Chapter One
Aviana Novak. Timid raven shifter, Gray Back, proud mate to Easton Novak…and liar. Liar. Just the thought of the word curdled her stomach.
She’d never lied to Easton before, and she sure chose a monster fib to begin with. He was going to hate her. Okay, perhaps hate was too strong a word, but he was definitely going to freak out. And for Easton—or as he liked to be called, Beaston—freaking out meant fighting with the other male Gray Backs. Beaston didn’t have the best control over his animal, and though the entire crew had accepted that long ago, riling him up wasn’t in anyone’s best interest.
Aviana pulled on her second snow boot over her jeans and stood. Her reflection looked pallid in the dresser mirror, and with shaking hands, she slid a light touch over the slight swell of her stomach. If she didn’t tell him soon, he would notice her changing shape. Face crumpling and tears burning her eyes, she yanked her gaze away from the reflective glass and pulled an oversize pink sweater over her long, black hair. It settled at her hips and gave her a lumpy shape. “Just tell him,” she murmured.
But the thought of what she would say turned her middle sour and made her hands shake worse. Beaston would be hurt by her betrayal.
A loud whistle sounded from the Grayland Mobile Park a couple hundred yards away. Aviana lived in a singlewide trailer behind the park with her mate, close enough that they were still a part of the Gray Back Crew, but far enough away that Beaston’s bear could handle living with others of his own kind.
The whistle signaled that Willa, second in the Gray Backs, or “Almost Alpha” as she called herself, had heard the trucks coming down from the landing.
A wave of nerves and excitement churned inside her. She was going to see her beloved Beaston. Maybe today she would be strong enough to tell him. It was a few days before Christmas, and perhaps he would see it as a gift, not a betrayal. The tiny baby she already loved more than her own life was a blessing. Perhaps her dread was for no reason.
But no. She’d been there right after his mother had died during childbirth. She’d been there when Beaston had broken as a result.
Just tell him.
God, she wished she was strong like Willa. Or Gia, Georgia, or Clara. All of the Gray Back women were complete badasses, and then there was her. Aviana bit her lip as punishment for being such a wimp. Sometimes she felt like the weakest link in the entire crew.
Heart drumming against her sternum, she pulled her heavy winter jacket off the peg near the front door and made her way carefully down the snow-dusted stairs. Beaston was very good about sweeping them, but it had been snowing for most of the afternoon while he was stripping lumber up in the mountains. She smiled at how well he took care of her. Beaston had been broken in his childhood, but he’d grown up to be a caring man and the most incredible mate she could’ve ever wished for.
Gah, her stomach was in knots as she made her way down the snowy trail through the thin evergreen woods that separated her and Beaston’s trailer from the rest. Clara was sitting on the porch stairs of the old singlewide trailer, 1010, lacing up a pair of fur-lined snow boots. Her curly, red hair waved this way and that in the breeze, and when she’d tied the laces, she looked up at Aviana with a ready smile.
“You won’t be able to tie your own shoes pretty soon,” Aviana teased.
“He was kicking like a little fiend this morning. Damon has made me a bet that our little man is a feisty little bruin grizzly.” Clara stretched back on her locked arms, cheeks rosy with pleasure as she pushed her round belly forward. Six months pregnant, and Clara had never looked lovelier. Or happier.
The smile faded from Aviana’s lips. Beaston wouldn’t react to her news like Clara’s mate had reacted to hers.
Clara frowned. “What’s got you looking like a bluebird? Get it? Blue?
Aviana Novak. Timid raven shifter, Gray Back, proud mate to Easton Novak…and liar. Liar. Just the thought of the word curdled her stomach.
She’d never lied to Easton before, and she sure chose a monster fib to begin with. He was going to hate her. Okay, perhaps hate was too strong a word, but he was definitely going to freak out. And for Easton—or as he liked to be called, Beaston—freaking out meant fighting with the other male Gray Backs. Beaston didn’t have the best control over his animal, and though the entire crew had accepted that long ago, riling him up wasn’t in anyone’s best interest.
Aviana pulled on her second snow boot over her jeans and stood. Her reflection looked pallid in the dresser mirror, and with shaking hands, she slid a light touch over the slight swell of her stomach. If she didn’t tell him soon, he would notice her changing shape. Face crumpling and tears burning her eyes, she yanked her gaze away from the reflective glass and pulled an oversize pink sweater over her long, black hair. It settled at her hips and gave her a lumpy shape. “Just tell him,” she murmured.
But the thought of what she would say turned her middle sour and made her hands shake worse. Beaston would be hurt by her betrayal.
A loud whistle sounded from the Grayland Mobile Park a couple hundred yards away. Aviana lived in a singlewide trailer behind the park with her mate, close enough that they were still a part of the Gray Back Crew, but far enough away that Beaston’s bear could handle living with others of his own kind.
The whistle signaled that Willa, second in the Gray Backs, or “Almost Alpha” as she called herself, had heard the trucks coming down from the landing.
A wave of nerves and excitement churned inside her. She was going to see her beloved Beaston. Maybe today she would be strong enough to tell him. It was a few days before Christmas, and perhaps he would see it as a gift, not a betrayal. The tiny baby she already loved more than her own life was a blessing. Perhaps her dread was for no reason.
But no. She’d been there right after his mother had died during childbirth. She’d been there when Beaston had broken as a result.
Just tell him.
God, she wished she was strong like Willa. Or Gia, Georgia, or Clara. All of the Gray Back women were complete badasses, and then there was her. Aviana bit her lip as punishment for being such a wimp. Sometimes she felt like the weakest link in the entire crew.
Heart drumming against her sternum, she pulled her heavy winter jacket off the peg near the front door and made her way carefully down the snow-dusted stairs. Beaston was very good about sweeping them, but it had been snowing for most of the afternoon while he was stripping lumber up in the mountains. She smiled at how well he took care of her. Beaston had been broken in his childhood, but he’d grown up to be a caring man and the most incredible mate she could’ve ever wished for.
Gah, her stomach was in knots as she made her way down the snowy trail through the thin evergreen woods that separated her and Beaston’s trailer from the rest. Clara was sitting on the porch stairs of the old singlewide trailer, 1010, lacing up a pair of fur-lined snow boots. Her curly, red hair waved this way and that in the breeze, and when she’d tied the laces, she looked up at Aviana with a ready smile.
“You won’t be able to tie your own shoes pretty soon,” Aviana teased.
“He was kicking like a little fiend this morning. Damon has made me a bet that our little man is a feisty little bruin grizzly.” Clara stretched back on her locked arms, cheeks rosy with pleasure as she pushed her round belly forward. Six months pregnant, and Clara had never looked lovelier. Or happier.
The smile faded from Aviana’s lips. Beaston wouldn’t react to her news like Clara’s mate had reacted to hers.
Clara frowned. “What’s got you looking like a bluebird? Get it? Blue?
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