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  Complete Me, (Sawtooth Shifters, #7) Copyright 2016, Kristen Strassel

  Cover Design by Sotia Lazu

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  Chapter One

  Chandra

  Another second closer. Every one counted.

  The moon expanded inside my skull, the throb of my heartbeat intensifying with the gravitational pull. The second hand of the old clock in the Lowe’s living room slammed forward. The rhythms didn’t complement one another, and my vision became a dizzy swirl.

  Time to shift.

  All my life I’d been forced to hide. Who I was, what I wanted. I’d been here a month, among my own kind, and had yet to blow my cover. My feelings were conflicted about that. My camouflage was like an armor. But I’d expected the Sawtooth wolves to know one of their own.

  Unless I was so far removed from my wolf they couldn’t recognize it in me.

  Delaney, the only human here, stopped dead in her tracks when she came around the corner. It was a shame she was human, she would’ve made a great wolf, always a little on edge. She couldn’t speak, and many days, I felt like I had no voice, either. I couldn’t tell what she signed to me in the shadows, her hands flailed wildly, repeating the motion.

  “I’m fine.” I backed away from her. “Has anyone shifted yet?”

  She shook her head.

  I should’ve told her what was wrong. She knew it was something. My head was in my hands. Sweat trickled down my temples. Wrong didn’t begin to describe it. This is what I’d wanted my whole life. To run as a wolf in Sawtooth Forest. But I’d been questioned and judged the entire time I’d been here taking care of X. These wolves didn’t trust easily, and neither did I.

  We needed each other.

  “Tell them I’ll be down in a minute.” Everyone was anxious about this shift. X had healed completely from the Christmas night battle, and he insisted on getting revenge tonight. He wasn’t the only wolf that had been attacked, and it left a huge score to settle.

  Delaney ran down the stairs. Guess I wasn’t getting an Oscar for that performance. It needed work, in all forms. I stopped at the top of the stairs, lurking in the shadows I’d been dying to break free from. Everything seemed normal.

  “Stop worrying, angel,” Shea assured Delaney, taking her in his arms and kissing the top of her head. I loved it when he did that. She was his girlfriend. Had Delaney been a wolf, Shea would call her his true mate. “This is what we do. We’re wolves. We’re still here. We might have wounds to lick, but we always come back stronger.”

  It might not have helped her, but it gave me comfort.

  X was the only one who noticed I came back in the room. No surprise there—everyone else was tangled in their own drama. X’s older brother, Major, was busy with his mate, Cass, and her daughter. Cass had been cold to me ever since I got here, and I had yet to figure out why. X turned to me and his eyes lit up. He’d been standing by the door, tail wagging in anticipation.

  After tonight, I’d finally see him in his human form. My tail wagged at the thought of it.

  I wish they’d hurry up, he said. Wolves could understand each other no matter what form they were in. Delaney would’ve heard something totally different.

  “It’s almost time.” I sank to my knees and roughed his fur. His scent overwhelmed me, this close to my own shift. Earthy, spicy, and hopefully mine.

  He wriggled free, staring at me with those incredible golden eyes. His brothers had them, too. They were gorgeous, with their long, dark hair and defined muscles. There weren’t any pictures around the house, so I could only dream of what X looked like. You understand me, he whispered.

  I nodded.

  X pushed his snout into the crook of my neck. You’re gonna shift. I can smell it.

  My skin stretched to the absolute limit. I had an overwhelming urge to run. Hide. I’d had to do it all my life, find a place to take cover. No one had ever known my true nature. It would’ve cost me my freedom.

  My secret ripped free as brown fur blossomed over my arms. Long, black claws replaced my fingers and they retracted into paws. Shifting always terrified me. It was one of the reasons I’d studied veterinary medicine, desperate for the answers that no one wanted to give me. When the wolf moon reached its full beauty, my skull snapped, and there was no more hiding what I was.

  I knew it, X said, smothering me in kisses. I can’t wait to run with you.

  For the first time, I welcomed my shift.

  “Holy shit.” Major whistled low, approaching us. He stopped short of touching me. I wasn’t sure of wolf etiquette in Sawtooth Forest, but to me, it would’ve been as welcome as if he’d grabbed me in a dark alley. “Can’t say I’m totally surprised, but it’s still a shock.”

  “There was never a good time to tell you.” My voice sounded different when I was a wolf. Like it was made of the same things that built the forest, it had grit. “Things have been crazy since I got here.”

  Shea approached, clutching Delaney’s hand. He stopped next to his brother. “I knew there was something different about you. You knew too much about us. But, hey, welcome. You may have noticed, we need she-wolves like whoa.”

  “Yeah, and we don’t have any.” Cass slid her arms around Major’s waist. She’d shift next—her scent overpowered me. “Who the hell is she? I don’t remember a Chandra growing up.” Her expression hardened, and she pulled Major back with more force than I expected. “We’ve had an enemy under our roof this whole time. Is she one of the Montana wolves? What has she done to X?”

  “I’d never hurt him. Even if I was your enemy, harming a wolf would go against everything I stand for as a veterinarian. There’s no right and wrong, just healing.” I scanned the room, stopping on Cass. She narrowed her eyes, wanting something I had no intention of giving her. A reason to doubt me. I swallowed hard. “I’m one of you. You’ll see tonight. I’ll fight.”

  “No,” Major snapped. “If you’re a Sawtooth she-wolf, we can’t send you into battle.”

  “Please.” All this time, waiting to run, and they planned to hold me prisoner? Hell no. “I’ve never been able to run the forest. Free.”

  “See?” Cass raised an eyebrow. She didn’t have a chance to say anything else, her back arched dramatically, and she fell to all fours, her shift in progress.

  Watching her transform was truly a thing of beauty, even if she hated my guts. Her brown fur was tipped with gold, and her body was sleek, power rippling below the surface. Her breath was noisy, and now she didn’t hesitate to come over and check me out. X growled at her, and she nipped at him. Good thing for her it was playful, because I would’ve torn into her.

  I had to get a hold of my emotions if I expected to survive this night.

  “Not convinced,” she sniffed, and returned to Major. He was seconds away from his own transformation.

  Connie, the woman Cass hired as a nanny for her daughter, came in the room. I’d never been happier to see her. She’d have my back. “You don’t have anything to worry about. Chandra’s my niece.”

  A collective gasp formed over the wolves. Like a bubble,
everything threatened to pop.

  Connie called me Christmas night, begging me to come immediately. X had been ripped apart and everyone feared the worst. It was my chance to join the Sawtooth pack, and I had no plans of letting him die.

  Cass’ daughter, Emma, came over wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck, burying her face in her fur.

  “I don’t trust you, either,” Cass growled, stalking over to Connie. “You tortured me when my husband was alive, and the only reason I gave you a second chance was because Emma loves you. Don’t make me regret my decision.”

  “She’s my aunt.” My heart pounded. X stayed by my side. He knew something they didn’t. “My parents left the forest when they found out they were pregnant. They didn’t want to sell me. When it was time for me to mate, they wanted me to have a choice.”

  Cass’ body relaxed. “That I can understand.” Her tone softened. “You have a lot to prove to us, Chandra.”

  I approached her, adrenaline speaking louder than experience. “I’ve been taking care of X like he was my family. Dropped my life to make sure your pack was taken care of. If that didn’t prove anything, you need to think about your priorities.”

  Cass growled, but I stood my ground.

  X returned to my side. The heat from his body comforted me before he came into view. “Knock it off. The last thing we need is more fighting, especially between ourselves. You don’t have anything to worry about, Cass.” He looked at me, the gold in his eyes like flowing lava. “Because Chandra’s my mate.”

  Chapter Two

  X

  It wasn’t a shock that Chandra was a wolf, but her shift was still a damn good surprise.

  I’d been close to death when they brought her to me. My insides exposed, breathing so painful I would’ve avoided it if I could have. Death had a firm grip on my paw--it took everything I had to shake free. Ember attacked me because I let my guard down, didn’t take a threat seriously. I learned my lesson. I’d never do it again.

  When a stranger had been trusted with my care, I didn’t forget what got me there. I watched her, studied her. At this point, I knew Chandra better than any other creature beside myself. As hard as our enemies tried to beat it out of me, I was always a wolf.

  Chandra and I had a lot in common. She’d come to us alone, vulnerable even though she was the one with the answers. I spent my time surrounded by my brothers, now their mates, and the rest of the pack, but I could sympathize. Major and Shea were a matched set, a dangerous mix of violence and ambition. I saved their asses on a regular basis. We made a great team, but I had some experience on the outside looking in.

  She was a damn good doctor. Her skill came from experience and most importantly, empathy. Intuition like hers didn’t come from a book, it came from a place much deeper than that. She put me back together with her hands and her heart. If it wasn’t for her, specifically her, there was no way I’d be headed out to fight tonight. That’s how I knew she was a wolf.

  And my mate.

  My declaration hung heavy in the living room, but we didn’t have time to explore it. Our world exploded: my brothers shifted, and the Channings circled the yard, waiting for us to join them in whatever battle waited for us in the forest. There always was one. I had to leave Chandra in her wolf form, needing so much more than I could give her right now.

  She was a wolf. Even if she didn’t know the reasons yet, deep down, she’d understand.

  I hated leaving Chandra with Cass tonight. We’d all grown up together, but Cass had been sold to the devil. The lazy, ungrateful son of my family’s bitter enemy got her, used her for her body, and treated her like garbage. My brother claimed Cass as his mate when the coward killed himself instead of fighting for what was his. Cass never belonged to her husband. If Chandra was telling the truth—and I believed she was—her family did her a favor by getting her away from here. Saved her years, if not a lifetime, of pain.

  Chandra was the only unpromised adult she-wolf in Sawtooth Forest.

  I had to make her mine.

  A month ago, that would’ve caused a war. It still could. We already had one on our hands, fighting for our land first, and that meant driving away what the packs had been starving for. She-wolves. A rogue pack from Montana with money and women had invaded Granger Falls and the only thing that was guaranteed was they were going to change everything. Loyalty, leadership, and the future.

  I was fucking anxious to be a part of the action again.

  “You shouldn’t have said that to Chandra,” my brother Major growled. “We don’t know who that wolf is. She could be spying for Ember. If we’d let her run with us tonight, she could’ve led us right to the enemy. She could’ve got us killed.”

  “If Chandra wanted me dead, she would’ve let me die.” I nudged him with my snout. After the attack, every breath felt like it could’ve been my last. Until Chandra arrived. “How did you know Cass was your mate?”

  “I just did.” He shook his head, lightening up a little. “Fine, but you need to watch your back until she proves herself.”

  “She could’ve left weeks ago, but she stayed. I don’t need any proof.” I took off running. I’d been aching for freedom. Now I was just hours away from being human, escaping this never-ending fight for the forest, and getting to know the woman who put me back together. I couldn’t fucking wait.

  “Slow down, man.” Major laughed as I ran beside him and Shadow. “You know the plan. Don’t attack. Play defense.”

  “Like hell we are,” I rumbled, and Shea howled, always ready for a fight. He never needed an excuse. “I get ahold of those bastards, I’m not holding back.”

  “We’re outmanned. The pack is smaller since last month. Some of the guys took Montana mates. It sucks, but I don’t blame them. If I didn’t have Trina, I can’t tell you what I would’ve done.” Shadow stopped, sniffing the air pensively. “They aren’t out yet. We can run. But when they come, remember, we hit them where it hurts. And that’s their wallets. We protect the town by any means necessary.”

  Shadow recently decided to run for mayor. Since I’d been a wolf for a month, I hadn’t been involved in his campaign, but this amused the hell out of me. I wondered how the humans of Granger Falls would vote if they knew how he took care of his enemies. He’d ripped Ryker, the wolf who’d kept us in chains and forced us to fight, weak and broken, in front of the very same people who’d be voting in this election, to shreds. The packs had a different brand of justice than the humans of Granger Falls, and I didn’t know how Shadow would reconcile the two. But no one could say he didn’t get shit done.

  Tonight was the Wolf Moon, and there was no better time to be back in action. I loved winter, and the cool January night felt amazing. I thought I’d been completely healed, but once I crunched my paws in the snow I knew how much I needed this. The forest, the pack, everything I’d fought so hard for. And soon, I’d be able to share it with Chandra. I wanted to take her out here for her first time, and experience the forest through her eyes.

  “Those guys have a different agenda.” Dallas trotted beside me. “But for the rest of us, this is personal. They kicked yours and Shea’s asses. Ember marked me. Let my brother hit them in the bank account, but I won’t be satisfied unless we hit them in the gut.”

  Shea joined us. Fighting was my younger brother’s favorite kind of currency.

  The three of us separated from Shadow and Major. They didn’t question anything as long as they knew where we were. They ran behind us. We were the first line of offense.

  “They didn’t have the balls to fight our alphas,” I reminded Dallas and Shea. “We have to show them we’re willing to do what they won’t. Are you ready to take on a female alpha?”

  Quiet fell over our group. We considered our she-wolves much differently than the Montana pack did. Rare like precious jewels, and just as expensive. Cass hadn’t run with us since the Montana pack invaded—we couldn’t risk losing her. She was our only hope for a future as a pack. If anything happened t
o her, there would be hell to pay.

  But Ember and her seemingly endless pack had a different reverence for their she-wolves. The females had a different kind of power—strength and seduction—and it was a fight we weren’t used to.

  Women had always been our weakness.

  “She didn’t get to be alpha without fighting.” Shea stood still, staring into the darkness. “And if she did, they’re a pack of fools. But I don’t believe that. They expect a fight. They stir shit up, that’s what they’re good at. It would be an insult if we refused to fight their alpha. Ember knows that.”

  “Since she didn’t fight ours,” I rumbled. “I held back last month, I didn’t take these assholes seriously. They punched us in the face, but we’re up off the mat. Let Shadow try to settle it like a human. We’ll take care of it like wolves.”

  “They’re coming.” Dallas shuddered.

  “Do you hear them? Or smell them?” Shea’s tail wagged, anxious for the fight.

  “I can taste her,” Dallas growled. Ember had bit him last month, and left him sick with need for his mate. He’d quelled the craving with a human, but with Ember this close, her power would roll through his body like an ocean storm.

  “Don’t puke, man.” Shea laughed. “It’ll start a chain reaction no one wants to deal with.”

  They came out of nowhere, just like they did last month. Red fur carpeted the forest, snarling and biting, three of them knocking Major down. They were used to victory, but they hadn’t dealt with underdogs like us before, and we never ran away from a fight. My brother got out from under his attackers easily, flipping them on his backs. Each one of us had multiple wolves to fight, and any plans went out the window. We were in survival mode, pure and simple.

  “Look at who it is. The ghosts of Granger Falls.” Ember threw her head back and howled. She could’ve been calling backup, or declaring to anyone within earshot she was there. “I’ll hang your heads in the lobby of my new resort. A memorial to when the forest was great.”