Enemies Closer

*Rowan*

I am a fucking moron.
It seems like that should be my mantra, I’ve said it enough times recently.
Why the hell didn’t I just stay the fuck away from her? Of all nights, I had to be nosy and see if everything went all right only a few moments after her first shift–on her birthday.
I hear her whisper the word and fade into the forest, praying that no one else understood what she said.
But I can tell by the way Dean is shaking his head that he heard her. “Let’s go inside, Hez,” he says, resting a hand on her shoulder and guiding her through the door.
I was about to call it a night myself, but now, I feel like running some more. Maybe forever. I take off, bounding through the forest again, telling myself I’m absolutely not going to go spy on her either. She needs to be gone already. I need to hear from her father that he’s done whatever tests he intends to do, and he believes that she is, in fact, his daughter.
After a couple of hours of running through the forest, I decide she has to be asleep by now. The sun will be coming up in about two hours. Tomorrow will be a long day for me.
I shift, put on some pants, and trek inside, heading straight to my room.
I’m only asleep for a few hours when I hear a knock on my door. Cursing under my breath, I get up and walk over to the door, yanking it open. Wilma stands there, looking worried. “So sorry to wake you, Alpha, but your phone has rang several times. I believe it’s Darksky.”
“Fuck.” I stride past her, not carrying that I’m only wearing boxers, and head to my office. Sure enough, my phone is ringing again, and it’s lit up to let me know it’s my rival on the other line. “What?” I bark into the phone, expecting it to be that bitch Marigold.
“Sleeping in today, are we, Rowan?” the enemy king asks with a snide chuckle.
“What the fuck do you want?” I ask. “I’m busy.”
“Too busy to talk to the father of the girl you’re so desperately trying to trade?”
He’s got my attention now. “So you got your results back?”
“I did. You’re right. She’s my daughter. But that doesn’t mean she’s valuable to me. She’s only half shifter. Who knows if she even has a wolf?”
“I know.” I sit down on the edge of my desk. “She’s got a pretty decent sized black wolf. Fast, too.”
“And once again, you’re expecting me to believe you? Everyone knows half-human/half-wolves can rarely shift.”
“What difference does it make if she can shift or not, you asshole?” He’s annoying me already, and I’ve only been awake a few moments. “She’s your daughter. You want her or not?”
“Maybe, but why would I give you Mara for her?”
“Why are you keeping the princess anyway?” I try not to scream into the phone because he doesn’t need to know exactly how desperate I am to make this trade. “The only reason you have her is to piss me off.”
“And to keep you at bay. If you try anything, you know she’ll pay the price.”
“And then you’d have no leverage. Not to mention I thought you said your precious little boy has taken a liking to her.” Even saying such a thing makes my stomach roil.
He laughs. “That’s true. I’m pretty sure they’re mates, though they don’t want to admit it. She doesn’t want to, anyway.”
I bite my tongue, knowing he’s just trying to bait me. “Doesn’t matter if they are.” I keep my tone nonchalant. “That will never happen.”
“Send me video of her shifting. I’ll get back to you in a few days after I see that she can do it.”
He hangs up on me–again–and I have to walk away from my desk to keep from breaking my phone.
“Fuck!” I’m so close. I bang my head against the window a few times. Through the mind-link, I tell James to get footage of her shifting. He starts asking questions, of course, and I tell him to fuck off. I need to go back to sleep for a few hours. If I try to get any work done like this, I’ll only end up shouting at everyone.
I walk out of my office and back to my bedroom, letting Wilma know that no one is to disturb me again. I doubt I’ll be able to sleep, but I’m going to give it a try. The full moon is coming. It’s only a few days away, and I will not be able to be in the same house as my mate when she goes into her first heat. I’ve got to rest so I can make good decisions.
The logical thing to do would be to go ahead and reject her now, but I’m afraid that will backfire on me, too. I don’t know what to do, but I can’t fuck this up–for Mara’s sake.

***

*Hezzlie*

“Mate.” I whisper the word again as I stand under the hot water in the shower. I hardly slept last night, but I didn’t have any dreams of being a wolf. Dr. Bolton said those would fade now that I know for certain what I am. In a way, I feel relieved. Maybe now I can go home.
But I don’t know why that word popped into my head when I looked at Rowan last night.
I get dressed and go out to where Wilma has already dropped my breakfast. I eat it without tasting, going over everything in my mind.
Mom texts to ask if I had a nice birthday. I laugh out loud as I tell her it was fine. There’s no way I can tell her about it. I’m not sure I can ever even show her. She’d probably have a heart attack.
Dr. Bolton’s knock is slower than usual, like he’s dragging from our late night escapades, too. “Come in,” I call. I hear the key, and then he steps inside. Despite the dullness behind his eyes, he’s smiling.
“Good morning, Hezzlie. How are you?”
“Good,” I tell him. It’s not a lie. I feel better than I have in a while. I still have questions, but at least the dreams have stopped.
“That’s great to hear.” He sits in his usual chair and opens his notebook. “No dreams last night?”
I shake my head. “Nope. Not that I remember anyway. I guess I’m all cured now that I know I’m actually a werewolf.”
“Wolf shifter,” he corrects, chuckling. “The dreams should be over, but we’ll keep an eye on things for a day or two to make sure.”
“And then I can go home?”
He draws in a deep breath and slowly lifts his eyes from his notebook to my face. “I don’t know about that, Hezzlie.”
Something about his tone makes my heart drop. “What do you mean? You brought me here to cure me, and you did.”
“That was my reason for bringing you here, but the Alpha King has other reasons for you to be here, I’m afraid, and ultimately, it’s up to you. I think… he wants you to… meet your father.”
I try not to flinch in surprise. Of course, I should probably meet my father while I’m here. “He knows for sure who that is?”
Dr. Bolton nods. “I did some blood tests. Yes. We know who your father is. For certain. And he knows, too.”
“My father?” I clarify.
“That’s right.”
I have been thinking a lot about who my father could be since I misunderstood and thought it was Alpha King Charles Moonstryker. I’ve pieced together everything I’ve been told, everything I’ve been called. “Is it… that guy?” I jerk my head toward the mountains on the other side of the window. “Darksky?”
He nods. “That’s right… Princess.”
I swallow hard. “I thought he was evil.”
“He is.” He doesn’t mince his words.
“Why would Rowan want me to meet him then?”
“He wants… to trade,” Dr. Bolton admits.
My eyes widen slightly as I finally understand everything. Rowan only wants me so that he can trade me to his father to get the woman he loves back–Princess Mara. I want to swear under my breath, but then I don’t want anyone here to know how upset I truly am. These people are supposed to be my friends. At least, they’ve pretended to be–except for Rowan of course.
“Fine,” I tell him. “Let’s get on with it then.”
He reaches over and puts a hand on my arm. “I’m sorry, Hezzlie. This isn’t what I wanted for you.”
I shrug. “Doesn’t matter, does it? It’s all about what Rowan wants, right?”
Slowly, he nods.
“I don’t know what my wolf meant by the word mate–but I guess it doesn’t mean friends, huh?”
Rather than tell me what the word means, Dr. Bolton says, “The Alpha King doesn’t really have any friends, Hezzlie. He can’t afford to.”
Folding my arms in defiance, I reply, “Well, now he has another enemy.”