They were even more well-matched than I’d suspected if that was the case. And Idrissa didn’t even realize it yet, but she didn’t stand a chance against a guy who actually enjoyed hunting his mate like she was the prey. However, I had a feeling if she knew that, it would only make it worse, so I kept my mouth shut and just watched in silent amusement as it unfolded around me.

  Isaac played it way sneakier, though. More than once, I tried to figure out his mystery person by dissecting his interaction with the pack members I witnessed him with. But no one caught my eye. Or, more accurately, they all did. Isaac was a serial flirter. Basically, he was one giant walking innuendo, and he used it on everyone equally.

  If he had a secret girlfriend or boyfriend, I couldn’t figure out who it was.

  And honestly, between all of the stress of running a pack and trying to keep everyone’s wolves from losing their shit all over again—especially me—I didn’t have time to figure it out anyway.

  The morning of the party, I woke to find that darkened veins underneath my skin had spread to my face and hands. In the bathroom, I showered and then did my best to cover it all with makeup. After five layers, I gave up.

  Shit.

  There would be no hiding this anymore. Today was the big day—one way or another.

  Downstairs, Vinny took one look at me and stepped back.

  “Uh, what happened to you?”

  “I’m fine,” I said, but overhead, the light bulb blew.

  Vinny took another step back.

  “I think I’ll just meet you at Kai’s,” he said. “My wolf needs a run. I’ll, uh, see you tonight—for the party.”

  He was out the door before I could stop him.

  I let him go.

  “Ash, you want to take a look at—Holy shit.”

  Oscar stopped in the doorway, eyes wide.

  I sighed, holding back tears as the fear and frustration turned desperate. For days, I’d managed to keep the severity of this hidden, and now—it was out there.

  “We need to get the doc,” he said when he’d recovered.

  “No,” I said and then gentler, “She can’t help me, Oz.”

  “Like Hell,” he growled and then shocked me when he yelled out, “Cherise! Ash needs you.”

  Cherise stepped through the doorway leading in from the garage, and I blinked at the unexpected sight of her here. In a motorcycle shop. With Oscar. She stepped up beside him and I sniffed gingerly at the change in pheromones on the air.

  What the…

  “Is everything—”

  She fell silent at the sight of my face.

  I stared back at her, equally surprised. “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  “Oh.” Her cheeks flushed, which only made the whole thing weirder. Cherise was not a flushed-cheeks sort of woman. She was confident. Sure. Comfortable in her own skin.

  This was not that.

  “Oscar asked me to come by about…some things.” She stepped closer, and her shoe crunched over the broken bulb. She frowned down at the floor, and when she looked up again, her expression shifted to concern. “What happened?”

  “I happened,” I said bleakly.

  “I think it’s safe to say the herbs have stopped working,” I said quietly.

  She lifted her hand as if to touch me, and I stepped back. The herbs weren’t helping. Not enough, anyway. I didn’t trust myself.

  Cherise nodded gravely. “I’ll see if I can put something together. Why don’t you come back to the office with me?”

  I shook my head, stepping back again. Another bulb blew out, leaving the pieces raining down behind me. Oscar made a sound of frustration.

  “You need help, Ash. Let Cherise give you something.”

  “We’re out of time,” I said. “I’m going to spend the day in the woods, away from the others. “Tell Kai—”

  The magic hit me like a punch in my gut.

  I hissed in a sharp breath at the pain and doubled over, clutching my stomach.

  Cherise lunged for me. Her hand closed around my upper arm, and she cried out, jerking away again as an electric current zapped her skin. It shuddered through me too, and I nearly lost my balance as dizziness followed.

  Oscar spoke, but the words were lost to the roaring in my ears.

  Something crashed through the doorway. I looked up to see Kai wading through broken glass. The shop’s front door hung loosely on a single hinge, and I realized through the haze of pain that he’d just broken it down to get inside.

  His features twisted in rage, and I saw a disconnect in his stormy eyes as he bared his teeth at Oscar and Cherise.

  Cherise backed away, pressing herself against the wall.

  Another growl from Kai and Oscar did the same.

  Kai stalked toward me.

  Doing my best to remain upright, I stared back at the man I loved—my mate—and tried to find something left in him that I recognized. But the Kai Stone I knew was gone.

  In his place was this. A monster.

  He stalked toward me, and even through the pain, I could see he hadn’t come to rescue me from myself.

  I kneeled, lowering my head and baring my neck.

  His answering snarl told me I’d done the right thing. He didn’t want to help me, he wanted to rule me.

  If it meant keeping his wolf sane, I’d let him.

  “Kai,” I said through gritted teeth. “I need your help.”

  He didn’t answer.

  “Kai, please,” I said.

  “Show your wolf, mate,” he snapped.

  “Um, that’s not really an option right now,” I said.

  “Your wolf is hidden from us.” His voice wasn’t much more than a demanding growl. “My wolf sees it as a threat.”

  Behind him, Oscar nodded at Cherise to leave. She edged slowly toward the door. My heart hammered as I realized Oscar intended to deal with Kai by force.

  Shit.

  “My wolf is in danger,” I said, wincing at the cold truth of my words. “She needs to be forced out.”

  “Shift now, mate,” Kai roared. “Or face the consequences.”

  “Kai, listen to me. Your wolf is untethered. You need to tune into the pack, do you hear me? Feel your connection with them.”

  With a roar, he reached out and knocked the office supplies off the counter, full of rage.

  “Focus on me, Kai,” Oscar said.

  He’d come up behind Kai, close enough to grab him now.

  I bit my lip, bracing myself for the moment Kai’s wolf noticed the threat.

  “Focus,” Oscar said again. “Look at me.”

  Kai whirled. I shrank down onto both knees and then fell back onto my ass, trying to put a safe distance between me and the brawl that was undoubtedly about to break out.

  But Kai stared at Oscar, and the tension escalated until finally, it broke.

  With a growl that sounded like nothing I’d ever heard from him before, he shoved Oscar aside and started for the door. His boots crunched over the broken glass. At the door, he stopped and looked back at me.

  The expression he wore reminded me of my father right before he’d been shot. He’d tried so hard to shift. At the time, I thought he looked so unhinged because his wolf had been suppressed all those years. But now, seeing Kai like this, I realized I’d been wrong.

  Kai was losing his grip because his wolf had nothing left to cling to.

  When he looked at me now, there was still a mate bond, but the connection it should have brought with it was gone. Between us, there was an emptiness. A chasm.

  As if his wolf saw it too, he turned away and left without a word. I stared after him, crumpled over in pain—both from the magic and my own heartbreak. Kai wasn’t just slipping away anymore—he already had.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I woke alone in my bed. Groggy and in pain, I tried to remember how I’d gotten here. My memory was vague and hazy, but the image of Oscar carrying me upstairs, getting zapped by the magic the entire way, left a pang in my chest. Rolling over, I found a note on my nightstand in Oscar’s blocky handwriting: Call me when you wake. Kai is safe.

  From below, the familiar sounds of wrenches being turned in the garage drowned out the labored breaths I took to try and stabilize the pain lancing through me.

  Fumbling for my phone on the nightstand, I pressed a button and made the only call I knew could possibly help me now.

  “I’m not late. You’re early,” Vinny answered. “I still have an hour.”

  “I need…you…to bite me,” I ground out.

  “Now?” His voice registered alarm.

  “Now,” I agreed.

  “I’m on my way,” he said and then hung up.

  I fought through the pain and sent a text to Kai before moving became too much. I had no idea if he was coherent enough to read a text—or human enough—but I had to try. The way he’d looked at me earlier…I couldn’t leave things like that between us.

  The door slammed open, and footsteps hurried inside. Vinny appeared in the doorway, breathing heavily. He stopped when he saw me, hovering a bit uncertainly.

  Oscar came up behind him, grumbling, “I told you she wasn’t seeing company.”

  “She asked me to come,” Vinny insisted.

  Oscar pushed past him, dropping to the floor beside my bed. He reached for me then pulled back again.

  “Does it hurt?” he asked.

  I nodded.

  “Where?”

  “Everywhere.”

  He made a sound of frustration. “You called this kid?” He hooked his thumb at Vinny.

  I forced my eyes open just as a third person slammed his way through the apartment and into my room.

  “Ash?”

  Kai looked like murder on legs as he shoved his way past the others over to the edge of my bed.

  “Get back,” Oscar snapped, but Kai ignored him.

  His eyes were more focused than they’d been earlier. He smelled like the woods, and I had a feeling running off earlier had been the best thing for him. If he could keep it together long enough for me to shift, maybe I could bring him back from whatever darkness had taken hold.

  “It’s okay, Oz,” I said.

  Kai’s hand reached for mine, and I shrank away as an electric current licked from my skin to his.

  He hissed, more angry than pained from the expression he wore.

  “Vinny,” I said.

  He stepped forward, but Kai shoved him back.

  “Kai, stop,” I said.

  “You’re going to let him bite you.” Kai’s words were an accusation.

  “I don’t have another choice,” I told him.

  “I should do it,” Kai said. “Not him. He could hurt you.”

  “We had…a deal,” I managed.

  “I don’t give a fuck about a deal. Why should we trust him?” Kai demanded. His anger was off the charts. I could feel it. Maybe it was my wolf sensing his—finally. Or maybe it was the magic feeding off the angry adrenaline he was pumping out. But something told me his bite would be dangerous—for us both.

  I sucked in a breath at the pain that lanced through me and grabbed Kai’s wrist, letting some of the magic leak through to help knock back whatever was trying to climb out of my mate just now.

  Kai’s expression tightened. His face paled, and the walls began to rattle.

  “Ash, stop,” Oscar said.

  I let go, and we both fell back, panting.

  “It can’t be you,” I said in a voice that had him falling silent. “You’re too unstable. We both need this,” I said. “But it can’t be you, do you understand?”

  He looked like he wanted to argue it, but instead, he nodded reluctantly.

  I looked at Oscar. “Take him out of here.”

  “What?” Kai’s eyes widened, and he doubled down. “Hell no. If he’s biting you, I’m staying.”

  “If you stay, you’ll kill him.”

  None of us had heard her come in, but at the sound of her voice, the others whirled, and the energy in the room faltered. I looked up at a battered-looking Kel through eyes that felt full of sand and grit. Bruises covered one side of her face, and her lip had been split recently. One arm was pinned inside a sling, and when she took another step forward, she had a noticeable limp.

  “Where have you been?” I asked at the same time Vinny growled.

  “Get out of here,” Kai snarled before she could answer.

  He took a menacing step toward her.

  I opened my mouth to call him back, but Kel reacted.

  She raised a hand and whispered a word I didn’t understand. Kai was knocked backward, landing hard on his ass near the wall. He looked dazed for longer than he should’ve, but when his eyes cleared, they narrowed in fury.

  He started to get up again, and Kel raised her hand a second time.

  “Don’t,” she said.

  “Kai,” I added.

  His hands fisted as he climbed to his feet, but he stayed where he was—for now.

  Kel looked at me. “Well. You look fun.”

  “What took you so long?” I ground out.

  Her lips curved as she stepped into the room. “Trying to let you figure it out on your own was killing me.”

  I lifted a brow at that. “Killing you?”

  “Touché, cousin.” She sighed then looked at Kai. “If you stay, your wolf loses its mind—literally, not figuratively—and you kill him,” Her gaze flicked to Vinny, who had the good sense to look alarmed at her confident words. “Then her.” She pointed at me. “Then, he kills you.” She pointed at Oscar.

  “Who are you?” Vinny asked warily.

  I knew his wolf had scented her as a hexerei. At least, he hadn’t tried to attack her yet.

  “I’m Kel Archer, Ash’s cousin. And I’m a clairvoyant, which means you can bet your ass I’m not wrong about this guy ripping your throat out.” She turned back to Kai. “You need to leave.”

  “Like hell,” Kai growled.

  Kel sighed.

  “Kai, we can trust Kel,” I said.

  Kai looked like he’d rather chew off his own arm than leave me, but I knew he’d go because, no matter what else happened, he would never knowingly put me in danger.

  “Fine,” he said finally, stopping in front of Kel on his way out, “But I hope you know this doesn’t make us even for what your coven leader is trying to do for us while you sit by and do nothing to stop him.”

  “You have no idea what I’m doing about Cohen or anything else,” she said, her tone a warning.

  “Kai,” I said.

  He stepped away and looked back at me then Oscar. “Call me the moment it’s done,” he said.

  “Go with him,” Kel told Oscar. My uncle hesitated, but Kel shook her head. “Trust me.”

  Oscar scowled and left with Kai.

  When they were gone, I looked at Vinny. Part of me wanted to ask Kel whether this would work according to what she’d seen. But then I realized I didn’t want to know. We were out of options anyway. This was it.

  “Are you ready?” Vinny asked.

  “Do it.” I braced myself as Kel moved to the doorway to give Vinny the space to shift.

  “Listen,” he said, casting me nervous glances, “I don’t want you to think I’m going to enjoy this.”

  “For fuck’s sake, Vin, let’s talk about our feelings later, okay?”

  The words were strained, and I couldn’t quite keep the sound of the pain out of them. Vinny nodded quickly.

  “Okay,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “Shit. Okay.”

  He shifted then, his wolf emerging quickly, and I braced myself for the bite.

  It turned out nothing could hurt worse than what the magic was already doing to me. When Vinny’s canines closed over my thigh, I barely felt the ripping of my own flesh.

  Instead, all I felt was relief.

  It was as if the opening in my skin allowed some of the pent-up magic to escape. I felt instantly lighter. Emptier somehow. And in that empty space, my wolf rose to the surface—and she. Was. Pissed.

  My bones snapped and stretched as my body went through what was the most painful shift I’d ever experienced. The pain in my abdomen vanished only to be replaced by the agony of my body breaking and snapping apart at the seams.

  A scream built in my throat, cut off only by the fact that my human voice no longer existed. In fact, for a suspended moment, it was as if Ash, the human persona, was gone. What remained was simply energy, strong and powerful. A predator’s soul lit by the raw magic of the universe itself.

  Finally, my eyes began to adjust, and I saw furry paws beneath me. Attached to those, furry legs met a torso that had become long and lean. My tongue ran over sharpened canines.

  My wolf.

  Her temper snapped back into focus at the same moment I recognized her furry body in place of my own. She was finally free. And didn’t waste a second before launching into a raging tirade about how I’d failed her the moment I’d let that magic into my body.

  Like I’d done it on purpose.

  Apparently, that little detail didn’t matter to her.

  By the time I’d found some sort of equilibrium being back on four legs, the room had emptied. But my senses, which had thankfully all returned to the fullest, told me they hadn’t gone far.

  I hopped off the bed and padded into the living room where Kel and Vinny stood uncomfortably in the small space. No one spoke, and I could feel the awkward vibes even through my own overwhelming emotions.

  They looked over as I walked in.

  Vinny’s face had gone pale, but now, some of his color returned.

  Kel didn’t seem surprised at all which meant she’d known it would work after all. How nice for her.

  “Ash,” Vinny said tentatively. “Are you okay? I mean, is the pain…gone?”

  I grunted, doing my best to nod at him that our plan had worked. The bite he’d given me stung, but it was already healing fast now that I’d shifted.

  “She needs to run,” Vinny said firmly as if he’d taken it upon himself to see this through.

  “She needs space,” Kel said even more firmly.

  Vinny eyed her suspiciously. “I’m not leaving her alone with you.”

  “She’s my family, you idiot.” Kel rolled her eyes. “I just helped save her life.”