by Vivian Arend
There was a whole lot of woo-woo stuff happening, and none of it in the physical realm.
While Alex acknowledged there had to be magic involved in being a shifter, outside of the human-to-animal change, polar bears pretty much followed human traditions to figure out their hierarchies. Occasionally the person to win a fight was the one who could sit on the others for the longest, which might mean physical strength, but just as often it involved being mentally wily like his gramps.
But with wolves? Physical strength was part of it, but the crazy dominance power was a hell of a lot more important, and right now Alex was getting a front-row seat to observe exactly what that meant.
Crystal and Lara were face to face, staring each other down. Power radiated from both of them, charging the air with energy as if an electrical storm were contained in the room. The bossiness didn’t really affect him too much, but as the rumble in the room ebbed and flowed, it was obvious the rest of the pack mates knew exactly who was winning at any particular moment.
Lara’s power tasted different than her sister’s. Crystal’s felt sharp and almost smoky, but as Lara leaned forward, pushing against an invisible force, sweet citrus rolled over the air. Another brilliant, refreshing burst struck, and Crystal winced.
Ready for anything, Alex waited in case he needed to shift and stop anyone from interfering. But it seemed this battle was not going to be decided by fangs and fur, but instead entirely by this invisible presentation of Lara’s indomitable will.
Because it was clear she was winning. Not just in how she stood straighter, strong and determined, but how the pack began to murmur her name. Chins dipping and eyes brightening.
Crystal staggered back a half step, flinching as if in pain.
Lara hesitated, and the sheer volume of energy in the room eased back slightly. Alex wanted to warn her to be careful, to make sure she wasn’t leaving herself vulnerable.
She’s got this, his bear assured him. Wolf is being kind.
As long as she doesn’t get hurt, he told the beast.
Our wolf is brave and smart.
Alex wasn’t about to argue. Not when the proof was right there in front of him.
She held a hand out to one side as if to warn him not to act, then she swung her hand toward her sister. Power flared briefly, filling every available space in the room.
Lara straightened to her full height. Crystal cringed, and…something changed.
The prickly, electric flavour on the air changed to one of soothing. Soft and caring, as if everyone were being wrapped in a warm, protective blanket.
Around the room, wolves collapsed onto sofas and relaxed on the floor, something close to puppy adoration crossing their faces as they stared at Lara, although Alex wasn’t sure he wanted to point that out to them.
Crystal still stood, but her chin drooped and her muscles quivered as if she’d run a marathon.
One second. Another, then Lara stepped forward and caught her sister’s hand. “Yield.”
Crystal took a deep breath, and for one horrible moment, Alex thought she was about to gather everything she had and attack one last time.
What she did was throw her arms around her sister, tears streaming down her face as she gasped, “They’re yours. I yield. Thank you.”
Embracing her hard, Lara patted her sister on the back, twisting so she could face Alex. A crease between her brows, she mouthed the words at him. Thank you?
Alex shrugged. There didn’t seem to be a good explanation. And there was a lot of action in the room that was distracting him.
Wolves were coming forward both to hug Crystal and to offer Lara their allegiance. Most the time that involved a firm handshake, but also the occasional hug and a few kisses on the cheek.
Alex wasn’t sure what he thought about those, but this was one time his bear was willing to withhold judgment in case it was a wolf thing.
“Don’t worry. They’re claiming her in a totally different way than you have in mind.”
Auntie Amethyst stood in front of him, the scent of smoke rising from her powerfully enough to make his eyes water.
He managed to keep from coughing, but his voice was still lower than usual. “Have you considered trying the patch, and what are you talking about?”
She tilted her head toward the chaos only a few feet away. “Lara’s the new Alpha. She belongs to us, and we belong to her, but I think she’s still got room for you. Just don’t drag it out. It’s always better to get these things resolved in an orderly fashion.”
He eyed the woman and wondered if it would be rude to take a bite out of her. “How on earth is that any of your business?”
Lara’s aunt made a face. “Interesting…”
A snort escaped before he could help it. “I’ve heard that’s the phrase you use when you have opinions.”
She looked delighted. “So, you have been talking as well as screwing. That will help a lot going forward.” She leaned toward him slightly. He leaned back in order to not get drowned by the scent of smoke. “Trust me, we’ve kinda had this planned for a while. Once the dust settles, you’ll understand everything.”
Which would be a good thing because right then, the only thing he understood for sure was that Lara was reaching the end of her meet-and-greet, and he wanted to be at her side.
Okay, he also knew he wanted to find somewhere private so he could assure himself she was one hundred percent okay with what had just happened.
He also wanted to strip off her clothes and do wicked, dirty things to her because, holy hell, that display of power had been hot.
Hmmm. It seemed he had quite a to-do list, and he’d like to get started on it as soon as possible.
“Maybe we should finish this later,” he suggested to Auntie Amethyst.
“No problem. One thing… You should know I don’t take advice from random strangers. But if you do things the right way, and we actually end up related, then I might consider looking into that patch thing.” She waved a hand in the air. “Everybody back up and give us some space. We got shit to do, so you all get started on what needs to be done.”
Wolves scrambled to get out of the way, vanishing down hallways as the old woman marched Crystal, Lara, and Alex into the pack office.
“Sit,” Auntie Amethyst ordered Lara, pointing at the chair behind the desk.
Lara arched a brow. “So much for the concept that nobody bosses the Alpha around.”
“Pshaw. I ain’t bossing you around. Just taking care of the details.”
She grabbed a folder off the top of the filing cabinet and spread a dozen pieces of paper on the desk in front of Lara.
Lara glanced at them, jaw slowly dropping. She met Alex’s gaze before turning to her sister. “Transfer-of-power papers. These are for the pack?”
Crystal was still trembling as if being slammed with power had drained the energy right out of her, but her grin was sheer mischief. “Humans don’t accept the explanation ‘her wolf is more powerful than mine’ when it comes to accessing bank accounts. All of this gives you legal control of the pack and everything related to Midnight Inc. that I used to control.”
Understanding was slowly rising. “You’ve had this planned for a long time,” Alex said, glancing at Lara’s sister.
Crystal nodded, still obviously proud of herself even as she collapsed into a chair. “Sorry. My legs don’t want to hold me right now.” She looked across at Lara, pride in her expression. “I knew you were strong enough to take over, and after fifteen years of leading the pack, I’m ready to do something different. But if I’d tried simply abdicating, you would’ve had a dozen or more challengers—that’s what happened to me when Mom and Dad handed over control. You were probably too little to remember what a pain in the ass it was, but I didn’t see why you should have to put up with that bullshit. I know you could beat them, but somebody might have gotten hurt.”
“Doing it the sneaky way meant less chance of bloodshed…” Lara nodded slowly. “That explains some o
f the things I overheard. Some of the rumours that got out are what set Alex tracking down information about hostile takeovers.”
A swear escaped Crystal, and she snapped her head to the side to stare aghast at Alex. “Oh my God, did you think we were trying to do something to Borealis Gems? No. Not at all. I would never dream of doing anything to hurt my sister’s ma—”
She went off into a coughing fit the same instant Lara did.
Auntie Amethyst rolled her eyes and slammed down bottles of water in front of the two women. “Ladies, if you could hold yourself together for another few minutes, Alex and I need to witness whatever needs to be signed.”
It took a few minutes to pass around the pens, but in the end, a stack of papers was lined up on the edge of the desk.
“I’ll get these to our lawyer first thing in the morning,” Auntie Amethyst offered. “Now excuse me. I need a smoke before I cut a motherfucker.”
She stormed out of the office without a backward glance.
Crystal rose to her feet and stood there on shaky legs, smiling benevolently at her sister. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re going to do a great job.”
“You’ll be here to tell me if I’m making mistakes,” Lara pointed out. “Please, though, use words not noises like hmmmmmmm.”
Her sister laughed but then shook her head. “I’m not going to be here. I told you that I’m ready to do the next thing, and part of that is… I met my mate.”
Lara squealed with excitement then slapped Crystal on the arm. “Get out. How come you didn’t tell me?”
“Sometimes people keep their mates secret because they have a good reason. Or at least think they have a good reason.” Crystal grinned. “In my case, she’s a cougar shifter from a clan based in Montana. She can’t immigrate, so I’m moving south. I obviously couldn’t say anything about leaving until we’d transferred power.”
Lara glanced at Alex, her cheeks flushed, before turning back to Crystal. “I met her, didn’t I? She delivered a note to me when I was at the spa.”
“She likes you. You’ll get a chance to meet her again soon, I promise. Now I need to go tell her what’s up.” Crystal tilted her head politely. “If that’s okay with my Alpha?”
Lara breathed out a sigh that was satisfaction and exhaustion all at the same time. “It’s okay with your sister, who loves you very much. Get out of here.”
To Alex’s immense shock, Crystal paused in front of him, staring up at him with one brow raised. Assessing. Considering.
Sniffing, which made him roll his eyes.
She tossed a smirk at Lara then turned back and surprised him with a hug, squeezing tight before pounding him on the back as briskly as James or Cooper would’ve done.
“You’re okay,” Crystal declared before slipping from the room and unsteadily making her way down the hallway.
Wolves are weird, his bear stated. Except ours.
Alex snickered. Hate to tell you this, but ours is weird too. But that’s just fine.
Because that weirdness was what made her unique and powerful. Made her exactly who he wanted to be with forever.
Becoming Alpha of the Orion pack wasn’t the only change in Lara’s future, because Alex intended to do whatever it took until she accepted him as well. They would end up together, as mates.
Permanent and perfect.
18
It had been years since the Orion pack had changed leadership. Lara had been only eight when Crystal had taken over for the previous Alphas—their parents. She had few memories of that time, but it seemed there were enough old-timers and wolf instincts to make the transition not only seamless, but rapid.
An hour after their version of Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Lara was staring around at her new living quarters in the pack house. It wasn’t nearly as ostentatious as Shimmering Delights, but she did have a two-bedroom apartment with a private living room. The entire suite was on the main floor for easy access to all the pack mates, but it had been built to provide glorious views in three directions.
Lara stared out at the river, power still coursing through her veins.
Hands landed softly on her shoulders, stroking down her arms as Alex leaned against her back and pressed his cheek to hers. “You’re damn near vibrating.”
“I’ve never used that much power at one time,” she confessed. “Normally I’d have been physically fighting at the same time, which would help burn off some of the adrenaline. I’m so twitchy I think caffeine would calm me down.”
She pivoted on the spot and draped her arms around his neck.
He tapped their noses together. “You wolves are weird. Admit it.”
While she agreed with him, she wasn’t about to give him any more ammunition. “You meant to say wolves are brilliant, or at least my sister is.”
“Okay, she’s smart. But she’s also lucky you were more dominant. The entire plan could’ve backfired.”
“Maybe.”
Except Alex didn’t know there were a few tidbits she and Crystal had skimmed over. Although Crystal had come perilously close to spilling the beans when she’d mentioned mates.
Of course Crystal had known of the mate bond waiting between Lara and Alex. Lara mentally kicked her own butt for not having realized her Alpha would scent it, if nothing else.
When it came to the fight, Lara hadn’t just been defending herself but righting a wrong for her pack and her mate. Or so she had believed. Crystal truly didn’t want to stay in power, plus love for her mate was drawing her away.
The mysterious shifter power knew the best woman to be in charge was Lara. And mysterious powers were not to be trifled with.
But now it meant there were situations to be dealt with, including resetting her relationship with Alex. The sooner they started over, the sooner she’d be able to make a move and invite him into her life for real.
She cupped his face with her hands and patted his cheeks gently. “First, thank you for what you did back there. For standing up with me yet letting me fight my own battle. That was…”
For some reason, her throat closed up as she fought to find the right words. It was amazing, and humbling, and made her wolf howl with longing to have him there all the time.
Lara took a deep breath and tried again. “Just, thank you.”
His lips curled into a smile. “You’re welcome, sugar.”
She let her hands fall to her sides and stepped back. It was time, and prolonging it wasn’t going to make the separation hurt any less. “The mystery is solved. Borealis Gems is safe, and you’re done with the mating fever. I guess there’s no reason for me to torment you and keep you at the pack house any longer.”
The smile stayed, but the light in his eyes faded slightly. “You just got a bigger room, and a bigger bed. Seems a silly time to kick me out.”
Oh God, this was going to be torture.
She tried again, but before she could get out more than a few fumbling words, Alex caught her by the hand and tugged her across the room to the couch that faced the wall of windows.
The sun had set a long time ago, but there were twinkling lights dancing along the water. Along the fence, a dozen hooks were arranged for pack members to leave their clothes, and even now, parts of her family were happily walking out and shifting to fur to run and hunt and enjoy life.
Howling rose on the air, happiness in the tone. It was the sound of a contented pack that knew they had a powerful Alpha in charge who cared for them and wanted their best.
God, it was the most wonderful moment of her life, and yet inside she was dying.
She needed her mate.
His big, beautiful head slipped between her and the scenery. Dark eyes examined her carefully. “I have something I want to tell you, and I need you to listen to all of it before you interrupt.”
“That bad? Interesting…”
He snorted so hard he choked. Lara had to pat him on the back until he calmed down.
“On the list of things to talk about later, your A
untie Amethyst is a real number.”
“She really is.”
Alex caught Lara’s fingers in his, staring at her hand as he rubbed his thumb over the back of her knuckles. “When I tracked you down because I had the mating fever, I swore the commitment was for the week and nothing more. I will stick to that promise because it’s the right thing to do, and I know you’re busy adjusting to being the new Alpha. I figured I should give you some time before I change anything up. I figured I would give you a couple of months before I asked you on a date, but then my bear had a different opinion—”
Oh my God. If she’d been able to suggest a solution, this would’ve been it. Lara pressed her fingers over his mouth to stop the words spewing out in a rapid stream. “You want to us to date? Starting in a couple of months?”
“I thought a couple of months, but my bear thinks we should start tomorrow. Hell, he kinda figured we should just keep on this instant, but I was trying to tell you that—”
Lara’s wolf had perked up to full attention. His bear is smart. Listen to bear. Let’s do this now.
Quiet, please, Lara said quickly. Human side is in charge of timing, although I agree with you.
Alex took a deep breath and squared his shoulders as if he were headed into battle. “Lara, I don’t want to freak you out, and this isn’t because of the mating fever, but damn, you’re one hell of a woman. You’re kind and considerate, and you can kick ass. Hell, you can kick my ass. I went into our time together impressed with you on one level, and I’ve come out the other end not sure how I can survive without you.”
Words were slow to come. Her heart pounded so hard her entire body vibrated, and the power that she’d expended earlier in the day was like a tiny mote of dust compared to the pressure building inside her heart. “Me too. I mean, the way I feel about you changed over the past weeks. I’ve admired you, and I’ve wanted you, but now there’s more to it. More layers. And it’s not just because fate said it should be.”
