Reluctantly Mated

The howls were drawing closer.

Kenzie stared at her reflection, her face paling with each ominous chime of the war bell.

She’d just jolted awake from a dream so vivid it clung like smoke. A massive wolf—dark, snarling, terrifying—had pinned her down while a witch with shadowed eyes circled the edges, watching.

She should’ve been horrified, but part of her hadn’t wanted to run. The wolf had felt like danger—and something else.

Something she couldn’t name.

When she’d first looked into the mirror, she’d even thought she saw bite marks on her throat. But when she looked again, they were gone.

And then the howls had started.

Was this still the dream?

No.

The cold tile under her bare feet was far too real.

The bell was still ringing.

Even she knew what that meant.

A pack war.

How was a powerless witch supposed to survive a shifter war?

Maybe Thomas, three doors down, would let her borrow his baseball bat. Not that it would do much good—an enemy wolf would snap it in two like a breadstick.

Kenzie ran from the bathroom, expecting chaos in the hallway.

Nothing. Not a single door cracked open.

“Hello?”

“Down here, Kenz!” Sam’s voice—urgent, afraid—echoed from below.

Kenzie bolted for the stairs, nearly slipping on the slick hardwood in her pink socks.

At the bottom, she spotted her best friend silhouetted against the wide living room window of the pack house. Sam’s red hair gleamed in the moonlight, wild and tangled. She was panting.

“Sam! Where is everyone? What’s happening? Why the bells?”

Sam pointed toward the woods. “Full moon. Everyone went out hours ago for the lunar run.”

Sam’s face twisted. “It was the perfect time for an attack. Kenz…most of the pack’s been captured.”

Kenzie froze. “Captured?” Her voice came out small. “Why?”

Sam just rubbed her arms, gaze flicking toward the window.

“Sam. Who’s attacking us?”

Her dream clawed its way back. The predatory dark witch in the shadows.

The enormous black wolf. That unnatural sense of pull, of recognition.

She shivered.

The Mad Alpha hunted witches.

He had devoted his life to wiping them out, and he didn’t care whether they were light or dark.

That was why the Rainstorm Pack had kept Kenzie hidden.

That, and the fact that a dark witch called Beonca was known to be searching for the little girl who’d been orphaned in the Bloodroot Coven massacre.

Rainstorm shifters—both wolves and bears—were gentle. Kind. They had provided Kenzie with a haven, never speaking of her existence outside the pack. They had raised her, and she owed them everything.

They loved bonfires and cuddle piles, not blood and blades. They didn’t train for war.

If someone had attacked them…

If her dream wolf was actually a premonition…

No.

Kenzie’s breath caught. The howls sounded again. Closer now.

And this time, one of them made her blood thrum.

Not with fear.

With something worse.

A kind of sick excitement.

“Were Doug and Judy out there? Are they okay?” Kenzie twisted her hands. What if her adoptive parents had been hurt because of her?

Sam stared around wildly, as if looking for lurking enemies. “They’re okay—for now. They sent me to warn you, since I’m the fastest.”

As she spoke, Sam pulled Kenzie toward the back exit, guiding her around heavy furniture in the darkness. Unlike wolves, Kenzie had no night vision.

Sam had looked out for Kenzie from the moment they’d met—Kenzie, a bloodstained, hollow-eyed toddler whose parents had been slaughtered by witch hunters; Sam, a fiercely protective kindergartner with a warm heart and a mission.

“We need to leave immediately,” Sam said. “I’m not sure who ratted us out, but—the Mad Alpha knows we’ve been harboring a witch… He’s come for you, Kenz.”

“And he’s not the only one. There’s a witch out there too. We smelled her. She’s evil—and powerful.”

Her heart picked up speed, her pulse fluttering wildly.

Why did she feel as if the dream wolf was some kind of kindred spirit? Sent to save her from Beonca?

She wasn’t scared for herself. At all.

She kept remembering the dream wolf’s voice. It had been almost…mesmerizing.

An odd buzz shot through her.

Gods. As long as she didn’t meet the dark witch first…

Kenzie barely managed to brush her ridiculous sense of anticipation aside for long enough to focus on the current situation.

“If he’s already here, then it’s no use running.”

Flee a crazy wolf? And on a full moon? His instincts would practically demand he rip her in half if she ran from him.

As a wolf herself, Sam should know this.

It would be much better to face him.

After all, Kenzie considered herself a good person. The Mad Alpha might show mercy if he sensed she harbored no dark magic. Yes, she’d been born into a coven of dark witches—but she’d only been a child!

She wasn’t a wielder of dark magic, nor would she ever be.

But if she ran, she was as good as dead.

Wolves never gave up a chase. It went against their very nature.

And even if she escaped the Mad Alpha, the dark witch was out there, waiting.

Kieran Gallagher—the Mad Alpha—was known to be ruthless, violent, and arrogant. But she would much rather deal with him than the infamous Beonca.

Remembering the feel of fangs pressing into her throat and a sensual voice calling to her, Kenzie felt almost…gleeful.

How bizarre.

Something was definitely wrong with her.

Ignoring her comments, Sam grabbed Kenzie’s hoodie and yanked her toward the back door.

Kenzie stumbled as she tried to keep up.

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

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

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

“He knows Beonca is after you, and he’s determined not to let her have you.”

“Why?” Kenzie asked.

“Gods, who knows? Maybe he thinks you’re powerful?

“Anyway, Alpha says he will most likely kill us with or without your surrender, so your parents and Alpha want me to get you out of here. Come on!”

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

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

Rolling her eyes, Sam picked Kenzie up and threw her over her shoulder.

Sam reached the door and threw it open, ignoring the fists pounding on her back.

“You and I both know you’re a light witch with essentially no real magic, Kenz.”

Kenzie bristled at the statement, even if it was true.

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

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

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

She was a witch dud.

“Put me down, Sam. Please! What if he kills them all? I’m not worth it. I’m not!”

“What kind of family would we be if we gave you up to save ourselves?”

Kenzie’s heart nearly stopped. Then it began to beat furiously, urging her to act, to do something.

The Mad Alpha had agreed to spare them all if she were handed over. Kenzie had to at least try to save them.

Her pack had saved her life nearly twenty years ago. And they’d been protecting her ever since, shielding her from dark witches who came looking for her. Now, it was her turn to return the kindness.

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

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

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

While her magic was unstable and limited, Kenzie had found that she could do this one small thing if she tried really hard.

Or if she felt threatened enough.

She didn’t want to harm Sam. But she needed to free herself and find Kieran Gallagher.

She would save her pack, even if it meant dying in the attempt.

Tears pricked Kenzie’s eyes as she focused on drawing power from nature. She pulled it into her, filling her palm slowly with a beautiful green ball of energy.

As it grew larger, she hoped Sam wouldn’t notice the glow.

Sam would feel no pain, but Kenzie hated the idea of leaving her best friend out cold, with enemies in their territory.

“I’m really sorry, Sam,” she sniffled. “I love you.” With that, Kenzie slammed the ball of light into Sam’s back.

Both women hit the ground almost instantly, Kenzie falling flat on her face.

Breathing hard, she righted herself. Then she rolled Sam over and inspected her still form.

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

Sam was going to be okay.

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