My wolf muscles burned and screamed, protesting against the strain, but I didn’t let up. In front of me, my friend Bevin was a furry outline with pointed teeth. The gray dawn mixed with the soft gray in her fur—Carter always teased it ended up that shade from dying her human hair too often—until the only thing I could make out were her black eyes and her razor canines. Both of us were panting heavily. Bevin’s mouth hung open just enough and I knew if her jaw found purchase against any part of my wolf, she wouldn’t hesitate to bite.
Neither would I.
That’s what I liked about Bevin. She never went easy. As a wolf, at least. As a human teenaged girl, she sometimes got too dramatic for me. But like this, we were a good match for me to let off some steam.
I growled as I blocked Bevin’s next attack, forcing myself to refocus. Part of me was too cocky to admit I needed the practice, especially against someone like Charlie. But there was a small voice way down deep that wondered…
“You’re distracted,” Bevin said a few minutes later when I’d managed to block her but not launch any successful attack of my own.
She backed away and began to shudder at the edges of her form. I did the same, managing to concentrate long enough to be certain my clothes stayed with me as I shifted back to two legs. Bevin shook her head.
“You better get it together before the contest,” she said.
“Don’t remind me,” I muttered.
“Some of the pack are saying your dad has lost it,” she admitted.
“They might be right.” I sighed and swiped my hand over my face. “It doesn’t make any sense. The Rossis have to be behind Mom’s—it doesn’t make any sense,” I repeated.
Bevin didn’t reply.
There was nothing to say. As crazy as it was, we both knew I didn’t have a choice in any of it. Pack law had spoken.
We stood apart and stretched in silence. My mind wandered to Charlie. To the way she’d stalked off yesterday. Guilt tugged at me for the way Carter and I had argued in front of her. After all the progress we’d made with that little trip into town and then we’d ruined it with our bickering. But did he have to mention my training time with Bev right in front of her? I shook my head as I reached for my toes and felt the pull behind my knees. Sometimes, Carter didn’t think it through.
Even after we were finished, Bevin stayed unnaturally quiet. I glanced over at her as we gathered our things but she didn’t notice. Her subtle muscles pulled as she hoisted a couple of weights back into her duffel. We’d used them earlier during some resistance exercises. I hated that part but Bev loved them and I knew her enthusiasm would push me. I hadn’t been wrong, but I was sure as hell going to be stiff tomorrow.
Bevin finished packing up and hovered nearby, biting her lip. I knew there must be something on her mind, though I didn’t press it. She’d get there.
“Carter’s in a weird funk,” she said finally.
“I bet he is,” I said, grabbing a towel from the bag I’d brought with me and patting my face. Even this early, there was still enough heat forming to have worked up a sweat. “Sucks knowing he’s lost his spot,” I added, because I knew as his sister, Bevin was probably bummed too.
“I don’t think it’s that,” she said.
“The Rossi thing?” I asked, frowning. I still couldn’t believe Dad had made a deal with those monsters.
“Yes, I think so,” she admitted. “But it’s not …”
I reached for a couple of waters and tossed one over. She caught it easily but only fiddled with it absently. My impatience got the better of me and I rolled my eyes.
“Spit it out, Bev. What’s up?” I asked.
Bevin’s eyes darted to mine and when they held there, their dark-blue depths reminded me so much of Carter, I had to step back. There was the warmth of friendship I wasn’t accustomed to with my own family but it came with such a deep streak of loyalty that burned hot against the early morning, I wondered how I’d never seen it before. Maybe I’d never had a reason.
Her muscled arms moved the cap to the water bottle until it twisted freely. Still, she only cupped it without lifting it to her lips. Her angular face was tight with tension and I watched as her jaw muscle worked while her mind searched for words.
“He won’t let you marry Rossi—if it comes to that,” she said finally.
“What do you mean he ‘won’t let me?'” I repeated, a twinge of something strange lacing my gut. “It’s not up to Carter. He’s not beta—”
“It’s not about beta,” Bevin huffed. “It’s about you, Regan. You don’t even see—” She threw up her hand and instead of finishing the statement, she tossed back the contents of the bottle, chugging until it was empty.
Still, I stood in confusion.
Bevin tossed the bottle into my open bag and swiped at her mouth with a suntanned arm. She stepped closer until we stood eye to eye. Our height had always been perfectly matched, with Bevin’s shoulders and hips just a little wider than mine. Seventeen years of tight friendship seemed to pass between us and then the heat flared again.
“I won’t let you lose,” she said fiercely. “No matter what, you will lead. But Carter … it will hurt him if you marry Rossi. I can’t stop that. I can’t help it. You’re my alpha, Regan. But you’re also my friend. So I’m telling you this. If Carter finds out, he’ll skin me, but there it is. Do what you want with it.”
She spun on her heel, snatched her own bag from the field, and retreated toward the woods that bordered home. I watched her go, still sifting through her words, trying to decipher their meaning. What did it matter to Carter who I married? All he wanted was to be beta. Probably so he could argue with me every day until it killed us.
And what the heck was up with Bevin’s crazy-eyed promise of my victory? It sounded an awful lot like a threat. And the weird part was I didn’t like the idea of anyone threatening my little sister.