Wish

Prologue: The Day I Tried to Live

Standing on Lake Michigan with traffic of Chicago behind me, I frowned at my phone. The little icon in the corner told me I have five new messages. And I knew exactly who they were from. I rolled my shoulders and took a deep breath, feeling the tension building up. I glanced at where Erin, my chosen alpha, was standing with her mate, making googly eyes at each other. I pressed play on the first message and clutched the phone tight to my head.

“Taylor, it's your father.” Like that needed to be said; who else would it be? “You and I need to have a serious talk. You can’t put off joining a pride any longer.”

Oh, yes, I could. Joining a pride meant that my life as I knew it was over. It meant being mated to an alpha-male lion who would just see me as a breeder and a number, my only worth measured in how many male lions I could give him. Dominant male lions took several mates, and females were expected to produce children and take care of their mate and the brood of children for the entire Pride. Most female lions were perfectly happy to do this. I think. I mean, I haven’t actually polled any of the females in my father’s pride. It was our culture, how we were all raised, but I wasn’t interested in being a sister wife. Sorry. I wanted a mate who would love me for me.

“There are several Prides who have expressed interest in you. I expect you to review the material I have given you and get back to me by the end of the week.”

I didn’t open the other messages, I just simply deleted my father’s voicemail and sat down heavily on the beach.

“Your dad, again?” Erin sat down next to me, making it a question, even though I knew she had heard the entire voicemail. “You know, you’re welcome to come with Marcus and me.”

“And join a Pack instead of a Pride?” I rolled my eyes. “Hard pass, E.”

“Black Water Pack isn’t like a Pride,” Erin said as she bumped my shoulder and sighed. “I mean, yeah, it’s a structured organization of shifters and shit. There's a hierarchy, and at some point, you would be expected to contribute, but Peter is a good alpha.”

“You’re a good alpha,” I mumbled into my hands and growled.

“I’m not a real alpha, Tay,” she pointed out. “I’m joining Black Water because Peter Black is a good alpha, and he runs his pack like a corporation, not like a personal harem. He’s married and faithful to his wife.”

No, she was an alpha, she just didn’t have the drive to be the head of a group, and as a female lion, she couldn’t head up a Pride. Sexist, stupid shifters.

“I want to finish school.” I shrugged.

“You can still do that,” Erin argued.

“Alone.”

“Are you considering going rogue?” Marcus asked as he sat down on my left and put his massive palm on my shoulder. “It would pain me greatly to see any harm come to you, as you are the sister of my heart, and the beta of my mate.”

“I’m just going back to school, big guy.” I snuggled into Marcus’s embrace, and breathed in his rich scent, calming my nerves. “I’ll join a pride eventually. I just want a chance to be me first.”

“We will respect your decision.” Marcus nodded and squeezed my shoulders tight against his broad chest. “But if you would meet Peter, perhaps he could sway you.”