A Town Called Nowhere

by VK Tritschler

  ‘Look, we don’t know what your mother wanted,’ Gloria rubbed her hand back up along her shoulder. ‘I’m sure she had her reasons. Mothers always do. The important part is that they found you, and that you are going to be okay. You won’t ever be without a pack again.’

  At that, a shadow emerged from the open door, his face drawn tight and a frown on his brow.

  ‘You’re right, she won’t be.’ Dru replied, crossing his arms across his chest. ‘Because we just voted to make her a part of ours.’

  Jakob’s eyes flashed, and he turned to bare his teeth at Dru. ‘Over my dead body,’ Jakob hissed.

  ‘That can be arranged,’ he replied.

  The two men glowered at each other, with Nicci still reeling from the shock of the news sat silent.

  ‘Oh stop it you two,’ hissed Gloria her hands dropping to her hips. ‘The girl has had enough for today without you starting that rubbish.’

  Corey entered the room and looked from Dru to Jakob and back to Gloria.

  ‘Good to see everyone getting along,’ he gave Gloria a wink and she let out a small chuckle. ‘We have some good news.’

  ‘Yes,’ Nicci’s voice was hollow. ‘Dru told me already.’

  ‘Ah, well, that would explain the cheerful atmosphere in here,’ his gaze fell to Jakob. ‘You’re awake.’

  ‘No thanks to you,’ Jakob growled back, his eyes flashing. Corey’s cheeks tinged at the words.

  ‘Yeah sorry about that,’ he bowed his head just slightly. ‘I thought you were going to kill Nicci.’

  ‘What?’ blustered Jakob. ‘Why would I kill a member of my pack? That’s ridiculous. I just needed to catch her to talk.’

  ‘It didn’t seem like that,’ Nicci observed, the fleeting memory of his huge muscular frame pounding on the ground right behind her. He scoffed.

  ‘If I had wanted to kill you, you’d have already been dead, long before lover-boy over here arrived.’

  Dru’s eyes narrowed. ‘They aren’t lovers,’ he murmured, but the conversation had already moved on.

  ‘They gave me strict instructions to find you and bring you home. So that’s what I’m doing,’ he tried to move and flinched again. ‘As soon as I’m fully healed.’

  Nicci gulped. She looked over to Dru and saw the pleading expression in his eyes. He wanted her to stay. A yearning for a moment’s peace to think it over rushed up and met her, the tingling in her feet a desperate scratch. Gloria’s fingers tightened on her shoulder and she looked at the older woman. She gave her a nod.

  ‘I...’ she stammered. ‘I think I need to think about this.’

  ‘What’s there to think about?’ Jakob asked, raising an eyebrow. ‘You are part of our bloodline. You can’t avoid your responsibilities to our pack.’

  ‘She’s already got a pack,’ Dru hissed again. ‘I just bloody told you that. She doesn’t have responsibilities to you or anyone related to you. Your family,’ he snarled ‘deserted her when she was just an innocent child and left her to grow up alone and afraid. You have no right to come in here and demand her to obey.’

  His voice was getting louder, the sound of it bringing other members from outside to listen in.

  Mark stepped out of the shadows and squeezed past Corey, who stood there with his mouth set in a grim line staring at Jakob, Nicci and Gloria.

  ‘All right love?’ he asked, arching an eyebrow at Gloria.

  ‘Just fine,’ she smiled back. ‘Nicci is just fine.’

  A look passed between the two of them, which Nicci didn’t recognise. Were they talking with their mate bond? She didn’t know.

  ‘Nicci,’ he offered her his hand. ‘Why don’t you go with Gloria and head outside? We have things we need to discuss with your cousin.’

  Jakob’s eyes slanted as he looked at the men, and his teeth bared. For a moment, he turned and gave Nicci a quick look, and she wasn’t sure if it was a flash of fear or anger in his eyes.

  ‘I’ll be back in a minute,’ she assured him. ‘I just need to clear my head and think things through.’

  He nodded, his eyes focused still on the men around him. In her mind she could hear a soft growl, sitting like a rumble in the back of her brain. She wondered if it was Jakob. Passing Dru, he caught his hand on her arm, bringing her gaze up to meet his own. Her heart turned in her chest, and the sharp sting of tears formed again. His hand dropped, the warmth of his touch dropping away and leaving a vacant stinging where it had once been. She turned her head and walked out the door.

  #

  CHapTEr TwenTy SeveN

  Dru felt his blood bubble and then dissipate as she left, the emptiness in the room without her filling him with fear. What if she didn’t want to stay now? What if she chose her family over him? His gaze returned to the immediate threat. The man who called himself Jakob.

  Sitting upright, his bulky frame hanging over the tiny bed, he looked pale but was healing quickly. The gash in his neck was now a inflamed red line that ran from one side to the other. Dru suspected that even after it had fully healed he would have an impressive scar.

  ‘As soon as we heal you, you are to leave here and never come back.’ Dru’s voice was bitter as it echoed through the room. Mark and Corey, beside him, stood shoulder to shoulder.

  ‘With or without Nicci,’ Corey added. ‘It’s her choice.’

  Dru flinched. He hoped it was the former, not the latter.

  Jakob nodded. ‘I agree. But I can guarantee you she will choose us. Blood is thicker than water. You have been here, what? A few days? I have heard her voice in the back of my head my entire life.’

  Dru flinched again. He wished he could do the same, but they were not bonded yet.

  ‘She hasn’t even got a passport,’ Dru added, although he wasn’t entirely sure that it was true. But it sounded good.

  ‘Easy,’ Jakob replied, giving him a triumphant grin. ‘We have contacts in the Sydney consulate that could get her a temporary one in a day. She’s an American citizen after all.’

  He felt the air deflate from his lungs. Yes, she would be if her Dad claimed her. She could leave the country and never come back, and he wouldn’t be able to stop her. As an Australian he could get a tourist visa, but a green card was something entirely different. His brain was already thinking of ideas on how he could travel there and work. Maybe he could join IndyCar? Scott Dixon the New Zealander had done well at that and he had lots of sponsorship that might crossover between the two. There had to be a way.

  Standing guard by the door, they waited for Nicci to return, which she did eventually. He chewed on his lip and considered his options. The sweet smell of sweat followed her entry, the tendrils of it clinging to her forehead as she walked past him. He was pleased her heat had now finished, as being that close to her in that state would have been unbearable.

  ‘Pleasant run?’ Corey asked, giving her a smile.

  ‘Yes.’ She didn’t smile back. Instead, her face looked pale and drawn, her eyes flashing from one person to the next.

  ‘I have decided,’ she announced.

  Dru felt his chest compress and his breath catch in his throat.

  ‘I’m staying.’

  All the air released, his shoulders dropping. ‘Thank God,’ he murmured, reaching for her. But she took a step back.

  Jakob swung his legs over the side of the bed. ‘I don’t think you understand Nicci. I’m expected to bring you back home. I can’t disobey a direct Alpha order.’ His lips were tight and his eyes bore down into her own. ‘Your father is waiting for you.’

  ‘Then why didn’t he come and get me himself?’ she threw back at him, her shoulders squaring. Jakob paused, his eyes narrowing only a margin before he shrugged.

  ‘He’s a busy man, and my job as Beta is to make life easier for him.’ He reached for his back pocket and then realised that his phone was miss
ing. Dru felt the ripple of his panther form across his skin at the mention of Jakob being a Beta. Made sense, given his size and strength. But normally Betas would stay to protect a pack, not be sent out on errands. Something didn’t sit right with the story.

  ‘Looking for this?’ Corey pulled the phone from his own pocket and passed it over.

  There was no thanks offered, Jakob’s lips got tighter. ‘It’s password protected.’

  ‘We know,’ Corey replied, his eyes observing him.

  Flicking it on and swiping the screen, he dialled a number, the light from the phone radiating against the side of his face.

  ‘It’s me.’ There was a pause. ‘I’m fine. I just ran into some locals.’

  His gaze narrowed at Corey. ‘Yes, she’s here.’ He paused, seeming to stumble on the next phrase. ‘She doesn’t want to come.’

  The voice on the phone got louder, and Jakob flinched. ‘He wants to talk to you.’ He held up the phone, his hand trembling slightly as he did so. Nicci gulped and reached forward.

  ‘Hello?’ Her face was pale in the illuminated light. Her lips drawn tight and her eyes fixed on the ground. Dru wanted to reach out and hug her, to bring her into his arms and keep her safe. Her eyes grew round and her gaze flew up to his face. He could see she was processing something.

  ‘Yes,’ she whispered. ‘Actually, I remember that.’

  There was murmuring again on the phone, Nicci’s eyes filling with tears as she nodded her head. ‘Yes, I remember.’

  It was heartbreaking for him to watch her like this. The pain and anguish radiated off her. The years of misery that had etched themselves into her very being were rising to the surface, like veins on her face. He wanted to take all that pain away and wrap his arms around her, protecting her forever. But he stood there like a statue, unable to help.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she sobbed, tears now running freely down her cheeks. ‘But I can’t. I just can’t.’

  There was a pause, and the voice on the phone dropped. ‘I’ll try. Just give me some time. Please?’

  The pleading was breaking him. His claws grew longer as he fought the urge to rip the phone from her hand and tell the guy where to go. This wasn’t fair. She had been through enough; she didn’t need to be put in this position.

  ‘Okay,’ she nodded. ‘Yeah, I’ll pass you back to Jakob.’

  She gave Jakob the phone and raced up and pressed herself into Dru’s chest. He wrapped his arms around her, and buried his head in her hair, his heart expanding as he drank in her sweet aroma. The heat from their bodies melded, and her body shook with wracking sobs. He reached out and soothed her nape, cooing softly to her until her sobs became whimpers. For him, there was nobody else in the room with them. Just her, and him, and the feeling of completeness when she was beside him. His entire life he had sought for this feeling. This moment was everything he had wanted, and everything he wanted it to be. Perfect. And as he purred, she snuggled closer, the soft thump of her heart radiating against his own.

  Their bond broke with the sound of Jakob’s voice.

  ‘I see.’ It was only two paltry words, but with that, Dru knew that his open declaration of love would have consequences. He only hoped that they would survive the fallout.

  #

  CHapTEr TwenTy EighT

  Nicci had recognised the voice as soon as she had heard it. The low timbre, rounded vowels and authoritative voice which she had heard in her head a million times. It was her father. As she spoke, she imagined him standing here. Perhaps his hair was greying at the sides, speckled with time and age. His eyes would be dark, like Jakob’s. His hands rough and worn from his years working on the ranch. His face tanned and heavily lined from years of being the controlling body of one of the strongest packs in America. And now, there she was, disobeying him again. Soft shudders rolled off her shoulders.

  Despite everything, she couldn’t leave this place. During her run in the woods, she had contemplated her choices. The pull to meet her family and to find out more about her mother was a strong one. But her bonds didn’t override her heart. As much as she had contemplated leaving this place, she could not imagine her world without Dru. To never again see his face, and dive into the blue oceans of his eyes. To ache for his touch and feel the soft warmth of his body pressed against her own. He was the one true drug she could never have enough of. And as much as she didn’t want to be the ‘other woman’, she also admitted to herself that she would face a thousand Caitlin’s and a million Ashley’s if it meant that she got to spend just one more day in his presence. One more hour in his bed. One more minute with his skin on hers. The decision had been easy. She had found her real home. It was in Nowhere.

  A place that despite her background, and regardless of her family, had chosen her. Voted for her. Backed her. They had welcomed her, a complete stranger, to be one of them. To share in their bounty and embrace her as a family. She couldn’t turn away from the first genuine acceptance she had ever felt. And here, she could build a new life. One free from her past and her fears. One where she could make something of herself and learn new skills. Her hands were already getting worn from the fruits of her labours, and she was proud to have made that part of herself.

  Pulling herself away from Dru’s comforting embrace, she wiped the tears away with the back of her hand and stared into his the depths of his blue eyes, gasping at the waves of emotion that pulled in her deeper and deeper.

  She felt Corey’s hand reach out and touch her on the shoulder, his soft smile as he looked down at her reassuring. She wasn’t alone.

  Turning back to Jakob, she found him watching with narrowed eyes, and nodded to the phone.

  ‘Yes sir. I understand. I’ll be home as soon as I am able.’

  He pushed the off button and the light from the phone went dead. He tried to stand up, swaying in the process. Nicci stepped forward, and he leaned heavily on her shoulder, the weight of him crushing down.

  ‘Thanks,’ he murmured. ‘I’m okay.’

  ‘No, you’re not,’ Gloria scolded, intervening and attempting to place him back down in the bed. She looked tiny compared to him, like a small mother hen. ‘It’s not healed enough.’

  With a sigh, he relinquished and fell back, the stretcher creaking under the weight.

  ‘You’re probably right,’ he admitted.

  Clare returned, a bottle of child paracetamol clenched in her hand. She surveyed the room with caution as she entered.

  ‘Knock, knock,’ she said, squeezing past the small crowd. She sat on her haunches by Jakob and gave him a syringe of sticky pink liquid. ‘Well, you’re looking better. Here, have this. It will help with the pain and hopefully drop your temperature.’

  His dark eyes surveyed her, his body not moving except for the opening of his lips.

  ‘Thanks,’ he muttered after she had administered the medicine. A red flush rose on Clare’s cheeks and she nodded her head. Looking at Nicci, a flash of concern crossed her brow.

  ‘Are you okay there, Nicci?’ she asked.

  ‘Fine thanks,’ Nicci tried to give her a smile, but it felt tight and unnatural. ‘This is my cousin,’ she announced, feeling the strangeness of it on her tongue. ‘Jakob Knute.’

  A small falter of her welcome smile was the only sign on Clare’s face that she recognised the name. ‘Hi Jakob, I’m Clare.’

  He gave her a grimace, his eyes continuing to study her.

  ‘Well,’ she got up quickly from her stance. ‘I think that’s all that is needed here. You must be hungry Jakob, let me rustle up some food for you.’

  ‘That would be good,’ he replied, his drawl thickening at the end. She smiled again, a tight, drawn look, and glanced at Nicci.

  ‘Did you want to find out the good news?’ she asked.

  ‘Already have,’ Nicci smiled back, knowing that it felt false and disingenuous. ‘But yes, we s
hould probably see the pack.’

  It seemed like every person she met as they walked back to the fire, was smiling at her, giving her hope. Their kind congratulations made her begin to actually smile back, and in a rare moment for Nicci she truly felt like she belonged. She marvelled that these were, in fact, strangers only hours previously.

  ‘Hey, all good?’ Mark asked, his rosy red eyebrow raised, and Nicci gave him a soft nod. He smiled back, his cheeks blossoming as he did so.

  ‘Well Nicci,’ Corey took over. ‘The votes have been counted. We would like to formally welcome you to the Nowhere Pack.’

  The crowd applauded, although some claps were louder than others. Some women stepped forward and shook her hand, offering of support and kinship. Nicci felt the acceptance of the group seep through and slowly begin to fill a hole in her heart.

  #

  CHapTEr TwenTy NiNe

  The evening turned into a small celebration party, with members talking and laughing, sharing stories, jokes and singing around the campfire. Nicci went to bed early, feeling emotionally and physically exhausted from the momentous day. As she had climbed into her sleeping bag, she had heard a whisper at her tent door.

  ‘Nicci?’ It was Dru. A shiver ran along her body. ‘Are you still awake?’

  She deliberately hadn’t told him she was heading to bed because she didn’t want the rest of the pack to see them together. With the leadership roles still undecided, she wasn’t sure what the repercussions might be for both of them and she needed to protect him, even if it meant denying herself.

  She lay still and waited. Outside she heard him listening for her, so she tried to slow her breathing down to make it seem like she was already asleep. Eventually he relented and she heard his footsteps disappearing. Sighing she rolled over and tried to get the image of his hard body pressed against hers, his lips trailing kisses along her collarbone making her knees weak. But her sleep was restless, and his tent seemed a world away.

  As daylight broke, the sun shone through the thin fabric material and she stirred. Nearby she could hear the soft murmurs of pack members already starting their day. Stretching she felt a warm glow growing in the base of her heart. This was the sound of family for her now. For the first time in her life she was a part of something. The soft rumble of a purr caught in the base of her chest.