Hell's Wolves MC: Complete Series Six Book Box Set

by J. L. Wilder

  Rick took Hawk by the arm and propelled him toward the door. It was a mark of how close to the edge Hawk was that he didn’t even try to resist. He allowed himself to be guided outside. Weston followed, hanging back, knowing that it was going to be a fight now. “Stay inside,” he told Charity firmly. “Don’t come out.”

  “Don’t say that to me.”

  “I’m saying it. Do not come outside.”

  The look she gave him could have frozen blood, but she stopped at the kitchen door and stood there, fists clenched, as Weston went outside.

  Hawk had already shifted and was pacing in the yard, waiting.

  “We don’t have to do this,” Weston said, holding up his hands. “It doesn’t have to end like this between us, Hawk. We can still be brothers. We belong to the same pack. We belong to the same litter. We grew up together, you and me. It doesn’t have to end in violence.”

  Hawk snarled again.

  “I never set out to take anything from you,” Weston said. “I never meant to do that. But I’ve loved her since we were young. I’ve always loved her. And she loves me too.”

  His words seemed to tear through Hawk’s restraint. Hawk lunged at Weston, claws out, teeth snapping. Weston shifted while Hawk was in midflight—his wolf self had felt so close to the surface for hours now, it had never been easier—and met his brother halfway, colliding with a loud thump.

  Somebody screamed.

  He was unaware of pain, even as Hawk’s claws raked his shoulder and spilled his blood. The only thing he had room to think about was Charity. She was behind him somewhere, protecting their babies, and keeping her safe was all that mattered. Hawk would hurt her, would tear them apart. Weston had to stop him. It was the only way.

  He rolled over, pinning his brother to the ground, and closed his teeth

  gently—warningly—around Hawk’s throat. I don’t want to hurt you, he thought. But I will, to save my family. I’ll do anything for them.

  Claws slashed the side of his torso. Weston couldn’t suppress a whine, but he stayed where he was and dug his teeth in just a little.

  The rest of the pack was clustered around them. “He’s killing him!” someone shouted, but nobody interfered.

  Hawk panted, staring up at Weston with loathing.

  Weston released his brother’s throat and carefully stepped back, allowing Hawk to get up. He had clearly won the fight. Hawk must know he was beaten. He waited for Hawk to get to his feet, waited for him to bow, demonstrating subservience and allegiance. He would allow Hawk to stay in the pack. He would welcome him. It would be fine to have Hawk here but not in charge. There would be no harm in that. Maybe, in time, they would be brothers again.

  Hawk dove at Weston, jaws snapping.

  Weston lurched to one side, out of the way—

  A rock came whizzing past him and struck Hawk in the side of the head.

  Everyone turned to see where it had come from. Charity stood in the kitchen window, a spoon in her hand—she’d clearly used it as a launcher. Hawk howled and began to run toward the house.

  Toward Charity.

  Weston ran after him and threw himself through the air, claws digging into Hawk’s back, dragging him to the ground. As he did, he felt the presence of another wolf joining the fight. A big wolf, bigger than either himself or Hawk.

  Robbie.

  Robbie had never been a fighter. Robbie would never be an alpha. But he had size on his side, and when he landed on Hawk, he effectively pinned him to the ground.

  He looked up at Weston, waiting.

  Waiting for orders.

  Shifting back to human form mid-fight was harder than stepping into the body of the wolf. He was vulnerable like this, and if he was vulnerable that meant that Charity was vulnerable. But he forced himself to do it. He looked down at his brothers, locked together in battle. “Stand down,” he said to Hawk.

  Hawk’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t want to do it. He wanted to resist.

  Weston saw the exact moment when the order took hold of him. His whole body shuddered, as if he were fighting to escape invisible shackles. “Stand down, Robbie,” he said quietly.

  Robbie stepped carefully off Hawk’s body.

  “Hawk, resume your human form.”

  Hawk did so. Crouched naked at Weston’s feet, he glared around at the rest of the pack.

  “I can’t believe it,” Norma whispered, gazing reverently at Weston. “You’re really the alpha.”

  “He can’t be,” Gino murmured.

  Weston understood their disbelief. Even as he’d begun to suspect what the ramifications of coming home and challenging Hawk might be, he’d had trouble truly believing it. But there was no denying the evidence of his eyes. The Hell’s Wolves’ old alpha had been dethroned. He was cringing at Weston’s feet.

  That power belonged to Weston now.

  “Charity, come outside,” he called, and she raced out the kitchen door and threw herself into his arms.

  Chapter Eighteen

  WESTON

  “What’ll we do with him?” Robbie asked Weston.

  Everyone had resumed their human form. Everyone was dressed, except for Weston, who had his shirt off so that Norma could tend to the wounds on his shoulder and torso. He hissed at she poured antiseptic over one of the lacerations, and Charity flinched.

  Lita gripped Charity’s shoulder reassuringly. “It’s all right,” she said quietly, and even though Charity ached at seeing her mate in pain, she tried to relax.

  “I don’t know if we can let him stay,” Gino said.

  The decision had been made fairly quickly to keep the pack together. Gino and Rick had sworn immediate allegiance to Weston once they’d seen him win the fight, and Charity knew that Weston wanted to keep his brothers nearby. Even though they’d been instrumental in her kidnapping and had aided Hawk directly, she wasn’t surprised they’d been asked to stay.

  But Hawk himself was a different matter. He hadn’t accepted Weston’s leadership. Most of the pack seemed to feel that his reluctance to bow made him too dangerous to keep around.

  If Weston was honest with himself, he knew they were right.

  He didn’t want to sacrifice the bond he’d once had with his brother, but after everything he and Charity had been through, if that was what it took to win their safety, he would do it. If Hawk stayed, he knew, they would always be watching their backs. Weston would always have to choose his words with extreme care, making sure he didn’t accidentally leave a loophole in his orders that Hawk could exploit. It was inevitable that eventually, he would make a mistake.

  He couldn’t take that risk with Charity, or with their children.

  “Go and get him,” he told Gino. “I’ll speak to him here.” He turned to the others. “Will you give us some space?”

  Norma finished winding a bandage around his shoulder, rested a hand on the middle of his back, and quietly left the room. Charity came to his side and kissed him, briefly and tenderly, before taking her leave.

  Gino returned after only a few moments, with Hawk in tow. They hadn’t bound Hawk. It was unnecessary. Weston had simply put him in a chair and ordered him to stay there. It was strange and uncomfortable realizing that his orders now had to be obeyed. He would have to be very careful, he knew, not to say anything he didn’t mean.

  Hawk eyed the bandages Norma had applied. “Does that hurt?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Weston answered truthfully.

  Hawk sneered. “Good.”

  Weston couldn’t believe he’d ever feared his brother. Hawk had once seemed so big, so overwhelming. Now, standing before Weston, he appeared to be small and petty. Had the rank of alpha made that much difference?

  “Hawk,” he said, steeling himself against the wave of loss that threatened to break over him, “I’m going to let you decide how we go forward.”

  “Meaning what?”

  “If you’d like to stay with us, to be a member of this pack, you may do so. But first, you must submit to me.
”

  Hawk paled. “You’re insane,” he hissed.

  “I don’t think so. Our brothers did it. You’re no better than they are, surely? Swear your allegiance to me, Hawk, and you can remain a member of our pack. We can all move forward together.”

  Hawk shook his head. “You’ve earned no allegiance. You stole my omega. You stole my pack.”

  “They were never yours,” Weston said. “They don’t belong to anyone but themselves.”

  “But you’re willing to assert dominion over them?”

  “I never set out to be alpha. All I wanted was to love Charity.”

  “I don’t owe you anything,” Hawk said. “I’ve spent the past six years fighting to keep you under control. You were always the most difficult of the pack. I should have known you’d destroy us someday.”

  Weston took a deep breath. He had known, if he was honest with himself, that this conversation would go this way. But still, he had hoped for a miracle. “If you won’t submit to my authority,” he said, “you’ll have to leave.”

  Hawk looked up at him. There was defiance in his eyes, but there was also, Weston saw, a twinge of fear.

  “You can’t make me leave,” he said.

  “Can’t I?”

  “The moment you kick me out, you lose your power over me,” Hawk said. “You’ll break the bonds, and then I’ll be able to do anything I want. I’ll be able to fight you. I can take the pack back from you. You’re a good fighter, Weston, but who’s to say I won’t get lucky next time?”

  “You won’t get near me next time,” Weston said.

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “The others are loyal to me now, Hawk,” Weston said. “They’re not going to let an outsider attack their alpha. Do you really think you’ll get lucky enough that it’ll get you through Gino and Rick and Robbie and me?”

  Hawk gnashed his teeth in frustration.

  “So, leave,” Weston said. It was an order. He could feel the weight of his words as they left him, could feel the impact they would have on Hawk, as clearly as if he were throwing stones. “Leave this cabin and leave this family. Leave the state of Montana, in fact. And never darken our door again. I don’t ever want to see you here.”

  “They’ll leave you,” Hawk hissed. He was already on his feet, already moving toward the exit. Weston was stunned by the strength of his own command. Even as Hawk continued to argue, he was being compelled to obey. “They have no loyalty at all. You proved that.”

  “No,” Weston said. “They will be loyal to me. Because I’ll be loyal to them. Because I care for them, Hawk, and I care for their happiness and wellbeing in a way you never did. Go now. Goodbye.”

  And Hawk couldn’t resist any longer. He stormed out the front door. A few moments later Weston heard the roar of his bike as it sprang to life. He stood in the kitchen and listened as the bike’s engine receded into the distance.

  Hawk was gone. The threat was over.

  He collapsed into a chair, feeling as though he could sleep for a week, relieved and shaky.

  Charity appeared in the kitchen doorway. “He’s gone?”

  “He just left.”

  “Can I come in?”

  “Please.”

  She came and sat in the chair beside his. “You did well,” she said. “I know that was hard for you, sending him away like that. You’re a peacemaker by nature.”

  “Am I?” Being a leader was still so new to Weston that he felt as if he hardly knew himself. “I don’t feel like I’ve done anything to promote peace lately.”

  “You let Gino and Rick stay,” she pointed out. “And then there’s me.”

  “What about you?”

  “You forgave me for leaving,” she said. “That couldn’t have been easy for you, but you did it.”

  He nodded. “I couldn’t do anything else, not once I had you back in my life.”

  “That’s what I’m talking about,” she said. “If you see a way to make peace with someone you care about, you’ll choose it every time. You’d have let Hawk stay if there was any way to do it that would have been safe for us.”

  “I would have,” he agreed.

  She kissed him. “I’m so proud of you.”

  The rest of the pack made their way into the kitchen and took seats at the table, all but Gino, who went to the refrigerator and began fetching cans of beer. He brought these to the table and began to hand them out.

  “None for me,” Weston said.

  Robbie raised his eyebrows but said nothing.

  “Really?” Gino asked.

  “No, go ahead,” Charity said. “We’re celebrating, and it’s only one beer. It’s not a big deal.”

  “You got him to go sober?” Rick asked.

  “Not strictly,” Charity said.

  “Big change.”

  Weston glanced at Charity questioningly, unsure of whether she wanted to reveal the rest of their news. Charity inclined her head slightly.

  Weston nodded. “The truth is,” he said, “we’re going to be parents.”

  Norma gasped and clapped a hand to her mouth.

  “What?” Lita shrieked. She turned to Charity. “You’re pregnant? Really?”

  Charity nodded.

  “That’s amazing!” Lita jumped up, ran around the table, and flung her arms around her sister. “We’re going to have a new litter! I’m going to be an aunt!”

  Gino let out a booming laugh. “You don’t waste any time, do you, Weston?”

  “We were on the road,” Weston said. “We took what we could get.”

  “Well, forget the beers,” Norma said. “This calls for champagne.” She stood and went to the cupboard. “And what can I get for you to drink, Charity?”

  “Some juice would be great,” Charity said.

  Norma brought the drinks to the table. They all raised their glasses, toasting to the good times that were still to come and the fact that they were all together once again.

  BY THE FIFTH MONTH of her pregnancy, Weston couldn’t believe the changes in Charity’s body. If he hadn’t known better, he would have thought she was nearing the end of her term. She had gotten so big that she had trouble standing and sitting without assistance, although once she’d gotten upright, she was able to move around without much trouble.

  But Weston didn’t like to see her out of bed, even though he knew she was strong. He worried for her health. “Come back to bed,” he said, finding her out in the garden with Robbie.

  She groaned good-naturedly. “Don’t make me,” she said. “I just got out here. It’s such a nice day. I feel like a zombie. I haven’t seen the sun in weeks.”

  He hated to disappoint her. “All right,” he agreed and went to the garage to fetch a lawn chair that reclined. He set it down beside the garden. “At least sit down,” he said.

  “You’re so overprotective,” she said, but she was only pretending to argue. Weston knew her well enough to know that she appreciated the fact that he’d found a middle ground. Robbie jumped to his feet, abandoning the weed he’d been working on extracting from the dirt, and helped Weston lower her into the chair.

  “How long have you been out here?” he asked.

  “Just a few hours. I was telling Robbie about working in a restaurant. He says he’d like to get a job.”

  Weston blinked. “Would you really?” The pack was hard at work on rebuilding the financial losses incurred by Hawk’s spending habits, but most of their income came from odd jobs. Gino had found work repairing motorcycles, and Rick was installing security systems in private homes.

  But if Robbie took a steady job, that would really improve their situation. That would mean that money would be regularly coming in. Weston had been deeply reluctant to ask any of his packmates for such a commitment, but if Robbie was willing...

  “I thought I’d make a decent bartender,” Robbie said. “They’ve got to be friendly and sociable, and they’ve got to be strong enough to fend off drunk people who are making bad dec
isions. At least, that’s what Charity tells me.”

  “My friend Kate was a bartender,” Charity said. “She got hired for those qualities. Robbie would be perfect.”

  “Well,” said Weston. “I can’t deny that that would help us out.”

  “Would you be all right with it? If I tried to find a job?”

  “Of course,” Weston said. “I’m surprised you need to ask.”

  “Well, I’m still not used to having a reasonable person as my alpha,” Robbie said. “Hawk wouldn’t have wanted me to do it.”

  That was probably true, Weston thought. But those days were long over. “I think it’s a great idea,” he told his friend. “I hope it works out.”

  Robbie grinned. “Thanks, boss.”

  “I’ve asked you not to call me that.”

  “Right you are, boss.”

  “You’re never going to stop teasing me, are you?”

  “Is it an order?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Then no, I wouldn’t count on it.”

  Weston held out a hand to Charity. “Why don’t you come on a walk with me?” he asked her. “If you want to be outside. Are you up for moving around a little bit?”

  “Definitely,” she said. “I don’t get nearly enough exercise. The babies are going stir crazy.” She took his hand and brought it to her stomach so he could feel the tumbling. “They never settle down. Maybe we can wear them out a bit.”

  “Does it really work like that?” Robbie asked. “Do they get tired when you do?”

  “Nah, probably not,” Charity said. “If they did, they’d be tired a lot more often. But I could use a walk right now either way.” She let Weston help her back out of the chair. “See you at dinner, Robbie.”

  “See ya. Thanks for the advice!”

  Weston wrapped an arm around her back and guided her into the woods. “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “You haven’t guessed?”

  She looked up at him. “To the clearing?”

  “Of course.”

  “I actually haven’t been there since I’ve been back,” she said. “Isn’t that strange?”

  “I’ve been wanting to take you for months, but things kept coming up. I’d be busy, or I’d forget about it...and the time just got away from me. But today seems like the perfect day to go.”