Page 5 of Rogue Wolf

Until she could do that, she was destined to be an outsider.

Tamaska understood the pressures the pack members faced. It was more than just the vampires’ attack. They’d lost members, and the most prominent loss was Olcan. Then, Kodiak fought Shota for leadership and announced Tamaska as his mate.

People were angry. Hurting. Lashing out. And they were stoically doing what they needed to.

The minutia of the levels of complication were so intricate how could she find a way in.

Love wasn’t enough.

Tamaska sighed heavily. The shifters had their ways and their secrets. And she was an outsider, but she had something they wanted; a connection, somehow, to the Blood Opal.

It might just be the sacrifice the vampires need to unlock whatever power it holds. She didn’t know.

But the opal was the biggest and most dangerous secret of all.

She might be human, not one of them, and destined to never be one of them, even if she changed, but she vowed to do what she could to find the opal.

Find the stone, unlock its secrets and stop the vampires.

And maybe then she could find acceptance.

Maybe then she’d be worthy of Kodiak, the man she loved.

CHAPTER 2

Tamaska

Outside, she tipped the foul liquid near the fence marking the boundary between the pack’s property and the National Park. She’d lost count of how many times she’d trekked out there to change her water.

After hooking the bucket on the top of the garden tap, she filled it halfway, then poured in a healthy slug of the hydrogen peroxide. This routine gave her a bit of a workout, though the gym would have been better.

It did soothe something in her, the mundane routine. But she wished it wasn’t to do with the aftermath of violence.

She rubbed her chest between her breasts with the heel of her hand, trying to relieve the tightness and the cold heaviness there. But how could she when to her right, between the bushes, lay the graves they’d dug for the fallen?

They mocked her with their sacrifice each and every time.

Even Shota’s death was her fault by proxy.

After all, if she hadn’t been there, hadn’t been chosen by Kodiak they wouldn’t have fought for the right of alpha. They wouldn’t have fought over whether to keep things the same and turf her out, or change things and make room for an interloper…worse, an interloping human.

She didn’t want any more pack members to be killed, but their fates were out of her control.

Tamaska tugged up the too-big jeans she wore. She’d love to control which clothes she wore. Kodiak’s were obviously too big, but he forbade her from returning to her apartment alone. Until that moment, she hadn’t wanted to. But after nearly two days of cleaning up, she needed to get away from the clubhouse.

It was day, so no risk of vampire attacks. She got his protectiveness, when it made sense, but during the day she wasn’t about to be taken by any blood sucking monsters. Going home, getting some clothes, her computer…it would go a long way to feeling stronger, and another laptop in the mix would help.

And…shit. She needed fresh air, a change of scenery. At least for a few hours.

She slipped the bucket’s metal hook from the tap, grunting under its weight as targeted arm muscles ached from overuse. She didn’t mind the hard work to gain the pack’s respect, but there had to be an easier way to clean the carpets.

With each step the fumes of the hydrogen peroxide assaulted her senses as the bucket assaulted her shins.

Suddenly, Kodiak marched out of the building, the back door slamming shut behind him. She almost dropped the bucket.

The man stole her breath and made every muscle ache in an entirely different way.

Tall, muscled, arrogant and strong. Sexy as hell. And all hers.

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