by Lauren Dane
“Johanna oversteps herself and that’s a dangerous thing.” The room suddenly got very still. Kari didn’t look at Andreas as he spoke. She continued to stare, unblinking, at Johanna. But she knew how terrifying he must have looked. His growl was laced with threat. With menace. She suppressed a shiver, glad it wasn’t aimed in her direction.
“Andreas, I’m very hungry. I slept through lunch. Let’s eat, shall we?” Kari’s eyes flicked over Johanna, dismissing her as if she wasn’t even there.
Andreas relaxed, kissing her temple. “Of course, love. Let’s go and get you fed. Everyone else must be hungry as well. Perhaps Skye can escort Johanna outside and talk to her about her behavior.” This was said casually, without even a glance at the other woman.
Andreas drew Kari down the remaining stairs and toward the dining room, careful to keep his body, as well as Sean and Phillip, between her and Johanna at all times.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Skye grab Johanna’s arm and move her toward the door and out into the night.
“I’m sorry,” Andreas whispered into her ear.
“From what I’m told, you did nothing to be sorry about.”
“Anna’s very quick.”
Kari quirked a grin at him. “Just keep that in mind, Andreas.”
* * *
Dinner was served at the table in multiple mouthwatering courses. Andreas leaned over and spoke quietly. “The members of the Clan are now going to approach you. They’ll repeat a vow. An oath of allegiance and fidelity. It’s their way of accepting you as their Alpha.”
She nodded. Everyone she hadn’t met and who hadn’t shown her obeisance the night before approached her, fell to their knees and spoke formal words. Kari felt like a fief lord or something. Their near-piety toward her was incredibly touching and meaningful.
When a very pregnant woman approached and began to kneel, Kari stood and walked toward her. “No, don’t! You’ll never get back up,” she said laughingly. “May I?” she asked, indicating the woman’s bulging stomach.
“I’d be honored.”
Kari caressed the bulge and felt a mighty kick from the life within. “Strong. You must be Ellen. Andreas told me about you and your husband. Congratulations, by the way, he’s going to be a big boy.”
Ellen colored and laughed. “Yes, he feels that way. How did you know it was a boy? We only found out yesterday.”
“Oh, I don’t know. He just felt that way.”
Truth was, she’d been doing a lot of stuff that she couldn’t explain over the last two days. Sometimes things just popped into her head—she knew the words to say or the thing to do.
“Thank you for your blessings. My life for yours.” A man approached and fell to his knees, forehead to calves.
“You must be James.” Reaching out, Kari stroked his hair.
James got up and escorted Ellen to a chair at the other end of the table. Andreas came up, led Kari to the seat at his right and sat down after she did. “You’re doing well. Already acting like a queen,” he said into her ear as he settled in beside her.
Another wolf approached and she felt Andreas tense up slightly. “My life for yours, reine,” he said and put his face in her lap. He rubbed his cheek along her thigh and it made her uncomfortable.
Andreas growled and Laurent reached over to pull the wolf away. “Alex, knock it off before you get into trouble you can’t get out of.”
The other man gave a saucy grin and shrugged. “I’m Alex, reine. I’m pleased to meet you.” He stood up, bowed and walked to the middle of the table and sat down.
The first course was served and she took a bite quickly, feeling bad that they all had to wait for her and Andreas. The silence broke then and a happy rush of conversation and laughter flowed through the room.
Kari watched them all, feeling a sense of place that she hadn’t felt before.
Andreas looked at Kari, noting the wondrous smile on her face. “Why the smile?”
“I don’t know. They’re all just wonderful. This is all just wonderful.”
He squeezed her fingers. The relief he felt that she wanted to be there, at his right hand, guiding their Clan, nearly staggered him. What had it been like before? He found the longer she was in his life, the harder it was to remember.
At the second course, Skye came back in with Johanna. Phillip got up and stood next to Kari, Andreas looming behind her. She turned and looked at both of them. “Sit down please. I don’t need protection from a Pack member. Do I, Johanna?” Kari faced forward and spoke as a clear superior to the other woman, who stood before her.
Johanna looked down, careful not to meet Kari’s eyes. “Of course not. My apologies for offending you earlier. It was disrespectful.” She dropped to her knees and pressed her head to Kari’s legs. “My life for yours.”
“Remember that,” Sean said softly.
“Go and sit down, Johanna. You’ve missed the first course and you must be hungry.” Kari turned back to the table, exposing her blind side to the other woman. It was a risk but she knew that if she didn’t act unafraid, Johanna would find a way to attack her later.
Once Johanna sat down, the chatter started again. Kari caught approving glances from several of the other women there. She had to admit a secret pleasure that she was prettier than Johanna. As shallow and petty as it was, she’d worried about that, and hey, she was an ex-girlfriend after all. Apparently, Johanna wasn’t very well-liked by the rest of the Pack either. Hardly anyone spoke to her in other than the politest of tones. Kari almost felt bad for the woman. Almost.
“Don’t feel sorry for her,” Sean said.
“There you go again with that mind-reading thing, superwolf.”
He laughed at that. “No, I can see it in your eyes. You see a lot, don’t you?”
“Not as much as you do.”
“She’s where she is because of greed. She’s greedy for power. She saw Andreas as a way to garner position in the Pack and when it didn’t work she shopped her wares elsewhere. Truth is, no one’s good enough for her if he’s not king. It’s not even about Andreas, really. It’s about position. He only dated her three or four times, backing way off when he saw she expected something more.”
It was Kari’s turn to laugh then. “You know, if I had a nickel for every time someone has made that point clear to me today, I’d be a rich woman.” She patted his arm. “You care about him, it’s obvious.”
“Yes, I do. Andreas’s entire life has been about taking care of his family. Even when he was a child, he thought of the Pack first. It’s good to see my overly serious, type-A, hyper-successful brother happy. Although I admit to being amused by watching you make him jump through a few hoops.”
“You know, Sean, it would be nice if you stopped hogging Kari all to yourself. I’d like to visit with her too.” Devon’s wife, Kari’s soon-to-be sister-in-law, Perri, was one of the most gorgeous women Kari had ever laid eyes on. In a room filled to bursting with big men and tall women, Perri was elfin. Her eyes were so blue they were nearly purple and her hair was fiery red and short. She’d immigrated to the States from Australia after meeting Devon in college four years before. Kari liked her immediately.
Sean shrugged. “I’ve got to do it now. Once Dad gets here, even Andreas won’t be able to get to her.” He looked back to Kari. “My father loves women. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to have another daughter-in-law to flirt with.”
“Well, I don’t think I can complain. If he’s anywhere near as handsome as you three, I’ll be in good hands. Plus, I want all the dirt on you.” Kari winked.
The way they laughed and teased each other was at once heartwarming and heartbreaking. They had such history and love between them and Kari had never had that before other than with her brother. Suddenly she missed Jack very much.
Leaning over, she whispered to Andreas, “I need to call my brother. He’s probably worried about me.”
“Of course. How selfish of me to forget about that. Elaine spoke with him last
night and told him you were fine so he wouldn’t worry. But I’m sure he’ll want to hear from you.” He stood up and escorted her to the den, which was adjacent to the dining room.
He pointed at the phone. “Use this one if you like. Phillip’s going to stay with you. I don’t trust Johanna. But I do trust you.” He looked into her eyes to emphasize the last point before kissing her temple and leaving her to make the call.
She had the freedom—she could tell Jack where she was so he could come and get her. She could escape and yet she didn’t want to.
She dialed the number she knew by rote.
“Hello?” The voice that answered was a sleepy mumble, yet belonged to someone who was used to calls that woke him up.
“Oh I woke you! I’m sorry.” It was near eleven there. She’d forgotten about the time difference.
“No, don’t be sorry. How are you?”
“I’m good. I’m home now. I just wanted to call and check in.” Oh how she wanted to share all of this with him! But she had no way to do it and make him understand. Hell, she didn’t even understand. It would only make him worry and so she had to wait to tell him later.
“I’m glad you’re home. I’m sorry I’m not there.”
“Please don’t apologize. I’m fine. It was good to see you, even under the circumstances. Next time it can be for a real visit and neither one of us will be in the hospital. I miss you.”
He laughed drowsily.
“Go back to sleep. I love you, okay? Be safe and I’ll call again soon.”
“Love you too. Talk to you later.”
She hung up and stood there for a moment as she pulled herself together. Phillip watched her with a tender look on his face. Unable to resist, she went to him, hugging him briefly.
When she returned to the dining room, everyone started to stand. “No, don’t. Please. Keep eating.”
“Everything okay?” Andreas asked. Her loneliness for her brother rolled off her in waves.
“Yeah. I woke him up. Forgot about the time change.”
“I’m sure he didn’t mind.”
“Nah, he didn’t.”
“You miss him.”
“Yes. He’s always been the only person in the world that I could count on. He’s more than a brother to me, Andreas. He raised me. He’s my best friend. He begged me to move to Boston with him but I chose to come out here instead. I felt like he deserved some time where he wasn’t responsible for anyone else. Of course he’s a cop, though, which means he’s responsible for everyone.”
“He sounds like a good man.”
“He is. He’s dating for the first time in ages. It sounds serious. She seems very nice. Has a young child. He deserves happiness.”
“As do you, little wolf.”
“Little wolf?” She arched a brow, not knowing whether to be offended or not.
“I’m nearly a foot taller than you are. I only refer to your physical size. You’re a big person in other ways.” Reaching out to her, he ran the backs of his knuckles down her cheek. She noticed that he took every opportunity he could to touch her, to caress her.
“Mmm-hmm, good save. I could torture you and demand to know if you were saying my butt was big, but I’ll save that for when we know each other better.” She fought the grin threatening to curve her lips and lost. “You know, I’m going to need some sort of primer on werewolf behavior. There’s so much I don’t know and don’t understand. I’m afraid I’ll mess up.”
“Yes, I think that’s a good idea. It’ll help later when you meet wolves from other Clans. Although now is not a very typical moment for a Pack at a Gathering,” Sean said.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, we aren’t really big on clothes. I mean, we wear them and all, but to change—to transform—you need to be naked. Most of the time you’ll see naked people all over the place.”
“Like a werewolf nudist colony?”
He chuckled. “Something like that. It’s just easier to change if you don’t have to constantly worry about your clothes.”
“Oh. So you all change more than just at the full moon?”
“Yes, peaches. We do it all of the time. It feels good to be a wolf. To run and be free? Oh it’s joyous.”
“But it’s thirty-eight degrees outside!”
“We run at a much higher temperature than humans do. Once you transform tomorrow night, your metabolism will begin a final change. Aside from that, when you’re a wolf you’ll be covered in fur.”
Oh, duh. “Well, that must come in handy during winter.”
Andreas laughed and the sound rolled over her, bringing a hitch in her breathing and shivers of delight.
“So essentially the house will be filled with naked people?”
“Well, naked or in clothing easily removed if we’re planning a run. You’ll often see naked people coming out of the woods directly behind the lodge. We own all this land—about seven hundred and fifty acres. Those of us who live in the city can’t run as often as we’d like, so we come up here, knowing we’re free and safe to. It’s why I spend three or four nights a week here.”
“Okay, I understand that.”
“And we touch a lot. I know you got a bit uncomfortable with Michael putting his face in your lap earlier but he needed that. He needed to touch you and be soothed by you. Part of your role as Pack leader is to comfort. To give strength and reassurance. A stroke of the face, a touch on the arm, a caress, a nuzzle, all of these are ways to do that.”
“Are there specific ways to do it?”
“You seem to have an inherent idea. What you did with Michael—stroking his hair like that—was perfect. Also, the way you touched Ellen earlier and responded to James, it was just right. Just follow your feelings.” Sean looked to her and then to his brother. Both men shared a moment of pride at the way Kari was taking up her new role.
“Well, but aren’t there any boundaries? Certain places that touching isn’t okay or that are purely sexual or aggressive?”
“Well, when you’re in wolf shape, only Andreas should be mounting you.”
Kari’s face colored. “Mounting?” she said weakly. Jeez Louise.
“There’ll be no mounting by anyone but me.” Andreas cast a dark look around the table.
Sean smirked at his brother’s actions. “We have sex in wolf form too. Also, it’s one thing to smell you briefly. It’s a form of greeting. But no one’s nose should be close to your genitals for too long. That is aggressive and it’s sexual.”
Kari wrinkled her nose. Oh lord, this was getting more and more bizarre.
“As for aggressive, it’s often more in a look than physical. For instance, earlier, when Johanna stared you in the face and thrust up to the front of the crowd—that was very aggressive. She’s submissive and much lower in the Pack ranks than any other of the females. That she looked you in the eyes for so long and shoved her way to the front was a major attempt to insult you and your station.” Sean sent a dark look over his shoulder toward Johanna at the far end of the table.
“But once you transform and you and Andreas bond, she’ll be dangerous to you. She wants what you have and you’ll be new to your wolf form. I think you may have to fight her before it’s over. I hope blooding is all it’ll take.”
“Blooding? What? She’s four inches taller than I am. She’s got at least thirty pounds on me! I can take her? Physically?”
Andreas explained, “Kari, in the first place, you’re my Mate. That means you’re quite literally of better biological stock than she is. You’re faster, stronger and more agile. You’ll be all of these things and more as a wolf.
“Second, she comes from a very easy life. She’s never had to struggle for anything and she’s power-hungry. On the other hand, you’ve had to work for everything you’ve ever gotten. You’re smart. You look at all the angles. Although walking through alleys at two a.m. is pretty dumb.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that fact,” she grumbled but he continued after a brief smirk.
“You’re resourceful. No one I know could have picked the lock to their room and escaped a house full of werewolves and run the way you did. When Ryan picked you up, you were only half a mile from town. Even then, caught and scared, you came back here and screamed in my face—a man a foot taller than you are. You never stopped fighting until you got the evidence you needed.
“If she’s stupid enough to challenge you, you’ll draw first blood. I have no doubt of it. Your wolf will let you be nothing less than an Alpha. If she pushes it, you’ll kill her.”
“Oh no fucking way!” Kari stood so abruptly the chair would have fallen had Andreas not caught it. Heads turned and people looked toward her with surprise.
Sean laughed so hard his eyes watered and Laurent merely grinned.
“Sit down,” Andreas said softly, grabbing her hand and trying not to smile.
“I am not killing anyone!” she hissed at him.
“You will if you have to, Kari. You will or you’ll be killed and I’ll lose leadership of this Pack as well as a Mate. I know it’s hard to deal with. I’m sorry. You’ve dealt with so much in a very short time. But it’s the way we live and you’re one of us now.”
“Oh, lucky me!”
Before she could add anything else, Anna came in with a large covered platter and placed it at the head of the table.
“For you, Kari, in honor of your special night to come.” With a dramatic flourish, she removed the lid to expose a gorgeous cake covered in marzipan that was braided and looped in what looked to be vines. Tiny flowers and berries decorated the surface.
Deeply touched, Kari’s vision blurred as she blinked back tears. “Anna, it’s gorgeous. It must have taken you hours to do this. You’re amazing.” Without thinking, she reached out and ran her face along Anna’s cheek.
“Oh, reine. I’m honored you like it.” Anna’s voice was choked with emotion as she fell to her knees.
Kari knelt before the other woman and brought her face up with her hands. “I’m the one who’s honored, Anna. You do this Pack proud with your gifts—your kindness and your artistry. Do not kneel to me.” She stood and held her hand out to Anna, who took it and let Kari pull her to her feet.
