Page 3 of Teeth To Rip & Tear

Don’t issue challenges.

They admire bravery, but don’t be foolish.

I shook my head to clear it and placed a benign smile on my face as I strode into the office.

The Chug was a motorcycle bar. Peeled paint, beer posters, and sticky floors. The Alpha’s office was surprisingly clean. The desk boasted a brand-new Apple computer, and the walls were painted a delicate peach without a single crack. The air smelled faintly of jasmine, with a heavy musk underpinning every breath—the smell of an Alpha wolf.

My grandmother had always told me to stay as far away from the Wolfkin as possible. So I had never met Dean Hart before, though I knew him by reputation.

I’d had no intention of ever meeting the local wolf pack, but fate had other plans.

I’d woken up this morning to find the wooden coin in my pocket, though I hadn’t put it there.

It was time.

“You’re fae. Sídhe, not Wild.” Dean Hart’s voice was accusing. Angry. The sharp tone immediately made me look up, though I’d told myself I wouldn’t look in his eyes. I inhaled sharply as the most giant man I’d ever met sat behind the desk. His hair was shorn close to his skull, at odds with the feminine features and perfectly symmetrical face that belonged on a male model instead of an almost seven-foot man with more muscles than a bodybuilder.

The bravado I’d been riding dissolved.

My mouth dried. I tried to speak but had to clear my throat. “Half.” I croaked.

I didn’t ask how he knew. Dean Hart must have been older than he looked.

“Doug said you have a wooden coin.” He knitted his fingers together, leaning forward.

I didn’t say anything.

The Alpha’s eyes flicked over my shoulder. “Leave us, Mitchell.” He said softly. “Close the door, please.”

I didn’t take my eyes away from the Alpha’s face as the door closed behind me, leaving us alone.

I lifted the paper bag.

“Take out?” The Alpha quirked a brow.

“Dead rat,” I said, dropping the bag on his desk.

“I can smell it.” Dean Hart pressed his lips together. “I can’t bring a pet back to life. If that was the boon you needed.”

I shook my head, no longer in a joking mood. I sank into the chair opposite Dean Hart’s desk, and it was as if the weight of the past month all fell onto my shoulders. My hands began to shake, and I clenched my fists, tucking them under my thighs.

“My husband... My ex-husband.” I clarified. “I need protection.”

The wolf’s gaze sharpened. “Deputy McGowen.”

“Yeah.” My voice was thick. “He left the dead rat on my car. You can... Smell him on it.”

He didn’t ask how I knew; instead, Dean reached for the bag, tearing the sides until the rat lay on the middle of a makeshift paper bag plate. Its neck was bent, and its mouth bloody.

He leaned forward, sniffing the tiny creature before nodding appraisingly.

I reached into my purse, pulling out the wooden coin once more. I placed it on the desk.

“My grandmother Eva said the Beast-King gave her this token.” I looked down at the wooden coin on the desk. “She told me to only use it in a case of life or death. She said to present the coin to the Alpha of any wolf pack, and they would know what it means.”

“You think this is a case of life and death?” Dean’s eyes softened.

“Yes.”

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