Nic’s heart stopped. His first instinct was to deny his sister’s words. The Nicholas Kagan he’d looked up to as a child wouldn’t allow anyone to kill him, not while his pack still needed him. His reign had passed, however, and he’d left hell behind.
“What happened?” Nic asked.
“The Tanner protector was having seizures. I was at Sean’s house when the dominant who was guarding him called. He needed help restraining him. The Tanner wolf kept begging for someone to kill him.” Hannah swallowed hard. “I don’t know what happened after Sean got there, but the Tanner male stumbled outside covered in blood, saying he was sorry. Before anyone could get to him, he slit his own throat.”
“And Sean? Is he dead?”
Hannah shook her head. “No, but he’s hurt. Nona and Jenna are working to stabilize him. They said he’ll be okay.”
But not soon enough to save Nic.
“Oh God.” Riley’s voice came from right behind him.
Not taking his gaze off his sister, he held his hand out to Riley. She stepped next to him but didn’t link their fingers, probably unsure of what role she should play. He twined their hands and drew her into the shelter of his body. They were long past pretending they weren’t involved. A sheet covered her nakedness, but it did nothing to hide the blood on her shoulder.
“Who knows?” he asked.
Hannah scrubbed at her face. “Other than those at the clinic, one of our betas. He’d gotten into a fight the night before and had just pulled into the lot to get patched up.”
Nic cursed. The bloodbath he’d tried to prevent by handing the pack over to Sean would happen anyway if he didn’t act quickly. “We need to contain this. Order everyone into silence until I can figure out who I’m going to have enter the circle tonight.”
Hannah glanced from Riley’s shoulder to his face. “It’s too late, Nic. Our dominants were watching over the clinic, not our protectors. You’d sequestered them here, don’t forget. Quinn and Jared have already gotten up into each other’s faces, saying they would both enter the circle and fight.” She shook her head. “They’re young and stupid. They think they would make a better alpha than any of their elders.”
Quinn, Sean’s younger brother, and Jared, Nic’s younger cousin, were best friends. At least, they used to be. Nic had no doubt they would be again, if Nic could stop them from killing each while trying to prove their worth.
He groaned. Quinn and Jared wouldn’t be the only ones at each other’s throats. Images flashed across Nic’s mind. His other cousins, childhood friends, elders—all dominants. All males who’d be instinctually driven to fill the void their alpha’s death had caused. Whether they wanted it or not, they’d feel the urge to act. Many would resist, especially the mated ones. The others? They’d get caught up in the influence of the full moon and the powerful drives of their wolves.
Nic knew firsthand how hard it was to contain his primal half. Only Nic’s love for Riley had stopped him from giving in. For those males who hadn’t found their true mates, they’d be swayed with the whispers of power Nic himself had experienced when he’d visited the ceremonial circle.
Those dominants would feel invincible.
They’d fight.
They’d die, lose their wolves, and their connection to the pack, all except one.
Dear God, Nic didn’t want that.
Riley squeezed his hand, drawing his attention. He glanced into her face. Worry formed tiny lines around her eyes. She brushed her knuckles over his cheek. “Nic, you have to accept the spirit of the pack.”
“No.” Nic felt his wolf’s agreement. Ever since he’d made love to Riley, he’d been more in sync with his animal spirit than he’d ever been before. The beast loved Riley too, not the same way Nic did, but its respect for her was strong. She’d saved them. “I’m not becoming alpha. I can’t.”
Riley stepped in front of him and pressed her palms to his chest. He automatically linked his hands around her waist, holding her close. “Yes, you can. You must.”
“I won’t take a shifter mate. I love you, only you.”
She slid her hands over his chest and clasped them behind his neck. “And I love you, but we have to do this. You’ll feel horrible if any of our pack dies tonight taking the position meant for you.”
“We?” He shook his head. “We can’t happen if—”
“We will happen, and once we’re mated, we’ll try to conceive a child. I think I’ve found a procedure that’ll help us. It’ll turn me into a surrogate. The child I’ll carry will be yours and Jenna’s baby. I’ve already asked her. She agreed.”
“A baby”—he swallowed hard—“with Sean’s mate? How? I won’t touch her, Riley. I don’t know—”
“A doctor will harvest her eggs and implant them along with your sperm into my Fallopian Tubes. Our baby will be conceived within my body during the night of the full moon. He just won’t carry my genes.”
Nic let her words repeat in his head. Hope rose, but so did disbelief. “I know of a male with a human mate. I’d spoken to him, hoping to figure out a way to be with you. They tried all kinds of infertility treatments. Nothing worked.”
“Are you talking about the couple from your cousin’s pack in Ohio?”
“Yes.”
“I read over their records. They didn’t try GIFT. They also didn’t use a pack doctor. A human doctor wouldn’t understand the restraints of a shifter conception.”
He shook his head. “But they’d paid extra to bring doctors in on the full moon to perform the treatments.”
“Yes, but they all overlooked one aspect, the most important one that ensures shifter females aren’t impregnated by anyone besides their mates.”
He went over her words and groaned at the obvious answer. “That conception must happen naturally.”
“Yes. GIFT allows that. It just brings the egg and sperm together. Nature takes over afterward. Biologically, my womb isn’t different from a shifter’s. Only our eggs are.” She rose on her tiptoes and pulled him closer. He bent, bringing them eye to eye. “I can’t guarantee that this’ll work, but I truly believe it will.”
The hope in her eyes compounded his. He brushed his fingertips over her cheek, awed by how far she would’ve gone to win his wolf’s commitment. He was glad she hadn’t mentioned her ideas earlier. After the pain he’d caused her, he never wanted her to think he was only with her because of a child she may or may not conceive.
Hannah stepped next to them. “But what if it doesn’t? You’ll eventually be killed unless your wolf allows you to transfer the spirit. You said it wouldn’t. What makes you think now will be any different?”
“Because Nic’s wolf has accepted me.” Riley turned cautious eyes on him. “Hasn’t it?”
He reached inside himself and touched the wolf who’d remained watchful yet quiet throughout the conversation, exactly as his baser half was meant to be—his complement. They were one, bridged by Riley’s love, and both would offer their strength to accomplish the same goal. God, it felt good to finally be at peace.
“You’re our mate, baby.” Nic cupped Riley’s face between his hands. “We’ll do anything to keep you.” She grinned. He pressed his lips to hers. “I love you, and I will mate you. First, I must accept my destiny.”
She kissed him, not passionately but so sweetly his heart did crazy things in his chest. A weight lifted off him while his emotions mixed. He wanted to lay her down, take her hard, and tell her he loved her over and over until happy tears filled her eyes. He pulled back, not because he wanted to but to avoid giving in to the urges she evoked within him.
He looked over Riley’s head and caught Hannah’s gaze. “Take Riley to our house and put Chris and John on guard over her. I’m going to assert myself as the rightful alpha and knock my competition down. I don’t want anyone to step into the circle with me.”
The idea of fighting and injuring his pack members left a sick feeling in his gut, but such was the fate of an alpha. He’d never be free of the tests from other dominants. Like a true Kagan, he’d prove his worth outside the ceremonial grounds, leaving his friends alive but wounded.
Riley tightened her grip on him. “Be safe and come back to me.”
“Always, angel. I’ll always come back.”
And she’d be there to welcome him with open arms.