Ginger and Thyme (Kootenai Pack Book 4)

by Lynn Katzenmeyer

  Ginger and Thyme

  A Kootenai Pack novel

  Copyright © 2020 Lynn Katzenmeyer

  All rights reserved

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  Cover design by nirkri www.fiverr.com/nirkri

  To my sister

  Contents

  Ginger and Thyme

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Epilogue

  Author’s note

  Sneak peek at Ursa Minors

  Contact Lynn

  About The Author

  Books By This Author

  Prologue

  Somewhere North of Kootenai Pack Territory

  January

  “One mistake cost me my mate forever. I was kicked out of my pack; my family won’t talk to me anymore. I’m utterly alone.”

  If I’d wanted to make a good impression, I probably failed. After being turned away from every pack in Canada, my quiet desperation changed to outright begging.

  The Kootenai Alpha stared at me. Like so many of the continent’s most powerful Alpha’s his yellow eyes held no hints whether he was moved by my plight. A streamlined white wolf ran up next to the Alpha and shifted into a pale blond man faster than I’d ever seen a shift.

  “Should I call Beta Marquis?” the newcomer asked.

  “No need,” the Alpha said, “I think Beta Marquis will want to be personally involved. Virgil, run ahead and prepare a meeting room, please.”

  “Yes, Alpha Biel,” the other man agreed, before taking off at a run-in human form and shifting to wolf mid-stride.

  I’d heard of the prowess of the Kootenai wolves, but to see it firsthand was troubling.

  “Shift back to wolf and come with me,” Alpha Biel instructed, “But if you cause any problems, I will put you down, no questions, no second chances.”

  “Yes, sir, Alpha Biel, sir,” I agreed.

  Then I began the long, uncomfortable shift back to wolf form. I’d been living more or less on four legs since my exile. My arms extended and my legs shortened. Tiny hairs flecked out over my skin in painful pin pricks. But the jaw was the worst. Every tooth sharpened and shifted in my skull as it elongated into a muzzle. Several minutes after being given the command, I was on four paws, trailing after the much larger black wolf.

  He led me into the modern estate that looked out of place in the rugged Montana countryside. Massive windows with steel framing cast a warm halo around the front of the property. Inside I could see several wolves sitting on modern looking furniture chatting amongst themselves.

  Alpha Biel shifted back to human form and waited for me to do the same. The short run wasn’t enough to ease the soreness from the first shift. Shifting again, so soon after would be torture.

  I whimpered, hoping he’d take pity on me.

  “You cannot meet my Beta with weapons in your jaws and claws on your feet,” Alpha Biel growled, “Shift.”

  The Alpha power was stronger than any I’d felt before. My wolf was compelled back into my skin faster than he’d ever been convinced out of it. It was terrifying. I heaved on my hands and knees, overpowered by the pain of the sudden shift.

  Alpha Biel sighed, “When you’re done vomiting on my lawn, come inside. There are clothes in the closet on the left.”

  I coughed again; blood splattered in the snow below me. I guess what they said about the Kootenai pack was true. The Alpha had been a ruthless bastard, and now it seemed so was his son.

  I managed to walk into the house on shaking legs. I dressed in the plain sweatpants and t-shirt the closet provided. The Kootenai pack was one of the largest packs in the US if not the world. I’d heard more than once from the gossips in my home pack about the average physical size of a Kootenai wolf. It was nothing compared to the membership size. Over a hundred wolves in one pack. It was madness.

  The blond man from the woods was leaning on the wall when I’d finished dressing.

  “This way, Beta Marquis wants to meet you in the office,” he said, “Don’t know why. We usually kill rogues.”

  “Not a… rogue,” I wheezed, still out of breath from the shift.

  “Sure you’re not, and I’m a mountain lion in my spare time,” he said, opening a door for me, “You harm a hair on the Beta’s head, I will kill you personally.”

  The threat rippled across my skin as if it had been an Alpha Command. But the blond wolf-Virgil, he wasn’t an Alpha, he wasn’t even Beta.

  A small woman stood in the office staring out the window. Her hair was the same pale color as Virgil’s. Maybe they were related. She didn’t give me any notice, and I was too afraid to do anything besides stand there like an idiot.

  The door opened behind me and Alpha Biel came back in, “Have you met our guest?” he asked.

  The woman turned around. The first thing I noticed was the scars. Her face, neck, and arms bore scars of all shapes, sizes, and ages. The largest one a massive jagged line across her scalp. The next thing I noticed was she was pregnant. The swell of her stomach was small, but unmistakable compared to her otherwise lean frame. She stared at me as if expecting me to start talking.

  When I didn’t jump to the conversation, the Beta Female turned to her Alpha, “Is he mute?”

  The Alpha smiled, “Lost.”

  Lost, that was right. The Alpha stared at the Beta Female with a leering hunger. Worse yet, she stared back with equal attraction. Any second now, her mate, the inevitably terrifying pack Beta, was bound to show up. What then? Was he just ok with his mate staring at his Alpha like this? Openly? In front of strangers?

  “I don’t think he’s talking, Alpha Biel,” the Beta Female said, nodding her head in my direction without looking away from the object of her attention.

  “He’s hoping to join Kootenai, Beta Marquis,” Alpha Biel said.

  Did he just call her Beta?

  A female Beta? In this pack of all packs? How had I not heard of this? I looked at the pregnant female with fresh eyes. She was a fighter. The scars on her skin are badges of battles won. But how would she retain her title while pregnant?

  “You’re joking, right? He looks…” her words trailed off and her shoulders sagged, and she sighed, “you’re thinking Easterville?”

  “You said it, not me,” Alpha Biel said with a grin. The Beta Female rolled her eyes and walked around the Alpha. She motioned for me to sit on the overly plush couch while she sat in an equally plush armchair.

  “Ok, kid,” she said, “Wh
at’s your story?”

  Kid? She looked like an extra in a teen slasher flick. Who was she calling, kid? I swallowed back my annoyance and answered with the same canned response I’d given each other pack who sent me on my way.

  “One mistake cost me my mate forever. I was kicked out of my pack. My family won’t talk to me anymore. I’m utterly alone. I don’t have a lot of skills, but I’ll do whatever it takes to not be alone anymore.”

  Beta Marquis rubbed her stomach and looked back at Alpha Biel, who’d taken his seat behind the enormous desk. His eyes were on her hands. He watched her like a jealous mate. But that wasn’t possible, right? What Alpha would let his Alpha Female risk her life to challenge for rank?

  “Easterville.” Beta Marquis said to the Alpha, who nodded.

  She turned back to me, “Have you heard of the Rogue Shifter Coalition?”

  I shook my head, “That sounds like the exact opposite of what I want. I don’t want to be rogue.”

  “Yes, but you don’t really have control over that, do you?” she asked, “Packs don’t want males who lost their mates. Particularly weak ones. You’re another mouth to feed with little value otherwise.”

  In all the rejections I’d received thus far, this was the bluntest. I had no doubt it’s what all the Alphas had been thinking when they rejected me, but at least they’d been polite enough to pretend it was for other reasons.

  “Easterville is filled with shifters like you,” Alpha Biel added, “You’ll fit right in. Just… don’t tell them we sent you.”

  Beta Marquis snorted, “That’s an understatement.”

  “We’ll get you there,” Alpha Biel assured, “We’ll book your flight and bus ticket right now, one of our pack will even drive you to the airport in Spokane.”

  “That’s…” I was about to turn them down, but I’d considered a half-eaten granola bar the height of generosity less than a week before. This was more than food to last a day, this was a chance, “Thank you, yes, please I’ll-”

  “Just stop talking, you’re making me nauseous,” Beta Marquis said, putting both hands around the swell on her stomach. I looked at Alpha Biel, but his eyes were glued to his Beta. His face tense with worry. Like he was the expectant father watching his mate.

  That really couldn’t be possible. She was introduced as Beta Marquis, not Beta Biel. I shook those thoughts out of my head. It wouldn’t do to look a gift horse in the mouth.

  “If the RSC rejects you, you’re out of luck though,” Beta Marquis said after a minute, “They’re kind of the last chance dance for the desperate and lonely.”

  A phone chimed and Beta Marquis excused herself to answer it. Alpha Biel tracked her movement until the door shut behind her. Then all his attention focused on me.

  “Did you lose her, or did she leave you?” he asked.

  His question cut like a knife. My love, my Rosemary, my loss. I couldn’t answer, I needed to answer. But thinking about it still hurt so much.

  “I lost mine, then she left me,” he admitted. His eyes left me to the door, “I’m not saying what I have now is better than what could have been, but it’s better than what I had. Easterville will be good for you.”

  His fingers flew across the keyboard and within the hour I was in a car on the way to the nearest airport, to some place called Easterville.

  Chapter One

  Rosemary

  Spatsizi Plateau

  17 years ago

  “Ready or not, here I come!” I shouted with a giggle. As the pack solstice party wound down, the adults cleaned up the tables, chairs, and packed away the leftover food. Meanwhile, the pack pups were playing, and I was it.

  I closed my eyes and connected with my wolf. Well, not my actual wolf, I wouldn’t get her for years, but my imaginary wolf. The one who always told me what to do and where to go. She’d know where to find the other pups.

  I imagined what the surrounding forest looked like in the summer twilight. The plateau behind me; the forest in front. From the most sacred of spaces, the magic of the Moon Goddess pulsed through the veins of every pack member from the oldest Elder wolf to the youngest pup.

  The first giggle draws my attention. I turn my head to the source of the sound and open my eyes. I grin. Like a wolf on the hunt for a rabbit, I stalked my quarry. Their breath came in rapid pants as they tried desperately to quiet themselves. But the excitement of being prey was too much.

  “Gotcha!” I shouted, tagging Duncan, Alpha Lafleur’s son. He groaned.

  “How do you always find me first?” his whine did nothing to deter my cheers. Now it was time to find the rest. One by one I hunted them all until only my sister remained.

  The rest of the pack kids called out her name as dusk turned to full dark.

  “Rosemary, Thyme, time to go!” mom called out, but I still hadn’t found Thyme.

  “In a minute mom!” I shouted back

  “No, Rosie, now,” she used her serious voice.

  Uh oh, this is bad.

  Thyme was the best hider in all Spatsizi. She could fit into the smallest stumps and remain silent for hours without breaking. If she wasn’t so scared of being it, we’d probably never let her hide.

  Mom grabs my shoulder, “Where’s your sister?”

  “Hiding,” I confess.

  Mom sighs, “I thought I told you she wasn’t allowed to play hide and seek with you guys anymore. You know your sister.”

  “Thyme’s too scared to play in the woods,” I say in unison with her. I’d heard it all the time. Since we were old enough to explore the copse of trees behind the house. Thyme’s too scared to play in the woods. She’s too shy to go to parties. Thyme needs to be protected. And as the stronger twin, it was my job to do it.

  And I failed. Again.

  “Thyme!” Mom shouted again. Dad came up next to her, and she turned to him, “Can you shift and find our daughter?”

  Dad’s eyes met mine and his face was pure disappointment, “I thought you knew better than this, Rosemary.”

  “Sorry dad,” I bit my cheek to keep from crying. Tears weren’t a part of a good apology.

  Dad shifted to a powerful grey wolf and bolted into the woods, nose to the ground. His keen sense of smell and well-trained nose would find her faster than anyone.

  The minutes ticked by and Mom stood silent. Her hand pressed flat to her chest and she turned in the direction opposite where Dad’s wolf had run.

  “What is it, Mom?”

  “Nothing, Rosie. As long as your father finds Thyme soon.”

  Dad’s wolf came back with a giggling Thyme riding his back. Mom ran over and wrapped my sister in her arms.

  “Oh Thyme, we were so worried about you.”

  “I’m a good hider.”

  “I know sweetie, but you can’t do that. You need to hear us call for you. You know you’re not brave enough to survive alone.”

  Thyme’s smile faded, “Okay, Mom.”

  “Okay, now let’s get home before the sun rises.”

  A sharp howl cuts through the darkness. Dad’s wolf growls.

  “Get in the car. Take your sister and get in the car. Now, Rosemary.”

  Mom’s hand scratched at her chest. She pointed into the distance and Dad’s wolf took off into the woods.

  “Misty,” the man’s voice came as a grumble on the other side of the car.

  “Girls, get in the car, lock the door,” Mom shouted. I pulled Thyme’s arm, and we ducked in the car.

  I hit the lock behind us. Thyme hid between the seats. If it weren’t for her hand gripping my leg, I wouldn’t have known where she was.

  “W... who is that?”

  “I don’t know. But mom seems to know him,” I whispered back to her. I crouched low enough to be hidden but I could still see the man arguing with mom.

  “You’re my mate!” The man slapped the car hood, “You belong with me.”

  “Patrick, we’ve been over this.”

  “I don’t care that they’re not my pup
s, I'll raise them with you. Just don’t turn me away, Misty. I know you need me as much as I need you.”

  Twin trails of glittering tears flowed down her cheeks. I’d never seen Mom cry before. She kept shaking her head, “Patrick, no. We’ve been over this.”

  The man grabbed Mom’s face and pressed it close to his. I yelped, but Mom wasn’t afraid. Her nose touched the strangers. Her brows furrowed, and she whispered something I couldn’t hear.

  “Don’t do this. I can’t live without you, Misty.”

  Her mouth moved, but no sound came out.

  The man kissed Mom, and she pushed him away.

  “I’m mated to Jesse, Patrick. Stop coming around. The answer will always be no.”

  A howl ripped from the man’s chest, and he shifted. The massive wolf stood in front of mom, tail between his legs, whimpering.

  Mom crouched in front of him, pet his head, and whispered to him. The beast raced off into the night. Mom stood; head raised to the moon.

  “Is he gone?” Thyme asked.

  I nodded, “He’s gone.”

  “Who was that?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Thyme crawled from her hiding spot and sat next to me in the car. Mom stared up at the moon for what felt like hours until Dad’s wolf returned. He shifted back and wrapped her in his arms.

  They tried to act like nothing happened as we drove home. But I wasn’t having it.

  “Who’s Patrick?”

  My parents shared a look, Dad nodded at Mom. Good, now we were going to get some answers.

  “You know how the Moon Goddess blesses each wolf with a mate?” Mom asked.

  “The one wolf meant for you,” Thyme filled in.

  “Sometimes the Goddess is wrong. And wolves find their own mates,” she said, “That’s what Mommy and Daddy did.”

  “But you’re Daddy’s mate.”

  “I am, but we aren’t Moon Blessed Mates,” Mom continued, “We were best friends before we got our wolves. Daddy was Blessed with a shepup named Gale. When I was fifteen, I learned my Moon Blessed Mate was Patrick. He was the wolf you just saw. But we didn’t get along, and we weren’t happy together. After your Daddy’s Moon Blessing passed.”