Queen Wolf

by Erin M. Leaf

  Avery blinked, but astonishingly, didn’t try to get away from Fletcher’s grip. “Yes. I’m twenty-five now.”

  “Thank God,” Fletcher said, and then he dipped his head and kissed her.

  ****

  Avery froze, stunned when Fletcher just leaned down and kissed her, as if it were perfectly normal to kiss a woman you’d just met again after nearly a decade apart. She hadn’t minded the hands in her hair, or Mitch’s hand on her shoulder, because the touch soothed her wolf in some unfathomable fashion, and she wasn’t about to complain when the prickles in her skin calmed down. However, the kiss was another thing altogether. She lifted her hands, about to push him away, and then his tongue slipped into her mouth and all rational thought fled her skull.

  Oh my God, he tastes like the wind, she thought absurdly, and then Mitch pressed up against her side, and she turned her head, gasping. Before she could take a breath, he kissed her, too. He tasted like a storm, all roiling clouds and lightning, and she realized that the two men tasted the same. She wrenched her head back and stared at them in shock. “Oh my God. What’s happening?” She had never felt this way with Brian. Or anyone, for that matter.

  “I have no fucking idea,” Fletcher said, staring with those golden eyes as if he could see into her soul.

  Avery reached up and tugged her hair away from his fists, then moved so that Mitch’s hand fell away. Her wolf immediately howled again, and she flinched, feeling behind her for the window. She knew there was a small balcony of some sort just below this suite, and she knew she could survive the jump down. But I’m not sure I can survive another second with the two of them, she thought, panicking. How could Paige have been so right about her wanting Fletcher? And Mitch? How could her wolf suddenly go crazy, pushing her to want things she shouldn’t? She wasn’t anyone important. She couldn’t even shift. She wouldn’t bring anything helpful to the pack. Heirs usually married the daughters of Alphas, or Betas, and quite often, the pairings were politically motivated. She was nobody. I have to go, she thought, as fear speared through her arousal.

  “Avery—” Mitch said, reaching out.

  “I’m sorry,” she murmured, and then she let herself twist backwards and down, rolling onto her feet as she landed. She risked a quick glance up—Fletcher and Mitch stared down at her—and then she pushed off and ran away.

  ****

  Fletcher grabbed for her, but the woman twisted like an acrobat as she fell. The moment she landed on the small balcony, she was moving. “Shit!” He crouched, about to leap out and follow her, when Mitch put a hand on his arm, holding him back. He shook it off, angrily. “What the fuck, Mitch?”

  Mitch stepped back, eyes still glowing with his wolf’s power. “She’s gone, Fletcher.” He pointed.

  Fletcher glanced back out just in time to see the flash of Avery’s hair as she darted into the trees. “Fuck.” He looked at his friend. “She’s not so gone that we can’t catch her, if you’d just let me the fuck go.”

  “We can’t. Your parents will be looking for us.” Mitch tightened his grip. “What the hell just happened, anyway?”

  “Fuck my parents.” Fletcher looked at his best friend. “And you know exactly what happened, Mitch. Don’t try and pretend you don’t.” He looked outside again. He could still smell her up inside his head. “We can track her.”

  “She doesn’t want us to follow her,” Mitch pointed out, unnecessarily, in Fletcher’s opinion. Before he could argue further, the door opened.

  “Fletcher,” his father said, striding across the room, smiling. “Welcome home.”

  Fletcher let his father pull him into a hug, even as the Alpha power in him rose up and pushed against his father’s. It hurt. The erection he’d had from kissing Avery faded as his wolf paced inside his soul, trying to prod him into shifting. Fletcher clamped his teeth together and resisted, determined to resist the violence he seemed to need. He had no desire to fight his own father. Not now. Not ever.

  “Boris,” Mitch said, obviously sensing Fletcher’s struggle to contain his agitation. “It’s good to see you.” He touched Fletcher on the shoulder, helping soothe his instinctive aggression.

  Fletcher’s father let go with a crooked smile, as if he knew something Fletcher didn’t, and then he hugged Mitch briefly. “Mitch, it’s good to see you, too.”

  Mitch nodded, then tilted his head, offering his neck in submission.

  Fletcher’s father laughed. “None of that, Beta. There’s only one wolf you need to offer your neck to anymore.”

  Mitch went still. “What?”

  Fletcher stepped back, hoping more distance would help his beast settle the hell down. “Father, you’re being cryptic.” He glanced at Mitch, but his best friend just shook his head, obviously just as mystified as he was.

  “Don’t be an idiot,” his father said, tilting his head. His wolf looked out of his eyes, calm and powerful, and again, Fletcher fought back a snarl. “Your mother and I have been looking forward to this for the past few years, and your Uncle Marcus will be relieved to retire to just running the Sanctuary instead of working as my Beta, too. Two full time jobs take a toll.” He grinned. “And we’re planning on doing a lot of traveling together now that you’re ready.”

  Ready? Ah, hell. Fletcher swallowed against the lump in his throat as he realized precisely what his father meant. He hadn’t been sure what would happen when he got home, but he’d known it could be difficult. “You know?” he asked, not sure if he felt relief, or sorrow. His wolf howled, though, clearly ready to assume the dominant position in the pack. Down, boy, Fletcher told him, futilely. His beast was part of him, and he could no more order the wolf down than he could order himself to change his nature. He was a shifter, and an Alpha wolf, and he was home. Boulder Pack was his pack, and he was ready to take his rightful place.

  “Of course I know. What the hell kind of Alpha would I be if I didn’t know when it was time to step down?” Fletcher’s father gestured to the room. “You came home a few days earlier than I’d anticipated, but it’s fine. We’ll have the rest of the stuff cleared out of here in a few hours.”

  “I had no idea,” Fletcher managed to say. His father was a little grayer, but otherwise seemed to be in excellent health. And his power felt as strong as always. “Shit, wait.” He ran a hand over his face. “No, I’m not pushing you out of your room. That’s a dick move.”

  “Your mother and I have already built our cabin,” his father said, smiling. “Your mother is delighted, actually. She got to put in the kitchen she’s always wanted. She’s planning on baking a lot, from the collection of cookbooks she’s recently begun to purchase. You’re not pushing us out anywhere, Fletcher.”

  Fletcher blinked. “The new cabin down the road?” He and Mitch had seen it as they’d driven up the mountain after their short jaunt in the woods.

  His father nodded, still smiling, but then his expression shifted into the sometimes-stern parent Fletcher remembered. “Your mother told me you hugged her, and then ran up here the moment you saw Avery,” he said, and then he turned his light brown gaze on Mitch. “You, too.”

  Mitch looked down. Fletcher knew his friend wasn’t exactly ashamed. It was more that he had no idea what to say. I don’t either, for that matter, he thought, very carefully not touching his best friend. The last thing he needed was to get a boner in front of his father, and he still felt the same arousal around Mitch that he had for the past few years. And then when he’d seen Avery, it was like someone had punched him in the chest and nuts at the same time. He didn’t remember going up the stairs. He didn’t remember walking across the room. All he remembered were her silver eyes, and the taste of her mouth. “Dad—” he began, but his voice cracked.

  “Stop.” His father put a hand on his shoulder.

  Fletcher tensed. Power bounced back and forth between them. His wolf did not like another Alpha touching him like that. He bit back a growl. He loved his father, and he prided himself on his self-control. He would not
let his beast rule his life. He breathed in, held it for a beat, then exhaled. He’d spent the last fifteen years learning control.

  His father nodded, as if he’d sensed Fletcher’s mental gymnastics.

  Fletcher grimaced.

  “Our world is changing, Fletcher,” his father said, stepping back. “You need to change with it, or the world will kill you.” He glanced at the open window, then at Mitch. “In times past, our leaders were required to bond in a triad. You could do worse than Avery. She’s strong and intelligent.”

  Fletcher went still. He can’t possibly mean…

  “Those are just stories,” Mitch said, echoing Fletcher’s thoughts, as he so often did.

  Fletcher’s father shook his head. “No, they’re not stories. They’re part of our history. Go down to the archives and look at the genealogy records. You will no longer be barred from opening them, you know. You’re a mature Alpha now.” He glanced at Mitch. “Take your Beta with you.”

  Fletcher gripped the windowsill behind him. There were parts of their history preserved in the Pack’s library, the most important of which were the genealogy records. He remembered his father showing them to him years ago, when he’d been a young boy. However, only the true pack Alpha could open the cabinet. He’d tried, years ago, and it was like something pushed his hands away even as he gripped the old iron latch. He had no idea how the mechanism worked, or why he couldn’t push through it, but it had kept their archives safe for as long as there’d been a Boulder Pack.

  Fletcher shook his head at the thought of opening the cabinet without his father. “Dad, I don’t want to push you out.” His heart hurt at the thought. His wolf howled, still wanting to chase after Avery. He felt like he was being pulled in three different directions at once.

  His father smiled, gently. “Don’t you remember your grandfather?”

  Fletcher frowned. He remembered his grandfather quite well. The old man had been a wonderful teacher, but he certainly hadn’t been an Alpha. Maybe a strong, dominant wolf, but not a leader. Fletcher thought it was because his wife had died young, and taken the heart out of him. As long as he could remember, his father had been the Alpha. “Wait. Are you telling me that he stepped down? He was an Alpha?”

  His father nodded. “Of course. That is our way. Surely you’ve seen it in the other packs around the world?”

  Fletcher grimaced. He didn’t like to think about some of the things he’d seen elsewhere.

  “There was patricide. And war, more often,” Mitch said quietly. “None of the western packs lost an Alpha during our visits, so we have no way to compare what the more peaceful groups do.”

  Fletcher’s father frowned. “Ah. Well. We are a long-lived species. Most of us Alphas in North America have been around for a while. I’m one of the oldest.”

  Fletcher nodded. “How did I not know that you would step down? I, of all people, should have known.” He glanced at Mitch, but his friend shook his head. “None of our generation know this.”

  His father sighed. “It is forbidden to tell you, or you would not have left for your walkabout, and that is a vital part of your education. Instinct is much more important for us wolves than most of us realize.” He rolled his shoulders. “You needed to feel that friction with me, and the urge to go. The pack needed you to be gone, so that there would be no confusion when it became time to transition to new leadership.” He lifted one hand while slashing the other down. “Our nature gives us many gifts, but it also takes something away from us. It’s painful, but necessary.” He dropped his hands. “Your mother and I missed you very much, over the years. We had Paige, of course, but she missed her brother, too.”

  “That actually makes sense,” Mitch said slowly, sounding thoughtful. “Send the younger Alpha out and away to learn, and survive on his own, so that when he returns, the pack will be stronger with his knowledge.”

  Fletcher’s father nodded. “Precisely. Most of the oldest members of the pack remember, but no one likes to talk about it.” He looked at Mitch. “Your grandmother knows.”

  Mitch frowned. “She isn’t the easiest person to get along with. I won’t be asking her about it. You know that.”

  Fletcher rubbed his eyes. “Will we be able to touch each other, after?” He couldn’t bring himself to say “take over”. The thought hurt.

  “Oh, yes. That is the best part. Our beasts know when the transition is complete.” His father smiled. “I’m looking forward to it.”

  “I’m not,” Fletcher muttered.

  His father laughed. “You will be happy you’re the Alpha when you claim your Queen.”

  Fletcher glanced at the window again. “We don’t have Queens.”

  “Not anymore, but we used to, and I have a feeling that you’re the Alpha who will remind us all of what we’ve lost, and what we can’t afford to continue to deny.” His father slapped him on the shoulder. “Come on. Your mother is waiting for you downstairs, and some of the young men are waiting to haul the rest of these boxes out of here.” He looked at Mitch. “You, too.” He looked at the open window, then turned and headed for the door. He paused, hand on the latch. “Avery will be fine. She’s on our territory.”

  “No one is waiting for me downstairs,” Mitch said, snorting. “Especially not my grandmother.”

  “Old Dame Bridget may surprise you,” Fletcher’s father said, walking out the door. “Don’t chase after Avery tonight, okay? She’s not ready. You remember she can’t shift.”

  “Wait. What did you say?” Fletcher didn’t understand. How can a werewolf not be able to shift? And if there was one thing he knew with utter certainty, it was that Avery was a strong female wolf. Her eyes and her demeanor told him that. And if he doubted his senses for even half a minute, his wolf would inform him otherwise. His inner beast had scented and claimed her from the moment he’d seen her standing in the room. But then, remember how late you came to shifting. People thought there might be something wrong with you, he reminded himself. It turned out that he was simply a late bloomer. Perhaps Avery is similar, he mused, ignoring the fact that she was a full-grown female in her twenties, and his supposedly late shifting had happened when he was a teen.

  “She has never been able to shift into her wolf form,” his father said, shrugging. “She thinks she’s defective, but I have a feeling she’s going to surprise all of us. She’s the strongest female wolf I’ve ever met.” He smiled at his son. “She doesn’t know it, of course. She’ll learn soon enough.”

  Fletcher caught Mitch’s eye as they walked downstairs. I don’t want her alone out there, no matter what my father says about her strength, especially if she can’t shift. She’s vulnerable in human form. Mitch nodded as if he could read Fletcher’s thoughts and slipped away when they reached the ground floor. He knew his father noticed—the man noticed everything—but he didn’t say a word. He lifted an eyebrow at Fletcher, but Fletcher just stared back defiantly until his father chuckled.

  “You’re going to regret tracking her tonight,” his father murmured. “Women are touchy about things like that.”

  I don’t care, Fletcher thought, thinking of Avery out there in the dark, alone. Unprotected. His wolf snarled, and he knew he’d done the right thing in sending Mitch out. “I’d regret not sending him even more.” He took in the young men waiting to help move his parents’ belongings, and suddenly felt very old. I’m only thirty-five, but I feel fifty. The younger pack members hadn’t seen what he’d seen. He nodded to them, and they stepped back, looking to his father. Fletcher knew they sensed his Alpha status, even though he’d made no effort to command them or push his power out through the Pack’s amorphous kinship bonds.

  “You’re going to have to get used to him eventually,” Fletcher’s father said to the youngsters, smiling. “He doesn’t bite.”

  Fletcher raised an eyebrow at his father. He did indeed bite, especially if someone deserved it.

  “Much,” his father amended. “Go get the boxes. The sooner I’m out of he
re, the sooner the pack will settle down.”

  The youngsters edged around Fletcher as if he were toxic. He sensed their apprehension and had to laugh. “What do they think I’m going to do to them?” He recognized a few of them from his visits home, but they’d been babies when he’d first left.

  “It’s good to have some fear of the Alpha,” his father said.

  Fletcher rolled his eyes, and then his mother came in the front door. “Fletcher! You ran away so fast I didn’t have time to give you this.” She held out a ring with a set of keys dangling from it. “These are for all the doors you’ll ever need to open in the big house.”

  “I didn’t run away.” He wasn’t trying to avoid her, or his father, but he’d needed to follow Avery. Not that I’m going to explain that to my mother.

  “Well, the end result was the same,” his mother said, eyes twinkling in a way that told Fletcher she knew precisely to whom he’d run. She jingled the keys.

  Fletcher slowly reached out, not sure if he should take them or not. He recognized the set from the countless times he’d seen his father scoop them up and drop them in his pocket. “What about you? Surely you’re not locking yourself out of the big house?”

  She shook her head. “Of course not. We’ll use the set your grandfather left us.” She dropped the keys in his palm, then pretended to dust her hands off. “There! That’s done.” She looked at Fletcher’s father, smiling widely. “We’ll be sleeping in our new place tonight. I can’t wait.”

  Fletcher shook his head. “I had no idea you’d be so eager to move.” He looked down at the keys. The worn metal felt warm. He slid them into his pocket, feeling as though he’d just opened the door to a vast cavern. He could feel Boulder Pack at the edge of his mind, and his wolf started pacing, but he sensed no danger.

  His mother shrugged. “It’s time. Retirement is very appealing. We’ll be going to Italy and the Grand Canyon and maybe Alaska.”

  Fletcher had to laugh. “Such grand plans.”