by Dena Christy
Honor’s lower lip trembled when she saw Mercy Chambers standing in front of her. She was the closest friend she had in Eden Creek, and seeing her now made her realize how much she’d missed having her by her side over the last few days. She’d always been able to tell Mercy anything, ever since they were kids.
“This is the worst day of my life.” Honor spoke at a volume that only Mercy could hear. A sympathetic look came into her friend’s topaz colored eyes and she looked around. The crowd was thinning now and Honor hoped it meant that this part would soon be finished.
“Why don’t you take a break for a few minutes, and we’ll go get some air.” Mercy took her hand and led her through the people milling around the room. A large shadow fell behind them, and Honor turned her head to see Rafe following them. Mercy noticed too and smiled brightly at Rafe. “We’re just going outside, big guy.”
“I know. Pretend I’m not here.”
Honor knew that Rafe would not let her out of his sight, especially not when Barrett could show up at any time. Once they were outside, he put enough distance between them so that she could talk quietly with Mercy without feeling like he was breathing down her neck. Mercy led her over to the wooden bench that was in the garden area beside the funeral home. Rafe was far enough away that Honor was sure he wouldn’t be able to hear them, but was close enough that he could see her and come to her aid if she needed him. If Barrett Todd showed up, there was no way he was getting by Rafe. Her reprieve from him would end soon. She shoved it from her mind when she turned to look at her friend.
“We will discuss what is going on with him in a minute.” Mercy inclined her head toward Rafe. She clasped Honor’s hand and Honor clung to her. She’d missed her friend over the past couple of days but Mercy had been out of town when Quinn was killed. “I leave town for a week and everything has gone to hell.”
“When did you get back?”
“Last night. As soon as I heard about Quinn, I went to your house and you were nowhere to be found. I heard you were lying low in Cold Bay, so I thought it better if we talked in person, which is why I didn’t call you. I’m sorry about Quinn, I know how close you two were.”
Honor swallowed hard. She was so sick of crying and frankly she wasn’t sure if she had any tears left. Being here today had finally shown her that Quinn was never coming back. Rafe had been strong and steady beside her during the service and put his arm around her when she’d broken down. He’d even wiped away a few tears of his own during the service.
“Thank you. I can’t believe he’s gone.”
“And why are you hiding in Cold Bay?” There was no judgment in Mercy’s eyes, just curiosity. Honor had been afraid that members of her pack would judge her harshly for her decision to flee Eden Creek in the wake of Quinn’s death, but there had only been understanding and sadness in the eyes of the pack members who spoke to her.
“Barrett.” That one name carried a wealth of information, and Mercy’s lip pulled up in a sneer. To say there was no love lost between Mercy and Barrett was an understatement.
“I should have known that slimeball had something to do with it. What happened?” The look on Mercy’s face was fierce and if Barrett was standing in front of them Honor was certain that Mercy would rip his face off.
“He came to my place shortly after I found out about Quinn and asked me to be his mate. When I refused he threatened me, saying when he was alpha he would make me a lone wolf if I didn’t do what he wanted.”
“What a piece of shit.” Mercy gave her head a shake and squeezed Honor’s hand. “Do you think he had something to do with Quinn’s death?”
“I have no idea.” Honor sagged back on the bench, let go of Mercy’s hand and rubbed her finger over her left eye. She was getting a headache and wanted nothing more than to leave and hide out at Rafe’s house. But she needed to stay here until the bitter end and she didn’t want to think about Barrett Todd and his possible involvement in Quinn’s death. “I suppose I’ll know more once the police are done investigating.”
“And how is it going, staying with Rafe? Still, have that crush on him that you had ten years ago?”
Honor’s cheeks burned hot as she glanced over to where Rafe was standing, wanting to be sure that he hadn’t heard what Mercy had said. Her friend was notoriously blunt, and a glance over at her told Honor that she was enjoying her reaction.
“I’m not a teenager now. He’s just a friend who’s helping me out.” Honor wouldn’t look at Mercy because she would know that wasn’t all there was to it.
“Yeah right.” Mercy laughed as she looked over at Rafe and raised her hand in a wave. A puzzled frown pulled Rafe’s brows together as he lifted his hand in return. “I think we all had a crush on Rafe back in the day. The years have been kind, that’s for sure. I don’t know if I could control myself if I was alone in a house with him.”
There was a speculative look on Mercy’s face when she looked back at Honor. Honor knew exactly what her friend wanted to know.
“If that is your not so subtle way of asking me if I’m sleeping with him, then the answer is no. I just lost my brother, and I’m not exactly in a place in my life where a relationship is what I need.”
“Who said anything about a relationship? I keep telling you that you can have fun with a man without it needing to go somewhere. I hope you don’t plan on dying an old maid.” Mercy put an emphasis on the word maid, and Honor knew it was a dig at the fact that she’d never had sex with anyone. Honor, the twenty-six-year-old virgin, what a joke. Something must have shown on her face because Mercy’s eyes softened. “You know I’m only teasing you, right? I get it. It’s hard to get to know someone well enough to know if you can trust them. And with your brother being overprotective your whole life, and with slimeballs like Barrett Todd around, who are only after what they can get, I understand why you have held yourself back. But if there is any man you can trust, it’s him.”
Mercy jerked her head toward Rafe, and Honor agreed with her. When she was a teenager, he was the man she dreamed of giving herself to, and she could do a lot worse than putting her first time in his hands.
“There’s only one problem. He still sees me as Quinn’s little sister.”
“So make him see you as the woman you are.”
“It’s not that easy, and I’m out of time. I can’t stay in Cold Bay for much longer and there is no way that I’ll be able to go back to the pack if Barrett becomes alpha.”
“What are you going to do?” The smile faded off Mercy’s face, and Honor looked at her and then looked straight ahead. The sun was sinking in the sky and as soon as it went below the horizon the members of the Eden Creek pack would go back home so they could choose their new alpha. Once that happened, Honor would be forced to make a choice, one that she dreaded.
“I don’t know. I can’t give myself to Barrett and if he is alpha, he will force my hand. I may very well be facing a future as a lone wolf.” Even as she said it, Honor prayed that some miracle would save her from that fate. A pack was everything to a werewolf, and without one, she would truly be alone in the world. All her ties with her former pack would be severed, and even Mercy would have to act like she was dead and not speak to her.
“I hope it doesn’t come to that. I for one have no intention of voting for Barrett and hopefully, other members of the pack won’t either.” Mercy put her arm around Honor and gave her a squeeze. “We’ll talk again soon.”
Mercy stood up but Honor stayed where she was. She was bone tired, and she needed a few more minutes before she went back in and faced all those people. Mercy walked over to Rafe and spoke with him for a second. He nodded his head, and she patted him on the arm before she turned and walked toward the parking lot. Rafe walked toward the bench and sat down beside her.
“How are you holding up?” There was a small distance between them, and Honor wanted to move over so that she could feel his warmth and strength. She didn’t do it because she was going to have to learn to do every
thing on her own.
“I’m getting tired. And am not looking forward to what happens after tonight.”
He didn’t say anything, and she looked over at him. He was staring straight ahead and looked deep in thought.
“Come to the bar with me once this is over.” He put his arm around her and pulled her close to him.
“Oh, I was planning on going back to your place to pack.”
“There will be time for that, but I think we both need a break. We’ll go out, have something to eat, have a few drinks and celebrate Quinn.”
She leaned closer to him and slipped her arm around his waist. More than anything she wanted to spend more time with him, but she knew that the clock hanging over her head was winding down. Logan had said that he wouldn’t interfere once Eden Creek chose an alpha. In her bones, she knew that Barrett would be chosen. She should pack her things and flee before he could come for her, but she didn’t want to walk away from Rafe, at least not yet. She wanted a couple more hours with him before she said goodbye.
“Ok. We’ll go to Sawyer’s and have a few drinks for Quinn. I think he’d like that.”
Finally, it was over. One of the hardest things Rafe had ever had to do in his life was to say goodbye to Quinn. He understood now why many people considered a funeral to be closure. The service today had finally shown him that Quinn was gone. He could only imagine what Honor was going through since Quinn had been the only family she had left. He looked at her as she sat across from him at a booth at Sawyer’s and he wondered how he was going to say goodbye to her too.
And he would need to. She couldn’t stay with him in his house forever. He shoved aside the empty feeling that the thought of going back to living in that big house alone conjured up. It was how he liked things. Once she was gone his life could go back to normal, back to the way he wanted it.
“So what do you plan to do?” Rafe picked up his beer bottle and took a sip. So far he and Honor had shared little conversation. She’d seemed lost in thought, and he’d let her be for a while.
“I have no idea. I can’t go home, that’s for sure, not unless I want to become Mrs. Barrett Todd. I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m afraid that running to your house was the extent of my planning when Quinn died.” She took a sip of her drink with a rueful smile. “I’ll think of something. Maybe it’s time to start over again somewhere else.”
Rafe’s gut clenched for a second at the thought that she would have to leave the area forever. Quinn would want him to look out for her, and how was he going to do that if she wasn’t around?
“God damn it. We can’t just let that fucker Barrett win.” Rafe’s hand tightened into a fist where it rested on the table. He wanted to go find that prick and smash his teeth in. It went against everything inside him to let a bully like him get away with what he was doing to her.
“He’s not worth getting mad over. The only way to take the sting out of his threat is for me to mate with someone else, and I don’t exactly see a lineup of fellas waiting to make that happen.”
He didn’t like the thought of Honor mating with someone just to keep Barrett at bay. Despite what she said about there not being a lineup, with her looks and her bloodlines Rafe was fairly certain that they could find someone to mate with her in a short span of time if they tried hard enough. But his mind shied away from giving her to just anyone. Who was to say that her situation would be any better than it would be if she gave Barrett what he wanted? Honor deserved to be with someone that would cherish her and needed a mate who would show her every day just what a prize she was.
She looked at her watch and quickly finished the rest of her drink. “I should get going. Can you give me a ride back to your house? It won’t take long to get my stuff together and then I’ll be out of your hair. I’m sure you’ll enjoy having your house to yourself again.”
Actually, he was sure that he was going to miss having her around. She’d blended seamlessly into his daily routine over the past couple of days and he looked forward to seeing her when he got up in the morning.
And he’d just said goodbye to his childhood friend, and the loss still felt heavy inside him. He couldn’t let her go yet. A glance at his own watch told him that they would cut it close, but he couldn’t take her out to his truck where he would start the process of sending her off alone. It went against every instinct he had to let her go. A slow song came on over the speakers in the bar, and inspiration struck him.
“You aren’t going anywhere until you have a dance with me.” He slid out of the booth and held his hand out to her. She looked at him like something wasn’t right about him, and even he had to admit he didn’t know what was driving him to do this. The smart thing to do was to take her out to the truck and drive her out of his life. He would do that because that was what would be best for her. But first, he wanted to hold her in his arms one more time. “Come on. It’s what Quinn would want.”
“Quinn would want me to dance with you?” She raised an eyebrow at him and he gave her a lopsided grin. They both knew that dancing with her would be the last thing Quinn would want him to do. His reputation was a little too love ‘em and leave ‘em for Quinn to want him to have anything to do with his baby sister.
“He would want you to have a little fun, and this is the best I can do.” He wiggled his hand, and she slid hers into it. He clasped it and pulled her to her feet. No one in the bar paid any attention to them, and he pulled her into his arms once they got to the tiny dance floor.
She kept a small distance between them, and it wasn’t enough for him. If this was how he was going to say goodbye to her, if he would never see her again after tonight, then he wanted to hold her close as they swayed to the music.
“I think we can do better than this.” He tightened his arms and reeled her body close to his. She rested her head against his chest, and the sweet fruity smell of her shampoo drifted up to him. She’d put her hair up for the funeral, and Rafe itched to take the pins out and let it spill down her back in a fiery waterfall. An image came into his mind of her long silky hair falling down to her waist while she was naked on top of him. He ruthlessly shoved that thought aside. If she’d been any other woman, he’d be doing his best to seduce her but this was Honor. He’d known her practically her whole life, and she deserved better than what he could give her.
The best he could do was stroke his hand over the side of her head and she tipped her head so she could look up at him. He was caught by the warm brown depths of her eyes, and he couldn’t help himself. Her eyes pulled him in and he couldn’t stop from bending his head toward her. The music, the chatter, all the sounds of a busy bar faded as she became the center of his world.
Her eyes widen for a second and she seemed surprised by what he was about to do. It should have stopped him and it might have if her eyelids hadn’t drifted shut. He knew with a certainty that went deep down in his bones that he couldn’t let her go until he tasted her lips at least once. One kiss was all he needed and then he could take her out of here and send her on her way.
His lips touched hers and it felt like coming home after a long journey in the wilderness. Something settled inside him, a feeling of rightness that he’d never experienced before. It should have scared the shit out of him, and if he had time to think about it maybe it would. But for right now Honor and the way she felt against him was the only thing in his head.
The petal-like softness of her plump lips, the heady scent of her shampoo and skin, and the weight of her womanly curves against him bewitched him. He moved his mouth on hers as he tightened his arms around her. Every thought was driven out of his head until she became the center of his world. It hit him with the force of a wrecking ball that he didn’t know how he was going to let her go. The urge to take her to his home, to guard her like the precious prize she was, made a rumbling noise come out of his chest.
Her hands stroked over his shoulders, soothing him as he deepened his kiss. God, kissing her once was not going to be en
ough. Damn it, why did he have to feel this way with her? He’d wanted plenty of women in his life, but none with this kind of urgency. He wanted to take her home and make love with her, and that was only after sharing one kiss. With his heart pounding in his chest, he forced himself to pull away from her. He couldn’t be getting this turned on in a crowded bar, couldn’t be having the thoughts about her that were circling in his head. He couldn’t keep her, she deserved more than the only thing he could give her, which was a quick fling. She needed a man who could give her everything, and Rafe didn’t have that in him.
She looked up at him and there was a dazed look in her eyes as if the kiss had knocked her for a loop too. He put his hand on her cheek and she rested against it.
It came to him then that the bar was silent, that it hadn’t been kissing Honor that had blotted out the noise, but something else. He tore his eyes away from her, and all thoughts of the kiss were shoved aside when he saw six or seven wolves that he didn’t know headed by Barrett Todd.
“Well, isn’t this cozy,” Barrett said and Honor gasped. The blood drained from her face and Rafe steadied her when she swayed on her feet. He took her arm and gently guided her behind him.
The tension in the room was so thick that it could be cut with a knife. Rafe knew that the only thing keeping it from erupting into an all-out brawl was Logan’s presence in the middle of the room. If not for that, Rafe was sure the members of the Cold Bay pack would attack the strangers in their midst.
“Now that we have everyone’s attention, perhaps the members of the Eden Creek pack can explain what the hell they are doing in my bar.” Logan came to stand by Rafe’s side and turned to face Barrett. The reckoning with East Brook had come a lot faster than Rafe had expected. Why the hell had he suggested to Honor that they come here? His selfish desire to keep her from going on her way had put her right into Barrett’s hands.
“I am now alpha of the East Brook pack.” Honor’s swift intake of breath showed that she was as surprised as Rafe was. They’d both assumed that Barrett would become alpha, but it had happened a lot faster than it should have. There should have been a fight for dominance and there didn’t appear to be a scratch on him. “As alpha, I’ve come to collect the member of East Brook who has been sheltered here in Cold Bay. When I was here the last time, Logan, I had your word that you would not interfere. I’m going to hold you to that.”
