9 Who Did This To You?

Ember

Dinner sounds unappealing, so I continue to lay in my borrowed bed and brood. Tears burn in my eyes but never fall. I want to fight, hurt someone, but not him.

Somehow in the last few days, Onyx became someone important to me. Someone I would protect, even refuse to hurt if we were on opposite sides of a conflict. He’s more than a friend. The feel of his hands on my body sends goosebumps over my arms.

Even as disappointed as I am that he couldn’t tell me what they said in the meeting I was excluded from, I can’t be angry with him .

Tomorrow, I will confront my brother. But right now, there’s someone else I can question. With a grimace, I pull out my phone to text my mother.

Ember: What the hell? Why did you leave me here?

Sienna: I decided it was best you spend more time with your brothers.

Ember: And you couldn’t be bothered to talk to me?

Sienna: I’m busy and you need to be respectful. I am your Alpha.

Ember: And I’m your Heir, but you aren’t treating me like your second.

Sienna: I will be sending you instructions tonight. I want you to gather some information while you are there. Be ready.

I leave her text on read. Maybe she means asking questions, but I have a feeling she means spying. That’s not going to happen. My position here is already precarious, but if I’m caught stealing information, they would imprison me truly.

Emotional drain melts into exhaustion, and I doze. A knock on my door wakes me.

“Go away, Onyx,” I rasp, clearing sleep from my voice.

“I’ve got dinner for you, honey,” Clove says.

Popping up, I rub a hand across my face and say, “Oh, thanks. Come in.” The door handle starts to turn but stops.

“Mom, let me,” Onyx mutters.

“Not a chance. Sit back down, or better yet, go clean yourself up,” Clove scolds. Onyx’s grumbles fade and once it’s quiet, Clove opens the door fully.

“Thanks,” I say, accepting the plate. An oversized croissant overflows with chicken salad studded with grapes. Another novelty for me. Taking a bite, I savor the creamy sauce and the bright crunch of celery.

“When did you have time to make croissants?” I ask between bites, smiling weakly at Onyx’s mother.

Clove waves her hand. “Puff pastry is such a pain. I usually make huge batches and then freeze them. It’s easier to make in the winter when the butter doesn’t want to melt.”

I nod, taking another bite. My stomach gurgles in appreciation .

“I appreciate you teaching me how to bake.” The words get caught in my throat, but I force them out. “I’m going to miss you.”

“You’re welcome to come back any time.”

“I don’t think that’s very likely. My mom is pretty controlling.”

“Yes, I suppose she is.”

“I need to find out what’s going on. I can tell Jasper was lying to me. Do you know what they were meeting about?”

Clove’s hand brushes over my hair, the way I always imagined a mother would do. My throat aches and my eyes sting.

“I’m sure Jasper will explain everything tomorrow. It’ll be okay.”

“If it wasn’t a big deal, they wouldn’t have kept anything from me,” I mutter.

“Maybe,” Clove answers. “But I have a feeling this is going to be a transformative time for you and your pack. They may need you, but you also need space and independence to grow. A little separation from your mother isn’t a bad thing.”

The truth of her words grips me. I would have given anything to be away from my mother’s control and scrutiny. But it’s the feeling of helplessness that turns my blood to ice. It’s something I fight every day in Granite Ridge when wolves disrespect my ranking and my mother speaks down to me. If things go wrong, I don’t have the power to stop it. Something deep inside of me knows that’s why my mother didn’t want me there. I’m too weak to be of any help .

“Ember,” Clove says, pulling me from my spiraling anxiety. “Try to enjoy the time you have with us. Everyone here cares about you. You’re safe. Make sure to rest and recharge.”

“I will, after Jasper is honest with me.” I’m not ready to let go of my anger, though Clove’s kindness softens it.

“If that’s what you need to do,” she says, standing. I let her take my plate.

“Thanks, Clove.”

“Good night, love.” She opens the door and I hear Onyx scrambling out of the way. After she leaves, I listen to him settle back against the door. Ridiculous man.

My body itches to go open the door and let him in. I’ve already used him as a distraction before. But that wasn’t wise. This time, I won’t be opening the door and falling into his arms. I can’t figure out how to deal with the situation when I’m distracted by his mouth.

I sleep fitfully, my heart aching. A deeper sleep takes me some time in the early hours and when I wake, it’s late morning.

Scrubbing myself helps marginally, as does blow drying my hair smooth. A little extra eyeliner and I feel ready to face everyone.

When I open the door, Onyx falls back onto my shins. He smiles up at me sheepishly.

“Have you been here the whole time?”

He scrambles to his feet and shrugs. “I went to the bathroom once or twice. ”

I almost laugh, but remember the divide between us. He’s just following his Alphas’ orders. But being left in the dark is somehow worse when he’s unable to help and clearly wants to.

“Where’s my brother?”

“I’ll take you to him after you eat some breakfast.”

“Onyx,” I warn, my nails digging into my palms.

“Breakfast,” he answers in the same tone, the twinkle in his eyes the only sign he’s teasing me.

With a scowl, I march to the kitchen and allow him to present me with some of the brioche spread with butter and jam. It’s just as delicious cool, and despite my irritation, I eat the entire plate.

“We made this jam, you know.” He scrapes the knife against the jar to capture a smudge of jam to spread across his last bite of bread.

I don’t have the energy to respond. My cold anger gathers up inside of me as I mentally rehearse my discussion with Jasper, ready to unleash when my brother inevitably refuses to answer my questions.

“Everyone is at training. My dad and Slate ordered double training for the next few weeks, including weapons.” My ears perk up at weapons.

The meadow is quiet. It’s Monday, maybe the children of this pack are in school. A little spike of curiosity urges me toward the school to see if it’s Marigold in the classroom, but I ignore it. My pack doesn’t have a school. I did online classes, like my brother. But maybe someday, Marigold can help me set up a proper school for my pack when I’m the Alpha.

Onyx pushes open the door to the training building, and I’m surprised at how many wolves occupy the space. The garage door on the back side is open, and more wolves train in the dirt beyond.

A group of females grapple in a ring, while a few people lift weights along the wall. I hone in on Jasper, who stands in a line with a gun pointed at a target in the trees. He tenses and shoots, his shot landing off-center. He was always better with knives.

“Ember,” Hazel says, using a towel to wipe her sweat off.

“I’d like to talk to my brother,” I say, unwilling to look at the Alpha who is withholding information from me.

“He’s finishing up some training. Can you wait a minute?” she asks. Her tone is casual, but there’s an underlying command that prickles at me. With a jolt, I realize she’s using dominance on me. From the soft brush of it, it’s most likely unintentional. I wouldn’t even notice if I was her pack. As soft as it is, it feels different than my mother’s, and therefore alien.

Turning, I narrow my eyes at her. “Are you trying to start a fight?”

Hazel glances between me and Onyx, her cheek sucked in where she bites it. “No, but maybe it’s a good idea to work off some of your aggression before you talk with Jasper? Just a bit of friendly sparring.”

A minute later, we replace the sparring women in the ring. Onyx stands at the edge nervously. He’s joined by a few pack members I don’t recognize .

My focus narrows to Hazel. We’ve fought before, when she was human in the woods. She had a knife and I took it from her. Only Jasper’s arrival saved her. But there are no knives here. Mine is tucked in my room, for once. And I have no reason to kill her. Regardless, I still want to win.

Hazel steps closer, hands up defensively. I’m a couple inches shorter than her, so I lower myself as I dart in, attempting to land a strike on her ribcage. She’s incredibly fast, grabbing my wrist and twisting. I fall to a knee, snarling.

Hazel presses her advantage, trying to force me to the ground. Ignoring the pain, I grab her closer thigh and shove into her. She struggles to maintain her balance, throwing her weight onto me.

My wrist wrenches and my shoulder pops. We both fall sideways.

With a horrified expression, Hazel releases my arm. “Sorry!” she yelps, attempting to sit up. The pain in that arm is blinding, but I'm used to ignoring pain. Using my good arm, I slam into her collarbone, pressing her into the mat.

I press into her airway, observing the ways her eyes widen. She slams into my cheek with her fist, and I have to duck my head. Her weight shifts, her feet getting under me before I can drop lower, and then I’m flying over her to land on my back. All the air whooshes out of my body.

Hazel crouches over me, one hand rubbing at her neck. “Are you okay?” she asks, sounding distant .

Other faces join hers, but I can only focus on Jasper’s glowing pale eyes. He hauls me up with rough hands, dragging me away from the crowd and into the trees.

Hazel’s voice echoes, “Jasper, she’s hurt!”

As I suck in air, my mind clears. My brother’s face is twisted in fury.

“Is this what you’ve been doing here? Attempting to assassinate our brother’s mate?” His words are barely above a growl.

“What?” I ask, holding my aching arm and trying to figure out how to pop it back into place.

“She tapped the mat. You could have strangled her!”

“I didn’t see,” I admit, my eyes dropping to the ground. “I didn’t think an Alpha would ever tap out.”

“She did it because you were hurt!” he hisses.

“I’m sorry! But she’s the one who wanted to spar. If she couldn’t handle it, she shouldn’t have asked me!” Anger surges back into my body, turning up the pain in my arm until I’m choking on it.

“You should show her some respect. Hazel is the only one keeping you safe right now.” I want to argue that I can take care of myself, but it hurts too much to form words.

“Stop it,” Onyx growls, prying Jasper’s hands off of me. He shoves my brother back. “She’s hurt, you asshole.”

Jasper looks me over and I bare my teeth at him.

“Dammit, Ember,” Onyx mutters. He comes up beside me, using both hands to grip my shoulder and popping it back into place. I turn my face into his chest to muffle the small scream I can’t contain.

“We need to talk about this,” Jasper huffs when I look up.

“Yeah, there’s a lot of things to talk about, since you’re refusing to tell me what the hell is going on,” I say. Neither of us moves so Onyx stays a weight against my good arm. His hand goes to the small of my back.

“You can’t demand answers when you behave like that,” Jasper yells. “You are so fucking lucky it was me there and not Slate.”

It’s too much. She’s the one who wanted to spar. Yes, I lost control, but she beat me! Why is he acting like I tried to murder her?

Maybe because I did exactly that in the past.

I could tell him why. But I already seem weak. I’d rather have his anger than pity.

Memories assault me. Our mother glaring into my eyes, explaining we have to break Hazel. That she will either rise to the occasion or we have to kill her. Telling me to hurt her.

The sight of her blood across the floor.

My breathing accelerates and the world seems to blur. I have to get away. I tug my shirt over my head, and leap right out of my sweats as my black wolf takes over my body.

I lose myself in my canine instincts and let the chaos fall away. There’s just the earth under my paws and the scent of little creatures in the woods. I’m in another pack’s territory and I need to get away to be safe .

My sensitive hearing tracks another wolf following me, but I consider it with the detachment of a predator. They’ll leave me alone once I’m out of their territory. I’m running as fast as I can. No reason to worry or change my path.

The land slopes downhill, and I thread through the trees expertly. My smaller wolf has the advantage, and my pursuer has to slow down. Finally I burst through the trees and leap into the creek. It’s shallow here, but still wetting my belly as a wolf. But something tells me to stop. I shouldn’t go into my pack’s territory either.

The reality of my situation filters in, and I lose my wolf shape. Fur reveals skin, and I’m standing in knee-deep water, without any clothing.

A twig snaps, and I whip around to face Onyx. He raises his hands to show peace, but then lowers them to retrieve a clothing stash. I should walk to him and accept clothing and we can talk about this. But I’m so damn tired.

I sink down on a wide rock and hang my head. It’s hot under my skin, but it doesn’t matter. The water is icy as it swirls around my shins. The contrast grounds me.

“Hey,” Onyx says, wading through the water. He’s pulled on sweats and scrunched them up over his knees to keep them dry. It’s worth raising my head to admire his bare chest. The spiky neo-tribal tattoos arc across his skin like black frost. I’ve never let myself stare at his tattoos before, only quick glances, but now I drink them in. The lines remind me of tiger stripes .

“Do you want clothes?” he asks.

What’s the point? I drop my head again, the shock of my fight bleeding me out until I’m nothing but a husk.

“Ember,” Onyx says. His voice is lower, darker. His shadow moves across me, and I don’t realize until it’s too late. His hand grips my shoulder as the other runs down my back over old scars from beatings. “What are these?”

I scowl at him, and even that seems to take too much effort. “I told you. When you do poorly at training, they beat you. Remember?”

He traces down to the scars on the sides of my thighs. “Can you tell me which wolves did this?”

Grimacing, I snag the shirt dropped over his shoulder and tug it over my head. “It doesn’t matter. It’s just how things are.”

“It matters because I need to know who to kill,” he says, the calm in his words scaring me more than any growl or snarl.

Shoving to my feet, I face him. “Oh, get over it. You’re not going to save me. Just because I wanted you to fuck me doesn’t mean you owe me anything, or that this is a relationship.”

His stormy eyes only narrow. This isn’t casual, fun Onyx. The intensity radiating off him takes my breath away.

“You know it’s more than that. And I don’t care if you say stuff like that to push me away. It’s too late for that to work. I know you. And I’m going to do whatever I can to keep you safe.” I gape at him. He lowers his head until his mouth nears mine. “And I’m going to do everything in my power to make you happy, because I think you’ve had very little of that in your life so far.”

His grip is possessive, his fingers splayed over my skin under the shirt.

“I need to know the truth about what’s happening with my mom and my pack,” I say softly.

“Okay,” he says. I freeze, staring at him. “If you promise to not leave until you’ve discussed things with Jasper and Hazel too.”

“I don’t want to talk with him,” I argue.

“I’ll make sure he’s calm,” Onyx promises, his eyebrows high as he waits for my response.

“Deal.”

Onyx

Ember stands knee deep in the water with only one of my t-shirts on and she’s so beautiful it hurts. She ran all the way to the boundary.

Jasper didn’t follow us, but I can feel worry through the pack bond. I try to relay confidence to keep them at bay. I’m about to do something that will make him very angry.

If we aren’t honest with her, she’ll disappear and do exactly what they are trying to prevent. And now that I’ve seen the scars, I know her packmates have no problem hurting her. How could Sienna and Ferris let this happen?

When she becomes Alpha, it’ll be harder for her to control those wolves since they’ve beaten her in the past. These wounds weren’t from struggling and proving herself, they’re punishment for being young and not yet strong enough to stop it.

I have to convince her to stay until things are safe. Until Sienna changes things in that pack and drives out all the people who would hurt Ember. I don’t care if I have to go up there and take out those people myself.

“Some of the pack members are giving your mom a hard time and she wants to deal with them while you’re here safe and can’t get pulled into it.”

She stands silently. If her mother is overthrown, she loses her ranking and potentially her membership in the pack. A dark part of me wants that to happen.

“I want to go home.”

“I know,” I say. “That’s why I made you promise to talk it over with Jasper. He can tell you more. You going home right now might make the situation worse.” I’m not convinced her mom cares about her safety, so it’s likely true.

Her arms fold around her and she looks very fragile. “Alright.”

“Alright,” I echo her, running my arms over her shoulders and down her back. She melts into me. Moisture drips onto my chest, and I realize she’s crying. “It’s going to be fine.”

When she looks up at me, the tip of her nose is red and her lashes clump together. “No, I fucked up. I showed how crazy I am and hurt Hazel. Slate will either lock me up or kick me out.”

“Hey,” I say, my hands rising until I cup her face and force to look at me. “Do you think maybe you fight like that because in your training, losing meant more than just a loss. It meant…” I trail off, one hand brushing over her shoulder blade.

She looks away, unable to meet my gaze. “If I can’t control myself, I’m a danger to everyone.”

“So you don’t fight. You stay with me, bake bread, help with the garden, do whatever you want to do. Forget everything else.”

For a moment, it feels like she’ll agree.

Her hand tugs on the back of my neck and guides me down until our lips meet. The kiss is slow and soft, and I force my hands to stay still. She needs comfort, not a mauling.

She breaks away and whispers, “Thank you for telling me the truth.” She pauses, and I can almost hear the thoughts in her head. “We should go back.”

I pull her in for another kiss. “How about later. We’re alone out here.”

“They’ll come looking for us soon, won’t they?”

Groaning, I rest my forehead against hers. “When will we ever get some privacy?”

Ember’s exhale is uneven, and I know she’s thinking of all the reasons we shouldn’t be together. But as far as I’m concerned, it’s a done deal. I’m in this with her.