by Julia Talbot
Kamen shouted his triumph to the night, the sound echoed by humans and wolves alike.
The pack surrounded them, Shoshanna with her head held high, stepping up to declare him the winner.
“Kamen has won his right as alpha. What say you?”
The young ones who had come to beat him down stirred and growled, but Kamen’s own protectors surged forward to stop them.
“Will you give up your male lover and take a wife, Kamen?” That came from one of the older males, a man Kamen had always respected and admired.
“No,” he replied, the sound bald and flat.
“Then we ask you to step down. We chose poorly with Elam, we see that. But we need a leader who will continue the line.”
His heart wrenched, but Kamen had expected no less. He was there to prove a point. Not to take his job back.
“I will step down, provided a suitable alpha can be chosen.”
Another murmur ran through the pack, but everyone save Elam nodded. That one was too busy slinking away.
“So be it,” Mirriam said, stepping up once more for the elders. “We will have a vote.”
Kamen knew he’d never again be the alpha of the Colorado Springs pack.
But he figured he’d proven he was still the biggest badass in the pack.
Epilogue
“Where do you want this box of kitchen stuff, man?” Steve asked, coming into the house with an armload of boxes.
Kamen stared at him, “In the kitchen?”
“Oh. Right.” Steve grinned and headed that way, the sparkle of the stainless steel cook top almost blinding him. “You think Jenny and the boys like their new place?”
“They’d better. How’s Colin doing?”
“Okay. He’s got all the framing done.” Cans of spaghetti and meatballs went into the cabinet. Milk went in the fridge. “I think we’re gonna be good here.”
Steve really did think so. Western Colorado was ripe for a pack, what with the reintroduction of gray wolves to the Grand Mesa, just an hour north of Grand Junction. They had moved right in, sort of setting up their own little circle.
It was really cool.
“I think we’re going to be fine, honey. I think we’re going to be just fine.”
Steve nodded, moving around the kitchen, humming under his breath. If someone had told him six month ago that he was gonna fall in love, he would have laughed. If they had said he’d fall in love with a man, he might have cried.
Now he was just happy to be with his own pack, to have a place where he fit in.
So what if he was in love with a big, bad wolf? It was all good.
Julia Talbot
Julia Talbot has been assimilated by Texas. She lives with her dogs and houseplants just outside of Austin and has taken on writing as her day job. A fan of cowboys, big hats, and all things romance, Julia hopes to keep on writing spicy books until she’s an old lady wearing purple.
