by Moira Byrne
She parked and I followed suit. I was quick to get out of my car, but she still beat me to it. She fidgeted her hands together as she walked up to me. Aly, fidgeting? This day was getting weirder by the second.
"Follow me." She took off in the direction of the trees at a jog, as if determined to get this over with as fast as possible.
I jogged after her, but let my wolf come forward a bit. It was sure-footed and the uneven ground posed no issue for it. The wind carried the sound of some worker singing in the orchard. I took a deep breath—I was downwind from Aly and her scent of sharp spice and cedar washed over me, along with the orchard's earthy smell of soil and fragrant fruit trees.
My body responded eagerly to her fragrance and the wolf inside me fought to get out. I knew my eyes were flashing wolf-silver as I started to catch up with her. Faster, it pushed me. An overwhelming urge to reach out and pull her back against me—to kiss down her neck, tug her shirt aside, and sprinkle kisses over her shoulder—ran through me. I swallowed deeply and forced myself to focus on our jog to God-knows-where and what I would find when I got there.
That was what I had to focus on. That could be the thing that ripped the presence I craved so much from me. She had laughed off the idea that it was a new guy so that issue was gone. I still worried that this mysterious something was so serious it could lead to a rift between us. Why else would she want to show me?
If that was what it was, I had to convince her we would be good together, no matter what. How could I do that? No ideas had come to me by the time she slowed down. We had only jogged for maybe five minutes, not even enough to get me really warmed up. I was itching to run and think some more.
As I slowed down behind her, I saw an older couple pushing a stroller up ahead. I took a deep breath, scenting the air. I smelled human, another cougar-shifter, and something else. It was like Charlie, but not. Fae, maybe?
"Hey, Aly," the older man said, "we didn't think you'd be back so soon. Everything go alright?"
I didn't hear her response because my gaze landed on the baby in a stroller. The infant had Aly's coloring, but there was something about it that looked familiar. I took a step closer, and the older woman stepped forward, putting herself between me and the little one. The trees all around us shook violently, as if a heavy wind had just come through. Only it hadn't. The woman must be a plant fae.
Thinking better of going any closer, I cautiously took a deep breath and the baby's scent became clearer. Aly. The baby smelled like Aly. Shock ran through me. Was this who Aly wanted me to meet? Her baby. I stared at the child as the older woman stepped closer to Aly. I overheard them talking, but their voices faded to a distant buzz.
Without conscious direction, my feet took a step forward, then another, moving me closer to the sleeping child. The baby's eyes opened and blinked, then focused on me. My world stopped. I realized why the baby looked so familiar. The almond curve of her eyes were just like mine.
"Her name is Anastasia. It was my mother's name." Aly's voice cut through my haze. "Everyone calls her Ana, though."
"She's beautiful," I said as I ripped my eyes away from Ana to look at her mother.
There was a wariness in Aly's gaze I didn't understand. Something nagged at the back of my mind as I looked from her, to the baby, and back to Aly. Was I seeing things? Smelling things? Why did I think this baby was mine? That was impossible. We only had one night together. Shifters have god-awful fertility, so . . .
"How old is she?" I blurted.
"A little over a month old," she said.
That memorable night we shared was about ten months ago. I thrust a hand into my hair as my shocked gaze locked on the baby once more. My baby.
"Congratulations," Aly said tartly, "you're a father."
I tore my gaze away from my child and looked at Aly. My child. My daughter. I could barely process it. I had no idea Aly and I had made a child that night. If I'd known . . .
My gut clenched. She'd gone through the pregnancy alone. No one to support her and care for her. She thought I'd abandoned her. My wolf snarled, furious inside me at the very idea.
I should have been there for her. I cursed the whole graduation gift my parents gave me. If I hadn't been in the depths of rural Korea, I would have been there for the birth of my child. I would've been here to protect them both. Suddenly, all of Aly's odd behavior made sense. She probably thought I was going to abandon her again, but I would never.
"Hey, you okay?" Aly asked. I realized I'd been standing there, staring at her.
A sudden wide grin stretched my cheeks. "Aly, my family will be so excited to meet you and Ana. They're going to love you. And you'll love them, too. It might take you a little bit to get used to all of them, but I know you're up to it."
"Uhh . . ." Aly gave me a blank look.
"What?"
"You're just, um . . . taking this so well."
"Why wouldn't I? I couldn't be happier."
"Seriously?"
"Do you want me to be mad?"
"Maybe? I don't know. I was agonizing over telling you. Most twenty-something guys would be kinda pissed to discover they had a surprise baby, y'know?"
"Really? Not me. This is awesome."
Aly gave me a look of consideration for a moment, then a flash of realization crossed her expression. "It's a wolf thing, isn't it?"
"How so?"
"I dunno. Wolves are weird."
"Yeah, well, you're a cat," I countered.
Aly shrugged. "Touché. So, uhh, now what?"
I blinked at her for a moment. There was so much going on inside me. I couldn't figure out how to process it all. I was thrilled I had a daughter with Aly. Truth be told, I could easily see us spending the rest of our lives together. Starting off with a baby didn't change that.
"Well, now we introduce her to the pack. This'll be great."
"Yeah, definitely." She smiled at me and I saw relief in her expression. "It'll have to wait a little though. Ana is too young to travel, I think."
My smile faded. "What do you mean? We need to take her home."
Aly furrowed her brow. "Ana and I have a home here."
"But Ana needs her family, her pack—"
"Which she has here." A stubborn fire flickered to life in her eyes. "My sister, the Greenhavens, and my pack. That's her family."
I clenched my jaw to get my sudden, warring emotions under control. What was wrong with my family? What more would she need? Everything was boiling around inside me, fighting for precedence. Anger, shock, awe, hope, terror, joy—all mixing together into a toxic compound.
I took a deep breath and fought to keep my tone reasonable. "You've lived here, what, seven months? I've been with my pack all my life. She'll have grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles. Not to mention all the rest of the pack to play with."
"She'll have all that here."
"Really? I thought it was just you and your sister? Did a bunch of relatives suddenly pop out of the bushes?" I held my hand over my eyes and looked around. As soon as I finished, I winced internally at my childishness. I just didn't get it. Did she not want to be with me? Or was it my family? Was that what it really was all about?
"Wow, you comedic genius . . ." she replied blandly as she slowly clapped her hands. "I'll have you know that my sister's mate is my family. These are his grandparents and mine. My pack is my family, too. They may not be blood, but they will be her cousins, aunts, and uncles. You don't need to haul her to your pack for her to have all the love she needs."
I glanced over at the couple she had gestured to. The man watched us avidly as if we were a reality tv show. The woman's expression sent a chill up my spine and the trees shook in warning. She had the look of a predator that saw an unwelcome intruder. I wouldn't be turning my back on her.
"Why are you being so unreasonable? My daughter should be raised with her blood kin. Not a bunch of—"
"A bunch of what, Ben?" Aly bit out. "A bunch of what?"
I shook my he
ad. There was no way to answer that question that wouldn't make Aly madder.
"Aly, be reasonable."
"Reasonable? Boy, this is about as reasonable as I get. You're trying to get me to move away from everyone I love because your sperm penetrated my egg."
I cocked my head to the side, my mouth hanging slightly open. Did she really just say that?
"I'll have you know that means she's my child, too."
"Your child that you didn't even know existed until a few minutes ago."
That one stung.
"As if that was my choice?" I asked in a quiet voice. "Don't you think I would've wanted to know? Don't you know I would've been there the entire time if I'd known?"
A piercing cry suddenly cut through the air as Ana started to wail. Without thinking about it, I went over and scooped her out of the stroller before anyone else could react. The world faded away in an instant. All I could see was this tiny life in my arms. I took a deep breath, pulling in her scent. As I lightly bounced her, she stopped crying and studied my face.
My wolf looked out of my eyes and studied her back. This child was mine and I would do whatever it took to protect her. I knew she'd be happy with my pack. From her scent, I knew she was a cougar, not that it mattered. No matter what, she was part of my family and my wolf-pack would accept her. Now I had to convince Ana's mother of that, and that she should be with me.
"She's beautiful, Aly," I whispered.
When I glanced up at her face, I saw her desire to continue to yell at me was at war with her reaction to my comment.
"Thank you," she said stiffly. "I happen to agree."
Before we could resume our discussion, a low rumble caught my attention, and I glanced in the direction of the sound.
"Is that a tractor pulling a trailer full of people?" I asked as I processed what I saw.
"Sure is," the older man who'd been silently watching the show said. "Twilight tour. Friday special."
"Twilight tour?" What the hell was that?
"People buy tickets and get a tour through our orchard and the production side of things, then we send 'em home with a basket of fruit and jam."
"People pay for this?"
"We always sell out," he said with a grin.
The tractor pulled even with us and I watched as the tourists oohed and aahed over the trees. How odd. I forced a smile, but was saved from waving by having my arms full of adorable baby. I noticed the older man grinned and waved back, but the woman with him looked on with a cold expression.
My wolf felt the same way. I wanted to run far away from these potential threats with my child. I didn't know who they were or what they wanted. Most of them had silly grins on their faces, but that didn't mean they were safe.
Aly smiled and waved, too, until suddenly her face paled. I followed her gaze and saw two vaguely familiar faces in the back of the tractor. I wracked my brain, trying to remember where I knew them from.
Then it clicked. I'd met them when I went looking for her at her old pack keep, before I went to the school and ran into Sheila. They'd been lounging against the wall when I'd been taken to the alpha, but we hadn't been introduced.
"Hey, Ben. Isn't this town great?" one of them called out. "We wouldn't even have known this cute place existed without you."
Aly was in front of me before I could even process what was going on. Her eyes speared into mine with a ferocity that left me bewildered. "What the fuck have you done?"
3
Alysse
My heart pounded so hard and fast that it felt like it leapt into my throat with each thump. My old pack. Here. They were calling out to Ben like they were old friends. Why? My cat raged inside me, ready for the fight that was sure to come.
My eyes were locked on Ben as he held my daughter. Something even more primal than the animal pacing within me surfaced as I connected the dots in my mind. He had led them here.
How? How could he do that? I knew Ben. He was a good person but he was almost too good. They could've manipulated him into telling him where I was. Maybe they simply followed him. I didn't know. All I knew was that my daughter was in danger.
My voice trembled with rage as I snarled, "Give me my daughter, Ben. Now."
"Why are you pissed at me?" His eyes sparked with confusion and anger.
"Pissed at you? Pissed? That doesn't cover it. No word known to man can. I could spit fire and it wouldn't be enough to tell you how I feel. Give me my daughter."
Ben had the gall to look confused, but when I let out a low, warning growl he handed Ana to me. I held my squirming daughter to my chest as I stared daggers into his eyes.
I could feel the stares of my old pack members boring into my back. Most wouldn't be too upset to see their old pack, but mine had done terrible things. Their snickers pierced my ears, even over the steady rumble of the tractor. I was glad they found this so hilarious. It gave me even more reason to smash their faces in.
I knew that those two snickering assholes had something to do with what happened to Izzy. They were in thick with that smarmy Alpha. And Ben lead those monsters here. To my daughter.
"You need to leave," I barked out to Ben.
"Leave?" Ben sounded incredulous. "Why the hell would I do that? Seriously, I don't understand why you're so mad. Is it those guys? I don't even know them."
"I don't care. You need to leave. I can't deal with you and them right now."
My back stiffened as the tour passed directly behind us, the tractor slowly pulling my old packmates within striking distance.
"I'm not leaving you like this." He glanced at the two men behind me. "There's obviously something going on."
I ground my teeth together. I was furious at him for leading my pack here, but I didn't have time to hash this out. I needed to get my daughter out of here.
My anger and fear were warring inside me. Ana started to whine. I stepped forward and put her in the stroller, then met Petunia's gaze. "Please, take her inside. Those men are from my old pack."
"If they are," Petunia said stiffly, "I will simply—"
I shook my head. "I don't know how many more of them are here, and she'll be safe inside with you and Peter. Please."
She nodded briskly as understanding flickered in the amber glow of her fae eyes. She gestured to the stroller. "Peter."
He nodded and grabbed the handles and booked it in the direction of the main house. Something unclenched inside me. Ana would be safe soon.
"If there's a problem here, then we should all go."
"No." I suddenly knew how to get him out of my hair and protect my daughter and the Greenhavens. "I can handle them. I need you to go make sure they get to the house safely with Ana."
"But, Aly—"
"What if there are more? The Greenhavens will need help protecting Ana." Suddenly my own words sent panic running through me. My eyes flicked toward the rapidly retreating forms of my adopted grandparents. "Go with them!"
Ben eyes flashed silver as he gave me a hard look, then turned and dashed through the orchard after the Greenhavens. I hoped there were no others waiting for them.
I turned around to face the threat coming up behind me as I listened to Ben pound through the trees. Suddenly the noise stopped and he was silent—he must have let his wolf take control.
I clenched my jaw as my old packmates sauntered up to me. The rest of the tourists had long since disappeared into the trees. They would be finishing up the tour soon. The biggest problem with a trailer pulled by a tractor was the ease which someone could jump out.
I fought to suppress a snarl. I didn't want to tip my hand. They didn't need to know how badly I wanted to tear their throats out. It was best if they thought I was weak and defenseless. They would happily underestimate me.
The only reason they were smirking so much was because they thought they had me now. They could come over and play since the big bad wolf was gone and the witnesses were out of sight. I immediately recognized them and I wasn't surprised by who they were. Ro
bby and Seth—part of the new Alpha's inner circle.
I hadn't ever really liked either of them. They treated me fine but there was something in their eyes. I always felt like they were either sizing me up or undressing me in their mind. I wrote them off as pervs and went on with my life. Silly, silly me.
I cursed myself for being so blind. I let myself ignore all the bad because there were a few good people I loved in that pack. People they were hurting for God knows how long, right under my stupid nose—people like Izzy.
"Aly-cat, is that you? Why'd you have to go run off like that in the middle of the night?" Seth chuckled. "It's a good thing your buddy Ben led us here. We wouldn't have found you otherwise. Where did he go? It would've been nice to catch up with our new friend."
I didn't respond. I stood perfectly still. They were holding back for now, but I could practically feel how thirsty they were for my blood. They wanted to toy with me. Make me sweat. Typical cats. I would make them regret it.
"It's a good thing you're here, Alysse," Robby began. "We've missed you. You didn't even say goodbye. That hurt."
"She said goodbye loud and clear when she let her sister break Colton's leg in half," Seth added with dark, angry eyes.
"She's her own woman," I replied flatly. "I didn't let her do it. Gleefully encouraged, sure."
"So much for loyalty among pack members, hm? Oh—cute baby I saw there. Yours, isn't she? I could smell you on her from all the way back there. It's a shame you got yourself knocked up by a wolf, though. He's the daddy, isn't he? Looked just like him."
I clenched my back teeth together and ground out, "What's it matter to you?"
"Well, you see how that coward just ran off?" Robby continued. "A real man, a cougar, would've stood his ground."
"Gee, I'm sorry my life choices have screwed with your pack purity, but last I heard, normal people mate with whoever the hell they want."
"Even if that were true . . ." Seth curled his lip back in disgust, "you had a pack full of cougars who would've done you up right and you stooped to a common mutt?"
