Denied Mate by Roxie Ray
Cal
My heart was twisted up, my wolf both delighted and frenetic. Every mile further out of Bridgehaven was a mile away from Ma. Danny had agreed to keep a sharp eye out for her, but the distance still weighed on me. Every time Liv spun around from the front seat or stole glances at me in the side mirror, I smiled without meaning to. She lit me up. At a rest stop, she clambered into the back and lay down across the seat, claiming she was exhausted from the night before. She started with her feet on my thighs but soon spun around to rest her head in my lap. I traced my fingers through her hair and neck. She was still bruised, but the marks were fading. Relieved was an understatement—I was grateful beyond belief that she was relatively okay.
We passed through towns which grew smaller and smaller, until they were just a gas station and a bar. I’d never been so far north before. I wondered what I’d see. Maybe it’d be good for me, clear my mind, have a fresh start. Maybe I’d be able to start writing again.
Liv gazed up at me with dreamy eyes and a sweet grin. I couldn’t get enough of her expression. Damn, she was so beautiful. I almost couldn’t believe it was really her laying her head across my lap. I smoothed my thumb along her jaw as she slowly closed her eyes and dozed off. It wasn’t long before I was catching some Z’s too, feeling safe and warm for the first time in weeks.
“Hey, lovebirds.” Maren slapped the back of the passenger seat to get our attention as the car bounced along a dirt road. “We’re almost there.”
The GPS was blank and my phone had no bars. Outside, the sun bathed midmorning light over wheat fields and empty paddocks. Mountains rose on the far horizon. It had been what felt like ages since we’d pulled off the main roads, and I had no idea where we were. All I knew was we were safer than if we’d stayed in Bridgehaven.
Liv sat up, brushed her hair and dabbed gloss on her lips, but almost there was an understatement. It was another half hour down a bumpy dirt road before the fields disappeared and the woods came in on all sides. Another fifteen minutes, and Maren pulled a sharp left up an unmarked trail shadowed by a thick canopy.
“Is this even a road? How do you know where this place is?” I asked.
“Honestly? I memorized it when I first heard about it.” She sighed softly and her tone dripped with sadness. “I’ve always known I’d end up here one day.”
Herewas marked with a set of huge iron gates with security cameras monitoring the scene. Liv glanced at me as Maren leaned out the window and spoke into an intercom. The speakers hissed and crackled so loudly, I couldn’t make out what she was saying, even with my sharp hearing. Instead, the sound of the feedback made me wince. When I cocked my head at Liv to ask if she could, she just shrugged.
Maren slumped back in her seat, rolled the window back up, and shut off the engine.
“Now what?” I caught her eye in the rearview mirror.
She danced her fingers along the steering wheel, still staring straight ahead. “Now we wait.”
“They’re letting us in?” Liv leaned forward and snatched an M&M from half-empty bag in the console.
“Yeah, we need an escort though. They’re sending down my contact.” She grinned and twisted around to face us. She was looking a little too smug for my liking. “Sounds really cool, right? My contact. It’s really just Corin, a witch who went to college with my sister, but she’s really cool, you’ll love her.”
A woman appearedout of the dark woods, carrying a short sword. My eyebrows bounced up. She held it up and the dappled sunlight glinted off the blade as she walked toward us. Didn’t she know what year it was? My wolf growled at the threat, but Maren shook her head.
“Chill. It’s just protection for Corin. The woods out here are kind of sketchy.” Maren threw open her door and stepped out, racing over to the gates.
Corin unlocked a bolt and pulled the gates open with a creak I could hear from inside the car. Maren rushed through and the two of them embraced tightly.
I leaned sideways and lowered my voice. “What’s your intuition say about this?” I kept my eyes on the fae.
Liv squinted at the two and was quiet for a beat. Her mouth twisted to one side. I appreciated that she was taking my question seriously. “Like no one here could be more dangerous to us than my family,” she finally answered.
“Hm. Good point.”
Corin was as lithe as Maren, but as tall as me. Her dark hair was tied in two braids hanging down to her waist, and her smile lit up when she saw Liv and me getting out of the car. With her sword handed off to Maren, she rushed towards us and threw her arms around me like we were old friends. Despite myself, I hugged her back, and for some reason, it felt like I did know her. I was still on edge and tried not to give her a sideways look. Did I know her? Was she compelling me somehow? I realized I knew almost nothing about fae, and even less about witches.
“You must be Calum.” She pulled back and beamed at me.
Though I wasn’t sure how I knew, Liv’s wolf was snarling with jealousy. I took her hand and the sensation tapered off.
“And you, my goodness…” Corin cooed and cupped her own face as she looked Liv over. She was absolutely beaming, as if she’d just been introduced to a local legend. “The Queen of the Pack is even more beautiful than the prophecy said…”
Liv faltered, laughed, and looked to me. Her cheeks were already tinged with pink.
I shrugged. “Well, you are.” It didn’t matter that I had no idea what the prophecy said, and if it actually mentioned Liv’s looks. The real thing was even better. Obviously.
Corin embraced her and held her tight. “You’re home now. Welcome to the community. You’ll be safe here with us.”
“Where is here exactly?” I looked around at the dark woods and my wolf sniffed. Fungi. Wet soil. Rotten bark. Sludge, algae, fish guts... Maybe a lake nearby.
Corin smoothed her hands over Liv’s shoulders as she stepped back and nodded up the path she’d come from. “Maren, drive on ahead and get settled. I’ll take these two on a tour and meet you up there.”
Maren handed Corin the sword and headed back to the car. Despite my hesitations, we were left to follow Corin as the witch led us through the gates and into the woods. Before the heavy canopy swallowed us up, I glanced back at the gates. Was this really a safe place to be hiding out? At the very least, it’d buy us some time to get our bearings—I doubted the Bridgehaven pack would have a chance of finding us there. And time was what we needed. Time to make a plan, and to sort through everything we’d learned. Liv’s past; our fathers’ disagreement before mine vanished; her claim to the pack as an alpha. It was a lot, and I wasn’t sure where our next step would take us. All I knew is that none of it was going to be handed to us on a silver platter.
Corin’s black boots crunched on top of dry leaves as she led us through the woods. The path disappeared ahead of her, but she seemed to know exactly where to go. Liv held my hand tightly and didn’t let go.
“Maren said you’re a witch?” Liv asked.
“An exiled witch.” Corin waggled her eyebrows as she glanced back at us. “I left of my own accord but my name is mud with my coven now.”
“Why did you leave?” I didn’t mean to sound intrusive, but my voice had an edge to it. Maybe it was all that hugging.
Corin didn’t seem hurt by it. “Ethics. I’m a potion-maker, and I got a little too good at it. There was a lot of pressure from the higher-up witches to brew pretty wild potions for high bidders and I couldn’t stand it, so I left.”
It made sense, but I wanted to know more. “High bidders?”
“Mm-hm. You wouldn’t believe how much money gets funneled into our covens by sketchy assholes. I don’t want my power being used for nefarious crap.”
Liv glanced at me, reading my mind. “Any wolf shifters buy potions like that?”
“Oh, hell, yeah, of course!” Corin smiled like it was an inside joke. “Your kind seem to like the stealth potions, luck potions, and strength potions most.”
Liv bit her bottom lip and squeezed my hand tight. There might have been a connection between the strength potions Ben was taking and Corin’s ex-coven, but neither of us was going to push for more information when we’d only just met her.
Corin used the sword to push back a verdant vine and light spilled onto the path before us.
“After you.” She waved her arm in invitation.
We stepped out of the tree line and into wonderland. Fields and paddocks spread out ahead of us, dotted with green-roofed houses. I realized they weren’t abandoned after a moment; I could smell horses a few fields over. Hay. Sun on a horse’s coat. And something feathery? Chickens! A lake wrapped around one side of the property with ducks on its surface, quacking and flapping. I wondered if any of these animals were used to wolves. Only one way to find out.
“Let me give you a tour. We’re basically a farming cooperative.” She pointed out cows and sheep grazing in paddocks as we trudged uphill toward the largest house. “We take in outcasts—though everyone has their own terms. I call myself a solo witch, even though I still brew. Give me a pot and a flame, and I can’t stop myself. And I’m clearly not alone here, either!” She laughed at herself.
I caught a breath of the freshest air I’d ever taken. We were a long way from civilization.
Three women hurried across the yard, casting a quick glance back at us as they went. A rumble of tires on gravel made me turn quickly, but it was just Maren. She parked beside a shed full of cut logs and waved brightly as she got out of the car.
Liv waved back, then smiled up at me. Her eyes glittered with hope. Yeah, maybe we would be able to have a fresh start here. Maybe things were going to get better. Easier. We’d have space to get to know each other again. Grow something really special.
“It was founded a few hundred years ago by a couple of wolves who were excommunicated from their packs for falling in love. Obviously, there’s way more than wolves here now. Everyone adds something; some of us take care of animals, some of us are healers, some of us work on keeping this place secure.” She waved her hand like it was nothing. I had so many questions, but Corin continued leading us up the hill. “We’ve got a dairy over there, everyone pitches in. Oh, here’s someone who can find you an empty cabin...”
Liv and I grinned at each other. She slipped her hand around my waist and I drew her in close under my arm as my heart thumped. I hoped she could hear it. It was all for her. I pressed my nose to her hair and breathed in deep. Lemonade and sunshine, and something else familiar. Newspaper ink on fingers; whiskey sour. I frowned, trying to place it.
Corin’s voice bounced back to us. “Hey, guys, this is Meyers.”
I looked up, expecting that she was referring to me and introducing us to a group. Instead, a mirror stared back at me. More wrinkles, less hair on his head, a thick beard...and a shocked expression suddenly soaked with guilt.
Liv gasped and her arm tightened about my waist.
My jaw went slack and I stared, dumbfounded, until I found my voice. “Dad?”
Get Ready for Book 2 in the Queen Of The Pack Series, Claimed Mate
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