Bleacke Spirit

by Lesli Richardson

  “Yeah, sorry about that. Let’s go.” They marched Segura around the house, across the yard, and into the woods.

  “Oh, feel free to beg for your life now,” she said, “if you want to. Just keep walking.”

  “What the hell are you people?”

  “We’re people you never should’ve fucked with, asshole. We’re really wolf shifters. You had that part right. Carl is a shifter, too, and Mateo is from a shifter family. By hunting us down, you reconnected them with wolves. Congratulations, asshole! That’s probably the only decent thing you’ve ever done in your damn life, and it was totally unintentional on your part.”

  When they emerged into the clearing, Beck and Ken were waiting with the wood-chipper.

  “Did you test start it?” she called out.

  Beck gave her a thumbs-up.

  As they stopped next to the chipper, Dewi crossed her arms in front of her.

  Ken looked…well, pissed. He drew his gun and kept it ready and pointed at Segura. “What the hell, Dewi?”

  “I couldn’t risk him getting away again. It’s a looong story, and I’ll explain it later. Oh, we’re going to have two guests for dinner tonight. They’re staying with us for a while, too.” She grinned and drew her own gun, getting it ready. “Last words, asshole?”

  Segura’s eyes widened. “You…you people are crazy!”

  “No, we’re not crazy. We’re wolves.”

  “H-how could you do what you’ve done?”

  “Us? Your brother was the rapist! And, FYI, your men nearly killed my fucking mate, and his.” She pointed to Beck. “Not to mention the other people you put at risk. We didn’t ask you to come up and start trouble, asshole. Your brother brought all of this onto himself, and on you. Oh, another FYI? Joaquin is his brother-in-law.” She pointed to Beck. “So watch what you say or I’ll let him soften you up before we chip you.”

  He pulled himself up to his full height. “My brother knew the meaning of the word loyalty! Let me tell you about loyalty! My brother always had my back! He was always—”

  Dewi flinched as Ken shot Segura right between the eyes. Segura’s lifeless body dropped like a sack of wet shit and hit the ground with a dull thud.

  Ken turned to Dewi. “There. Problem solved.” He tucked the gun back into the holster in his rear waistband. His voice sounded too tight, too…angry.

  She arched an eyebrow at him as she lowered her own gun and holstered it. “Oookaay, not that I’m complaining, but why did you kill him?”

  And does it make me a horrible person that I’m reeeeally turned on right now?

  “Because for starters,” he said, “if I’d let you do it, you’d need meat. I haven’t made it to the grocery store yet. We don’t have enough defrosted meat in the fridge to feed you after a kill, and you’re eating for two. I’d rather not risk it.

  “Secondly, he was getting ready to monologue. Never let the bad guy monologue. Ever. Don’t you watch TV? Like, every superhero movie made, ever? It’s right up there with the ‘no capes’ rule. Just kill them and get it the hell over with. Especially if he doesn’t have any information you need.”

  “Monologue?”

  “Yeah. Run his mouth. We already know he was responsible for Idaho. We had no doubts about his identity or what he wanted. Did he really have anything to say that you wanted or needed to hear?”

  “Um…no. I guess not.”

  “You were going to kill him anyway, right?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Okay, then. Bad guy dead. Problem solved. I need to run to the store so I can cook dinner for all of us. I guess if we’re having two extra for dinner and staying overnight, I should get even more.”

  Shaking his head, Ken turned and started walking back toward the house.

  Behind her, Beck let out an amused-sounding snort.

  She turned on him. “What?”

  He shook his head. “Dewi, I gotta hand it to you. You found a winner in Ken. And I mean that seriously, not snarkily. Because…” He held his arm out, indicating Ken’s departing back. “Fuck, man. That was OG shit, right there. Damn. If that’s a fraction of what he was like that day in Idaho when he killed Segura’s men? Damn.”

  She couldn’t feel too ticked at Beck, because she agreed with him.

  Ken was definitely a winner. Which was why she loved him so damn much. “Help me get this guy over to the wood-chipper,” she said, leaning down to grab an arm.

  “No, ye don’t.” Badger stepped forward, his hand out and warding her off. “March yerself back to the house wi’ yer mate, missy.” He pointed in the direction Ken had headed. “Yer in no condition to do any heavy liftin’.”

  Her jaw gaped. “Seriously?”

  “Seriously. An’ I won’t hesitate to Prime ye, either.” He pointed again. “Go on wi’ ye.”

  “I am a Prime Alpha wolf and Head Enforcer of the Targhee Pack!”

  “Yeah?”

  “And I’m head of the expanded pack council!”

  Badger planted his fists on his hips. “Yeah?”

  “My brothers are the pack Alpha and his second in command! My grandfather was the pack Alpha, and is on the expanded pack council!”

  “And yer point bein’?”

  Jaw gaping, she turned to Beck, who held up his hands. “Nope. Sorry, hon, but I never argue with Badger. That’s successfully worked for me over the years and I’m not about to fuck things up now.”

  Speechless, she stared from Beck, to Badger, and back again before finally throwing her hands in the air in frustration and letting out a growl. She turned and stormed off after Ken.

  Behind her, Badger chuckled before he called out to her. “That’s it, missy. Listen to me once in a while now, an’ life’s a lot easier. Come on, Beck. Let’s get this bloody bastard mulched.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Dewi hurried after Ken. Now that Segura was handled and she had time to think…she didn’t like the way Ken was walking, with his shoulders hunched, a force in his step.

  Determined.

  Pissed off.

  “Ken?” She finally caught up to him and tried to match his pace. “What’s wrong?”

  “Seriously, Dewi?” He caught her off-guard, turning, backing her up as he screamed at her. “What’s wrong? Are you fucking kidding me?”

  She found herself torn between trying to figure out why he was upset…

  And turned right the hell on and wanting to jump his bones.

  Jeezus.

  “I mean, we got him,” she said, “and—”

  “You are fucking pregnant!” he yelled. “You’re my wife, and my mate, and the mother of my child! You cannot go letting fucking asshole drug lords kidnap you just so you can wood-chip them!”

  She couldn’t help it—the look on his face when he realized what he said was totes adorbs.

  “And I shouldn’t ever have needed to say that damn sentence in the first place!” he added.

  “I am sooo fucking turned on right now,” she admitted as she reached for his shirt.

  But he grabbed her by the wrists, preventing her from fisting his shirt and pulling him in for a kiss. “No, Dewi. We need to talk. Right now.”

  She didn’t fight him or pull away, but she did struggle not to Prime him so she could fuck his brains out. “Talk about what?”

  He actually closed his eyes and she heard him mentally count to ten through their mate bond.

  “I’m not a child,” she said.

  His eyes flew open. “Then stop acting like one, dammit!” It looked like he finally realized he’d grabbed her and something akin to horror flashed across his expression. He released her wrists and turned away from her, once again heading to the house.

  Didn’t take a rocket scientist for her to realize he’d associated that with what his step-father had done, the abuse perpetuated against Ken’s mother, and that he was now disgusted with himself on top of everything else he was feeling.

  She darted around him, blocking his way. “No, talk
to me. You said we needed to talk. Let’s talk.” Behind them, she heard the wood-chipper crank up.

  Ken’s eyes dropped closed at the unmistakable sound of the chipper bogging down momentarily before it revved up again. He looked like he might puke.

  Then, silence settled through the woods once more as the chipper shut down.

  He opened his eyes and looked at her. “I get it. We aren’t like regular people. But I should not have to shoot a Mexican drug lord in my fucking backyard so that my pregnant wolf wife, who let the fucker kidnap her, won’t accidentally eat one of our friends or family because I don’t have enough raw goddamned meat to give her!”

  He was practically screaming by the last several words.

  Okay, practically was being…conservative.

  He absolutely was fucking screaming.

  And she was absolutely fucking horny now.

  He held up a finger as he started backing away from her. “No. Dewi, no, I am not letting you rage-fuck me out of having this conversation with you.” He blinked. “And, again, that is not a sentence I should ever have to say to my wife.”

  She pulled up short at the tears in his eyes. “Wait, you’re really upset?”

  “Yes, I’m really fucking upset! Gawd!” He dug the heels of his hands in his eyes before looking at her again. “Dewi, I get that you aren’t used to having to restrict yourself or your actions. Before you were pregnant, you know what? I mostly agreed with you, no matter how uncomfortable it frequently made me. You had a job to do, and you do it well. But you can’t do that now. Not any more.”

  “Ken—”

  “No.” He jerked away when she reached for him. “I don’t want you Priming me to make this better. If you touch me, you’re going to fuck me, and then how many times do we keep having this fight, huh? Pregnancy isn’t slowing you down or making you think about things, apparently. Do I have to beg Duncan and Badger and Peyton to Prime you to forbid you from taking unnecessary risks? Or to, what, not have our child in a damn carseat while you go chasing after someone? Or, that you can’t bring fucking assholes to our house to kill them and chip them if our kids might see? All because you apparently won’t listen to me? Where does it fucking end?”

  His rage had totally knocked her off-kilter emotionally. “I…I didn’t think you’d mind—”

  “Where is the line, Dewi? Where does it stop? When do you let yourself be happy and have a life? When will our child be enough for you? When am I going to be enough for you? Will I ever be enough for you? You told me your main mission in life was making me happy, but I gotta tell you, right now? This very minute? I am not happy with you, or with being ignored about this, or not being consulted about this and getting a chance to sign off on it first.”

  He turned and stomped toward the house, his words leaving her so stunned she actually needed to stand there for a minute to process them.

  * * * *

  Ken needed some time alone and was actually glad Dewi hadn’t followed him immediately. He felt so angry he was literally shaking.

  He hadn’t even felt this rattled that day in Idaho when he shot Segura’s men.

  Or drove off the fucking side of the mountain.

  This was their property, their land.

  Theirs.

  It was supposed to be the one place he could feel safe and at peace.

  It was his home, his family.

  Yes, the confrontation with Endquist wasn’t Dewi’s fault, and he didn’t blame her for that in the slightest.

  This?

  He absolutely blamed her for this.

  Once he met Dewi and accepted his life had changed forever—for the better—he wasn’t supposed to have to worry about his safe haven being breached. Hell, he might as well be back in his small apartment with Dave randomly showing up to mooch off him and threatening to beat him up.

  That’s what this felt like, the emotions evoked by the events.

  It reminded him of his terror growing up.

  It reminded him of his mom dying.

  Maybe I have PTSD.

  He hated that he wasn’t strong enough to stand up to Dewi, that he wasn’t an Alpha.

  How was he supposed to raise a child with her if he couldn’t even convince Dewi that doing this kind of shit while pregnant was bad? How was he ever going to stand up to Dewi, to their child?

  How was he supposed to discipline a child if Dewi was going to do shit like this and totally ignore him?

  He also couldn’t forget the fear in Trevor’s voice when he’d showed up with Tamsin that day. The tears in his eyes as he told them about losing Maisie and Rupert.

  His grief.

  Ken never wanted that to be him.

  I am way out of my wheelhouse now. What the hell was I thinking? I couldn’t be happy with what we had. No, I had to go thinking that I could improve on perfection and fuck everything up. Then I accidentally got her pregnant because I was an idiot and didn’t think about what we were doing that night.

  Okay, so Dewi had also taken joint responsibility for not thinking about what they were doing as being risky, but still.

  When he reached the house he drew the gun and stashed it in its normal hiding spot in the cabinet, along with the holster.

  Something else that angered him, that he’d been forced into needing to learn these things so he could protect himself and his children.

  That he’d had to kill the guy because Dewi wasn’t thinking ahead and hadn’t planned to let Beck kill the guy. She’d totally intended to shoot Segura herself, even knowing she’d need meat later.

  And she toyed with the fucker like it was a game.

  Before Dewi could return to the house, he grabbed his shopping list, his reusable shopping bags, and headed out to his SUV.

  Guess I’d better double up on London broil and steaks.

  * * * *

  Dewi stood there and tried to process what just happened.

  Did we just have our first…fight?

  She wasn’t sure, but she was thinking…yeah. Pretty much.

  Wow.

  This wasn’t something she was used to. Arguing with Beck, or Badger, or her brothers about work- and pack-related stuff, sure.

  This…

  This felt…wrong.

  Bad.

  This left her feeling emotionally gut-punched in an ugly way.

  And it’s my fault.

  No, Ken wasn’t being unreasonable, or controlling, or an asshole.

  Once they’d learned she was pregnant, he’d asked her to please take it easy, to not put herself in any unnecessary danger.

  Could she have simply shown up at the hotel room with Badger, Beck, and Duncan, and Primed the fucker and brought him to the house to take care of him?

  Well, sure, even though it would have left more of a potential risk of discovery for them later.

  But this had been more…satisfying.

  Fun.

  Yes, her plan had put less of the general public at risk, but still…

  Shit. He’s right.

  When she reached the house, she heard the sound of Ken’s SUV starting up out front, but by the time she got inside and made it to the front door, he’d already left and was nowhere in sight.

  That left her feeling…

  Miserable.

  She tried calling Ken’s cell, but he sent the call to voice mail.

  She didn’t leave a message or try texting him. He was angry, rightfully so, and needed time alone.

  When he returned home, she’d apologize then.

  Badger and Beck returned to the house a few minutes later and found her in her office.

  “Did ye calm ‘im down, then?” Badger asked.

  “No,” she glumly said. “He left before I got back. I think he went to the store.”

  “Dewi, no offense,” Beck said, “but I’m going to side with Ken here. He was really upset, even before you got here. I didn’t think much about it when you called me, because I’m used to you being…you. Not until I saw it from his
side and he made a valid point that he should have had a say in this. But yeah, I think you crossed a line.”

  “I know,” she grumbled.

  When Ken finally returned from the store over an hour later, she walked out to meet him and forced herself not to use Prime when she touched his arm. “Hey, talk-talk. No Prime, I swear.”

  He stopped but didn’t turn. “Yeah?”

  She took a deep breath. “I’m really sorry. I screwed up.”

  He finally turned and leaned against the side of his SUV and looked at her, although he pulled away from her touch and crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Do you understand why I’m upset?” he asked.

  “Yeah. I just… I’m sorry. I’m not used to not being…me.”

  “You are you, but you’re going to be a mom. You could have done a lot of things differently today and I wouldn’t have begrudged it at all.”

  “I just wanted him to feel fear. To suffer.”

  “I know. But you made me suffer, too.”

  That emotionally gut-punched her. She wrapped her arms around him and tried to blink back her tears. “I’m sorry. I…I won’t do anything like that again.”

  “Or anything risky. Not deliberately, anyway.”

  “Or anything risky. I promise.”

  He finally wrapped his arms around her. “I’m still angry with you.”

  “I know.” Oooh, boy, did she know. It radiated off him.

  “And I’m upset.”

  “Yeah.”

  “And scared.”

  That made her feel even worse. “I know. I’m sorry.”

  He took a deep breath. “I love you, babe. We need to talk about this again later, when I’m not so…raw. You know what sucks? I’m not even upset that I killed him. He needed to die, and I cannot believe I’m feeling that way.” He sighed. “When are our guests arriving?”

  “They’re on the way. I think you’ll like them.”

  He finally released her and moved to get the groceries. “Go ahead and tell me that part of the story.” He reached for grocery bags, but she stopped him.

  “I love you.”

  “I love you, too, Dewi.”