It took a lot of control for Brand not to lunge over the counter and tear the asshole’s throat out for noticing that about his woman. “Did she say where she was heading? I have to find her and tell her I’m sorry.”

The clerk hesitated. “No, but I saw her get on the freeway. She went east.”

“Thank you!” Brand rushed outside, realizing he’d left the door open and the motor running. He jumped in his truck and drove like a madman, pushing the engine to the limit as he surpassed speeds of over a hundred and ten, weaving through traffic, searching for her car. His enhanced reflexes saved him from crashing a few times. The hope of catching up to her lasted until he reached a four-way split on the freeway.

He tried to feel out her presence, using his senses to see if he could track her but nothing happened. “NO!” He checked his mirrors and crossed four lanes, only to slam on the brakes along the shoulder. He got out and sniffed the air, hoping to catch her scent. It was a long shot but he was desperate. Exhaust from the traffic choked him and he dropped to his knees beside the open truck door. He bellowed, “CHARMA!”

Chapter One

Nine years later

The present

“Charma?”

She turned her head to peer at her sister. “What, Bree?”

“You’ve got that sad look on your face again. I thought we were past this. You can’t stop me from growing up. I’m an adult.”

“I’m fine.” She lied with ease, something she’d spent years perfecting. “I was just thinking about Dad.”

“Oh.” Her younger sister reached out to squeeze her hand. “He’s going to do great. You heard Garrett. This won’t be his first surgery or his last. This new procedure will help him get more use out of his leg so he doesn’t have to keep depending on the cane.”

She had to turn away to hide the anger. “Yes. I heard him.”

“Garrett is so hot. I envy you. I want to find a mate as fine as him now that I’m of age.”

A shudder ran down Charma’s spine. “I hope not,” she whispered.

“I heard that.” Her sister snagged her arm and spun her around. Charma couldn’t suppress the gasp of pain. Bree frowned and her gaze lowered from her sister’s face to her arm. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing.”

“Let me see your arm. Pull up your sleeve.”

“It’s nothing. I bumped it last night.” She eased out of her sister’s hold and forced another smile. “What dress do you want to buy? This is your party. Garrett said to spare no expense.”

“Char.” Bree’s eyes narrowed. “Show me your fucking arm.”

“Such language from a teenager. Is that what they taught you in school?”

Her sister hissed. “Show me your arm. You have a lot of accidents. Is…” Her sister paled. “Does Garrett hit you? We had an assembly at school about domestic abuse before graduation and I’m doing the math. I don’t like what I’m coming up with.”

“Of course not.”

“Then show me this bump.”

“It’s just a bruise.” Charma tried to turn away but her sister moved to block her.

“Show it to me now or I’ll assume your mate is hurting you.”

“Mind your own business.”

Her sister paled even more. “Oh. My. God!” Tears filled her eyes. “I know it wasn’t a love match, but shit. Do our parents know?”

Charma glanced around the dress shop. “Lower your voice.”

“Your mate is abusing you and you’re worried about what someone else will think? You’re not someone who would take that bullshit.”

She gripped her sister’s hand and tugged her inside the dressing room, alert for any sign of someone approaching. The flimsy door sealed them into the small area.

“You’ve got to calm down.”

“No! I’m going to tell his father. I’m going to tell everyone!”

“No,” Charma hissed. “Listen to me. You’re old enough to know the truth since you stumbled onto it. Everyone in the pride has known for years about what’s going on. It’s not a secret that I was forced to mate with Garrett. He’s a cold bastard but he’s the future pride leader. His father paid for me to go to college after he decided I was the one he wanted.”

“But you never finished. You came home. You couldn’t owe that much money and that’s no reason to agree to mate someone.”

“Dad was crippled and Mom was badly scarred. He could never shift again after their car accident. He couldn’t protect our family so he made a deal. He asked Garrett’s dad to allow me to go to college first. I had to submit to the mating after I came home, regardless of whether I finished or not. Do you understand?”

“No, I don’t. Why would you agree to that bullshit? You could have taken a loan or something. Gotten a scholarship. How could you sell yourself that way?”

“It wasn’t about money.” Charma took a deep breath. “Listen to me closely, Bree. You don’t walk away from a pride unless you die. And I don’t mean just one member but the entire family. Weakness is not tolerated. That was the deal. I agreed to the terms to keep us safe. All of us. Dad was deemed useless after that accident, unworthy of living.”

Horror crept across her sister’s features and she leaned heavily against the wall. “Are you saying if you didn’t mate with that prick…?” Her voice trailed off.

“Yes. Percy would have killed Dad, and if he had, Mom’s scars and her surgery would have made it impossible for her to mate with someone else to protect us. She can’t have more children and what male in a pride wants a scarred-up human woman who is unable to give him offspring? It’s unfair but it’s reality. You know Percy is ruthless and his son takes after him. I wanted nothing to do with Garrett, then the car accident happened and they had the perfect leverage to get their way. I had no choice and neither did our parents.”

“You could have run away.” Bree nodded frantically. “We could have fled as a family.”

“Do you think I didn’t consider that? Where would we have gone? We’d have been inside werewolf territory if we’d gone anywhere other than pride lands. We had to avoid the other prides because that’s basic protocol when dealing with the weak. They’d have killed our parents and the worst would have happened.”