The She-Wolf Series Book 2

SAMANTHA

I hopped into the shower, hoping the warm water would soothe my frazzled nerves. Afterward, I paced the floor, my mind racing with thoughts of what to do next.

What the hell does he think he’s doing? I wondered, my anger simmering just below the surface.

“Our mate,” Ayisha chimed in, her voice soft and comforting.

I let out a sigh, my shoulders slumping slightly.

Ever since the Alpha Ceremony, Ayisha had been struggling. She understood that Luke was our top priority, but the wolf in her yearned for a connection.

We were both inexplicably drawn to Ivar and Rankor, and the pull was strong. Even now, I felt an irresistible urge to be near him, where he lay in the living room.

In the distance, I heard the crunch of tires on the gravel driveway. My brow furrowed in confusion—I wasn’t expecting anyone.

Pulling back the curtain, I peeked outside. My heart plummeted when I saw who it was.

“Oh, crap,” I muttered, spinning on my heel to rush down the stairs. Crap. Crap. Crap.

Just as I reached the front door, Ivar’s voice echoed from behind me.

“Who’s here, mate?”

He didn’t wait for my response before adding, “It can’t be the damn beta, considering I warned you about what would happen if you continued your little fling.”

My mouth went dry as I heard Ivar rise from the couch, his movements echoing in the quiet house.

At the same time, the sound of Emerick’s car door slamming shut reached my ears. Despite the wince I heard from Ivar as he stood, his steps were steady and confident as he made his way to the foyer, a blanket wrapped around his waist.

If I hadn’t seen his pain earlier, I wouldn’t have guessed he was injured.

“Emerick is just a friend,” I insisted, my voice barely above a whisper. “He’s probably just checking on me since I didn’t show up to work after telling him I would.”

“Right,” Ivar sneered, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “Well, let’s invite our good friend in.”

I had hoped to send Emerick away before he reached the door, but it seemed that wasn’t going to happen.

The tension in the air was palpable. My fated mate stood next to me, barely clothed, while my former lover approached the door, despite being warned to stay away.

“What’s wrong, little wolf?” Ivar asked, his voice laced with amusement. “Scared of what I’ll do to the beta?”

“I thought you didn’t want anyone to know you were here,” I countered weakly.

“For him, I’ll make an exception,” Ivar retorted, his voice cold. “Seems he didn’t get the message when I told him to stay the hell away.”

“Ivar, please,” I pleaded, turning to look him in the eyes. “He’s just a friend.”

For a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of something in his icy blue eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

“Open the door, Samantha,” he ordered.

Reluctantly, I did as he said, positioning myself to block the entrance as much as possible. I hoped I could prevent Emerick from coming inside.

“Hey, Sam!” Emerick called out cheerfully as he climbed the porch steps. “I was worried when you didn’t show up to the pack ho—”

His words cut off abruptly as he caught Ivar’s scent. He froze, his body tensing up.

Ivar closed the gap between us, wrapping one arm securely around my waist while the other rested casually on the doorframe.

“Good afternoon, former Beta Stone,” Ivar greeted, his voice falsely cheerful.

I tried to subtly push his arm off me, but he held firm. I noticed his hands were healing, but they still looked raw and painful.

His feet were in worse shape, so his nonchalant demeanor surprised me. Considering his injuries and the exhaustion from the past few days, I knew his patience was hanging by a thread.

Emerick seemed rooted to the spot, so I forced a bright smile onto my face.

“Hey, Emerick! King Ivar just stopped by, and we had some things to discuss so I was just going to take the day off.”

I silently prayed that he would leave and we could avoid a confrontation. My hopes were dashed immediately.

“How dare you show up here!” Emerick shouted, his voice filled with rage. “You left her for a year. You broke her heart, you bastard! And now you have the nerve to show your face!”

Ivar straightened up as Emerick approached, but kept his arm protectively around me. I could feel his muscles tense against me. He seemed calm, but I knew he was ready for a fight.

“Em, please,” I begged. “Just stop!”

He ignored me, stopping only when he was within arm’s reach. Ivar pulled me to the side, stepping in front of me. Despite my resistance, he moved me as if I weighed nothing.

“I find it strange that the members of the Redclaw Pack speak so freely to their king,” Ivar said, his voice dangerously low. “I’ll have to discuss proper decorum with my mate going forward.”

Emerick froze. Despite his hatred for Ivar, he still respected the crown. He had grown up knowing Ivar as the powerful king of the werewolves. I hoped his ingrained respect would prevent them from tearing each other apart.

“As for why I’m here, frankly, it’s none of your business, Stone,” Ivar said coolly. “But you should know I’m here for my mate, and I won’t let some insignificant male stand in my way.”

“She won’t have you,” Emerick spat back.

I gripped Ivar’s forearm, silently pleading with him not to go outside. The contact seemed to ease his tension slightly, and he glanced back at me.

I mouthed, Please.

He narrowed his eyes at me. I bowed my head in submission, praying he would understand how desperately I didn’t want him to hurt my friend. I knew Emerick wouldn’t stand a chance against my mate. Ivar would tear him apart without breaking a sweat.

At my show of respect, Ivar stepped back, looping his arm around me again.

“Emerick, I need you to go,” I told him firmly.

“What?” he asked, clearly taken aback. “You’re doing this? After everything you’ve been through this past year?”

Ivar opened his mouth to speak, but I beat him to it.

“As Ivar already told you, it’s none of your concern. You’ve been a great friend to me, Emerick. Please don’t do something that will force me to end that.”

Emerick clenched his fists at his sides, his body rigid with tension.

I could tell he was itching for a confrontation. He was desperate to fight for what he believed was his. He clung to the hope that someday, we would be together.

I never gave him false hope, but now I realized I should have been more assertive in setting boundaries. Emerick still felt he had some sort of ownership over me.

“Stone, consider this your only warning,” Ivar cautioned him. “Out of respect for my mate, your alpha, I will let you walk away unscathed. But if you challenge me, it will be a fight to the death.”

He shot Emerick a stern look. “And you won’t come out on top.”

Emerick finally exhaled a heavy sigh. “Is this what you want, Sam?”

“Yes,” I replied without a moment’s hesitation.

It wasn’t entirely untrue. I did want Emerick to back off.

“Now that he’s back, you both could reject each other,” he suggested quietly.

It was a theory he had proposed a few months after Ivar left. At the time, I pointed out that we would have to be in each other’s presence to test it. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I could reject Ivar, and there was no guarantee it would even work.

Fated mates were a rarity. Fated mates rejecting their bond was practically unheard of.

“What the fuck did you just say?” Ivar growled beside me.

I tried to restrain him, gripping his arm as he moved toward the door.

“I will not reject him!” I yelled, struggling to hold Ivar back.

At my words, the king seemed to calm a bit. I met his gaze and moved to stand in front of him, my hands against his chest. His body was still tense, ready to pounce on Emerick.

“Em, you need to leave. Now,” I ordered.

He cursed under his breath before storming off to his car. I kept my eyes on Ivar’s, hoping he would let my ex-lover leave in peace.

“Stone!” Ivar called out, and Emerick halted. “Don’t come back here.”

Emerick resumed his walk.

“And if you ever lay a hand on my mate again,” Ivar warned, “I’ll take your head.”

Emerick reached his car, got in, and slammed the door shut. Ivar and I remained still until the sound of tires screeching down the driveway filled the air. Then, I felt him start to lean against me.

“Ivar?” I asked. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he mumbled, but I could feel more of his weight pressing into me. “I’m just…a bit…dizzy.”

I slipped my arm under his and guided him back inside.

“When was the last time you ate or drank anything?” I asked, realizing I hadn’t offered him anything since he arrived.

“Before I left Canada,” he mumbled.

“Shit,” I muttered. “Okay, back to the couch. I’ll get you something.”

He collapsed immediately, breathing heavily. How he managed to stay upright while confronting my ex-boyfriend was beyond me. I remembered the time when I had to maintain my composure after being challenged.

It felt like a lifetime ago. Back then, Emerick had been the one to support me. My heart ached for him at the thought.

As I looked at the infuriatingly captivating man before me, I noticed he had dropped the blanket from his waist somewhere between the door and the couch. Blushing, I quickly left to retrieve it before heading to the kitchen.

I filled a glass with water, grabbed a sports drink, and set some leftovers to heat in the microwave. Carefully, I approached the seemingly sleeping king.

“You need to sit up, Ivar,” I said softly.

He opened one eye and grimaced before pulling himself up with a groan. He accepted the water I offered with a grunt but turned up his nose at the sports drink.

“It’ll help you rehydrate,” I assured him.

“You can’t taste the artificial crap they put in that?” he asked.

“Uh, no. I never really thought about it,” I admitted, frowning.

“Probably because you’re used to it,” he concluded. “It’s hard to find food without all the additives these days.”

I sometimes forgot that he was from a different era. With heightened senses, maybe it was easier to taste the chemicals in modern food when you knew what real food tasted like.

Despite his complaints, he reached out and took the drink, downing both it and the water in a few gulps. The microwave beeped from the kitchen and I stood.

“I’ll get you more while I grab the food.”

When I returned, Ivar had turned to put his feet on the floor, elbows resting on his knees and head in his hands. As I approached, he looked up. His eyes were a clear reflection of his exhaustion.

I noticed for the first time the blood staining the rug. I looked up and saw his massive footprints, now drying a dark red on the wooden floor. I handed him the leftover Pad Thai, biting my lip with worry.

“I know you didn’t want anyone to know you’re here,” I began slowly. “But the secret is out. I think I should take you to the med bay at the pack house.”

“Nope,” was his curt response.

“Ivar, you’re injured—”

“Which is why I can’t go to your pack house,” he interrupted. “I don’t care that your pack knows I’m here. I care that they know about my current state. It’s easier to hide that here. Stop trying to get rid of me. It’s annoying.”

I watched as he devoured his food.

“I’m not trying to get rid of you,” I assured him. “I’m worried about you.”

“You can drop the act, sweetheart,” he said dismissively. “The beta’s gone.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, confused by his insinuation.

“Please,” he scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Don’t try to convince me the ice queen suddenly cares about my well-being.”

“How can you think I don’t care about you?” I retorted. “I’ve been taking care of you since you showed up on my doorstep.”

“That’s not the same as caring about me, though,” he pointed out. “You feel obligated to take care of me.”

“I care about you, Ivar,” I said softly. “I’ve always cared about you.”

“Really?” he asked sarcastically. “You never tried to get in touch with me the entire time we were apart. You just moved on with your life.”

“What was I supposed to do?” I countered. “I told you, I have responsibilities. Besides, you never reached out either. And you had some woman hanging off your arm. Doesn’t seem like you were too concerned about me either.”

“I needed you and you chose being alpha over me!” he yelled.

“I chose my son over you and I would do it a thousand times over!” I yelled back. “And needing me is not the same as loving me.”

We locked eyes, both of us simmering with unspoken tension. Eventually, Ivar was the one to break the stare.

“She’s my half-sister,” he confessed.

I couldn’t help but blurt out, “What?”

“The woman in the photos,” he elaborated. “Her name is Trinity. She’s my half-sister.”

“Oh,” was all I could manage.

He nodded, his gaze steady. “She’s a witch. She accompanied me to help siphon energy, so I could seem…normal. I apologize. I didn’t consider how those pictures would look to you.”

My mouth dropped open in surprise. Seeing those photos had felt like a sucker punch. The idea of Ivar with someone else was a wound that cut deep.

I had lost interest in all other men the moment I met him. Now, knowing the truth, I felt a weight I hadn’t even known I was carrying lift from my shoulders.

“Thank you for telling me,” I said, my voice filled with genuine gratitude.

He nodded once more, his eyes meeting mine.

I moved to sit next to him, resting my head on his bare shoulder. He didn’t flinch at my touch, but he didn’t reciprocate it either. Regardless, I savored the warmth of his skin against mine.

“Why didn’t you stay?” I whispered into the silence.