She blinked then looked down at her bare arm. “Why would you do that?” she whispered. “It looks like it hurt like hell. Can’t you just smell each other or something?”
He clenched his jaw and tried to relax when she looked up at him. “It was not our choice.”
Her mouth parted, and she reached up to her neck where the absence of a collar stood out like a beacon. That would have to change soon to keep her safe—to keep them all safe.
“What do you know of our history?” he asked.
She frowned. “I know what TV and books tell me. When the Verona Virus hit twenty-five years ago, it wiped out a lot of humanity. That’s when you guys couldn’t hide anymore and came out in force to try to attack us.” She pressed her lips together and winced. “Sorry,” she whispered. “Anyway, the SAU found the cure and then saved the rest of the human civilization by putting the ‘animals’ in cages.” She used air quotes around the word animals to apparently indicate she didn’t quite believe the prevailing propaganda. It didn’t make it any easier to stomach hearing those words from her mouth.
“The SAU is a decrepit and violent organization that uses fear mongering to keep humans unaware of what’s going on around them. If they keep the fear heightened just enough, then humans will turn the other cheek when it comes to locking up, in camps, women and children who have done nothing but be born with the ability to shift.” He let out a small growl, holding out his arm. “The SAU did this to me. They force us to brand children so no one can hide what they are. They are the ones who make us wear collars and try to force us to forget that we are shifters and once held power. Now we don’t even have to power to free ourselves. We are outnumbered and weak because we were the ones who saved you. Not the doctors. But us. The shifters.”
Ariel put her hand on his chest, her palm right above his heartbeat. His wolf calmed immediately, brushing at her touch, nudging beneath his skin.
“I grew up in an SAU orphanage, Holden. My parents died from complications from the virus when I was born. I know the SAU isn’t the perfect pillar of society they claim to be. If I hadn’t known it when I was a child, hungry and alone, I would have damn well known it when they cut me open to see if they could make a shifter.”
Her eyes widened, and she clamped her mouth shut.
He gripped her arms, his wolf coming to the surface. “They’re trying to make shifters?” He couldn’t believe it. Or maybe he could. He wouldn’t put anything past the SAU, but fuck, this was bad.
“I overheard one of the doctors talking about it when they were putting me under for some tests. I don’t know why they want to do that or why they kidnapped me from my home to do it. The latter probably because I have no family and no close friends due to where I grew up.”
His wolf raged at the thought of her hurt, bleeding, and alone, but the man knew he needed to think about the consequences of what she’d just told him.
“Fuck, Ariel. This is bad. But you need to know how bad first. Shifters came out of hiding because we couldn’t get sick from the Verona Virus. Humans started to notice that whole groups of people and families seemed to have immunity. We came out on our own terms, contrary to the SAU propaganda. We gave what we could and searched for a cure. We might not be fully human, but we aren’t fully animals either. There was no way we would allow people to die while we stood back and did nothing.”
“You saved us?” she asked, her voice low.
He gave a tight nod. “And in thanks, the humans brought in their military and killed many of us. They were scared of what we were and what we could do if we wanted more. They might have lost people, but they still outnumbered us. The SAU formed soon after, and they threw us in camps and made up arcane rules and regulations to keep us in check. We have no rights, no future beyond the walls and fences that surround us. They put wolves together with other wolves, regardless of different Packs. They did the same to the cats and bears, not thinking one minute about the numerous species within those sets of shifters. We had to quickly form our own hierarchy within the dens or we’d have been lost.” Flashes of memory from that time assailed him, and he swallowed hard, clenching his fists.
“What do you mean?” Her hand hadn’t moved from his chest, and he wasn’t about to let her move it. He liked her touch and damn well wanted more of it.
“Human society needs leadership and rules to survive. Shifters are the same way. We need an Alpha, Beta, and other parts of the Pack to function. Even in the old days, it was like that. We took what we had before and made it into what we needed here.”
“Are all Packs like this then? In the other compounds?”
He hesitated for a moment, not sure what to tell her. This was his mate, though, and he needed her to know all she could to survive what was to come. “Yes. The humans cut us off from the other dens around the cities as well as the feline and ursine ones around Denver. However, we have our ways.”
She blinked at that. “So you’re in communication with the others.”
Shit. He was breaking the rules left and right for her today. “Yes.”
“And you can’t get into more of it because it’s your secret,” she said softly. “I get it. You probably shouldn’t have told me this much, right?”
He snorted. “Right. I also shouldn’t have changed you, Ariel. There are reasons for our rules.”
She licked her lips. “The SAU and the rest of us think shifters can only be born.” She frowned. “That’s probably why they’re using me and others...to find a way to make their own.”
“And if they find out that an Alpha or a mate can change a human into a wolf…”
“Oh God, they’ll force you to make others.”
He nodded. “They already force us to do so much, we can’t be forced to do that.” He cupped her face, trying to convey the gravity of the situation. “We have to hide you, Ariel. The humans don’t know every single shifter in their compounds. They tried at one time, but when we first started, the SAU wasn’t as organized. They killed hundreds of us and kidnapped others for experiments.” Bile rose in his throat and he let out a breath. “They didn’t keep good enough track, so they don’t know how many they keep within these walls. But they do know every single person inside has a brand and a collar.”
“That’s barbaric.”
“That’s reality,” he snapped. He could sense Soren outside the door and knew their time alone had come to an end. He’d have to take her outside to face his Pack and be branded. Fuck, this wasn’t going to end well. “If I hadn’t bitten you to change you, you’d have died. Maybe you would have been okay with that, but I wasn’t. Not only did I want to save your life because of what would happen when the humans found you dead on our doorstep, but you are my mate. I know I took your choices away, but we can’t go back now. Only forward.”
Her jaw tightened and her nostrils flared. “I’m grateful to be alive, but everything’s changed so quickly, and I’m not up to speed. You’re going to have to give me a minute or two to think.”
“I’m afraid you don’t have a minute.” He cursed. “This is what’s going to happen. We’re going to dye your hair so you at least look a little different than you did before.” He pulled at the dark strands. “I think you can go a little lighter and you can cut some off if you want.”
“You want to dye my hair,” she said dryly. “Because that will save me. Just like Clark Kent and his glasses.”
He snorted. “Not quite that severe. You’re my mate so it’s not like you’re in a low profile position, but we can try to hide you until the others forget about you. The hair job might work for a little while.” He let out a breath. “We will have to get you a collar. If you don’t have one on and an SAU guard sees you, it’s an automatic death sentence.”
“You have to wear them all the time? Even in bed?”
He nodded. “Always, Ariel. We aren’t people here. We’re lab experiments and zoo animals. You’ll have to blend in to live.”
“And you said you aren’t stro
ng enough to get out.”
He winced at that. “Not together. We have submissives who don’t fight—they can’t because their wolves nurture. We have children and elderly who would be caught in the crossfire. It’s not as simple as a war.” If war was ever simple. He cupped her face once more. “Ariel, you’ll need the brand and the tattoo. I’m sorry.”
“I don’t have a choice, do I?” She didn’t cry, instead she looked resigned. He wasn’t sure what to make of that.
He shook his head. “No, for that, I am sorry. But I can’t apologize for saving your life. I know it’s too much right now, but I’m yours, just as you are mine. We will have to face that reality at some point. First, we must protect you and our Pack.” He didn’t miss the look in her eyes when he’d said ‘our.’ “After that, we will work on the next steps. I’m in a position of power with my people. I cannot let them fall because I fear my choices and let you fear yours.”
“It’s a lot to take in at once, Holden,” she said then pulled back from him. She scooted off the stool and stood by his side. She was so tiny compared to him, but he knew the strength within her. She couldn’t be anything but strong to survive the torture she’d endured. If taking back a semblance of control helped her survive the memories, then he’d try to make it happen.
A knock at the door interrupted them. “That would be Soren, my Beta.”
She wrapped her arms around herself and looked toward the front door. “Your second in command?”
“Yes. He’s also my best friend and pissed as hell about what I risked.”
“Meaning he doesn’t like me.”
Yes. “He doesn’t know you.”
“You don’t know me,” she said dryly.
“I’m trying to,” he countered.
She rolled her shoulders back. “So there is the Alpha and Beta. Anything else I should know?”
“Tons,” he said with a laugh. “But we’ll get there. There is usually an Omega within a Pack, a healer of physical and emotional needs. However, our Pack is lacking one. Hard to complete the set when we can’t meet new wolves over time.”
Soren knocked again, this time louder, and Holden held out a hand. “We need to face the Pack. They’re out there and will want to know what we’re doing.” He tugged her close and looked down at her. “You need to stand by my side and don’t fight me. I know you want to scream and rage for what I did to you, but that will need to stay between us. We can’t look as if we aren’t united. If we do, the Pack will fracture.”
“That sounds so political.”
“It is. We have our own rules and problems within the den. Add in the SAU and what could happen outside these walls? It’s a shitstorm. That’s why I need you to at least pretend you are happy by my side. You don’t have to lie and say you love me and want that future with all of your heart, but don’t tell the others you’d rather have died than be one of us.”
She sucked in a breath. “I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“You’re an idiot. Don’t put words into my mouth. I might not be happy I had no choice, and I might be confused as hell, but I am not going to let others get hurt because I’m confused. Now, let’s go see this horde of scary, dangerous wolves so I can get my flesh burned and hide from the humans who tried to kill me. Because that sounds like a fun way to spend the day.”
He snorted then pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her. She hesitated a moment, before sinking into his hold. She used humor and sarcasm to get her through the pain, but he knew the agony lay right beneath the surface. The fact she felt so good in his arms meant he’d have to deal with his own feelings as soon as he took care of his Pack.
As always, Pack first, Alpha second.
Holden pulled her toward the door and opened it, his wolf once again at the surface. Soren stood on the other side, his face grim, his hands fisted at his side.
“Ready?”
“Yes,” Holden lied. He looked down at Ariel who had squared her shoulders, her gaze on the people behind Soren. “Come, Ariel.” Time to face the consequences of his decision to save her life… and to find a slice of what happiness he could.
He stepped past Soren, Ariel by his side, and met the gazes of the wolves that he called his own. Some openly gawked at the woman at his side, others smiled or glared. Their emotions ran the gamut, and he knew he’d have to defend his choice of not only a mate, but what he’d done to save her life.
He’d broken Pack law, and now he would have to face Pack judgment.
“This is Ariel. My mate.” Grumbles and shouts rang from the others, but he held up his hand. They soon quieted. “The humans left her nearly dead. It was the only way to save the woman my wolf has chosen as his own. I will not regret what I have done, but I will ask for your patience.”
“The humans will kill us!” Ana called out.
“Not if we hide her,” Theo said, surprising the hell out of Holden.
“Is she really yours?” Mandy, a submissive asked, her eyes downcast.
“Yes, she is really mine.”
“Then we will protect her,” Mandy whispered then leaned into Theo. The two of them were friends only, but the dominants and submissives always cared for one another. The fact that this submissive was the one to say what she did spoke volumes about her own strength.
Soren came to his side, the flash of metal in his hand making Holden wince. “Are you ready?” his Beta asked Ariel, ignoring Holden all together. It seemed his best friend wasn’t happy with him at all.
Holden turned Ariel in his arms so she was forced to look up at him. “We need to collar you and brand you quickly. The Pack ink can come later because the humans don’t look for it, same as the mating ink. But we need to do the rest now.”
She let out a breath then met his gaze. “I guess I should get used to my new normal.”
“I guess so.” Soren held out the collar and Holden took it in his hands. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, so low that only she and Soren would have been able to hear.
“Don’t be. Not for this.” Her gaze remained on his as he snapped the metal in place. The collar was more than a way for the humans to know who could shift. It was the embodiment of all that his people hated. It showed the world they were animals locked in cages. That they had no freedom and lived on the whim of a government that considered them nothing more than a blood bank in case the Verona Virus hit again. His hand traced over the cool metal on her overheated skin, and he held back a sigh.
He’d locked the one woman who would be his into a fate she had no way of escaping. Selfish did not begin to underscore his actions. Yet he couldn’t regret it. Not even then. Soon she would find her place within the Pack and learn who she was a shifter. His friends and people would welcome her or shun her, but they would learn to respect her as their Alpha's mate.
Soren cleared his throat and Holden looked into the eyes of his best friend. “The next part must be done now, Holden. She will need time to heal, and since she has not shifted yet, it will take her longer than others.”
Ariel let out a breath, the held out her arm. “I feel like I’m in another world or dreaming.” She licked her lips, bracing herself. “More like a nightmare, right?”
Soren held out the branding iron, hot from the fire and Holden gripped it. “I’m sorry,” Holden whispered.
“You have to do it?” she asked, her lips thinning.
He met her gaze. “Yes. I have to brand each and every one of my people.”
“Oh, Holden,” she whispered. “Those bastards deserve to rot in hell.”
From the snickers and hollers from the people around him, they’d heard it, too. He swallowed hard then met Soren’s gaze.
“Ariel is it?” Holden’s friend asked. “I’m going to hold you down so Holden doesn’t hurt you more than he needs to. You can scream and shout and do everything you need to. Okay?”
Holden held his breath as his best friend wrapped his arms around Ariel, holding her back to his che
st. His wolf raged, not wanting to do this. Fuck he wanted to run away and take her and whomever else he could with him. That wasn’t an option, though, and he needed to do this to protect her.
“Breathe for me, siren,” he said softly. “Breathe.”
“I forgive you,” she whispered back.
He let out a sigh then touched the hot iron to her flesh. Ariel’s eyes widened, and she screamed. It pierced his heart, and his wolf slammed into him, wanting to kill whoever had dared hurt her. Only the fault lay in his hands, not another’s. It would always be in his hands. He was the Alpha. The one to protect. The one to brand.
He pulled back then blew on her burnt flesh. He would never forget the sound of her pain or the smell of her seared skin. He threw the iron to the grown and pulled Ariel to his chest and away from Soren. She whimpered in his arms, clutching her own arm to his chest. He ran his hand down her hair and murmured to her, trying to soothe her hurts.
It was just one more thing in a long line of regrets he had to bear. He knew it might be for the greater good, but he’d never let the memory of her pain leave him. He’d been the one to do this, the one to make her cry.
And this was only the beginning. Their true agony would be waiting for them. Of this, Holden was sure. Because no matter how hard he would try to hide her and keep his people safe, they were still prisoners.
They would never be safe.
Chapter 4
Less than a day in her new body, and Ariel had no idea who she was or why she’d given in so quickly. It made no sense. She shouldn’t have held out her arm, shouldn’t have allowed him to brand her as cattle. It was like an out-of-body experience. Holden had said it was to save her life and the life of his Pack.
She deliberately ignored his use of the word ‘our’ when it came to Pack and Holden. One minute she’d been a normal human, trying to earn a living and find her place in a post-Verona world. The next she’d been strapped to a metal table, screaming in agony. Take another breath and she’d been dying in a man’s arms. If she thought really hard about the memories and tried to clear the fog away, she could almost hear his voice, assuring her she’d be okay. Maybe it was just her trying to make up a memory of what he’d done. Now though, she wasn’t that woman dying in a forest. She’d woken up to find her whole world had not only changed, but she’d have to change with it.