Just as I was about to be sucked into the dark water, a hand shot out and wrapped around mine, yanking me up and out in one strong tug. The shifter had been hidden behind some long reeds on the edge of this stream, positioning themselves perfectly to grab me.
And I was completely screwed.
If I didn’t have the energy to pull myself from the water, then fighting would absolutely be a waste of my time. But fuck if I wasn’t going to give it the old shifter try.
I could rest when I was dead.
“I knew it,” a familiar voice growled. “You’re so fucking predictable, Sunny.”
I flinched at the name. An old nickname I hadn’t heard since my dad had died. Mera Callahan was my birth name. Our family name meant little bright-headed one and when I was born with a head of red hair, which slowly morphed into an ombre sunset color, my nickname had become “Sunny.”
Fuck Jaxson for remembering that. And why the hell was he choosing now, of all times, to use it again?
“Don’t call me that,” I hissed, attempting to yank my hand away as I stood shivering before him. “You have no right.”
In the early morning light, I could neither hear nor scent another wolf nearby. Jaxson had used his knowledge of me to track my path, but no one else had that same benefit. Maybe there was still a chance of escape.
“No one expects a wolf to head into the water,” he continued, his voice a low rumble, expression hidden by the shadows cast from nearby trees. “But you were always different. Always had to stand the hell out and make us all take notice.”
I crossed my arms because the freezing air against my wet clothes had my nipples saluting the world, and I would hate for this disloyal asshole to think that had anything to do with him.
“I’ve done nothing to stand out,” I replied, my voice as cold and dead as my heart currently felt. “I’ve always lain low, hid from the world, and squashed my shine to not offend you all. You chose to keep me close for torture purposes. You chose to chase and follow and make me relevant. I would have loved nothing more than to forget you even existed.”
Or even better if they literally ceased to exist.
Jaxson released me, and I rubbed at my wrist, even though it wasn’t particularly hurting. He circled me, like a hunter scenting his prey, but whether it got me killed or not, I was done being the weak one.
“Why am I alive?” I asked bluntly. “You ripped out my throat.”
Of all the shifters to try to kill me, it hurt the most that it had been him.
He paused, and light washed across his features, highlighting the peculiar expression on his face. “I would never kill you, Sunny.” He sighed, looking exhausted all of a sudden. “Lace, a shifter who was from the next town over, caught your scent when she passed through. We’d already put out a notification of you being missing, and she called us. I made sure to knock you out and make it look worse than it was so she wouldn’t question our strength. We got you back here asap to heal up.”
Lace was the female bitch who’d attacked me.
I snorted. “If you wanted me to heal, then why the fuck did I wake up tonight with Glendra in my cell, claws in my body, and murder in her eyes?”
His face morphed, darkness drawing his eyebrows closer as anger filled his eyes. “That wasn’t supposed to happen! She’s a little upset about Torin. He’s been much worse off than you and still hasn’t woken. The alpha is attempting to force the shift to help the healing process.”
My expression didn’t change. Did they expect me to feel bad about defending myself? Better not hold their breaths waiting for that to happen.
“So what now?” I said with a sigh. He was a shifter on the eve of the full moon. His strength surpassed mine at the best of times. And if hypothermia didn’t take me out soon, my injuries would. As much as I wanted to attempt another escape, as more time went by, it was growing clear I had no shot.
Jaxson leaned in closer, and I gritted my teeth so as to not react to his scent. As much as I hated him—like a real, push him down the stairs and say, “he fell” sort of hate—he had always smelled like a sexy forest ranger. Musk and pine, with a hint of snow. A truly heady scent for a shifter. And despite the fact that I was probably the only twenty-two-year-old in the world who was a virgin, I had no disillusions about my high sex drive. There was an intense attraction I felt toward some of the men in our pack at times. But I refused to have sex with shifters I hated. Yeah, I was picky like that, but at minimum, my lover would have to not torture me. Shocking, right?
“Now,” said Jaxson, “you accompany me back to the pack house and see the fucking healer so you’ll be ready for your shift tomorrow.”
“Yeah, not happening,” I replied, tightening my arms around myself. “Glendra already made it clear that she’s going to hurt me bad and then hand me over to Victor. I think I’ll take my chances with the river again.”
Jaxson’s arm swept around me, so fast that I barely even saw him move. Now my arms were pinned to my side, and I had no strength to fight against his hold. Jaxson had always been strong, but this was a whole new level, even for him.
“The alpha wants you here for your first shift,” he rumbled. “Glendra won’t touch you again.”
I snorted. “Excuse me if I don’t believe you.” I’d been lied to many times over the years. Especially by him.
He didn’t seem to care if I believed him or not, carrying me with ease as he walked along the edge of the bank. My wolf whined, disliking this dominance over us, and it was looking more likely that when we turned, we’d be alpha enough to go against these shifters.
My soul felt wild, and strangely enough, we hadn’t missed the pack life too much when we’d run.
Maybe I’d shift into a dragon when my time came. They seemed to be more lone wolves. Yeah, I went there. My wolf snarled, like she was also sick of my inner monologue, so I spent the next ten minutes regaling her with every stupid thought I’d had in my twenty-two years of life. For shits and giggles.
If you wanna be my roommate, you better get used to it, I warned.
No more snarls came my way, but at this point, she appeared to be ignoring me.
“Why did you run?” Jaxson asked, startling me from my mental battle with a wolf soul.
“What?” I asked, my forehead wrinkling at the pure stupidity of that question.
“Why did you run?” he repeated.
“Uh, Glendra was trying to murder me, right after you tried to murder me.”
Was this dumbass for real?
Jaxson sighed. “Not tonight. Why did you run from Torma?”
Oh.
I shook my head, my cheek brushing against his hard chest muscle that was taking up my personal space. “Didn’t you know? I’ve always wanted to hide out in a shitty old cabin in Hood River. It’s, like, the American shifter dream.”
He growled and it was much more impressive than my internal wolf’s. “For once in your fucking life, stop being a smartass. You ran one month before your shift; it doesn’t make sense. Did something happen to set you off at that particular moment?”
I didn’t reply. I didn’t owe him any explanation of my actions. The way I was treated should have been reason enough, and mostly, there had been no catalyst outside the realization I’d already wasted too many years being a victim.
“This is the first time since we were kids that you’ve allowed yourself to be alone with me,” I said, changing the subject. “Might be the last time too, if you hand me back to the pack.”
A small huff of air escaped my mouth as he released his hold, all but dumping me on my ass. We were on the edge of the forest, the only barrier that remained between us and the open expanse of pack lands around the house. “Your father almost cost my family everything,” he snarled, staring me down like I was a piece of shit he’d stepped in. “Associating with you, or any Callahan, is a kiss of death.”
My wolf growled at his dominant position, and before I could think it through, I was on my feet, so fast and graceful that there was no way it was done without a little shifter help. I couldn’t wait to finally turn and have these abilities grow stronger.
I didn’t bother to address Jaxson and his insanely unfair comments, instead turning my face away from him to assess the situation and see if any wolves were closing in.
“Did you hear me?” he snapped, and it was abundantly clear he’d waited ten years for this knock-down fight he was trying to instigate, but honestly, I’d given up a long time ago expecting anything from Jaxson.
He didn’t give an inch, though, so I let out a sigh. “Sure, I imagine your life got super hard after my father was ripped to pieces, Jax. You’re totally in my prayers.”
To the fucking Shadow Beast. In the hopes he eviscerates your ass while you’re sleeping.
Silent threats counted. It was fact.
Jaxson seemed taken aback by my refusal to fight, but why would I put myself through an argument I couldn’t win? In the early days, I’d fought back a lot. Over and over. And it had only made their torture worse. I’d also begged and cried and cowered. All in the hopes I would find the one action to pacify the bullies so they’d leave me alone. But nothing had worked.
After a few years of that, I’d figured out that my reactions were only giving my bullies satisfaction.
So I’d stopped.
I’d stopped crying. I’d stopped fighting back. I’d acted like I’d barely noticed them… like their taunts hadn’t bothered me at all. And funnily enough, this was what had ended up working. Sometimes they’d even left me alone for months. Glorious, perfect, peaceful months.
“What’s with your hesitation to take me to Victor?” I challenged. “Are they throwing me a welcome home parade? Should I act surprised?”
I pretended to search through the tree line again, waiting for my “surprise.”
Jaxson growled, wrapping his long fingers around my wrist and yanking me along as he started to walk. He was definitely muttering something about fucking smartass, but at this point, it just made me laugh.
The second we stepped out into the wide-open land, skittish fear traced along my spine, and I focused on breathing through the anxiety. I might have been back here, but I was still standing, and I’d do my best not to let them see my fear.
“One day, you’ll look rattled again,” Jaxson said, staring me down. “One day, I’ll figure out your weakness, and when I do, you’ll fucking belong to me. Like fate always intended.”
What did he just say?
Reaching up, I tapped him on the shoulder. “I’m sorry, what? Belong to you? That sounds awfully possessive for someone who thinks associating with a Callahan is a kiss of death. Not to mention, it’s only polite to take someone out to dinner before you try to own them.”
Where the fuck did he get off even making a statement like that, after all the shit he’d put me through? My life would have been a whole lot better with Jaxson in my corner, and instead, he’d chosen to abandon me. Worse than that, he’d chosen to lead the fucking pitchfork squad.
He blinked, his light brown eyes clear in the sun rising on the horizon. “From what I recall, the last time I took you out for dinner, you weren’t a very polite guest.”
The memory hit me hard, and it hurt because I’d tucked all those memories away for a reason. To save myself. And his one statement brought it right to the forefront again.
“I’d eaten something bad,” I said reluctantly. “I didn’t mean to vomit everywhere. You shouldn’t have insisted on swinging me around by my wrists.”
I’d been nine, he’d been ten, and it had been about a year before everything had gone to shit in my life. We’d been running in his backyard while our parents had prepared dinner for their weekly get-together. Jaxson had set up a special little table for us back near the huge old oak tree, and it had been for…
“My birthday surprise,” I murmured, and he nodded. A snort of laughter escaped me. “One of us was surprised, at least.”
Jaxson actually laughed. “Honestly, here I was trying to make a grand gesture in the way only a dumbass prepubescent boy could, and you turned it upside down. Typical Sunny.”
Grand gesture.
Fuck him and his smooth words. Fuck him bringing this topic up, when he’d spent the years after that trying to destroy every part of who I was.
“Take me to Victor.”
He blinked at my abrupt change of tone and topic.
“I can’t guarantee your safety once I hand you over,” he said seriously.
I laughed. In his face. “Guarantee my safety? Dude, I’d take my chances with almost every other asshole in this pack if I didn’t have to see you again.”
And just like that, I reminded him that we were enemies. That he was on my shit list, not my Christmas card one, and that he had orders to return me to the alpha.
This time when he grabbed me, it hurt, and I would no doubt have a bruise there tomorrow. Whatever. I didn’t give a damn and thankfully, our shared moment over more innocent memories was gone as well.
Last thing I needed was to develop softer feelings toward any of them again.
That would truly be the stupidest thing I could imagine doing.
