by Martha Woods
“You little--,” he started, but Liam tugged Skylar back and stepped in front of her, towering over his little brother, his frame casting Lucas into a shadow.
“Skylar,” Liam asked, “would you go check on my mother?”
Skylar was holding her hand, staring at her split knuckles, just realizing how bad it hurt to punch someone. She nodded, knowing it was an excuse for her to ice her hand as quickly as possible. She caught Liam’s threatening words as she turned to go.
“Look at Skylar that way again, and not only will she beat your ass, but I’ll finish you off.”
Lucas scowled and turned away, nearly running into Michael as he went. Michael’s eyes were wide as he got closer to Liam.
“Did that really just happen?” Michael asked, with a grin on his face. “Skylar is the coolest chick I’ve ever met, bro. That was insane, and Lucas deserved it.”
Liam nodded once, his eyes still on his brother’s retreating form. This time Skylar had thrown the first punch, but if Liam knew his brother, this was just adding insult to injury. Lucas was no small foe, and with everything going on, Liam was going to have to keep an extra close eye on him.
Liam’s eyes shifted to Skylar, who was just going through the door to his mother’s home. She was still wearing the comfortable outfit she had donned for the flight, and though it was smudged with soot, he couldn’t deny that she looked beautiful. And the way she had hauled off and hit his brother did nothing to quell the sudden urge he had to wrap her up and take her away either.
Skylar realized her poor appearance when she walked through the door and Leah, Liam’s mother sat up in her bed, startled.
“Oh, dear! Darling, whatever happened to you?”
Skylar glanced down at her dirty pajamas, split knuckles, and ran a hand over her less than composed hair. For the first time, she realized that her face was probably tear-stained and splotchy.
“It’s a long story,” Skylar said, moving to the fridge to get a bag of frozen peas. She hissed as she draped it over her knuckles, then, moved back into the main part of the house, sitting down gingerly on the side of the bed.
Leah stared up at her, her brow worried. It killed Skylar to see the woman in bed, frail and sick, especially since Skylar could see so much of Liam in her. They shared the same cheekbones, the same hair, and even the same eyes.
“Well, I haven’t got much time,” Leah said, taking Skylar’s good hand in hers. “So you’d better start telling it.”
Skylar blushed and shook her head, looking down at her lap. “Well, I may have hit your son.”
Leah took a sharp breath in. “What? What has Liam gone and done now?”
“No,” Skylar said quickly, her cheeks plunging a darker red. “Not that son - Lucas. Liam and I, well…” Skylar paused, not sure she wanted to add the stress of what was going on to Leah’s stress of fighting her disease. “There have been some problems since we got back from Paris with the house. And Lucas was not being very helpful about it.”
“I thought you said it was a long story,” Leah dead-panned, patting Skylar’s hand when she looked up. “I’m fairly certain you just gave me the abridged version of the abridged version, dear. But that’s alright. I’m sure Liam has warned you about giving me too much to worry about.”
Skylar nodded and shifted the bag of peas on her hand so the cold wasn’t biting into her skin as much. Leah tugged on Skylar’s hand.
“I don’t mind that you hit Lucas. In fact, I give you my permission to do it again, whatever the circumstance. I love him, but that boy needs someone to set him straight without killing him. And if it can’t be Liam, then it might as well be you. However, I do want to know what you mean by problems. Did you have a break-in?”
“Something like that,” Skylar sighed, “let’s just say we aren’t going to be staying there for a while.”
This seemed to perk Leah right up. She sat up straighter against her pillows, her gray curls spilling out over the pink satin pillow case.
“Well darling, that’s great! You can stay with me for a while! You know I wouldn’t mind the help around the house and it would mean I could get Michael to stop checking on me every five minutes.”
Skylar stopped to think about it, wondering if Liam would be interested in living in the same house as his mother again. Leah tugged on her hand, as though she knew what Skylar was thinking and she wanted to push the thought from her head. “Liam won’t mind if that’s what you want.”
“Okay,” Skylar said, smiling at the woman. “We’ll stay – for a little while.”
“Good,” Leah said, patting her hand again. “Like I said, I haven’t got much time. Which brings me to something else I wanted to talk to you about. I know that you and Liam haven’t been together for long, but it’s obvious that you’re his mate. As strange as it is for you to be a human, I believe most of the pack are warming up to the idea, now that they are getting a chance to know you. What I’m trying to say is… I’m running out of time darling. And I’d like to see you made Lady of the Pack before I go. You know to make sure my legacy is passed on.”
Skylar was dumbfounded for a moment, as though she wasn’t sure what to say. She swallowed and looked to the door, as though she was hoping Liam would come in and save her from the conversation. Finally, she looked back at Leah.
“What does that mean?” Skylar asked, trying to keep the trepidation from her voice.
“You’re the ultimate female influence to these people,” Leah said, closing her eyes like she was reciting something someone had said to her. “You are their sister, mother, and leader all at once. You must make sure to keep the Alpha – Liam – in line. You are the calm in his storm, the reason to his mayhem. You are what holds the pack together. That is what it means to be the Lady of the Pack, and I cannot go before there is someone here to take care of my people.”
“Well, how do I go about it? Do I have to be elected?”
Leah laughed, “No, darling, packs do not work like systemized governments. Here we are governed by loyalty, structured with love. You and Liam must be joined for you to be the Lady of the Pack.”
“Joined?”
“Married, wed, whichever word fits your fancy. More than anything, the joining of two mates is a tradition that has been in this pack for centuries and the ceremony for the Alpha is special.”
“So, you want me and Liam… to get married?”
Leah stopped patting her hand, her eyes losing their sparkle as the turned deathly serious for a moment. Skylar held her breath, the look on the woman’s face demanding silence. “Nothing would make me happier.”
Chapter 2
“Your mom is going to be offended,” Skylar said as she ran her brush through her hair. Liam emerged from the bathroom, his torso bare. Skylar let her eyes roam over the smooth planes of his chest, the divots where muscle met muscle. He was more tanned than the first time she had seen him naked, and she attributed it to the time they spent in France on the beach.
“She should have known better when she offered for us to stay with her,” Liam said, shaking out his wet hair. Skylar giggled and tried to duck out of the way of the water droplets, then she felt terrible for giggling. Farah was missing, Liam’s home had been burnt to the ground, and they had no idea who or what was doing it.
“Hey,” Liam said, noticing her distress. He stepped closer to her and pulled her into a hug. “We’re doing the best we can. Don’t let this eat you up.”
“Doesn’t it bother you that Farah is gone? Or that someone is clearly out to get you?”
Liam shook his head. “Of course, it does, but there’s nothing I can do about it other than what we’re doing. I’ve called some architects and constructors out to the house tomorrow, they’re going to look and see what they can do.”
Skylar pulled away from him, picking her brush up and running it through her hair again. She met his eyes in the mirror.
“I just… maybe we should have stayed with your mom, just to make sure she’
s okay.”
Skylar couldn’t help thinking about what Leah had asked from her. Skylar glanced at Liam and imagined him standing across from her, all dressed up in a suit. A shudder went through her at the thought, heat pooling in her belly. Liam would be her husband; she would be Mrs. Conway.
“We couldn’t stay with my mother,” Liam murmured, stepping closer to Skylar again. This time she let her head fall back so Liam could leave kisses across her collarbone.
“Why not?” she asked, her voice breathless.
“Because,” Liam said pulling back to grin, “the noise would disturb her.”
Then he cupped his hands under her ass and hoisted her up, so she could wrap her legs around his waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck and readily kissed him, breathless at the way he still made her feel. She giggled as he slipped her nightgown off her shoulders, kissing the smooth skin there.
Liam lay her down gently on the bed, using his strong arms to stay above her. He stopped for a moment, catching a glimpse of her with her eyes closed, her head tipped back against the white hotel bedding. Her blonde hair was spread around her head on the bed, cascading over the sheets.
At that moment, like so many times before, Liam couldn’t suppress the thoughts that ran through his head. Mine, mine, mine.
“I love you,” he said, instead.
Skylar smiled and ran her hand over his bare chest, her eyes skirting over his torso and shoulders, before landing on his eyes. They stayed like that, frozen for a moment in time, before Skylar broke the spell by smiling and whispering, “I love you too Liam.”
He growled and kissed again harder this time. His hands found the bottom of her nightgown and bunched it up around her thighs. He looked for her panties, and then grinned at her when he realized she wasn’t wearing any.
“No panties?” he asked, leaning into her.
“I just wanted to be prepared,” she giggled, gasping when Liam undid the top buttons on her nightgown and kissed her chest.
Liam slipped into her, rocking into her and making the bed shift. “Liam,” Skylar whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck and tightening her legs to bring him closer.
Skylar shuddered as she finished, letting her moans fill the room. Liam grunted as he thrust one last time, before rolling off of her. They lay together in the bed, side by side, breathing heavily.
Then Skylar rolled over, planting kisses on his chest and down his stomach. He let his head fall back as her soft lips travelled down, leaving a trail of fire over his skin.
“Skylar,” he asked, breathlessly, “what are you doing?”
Skylar looked up at him, her head covered by the sheet so just her face shone out. She grinned at him and shrugged.
“You know very well what I’m doing.”
Liam closed his eyes and let his head fall back as Skylar wrapped her hand around his shaft, kissing his tip before slipping him into her mouth. After minutes of expert sucking and moving on her part, Liam came, shuddering back into the bed.
Skylar emerged from the sheets and smiled, kissing him once on the lips and running her hand over Liam’s chest.
“How many times have we done this?”
Liam smiled and lazily met her eyes. “Not nearly enough. Why?”
“I was just wondering,” Skylar said, leaning forward and peppering his face with kisses. “How can it be so good every time?”
Liam smiled and propped himself up on his elbow, taking a lock of her hair and twirling it around a finger.
“What can I say? We’re professionals.”
Skylar sighed and leaned back against the bed, staring at the ceiling. Liam wound his arm under her and kissed her forehead, watching her chest rise and fall as she breathed.
“What are you thinking about?” Liam asked, his voice low and whispering in the hotel room. The light from the city shone through the blinds on the window and the radiator was humming away. Skylar looked over at him.
“Have you ever thought about… I mean, what are your thoughts on marriage?”
Liam tried not to look surprised that she had asked him that, though it nearly took his breath away. Had she seen him in Paris, when he had slipped away to buy a beautiful diamond ring from an unbelievably pricy jewelry store? He had kept it in his pocket through the whole vacation, but the perfect time never came along.
Paris had been romantic, perfect in its own right. But Liam didn’t know how Skylar felt about marriage, and they hadn’t been together for long. Let alone the fact that marriage in the pack meant a lot more than marriage for humans.
Skylar would be taking vows much more serious than til’ death do us part.
She was committing to a life of service to the pack, being there whenever she was needed. The Lady of the Pack was almost as important as the Alpha, and it was not something that was taken lightly.
Before Liam could gather his thoughts well enough to answer her question, his phone started to buzz on the end table. With a start, he reached over and grabbed it, sitting up and letting the sheet pool in his lap.
“It’s Michael?!” Liam exclaimed, sitting up and frowning. Why would his brother be calling him so late?
“Liam,” Michael said, his voice worried and cutting out, “you need to get your ass down here, now. There’s… Lucas is missing. Hurry!”
Liam jumped out of the bed, finding the nearest pair of jeans and hurriedly pulling them up over his hips, not worrying about putting underwear on. Skylar hurried out of bed too, her heart rate skyrocketing at the sight of Liam panicked.
“What’s going on?” Skylar asked, pulling her coat on over her nightgown. “Where are we going?”
“You’re staying here,” Liam said, “Michael sounded worried, and I don’t know what’s going on. He said that Lucas is missing, and I don’t know if it’s just Lucas, or others as well. I don’t want to put you in danger.”
“No,” Skylar said, stopping and letting her hands fall to her sides. “I’m coming with you. I deserve to know what’s happening.”
Liam paused for a moment, taking her in, the sight of her courageous and ready to fight. This was the woman he had fallen in love with, and he wasn’t about to argue with her about it.
“Okay,” he said, nodding once, before holding the door for her so they could hurry outside.
* * *
“Oh God,” Skylar gasped, putting her hand to her mouth as they neared the entrance to Lucas’s cabin. The heavy door was pulled off its hinged, marred with blood and claw-marks. There was blood smeared and spattered all over the outside of the cabin, the blood dark and seeping into the wood.
It got much worse as they walked inside the cabin. All the cabinets, all the drawers, every door was wrenched open, and all the things were gone. Some of Lucas’s possessions were spread out over the ground, broken or discarded, stepped on and shattered.
Liam stood in the center of the cabin, staring at the ripped curtains, the table in the dining room, nearly broken in half. Skylar was looking around the cabin, and she couldn’t help but be reminded of the wreckage that had been in their own home.
“Do you think he’s alive?” Liam asked Michael, who was standing in the doorway to the cabin, running his hand through his shaggy hair.
Michael shook his head. “I don’t know… it looks like he put up one hell of a fight but I couldn’t catch any scent of him when I came in. Nothing. Not even the blood, so I have no way of knowing if it’s even his.”
“I noticed that too,” Liam said, sniffing the air briefly, “it’s like his whole cabin is a dead zone, except for that.”
Michael nodded – he smelled it too. If there had been any other scent in the room, the sharp scent of eucalyptus and mint drowned it out. Michael sneezed and shook his head, ducking out of the doorway and heading back out the door.
Liam and Skylar followed him. Michael turned around.
“The only scent lead we could follow was this sharp smell, and it stops right on the edge of the pack grounds, as though the at
tacker appeared and disappeared right at the edge.”
“Or attackers,” Skylar said, worrying her lips. “It seems unlikely that one person could do all this to Lucas. I mean… he’s a big guy, right? And he was in the safety of his own home, surrounded by his pack.”
“Speaking of that,” Liam said, turning to his brother, “you’re sure nobody heard anything? This would have made a lot of commotion, based on the signs of a struggle that Lucas left behind.”
“Nothing,” Michael shook his head, “I didn’t even hear a thing. The women who got up early this morning to hunt saw the scene and came and got me. We had no clue it was happening until it was already over.”
“The hunters must have gotten better,” Liam snapped, punching the side of the cabin. “To be able to come in here, attack us in our territory, and not even leave s trace for us to follow.”
“What makes you think it’s the hunters? Did they take anything?” Skylar asked.
“I get it,” Michael said, rubbing the back of his head, “at first, I thought it might have been Lucas. Everything that happened with your house… he’s been so jealous and malicious lately, we could all feel his animosity towards you, and even me. But now that this has happened… that only leaves the hunters as suspects. They are the only ones who would be capable of something like this. And there are a few things missing, but they’re weird things, like some of his clothes and some trinkets.”
Skylar nodded, though something with what they were saying didn’t quite make sense to her.
“Do you think he’s alive? And why would the hunters take trinkets?”
Michael and Liam glanced at each other, their looks dubious. Skylar shook her head and turned to go check on Liam’s mother, but stopped in her tracks when she saw the frail woman, barely managing to stand on her feet, staring at the three of them in front of the bloody mess.
