I wake up with a sour taste in my mouth, and a massive crick in my neck. It takes a minute for the memories of last night to come roaring back. For a second I'm distracted by wondering if my head will actually fall off when my neck finally cracks. When that doesn't happen, I start to recall why I'm here.
Livvy.
Oh God, Livvy. Where the hell is she? I jump down off the bed of the truck and stumble towards the bar, praying she's just gone inside to wash up.
"Hello?" I call out, as the door creaks open. Shit, my voice sounds like I've been gargling razors. "Livvy? Are you in here?"
The place is empty.
Now that it's daylight, I can see a little house about fifty paces away. Must be where the owner lives. I'm none too keen to go running to him, after he nearly throttled me last night, but I don't have much choice.
It takes a couple minutes of pounding before he jerks the door open.
"What the hell do you want?"
"Livvy." I swallow hard, trying to clear the raspy pain out of my throat. "Is she in there?"
"Oh, for shit's sake." He glares at me. "Did she run off? What did you do to her last night?"
I spread my hands out in a who, me? gesture. "Nothing that would make her run away, for fuck's sake! She should be sending me a fruit basket."
He makes a disgusted noise. "All right, all right. This isn't Penthouse. I don't need the gory details. Maybe she's headed over to prepare for the ceremony."
"But I don't know where it is," I point out. "And she knows that."
Dean shrugs. "Call her."
"She's never answered my calls before," I reply, frowning at my phone. "Why would she start now?"
"Well, I'm out of ideas." He leans calmly against the door frame. "She'll have to be back for her truck. In the meantime, why don't you just try following her scent?"
Of course. I'm an idiot. Even with all the time I've spent among my own kind, my human instincts still make me forget what I'm capable of.
Dean seems amused as this realization dawns across my face.
"Right," I mutter. "Well, I don't have all day to go chasing her across the forest. I thought I'd check with you first."
"Well, I'm not Livvy's keeper. I agreed to help keep her safe last night, but that's all."
"Guess I'm on my own."
"Guess you are." He slams the door in my face.
Great. Fantastic.
Last night's little encounter proved that Livvy wasn't bullshitting me about the wolves. They're out for blood. I don't want to think the worst, but immediately I'm wondering if she isn't somewhere out there wounded...or worse.
What would possess her to just leave on her own? Without her truck? She didn't steal my bike, either, so she was most likely shifted for fast travel.
The good news is, that'll make her scent even stronger. Easier to track.
Taking a deep breath, I strip off my clothes and focus on the change.
I feel it in my hands, first. Then deep in my bones. The growing, morphing, twisting of muscles and sinews and skin.
Once the transformation is complete, I hit the ground running. I've almost forgotten how amazing this feels - the sudden sharpness of my senses, the speed, the thrill of having four paws on the earth. It feels right.
Livvy's scent is strong. Even after last night, it still sparks a hot curl of lust inside me. It occurs to me that other males might've followed her, just the way I am now - not because they're after her in particular, not because they don't approve of our marriage - but because they just smelled a female in heat.
The idea of someone else...
Growling, I gallop even faster through the underbrush. The memories of our mating are mixing up in my head with all the bloodlust of my animal fury, and the coppery smell in my imagination is so strong that I have to slow down for a second and reassure myself that it's not real.
But no, it's just her. Just Livvy's unmistakable scent, nothing indicating that she's been hurt.
Not yet, anyway.
I have no idea where I'm going. The path twists and turns, seemingly without any logic. Then, when I reach the edge of a little river, it becomes obvious.
Was she trying to throw off her enemies, or was she trying to throw off me?
Snarling with frustration, I leap over the river and sniff along the opposite bank. There's no telling how long she might've slogged through the water to wash her scent away. I might not even be going in the right direction.
Dean must have known she'd be smart enough to do this. Back when he suggested I track her, he knew I'd run into a dead end. Asshole.
After what feels like hours of searching, I give up. The trip to the bar feels like twice as long, following that teasing scent back where it came from.
Goddamn it, Livvy, where are you?
When I emerge from the woods, Dean is out chopping wood next to his stupid little house. I shift back into human form without blinking, striding up to him before I even bother to put my pants back on.
"Asshole."
He looks up mildly, swinging the axe back to rest on his shoulder. "Oh, did you not have much luck?"
The twinkle in his eyes tells me everything I need to know. I'd punch him, but I know better than to take a swing at a guy carrying an axe.
"You knew." I glare at him. "What the fuck am I supposed to do?"
"Of course I knew." He rolls his eyes, returning to his work. "Any Were with half a brain knows you take the river whenever you don't want somebody following. You sure you're ready to live around here, kid? If you're ignorant as all that, they'll eat you alive."
I just stare at him.
"Figuratively, of course." He splits another log and tosses it into the firewood pile. "You know. Probably."
"Just tell me where the wedding's supposed to be," I growl.
Dean shakes his head at me. "I dunno if I can have this conversation while your dick's out."
Oh, for fuck's sake.
I go and pick up the bundle of my clothes, jerking my pants back on like they've wronged me.
The map is still in my jacket pocket. I thrust it in Dean's direction, still taking care to avoid the axe.
"Where?" I demand. "Show me."
"Why the hell would you think I'd know?" he says. "Head in towards town. You're sure to run into somebody who has an idea of what's going on. Don't ask me. I'm just a lowly outcast."
This guy is so far up his own ass, he's practically turned inside-out.
My bike, thank God, is still waiting for me. It's starting to feel like the only faithful friend I've got.
As I ride on the dirt roads towards Clan Gunn's territory, I can't help but remember everything Livvy said last night. About Kane, the clan enforcer, needing to guarantee us "safe passage." The hell does that mean? He couldn't even guarantee us a safe place to sleep last night.
But it's obvious enough, there are plenty of people out for our hides. If I got ambushed by a pack of wolves again like last night, would I be able to take them on myself?
I hate to admit it, but without Livvy and Dean's help, I don't know if I'd be able to face them all without getting myself pretty banged-up. Definitely too banged-up for a wedding ceremony.
Of course, that's assuming the wedding is still on.
I'm still trying to make sense of all the things she told me last night. How much was genuine, and how much was a test? Regardless of the rest, I'm pretty sure the stuff about wanting to run away from all of this was all too real.
Shit, I'd love to. It keeps occurring to me - I've still got three-quarters of a tank of gas from the last podunk station I passed on the main road. I could just turn back to civilization, and leave this whole mess behind me.
The clans would get over it. They'd figure out another way to deal.
But me? I'd never fuckin' forgive myself.
I've had enough of running away from my responsibilities. I just can't do it anymore. No matter how much my mind wanders, my hands won't steer me back. My foot won't hit the brake. I'm determined to see this through, even if it'll be the death of me.
And hell, I've got my own reasons, now. I can't quite wrap my head around what happened between me and Livvy last night, but I know it was important.
She needs me. I don't know why or how yet, but I've got to help her.
I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting. But when I get within a few miles of town, I can tell I'm expected.
Livvy's not here. That much is obvious. But I'm going to play dumb, as much as I can.
Six men. Were-cougars. Bodyguard types, gathered almost casually around the perimeter - but most definitely blocking the road.
I could try to blast through them on my bike, but that seems like it might end with my body parts being scattered in several adjoining counties.
Instead, I kill the engine a couple feet away from the guy who seems like their leader. Is this the infamous Kane?
Black hair, black eyes, and hulking muscles. Shit, is everybody around here an MMA fighter? Are they competing in Shifter Oil Wrestling on the weekends?
Kane's scent tells me more than I want to know. He's a cougar, but ruthless. He's spilled blood before, and he'll do it again. I can see why he's Clan Enforcer. Nobody's going to fuck with this guy if they value their life.
"You must be Nolan," he says. He's not going in for a handshake. Don't know why I expected one.
"That's me," I tell him.
"Where is she?" he demands.
Oh, fuck me.
"She's not here?" I look around me, puzzled, like I wasn't half-expecting this.
"No." Kane takes a step toward me. "She told me she was coming with you."
"Well, she was gone when I woke up this morning." I can feel six pairs of eyes on me, and it doesn't feel great. "I figured she came in early to get ready."
The enforcer snarls quietly. "Did you track her?"
"Course I did. She went in the river." I shrug. "Well, I'm sure she's gotta turn up eventually. Right?"
Kane makes some kind of signal to his lackeys, and they immediately scatter.
"They'll find her," he says, taking another step closer. "If you've got anything to hide, now's the time to tell me."
"Why would I be hiding anything?" Instantly, my mind's filled with images of her writhing and moaning beneath me.
"Hell if I know." Kane's eyes darken even more, somehow. "I know you're not used to a tight-knit clan like ours. Around here, everybody's in everybody's business. Me personally, I don't have a problem with mating between clans. But I do have a big problem with the whole thing being forced on an unwilling, innocent girl."
"I'm not exactly thrilled about it, either." I refuse to back down, no matter how much his proximity makes me uneasy. "Trust me. This is the last thing I want."
Well, that's not exactly true anymore. After last night, I can't think of anything more intoxicating than spending the rest of my life discovering new ways to make Livvy scream my name.
But that's fucking idiotic. With my dick calling the shots, I'm going to end up in even more trouble than I already am.
Kane's fingers twitch, like he's annoyed at the lack of good excuses to strangle me. "I want to believe you," he says. "You don't smell like a liar. But if you take advantage of Livvy..."
I wonder how good their noses are. Will they be able to tell what we did last night? I'm honestly surprised he hasn't noticed her scent clinging to me, even now. It's not like I've had time to shower.
"I'd never take advantage of her," I tell him. "But she's a grown woman."
Kane's jaw clenches. "I'm aware of that."
"So there's certain things that'll stay between us." My pulse is quickening, as Kane's nostrils flare - I wonder if he's picked up the scent now that I've given him the suspicion that we mated. If so, I'm an idiot.
But Kane needs to know I'm not easily intimidated. More than that, he needs to know I'm going to respect Livvy's own wishes over whatever the clean leadership wants for her.
Being pushed into this marriage is bad enough. On everything else, the girl can speak for herself.
Kane stares at me, rooted there like a statue. Finally, the corner of his mouth twitches.
"You don't kiss and tell," he says. "I appreciate that. But you'd better go and take a shower before somebody else smells her on you. It could be taken the wrong way."
I let out a long breath. "You knew."
"That's right," says Kane. "I always know. Keep that in mind, and we won't have any trouble."