“Think about it—”
“I have! I will be getting her. There will be no ‘we’.”
“Oh shit,” Cash rocked back on his heels. “You’re thinking of going to Sister’s Edge? Alone?”
“It’s mine,” Kade said, hoping Cash would understand. This part of his story wasn’t for Cold Foot Crew to meddle in. It was his old life, and his alone. It was his responsibility to tie up the loose ends.
Kade could feel it so deeply now—the pull of his old life.
Cash nodded. “I can cover for you at work. I can cover for you with the Crew too. How long will you be gone?”
“A couple days at least,” but probably forever in a shallow fuckin’ grave. Cash didn’t need to know the danger. It wasn’t a full lie, so Cash didn’t sense anything wrong. Clearly, because he told him, “You should pack fast and leave before the guys are done with work on that shop for the day. They’ll be too distracted to notice you’re gone for a few hours, I bet. They don’t need the excavator for the rest of today’s work.”
Kade nodded his thanks, and stood, then headed for the stairs.
“Hey, Kade?” Cash asked.
“Yeah?” Kade asked from the middle of the stairs.
“I respect how you’re handling this. If you need anything, I’m just a call away.”
And Kade knew what he meant. Cash would come help if he could. He appreciated the offer more than Cash would ever know.
Kade was beginning to think that Cash had told the truth—maybe theywerefriends.
Chapter Three
Jess ran her thumb across the scar that ran across her left palm. Promise contracts came with scars, and very soon, she would have a new one on her other hand, binding her to Connor.
How had she gotten here? How had she grown smaller and smaller until she felt trapped, and like she had no choice at all?
Connor was moving up the ranks and would be challenging for Third soon, but to hold a high rank in Sister’s Edge, the males needed to be paired, and open to providing the next generation to the Crew. This was one of the longest standing Crews in the world. They had never been annihilated to the point of extinction, had never lost battles for territory lines, and for hundreds of years had maintained a stronghold here in this dry, desert land outside of Sisters, Oregon. There were many reasons for their longevity, and some of their success could no doubt be attributed to the rules. Alpha, Second, and Third were the strongest and most dominant. Along with their brute strength though, they had to have a sound mind, and clear view of the future for the Crew. She’d been honored when she had been invited to be a part of Sister’s Edge all those years ago, but she’d been young, and desperate to belong somewhere. Desperate to feel safe. Every shifter knew Sister’s Edge was safe from the territory disputes that used to plague her kind. No one had tried them in years. Not since long before she’d come to live here.
To maintain standing here in this Crew, she had to pay her own way, and contribute to meetings, and take care of anything the Alpha needed done. And if she was chosen for a Promise, she had to honor it.
Maybe she’d grown desensitized to the benefits of living in the heart of Sister’s Edge. Maybe she’d forgotten how it was to really be scared, and feel hunted, and so she was taking it for granted. Perhaps that was why she felt like fighting this new Promise Contract. Perhaps she’d grown lazy, and soft, and didn’t remember how scary the outside world could be when she wasn’t under the umbrella of protection that Derek and the others could provide.
At least, that’s what she was telling herself. Maybe if she remembered how she used to live, she would feel better about tethering herself to another stranger.
Kade had ruined everything.
They’d had a deal. They’d had a plan.
He had fought his way up the ranks to Third, and he needed to be paired, and she needed a Promise that made sense to her after she’d been disfigured. She’d lost her animal and was at risk of being shunned.
Only monsters were allowed here, and with the loss of her animal, she wasn’t monster enough anymore.
When her tiger had disappeared after the accident, Kade had offered to secure her place in Sister’s Edge with no strings attached. He’d found an apartment with two bedrooms for them, and promised they could live as roommates. He’d promised never to ask anything of her body. He’d assured her—and she had heard the truth in his voice—that he only needed her so he could maintain his rank and eventually Challenge for Second. He had his eyes on Alpha someday. He could’ve done it too if he wouldn’t have done what he’d done. In exchange for her accepting the Promise, and signing the contract, and taking the cut he’d made across her palm, he would offer her protection always. No one would ever be able to mess with her again. The females who had shamed her after her face was scarred would’ve been reprimanded until they learned her power as the mate of the Third. They would not be able to Challenge her animal anymore, knowing they would win, because her animal was gone during that time. They would have to turn off their predator instincts and stop hunting her in her weakened state.
Kade was going to fix everything, and the best part? He didn’t care about the scars, or her ugly face, or her ruined body. He just needed a Promise, and he’d chosen to give sanctuary to her.
She didn’t know him, but what she did know was that he was a beast, and a fucking hurricane in a Challenge. He was dominant and powerful, but at the center of it, he was merciful. That’s what his Promise had meant, right? He’d chosen a mate he couldn’t be proud of in front of the others. He’d had his choice between beauties, and he’d picked her instead. He’d done it out of pity when she needed a shield. He had tethered his life to hers, and didn’t seem to care that at every meeting, she would be sitting right behind him, disfigured, horrifying to look at, unacceptable in some of the other Crew members’ eyes. He hadn’t seemed to care about that stuff at all.
Kade was terrifying, but when he’d offered the Promise, she’d seen something there. Kade had a heart. At least she thought so, before he murdered one of the members in cold blood. He’d murdered his best friend’s own brother and broken all the rules. He’d brought shame to his entire lineage.
Jess had thought him merciful, but she’d been wrong.
She closed her fist around her thumb, pressed there against the scar Kade had made.