by Lisa Kessler
I’d get through this. I’d put him first. We weren’t going anywhere.
I went to him, taking his hand. “I’m all right.”
A sad smile tilted the corner of his mouth. “Liar.”
“Okay, so I’m barely holding it together.” I rolled my eyes. “Better?”
“At least it’s honest.” He bent to kiss my lips, his touch so tender it bound up the pieces of my broken heart. He opened his eyes, staring into mine. “Please don’t shut me out.”
The pain in his voice broke me.
I tangled my fingers in his hair, crushing my lips to his. He growled, holding me tighter against him, our tongues twining, urgent. All the fear, sadness, and even hope poured into the kiss, speaking the words I couldn’t give voice to.
When I pulled back, my voice was a breathless whisper. “I love you, Luke. It’s the one constant.” I searched his face. “You’re my mate, and if you’re walking through hell, I’ll be right there at your side.”
His eyes shone with tears he hadn’t yet shed. He pressed his lips to my forehead. “And I’ll be at yours, too.” He drew back. “But you have to let me.”
Before I could ask him what the hell that was supposed to mean, Asher came up behind him. “Luke…Brock, Samantha, and Blake are…ready.”
Luke sighed and nodded. “I don’t want the little ones there.”
“Naomi and Gage are keeping them busy.” Asher looked down the hall. “Samantha’s twins are only a few months old. Hopefully they won’t remember this day.”
“We’re all praying for the same thing.” Luke made his way outside, slow and steady. I wasn’t happy about staying in Sedona, but I was damned proud of my mate.
Chapter Thirty
Luke
I washed my hair three times, trying to get rid of the stench of smoke. Death. Maybe it was all in my head. Hell if I knew. When I came into the front room, Logan was sitting on the couch with Raven.
He looked up and smiled. “I was worried we wouldn’t get to say good-bye.”
“You guys need to go back already?”
He nodded. “Yeah, Jason’s missing his little ones, and I have a concert later tonight.”
“All right. I’ll walk you out.” I still had the crutch, but I was upright. It was as close to walking as I was going to get right now.
Logan and Raven stood. He hugged her tight. “Take good care of my baby brother.”
She smiled at me over his shoulder. “That’s definitely my plan.”
He pulled away and grabbed his bag while I leaned in to snag a kiss from Raven. “Be right back.”
We went out to the rental car, and Logan turned around to face me. “She’s amazing, bro.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “I never would have found her if I hadn’t taken this job.”
He shook his head. “I thought it was a horrible idea for Adam to sign off on this move, but…” He rested his hand on my shoulder. “I’m proud of you. If you hadn’t gotten involved, most of these people would still be locked up.”
“We also wouldn’t have been burning six bodies.”
He kicked at the dirt. “No one said being an Alpha was easy.” He lifted his head. “You’re not coming home, are you?”
I glanced up at the house and back to my brother. “I don’t know yet.”
He raised a brow. “Even I’ve heard the whispers about you being their new Alpha.”
“I know.” I wasn’t sure how to articulate the mass of emotions brewing in my gut. “And part of me wants it. It’s different here than back home. I’m just Luke. I’ve got a good job. I’m no one’s assistant, or the baby of the Pack.”
“So what’s holding you back?”
Did I know? I met his eyes. “You were going to leave our Pack for Vivi.”
“Yeah.” A crease lined his forehead. “She wasn’t ready for our world, but she was my world. It wouldn’t matter where we ended up as long as we were together.”
“I feel the same way about Raven.”
“Okay.” He frowned. “She was living here before you got here, right? I’m not following you.”
I rested on my crutch. “When we first realized we were mates, I couldn’t wait to bring her home, to meet my family and my Pack. She seemed excited about it.”
Logan leaned on the car. “So come home and visit.”
“Not that easy.” I sighed. “Caldwell made Raven’s life hell here until the moment he drew his final breath. If I agree to be their Alpha, I’ll be asking her to pass up a chance at a fresh start back home in Reno.”
“And if you come back, you’ll be giving up your job and the chance to lead this Pack.”
“Either way, one of us loses, I guess.” I shook my head. “Thing is, I don’t really give a crap about being Alpha. Not really. Helping this Pack out of their mess was the right thing to do, that’s all.”
Logan crossed his arms. “So what are you asking me?”
“I’m asking what you would do if you were me.”
He looked up at the house and then met my eyes. “I’d talk to her. She loves you. She’s not going to ask you to quit your dream job so she can leave town.”
“What if I can’t get her to talk to me?”
“You’re on your own there.” He started to smile. “You’ll figure out something.”
I clasped his forearm and pulled him in for a tight embrace. “Tell everyone I miss them.”
“Will do.” Logan nodded as Jason walked toward us. My brother opened the car door and turned back. “Taryn and Jared are getting married at the cabin in Lake Tahoe next month. You should be there.”
“Whatever happens here, I won’t miss it.”
Jason and I said our good-byes. I promised to take it easy on my leg for at least a week, and finally the car rolled down the drive. When I turned away, Raven was standing in the doorway of the house, the wind blowing her dark hair in front of her face. My heart pounded in my chest at the sight of her.
I headed for the door, and she met me halfway. Still no smile. I took her hand, lifting it to my lips. “I’m ready to get out of here. How about you?”
She nodded. “You still need to work a few things out before we can go back to your place.”
“Like what?” We started making slow progress toward the house.
“Other than Asher and Ryker, none of the bitten wolves have a place to stay. Kaya’s aching to get back to her restaurant, and Isabelle has some paperwork she wants to show you.”
I stopped walking, waiting for her to look up at me. “Can I take you to dinner tonight? Just us?”
She tilted her head a little and started to chuckle. “Seriously? We’ve got a lot to take care of here.”
“And there are plenty of Pack members who can handle it.”
She pondered it for a minute. I waited her out. Gradually she started to nod. “Yeah. I’d like that.”
I smiled. “Me, too.”
Once we had Gage, Naomi, and the little ones set up in Caldwell’s house, Raven and I walked out to her van. She waited for me to get inside and comfortable before she started the engine.
“How’s your knee?”
I buckled the seat belt. “Not as bad as it was this morning.”
She smiled, and my battered knee ceased to exist. I wanted to spend the rest of my life making her smile.
“Where to?”
“I was thinking Ken’s Creekside.” I’d only been there once, but they had an outdoor patio overlooking the creek, and I was betting since it was winter, we’d have it all to ourselves.
The hostess fired up two of the heaters on the outdoor patio. Like I’d suspected, we were the only ones braving the winter chill. A single candle flickered in the center of the table, and strings of little white lights crisscrossed above us.
Instead of sitting apart, we were huddled close together. It seemed like an eternity since we were alone. I put my arm around her, and she settled into my chest, eyeing the menu. I breathed her in, pressing my lips to her temple.
“Is it too cold out here?”
She shook her head, meeting my eyes. “Gives me an excuse to snuggle in.”
“You don’t need an excuse.” I chuckled. “I’ll never get tired of having you close.”
We placed our orders, and I held her hand, our fingers entwining together. “Now that we’re not constantly looking over our shoulders, I was thinking about the future.”
She nodded, sobering. “I have, too. I think you should be the Alpha. They need you.”
I brought her hand up to my chest, covering my heart, and waited for her gaze to meet mine. “It’s just us right now. I want to know what you need.”
She rolled her eyes, but the candlelight shone on the tears welling up. I ground my teeth. I was sick of seeing her in pain.
“I learned something in all this. I’m done with wanting someone to rescue me.” Her hand tightened into a fist.
“This isn’t about needing someone to swoop in and solve your problems.” I frowned. “Hell, you took out Caldwell, not me. And it was you who distracted Blake so we could get the ammo from the van.” I shook my head slowly. “You definitely don’t need any rescuing from me.”
Cupping my cheek, she whispered, “Every decision I ever made led me here to Sedona. It’s my own fault I’m here.”
Shit. I wasn’t going to give up. Not yet. My eyes locked on hers. “We’re in this together.”
“I know.”
“Do you?” I raised a brow. “It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. If there wasn’t a Pack here, what would you want?”
“I’d want to see you happy, like you are when I watch you with the horses.”
It was a start. I tried to be patient. We hadn’t been a couple for long, but long enough for me to know if I offered to give everything up for her happiness, she’d fight me kicking and screaming.
That was part of why I loved her. She was every bit as hardheaded as me.
“Okay. I want to keep training horses, too, but there are stables all over the country. Sedona isn’t the only place I could find a job.”
Her lips pursed, and her eyes sparkled. “But Sabrina is going to be a champion this year.”
“Yeah.” I nodded slowly. “I think she will.”
“You did the work. You should get the glory.”
I grinned. “Very tempting, but if I’m half the trainer I think I am, she won’t be my only champion. There will be others.”
“Fine.” She nudged me, trying not to smile. “But we’ll never be able to afford a palatial estate like Caldwell’s on a horse trainer’s and a bartender’s salaries.”
“True.” I tried not to smile. “But do you really give a shit about a mansion?”
Her laughter warmed me from the inside out. “Nah, I’d rather have a little place so I can keep accidentally bumping into you.”
I grinned and stole a kiss. Couldn’t resist. “Okay, so we’ll rent a tiny house. They have those up in Reno. We could find one together.”
“We can’t just run away to Reno.” Her smile faltered, fading away. “What about everyone here? They need money and a leader. Who will open the bar next week when Alexandra and Mike get back?”
“You said yourself that Ryker can tend the bar. Kaya owns a restaurant, so she can probably help with bookkeeping and payroll. And Isabelle is getting the paperwork together for everyone to regain control of their businesses.”
I waited for her to counter, but her gaze went distant, toward the creek in the darkness. I frowned, squeezing her hand. “What’s wrong?”
She chuckled and wiped a tear away at the same time. “Was this your plan the whole time?”
“What plan?”
“Moving home. Getting me out of Sedona.” Her eyes met mine. “I thought you wanted to be Alpha.”
“I was honored.” I shrugged. “And the guy who was sick of being the baby of the Pack was eager to prove himself.” I kissed her lips and whispered, “But if I’m honest, all I really want is to be your mate and make you happy. Sedona has too many bad memories. What I really want, if you’re willing, is to make some new ones.”
Her kiss was tender at first, but as her hand slid up my chest and mine moved along her thigh, her lips parted. Our tongues swirled, her fingers tightening in my hair. Vaguely I heard the waitress return. There was some nervous throat clearing, but she finally gave up and left our food on the table.
I tilted my head, deepening the kiss and sliding my hand higher on her leg. Raven moaned, and her stomach growled in answer. She laughed against my lips. Her cheeks were flushed with color when she straightened up.
“Apparently I’m hungry.”
I smiled. “I’m hoping that kiss was a yes to moving to Reno.”
She nodded, and her eyes shone in the candlelight. “Maybe later I’ll give you an ‘Oh yes’…”
Damn, I couldn’t eat fast enough.
Chapter Thirty-One
Raven
We’d spent the past ten days tying up loose ends. Asher had been a godsend. Somehow, in addition to running his own business leading hiking tours and campouts, he managed to keep the new Pack focused on the future. Even though he was a bitten wolf, the born wolves seemed to like him. Asher also had a knack for sensing when someone was struggling.
Best of all, he supported Luke’s decision not to become Alpha and to move back to Reno.
When we told everyone our plan, I expected Asher to fight us, but he understood. And beyond that, he believed the wolves would all come together, easing Luke’s worries for the Sedona Pack.
Luke worked with Asher and Cole on Pack law and helped present the information to the others so the whole Pack was on the same page when it came to hiding our existence from humans. He hit them hard about no biting or converting any humans against their will and the importance of finding your true mate and letting them decide if they wanted to be changed.
For my part, I trained Ryker. He was a hard worker and now had a pretty good handle on running the Wolf Pack Bar. Isabelle went through her channels to get documents for the little ones, legally labeling Naomi as the mother of Bart and Ben, and Gage as the father of the infant twin boys.
Kaya didn’t abandon the Pack. She helped babysit and even cooked a few Pack meals for all of us at Caldwell’s place. I hadn’t thought it would be possible, but the Sedona Pack was coming together. Born wolves, bitten wolves, and a skin-walker.
We didn’t know if there was another Wolf Pack like it in the world, but I had a good feeling they’d be all right. Maybe their diversity would even make them stronger.
Time would tell.
I knocked on the doorframe of Caldwell’s office. My sister’s head popped up from the paperwork. She smiled. “Hey. Good to see you.”
I came in and sat across from her. “We’re leaving tomorrow. Are you coming with us?”
“Not yet.”
I sighed. “You’ve done all you can, right? They have money, Caldwell’s assets—what more is there to do?”
Isabelle held up a yellowed document. “Caldwell has old records on Antonio Severino. Our dad’s name is on some of these.”
“What?” I couldn’t wrap my head around what she just said. “Dad ran an air-conditioning company in Phoenix. What could Nero have wanted with him?”
“Mom never told us she was a psychic, either. It’s safe to say there’s plenty we don’t know about our folks.” Isabelle set the paper down. “I’m staying here until I get some answers.”
I sat back in my chair. “Maybe it’s a mistake.”
“You think there are many guys named Solomon Wood out there?” She raised a brow. “He’s listed here as one of their top assassins and a trainer for Nero.”
I puffed out a breath, struggling to reconcile my memories of my dad with the new image my sister was painting. He’d always been loving to us and kind of goofy. I couldn’t picture him as a hired hit man. “So the air-conditioning business was just a cover?”
“I can’t tell yet.” Isabelle shrugged. “I don’t
see his name listed anywhere on these newer documents.”
Ugh. I was way beyond giving our father the benefit of any doubt. I glanced at the door. “So if you stay here, you’re counting on Vance and Sebastian to come back.”
“They’re my only connections to Nero. We killed Severino’s ally. By my count in the bank records, he paid Caldwell over a hundred grand to lead a Pack to Reno and kill Adam Sloan.” She lowered her voice. “He’s not going to be happy about losing his investment.”
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my legs. “You think they’re going to take the Pack to Reno anyway.”
“I hope I’m wrong.”
“How can you expect me to leave you here?”
“Look, if I’m right, this Pack is going to need me. I’m a bounty hunter, remember? Dealing with badasses is my day job.” She crossed her arms, shaking her head slowly. “If they do come calling, this way I’ll be able to send you a heads-up to warn Luke’s Pack.”
“These aren’t bail jumpers.” Worry burned a hole in my stomach. “They’re trained killers with heightened senses.”
“And I’m a werewolf bounty hunter.” She grabbed my hand, squeezing it tight. “I’ll be fine. And as soon as I figure out what happened to Dad, I’ll come up to Reno, okay?”
I sighed and stood up. “Dad walked out on us. That’s what happened.”
“But what if there was more to it, Rave?”
The pleading in her voice stabbed at my heart. I’d been a self-absorbed twelve-year-old when our father walked out of our lives. Isabelle had just graduated from high school. Back then, eighteen had seemed so grown-up to me. For the first time, I realized my sister had never given up hope that she might find him again.
“Even if there was a good reason at the time, if he wanted us, he’d be here now. We haven’t changed our names. He could find us if he cared.”
She got out of the chair, shaking her head. “I wish I could just stay perpetually pissed at him like you, but I can’t help thinking something happened. He wouldn’t have left us like that. And Mom…” She met my eyes. “He never would have hurt her. Not like that.”
The conversation picked at old wounds I didn’t want to reexamine. I hugged my sister tight. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
