Fina ached at the thought of putting members of her new pack in danger. Eddie Robertson, the local baker, and his wife had just learned she was pregnant with their second cub. Officer Wally Pierce was huge and his heart was in the right place but he was so very young. She didn’t stop to consider that Wally was actually three years older than her. She squeezed her mates’ hands. They squeezed back. Nath lifted her fingers to his mouth and kissed them fleetingly.
She kept playing her last conversation with Ryan over in her head.
“Fina you have to take me with you. Take me home. Please,” Ryan had wailed after they’d dropped him off at the Pikes’ on their way to the airport. He’d cried piteously, turned red, collapsed on the floor then jumped back up again. He’d slammed his small fists into the wall until Dorothea’s husband wrapped his arms around him from behind and held him in a firm but gentle embrace. Even then Ryan didn’t stop screaming.
“I want Owen,” he’d cried. “I want my father. I want my Mom.” His brown eyes had flashed with a wolf’s rage. A rage he was supposedly still too young to experience. “You’re not my mom. You’re going to leave too.”
Tears had prickled her eyes but she refused to show them to Ryan, refused to let him see her fear, weakness and inadequacy.
“Go. Just go,” Dorothea had said quietly and helped her husband lead the screaming Ryan into the house.
Nath had held her and let her cry on the way to the airport.
They reached the middle of the clearing, stopped, then, as one, turned toward the freshening scent of male were. Cutler’s men fanned out around them.
The first rogue to step out between the thick forest cover was tall and pale. He was thin but Fina remembered how strong this Beta was. She refused to shudder. She lifted her upper lip, exposed her canines and growled quietly. Six more rogues stepped into the clearing. Two of them hauled a struggling Helen along with them. Her blue eyes flashed above the duct tape across her mouth. She kicked out defiantly, catching one of her captors in the side of the knee. He staggered, raised his fist to her then thought better of it when his Alpha snarled.
“Now, now, Jake,” Sim Brice cooed. It was eerie how quickly his emotions shifted. “Musn’t get off on the wrong foot.” Despite being outnumbered, his pale eyes moved dismissively over the weres surrounding Fina. He walked up to Helen, touched her disheveled hair in a sickeningly tender gesture then ripped the tape off her mouth.
She screamed. “Run, Fina. They’re werewolves.” Helen blinked when no one reacted. Trembling, she seemed to sink in on herself as she looked around the clearing, taking in the number of men, their size. Her eyes communicated everything when understanding dawned.
“Here’s the deal.” Sim’s eyes moved over Cutler and Nath, took in their proximity to Fina, then moved over them again. “Return my bitch to me. Save a human.” He held out his hands, balancing them like weights on a scale. “Keep my bitch and we’ll change as many females as we need. Your choice.” He sniffed the air and scowled at Fina. “Despite the fact that you’re mine, you mated with these dogs. Don’t bother to deny it. I can smell their stench from here.” One of his brows arched up. “I staked my claim first.”
“Rape isn’t bonding,” Fina spit out.
“A technicality,” he shrugged. “But that pup in your belly is mine.”
“That bastard seedling you forced on me is dead.”
“What did you do?” Sim demanded hotly. He stepped toward her. His pack followed his lead, snarling and growling.
“What did I do?” Fina shouted. “Other than wash the stench off after you’d finished with me and I walked out the door? Nothing. It was weak and puny. An inferior seedling spawned from weak stock. It died on its own without any help from me.”
Sim took another step toward her, sniffing intently like he was trying to measure the truth of what she’d said. Cutler and Nath roared, took two steps forward and stopped only when Sim backed away.
Fina continued. “And now you threaten to change a human to win me back? What? You weren’t able to poach females from other packs? Is that it? Did they see you for what you are?” She snarled. “What are you going to do...change every one of my female classmates?”
“Not every one of them,” Sim taunted. “Just fourteen. I figure two bitches per man will keep my pack happy and...entertained.” His pale eyes hardened. “Now hand over the money,” he snarled. “You’re useless to me if you’re barren.”
“Has everyone heard enough?” Cutler’s voice boomed across the clearing. No fewer than twenty men stepped out from between the trees.
“Yes. We have.” The speaker was in his early fifties, thickly muscled. His voice was deep, authoritative and for some crazy reason, reminded Fina of her father.
Another man, maybe a bit younger than the first but exuding the same powerful, unmistakable control of a seasoned Alpha, spoke up. “These rogues must be destroyed. Our females are in danger and turning that many humans is unacceptable as far as pack law is concerned. It would draw too much attention.”
At a subtle movement of Cutler’s hand, the men of his pack rushed the rogues. The two holding Helen let go immediately, dropped and charged. Tearing clothing, howls and snarls echoed throughout the clearing. Hard, wolf bodies collided with a series of sickening thuds.
Fina ran around the frenetic clutch, grabbed Helen’s wrist and hauled her over to the tree line. She spun, changed into wolf form and faced the combatants, putting her body between them and her friend.
“Oh shit,” Helen gasped. She sounded like she was hyperventilating. “Um, nice doggy.” Fina whacked her with her tail and snapped at a rogue who got too close. “You couldn’t have told me about this earlier?”
Fina kept her focus on the fighting. Nath dived at Sim Brice’s silver-tipped wolf, raked the side of his body with his claws then dug his teeth into the rogue’s ruff. Sim fought back and shook his head violently, hanging on to a mouthful of Nath’s fur. Owen was rolling around on the ground with the rogue Beta, his forelegs wrapped around his opponent’s smaller body, his back leg kicking out at its belly, his jaws wide and biting down on its neck. The rogue Beta howled, screamed then slumped to the ground with a gaping, wheezing hole where its throat used to be.
Owen stood over his victim, snarled then cocked his leg. He ran back into the thick of the fighting, searching for another opponent.
The howls of fighting diminished as body after rogue body fell to the ground. The men of Cutler’s pack closed in on the remaining enemies then turned away with their tails at an arrogant angle when they realized the fighting was all but over. They scuffed their back paws against the ground as they walked away, showering the bodies of the rogues with clumps of dirt. They and the other weres that had gathered to witness formed a loose circle around the final two combatants.
Fifteen seconds later, Nath had Sim Brice pinned beneath his powerful body, his jaws clamped on the back of the rogue’s neck.
Cutler, still in human form, walked toward them slowly. “My brother, my Beta asked for permission to take you himself,” he said conversationally. He crouched down in front of them and tipped his head to one side so he could see the rogue’s eyes. “I could have done it myself but that would have been overkill. Don’t you think so, Nath?”
Nath made a low, grinding sound that was more growl than laugh. Sim struggled, raked the ground uselessly with his paws then lay still. In a slow, powerful movement, Nath leaned back, pulling Sim’s head back with him, exposing his throat.
Wordlessly, Cutler assumed the form of his wolf, bit down on the rogue’s throat at the same time as his brother snapped its spine. Sim Brice’s body jerked then slumped on the ground, limp and lifeless.
* * *
“Your father was my second cousin.” Fina looked up at the tall, stern, gray haired Alpha walking beside her. He held out the sweater she’d retrieved from the back of the rental and slipped it over her shoulders. She’d dressed in the spare jeans and shirt she’d brought from Wyomi
ng.
“Your voice sounds like his,” she murmured, staring up into his dark blue eyes. “He never told us we had relatives in the area.”
He nodded quietly and walked beside her back to the clearing. The danger had passed but a detail of his pack followed in their wake anyway, forming a protective guard. “There was some resentment on both sides. We were finally putting out feelers to resolve that but there wasn’t enough time.” He glanced up at the early-evening sky and exhaled slowly. “Your pack originated from two members who split from ours. Differing business views,” he explained when her brow furrowed. “Our previous Alpha was old and set in his ways. He did not follow modern business trends. Hated change,” he added and slipped her hand into the crook of his arm. “Your father was a financial genius. We shouldn’t have been so quick to let him go.”
“Now we know where you get it.” Nath walked up to her and nuzzled her cheek. Cutler nodded to the other Alpha then pointedly took his mate’s hand off the older were’s arm and wrapped it around his.
The gray-haired were grinned, touched his forehead to Fina’s then stepped away. “If you ever change your mind, Fina Whitesage, you will always have a home in my pack. You too, Owen.” He held out his hand to Owen, shook then turned with his pack mates and headed back to the parking lot.
The other older Alpha, the one who led the other pack in the area, nodded to Cutler and Nath then he and his men left as well.
Fina walked over to Helen who was shivering despite the heat of the day, glancing worriedly up at the two huge men hovering over her protectively, and held her hand over her nose, trying to shield herself from the smell of burning fur billowing up from the pyres dotting the clearing. Fina hugged her friend tightly then smoothed back her wild, blonde hair. “Come on. I’ll drive you home.”
A few minutes later, Fina was standing on Helen’s porch.
“What are you going to tell the police?”
“Nothing,” Helen replied. She rubbed at a smudge of dirt on her arm. “Those guys made me text my mom. She thinks I went up to school for a few days to straighten out some course issues.” Helen trembled. “So I guess your life is different than mine, huh?”
Fina grinned wryly.
“Different reality. Different rules,” Helen sighed. “You’re going to stay in Wyoming, aren’t you?” She looked down at her feet and sighed again. “I’ll miss you but I think that’s where you belong now.”
Fina hugged her again.
“Um, are all the guys as hot as the ones back there?” Helen asked suddenly. Her blue eyes sparkled. “Wow. Maybe I can get my parents to spring for a plane ticket. You think you can hook me up with one of them if I visit for a week? I promise I won’t be greedy like you and take two.”
* * *
About an hour before sunset, Fina and Owen were walking through their old neighborhood. Her mates and the members of her new pack trailed in their wake.
“Our pack lands have been restored to us,” Fina said quietly. She looked up at the sprawling bungalow that used to be Ryan’s home, noted the unkempt flower beds, the litter on the front lawn.
Owen nodded quietly. His dark blond hair was cut so short it didn’t even move.
“Have you given any thought to...?” Her voice trailed away.
“To what?” Owen growled. That furrow between his eyes deepened. “How come you neglected to mention that you’d mated?”
Her feet stopped moving and she looked down at the ground. Cutler and Nath stood beside her, facing Owen with their arms folded over their chests but saying nothing.
“Those ideas we were tossing around about you, Ryan and I forming a pack of our own? That deal’s off the table, Fina.” Owen’s hand slashed through the air. “Mated females stay put. You know that. It’s one of the cornerstones of our species. Not telling me you were mated, whether intentional or unconscious, is a pretty big omission,” he added harshly.
Fina blushed.
“And don’t start in about second thoughts, duress or survivor guilt, woman,” he barked. “You’re an adult. You knew what it meant to mate with these men. Weres mate for life and you made your decision.”
She kicked at the ground, wrapped her arms around herself then nodded jerkily. Owen gave her a brusque one-armed hug then let go.
“Ever since you told me about our pack being killed I’ve been chasing a demon around in my head. I keep thinking what if one more strong male in the pack would have made a difference?” Owen’s voice faltered then he lifted his chin and firmed his mouth. “I ran away because I hated living here, in this pack. But what if I’d come back? I’m a trained soldier, Fina. What if...?” His voice trailed off. Eventually he started walking again and Fina fell into step beside him.
“You’ve got issues, Fina,” Owen continued after awhile. “All three of us do. We’re entitled to them,” he added dryly. “Deal with yours but let your mates help you heal. You and Ryan. You’re his family now. All three of you. I’m his cousin and legally I’m entitled to be his guardian. I think he’d be better off with you. Hell I know he would.” Owen ran a sun darkened, scarred hand over his head. “We can’t run away from our grief. Don’t let that confuse you into running away from happiness.”
They walked past the remaining houses.
“I’d like to tear them down,” Owen said suddenly. “Sell the land so others can rebuild. There’s too much death, too much blood here now. I can’t stomach the idea of selling these houses to unsuspecting families.”
Fina nodded slowly. “Agreed.”
They picked up the pace and soon they were outside the nursery. It was run down, empty and almost completely void of greenery. Trees that had been planted before Fina was born had been uprooted. The stark, dank holes hadn’t even been filled in. Harnessing the sorrow welling up inside of her, she keyed in the security code to the office.
“Can you get to them?” Owen asked anxiously.
Her mates shot her a curious look but they and the rest of her pack followed her inside without question.
“Yes. I made sure the electricity stayed on.” She led them through the office and into a warehouse area piled high with refuse.
Owen grabbed a discarded pair of gloves and started digging a path through a pile of empty fertilizer bags. He brushed off a computer access panel then stood aside, hovering while Fina punched in an access code.
A long, nondescript bank of what looked like refrigerator doors clicked open. Fina and Owen began checking the contents, the humidity and temperature gauges.
“They should all still be viable,” Fina said.
“What will you do with them?”
“I hadn’t thought about that.”
“You can’t let them die. Too much here has died already.”
Fina looked up at her mates. “I can recreate this setup in Wyoming. I’ll need to dig into the old pack’s coffers but—”
“Do whatever it takes,” Owen interrupted firmly. “Let this be our families’ legacy. If you want, set some money aside for me in a retirement fund. Not too much though. My needs are simple and I’ve got a good job I love doing.” He grinned crookedly. “Who knows? Maybe someday I’ll get lucky like you and find a pack I fit into as an adult wolf.” He grew serious as he started shutting up the drawers. “Keep this business alive and keep you and Ryan provided for. His father was a good man. So was yours. I’ll come visit you when the Wyoming nursery is up and running. Maybe we’ll feel like talking about them. My mom too.”
Epilogue
Three Years Later
Fina Whitesage-Powell entered through the back door of her home, swiped the dirt off her overalls and toed off her steel-toed boots. She ran the back of her hand across her forehead, wiping off the well-earned sweat and dirt from a good day’s work and walked into the kitchen.
“Hey, Mary. What’s for supper?” Her nose twitched and she lifted a lid off a pot, inhaling expectantly.
She was rewarded with a light slap on her hand.
“Chicken,
” their feisty, sixty-something housekeeper-slash-cook snapped as she replaced the lid. “About time you got home too.” She stuck out her cheek and tapped it with her forefinger. Fina kissed her obediently and affectionately then turned on the tap to wash her hands. “It might very well be warm outside today, young lady, but that spring wind has turned your face red.”
“My men like my face when it’s red,” Fina shot back. “And speaking of men, is Nath home?”
“Hey, sweetheart.” He walked into the kitchen, right on cue, wrapped his arms around Fina’s shoulders, leaned into her back and kissed her neck. “Hmm. You taste sweaty.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere.” She dried off her hands and pulled two small, square, brass plaques out of her breast pocket. “The samples arrived today. Tell me which one you like and I’ll get them engraved.”
The front door opened. Fina’s wolf ears picked up the sound of Cutler’s boots thudding on the floor then the sound of him opening then closing the gun lock-box inside the hall closet. His firm footfalls preceded him into the kitchen. “Hey, honey.” He kissed his wife with a resounding, wet, smacking sound. “Are those the plaques?” He pulled one out of Nath’s hand. “Tell me again why you need them?”
Fina rolled her neck from side to side and stretched her back. “The plaques will be mounted on rocks that will be set beside each of the specimen trees I’ve planted around Nath’s base camp. They’ll describe the plants, give the year they were planted in and the country they originated in.”
“Hmm. Sounds good...something you tree huggers will get off on.” He handed the plaque back to his brother, dug an elbow into Nath’s ribs and leapt away nimbly when Nath tried to cuff him one.
“Anyway,” Fina sighed loudly, cutting off their jousting before it got out of hand. “The greenhouse there is fully stocked and I’ve got a healthy ecosystem going. We’ll be ready for our first customers next week. Nath was right.” She grinned up at Cutler. “Housing our retail site there is a perfect tie-in to his eco-tourism business. Plus, I like having a secondary nursery location in case something catastrophic happens to the main nursery.”
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