Willow Run: Boxed Set (Books 1-6)

by Hart, Melissa F.

  He leaned in and whispered, “You look…good enough to eat.”

  “Don’t you mean that the other way around?” Willow whispered back.

  “I think we tried that once,” he teased.

  Suddenly, before Willow could think of a clever come back, a low snort rolled out of Chris, and Willow could clearly see his stag coming out. He was looking over her shoulder at something behind her, and she felt compelled to turn around to see what had caused such displeasure. She swallowed in alarm. Guy Beaugrand had just arrived with an older man who she surmised was his father, the king of the bobcats. All Willow could think was that Guy looked dazzling in a pale blue silk suit, since she had never seen him in anything but jeans and hiking clothes. He had a striking resemblance to his father, down to the long sideburns, except that his father’s hair was a steely gray crew cut, and the senior Beaugrand’s eyes had none of Guy’s warmth.

  “Those Beaugrands have some kind of nerve.” Chris’ smile flattened into an expression of distaste, and his voice now had an abrasive edge. “I don’t recall any rebellious shifters being on the guest list.”

  Willow didn’t know what to do. Katie, in line behind her, squeezed her arm. Gretchen, sensing the mounting tension, turned to her friends. “Come on, girls, we’re holding up the receiving line. Time to go get some champagne.” She steered Willow toward a corner of the spacious, open-air tent, where a bar was set up. Joining the small group waiting to be served, Willow scanned the tent, her head jolting to a stop.

  Katie and Gretchen slowly turned to face the direction Willow was looking, not sure they wanted to see.

  “Holy cougar,” Gretchen murmured. “The recluse appears. I recognize him from his book jacket.”

  Katie’s eyes drew a triangle from Chris to Guy to Mace. Neither of the two cats had yet to spot Willow.

  Willow looked from Katie to Gretchen. “Why do I have this terrible feeling that all hell is about to break loose?”

  “They wouldn’t dare act badly with this many witnesses.” Katie tried to sound confident.

  “Oh crap.” Willow tried to shrink, but the bright color of her dress made her an easy target. Mace had spotted her and was starting to make his way toward her, through the crowd.

  Several women waylaid Mace, though, clearly fans of the author.

  “Uh oh.” Katie sucked in a breath. “Trouble at four o’clock.”

  Guy had also located Willow and was heading in their direction, and Chris was on his tail, striding quickly, thirty yards behind.

  Gretchen whispered, “Act natural.”

  “Act natural? I want to play dead,” Willow groaned. “I think it’s time for this cat to vanish.”

  “Hello, ladies.” All three of them let out startled squeaks as they spun around to see Nicholas standing behind them. He looked a little baffled. “Everything okay here? That wasn’t exactly a carnivore kind of response.”

  Gretchen looked slightly demented. “Everything’s great, Prince Nicholas!” She forced a smile that only served to reinforce the impression that she was insane.

  “Awesome!” Willow added, sure that she looked equally crazy. They were going to blow it for Katie.

  “May I get you a drink?” Nicholas smiled at Katie, who was apparently paralyzed by the whole situation.

  “I need a whiskey, make it a double, and neat,” Willow croaked. Gretchen stepped on Willow’s foot. “Please,” Willow added to placate her etiquette mentor, “I’m not feeling so well.”

  Nicholas looked concerned. “Why don’t you all come sit at my table? Maybe you’ve locked your knees too long—all this standing around—it can make you lightheaded.” He tried to come up with some rational explanation for their bizarre behavior.

  “Oh look, my fiancé wants me to meet someone, I better go!” Gretchen darted her eyes at her friends.

  Katie hissed, “Coward!” under her breath.

  “I’ll create a distraction,” Gretchen whispered back.

  “Distraction?” Willow echoed, her voice in a panic.

  Gretchen dashed through the crowd, making straight for the DJ, who leaned down from the small stage where a live band was setting up. Willow could see him nodding his head and smiling as they talked. He picked up his microphone.

  “Ladies and gentlemen…how’s everyone doing today?” Applause and some cheering rippled through the crowd. “I heard,” he nodded knowingly at the audience, “that you’re a bunch of…party animals!” Laughter and a bigger cheer went up from the guests. “So…I want you to show our bride Loretta and her new husband Max how much fun you’re having celebrating their nuptials by engaging in a very old and honorable wedding tradition: the chicken dance!”

  The oom-pah-pah strains of the silly polka rang out over the PA system.

  Willow froze and stared at Katie. “You have got to be kidding me!”

  But at that moment, Nicholas grabbed Katie’s hand with a laugh, dragging her out into the arm-flapping crowd. Katie threw Willow a hapless look over her shoulder. “The DJ is a weasel,” she called by way of explanation.

  A diversion all right, Willow thought. Now she was completely on her own with two big cats and a buck steaming toward her. She needed someplace to hide from all three of her suitors, unless of course they were going to tie it up, in which case she should probably be preparing for surgery. Suddenly she heard a raspy voice say, “Dr. Ryersen!”

  It was the older gentleman with the fencing company who had brought the kittens in to be vaccinated earlier in the week. Frantically, Willow tried to remember his name and from some corner of her mind, it managed to pop out. “Mr. Danvers! How nice to see you!”

  “I can’t believe these young fellers have left you here all alone! Why aren’t you out dancing?” He looked concerned, as if Willow missing the chicken dance was a national tragedy.

  A light bulb went off over Willow’s head. Mr. Danvers was going to be her seventy-year-old, unwitting knight in shining armor. “The truth is, I’m not feeling very well…and I came with my friend Katie, and I didn’t want to spoil her fun...”

  “Oh—you need a ride? I’d be happy to give you a lift. My wife was feeling poorly today, too, and stayed home…must be something going around.” He jauntily extended a crooked elbow in an old-fashioned gesture, and Willow looped her hand through it.

  “That’s so kind of you,” she exclaimed.

  “Well, I never was much of one for dancing or drinking, so I guess it’s time for me to go home and check on Barbara anyway. The bride’s parents are old friends and good customers, so you know, I really came for them.”

  Willow nodded affirmatively as they headed toward the giant field of parked cars. She glanced over her shoulder, but she couldn’t see Chris or Guy or Mace for the frenzy of chicken dancers. Suddenly Mr. Danvers came to an abrupt halt.

  “Oh dear.” He looked up and down the lines of cars.

  “What’s wrong?” Willow asked.

  “I—I have no idea where I’m parked.”

  She patted his arm. “Just think for a minute. There must have been some kind of landmark.” But she could feel her getaway car slipping away.

  Mr. Danvers scratched the thinning shock of hair on top of his head, twisting his skinny neck to turn this way and that. “It’s a blue Chrysler.”

  “That shouldn’t be hard to find,” Willow said, trying to convince herself that it was true.

  He grinned at her. “You know, herons, we’re partial to blue.”

  Willow smiled back, trying not to panic. When she looked back over her shoulder, she realized it was too late. Her tangerine dress stood out like a beacon, and Guy, Chris, and Mace were like tractor beams fixed on her position from three different directions.

  “Oh look, Dr. Ryersen, there it is, three rows back!” He pointed to make sure she saw it.

  Not wanting to involve sweet Mr. Danvers in what was about to transpire, Willow patted his arm again.

  “Mr. Danvers, I’m so sorry, I just realized I left my handba
g back at the tent. Go on home, I’ll find another ride.”

  “I don't mind waiting for you.”

  “No, no, you should get home to your wife. I’m feeling a little better. Maybe it was just something I ate.”

  He tilted his head in a very bird-like gesture. “Well, if you’re sure.”

  “I’m sure.”

  Willow watched for a moment as Mr. Danvers got into his car, then ducked behind the bumper of a giant, four-wheeled drive truck. Slipping off her adorable peep-toed pumps, she dropped them in the grass…and ran like hell.

  ***

  “Katie!” Willow peeked between two porta-potties in a row of ten lined up behind the party tent.

  “What are you doing back there?” Katie frowned a little. “And why are you barefoot?”

  “Shhhh.” Willow grabbed Katie by the wrist, dragging her behind the row of blue plastic toilets. “What do you think I’m doing? I’m hiding!”

  Katie raised an eyebrow. “You can’t hide forever.”

  “Stop making sense. I don’t want people fifty years from now telling stories about how I ruined the moose prince’s wedding. Give me your car keys. Nicholas will be happy to take you home…and bring you breakfast in bed.”

  “True, but…none of your boys are giving up easily. The only good thing so far is that Chris is so worried about you leaving with someone else that he hasn’t tangled with Guy’s father. All three of them are chasing their tails. Mace is starting to look despondent, and knowing Guy, he’s going to be aching for a fight before long.”

  “Are you suggesting that I go back in there and face all of them?”

  Katie hunched her shoulders. “I dunno…I mean, what else can you do? Unless, that is, you want to stay in the porta-potties all night.”

  Willow pinched her nose. “Not an option.”

  “Then you’ve got to count on the fact that none of them want people fifty years from now telling stories about how they ruined the moose prince’s wedding either.”

  “I hate it when you’re reasonable,” Willow groused.

  “Now for god’s sake let me pee, before Nicholas starts worrying that I fell in.”

  At least other women had kicked off their heels to dance, so Willow didn’t look too ridiculous in her designer dress and bare feet. If she had had a tail, though, it would have been twitching anxiously, and she could feel that her posture had deteriorated into a slink.

  Suddenly, Gretchen appeared at Willow’s other side, pushing her hand into the small of Willow’s back. “Stand up straight,” she whispered. “You look like a yowler that wants to either screw or start a fight.”

  Willow looked up into empty space, trying to gather her wits. They led her to a table where Gretchen’s fiancé was talking with Nicholas. “Safety in numbers,” Katie murmured.

  Nicholas smiled as Willow sat down. “There you are. Everyone has been asking after your whereabouts.”

  “Oh, I get a little claustrophobic sometimes, then I ran into one of my pet parents, an older gentlemen, a heron. He’s very sweet.” A waiter passed by with a tray of champagne flutes and Willow grabbed two of them, downing first one and then the other in a couple of gulps.

  Nicholas politely ignored her two-fisted drinking. “Well, we’re glad you’re back. I know Chris is dying to have a dance with you.”

  As long as he didn’t die for having a dance with her, Willow thought. Another waiter with a tray of drinks passed by, but Katie intercepted Willow’s hand before she could grab anymore.

  “Stop acting like a fur ball,” Katie hissed in her ear. “It’s going to be okay.”

  But at that moment things went from bad to worse.

  “So you’re Willow?” a leathery voice asked from behind her. Willow turned in her chair and wished she had grabbed more alcohol when she had the chance. Guy’s father, the king of the bobcats, had sidled up to their table.

  “I am Willow…Mister…” Gretchen kicked her under the table. “I mean, King Beaugrand. How do you do?”

  “I’d be doing better if I wasn’t nauseated by the sight of a cat hanging out with this lot. I know you’re new to the shifter life, sweetie, but you need to learn you are better than a pit bull or this…muzzle loader.”

  Great, Guy’s dad is a total bigot. No wonder it didn’t work out for Katie and Guy.

  Nicholas slowly rose to his feet, towering a good foot in height over the senior Beaugrand, who didn’t look the slightest bit fazed. “Look, royal to royal, let’s respect the fact that people are celebrating today and keep our prejudices to ourselves.”

  “Prejudices? You think I have prejudices? That’s where you’re wrong. I have nothing but god damn contempt for your kind.” He spat in the grass to emphasize his point. “It’s not just unnatural—a carnivore taking up with a grass-muncher—it’s sickening. Worse than cats getting it on with dogs.”

  “Sir, you need to be very, very careful as to what you say next.” Nicholas’ voice lowered. Willow could see Nicholas’ moose now, so she knew he was agitated. “I suggest you move along, or better yet, leave this wedding.”

  Willow’s stomach churned. This window into Guy’s family was more than upsetting; did Guy secretly harbor similar views? Or was he just a child who didn’t think he could escape his father’s will? Would a life with Guy mean that she, too, had to submit to this repulsive man? She shivered, involuntarily, despite the warmth of the day.

  Katie had her head down, and Willow thought that perhaps she was crying. Then the wolf stood up with a growl and leaned into the king’s face. “Let me tell you what’s sickening—people like you who try to control everyone’s lives, people without a shred of feeling or common decency, people who abuse their own children—that’s sickening.”

  “Katie…” Nicholas’ voice was colored with concern. “Don’t waste your energy on this asshole. It’s not worth it.”

  Katie’s body was trembling, and her wolf was plainly visible to every shifter in the room. The king yowled, and his claws started coming out, literally and not figuratively. People at nearby tables had stood up and moved back, and now, the entire party was coming to a standstill. Willow looked up and down the crowd frantically, wondering how to stop Katie from becoming part of a horrible story about the day the moose prince’s wedding was ruined.

  “Katie…” Willow put a hand on her friend’s arm. “Nicholas is right.”

  Katie’s voice dropped to almost a whisper, “He can’t keep destroying people’s lives. He won’t stop until he’s broken your cat, Willow. He’s a thug and a rapist.”

  “Are you—are you saying he’s the one who made me?” Willow’s knees started to buckle. But two hands caught her elbows before she went down, two hands belonging to two different men. Chris, Mace and Guy had all arrived at the tense circle. Chris and Mace were on each side of Willow, but Guy took a position between his father and Katie.

  “What are you saying?” Guy’s face twisted with anguish as he looked at Katie. “What are you saying, Katie?”

  Katie’s voice was hoarse, barely audible, as she pointed an accusing finger at the bobcat king. “I’m saying…your father raped me.”

  Without another word, Guy whirled, putting one strong fist into his father’s face so quickly the older bobcat truly had no idea what had hit him. The king hit the ground and as Guy stood over his father, he began to shift.

  “Guy, no!” Chris yelled. “Let it be over. We don’t have to have vigilante justice. You can be a better king.” And to make sure that was the case, a couple of powerful bears restrained Guy’s father, dragging him back from the furious bobcat.

  Guy shook himself, returning to human form without so much as a rip in his gorgeous blue suit. He cupped Katie’s face in his hands as two fat tears rolled down his cheeks. “I didn’t know, Katie, I didn’t know,” he kept murmuring over and over as he wiped her tears with his thumbs. “I thought you didn’t want me. How can you forgive me?”

  Nicholas looked at Willow and his other companions and ran
a hand across his jaw. “I think I need another drink…and by the look of things, a new date.”

  ***

  Loretta and Max, the oblivious bride and groom, stopped at the table where Willow was putting down a double whiskey with Nicholas, Chris, Mace, and Gretchen and her fiancé. The happy couple had been in the farmhouse changing clothes during the ruckus, and everyone thought it better to keep them in the dark until after their honeymoon.

  “So, Willow,” Loretta commented, “I hope you enjoyed your first shifter social event. We’re so glad you came and look forward to getting to know you better.”

  “Oh, it was really exciting being here,” Willow said with a perky smile. “I wish you two a wonderful future.”

  The party was dwindling down, and the couple moved on to say goodbye to other guests. Chris and Mace, for the moment, were giving Willow her space, knowing she had a lot to process.

  Willow swirled her drink, clinking the ice in her glass. She looked at Gretchen with a wry smile. “So did I pass Shifter Etiquette 101?”

  “You did great,” Gretchen said. “In fact, I think I can give you advance placement credit for Shifter Etiquette 102.”

  Setting her glass down, Willow rattled Katie’s car keys in her other hand. “I think it’s time for this cat to hit the road. I have shifter school with Michael tomorrow, and then I have to catch up on paperwork before Monday morning.”

  Both Chris and Mace started to get up, but Willow pushed each of them back into their chairs with a firm hand. “Sit, enjoy your whiskey and keep Nicholas company. His weekend isn’t exactly going as planned.”

  The moose prince raised his glass to Willow. “See you soon. I have decided to take Chris’ offer to move my practice to the Kingdom.” A little drunk, he added, “By the way, has anyone told you that your ass looks fantastic in that dress? You were the Pippa Middleton of this wedding.”

  Willow turned a shade of red brighter than her tangerine bandage dress as both Mace and Chris lifted a glass.

  “To Willow’s bum,” Chris said with a smile.