chapter one
Jordan trotted along the shaded forest path, not waiting for her patrol partner, Hudson, who had stopped to water a bush. A flash of brown caught her eye as a rabbit ran out from a thick, tangled brier. Leaping to action, Jordan dashed through the woods in pursuit. The rabbit darted beneath another thicket of prickly brambles. If it had remained hidden, it might have had a fighting chance, but the furry critter scampered out the other side, where Jordan quickly caught up to it. The rabbit managed to avoid her teeth when it suddenly changed direction and headed back to the path, where it took off straight down the trail.
A second wolf came crashing out of the forest, as Hudson caught the scent and joined in the pursuit. The gleam in his eyes mirrored the excitement thundering inside her chest. They ran after the rabbit side by side and were about to capture the little bugger when Wolfrik streaked ahead of them and pounced on their quarry. The rabbit’s scream was cut short when the ferocious pureblood locked onto the creature’s neck and shook until it went limp in his jaws. Bones crunched beneath Wolfrik’s fangs. Noticing Jordan and Hudson watching him, he growled in warning and took his kill off the trail to devour all by himself.
Wolfrik tore through fur to get to the rabbit’s meaty flesh, almost as though having an audience made it taste better.
With her hackles rising, Jordan slunk toward the beastly male. That rabbit should have been hers—hers and Hudson’s. The pureblood needed to be reminded that this was their turf.
Hudson followed her lead, stalking down the path alongside his partner. Wolfrik was one of the hollow’s biggest and strongest males, but he was outnumbered.
They might have gotten the rabbit from him, or at least chased him away, if they hadn’t been interrupted by the threatening crack of splitting wood from the edge of the trail.
Jordan yipped in warning as a tree came crashing down. She and Hudson leapt aside in time and avoided being smashed into furry bits of pulp by the falling trunk and branches.
As the dust and flecks of debris settled, Jordan shifted, jumping to her feet, her heart still hammering.
“Holy Mother of Moonshine,” she said with a gasp, searching the ground for Hudson.
He popped up on the other side of the tree, staring wide-eyed through the thick branches to the opposite side of the path where Jordan stood naked, same as him. “You okay, Jord?”
“Yeah, no thanks to Wolfrik,” Jordan grumbled and glared at the pureblood, who hadn’t even bothered to look up from his meal. It could have been a twig that had fallen to the trail, for all the attention he gave them.
Hudson grumbled. “We nearly had that rabbit before Wolfrik butted in, and now we’re stuck taking care of this.” He scowled at the fallen tree. “Damn thing couldn’t wait two more days to fall. Wonderful way to end our patrol duties.” He huffed.
Jordan smirked at him. “At least the hollow will get fresh firewood out of it.”
Hudson rolled his brawny shoulders and swung his arm. “That’s what the mated males are for, swinging the ol’ ax around. Not like they have much else to do besides hump their mates and lick their paws.”
Jordan rolled her eyes. “Just wait until you’re a father, Hudson. They do more than sit around licking their paws.” But she didn’t like the thought of spending the next day hacking apart the tree any more than he did.
There wasn’t anything they could do until the next day. Dusk would soon replace daylight, and they had a claiming ceremony to attend. Maybe that’s why Wolfrik had his tail all up in a twist, seeing as his former friend and lover had chosen another mate after he disappeared from Wolf Hollow for nearly three years.
Hudson’s eyebrows jumped as he grinned over the fallen tree at Jordan.
“Looks like you’re on the wrong side.”
“No problem,” Jordan said with a smug smile as she dropped to her knees and shifted. Even though there was enough room to crawl under the tree, doing so as a wolf felt more dignified.
Once clear of the tree, she shifted again, catching Hudson’s intake of breath upon seeing her naked on her hands and knees. Without intending to, she’d given him a provocative view with her ass sticking up, practically shouting “mount me!”
Standing on her knees, Jordan swiveled around in time to see Hudson with his mouth gaping open. It made her laugh. “Want to give me a hand here?”
Hudson took three swift steps over and reached down, tugging Jordan’s hand as she rose to stand. They stood staring at one another, grasping hands, breath quickening. Desire shone lambent in Hudson’s eyes, as noticeable as the full moon on a clear night.
They had coupled as wolves a few times—it wasn’t uncommon between patrol partners. Nor was it uncommon for partners to take a tumble in human form, but Jordan and Hudson hadn’t bumped bones as humans… yet.
The sharp echo of a gong signaling the end of day patrol hummed across the forest. Jordan pulled her hand out of Hudson’s.
With a lift of his chin and a wide grin, he regained his naturally buoyant demeanor. “The fun and games are just getting started,” he said, moistening his lips.
“Not quite.” Jordan groaned, remembering the commitment she’d made to join her family in the den for dinner. “Palmer wants our family to eat together before the ritual.”
The full-moon ceremony had been canceled—for good reason—after two of their packmates abducted Tabor—a half-breed they didn’t want mating with Sasha, a pureblood—and tried to dispose of him in the human wastelands outside one of the crumbling cities. Luckily, Tabor had been found unharmed and returned to the hollow. The abduction had been the worst betrayal in the hollow’s history. To try and make up for it, the pack had organized a special claiming ceremony for Sasha and Tabor with the usual drumbeats, erotic dance performance, and—Jordan’s favorite—generous helpings of Jager’s mind-bending brew.
But first she had to get through dinner with her family.
Hudson’s eyes bugged when she said as much. “Your entire family? Even Trish?”
Jordan’s face heated, and her lips curled like the edges of a leaf caught in a hot flame. She didn’t like thinking about Trish. It had been humiliating enough when her father claimed Francine, a shifter around the same age as Jordan. Palmer had barely waited two moon cycles following her mother’s death before sniffing out a new mate. And now, he’d claimed a second she-wolf barely older than Francine. He’d already knocked her up, too.
Disgust swirled inside Jordan’s stomach, leaving behind a bitter aftertaste.
A grin lit up Hudson’s face. “If it were anyone else, I might feel sorry for him. Poor guy, surrounded by so many women.”
“Emerson, Camilla, Sydney, and I are self-sufficient,” Jordan said, narrowing her eyes. “He brought Francine on himself, along with that squalling newborn. With Francine for a mother, who knows how the pup will turn out.”
“Such sisterly devotion. I’m touched,” Hudson said, pressing his hands against his heart.
Jordan gave him a light smack. “I already have too many sisters.”
Hudson returned her smack with a playful push, and soon they were shoving one another, laughing until Hudson picked Jordan off her feet, his fingers brushing against her breasts as he got a firm hold on her.
“What are you doing?” she asked, still laughing. She had to grab Hudson around the neck to keep from falling.
“Carrying you to the den,” he replied, jostling her to get a better grip. “You look ready to faint at the thought of dinner with your family.”
“I can handle them, and I can walk on my own two feet,” Jordan said. She bit his earlobe gently. Hudson sucked in a breath and stopped, and Jordan broke free. The moment her feet touched earth, she sprinted down the path.
She could hear Hudson panting behind her as he caught up. They were nearly at the lake path when she stopped and bent over to catch her breath. Hudson stopped beside her and did the same.
“Phew!” Hudson said, lifting his head. “I swear you’re the fastest female in the hollow, Jordan. Be sure to save some energy for tonight.”
Jordan grinned. “So long as you save me some of Jager’s brew.”
“Consider it done,” Hudson said, teeth gleaming.
She fanned her face and glanced at the lake path. “You go ahead. I’m going to rinse and cool off before dinner with the banshee.”
“Want company?” Hudson asked, his brows rising suggestively.
“Right now? No,” Jordan answered, moving away from him. “Ask me again when the family dinner is over, and I’ve thrown back a few.”
Hudson’s grin reached his eyes. “You can count on it. Don’t keep me waiting too long.”
Jordan flashed him a smile. “I’m speedy, remember?” She tossed her arm up and waved before jogging down the path. “Catch you later, Huds.”
With the long summer days at their peak, the shade of the trees felt cool as they slid over her naked body. She jogged the entire way to the lake, which was really just a pond fed by the Manama River, south of the hollow. It was the hollow’s largest body of water. Most pack members preferred rinsing off in the Sakhir River, for its proximity to the communal gathering spaces north of the glade and den. But Jordan loved swimming almost as much as running. She felt freest with her body in motion.
The glassy surface of the pond beckoned, lit up by the waning sun overhead. Perhaps another half hour remained before the sun dipped below the tree line and dimmed out the lake as it shadowed the sky.
Jordan passed a large boulder where the trail ended from the west side. With its smooth, flat surface on top, the boulder made for the best diving spot into the lake. But Jordan’s favorite place to enter was from the narrow stretch of sand, where she could wade in gradually.
Skirting the lake, she walked swiftly to the softened earth on the southeast side. She didn’t pause for a second but continued to the water’s edge and kept going. Cool water caressed her ankles, filling the spaces between her toes. Gentle, rippling waves lapped against her thighs as she sank deeper into the refreshing pool, relishing the way the water surrounded her completely.
With a soft splash, she pushed off, dog-paddling her way to the center of the pond.
A burst of joyful glee filled her lungs despite the obligatory family dinner awaiting her in the den. Just as Jordan felt free running as a wolf through the woods, she felt unhindered as she bobbed around in the lake. Floating on her back, she stared into the clear blue sky and allowed her mind to go deliciously blank.
The blissful tranquility lasted perhaps a minute before a loud splash interrupted her reverie.
Jordan dropped her legs and spun around, treading water to stay afloat. Annoyance churned inside her like air bubbles rising to the surface. Had Hudson turned around and followed her to the lake? He knew better than that. It didn’t matter who it was. They were disturbing her peaceful retreat.
Ripples spread across the pond from a spot near the boulder.
Jordan, waiting for the offending party to reemerge, held her breath as though she too were underwater.
She waited and waited, finally releasing a huff of frustration. Was this shifter half fish?
She scanned the water’s edge. The intruder finally emerged in a shower of droplets as he burst through the pond’s surface, spraying everything within five feet of his massive body. Jordan happened to be within that radius, madly blinking through pond water as Raider rose above the surface like a tidal wave of tanned muscles and firm abs, forged to perfection. The last of the sunrays rushed forth, gleaming over his mighty chest.
If only it had been Hudson raining on her parade. A scowl spread over her face as Raider shook the water from his thick brown mane, scattering droplets across the pond’s surface. The movement of his body sent a current of water drifting across Jordan’s body in a cool caress below the surface. He slicked his hair back with both hands.
Facing Jordan, eyes now open, Raider nodded. “Good evening,” he said.
“Good until you showed up,” Jordan muttered beneath her breath, wasting no time paddling away from him.
She had never had a problem with Raider, not until a few days before, when her father suggested that she or one of her sisters marry the barbarian. That’s what Raider reminded her of, with his thick, massive body and the way he swaggered around camp. The indignation was enough to make Jordan choke on her own breath.
Their fathers had cooked up the idea together. Shameless, the two of them. The elders already dictated enough of their lives, and Garrick, Raider’s father, had nearly been banished after kidnapping and brutalizing another packmate.
Raider said nothing more as Jordan swam toward shore. He glided across the pond with surprising grace for a man of his build. By the time she reached land, Raider had claimed her earlier spot, floating on his back in the center of the pond.
The sight made her glower one last time in his direction as water droplets streaked down her body. She stormed out of sight, squeezing the excess water from her long brown hair as she walked along the lake path, returning to the trail she and Hudson had patrolled earlier.
Swiping her face, Jordan tried to wipe away the mental image of Raider floating on the pond’s surface, legs spread, basking in the sun’s last rays.
Thickheaded brute.
His head wasn’t the only part of him that was thick.
Jordan squeezed her eyes together tightly, but it did nothing to blot out the image implanted in her mind. Shifters saw each other naked all the time, but that was the closest she’d ever been to Raider bare-skinned. Too close for comfort.
Thinking back, he hadn’t appeared to care whether she remained or not. If anything, her abrupt departure seemed welcome. Jordan didn’t care to do Raider any favors. Nor did she have any desire to remain, treading water with him, wet and naked.
She jogged the remainder of the way to the glade, sunlight slowly fading at her back, its dark shadow following her like a midnight cloak.
Just outside the glade, she reached a three-foot-high boulder where she and several other shifters stashed their clothes before patrol. She pulled a black tank top over her head before grabbing a slim pair of faded jeans, still warm from the sun, and stepped into each leg.
She saw her friend Chase standing in line at the community cauldron and looking around the clearing. When Chase noticed her, she waved. His smile dropped when she didn’t join him in line. Giving up his place, Chase jogged over to her. “Jordan, where you off to?”
“Mandatory dinner with my family.”
Chase shook his thick mane of shaggy brown hair, and his eyes expanded in his face. He and Hudson were best friends and two of Jordan’s favorite shifters to hang with. It helped that they shared her sense of irony.
Jordan felt right at home with them. She liked being one of the guys.
When Chase wrinkled his nose, Jordan sighed. “Hudson promised you guys would save me some moonshine.”
“We’ll try not to drink it all,” Chase said.
“Thanks,” Jordan said sarcastically, rolling her eyes skywards. “Too bad I couldn’t have a cup now.”
Chase snorted. “Too bad Jager’s a mean old coot who makes us wait.”
“Hey, it’s a hollow, not utopia.”
Chase gave Jordan a playful pat on the back, cheeks dimpling when he laughed. “Hurry back, Jord.”
“As fast as I can,” she said, legs back in motion.
The sooner she got to the den, the sooner she could wolf down dinner and get back to her friends.
She’d nearly cleared the glade when Hudson’s sister, Taryn, stepped in her path and folded her arms across her chest. Her faded orange-and-yellow sundress was frayed at the hem. The last supply run had been scrapped after a group of renegade humans fired weapons at the pack members who had gone into the suburbs, which meant no new replacement clothing. Jordan’s jeans were holding up a lot better than Taryn’s threadbare dress.
Lips curling in distaste, Taryn looked Jordan up and down. Her scowl brought out a hardness over her face, like bark covering a tree.
“Yes?” Jordan demanded.
The up-close death glare looked even nastier inches from Jordan’s face. Taryn’s shoulders shook the slightest bit, her eye twitched, and color filled her face. “My brother’s not enough for you? Now you have to go after Chase, as well?” she snarled.
Jordan shook her head. If the shifter wanted to win Chase back, she was going about it all wrong. “I don’t have time for this,” she said, sidestepping the bitter she-wolf.
“You have no shame.” Taryn snarled at Jordan’s back.
Yeah, yeah. Whatever, Jordan thought as she approached the wooded path.
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” Taryn called out.
Jordan came to an abrupt stop and spun around. Outrage flared through her nostrils, and her eye sockets stretched in her hot face.
“I am nothing like my father,” Jordan growled, balling her fingers into fists. She inhaled sharply and forced herself to relax. Her shoulders dropped, and her fingers uncurled. Growing up with three sisters had taught her many lessons, one of which was to never take the bait. The only way to come out ahead of a snarly she-wolf was to claim the high ground.
Jordan lifted her nose and pierced Taryn with a calm gaze. “Your brother’s a big boy. He can take care of himself. As for Chase… Instead of sulking, maybe you should take it up with him, or move on.”
Taryn’s face turned splotchy, but she didn’t say anything more. Jordan counted to five slowly in her head, staring Taryn down in silent challenge. When it was clear that Taryn had nothing more to spout, Jordan turned on her heel.
Leaving the clearing behind, along with the banter and delicious smells, she followed the path through the woods and along the Sakhir River, heading for the den.
Taryn was merely a warm-up. Now she had to deal with Francine.