The Mating

by Nicky Charles

  As Elise looked around, her nostrils flared in response to the medical smells—she hated hospitals and doctors and this space was definitely a medical facility. Several beds lined the one wall, separated by the regulation curtains. Chairs for visitors were strategically placed near each bed and a TV was mounted on the wall for patients to view. Across the room, locked cabinets containing medical supplies could be seen while a partially opened door allowed her a glimpse of what appeared to be an examining table or possibly a small surgery area.

  Kane led the way over to the lone occupied bed and introduced her to Thomas. It was hard to judge his appearance since he was lying down and rather pale, he seemed pleasant enough, nodding at her and smiling weakly. His mate, Julia, was standing beside him and trailing her fingers through his blonde hair in a comforting gesture. Elise recalled they were newly mated and imagined the separation was especially hard on them.

  After exchanging a few pleasantries, Kane indicated that he wanted to talk to Thomas alone and the two women stepped outside onto the small porch that skirted the front of the building. Julia stretched her lean athletic figure and turned her face towards the sun, her warm honey blonde hair streaming down her back. “Gosh, it feels good to be outside. I’m stiff from sitting beside that bed all night but I didn’t dare go home, even once he was patched up.”

  “It must have been really hard on you, not knowing what was going on, while they were searching for him.” Elise smiled sympathetically at the other girl.

  Nodding, Julia wrapped her arms around herself. “Yeah. As soon as he was shot, I knew something was wrong even though he immediately tried to block our bond. Crazy fool said he didn’t want me to worry.” She snorted. “As if being kept in the dark and not knowing what was happening, would make me feel better. Men, they just don’t get it sometimes, do they?”

  Elise gave a half smile and shrugged. “I couldn’t really say. We—Kane and I—haven’t known each other that long.”

  “Oh—I’m sorry, I forgot.” Julia clapped her hand to her mouth. “I’m just so caught up in Thomas that I’m not thinking. Yesterday was your first day and—.”

  “Relax. You had more important things to worry about.” Elise hastened to reassure her.

  “I’m still sorry I wasn’t there yesterday when you arrived. I really wanted to be. We were all so excited when we got the news that Kane was finally bringing home a mate. Everyone has been secretly hoping he’d find someone suitable before Mar—.” Julia stopped herself mid-sentence and Elise wondered what she’d being going to say; before what? Had the word been ���Marla?’ From what she’d seen so far it was definitely a possibility that Marla had been in the running for the position of Kane’s future mate, but if that was the case, then why hadn’t Kane bonded with the woman already? Why had he agreed to this political joining if he cared for someone else?

  Julia continued talking, disturbing her train of thought. “Anyway, I really had planned on greeting you. I was waiting for Thomas to come home, thinking we’d go over to meet you together, but then…” She broke off as her voice cracked and she blinked rapidly for a moment.

  “Julia, it’s okay. Thomas is fine and neither Kane nor I mind that you didn’t make it over. To be honest, there were so many new faces swirling around me that you could lie, and say that you were there, and I wouldn’t even know the difference.” She tried to lighten the mood, feeling sorry for the other girl who had obviously been worried sick about her mate.

  Julia gave her a watery smile. “Thanks. I’m good now. It’s silly of me to be feeling teary, now that I know he’s going to be okay. Just a bit of delayed reaction I guess.” She shrugged and dug a tissue out of her pocket to wipe her eyes, then pasted a smile on. “So… Tell me about yourself.”

  The two of them sat on a bench outside the infirmary and started talking, soon discovering that they had several things in common. Elise began to feel more at ease and Julia seemed to be forgetting the drama of the past day, at least for a while. They were so engrossed discussing a recent book, they’d both read, that the sound of the door opening behind them caused them both to give a start.

  It was Nadia stepping out and announcing that she was going for lunch, but would be back in half an hour. Julia agreed to watch Thomas and page her if there was any problem. Nadia seemed to be a no-nonsense sort of individual who didn’t have time for idle chatter. As she briskly strode away, Elise hoped she wouldn’t be in need of the woman’s services any time soon. While she was probably good at her job, Nadia didn’t seem that friendly towards her.

  Julia leaned over and whispered conspiratorially in Elise’s ear, while keeping one eye on the retreating figure of the nurse. “I’ve never seen Nadia smile at anyone except Kane. Everyone else is a bit afraid of her and I think she likes it that way.”

  Elise looked at her new friend with wide eyes. “So it’s not just me?”

  Julia couldn’t suppress a giggle. “Nope, she treats everyone that way. I often wonder if she thinks that if she’s grumpy enough, we’ll all stay away and she’ll have less work to do.”

  Stifling a chuckle, Elise decided that Julia had a fun, quirky personality and by the time Kane was ready to leave, she had agreed to meet Julia for lunch the next day. Happy to have made a new friend, Elise hummed to herself as she and Kane walked back to the Alpha house.

  “You and Julia seemed to hit it off.” Kane commented as they walked down the driveway.

  “Uh-huh. She’s about my age, says she likes to shop, and has a great stash of books that I can borrow.”

  “She’s a runner as well—out every day rain or shine.”

  “Really? Great! Maybe she’ll let me go with her. Running through the woods was one of my favourite things to do back home.” Elise bounced at the prospect. Things were definitely looking up.

  “It’s all right with me, as long as you keep to the areas we have marked off as safe. After Thomas’ accident, we’ll be patrolling the pathways daily but we can’t do the whole territory. I’ll be giving everyone in the pack the same message. No free roaming for the next little while.”

  His decree brought something else to mind. “Kane, last night Helen and Carrie mentioned something about traps that were being set, but not by humans. They wouldn’t explain and said you’d told them not to tell me.”

  Kane was silent for a moment, possibly considering his answer. Finally, he gave a heavy sigh. “They’re right. It’s a rather complicated situation and I want to make sure that you have all the facts, not just some part truths.” He looked around and spotted a log near the edge of the woods. “Come on. We’ll sit over here and talk. There’s less chance of being interrupted outside than there is at the house.”

  Elise followed him to the place he’d indicated, wondering what he might have to tell her. Whatever it was, it had him looking rather grim. Sitting down beside Kane, she waited for him to speak, studying his profile out of the corner of her eye. His dark hair fell across his forehead, softening what might otherwise have been a stern face; his jaw was set and his brows lowered. When he finally spoke, it wasn’t about Thomas though, but about an incident that had happened several months earlier.

  “Remember how I told you that Zack had been killed in a car accident? He was coming home, took a curve too fast, and ended up going over the edge of the cliff and breaking his neck. The strange thing was that Zack wasn’t a fast driver and had driven that road all of his life. Negotiating the curve was something he should have been able to do in his sleep. When we checked the vehicle afterwards, we found that there were no brakes. There was a hole in the line and the fluid had all leaked out.”

  “Were the hoses just old and worn out?”

  “Nope – it was a brand new truck. Helen had gotten it for him on his fifty-fifth birthday, just two months previous.”

  “Then…?”

  “It could have been a flaw in the material, but we suspect that someone actually tampered with the brakes.”

  Elise gasped. “Tha
t’s awful! Did you call the police?”

  “No. We left it as driver error. The police would have asked too many questions. The risk of being discovered was too great and outweighed the need for a formal investigation. Nothing could brink Zack back.”

  “But who would do such a thing? And why? Surely you need to find out.”

  “At the time we didn’t really have any leads. John and I have some suspicions, but no proof. Actually, only a few of us even know about the brake line; we didn’t want to upset the whole pack. I’ll expect you to keep this to yourself.” Kane looked at her for acquiescence and Elise nodded.

  “Who does know?”

  “Myself, John, the Elders and Helen. Not even Carrie is aware of all the facts.”

  “This was just recent, wasn’t it?”

  “Yeah – two months ago.”

  “And then you took over.”

  Kane nodded. “Right after Zack’s accident, the Elders met to decide the leadership, but the decision was split and it caused a big controversy, which was unfortunate given that everyone was still upset over losing Zack. “

  “You mentioned that both you and the other Beta were up for the job. His name was Ryne, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes.” Kane rubbed his hands over his face, obviously upset by the memory. “We were co-Betas and it should have just been a pack vote, but for some reason, Ryne was adamant that the position be decided by a challenge. Several people tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t listen. It was so unlike him, too. Anyway, as I told you, we fought and it was pretty nasty. Ryne and I are pretty evenly matched but my advantage is that I know how to wait and choose my moment. In the end, I won but I wouldn’t kill him. Ryne was bitter over the loss and left. I offered to let him stay, but he didn’t’ want to. It was probably for the best…”

  “Do you have any idea where he is now?”

  “Originally, we’d heard that he planned to leave the area, but a few of the pack think they’ve seen him in the distance.”

  “Maybe he’s cooled down and wants to come back?”

  “If he does, he’s never approached any of us and even if he does ask… Well, let’s just say it’s complicated.” Kane sighed. “You see, we kind of suspect Ryne had something to do with the faulty brakes, though hard proof is missing.”

  “And you still let him live?” Elise was shocked.

  “We didn’t come to that conclusion until after the fight. That’s when things started to add up.”

  “How so?”

  “Well, after Zack’s accident, there were lots of little things going wrong around here. Our electricity was turned off for non-payment, even though the bill had been paid. The Fire Marshall was out, wanting to inspect all of the buildings because of an anonymous tip. We’ve had traps set on the property, hunters spotted on our land, an oil slick near the mouth of the river that killed off some of the wildlife. It feels like someone is trying to undermine us. Now, we have Thomas being shot last night.” He shook his head and looked as if the weight of the world was settling on his shoulders. “Once word spreads through the pack about that, there’ll be a lot of questions to answer.”

  “But all of the items you mentioned are just coincidences—a string of bad luck, right? I mean, I’m sorry Thomas was shot, but accidents do happen, especially in the fall when it’s hunting season. The humans aren’t always as careful as they should be.”

  Kane looked at her steadily. “Thomas just told me that he scented Ryne immediately before the gun went off.”

  Elise felt her mouth fall open in surprise. “Ryne shot a member of his own pack?”

  “Quite likely. We thought his scent was around the traps too. It was vague, but detectable. And the oil spill? Boot prints left behind looked like the kind that Ryne used to wear.”

  “So are you out trying to catch him?”

  “We have patrols looking, but he’s too clever a wolf to stay out in the open. He’s holed up someplace, we just can’t figure out where that might be.”

  “So why did you need to tell me all of this? Helen and Carrie said there was something personal involved.”

  A curious blend of sadness mixed with anger seemed to wash over Kane’s face. He picked up a stone and tested the weight in his hand before hurling it into the brush. The dull thud of it hitting the ground broke the silence. Looking at her out of the corner of his eye, Kane answered her question. “There is something very personal involved. Ryne’s my half-brother.”

  Elise couldn’t keep the shock out of her voice. “Your own brother wanted to kill you in a challenge? And now he’s out there sabotaging the pack?”

  “All signs seem to point that way. And as I said earlier, some even think he’s responsible for Zack’s accident.”

  “Did he really want to be Alpha that badly?”

  Shaking his head, Kane picked up a stick and snapped it in half. “I didn’t think so. He never questioned Zack over anything and seemed content as Beta. We both were—Zack was a good leader and a power struggle was the farthest thing from everyone’s mind. Ryne was even talking about settling down, and then out of nowhere this flared up.”

  Not sure what to say, Elise reached over and laid her hand on Kane’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

  “Thanks. I might as well tell you all the bad news at once. There’s one other problem facing the pack. An oil company called Northern Oil wants to do some test drilling on our land in the North.”

  “I’ve heard about that. Helen or Carrie mentioned it.”

  “Of course, we won’t allow it, but the company is trying to pull some legal strings to get their way. At one time, a few of the pack members were leaning towards allowing them in—there’s a lot of money on the table, but it’s not worth it. Letting the company in would diminish our territory, cause environmental damage, and increase the chances of exposure. Originally, it caused some dissension in the pack, but I’ve had a few meetings and everyone realises keeping them out is for the best.”

  “But will the oil company listen?”

  “They’re going to have to. Helen has a daughter, Chloe. She’s in university now studying Environmental Science. I’ve had her do a study of the acreage in question and we have a pretty good case for keeping them out. The area is the home to several endangered plants and animals. Chloe’s working with some of her professors to get the northern corner of our territory listed as environmentally sensitive and a protected habitat.”

  “Well, that sounds promising.”

  “It is and thankfully it’s a bit of good news for a change.” Silence fell between them and Elise noted how tired Kane looked. Stress lines bracketed his mouth and the muscle in his jaw continued to work. She wished she could ease some of his worry and instinctively began rubbing her hand in comforting circles on his back. Kane looked at her appreciatively. “Just between you and me, Elise, being Alpha is giving me a huge headache.” He chuckled and stood up, tossing the stick he’d been worrying aside. “Come on, we’d better get back. Who knows what calamity might have occurred in the past hour.” Taking her hand, Kane headed back to the house.

  Chapter 9

  Back at the house, Kane went off in search of John, and Elise found Helen in the kitchen once again. She was busily making sandwiches and chatting to three other women who were also helping prepare lunch. They all moved about the kitchen with the ease of familiarity, obviously having spent a lot of time here. Looking up, Helen smiled.

  “There you are! Elise, I want you to meet two of my daughters, Zoe and Phoebe.” Helen nodded at two young women who looked to be in their early to mid-twenties. Both bore a strong resemblance to Helen except that their hair was still dark brown, rather than liberally streaked with grey and their figures hadn’t rounded out yet, but they all had the same button nose, sparkly eyes and pleasant smile. “And this is Zoe’s friend, Rose. She lives near the edge of the territory, with her parents, and works at the local bank.” Rose gave Elise a shy smile and then leaned over the sink so that her hair hid her f
ace. The girl was rather non-descript with pale blue eyes, brown hair, average height and weight. She wasn’t unattractive, but neither was there anything striking about her that made her overly memorable. Instinctively, Elise knew that Rose was probably one of the lower ranking members of the pack—not that it was a bad thing, but the girl would follow the lead of others and not cause any waves. There’d be no challenges coming from that corner.