by Tamara White
At least now he sees that he has no choice. All I’m asking is they place a ten-foot fence around a certain amount of forest for her. She would be able to run and shift, while being cut off from everyone. This makes her less of a danger and gives her the space to be free until we can figure out a long-term solution. I’m not stupid enough to believe we can lock her in there like a cage but it’s better than actually having her locked in one.
Jonnie and Mitchell have been quiet since I asked for this meeting which is irritating. It’s their mother that we’re discussing. Shouldn’t they have some kind of objection? “Guys, what do you think? Are you okay with this or would you prefer us to do something else?”
Jonnie squeezes my hand, offering a small smile, “I’m ok with whatever Mitch wants to do. He knows what she would want better than I would.”
Mitch just stares at the floor, shoulders drooped in defeat. “Uncle Gary, can you do it? Like I mean really do it?” he murmurs down at the floor before lifting his head to stare at his uncle. “No promises you can make it work if you can’t. I don’t want to have hope that Mom can be contained while having her freedom if you can’t do it.”
Gary slides from his chair, dropping to his knees in front of him, “I promise I will do everything I can to make it a reality. Your mother needs help and until my stupid brother comes back, hopefully this will do.”
I watch the tear fall from Mitch’s eye as he tries to hide it, feeling terribly sad. He misses his father and feels hopeless about his mother. I can’t imagine going through this myself. It would be absolutely heartbreaking. All I know is I’ve done all I can to offer some kind of solution especially when all the history says a wolf that rabid would be banished or exterminated but it’s something I can’t do to my mate’s mother. I just hope it won’t come back to bite me in the ass.
Chapter 14
On the road, again. You’d think it would be annoying and you’d be absolutely right! I only got about six hours sleep, then spent the morning going over plans with Gary and a few select pack members. I gave them a detailed vision of how I imagined the enclosure to be set up, complete with gate to enter. I did my best to describe how they could do it, now it’s up to them. We promised to visit once it was finished so in the meantime, Gary will be looking after Rosie. He has agreed to lock her up in the cages beneath the house if he needs to attend something that she is mentally unstable for. As it is, I’m surprised the pack has lasted as long as it has with her like that. Gary did tell me she had periods of lucidity but they were getting few and far between.
“Are we there yet?” Pete asks for the fifth time. He really doesn’t like long drives. We’re driving all the way from Colorado to Washington, where the Parks pack resides. The guys had already planned a stopover halfway, somewhere in Idaho if I remember correctly. To be honest, I’ve been sleeping most of the car ride, only waking when Pete started asking if we were there yet.
Now I’m regretting choosing this car. Pete’s in the back with me, Cam’s driving and Jake’s in the passenger seat. Nate, Jason, James, Rick, and Mitchell are all squished into the borrowed old SUV Gary had in the garage. The Elders are flying in on their private jet which sucks balls. Why do they get to fly while we’re all stuck in the car for twenty hours? It’s ridiculous. Then again, I can’t complain too much because its time I get to spend with my mates. We’re all going for dinner tonight after we get to the hotel. Jason thought we could all do with a bit of a breather and since we aren’t in a rush, it makes sense to relax a little. Who knows when we’ll get the time to ourselves again.
Jake turns back with a glare, “Pete, if you ask one more time, I’ll throw you out of the car and make you walk the rest of the way.”
I hold back a grin when Pete slumps in his seat, pouting. He’s too cooped up in the car and his wolf is getting antsy. We all are. “Cam, can we have a rest stop to stretch our legs?” I ask, leaning forward slightly.
He glances up at me from the rear-view mirror. I smile, letting him know it’s ok if we don’t. He sighs, “Sorry Dani, we’ll be in Idaho within forty minutes. You’ll just have to wait,” he says, focusing back on the road.
I lean back, reaching out to hold Pete’s hand. He clasps it, offering me a grin and scooting closer. I sigh and rest my head on his shoulder, looking at the scenery. Being on the highway has been amazing. I’ve seen all the beautiful forests and cities as we travel. Though it has made me question how the packs visit each other so easily? It’s not like they can just run across cities. Or could they? Maybe if they stuck to the tree lines? I don’t know, something to think about though. Maybe I could develop a secret route we could all use? Being in the car is very confining.
“Dani, we’re here,” Jake says from the front seat, rousing me from my thoughts.
Out the window, I watch as we pull into a five-storey hotel, the sun setting in the back ground highlighting the building. It’s beautiful. A pale-yellow paint coats it with a classical gold trim along the bannisters. Off to the right there’s a pool, a tennis court and some other structure. “What’s in there?” I ask, pointing at the small structure that doesn’t quite join up with the main hotel.
“That’s the spa,” Pete smirks. “Maybe you and I could take a little soak?” he waggles his eyebrows suggestively.
Cam parks the car out front beside the other guys’ car. He turns in his seat to glare at Pete, “No one is going into the spa. We are going to the room, going out for dinner, then coming back and sleeping until we have to leave in the morning. No wandering off by yourselves. We can’t afford you to get lost and delay us. Even with Sonja gone, the Elders are still marking Dani on every little thing,” he chides.
“Ugh fine, take the fun out of everything, why don’t you?” he pouts back.
Jake climbs out of the car, opening Pete’s door, “Once your mate is crowned, then you can have all the fun in the world. Until then, you behave like a good little boy,” he grins, ruffling Pete’s hair playfully.
Cam gets out, just as I open my door. He beams down at me, offering me a hand. “Hey Precious, how you doing?” he asks, pulling me in for a hug and inhaling my scent.
I do the same, enjoying the smell of fresh pine needles. It makes me feel like home. “I’m okay, I guess. Things have been pretty hectic since Dad died but I’m handling it. It feels so weird only being gone for under a week when it feels like it’s been months.” I sigh deeply, turning in his arms, facing Pete, “I’ll be better once all of this is over and we’re home.”
Cam rests his head on mine, waiting for the others to unpack the car. Pete winks at me before following Jake to give them a hand. Jason has gone to check in since he’s the only one with an ID that will get us in without questions. We all agreed before we left, he would be the one to check in and we’d all just wait outside so no humans suspected us.
Once Jason comes out with the all clear we lug our stuff up and hurry to get dressed. We’re all starving after only eating sandwiches on the trip. We need to eat meat to keep up our energy, especially after what we went through yesterday. I healed Nate then we all healed Jonnie. We ate a hearty dinner with Gary, the Elders and a few of the enforcers from the Slade pack. It was actually a nice evening. I just wish it had lasted longer. It always seems like anytime we are relaxing and enjoying ourselves, the time flies by too fast. Whereas if there’s a crisis, time drags on. It’s not fair.
I throw on a simple red gown, nothing too fancy but not too plain. We’re eating at a steakhouse down the road that offers a buffet service which is awesome for our metabolism. I’m hoping to load up on carbs and have a food coma sleep. There’s nothing better than eating until you can’t anymore, then collapsing in a heap and sleeping for hours or days on end. Damn, Dad was right! My appetite is getting bad. I never used to fantasize about food like this. Now I can’t go a couple hours without wondering what I’ll eat next. Kinda sad really.
“Are we there yet?” Pete asks, as we start walking down the sidewalk.
&nbs
p; I laugh, unable to stop when he grabs me and uses my hands to aim a begging gesture at Jason. He just shakes his head at Pete’s antics as Nate steps up beside me. I sense it coming before it happens but still laugh at the resound smack when it connects with the back of Pete’s head.
“Dude! Why do you keep hitting me?! I swear these past few weeks you’ve hit me more than in the time we’ve known each other!” he grumbles, letting go of me so we can walk hand in hand.
Nate laughs, throwing his head back. “That’s because since Dani got here, you’ve been more of a douche than normal. You keep trying to show off which gets you in trouble, “he winks at me, a big grin on his face as Pete thinks it over.
Pete comes to some kind of conclusion, stopping in his tracks. “He’s right,” he says, pulling me to a stop to look at him. “You’re getting me in trouble,” he gasps, accusation clear in his voice. I’d think he were serious if it weren’t for the twinkle of laughter in his eyes.
I play along, pulling away from him, my hands held out in a peaceful gesture. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean too. Please don’t hurt me,” I beg, as the guys all watch on laughing.
He grins wickedly, lunging for me. I skitter out of the way, hiding behind Mitchell, poking my tongue out. Mitch laughs as I wrap my arms around him, using him as a protective shield. “See? I’m safe now. You can’t get me,” I laugh, feeling free.
“Oh really?” Pete smirks, cockily.
My smile slips when arms grab me from behind, “Hey! No fair,” I pout as Cam hands me into Pete’s arms. Cam smiles as me, “You were hiding behind Mitch so I think it’s perfectly fair. Maybe next time, no hiding,” he winks.
I sigh looking up at Pete, wondering what he plans to do now. “So…”
He grins enjoying my nerves, “So?”
“What are you going to do?”
Jake laughs off to the side. “Maybe you should throw her in the garbage can over there? Dani would look amazing wearing trash chic,” he grins, winking at Rick.
“Traitor!” I can’t believe Jake would offer up something like that. Pete looks down at me, an evil grin on his face. “No! If you throw me in a garbage bin, I will kick your ass,” I squeal, wriggling to get out of his arms. He takes pity on me, all the while laughing, and places me on my feet.
“Happy?” he asks, giving me a quick kiss. His lips linger, reluctant to leave mine. “Ok, no more kisses because I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop at just one.”
“I hear ya,” I hear Cam mutter from my side. I hide a grin, looking down at the ground. It’s nice to feel wanted by my mates. Even my wolf is feeling proud of herself.
“Alright, no one is kissing Dani. She’s mine for the night so stay away. You can have her back after dinner,” Jake says, stomping over and pulling me away from my mates with a grin. “Now, let’s go clear out the buffet.”
Chapter 15
Dinner is not what I was expecting. I thought we would be going to a low-key restaurant that has a buffet. Instead we ended up at a fancy steak house with an all-you-can-eat buffet. As soon as we walk in the door, I can feel the difference. There are wolves everywhere. People stop when we enter but Jason just walks us straight up to the counter, ignoring the stares.
The guy behind the counter is intimidating as hell. Dark skinned with markings over every inch of his skin, much like the Maori tattoos you see on New Zealand people. They track up his arms, disappearing under the sleeves of his shirt. It’s fascinating.
His brown eyes rake over me, curiosity clear. I smile, trying not to offend him because of my staring. He just looks so beautiful. He smiles back, his teeth showing, causing my mates to circle around me protectively. I sigh and roll my eyes. He starts chuckling. Damn. I can’t believe the power I feel coming from him. It’s the same power Jason and Cam emit when they are pissed but this feels like sunshine. Soft and welcoming.
“Calm down pups, I don’t mean the girl any harm,” he chuckles, the deep bass of his voice sending shivers through my body.
Jason turns around to see the others around me in a circle while Jake, Rick and James stand off to the side not even bothered in the slightest. “Guys, relax. He’s an old friend,” he chides as the guy walks around the counter and grips Jason in a hug. They clap each other on the back, old friends reuniting. I wonder who he is?
They pull apart, Jason a massive smile on his face. “Dani, this is Eli Jones. We go way back,” he says introducing me. “Eli, this is Dani, my mate.” Eli’s grinning and if I wasn’t already staring, I wouldn’t have seen the flash in his eyes. His wolf peeked through at the mention of me being Jason’s mate. Interesting.
My wolf pushes forward trying to scent him but we aren’t close enough. I go to take a step forward, stopping when I realize what I’m doing. Why is my wolf so intrigued?
Eli nods, a cheeky grin in place, “It’s nice to meet you.” He turns to Jason, putting a hand on his shoulder, “So what are you after? Full meat buffet or elegant dinner alone?”
“We’ll all be eating together tonight, none of my mates will be left out,” I interrupt before Jason can say anything. I don’t want this new wolf to think it’s just the two of us, just as he implied.
It suddenly goes extremely quiet through the restaurant, all eyes turning to look at me. Oh shit. “Yes, this is Dani, future Alpha Queen. We’re trying to relax before the next trial so please give us some space,” Cam says to the room, an air of authority that I’ve rarely seen him use. It sends shivers down my spine and my wolf on alert. She likes the dominance he’s projecting.
Everyone goes back to eating and Eli turns his stare at Cam calculating. “So, you must be Luke’s son. Tell me, how’s that working out for you?” he asks, his lips curving in a devilish smirk that sends my heart racing.
Oh god! What’s wrong with me?! I look around for a bathroom, see a sign and head straight for it, not even caring that I’m in a place filled with foreign wolves. I hear the guys shouting behind me but I block it out, needing to isolate myself. My wolf is going insane.
I practically run through the bright red door, letting it slam behind me and hurrying into a stall. Closing the lid on the toilet, I sit down and take deep breaths in through my mouth and out my nose, slowly trying to calm down my racing heart.
Minutes pass, and I hear the door open outside before the soft click of heels on the tiles has me holding my breath. A wave of power oozes into the room, the likes of which I haven’t felt before. It immediately soothes my wolf and I slump in relief.
A soft knock on the door has me opening it, no longer afraid of my heat cycle. On the other side of the door, a beautiful dark-skinned woman is hovering, a concerned expression on her face. As soon as our eyes meet, the concern washes away to a breathtaking smile. “Thank goodness, you’re ok. I wasn’t sure how well my influence would work with your wolf. How do you feel?” she asks, her voice sending waves of calm through me.
Whoa. This woman could be an ad for Valium the way her voice is working on me. “I’m fine, thank you but how exactly did you do that?” I ask, curious to know what she meant by her ‘influence.’
She smiles brightly at me, “Ah, so you’re very new to this then? I figured someone would have mentioned me at some point. I’m Vivienne,” she says, offering her hand. I take it smiling up at her, and walk out the stall feeling a lot steadier. She smiles as I lean over the sink, scooping water up with my hands to gulp greedily. Vivienne watches me a twinkle in her eye. As I take the next gulp, she smirks, “I lead the rogue pack.”
I choke, water going down my air pipe. The smirk disappears and she slaps me on the back, my eyes start watering and I gasp for air. My airway burns and I take a step away from Vivienne, nervous to be around a rogue. Everything I’ve heard hasn’t exactly been good.
“Calm down, Danielle. I don’t mean you any harm, I just want to help. I imagine everything you’ve gone through the past couple of weeks has not been easy,” she says, holding her hands out in a placating gesture. I calm down, reali
zing if she was going to hurt me, she would have done it already.
“That’s an understatement. This past month has been the hardest, of my life. What do you want?” I ask, sighing in defeat. She obviously has some kind of agenda. What it is though, I have no idea.
“Come with me,” she says, an air of professionalism around her as her heels click on the tiles. I follow her out of the bathroom, to see the guys all waiting for me. I wave to them showing them I’m ok, and follow Vivienne down a hall until we get to a double set of black doors. She opens the door, waiting for me to enter first and closes the door behind us.
The first thing I notice is Eli, standing there with a determined look on his face. Oh crap. “Um look Vivienne, I’m more than happy to talk to you but it’s not the best idea for Eli to be in here without one of my mates. They will lose their shit,” I admit, a smile breaking out when a growl is emitted from deep in Eli’s chest. My wolf is pleased to have him react to us this way. Me however, I just think it’s funny a wolf I don’t know would think he has any claim over me when I already have enough mates to handle.
Vivienne slaps him over the head, stopping his growling. “Eli! Where are your manners?! I raised you better than this. To treat your mate like this? I should hang you by your toes in front of the pack for your disrespect. Now apologize!” she growls, annoyance lacing her voice.
He grumbles, falling to his knees and showing me his head in submission. “Danielle, my mate. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean any disrespect. I have been waiting for the day I would meet my mate and it’s a bit hard to know she already has six other mates, vying for her attention.”
I stumble back a step, shocked at his submission and the need in his voice. “I think you may be confused, I’m not your mate,” I rush out, looking around the room for a quick escape.
