by A L Fogerty
“Kayla. I can’t support this,” Jagger said.
“How are you not supporting Kayla?” Riddick asked, coming out of the house with her plate of liver. He shoved bite-sized pieces into his mouth at an alarming rate. She narrowed her eyes at him but decided to ignore the fact that he’d stolen her lunch. The competition between him and Jagger was exactly what she needed to get Jagger off her back.
“He doesn’t want me to travel to Smoke Mountain for my father’s wake.” Kayla forced a tear from her eye. She wiped it away and sniffled. “I have to be there to support my cousin. It’s very important.”
“Jagger, if you don’t want to take her, I will,” Riddick said.
“That’s an excellent idea. Someone has to stay here to lead the pack. I think the best person to do that is you, Jagger.” She rubbed his hand and his ego.
“Perhaps you’re right,” Jagger relented.
Finally, he was playing into her hands. “I’m so glad you agree.” She turned to Riddick. “Now, it’s best if you prepare for the trip. We may be gone for several weeks.”
“I’m on it.” He wiped his hand on his pants. “When are we leaving?”
“At dawn.”
He nodded, shoved the rest of the liver into his mouth, and disappeared into the house.
Kayla smiled softly at Jagger then pushed herself up from her seat.
“Kayla, you can barely walk.”
“This subject is settled, Jagger. I’ve been riding a horse since I was two years old. If I can’t do it now, then what good am I? Pregnant women aren’t helpless children. I am the strongest alpha in the world. Remember? If I can’t ride a horse from here to Smoke Mountain, that isn’t saying much for the future of our race.”
“You’re nine months pregnant, Kayla. Things change.”
“Not that much.” She patted his cheek. “Now, I’m going to get ready. I consider this issue resolved. Everything is going to be fine. I’ll be in excellent hands with Quinn and Riddick, and I’ll return healthy and happy. You don’t need to worry.”
“We will agree to disagree.”
Jagger stood with darkness in his eyes. He disappeared down the stairs and around the corner. Kayla grimaced. It was the first time that she and Jagger had disagreed so completely. She felt she might be losing control of him. She sighed and turned into the house. Climbing the stairs, she held the banister and took one heavy step after another.
She couldn’t think about Jagger. She would just have to wait until she returned to soothe him. She and Jagger didn’t have to be on the best terms at every moment. It was normal to disagree in relationships, and it was nothing like the problem she was having with Quinn. She knew he was devising a plan to change her back, and they would never be on good terms again. It was impossible. He wanted to take her strength away, and she would never allow that.
As she walked into her bedroom and pulled a bag out of the closet, she considered the danger of traveling at this point in her pregnancy. It was a risk. If she went into labor on the road, there was no telling what might happen. Women, even shifters, had died in childbirth since the hospitals were gone. But she had Quinn and his magic. His magic was not always reliable, but he was skilled as a healer regardless of his connection to Wolf Mother. He understood herbs and potions. If there was a problem, he could help her even without his goddess.
Being on Smoke Mountain during the transition between her father and Daniel was too important to miss. She couldn’t leave it to chance. There were too many variables.
She began to pack her clothes and things she would need for the road. The baby kicked and shifted inside her womb. She decided then to bring supplies for the child just in case. She took her bag to the nursery and began to pack diapers, clothing, blankets, and a sling. She had wanted to avoid having to nurse the child after it was born, but if it came during the journey, she would have no choice. It was critical that the baby survived. It would give her a legacy. And unlike her father, she would have total control over her progeny.
Riddick walked into the room with a packed bag and a smile on his face. “You’re packing for the baby?”
“Better to be safe than sorry.” He took the bag from her as they passed through the doorway. “We’ll need plenty of food and water.” They started down the stairs.
“I’ll go over to the butcher and request a week of jerky and oats.”
“I’ll pack us other small essentials. Salt, honey, and the traveling dishes.”
“On it.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek then scurried out the front door.
She went to the pantry to pack provisions for the trail. Riddick was such a good boy, so pliable and loyal. To think that she had pegged him as a problem before, when he was the easiest among them to control. She was glad she had made the decision to take him instead of Jagger to Smoke Mountain. Jagger would have been obnoxious the entire time, always condescending and overly protective. She didn’t need him and never had.
When she was finished packing the food, she put all the bags on the dining room table. Felix walked into the room with a book under his arm and a blank expression on his face. He annoyed her to no end. She couldn’t read him the way she could the others.
“You’re leaving?” he asked.
“Yes. My father has passed. I have to be in Smoke Mountain for my cousin.”
“Statistically speaking,” Felix started, “you will go into labor with that kind of activity. There’s no way to prevent it.”
“Thank you for the information, Felix.” She dismissively turned away. When she looked back up from her packing, he was gone. She rolled her eyes.
“Jagger said you’re traveling to Smoke Mountain,” Sid said, entering the room. His broad shoulders blocked the sunlight in the doorway.
“That’s right. And I made it clear to him that the discussion was closed.”
“Kayla, we’re just worried about you.”
“If you would like to join me on the journey, then you’re welcome to come along. We could always use another warrior in the group.”
“I’ll go pack.”
Sid trotted up the stairs without another word, and she smiled. Good old dependable Sid. He wanted to protect her, but at the end of the day, he wouldn’t question her or try to make her change her mind. That was exactly the kind of man that she needed in her life.
Chapter Seventeen
The morning air was hot and muggy as her attendants packed her saddlebags on Lightning’s back. The silver Arabian stallion grunted uncomfortably in protest. Kayla narrowed her eyes at the beast, sending him a jolt of her alpha power. He was her familiar, and he would do as she willed. He pawed the dust, coming into submission.
The stallion was less reluctant to accept her as his master than the wolf had been. But they would do as she wanted, when she wanted, and they would not question her. They would remain her familiars from now until the day they died. There was no way for them to break the bond. Their minds were linked to hers. Whether they liked it or not, their lives were in service to hers.
She had tried to bring other creatures under her power since she had changed, but it hadn’t worked. Something about the innocent and weak-willed version of herself enabled her to gain the trust of the creatures. But no matter how much her current familiars rebelled, they remained under her control.
“Are you sure you should ride Lightning?” Jagger asked. “He’s been acting extra uppity lately.”
“He is the strongest horse I own.”
“I don’t mean to question you or your power, Kayla, but you must consider the baby.”
“You don’t think I’ve considered my own child?” Her patience was growing thin. It was time to leave, and she had no interest in continuing the discussion.
“I know you have. And I trust you. But I just can’t—”
“You can, and you will,” she said, ending the conversation.
He was treading on thin ice. She needed to go to Smoke Mountain, so that meant she had to keep up the pretens
e with Jagger. The pregnancy was making her moody, which made it even harder to pretend. Until she could dispose of Jagger in a believable way, she couldn’t have him acting like this.
“Jagger, please. I need to be able to depend on you while I’m gone. I don’t want to have to worry the whole time that we are at odds.” She cupped his cheek and looked up into his eyes with a beguiling, submissive expression.
He let out a long breath, and his shoulders relaxed. “I’ll hold down the fort. You don’t have to worry about that.”
“Thank you. I know I can rely on you. I always have, and I always will.”
He nodded. Quinn, Riddick, and Sid approached with their horses. “You have everything you need?” he asked them.
“Two weeks’ worth of food and medicine,” Quinn said.
“And I brought supplies for the baby. Just in case.” Kayla rubbed her stomach.
“Please be careful,” Jagger said, embracing her tightly.
She could feel waves of concern and love washing over her. She relented to it, sending back the same energy. Maybe she wouldn’t have to get rid of him after all. “We’ll be back before you know it,” she said.
He helped her mount Lightning as Quinn, Riddick, and Sid climbed onto their own horses. They waved goodbye to the pack as they left the village, taking the trail out of the valley toward Smoke Mountain. As they climbed the hill and ascended out of the valley, she looked behind her at the fluttering green leaves of the poplars.
Quinn rode up beside her. “We could still turn back.”
“I trust you can take care of me.” She batted her eyes at him.
He nudged his horse, Artemis, and rode away without a word. She pursed her lips and grimaced. They continued under the heat of the sun, and Kayla covered her head with a light cloak. Sweat soaked through the shirt she wore. She’d long since abandoned wearing leathers and had chosen to ride in a thin tunic and loose pants. Even in the light clothes, the heat was hell. Her belly ached as the horse clomped underneath her. She groaned in pain and discomfort.
“Do you need to rest?” Riddick asked. She nodded in agreement.
It was high noon, and she was starving. They dismounted in the shade by a cool stream. With her back leaning against a tree trunk, she chugged water from her canteen while Riddick fed her jerky and hard cheese.
“This is harder than I thought it would be,” she said with a laugh.
“We can still go back,” Quinn said.
“No, no, no. I’m fine. But I am in some pain. Is there anything you can do for me, Quinn?”
“I can ask Wolf Mother to relieve you.”
Quinn closed his eyes and began to murmur his prayer. He gathered magic inside his palms then placed them on Kayla’s hips. After a moment, the soreness and discomfort melted away. She let out a deep sigh of relief as the tension and cramping subsided.
“So much better. I knew you could do it. Nothing to worry about.”
They continued for the rest of the day and found a place to camp at twilight, choosing to rest outdoors rather than in a farmhouse. Houses were always questionable, but the open air was no less dangerous.
She left her wolf on high alert through the night with orders to inform her if she sensed the presence of anything dangerous. Bane agreed and slept at the edge of the firelight, away from Kayla’s bed. The wolf used to sleep beside her, always right at her side. She had become less attentive over the last nine months. She didn’t need the beast around that much. No one seemed to notice that Bane had lost a great deal of affection for her.
She fell asleep staring at the stars above. In the morning, she was the last to rise. Riddick, Sid, and Quinn had already begun eating their breakfast and drinking their morning tea. She sat up, bleary-eyed and groggy. The soreness in her muscles had returned. Sid offered her a cup of tea, and she took it, sipping gingerly. The brew had already gone cold. She frowned and considered demanding hot tea but decided against it. Trying their patience too often would not get her what she needed.
“Quinn, could you relieve my pain, please?” she asked sweetly.
He stood and repeated the ritual he had performed the day before. When he was done, he turned away without a word and began packing his things.
The heat and the constant jarring of her horse were nearly unbearable that day. By that evening, she’d asked Quinn to relieve her pain no less than fifteen times. When they considered where to sleep for the night, she told Riddick to scout ahead and find an empty farmhouse. She needed to be off the ground for the night, even if it meant sleeping on an old mattress.
They made it to the farmhouse and found beds that they covered with their furs and blankets. Quinn and Sid prepared a meal while Riddick went off hunting with Bane, insisting Kayla get some fresh meat. They came back just as the sun set, and he began to skin the rabbits they’d caught. She would be happy to eat something other than jerky.
“I found you these wild blueberries,” he said, offering her a tin cup full of fruit.
“Oh, wonderful. This is exactly what I need.”
They sat on the dusty old furniture in the house, eating their meal. When she was done, she asked Quinn to heal her one more time then went upstairs to collapse on her bed. Even with his healing, she was bone-tired, and her legs were wobbly and losing strength.
She hated to think that perhaps her mates had been right about attempting the journey, but it was too late to go back. There was only a half day’s ride to Smoke Mountain. She had no idea how she would feel on the return trip, but she knew she had important things to do. Bringing her cousin under her power was part of her plan. All the shifter clans and packs had to be under her command. Only then could they rise against the witches and vampires. All that truly mattered was restoring the strength of her race. Without that, they might as well all lie down and die.
Chapter Eighteen
The next morning, Kayla was in so much pain, she had a hard time getting out of bed. Luckily, Riddick found her struggling to sit up and called Quinn to come heal her.
“I hate to say this, Kayla, but we may be stuck on Smoke Mountain until the baby comes,” Riddick said as Quinn entered the room.
“I’m fine,” she said. “Just heal me.”
Quinn did as he was told and didn’t say anything else about it. Riddick helped her put on her shoes, but she’d begun to fear that maybe Riddick was right. Just a few days on horseback was excruciating, and she was in no hurry to do it again anytime soon. The idea of riding after delivery didn’t sound any better. Nevertheless, she was going to take Smoke Mountain.
Smoke Mountain was full of resources: game, timber, fields of hemp and oats, livestock, and mature gardens that had been there for decades. Mist Valley had needed to start over from scratch and was barely scraping by. The journey was worth it. She just had to get Quinn to keep giving her healing magic.
She couldn’t eat that morning. Her appetite was completely gone. When she mounted Lightning, he fussed and shifted under her. She sent him a strong bolt of alpha magic, and he relented, walking at an even pace. She felt lightheaded and exhausted already but refused to make anything of it. The look of reprimand in Quinn’s eyes was enough when she asked him to relieve the pain. But the pre-labor contractions in her belly were growing worse. There was no way to ignore them.
After half a day’s ride, they made it into the familiar forests of her home and were greeted at the edge of the territory by her father’s wardens.
“Kayla,” Jason Green said. “It is so good to see you.”
“And you.” She nodded.
The last time she had been there, it had been under entirely different circumstances. She and her father had not been on good terms.
“Daniel is waiting in the pack lodge. He is going to need your help.”
“What do you mean?”
“Irontooth is here. He’s trying to claim the position of alpha.”
“Daniel is the rightful heir to the pack.”
“Irontooth claims your father
left the territory to him. And some of the pack support him.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Kayla said. “But I’m not going to let him get away with it. Smoke Mountain will stay in Redclaw hands. I support my cousin as alpha. No one will stand against us.”
“Irontooth has challenged Daniel’s claim and has called for an alpha tournament. He wants to fight to the death.”
“No,” Kayla said in mock shock.
She wouldn’t put anything past Irontooth. He, like her father, was ruthless in pursuit of power. He would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. She had to respect that. But she wasn’t going to let him take what was hers. Kayla and Daniel had the support of most of the pack. Irontooth may have been relentless, but he wasn’t well-liked in Smoke Mountain.
Kayla and her entourage arrived in front of the pack lodge, and a commotion resounded from within. Riddick and Sid helped her from her horse, and they walked into the lodge with Quinn right behind them. Daniel sat on the edge of the throne. He looked as if he didn’t quite accept that he belonged there.
He looked up at her. When he saw her face, his eyes brightened. Kayla walked with her mates past Irontooth and his men. Daniel stood and took her hand, inviting her to sit on the seat beside him. “Kayla, I’m so glad you came. But you’re with child. Was the journey a challenge?”
“I came as soon as I heard father had passed. My sorrow is deep, but I’ve come to support you in your succession. I can see that it was the right choice.”
“I’m so glad you’re here.” Daniel hugged her close.
“You do not belong on that throne, young Redclaw,” Irontooth barked. “Reginald left this pack to me.”
“You can’t be the alpha of two packs,” Kayla said.
