Amber

by Sherry Foster

  Don’t care. Say mate here all night. Human not know lie.

  See, now that is just wrong. You should not be able to lie. I have to quit reading out loud.

  You worry much like old lady missing kids.

  What? What old lady? What the hell?

  Kids missing. Old lady worry. Kids party, lie to mom.

  Son of a— stop bringing book plots in to this to justify your—your— imagination.

  Do whatever to protect mate. Say he ran over self. Find car. Burn car they not smell her.

  Stop talking. You aren’t helping. Humans can’t smell her anyway. They will look for her fingerprints.

  Burn car.

  Look, we have to find out what happened first. We don’t even know if the guy is dead. How did you get so…so… criminally minded?

  He will be.

  I know that. We will kill him. Totally beside the point. You should be helping me figure out what to do about her pack.

  No problem. Tell them true-mate. Can prove. Have to let us have her. Is law.

  I don’t think it is a law. I mean, it is common practice but we don’t have a law says the pack has to let female go if true-mate.

  Is law now. I make law.

  You can’t make law.

  Can. You say so.

  When the hell did I say you could make up laws?

  Is when we not fight for pack. You say we make our own way. Our territory my word law.

  I didn’t mean we could make laws for other packs. This is our territory. We marked it. We made it ours. Here, in our territory, our word is law. If we had a pack we would be the Alpha and our word would be law for pack. We have no pack so our word is only law if someone comes into our territory.

  See. I right. Need pack.

  How are you right? I just explained how you are not right.

  We in our territory. We Alpha of our territory. Our word law. Mate here.

  Oh. Yeah. You’re right. Damn. Why didn’t I think of that?

  You idiot. Told you that. Now see.

  I am not an idiot. Well, maybe a little otherwise I would not read to you so much.

  Mate waking up. In pain. You fix.

  Dylan looked over to see Amber’s eyelashes flutter as she moaned. He jumped up and headed for the kitchen for a glass of juice. When he returned with the juice and some Panadol she was stretching and looking around. She smiled when she saw him and her eyes brightened when she saw what he had.

  “You must have read my mind.”

  “Not me. I can’t take the credit for it. My wolf said you were waking up and in pain.”

  “Smart wolf.” Amber held out her hand for the juice but Dylan stood transfixed with a pained look on his face. She waved her hand in front of him.

  “I wish you hadn’t said that?” he told her ruefully.

  “Said what?”

  “That I have a smart wolf. You have started him on another monologue about how wonderful he is and since I am the only one who can hear him, I get the joy of listening to him.”

  “What’s it like? Having a wolf inside of you?”

  Dylan smiled and shrugged one shoulder up. “It is like always having your best friend around to talk to but— I don’t know how to describe it. You can see through their eyes when you are a wolf, and they can see through your eyes when you aren’t. You feel what they feel and they feel what you feel but you don’t always interpret things the same way.”

  “What do you mean? Don’t you feel the same about everything?”

  “Not really. That’s why we argue.”

  “Do you ever win?”

  “What makes you think I ever lose?”

  Amber looked at him, just stared. Finally he started to fidget.

  “It isn’t like I lose.”

  “So what is it like?”

  Dylan drew a breath in and exhaled loudly. “Wolves aren’t restricted by the notion of human laws. They aren’t restricted by the same morals. That is why, when you have a rogue, this is my theory and may be wrong so don’t take this as fact okay?

  “Sure, tell me your theory on rogues. Are you a rogue?”

  “What? No! Why would you think that?”

  “Because everyone knows a wolf needs a pack or they go rogue.”

  “That is not—” Dylan closed his eyes and reached up to massage the bridge of his nose. He was silent long enough Amber thought she might have to prompt him again but before she could he dropped his hand and opened his eyes. “A wolf needs a pack but having no pack doesn’t make them rogue. I have a theory about them. You see, wolves only see and hear what the human aspect sees and hears. They can’t form new feelings beyond instinct unless the human aspect pushes those emotions toward the wolf. Now what I think is— if you have a lonely or unhappy person and they don’t stay in communication with their wolf then the wolf is being constantly bombarded by the loneliness and unhappiness of their other half. They push those feelings back and eventually the feeling is just rebounding between the two. If they stay in constant communication with their wolf then the wolf can help ground them. What wolf could ever be unhappy when you turn them free to run? But back to the theory. The wolf stays cooped up because the person can feel the wolf is unhappy and that makes them unhappy then they become afraid of what the wolf might do if they let them run free. They don’t want to turn rogue so they shut the unhappy wolf down even more, locking them tighter within themselves until the wolf is just a feral creature who wants nothing more than to eat and mate.”

  “Well that doesn’t sound right.”

  “No? What’s wrong with it?” Dylan sat, twisting slightly so he faced her, and placed one arm behind her on the back of the couch.

  Amber never noticed when she leaned into his arm. He did but he managed to keep the grin off his face. He knew she was too young to feel the pull, and after what she had been through in the last few hours the last thing he wanted to do was claim she was now his mate. If she thought having no pack meant going rogue she wouldn’t believe him. Well, she might, but he wouldn’t take the chance, not yet.

  “If you get upset you can’t hold your wolf. I have seen a couple of the guys in my pack loose control of their wolves and they aren’t rogue. So if you can loose control, not just you but any of the guys, when you get upset then it stands to reason the wolf would just take over and go for a run when they needed to get away.”

  “Have you ever seen a female lose control of her wolf?”

  “Well, no, but that’s different.”

  “How, exactly, is it different?”

  “Because the males only lose control around their—” Amber’s eyes got wide and her mouth dropped open.

  “Go on. The males only lose control around their what?”

  But Amber didn’t answer. She was too busy thinking over everything that had happened in the last few hours. After being kidnapped by Fletcher and going through the terror she had gone through the last thing she should have ever done was trust an unknown wolf living in the middle of no where with no pack. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at Dylan.

  She know. She smart.

  Well would we fall for someone who wasn’t smart?

  Do you think she will read to me?

  Holy hell. How can you worry about something like that now?

  Stories important. People stupid. Get to laugh at stupid people in stories. Some people great warriors, like me. Heroes.

  “How long have you known?” Amber called his attention back from his internal conversation.

  “Since you crossed the boundary to my territory.”

  “Your territory? You have no pack so how do you have a territory? And where is the boundary for it?”

  “From the corner of Burnette highway and Memeramba road. My territory runs along both highways starting a few feet from the highway. I didn’t want to feel every shifter that took one of those roads. But when you stepped off the road to hide from the cars, you stepped into my territory and we felt you and came looking.”

  “B
ut you didn’t say anything?”

  “You were running from something and I am a single wolf living away from pack in a time when rogues are too plentiful. You don’t feel the pull, how could I prove to you what I am, what we are? The best way to prove a true-mating, to the female and her pack, is to hide the female where the male can’t track her by scent and watch him go straight to her using the pull of the wolf.” He gestured around, “Where would you hide? You need a car, which I don’t have, to get your scent off the ground and far enough away I can’t track you. What would be the point of telling you we were true-mates when I met you if the only thing it would accomplish was causing you fear?”

  “You don’t have a car? How do you get around? You can’t go grocery shopping with your wolf and the nearest town is too far to just walk there and back, isn’t it?”

  “How many groceries do you think a single male needs, no don’t answer that. I let my wolf hunt often and I have a motorcycle. I can’t carry much on my bike but then again, I only cook for myself and I don’t need much.” He let out a deep sigh before continuing. “My mum comes to visit once a month and she brings food. She doesn’t trust me to shop for myself and keep the house provisioned with enough healthy food.”

  “So why don’t you live with your mum? Who takes care of her? Does she have a pack?”

  “I don’t live with mum because, really? Dad takes care of mum. They both belong to Trevor’s pack.”

  “Then why don’t you belong to Trevor’s pack? Did you get thrown out? Are you sure you aren’t rogue?”

  “Yes, I’m sure I’m not rogue. Trevor and I still get along moderately well. I did not get thrown out of his pack. I left voluntarily, with Trevor’s blessing. If I were to run into trouble I would call his pack for help. But not for personal trouble, more for a shifter problem. For instance if several rogues passed though my territory, more than I thought we could take on, I would alert Trevor because he has more people. If I found a single female who needed help, I would call Trevor. Well, not for you, I meant a single, not my mate, female. If you weren’t my mate, and you didn’t belong to Edward’s pack, I would send you to Trevor. Even if you said you belonged to someone else’s pack.”

  “Why, if a female showed up in your territory and told you she belonged with someone’s pack would you then call Trevor and not her pack?”

  “Because if she is out here alone that means her pack didn’t protect her and may not be worthy of her. Well, before you told your story that would have been my thinking. I never imagined a female would go running off with a male not her own to see a festival with no guards. Maybe I don’t know as much about females as I thought.”

  “Never mind that, I want to know why you left Trevor’s pack? Why would anyone leave a pack?”

  “I will make you a deal. You tell me what happened after you told Fletcher no and I will tell you why I left the pack.”

  Amber held her hand out, “You have yourself a deal. Who goes first?”

  “Well, since all your story is going to do is enrage me on your behalf, why don’t I start. I warn you my story is short.”

  She shrugged, “That’s okay, I don’t mind short stories.”

  Dylan laughed, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I left Trevor’s pack because a pack can’t have two Alpha’s.”

  Amber waited and waited, eyebrows raised she finally asked, “And?”

  “What do you mean and? I told you it was a short story.”

  “Yeah, but there’s short and then there’s a one sentence statement with nothing to explain the reasoning. Which is what your story turned out to be, no explanation. I wanted details.”

  “I’m not sure how many details I could add to that. A pack can’t have two Alphas. That’s the story.”

  “So why did you leave? Trevor’s pack doesn’t have two Alphas.”

  “Not anymore.”

  “Trevor’s pack has never had two Alphas. They would have fought until one, ohhhh, you left so you wouldn’t have to fight him for the pack.”

  Told you our mate smart.

  “Exactly. If an Alpha is aware of his pack, I mean really knows them well, he can feel the, spirit or soul of a male is going to be an Alpha when he is growing up. Not every male has the soul of an Alpha and even if they have the soul that doesn’t mean they have what it takes to become an Alpha. Some make great Beta’s. Close to an Alpha, they could hold a pack for a while, but generally they would never hold it long. Trevor watched me grow, he took me in to train me, but he has no desire to step down any time soon. Why should he? But I don’t have whatever it is that makes a Beta and he already has a Beta, so I had to make a choice. And, like I said, a pack can’t have two Alphas so when my wolf started pushing I talked with Trevor and left the pack. We are on moderately good terms, but two Alphas will never be best friends, you understand that right?”

  “I see. So you moved here? To what? You can’t be an Alpha with no pack.”

  “Oh no, you can be an Alpha, having a pack isn’t what makes you an Alpha male. Having the strength and soul of an Alpha male is what makes you an Alpha. This,” he swung his arms around, “is my territory. I marked it.”

  “You know Edward will never agree to letting one of his females go off with someone who can’t protect her right?”

  “It could prove difficult. Did you know an Alpha is stronger in their own territory than in another’s territory?”

  “No. What does that have to do with anything?”

  “Maybe nothing, but at the same time, well, by law he can’t make me give you up. The choice is yours to make.”

  “What law? We don’t have a law about that.”

  “Sure we do. I mean, we do now. We didn’t yesterday.”

  “You made that up.”

  “Of course I did. This is my territory and in my territory my word is law. Since you and I are true-mates that makes this your territory which means you fall under the law of this territory and you can chose to follow the law of this territory and tell Edward to shove it. Edward can’t cross into my territory without breaking the law, and that is shifter law. We have treaties and laws for that. He can’t cross the line without my permission unless he wants to challenge me or meet with me in peace. His oath as an Alpha forbids him to cross over into another’s territory except under peaceful terms so long as the Alpha of the territory he wants to cross is likewise an oath bonded Alpha. Trevor made certain I was oath bonded by the shifter council. They may not bother us down here very often but our oaths still hold.”

  “Trevor is always coming to Edward’s territory without problems.”

  “In peace though right? Dad said Trevor’s mate lives in Edward’s territory so Edward has to give him a pass or give him the female. Dad said several of the Alphas are working together because of a curse and the rogue problem.”

  “So why doesn’t Edward’s pack know about you?”

  “No reason why they should. I don’t have a pack to bother anyone and I don’t have a pack to call on if someone needs help.”

  “The female aways choses though. I mean, in Edward’s pack. He won’t stop us from being mates but he might put some stipulations on it. He may insist on you moving closer to his territory. You could make your territory next to his couldn’t you?”

  “I could, but I won’t. To concede would be to admit I am not strong enough to hold my own. It would be an admission of weakness and I can’t do that.”

  “That’s stupid. How would moving closer to a large pack be an admission of weakness. Dawn was right, males are idiots. The best way to protect your mate would be to move closer to a male with more pack members and you refuse without even considering it?”

  “Yes.”

  No.

  No what?

  Not refuse.

  What do you mean we don’t refuse. Yes we do. You are the one who insisted we move so far from Trevor’s pack. Remember? He offered to let our territory butt up against his and you said no.

  Different.


  How in the bloody blue blazes is it different?

  Not have mate.

  What the hell does that have to do with it?

  She want us move. We move.

  “Dylan? Hello? Earth to Dylan.”

  “I stand corrected. We are willing to move where ever you want to move so long as we have our own territory.

  Amber drew back in surprise, “Do you always change your mind so rapidly?”

  “No, I don’t usually change my mind about important issues like the location of my territory. However, I appear to have been overruled.”

  “By your wolf? He took my side? I like him. He is smart.”

  Told you. She listen me. You listen me we have mate. You listen you we have problems. Tell her I Super-wolf, without stupid cape. I fierce protector. Defender of female…

  Shut up. You tell her after she has her wolf.

  Fine. You no listen. You mess up.

  “You know, I have never seen someone with the range of expressions on their face when they talk to their wolf as you show. I would love to be able to hear what the two of you are saying.”

  Dylan gave an evil laugh, “Oh, don’t worry. I told him he could talk to you as much as he wanted as soon as you have your wolf. In fact, as soon as the bonding ceremony is over, and you can shift, I will shift and curl up inside of him and let him do all the talking. That is, if you will have me?”

  “I don’t know. I mean, I was looking forward to going to the States and finding a mate.” This time it was Amber who gave an evil laugh as she stared at the snarling wolf laying on the couch beside her. “Oh stop it. Shift back. I was kidding. I was raised in Edward’s pack. I know the value of a true-mate bond. You never walk away from a true-mate, ever. And Edward never comes between true-mates. Of course, you will have to prove to him we are true-mates. He isn’t likely to take your word for it.”

  “I hoped as much. I just worry one of his pack will find you and not realize they crossed into an Alpha’s territory and attack before they get the truth.”