Reluctantly Mated

The howls were drawing closer.

Kenzie was still staring in the mirror, her complexion growing paler as the implications of what the night would bring sank in with each ominous chime of the war bell echoing throughout the house and into the night.

She had never been involved in a pack war, but she knew that could change tonight. She wasn’t sure she had the tenacity for it, having always been more kind-hearted than ruthless.

She wasn’t a wolf, she was a witch, and as such, she wasn’t sure she could handle herself in a war, and definitely not against shifters.

What was she going to do against one of them? Maybe she could borrow a baseball bat from Thomas, who lived down the hall, though she wasn’t sure what good it would do.

She had a feeling a wolf would just be able to snap the wood in half with its teeth if she tried to smack one with it.

Knowing the wolves in the house would have heard the battle cries, Kenzie raced from the bathroom and out into the hallway, expecting more than a dozen people to meet her there as she cast a frantic glance around the hall.

Instead, she found no one. Not a single member of her floor was out of their room.

“Hello?” she called out, hoping someone would hear her.

Gods, what if they’d already all left? What if they needed her, but she’d been too busy being asleep upstairs and mauled by an imaginary wolf to help?

“Down here, Kenz!” Sam hollered from the main floor.

Her voice was a bit muffled, but Kenzie made a mad dash for the staircase nearby, sliding and nearly falling flat on her face in her haste to reach someone.

Her socks were definitely not a good material to be running on hardwood floors with, especially as Kenzie was so accident-prone.

Kenzie let out a breath of relief when she spotted her best friend at the base of the stairs, her tall willowy frame standing out against the window in the large living room.

Kenzie had always envied Sam’s height and model body, the complete opposite of her own small height and curvy body.

And Sam’s hair? Ugh, it was a stunning shade of red, with short natural waves that gave her a “fresh from the beach” look.

Kenzie’s was so thick it was nearly impossible to style for any length of time without two cans of hairspray and a prayer to the goddess.

“Sam, where is everyone? Why are the bells going off?” Please say it’s a new drill we started and I just wasn’t added to the text chain.

Sam pointed above them toward the ceiling. “It’s a full moon. Most of the pack went somewhere into the woods for the lunar run hours ago.”

She grimaced. “It was the perfect time for an attack, and most of them were captured.”

Like most other packs, their lands covered nearly fifty miles of untouched forest, allowing them to run free and be themselves without accidentally stumbling upon a human.

Not that it mattered too much, since Others and humans lived mostly in peace together, but it was overall safer for packs to shift on their own lands.

The lunar run was considered a monthly sacred ceremony, but Kenzie knew from Sam that it was literally a giant wolf orgy.

Apparently, during the full moon, wolves were compelled to mate with a sort of manic energy, a desperate urge by both of their counterparts to reproduce and carry on their legacy.

She heard it was easier if the wolves were mated, but it was definitely something Kenzie was glad not to partake in.

Wolves were known to be fervent lovers, and as much as she found the entire thing intriguing, she also felt like she would be way over her head with a shifter as her lover.

Kenzie grabbed Sam in a quick embrace, the touch of someone reassuring her that all would be well, even if the war bells didn’t.

Wolves were very affectionate creatures, frequently touching or embracing, and Kenzie had adapted well to their behaviors.

She was immediately soothed when Sam hugged her back, nuzzling her neck before they broke apart.

“Why are we being attacked?”

Sam bit her lip, rubbing at Kenzie’s upper arms instead of answering.

“Sam? Who is attacking us? What have we done to deserve it?” Please don’t say what I think you will.

Rainstorm was a pack full of gentle wolves, even a few bear shifters, but they weren’t warriors.

Sure, the alpha of the pack was strong and reliable, but not all packs relied on brute strength and power to thrive, and Rainstorm was one of them.

An attack of any kind would most likely be the end of them all.

Kenzie couldn’t help but remember her dream, her face blanching at the implication. The large black wolf locking her in his deadly jaws. Surely it wasn’t… No.

NO.

They couldn’t be under attack because of her, right?

“Were Doug and Judy out there? Are they okay?” Kenzie’s hands clasped together, twisting nervously as she waited for Sam to answer about her adoptive parents.

Sam’s grip on Kenzie’s arm tightened to the point of pain before she quickly dropped her hands.

Sam’s eyes were wild, staring everywhere but at Kenzie before she grabbed her arm again and gently pulled her toward the back of the house.

“They’re okay for now. They sent me here. You know I’m the fastest one out of us all.”

Taking a shaking breath, Sam started to pull Kenzie to the back exit, navigating them both around heavy furniture in the darkness so Kenzie wouldn’t trip and fall.

Sam always looked out for Kenzie and had since the moment they met several years ago.

“We need to leave immediately. I’m not sure who ratted us out, but the Mad Alpha knows we’ve been harboring a witch, and he’s come for you, Kenz. It isn’t safe here anymore. Maybe not for any of us.”

Kenzie stopped moving, jerking her arm out of Sam’s hold. So her dream had been a true premonition of events to come.

The Mad Alpha? Oh gods.

Her heart kicked up speed, her pulse fluttering wildly against her neck, though it wasn’t a reaction born out of fear. Why did she feel a kindred spirit in the dream wolf?

She should have been terrified, and she was…but only for her family, her pack.

She wasn’t scared for herself, which was insane, but she couldn’t help but remember how his voice had sounded in her head, how she’d relaxed under him.

Had her vision been telling her not to be afraid? That sounded crazy.

He was literally coming there to apprehend her…or worse. Was it because he found out she’d been born into a coven of dark witches? She’d only been a child!

She wasn’t like that, nor would she ever be.

An odd buzz of excitement shot through her, regardless of her predicament. She would meet him that very night.

Kenzie barely managed to brush the ridiculous feeling aside, instead focusing on the situation.

“If he’s already here, then there’s no use running. I’m not a shifter, Sam! I can’t outrun someone who can change into a damn wolf and sprint after me on four legs!”

Maybe she should smack Sam upside the head. Knock some sense into her.

Flee a crazy wolf? That would be just as bad, if not worse, than submitting and suffering her fate. And on a full moon? His instincts would practically demand he rip her in half if she ran from him.

Kenzie was a good person. She thought so, at least. Would he show mercy? Definitely not if she ran; she knew that for certain. Wolves never gave up a chase. It went against their very nature.

Considering the Mad Alpha was known to be ruthless, violent, and arrogant, there was no way a witch could slip through his fingers, especially not Kenzie.

Remembering the feel of fangs pressing into her throat and a sensual voice calling to her, Kenzie felt oddly gleeful, which was just so beyond bizarre, given the circumstances.

Something was definitely wrong with her.

Sam ignored her comments, grabbing Kenzie’s hoodie and yanking her toward the backdoor yet again.

Kenzie nearly stumbled and fell, her feet sliding along the floor as she tried to keep up with Sam’s accelerated pace.

“Is everyone else all right? Alpha Taylor? Beta Joseph?” Kenzie didn’t know what she would do if her family was hurt, all because they’d been protecting her from a lunatic.

Exhaling loudly, Sam spun on a dime, grabbing both of Kenzie’s arms to steady her as they stared at one another.

“The Mad Alpha has agreed to leave the rest of the pack alone if you’re turned into him without a fight, but he sees keeping you from him as an act of war and a betrayal.

“Our alpha thinks he will most likely kill us with or without your surrender, so your parents and Taylor want me to get you out of here. We really can’t wait any longer.”

“No!” Kenzie jerked back, filled with panic. She couldn’t leave. The Rainstorm Pack was her family.

You want to stay for a different reason, admit it, her traitorous mind sing-songed.

“I—I have magic. I can defend myself.” Great, stuttering just when she needed to show her strength, not that she had much of it.

But she loved her family, and she would do anything for them. Even surrender to Kieran Gallagher, witch killer.

It didn’t seem like the hardship it should have been, which was wild and, frankly, more than a little insane. Had the dream rattled her brain?

Sam rolled her eyes, picking Kenzie up and throwing the short witch over her shoulder. Sam ignored the fists pounding into her back, reaching the door and throwing it open.

“You and I both know you’re a light witch, and not only that, you’ve got essentially no real magic, Kenz.” Kenzie bristled at the statement, even if it was true.

“What are you going to do, exactly? Offer to heal his fucked-up heart? Maybe make him a potion?”

Snorting softly, Sam began sprinting into the woods, not even breaking a sweat. Kenzie glared at Sam’s ass as she bounced along her shoulder. Her stomach ached, every firm step jostling her.

Some light witches were rumored to be very powerful. Maybe someday Kenzie would be too. IF she lived that long and she could figure out how to use her magic.

It was inside of her. She could feel it sometimes, writhing to break free. She just had no idea how to access it, thus leaving her a witch dud.

“You know this is a dumb idea. Put me down, Sam. Please! What if he kills them all? I’m not worth it. I’m not!”

“You’re worth everything to us. We won’t let you be harmed by that mad wolf. What kind of family would we be if we gave you up to save ourselves?”

Kenzie’s heart stilled at that before it began a furious pace, urging her to act, to do something.

If the Mad Alpha had agreed to spare them all if she was handed over, Kenzie had to at least try to save them.

Her pack had saved her life nearly twenty years ago, and now it was her chance to return the kindness.

She’d do whatever she needed to protect them. She had to.

“What kind of family would I be if I left you all to die for me?”

Kenzie should have put more thought into her quickly forming plan, but time was of the essence, and if she thought too hard about it, she was going to chicken out and run away.

She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She needed to concentrate, to focus, and bumping along Sam’s back was not helpful.

Once, when she’d been younger, and a boy in the pack had been harassing her incessantly, Kenzie had accidentally hit him with a glowing ball of pure energy, knocking him down and rendering him unconscious.

It was some of the only magic she’d ever been able to do, and while her magic was unstable and very much limited, Kenzie had found that she could do this one small thing if she tried really hard.

Or if she felt threatened enough.

Struggling with the decision to use her magic against Sam, Kenzie knew she needed to free herself and find Kieran Gallagher, even if it meant she would die saving her pack.

She didn’t have it in her to escape her fate and let them suffer because of her.

What if she turned herself in and he killed them all anyway?

No, she couldn’t let herself think like that.

Tears pricked Kenzie’s eyes as power drew from nature and pulled into her, filling her palm slowly with a beautiful green ball of energy.

She hoped the glow wouldn’t be noticeable as it grew larger in her hand, until it was fully formed.

It wouldn’t hurt before knocking Sam unconscious, but Kenzie felt grief knowing she was leaving her best friend behind, especially incapacitated for any length of time when enemies were in their territory.

“I’m really sorry, Sam,” she sniffled. “I love you.” With that, Kenzie slammed the ball of light into Sam’s back, falling flat on her face with an oof as Sam suddenly let go.

Both women were on the ground before Kenzie moved to roll Sam over, inspecting her still form.

Sam’s breathing was nice and even, the steady rise and fall of her chest easing the momentary worry Kenzie felt.

Sam was going to be okay.

Kenzie was pretty sure she would suffer a much different fate.

“Ten minutes from now, you’re going to be awake and cursing my name, but it should be enough to get me where I need to be.”

With that, Kenzie turned and ran in the opposite direction, her heart telling her that, yes, this was the right path.

It was almost as if the trees leaned toward her in reassurance as Kenzie sprinted through the woods, letting her instincts guide her to her destination.

To him.

The Mad Alpha.