Olivia's Mate (Daughters of the Wolf Clan Book 1)

by Maddy Barone

  Her mom’s voice went on, but all Olivia could understand was something about Stockholm syndrome. She didn’t know what that was, but her dad must have, because he grunted.

  “Should have killed that little bastard,” her dad said. “If he comes around here, I’ll fix that.”

  “Do you think he’ll do that?”

  “Naw, not until his leg heals up. And not ever, if he’s smart.”

  Olivia lifted her head from the pillow and strained to hear the conversation. She missed the next minute or so but then her mother’s voice became understandable again.

  “You know how they helped me. Jodi married and moved away, but Dixie is still at the Plane Women’s House. She could counsel Liv, help her deal with the trauma.”

  “You want to send her so far away?” Her dad sounded almost troubled. “Our baby girl?”

  “She’s a grown woman now, one with a troubled mind. You know Des will take care of her. Colby and Matt can escort her to Kearney.”

  “Yeah,” her dad muttered. “If that thieving cat tries to come after her, she’ll be long gone and out of his reach.”

  “And she’ll be getting help that she needs to deal with this.”

  There was a long silence before her dad spoke again. “All right,” he decided. “The day after tomorrow we’ll send her and the boys off to Denver to catch the train east.”

  Olivia plopped back down and rolled over to stare at the ceiling. Her parents were going to send her away? She thought about it for a few minutes. Maybe it would be okay. She would get to see Patia and her other cousins again. And maybe Rob Russell. Making out with him in his dad’s stable didn’t sound all that appealing anymore. Compared to Kit’s lithe, slender body, he was a brutish hulk. How long would her parents want her to stay in Kearney? Probably at least until spring. The train wasn’t always reliable in the winter.

  She rolled over once more and punched the pillow into a more comfortable position under her cheek. Maybe she should take the winter to seriously look for a husband. There were plenty of men in and around Kearney, and if she was staying with Des’ pack, she’d have a better chance of meeting them than if she were staying at the den. Yeah, she decided, she would spend the winter husband hunting. She would forget all about the last few days and start a new life.

  Chapter Eight

  Fourteen Months Later

  Kearney, Nebraska

  Olivia shifted her sewing basket to a more comfortable position on her hip while she waited for Red Wing and Nathan to finish their quick sweep of the Martins’ Trading Post. Behind her were some of the other single women from the Plane Women’s House, but she paused just inside to inhale the spicy scent of the Christmas potpourri Hannah Martin had set in bowls around the store. Olivia loved Christmas. She loved the little conspiracies of making gifts in secret to surprise her family, she loved baking and eating the Christmas goodies, and she loved having everyone she loved gathered all together in one place. Last year had been difficult, because her family hadn’t been with her. It was her first Christmas ever without her family. Her parents and brothers had stayed at the ranch, and although she loved her cousins and friends in Kearney, it hadn’t been the same. But this year everyone was coming to the den to celebrate. Christmas Day was only three weeks off, and her parents would arrive three days before it.

  “Do you mind?” groused her cousin, Victoria, from behind her.

  Victoria took after her parents, Glory and Wolf’s Shadow. She was six feet tall, with a lush, curvy figure that men appreciated. The only reason she wasn’t besieged by suitors was their fear of Uncle Shadow. Even when he was four hundred miles away, the men of Kearney hesitated to do more than admire his daughter from a distance. Poor Vic.

  Poor Vic gave Olivia a poke in the back that made her jump.

  “Oh, sorry.” Olivia stepped further into the store and to the side, to let the other women enter. Red Wing nodded and gave his daughter, Kendra, a sharp look. “You be good today.”

  Seventeen-year-old Kendra sighed. “I’m always good, Dad.”

  He smiled. “I know. Well, have fun sewing. We’ll bring the lunch at noon.”

  Hannah Martin waved to them from behind the counter.

  “Go on back to the workroom, ladies,” she called. “We’ll be getting started in a few minutes.”

  Olivia led Victoria, Kendra, and the other girls through the store to the room in the back that had been made into a workplace where the Lisa & Hannah clothing line was created. Aunt Carla, the Lupa from the den, and her daughter, Patia, were already there, along with Paisley, the daughter of Snake and Mel, and Angela, Quill and Ellie’s daughter. Lisa Madison, her children Emily and Ray, and her young brother-in-law, Marty, were there too. Ray and Marty were both in their twenties, only a year apart in age, and both very handsome. Patia and Ray were standing close together, whispering to each other. Olivia stopped for a moment, wondering how they were getting away with it. She looked around quickly. Neither of Patia’s brothers was here, which explained it. Uncle Taye had –amazingly—given permission for Ray and Patia to court, but normally the boys would have forced them to maintain a chaste distance. Aunt Carla didn’t seem to notice that her daughter and her beau were practically leaning on each other.

  Victoria cleared her throat. “Mart,” she purred, pushing past Olivia to saunter toward the mayor’s younger brother like a wolf stalking prey.

  Marty smiled at her. “Good morning, Miss Victoria. It’s nice to see you again.”

  “Call me Vic,” she invited. “All my friends do.”

  Olivia walked over to a long worktable and put the sewing basket down. Not only was the spicy scent of Christmas potpourri in the air, she reflected, but so was love. For everyone but her. Her earlier happy mood began to slip, and she doggedly grabbed hold of it to keep it from disappearing.

  “Good morning,” said Mrs. Madison with a smile. “Thank you so much for coming to help us out.”

  She smiled back at Mrs. Madison. “Good morning. I’ll do my best to help, but I’m not much of a seamstress.”

  Mrs. Madison, wife of the mayor of Kearney and the Lisa half of Lisa & Hannah Originals, waved that off. “We have so many orders to get out for Christmas that we’re happy to take any help. If you can press a seam or sew on a button, you’ll be a godsend. Even someone to sweep the floor and collect pins will be needed.”

  “I think I can manage that part.”

  Olivia turned to survey the workroom. There were four long tables, each with a sewing machine on one end and a padded pressing surface on the other. Dressmaker dummies in a variety of sizes stood along the walls in various stages of undress. Bolts of fabric leaned drunkenly in corners. It was completely foreign to Olivia. She could rope a calf and slap a brand on it, but sewing was not her forte.

  “Run along now, boys,” Lisa said sternly to her son and brother-in-law. “Marty, your mom needs you at home this morning. Her wood box is getting low. Ray, your dad is expecting you at the stables.”

  “OK, Mom. We’ll be back for lunch,” Ray said agreeably. “We don’t want to miss the food Miz Renee is sending over.”

  Lisa muttered, “Of course not.”

  Marty gave Victoria one last smile. Olivia didn’t think he was quite as handsome as Ray, but she admitted that smile completely made up for it. She waited until the men had left and then gave Victoria a raised brow.

  “How serious are you about him?”

  Victoria smirked like a cat in the cream. “More serious all the time.”

  “Really? Do you think Uncle Shadow will approve?”

  Victoria swung out of her coat and hung it over the back of a chair. “Mom talked him into letting me come to Kearney for the winter to meet men. I’m only doing what I’m supposed to.” She made a face. “Besides, I’m twenty-six years old. How much longer do I need to wait to find a man my dad approves of? Much longer and my girl parts will forget what they’re for.”

  Hannah arrived, and she and Lisa conferred briefl
y before assigning tasks to everyone. Kendra, the youngest of them, was the best at using a sewing machine, since she’d been working for Lisa and Hannah for two years. Olivia manned one of the irons while Victoria and two other cousins, Paisley and Angela, cut pattern pieces out of fabric at the same table.

  Paisley slanted a glance at Victoria. “Are you really interested in Martin Madison? Or just playing?”

  The shears sliced through fabric with a sound between a rasp and a crunch. Victoria arched both brows at her eighteen-year-old cousin. “Why? Did you already stake a claim to him?”

  “No.” Paisley made a face. “He’s too old for me.”

  “Uh-huh. He’s all of what, twenty-six?” Victoria’s lips curved in amusement. “We were born in the same month in the same year. I am two weeks older than he is. I remember meeting him a few times when we were kids. Couldn’t stand him back then. But it’s been fifteen years, and he’s improved considerably.”

  From the table beside theirs, Patia said, “Ray is much better looking. He’s the handsomest man in Kearney.”

  “Ray is good-looking,” Victoria admitted. “And he’s a good guy. But Marty’s the man for me. I don’t know what it is about him, but I really like him. Some people might think he’s Kearney’s representative to the state assembly because he’s a son of the last mayor, and the brother of the current mayor, but he’s a leader. He’s not an Alpha the way Dad is alpha. He’s quieter, gentler in his attitude, but he’s still an Alpha.”

  Olivia laid a half-constructed blouse over her ironing surface, and considered what she knew of Marty Madison. He spent a lot of time in Omaha, so she didn’t know him as well as she knew his nephew, Ray. She thought Victoria was probably right. In his quiet, laid-back way, Marty was an Alpha. She handed the pressed blouse back to Patia and smiled at Victoria. “And he has a killer smile.”

  Victoria winked. “Yep, that smile doesn’t hurt his chances at landing me for a bride.” She looked across the table at Paisley. “So, if it’s not Marty that’s caught your eye, who has?”

  Paisley had a fair complexion that showed her blush clearly. “I like Josh Gray,” she said softly.

  Victoria whistled. “What does Uncle Snake think of that?”

  “He says he likes Josh, but he’s too young to marry anyone yet.”

  Olivia pictured Josh Gray in her mind. He was young, maybe twenty. He worked for his father, Doug Gray, in the power plant south of Kearney. The power generated by the collection of wind turbines, river water wheels, and the sun was what ran the lights, the iron, and the sewing machines in this workshop. It was an important job and guaranteed Josh a good living.

  Angela said in a very small voice, “Lars Overdahl has invited me to join him and his family for Christmas dinner.”

  “Well, you’re family.” Victoria smoothed the paper pattern over the blue wool fabric. “Your brothers are going too, right?”

  Angela drew herself up to her full height, which was a foot less than Victoria’s. “My brother Connor is related to the Overdahls. My mother’s first husband was Mr. Overdahl’s brother. But I am not related to them. That’s not why I’m invited to Christmas dinner.”

  All of them stared at Angela. Like her mother, Ellie, she was petite and pretty, but her hair was like her father’s, golden brown curls cascading nearly to her waist. She lifted her chin and stared back at them.

  Victoria flapped the hand that didn’t hold the scissors. “Seriously? You’re only nineteen! Uncle Quill won’t let anyone court you yet. No way.”

  “Well, he is,” Angela said firmly. “I told him so.”

  Victoria scowled around at all her young cousins and slapped her scissors into her other hand. “Why is every single father in the Clan more reasonable than mine?” she growled. She shot a glare at Olivia. “So who are you courting?”

  Olivia froze. So did everyone else, including Victoria. The ghosts of the men she had flirted with since coming to Kearney fourteen months ago danced in the air between them. When each man had worked up the courage to ask Uncle Des for permission to call on her, she had told him to deny them. At the beginning of each courtship, she had thought she could love the man, but when it came right down to it, she knew she couldn’t. She plastered a smile onto her face.

  “No one,” she said with false cheer. “You all have a clear field.”

  Victoria growled out a curse. “That was awkward. Liv, I’m sorry.”

  Paisley looked directly at Olivia. “Awkward,” she agreed. “But word is getting around that you’re a heart breaker. How many men have you turned down?”

  Olivia wanted to shout that she hadn’t meant to hurt any of them. “Six,” she said defensively. “What? It just never worked out. And there hasn’t been anyone in months.”

  “Maybe because everyone knows to steer clear of you now,” Paisley suggested.

  That hurt. Olivia returned to pressing with fierce concentration until Victoria touched her shoulder lightly.

  “Is it because of that damn cat who stole you?” she asked softly.

  Of course it was because of Kit. She compared every man she flirted with to him. Every man who’d wanted to court her was better than Kit in every way. They were civilized, with jobs, and good manners, and decent morals, and comfortable homes. But somehow none of them was enough to banish him from her memory. She swallowed now. “Of course not. I just haven’t found the right man yet.”

  Victoria raised a pale brow, but to Olivia’s relief, turned the subject. Talk turned to Christmas and what they were making for their fathers and their brothers. It helped Olivia relax, and the morning passed quickly. It didn’t seem like it could be noon when the door opened and the scent of Renee’s spaghetti and meatballs filled the air.

  Red Wing and Hawk carried the food boxes, wrapped with blankets to keep them warm, to the nearest table. Nathan carried a basket full of plates and flatware from the Eatery. “Renee says to eat it right away while it’s still hot,” Hawk called.

  There was a flurry of activity while the fabric and clothing items were put away to keep them from collecting food stains, and the tables were covered by plain muslin. While that was going on, Ray and Marty came in, inhaling appreciatively.

  “There are drinks in the store,” Mrs. Martin said. “Coffee, hot and cold cider, water, root beer. Help yourselves to whatever you like and bring it back here.”

  Marty waited for Victoria to join him, and Patia walked alongside Ray into the store. Olivia was right behind them. Pete Martin was at the counter ringing up a sale for a farmer from south of town. He was the only customer in the store. The rest of them spread through the one room store in search of beverages. Olivia was at the cold case with Marty and Victoria on one side of her and Patia and Ray on the other when the bell above the door jangled. She glanced away from the bottled drinks to see who the new customer was. So did Ray and Marty.

  She frowned a little, not recognizing the newcomer. That was strange. By now she should be familiar with everyone in town. Her breath caught. No, he was familiar. She swayed slightly, disbelieving. He was young, wearing a green knitted hat pulled low over his forehead, and a thick brown wool coat. Standing behind her, Uncle Hawk stiffened, inhaling deeply. He wheeled to take a step in front of her and fix a cold black stare on the newcomer. That wasn’t unusual; it happened anytime a strange man was in the vicinity of a woman of the Clan. It was Marty’s reaction that was startling. His lip peeled back in a feral snarl and his eyes took on an odd green glow. He locked gazes with his nephew for one moment.

  “Stranger cat,” Ray hissed.

  The newcomer pulled off his hat, revealing golden brown hair that lay in neat waves along his head to a ponytail at his nape. She noticed, in a distant, vague sort of way that didn’t quite cut through her shock, that it was the same color as Ray and Marty’s hair, and had the same wavy texture. He looked around the store and his green-gold eyes lit when they found her. He smiled in simple happiness and spoke the words that stopped her heart.

/>   “My mate. At last I have found you.”

  Chapter Nine

  Kit immediately winced. That wasn’t what he was supposed to say when he found his mate! Justin had told him over and over that when he found his mate he should first approach her father. Swallowing, Kit forced his gaze from his beautiful mate and looked around for her father. He remembered that man. Tall, lanky, with a hard, narrow face, and long white hair. Not white with age alone, although the man was probably sixty years old, but a blond so light in color that it appeared white. His gaze strayed again to Olivia, whose hair was nearly the same color, but much more beautiful. She stood with her back pressed against the clear glass of a door, half hidden behind a large man who scowled ferociously.

  Again, he tore his attention from his mate and glanced around. Two young men stood near his mate. He tilted his head, studying them. He decided they were probably in their mid-twenties, built tall and lean. They favored each other, both with dark gold hair. He was sure he didn’t know them, but they were strangely familiar. Their faces were distorted into snarls that were almost cat-like. No, he realized, not almost. Could they be part of a pride here? He stared hard at them for a moment.

  But they weren’t his mate’s kin. None of the men here were the ones he had seen that night when his mate was taken away from him. The one standing in front of Olivia was older than the others, his thick black braids streaked with gray. He must be the man in charge. Kit inhaled, preparing to deliver his memorized speech, but paused, trying to puzzle out which greeting was most appropriate for this time of day. Good morning wasn’t right, since it was noon, and good afternoon wasn’t right either, since it wasn’t after the noon hour yet. But he couldn’t stand there like an idiot. Several men had moved to surround him. He took another breath and spoke to the elder man.

  “Good day, sir. I am Christopher McQueen. I would like permission to court Olivia Stensrud. I would be greatly honored to win her for my wife.”

  He didn’t take his gaze away from the man he addressed, but he heard several feminine gasps. He was sure one of them came from his mate. The man stared back, eyes narrowed.