Alpha Wolves Box Set

By R.E. Butler

Four alpha wolves.
Four different stories from four different series.
Four women waiting to be claimed.

From USA Today Bestselling author R. E. Butler comes a box set of her most popular alphas.

Jason - Jason & Cadence (The Wolf's Mate Book One)
Acksel - The Alpha's Heart (Wilde Creek Book Two)
Rehlik - Howled Promises (Cider Falls Shifters Book Two)
Adam - Awaken a Wolf (Wiccan-Were-Bear Book 9)

Find out what happens when alpha wolves are ready to claim their truemates and keep them safe no matter what. Includes friends to lovers, protective alphas, second chances, and first loves.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.E. Butler
• Release date: Jun 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215722855

R.E. Butler

A Midwesterner by birth, R.E. spent much of her childhood rewriting her favorite books to include herself as the main character. Later, she graduated on to writing her own books after "retiring" from her day job as a secretary to become a stay-at-home mom.When not playing with her kids, wrestling her dogs out the door, or cooking dinner for her family, you'll find her typing furiously and growling obscenities to the characters on the screen.Her best-selling series Wiccan-Were-Bear, The Necklace Chronicles, Hyena Heat, Wilde Creek, Were-Zoo, Arctic Shifters, Norlanian Brides, Saber Chronicles, and Ashland Pride are available now.

Book preview

Jason & Cadence

By R. E. Butler

For fourteen years, alpha wolf Jason has watched his partially marked mate Cadence live her life without him. Circumstances force his hand, and he must find a way to get her to uncover her buried memories of their past before someone else steps up to take her from him.

For as long as she can remember, hybrid wolf Cadence has loved Jason with every fiber of her being, but he’s consistently shoved her away until the love that’s there is bound tightly in anger and shame. No one can take his place in her heart, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t wolves willing to try. Will Cadence be able to get through Jason’s icy demeanor to the heart of the boy she’s always loved? Can Jason undo the past so they will have a future together? This book contains red-hot wolf shifter loving, plenty of neck biting, and misuse of a kitchen counter. The Wolf’s Mate is a book for mature audiences only and contains sexually explicit content.

Chapter One

Cadence headed to Jake’s for her night shift, her heart in her throat and her stomach in her feet. Jake was an old family friend. She had known him and his wife Renee her entire life. Renee and her mother went to school together and were best friends. When she was a child, she called them Uncle Jake and Aunt Renee. Because her mother died while pregnant with her, Renee was the closest thing she had to a mother figure in her life and Jake was more a father to her than her own. They were always what she needed: a shoulder to cry on, emergency money to fix a broken-down car, and a job to keep her afloat in between semesters.

Jake owned a bar that he named after himself, in the center of a podunk town in Kentucky called Allen. At twenty-two, Cadence was done with college and ready for whatever turn her life was going to take. She’d gone to NKU for a business degree to help out her father’s restaurant, but he had died at the beginning of her freshman year. She kept plugging away at it, going back home in the summer and staying at the old farmhouse that belonged to her grandparents on her mother’s side. It was nestled in the woods away from the center of town, private and quiet so she could be alone with her thoughts. And pretty much just alone.

Now she had a bachelor’s degree in business management but had no job to do something with it, although she had not really looked. Her father’s life insurance had more than paid for college, and she bought herself a tricked-out Charger when she graduated. Jake offered a bartending job to tide her over, which she took even though she hadn’t really needed the money. It gave her something to do, though, and unfortunately it was going to give her a front row seat to the object of her affection, denied as it was: Jason Gerrick. Jason was masculinity personified: gorgeous, year-round tanned skin, light blond, shoulder-length hair that was always tousled like he’d just rolled out of bed, and light blue eyes like a summer sky. He rode a motorcycle with his friends, owned the local garage called Pete’s named after his father, and he happened to also be an alpha wolf. As a matter of fact, over half the people in town were werewolves; it was just one of those things.

Jake was a wolf, too, alpha of the pack that shared the town with Jason’s pack. A number of Jake’s pack also rode bikes, and she thought there was probably something in that but never asked. Maybe all bikers were werewolves.

Her mother was a wolf, but married her father who was not. She became pregnant with her, and in most normal situations, a mix of human and wolf resulted in a completely human baby. Just days before she was due to come into the world, her mother was attacked by a rival wolf pack female. Minutes after she was born by emergency cesarean, her mother died.

That violence, while she was still in her mother’s womb, changed her on a cellular level in a way that was wholly unique. She became a hybrid wolf. Part human, part she-wolf. All attitude, strength, and speed but not fur. Kind of like Blade for dogs. Her mother was part of her uncle’s pack, so naturally they tried to include her and raise her in the ways of their pack. Her father—who had not liked wolves that much to start with—hated wolves with a blistering passion because one had killed his wife, so Cadence had to deal with the hatred from him for her own people and a part of herself. He prevented her from learning anything but the barest bit about being a wolf.

And then there was Jason. She’d grown up with him. Even though his pack was separate from Jake’s, wolves ran with wolves, and they all looked out for each other unless one crossed another, and then it was a problem. As a hybrid, the only one that anyone had ever known, she was not technically part of Jake’s pack because she had not ever chosen to join. It would have been a simple ceremony on the full moon and then her wolf, at least the part of her brain that felt like a wolf sometimes, would come under Jake’s true rule as alpha. She was sure that often when she did things that pissed him off that he wished she was part of his pack so he could get her to fall in line. That may be why she didn’t. Or, it could be, because of Jason and her ridiculously long-lasting unrequited love for the bastard.

Jake and Renee always treated her as family and the pack looked out for her. But Jason’s parents lived next door to her, in a farmhouse that was about a ten minute walk from hers. And so Jason, five years older than her, had been a near constant presence in her life until about high school, and then he started changing. The boy that she had loved like a part of herself, more than a brother, more than a friend, but less than anything serious, became withdrawn and angry. He had a temper, volatile and hot, and lashed out at everyone. Jake told her it was because of the wolf. The boys came into their wolves about sixteen, and it took them a long time to get a handle on their beast, especially around the full moon. She’d been around wolves her whole life so she had an idea of what he was going through. She had tried to comfort him, even though she was only eleven, and he’d snapped at her, such rage and hate in his eyes that she didn’t know what had happened. And it never got better.

Her love for him grew and grew, and his anger widened the distance between them until he was all but a stranger to her. Except of course for the knot in her heart where he was firmly rooted. She ignored him as best she could when she was in town, but it was difficult. The wolves all hung out at the bar and the only gas station in town was at his garage, and the damn restaurant that had been her father’s was now run by Jake’s pack and the wolves from both packs ate there constantly.

She couldn’t escape the wolves, and all of them knew her and her past and knew about her friendship with Jason and how he’d treated her. Wolves couldn’t keep their mouths shut about anything juicy, and the poor wolf hybrid girl fawning over the alpha of the Tressel Pack was big news. So she did her best to be a bitch to him. Her sarcastic sense of humor was her best weapon.

As she dressed for her first night at Jake’s in three months, she knew that Jason would be there. She chose her outfit carefully. She would make him sorry for being a dick to her all the time. She’d been alone long enough, and if he wanted nothing to do with her, then some other man would. There was that big old bed to toss around in, and she needed a hunk of man to grab onto, and soon.

She pulled up the sides of her long dark brown hair and clipped them back, put on her dark party make-up, a spiked collar on her neck, two inches of bangles on her wrists and rings on her fingers. She dressed in a black leather mini skirt with slits up the thighs and chains around the waist, thigh high stockings, knee high leather kitten boots, and a black suede lace up bustier. She hoped Jason’s head burst at the sight. As she passed by the hall mirror by the front door, she caught her reflection and the two words that slipped through her mind made her smile: Nice. Dangerous.

She cranked up Jimi Hendrix on her Charger’s stereo, drove with the windows down, and sped toward the bar. She loved driving at night, and she loved fall, when the wind was crisp with the scent of leaves and the earth was ready to take a nap for winter. Striding purposely up the front walk where a line of men and women, mostly human, waited to get inside, she pushed her nerves away. Wolves used a private entrance, and she could have gotten in that way, but she wanted to see who was bouncing, and it was Toby, an enormous man and an even bigger wolf. Amid the catcalls and whistles as she made her way down the sidewalk, Toby gave her a huge grin and held his arms out for her. She jumped up into his arms and kept her legs together so she didn’t flash the entire neighborhood. Baby girl, you get more gorgeous every time I see you. You’re gonna stick around this time, right?

If I can find a job. She thought he was going to put her down but he grinned and said, Pay the toll, and she kissed his cheek and he sighed happily and put her down. Don’t tell Jason, he said, winking at her.

Why would I tell Jason anything? She went on the defense immediately.

Oh, we’re playing that, huh? Get your fine ass in the bar, girlie, and send out a drink for me when you get a chance. He made motions to swat her butt, but she managed to skirt it. The doors opened for her, and she kissed the cheeks of two more wolves that belonged to Jake’s pack.

The bar was packed, as per usual on Friday nights starting about ten. The line outside said that it was going to be a long night, and she was glad she’d managed to snag a nap in the late afternoon. She’d been painting the bedroom all morning and her yawns had gotten annoying so she flopped down on her bed and fell asleep. A smarter woman than her would have hired someone to paint the house and not undertaken it alone in an attempt to find something tactile to do with her hands so she didn’t do something stupid like call the local alpha and beg him for the time of day. And now, she went straight to the bar, avoiding the majority of the crowd but getting pulled into hug after hug from Jake’s pack, and tentative smiles from Jason’s pack. Finally, she ducked under the counter of the bar and straightened up, brushing her hands down her skirt to stop them from shaking.

What the hell are you wearing?

She spun at the sound of Jake’s voice. What’s wrong with what I’m wearing? She folded her arms and cocked her hip at him.

Are you trying to start a riot? He moved closer to her, annoyance and concern in his eyes.

She rolled her eyes and before she could say something snarky he grabbed her wrist and said, I’ve got a bar full of wolves and humans just looking for a reason to get into trouble. Are you trying to start something violent? I just redecorated. It sounded like he was joking, but she had a feeling he wasn’t.

She stared at him. Her outfit wasn’t any worse than any other girl in there. Maybe he was just being overprotective as usual. Pulling her arm from his grip, she huffed, Listen, Jake. This is how I dress. If you don’t like it, fire me, otherwise, shut the hell up and let me get to tending this dump. She accentuated her words with a tidy growl at the end and he growled right back at her. If it weren’t for your mother’s friendship with Renee, I’d have shipped you off ages ago.

Don’t threaten me, old man. She groused, and turned away from him and came face to face with Jason’s younger and also gorgeous brother, Michael.

Hey sweetheart! He grinned, leaning his elbows on the bar. A girl named Lindy, clearly trying to look like a hooker, leaned on his shoulder, draping herself around him like a coat and giving Cadence a nasty look. Bitch. Wolf bitch. Cadence ignored her. There weren’t many she-wolves that wanted to tangle with her. Besides having their strength and speed and violent streak, she also had a chip on her shoulder the size of Rhode Island. Plus, she had spent her four years in college training in martial arts and defensive tactics, so she could kick just about any she-wolf’s ass, and a number of males, too, if pressed. Most of the time, their threats were baseless, just testing the waters like children. Seeing how much they could push your buttons before you snapped.

Her philosophy had always been to snap right away, go completely nuts so they’d leave her alone and back down. Most of the time it worked. She had gotten her ass kicked enough in school by both male and female wolves though, and until Jason turned sixteen, he had always defended her. Of course, no one would really hurt her or they’d face Jake’s wrath, and even Jason’s father, who had been alpha before him, had her back as a courtesy to Jake. She was off-limits unless she pressed a fight. Wolves said that if you couldn’t back up your mouth then you had to keep it shut. Good advice, but most of the time she couldn’t stop herself.

Hey Michael, how’re tricks?

He asked for two pitchers of draft. Good, good. You look fantastic, baby. Are you sticking around?

Maybe. If can find a job.

He made a face like he was thinking about something, screwing up his adorably cute dimpled cheeks, and she almost kissed him just because he was so damn cute. Michael was only two years older than her, and he had never gone through that horrible attitude change that Jason had. Although his personality had changed for a while, and like all wolves he had a temper, he was just a very even tempered guy, unless he needed to not be. She would rely on Michael in a fight, to back her up, for anything and everything. But it hadn’t been him that she’d wanted, it was Jason, and that burned her in a special way. Michael, sweetheart that he was, never looked at her like anything but a friend, and she was glad for it, but also hated it. No wolf in either pack had ever asked her out. When she was younger, she thought it was because of Jason, but then she just figured that they weren’t interested in what a lot of the bitch wolves called her— the mutt.

He dropped a fifty on the counter and walked away and she smiled. They were always very generous. Although a lot of times they ended up destroying things because they would forget their own strength after a few hours of drinking and dancing and hot girls. The bar attracted wolves and humans of both sexes. Some wolves and humans were mates to wolves, the equivalent of being married, and some were girlfriend or boyfriend, or fuck buddies. Some wolf females just didn’t attract men, human or otherwise, and some human females wanted to be with the big bad wolf so badly that they just hung around and made themselves available to any that would have them. The males called those human females chew toys. Cadence always felt a little bad for them, because no wolf would take a chew toy for a mate.

Like the males, the females had their own hierarchy, with the alpha female mated with the alpha male. There was no alpha female of Jason’s pack, and as far as she knew, Jason had not been with a female wolf ever; not even on the full moon when their cravings for sex were the highest.

She would gladly take on any of the wolves in the pack for the chance to be in Jason’s arms. She wouldn’t admit it out loud, though. In fact, out loud she was a bitch to him. She taunted and teased him until he was red in the face and ready to throttle her. She knew how to push all his buttons and loved doing it. If she was miserable, she wanted him to be miserable, too. She turned her attention away from the past and lost herself in the flurry of drink orders.

She knew exactly where Jason was the whole time, but took great care to ignore him. Eventually, though, she couldn’t because Jake dropped a tray in her hands and put four beer bottles on it and told her to take it to Jason’s table. You do it. She shoved the tray back at him like a child.

No. He ground out. You do it.

Fuck off, I don’t want to. She shoved it back at him and the bottles tipped but righted themselves.

His voice went low in a very serious way, and it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. You will do what I tell you.

She pressed her tongue into the back of her incisor to stop herself from saying something nasty, and just nodded curtly and turned, setting the tray down and sliding under the counter and picking it up again. Gathering all her attitude and courage, she prepared to go face Jason and act like she could care less if he lived or breathed, even though she cared very much about both of those things.

Chapter Two

Jason knew the second she walked into the bar. Hell, he’d known the second she drove that souped up Charger into town, Hendrix blaring from her stereo. She’d stopped for gas at the station after driving in from where she’d been hiding out since she graduated in June, stupid NKU and all that bullshit. She looked fantastic. More than fantastic, she looked delicious and gorgeous, and cock-hardeningly breath-taking. He’d loved her as long as he could remember and he’d finally decided that it was the right time to reveal his feelings for her, or rather he was being forced to reveal his feelings for her, or watch someone else take her from him. And that he couldn’t allow. He’d waited for her to come home after she graduated, but she didn’t for months and he’d nearly gone insane waiting. Why hadn’t he just driven the fuck up there and dragged her home by her hair like some caveman? Oh right, he was a colossal idiot, plus it might have pissed her off.

Her best friend Callie, one of his wolves, told him that Cadence didn’t think there was any reason for her to come home anymore, and that had thrown him into a rage. He’d destroyed half his office at the garage before he got hold of his beast, which was snapping and snarling in his brain like the caged animal it was. The thought of her staying away forever was more than either of them could bear. He’d ordered Callie to do something that he had never ordered one of his people to do before—meddle.

Get her to see the light, Callie. Make her want to come home. You know she belongs here. He’d used his alpha tone of voice and Callie had been down on her knees in a heartbeat and had no choice but to obey, even though she clearly wanted to tell him to go to hell. Callie was a sweet girl. He’d been prying information from Callie about Cadence for years, and Cadence never knew. As a matter of fact, Cadence hated him, and it was his own damn fault.

He first sent Michael up to the bar to see how she was. Of course that trashy female had tagged along. He wasn’t sure why Michael wanted anything to do with her, she was a wolf female but she was a bitch and a half and not in a good way. She was underhanded, backstabbing, and not even remotely good looking, not to mention that Michael was second in command of the pack and should have better standards. Not that he could talk. His self-imposed celibacy from the she-wolves meant he ended up taking out his aggressive libido before the full moon in the shower. By himself.

He watched how Cadence pointedly ignored Lindy and gave his brother a smile that clearly was too sweet for him, and his beast started growling. He had to be careful, because if he pushed himself too much with her, then he’d do something temperamental like take out half the bar in a tantrum, and he’d already been more than helpful cash-wise in Jake’s recent redecorating. Michael sat down with the two pitchers and Lindy deposited herself next to him. Jason gave her a hard stare, and she squeaked and moved out of the booth in a rush and almost fell over trying to get away. Hey, Michael groused. I was using that.

You can do better. You’re second, for crying out loud. Have some self-respect. Jason growled, not taking his eyes off his sweet woman. And that’s what she was. His. Sweet. The most perfect example of a woman if ever there was one. Gorgeous dark brown hair, green eyes like emeralds that heralded her bastard father’s Irish blood, full lips made for kissing and other wicked games, tits that were so full and perfectly shaped that he could imagine burying himself between them and dying happily, not to mention her taut belly, and short, but shapely legs. And she’d walked in wearing black leather and suede fuck me boots, and a trace of perfume he could pick up all the way across the bar from where he stalked her with his eyes and nose. Her signature fragrance that made her own natural scent so much more magnified to him. She smelled like a storm, the way that the sky goes all crisp and clean after lightning, and she gave him electric shocks every time she looked at him.

And he wasn’t the only one that thought so. Every damn wolf in the bar was very aware of her; attraction and desire hung in the air like a cloud and it pissed him off. But fuck if she wanted him, and he had no idea how to get anywhere near her without being subjected to her witty barbs and sarcastic comments and occasional thrown fists. She infuriated him, and she knew it; she taunted him mercilessly and was mostly just plain mean to him, but he’d done it to her himself. He’d driven his sweet Cadence crazy with neglect and now he was licking his wounds because he’d done a great job at keeping her away from himself. Idiot.

Michael snapped his fingers in front of his face. You know, she’ll never figure anything out without some help.

Jason nearly growled. As if he hadn’t thought about just coming right out and telling her everything, baring his soul to her. Because it won’t work that way. She has to come into it herself. You know that.

Michael rolled his eyes. Jason loved his brother but right now he wanted to throttle him. He watched his woman, his mate, tend bar for Jake, alpha of the Garra Pack, a man that had taken her under his wing, or paw perhaps, and taught her everything he knew about being pack, and Jake was one hell of an alpha. How their two packs had ever managed to be in the same town for so many decades, he didn’t know, but the treaty between the Tressel and Garra Packs was over a century old, and the bar was neutral ground. Except for the occasional wolf-to-wolf fight, usually over a female since there were so few between the two packs, the groups tolerated each other. And Jake was a good man.

Unfortunately he had two sons, both high ranking, that wanted to bury themselves in Cadence’s body, maybe even as badly as he did. Jake had given him a deadline and it had nearly made his head split open. When she comes back to town, claim her as your own in thirty days, or I’m going to give my people a chance to get to her. Jason would have ripped his head off, started a war between the packs, but Jake looked sad suddenly, and gripped his shoulder. Listen, man, I get it. You were following orders, but you’re alpha now. You want to claim what is rightfully yours, then you do it, and soon. My people want her claimed, or they want to claim her. You’ve kept her for yourself for fourteen years and I more than trust you with the girl that is like a daughter to me. So get your head out of your fucking ass and be with her or let her go. It’s not fair to deny her happiness if you won’t be the one to give it to her.

So just like that, Cadence came back to town on September 29th, and he got a note the next day from Jake. I’ll give you until the bonfire on the thirty-first to make your move or she’s fair game. Don’t blow it. Jake.

So here he sat, in the same stupid bar with the same stupid music and there she was, working hard, making drinks that he had no idea how to even start, flirting for tips, and dressed as sexy as he had ever seen her, possibly on purpose to goad him. Just glancing at her made his whole body uncomfortably tight. There weren’t enough cold showers in the world to get over the way she affected him. He gave a look across the bar to Jake, and Jake sent one of his lackeys over to the table. I want Cadence to bring us four beers.

She won’t, dude. The lackey said. Corey something. Small wolf, big mouth.

Jason ground his teeth together. She will if Jake makes her. Run along.

The lackey scampered off, as much as you can scamper on two legs anyhow, and Jake had clearly been annoyed but had complied. Jason watched her shove the tray back at Jake and tell him to fuck off. Having super hearing was so handy sometimes. He could hear her words, but also zero in on everything about her—how she had suddenly sucked in a breath at the request, how her heart had raced, and how she seemed to be itching to smash Jake’s face in with the tray. She had a wicked temper, and he loved it about her. So smart, so funny, so dangerous. He loved the total package, and she was one smoking hot package.

Practically stomping through the middle of the bar, she carried the tray like a pro, even though she had a bachelor’s in business. Michael said she needed a job, didn’t know if she was staying, and he knew he had to help that situation without making it look like he was up to something, although he certainly was. He heard one of his she-wolves call Cadence a mutt, something that they’d called her since she was a kid because she was a half breed. For just a heartbeat, her whole body went tense and Jason very nearly threw himself out of the booth and beat the wolf to death, but he knew he couldn’t. At least not in public. Cadence had to fight her own battles, especially if she was going to be his mate. She would have to take on the nastiest bitches of the groups, and he had no doubt she could. He’d seen her fight, seen her tumble with the best of them, and come out victorious or waiting for a rematch. It was Lindy who had called her a mutt and he knew why. Lindy thought of herself as Alpha material and had been trying to get Jason into bed for years. She’d taken Michael as a second-best, but she would have spread her legs for him in a flash if he wasn’t thoroughly disgusted with her.

Every one of his people knew that Cadence was the only one for him, and some of the females had accepted that, but a lot of them had not. Because he’d chosen her and she was weak in their eyes because she couldn’t shift. It didn’t make her any less of a wolf in his eyes; in fact it made him jealous. She wasn’t a slave to the full moon, although she had always loved their celebrations.

Stupid Lindy. No one would have known that Cadence was affected by the crude nickname unless they were really paying attention. Her eyes had narrowed just slightly, her breath had caught in her throat, and her whole body tensed up. He was pretty sure she had wanted to smash the tray into her skull and he would have loved for her to do it. Teach that bitch some manners. Lindy was trouble and would be until Cadence put her in her place. But she couldn’t do that without claiming Jason as her mate, and he wasn’t sure she would do that, not at this point.

The sweet look she gave to Michael as she came up to the table made him want to pound Michael’s head through the table. She’d smiled at Michael twice now, and Michael was practically glowing with glee at how pissed Jason was. Fortunately, one of the things Cadence hadn’t acquired in her supernatural skill set was the ability to detect the emotions off others, otherwise she’d be very clearly aware of how jealous he was, how much he desired her, and how badly he wanted to mount her on the table. As it was, all he could manage was to give her blank-face and act like he didn’t care. Her gaze slid around the booth and her smile disappeared as she set the bottles down.

She was holding the bottle for him and he couldn’t stop himself from being a jerk when he said, Nice of you to stop in and say hello, when you came into town. Her grip tightened on the bottle and the wolves around him held their collective breaths.

He saw her press her tongue into her incisor, something she’d done since she was a kid to keep from drawing blood when she bit her tongue, and then she did something that completely surprised him. She took his bottle of beer and licked the mouth of it, darting that wicked tongue across the glass. With a smirk, she set it down in front of him, snatching the money off the table and huffing away in a storm cloud of conflicting emotions: anger, mostly, but also some fear mixed with desire. He didn’t know what she was afraid of, but he figured it was himself. He looked at the bottle, all of them did, because she’d pretty much just licked him, had teased him openly, but clearly she had not meant to do it for his arousal.

He’d bet any amount of money that she thought he would be pissed off about the move like it would disgust him or he would trade bottles with someone. When they were kids, she used to stick her finger in his cereal bowl before school and he’d always loved that about her, her ability to find something that bothered him and devil him with it. It drove him crazy, of course, but he had loved that she watched him so closely, even as a kid, and knew exactly how to get to him. She still did, actually, except now she did it out of spite. She’d done that cereal bowl thing for months until he finally grabbed her hand and licked the milk off. She’d squealed and tried to get away, but he wouldn’t let her until the milk was all gone and he’d had a very good taste of her skin. Of course he was fifteen and she was ten, so it was kind of obscene, but he’d already claimed her, and it was normal for wolves to taste each other. And she tasted good underneath the milk. Like sweet cream or vanilla, something comforting. How many years ago was that? Fourteen, Jake had said. Fourteen years and she’d never figured out what he’d done, had never seemed to remember the day that changed his life forever but also sent him practically into exile.

He needed her to remember what happened between them when she was nine and he was fourteen, but he was beginning to think she’d never remember. They’d been playing at his father’s house which was down the street from her house. His father, Peter, was alpha of the pack and Jason was being groomed to take over when he reached twenty-one. Peter and her father, James, were only barely acquaintances even though they’d lived next door to each other and her mother Dixie was a wolf so he knew all about them, but had always acted superior. As if being pure human were better than anything. He’d tried to keep Cadence away from pack things, but Jake had been insistent that James couldn’t help her come to terms with her powers. If she went untrained then she’d be even more dangerous, so James had stepped back, angrily, and spent his free time bashing the wolves to Cadence.

She was always beautiful, but she grew more beautiful to him every day as they grew up together. He knew that his time to come into his powers was drawing close and that he would only have about two years to be with her and then he’d have to keep away from her because he’d be too volatile. He never wanted to hurt her, but he’d seen enough wolves come into their powers at sixteen and hurt their families and friends. He was going to work so hard to tame his beast, to cage it and chain it, until it was as tame as a puppy dog so he could be around her, and he’d do it faster than anyone ever so he could be there for her, be her friend and confidant again.

That day, he’d felt the urge to mark her. He’d felt it before, the knowledge that she would be his when they were both adults and the desire to make sure no one else ever touched her. He could only do that by marking her. Maybe he’d known somehow that he wouldn’t be able to control his beast, maybe he’d somehow known that she would grow to hate him because she wouldn’t understand that he was trying to protect her, so he’d done it. She had been chasing him around the yard. It was springtime, everything was fresh and new. He spun on her suddenly, twice as tall as her already and had crouched down on his points and growled at her. She thought he was playing, but he wasn’t. He so wasn’t playing.

She froze, her green eyes wide, her ponytail making her neck sweetly visible, and then she spun and darted away from him with a delightful laugh and he chased her. He was stronger than her because he was older and male, but she was fast and he had to really surge forward to get her. He waited until she rounded the house so that no one would see, and he tackled her, safely taking her to the ground in his gangly arms and subduing her. Gotcha, Cadence. He said as she laughed and struggled in his arms, and then he’d bitten her neck. She’d gone very still, hadn’t cried out or anything, even when his canines dug into her flesh and punctured through. Her skin had tasted so incredibly sweet. He growled into her, sending his growl down her spine and he felt her relax and submit, which was exactly what was supposed to happen between a mated pair. She was so small, so sweet, and so his. He released his hold on her and licked the wound and opened his mouth to tell her that she was his mate, and then his father’s voice came from the window above them. Jason, you fucking let her up this instant and get in this damn house!

Jason let her roll away from him and she had looked at him so strangely, touching her neck and looking at the blood on her fingers. His father stormed out of the house and had practically thrown him around the back and he heard him pick her up off the ground and speak very quietly to her. When she went running home, he saw that her hair was out of the ponytail now; his father had clearly warned her that if her dad saw the marks that they’d all be in trouble.

His father had been in such a rage, had thrown him into the house by his neck. What were you fucking thinking?

She’s mine! He tried to stand up, to defend himself, but his father backhanded him, knocked him back to his knees.

She is not our pack and she is a child, Jason. His father hit him again, his fist flying so fast he only saw the blur and then felt the pain.

She’s mine, Dad, I made her mine!

You have ruined everything, Jason. If her father finds out, he will have you arrested for assault. How could you be so stupid?

Jason, for the first time since he was a small child, had cried, his mouth going salty and his eyes filling. I had to, Dad. I’ll have to stay away from her once I turn until I can control myself and I don’t want anyone else to claim her. Too many, Dad, there are too many that want her. We were made for each other, she belongs to me, she’s my female alpha.

His father had stood there, fury rolling off him, and then he’d suddenly squatted down and put his hand on his shoulder. I understand, son. You have found your mate and she’s special. But she’s not our pack, she’s not anyone’s pack and she’s not quite like us. As your alpha, I forbid you to talk about what happened with her, to explain the significance. If she is really yours, she will remember what you did and know the meaning behind it and come to you. Until that happens, I forbid you and any of our wolves from talking to her about the marking.

His father stood up, stretching to his full height, and Jason felt the weight of his father’s words. He couldn’t ignore a direct order from his alpha, no matter how badly he wanted to. Now he’d marked her, branded her as his wife, and any wolf that saw the puncture wounds on her neck would know that she belonged to someone, and his pack would know it was him and so would Jake’s pack. But no one was allowed to talk to her about it, and that would be a problem. He couldn’t finish claiming her.

He’d been forced to stay on his knees in the front room while his father waited for Jake to come. Because Cadence was so close to Jake, his father had to explain what had happened.

Jake hadn’t been upset, but he was worried. The order by itself won’t stand, Peter.

How so? His father asked.

Because if Jason’s wolf recognizes her as his alpha mate, then the packs will treat her that way. They will expect her to know that she’s alpha and that she belongs to him when she comes of age. Even if she doesn’t remember the marks because of your order to her, she’ll know that something is going on because of how they’ll react to her. You can’t keep her on the outside of things unless you really keep her outside.

So, a total black out of pack dealings, then? His father rubbed his stubbled jaw with two fingers.

Jake shrugged. You only have two choices here, Peter, really. You either find her and rescind your own order and make sure that she understands the grave consequences that would happen if her father finds out that Jason bit her, or you keep her away completely. I teach her some things, her father is so hateful toward anything pack that I try not to influence her too much, but I’m not sure either way is necessarily better.

Jason had known which way he wanted his father to go, but he hadn’t dared speak. A complete black out of pack dealings would mean that she wouldn’t know what a pack was really like. What a mating looked like. Or share the full moons with him.

You’re right, Jake. I hadn’t considered that. If she were older, and we could trust that she wouldn’t tell her father anything, then I’d lift my order. This way is safer for everyone. I’ll let my pack know that they are not to speak to her about being alpha, nor are they to speak of the marks on her neck, or the mating to Jason.

I’ll do the same. Jake had given one long look to Jason and it was the first time that he’d felt someone pity him and it had made him feel worse.

He’d had to follow his father out to the meeting with the pack, and listen as his father talked about his actions like he was an idiotic child and not trying to protect his mate. And then the orders had come down and the pack accepted them. His mother had put her arm around him and kissed the top of his head. That was the most comfort that he’d gotten from anyone. If Cadence had been there, she would have held his hand or given him something she’d made for him. But she wasn’t there, and he didn’t know how long it would be for her to figure out what had happened.

Later that night, when he couldn’t sleep, he’d been outside where he’d marked her and saw the metal clasp of her hair tie glinting on the ground. He sat down, curling up on the grass where he had held her in his arms and smelled her sweet scent mixed with the strawberry lip gloss she loved, and he put it on his wrist. He still had it, as a matter of fact. The black fabric covered tie was wrapped around the handle bar of his Harley.

He never chased her like that again, because the urge to hold her in his arms was so strong that he felt like he would choke on it. And then he’d suddenly been sixteen and had started lying full time to her, telling her that she was just a kid and to leave him alone, when all he wanted to do was change into his wolf form and put his head in her lap. He wanted her to comfort him, which was fucking absurd because she was just a kid, but she was his and that’s what mates did. They had a serious connection and he knew she felt it, but she didn’t understand it and no one would help her understand it.

When he graduated from high school, she was a freshman. She was hit on so constantly that he had to ask his brother to watch over her, but they’d developed a friendship that had made him so furious with rage that he very nearly killed him on several occasions.

It had taken him years to get his wolf under control. His wolf was such a beast, so full of rage, that he was afraid to be around her and part of him thought that maybe the reason he was so angry was because he wasn’t around her, but he couldn’t risk it. Couldn’t risk hurting her, and by the time he felt even remotely under control she’d developed quite a bad attitude about him. All that love he’d seen in her eyes when they were kids had morphed into hate and despair and he hated himself for it. She’d gone off to college before he knew it, and then he’d taken over for his father after he was injured in a hunting accident. But damn it all to hell, she’d been dating in college and he heard all about it from Callie who hated being his spy but did what he said.

And now here he was, holding a beer bottle that she had licked in defiance and it had turned him on like nothing else. He took a long drink, watching her watch him from behind the bar, tasting her on the bottle and he nearly came right there. Now that would have been embarrassing. He heard her curse under her breath and turn back to the customers. Linus, one of his wolves, barked out a laugh. You are so fucking screwed right now.

He quickly held up his hands in defense, and it saved him from getting flattened. It was true, though. He had a month to make her remember the mark, admit she was his, and love him again. Sounded simple enough, in theory, but she was complicated on a good day, which meant he was royally screwed.

Chapter Three

Several things went through Cadence’s mind as she slammed the tray down on the counter, the loudest thought being: Why the hell had she licked his beer bottle? It had made her look like a fool. Groaning, she started filling orders, and pressed her tongue in her tooth so hard and often that she thought she’d get a blister by the end of the night.

Hey gorgeous. Without looking up, she knew the voice belonged to Christian, Jake’s oldest son, poised to take over the pack in another few years when Jake stepped down. He was twenty-seven, gorgeous, and arrogant.

Hey, Chris. What’ll you have?

You, on the counter. She looked up at him in surprise; he’d never been so blatantly flirty.

Oh sure, let me stow my panties under the bar and I’ll be right up. She turned her back on him to grab some glasses and he laughed, and then Jake was suddenly there, whispering angrily in his ear.

Chris hissed. I said I’d wait, I didn’t say I’d make it easy for him. To her he said with a velvet voice, Beautiful, bring up a couple beers for the guys and sing a few with us.

She gave him a smirk and he turned away and wove his way through the crowd that was gathering on the dance floor in anticipation of the house band, lead by Chris, called Shivering Fur. They were great; a little rock, country and blues mixed together and she’d sung with them before. She could hold her own with a mic, and the group was fun, but she couldn’t help but think that something had changed since she’d been home last. Chris had always been friendly, because of his parents’ friendship with her mother and she had spent a lot of time with Chris growing up, but there had never been anything there other than, well, nothing.

Go on and sing a few. For me. Jake said, giving her four beers. She fingered two in each hand, and looked at him.

Is something going on that I should know about?

He gave her a blank look, which meant he was hiding something. Nope, darling. I can’t help it if you’re too cute for your own damn good. He smiled, but it was forced. Something was definitely up. She shrugged and ducked under the counter. She could not miss the unhappy looks from Jason’s pack as she walked up to the stage and climbed up the handful of steps, kissing the cheeks of the other band members, including Brett, Jake’s other son. She handed off the beers and Chris was suddenly behind her, his hand sliding across the expanse of flesh between the waist of her skirt and the bottom of her top as he took the remaining beer from her hand. She heard the unhappy rumbling growl of wolves and knew one of them was Jason.

Chris tensed for a second and then relaxed and said, I’m glad you’re back, kitten. You coming to the bonfire Sunday?

Don’t I always? He was so close, almost too close, but if it annoyed Jason then that was okay.

Save me a dance?

She turned her head to look up at him. Between Jake’s two boys, Chris was the best looking, with light brown hair that fell straight to his shoulders and a constant chin full of stubble. Shave and I’ll think about it. She smiled, patting his cheek and ducking away from him. He laughed and pulled his guitar over his shoulder. She sang three songs, one blues and two rock, and then laughed all the way back to the bar as they launched into a few Hendrix songs. Watching him from the bar while they performed, she thought he wasn’t too bad, all things considered. But her heart betrayed her more often than not and only wanted Jason. Damn it.

Cadence heard Callie before she saw her, and she was in distress. She cast her gaze for her best wolf girlfriend and saw that one of Jason’s wolves had her wrist in a tight grip and was trying to pull her with him out the back door. She looked afraid. Without hesitation, Cadence grabbed the ball bat under the counter and leapt over the bar with one hand and landed on the balls of her feet while Jake sighed about redecorating. Closing the distance quickly, she saw that Bruce was not taking no for an answer.

She leveled the bat into Bruce’s chest and he flew back into a column. You want to grope my friend in my bar, she dug the end of the bat into his throat and put her foot on his crotch, pressing down until he made a strangled sort of groaning noise. It’s a two drink minimum, you fuck.

Callie came to stand next to her. Glad you could make it. Cadence said to her, not taking her eyes off the writhing guy on the ground.

Me, too. Callie kissed her cheek. I missed the hell out of you.

Say you’re sorry, Brucie and I’ll let your balls survive. She pushed down and he groaned, and then she heard Jason’s voice and realized they had a crowd.

Do it. He growled standing next to Bruce and looking down.

Sorry. He spat out, rubbing his chest.

She put a little more pressure on him and Jason said her name very sternly. She looked up at him like she was seeing him for the first time, and he looked pleased but angry, and maybe a little turned on. Of course she was probably just seeing that last part. She pulled back, and Bruce edged himself up the column and cracked his neck, clearly embarrassed to be put down by a crazy half wolf, but Jason’s warning growl shivered through the group and Bruce backed down and slunk away.

The crowd cleared, even Callie backed away, and Jason held his hand out. Cadence looked down at it like it was made of snakes, and he sighed. Give me the bat, Cadence.

Afraid I’ll go postal? Her knuckles protested the tight grip.

No. I don’t worry about you losing control. But it’s over, so give it to me.

You’re not my alpha, Jason. She spun on her heels and stalked back to the bar, ducking under the counter and giving the bat to Jake.

Thanks for not destroying the place. He huffed, and she caught that little bit of reluctant pride that he tried to keep hidden when she did dangerous things, like attacking a full grown male wolf with a baseball bat in the middle of a bar full of wolves. Stupid, yes, but necessary. And she’d do it again in a heartbeat too.

Callie sidled up to the bar and held her hands out and Cadence leaned over and hugged her. She made her favorite drink, Sex with an Alligator, and pushed it across the bar, ignoring the money she held out. What was that all about? Cadence dropped shot glasses on the counter and filled them with Jack.

Callie took a sip and sighed. Several things, but mainly, they think I’ve been single long enough.

Who exactly are they? Cadence darted a glance to the booth and could tell by the way that Jason was sitting that he was listening to them. Werewolves had fantastic hearing, even in human form. It was not a trait that she had inherited, and she’d always thought it must be nice to hear so easily like that.

To see if he really was listening, she whispered to Callie in a conspiratorial way, I think Chris looks fucking hot tonight, don’t you? Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Jason’s face contorted with rage and then there was a loud crack as the bottle in his hand shattered.

He grunted, Fuck, and all his wolves were grabbing napkins to sop up the beer. She giggled, she couldn’t help it, and Jake leaned over her and put his big paw on the worn counter. You think it’s funny, but you have to clean it up.

Peeking up at him, she saw that he was trying to be stern but he clearly also thought it was funny. Teasing the big bad. What a bitch. I’ll get to it, old man. Obviously I should wait, though, since he’s all red faced and covered in beer.

Jake snorted, tugged on a lock of her hair fondly, and went back to work.

Callie sighed and picked up the conversation where it had dropped off. Talking while Cadence was working meant stopping and starting conversations a lot. They had been friends for a long time, almost as long as she had known Jason. Callie and Cadence always had each other’s backs, and Callie was just about the only female wolf in their age group that didn’t hate her. Since Jason had turned his back on her, Callie and Michael had been her only true friends. The single males. She said finally, answering her question.

Fuck ‘em. Cadence said. You can screw who you want without a commitment or you can pick a mate. You shouldn’t allow yourself to be forced into anything. Especially not by some disgusting prick like Bruce. Ick. Cadence made a face and Callie grinned.

If you hadn’t left me high and dry to go better yourself in college, I might not have gotten stuck in this mess.

What does me going to college have anything to do with anything?

Because if you were with someone, then you could lead by example. I’m always so much better at being a bitch when you’re nearby. I don’t stand up for myself when I’m alone.

Cadence gave her a hard look. I’m not your pussy monitor, Cal. And I can hardly lead by example; there isn’t a guy in this damn town that wants anything to do with me.

Not true, you fucking liar. She took a long drink of her brown and green drink and licked her lips. You could have your pick, if you realized what your choices were.

Before Cadence could ask her what she meant by choices, Michael was suddenly next to her, whispering angrily in her ear, something that made fear wash over her features. She nodded and Michael looked at Cadence and gave her a strange look, smiling stiffly. Callie grabbed her drink and gave Cadence a soft smile and let Michael lead her back to the booth where it looked like Jason was fit to be tied. She sighed inwardly and thought, Come over and talk to me, Jas. Tell me that when you turned your back on me, that you didn’t mean it. That you’re sorry and you love me as much as I love you.

The rest of the night passed quickly, and Callie stopped to kiss her goodbye and promised to stop by to take her out to lunch, after Cadence made sure she was okay. Cadence kissed Jake goodbye and headed out, Chris and Brett waiting to walk her out to her car. Jake always insisted she had people walk her out, in case there were drunk wolves loitering outside. Even the most timid of them sober could be a real animal when they were drunk and she’d already had her fight for the night.

Wanna get something to eat? Chris asked, snagging the keys from her hand and unlocking the door for her.

I promised Cal lunch, and I’m kinda beat, but thanks for the offer. He dropped the keys in her hand and leaned his arm on top of the door. Chris, is there something going on?

He gave a clearly fake confused look. What are you talking about?

She shook her head. I don’t know. Seems like everyone’s acting strange toward me. Stranger than usual.

He looked like he was thinking, and just for a minute she felt like the real Chris, the one that she had known as a kid who had once helped her when she was hurt, was surfacing. What are you thinking about? He asked suddenly, brow raised.

I was thinking about that time we were playing together behind the bar and I was maybe five, and I fell and you carried me inside and put a bandage on my knee. And you gave me a popsicle so I’d stop crying. You used to be sweet.

He laughed. I’m not sweet anymore? Ow, that hurts. He clutched his chest in an exaggerated way.

Oh come off it, Chris. You’re arrogant and you know it.

He sighed, giving her the full weight of his light brown eyes. Maybe I’ve decided that it’s no fun when everyone thinks you’re a prick, especially the people who know you best, or maybe I’ve decided to reevaluate my priorities. I don’t know. You know, Cadence, you can do what you want, you could choose to be with humans or you could choose a pack. You’d be readily accepted, all you’d have to do is pick a mate.

A mate? Where is this coming from?

Brett cleared his throat loudly, and Chris sighed. Goodnight, sweetheart. See you tonight. And don’t forget about the dance you promised me at the bonfire. He shot back over his shoulder as he and Brett made their way toward their own pickup trucks, Brett giving her a chaste kiss on