by L. A. Banks
“Then marry her and deal, but just be easy, man.. I don’t know what else to tell you.”
The two wolves stared at each other for a moment.
“Thanks for having my back, no matter how crazy this shit is.” Crow Shadow sighed hard and then shrugged. “I just wanted to man up, you know. I didn’t want to do what a lot of other Shadows have done, leaving a hybrid kid out there never knowing why it was different, never knowing what its father was. We were lucky. We got raised by the pack, had the whole clan with us. I can’t do to my kid what got done to Doc. His old man walked away and left him out there a half-breed to figure it out on his own. Then my own mom pawned me off on a full-blooded wolf to make me be accepted as a full-blood, you know. All that time I thought the man who raised me was actually my dad and he wasn’t. Even though I understand why my mom did it for my own protection, the shit was wrong eight ways from Sunday, man, and once I found out I vowed I wouldn’t be party to anything that foul.. Then this accidental scenario with Jennifer cropped up, all because I didn’t understand human female cycles.”
When Bear Shadow lowered his gaze to his shiny black shoes, Crow Shadow looked away and shook his head, shoulders slumping.
“I don’t even love her, man. She’s nice, she’s cool, I like her, she’s pretty—but I don’t know her well enough to say all that I love her. but I have to do the right thing or else that makes me a hypocrite and a liar. Plus, the kid is gonna have a hard enough time in the human world, not only being genetically different, but it’ll be part white, part Native American, and part black. Jen works as a cashier at a donut shop, understand? If I don’t do my part, then what happens to our kid? Her people already disowned her for messing with a guy like me—I show up with canines and they call the dogs and start loading shotguns. Shit. I can’t just leave her and my kid to all that. Am I making any sense to you, man?”
Bear Shadow released a long, weary sigh as from the corner of his eye he glimpsed Jennifer entering the wedding salon. He landed a heavy hand on Crow’s shoulder. “I’m with you, man. till the bitter end—no matter how insane this decision is. Honor is always the way of the wolf.”
Elder Balog Kozlov opened his eyes and sat up slowly with an angry hiss. As he telepathically perceived Elder Vlad’s impassioned message from half a world away, Elder Kozlov could feel that the sun had just gone down over his beloved Carpathian Mountains, shrouding his castle in darkness.
Unable to comprehend the sheer arrogance of the affront Elder Vlad described, Elder Kozlov rose from his black marble tomb, sliding the top off with ease to stand. Wall torches lit in the dank stone subterranean lair as he passed them while his dark crimson robe billowed behind him on a supernatural energy current.
“The Unseelie have been an abomination for centuries!” he exclaimed through lethal fangs. “They play with our food. They taunt our livestock—our humans! That has always been transgression enough for me to eliminate them from my territories.” Imagine ranchers allowing wolves to run amuck to torture and stampede prize stock. What would the wise rancher do to protect his herd?
Elder Kozlov nodded, receiving the appropriate response from Elder Vlad. “Yes. He would kill the wolf to restore order. But if that wolf then got into his children’s bedrooms and killed six of his beloved offspring. what would he do to the wolf, then?”
Elder Kozlov closed his eyes and nodded, making a tent with his long, spidery fingers before his mouth. “Yesssss,” he murmured in a hiss. “We’ve tolerated them long enough. but this is unacceptable. We must find the parties responsible and make a display of butchery so severe that any remaining offenders that had not been routed out would smell the death of their kind on the land and fear to ever come near our property again.”
When he opened his eyes, his pupils glowed red within the totally black orbs that had overtaken his irises. He nodded with satisfaction and then turned to set his powerful gaze upon the stone gargoyles around the crypt and watched the stone come alive ready to do his bidding.
“Elder Vlad,” he murmured, going over to a fawning creature to pet it, “you may avail yourself of the resources from our central lair. New Orleans is an important holding. Let me know when you need reinforcements from Europe and it shall be so.”
CHAPTER 3
Dawn broke across the sky at the same time a long, forlorn howl awakened her. She’d know that voice anywhere. What the hell was Hunter’s brother, Shogun, doing in the states when he was supposed to be on holiday in China?
Sasha sat up, slightly panicked and ready to bolt toward the door when Hunter’s log-heavy arm was slung over her lap.
“It wasn’t a distress howl,” Hunter muttered with his eyes closed. “Just a casual visit at a very bad time.”
She lifted Hunter’s arm off her lap and then got out of bed, quickly locating a discarded thermal undershirt, her panties, and her jeans. “Shogun doesn’t do casual fall-by visits all the way from China.”
Hunter rolled over and groaned. “Can’t a man get a little peace?”
She chuckled and kissed his forehead. “You got more than a little piece last night. I’m going to find out what’s wrong. Put your pants on.”
Not waiting for an answer, she hurried to the bathroom to splash water on her face and to smear a glob of toothpaste in her mouth. The next howl was within a hundred yards of their cabin, which meant a shower was out; she barely had enough time to pee, wash her hands, and spit out the toothpaste and make it to the porch when she heard Shogun coming up the walkway.
She refused to acknowledge the butterflies that always took flight in her belly when Shogun was around. It was that unspoken thing that had gone down between them long before she knew he was Hunter’s brother. long before Shogun or Hunter knew they were half brothers. But try as she may to put a long taxidermy pin in each butterfly when she opened the door, her breath silently hitched when she saw Shogun.
Rose pink dawn sunlight framed his golden complexion against a perfect backdrop. He’d let his hair grow long again and he stopped at the bottom of the steps staring at her with intense almond-shaped eyes. He looked good in the ivory sweater and jeans, looked healthy and like life was treating him well. That’s what she told herself and that kept it safe. It didn’t matter that there would always be some chemistry between them—that big “what if” question that they’d never know the answer to. What mattered was that they both had enough sense and enough love for Hunter to never act upon it. Still, the huge diamond, turquoise, and amber engagement ring she wore suddenly felt ostentatious. She hugged herself, hiding the ring after Shogun briefly appraised it.
“Sister,” Shogun said, addressing her in the familial title that was his way to ensure mental safety. “I hope this morning finds you and my brother well?”
The small talk was killing her. That’s when she knew Shogun was in distress. He’d retreated behind Asian formality and had not given the more gregarious wolf greeting one afforded dear friends.
“I’m well; so is Hunter,” Sasha said quietly. “But how are you?”
He smiled and looked off into the distance. “I am.”
She nodded. “I’ll get Hunter.”
For a moment she hesitated at the door, watching Shogun close his eyes against the sun. Then she felt the cool autumn breeze. God help her, she was upwind from him and had not showered. The moon was still waxing full, even though it was dawn. and Werewolves more than Shadows felt the lunar pull. Sex scent covered her from head to toe. Sasha bit her bottom lip and quickly spun to retreat from the porch but ran smack into Hunter’s stone chest.
“Talk to him,” she whispered. “I don’t know what happened in China, but he needs you.” Then she slipped behind the door.
Hunter looked after her for a moment but said nothing as he heard the shower turn on deep within the house. “Brother?”
Shogun turned and gazed at him. “Can we talk. while we walk?”
Hunter nodded, not needing an explanation. It was the unspoken understanding between t
hem; his brother had to get away from Sasha’s scent. Hunter knew his brother would always have feelings deep enough to swim in toward his mate, but his brother was a man of honor. More important, Sasha’s honor was embedded in the very marrow of her bones. Hunter couldn’t think of any way that she hadn’t shown him how much she loved him, so he allowed the tension to slowly ebb as he descended the steps to join his brother at his side.
They walked awhile in companionable silence, each man caught up in his own thoughts. Women’s intuition proved more accurate than radar, Hunter noted as he watched Shogun’s body language. He was definitely in some sort of severe emotional distress, so much so that his normally fluid wolf pace was jerky and more like that of a human fighting against the underbrush.
As they continued their silent trek a hundred questions began to catch fire at the edges of Hunter’s mind. How would he react if his brother made some kind of confession regarding Sasha that he couldn’t handle? Soon Shogun’s tension became Hunter’s own. Once they found a ridge, Shogun stopped and motioned to the ground.
“Is this acceptable?”
Hunter nodded and sat down yogi-style, facing his brother. Shogun sat in one lithe motion, matching Hunter, and then let out a very weary sigh.
“I don’t know what to do, Brother. You are the only family I now have, except my cousins, Seung Kwon, Dak-Ho, and Chin-Hwa.”
Pure relief rippled through Hunter; whatever it was, it wasn’t about Sasha. He let out an exhale and chose his words carefully. “Whatever the problem is, Brother, I stand with you.”
“This is a delicate matter, one that has so many layers that I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Start at the beginning. That is always the simplest way.”
Shogun sighed hard and looked out toward the multicolored tree line behind them. “I met all of Amy Chen’s family while in China, and some of her parents’ friends and family here before we left. They are decent people. Honorable people. They want me to marry their daughter. and I have no family for them to meet.”
Hunter frowned. “I don’t understand. You are the Southeast Asian alpha, leader of the Werewolf federation of clans in that region. no less than I am that for the Shadow Wolf clans of North America. There are hundreds of—”
“The clan elders will not hear of it,” Shogun said quietly, returning his gaze to Hunter. “In my homeland tradition that goes back thousands of years in the human culture and is just as deeply entrenched in the way of the wolf there, I do not have an understanding set of elders or even one like your beloved grandfather, Silver Hawk.”
“Aw. man. But just because the girl is human they—”
“Cannot cast their blessings on a union where a mixed-breed heir could jeopardize the House of Kwon-Yin. For centuries my ancestors ruled that region. A weak heir that is half human is sacrilege to them. Every son I sired with Amy Chen would constantly be battled in dominance challenges amongst the wolf packs. It would cause unrest and they are correct. Therefore, they have asked me to decide—I can either marry a suitable alpha she-werewolf and be free to do as I like or step down. But should I step down, and since I’d be dishonoring my family name, I would be shunned. Dead to them.”
“Oh, shit.. ”
“Yes, Brother. The choices are limited. I can almost hear my dead sister, Lei, along with my twisted dead mother, laughing from their demon ashes. They both hated mixed breeds and considered such a creation unholy. I thought if anyone could help me weigh my heart and my options, it would be you, dear brother. You have lived this hell as a child and as a man.”
Hunter nodded. “But the union that created me was between my Shadow Wolf mother and our Werewolf father. Both were wolves. That was challenging enough, and after my mother perished with our father I was lucky enough to also have my grandfather, a tribe elder, there to stand behind me—as a full-blooded Shadow. yet if I had come out half human, I don’t know if Silver Hawk would have been as understanding. The elderly are set in their ways.”
Shogun nodded. “Yes, and that is the crux of my dilemma, but not all of it. They are affronted that Amy is Chinese and I am Korean, to add salt into the wound. After the loss of so many of our line in the clan wars, as well as from the demon contagion that affected my parents, losing me to Amy could put her life in jeopardy. I would not be surprised if they tried to kill her in order to bring me back to my senses and back to my leadership position. All the while, I have sent traditional Chinese wedding gifts to her family in a show of good faith. dragon and phoenix bridal cakes, male and female poultry—pheasants, sweetmeats, sugar, wine, tobacco, chai-li, tea presents.”
Hunter wiped his hands down his face, rendered speechless for a moment. The problem was too complex, too filled with emotional drama, and way out of his league in terms of finding a quick solution.
Shogun allowed his head to fall into his hands. “What am I going to do? Her parents don’t know that I’m not human. Amy knows; she saw us all in battle when we saved her life and she saw too much through my evil aunt’s eyes when her body was temporarily possessed by Lady Jung Suk.. She’s seen the sidhe, she knows of the supernatural world, and once that genie is out of the bottle one cannot force it back in.”
“Have you spoken to Amy about any of this, Brother? She has to know—maybe she’ll help your decision.”
“It’s the full moon!” Shogun shouted, and stood in one move. “I can’t be near her, Brother,” he said, walking in a tight circle. “She’s made like porcelain. fragile, her bones like that of a small bird’—and I’m a goddamned Werewolf!”
“Okay, okay,” Hunter said, standing, trying his best to calm his overwrought brother. “Then wait until the moon is waning and—”
“Her parents went to the feng shui expert, the fortune-teller who picks auspicious wedding dates, and he chose a full-moon date, next month!” Shogun raked his hair, dragging the red silk tie out of his ponytail. “Chinese wedding ceremonies are very complicated. They install a bridal bed; your best friends who are lucky—mated with children, preferably—move it to add good luck and then throw red dates and oranges and peanuts and pomegranates on it. Children are supposed to fight over the ripe fruit in the bed to bring fertility energy to it. I am supposed to go to her parents’ home and collect her in a red silk chair and bring her back to my home.. There’s so much more that I cannot even explain it all. But at the ceremony, she and I are to kneel before our parents, our elders, and serve them tea as a sign of respect. There is a huge dinner. Her good-luck woman is to attend her in all things until she is given to me. But it will be on a full moon. when my people are most prone to violence and will most likely not just boycott our wedding, but crash it in full transformation.”
“Okay,” Hunter said, beginning to pace with Shogun. “What if you tell them your parents are dead, which is no lie. and that the bulk of your close-knit family is here in the states?” He waited until Shogun stopped circling and looked at him. “That, too, wouldn’t be a lie, because I am here, Sasha is here, Crow Shadow is here, Bear Shadow is here, all of Sasha’s human team is here. we could rally enough family, and if need be we could make sure there were guards.”
Shogun closed his eyes and allowed his head to drop back, turning his face up to the sun. “I cannot touch her while the moon is in full phase.. I could hurt her. You know that. We never become intimate with humans while we’re out of control, only our own kind. and she has such a gentle heart.” Shogun straightened and walked away from Hunter, and then drew in a shuddering breath. “I would have to leave her for three or four nights every month. and after my lies wore thin, she would come to learn why. That betrayal would probably kill her faster than my own clan would. Any female that got wind of the fact that I had taken a human as my wife and submitted to a human ceremony would stalk her, hunt her, and if she didn’t hurt Amy physically, she’d be sure to tell my bride why she could never expect fidelity.”
“Man. you don’t know that,” Hunter said quietly. “Maybe. ” His words trail
ed off, sounding hollow to his own ears. He did know.
“It’s been two months,” Shogun said in a shaking voice, keeping his back to Hunter. “I would not defile her by taking her before we were married, just in case the politics forced me to change my mind.. At least she’d be left with her virginity—you may not understand it here in this land, but in lands that have traditions that go back for thousands of years, something like that could have the poor girl shunned to a decent marriage proposal.”
Shogun let out a hard sigh and then drew himself up, as though each part of the problem he exposed was more painful than the last. “And to see if I could honor her with faithfulness, I haven’t gone to where there are willing she-wolves. I love her. And then I thought, what happens when she is filled with my seed? What happens if she does become pregnant, with her fragile, porcelain body. and I want her? Do I stay and risk harm to her and our unborn child, my heir, or do I shatter her heart and leave her to be what I am—a wolf?”
“Brother, these are profound questions that only someone with the age and the wisdom of Silver Hawk can answer.” Hunter studied the ground as he spoke, rubbing the nape of his neck. “No matter what you decide, I am here for you with the full force of the North American Shadow Clan.. We will always have a home for you, and we will not allow your home to be overrun or your wife attacked—should you decide to take that step. But the only other thing I can say is, talk to Silver Hawk and then talk to your betrothed. Tell her what the realities are and let her decide how much of this she can bear.”
Shogun nodded and looked at Hunter with a sad smile. “Just knowing that I have family behind me helps a great deal. Thank you.”
“No thanks every required for being your brother, man.” Hunter extended his arm to clasp Shogun’s in a warriors’ handshake. “Talk to Amy.”
Shogun shook his head. “Maybe someday. But she is young, still in college, and thinks love can solve all of this.”
