by J. L. Wilder
But he would miss the feeling that it was the two of them against the world. He would miss sharing every part of every day with her. Even if they were successful against Hawk, even if they won the coming confrontation, they would have to deal with the rest of the pack. It would never be just the two of them again.
It’s as if we had a honeymoon, he thought wryly. We went away and spent some magical time on our own together. And yeah, we were running for our lives at the time. But that’s still pretty special.
Hell of a silver lining, if you wanted to see it.
Charity spotted the light of the Hell’s Wolves’ cabin first and pointed it out. Weston reached down and gave her hand a squeeze. “Are you ready for this?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
“When we get in there,” he said, “you let me take the lead. Understand? Hang back and let me deal with Hawk. I don’t want you getting involved if you can avoid it.”
“Weston, we talked about this—”
“I know what we talked about. I said you could come with me. But you’re still carrying our babies, and I want them out of harm’s way, so you hang back. They’re not going to hurt you. Hawk wants you alive. But if there’s some kind of physical altercation and you get in the way, you might get hurt accidentally. Something could happen to the babies.”
She nodded. “Okay. I’ll stay back.”
“Good.”
“Weston?”
“Yeah?”
She stopped where she was standing, pulling him to a stop beside her. “I want to tell you I love you,” she said. “In case...in case I don’t have a chance to say it later.”
“Don’t talk like that. This is probably just going to be a conversation.”
“Uh-huh. But I still want to tell you this.” She swallowed, looked down for a moment, then met his eyes. “Running away from you was the biggest mistake I ever made in my life, Weston. When I think about the fact that I almost gave this up—when I think about all the things that were totally out of my control that had to happen for us to find each other again—”
“You mean like you getting kidnapped?”
“Yeah, I do,” she said evenly. “I can’t really believe I’m saying this, but...I’m so thankful that the Wolves found me. I’m so glad I was kidnapped back into the pack. Because if that hadn’t happened, you and I would never have found each other again. When they shoved me into the back of that van, they gave me a second chance at the life I wanted.”
He embraced her, bending down to kiss her softly, reveling in the taste of her and the way her lips moved against his. “We were both lucky,” he said. “We were both incredibly, impossibly lucky.”
“I feel as though I did everything possible to ruin what we had,” she said. “And through a combination of good luck and your good choices, we managed to get it back. I don’t deserve it. But I’m so goddamn grateful for it.”
“My good choices? What good choices?”
“You never left the pack,” she said. “So many others did, and you certainly had every reason to. But you stayed. If you’d gone, what would I have found when they kidnapped me?” She shook her head. “Not an old friend. Not a chance to reclaim my old life. Just violence and pain.” She wrapped her arms around him. “I’m so glad you were there, Weston.”
“I’m glad I was, too.”
They stood holding each other for a few more moments, allowing each other’s presence to distract them from what lay ahead. Finally, Weston spoke. “We’d better go.”
Charity nodded against him. Then, with apparent effort, she separated herself from him. “Please don’t do anything crazy in there,” she said. “Be safe. We need you.” She cradled her stomach.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “Like I said, I think it’ll probably just be a conversation. When Hawk sees he doesn’t have power over me—over either one of us—there won’t be much left for him to do.”
“Okay,” Charity said quietly.
Weston squeezed her hand. “Come on. Let’s go.”
The journey up from Colorado had felt terribly fast, but the final few yards up to the house seemed to take an hour to cross. Weston’s nerves were firing, adrenaline shooting through his body, and he longed to shift into his wolf form, but he knew entering the cabin as a wolf was the surest way to provoke a fight. He couldn’t do that.
They arrived at the porch. Weston waved Charity back. He could sense her reluctance as she fell a few steps behind him. He strode up the steps to the front door and knocked.
The door opened.
It was Norma. Her face registered shock and dismay as she took him in. “Don’t come in here,” she hissed. “Go. Go now. Run.”
“What do you mean?” Weston asked. “Why?”
“Who is it?” Hawk yelled from the den.
Rick entered the kitchen and saw them standing in the doorway. “Holy shit. The omega’s back.”
Norma’s body seemed to crumple slightly. She stood back to let Weston and Charity into the kitchen. Weston stepped inside hesitantly. Why had Norma told him to run? She must have known Hawk was looking for him, but what did she think was going to happen now that he was back?
Rick gripped Weston and Charity by the shoulders and marched them out of the kitchen and down the hall to the den. Norma ran behind them.
Hawk lay on the couch in the den, staring at the TV as he always did. At least he isn’t smoking, Weston thought. He definitely wouldn’t have been able to tolerate smoking around his pregnant mate, but he would prefer not to bring up her pregnancy just yet. He allowed himself to be steered into the room and stood before Hawk.
Gino, who was sitting in the armchair beside Hawk, sat up in surprise at the sight of them. Hawk didn’t look away from the TV. “They’re back. Who caught them? How much do I owe?”
“Nobody caught us,” Weston said.
That did make Hawk sit up. “What’s he talking about?” he asked Rick.
“They just showed up,” Rick said. “Came knocking on the door.” He grinned. “Couldn’t make it out there on your own, Weston?”
“Something like that,” Weston said tightly.
“We’ll put the girl back on lockdown,” Hawk said. “And we’ll throw him back out on the street. We don’t need traitors here.”
“You don’t need traitors?” Weston said. “Or is it that you’re afraid, Hawk? You don’t want me here because you know I’m not subject to your orders anymore. Isn’t that right? You know I broke your command, and you don’t know how I did it, but that scares you.”
Hawk scoffed. “Don’t be stupid.”
“How did you break his command, actually?” Gino asked. “Hawk ordered us all to keep the omega from escaping, and you helped her escape. That shouldn’t have been possible.”
“I can’t explain it,” Weston said. “And I don’t need to. All that matters as far as I’m concerned is that Hawk doesn’t have any power over me anymore. And that’s why I came back. Not because I couldn’t make it in the wild, but because this is my pack. You are all my brothers. Gino, Rick...we were family once.”
“You abandoned that,” Hawk snapped. “You gave up any claim to family when you left us.”
“I don’t think so,” Weston said. “Charity left too, but you want her back. And that’s because you can use her and because you don’t think she’s a threat to you. You’re not throwing me out because I left. You’re doing it because you’re afraid of me.” He turned to Gino. “He thinks I can challenge him for claim to the rank of alpha.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Hawk said.
“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Charity said. “Weston stopped being subject to your orders before he left the pack, Hawk. That means his leaving wasn’t what broke the bond. It was your own weakness and his own strength. He’s stronger than you.”
“I don’t have to listen to this.” Hawk got to his feet. “Gino, take this traitor outside.”
But Gino didn’t move. “What do you think?”
he asked Rick.
Rick frowned slightly. “It’s bizarre,” he said. “But it does make sense.”
“It doesn’t make sense,” Hawk snapped. “The bond broke because he chose to leave. He probably made that choice well before he actually did it.”
“But he shouldn’t have been able to do that either,” Norma said.
“Quiet, woman.”
“You ordered us all to stick with the pack years ago,” Norma said. “Did you forget you gave that order, Hawk? I wouldn’t be surprised if you had. But the rest of us can’t forget. We live with it every day. Every order you give weighs on our hearts.”
“Does it?” Charity asked.
“What do you mean?” Norma asked her.
“It’s just that Hawk ordered Gino to take Weston outside a couple of minutes ago,” Charity said. “And Gino hasn’t done it yet.”
Everyone looked at Gino.
Gino appeared to be rattled by the realization that he had defied his alpha. He must not have noticed, Weston thought, which was pretty telling in and of itself. “Maybe it wasn’t an order,” Gino suggested, looking at Hawk.
“That’s right,” Hawk agreed. “It wasn’t.”
“Yes, it was,” Rick said, frowning. “You said take this traitor outside. That’s a direct order. And you also told Norma to be quiet, and she hasn’t done it.”
Hawk sputtered. “This is ridiculous.”
“You’re not the alpha of this pack,” Weston said quietly. “I don’t know why, Hawk, and I don’t know how, but you don’t have any authority here. Maybe you never should have.”
Hawk let out a sharp snarl, his teeth bared.
“Oh, shit,” Gino whispered.
“Outside,” Norma said. “Everyone outside right now. I mean it.”
Rick took Hawk by the arm and propelled him toward the door. It was a mark of how close to the edge Hawk was that he didn’t even try to resist. He allowed himself to be guided outside. Weston followed, hanging back, knowing that it was going to be a fight now. “Stay inside,” he told Charity firmly. “Don’t come out.”
“Don’t say that to me.”
“I’m saying it. Do not come outside.”
The look she gave him could have frozen blood, but she stopped at the kitchen door and stood there, fists clenched, as Weston went outside.
Hawk had already shifted and was pacing in the yard, waiting.
“We don’t have to do this,” Weston said, holding up his hands. “It doesn’t have to end like this between us, Hawk. We can still be brothers. We belong to the same pack. We belong to the same litter. We grew up together, you and me. It doesn’t have to end in violence.”
Hawk snarled again.
“I never set out to take anything from you,” Weston said. “I never meant to do that. But I’ve loved her since we were young. I’ve always loved her. And she loves me too.”
His words seemed to tear through Hawk’s restraint. Hawk lunged at Weston, claws out, teeth snapping. Weston shifted while Hawk was in midflight—his wolf self had felt so close to the surface for hours now, it had never been easier—and met his brother halfway, colliding with a loud thump.
Somebody screamed.
He was unaware of pain, even as Hawk’s claws raked his shoulder and spilled his blood. The only thing he had room to think about was Charity. She was behind him somewhere, protecting their babies, and keeping her safe was all that mattered. Hawk would hurt her, would tear them apart. Weston had to stop him. It was the only way.
He rolled over, pinning his brother to the ground, and closed his teeth
gently—warningly—around Hawk’s throat. I don’t want to hurt you, he thought. But I will, to save my family. I’ll do anything for them.
Claws slashed the side of his torso. Weston couldn’t suppress a whine, but he stayed where he was and dug his teeth in just a little.
The rest of the pack was clustered around them. “He’s killing him!” someone shouted, but nobody interfered.
Hawk panted, staring up at Weston with loathing.
Weston released his brother’s throat and carefully stepped back, allowing Hawk to get up. He had clearly won the fight. Hawk must know he was beaten. He waited for Hawk to get to his feet, waited for him to bow, demonstrating subservience and allegiance. He would allow Hawk to stay in the pack. He would welcome him. It would be fine to have Hawk here but not in charge. There would be no harm in that. Maybe, in time, they would be brothers again.
Hawk dove at Weston, jaws snapping.
Weston lurched to one side, out of the way—
A rock came whizzing past him and struck Hawk in the side of the head.
Everyone turned to see where it had come from. Charity stood in the kitchen window, a spoon in her hand—she’d clearly used it as a launcher. Hawk howled and began to run toward the house.
Toward Charity.
Weston ran after him and threw himself through the air, claws digging into Hawk’s back, dragging him to the ground. As he did, he felt the presence of another wolf joining the fight. A big wolf, bigger than either himself or Hawk.
Robbie.
Robbie had never been a fighter. Robbie would never be an alpha. But he had size on his side, and when he landed on Hawk, he effectively pinned him to the ground.
He looked up at Weston, waiting.
Waiting for orders.
Shifting back to human form mid-fight was harder than stepping into the body of the wolf. He was vulnerable like this, and if he was vulnerable that meant that Charity was vulnerable. But he forced himself to do it. He looked down at his brothers, locked together in battle. “Stand down,” he said to Hawk.
Hawk’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t want to do it. He wanted to resist.
Weston saw the exact moment when the order took hold of him. His whole body shuddered, as if he were fighting to escape invisible shackles. “Stand down, Robbie,” he said quietly.
Robbie stepped carefully off Hawk’s body.
“Hawk, resume your human form.”
Hawk did so. Crouched naked at Weston’s feet, he glared around at the rest of the pack.
“I can’t believe it,” Norma whispered, gazing reverently at Weston. “You’re really the alpha.”
“He can’t be,” Gino murmured.
Weston understood their disbelief. Even as he’d begun to suspect what the ramifications of coming home and challenging Hawk might be, he’d had trouble truly believing it. But there was no denying the evidence of his eyes. The Hell’s Wolves’ old alpha had been dethroned. He was cringing at Weston’s feet.
That power belonged to Weston now.
“Charity, come outside,” he called, and she raced out the kitchen door and threw herself into his arms.
Chapter Eighteen
WESTON
“What’ll we do with him?” Robbie asked Weston.
Everyone had resumed their human form. Everyone was dressed, except for Weston, who had his shirt off so that Norma could tend to the wounds on his shoulder and torso. He hissed at she poured antiseptic over one of the lacerations, and Charity flinched.
Lita gripped Charity’s shoulder reassuringly. “It’s all right,” she said quietly, and even though Charity ached at seeing her mate in pain, she tried to relax.
“I don’t know if we can let him stay,” Gino said.
The decision had been made fairly quickly to keep the pack together. Gino and Rick had sworn immediate allegiance to Weston once they’d seen him win the fight, and Charity knew that Weston wanted to keep his brothers nearby. Even though they’d been instrumental in her kidnapping and had aided Hawk directly, she wasn’t surprised they’d been asked to stay.
But Hawk himself was a different matter. He hadn’t accepted Weston’s leadership. Most of the pack seemed to feel that his reluctance to bow made him too dangerous to keep around.
If Weston was honest with himself, he knew they were right.
He didn’t want to sacrifice the bond he’d once had with his br
other, but after everything he and Charity had been through, if that was what it took to win their safety, he would do it. If Hawk stayed, he knew, they would always be watching their backs. Weston would always have to choose his words with extreme care, making sure he didn’t accidentally leave a loophole in his orders that Hawk could exploit. It was inevitable that eventually, he would make a mistake.
He couldn’t take that risk with Charity, or with their children.
“Go and get him,” he told Gino. “I’ll speak to him here.” He turned to the others. “Will you give us some space?”
Norma finished winding a bandage around his shoulder, rested a hand on the middle of his back, and quietly left the room. Charity came to his side and kissed him, briefly and tenderly, before taking her leave.
Gino returned after only a few moments, with Hawk in tow. They hadn’t bound Hawk. It was unnecessary. Weston had simply put him in a chair and ordered him to stay there. It was strange and uncomfortable realizing that his orders now had to be obeyed. He would have to be very careful, he knew, not to say anything he didn’t mean.
Hawk eyed the bandages Norma had applied. “Does that hurt?” he asked.
“Yes,” Weston answered truthfully.
Hawk sneered. “Good.”
Weston couldn’t believe he’d ever feared his brother. Hawk had once seemed so big, so overwhelming. Now, standing before Weston, he appeared to be small and petty. Had the rank of alpha made that much difference?
“Hawk,” he said, steeling himself against the wave of loss that threatened to break over him, “I’m going to let you decide how we go forward.”
“Meaning what?”
“If you’d like to stay with us, to be a member of this pack, you may do so. But first, you must submit to me.”
Hawk paled. “You’re insane,” he hissed.
