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My braid had fallen out of my hair, and the magic had gone with it. I was left hollow, praying that Kaleb would pull through. Hoping that my idiot ex-husband hadn’t just sparked a war between the wolves and humans of Locket.
A shadow fell over my table, and I looked up from my hands into the searching eyes of the Alpha.
Dean Hill slid into the booth without waiting for an invitation, though I supposed he didn’t need one. Every inch of the Chug belonged to him, from the bottles behind the bar to the coasters under the drinks.
He watched me as I watched him. His eyes flicked down to my hands, no doubt smelling the coppery tang of Kaleb’s blood.
“Tell me everything.” Dean’s command was soft, but it was a command nonetheless.
I didn’t bother fighting the golden pack magic that swarmed me and pressed against my skin to coax an answer. Instead, I took a deep breath and told Dean everything from arriving at the house with Kaleb in wolf form to being followed down the driveway. I told him about Dave, the officer who entered the window, and how my ex-husband knew I wasn’t human. How Joel had tried to kill me when I’d found out about the affair, but it hadn’t taken. Guilt slashed across Dean’s face when I spoke about Joel, but I ignored it. He’d been eager to brush Joel and the pack's promise of protection away because the dead animals had been a glamour.
“Kaleb saved my life,” I said, jutting my chin and meeting his eyes. “I’d be dead if he hadn’t come with me.”
“Then he did his job as a bodyguard,” Dean murmured, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“How is he?”
“The healer is tending to him now,” Dean replied. “He was shot in the leg, but luckily, it was a standard issue bullet and not one made of silver.”
“I don’t think Joel knows about werewolves,” I muttered, closing my eyes and pressing my hand against my head.
“WhatdoesJoel know?” Dean asked.
“He knows I’m not human.” I shook my head. “And apparently, that has given him sanction to try and kill me. Before he put his hands on my throat, I would have said that Joel wasn’t capable of something like this. He could be mean. He often pushed me out of the way, or slapped my hand, but nothing like this. Something evil has crawled inside him, and I don’t know the man anymore.”
“How long would you say he’s been acting like this?” Dean prodded gently.
“Since we…” I cleared my throat and tried again. “Since we lost the baby two summers ago. It’s not anythingsupernatural. He’s not on drugs. He’s just a weak man who couldn’t cope after… that. I don’t think I’ve loved him in a long time. I just didn’t want to be the asshole that ruined a marriage just because I wasn’t happy. I thought if I worked hard enough, happiness would come. I kept waiting for him to do something bad enough that I’d leave. I was waiting for it.” I took a shaking breath and met the Alpha’s eyes, aware that his pack magic had loosened my lips much more than I had intended. “It’s my fault. For not being a good wife. For lying about what I was. Who I was. No one can be in a relationship where they hide part of themselves.”
Something shifted in Dean’s eyes, and I wondered if he had ever been in a relationship where he had to hide who or what he was. Being an Alpha was difficult. It wasn’t just a position amongst the wolves or status. It was a birthright, and it came with responsibilities. Alphas were built differently and had a different command of wild magic than other wolves.
“It wasn’t your fault that he attacked your home this evening,” Dean told me. “While we have been focused on the Gate and an attack coming from outside the valley, the humans have been rallying behind a force known as ‘humans against other beings’.”
“HAOB?” I clarified.
“Yes. That catchy acronym.” Dean pinched the bridge of his nose. I took a moment to study the slope of his broad shoulders, hunched over as if he had the weight of the world pressed down on his back. Dean Hart wasn’t what I had expected from an Alpha beyond the size of his muscles and the press of his magic. He carried a strange softness when he spoke to me—like a child holding a wounded bird.
“How long have you lived in Locket?” Dean asked, knitting his fingers together and laying his hands on the table.
“All my life.”
“As a Fae, you’ve managed to keep yourself hidden well.” Dean quipped, but his heart wasn’t in it.
“Not really. I was kept inside. Sheltered until my magic became more stable.” I replied shortly. “I have avoided most Other politics in town, but I wasn’t unaware. I knew about the wolves and the witches.”
“But you did not make yourself known.” Dean finished my thought with a drawl.
“My grandmother thought it was better that way. There aren’t many Fae in the Human Realities, and we often have a bad reputation for making bargains with humans that leave them at a disadvantage.” I explained, adjusting the hem on my shirt before letting the material drop when I noticed more blood. “My grandmother was a powerful Weaver. A full-blooded Fae. I am technically not even half Weaver. I can’t do what she could.”
“But you’re not without magic.” Dean nodded to himself. “You hid Kaleb from your attackers and gave him an advantage.”
“I told him to go findyou. To bring reinforcements.” I snarled.
“Kaleb is an ancient wolf.” Dean signed. “Though I am an Alpha, he pledged himself to the Beast-King’s court many years ago. He is here at the Huntsman’s behest. He does not owe me loyalty. I might be an Alpha, but I am nothisAlpha.”
“The same Huntsman that has you all bound to some kind of contract?” I clarified. “That Huntsman?”
“You wouldn’t understand.” Dean looked away as if he couldn’t meet my eyes. “The Beast-King and the Huntsman war raged for hundreds of years. So many lost their lives. We didn’t know he had cursed us, not until we had lost too many of our own. You should know the pain. You have lost a child. No one but true mates can carry a Wolfkin to term.”
