by KH LeMoyne
They’d entered a wooded strip of road with rocks hidden behind the tree line until the next curve where tall mountains rose. Hyenas still followed them, but with no open access to attack short of running faster and leaping over the moving vehicle.
“What’s in front of us?” she asked, leaning forward.
Images formed in the middle of the road in front of them. Gray-brown blobs, growing larger as they approached. They were moving fast, the creatures’ eyes golden with dangerous intent. Callum nearly stomped on the brakes.
“Clear the trees and pull hard to the left. Don’t stop until you are within my sanctuary and see my envoys,” the deep, but faint, voice commanded, surprisingly in a way that didn’t have Callum wincing. The compulsion was different from his alpha bond, an order minus the flaying pain. He glanced at Gillian as she checked over her shoulder again and hesitated with a scowl on her face.
“That was loud. Alpha Black?” she whispered.
“Apparently.” She’d somehow heard the order more clearly than the faint murmur he’d picked up. She wasn’t bound to Gauthier, so he must be hearing the local alpha through his mating bond with her. Whatever the explanation, he pressed the vehicle as hard as it would go. The chassis shook, parts of the engine rattling.
The objects in front of them coalesced into supersized animals bearing down on them.
“He didn’t say anything about sending grizzlies and a wolf to meet us,” Callum said, his humor falling flat.
“Then we don’t worry about them,” Gillian responded with a nod. However, she put the Colt in the satchel and clutched the baby tighter.
If he hadn’t felt her absolute conviction across their mating bond, he might have hesitated. But now he felt her instincts and trusted in them.
As they closed on the bears and wolf, the animals swerved, splitting around the car like water around the bow of a ship. The deadly shifters rejoined in a line behind them, the hyenas now invisible behind the line of fur, claws, and fangs.
“The hyenas are going to have a very bad day,” she murmured and leaned toward him as trees beside the road gave way to a vista of mountains.
Prepared to execute the alpha’s command for a sharp left turn, he faltered. There was nothing there but a yawning drop. “Hell.”
Shocked, he clenched the wheel back, ready to correct their course as he reached out to Gillian, dragging into the protection of his body.
She grabbed hold of the wheel with one hand before he could change their path. “Keep going!” she yelled. “He’s telling us to keep going.”
They continued at light-breaking speed as several feral cries pierced the air behind them.
His breath caught as a bursting wave equal parts determination and panic flooded across their mating bond. In an instant, the world around them changed. Crushing sudden death at the bottom of a rocky ravine rippled like a curtain and transformed into a tame dirt road leading toward a thick forest.
Peaceful. Serene. Unbelievable. And, thankfully, not fatal.
The vibration of Alpha Black’s sanctuary pressed against Callum’s skin like a vise, but it was pressure he could handle as long as Gillian and the babies were all right.
“How were you so sure?” He could barely get the words out through the dry spit in his mouth.
Panting, she leaned against him with a small laugh. “He didn’t save us from hyenas to kill us now. If we’re going to pledge to him, it seemed like a good time to trust him to keep us safe.”
Trust. Something he’d never learned from his alpha.
Callum glanced at the soft bundle in his mate’s arms. The tipping point that might end any chance they had of safe haven? Or another test of faith? They’d had this debate several times over the last few hours. But as they headed together within Alpha Black’s stronghold prepared to deliver an orphaned child into his care and pledge their lives forever, the doubts rose in his mind again. Yet, what other choice did they have?
Gillian caught his glance, a line marring the smooth, delicate skin between her brows. “Stop brooding.”
“What if—”
“Then we leave,” she whispered with finality, and his stomach clenched. He wished it would be that easy. Forcing levity into his voice despite lacking any in his heart, he said, “I’m glad you believe he’ll let us leave.”
“Perhaps.” Gillian sounded as if she could be hopeful enough for the both of them.
They continued along in silence until the trees thinned into orderly rows of apple trees, heavy with early autumn fruit. Breaking past the last row of trees, he slowed to a stop.
Several yards away, two grizzly bears flanked a buxom young woman with burnished, curly blonde hair. She offered them a tentative wave and a bright smile as she stroked her fingers through the fur of the bear shifter on her right. He rubbed his chin against the top of her head and then snorted their way.
“You must be Callum and Gillian Mann. I’m Betty Romald. This is my husband, Tiber.” She gestured with a finger pointing to the bear glaring their way. Then Betty nodded her head toward the other bear. “And his cousin, Grizz. They were taking a break from sentry duty to keep me company until you arrived. You can leave the car there if you’d like.”
Gillian eyed the large animals and looked at Callum as he exited the vehicle, sharing his same concern. As unassuming as the young woman seemed, he still waited until the two bears sauntered around the car and headed toward the sanctuary border before giving Gillian a hand down.
Betty’s eyes lit up when she saw the baby. “This must be our newest youngster.”
Callum hauled the duffel from the car but noticed Gillian tense. They’d both grown fond of the infant over such a short time and felt bleak at the cold reality of having to turn him over to someone. They had considered asking to keep the infant as their own, but then worried about the responsibilities of two babies, along with all the threats they faced and new situations to deal with. But it seemed like Alpha Black had already made the decision for them.
“I’ll bet you’re worried about the wee one.” Betty patted her chest as she nodded. “There’s no need, though. Deacon’s made sure Black Haven is one big family, but the boy will be welcomed in our tangle of six boys and girls. And that doesn’t count aunts, uncles, and cousins. No matter how small the person, no one gets lost in the Romald brood. We live right down the street and own this orchard.”
“A lot of children,” Callum said, feeling a little dizzy at the prospect of so many children, even though Gillian had always seemed set on six children. Concern for his single unborn child and now the baby in their care was enough to monopolize Callum’s day. He couldn’t imagine worrying about four more.
“Everyone fits in,” Betty assured him with a wink. “My husband and I love children. Can’t see an end to taking them into our family any time soon, so there’s always room for one more. It’s all about love and patience, right?” she asked, holding out her arms to Gillian. “May I hold him?”
Reluctantly, Gillian allowed the other woman to take the child. The baby whimpered as he left her arms, and Callum hoped it didn’t foreshadow a problem. Only several weeks old and already this poor infant had endured more tragedy than many people did in a lifetime.
When the child refused to hush, Gillian reached over to stroke his forehead. He quieted immediately.
“You’re a natural with the lad,” Betty said before she snuggled the baby closer and looked into his face. “Don’t you worry, you’ll see Gillian and Callum plenty. Isn’t that right now?” She gave them a quizzical look.
“We’d like that,” Callum replied. What else could he say? He had no idea what control they would have over their lives.
Gillian gave a halfhearted smile but didn’t answer, her thoughts likely echoing his own, though her emotions over their bond were chaotic.
“The alpha is waiting for you. I’ll take you through the orchard to the cottage there.”
Since they’d crossed the sanctuary boundary, the cloud-free blue sky had grown
variegated with hues of purple dotted with white clouds.
“We’ll have our first snow soon,” Betty muttered as they walked free of the orchard path and into a clearing. Several log cabins sat like mile markers along a well-kept road. The consistent crack of an axe on wood sounded before them, matching the sure and steady rhythm of a man in front of the first cabin. With one hand, he planted wood on a tree stump, and two strikes later, the split logs toppled to the ground.
No one else was in sight, but the well-muscled, bare-chested man performing manual labor. Betty strode faster toward him. Another bear relative? But the scent of wolf reached him on a slight breeze, and he stared.
The man was about Callum’s own height, but with an added fifty pounds in muscle centered across broad shoulders and equally fit back. As they approached, he paused in his work and turned toward them. He set aside the axe in hand, his eyes gleaming gold.
Alpha power washed over Callum, and he grasped Gillian’s hand. As the ripple of unearthly power lingered, he waited. Moments passed with no backlash of pain or sudden gripping command to drop to their knees.
“They’re here safe and sound, Deacon,” Betty called out as the baby started to fuss again.
Gillian moved forward as if to take the baby back, but Betty had placed the infant in Deacon Black’s arms.
Sliding an arm around Gillian’s shoulder as much to hold her back as comfort her, Callum held his breath. It wasn’t as if he believed Betty would put the child in jeopardy. While at some point they needed to know whether they could trust the alpha or not, he hadn’t realized their test would come so soon.
Callum’s jaw dropped and Gillian gasped as the powerful man cradled the infant in the crook of his elbow and brushed his fingertips along the child’s cheek. The baby stilled immediately.
Betty chuckled. “Every single time. What is it about you that comforts them so?”
“It’s my magnetic personality,” Black said and slowly paced for a few steps, softly jostling the boy before turning back to Betty.
Betty glanced toward them. “Does he have a name?”
Gillian blinked rapidly, so Callum answered instead. “We don’t know anything about him.”
“Wharton,” Black replied as he adjusted the blankets around the baby and then gingerly placed him back into Betty’s arms. “I don’t have many more details because his parents and his extended family are dead. But we have his name and that of his parents—and we will honor their choice for him.”
The baby roused again, and Black brushed his thumb across the child’s forehead until it settled once again. “Hush, little one.”
“This lad will take more time settling in than most,” Betty offered ruefully. “I’m glad Grizz brought the cradle down again for you from the attic.”
Black grunted. “I’ve moved it to my office. Farther away from the construction noise and dust when Tiber works on the rooms upstairs.”
“Right. I’ll take him for a feeding and then bring him back to you.”
“You’re keeping him with you?” Gillian burst out, staring at the alpha.
It was Betty who replied with a quick nod. “That he is. There’s something about Deacon that calms the orphaned ones.” She headed back toward the orchard and then turned back with a wink. “All the youngsters, actually.”
Callum scowled, not sure what to make of the situation. Was Wharton safe within the alpha’s household? Or did he risk conveniently disappearing one day without notice. “I understood from Mrs. Romald the child will live with her family. But what is your intention for him?”
Hands fisted, he stanched the discomfort rolling beneath his skin as the alpha turned his eyes on him with a brutal focus. Callum straightened his shoulders a bit more, fighting the fine line between actually challenging the man and openly reacting to the shiver snaking up his spine.
Instead, Black paused and shuttered his gaze and the harsh light burning there. “Callum Mann, you’ve come into my territory to betray your oath to Alpha Karndottir, placing yourself at my mercy, and you interrogate me about my plans. Which makes you either brave or foolish.”
Gillian released a small gasp beside him and then squeezed his hand with hers in warning. But she didn’t move away, and he could sense her concerns as well. Callum swallowed back pride in his mate. Together no matter what. He might have angered the new alpha, but concern for the infant had him and Gillian in agreement.
“I mean no offense.” Callum met the alpha’s stern glare. “We are fond of the boy. His condition—well, it has already cost him his parents and nearly his life.”
Black eyed them for a few moments. “Brave it is. The child is lucky to have honorable protectors.”
Startled, Callum glanced at Gillian, but her eyes glistened at the proclamation from the alpha of their potential role in Wharton’s life. Labeled as protectors, they would oversee and guard the child as a set of second parents, an honor when bestowed by the parents themselves, similar to the role of godparents in humans. Though with shifters, so many other things came into play. But this infant now belonged to the alpha, and he’d deemed them worthy enough to allow them input in decisions for his care, rearing, and shifter instruction.
“I can put you at ease,” Black continued. “He is in no danger here and will have all the love and nurturing Black Haven has to offer.”
Callum frowned, trying to reconcile the formidable, stern man before him with his experience with his own alpha. Despite the power and focus swirling in the clearing, Black, with his compassion and concern, was a polar opposite of Karndottir. “I expected he’d… Well, I mean…need special care.”
“One of the main reasons I’m not placing him full-time with the Romalds. I can shield him from his sensitivity to the vibrations of others. Teach him to mitigate the overload of touch, comfort, and love. Enable him to experience pleasure instead of paralyzing pain. He’ll be able to experience as normal a childhood as possible.” Black transferred his attention to Gillian. “He accepted you very easily.”
“And when he’s older?” Callum persisted, hoping to avert Black’s focus from his mate and her strong connection with the omega baby. He seemed an honorable man. A just alpha. However, for his mate and unborn child, he needed assurances Black was everything he seemed, not hiding deceit beneath an honorable veneer.
And their own needs notwithstanding, Wharton also needed an alpha who wouldn’t ever revoke his protection. One strong enough to hold off others who would seek to destroy an omega or use him for their own gain. Yet, if this child could thrive under Black’s rule, then Callum and his family had truly found a home.
“He’ll receive shifter training with the rest of his age group, but I will help him navigate his gifts.” Deacon’s expression hardened. “Wharton will be unique. An asset just like each of us, not a person to be feared. The clan doesn’t yet realize how much they need him, but when he flourishes, they will as well.”
“Yes.” Gillian eased in his hold and exhaled, her concerns addressed. The alpha had won over Callum’s mate.
“As a child of the Romalds, he’ll be quickly accepted here, but you can see him as often as you wish.” Deacon cocked his head and leaned against the cottage railing. “Now tell me of the rogue shifter who found the murdered children with you.”
“He saved us. We can’t turn him in.” Gillian streamed, hot and visceral across their bond even as she placed a hand over the bump in her belly. The alpha’s shrewd gaze didn’t miss her gesture.
Callum felt a pain building behind his eyes. One he wanted to rub away. Hell, would the tests of this day never end? Yes, Breslin was a friend. Of sorts. More a comrade in arms. But, he thought with resignation, someone like them who needed help too. Would Black destroy them because of a man they felt a sense of debt to hide? If today had taught him nothing, it was that he and his mate believed as one. Their dreams were aligned just as their beliefs.
He blew out a long breath.
“Not willing to give him up either?�
� Black’s eyes gleamed with gold. Surprisingly not red.
“I don’t presume to suggest how an alpha should deal with rogues in his territory, but I feel beholden to mention that the man saved my life and my mate’s. He was as horrified as we were by the children we found. In some ways, more. I—we…” He looked at Gillian, and she smiled at him with a slight tip of her head. “He’s not a bad man.”
“Taken on his safety as your responsibility as well, Callum?” The alpha’s rumble of laughter split the silence in the clearing. “You have a deep-seated sense of honor. What can I do to earn such a gift as well?”
What?
“Were either of you born on your alpha’s sacred lands?”
“I—” Callum lost track of how they’d bypassed Breslin’s issue to birthplaces. “No. We were both born near the edge of Karndottir’s territory.”
“Why?” Gillian asked.
Black gave a quick shift of his brows. “Sanctuaries hold tightly to those born in their grasp. Breaking the bond is—more painful.”
Interesting.
“Change.” Black’s order barked before Callum had any warning, releasing his beast in an uncontrolled flurry of fur and fangs.
“No. He’s mine.” Karndottir’s voice battered like steel pikes in his mind. Man and cat sank to the ground and writhed in pain. Callum grappled for control, but his bobcat was in the throes of a potent power struggle.
“He was never yours. A man wise enough to protect his own is beyond your ability to appreciate. Be gone from my lands, and don’t let me find you encroaching on my territory again or I will meet you on the tribunal field,” Deacon Black rasped. His voice was no longer faint, but at least his words didn’t make bile rise in Callum’s throat. Caught between the two alphas tugging at his soul, he clamped tight to the mating bond, shutting down his outgoing connection even as he sensed Gillian’s determination to share his pain.
No. She wouldn’t end up the victim of this crossfire.
His spine bowed as Karndottir fought for control of his cat. Just as quickly, Deacon grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pulled him up to standing. Glistening alpha eyes of amber stared directly into his.
