Gus glanced at each of the men for confirmation before shifting to his wolf form. His wolf let out one long, lone howl laced with a thick command which no pack member would be able to ignore. Closing his eyes, he sensed the whereabouts of each Twisted Tail member who remained on pack grounds. His ability to locate and command wolves through the power of his Alpha was an added perk of being the most senior member of the Council.
Slowly, the wolves of Twisted Tail began filling the area around the town square. Gus observed each of them as they hesitantly made their way closer to where he stood. Young and old alike, all were equally cautious of Gus and the enforcers surrounding him, who remained in human form. When he sensed that all the wolves in the area had complied with his command, he issued one last order before shifting back to human form.
With no idea what to expect from the wolves at Twisted Tail, Gus schooled his face to calmness as he watched the pack members shift. It looked like the majik in many of them had been depleted from their poor living conditions and various health concerns. For a few of the wolves, it took several agonizing minutes to return to human form.
Tattered and faded clothes from an era long gone adorned the majority of the people standing before him. Thin, frail bodies looked as if they would blow away with nothing more than a strong breeze. His heart broke to see those standing before him in such dire need of the basic necessities.
Gus sucked in a deep breath before introducing himself. “Thank you for joining me. My name is Gus Eklund. I’m here on behalf of the Wolf Council.”
“We were told the Council disbanded years ago.” Gus’ wolf picked up varying scents from the crowd, but shock, anger, and resentment seemed to be the most prevalent.
Rafe had warned Gus of the lies Griffin told during his reign of terror, but he’d hoped Rafe had been wrong. “My good people, as much as it pains me to say this, you were lied to. Griffin Engle was not a true Alpha. I can only apologize that the Council did not step in sooner to help the members of Twisted Tail. The peril in which you have all been placed has just been brought to our attention by the leader of Black Paw.”
“I heard Griffin and his men are dead,” an older woman shouted from the crowd.
“You heard wrong, you old fool. They’re on the run. They’ll be back as soon as the coast is clear,” one of the men yelled.
“I can assure you that Griffin and most of his men were killed when they attacked Black Paw,” Gus explained to the weary crowd.
“How do we know this isn’t some sort of trick? Seems we’ve been lied to a lot lately,” the woman shouted again.
Closing his eyes, Gus recalled the scene from the Council meeting with Rafe, of Mina killing Griffin. He projected the image to each adult in the pack, allowing them to witness the death of their former Alpha. “Make no mistake. He is dead.”
Gasps filled the air, followed by several shouts and cheers.
“Bless us, Odin! Griffin is finally dead.”
“So who’s going to lead us now?” an older man calmly asked. “We don’t have anyone left from Magnulf’s bloodline. We have no true Alphas to step up to the job.”
“What is your name, sir?” Gus asked the man.
“Enar.”
“Thank you, Enar. The Council is committed to making the recovery and rebuilding process here at Twisted Tail as quick as possible. But first things first, we need to make sure that all members have the basic necessities: lodging, food, clean water, and so on. Can someone suggest a good place where we can sit down and discuss these matters, as well as a few others? Maybe a town hall or park with enough tables?”
“When Magnulf was Alpha we had a nice lodge for pack events, but Griffin had it gutted and boarded up when he took over. Told us we were wolves and didn’t have any need to be surrounded by fancy things.”
Gus sighed audibly. “I see. Enar, do you think the building can be re-opened and used for our purposes?”
“Yeah, I suppose. It’ll be easy enough to rip the boards down and get some buckets of soap and water in there, but that still leaves us with a big empty room.”
“I’ll make you a deal, Enar. You get a crew together and get the place cleaned up by this evening and I’ll take care of everything else. We’ll have a feast tonight in celebration of the dawning of a new era for Twisted Tail.”
“I think we can arrange that. What do you say? Who’s with me?” Enar asked. Several of the men and women enthusiastically offered to lend a hand.
Gus could feel the excitement thrumming through the small crowd gathered before him. Most of the people were hopeful that better days were on the horizon, though a few remained firmly on the fence. The Council would have to prove to the remaining citizens of Twisted Tail that its intentions were good and that it wanted what was best for the pack as a whole.
“Wonderful. We’re going to go gather the supplies needed for tonight and the next few days. We’ll be back in a few hours. Please let all pack members know they are welcome to join us tonight. It will be a family affair, so bring the pups with you.”
As the pack slowly broke apart, Gus pulled his men closer, needing to brainstorm a strategy for getting the people of Twisted Tail basic supplies…and for pulling together a last-minute feast.
Chapter Sixteen
“You knew about this and didn’t say anything?” Lucas paced the length of Rafe’s office before starting over again, wearing a path in the plush carpet. “I’m not sure what’s worse, the Fates laughing over the fact that they saddled me with a fucking witch as a mate, or the fact that you knew she was a witch and didn’t say a damn word about it.”
Rafe didn’t have nearly enough coffee in his system to deal with Lucas bright and early on a Saturday morning. “I get why you’re all freaked out, but there’s no need for it. Erin isn’t like the witches who attacked Black Paw. If you would just—”
“Just what?” Lucas interrupted. “Just give her a chance to prove she’s not a murdering bitch? They killed my fucking family, Rafe, and you want me to just let bygones be bygones?”
“You act like you’re the only fucking one who lost someone that day. You seem to forget they killed my father, too. But that doesn’t mean all witches are bad or evil. It’s like saying all wolves are like the ones we met from Twisted Tail. There isn’t a single person at Black Paw who didn’t lose someone they loved. So don’t give me that shit.”
Rafe took a deep breath, trying to calm the situation before it escalated further. “How did you find out? Did Erin just come out and tell you?”
“Really? That’s what you want to know about?”
“Yep.” Rafe leaned against his desk, sipping his coffee patiently and waiting for Lucas to begin.
“The mating dreams started for her last night.”
Trying not to laugh at the situation, Rafe watched as Lucas collapsed onto the leather sofa. Rafe still recalled Mina’s first mating dream, in every vivid detail. “Yeah, those are interesting.”
“Interesting? I thought I was going out of my damn mind. I ran as fast as I could to her apartment and nearly beat her door down. After a few minutes she finally opened the door and let me in. She told me she didn’t want to complete the mating ceremony, but once things got heated up, she bit me.”
“Then what?”
“With the mating connection complete, I could hear her every thought. Her past, present, and future.” Lucas’ voice turned to disgust. “I knew that I’d been lied to by everyone, including you. Anyway, we got into a huge fight and Erin told me to get the fuck out.”
“You’re kidding, right? You just left her there? After completing the mating?”
“Goddamn right I did. What the fuck did you expect me to do? She’s a fucking witch.”
“So you guys completed the mating ceremony? Your wolves are fully bonded?”
“I just said that, didn’t I?”
Rafe’s jaw clenched tight. He wanted to smack the fuck out of Lucas. “You are such a stubborn asshole.”
“W
hy, because I refuse to be mated to a witch? I want you to break the bond.”
Rafe sucked in a sharp breath, surprised by Lucas’ request.
“She’s not a full-blooded witch. She’s only half, but that shouldn’t even be a factor because your wolf already accepted her as his mate. You need to think, long and hard, back to the day you marked her as your mate. Your wolf knew there was something different about her, something more than just wolf. He knew she had a more powerful majik running through her veins, yet he didn’t care.”
“I care,” Lucas shouted. “I can’t be mated to a witch.”
“You already are.”
Lucas leaned his head against the back of the sofa and closed his eyes. “Rafe, I’ve never asked you for a single thing, but I’m asking now. Please, break my mating bond with Erin.”
“I can’t.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
Rafe combed his fingers through his hair, knowing his answer was one Lucas wouldn’t want to hear. “I can’t.”
“I’ve seen you do it before. Several times.” Lucas shook his head.
“The bonds I’ve broken before were false bonds, where the females had their mates forced upon them. I can’t break the bond of true mates without harming or possibly even killing one or both wolves.”
“So what you’re saying is, this is my life and I should just suck it up.”
“You really want to know what I think? No, don’t answer that. It’s a rhetorical question. I’m going to tell you what I think, whether you like it or not.” Rafe pushed away from his desk and crossed his arms over his chest. “You need to see Erin for who she really is. Not the twisted version you have in your head, based on a bias that doesn’t apply to her. She’s no different than she was years ago, or even a day ago, before you found out about her being half-witch. Think about the woman who has dedicated herself to helping and saving others. Think about all the hours she spends in the clinic saving our people. Her people.”
“I thought I knew who she was. I really did. I was so fucking excited to find out she was my true mate. I couldn’t understand why she’d hidden it from me all these years, or why she refused to complete the mating ceremony. None of it made sense, until now.”
“Knowing how wolves felt about witches, from a very young age Erin was prevented from speaking about her true heritage by a spell her mother placed on her. Erin could no more help the fact that she is part witch any more than her mom could help the fact that she is the true mate of a wolf.”
Lucas stood and resumed his pacing. “You seem to be awfully calm, considering we were told less than forty-eight hours ago that witches are to be killed on sight.”
“Yeah, well, the Council doesn’t know about Erin or her mom. Nor do they need to know. They both take special care when it comes to masking their true scent, and as long as that continues, I have no problem with either of them being at Black Paw. You shouldn’t either. Besides, I know for a fact that Erin and Brenna had nothing to do with helping Twisted Tail.”
“I don’t know how you can be so calm about all of this. How you can side with witches.” Lucas’ agitation flared once more.
“What’s not to understand? Brenna risked revealing herself to save my life. As did Erin when she saved Mina, and again with Bree. If it weren’t for Erin, my mate and her sister would not be here. They were both mortally wounded by Griffin. I would have watched them die before my very eyes. That’s not something I would’ve been able to live with, and now that Mina is pregnant with our twins, Erin pops in for regular visits to check on her and the babies. Erin spends so much time here, I’m tempted to offer her a room of her own.”
How could Rafe make Lucas understand that Erin and her mother were good women, wolves, and witches? Not one part of them was tainted, corrupt, or evil. They lived by pack laws and fought with the pack against anyone who threatened Black Paw.
“Look, she’s your mate, and—”
The sound of glass breaking and Mina screaming interrupted the conversation. Rafe and Lucas darted from the office to the living room to see what had happened.
“Mina, is everything—” Rafe skidded to a halt as he turned the corner. The unmistakable sound of snarling filled the room. Sensing that his mate was in danger, Rafe’s wolf flew to the forefront, taking control and forcing Rafe to shift. Lucas’ transformation followed an instant later.
“Stay away from my mom, you beast. She will not have another mate forced on her,” Mina shouted, putting herself in between Beth and the wolf stealthily approaching her.
Rafe recognized the large brown-and-gray wolf as his uncle, inching closer to where Mina and Beth stood. He howled once, warning Gus’ wolf to back down, but the wolf refused.
“What do we do, boss? Are we really going to attack your uncle?” Lucas asked.
“If he doesn’t get control of his wolf.”
“The front door was open, I hope you don’t mind that I—” Calder announced, entering the fray. The situation immediately forcing his transformation.
Running out of patience, Rafe snarled at Gus, giving him one last warning to back the fuck away from his mate, who still stood firmly between Beth and Gus.
Thick majik from the three powerful Alphas supercharged the air. Matters were made much worse when a fourth wolf teleported into the room.
Though he wasn’t an Alpha, Tanner’s sudden appearance—and size—added to the already overwhelming chaos.
Beth stepped forward to her daughter and placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, baby girl. He’s the one I was meant for. I can feel the mating call in my body. My wolf can feel it running through her blood. He is our true mate.” Tears streamed down her cheeks. “I’ve waited my whole life to meet my fated mate.”
Beth shifted to her wolf form and slowly padded over to Gus. She whined once before licking his muzzle.
Rafe shifted back to human form, closing the distance between him and Mina. He pulled her into his arms just as Gus’ fangs sunk deep into Beth’s neck.
“After all these years, they finally found one another.”
“Let’s give these two some privacy.” Rafe led everyone to the kitchen.
“Who is that wolf?” Mina asked, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Please tell me you know him and that he’s a good wolf. That he will treat my mom with love and respect.”
“He’s my uncle and one of the best wolves out there. Your mom’s in good hands now, I promise. Gus will cherish and protect her,” Rafe tried to reassure Mina.
“What about my sisters? Will he accept them?”
“Without a doubt.”
Chapter Seventeen
Erin had hoped a good night’s sleep would be the cure-all for the clusterfuck she found herself in with Lucas. Instead she’d spent the remainder of the evening alone, tossing and turning, before giving up on sleep altogether. Watching the sun come up by herself was not what she’d had in mind after making love to Lucas. How had things gone downhill so fast?
“What the hell were you thinking, going rogue and completing the mating ceremony? Even after I warned you against it! You knew how he feels about witches,” Erin chastised her wolf.
“His wolf not only accepted it, but rejoiced once the ceremony was finished and the bond complete. He doesn’t give a fig that we have the blood of witches running through our veins—and neither should the man.”
“What you say about the wolf may be true, but the man is a different story. You heard what he said. I’m sure the first thing Lucas did was hightail it to Rafe to break the mating bond.”
The very idea of her mate seeking to annul the bond they shared broke her heart. I should have known better than to think I could be worthy of a true mate who would accept me for who I am.
She wiped away the tears as they flowed from her eyes, hating the fact that she had opened her heart to the possibility of having a mate. It was the one thing she’d sworn she would never do for this very reason. Lucas’ rejection hit her harder than she expected.
As hard as she had tried to pretend otherwise over the years, she longed for her mate. In the end, Erin would walk away with her head held high. She would not beg Lucas to stay with her, no matter how much she loved him.
“We can’t let him go. He is our mate.” Her wolf picked up on her thoughts and brought up the obvious.
“We may not have a choice. I’ll see if Mom knows of any spells or anything that can help with the situation.”
Grabbing a light sweater, Erin headed off for a brisk morning walk, needing to clear her head. Sitting around her apartment wallowing in self-pity would get her nowhere. If he wanted to break the mating bond, so be it. There wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it but pick up the pieces when they came crashing down around her.
With each footfall her emotions shifted from sadness and hurt to anger and resentment. She fired off a couple of texts to her mom, letting her know that Lucas had indeed found out about her secret and he was livid. Erin knew her mom was likely still fast asleep, but she’d hear from her when she woke up.
Her mind was abuzz, running through a million and one hypothetical scenarios as to how the situation would play out with Lucas.
Before long Erin realized she’d walked halfway across town. The smell of bacon, eggs, and potatoes wafted through the air. Her wolf whined and her stomach grumbled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since the previous day.
Glancing down at herself, she sighed, imagining the gossip that was sure to follow if she entered Shelby’s Diner in her present state. Her hair was a mess, bound together in the most unfortunate attempt at a bun. Slipping her hand inside her pocket, she cheered when her fingers brushed against the cash she’d stuffed in her pockets weeks ago and had forgotten about.
Fur Ever Witched (Black Paw Pack Book 2) Page 7
