Carolina Moon

The Weight of the Crown: K.C.

I flashed Tess another smile before I drove out of the parking lot of Rebel Rose. The rumbling of the truck engine was loud, bleeding over the sound of the radio as I headed to work. I gripped the steering wheel tight, my knuckles turning white as I tried to stop the tempts that Tess had noticed.

I glanced at myself in the rear view mirror, I was pale, I could feel the sickness in me. It was like a constant, low-grade fever burning just under the surface of my skin. A result of my “lone wolf” status. I felt guilty for lying to Tess, but I would rather burn from the inside out than have her look at me like I’m a monster again.

I promised her that I’d spend my life making up to her what I’d caused in Kingsport. Unfortunately, I wasn’t sure how long that life was going to be.

The timber yard I worked at was on the edge of Cypress Hollow. It was loud, dusty, and physical, and it kept my wolf occupied through the day. I could focus my energy on the busy workday, and not think about what was building up inside me for a few hours.

Each day it became more taxing though. It was getting harder to contain the Alpha in me. Cody, one of the younger guys, had bumped into me while carrying some lumber, and it took everything I had not to let my wolf snap and snarl at him. My wild instincts were flaring up, and I had to step back. I needed a break, I needed to cool down.

I went out to my truck to get my water jug, taking deep breaths as I moved. I focused on the sound of heavy machinery and tried to calm my racing heart. I got to the truck and instantly, I knew something was off. My nostrils flared, taking in the scent of gum oil and expensive leather.

I nearly ripped the door off the hinges when I opened it. The stench of Kingsport hit me in waves. Someone was here, someone was watching me, and probably Tess too. I reached in to grab the jug and saw the flash of a silver-plated coin in the middle console. I straightened, my eyes scanning the tree line for anything that seemed out of place.

I tried to focus on work, but I was shaken. My wolf’s hackles felt permanently raised. I felt like I was still being watched, and I knew it wasn’t just paranoia. The end of the day couldn’t come fast enough. I thought about Tess. I thought about the date we had planned. Anything to calm my wolf and ease the tension in my shoulders.

The sun was dipping low beneath the trees when I clocked out for the day. I returned to my small cabin. It was empty, just the bare necessities. I’d left Kingsport with very little, intending to start over. That also meant not having access to the billions of Steelclaw dollars that I’d once had control of. Giving up every penny was worth it though if it meant getting a chance to make things right with Tess.

I spent an hour taking a cold shower, trying to shock my system into some semblance of a steady state. I turned off the water, wrapped a towel around myself, and retreated to my room to get dressed. I wore a pair of dark wash jeans, some worn leather boots, and a navy polo. I stood in front of the mirror, ran a hand through my wet hair, and watched as my eyes flickered between honey brown and the amber of the predator lurking beneath my skin.

I sucked in a deep breath, trying to keep my focus on Tess. I thought about the girl I used to know, the one that would stay up all night studying, and then fall asleep during lecture hall. The girl who liked walking around the lake at the local park and feeding the ducks. In Kingsport, I thought I’d lost her. She was rigid, cold, and defensive. That was my fault though. I thought about the woman in the sun dress at Rebel Rose. Her grandfather thought she was throwing away her career, wasting her degree, and maybe she was, but she was starting to look like the girl I remembered again.

I dragged a heavy hand down my face, flicked off the light, and headed for the front door. Just one night, I begged, pleading with myself, the moon goddess, or whoever was listening. Just give me one night to hold the sickness at bay, let me be K.C. for just one night before the Alpha has to deal with whatever ghost found us.

I picked Tess up in my truck, fixing my smile into place like a mask as I approached her front door. I’d thrown a flannel on over my polo, a shirt I found in the truck cab, to try and hide the fact that I was shivering, despite the fact that the late August evening was somewhere around eighty-five degrees.

We drove to the Salt Marsh Diner in relative quiet. The rumbling of the engine kept any good conversation at bay. I watched Tess out of the corner of my eye though. She looked radiant. She still wore her sundress and combat boots, but she’d tied her hair up in a high ponytail, and washed off the day’s makeup.

The smell of grease and salt air filled the tiny hole-in-the-wall spot. We were seated in a corner booth, and I immediately ordered a water. The words on the menu seemed to swim across the page. “They don’t really have much in the way of vegan options,” Tess commented.

“Yeah,” I croaked.

The waitress returned with our drinks, and Tess tapped the many contemplatively. “Could I just do a salad? With the balsamic vinaigrette?”

“Of course, and for you hun?” the waitress, an older woman, turned to me.

“I’ll take the t-bone, medium rare. With fries.” My voice came out low and raspy. I could feel Tess’s eyes on me, her auditor brain working as she assessed me.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she finally asked.

“Yeah,” I nodded, picking up my glass. I downed half of it in one go. “How was your day? Anything exciting at the shop?”

The silence between us seemed to stretch forever before she finally answered, “Just another day. I finally processed the rest of the boxes from the last truck. Sylvie saw the new display when she came in for the evening shift. She loved it. You do amazing work, you know? You could go into business for yourself instead of working at the lumber yard.”

I shrugged, a small, almost unnoticeable gesture, “I don’t know. I don’t think there’s a lot of demand for custom carpentry out here.”

“You’d be surprised. Plus, you could extend your business to other nearby towns. Even Charleston. It’s only two hours away.”

Our food was sat in front of us, and the conversation fizzled out for the most part while we ate. My hand shook as I cut my steak, and I could feel Tess’s eyes on me again. I tried to ignore it, but I felt my wolf stand up, hackles raised as a black sedan pulled into the parking lot. The windows were tinted so dark they were nearly opaque. Every muscle in my body tensed, and for a moment, I thought I saw Tess tense too.

I felt the silver coin burning a hole in my memory as I stared at the car. It was too sleek for Cypress Hollow, too predatory. It didn’t belong in a town where people left their porch lights on and drove trucks that were held together with rust and a prayer.

Across from me, Tess’s hand twitched. Her fingers grazed the pocket of her sundress, pressing against something hidden there. My heart did a slow, heavy roll in my chest. She was keeping a secret, and I knew that look. It was the same look she had when she shut down Darian’s grid.

She wasn’t just worried about my health. She was worried about us.

The cat didn’t park. It just idled near the entrance. Its headlights cut through the diner windows like search lights. My wolf was howling now. The Alpha energy hit the bottleneck in my throat. I had to get her out of here. If I shifted in the middle of a diner, there would be no coming back from it.

“Tess,” my voice sounded like it was being dragged over gravel. I reached out and covered her hand with mine. My skin was scorching, and my fingers still trembled. “We should go.”

She didn’t argue. She didn’t even ask for a box. She just nodded, her eyes darting from the sedan, then back to me. “Okay.”

I threw a handful of twenties on the table — far more than the cost of our check — and guided her toward the door. I put my body between her and the window, my hackles so high, they felt like needles under the flannel.

The humidity hit us like a wall as we stepped out into the gravel lot. The black sedan sat twenty feet away, the engine a low, expensive purr. For a second, I thought the door would open. I thought a ghost in a charcoal suit or a Steelclaw enforcer would step out and end this dream right here.

But the car just shifted into gear. It rolled slowly past us, the driver’s window stayed up, but I caught the scent as it passed. It wasn’t Darian. It wasn’t the sandalwood of the new Silvercrest Alpha. It was the metallic and sharp, but not something I recognized.

“K.C., your eyes,” Tess whispered, her voice tight with panic.

I caught my reflection in the truck’s window as I unlocked the door. They weren’t honey brown anymore. They were glowing a brilliant, frantic amber that lit up the dark.

“Get in,” I growled, not because I was angry at her, but because the Alpha was finally winning the fight for control.

I rounded the truck and climbed into the driver’s seat, my vision narrowing. I didn’t pull out of the parking lot immediately. I gripped the steering wheel, my head falling back against the headrest as I fought for control.

“K.C., look at me,” Tess said. She reached over, her hand steady as she turned my face towards her. She didn’t look afraid. She looked like she was calculating a problem, auditing the damage. “I found a note today, in the blankets of the display rack.”

I froze. “What did it say?”

She pulled the cream colored card from her pocket and held it out. “A king without a kingdom is just a target.”

I let out a breath that was half-sob and half-growl. The two worlds were colliding. Our ghosts were meeting in the middle of Cypress Hollow, and we were standing right on the impact zone.

“I found a silver coin in my truck,” I confessed, the words tumbling out. “Kingsport is looking for me. We aren’t as invisible as I thought, Tess.” My eyes finally started to fade back to a dull brown as the confession bled off some of the pressure. “I promised I’d make it up to you. I promised you a quiet life.”

Tess reached out again, her thumb tracing my jawline. “You did. But maybe ‘quiet’ isn’t really in the cards for people like us.” She looked out at the dark road ahead. “If they want a target, let them look, but they’ll find out I’m still the one holding the books.”

I started the engine, the familiar rumble grounding me. We were being hunted. But as I looked at the woman beside me, the same one who had dismantled a billion-dollar grid with a thumbprint, I realized I wasn’t the only one in this truck with teeth.