Dean’s vehicle rolled up to the diner’s parking lot and saw the standoff. His enforcers cornered her as she left the diner. He clearly saw her gauging her odds of escape from so many. His vehicle barely stopped before Dean was out of it and walking determinedly toward her. “Kiera, we need to talk. Now.” This wasn’t a tone she’d ever heard from him in all the years she knew him. His tone made it clear he wasn’t asking or pleading, he was stating a fact and there was no way out of it. Dean could see her flight response was in full swing and he needed to lower that without triggering her fight response. This wasn’t a place which would welcome or accept a ‘furry’ incident. Those too often ended in fighting, blood, and property damage. “You resisted understanding, then when you did, you pretended it was all in my head. Now, you want to slap a bandaid here and there. It doesn’t work that way, and you can’t understand because no matter what, it doesn’t aff
Kiera felt weak and cornered by Dean and his enforcers. She felt thwarted by him while feeling relief and a sliver of hope. Hope, she feared, would end up being misplaced. She thought he’d lose patience and cut his losses by ending whatever game he was playing by now. He hadn’t; he doubled down on his beliefs and his story. Kiera tried to ignore and later resist his presence. But she felt an attraction she’d failed to pick up on before and she couldn’t understand why. To Kiera, this was as confusing as tasting chocolate and bacon for the first time. Disturbing described her feelings. While her thoughts took her full attention, Dean eased closer and closer to her. “Were you really running away to search for answers?” Dean thought this was something he least expected. He’d assumed she was running away from him out of fear, or maybe hatred. He thought James made that up to mess with his head. “Clearly something is going on and if I want some peace o
Kiera wasn’t sure what he said, or did that made her feel like she’d been lulled into a trance where she did as he wanted her to do. It felt like she could only give up at this point. Dean proved he could and would hunt her down when she left. His story never changed, and he’d been repeating it along with his assurances that it wasn’t changing. They were mates and he no longer schemed to use her as the butt of his jokes. That there’d be no more games where he competed with James to be the bigger, badder, and best alpha. What James told her in front of witnesses is the exact things Dean repeated to her face. His enforcers were there to witness it. He may not have bitten her like James did Trisha. Dean announced his intentions for her before them, and Kiera practically watched the enforcers’ faces take note and their attitudes change as Dean spoke. But she wasn’t a wolf shifter anymore. She was now a Lycan. A twisted mockery of a wolf shifter. Kiera wondered
Kiera wasn’t expecting any of this, though she knew she should. Dean was determined to have things his way, though Kiera wasn’t sure what his way really looked like. She’d planned to find the answers and prove that the changes in Dean and James were false and this was all wrong. Now, as he kissed her and pulled her close, she wasn’t certain anymore. He’d brought up so many things from their past that brought a new light to this. Someone, possibly his father, their father, might have made what it has not happened? This was fated for them? Her thoughts became muddled as his kiss and hands became more insistent. Kiera felt her body respond to him. They were in a car with others. Kiera pushed back away from Dean just enough to say. “Dean, we aren’t alone in here now’s not the time.” He grumbled and went back to kissing her. “My car, my pack, my mate, and my rules.” “Your mate, as you insisted on telling everyone I am, isn’t comfortable ma
“Dean, what’s going on?” Dean ushered her into his study and was rummaging around a rather messy desk. Distractedly, he pulled out a page and frowned at it. “What do you mean?” “I’ve never seen so many people on the road here coming or going at any time of day or night. What’s going on? The way they were staring at us.” “Kiera it’s really bad time around here and you’re running away like that didn’t help. That guy claiming to be my father and James. Geez, is that a weird thing to think about? Anyway, I’m calling the investigator now to see if they have anything. But that Gingham wolf was selling his blood for something, and we need to know the reason. Or he was being forced to sell his blood. Now, Kiera, any idea you might have about why he did this?” This was a change from what he was like in the car. It took her a moment to catch up on what he was saying. “Well, if I had to guess, I would say it had to do with his plan and whatever the spell was for
“Listen to me Dean. Please. Make me feel okay about this. I need to know you are aware of all the complications.”Kiera wanted him to know all the gory details. He’d have to back down for the pack’s comfort and continue. “Kiera, I know. I’ve read all there is and then some. Before they returned you here, they sent files, reports, and videos of you. I’ve seen you at your worst and I accept it.” Dean was trying to reassure her, but she was having none of it. Kiera shook her head and turned from him. “You don’t get it. There’s no information on if we can have pups, mates, or anything. You’re alpha line would end with you. Do you think the pack would want that? How about being led by a Lycan alpha pair? Seriously, Dean, that’s not considering the chances of you dying. This is part of the reason I left here on top of everything else. I’m trying to keep the pack safe from me and who knows who else. Right now, I look like a threat or a losing bet. Fated Mates or not. I’ll s
Kiera ran through the forest pretty oblivious to the fact she was off trail, and she’d have a devil of a time finding her clothes. She didn’t care right now. She needed to think. Wrap her head around what was happening, she felt too much from this. It practically physically hurt to leave Dean, but she needed to hear her own thoughts. She couldn’t stop it this time. Kiera had to stop, she’d shifted, but she was too close to the pack. It wasn’t fair. Why did it have to be her? What did she do to deserve all of this? Then Dean wanted her to go through it all again? He completely floored her when he said he’d see videos of her. It felt like her private hell was on display for everyone at the movie theatre. Her thoughts broke off. It was all too movie cliche, with bones snapping and twisting. Muscles and ligaments realigning. No one ever talked about how you could feel your organs shift. This time she was glad Faye was on her side and she’d fully shifted int
Dean got the message from the communications centre. They used satellite phones for reliability in the area. It was lucky for them they could afford it. Satellite towers were still sketchy, human politics and business. In their case, the Ruling Council would control the foundation equipment and then lease out access to it. But humans had a thing about government interference in their lives. Now, he, Oli, and a couple of enforcers were headed out to the location. When he got there, two bodies in wolf form, one far larger than the other, were being loaded up onto flatbed trailers pulled by an ATV. “What do you think happened?” Dean demanded as he stood there surveying the wreckage of the small clearing. Branches and leaves were down. There was very little they could go on or hide from the fact there’d been a fight. Wolf and Lycan fur dotted several broken branches. A few spots of blood lay on the ground where two must have lain. “Well, neither have shifted back, so we can’t tell, a