Chapter 1

One

ARES

EIGHTEEN MONTHS LATER

“Mama. Ma. Ma. Come on, sweetheart, say it. Mama.” Evie coos and giggles at the silly faces I’m making as I balance her against my thighs while sitting propped on my bed. Her little fists shove in her mouth, drooling, and gnawing on them as if they held the best treat. Her silver-moon hair matches mine exactly, and even though my soul aches when I gaze upon her, I’m thankful she has her father’s ice-blue eyes instead of my unusual hue.

The emptiness that consumed my soul when Hendrix left me naked and alone after our mat—after we had sex—almost killed me. Quite literally. There’s a reason mates rarely reject each other. Besides being a piece of your essence, rejection can malnourish a wolf until there’s nothing left but death.

Luckily, this little princess made her presence known early with the roughest morning sickness, compounding my malnourishment for months. The doctor suggested lots of rest, which was almost impossible since I had to figure out how to make a living without the support of the pack.

The waitressing job I landed was a lifesaver, providing enough money to rent a single room from an elderly woman until I discovered my true calling: writing.

By chance, I wrote down my experience, leaving nothing out. The truth in all its glory: the pack, shifters, my mates, how they rejected me, the birth of my baby. Everything. I told it all. The human world has always heard legends about the supernatural world. We’d be idiots to think we could keep it from them completely, but in recent years, their outlook has skewed in our favor, paving the way for the unacceptable to become acceptable. Why not take advantage of it?

My pain turned into a budding, lucrative career as a paranormal romance author, and within months, my money troubles disappeared. The debut book that launched my new profession was born of my pain and heartache. Of course, a rework was necessary for that ever-sought-after HEA, but my fantasies helped fill the void. I had many throughout our youth and admit to many more since their rejection.

Book after book, fantasy after fantasy, built around how they’d realize their error and come for me. That when Hendrix rejected me, the others—his brothers—would still come. Surely, they’d realize they were my mates, knowing they’d form a pack one day. But nothing. No one ever came. No one called. Nothing. Which could only mean they agreed with him. I’m shiftless. An unworthy mate.

Being shiftless in a pack is seen as a weakness. A burden and drain on resources. One that I’m grateful for having left when I did. Especially now that Evie’s here. Her childhood would have replicated mine, something I’d never allow another child to experience.

However, among humans, these things are trivial because they don’t exist in their eyes. There’s no such thing as a shiftless she-wolf who was rejected by her mates. Those things only live within their imaginations, which is why my books do so well. I bring their fantasies to life, because even though we’re completely different genetically, we all want the same loving relationships.

Evie and I dubbed this morning "lazy Tuesday." We lounged around the house, watching her cutesy cartoons, and eating our fill of fruit and pancakes. She’s always on the go, just learning how to walk from one place to another. If she could avoid plopping to her butt after the first step, she’d be off. I can tell she’s doing it on purpose, scared to venture further, no matter how much coaxing there is on my side.

The sun felt good against my skin when we finally walked to the library later that afternoon. We waved to the staff as we ventured to our usual corner where they keep the best kids' toys and books. Evie loves it here as much as I do. Not only is this the place where I wrote my first novel—since I didn’t have a laptop in the beginning—but it’s peaceful and smells of freedom within any of the book’s pages.

A toddler table with six tiny rainbow chairs surrounds it next to the windows on one side of the room, while the other is littered with stuffed animals and a large colorful carpet for reading time. We typically cuddled with the stuffed animals while reading a book, and with the four large bookshelves between us and the rest of the library, it felt like our own hidden nook.

When I finish the voiceover for her favorite fairy book, Evie claps her little hands and babbles, seeming to compliment my theatrics. Then off she goes again, diving into the stuffed animals and crawling in circles on the carpet.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see her stand, using the toddler table as leverage. I pretend not to notice her—because sometimes she likes to be sneaky—as I slip her book back onto the shelf. When I turn back around, she steps away and moves like she’s on wheels, angling for an escape.

“Oh, no you don’t.” A shrill squeal emits from her tiny form when I give chase, the excitement wobbling her little body frantically, as her arms flail like pinwheels emphasizing her attempted escape. “I’m gonna get you.” A small growl rumbles in my chest playfully. A bit of the wolf hidden within. There’s no time to celebrate her latest milestone because I’ve already given chase.

Her laughter mixes with her babbling until one word breaks through the rest. “Da. Da. Da.”

Traitor.

Not gonna lie, it was my first thought.

I’m distracted only because she turns the corner of a bookshelf and collides with the back of a guy’s leg, clinging to it, muttering her newfound phrase.

My pace increases until I’m swooping her up and apologizing. “I’m so sorry. She’s suddenly a speed demon.” Once she’s settled on my hip, I turn a friendly smile toward the owner of the drooled-on pants… and freeze.

Black bangs obscure narrowed glacier eyes. They’re penetrating, solving an enigma within moments when his eyes flare with recognition. The logical part of my brain is screaming to run, hide, get away from him, but the baser instinct is overriding those commands, locking us in place.

“Knox.” His name is a whispered punishment on my tongue, tasting of fate’s offered temptation, but remembering his pack’s rejection steels my spine.

Knox Carver stands in front of me as the mate bond snaps an electric whip up my spine, causing my breath to catch. It’s so strong I’m worried my scent blockers will fail and he’ll sense my spike of interest. He’s obviously scenting something because his nostrils flare and his eyes dilate, revealing the predator lurking below the surface.

Natural instinct has my position shifting, shielding Evie from view. A movement he catches immediately and turns his attention to her, scenting the air again.

Before he can ask questions or strike up a conversation, I murmur an apology and scurry back to our nook. Our things are collected rapidly as we rush toward the exit.

“Ares.” My name is called cautiously, trying to keep a library-appropriate tone. “Wait up.”

His voice increases my speed, trying to escape before he can catch up. My heart is beating as fast as hummingbird wings, worrying about the moment he meets Evie’s eyes. He’s already scented her familiarity and wondering why she smells of family.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

It was never my intention to keep Evie from Hendrix or his brothers, but the more time that passed, plus the fact that they never once came for me, called, or even texted, created this ball of anxiety. What if they took her away from me? But didn’t they also have a right to see her? And didn’t she have a right to know her daddies?

My eyes close tightly as my steps falter outside the elevator. What I’m about to do is going to hurt like a bitch, and that includes the thirteen-hour labor I’d gone through nine months prior. Fate’s an asshole anyway and stalls the elevator until he reaches me—the stairs being on the other side of the library.

Evie’s squirming slips the diaper bag from my arm, plopping it to the ground just as Knox catches up, snagging it and handing it back.

“Thank you,” I murmur, slipping it back onto my shoulder and patting Evie’s snuggling body. I can tell by the way her face burrows into my chest that a nap isn’t far in the future.

There’s a smile in his voice when he asks, “Why’re you running? I wanted to check in with you. The pack had no idea where you went after graduation. You just disappeared.”

When I glance at him, his expression is genuine. He’s really curious. It’s not like we didn’t know each other growing up; we just ran in different circles, and by that, I mean they had one and I didn’t. Nor did I try to fit in, but they were never rude and said hi to me most days. Until Tamera started running interference.

“Oh, um. The pack wasn’t for me. We’ve been here since.” The elevator dings with each level it passes as it ascends to our floor, offering the escape I desperately crave.

His nostrils flare again, and his head tilts, a trait reflective of our canine counterpart. “Ares… there’s something…” he trails off, pupils dilating to pinpoints, causing my breath to saw in and out heavily. The adrenaline burns through my blockers quicker than expected, tickling my nose with the slightest hint of perfume. Surprise suddenly shrouds his expression, panic reflecting in his eyes as they search mine for the truth. “You’re my…”

The elevator opens, allowing me to step backward into the void, using his bewilderment as an opportunity to escape. The conversation will happen—sometime soon, I’m sure—but I need time to prepare, and being bum-rushed in a library isn’t the time or place for a conversation of that caliber.

There’s something else he needs to get straight though. “I’m your nothing,” I growl vehemently. “There’s a conversation to be had, but that fact will remain.”

“I don’t understand. We’ve searched for…” His words stop mid-sentence, mouth hanging open as Evie lifts her head from my chest, batting her lashes over her beautiful blue eyes, tiny replicas of Hendrix’s. “She’s…” A plethora of emotions create a montage, displaying shock, sadness, anger, and confusion. Too many emotions to sift through in front of a lobby elevator.

“Da. Da. Da.” She chooses that moment to blab and point at Knox like she wants him to hold her, as if she knows soul-deep that this is indeed her daddy.

Knox’s eyes dart to mine—so much like his brother’s, so much like our baby’s—while his lips quiver and his eyes shine with unshed tears. “Ares…” he chokes past the knot in his throat, just in time for the door to finally, blessedly close.

My breath stutters as I clutch Evie to my chest, ready to hit the ground running when we’re free of the building. I’d be crazy to think Knox wouldn’t follow. He’ll be racing toward those stairs on the other side of the building, hoping to catch me before I scurry away.

He knows.

I disappeared from town and the pack the same morning Hendrix left me in the barn, so I don’t know what the town gossip is or who he’d told about my rejection, but Knox seemed genuinely surprised when he scented our mate bond. Though our connection was wounded, it vibrated steadily and thundered louder when he was near.

Our lives are about to change again, and I'm terrified they'll retaliate by taking my baby because I kept her a secret.