by R. E. Butler
He grinned and nipped at her throat. “You smell so good in the morning, like melted peppermints.”
“I think you smell good, too. Especially when you’re turned on.”
He carried her into the bedroom, his thoughts on the short length of time before they had to arrive at the alphas’ for their joining ceremony. “We have to be quick.”
“Good thing I’m prepared,” she said as he laid her down on the bed and lifted her shirt, revealing that she wore nothing underneath.
Lowering his head to her bare stomach, he kissed her navel and inhaled her sweet scent. “Mine.”
* * * * *
Dani was excited and anxious about going to the alphas’ home. Adam could feel her nerves as she walked up the sidewalk next to him. “What’s making you so worried?” he asked in a low voice.
“I wonder what will happen when your people realize I’m a reindeer.”
“I think most everyone knows. You’ve been here for a few weeks, and you’ve met a lot of pack members. Word travels fast.”
She hummed, but said nothing.
Before he opened the front door, he pulled her close. She hugged him back immediately, sighing as they melted together in the way he loved the most. “You’re mine. The pack might not allow you to become a true member, but as my mate you fall under the alphas’ protection. Besides that, sweetheart, I’d never let anyone hurt you.”
“I know you won’t. It’s just…wolves are predators. There’s still this tiny part of me that feels like I should be on guard, even though most of me feels perfectly safe.”
He hated that she’d suffered as a child. He couldn’t imagine the terror and loss she had dealt with. “I wish I’d met you years ago, Dani,” he said, tightening his hold on her. “I wish I’d been there for you when you were scared and sad.”
“You’re going to make me cry,” she said.
Chuckling, he tipped her face up and brushed the tears away. “I think we both wish a lot of things were different, but we are where we are in our lives because of what we endured. You’re my family now, and I wouldn’t change anything about my past if it meant I didn’t have you in my life.”
Fresh tears surged over her cheeks. “I’m so glad you’re mine, Adam Cruz.”
“I wouldn’t want to be anyone else’s,” he promised.
After wiping the new tears from her cheeks, he kissed her gently and then opened the door to the alphas’ home. For many years, he had been at Acksel’s beck and call. He’d never felt put-upon or mistreated by Acksel or the alpha before him, but he’d never really felt like part of the pack. He always imagined that the ranked males – the ones who became protectors and held valued positions within the pack – felt like the pack was home for them. Now, with Dani at his side and their shared jobs as stewards, he felt like he had finally found a place to belong. He wouldn’t have thought he could find joy in repairing fences, chopping wood, and shoveling snow, but knowing that he and Dani were both working for the pack – that she would be with him during the day and waiting for him at home each night – made even the most mundane job enjoyable.
As he watched Dani hugging the females in the pack who had embraced her as one of their own already, he smiled to himself. Things finally seemed to be going his way.
“It’s about damn time,” Malachi Slattery said as he came to stand next to Adam.
“What is?”
“You finding your truemate. I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks.”
Malachi turned to face him. “I don’t know if I ever told you this, but thank you for everything you’ve done for the pack.”
Adam frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, being an omega shouldn’t mean that you don’t get thanked. Kammie leaving the pack for the bear sleuth has made a lot of us take a hard look at our behavior. Brynn was upset to lose her, and she’s afraid that the current laws will force more omegas away.”
“I appreciate your thanks. It’s funny how we get used to things being a certain way, isn’t it? There’s a lot of ‘it’s always been this way’ in pack life.”
Malachi chuckled ruefully. “Yeah. Nila worries about what will happen when Jack grows up. If he can’t completely shift, then even if he’s a total badass he’ll be an omega.”
A wolf and a human’s child might or might not be able to shift; it depended on whether the child took more after the wolf parent or the human parent. “I think that when Acksel and Brynn’s kids reach the age of maturity, there will be changes in the law. If a pack doesn’t evolve with the times, wolves leave for greener pastures, like Kammie did.”
“Congratulations on your mating, Adam.”
“Thanks.”
Adam joined Dani where she stood talking to Brynn. “Would you really? That would be so cool,” Brynn was saying.
“What would be?” Adam asked.
“I offered to make a big batch of gravy and bring it over in freezer containers so she could have it whenever she likes,” Dani told him, smiling up at him.
“Your mate is a sweetheart,” Brynn said. “I hope you know that I’m going to trade the gravy for my famous black walnut cookies.”
“Famous according to who?” Acksel said, his nose wrinkling.
Brynn elbowed him. “Just because you don’t like black walnuts doesn’t mean they’re not awesome.”
“I love them,” Dani said.
“See? It’s just your screwy taste buds. You don’t like mushrooms or pineapple, either.” Brynn said.
“I know what I do like to eat,” Acksel said gruffly. Brynn shivered visibly and then smacked him on the shoulder.
“Gross! We’ve got company.”
Dani tried to hide her laugh, but even Adam found it impossible not to chuckle at Acksel’s disgruntled look. He clearly didn’t appreciate Brynn thinking anything he did was gross.
Adam kissed Dani on the temple and said, “Ready to be my mate in truth?”
“I already am. This is just a formality.”
Fuck, he loved her.
“Right,” Acksel said, clearing his throat with a growl, “let’s get you two officially mated so we can get on with the night.” He grabbed Brynn and pulled her close, whispering in her ear. Her cheeks reddened, and her eyes flashed with heat as she gripped his wrist and let out a soft sigh.
Dani smiled at Adam. “I bet he explained why ‘gross’ wasn’t a good word to use.”
“I’m sure he did.”
“Just for the record, I love everything you do to me. And I especially love that you let me sex you up whenever I want.”
“Oh yeah?” he asked as he stepped out onto the snow-covered back deck and slipped her coat from her shoulders. “I was just thinking the same thing.”
Acksel and Brynn joined them, and the pack filtered into the backyard as the sun set and a deep chill settled into the air. Adam tossed his coat onto the railing with Dani’s.
Hollis, an elder of the pack, held a large leather-bound book in his hands. He stood between Acksel and Brynn on the deck, where flickering torches had been lit.
“On this night,” Hollis spoke in a loud, clear voice, “Adam Cruz brings Dani Grayson before the alphas, the elders, and the pack, to declare her as his mate. The laws of our people are clear: a wolf may claim a person who is not a wolf shifter as his or her mate, and that person is welcomed as an honorary member of the pack. If there are any among us who would disagree, speak now or remain silent forever.”
There was silence for a brief moment. Adam’s wolf was ready to bust heads if anyone had a problem with their mating. Not that he expected there to be issues. Wolves were generally happy for one of their own to find his or her truemate.
Acksel spoke. “As Alpha of the Wilde Creek Pack, I recognize Adam and Dani as truemates, and welcome Dani Grayson as an honorary pack member, under the authority of the alphas and the protection of the pack. I welcome Adam and Dani into the ranks of the stewards. Welcome to the pack.”
Acksel lifted his head and howled
, and the pack joined in. Adam howled loud and long – his wolf celebrating that Dani was his mate in truth now, his forever to love and protect. As the pack voiced their approval, Adam pulled Dani into his arms and kissed her. His wolf rolled under his skin, anxious to shift and run with her. “I’m yours, Dani. Good, bad, hell or high water. I’ll drag the moon from the sky if you ask.”
“I just want you.”
The pack dispersed, and Adam grabbed their coats. “Thanks for everything,” Adam told Brynn and Acksel, who were standing in a tight embrace on the deck.
“Make sure you take the day off tomorrow,” Brynn said. “It’s your mating night, and you deserve a little time to yourselves. The alpha said so.”
“She damn sure did,” Acksel said, grinning. “Take two days. Turn off the phones and shut the blinds. I’ll send some of the young males to meet with my dad and take over for you.”
“Thank you, that’s so nice!” Dani said. She tugged on Adam’s hand. “Let’s hurry. I can’t wait to play in the snow with you.”
They said goodbye to the mates who were staying in the alphas’ home while their wolves hunted with the pack, and hurried to the truck. He was anxious to shift, too. Even though he wasn’t going to do any hunting, he knew his wolf would be content to just be with his mate in their shifts.
“The backyard is calling, sweetheart.”
She smiled brightly. “I think if reindeer had fangs I’d be flashing them right now, I’m so happy.”
“I’m happy, too.”
“Are you sure you won’t mind not hunting?”
“Of course not. I want to be where you are. If I went out to hunt, I’d be worried about you.”
“I’m sure I’d be safe within the fence.”
He shook his head. “This isn’t a hardship for me, sweetheart. I always went off on my own anyway. That I can be with you in our shifted forms, even in our yard, is more than enough to make me happy.”
“Aw.”
He pulled his truck into the driveway and turned off the engine, getting out swiftly and joining Dani. The sun had set completely, and the full moon cast a pale glow on the world. They walked through the house and out onto the back porch, where they stood in silence for a brief moment, hands clasped and gazes locked together.
“I’m so fucking crazy about you,” he growled, hauling her close and lowering his mouth to her throat. The sweet peppermint scent of her surrounded him, exploding on his tongue as he licked her throat and touched the mating marks with his tongue. She shivered with a soft moan, her arms wrapping around him as their bodies connected.
“I’m crazy about you, too. Head over heels, send-me-to-the-nuthouse crazy.”
He chuckled. “Let’s shift, sweetheart.”
They separated just enough so they didn’t bump into each other as they stripped, after she took off her engagement ring and put it in the front pocket of her jeans. Because he’d been there when she got dressed earlier, he knew she wasn’t wearing anything under her sweater and jeans. Her beautiful body was bared to him, the moon highlighting the curves he knew intimately.
“I love when you look at me like that,” she said huskily.
“How?” he asked as he draped his clothes over a chair next to hers.
“Like you could eat me up.”
He glanced toward the house. “I could.”
“Hold that thought until later.” She chuckled and touched his face, going up on her toes and kissing him. “Love you.”
“I love you, too, Dani.”
Hands clasped together, they walked out into the snowy backyard and shifted. He’d only ever seen wolves shift, so watching his beautiful mate turn into a reindeer captivated him. She was beautiful, with a pretty brownish-gray hide dotted with paler patches of white. Her nose looked like it had been dipped in white paint.
He stretched to warm up his muscles. Dani watched him intently, steam billowing from her nostrils. He shifted as soon as he was able to, his muscles burning as they normally did, but he wasn’t burdened by them anymore. He’d found acceptance with his mate. He’d stopped looking at his scars as a liability their first night together, when Dani had kissed them tenderly. He knew she didn’t see him as an injured male, and he had decided to stop looking at himself that way, too.
He pawed the ground as he stretched, his claws digging into the snow and cold earth as his tail snapped back and forth. He lifted his muzzle and scented the air, loving the way the night smelled on the full moon. Among the scents of trees, snow, and frozen ground was the sweet peppermint of his mate, which was his very favorite scent.
Dani nudged him gently with one horn, scratching his fur with the blunt tips. If he could have, he would’ve smiled as she hopped away suddenly, the snow fluffing up around her. He chased after her as she tore around the yard. She tried to hide behind a shrub, her head bowed and her haunches in the air, as if he wouldn’t be able to see her. He chuffed at her and she peeked around the shrub, her ears twitching and her eyes glimmering with happiness.
He flicked his tail at her and bounded off in the opposite direction. She gave chase, her long legs eating up the distance between them. He’d never been happier.
Suddenly Dani made a soft, pained sound and Adam spun and rushed to her side. She swayed, shaking her head and trying to remain upright. He could see a feather-tipped dart sticking out from her neck and he growled in alarm.
Something whizzed by him, and he felt a stinging pain as his skin was grazed. He looked to see a second feather-tipped dart embed in the side of the house. He spun with a growl toward the sound of feet hitting the ground. His vision swam and he heard Dani fall to the ground with a thud. Baring his teeth, he struggled to remain upright, but his paws began to tingle and paralysis swept quickly through him. He felt himself fall into the snow, and saw four figures racing through the yard to them. Inhaling deeply, he found the intruders to be humans and shifters, smelling of cigarettes and whiskey. Then his brain shut down and everything turned black.
Chapter 10
Dani woke to tingling in her limbs and a metallic taste in her mouth. Her vision was blurry, but it sharpened as she blinked. She was still in her shifted form. A heavy collar sat around her neck; she could feel spikes digging into her throat, and knew it was meant to keep her from shifting back to human.
A man she didn’t recognize squatted down in front of her. The man had a thick scar along his cheek, and he reeked of cigarette smoke and booze. “The collar will hurt you if you try to shift. You seem like a smart girl, so you probably figured that out already.”
Another male voice said, “I can’t get her into the harness while she’s lying down.”
“I don’t think her legs are working right,” the scarred man said.
The other man grunted and then kicked her. She bellowed, her legs unable to move more than a few pathetic times because of whatever they had used to drug her.
“See?” the scarred man said.
They left her alone. She moved her head as much as she could to see her surroundings. She was in what looked to be a horse stall in a large barn. A wooden gate enclosed her stall, and through the slats she could see antlers moving around and heard curious noises. She tried to move, but her legs were still numb. Dropping her head to the straw-covered floor, she closed her eyes and thought about Adam. It had happened so fast. They’d been playing in the snow, and then something had hit her and she’d passed out. She didn’t know if Adam was okay or if he’d been hurt. Worry over her mate made her struggle to get to her feet, despite her wooziness and the painful sensation in her legs. Her head spun as she struggled to her knees and pushed herself up by leaning against the rough wooden wall.
Panting for breath, she shook her head and waited for the spots in her vision to clear. She tried to put all of her weight on her legs, but her knees buckled, so she leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes, willing her body to force whatever drugs she’d been given out. The sooner she was able to stand, the sooner she could figure out
a way to escape. She might be stuck in her shift, but she sure as hell wasn’t sticking around.
* * * * *
Adam swam out from under the drugs by sheer force of will. His wolf had been snarling for what felt like hours, angry that they were paralyzed while their mate had been taken. As his vision returned and the paralysis left his body, he began to howl for help. He couldn’t move yet, but his voice worked, and he made as much noise as he could, hoping that his pack members would hear him and come help.
After an eternity of anxious waiting, he heard someone come into his house and race to the back, throwing open the door.
“Fuck, what happened? Where’s Dani?” Malachi demanded. He looked around, his eyes darting as he took in the scene. Wolves surrounded them, scenting the air and growling.
Adam snarled, wishing he could shift into his human form so he could talk.
Malachi put his hand on Adam’s head and said to Zander, one of the protectors, “Go find Doc and get him the fuck here right now.” He turned his attention back to Adam. “I smell humans and shifters. They took Dani?”
Adam nodded.
“Damn it,” he growled. Pulling his cell from his pocket, he dialed it and said, “Luke, tell Brynn to go out onto the porch and yell for Acksel. Dani’s been kidnapped, and Acksel always stays close to the house. I need him at Adam’s right away.”
Ending the call, Malachi said, “We’ll get her back, man.”
Adam struggled against the drugs in his system. He could barely lift his head from the ground. Worry for Dani’s safety was driving him insane, his wolf clawing at him to find her.
Doc, the pack doctor, appeared and knelt in the snow in front of Adam. Malachi had searched the area and found the feathered dart, similar to the one that had hit Dani, embedded in the side of the house. “I think he was hit with this.”
Doc sniffed at the dart and wrinkled his nose. “Uh, no. He wasn’t hit or he’d be dead. I recognize this drug. It shuts down the body – first paralyzing the muscles and then spreading quickly organ by organ until the recipient dies.”
