by Celia Kyle
“Wish I could say I was surprised,” Max huffed, shaking his head in disgust. “This is just the kind of shit he pulls, straight out of the Dick Playbook. He files injunctions and frivolous, finicky lawsuits. He pays off dirty cops to either look the other way, or worse, harass packs to distract them from noticing what he really plans to do—bulldoze as much pristine land as he can before anyone even has a chance to notice, much less stop him.”
“Motherfucker,” Zeke swore again.
“That’s an understatement,” Max agreed darkly. “I’ve seen it before, and I guarantee he’s doing it again.”
“But how?” Trina asked, turning pleading eyes up at her mate. “Why doesn’t someone stop him?”
“I tried,” Max reminded them. “But the reality is, while he may be an asshole, he’s far from stupid. He’s had a lot of time and opportunity to hone his craft, if you could call it that.”
“I still don’t get it,” Trina interjected. “How does he even have a leg to stand on with this stupid claim about the lands not being properly surveyed? That can’t be true. Right?”
Zeke’s heavy sigh did nothing to soothe her anxiety. “Actually, it could be. Our pack has inhabited this land since before the town of Tremble even existed. Long before land boundaries were so precise. Long before anyone else was even remotely interested in trying to claim this area. Back then, it was kind of a free-for-all. If you found an empty stretch of land and you could make it work for you, then more power to you. There was a lot of empty land back then. People weren’t scrambling to snatch their meager tiny slice of the pie. Nobody wanted this place, but our forefathers saw the promise it held. They started out as homesteaders on this land and then created a community. Naturally, modern surveying is much more accurate, so it’s possible it doesn’t match public records precisely.”
“Shit,” Max groaned.
“Make no mistake on this,” Zeke shot back fiercely. “This is our land. Period, end of discussion.”
“Exactly,” Trina added, hope flickering weakly in her heart. “We belong here, no matter what the law says. Besides, here on the mountain, laws have never really affected us much. Humans have been more than happy to leave us alone out here.”
Max nodded, but she could tell it wasn’t really in agreement. “McNish knows how to spot a weakness. A place like this, out in the middle of nowhere? You… we are an easy target.”
She wanted to focus on Max including himself in the pack, but there were more pressing matters at the moment.
“And I’m sure he knows we don’t have as much funding for expensive, fancy lawyers, like he does,” Zeke added with a groan of frustration.
“That’s what he’s banking on,” Max said.
“Jesus, Zeke, what are we going to do?” Trina asked, her breath coming in panicked little huffs.
She was having a hard enough time imagining a world without Wolf Woods. Without their pack lands, how could they survive? Their land was more than just a home. It was a part of every pack member’s very heart and soul. It was like a piece of her body, as though she were interconnected with every tree and rock and bird and brook, and the rest of the pack felt exactly the same way. To lose any part of their lands to McNish would feel like cutting off a limb. Trina swallowed hard, dread rising up like bile in her throat.
“We’ve tried fighting fire with water,” Zeke said. “That didn’t work. Max tried attacking him outright, but doing it again would only play into McNish’s dirty hands.”
“Maybe it’s time to fight fire with fire,” Max suggested. “And no, I don’t mean another bomb. I think the first step is for me to head over to the county clerk’s office and dig around until I find the original homesteading paperwork. Assuming it still exists.”
“You?” Trina didn’t like the thought of him going anywhere alone, but the courthouse would probably be pretty safe.
“Sure, why not?”
Trina couldn’t have been prouder of her mate. He wasn’t even officially a member of the Soren pack, yet he wanted to go out of his way to help them—while he was still recovering from a gunshot wound. It didn’t seem to matter to him that he hadn’t taken the loyalty oath yet. He saw it as his pack too, and he wanted to help any way he could—or any way she’d allow.
Not really the type of thing a true lone wolf did, if she was honest with herself. He’d changed in the few days since he staggered out of the woods, nearly dead. Maybe he was letting go of whatever dark past he’d been trying to outrun. And maybe one day soon, he’d share that past with her.
Zeke didn’t seem convinced. “I dunno. I’m not sold on the idea of sending a non-pack member to do work on our behalf. Might be better to send one of our guys.”
“I get it,” Max said. “If that’s what you want, so be it. But I’d only say that no one in Tremble knows who I am or that I’m…” He glanced at Trina and gave her a soft smile. “That I’m connected to your pack. Might take longer for word to get back to McNish that someone’s snooping around.”
Zeke shook his head. “It’ll get back to him one way or another, and he wouldn’t need to be half as smart as he is to figure out it was someone on our side.”
“You can trust him, Zeke,” Trina said, stepping closer to her alpha. “I swear on my life. And if you’re still having a hard time, you know for a fact you can trust me. Right?”
“Of course,” he replied without hesitation.
“Good, because I’m going with him.”
Max grinned, lighting her heart up like the Fourth of July.
“Besides,” Max added when he saw Zeke waver in his resolve. “Your sentries should be stepping up patrols on the borders of your land, not wasting time digging through musty old records. It’s what McNish wants you to do, you know. He wants you to get bogged down and distracted with putting out a thousand tiny fires rather than paying attention to the bonfire he’s about to ignite.”
Zeke gave them a curt nod. “You’re right. You two find out what you can. Val and I will work up a patrol schedule.”
Max and Trina exchanged smiles of satisfaction as they joined hands and walked out of the pack house, heading toward Trina’s car.
“That went better than I expected,” Max said.
“It really did. I’ve never seen Zeke come so close to trusting an outsider before, unless you count Val.”
Max chuckled. “And that just wouldn’t be fair, since they’re mates and all.”
Trina grudgingly released his hand as they each went to their own door, but before she could climb behind the steering wheel, the pack omega approached them from seemingly out of nowhere.
Cassandra was a tall, willowy woman, with peaceful blue eyes and long, lustrous white hair that hung down past her butt. She had a knack for being stealthy, though Trina suspected that wasn’t her intention.
Trina joined Max on his side of the car to greet Cassandra and then slipped her hand back into his. Instantly she felt his rage over McNish melting away like ice cream on a hot Georgia sidewalk. He turned a beatific smile on her, and she couldn’t stop herself from returning it. Cassandra had that effect on people. On her last visit to NRC headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Trina had met a few other omegas from around the country, but none had been nearly as powerful as Cassandra. She really was something special.
“Blessings,” Cassandra said, her voice a warm dream. “Special blessings to you, stranger.”
Max’s smile grew broader and Trina thought she might have seen tears of joy shimmering in his eyes. If he’d smiled that way at any other woman in the pack, Trina would have had something to say about it, but not with Cassandra. People couldn’t help feeling happy around her. Even on her darkest days immediately after Dean had died, Trina’s pain would ease to a dull ache every time the omega was near.
“Cassandra,” Trina said, smiling up at Max. “This is Maxwell Kincaid, my new mate.”
Cassandra’s blissful half-smile faltered and the thinnest of creases formed on her brow. Of course, she was co
nfused. Anyone who knew that Trina had just discovered her second mate was confused about it. She certainly was.
But then Cassandra’s expression grew serious. She stepped in close to Max and stared deeply into his eyes. His smile dropped away, and he blinked rapidly. Trina squeezed his hand tighter, but his remained limp in her hand as he focused on the omega. Something wasn’t right.
“Lone wolves don’t make good mates,” Cassandra said softly, her words a whisper on the breeze.
The hairs on Trina’s neck stood on end, and for the first time ever, she felt true and sudden anger toward the pack omega. “Excuse—”
Before she could finish, Cassandra cut her off. “And sometimes words are more powerful than deeds.”
Trina gaped in shock as the omega turned and practically floated away in that ethereal way of hers, leaving them to try and puzzle out the meaning of her words. Trina shook off her annoyance and turned to look at Max, who stared after Cassandra with a serious, faraway look in his eyes and his mouth agape in a way that worried her. Trina nudged him gently.
“Hey, I’m sorry for whatever that was all about,” she said softly.
Before she could say anything more, Max shook his head and withdrew his hand from hers, backing away.
“I’m sorry, Trina,” he said quickly, glancing around him as if looking for an escape. “I have to go.”
“What?” Trina was too stunned to move or even think clearly. Only when he backed away from her and started to shift did her brain kick back in. “No, wait! Max, wait!”
He didn’t wait. Instead, he released his beast without even taking off Warren’s hand-me-downs. His face stretched into a snout, his burly arms and legs shrank in while fur sprouted all over his body. Warren’s old clothes stretched to their limits and then burst at the seams with the brute force of the shift. Within seconds, the man she loved turned into a huge tawny wolf with eyes full of determination. Her wolf howled to join their mate, but…he wasn’t inviting her. He paused long enough to give her a single sad look before darting toward the tree line, leaving Trina to watch in horror as her mate abandoned her.
Tears stung her eyes, and she didn’t bother trying to stop them. Of course, he was gone. Of course, it was all too good to be true. And she had only herself to blame. Why did she let herself get her hopes up? And even more, why didn’t she claim Max as her mate physically when she’d had the chance? What a fool to just accept a lone wolf into her life as a permanent fixture! Clearly, they didn’t have the perfect connection she’d thought. One weird comment from a crazy woman and he was suddenly gone.
Probably forever.
Chapter Fourteen
Every muscle and nerve in Trina’s body hurt like hell. As it turned out, a full night spent tossing and turning, completely tensed up with anxiety and sadness wasn’t exactly easy on the body. She’d hardly managed to sneak even a wink of sleep in between the bouts of intense crying.
After sitting out on the porch until midnight, waiting in vain for Max to come back to her, Trina had collapsed on the bed, exhausted. She’d cuddled against a pillow for any scrap of comfort it could give, which was precisely none. The indescribable pain of being separated from her mate, coupled with an overwhelming sense of loneliness, consumed her.
Her head hurt.
Her heart hurt.
Her soul felt as if it had been shattered into a jillionty tiny pieces so small they could never be glued back together again. Just like humpty freakin’ dumpty.
The pillowcase under her cheek had grown stiff from her dried tears. Pulling the sheet over her head, she tried to hide from the breaking dawn, but the thin cotton couldn’t block out the light. Even behind her eight-hundred-count barrier, Trina could tell the day would be bright and sunny. The kind of day perfect for hiking the countless trails in the pack lands, taking enough time to stop and smell wildflowers and snap photos of dappled light coming through the canopy. It was a beautiful day to be happy and in love. Too bad she was broken-hearted and alone.
After Max had run off like the wild thing he was, Trina chose to keep herself busy by completing the mission they’d set out on together. At the county clerk’s office, she’d managed to find proof the boundaries to the pack lands had actually been surveyed perfectly all those years ago. It was good news—no, fantastic news. Yet she had no reason to celebrate.
Hope had still glowed in her heart that, after so many hours spent with her nose buried in dusty archives, Max would be waiting for her when she returned home. He’d sweep her into his arms, apologize for scaring her like that, and explain himself. The reason he’d give would be completely believable and Trina would forgive him in a heartbeat. But she’d known long before she walked up her front steps that she would never be so lucky. Despite teasing her, fate had once again stepped in to reinstate her loneliness.
Trina sniffled and sank down further under the sheets as the swell of painful emotions threatened to smother her once again. He was gone, and it was time for her to face up to the facts, no matter what her inner wolf said. Luck was not her friend. Somehow, she’d lost not one, but two mates.
What the hell kind of terrible backlog of karma was she working through? Had she been a serial killer in a previous life or something?
Rolling onto her back, she closed her eyes tightly as the tears started up again. She hugged the pillow to her chest, wondering blandly if that was going to be her new thing. Instead of a big, strong, attentive mate to snuggle up to, she would be stuck spooning a pillow for the rest of her miserable life. The thought was almost too much to bear.
A sharp knock jerked her out of her pity party and almost out of her skin. Eyes wide and heart beating like a hummingbird’s, Trina threw back the cover and held her breath, worried she was hearing things. Things that might give her hope Max would come back. After a moment, the knock echoed through the cabin again.
Scrambling out of bed wearing only an oversized and overused night shirt that barely covered her nether bits, she didn’t even bother with slippers or a robe. If Max was standing out there, she didn’t want to give him even one extra second to change his mind again. Sprinting around her bed, she stubbed her pinky toe, bright pain shooting up her foot and out the top of her head. She didn’t even pause. She just hobbled even faster, determined not to let him get away this time.
Throwing the door open wide, all hope evaporated. Not Max. Valerie stood in front of her in the gray light of dawn, with her perky teacup Pomeranian dutifully sitting at her feet. Panting.
“Oh,” Trina muttered, trying to bite it off before it fell from her lips and failing.
Val was sharper than most, so Trina had zero hope the alpha mate hadn’t caught her obvious disappointment, but to her credit, she faked it well.
“Morning,” Val said as brightly as Val said anything, which wasn’t much. “Sorry to bug you so early, but I’m having pregnancy issues I was hoping you could help with.”
All Trina wanted to do was lie down in the doorway and curl up into a ball, but somehow, she managed to stay on her feet. Stepping back, she flapped a slack arm, silently inviting Val inside. Limping over to her wardrobe, Trina shrugged into her robe and did her best to act normal.
“What’s up?” she sighed, slumping into a chair at her small table.
Val sat in the other chair—Max’s chair—and patted her lap. Fang jumped into it and turned three circles before settling down.
“I was hoping to handle it on my own, but I figured it might be best to talk to a healer. I’ve been having some pretty wicked morning sickness the last couple of days. I feel like I’m in The Exorcist every fucking morning. And with everything going on, I really need to have my wits about me twenty-four-seven.”
Trina’s healer instincts kicked in, finally, which allowed her to react as she normally would to anyone coming to her for medical help. For those few minutes, she’d be free of her depression and worry over Max.
“That’s not unusual, especially where you are in your pregnancy. It shoul
d get better the further along you get, but sadly for us, wolves seem to suffer from morning sickness earlier than humans.”
“But I started out as human. Doesn’t that mean anything?”
For the first time in twelve hours or so, Trina smiled. “Afraid not. But if it would ease your mind, I could examine you. Just to be sure nothing weird is going on.”
“That would be great,” Val said, giving Trina a sympathetic smile.
Trina ignored it and headed for the connecting door to the clinic. “Follow me.”
Flipping on the bright fluorescent overhead lights, Trina paused for a second to let their eyes adjust. “Have a seat,” she said, nodding at the gurney she would forever associate with Max.
Val hopped up and sat Fang next to her, stroking her fluffy orange fur. Trina found Val’s chart and then pulled on some gloves.
“I’m just going to check your vitals to start. Blood pressure, heart rate, that kind of thing.”
When Val lifted the back of her shirt so Trina could listen to her breathing, she gasped and winced from the cold stethoscope against her skin. Fang spun around and snarled at Trina, protective of her mistress to the bitter end. Both women chuckled while Val pulled the dog into her lap and cooed at her.
“It’s okay, princess. Dr. Trina is just making sure all is well with the baby.”
Fang licked her face and then sat facing forward, panting like a little maniac. Thankfully, the rest of the exam went without a hitch.
“What’s the verdict, doc?” Val asked as she put her clothes back on.
“Everything seems fine. Of course, we’ll have to schedule another exam for a few weeks from now. It’s hard to tell much so early on, but all signs point to a healthy mama and pup.”
“And the morning sickness?”
Trina shrugged. “Not much to do about that. You could try some natural remedies, see if they help. I’ll get you a list of safe herbal remedies. Maybe club soda to help settle your stomach. Ginger and peppermint might work, but don’t hold your breath. The good news is that it should pass pretty quickly. It might come on faster in wolves, but one day soon you’ll wake up and feel fresh as a daisy.”
