“Weapons? What kind?” She was thinking bows, spears, maybe swords or knives. The weapons she and her friends had been training with back home.
“Guns,” Hunter said gravely.
The blood drained from her face. “Guns?” That wasn’t what she’d expected to hear, and she didn’t like it. She didn’t like it at all.
Hunter’s gaze was steady. “I know what you’re thinking.”
“Do you? Then you know I’m in shock.” She shook her head slowly. They’d seemed so perfect, and then this. “It’s against our laws.” She didn’t have to tell them. Every wolf past the age of four new that guns were strictly prohibited as weapons. “Even Ulric doesn’t use guns.”
Jack snarled, looking truly vicious for the first time since she’d met him. “Do not ever compare me to Ulric. He’s vermin. I’m trying to help save lives.”
“With guns? By breaking one of our most sacred laws?” For as far back as anyone knew, wolves had been forbidden from using guns. They were seen as a weapons for humans, who didn’t have many other options for defending themselves. Wolves disliked them because of their deadly accuracy and the fact that they made it so easy to accidentally kill someone who wasn’t even your enemy. And then there was the fact of the wounds they could inflict. Wolf shifters were not immortal, though they lived an average of 150 years, and guns inflicted wounds that could be difficult to heal. In quite a few cases, the wounds they inflicted killed before the injured wolf’s quick healing ability could take over. This frequently meant death, even in the face of an accidental shooting. And loaded with silver bullets? Mikayla shuddered.
Hunter sighed. “We would only use them if there was no other way.”
“My friends and I have been training with other weapons. Like bows and daggers. They can help even the odds in a hand-to-hand fight without endangering everyone in the vicinity.”
Jack shook his head. “Not good enough. Not if we were cornered down here. I’m surprised, though. From what you’ve told me of your alphas, they seem traditional yet they train women to use weapons.”
“We’ve been training on our own.” She’d just spilled a very big secret, but she hoped her mates would keep it once they all went home to River’s Bend. They would have to swear allegiance to her alphas, but surely their loyalty would lie with her above anyone else. “We heard about Ulric forcing women to fight, and if he does manage to start a war with the vampires, well, we want to help ensure the survival of our clan. The alphas don’t need to know until that time comes.”
Hunter raised his brows at her. “You’re quite the rule breaker yourself. Sometimes laws have to be broken, especially when doing so will save lives.
“If you’re found out, you’ll not just be punished. You’ll likely be executed.” She’d lost her appetite for the last bit of deer she’d allowed to linger on her plate. She’d only just found them. Her men. And she couldn’t bear the thought of losing them to an execution over this.
“That will never happen.” Jack ran a hand through his hair. “We’re not a part of a pack anymore.”
“So you no longer have to live by our laws?” Was she just fooling herself about the type of men she’d allowed to claim her?
“We make our own laws now.” Jack’s eyes were intense, unflinching. He meant that.
Hunter slid a large hand up and down her back. “Look, we would only use them as a last resort, if there was no other way.”
When Jack spoke again, his voice was as firm, resolute. “There’s more at stake than what we want as individuals. This was a group decision. We voted.”
“You should have voted no.” She couldn’t believe it. Guns, of all things. “If my alphas got wind of this, you would never be allowed to join my clan.”
Jack’s face hardened to match his voice. “I never said I wanted to join your clan, or any clan. Being in an alpha’s service and at his mercy did me no good when my family was killed. I see no reason to live like that again.”
“But… What else would you do? We can’t live here.” She waved a hand to indicate the shelter. It was all well and good for the temporary, but she had no intention of making it or any of their other safe houses home. “You have a mate now, which means you will need a place to settle. Having guns as your choice of weapons is just wrong. Worse than wrong, it’s stupid.”
Had she hit a nerve? The look on his face said she definitely had. “I know it’s my job to take care of you now, and I don’t need any instruction on how to do it.” His eyebrows knitted tightly together. “If not for us, you’d be meeting the man you were so quick to compare us to right now.” He got to his feet and looked as if he would walk away before she was finished with him, growling in dismissal of the conversation.
Mikayla briefly considered letting him walk away and cool off a bit, but just like that her temper overruled her sense. She was on her feet and jabbing her finger at his chest. “Don’t growl at me like that and then think you’re just going to walk off. You can give me that alpha male bull all you want, but we both know you’re in the wrong. If this place isn’t defensible without guns, then you find someplace else. And part of taking care of your mate is making sure you don’t do anything so stupid it ends up getting you killed.” She punctuated each of her sentences with one of her jabs as he regarded her darkly, silently.
He finally closed the distance between them, moving so close she had to crane her neck to look up at him. “I will do what’s best for everyone I’m responsible for. You, since you know the role of a mate so well, will learn your place with me and come to accept my decisions. You might not agree with all of them, but this is what being mated means. My part of the deal is to make the decisions that are best for you. Your part is to obey them.”
This was a side of him she hadn’t seen, and Mikayla was suddenly so angry she could slap him. Best he learn from the start that he’d never have the right to boss her around. She opened her mouth to share just how much she appreciated being told her place, but he stepped to the side and walked away. That pissed her off even more, so she started after him, prepared to give him what for. After only a couple of steps, she was lifted off her feet and tossed over Hunter’s shoulder.
“Put me down,” she snarled. “We’re not finished talking, you… you…” She didn’t know quite what to call Jack. Up until just a few minutes ago, she might have called him hero. But now?
Hunter rushed her from the room and then did as she asked, plopping her down on a sleeping pallet in what he’d earlier identified as the bedroom the men shared. There were several pallets lined up around the room, each thick with a mixture of pillows, blankets, and furs.
“Guns?” She looked up at him, wondering how he would try to convince her it was okay. If he thought she would just let it go, he was wrong. So wrong.
He sat down beside her. “Lower your voice.”
“What?” If anything, her voice went up a decibel.
“Lower your voice. Besides Liz, the other women don’t know, and it’s in our best interest not to have them going back to tell their alphas, right?” His expression implored her to be reasonable.
“There has to be some other way.”
“Look. I know you don’t like it, and I understand why. Jack does, too, which is why he’s so pissed. But the thing is, you’re right. We could be cornered down here, outnumbered. And if that happens, I’d rather break a law that I didn’t have a say in making, than watch a bunch of women be killed, raped, or carted away to serve Ulric’s purposes. I’d rather shoot a gun to stop one of them than watch my brother die, my friends die.”
“I’d do anything to keep the people I care about safe. But…guns?” She was careful to keep her voice low.
“Yes, guns. It’s our necks on the line. I haven’t seen many of these alphas that lay down the law out here making sure their women are safe. Many of them choose the protection of their packs as a whole over sending men out to look for their missing women. We are the ones protecting them and risking our lives
to do it. If Ulric or his men were to find us, I can guarantee you it would not be a peaceful reunion. We would fight as long as we had a reasonable chance, but if we’re overrun, we will use whatever is necessary to keep everyone safe and alive.”
Her initial horror over the guns was starting to fade, and as much as she didn’t like it, she could see his point. As Jack had said, she wasn’t such a big rule-follower. If she was, she wouldn’t be there. “Okay.” She sighed. “I’m sorry if I overreacted. It’s just—”
“It’s just that we’re all raised to think guns are the worst of our enemies.”
She nodded, feeling badly then. “And I have seen a wolf die from a gunshot wound. It was horrible. His body tried to heal, but the bullet had hit an artery and his body just couldn’t heal fast enough. He bled to death.” She’d been visiting another clan’s territory with a group of friends and their parents. One of the boys had decided to be brave, or rather stupid, and run off into the woods on a dare. He’d run far enough to end up in human territory again and had been accidentally shot by a hunter. By the time they’d reached him, the hunter was there, too. The rather large group of wolves had managed to run him off but had then been forced to stand helplessly by and watch him die.
Hunter wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a tight embrace. “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. I promise we will never use one unless we are desperate to save lives.”
Mikayla buried her head in his chest, breathing in his scent. They probably thought she was silly for putting up such a fuss like that. She just couldn’t help envisioning lying on the ground, bleeding to death, just like that other wolf had.
* * * *
Jack had gone to see if the other women had heard Mikayla’s ranting. He’d found them yammering on to each other about something unimportant, and as far as he could tell, they were none the wiser. After that, he’d considered trying to talk to Mikayla again but decided he needed time to cool off and space to think.
“Women, huh?” Shane shrugged as Jack approached.
“Yeah.” He shook his head, trying to produce a grin, but failing. It bothered him not only that she’d question him but also that she didn’t believe he’d keep her safe. “I’ll relieve Dylan. Then, when the others get back, I’m heading out for a run.”
Shane nodded and Jack left without another word.
Dylan turned to look at him as he approached. “You’re not on for a few hours yet. It’s Noah’s turn when he gets back.”
“I know. I just need some air.”
Dylan raised his eyebrows in question. The tunnel wasn’t exactly known for its air quality.
“Don’t ask, man, okay? I just need some alone time.”
“You got it.” Dylan had made it almost to the other end of the hall when he turned back to Jack. “I wouldn’t waste too much time out here if I was you. Not if I had a woman like that waiting for me.”
Jack growled. “Eyes and hands to yourself.” He sighed in relief when he heard the door shut at the other end of the hall. He had a lot to think about.
He’d only been mildly annoyed about her questioning him like that. The main source of his irritation was, as much as he hated to admit it, defensiveness. Defensiveness because she was right. They’d only just found her, so he really hadn’t had time to think about it. Or maybe he just didn’t want to. Either way, she was right, just not about the guns. Against lycan laws or not, they were necessary. A last resort, but necessary. No, she was right about what came next. Their life, safe houses, rescue missions, and sometimes even spying on Ulric, that was no life for his mate.
And then the vampires. They hadn’t discussed their plans for the vampires yet. She needed a pack, a family, a safe place to lay her gorgeous head. She obviously wanted to return to her clan, but he and Hunter still had a score to settle with the vampires, and they’d committed to helping keep the underground alive. He couldn’t go live under some alpha’s law until he’d seen all of this through. He wouldn’t. In fact, he didn’t think he ever wanted to live under some other man’s rule again, following orders but getting no help when it came to his loved ones. But if he didn’t want to be part of a pack, what would that mean for his mate?
* * * *
Liz returned not long after Jack’s and Hunter’s revelation about the guns, but Mikayla didn’t mention it to her friend. She was still pissed over the whole thing and didn’t want to bring it up just yet. Instead, she stuck with lighter topics like filling Liz in on happenings back in River’s Bend and finding out about Liz’s routine in the safe house. It seemed to pretty much consist of doing a lot of nothing all day, preparing meals, cleaning up, and spending time with Gavin when he wasn’t on guard or out on a mission.
Liz said she only got out once a day to run, and that was only if Gavin was around to take her. He apparently didn’t want her leaving the safe house with anyone but him, and she didn’t seem to have much of a problem with that. For Mikayla, it sounded like sheer torture. Though she hated the snow, she was the type who had to get out and do something, anything, at least a few times per day.
“But don’t you get bored?” She looked hard at Liz. She was paler than usual and had lost some weight, but there were no signs she’d been tortured into submission.
“Sure. But it’s not forever, and there are always new females coming, so I always have someone new to chat up.”
“But, Liz, how can you possibly be satisfied with that? What about your career?” Liz had been hell-bent on building a career in the human world. She’d said she’d come back to live in River’s Bend eventually, but not until she’d made her mark.
“I don’t know. It doesn’t seem so important now. What matters is that Gavin and I are together.”
Liz had always said she’d never give up her dreams for a man, and Mikayla decided she understood. Clearly, the panther had done a number on her brain. “And what happens when your fated actually comes along?”
“If he’s really my destiny, he will love me regardless and accept that I had a life before him, one I won’t walk away from because fate says so. Who knows? He might not show up anyway.”
“Of course he’ll show up.”
“Sometimes they don’t.”
“Usually, they do.” Mikayla sighed. “Sooner or later. You’re still young, and I just met my mates yesterday. Give it time.”
“Don’t want to. I love Gavin, and I’m his for as long as he’ll have me.”
“And if his fated shows up?”
The look on Liz’s face revealed more than her words did. Gavin’s fated would face one pissed-off wolf if she did show her face. “Just accept it, okay? You’re like a sister to me, and I need to know I have your support.”
Mikayla felt torn between a desire to slap her friend until good sense returned and the need to hug her. “If this is an attempt to shut me up, forget it.” After all the years they’d been friends, Liz had to know that wasn’t going to work.
“Nope.” Liz grinned. “I know you can’t keep your big mouth shut for long.”
“It’s because I love you. I won’t shut up about it, but I’ll try to support you in your crazy.”
Liz reached over to hug Mikayla. “What else could I ask for?”
* * * *
Bedtime came rather early in the safe house. With so little to do, there wasn’t a whole lot of reason to stay up. Liz explained that anyone not on duty was expected to get a good night’s rest. In the event, however unlikely, that they were invaded, everyone would need the strength to run, or to fight. The women had received some basic lessons in self-defense, but as in her clan, they were to be protected. If it did come down to the women fighting, Liz said it would probably be because all of the men were dead. Mikayla was once again thankful for the secret battle training Nikki had been running back in River’s Bend. She would at least have a chance if things went south while she was there.
As in the men’s bedroom, the females had pallets on the floor, though they had a good deal more in
the way of blankets and furs. Liz jokingly called them luxury pallets. It was nice to see the men cared not only about the women’s overall safety but also about their comfort. “It’s good that you have so much space down here.” With only a few women in temporary residence and then the men, it wasn’t at all crowded like she’d envisioned.
“It gets tight at times, but as Ulric moves further south, the men come back with fewer and fewer women. When I got here, there were more than thirty women, but every week or two another batch leaves.”
“Does it worry you? Having fewer men in the safe house while they escort the women back home?” Mikayla snuggled down under the blankets and furs, still fully dressed, though for comfort’s sake, she’d removed her bra.
It wasn’t uncomfortably cold in the shelter but there was a definite chill in the air, and Mikayla liked to be warm. Liz, on the other hand, settled on top of the blankets, clothed in a long T-shirt, yet looking entirely comfortable. Mikayla didn’t get it. She had the same high body temperature that other shifters did, but she was somehow more sensitive to the cold.
“Actually, we’re never a man down. The men rotate from safe house to safe house. So no one leaves here to take anyone home until someone arrives from one of the other houses, usually with at least one refugee in tow who’s on her way back to a pack up here.”
“Do they ever take in male refugees?” The Liekos Clan often received news of men who’d decided to flee rather than join Ulric. They’d even taken some of them in. Unfortunately, that hadn’t always worked out so well.
“No, too dangerous.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Sometimes those who fled turned out to be the criminal type. Not wanting to fight with Ulric didn’t necessarily make a wolf a good person. “How did these guys come to work together? You have to admit, it’s not your typical alliance.”
Fated for Mikayla [Wolves of River's Bend 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 7
