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“You what? Why?”
“I’m so so—”
They rushed to speak over each other.
“That’s enough,” Mikel snapped. “Margie give it to you?” he asked Red, who nodded, pale and sheepish. He rubbed his brow, swallowed, seemed to set his jaw, then turned to Violet. “You would have died,” he said again. “But Margie had Red give us the alpha bond elixir. It ties your life to mine. It only works on…”
“It wouldn’t have worked if he wasn’t the true alpha,” Red supplied, shamefaced into the silence. “I was just trying to protect you, Violet. You didn’t feel safe, and Margie agreed you were in danger. She said this couldn’t hurt, but it might save your life, and it did.”
Violet’s head spun.
“And it proves you were right,” Mikel added, quieter. “Kane isn’t deserving. My father was wrongfully killed, and the alpha—the true alpha—was passed to me.”
“YOU SHOULD HAVEstayed home,” Mikel grumbled when they pulled up outside Bards Books and suddenly jolted her awake. Violet had dozed off within about three minutes of the stony silence in the cab as they made their way into town.
“Should she be sleeping with a concussion?” Red asked from the backseat before she hopped down and slammed the door closed.
“Probably not,” Mikel agreed darkly while he lifted her from the truck. He didn’t set her down. Violet watched the pavement move under her.
“I can walk,” she insisted, and she could.
Physically, aside from a significant headache, she was okay. Mentally, she still felt foggy and tired, like she was wading slowly forward while Mikel and Red raced, connecting dots she’d forgotten even existed. She let her head loll against his broad chest.
“Oh, moon and stars! Did you get them the elixir, girl?” she heard Margie demand when they stepped into the warmth of the bookstore, not a hint of apology in her voice.
“She did,” Mikel confirmed. Silence hung tersely around them for a second, then Violet was being moved. He sat her on the sofa, and she watched him stoop to hug the old woman, who held him close, gnarled hands patting his back. “Just because you were right, doesn’t make it right to meddle.”
“Well, it’s a good thing I did, isn’t it, boy?” Margie shot back. She brushed him off her when they parted and ambled over to sit in the recliner across from Violet. “Who’s going to tell me what happened?”
Mikel gestured to the open seat on the sofa, letting Red sit down. “There was an explosion at the house. I was in the forest sourcing for moon felling tonight. Felt this…this pain in my chest, knew it was about her.” His hands came to rest on Violet’s shoulders. “Rushed home and the back end of the shop is smoking. She’s sitting on the grass, and Tim’s there.”
“Kane’s boy?” Margie asked.
Mikel made an affirmative grunt.
“She would have died if it wasn’t for the elixir.” His voice was dark, desolate, and barren in a way Violet had never heard it. His hands disappeared abruptly from her shoulders. When she turned, she found them gripping the cushion at either side of her head so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.
“But she didn’t,” Margie assured him, voice even, cool against the storm on Mikel’s face. “You’re both going to be tired for a few days, but you’re strong, Mikel. Lesser men—” she paused, and a victorious smile bloomed on her face. “—lesser alphas, wouldn’t be standing.”
Violet blinked, not following. “I was in the explosion. He was out in the woods,” she clarified.
“Yes,” Margie agreed, “and the alpha bond between you allowed him to absorb most of the damage and lend you his strength. It’s a rite older than this town. The alpha protects his mate and the alpha heir by proxy, above all, because they are the future of the pack.”
“Oh, hey, I’m not preg—”
“Not yet,” Margie said sweetly. Even half loopy, Violet’s cheeks still warmed.
“Enough,” Mikel said, his tone lighter. Apparently, he was back in control of himself.
“Wait,” Red spoke up. “Tim, like mechanic Tim, is Kane’s son?”
“One and the same,” Margie said.
“Surely you don’t think he had anything to do with the explosion? He’s…he just seems cool. He fixed that dent in Dani’s car that time I wasn’t supposed to borrow… Anyway. Kane’s son, really?”
Mikel had wandered to peruse the shelves across from the sofa. He nodded. A beat passed.
“I’m really sorry I spiked your drinks, guys,” Red blurted. “I mean I’m not because thank god Violet’s alive, but I just wanted to keep you safe.”
