Page 37 of Mated
But Tanner is an alpha. One of the strongest shifters there is. If anyone can take the sick fuck down that hurt me, it’s him.
So what else is there for me to do?
I’m here. At Silver Rock.
My head cants.
I might as well see what all the fuss is about.
***
Daisy drags me all over hell and highwater. Or the full length of pack land anyway. But I don’t mind. It helps to keep my mind far from the dead human and far from Tanner.
By early evening, the heat has forced many of the others inside the low slung cottages and the rec hall. The only buildings at Silver Rock with air conditioning.
I’ve long since lost track of Tanner and Caine. Though I have to continually remind myself that I don’t need to look for them, my eyes want to scan every grove and shaded spot along the fields for T. If Daisy notices, she doesn’t remark on it. Instead, she leads me to the small creek near theciorcal, or the ritual circle in the old hollowed out basin.
Somewhere between a magick circle, graveyard, and palace, theciorcalis the birthplace of Silver Rock power. When the first alpha walked this land and called his pack, he did so from the nest of roots and smooth rocks beneath the old oaks.
Every mating ring takes place in the open ravine. As does every challenge for hierarchy. For dominance. Blood, sweat, and tears have christened the very ground with power and pack. And it damn near oozes from every fallen leaf, stone, and twig.
Though I can’t feel it, Daisy assures me if I join Silver Rock, I will.
We trail down the slope and through the massive pines with glistening bottles of water in hand. It’s quieter now with nearly half the pack indoors. Though the heat is atrocious, an occasional breeze ruffles my hair and pulls at my clothes. In the shade cast by the trees all around us, it’s bearable.
Daisy sits down at the edge of the narrow creek bed. The waterway is little more than a trickle between rocks, but it offers a secondary respite from the heat as I shuck my socks and shoes and wade in up to my ankles.
“Sometimes I swear I forget how hot it is here,” she says after a while. Leaned back on her hands, her wavy red hair seems to dance with gold highlights as the sun hits it just right.
I snort. “How could you ever forget how hot it is?”
Her cheeks flush. “I moved closer to the gulf a few years ago. I just make the drives up for the sabbats.”
“You drive here from the coast twice a month?”
She shrugs and a few strands of hair cascades over her shoulder in a fiery curtain. “After Tanner dipped and Callus started booting the other male alphas, I figured maybe it wouldn’t hurt to see what other packs had to offer.”
I turn fully to face her; the gentle babble of the creek glides over my ankles in a tickling caress. “And what did you find?”
She sighs. “That no matter where I go, Silver Rock is still home. And even though I hate what Callus is doing, my ancestors are buried here. My ties are here. There is no other pack for me.” The iron in her voice draws me up short. She squints over at me. “It’s why I don’t understand how T has stayed away for so long. This is home, you know? How can you just walk away?”
“Maybe he didn’t have a choice,” I say, and then don’t know why I’m even defending him. I peer at her. “Sorry. Tanner had his reasons. Now whether they were right or—"
But her attention isn’t fixed on me. Her emerald eyes begin to glow softly and she leans forward, gaze locked over my shoulder. “I need you to walk towards me. Slowly.”
My heart slams. “Daisy—“
A low growl pours from her full lips. “Now.”
I shuffle through the water, forced to obey that one word command by the same force that held me captive with Tanner earlier.
So slowly I believe time itself has crawled to a stop, Daisy begins to rise from the creek ledge. Her hands curve inward, fingers creating jagged hooks.
No.
Not her hands. Her claws.
My eyes widen, but she merely slinks past me through the tepid water. At the bank, I lift my foot and step onto the bed of pine needles and fallen leaves.
