by Milly Taiden
He continued. “The police are investigating. Right now, they have very little information they can share. They believe he was ambushed because the major wounds are on his backside.” She nodded and felt the woman begin to crumble in her hold. Andi held tightly to her until she was sure Shantelle could make it to a chair safely. Together, the women slowly shuffled to a worn, weathered rocking chair.
Andi knelt before the eldest, wisest female of the pride. “I’m so sorry, Shantelle. He was a great guy.”
The woman plucked a tissue from a box beside the chair. “Miranda, make sure whoever did this is punished by shifter law. My grandson deserves nothing less than righteous justice.”
Anger swelled in Andi. She wanted to lash out at the unfair, reasonless tragedy. A strong hand squeezed her shoulder, pouring strength into her.
Kasen replied, “We will, Shantelle. We’ll do everything possible to catch this person and punish them to the fullest of shifter law.” Andi nodded. She seemed to be doing a lot of that. Old, soft eyes looked into her.
“Thank you, alphas Colilla and Steel. Together, you have done your duty according to tradition.” She patted Andi’s hands. “Now, leave this old woman to herself for a while.”
TWENTY-EIGHT
Kasen held Andi’s hand as they stepped onto the outside sidewalk from Shantelle’s home. He gave her fingers a squeeze. “You did good in there.”
“Ha!” burst from her lungs. “I couldn’t say a word without totally breaking down.” She guided them toward the meeting hall where everyone was gathering in a few minutes.
“That was your first time doing that, right?”
“Yes.”
“Most people would’ve been a blubbering mess. You held it together nicely, my love. I hate to say it, but it does get a bit easier over time. Not a lot, though. Each soul torn from your pack or pride tears apart many more hearts.”
“There you go again,” Andi rolled her eyes, “saying the freakin’ perfect thing. Do you have a book of these sayings you’ve memorized for the right time or something?”
He feigned a look of disbelief. “You accuse me of plagiarism when I speak from the heart?”
“Ugh, now I’m going to throw up on your shoes.” They both laughed then went quiet for a moment. They stood outside as others in the pride filed in. Solemn faces passed by. Some broke into a partial smile to say hello, while others glared with no words exchanged. It was time to go in. “Do you want to stay for this meeting, or are you going to head home?”
“I’d like to stay, at least for a bit. Oh. I almost forgot in all this mess. Tonight, my parents are having a get-together. A gathering for me to tell them who I’ve chosen as a mate. Seeing as your car is still at my place, how about I pick you up at 6:30? Dinner starts at seven and I’ll make the announcement about us after that.”
She frowned, not really in the mood but wanting to thank him for his support in some way. “Where do your parents live? Do we have to drive far?”
“No, they’re just three houses down the street from me. We jokingly call it the White House. You’ll understand when you see it.”
Her stomach churned. This was the proverbial shit or get off the pot time. Maybe she could hold it a bit longer. “We need to get inside. It’s time.” She grabbed his hand and dragged him inside.
“Andi, what about tonight?”
She shushed him. “We’ll talk about it after this meeting, okay?” She gave him a big smile to hopefully placate him. He frowned, but didn’t say anything. He leaned against the wall next to a side door in the packed room.
Andi climbed the steps to the stage and stood behind a podium. She tapped the mic to test for sound. A thump came through the speakers, so she was good to go.
“Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for dropping what you were doing and coming. I have news to share and we have a search to conduct.” The crowd grumbled among themselves. She raised her hands. “Give me a minute and we’ll get to questions.”
She took a deep breath. “Two of our pride members were attacked and killed last night and a third is missing.” Gasps and whimpers along with a few shouts spread through the people. “Everyone quiet down, please. I’m hoping whoever committed this crime isn’t one of us, but you never know anymore.” She paused to give time to anyone who’d like to confess. Like that was going to happen.
A male voice spoke up. “How do we know one of the dogs didn’t kill ‘em?”
Her eyes flashed to Kasen then back to the crowd. His eyes narrowed on the group, but he didn’t move. He might be all right with that, but she wasn’t. “To whomever said that, thanks for being brave enough to stand up. Now, give me one good reason the Steel wolf pack would want to hurt any of our pride?” Her eyes swept the room. “Just one.”
Another voice shouted, “As the alpha, you’re supposed to ensure our safety. Maybe if you were here instead of off with the dog, you could protect us better.”
The crowd erupted into chaos. People jumped from their chairs arguing, shoving, yelling at each other. Andi called for everyone to sit down and come to order. No one obeyed. She screamed, but couldn’t be heard over the raucous den.
A soft, but deadly grumble reached her as it flowed to the other side of the room. People responded immediately. Some crouched in fear. Others looked ready to flee. A few began to shift.
Almost a whisper said, “Your alpha is talking. Show her respect.” Kasen hopped up on stage and glowered at everyone. “Sit. Down. Now.” With his alpha ringing in his voice, all obeyed. He stared at individuals. Many dared to keep his stare, many turned away. “I can’t believe you people. You call yourself a pride, and you can’t even keep your mouths shut to listen to your alpha? I call that kindergarteners.”
He paced to one side. “You talk as if your alpha should bow to you. I agree that an alpha is there to serve the community. But the community also serves the alpha. You’re supposed to love and care for your leaders as much as they care for you.” He pointed across the crowd.
“How many of you stay up late at night worrying how your pride will afford food, or how the children will get medical care? How many of you lose sleep, concerned that a rival pride is encroaching on your land? How many of you actually sacrifice for the good of the pride?
“Does anyone know how I met your alpha?” He paused. No one replied. “I met her as she fought four males. One wanted to rape her, and the other three wanted to share a kitten going through her first heat.” Anger spewed from the floor.
“How many of you males would let your mate take on four grown lions? Hell, how many men here would do that? You might to save your family. But what about your neighbors? Would you voluntarily die an excruciating death to save someone else?” Folks no longer met his eye, any of them.
“Yet you sit in your cozy, safe homes with plenty of food and clothes and gossip cruel rumors about your alpha because she wants to find happiness. She wants to love a mate exactly like each of you. What has she done to not deserve happiness? Has she been mean? Has she been unfair? Does she sit around all day eating and watching TV, just letting shit happen?” His growl intensified. “No, she doesn’t.”
Kasen stood center stage, hands in his pockets, head down. “There are a couple biblical sayings that come to mind right now. You may have heard of them: Do unto others as you would have done unto you. And God helps those who help themselves.”
He scuffed his shoes along the plywood flooring. “Remind yourself what a community is and does for its members.” The wolf glowed brightly in his gaze as he scanned the crowd. She gulped, once again, pushing back the emotions curling around her heart.
“Now, your alpha was speaking. It’d be best to stop arguing among yourselves and listen to what she has to say. When she’s done, you can argue your asses off; who cares then. But now it’s time to give her the respect she deserves.” As he passed by her, he grinned. “Sorry for the interruption, beautiful. They’re all yours.”
TWENTY-NINE
Andi s
tood in awe of the man in control of the crowd. He owned the stage. Every eye was on him, afraid to leave him, probably. He was gorgeous in motion, eloquent, charismatic out the ass. If he were on TV asking viewers to send in money, he’d be a billionaire.
He spoke of sacrifice and happiness. Yes, she would sacrifice her happiness to do what’s best for the pride. She wanted this man more than life itself. But she had to stay the course. Put the pride first. As long as she had the love of her people, she didn’t need to have love with a mate, right?
Kasen winked at her and she felt like a teenager where the hottest guy at prom noticed her. It was giddy happiness, which she quickly needed to squash if she was going to do what was best.
He grinned as he walked passed her. She didn’t even know what he said, she was so enamored. She snapped out of her daze and went back to the podium. Before she even said anything, one of the men vying for her hand stood.
“Who was that, Andi?” The words were hissed at her as if she’d done something wrong.
Another of the men stood. “Yeah, he’s a dog.”
Several other men, interested in her or not, got to their feet, yelling. Someone hollered above them, “Is he your mate? A dog?”
Flustered, she spat out, “No! I mean—I haven’t chosen a mate.” She glanced at him, but the spot where he stood was now empty and the side door was closing. Her heart died as the one who held it walked away. A loud shifting crack echoed through the room, silencing everyone. Her cat was pissed and ready to show each person how much.
From a place inside, one she didn’t know existed until it awakened now, her inner resolve strengthened and deepened. Her animal grew in strength and power. Her anger also grew and she wanted to tear some hides.
In a voice unlike any that had ever come from her, she said, “Sit down, now. The first person to make a sound before I’m done talking, I will shred to pieces. Do you understand?”
Heads bobbed. Eyes were wide with fear. Their alpha was truly coming into her own. The men finally realized she didn’t answer to them about her mate business. Now, not only her courage made her an alpha, but the power inside her proved she belonged at the top of the chain.
Andi cleared her throat and continued, voice low but strong and her stance rigid, daring anyone with her gaze to move a muscle and die. “Listen up. Josh Wilx is still missing. We are assuming he’s alive until we find evidence to the contrary. We need everyone who can join in the search for him. Derrek has the list and groups and will be in charge of this search and rescue.” She stepped away from the podium as her enforcer came up. She hurried to the side door and peeked outside.
Making a turn headed toward the main highway, Kasen’s truck disappeared from her sight. Forever.
The audience behind her got up from their chairs as Derrek called names and did his thing. One of the highly respected lady elders tottered up to her. “Miranda, that young man of yours is spellbinding. He’s perfect for you. Good job, kiddo.” Before Andi could correct her, the woman had turned and was hollering for someone to tell her where she needed to stand.
Several of the other women whispered comments to her on how handsome, smart, strong her mate was. Good choice.
No, no, no. They had it wrong. She needed someone who was the exact opposite of him, right?
Andi manned one of the searcher support stations during the hunt for Josh. Seemed like everyone had something to say about Kasen. But there were several who glared at her and kept their distance. She didn’t have time to worry about them. At 6:30, Derrek called off the search for the night before someone got lost in the dark.
While she packed water cups and other supplies, Derrek came up behind her. “Hey, Andi. How’d everything go up here tonight?”
She straightened and stretched her back. “I’m fine, question is how were things out there?”
He sighed and shook his head. “No sign of anything. That’s good and bad.” She saw the exhaustion on his face. Most of the time, she felt how he looked.
“Well, we’ll get an early start tomorrow morning and have all day. Something’s bound to show up.” Derrek nodded and shifted from one foot to another. She could tell something was on his mind. “Spit it out, Derrek. You know you need to tell me everything.”
“Yeah.” He looked around as if checking out who was in hearing distance. “I just wanted to tell you that Kasen is pretty cool in my book. He has his shit together and knows how to get things done. But he’s not domineering or power hungry like so many of the men trying to get your attention here. He’s perfect for us.” Someone called his name and he took off to leave her confused.
How could he be perfect? She didn’t understand.
THIRTY
Andi dragged into the house a little after seven. The sun had set and the cool night breeze filtered through the trees. She was tired, hungry, confused, heartbroken, and worried. She didn’t have room for anything else.
In the kitchen, Shantelle sat with Naya at the table. “Any luck with the search?” Andi pulled a soft drink from the fridge and plopped on a chair.
“Define ‘luck.’ We didn’t find anything, if that answers your question.” A knock came from the front door and then a familiar voice. “Hello? Andi, Naya, it’s Gerri.”
“We’re in the kitchen. Come and join us.” The clack of Gerri’s heels marked her passage through the house. When she stepped in, everyone got their usual hug greeting.
Gerri glanced around at the faces in the kitchen, her brow knitted. “I’m sorry to interrupt your meeting.”
Andi shook her head. “No, no. This is no meeting, so don’t worry.”
“I was driving past on my way back from a meeting and I thought I’d drop some packets of the strawberry cheesecake tea you liked.” From her pocket, she pulled out a baggie with several tea bags.
Andi brightened. “Thank you, Gerri. I did love that flavor. And it’s probably better than drinking soft drinks full of sugar.”
Gerri handed the bags to her. “And it has just as much caffeine as coffee. I said I’d make a tea drinker out of you yet.” The three women remained quiet. Gerri pulled out the fourth chair and sat. She propped her elbow on the table. “Okay, tell me what’s going on. It’s bad, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Shantelle and Naya said at the same time. Andi just huffed.
Gerri nodded. “Ah, so it’s still the preconceived notion that you need a doormat for a mate so you can take care of the pride. Right?”
“I don’t want a doormat.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Maybe just a rug.”
Gerri rolled her eyes. “Miranda, dear. Tell me what your mother did when she was female alpha.”
Andi’s brows snapped together. “Well, she helped Dad with stuff.”
“Be more specific for me, darling.” Gerri’s eyes twinkled with humor.
“I remember Mom taking over meetings if Dad got called away on an urgent matter. She’d take notes and then she and Dad went over them later and they’d make decisions. Together”
Gerri nodded. “Good. What else?”
She smiled, remembering her mother’s words. “Mom always wrote Dad’s speeches when he had to talk in front of everyone. She said after the fiasco of his first public appearance, where he barely got out three words the entire time, someone had to take care of him, because he sure as hell couldn’t.”
Shantelle laughed. “Your mother was so right. I was there. He was terrible. But he made up for it in style.” The elder winked at Andi.
“Anything else?” Gerri’s gaze bore into hers.
Andi thought for a moment. “She did a lot of things. It’s hard to say what. She was just always there when Dad needed someone to fill in because he couldn’t be in two places at once.”
“Now, Andi,” Gerri started, “does your mother sound like a doormat or rug?”
She gasped, her mouth making a perfect O. She thought back to when Kasen took control of the enforcer meeting that morning and took notes for her to make the decision.
He didn’t take control for himself or tell her men what to do. He stepped aside. When they were at Shantelle’s to break the news about her grandson and she couldn’t speak for the tears choking her words, Kasen spoke for her. He was gentle, kind, and understanding. And how could she forget his incredible speech in front of the assembly? He said his piece and stepped down for her come forward.
Oh my god. What had she done? She pushed away the perfect man. The only man she’d ever loved. Yes, dammit. She had to admit it. There was no more hiding it. She loved the wolf. Her lioness hissed at her ineptitude over letting their man leave.
Naya clasped her hands. “Now, she gets it. Thank heavens. Gerri, you’re a miracle worker in more ways than one.”
Andi leapt from her seat. “I have to get to Kasen’s parents’ house now.” She scrambled for her purse and keys.
“What’s the rush, sweetie?” Naya asked.
Andi dug in her purse for her car keys. “Tonight, Kasen is choosing a mate from the women his mother had picked out. He heard me say I wasn’t his mate at the meeting, then he left.”
“Oh, dear,” Shantelle said. “You’d better hurry before he makes that announcement. With wolves, once the choice is made known, there’s no going back.”
“Damn!” Andi whipped her hand out of her purse. “My car is still at Kasen’s house. How am I going to get there in time?”
Shantelle grabbed her hand and dragged her toward the front door. “Goodnight, ladies,” she hollered over her shoulder. “Good seeing you again, Gerri. Naya, tomorrow.” The elder pulled her out the door, headed for the driveway where a gorgeous 1964 Mustang Cobra sat.
“Holy cow, Shantelle. Where did you get this beast? It’s a classic owner’s dream.”
The woman opened the driver’s side door and slipped into the leather bucket seat. She turned the ignition and the engine roared to life. Just like a lion’s roar.
“It’s my grandson’s. He spent years slowly getting this car to run. He finished not too long ago. He didn’t drive it much because he didn’t want his baby getting hurt on potholes.” Shantelle lovingly rubbed the dashboard. “He took care of you, didn’t he, baby. I figured one more time around the block in his memory would be good tonight.”
