AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My wolf yips in agreement. Since that’s all I need to know I’ve got to get out of here before hotheaded Gem takes over, I turn my back on the cabin and start to sprint.
I’m so fucking furious—furious and distracted—that I don’t realize that someone is standing next to my Jeep until I’m only a few feet away from it. Then, when I do, only a lifetime of playing the omega keeps me from turning on her.
Just like with Trish, I recognize the shifter female. She’s a few years older than me, her hair a darker shade of blonde though she wears it much shorter than I do. I don’t know what she’s doing prowling around my Jeep, but I guess that’s all right since she probably picked up on my scent and was curious.
She gasps when she sees me, as if she had doubted her own nose. “Gemma? Is that you?”
“Audrey, hi. Yeah. It’s me.”
“I can’t— ah, jeez. I can’t believe it’s you! I can’t believe you’re back!”
Yeah, well. Considering I swore to myself that I’d never set foot on this mountain again, that makes two of us.
Not that I can tell her that. Apart from Shane, Audrey was the most welcoming of the Mountainside Pack when I first arrived last year. And as Ryker’s Beta, it made sense that he’d keep an eye on his Alpha’s promised mate. Audrey was just a sweetheart in general. She seemed to honestly want me to be accepted if only because she believed a happy pack began with its Alpha couple.
Too bad that’s not me and Ryker. And, after seeing Trish making herself at home inside of his cabin, I have to accept that it’ll never be.
My stomach goes tight. I have to fight against the partial shift, another wave of fury and hurt washing over me. My wolf wants out, and only the fact that I’d have to either abandon my Jeep or drive back to Muncie butt-naked keeps me from following through with the full shift.
I have to get out of here. Coming back to Accalia was a bad, bad idea. I’ve gotta go.
Before I can make my excuses and try to put an end to this conversation, Audrey darts a glance up at the sky. A whisper of a frown crosses her lovely face. “It’s a full moon,” she points out. “Shouldn’t you be with the Alpha?”
Oof. Now that one really hurts.
I gesture behind me. “I was just at his cabin,” I admit before I shove my hand in my back pocket, searching for my keys, determined to make my escape. Audrey’s nice, but I’m on the edge of my control. It would be a dick move to take my anger out on her just because she had the piss poor luck to stumble upon my Jeep and be curious about it.
And that’s when she cocks her head slightly. “Why would you go there? He’s not at his cabin.”
I pause. “He’s not?”
“On the night of the full moon? Luna, no.”
“What? Then where—wha...? Oh. Hang on.”
I had been reaching for my keys, but the crook of my finger snags on something else first. It takes a second before I realize what it is: the slender golden chain of my fang necklace.
I haven’t been wearing it, but it didn’t seem right to just stick it on top of my dresser or hide it away in my sock drawer. So I shoved it in my jeans pocket and completely forgot about it.
A sinking suspicion slams into me. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before—probably because I honestly did forget I was carrying the necklace in my pocket—but I suddenly remember just how strong my senses were the second I took Aleks’s necklace off when Ryker was nearby. After a year of ignoring him, it was impossible to continue to do so, and he was convinced it was because of this fang.
Know what? I kind of think he’s right.
Guilt kept me holding onto the necklace instead of hiding it in my room. I might not want to be with Aleks the same way he wants to be with me, but I love him. Tossing aside his gift would be worse than slapping him in the face.
But what if its charm is stilling working on me, even tucked in my back pocket?
Audrey says Ryker’s not at the Alpha cabin. If not, then where is he?
What if—
“Hey, Audrey. This might be a little weird, but can you do me a favor? If you don’t mind.”
I’m careful not to lace my question with any hint of a command. As an alpha, if I used my higher rank against her, she’d never be able to refuse me. She’d always have this compulsion to obey and that’s not fair to her when I’m not her pack Alpha.
I’m not sure if I failed miserably or if she’s just that kind-hearted of a wolf, but she quickly agrees. “Of course.”
I pull out the necklace. “Hold this for me?”
