“This is hide and seek.” Stannick hooked his fingers and made a swatting gesture in her direction. “Wolf style. One of us gives the others a ten-minute head start, then they shift and try to find us.”
Kensey blinked then turned away from Risa. “So why not shift after everyone goes to hide?”
Risa shrugged. She wiggled her hips and did a little shimmy. “I’ve got nothing to hide.”
Most packs believed shifting was a private thing. To do it in front of others was taboo. It wasn’t so much the modesty—though I was sure stick-up-their-ass-pricks like Sam Deaton had an issue with that aspect—but the act itself. It was personal. Intimate. The process of shifting was different for every wolf. Some gave themselves to the change, the act so seamless that it was over in a matter of seconds. On others, it was painful and raw. Every shift of bone, every reassignment of cartridge and muscle, was like dying a thousand deaths. The pain could be so intense they found themselves immobilized for an hour after it was finished, too weak, too exhausted to even flick their tail. My own change was a textbook horror story. I would never shift in front of another living soul.
Risa rolled her eyes when Kensey refused to look up. She tapped her toe up against her cell on the ground by her feet. “Better get moving. You guys are on the clock!”
Everyone took off.
“Come on!” I grabbed Kensey’s hand and dragged her into motion. The group split up. Several veered to the left to head along the tree line, while Devo let out a whoop and scaled the nearest tree. The guy was more like a monkey than a wolf. I’d seen him swing from branch to branch like fucking Tarzan.
Risa’s howl split the air. “Hurry.” I changed direction and cut across a small path. “I know a place.”
“So, what’s the purpose of this game?” Kensey kept my pace, which was impressive. Most of the others couldn’t keep up. “I mean, she’s going to smell us. You can’t really play hide and seek with a wolf.”
I pushed off and soared over a fallen log, hitting the ground several seconds before she touched down beside me. “That’s where the tag element comes in.”
“Yeah.” She swatted a low-hanging branch away without slowing her pace. “I still don’t get it. If you’re implying that you play tag with a wolf—”
“That’s exactly it.”
She stopped so abruptly that she nearly tripped over her own feet. Her expression went from shocked to a kid in a candy store delirious. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.” I wasn’t particularly thrilled with the game. Anything that required digging deeper into my wolf side wasn’t my idea of a good time. But the others loved it, so once in a while I played along.
Her grin widened. “Nice!”
Another howl cut through the night. She’d caught Devo—she always went for him first. I had my doubts he even tried to get away. A few seconds later, Stannick cursed.
“Damnit! Over here. We can—” I skidded to a stop and held my breath. “Too late.” I shoved Kensey to the left and dove for the ground as a large mass of white and gray flew overhead. I tucked and rolled, and when I righted myself, Risa was crouched on the ground a few feet in front of me.
“Did someone lose a chew toy?” Kensey said with a grin.
She was a few feet to my right, and I could feel the excitement emanating from her. It was almost contagious the way she moved, her energy. She was so in touch with her wolf. So alive. I envied her. Maybe it was the blood in my veins, or maybe there was just something wrong with me on a fundamental level. My wolf was dark. It was violent and demanding, and sometimes I was convinced that it hated my human side. If I dug too deep, it took over and I lost myself to that primal place. If I shifted, my human half was consumed. The others were self-aware when they changed. I hardly ever was.
Kensey let out a whoot, bringing me back to the here and now. With a flourish and a smile, she flipped off the massive wolf—just as she leaped.
Chapter Eleven
Kensey
One second I was standing in front of an unfamiliar snarling wolf, the next she lunged. Slade called out a warning, but I saw her coming. I danced to the left then shuffled back as she gracefully landed a few feet in front of me.
“Aww, what’s wrong? Were you not fast enough?”
Slade came up beside me. There was the smallest hint of a grin on his lips. “Bad form to tease a wolf, ya know.”
Harper came rushing into the field. He stopped short, gaze falling on Risa, and cursed. She barked once in my direction then took off after him.
I nudged Slade with my elbow. The dark mood that had settled over him when his father showed up at the house hadn’t seemed to pass. “I vote you be it next.”
He shook his head. “I’m never it.”
“Doesn’t seem fair.” We started walking.
“You have to shift in order to be it.”
I stopped walking and stared at him. “So, you don’t shift?”
His eyes narrowed. I’d hit a nerve. “Obviously I shift when I have to, but not for something stupid like this.”
Slade had a lot of bottled-up anger. The guy needed to uncork or he was going to explode and take half the country with him. “Obviously you’re not into talking about this,” I said. “So, naturally, I wanna talk about it. Why is having fun stupid, exactly?”
“You like to push buttons, don’t you?” He stopped again, this time folding his arms and leaning back against a large pine tree.
I grinned and waved my hand in the air between us. “Everyone has to have a hobby.” When he didn’t offer anything more, I said, “So?”
“So, what?” I was getting on his nerves. Good to know I hadn’t lost my touch.
“So, why don’t you shift? We’ve established you don’t like fun. But your stick-in-the-mud status can’t be the only reason.” I offered him a sympathetic frown. “You can tell me. Are you an ugly puppy? It’s okay if you are. I mean, we can’t all be adorable floofs like me…”
“Do people actually enjoy spending time with you?” he asked, glaring at me. “Because I’m beginning to think we should institute a limited conversation rule.”
I bumped him with my hip. I was genuinely curious—and not just in a nosey way. It wasn’t healthy for us to repress the urge to shift. It was as natural as breathing. Or it should have been. “Come on, Slade. What gives?”
Whatever it was he’d planned on saying—probably something snotty—was lost to a feral snarl. The sound bounced off the trees and echoed into the night. A few feet behind Slade, Risa crept into the clearing. With each movement, I saw her more clearly. Her actions were predatory, but they lacked menace.
I tapped Slade’s shoulder. “Bet you can’t keep up.”
Without waiting for him, I bolted in the other direction, pumping my feet as hard as I could. A spike of adrenalin coursed through me, the zap of it lighting me on fire from the inside out. It was like taking a breath of fresh air, and I kicked harder, my body moving with a mind of its own. Instinct. There was no other word for it. When I opened myself up to the wolf, it was like a drug, invigorating and addictive. There was no hesitation. No fear.
The air rushed by, cool and tingly, as I flew over the obstacles that covered the forest floor. Rocks, fallen braches, collections of brush—it was all beneath me. Insignificant and trivial.
Risa barked and exploded from the bushes to my left as Slade raced up the trail behind me on the right. I skidded to a stop and changed direction on a dime, Slade on my heels. Through a narrow tree hallway and across a small clearing. She was almost on top of us, the hairs at the back of my neck jumping to attention in warning as the adrenalin coursed through my veins like rocket fuel.
I kicked off the ground and grabbed a thick, low-hanging tree branch, using my speed and letting the momentum carry me through. My feet sailed up and over, finding purchase on the bark seconds before Risa leaped. She soared harmlessly beneath me and hit the dirt with an indignant snort.
But she wasn’t giving up.
> The massive wolf rounded again, and I dropped from the safety of my perch as she came at me. This time I ran, full speed, to meet her. Seconds before she pounced, I threw my weight back and slid beneath her in the dirt, just as Slade came bounding through the brush. My elbow banged against a loose rock, and my shirt rode up to expose my back to sticks and small pebbles that dug into the skin, but it felt amazing. Each small cut was like a jolt of electricity zapping me higher and higher.
I jumped up and took off again. Risa let out a frustrated howl, and I heard one of the others laugh.
“Go Kensey!” Devo shouted from somewhere in the dark.
“She’s incredible,” I heard Harper remark. “For an alpha’s daughter.”
And Slade… He was close. I felt him, like a whisper against my ear. I got the impression he could have soared past me, but for some reason, he was holding back—and I didn’t think it had anything to do with letting me win.
“Get back to where we started,” Slade yelled. “You get there before her and you win.”
I skidded past the tree line and lost my balance, tripping over my own feet and going down hard. Risa’s massive form exploded from the trees as I stumbled to my feet. I leaped upward and threw my body forward, the tips of my fingers clipping the heel of the shoe she’d discarded earlier.
A few seconds later, the others emerged from the woods. Led by Slade, they greeted me with a series of hoots and cheers.
“That was impressive.” Devo held up his hand, and it took me a minute to realize he was waiting for a fiver. I smacked him hard, unable to hold in an elated giggle.
“I suppose Slade could do worse,” Stannick said with a grin. He winked as Risa emerged from the trees, partially clothed and grinning.
“You killed it, Kensey,” she said, slapping me hard on the back. “And you even got Slade to play.”
I snuck a glance in his direction. There was the smallest hint of a smile on his face.
Risa giggled, and the boys all exchanged knowing grins. Slade held out his hand to me and nodded toward the house. “It’s getting late. Should probably head back home.”
The others said their goodbyes and filtered out of the woods, leaving Slade and me to cross the large yard alone.
“So, verdict? Was it so bad?”
I laughed. “Your friends are a lot of fun—”
“Fun?”
“Yeah.” I stopped walking as we came to the tree line that separated our two properties. I wanted to poke more about the shifting thing, but he was in a decent mood. I didn’t want to end the night on a sour note. “It was fun. Pick me up in the morning?”
“I’ll think about it.” He winked and turned on his heel. I watched until the darkness swallowed him then turned back toward my house. I’d seen hints of the old Slade tonight. The Slade I’d known when I was younger. Maybe we could pull this off.
And maybe it wouldn’t be that bad…
Chapter Twelve
Slade
“Out late.”
I closed the front door but didn’t turn around. It was a simple observation—though stupid since most nights I didn’t come home at all—yet anything but. The words held an underlying tone of menace. Of anger. But I’d expected it. I’d seen it in his eyes at the Deaton house.
I was going to pay for leaving him out.
“What’s wrong, Dad? Worried about your assets?” My heartbeat kicked up several notches, and I hated myself for it. He couldn’t terrorize me the way he had when I was younger, when I was helpless. I wasn’t stupid enough to cower anymore.
Nope. I’d grown stupider by antagonizing him.
“Worried?” He pushed off the wall and came toward me. “About you? No. You can take care of yourself. I saw to that.”
“Sure did.” My fingers knotted tight, and the itch to swing at him made my muscles twitch. His lessons were unforgettable, and my wolf had an impeccable memory.
“I was, however, concerned for my daughter-in-law to be.” His lips pulled downward. To an unknowing onlooker, he’d seem genuinely concerned. Me? I knew it was bullshit. “Such a fragile little thing… I wouldn’t want you damaging that magnificent pedigree.”
My wolf stirred, and anger surged through me. This was a fake relationship, and any feelings I’d had for Kensey Deaton fizzled out years ago, but hearing Gavin talk about her like that…
“She’s not as fragile as you think.” The words came in a growl, the wolf dangerously close to surfacing.
Gavin laughed. He knew I had control issues, had used them against me countless times. “What’s wrong, Slade? Is she a sore spot for you? A trigger?”
I kept my mouth shut. Anything I said from this point on would only give him more ammunition.
“Is that why you picked her? Think she’s strong enough to survive you?”
I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek.
“I mean, let’s face it. You’re weak, Slade. A train wreck. A natural disaster. You got my temper but none of my control.”
He had a fucked-up definition of control…
He threw back his head and let out a loud snort. “Wanna hit me, kid? I wouldn’t blame ya. Come on. Let the little doggie out to play. I won’t hold it against you—this time.”
I bit down harder on my cheek. A foul, coppery taste filled my mouth. Did I want to hit him? Oh, fuck yeah I did. And not for Kensey, either. Any time I ended up in the same room as him for more than five minutes, I found myself fantasizing about what it’d be like to lay into the old dog. He’d made my life a living hell. He’d continue to make my life a living hell—until Kensey made good on her part of our deal. Until then, I was as good as chained here. Chained to him and this damn life, because he was my alpha. Before he was my dad, despite being an asshole, he was my pack leader. The wolf in me refused to ignore that. It would never act against him.
“Go ahead,” he said, stepping closer.
I stayed perfectly still.
“No?” Beer-scented breath filled the air between us as he wrapped his hand around my throat. Pushing me back against the wall with bone-cracking force, he said, “Then allow me. If you ever talk to me the way you did earlier, I will destroy you.”
I didn’t answer.
He squeezed tighter. It was becoming a struggle to breathe. “Are we clear?”
Still, I didn’t answer. Not because I couldn’t—I could have nodded and he would have stopped—but because I refused. Even though I knew what would follow, I chose not to respond. It was a small bit of power I possessed when it came to Gavin, and I clung to it. I couldn’t lift a hand to the bastard, but I could deny him what he wanted, and in some ways that was more satisfying.
Rage simmered in his eyes, and his fingers tightened even more. “One last chance, kid. Do you understand?”
My gaze found his, and silently, my wolf gave him the only answer he deserved.
Fuck you…
Gavin sighed. “Teegan? Mick?” The two massive wolves were instantly at his side. “You know what to do.”
They did. We’d played this game so many times before. But the kicker? I deserved it. Not because of what I did to Gavin—but because of what I did for him.
…
I grabbed some supplies and settled in to spend the rest of the night in Kensey’s treehouse. It was pathetic, but the collection of wood and nails was comforting in a way nothing else was. In some ways, it was more of a home than the house. She had no idea I’d come here a thousand times when things got too heavy at home or I needed a place to wait out a bad conversation with Gavin. I was always careful not to make any noise.
Apparently, tonight I failed.
“What the hell are you—” Kensey poked her head through the window and froze when her gaze landed on my face. “Jesus! Did you go head to head with a wood chipper?”
I lifted the half full bottle of rum to my lips and took a long pull. “You should see the other guys.”
She maneuvered herself into the treehouse and settled on the floor acro
ss from me, and I couldn’t help noticing her clothes. She must have been in bed and heard the racket I made. Her thinly lined black tank top revealed she had more of a chest than I’d thought, and short flannel shorts showcased her long, slender legs.
I lifted the bottle again but instead of taking a drink snickered. “See? Why can’t you dress like that all the time? You actually look kind of hot.” It took all my concentration to look away.
She frowned. “You get your ass handed to you, and you still find time to insult me? Really, Slade. Priorities…”
“Don’t,” I growled. I set the bottle down with a thump and leaned forward. The small light from the candle I’d lit made strangely shaped shadows dance across her face, giving her an almost feral look. Feral and stunning… “Don’t you fucking dare feel sorry for me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, I wasn’t. If you’re stupid enough to go picking fights with every wolf in town, then you deserve whatever it is you get. But since you climbed into my treehouse, you wanna tell me what happened?”
I didn’t answer. Instead, I held the bottle to my lips again and took another pull.
“Remember the house rules—”
I laughed. It was a horrible, broken noise that barely sounded human. We’d done this before, years ago. When Gavin got drunk, when things at home were too loud or too crazy due to unruly pack life, I came here. Kensey’s only rule was that if I showed up, I had to tell her why.
But those days were gone. I didn’t owe her—or anyone—anything. “Rules? Since when do the McAlisters follow the rules, Princess?”
“Tell me what happened,” she demanded, folding her arms.
“Nope. You wanna ask questions, you gotta play the game.”
“Game?”
I leaned across to the backpack beside me and pulled out another bottle. I always went out prepared. “Yep,” I said with a grin. “Game.”
I twisted the cap and set the bottle down between us. “One person makes a statement. If it’s true for either person, then they have to take a drink.”