Wolf Decided by Tessa Cole

CYRUS

Audrey’s gazedrilled into mine in a fierce challenge. Somehow, she’d resisted my power and even had the strength to stand, completely defying my command. If I hadn’t felt the ferocious force pouring off her, I’d have no idea how she’d done it.

Hell, I still didn’t. I had no idea where the power had come from.

Sure, her bond with Knox was unusually strong, but that wouldn’t have allowed her to channel his power. And besides, I could feel Knox’s radiating from him, so he obviously wasn’t giving it to Audrey.

No. This alpha power was all hers. A glimpse deep into her soul at what her ancestors had locked away with a curse.

It had only taken her bonded mate to be on the verge of going feral and her soon-to-be mate dying for it to make an appearance.

Except as soon as I thought that I knew it was wrong. She and Bishop might not have had a mating bond or even just a bonding ceremony publicly announcing their love for each other, but they were mates.

At the disastrous dinner a week ago, Bishop had said Audrey and Knox were fated for each other. It had been an easier way to explain what had happened than saying Audrey had already started a mating bond with someone else and when we’d found her close to death that bond had connected with Knox’s soul.

But now I wondered if it hadn’t actually been the truth. She’d brought Knox back from being feral and was now helping him hold off his panic so he could stay in control and protect his brother.

Bishop had told me the other day that Knox had been more relaxed in the one full day of being with Audrey before he’d had to leave on a hunt than he’d ever been — and more like the brother I’d known before his claustrophobia had gotten out of control.

Knox had needed to have the scare of his life when he thought she was going to die, but it had broken through the rest of his resistance to a mate he hadn’t wanted and had actually been good for him. Before this attack, he’d seemed genuinely happy.

Bishop had been happy, too. Happier than I’d seen him in a long while. He’d practically glowed with happiness every time I’d gotten a glimpse of him and Audrey wandering around the festival, and he hadn’t hesitated to be affectionate with her while the rest of the pack watched.

Hell, he’d sung her Fated Stars at the dance, which was Bishop’s way of publicly announcing Audrey was the woman he’d been searching for.

He and Audrey were fated for each other, too. Their mating bond had probably already started to form even though neither of them had said the vows to awaken the magic that bound their souls together.

And it completely explained why Audrey was willing to defy me to stay with them and why the wolf locked deep in her soul was suddenly stronger than her curse. Bonded mates would do anything to protect each other.

“Nova,” Audrey said, refusing to look away from me. “Do you still need my help or can I go pack?”

“I’m good,” Nova replied, her voice strained with all the alpha power crashing around us which was another surprise. Normally she would have told me to grow up and pull it back so she could work, but she’d remained silent.

Was she too stunned to see that Audrey’s power held its own against mine or had she wanted to give Audrey the chance to stand up for herself?

Probably a combination of both. Audrey had only stood up to me once and that was to defend her actions when she’d risked her life to save a group of children from a grimalkin.

My wolf had howled with joy at her defiance, falling even more in love with her. She was everything we’d been waiting for. She could challenge us and stand at our side in battle. She would be the mother of our pups because she was ours.

But even as I glared at her, I could feel her power trembling. She wasn’t fully aware of it or her wolf, and the effort it took to push past the curse was taking its toll on her body. Not to mention the emotional toll of defying everything that had been beaten into her during her childhood along with her naturally gentle disposition.

She was holding on by her all-too-human fingernails and could lose it at any second, destroying everything she’d just shown me.

“Alpha,” she spat out in acknowledgment before squeezing Knox’s shoulder and marching into her suite.

“You were saying, alpha?” Nova said, her tone dry.

I glared at her. “Don’t start. It’s dangerous on the road to Savaria and it’ll be even more dangerous when we leave the road to get to the pool.”

“It’s dangerous here,” Knox growled. “That man didn’t attack Bishop. He went after Audrey. Bishop was hurt defending her.”

Fuck.

Her shirt had been torn open, but I hadn’t thought anything about it. She hadn’t been acting as if she were hurt. I’d assumed all the blood on her was Bishop’s.

“We need to check her,” I said as my wolf lurched against my hold. It didn’t care how pissed off she was at us. He had to protect her and he couldn’t stand the idea of losing both her and Bishop.

“She hasn’t been poisoned,” Knox replied, his tone barely human.

“Maybe she was nicked or only inhaled a bit of it and it isn’t spreading as fast.” Sisters, I had to protect her. Save her. Now now now. “You might not be able to tell with your bond with Bishop going crazy.”

“If I was losing them both, I’d be feral,” Knox replied. “If you want to keep it that way, she’ll stay with me.”

“I could also use the help,” Whil added. “I can keep Bishop alive without Nova’s help, but a second set of hands would be helpful. Especially if we run into trouble.”

“You don’t need to convince me,” I ground out, my insides churning. I needed to stay in control of myself and this situation, needed to make sure everyone was safe and survived this poison.

Still, I really didn’t want Audrey to go with us. We might not be traveling through the northern wilderness, but everything within me screamed that it was still too dangerous, especially with Bishop unconscious and Knox barely holding it together.

I wouldn’t be able to protect her the way she deserved… the way I had to protect her.

Except I also couldn’t leave her here.

“We don’t know who attacked them,” I said, “so she’s safest with us.” With me.

I wanted to say it was a foreigner who’d attacked her and Bishop and that she’d be safe with the pack, but without Bishop to identify the culprit’s scent, I couldn’t assume anything. Which made my wolf even more determined to keep her close and the rest of me furious.

Were there members of my pack who were so determined to get rid of her they’d kill her? And why use poison? She wouldn’t survive against any of us in our wolf form. Why not just attack her and be done with it?

I’d thought with her being noticeably nervous and submissive around me that the rumors that I was interested in Audrey would finally die, but it looked like that was a serious miscalculation.

Bishop moaned and his muscles tightened but he didn’t convulse, the elixir thankfully easing the worst of the poison’s effects.

Maybe I wasn’t the reason Audrey had been targeted. Even before Bishop had proclaimed Audrey his soon-to-be mate, he’d showered her with affection and made no attempt to hide it.

Not that he should. Bishop could mate whoever he wanted, not like—

My thoughts stuttered. I’d been holding my wolf back from pursuing her because she was weak and I didn’t think the pack would respect her if we mated.

But now she’d revealed an enormous power strong enough to challenge me and possibly win.

Of course, she was still cursed and once her adrenaline wore off, she’d be back to being a powerless shifter.

Was that how it was always going to be with her or was there a way to completely break the curse?

She’d gained strength with strong emotions, like when she’d defended her decision to sacrifice herself to save those kids, and now with her determination to stay with her mates.

If I pushed her, would I be able to get her to break through and permanently become the shifter she’d just shown me?

“Whatever you’re thinking,” Nova said with her uncanny ability to know when I was thinking something stupid regarding a woman. “Stop. Just stop.”

And she was right. The last time I’d pushed Audrey, she’d withdrawn into herself and become so submissive it made me want to scream.

Still, there had to be a way to help her without destroying her… because I needed her at my side just like she was at my brothers’ sides.

I didn’t care if she was strong or not, but I didn’t want to put her in a situation where my pack constantly questioned her worth or where our mating created challenges to my leadership.

I already knew how she’d take that and it wouldn’t be with anger. She’d get withdrawn and submissive again and feel guilty even though it wasn’t her fault.

Fuck.

This was a no win situation.

And I couldn’t keep standing here. I had to meet with Lucius and Deacon, arrange for a cart to be ready at the north gate, and get someone to put supplies together for Bishop and Knox — since neither of them were in any shape to do their own packing.

Without thinking, I jerked open the doors leading to Audrey’s suite and stormed inside. It was the fastest way to get to my office so I could meet with my betas and get everything done in the next two hours that needed to get done.

But the second the door closed I was surrounded by her scent, soft and sweet and soured by fear, making my wolf growl with anger. Then a small hiccupping sob sounded from the bedroom and my wolf rushed me to the open bedroom door before I could stop him.

To my horror, Audrey sat on the bed, tears streaming down her cheeks and her hands covering her mouth trying to muffle her sobs. She froze when she saw me, her eyes widening with fear and her body trembling.

Shit.

All her adrenaline was gone, she wasn’t radiating a hint of alpha power, and the terror of the night had finally come crashing down on her.

I mentally cursed myself. Given that she could also sense how Knox felt, she was probably experiencing double her usual emotions, and with them so strong, it had to be overwhelming.

On top of that, she’d outwardly defied her alpha and everything she knew told her she couldn’t do that, not without repercussions. And now that the moment of determination had passed, all her old fears had returned.

“I don’t care what you do to me, but don’t make me stay here,” she begged, her voice raspy with tears, her reaction to me the complete opposite of what it had been outside. “Punish me after they’re saved.”

Fucking hell. I wanted angry Audrey back.

But this was just proof that I couldn’t continue playing the villain. Not even if it was better for me to keep my distance from her. Just seeing me terrified her and I couldn’t take it anymore. This was the last straw.

It had been hard enough to keep my distance from her and pretend I didn’t see her so I wouldn’t keep scaring her. And it had been even harder today when I’d kept catching glimpses of her wandering around the market with Bishop and couldn’t make myself look away.

She’d been shy and uncertain at first, which tore at my heart, but as Bishop got her to relax and she stopped glancing at all the people watching her and just had fun, it was like watching a morning flower open to the first rays of sunshine.

By the time they’d reached the square with the dancing, she’d been radiant, making others around her smile because she was so happy it was contagious. Many of my pack had stopped looking at her like she was dangerous or a strange curiosity and saw the stunning woman I’d seen grow before my very eyes during our journey north.

I wanted radiant Audrey back. Needed her. Not just for myself but for my brothers and the rest of my pack. They needed to remember that strength came in many forms, and gentleness and kindness weren’t a weakness, they were what kept a community thriving.

“Audrey.” I stepped into the room and she shrunk in on herself, tugging her ruined shirt closed to hide her body, but I kept going until I was at the edge of the bed, close enough to touch her, then sank to my knees. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said the things I said to you.”

She blinked, her expression still scared as if she hadn’t fully heard me, and I desperately wanted to wrap my arms around her and never let go.

But that would only scare her more.

“I was wrong,” I added, praying that she’d heard me. My apology wouldn’t make everything right, but hopefully it was a start, the first step in proving that even if she never forgave me, she could say what she wanted and not fear reprisal. “There’s no good excuse for why I yelled at you in the arena. I didn’t think and I hurt you. I’m so very sorry.”