by J. L. Wilder
Donovan, with his hard exterior and immense strength that masked the gentlest heart she’d ever known.
Pax, quick-witted and always ready with a joke, affectionate and playful.
And Victor, who had made himself so difficult to love—once she had gotten him to open up, he had let himself become so vulnerable with her.
They were all so strong. But they were all so loving, too.
She knew what would happen if they caught her family by surprise. Her brother Caleb was a good person, and she loved him, but he was eager to prove himself as an alpha. She’d seen how eager he had been for confrontation when he had heard the news that a southerner was coming to spy on their pack.
Caleb wants a fight.
The only way to stop it was for Lily to be there. And if her alphas weren’t going to let her come along, she would go without them.
But she wouldn’t have another chance. She knew that. It was only by a stroke of luck that she had the freedom to leave them behind right now. If Victor had thought to tell her to wait where she was, or to come along with him to find the others, she would have been stuck.
She had to seize the moment. She had to act.
She waited until she had covered about a half-mile, then stopped and pulled off her dress. Gripping the fabric between her teeth, she started to run again, and as she did, she shifted.
It was an instant relief to be in wolf form. Her stride became longer and more powerful, every push of her legs propelling her forward. She could move more quickly like this. She could put more distance between herself and her alphas, reducing their odds of catching her before she could find and speak to Caleb.
She was also much, much more aware of the woods around her.
She listened for the sound of footfalls, the gait of either a man or a wolf chasing her. She heard nothing.
If I can get far enough away before they realize I’m gone...
She knew there wasn’t much chance of her getting so far from them that they wouldn’t be able to track her. But that didn’t really matter. She wanted them to come after her. She wanted them to come north. It was just that she wanted to be there with them.
Ideally, she wanted to be there first.
She didn’t slow her pace until the sun began to descend in the sky. The topography around her was beginning to look familiar, and she knew she was getting close to home.
She paused beside an oak tree, resumed her human form, and put on her dress. It would be harder to track down members of her family in this form, but it would be much easier to make her intentions known once she saw them if she had the ability to talk.
Once she was dressed, Lily headed in the direction of the cave. That was the most likely place to find people. There would be someone there. If she was lucky, it would be her mother or one of her sisters—someone who would be inclined to listen before acting. Someone who would let her explain herself.
But she had only gone a few yards when a shocked voice called out her name. “Lily?”
She turned.
Her sister Carolyn was standing behind her, staring at her as if she had seen a ghost.
For a moment, the two sisters just looked at one another, taking each other in. Lily wondered whether Carolyn thought she was seeing things.
Then Carolyn broke into a run. She darted to Lily’s side and caught her up in her arms. “Oh my God!” she cried. “We all thought you were dead, or kidnapped, or something horrible! Where have you been? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” Lily said, a little laugh escaping her. She hadn’t realized what a joy it would be to see family again. “God, Carolyn, it’s great to see you.”
“It’s great to see you!” Carolyn hugged her again. “Where have you been all this time?”
“Well...it’s kind of a long story.”
“Caleb’s going to want to see you right away!” Carolyn took her hand and began to tow her in the direction of the cave.
“Wait a minute.” Lily took her hand back. “Let me tell you what’s been going on first.”
“No, you can’t tell me first, silly,” Carolyn said. “We need to get you to Caleb immediately. He’ll never get over it if he isn’t the first to know.”
Lily hesitated. She hadn’t wanted to tell Caleb her news first. She had hoped to get a few more people on her side, to practice telling her story before she had to try telling it to her most volatile brother.
But Carolyn was right that she would have to face him eventually. Maybe it made more sense to just do it than to try to put it off.
“All right,” she agreed, allowing her sister to lead her. “I’ll talk to him.”
“That dress is new, isn’t it?” Carolyn asked. “It looks new.”
It wasn’t actually new—Lily had been given a few clothes by the female betas of the Vancouver Pack, castoffs that they no longer needed. But the colors were much less faded than anything she had owned while living in the Arctic.
She dodged her sister’s question by asking one of her own. “Did everyone really think I had died?” The idea made her feel terribly guilty. She had never intended to cause anyone grief.
“We didn’t know what to think,” Carolyn said. “We knew that southern shifter was around, that he was spying on our pack. And then you just disappeared. Everyone assumed the two things were related. And we knew that couldn’t mean anything good.”
Lily swallowed. It sounded like her family had already made a lot of assumptions.
“But you’re all right!” Carolyn said happily. “Everyone’s going to be so glad, Lily. Mother’s been going absolutely insane.”
Lily felt horrible. She had known that her mother would be worried about her, of course. That was one of the main reasons she’d wanted to reunite with the Arctic Wolf Pack in the first place.
But now she thought about the fact that her mother had been treated badly at the hands of a southern alpha. Would she be able to accept the fact that her daughter had been imprinted upon by and mated with three men from the south? Would she be able to be happy that Lily was carrying her alphas’ babies? Or would she see that as a tragedy, or a betrayal?
The cave came into view. Even though she was nervous about how her family would react to seeing her again, Lily couldn’t help feeling a burst of happiness. This had been her home for so long, and in spite of the complicated circumstances, it was good to see it again.
“Caleb!” Carolyn called. “Caleb, come out here!”
“Stop yelling,” Lily begged. The last thing she needed was for her brother to be on the defensive when he saw her.
Caleb came striding out of the cave, looking pale and tired, his hair a mess. “What?” he demanded. “I was just about to get the first nap I’ve had in over thirty hours, for fuck’s sake.”
Carolyn pulled Lily forward. “Look who’s back,” she said.
Caleb stared. He blinked. “Lily?”
“Hi, Caleb,” Lily said.
Caleb strode across the clearing in front of the cave and swept her up in a hug, and for a moment, Lily forgot all her worries. Caleb could be bossy, and she knew how thirsty he was to prove himself, but he was still her big brother.
At length, he stepped back and looked at her. “You’re all right,” he said.
“I’m all right.”
“You’re not hurt at all? Have you been harmed?”
“No,” she told him. “I’m completely fine, Caleb. Better than fine.”
He nodded. “Then do you mind telling me where the hell you’ve been?”
She steeled herself for his wrath. “I ran away,” she said.
Carolyn gasped.
“Why would you do such a stupid thing?” Caleb demanded. “Do you know what could have happened to you out there? Imagine if you had met another shifter!”
“But I did,” Lily said. “I met three of them. Alphas. And they imprinted on me, and—”
She stopped. Caleb was staring at her as if he didn’t know who she was.
“You
’ve been imprinted on?” he asked. “Mated?”
“Yes,” she said. “And that’s not all, Caleb. I’m—”
He cut her off before she could tell him the news of her pregnancy. “Who are these men?” he demanded. “Are they here? I want to meet them.”
She frowned. “Why are you angry about this?”
“I would have liked to have the chance to approve your potential mates,” he said. “It’s not a good idea for an omega to go mixing it up with the first idiot that comes along.”
“They’re not idiots, Caleb.”
“You need someone to judge that for you,” he said.
“What? You don’t think I can make my own decisions about who I want?”
“That’s right,” he said. “I don’t. How could you possibly know something like that? You’re too young, and too inexperienced.”
“For God’s sake. You’re only a year older than I am.”
“But I’ve seen more,” he said. “And besides, I’m your alpha.”
“No, you’re not,” Lily said. “I have three alphas, and none of them are you.”
Carolyn’s eyes widened, as if she couldn’t believe anyone would dare speak to Caleb that way.
“But I want you to meet them,” Lily said. “They’re coming north to meet you. I came ahead of them to prepare you, to let the family know to expect them. I want you to like them, Caleb.”
“I wouldn’t count on anything,” he grumbled.
Then his eyes narrowed. “What do you mean, they’re coming north?”
Her heart skipped. She hadn’t intended to deliver the news like that. But he had picked up on the most significant word in her sentence, and now there was no choice but to tell him everything.
“They’re southerners,” she said.
Carolyn gasped again.
Caleb stared at her.
“How did you meet southerners?” he asked her slowly.
“When I ran away—”
“Don’t try to tell me that you ran south,” he said. “Even you aren’t that stupid.”
“Oh my God,” Carolyn said. “She didn’t go south. The southerners were up here.”
“You’re mated to the one who was here to spy on us?” Caleb exclaimed.
“Caleb, we were spying on them!” Lily cried. “That’s the only way we knew they were sending someone up here in the first place! You can’t claim the moral high ground here.”
“We were spying on them because they’re our enemies, Lily.” Caleb turned to Carolyn. “Go back to the cave,” he said. “Tell everyone. Make sure they don’t go anywhere. We’re going to need to strategize.”
Carolyn hurried off, glancing over her shoulder at Lily as she went.
“Strategize for what?” Lily asked.
“How many are coming?” he asked her. “Is it just the three alphas you mentioned? Or are there more?”
“Strategize for what, Caleb?”
“Lily,” he said. “We have to defend our territory.”
“They’re not attacking! They’re coming to meet you because I asked them to! I promised them you wouldn’t be aggressive. I promised you would listen to me.”
“You can’t make promises on behalf of this pack,” he told her. “I’m the alpha. It’s my job to make these decisions. I have to do whatever I can to keep the family safe.”
“The family isn’t unsafe! They’re not coming to attack.”
“But it’s too good an opportunity to waste, either way,” Caleb said. “Can’t you see that? Three alphas from the south? It’s the perfect chance to demonstrate our dominance over them and prevent them from trying to come up here again.”
She trembled. “They’re only here because of me,” she said. “They’re my alphas, and they came up here because I asked them to. And you’re going to fight them?”
“I have to do this, Lily.”
“You’re my brother.”
“And they’re our sworn enemies. You should never have gotten involved with them in the first place.”
She looked up at him, pleading with him to understand. “Do you really think I had a choice?” she asked. “Do you think it was a conscious decision? When an imprint happens...that’s physical, Caleb. That’s biological. I couldn’t choose not to be with them any more than I could choose not to eat food.”
“You should never have run away,” he said. “You should never have put yourself in a position to allow this to happen in the first place.”
“The family was never going to let me have a chance to meet anyone,” she pointed out. “I’ve been waiting years to find an alpha. It finally happened for me.”
“I’m sorry I have to fight them,” he said. He did sound genuinely regretful. “It doesn’t give me any pleasure to do it. But I need to show that the northern wolves are dominant over the southern ones. If I can, I’ll try to run them off without hurting them.”
Lily shook her head. “You’re too confident,” she said. “I’m worried they’re going to hurt you, Caleb.”
He chuckled. “I think I can handle southerners. They’re not exactly tough.”
“They’re not what you think they are,” she said. “You’ve been wrong about them for a long time."
But it was clear that he wasn’t listening. He put a hand on her arm. “Come on,” he said. “I should get you to safety before the fight starts. And I need to strategize with the others.”
“I’m not going with you,” Lily said.
“Well, I can’t very well let you go back and tell the southerners they’re walking into an ambush.” Caleb’s grip on her tightened.
She couldn’t go with him. If she did, her alphas would be walking into an ambush. She knew they were strong fighters, but if Caleb and his pack knew they were coming—
She summoned her strength and struck him across the face, hard.
He was so startled that his grip on her arm loosened. “What the fuck?” he asked, lifting a hand to his jaw.
“You’ve been pushing me around all my life,” she said. “That’s over, Caleb.”
He snarled and started toward her. She backed away, reaching blindly behind her, and her hand closed around something hard. A fallen tree branch.
She swung it at him. He barely jumped out of the way in time. “They’ve made a savage out of you!” he cried.
“They’ve let me see my own strength,” she argued. “You always held me down. They’ve lifted me up, Caleb.”
He sprang at her and tackled her to the ground. The air left her body in a rush as she hit.
She stared up at him, realizing that it was hopeless. She might be more sure of herself than she had ever been, but he was still her older brother and the alpha of the pack. He would always be stronger than she was.
Still, Lily tried to pull away, but it was useless. “Don’t worry,” he added. “You’ll be perfectly safe. And once it’s over, I’ll come and get you.”
He pulled her away. She had no choice but to stumble after him, her heart racing, her mind spinning.
What was going to happen when the southerners arrived?
Chapter Sixteen
DONOVAN
“I don’t see any way around it,” Victor said. “We have to get her out of there.”
Donovan sighed. “She’s not going to forgive us for this in a hurry,” he said. “But I think you’re right. Pax, are you willing to sit this one out?”
Pax was pale. “If it turns into a fight, you’re going to need me,” he said. “I don’t like this.”
“If it turns into a fight, we should outnumber them,” Victor said. “We have all the Vancouver betas on our side, and all the Moose Jaw betas as well. There are plenty of strong fighters among us. Losing one person isn’t going to make that much of a difference.”
“It could,” Pax said. “You never know, in a fight. And we don’t know how many of them there are. You’re only assuming that we’ll have the numbers.”
“We’re two packs,” Donovan said. “They’re one.�
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“But their territory is bigger,” Pax said. “They’re the whole Arctic Circle. You don’t know how many more feral wolves they’ve pulled into their pack in the past twenty years. They could be huge by now.”
“We’re just going to have to hope it doesn’t come to a fight,” Victor said. “None of us want to fight them.”
Pax sighed. “I know that.”
“And we have to get Lily out,” Victor went on.
“He’s right, Pax,” Donovan said. He felt bad for the position they were putting their fellow alpha in, but he wasn’t sure what else to do. “I’d be happier going into a potential fight with you by my side. Believe me. But if I don’t know for sure that Lily is safe, I’ll be useless.”
“You’re right,” Pax said. “I don’t think much of any of this, but you’re right. We do need to get her out of here.” He shook his head. “I just wish we’d thought of this before we started north. She’s going to hate having to turn back now.”
“Maybe you don’t have to,” Victor said. “The two of you could wait here. Camp out for a few days. We could come back and get you when the coast is clear. That way you wouldn’t have to go all the way back down to Vancouver.”
Pax nodded. “That’s a little easier to stomach,” he said. “I’m sure Lily will feel the same way.
“Let’s go tell her, then,” Victor said.
He led the way out of camp and into the trees. But they hadn’t been walking for long when he came to a sudden stop.
Donovan could smell the fear radiating off of his friend. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“I left her right here,” Victor said.
Donovan frowned. “Did she go back to camp? We would have seen her, wouldn’t we?”
“I’d assume so...”
“Lily!” Pax yelled.
There was no answer.
“Split up,” Victor said, his face bone white. “We have to find her quickly. Alert the betas. Comb the whole area.”
Donovan set off at a run toward the encampment where he knew the Moose Jaw betas were stopped for the night. He found them quickly. His second-in-command, Samuel, was stoking a fire, but he got to his feet when he saw Donovan approach.
