United (The Ushers)

by Vanessa North

  He chuckled and pressed a kiss to her hair. “You were amazing,” he told her.

  “Me? I just laid there and let you do all the work,” she scoffed.

  “I know. That was what was so amazing. That you trusted me so completely. My hot Alpha bride gave up control and let me have my wicked ways with her.”

  “I like your wicked ways.”

  “I noticed.” He grinned.

  Standing, he made his way to the adjoining bathroom. He returned with a damp cloth and cleaned her, then himself. She smiled at how gently he cared for her. Her mate was more than a lover, but her partner.

  When he returned to the bed, she spooned herself around him, pressing kisses to his satiny flesh.

  “Thank you for telling me about Robert,” he whispered in the dark.

  “No, thank you for listening. It means a lot to me that you can accept what he was to me before.”

  “Darling, you’ve had to accept a lot more about me.” He rolled over onto his back, pulling her into the circle of his arms. “It’s true that I’ve never been mated before, but it’s not like I’ve been a monk, either.”

  “But those women don’t matter,” Monica explained. “Robert did. And Annie does.”

  “Are you upset that I slept with Annie? We haven’t been intimate in twenty years.”

  “Shhh…no, love. Annie and I talked about that. It wasn’t like a mating with you two. You wanted it to be, but that’s not the same. Annie matters because she’s important to both of us still. And I need you to know that what happened between you and her is okay with me.”

  “Thank you.” The words were simple, but the gratitude was sincere. For the last several months, Fionn had ached to ask forgiveness for the mistakes of his past. Even though he hadn’t realized at the time it happened that it had been a mistake, it set in motion a series of future mistakes that ended up keeping him from trusting his need for her. He’d been unable to find the words to ask, but his mate, his woman, she knew exactly what to say, how to redeem his heart to his own eyes. “Thank you,” he murmured again against her hair.

  Monica’s eyes were heavy as she snuggled into Fionn’s chest. Before long, she’d drifted to sleep.

  Monica awoke to a dull throbbing pain in her hand and realized she was feeling Annie’s injury through the link. She reached for Fionn, realized he wasn’t in bed with her, and felt along the mental link for her mate.

  “I’m with the Guide, love.”

  She smiled as his thoughts poured sunlight into her mind. She crossed to his closet, slipped on one of his shirts, and then tiptoed into the hallway. She saw the guest room door cracked and, pushing it fully open, made her way inside. Annie was sitting up in bed, propped with pillows against the headboard while Ellen slept next to her. Graham was nowhere to be seen, but Fionn sat at the foot of the bed, facing Annie and Ellen.

  “Hi,” Annie said with a weak smile. “You okay?” she asked.

  Monica nodded, approaching the bed. She leaned over and pressed a kiss to Annie’s forehead.

  “Don’t you dare scare me like that again, sweetheart,” she whispered tenderly, cupping the Guide’s face with her hand.

  “I promise to try not to get shot again if I can help it.” Annie smiled.

  “How’s your hand?” Monica gestured with her chin.

  “Motherfucker shot my ring finger off.” Annie scowled. “And the pinkie, too.” She held up the hand, showing where the skin had healed over the two missing fingers. Shifter healing was a wonderful thing, but it couldn’t regenerate missing pieces.

  “I’m so sorry, Annie. They were shooting at me.”

  “Hey, it’s a good thing they didn’t hit you. The last thing you need is silver poisoning.”

  “I hate that you got hurt for me.”

  “Oh, fuck-it-all, Mon. I didn’t do it for you. The guy was a lousy shot.” Annie laughed. “I’m no martyr, I’m not jumping in front of guns on purpose.” She sobered, and Monica felt her thoughts flicker to her sister, Sara. “One martyr in the family is enough, don’t you think?”

  Monica felt tears stinging her nose as she sat down on the bed next to Annie and hugged her tightly. “Yeah, Annie. I do.”

  Fionn watched as something unspoken passed between the two women who had been so close to Sara, Bianca’s Guide. He felt a shimmer of it, there in the link, that his mate and his Guide were comforting each other. He stroked Monica’s face and then Annie’s.

  “I’m so glad you’re okay, Ann.” He smiled at her. “I guess you were right about West Virginia.” He flinched as she threw a pillow at him.

  Ellen groggily sat up in bed and looked around at the others.

  “Whass?” She rubbed a hand across her eyes. “Is it morning?” She yawned.

  “Yeah. Graham left a while ago, and Fionn and Mon came to take his place.” Annie smiled at Ellen.

  Ellen sat up in bed, the sheet falling off her, exposing her bronzed skin.

  “Oh, sorry.” She reached for a T-shirt as Monica’s eyes widened.

  “I don’t think it would do much for my mate’s reputation if someone found him in bed with three women in various states of undress,” Monica said archly.

  “You’re such a priss,” Fionn teased, winking at her. “Besides, that seems like that is exactly the reputation I have around here.”

  All three women rolled their eyes at him.

  “Lover, that’s a reputation in need of repair. You’re a wolf now, not a hound.” Monica smiled.

  “For I have been made a real boy.” He laughed, then sobered. “By the love of a good woman.”

  “Oh vomit,” Ellen grouched, throwing another pillow. “Please, Annie and I are not up for the lovey-mushy stuff you two are throwing off. Let us at least have coffee before you start making calf eyes at each other.”

  Though she said it playfully, Monica recognized the hint of pain in Ellen’s voice. Ellen’s wolf had only returned in the last few months. The loss of her mate was barely more than a year past, and her grief was still raw.

  “Sorry, Ellen,” Fionn said, reaching out to her. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “You didn’t.” She shook her head. “Seeing what you and Monica have is really beautiful. It just brings back memories that are a little hard to deal with right now. I’m okay. I just miss him.” Something unsaid haunted Ellen’s face. It was clearly more than just missing her mate. Ellen was troubled over something, and Monica and Fionn’s banter had reminded her of whatever it was. Monica silently filed the observation away to ask later, when they were alone.

  Chapter Twelve

  FIONN AND MONICA made their way downstairs to the kitchen, sniffing appreciatively at the smells of bacon and coffee. Fionn’s mother, Roisin, stood by the stove, turning the bacon, and his brother Ted was reading something on his laptop at the table. Monica hovered shyly for a moment in the doorway as she took in the domestic scene. Fionn and Jack had spoken fondly of their mother, and Monica could instantly see why. The no-nonsense woman who hovered over the stove had grown up in much the same way as Monica had; yet, she ran her household with all the straightforward ease of a modern woman. Monica saw in her mother-in-law the same steadfast feminist spark that had spurred her own life forward. Had their early lives been different, it might have been Roisin leading Amazon Pack to prominence and Monica raising a family of open-minded Alpha wolves.

  “Fionn!” His mother greeted him with a hug. “You look good, son.” She squeezed him. “Now, introduce me to your beautiful mate.”

  “Mama, this is Monica.” He looked at Monica and smiled, all his love for her pouring through their link. “Mo, this is my mama, Roisin Murphy.”

  “Monica, I’m so pleased to meet you.” Roisin took both of Monica’s hands in her own before baring her neck and offering obeisance to the woman who would be the national Alpha female. Monica leaned in and took Roisin’s neck between her teeth ceremoniously. She looked into the other woman’s eyes and saw recognition of every similarity she he
rself had just acknowledged. Gladly, she saw neither sympathy nor jealousy in the other woman’s eyes, just acceptance and fidelity.

  “It’s wonderful to meet you, Roisin,” she said quietly. “I am sorry for the loss of Patrick. I know that you must be grieving terribly.” In the fight to gain Amazon’s legitimacy, it had been the oldest Murphy brother, Patrick, who had challenged Bianca and then cheated in the fight. Though it was meant to be a simple blood-fight, Bianca had killed her challenger.

  A dark cloud passed over Roisin’s eyes. “Thank you, honey. It’s the way of wolves to exact our vengeance as Bianca did. I wish Paddy had been different; then I might still have four sons.”

  Monica nodded. “Where is your husband this morning? I’d love to meet him.”

  Roisin smiled. “Fionn, go show your woman off to your daddy. He’s fiddling with one of the boats. I’ll send Ted out to find you when breakfast is ready.” And with that, she shooed them out of the house.

  Fionn took Monica’s hand and led her toward a garage on the far end of the property.

  “Boats, eh?” Monica smiled as she saw Fionn’s face expand with joy.

  “Yeah. I grew up sailing on the bay. It’s not like it was when Jackie and Ted were coming up, but it’s still beautiful and fun. And the boats are a little more modern now. I bet Dad’s working on the fishing boat.”

  “Cool. I’ve never been on a boat before.” Monica’s face grew wistful.

  “A woman shouldn’t live two hundred fifty years without setting foot on a boat. I’ll take you out sometime.” Fionn smiled. “I’d love to show you how beautiful it can be.”

  “Who’d have thought you’d be the one exposing me to new things.” Her eyes met his. “I like that.” For a moment, as they walked, she felt like just a girl walking with her guy. For a moment, they weren’t the ultimate Were power-couple; they were just Fionn and Mo, holding hands and making plans. For just a moment between two breaths, life was simple.

  And then it shattered.

  Monica felt rather than heard Ted running toward them. She spun around, saw the look on his face, and grabbed Fionn’s arm.

  “What?” Fionn was already shouting, and Monica felt it then, through the link.

  Exposed.

  Ted careened to a stop in front of Fionn and Monica. He was breathing heavily. “Blake is dead. Shot with silver.” The grief on his face was evident.

  Fionn reached for his brother, but Monica was faster. She enfolded Ted in a hug. “Shhhh. Losing one of your wolves is very hard. Take your time to grieve, Teddy.”

  Ted nodded. “Those freaks down south. Kirk. They did this. They exposed us. There’s a whole fucking website devoted to tracking and killing werewolves. Some punk is on there right now, showing off photos and YouTube videos of him shooting Blake.”

  “Whoa, how do you know Kirk is behind it? He’s a wolf, too. It’s hardly in his best interest to expose us.” Fionn tried to imagine what logic would make a wolf expose them all.

  “He’s insane,” Monica breathed.

  “On the website, there are photos of a ritual. Humans taking communion and being given silver flechette, the same kind that was used on Annie. Videos of Kirk speaking, saying horrible things, saying he’s been sent to wash the nation in the blood of wolves, to cast out the devils among us, the moon worshipers, the godless ones. Shit, Fionn, it gets worse.”

  Fionn felt a chill. He looked at Ted sharply. “No.”

  “They are saying the only way for wolves to redeem their souls is to mate with human women. To ensure that the wolf genes die out.”

  “No. No. Fuck, he’s a twelve-year-old boy!” Fionn howled his rage.

  “Devon is very deep into this now, Fionn. I’m sorry, there are videos of his…speeches,” Ted finished, his voice raw.

  Monica felt a wave of nausea roll through her, her mate’s fear for his child hitting her like a punch to the stomach. She could feel a wrenching in her mind as Fionn gritted his teeth against the rage.

  “How did they get Blake?” Fionn asked when he got his anger under control.

  “He was investigating Annie’s shooting. He was in his human form. Garrett saw him talking to someone, a human, and then he saw the shotgun—another guy with the human. Garrett couldn’t shift in time to stop the shooting; he came straight to me when he saw Blake die. I think Kirk’s cultists know the identities of most of the top guns here at Mid-A.”

  “I’m so sorry, Ted.” Monica stroked his arm.

  He shook his head. “I’ve made Garrett interim Guardian. Can you two come with me? I think we need to call Jack and Bee, and I want you guys there.”

  “Yeah. Mo can meet Pop later.” Fionn frowned. “Goddess, this is fucked up. I’m really sorry this is all coming down on your head, Teddy.”

  “Fionn, it’s not your fault. I’d be sharing border with him no matter what. You can’t be held responsible for the actions of an insane, one-legged werewolf.”

  “He gave me obeisance. He shouldn’t be able to plot against us.” Fionn frowned. “But to turn my kid against me?”

  “He still has free will, darling.” Monica sighed. “You know how that goes. He also didn’t give you his obeisance willingly, so the compulsion to be loyal to you isn’t as strong.”

  “Like Patrick and Shelly disobeying me at the Council,” Ted reminded him.

  Fionn felt along his link to Tavis Kirk. Unlike most wolves, Fionn and Monica could communicate with any wolf along their lines of connection, even without proximity, something to do with unification and the raw power they both possessed. Monica sensed what he was doing and felt along her own link. The mind they touched was barely lucid, obsessed with sin and drowning in paranoia. Monica’s mind recoiled in revulsion, but Fionn pushed deeper, feeling for some kind of plan.

  Nothing.

  Exasperated, he pulled back.

  “I don’t know if he’s shielding somehow, like Ted and Kathy do, or what. I’m willing to bet he’s more of a figurehead, though. Jonny didn’t seem bright enough to plot something like this. I wish Annie and I had met the third brother. Fuck.”

  Monica ran a soothing hand over Fionn’s arm. “Let’s go call Jack and Bee.”

  Annie was sitting at the kitchen table when they returned to the house. She reached out and enfolded Fionn in an embrace.

  “Devon has got to be our first priority,” she told him. “Forget Kirk for now. We need to get Devon out of this mess.”

  “Agreed.” He bit the word out. “And then I’m gonna kick Kirk’s self-righteous ass.”

  “That sounds like the start of a plan.” Graham entered the kitchen, grim-faced, with Ellen hot on his heels.

  “Finners, take your wolves into the dining room to call your brother, please. I’ll bring in breakfast.” Roisin shooed them out of the kitchen. As they settled in around the large dining table and Ted called Bianca, Fionn stroked Monica’s hand absently, seeking tactile comfort from his mate.

  “He’s going to be okay,” Monica reassured him. “He’s a kid. This is a rebellion thing. It’s going to be okay.”

  “What, he can’t dye his hair blue or pierce his nose? He’s got to go join a religious cult?” Fionn’s rage, fear, and grief swamped their link. His fragile human child was involving himself in a bonfire of werewolf politics—with religious fanaticism fueling the flames.

  “He might not see dying his hair or getting piercings as rebellion against you, love.”

  “Goddess help us all if he gets hurt, Mo.”

  “Shhhhh.” She pressed a kiss to the back of his hand. “We’ll get him back.”

  “Hi, Ted.” Bianca’s voice came over the line. “I’ve got Jack, Angelo, and Gerard here with me. Why don’t you fill us in on what’s going on?”

  Ted outlined the situation quickly, starting with Annie’s shooting then describing what happened to Blake and what they’d discovered about Kirk’s cult and Devon’s involvement.

  “Is my sister okay?” Gerard’s voice rumbled across the line.


  “I have a new middle finger on my left hand, but other than that, I’m fine,” Annie hissed. “I am worried about Dev. He’s the fuel on this fire.”

  “Okay, so clearly, we can’t wait until the ‘revival’ at the end of the month. We’re going to need to move faster if we’re going to get Dev out of this mess.” Fionn growled.

  “Actually, I think you should wait.” Angelo’s voice came over the line.

  Fists balled at his side, lips curling back over his teeth, Fionn was surging to his feet when Monica’s hand stilled him.

  “Hear him out, love,” she said softly. “Go ahead, Angelo.”

  “We can send emissaries to the other packs, requesting help. We can’t really count on anything happening in the southeast because they don’t have the organization in place, but the rest of the packs will back us, si?”

  “I can’t imagine they wouldn’t,” Ted agreed. “Fionn?”

  “Yeah. They would.” His face was stiff and angry as he glowered at the phone.

  “So we get each pack to send a team, then we’ve basically got a small army at our disposal.”

  “How do you propose we handle the silver bullet contingent? The humans participating in this madness?” Fionn snapped.

  “Humans like your son, Fionn?” Angelo’s voice was cold. “Your son, who until very recently thought you were just a hip, young dad?”

  “Fuck you, Angelo. He’s twelve years old. He’s just a kid.”

  “Hey.” Monica’s hand found Fionn’s shoulder again. “Angelo, please answer the question without baiting Fionn. For fuck’s sake, this is hard enough without you two getting in a pissing contest.”

  “Sorry, Querida.”

  “Don’t fucking call her that. She’s not your sweetheart,” Fionn growled.

  Monica took a deep breath and just waited.

  “You’re right. I’m sorry to both of you. I mean you no disrespect, Fionn Murphy. We will have to figure out a way to keep the humans separate from the wolves. We don’t want to hurt them, and from what I understand, it’s humans who are doing the shooting. The last thing we need is for this to become widespread and the humans to think we are a threat .”