A thought made her chest ache. She could think of only one person who’d ever captured her heart, and she hadn’t seen him in over twenty years.
“What’s on your mind, darlin’?” Alexander asked. He must have sensed her thoughts were elsewhere rather than on the dance floor with him where they should have been, had she not been pining for a dead man.
Now was as good a time as ever. Each passing minute gave the vampires more time to put the serum into wide use. She needed to get this show on the road— fast.
“Alexander, dancing with you all evening has been lovely, but why don’t we head back to my—”
The alpha wolf shook his head, the brim of his Stetson lowering slightly as he stopped Mae short. “Save your breath, darlin’. I’m not interested.”Mae nearly tripped over one of his cowboy boots. Stupid high heels. “E-excuse me?” she sputtered. She couldn’t have heard him correctly.Alexander chuckled. “I’ve known the game, darlin’.”
Mae’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “And yet you’ve gone along with it anyway?”
Alexander nodded. “I have.” He spun her outward before pulling her back and catching her in his arms again. The move was so smooth and belied a gentility that would have made a more receptive woman swoon.“Because even though you’re attracted to me, you think I’m better than that?” she asked.
Man, did he have to go and be so sweet and make her feel like even more of a tool?“You are better than that, but you’re wrong on one part.” Alexander let out another bemused chuckle. “No offense, darlin’, but I’m not attracted to you.”It was all Mae could do not to stop dancing right then and there. “You’re not?” He shook his head as he lowered his voice. A playful grin crossed his lips.
“I’m more of a Brokeback Mountain kind of cowboy, if you catch my drift.” Mae’s eyes widened. “Oh. I wouldn’t have thought…” She struggled to find
the words.
“Not every gay man has a feminine side,” Alexander said. “It’s no secret, but I don’t make a habit of advertising my sex life to my fellow packmasters.”
“Of course.” Mae nodded. Maybe that explained the lack of attraction on her end. Perhaps she’d sensed she would have been barking up the wrong tree? Though if she was honest with herself, she knew deep down the problem wasn’t Alexander—it was her. She glanced up at the massive alpha wolf. “So why keep asking me to dance? Why bring your pack here?”
Alexander shrugged. “I like to dance, and you’re as good a partner as any. Not to mention, I have a profound respect for your brother. He’s one of the fiercest and fairest packmasters I’ve ever known, and I like to examine my options. This serum thing leaves me with some questions for my own pack and some
questions for you.”“Alexander, we’re desperate, and if you don’t get on board in time, your pack will be too. Last month when the vampires took me captive, their intent was clear. The serum they’ve created allows—”
“I know. My question isn’t about what the serum can do or cause.” Mae raised a brow. “What exactly is your question then?”
“I’ve been listening to your story all night, and I’m still unclear about one part,” Alexander said.
Mae swayed along with him, allowing him to lead. “I’d be happy to clarify,” she said.That she could do. Even if her backup plan had failed miserably.Alexander stared down at her, his dark-brown eyes searing into hers as if he were trying to see through her. “How exactly did you escape the vampires’ cells?”
Mae nearly choked on her own inhalation of breath. It was the one question she didn’t want the Canadian packmaster to ask, because if the truth was ever revealed to her brother, to Alexander, to anyone here at this reception, their chances of ever claiming more allies would be shot. The consequences for her pack would be deadly.
“That’s a good question,” she said.
While she struggled to formulate an explanation for Alexander—one that hid the dark truth—the alpha wolf twirled her around again. But as she faced away from him, she let go of his hand, stopping midspin, because at that moment, any hope she had of an explanation was lost.
Mae froze. Slowly, she blinked, standing there like a deer in the headlights.
She couldn’t possibly be seeing straight.
It was him. The answer to Alexander’s question and one of her darkest secrets was standing right there on the other side of the dance floor. As if it were normal, as if he were normal.
Nothing about this moment—nothing about him—was normal.
Her heart began to pound.
The Rebel. The Dark Devil. The King of the Misfit Wolves. She’d heard the
nicknames more than once. And yet he lingered there in the shadows, toasting her with a champagne flute as he cast her an amused smirk. Then he drew a long sip from the glass. Mae blinked, hoping, praying the wolf before her was only a memory, a figment of her imagination, caused by the stress of Alexander’s questioning and that would suddenly disappear.But he didn’t.
She gaped. The Rebel was one of their most wanted enemies, a criminal wolf who was foe to all and friend to none. He was considered a leader among the packless rebels of their kind, a violent vigilante. His true identity was known to none, and even now, few had seen his face and lived to tell about it. Mae wasn’t certain how the leaders of the Seven Range Pact didn’t notice him.
From the heels of his leather cowboy boots all the way to the smirk across his face, this devil with a too-charming grin was a man not to be crossed.
And yet she’d struck a bargain with him when she’d been trapped in the vampires’ cells, still bleeding from where they’d drawn her blood for the serum. Her freedom and safe release from the cell in exchange for the tool he’d used to make their escape—along with her silence about him and his identity.
In her mind, she was back there again. Inside the vampires’ cell as he peered at her from the shadows of the next cell over. She could still hear the deep rumble of his voice as it wrapped around her.
Even from the corner of the dance floor, he commanded the room, towering over the Pact members in both height and hard-earned muscle. Only a handful of the Grey Wolf’s elite warriors compared, and yet he was watching her. His ice-blue eyes met hers, and a devious grin curled his lips. He was taunting her, daring her to out his identity.
But she couldn’t.
Not unless she wanted to negate the deal they’d made, and not unless she wanted to ruin the Grey Wolves’ chances with Alexander. If anyone knew she’d partnered with an infamous criminal to escape the vampires, they’d never believe a word she said about the serum. Any chance of them gaining more allies would fly out the window. It would be a death sentence for her pack.
Whatever the Rebel was here for, she needed him to leave.
Now.The feeling of Alexander’s hand squeezing her shoulder in concern wrenched her back into the moment. “Lily?”
Mae blinked several times, glancing to where Maverick sat at the head table, then over her shoulder to Alexander and then back to where the Rebel had stood. Already, he was gone, the racing thrum of her pulse the only trace he’d been there in the first place.“Lily, are you all right?” Alexander asked.
“Y-yes,” she stuttered as she tried to recover. “I’m not sure what came over me.”
The pink summer sunset had long since faded to nightfall by the time Mae returned to her cottage on the other side of the Grey Wolf compound. As she approached home, she cringed at the thought of the poor excuse she’d given Alexander. There was no way he’d bought her lie. Sure, she and Maverick had scheduled Alexander for a meeting with the Pact, which was a small step forward, but if they didn’t get him on board and fast, their prospects were limited.But Mae was determined. She would find a way to save her pack. She had to. Feeling more than a little defeated, she shuffled up to her door, scanning the other nearby pack cabins. Hers was one of many adjacent to the dining hall and the main compound building, which housed the elite warriors and the main pack offices. She grabbed her keys from her purse. As she did so, she glanced over her shoulder, as if she might find the Rebel lingering there in the darkness. Butshe didn’t. He’d disappea
The dim light of a table lamp cut through the shadows. Rebel leaned against the bedroom doorway, his Stetson hiding the scarred half of his face as he raked his gaze over her. As soon as Lily Grey had flicked the light on, she’d scrambled to her feet. She stood at her bedside, wearing little more than a thin, pink nightgown and clutching a large hardcover book from her nightstand like a weapon.He shook his head.Despite her pure Grey Wolf bloodline, by both wolf and human standards she was petite, which meant physically armed with knowledge or not, she wouldn’t hold her own in a fight against an alpha like him.But if looks could kill…She snarled at him. “What the hell are you doing here?”As if he hadn’t made a habit of sneaking into her room hundreds of times before. He shook his head. He’d known when they’d met in the vampires’ cells that she didn’t recognize him. Twenty years and a
What he wouldn’t give to see her enjoy just a taste of it.“And what about you? What saint are you to point out my flaws?” she asked. “How are my sins any worse than yours?” She counted off his crimes on her fingers. “Thievery, bribery, extortion, breaking and entering… I’m sure I’m missing some.”“You forgot grand larceny, but I’ll excuse it this time.” He grinned. Her list only touched the tip of the iceberg, but the challenge in her eyes stirred something low in his belly. He rose to his feet. “But there’s one key difference between you and me, Princess.”She bristled at the nickname again.Slowly, he stepped toward her, lowering his voice into a conspiratorial whisper. “I don’t pretend to be the good guy.”Her eyes flashed to her wolf. She was a spitfire, and he liked that more than he cared to admit.“If you didn’t
Lily held the blade steady. “What are you offering?” she asked.Apparently, she hadn’t learned her lesson after making a deal with him the first time. She watched the Rebel with wary eyes, careful of any sudden movement he made. She didn’t think he was here to hurt her, but she was smart enough not to fully trust him either.She wasn’t about to underestimate a wolf like him.He straightened from where he leaned against the counter to his full height until he towered over her. All long limbs corded with muscle. He moved with the languid grace of a predator. She’d only seen that kind of movement from a handful of the strongest Grey Wolf alpha warriors. The warriors with the darkest pasts and the most enemy deaths to their name.“The kind of deal that gets you allies far more powerful than Alexander,” he answered.He stepped into the dim glow of the moonlight streaming through the kitchen window and Lily g
What had she gotten herself into? Lily swallowed—hard—as Rebel tugged on the reins. His deep voice wrapped around her, smooth as velvet.“Almost there now,” he said.Those were the first words he’d spoken to her since they’d escaped Wolf Pack Run. For the past several hours, they’d ridden in silence, only the late-night sounds of the forest and the bright summer moonlight guiding their way. Cradled in the darkness and with the gentle sway of the horse beneath her, she’d lost herself in the passing of the trees, so much so that she’d almost allowed herself to forget the mysterious wolf at her back.She had no such comfort now.As his horse slowed, Rebel dismounted, making quick work of removing his remaining weaponry from the leather saddlebag. Lily watched as he retrieved three extra blades. He slipped one into each boot before he passed the third to her. “For protection,” he grumbled. &ldq
Lily had never been to the ocean before, yet she felt the waves beneath her in a gentle, swaying movement. The water was warm, and the waves wrapped around her like a pair of powerful arms. An unfamiliar voice echoed from beneath the surface, bubbling from within the deep, muffled and distant.Anthony.At the name, she instantly stiffened. She was twelve again, barely a woman, and the sharp hands of her mother were pulling her, tearing her away. She was screaming, pleading, yet her cries fell on deaf ears. She needed to find him, to save him, to tell him she loved him, but she couldn’t move.He’s dead, her conscience answered.The water around her grew cold with her guilt. The ocean stilled like the eerie calm in the eye of a storm. Lily struggled to breathe as the water pressed in around her, threatening to swallow her as she drowned in its depths.Anthony was dead, which meant she might as well be too. The waves whispered in a crashin
Rebel tipped off his Stetson and swiped the sweat from his brow. Damn, it was hotter than Hades. It was dusk, and the summer sun had long since begun to set. Bright tinges of pink and orange clouded the western sky over the blue-ridged Idaho mountains in the distance. Normally, he and the crew would have turned in by now, but they’d lengthened their work hours during the summer, using the extra daylight to their advantage, and even though it had been close to day’s end after his and Murtagh’s security meeting, he’d come back out to the pasture.He never felt right turning in before his ranch hands did.“You headed in?” Boone, his young work companion for the day, asked as he sauntered out of the barn and toward the waiting truck.Frenchie would already have dinner ready, and since the classically trained chef had joined their ragtag band of misfits, Boone, a young rebel who wasn’t a day over nineteen, never missed dinner w
Lily ran until her feet ached and all four of her legs threatened to give out beneath her. The nighttime summer breeze blew, ruffling the fur of her coat. It caused a chill to prickle her haunches, though she was far from cold. She paused to catch her breath and glanced up at the night sky. The stars twinkled over the vast landscape, their brightness only obscured by the light of the full moon. Even in the shadows of the towering pines, she could see everything clearly, the moonlight and her wolf senses illuminating her path. She inhaled a deep breath of mountain air. The adrenaline that coursed through her veins caused her to pant with excitement. She’d escaped. She’d actually escaped.And courtesy of a rope made of bedsheets at that.There was still a slight ache in her skull from the healing head injury, but what little pain remained was nearly gone. In a moment of daring, she threw back her head and howled. The release of tension felt so good that, had