Page 16 of Pistols & Peonies

I grit my teeth against the urge to turn around and bite back.

No part of me feels lucky right now. Commander Kane is the pistol in Alpha’s arsenal; a soulless weapon he uses to enforce his self-serving agenda. Being Paired with this man isn’t a privilege. It’s a punishment.

Alpha barks orders for Dr. Aspen to dole out the mating serum, and he quickly starts moving down the line, passing out pre-filled syringes. I’m handed one labeled with Kane’s name, and he’s handed one with mine. We’re instructed to wait until Alpha gives the signal, and that’s when it hits me– he wants us to inject ourselves, as if we’re actually choosing this. It’s a sick kind of cruelty that only adds insult to injury.

The syringe is cold in my hand, the liquid inside tinged red. My heart pounds out of rhythm as I stare down at it, my stomach curling in on itself.

Alpha starts in on some speech about the sanctity of mate bonds, but none of it gets past the sound of my own pulse pounding in my ears. A strange sort of numbness washes over me, my brain filling with static.

It isn’t until Kane pops the cap off his syringe that I realize we’ve been given the instruction to proceed. My fingers tremble as I remove the cap from my own, the needle glinting in the moonlight as I lift my gaze to his.

We lock eyes.

It’s not intentional– more like gravity tilting– but once it happens, neither of us looks away. My world narrows to him; to this man I don’t know. Don’t want. And can’t stop staring at.

“Let’s show them our support as they proceed with sealing their bonds!” Alpha booms, his voice rolling through the clearing like thunder. The crowd erupts in celebratory cheers.

This is it. The moment the rest of my life stops belonging to me.

Kane lifts his syringe first, pressing the gleaming tip to the curve where his neck meets his shoulder. He pauses there, dark eyes still pinned on mine, something dangerous glinting behind those twin voids.

A challenge. A taunt. A dare.

My own syringe suddenly feels far too heavy in my hand. Every instinct in me pulls taut, muscles tensing, wolf thrashing beneath my skin.

I can’t do it.

I can’t make myself move, can’t lift my arm. I refuse to be complicit in the loss of my freedom.

But of course, Alpha always has a backup plan.

All it takes is a second of hesitation for one of his enforcers to step into my space. It happens so fast that I barely register the movement– just the press of his body crowding mine, the sudden absence of the syringe from my grip, and the sharp sting of the needle piercing my skin.

My mouth opens on a silent scream of protest, but it’s too late. I feel the cool rush of the serum slide beneath my skin, the enforcer stepping back as quickly as he moved in. Kane watches me with lethal calm as he depresses the plunger of his own syringe, not even blinking.

The bond hits hard and fast.

Heat scorches through my veins, heart stumbling as something ancient and primal wakes in my chest. My inner wolf surges forward as an invisible tether snaps taut between us, Kane flinching like he feels it too. His breath leaves him in a harsh exhale, eyes widening, then narrowing, as if he’s fighting the instinct crashing through.

I sway toward him before I even realize I’ve moved, and he steps toward me just as involuntarily, drawn by the same brutal pull. His dark irises flicker, then drown in molten gold as his wolf pushes to the surface.

I drag in a shaky breath, and suddenly I’m drowning in him. Citrus and spice, leather and pine. Everything about that scent calls to me, heat flooding my core like gasoline poured on a fire.

Mate.

The word thrums through me, not spoken but known, vibrating in my marrow.

The cheers around us swell as Alpha announces the start of the run by shifting. His massive wolf bursts forth in a ripple of fur and fangs, head tipping back on a low howl that shakes the clearing.

The energy ripples outward like a shockwave, snapping the pack into motion. Clothes hit the ground, bodies twist and reform, the air shimmering as a chorus of howls rise.

My wolf claws at my chest, frantic and insistent, and I finally stop fighting her.

The shift takes me fast. My bones pop and realign, my senses exploding. When my paws hit the earth and I lift my head, Kane’s already shifted to his wolf form– massive and black as night, eyes burning like wildfire.

With our wolves in control, there’s zero hesitation.

He steps forward and bumps his muzzle into mine, and a soft whine escapes me before I can stop it. The reaction is instant. We slide into each other’s space like we’ve been moving as a pair for years, fur brushing, scents mingling, bodies circling in tight, instinctive patterns. A nip to his cheek, a nudge to my shoulder. It’s effortless, as natural as breathing.