Alpha’s Regret: His Wrongful Rejection

“You hang back, okay?” I say, dragging my wolf out of her corner by her back legs with sheer force of will. “I need to do this myself.” Kennedy’s obviously disappointed, but she nods, and in a move as smooth as CGI, her human body flows into a big black wolf that lopes down the…

“This sucks,” I say quietly. “It’s so embarrassing.” “I mean, it happens to everyone eventually,” Annie says with a gentle smile. “Not to males.” “They go into rut.” Annie’s eyes round. A whiff of her fear snakes into the new jeans, sunshine, and green grass scent wafting through the cracked window. “That’s worse.” I guess…

He’s staring back at me. His irises have turned such a dark brown, they’re almost black, except for the occasional flashes of gold like sparks off a blacksmith’s hammer. The bond is a straight line through the hall, uninterrupted by packmates and tables, strong and new and strange and real. Inescapably real. A male brushes…

Shifters aren’t big readers, but those of us who are, trade. I think I’d read every book in camp at least a dozen times before Una got us phones, and I discovered ebooks. He stares at me. “I’m into music, too. Mostly mid-to-late-2000s indie rock and acoustic chill.” A slash appears between his eyebrows. “Oh,…

“No,” Darragh says. No elaboration. Just “no.” Killian grunts. I don’t know whether it’s approval for Darragh’s restraint or some other male thing I can’t understand. Oh, it was really dumb to go up there. I see it now that I’m pinned in place with a crick in my neck, a headache gathering from the…

I know I’m not. I’ve never been in a fight in my life, and except for when my father tried to kill me, I’ve never been in danger, either. I feel like I should resent him talking to me like this. I’m not a pup, and I’m not dumb. I’m not resentful, though. He’s fussing,…

“I’m not hungry,” I mumble under my breath. I don’t want his friends-with-benefits fruit. “Eat it,” he says. It’s not quite a command, but it’s not a suggestion, either. I imagine an elder might say “eat it” like that to a pup. I feel squirmy. He might be older than me, and I might be…

Oh dear God. She’s asking for belly rubs. He looks like he might bolt at any second, like this is the strangest interaction he’s ever had and he’s never seen a bitch on her back before, and my wolf is wriggling in the dirt, batting his hand with her snout in the direction of her…

His wolf’s snarl crescendos and ebbs to more of a menacing rumble. My wolf sneaks a peek upward with rounded eyes. “I-I’m sorry I just showed up.” I clear my throat as I lower my hands. “I didn’t, uh, know how to call you or anything.” I glance around the shack. Dude definitely does not…

Darragh’s beautiful, brown and gold, albeit bloodshot, eyes drill into mine, and I’m struck with a bolt as sudden and shocking as the late summer lightning that burns the air and sears black spots across your field of vision. My lungs seize mid-inhale. I stop breathing oxygen, my body continuing to pump blood on sheer…