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“Why does it have to be him?”
“He’s alpha,” Kade says, as if that explains everything.
I turn to him with a furrowed brow. “I don’t understand.”
“Only an alpha wolf is strong enough to guide a new shifter through his first shift. Aden’s wolf will be confused, angry, and out of control. Dariel can stop him from harming himself and others.” As we step inside the entryway, Kade slams the door shut and flicks on the light switch, illuminating the dark wood space. “That and reinforced doors. Come on. I’ll grab you something to eat.”
* * *
The anguished howl of an animal in pain hurtles down the stairs, snaking around the kitchen dining table where Kade and I are sitting.
I pause with a turkey sandwich halfway to my mouth. And I think.
I never wanted to become a shifter. Or… maybe I did.
No, I correct myself. I didn’t.
What I wanted was to make Rylan happy because he’d never asked me for anything. Just this one small thing, he said, and we could start a new life together. A life we could only have if I was a shifter like him. His packmates would never accept me otherwise. He didn’t say the words, but when I looked into his eyes, it was clear he wouldn’t be able to accept me either. So I agreed.
That would have been me. Lying on a bed, howling in pain as I embraced a future I never wanted—like Aden is about to embrace a future he didn’t want either.
Meanwhile, Kade, tucked behind a sleek silver laptop, keeps typing away. “Nothing to worry about, angel. Eat your sandwich.”
I lower it to my plate and shove it and the untouched glass of orange juice away from me. “Stop trying to feed me and tell me what we’re doing about Rylan. Is that what you’re doing? Trying to find him?”
“I’m finding a contractor to fix the broken windows, angel. Nothing exciting going on over here,” Kade says, sounding distracted.
I try to work out whether he’s lying to me—something he has a habit of doing if he thinks it will keep me safe. But he doesn’t sound like he is—at least, not this time—so I decide to believe him. “Then tell me what’s happening with Aden.”
“Fuck me,” Kade breathes.
I straighten in my seat, spare a nervous glance at one of the smashed kitchen windows, and start looking for a weapon. “What is it? Has Rylan—”
Kade leans around the laptop to scowl at me. “I need to tell Dariel we made a mistake opening a bar. Two hundred dollars anhourfor an emergency call out?” He shakes his head. “Who the fuck do they think they are?”
I deflate a little. Until another pained whimper floats down the stairs and into the kitchen.
What is happening up there?
“He sounds like he’s in pain,” I whisper.
Every time Rylan bit me, it felt like someone was pouring acid on my throat. He’d told me the bite was the worst and that after, I wouldn’t feel a thing.
Why am I not surprised it was yet another thing he lied to me about?
“First shifts aren’t easy, angel,” Kade says, back to hiding behind the laptop as he resumes clicking.
Maybe he’s looking for a less expensive contractor. Maybe he’s lying to me after all and is hunting for Rylan and just doesn’t want me to know it. Taking advantage of his distraction, I reach for the squat, half-filled glass of whiskey by his side. It might be morning, and I’m not usually one to reach for a drink, but this seems like the perfect time for a shot.
Kade clicks some more, mutters about daylight robbery, and again tries to reassure me by saying, “Relax, angel. Aden will be—hey!”
I tip my head back and gulp down a mouthful of whiskey. I was wrong. It looks like whiskey, but it’s lava, and it burns all the way down.
I’m coughing and spluttering so much, it’s the easiest thing in the world for Kade to pluck the glass out of my nerveless fingers. Once I’ve wiped the tears from my eyes with the back of my hand, I meet Kade’s glaring stare over the table.
“What the fuck was that?”
“It was supposed to steady my nerves.” I don’t know why I thought it would. I swallow hard and rest a hand on my gurgling belly. “It just made me feel sick.”
