Blind Devotion (The Shifter Chronicles 3)

by M. D. Grimm

  But now, holding Jack’s hand, he felt stronger. Strong and determined. And not alone. Not anymore.

  The front door opened, and he allowed Jack to pull him inside. He sensed the others, perhaps ten wolf shifters. His cougar crouched, braced for attack. His palms sweated, but he allowed that to be the only outward indication of his anxiety. Jack led Travis to a chair and he sat, setting his cane between his legs. Travis knew the pack was watching their every move, scrutinizing every look, every gesture. Let them. He wasn’t ashamed, and neither, he realized, was Jack.

  Jack wasn’t ashamed that he wanted a blind cougar as his mate. Travis sat up taller. He’d grown used to his disability and navigated life just fine. Then he started to see in patches as a cougar and now Jack wanted him for just who he was. Whether he gained back his sight or not didn’t matter. He would be just fine regardless. If he survived this encounter.

  Travis sensed curiosity, wariness, and he tried not to quake under their scrutiny. Travis wanted to shout at them that he wasn’t the threat, the enemy, the one they should be worrying about.

  “Why did you call this meeting, Jack?” Jeffrey asked. He was several feet away from Travis, slightly to his left. Travis could feel this wolf’s presence even more strongly than Jack’s. It was powerful, primal, the potential for violence held firmly in check. He had to be to keep a town full of shifters, predators and prey, in a state of ordered, peaceful coexistence. Formidable without ceasing, the wolf was the center of the pack.

  Travis respected the old wolf, but he didn’t agree with all of his rules.

  “Father,” Jack began respectfully, “some distressing news has reached my ears.” He stood beside Travis, close enough for Travis to feel his body heat.

  Then Jack repeated what Travis had told him, along with Jena’s information. The latter was news to Travis, and his stomach churned when he learned the woman had booked the hotel room for a week. Why is she here? Yet it was only her to book a room. So if she had backup then were they in the woods? Or was she truly alone?

  Jack’s information was met with silence. It frustrated Travis that he couldn’t see their faces and whether they were exchanging glances. A lot could be said without saying a word. Then he felt someone come closer to him and the presence told him it was Jack’s mother, Justine. Her presence, while no less intense than her mate’s, was more nurturing than violent. But that didn’t mean she was a soft touch. Nothing was more frightening than a mother wolf protecting her pups. With a warm hand she covered his, while her other touched his shoulder.

  “You were held by them,” she said softly, brushing a lock of hair from his forehead. “I’ve wanted to say this for years. You’re a brave boy.”

  There was no pity in her tone, only respect and admiration. Travis’s throat threatened to close and he cleared it, ignoring the burning in his eyes.

  “The Agency calls them the Knights,” Jeffrey said. “Are you sure it is one of them?”

  “Yes, sir. I’m as reasonably sure as I can be,” Travis said, standing. He’d only learned about the Agency after a couple of years in Haven. His parents never told him about them, but even if they had, he would never have gone to them. He’d wanted shifters as a young man, not more humans. “I would not have alerted Jack if I had any doubts.”

  “Are there others?”

  “I don’t think so,” Jack said. “Only one person, nonshifter, has checked into the hotel. Her name is Shannon.”

  “Do you know if she has special abilities?” Jeffrey asked.

  “No.”

  Travis waited, his shoulders tense, his stomach unsettled. What would they decide? Would he be able to live with the decision? He’d told Jack he was behind him, but could he live up to that? He wasn’t the only one tense in the room. It was palatable, and he gripped his cane tighter, struggling to calm his inner cougar. The feline was growling with impatience.

  “We need to contact the Agency,” Justine said from somewhere to Travis’s left. She was no longer physically touching him, but her presence beside him spoke volumes to the room. Her sympathy for his ordeal eased some of the fear he’d had when entering the house.

  “We can handle our own,” Jager said. “We don’t need outside assistance.”

  “No,” Justine said firmly. Jager quieted and Travis assumed he subsided under her authority. “This is too big. We need resources only the Agency can provide. And in turn, with our help, they might be able to take the Knights down.”

  Everyone waited for Jeffrey to make the final decision. A baby began to whine, and the mother tried to hush it. Travis heard the sound of impatient rustling on the couch, and he suspected it was a child or perhaps a teen who didn’t understand the grave circumstances.

  “Arrest her, Jack,” Jeffrey said finally. “Do it discreetly. Trick her if you must. We don’t know what abilities she has, if any. Is the iron cell in the basement of the sheriff’s office still usable?”

  “Yes, sir.” Jack said eagerly.

  “Get her in there. That should contain her abilities if she has any. Get all your deputies on patrol, brief them completely so they know what to look fore. Jager, notify the city council and the leaders of the packs and herds. We want everyone on their guard but emphasize stealth.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I will contact the Agency.”

  Travis could feel the anger from several pack members, and especially from Jager. But they would do whatever Jeffrey commanded.

  Iron. Clever. The pure iron would be toxic to her, like a severe allergy, because of her special abilities. Jack had told him that it was the same for members of the Agency. He explained that they were descendants of the fae, which were not unlike magical creatures from folklore. Pure iron to a descendant of the fae was like pure silver to a shifter: deadly.

  Jack took Travis’s hand and began to lead him to the door. But his father called them back.

  “Wait a moment, Jack,” Jeffrey said quietly. “Everyone else, leave us.”

  Travis listened to the others leave and wondered whether he should leave as well. But he wasn’t asked to, so he stayed, gripping Jack’s hand.

  Jack had known this would happen, but he’d hoped his father would wait until they got the knight behind bars. Apparently not.

  Despite Jack’s happy childhood, it had also been demanding, and he’d been forced to live up to certain expectations. He also knew what Jeffrey Ulger was capable of. The thought made him partially want to submit to escape his alpha’s wrath. But he resisted, knowing this fight was worth having. Besides, he wasn’t a child any longer. His father wasn’t perfect and didn’t know everything. His wolf growled faintly, determined to protect their mate.

  Justine stood slightly behind his father, her black hair swept back from her full face by two glittering hair clips. She considered Jack with big brown eyes, and it still frustrated him that even as an adult, he could never tell what went on behind them. She’d always been the silent, nurturing presence in his life, and while on the surface it seemed as though his father made all the rules, Jack knew his mother had just as much say about how the pack was run. Years ago, when he’d eavesdropped during their kitchen conversation, proved that without a doubt. They presented a united front in public while discussing and arguing in private.

  Jeffrey’s silver eyes, which he’d passed on to his children, swept over Jack and Travis, then down to their joined hands. One thick, black eyebrow rose.

  “I see,” he said, as if one of them had spoken. “Despite everything I said. Despite all my warnings and commands and even pleas, you choose this? Even though I was just proven right when I said Travis would bring trouble to us?”

  “Dad.”

  “Jeff,” his mother said in that tone.

  Travis frowned.

  “None of this is Travis’s fault,” Jack said heatedly. “You know that. He’s a survivor and he came here for refuge. And there’s absolutely no evidence that this woman is connected to him or his past in any way. With due respe
ct, sir, in a court of law you only have weak circumstantial evidence.”

  Travis gave his hand two hard squeezes as a tense silence vibrated around them. Jack had never stood up to his father so blatantly. Jeffrey glared fiercely while Justine wore a sardonic smile.

  “No doubts, then, Jack?” Jeffrey said. “No uncertainty? Instead of all the wolves in Haven, you choose to be with a cat?”

  “Cougar. Sir,” Travis said instantly.

  Jack bit his tongue and tightened his hold on Travis’s hand. No one interrupted his father when he spoke. But his father, oddly, didn’t seem angered or insulted.

  “My apologies,” he said, his gaze flickering over to Travis before meeting Jack’s eyes once more. “Cougar shifter, then. Still, not a wolf. You know how the pack will feel. You know how I feel. And yet you still chose him.”

  Jack pulled his shoulders back and lifted his chin, standing tall beside his mate.

  “Yes, sir,” he said quietly. “I do. And he chooses me, despite how my pack feels about him. There is no doubt in my mind that he is my mate. I realized it not long after meeting him.”

  Travis flinched and then straightened, standing tall and proud. His face, which he habitually lowered, rose and angled directly at Jeffrey. Jack stared into his father’s gaze, not in challenge, but with determination and fortitude. He would not be made to submit. Not this time. Not concerning this. They stared at each other for a long moment, neither flinching nor lowering his eyes.

  “You chose him,” his mother said softly. “Despite our laws?”

  “If memory serves me, Mother,” Jack said, still staring at his father, “mating with wolf shifters is tradition, not law. There is no law that dictates my actions in this personal area of my life.”

  “True,” his mother said with a nod. “But sometimes tradition is less malleable than law.”

  “Traditions are meant to change, ma’am,” Travis said. “There was a time when shifter clans were kept separate, rarely intermingling, as foreign to each other as shifters are to humans. They avoided each other like the plague.” He cleared his throat. “If that tradition still prevailed, then Haven wouldn’t exist. Perhaps that is what your master shifter had in mind when she founded the town.”

  Jack caught his father’s mouth twitch as if he were resisting a smile. He was probably just imagining it. Jeffrey moved his attention to Travis, breaking the standoff. Jack blinked and glanced at his mother, who was staring at Travis as well.

  “A people cannot grow without change,” Travis continued. “Traditions are good, but life is about change and forging new paths.”

  “Perhaps,” Jeffrey said, narrowing his eyes. “But without continuity, there is chaos. When one member is allowed to rebel, then others will think it is permissible. I will lose control over my pack, and then Haven. The only reason we have survived for so long is that we keep order, we follow the laws, and when someone breaks those laws, they are punished.”

  “But I have not broken any laws,” Jack said, struggling to keep anger out of his voice.

  “That may be,” his father said. “But, as your mother implied, tradition runs deeper in our pack than laws. And you are knowingly, fragrantly, going against it.”

  Jack swallowed with difficulty. Jeffrey turned away and walked to a large window that overlooked the town. Jack was finding it hard to breathe. His mother stayed where she was, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze.

  “Father, Haven will crumble if we don’t continue to evolve and change. You know stagnation is the worst thing for a society. Every generation becomes more disillusioned and restless. We keep growing in size and to cling to the past will only hinder our survival. Perhaps traditions should change for the good of all. Perhaps we need knew ones.”

  Silence.

  “Wolves know other wolves,” Jeffrey said, his voice rumbling. He still looked out the window. “I know what to expect from a wolf from a pack. They know loyalty, devotion. What does a cougar shifter know? What can any non-wolf know about those things that create unity?”

  Travis’s face contorted, and Jack was certain that Travis had a vicious reply on his tongue. Jack squeezed Travis’s hand to keep his silent. To his relief, Travis subsided but Jack knew it cost him.

  “Without unity, there is chaos and destruction,” Jeffrey continued. “And that will cause this town to fall.”

  “Mother, Father,” Jack said, feeling desperate. How could his father assume his love for Travis would cause the destruction of Haven? “I love my pack. I love my home. I have done everything the pack has ever asked me to do, without complaint. I have taken on the responsibility of sheriff with pride and gratitude, and I would die for Haven. I believe I have earned this.”

  “Earned?” Jeffrey said quietly, and Jack’s wolf wanted to cower. That quiet tone was dangerous.

  His father turned around, and his silver eyes were burning with cold fire. “You do not follow the pack’s will with the hope you will be rewarded for your efforts, Jack. You follow my will because it is your duty. You owe me your loyalty. You follow because you want to, not because you will receive a prize, and not because of punishment. Your will must match the will of the pack, because the pack is the only thing that matters.”

  Jack’s temper rise. He let go of Travis’s hand and stepped closer to his father.

  “So, are you saying I should be miserable the rest of my life? For the pack? Father, I would sacrifice my life for the pack. For Haven. For you and Mother and Jager and my sisters. I willingly follow the pack. My will and loyalty is with the pack, as well as the survival of Haven. Mating with Travis will not change that. Nothing could change my devotion to my family, and to my alpha.”

  Jeffrey stared at Jack, and Jack didn’t know what would happen next. He felt Travis behind him, and the presence and body heat from his mate gave him strength. He knew this would be a fight, and he was willing to take the punishment.

  Which would be banishment. Forever.

  His stomach churned, but he didn’t allow his fear to show. Jack would have to leave everything he’d ever known. His pack, his family, his home. The comfort and safety and familiar. But he would have Travis. Together they could live anywhere. He didn’t doubt his own love for Travis, but he worried Travis would be reluctant to leave. After everything his mate had been through... he deserved a permanent home.

  Justine stepped to Jeffrey’s side and laid her hand on his arm. Jeffrey looked at her. Jack watched with trepidation as his parents, his alphas, turned away and huddled close together. Travis touched his back, and Jack turned around and cupped Travis’s face.

  “Travis,” he said quietly. “If they don’t give their blessing—”

  “I know.” Travis gripped Jack’s arms. “We’ll be banished.”

  Jack grimaced, knowing Travis couldn’t see it. “I am so sorry. I guess part of me hoped this day would never come.”

  “No.” Travis shook his head. “Don’t be sorry. Please don’t. If given the choice between living the rest of my life alone, miserable, and moving somewhere else with you… there really isn’t a competition.”

  Jack smiled, his stomach unclenching just a bit.

  “Besides,” Travis said, “I should be the one apologizing. You have more of a foundation here than I do and more to lose. This is your world. You’d be leaving everything behind because of me.”

  “For you,” Jack rubbed his thumb over Travis’s cheek, “I’d be leaving for you, never because of you.”

  Jack pulled Travis into a hug and enjoyed Travis’s strong arms around his waist. Travis’s strength made his stomach flutter in a good way.

  “And like you said,” Jack said, “If given the choice, which do you think I’d choose?”

  Travis squeezed tighter. Despite the confidence of his own words, Jack had his doubts. He didn’t want to leave Haven. Everything inside him rebelled against the idea. But he also rebelled against giving up Travis. His wolf wanted to protect and defend both territory and mate. And his wolf didn�
�t understand why he couldn’t have both.

  “Jack.”

  Jack and Travis pulled apart, and he turned to his parents when they faced him.

  “Considering the danger Haven is in,” Jeffrey said, “we will continue this discussion later, after the present situation is dealt with. But know that there will be a discussion. Prepare yourself.”

  Jack inclined his head. “Yes, sir.”

  Jeffrey dismissed them, and Jack grabbed Travis’s hand and led him out of the house, his heart pounding in his ears.

  “This is good news,” Jack said as they reached his truck.

  “Why?” Travis asked.

  “It means they’re considering my argument. If both had been dead set against us, then they would have declared us banished, effective after the danger to Haven is resolved.”

  “But they didn’t.” Travis’s voice betrayed his excitement. “They haven’t completely made up their minds yet.”

  “Exactly.” Jack kissed Travis hard before opening the passenger door and helping him inside.

  Chapter Ten

  Shannon walked out of the bookstore and a hand lightly touched her arm. She flinched and turned around. She found herself staring into the black sunshades of a tall, rangy man with closely cropped brown hair. She lowered her gaze and noticed the badge tucked into his belt.

  Real panic swept over her. One of these monsters with the authority of the law behind it was a daunting prospect. The Knights knew about the sheriff and his pack, and she had done all she could to avoid contact with him. On the other hand, she’d been trained for such encounters. Steeling herself, she looked resolutely back up at the shifter’s face.

  “Good afternoon,” he said, inclining his head politely. “We don’t get many tourists around here. I wanted to welcome you officially.”