† Maddock †

Go back. No.

I fought my wolf as I forced us down the stairs. The sting of rejection was a harsh wake-up call that sobered me while making him howl in agony.

She didn’t reject us.

Yet.

Even though I’d been able to scent her desire, the heated aroma swirling around us, there was a chance we could push her too far and I’d never allow that to happen. I wasn’t an idiot like my brother.

She needed space and time to come to terms with the fact that she was our mate, but space was something my wolf couldn’t understand. I was having a hard time grasping the concept too.

If she was a shifter, she wouldn’t have been able to deny the call.

Her wolf would have taken over and we’d have sealed our bond the minute it was revealed.

At least that was what normally happened.

Unless there is a strong reason to deny nature.

“Kera, you stay with her and guard the room. No one is to enter or come close to my mate.” I spoke to my niece through the pack link before I got too far away.

“Um, I’m not sure they’re going to be cool with that.” Kera’s hesitation was evident.

“I wasn’t asking.” I growled.

“You owe me. Big time.”

Of course I’d owe my niece for this. It wasn’t a favor I took lightly. With every step down the stairs, I felt the pull back to the curious woman and our rightful place at her side. We were meant to protect her for the rest of our lives.

But Kera was unmatched in strength within the pack and there wasn’t someone I’d trust more than her.

One night, I assured to quiet the snarling beast.

She is mine.

And mine.

I paused on the steps, running a hand through my hair as the tug of the distance became physically painful. Does it hurt for her too?

I didn’t want to cause her any pain.

Maybe she didn’t feel the mating call as strong as I did. It’d been years since I’d seen a human shifter pairing and there were none in the Cerberus pack.

Go back. I’ll make her feel it again.

I ignored the pain and kept moving forward before my wolf really did take control. Besides, it didn’t matter if she felt it now. Once we’d sealed the bond, I’d be as much a part of her as she would be of me. I’d

share with her the intensity of my desire and she’d feel it as her own.

And she did want me.

She couldn’t deny that part.

But something was holding her back.

Just like the magic dripping from her witch veins that she didn’t call upon. I’d caught a whiff of shame and confusion that must be overriding her basic nature. This was frustrating. Once the bond was sealed, I’d be able to feel every emotion and help her work past them. There’d be no secrets.

We’d tie together our life forces and fuse our souls.

Why would we wait to be whole?

My wolf couldn’t understand it either so he continued to fight me and I kept trying to resist.

We could do this for our mate.

My mate, he grumbled.

Are you throwing a tantrum?

In all our years, I’d never seen him act this way. He was spellbound by the woman upstairs and not only from the soft curves of her body which we fully intended to explore religiously.

It was the way she’d fought that burst of powerful magic before succumbing to it while trying to protect her sister and the way the latent pup had rushed to her side, screaming at us to get back. That fierce loyalty from a wolf only comes from respect earned through experience.

My mate was strong, a protector, and worthy of devotion. Then she woke right up and did it again.

It seemed like a lifetime before I reached the bottom step and I would’ve shifted right there, but I still didn’t trust my beast to listen.

He wanted to rip out Lennox’s neck.

The bastard looked up from a ledger book he had sprawled across the wooden counter which I knew was just an excuse to linger. There weren’t many guests in Cerberus these days.

“Do not go to the second floor and do not disturb my mate.” I already told him this upstairs, but he had a thick skull.

“I heard you, Enforcer.” Lennox smirked. “And I will hold to my promise. The purist refugees are safe here and I won’t tell our precious Alpha of their arrival. But if I were you, I’d prepare for the worst. You

know how paranoid he can be.”

I grit my teeth as the bell chimed above me and stepped out onto the worn sidewalk. Apollo would not be an issue. Even he would understand that we can’t control the fates and if he tried anything, I’d handle it.

I looked around our broken village with new eyes as the threat of change loomed on the horizon. When I was a pup, these buildings weren’t

boarded up and the streets were filled with a thriving Cerberus pack. Other packs from the region would arrive for lunar celebrations. There were better days before Apollo’s mate had challenged fate and left us in this sharp decline.

Now we stood in the ruins of a pack that was hanging on by a

thread.

I scratched my chin as I walked, keeping my head down so that I

could get home without running into anyone. A part of me wondered if this was it. If it was time the scales finally tipped. I’d been holding the balance of power in the best way I knew possible, but maybe fate was going to force my hand.

“Enforcer, a word.”

Growling, I turned to face the female shifter who jogged across the street from the market where everyone was closing up their stalls for the evening. It was sad wares for sale now that trade had ceased with the other packs, but still the only place the remaining members of the town gathered to spend most days.

Fighting and price gouging over scraps.

“Apologies, Enforcer.” Ava caught up to me, baring her neck in respect. “Are you busy?”

Go away.

I folded my arms across my chest and waited for her to speak. She didn’t need to know my business, but as much as my wolf was snarling in disgust at being so close to an unmated female now that he’d scented his own mate, it was my job to hear concerns of the pack.

“Right.” She nodded. Her eyes shifted down as she refused to meet my gaze. “I wanted to tell you that I’m leaving Cerberus pack.”

“Did you request permission from the Alpha?” I sighed. This was an all-too-common occurrence. Pack numbers were dwindling every year.

“About that.” She shifted anxiously, still lowering her face. “I was hoping you’d approve my travels.”

“Look at me.” Her eyes shot up at the command. “Did something happen?”

“No.” She shook her head, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. “And that’s the problem, isn’t it? It’s been a few years and still no pregnancy.”

I ran my hand over the back of my neck, trying to understand where this was coming from. She was one of the last unmated females in the pack and never had an issue visiting Apollo for more carnal pursuits. “Did you speak with Apollo about your concerns?”

She shook her head again. “I just want to leave quietly.”

“Did he hurt you?” My wolf surged to the surface, ready to draw blood. I forcefully brought him back down from the edge. We were in no position to react rationally right now. Though if Apollo physically attacked a lover, then it wouldn’t be fate that caused me to snap.

“Not really.” She shrugged, looking out across the street. “But I’m tired of dealing with it all. Bruce, Apollo, moon cycles. It’s becoming too much.”

At the mention of my brother’s chosen second, the Beta outcast from the western Fenrir pack who’d befriended my brother after the tragedy of Delilah, a bitter taste coated my tongue. “Did Bruce hurt you?”

“It doesn’t matter,” she whispered.

“It does.” I rested my hand on her shoulder, cringing as the touch of another woman’s skin seemed to revolt my beast. “My hands are tied unless

you make a formal complaint.”

One word and I’d be rid of the leach who fed on my brother’s anger for good.

“I’m not complaining.” She met my eyes with a determined stare. “I just want to leave.”

Sighing, I took a step back. “Are your parents okay with this?”

Kathryn and Stockton were farmers who ran the produce stall. They were fiercely loyal to my father when he was Alpha and by extension supported Apollo’s right to the claim. We’d had many conversations about their approval of Apollo taking a chosen mate who would bear the triplet male heirs.

“They’ve finally come around.” Hope filled her eyes. “They understand that my wolf is eager to get out in the world and find her true mate. My aunt petitioned the Alpha of the Cadejo pack in the eastern lands and he said I was welcome to live in her home. With your permission, Enforcer, I’d like to be on my way.”

She’d already worked through all the details and, in truth, I was proud of the woman. Living in Apollo’s shadow as a potential mate wasn’t much of a life at all. Maybe finding my own fated mate was making me a touch sentimental.

“You have my permission and protection. Tell your father to double the supplies for your travels and I’ll fix his fence in return. Good luck on your new journey.”

My wolf snarled as Ava embraced me and then she quickly backed away with a raised brow. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” I bit out.

“We saw some women drive into town earlier,” she coaxed, fishing for information. Gods, the females of this pack liked to talk just as much as they liked to argue. “Has your wolf taken a liking to one of the

newcomers?”

“Get out of here before I rescind my permission.” I hardened the expression on my face so she couldn’t read too much into it.

“Thank you, Enforcer.” She bared her neck as she turned to leave and then cast a smile over her shoulder. “Good luck on your new journey too.”

*

My cabin was far away from the town center and communal compound on the northern lots where most of the shifters preferred to make their dwellings. Even with pack tensions strong, the wolves still needed to stay close together. I didn’t necessarily feel the urge to be with my pack at all times.

As the Enforcer, it was better to not get too involved with any one faction and risk the accusation that I was picking favorites during a dispute. Because I was a Sigma, I also preferred my alone time more than most wolves.

That was all about to change.

We have a mate.

The simple two-bedroom log cabin I’d built a few years ago served as the perfect escape. Lush fields and thick forest hid it from view and the noisiest thing out here was the soft babbling brook. I was proud of my home until right at this moment when a foreign thought entered my mind.

Would she like it?

You should have brought her to find out. My wolf paced anxiously, still angry that I’d left her behind.

I’ll build her something bigger if she wants.

Make her happy. He stopped growling to voice his approval at that thought.

At least we were finding middle ground again. As hard as it was to admit, I didn’t like that I couldn’t trust my beast to not take control and claim his mate before she understood what was happening.

So I kept the control. We’d give her as much time as she needed. Not in the inn though and not around other unmated males. I wasn’t foolish enough to think my wolf wouldn’t snap at that sort of tension.

We’d bring her here.

To our den.

I channeled my wolf’s anxious aggression into dusting the cabin and shaking out the bedding in my room. The second room sat empty still, gathering cobwebs and dead bugs. I wasn’t even sure why I’d built it.

For pups, my wolf gently reminded me.

Back when we were young and newly appointed as leaders of the pack after our uncles and father passed away, I’d once believed I’d find my fated mate even if it was a foolish mission. Sigma wolves rarely found a

mate at all, but it was every shifter’s dream.

I’d come to terms with the fact that at thirty-four it just wasn’t going to happen for me. The room sat empty as a painful reminder of the life we weren’t meant to have.

Until now.

Both my wolf and I smiled.

The room would go to my mate’s sister. True, it wouldn’t be my own child sleeping there, but I had a duty to provide for the latent pup too.

If Coral was comfortable, Sage would be happy. That seemed to be what she cared most about now, but I wanted to spend many more years figuring out what else would bring my mate joy.

Once the cabin was clean, I went outside and breathed in the fresh air.

The sun was beginning to set on the valley, casting the world in a warm golden glow.

Tomorrow, I bring my mate home.

Early. My wolf grunted in agreement.

Still smiling, I yanked the ax from the pine stump near the wood pile and headed into the woods.

There was one last thing I needed to take care of tonight.