“They’ll still be there later.” He pulled back. “Let’s go to bed, forget about the world and everyone in it for a couple of hours.”
“You mean forget about Frasier? I can’t believe he was so bad, and now he wants to take over again.”
“We need everyone to stand with us. It’s the only way we are going to beat him.”
“The bikers, will they be a problem?” she asked.
“I don’t know them, but from what Kira said, they have been put in their place since she took over as sheriff. They forget she has had first-hand experience of what has been going on here while Frasier was in charge. She knows exactly who has been causing trouble and how to deal with them.”
“And Frasier has welcomed them to his cause with open arms.”
“Yes. Kira said they weren’t too bad until their old president left. She shacked up with a biker from Bear Creek. She was holding them together, keeping them from making any real trouble. Small-time stuff, you know. But now…”
“I can’t understand why people behave like that. Why hurt others?”
He stopped in front of her, turning around to face her, holding one of her hands in each of his. “Listen, I haven’t been completely honest about myself.”
Her heart jolted to a stop. There was more? She had come to terms with him being the son of her father’s old beta. But if he had been keeping more from her, would she ever trust him? “Please just tell me.”
He shook his head. “You have to remember that my brothers and Bliss were brought up by my dad. He lived in this bitter and twisted drink-fuelled world where he had been wronged by your father. I mean, really wronged. And that the town had conspired against him.”
“They didn’t. I know my father regretted sending your family away. He used to sit and look at this house. It saddened him, but he did what he thought was right. It broke his heart.”
“That is good to hear. I want to lay the ghosts of the past to rest. But I can’t until I’ve told you everything.”
She reached up and stroked his cheek, then stood on tiptoe to kiss him softly. “I’m listening.”
“When he died, he was so consumed with rage, and anger. It was hard for us not to be caught up in it. Especially when we all blamed their exile on my mom’s death. Sol was a reminder of that every day. She died giving birth to him; my dad said she died because of the exile. That it broke her heart to leave everything and everyone she loved. And we believed him.”
“I’m so sorry, Riley.”
He looked at her, his eyes filled with love, but he was also unsure. “I know now that my dad was the one who broke her heart. But when he died, we had no idea. So when he asked us to seek revenge, we agreed. All of us made a blood oath to come to Wolf Valley and avenge him.”
This was more shocking than anything else she had heard today. “A blood oath?” Was he still caught up in that? Did he intend to hurt her, now they were alone in the middle of nowhere? There was no one to hear her cry out. But they were mated; he couldn’t hurt her. Or was the blood oath stronger than the mating bond?
He saw her fear and put an end to it. “No. I could never hurt you. And anyway, Bliss found a way to break it.” He hesitated. “But not before we did some bad things. We stole and damaged property. We hurt people, Natalie. I am not proud of it, and we are trying to make amends, but the past cannot be changed.”
“But it can be forgotten. And it will not shape our future.” She kissed him, taking his hand and saying, “Take me to bed, Riley. For now, it’s just us alone here. That’s all that matters.”
“I hope we don’t break my bed,” he said, leading her to his bedroom. Maybe he had a right to be worried—it wasn’t exactly sturdy.
“You know, what? I kind of hope we do. Then when we move my stuff in here, we can replace it.” His fingers began to work their magic on her body, trailing down over her breasts, lingering in just the right places.
“You mean you will live here with me?” He kissed her, his hands stroking her bottom, pulling her tightly to him so she could feel the press of his hardness against her stomach, Damn, how she wanted to see his incredible body naked again, she was already addicted to him.
“I have been thinking that my father would want me to help rebuild Wolf Valley, and that maybe we could open a bakery.”
He burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” she asked, her fingers going to the hem of his T-shirt and lifting it up over his chest, and then up over his arms, although she needed some help.
“Me. In a bakery.” He saw her irritated look and then added, “Unless I can get someone to look after Sol, you will not have any cakes left. And if I am serving customers, you might not have any of those either. The blame for all of this bad behaviour has been put squarely on my shoulders.”
“Why?” she asked, her voice turning sympathetic.
“Because Bliss married Hugo, who is a good man. Salt of the earth type. And Cole became the deputy. Now, if anyone has done a one-eighty and become the good guy, it’s him.”
“Well. Let’s see what they think when you are seen with the old alpha’s daughter. They haven’t seen me around for so long, they might be impressed that you tempted me back.”
“I think you are the tempting one, sweetheart.” With that, he nearly ripped her shirt off, his fingers undoing her bra and then flinging it aside. “You won’t be needing that anytime soon, I want you naked in my bed for the night. I intend to make love to you in every position I can think of.”
“Show me.”
She saw his eyes glint amber as his wolf surfaced. A moment later, Riley had him back under control. Or as controlled as he was going to be when his mate was half naked in front of him.
However, he wanted her to be fully naked. Deftly undoing her pants, he slipped them off, letting them pool on the floor before helping her step out of them. Then he eased her down onto the bed, spreading her thighs with his hands. Holding her breath, she did as he asked, craning her neck forward to watch him.
With one finger, he pushed inside her sex, in and out, deeper and deeper, her arousal increasing with each stroke against her inner walls. Leaning forward, he kissed her clit, maintaining the rhythm of his fingers, her climax rapidly approaching. She wanted to hold on, enjoy his touch for eternity, but when his tongue flicked out over her clit, her world exploded.
Riley sucked her clit, nipping it with is teeth until she whimpered out a second release, or was it the same one, endless and intense. Lying back on the bed, trying to catch her breath and her senses, she watched as he stood and stripped off his clothes, staring in wonder at this man who was hers.
Who would have guessed they would have found each other and learned to bury the past so they could enjoy their future? As she watched him climb on the bed next to her, she felt a surge of love, and also regret that he wasn’t the alpha of Wolf Valley, and could not redeem his family. If it were her choice, she would give that to him. As it was, they would fight side by side with the other residents of Wolf Valley to win back their right to a peaceful life.
“Kneel for me,” he said, lifting her and helping her turn so she knelt on all fours in front of him. This was a primal mating: his wolf so close to the surface, calling to her wolf. But this was not the time for wolves, this was the time for the man that was Riley to mate with his woman.
Placing his hands on her hips, he held her steady, her breathing becoming ragged as her anticipation gave way to longing. Riley moved forward, his cock entering her, one slick thrust forward to fill her completely. She pressed her face into the pillow, letting it drown out her cry. Not of pain, but of intense pleasure as he impaled her; then he pulled out, only to lunge into her again and again.
A slow, steady rhythm grew, in and out, empty and full, thrusting deeper. Leaning over her, he kissed her back, his mouth travelling along her spine one vertebrae at a time. She shuddered, her nerve endings on fire as he took her higher and higher, chasing the stars until they exploded. Her orgasm hit
first and his soon followed, his cock buried deep inside her, spurting his essence into her, making their child. A child who would complete the healing process of the families of the alpha and beta of Wolf Valley.
Chapter Seventeen - Riley
When he woke this morning, he didn’t have to think where he was. He was in bed, with his mate by his side. Stretching, he smiled at the thought of how they had spent the night, making love until they were both exhausted. Kissing her shoulder, he tried not to wake her as he got up and went to make breakfast. He could rustle up some bacon and eggs, and there was still some fresh bread from the batch Bliss had brought with her yesterday. He couldn’t get over how domesticated and happy his sister was.
As he put the bacon on to cook, he whistled a happy tune. He was happy. For the first time in ages, he didn’t have a care for what the day brought them. They could spend it together, eating, running as wolves, and then making love under the brilliant blue sky.
“Morning,” Natalie said, coming in and putting her arms around him.
“Morning, beautiful. I was going to let you sleep.” He turned to kiss her, loving her bed hair, all tousled and sexy.
“I smelt food. I’m starving. Anyway this was a lie-in for me, I’m usually up before it’s light.” She went to the window and looked out. “It’s a wonderful day.”
He came over and handed her coffee. “All the better for having you here with me.” He kissed her neck, breathing in the warm smell of her body; then his eyes caught the rising smoke on the horizon. He froze.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“That smoke.” He pointed and then pulled back from her, heading outside to take a better look.
“Isn’t it just some bonfire?” she asked, coming to stand by him.
He shook his head. “I don’t know. It’s coming from Fara’s way.”
“That’s bad?” she asked.
“She has been attacked twice before, once by us, and then by two guys who used to run with us.” He went back inside, saying, “I need to go and see if she’s OK.”
Natalie nodded. “Of course.”
“You stay here and eat. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He headed to the bedroom to dress, but she was close behind him.
“Oh no. We’re in this together. I’m coming too.”
He looked down at his woman who was chasing her clothes round the room, hunting down her bra and shirt. Quick as she could she was dressed, and back in the kitchen placing the bacon between thick slices of bread and handing him a sandwich.
“Keep your strength up.” She kissed him and then headed for the truck while he was still trying to get his boots on.
The engine fired into life and he pressed his foot down hard, sending small stones flying as he sped out onto the road, turning sharply to head towards Fara’s place. The closer they got, the more sure he was that someone had set her barn on fire. All her hay would have gone up with it—no wonder there was so much smoke. Damn it!
As they came around the last bend, he could see the smoke clearer: luckily, it wasn’t flaming. There was still time to save the building. “Here.” He thrust his phone at her. “There should be enough signal to get through to Cole. Get him to send someone out here.”
She took the phone from him and put it to her ear. Then she spoke. “Hi Cole, this is Natalie. Someone has set Fara’s barn on fire. We’re on our way now, but we need a fire crew.”
She was silent, listening to what Cole was saying. His attention switched back to the scene in front of him. Where was Fara? Had they hurt her? Or worse. Then he thought of Sol: what if he had come here, run off, and been here when this happened. Was happening.
Figures were moving in front of the house, men, turning to wolves and then disappearing off over the fields. Riley stopped the truck, flinging the door open, and his wolf came to him before his feet even touched the ground. Four paws propelled him forward across the grass as he gave chase.
Behind him he heard Natalie call him, but he didn’t stop; he was going to chase the bastards down and put an end to this. But she called him again, the urgency in her voice making him turn. She was kneeling down, looking at something on the ground, and with a cold sense of dread, he knew it was the old woman. Fara.
Sliding to a halt, he gave one last look at the two wolves running away and knew instantly who they were. This was Lance and Jed’s work and he would make them pay, with tooth and claw. They would pay for what they had done.
Running back towards the house, he didn’t want to look at Fara, didn’t want to see her still, lifeless body. Natalie was there, her body covering Fara’s giving her CPR. His heart yanked up into his throat as he saw her trying to save Fara, Fara who had forgiven Cole, who had given her love to Sol.
Sol. The puppies. His wolf swung back once more and headed for the smoking barn, trying to see how he could get in. Remembering where the tools had been left, he changed back into a man, grabbing an axe, and began to break a hole in the side of the barn. If he had worked it out correctly, he should be just to the left of the pups.
One, two, three blows rained down on the new wood and then he was through. Tearing it apart with his hands, he made the hole big enough to break in, the smoke now choking his lungs. Looking around he could hardly see, but the sound of whimpering drew him. There.
Mom first. He pulled her out, and then took the six pups up in his arms and placed them outside the barn, glad to see them all moving. Sticking his head back inside, he checked what else was in there, but it was just the hay. Or some of it. Because he hadn’t been back for a few days, no more had been moved. If the barn did go up completely, she hadn’t lost the whole of her winter feed supply.
If she lived.
Chapter Eighteen - Natalie
She was not going to cry. That wouldn’t do any of them any good. She just had to concentrate on saving the woman on the floor in front of her, whose heart had stopped beating.
Natalie remembered Fara like something from a forgotten dream. This woman had been around a lot when she was growing up. A friend of her mother’s, but time had not been kind and she looked so old. Then Natalie reminded herself that her mom and dad had been old, that they had been too old really to have a child.
She pumped her hands over the old woman’s chest, hoping she wouldn’t break her ribs, but she had to risk it; if she didn’t start Fara's heart, it wouldn’t matter how many ribs Fara had broken. Nothing would matter, because she would be gone from this world.
“How is she?” Riley ran to kneel by her, his face blackened, his hands bleeding.
“Not good.” She breathed into Fara’s mouth, trying to get her lungs moving. Nothing. Pulling back she shouted in frustration, “Damn it Fara, breathe.”
And then, so suddenly Natalie fell back with shock, the frail body beneath her coughed.
“You did it,” Riley said, his hands going around Fara, helping her to sit up. “Welcome back, Fara, I knew you couldn’t die. I haven’t finished the work here yet and I know you hate any slacking.”
Fara’s watery eyes tried to focus on his face, but then the smoke drew her attention. “My barn.”
“We can fix it. Don’t worry.”
“The pups, what about Yello?” Her voice shattered.
“I got them out. I know how much they mean to you and …Sol.” Riley looked around frantically. “He wasn’t here, was he?”
“No.” Fara shook her head. “He was with Bliss last night. Thank goodness.”
“Where did they hurt you?” Riley asked, his body tensing with rage.
“Hit me on the head. Now I know how Cole felt.” She looked around. “They took my gun.”
“Didn’t see it on them when they ran.”
“Frasier had it. He was here first, and then he left in his truck. The other two, the mangy one and the other, they stayed and set the barn on fire.”
“We must have missed him,” Natalie said, looking up as the sound of sirens wailing hit them. “Fire crew.”
&n
bsp; “They should get it under control. And we should get you to town. You need a doctor.” Riley scooped the old woman up in his arms and carried her to the truck. Natalie opened the passenger door and helped get Fara settled. But as Riley was about to buckle up the seatbelt, her old haggard hand closed around his.
“Riley, I think they’re heading for town. We need to go and warn Kira.”
“They wouldn’t dare,” Riley said, but when his eyes met Natalie’s, they were filled with fear.
“Man’s desperate. Probably knew the fire would draw attention. Then he’ll move in and retake Wolf Valley—those bikers have his back.” Fara’s hands showed white where they gripped Riley’s, and her words were enough to galvanise him to action.
“I hope you like fast rides, old lady.” Riley ran around to the driver’s side, and pulled open the door. As soon as the fire crew arrived, and began dousing the flames, Riley drove off, speeding away from Fara’s house and heading for Wolf Valley.
Natalie took Riley’s phone out and dialled Cole’s number. “No answer.”
“Try Kira. If you can’t get hold of her, then call Hugo. The numbers are listed. Hell, even if you get hold of Kira, I think we need to get Hugo and whoever else we can muster into town.”
“Kira. Hey, it’s Natalie. You heard about Fara’s place? We think it’s some kind of plan. A setup.”
“What do you mean?” Kira asked. And Natalie gave her a brief explanation, but before she had finished, a shot rang out in the background and Kira said, “I have to go.”
“What?” Riley asked, seeing her stricken face.
“There was a gunshot. Kira rang off.” Her hands were shaking so badly, she struggled to keep hold of the phone.
“Natalie. Natalie, honey, you have to get it together and call Hugo. Then try Cole again.”
She nodded, taking one, two deep breaths before she could keep her hands steady enough to press the numbers. “Hi, Hugo.”
As she explained to Hugo what was happening, Riley slowed down. Coming towards them was Cole. When his brother drew alongside, Riley told him what was happening. Cole shouted a dozen expletives while he hauled his car around and headed back to town. If anything happened to Kira, there was going to be serious hell to pay in Wolf Valley.
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