Reasoning with wolves was going to require patience, but right now I had none. “Well, how about this, then,” I said. “If it does get noticed—and subsequently reported—I can’t afford any more scrutiny on me right now. In case you’ve all been living with your heads up your asses the last few days”—my voice rose several decibels as I spread my fingers apart and started emphatically ticking off—“I just finished killing a werewolf we know nothing about. I will likely have to testify in court about killing a pedophile imp. My apartment has already been the scene of a vicious, unexplainable break-in, which happened … oh, that’s right … four fucking days ago. An identified drug that could knock out a stable of animals was taken from my home”—my voice peaked as I slammed my pinky finger—“and I just made some freaky, impossible transformation into a beast, bound to have every superstitious werewolf in the entire goddamn universe gunning to end my life. So I refuse, refuse to add tossing a human body wrapped in my own bedding from my balcony to that damn list! Are we clear?” Tension radiated off me like a furnace. It swirled around the room, hot and palpable.
Three pairs of wolf eyes locked on me, each of them sparking with more than a hint of amber. Only one pair of calm golden ones in the mix.
Wolves did not function well in heightened emotional situations. It certainly didn’t help when my muscles started to vibrate and soft fur began to sprout along the backs of my hands once again.
My wolf stood in a protective stance, legs apart, muzzle up in my mind.
Danny broke the tension and strode forward. He walked to me in a surrender pose, shoulders hunched, eyes carefully downcast. “Easy there, Jess,” he murmured as he knelt down in front of me. “I promise you the lot of us here aren’t going to do anything to bring you any harm. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, really. Wolves can be really bloody stupid, it’s true. We’re stubborn and aggressive, and we never take kindly to change. But I promise, you’re safe with us.” He placed one of his hands over his heart. “I swear to it on my own life.”
I stood very still. I didn’t trust myself to respond. My wolf watched Danny carefully. The lines between her and me were still blurred from our encounter with the rogue. I’m not sure what had happened during the fight, but for now she was on this side. There were no dominance issues between us at the moment, only an equal unity to keep us both safe.
Danny’s eyes met mine for a moment and skittered away. He glanced quickly over his shoulder at James, Tyler, and Nick, who stood slightly behind him. “I think I can speak for everyone in this room, the very ones who watched over you as you grew up”—his face changed to a devilish grin—“and may I interject here to say you grew into quite a ravishing beauty.” He winked. “All of us plan to stand by you and we are fully prepared to lay down our lives to protect you, Jessica McClain. We always have been.” Leave it to Danny to defuse an awful situation with a pseudo pickup line and end with a heartfelt statement.
I smiled warily. My wolf relaxed a tad at his words and fur stopped sprouting along my arms.
“We have always known,” he continued, “that having a female among us would be risky. I knew it when I joined this Pack, and we all chose to stick it out despite the myths and rumors. Any one of us could’ve left anytime we wanted to, but we didn’t. We chose to stand by you and your father. Callum McClain is a great leader who deserves our respect, just as you do.” Danny bowed his head. “I gave my vow of fealty freely to my Alpha. I swore to follow this Pack to my death. Now I give it to you. I intend to hold up my end of the bargain and to protect you at all costs. I promise, you have nothing to fear from me, Jessica McClain.”
Shockingly, he dropped his head back and exposed his neck to me.
My wolf responded immediately with a rough bark. She accepted his posturing like it was her right, and growled with pleasure, nudging me to accept what he was giving us.
I blinked. My human side was wildly uncomfortable.
I trembled where I stood. I didn’t understand any of this.
This was all wrong. It had to be. Instead of moving forward, I took a small step backward. My wolf responded with a sharp, angry yip.
My eyes darted to my brother. He met my stare for a second before his voice sounded in my mind. It’s okay, Jess. Tyler was quiet. This is normal. Danny’s wolf has recognized your dominance over him, so he’s acting as he should. He can either choose to fight you for status or he can yield to you. He’s choosing not to fight you, which is extremely smart of him, since I would rip his goddamn throat out if he tried.
Tyler, my voice vibrated with emotion, I don’t understand what’s happening to me. This can’t be true. None of the myths and rumors were supposed to be real. I’m not supposed to be strong. I’m a female, which means weak in our world. I’ve always been less. A wolf like Danny should not be submitting to me. It has to be a mistake.
Jess, it’s going to be okay. When Dad gets here, we can sort it out. I have no idea what’s going on either. It’s going to take us some time to figure it all out. When you changed, your wolf was fully realized. It came the way it was meant to be. Your job is to shape and control it the best you can. We were both alpha-born. It’s not something you learn. You just need time, and I promise everything will fall into place.
I’m not sure I have that kind of time. I glanced at the dead body rolled up like a mummy in my lavender sheets. Then to Danny, who was still on the floor in front of me, neck back, waiting patiently for me to do something. What am I supposed to do now?
Flash him your teeth, meet his eyes for the count of five, and then walk away like you don’t give a damn.
That’s it?
Tyler snorted. That’s it, sis. Then we try to get back to fucking normal as fast as we possibly can.
I did what he told me to do. I flashed my teeth, growled, courtesy of my wolf, and turned my back and walked away. I headed purposefully into my kitchen. What I needed was a bottle of whiskey, but I settled for a glass of water instead.
My brother headed back to my bedroom. I heard him open my closet doors, and he came back to the living room a minute later carrying a big navy blue canvas duffel I used for carting my dirty laundry. I followed him into the living room.
“We can cram him in here,” he told James. “Then we toss it off the balcony. It isn’t body-shaped, and if anybody asks, we’re headed to the Laundromat.”
Everyone was moving around like normal. I pointed to the body. “He’s not going to fit in there. He’s twice as long as that.” I ran my eyes over the shrouded shape on the floor to make sure I hadn’t missed anything.
“Not for long.” Tyler grinned.
Right. I excused myself and went back to my bedroom to change out of my dirty, bloodstained clothes. Hacking up bodies and tossing them off balconies was hardcore. Life as a wolf was going to take some getting used to.
After I changed, I headed back to the living room slightly more refreshed, just as James and Nick stepped in from the balcony empty-handed. The deed was done.
Time to clean up. That was something I could do.
I grabbed a mop and bucket from my kitchen closet and went to work. Even though I was still trying to calm myself down, my limbs hummed with adrenaline, which made me jittery. The endorphins in my system nipped at my nerve endings in quick, staccato beats. There was nothing I could do about it. I had too much buildup between my fight with Drake and the rogue. I was hopped up with no place to go.
Half an hour later, with more muscle than necessary, the room appeared spotless to the naked eye. The smell of blood and werewolves still permeated the air, but to a human the scene would look and smell normal.
Tyler had already left with the body. Danny had gone to tighten security around my building. Nick had left, taking my bloodied bag of clothes and shoes with him, presumably to burn. He’d also bolted my front door back into place with a toolkit I kept for emergencies. The door wasn’t going to keep anything of substance out, but I had a big wolf with me for the night to help me maintain order.
My father had ordered James to stay with me, which was fine by me. If anything else happened tonight, I wasn’t sure I could physically handle it, and having company was nice.
“Here, let me get that,” James said as he plucked the bucket, along with the rags I’d been using, and walked them out onto the balcony.
I rested my back against the brick wall and ran my hands through my hair. It’d been a long night. One of the longest of my life.
James stepped back into my apartment empty-handed. He was wearing almost the same thing I’d seen him
