Wade and I sat in silence for a moment while my brain rushed through all of the potential ways to evade my blood brother's inevitable wrath. Really, there was only one solution, but I hated to tie this drifter down at such a young age, not when he might not fully understand that he was about to partake of an oath stronger than a human marriage vow. Because the reality was, when swearing allegiance to an alpha in the old way, there was no option for divorce.
"Um, I can just go if you want," Wade ventured at last, his eyes scanning the small space as if seeking an escape hatch. "I really appreciate the help, but I don't want to cause you any more trouble...."
"Is leaving what you really want to do?" I asked him, pinning the younger shifter down with a penetrating stare. I didn't like using my alpha strength on someone smaller and weaker than I was, but it was essential to make sure I wasn't forcing this teenager to swear to me against his will.
For a moment, the boy seemed undecided. Then, beneath his skin, his wolf rose to its feet and tentatively wagged its tail in my direction, dropping its front paws down as if to play. Naw, the kid didn't really want to go back into outpack territory, wandering without a family until the packless ache in his gut made him do something stupid once again.
But Wade's human side still felt like he owed me for releasing him from Justin's chains, and the kid didn't want to cause any more hassle than he already had. So he shifted uncomfortably beneath my gaze before finally shaking his head slowly but firmly. Nope, the boy didn't want to keep drifting, which was all I really needed to know.
Wade, on the other hand, needed to know a whole lot more before he could make an informed decision.
"Okay, here's what you're getting into," I said, and proceeded to lay out the facts as the rest of my pack gathered outside Chase's and my tent. Because, of course, my milk brother wouldn't have stopped at waking Oscar. My friend would have talked to his mother first, and Tia would have ordered him to round up the rest of our little band while he was at it. Tradition required all members of a werewolf tribe to be present at a swearing in, and my present and future pack members all deserved the full ceremony rather than the truncated version I'd been planning. Trust Tia to have thought through all of the repercussions of what seemed like a simple matter to my lupine brain.
"We're not a normal pack," I finished my explanation, jerking my chin toward the open doorway and letting the young drifter smell for himself the hodgepodge of shifters who called me alpha. Our clan was a smaller, tighter pack than we'd been when leaving the Young property seven years earlier. In the interim, many of our number had found mates in other packs and had moved away with my blessing to make new homes for themselves elsewhere. Those shifters had been held in my father's tribe by the older alpha's refusal to relinquish any perceived power, but I saw no reason to stand between any werewolf and his or her happiness.
My cousin Berndt, on the other hand, had recently taken a purely human wife, which added to our strength in my opinion but would count as a detriment by the standards of most werewolves. Then there was the halfie Fen, a twelve-year-old tomboy who had opted to stay with us when her parents moved back in with her mother's human relatives. Even rubbing the sleepy dust out of her eyes, Fen looked ready to take on the world, and now she shot me a glance, ready and waiting for a command to take the older and larger stranger beside me down.
All told, our so-called clan numbered seven, me included, a laughable showing when two members were women and one was a little girl. But Wade didn't laugh. Instead, I could see that his wolf felt an instant kinship with the hodgepodge of shifters and non-shifters assembled just beyond the tent's canvas walls.
"I'd be honored to become a part of your pack," the drifter said after a moment of reflection, pitching his words loud enough to be heard by the onlookers. And I could have sworn that, for the first time that night, the burnt overtone began to lift away from the teenager's scent.
So I nodded toward Chase, who slipped out of his clothes and donned fur at my feet. Traditionally, we should have used a knife to tear through skin, but my milk brother's teeth were sharp and would do the job just as well. Plus, it seemed fitting that the bond Wade and I were building should reach beyond myself and this young drifter shivering by my side.
But words before blood. "Wade Young," I said, giving the kid my own last name in lieu of the surname he'd been hesitant to reveal. I understood—lone wolves were often tossed out of their home packs for no reason beyond looking at their alphas funny, so I wouldn't particularly want to be tied by name to his old clan either. "Do you promise to protect and support every member of this clan with your life's blood and to accept our protection in return?"
Oscar shot me a surprised glance, but no one else seemed to realize that I had played fast and loose with the traditional wording of the fealty oath. Usually, an alpha would require a new member to swear allegiance to the leader himself and would promise nothing in exchange, but that seemed like a pretty crappy deal to me.
Plus, what kind of protection was I likely to need? If Wade was ever going to risk his life for someone, I wanted him to protect Berndt's human wife Acacia. Or to stand back to back with Chase, if for some reason I wasn't there to do my duty by my milk brother when danger came to call.
"I promise," Wade said, his voice firmer than I would have expected after the night's ordeal. We still haven't taken time to give him anything to eat or drink, I realized, but I pushed that thought aside in order to make my own vow in exchange.
"And I, Wolf Young, take you into my pack. I will protect you and support you with my life's blood for as long as we both shall live." Lowering my wrist, I felt the sharp pain as Chase's teeth ripped through my skin, then watched as Wade unflinchingly allowed his own flesh to be torn in turn.
Deep inside, my lupine mind snickered a bit at the pomp and circumstance. After all, the truth was that neither the words we spoke nor the blood we drank really mattered. What would make this ceremony so real that even Justin would be able to smell my ownership of this young shifter was my intention to make Wade my own, combined with the drifter's intention to submit to my alpha commands. So, as I lifted my hand to offer life's blood to my newest pack member and to lick the trickle of liquid off his wrist in turn, I promised myself that Wade would become as much a brother to me as Chase was.
Outpack drifter no more, the werewolf who stood straight and tall in front of me had clearly resolved to do the same. In fact, I could almost see the bands of packhood forming between Wade and the other shifters arrayed around us. And when I sniffed the air, I smelled only apple cider and cinnamon coming from the boy's direction, the trauma of the previous hours entirely washed away by his introduction to our found family.
The final hint of tension that had ached across my shoulders eased then as I realized that it was finally time to relax my guard. Because no one now stood in my temporary territory except members of my own pack.
Chapter 5
JUSTIN AND HIS lackeys showed up at our camp boundaries at dawn, waking me out of a blissful sleep. It had simply felt right to drowse off in a jumble of fur and paws after our fealty ceremony, a third wolf sharing the tent that had previously housed only my milk brother and myself. In the wee hours of the morning, I'd listened as first Chase and then Wade allowed their consciousness to slip away, and the sound of my pack mates' calm breathing was enough to make what was bound to be a stressful day ahead seem worthwhile. Then, eventually, I'd joined the others in catching a few z's.
Of course, I'd chosen to nap in lupine form to ensure that—unlike my blood brother—I wouldn't sleep through any important occurrences. Sure enough, I came awake in time to catch the first hint of the inevitable drama unfolding a dozen yards away.
"Fuck, no, I won't go back to my own territory and wait!" Justin shouted as I yawned and slowly rose onto two feet. Much as I hated to leave my wolf behind, I'd require the cleverness of my human tongue to prevent bloodshed today. "He has something that belongs to me," my blood brother continued,
"and I plan to walk in there and take back what's mine."
"You will do as I say." I was surprised to hear the second voice, although I really shouldn't have been. As All-Pack host, Chief Wilder had every right to mediate altercations between other alphas. On the other hand, I'd never known the old man to show any particular aversion to knuckles hitting skin, so I would have expected the powerful alpha to simply gather up some popcorn and a lounge chair to better enjoy the upcoming performance. Because why halt a potential fight when you could instead choose to watch and gloat over the aftermath?
Still, Crazy Wilder always did have a bone to pick with my father. So it wasn't such a surprise to find that his antipathy had carried past the grave and fallen upon my brother's head. The question was—would Crazy Wilder's dislike extend to encompass me as well?
Not that it really mattered. I fought my own battles and was quite prepared to take Justin down. And, if I had to, I'd find a way to vanquish Crazy Wilder as well, assuming the older alpha so much as looked at my pack funny.
"What do you want us to do?" Wade asked quietly, and I turned to catch the teenager and my milk brother both peering at me with equally questioning gazes. The duo clearly expected me to have all the answers, although both were ready to dive in and support me if necessary. Looked like I was going to be required to act as more than a figurehead this morning.
Despite myself, I shivered, unable to hold onto the same easy arrogance when two-legged that I had felt while in lupine form. Meanwhile, my human brain was kicking rustily into gear, reminding me that seven pack mates now looked to me for protection and that the day's stakes were much higher than my wish to see my brother humiliated in front of the other packs. If I played my cards wrong this morning, then Wade would end up back in the hands of the sadistic bastard who I so unwillingly called my brother, and Justin wouldn't hesitate to make the ex-drifter suffer before killing him very publicly this time around.
As if Wade's continuing existence wasn't pressure enough, there was also the issue of my pack's territorial claim. Without the public recognition that I was hoping to garner at this year's gathering, any outpack werewolf would be within his rights to sneak onto our property and wreak havoc. Coming openly to All-Pack had been a gamble in that regard. I was still hoping to be formally recognized as alpha before the week was out, but as part of applying for that privilege, I'd dropped the anonymity that had protected my pack mates for the last seven years. In the past, no one had cared whether or not my pack existed. But if we failed to win pack status now, it would be open season on Pack Young.
Chase raised one eyebrow, picking up on my apprehensions, and I knew it would only be a matter of seconds before my milk brother passed his uneasiness along to Wade, who would in turn transfer the lack of confidence to the rest of the pack. Time to suck it up and act like an alpha.
So I took a deep breath and then gazed into first Chase's and then Wade's eyes. "You don't need to do anything," I told them firmly. "I've got a breakfast date with my brother, so you two just get to watch."
* * *
NOW THAT I could see him face-to-face in daylight, Justin looked less like my evil twin and more like our shared father. And since being glared at by those cold brown eyes reminded me far too much of similar setdowns by the old Chief Young, I came out swinging...metaphorically speaking, that is.
"I would say it's good to see you," I called as I strode closer. "But, gee, I was actually hoping you'd make like a sewer and get the shit out of here."
It was a childish jab, but when Justin's jaw clenched, I knew my words had hit home. Still, the other alpha had clearly matured during the years we'd spent apart, and Justin wasn't willing to be goaded into making a fool of himself in front of our ever-growing audience. Not a big surprise, but a disappointment nonetheless.
"I'll leave as soon as you return my property," my blood brother responded simply. Then, looking over my shoulder to where Wade wavered at the open entranceway of our tent, Justin pushed an alpha compulsion into his voice. "You. Stop hiding like a coward and get down here to take your medicine like a man."
I didn't need to turn around in order to see Wade begin to walk forward, his feet responding to the pack leader's command even though the boy wanted nothing more than to stay put. Hating the fact that the teenager was being treated like a puppet, but unwilling to let him get any closer to the danger zone, I countered Justin's command with a single word. "Don't."
In front of me, Justin's cheeks flushed red as he realized the depth of power behind my edict, but I was more concerned with the word's effect on Wade. Glancing back, I saw that the boy had sunken down into a crouch, a hand on his forehead as he struggled to counter the whiplash of compulsions that had wracked his body in such short order. Between Justin's manacles, the wound Chase had torn into Wade's wrist, and the current headache that was bound to be rising behind the boy's eyes, this wasn't a good twenty-four hours for my newest pack mate.
Frowning at my own thoughtlessness, I started to walk toward the boy, only to pause when Chase met my eye and gave the tiniest shake of his head. The ex-drifter would be okay, my milk brother was telling me; Chase would see to it. Then one lifted eyebrow from my friend reminded me that I needed to keep my attention trained on the real issue at hand—my blood brother's jealousy and wounded pride. Who knew what Justin would do once he realized that he wouldn't be able to force Wade to walk off my territory and turn himself over to his previous captor.
A captor who was currently doing his darnedest to intimidate me, between the glower on his face and the brawny guards at his back. But Justin had never scared me during our shared childhood and he wasn't about to send me scurrying for cover now.
On the other hand, the fact that I was technically in the wrong and had several pack mates looking to me for protection was sufficient incentive to keep me on my toes. Time to start twisting the truth.
"As you can see, the boy is not your property," I said, tossing out my opening gambit. "After receiving your thoughtful letter last week, I sent this member of my pack to respond. And even if Wade told you things you didn't want to hear, I don't appreciate you shooting the messenger."
"That's not..." Justin began, then swallowed his angry words, realizing how childish he must sound to the assembled onlookers. I watched as the realization dawned in my blood brother's eyes that ownership of Wade had deteriorated into a case of his word against mine, with the so-called facts pointing toward my version of the truth. After all, no one except our two packs knew that I'd only accepted Wade's fealty a few hours earlier. And if the boy had indeed been a member of my pack, then Justin's behavior would have been out of compliance with All-Pack regulations and would have put my brother clearly in the wrong.
"I apologize if my pack mate was rude," I continued, getting into the swing of things and enjoying this opportunity to bait a sibling who had spent all of our joint childhood dangling his superior privileges in front of my hungry eyes. Behind me, I could feel Chase's gaze boring into my skin and warning me to wrap things up, to quit while I was ahead. But I couldn't resist rubbing Justin's nose in the dirt—hadn't that been one of my prime objectives in attending All-Pack after all?
"Perhaps you need to grow a thicker skin, big brother," I continued waving one hand to emphasize my words. It was only after murmurs began to spread through our audience that I realized my mistake. The partially healed wound on the underside of my wrist had flashed through the air as I spoke, and every werewolf would be able to smell the freshness of the drying blood on my skin.
"You asshole," Justin ground out, the words turning into a garble as he split his clothes down the seams and shifted uncontrollably into lupine form before leaping in my direction.
In the second it took me to decide whether to attack, Chief Wilder's command dropped everyone within earshot to the ground. "Down," he barked, and the lot of us fell onto our haunches in immediate surrender.
Chapter 6
"YOU AND YOUR brother are stupid pups who don't deser
ve to attend All-Pack, let alone to be recognized as pack leaders," Crazy Wilder told me, but his words lacked heat. Instead, he seemed to be amused by my audacity as the two of us stood alone under the noon-time sun, every nearby shifter having discretely melted into the distance at a single glare from Chief Wilder. Now that was a trick I was going to have to master.
But I didn't have time to be impressed since I knew that the alpha in front of me was the only thing standing between my clan and the harsh justice of All-Pack. Hours earlier, the same shifter had ended Justin's and my tussle with a single word, and then my brother and I had been hustled back to opposite corners of the campground by Wilder guards. After that, I'd spent the next two hours cooling my heels and waiting to find out how Chief Wilder planned to deal with alphas breaking the peace at the gathering over which he presided.
Despite my own concerns, I'd soothed my pack's worries by telling them that the worst Crazy Wilder could do was to kick us out of the current gathering. Still, my words hadn't helped much since we all knew that being forcibly removed from All-Pack would be like painting a target on each pack member's back. That knowledge hanging in the air had made Wade beg for permission to turn himself over to my brother in reparation, but I could tell by looking in the eyes of my other pack mates that no one was willing to lose the boy in order to save our own skins. Sure, Wade had been a trespassing drifter twenty-four hours prior, but now the boy was one of us. So I'd simply shaken my head and known that Wade would accede to my wishes without any need for an alpha compulsion.
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