by Kimber White
Reed dropped his head and the others looked to him. Someday soon, he might have to decide whether he wanted to lead or follow. But while they considered my words, I acted. They could chase me down, but if I had enough of a head start, maybe it wouldn’t matter.
I dropped the blanket and shifted, already in a dead run.
Chapter Sixty-Nine
Even if I couldn’t sense both Tucker and Mal, I would have known where to run. I headed for the top of the ridge overlooking Wild Lake. They started things there, and they would end them there. Unless I got there in time to stop it.
Reed, Barrett, and Jake ran hot on my heels. They could have brought me down half a dozen times on the way up, but they didn’t touch me. I ran to the clearing and shifted. Both Mal and Tucker could sense me, but neither of them stopped. They’d been down that road before. Nothing would distract them from what they meant to do.
That’s what they thought.
Mal circled Tucker. Tucker stood tall and straight, his tail held high. I knew then he had the advantage. Mal should have challenged him with fists not claws. Tucker had spent five months as a wolf. His senses were keener. He was faster and stronger. Now, he just bided his time waiting for Mal to strike.
I ran up the hill shouting, “Stop it! Don’t do this. Not like this.”
Mal gave me the courtesy of halting his advance. I got between him and Tucker. I reached out with my mind to the both of them. Shift! I needed their intellect, not their animals.
Tucker cocked his head, stunned by my request and probably the fact I thought I could compel him. But, to his credit, he did shift. Then Mal did the same.
“Enough,” I said. “There is room for both of you.”
Tucker raised a brow and crossed his arms in front, amused by me more than anything. Mal ran a hand over his face.
“Get out of the way, Neve,” Mal said. “We’re done talking.”
“Fine. But you’re not done listening. You’re both Alphas. This pack can’t have two. I get that. But Mal, this is Tucker’s pack. He’s proven it time and again. You can go against him, but you’re going to lose. You lost before. Asher just got in the way. And I love you, Mal. In my own way, you know that. I don’t want to watch you die. But you know in your heart that’s exactly what’s going to happen today.”
“Then I’ll die!” he said, his wolf eyes shining. “I can never accept Tucker as my Alpha.”
“Then don’t.”
“Neve,” Tucker said. He put a gentle hand on my arm. “Even if Mal walks away from this, he can’t stay in the pack. He’d be an outcast. Lone wolves don’t survive. You saw what almost happened to me until you found me.”
I shook my head. “He doesn’t have to be alone either. Mal, go back to Kentucky.”
“I’ll never leave Wild Lake,” he said.
“Go to Mammoth Forest and challenge Asher. He’s weakened. His pack doesn’t trust him. Luke will rally the others around you. Take Asher’s place. You gave me your word once that you wouldn’t let Asher live. Remember? Well, now I’m calling you on it. Luke and the others belong here, just like you do. Bring them home.”
I turned to Tucker. He held his hand over his mouth, his eyes wide with surprise. “And you can allow it. If Mal proves his worth by taking Asher out and getting the others to follow him, will you let them back into Wild Lake? For good? Will you do it? Will you both do it?”
Mal turned, giving me his back. He could hide his face but I still knew his heart. It beat strong and hungry. Fire sparked low in his gut. He wanted this. Badly.
I turned to Tucker, crossing the distance I rested my hands on his forearms. I pleaded him with my mind and heart. “Will you allow it?”
He closed his eyes and sighed. But, I knew his answer before he spoke it. For, I knew his mind and heart most of all.
“Yes. Mal. Yes. Bring me Asher’s head and his pack, and you can have lands to the north of us. But, until you find your own mate, you won’t be welcome on this property. Nor will the rest of Asher’s pack.”
“Except for Luke!” I blurted. “Think of Pat. Except for Luke. You have to let them see each other.”
“Don’t tell me what I have to do!” Tucker barked. I took a step back.
He sighed again and nodded. “Yes, Luke. He can visit Pat. But alone!”
Mal dropped his head and gave a quick nod. He agreed! Reed, Barrett, and Jake gave a cheer that made me laugh. I ran to Tucker and hugged him. He tucked me under his arm and I looked back to Mal.
Though the rest of us were in a mood to celebrate, Mal wasn’t. Once he’d made up his mind, there was nothing more for him to say. He shifted, brought up his hind legs, and growled low.
I wanted to go to him. Thank him. Tell him I was sorry. But, he still knew my heart as well and there was no need. As the rest of the pack joined their Alpha on the hill, Mal broke into a run, heading south as fast as his powerful legs would carry him.
“Well done,” Jake said, leaning forward to kiss me.
“Thank you.” I looked up at Tucker.
Tucker’s eyes beamed as he met mine. He kissed me long and hard, making heat flare in my core.
“Don’t thank me yet. I agreed because of one reason. You. Mal went after you when I couldn’t. So for that, I’m willing to give him this chance. But just because he bested Asher once doesn’t mean he can do it again. Asher’s strong. Backed into a corner, he’s going to fight like hell. And Mal’s alone. Prepare yourself that he’ll probably lose.”
I swallowed hard as I watched Mal’s form grow more distant until he became nothing more than a black dot on the horizon. I felt that echoing flutter within me where a child used to be. But, instead of emptiness there, for the first time I felt a small glimmer of hope. I knew Mal better than Tucker did now. I knew Asher better too. My money was on Mal.
“Let’s get you home,” Tucker said as he kissed the top of my head.
Heat bled through me as my Alpha issued a silent command to me and the rest of the pack. We shifted together. Tucker rose tall, his silver ears pricked. Reed stood at his right side, his brown fur shimmering under the sun. I stood at Tucker’s left, and the metallic scent of heated blood hit my nostrils. An elk ran nearby. I pawed at the ground, the urge to give chase making my skin vibrate. The rest of the pack felt it too. Jake and Barrett came behind me and at my side, their noses pricked the same as mine.
Tucker lifted his head and let out a keening howl that reverberated through me, around me and into the rest of the pack. Each of us reared back and joined him, our howls rising with Tucker’s. The elk moved, a hundred yards to the south and moving fast. Tucker darted down the hill after it. The rest of us followed close behind, the wind whizzing past our ears.
We ran as one . . . whole . . . our Alpha leading the way as we headed toward home.
Epilogue
One Year Later
I paced the floor at the foot of my bed, heat blossomed from my lower back and shot straight down my legs, taking my breath with it. I doubled over and gripped the edge of the mattress.
“Shh,” Pat said, placing a firm hand at the center of my back. “Just keep breathing. Blow out through your mouth and let the pains just come. You can’t fight ‘em so you just gotta ride ‘em out, honey.”
“Easy for you to say,” I said through gritted teeth. But, I knew she was right. A fresh wave of pain speared through me, bringing me to my knees. Pat kept a hand under my arm to keep me from falling. Dr. Olivet grabbed my other arm to help her.
“You’re very close,” she said. “We’re here to help, but your body already knows what to do.”
I wanted to tear my skin off. Punch a hole in the wall. Anything to get away from the searing agony my body had become. My eyes went light and dark. The urge to shift grew strong.
“Stay with us,” Dr. Olivet said. “I know it’s hard, but you have to hold the wolf back. You’re too far gone.”
“Ugh!” I shouted. Not shifting was the worst part. My wolf hovered just beneath th
e surface, desperately wanting to claw her way out and face whatever threat made my body feel this way. Except now, the cause of my pain was something else deep inside.
After another wave of agony, I heard something smash apart on the floor below us.
“Harold,” Pat shouted. “You make sure those boys keep him under control.”
“I want Tucker,” I hissed through the pain. “Please.”
“Soon enough,” Pat said. “Right now it’s not safe. He’s having a worse time keeping his wolf under wraps than you are. Just instinct. He senses what you feel. We’ll get you through it and then everything will change for the better. You’ll see.”
The next wave of pain had me down on the ground, writhing on all fours. I tried to shake away Dr. Olivet’s hand from my back. Even her slight touch overloaded my senses. But, I was rooted to my spot on the floor as I waited to be torn in half. I finally did scream then, as some great force shifted and churned within me. I dug my nails into the floorboards as Suzanne Olivet guided the tiny life out of me.
But there was no relief after that, only greater pain. The second time, I didn’t even have the strength to scream. My body contorted and I couldn’t breathe. But, at the moment when I felt I’d reached the breaking point, a current went through me and all the pain rushed out of me at once.
I remember Pat’s laughter as my eyes fluttered and everything went black.
***
“Baby?”
Tucker’s voice reached me through the fog, pulling me back to Earth. For a moment, I didn’t want to go. I was so, so tired.
But, I opened my eyes and blinked hard as blinding shards of gold sunlight hit my face through the window blinds.
“Wake up, sleepy head,” he said. Tucker’s eyes were wet with tears as he looked down at me. He smoothed my hair away from my face and leaned down to kiss me.
“I love you,” I croaked. He held a glass of water up for me. As soon as I took a sip, I felt more like myself. “I mean I want to rip your favorite parts off for doing this to me. But I love you.”
Tucker rose from the bed and reached down beside him. On shaky arms, I rose to a sitting position. My body felt boneless, weightless, wrecked.
Tucker turned, his eyes alight with love and wonder as he held two precious bundles crooked under each arm. First, he handed me one wrapped in blue. I pulled the blanket away and marveled at the face of our newborn son, his pink face scrunched with fury until his body went slack as he let out a bubble of gas and farted.
I laughed. “Like father like son, already.” I leaned down and kissed his head letting his downy hair tickle my nose. I inhaled, his scent and let it fill and imprint on me. For the rest of my life, I would know him anywhere.
Then, Tucker leaned down and handed me our daughter. She looked up at me with bright, clear blue eyes and blinked with wonder.
“Good morning, sweetheart!” I said, my voice choked with emotion. My daughter nuzzled against me, her mouth open and already rooting for me.
“She’s got her mother’s appetite,” Tucker said. “I’ve already almost lost a finger trying to hold her off until you woke up.”
“Oh, Tucker. They’re perfect.”
He leaned down and kissed me again, then planted a tender kiss on each of our children’s sweet heads. “So are you my love.”
I looked at my children, my heart full with a new, fierce, love. An echoing flutter stirred in my womb, as if the spirit of the child I’d lost had come to bestow a blessing.
Joined as we were, Tucker sensed my mood. He pressed his forehead to mine. “Just because there’s been no word, doesn’t mean Mal failed,” he said, giving voice to the only cloud that could darken this day. “He’s alone. He’s got to be careful and bide his time. Despite everything, if something bad had happened to him, I think I’d still be able to sense it.”
“So do I,” I said. I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer for Mal, just like I did every day since he left Wild Lake.
The babies squirmed in my arms and brought me back to the present. I nuzzled each of their heads in turn. Then, soft and strong, I sang to them. My blood stirred as Tucker slid an arm around my shoulders. I felt gooseflesh rise on his arm as I hit a clear note. The babies cooed along with me. I finished the lullaby and lifted my head to meet Tucker’s waiting lips. He brushed a hair from my eyes.
“I know what I’d like to call them,” I said, my heart full and proud. “If you’re okay with it.”
Tucker raised a brow.
“Jarred and Camilla. Can we name them after your parents? It seems right somehow that the newest members of our pack should honor the old.”
Tucker beamed, his eyes filled with tenderness. “Neve McGraw, are you ever going to stop surprising me?”
Little Camilla started to stir. My breasts ached in answer. This little one had a rising hunger that wouldn’t be denied for long. Her brother sensed his sister’s distress and he kicked his legs in sympathy. Camilla let out a full-throated wail, then hiccupped. She opened her eyes and fixed them on me. For the briefest moment, hers flashed from blue to silver as her tiny wolf rose within her.
Tucker threw back his head and raised his voice in a mighty howl that sent a shiver through me and stirred my wolf. Little Jarred tried to muster an answering howl that came out as more of a squeak. Tucker and I laughed together as he reached down to pull back his son’s blanket. Jarred raised a tight fist and locked eyes with his father. Jarred’s wolf eyes glinted back silver as well.
Then, I sensed three wolves burst through the tree line toward the northern edge of the house. The pack had gone to hunt for Tucker and me. My wolf heart soared as Reed, Barrett, and Jake howled out their welcome for the newest two members of the pack.
Camilla and Jarred stiffened in my arms and raised their tiny voices in perfect harmony. Their heartbeats settled deep within me, joining their father’s now and forever.
THE END
Find out what happens to Mal when he gets a story all his own in
ROGUE ALPHA
A Note from Kimber White
Thank you so much for reading Neve and Tucker’s story. These characters and this pack have lived with me for years and I’m so happy to finally be able to share them with you. Although Tucker and Neve’s journey is complete, Mal’s is just beginning. He’s got a promise to keep and a score to settle with Asher. On his road to redemption, he might just find another woman whose passion burns every bit as hot as his. Don’t miss Mal’s story in Rogue Alpha. Rogue Alpha is a standalone, no cliffhangers! It kicks off my new series featuring the hunky alphas of Wild Lake (don’t worry, Pat and Harold will be back too!).
For an exclusive first look at Rogue Alpha, sign up for my newsletter today. You’ll be the first to know about my new releases and special discounts available only to subscribers. You’ll also get a FREE EBOOK right now, as a special welcome gift for joining. I promise not to spam you, share your email or engage in other general assholery. You can unsubscribe anytime you like (I’ll only cry a little). You can sign up here! http://eepurl.com/byh9Br
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See you on the wild side!
Kimber
KimberWhite.com
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Books by Kimber White
Claimed by the Pack Series
The Alpha’s Mark
Sweet Submission
Rising Heat
Pack Wars
Choosing an Alpha
The Complete Series Box Set
Wild Lake Wolves Series
Rogue Alpha (featuring Mal from the Claimed by the Pack Series)
Mammoth Forest Wolves Series
