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They could choose. Remmus could not, and he’d never ask his friend for a miracle.
As they walked, he sensed Kaien’s attention linger, heating his skin beneath the sun. The question remained unspoken in the air between them: who had Remmus been with during the Heat?
The situation was complex, and he wouldn’t divulge that he’d fought off the instinct, not even to his best friend. Revealing that his coercion had kept him from acting on the Heat would confirm what Remmus had always feared: that he was unable to experience romantic intimacy of any depth. He’d willfully kept himself from the breed-driven impulse, knowing what it would cost him.
Unfortunately, that also meant he’d rejected Celeste and condemned her to the same ruthless, unrelenting pain. For now, he’d hold his tongue about what had happened—and only reveal the truth should Celeste agree. In the meantime, Remmus decided to proceed with the lie that was a dagger to his heart.
“Celeste.”
Surprise colored the other man’s features before he could school it away. Kaien cleared his throat, but said nothing into the stilted silence between them.
Perhaps it was better that he’d never sire young. Given his parents, he’d be just as likely to raise a monster as a saint.
Chapter One
Five Months Later
Four paws connected with the snow-chilled earth. The slate-grey werewolf sprinted over her pack’s territory, nestled deep within the Colorado Rocky Mountains. It was a land unblemished by human boundaries.
The frozen woods were hibernating for the winter, wild animals tucked away in caves and underground burrows. Only the raccoons, big cats, and elk could be sighted in the ice-covered wilderness with any regularity, though the great horned owls occasionally made an appearance.
Compacted snow collected between the pads of her feet, and Ava paused a minute to bite them clean. Sprinting through the underbrush was part of her nightly circuit, an important part of keeping her center. Being a beta in Riaz’ pack meant aligning with his ideas on emotional regulation and finding balance between wolf and woman. Of any pack she’d belonged to, Riaz was the alpha best suited to her needs.
Today, her run held another purpose: to blow off steam. Her alpha had confirmed that their reconnaissance expedition to St. Louis was a go. Several months had passed since they’d targeted the facility, and this was merely tying up loose ends.
During the summer months, their pack had destroyed a Citizens manufacturing facility situated right outside their territory. The humans were getting bold, and Riaz had to call on help from the immortal community to ensure the den would not come under direct threat. As a result, the pack now had a happily mated Alpha couple, so it had worked out in the long run.
While digging through the paperwork from the abandoned enemy facility in their territory, they’d discovered a fragment of document referring to a set of mysterious numbers. Ava had puzzled over them until she figured out that she was looking at encoded coordinates. It led them to a location in St. Louis, once again defiantly close to an immortal species’ settlement: this time, one of the major Raeth clans, belonging to Nina.
It was either a massive coincidence, or the human terrorists were making a point. Ava was particularly susceptible to this type of hanging threat and wouldn’t rest until she eliminated it from their lives.
Unfortunately, the Raeths had been tied up with the Heat and unable to assist for months afterward. She couldn’t exactly begrudge them the process, as they had no control or awareness of when it would happen, but the timing had been incredibly inconvenient. It had forced the Rocky Mountain pack to take lead on that investigation, as well as tracking down other potential connections.
Surveillance had been tricky without the benefit of Raeth teleportation. It was something Ava had painstakingly coordinated while the alpha pair had settled into their new mated rhythms. So far, they had managed to confirm without a shadow of doubt that it was another production hub for the Citizens’ biological weapons. As trying as it was, they had needed to wait for the Raeths to come out of their self-imposed isolation before they could move forward. It was time for them to pick up the slack and decide for themselves how they wanted to deal with the danger in their back yard.
Today, Riaz was relying on a Raeth to teleport their happy away team there, effectually making it an unhappy away team. It would officially hand over the reins of the mission to Nina’s clan. Good riddance.
A twig snapped. It was a purposeful sound.
Her ears swiveled forward, but the wind carried the scent of the incoming wolf before she saw him. Pitch black and massive, Aidan trotted into view a moment later. She whined in eager greeting. The last she had heard, he was in Pennsylvania with Nova and her pack—and hadn’t planned on coming here until much later.
With a wag of his tail, he tipped his muzzle toward the den, spun, and took off. Ava shot after him, both exhilarated by his presence and wary of what he’d needed to come so far to say. Their history was lengthy, and she knew him like the back of her paw.
He’d turned her eight centuries ago, when werewolves were a young breed. They’d ran across uncharted land in the first immortal pack, still figuring out what their instincts meant and how dominance influenced pack structure. After a century with Aidan, Ava knew he never did anything without a purpose in mind. Him arriving in person meant there was something significant to discuss—otherwise he would’ve called.
The promise of heat and pack beckoned her onward even as her gut churned. She shook her scruff free from the snow that’d settled over her like a chilly blanket and followed Aidan into the den.
Several wolves eagerly greeted them as they trotted into the welcoming warmth. Packmates nudged at her with their noses or body-checked her with their own. Nipping them as a light reminder that she ranked second in the pack, she nonetheless felt her tail wag in response. Nothing was better than pack greetings, nor the feeling of joy that always accompanied their welcome.
Being beta of a pack this size wasn’t without its merits, but she’d fought tooth and claw for her position and succeeded over male wolves twice her size. She’d supported several alphas in her centuries as a beta, but none had held a candle to Riaz or Aidan.
Leaping into the excruciating euphoria of the shift, she found herself on two legs a few moments later. Werewolves were able to shift with or without clothing, and though it was a learned skill, few chose nudity. Straightening her black sweater, she brushed her hands down the downy-soft material and rolled her shoulders back as she settled into her skin.
Aidan waited until she looked at him in question. “Walk with me.”
Sighing, she strode alongside him as he gathered his thoughts. Though a few of her packmates took an interest, none of them hovered. Linking his hands behind his back, Aidan steered them toward the pool area. In the dead of winter, it’d be deserted.
“How are you adjusting to having Cortana as your alpha?”
