The moon is beautiful as it rises over the mountain. Its silvery light beams through the window, making the white wicker furniture in my room glow around me as I stare at a cellphone Ruger just let me borrow.
Sitting on my bed, I stare at the screen and chew my lip.
“I like them,” I confess out loud, as though speaking it into the universe makes it more real. It’s not like the cosmos are going to scream no take-backsies at me if I change my mind, but it feels important to say it.
Shit. I more than like this den, if I’m being honest.
I didn’t see it coming, which is probably stupid because they did bite me in the Hunt and tell me that they chose me for a mate, and they’ve been looking out for me ever since.
But I was certain that their interest was going to stay one-sided. To even consider the alternative seemed insane.
It doesn’t feel crazy anymore though.
I’m not sure exactly when it changed, but it has. I can admit that. My heart was like a battered antique before, but now it gleams. I feel restored and whole and just…so fucking hopeful.
If I listen to my wolf, all of this is a done deal. They chose me, and I choose them, easy as pie. But I’m not just a wolf. I’m a person too. A woman. Someone who had a life, a job, and a somewhat hazy future, but it was mine, and I worked hard for it.
Now, as I stare down at the phone, at the number I’ve typed into it, I realize this is the first step I’m taking as a woman. From here on out, everything I was will be left behind. The human, the orphan—they’ll disappear into the depths of old memories. And what’s left will be me—Noah Lupescu, wolf shifter, mate to the Arcan den.
Okay. I’m doing this, I declare like I’m some athlete in a locker room getting myself all hyped for the big game.
Fuck.
I can do this.
My fingers shake a little—from either excitement or the nerves—as I tap the green call button. It starts to ring, and my heart begins racing like it’s going for gold in the Olympics.
Please let me get voicemail. It’s late. It’ll definitely go to voicemail.
“Hello?” Patrice’s bitchy tone startles me and I jerk up, back stiffening.
“Oh. You’re still there.” Dammit. Even with the time change, I thought I’d be safe.
“Who is this?” she snaps, as if she doesn’t have an ounce of patience, not even for an unknown caller who could be a new customer.
“Is Dr. Jindra still in?” I ask, not wanting to deal with her but also feeling the need to speak directly to the doctor.
“No. What do you need?” Her tone has all the charm of a swarm of flies.
“I can call back tomorrow—”
“You’re the new tech, aren’t you?” she huffs, disdain dripping from the question. “I recognize your mousy voice.”
I reel back and pull the phone down, staring at it in shock for a second before pressing back to my ear.
Did she really just say that to me?
I don’t know if I want to tell her to fuck off or laugh.
“You’re not coming, are you? I knew it. I told him, look at that resume! She’s not reliable. That girl has no loyalty.”
“I ran into an unforeseen detour. I thought it would be temporary, but it turned out to be something permanent,” I try to explain, hoping to steer things back to a professional lane.
I was already planning on emailing Dr. Jindra; I was just calling as a courtesy to give him a heads-up about the email, but maybe I shouldn’t have bothered.
“I don’t care what your excuse is. You’re never going to go anywhere in life if you don’t honor your commitments,” she bleats, like I give two fucks what she thinks about me.
“Patrice,” I interrupt, getting her attention. “You are the human version of menstrual cramps,” I tell her. And then I hang up.
I can still hear her outraged gasp as I toss the phone on the bed and run my fingers through my hair. With a shake of my head, I start to laugh, because damn, did this den just help me dodge a bullet.
My den.
My mates.
A little thrill bounces in my stomach as I stand and head for the door. I’m staying. It’s official. And I need to tell them right now, because I’ve got big plans. Plans that involve pair biting. Claiming the fucking shit out of each of them. And hoping that helps these stalkers to fuck off.
Either way, I’d like to spend the next few days screaming my mates’ names and marking them up to my wolf’s satisfaction. Maybe we can do some running and chasing too, more fucking, a little face train…each of them taking a turn eating me out, and then I return the favor.
The possibilities are endless.
A stupid, wide grin is stuck to my face as I descend the stairs. I spy them all seated at the table, looking so badass and serious, laptops open in front of them. I can’t wait to watch their jaws all drop when I tell them.
I touch down on the bottom step and head toward them, a giddy little spring in my step. New-start butterflies have escaped my stomach and are spiraling up my throat because I’m about to tell this den I’m ready for the biggest new start of them all.
“FUCK!” Ellery curses and shoots out of his seat, nearly tipping it over. All around him, the guys stand, turning toward the sliders that lead to the deck. A surge of panic taints the air with a coppery scent that’s quickly followed by a dark burst of violence. Every single one of my mates has black veins running up and down his neck.
“Wait!” I call out, running toward them as they spin away from me.
Ellery turns back, his eyes glowing, his teeth already the sharp, feral fangs of his beast. In a low tone that’s so guttural I almost can’t understand him, he orders, “Stay here. Do not leave for any reason. ANY REASON.”
“What’s going on?” I ask, eyes darting around in search of someone who’s not quite hovering so close to his shift.
“Something happened with the orcs and they’re attacking the enforcers,” Ruger rushes to explain as Ellery’s massive gray wolf bursts through. The crack of the celestial’s bones fills the space as he transforms. Meanwhile, the rest of the den eye me.
“Deputies are coming, okay? Stay here. Don’t let anyone else in. Understand?” Perth’s amber eyes blaze around his expanding pupils, resembling the sun during a lunar eclipse.
I shake my head. “Wait. No. Why can’t I come with you?”
Gannon opens his mouth to answer, but his explanation is cut off when a massive pine tree flies out of the forest nearby. It zooms up through the sky, launched like a spear. My jaw drops and I gape at it as it grows closer. And closer. It falls with a thud just shy of the deck, and I can feel the ground shudder as hundreds of pounds of ponderosa pine smash into it.
“Fuck, they’re in a rage. This is not good!” Gannon curses as Ruger shifts into his wolf.
Perth opens the slider and the two wolves go bounding out as he starts to shift on the deck.