18

Aspen

I was in the desert under a starlit sky that stretched across the earth to the horizon. My paws hit the dirt, running hard as the night air rippled my fur. The sand shifted beneath me and I was falling, sucked into a black hole that swallowed me as my claws dug frantically at the sinking grains of sand.

I came up for air, gasping and butt naked in my human skin in the middle of a packed courtroom.

Cameras were everywhere. People were laughing. A judge slammed an axe like a gavel against the podium and split it in half. The walls closed in as I was condemned for… something.

I took off running. My bare feet slapped against rich soil in an unfamiliar forest. The howls of female wolves came from the trees, indicating the chase. Panicked, I ran deeper into the woods, searching for an escape. I needed to find a cave. Wire. Traps… But this wasn’t my territory and I was lost.

Alone.

I skidded to a stop in the clearing where the full moon shone through the branches of the trees. My chest was heaving. The female howls grew louder.

They were out for blood.

Something else was there in the forest, more deadly than the wolves who gave chase. I called on my beast, begging her to take my skin so we could escape.

Eyes peered through the darkness. Brown ringed with a golden glow. A massive black wolf stalked between the trees, stepping a huge paw into the clearing. His breath misted with tendrils of smoke and I stared at him, unable to move as his power surrounded me.

Mine.

*

I jerked myself awake, screaming, and kicked off the blankets that trapped me on the bed.

It was just a dream.

A scary, stupid dream. My subconscious was probably in overdrive, trying to make sense of the craziness that had become my life.

I sucked in steadying breaths, placing my hand over my heart to calm both myself and my wolf.

Outside. She nudged me.

I climbed to my feet and made my way to the balcony, still trying to shake off the dream.

Fresh air greeted me as I opened the patio door. It was still the middle of the night. A wispy fog blanketed the pool and trees, silencing the grounds.

I leaned over the railing as my heart returned to its steady beat. It was just a dream.

Something moved in the forest below, followed by a deep, primal male howl. A predator’s warning. The sound vibrated through me, calling to my beast.

Mine, she said.

I shook my head, backing toward the safety of the room. “No way. We’re going back to bed.”

*

“Come on girl. We don’t have all day.”

I jerked awake to the pounding on the hotel room door. Rubbing the grit from my eyes, I turned to check the time. It was already six o’clock in the morning. Thanks to my overactive imagination, I’d barely gotten five hours of sleep.

This was torture.

I was staying up past my bedtime each night and waking too early. If they expected me to stay sane then I needed more…

“You’ve got five minutes and don’t pretend you can’t hear me. Lazy ass wolves.” Jesse pounded on the door again.

Was I forgetting something? I thought we had the day off.

“Four minutes!”

I jumped off the bed and hurried out of the room.

“Who is that?” Stef’s bedazzled “Diva” sleep mask was pushed up on her forehead, revealing puffy eyes that glared at me.

“My stylist,” I said, equally confused as I threw open the door to the hall.

“Sorry to interrupt your beauty sleep, but we have things to do today.” A rack on wheels was pushed into the room, causing me to take a step back.

I would have growled at the intrusion had Jesse not shoved a Styrofoam cup of coffee into my hand.

“Late night?” He winked, looking way too put together with navy dress slacks and his hair slicked back this early in the morning.

“Never. I like my sleep.” I sipped the coffee, waiting for my brain to wake up.

“Are those for us?” Stef threw off her mask, eyeing the rack of chiffon and silk on hangers.

“No. These are for Aspen.” Jesse’s upper lip curled as he looked her over. “It pays to be nice to your stylist.”

I choked on hot coffee as her face turned red.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Stef stomped her foot. “Trenton!”

I put my finger in my ear as if I could block out the sound of her voice screaming in my head. She could link him directly without pulling me in, but I think she liked making a big deal out of everything.

“Come on.” Jesse snapped his fingers, ignoring her tantrum. “Let’s get these hung up and try a few of the different fits before I need to clock in.”

*

“You’re my fairy godmother.” I froze, dragging my eyes away from the rack of designer wear that ranged from cute strappy sundresses and business suits to a few different evening gowns. “Sorry. Is that rude?”

“Why would it be rude?” Jesse sipped his coffee as the awkward silence stretched between us.

“Oh,” he finally said. “You think I’m gay.”

“What? No,” I stuttered. “I mean. Wait. Are you?”

Jesse rolled his eyes. “My love life is none of your business. Now get your size six to eight ass in the bathroom and make sure those gowns fit.”

After bending myself into more positions than the shifter Barbie they’d rolled out last year, I sat on the bed admiring my full closet. Never once did I think I was a “clothes girl,” but I was an official convert. It’s amazing how the right fit could change your mind.

“Thank you again,” I said, still not believing my luck.

“You can thank me by burning this shirt.” Jesse tossed Jim’s Garage tee outside my bedroom door.

“You said to get sponsors.” I chuckled.

Jesse’s green eyes flashed yellow as he studied his nails like… well… a cat. “You have a better sponsor now.”

“What? You didn’t get these from the basement?” Blood rushed to my cheeks as I tried to process what he was saying. There was no way another mail shipment came so quick. That meant he had something to do with this. “Jesse. No. You have to take these back.”

“Honey, please.” He sighed, glancing at the door like he was expecting someone to come bursting through. “I can’t have you in last season cast-offs if you’re going to pass these trials and settle down with your Alpha catch. Plus, stylists like to make our own little bets and your look is my work exposure.”

I chewed my bottom lip. Jesse was awesome and I didn’t want to let him down. I wasn’t sure what the rules were exactly for this sort of thing, but I didn’t want to lie to him when he’d been so nice to me.

I might as well come clean now. “Listen, I’m not sure if I’ll even pass the Luna Trials, but I’m only here because my Alpha is forcing me. I’m supposed to help his son through the games. The whole mate thing isn’t even on my radar. I didn’t come here to find a match.”

“Is that all?” Jesse blinked. Not the response I was expecting. “Half the girls here are in it for the money or to keep daddy from setting up an arranged match.”

“Who?” I sat up straighter, thirsty for some tea to be spilled.

“Stylist/client confidentiality.” He bopped me on the nose. “But as for the mate part, I’ve seen crazier things happen on the show. Let’s see what your wolf decides. You can trust your beast to protect your heart. And I’ll take care of your face.”

Jesse left the room with a swagger no normal being could pull off, leaving me stunned on the bed.

My wolf smirked. He’s alright for a cat.

*

I creaked open the bedroom door, checking to see if she was gone, and closed it again with a sigh. Breakfast hours were almost over. The snacks I’d grabbed from the vending machine were barely enough to sate my hunger.

I needed meat.

With the late nights and early wakeups, I wasn’t feeling like myself. If I didn’t get enough sleep, I got hungrier. Hungry and tired led to cranky and I had enough going on without my basic animalistic needs getting in the way.

My cellphone finally rang.

Thank the Goddess.

“An inmate from Holton Penitentiary is calling. Do you accept charges from: It’s me, bitch?”

“I accept.”

“See. I told you I could help.” Clara laughed on the other end of the line. “Get a pen. You’re going to want to write this down.”

*

The clothes may have helped with my confidence, but being armed with actual knowledge made me feel more in control.

My gaze swept the cafeteria of late risers enjoying breakfast and I breathed through my mouth so as not to overwhelm my beast with the intoxicating scent of testosterone in the morning.

I’ve got this.

“So I told him, you take your deal and shove it up your…” Landon North, oil tycoon from the Alma Pack in Texas, wore timberland boots and had sun kissed skin with a cute little dimple on his cheek. His family was constantly acquiring new territory and had questionable dealings with the government.

I stepped around his table, heading to the breakfast buffet, and silently repeated the information Clara had given me like I was studying for a test.

“Bless your heart.” Cindy Frazier, with her red hair pinned to the top of her head, sat prim and proper with her cousin Wyona and their Alpha’s son, Brett. They were old money from Georgia and weren’t known for their southern hospitality.

“I’d kill for some good biscuits and gravy,” Cindy said. I kept my eyes glued to the tray. She worried me a bit more than the others. There were rumors about some kind of pageant gone wrong.

“What are biscuits and gravy?” Colton Penobscot asked. He was from Northern Maine and wore suspenders that stretched across his muscled chest. Hilary, his sister, sat beside him. They had ties with the Irish Wolfhound Mafia if Clara’s source was right.

A few of the other Luna candidates lingered over their empty trays, chatting up the Alphas who were still eating. I didn’t know all of them, but that was probably a good thing. The dirt Clara was able to dig up only applied to those who had associations through less than desirable channels.

Opal’s lowered head caught my attention across the other side of the room near the pastry counter. I called to her, but she hurried out the doors carrying a plate stacked full of sprinkled doughnuts. Clara hadn’t been able to find out much about Opal other than she was from a small West Virginia pack. For some reason, that made me like her more.

Too bad she was so skittish.

“Aspen, come sit with us,” Fallon called out as I turned with my full tray. My heart slammed hard against my chest, seeing Ranger’s dark brown eyes fixated on me.

Fallon and Ranger McCaw from Washington state. I’d expected more information from Clara on them, but they were anomalies. It seemed that everything about them was already public record and their hands were clean.

I didn’t believe it. Not for a second. Especially when Ranger’s presence set my blood pumping and he had red warning flags practically waving around his head.

But I liked Fallon, so I was torn, and I didn’t want to make an enemy of some of the most powerful shifters in this room.

“Good morning.” I forced myself to smile as I set my tray on their table. The scent of musky pine made my wolf preen and pant. I needed to feed her, fast. “Did we decide what to do about the gift bags yet?”

“Gift bags?” Chad Tulia asked. He was classically handsome with that mischievous grin that made you smile without thinking. It set me at ease, or maybe it was that his family spearheaded multiple education projects for shifter teens.

It also didn’t hurt that he pulled out my chair.

Edith and Lilith and Chad were close, raised by Chad’s father and his mother who worked on shifter reform for the state of California. They were rich, rich. Like godly rich. His uncle dealt with buying and liquidating certain businesses, but seemed like the only sully to the Tulia name. And even then, nothing could be proven.

I scooted the chair over a bit, keeping all of them in my line of sight like I’d be able to do anything if they pounced. “We talked about gift bags for the children’s hospital yesterday.”

Ranger leaned back in his chair, still staring at me as he folded his arms across his chest. I felt exposed, naked under his intense gaze. I twisted the fork in my hand.

“I was thinking we could make some games for them.” My voice came out too breathy. I shoved a piece of sausage into my mouth.

The corner of Ranger’s lips quirked up as his wolf flashed in his eyes. Why couldn’t he stare at something else? My skin flushed with heat.

“What kind of games?” he asked.

It sounded like he was mocking me. My wolf growled, helping me to ground myself as I swallowed down the meat. He could tease all he wanted. This was a good idea. “If we can get some felt, we can make tic-tac-toe boards.”

“Tic-tac-toe?” Chad leaned closer. He really did have beautiful blue eyes and that cocky smile showing he knew it. But something about his proximity had my wolf recoiling and growling louder.

“It’s a child’s game.” Ranger’s voice held a note of warning.

“Uh, huh.” I nodded, biting into my bacon. It was getting too hot in here.

“Gross.” Edith crinkled her nose. “Like DIY? No thanks.”

“Afraid to break a nail?” Fallon sipped her coffee mug. I lowered my face to hide my smile.

“Anyway,” Edith sighed, “we don’t have time for arts and crafts. We’ll just give our donations and be done with it.”

“What?” The food sat heavy in my stomach and I reached for the glass of water to wash it down. Donation… as in… money. “How much are you donating?”

“You don’t have to match it.” Edith waved my question away as if it were taboo. Maybe it was. I didn’t know the rules. “Give what you’re able to. That’s the whole point of donating, right?”

“Right.” I was suddenly very aware of the clothes I’d been given, the exact amount of money in my bank account, and the check from the show that hadn’t yet posted the last time I was able to look at my credit union online.

“It’s fine. We’re not giving that much,” Fallon said softly as she took another sip of her coffee. I think she meant to ease my embarrassment, but it only made it burn hotter.

“Donation it is.” I nodded, shoving another sausage link in my mouth.

“We have an allotment for yearly donations,” Chad was explaining as if I actually cared. His thick thigh brushed against mine as he spread his legs and his hand landed on the back of my chair.

I moved to push the chair back.

An angry rumble came from across the table as Ranger started growling.

My vision tunneled.

My wolf purred.

Abort mission. I had to get out of here.

“I’m glad that’s taken care of. I’ll see you both tomorrow.” I grabbed my tray and shot to my feet, cringing at my own awkwardness. Who let me march in here like I actually knew what I was doing?

Screw false confidence. I needed a nap.

“I’ll walk you out,” Ranger’s deep voice danced along my skin, making me shiver.

“No thanks,” I said, averting my eyes. I never lowered them in submission, but I knew how to keep an Alpha calm by looking the other way.

“I insist.” His chair scraped against the floor.

“That’s okay…” My voice trailed off as I turned, coming face to face with a solid wall of muscle and breathing in a cloud of his delicious scent.

How did anyone think with all these Alpha pheromones floating around?