Page 26 of Understanding Fate

Lung cancer at forty from smoking? Nope, now it’s liver cancer or pancreatic cancer.

Nothing I did to save people helped, so I stopped telling them; I stopped touching them.

By the time I was eight, I’d built a shell around myself, closing everyone I cared for outside of it so I wouldn’t have to feel their loss long before it happened.

Maybe if I hadn’t been selfish, Mazie would still be alive. Maybe if…

Groaning from the lump of a man on the ground has me shaking myself out of my thoughts.

“What the …” he whispers, confused, before catching me staring at him from the other side of the alley. His eyes flash chocolate brown as his wolf senses danger.

“Don’t,” I say, pushing command into my voice to prevent him from shifting. “We wouldn’t want this to get ugly. Ijust have a few questions,” I state, crossing my arms as I see the fear flash at his realization that I’m an Alpha, and if I wanted him dead, he would be.

Predictably, he starts mind-link messaging his Alpha, and I stand patiently waiting for the moment he describes me and his Alpha explains the shit he just got into.

In three, two,... There it is.

His eyes bulge, and his jaw drops open, leaving him looking a bit like a gaping fish.

“You here alone?” I ask.

He nods his response.

“Why no backup?” I continue, knowing how new he is and wondering why they would trust him.

“She’s just a human girl,” he shrugs. “Waste of resources.”

They don’t know she’s Unawakened.

I realize then that the contract never mentioned her status.

Smart of Deacon.

She’s far more valuable if they know that, and they are more likely to keep her.

“You can let your Alpha know his pack is no longer a client,” I pause, letting that sink in. “If you come for this girl again, you’ll see firsthand why I need no introduction,” I finish, turning my back on him in a sign of disrespect and stalking out of the alley back to keep an eye on the woman who is making my life difficult.

Chapter 11

Bri

How much have I had to drink? The thought hits me as I make my way to the bathroom, the floor swaying slightly as I weave through the crowd.

Tonight was exactly what I needed. It felt like a fresh start. I didn’t feel like I was holding my tongue or trying to walk on eggshells around anything.

They don’t know me, so it’s easy to ignore all of the enormous decisions sitting in front of me and just be.

It’s like a weight lifted.

As I wash my hands, I remind myself that everything I left in Vegas needs to be dealt with.

“Brielle?” A light female voice behind me says, and my eyes flash into the mirror.

A woman with platinum blonde hair and striking blue eyes stands behind me, and it only takes me a second to realize she’s Awakened. The telltale glow I’ve come to notice gives her away.

I force a smile, turning myself around to face her, which only makes me dizzy.

Okay—definitely had too much to drink.

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