She was going to hate me. I just knew it.
As we approached the city, I twisted my fingers harder. Well, the non-broken ones. I’d been a step-daughter. And I’d hated every single person my mom or dad brought home. Even when they’d eventually married them, I never really liked the step-parents.
And now I was about to be one.
Well, kind of.
“Stop worrying,” Marcus said for the hundredth time. “Mariah will be happy that I’m happy. And that’s all that matters.” He picked my left hand up and kissed the palm, being careful to avoid the splints I still had to wear for another week.
“Are you sure?” I asked. “I mean, how are you going to introduce me?” I’d been avoiding this question for two weeks, despite knowing that I didn’t ever want to leave Nenana, Alaska without Marcus by my side. But I had no I idea whether or not he felt the same.
Marcus sighed and my stomach dropped in fear at what he was about to say. “Did the panthers ever talk about mates?”
“Sort of. They said their animal would pick a mate to have cubs with but that they weren’t monogamous by nature and therefore didn’t like the idea of being with only the mate.”
“Really?” Marcus asked incredulously. “They really behave like that?”
“Yes, why? Is that not normal?”
“No. It’s not. Most shifters have one mate in their life and that’s the person they stay with forever. Usually, losing a mate is like…losing a limb, I guess.”
“Were you and Gina mated?” Marcus had filled me in on Mariah’s mother and what had happened between them.
“For a long time, yes I thought we had been. But I was very young and I wonder now if I’d ever really felt like she was my only mate.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t love her like I love you, Holland.” He squeezed my thigh and I scooted a little closer. We were in his car, and the center console blocked my movement. “I would like to introduce you as my mate tonight. Because that’s what you mean to me. You are my other half, the other part of my soul that I’ve been missing for so long.”
“Your mate?” I whispered, understanding just how big this was.
“Yes. I love you.”
“And I love you, Marcus. You have no idea how happy you’ve made me.”
He smiled my way and then refocused on the road because we had just entered the city limits. So, I would meet his daughter as his mate. And she would definitely hate me now. As we navigated to the restaurant, I thought about what would happen next. Not once I met Mariah, but next as in the rest of my life. At some point, I would have to go back to my school to at least check in and fill out the annual paperwork. I needed to pack the rest of my things and move…where? Into my own place? Into Marcus’s house? Would his pack accept me if I was a permanent fixture in Nenana?
“I think this is it,” Marcus said, slipping into a parking spot on the street. “You ready?”
“No.”
He laughed and turned off the car. “Well, too bad.”
I tried to smile at his attempt to lighten the mood, but it was hard. I was so freaking nervous about meeting Mariah that I almost stepped in the puddle that had settled into the one dip in the sidewalk.
“Holland,” Marcus said, stopping us both and grabbing my shoulders so I would turn and face him. “She’s going to love you. Just like I do.”
His soft lips found mine and for a moment, I forgot where we were. I forgot I was about to meet his grown daughter, and I forgot that we weren’t the only two people in the world. Unfortunately. When Marcus pulled away, I let out a deep breath and nodded toward him. “Okay, I can do this.”
The restaurant was a sushi bar mixed with Alaskan dishes—so mostly seafood. It smelled delicious the second we walked inside and I was instantly surprised by how hungry I suddenly became. Had I eaten lunch?
“There she is,” Marcus said, raising his hand and waving to a woman in the back corner of the place. He looked so happy to see her that my heart squeezed with the flurry of emotions twirling around it. A proud father. Someone who wasn’t afraid of showing his love for his child. Someone who had a child to love. I bashed that last one out of my head the second it creeped in. It wasn’t fair of me to think that way about Marcus and his daughter. It wasn’t his fault I didn’t have Brady anymore.
I did my best to push down thoughts of my dead son as we approached Mariah’s table. She stood and I quickly recognized the resemblance between her and her father—jet black hair, golden-green eyes, and a wide, white smile that could light up a dark room. She’d pulled the hair around her face back into a clip on the side of her head, had on dark, but classy makeup, and wore a bright red dress that I wished I could fit into. Tall and lean, just like most of the panther women I’d known.
Marcus wrapped his daughter up into a hug while I stood off to the side watching. They spoke softly to each other and then he gestured toward me. I slid up against his side, his arm a welcomed support for what we were about to do.
“Mariah, I’d like you to meet Holland. My mate.”
Mariah raised a single brow, just like her dad could. She studied me for several moments before holding out her hand for a shake. “Your mate, huh dad?”
“Mariah…,” he warned.
She sniffed the air and then moved in closer to sniff me directly. Her eyes narrowed and she glanced at her father several times. “A human mate.” She stated. “Bet Kevin just loves that.”
I looked up at Marcus to see if he would say anything—not that I knew what the appropriate response should be. Instead, he simply gestured to the table and we all sat. After ordering drinks and an appetizer, Marcus reached across the table and grabbed Mariah’s hand so quickly I jumped.
“What is this?” he asked in an angry whispered voice.
“A tattoo,” she said just as curt.
“When did you get this?”
“A few days ago.”
“Mariah—”
“I don’t live with you anymore, dad. I can do what I want with my body.”
I covered my mouth, trying not to let a laugh escape because of the way Marcus looked right now. In just a few words, Mariah had schooled him.
“It’s not funny,” he growled at me.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, still trying to wipe the smile off my face. Mariah watched me with a grin starting to grow on her own lips, and in that moment, we connected over Marcus’ discomfort. Speaking directly to Mariah, I asked, “What’s that tattoo?”
She paused a moment, pulling her wrist back into her lap and obviously contemplating telling us. “A coyote.”
“Mariah,” Marcus groaned. “Seriously?”
She shrugged.
Just then, the waiter came back over to take our dinner orders and I found the conversation rather pleasant from that moment forward. Mariah talked about how she was planning to apply to the university so she could start classes in the summer. And when Marcus asked her about her living arrangements, she assured him she’d found a decent house in a decent neighborhood that she was sharing with three other females.
Before we ordered dessert, Marcus excused himself to the restroom, which left Mariah and I alone, staring at each other across the table. Not able to handle to silence for too long, I asked her, “So what do you plan on studying at college?”
“I don’t know yet. Probably something with business.”
“Oh.” I said, disappointed we couldn’t connect over biology or something similar.
“You seem to make my dad happy,” she finally commented. “And I guess that’s a good thing.”
“Okay,” I whispered, taking a sip of my water and wondering just how long Marcus would be gone.
“And you smell different. Like…I don’t know. Kind of like a shifter but not.”
“Okay,” I said again.
“You know he has a lot on his plate, right?”
“I do.”
“So, fair warning. If you do anything to jeopardize that, I will come back there and rip your throat out. Clear?”
I looked at the seriousness in her face and admired her devotion to her father and her pack. “Crystal,” I said clearly, just as Marcus slid into the seat beside me.
“Everything okay?” he asked, eyes darting between us.
Mariah plastered a smile on her face and said, “Yep. Everything’s great.”
“Excuse me, ma’am,” the waiter cut in. He was speaking directly to me and my nerves shot into overdrive instantly. “A gentlemen just dropped this off for you. Told you use it?” The waiter handed a cell phone to me—one of those pay-as-you-go ones. The kind that can’t be traced.
Marcus glared at the phone and tried to stop me from putting it to my ear. “Hello?”
“I’ve found you, bitch. And if you don’t come home now, the blood of these coyotes will be on your hands.”
“Elijah?” I shouted as the phone started cutting out on me. Jumping to my feet, I hustled away from the table to get closer to a window. I could feel Marcus closing in behind me, but my focus was on the threat Elijah had just spewed. “Elijah, where are you?”
“Time is ticking, Holls.” And then he hung up and I forced the bile back down my throat.
Marcus snatched the phone out of my hand and shouted into it. “Hello? Hello!”
“Dad, what’s going on?” Mariah was trying to usher us closer to the door since we’d already started to cause a scene.
He ignored his daughter and instead focused on me. “What did he say?”
“I think…I think he’s in Nenana.” I covered my mouth and tried to get my head straight. “I think he’s there and he’s threatening to kill members of your pack if I don’t show up.”
“Mother fucker,” Marcus growled, much to the dismay of the other diners.
“Who’s Elijah?” Mariah demanded, her coyote peeking at the surface if her yellowing eyes were any indication. “Holland, who’s Elijah?”
“My ex,” I finally said. “And he’s a psychotic panther shifter.”
Mariah looked up at her dad. “What do we do?”
He briskly walked away from us, threw some cash on the table, and hustled out the door. Mariah and I shared a look and then immediately followed him, thanking the hostess on the way out.
“Dad!” Mariah shouted once we were outside. “Tell me what’s going on!” She stomped her feet and crossed her arms, and while I thought it a little childish, it caught Marcus’ attention.
“We need to get back.” Then, he turned to me and I didn’t like the way the anger on his face made him look fierce. “How many panthers would Elijah bring with him?”
“I…I don’t know—”
“Think!” Marcus shouted, but when I flinched, he immediately grabbed my hands. “I’m sorry, Holland. I don’t mean to take this out on you, but I have to know what we’re walking into.”
I understood the gravity of the situation, but it didn’t mean that it helped me think any faster. “Um…he’s pretty highly ranked in the pride. So, if the alpha was on board…they’d all be here,” I whispered in fear.
“How many?” Mariah snapped.
“Up to thirty?” I hated the way both of them were looking at me now and I hated feeling like the weak human trapped in the middle. “Elijah is legit crazy.”
“I know—” Marcus started to say until I cut him off.
“No, you don’t. He is a psychopath. The alpha wanted to put him down years ago but didn’t because they share a history.” I turned to Mariah. “He kills with no emotion. No fear of consequences.”
Mariah once again looked up at her father and then moved toward his car. “I’m coming with you. I’ll call Brandt and Major while you drive.”
Marcus nodded once and I climbed into the front seat while wondering who Brandt and Major were. He handed me the phone and peeled out of his parking spot. I hoped Elijah would call again…giving us some indication of where he was for sure. Maybe he’d just captured a few coyotes and not the whole town. I mean, surely, the coyotes would have fought back right? I asked Marcus as much once we got on the highway.
“They can’t shift without my magic,” he gritted out. “We’re different than the others.”
“It’s the skin-walker magic that makes us change,” Mariah added from the back seat. “My dad needs to be close by in order for them to bring their animals out.”
“How close?”
Marcus shook his head slightly. “I don’t know for sure because we never really tested it. But a few miles at least.”
Shit. We still had another forty miles to go. If Elijah hurt one single member of Marcus’ pack, I would…well, I didn’t know what I’d do.
“Brandt’s calling the rest,” Mariah said. “But we’ll probably get there first.”
“Then we’ll have to stall them,” Marcus said. He gripped the steering wheel and pressed down on the gas.
I hoped we would get there in one piece and without a state trooper pulling us over. When the conversation stopped in the car, I turned my head to see the faint images of trees whipping by. God damn Elijah. I hated him so much now. Why couldn’t he just let me go?
Minutes passed while the tension in the car grew. When we finally saw the first sign indicating that Nenana was ten miles away, I breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps we would get there in time to stop the violence. Perhaps this could all work out.
I relished in that thought until a line of giant men stepped out in front of the road and forced Marcus to slam on the brakes. As the car fishtailed, I gripped the door and closed my eyes.
God damn Elijah was going to kill us first.