by Viola Rivard
At the moment, he didn’t have to force the protective anger that swelled in his chest. Henry had only one fucking arm, and it pissed him off to think that anything had happened to it.
Henry continued to doze as he unwrapped the bandage, revealing distinctly puppyish bite marks. The skin around them was pink and stained with blood.
Before Hale could replace the bandage, Taylor pushed his arm back and sprang up from the bed. Dashing to the kitchen area, she grabbed the pail that she used for mopping, bent over it, and vomited.
Alder was up just as fast, rushing to her side while Hale was still wrapping the bandage. Shadow joined them, and both males began rubbing her back.
“It’s not that bad,” Alder said. “He’s going to be fine. It might not even scar.”
Hale hated watching Alder comfort her. Whenever she was upset, she always wanted Alder. Just like with talking, she didn’t seem to think Hale was capable of soothing her.
Getting up from the bed, Hale went and poured a glass of water, and then collected mint leaves from a jar on the counter. He went over to crouch across from Taylor, trying not to cringe from the scent of vomit as he offered up the remedy.
Brows lifting, she accepted them both, taking a sip of the water and spitting it out, and then chewing on the mint leaves. As she did so, Alder pulled her into his lap, wrapping a possessive arm around her torso.
“I take it Belle did that?” Hale asked. He passed the bucket to Shadow, who made a face but dutifully took it outside.
Taylor nodded and leaned back against Alder’s chest, her body sagging with fatigue. She always looked so damn tired lately, and now she might be sick, too.
“Brat,” Hale said in the direction of the bed.
None of the three pups stirred. Lately, all of them had been making a slow transition to a more nocturnal schedule, something Hale knew would be difficult for Taylor, as she had trouble staying up through the night.
To Alder, Hale said, “Fenix spotted Shan less than an hour ago.”
Her mouth still stuffed with mint, Taylor asked, “Really? He’s here?”
“Nope. He’s at Whiteriver.”
One side of Alder’s face twitched, as it always did at the mention of Whiteriver.
“Whiteriver?” Taylor repeated. “Why there?
“No idea. Fenix is making another pass now.”
“We should meet with them,” Taylor said, starting to stand.
“We?” Hale asked, cocking a brow. “You aren’t going anywhere. Get back in bed and take a nap with the pups. You look like shit.”
And now, she looked like she was going to cry again. Predictably, Alder came to the rescue.
“You should stay with the pups,” he said to Hale. “I’ll take Taylor to go meet up with Shan.”
Before Hale could say anything, Taylor was on her feet and beaming at Alder. “I'll get my notebooks!”
Hale wanted to punch his brother in the face, both for contradicting him and for willfully putting Taylor in danger.
Quietly, Alder said, “This is important to her. Don’t worry. I’ll keep her safe.”
For once, Hale had little confidence in Alder’s reassurance. How could either of them keep her safe from a wolf that could swallow their mate whole?
Chapter Five
An hour later, they had departed for Whiteriver, flanked by Laurel, Holly, and Karin. Taylor rode on Alder’s back, her stomach churning the entire way there. She kept one hand gripping the scruff of Alder’s neck, and the other clutched to her belly in an effort to keep herself from vomiting again.
She tried telling herself that it was psychosomatic, that she hadn’t felt sick until after Holly had told her that she was pregnant. Of course, then her mind started dredging up little details from the past couple days, each of which had been benign by itself, but in hindsight was telling. There was the night when she realized that she hadn’t eaten all day, and then suddenly she was so overcome with hunger that she’d had to lay in bed and instruct Shadow on how to make stew. The following morning, she had overslept, and then needed a nap midway through the day. That was most worrisome of all, because during her first trimester with the twins, she’d been exhausted all of the time, sleeping more than she was awake.
Her agriculture plans aside, there was one final reason that she didn’t want to be pregnant, and that was Hale. Alder and Hale had made an agreement that Taylor’s next pup would be sired exclusively by Hale. Finding this out had pissed her off, but once she’d gotten over her annoyance, she had warmed to the idea considerably. During her last pregnancy, Hale had been maddeningly aloof, and she’d been looking forward to having him take a more intimate and engaged role this time around.
If she was pregnant now, the pup could belong to either of her mates. She knew that Alder would be ecstatic, but suspected that Hale would spend most of her pregnancy moping and insisting that she still owed him a pup of his own. Basically, she was in for yet another long and stressful gestation.
She tried to put her potential pregnancy out of her mind as they neared Whiteriver’s mountain. The last time she’d ascended the mountain, it had been from the other side. It had been there that she’d first found out that the sexy and mysterious man who’d helped her flee from the cops was a wolf shifter, and the alpha of a pack. She had fond memories of that mountain, in spite of the fact that they’d been chased from it and nearly killed by Whiteriver wolves.
They spotted a group of shifters as they reach the foothills of the mountain. Though they were far off, Taylor could tell Shan was among them. Even in his human form, he stood head and shoulders above the next tallest wolf, who must have been Silas.
Alder and the others stopped at a patch of trees, where they shifted and dressed. Before they pressed on, Alder gave Taylor a quick kiss and put an arm around her.
“Stay with me, okay?”
Taylor stood on the tips of her toes to return the kiss. “Always.”
The others were already aware of them as they emerged from the trees. The reception from the group was largely neutral, except from a young woman, whom Taylor recognized as Kalla. Kalla gave them an enthusiastic wave, and then looked to Shan before running over to greet them.
“Taylor! It’s good to see you. How’s Belle?”
To her memory, Kalla had been a lithe, young teenager when they’d met that winter. Their interaction had been brief, but poignant. Kalla had taken up the responsibility of caring for Belle, whose mother hadn’t been able to care for her herself. It was obvious that Kalla had grown attached to the little pup, and she’d been understandably distraught when she’d had to give her to Taylor.
She must have gone through a growth spurt over the winter, because like pretty much everyone else, she was now taller than Taylor. This was particularly evident when she came in for a hug.
“She’s wonderful,” Taylor said, squeezing Kalla’s shoulders. “I’d love for you to come and see her.”
Kalla’s face lit up. She looked over her shoulder, to where Shan and the others were on the approach.
“Can I?” she asked her alpha.
Shan inclined his head. “Later. If it’s all right with Taylor’s mate.” He glanced at said mate and cocked a brow. “Alder, I presume? We’ve been waiting for you.”
Taylor was surprised that he’d been able to tell the twins apart, and figured that it had to be a lucky guess. There were members of their own pack that sometimes got them mixed up.
“You were waiting for us?” Alder asked.
He stood tense at her side, but Taylor knew that it had less to do with Shan, than with Silas.
There was no love lost between Alder and the Whiteriver alpha. Back when Taylor had been pregnant with the twins, Alder’s daughter Snow had come to visit Halcyon. In an attempt to coerce Halcyon into surrendering part of their hunting grounds, Silas had ordered his wolves to infiltrate Halcyon territory and capture Taylor. Hale had managed to thwart their efforts to take Taylor, though not before she’d been injure
d and permanently scarred. They hadn’t been able to save Snow in time, and she’d spent months as their captive while Alder and Hale had tried to figure out how to safely extract her.
In the end, they’d managed to get Snow back and form a tentative peace with Whiteriver, but Alder had never forgiven the other alpha. He was not the sort to hold grudges, and his antipathy towards Silas was a constant struggle.
“Your hawk has been tracking us since we entered the valley,” Shan said. “I assumed you’d be here sooner.”
“I assumed you’d be coming directly to Halcyon,” Alder countered. “I wasn’t aware that you were acquainted with Silas.”
Taylor didn’t have the preternatural senses of a wolf, and she didn’t need them to know that Silas was anxious. Over the years, she’d seen Silas interact with both of her mates, and his bearing was completely different depending on which he was talking to. With Hale, Silas tended to speak his mind and was even combative at times. With Alder, he kept his head low and his mouth shut. It was for that reason that Taylor knew he wasn’t a bad person. Bad people didn’t feel shame for the things they’d done.
“We met last winter,” Shan said. “My pack mates were tired after we left Halcyon, and Silas was accommodating. We’ve been in communication about plans to cultivate the valley.”
“Our valley,” Alder said. “This territory belongs to Halcyon. We just allow Whiteriver to hunt in the forest.”
“Mhm,” Shan acknowledged. “About that. I’ve drawn up a rough estimate of the region’s territory boundaries. It seems that Halcyon’s territory is approximately four times the size that it needs to be in order to support your pack, and that’s just considering the hunting grounds, not fishing or potential agriculture. Were you aware of how this discrepancy impacts Whiteriver and your surrounding neighbors?”
“No, I was not,” Alder responded.
He sounded calm, but Taylor knew better. The way that his voice dropped made the hairs on the back of her neck stand. Alder was not quick to anger like Hale, but he tended to bottle his anger until it exploded. Still, she was relieved that it was him and not his brother there, because Hale was liable to have spat in Shan’s face.
Shan went on, “The current distribution of territory is unsustainable. I won’t tell you to surrender your territory, but you should recognize that if you continue to hold such an excessive amount of land, then it is your responsibility to ensure that your neighbors are properly provided for. It’s my hope that what we’re doing here in the valley will alleviate the strain of food shortages throughout the region.”
“Mine, too,” Taylor said, before her mate could respond. Alder might have been level-headed, but even he had his limits and she was pretty sure that Shan implying that he could order Alder to give up land surpassed a threshold.
All eyes turned to Taylor as she dug the composition book from her bag.
“We’re all really excited to start growing crops,” she said, taking a few steps towards Shan.
She started to lift her composition book, but her hand froze as her head inclined to look up at him. The disparity in their sizes made her feel like a kid handing in her notebook to a big, scary teacher. Only, he wasn’t just scary. He was also really, really hot. How had she not remembered that about him?
“Actually, that’s a lie,” she said as she met his eyes. “I’m really excited, but I know the rest of the pack will come around. I’ve been doing a lot of research and I think what I have will interest you.”
Shan extended his hand, reminding Taylor that she hadn’t yet handed over the composition book. She gave it to him, and then laced her hands behind her back as he began scanning the pages.
“They’re, um, plans and experiments with chemicals and things,” she said. “The notes are pretty good, so I’ll just let you read those and, yeah.”
She shut her babbling mouth and began mentally preparing herself for later, when Holly would taunt her mercilessly.
“These are really good,” Shan said, sounding as surprised as Taylor felt. “You tested the soil in all of these areas?”
“Yeah,” she said, coming around to stand next to him. He had to lower the book for her to turn the pages. “And here, I have a few pages of notes on the different crops that can be grown in the region, and the best places to cultivate them based on soil and altitude. There’s a bunch of other stuff, too. You can keep this copy to look over. I have a copy of my own.”
“This is really impressive,” Shan told her. “You’ve saved us a lot of time.”
Taylor smiled in response, but really she wanted to jump up and down and squeal with delight. No one ever told her that she was impressive.
“I helped, too,” Holly said. Shan glanced up at her, nodded, and then turned his attention back to Taylor.
“We were actually just about to head back to the den,” he said, gesturing towards the Whiteriver mountain. “Would the five of you like to join us?”
“Yes,” Taylor and Holly said in unison.
“Not right now,” Alder said, his words slicing through Taylor’s enthusiasm.
Though she wanted to stomp her feet and complain, she’d learned better than to do things like that in front of other packs. Dutifully, she returned to her mate’s side, while mentally plotting the verbal assault she would unleash as soon as Shan and Silas had departed.
Shan said, “Then perhaps I can bring Kalla by later, and we can talk then?”
He was addressing Alder now, and Taylor was somewhat mollified when her mate nodded.
“Until later, then,” Shan said with a wave of his hand.
While Shan and the others turned to go, Silas hesitated, indecision marring his handsome face. After a moment, he lowered his head and said a quick goodbye, which Alder didn’t return.
Once the others were out of earshot, Taylor finally turned to her mate. She could practically feel him simmering with anger, but she was too upset herself to care that she was poking the beast.
“I want to go with them,” she said, keeping her voice low.
Alder’s response was firm. “I can’t let you do that.”
Exhaling through her nose, she said, “So, if I start following them right now—“
“Taylor…”
“What are you going to do? Drag me back to Halcyon by my hair and lock me in the cabin? Throw me into some hole in the den?”
“Taylor, it’s not just up to me. If I go back without you, Hale will come straight over here, and he will drag you by the hair if need be.”
“Then just don’t tell him!” she said, throwing her arms up. “I’m not going to be in any danger. If they wanted to kidnap me, they wouldn’t have to lure me back to the den.”
She saw in his eyes that she’d gone too far.
“Thank you for that reminder,” Alder said, turning to walk away.
The others kept their distance, but turned as well to head back towards the trees. Not ready to be done arguing, Taylor stormed after Alder.
“I think it’s so stupid that the two of you can tell me what to do and where to go all of the time. You give Shadow more freedom than me. My two-year-old son has more freedom than I do.”
Alder didn’t look at her as he responded. “Shadow has claws and teeth. He can defend himself and run from danger if he needs to.”
“Oh, right, how could I forget? I’m just a weak, pathetic human.” Taylor said, her voice rising. “You know what? Screw that. Last I checked, wolves were living in holes in the ground while my kind was building the pyramids and ruling the entire freaking world. You know why? Because we’re resourceful. We’re diplomatic. We’re social. We can—”
She was cut off abruptly when Alder swung around, his big hand wrapping around her neck.
“And I can snap your neck with my bare hand,” he said.
No one said a word in the ensuing moment. Taylor looked into Alder’s eyes, unable to hide her astonishment. Her mate appeared calm and remote.
He said, “Humans derive streng
th from their numbers, and last I checked, you’re the only one in the valley. You’re not pathetic, but you are weak, and it’s my job to keep you safe.”
He released his grip on her neck and moved to stroke her face. Taylor flinched away.
“I’m walking back,” she said.
Sighing and running a hand through his hair, Alder said, “It’s over an hour by foot.”
“I’m walking back,” she said again. “And don’t you dare try to follow me.”
Chapter Six
That would have been the perfect time to tell him that you’re pregnant. Can you imagine the look on his face? He would have been kissing your ass for a month.”
Holly had been trying to make Taylor laugh for a while, and at that, she finally couldn’t resist a small smile.
“That would have been awful,” said Taylor.
“Yeah, but putting his hand around your neck was pretty shitty, too.”
“Wait, you’re actually on my side?”
Alder had relented to allowing Taylor to walk back without him, but only if Holly went with her. After a few minutes of walking, Taylor wished that she’d opted to swallow her pride and ride on Alder’s back. They couldn’t be more than ten minutes from her cabin now, but she wasn’t sure she could make it without stopping to rest.
“I never said that,” Holly told her. “You knew you were pissing him off, and it’s not like he actually hurt you. He just reminded you of your place.”
“And what is my place?” Taylor asked tiredly. “Please, enlighten me.”
“You’re his mate, and before you go bitching, don’t forget that you have the cushiest position in the pack. You’re like Belle—the princess, not the pup. We all exist to serve you.”
“You’ve seen Beauty and the Beast? I thought you grew up in the valley.”
Holly flipped her orange hair over her shoulder. “Bitch, I couldn’t get out of this place fast enough. I’ve lived all over the states.”
