What the fuckedy fuck?

This had to be a full on hallucination, right? A wonderful delirium inspired by my panic attack? I honestly couldn’t imagine any other reason why Jerrik would be standing in front of me. And looking as mouth-wateringly delicious as ever in that same leather jacket.

He stood in the doorway, his hands clutching at the frame and his head hanging low. But when he glanced up, his mouth fell slack and his cold eyes thawed. He straightened, his jaw clenching as he drank in the sight of me. “Shit, Reagan. Wow. I can’t even… You look…incredible.”

Considering the circumstances, I shouldn’t have smiled. But tell that to my heart. For some reason, his opinion mattered, and I loved rendering him speechless.

I glanced past him and spotted Lucy off in the distance, her back to me as she filled up a bottle of water at the fountain. She hadn’t seen him yet, thank goodness. I didn’t want to imagine her reaction.

I turned back to Jerrik. “Thanks, but what are you doing here?”

He gave a slow blink, then stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. He surveyed our surroundings, grabbed the chair, and tucked it under the doorknob, locking us in. Then he strode to the far window and peeked outside, his fingers turning the notch.

“Jerrik?”

“Get dressed,” he said suddenly.

“Uh…I am dressed.”

“No, I mean…” He turned back and waved at my pile of discarded clothing. “You need to change. Out of the dress.”

I lifted a brow. I’d played out this day many times in my head throughout the past couple of months, but I’d never once envisioned this. Not even my imagination could have conceived my one-night stand tracking me down the day of my wedding. I couldn’t imagine this ending well, considering my father was due in a minute or two. He wouldn’t take kindly to any of this.

“In case you’ve forgotten, I’m getting married today,” I whispered, afraid someone would overhear in the hallway. “So, I don’t know what’s going on with you, but this really isn’t the right time.”

“You aren’t getting married today,” he said matter-of-factly.

Laughter rushed past my lips before I could stop myself. “Sure, okay.”

“I’m serious, Reagan. You need to get dressed, now. We need to go.”

“Jerrik—”

“How long have you been here?” he interrupted.

“What?”

He dragged a hand through his hair and blew out a heavy breath. “How long, Reagan? When did you wake up? When did you get here?”

His frantic voice plucked at my nerves. I placed a hand to my stomach and glanced back at the door. “Just shy of an hour ago, why?”

“Shit. He knows, then.”

I shook my head. “Who knows what? What are you talking about?”

“I don’t have the time to explain this right now.”

“Then make the time,” I growled. “You can’t barge in here and demand I leave my wedding with you without any explanation.”

“I need you to trust me.”

My brows shot up. “Just like that?”

“You trusted me last night,” he pointed out. “Several times.”

Blood rushed to my cheeks and I ducked my head. “That was different.”

“No, it wasn’t.” He started toward me, his every step riddled with a strength I’d seen in few others. “You trusted me last night. You went home with me, because something about me calls to you. I’d like to believe that if you had a choice you wouldn’t be here right now.”

Oh, my God. Was that what this was about? Jealousy? Stupid male werewolf drama? “It was one night.”

“It was more than that, and you know it. Whether you want to admit it or not. But that’s not why I’m here.” He took another step, his overwhelming presence forcing me backward.

I lifted my chin and met his glacial stare. “Then tell me why you’re here.”

The doorknob jiggled behind me. Both Jerrik and I shot it a glance, but before I could move, he reached out and snatched my hand.

“Reagan?” Lucy called out in the hallway.

“Don’t,” he growled under his breath. “Don’t call back to her.”

“Reagan? Is someone in there with you?”

I shot Jerrik a wry glance. Werewolves—of course she’d heard his voice.

He stared down at me, a golden light slowly spreading through his eyes as his wolf came out to play. Seemed I had two options. Send Lucy away and hear him out, or call to her for help. I didn’t know Jerrik well, but I couldn’t deny the chemistry between us. His fingers curled gently around my wrist. I could break his hold at any time. I just didn’t want to. And the way he looked at me, I couldn’t explain it, but I did trust him.

Call me a fool.

He lifted his other hand and cupped my face, his thumb stroking my cheek. I pressed into his hand with a soft sigh.

Trust me, he mouthed.

I had a feeling I’d regret this, but I nodded. Relief loosened his shoulders and he gestured toward the door.

“I’m fine, Lucy, thanks. Just give me a few more minutes.”

“Are you kidding me?” she yelled through the door. “You know we’re starting soon, right?”

“Reagan?” my father’s voice rose in the hallway. “Lucy, what’s wrong?”

“She won’t open the door.”

“Reagan, honey, is everything okay?”

Of course my father had chosen this exact moment to appear. “I’m fine, Dad. I just need a few minutes, okay?”

“Sure, honey. Take all the time you need. We’ll wait out here.”

Lucy groaned, but her hand fell away from the door. “The things I do for you, woman.”

I listened with half an ear as both Lucy and my father retreated down the hallway. As far as they knew, there wasn’t any reason to hover.

I turned back to Jerrik. “You have sixty seconds, and then I’m opening that door.”

“Easy.” He locked eyes with me, his palm still firm against my cheek. “Your fiancé wants you dead.”

A few seconds passed in silence while I waited for the other shoe to drop. Laughter, a wink, a hearty gotcha before he turned and strode out the door. Nadda. He held still, watching as I digested the strangest thing I’d ever heard someone say.

“Ha, ha, very funny. Can you be serious, please?”

“I am being serious, Reagan. Your fiancé hired an assassin to kill you.”

“Right, okay. And why the hell would he do that? Not to toot my own horn, but marrying me is kind of a big deal. Heir to the North American pack, and all that. Why would anyone want to assassinate me?”

“Because your death would weaken your father.”

My father? How the hell would killing me weaken my father? I shook my head and took a step back. “This doesn’t make any sense.”

“Think, Reagan. How would your father react to your death?”

“He’d be…” I paused, then blew out a heavy breath as understanding dawned. “He’d be heartbroken.”

“Exactly. And a heartbroken alpha is a vulnerable alpha. You mean everything to your father, everyone knows that. He adores you. Your death would weaken your father emotionally and give Benjamin a chance to challenge. If he won, he’d take over the entire pack.”

“But why would he go through all that? He’s marrying me, which practically gives him the pack. What would killing me accomplish?”

Jerrik’s expression softened. “Your father stipulated in the agreement that Benjamin, his father, and their people could move west and join your pack, but that’s it. Your father told them they would have no hand in running the pack, even their own people. They would remain alphas, but all pack matters would fall to Gabriel. And in the event of your father’s death, the pack would go to you. They’ve been given no rights beyond that.”

I lifted a hand to my brow and pinched the bridge of my nose. My father had never mentioned any of this. Why would he have kept it from me?

“Do you understand now, dove?” Jerrik took my hand in his and used his other to guide my chin up. “Benjamin thought marrying you meant he’d eventually run the pack. He wants more than marrying you. And this arrangement isn’t ideal for him. So, he’s changing the game. With you out of the picture, he weakens your father and the pack in one blow. And if he challenges your father—who would have to accept—and wins… No alpha, no heir, no one left to stand in his way.”

“He becomes the alpha of the entire pack.”

“Along with his own when his father passes. He’d control all of North America and Europe.”

Pack domination.

I staggered backward and leaned against the counter, my fingers gripping the smooth edge of the workspace. I didn’t want to believe what I’d heard. Benjamin wouldn’t… Wouldn’t what? Plot my father’s and my demise? I didn’t know that. I didn’t know a thing about him other than what I’d heard from my father. And he likely didn’t know much more. My father and Christian had been friends since before colonization, but that meant very little if they hadn’t seen one another in two or three centuries. And maybe Christian had no part in this.

“How do you know all this?” I whispered, my fingers touching my lips.

“I hear things.” When I lifted a brow, he blew out a harsh breath. “Does it really matter right now?”

No, it didn’t. Not at the moment. “I need to talk to my father. I need to tell him about this.”

Jerrik stepped in front of me before I could move. “You can’t.”

“Excuse me?” I tipped my head back and eyed him. “What do you mean I can’t? My father needs to know.”

“And he will, when we have proof.”

My jaw slackened. Who gave a damn about proof? My father would take my word over Benjamin and Christian’s any day of the week.

I skirted around Jerrik and started for the door. “Sorry, but I’m telling him.”

Jerrik cursed under his breath, then pulled me back just as my fingers grazed the doorknob. “Reagan, we don’t have time for this.”

“What are you talking about? Of course we do. My father is right outside the door, and—”

“And if he sees me, he’ll attack before either of us can utter a word.”

“You’re being ridiculous. My father doesn’t even know you. So let me talk to him—”

Jerrik’s long fingers tightened around my arm as he drew me back to the center of the room. He dipped his head and looked me in the eyes. “Believe me. The second Gabriel spots me, it’ll be a fight, and I really don’t want to kill your father.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. Jerrik was strong, sure. But my father was the pack alpha. He hadn’t risen to that status through speeches and pretty promises. There was no democracy in the pack. Only the strongest held it. Which was why Benjamin meant to resort to cheating. In a fair fight, I doubted any werewolf alive could best my father.

With an amused smile, I reached up and cupped Jerrik’s face. “You don’t have to worry about fighting Gabriel. I won’t let it come to that.”

A harsh sound rushed past Jerrik’s lips. “That’s not… Listen to me, Reagan. Gabriel and I have a rocky history. Opening that door right now won’t end well for either of us.”

“What do you mean, a rocky history?”

Jerrik’s eyes closed, and for a brief moment, I felt bereft. When they flashed open, they were aglow with his wolf, golden streaks sparking through his beautiful eyes. “Gabriel and I first met a few centuries ago when he demanded I submit to him and I refused.”

I blinked. “You refused? But that’s…”

“A direct challenge,” Jerrik whispered. “He told me that if I refused to fall in and obey, he’d kill me.”

I nodded. Standard procedure for misbehaving wolves.

“Notice how I’m still alive?” he murmured.

“Reagan?” my father’s voice rose in the hallway, distracting me from any further questions. “Sweetheart, we really do need to get started.”

Jerrik leaned in close and barely breathed the words into my ear. “And we need to go, now. I swear, I’ll tell you the rest later.”

“You’re asking me to walk out on everyone,” I whispered. “My father, Lucy, my pack…”

He nodded.

“Reagan?” my father called out. “Honey?”

Jerrik turned and led me toward the window. “You can call your father later and explain the situation.”

So much for changing out of my dress. I chewed the inside of my bottom lip and glanced back at the door. The two people I loved the most stood on the other side, waiting to walk me down the aisle. But if Jerrik was telling the truth, I couldn’t marry Benjamin.

“Reagan,” he whispered so quietly I could barely hear him.

I shot him a glance, and with a heavy heart, nodded. It wouldn’t be long now before my father broke down the door in search of me. If Jerrik spoke the truth, he needed to be as far away as possible when that moment came. And I had too many questions to let him run off on his own.

His fingers squeezed mine once before he popped open the window and hopped out. He turned back and offered me a hand, helping to untangle my dress when it snagged. But once I stood on the other side, I felt a freedom I’d never felt before. No impending wedding, no murderous fiancé breathing down my neck. Nothing but the wind and the scent of pine as we tore through the nearby forest, hand in hand.