Payne

by Kimber White

  “Come on in,” I said. She did. She carried a bowl of steaming soup with her on a tray and my traitorous stomach growled. She set it on the bed beside her.

  “I hope you don’t mind. I’ve got a full house today. Things are always a little crazy when the packs come down to counsel with each other. Lordy, you wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve had to replace busted up porch railings. A few times they’ve damn near torn the barn down around their ears.”

  “I can imagine,” I said. “And I’m sorry. We brought all of this down on your head. I didn’t mean to disrupt the peace you have here.”

  Pat laughed. It was a great, body-shaking belly laugh. She clutched her stomach and sat on the edge of the bed. “Honey, what gives you the idea things are ever peaceful for long in Wild Lake? There’s a war on out there. Always has been. You think it doesn’t touch us up here? It has. Plenty.”

  “But...Derek and the others...I think they just want to stay out of it. Your treaty.”

  Pat leveled a hard stare at me. “Sweetie, you don’t know the first thing about the treaty we have with Kentucky. Plus, they’ve violated it more times than I can count.”

  There was another soft knock on the door and Pat cleared her throat. She shot me a questioning look and I nodded.

  “Come on in, girls,” she said. The door opened and Pat’s “girls” entered. One was maybe the most stunningly beautiful woman I’d ever seen. She had a shining sheet of long, black hair. Her kind eyes put me at ease. She had an ethereal quality about her with her flowing white peasant skirt. She practically floated into the room. Her companion was at once more grounded and stern. She too had black hair but with silvery streaks peppered through it. Hers was pulled high into a tight bun. She regarded me with cool green eyes beneath thick, straight, dark brows. This woman had the kind of face that made it hard to guess her age. She could be twenty or fifty. I guessed somewhere in between.

  “Olivia Martel, this is Lena Morris. And this is Dr. Suzanne Olivet,” Pat said, pointing to the woman with the bun.

  “It is my pleasure,” Dr. Olivet said in a clipped, French-Canadian accent. Dr. Olivet. Doctor Olivet. My pulse fluttered. Could this be the shifter doctor Mac had hoped I’d find? But, she was human. Both of these women were.

  “Hello,” I said.

  “You poor thing,” Olivia smiled. She took a chair from the vanity against the wall and pulled it to the center of the room. As she sat, her skirt shifted and I noticed the slight swell of her stomach. Though early in her term, Olivia was pregnant.

  Heavy, running footsteps thundered down the hall. Their owners crashed through the doorway. A young boy and girl skidded to a halt, shooting sheepish grins to Pat. The pair of them couldn’t be more than four or five years old. They each had the same shade of chocolate brown hair and bright blue eyes. The boy’s flashed quickly silver as he shot out a quick hand, catching a vase on the tall dresser beside him before it shattered on the floor.

  Pat made a clucking sound and pointed a finger at the boy. “And these two little ruffians,” she said, “are Jerred and Camilla.” Though she stuck her hands on her hips and glared at them, the corners of Pat’s mouth trembled with the laughter she held back. Her eyes shone with love for the little ones.

  They were a marvel. More so because when the girl looked up at Pat, her eyes flashed silver too. “My God,” I gasped, unable to help myself, “she’s a…”

  Olivia put a gentle hand on my arm and I swallowed the rest of my sentence. Of course, I was being rude. It was just, I’d never seen a female shifter before, much less one in the form of an adorable little girl. It was like seeing a unicorn in a way. Then, my heart clenched. If Able Valent ever found out about her…

  “It’s very nice to meet you, Camilla and Jerred,” I said. “I’m Lena.”

  “Wow,” Jerred said, peering closer. “You look like some kind of warrior princess. Are you? What happened to the wolf that did that to you?”

  I dropped my mouth but couldn’t figure out what to say. “Sorry,” Pat said. “Why don’t you two run along and find your Uncle Harold? I’m sure he’s got a project or two he could use some help with.”

  “Okay, Granny Pat,” Jerred said. “But don’t let my dad eat all the cookies before I get back.”

  She made a playful swat toward his backside. Jerred easily dodged it. The two of them scampered out of the room, crashing into the walls as they went.

  “Are they yours?” I said, looking at Olivia. Her smile widened and she sighed. “No. But I’ve got a little boy about as wild running around out there somewhere too.”

  Tears sprang to my eyes before I could collect myself.

  “What’s wrong, honey?” Pat said, reaching for me.

  “I don’t know,” I said, hating how small my voice sounded. “It’s just...everything here is so...different.”

  Olivia’s soft laughter sounded like music. “Controlled chaos, I assure you. And it’s not usually this nuts. It’s just when all the packs get together like this, things get a little crazy. I’d love for you to come out to my lake house. Alec and I have built a little corner of heaven for ourselves. That is, if you don’t mind toys everywhere.”

  “And you have children,” I said. “Shifter children. And they seem…normal. Happy. Healthy.”

  “I must ask,” Dr. Olivet spoke up. “I do not mean to be rude or forward. It’s just...that boy out there, Jonah. He’s been under my care since he arrived in Wild Lake. Are all the shifter children in Kentucky like him?”

  I wiped my sleeve beneath my eye. I would not cry in front of these women. I would not. “A lot of them. Yes.”

  Dr. Olivet let out a hard sigh. She covered face with her hands as if she couldn’t bear to hear me tell any more of it.

  “We have heard terrible rumors. Until Jonah arrived, I did not want to believe it was this bad.”

  “It’s gotten worse in the last ten years or so,” I said. “All Valent’s doing. Payne and the others think he’s trying to breed out Alphas so he can’t be opposed. It’s backfiring on him though because the newest generation of shifters might be too weak to fight for him. And there are other rumors too. He’s wanted a female shifter since the very beginning. If he knew about Camilla…”

  Pat slowly rose and shut the door. Of course, how could I be so careless? The last thing I wanted to do was scare the poor kid if she overheard.

  “Anyone tries to come for that girl,” Pat said, “will have to get through six Alphas and five strong packs.”

  “At least,” Dr. Olivet said. “The Canadian packs won’t stand for it either.”

  “But, I mean, how?” I asked. “Who are her parents?”

  Pat smiled. “That’s a story for another time, honey. Let’s just say Jerred and Camilla’s parents are unique.”

  “There’s just so much I want to understand. So much I didn’t want to let myself believe about this place. I didn’t know shifters could live like this or be like this.”

  Olivia leaned forward. She had a simple, slow grace to her movements and a way of looking at me with sympathy that didn’t feel like pity. It was as if she knew things I hadn’t told her. When she reached for my hand, I didn’t pull away. A wall I’d built around my heart began to crumble.

  “It may not look like it,” she said. “But I’ve been where you are. I was marked against my will a long time ago by a shifter who would have fit right in with the Kentucky Pack. In fact, he allied himself with them. It’s one of the many ways Able Valent has tried to get a foothold outside Kentucky.”

  I blinked hard, holding back tears. I knew if I cried now, I might never stop. Jonah’s battered face swam in front of me. Payne hadn’t denied the accusations. Had he been lying to me all along about how deep Able had gotten into his head? My own head said one thing, though my heart squeezed with the pain of another. I wanted to go to him. I wanted him to tell me to my face. Yes.

  “But you’re with Alec now,” I said. I wanted to ask her how. How had she allowed herself
to be vulnerable again? “I don’t think I can ever have what you have. How do you not lose yourself?”

  “I could say it was fate,” she said. “And it was. I knew from the moment I met him that Alec was different. And in the beginning, I was afraid to let go. But, the marking that was imposed on me, wasn’t real. I mean, it wasn’t fated. It wasn’t a part of me no matter how strong a hold that man thought he had. I’m not telling you what to do. I don’t know if Payne is a good man.”

  I wanted to shout in his defense. He was a good man. I knew it in my bones. And yet, Jonah’s words still burned my heart.

  “Do you see something?” Pat asked Olivia. It seemed such a strange question.

  Olivia smiled and sat back in her chair. “I don’t,” she said. “Whatever path Lena and the Kentucky wolves are on, it’s not for me to know. That doesn’t mean it’s bad, mind you. It’s just that my fate isn’t wrapped up in it. Or it could just be that I’ve got pregnant brain. That’s also a thing. Come see me again in about five months.”

  Olivia’s soft laughter made her eyes crinkle. She put a protective hand over her belly.

  “Is it very difficult?” I asked, looking at her swollen stomach. “Giving birth to a shifter, I mean.”

  Dr. Olivet stood behind Olivia and put her hands on her shoulders. “She’s a pro,” Suzanne Olivet said. “The twins would have been a challenge, but their mother is...ah...unique. Pat has said.”

  “My brother’s wife,” I said. “Eve. She’s pregnant too. Seven months along I think. Things have been going well for her. I mean, I think she’s healthy and normal. But, we don’t have a doctor with us who specializes in shifter pregnancies.”

  Suzanne’s lips parted. She turned a little white. Olivia looked up at her and put a hand over hers.

  “She is human?” Suzanne asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Is it a single birth, do you know?”

  “I think so. At least, Molly’s only heard one heartbeat. Molly is studying to be a veterinarian. We get help from her boss too, but Molly’s the one tending to most of us down in the caves. She’s very good. But, she’s attended cat and dog births, not humans. And not shifters. One of the things they wanted me to ask...that is...if I got lucky enough to find you...can you help? Is there something we should know or do about Eve?”

  Suzanne stepped around Olivia. She crossed an arm around her waist and rested her chin on one hand. Biting her lip, she paced in front of the bedroom window. She started talking to herself in rapid-fire French, growing more agitated with each step she took.

  “Doctor?”

  “Give her a minute,” Pat said under her breath. “No use trying to stop her when she gets like this.”

  Finally, Suzanne stopped mid-step and turned to me. “You have no idea what you are doing. Reckless!”

  “Hey, don’t blame me. I’m not the pregnant one. And I don’t think my brother exactly planned it. It just...happened.”

  “It does not ever just...happen!” Suzanne flapped her hands.

  “Could she die?” I asked, swallowing past a lump in my throat. “I mean, Molly really is very good. And she learns fast. She’s fearless.”

  “She should be afraid,” Suzanne said. “And if she is as good as you say, she is probably terrified. I need to speak with her. You have a number?”

  “What? Uh. No. I mean. It’s dangerous. The Kentucky Pack has spies everywhere. We don’t trust phones of any kind. Payne was going to go back with a message. And maybe if you were willing…”

  “Me?” Suzanne thumped her breast. “I am to cross the border with Able Valent’s...what do you...his executioner?”

  “He’s not!” I rose to my feet, anger making my head throb. “He’s not Able Valent’s anything.”

  “He admitted as much. You saw the boy’s face. He killed Jonah’s brother. There was no denying that.”

  I let out a hard breath. She was right. But I knew it was so much more complicated than that. And I’d just botched everything. I’d promised Molly I would try to get her help. She was afraid.

  “I don’t know what to say. I really don’t. I just...you don’t know what it’s really like in Kentucky. You’re lucky up here.”

  I had a thousand other things I wanted to say but didn’t get the chance. A shadow fell across the doorway. Olivia rose to her feet. Alec Martel stood in the hallway, his expression grave.

  “The packs have made a decision,” he said, staring straight at me. “You should come out and hear it too.”

  Twenty-Two

  Payne

  I was everything Able said I was as I felt the heavy stares of the shifters of Wild Lake on me. A killer. A monster. Able’s greatest creation.

  The kid, Jonah...no, I couldn’t call him that. If I’d done what he said I had...in my heart I knew it was true...he became a man when he was eleven years old and watched his brother die at my hands. It would have been so much easier to pretend I didn’t remember any of it. Or maybe that made me even worse. The truth was, I did remember.

  It happened near the Tennessee border. Able’s spies got wind of a handful of kids trying to make their way south before they were set to report for duty. We found them easily, hiding in the back of a convenience store. The owner had a daughter who had been mated off to one of Able’s generals. I don’t remember what happened to either of them.

  Able let them all go except for Jonah’s brother. The others would go back north with a story to tell. This is what happens when you try to defy the Alpha.

  Jagger should have told me. Surely Jonah had spilled his story to him when he found the kid and helped him finally get over the northern border. Jagger would have seen Jonah’s scars and asked. Yet, he never said a thing. And Keara, Jonah said Jagger’s wife had been with them. It meant Keara knew what I was. But, she never once treated me differently. My heart twisted with grief I hadn’t let myself feel in such a long time. Dear, sweet, Keara. Jagger’s agony took on new meaning. If anything happened to Lena, I would have a death wish just like him.

  The front door opened and Pat Bonner came out. She had two other women with her. One was in probably her mid-forties with dark hair pulled back. Beside her, a younger woman wearing a white, flowing skirt emerged. Closer to me, Alec Martel made a move, putting his body between the woman in the skirt and me. So, she was his. Rage and jealousy flared through me. These men were free. Truly free. They had no idea how lucky that made them.

  Then, Lena came out of the house. Her face looked gaunt, her color ashen. Her heart. I’d broken it. I’d never lied to her about who I was, but seeing my crimes on Jonah’s face had gutted her. I couldn’t meet her eyes and face her judgment too.

  Derek stood beside Tinker Lyle. I’d learned what they were to each other. Tinker’s daughter had mated with Derek. It seemed all the Wild Lake wolves had gotten their fucking happily ever afters. I hoped they understood how rare a treasure that was.

  “We’ll make this quick,” Derek said. After Jonah’s testimony, they’d taken me back to the barn so they could deliberate. I stood in the center of them all still wrapped in chains. Would they even let me go after this? Surely, I’d never get Tinker’s Wolfkiller ammo now. How could they possibly entrust it to me knowing what they did about my past?

  Derek gestured to Tinker with his chin. The older man let out a gruff noise, but didn’t speak. He shuffled around the side of the house and out of view. Their silence after he’d left told me everything I needed to know. Tinker Lyle had no reason to be here anymore. As his mate’s father, Derek would protect him with his life in case I decided to lose my shit after hearing their verdict.

  My wolf stirred. God, I wanted to shift. I wanted to run for the lake. I could scent fresh quarry from here. To be able to run freely, let my heart soar...hunt...live....take. But, that wasn’t for me. Not ever. I didn’t belong here. Derek had been right. Their treatment of me was nothing less than we would have done to him had we found him trespassing in Mammoth Forest.

  I lifted my eye
s, drawn to Lena’s scent. She stood slightly apart from the other women. She curled her fingers around the porch railing. Sorrow filled her eyes and I could feel her fight not to cry. I’d hurt her so deeply. She deserved better. I couldn’t be her fate. I wouldn’t let myself be.

  Tinker Lyle came back around the side of the house carrying a small, wooden box in front of him. Another of Derek’s pack members, Cameron I think, carried a metal trunk right behind him. They came to the center of the circle and set the boxes down.

  “We’ve decided to trust you to a point,” Derek said. My ears started to ring.

  “You what?”

  Derek squared off, meeting me eye to eye. His amber eyes flashed gold as his wolf simmered just below the surface. My own wolf clamored inside of me.

  “Able Valent is a threat to all of us. We’ve already told you, he’s tried to make trouble for us up here in a number of different ways. He won’t stop trying. You know him better than we ever could. You’ve got a foothold down there. It’s in our interest to give your rebel fighters every advantage we can.”

  I shook my head, trying to sort out what I was hearing. He was helping me? “You’re arming me?”

  “We’re giving you four AR-15s, ten handguns, and enough ammo to hopefully last you a while. That’s all we can spare. There’s also an antidote to the neurotoxin in the smaller box. It wasn’t my idea to include that, but just in case.”

  “Why?” I asked, my throat went dry.

  “I just told you why,” Derek said. “Now do what you can to take that motherfucker out once and for all.”

  “But,” I looked at Lena. Her mouth hung slack. She was just as shocked at the turn of events as I was. “Why me? How can you trust me after what you heard? I did the things Jonah’s accused me of. I am that man. I was Able Valent’s hitman.”

  “Are you still?” The lone Alpha, Luke, broke through the crowd. Up close, he looked very different than what I thought. Something haunted Luke’s eyes.

  “Am I? What? No. No!” I shouted the last word as much for me as the rest of them. “No.”