by Kat Keppeler
Montana in the spring was really something to behold. As the grey snow piles began to melt away in the warming weather, the grass sprang up in a color so green it seemed unreal. The smell of spring was intoxicating, Anna and Justin were itching to try and plow up some land to grow things the pack could use in cooking. Of course, they could also open a stand because they also largely avoided leafy green vegetables.
The first full moon in spring was coming, April was bringing its showers and prompting life to bloom all around, when Betty found Rory and Skye. The sweet woman was in tears.
“I can’t shift! I can’t!” Betty sobbed, her face in her hands. Liam stood at her back with one hand steadying his mate. Her shoulders shook with sobs and there was genuine worry on Liam’s features as he tried to soothe her. Rory’s brow knit as she wept, uncertain of what had brought this outburst on.
“Bets, you know we all have to shift. It’s not really a choice…”
“Rory, you really can’t be that dense. She’s not trying to avoid a shift, she’s worried…” Finn snorted, watching from the corner where he always seemed to sit with a newspaper or book in hand. It had, at some point, become ‘his’ corner of the kitchen.
Liam looked confused, his gaze on Betty then to Finn as Betty hiccuped. With tear swollen eyes, she turned towards Finn as he explained, spelling it out,“She’s worried it will hurt the pups.”
“Oh, Betty,” Skye said, stepping forward to take the sobbing woman in her arms. Betty was taller than Skye but she clung to her alpha, shivering and weeping. Skye held her gently, rubbing soothing circles on her back. “That’s wonderful. No wonder you’re so worried. It’s going to be alright, okay?”
She gently pushed Betty into a stunned Liam’s arms to take over comforting his mate as she gave Finn a concerned look. Infertility was a real problem and while Skye didn’t understand the nuances of it all, Finn probably knew more than most of them about it. He was a healer, a doctor, and this was his arena.
“Is there anything special she needs to do, Finn?” Skye wanted to know just as her phone chirped its ringtone in her pocket. Skye frowned and pulled it out, silencing it as she glanced at the number. Her mother. Crap. Skye sent it to voicemail for the moment and stuck the phone back in her pocket, reaching out a hand to Rory.
“Well, not really anything we’re going to think to do. Rory and I will really have to take a front seat and try to keep as with it as we can… We all know how that goes but our wolves know what’s happening too.” Finn stood up and smiled, walking over to Betty and Liam. “The biggest harm that comes is what the wolf gets into. Even expecting she’s going to hunt and run, and if we try and cage her she’ll hurt herself worse. So, I say that we pick an area where the wolf can be and run that has minimal places to harm. Rory?”
Holding Skye’s hand, Rory was already racking his brain. “The peak is out then, if Betty needs somewhere that the wolf will be happy we can drive twenty miles south. Drag some tents out, nicely wooded but the most trouble they can get into is the lake. No cliffs, landscape is pretty flat.”
He squeezed Skye’s fingers in his own, a brief smile flickering across his features. Rory projected reassurance and it soothed the tension from Betty in a way that Finn and Skye couldn’t have managed. Her alpha said things were going to be fine which meant it had to be true.
“Betty, you just come see me and we will try to get through this as peacefully as possible. Regular checkups, right?” Finn suggested. The worried omega nodded, turning to Liam.
“Honey, I told you they’d try to get us through whatever was bothering you. It’s going to be okay, Betty, I just know it.” Liam said in his soft, gentle voice as he took her in his arms and she hiccuped a little again.
Finn sighed, turning to holler through the closed office door. “Chance, what’s our remaining renovation budget? We’re going to need a nursery.”
There was a clatter and a crash from the office and then they all had the pleasure of seeing Chance bolt out of his office to stare at Skye wide eyed with wonder, “Really? Are you sure?”
He’d even left the reading glasses perched on his nose that he was a little too vain to wander about the house with.
Skye blinked, unprepared for this sort of reaction from the most unflappable of all of her mates,
“What? Oh, no, it’s Betty.” She said pointing to the blushing and still teary omega wolf in Liam’s arms. Skye stepped forward when Chance’s expression fell and then shuttered. He recovered quickly and those who didn’t know him well wouldn’t see the flicker of longing but Skye noticed it and Rory expected it. He’d known Chance for almost all his life.
“Ah, it’s less money and more space that’s the concern,” Chance said as he went to pull his glasses from his nose, rubbing the bridge where it had left marks on the skin. He tossed them haphazardly on the counter before leaning his hip against it. “I have about five million liquid and easy to access but I really think we need to start talking about breaking ground on some new projects over the summer. We own most of this side of town now although it was a real pain in the ass getting the north chunk of the woods where it gets too close to the Westmore’s ranch for his liking.”
He shrugged at Finn, “I have another fifty thousand that I earmarked for the house but it’s flexible. We can keep bolting on rooms to the main house for the foreseeable future now that the weather’s turned but we need to start looking at a permanent game plan and I’d like to get the town to a place where I don’t have to drive all day to get Skye the overpriced coffee she likes.”
Chance realized Skye was staring at him. Really, they all were. Finances were just a thing that Chance handled for the pack and no one really ever got into pestering him numbers, not even Rory, really. He frowned at all of them in return. “What?”
“Stop buying property in Belcrest…” Rory said softly though the words fell into the room like stones. He was still working on how he’d approach his father, how they would try to make an impact there. “In case we need to leave, Chance. Belcrest is small. It’s too small.”
“Oh fuck the size constraints.” Finn said suddenly, a frown on his face. He was standing straight now, at his full height. Betty and Liam quickly moved out of the way of an upset alpha.
“Rory, look at all we have here. A fertile female, man!” Finn scowled. “Yeah, whatever the big packs up there… Aiden is. But do you really think we’re going to have the force to hit at Aiden now? We’re not. We aren’t strong enough. We won’t be for, fuck… a century? Maybe longer? Why not Belcrest?”
Rory was standing up now, his own frown darkening his handsome features. Rory's temper roiled through the room and all of his wolves felt his displeasure even if the words were measured. “Because it’s not fucking safe here, Finn! We’ve already been targeted once by locals, you want to stay and risk a lynching?”
“We’re about to have pups to worry about, Rory. You come up with a better solution then if Belcrest is such a risk but get those pipe dreams of hitting Aiden out of your goddamned head and think about the good of the pack!” Finn replied, his words sharp and agitated.
With every rebuttal the two alphas were growing closer together until they were face to face and snarling.
“Don’t you accuse me of not taking care of this pack!” Rory said, a growl leaving him.
“Well then start fucking thinking about them, Rory! This town is bending over backwards to kiss your ass!” Finn snapped back at him, a snarl on his face.
“Stop… Stop!” Skye was fast and she ducked in between the growling alphas before Chance could catch her to hold her back. Without concern for her safety, Skye squeezed in between them, putting one hand on each muscular chest and pushing with all of the strength in her slender frame. Skye was stronger than she looked but not stronger than either male. She was, however, determined.
“You’re both right,” Skye said firmly, “Aiden’s a threat that needs to be dealt with and we’re not strong enough in numbers to deal with tha
t threat especially with babies on the way for Betty. Our pack’s safety is our top priority. We’re not going to spawn a bunch of new members quickly but that’s going to be true wherever we end up going.”
Skye turned to Rory then, her back against Finn and her palms against their alpha’s chest,
“You’ve made friends here. You’ve spent sixty years proving the strength of your character and, yes, people were shaken recently but if anything, that’s left them more convinced of anything of the strength of your character. What other wolf would have been able to hold back in the face of those accusations? Rory, there’s three hundred supernaturals right here - most of whom like and trust you. Just win them over. Run for sheriff. They’re not pack but they can be allies and then this will be the safest place for our pack to grow.”
Rory didn’t calm but he had stopped snarling when Skye stepped between them. He was listening but alpha male pride was difficult to soothe when riled. “I didn’t see you stepping up to lead a pack Finn. If you think you’re so qualified then do it. Throw down a challenge, old man, I’ll mop the floor with you.”
“Don’t get your panties in a wad, Rory.” Finn said, having backed up enough for Skye not to be in danger. “I didn’t challenge you for a reason. I don’t want to lead a pack but I’m older, I’ve seen more. You’ve only ever known Aiden, Rory, I’m trying to make you see how you succeed better. Stop thinking with your pride, think like a fucking King.”
Rory looked like he might go after Finn after all. His jaw clenched in frustrated fury as he tensed. Skye’s slender hands kept him in place but he clearly ached to take a swing at Finn, “All you ever do is challenge what I say!”
Finn huffed, making a gesture that clearly said he gave up, walking to the front door. He left the room, closing it with a slam behind him. The tension made Betty start to cry again, Liam held her close with worry in his eyes. Rory just frowned, looking down at Skye. Fury still flushed his cheeks but his hands on her were gentle even if his tone was harsh. “I don’t think I want to run for Sheriff. We lost Seamus because of this fucking town!”
Skye sighed, a tension headache forming between her brows and she wrapped her arms around Rory’s waist and just held him. They hadn’t lost Seamus because of the town, so much as because of longstanding prejudices and the extreme violence of one very angry rogue wolf.
“Then make it a better town, Rory,” Skye said before she raised up on her toes to kiss his cheek tenderly. “Someone has to make a better future. I want Betty and Liam’s kids to have a future where they don’t have those sorts of worries and I believe in you, Rory.”
Her phone buzzed again, her mother’s number, and Skye felt her headache grow, “I have to take this, sweetheart. Chance, honey, can I borrow your office?”
Chance had been leaning against the counter frowning but saying nothing as the alphas postured. He was a dominant wolf himself and more used to this sort of friction. He just nodded his head, gesturing for her to take it which Skye did, flipping the call on as she left the room, “What, Mom? Oh, no, I was just in the middle of some things. What’s up?”
Skye left in the opposite direction, shutting the office door behind her and trying to focus on her mother’s voice as she started in chatting away. Karen Carmichael was just a little over sixty now and while she might have been a ‘housewife’, she absolutely was the driving force of the Carmichael household. Skye’s father, Reid, had recently retired from a career in finance. He was a calm, quiet man with a surprisingly wry sense of humor.
“-So your father and I were trying to plan our summer cruise and I think we’ll be going to Italy this time,” Karen was saying as Skye shut the door and tuned into the conversation fully. She rested her hip on Chance’s desk, making appropriate noises of agreement or interest, “I love Italy in the spring, don’t you? But I wanted to make sure we had time to come visit. Now that that awful snow is melting - so dreary - I want to come up and see this little town that has stolen my only daughter. I simply have to see what sort of place can steal you away from the City.”
Skye winced at that. There was so much that she hadn’t even begun to figure out how to explain to her mother. “Mom… yes, of course, I’d love to see you and Dad but--”
“No, no,” her mother cut her off swiftly, and Skye could hear the click of her shoes as she paced across the marble floors of their Manhattan apartment, “I know you think we’re going to descend on you and harass you to come home but you’re almost thirty five, Skye. I know you’re old enough to make your own choices and I’m glad you’ve found some direction for your life - even if I don’t understand it. We just want to make sure that you’re happy. You are happy, aren’t you?”
Now she felt guilt, “Yes, of course, I’m happy, Mom. I’ve really never been happier,” that part was true. “It’s just- Okay, I need you just to listen to me for a second.” Skye took a deep breath, “So, I’ve met someone and I love them very much but it’s not exactly a traditional relationship--”
“You’re gay? Darling, we’re New Yorkers. Of course we’ll support you. What’s she like?”
Skye had to cut in quickly to explain, shaking her head even though her mother couldn’t see her as if it would somehow broadcast through the phone, “No, of course I know you’d support that. No, not that kind of ‘nontraditional’. I’m seeing men. Multiple men. At the same time. Together.”
There was silence. Dead silence and Skye winced, her eyes shutting, “It’s a long story but it works for me and I’m happy. I’d love for you to come out. June? How about late June or July after your cruise.” Skye realized she was holding her breath as the silence stretched on.
“Summer then,” her mother agreed without comment on her relationship at all. Skye didn’t actually know if that was better, or worse. It didn’t even begin to get into the whole ‘I’m a wolf shifter’ problems but that was a forbidden subject to share with those outside the supernatural community and Skye didn’t know how to explain how she’d gotten to where she was now without touching on that huge a part of her life.
“Sounds great. I should get back to work. Love you, Mom! Say hi to Dad for me and let me know when you have the rough dates down and we’ll make sure we’re all available.” Skye quickly hustled her mom off the phone even though Finn would work around her absence in the clinic as long as he needed to without complaint. Skye groaned and sank down into the leather chair that usually held Chance’s bigger frame, drawing her legs up. Could her life be any more complicated?
Chapter Fifteen
The room quickly emptied when Skye left, leaving just Chance in his spot against the counter and Rory standing in the center of his kitchen as he tried to get his temper in hand. Chance waited with the sort of patience that only the beta ever really displayed, his arms folded up across his chest.
“You want to talk it out?” Chance offered when he knew Rory wouldn’t bite his head off, “Or you want to go for a run?”
“I don’t know, neither? Both?” Rory said as he began pacing the kitchen. The moment he splayed his hands on the countertop, his hands tightened until the countertop creaked a protest. Rory's gaze landed on the line of the woods behind the house, through the window above the sink. The wolf inside was restless because of his mood, had he shifted he would be pacing.
“Build a better town…” Rory said, his jaw tensing at the idea. “How the fuck do I build a better town, Chance? We were here sixty years almost and one rogue shows up… Kills my grandfather! And they still look at me with fear. I haven’t spoken to any of them since we found them, you know, and do you think there’s been an apology?”
Rory was letting his pride get in the way of the bigger picture. Chance knew it and he knew it but the anger was a tight ball in his chest that never seemed to ease. That and grief that rose up whenever he thought of Seamus. “And Finn, that fucking…”
Rory scowled again as if the big man was lurking just around the corner ready to hear Rory’s flung insults. “I am trying, Cha
nce, but he is fighting at every turn. I can’t win for losing. Now he’s got Skye involved and so I can’t just tell him to get lost. He would try to take her with him! I get it, he thinks he is the fount of knowledge but he’s just like the rest of us. We’re figuring this out as we go, it’s a process, but does he have to call me out in front of the whole pack? He’s challenging me, Chance.”
Chance listened, rubbing his hand over his jaw slowly. He kept his jaw clean shaven but his beard grew quickly and Chance could feel the stubble prickling his hand already. It was a nervous tick, one of the only signs that Chance felt Rory’s tension as keenly as the rest of the pack did.
“Dave wants to apologize, he just doesn’t know how,” Chance said, pointing out what Rory already knew. He pushed away from the counter to catch his alpha’s arm as Rory paced and pulled him in to give him a quick hug. Rory and Chance were of a height, although Chance was slimmer,
“Look, I get it. I really do.” Chance said before he let Rory go to resume his pacing, “But you have to remember that guilt and shame are as powerful as hate.”
Chance turned to the fridge then, pulling out one of the beers and tossing one to Rory as well. When he leaned his hip back against the counter to open it, Chance it was clear that he was choosing his words very carefully, “I think… I think it’s Skye, Rory. I’ve been trying to do some research - what little I can manage without poking the Council and getting their attention but, I think it's who - or rather, what Skye is. Have you noticed how Lee’s been lately?”
Of course Rory had - they both had, but it was more than just confidence or emotional support. There was something different about him now. Undefinable but growing more so every day. “And it’s not just him, it’s all of us and I think that change isn’t easy. You’ve always been a good leader, Rory, and you’ve always had big dreams. I think this is going to only be the tip of the iceberg for what you end up accomplishing but I don’t think it’s going to be an easy road. As for Finn...”
