by Sky Winters
“I made up my mind, up there in the hills. I want you, Drake, and well…” She paused. “You know shifters have babies faster?”
He nodded. “Yeah, biologically speaking, sure. Why?”
“Because we’re having one.”
His mouth dropped open. “What?”
Well, at least he didn’t run as soon as the words were out. “I’m pregnant.”
Drake dropped the pizza. It hit the sheets, leaving a stain. Not that she figured that would matter that much. The sheets were pretty dingy anyway.
“You… you… I thought two different species… I… you see, I couldn’t… You know, that is why I was not named Alpha.”
“I know. I don’t know what happened.” Oh no. Was he doubting he was the father? It was possible. How could she blame him if he did? They were different and there had never been a child born of two species of shifter, as far as she knew. It was supposed to be genetically impossible and he had been denied the Alpha spot for his inability to produce kids.
“Wait. How did they know you couldn’t?” she asked.
He gave her a wary glance. “It’s not like I was a virgin when I met you.”
“I know that. But did you try to have kids?”
He shrugged. “Well, in my pack, monogamy isn’t exactly a thing. I mean, I had a few who were in heat and they never got pregnant so, well, it was just assumed.”
“But Morgan could have kids?”
Drake’s face darkened. “He had a mate he wanted to be with for life, but she died.”
“Oh.” There was something there, and she did not want to know what it was. It was personal and it was none of her business until he decided, if he decided, to make it her business.
Drake burst into laughter. “I guess I proved them all wrong, didn’t I?”
I’m going to have a heart attack. I am. Does this mean he’s okay with this?
Am I okay with this?
Drake paused. “Angelina, you do know we can’t… I mean, how will we know what it will shift as?”
She lifted her shoulders and dropped them. “I don’t know,” she admitted. Her chest gave off a powerful ache. “What if it’s something that is both wolf and bear? Is that even possible?”
“I guess we’ll see.”
“That sounds pretty nonchalant.”
He shrugged. “I guess. I just don’t know what to say to that one. I’ve never heard of it happening. If it has, nobody’s talking about it.”
He had a point. That didn’t halt the worry growing in her being. “I’m afraid that something will… that our child will be something they try to kill. They exile muties, you know. They send mutie kids away as soon as they know for sure they can’t shift at will, and I don’t know where they’d send a child like ours, but I know one thing.” Her hand curled protectively around her belly. Her fingertips grazed the still flat flesh there and her eyes lifted to his. “They’ll take my child over my dead body.”
Drake’s eyes glowed. His face wore an intent expression. “Our dead bodies,” he corrected her. “No way am I letting them take our child.”
Her breath caught and held. He meant it. They were in this together, and he would stand with her and for their baby. Her voice was husky as she said, “Maybe we better run. I don’t know where. There has to be somewhere we could go.”
“I thought that, too, at first, but we can’t now. You have to know that, Angelina. We can’t run forever, and we can’t hide forever.”
No, they couldn’t. Their child would be something so different he or she would be bound to draw attention unless they hid that baby away from everyone and even if they succeeded in hiding the child from shifters, humans would sense the difference, just like some humans sensed the difference in her, and Drake.
“Then what do we do?”
His teeth gnawed at his bottom lip. “I didn’t want to talk about this tonight, but we have to. Joaquin’s started a war with the muties. He claims you are with a bear mutie and now the muties, outraged and being accused and having the wolf pack riding through their territory, are rebelling.”
Oh, my God! Her mouth hung open. Stunned and infuriated, and very frightened now, she said, “He thought you were a mutie?”
Drake shook his head. “No. I don’t believe that he did. Patel…”
“The tiger?”
“The same. He came into bear territory. He thinks Joaquin is deliberately stirring the pot so we have to fight the muties. Then, when the smoke clears, all the territory belonging to the tigers would be up for grabs.”
“The tigers were the ones who created mutie laws.” Angelina’s brow furrowed. “And they have the smallest pack. Their numbers have dwindled over the years—from what I hear, they barely have four or five dozen shifters in their ranks now.”
“That’s about right. Wolves, on the other hand, number in the hundreds in your pack alone and there’s wolf packs all over LA. There’s been peace for the most part, and all that, and if they had to band together for a common enemy, that would only reinforce their one-ness.”
“Joaquin has the biggest and strongest pack. The other packs are small, a dozen or so here and there. If they all banded together under Joaquin, he’d run the largest shifter pack in the city.” A vertical slash appeared between her eyes. “What about the bears?”
“We number in the hundreds, and we have an army of humans—criminals and psychopaths, for the most part. If they don’t know about the shifter thing, they will, and what’s more, they won’t care. Not if there’s blood, money, and territory up for grabs.”
“The tigers’ territory.”
“Exactly. It’s the one territory that’s run on legit money, and Magda wants it so she can launder the very large amounts of money we bring in. She’s using Joaquin, grooming him for this, if you want the truth.”
Her breath hissed in and out of her lungs. “She’ll kill him.”
“I’m sure.” Drake laid a hand on her shoulder. “She’s likely already got a replacement for him all lined up, too. Probably a wolf with ambition and not a lot of power, one she can manipulate.”
She had to tell him about Mario. She took a deep breath yet again. “My brother, Mario…”
“The non-shifter.”
A small laugh escaped her mouth. “That’s what we always thought. He can shift. He did shift when he came to see me up there. He told me that Sam’s working with the muties.”
“Then he’s Magda’s pigeon. She’s playing on both sides. She’s likely sent him in there to make a deal of some kind.”
Confusion surfaced. She leaned closer to him. The point of one of her shoulders met his, bringing warmth to her body, but it was not enough to dispel the chill creeping across her. “Why would she do that?”
“Because the muties are an army. If she controls them, she could control everything. The entire city.”
Her shoulder slumped. “She’s going to get Sam killed.”
“I know.”
“Why?” She got out of bed. “What is it about power that some have to have it? Would do anything for it?”
“I don’t know, but I only see one way for this to play out, Angelina. I want a life with you. I want our child safe, if not totally accepted. There’s only one way to do that.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I can’t kill Morgan. I can’t. First of all, he may be the strongest ally that we have, not just against the muties either, but against Magda.”
Okay. I get that. I just don’t get the rest of what he is trying to say here. “You’re going to have to break it down to me, Drake.”
He’d set the guitar aside earlier and now he clambered out of the bed carefully so as not to harm the delicate instrument. “There’s only one way to put an end to this that I can see. We have to take over Joaquin’s pack.”
Shock rippled through her. She swayed on her feet. “You can’t kill him, Drake. That would mean war.”
His eyes were steady. “I know I can’t.”
Her! He meant she had to kill Joaquin! Distrust raised its ugly head. How did she know that this, any of this, was not some elaborate plot cooked up by the bear pack? How did she know she could trust Drake?
Her heart spoke then. She did trust him. She did. She trusted him and she loved him and the child growing in her belly would need the protection only an Alpha could give. Morgan, as Alpha of the bear pack, could give that on Drake’s side, which was why Drake could not kill him—that and the pack would never accept Drake, even if their theory that he could not bear children had just been proven wrong.
I just said I would kill for my child. I meant that. Now I have to actually do it. There are no other options. She nodded her head. “That won’t solve the issue with the muties though. If they’re already spoiling for a fight, they will come anyway.”
“Magda has them whipped up with this. I don’t have any doubt she told Joaquin to say it was a mutie. I also have no doubt that she might have an idea, a damn good one, that it was me.”
Pain lanced through her. Drake was a pawn in a game his mother was playing, and he knew it. He was a powerful man and a powerful shifter and… and maybe Magda had deliberately set him aside for just that reason. Morgan was likely easier for her to control, and it would have been easy enough to level an accusation of sterility onto Drake and displace him.
She asked, “When?”
“I’d say tomorrow. We both need rest, and we need a plan. We need help, too.”
“Is there anyone we can trust?”
His face showed how conflicted he was. There were shadows in his eyes and his lips compressed into flat lines. “I want to say yes, but I think the best thing to say is that there might be a few who want the same things we want, and hope they are willing to work with us on that goal.”
“I’m with you,” she said softly. “No matter how this pans out.”
Drake swept her back into his arms. The steady thud of his heartbeat rang out in her ear. “And I’m with you.”
Chapter 13
Morgan gawked at the two of them and at Patel and the woman with him. Drake studied Morgan’s face; seeing the strain on it caused an ache in his gut but there was not much he could do about it just then.
“You want our approval to battle your Alpha?” the woman asked.
Angelina nodded. “You know it’s an old law. It was redacted because of the infighting in the packs but… but we need to use it now.”
The woman, a beautiful creature with honey-colored skin and dark eyes and hair, leaned forward. Her scarlet dress floated around her slender body, giving her the impression of fragility but Angelina was not fooled. Aya was one of the most powerful shifters in LA, and maybe even the country. She was tiger, and it showed in the lithe and supple way she moved and her restlessness as she prowled along the room. “We’d be putting ourselves at risk for that. We will already bear the brunt of the muties wrath, and now you want us to bear the brunt of the wolf pack’s wrath as well.”
“My daughter is correct in that. We’d be opening ourselves to more retribution. You,” Patel pointed a finger at Morgan, “can afford it. Magda may even forgive you for it, since she can always deny she had any part in any of this, but us? We’d be overridden, and we have no guarantees that either pack, wolf or bear, would stand with us.”
Morgan shook his head. “I don’t want to believe that Magda had any part of this but… I can see it. I know what she is, and I also know she can’t be allowed to continue. That’s a matter for another day. You have my word there will be no retribution from my pack.”
Drake held his breath. The meaning of those words was clear enough. Morgan would have to either kill or depose their mother. There was no other way and the tension in Morgan’s face and body told Drake just how seriously he took what he had just said—and how much it hurt him to say so.
“I will kill him,” Angelina vowed. “Joaquin’s no fighter. He’s Alpha by blood and heritage, but he’s weak. He’s a bully. He will fight but only those he thinks are too weak to fight back. He won’t live, that I can attest to.”
Aya glared at her. “If you fail?”
“Then I will kill him.” Drake knew the words would bring shock. “I’m not asking for forgiveness in that either. With Joaquin dead, I’ll be the target for the wolves. I know that, but the only way Angelina’s going to fail is if Joaquin kills her, which I won’t let happen. Either way, he will die.”
“We can’t protect you if you kill him,“ Morgan pointed out. “Even if she lives and he dies, if you are the one who kills him, she may not become Alpha. Heritage aside, a battle like the one you are asking for means the Alpha’s place is up for grabs. Any wolf who’d challenge would be right there. You might have the bloodiest battle of all time on your hands, and you both stand a good chance of dying anyway.”
“The wolves who are against Joaquin would settle up, I think.” Angelina paused. “Not all the pack wanted to see things go in that direction. They were forced to it for the most part, because we follow our Alpha. There’s only one other who’d challenge and I plan to deal with him, too.”
Drake knew now was the time to press the point. The muties were gathering and making no secret of it if Patel was to be believed. Given the very real fear the old man was showing at that moment, Drake did believe him.
Magda had to be stopped. He had a baby and a woman to protect, and he would do whatever it took.
Patel said, “Aya, you will be the one to lead the tiger pack. This has to be your decision now.”
Drake looked at Aya and then at Morgan. Morgan stared at Aya, his eyes clinging to her stunning face with what could only be described as a real longing.
Drake blinked. I’ll be a sonofabitch. No wonder he shrugged off me and Angelina so easily! He’s hot for Aya, even if he would never admit it, not even to himself.
Aya lowered her head. Her dark hair swung forward like curtains, obscuring her face. Long moments passed. Sweat broke out on Drake’s skin.
Aya lifted her head. “The law of battle is allowed, in this instance. We shall call it into law now, and here.”
Drake’s body loosened. His muscles ached from the tautness he had been holding them with. Angelina stepped forward. Her hand came out. Morgan stepped forward as well.
Their hands met. Drake watched. Once upon a time, he had truly resented being displaced as Alpha. It had hurt, and he had never admitted that before. Seeing three people standing in the center of the room: bear, wolf, and tiger, all agreeing to an unholy pact, he understood something right then.
This was the way it was supposed to be. He had never been meant to be Alpha, because sometimes nature decided and sometimes fate took over. This was fate. This was right.
Chapter 14
Wind stroked along Angelina’s face. Under her fingers, Drake’s belly, tight with muscles, was hard and comforting. Strong vibrations rolled through her body as Drake guided the motorcycle along the streets, its single headlight picking out shapes and illuminating them.
Her body moved with his easily as he guided the bike along. That rhythm, riding with him, was as natural as making love to him.
Her thighs tightened, clinging to him in a reaction to that thought and the erotic sensations coming from the vibrating bike and the nearness of his body.
When this is done, we’ll be free. That is what I have to remember and cling to. When this is over, I’ll hold the power of Alpha and I can decree us acceptable as a couple. We can play our music and raise our child.
But first I have to kill Joaquin.
Her fingers gripped him more tightly as the bike slid to a halt at the house. The other packs would not interfere, that was the law. They’d stand to one side and let it happen and accept whoever won as the wolf pack Alpha, but they would never go so far as to help.
Drake had been formally exiled, placed outside his pack. It had to be that way, but as he climbed off the bike and held out a hand to her, Angelina found herself wondering if he was really okay with that.
It had to be that way, for obvious reasons, but that meant he was never going to be able to call himself part of the bear pack again.
How would I feel if that were me?
She took his hand and slid to the ground. The wolves stood silent, waiting. Joaquin would be inside. The neighborhood hung shrouded with dark and silence. From a few blocks away came a drift of music and the muted sounds of traffic. The other wolves would be out, keeping any humans who might decide to stroll past away from the streets held by the shifters. There’d be blood tonight and an entire neighborhood hung in the balance, even if the humans out there did not know it.
She moved along the sidewalk and into the yard. Drake followed silently. She heard a few warning growls and a small yip, but otherwise the wolves were silent.
Her hand met the door. The knob, slick and oily, turned in her sweating palm. The large main room was filled with wolves. The smell, musky and rank, of so many shifters in one space hit her nose. Her feet halted. Her head turned slowly as she sought out familiar faces, hoping to find an ally.
“You do know you’ve just fucked up?” Joaquin said aggressively as he approached. “Nobody challenges me and lives.”
Now that it was here, she was afraid. Of course, she was. Her head lifted higher, her chin pointing upward. “I was granted permission to battle you for Alpha. I have the right, because of birth, and because of what you have done to this territory.”
Joaquin’s lips twisted in a sneer, but he didn’t draw any closer. “I brought money in here. Look around you. You think people like living poor? You think we, as wolves, don’t deserve better?”
There were murmurs from the gathered wolves.
Joaquin continued, “And you bring a bear in here?”
“He’s exiled, and my mate.”
The disapproval was real. The cries of shock and horror and anger beat at her ears. Drake stood at her back, one hand on her shoulder, giving her strength.
She stepped forward, crowding Joaquin’s space, but he didn’t move. “What do you think we deserve, Joaquin? To bow down to the muties or to Magda? She’s used you. You’ve pissed off the humans here; most of them are grumbling whether you hear it or not. We have always taken care of them and in return, they took care of us. Now we destroy their homes and their safety with drugs and crime and rule them with money they can’t ever see or spend because you take it all—and put it right in Magda’s pockets. Do you think the humans of this territory are really going to keep helping us like that? When they are afraid and they don’t like us or this hood?”
