by T. Cobbin
“You’re gross.”
“You taste good.” He laughed and bent to pick up the bag she’d dropped.
“I shouldn’t give that to you now,” she grumbled, turning and picking up her luggage. When she stood back up and twisted around, Duke stood behind her in a pair of ripped jeans and the shirt she’d bought him. Yet again her luggage fell to the ground when she started to giggle. The look on his face was hilarious.
“Really?” he asked.
She couldn’t speak for laughing, so just nodded. There he was, this six-foot hunk of a male, wearing a black t-shirt with a cat in sunglasses on it. Underneath in gold lettering were the words Pussy Magnet.
He pulled her against his hard body, his arms banding around her waist, and he nibbled at her neck. Her laughing stopped as his heated, lust-filled eyes met her. “Only your pussy, princess,” he drawled.
“Better be,” she warned and pushed against his chest. “I brought you this too.” Plucking up another bag, she handed it to him.
Opening it, he pulled out another black t-shirt. This one had two wolves on it, one resting his head on the other, both under a full moon. A sexy smile filled his face, and he winked at her. “Now, that I like.” Placing the shirt back in the bag, he picked up her suitcase and offered his arm to her. “Let’s go home.”
With a deep breath, she slipped her arm into his and they both walked toward their village.
Chapter 5
Raven had no idea how her father had handled such intense pack emotions at a time like this. As she and Duke walked through their small village, it seemed everyone came out to greet her and welcome her home. Each time someone touched her, she immediately knew what they were feeling. The one time Duke let go of her to place the luggage on the ground and gave her room to hug a few friends, she nearly dropped to her knees. The moment he touched her again, the emotions went back to being on a simmer. She wondered if the look of relief on his face reflected her own.
Raven noticed a few pack members inhale and then suddenly their excitement grew, as she and Duke passed. Several people even nudged the person next to them and indicated to do the same. She knew even if both she and Duke had showered, they would smell of recent sex. It would seem she probably wouldn’t have to tell them of their mating; they could guess. Finally, she stood on her father’s stoop. Turning to the gathered crowd, her pack, she inhaled deeply and began to speak.
“As you see, I have returned. But alas, the reason I am here is because of my father’s passing.” The pleasure of being back and with Duke was replaced with sorrow. She still hadn’t seen her father yet. “Tonight we say goodbye to your previous alpha, and lead him off to the goddess with dignity.”
Some of her pack murmured amongst themselves.
“I could have taken over for him four years ago when the elders deemed I was old enough to mate. And I was willing to do it, but my father was adamant that I spend a few free years before I became...” She paused, lifted her eyebrows, and mimicked her father’s voice. “...a broodmare, that’s what you will be, my girl, if you don’t go away for a while. You need to grow up first.” Raven smiled. Inside her mind, she replayed the last conversation she’d had with him.
A few chuckles went through the crowd, mainly from the older people who knew her father well.
“I can’t thank him enough for that time. I also know that this pack has had no young for nearly ten years, so my thanks go to you for waiting so long.” She bowed her head to the crowd before going back to look over each of the pack’s faces. “But I stand before you this evening with some more bad news. I was attacked after not being on pack land for more than fifteen minutes.”
Gasps and louder murmuring could be heard. Raven paused until all went silent again.
“This male had two of his friends help him. He was crazy enough to think that by raping me he could forcefully become alpha and keep the pack running.”
Raven looked toward Duke and then down to their clasped hands.
“Duke saved me.” She beamed, looking up from their clasped hands to Duke and then across the crowd’s faces. “Long story short, Duke and I are mated and we now share the mantle of leadership.” She paused, waiting for the pack’s cheers to die down. “We have the sheets to prove it,” she added cheekily, remembering pack law.
A few titters rippled through the small crowd.
“If anyone opposes this, or if any of you think you cannot be a pack member under the both of us, then please don’t hesitate to see the elders, or of course take your leave. We,” she said, motioning toward Duke, “would be sad to see you go.”
Raven paused again, giving anyone who might not agree the opportunity to say something. But only silence greeted her.
“We will tell you,” she added, looking over the faces before her, “we plan to help grow our pack. We will have young again.”
Again, Raven had to stop talking because of the pack cheering and clapping. The emotions of the pack were so electrifying the small hairs on her arms rose and her whole body tingled with their happiness.
“On a sad note, we will also tell you that the likes of Timmy Johnson and his cronies will be forever banned or otherwise punished for their misdeeds.” Gasps went through the crowd upon hearing the identities of her attackers, but Raven ignored them and carried on. “My father gave me freedom to be happy today, and I intend to make sure our pack is happy with me.”
Cheers erupted briefly before again silence fell.
“Tonight, though…” She paused to swallow the lump filling the back of her throat. Her eyes began to sting. Once this was over, she would see her father and say goodbye to him. “Let us gather to say one final farewell to my father.”
Raven was bombarded with Duke’s sudden intense concerned emotions. She lifted her eyes to his and gave him a tentative smile. He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly against his chest. Tears, which she’d been holding back, flowed down her face. He turned them around, opened her father’s cabin door, and walked them both inside, shutting it behind them.
“I wasn’t going to cry, I was going to be strong.” She sobbed into his chest, annoyed at herself. She hadn’t wanted to show the pack any weakness.
“They understand, Raven, never doubt them. They won’t see this as weakness, princess. They will see it for what it is—a daughter grieving the loss of her father.”
Lifting her head from his chest, Raven peered into her mate’s green eyes. Seeing only truth, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to cry.
* * * *
Duke watched the woman he loved sit by her father’s body, whispering things only meant for her old man’s ears. Her tears still came occasionally, but for the most part, she seemed more settled than when she’d first seen him.
The cabin had three bedrooms, but when Pam had died, Theodore couldn’t bear sleeping in the master bedroom, so he’d moved into a smaller one. It was where he was resting now.
A knock at the cabin door had Duke turning and walking toward it. Three males stood on the other side. All of them had once been Theodore’s best friends. Since the death of his mate though, their previous alpha had distanced himself.
“We came as per our right, as his close friends and family, to carry him to his goddess.” The male who spoke was Tom, Theodore’s oldest and best friend. He held his head high, and both his voice and eyes held the hint of a challenge. Duke could almost hear his thoughts—Don’t you even think about not allowing me to carry my friend to the goddess. He held in his hands a folded piece of blue material that would be wrapped around the alpha’s body before he was carried to the funeral pyre.
Duke nodded while picking out Tom’s emotions. Along with the undeniable challenge, deep sadness gripped the old man, but also pride that he would carry his friend for his last farewell.
“No one here will dispute your right to carry your best friend and alpha to meet his goddess, Tom,” Duke said, allowing the men to enter the cabin.
Tom sighed. “I’m sorr
y, I just thought… It’s been so long…” His words trailed off as he looked down at his feet. Duke waited patiently for the man to gather himself. After a moment, Tom cleared his throat and spoke again. “I thought with Raven home, she might want—”
“His best friend to carry him.” They all looked over at Raven, who was walking toward them. “Just because I’ve been away, old man, doesn’t stop me from knowing what’s been going on.”
“Old man, huh?” Tom growled, before a smile altered the serious look on his face. He stepped forward and pulled Raven into his arms. “I missed you, girl,” he said, patting her on the back.
“I missed you too, Uncle Tom.”
Duke smiled, watching the two reunite. She called him Uncle, being he and her father were virtually like brothers, and he was always around as she grew up. Raven pulled away from the man and immediately stepped toward Duke and reached out for his hand. He grabbed it willingly.
“He thought of you as a son, you know,” Tom said, turning to Duke. “He knew one day you would be the one to step into his paws.” Tom looked down at his feet and shuffled them before looking back up and continuing. “He had a deep guilt sending her so far away from you, but he knew you understood why he’d done it.” Tom held Duke’s stare.
Duke nodded, unable to speak through the lump in his throat. He had thought very highly of his alpha too. Duke swallowed a couple of times. “He was like a second father, I am honored to follow in his paws.”
Duke bowed his head to Theodore’s friends as they walked further into the cabin. Tom placed a friendly hand on Duke’s shoulder as he passed. Duke shut the door, then he and Raven followed the men to the bedroom. For a few minutes, they all stood looking over the prone figure in the bed.
“Raven?” Tom asked.
Seeing the sorrow on Raven’s face as she looked up at the visitors chipped a piece of Duke’s heart. She wiped some fresh tears from her face, her bottom lip quivering.
“Can we wrap him now?” Tom asked.
“Why only three of you?” she questioned.
“Only three to wrap him, Raven. Others wait outside in respect for you. Your father was a good and honorable alpha.”
“Even if he didn’t take another mate, and left this pack with no pups for ten years?” Raven challenged, interrupting her father’s friend. Duke could feel anger just under the surface of her grief. He couldn’t understand why; Tom had never spoken against his friend.
“Raven.” Tom moved forward and pulled her into his chest again. Duke watched her stiffen at first, then she slowly relaxed, but not once did she drop her hand from his.
“I’m sorry.” She wept. “I... He… I don’t want anyone t-to say anything bad about him.”
Tom kissed her forehead and pulled her head back to peer into her eyes. “Your father couldn’t and wouldn’t take another mate, because he loved your mother fiercely, even after her death. We understood that. And although there are those who are mated, and want pups, they were still loyal to your father until the end. You are here now, girl, as he wanted you to be. You and Duke,” the old man said, looking over to him, “will make a fine alpha pair.” Tom nodded and turned back to the king-size bed. “Give us a bit, lass, we won’t take long.”
Duke sat in one of the armchairs, pulling Raven across his lap. She curled up against his chest, watching the men go about wrapping her father into a tight, mummified bundle. It was the elders who made the blue material. Duke remembered wrapping his parents in the cloth. It had left an oily residue on his skin. He had no idea what went into the cloth, but it stuck together and then gradually went hard as nails.
It didn’t take the men long to wrap their alpha. As they left the cabin Tom said, “We’ll be back at sunset.”
Duke nodded. He glanced at the clock on the old man’s nightstand. It was already five, so they had a few hours before the men would return. Looking down at his new mate, he could feel her anger as if it was nails poking just underneath her skin. As the cabin door shut, she rose from his lap and screamed.
“Why? Why did he send me away? Why didn’t he just let me stay? I could have been here, he could probably still be here. He shouldn’t be lying over there, he should be shouting back at me.”
Duke stood slowly, but didn’t step toward Raven just yet. He knew she had to get this out of her system. All the time the men were wrapping her father, he could feel her anger grow.
“He should be telling me all about what it’s like to be an alpha. Helping me understand all this pack emotion shit.” She turned to stare at Duke, her puffy eyes full of tears. Her head dropped so her chin touched her chest, and her shoulders slumped forward.
With a couple of huge strides, Duke had Raven in his arms and held her tightly to his chest. “Shush now,” he whispered, running his fingers through some of the loose strands of her hair.
“Why, Duke? Why couldn’t he hold on for another month, or even call me home sooner? How am I supposed to be the alpha female without him?” Her shoulders shook as she cried, and he could feel the dampness of her tears on his t-shirt.
“Your father taught you more than you think.” He placed a finger underneath her chin, lifting her head up so he could see her eyes. Although they were red and swollen, they were so beautiful. “He is watching over you, Raven. Just because he isn’t here in mind, doesn’t mean he isn’t here in soul. For as long as you, or anyone else, remember him, part of him will always survive.”
Raven’s eyes flickered downward before peering back up at him, as if she were going over everything he’d just said. With a tiny nod, she curled her arms around his waist and held him tightly.
“You know, you can’t go to my father’s funeral wearing that pussy t-shirt.” She snorted.
He couldn’t help but chuckle. “I think you’re right.” He lifted her head up again. “See, my female alpha, that’s just one wise choice in a long line of decisions.” He smiled at her and used his thumb to wipe away one of her tears.
She just snorted again and rolled her eyes. “Whoop-de-do. I just made my very first order as alpha over a shirt.”
“It’s a good one though,” he said sincerely. He was trying to get her to think positive about her being alpha of the pack. He didn’t want her to regret it, not even for one moment. Her father wouldn’t want her to.
“Yes, okay, you win. Let’s both get changed. I could do with a quick shower. Someone made me a little dirty earlier.” Although her lips turned up into a smile, it didn’t reach her eyes.
He placed a light kiss on her lips then released her. “I have to go get some clothes. Are you going to be all right?”
“I can shower on my own. I’m a big girl now,” she replied saucily.
Duke couldn’t help but smile as he whispered into her ear. “I know, I had the pleasure of finding out.” He didn’t stick around to see her face, he turned and walked out the cabin door. A lot of the pack were still outside, standing around in small groups. Another of Theodore’s friends, Keith, approached him.
“You need anything, Alpha?”
“No. Raven’s getting dressed.” He pulled at the t-shirt he was wearing. “I need to do the same.”
Keith’s eyes glanced over the material. “That’s not something you would normally wear. I see that our Raven still has her quirky side.”
“Aye. It wouldn’t be her otherwise.”
“’Tis a sad day, but also one filled with hope.” Keith nodded. “Go get your togs and we will see you in a bit.”
“Do you need anything, Keith?”
“A long, stiff drink.” He chuckled. “And a friend to drink it with,” he said solemnly, looking toward the ex-alpha’s cabin.
Duke nodded, placed a hand on Keith’s shoulders, and walked past him.
Chapter 6
By the time Raven had showered and redressed into another black dress, a tap at the front door sounded. Opening it, she came face-to-face with six men waiting on the stoop. Looking over their solemn faces, she recognized each one
of them as close friends of her father. Memories flooded her mind of the nights she had heard voices and gotten out of her bed to see them playing poker at the kitchen table. Each man wore a red band around their arm, and every one of them was holding a red rose.
It was pack tradition to add red or white into a funeral. The higher up in the pack, such as enforcers, beta, and alpha, the color was always red. This was because they often died in battle or perished protecting the pack. On the very rare occasions when a pup died, they carried the color yellow, the color of the sun. It was always believed the goddess would see and greet all that came to her as equals.
Had a few hours passed already? Twisting her head around, she looked over at the bed where her father lay, wrapped up. Fresh tears burned her eyes. Swallowing, she turned back to the men, nodded, and stepped aside. When the last man entered, Duke walked in behind them. She hardly recognized him at first; he had shaved, and he looked so young and bare-faced. Glancing down his body, she saw he was dressed in a silky black shirt and a pair of black trousers.
He looked sexy, alas the bare feet didn’t top his ensemble off. Another pack tradition, after the funeral pyre had burned, the pack would shift and run. Afterward, they would all meet at the community hall, where food had been made and placed earlier. Around Duke’s arm was also a red band, and he was holding two red roses.
“I’m not ready yet,” she hoarsely whispered around the lump in her throat.
She picked up the last piece she needed, from a side table drawer near the front door—a red ribbon she’d had tucked away since her mother’s funeral. She looked down at the piece of silky material as if it were alien to her. Duke gently took it from between her fingers and handed her the two roses. Moving behind her, he gathered her hair. She could feel him tugging until he laid a single neat plait over her right shoulder, the red ribbon tied neatly in a bow at the end.
“Ready now?” he asked, cupping her cheek.
She reached up and stroked her hand over his clean face. “You look so young.”
