by Afton Locke
He cried out as his leg bones popped. Her scalp stung when she dragged a rough hand through her disheveled hair. Doors slammed. They were out of time. She checked his wound, hoping it hadn’t reverted to critical condition, but it seemed to be holding. His clothes, bloody and worse for wear, were even back on.
As tears streamed down his face, she brushed his grimy, sweaty forehead. “Everything is going to be okay.”
He would live.
Nothing else mattered. Nothing. Not her pack. Not the damn battle with the ranchers anymore.
Nothing!
Guilt cloaked her when she realized it had taken the threat of another loved one’s death for her to realize it. If she ever forgot, all she’d need to do was look at the bloodstains on her white prairie blouse for a reminder. An acorn jabbed her in the knee as she knelt on the ground. She grabbed and squeezed it, needing an anchor.
Two EMTs rushed to their side. “What happened here?”
“He was shot,” Lara said.
“Hey, there’s another one over here,” the second guy said while the first one ripped open Ogden’s shirt to tend his wound.
“He’s the shooter,” she pointed out.
“Looks like this one got attacked by an animal.” He grabbed his radio. “Where’s the sheriff, anyway?”
Lara suppressed a grin, knowing she was the animal, but scrambled to concoct a story for the police. They’d never believe what had really happened, and she didn’t want them to know anyway. Packs kept their shifters secret.
“Ma’am, please hold this compress against his side,” the first EMT instructed. “I need to get more supplies from the truck.”
“Listen,” she whispered in Ogden’s ear once they were in private. “I came here with Tyler. You were jealous and followed.”
“True enough,” he whispered back.
“While we were in the house arguing, a wolf came up in the yard. Brooks wanted to shoot it, but you didn’t let him. So, he shot you. Then the wolf attacked him and ran off.”
Another siren pierced the night, sending more lights streaming across the yard. After the sheriff emerged from his squad car, police questioning and picture taking ensued. Ogden stood, looking refreshed. His wound was still red but sealed over with new flesh. They needed to get away from the authorities and the sooner the better.
“Don’t you want to go to the hospital?” the first EMT asked him.
“Can’t stand no hospitals,” Ogden said in a hick accent. “Jus’ wanna go home and let my woman tend to me.”
The sheriff looked befuddled as he followed with a pad and paper. “Are you sure you don’t want to press charges?”
“Naw.” Ogden shook his head. “I jus’ wanna fergit this night ever happened.”
“Well, let’s get this one to the hospital before he gets a massive infection.” The second EMT pointed to Tyler who lay on a stretcher. “Maybe a surgeon can save his hand but I doubt it.”
Finally, the nightmare was over. With her arm around her man, Lara ambled toward his truck. Grimacing, he groped inside the pocket of his jeans and handed her the keys.
“I think you’d better drive.”
She nodded. “I’m taking you home.”
Home. To her surprise, Los Lobos flashed through her mind. She saw herself with Ogden at the mill, peaceful and happy. Her pack—what was left of it—lived nearby, too. Tears spattered her cheeks as she looked up at the starry sky.
Needing her anchor again, she took out the acorn she’d stuffed into her pocket earlier. Damn thing could grow up to be a tree someday—here, if she left it, or in South Dakota, if she took it with her.
Her nose was still sensitive from being in wolf form so recently. She smelled the dirt and the rock and the stillness of vast country. Even the acrid fumes of the hot springs earlier today had activated her childhood memories. Every familiar scent in her mind was now tainted with the copper tang of bloodshed.
Wyoming was beautiful, but it wasn’t her home anymore. Not after tonight.
***
The next morning, Ogden sat in the living room of Lara’s apartment, studying the faces around him. Under the pictures of wolves adorning the walls, people of all ages sat in mismatched chairs, the couch, and even on the floor. Her entire pack was here for a meeting she’d called. She sat in a worn armchair, reminding him of a royal on her throne. As the pack’s last Dominant, she was their queen.
The Tao pack would never fit into this room. Last night, while they lay in bed, Lara had told him the Lamar Canyon Pack had once been even larger than his.
He still couldn’t believe last night’s bizarre events. Jealous one minute, almost dying the next, and finally winding up in bed with her, blew his mind. His bullet wound was so well healed it had nothing more than a small adhesive bandage on it.
She’d taken him here instead of the motel room, which she’d rented for seducing Tyler. They hadn’t spoken a word. Instead, they’d held each other, touching every inch of skin—rubbing and soothing—as if to prove they were both still alive. He’d finally slipped his erection into her warm, welcoming body.
This morning, they’d cooked breakfast together for the pack. With plates balanced in their laps, the shifters devoured the eggs, ham, and flapjacks. Lara closed her eyes and took a sip of steaming coffee as if fortifying herself for her speech.
“I gathered you together to meet my mate, Ogden Woods.”
“He’s not one of us,” a young man with black braids said.
“He’s from a pack in South Dakota, but he shares our blood.”
The man nodded in approval and bit into a chunk of ham.
“Welcome, Ogden,” a gray-haired man said, inclining his head toward him. “Our pack is your pack.”
“Thank you,” he replied. “It’s an honor.”
A woman with hair as dark as Lara’s, without the red streak, clasped her hands. “Is he going to help you save us?”
Ogden shot Lara a questioning glance. She might have discussed the issue with him before calling this meeting. They should have done more talking than lovemaking last night, but they were both too emotionally shattered.
Besides, he didn’t have loads of time to while away here in Wyoming. Thank goodness he was still able to work. The pile of orders waiting for him at home beckoned. With luck, they could take off by noon and arrive tonight. He missed Los Lobos with an ache, which hurt worse than the gunshot.
He hoped she wouldn’t ask him to choose between South Dakota and her. As much as he loved her, he wasn’t sure he could leave it.
“The second thing I wanted to discuss with all of you….” Lara blotted her mouth with a napkin. “I-I went after Tyler Brooks last night.”
The room buzzed with conversation. Some muttered they’d heard the news on their police scanners.
“I took his trigger hand but left him his life.”
“You should have killed him,” the one with the braids said.
“Ogden almost died and I could have, too.” Lara set her mug down with a thump. “The killing must stop before our pack is obliterated.”
“Then you’re giving up the fight.” The older man said it with quiet resignation.
Her declaration filled the room with conversation again. When she held up her hand, tears streamed down her face. Her gray eyes reminded Ogden of an endless rainy day.
“This…is…not a decision I took lightly.”
The lilt in her voice was stronger than ever. When she bowed her head to wrestle with her emotions, Ogden yearned to take her into his arms. Because she was the Dominant, he was sure she wouldn’t appreciate it, so he clenched his hands together and waited for her to continue.
“No, I’m cutting our losses,” she said quietly. “It became clear to me last night we cannot win this war. Yellowstone is not ours anymore.”
“No!” someone cried from across the room. “This is our home.”
“I used to think home was land.” She touched the red streak in her hair. “It’s not. H
ome is the people you’re with.”
Everyone stopped eating, dropping forks and pushing plates away. Apparently, Lara’s new definition of home wasn’t easy to stomach.
“You may stay if you wish, at your own risk,” she continued, “but I’m going to put my energy into finding new lands for us.”
“Maybe South Dakota,” Ogden blurted. The pack members looked so distraught he couldn’t keep silent any longer.
Lara nodded. “Luckily, Yellowstone is a park and a safe zone. We can visit whenever we wish. Feel the homeland under our paws.”
“We could make a ritual out of it!” someone suggested.
“What a wonderful idea.” A brief smile flashed across his mate’s face. “And we won’t stop fighting. We’ll just do it differently. Convince the ranchers to try alternate methods of protecting their livestock. Work with the lawmakers.”
“I don’t mean to disrespect you,” Braids said, “but what if we don’t want to do it your way?”
“I won’t stop you.” She fixed him with a somber, gray stare. “The threat of your own death will be punishment enough. Anyone who stays here must do so peaceably.”
So much silence filled the room Ogden squirmed with discomfort. He forked some scrambled eggs into his mouth.
“Eat up, everyone. Don’t let this good food go to waste.”
“Thank you for coming,” Lara concluded. “I’ll be in touch when I find new land.”
By the time everyone finished eating and left, Ogden had polished off his plate but hadn’t tasted much of it. Where would he find the courage to tell Drew he was back and, by the way, fifty odd members of a strange pack wanted to move in? Well, mostly everyone except Braids.
They’d need houses, too. Los Lobos already had too many homeless people living in tents and RVs as they waited for more homes to be built. He would have to clone himself ten times to keep up with the extra lumber orders.
So, why did he have a grin on his face? Because he loved the woman sitting in the raggedy, old throne of a chair. Even though the thought of facing down Drew Tao nearly made his bowels unhinge, he’d do anything for her.
“We’d better gather up these dishes.” She gripped the arms of the chair to get up.
He clapped his hand over one of hers first. “You’re doing the right thing. And I’m glad you didn’t kill Brooks.”
“Really?”
“The woman I love is above cold-blooded revenge killing.” He studied the tabletop picture frame on the coffee table, which showed her mother in both human and wolf forms. “I never knew your mother, but I’m sure she would be proud.”
She put her other hand over his until four hands lay on the chair arm, one stacked upon the other.
“I think you’re right,” she whispered.
“You’re a true leader now because you know when not to fight. Sometimes holding back takes the most courage of all.”
“I should have discussed Los Lobos with you beforehand instead of winging the speech.”
“No need.” He squeezed the hand under his. “I suggested the same solution earlier.”
They released their hands and stood, stretching. His bones still ached from last night’s multiple shifts.
Her lips quirked. “I’m afraid I don’t have a dishwasher.”
“After what we went through last night, I think we can handle it. You wash. I’ll dry.”
By the time they finished, he hoped to have come up with a plan for negotiating with Drew. One battle may have ended, but he feared a new one was about to begin.
***
The next day, Lara sat next to Ogden at the conference table in the unfinished hall. She was glad not to be in the hot seat this time. Instead, she took in the scents of new wood and fresh paint. When they’d arrived in Los Lobos last night, he called Drew to request a council meeting.
He’d lain in bed last night with his stomach gurgling from anxiety. She hadn’t even been able to distract him by offering sex.
“What if they throw me out of the pack?” he’d asked more than once.
“Then you plan to tell them your secret?”
“If I request to invite your pack here, I have to.” He’d growled then, in a very sexy way. “Besides, it’s about time I became a man around here.”
Drew limped to the head of the table and sat down. Hope flickered in Lara’s breast. He looked like a regular guy, not the snarling, wild-haired Alpha she’d pictured.
He shook her hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Lara. Ryker informed me of your arrival, of course.”
“I’m honored to finally meet you, too,” she replied.
After turning to Ogden, Drew asked, “All right, Woods. What’s on your mind?”
“I thought of an alternate molding style for this hall while I was in Wyoming.” He pulled a napkin from his tan shirt pocket and scooted it toward Drew on the tabletop. “The fang motif is simple but elegant. Cheaper and quicker, too. What do you think?”
Drew’s brows knit into a frown. “You called a council meeting to discuss molding?”
Ogden sighed. “No, I didn’t. Lara is my mate.”
“We could have celebrated your relationship at the bar over beer.” The leader looked at his watch. “Anything else?”
“Yes, sir,” her mate replied. “I’m not an Omega.”
Drew’s jaw dropped. “Well, now we’re getting somewhere. Explain yourself.”
Ogden crumpled the napkin in his fingers. “I’ve been a Dominant all along.”
The other Dominants looked at each other and then at him with appraising glances.
“We should have met at Gee’s Bar after all,” one muttered. “We need beer to figure this out.”
“Why did you hide it all this time?” Drew demanded.
Ogden’s shoulders bowed as he deferred to his Alpha. “Maybe things will make more sense when I make my request.”
“Request?” the other man asked, looking at his watch again.
“Human violence in Yellowstone has dispossessed the Lamar Canyon Pack, my mate’s people. The remaining members need a home.”
“Here?” Drew leaned his chair back, looking much more relaxed than she expected based on Ogden’s fear of him.
Lara put her hand over Ogden’s as it lay on the table. With her eyes, she offered to speak for him, but it would be a last resort. He needed to make this stand on his own.
“Yes, here, if you see fit,” Ogden said with a surprisingly steady voice. “Fewer than fifty of them would come.”
“And you make the request because they’re your mate’s people?”
Ogden was silent. Lara realized this was his way out. If he agreed with Drew, he wouldn’t have to reveal his family secret.
“They’re my people, too.” The words, strong as the lumber he sawed, echoed against the bare walls in his deep, resonant voice. “Through the blood of my father. My real father.”
Drew’s brows knit together again. “Then your mother cheated on her mate, the man who raised you.”
“Yes, sir.” Ogden bowed his head as if expecting a lash to descend on him.
The Dominants flew into an uproar, scooting back chairs and nearly upsetting the table.
One glared at him. “So this half-breed has been skulking around in our pack, lying to us the whole time he’s licked our boots.”
Lara’s red streak prickled with anger. She might not agree with what Ogden had done, but she understood his reasons. Clamping her lips together, she forced herself to keep silent. He was shamed enough right now.
A second Dominant folded his arms. “If he stays, he’ll breed more cheating, lying spawn.”
“And we’re supposed to hand over our land to another pack?” the first one added. “I don’t think so.”
Drew stood and raised a hand. “Enough.”
“I deserve your scorn,” Ogden said. “I hid the truth because Los Lobos is my home, and I was afraid of losing it. You’re right. My honor is more important than a house and land.”
“You lived in fear all this time for nothing.” Drew glanced at everyone around the table. “If this pack is going to survive, we need to be open with each other at all times.”
“Understood,” Ogden replied. “I’ll do any penance you think I deserve.”
“I need to think this over,” Drew said. “We’ll reconvene tonight behind this building, under the moon.”
Shivers of excitement and foreboding coursed through Lara at the same time. So, their next meeting would be in Wolf form. As they left the table, Drew looked Ogden in the eye.
“You proved you were a man today. Let’s see what kind of Wolf you are tonight.”
Remembering her mate’s tortured half-shifts, her hopes died inside her like a squelched flame. What Drew asked of him was the very thing he could not deliver.
Chapter Seven
When Ogden got home, his limbs trembled from fatigue and the shock of finally confessing his family secret. He didn’t even stop at the mill. In his mental state, he was in no shape to operate a dangerous saw.
Instead, he parked in front of his cabin, turned off the engine and leaned his forehead on the steering wheel.
Lara touched his shoulder. “Let’s go inside.”
“Why bother,” he muttered. “It won’t be mine much longer.”
“Look at me.” Her hands, surprisingly gentle, caressed his jaw. “I’m so proud of you for standing up for yourself.”
He nodded. “It might have cost me everything.”
“Not necessarily.”
At least he had the town’s need for his woodworking skills going for him.
“I’m supposed to be a perfect Wolf tonight.” He rubbed the lower half of his face. “How in the hell am I going to pull it off?”
“With practice, and we’ve got all afternoon.” Her gray eyes brightened with an inner light. “Come on.”
She got out of the truck, and he finally did, too. His legs were so numb he had to grab the hood for support. Facing the cabin, his gaze traveled over the log beams he’d placed by hand. How foolish—complacent even—to get attached to things, just to have them ripped away one day. Maybe it was better not to have them in the first place.
