“A worse fate if ever there was one,” Robert said, shuddering with distaste.
“A True Mate.” Gabe’s voice was filled with awe. “I never even dreamed I would be lucky enough to find a Mate, much less a True Mate.”
Flynn gave Sasha one last lick, then padded over to Gabe.
“I’m honored to have your daughter as my True Mate, Flynn. She’ll want for nothing, I swear.” He stood tall and proud.
“I know you’ll take care of her. And truth to tell, I don’t think I would trust anyone else with her welfare. Or her heart,” Flynn replied, tail wagging.
“Thank you, my friend.” Gabe bowed his head in respect.
“Don’t you mean my father?” Roan asked, padding over to the two. “Gabe will be your son after the child comes of age.”
“Now that’s a trip. Flynn, my father by Mate.” Gabe laughed, tail wagging with joy.
“A baby.” Sasha was still waiting for the shock to wear off. It hadn’t.
Flynn came to her side again, his worry for her palpable. “You alright, sweetheart?”
“Not sure. I mean, here I am, a wolf. A talking wolf who just found out that I’m the reincarnation of the Lupus’ greatest female Alpha, I have to kill Jenna, and to top it all off, I’m soon to be pregnant with a daughter. Who, it just so happens, is Gabe’s True Mate.” She shook her head, feeling her ears sway with the movement. “I don’t know if I should just lose it now and run howling into the woods or wait till I change back so I can scream my head off. What do you think?” she asked him calmly. A little too calmly by the look in his ice-blue eyes.
And she actually felt calm. So calm that it was scary. Because she knew in a while, the shock would wear off, and she had no idea how she would react to all this.
“Well, I think a run would do you some good,” he told her, his voice sounding concerned.
She cocked her head to the side and looked at him. “You sure?”
“Absolutely. It’ll clear your head, and you can burn up some nervous energy. You’ll feel much better after a Pack run.”
Sasha felt strange standing on four feet. She felt like herself, but not. She felt more agile, powerful. All her senses were more accurate. She just felt free.
“Follow at your own pace. Don’t think about anything. Let your mind and spirit enjoy the moment. Enjoy being with the Pack,” Flynn instructed as they joined the others and started to run through the woods.
He was right. Running with her Pack was the most freeing and exhilarating feeling she had ever experienced. Well, next to making love with Flynn, of course.
All her primal instincts came to the fore. She could rationalize and negotiate her environment. She knew there were rabbit and deer, opossum and raccoon nearby, scurrying to avoid their detection. A myriad of green smells and damp earth, rotting leaves, and clean air filled her lungs as they ran deeper into the forest. And overall was the smell of her Pack mates around her as they ran and jumped, bumped, and nudged each other playfully. She was home, and this was her family. Her Pack. She couldn’t bear it if something were to destroy this or them. And that was when it finally sank in, the precariousness of the situation and the solution to it all.
Her.
Chapter Nine
Like Roan, she was Alpha whether she chose to be or not. And as such, she had a responsibility to the Pack, a duty, a destiny to ensure their future, one free of jeopardy. That their children had a future.
She knew what she had to do. She had to stop Jenna, stop the cycle of hate and jealously that had been following her and Flynn through lifetime after lifetime. Stop the bitterness and jealousy before it destroyed the Lupus. That meant Jenna had to die. Sasha’s unborn daughter deserved the chance to live and love, and Sasha was going to give her that chance. Killing Jenna would be a small sacrifice. One bad life for the good of all the others. She could sleep well at night with that.
But how in the world was she going to accomplish it? Knowing what had to be done and doing it were two different things. . But she had plenty of teachers and two weeks to prepare. The bad news was she was going to be fighting to the death. And she was soon to be pregnant. Could be tomorrow. A tricky deal to be sure. A plan would be good. One in her favor.
They stopped in a clearing to rest after covering several miles. She had just run probably three or four miles, and she wasn’t even winded. In fact, she felt great. Better than she had ever felt in her entire life. She was alive, so alive!
“Did the run help?” Flynn asked after they had rested a bit. He hadn’t left her side. She was more than happy to have him with her.
“Yeah, it let me get my thoughts in order.” She licked his muzzle with affection. Hmm, she wondered how Lupus did it in wolf form. Maybe later when there wasn’t such a crowd.
“Keep that up, and we’ll be going behind a tree.” He growled, returning the lick and picking up on her needs.
“All right. But I get to have my way with you later when there isn’t an audience.”
“Guaranteed, sweetheart.” Flynn gave her a wolfish grin.
They lay there for a while, content with their surroundings and each other. When it was time to go, Roan led the way back by a different route, but they still came back to the clearing, only on the opposite side. Unfortunately, they all smelled trouble before breaking through the trees. And it was the scent of blood.
Two good-looking men were talking with Dillon. One was tall with shoulder-length blond hair, and the other was a couple of inches shorter with close-cropped black hair. Both wore the same expression. Pissed off. Hmm, Sasha sensed bad news.
“Mikeal, Steven, what’s happened?” Roan asked with authority as he approached the two men.
The blond spoke first. Or rather, he growled first.
“Jenna’s escaped,” he spat out.
“How?”
“She had help,” the dark one answered with disgust.
“How?” Roan asked again, eyes beginning to glow with ice fire.
The blond explained, knowing he wouldn’t be asked again. “She called her mother, Rhonda, saying she needed a few things and could she bring them by. We didn’t object,” he began, his voice getting angrier by the second. “When Rhonda got there, me and Steven went out to give a hand. She didn’t need it.”
“That crazy bitch shot me and then started shooting at Steven. Jenna got in her mother’s car during all the gunfire.” Mikeal growled. “They took off heading who knows where. That was less than an hour ago.”
“Are you hurt badly?” Flynn quickly changed back to man form as he approached Mikeal.
Sasha watched, deciding the movies and books got it all wrong. There was nothing gross or awful about the changing process. No twisting limbs or stretching skin. It was all colorful light and vapor. Quite beautiful, actually. Of course, a nude Flynn was heart-stopping. And all hers.
“No, it was a clean shot through my right shoulder, and it’s halfway healed. Hurt like hell, though,” he remarked as Flynn examined his wound.
“Well, is he all right?” Roan was still in wolf form.
“Yeah, the muscles and ligaments are fine, and the hole is almost closed. It’ll be sore for a few days, though.” Flynn gave Mikeal final instructions. “You’ll need to eat a lot of red meat to help replace any blood loss. And don’t change until the soreness is gone. You need time to heal in this form before changing into the other. Doctor’s orders.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You got any holes in you, Steven?” Flynn asked as he came to Steven’s side.
“Nah. Can’t say the same for my Mustang, though. That crazy bitch put four holes in it and busted the front window.”
“Better the car than you.” Flynn patted his shoulder.
“Easy for you to say.” Steven was clearly pissed. “You didn’t spend two years restoring it from the ground up.”
“Point taken.” Flynn chuckled. “You two go on up to the house. It’s late, so you both can bunk there. Dillon, show ‘em where,
will ya?”
“Okay. And you guys can tell me what it’s like to get shot,” Dillon said with glee.
“Fair enough, pup.” Steven chuckled, ruffling Dillon’s hair as they walked toward the house.
Mikeal was slow to follow as he turned to Roan. “I’m sorry, Roan. We should have done more.”
“ Coming here instead of chasing after Jenna was the right call,” Roan assured the man.
“Exactly. Chasing her could have been a trap,” Flynn added.
Mikeal nodded stiffly, then followed Dillon and Steven back to the house.
“Sooner or later, she’ll show up here, if she hasn’t already. She’ll want to end what she started.” Gabe looked at Sasha.
“Which is why Flynn will be taking the women back to the house while the three of us scout around the area,” Roan directed. “I want both of them found.”
“Wait, Roan.” Sasha spoke up. “Jenna wants me so she can try to kill me. And apparently her mother is willing and able to help. This is my fight. I can’t ask you to risk yourselves.”
“I know, Sasha, but it’s more than your fight now. Rhonda shooting one of my guards guaranteed that. No, this is now a Pack matter. And as Alpha of this Pack, overall safety falls to me, so it’s my risk to take. Then there’s the matter of yours and Flynn’s unborn daughter. She’s our future. I won’t jeopardize that. Do you understand?”
She let out a breath, knowing he was right. “Yeah, I get it.” Then she padded over to him and bumped his muzzle. “I’m really sorry for all this, Roan. Somehow I feel like this is entirely my fault.”
He rubbed her head with his, trying to comfort her.
Oh, but for a twist of fate, Roan could have been her True Mate. Well, that was an odd thought. Although not unfounded.
“Don’t blame yourself, my dear. This confrontation has been a long time coming and way overdue to my thinking.” He sighed, and then his eyes started to glow again. “She has brought us to this for the last time. I will end it as I should have done long ago. No mercy for those who endanger my Pack and threaten their future,” he snarled, his fur standing on end with anger and power.
Sasha could feel his power, smell his anger. His eyes were so bright with emotion that looking at them almost hurt. Then they dimmed, and he said something she had been thinking earlier. “You are my brother’s True Mate but could have been mine if not for a twist of fate. I don’t begrudge him his happiness, but before I knew that I also have a True Mate, I did envy him a bit. Still do in a way,” he admitted sheepishly.
“Roan…” Flynn began as he came to their side.
“No, brother, this must be said. My honor expects no less,” Roan replied formally. It was almost like a final confession, the way he was carrying on, Sasha thought.
Flynn nodded for him to continue. Sasha, of course, remained quiet.
“You’re a fine Lupa, Sasha, and will make a great Alpha. And I would be lying if I said I haven’t thought about how great we could be together, but it wasn’t meant to be. You and my brother belong together. And he’s very fortunate for not only having you, but soon to have a daughter as well.”
She didn’t know what to say. She had no idea he felt like this. But then, she had been so wrapped up in her own problems, trying to sort out her new life, that she missed the signs. It made her feel sad on the one hand because Roan was such a gorgeous man with so much to offer, but she was also glad he had a True Mate somewhere. He wasn’t going to be alone for long.
“It’s odd, but I feel like she’s not only your daughter, but mine as well.” Roan looked at them strangely.
“Of course she is, brother. We shared a womb, and we share a soul. How could it be otherwise?”
Roan looked at Flynn with purpose. “This has to end, Flynn. The child must be born. Our future depends on her.”
“And you’ll be there to witness her arrival. A second father to our child,” Flynn said.
Roan bowed his head with respect. “I would be honored.”
Sasha walked up to Roan and licked his muzzle with affection and thanks. “I’m going to have to search the Pack high and low for this True Mate of yours. Got to make sure she’s worthy of you. My brother deserves the best.”
“When you find her, I’m sure she will be.” He chuckled, but the humor seemed strained. “In the meantime, I want you, Angel, and Mother safe. If one of my guards can get shot, then you three are definite targets.”
“And since Rhonda has always held a special animosity for me, I think shooting me would be a bonus,” Charlie added.
“A Lupus with a gun.” Gabe shook his head in disbelief. “What are we coming to?”
“Not us, Gabe. Two Lupa’s without honor that have nothing to lose,” Angel replied.
“Two rogue Lupa’s,” Robert said sadly.
“Two armed rogue Lupas,” Roan reiterated. “And will be dealt with as such.”
“Just be careful, whatever you do,” Sasha told them.
“Don’t worry, my dear. As long as we know you three are safe, we can concentrate on the job at hand,” Roan assured.
“And wait till we’re at the house before you three change back. If Jenna and Rhonda are already here, then the three of you look enough alike in the dark that neither of them will know which is which,” Flynn advised as they made ready to leave.
“Good idea,” Roan agreed. “And keep to the shadows as well. As for us, I want you two to scout the surrounding area. If anything smells out of order, tell Flynn,” he instructed Gabe and Robert.
“Flynn? What about you?” Gabe asked.
“I’m going to Jenna’s house. Maybe something there will give me a clue as to what she and Rhonda are plotting. I also want to know which direction they’re driving. Could help to know where they’re going if they aren’t already here.”
“Just be careful, Roan. I have four children, and I want to keep it that way,” Charlie warned.
“Don’t worry, Mother. I’ll be watchful,” Roan promised, going over and licking Charlie’s muzzle.
“Hmph. It’s not you I’m worried about.”
Angel and Robert kissed goodbye, wolf-style, and told each other to be careful. Sasha told Gabe to watch out for unexpected gunshots.
“Don’t worry. I have a True Mate waiting for me now. I won’t be taking any unnecessary risks.” He gave her a wolfish grin.
Then they were all off to their appointed destinations. Roan went east through the forest; Gabe and Robert split up to cover more ground to the west, Gabe toward the stables and Robert toward the outer pastures. The rest of them went to the house, staying to the shadows like Roan advised. Flynn didn’t change back either. He led them to the back door naked. Not that he had much choice. Apparently the Lupus couldn’t change forms with their clothes on. She had absently noticed a pile back in the clearing after their run.
Nothing happened along the way, nor did they smell or see anything out of the ordinary, thank goodness. The last thing she wanted was to get shot. Like she hadn’t enough on her plate as it was.
After they all went through the back door, Flynn led them to the den. It was a nice room. Mauve carpet and matching comfy furniture. Lots of plants and books. Sasha liked it. Had a warm, lived-in feel to it.
“Go ahead and change while I run upstairs for your clothes,” Flynn told them. “I’m also going to check all the locks on the doors and windows. After that, I’ll check on Mikeal and see how his shoulder is doing.” He reached down, gave Sasha a tender rub on the ear, and then was gone.
Turning toward Charlie and Angel, Sasha noted watching them change back was just as beautiful as Flynn’s change. There were differences though. Seemed everyone had their own color patterns when changing back, almost like an aura. Flynn’s was a greenish blue, like the ocean, Charlie’s a warm red with orange flashes, and Angel’s a vibrant blue and purple. Made Sasha wonder what hers was going to look like. Then a really serious question hit her.
“Uh, ladies, problem here. How do I cha
nge back?” Charlie and Angel stood before her, naked and on two legs.
She should have been embarrassed about seeing two women naked, her Southern upbringing again, but her thoughts were more on how to get two legged again herself.
Charlie and Angel looked at her with stunned amusement. She certainly didn’t find this amusing.
“Flynn never explained how to change back?” Angel asked with a grin.
“At the time, we were too busy trying to prepare me and trying not to think about if I would die. Then it started, and anything more was forgotten.” She felt kind of strange standing on all fours in the den while Charlie and Angel weren’t.
“Well, that’s understandable. You’ve had a very busy three days.” Charlie nodded. “But don’t worry—now that you’ve undergone your First Transformation, changing back and forth will be easy. Just focus on which form you want, four or two legs, then picture that in your mind and concentrate. You’ll feel a warm glow start in your center, then spread out as everything changes. No pain, just soothing warmth. After you’ve changed, you feel great, energized. But some also feel a bit sad because being on four legs means freedom. Going back to two legs makes some feel confined in a way.” She shrugged, trying to explain.
“Okay, so I focus on my two-legged form. No pain, just warm energy.” She closed her eyes to concentrate better.
At first, nothing happened. She was picturing in her mind what she looked like with two legs but didn’t feel any kind of warmth. It sort of scared her that nothing was happening, so she made her mental self walk with those two legs. That seemed to do the trick, because a pleasant warmth started in her stomach, expanding throughout her body. She even saw a bright white glow behind her closed eyelids. Way cool, she thought.
After she opened her eyes, she noticed two things. She was taller and she was naked. It had worked. Whew!
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