Chapter 1 - Tess
The scent of blood on the wind made Tess shudder. She turned automatically toward the window, searching the tree line. Her wolf growled uneasily in her chest, tail swishing. They’d be here soon, which meanthewould be here, too.
A hand touched her shoulder, making her jump. She whirled, only to be greeted by the amused gaze of her best friend and the pack’s Luna, Mica. Mica’s red hair was pulled back from her moon-shaped face and tied into a bun to keep it out of the way while they worked. Mica and her mate, Hayden, had only recently become Alpha and Luna of the Bluebell Valley pack, and there was always work to be done.
“What’s got you so jumpy all of a sudden?” Mica teased.
Tess brushed her jet-black hair from her face. “I can smell them coming back.”
Mica’s sea-green eyes lit up. She abandoned the piles of paperwork they’d been trying to sort out and rushed to the window. A stab of jealousy pierced through Tess’s heart. The two of them had become friends under the rule of the old alpha, Monroe when they were both outcasts. Now, Mica had a powerful mate—the wolf who had once publicly rejected her—and both their situations had improved.
It didn’t change the fact that in the eyes of the pack males, Tess was undesirable. She would never have a mate and children if she stayed here. And if she left? She-wolves might have an easier time being accepted into other packs, but more than likely, she’d be driven out as a rogue. So where was she to go?
Oh, for crying out loud! Don’t be so selfish,she scolded herself.You have a good life here. Can’t you just be happy with all the good things you have? Nobody likes someone who is grumpy and jealous of everyone else. I have a good position, a roof over my head, and a friend who’s there for me. What more do I want?
Hayden and the special ops team emerged from the trees in their wolf forms. Tess quickly checked if they were all there. Derek, his wolf pure white, trotted next to Blayke’s silver-tinged black wolf. Next came Finn’s reddish-brown coat, then Kai’s dark grey wolf. Last came Maverick, his sandy coat matted with mud.
At their lead was Hayden; he was the biggest of the wolves, and his fur was jet-black except for the dusty grey on his front paws. But Tess’s gaze skimmed over the Alpha, instead searching out the mottled brown and grey coat of his Beta, Ryder.
He was at the back of the group and limped slightly. Tess’s wolf huffed, urging her to go help. Mica was already sweeping out the door, so Tess followed her. She stopped by the linen closet to grab the first aid kit before greeting the wolves in the mud room. They were all naked as they turned to human form. Nudity wasn’t such a big deal in a wolf pack.
“You’re back,” Mica cried. She flitted across the room and threw her arms around her mate.
Hayden laughed as he caught her. “And we had success. We were able to perform an exorcism on Nadine. She’s been taken to the hospital to recover.”
Relief washed through Tess to hear that. It had been barely over a year since the pack learned that Alpha Monroe had been possessed by an archdemon named Zealuv. Hayden defeated him, and the town had taken protective measures to keep demons out of its boundaries—namely, a lot of salt and strange rituals—but a few dozen of their packmates remained possessed by lesser demons.
She pulled some gauze and alcohol wipes from the first aid kit and approached Ryder. By then, he’d pulled on a pair of boxers and eyed her warily.
“I can take care of your injury,” she said, pointing to the long gaze on his leg. It oozed blood but didn’t appear to be too bad.
Not like the large scar that slashed across his throat. It still made Tess’s blood go cold to see. The image of Echo, Ryder, and Mica’s mother attacking him while a demon possessed her flashed across her mind.
She had spent days sitting by his bedside, praying to every deity she heard of that he’d make it.
Ryder pushed her hand away. “I don’t need you to take care of me.”
His voice was flat and cold, as it always was when he spoke. Tess had long realized she was not unique in that regard—he was grumpy with everyone.
“It needs to be cleaned. Just let me—” Tess said, gesturing with the first aid kit.
“I said I don’t need it,” Ryder snapped. “Back off. I don’t need you hovering over me.”
Heat flared in Tess’s cheeks. She closed the first aid kit with a snap. Everyone else in the special ops watched the two of them now. A couple of them looked amused, but Hayden frowned. And next to him, Mica’s shoulders slumped forward.
“At least take the first aid,” Tess mumbled, staring at the floor. She glanced up in time to see Ryder rolling his eyes.
“Give it here,” Finn said. His hair, a more vivid copper shade than his reddish-brown fur when in wolf form, stuck up in spikes. He smelled of salty sweat, but there was no trace of blood on him. Out of the seven special ops members, he was one of two wolves who weren’t originally from Bluebell Valley. He grinned an easy grin as he took the first aid kit.
Tess nodded her thanks, too embarrassed to speak out loud, and headed back into the house. Her shoulders slumped as her wolf whimpered. Stupid! Wasn’t it bad enough that Ryder had publicly rejected her? His rebuffing her attempts to help him only solidified the fact that he was a jackass.
What had she ever seen in him, anyway? He was grumpy and rude, and Mica was the only thing they had in common. Sure, he was ruggedly handsome. His brown hair curled when it grew long enough and looked so silky that her fingers itched to run through it. He might love his sister and mother. He might be a determined wolf willing to die for the pack. But his dark blue eyes were always cold. His muscular build was hard, never allowing a moment of empathy.
His protectiveness over Mica and Echo was the limit of his good qualities. Tess once thought that was enough to handle indifference if it meant a lack of cruelty. And maybe one day, have that same kindness extend to her.
But Ryder’s indifference was worse than she’d thought. It was because of him that she had nearly been forced to become a teenage mate to Alpha Monroe. Whenever she thought about what might have happened, it made her sick to her stomach.
Her parents had kicked her out when she refused to be Monroe’s mate. And with that, she’d become instantly a poverty-stricken outcast. If Mica and Echo hadn’t taken her in during those days—after Ryder had left the pack to join the special ops—she likely would have starved. She didn’t know how to work, didn’t know how to cook. The sudden switch to a poor-quality diet, heavy on cheap carbs, combined with a depression that was only alleviated by sweet foods, she had rapidly put on weight.