back and stare at the ceiling. Blowing air through my cheeks, I say, “Let me get this straight. The challenge to your leadership isn’t even valid? Your mother, not you, is the one pushing for me to say yes right away?”
“Yeah.”
Stepping forward, I push my finger into Brady’s muscular chest. “Tell your mother I’ll meet with her when Ashmedai moves to Falls Creek. In the meantime, don’t even mention this fucking ceremony to me again unless someone has gone to Council about it. Understood?”
Brady grasps my finger. “Sugar, it’s not going away. I’m tired of shacking up with you. I want something more than this.”
“I can always move back in with my brother,” I shoot back. “Problem solved.”
Brady turns back to the stove and flips my steak. “Not for me.”
“I’m done talking about it. I want to shower, eat, and get ready to head to the bar.”
Leaving Brady in the kitchen, I head for the stairs. I lied. All I want is to be held in his strong arms. Forever.