by KH LeMoyne
Raised voices outside were followed by a door slamming.
“Matthew?” Lena murmured, turning his way.
Deacon inhaled and reached through the house and along the roadway outside. Disturbed and kept too long from his wife, Matthew had evaded Grizz and left. Not that Grizz had orders to stop him.
Pulling herself to the side of the bed, Lena dug through her backpack. “We need to get to Matthew.” She glanced up. “I know your people won’t harm him, but they don’t accept him either.”
“Not yet,” Deacon agreed and sat up, turning away to avoid the discussion. Many things were in his purview to tell her. Not this. Were she any other shifter, he could have the discussion. Unfortunately, she was human and not yet mated to him. His own rules imposed a silence about mates and the consequences. Her choices needed to be her own. In the dark and without his assistance. As stupid as he was now coming to realize that rule was.
“You weren’t surprised when I told you about my pendant.” Her breath warmed his back. Somehow she’d snuck up on him while he’d been distracted. “Why?”
He glanced over his shoulder and then pulled her from the bed to stand in front of him and started weaving her braid as she dressed. Distracted, he stared at her shoulder. It was almost healed, but he suspected her range of motion was still going to give her some problems. “The beast who saved you is unlike any of us. He’s older, more powerful. There are very few like him on this earth, but I’m familiar with him.”
Her eyes widened, and she turned, gripping his arm. “You’ll tell me more?”
“When we have more time, yes.” He guided her toward the door with his arm around her shoulder, but stopped her. “If you have the pendant, why did you get the tattoo?”
She pulled away from him, preceding him down the hallway and looking back when he refused to move. She shrugged with an inhale. “It’s silly.”
He stalked to her and raised her hand, kissing her knuckles. “Tell me.”
“That’s it, use the seduction routine to get me to talk.”
He held on to her hand. “Is it working?”
She rolled her eyes. “I realized after a plunge in the river that the pendant wasn’t battle proof. I could lose it at any time. Knowing my work involved everyday exposure to harsh conditions and unforgiving elements, the tattoo makes me feel safe. Strange, I know, but I didn’t ever want to leave that link behind.”
Unknowingly, she’d invoked the power of the talisman by embedding it on her body. She’d embraced the wolf in her soul—his wolf, his people. That power was what he’d felt with his first touch. A power only a human fit to be part of an alpha pair could wield. A decision she’d made based purely on instinct, not knowledge.
Deacon swallowed through something harder, more tangible than instinct or lust. It was a fleeting feeling, but if he didn’t know better, he’d think it was love. Patience.
She still needed to find her way. To choose him.
The change in her life would involve more than a minor shift in perspective, but he couldn’t extinguish that steady flame of hope inside him as he followed her to the car.
14
Lena forced her way through the twenty or so people of various ages crowding the waiting room. Several sniffed in her direction. She avoided them. Most made a beeline for Deacon with so many questions she could barely keep track of them all. She caught phrases with references to mate and marks. While those mutterings spread through the crowd as she walked by, she knew better than to put any stock in their curious rambling.
Uncertain how their assumptions made her feel, one thing was clear. The thought of another woman linked in such a fashion with Deacon made her stomach turn and her hands clench. The result—she could deal with the over-the-top shifter curiosity as long as she still felt Deacon’s presence like a second skin.
Clear of the initial cluster of people, she found Matthew. Arms crossed over his chest, he stood shaking his head at an elderly couple. Several jostled behind them. Trim blocked the open door to the next hallway.
She tapped Matthew on the shoulder and edged past the couple, receiving more perplexing sniffs.
“I’m glad you showed up,” Matthew muttered.
“This only looks intimidating. I’ll get you through to see Shanae and Trevor.”
Matthew glanced behind him. “I overheard they’re having some big clan meeting at the end of the week. I’m worried it may decide my future. Would you stay until then?”
“I can give you a few more days, but your family is safe here. Deacon has guards posted and I don’t believe he’d allow anything to happen to them.”
“That doesn’t rule him out as one of my concerns. You may not feel—”
She squeezed his arm before he could finish. “I’ll stay. This will work out somehow. I’m sure.”
They approached Trim. Leaning against the door, she stared right through them.
“Please, step aside and allow Matthew through to his family,” Lena said.
“Shanae hasn’t asked to see him,” Trim answered without bothering to look at her.
“I’m pretty certain she expects to see him without asking.” Suddenly aware of the silence in the room behind her, Lena took a deep breath and tried a new approach. “It’s obvious Shanae’s welfare means a great deal to you. I imagine she’d appreciate your support in helping the husband she went to great lengths to protect.”
Trim’s eyes closed for a minute, but her stance eased. “We don’t know that.”
Lena leaned closer and whispered, “Are you willing to bet your friendship with her on that?”
Sudden, familiar heat covered her back. Deacon was right behind her, had heard her, but he’d remained silent. Since he could hardly chastise his second in command in public, she took his silence as a sign of support. Especially since every shifter in the room had probably heard her as well.
“She asked for you to come save her,” Lena continued, stepping closer. “She laid the groundwork for Matthew to do the same. I’m sure whatever this situation is with the ferals, it will take both of you to keep Shanae and Trevor safe.”
Trim’s nostrils flared with an audible sniff, and suddenly her eyes met Lena’s. Then she shot Deacon a startled glance. With a snarl, she moved aside. “Fine,” she gritted out.
The sniffing thing was getting downright irritating, but at least it got the last roadblock out of the way. Lena grabbed Matthew’s elbow, edged around Trim, and continued down the nearly empty hallway to the only door with a supply cart outside. Matthew followed close behind with Deacon bringing up the rear.
A man standing outside the next room nodded. His shaggy blond hair resembled a throwback look to beach bum days, but the huge muscles and tree-trunk size of him was foreboding. Matthew glanced in the first room and seemed split on whether to try to pass the behemoth guard.
“I understand your concern. I have young sons of my own at home,” the man offered. “However, your boy is sleeping soundly, so if you want to see your wife first, I’ll make sure no one bothers him.”
Matthew opened his mouth several times to speak, but nothing came out. Lena put an arm around him again and ushered him into Shanae’s room. With a quick glance over her shoulder toward the guard, she mouthed thank you.
“I’m not usually this much of an ass,” Matthew muttered as he stopped just inside the door and stared at the hospital bed. If looks were magnetic, the woman lying there should have drawn Matthew to her with her large caramel eyes filled with longing. Instead, her attention seemed to have the opposite reaction. Matthew stood rooted to his spot.
Well. This was awkward. Lena continued to the bedside. Someone should provide a little support for Shanae.
“I have two comments, and I will leave you to rest.” Deacon made his way to the foot of the bed. “First, I’m glad to see you’re awake. Your condition and that of your son had me worried. As your alpha, I insist, next time communicate sooner. I have great confidence in your abilities, but don’t ever
let me find you so adrift without help again. Understood?”
“Yes, Alpha,” Shanae whispered.
He glanced over his shoulder at Matthew. “Good. Second, you have a choice to make. Don’t drag it out. You and your family can’t have the life you want if you don’t decide. And I mean soon.” He glanced pointedly at Matthew and left.
Matthew frowned and opened his mouth, then snapped it shut as he gave Shanae a shuttered look. “I’ll be back. Will you stay here with her, Lena?”
His message was clear. Don’t skip out behind my back. Then he disappeared in Deacon’s wake. Shanae’s gaze followed him. Her lips pursed, and her free fist clenched.
Family disputes weren’t Lena’s specialty by a long shot. But she’d come to respect Matthew, and every investigative bit of information she’d learned about Shanae led her to believe the woman deserved her support. She moved closer and sat in the chair beside the bed.
Shanae turned her head toward her. “Thank you. You helped Matthew, and you saved Trevor. I owe you more than you’ll ever know.”
“It’s my job, though you’re welcome. I’m glad we made it to both of you in time.” Lena shifted uncomfortably. “Since I’m the only one left in the room, I’ll ask. What choice is Deacon referring to?”
Part of her was concerned the woman was being coerced into leaving her husband. Yet Lena couldn’t see Deacon supporting such a thing. Not to mention that it made his pursuit of her seem hypocritical.
“I have to decide whether to claim Matthew as my mate and accept him into the clan.”
“I don’t understand the big deal about mating. Wouldn’t being married have already established a bond?”
“There’s more to mating than legal promises.” Shanae licked her lips and frowned. “I don’t want you to misunderstand. I love my husband. He’s always been the only man I’ve ever wanted as my mate, but—it’s an awkward conversation to have since we didn’t live near the clan. With my people, our clan, the woman decides whether to take a mate.”
“Doesn’t your husband get a choice?”
Shanae lowered her eyes and picked at the bedsheet, then bunched the sheet in her hand as she looked up. “When I met Matthew, I couldn’t see him wanting a life around the clan. In the beginning, that was never a problem. We both had jobs away from here. His business was just getting off the ground, and his contacts were in the city. Shifters didn’t exist in our little world. Then Trevor was born. I knew I’d have to tell Matthew, but my son shouldn’t have shifted until he was much older. I kept telling myself I had time to present the situation to Matthew and help him adjust.”
“He adjusted fine with me while we were trekking through those mountains looking for you. He adjusted to Deacon’s aggressive team and feral shifters—animals, magic, with a little violence thrown in. I’ll admit it was a hard way to learn.” Lena paused, taking pity on the woman. She lowered her voice. “He adjusted when he realized his son could shift. He defended Trevor’s situation to Deacon without knowing it wasn’t typical. He confronted your alpha. Don’t you think you should trust him with a say in the choice, whether it’s mandated by the clan or not?”
“What if he says no?” Shanae blinked, then the muscles along her jaw tightened. “I don’t want to lose him. He’s everything to me.”
“Then don’t give him the option to say no.” With a sigh, Lena settled back into a chair by the bed. “Surely it can’t be that big a deal. What? Do you dance naked in the middle of the clan and declare he’s yours? Oh, and there’s a lot of sniffing by everyone else.”
She’d meant it as a joke, but a slow blush rose over Shanae’s cheeks. “Nothing quite so public. Shifters mark their mates. With Matthew, I’m pretty sure—well, he’d enjoy it—that is, if he agreed to join the clan and keep our secrets. It’s not like he’s Deacon or anything.”
“What exactly does that mean?”
Shanae’s gaze flitted around the room, touching everywhere, it seemed, but on Lena. “Alpha’s are…different.”
One eyebrow eased up as Lena leaned forward, waiting through the silence.
Shanae’s mouth twitched as she finally met her gaze. “I’ve never seen Deacon take an interest in anyone before, so I can’t speak from experience, but my foster mother said the previous alpha did claim his mate at a full-moon feast. In public. Don’t know about the dancing.” She waved a hand quickly. “Not the naked thing. It started with a vocal statement and then…”
She paused as if reconsidering.
“Then what?” Lena snapped. “Don’t you dare stop now.”
“Then he bit her—claimed her in front of everyone. Females have to do the claiming now, but with an alpha, it still has to be public. There can be no confusion with a new female entering the hierarchy.” Shanae shook her head as if sensing that Lena didn’t get the urgency. “Mating is forever. No buts or backing out.”
Lena swallowed hard. Good thing she wasn’t interested in staying, much less putting herself through public humiliation. Though the thought of forever with Deacon sent a warm tingle through her private parts.
“I get why it happens so rarely. The alpha claiming, I mean,” Shanae said with a wicked smile that brightened her pale face. “Sharing a tough job. Training the young ones. Keeping an eye on everyone. I’ve always sort of felt sorry for Deacon having to do it alone.”
Oh now, playing the sympathy card was hitting below the belt. From Shanae’s smirk, totally intentional. Lena scowled and slunk lower in her chair. Too many coincidences were creating an uneasy sensation over her skin, erasing the pleasant leftover warmth from a night of great sex. Okay, mind-blowing sex.
And she still needed to finish her conversation with Deacon. She hadn’t told him the entire truth of the night her parents had died, of the man who’d saved her. “The world needs you, little soldier. My people need you.” Those words now thrummed in her brain like cymbals as she tried to digest the rush of too much information, the desire for too many wishes too far outside her grasp.
At least Lena’s discomfort was providing amusement for Shanae and bolstering her confidence.
“Since we’ve gotten past the delicate subject of mating, I’ll ask the hard question. Why didn’t you tell Matthew what was happening? Why did you run?”
“Lena, let it go,” Matthew said, his voice brittle. He stood with his shoulder braced against the doorjamb, holding a plastic ice bucket in his hands. How long he’d been there, Lena didn’t know. She’d been too focused on Shanae’s information.
To Shanae’s credit, she didn’t flinch, but she did look like she might try to get out of bed and go to him. Lena put a hand over Shanae’s, staying her, and looked at Matthew. “This is the reason you hired me. To find Shanae. You also admitted you’d pulled me into a job that was way over my head. I don’t want more payment. I do want answers.”
“I have no need for silence now,” Shanae said, her voice stronger, though she swallowed hard. “They gave me proof that they could get to Matthew—and kill him. They delivered a packet with evidence they’d followed him for days. Had been in our house. Showed me how easy it would be to get to him. I didn’t have time to consider options. They wanted Trevor and me. They insisted I tell no one. Trevor was shifting uncontrollably, and I love my husband too much to ever put him at risk.”
A threat to Matthew’s life seemed a valid consideration, but that was from Lena’s perspective. The drawn, shocked look on Matthew’s face showed he hadn’t considered his own danger.
“Threats to his life and Trevor’s must’ve seemed insurmountable. I imagine not telling about the shifter situation seemed minuscule in comparison.”
Shanae lifted her hand toward Matthew, a solicitation or perhaps a plea. The tangle of tubes restricted her movement, but her intent was clear. “I chose Matthew’s world. With all the years left until Trevor reached puberty, I thought I’d have time to approach the subject. I suspect because we lived away from other shifters, they considered us free from the alpha’s scrutin
y and protection. They also didn’t count on my reacting quickly and leaving.” With her husband not making a move toward her, Shanae sought Lena’s help as tears filled her eyes. “I loved what Matthew and I had built, Ms. Juarez. I was just…”
Caged by time and afraid Matthew might reject the most intimate part of her. Yeah, Lena understood. Yet Matthew had accepted every oddity with amazing resilience. He obviously reciprocated his wife’s affections, for he stared at her as if she was his only reason for living. Their difficulties, the betrayal of her departure and omissions evidently hadn’t diminished Matthew’s love for his wife.
Or Shanae’s feelings either, if her desperation was any indication.
“Well. I’ll leave you two to talk.” Lena passed Matthew and patted his shoulder. “Hang in there. You’ve almost won what’s most important.”
She hoped they’d reconcile. Matthew and Shanae certainly deserved some peace. The complex layers of shifters and their expectations weighed heavily enough on Lena’s mind, and she was human.
As she exited into the hallway, she wasn’t certain whether to be disappointed or relieved to find Breslin obviously waiting for her. Where is Deacon?
Matthew walked slowly toward the seat Lena had vacated, feeling disconnected from his body. The most important thing in his life, the bond he’d considered unflappable, the one person he had counted on for honesty and openness, had kept numerous secrets. Huge, life-altering secrets. Ones she hadn’t felt capable of telling him. While the only thing driving him the last several weeks was the desperation to make certain she and Trevor were safe, now he stood in an unbelievable reality with the ground beneath him shifting like quicksand.
He covered the distance between him and Shanae, each step weighing his feet down and tightening the ache in his chest. But he didn’t sit or touch her, as much as he wanted her in his arms, to give her the comfort she sought and reassure her everything was okay and that they would be fine. He couldn’t bring himself to make the final move.
