Senseless Fate (Cascade Storms Book 2)
Page 13
He looked nervously back at the cabin, "What if the pack won't take her? What if the elders decide," he ground his teeth with a tense jaw while he struggled to keep his voice calm, "what if they decide she's a liability?"
Now both the other men were watching the cabin in thoughtful silence.
"Yeah but you're gonna tell her, right?" Ken finally asked. "Like, she's the one for you, yeah?"
Ken's eyes turned wistful as he looked back at Daelan, "What's it feel like?"
"Yeah, did you know right away?" Lowell wanted to know.
"Or did you have to wait till you fuuuuhhh--" Ken coughed and rethought his wording, "did you not until you were like, with her?"
The men were all close in age, as their kind went and despite Daelan's rise to leadership several decades ago, he still enjoyed a casual camaraderie with the boys he'd grown up with. It was obvious that after so many years of crass language between them, Kenyon was having trouble finding words fitting of the woman who might become the pack's new alpha female.
Daelan would laugh if he wasn't so concerned at the moment. Ken had always needed a little extra guidance to keep him focused. Just wait till it was his mate the guys were talking about like a common hook up from a trip to town. Then they'd get to see who was tolerant of the guys' choice of words.
"She was just some eye candy that I found renting the old cabin," Daelan said by way of answer, "till I touched her." His brow furrowed, "Or smelled her. Like up close, her scent was just different."
He turned back to his men with a pained expression, "I tried to leave her behind. I didn't want to do anything that would put her at risk."
"Hey," Lowell stepped forward and gave Daelan's back a firm pat, "we get it, man."
Ken shot one more glance at the cabin and then said, "You know we got your back, right, Day? We're all in the same boat in a way, you know? None of us have mates."
"Yeah, it could have been any one of us," Lowell said gravely.
"Any one of you isn't the alpha of this pack," Daelan said, "Any one of you doesn't have to explain to the council that he intends to bring a human into the den. Any one of you isn't wondering if he'll have to choose between his fate and his home." Daelan's voice grew more forceful with each sentence.
"Or worse." He added quietly.
"You don't really think they'd hurt her, do you?" Lowell asked.
Daelan's eyes burned with anger at the idea but Lowell was giving voice to Daelan's deepest fear, "You remember how we used to deal with human trespassers, don't you?" he asked.
Ken sucked in a sharp breath, "Oh man," he worried, "oh man, they wouldn't do that to your mate though, right?"
"You're the motherfucking alpha of the pack, Day," Lowell reminded him, "can't you just say 'this is how it is and fuck off?' "
Daelan shook his head slowly, "you know it's not that easy. Being Alpha makes me the leader, but I'm not the supreme overlord. I have to confer to the council and it's mostly old-timers. Remember when my father put us in school?"
Ken and Lowell both nodded solemnly.
"Yeah, that was a helluva fight," Lowell smiled, "I thought the pack was going to split up and I was never going to see my nan again."
"But it worked out," Ken pointed out, ever the optimist, "and now you're Alpha. The pack has come a long way since then."
"And mate, man, that's like fate. Outta your hands. They can't fuck with your mate."
Daelan hoped they were right, but they were talking about werewolves after all. They weren't eager to change their ways and Daelan had already challenged their traditions to the point that there was a lot of tension between him and the council.
The last thing he needed to do was bring home a human and introduce her as his mate.
The guys were right about one thing, none of them had any idea what the policy was on that.
Clouds were obliterating the sky above them. Daelan knew his friends needed to get on their way.
A sound came from the cabin and all ears perked toward it.
"Sounds like somebody misses you," Ken smirked.
"Yeah, beside, you gotta get back inside and put on some clothes."
"Or stand by the fire, if your mate sees you like that," Ken cast a disparaging glance at Daelan's naked nether regions, "she is not going to be impressed."
Lowell laughed, "Yeah, you're starting to look a little cold, if ya know what I mean."
Daelan scowled at the jokesters and motioned toward the den, "Go back, let Rek know what's up but don't go blabbing all over the den about this. I'm gonna need some time to consider my plan."
Grab the book here.
If Cascade Storms is your introduction to Claire Ryann, you might be interested in the Sierra Moon Series, which takes place in the same "world" as the Cascade Storms books.
Quest of the Alpha: Sierra Moon Book One
Return of the Pack: Sierra Moon Book Two
Mated for Life: Sierra Moon Book Three
Stand-alone novellas in the Sierra Moon Shifters Series featuring character tie-ins and cross-overs:
Lion in Wait: Sierra Moon Book Four
How the Bear Stole Christmas: Sierra Moon Book Five
Bearly Sleeping: Sierra Moon Book Six
A Grizzly Discovery: Sierra Moon Book Seven
ImPAWSible Dream: Sierra Moon Book Eight
Books by Claire Ryann & Eva Wilder:
American Tigers Series 1:
Siberian Soul part 1
Siberian Soul part 2
Siberian Soul part 3
From the Author:
Thanks for following along with Lowell and Kara on their way to happily ever after!
I often wonder if other authors discover their stories as they tell them like I do? I always find myself caught up in the unfolding of events while I'm writing and sometimes I'm surprised at how my characters react.
Lowell ended up stealing my heart and I wasn't prepared for that. (I have a crush on one of the other wolves...OK, two of the other wolves and I can't wait to tell their stories.)
Our bad guy turned out to be a real jerk. I was also surprised by that because I don't think I'm very good at coming up with truly evil characters. So I was pretty happy to see that this guy didn't get away.
I'm working on the next boy in the pack already and I can promise you that our next story is a lot more light-hearted than our introduction to the Cascades has been. I'm already shaking my head at our poor hero of book 3-- he's definitely facing some challenges.
If you're enjoying the Cascade Storms books so far and don't want to miss the next release, sign up for my newsletter, follow me on Amazon, and/or like my author page on Facebook.
I have big plans for the mailing list starting after the first of the year and I don't want you miss out.
About Claire:
Inspired by the real lives and loves of the women that she's known personally, Claire prefers to create heroines for real life-- what we see in ourselves, what we see in others, and what we want to be.
A little too curvy? A little past our prime? A little too picky to settle for anything less than the real thing in the right package? Claire's heroines always meet their match-- and their mate--whether it's a ruggedly handsome adventurer, or a seriously sexy alpha bear shifter, or just the new neighbor across the hall.
Whether you prefer your happy endings with a dose of reality or in the paws of a sexy shapeshifter, Claire probably has a story for you.
Most of Claire's books are in short story format because that's what she loves to read herself. Perfect for a bedtime story or a lunch break read.
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