Pack of Secrets

Prologue

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley.

First, there were wolves.

Grace

As the last rays of sunshine bled from the Seattle sky, I could practically hear the final minutes of my freedom ticking away. It was time to make a choice. Stay and commit or leave behind everything and everyone I’d ever known.

Forever.

Pausing in the center of a dilapidated street, I looked east. I’d grown up sheltered, but I wasn’t ignorant. I knew the world was a massive place full of adventure and wonder. I’d seen maps and read travel books. There were so many places I wanted to see, but I’d never been outside of pack land.

And now, I probably never would.

A wolf needed a pack. More than travel or excitement, I needed my people.

Even if they rejected me.

My cell phone vibrated. I tugged it out of the pocket of my tactical pants to see a text message from my best friend. A smile tugged at my lips as I opened the messaging app. Okay, not all my packmates wanted to kick me to the curb. Mackiel had my back, and hopefully he always would.

Mackiel: It’s almost go time. Wish I could be there for you.

Me: Me too.

Mackiel: It’ll be okay. I’ll see you tomorrow. Then we’ll get to endure two months of torture together.

I chuckled at his dry sense of humor.

Me: Can’t wait.

He replied with a combination of laughing and death emojis, reminding me why I loved him so damn much. Mackiel made my pack bearable. We were inseparable throughout childhood, but it had been a year and ten months since he’d left for his mandatory two years of training.

My phone buzzed again.

Mackiel: Are you at the park yet? Don’t be late.

I scanned the area, sniffing. Was he here? It would be just like him to jump out and surprise me. But I caught no hint of his scent. Regardless, he was right. I couldn’t be late, yet there I stood in the middle of the street, debating whether or not to go like I had an actual choice in the matter. There was a reason shifters stayed close to the pack. In the twenty-three years since the war ended and the world was fractured to separate the magical and non-magical, Earth had changed. Monsters no longer hid in the shadows. On this lawless side of the fracture, might and savagery ruled.

I might have been little more than a prisoner with the pack, but at least I was safe.

Resolved, I shoved my phone into my pocket and picked up my pace. If I was late to my own ceremony, there would be consequences, and they would undoubtedly be painful. With one last glance down the road I couldn’t take, I raced to the next block. The crumbling sidewalk felt uneven beneath my feet, but I knew all the right places to step to avoid rolling an ankle. Squeezing between two bushy evergreens, I burst into the clearing.

The city park was full. I appeared to be the last person to arrive, but at least my packmates hadn’t taken their places yet. To my left, children under the age of ten played beside a mostly intact section of chain link fence. They didn’t have full control over their animals yet, so several had already sprouted fur. One little wolf sprinted after a frog. He lost his balance and toppled sideways, plowing into a duo playing tug-of-war over a stick. Three fluffy bodies tumbled over one another until someone snarled and attacked. Nearby pups joined, forming a pile of nipping, snarling furballs.

The teenagers tasked with babysitting ignored the scrimmage and continued chatting amongst themselves. A pup stumbled out of the fray, set her sights on the adults, and bolted toward them. A teen boy plucked her up by her scruff and returned her to the puppy pile.

Although I’d grown up in this pack, I’d never experienced what it felt like to be part of the pile. I’d also never known the responsibility of watching pups. I was different, and wolves were wary of anything out of the norm.

Keeping my distance from the children and teens to avoid upsetting their parents, I took my place beside Daria. Tall, blonde, strong, and full of cocky attitude, she was my opposite. She was also the only other packmate who’d turned eighteen since the last full moon, so we’d be completing the ceremony together.

She glared at me and whispered, “Damn. I was hoping you wouldn’t show.”

Ignoring the bitch, I watched the pack line up. Pack structure fascinated me. I’d once read that wolf packs were family groups where only the alpha and his mate bred. Once pups came of age, they left to find a mate and start their own pack. Shifters were different. I knew nothing about how other packs worked, but our structure was like a ladder. A ladder you climbed by stepping on every pack member in your way. Nobody wanted to have one hundred and twenty-three asses in their face, so they bit and clawed their way up through the civilian and lieutenant ranks, fighting to be closer to my father and his beta.

Nobody ever challenged the alpha and lived.

“Ten-hut!” he shouted, and a wave of authoritative power rippled over the group.

Conversations halted mid-word and people slid into place. Chaz McCarthy wasn’t a tall man, but what he lacked in height, he made up for in presence. Everything about him—from the set of his beard-covered jaw to his always ready stance—projected competence and might. Forest green eyes that mirrored my own slid over his pack approvingly before settling on Daria. His lips spread into a proud, fatherly smile, and she beamed back at him.

Cruel, cunning, and manipulative, Daria exuded all the characteristics an alpha’s daughter should have. It took a great deal of effort to school my features into impassivity when I really wanted to gag. Too bad for Dad; he’d gotten stuck with me. My hands drifted down to the daggers sheathed at my thighs, and I ran my fingertips over the notches in each hilt. I knew the design by heart and drew comfort from every dip and rise of the cool metal. As the only pack member unable to shift, these were my teeth and claws.

They were also the only gift my father had ever given me.

He may wish savage, perfect Daria was his daughter, but if it came down to a fair fight, I knew I could take the bitch down.

My gaze shot to the first lieutenant, Rust. My mentor stood just to the right of Hitch, Dad’s beta. Rust used to be Beta, but Hitch had supplanted him when I was four. I still believed Rust had thrown the battle, protecting his mate the only way he could. There was no other explanation for my mentor to concede to the two-bit bully. Rust could kick Hitch’s ass with one paw tied behind his back, and everyone knew it. But Hitch’s volatile temper had earned him a reputation for getting what he wanted one way or another, and he wanted to be my father’s Beta.

Rust’s gaze met mine, and he tilted his head in a barely perceptible nod, reassuring me I could do this. I returned the gesture, letting his confidence bolster me as I returned my attention to the alpha.

Fighting the urge to fidget with my daggers as the scent of burning ozone tickled my nose, I watched as the alpha’s right hand vibrated. Magic crackled the air as bones shifted, dark fur sprouted across tan, leathery skin, and claws extended from elongated fingertips. Sweat beaded at his hairline. Gasps and murmurs bubbled through the pack as the anticipated change stopped at Dad’s wrist. He’d somehow managed to contain his shift to his hand. I couldn’t even fathom the amount of power and control that must have taken. My father was getting stronger. With a triumphant gleam filling eyes now ringed with gold, he held his hand up for all to see, and several submissive packmates dropped to their knees to grovel and whimper, baring their necks. I was too stunned to even breathe. Judging by the whispers, whines, and astonished looks still cycling through the rest of the pack, nobody else could believe it, either.

My father’s voice boomed as he asked, “Are you ready to make your vow, Daria?”

There were two vows in the Bloodrite. The first was made to the alpha as a man, the second was made to his wolf. The crowd hushed in anticipation.

Daria took a tentative step forward. Eyes bright and full of wonder, she nodded. “Is leatsa mo shaol, Alpha.”

The Gaelic vow meaning ‘my life is yours’ made my father nod in acceptance. With one claw from his right hand, he slashed a gash across his left palm. The coppery scent of blood filled the air as he raised his hand for all to see. The cut was deep, and blood flowed over his palm and down his wrist. He nodded at the girl beside me. Daria stepped forward, holding out her trembling left hand. She bit her lip against a whimper as he sliced her palm to mirror his own. Then the alpha claimed her bloody hand with his, their wounds pressed together with fingers intertwined.

Daria straightened her spine and cleared her throat. “Chaz McCarthy, Alpha of the Evergreen Wolf Pack, I choose this day to surrender my personal will and purpose to join the pack. Accept me, and I will pledge my hands, teeth, and claws to your cause. As the moon follows the sun, I shall follow you. Your enemies will be my enemies, your friends, my friends. Become my alpha, and I will offer you the first bite of every hunt and the final beat of my heart.”

My father nodded in approval. “I accept your pledge and will be your alpha. With my hands, teeth, and claws, I vow to guide, guard, and train you. As you provide for and protect the pack, so shall we provide for and protect you. The survival of the pack depends on the strength and loyalty of each wolf, after all. You are pack, Daria, from this moment until the final beat of your heart.”

The burning scent of ozone increased as magic sealed the vow.

“Thank you, Alpha,” Daria said, bowing her head.

“You will leave for training at first light tomorrow,” he said. “Are you packed and ready to go?”

“Yes, Alpha. I’m looking forward to it.”

He nodded, released her hand, and faced me. Disappointment clouded his eyes as he took in what I was wearing. Everyone else wore T-shirts and sweats that were easy to strip out of so they could shift. Their feet were bare, and they carried no weapons. I, on the other hand, was dressed in my work uniform with my backpack on and my daggers strapped to my thighs. After tonight, I’d officially be an adult in the eyes of my pack, expected to fight for my rank. My stomach clenched with anxiety as I took in the faces sizing me up, wondering who would come at me first. Dominant wolves would want a shot at the alpha’s daughter, while submissives would see me as someone they could step on to climb up from the bottom.

But none of them knew I’d been training to fight since I was five. Sure, I couldn’t shift, but I was far from helpless. I knew exactly where to stab to incapacitate a person in wolf or human form. The idea of hurting anyone—let alone a packmate—didn’t sit well with me, but life hadn’t given many choices.

“Are you ready to make your vow, Grace?” my father asked.

I wasn’t, but I nodded anyway. “Is leatsa mo shaol, Alpha.”

His wound had already closed, which was fast even for our kind, so he reopened it before slicing my palm. Unlike Daria, I didn’t react. The pain was nothing compared to some of my aunt’s attempts to release my wolf. Something flickered in my father’s eyes as his hand roughly clasped mine. I parroted the same age-old vow Daria had made, only I substituted daggers for claws. After magic sealed the vow, my father stepped back and started to turn away. He hadn’t asked me the final question, so I piped up, volunteering my answer.

“I’m also packed and ready for training, Alpha.”

He frowned at me. “That’s unnecessary. You won’t be going to the farm. You will continue your training here.”

I gaped at him, wanting to argue but knowing it would do no good. When my father made up his mind, there was no changing it. Ever. So much for seeing Mackiel tomorrow. Disappointment stabbed at me, but I parried by reassuring myself this was okay. Mackiel only had two months left of training. Then he’d be home. I could survive two more months without my friend.

Addressing the entire pack, the alpha said, “It is time for the second half of the Bloodrite. Disrobe.”

Everybody stripped but me. I averted my gaze and stared at my feet, trying to ignore the rustling of clothes. I could feel my father’s gaze on me, but rather than insist I follow the order, he barked out another command.

“Shift.”

Power pulsed through my partially formed pack bond, slamming into me. My entire body trembled with the need to obey. Bones ground and muscles contracted, sending spikes of agony throughout my body.

This was it. I was finally going to shift!

Closing my eyes, I hunched forward and embraced the magic. I waited on the edge of the shift, desperate to finally topple over and land in my other form, but the change ground to a halt, and I stayed in that in-between state, waiting. Nothing happened.

Eventually, my bones and muscles fell back into place, and the pain subsided.

My father cast a disappointed look in my direction, stripped, and shifted, becoming an enormous brown wolf. I’d never understood the relationship between magic and physics, but the size of the alpha wolf made no sense whatsoever. As a man, he stood barely above five and a half feet. The wolf before me was almost five feet tall on all fours. Stranger still, he’d grown since the last time I’d seen him, I was sure of it. He stood a full head and shoulders taller than any of the other wolves.

My gaze spanned the pack, and a sea of glowing eyes stared back at me. Once again, my hands dropped to the hilts of my daggers as I widened my stance.

Beside me, Daria the wolf crept forward, approaching the alpha with abundant caution. Her human form had been accepted, and now it was up to her wolf. My father watched her progress, his expression impassive. She lowered her head and slowed, inching closer until she cowered directly in front of his muzzle. Dropping fully to her belly, she let out a soft, pleading whine.

The alpha wolf lurched forward with a growl, wrapping his giant maw around her neck.

Daria didn’t move. Hell, she probably didn’t even breathe. Tense seconds passed as we all waited for the alpha’s verdict. I’d seen him kill one recruit, a male born with a deformity that made his rear left leg shorter than the others when in wolf form. The alpha had snapped his neck, then severed his head from his body. It was quick and painless, and the noises had provided a soundtrack for all my nightmares since.

When the alpha released Daria, the entire pack let out a collective breath. Magic hummed between my father and his newest pack member as the bond solidified. Daria had been accepted. Now it was my turn.

The alpha’s glowing golden eyes snapped to me, and I dropped to my hands and knees in a bone-rattling thud. Lowering my head, I inched forward like Daria had, trying to make myself as small and non-threatening as possible. I could only imagine how ridiculous I looked to the wolves, but I didn’t care. Not when my life was on the line. Rather than dropping to my belly like Daria, I lowered onto my side, facing away from my father. There, I was helpless and completely at his mercy. My nerves hummed as I closed my eyes and prayed he didn’t literally stab me in the back.

Air stirred as the alpha struck. Lightning fast, his teeth tore into the soft flesh just above my collarbone. It hurt—holy shit, did it ever—but I clamped my mouth closed and forced myself to hold still. Seconds passed. Soft fur tickled my flesh. Drops of blood dribbled down my neck. His teeth dug in deeper, and I bit the inside of my cheek to keep myself from screaming. The taste of blood filled my mouth, and I wondered if my dad would finally kill me.

Would anyone but Mackiel even care?

Maybe Aunt Sereana or Mackiel’s little sister, Tali?

Would my father mourn me after he did the deed?

Finally, the alpha unlocked his jaw and jerked away. A wave of magic hit me, and a cacophony of voices slammed into my head.

“Letting her in?”

“Thought for sure he’d kill her.”

“Great. Now we have a freak in the pack.”

I recognized the last voice as a guard by the name of Jin. My gaze shot to him in wolf form, and he bared his teeth at me.

“I don’t know.” Someone else said in my head. “Might not be all bad. I heard omegas make good scapegoats.”

“’Bout time she’s good for something.”

“Look at her watching us. What’s wrong little witch? You don’t like hearing what everyone really thinks of you?”

“What’s wrong? Can’t you talk back?”

Mackiel had warned me about the mental connection of the pack. He said I’d have to learn to guard my mind so the packmates in range couldn’t pick up on thoughts I didn’t want to share. When I’d asked if there was a way to block out the thoughts of others, he admitted he’d never tried. My handsome, loved-by-everyone, perfect friend enjoyed hearing what his people thought of him.

I, on the other hand, was in hell.

Pushing myself off the ground, I slid onto my knees and unsheathed my daggers.

“Why can’t we hear her thoughts?” someone thought.

“The bitch probably thinks she’s too good to communicate with us.”

“Yeah, she doesn’t even have to go train.”

“Daddy’s little princess.”

The alpha had to hear their thoughts, too, but he turned his back on me and walked away. My father wouldn’t protect me. That was probably for the better since it would only validate their claims of favoritism. Off to my right, Daria snarled, issuing her first challenge. The bitch would probably climb high up the ladder. As an omega, I didn’t give two shits about pack rank. All I cared about was surviving.

Wolves closed in around me, forming a snapping, growling semi-circle.

“Come on, little Chipmunk, let’s see what you got.”

I scrambled to my feet and backed away, hands still clutching my daggers as I considered my options. Fight or submit? I could fight, but these were my people, and the idea of hurting them for a rank I cared nothing about appalled me. It was senseless and cruel and completely against my nature.

Plus, the minute I started fighting, I’d never be able to stop.

There’d always be more challenges, more ranks to climb, but I didn’t want to be the type of person who stomped on others to rise. I just wanted to exist and belong. My only real option was to submit and hope they didn’t kill me. Decision made, I sheathed my daggers, widened my stance, and braced for the first attack.

“The witch.”

“Shit. What’s she doing here?”

The wolves snarled and backed away, making room for a more dangerous predator. A hand landed between my shoulder blades. I was saved. Kind of.

“Grace,” Aunt Sereana said in my ear. “I hate to interrupt your special night, but I believe I may have found a way to release your wolf. Come with me, child.”

I should have felt relief at her invitation to escape the challenges of my packmates, but a shiver of dread crept up my spine. This wasn’t the first time she’d tried to release my wolf, and the experience was never pleasant. She might have been rescuing me from multiple beatdowns, but my aunt’s methods were their own form of torture.

Welcome to adulthood, Grace. It’s gonna hurt.

A lot.

Yet my life was so simple back then, before I stole the artifact that triggered the guardian…