by May Sage
Three years later, it was the mayor who’d approached Ace, asking if she could use an employee when Clarissa had come back to town. Ace, who was pulling fifteen hour shifts between baking, serving customers and delivering orders, jumped on it and hadn’t had any reasons to regret it since.
“Sure, take as much time as you need,” the ever enthusiastic, ever smiling woman replied.
She thanked her and headed to her kitchen, following her nose.
Suddenly, a hand closed over her lips and a pair of strong arms pulled her in a dark corner of her shop. A smile playing on her lips. In other circumstances, she might already have drop kicked her attacker. As soon as they were locked in a cupboard, her kidnapper’s arms went around her waist, engulfing her in a bear hug. She let him.
Ace wasn’t touchy-feely but she was a shifter - a cat shifter. That kind of contact was a balm to her soul when it came from the right person. Daunte Cross was one of the few people whose touch she accepted.
He chuckled, his annoyingly huge chest moving against her cheek. As much as she’d like to pretend otherwise, he was all man now.
“Hey sis,” he whispered.
He liked to call her that in private; because she didn’t let him say it in public. Not anymore. She’d shed the name Cross and all its meaning long ago.
She pushed his chest back and glared up - and up, and up. The boy was tall, damn him.
“Did you by any chance lose my number? You know, the one I had you memorize at nine years old?”
Daunte never played fair; he pouted and his big amber eyes went all pleading and cute.
“I can’t do that expression over the phone. You would totally have told me to take a hike.”
The man had a point. Dammit.
She sighed and climbed on top of a shelf, asking, “Okay what’s the deal?”
It really wasn’t her problem; they even had an agreement - whenever they’d met up over the years, they never spoke of the issues they encountered in their lives. Being siblings didn’t give them the right to be in each other’s business.
But he’d changed the rules of the game by turning up; she needed to know what sort of mess he’d brought to her doorstep.
“We don’t know. Our pride was always in danger - from felines who think one of our enforcers is a criminal, although he was acquitted, and from shifters around us, because we’re small and they assume it makes us easy pickings. But that pack… they’ve been on our case for about two, three years, wherever we go. We stayed where we were, and fought them whenever they came to our door, at first, but then, they went after one of our kids - a sixteen year old, while he was at school. He didn’t make it.”
Daunte’s eyes were cold, and for a minute he reminded her of their father.
“We’re strong, Ace. All of us. But we’re ten adults, and there’s seven kids. We have no clue who they are, honestly, but every time they attack us, they completely outnumber us. There’re at least sixty fighters in their packs - I’m sure they have kids who would make them vulnerable too, but we’d never target them anyway.”
She nodded, understanding. But that didn’t change a fact.
“I’m happy here, Daunte. No one bothers me. You know I’ve never turned away any loner who needed to lie low, but an entire pride? That will bring some attention to my territory.”
And it was just that: hers. She’d stuck to the location after killing the Alpha for one simple reason: she had been able to buy the entire forest, its lake, its mountains, and the twelve houses built on it. The pack of wolves who’d lived there before her had just rented; the territory had belonged to an old family who’d been more than happy to sell out to her, because they’d known she wouldn’t pull any shit on them.
Having a pride settled in town might damage the little piece of home she’d managed to carve for herself.
“I know,” Daunte replied, nodding. “But the pride is family, and I do whatever I can to protect my family. If it means begging my big sister for help? So be it.”
She rolled her eyes, but her expression was still guarded.
“What?”
Ace took a few seconds, deciding whether she really wanted to bring up the subject. Then, she gave into what her cat what demanding - what she herself really wanted to know.
“Your Alpha. I need you to tell me about your Alpha.”
Need was a strong word; she needed water, fresh air and cupcakes. Information about a complete stranger shouldn’t have seemed as essential to her - but it was.
The man had made quite the impression on her, and she would feel off balance until she could pinpoint why.
Clueless
They were settled by dusk - Daunte had taken a trip to a nearby store to stock up on supplies they might need, Ian and Jas got the three rooms set up, and most of the others unpacked while Christine took care of the kids.
Kim painted her nails. Then, she watched them dry.
As well as the expected essentials, Daunte came back with a heavy tray containing doughnuts, cupcakes, chocolate cakes and mini pies. Rygan narrowed his eyes, catching something else over the scent of sugar, butter and vanilla. Something woodsy and spicy.
“Your friend Aisling made these?” he guessed, grabbing a miniature apple pie.
Daunte nodded, sharing the goodies around.
Hell. This was a good pie. He peeked into the box his Beta had left on the dining room table, and found a cupcake left in there. Rygan had just grabbed it when he sensed someone looking at him; he turned to find Hsu staring at him with watery eyes, like he’d just kicked his way through an entire litter of puppies.
He sighed and regretfully put the cupcake in her little hands, ruffling her hair, although the kid was nothing short of a damn manipulative cupcake thief.
“Try that in ten years,” he said, his tone warning her.
She giggled and merrily skipped away.
As Daunte was back, and the pack had had a second to relax, Rygan started to get organized.
“Coveney,” he said, calling his Head Enforcer, “Check the perimeter, we need to make sure it’s safe. Let me know if you catch any suspicious scents. Then, come back and start digging up what you can about those wolves.” His proficiency with a computer made him the best person for the job, although it wasn’t the first time they’d looked. They just didn’t have enough information to know where to start. “And Jas,” Rygan stopped himself, feeling uneasy about sending her away so soon after she’d arrived. But he put the safety of his pride before anything else, and Jas was his best tracker. Her upbringing also made her navigate the world with ease, passing for a human if she wanted to. The rest of them never quite shook off their wildness, their otherness.
“I’ll be out there at dawn,” she said before he added anything else, knowing exactly what he’d demand of her. “You want me to locate the members of the wolf pack, set up a false trail, and fish for information.”
Rygan nodded, and breathed a little better now they had an immediate plan of action. He wouldn’t completely relax until they had answers, though. What did those wolves have against them?
On another front, Rygan felt just as frustrated. Since their arrival the previous day, they kept Daunte’s word and stayed out of their elusive host’s way, even though, honestly, it killed him.
They were all curious by nature, but Rygan was also not used to being told no, so dangling a sexy feline shifter wrapped in mystery, and saying that he couldn’t ask questions about her, was the equivalent of waving a humongous flag in front of a bull on steroids.
Daunte stayed mostly silent although, and despite his little speech, the questions poured from every side, some more obvious than others. He only revealed what must have been common knowledge - impersonal facts. They knew Aisling was a loner, they knew she’d lived in this home for three years, and that they were allowed to borrow her milk if they replaced it; but he said nothing when they asked where she came from, which pride she used to belong to - even her last name wasn’t something he w
as willing to divulge.
Dick.
“This place is freaking awesome,” Ian told them, coming back from a run. “And it looks made for a pride - or a pack. This house might be the first one anyone traveling through the forest by car will come across, but there are others, further into the woods.”
The annoying Beta nodded, “That’s right. There was a pack of wolves settled here, before. They were bad news and the humans in the nearby town were pretty worried. Ace took over; she gets along pretty well with the towners. Owns her bakery there and all.”
Rygan openly snorted at that, making everyone look at him with a questioning expression; probably because he wasn’t the kind of man who snorted. Ever. He just said what he had in mind, and moved on, preferring to keep things simple, straightforward.
What the hell was wrong with him?
“What?”
“You’re saying that a lone female singlehandedly took on a pack of wolves?”
“I never said she did it by herself - Aisling has plenty of contacts, and she could have called them,” Daunte replied, rolling his eyes. “But in this case, she didn’t need them. She challenged the Alpha and got it over with.”
Another snort.
Yes. He was being an asshole. He was questioning what he’d seen with his own eyes the previous night: Aisling had taken Daunte without any issue and Rygan knew his Beta was more dominant, and better trained that most Alphas. But asking questions hadn’t worked and Rygan wasn’t beyond fishing for information instead.
“An Alpha wolf, really? She’s a tiny thing. You went easy on her yesterday, didn’t you?”
He knew Daunte hadn’t, but predictably, he narrowed his eyes and grew defensive.
“Going easy on Ace is nothing short of suicide. Forget whatever you think you know about females. She’s stronger than me, more cunning than Coveney, faster than you…and not very fond of being insulted. You might want to prevent yourself from doing so in her house.”
Rygan flipped Daunte off, before taking a seat on one of the sofas; immediately, the little girl playing on the floor, their youngest, grabbed her toy and climbed on his lap.
“Hey Lola Bear,” he said, some of his dreadful humor disappearing as the kitten beamed at him.
Try as the others might, he remained that girl’s favorite, which meant she’d probably grow up to either be extremely dominant, or extremely submissive.
They’d found her on their doorstep one day, without so much as a letter of explanation. The kid had just been a few days old at the time. Rygan guessed someone had heard that his pride took on kids, and chosen to give them the newborn. Probably a lone female, or someone in danger. They could smell that she was a feline shifter, but at her age, it was hard to tell which kind. They wouldn’t know for sure until she shifted, probably at puberty. It didn’t matter; various members of the prides were of different breeds - one of them wasn’t a shifter at all - but they all claimed each other. Lola was theirs now, just like Hsu, Jasper, Clive, Victoria, Daniel, Will and Niamh. Some thought having so many kids made their pride weak; and in a way, they were right. They were vulnerable. But there was also strength in having something to fight for.
“Did you have fun in the plane?”
She proceeded to babble about her journey, using actual words mixed with gibberish, but entertaining as the child was, his attention was soon diverted.
He felt like someone watched him, and lifting his gaze, it landed on one of the elegant cat trees fixed on the walls.
After their arrival, the animals they’d met the first day had all gone out of doors, preferring to stay in the backyard or the nearby trees, but, calmly lounging on top of the highest piece of furniture, there was one cat left.
Rygan smiled. He didn’t often do so, but right now, he couldn’t help it. The animal was endearing, curled up on its back, stretching languorously. It was one of the fancy pets humans had bred to entertain themselves; something wild mixed with a domestic race.
“Is that a Bengal?” he asked Ian.
Cat shifters knew most breed of wild cats out there, but they didn’t usually have a keen interest in domestic cats; Ian, however, was the annoying know it all of their group, and as such, he’d probably know.
The guy shook his head. “Definitely not, no. He’s spotted, not marble. The markings make him look a little like a Savannah,” he said, “He’s bigger than a Bengal, but he’s light, too. Honestly, I’m not sure. See the ears, the nose? He looks like a margay if you just concentrate on the face. I’d say, it’s a mix. Beautiful, though.”
Everyone stared at the pretty thing who was seemingly ignoring them from his perchoire, making a show of cleaning his claws, and Daunte laughed, correcting Ian.
“She. That’s a she.”
“Was she also there when you last visited?” Christine asked.
He wasn’t the only one fishing for pieces of information.
“Oh yeah. That gal isn’t leaving anytime soon.”
“Do you know what breed she is, then?”
“Half savannah, a bit of panther, and something else. Not sure what.”
“Aisling bought her, then?”
Daunte tensed. “Can we agree not to ask about Ace again? Please.”
“You can’t blame us,” Ola told him. “We’re in her house, it’s nice, and we’re discovering things we aren’t used to. You’re basically asking us to ignore all that- that’s against our nature.”
“No, I’m asking you to respect our host’s privacy, and I’m asking you to stop hounding me.”
On this note, Daunte got up, stretching.
“Right, I’m going to take a bath now so I can crash right after patrolling the perimeter later. We have a long day tomorrow.”
He was avoiding the pride; everyone knew it. Rygan felt guilty that their curiosity had made the Beta feel like he couldn’t chill with the rest of them. Just not guilty enough to stop fishing.
He stopped the man from leaving, though, calling him back.
“Daunte?”
The Beta didn’t ignore him, but he didn’t turn his heels either.
“Thank you. We’re not showing it right now, but we’re all grateful to you, and your friend Ace. You’re saving our skin. We know it.” But because he was nothing if not sincere, he added, “However, I’m not done hounding you.”
Luck
Rygan and Coveney sat down behind the hacker’s laptop and researched rental properties in Lakesides, Oregon, expecting a big fat nothing. Their requirements were rarely met - to be comfortable, the pride needed a ten bedroom, minimum, and they also preferred homes that were fenced in. A decent territory to run around wouldn’t hurt either.
As per usual, there was zero results matching their exact criteria, but before Coveney clicked away to broaden their search, Rygan stopped him, “Wait a second, what’s that?”
He pointed towards an ad underneath their non-existent search results.
The main picture showed a modern home - one of those weirdly shaped buildings that seem to have been made of wooden square boxes, with large windows; Coveney clicked on it and they scrolled through pictures of elegant stairs without banisters, antique chandeliers fitted around modern lighting, plush rugs and marble countertops. The house was made to impress; the kind of things an actor might have bought.
“Fifteen rooms. There’s a large garden and fences all around. It says it’s just outside of town.”
Clicking on the map to locate the property, Rygan felt a smile playing on his lip.
Oh dear. The pretty kitty wasn’t going to like that; not one bit.
“It’s just outside the forest, right?”
Rygan nodded.
“If Aisling doesn’t mind, we can ask to run in her territory.” Running was essential for to animal’s wellbeing. “We can offer to patrol for her in exchange, maybe?” Coveney, sounding hopeful, turned to Daunte, who’d just walked in, his hair wet. He was wearing the dark grey clothing he liked to put on when he patrolled at night
.
The Beta joined them and looked at the computer screen.
“Oh, I know that house. It was under construction last year; the mayor made it for his daughter, but she got married and moved away. Ace mentioned she might buy it.”
Well, that complicated things.
“Would she rent it to us? Or let us buy it?”
Daunte grimaced, walking away, phone in hand.
“Hey lady. Look, we saw the house we talked about last time was on the market…” the Beta’s voice faded as he got out, heading the gardens. When he walked back in a few minutes later, he was smiling and nodding.
“We can buy. We can also run in her woods - as long as we stay away from her.”
Rygan narrowed his eyes; it was too easy. Catching his suspicion, Daunte explained, “Ace spent a pretty penny when she moved here, between the land and her business. She would have bought the house, rather than letting it go to just anyone - it’s too close to her territory. But she’s fine with us having it. She trusts me.”
That answer cleared things up, and should have made Rygan happy. It didn’t. It showed too much familiarity between his Beta and the loner he had no business feeling possessive over.
When they announced their find a few hours later, the response wasn’t quite unanimously favorable.
“Oh,” said Ola, her tone curt.
“We were going to rent, but it’s too good an opportunity to pass up. We’ll try to snatch that up.”
Shifters liked to own their territory, but the healer still frowned, concerned.
“I thought we were only welcome here for a week? A house completion will take longer than that.”
Ola, like the majority of his pride, was in a hurry to leave the strange house, so that they could protect the cubs on their own turf, but Daunte didn’t feel the same need.
And nor did Rygan, if he was honest.
Overnight he’d thought about the way Ace had jumped and directly attacked. If she’d wanted, she could have drawn blood. She hadn’t.
