Marked Fate

A Slow Burn Paranormal Romance

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Lori Heart

SOS Novels
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Contents

1. Chapter 1

2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3

4. Chapter 4

5. Chapter 5

6. Chapter 6

7. Chapter 7

8. Chapter 8

9. Chapter 9

10. Chapter 10

11. Chapter 11

12. Chapter 12

13. Chapter 13

14. Chapter 14
15. Chapter 15

16. Chapter 16

17. Chapter 17

18. Chapter 18

19. Chapter 19

20. Chapter 20

21. Chapter 21

22. Chapter 22

23. Chapter 23

24. Chapter 24

25. Chapter 25

26. Chapter 26

27. Chapter 27
28. Chapter 28

29. Chapter 29
30. Chapter 30

31. Chapter 31
32. Chapter 32

33. Chapter 33
34. Chapter 34

35. Chapter 35
36. Chapter 37
37. Chapter 38
38. Chapter 39

39. Chapter 40
To Be Continued...
Copyright

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 Chapter 1

“I DON’T WANT ANY trouble here.”

The bartender’s eyes narrowed as he scanned my frame, not bothering to
hide the flicker of lust on his face as I stood waiting for more than that as an
answer. His gaze shifted past me into the shadows of the dingy club.
I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and glanced in the same direction,
but the shadows at the edge of the room were still. Whatever he saw, I
didn’t catch.
“Yeah, not sure how you think I can cause trouble with a simple
question.”
“Maybe he doesn’t understand plain English.” My best friend, Katryn
leaned her curvy hip against the bar, folding her arms as she studied the
male with derision in her eyes. Her deep auburn hair had streaks of
strawberry blonde that caught the bright yellows and whites of the club
lights as they pulsed and flashed around us.
The bartender cleared his throat, glancing down at the counter as he
wiped away spilled liquid. After a moment, he raised his eyes. “Things are
neutral here in town. We don’t segregate. You want to start problems with
dragons, you better get out of Defence to do it.” He lifted his chin, pushing
his chest out. “No matter how many witches you bring in here.”
I glanced sharply at Katryn. Was it that obvious she was half-witch?
Most supernaturals couldn’t pick up on it since Katryn’s wolf was the more
dominant of her two halves. Her short temper was clearly more of a wolf
shifter trait than that of a calm, peace-seeking witch.
I nodded and pursed my lips. “I don’t want to cause problems. I just…”
My confidence slipped as I considered what it was I was after.
Answers? And then what? A sense of belonging? I internally scoffed.
While I didn’t know exactly where this path would lead, I did know that I
needed information. Information on which dragon pack had stolen my wolf-
shifter mother and impregnated her while she was enslaved with them, and
then inexplicably released her. I wanted to know where I came from. I
needed to know.
Who did my unfortunate dragon half belong to?
But how do I tell that much messed up personal information to the bear-
shifter who already thinks I’m here to start trouble?
“Ow.” I grimaced and brought a hand to my side. The spot above my hip
tingled. That had never happened before.
The deep thudding of the music pulsed around me, and I bit my lip. The
club wasn’t what I would consider high-end. Not that I would know since
sups aren’t supposed to be in clubs until they’re old enough to be ranked in
their packs or covens. Bites was certainly not the club to have broken the
rules for, especially since it reeked of illegal activity. There had been a
vampire on the edge of the dancefloor when Katryn and I first came in.
If a vampire in your club didn’t scream illegal activity, I don’t know what
would.
 “Look, she-wolf, as far as I’m concerned, you’re all the same to me.
Paying customers. That’s it. I don’t need to know anything else about you.
The less I know, the better for me,” The bartender stiffened as he went to
the countertop with his rag. “It’s also better for my club.”
I jutted my chin to the side and nodded, my nostrils flaring in frustration.
He’d seen something behind me, something I hadn’t been able to
differentiate from all of the other bodies crammed on the floor, writhing and
bumping into each other.
I was in over my head, and I knew it.
Katryn watched me, waiting for her cue to do something, anything. We
were both hybrids, but my ranking in our pack superseded her own simply
because of who had taken me in after my mother had died. Her loyalty and
friendship had her with me here as I searched for my answers. So, whatever
happened to us would be on me.
Whooping and chanting from the direction of the front door pulled me
from my thoughts. Katryn and I turned, our eyes drawn to the group of men
who walked through the doors of the club. Strutted, is more like it.
The way they moved in unison, slapping high fives when they walked by
some and jerking their chins up at others made my lip curl, and not in a
smile. Cocky. Arrogant.
“Great.” Katryn sighed, stepping alongside me and glancing up at my
face. Though she was smaller, shorter than me by almost half a foot, it
never got in the way of her attitude and fight. She was wary of the
newcomers. Always looking out for me. It’s what made us more like sisters
than friends. “Should we abandon the search for now? We need to get to the
apartment anyway, to check in.”
 We’d come this far. We were so close, I could feel it. I just needed to find
a dragon I could ask some questions. That’s it. Why, in the biggest faction-
integrated city in the world, was I having a problem with that?
The idea of quickly doing this had been so simple in my head, like I’d be
able to arrive in this new town and easily find one willing to spill their guts
to all my questions. I should have known assuming this would be simple
was a fool's dream.
When dragons enslaved wolves and wolves killed dragons, there wasn’t a
lot of trust between the two species.
“We might not find out what we want to today, Morgan.” Katryn sighed;
the heavy disappointment was easy to ascertain under the heavy beating of
the music. “That doesn’t mean it’s over forever. We have time.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” I matched her sigh, trying not to let my shoulders
slump. I couldn’t let my disappointment show. Not in a place where any
weakness would be a guaranteed spotlight on two females new to town.
I might come from a small pack on the outskirts of the Rocky Mountains,
but that didn’t mean I was stupid or naïve, no matter how out of place I
looked.
“Ugh.” I reached up, rubbing at my left side, just above my hip. My mark
had started tingling the second I walked inside Bites. It had never ached like
this before, and it seemed to grow with each moment.
She glanced at me curiously, but something caught her eye behind me
that stopped her cold. “Don’t stare, but I think they’re headed this way.”
I shifted so that I was standing next to Katryn, making a mental note to
bring up my mark to her later in our room, when we had a chance at
privacy.
 She’d said they, but I knew who she meant before I looked up. “I’m not
staring, you are.”
To be fair, we both were staring now. And who could blame us? The
group of five arrogant wolves had pheromones coming off them in waves.
They were dominant, filled with that better-than-everyone-else confidence
that came with being a part of stronger packs, which only rankled my own
wolf. I preferred the satellite wolf lifestyle, which had more rebellion in
actions and thoughts, but I still understood the hierarchy of things.
And the ringleader of their little group was so clearly an alpha. He
broadcasted his arrogance in front of him like it would force everyone he
came in contact with to bow.
If I ever wanted to fit into a pack, to belong, I had to defer to the alpha.
Fine. But when that alpha wasn’t my alpha, I had no problems rejecting any
hint of possible control.
“Avoid them,” I said.
Katryn’s snort drew my attention back to her. “We’re standing at the bar.
Not exactly a good place to avoid anyone.”
She was right, but the vantage point was too good to give up. We could
see more here than in a dark corner. “Okay, one more sweep of the club,
look for anyone who could be a dragon.”
At this point I didn’t care if I found a female or a male. Or even the
ambiguous ones I’d heard about that could shift between male and female
based on their needs. Those were rare and never fit completely into a clan
either. They actually had similarities to satellite wolves, except a satellite
dragon couldn’t breed.
I’d read a legend once that said any dragon that doesn’t mark and rank in
their coven becomes a satellite dragon. The legend called them anti-shifters.
They could shift, but they no longer had complete control over their
powers, which became drastically weakened.
The lack of a mate creating limitations on a supernaturals’ abilities and
powers wasn’t restricted to the dragon clans. It extended to all supernatural
beings. Having a completed pairing increased the power in a couple, and in
a pack or clan. A coven, a pack, a clan, any supernatural being became even
stronger if the mate was pure, but a hybrid? A hybrid could lose that part of
themself and their power if they mated outside their true match.
“What does a dragon look like again? ´Cause I’m not seeing any wings or
fire breathing.” Katryn scoffed and then nodded toward the side. “Although
if we were looking for a creepy loner, that dude might fit the bill.”
I followed Katryn’s head nod to a man who watched us—watched me—
with his arms folded across his chest. His broad shoulder held him up as he
leaned against the wall. Even across the room, I could feel the heat of his
gaze. He didn’t seem to care that I knew he was watching me.
I swallowed. The realization that this wasn’t a safe idea washed over me
more and more. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s a dragon.”
Though both of us chuckled dryly, it wasn’t because anything we said
was humorous. I knew we were both doing the same thing, trying to be
normal.
The group of uber-alphas strode through the room, continuing like they
were moving toward us, though it was slow going since they were stopping
at different groups and talking to them.
The leader’s eyes found me every few moments. I didn’t want to keep
locking eyes with him, but the way he held my gaze steadily, I knew we
were their end point, like he’d become an arrow and I was the target center.
 I didn’t want him to get to me. I didn’t want to have to face him. The
closer he got the more my mark ached. And I wondered if it was a warning,
something to snap me out of my perpetual staring. Because as much as his
stupid swagger pissed me off, the wolf was gorgeous, and that might make
me feel things I wasn’t in a position to handle. I wasn’t free to chase
anything physical or otherwise with another male. Especially one like him.
Panic creeped in.
A part of me balked, not wanting to acquiesce to a stranger alpha’s
dominance. The wolf part of me though, was growing anxious with
anticipation, excited at the chance to be in his vicinity.
“Morgan, what are we going to do?” Katryn could feel it, too. Whatever
it was. This strange pull. Maybe it was a sense of inevitability.
Katryn’s voice wasn’t filled with fear, but the slight quiver reminded me
again that whatever happened was on me. And we were in the middle of the
lion’s den.
“We need to get to the apartment complex.” I cleared my throat,
unwilling to admit that I suddenly wasn’t confident in my decision to come
to Bites, especially when we should be preparing for class tomorrow, not
running off on wild dragon chases.
The bartender spoke up behind us. “I don’t want any problems, ladies.
Don’t make me call my bouncers.”
Bouncers? He had bouncers? Usually that meant he had to hire someone
else to do what he couldn’t do. Did that mean there were bigger men than a
bear-shifter in this place?
The pack would be upon us in a matter of moments.
We had to get out of there. The last thing I wanted to do was get in a fight
with a group of males who were clearly in their territory, especially if they
were the kind of wolves who believed in submissive she-wolves. That was
the last thing they’d find here.
I scanned the room, unable to stop myself from pausing as I caught a
glimpse of the supernatural watching me from the same spot. He hadn’t
moved, but the heat in his gaze had intensified. A fever raced through my
entire body, like he’d just caressed me with fire.
I tore my gaze away, sighing in relief when I recognized the sign for the
restroom above a hallway. “Restroom.”
“Now? Seriously?” Katryn huffed after me as I bolted, not waiting for
her to fall into step as we turned from the approaching group of wolf
testosterone.
The second we ducked into the mostly empty bathroom, a pressure lifted
off of my shoulders, releasing the panic that had my chest constricting. I
could breathe again.
“They seem…oppressive.” I leaned against the sink looking up at the
dingy bathroom ceiling.
“That’s normal. They’re not your alphas. I felt the same way.”
Katryn moved to stand at the counters in front of a sink and reached up,
smoothing the lines of her makeup. The artful and sultry eye makeup she
wore made her pale skin seem even paler, and her bright green eyes stood
out even more than they normally did.
I ignored the mirrors, myself. I knew what I’d see, and I didn’t care. I
wasn’t one to stand there and admire my long brown curls, or the fact that I
might be above average height for human females, but just normal for
wolves.
There was nothing extraordinary about me, except for the shape of my
mark.
 My mark. Another thing that screamed hybrid and made me different. I
was clearly a wolf, but was also clearly…not. It depended on the day, the
time of the month, and most importantly, where I was and who I was with.
The mark changed, morphed, which was unnatural.
Right then it was tingling, and not in a fun way. It was burning, like it
was trying to warn me of something.
“Do you think there’s an exit from here? Besides the front door?” Katryn
pulled away from the mirror, scanning the perimeter of the ladies’ room like
a door would just pop out of the cement walls. There weren’t even windows
in this grunge hole, just garish overhead lighting that left any flaws out in
the open for everyone to see.
No doors to get in or out besides the one we’d walked through in the
front.
“Maybe there’s one down the hall.” We’d had to step into a small hallway
to get to the bathrooms. The males’ room had been to the right while the
females’ had been to the left. A water fountain chaperoned in the middle.
I hadn’t noticed anything else before we’d disappeared into the women’s
room. “What if we don’t get another chance to slip out and search?” I had
no idea what would happen once our classes started and school took over. It
was one of the reasons we were able to come here, away from our pack. We
had to make sure we didn’t get kicked out.
No matter how badly I needed to find a dragon.
“I know you’re anxious but, do you want to deal with those guys out
there?”
Katryn wasn’t voicing concerns out of a sense of fear. She wouldn’t
hesitate to go anywhere with me. We had bonded over the years because
neither of us fit in, with our pack or anywhere else. It was just as hard to
find a pack accepting of a half-witch and half-wolf as it was a half-wolf and
half-dragon.
Nothing quite like being a hybrid that was half your own mortal enemy.
“I don’t know. I need answers, Kat.” I could feel all the stress from the
last few years collecting under my skin like a heat rash. I needed to know
who my father was. I needed to know who I was, and where I belonged.
And, the burning desire to know if my mother had loved my father, or if
she’d been treated like a slave, had been consuming my thoughts as of late.
I knew it was too much to hope that they’d had a love match, but at the
same time, she’d never spoken of him badly, but with longing. That had to
be a good thing. Right?
“Maybe we should call it a night.” I sighed and glanced at Katryn. “Do
you think we can call in a bomb scare or something?” I was only half
kidding, but walking out of here without running into the popular
egocentric wolves wouldn’t be a bad thing at all.
“Well, I guess neither choice is fun. Potential entanglement with
powerful asshole wolves, or checking into the apartments and letting our
alpha know we’re here and your engagement can be officially announced.”
Kat shrugged.
My jaw twitched. Searching for the answers I so desperately wanted
helped me ignore the fact that I was sent to the University of Defence for a
reason, beyond getting a degree in supernatural biochemistry. But to the
Sloan pack, that was secondary.
I bit my lip, shaking my head. “I can’t believe I’m arranged.”
Saying the words out loud made it real. Why wouldn’t I be arranged? I
was an adopted daughter in the Sloan pack. Sloan was small. A mountain
pack. Our alpha was always on the look for more power. So when an
opportunity came for an alliance with one of the most powerful packs there
was, he’d picked me to be the one to make the alliance happen. Given the
opportunity to ensure a merge with the Thorne pack through an arranged
marriage, the last thing my alpha had cared about was the fact that I didn’t
want to go.
I had an individualistic satellite mentality and everyone knew it. Sloan
didn’t understand that. The alpha ditched the use of his first name when he
stepped into power because he then became the power and authority and
protector of his pack. He became the pack and lost his separate identity.
I would lose mine. I would lose who I was but not because I would be
alpha, but because I would become another wolf’s mate. We hadn’t been
mark-matched. Nope, we’d been politically matched.
He would mate with me and since we weren’t fated, he would take my
powers. I would become more like his servant and not like his equal, which
I would have been if we’d been fated.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. Did I want to deal with the group in the
club or deal with my responsibilities?
I opened my eyes and focused on Katryn. “I don’t think we have much of
a choice. We should go.”
Her gaze wasn’t pity; it was heartbreak. We’d be separated in this whole
process. The only friend I had.
I didn’t want to pretend like I wanted to do whatever it took to protect a
pack that tolerated me, but didn’t truly accept me. I wanted everyone to be
safe, of course, but I didn’t want to lose myself simply to make the two
packs stronger.
Why couldn’t I have found my fated? Why couldn’t he be someone in a
strong pack that wanted an alliance too?
I rubbed my mark one more time before reaching for the bathroom doors.
And why was my stupid mark bugging me so much?

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 Chapter 2

“RUBBING YOUR MARK OFF isn’t going to make things go away.”

Katryn was eyeing me, watching as I held my mark. “You haven’t stopped
touching it since we got here.”
“It’s burning.”
Katryn’s eyes widened in surprise. “Burning?”
“Maybe it’s a warning.”
She bit her nail, studying me a second longer and then folded her arms
across her chest and nodded. “We need to get out of here and get back to the
apartment, then we need to make sure no one knows we were here. If the
Thorne pack finds out we were looking for dragons off campus, they might
cancel the arrangement.”
I kept any sign of hope at the reality of her statement from my face. Just
because I didn’t want to be arranged to someone from a different pack
didn’t mean it wasn’t the best thing for my pack. That extra protection
would extend to Katryn when I left, after all. So even though I’d been
offered up like I was nothing more than a pawn, it had to happen. A
matching to the illustrious and powerful Thorne pack would be a huge boon
for the Sloan pack, for my pack.
I’d never complain. I wouldn’t. Where would I even start? Hey, wolves
that didn’t want me here anyway, I don’t want to be mated to another pack
because I’m not sure who I am and I need to find myself? Yeah, I know you
raised me when my own parents couldn’t, but I don’t really owe you
anything, right?
I nodded at Katryn. “You’re right. We need to get out of here. Hopefully
unseen by anyone else.” I stared at the door, knowing that there had to be an
emergency exit somewhere. Maybe this was our lucky night and it’d be
down the only hallway I’d seen. “We’ll turn left, see if we can sneak out at
the end of the hall instead of going back toward the dance floor.”
She nodded. “I’ll follow you.”
Not for the first time, I couldn’t help resenting that sentiment. I wasn’t a
leader. Pack members followed their alpha. While there was a level of
hierarchy in each pack, I was barely above Katryn in ours. Certainly not
high enough to be followed.
The only reason I’d been deemed worthy to marry off wasn’t because of
my place in the pack, it was because of my lack of position. The alpha had
lied to the Thorne Pack and stated that I was the most powerful she-wolf in
the Sloan and surrounding packs of the Rocky Mountains.
Maybe it wasn’t a lie. We didn’t know if I could hold my own because no
one ever bothered wasting time fighting against the hybrid. But they’d
never mentioned I was hybrid when they’d made the deal.
And being out at a club filled with illegal activity wasn’t exactly keeping
things under wraps.
Katryn was glancing around the bathroom.
 “You look like you’re about to mark your territory.”
She threw her head back, letting out a real laugh, not the dry one we’d
shared in the club. As a grin spread across her lips, she shook her head.
“You’re disgusting. I’m better than a smelly club bathroom. Whoever wants
this place can have it. If I need to, I’ll pee on a car…preferably a
Lamborghini.”
We burst out laughing. I couldn’t help being grateful for the levity.
Turning, I moved to stand in front of the bathroom door. I peeked once
more at Katryn, her resolute features spurring me on. My wants
immediately became secondary. Again. Because I realized that if I were
found out by the men in that club, or by any members of the Sloan pack,
who had come all that way to make sure everything went smoothly with my
matching, the arrangement would be in jeopardy.
I took a deep breath and pushed through the door, turning immediately to
the darker part of the hallway and pacing out a few yards to the upcoming
wall.
My hands hit brick.
And only brick. There wasn’t a door. There was nothing. Just a dead end,
empty hallway.
Luck was not on our side after all.
“The only way we’re getting out is through the front doors.” I swallowed.
My wolf shivered in anticipation. If shit hit the fan, I was confident I
could hold my own. My wolf was always ready for a fight, hating when I
took the logical way through any problem. My less aggressive dragon side
would rear up when I really needed to fight and give me the extra boost my
wolf and I needed to win. I wasn’t in the habit of fighting often, though.
 Fighting here, in the club, would cause more problems than it would
solve. But if the cocky wolves who had stalked toward us like we were prey
started something, I wasn’t sure how best to keep my wolf side from
engaging and mouthing off.
“Come on, Morgan. Slow and steady.” Katryn must have sensed my
defenses rising. She hated fighting. I think her witch half had more
dominance than her wolf side. And witches craved peace more than
anything.
“Would you be able to fight, if we needed to?” I glanced at her as we
turned on our heels and moved toward the break in the walls that led back
into the main part of the club.
Katryn stopped, tugging on my arm to stop me. “Are you kidding me?
Did you seriously just ask if I’d be up for fighting? I’m a wolf. Of course I
would be.” Her eyes flashed with anger and hurt.
I’d stepped in it. I hadn’t meant to, and yet there I was, hurting the only
person who actually cared about me. I reached out, resting my hand on her
upper arm. “No, of course not. I’m sorry. I’m on edge. I didn’t mean that
the way it sounded.” I shook my head. “I’m sorry.” I said it again.
Katryn’s loyalty had never and would never be in question. I knew she
was there for me no matter what her witch side wanted or needed. Katryn
had always put my needs first. My comment had been thoughtless and rude.
One more thing to add to that night.
I waited for her to nod that she accepted my apology before returning to
our path out. “Let’s go.”
We stepped into the main club area, only a few feet from the peripheral
wall. If we stayed in the shadows, we could probably get out a lot easier.
 “Only fight if we have to so that we can get out, Morgan.” Katryn’s voice
tugged at me almost as hard as the grip on my arm.
She wasn’t moving and when I saw why, I realized it was too late to
make a move for the shadows.
The obnoxious group of wolves had been waiting for us to emerge. They
leaned against a tall table that had been set up with seven hip-height stools.
And there was no way around them.
They straightened as they rose to meet us. Moving as if they had one
freaking brain, they roped around us, and we were stuck. Outnumbered and
penned in.
That didn’t make my wolf feel good about her decision to try and refrain
from a fight.
The minions on either side of us stood with their legs spread and their
arms crossed over their chests. They watched us as if they were allowing us
to be there, but that status could change at any moment.
The three wolves in front of us were practically in a line, shoulders
almost touching as the two on either side of their alpha watched us
unblinkingly.
The alpha in the center looked calm, relaxed, as a smirk played across his
lips, subtle yet mocking. The look in his hungry hazel eyes should have
offended me as they tried to bore into me. Should have. The tension was
mounting as no one said a word.
And yet, the alpha still stared. He looked at me like I was a treat just for
him. Unfortunately, the hard angle to his jaw and the well-maintained blond
hair that grazed his forehead, the way he wet his lips like he was waiting for
a compliment, was a treat for me too. I was sure he knew how attractive he
was. He brought a hand up, rubbing his jaw once.
 The muscles in his arms and the possessive glint in his gaze made my
stomach clench. No, Morgan. No. I silently argued with myself that I had to
have better taste in men than this guy.
But it wasn’t just me drooling. The breadth of his shoulders and the way
his dark T-shirt hugged his muscles left my wolf panting, too.
Down, girl.
Hot as he may be, I wasn’t there to find someone to mess around with.
Especially an egotistical alpha. Alphas got in the way. They wanted too
much, expected too much, and always took more than they should. Pass.
“You’re in my way,” I said, grateful that logic won out of my internal
battle.
The alpha’s smirk turned to a full-out smile.
The wolf to the right of the blond alpha pipped up. “Little pups like you
two shouldn’t be out on your own.” His dark auburn hair had been brushed
back from his face, leaving his bright green eyes unobstructed. His gaze
tripped between me and Katryn, settling longer on my friend than on me.
Katryn gazed right back at the male who must be the beta if he was
allowed to speak before his alpha. The fire that sparked in her eyes made
me nervous. “Don’t tell me your next line was going to be, ‘there are big
bad wolves out there.’”
The peaceful witch seemed to be taking a far back seat to Katryn’s wolf.
But she was playing a dangerous game teasing and taunting wolves we
didn’t know. Egos among male wolves could be fragile. Ridiculously so.
Especially males that looked like this. The beta had a scar running down
the right side of his face and if I wasn’t mistaken, that was a dragon’s tooth
he wore around his neck.
 My stomach turned over but I stayed silent, not rising to the bait from the
beta. He’d be the obnoxious one of the group, with the biggest mouth. That
was always how it went.
My mark flared, unable to decide if it was tingling or burning now. Not
the time, little mark, I chided as I attempted to hide the flinch from the
discomfort.
“Vamps, dragons, wolves…” The beta wouldn’t look away from her and
it was hard to tell if he was trying to scare her or flirt with her.
Katryn wouldn’t back down. “Oh my,” she said, finally breaking his gaze
by rolling her eyes. She stayed calm as she spoke, toeing the line, but
barely. A cocky beta running his mouth wasn’t enough to fight over, so I
prayed she’d keep a pulse on his temper.
“I haven’t seen you around here before. You must be new,” the alpha
finally spoke.
Swallowing down the pure lust that shot through my body at the deep
voice, I noticed tendrils of something else coming from my mark.
No, no, no! Awareness, knowing…a tether started winding from my
mark like it was going to leave my body and twirl around the alpha’s finger.
Mate, my wolf purred.
But I wouldn’t. I couldn’t afford to have found my mate! I’d already been
chosen for another. Which meant this wasn’t going to go well, if the sexy
alpha realized I was his mate as well. If my mark was making itself known,
his would be any second now, if it hadn’t already. We needed to head this
off and leave, now.
I held up my hand, lifting my chin. “No, I’m not from around here. We’re
freshmen at the U. As fun as I’m sure you thought this little exchange was
going to be, we have to go.” I stepped forward as if I’d walk through them,
but the alpha, his beta, and the other wolf at our front didn’t budge.
I stepped back into my spot and cocked an eyebrow. “There’s a gaggle of
hungry females right behind you that look like they'd love this kind of
attention.”
The leader didn’t tense up or alter his stance. He studied me, his eyes not
missing a thing. “And you don’t?”
I shrugged, not trusting my voice to stay even the more he spoke.
“You’re running off kind of early, aren’t you?” He pressed.
“We have somewhere else we should be. Technically, we shouldn’t have
snuck out of the dorms anyway.” Why was I explaining myself?
I didn’t have to make excuses for wanting to get out of here. I could go
and do whatever I wanted. The alpha and his band of wolves had no right to
try to keep us here for their pleasure. And the fact that he seemed to think
he did, thankfully dulled the lust that had flowered in my gut.
I desperately wanted to put him in his place.
“Well, you’re already here. Dance with me,” he said.
It wasn’t a question. I was about to say as much when he reached out to
take hold of my arm. The second his hand touched my bare skin, I jerked
back, alarmed at the electricity in his touch.
My wolf was about to explode. She was practically jumping inside of me
at the alpha’s touch. I had to push these feelings down. Maybe I could
ignore this, the fact that at the most inopportune time the universe decided
to throw this wolf my way.
I had to nip it in the bud right then. Having him, even though I had no
idea who he was or where he belonged, wasn’t an option. I shook my head.
“I’m not dancing. We’re leaving. Excuse us.”
 “You can stay for one dance.” He tilted his head and studied me, the
questions in his eyes more respectful than his outward declaration.
“She’s right.” Katryn had finally decided to stop ogling the beta and
heard me. I shot her a look. “We need to get going. Curfews and all that.”
Who knows how she interpreted my look, but she helped defuse some of
the tension building between the alpha and me. Which would hopefully be
the break we needed to get the heck out of there.
“You can stay and dance with me, little flame.” The red-haired giant on
the opposite side of the beta jerked his chin upward. The grin on his lips as
he studied Katryn was far more possessive than the situation warranted.
Her cheeks reddened as she shook her head. “I said no. We’re getting out
of here. Now move.”
All pretense dropped. Katryn was going to lose her temper and if it
happened there in the club, we’d never be allowed back in.
“It’s probably for the best.” I laughed nervously and grabbed Kat’s arm
and tugged to the side. Shockingly, the red-haired wolf moved slightly to
give us a space to move through. “We’d hate to take you guys away from all
the other females in here. Dance with them.”
Bile rose in my throat. Frowning, I gripped Katryn’s arm tighter. Just the
simple thought of the alpha dancing with another made my insides twist and
roil. I didn’t want him with another. I didn’t want to be with another.
And yet, I didn’t have any choice.
He watched me, studying me. He nodded once. “If that’s what you want.”
It wasn’t. I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want to have to run to someone
else, answer to anyone else. If this was my mate, I should be running off
with him, letting my wolf do whatever she wanted with him.
 What I wanted was to press my mouth against his and see what all the
talk was about, two marked mates and the unimaginable passion when they
mated. The unmatched desire and need that wove souls together.
Not everyone found their marked. Not everyone got to find that happily
ever after. Mine was within reach, just too late.
Because happily ever after was not the way things worked for a hybrid
from the Rockies. We—and there weren’t that many of us—did what was
expected of us, and we didn’t cause waves. Especially when so much
depended on our actions.
Looking away as I passed him, and homing in on the door was all I could
do. One step, then another.
Before I could get far, he reached out and snagged my wrist, this time
gently. The touch was no less hypnotic, no less desirable, but this time I
knew what to expect.
I glanced back at him, pressing my lips together to keep from saying or
doing something I couldn’t.
“Why can’t you stay?” I could hear what he wasn’t saying as if it were
inside my head. Why would you disappear when we’d just found each
other?
I inhaled slowly, my next words emotionless as they filled the air
between us. “I’m arranged.”
The simple statement sliced the contact between us. He dropped my hand
like it scalded him, hurt flashing in his eyes.
I turned away. I couldn’t see that. I didn’t want to accept that being
arranged to another would hurt him just as much as it suddenly was hurting
me. This wasn’t normal; I didn’t know him. But mates. Mates were destiny.
Fate.
 Katryn fell into step beside me, wrapping an arm around my waist, her
eyes downcast as we moved into the shadows to avoid any additional run-
ins with any more unwelcome club goers. Except that alpha was far from
unwelcome.
If I wasn’t arranged…
I started to think. Started to wish, just as my mark flared so furiously, like
it hated me. Like it was going to burn until I stopped. But I couldn’t give in.
I had responsibilities to my pack, to my friend. I’d never thought I would
have a marked mate. Why would a hybrid have that chance? I wasn’t as
strong as a pure blood was. My mark shouldn’t be able to make itself
known while I had two species warring inside me.
The flashing strobe style lights of the club didn’t penetrate the shadows
along the wall. We dodged around couples doing things in the dark that I
wouldn’t mind doing with the incredibly sexy blonde alpha back there.
Katryn dropped her arm from my waist but kept up my pace,
sidestepping alongside me.
A long, low howl came from across the room when we reached the
doorway. I glanced back, something inside me recognizing the call before I
even saw him. He’d barely parted his lips to call to me; his stance hadn’t
altered since we’d walked away. His call had more impact on me than even
his touch had.
He was an alpha calling out for his mate. And I had to escape before
everything was ruined.
I was promised to another and there was no way around it.
A blast of fresh air crashed over me as I made it the last few steps to the
door and back to the outside world. I gulped it in, thinking it would
somehow make the weight of what was happening feel less like I was
suffocating.
Stumbling a few more paces, I ran into the broad back of a stranger, a
brick wall of a man, though he didn’t look like he would be. The darkness
of the parking lot hid his features beyond just height and stature as I raised
my gaze, an apology already fumbling off my lips. “Excuse me, I’m so
sorry.” I said, reaching out and steadying myself by gripping his elbow.
I let go immediately when a gravelly voice answered. “No problem. Are
you alright?”
Now I knew I was going crazy. Not just crazy from tearing myself away
from my mate. But crazy because I'd heard that voice before. The baritone
that radiated outward. I knew it, but only in the privacy of some very
particular dreams, when I couldn’t suppress my dragon heritage as much as
my wolf demanded.
Before I could move to find a way to get a better look at him and match a
face to the voice, Katryn shoved me forward to the car. Moving finally, like
getting out of there was the most important thing.
The second she let go of me and I crawled in, I looked back at the
entrance, but the mysterious man was gone. Before I could even think to
ask her about him, we were driving away from the club and back toward
reality. And back toward an even more devastating responsibility than
before.
I glanced in the side mirror and wondered why my mark wouldn’t stop. I
was away from the club, further and further, and yet it was as though I’d
been branded.
Shifting to move the seat belt away from touching the thing, I looked at
Katryn. Her eyes were staring at the road like she was looking at a ghost.
Seeing nothing, I stared at her. Waiting for something, anything.
Maybe she felt my connection and was as shocked as I was.
The car jerked, veering off the side of the road.
“Kat!” I yelled as she threw the vehicle into park.
But Kat just kept staring out the window as her breathing turned heavier
and laced with a frantic kind of panic.
“My mark went crazy. I think...” She tried to take a deep breath, closing
her eyes. “I think that beta is my mate.”

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 3

WHAT WERE THE ODDS of our mates being in the same pack, let alone
us meeting them at the same time? I didn’t know what to say, because
Katryn didn’t seem happy.
“I didn’t think my wolf would have a mate. I didn’t think…”
“Hey, look at me,” I said. “That’s wonderful. I know it’s a lot, but your
mate!”
She nodded her head, not looking at me as she put the car back in drive.
The confusion, the turmoil that she was so obviously feeling was written
on her face as she watched the road, guiding us to The University Pack
house.
And she was feeling those things without being arranged to another.
There was some comfort in knowing that the strangeness wasn’t just me.
By the time we reached the small parking lot outside of the house on
campus, Kat had calmed down enough that she put on a determined face.
“We’d better lie our way through this if we get caught. Or pray we get in
unnoticed.”
 I gave her a salute and we crept into the main entryway, through the
common area, and up a winding staircase to our floor. Quiet.
Voices came from behind doors. It was fairly early in the night.
Reaching our room, Katryn quickly opened the door and shut it again as
soon as I was inside. Our bags were strewn over the floor right where we’d
left everything before sneaking out to the club.
We’d barely even checked out our new home. No, not home. This would
just be where I slept for however long I ended up staying at the school. I
couldn’t call it home. I wasn’t sure I’d ever felt that feeling of comfort.
Maybe sometimes when Katryn and I would spend time at the quarry near
our territorial borders.
But a true home…I never thought that was in the cards for me.
I stood in the center of the room she and I would share, and I stared at the
simple accommodations.
“It might not be much, but it’s all ours, right?” Katryn plopped her bag
down on the floor next to me and twisted this way and that as she studied
the furnishings.
Single beds stood in each corner across from the door, with matching
desks next to each other separating them. Windows spanned over one entire
wall, starting at the foot of the bed to the left of the doorway and ending at
the built-in armoire, an identical setup to the one across from it.
Someone tapped on the door and we froze for a minute. I glanced at my
watch. “I think they said lights out at midnight; it’s only 11:15,” I said as
quietly as I could to Kat.
She shrugged, but opened the door.
A petite yet curvaceous wolf stood in the doorway with a smile so large it
looked like it hurt her face.
 “Do either of you have any extra hyssop? I can’t get rid of the smell of
sage from the last occupants.” The wolf beamed at us as her friendliness
and sweet sing-song voice filled our room.
I blinked, in awe of a wolf with this much spunk. Or happiness maybe?
Or was it just that Katryn and I had a grumbling, sheltered pack and this girl
was more the speed of a normal wolf.
After a second of our silence, she quirked an eyebrow and waved her
hand over her shoulder. “It’s okay, if not. I just don’t feel like asking the
other girls. Most of them are with the Thorne pack and they’re…” She
lowered her voice and wiggled her eyebrows. “Thorne wolves.”
She gave an exaggerated shudder and then froze, staring at us for what
seemed like an incredibly long second. “Wait, you’re not a Thorne, are
you?”
I shook my head. “No.”
Not yet.
Thorne…the powerful pack of my arranged. With a reputation not just
among Sloan, but everywhere, and not a good one it would seem.
The reality of what had happened at the club hadn’t yet crashed over me,
but it crawled toward the surface, wanting to come out.
The girl grinned even wider. She moved into the room with arms
outstretched. “Well, that makes us all best friends, then.” She winked.
At least until I’m mated, I thought. I didn’t miss Katryn’s stare at me
before she turned her attention back to the bubbly being who was now
taking in our room.
“As your new bestie, I think I should warn you. They do bedtime checks
here. This first lights out is going to be rough if we don’t figure this out.”
The girl who had still not introduced herself pointed around our room.
 “What do you mean?” Katryn spoke this time, assessing the wolf like I
was. I knew she’d be just as curious about the wolf who was friendlier than
anyone in our pack had ever been to us.
“I mean, the head pack mistress, who is also the resident advisor, comes
around to make sure our rooms are put together and we’re not slobs. One of
the things that keeps us separate from the other factions is our cleanliness.”
She glanced around our room again, as if for confirmation that she hadn’t
spoken out of turn. “You’re not even unpacked yet.”
I cleared my throat, glancing at Katryn. “And we’ve got less than an
hour.”
The last thing we wanted to do was stand out. It wasn’t enough that we
were the only wolves from the Sloane pack, or that we didn’t want to be
there, or that we were hybrids. All of which would be evident in no time.
Add the fact that I would be matched to a Thorne the next day, and the last
thing we wanted was more attention on us.
Too much attention meant we wouldn’t be left alone, which I was
banking on so that I could be ignored by curious eyes and ears when we
needed to stealthily get more information.
The wolf in our room hadn’t stopped smiling yet. “I didn’t catch your
name,” I said.
“I’m Taylor. Taylor Dryker. Since we’re going to be besties, you should
probably know that about me, huh?” Taylor peered at Katryn as she let out a
little giggle, looking between the two of us with her large brown eyes,
expectantly.
I blinked for a second. What did she want?
“Oh, right.” Katryn shook her head. “I’m Katryn and this is Morgan. Do
you…” She bit her lip. “Would you mind closing the door?” Katryn smiled
but her eyes had a wild wideness to them as she ran her gaze around our
definitely-not-ready room.
“Sure.” Taylor didn’t leave. Instead, she shut the door and turned back to
us, clasping her hands at her chest. “Let’s get this done. Get your bedding
on the mattresses. Don’t worry, they clean them. I think I had a human
staying in my room before me.” She shuddered in disgust. “Can you
imagine? Gross.” She motioned toward the beds and the closets. “Who is on
which side? Have you at least figured that part out?”
Friendly didn’t even begin to cover the level of Taylor. Katryn and I
exchanged another look and she gave me a shrug. Help was help, and if this
wolf was offering…
Katryn’s witch side thrived on nature. While our wolf sides loved being
outdoors and running, I figured that the window view would sooth her
more. I jumped into motion, ready to get this over with and done before
these checks. “I’ll take the right side. Kat, you good with the windows?”
She nodded, giving me a grateful smile.
Taylor moved between us, holding up her hands with a slight panic in her
gaze. “We need to move, ladies. Let’s get this done so they don’t make an
example of you.”
Obeying the command, I got to work and with Taylor’s help, Katryn and
I got our beds set up and our things unpacked and into the closets and
drawers in no time. It was scant, with little decor, but for the most part, our
room looked more like we could call it ours than it had before.
A knock at the door was the only warning we had before it swung open.
We really needed to lock that thing. I made a mental note.
“Move-in inspection, ladies. Sorry it’s late; you’re last on my list.” A
wolf slightly older than us stood at the door. She brushed her pen through a
white stripe that ran down her black-as-night hair as she glanced up from
the clipboard in her hands.
Her brow furrowed as she stared at the three of us in the room and
glanced back down to her clipboard. She arched an eyebrow and cocked a
hip to the side. “There’s only two of you booked into this room. Why do we
have three?”
“Sorry, Ms. Maple. I came to see if they have any hyssop.” Taylor smiled
sheepishly. “My room smells like someone saged it.” The wolf’s bubbly
attitude eased something in the RA who relaxed her shoulders.
“Ah, Dryker, I didn’t recognize you. Glad you’re in the Pack House this
year. Don’t worry about the sage.” Ms. Maple glanced around the room
expressionlessly before she checked something off her list. As she moved to
leave, quicker than I thought she would for an inspection, she looked to
Taylor. “I’ll have Issy grab some hyssop from the cleaning station and bring
it down to you.” She didn’t give us another thought.
Taylor moved across the room and closed the door, sighing. “I’ve been
nervous about seeing her again. You know, not wanting to be on the wrong
side of the RA. But that wasn’t that bad, actually. You passed.” She glanced
between me and Katryn, taking in our somber expressions. “Oh, sorry, do
you need me to leave? I know the lights out is any minute.”
Something about the way she asked us, or maybe the way she hung her
head slightly after looking at Kat and me, held appeal and for the first time
in longer than I could remember, I felt like someone wanted to like me for
me. She didn’t burst into our room asking about our family lineage, or what
pack we came from. She didn’t hound us on what our powers were, or when
we’d learned how to shift, or any of the obvious wolf stuff that most of our
kind seemed to jump right into so that they could assess the worth of being
friends.
Taylor was just naturally friendly and helpful.
I didn’t need to check with Katryn. She was never accepted either and
had faced the same questions and lack of respect I had. Besides, we could
use another friend, and one at the university might be exactly what we
needed to make the transition easier.
“Why would you leave? As our new bestie, you need to know what
you’re up against.” I grinned and moved to sit on my bed. Katryn flopped
onto hers as she patted the mattress beside her.
Taylor’s delight lit up her face and she moved to sit next to Katryn,
suddenly acting a little unsure. “Okay, so what has you both spooked? It’s
hard to miss. You’re a bit reserved. Or maybe it’s jumpy.”
The laugh that came out was real. If she only knew the night we had, and
what we were in for. Jumpy was probably exactly the right word.
I took a deep breath. “Okay, so…your comments about Thorne. You
might not want to be besties when I tell you this.” I tried to smile, but the
humor was sucked out from where it had been a moment ago.
Taylor frowned as she watched me.
“I’m arranged. A political agreement between our pack, Sloane, and
Thorne,” I said.
Katryn watched Taylor’s reaction, seeing her eyes widen. She looked to
my friend, then back to me. “They’re supposedly ruthless with their
matches. You…you have no choice?”
It wasn’t totally rare for political arrangements to be set up in wolf packs.
With not everyone finding their mate in life, there was no point in wasting
potential for securing the safety of others. Which is what I had done. The
hybrid who in no way could ever possibly belong to anyone, or so I
thought.
I looked down at my hands, the misery flowing back into me. For
walking away in the club, for agreeing to the arrangement…for so many
things.
“No choice,” I said, my voice breaking.
“What aren’t you saying?” Katryn jumped in, knowing me too well for
me to hide the rest.
I only wondered for a second if Taylor could be trusted. She was a rule
follower, and though she seemed eager, I had to be careful how much I
revealed as far as the details of being at Bites, sneaking out, and what I was.
When I looked up at Kat, her face was still, etched with worry.
“We ran into a group of wolves earlier on our way into school,” I said,
fumbling with my hands in my lap. “My mark—the alpha…” I stammered
before holding my breath and letting the rest pour out. “The alpha made my
mark burn. His touch solidified it, and I know that…that he’s my mate.”
Katryn gasped at the same time that Taylor did. They turned toward each
other, their expressions equally shocked.
“The blond wolf is your mate?” Katryn’s eyes welled with tears.
“Morgan, I’m so sorry.” And with those three little words, Katryn
confirmed that she understood why I felt a little shell-shocked.
“But wait, this is a good thing,” Taylor said. She touched Katryn’s
shoulder like she was confused at her reaction. “You found your mate, now.
I’m definitely jealous.”
But Taylor didn’t sound envious at all, not in the way some of the female
wolves got when someone had something they didn’t. She sounded like a
girl who was a romantic, a wolf looking for her own happy-ever-after. Some
wolves even believed that once you found your marked mate, that
happiness was all you would have.
I knew better. The Sloane pack had seen wars in our history over marks
and lineage that came from fated mates. It may be happiness for your soul,
but it would also mean struggle. Lots of it, before that happiness was
secure. Especially in the case of a wolf being arranged to someone else
promised by a pack.
The awareness I’d felt toward the leader tonight wasn’t something I had
the luxury of exploring. He might be who fate wanted for me, but my pack
wanted a Thorne. And the guy who had made my mark tingle that night
most definitely wasn’t just a pack member. He was an alpha.
It was the only thing making me question everything even more. I wasn’t
ranked high enough for an alpha, even though all of my strengths and
powers had yet to be explored. There was no way an alpha as confident as
the blonde at Bites would be fated to me. Was there?
Taylor’s eyes still danced. “Come on, we can celebrate. You can just go
to your alpha and…”
Katryn sighed and shifted her sad gaze from me to our new friend. “The
matching is tomorrow. And you don’t know our alpha. Or us well enough to
know that there’s no getting out of this one.” Katryn turned back to face me,
sorrow evident in her bright eyes.
Taylor slapped a hand over her mouth, staring at me with even more
sadness in her eyes than Katryn did. “No, that can’t be right. They can’t do
that to you, or the other wolf. He has a claim to you just like you do to him.
Just tell them you found your mark.”
I shook my head. “They won’t care. That’s not what this matching is
about.”
 “A Thorne, no less.” Taylor shook her head. “They’re arrogant and cruel.
I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. And that’s before I knew that the match
meant you’re without your mate now.”
I tried to give her a reassuring look, like I’d be okay, even though the pit
of anxiety welling in my stomach was growing. I’d heard the whispers in
my pack about the rumored cruelty of the Thorne pack, but no one would
answer my pointed questions. Which shouldn’t have been too surprising.
No one ever spoke outright to me. No one ever did anything that would
support me or help me unless they were forced to by my grandparents.
They’d loved my mother, but barely tolerated me.
Probably because I was only half her. But still half him. Half of our
enemy.
Suddenly, I needed to lie down. I wanted to be alone, but I knew my wolf
needed to run, feel just for a moment like freedom was attainable, even if it
was just a trick in the night.
“I’m tired,” I said, swallowing hard. “I’m thinking about a run early,
though. Do they let us?” I looked to Taylor, who seemed to have the rule
book of this place down already.
She nodded, enthusiastically. “They’ll let us. We just have to check in
when we leave and when we get back.” Taylor stood. “There’s a sheet on
the RA’s door for signing in and out, we won’t even need to wake anyone.”
“Great,” Katryn said, throwing herself back on her bed. “I love running.”
The one thing that was vastly different between the two of us. Kat never
needed her wolf to run, not like most of us. But she went anyway, keeping
up that part of the appearance to fit in.
“I’ll see you gals tomorrow.” Taylor skipped, actually skipped out of the
room.
 “She’s something,” Katryn laughed.
I wondered what it would be like to be that happy. To feel that free.
I laid down in my own bed staring up at the ceiling. “I’m glad you’re
with me, Kat.”
“I’m so sorry about your mate. I…”
The silence overtook the room. She didn’t know what to say. Neither did
I. How wonderful it would have been being in the same pack with her, but I
couldn’t afford to allow the what-ifs to consume me. I had to ignore the
possibilities that being with a marked mate would give me.
I was arranged to a Thorne. Our packs would be united through me. No
marking would guarantee that kind of benefit or give my grandparents their
standing back in our pack. They’d been all but outcasts since taking me in.
Things would look different in the morning. They had to. My wolf
needed a way to get out and clear her head. I had to make her understand
that we weren’t going to accept our mate.
She needed to run, to taste the wind, to fly until we could get the craving
of our mate from our system. Because there was no other option. And this
arrangement needed to get done and over with so I could be ignored.
Spoken for and left to roam so that I could move onto something else I had
to know.
Finding out more about my father, and how the heck I was going to keep
being a dragon a secret once I joined the Thorne pack.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 4

MY MATCHING PARTY WAS today.

My first day of class was today.
And there was nothing I could do to stop either. Even if I did just want to
hide from everything.
For the first time in a long time, my dragon was silent as I ran this
morning after giving my wolf control.
Maybe my wolf’s pain was so great that she overpowered my dragon.
Either way, my mate was not a dragon. So, it was good that now she
seemed to be at bay. Maybe that could stay that way and keep me, and my
pack safe from the lie they were telling, or omitting, from the Thornes.
“We’re going to be late if we don’t hurry,” Katryn said as both girls
flanked me on either side, moving across campus.
I scoffed. “You had to curl every strand of hair on that head while Taylor
and I sat and waited. And waited. And waited,” I grumbled.
Taylor smiled at me. Neither girl commented on my less than stellar
attitude, and I was grateful.
 We crossed campus, being sure to keep to the mammal shifter side of the
quad. A large spire statue stood sentinel in the center of the circular campus
grounds, reaching toward the skies like a needle standing on the eye.
Two cobblestone pathways swirled from the spire outward, intertwined
until the last moment when they split toward each side of campus. The U
was for all, but realized some wounds still ran too deep for full integration.
The dragon side of campus used to be much larger, but apparently had
been split when their attendance had dropped years before. Now, instead of
witches having the run of the campus, they had their own section as well.
Rumor was that it seemed to keep them happy, or at least that’s what we’d
been told by Taylor on our run. She had her fingers in all the gossip because
her cousin had gone to the University the last few years and given her all
the good intel.
Having her as a friend might not be a bad thing at all. And not just
because she was easy to talk to. She had a pep in her step even now as she
walked next to me, her short plaid skirt showing her curves more than I
would ever have the nerve to.
I glanced at my own more reserved outfit, and over to Katryn. She too,
flaunted every curve she had in the best way. I stood straighter, wanting to
feel like a different wolf for once. If I could just find information on my
dragon side, I knew that I could finally figure out who I really was. And
maybe then I’d have that confidence everyone else seemed to glow with.
The sun rose gently in the sky from the east, casting a soft rosy hue over
everything it touched, leaving the shadows alone for now.
We crossed to the Hughget Auditorium, smack in the center of the
midline for the campus divide.
 I glanced at Taylor and Katryn as we entered through one set of doors
and noticed three females who could only be dragons entering from their
side. Was having us in the same building really the smartest thing?
Inside the auditorium lobby, a row of bulky bear shifters stood in a line,
dividing the two sides. Only females wandered on the dragon side and not
very many at that, while on our side, more males than females stood
around, eyeing the opposite end of the auditorium. A soft hum rose from the
wolves and after a minute I realized the hum wasn’t humming, it was a low
growl set in the backs of their throats.
The hate was ingrained in all of us. There probably wasn’t a wolf alive
who didn’t have some story of a family member, or pack member who’d
been kidnapped by dragons, never to return or be seen again.
Except for my mother.
“I’m shocked they aren’t attacking,” I murmured to the girls with me.
With the wolves being predominantly male and definitely out for blood,
the fact that they weren’t killing anyone was something to wonder about.
Taylor answered me after we took our seats halfway from the stage on
the far side in a section we could easily escape if we needed to. “Well,
everything is muted here, isn’t it. The witch magic is diluting our angst for
each other. Not completely ridding us of it, but muting it enough that we
can at least coexist without hurting anyone.” Taylor shrugged and avoided
looking at the other side of the large room.
Katryn stilled next to me though. Her own eyes had narrowed, and her lip
quivered at the edge as if she too were growling.
I snapped my fingers in front of her face. “Katryn, snap out of it. There’s
nothing you can do to them here.”
She blinked but didn’t avert her stare as she settled into her seat.
 The tension in the room didn’t seem to affect me like everyone else. I
couldn’t be bothered less by it. The only thing that bothered me was the fact
that all the dragons in sight were too young to remember my father or my
mother, if they’d even come from the same areas she’d been taken to.
Not that I knew how I’d ask about that if I thought they might remember
something. What was I supposed to say, ‘Hey, did you know my mom? She
would have been one of your prisoners.’
That sounded even dumber in my head than having nothing planned at
all.
More and more students piled into the building, taking up seats and
filling them in as far away from each other as possible until they had no
other recourse than to fill up seats that were close to the center aisle that
split the auditorium.
How had no one noticed my dragon side? Did my wolf help mask it?
Because without witch magic to dull the senses here at the U, I wondered if
I’d be able to keep my secret for much longer. A fear that increased,
knowing I’d soon be the property of a ruthless pack.
The growing tension shifted, almost instantly. The sagging shoulders all
around me were calm, breathing settling and growls stopping altogether.
Four adults dressed in suits walked up the center aisle toward the stage,
climbing the five steps to get onto the platform and claim the chairs set up
for them behind a podium. They’d be our professors, no doubt.
A gray-haired man approached the microphone, his smile warm even if
his eyes were stern. When he spoke, his baritone matched what would be
expected of his massive size. “Welcome. I’m Headmaster Chatterly. I’m
from the Bears over in the Appalachian Mountains.” He grinned and held
up his hands at the murmur. “I know. Bears haven’t been around there for a
long time. I’m the last of the clan, and since I’m here and not there, I guess
that makes them nonexistent there.” He chuckled. “But where we come
from is more important than we often give credit. It’s important that you
understand the history of the University so you can better come to terms
with why you’re expected to coexist with each other. Learn to work
together.”
He eyed us, his smile suddenly gone.
“More than a thousand years ago, humans obtained some dangerous
magic. They inadvertently created creatures that most of you know, though
no one is allowed to interact with them. These creatures showed their true
colors immediately, demonstrating an evil and an unquenchable desire to
wipe out all of humanity, if given the chance.”
Vampires. We all knew the legend of their creation, and the warnings that
came along with it. The surprise in hearing about vampires, though, on the
first day of school while we sat across each other like mortal enemies, was
strange. And not just to me. A slight murmur had started up through the
crowd.
Headmaster Chatterly continued. “For a short time, a brief moment, we
didn’t have problems with the vampires. No supernatural did. But one day,
a newly minted vampire went to a group of dragons, hoping for help, for
more magic and power. When he was turned away because of the
unnaturalness of his existence, the vampire returned to the nearest village
and stirred up a mob to fight the dragons. Humans, so easily manipulated by
a vampire's powers, followed on command to the peaceful dragon village
and killed everyone they could get their hands on.”
He sniffed as if moved emotionally by the story. “The vampire had timed
things perfectly, interspersing some of his own kind throughout the humans
to make kills easier. The dragon men weren’t with their pack that day.
They’d gone out for a hunting trip and when they returned, they found all of
the women, elderly, and children…dead.”
He paused, studying us in the sudden silence. The dragon females sitting
in the audience didn’t look away as they watched him, entranced by his
story. Even the wolves seemed curious. I’d never heard this story before.
This history.
“A lone human had fallen during the attack, tripped up by a young
dragon who was trying to escape. The young man hid, lying in the blood of
his victims. When the male dragons returned they found him, questioning
him as he cried in fear. But while they questioned him, the man lied. While
we don’t know if it was from manipulation by the vampire, or through his
own fear for his family, but he reported to the dragons that the killers that
day were a pack of wolves, hellbent on destroying everything draconian in
their path.”
He nodded, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them again and
scanning the crowd. “The truth of the matter is that without that lie, the
dragon pack would have quickly discovered who had really been to blame
for the deaths of their loved ones. Which means dragons and wolves would
never have become mortal enemies. But the dragons in their clan rushed to
the nearest wolf village and took everyone they could round up, enslaving
them, demanding more than a swift death of the creatures who had killed
children. A rivalry unmatched by any other all started because of the actions
of a modified killer human with nothing but greed and bitterness in his
heart.”
He paused again. “Why do I tell you this? Do you believe me? I don’t
know if you do, but we must come together and learn to coexist, because
we should not be enemies. As we fight, vampires grow in strength, and it’s
our duty to protect humans from these man-made monsters. All while not
killing each other in the process.”
A hand shot up on the far side of the dragon group. The headmaster
nodded in their direction. “Go ahead.”
“Why don’t we just let humans destroy themselves? Why do we have to
protect them at all?” The girl’s voice asked what all of us wondered. Who
cared about the humans? Why not just let the vampires have them? They’d
created their own demise by making the creatures, let them have it.
A woman on the stage stood up, her hands folded at chest level as she
approached the podium, her gray hair pulled sharply back into a bun at the
top of her head. She wore a dark green shawl with a clamshell pattern, and
her heels clicked as she walked.
The headmaster moved out of her way immediately, as if full of
reverence to who she was. He slightly inclined his head and smiled, as
though grateful for her.
I expected a frail small voice when she spoke, but what came out of the
woman belied all my expectations. The power and strength weren’t to be
questioned. Dragon. She was a dragon, and yet the wolves all still listened
to her, attentive.
“We protect the humans, because as long as there are humans in the
world, we can continue to shift into our human forms. When the last human
is gone, we will be permanently shifted into our animal forms and soon
forget what it’s like to have human halves at all. We protect humans
because they’re a part of us. They may be our weaker selves, but it’s our
responsibility to keep them safe.”
 She glanced around the dragons and then slowly cast her gaze around the
wolves, skimming past me along with everyone else, until she suddenly
returned to look at me. She stared, though she continued speaking. “We
have to figure out who we are and what we really want before we can be
trusted to go out into this world and to lead. Which is what we’re training
you all to do here at the University.”
Her eyes flashed with a neon green flame, and I could feel something
answering inside me. But no one else reacted. How had this been kept
quiet? Why was it not talked about or taught?
Not that we were taught much in the packs beyond the basics of survival.
Did our leaders know what ‘The U’ wanted to do overall? What their goal
was?
I clutched my fingers into fists, my nails biting into the soft flesh of my
palms. I wanted to run to the stadium and swear my fealty to this woman
with the flashing green eyes as she spoke. What was going on?
“Thank you, Professor McCradey,” Headmaster Chatterly said before he
took to the podium again.
The rest of the presentations passed in a blur. But I was distracted now.
Something inside me awoke and a whisper of confidence grew. I knew,
deep in my gut, that if any dragon knew the answers I was looking for
regarding my father and mother, that woman would know.
As we ducked out of the auditorium ahead of the rest of the group I
whispered, “What’d you guys think?” I really wanted to ask what they’d
thought of the dragon professor, but I didn’t want to bring more attention to
that side of me than I needed to.
Taylor turned and came to a stop. Katryn and I followed suit, gathering
into a lopsided circle near the spire that split the campus. “I don’t know
about you guys, but I needed to get out of there. I wanted nothing more than
to chase down the nearest dragon and cut off her head.”
Katryn laughed and I tried to copy, not at all having felt the emotions the
others had.
While Katryn had reacted to the dragons being in the auditorium, I’d seen
enough of her to know that her witch side allowed peace to radiate through
her more than rage. But Taylor was obviously full-blooded. Her fear of the
dragons would only fuel the rage the packs instilled in us.
What happened if she found out I was part dragon? Would she want to
kill me too?
Her utter conviction meant she wouldn’t understand that Katryn and I
lacked that same intensity. That we were hybrids. One more thing we had to
protect ourselves from. At least until we knew her better.
“Hey, Curls.”
That voice. Goosebumps covered my arms as my mark tingled. Not
burned, tingled. Like it had taken the branding and was now ready for
excitement. From now until eternity, I would recognize that voice
anywhere.
Katryn’s eyes widened as she glanced past me and then back to my face.
Without moving her lips she whispered. “It’s him.”
Taylor didn’t need any more information as a grin spread over her face.
She moved to stand beside me, her own lips barely parted as she whispered,
“They are yummy.”
I slowly turned, not sure if I was ready to see him. Seeing him and
speaking to him would make this harder, but the pull to be near him raged
inside of me.
 Turning, I folded my arms and lifted my chin. “Curls?” Indifference,
annoyance, maybe a hint of anger? Those emotions could radiate outward
and help me push what I really felt down. I hoped.
My mate was closer than I expected him to be and as he leaned in further,
I could feel the heat coming off his body. Stupid wolves are like furnaces.
He reached out, tugging on one of the long, dark brown curls I hadn’t had
the heart to pull back that morning. His smile was slow and gut-wrenching.
“You haven’t told me your name.”
“I don’t see why you need it.” I cocked my hip out and narrowed my
eyes. Yes, I screamed. This was working.
He stepped into where he’d been leaning. Too close.
“I’m not yours,” I said. My stupid heartbeat was speeding up, and it was
the fight of my life to keep my breathing even.
His eyes devoured me with a hunger I could feel in my own skin. “You’re
mine. Even if you don’t know it, you’re mine. I need to take care of some
things, but as soon as I do, I’m coming to claim you.”
But he didn’t get it. I wasn’t his. I would never be his. And I shouldn’t
be! I wasn’t meant for anything more than a standard pack member. Even a
beta was too high in rank for me to be matched to.
Bringing his fingers to my chin, he lowered his voice. “You are mine.
And I’m yours.” He narrowed his annoyingly gorgeous hazel eyes that I
couldn’t look away from. “I’ll take care of everything.”
I folded my arms and clenched my jaw. Anger, Morgan. Pull it up. “You
don’t even know me.”
“Good thing there’s time to get to know you. Every detail.” His eyes
flashed and my insides shook.
 I glanced to the side, trying to think of some way to get him to leave me
alone. Wasn’t it enough that I’d already declared—multiple times, by the
way—that I was arranged to someone else? Wasn’t it enough that I couldn’t
be with him?
You’d think it would be, but nope. This guy was persistent. Just like any
cocky, arrogant alpha wolf.
While I contemplated my options and we stood in awkward silence, I
caught a glimpse of the elderly dragon professor making her away across
campus.
“Believe me that I can fix this for us.” He reached out and tucked a
strand of my hair behind my shoulder, a glimmer of tenderness in his gaze
as he looked at me. “Consider it?”
The discomfort in his eyes at asking me to consider his offer proved he’d
probably never had to ask a female for anything. Ever.
I glared up at him. “There’s nothing to fix, Blondie.”
A look flashed in his eyes, like shock. And a side of hurt. Maybe he’d
think he misinterpreted the mark? Something. Anything.
Wolves didn’t tolerate adultery. Not on any level. Once I was mated to
my arranged, my marked mate wouldn’t matter, at least in the eyes of the
packs.
“At least let’s talk. I’ll meet you tonight. Anywhere you’d like” He
reached out, grabbing my hands as the tough alpha facade faded.
His beta wasn’t paying attention, and since that was the only other wolf
with him, perhaps that’s why he’d let his guard down and stooped to
practically begging me.
Katryn held the other wolf’s eyes. Just staring at each other. Did he know
like she did? He’d have to if I was dealing with my current situation.
 The professor had paused, and I knew I needed to get away. “Tomorrow,”
I said. “Maybe.” I knew full well that by then there’d be nothing he could
do. I’d have been announced already, publicly, as a Thorne member’s mate.
I turned from the group, uncaring that I was walking away from my
fated. I wasn’t interested in that kind of pain. But luckily, I could refocus on
my main goal in being here. Not finding a mate, but finding a dragon.
He didn’t come after me as I moved, and for a second I wasn’t sure if I
was grateful for that or heartbroken.
Katryn and Taylor fell into step beside me, glancing every couple
seconds my way in question. I stopped my long strides and studied each of
them before speaking. “I need a few minutes. Can I just meet you guys back
at the dorms?”
They nodded, confusion in their eyes. “Yeah, that works.” Katryn looked
at me from over her shoulder as she and Taylor retreated back toward the
Pack House.
I spun around and walked faster toward the dragon professor, who
thankfully wasn’t moving quickly. She crossed over the line into the dragon
sector and I went to reach my arm out, wanting to call to her, but not
knowing her name. “Excuse—”
The shadow of a man came in front of me, cutting off my call to the
professor.
“You lost, little girl?”
“You!” The anger hadn’t left me yet, and the semi-stranger before me had
just halted my pursuit of answers. He’d been at the bar the night before. The
man I’d plowed into in the parking lot. Another voice I knew, recognized.
Like whiskey poured over jagged ice. Smooth and edgy. For heaven’s
sake, what was my life?
 “Me.” His gaze traveled from my head to my toes and back up. “What’s a
little wolf like you doing on the scaly side of campus?”
He didn’t break our stare as he inched closer. “Things could be dangerous
for you, on this side.”
My mark stung. Not burning like last night with my mate. Not tingling
like moments ago. But a stinging sensation, like claws scraping through it.
My breathing picked up and I stepped back from him. I didn’t want to
show weakness, and it wasn’t that he made me cower. But, something…
“Zeke.” He pushed his hand out between us, a smirk brimming as he
continued to stare through his deep blue eyes.
I swallowed and glanced at his hand, my eyebrows drawn. “Um, Zeke?”
He laughed, breaking the creepy and accusatory thing he was trying to
have going for him a second ago. “I’m Zeke. What’s your name?”
I sighed in relief even as tension stormed inside of me. “Morgan. I just
need to talk to that professor, though. If you’ll excuse me.”
“How did you cross the line?” Something heated in his gaze made the
fact that he stopped me again less irritating.
“The line?”
He nodded behind me, and I looked in that direction.
A crack I hadn’t noticed before split the cobblestone walkways in half,
stopping on either side of the spire as it continued on through campus.
Turning back to Zeke, I shrugged. “I just stepped over it. It’s a crack in
the ground, not a wall.”
He shook his head. “No. That’s just it. It’s spelled. You can only step
onto this side of campus if you’re dragon, and only onto that side if you’re
wolf. On the north side, we can walk to the center square and the common
areas of campus, but this southern section has defined lines.”
 He tilted his head and dropped his gaze to the ground, folding his arms.
I could see all of him now, not like in the dark parking lot. Tribal-looking
tattoos and flames were inked up both sides of his arms. The muscles
pulsed every time he moved even slightly. The way his black hair fell in a
shaggy way took away the rough edge he projected. But only slightly. And
those dang eyes stood out even more than they normally would have, with
the black hair.
“Well, the spell must be acting up then,” I said, snapping out of my
staring. The way he watched me was as if he knew I had been taking him
in. I kept going. “Otherwise, like you said, how did I cross the line?”
Catching up to the professor was probably not happening now. And if he
thought I was a wolf and couldn’t sense my dragon, anyone else on this side
would too. So staying here seemed smarter. If I could get some information
from Zeke though, I’d take it.
He stepped back, giving me some breathing room as he studied me some
more. “It’s witch magic, so it can’t be altered. And they’re smarter than to
mess with the line between our sides. So unless you are part witch and
somehow outdid some of the most powerful spellcasters the school knows,
which I’m having a hard time believing, it’s something else about you.”
I bristled, trying to hide the anxiety that grew. Zeke circled me. “The
only way you’re here is if you’re not just a wolf, but also a dragon,” he
whispered in my ear as he came back to the front of me.
My side ached, heating.
“Is that right, little wolf? Are you part dragon?”
Claws from inside me came forth. A stirring inside of me. Why had my
dragon chosen now to emerge, to abandon her normally passive demeanor
and to grab hold of me? She’d never done this before, why now?
 Panic swelled as my dragon took over from my lazy wolf who wasn’t
bothering to fight back at all. I didn’t want anyone else to know. No one but
Katryn. It wasn’t safe to be a half mortal enemy in a world where either side
would as soon kill you as look at you, once it was discovered.
Zeke stepped closer, his eyes a darker midnight blue as he kept his voice
low. “I can sense it. But, you need to use your words, little wolf. I’m not a
mind reader.”
I took a deep breath, completely appalled that I couldn’t stop myself from
doing what he said. I bit my tongue until I felt blood trying to prevent my
secret from coming out. But something inside of me was stronger and
wanted to be acknowledged.
“Yes, I’m part dragon.” I shook my head, tears brimming in my eyes; I
couldn’t stop doing what he wanted. I’d never had such a strong reaction
before. Was there a possibility he was an alpha or something? I wanted to
obey him, or my dragon did, and I was just along for the ride. “I’m looking
for my father.”
Zeke reached up, wiping a tear from my eye and, instead of backing
away and feeling hatred at such an intimate touch, I relaxed. He nodded,
gently taking his hand away as he whispered. “I’ll help you.”
And at that moment, I believed him. This total stranger.
“Morgan!” Katryn’s voice called out sharply to me from the wolf side of
the line. Her eyes were wide, filled with terror as she realized she couldn’t
step over the spot where she stood. Right on the line.
I jerked sharply to the side, looking over my shoulder to see her. She’d
come back for me. Relief flooded me. Could she break whatever Zeke had
done to take control of me?
 “Let me go,” I said, turning back to face Zeke, only to find he’d
disappeared.
Gone.
There went another person I needed to add to my list of who to avoid.
There was nothing good that would come from being around a male I
couldn’t deny.
Nothing good at all.
Grateful to be free from his hypnotic hold, I crossed the line back to
Katryn, not knowing if she sensed the magic there or not.
“Sorry, I was trying to grab that dragon professor so I could talk to her.”
“I figured it was something like that, but you’ve got to be careful.
Especially talking to dragons so calmly in the open.” She sighed, looping
her arm through my own as we made our way back to the pack house.
“Are we going to tell Taylor about our situations?”
I shrugged. “Probably sooner than later. I really like her. If she decides
not to like us after she finds out, then it would be better to do it before we
get too attached. But, we also can’t risk her spilling our secrets until we’re
ready.”
“This sucks,” she grumbled. “What’s with the guy you were talking to?”
I looked behind me as if to check to see if he’d reappeared, but he hadn’t.
Not that I could see.
“Oh, um, just someone helping me with directions.”
When it slipped out, I didn’t regret it, but a twinge of guilt still filled me.
Why had I lied? Something about Zeke made me want to keep him a secret
and all to myself.
I’m not sure what that was all about, but I’d have to learn to quash the
dragon tendencies. I hadn’t realized my dragon side could keep my wolf at
bay until just now.
My dragon side and my wolf side were going to have a rude awakening
when neither of them got their way. Whoever Zeke was, my dragon trusted
him, and my mark had something to say about it.
“We need to get ready for the matching.” Katryn looked at me with
something like pity as she tugged my arm.
There was nothing to do but move forward. One step at a time. And face
my real destiny. Not a fairytale one. “Yep, let’s get that over with.”
The sooner I was arranged to another man, the sooner I could get both of
these new men out of my system.
At least I hoped.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 5

“AGH!”
I bent forward, almost slamming my head into the granite bathroom
countertop. A pain I’d never experienced before threatened to bring me to
my knees out of nowhere.
I pressed my fingers to my side where my mark was, feeling like a knife
had sliced into it.
What was going on with this damn thing lately? I gripped the counter,
hanging on as another twinge ripped through me and suddenly, I stumbled
while a loud crack echoed in the small bathroom.
I stared at the now broken edge of the countertop lying on the floor.
What the hell?
I wasn’t powerful enough to do that, at least not without a very focused
concentration, and probably not even then. I wasn’t strong like the others.
The fire in my side died down, calming as if causing destruction was all I
needed to do in order to dull the pain.
Standing up halfway, like I wasn’t sure if it was a trick and I’d be in pain
again in a second, I paused, catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror.
Despite my flushed cheeks, nothing else seemed out of place. Rising to
stand to my full height, I smoothed out the front of the tight red dress I’d
donned.
Wolves in their full power were sexy, dominant beings, just like the
blonde alpha and his friends had been at the club that night while they
prowled toward us.
My finger twisted in my brown hair as I stared at myself in the bathroom
mirror.
Curls.
The blonde alpha’s voice resonated so deep in my gut that even thinking
of his cocky, arrogant smirk as he said a ridiculous nickname, had my mark
tingling instead of making me gag like it should have.
Cocky and arrogant weren’t my type. Every wolf was that way when you
were a hybrid freak. An outcast. And the last thing I needed was to be fated
to an alpha that was no doubt the cockiest of all.
“You ready?” Katryn’s voice wavered slightly as she asked.
She leaned against the bathroom door while I put the finishing touches to
my hair. She didn’t make a comment about the broken countertop. Either
she’d heard it happen or seen it happen, and knew right now wasn’t going
to be the time to discuss anything.
No, right now was the time to pretend I was fine, that we were fine. That
I’d be okay arranged to someone who wasn’t my mate. All while I had to
battle with the thought that my wolf and dragon may each have a mate out
there. Going from zero prospects to two prospects was a bit much for a girl
to take on a regular day, let alone on the evening of her engagement party.
I gave her the best smile I could muster and shrugged. “Ready as I’ll ever
be.” I turned to face her, this time not needing to force the grin on my face.
“Dang girl, you clean up nice.”
A flicker of light shone in Katryn’s eyes and she beamed at the
compliment. “This old thing?” She flicked her hair over her shoulder and
twirled.
The short sundress accented her curves, and she’d pulled her hair back.
She looked beautiful, yet somehow still ready for a fight. Which made
sense since we were about to head into an unknown situation.
Well, maybe that was dramatic. It was my own engagement party after
all. But a gathering of Sloan and Thorne wolves in one place, for an
arranged marriage? One never knows what can happen.
Though I doubted anyone from Sloan would cause a fuss. I wasn’t worth
it to them. Certainly not worth losing such a powerful political alliance
over.
I glanced at myself in the mirror one more time before inhaling slowly.
The pain in my side had diminished to a throb as I forced thoughts of it
aside. Instead, I worked on stilling everything around me, quieting the
thoughts swirling around inside of my busy mind.
If only I had someone to talk to, someone to confide in that could explain
how hybrids worked, or even just dragons.
“Will you be okay?” Katryn’s quiet voice was unusual.
Clenching my jaw, I faced her. “I’m fine, Kat—” I stopped short, because
when I met her stare shifting between the countertop and myself, I knew her
question was out of concern, and the last thing she was trying to do was
upset me.
Wolves rarely showed emotions outside of their mates. Loyalty we had in
droves simply because without your pack you were nothing. But fear for
each other? Friendship? They were rarer because most displays of emotion
inside a pack were seen as challenges more than compassion.
Seeing Katryn’s face initially triggered that defensive mechanism, but the
friendship we’d built being outsiders, that was rare. Rarer maybe than a
half-dragon, half-wolf shifter. And suddenly the fact that she cared gave me
the courage I needed to get out the door of our shared room.
“Even if I’m not okay, when have I ever let that get the best of me?” If I
had to pretend I was braver than I was, so be it. I was doing this for my
pack, which included Katryn. This alliance would pair Sloan with one of
the most powerful packs in our region.
But did they deserve it after barely treating me as acceptable all these
years?
“Do you have the directions?” I asked, holding my chin higher than I had
a moment ago.
Katryn was tapping away at her phone. “We don’t need them,” she said.
“A car is waiting for us downstairs, apparently.”
My brow furrowed at that new information, but I kept walking, keeping
in step behind Katryn as we closed our door and made our way to the front
of the school.
The University’s wrought iron gates were almost laughable.
Supernaturals in a school together behind black iron gates, complete with
an age-old crest that was meant to be a symbol of unification worked into
the center. Add in the jet-black car with tinted windows waiting for us by
the gates? It was like all we needed was a crash of lightning tearing through
the sky above to make this a scene from some cheesy horror flick.
My stomach churned as Katryn opened the door to the secretive vehicle
and poked her head in. “Randall,” she nodded, as a flicker of recognition
flashed over her face.
I didn’t know if that was necessarily comforting, being driven by
someone we knew. Apparently, the younger wolf in Sloan pack was given
the job of playing chauffeur. Given the way he eyed us as we climbed in, I
could tell he was not happy escorting the hybrid freak to her pack-appointed
destiny.
“I wonder why all the secrecy,” Katryn muttered as she buckled her
seatbelt next to me.
“Isn’t it obvious?” I said, watching the university disappear out the
window as Randall drove, not bothering to say a word to us. “They aren’t
going to announce this engagement and mating like it’s a grand prize. I’m a
hybrid. We’ll be lucky if they don’t sense my other half and call the whole
thing off before it’s finalized.”
At that Randall’s ears perked. “You’ll keep quiet about that. Here,” he
tossed a heinous-looking all-black dress back at us. “Your betrothed
requested this. We’ll be at the restaurant in ten minutes.”
Katryn’s horrified look, followed by the curling of her lip in disgust
spoke for both of us, but I kept my mouth shut. Black was fitting since it
felt like I was being driven to my funeral.
Especially now that I knew I had a mate or two out there. I looked out the
window one more time, letting my mental shields down enough to feel that
my mark was still acting up. It knew something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Pushing down the foreboding mark twinges once more, I shimmied out
of the outfit that I’d picked for myself, and instead slid on the disgustingly
slinky number.
 Fear flooded me. “I look ridiculous. How is this going to represent the
pack well?” The dress was form-fitting, hugging every curve like a glove.
The top revealed more of my breasts than anyone should be comfortable
with. “Showing up looking like a whore and being a surprise hybrid sure
seems like a recipe for danger,” I muttered.
Randall snorted from the front seat of the car. “You’re not mating high
enough to warrant an attack. Besides, your mother’s name was what got you
in the door. They didn’t ask about your other,” he paused before his snarl
sounded, “filthier genetics.”
My warrior-wolf mother was a sort of minor legend among packs within
any reasonable distance of our own. The wolf who survived capture and
torture, only to return to her people, was what many used to give hope when
dragons interfered with their packs and took any of their members.
But the legend, if that’s what it could be called, never mentioned her
being pregnant. Especially by a dragon.
“Well thank you, Randall, for that kind reassurance.” I sneered his name,
but that was about as far as I was willing to push it. He already looked on
edge, and I didn’t need any more drama. Besides, the Sloan pack wouldn’t
be my pack anymore after tonight.
Swallowing the lump forming in my throat I looked at Kat. “Can you
see?”
I didn’t know what the back of the dress looked like and all of my fear
came from whether my scar would be seen.
My scar. The ugly thing that was yet another part of me I knew nothing
about. The long, lightning shaped scar down my back made some outfits
harder than others, and certainly made me more self-conscious when
choosing dresses, or any other clothes that might show my back off.
 “The back is covered. But that scar is a part of you Morgan. It’s badass,”
Kat said, squeezing my shoulder.
“No,” I grimaced. “It’s another reminder of how I don’t fit in.”
I stopped talking then, instead deciding to stare out the window. Traffic
was light as we breezed through the city toward the restaurant and as we
slowed, I knew that time had run out.
But I was doing this for them. The pack that barely accepted me, but at
least hadn’t kicked me out. Had let me live with them. Among them.
Staring down at the black dress, I closed my eyes, summoning the
strength to walk into the meeting place with my head held high, no matter
how undignified I looked.
We got out of the car, Katryn and me side by side as we moved toward
the front doors. Randall pushed them open and we were immediately
greeted by Bane, the shithead son of Sloan pack’s beta.
“Your drool will ruin your suit if you don’t shut your mouth,” Katryn’s
sharp tongue took Bane by surprise.
He narrowed his eyes. “You’re all alone after tonight, Kit-Kat, so I’d
watch what I say.”
Her body froze, but only momentarily. A new sense of dread rushed
through me. Katryn would have me at school, and from there we’d find a
way to get her away from the others if their torment grew too much.
Hopefully, they’d leave her alone after I did this. After I made this sacrifice
for everyone.
Bane grabbed me roughly by the elbow and led me to a side room. The
restaurant was neutral territory, and it was crowded. Wolves from both sides
filled the room, even though a divide was clear. Only a small group
gathered in the middle, which was simply the alphas and their betas, and a
few other trusted members. No one else mingled.
Bane jerked me toward a back corner and finally released my arm.
“You’ll be called to the stage in a minute by one of their senior leaders.
Katryn will be allowed to escort you and you’ll take your place to wait for
the Thorne wolf. Then you’ll be their problem.” A sinister smile grew on
Bane’s face as he gave me a once over again.
Thorne wolves were notorious for ruthlessly taking their mates, chosen or
forced. It was probably why I was dressed the way that I was.
“They can’t force the marking,” I said, watching Bane slip away from us
and into the restaurant. When he opened the door the tension spilled over
from inside and a chill went through my body.
“No, but once you mate, it will be as if you are marked,” Katryn
whispered.
And he’ll have whatever power I have, leaving me nothing. A powerless
hybrid.
“By signed agreement,” the Sloan alpha’s voice reverberated in my gut. I
might not be fully a member of Sloan, with half dragon blood, but his
power was still strong within me. “Morgan Sloan is called forward for
presentation.”
Katryn squeezed my arm as she stood behind me. I blinked at the door
Bane held open. The path before me looked longer to walk than I would be
able to manage. The stage, only slightly elevated in the crowded restaurant,
was too far.
A gentle push from Katryn let me know I was stalling too long.
Fear churned inside of me and I hated it. Loathed it. But what did I
expect? I was selling my future for the future of my pack. Using my body to
ensure their peace.
Should I have fought this? The overwhelming sense that I somehow
owed Sloan pack for not killing me off when they knew what I was had
brought on the guilt that led me to do this, but was it worth it?
Being bound to another soul, especially when they weren’t my mate?
I took the stairs at the base of the stage and faced the crowd.
My pulse thrummed inside of me, loud enough that all of the wolves
probably heard it, or sensed my fear. Embarrassment now added to the
weight of the guilt building.
But I waited.
Standing as tall as I could, I waited. My breath hitched as the Thorne
member eyed me warily before turning to the opposite corner I’d come
from. I couldn’t see the wolf yet; no one had made a move.
“By signed agreement, The Thorne pack presents our pack member for
this mating.”
The room silenced and I waited for the wolf that would be my forced
mate to show himself.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 6

MY MARK WAS SILENT as I waited..

The stage wasn’t that high, but it was elevated enough that I was the
main attraction. All eyes were on me.
My breathing stuttered as it echoed loudly in my ears.
The Sloan alpha’s grimacing face told me no one from the pack was
comfortable. And why would they be? They hadn’t told Thorne what I
really was.
The tension was palpable, and I wondered if the Thorne pack sensed
anything amiss. The longer we were all in this room, the more at risk we all
were of someone sniffing me out.
I didn’t know if my dragon side could be sensed. Zeke had certainly
known, but maybe that was just because he was one as well.
Inhaling slowly through my nose, I let out my breath as quietly as I
could.
I was going to be okay. I would not show fear.
A figure moved behind the doors I’d come from earlier.
 My alpha glared once as we met eyes, as if he needed to subtly remind
me to keep quiet. It was almost laughable. Why would I want the pack with
the worst reputation to know they were bringing in a part-dragon to their
midst. I’d be murdered before I could marry whoever their pack member
was.
Closing my eyes, I inhaled slowly as my world closed in around me. This
was it, my last few moments of true freedom, if that’s what they had ever
been.
A shift among the Thorne pack started by the back doors and ran through
the crowd. The senior leader beside me adjusted his hands, as if readying
himself for the pack members' welcome.
This was it.
My side twinged. Please no. Was it painful to be formally announced to
another when you had a mate…or two?
I pressed my forearm into my mark as if I could will it to stop. The doors
opened, but the throng of the pack members in the way blocked my line of
sight.
Their heads bowed. A murmur came over the Sloan pack like a wave,
and I swear my alpha blanched.
My heart thudded.
Something was off.
Glancing toward the Thorne leader on the stage with me, I saw a look I
couldn’t quite name. His jaw was set, twitching. Like this mating wasn’t his
idea.
“We introduce our alpha…” He paused.
Alpha? The thudding in my chest threatened to kill me, it was so painful.
 I wasn’t marrying an alpha. I was supposed to be matched with some
low-rank member.
The murmuring ceased on the Sloan side and while my own alpha tried to
keep his face blank, he was obviously taken aback.
Why? This didn’t make sense.
I shook my head, immediately halting as I remembered I was on stage for
all to see. My eyes searched for Katryn, but only the first few rows of Sloan
wolves were distinguishable in the crowd.
An alpha was already powerful; he’d sense what I was. There was no
way my pack knew they were mating me with the alpha. What was the
Thorne pack playing at? And how old was the wolf I was to be mated to.
Their alpha?
I racked my brain trying to place the monstrous alpha who must lead
them.
“Blake Thorne.” The leader said.
The man making his way through the crowd finally broke through the
bowed Thorne pack members and I stopped breathing. My mark raged the
second I saw him, a throbbing acknowledgement of the tall blonde that
moved toward me, and it wasn’t at all painful.
Though his familiar confident strut toward the stage never faltered once,
his eyes widened slightly as his gaze met mine.
Mate.
My mate.
The alpha that my mark had responded to was Blake Thorne. And Blake
was the alpha of the freaking Thorne pack!
Who hadn’t mentioned a single word about being betrothed himself when
I pushed him away, saying I was.
 He moved up the stage, giving a light acknowledgement to the leader
who had introduced him, and stood before me. No one could see the sinful
smile that tugged on his lips.
Despite knowing that this was more than a best-case scenario, and fate
had indeed been smiling on me to have my betrothed be the very mate I’d
just discovered, I was not at all amused. And in that moment I felt far less
than joyful.
Because he’d lied.
Okay, maybe not lied, per se. But he hadn’t mentioned, while he was
adamant about us being together, that he, too, was set to be matched to
another. Like I hadn’t even mattered to him.
Blake’s chin raised and his features hardened, enough that I had to push
down a slight chill at the look. He grasped my hand, turning to face his
pack. The Sloan side of the room was quiet.
Mating with a pack member was one thing. A nobody mating to the most
powerful clan’s alpha was something entirely different.
And unheard of.
Blake would grow stronger with whomever he mated. Alphas should
select the strongest of their kind to enhance their powers. He’d take my
powers, which were not significant enough in my mind. Thorne would grow
stronger as their alpha grew stronger. And with the bond between our two
clans, Blake could challenge anyone in the Sloan pack as well. Demand
fealty.
But it also meant people from inside Sloan could challenge him or his
pack. Though I doubted our weak wolves would even dare.
“Alpha,” the leader stated, all the wolves in the room now staring at us.
Blake kept his arm raised as he held my hand. “Do you accept the offering
of this wolf from the Sloan pack to be your betrothed?”
“I do,” he said. His authoritative voice reverberated off the walls and
through my entire body.
“By the laws of our kind, Blake Thorne, alpha to the Thorne pack, and
Morgan Sloan, from the Sloan pack, are sworn to one another. Their
betrothal is set into place and upon the mating ceremony will be solidified
forever. Their mating will unite the Thorne and the Sloan packs together.”
He paused, looking to his alpha who nodded.
The leader turned to the crowd and tilted his head back. It would have
been a howl, had they all been in wolf form. “For the greatest good.”
“For the greatest good.” The entire room responded.
My arm shook and Blake moved from holding my hand to slipping his
arm around my waist.
A moment of silence was all we had before the room erupted. Clapping,
though not very excitedly, broke out and the two packs merged together on
the floor, greeting each other.
“My mark is burning, Morgan.”
Blake turned to me so no one in his pack could see his face. It had to be
on purpose. Because the playful smirk he wore was night and day from the
firm alpha face he’d shown during the announcement.
He hadn’t let go of me, still touching my waist. “You have to feel it. I
know you do.”
I didn’t want to admit it, how good the burning sensations felt, the
tingling. “Maybe.”
“Our marks are sacred. They’re practically screaming at us that we’re
mates,” he said. He lowered his head, his lips stretching into a wider smile
as I looked at him.
 “Why didn’t you tell me you were arranged, too? You just pursued me
like you were free to,” I said.
I wasn’t sure why I was so furious at that fact. Because at the end of the
day, we were together. We could be together. I was arranged to my fated
mate, a luxury I never thought would be mine.
His face reddened. “It’s not…uh, my pack.” He rubbed the back of his
neck. “Well, our values aren’t…” He cleared his throat, pausing, and
somehow I knew. I knew what he was going to say.
“It didn’t matter who the Sloan member was. Thorne’s aren’t loyal to
their arranged, are they?”
He didn’t answer me.
“Are they?” I demanded.
His eyes hardened at my tone. This alpha before me wasn’t used to being
challenged. He was exactly the type of wolf I thought he was from that
club. He took what he thought was his and didn’t care who it hurt.
“Your loyalty was endearing, Morgan. It is endearing. But it isn’t a trait
common to males, let alone alphas.”
“You prick,” I seethed, despite the heat flashing in his eyes. I knew I
shouldn’t be speaking to him like this here. Not an alpha. Which triggered
my next burning question. “Why would an alpha agree to marry a nobody,
even if you didn’t plan on staying loyal? The ceremony will only give you
the limited power I have.”
Blake’s jaw ticked as I heard his teeth grind. He lowered his eyes. He
was quiet, deadly silent. I tried to quiet my breathing from the ragged angry
huffs.
“Sloan was throwing one of their own out, to the most powerful pack,
knowing damn well that meant we should give them a loser of our own. I
had some older wolves that I trusted spy on the pack. They came back
reporting that your powers were untested, but far beyond what warranted
tossing you aside.”
My heart hurt. I was nothing to them save a liability, with my dragon
half. And yet, hearing another outside of the pack speak of me as though I
were worthless…the pain of that was too great.
Blake cupped my cheek and tilted my head up. “I didn’t know it was you.
Mating to a wolf they didn’t realize was as powerful as she was—you are—
gave us the advantage in this. And having their member with me gave me
claims on your pack that Thorne wouldn’t have had otherwise.”
I flinched, pulling away from his touch. “I was a political pawn that
you’d breed for your heir and toss aside. I get it.”
Again, I’d known it. I knew what this had been about. But the pain of
hearing it, from him…
“It won’t be like that. I’d never do that to you—”
“But it was to me. The whole time.” I didn’t mean for my voice to be so
loud.
He squeezed my arm, not painfully. His eyes darted to the side and I saw
we were being watched. I wasn’t sure why he gave me a warning, but since
their reputation defines them, and I was in a room full of the most powerful
wolves in the country, I decided to shut my mouth. The way Blake had
waited to hear who was listening was unsettling, and I knew he had an
image to uphold to his pack. Maybe it wasn’t an image, so much as who he
really was. And the alpha pursuing me was an act to try to win me over.
“Fight this all you want, but your pack gave you to me. Before we’re
done with the mating, you’ll will be mine.” His beautiful hazel eyes had
darkened.
 There was a rush in my blood at the strength behind those words, but a
more powerful stubbornness that found his possessiveness abhorrent.
Not if I can help it.
He let go of me, and the separation chilled me. I hadn’t spoken the words
aloud, but I wondered if he read it on my face.
I might be his mate, but the hard voice inside of me that had been bred
from being treated like trash my whole life denied what he said.
I didn’t belong to anyone.
I wouldn’t. Not even my mate.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 7

“I…I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S him.”

Katryn and I were in the limo on the way back. Even Randall was quiet
as he took us back to our apartments at school.
I gave her a small shake of my head, and she bowed her own.
I’d talk to her once I knew we were safe.
I didn’t know what the Sloan pack would think. They thought they’d
pulled one over on Thorne, giving them a half-dragon, only to be duped
themselves. The alliance was greatly in Thorne’s favor now, despite who I
was really. Even more than my pack knew, given that I was truly Blake’s
fated mate.
Fate was cruel. And as much as I’d loved the fairytale of finding my
fated mate, this was beyond complicated. And bordering on dangerous.
The downtown area turned to woods, then open grounds as the school
loomed ahead.
The school may very well turn out to be the only safe space I had. Funny
I’d only thought of it as a means to an end.
 Katryn had barely stepped out of the car before Randall drove off. The
speed with which he took off slammed the door shut without either of us
even having to touch it.
“What the hell?” Katryn whispered.
My shoulders slumped as I finally let the weight of everything that had
just occurred move out of my chest.
Katryn brought a hand up to my shoulder, waiting patiently for me to find
words.
“If Sloan thinks they had the advantage by pulling one over on the
Thorne clan, they’re obviously wrong,” I said.
She nodded. “Obviously. Did he know it was you he was betrothed to?”
I shook my head.
Katryn seemed to sense my shock and took me by the arm, taking the
lead on getting us back to the safety of our room.
“Why would an alpha pick a random pack member for a mate?” Katryn
murmured.
We reached the door to our room and I fell into it, Katryn shutting it
behind us.
“He figured he would use her for breeding and be done,” I said. My tone
didn’t hide the disgust and Katryn’s face reflected my own, I was sure.
I huffed and sat down on the bed, fury rising at the last conversation I’d
had with Blake. Fury was too light a word. My blood boiled beneath the
surface. I stormed to the bathroom, looking at the cracked granite I’d left
before we made our way out.
“How do we fix that,” I muttered.
“Already texted Taylor and apparently she knows the maintenance crew,
and they’re on it.”
 I whirled around and Katryn shrugged. “You have enough on your mind
besides an old sink.”
I could kiss her. The weight of knowing Blake planned to make decisions
for me, control me in a way, was crushing And my mind couldn’t reconcile
the man so keen on pursuing me, and the man on stage.
Although both versions of him wanted what he wanted, no matter what I
thought.
Katryn snapped her fingers. “Earth to Morgan, did you hear me?”
I ignored her, a slow smile spreading over my face. I knew I’d never get
to sleep now. “Want to go to the club?”
“Now?” She shook her head, raising her hands up. “We barely made it
out last time. We ran into everyone we shouldn’t have.”
“But Blake will be with the pack tonight, celebrating this wonderful
mating garbage.” Raising my eyebrows and waggling them, I shuffled
toward her, snapping my fingers and dancing around to our beds.
Katryn rose. “If you promise to never dance like that again, then I’m in.”

The lights of Bites were the same. Same techno-style beat thumping. Same
darkness hovering around the outskirts of the dance floor. For a minute, I let
my mind wander further to what was happening beyond the eyes of the
lights from the club, in the dark recesses.
Getting trapped with people that shouldn’t see us was not on my agenda
for this evening, so I scanned the area toward the bar.
 Bingo.
The same bartender was still working, and I grasped Katryn’s arm,
leading her back to the man I wanted to speak to.
He rolled his eyes as we approached, and other than that continued
cleaning glassware. His area was fairly empty at the moment, so there was
no way he could escape.
“Why did you think there’d be trouble the other night? Because of me?” I
asked. Given his lack of interest in speaking to us before, I assumed beating
around the bush wasn’t going to get me anywhere. Best get to the point and
get gone.
He narrowed his eyes, maybe debating if he would even answer me or
not. “Why do I feel like you will keep coming back until I give you
something?” His grumble matched his reddening face. “You reek of it.
Something different.” He narrowed his eyes at me, but I refused to back
down. I didn’t show weakness, but I tried to also somehow convey that I
wasn’t a real threat.
The bartender shifted behind the counter and leaned forward, lowering
his voice. “That combined with looking for dragons in my club—a wolf
looking for dragons in my club—well, you put it together.”
So he couldn’t sense what I was, just that I was an unknown. Relief
washed over me and it gave me hope that maybe Blake would never know.
The Thorne pack would never know.
Just maybe.
“Ow,” I winced.
A slow, deliberate scrape ran across the length of my mark, and I knew.
Zeke was somewhere in this club. The only other person who my mark
reacted to, and in such a different way than it reacted to Blake.
 The bartender didn’t look like he’d noticed anyone approaching, not that
I had set eyes on Zeke yet, but I wondered if he sensed it too. The shift in
the air. While I knew there was a whole school of dragons, something about
Zeke was different than everyone else. And I had no doubt that if the
bartender had sensed something different about me, he’d known Zeke was
more than what was on the surface as well.
As if my thoughts about him called him, he appeared, walking from the
shadows beyond the dance floor, and approaching us.
Katryn growled quietly next to me, and the bartender narrowed his eyes
her way.
“No trouble,” he ground out.
She ignored him.
The scratching over my mark grew stronger as Zeke paused in front of
us.
I wasn’t thrilled that I’d been aware of him before actually seeing him.
My mark reacts stronger around Blake, I reminded myself. It felt like I
needed to. Perhaps my mark was only reacting to Zeke because I was
fighting the Blake matching.
Irritation wasn’t a feeling I enjoyed, and right now I was full of it.
“You’re everywhere,” I said through clenched teeth.
Zeke cocked an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth turning up in a sly
smirk. “Trouble usually is.”
The bear shifter behind the bar who had so desperately wanted to avoid
trouble turned his back to us, and started busying himself with mundane
tasks.
I hung my head, turning my own back to the bar and ignoring Zeke.
He didn’t like that. “You’re not afraid of me.”
 The thought was laughable, and I scoffed. “You hardly seem like
someone who inspires fear.”
From the corner of my eye I saw his bright teeth flash as he grinned.
Zeke took a step closer, and my body reacted. My wolf bowed down again
as a more primal part of me took over. Not again.
I looked at Zeke and it was like he knew. I hated that feeling of being
exposed. Hated it, but also desired it. No one had exposed my dragon side
like this before.
He didn’t stop moving toward me. “It’s kind of sexy that you’re not
afraid,” he said.
Snapping my head to look at him, I gave him the fiercest look I could.
“Not another step closer,” I said. He paused, surprisingly, his eyes dancing.
Waiting. “And I’d stop thinking of me and sexy in the same sentence. It’ll
never happen.”
Zeke set a hand down on the bar and tapped his finger twice. The bear
shifter twisted, nodding at Zeke. “Don’t worry, little wolf. When I take you
prisoner, it’ll only be because you’ve begged me to.”
I would not be afraid. Not of anyone. My irritation grew into a flame and
the strength I felt was coming from both my dragon, and the wolf. My wolf,
while she was letting the dragon be closest to the surface, was growling.
Not at my other half but with her.
I shuddered, this time in delight. “You’re not afraid of me either,” I said.
“And that’s not at all smart on your end.”
He only reached forward, taking the glass of amber liquid that had been
set on the counter where he’d tapped a moment before.
“I didn’t claim to be smart.”
OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 8

IGNORING ZEKE WOULD BE the best way to ensure I annoyed him.

But damn it, his gaze was fixated on me and despite staring at the
bartender’s back, I wanted to talk more. I wanted to run, but also to ask
questions.
The back-and-forth feelings raging through me were threatening to
explode inside my head.
“Why are you here, little wolf?” Zeke asked.
I swallowed. “I need answers.” Slowly, I cocked my head to the side,
taking in Zeke’s profile as he chugged down the drink and asked for
another.
I needed answers. I wanted a dragon. And here one was.
“Why do I feel like I know you?” This time I stared at him until he
looked toward me. His eyes were fire; rage or lust, I couldn’t distinguish.
“What are you talking about?”
“Stop it, Morgan.” Katryn grasped my arm, tugging slightly. “You don’t
know him, or his scaly personality,” She hissed at him.
 It was the first time I’d seen Katryn have such a hatred toward what I
was. Well, not me. But I was technically scaly too. What would she do if
she knew my dragon came out with Zeke around. That I could feel her for
the first time in years. And that my wolf let her.
Katryn pulled at me, but my feet remained glued to the floor. I tried to
hide the hurt as I met her gaze. Tried and I wasn’t sure how good of a job I
did.
Her shoulders slumped, like she knew I wasn’t going to give up this
opportunity.
Lowering her gaze, she took a few steps back, her jaw ticking as she
glared in disgust at Zeke the entire time.
“You’re a dragon,” I said.
The bartender shuddered but tried to play it off as a roll of his shoulders.
Zeke was quiet, for the longest amount of time since I’d met him.
I stared at him hard. And just as the bartender knew there was something
else about me, I knew that there was something more about Zeke. “But
you’re more than just that.”
He swirled a finger around the glass in front of him and then his body
stilled. “I’m the last of the males.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. “Last? Of all of the males?”
Zeke gave a small nod.
“But that means…” I paused. “Are dragons going extinct?”
Zeke grimaced, subtly bringing a finger to his lip. He looked past my
shoulder toward Katryn, who had her eye on us, arms crossed.
I didn’t want to leave her alone for too long. It’s not like this was the
safest place for us with so many different kinds of shifters, dark corners,
and alcohol. I shuddered but couldn’t let the conversation with Zeke go yet.
 “Why tell me when you don’t want others to know?” My voice was
lowered, and I whispered as best I could, realizing I’d taken a step closer to
him.
Zeke’s breath stuttered, so slightly I wondered if I’d imagined it. He
pushed a breath out, nostrils flaring at my closeness.
I stared at his face; the clawing of my mark had faded into a kind of
scratching that was trying to tell me something. I just didn’t know what.
“I don’t know why.” His brow furrowed and his gaze moved to my lips
before meeting my eyes. “Can I trust you?” He blinked rapidly and took a
step away from me. “Something tells me I can, but you’re always in mixed
company.” Zeke’s gaze flicked toward Katryn and he cocked an eyebrow.
His demeanor had changed the moment he took a step backward. He was
that arrogant, teasing Zeke that I had met before.
And I wondered if it was a mask.
I looked at him, scanning his face, trying to see what it would do to me,
to my mark, and the dragon inside. It was a good question he asked. I
belonged to another. Not only was I marked for Blake, but he was my fated,
as well. And fated mates were not something to be separated.
But Zeke…I knew the reaction I had to him wasn’t natural either. My
mark burned for him as well. And there were flames licking at my body,
begging to be released when I was around him. My dragon had never
shown herself this long. And something was rising inside of me. Building.
Was this feeling that Zeke brought out in me just as rare? And if so, what
did it mean?
“I…I don’t know if you can,” I said. It was as honest an answer as I
could give, because I knew, with Blake, what we were. I didn’t know about
Zeke. “I’m not sure if I can even trust myself,” I added, surprising even
myself at the honesty.
“Why wouldn’t I trust you? Because of the part of you that's a wolf?” He
raised an eyebrow.
At this point, I could only nod.
“You’re part dragon too, Morgan,” he whispered, leaning into me again.
It’s okay. My dragon talked to me. I gasped. She spoke. Trust.
I trembled slightly. “It’s that obvious to you?”
Zeke reached up and ran the back of his forefinger over my cheek. “It is
to me.”
His stare was shadowy, something dark in his eyes. But there was a
warmth that spread everywhere in my body at the contact. “Don’t you feel
it? This?” He stepped into me staring at my lips again.
“Feel what?” I asked but it was a lie. And I tried to stop the burning
growing inside of me, shut the door that had been thrown open inside of
me. Because I was spoken for.
Blake was my mate.
I couldn’t own this, this heat. Or admit it to myself. Not out loud.
“Your mark is burning. Our dragons recognize each other,” he said. Zeke
wasn’t backing down.
“I’m matched already, Zeke. Arranged officially.” My voice betrayed me,
the way it shook as I spoke the words.
My mark burned because of Blake. Because the arrangement had just
taken place. I repeated the words in my head. It had to be the truth.
My dragon recoiled the more I thought of the words.
“That can be changed. Nothing is permanent,” Zeke said. His teeth
scraped over his bottom lip. The blue in his eyes was almost alive as he
took me in.
Did dragons have magic that compelled people? There had to be
something to blame for these feelings when I already had someone, a fated
mate that meant love, true love. And here I was talking in whispers at Bites
to a dragon.
And a powerful one, if he was the last of the males.
A strand of Zeke’s midnight hair fell forward in his face, and still he
stared.
The music in the dark club grew louder, thumping along with the beat of
my heart. I couldn’t do this. It was too much.
I took a step back, breaking his trance. “No, you can’t change this,” I
said.
Disappointment spread over his features before that mask came back up.
It was a good one, but as I watched these mood switches so quickly, there's
nothing else it could be.
The Zeke he showed everyone was colder, but seconds ago I swear his
gaze and touch warmed. Why did he hide that part of himself?
“Morgan,” Katryn called from across the room, and I saw a few older
shifters had gathered at a table near where she stood.
“I…I…” I stammered at Zeke. I wanted more answers, though the
conversation being about the two of us instead of dragons wasn’t useful,
and that seemed to be where he was focused.
I knew who he was now, though. I finally knew where to find a dragon.
One that might have more answers. And maybe I just had to be patient.
“I need to go,” I said.
Zeke waved his hand as though he couldn’t care less. “See you around,
little wolf.”
 I faced him the first few steps I took away from him, before turning to
Katryn.
“We need to go,” she said, recognizing that the drunker the crowd got,
the more dangerous it was for both of us. Especially her, unclaimed.
We linked arms, walking from the club.
I looked back once, over my shoulder. Zeke wasn’t at the bar anymore.
Closing my eyes, I turned my focus away from our conversation.
Too many emotions for one night.
Too many conflicting things coursing through my veins and fighting
between my wolf and dragon.
The idea that had come to me was strange, painful. What if my wolf
wasn’t the only shifter with a mate? What if my dragon had one.
But was that even possible? Two mates?
The pain it would cause from choosing, I couldn’t imagine it. So I
wouldn’t.
At least not for any longer tonight.

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 Chapter 9

MY PHONE BUZZED THREE times, slightly before my alarm.

Grumbling incoherently I slammed my hand down on top of it a few
times. “Nooo,” I grumbled as it buzzed again, this time with the chirp of my
alarm.
With one eye opened I briefly registered an unknown number.
Told you I’d make everything work out.
“Who on earth is texting you before class? During class, after class, all
understandable. But before?” Katryn’s groans were not unlike my own
despite my alarm being the later set one. She’d clearly slept through her
own.
Who is this? I typed out.
“My alarm was the second one. We need to get up,” I said.
A pillow hit my stomach. “Hey!” I shouted as I rolled to my side. Streaks
of strawberry blonde stuck out in every direction from underneath the
blanket Katryn had pulled up over herself. I laughed. “You’re the one who
said that earlier classes meant earlier finishes each day. You did this to us.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said, and groaned.
 My phone beeped again.
How many people would be texting you about making everything work
out first thing in the morning after being claimed, Curls?
It was Blake. My mark ticked, throbbed even. And despite how angry
he’d made me at our ceremony, acting as though I belonged to him, my
mark knew the truth. We were each other’s.
I’d never been so conflicted between the annoying and very fueled fury,
and the longing.
“Stupid Thorne,” I said.
Katryn sat up, suddenly interested. “What, now?”
“It’s Blake texting.” I set the phone down on my nightstand. “I don’t
have time for him. I need to get ready.”
Katryn’s feet swung over her bed and she reached for the sweatshirt on
the bedpost. “I’m ready.”
I looked her up and down in the leggings that hugged her fantastic
curves, and the sweatshirt.
“Might want to check your hair.” I laughed as I got myself ready.
I glanced at my phone, not able to stop thinking about whether to ignore
him or answer with something snarky. Dang it I didn’t want to be into this
already.
I hesitated a second longer before picking up the phone.
Still haven’t bothered learning my name? Typical alpha.
I grinned at my response. Let him think about that one.
We left our room and walked toward the right, making our way down the
wide stairwell that took us into the main entryway of the dorm.
From there the hallways off the bustling dormitory entrance branched off,
one hall leading to the library, one to the common area. The double iron
doors had markings of wolves over them. It was one of many dorms on our
side. I wondered how different they all were. The darker colors resembling
moonlit nights and the magic that our packs thrived on did make the darker
feel of the university slightly warmer.
Katryn and I snaked through the chatting wolves to the doors that would
lead us to class.
“Where are we going?” Katryn dragged her feet as we walked toward
Hughget Auditorium.
“The auditorium.”
I flipped open my schedule wondering why we weren’t in one of the
classroom buildings. “History with Professor…” I paused to search to the
side of the paper where the professor’s names were listed. “Professor
McCradey.”
My heart skipped a beat, excitedly. The dragon professor was our history
teacher. Which meant I could get even more answers conveniently.
While Katryn didn’t visibly acknowledge the name, she straightened,
standing a little taller as we walked. She hadn’t reacted to dragon things
before we got here. Not that I was aware of. Although, there wasn’t much to
react to since we were never around them, and it was rarely brought up,
with the exception of making me feel inferior.
Katryn would never stand for me being bullied. But in the few days at the
University, it was like the innate hatred grew legs of its own.
How long until she can’t stand you like the others?
I pressed that vile thought down, into the pits of my stomach. I couldn’t
and wouldn’t think about it again. She was my best friend. There were some
things stronger than blood feuds.
 We were not early walking into the auditorium by any means. Given the
handfuls pouring into seats after us, we’d gotten there right in the middle.
Like the orientation presentations, the room was clearly divided between
factions. The snarls and looks weren’t as fierce as they had been on day
one, since we all knew walking in here that it was a shared class. But the
hatred was there.
The tension was uncomfortable. I wondered how long we’d last before
fights broke out.
“I don’t remember hearing about deaths during class here, but at this rate
maybe we’ll get a good show.” Katryn grimaced as she listened to the
wolves in front of us start running their mouths. Her hand shifted over to
mine and grabbed it.
I wasn’t afraid. Nor offended. Anyone who ran their mouth like that after
the scolding we’d received and the history we’d been reeducated on, didn’t
deserve my time. But nevertheless, I squeezed Katryn’s hand back.
The dull buzz of activity in the room lessened as the back doors shut
hard. The professor who had drawn my attention previously walked down
the aisle.
She commanded the room and as she took the stage, even the snickering
from the wolves calmed to a mere few.
“The syllabus for the class will be posted on the online portal, and I
won’t waste time reviewing it here. I’m sure by now you all can read,”
Professor McCradey started.
I widened my eyes at Katryn. So it was going to be a tough course,
obviously.
“As long as we can focus on the wolves' rich history more than the
rabble.” The female wolf in front of us who’d had no shame earlier was at it
again.
“This is world history, not species history, child.”
“I’m not a child,” the wolf seethed, snapping back.
The murmurs started, along with a few surprised gasps.
Professor McCradey leaned on her hand, as if she was fascinated by the
student. “Do you think that you are the first wolf in my time here that thinks
she’s brave and wants to show off her hatred for dragons to her classmates?
Hm?”
Heat rose to the wolf’s face and her lip curled back despite her obvious
embarrassment. “Probably the first to not back down after you try to act like
you’re not afraid of us.”
Professor McCradey’s mouth turned upward, almost further than normal
as a grin spread across her face. She took her glasses off and her eyes
widened, glowing that shade of green I thought I’d seen when she looked at
me at orientation.
“Like it or not, I am the Professor of this class. One that you must pass to
move on with your lessons here at the University. While schooling may
matter very little to some, it is everything to others. The only person who
will allow you to pass is me.” The Professor tapped her glasses in her hand
and walked out from behind the podium.
“In fact,” she stared. “I think it’s time for new seating assignments, so we
can really get used to the idea that here in classes, especially general
population classes, you are not wolves, dragons, and witches, but students.”
The silence was once again deafening.
“Everyone to the back in your respective groups.”
One by one she, picked us off, sitting us intermingled and next to each
other. Wolves, dragons, and witches all combined.
 The rest of class passed in such an uncomfortable silence that Professor
McCradey took pity on us by throwing a reading assignment out and
dismissing us. But not before concluding by staring us down one by one.
“A sign of strength is not running your mouth and dishing out every
emotion that bellows up inside of your hide. Strength is hiding your
emotions for the benefit of others. Strength is biting your tongue when you
should be showing respect. It’s learning your surroundings. Studying your
friends and foes. And always respect that you have no idea what strength
that could lie in those you know nothing about.”
Kat was on the opposite side of the room from me. Glancing up at the
stage, I noticed the professor was lingering behind.
Now was my chance to catch her. A dragon with her power and
command of presence had to be one that could potentially know about me.
Or at least be able to help me.
I slowly gathered my things and moved with purpose toward the stage.
“Professor?” I asked.
Her eyes softened as I approached the stage.
“Do you have a moment?” I asked, but looked over my shoulder. Staying
and asking questions felt sneaky. I knew Katryn would be waiting for me,
not that she’d care. She’d gone to Bites with me to find answers multiple
times, and this was surely safer.
But with Blake, and Thorne wolves, and not knowing who knew or
wanted what, I felt shady. Guilt panged through me as I even wondered if I
should be more careful.
“Of course, Ms.?”
“Sloan,” I answered. “I’m Morgan Sloan.”
If she recognized my name, she didn’t show it. I bit my lip.
 Instead of asking about various dragon things that could and should have
been at the forefront of my mind before coming to the U, an even stranger
question slipped out.
“Can I ask if multiple mates are possible? Does that happen?”
Of all the questions…
The Professor walked from the podium down the small set of stairs to my
left. “It’s not heard of at all throughout history, within a species. Fated
mates are singular.” She stopped as she stood in front of me, cocking her
head to the side. “But you’re not one or the other yet, are you?”
I blinked, thinking about how she’d held my stare at orientation. She
knew. She let me classify myself as a wolf, but she knew what I was.
You are a wolf.
I touched my lips, thoughts swirling. I am a wolf, I told myself. Hadn’t I
already chosen that life? Hadn’t I agreed to the whole arrangement to a
Thorne even before knowing it was to my mate because I wanted to finally
fit in? To have a place?
Dragons hadn’t wanted me, or ever claimed me. I was raised by wolves. I
was a wolf.
The Professor watched me, as if she knew what I was processing. Again,
I was struck with the fact that she knew. All dragons must. How else would
Zeke have figured it out? But why didn’t all wolves?
I shook my head. “You can’t decide your species,” I finally said.
The Professor tilted her head indicating for me to walk with her as we
made our way up the aisle of the auditorium. “I can’t. I’m one species, and
one only. But you?” She smiled at me. “You can.”
Nodding her head once at me, the professor walked through the doors,
leaving me behind standing dumbfounded.
 How would someone even choose their faction? My dragon had only just
started making herself known to me alongside my wolf, so why would I
pick my dragon?
I’m a wolf.
I’m a straight up wolf.
And that was that.
I had a mate, after all. A fated mate with a powerful pack. And that
meant a chance at true love, and a home for the first time where it truly felt
like I belonged.
My wolf wasn’t the one fighting though, I was. And as I argued
internally with myself, I could sense my dragon raising her head, watching
my mental struggle until she finally whispered.
I have a mate, too.

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 Chapter 10

PACING IN MY ROOM never helped me work things out.

In fact, it was something that usually riled me up more, made my brain
feel like it was in overdrive.
But my brain was in overdrive. There was too much information coming
at me too quickly. I had always been able to numb the things that were hard
to process, emotions that rose too quickly. Numbing was easy.
But now, with all of the changes coming at me at once, and so many
people needing and wanting, and feeling so many different things around
me—it was becoming damn near impossible to have any sort of control
over my own emotions.
And it was making me sick to my stomach, to feel everything so deeply.
I’d somehow thought that finding answers about my dragon side would
come easily. I’d also assumed Katryn and I would find one at Bites the first
night here, chitchat with it like we trusted each other, and then be done.
But the more I found out, the more complicated things became. Even the
history between our species was different, according to the school. If the
very basis on which we based our interactions with each other was wrong,
what else was off?
I chewed on my nail. Sitting on the edge of my bed, I bounced my leg. I
was a wolf. There was no doubt in my mind I was a wolf. I didn’t know
what that meant for my dragon, but I’d made a choice there.
I had a responsibility to my pack, the pack that hated me but took care of
me. They’d raised me, ultimately. And while they didn’t care for me, the
shame I felt at what I was to them and the gratitude that they hadn’t killed
me or turned me out was still there.
Doing this for them would take that guilt and shame away and let me live
without feeling like I owed them anything.
And it wasn’t like the arrangement had worked out all that bad. I was
betrothed to my mate. Blake was definitely my mate.
And though he spoke of owning me, a small part of me knew that wasn’t
who he was. He was interested in me. He was an alpha driven crazy by a
hybrid freak whom he didn’t know. But still.
I rose from the bed, resuming pacing. This wasn’t helping. I stretched my
neck from side to side, as if pausing for a moment and inhaling while
stretching would calm the racing thoughts that had become normal
somehow overnight.
The knock that came at the door was a welcome relief. Taylor was most
likely standing on the other side, and when she got to talking, sometimes it
made it easier to drown out my own thoughts.
I opened the door with a half-smile that faltered immediately.
Blake.
He leaned against the door frame and took me in, donning a lopsided
grin. My stomach whirled in delight and my skin heated.
 My mark tingled, stronger than before, like it needed to remind me that
this was my mate.
One of them. I still didn’t understand how it was possible I had two.
“Hi,” I said.
He stood, and my gaze moved past his stunning smile to the light blue
button up Oxford shirt he wore rolled up to his elbows, and the gray slacks.
He was mouthwatering.
Obnoxiously so.
I took a step back, looking down toward the floor as if that would allow
me to regain some of my composure and dignity from staring, and he
walked inside my room.
He closed the door behind him and moved with purpose toward a small
chaise I had at the foot of my bed that faced the window.
“I hope it’s okay I stopped by.” His smile had been confident at the door
and had lessened slightly. The way he adjusted his pants as he sat took away
from the alpha-like swagger he normally possessed around me. “I was
hoping to just talk.”
I nodded my head, moving and sitting on one leg on my bed, facing him.
“I owe you an apology,” he started, taking me completely aback.
Blake looked at the ceiling as he brought his hand to the back of his neck.
“You were right. I had no plans of being loyal to the arrangement.
Especially not after finding you. And to me, it didn’t matter because you
were my mate.”
My stomach rolled with an acidic taste. He didn’t know it was me that
was arranged to him. He’s not saying he wouldn’t be loyal to me,
technically.
 “Our pack is rooted deep in old ways, and as a young alpha, I’ve rarely
questioned how we do things. Seeing you look at me with such disgust,
knowing that I hadn’t given the Sloan member I was to be arranged for a
second thought…killed me. And that may sound cliché, but having you
look at me like I was nothing is something I will work our entire life to
ensure never happens again.”
He came and moved toward me, tentatively sitting behind me on the bed
as I rotated around to face him. He was closer, but not touching me. His
heated gaze wasn’t even scanning my body like he had in the past. It was
locked on my eyes, not breaking contact.
“Please forgive me for treating you so callously. And if you don’t see it
as you anymore that I was making that choice about, please forgive me for
treating a female wolf like that. I was bringing in someone to Thorne, and
while we are far from welcoming, or accepting of weakness, it was wrong.”
My mouth opened, and I stared at him. Just stared.
His gaze finally moved from me, but still not drinking me in lustfully like
he could have. Instead, his gaze flicked out the window. His heart rate
increased so much so that I could hear it easily.
“Have you ever apologized for anything before?” I asked.
His sheepish look confirmed he had not. “Once or twice. But not for this.
Though I do mean it.” His hand moved from his lap, tentatively toward
mine.
I remained still, and as he took my hand in his, my resistance melted. My
mark hummed. My body hummed. I would have curled up beside him in a
heartbeat just to feel like I was as close as I possibly could be.
“Why can’t we just be together? Get married? Mate? Let everything
destined for us fall into place?” he asked in a hushed tone.
 Inside of me, walls closed in. Half of me wanted to say yes, wanting to
get this over with immediately to be with him. To know what it was to be
loved, cherished, a mate.
I didn’t answer and bit back my quivering lip.
Blake cleared his throat. “That wasn’t supposed to come out right now.
There was more I wanted to say.” He rocked forward. “You were also right
in saying you don’t belong to me. You don’t seem the kind of woman who
appreciates that kind of sentiment. And though it is what mates are, what
the arrangement means, I will never force something on you that you don’t
want.”
My palm broke into a sweat in his hand. “What do you mean?”
“If you want this to be called off secretly, I can give you that. If you don’t
want this, we can keep up pretenses, but push the ceremony off as long as
you’d like.” His voice cracked and my wolf growled inside of me.
Goosebumps raised on my skin and fear, a gut-wrenching fear leaked from
my very pores.
“You don’t…you don’t,” I stammered before swallowing once. “You
don’t want this arrangement?”
“No, no, Morgan please,” he said. His eyes widened and my other hand
was in his. He lowered his head, looking at my bed for a minute before he
raised his gaze. “I don’t want you to feel pressured, or that this isn’t your
choice. Forget the treaty, what it means. Forget your mark. I basically told
you to heel like you were a dog, and the second I saw what that did, your
face, your defiance… I don’t want to push you away. I’ve never thought
about actually loving my wife. I didn’t think I’d be blessed with a mate.”
He let go of my hands, running his own over his face. “I’m shit at this.”
 I stayed quiet, still pressing down the voice in my body I’d grown up
with telling me that I wasn't good enough.
“You may not belong to me, but I belong to you. Morgan, I will always
belong to you,” he said. “I know that being fated took over, but as an alpha,
a wolf, who thought I didn’t deserve a mate for so long, to have you thrown
on me unexpectedly and hear your sass…” he laughed. “You didn’t fall at
my feet. You were loyal to a stranger, defying what I knew to be between
us. In a few short meetings you made me feel alive in a way I thought
wouldn’t be possible for me. From the reactions you had to my callous
words and my feelings, I know that a mate like you would make me a better
alpha than I ever thought I’d be.”
There was so much, so much anxiety around him. These feelings were so
strong for someone I knew nothing about, but I believed in fated mates.
Lord, we all believed in them. It was a sign; it was a match that nature
created that was supposed to be like no other, designed for a life of love and
strength and hope.
And we had it.
“If we’d found each other normally, we’d probably be happily in love
already. But, since there is more to this than just a normal male and female
wolf, I’ll let you lead in how this works, knowing that I will do whatever it
takes to prove that I can make you happy. That I’ll protect you and that
you’ll belong to Thorne, even if you don’t want to belong to me. You’ll be
cared for always. Beyond that, with us, it’s up to you.”
“You’d deny your mate? Your mark? I’ve never heard it possible at all,
let alone for an alpha,” I whispered.
The intensity and uncomfortable way with which Blake was trying to get
his words out were so strong, that the tether between our marks thickened. I
could practically feel it locking into place, and we weren’t even at a
ceremony. I was simply watching the alpha of the deadliest pack tell me
he’d lie about our arrangement and do whatever I wanted.
“I’d do what it took to make sure you felt safe and knew that you’d have
Thorne’s protection, whether you obeyed the bond we have or not,” he said.
The idea that he was speaking the truth was so clear to me. He meant it.
Every word. An alpha wanted me. Blake the man, Blake the wolf, the alpha
—all of him wanted me. His mate. For no gain but to ensure I was safe.
I leaned my head forward, and Blake brought his forehead to mine. He
cupped the side of my cheek and a tear fell down.
“I can’t read your mind. Please, tell me I didn’t mess it up too much yet,”
he said.
I laughed, pulling away to look at him. “I wish you had, to make
everything easier. Some part of me found being arranged to some no-name
pack member and tossed aside easier than knowing I have a mate.”
He stared at me, giving me the same space I’d given him as I spoke.
“I need some time. And not because I don’t feel like I want to belong to
you, though if you ever repeat that I’ll deny it,” I smiled. “Coming here was
difficult for me. I was ready to sacrifice everything for a pack that even you
could tell immediately, didn’t want me. If you’re honest about letting me
have time before we set the ceremony date, I’d be grateful, Blake.”
I was lying to him. A sliver-like crack tore through a part of my heart and
I wondered if it would repair itself. If I mated with him, I’d lose all chances
of finding out about my dragon side. I’d lose that part of me potentially
forever, before even understanding it.
And I might lose him, too, once he realized what I was.
 The fear of the danger of the entire situation reverberated through me
more strongly each day. Each new thing I found out was a reminder of what
I was, and all that my life would require me to sacrifice at some point.
And I wasn’t ready to do that yet.
I leaned in closer to him before he could pull away, drawn in by more
than just a desire to comfort him despite my request for time. Finally, his
gaze lowered to my lips. His thumb caressed them slowly and my breathing
strained.
I wanted to be with Blake. Right now, I’d choose him, if my wolf were
all of me. I didn’t know if it was just the mark, or more, but I would.
But my wolf wasn’t all of me and my quiet, defeated dragon had finally
started speaking to me. She was silent now, but the echo of her hope in her
own mate was still locked in my chest too, in my soul.
And most of all, I needed to find what I had come here for, answers about
my father, and the side that had abandoned me despite being half of me.
“Take whatever time you need,” His breath so close to me made me
shudder. “I’ll take whatever you can give, when you decide you want to
give it, Morgan.” He kissed my cheek and leaned forward, almost touching
my lips. “I belong to you.”
I closed my eyes, shifting forward, wanting Blake to kiss me now.
“Blake,” I whispered. A second later his lips were so close to mine that if
I moved an inch we’d be kissing. And I wanted it.
“Morgan!” A loud voice cried out suddenly.
Three pounds on the door broke the trance between us and Blake rose
from the bed, looking around for an exit strategy.
“It’s just Taylor; I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.”
 “Better on you if you don’t have to explain, right?” he asked, giving me a
seductive grin. His confidence seemed to be back, at least.
Blake ran to the window and looked down as he unlatched it.
“You can’t possibly…” But I was cut off by his figure stepping out onto
the ledge and blowing me a kiss before diving to the ground below.
“Morgan, are you in there?” Taylor’s voice sounded again.
“Coming!” I shouted as I ran to the window. Blake was on his feet and
brushing off his gray slacks. He waved as I stood there in my room, shaking
my head.
I was in trouble with him.
So much trouble.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 11

MANY HISTORIANS BELIEVE THAT there were outside forces causing the
feud between dragons and wolves, magic that had gone undetected in the
initial aftermath, due to the grief and shock that both species went through
when faced with destruction. In fact, some historians have begun theorizing
whether deeper magic was used on both species.
I blinked down at the page. The professors here certainly thought these
were truths, given what they’d told us during orientation. I twisted my back,
stretching.
The library was quiet and the only thing that I could hear beyond a few
pages rustling was the quiet hum of the heater. I guess most libraries were
quiet on Friday evenings.
I glanced at my phone, seeing no notifications, nothing from Blake after
our intense conversation in my room. I wondered if he was giving me
space, or if he was angry I’d asked for time.
He offered time, I reminded myself. But did he think I’d actually take it?
Did that hurt him?
 Shaking off the thoughts, I reminded myself that it was only two days
ago, and in the grand scheme of things, he was probably just busy. He was
an alpha, and at school. That alone was enough to make my own head spin.
Katryn had been strange this afternoon when I’d told her I’d be in the
library. Then again, I was acting strange overall as well. This might be just
as hard for her, knowing she’s half-wolf and half-witch. I wondered why
she wasn’t more curious about her witch side, especially when she could get
her own answers here.
The words on the pages before me jumbled together. Who were these
historians who researched our feud so vigorously? Probably someone
similar to the professors who’d started up a school for dragons and wolves.
They were the two species who hated each other the most.
Tapping my pen on the barely-used notebook in front of me, I tried to
focus on the book again.
I’d just refocused on the word species when the hairs on the back of my
neck rose.
I froze. That was never a good sign, if my wolf was alerted.
Closing my eyes, I attempted to kick my other senses up, hearing,
especially. But there was nothing, not even the sound of breathing nearby.
I rubbed the back of my neck with my hand, twisting around in my chair
slightly as an excuse to appear as though I was stretching again. Really, I
wanted to peek behind me. Something had to cause my wolf to be on guard.
There was nothing, though, not on either side of me. At least nothing
visible.
This wasn’t the first time in the past few days I’d had a suspicion I was
being watched, and I didn’t like the feeling.
 Slowly, I began packing up my things, paying careful attention to any
signs of movement or noise.
The defensive wolf side of me gradually became less anxious until I was
back to normal.
Still, someone had to have been there.
My wolf never lied.
Trying to shake off the feeling of being watched, I moved through the
library and up to my room.
Opening the door quickly and sliding inside, I almost started telling
Katryn what had happened, but the room was empty. I pulled my phone out
from my pocket, but besides the okay and a smiley face she’d sent earlier
when I told her where I was going, there was nothing.
A crinkle reached my ear as my foot slid forward on something. A folded
piece of white paper on the floor caught my eye.
I hung my bag on the bed and opened the note.
Bites. 10 pm. - Z
Zeke wanted to meet me. At the club.
Biting my lip, I shifted my weight back and forth on my feet. I hadn’t
attempted Bites without Katryn before. It wasn’t safe when we were
together, much less when I was alone.
I shot her a quick text, asking where she was and went back to staring at
the note.
Zeke would be there with me; it’s not like I was going to be alone.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
An hour later, with my hair pulled back into a slick ponytail, and a dress
that I hated to admit I’d picked because it made me look good, my phone
beeped.
 Sorry, out a bit late tonight. We’ll chat when I get home.
I blinked a few times at the text. Who on earth would Katryn be with if it
wasn’t me? A pang of jealousy crept up on me suddenly, and the guilt for
that felt even worse.
Katryn was free to make whatever friends she wanted; it’s not like she
wasn’t wonderful. I knew that. She deserved to be happy and have fun.
Besides, I should probably get used to it, since being an alpha’s mate
would take up more time than I was ready to admit.
I slipped through the door, shutting it quietly before looking down the
halls. So far so good. It was only a little before ten, so I knew people would
still be up and about, but inside the dormitory. With all of us being new, the
likelihood of heading to another wolf dorm was small, but that was going to
be my excuse if anyone stopped me, asking questions.
As I walked past one or two groups of wolves going down the stairs, I
realized everyone was much more concerned with themselves. As long as I
could make it off campus, I’d be safe.
I moved quickly out the front door of the dorm, no one halting me, and
walked quickly across campus. I came to the break in the quad, the midway
point, and saw a figure coming out of the auditorium.
“Morgan!” Taylor said. She jogged forward, looking at me from head to
toe and frowning.
Giving her a small smile, I tried to think of what might be believable for
me to be dressed to the nines and sneaking toward the campus entrance so
late. “Hey girl,” I said.
She narrowed her eyes. “Where are you going?”
“Uh, just walking for a bit. Thought I’d clear my head.”
 It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Taylor. Katryn had filled her in while I worked
on homework one night, on almost everything save for us being hybrids.
But telling her about who my mate was and telling her I was planning to
meet a dragon at Bites while underage, were two very different things.
“You’re sneaking out somewhere. I’m not an idiot, Morgan,” Taylor said.
The way she stood with her arms crossed was more like she was shielding
herself than staring at me defiantly.
She was hurt, excluded, more so than she was angry.
I bit my lip nervously.
“I won’t rat you out. Let me come with you. Wherever it is!” Taylor said,
her voice showing a hint of excitement.
“It’s less than appropriate,” I said. Beyond a word of caution, what else
could I do? She was going to make her own choices anyway.
Taylor grinned. “I’ve been looking for ways to rebel.”
Grabbing her by the arm I veered right along the line separating our
campus from the dragons. “Keep up, and stick with me.”
I kept an eye out around us, as did Taylor, and we didn’t run into any
trouble, not leaving campus, or crossing the few blocks to Bites.
As we approached, she squealed. “Bites? How will we get in?”
Eyeing her for a moment, I decided to keep walking instead of stopping
to answer. “They don’t care who comes in, not even a couple of underage
wolves. Come on.”
Walking through the front doors brought on the familiar intensity of the
hum of this place, and a reminder that the darkness lurked everywhere.
I scanned the usual sides of the room for Zeke as we made our way in a
small circle, but couldn’t find him.
A hand gripped my arm, startling me.
 “Is that…” Taylor started. “Is that Katryn?”
My head whipped around on its own accord at the statement, over to
where Taylor’s gaze was glued.
Katryn was pressed against someone on the dance floor. She threw her
head back, laughing. When she wasn’t giggling, she was staring like she
was on cloud nine.
As they turned, I recognized the man she was with immediately.
Blake’s beta.
That was problematic in more ways than one. It would be better if Katryn
didn’t see us.
But how would Taylor understand that? She didn’t know I was here to
meet Zeke.
The music pumped through my veins and my head spun, trying to
quickly think about a way to avoid Katryn and not raise alarm in Taylor.
The mood in the club shifted. While no one reacted, I could feel it in my
bones. It was darker here tonight. The hairs on my neck raised slowly, not
in a full panic but alert.
I moved toward Taylor, but not before someone nearby, who looked as
though they’d been served one too many drinks, tripped forward, sloshing a
dark-colored drink from their cup. The brown liquid splashed all over the
front of my companion.
“Ah,” she screamed, jumping backward. But it was too late. The front of
her shirt was drenched.
“Sorryyyyyyy.” The woman who’d bumped into Taylor slurred and
wobbled away.
“I’m sure it will be fine.” I tried to comfort Taylor, but she turned looking
frantically around before I saw her home in on the bathroom signs.
 She took off running through the crowd before I could follow. She passed
Katryn without her noticing, but if I followed, I might not be so lucky.
Hesitating was all it took for the strange shift to settle over me even
more.
I turned in a slow circle, trying to see if there was something, anything, in
particular that was triggering such an uncomfortable feeling.
Though I couldn’t see anything standing out, I knew this was off. Even
my wolf and dragon agreed and were wary.
Which meant that, whatever was going on, I wasn’t safe here.
At all.

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 Chapter 12

THE MUSIC WAS REPLACED with the thumping of my heart.

Something was coming.
Shadows crawled across the floor like they were trying to escape. It
wasn’t until I heard whispers around me and a few gasps that I knew it
wasn’t just me that was feeling the tension anymore.
Gazes around the room had fixated on the door and a group of men that
had come in.
Pale, and exuding a stealthy grace, they moved as though gliding into the
club. A few people tried to ignore the sudden hush and keep dancing, or
talking.
“Vampires,” I heard one voice nearby say to their partner.
“Owner’s cousin’s group, I think. They won’t kick them out,” another
voice replied.
Vampires.
Vampires weren’t allowed everywhere, but Bites was once again proving
to live up to its name. It truly allowed anyone in.
 Ironic that the bartender had been worried about me, when he allowed
vampires into his club, family or not.
The couple whispering hadn’t left, but they’d moved further into the
better lit area, if that’s what you’d call it.
No one ran, and most people started moving along to the music again,
chatter picking up.
The group of vampires watched the room, taking everything in, and I
made sure to focus elsewhere even though I monitored them with my other
senses.
Deep breathing allowed me to keep my cool on the outside, while a war
I’d never felt before waged inside of me.
My wolf threatened to shift, wanting to tear into the newcomers. My
dragon wanted to burn the place down and then run and hide. I’d never been
around vampires before, so this could have been totally normal, but feeling
it for the first time like that was beyond strange, and more unsettling than
anything I’d ever felt.
The vampires faded into the shadows, the dark corners that I knew I’d
never be brave enough to explore here. What other creatures lurked back
there, watching?
Standing where I was wouldn’t work much longer. I was too central and
looked out of place, and I didn’t want to draw more attention to me than
was needed.
Taylor hadn’t come back from the bathroom, and I’d lost sight of Katryn,
but right now, I just wanted to get slightly out of the way to take in the club
and see if Zeke stood out.
The sooner I found him, the sooner I could try to find Taylor and get out
of here tonight.
 A plan which seemed like a sound choice given the company inside Bites
at the moment.
The bar seemed to be my go-to, so I squirmed through a few dancing
couples and drinking groups to make my way there. The bear shifter I’d
grown used to seeing behind the counter wasn’t there, and the man who was
didn’t even look my way.
I shifted, moving toward the end. I didn’t ever order anything, but it
brought me comfort being here where more people could see what went on
than in a secretive booth or on the floor pressed too tightly to strangers.
Scanning the club again, I looked for the familiar eyes. I waited for the
claws scraping my mark like so often happened in Zeke’s presence, but
nothing.
Most of the club-goers looked as if they’d all but forgotten the
momentary fear that ruffled through the crowd at the vampires’ entrance.
Maybe they’d forgotten they were here altogether, out of sight, out of mind.
Taylor still hadn’t come from the restrooms, so I stood there. Alone.
Until I wasn’t.
A shadow crept over me, more than should have been seen in an already
dark club. Nevertheless it did, covering the left arm that I had propped up
on the bar top.
I shifted my gaze and took in the stranger standing far too close to me.
He smirked, a smile playing over his lips like it had been practiced and
rehearsed, because it didn’t meet his eyes.
But within the smile the glint of a too-long canine glistened.
I looked him up and down, trying hard not to appear afraid as I
swallowed the feelings rising in my throat.
He watched me like he knew I was trying hard to appear calm.
 “Hello,” he said. His voice was like satin, velvet maybe. It smoothed
over the tension in my body even if my mind told me not to trust the
feelings he was eliciting. The calmness was a weapon he could wield,
something inside of me knew it.
His auburn hair was an even crisper color against the pale color of his
skin. He wore all black, and the shadows that seemed to follow him were
more of an aura. I wondered how I could see it, or if there were truly
shadows that followed vampires.
I cleared my throat, raising an eyebrow like I couldn’t be bothered.
Though my heartbeat wasn’t steady, I hoped I could trick this vampire, even
if it was only slightly.
He laughed at my efforts. “Tristan Saban,” he said, reaching out a hand.
“And you can stop worrying. I don’t eat wolves.” I took his hand in mine,
fearing what would happen if I wasn't at least polite. As he grabbed my
hand he leaned in closer to me. “Or scaly things,” he whispered.
I froze, pulling my hand away as he chuckled. That sensual sound
pressed on my skin like it was working magic to soothe me.
“Can I help you with something?” I asked. My voice was tight despite
the effort I was putting forth to settle my nerves.
His eyes weren’t playful, though the muscles of his face were twitching
with that too eerie smile. “I wonder if people would be comfortable at your
school, knowing they were attending with a hybrid like you. Maybe we
should find out.”
“How do you know that?” My question came out in a hiss. I realized
even the question alone confirmed what he’d asked, and perhaps I should
have kept things closer to my chest. Even if he did know what I was, I
didn’t have to confirm it for him.
 His eyes ticked back and forth like a metronome, taking me in, or trying
to get me to look at him, I wasn’t sure. Either way, if I looked at them, they
might very well hypnotize me.
I should have studied up more on vampires, not that I’d ever had any
reason to. The only thing I did know for sure was that from a young age,
wolves were told vampires were off limits, and to run if they were
encountered. They had once been human, created as abominations. We were
taught that because they had once been human, they wanted to hurt all
things human, and with shifters having the capability for human forms we
were fair game to them.
Besides the teachings from a young age, if the professors were correct,
they were potentially the real cause of the rift between wolves and dragons,
though the entire thing seemed like a fairytale, a stretch in an effort to usher
in some cooperation between our kinds.
Which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing for me.
I tried to hide a shudder as I thought of the too charming man standing
next to me and whether he was feeling the desire to drain me right here. The
thought flitted in my head for a moment that perhaps I should heed the
warnings, even if I was in a public place.
“How…” I started to ask again but was cut off.
Tristan raised his hand. “Please. I can smell any breed from miles away.
Superior senses, sweets.” He tapped his fingers along the bar top.
“Why are you here? What do you want from me?” I stood my ground,
surprising myself.
And that was the real question. Why was a vampire, and one who was
powerful enough to have the club hesitate on his arrival, approach me?
 Tristan waved his finger and the bartender approached him, nodding with
no words being spoken.
If he was trying to show off his power, I had to make sure I didn’t let my
fear increase any more than it already had.
He watched and waited, not answering my question until a glass of red
liquid was set in front of him.
Was that blood?
He smiled as he watched me, sipping at the glass. I kept my eyes on him,
determined not to show more fear.
“There are people who would make you choose, are trying to make you
choose,” he said finally. “You don’t have to. Be both wolf and dragon. As
long as you don’t choose, you don’t really have any enemies, right?”
The words hit me in a way that I hadn’t thought of before. “I…” I didn’t
know what to say. He was right in a way. If I wasn’t fully one or the other,
I’d never have to choose.
But once I was mated to Blake, wouldn’t the dragon leave because I did
choose? Or would I never be able to fully be rid of either part?
Not choosing was almost the perfect option. I wouldn’t be forced to act
like I hated Blake, or Zeke. I could just be myself. I couldn’t be arranged to
Blake, but didn’t he offer that to me?
I could be packless, mateless, never having to feel like I disowned a part
of me.
It could be perfect. Peaceful for my soul.
Stop.
My dragon’s voice, firm and unyielding, reverberated through my body.
Shockingly strong. So much so that I wasn’t used to it at all.
 Of all people putting ideas in my head, a vampire should be the last one,
right? Maybe that’s why my dragon demanded my attention.
My hackles raised again as I watched Tristan giving me a once-over. His
grin widened, revealing both canines now.
I pressed down my emotions, deep. Being packless and breaking the
agreement the Sloan and Thorne packs had, while doing something selfish
for myself was unlike me in every way. And he’d helped me feel that it was
right, even if it was only for a second.
My dragon had spoken, while my wolf was on guard. Together.
“Don’t get too comfortable, sweets,” Tristan said. He gulped down the
rest of the red liquid. Though his voice held its trance on me, I was coherent
enough to still maintain my concern. “You might end up like your parents.”
My heart stopped. The shadows left, and he moved backward, wiggling
his fingers as he disappeared into the darkness at the side of the room.
Gone.
My parents?
My heart hammered relentlessly inside my chest.
What was he trying to accomplish, telling me not to choose? How would
a vampire possibly benefit from any decision I made?
But most importantly, nagging at my skin like it would drown me, was
the question of how he knew anything about me. Because Tristan hadn’t
just known I was part wolf and part dragon.
He’d known who I was.
Even though I didn’t once tell him my name.

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 Chapter 13

MY PARENTS.
Tristan had mentioned my parents like he knew something. And I’d been
searching for someone who could give me answers for so long.
I had to find him.
As if I’d lost my mind, I threw myself into the darker sides of the club. I
tried not to make eye contact with too many people as I got nearer to the
parts of the club that couldn’t be seen.
Stumbling, I saw a small group of beings clumped together, touching and
feeling far more than they should be in public. Someone grabbed my arm
and I turned, almost triggering the fight in me.
“I want to go.”
“Taylor!” I said as I took a deep breath. “You scared me.”
“The shirt is ruined,” she said. Her voice was whiny and the way her eyes
were darting around made me wonder if it was more than a messed-up shirt.
She clung to my arm, squeezing it.
I turned back to the shadows, quickly trying to scan them. Something
behind my gaze tingled, like my wolf or maybe dragon was trying to tap
into senses that I should have. But with only half the skills of each breed, it
wasn’t working like it should. The little I could see didn’t reveal anything
of worth.
“Please, Morgan. Come on.” Taylor tugged on me again.
“Okay, yeah. Okay.” It was an effort to not sigh.
So close. I was so close tonight to finding out something. As we walked
away, my stomach churned, like the further away from the shadows Tristan
had cast I got, the more I realized how dangerous that situation could have
been.
And how eerie was it that a vampire knew not just who I was without an
introduction, but what I was, and who my parents were?
We walked through the mass of people. Taylor waved over her head, and
before I knew what had happened, we were standing face-to-face with
Katryn.
She had her arms wrapped around Blake’s beta.
Her face grew redder. “Morgan. Taylor.” She loosened her grip on the
male’s neck. He watched her intently.
“You remember Weston?” she asked, stepping further away from him.
Weston winced visibly at the motion and steps she took away from him.
I guessed that Weston seeing me here now would just look like we were
looking for Katryn.
“And this is Taylor,” Katryn said. “And you know Morgan.”
Weston bowed his head slightly at me. I didn’t even have to wonder how
much he knew from Blake. If Blake was alpha, and Weston his true beta,
they’d know almost everything about each other. Maybe everything except
Blake telling me he’d give me time, and not force the mating if I decided I
didn’t want it.
 “I hate to cut this short, but we’re going to go. Spilled on my shirt and
all,” Taylor said pointing. “Come with us?”
I snapped my attention to Taylor, surprised she’d ask Katryn to leave
with us when she hadn’t come with us.
Maybe it was safest for Katryn to come with us, though. I didn’t want
Tristan or any other vampire lurking around people I cared about.
I shivered.
Katryn’s eyes narrowed at me, but I plastered on a smile. She barely
looked at Weston. “Yeah, I’m exhausted. See ya,” she said toward Weston
before looping her arm in Taylor’s and walking toward the front.
She practically ignored me. The second we’d left the building though,
she spun on her heels, hands on her hips. “Did you follow me?”
“What?” I asked. “Why would I follow you? I didn’t know you were
coming here.”
“Why’d Taylor ask me to leave then?” Katryn questioned. “And why
were you nervous?”
Her response and defensiveness made no sense.
“I don’t know, ask her?” I tried not to get myself worked up. “And…” I
looked around the parking lot, feeling like Tristan was going to jump out
any moment. “There was someone at the club that made me
uncomfortable.”
“What?” Taylor and Katryn said at the same time.
I shook my head as we kept walking. “It’s not a big deal.”
I was surprised Katryn dropped it as quickly as she did, though by the
way she eyed me I knew the conversation wasn’t over.
I pulled my phone out as we made our way back to the University. I had a
few texts from Blake.
 Blake, who wanted to give me time, get to know me. My chest ached and
a desire to see him welled inside of me.
Though I had left without seeing Zeke, and a part of me thought it would
be nice to see him.
What’s wrong with you?
I’ve got a mate. An alpha mate willing to give me what I need to make
sure I was okay. And I was thinking about meeting up with Zeke, who was
more mysterious than anything, and who had either stood me up tonight, or
saw me and let the vampires near me anyway.
I shivered again, running my hands up and down my arms.
“You’re not okay.” Katryn said it finally, not looking at me anymore, but
staring straight ahead.
I wanted to argue with her, but she was sort of right. I wasn’t fine or fully
okay. And seeing Blake, just talking to someone who cared about me, who
would comfort me and make me feel…
Safe.
The minute I thought the word I knew it was true. I never felt safe. But
when he had been in my room, telling me my options, that feeling cracked
open and spread inside of me, and now I craved it again.
Fate had decided to give me my other half. And instead of worrying, or
thinking about Zeke or anything else, I should prove it. I should prove to
myself, to fate, that I deserved Blake. That the feeling of safety was one that
made all the difference in the world. The desire wasn’t a bad piece either.
“Can we stop by Blake’s really fast?” I asked, suddenly pausing. “I need
to see him.”
Taylor’s eyes got wide. “Now?”
“It’s…it’s important.”
 Katryn sucked in a breath. “Probably would have made sense to stay with
Weston then,” she said with a low grumble.
“I wouldn’t ask normally, I know it’s late,” I said.
Katryn assessed me a second longer. My admission to needing anyone
most likely shocked her more than she’d say, but since she was already
pissed at me, the chances were she was hiding it. She finally rolled her eyes
and sighed. “Fine. I know the way.”
“You what?” Taylor gasped.
“Weston’s Blake’s alpha,” Katryn answered more than one question
Taylor had that way, I was sure.
The gaping way her mouth opened and closed made me chuckle.
Katryn jerked her head toward me. “I still don’t understand why you
were at the club.”
“Do I need a reason to go out now?” I asked. The more she glared and
side-eyed me, the more frustrated I became.
We had veered off the main drag that would lead us back to the
University and instead headed toward the west side of campus where a
border of trees created a wooded haven for off campus housing. It wasn’t
necessarily official university grounds, but there were quite a few homes
interspersed over the territory that belonged to some of the packs there, and
some other groups of students.
We’d reached the edge of the woods when Katryn finally spoke again.
“You’re not telling me something. And no one makes you feel
uncomfortable. Why the secrets?” She asked.
I stared at her, open mouthed. “My secrets? Why couldn’t you tell me
you were with Weston tonight?”
 She stormed off, heading into the woods further. “Because I didn’t want
you to feel bad with the whole Blake drama.”
“Guys,” Taylor said softly.
“Blake drama? It’s not drama,” I huffed. “I’m not going to do anything
that would hurt anyone in Sloan. We have a deal.”
Katryn barked out a laugh. “Right.”
“Guys!” Taylor said louder, hissing. “If that’s the house right ahead, we
should probably not walk up to it arguing for everyone to hear.”
I brushed at my shirt, then smoothed my hair. “Right. Right. Thanks
Tay.”
We approached the front door of the house. “This place is huge,” I
muttered.
“It’s one of their pack homes. It needs to be.”
Katryn didn’t explain how she knew this, though it didn’t take much to
figure it out. I wished things weren’t growing strained with her. But I’d
figure that out just like everything else going on. I knew I would.
I knocked on the large wooden door. The single window on the door had
a sort of cage-like design to it. I expected to see someone in it within
moments, and yet, no one came.
Frowning, I knocked harder.
Taylor was quiet but started cracking her knuckles and looking around
the woods. “It’s after curfew,” she whispered.
“Engaged wolves have allowances,” Katryn said.
Shaking my head, I stared at her. “How do you know this?”
“You’d know it too if you just learned the things the pack wants you to,”
she said.
 The blow was low from Katryn. I’d swallow every emotion I was feeling
if it was for the good of others. And yet, lately I’d been acting out of
character. Maybe she had a point.
Before I could argue, loud voices shouted in the distance. We all walked
toward the side of the porch, looking out into the dark woods.
Flashlights beamed back and forth and dogs barked. More than just one
or two.
“What on earth…” I started to say when Taylor yanked both myself and
Katryn backward.
The lights were coming toward us. Taylor shrieked but had a hand over
her mouth as she did so.
“What is it?” Katryn asked.
“It’s a hunt. Humans. This late, with dogs, it’s a hunt. We have to get
down.” Taylor whipped around, finding a spot on the porch that would hide
us from that side of the wooded area. “Get down right now.”

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 Chapter 14

“DOG HUNT?” I ASKED as quietly as I could.

The shouts were getting closer, though still far enough off that I felt like
we could talk quietly.
Taylor’s eyes were wide and she was shaking her head.
Katryn crawled toward the front door. “We should go to the side and see
if any windows or doors are open.”
“What if they’re coming here?” I asked. It seemed too much of a
coincidence that they were near this house. Not that I really understood
what was happening anyway.
“I didn’t realize humans were anywhere around this area,” Katryn said,
looking between me and Taylor.
“Something must have happened to make them come here. They’re never
on this side of campus, though. I don’t understand.” Taylor took out her
phone. “When we get to the side, I’ll see if I can reach anyone.”
I nodded and Katryn held up her fingers counting out one, two, three.
We crawled, staying as close to the ground as possible until the sides of
the house rose around us. Then we stood, rushing, checking every door and
window we came across.
“Come on, where are they?” I asked under my breath.
“No,” Katryn growled. “What will they do if they find us?”
“How do you not know about this?” Taylor asked. “Why do you think we
have a curfew?”
There was so much that Katryn and I didn’t know. We’d not been out in
the world; most of Sloan hadn’t. With such a small pack, we kept tight to
our territory, not breaking it. Humans didn’t travel much in our wooded
home, and aside from Katryn and myself being hybrids, nothing else was
ever amiss for the pack.
Taylor grunted as she pushed at the last door on this side of the house.
“Humans hunting for something is never good. If you’re captured, you
won’t come back. Mostly they just get scared and kill.”
I trembled. We had to get out of here. “We can break away toward the
street.”
“The streetlamps are bright enough that we could be spotted. The dogs
would hear us and follow, and we’re on foot. The chances of being seen are
too great. Then they’ll know our faces.”
Fate must have had Taylor with us tonight for a reason, because thinking
about this happening without her was too terrifying a concept.
“Taylor, phone.” I pointed down to Taylor’s pocket where the glow of her
phone illuminated our area for a moment. She pulled it out.
Her eyes scanned it for a minute. “They’re looking for a dragon.”
My fear spiked. “A dragon?” I asked.
Katryn and I locked eyes while Taylor kept reading. “Someone burned
down the human library. There have been hunts running since the afternoon.
I have no idea what else might be going on, but this is not good.” Taylor
flicked a few buttons on her phone before shoving it into her back pocket.
“It’s always the freaking dragons.”
Every atom in my body was raging, on some high-alert overdrive. If this
kind of hunting was common, and marks were either captured or killed,
these humans had to be skilled enough to find the species they searched for.
And if it was a dragon they hunted, they were about to find one.
And if I accounted for how riled my dragon had been tonight at Bites
from the vampire, and the restlessness that I’d already had before knowing
there was a dog hunt, we were going to be in trouble the second we were
within sniffing distance of those dogs.
“We need to get out of here now,” I said.
Taylor glanced around us. “Straight behind us. If we run directly ahead,
we should hit the edge of campus and be safe as soon as we’re on university
property.”
I hoped she was right. Because we were out of time.
“Move,” she said.
Without any hesitation we ran deeper into the woods. Taylor moved like
her wolf eyesight was keen, unwavering. I knew Katryn would have the
same issues as I did. Our vision wasn’t as good as a pure wolf. But we
could rely on other senses too.
We ran, sprinting toward safety, or as close to that as we could find.
The woods darkened, like we were moving deeper inside of them, and
something deep within me tugged, hard. I stumbled from the impact of it,
though there was no external force.
“Come on,” Katryn said. Her voice held the panic that I felt.
She knew. She knew that it wouldn’t be her or Taylor that would be truly
in danger, but me.
 I could feel her fear flowing off of her in waves. I shut a barrier around
myself as much as I could. That kind of emotion coming at me wouldn’t
help the situation.
I pushed forward, trying to keep pace, but that invisible tug grew
stronger.
The barking increased, as the dogs must have heard us stumbling through
the forest, and scented that it wasn’t just wolves on the move, but me as
well.
I fought against whatever force was threatening to slow me down, and
my friends in the process. I couldn’t give in.
It’s okay.
In the panic of the moment I had no idea where the inner voice was
coming from. Myself? My wolf? My dragon? I just knew I heard loud and
clear. Shaking my head, I persisted forward, slower as that weight that
tugged at me grew.
More barking sounded behind us and I slowed, feeling the weight relent
as I did.
Closing my eyes, I gave in, letting the tug guide me. But it pulled me
away from Katryn and Taylor. Maybe this was to save them?
Fear tingled at the back of my neck.
“Morgan, what are you doing?” Taylor yelped.
I backed up a few steps, further in the direction I was being led by
something deep inside of me.
“Don’t you dare,” Katryn said. “Morgan, you can’t do this.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “Don’t follow. We’re all going to make it out okay.”
I spun toward the direction I knew I was supposed to go somehow, and
ran.
 I prayed Katryn listened as I bolted through the woods. She’d hate me,
but she’d also expect it. I couldn’t risk her or Taylor feeling pain, or being
captured. I couldn’t risk them in any way.
It was me the dogs would scent after all, as soon as they drew near. And
this way, veering off, I could follow the tugging inside of me, while also
keeping them safe.
Now, instead of having to trust my other senses, I relied on the ground in
front of me and the direction of my inner string.
The dogs’ barking and the shouting were growing louder, but sounded as
though they were all behind me.
Which meant my friends might be safe, even if I now had to wonder how
I’d make it out of this uncaptured.
Or even alive.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 15

MY BREATHING WAS RAGGED, but I kept up my pace .

Branches slapped and scratched past my face, but still I ran as fast as I
could through the dense forest.
An incline jutted up as the wooded area curved, forming a hill. I pumped
my legs as hard as I could, knowing full well the dogs and the human
search party were gaining on me.
I tripped once, slamming my knee into a root.
“Agh!” I cried out. Limping to my feet, I whimpered as I kept running. I
couldn’t be caught.
My adrenaline was the only thing that carried me to the top of the steep
hill in the woods. I could feel the cut on my leg; a small amount of blood
trickled over the skin, though I couldn’t stop to look at it.
Still, I climbed. Up the hill. Toward wherever this thing inside of me
wanted to go.
The woods cleared suddenly and a short patch of grass, free from
anything to trip on, gave me a momentary thrill of relief.
The thrill ended when I almost stumbled over the edge of a cliff.
 I threw my body backward as quickly as I could to stop my momentum
from carrying me forward and down toward the rugged rocks below.
This couldn’t be right. Why would I be led here, to a dead end?
I looked behind me, hearing the dogs as though they were about to clear
the woods at any moment.
Voices of humans shouting back and forth were becoming easier to
understand as well, and the lights of their flashlights were quickly
approaching.
I was trapped, with nowhere to go.
At least Katryn and Taylor should be almost to the dorms by now, and
with the way so many sounds were heading my way, hopefully they’d make
it there with no trouble.
Though, that didn’t help me in my current predicament.
A growl sounded to my right and a large German shepherd stalked
forward through the woods. He breached the edge and was on the grassy
terrain before me.
He was unleashed, but I was sure his owner wasn’t far behind.
Holding my hands up, I tried pleading with him, taking a small step back.
There was nowhere to go, though.
“It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you,” I said, softly as if that mattered
and the others weren’t coming as well.
Another bark echoed around me and all the way down to the bottom of
the cliff. I took a step back again, knowing I didn’t have any left to take.
A man’s voice was too close for comfort. “We’ve got something,” he
yelled.
No, no, no, I chanted in my head.
 If they saw me, they’d know what I looked like. The dogs were closing
in.
Another bark, and my feet reacted, taking another step back involuntarily.
Except there was no more room. My foot slipped, and though I lunged
forward toward the angry dogs, there wasn’t anything I could do quickly
enough to stop myself from the fall that was already taking place.
Time slowed. The dogs' mouths moved, but I couldn’t hear any sound
coming from them.
The hunt had taken my life from me.
My arms stretched up toward the edge of the cliff even though they
couldn’t reach. As I fell, pain shot through me, starting in my back.
This time when I screamed, I couldn’t keep the noise quiet. I let it escape
from deep within my chest, and it bellowed out of me, starting as a scream
and turning into a deep, guttural noise.
My plummeting slowed and something from inside churned and sparked,
shooting outward in a quick flash. The sensation warmed my entire being
and as I turned face down toward the bottom of the rocks quickly
approaching me, my descent paused all together.
A sweep of my arms had me soaring across the bottom, floating on the
air.
No, not arms.
Scales. There were deep blue scales where my arms should have been.
Scales that were a part of wings.
I had shifted.
I had shifted into my dragon form and was flying, racing along the
bottom of the jagged surface that should have brought my doom. Instead, I
soared, tilting my chin up.
 The hunt getting further and further away meant I could potentially play.
And oh, how every fiber of my being wanted to play. To live.
I aimed up, shooting from low to the ground and feeling the wind slide
over my aerodynamic body.
I was shining, sleek, large, and powerful. The rocky terrain opened into a
lake, and I knew I was safe. There was no fear left inside of me anymore,
just peace and awe.
The wind called to me as I spun and glided through the air. I dipped
downward, extending one of my claws to the surface of the lake. The
ripples that ran through it, and water splashing on my skin was pure magic.
I shot straight up into the sky, toward the moon that was dancing on the
water like it was singing to me. I was all alone here, but not lonely.
I twisted and turned in the night sky, splashing in the water. Finally, I
closed my eyes, letting every fiber of my being vibrate with the power and
joy that I felt.
When I opened my eyes again, I was calmer, more in control. I flew high
enough over the trees to look to see where I was, and spotted the school not
far off. More graceful than I’d ever felt before, I flew toward the lake’s
edge, knowing that Katryn and Taylor would be worried if I didn’t head
back to the dorm as soon as I could.
As my talons hit the beach I shuddered, feeling my magic winding tightly
inside of me, instinctively knowing what to do as I shifted back into a
human.
I rose on the ground in awe that I was clothed, and that they were in one
piece.
“Magic is a give and take. And it takes care of you when you appreciate
it.”
 I jumped, looking toward the sound of that voice.
Zeke was leaning against a tree not far from me at all. He hung back, not
coming toward me. “You have great scales,” he said.
His arms were crossed over his chest and his body language was more
reserved, though his tone was ever the same, confident. As was the way he
watched me.
“I’ve never…” I swallowed, feeling my heartbeat racing as though it
were still coming down from the utter high flying and shifting had given
me. “I’ve never done that before.”
“You've never shifted?” Zeke asked.
He pushed away from the tree and made his way toward me. I sank to my
knees and wrapped my arms around myself. “I mean, I’ve been in my wolf
form. But I never thought I could shift into a dragon. Part of me thought
maybe, maybe I wasn’t half, and it was just a weird rumor I believed.”
Zeke shrugged out of his leather coat and draped it over my shoulders.
“Well, you’re definitely part dragon. How’d it feel?”
I tugged the collar closer around my neck, thinking for a moment how I
could possibly put what had happened into words. “It felt like freedom. In
my wolf form, I shifted as an obligation, or as a way to ease the ache of
being human too long. But this was something else entirely. Nothing could
touch me,” I said.
The shock of having escaped the hunters and shifting would hit me at
some point, but right now, my body was just soaking up the amazement in
what it could do.
“The world loses its grip on you,” Zeke said as he sat beside me, looking
out toward the lake. “And you’re infinite.”
“Yes,” I whispered.
 Infinite.
“Why doesn’t my wolf feel that way?” I asked.
Zeke turned and looked at me for a few seconds, neither of us speaking.
“I want to tell you that it’s because you’re meant to be a dragon. Selfishly.”
He reached forward and shook his jacket out, loosening it enough that it
could fully wrap around me. He didn’t let go of the edges as he stared at my
eyes. “But maybe it’s because you’re angry at the wolves around you. I told
you, magic is a give and take. Next time your wolf comes out, treat her like
you just treated your dragon. Maybe you’ll feel the same.”
“I can’t be both, can I?” I asked. My voice trembled and Zeke hadn’t
broken his gaze from me.
He looked down, snapping the trance that was weaving around us. “I
don’t think so. But you’re the first of your kind. Something tells me you’ll
make the rules as you go, little wolf.”
Zeke rose, holding out a hand. I took it, but as I stood, I shrugged off his
jacket. “I’ll be okay for the walk back to campus.”
Zeke was too easy to talk to. And now he knew more about me than
anyone. Even Katryn.
He accepted the jacket, draping it over his arm. “This is usually my
escape spot,” he chuckled. “I’m going to do my own flying. Be safe.”
He walked backward, stepping toward the lake.
With a small smile, I turned, facing the woods that would take me back to
my room. Back to school.
The further away from the lake and Zeke that I went, the heavier the guilt
was that came over me. Zeke shouldn’t know so much about me. That kind
of intimacy with him didn’t sit right.
 Blake should have that from me, especially after all he’d offered, and
how little he pushed and pressed me for what was supposed to happen
between us.
The closer my legs took me to campus the more and more I hated that
Blake didn’t know so much about me.
Which made me realize that I actually wanted him to know more. I
wanted him to know all the parts of me, and still choose me.
And that was the scariest thought of all.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 16

KATRYN AND TAYLOR FLUNG themselves at me when I finally walked

into the room.
“Don’t ever do that again,” Katryn said. A small sob had escaped her and
I held her tighter.
When she pulled back and looked at me, the devastation was clear on her
face. Though Taylor was shaken, Katryn was downright destroyed. We had
been all each other had for so long. Even though we apparently had mates
now, it was still the two of us who had survived together for so long.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
Sitting on my bed, I took some deep breaths.
“What happened? What took you so long?” Taylor asked. Her
questioning gaze was filled with curiosity and a slight amount of doubt.
Pausing, I shook my head as I tried to come up with something. “They
veered off and started chasing me, I think. I kept running and eventually
didn’t hear noises anymore. They must have picked up another scent.”
Taylor whistled. “You’re lucky they did. Dog hunts are notorious for
being hard to escape.”
 My gaze shifted to Katryn and the clench of her jaw was visible. I’d have
to tell her more of the truth.
More? The word was funny in my head. Like I wasn’t prepared to tell her
the whole truth.
Again, I thought of how I needed to share things with Blake as well, but
even that felt funny in my head. Like now that the high was wearing off, I
didn’t want anyone else to know. Or maybe I didn’t want to share that part
of me with anyone.
You shared it with him.
I swallowed. “I’m exhausted from tonight. I think I’d better shower and
call it an evening.”
When I stood, my right leg shook slightly. I looked down at it,
remembering the pain that had shot through me when I tripped in the
woods.
“That looks nasty,” Taylor said. “Maybe see the nurse tomorrow if it gets
worse. And you two, please stay out of trouble.” She rose from Katryn’s
bed and walked out the door, shutting it behind her gently as she snuck back
to her own room.
“What the hell—”
I raised my hand, cutting Katryn off. “It was terrifying, and I truly do
need a shower. I promise tomorrow we can talk, but I am okay. Promise.
And we’re safe.”
“Barely,” she gritted out through clenched teeth.
Not looking toward her, even though I could feel the heat of her gaze, I
moved to the shower.
Running water over my knee helped slightly, and eventually the dried
blood was gone, showing a very red mark, already bruising.
 I took longer than I should have, closing my eyes and picturing myself in
my dragon form, the feelings I’d been able to have for the first time in my
life. It was exhilarating.
But as the water turned cold, so did my thoughts. As exciting as it was to
have finally shifted, that must mean part of me was growing in some way.
And if that was the case, how obvious would it be that I was a hybrid freak
to others?
Zeke knew. The Professor knew. I wondered how much Blake knew, or
had put together in his head. There’s no way he would guess I was part
dragon, but he was an alpha, and a powerful one at that. He had to know
something wasn’t 100% right.
And worst of all, a vampire knew. Maybe more. The dog hunt had given
me an escape from what had us in those woods in the first place that night.
I’d sought safety with my mate because of Tristan: the way his shadows
crawled over my skin, the way he knew who I was. I slammed the faucet off
in the shower, not being able to stand the cold water soaking me for one
more second.
Suddenly, instead of wanting to share things with anyone, I wanted an
escape, a hole to curl up in and not have to face any of the realities of this
night, or the realities of my future. Because the good was outweighed by the
heaviness of knowing I couldn’t be both things. Despite what the vampire
said, I would have to choose unless I chose to run and be alone.
But even then, could I outrun what I was forever?
I stayed in the bathroom, taking way too long to get ready for bed, and by
the time I emerged, Katryn was asleep. Or maybe she was pretending. But it
gave me a respite from the conversation I knew she’d be begging me to
have.
 My phone had no new notifications and I wondered why Blake or Weston
hadn’t bothered saying anything about the dog hunt. Maybe it was common.
Maybe they weren’t afraid of being questioned.
As I crawled into bed, the moonlight peeked through the window and
over my covers. It was funny how the moon brought me comfort as a wolf,
but it had also brought me peace when I was flying. Maybe my inner wolf
and dragon weren’t so different after all. They were certainly trying to
coexist inside of me at the moment.
Shivering I tucked further under my covers and prayed to find some sort
of peace enough to sleep away the thoughts chasing each other in my mind.

“Earth to Morgan,” Katryn said. She was staring at me with her eyebrows
raised in question.
I raised my shoulders in response, blinking a few times to clear away the
haziness of the conversation.
“Are you going to eat or just stare at your food all morning?” she asked.
Her plate was clean in front of her, and Taylor was already packing up
her backpack like she was ready to run across campus for class.
My phone buzzed, illuminating the screen so I saw it was ten till eight.
Class was soon, and unless I devoured my omelet in one large bite. I was
most likely going to be late.
“Sorry, don’t let me hold you up,” I said. “I’ll be right there.”
 Katryn’s eyes narrowed at me, but she just sighed and gathered her own
things, walking out of the campus dining area and leaving me behind.
Everyone would be making their way to classes soon. Campus would be
crawling with people. And I didn’t want to go.
The buzzing had been a text from Blake.
Haven’t heard from you. Are you doing okay?
I wondered if Weston had mentioned us being at the club, or if he was
sneaking around just like Katryn was. The sneaking didn’t make a whole lot
of sense though, especially since Katryn thought they were mates. Even if
they weren’t mates, they were adults. Minus the being in Bites, there wasn’t
really anything strange about them spending time together.
Instead of responding, I clicked the side button on my phone, turning the
screen blank. I didn’t want to talk.
There were too many unknowns.
The omelet wafted to my senses, and it was only then that my stomach
growled so loudly that I realized I was starving. Famished.
It was gone in fewer bites than was ladylike. Instead of getting a second
one, I decided to leave before I devoured the remaining food left out at the
cafeteria.
As I walked toward the center of campus, a new idea came to me. It
wouldn’t be the end of the world if I was late for class, and with all the
students most likely settled into their first blocks by now, I had the perfect
opportunity to visit Professor McCradey. She might be able to help me sort
through some of my questions.
Or something.
I wasn’t sure if she would help me, but at this point I’d had a good
conversation with her once, why not again?
 I jogged across campus to the Professors’ offices. Luckily, the building
was set up as one of the places where all professors were accessible no
matter what their species. It would be interesting to know what other spells
might be in place to keep fighting to a minimum here, if species weren’t
separated.
I walked until I saw her gold nameplate above the door. My foot tapped
nervously as I waited for an answer. I knocked again after a few moments.
Maybe she was late coming in? I sunk to the floor, taking a seat while
deciding it wouldn’t hurt to wait a few minutes.
My phone was going off like I was the most popular person around. First
Katryn. Twice, asking where I was. Then Taylor said it was too early to
miss classes. Katryn again. Blake wanted to know if I was upset with him
for something.
All of their texts came through and after twenty minutes of hiding from
my phone, and still no Professor McCradey, I rose from the floor.
At the next buzz, I growled. A message from Zeke now. Honestly, why
couldn’t I have some space? From everyone?
Clicking my phone off gave me a break from worrying about the next
person who was going to text me, or how upset they may be. Ignoring
everyone was much easier when my phone was off.
A sliver of unease twisted in me. Two weeks ago, I would have given
anything to have that many people care about me. And now, I tossed them
aside.
But I couldn’t handle everything at once. It was too much.
I looked up and down the halls, knowing that for now I’d find no comfort
here. And just like last night when I needed safety, I knew that right now I
needed comfort.
 The last place I’d had anything resembling that was the lake. So that’s
where I was going to go.
The further I walked, the more brisk my pace became until I hit the forest
at the edge of campus and was in an all-out sprint. The wind whipped at my
face, soaring around me, with me, like it was carrying me there itself.
I neared the lake, smelling the water and clear, crispness before I saw the
woods part to reveal the small beached area and the water.
Reaching down and taking my shoes off, I dipped my toes in the sand,
feeling it crunch beneath my toes.
As I moved to the water’s edge, I hesitated. Could I even make myself
shift again?
The thought of not being able to seemed worse than all of the other
decisions that had yet to be made.
What if I couldn’t?
As I watched the water ripple on the lake, though it called to me, I
hesitated. The conversation from last night with Zeke came back to me.
I was the only hybrid, save for Katryn, but she was wolf and witch.
Witches didn’t have to worry about shifting. She wouldn’t have to give up
one to be the other.
But I would. Because I was the only wolf and dragon.
Alone.
If that was truly the case, how then would anyone be able to help me with
the decisions that would shape not just my future, but the future of whatever
wolf or dragon pack I joined?

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17
The rattling of branches behind me whirled me around as I lowered into a
defensive position.
My gaze fell on Zeke, who was standing with his hands in his pockets
watching me. I should have known it was him by the way my mark tingled
as though fire was licking at it with claws that were sharp, but didn’t hurt.
“You’re not returning your texts,” he said. Zeke didn’t move forward
toward me, instead keeping his position a few feet away.
I turned, staring over the lake, wiggling my toes in the sand before
sighing. “No, I’m not.”
Zeke made a clicking noise with his tongue behind me. “Aren’t you
worried about what your fiancé will think?”
I froze. Not just from the disgusted tone in which he spoke to me, but
from the fact that he knew I had a fiancé. Is that what Blake was?
Technically, I guess. But hearing Zeke say the word, even though he may
have known I was arranged, felt strange.
“I’m not comfortable talking about this with you.”
 And why should I be? How could I talk about one marked mate to
another? Because deep inside, especially since I’d shifted into my dragon
form, and even before then, I’d had some suspicions that Zeke was also a
fated mate.
My dragon’s fated mate.
How would I come to terms with this? Should I tell him that I had kissed
Blake? Was that wrong? Blake was my mate, too.
While neither of them owned me, some wicked part of me felt throwing
Blake in Zeke’s face would make him back off a little, at least.
Being around Zeke made it hard to think about anyone else. And being
mated to Blake was ultimately a blessing in disguise, since I would have to
be arranged and married to someone from the Thorne pack either way.
Being with Blake meant so much more than just being with my fated. I
just wanted to be happy, feel that heat that Blake brought me, fly off into
the sunset, and leave this all behind.
Fly.
The word fell into my gut, like a pit.
My wolf couldn’t fly. Why would that be the word that came to mind
when choosing Blake?
I continued standing at the edge of the lake, my body feeling like it might
be ripped apart from the indecisive way with which my mind ticked back
and forth.
Wolf. Dragon.
Wolf. Dragon.
I stretched my arms back, not caring that Zeke was standing there with
me, or anywhere near me for that matter. I inhaled, not knowing if I could
shift, or which species I would even shift into. I just knew something had to
take me away and get me out of my head for a little bit.
“Hey.” Zeke cried out, grabbing my arm.
I yanked my arm away. “Get off of me.”
“You can’t go out there,” he said. His gaze flicked over to the lake and
then back to me.
“You can’t tell me what to do.” I hated the way that the males around me
thought that they knew what was best.
I could and I would do what I needed to do for myself.
“Something happened the other night, and the humans, as well as some
powerful people from Defence and the University are on high alert.” He
was positioned close to me, ready to grab me again it seemed.
Frowning, I pressed him. “High alert?”
Suddenly I remembered there was a reason for the hunt last night.
Humans hadn’t just been around with their dogs to find any species that
roamed. No, Taylor had mentioned something about a burned-down library.
Zeke’s eyes were roaming over my face, studying me so hard it felt like
he thought he’d be able to read my thoughts. “A rogue dragon. And you
aren’t quite sure what you're doing yet. If something were to happen—”
“Why do you care?” I cut him off. The way I threw the insult at him was
unfair. But something inside of me ticked, triggered. Everyone acted as if
they knew me. As if they cared.
Zeke knew that I was part wolf and part dragon, but he didn’t care about
my wolf side. Blake didn’t know about my dragon side. Would he care
about that?
Zeke’s eyes flashed with heat, almost like they were burning from the
inside out. “You seriously have to question that?”
 He moved fast, coming to stand in front of me, while he grasped both my
arms. I struggled for a moment and his grip loosened, though he didn’t let
go.
“You might not want to acknowledge this yet, but you're my mate. My
other half.”
I struggled again. He let go this time, but didn’t move out of my way.
“I don’t care what you're doing with Blake Thorne. I don’t care. You can
pretend you’ll match with him all you want. But that doesn’t mean that
you’re not my mate. And it certainly doesn’t mean that you’re not meant to
be with me.”
I growled, low and deep from within my chest. My wolf’s hair stood up
as she moved into a defensive stance inside of me. “No, you don’t
understand. You're not my only mate.”
Zeke’s head jerked back.
“My mark burns for both of you,” I said.
He had not been expecting that. He stumbled backward and ran his hand
along his jaw as more than enough evidence that I’d completely taken him
off guard.
Good. Let him finally move out of my way and pause so he can realize
that this is so much more than me just agreeing to be his mate.
“What did you say?” he asked.
“My mark,” I said again. “With Blake there’s a heat to it, a passion. It
tingles so badly that it hurts. With you, it’s fiery, like claws gently scraping
along it, acknowledging something more is beneath the surface between us.
But it’s there for both of you. You are the only ones to ever make it act like
that.
“So yes, I know that you’re my other half. But he is too.”
 Silence.
Even the water on the lake seemed to stop rippling. There were no
animals making noise in the distance and woods around us. No wind
through the trees. It was as if everything had halted, holding its breath as I
finally admitted this truth out loud.
“That doesn’t make sense. How is that possible?” Zeke asked.
I laughed. “You think I know? It’s not like I'm trying to do this. It’s not
like I want to have two mates.”
Fury welled within me, and a burst of energy generated inside of me at
my very core.
Zeke stepped toward me. “Calm down. Remember what I said about the
rogue dragon.”
My breathing hitched and started to grow heavier. I was going to shift; I
just had no idea into what form. “I don’t know who’s coming,” I said.
I didn’t think my wolf would harm Zeke, but I’d never been around a
dragon in my wolf form. Just like I’d never been around a wolf in my
dragon form.
I fell to the ground, my hands clenching the sand. The magic inside of me
continued to well up. “I should shift. I shouldn’t.”
Zeke squatted in front of me, putting his hands over mine. “It doesn’t
matter if you shift. It’s okay if you do. Morgan,” he paused. “Look at me.”
His entire demeanor had changed in those few seconds of my panic.
Instead of caring if I shifted into a wolf or dragon he stood near me, with
me, even if it meant it might be a risk to himself.
“If you breathe slowly, you can calm it, the magic.” His words had
slowed down as if the rate at which he spoke could coax my own breathing
to calm as well. “Whatever shift happens is okay. Even if you can’t stop it.”
 It was okay.
I played the words over in my head. It was okay.
No matter what I shifted into, it was okay.
For the first time, something like acceptance ran through me. I would not
be able to be both wolf and dragon forever, but for right now, maybe it was
okay.
My breathing slowed and though nothing had been answered, no
knowledge gained, the very fact that a dragon had made it seem like it
would be okay if I shifted into a wolf was enough for me in the moment to
actually be okay.
I inhaled slowly, exhaling as I leaned back onto my knees. The magic had
stopped its anger inside my body and instead of begging to break out, it
became a low, simmering flame within me, content with being just as it
was.
I was in a world of shit.
But right now, it was okay. We sat there quietly for a few moments
longer. Zeke made the first move, rising to his feet.
“We should both get back to campus,” he said. “I don’t know how serious
these hunts are. While the professors may recognize us, no one else would.”
I nodded, still trying to breathe deeply as though any small thing could
send me spiraling out of control again.
Zeke moved forward, walking past me, but stopped at my side. “Morgan,
I can’t stay away from you,” he said. “But I can’t share you either.”
With that, Zeke disappeared into the woods, toward campus hopefully,
just as he instructed me to do.
I was left staring at the lake, while the wind picked up again, wrapping
around me as if it somehow understood my pain.
OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18
The days dragged on and after Zeke’s warning, I didn’t return to the lake.
The days turned into a week. And then almost two.
I fell into a routine that I hated, one that involved ignoring people that I
knew I should be turning to instead. But I couldn’t bring myself to tell
Blake anything that had happened, regardless of how much I craved being
close to him.
While I’d turned my phone back on eventually to answer texts, I was
always brief. But Blake, in particular, checked in still. Every single day.
He also kept his word and gave me space.
The alpha of the Thorne pack, the band of wolves thought so relentless
and vicious, was allowing me, a half-breed nobody, to have space. I
wondered whether he was being pushed to press the mating ceremony. But
still, he never pressured me. He just checked in, asked if I needed anything,
and then let me be.
Occasionally, I’d catch sight of him across the campus quad area. His
eyes would linger on me, and he’d give me one of his flirtatious smiles, just
checking on me briefly, then going back to whatever he was doing.
Zeke was more conspicuous, and I hadn’t seen him at all.
Even worse than my two mates though, was Katryn. She and I had started
avoiding each other and the pain of having to go through this complicated
situation alone was even greater, considering I didn’t have my best friend
there with me to discuss it.
We’d always been able to talk about anything and everything. And yet, in
the past two weeks we’d become almost strangers. She’d be sleeping when
I would return to the dorm, or I’d be sleeping when she’d return. Most of
the time it was the latter. I didn’t tend to leave the room to socialize much,
and it was wearing on me.
I was used to being an outcast, only spending time with Katryn.
Something about being here at first had given me hope.
I’d had a mission. Find a dragon. Find out what happened to my father.
Find out what happened to my parents.
That mission had suddenly gone away when I started thinking about what
it meant for me to be half of two enemies.
Though the day was most likely always coming for me, it was easy to
ignore until the arrangement ceremony had been made. The fact that it was
Blake, the fated mate to my wolf, didn’t change the fact that it was still a
big decision.
I’d taken to spending time in the small library in our dorm, but I had
trouble finding books diving into the history between dragons and wolves.
I’d asked Professor McCradey for further reading on the topic. I thought
back to her answer, and why things had to be such a mystery.
“Why are there so few books about species interactions with each other?
Or really, any nuances about them?” I’d asked her at her office hours one
day.
“Ah, you’ve caught onto that have you?” Professor McCradey took her
glasses off and leaned back in her chair. “Each species acts as though
they’re their own world. Secrets are guarded as if our species would
collapse if they weren’t protected. So, many things are passed down by
parents or elders of packs, not written down in books.”
“But we’re at school,” I said, countering her statement.
“You’re signed up at this school as a wolf, Morgan. Any classes you have
that are joint classes with other species are surface level, overall education.
Nothing specific about your individual species. I can get away with a bit in
history, but most have a strict curriculum, not because they refuse to teach
something, but because the material isn’t there to teach from.”
“That’s crazy. How do we learn then?” I asked.
“You’ll have wolf-specific lessons while you’re in school. You’ll have all
wolves in the class and most of the lessons will be verbal. Magic, the ways
we used magic, how we protected our packs, our alphas, our many
traditions…all of those things are considered protected, and I can’t show
you a book where that lies.”
“That seems dumb,” I said, crossing my arms as I realized it was going to
be almost impossible to find information.
“It’s the way things are at the moment, but hopefully not how they’ll be
forever.”
That had been the end of it.
But I was determined. Deciding that I should look beyond just a history
book about the two together, I instead began researching dragons alone. I
had a chance that way to find something.
 I’d spent too many nights poring over history books about dragons and
their legacy. As far back as I could find, they were described as vicious,
slaughtering wolves for fun. Just like our history books said we slaughtered
dragons. Each side painted the other as the enemy that had started this all-
out war.
But as the Professor had indicated, there was nothing specific for me to
find. Just overarching themes, generalizations.
I was getting nowhere, and I knew that the time had come when I
couldn’t rely on books anymore. I had to talk to actual people, actual
dragons. Members of a pack. Members from my own heritage.
Tonight, as I scanned the last pages of a history book, I closed it, sighing
as I realized there was nothing further I could learn here, not when it came
to the hatred between our two species.
I packed my bag up to head back to the dorm. As I left the library, I ran
into someone that was as solid as a wall.
“I’m so sor–Blake!” I barked, taken aback to find him there.
He looked at me with those gorgeous hazel-colored eyes. They were
swimming with an emotion I couldn’t put my finger on. “I realize this may
not be giving you space, but with the rumors of a rogue dragon, I thought it
might be wise to walk you back to your dorm.”
I hesitated, taking a small step away from him, but it had been enough for
him to notice.
“Unless that’s not all right with you,” he said.
My mark twinged. It hadn’t felt this blissful fire in too long and before I
knew it, I moved closer to him, nodding my head. “It would be wonderful.”
The conversation was benign, and we didn’t have very far to go. Talking
about the weather, how we were doing in school wasn’t so bad. Except for
the lingering knowledge that we were avoiding the main point we should be
discussing. He didn’t bring it up and neither did I.
The lights of my dorm came into view and Blake looked down at me.
He looked like he had something to say, but instead let his lips turn up in
that little half grin he did.
Inhaling slowly, Blake reached up and tucked a stray strand of hair
behind my ear and leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on my cheek.
“Goodnight, Morgan.”
With that he turned, walking toward the wooded area of campus where I
knew his pack house resided.
I stood staring after him, and even though he didn’t look back to spare a
glance my way, I was grateful for the small interaction. It was more than
just a text or phone call; it was something else.
And it more than proved he still cared, that he still wanted me. I pushed
into the dorm, climbing the stairs to my floor. I half expected Katryn to be
in bed pretending to sleep, but she wasn’t. Alone in the room I propped up
my bed, staring up at the ceiling.
I knew why I was avoiding Katryn. Her hatred for the dragons had been
evident since we started here. She never acted like she hated me, but I knew
that that simmering fury was there beneath the surface constantly.
She didn’t mean to, but some of the things she said, the snide comments
she made about the dragon species, had me second guessing and wondering
if she would be able to accept my dragon side if that were the species and
side I would choose.
The pain of knowing that someone I loved might not be able to accept me
weighed heavy on my heart. I realized the reason I avoided her was because
I couldn’t bear to face that fact alone. My reasons for not being around her
were clear.
But what motivation did she have to avoid me? Because it was going
both ways. It wasn’t just me that was going out of my way to make sure we
didn't interact.
Cuddling under the blankets and enjoying the warm embrace that my
bed’s cocoon gave me, I pushed out the fears.
The door creaked open ever so quietly. I waited, some part of me
wondering if Katryn would see if I was awake, even though I knew better.
We’d been doing this dance too many nights so far for anything to be
different.
Unless I spoke up.
“Why are you avoiding me?” I said the words before I’d sat up, but in the
silence that followed my question, I threw my blankets off.
Swinging my feet over the edge of my bed, I saw Katryn turn to avoid
me and my gaze. She busied herself at her desk off to the side,
absentmindedly stacking things.
“I’m not at all,” she said. She continued messing around with
unimportant things around the room, avoiding me.
“You’re doing it even now,” I said. I wanted to stand up and make her
look at me, say something that would fix this rift that had been growing
between us. But I didn’t.
She finally went to her closet, then the bathroom.
I sighed. “Please, Kat,” I said, slightly louder so she could hear me
behind the closed door.
This time when she emerged, she looked right at me. There were tears in
her eyes.
 “What’s wrong?” I asked. “What is it?”
She crawled into my bed and laid her head in my lap. I stroked her hair,
trying to remain calm while freaking out on the inside.
This wasn’t Katryn. She didn’t have breakdowns, or moments where she
gave in to her feelings. While that might not be the healthiest approach, it
was still how she handled things. So, this version of her scared me. It made
me think that something was very wrong.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’ve been spending a lot of time with
Weston.”
“That’s no reason to avoid me,” I said. “I know you said you thought he
was your mate. And he’s Blake’s beta. That’s wonderful.”
She sniffed. “My stupid mark hurts so bad around him that it feels good.”
She let out a dry laugh. “But…”
She paused, and her body shook slightly. I kept the steadiness of my hand
stroking her hair back to try to help in any way I could.
“But when I’m not with him, weird things are happening. I don’t know. I
think I’m starting to develop some of the magic from my witch side.”
My heart thudded. Wasn’t that exactly the battle I was facing?
“I don’t want to be half witch. I don’t want other powers. I just want to
be a wolf. A normal wolf. I want to be with Weston and not have to worry
about my magic doing something that might hurt him. Or me. Or anyone
else.” Katryn leaned her head into my lap and started crying, choking on a
couple of sobs.
I shattered inside. She was stuck in the exact same position I was. We
were both struggling with the same painful mess of being hybrids.
“I know,” I said as soothingly as possible. “Dear friend, I know. Being a
hybrid is awful. But you don’t have to hide from me. I know better than
anyone.”
She kept crying as I rubbed her hair, and her back. Eventually the tears
ebbed slightly. “You’re hiding from me too though.”
She was right. We both knew it. Being torn between my wolf and dragon
had made me hole up and avoid everyone. And hers was doing the same.
Well, except for avoiding Weston. But if that was who brought relief to her
feeling the effects of her witch side, then I could understand that too.
“I know. I’m sorry, too.”
It was all I needed to say. Nothing else needed to be spoken for us to be
right back to where we’d always been. Each other’s rock.
My goals shifted in my mind. Having Katryn be in the same position as I
was, torn between the two parts of herself, it was enough to push me into
action. Not only did I need to get to the root of my own parentage, but I also
needed to help Katryn get to the core of hers.
Because every day we waited, and the magic inside of our hybrid selves
grew strong, was another day where we’d feel out of control, conflicted,
torn.
We could do this together. We could find our lineage, what it meant, and
face it.
Because that was the only way, the only chance of finding happiness, and
who we were.

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 Chapter 19

“WE NEED TO TALK.”

I closed my eyes tighter, not wanting to open them as light streamed over
my face through the window.
Katryn groaned from the bed across the room. “Whaaaat?” she whined.
A consistent pounding thudded so deep in my head that it made me
wince.
“Did you hear me girls? We need to talk,” Taylor said from the other side
of the door.
Those words were never good, no matter who they came from. But they
were certainly sketchy before our alarms went off first thing in the morning.
Taylor pounded again on the door.
“We’re coming!” I shouted, louder than I meant to.
Katryn laughed from under her blanket. “Someone’s grumpy.”
“I don’t see you rolling out of bed to help,” I snapped back at her.
Stomping to the door was childish but I didn’t care. I flung it open,
staring down Taylor with my best stern face.
 She waved a hand in my face. “Yes, yes. We know you two are terrible
when you’re woken up, but this couldn’t wait.”
I rubbed my hands over my face a few times thinking that would help
shake the sleep from me.
Taylor hit on top of Katryn’s blanket. “You too, missy.”
“I’m up!” Katryn said.
“Good.” Taylor plopped down in the chair I had close to the window.
“You need to be careful.”
Her finger pointed my way and I balked. “Me? Careful of what?” I asked.
“There’s a rumor flying around our dorm that you’ve been hanging out
with a dragon,” she said.
Rolling my eyes, I pulled my blanket back over my legs. “Is this really
why you’re barging in here this early? Because people in our dorm are
talking nonsense?”
Taylor scoffed. “If it’s a rumor in our dorm, it’s a rumor around the whole
campus, Morgan.”
Her words were enough to make me pause. If there was a rumor around
campus about me and a dragon, it would reach Blake. Exactly what I didn’t
want.
Taylor continued when neither Katryn nor I responded. “And not just any
dragon, mind you,” she said. “The alpha to the west coast.”
I laughed at that. There was no way Zeke was alpha to anything other
than himself, even if he was the last male. Dragons must have female
alphas.
“I have gone to see Professor McCradey a few times. But we’re at
University. And she’s my history teacher. Is she also the alpha of the west
coast?”
 “Yeah,” Katryn chimed in. “It’s okay if she talks to teachers, right?”
I knew Katryn had an inkling about Zeke. She’d been there the first night
we talked at the bar, and she wasn’t an idiot. But still, she stood up for me.
Taylor recoiled, like the thought physically made her upset. “Don’t you
want to kill them? How do you even talk to her?”
I frowned. “She’s our professor. She teaches a whole class, Taylor.”
“But she’s still a dragon. How are you able to be so calm around them?”
Her lip curled as a disgusted look washed over her face.
I glanced at Katryn who was pursing her lips before she met my stare.
“Look, I’m just looking out for you, Morgan,” Taylor said. “There is a
rumor. And I know you have an arrangement with Blake, and even though
he’s your mate, I thought you should know that people are talking.”
“Everyone should just mind their own business,” I countered.
Taylor nodded. “Yes, but, be that as it may, the rumors are there. Be
careful.”
I didn’t respond to the final warning; didn’t think I had to. It wasn’t as if I
was doing something wrong when there were two males that were my
mates. Even if they were mortal enemies.
“And now you,” Taylor shifted her gaze to Katryn.
Katryn held her hands up, shaking her head. “I haven’t been hanging out
with dragons, or doing anything else untoward.”
I snarled at her, and she shot me a grin.
“Except you haven’t been around. Where have you been?” Taylor asked.
There was a sadness to her voice. I knew that Taylor and Katryn had been
closer than I was to Taylor. Part of that was me, feeling like I couldn’t open
up with anyone. And then me shutting everyone out. But Katryn didn’t shut
people out, ever. She made many friends anywhere we went, while I was
content with only a handful.
“I’ve been with Weston quite a bit. I’ll try to balance it out more. I’m
sorry, Taylor.” Katryn’s apology was sincere, and it was enough that Taylor
loosened the tension in her shoulders and settled into my chair, leaning back
and looking relaxed for the first time since she’d knocked on the door.
“I feel like we’re already busier than we should be, and school is barely
just starting,” Taylor said.
Both Katryn and I gave her nods of agreement. She had no idea just how
busy it was, having a war within yourself for what species was going to get
control.
My alarm buzzed loudly from somewhere under my blankets and
pillows. “Time to get ready,” I announced, even though I obviously didn’t
need to do so.
I stretched my arms out and rose from bed. Taylor stood up. “I’ll wait for
you guys downstairs.”
She started toward the door when I stopped her. “How about a run or
something tonight? You girls down?”
A grin spread over her face, and she nodded enthusiastically.
“Definitely!” She skipped to the door, closing it behind her.
“Morgan Sloan being a social butterfly; I never thought I’d see the day,”
Katryn said, teasing.
I tossed my pillow at her as she giggled. “Once people find out I’m half
dragon I’ll need all the friends I can get,” I said. I stuck my tongue out at
her. Though we were playing and able to joke about things now, I knew that
once the time came, I’d be accurate in that assessment.
 Offering the run was a way to distract Taylor, which may have been a
manipulative thing to do, but I had to get away from her questions, and fast.
There was too much going on and I was having a hard time hiding my
secrets already. When they came forward, I needed to be as prepared as
possible, and standing alongside people that I knew would stand up for me.

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 Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20
The complications, the fears, and the inability to be able to decide what I
was, seemed more manageable with things worked out now between Katryn
and me.
Or maybe it was simply the knowledge that I might be the only hybrid
wolf and dragon, but I wasn’t the only hybrid.
I wasn’t truly alone.
The two of us were laughing so hard my sides hurt after class on Friday
when a quick rapping at the door sounded.
“Taylor just needs to know she can walk in at this point,” I said, wiping
tears from my eyes. Opening the door, my stomach catapulted into my
throat.
“Blake,” I said, almost choking on the word.
I gripped my side, my mark throbbing more than it had since the night
Blake walked me home.
His grin was infectious and as much as the sensations inside of me were
flip flopping, I smiled back, completely taken in with the way his eyes quite
literally sparkled like he was looking at something interesting.
And they were looking at me.
“What are you—” Before I could say anything further, he pulled his hand
from behind his back and handed me a bouquet of the most incredible
looking flowers I’d ever seen. The combination of carnations, daisies, roses,
and baby’s breath was unique, but they all worked together in the most
beautiful way.
“I’ve done everything backward with you,” he said.
I wrapped my hands around the bouquet and brought them to my nose,
inhaling the floral scent that immediately invoked a sense of peace and
calm inside of me.
“We were arranged, found out we were matched, and then thrown
forward on this path that we both started without knowing who each other
was,” Blake continued. “If you’d let me, I’d love to take you out. On a real
date. So, we can actually get to know one another. What do you say,
Curls?”
Katryn squealed from the bedroom, and I laughed at the sound.
“Sorry, excuse me, I’ll take these.” She winked at Blake as she grabbed
the flowers out of my hands. “I think someone around here will have a
vase.”
Then she was gone, walking out of the door and down the hall with my
flowers.
“Right now? You want to take me out …” I paused looking down at my
sweatpants. “Now?”
Blake leaned against the doorframe, taking me in. “Personally, I’ve heard
the sweatpants look is in. So, if you’d like to wear that, yes. If you’d like to
change, I’m happy to wait downstairs for you. Whatever you want.”
 I bit my lip, growing more intoxicated by his voice, his looks, everything
that he was, by the second.
Always leaving things up to me, what I was comfortable with. Which
was a big change from that overprotective alpha side he’d shown before.
But this version, this was to die for.
“I’ll find something to wear and meet you downstairs,” I said.
Blake waved his hand, bowing. “As you wish, my mate.” He grinned
while backing away whistling.
I closed the door, my heart thudding with excitement. I didn’t want to
take too long, and quickly moved to my closet, throwing together jeans and
a cute top before running a comb through my hair and running out the door.
I ran toward the stairs, only to slow to a casual walk when I got to the
area where Blake would be able to see me. No use in showing him how
excited I was. I could play it cool. I thought I could, at least.
“Ready?” he asked.
I nodded and he led me outside the dorm, but instead of walking toward
the center of campus where we’d go if we were going out in the town, he
pulled me toward the parking lot. “I have a car, and we can get a little
outside of the area if you’d like?”
“I’ve never seen anywhere else. That sounds perfect.”
He opened his car door for me, and I slid in, taking in the nice, clean
leather on the interior of his vehicle.
Blake got in and we pulled out of the parking lot.
I barely spoke as we drove, looking out of the window and only talking
to ask questions about where we were.
Blake seemed to notice my interest in seeing the area, so he obliged me
by answering about the different parts of town we passed through.
 We’d barely left the small city behind us when the lights of another town
appeared on the horizon.
“There’s a great bar right inside the town line. They’ve got so many
different options, and everything I’ve tried is awesome.”
I smiled as he glanced my way from the driver’s seat. “Sounds perfect.”
Before I knew it, we were seated in the bar, which was much fancier than
anything around the University, and certainly more well-lit and dignified
than Bites.
“So, Morgan,” Blake said after we’d handed our menus off to the
waitress with our orders. “Besides being a freshman at the University, and
fiercely loyal to those you care about, what else should I know about you?”
I almost choked on my lemonade at the fiercely loyal comment. I wasn’t
sure why he thought that, other than Katryn and I sticking together at Bites
the first night we all met. And, of course, dressing him down for the way he
was playing the Sloan pack.
Instead of dwelling on the comment, I cleared my throat. “Well, Katryn is
my best friend. We grew up in similar situations and gravitated toward each
other when we were young. Stayed that way since. I don’t make friends
super easily, but once I do, I am loyal to them for sure. I’m a sucker for a
good book, a little bit of a “goodie-goodie” when it comes to class and
school…” I paused tilting my head to the side.
I didn’t like talking about myself. I shifted as the discomfort in doing so
grew.
“How did you become alpha so young?” I asked, completely shifting the
subject. I didn’t know anything about Blake, and seeing as he’d had spies in
Sloan for a while before deciding he was going to be arranged to me for the
treaty, he knew more about me already.
 The spark behind his eyes faded slightly, and he sat up straighter. “My
family is dead,” he said.
My chest constricted. I was an idiot. Obviously, something had happened
for him to be named alpha. It was a stupid question, that I didn’t think twice
about.
“Blake, I’m so sorry. That was insensitive,” I said, covering his hand
with mine.
He turned his hand over so that he was holding mind. His palm was
warm and the way his hand enveloped mine sent a shiver from my arm all
the way down my spine, into every sensitive area inside of me.
“It wasn’t insensitive. I asked to know more about each other,
remember?” His smile didn’t reach his eyes this time. “Our pack has a
reputation and I’m very aware of it. It wasn’t always that way, but it was
something my father felt strongly about building up over his years as alpha
in order to make sure our members were protected.
“When I was about eight years old, we’d solidified that standing in our
world, as I’m sure you’re aware.”
“Mmm,” I said. “Your father must have worked hard because that’s very
true.” I didn’t say it with malice or ill intent, and I could tell immediately
Blake didn’t take it that way. Having a difficult conversation and doing so
with dignity and peace was hard. He was surprising me.
“That same year, a part of our pack tried to overthrow him. One of the
higher standing elites within Thorne got it into his head that if things were
so peaceful for us, my father probably had grown overconfident and
wouldn’t be prepared for a fight.” Blake rubbed the back of my hand with
his thumb.
 “If they had simply attacked, it would have been the end of it. My father
would have squashed them easily. It would have been a second and then
over. But it wasn’t just that. One of the traitors ran their mouths down at
one of the seedier spots in our territory, talking about a new alpha taking the
reins. Somehow, a pack of dragons must have heard. The best we’ve been
able to work out is that they made a deal with the dragons, brought in extra
reinforcements to seal the deal.”
I brought my other hand to my mouth, breathing heavily as Blake’s body
grew stiffer. This was hard for him.
“They attacked along with the dragons at once. The wolves were easily
defeated, but the dragons were another story. My father warned me to stay
back, to protect my younger brother and mother, and stay out of the way.
But I thought I knew best. I thought…” He shuddered once. “I thought I
could help.”
Blake’s face, the way it twisted, cracked and threatened to break
something deep within me. He wasn’t just being vulnerable with me; he
was revealing something horrific, something that had weighed on him for
years.
“I ran out to the fight, tried to take down a dragon that was far older than
my young self. The dragons were killing on sight. Not taking prisoners like
they so often tried to do in the past. My father and the other wolves had
taken care of most of the others, leaving two dragons left. While the pack
took down one, my father came to throw me out of the way. He was
distracted by me being there and was wounded. The pack was too late in
coming to our aid and with his last breath he threw his body over mine and
took a blast of fire that would have killed me.
 “When the last dragon was slain, we found my mother and brother with
their throats sliced. They hadn’t shifted. One of the defectors had survived
and killed them. If I had been with them…” He took his hand from mine,
moving both of arms to his side. “I would have protected them like I should
have.”
“Blake,” I said quietly. I rose, coming to sit beside him in the booth.
“You could have been killed too. You were a child.”
Our waitress chose then to drop our food off, giving me a wink like we
were sharing a romantic moment, and not reliving painful pasts. The minute
she was gone, I turned back to Blake, who still had a faraway look in his
eyes.
“My father would have survived without me, and my mother and brother
may have survived if I had been with them like I should have.”
“You can’t possibly know that,” I said.
“I know that’s what I should believe. But I think taking on the guilt has
made a stronger alpha,” Blake said. “I was named alpha immediately and
Weston’s father—my beta, you’ve already met, as has Katryn. Weston’s
father helped me, trained me, and walked me through. When it was time for
me to take over, he allowed it graciously. He’s the only one I trusted.”
“That’s incredible,” I said. “Most would have seized the opportunity to
take over such a powerful pack.”
I knew how wolves worked. I’d seen it in Sloan, the infighting for the
alpha spot. Ours was rough throughout different points over the years, but I
was always on the outside. I never had to deal with it firsthand like I’m sure
Blake had to.
“He’s been well compensated. But Weston is like my brother. They raised
me when my family was gone. I’m lucky, very lucky, yes. And I’m lucky to
be young and not yet had anyone challenge me.”
He tapped his hands on the table. “All right. I think now I’ve talked your
ear off. Eat, please.”
I nodded, taking a few bites of my food, and allowing him to do the
same. “You’re very impressive as well. To be running the pack. And going
to school. And having their respect and trust. That much was evident at the
announcement.”
He held my gaze for a long time as we sat in silence. “Thank you,
Morgan. That means more than you know. It’s because of my past that I can
be protective. I have a hard time with that feeling. Knowing you’re my mate
and what I feel already for you, the dream of what we will be, it weighed on
me greatly at the announcement. Because I couldn’t protect my family then,
it’s my only goal now, to defend and protect what’s mine, whether that be
pack members, territory, or most importantly, family. I reacted in a way that
was not the best for you, which is why I needed to apologize.”
“It gives it some context. I can’t imagine the worry that comes with those
feelings from someone so young.”
He dabbed his napkin on his mouth. “How about your parents?”
The question was hard though his tone was light, gentle even. He’d know
I had no one, but not the details. As much as I wanted to take the chance to
bare my soul, I couldn’t. There was something inside of me telling me to
hold on to the information of what I was a little longer.
The guilt over that would break me, so I did what I always do. I
swallowed the guilt, pushing it down forcefully and refusing to allow any
hint of it to rise back up.
I stabbed at a piece of chicken in my side salad. “I never knew my
father,” I said. The truth, even if it didn’t include that he was a dragon. “My
mother disappeared when I was very young. Before I was even two,” I said.
“She was presumed dead by her parents, and the Sloan pack. And never
returned.”
I chugged a few sips of my lemonade down. “My grandparents watched
me till I was a teenager and then they also passed. But I was old enough to
be on my own. And so that’s what I was.”
“Until they traded you,” he said. His jaw ticked like the thought
disgusted him.
I sighed. “Sort of. I volunteered. I told them I’d do it.”
Blake blinked a few times, cocking his head to the side as he took me in.
“Why?”
“They didn’t care about me anyway. It was the least I could do to help
them though, after taking me in,” I said, realizing we were flirting with
dangerous territory.
“It’s a pack’s job to care for all their members.”
I didn’t know what to say, how to answer without raising more suspicion,
or without making Blake dislike the Sloan pack more than he already did.
“It’s in the past now,” I said.
He took the last bite of his meal, twirling his plate and setting his utensils
down. “If we don’t follow traditions, and care for each other in the very
simplest and most basic of ways, we’re no better than the monsters who
prey on us. We become just as bad as the dragons who hunt and kill and
destroy.”
I didn’t answer again, this time because I could feel the anger rolling off
him. It was everywhere, that anger. That anger had manifested many years
before, and would be near impossible for him to ever be rid of since a
dragon had almost killed him and had destroyed his father, his family.
While rationally I knew that his anger wasn’t directed at me, I couldn't help
but feel it as if it was.
Because if Blake found out what I was, wouldn’t he hate me as much as
he hated all dragons? How would he come to terms with separating my
dragon half from the species that killed his father?
Could he do that?
And what would happen to me, his fated, if he couldn’t?

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 Chapter 21

I NESTLED INTO THE leather seat and stared at Blake.

Stared, like some lovesick school girl, all while my insides churned as I
tried to hold the lingering what ifs that could haunt my thoughts at bay.
“See something you like, Curls?”
I knew he could sense me looking at him. He was a friggin’ alpha. But I
still fought him, defiant and acting as though I could somehow stop myself
from feeling the things I knew we were both getting caught up in.
“Not particularly,” I said.
His laugh wrapped around me, lingering in the car. He cocked an
eyebrow at me once he’d finished chuckling, but I held my chin up.
“Something funny?”
Blake’s rumbling chuckle had darkened, seductively, and he lifted my
hand from the console between us. Trying my hardest to keep my breathing
steady, I watched as he adjusted my fingers so that they were draped over
his and brought my hand to his lips.
He kissed it, once. “I’ll have to work harder then.”
 Something deep inside of me trembled, my wolf purring at the contact of
his lips. They were hot on my hand, smooth. I closed my eyes and yanked
my hand away, crossing my arms over my chest. “Not sure that will do you
much good.”
Blake shook his head, and his gaze shifted back onto the road.
We passed by Bites, the parking lot surprisingly empty for a Friday night.
As if reading my mind, Blake slowed as we passed.
“Rumors about the rogue dragon have been making people wary. Not
necessarily because of the dragon, though we know they’d have every right
to be wary of that.”
I cringed, clenching my teeth together like that could somehow keep me
from giving anything away.
“They’re wary from the infighting going on in some species. Human
hunts, the University hunts…it isn’t good for a business that allows all sorts
of mysterious beings inside.”
“Hmm,” I said, not feeling like I could comment on anything. I knew all
too well the species that roamed the darkness at Bites. Wolves, dragons, and
vampires alike had cornered me each time I’d been.
I needed to stay away while this was going on. My track record at Bites
wasn’t great as far as coming out unseen, or unnoticed.
The second we passed onto the grounds of the University, the quiet and
town was behind us. Students milled about, walking to and from various
places.
“A lot of hustling around, fifteen minutes before curfew,” I said,
watching the different groups of friends and what they were doing.
Blake drove slowly, but I didn’t mind, enjoying the quiet of being with
him in the car. “Soaking up everything they can. That’s what most people
do when they’re away at school.”
“Are you implying I’m a bore?” I asked, trying not to let my lips curl into
a smile.
He shook his head, with mock horror. “I would never.”
He parked the car behind my dorm, walking around and coming to my
side. Opening the door, he held out his hand.
When I put my hand in his, the same spark that jolted through me before
zapped me again. Blake’s gaze stayed on me as I stared at our hands, still
somehow able to get out of the car. But I didn’t move from there. I just
stared at where our hands were joined.
There was no confusion inside of me. None. Staring at his hand holding
mine, and feeling the energy and passion coursing through me, I knew I was
made for him.
When I looked up at him, meeting the gaze I knew was staring at me, his
eyes almost made me stumble. There was a depth to them that held
whispers of promises, dreams, of the uniqueness that was fated mates.
He didn’t let go of my hand as we made our way toward the front of my
dorm. He still didn’t let go as we walked up the stairs. And as we stood
outside of my room, the way we kept looking at each other made me wish,
just for the briefest second, that I lived alone.
The fear and confusion that had been my constant companion since
arriving here was quiet. I wasn’t having to forcefully suppress any of my
feelings.
It was just me and Blake in that moment. In that endless, glorious, perfect
moment.
“Thank you for doing this,” he said as he finally let go of my hand.
 My face heated, not sure why all of a sudden my body was choosing to
be so nervous. “Thank you for asking me,” I said. Feeling brave, I took a
step closer, raising my hand tentatively before laying it down on his chest.
His heartbeat was strong, powerfully thudding beneath my trembling
palm.
I breathed slowly, staring at his chest. “And thank you for not giving up
on me yet,” I said in a whisper.
Blake’s finger came underneath my chin, tipping it up until I was forced
to look at him.
He shook his head once as he let his gaze move from my lips to my eyes
and back. He rested his other hand over mine where it lay on his chest. “I’ll
never give up on anything when it comes to you, Morgan.” He rested his
forehead on mine as his finger slipped from my chin and his hand moved
back, resting on my neck.
The way he said my name, the tension that budded as we stood there, was
almost too overwhelming. Almost too much. So, I lifted my chin slightly,
and before I lost my courage I leaned in and pressed my lips to his.
A moan rumbled underneath my palm inside of his chest and he pulled
me closer with the hand that was around my neck. I opened my lips, parting
them as his tongue tentatively stroked inside of my mouth.
I whimpered, pulling away.
Blake loosened his grasp instantly, bringing his hands down to his side.
“It can be,” he cleared his throat, “difficult for most mates, but especially
with a powerful pair before the joining. I’m sorry if I took it too far.”
I shook my head, breathing a few deep breaths as I tried to calm the
raging fire inside of me. “No, no I’m okay. I promise.”
 More than okay. I wanted Blake. I wanted him so badly that my knees
shook trying to hold my weight up. If I was weaker, or prone to wearing my
emotions on my sleeve, I wondered if I would dissolve right there in a
puddle before him and beg him to set a date for the ceremony.
He took my hand, squeezing it once. “We’ll be careful then.” The
knowing grin on his face told me he knew very well what my insides were
doing. I prayed it wasn’t only me affected like this.
“Goodnight,” I said.
Blake kissed my hand before he backed away toward the main stairwell.
“Night, Curls.”
I waited until he was out of sight before I opened the door and practically
barreled into Katryn and Taylor.
I tripped, falling to my hands as they fell back onto the floor. “Dang,
girl,” Taylor said. “If I had known the ruthless Thorne pack was full of
softies like that, I’d have flung myself that way sooner.” But there was
something in her eyes that held a bitter touch.
I narrowed my eyes at both of them. “Spying on me?”
“To be fair,” Katryn said. “It’s hard not to. I could feel the desire through
the door and down the hall.” She winked.
Wrinkling my nose, I shoved her back onto the floor. “Get out of here.
I’m getting ready for bed.” I stepped over the giddy girls and walked
toward the bathroom, stealing a few moments alone to myself.
Blake had to be my true mate. Which meant that my wolf had to be my
primary species. There’s no way that these feelings and the connection
could be matched by Zeke, or anyone for that matter.
My wolf had to be who I was.
Please, not yet.
 The voice was hers. My dragon. And it was so sad and scary that it was
almost enough to take away from the incredible night with Blake.
Almost, but not fully.
Just like I did with my feelings so many times, I pushed those thoughts
down, wondering for the briefest minute whether I might also be
suppressing my dragon every time I blocked off my emotions inside of me.

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 Chapter 22

BY THE TIME KATRYN and Taylor stopped teasing me, it was past
midnight.
Some of it may have been annoying, but it was also a new feeling for me.
For once, I was talking about being a part of something. It was all Katryn
and I had wanted for so long inside the pack. Always the outsiders though,
we’d never had it.
It was one of the reasons I was so desperate to throw myself headfirst
into a strange arrangement. I had thoughts in the back of my mind that if I
made this kind of sacrifice for the Sloan pack, they would accept me. That
though I’d be arranged and mated to a Thorne, they’d respect me and treat
me better.
I’d spent so long feeling like I needed their approval and never getting it,
that I didn’t know what it was like to be laughing and carefree, excited at
the thought of a life with a pack. A pack who would care for me like one of
their own.
It was a high I didn’t want to come down from.
 As I crawled into bed, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to sleep. The adrenaline
from the date, the kiss, talking to Katryn about what life might be like even
after Taylor had left, it was all enough to make me crazy. I grinned and
buried my face in my pillow, not able to stop myself from squealing.
“I’m about to run out and find Weston to get some of that enthusiasm.”
Katryn mumbled.
“Sorry, sorry,” I said. “Thanks for sharing this with me.”
Katryn was the only one I’d let myself get emotional with. The only one
so far.
I knew it was the same for her, and that the smile as we spoke tonight
was genuine for me.
My eyes grew heavy, weighing down slowly more and more.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
I brushed at my face.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The strange soft noise was relentless despite my attempts at ignoring it. I
didn’t even realize I’d fallen asleep, but as the tapping continued, I knew
that I had been.
And I wasn’t ready to wake up if it was already morning.
I threw my blanket over my head.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The sound was soft enough that it almost seemed like it wouldn’t wake
Katryn too, but loud enough that I couldn’t ignore it.
I popped one eye open.
Gasping, I dragged my blanket to my chest and sat straight up. The
tapping was fingers at my window.
Zeke’s fingers.
 His eyes were wild, maybe angry; I couldn’t fully decipher the look
through the window.
He was motioning downstairs, pointing toward the ground.
I raised a finger to my chest, pointing at myself and raising my hands in
question.
Zeke nodded and disappeared from the window.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
Grumbling as quietly as I could I grabbed a zip-up from the end of my
bed, wrapping it over my T-shirt as I snuck toward my door. Moving as
slowly as possible I managed to get out of the door without making it
squeak or having the floor groan beneath me.
I tiptoed down the hall, down the main steps and got to the front door.
Though it was just sneaking out the front doors for a minute, my nerves
were still working themselves up. This had better be important, I thought to
myself.
Glancing quickly over my shoulder in either direction, I turned the knob
to the front door, slipping outside as quickly as I could before cracking the
door to the entrance.
“What on earth are you doing here? And after curfew?” I hissed at Zeke.
“And I thought you couldn’t set foot on this side of the campus.”
“Imagine my surprise,” he said. “Apparently, the spells don’t work with
mates. And since my mate is on this side of campus, it appears as though
I’m capable of making my way here.”
“Why do you sound angry?” I asked, clutching my arms around my
waist.
The chill wasn’t just from being in shorts outside at night, but also from
the way Zeke was looking at me. The way his words lashed out of his
mouth.
“Let’s think about this for a minute,” he said. He circled around me, and
the way he was grinding his teeth together was concerning. “Why would I
be angry? What could I possibly have to be angry about?” he asked,
mockingly. “Oh, maybe because my mate is kissing Blake Thorne.”
Instead of feeling guilty at the accusation, I felt fury, a fury and anger I
could throw right back at him.
“Spying on me?” I asked.
He grimaced. “Did you mate with him?”
I tossed my hands up. “That’s none of your business, Zeke.”
His eyes flashed with the rising anger his body showed. I remembered
being at the lake as he calmed me down and wondered if this would come
to me having to do the same for him.
“It is most definitely my business when you're fated to me. It’s very much
my business,” he said. “This isn’t a game.”
I should stay calm, rational, since Zeke certainly was not. But the
accusations ticked me off. My patience was not good as it was, on the day
to day, but add in a brooding man-child and dragon, and it was even worse.
“Are you watching me constantly? Trying to stake your claim? Start
rumors to risk my arrangement?”
His lip curled. “If I wanted to ruin your arrangement it would be over.
And I’m not spying. Someone sent me a picture.”
He took his phone from his pocket, shoving it toward me. The picture
was from a milder part of the kiss at the beginning, thank goodness. But
there was no denying the tension and passion practically screaming from
the image.
“And why would someone do that? A wolf loyal to a dragon? Please.”
 “It was anonymous. I don’t know the number,” he snarled.
I rolled my eyes, curling my hands into fists at my side. “Right. Well, too
bad for you, Zeke. I’m allowed to kiss Blake. He’s my arranged match.”
Zeke’s hand shot out, pushing at my stomach until I was up against the
stonewall of the dorm. He caged me in, his arms on either side of my head.
“I’m your mark,” he said. “You can’t ignore that, little wolf.” He sneered
in my face and the that anger incited in me sparked.
I shoved him, with a strength I didn’t know I had. “Don’t ever corner me
or act like you’re threatening me again.”
Something in him shifted, whether it was from the fury in my voice, or
the strength in my shove.
His shoulders slumped. “Just do me a favor before you go thinking you
know yourself. Give me the same opportunity with you that he has.”
I folded my arms back over my chest, not daring to show him how scared
he’d made me, lunging toward me. “I can’t do that. I won’t be disloyal to
Blake. I can’t.”
Zeke took a step forward, and then seemed to think better of it. “I need
you to. Your dragon needs you to. Otherwise, you’re just being disloyal to
me and yourself.”
My jaw dropped open, not just from the accusation, but from the fear that
there might be some truth behind his words. At least when it came to being
disloyal to myself.
He relented. Shoving his hands into his pocket. “Consider it playing the
field. I don’t mind sharing you for now, but soon, you'll have to make a
choice. And when that time comes, it would only be fair to make it with full
information from both sides of your species, and your heart. Don’t you
think?”
 Before I could come up with a retort, or another insult, he was walking
away, then running.
I wanted to scream, to shout, to punch something. The anger inside was
not just at Zeke, though that was strong. But it was also from the truth of it.
It had been simple with Blake, I’d let myself buy into everything.
When in reality, he was only half of what my soul needed.
Half of me.
And even though I wouldn’t be able to bear the pain I might cause Blake
or Zeke in making a choice, the person I didn’t think I could live with,
without having all the information before my choice…was me.

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 Chapter 23

SNEAKING THROUGH THE DARK back into the dorm was much more
stressful than sneaking out.
One hand remained clenched in a fist as I opened and shut the main door
and proceeded to tiptoe through the common areas. The staircase seemed
never ending, and the hallway to my room was daunting.
Yet when I got to the door and quietly snuck back inside, managing to
make it into my bed without getting caught and without waking Katryn, I
finally breathed a sigh of relief and unclenched the fist that I’d been
holding.
Zeke had triggered everything but lust this time that I’d seen him. I
loathed him having any control over me in that way, when he’d cornered
me. And that stupid possessive streak that even Blake had. It pissed me off.
I hated both of them acting like they got their way just because they said
so, when at the end of the day, fated mates or not, it would be my choice.
Katryn stirred in her sleep, and I glanced over at her. She thrashed
suddenly, moving her blanket off her with a small moan.
 I wondered if she was having a nightmare and couldn’t recall seeing her
have trouble sleeping, ever.
I rolled over, sinking into my bed and praying the rest of the night was
uneventful after Zeke’s show.
“Ungh,” Katryn said, moaning for a short period longer.
I rolled over, trying to watch and see if she was okay.
The third time she did it, I got up, moving toward her bed. I lay a hand on
her bedsheets, trying to see if she was almost awake and just having trouble
sleeping.
“Katryn,” I said softly.
She didn’t answer me. I tried again, still with no luck.
Shaking it off, and resigning myself to let her sleep fitfully, I moved back
to my own bed.
Katryn screamed.
My body shook violently at the horrifying sound, and I rushed back to
her side.
“Katryn,” I said as I shook her body. “Katryn.”
She wouldn’t wake. Her head turned back and forth on her pillow. There
was sweat dripping off her face in rivulets that made no sense. I touched her
forehead, wondering if she was sick, and she was frigid to the touch.
My stomach dropped. Why would she be sweating but cold to the touch?
“Katryn, wake up,” I shook her harder.
“They’re after me,” she said.
I climbed into her bed, practically on top of her and looked around the
room. We were alone. “Who?” I asked. “Who is after you, Katryn?”
Panic surged through my veins as I looked at her, not opening her eyes at
all.
 “They want my blood,” she said. Her voice was a mix of agony and fear.
And I couldn’t get to her wherever she was in her head to make it stop for
her. “They’re going to get it. They can’t get it. They can’t.”
I tried to think, think of how I could help her work through this if she
wasn’t awake.
“Why can’t they?” I asked. Maybe talking her through whatever
nightmare she was having would be the way to loosen its hold on her from
the outside.
She moaned again. “They can pull down the defenses around the villages.
They can unlink the humans and the packs.”
Now it felt like straight gibberish she was talking. There were no villages
around, and what linkages were there between packs and humans anyway?
“Who are they, Katryn?” I asked, “Who are they?” My voice was almost
shouting, and I was half surprised no one had come running down the hall
and into our room.
Katryn’s eyes flew open, staring at the ceiling. She gazed around
frantically, looking for something, or someone that perhaps had caused
these violent dreams in her head.
Instead, her gaze settled on me, and she let out a choked sob. “Morgan,
oh Morgan.” She sat up and immediately curled her legs to her chest,
crying. “I need help,” she whispered. “I need help, Morgan.”
I sat back on my knees watching my best friend rock herself back and
forth, back, and forth.
Something inside of me snapped into place. I’d said that we would figure
out our other halves together, and it looked like now might be as good a
time as ever to start. After all, with my dragon gaining more magic, and
Katryn’s witch side haunting us, we were running out of time.
 “We’re going to get you help, Katryn,” I said. “I promise.”
And I meant it. I rubbed her back, staying next to her in bed for a long
time after her breathing had steadied, indicating she’d long since passed
out.
I was at a loss for how to help her. I knew nothing about magic, probably
even less about magic than I did about my dragon side. The only thing I
could think of was finding a witches’ coven of some kind. They might be
able to explain why her magic was coming out so strangely, and what was
making it come out now.
But if Katryn was having trouble sleeping, and feeling outcast and scared
of her magic, we were at a critical point already. While this was an easy
decision as far as knowing I had to help her, I had no idea how to
accomplish the next step. How did two hybrid wolves find a witches’ coven
that would even consider helping them?
And what were they truly going to be able to do? Cure our genetics?
I didn’t go back to my own bed, instead taking on a restless night of
watching over Katryn and trying to figure out how on earth I was going to
help her.
How on earth I was going to protect her.

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 Chapter 24

KATRYN WAS MORE THAN a little shaken the next morning when she
woke up.
Which was understandable. After the night she’d had, and my realization
that this was a much bigger issue than she let on, we both knew we were
going to have to figure out how to find a witch’s coven sooner rather than
later.
She wanted to spend some time with Weston, and planned on doing an
early morning run with him, then we’d meet up for lunch.
Taylor had a huge project she hadn’t stopped talking about that was going
to have her locked up for the weekend working on it. Which meant we
wouldn’t have to hide anything from her because she just wouldn’t be
around to see what we were doing.
Taylor being busy was a good thing for us. But with that fact, and Katryn
being with Weston, that tied up everyone. Everyone but me, anyway.
Which unfortunately, left me alone with my thoughts for a few hours
until lunch.
 I stared at my phone for longer than I cared to admit after Katryn left,
wondering if Blake would text after the kiss last night. But he hadn’t.
And I didn’t hear anything from Zeke either, which at the moment
seemed like a good thing. I might scorch him with some unknown magic
inside of me if he tried to show up here again like he did yesterday.
It took about forty minutes of torturing myself alone in the quiet to
decide I’d go to the library to learn what I could about witches.
The air outside was turning crisp and I inhaled the smell of fall. Already
leaves were beginning to change their color, which made our campus look
picturesque. The stone buildings in their cool gray colors accented with the
oranges and reds of the leaves in the surrounding forest and trees on the
grounds was definitely a sight to behold.
I shrugged my jacket tighter around me as the air circled me. Campus
was not as busy as it had been the previous night, but started to pick up with
different groups creating subsets. People reading, kicking a soccer ball,
studying in a group…everyone seemed to be doing something.
Living their normal lives.
A pang of jealousy hit me hard as I took in their relaxed demeanors.
None of them were having to deal with being hybrid and the uncertainty
around that. They were getting to enjoy this time in their lives. Carefree.
I shoved my hands in my pockets, focusing on getting to the library. I
didn’t want to be bitter about my lot in life. Being bitter wouldn’t help
anyone. And if it was just me, I’d be more inclined to allow my mind to
wander.
But it wasn’t just me anymore. It was Katryn too. And the last thing I
was going to do was sit around and watch her suffer and not do anything
about it.
 I pushed on one of the double doors that marked the library entrance and
immediately went to a computer to search for a history of witches.
I supposed a 1-800-Witches dial by name directory would be too much to
hope for, and even three books later on, witches’ coven traditions, historical
facts, and even a book about rumored factions’ powers, I was none the
wiser on where any of these covens may be located.
Feeling semi-defeated, I put the three books back. It was almost lunch,
and the only thing I’d managed to do was kill enough time before I needed
to meet up with Katryn.
I supposed it wasn’t the worst thing. After all, this was going to take
more than flipping open a book and finding all the answers that we needed.
I walked into the busy dining hall, scanning the crowd for Katryn. When
I didn’t see her, I pulled out my phone to kill some time while I waited. The
disappointment that I didn’t have a text from Blake was heavier than I
thought it would be.
The phone did work both ways though. Blake had been so patient with
me, and beyond my embarrassing reaction to our kiss yesterday, I’d barely
given him much to go on to know that I welcomed his patience and also
enjoyed his pursuit of me.
Thanks again for last night.
Easy, quick and to the point. Nervously, I pushed send.
Within a few seconds, he’d responded and my face heated. The
nervousness and anxiousness inside of me calmed.
Happy to have a date night with you anytime. I didn’t want to overwhelm
you and text first. It’s a fine line to walk between giving in to what I want,
which is texting, seeing, and being with you constantly, and knowing that
the best thing to do is give you time. I hope that my lack of text didn’t upset
you.
The lengthy response brought a smile to my face, and calmed the
anxiousness inside of me that the lack of text had built up.
How could Blake not be the real mate? Zeke had pushed me to anger last
night. Raging anger. And Blake was taking everything about me in stride.
“Hey, you,” Katryn’s voice snapped me from the thoughts of my two
mates.
Despite the rough night she’d had, Katryn was glowing and looked
recharged, ready to take on the entire world.
I grinned at her. “Someone’s feeling better.”
She winked before taking me by the arm and yanking me out of my seat
and toward the food. As soon as we filled our trays and returned to the
table, Katryn was ready to go.
“Okay, so,” she started. “What the heck are we going to do about my
mess?”
I took a large bite of my wrap and started talking, not caring that my
mouth was full. “We need to find someone we trust and can talk to. I tried
to do some research but didn’t have any luck. If there was a Professor we
trusted…”
I stopped.
Professor McCradey was someone that I trusted. Whole-heartedly.
“We have history after lunch, with Professor McCradey,” I said. “She’s
knowledgeable and seems trustworthy.”
Katryn raised her eyebrows. “The dragon professor is our first line of
defense?”
 “Did you forget I’m part dragon?” I asked. I knew she didn’t mean
anything by it. And the guilty look that flashed through her eyes told me as
much.
“I forget sometimes. I’m sorry, Morgan.”
I nodded a few times. “It’s okay. I get it.” Though I didn’t, really. “She
might know something. I’ll get what information I can and meet up with
you later. Maybe we can even hunt down a coven tonight if we’re lucky.”
“And what if she doesn’t know anything?” Katryn asked, hesitating just
like I had done.
“Then we’ll find someone that does,” I said. “I promise you.”

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 Chapter 25

MOVING ACROSS CAMPUS I almost felt lighter, with a plan in place to

ask Professor McCradey for help.
I didn’t even know if she’d have any knowledge about witches and their
covens, but she was someone I’d grown to trust and respect. Despite barely
speaking to her myself, the way she commanded such a presence here at the
University was enough for me to feel comfort, knowing that she was part of
our plan to find help.
Katryn and I would stay after class and see what we could find out from
her.
I was so caught up in the excitement of what speaking to Professor
McCradey might reveal that I didn’t feel the shadows that were stalking
toward me. Not until they were already upon me.
“Keep walking past class,” a voice, cold and dead as night, said in my
ear.
Tristan.
I didn’t know how a vampire was walking around in the day, much less
pursuing me within the confines of The University, but sure enough he’d
found me. And the fact that he was here at all meant whatever he had to say
must be important in some way.
Or important to him.
Tristan’s canine glistened. He remained further back out of the way of
most students, and I wondered why they didn’t see him as easily as I did.
“I have some information for you,” he purred. He twisted a ring around
on his finger as he spoke.
I debated for a minute if I should turn around and ignore him. It’d
probably piss him off. But nothing good would come from us interacting.
Even if he did have information I desperately needed.
I looked around, most students milling about further down the hall.
It’s a public place, I reminded myself. I walked up to Tristan. His cool
and assessing stare was alert, scanning around us and my face with quick
flicks of his eyes.
His grin broadened when I came closer. “Ever seen one of these?” He
flipped a sleek, deep blue item between his fingers.
“If you’d stop moving it around, maybe I could see what you’re talking
about,” I said.
He tossed the item forward and I clumsily caught it, juggling it once
before it rested in my hands. It felt cold on my palm, yet when I brought my
fingers up to the side facing up it was warm. Barely weighing anything, the
shiny object sparkled; it was so smooth and flawless.
I recognized the feel of it, the lightweight yet precious teardrop shape in
my hand. “It’s a scale,” I said, marveling at its beauty.
“That’s your father’s.”
The back of my neck tensed, shivering like icy water poured down it
slowly. I lifted my gaze to Tristan while clenching the scale in my hand.
“What did you say?”
Tristan’s eyebrows rose. “That scale belongs to your father.”
“How could you possibly know that?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at
him. Still my fingers curled around the object in my hand, now more
precious than anything I owned if Tristan was telling the truth. And that was
a big ‘if’. “This isn’t a joke. My family isn’t a joke.”
“Believe me or not,” he said. “It doesn’t matter to me.” The vampire
stared down at his fingers, pretending to inspect them while he must know
the impact showing me this had on me.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked.
The charming façade snapped, giving way to a more dangerous-looking
creature, the true vampire beneath the charming mask he wore for the
public. He leaned in. I struggled against the fear inside of me, leaning on
my wolf and my dragon to help me hide that he made me uncomfortable. I
could not, would not show weakness.
“I’m in it for me, Morgan. I need you not to choose. That means you
can’t mate with your wolf match, and you can’t run off with your dragon
match.”
“He’s not my match,” I said.
Tristan’s green eyes were so close to me that I could see the speckles in
them…like blood splatters.
Do not show weakness, my wolf demanded. So, I didn’t back away from
him.
His tongue ran over one of his fangs. I stood straighter, and since he was
leaning toward me like he was speaking down to me, I looked down the
bridge of my nose at him. Asshole.
 “Please, Morgan. Shall we agree to stop lying to each other? Hm? I’m
not stupid.” He leaned back first, giving me a sense of confidence, even if it
was false. “Your wolf blood boils around the wolf boy, and turns to lava
around your dragon. I can smell the changes in your blood clear across
town.”
“Then maybe you should keep that pointy nose to yourself and not
sniffing for my blood.” I stared him down, stared him down like my life
depended on it.
Tristan chuckled then leaned in, taking a whiff of me. My fists curled.
“You do smell delicious when you’re trying to fight for something,” he
said. “That kind of passion, it’s rare. The passion you feel for the wolf and
the dragon? Even more rare. You have it in yourself, and twice in each of
your mates. You don’t know how fate has favored you.”
I huffed. “You know nothing if you think fate has favored me.” My snarl
was real.
Tristan stood to his full height, forcing me to look up if I wanted to hold
his gaze. My lip curled. I hated the display of dominance.
“Let’s try something I do know then, with absolute certainty.” His wicked
smile had me bracing for impact at whatever the next words would be. “As
soon as you pick one, either the wolf or the dragon, you’re going to lock
down the other one. Whichever mate you don’t choose? They’ll not only
have a loveless matching, if they even choose to do so, but they’ll never be
able to mate. No heirs. No mating. They’ll be alone for the rest of their
life.”
I staggered backward, spiraling as I retreated into myself. No. No, that
couldn’t be right.
 Tristan’s eyes brightened at my reaction. I wondered briefly if it was
because of the pain he’d inflicted, or if it was just the satisfaction of
knowing he’d finally said something that got to me.
Either way, the world closed in around me. Too many feelings bubbled
inside of me, and a wave of nausea swept over me.
“You’re lying,” I whispered.
Tristan shook his head minutely.
My breathing heightened; I wanted to run, escape. But that didn’t solve
anything.
I couldn’t do this though, make this decision. I couldn’t do it to Blake, or
to Zeke. Zeke had said he was the last male. If he didn’t mate, the dragons
would die out completely. If I didn’t mate with Blake, the Thorne pack and
the Sloan pack would suffer with the continuation of the true alpha wiped
out.
Tristan pulled back from me, and wiped the pleasure-filled grin off his
face, stiffening slightly. “Oh joy, here comes one of your little toys now.”

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 Chapter 26

FROM THE GROWL BEHIND me, I knew it was Blake before I even
turned to take in his tall, commanding form storming toward us.
“What’s going on here?”
Part of me wanted to see Tristan squirm in front of Blake’s protective
alpha strength. But looking at the vampire, my hopes were quickly dashed.
He looked more bored than anything.
His stupid smirk widened as he looked between Blake and me.
“There’s that Thorne pack bravado we all know,” Tristan said.
I wrinkled my nose at the way Tristan didn’t have any care in the world,
calling out Blake, or his pack. The lack of fear was evident, the lack of
respect even more.
Blake’s eyes took in Tristan, but his face showed no reaction. That is
until he turned toward me. “Why is it every time I turn around, you’re with
suspicious men?”
My jaw dropped open. “I…No, that’s not what this is.”
I should have told Blake about Bites. I'd wanted him immediately, craved
safety, and yet with the dog hunt I’d never had a chance. Maybe that could
have changed whatever this interaction was going to bring.
“Oh, what is this, sweets?” Tristan asked.
Blake moved in front of me, almost blocking me completely from the
vampire. Tristan still didn’t react. Not even a flinch at Blake’s closer stance.
“I didn’t ask you, blood sucker.”
“This is Tristan,” I said. My tongue felt like it was swelling, like I was
having an allergic reaction to the uncomfortableness of the situation.
How was I supposed to describe Tristan to Blake, anyway? It’s not like I
could say he was my friend. Tristan would never be friends with anyone.
He just happened to show up at the weirdest times, with key important
nuggets of information about my past.
If I could get him to tell me what he was dangling in front of my face all
the time, tell me what I actually needed to know, I’d never have to put eyes
on him again. At least from my point of view. Which was the only reason
I’d even entertained approaching him in the hallway now. I needed
information. And Tristan freaking knew it.
“I don’t really care what his name is, Morgan,” Blake ground out.
Of course, he didn’t. I rubbed at my forehead. Tristan didn’t budge. I
wanted to escape., maybe fall through the floor and let it suck me up.
I could explain this so easily if my stupid genetics weren’t such an issue.
If I could simply explain why I needed Tristan around at the moment to
Blake, then maybe he’d understand. But that would mean he’d have to
know I was half dragon.
And he could never know that.
He’d never accept that. Or me.
And after everything, the thought of Blake pushing me away was a
thought that was too unbearable to let my mind wander with too far.
 “Lucky for you, I won’t take that insult to heart,” Tristan said. His tongue
rubbed over his fang lazily. “We wouldn’t want Thorne to be attacked by
some of my men.”
“Your men? That’s not really a word I’d use to describe your kind.”
Blake’s smile widened but it was anything but the sexy one I’d come to
love. It was an alpha’s smile. An alpha who was lacing his own words and
weaving a threat right back.
“Boys,” I said. “Acting like you’re in the middle of a playground brawl is
unbecoming.”
My own insult wouldn’t help the situation, but if I could make either of
them feel ridiculous enough, maybe they’d snap out of it.
Unlikely, given the anger and animosity radiating off the two of them
was enough to start a fire right here in the hallway. We didn’t need that. Just
like the three of us certainly didn’t need any more attention on us.
While Tristan had pulled me into the shadows for our conversation,
Blake’s storming down the hallway disrupted any subtleness the meeting
had.
Tristan’s gaze settled on me, making it very clear that he wasn’t going
anywhere, and that Blake’s threats didn’t mean a thing to him.
“Perhaps you’re right. I’ll just talk to you later, sweets,” Tristan grinned
wider at that stupid name he kept calling me. I knew it was to get under my
skin, and would definitely get under Blake’s.
Before Tristan walked away, Blake let out a sharp, barking laugh.
“You think you’ll make it in here again? The arrogance of vampires is
why you continue to live in the shadows,” he said, baring his own teeth.
“You’re not allowed on campus, or around any factions in this school.”
 Tristan walked up to Blake and patted his chest. I tensed, wondering if
either of them were truly stupid enough to start an actual fight here. “I’m
here just fine now, aren’t I? Keep telling yourself that.”
“You won’t talk to her later. You're never going near her again,” Blake
said, removing Tristan’s hand. “Stay away from her.”
My own anger built inside of me, one that could rival both of these men
if I let it. I didn’t want to lose control. I didn’t want to add to the problems.
But Blake had once again made a decision about my life. And though now I
knew where that part of him came from, that didn’t mean that I had to yield
to it.
“Enough,” I said, putting myself between both the vampire and the wolf,
holding my hands out toward both of them and shoving them a few inches
apart.
I looked at Blake. Though I wouldn’t argue with him in front of Tristan
and demean him that way, he’d get a piece of my mind later.
He couldn’t tell me who I could and could not see.
Before Blake could do more, Tristan moved backward, those shadows
he’d weaved at the club coming up again as he all but disappeared into the
hall.
Taking with him all the answers I wanted.
Leaving behind the scale with me that I clenched in my hands.
The one he claimed was my own father’s.

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 Chapter 27

“BLAKE, YOU CAN’T—”

Wrong move. That was the wrong move.
Blake turned from the empty space where Tristan had vanished, toward
me with a look that silenced the words before they could escape.
“We obviously have very different opinions on the behavior of arranged
mates,” he said. His gaze was cold. “Rumors about you with another guy…
easily ignored because I trust you, and know you’re my mate. But then I
find you in the middle of school with a vampire. A vampire, Morgan!”
The words hit their mark. I flinched, but my reaction made Blake step
back.
“I wasn’t with him. I swear. He’s acted like he knows something about
me, he’s—”
“I don’t care about the vampire beyond the fact that he’s incredibly
dangerous and you’re not safe with vampires. None of us would be,” he
said.
Blake sighed. I wanted to reach out, to touch him in some way, but he
was still tense with anger. Not at me. The last thing I felt was fear for
myself.
Instead, I felt I’d disappointed him, which was so much worse.
“The rumors are you’ve been seen with a dragon, more than a few times
now,” he said. “You’re going to be a Thorne. We kill dragons, remember?
They just want to enslave us.”
“What if…” I stepped forward, trying to close the distance that was
growing to be more than just a physical one between us. “What if they
don’t? What if that’s not how it has to be? What if…”
Something inside of Blake snapped. Twisted. I’d hurt him with my
words. This was not a conversation to have when someone was already
tense and on edge, and yet here we were.
“No, that is all they want. If we see a dragon outside of Defence or the
University, we kill them.” His tone had conveyed the finality that his stoney
face held. “You will be my wife. You’ll be expected to do the same.”
“I don’t kill for the fun of it, Blake.”
Wrong choice of words yet again. They were cold. Killing dragons
wasn’t fun for the Thornes. Not after what they’d been through. It was
revenge. And maybe the dragons were as much at fault right now. But the
way he’d said it, would he kill me?
Blake’s lip curled as he spoke. “You’ll do what you're told.”
He blinked, like coming out of a trance. And before even a few seconds
passed, he reached for my hand. “Wait, that’s not what I meant.”
“No,” I said. I hugged my arms around my body, protecting myself. My
dragon. My heart. “You don’t get to tell me what to do. You’re not my
alpha.” I raised my chin defiantly, staring him down, daring him to argue.
Blake’s shoulders slumped forward. It was more than a defeat at one
conversation for him, the weight in which they fell.
 “No, I’m not your alpha. Not yet. And I wouldn’t force you to do
anything you didn’t want to do. I’ve told you that,” he said. He wouldn’t
look at me. “I’m sorry. I just don’t understand what’s going on, Morgan.
We’re supposed to be together. You are my mate. And staying away from
you, the distance between us now that our wolves know they’ve found each
other…it’s practically unbearable. But you asked for time. And I’ll give it.
It just feels like you don’t want anything to do with me.”
“Right now? No, I don't want anything to do with you.” Anger was good.
Anger protected. Anger would keep my heart from breaking.
My own words were vile, wounding something deep inside of me that
twisted in pain as though it felt Blake’s reaction.
“Look,” I said. “Nothing is going on with the vampires. Nothing is going
on with Zeke. I’m engaged to you. I do need you to stay away, though.
You’re not my alpha and you can’t act like it. And you certainly can’t treat
me the way that you are.”
Blake nodded, accepted my criticism. He knew what he had to work on.
He was catching himself before I even had to say anything. And then
apologized for it without hesitation. If anyone saw this side of him, they'd
be shocked. The vicious Thorne pack leader, allowing a hybrid freak to cut
him down verbally.
I shook from the disgust at the way in which I’d handled all of this.
It’s better.
He deserved better than me. I’m sure there was someone better than me
for him. A million someones.
“I understand,” Blake said. “Let me know when you’re ready to talk.”
Instead of walking away he moved toward me, then without a reaction from
me at all, turned the other way. “I’m sorry, again. I shouldn’t have said
anything to imply my ownership of you, or your decisions. I don’t feel that
way.”
My own pack had treated me with malice, disrespect, anger, and a million
other things worse than Blake’s natural alpha coming out to protect what he
thought was his. And I was willing to sell myself for their acceptance.
My mate was saying the wrong thing out of feeling of grief over the
family who had been slaughtered and taken from him, and apologizing for
it. And I was hurting him for it.
I didn’t know what to do, what to think. But I did know one thing.
My mate was changing how he responded to things, how he acted, how
he viewed our arrangement and engagement. Years of tradition and fear and
sorrow and anguish and laws, weighed down on him as an alpha, and yet he
fought those instincts. I saw it, in the way he yielded to my wishes even
now.
The alpha of the Thorne pack was changing. For me.

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 Chapter 28

MY MORNING HAD BEEN more eventful and chaotic than I’d ever
wanted it to be.
Things seemed to be spiraling. In my own life for sure, but then with the
mystery of Katryn’s magic and the pain she was feeling, it was weighing
down on every moment.
History class should have been my full focus, to make sure I had a
chance to talk to Professor McCradey afterward, but I let myself get
distracted by the stupid vampire, and then a fight with Blake.
I didn’t want to fight with him. Not at all. And that twist in my gut when
the words I did fire at him came out, it made me think that maybe we’d both
feel each other’s pain in some ways.
I slouched into a seat in class beside Katryn. She raised her eyebrow in
question, probably at where the heck I’d been, but I just smiled. A smile she
could no doubt see through, but it’s not like we had a moment to talk.
Taylor waved from the other side of Katryn.
I leaned into my seat, grateful for the time that class would provide a
reprieve from life. I could sit, tune out life, and just be. I reached down to
grab my pen and made eye contact with the man who walked into the room
just as my mark let me know he was there.
“Yeah, thanks, you stupid mark. I can see him,” I grumbled under my
breath.
Katryn frowned at me and then growled, seeing Zeke sitting at the back
of the auditorium over our shoulders.
Zeke was here.
Now what?
Blake calls me out for being seen around the dragon, and now Zeke
shows up in a history class he doesn’t belong in. My history class.
Zeke waved, and a classroom full of eyes went from his too-good-
looking grin to me.
I rolled my eyes, putting on a show of annoyance, just a slight level
higher than I needed to.
Because if there were rumors going around before, there sure would be
rumors now that he was waving at me for the entire class to see.
He moved, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and moved, walking
closer to me. Closer to the side of the classroom where most of us wolves
were gathered.
My body strained at how tight it had gotten. He wouldn’t dare.
But oh, he did. Zeke settled right behind me. I didn’t look. Feeling the
stares of everyone, I refused to look at him.
I wanted to be with Blake and leave everything else alone.
Until Zeke got close. Then my dragon reared her bossy head and made
me feel things Blake didn’t make me feel. The adventure coursing through
my blood. Passion in a different way. Blake’s clean cut wolf mate to Zeke’s
bad boy dragon mate.
 The warmth like fire coming off Zeke enveloped me, wrapping me up as
Professor McCradey walked in the back door. I didn’t need to be more
aware of him.
She saw Zeke and, instead of reprimanding him, she actually bowed her
head slightly. I frowned at the gesture. Bowed. I know I didn’t
misunderstand what I saw. Was it because he was the last male? And did
that make Taylor’s statement about him being Alpha of the West Coast
true?
Or maybe the dragons were organized differently than wolves. It was
another reminder that I needed to brush up on my dragon history, and fast.
The questions that were compounding the longer I went unaware of that
side of me were going to be just another thing pushing me over the edge. I
was already worried that I’d taken on much more than I could handle.
“Today we’re going over the history of supernaturals,” Professor
McCradey said as she took to the lectern on the stage.
Zeke didn’t say a word; he didn’t have to. I felt his every move. When he
shifted in his seat, my body practically involuntarily adjusted itself so that I
stayed directly in front of him. I gritted my teeth, and I swear I could feel
Zeke laughing at me.
We were about halfway through class when one of the more eager
students in the front, a blonde dragon girl, raised her hand, waving it
around.
“Missy?”
“Why do we protect humans?” she asked. “I mean, given this whole
lesson, we don’t seem like we need them. My dad said we can’t let
vampires take control, or the humans would become extinct. But does that
matter?”
 Some murmurs through the crowd made it clear she wasn’t the only one
who wondered that.
“That’s a good question,” Professor McCradey said. “A big part of the
human’s life essence is tied to us. If they were to die, there is a prophecy
with almost one hundred percent credibility, that we would die as well.”
Shock rippled through the auditorium.
“There’s something special about humanity. We can live a long, long
time, some of us forever. Or, at least, some very old supernaturals are still
alive and well. Don’t ask me my age.” She held a finger up toward us and
then winked. “But humans are more fragile. The town around the
University has a sister human town. As long as the human town is safe,
from Bites to the University is also safe.”
Another boy in our class, a wolf, raised his hand and Professor
McCradey acknowledged him.
“I lived in a village when I was young. We had a sister village that died.
Vampires got in and wiped everyone out. Our entire pack died, except me
and my mom because we had been visiting family at the time.” He shifted
around in his seat. His quiet voice trembled. “They never found the cause.
The nearby towns blamed the dragons.”
“I’m so sorry about your village, Joey,” she said. “Usually, dragons get
blamed for these things. And when it happens to dragon packs, wolves are
blamed. No one ever looks to the vampires because shifters and witches all
think there’s no way that humans, or beings that used to be humans, would
want to hurt themselves. Remember, all vampires were humans first.
“Shifters and witches, we were born that way. You can’t become a shifter
like a human can become a vampire.”
 What if…what if…something was tugging at my mind. Some pieces that
weren’t fitting together for me that I felt should.
My phone buzzed, breaking my attention on the captivating discussion
for a second.
It was from Blake. Let’s get together and talk this out. I really am sorry.
Everything is fine though. You promised you wouldn’t see them again; I’m
fine with that. I’m not mad anymore.
I set my phone back down, my head starting to pound from furrowing my
brow so hard as I tried to work out what on earth Blake was talking about. I
never promised that. What was he talking about?
My mark flared, as my dragon clearly took dominance at the moment.
And she did not want to be thinking about Blake, or his threats to keep me
his.
I growled, louder than I realized because Katryn’s gaze shot my way.
Again, it seemed like Zeke’s laugh sounded in my head.
Why did he have to sit so dang close?
Or follow me at all?

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 Chapter 29

THE CLOCK ON THE wall in the auditorium was practically stalled at ten
minutes left of class.
My entire body was flushed, heating. I half wondered if Zeke was
flinging some sort of magic my way.
It felt like an hour later when the clock finally showed three minutes left.
“Heard there was an altercation in the hallway before class,” Zeke said.
He’d leaned forward, his breath moving strands of my hair as he spoke.
Too close. He was too close.
“None of your business,” I bit back.
He chuckled. “It is if part of said argument was about me.”
Grinding my teeth, I turned my head to the side he was on. Thank
goodness it was the opposite side from where Katryn was sitting. She might
clamp her teeth around his neck, shifted or not.
“I won’t bother arguing about you, Zeke.”
“Because you know it’s pointless to keep denying the truth?” he
countered.
Infuriating dragon.
 “You wish,” I said, crossing my arms across my chest.
Zeke came closer. If he had been any closer, his lips would have touched
my neck. “I agree with your wolf boy on one thing, though. Stay away from
the vampire.”
He pulled back and as I shifted in my seat to throw my best insult his
way, he had pulled back much further than just into his seat. In fact, he was
breezing through the doors at the back of the auditorium.
“Morgan,” Professor McCradey called from the front. “Please stay after
for a moment. Everyone else, you’re dismissed for the day.”
“That dragon is lucky that the auditorium diminishes our hatred. He’s
pushing his luck,” Katryn said quietly to me. “I’ll meet you outside when
you’re done.”
I nodded. “Hopefully we’ll have what we need.”
She squeezed my arm, and I moved toward the front of the room to meet
the professor.
Two other students had stopped to talk with her, so I hung back. Waiting.
Finally, we were alone.
Professor McCradey gave me a soft smile and I knew I was right in
trusting her. “How are you doing, Morgan?”
I scratched the side of my head. “Uhm, well, good.”
“I bet,” she said. Her response was knowing. But I wondered how many
rumors that circulated around the students made their way to the professors
as well.
“I’d imagine things are far from good. You’re in an impossible position.
Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked.
I knew I’d eventually ask her for the coven. But that was for Katryn. For
me? What could she do to help? It’s not like she could pick my mate for me.
Nor would I allow someone else to do that. But having a neutral party who
didn’t pressure me either way seemed pretty great at the moment.
“Thank you,” I said. “I’m not even sure what I’m supposed to be doing,
to be honest.”
“And with no lack of outside influence on what you should be doing, I
imagine it makes things even harder,” she said.
I nodded. She made me feel understood. And that was a powerful feeling
after not feeling that way for so long.
“I wish I didn’t have to choose,” I said.
“Who says you have to, right now?”
I looked at her, surprised. “Plenty of people.”
She shook her head, taking a deep breath. “Things will become clearer.
Just make sure you’re in a position of controlling both sides, or one will be
able to take you over and you won’t have any options.”
“Sometimes it doesn’t feel so great, having options,” I said.
She patted my shoulder. “No, I suppose in this case it doesn’t.”
“Can I ask you something?” I rubbed my forehead.
Professor McCradey raised her eyebrows. “I’m flattered that you trust me
at all, Morgan. It’s rare to have a connection with my wolf students, despite
my desire to. Please feel free to ask anything.”
“The University is a place where so many educated dragons and wolves
go. So many packs send most of their young adults to learn and to gain
understanding and mastery of many things. And here, you teach from day
one that dragons and wolves are not the real enemies.
“In fact,” I said. “It seems obvious vampires have a role in this, though
they’re already hated. But still these educated students go back to their
packs and continue to spread hate for the enemy species. Why?”
 “Well, if I knew that, I’d make sure it wasn’t that way.” She laughed in a
dry way. Placing her hands folded in front of her, she stood, thinking for a
moment. “Understanding new information is hard. Change is hard. At this
point, there are many transgressions on each side that surpass the inaccurate
information or lack of details from the initial incident which caused us to be
enemies.”
“The hurts are too deep.” It was disheartening, but I could see it. I
thought of Blake and how his forgiveness toward the dragons may never
happen. But Blake’s story wasn’t unique, or the only one. No, after years of
fighting, all the wolves from various packs had dragon stories. Which
meant the same was true for dragons about wolves. Many dragons had wolf
stories.
“Never too deep,” she said. “Giving up hope would be worse than giving
up a search. I teach for the chance at this sticking with someone, knowing it
won't for many. We are waiting for a leader, a leader who can change the
times. One day, that will happen. So, I’ll keep teaching the truth and hope I
live to see it.”
It was a beautiful sentiment. One that made my admiration for the dragon
professor grow.
“You know Zeke,” I said.
The professor didn’t react. “I mean, I noticed you seem to know him?” I
said, wording my statement as more of a question.
She laughed. “I know Zeke very well as a student, and outside of the
university. He’s sought my counsel more than a few times since he came
here.”
I couldn’t help the grin on my face as I thought about Zeke asking for
help with anything.
 “Forgive me, Morgan. But any questions about Zeke will have to go to
him. I don’t know what you’ve been told or not told. But yes, I know him. I
wish he’d spend as much time in class as he should. But, I know him.”
I nodded, understanding it was all the answer she could give me. For
now, it was enough.
“Thank you,” I said again. “For checking on me.”
“You're welcome,” she said as she smiled.
I chewed my bottom lip. “I do have one more question, though a strange
one.”
“All right,” she said.
“Do you know if there are any local witches’ covens? Ones that are
neutral to the wolves?” I waited, holding my breath in the quiet seconds that
followed.
Professor McCradey studied me. “It’s not exactly local, but it’s the
closest one I know about. They’re the original coven that tied all of
humanity to their pack villages. They’re the oldest coven.”
Her unsaid statement that hung in the air was that whatever I was
searching for, if this coven didn’t know, no coven would.
“You’ll find them at the north shore of Osage Beach in the Ozarks. It’s
roughly four hours away,” she said.
My eyes widened. Four hours was longer than I’d hoped for, but not as
bad as it could get. I bit my nail.
“I won’t ask you details, but as your professor I have to tell you that
witch covens are dangerous, even if they do crave peace. They strike first
and ask questions later when it comes to their territory. And this coven
would have known what it’s like to be attacked over the centuries,” she
said. She steeled her face. “Whatever you’re planning, you need to be
prepared and alert.”
“How should I be prepared?” I asked.
“Using your common sense would be the most important. Enter their
territory in human form. Do not try to be quiet upon entry or they’ll assume
a threat.” She cocked her head to the side. “They’ll know what you are.
Their curiosity about you may protect you on its own.”
I nodded, taking her words to heart and making a mental note.
The Professor packed her things up, walking with me up the aisle to the
back of the auditorium. I wanted to ask her about the bow toward Zeke, but
I figured I had more important things to think about.
“Thank you, professor,” I said. “For everything.”
She turned and smiled at me. “We all need someone, dear. We all need
someone.”
And that was certainly something to think about.

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 Chapter 30

I EXITED IMMEDIATELY BEHIND the professor and saw Katryn pacing

back and forth near the marked lines at the center of campus.
She looked up at me expectantly and I shot a grin at her. “I know where
we have to go. Osage Beach,” I said. “In the Ozarks.”
Katryn frowned. “I don’t know where that is. Can we walk there? Run?”
“It’s four hours by foot.” Glancing down at my watch I knew there and
back would have us running at night if we went today. “We can do it, if we
shift for most of it.”
“My wolf could use a good run. Maybe that’ll push the magic away till
we get help, too,” Katryn said.
In the hour that followed went to the cafeteria and grabbed a few key
items for a backpack in case something happened that took us longer. We
dressed warmly, shoved extra socks and sweatshirts into our small
backpacks, and were ready to go.
“Do we tell anyone?” I asked. I wondered about Blake. I’d never
answered his strange text about the promise I didn’t make.
 Katryn seemed to think about it. “The Professor did tell you it might be
dangerous, but I don’t know. It would raise more questions than we might
be ready for.”
She was right, but common sense was what I was supposed to be
working with, and that part of me knew we should leave something so that
someone would know where we’d gone.
“I’ll write a note. Leave it on my bed? If we don’t come back, I figure
someone will bust through the door to get to one of us.”
I grabbed paper and wrote down where Katryn and I had gone, intending
to be back long before anyone found the note. Which would be good
because, depending on who found it, a full on dragon, or the entirety of the
Thorne pack would come down on the coven. Whether they were the oldest
coven around or not.
But something tugged at me in warning, that maybe that might not be
enough.
“Can you give me thirty minutes?” I asked. “I want to check with
Professor McCradey on the location one more time.”
Katryn didn’t think twice about the comment. “Of course. I’ll wait right
here.”
“Great.” I reached into my school bag, pulling out the dragon scale, and
then headed out the door.
There weren’t many people we could trust who knew our hybrid secret.
None in fact, except maybe the professor and Zeke. As his mate, I didn’t
think he’d harm me, or do something that would hurt me in any way, like
rat me out.
I wanted someone to know where we were going, but I also needed
somewhere safe to keep my father’s scale, at least the dragon scale that
Tristan claimed was my father’s.
I hesitated for a second longer before finally dialing his number.
He answered immediately.
“Little wolf?” he asked.
“I need you to meet me somewhere private. And quickly,” I said.
“Please.”
“Third floor of the library on the dragon side of campus. It’s about half a
mile from the front of your dorm. I’m going there now.” He clicked off the
phone before I could even say thank you.
Six minutes later I was climbing the stairs to the third floor of the library
on the dragon side of campus. It was practically empty. As I opened the
door, arms yanked me through and pulled me to the side.
“Welcome to the stacks,” Zeke said, holding his arms out around him.
“Cool?” I asked, shaking my head.
“You know most girls would get a little excited that I asked them to meet
me in the stacks.” Zeke’s body moved closer to mine, but I dodged around
it.
“Good thing I’m not most girls, then.” I reached inside my pocket,
gripping the scale in my hand. “I have two things that are important, and
you can’t tell anyone.”
“Okay,” he said, not seeming to care very much at all.
“Zeke?” This time he looked up at me and gave me a lopsided grin.
“I said okay, and I meant it.” He dropped the playful look and he
immediately got serious. “What’s going on?”
“Katryn is having some issues with her witch magic showing. We’re
going to a coven tonight to see if we can get help.”
 “The hell you are,” he said. “Are you crazy? Witches don’t like outsiders.
And your friend is only half witch, and a witch liking her half is less than
most people like others fully.”
I shook my head. “That sounds like a riddle,” I said. “We’ve prepared
enough. Professor McCradey gave me some pointers. I’ll be fine.”
“Well, she’s certainly getting an ear full from me,” he muttered.
I scoffed at the idea that he thought he was important enough to tell the
professor who she could and couldn’t be talking to, but shook it off.
“I left a note in my room, but I also want you to know. I’ll text you when
we get home. If it’s more than two days, please let the professor know?”
“If it’s more than two days I’m flying there myself and I’ll burn it to the
ground to find you.” He rubbed his temples.
“Okay, dramatic.” I rolled my eyes and he just stared at me like I had a
third head.
“And the other thing?” he asked.
I swallowed hard and opened my palm. His interest piqued immediately.
“Where did you get that?” His throat looked tight. “It’s a male dragon
scale.”
“It is male?” I asked.
Zeke nodded, all of his features clouding, like he was in pain.
“Tristan Saban gave it to me. He said it’s my father’s,” I said. “Do you
recognize it at all?”
Zeke looked at me, then back to the scale. “Scales are like fingerprints. I
wouldn’t necessarily know it by look, but maybe by feel, weight…maybe if
it spoke to me. They speak to witches sometimes; you could ask Katryn.”
“Scales speak to witches?” I asked, shocked.
 “Rumor has it. I’ve never seen it, but with one this well maintained, you
might be able to learn a lot from it.”
“Can you hold onto it?” I asked.
His head snapped up and his gaze met mine. “You’re trusting me with
this?”
“No one else knows about me. Which means, no one would understand
why that’s important. Would you mind? I’ll get it as soon as I’m back,” I
said. “Just, if something does happen, I don’t want it discovered in my
room.”
“Why did the vampire give this to you?” Zeke asked.
I shrugged. “He’s enjoyed goading me, like he has information I need. I
don’t know the end game.”
“Careful, there,” Zeke warned, not for the first time. “Yes of course, I’ll
keep it safe.”
“Thank you, so much.” I sighed with relief that the small loose ends were
tied up now. “I have to get going. I’ll text soon.”
I ran out the door and across campus, now excited to maybe find
answers, knowing that we’d be semi-safe out there.
I busted into the dorm room, grinning. “Are you ready?” I asked, looking
at Katryn.
Her face flashed with many emotions all at once and I could feel all of
them like she was screaming them at me: determination, hope, fear, and a
healthy dose of trepidation.
“I’m ready to figure this part of myself out. No matter what.” She pulled
on her backpack as I followed. Then she grabbed me, hugging me tightly.
“Oh, okay. Okay, we haven’t found anything yet,” I said, patting at her
back.
 “But you’re doing this for me. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Well, good thing you’ll never have to find out.” I checked my watch
again. “We’d better get moving if we want to make it back by morning.”
Luckily for us, the afternoon was a crisp, brilliant day, meaning most of
our dorm was either in class, or outside soaking in the sun.
We slipped out without seeing anyone we knew, which was a sort of
blessing.
We moved into the woods, approaching the Thorne house.
“Maybe we should steer clear of getting too close,” I said.
Katryn nodded. “So, speaking of the Thorne pack…”
“Were we speaking of the Thorne pack?”
Katryn giggled. “Blake’s half in love with you already and you’ve barely
spent time together. The time you did spend with him has him drooling.”
“I don’t care if a man drools over me, Katryn,” I said. Annoyance was
the main emotion that I felt, even though I knew this was a typical
conversation between friends. At least I think it was supposed to be.
“Sorry,” she said, picking up on my frustration without me having to say
it. “I’ll drop it.”
“We should shift,” I said. “Stick with me; we have to turn back to
humans when we are near the area.”
“Okay,” she said. “I am sorry. I’m just teasing, but I wouldn't have if I'd
realized it wasn’t at all okay.”
I gave her a smile, wanting to alleviate any guilt. I hadn’t been
forthcoming with her as far as all my feelings were concerned. “Thanks. It’s
just a lot, and right now we have a bigger problem on our hands. Like
surviving the oldest witch coven.”
“Is that all?”
 I shifted mid-laugh. I shook my fur, my head. I hadn’t given into my wolf
since I’d become a dragon. Something else Katryn didn’t know about.
She was anxious to get out. I wanted to howl, let out a resounding and
triumphant roar. But I knew we didn’t have time for that. I looked at
Katryn’s beautiful auburn-colored wolf fur.
With a nod and a shake of my head in the direction we were heading we
moved, racing. My wolf was determined to get all my excess energy out. I
pushed us, both myself and Katryn, and we ran. The wind whipped past us,
and unlike when I’d run through these woods for my life before, instead of
scratching my face, my senses allowed me to dodge and dive, moving
elegantly through the forest.
The sun began to set two and a half hours in. Though I grew weary, I
wasn’t exhausted. In fact, my wolf panted in delight.
I slowed, getting Katryn’s attention. I focused, shifting quickly and
shivering against the growing cold of night. “Don’t waste energy shifting,”
I said. “I just wanted to check where we are.”
Looking over the GPS, I realized we had really been crushing it, time
wise, knocking off a little over half an hour.
“I think we can make it in less than an hour. We’ll be there before
dinner,” I said with a grin toward Katryn’s wolf. “Can you keep pushing?” I
asked.
The wolf nodded once. I closed my eyes. Shifting was not something I
did back and forth a lot. Especially so many times at once while exhausting
myself running. But we could do this.
As much as I wanted answers for Katryn, I knew that answers about her
hybrid might help me as well. A tinge of selfish guilt hit me as my wolf
breathed in the clean air.
 I pushed it down as I loped forward through the woods. Katryn did well,
keeping up with me even though we both knew we weren’t used to being in
our wolf form this long, not for the past few months at least. We’d gotten
more comfortable in our human forms to prepare for university.
We slowed. The air had changed, rife with a different scent now. I froze,
sniffing, and saw Katryn doing the same.
I shifted, crouching down as my knees rested on the cool dirt of the
woods. Katryn wasn’t much better, leaning against a tree.
When we calmed our beating hearts, we each reached to our packs,
pulling out water and a quick snack. “I’m thankful our magic lets us keep
our clothes.” Katryn said with a mouthful of jerky.
I snorted. “True.”
Katryn shivered. “Do you feel that? The air?”
I nodded, rising to my feet. “It’s not quite stale, but it’s missing
something critical. It’s like, nothing.”
“The sooner we do this, the better.” Katryn slung her pack around onto
her back, holding out her hand as I grabbed it and stood. We moved through
the woods, not bothering to stay quiet. Something glistened up ahead and
the trees thinned.
A lake.
I thought of my flight as a dragon. I loved how much water there was in
the area. It was beautiful, quiet.
And I thought again how calm it was.
“There are no animals. No wind. No noise,” I said, realizing what was
amiss. “There’s—”
“Nothing.”
 I nodded at Katryn, searching around the lake. “This is the place the GPS
first pulls up for Osage Beach.
“There.” Katryn pointed. “There are roofs on the left side of the lake.”
She was right. On a small cliff before the lakeside stopped and jutted
upward to a mountain, there looked to be a very small village or town. We
could walk the entire lake shore to get to it, but I didn’t know how much
good it would do.
The fact that not a single light shown from that village reminded us how
empty everything was.
“This can’t be right,” Katryn said.
I stood with my hands on my hips. “Professor McCradey warned me that
this could be dangerous. Maybe they’re hiding. Whoever is,” I paused,
shuddering, “here.”
We walked the shore, again not bothering to hide our presence, though
we walked without talking.
All of my senses were focused around me, trying to detect anything off,
besides…well, besides everything that screamed wrong, here.
We weren’t meant to be here. Even if everything was as deserted as it
seemed, the eerie feeling that coursed through me was a warning. My wolf
was exhausted from running, and again I found that my beings were
working together. Where my wolf needed rest, my dragon stood in her
place.
She was poised, pushing her senses as the ones I used now in my human
form. Maybe that meant something, that they worked together. Maybe it
didn’t. But right now, I was so grateful for the fact that I had time to rest a
part of me.
As we neared the village, Katryn stepped over a fallen tree and screamed.
 It echoed through the forest and I jerked at the sudden noise.
“Katryn!” I said, lunging to grab her arm.
“My ankle.”
I helped her out of the rotting log where she’d fallen through and saw a
nasty gash on her ankle, dripping blood.
“Oh gosh. Hold on.” I reached in my bag, pulling out my sweatshirt and
patting around the wound. But it was no use, the blood was still freely
flowing out of it. Too much blood, in fact. I tore a sleeve from the shirt and
tied it over the wound, stopping the flow.
Katryn tried to move forward but winced as she put pressure on it. “This
is bad,” she said.
“It’s okay. I’ll help you. We’re almost to the village.”
But she was right. If she was injured, we’d have a heck of a time getting
back. Though we did have our phones. At least that was something.
That was a problem for after we explored the village, though. Heaving
her up over the log, I gingerly put my arm around her.
Katryn leaned most of her weight on me as we hobbled forward,
approaching the start of the village. It was as silent as it had looked from
afar. Walking the empty streets felt wrong.
“It’s like we’re disturbing something,” Katryn said.
I looked at her, frowning because maybe that’s what it felt like.
Disruption.
We continued up a cobblestone street, looking for any sign of life, or
people. Human or witch. Anyone.
But there was just nothing, everywhere we turned.
“Katryn,” I said as I felt a shift in the scent of the village, like the very
core of it wanted us out. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.”
 An ancient and rough sounding voice from behind us made me scream.
“That’s the first smart thing I’ve heard out of a wolf’s mouth in centuries.”
Before I could see the face the voice belonged to, Katryn screamed. I
reached for her, but felt nothing.
Everything got hazy until it turned completely black.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter 31

WAKE UP. WAKE UP now!

You’re not safe!
Two voices echoed in my head, in unison.
My wolf and my dragon. Both were unsteady. Uneasy. And I could
almost remember why, but not quite.
I shifted, the pain in my head making me think I’d be uncomfortable, and
instead my head sunk down. Comfortably.
I opened my eyes, the pain inside of my head ebbing, pulling back as I
woke and became more alert.
The village. The voice.
I froze in fear, trying to hear what that was going on around me. There
was a whirring sound, and as I opened my eyes, I noticed a beautiful fan
spinning above my head. Which seemed strange considering how cold it
had been outside.
I heard breathing too, steady breathing, and dared to sit up slowly. But
my hands were bound.
 I frowned down at the bindings holding my wrists. They weren’t chains
or rope. No, they were soft, light. Strong, I noticed as I tried to yank on
them. But not uncomfortable.
I shifted, looking down at where my head had been lying. Not only had I
been resting on an extremely comfortable pillow, but I was actually on a
bed as well. With a warm, plush blanket over top of me.
This was either officially the strangest dream ever, or the cruel voice only
seemed cruel before I had blacked out.
I glanced around the room, not having to look long before I saw Katryn
in a bed across from me. The room had several beds, in fact, all empty
except for the two of us.
There was a soft carpet in between both of our beds. The light in the
room was dim, peaceful.
Maybe I’d bumped my head much, much harder than I thought I had.
I wiggled my toes, feeling sensations everywhere there should be.
Looked at my hands and wriggled my fingers as well. I appeared to be
intact.
“Katryn,” I called out quietly. After saying her name the first time I
watched to see if there were any other signs of life in the room, anything at
all that stirred when I interrupted the quiet peaceful nature that I was sure
the room had been created to give off.
Katryn groaned. I watched as she seemed to go through the same motions
and confusion I did. Finally, she said my name and then opened her eyes.
“I’m here,” I said.
She turned her head. “Where are we?”
“Good question.”
 A door behind our heads opened with a small creak and an elderly
looking woman with a cane and a tray came walking in. “Good, you’re
awake,” she said. “Sorry about Greta. She’s a bit of a worry wart and hit
you with a bit too much magic.”
“Hit us with…magic?” Katryn asked.
“Just a quick little spell to knock you out in case you were here for no
good.” The woman’s eyes flicked to me once, giving me a cursory up and
down look. “But, you’re awake now. Here, have some tea, it’ll help
dissipate any lingering part of the spell.”
I accepted the tea, but sniffed at it, wondering if any senses belonging to
my wolf or dragon would be able to sense if the stuff was poisoned.
“We didn’t bring you to a nice cozy bed to kill you. If we wanted that you
would have never cleared the woods by the lake.”
“You knew we were here?” I asked.
“Given that you two aren’t human, I would say you know who we are. To
think we wouldn’t know someone had crossed our territory is downright
insulting,” she said, stomping her cane once.
“We’re sorry,” Katryn jumped in. “We were hoping to find you.”
“I figured as much. Now, enjoy your tea. We’re almost ready for you. I’ll
come get you when we are.” The woman started walking away like she’d
filled us in and we could get comfortable, when in fact, she’d told us
nothing. “Oh, and here you go.” She snapped her fingers and the soft
wrappings around our wrists came undone. “Can’t very well enjoy your tea
tied up. As I said, we’ll be ready shortly.”
“We?” I asked, not quite being able to help myself.
The lady sighed, pursing her lips. Her annoyance at my presence was
very clear, though she seemed fine with Katryn. Probably because Katryn
was half witch.
“The council, child. The council.” She made a tsking sound with her
mouth. “Enough of your questions. All will be answered soon.”
She limped out on her cane and shut the door behind her.
“Are we prisoners?” Katryn asked under her breath.
I shrugged my shoulders, having no idea what we were. Trespassers to
them, surely. But did they care that much? Beyond wanting to know why
we were there, it might not be so bad.
“I’d think of the questions you have,” I said as I took a small sip of tea.
Some of the haziness did clear, even at the small sip. I took another,
again feeling another wave of awareness wash over me.
But I didn’t dare take any more. Though the tea seemed to be doing what
the witch who had brought it said, I didn’t know these witches. And they
had rendered us unconscious. Trust wasn’t something I’d be giving on a
silver platter.
I stood up from the bed, stretching my body. It was sore, almost as if it
was completely spent. “Oh gosh. I need to run more,” I said.
Katryn moaned. “I don’t even want to feel the soreness from standing. Or
this ankle.”
“We should look at it.” I braced myself for it to be worse, but as Katryn
swung her leg over the bed gingerly, the gash on her ankle was the same.
We couldn’t have been out for days or anything crazy, then. At least that
was a relief.
“We should ask the woman when she comes back if there’s anything we
can do for it,” I said in a hushed voice.
Katryn nodded, and as I backed away, she tried to put some pressure on
it.
 I twisted my body gingerly, trying to do some basic stretching to get the
kinks from sprinting worked out of my muscles. Katryn chugged back her
tea before joining me, groaning every time she had to put more weight on
her ankle than she intended.
“How long do you think we were out?” she asked.
It was a good question, one that I wouldn’t be able to answer because I’d
already looked for a clock or a window while stretching and found none.
“No idea. Your wound isn’t infected, so I’d say hours versus days. Our
bags are gone, too.”
“Look at you, warrior princess,” she said. There was a smile on her face,
but I knew she was tense. Knew because it was radiating off her.
And if she was tense, what did that mean I should be thinking like.
The only reason I seemed to be holding it together was because I
remembered Professor McCradey telling me to use my common sense. And
that was about all I could think about as I looked around the room once
more for any clues.
“Stay together,” I said. I didn’t know how much longer we had before we
were taken before this council, but it couldn’t be too long. “No matter what,
don’t let ourselves get separated too much, okay?”
Katryn nodded. “Good idea.”
A soft thudding noise echoing outside the door came, and I knew it was
that cane hitting the ground. Sure enough, moments later the door was
opened.
“Sorry for the delay, children. We’re ready to hear from you now.” The
woman inclined her head, directing us silently to follow.
“Excuse me,” Katryn spoke up. The woman stopped. Katryn hobbled
forward. “I injured myself on our journey here. I don’t suppose there’s
someone who can take a look at it quickly?”
“Heavens, child.” The woman limped into our room. “Why didn’t you
say so?”
Katryn glanced at me over the witch’s head, giving me a strange look.
I watched closely, Katryn training her eyes on her own ankle. The
woman started muttering a phrase a few times and circling her hand above
Katryn’s wound. A small light, like an orb, glowed from the woman’s hand
and traveled to Katryn’s ankle, sealing itself in the shape of the gash.
A moment later it was closing completely.
My mouth dropped open, staring at the place where Katryn’s wound once
was. It was totally healed, without a trace that it had even been injured.
“Thank you…um?“ Katryn paused, waiting for a name.
Tapping Katryn’s shoulder once, the woman hobbled back to the door. “It
was nothing. This way.”
She hadn’t given us her name. We walked out of the door and into a
hallway where the rich decadence of the bedroom continued. The halls were
bright, beautiful colors, all complimenting the gold candelabras lining the
way. But instead of looking old fashioned, it simply looked like some sort
of palace. Some beautiful palace.
And yet…
And yet there was still a darker part of my mind that didn’t think we
belonged here. I wasn’t getting the hair-raising warning that my wolf and
dragon normally gave me in times of uncertainty, but I just didn’t feel fully
right being here.
We rounded a corner taking a right, then another right. The hallways
were all the same: beautiful paintings, light generated from decadent
fixtures and that same plush carpet throughout. Finally, after another left,
we paused in front of large brown double doors that had golden circular
designs carved into them.
The golden handles were both gripped by the woman leading us. “Right
inside,” she said as she pushed open the way for us.
We entered a room that was lined with cushions along the edge, set up
like couches and chairs, plush seats, and other chairs that looked
comfortable. Everything was lined up and laid out in a semi-circle toward
the center of the room.
The woman with us led us to the center before walking forward to join a
gentleman sitting on a loveseat to our right.
I glanced at Katryn who shrugged her shoulders, just as confused as I
was.
There were men and women in the room, though the women far
outnumbered the men. Everyone was chattering amongst themselves, and
barely seemed to care that Katryn and I now stood in the center of the room.
The woman who had brought us walked back up with our bags, handing
them to each of us. We exchanged a look, unsure why they’d taken them,
but accepting our belongings back nonetheless.
As soon as she had handed us our things, she tapped her cane on the
ground and cleared her throat. “If it pleases everyone, our guests have
arrived.”
I had to restrain myself from scowling at the word guests. I’d hardly call
us that, since we’d been knocked out and tied up. Putting us in a pretty bed
chamber didn’t really change the fact that we were captured, and now about
to be questioned.
The woman with the cane turned her attention toward a long table at the
back of the semi-circle where a few women were sitting like judges. One of
them raised her hand, smiling. It was the kind of smile that could lure one in
if they weren’t careful, a practiced one. One that made me think I had no
idea what the face behind this facade looked like.
I silently reassured myself that even if the witches were dangerous, they
ultimately wanted peace. And we were solely here for Katryn. She just
wanted to know who she was. We weren’t doing anything wrong.
The woman at the very center rose. Her graying hair was pulled loosely
back into a bun on top of her head. She barely had a wrinkle on her face.
She raised her hand and waved it forward. “Welcome,” she said with a
smile. “Why are you here?”
Straight to the point, apparently. I opened my mouth to answer but no one
was looking at me, not a single person in the room, in fact.
Instead, all eyes rested on Katryn, on her posture, weight on one leg, the
other drawn in front of her. All she needed was to cross her arms and she’d
look like the picture of someone who didn’t care. Her wolf was showing too
much.
She seemed to realize I wasn’t talking and was instead looking at her. I
raised my eyebrows. She stared around the room as she became aware that
it was her we were waiting for.
“I’m not just a wolf,” she said.
Katryn wrung her hands together as she spoke. I don’t know the last time
I’d heard her say that so confidently, if ever.
“We know.” The comment from the woman at the front of the room
wasn’t anything negative. It just was. It was information they already knew.
Katryn frowned, shifting her weight from side to side. She was not used
to speaking up to anyone but me.
 But these were her people, not mine. And she needed to find her voice
for them.
“I need help,” she continued. “My magic has never come out of me until
recently. I can’t control it. I don’t know how to control it.”
She paused and looked at me. I gave her a reassuring smile that I hope
conveyed how proud of her I was. Admitting a weakness, declaring to be a
hybrid. She could do this.
We could do this.
She sighed, staring up at the beautiful woman leading the session. “I just
want to know which side of me I truly am. And how to control the side
that’s not me.”
“Not you?” the woman asked. She crossed her arms and a glimmer of
some sort of emotion seemed to come through. “You’re both sides. Both
sides are you, and neither is wrong or out of place. Why are you trying to
choose?”
Katryn stammered, then paused. “My magic seems out of control, like it
doesn’t belong to me. I assumed—”
She was cut off immediately. “You assumed that just because you didn’t
know what to do right away, that it was somehow wrong.” The disappointed
expression on the woman’s face shone through clear as day.
She stared at Katryn until another woman sitting up in the row of females
spoke. “The problem with young ones is that they all think this way. Quick
to form opinions, but not wise enough to know when to rest, reflect, learn.”
Professor McCradey had said basically the same thing to me. That I
didn’t have to be making a choice right now.
The woman looked at Katryn, her fingers raised to her chin before she
replied. “You’re not the first hybrid. Nor will you be the last, I’m sure. You
just need to figure out where you think you belong.”
Not the first hybrid. And the way she said it made me think it must apply
to me as well.
The way these witches handled this, calmly, like there was nothing to
worry about, or not understand, was maddening, but also made me wonder
if it really was that simple. That it wasn’t a choice, it was just a matter of
finding where you could belong as both parts.
I supposed maybe they’d seen enough in their time not to worry so much
about what might seem trivial to them.
“But—” Katryn took a step forward, toward the woman. “Won’t I lose
my wolf side, if I accept that I’m a witch and learn magic? Or, the other
way around if I choose my wolf side?”
“Is that what you want?” The question was phrased like that, too, was an
option.
My head whirled and I didn’t understand any of this.
“I’m not sure,” Katryn answered. The honesty and surprise in her tone
would have matched my own if I had answered that same question. “How
can they exist together if I don’t choose?”
The smile the witch wore now turned larger, too large. “Why don’t we
just show you?”
And instead of looking at Katryn like she’d be teaching her something,
her gaze shifted to me.
And so did the eyes of every other witch in the room.

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 Chapter 32

THE HAIRS ON THE back of my neck rose as I felt the weight of every
gaze settle over me, waiting.
I didn’t feel safe.
The witches had ignored me since I’d awoken and now, now they looked
at me like I was about to be the main event.
My anxiety grew the longer the silence rode out.
The witch on the panel, a panel that must be their elders, or eldest at the
very least if they were charged with questioning us and presiding over
whatever council this was, walked behind her fellow coven members and
down the short set of stairs, making her way toward the center of the room
where Katryn and I stood.
Though we weren’t separated by much, I could see it was enough for the
witch to get in between us.
What were they going to show Katryn about her magic, with me?
I didn’t like this. It was bad. I knew it was no longer safe. And it had
definitely not been a good idea to come here without telling anyone where
we were going, besides Zeke.
 The witch stood stilled her movements as she reached Katryn. She was
directly in front of her.
“Watch now, as we force her to choose her stronger side.”
It was said so casually, like there wasn’t an issue at all with using me for
some kind of demonstration.
“No,” Katryn said. She almost touched the witch in front of her but
pulled her hands back. “Wait, no. Don’t hurt her. She’s like me. She’s a
hybrid. We both thought we could find answers. Ask for guidance.”
Pity. The look in the witch’s eyes as she watched Katryn pleading for me
to not be hurt was pity.
My heart thumped. I didn’t want to show weakness or fear. I couldn’t.
But oh, the thought of being forced to choose a side… Would it be
permanent? What were they going to do?
“We know what she is. But she’s not half witch, little one. We care about
helping you.” The witch stepped forward and cupped Katryn’s cheek. “She
is a much rarer hybrid, with much more dangerous possibilities.”
The warning prickling at my neck was changing into dread, terror even.
“Please,” I said. “We are only seeking your counsel and knowledge. We
don’t mean you any harm. I don’t mean any harm. I want to understand
myself, that’s all.”
My words were falling on deaf ears. I could already tell that, whatever
the witches had wanted to do with us, they’d made their minds up about it.
I took a step back but the other witches in the room were starting to rise.
Katryn looked at me, raising her shoulders as we tried to silently
communicate. How could we even get away from such powerful beings if
we did see an opening?
“What if it’s different for her than it is for me?” Katryn asked.
 She was frantic, desperate to find some way to slow these witches down.
But it was too late, and I knew it as well as she did. There would be no
slowing them down.
The witches who’d remained in the back area where the woman leading
this craziness had risen to their feet held their hands out.
I spun in a full circle, taking in those in the room as they all watched me,
muttering some incoherent words.
The words turned to chanting and something twitched inside of me.
What were they doing?
It was like something small had crawled into me. I could chase it away
right now, but it was trying to get into my core, weave into me.
There was something foreign rising inside of me, something already
there, aiding whatever the witches were awakening and chanting to life.
The tea. It had to be the tea. I glanced at Katryn, but no one was looking
at her and chanting. Whatever it was wasn't affecting her since she was
staring wide-eyed at me.
I had to do something, think of something. Good thing I’d only had two
sips.
As if registering that something wasn’t going to plan, a stronger intensity
pushed at me. I saw the witch in charge glare, like she figured out I hadn’t
done as instructed and taken the poison she’d meant to have inside of my
body to push me to change.
I continued batting away at the thing inside of me, but the chanting grew
louder. People circled closer to me, and I was getting cut off from to Katryn
more and more as the chanting continued.
This was not how I was going down, not in the middle of nowhere with a
bunch of strange witches.
 I clutched at my stomach, my mark feeling funny.
No, no. Something was inside of me. Something was getting through the
fight I’d put up, worming around me, and searching for part of me to latch
on to.
The conflict started in my body. My wolf and dragon weren’t fighting
each other, not at all. It was this thing fighting me, my heart, my mind.
Wolf and Blake vs. Dragon and Zeke.
I won’t choose! I shouted, and commanded the inky ooze scouring
through me.
There’s nothing to choose. It’s a matter of unleashing your stronger side.
That’s choosing.
The witch shook her head, like maybe this wasn’t what I thought it was?
But the circle of chanting witches around me had me far too terrified to
think whether there was any lesson here for me to be learning. No, instead
of hanging around we needed to find a way out. I had to get out.
My dragon talons scraped inside of me.
Fly.
I could fly and grab Katryn in the process without hurting anyone. At
least I hoped I wouldn’t hurt anyone. Who knew what shifting in a small
space would be like.
With the eyes of too many on me, I felt my claws coming on faster. There
was no shutting out the incessant chants.
Katryn had never seen me shift into my dragon form and I prayed that
she would let me carry her, that she wouldn’t fight the dragon I became like
half of her would so desperately want to do.
I was losing control now. I didn’t know if it was the witches or if my
dragon knew this was no longer a safe place, but I turned everything over to
her, let her power swell inside of me.
A thrum of energy stirred to life. She’d wanted to shift at the lake again
after the first day, but with Zeke stopping me, I hadn’t been able to let her
out. Now, she was more than ready to be unleashed, not just for fun and
enjoyment, but filled with a purposeful rage at having been put in this
position.
Closing my eyes, I let go. I stopped being afraid and I let my eyes meet
Katryn’s before I closed them and gave my body over to my dragon.
She burst through, my body twisting and contouring as I yelled, every
part of me changing. I let myself feel more of it, even though this, too, was
a very sudden and quick shift, just like my first had been.
Wings burst forth, talons, and my nose grew, elongating, and the fire that
was always inside of me swirled together and formed in the pit of my
stomach, readying itself to burst forward.
There were a few gasps around us as some of the witches silenced their
chanting. A few brandished weapons and ran to attack.
Now I really needed to get us out of here.
I batted my wings down, clearing some of the witches that had been
closest to me as they dodged and swerved to avoid my powerful thrusts. I
skated forward, moving to where Katryn stood.
Her eyes were wide, bright and terrified at the way I lunged for her, but
she didn’t scream. And when I wrapped my taloned hands around her waist
she didn’t squirm; instead, she held onto me.
My heart almost burst from within me. Katryn wasn’t so terrified of me
that she recoiled. She held on. Ready to escape with me.
I tried to sense a way out, some sort of sign that I could bust my way
forth from whatever castle we were in. At the back of the room, I felt the
night sky rather than saw it, and trusted the instincts that my shifted self
possessed.
I braced myself, wrapping Katryn securely in my hands as I slammed
into the side of the room. Though I faced solid rock, stone, debris, it wasn’t
enough to hold me. We slammed out of the wall, which had been semi-
encapsulated in the side of the cliff we’d seen by the lake, and escaped from
the council room.
The witches didn’t stop us, even though I was left wondering if they
could. If we’d been rendered unconscious without being touched, so there
were no doubts as to the strength of their magic.
And the thought crossed my mind that perhaps they didn’t want to kill us
after all, but we’d never know, because I was soaring through the air now
with Katryn.
Away from that place, hopefully forever.

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 Chapter 33

MOVING FAST AND HIGH, I darted across the sky, putting as much
distance between us and the oldest coven around as possible.
My wings beat against the night sky and as the adrenaline wore off, pain
erupted in my side. Not knowing what it was, I figured it was better to land,
get Katryn safely on the ground and shift back so that I could have a minute
to rest. And so that Katryn and I could regroup.
I moved down, feeling Katryn grip my scaly hands again and made a
pass at a less dense area of forest.
Crashing through the canopy of trees as gently as possible, I set Katryn
down before collapsing onto the ground.
A healthy distance away from Katryn, I willed myself to shift back. As I
turned back into me, my dragon withdrawing inside of me, I tried to stand
on my feet. Instead, I fell to the ground.
Katryn was with me a heartbeat later.
“I’m just tired,” I said.
She breathed out a sigh and leaned onto the ground overtop of me. “Holy
mother of Moses,” she said. “We flew! You fly. You were…well, amazing,
Morgan. You saved us!”
“I don’t know what they were trying to do, but we might have been
okay,” I said.
Katryn shook her head. “I don’t think okay is the right word. They were
willing to force you to shift. Was it painful? How did it feel?”
I looked at her sheepishly. “I shifted for the first time a few weeks back.
It was glorious.”
She blinked at me, jaw opening slightly. “Wow. I’m in awe. A little
terrified, but in awe.”
I braced myself for feeling her hatred toward me, but it never came.
“You’re not disgusted with my dragon?”
Katryn looked at me like I was crazy. “I wouldn’t be disgusted with you.
But no, even in that moment, I didn’t feel the normal pull of hatred. I
trusted you.”
“Who would have thought, you trusting a full-on dragon?” We both
laughed, a bit more from hysteria at being free than actual humor at a joke.
As I laughed my side hurt. “Ow,” I said, putting my hand up to it. When I
pulled it away there was blood on it.
“Morgan!” Katryn exclaimed. “Oh gosh, Morgan you’re hurt.”
“I didn’t realize I got cut by one of their blades,” I said.
Something didn’t feel right, now that I thought about it. I winced as
Katryn lifted my shirt gingerly. Her sharp inhale of breath didn’t make me
feel better.
“Is it bad?” I ask.
“No, no, I’m sure.” She paused, frowning at the wound in my side. She
stared at it, like it was something fascinating.
“Katryn?” I asked.
 “I don’t think it’s too bad, but the skin around it is really angry looking.”
I let my head fall back. “It hurt while I was flying,” I said softly.
Katryn pursed her lips. “Then it might be hard to shift and get home, or
even walk home, if you don’t shift.”
She rocked back onto her knees, frowning as she took in my cut.
“What are you thinking?” I asked.
“Do you trust me?”
“Always.” As I said it, I believed it.
She nodded her head, rocking again until she was leaning over me. One
hand was resting on my arm while the other was at my side. She lingered
with her hand above my cut, and then started murmuring something.
The words sounded vaguely familiar, the words or phrase she repeated
now. She circled her hand above my wound, but nothing happened.
She looked down at me, took her hand off my arm and tried again.
I didn’t want to interrupt her. After hearing the phrase a few more times, I
recognized it as the one the witch used on her ankle.
I’d had about enough of witches muttering things under their breath, but
as Katryn spoke, this time moving her hand in the opposite direction, a
glow of light formed, just like the orb the witch had conjured up. It fell
from Katryn’s hand onto the wound at my side. It nuzzled into the cut, and
where the bloody blade mark was, now stood fresh, clean skin.
I watched in awe at the way the skin transformed.
Katryn finally pulled her hand back, holding it close to her chest.
“How did you do that?” I asked.
She shook her head in disbelief. “I don't know. I didn’t even know that I
knew what to say. I just tried to remember what they’d done for me and
copy it.”
 “Thank you,” I said, holding her hands in mine. “You’re already one hell
of a witch.”
I sat up to a sitting position and then looked at Katryn, who still seemed
to be in a state of shock.
“We need to be careful,” I said. “If we don’t know stuff, we need to learn
it. No more going through this without being in control. I can’t just shift
into whatever I want. I need to learn to will each side of me to come into
and out of being depending on what I want to do.”
“And I could invest some time in class so that I befriend one of the witch
professors, make sure I’m learning things correctly,” she said in agreement.
I grinned at her. “But we make a pair of pretty kick ass hybrids already.”
“We do, don’t we?” she said with a smile.
We stayed that way a few moments longer, before the reality set in that it
was the middle of the night and we needed to get back to campus. Pulling
out my phone, I saw that it was two o’clock in the morning.
“Tomorrow is going to suck,” I said.
She agreed. “How much further is school?”
“An hour and a half. My dragon flies faster than I thought.” But the trek
ahead was still a lot, and we were both tired. I didn’t know if I could shift
and run.
So, we walked, catching up on things, talking. And though things had
been strained between us, something that had been on edge had disappeared
during this trip, and things were back to the way they were
Like nothing had ever been off or uncomfortable. I looped my arm
through hers as we broke through the trees to the wooded area and saw the
campus.
“We did it,” I said.
 Her response was simply a quick squeeze on my arm.
The minute we were back in the room I texted Zeke, knowing that he
might not have been lying about burning the village to the ground.
Back to the dorms. Safe.
He didn’t respond, but I was okay with that. After all, today had been
draining enough without having to deal with the moody dragon in person on
top of it.
After the whirlwind that was finding the coven, I was exhausted
physically and mentally. There was also a burning question clawing at the
back of my mind.
When the witches had begun chanting, their purpose had been to unleash
my stronger side. To force me to pick my stronger side.
And my dragon had erupted. But, while they were chanting and pushing
me, I was also thinking of what Katryn and I needed to get out of here
safely. At that moment, my dragon had been the best option.
So, was it the witch’s power that selected my dragon as the strongest? Or
was it just the best choice at the time and I subconsciously knew it?

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 Chapter 34

MY BODY FELT LIKE it had been run over by a train, and then that train
had backed up and hit me again before a bulldozer steamed over me.
The sun was shining through my window in the dorm.
We’d gotten back at almost four in the morning. Crawling into bed
without so much as changing my clothes, I was out before I even
acknowledged my head had hit the pillow.
Now, the thought of having to go to class, to function as a human being at
all, seemed impossible. Groaning, I rolled over, hearing Katryn snoring
before seeing her body under the blankets.
We were both safe. And lucky to have made it out of there relatively
unscathed.
I didn’t know if Katryn would feel a sort of betrayal from the witches, or
if she realized like I did that perhaps they weren’t trying to kill us. We may
never know though, and I was honestly okay with that.
I picked up my phone and found another text from Blake asking where I
was, that he’d stopped by to talk, and I didn’t answer. I was almost
surprised that I didn’t have ten more just like it when I hadn’t answered that
either, but apparently my comments about leaving me alone had stuck
somehow.
But that didn’t make it hurt less.
I’m sorry. I was out with Katryn.
I hit send before I could think too much about it. I wasn’t expecting the
quick response back.
Oh, glad you were able to have a good night with your friend. You
deserve it, Curls.
I breathed in, a sudden weight heavy in my chest as I read the text. I
wanted to be going out with Blake. I wanted to be doing fun things with
him. And this stupid mess made it hard to.
And I hated that. Loathed it.
Resented it.
Part of me wished that I could just be normal, a normal wolf. Then this
whole thing would be solved.
But, then, I wouldn’t have ever experienced the utter rush of being in my
dragon form, the freedom that flying brought, and the joy of feeling the
wind rippling along my wings.
Katryn’s alarm went off and she let out a string of curses before she
slammed her arms down and groaned. “It can’t be morning already.”
“Afraid so.” I stretched my arms over my head. “I think it’s a play hooky
kind of day.”
“What a terrible influence you are Morgan. I’m in.” Katryn said.
“Another hour of sleep first, though.
“You've got yourself a deal.”
I finally got out of bed hours later to shower the grime off me from running,
shifting, being kidnapped and held against our will, and sliced across the
abdomen.
Yeah, it had been eventful, to say the least.
The water was amazing as I stood soaking up the feelings of safety.
The things the coven told Katryn played over in my head, asking her why
she felt like she had to choose. And then when she asked about losing a
form, they’d made it seem like it would be her choice whether she did or
not.
That hybrids were out there, just in a place where they belonged.
Could that be possible?
I wasn’t sure how it would be with me. I had two mates, two different
mates of two different species. I wondered how often that had happened to
a hybrid. And if they were so common, why wasn’t it ever discussed?
By the time I got out, the water had turned cold and I shivered, wrapping
myself up in my plush robe and throwing a towel over my hair.
As I walked out, Katryn’s phone was buzzing at the same time there was
a knock at the door.
Katryn lazily answered her phone, not even looking to see who was
calling.
“Oh, hi,” she sat up so quickly in her bed I thought she was going to fall
forward onto the floor smack on her face.
 I answered our door and found Taylor, dressed in pajamas, with a bag of
popcorn in hand. “Want to watch a movie?” she asked.
“Come on in. Katryn’s just on the phone.”
Taylor walked in, making herself at home in the chair by my bed that she
usually sat in.
The overwhelming thought of how normal all of this seemed hit me. I’d
been flying as a dragon less than twenty-four hours ago, and now we were
sitting in a dorm room preparing for a night of movies and gossiping.
“Wait, what? Now? Oh, uh, yeah.” Katryn paused a few more times on
the phone and then said, “Okay.”
I watched her with curiosity before she turned and stared at me. “You
might want to put some clothes on. Weston is here.”
“Oh, Westonnnnnn,” I said in a sing-song voice.
She stuck her tongue out at me, but I listened, leaving my hair in the
towel but putting on a fresh pair of leggings and a sweatshirt.
He knocked a minute later, and Katryn let him in.
He smiled at her like she was the sun, not ever taking his eyes off her for
long. “You guys ready?”
“Ready for what?” I asked.
He looked me over then looked at Katryn, narrowing his eyes. “I guess
not.” He chuckled.
“Oh, the party! It’s tonight,” Katryn turned ten shades of red and slowly
turned to look at me. “We’re going to a Thorne pack party tonight.”
Taylor’s face said exactly what I felt on the inside. A Thorne pack party
was the last thing I wanted to do. I wanted to stay in. Even entertaining
Taylor seemed like a stretch, but since she was usually fine if we didn’t feel
like conversation, I didn’t mind as much.
 “Oh, I’m not sure I’m really in the mood, and I have a ton of homework
this week I need to be preparing for,“ she said.
“Well, that’s understandable. Maybe—”
Katryn cut me off before I could finish my thought. “You are going and
I’m not going to hear another word about it.”
I saluted her, knowing that she must want us to be there for some kind of
moral support with Weston, because she’d never begged me to go out with
her. I turned back to Taylor.
“Sorry girl, if I’m going, you’re going,” I said. “Come on, help me grab
something to wear and you can pick something out in here while you’re at
it.”
Taylor smiled, seeming a bit more excited. “Peer pressure wins out,” she
said. “And the lure of getting to wear clothes that aren’t mine.”
Weston should be thanking his lucky stars for how quickly the three of us
got ready. But even in a rush, I thought we looked good, and I rarely
thought that about myself. Taylor and Katryn looked amazing every time
we did something, but this time even I felt like I looked good as well.
We left the room, following Weston’s lead. Katryn turned and pointed to
his back. “Isn’t he so hot?” She waved her hand in front of her face like a
fan and Taylor and I stifled our giggles.
Weston led us into the woods, toward where we all knew the pack house
was by now. Anxiety gripped me for a moment, but I let myself feel it and
then let it go. This could be fun. And maybe it would be a chance to let
loose.
And I’d get to see Blake. I couldn’t help smiling at that thought.
Yes, letting loose would be perfect. The stress from all the wolf plus
dragon sides was getting to me, and I needed a break from the weight of the
two of them tearing at me.
I needed a break.
A party was the perfect idea for one.
A party was exactly what I needed.

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 Chapter 35

THE WAY THE MUSIC was turned up so loud, with the strobe lights
flinging around the room, made the Thorne pack house seem like a
wannabe Bites.
I laughed and enjoyed dancing with Taylor while Katryn had dance after
dance with Weston.
Everyone was drinking, including Taylor and Katryn. Taylor surprised
me. Katryn, I knew, probably needed to drink and forget for a while. Heck,
I could use a drink to forget some things.
But I’d been nursing the same beer for the last hour. The thought of
drinking to a point where I lost control terrified me. I couldn’t let anything
happen that would reveal my true self here in the middle of a wolf pack
house.
My pack house.
Was it mine? I guess technically it would be. I was engaged to Blake,
after all, who I hadn’t seen here yet. I was surprised he hadn’t come to find
me.
 Surprised and more than a little disappointed. My mark hadn’t even acted
up to alert me he was even here.
Taylor was about to whisper something to me when a wolf I hadn’t met
yet touched her shoulder and started dancing with her.
I looked ridiculous as I grinned, backing away one step at a time so as
not disturb them.
I watched with amusement as Taylor loosened up, and then scanned the
crowd for Katryn. Weston still held on to her in one hand, a drink in the
other, and she was the same. They were both laughing, jumping around one
minute, and hugging the next.
This was our first college party, I realized. They really did deserve to let
loose. We’d been cooped up and too serious for too long. Especially Katryn.
Especially you.
I could let loose without drinking, I wanted to argue. But as I stood at the
side of the room, I wasn’t letting go at all. Instead, I was worried about
losing control, worried about Katryn finding the answers she wanted.
And most of all I was worried why Blake wasn’t here. Was he
somewhere else on purpose? Had I lost my chance?
I took another sip of my beer. A very, very small one because, despite
everyone else letting go, I knew I couldn’t.
When I looked at Katryn again, something wasn’t right. She was still
smiling, but as she stared at Weston her body began glowing. Actually
glowing.
I set my drink down on the floor and made my way through the sea of
grinding bodies as quickly as I could.
I reached for her arm and Weston looked over at me, surprised. “Are you
okay?” he asked.
 “Of course. Just needed a minute with my girl. Bathroom,” I said, like it
was the universal code for “give us a second”.
He nodded, winking at Katryn before I turned and tugged her toward the
bathroom at the back of the house. I scanned the crowd for Taylor to let her
know where we were, but didn’t see her anywhere.
We entered the restroom and as I shut the door behind me, Katryn let out
a dreamy sigh. “Why is he so gorgeous?” she asked.
“You’re glowing,” I said.
Katryn clapped her hands together. “I know. I’m so happy.”
“No, Katryn, you were actually glowing. Lighting up. What is going on?
How are you doing that? Wolves can’t do that. Is that your witch side?”
“Actually, like…like light coming out of me?” She waved her hands like
she was drawing light around her.
I nodded.
She brought her hands up to her mouth. “I don’t know what that is. I
didn’t realize I was doing anything. I can’t glow! I can’t let that happen ever
again. But how do I stop something I don’t know that I'm doing?”
“Breathe, just breathe for one second. We can do this.” I had no idea how
we were going to do this, or what we were even going to do.
I started by taking the drink from her hands. “Probably a good idea to
stop drinking.”
“Yeah, you're right. Gosh, I shouldn't have even started after everything.”
“I’m not drinking, either. I don’t know if I can control shifting if I do. We
need to be more vigilant,” I said. I took her by the shoulders and looked at
her. “As hard as it is, maybe stop making out with Weston all over the
house, at least until we figure out how to get your magic on a leash where
you’re in charge of it.”
 She leaned her head against the bathroom door. “I can’t help it.” she said,
whining. “He’s so good at it. But, he’s a player.”
Her face fell as she spoke.
“A player?” I asked.
“Everyone talks about it. Especially when they want to pretend they don’t
want me to hear. They talk about how many wolves he’s been with, how
many girlfriends he’s cheated on.”
She picked at the short skirt that showed off her curves in all the right
places, her beautiful unique hair falling over her shoulders. “I just want him
to want me.”
“He’s your fated mate. I’m pretty sure he’s absolutely insane about you,”
I said.
Katryn bit her lip. “I think he is. We haven’t talked about it though. My
mark burns around him, makes me weak from the pain. I’m not sure if his
does or not, though.”
I watched my friend go from confident dancing queen to a shelled up,
nervous, head-over-heels girl in seconds. “Why don’t you ask him?” I
suggested. “That’s pretty important to know.”
“You’re right. You're right,” she said. “But if he’s not I don’t want to lose
this thing we have going.”
There it was. The fear. Didn’t I have that same fear? “You are one of the
smartest women I know,” I said. I knew she might not remember this
conversation, but I had to say it. “We grew up knowing weakness could be
used against us. Weakness was bad. And so, we learned how to be strong.
And you, my radiant friend, have the strength of the entire Thorne pack
combined. If you believe he’s your mate, then he is.”
 Because that’s what it was that was eating at Katryn, a fear of being
wrong about who her mate was. And that would be the greatest weakness
she’d ever shown, which meant the greatest mistake.
Her eyes misted and she hugged me. “Thank you.”
“Go get him,” I said, returning a smile.
She practically ran from the bathroom. I looked in the mirror after she’d
gone, leaving the door open.
I was scared, too. Picking the wrong mate. But would either be wrong? If
Tristan had been telling the truth, one would be extremely hurt. But why
would I trust Tristan?
“Are you okay?”
I hadn’t even noticed my mark, though I did now. Blake stood in the
doorframe of the bathroom. He looked sweaty and was in a pair of gray
sweatpants and a black shirt.
“I think this is the most disheveled I’ve ever seen you,” I said. Normally,
he was so properly put together. But right now, he looked…
Right now, he looked amazing.
“Where were you?” I asked.
He gave me that sexy grin he’d given the first night I’d met him in Bites.
The overconfident one that normally would have sent me running from a
man. And yet he did it and it made him endearing.
“Come here thinking you’d have me all to yourself?” he asked.
I rolled my eyes, acting like I was going to close the door, but he caught
it. “I’ve been training extra with Weston’s father. It’s about an hour's run to
where he’s staying and back. Hence my appearance.”
“Why train in the middle of a party?” I asked with a smile.
 He shifted, adjusting his lean into one that looked even more
uncomfortable. “I don’t always like being here for parties. Wolves assume
I’m free, and obviously I’m not. I prefer not to have to be uncomfortable in
my own home.”
I blinked, staring at him. “I thought Thornes weren’t faithful to their
arranged?” The only thing I could do at the moment was joke around,
because otherwise…otherwise something else was going to fill my heart
that I wasn’t ready for.
“I’d like to be a better man than the Thornes before me.” He rubbed the
back of his neck. “Besides, you’re not my arranged, Morgan. You’re my
mate. It’s so much more than a handshake deal and some territory.”
And even though I had no alcohol to blame it on, even though I was still
filled with a fear I couldn’t get a handle on at the risks and the future, I
stepped forward toward Blake.
Before I could think twice at what I was doing, I slid my arms around
him, letting my head rest on his chest. His heartbeat was fast but steady. He
brought his arms down around me and didn’t speak.
We stood like that for the remainder of the song until I finally pulled back
and looked him in the eye. “To answer your question, yes, I’m okay. Just
really, really tired.”
Blake ran his knuckles over my cheek. “I can help with that.”
Chapter 36
Blake’s hand was in mine, our fingers intertwined as he led me through
the wasted living room and around the house toward the side where a large
set of stairs stood empty.
Almost empty. We passed three couples making out, which when I
thought about it being the pack house, wasn’t that many.
 I knew I was blushing as we passed, but Blake kept a hold of my hand,
leading me further down the hall. We walked a while and then came to a
door at the end.
He opened it but before we walked in, I tugged at his hand. “I’m not
sleeping with you,” I said, hearing the harshness in my voice. “There will
be no mating, Blake.”
He dropped my hand holding up his own. “You know you can sleep with
me without mating with me, Morgan.” He wagged his eyebrows up and
down and the playful way he teased made me laugh. “Why don’t you want
to mate with me anyway?” he continued. “I heard sex with your marked is
out of this world.”
“It’s also permanent.”
“Oh?” He asked with a wink.
We walked in and he closed the door behind us. His room was enormous,
which I guess made sense with him being the alpha. But it was also refined,
minimal and not over the top, but beautiful. There was black and white
artwork on the far wall, a cityscape, a wooded area, and mountains.
His bed was at least a King size but looked bigger. Its light gray frame
was offset by a dark gray comforter. The far wall was a dark wood plank,
made into an accent wall.
“Blake, this is beautiful,” I said. It was cozy, and elegant all at the same
time.
Instead of accepting the compliment, Blake just stood opposite me by a
large window that overlooked thick woods. There were little lights adorning
the trees. The females in the pack had to have been responsible for
decorating at least some of this.
 “I hope you know by now that I would never pressure you into anything.
I may joke around with you; I like to see your face blush a little sometimes.
But I am a man of my word.”
It seemed important to him that I know that. He’d repeated it so many
times before. And I remembered all the things about him that I’d brought up
that he shouldn’t do, like tell me what to do. Make me do things. I’d meant
who I saw, where I went, and things of that nature. I’d never meant
anything else.
I closed the distance between us. “I trust you,” I said.
He cleared his throat, giving me a curt nod.
“Now who’s blushing?” I grinned at his response. “I’m sorry, I’m not
ready for that yet.”
I knew I couldn’t make that kind of decision when I wasn’t sure what it
would mean for my dragon side. I just couldn’t do it.
“We’ve got all the time in the world,” he said.
The way he looked at me, that promise in his gaze… My hand on his
chest tingled, burned, warmed at the place where there was contact. I
noticed my whole body had shifted into him and everywhere that our bodies
touched was warming, heating.
“Can I kiss you?” Blake said as he cupped my face.
I stared at his lips, remembering the last kiss and how amazing it had
been. How magical, fulfilling.
“I don’t—'' I stopped myself. I didn’t know what to say. Could I kiss him
without losing control?
I’d wanted to let loose tonight. I didn’t drink, so I decided I’d indulge in
this. I wanted this moment with him. And I wasn’t going to let fear take it
from me.
 I leaned in, making the first move so he knew I wanted it, and kissed his
lips gently.
He didn’t rush, didn’t press me. His lips were gentle. He slid his arms
around my waist, pulling me closer until I was flush with his body, still not
kissing me with any more than I was giving him.
I hated his restraint, because pressing up against him made me feel
anything but restraint. I opened my mouth, and Blake slid his tongue inside.
Something between us snapped. Utterly shattered and broke.
His hands splayed across my back as his tongue claimed me, swiftly.
I moaned and shifted my body against his. He growled, pulling away
from me.
He picked me up, swinging my body up bridal style, and carried over to
his bed and laid me down. Hovering over top of me, he leaned his head
down, kissing me again.
This time I surprised him with my tongue. His body shook and I felt
powerful, and beautiful all at the same time. I pulled his hips down to mine,
slowly rocking back and forth.
Blake’s breathing was ragged, and he peppered kisses along my jawline,
down my neck and then rested his head on my shoulder while I tried to
grind up into him.
“Morgan,” he said my name like it was the most precious thing in the
world. Then, he flipped onto his back, pulling me up so I was on top of him,
straddling his hips.
I felt how much he wanted me, and he reached up, propping himself up
on one arm and pulling me to him by the neck, claiming my mouth again.
I rocked once, and felt the kiss deepen into something I didn’t think I’d
ever escape from if we didn’t stop, and I pulled away. “No more kissing.” I
breathed heavily, trembling. “No more kissing.”
He nodded, sliding me off him, but not letting go of me. “Yeah, that’s
fine.” He rolled to his side, as he set me on mine, our heads resting against
each other. “Okay?” he whispered his question.
Blake was quite obviously worked up and yet he’d stopped immediately.
I’d heard so many horror stories of alpha males taking what they wanted,
marked mates claiming their fated immediately. And yet this alpha and my
marked mate was patient. Always patient, respecting every boundary I laid
down, even when I pushed those boundaries myself.
We lay there, forehead to forehead for another minute.
“You can stay here. No funny business. I’d just like to be with you. If
that’s something you want.” When he asked me things this way, it was so
easy to see how nervous he was. Maybe this was as new to him as it was to
me.
I nodded. “I want to be with you, too.”
Blake stood, grabbing some pillows from a closet across the room. He
made a barrier between us, and I giggled. “I don’t think you need to prove
yourself this much.”
“Oh, this is for my protection. I don’t want you mauling me in the middle
of the night.” He smiled. A gorgeous, soul wrenching smile that not only lit
up those soulful eyes, but that made his whole body seem lighter.
We climbed into bed, the thumping of the music still going below, but it
seemed so distant compared to the space we had here together.
I was so tired, but in this moment, there was a peace I hadn’t felt in so
long that I wasn’t ready to let go of it. So, I peppered Blake with questions.
“Did you play any sports growing up?”
 He laughed. “We are always playing sports. Weston and I usually battle it
out for most valuable player every year during our annual football game
with the pack.”
“Are you on different teams?” I asked, surprised.
“Always; it’s more fun that way.”
I glanced over at Blake’s figure. His arm rested behind his head, and he
stared at the ceiling, seemingly wide awake.
“Tell me a dream you have for yourself, Morgan.”
I curled up in the bed that smelled like Blake. His scent was all around
me, that clean, fresh citrusy smell with a lingering freshness. I wanted to
tell him that he’d be my dream, but I couldn’t say the words. So instead, I
thought about that question truly.
“It’s not so much for myself, but for everyone. That our eyes will open
and we can find a way to find peace.”
Blake stilled, I knew he didn’t know exactly what I meant, and feeling
slightly embarrassed, I asked him the same question.
He gave me a dry laugh. “Would you believe me if I told you my answer
was to find peace? True peace.”
I couldn’t help sliding my hand across to where his rested on his stomach
and laced my fingers through his. He didn’t let go. Not even when I started
dozing mid-sentence. Not even when I fell asleep.
In the morning, I’d moved one of the pillows and was lying curled
around Blake. His hand was still in mine.
If I could find a way to be wolf and dragon, I’d choose waking up like
this every single day. I knew I would.
“Told you I needed protection.” Blake’s groggy voice was by far the
sexiest thing I’d ever heard. That disheveled look was made even better
with a night of sleep, too.
“That wasn’t me,” I said. “Must have been magic.”
“Oh, right. How silly of me,” Blake said. He rolled over, kissing my
forehead before he slipped out of bed. “I need to do a quick check and make
sure everyone is okay. I’ll be right back.”
I nodded after him. Rubbing at my face I saw that my purse had been
brought up and sat beside my bed. I smiled as I reached inside of it, pulling
out my phone to see quite a few notifications.
Taylor made it home.
Katryn was down the hall in Weston’s room. I definitely had to ask her
about that.
And then there was one message from Zeke.
I debated opening it or not, feeling guilt slam into me hard.
That’s a date and a sleepover you owe me.
I frowned at the text, feeling discomfort knowing that he once again
knew my whereabouts and what I was doing.
But a deeper discomfort grew inside of me too. A feeling that with Zeke,
he might not stop at just kissing me.
And that I might not be able to make him.

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 Chapter 37

“MORGAN, YOU DIRTY GIRL, are you dressed?”

Katryn’s voice from outside the door was both strange and comforting. I
couldn’t help but laugh at the way she slunk in, shimmying her shoulders.
“What do we have here?” she asked. “And before the marriage?” She
held her hand to her head.
Tossing a pillow at her I gave her a playful growl. “You know that I did
nothing.” For a minute a sadness crept in that I wasn’t expecting, but I
forced it down, cutting off the oxygen feeding that emotion. “But you, how
was the rest of your night? Did you talk?”
Katryn brought both hands up to her mouth and screamed into them.
“Yes, I was right! We’re mates.”
“I told you,” I said. “Why did you doubt yourself?”
“All the reasons you guessed in the bathroom.” She hung her head. “That
doesn’t mean the other fear is gone.”
I knew she meant that she was a hybrid. “We have to believe it will be
okay. That’s the only way it will be,” I said.
 She nodded. “I guess they’re doing some sort of check. Weston said you
were down here. Should we head back? I could use a few hours of sleep.”
“I wouldn't mind that myself. I’m exhausted,” I said. “I don’t know why.”
“No?” Katryn said. “We ran for hours, shifted multiple times, and
escaped a witch coven. I think we’re going to need some time to recover.”
“Right,” I said. “That might be part of it.”
I gathered my purse, Katryn having already brought hers with her to
Blake’s room, and made our way downstairs. There were a few people
passed out directly on the floor of the living room. We moved past the party
area and there was a massive kitchen. It was already cleaned from the night
before.
Blake and Weston were in a conversation at the stove.
“Where are you going?” Weston asked, running toward Katryn. He
kissed her neck, and it was only then that I noticed the marks. I shot a look
at Blake, who shrugged.
“Just back to the dorms,” Katryn said.
“We’re making you omelets. You ruined breakfast in bed.” Blake gave
me a pout from across the kitchen.
“You…” I paused, not even able to act playful at the gesture. “You made
me breakfast?” I asked.
“Don’t get too excited. It’s eggs, some ham, and cheese,” he said. He
flipped the concoction easily onto a plate and set it at a bar stool next to
him. “Come on, before it gets cold.”
I obeyed, moving further into the kitchen, and sitting down at the
counter, staring at him as he cracked open another egg.
“No one has ever made me breakfast before,” I said as quietly as I could.
 Blake stopped what he was doing and looked at me. “Well, it’s my honor
to be the first, then.” He walked behind me, grabbing a fork and knife from
a drawer and setting it down next to me. He kissed the top of my head so
sweetly that I almost melted into the chair.
The four of us ate together, laughing at some of the antics from the night
before, and something settled deep in my gut. That life could be just like
this if I wanted it. I could take this, snatch it up and live like this. Breakfast
with my mate and my best friend, and her mate. Parties. Work for the pack.
See our new pack thrive.
It almost broke my heart to think about. Why wouldn’t I want this?
But I realized I’d never be able to fully settle into this life unless Blake
knew everything about me. And the fear of his rejection because of what I
was, was still too great. Too much of a risk I wasn’t willing to take.
So I selfishly took my last bite and finished laughing with them like
nothing at all was wrong. Like life was perfect. Because at that moment, it
really was.
“Okay, I guess we’ve delayed you enough,” Blake said, cutting into my
thoughts. “Can I walk you back to your dorm?”
“That would be great,” I said.
I got up and started to clean the dishes, but Blake brought his arms
around me, gently taking the plate and setting it down in the sink. “You
don’t need to do that. I can clean up a few plates. I promise.”
I turned, still tucked between his arms. I brushed my fingers through his
hair. “Thank you for an amazing night. And a wonderful breakfast.”
He dipped his head, pulling away from me, and the four of us left the
house.
 The woods were beautiful in the morning. Birds chirped, and the calming
rustling of the leaves was like a melody. We’d crested through the tree line
and onto campus when all four of our phones started buzzing.
“What the hell?” Weston said, reaching into his pocket.
We all did.
As I pulled my phone out, queasiness hit me.
Text messages. And I would guess they all read the same thing.
Effective immediately, the engagement between Morgan Sloan and Blake
Thorne is null and void. There will be no arrangement between the Sloan
pack and Thorne pack. Any and all obligations are lifted.
Our phones hadn’t stopped. Though Blake clutched my hand tighter at
first, the more messages that came in the looser his grip became.
The Sloan leaders were furious at my dealings with a vampire. The
Thorne pack had discovered I’d been spotted with a male dragon on more
than one occasion and could not excuse such reckless and disrespectful
behavior.
Blake dropped my hand completely.
“Blake,” I said. The action had said it all and yet, I still held out hope that
we could talk this out.
He faced me, shaking his head. The hurt was raging from inside of him.
“Vampires? Dragons? You said you were done with them! You promised.”
“I never promised that!” I argued. “I never promised anything, you just
assumed I did. That I accepted your decisions for me.” My own anger
boiled at the accusations, and I had to calm down, because they weren’t just
accusations. I was running around with Zeke. And though I was being
faithful to Blake in my actions, Zeke was my mate too.
Tristan and the vampires, however, were another thing entirely.
 “I’m not with the vampire. And I haven’t been with the dragon. Not in
the way this is implying. Every time I’ve been seen with one of them has
been at the university, or at Bites. I’m not running around town behind your
back, Blake.”
“No, but you’re not telling me something either,” he said. “We’re mates,
Morgan. Do you think I don’t know you’re hiding something? And now our
engagement is off. I don’t even know if I’ll be able to convince the elders
that it’s okay and to put it back on. If I did, they’d want our mating
immediately. And since I know you won’t do that, what’s the point?”
The sucker punch hit me in the gut, right where every bad thing I
believed about myself resided. And it unleashed it.
I wasn’t enough. I wasn’t good enough. I wasn’t enough for Blake to
fight for.
There were better, more useful things to spend time on than me.
Katryn rushed to my side. “The point?” she asked. “The point is that your
elders just called off an agreement with your mate. That is all you should
care about. That your mate is here, and instead you lash out and hurt her?”
“Katryn.” Weston stepped forward and she whirled on him, shaking her
head.
“Don’t you dare tell me to stop. It’s the truth. You should go to the ends
of the earth for your mate.”
Weston didn’t press Katryn, but he did go to stand by Blake’s side, a
supportive hand resting on his back.
“Let’s just go,” I said, tugging on her arm. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to
handle the walk home, but Katryn put her arm around me.
“No,” she said. “Wait, I can’t.” She marched back up to Blake. I sank to
my knees, too upset to stop her.
 “When we were pups, you want to know what terrified her? What we
worked years to overcome together? Because it was something we both
wondered about and hurt over?”
There was no answer to her questions. I didn’t want her to share any
more of me with them. They didn’t want me.
“That she wasn’t enough. And you just confirmed every worst fear. You
just made your mate believe the dark things she spent years overcoming.
And for what? A little hurt ego that she needed time?”
“Katryn, he's going to be your alpha; you will respect him,” Weston said.
There was silence and I couldn’t bother to look over my shoulder to see
what was happening. But I heard Katryn again. “He’s not my alpha yet.”
Her arm came around my waist once more. “We can do this. Let’s get
you home. We’re going to be okay.”
She cooed words of reassurance and comfort into my ears the rest of the
walk back to the dorm. She didn’t stop when all eyes turned to me once we
entered. The embarrassment weighed on me as I realized everyone would
know the engagement was off. They’d know why. Both packs would have
released statements.
I buried my head into Katryn, feeling ashamed. And together we made it
back to the safety of our own room.
Away from the hungry gossip, and further away from the mate who
didn’t want me.

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 Chapter 38

I DON’T KNOW HOW long I lay in bed crying.

Katryn had tried to soothe me, tell me it would be alright, but nothing
worked.
There was a part of me that had broken from Blake’s immediate reaction
at the news. From his lingering question of whether going to the elders was
worth it.
I understood though.
Maybe that was the part my own inner demons couldn’t come to terms
with. There were plenty of rumors flying around about me, and I knew that
there had been. Blake had ignored them, all of them. But that didn’t mean
that the rest of the pack did. He was the alpha, and I was an arranged wolf
from an unworthy pack running around with enemies.
And I wasn’t even thinking how it might be for Blake to not only have to
defend me, but also explain that we weren’t mating right away.
I’d been so stupid. He was probably doing more than I even knew to help
me have my time, and I didn’t appreciate it. I was selfish.
Not enough. Unworthy.
 The horrible words of how I felt echoed in my head.
When I walked to class, it was worse than when I stayed in bed.
The entire campus knew.
And the rumor mill had started with some horrible things. I was pregnant.
I’d let myself be turned into a vampire. I’d slept with all three of them.
Katryn defended me, as did Taylor, but I begged them for the most part to
just stay quiet. The surest way of fueling this raging fire was by acting too
defensive.
And too much attention on me could be very bad news in more ways than
just the humiliation of a called-off engagement. After all, there were bigger
secrets I had to protect.
Professor McCradey asked me to stay after class after a few days of my
moping and the never-ending reprimands toward classmates who just
couldn’t stop talking.
“I’d ask if you were okay, but I know better,” she said after class during
the middle of the week following the news. She sat down in a chair next to
me, and it felt more like a friend following up than a professor.
“I’m sure there will be a new scandal everyone can’t wait to dive into,” I
said.
She stared at me, and I realized how grateful I was that through
everything she’d learned about me, her eyes never held pity when she
looked at me. Not once.
“Did you make it out to the coven?” she asked.
I froze. The horrendous visit Katryn and I had felt so far in the past now
that we were handling this crisis that I’d almost forgotten about it. “Oh, we
did. I had Katryn with me. It was …” I paused, truly not knowing what to
say. “An experience.”
 “Oh?” she asked. Concern laced her features.
I debated asking to talk about this another time, but instead I seized the
moment to distract myself from everything that was going on around me.
Maybe informing the Professor about everything that happened could make
something click for her with information she’d gathered. It was worth a shot
at least.
“It looked abandoned. We didn’t hide our presence, but they found us,
knocked us out cold. When we awoke, they were willing to talk to Katryn,
but not me,” I said.
“Witches are known for keeping their cards close to their vest, as they
say. Even the spell here, the one used to separate the species; none of us
professors know it. Only the witches do.” She furrowed her brow.
“Sometimes it makes me realize how untrusting we all are.”
As if finding herself, she waved her hand. “I’m sorry, continue.”
“They made it seem like Katryn didn’t have to choose wolf or witch, but
that if she wanted to make that choice, she could. It was all very strange.
They seemed surprised Katryn would even think there wasn’t a choice. But
there isn’t, right?” I asked.
“I’ve looked all through my books where hybrids are mentioned, and
haven’t found anything.”
“The witches told Katryn there were others. When they looked at me,
they said I was rare.” I thought back to being surrounded by all that power
and shuddered.
“Rare is something, indeed. Thinking you’d be the only hybrid would be
very vain and foolish of us. We only make up a small part of the world. But
that doesn’t mean records are easy to find or accessible, sadly,” Professor
McCradey said, resting her chin on her palm.
 “After that, things sort of went haywire. They said they could force me to
shift, started chanting, Katryn begged them to stop, but they wouldn’t.
Eventually, I decided turning into a dragon was the smartest move and flew
myself and Katryn out of there. No one followed.”
Professor McCradey’s lips thinned out. “Indeed. Especially because they
could have easily kept you there.”
“That’s what I thought. It seemed so random, and strange.” I picked at
my skin absentmindedly.
“Did Katryn feel her same tendencies toward you when she saw you in
dragon form?”
I cocked my head to the side as I thought. “She said she was scared, but
she trusted me. And she hadn’t felt any of that deep-rooted desire to kill like
so many feel here, or felt on the first day of school.”
“Has she felt anything like that since the first day?” Professor McCradey
asked.
I shook my head. “Constantly. I’ve worried about a few of the things
she’s said about dragons. But it wasn’t like that that night.”
“So, it’s not genetic, the hate,” she smiled at me.
Of course it wasn’t genetic, which meant it didn’t have to be permanent. I
looked at the professor.
Her smile reinforced my thought. “There are much more powerful forces
than magic in the world. Trust, friendship, love. Take mating, for example.
It’s been studied for years and years. Studied scientifically, physically, on a
psychological level… And yet with all the research behind it, no one has
come up with a way to recreate the feelings mates give each other in a lab.
It’s not a science experiment, or something you can force,” the professor
said. “It just is.”
 She waved her hand. “Listen to me prattling on while you have to sit
there. I’m sorry it was such an unsafe journey for you.”
“It’s not your fault. I enjoy hearing about it. I don’t have many people to
learn from,” I said, shifting uncomfortably.
“Then I hope you'll remember I’m here if you need anything,” Professor
McCradey said.
I nodded my head, trying for a smile but not feeling as though I was
successful in getting it out.
I left the auditorium and found Taylor and Katryn waiting for me.
The weather was unseasonably warm, which unfortunately for me meant
that everyone was out and about. And with the auditorium being a central
location, all eyes fell to me when I emerged.
Katryn took my arm, looping it in hers. “Don’t pay any attention to
them.”
“What is wrong with all of you?” Taylor called out.
I turned, horrified at her outburst because it was so un-Taylor-like. She
would be the last person I’d think would speak up given her strict follow the
rules attitude. She’d seen me break those rules more than once, too.
“Yeah, all of you!” she cried out pointing around at the crowd that was
relaxing while eyeing me up like I was primetime news.
“Morgan would never willingly hang out with dragons. Right, Morgan?”
Oh no. Taylor didn’t know anything about me and she was starting down
a path that could mean even more rumors about me. Or trouble. Because I
wasn’t going to lie again. I could refrain from telling the truth, but I was
done outright lying.
Taylor didn’t stop though. “She keeps getting stuck in these weird
situations. Do you know why?”
 “Taylor, we can talk about this later,” I said, touching her arm. But Taylor
didn’t listen to me as she stood at the center of campus.
Katryn and I locked gazes and her eyes widened. “What is going on?”
she hissed at me. “Where is Taylor going with this?”
I shrugged, as bewildered as she was.
Taylor paced back and forth a few times. “There’s no way Morgan would
possibly cheat on a Thorne, let alone their alpha. Come on, guys. Everyone
knows the Thornes are gods. No one would ever dare betray them.”
Something tickled my brain and I remembered how upset Taylor had
become when I said I was arranged to a Thorne, before I knew it was Blake.
She’d had an utter distaste for them, from the very beginning. And right
now, her anger and pain toward the Thornes was evident. Just like I knew
that her anger was not directed at me in any way.
Taylor shook her head. “You Thornes are the worst of the packs. And you
have the audacity to act like Morgan doesn’t have the right to talk to other
people, or to do whatever she wants with whomever she wants?”
She was breathing heavily now. Eyes were trained on her, captivated by
the performance she was giving.
“You’re going to smother your last victim and when you do, they’re all
going to rise up against you.”
She stormed off, not even looking at myself or Katryn before she left.
Both of us turned to run in the direction she’d disappeared in, but the
campus was too crowded. We lost her before we even had a chance to catch
her.
“I think we’ll have to look into that a little later,” I said.
Katryn snorted. “Ya think?”
 The crowd cleared, as a hum from up ahead caught my attention. They
parted, revealing Blake and Weston standing with their arms folded in front
of their chests.
“Care to explain the little show Taylor just put on for everyone?” Blake
asked.
“I don’t think it was any worse than the show you’ve allowed to go on
about me for nearly a week now,” I said. “Excuse us.” I tried to walk past
him, and my mark felt like it was going to kill me it hurt so badly
Blake tugged at my arm. Still gentle, never forceful. “Do you think I’ve
done nothing this past week? Nothing but sit around and let the elders
continue to spread rumors? About my mate?”
“What?” I asked.
Blake rubbed a hand over his face. “I’ve done everything I could think of
to prove that I’m not some sort of monster or villain. I don’t know how else
to tell you you’re important to me, Morgan. That I will protect you. And
yet, you’re shocked that I would have tried to stop this? To do anything to
make this go away so that the engagement could be back on and we could
move forward?”
“Oh, really?” Katryn said. “And what about the other day with your big
words about not worth it?”
Blake slumped. “You didn’t even let me talk. I never said she wasn’t
worth it.” Blake stood in front of me, lifting my chin with his forefinger.
“Morgan, I never lied to you. Not once. You are worth all of it. All of it and
then some. And I wanted to find a way to make this go away. I’ve just
failed.”
Katryn stood to my right, assessing Blake even while her mate was
giving her pleading looks to drop it and back down.
 “Maybe we should take this somewhere more private,” I said to him.
He nodded in agreement.
“Good, let’s go back—” Katryn started before Weston jumped in.
“Let’s give them the privacy they need while we go on a walk and cool
you down.”
Her glare said it all and Weston jumped backward. “Or just a walk.”
Katryn squeezed my hand once before walking away.
“Come on,” I said. “We’ll take a walk too, and talk out whatever it is you
think you need to tell me.”

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 Chapter 39

I HAD BLAKE’S ATTENTION, or rather he had mine.

We walked around campus and though people stared, I didn’t care as
much when I was with him. He poured out how he’d gone to the elders, but
they hadn’t sent the message.
“Wait, what?”
He shrugged. “I’ve been trying to piece this together, and for the life of
me, I can’t. And besides,” he said, “regardless of them not sending the
initial letters and texts out, they also didn’t stop the subsequent shit show.”
“I’m shocked Sloan wouldn’t have said something to keep the alliance.” I
tried to think of how this made sense, but it didn’t.
“I never, ever meant to make you feel like I didn’t know if this was worth
it. I wake up thinking about you, wanting you, and go to bed thinking about
you. You are it, and I know that deep in every fiber of my being,” Blake
said. “I’m sorry if I made you feel otherwise.”
“I know I haven’t made things easy. And that I’ve asked you for time. It’s
not because I don’t want you. I promise,” I said as I took his hand in mine.
“There are other things that factor in this, though.”
 “I wish you’d confide in me. I can help,” he said.
“I want to. Maybe soon,” I said. I didn’t want to give him false hope, but
at some point I was going to have to tell him. And before I mated with him.
It had to be before. “But please know, nothing is going on with me and
Tristan. Or me and Zeke.”
“Morgan!” Someone called my voice from across the campus area. The
dragon side.
Of all the rotten timing.
Zeke.
“Morgan, are you okay?” he asked as he drew closer to us. That was as
far as he’d be able to come though, an arm’s length away, thanks to the
invisible barrier to keep dragons and wolves apart. At least that’s what it
looked like he was sticking to. He didn’t push closer and claim me as his
mate like he easily could have.
Blake eyed me and paused, turning and looking Zeke over. “Nothing
going on, but he is coming to check on you?”
“Blake,” I put my hands out toward him, trying to think of what to say.
“No, I trusted you.”
“You can still trust me,” I said.
“And you,” Blake stormed toward Zeke, but didn’t get far, realizing he
was blocked by a power stronger than a jilted lover’s anger. “You have no
business following her around, sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”
“I’d back away from me, if you know what’s good for you,” Zeke said.
So instead of this coming to blows, it was a verbal assault. They argued,
Blake and Zeke back and forth, hurling insults at each other. It was too
much. I was tired, so tired of all the secrets and the lies. But I didn’t know
how to end things, how to fix any of it.
 “Rather than standing here fighting with her, why aren't you out trying to
figure out who is trying to keep you apart?” Zeke bit the question out and
my head snapped to him.
Blake snorted. “That would be you.”
“Nope. Wrong.” Zeke folded his arms in front of his body.. “Actually,”
he said, “I haven't tried getting her to any bars, or getting her alone. I've
never fed her information or strung her along. Ask her who that has been.”
“I haven’t done any of those things,” Blake said.
I stared at Zeke, though. I knew who had done those things. “What?” I
asked. “Tristan? No way. He's just a vampire. He doesn't mean anything to
me.”
“Not like I do,” Zeke said.
Blake laughed. “Not like you?”
When he noticed I wasn’t laughing, but cringing instead, he stopped
immediately. “Morgan, why do you have feelings for him? How could you
possibly have feelings for someone else? I'm your marked mate. How could
you even choose to be with someone else? That isn’t even possible.”
My gaze flicked between the two men. My two mates. The world was
swallowing me up, things closing in around me so much that I couldn’t
breathe.
Blake didn’t know who I really was. He couldn’t.
I didn’t want him to.
I kept looking between the two men, both of whom had different pieces
of me. I’d realized that as we’d fought.
More and more people had gathered, on both sides of the dividers. This
was not a private conversation, and it hadn’t been for some time now.
 Everyone was watching me again. I was trapped in this cage as though I
were some sort of animal. A caged animal with no way out.
Zeke didn’t give me away. He didn’t say anything. He stayed quiet,
watching me as though he were waiting for me to take the lead.
"Tell me what is going on, right now,” Blake said.
It wasn’t his usual demanding tone. It was a plea, one that I didn’t think I
could leave unanswered.
My heart hurt. Every part of me hurt. The secret was going to have to
come out, and I knew I wasn’t ready.
I took a wobbly breath. “I'm marked to both of you. You’re my fated
mate for my wolf half. Zeke is my fated mate,” I paused, clenching my fists
at my side for strength. “For my dragon half.”
Blake was quiet, the frown on his face turning from anger to fear. Then
disbelief. The crowd didn’t make a noise, either. Everyone just stood there,
taking in the insane, unbelievable truth of it all.
The Thorne wolves who were in the crowd began coming forward. Their
anger was a hideous taste in my mouth. I was thankful for the barrier
between them and Zeke.
Until they stalked closer, coming to stand by Blake’s side.
Their anger wasn’t toward Zeke. It was toward me.
“So you’re not just a traitor to the Thornes, but all wolves?” one of his
pack members asked. His tone dripped with something vile, like he could
barely stand to talk to me.
“That’s why your pack didn’t want you,” another said.
I flinched at his words.
Some of my pack, the ones who ignored me for the fun of it, started to
slink off. I realized the consequences that would come from the Sloan
leaders' involvement. The shame they’d be associated with, knowing that
they knew what I was and allowed me to be arranged, was going to ruin
them.
My secret was out.
Katryn pushed through the crowd, Weston by her side. Her eyes fell on
mine and she squeezed her own shut.
"You're what?” Blake said, finally speaking. “That's not possible. We're
marked. You can't be marked to someone else. It doesn't work that way."
“Apparently it does,” said Zeke. He folded his arms over his chest. “At
least she cares about your mark enough to give you a chance.”
I didn’t even know if Blake heard Zeke’s words. He wouldn’t look away
from me. But the look of love and lust in his eyes that was normally there,
those were gone. Just like I feared.
He was crushed. But the knowledge of it destroyed how he felt about me,
just like I knew it would.
“Blake,” I said, taking a step toward him.
But it did nothing. He stayed quiet for one more minute before backing
away. The crowd parted for him and he moved through them, still not
saying anything, and walked away.
It was only after he was through the crowd that I saw him running,
running toward the woods. He jumped, shifting mid-air into his wolf, and
disappeared into the woods with a howl.
A howl that would no doubt be heard all over campus, in town, through
the forest. A howl that ripped at the very core of me. Hurting my heart.
I was stuck here, with people’s eyes on me. I had no idea what to do.
What to say.
 Finally, Weston made a move, this time standing in front of Katryn. “Are
you a half breed, too?”
I jerked my head toward them, shocked at the question, surprised that
anyone would assume there was more than one of us.
“I'm not like her,” she said. It was a little rough to hear, but it bought her
some space, some time for her to figure out her own stuff.
At least I hoped that was all it was and not an admission that we were
done, not a realization that she’d have to distance herself from me
altogether.
And while I didn’t want to feel bitter at the statement, I did. But I didn’t
reveal her lie. I’d never betray her.
Besides, half of me already felt like it was dying. I didn’t have the
emotional capacity for everything. So much so that a small part of me
wondered if dying might have been a better alternative. At the very least, a
less painful one.

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 Chapter 40

I STARTED BACKING UP, moving away from the eyes of the wolves that
so clearly wanted me gone. They’d hurt me if they could. And physically,
not just emotionally with their words. There was too much animosity, too
many different people sending bouts of hatred my way.
Their gasps halted my retreat, but only for a moment. I looked at where I
was, and I had backed up onto the dragon side of campus.
I’d confirmed my words before their very eyes. And their anger grew.
Zeke tried to stop me, letting me run off a slight way away to give us
some privacy.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
I didn’t stop running.
“Morgan,” he said, taking my arm. “I know this is a lot.”
“I need to find him. I can go around the wolf side, to the cabin.” I was
barely thinking straight. I just knew I needed to get to him. This was all
falling apart. We could fix it. Even as I thought the words, I knew I was at
the point of breaking down, an all-out hysteria.
“They might hurt you if they see you near him,” Zeke said.
 “Zeke!” I said, whirling on him. “You understand that I have two sides
that I have to choose between; he doesn't. This is the first time he's heard it,
the first time he’s found out that I’m a hybrid and it was in front of
everyone. He had to find out that I'm equally torn between both of you
when he's only been focused on me. Just me. That has to be hard.”
Zeke’s own annoyance flared. He snarled. “Doesn't it seem weird to you
that you can tell me anything, but you've had to keep parts of yourself from
him?”
“I love him,” I said, suddenly freezing in place. I breathed slowly,
realizing what I’d said. I fell to the ground on my knees. I knew he was my
mate, but it was the first time I’d acknowledged that. The first time I’d said
the truth out loud. “I love him,” I said again. “He's who I want.”
“If that were true, you'd already be with him. Our marks wouldn't be
acting like magnets trying to get closer to each other.” Zeke knelt before
me, his knees touching mine. He ran his thumb over my cheek. “If that were
true, I wouldn't be able to make you burn, Morgan, if Blake is the one
you've chosen.”
I lowered my head. I hated this. “This isn’t fair.”
Zeke rested his hands on my knees. And didn’t say anything.
I lifted my gaze to him, staring into those blue eyes that were so different
from Blake’s. I couldn’t deny his words, though. As much as I wanted to
have chosen. As much as I wanted to be with Blake and have the moments
like I’d had with him and Katryn and Weston at breakfast, I hadn’t chosen.
I wanted to be true to my wolf, true to that part that yearned for a life
with Blake. But, my dragon was just as much a part of me, and I’d only just
started learning about her, and feeling her.
 And neither hated the other. Not inside of me. They worked together for
me, to help me and guide me. The only thing that was a choice right now
was between my mates.
“Admit you love me, too,” he said quietly.
I frowned. Zeke demanded from me. At a time when I couldn’t give it.
There was a need in his eyes that I didn’t want to acknowledge. There was a
reason he was this way, but I didn’t care. “No,” I said. “I'm only going to
tell the one I choose that I love him.”
Zeke grinned. “There she is,” he said. “And you admit you haven't
chosen.”
Some of my fire sparked again. Despite a part of me feeling broken, Zeke
had relit something inside me to make me fight. I wondered if he had done
it on purpose or not.
“I still need to find Blake,” I said.
“I know.” Zeke rose, giving me his hand and helping me up. “I’ll take
you.”
I accepted his hand, but shook my head. “That won't help things. I need
to see him alone.”
Zeke stood, postured like he was going to stop me. “I’ll hide in the
woods near the pack house, then. It’ll be safer right now to have some sort
of eyes on you when we don’t know what everyone’s reactions will be. I’ll
stay out of sight and be there when you’re ready.”
I inhaled, determination settling in my gut. I had to make Blake
understand, make him see how hard this was and explain that this was the
reason why I’d needed time. I needed to tell him about my father, the
information Tristan kept leading me along with…all of it. He’d only heard a
small part.
 I almost shifted into my wolf, sprinting toward the house. But he wasn’t
there.
Bites. I wondered if he was at Bites.
I knew Zeke was watching me, following at a distance, so I shifted into
my wolf, the easiest form to get to, and sprinted toward town, shifting again
into human form before I walked through the town. I ran inside, looking at
every table, every dark corner, ignoring the innuendos and masked sexual
threats thrown my way.
But Blake was nowhere. I even asked the bartender, who at this point I’d
talked to more than some of my classmates. But he claimed Blake hadn’t
been in at all.
I tried the lake, thinking maybe he’d found it one day. I tried the
auditorium. I tried everywhere I could think of, anywhere he might be. But
he was gone.
Gone somewhere.
It was just before sunrise when I crawled up the steps to my dorm. Zeke
waved from the tree line. He’d been true to his word and stayed out of sight
the entire time.
I trudged up the stairs, not even caring at this point that I was out past
curfew. At least this way no one would say anything about me to my face.
I heard Katryn’s sobs the second I opened the door.
She ran over to me, hugging me. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I said I’m
not like you. I didn’t mean it in that way. I didn’t know what to say.”
“It’s okay,” I said. I ran my hand over her back, holding my friend as I,
too, started crying.
"Weston and I broke up."
“What?” I pulled back. “Your mate broke up with you?”
 “I don’t want to get into it right now. I promise we can talk about it
soon,” she said.
I knew she was upset. Her eyes were puffy, and she looked probably
about as bad as I did.
“He did give me this. Weston, I mean. It’s a note for you."
Morgan,
I need to get away. You're not who you said you were. There were so
many times I knew that more was going on and yet you didn’t trust me to tell
me. So many times I knew that something was off. I should have known
better than to give you my heart the way I did.
Katryn said that day your fear was not being enough. Maybe you aren’t
for me. Maybe I need a full wolf, or at the very least a mate who doesn’t
hide who she is. A mate who thinks I’m worthy enough to get the truth.
Don’t look for me.
I’ll make your choice easier by removing myself from the equation.
I wish you the best.
Blake was gone.
I couldn’t find him because he was gone.
And he didn’t want me anymore.
I grabbed onto Katryn, holding her tight, holding her and sobbing into
her shoulder. Because if I didn’t have something to hold onto, something to
tether me to this world, I feared I might be lost forever.
What’s the worst pain you can feel?
Being torn from a mate. Being told your worst fears by your mate.
Losing your mate.

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 To Be Continued...

I'm on a mission to save my wolf's fated

mate, who's been abducted. I don't know
what I'll find, but I'm determined to keep
him safe.

But, I need help.

And that means turning to my dragon's

mate, Zeke.

Together, we dive headfirst into a

treacherous quest to rescue the wolf. Along
the way, we confront long-hidden truths
and secrets that threaten to expose the real
reason behind the rift between dragons and wolves. But there's something
even more shocking waiting for me: the possibility of experiencing a
dragon's fated love.

Even if we manage to save him, my wolf's mate might never forgive me,
feeling utterly betrayed. My heart is stretched to its limit, and I'm not sure
 how much more it can take. Will I find the answers I'm desperately
searching for and save the one I'm meant to be with? Or will the secrets and
my dragon side's influence be too much to overcome, leaving me forever
torn between two worlds?

Grab the next book in The Torn Mates Series, Marked Hate.

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Copyright © 2023 SOS Novels

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