“Marcus, this is Kate. Jack’s mate.” That one statement into phone cut through any threat of confusion.

“His mate?” Marcus said. “Not just his fiancé?”

“The wedding’s just a formality,” I said hoping I sounded more confident than I felt. “We’re mates. But I think you knew that. Which means Jack will be alpha.”

“So I guess that means you’ve decided against my offer to give you the money to save your diner from eviction.”

“That’s right,” I said. “Accepting your help isn’t worth betraying Jack’s trust. If Jack can stop the eviction as alpha, he will. If not—”

“Kate,” Lenny said behind me. I turned to see he was on his phone, his hand over the speaker.

“Just a minute, Marcus.” I focused on Lenny again, a look of question on my face.

“It’s George,” he said. “There’s a fire in the building. The cops are telling them they’ve got to shut down the diner.”

“What? Is everyone okay? How long are they closing us?” I asked.

Lenny shrugged. “I don’t know. Hold on.” He turned his back, speaking into his phone again.

I turned to mine. “Marcus, I’m sorry. Can I call you back? I mean, I need to talk to you, but . . . there’s something I have to check on.”

“Sure. Take your time,” he said. “Give your friends at the diner my regards. Oh, and tell your cook to make sure his cigarette’s out before he throws it into the alley. With all the construction, it’s just too easy for the wind to pick it up. You’d be amazed how many things in a construction area are flammable.”

“What?” I said, not sure I’d heard him right.

“I’ll be in the park when you’re ready to talk,” he said. “Meet me in the North Woods, in the Ravine, near the arch.”

“Wait. Do you know something about the fire at my diner?” I asked, but he didn’t answer. “Marcus? Hello?”

I checked my phone. The call was ended.

“What’d he say?” Lenny asked, slipping his own phone into his pocket.

I shook my head. “He wants me to meet him. I think he may know something about the fire,” I said. “What did George tell you?”

“The fire was in the alley, but the whole place smells like smoke. Everyone’s okay. The cops closed the diner until the fire department gives the okay. Could be hours,” he said. “I’m going to run over and see if George needs any help.”

“Thanks, Lenny,” I said. “Tell him I’ll be there soon. I want to talk to Marcus. Find out what he knows and straighten out any confusion about Jack passing on being alpha.”

“Good idea,” he said.

We walked at a fast pace through the zoo toward the entrance, and parted ways on the sidewalk. I turned left, heading for the corner to hail a cab and pulling out my phone again as I walked. I dialed Marcus.

After four rings he hadn’t answered, but I’d gotten a cab. “I need to get to the Ravine in the North Woods. So drop me at the North Meadow ball fields and I’ll walk in from there.”

“You got it, lady,” the cabbie said, starting the meter.

We sped off through the park, winding along the road, lush trees dappling the sun as we drove. After ten rings Marcus still hadn’t answered and the call went to voicemail. I considered leaving a message for about half a second then decided against it—thumbing the end button. I dialed again, figuring if he didn’t answer this time, I’d redirect the cabbie to the diner and insist that the future pack beta meet me there.

“Kate, calling back so soon,” Marcus said answering on the third ring.

“I’m on my way to the ravine. How long will it take you to get there?” I asked.

“I’m already here, darling. Just waiting for you,” he said and something in his voice made the hairs on the back of my neck prickle.

I ignored the instinctive warning. “Great. I’ll be there in about five minutes.”

It was less than that before we pulled up next to the ball fields in the North Woods. I gave the cabbie my fare and scooted out. The small through road didn’t have much traffic, so I was able to jog across to the walking path the second the cab pulled off.

Minutes later I was in the ravine, lush trees towering above me, a babbling stream splashing near the path. It was a beautiful day. Surrounded by the forest, something inside me loosened—like a tight knot finally uncoiling. I liked it here. It felt like coming home, though I’d never been to this section of the park.

The paved path was scattered with leaves, forest debris spilling over the edges. The sound of my leather work shoes shuffling along the cluttered pavement melted with the chirps and snaps and creaks around me. I was alone in this dense patch of woods, and that realization suddenly lifted the fine hairs all over my body.

I glanced behind me, the sun struggling to cast a warm glow between the leaves. In front of me the path stretched deeper into the forest, around a bend and out of sight.

“Hello, Kate.”

I jumped and swallowed my scream at the sound of Marcus’ voice behind me. I spun. “Where’d you . . . Were you hiding?”

He hadn’t been there a second ago.

“I left the path for a minute to examine a patch of flowers just over there.” He pointed back the way I’d come, through the trees, off the paved trail.

He looked different without his expensively tailored suit. The big man had dressed in a thin white t-shirt, and gray gym shorts. His buttery yellow hair was tucked behind his ears, brushing the back of his neck. I’d think he was out for a jog, except he wore leather flip-flops instead of sneakers.

Still, it wasn’t a bad look on the man. The thin shirt showed off biceps six inches thick, clinging to his defined barrel chest and ripped abs. He lifted weights. He had to, to get those massive muscles on a narrow waist. Even his legs were huge, bulging, veins snaking under the skin.

“Like what you see?” he asked and my gaze snapped up to his. “It’s in the genes. Betas have to be ready to fight, and guaranteed to win.”

I shrugged. “What do you know about the fire at the diner?”

Marcus folded his massive arms across his chest. It didn’t look easy. “There was a fire?”

I didn’t buy his guileless surprise. “Right. Your warning to Lucas about his cigarettes and fire danger was just a coincidence.”

His brows went high, mouth shaping into an O. “Is everyone alright? Any damage?”

I studied him for a half second then shook my head. “It’s fine. The fire was in the alley. There’s some smoke damage, I think, but not a lot. I’m going over there after this.”

“Are you?” he asked. “They’re expecting you?”

I eyed him sideways, suspicious. “Yeah. Eventually.”

“Ah. Well that’s different.”

“Whatever.” The guy was acting weird—even for a werewolf. “I just wanted to make sure we’re clear about the loan you offered. And no matter what you may have heard, even from Jack, we’re together. He’s going to be alpha and I’ll be alpha female. So . . . as your future . . . queen, I need you to back off on the campaign for becoming the next alpha instead of Jack. Okay?”

“As you wish . . . my queen,” he said stepping closer. Instinct stiffened my body, something inside me warning me to raise my guard—be ready. “You’re absolutely right. The opportunity for campaigning has passed. Time to take action.”

I lifted my chin. “What do you mean?”

He sighed. “Y’know, I’d hoped to keep this civilized. Present a reasonable argument, persuade the pack to see the absurdity of auto-ascension and birth rank. But no one would listen. They’re all stuck in their ways, blind to the pitfalls of accepting the status quo.”

I chuckled and casually shuffled back a step. I wanted distance between us, but I didn’t want to make an obvious retreat. Power—it’s all about perception. “I seriously don’t know what you’re talking about. Remember, I’m new to all this werewolf stuff. But I’m glad to hear we’re on the same page about Jack becoming alpha.”

“Oh, Jack won’t be alpha,” he said. “And you . . . well, I’d hoped you’d see things my way.”

“What things?” I asked. “Did you really think I’d go against my fiancé?”

It was Marcus’ turn to chuckle. “Come now, Kate. You and Jack were never a real couple. Anyone with a nose could smell that you were unattached at the pack house last weekend. Why do you think I bothered approaching you? I hoped I could seduce you—”

“Seduce me?” I barked out a laugh before I couldn’t stop myself. “That wasn’t going to happen.”

He dropped his arms to his side, standing straighter so he loomed over me. “It was only an option.”

“Why?” I asked. “I mean, why bother with me at all? You have Alexia. You don’t need me.”

“Need you? Of course not. Alexia is a born wolf, stronger, with a hereditary knowledge of our people. She’s a far better mate.” He propped his hands on his hips. “I just wanted to keep you from Jack. Make him unacceptable to the pack, despite his birth rank.”

“Wow, you’re really hung up on this birth rank stuff,” I said. “You’d think by your age you would’ve learned to deal with it.”

“Easy for a human to say. You have no idea what it’s like to want more out of life, want more for your family, for your children, and be refused even the chance because of who gave birth to you.” His shoulders were stiff, hands balling to fists. “If you were told you could never own the Sweet Spot, but only wait tables there because your parents were waiters and their parents. Would you just accept it? Deal with it?”

“Maybe if you’d made a good case to the pack, proved yourself—”

“I am twice the alpha Jack is, superior in every way,” he said. “Since we were pups, I fought to rise in rank, to be recognized as the stronger wolf, to show the pack his inferiority. I am the better fighter, the better wolf, the kind of alpha this pack needs. Alexia saw it. She was drawn to me, to the alpha she sensed in me. She knew I was a better choice than Jack.”

“She went to you because Jack didn’t want her and she knew it,” I said. “Real classy going after another guy’s girlfriend, by the way.”

“Jack likes to believe he let her go rather than admitting that he lost her to me,” Marcus said. “It doesn’t matter. He lost his mate. I claimed her. The alpha spot was mine. And then you came along.”

“Ever consider that I came along because I was meant to?” I asked, finally understanding their belief in fate and mates that were meant to be. “I was born to be with him, Marcus. And he was born to be alpha. Not you. There’s nothing you can do to change that. You’ve tried everything.”

“Not everything,” He said. “But I will give fate a slim chance to intervene.”

“What do you mean?”

He stretched his neck, cartilage cracking when he turned his head one way then the other. Bones down his back rolled under his skin, pushing against his t-shirt, forcing him to bend forward. His dark eyes flicked up to mine and a wicked grin curved his mouth.

“Run,” he said, voice low, gravelly. “Run, before I rip your legs off.”

“Oh, shit.” He was shifting. I spun on the balls of my toes and sprinted down the twisting path. The sound of bones snapping and cracking bounced off the trees. A low growl rumbled behind me, chasing me.

My heart kicked faster, the forest streaking past me. I couldn’t focus, couldn’t think, panic driving my pace.

A voice that was barely human scratched up my back. “Jack Pensione will not be alpha. Not after I’ve killed his mate.”

The world fell away and all that was left was the icy chill of my fear pulsing through my veins. Instinct took hold, and something stirred inside me like a second consciousness, an awareness that enhanced my own. It spoke to me, not with words but with feelings, warning me about sights and sounds and smells I couldn’t think to notice on my own.

Marcus growled behind me, the scrape of his claws on the paved path pushing me faster. He’d completed the shift and was catching up. I had to get away. Everything inside me screamed that capture would mean death. I couldn’t let him catch me.

So I ran, following the path until I spotted a group of people up ahead. A part of me, that part that I’d always known as me, told me to go to them—they’d help, they’d call someone, they’d scare him off. But the other part of me, the new part, the part that sensed Marcus coming behind me without looking, a part that saw humans as unpredictable, dangerous, and untrustworthy, told me to cut into forest, to leave the path and find shelter in the woods.

I cut left, slicing through high weeds and low branches, stumbling over tree roots and hidden stones. He was getting closer. I could hear the heavy pound of his paws when he moved from pavement to soft earth, the loud rustle as his body drove through the underbrush. I was running blind, desperate, frantic, with no clear escape in sight. And then suddenly, it was too late.

Marcus’ massive fangs pierced my calf, hauling me off my feet and slamming me to the ground. Pain bolted through me white hot, screaming through my head, burning through my veins. He wrenched his head, jerking my body toward him like I was a lumpy feather pillow, and he was ready to tear out my stuffing.

I screamed and kicked, my fingers digging into the ground, trying to get away. Marcus opened his big mouth. I had a split second of hope before his sharp teeth clamped down on me again.

This time he bit into the back of my right thigh, shredding muscle and meat, shaking his head to try to break the flesh free. He was going to eat me alive.

My screams set a huge flock of birds to flight from the surrounding trees. But Marcus didn’t care, didn’t stop. I twisted underneath him, turning to sit as best I could, straining to reach his big tawny face. Searing pain lanced through my body, but I grit my teeth, scratching at his eye, trying to gouge out the only vulnerable part of him I could reach.

It worked, insomuch as he let go of his hold on my leg, abandoning the bite of flesh he’d meant to rip off and eat. But he only moved higher up my body, his muzzle bloody, quivering with his growl, flashing impossibly long sharp teeth.

I flailed at him, smacking and punching his face, kicking at his wide chest, at his powerful legs. But I was like a gnat buzzing around him, a nuisance he could easily ignore. His dark eyes fell onto my belly, his flesh drawing back from him teeth in a snarl. And then he took another bite.

I shrieked in pain, the agony unlike anything I’d ever known. Fire radiated from the center of my body, consuming my thoughts, my ability to breathe. I grabbed his thick ears, fighting to push him off me, to pull his mouth from my bloody stomach. My thoughts dizzied, my vision blurring in and out of focus, sounds growing muffled.

Marcus only growled, settling his heavy body over mine, his massive paws on either side of me. He lifted his head, eyeing the damage, then lapped at the gushing blood with a long rough tongue. His licks were warm against my cooling skin. I shivered, feeling my energy drain away with my blood. Exhaustion, blood loss and shock were taking their toll.

“Hey,” someone yelled an instant before a rock bounced off the back of Marcus’ head. The big wolf flinched, shook his head then ran his tongue over the gaping wound again.

“Hey, get! Get outta there. Leave her alone,” the person yelled again and another rock thunked against the big wolf’s back.

Marcus rose, a rumbling growl vibrating through his body. He glanced back in the direction we’d come, snarling louder then sounding off two loud barks. He turned back to me, his too intelligent eyes scanning my body, the damage he’d done, as though weighing his options. I could see the change in his eyes when the decision was made.

“Marcus, no. Please,” I said, instinct warning me before my brain could wholly understand. I wanted to scoot away, but I hardly had the energy to lift my head.

He stepped closer just as another rocked sailed inches above his shoulder. His eyes met mine, muzzle quivering with his growl, blood and drool dripping from the corners of his mouth. He lunged at me, and I flinched away, his massive jaws sinking his teeth into the side of my neck where it met my shoulder.

Bone’s snapped and my vision went blinding white, the pain stealing my breath, my voice. He closed his jaws, determined to bite through until his teeth met. He’d take a piece of me this time, I knew it.

The corners of my vision dimmed. Blistering pain swam through my mind, dizzying and disorienting. Someone was coming, even as Marcus shook his head, tearing at my flesh, thrashing my body this way and that. I tried to push him off me, fingers digging deep into his thick fur, pulling fistfuls of hair from his neck and head. But Marcus wouldn’t relent, each shake of his head tore meat from bone, jolting electric bolts of pain through my body, zapping my strength.

The darkness closed in, sounds muffling. I couldn’t raise my arms to push at him. Someone screamed. It wasn’t me. I could hardly keep my eyes from fluttering closed. Muscles trembled, fatigue and pain making my limbs heavy. Pin pricks of soft light flitter through my closing lids. A hard thumb sounded just above me, more voices, something rustling near my feet.

And then the sharp teeth withdrew, the heavy weight of the wolf lifted. Someone took my hand, felt my pulse. No. Get back. Get away. I couldn’t make my mouth work.

Where was Marcus? He’d kill them too. They had to go, run. Run!

I tried to lift my head, warn them that he wasn’t just an instinct driven animal. The wolf they’d seen was smart and cunning and ruthless. I had to make them understand. But someone pressed my shoulder, forcing me back against damp earth.

“Oh my God, call an ambulance,” someone said. “Is she still alive?”

Was I? I wanted to know. Was I dying? I tried to listen for a clue, but the pinprick of light grew smaller and smaller. Sound and sensation slipped away until there was only cool, soothing darkness. Nothing else.