“Isaac,” Kai said sharply. “Not now.”

  “Uh, yes, now,” I said. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing.” Isaac folded his arms. “We just aren’t sure the curse is officially completely gone.”

  I looked at Kai. “You told me it was broken.”

  He shrugged. “Because it has to be, right? You became the alpha like the prophecy said. Why wouldn’t it be?”

  I could think of lots of reasons, namely the fact that I was walking around with an entire coven’s worth of magic.

  I looked at Isaac. “Kai said everyone’s wolf has settled, and there haven’t been any fights in a week now.”

  “Sure, and that’s great,” Isaac said.

  “But?” I prompted.

  Isaac shot Kai a rebellious look and then said, “No one’s found their true mate yet, and peeps are getting real salty about it.”

  Kai grumbled something about not overloading me all at once, but I ignored him and focused on Isaac.

  “Do the others in the pack think the curse isn’t broken?” I pressed.

  “No one knows what to think,” he said, aiming a look at me that pierced all the way through to my heart. It was a look that said everything he wouldn’t put into words. It was a look that said whatever people thought, I had no one to blame but myself. “You disappeared, Ash. Just when they were starting to trust you.”

  I nodded, unable to form a response my voice was capable of. He was right. I’d abandoned them just as easily as if I’d run away. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t been able to control it. In fact, didn’t that make it so much worse?

  But I was here now. And Kai was right too. If we let the packs destroy each other now, everything we fought for would have been for nothing. They needed us. They needed me.

  “Okay,” I said, turning to Kai. “Let’s go get ready for that meeting.”

  “Thatta girl,” Isaac said and then wrinkled his nose. “But seriously, change your shirt first.”

  Chapter Four

  Instead of heading back to the Throttle just yet, I led us into the woods. Somewhere between Corbin’s grief over Baron and Isaac’s party pitch, my skin had started tingling, and it hadn’t stopped since. I wasn’t even sure which supernatural side of myself was causing it, but my wolf had never made me feel so…buzzed, so I was pretty sure it wasn’t her. And just in case I was a grenade about to go off, I refused to put anyone in danger again.

  “What are we doing out here?” Kai asked as we made our way into the woods behind Oscar’s shop.

  Oak and hickory gave way to thick pines, and still, I kept going. Something in me needed to know what it would feel like to be immersed in the environment my wolf should have been screaming at me to let her loose in.

  “I just need some air,” I told him, and he didn’t argue. A shifter would understand. Except that no matter how deep we walked into the forest, my wolf never so much as whined for freedom.

  My worry grew.

  Not for the magic. Not exactly. This was something else.

  Finally, Kai grabbed my wrist and pulled me to a stop.

  “What’s going on?” he asked.

  When I turned to face him, worry shone in his sharp brown eyes.

  “It’s my wolf,” I said finally.

  “Does she need to run?” he asked, frowning. “She’s been cooped up for two weeks, so it’s understandable—”

  “She doesn’t need to run.” I swallowed hard. “I can’t hear her, Kai.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I didn’t notice it before. I was too groggy when I first woke up and then processing the fact that I’d been out for so long…” I blew out a breath in an attempt to collect my thoughts. “She should be freaking out with the need to be let free, but there’s just nothing.”

  “She can’t just be gone,” Kai scoffed.

  “I can feel her in there,” I admitted. “But barely. It’s like she didn’t wake when I did. Like she’s still unconscious somewhere deep inside me.”

  Kai took my hand in his. “We’ll figure it out,” he assured me.

  His words were gentle, but his expression was fierce. In that moment, I caught a flash of the beast Isaac had mentioned. But I recognized it for what it was: desperation. Fear. Kai wasn’t nearly as happy as he’d let on earlier about my little stunt in that field.

  For some reason, that unwound me enough that I felt comfortable voicing everything else.

  “It’s not just that.” I ran a hand through my tangled hair and sensed my pulse speeding as I finally put words to the thoughts that had been haunting me since I’d woken.

  “There’s power in me, Kai. Huge, undiluted power. The kind that shouldn’t belong to just one person. And I don’t know what to do with it. Or what it’s going to do to me. All I know is I can’t give this to Cohen. I can’t let him destroy us.”

  “Ash, stop.”

  Kai stepped in front of me, forcing me to stop pacing when I hadn’t even realized I’d started.

  “Look at me.”

  He cupped my cheeks with his rough hands while his stormy eyes raged with a cyclone of emotion that rivaled the covens’ worth of power currently trapped in my body.

  “You’re strong. And you’re capable. You can do this. I just need you to hold on while we figure this all out. We’ll get the magic out of you. And we’ll find a way to stop Cohen from getting it. We’ll do it together just like we’ve done everything else. Okay?”

  Tears burned my eyes because his words were true, but the voice in my head still whispered that, in the end, it might not be enough. I hated how much I wanted to believe him, but more than that, I hated that I couldn’t.

  “What if we can’t?” I whispered. “What then?”

  “Then we’ll run.”

  “What?” My eyes widened.

  “Ash, I know you. And I know what you’re thinking. That pretty little head of yours has a default programming to always sacrifice yourself for the people you care about. And you’re good at running. It’s what you know.”

  I stared in shocked silence. Had he really read me that easily?

  “But listen to me,” he went on, “And don’t you dare try to ignore what I’m about to tell you: If we run, we go together. Do you understand me? There will be no running alone. We’re mates, and that means, no matter what, we don’t leave the other one behind. Deal?”

  “Kai, running is… We have a huge pack counting on us now.”

  “Exactly. So we’ll do whatever it takes to protect them. Because that’s what good alphas do.”

  “And running? Do good alphas do that too?” I asked, unable to keep the disgust from my voice as I thought of my father.

  “Your dad did what he thought he had to,” Kai said softly. “To protect you, I’d do the same. So, yeah, I think running is sometimes what good alphas do.”

  I smiled sadly, letting a tear escape. Kai caught it as it slid down my cheek. He swiped it away with the rough pad of his thumb and then pressed a kiss to the spot where it had fallen.

  “You can’t leave me,” he said softly. “I haven’t even begun to show you who I am yet, Ash Lawson.”

  “No?” I felt the first stirring of hope as it slowly slid in to replace the fear. “The beast, the grump, and the bully aren’t your full range then?”

  “Believe it or not, I’m actually capable of a much wider performance than that.”

  “In that case, I’ll agree to your terms. If only to see what else you’re capable of.”

  He pressed a kiss to my chin then another to my jaw. Trailing his mouth along my throat, he backed me up until my shoulders pressed against the trunk of a large tree.

  “You want range, huh? Oh, Ashes, you’re in for a real treat.”

  “Am I?” I gasped as his mouth dipped lower and his hands cupped my breasts, squeezing through the fabric of my shirt.

  “This particular performance is inspired by the first time you ever let me touch your body.” His warm breath hit my ear, and I shivered, partly at the memory stirred by his words. Then he leaned away long enough to peel my shirt over my head before reaching around to unclasp my bra. He chucked it aside and let his dark gaze roam over my exposed skin.

  “Do you remember that day?” he asked, his thumb brushing my nipples as he pressed more kisses to my throat. My nipples pebbled at his touch.

  “Vividly,” I said, breathless.

  His other hand dipped between my thighs, rubbing at the fabric of my jeans just where I wanted him most. An ache started in my core, radiating through me as he teased my body.

  “That’s good. Because I want to show you exactly what I wanted to do to you that day.”

  He reached for the button on my jeans at the same time as I reached for his. After that, our clothes came off quickly. With strong hands, Kai gripped my ass and lifted me so that my core was pressed against his erection. The feel of his skin against mine made me shiver with pleasure, and I rocked my hips against his, eager for more.

  “Kai,” I breathed, wrapping my arms and legs around him as he slid slowly inside me.

  My body shuddered, and the buzzy feeling I’d felt before suddenly became an electric current underneath my skin. I made a sound of pleasure, and Kai growled, tightening his grip as he set a rhythm that sent me soaring toward the edge of my own release.

  “Mine,” he whispered just as I let go and felt myself fall into the pure ecstasy that was Kai Stone.

  *.*.*

  Twenty minutes later, Kai’s lips curved into a devilish grin as he pressed a kiss to my mouth. “Very productive business meeting, Mrs. Alpha.” I pushed him away playfully before sliding my shirt back on.

  “Yes, I’m sure the council will find our meetings very interesting,” I said.

  “Well, I wasn’t proposing a group thing, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes to keep you happy.”

  I swatted his arm, and he laughed, dodging me.

  With narrowed eyes, I said, “There’s no way in hell I’m sharing you, Kai Stone.”

  His smile turned into one of satisfaction as he reached in and kissed me again. “Back at ya, beautiful.”

  My smile faltered as I tugged my shirt into place and caught sight of a familiar marking on my hip. I peered down at the tattoo that had magically appeared on my body right around the age my boobs and body hair had made the same sudden appearance.

  The formation of said mark also heralded the departure of my mother from my life, so it didn’t exactly spark warm fuzzy feelings. That was back before I knew the mark symbolized that I would be the one to break the Lone Wolf curse.

  Over the years, I’d grown sort of used to the marking, but today, the sight of it sent my heart plummeting straight to my knees. I leaned in closer, running my fingers over the wolf’s mark on my skin. It looked eerily like a tattoo, but I knew better. It was a branding put there by magic itself. Marking me as the curse breaker.

  So far, I was doing a bang-up job.

  A strange sensation swept over me, and I felt my body sway, fighting for balance. Dizziness took over, sending the trees end over top until the whole world was spinning. I reached out, my hands finding Kai’s shirt. I gripped it for support, staring down at the churning ground.

  Kai’s hands came up to cup my elbows, and he leaned in.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “I feel—”

  The urge to vomit silenced me.

  My skin hummed and stretched as, underneath the surface, something moved and unwound itself inside me. It felt like a snake slowly uncoiling itself, slithering its way deeper into my awareness.

  Magic.

  My stomach rolled with the intensity of it, and I pressed my hand to my abdomen, breathing deeply against the tilting.

  “Ash,” Kai said, more sharply than before.

  His worry was a cloud I tasted on my tongue.

  But instead of offering any reassurance, I threw up.

  Choking and wheezing, I let my stomach empty itself on the ground at my feet. When all I could do was heave, the dizziness ebbed, and the horizon settled enough for me to straighten.

  I blinked as all of my senses seemed to come alive. The sounds of the woods sharpened in my ears. The feel of the soft breeze against my skin became a delicious caress. The colors of the leaves and brush, vibrant and saturated.

  “Ash.”

  Kai’s voice had risen to a yell.

  I blinked and stumbled as my senses snapped back to normal. When I caught sight of the grove where I stood, my breath caught.

  Flowers covered every surface. The ground. The trees. I felt something brushing against my hair and pulled a vine of ivy from my messy strands.

  What the hell?

  Kai’s hands caught my arms, holding me steady. Worry lines creased his forehead. I tried to understand what had just happened—but I had no idea.

  Inside me, the magic slithered softly and then went still.

  “What’s happening?” Kai asked, his gaze locked intently on mine.

  I could smell his wolf surging closer to the surface. An instinct to protect its mate. But this wasn’t something Kai could protect me from.

  “The magic,” I whispered, searching for my own wolf’s reaction. But there was nothing. Only stillness where my beast should have been. “I think it’s awake.”

  “What can I do?” Kai asked.

  “Nothing. I’m fine,” I said, fighting the tremble of my hands as I shook him off.

  Kai didn’t respond.

  I could see from the unhappy set to his mouth that he didn’t accept my answer. Or maybe it was his own helplessness to defend me against an unseen enemy. Either way, we didn’t have to speak the words aloud to know we were both thinking the same thing: The magic inside me was a force all its own. One I couldn’t predict and couldn’t control.

  It didn’t matter that I’d just conjured a meadow of harmless flowers. Last time, it had been an earthquake that had knocked me into a coma and killed more than one hexerei. Next time, who knew what it would be.

  I would be fine. Until I wasn’t.

  For now, the only thing to do was to keep moving forward.

  “Are we going to talk about that?” Kai asked.

  “What is there to say?”

  “Are you okay?”

  “No, I’m not okay.”

  The words came out sharper than I’d intended. I sighed.

  “I’m a grab bag of witchy tricks,” I said darkly, which for some reason made him laugh. I eyed him. “Is that funny to you?”

  “No.” He sobered quickly. “None of this is funny. Come on. Let’s get you back.” He held out a hand. “Are you well enough to walk?”

  I nodded.

  We started for town, turning our backs on the ethereal garden I’d just conjured. The silence stretched.

  “Can we please talk about something?” I asked.

  “Like what?” he asked.

  I could tell from the tension in Kai’s shoulders that he was struggling to think past the worry and fear. But I needed to focus on something I could control.

  “Tell me everything I missed,” I said. “Tell me about Presley and Silas and the twins and Oscar. Tell me how everyone’s coping with being a pack again.”

  And even though I knew he didn’t want to, while we walked back toward Ridley Falls, Kai filled me in.

  I was surprised to find out Idrissa had been appointed security team leader—and done a pretty damn awesome job, apparently—of patrolling our borders with the hexerei. She’d even managed to get a few Hawley and Asheville to work with us, including Corbin and some Hawley guy named Adan, who’d very nearly gotten a boot in his ass for mistaking Idrissa for Kai’s errand girl the first time he approached her.

  “I can’t believe he’s still alive to talk about it,” I said.

  “You and me both.” Kai snorted.

  “And he still made it onto one of her security teams?” I shook my head. “Maybe she’s losing her edge.”

  “Nah, I forced her to add him because we needed bodies. She still hates me for it, but she hasn’t ripped his throat out, and that’s all I can ask, I guess.”

  “Do you think she’d like to continue in the role?” I asked.

  Kai glanced over at me. “She’s pretty damn good at it and seems to love bossing everyone around, so I’d say yes. You want to name her as head of security tonight?”

  “I think we should make security a priority,” I said, thinking of Cohen. He was our number one threat right now. Besides me.

  “And betas,” he said.

  “Good idea.”

  Since I hadn’t grown up in a pack, I didn’t know a ton about beta roles, but I’d heard enough from Kai and Oscar and the others to know it was the most important role next to the alpha.

  “You’re going to ask Idrissa, aren’t you?” Kai asked.

  “Do you think she’ll want it?”

  “Definitely. Although, Isaac will want something equally prestigious. Don’t forget about his bid for council.”

  “I was thinking about that… What if we make the council based on popular vote rather than just appointing them ourselves?”

  “A democratic election, huh? You know that’s never been done.”

  And look where that had gotten them.

  “Exactly my point.”

  He shot me a knowing look. “Okay, well then, you better come up with something Isaac can do for you in the meantime. You have to make it even or you’ll have anarchy on your hands.”

  “I know. I have some ideas for him.”

  I told him about my out-of-the-box idea for Isaac’s pack role.

  “He’s going to shit himself,” Kai said with a laugh when I was done.

  “But in a good way?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Good. I want them to be happy. They’ve done so much for me, and I’m just grateful to pay that back.”

  “Idrissa has always held a vision for what this pack could be.” Kai’s eyes glittered with unspoken plans. I knew how long he’d waited to see his pack become more than just lone wolves out for chaos and destruction.

  “Is that why you chose her for the security role?”