Werewolves and Wranglers

by Kristen Banet

  “Go play with your mares,” she ordered, pushing his head gently away. “Go.”

  He trotted away at that. She watched him for a second as he sniffed her other horses, as if he was checking on them too.

  She stomped into her house, refusing to acknowledge the pain in her chest.

  How dare they. Well, I don’t need them. I started all of this on my own. I banished demons by myself. I don’t need Tobias or Valen. Easton or Remy. I’m fine. Just me. William can stay in his grave too. I don’t need his help.

  She went to her tub. Her arms hurt, and she was burning out on magic. She was going to be lucky if it worked for much longer at all, thanks to the state she was in. She needed to calm down and couldn’t find a way to do it.

  Why did I come to the tub? Ah, a bath. I need a bath before sleeping.

  She went out the back to her well and filled her tub up the hard way, one bucket at a time. She threw a few logs under the tub, lighting with just a tiny bit of magic. She threw a little magic into the water as well, helping it heat up faster.

  “Well, at least I’m not fried yet,” she said to herself, sinking into the water slowly the moment she could.

  She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, finding her center and staying there. She pushed away all the problems with the men in her life. Or rather, now out of her life. She had been serious when she said she would be with none of them.

  Right now, she knew the best thing to focus on was making sure this didn’t make her life more difficult by throwing her off emotionally.

  She soaked for a long time before bothering with her soaps and shampoos. She did those quickly and then soaked longer, just wanting to enjoy the heat and relax so she could get some sleep for the night ahead. She had wranglers to arrest and a herd of cattle to find. It was going to be a long night, she already knew it.

  But hey, once it’s done, things should be calm again for a little while. Something like this doesn’t happen that often. I mean, it’s been brewing for a little while if William was dealing with it when he was sheriff. I wish I had known about it earlier, but now it’s almost resolved. I can look forward to that.

  Feeling more centered, she finally got out of her tub and pulled on a robe. She was sore and tired from the amount of magic she threw around. Tossing Tobias and Easton apart after the night they had wasn’t easy. Then holding them down? She was half-convinced her rage had fueled it.

  She didn’t bother eating, having munched on jerky before and after the action. She went up into her bedroom and dropped the robe. She aimed for her bed and fell over right as someone knocked on her door.

  “No,” she mumbled into her blankets. “Why?”

  She didn’t move immediately. Maybe they’ll leave. Maybe I can go to sleep and pretend I’m not here.

  Whoever it was knocked again.

  I hate everyone. All of them. I quit.

  She didn’t have the energy to say she quit, though, and it required her to go down there and tell them that. With that idea, quitting to whoever was there, she pushed herself up from the bed, grabbed her robe and slipped back into it as she walked out of her bedroom and down the stairs.

  Before she even made it to the door, she had a strong feeling who was behind it. She stopped a few feet from it, unsure whether she wanted to let them in.

  They pay rent. I can’t leave them out there, can I? It wouldn’t be fair.

  With that in mind, she reached for the doorknob and opened the door. To her surprise, it wasn’t just Easton and Remy. Tobias and Valen were also there. All four of them looked surprised she even answered. Or so she thought. Valen’s eyes began to drop and she groaned, remembering she was only wearing her robe.

  “What do all of you want?” she asked.

  “We wanted to talk to you. Quickly,” Tobias answered.

  “And we…um, live here,” Remy added, looking away from her.

  “You do,” she agreed, holding the door open. “As for talking to me, you have five minutes. Then I’m going to sleep, no matter what you want to say. Is that clear?”

  “Yes,” Easton said, following Remy in. Valen was in next and Tobias stood there, just staring her down. There was no anger in his eyes, only a bit of pain.

  “Get in here before some passerby sees me,” she told him. With that, he hurried along.

  She followed him and the rest of them into her kitchen and dining room, seeing how none of them took their boots off at her door. It was like they expected they would be walking out very quickly, even Easton and Remy.

  She pointed at the table. “Sit down. I’m not, because I don’t want to get comfortable.” She was in charge and she made it obvious. They were in her house, all together, for the first time since they had all met. And she wasn’t having any of their shit. Not after the fight she had left them to at dawn.

  They all obliged without complaint, finding seats.

  “Now out with it,” she commanded.

  “We’re sorry,” Tobias said first. “All of us. We’ve been selfish when it came to you and mean to each other. And if you don’t forgive us, we would understand.”

  She hummed in agreement, arching an eyebrow. I damned well hope you understand, but it’s not like I care either way. Good start to the groveling, though.

  “We talked it out after you left and came to a…tentative resolution. We never meant to hurt you so much with our issues. We didn’t take into account how difficult of a situation it was for you, how we were tearing you in two different directions.” Remy leaned forward, pleading with those bright orange eyes of his.

  “I noticed, but I didn’t work hard enough to solve it before it blew up,” Valen said, cutting into Remy’s part.

  “So you talked like grown men talk,” she said, almost a little snidely. “Were there any punches thrown?”

  Easton winced. “No. We swear it.”

  “And what decision did you four come up with?” About my life? She didn’t need to add that. It was clear in her tone.

  “We just have a solution we would…really appreciate you to consider. Just consider it. If not, you can be done with all of us, and…Remy and I will leave. We won’t stick around and make things worse for you.” Easton wasn’t able to look at her.

  “What is it?” She was waiting and their time was ticking.

  “Be with all of us,” Tobias said clearly.

  Uh, what? She shook her head a little, trying to decide if those were the words she thought she heard. When she realized she hadn’t actually said anything, she opened her mouth. “Excuse me?”

  “You’ve been wonderful, being with Easton and I,” Remy said quickly, standing up. He leaned over the table. “None of us can imagine a life not here with you now. You were right. Valen and Tobias are some of your oldest and closest friends, regardless of whatever feelings might be there now. But Easton and I…we’ve never had something like this, and we’re not ready to give it up. We found we disliked each other for the very reason we should have come together.”

  “You,” Valen said, looking up from his hands on the table. “We should have been making this entire thing easier on you because we all care about you, and yet, we failed miserably, ignoring your needs and only thinking about ourselves. Mostly.”

  “No, Valen, you tried,” she reminded him. Looking back, she felt a little bad for tossing him in with the rest of them. Remy too. No, the troublemakers were, oddly, her quieter men. Tobias, who had never had a violent bone in his body before, and Easton, a cunning, enigmatic man. She could see Easton being violent, but never what she saw. She hadn’t realized that was in him. “And this is your grand plan? Instead of fighting over me, you’ll all just, what? Move in and be my lovers?” She eyed Tobias. “Would that be enough for you?”

  “I don’t care what I get,” he answered. “But the expectations of this might need to get talked out later. I think our five minutes is up.”

  She couldn’t stop a smirk. “You’re right, they probably are. And this idea…It’
s a lot to consider. I…” She was still mad at them, but seeing this…this was important. This was a grand gesture unlike any she had ever seen from these men. The fact that they were doing it so quickly after what had happened earlier in the morning…They’re not bad men, Adalyn. They’re dumb ones. Men are dumb on a regular basis. That’s something to forgive, right? Or give them a second chance, at least, but only one?

  “We’ll sleep in the guest bedrooms,” Remy told her. “Well, I will. Easton will read in a guest bedroom. That way you can think about this on your own.”

  “That might be for the best,” she agreed, nodding to him. She held up a hand to keep them all there for a minute. “Tonight, we have this thing going on. Tobias, you and I need to have a long talk after it. I’m…” She half-hated herself for the words about to come out of her mouth, but she couldn’t resist it. She hated the idea of being alone, and all of these men meant so much to her. If they think this can work, what am I supposed to say? No, I don’t want all of you? I don’t think this could work? I won’t be called a coward and not try to have them all. I refuse. And I can’t live with some of them being hurt by choosing another. “I’m willing to give all of you a second chance, on some conditions. If it ever gets close to as bad as it was, it’s over. I won’t live like that, do you hear me? I’m in charge here. If two of you get beef again like that, you’ll come to me and talk it out with each other. There won’t be any more needless grudges and anger. I won’t tolerate it. We’re in this as a team, and no offense to the prowess I’m sure all of you have, but I’m in charge.”

  The smiles they all gave her in return made her feel weak, but happy. Weak-willed and weak-kneed. Damn them. Why are all supe men so blasted good-looking? She nearly cried and laughed at the same time at the predicament she now found herself in.

  “We should go. Everyone needs to rest,” Valen said, patting Tobias on the shoulder. She eyed the Russian. He had very private feelings for her, and she found him attractive and a good friend. She had no idea where that was going to go, but it was interesting that he was included in all of this, even though he hadn’t been a part of most of the fighting. Remy slipped by her and went upstairs. Easton followed him quickly. She was left with her friends to walk them out if she chose.

  “Come on,” she said, nodding towards her door. They followed her back to the front door. “Tobias, can you go ahead? I want Valen alone for a minute. We’ll have a longer talk tomorrow. Soon, at least. Promise.”

  “Of course,” he said, leaving them and heading out.

  Before her, the big Russian shifted uncomfortably. “So…”

  “Valen, what’s going on with your head right now?” she asked.

  “That I like you, and have for a long time, and you deserve to know that now. Even if nothing comes of it, I want it known I’m also okay with this idea. It was actually mine.” He chuckled.

  “You think nothing may come of this? I’ve always found you a gorgeous man. We flirt well.” She smirked.

  “You don’t know what I am, and it’s not just something I can come out and say. For helping me and supporting me when I wanted you to become sheriff, I gave Maxwell a hint. If he finds out…and takes it well, I’ll tell you. But I can’t just expose it, my secret, to the world. It probably wouldn’t go over very well.” Valen was serious. “And I want to test it on Maxwell, because if it doesn’t scare him, it definitely won’t scare you.”

  “Maxwell got a hint but not me?” She ran a hand over his chest. This big man could be hers. Oh, the flirting and jokes she and Valen always had together. It would be fun, she thought, to have this man in her life that way finally. He could easily turn her on with a smile and a dance. He was one of her best friends, and she wouldn’t see him out of her life either.

  He grabbed her hand and kissed her palm. “He was going back East and could research more than you could out here. You wouldn’t be able to figure it out, that I promise. Not with what little we have. That fact that you dabbled in black magic all the way out here still astounds me.”

  “I’m excited to find out. We both know Maxwell will. He won’t come back until he knows.” Maxwell Donahue was a tenacious man.

  “I know. And the moment you know, I’ll be more than ready for you to accept or reject me, but not until that point. I won’t be with a woman I have secrets from.”

  “I understand…” She pulled her hand away from his and touched his cheek. “I wish you would just open up and tell me, but I know there are big secrets in a world like ours. Whatever it is…thank you for being an honorable man and waiting for me to know them before this goes further than friendship.”

  “Sometimes, I wished I was a worse man,” he whispered, leaning down and caging her against the wall with his massive arms. “Sometimes I wish I were a very bad one.”

  Chills ran down her spine, and she was positive she would be horny for a week thinking about the dark stare he was giving her.

  “I’ll go,” he said, leaning in closer to chastely kiss her cheek. “Get some sleep. And if one of those two comes to you, hear him out. They’re wary and hurt. This is their home now, and they don’t want to lose it. You know how that is. You found the same thing when you came to Redstone.”

  She could only nod. He pulled away and went out the door. She didn’t move for a long time, watching him go. Once he was out of her sight, she closed the door and sighed.

  This wasn’t how I expected my morning going.

  She made the slow climb back up to her bedroom and found no one there. She dropped the robe and slipped back into bed, curling up. It was alarmingly empty, but she knew she would have to make do.

  22

  Tobias

  Sharing Adalyn. This is going to be the best thing I’ve ever agreed to or the worst. He was thinking about it as he walked away. He couldn’t stop thinking about it.

  “Tobias, wait up,” Valen called.

  “What did she need?” Tobias asked immediately. She had held him back. That was something.

  “She just wanted to know why I was even there. Sure, I have feelings for her, but I haven’t really gotten into all of this as much as you. I haven’t been making it known I want a chance. She deserved an explanation, and she knew it.” Valen smiled. “It’s going to be okay, see?”

  “Let’s hope,” he replied. “We all have to work together tonight. How do you think that’s going to go?”

  “It won’t be easy, I bet, but if we stay focused on the mission and on our deal, we can make it work.” Valen seemed confident in them.

  “You think Easton would be okay if I kissed Adalyn in front of him?” Tobias wanted to laugh. Sure, that’s what their deal meant, but theory and practice were two very different things.

  “I think he wants our little witch to keep him and as long as that’s secure for him, he won’t cause as much of a problem as he has been. And I hope by her letting you explore things with her, you won’t cause as much of a problem either.” Valen gave him a pointed look.

  “She said we’ll talk and that’s…all I’ve wanted,” Tobias said, putting his hands in his pockets. “I’ve just wanted to talk to her about it and see…What our future could be.”

  “And if she says there’s no marriage in it?” his Russian friend asked gently. “She’s made that very clear.”

  “I’ll talk to her about it,” he said evasively. He wasn’t quite ready to face that. He needed to talk to her. Did that mean she wasn’t into something long term at all or just another marriage? Did that mean in a few years, she could be done with all of them? He just didn’t know. This was why they needed to have a long talk about their expectations.

  As they walked into town, they realized the streets were dead. Everyone was probably getting their well-needed rest since they were up all night, wondering what was going down on the Ranch. Even the businesses had closed signs. All of them.

  “Okay…” Valen sighed. “Maxwell hasn’t contacted me, you know. I have no idea what he’s doing back East.”


  “I haven’t gotten word either. I know he’s contacted Easton and Remy, but nothing to Adalyn either, right?” He found that odd of Maxwell. Maybe it was because of the distance the marshal had with them over the last year. It was probably that. Tobias could find another reason, though. “He could also have nothing he wants to put into a letter.”

  “Yeah. He’s smart enough to know that writing down what…who I am, isn’t a good idea.” Valen nodded, considering that. “He’ll know better. I gave him some advice on the matter as well.”

  “To not say anything either?” Tobias never said it out loud. Never. Anyone could overhear, and that would destroy years of hiding and secret keeping.

  “Yup. Told him that, too.”

  “Do you think anyone back East would be part of the…” He was a little scared to finish that train of thought.

  “No,” Valen answered, chuckling. “Back in my homeland? Oh, they would know if anyone even thought about me, but not back East. Not in New York or DC. They shouldn’t have eyes or ears there. Shouldn’t. They could, but it’s unlikely.”

  “Is that why you decided to finally let Maxwell in?”

  “No. It was the best tradeoff I had to get his help with Adalyn. That’s the truth. I’ll risk everything about myself to keep her safe and that’s the biggest thing I have.”

  “And yet, you can’t even tell her.” Tobias sighed. It was a hard place to be in.

  “No, I really can’t.” Valen rubbed his face as they walked into the saloon. “I keep telling her that when she knows, depending on how she reacts….But I can’t physically bring myself to say it. And the danger of it…If rumors got out about what I am…”

  “And thanks to our deal with Easton and Remy, if she knows, they deserve to know now too.” Tobias could see the issue. There were too many parts at play in this.

  “It’s too many people who could accidentally let it slip,” Valen agreed, going behind his bar.