“I don’t know if it’s a boy or girl yet, it’s just a bump right now,” I cried. He stopped smiling and went to the kitchen. “Bring salt, too!”
Rush returned with two tomatoes and a shaker of salt on a plate with a sharp knife. I sliced the tomato into sliced and doused them with salt. The bite was heavenly, although I had no taste for tomatoes before getting pregnant, it felt like candy on my tongue.
Rush watched me, scrunching up his face as I sprinkled more salt on top.
“This is your child,” I shot. “It wants tomatoes with salt, so it gets tomatoes with salt.”
He didn’t disrupt me anymore until I finished eating. I set the plate on the bed, licking the juices from my fingers. My eyes snapped open as a loud crash from downstairs shocked the two of us. Rush’s eyes glazed over for a moment before he growled.
“What is it?” I asked frantically.
“Emily told Casey who she is,” he growled, grabbing my hand and pulling me behind him. “I’ll kill him before he hurts her.” My heart swelled slightly at the protectiveness that I missed the step in front of me and crashed into the back of Rush.
“Steady,” he warned, more for himself than me. He took a deep breath and paused, steadying himself. There was only so much more we could handle. “Just…breathe.”
Bad Instincts
“Just stop yelling at me!” Emily screamed, covering her ears with her hands. Casey stood against the opposite wall, repeatedly punching the wall. It wasn’t hard enough to break the drywall, but it was enough to shake the curtain rod and picture frames.
“How are you even allowed in this territory?” Casey yelled.
“Casey, please!”
“Casey, stop!” Rush’s Alpha tone reverberated around us. Casey stopped moving and talking, his hands shook against the order. I quickly moved past Rush and over to Emily. I brought her into my arms and shushed her.
“Why are you screaming in the packhouse? Do you know how many people live here?”
“She’s Harrison’s daughter,” Casey strained, the veins in his face plumping up under the skin.
“Yes, we are aware of this. What is the problem?”
“The problem?” Casey shuddered. “The problem is that she’s human, she’s part of that God-forsaken family. My men died on the border the day her father gave that order. Kenna’s dead, I’ve known her since we were in diapers. Her brother is one of my best friends.”
“You don’t get to choose what family you’re born into,” Rush pointed out, stepping closer to Casey. “She chose to help Sloane and the other Lunas escape instead of beating them and killing them like her family wanted to.”
“How can you be friends with her?” Casey sneered at me. I fought back the growl that wanted to burst from my mouth. “Her people are the reason your sister is dead, Luna.”
“You don’t think I know that?” I gently let go of Emily. “You act like she’s the one who killed her. Emily is a good person, regardless of her species.”
Casey grunted, grinding his teeth together.
“She’s your mate,” I stressed, glaring at him. “How can you act this way towards her? She’s done nothing wrong.”
“She’s his daughter,” he repeated, snarling.
“And you’re her mate,” I spat. “Get the hell over yourself, Casey. We could quite literally all be wiped out in a few days because of this sort of blatant hatred and fear.”
“It’s not the same,” he denied, huffing.
“It’s not the same because you’re a wolf, and she’s human?” I snorted. “You are so dense.”
“If anyone found out about her…”
“Well, that’s a hell of a lot more likely seeing as you’re screaming about it in the packhouse.” Rush shoved Casey back a step.
“That’s it, isn’t it?” My eyes lit up with recognition, I could feel it dripping off of Casey. “You’re scared.”
“I’m not scared.”
“You’re scared that she’ll be killed before you even get to spend any time with her. You’re scared that someone will take her away from you because of who she is,” I said softly, stepping further away from Emily.
Casey’s wolf was surfacing, it had been since the beginning of the screaming match, and my words were enough to push his resolve the last inch.
“She’s weak,” his voice spluttered out, more animal than man.
“She’s your mate,” I reminded him, squinting at his flittering eyes.
He shivered and bucked his back, fighting the shift. His blue eyes grew sad, and he staggered forward under the weight of his animal side.
“She’s your mate,” I said again, fighting for his human side to take back control. He clenched his hands a few times and moved closer to Emily, reaching out to her. She struggled to move backward, frozen under his gaze.
“Emily,” he whined. She whimpered and hit her back against a chair. He finally approached her, grabbing one side of her face with his left hand and the right gripped her waist, pulling her to him. She was flush against him, whimpering and crying.
Rush’s front side pressed against my back, watching the exchange.
He bent his head down, and when I thought he was going to kiss her, he shifted instantaneously and his incisors into her neck. My limbs became concrete.
Emily’s eyes widened fully, and she choked on her own saliva before she started clawing at Casey’s neck, face, shoulders, anything she could grab. The horrifying notion of a wolf shifter on top of her was only made more terrifying by the fact that his teeth were embedded in her neck.
I ran forward, eclipsed only by Rush’s longer stride. We couldn’t pull them apart; it would harm Emily more than the bite would.
A marking bite usually lasted five seconds, it was shallow, and though it hurt for a brief time, it was nothing compared to the shifting bite. Casey’s teeth had been latched around her neck for over a minute as we grabbed his back, trying to call to him. Rush ordered him to release her with his Alpha tone,
