Nova searched through the rest of the thrown away pages, searching for clues of Nemoy’s message. He’d gathered that Nemoy was inquiring about Kal whereabouts and not much more before there was a tap on the study door.
“Nova? I feel silly knocking on my own door, so why’s it closed?” Nemoy spoke from the other side.
Nova chuckled, still eyeballing the papers. “You can come into your study, Nemoy. I’m not hiding.” The door opened, and Nemoy entered with a look of mild apprehension on his face.
Nova met his gaze with a smirk and a cocked eyebrow. “Isn’t Ivanah a bit too far along for… certain activities?”
Nemoy looked from Nova to his bedroom where Ivanah was more than likely sleeping. “What… Hell, Nova, how long have you been here?” Nemoy asked with an air of embarrassment.
“Long enough,” Nova teased.
“None of your business, brother. Or should I ask how your night’s gone since we last saw each other,” Nemoy retorted with a raised eyebrow of his own.
Nova laughed. “You could, but do you really want to know the graphic details?”
Nemoy shuddered. “Of course not.” They both laughed. Nemoy’s face sobered a bit. “How is she, by the way?”
Thoughts of Amara tossing and turning in bed as Nova left flitted through his mind. “Better, I think. Not her usual self by any means, but she’s strong. She’ll make it through this.”
Nemoy nodded in agreement. “That’s good. Have you gotten any sleep?”
He shook his head. “Too much going on. Couldn’t sleep.” He looked back down at the papers in his hands. “And neither could you, apparently.”
Nemoy shrugged. “No time like the present to get all of the difficult decisions out of the way.”
“Difficult?” Nova parroted. “Difficult how?”
Nemoy walked around the desk, opening a side drawer compartment to pull out a large, ornate box. He removed the lid to reveal fresh stationary, the page on top already written upon with Callahan Vann’s name emblazoned at the top. Without a word, Nemoy handed the page to Nova.
Nova’s eyes scanned the page, the message farther along than all of its crumpled brethren. With each passing word, Nova’s heart beat faster. He finished the letter then proceeded to read it again. And then a third time. When he was finally certain that he hadn’t misunderstood, he looked up at his brother with shock-widened eyes.
“War, Nemoy?” he whispered.
Nemoy looked apologetic. “Not yet, hopefully. But at this point we have to—”
“Kal has been chipping away at our forces for months now, Nemoy,” Nova rebutted, incredulous. “We aren’t prepared for a war.”
“We only need to be strong enough to kill the Alpha. I know Callahan is formidable, but I think as a last resort we can pull that off. But only a last resort,” Nemoy replied. “For now, it’s just a threat, Nova. A necessary threat. Callahan’s ignored our summons to renew the treaty. He’s allowed his own son to terrorize our territory countless times over countless years. He’s waiting for us to break, to slip up. We can’t let it get that far, Nova. We have to show him that we will fight for our land.”
Nova shook his head. “Father wouldn’t have—”
“Father is dead,” Nemoy retorted, poignantly. “I’m Alpha now, Nova. Not Dad. And I won’t pretend to be like him, just like Callahan isn’t pretending to be the Alpha that led before him.”
“That changes nothing, Nemoy,” he snapped. “We don’t have the men. You’d be sending us to certain slaughter.”
“You don’t think I know that?” Nemoy shouted. They both flinched at his tone. “I’m sorry, Nova,” he continued at a more subdued volume. “I don’t mean to take this out on you. It’s just…” He threw his hands up with a frustrated sigh. “I don’t know, okay? I’ve never been faced with this kind of ultimatum before. And I’m scared,” Nemoy confessed.
“I’m scared for my wife and my unborn child. I’m scared for you and all of the men I’d ask you to send into battle to almost certain death. I’m even scared for Amara. She’s only human, and the smallest wrong move could mean the end of her life. I’m scared of being too aggressive, but also of being too complacent. I’m scared of destroying this pack’s legacy in my inexperience. I’m scared of making the wrong decision. Hell, I was scared of writing that damned letter. I can’t count how many times I gave up, how many papers I tore and destroyed, draft after draft, thinking that maybe, just maybe, there’s another solution that I haven’t thought of yet. But there wasn’t, there isn’t, and there never will be.
“You don’t think I fully understand what’s at stake here, brother?” Nemoy asked desperately. “I do, more than you or anyone else. And it makes me feel like shit because everyone is looking to me for guidance and solidarity.” Nemoy paused, but Nova said nothing, struck silent by the raw honestly in his brother’s words. “I’m the Alpha, and as such, I’m just trying to do what’s right. It may not seem like it right now, but I am, Nova. I really am.”
They stared each other down in silence for a moment longer before Nova slowly lowered his eyes back to the page in his hand, reading over its words one last time. He read them slowly, as if there might be some sort of code worth deciphering within the message his brother had written, but there wasn’t. Everything worth being conveyed was right there in scrawled ink, no room for misinterpretation.
He looked back up at Nemoy. “What do you need from me?”
Nemoy ran a hand down his face. He looked exhausted and stressed, but the relief at Nova’s response was visible above all. “For now? I just need you to help me keep the peace. Our pack needs a united front right now. Talks of war would only complicate things. I need more time. Time to… to think. Just a little more time…” Nemoy’s voice trailed off, heavy with fatigue.
“You should sleep, Nemoy,” Nova said softly, handing the note back.
As Nemoy opened his mouth to respond, his phone buzzed loudly at the edge of his desk. He looked at the illuminated screen with a furrowed brow. “As much as I’d love to, the Protectors have returned and I need to finish briefing them all on everything that we’ve spoken on thus far.”
“You mean we,” Nova corrected. “I’m supposed to be there, too, remember?”
Nemoy nodded. “Right, right.” He moved around the table to exit the study, Nova following suit.
“Don’t worry, Nemoy. We’re going to make it through this. We always do.” He bumped his brother’s shoulder. “But first, we have to make it through the rest of the night. I’ll grab us a couple beers on the way out to help with that.”
Chapter 7
It had been a week since Kal escaped. With each sunrise, Amara grew more and more agitated. Her confinement to the compound left her restless, and she was tired of lying to her mother and sister with “updates” on her honeymoon.
Day after day, Nova would leave to the Council Chamber to talk about things she couldn’t even begin to fathom. A few nights he didn’t return until the sun was peeking over the horizon, falling into bed and sleeping only long enough to get up and do the same thing all over again the following day. He shared some small details of his day on occasion, but it was pretty obvious that he kept most of the specifics between Council members. It was probably to keep rumors and panic to a minimum, but it only put Amara further on edge. The only thing worse than lacking control over the situation was lacking both control and knowledge, and she hated every moment that she had to endure it.
As she paced back and forth anxiously in Nova’s living room, she gnawed on the tip of her thumb and contemplated maybe sneaking out for an hour or two. Nothing too drastic, just long enough to not feel so suffocated and out of the loop.
Nova caressed her hair as she passed him for the umpteenth time. “You’re going to wear a hole in the floor if you don’t relax,” he said with a look of concern.
She halted long enough to give him a small, impatient kiss. “If I sit down, I’m going to go insane,” she replied, and resu
med pacing.
Nova sighed. “I know, I know. You’ve never been very fond of the compound to stay more than a couple days. This must really suck for you.” He sounded sympathetic, which made Amara feel better. It was nice knowing that her husband was wholly on her side with her frustration.
Amara shrugged. “It’s not just that, though it certainly doesn’t help.” She started gnawing on her thumb again. “It’s Kal. And pack traitors. And a war. It’s everything. Everything. It’s all happening—”
“—At once, I know,” Nova finished. “And I get that this is—”
“Please, Nova,” Amara interrupted, once again halting her pacing, “I love you, and I know you’re only doing what you’re doing with my best interest at heart, but I really don’t need you, or Nemoy, or Ivanah, or anyone telling me they ‘understand’ or they ‘get it.’ You may think you do, but you don’t. I don’t want you to try to understand. I want… I need solutions.”
Nova looked as if Amara had struck him, and for one frightful moment she’d almost regretted her outburst. “It’s not that simple, Amara,” Nova said softly, voice mildly hurt.
“I know it’s not that simple, Nova. Believe me, I know. Which is why I haven’t asked much of anything from anyone since the wedding. Which is why I’ve endured feeling like a prisoner in my extended home for a week. Which is why I’m pacing instead of having a total meltdown like my entire body is trying to convince me to do!” Another wave of hurt washed over Nova’s face, and this time Amara did fully regret her words.
She closed her eyes and took a deep, centering breath. When she was convinced that she could speak without losing her cool, she said. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to take this out on you. None of this is your fault.”
“I didn’t know you hated it here that much,” was all he said.
Amara sighed, shrugging her shoulders. “I don’t hate it, Nova. I just… I feel trapped. I’m here in this gated compound, unable to leave until Nemoy gets a letter we’re not even sure he’s going to get. It’s suffocating me. I’ve always been my own person. You know that.”
“It’s for your—”
“—Safety, yes, I know,” she intercepted. “It’s always for my safety. But what about my mother? Sadie? Every other human in Strathford? What about them?”
“Protectors scour Strathford in excess every night. They are safer now than they’ve ever been against the forces of the Valley Clan.”
“Then why can’t I stay at my own home?” Amara asked desperately.
“Because you’re safer here,” Nova answered matter-of-factly.
“Are you saying that my family isn’t as safe as I am right now?” She threw up her hands in frustration. “How can I trust the pack to protect my family in Strathford when you can’t even trust them to keep me safe there?”
“That’s different, Amara,” Nova said, growing a bit agitated as well.
“How?” she yelled.
“It’s the pack’s sworn duty to keep the humans of Strathford safe. It’s my duty to keep you safe,” he bit back. “You are my mate. You’re mine to protect. No one else’s.”
Nova visibly bit back more words before closing the distance between them. He cradled her shocked face in his hands as he composed himself. “I need you here with me, Amara,” he whispered. “I need you close by where I know I can keep you safe. So much right now is beyond my control; I’m close to losing my mind here.” He leaned forward so their foreheads touched. “If you went home, I’d lose what little bit of certainty I have left regarding this whole debacle. I’d never be fully sure that you’re safe the way I can guarantee when you’re at my side.
“I can barely focus on the task at hand as it is. I feel your stress, your restlessness, your anger as if they were my own. It’s almost overbearing, and it kills me to know that you feel this way. I’m doing all that I can to make sure you never have to feel these things ever again, but if you leave…” A shudder ran through his body and shivered down Amara’s spine. “I’ll lose all sense of focus. I’ll only be able to worry about you.” He raised his head to lay a soft kiss on her forehead, and she could feel all of the tension singing through him in the act of affection. “You’re all I have to keep me afloat right now. So please, Amara. Please let me keep you safe.”
Amara stared deeply into her husband’s eyes. They were desperate, stressed and a bit panicked around the edges, but what gave Amara the most pause was the hint of fear that lay masked beneath. Nova was afraid, but of what?
From the moment they’d found each other, Amara had worked hard to prove that she didn’t need protection. She’d fought the Valley wolves before, spilled a fair share of their blood. She’d saved pack children, and defended pack land. Hell, she’d even saved Nova from Kal and his lackeys once. Wasn’t that enough? Was she really still such a burden on him that he feared for her life?
Amara stood on tiptoe and gave Nova the kind of tender kiss she should have led with. “It’s just Kal, Nova.” Nova opened his mouth to rebut, but she held up a hand to silence him. “We’ve faced him before and won. Admittedly, I may have lost my cool on our wedding night, but emotions were running high and the news all hit me at once. Now that I’ve had time to think, I can properly understand… it’s just Kal.”
“That’s the thing, Amara. It’s not ‘just Kal’ anymore. If he made it back to Valley Clan territory, the chances of us going to war multiply ten-fold. Remember, Kal is the son of their Alpha, and we held him hostage for over a month. He was our only bargaining chip, and Callahan knows it. Without a way or reason for him to sign the treaty, he’ll most certainly be making a move on our territory before long.”
Amara nodded. “Which is why Nemoy sent the letter, to make it appear as if he were striking first. But I thought it was basically glorified hot air.”
Nova looked uncomfortable. “Maybe not so much anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
Nova paused a moment before running a hand through his hair. “I… we’ve been preparing. Nemoy basically drafted all able bodies for training. Men, women, and even a few of the older pups. I’ve been training them for combat for a few nights straight now.”
Amara’s jaw nearly hit the floor. “Combat?” was all she could say.
Nova nodded gravely. “It’s… it’s bad. Nemoy sent off another letter this morning. If he doesn’t hear back from Callahan within the week… I think he’s serious about leading an attack on the Valley Clan.”
“He can’t possibly be that stupid,” Amara shouted.
“He’s weighed the risks, and so have I. Callahan is the type to judge the son for the actions of his father. Our father threatened war on several occasions, but his pacifist views never allowed him to follow through. We’re willing to bet that Callahan will hold that against us. With the element of surprise, we might be able to—”
“No, Nova. No, no, no. Too many ifs, too many mights,” Amara interrupted, shaking her head. “Don’t I get a say? I mean, I’m your wife!”
“That’s not how this works, baby,” Nova responded. He almost looked sad, as if he really wanted to tell her everything would be okay, but couldn’t bring himself to tell the lie. “My first priorities are keeping you safe and being leader of the Guard. I’m doing everything I can for the first part—no matter how much you fight me on it—and training our pack’s soldiers is my job.”
“You can’t keep me safe if you’re dead,” Amara said, voice quiet.
Nova smiled down at her. “If you promise me you’ll hold out just a bit longer, I can focus one hundred and ten percent on making sure I don’t die in combat so that you’ll have to put up with me every night for the rest of your life. Deal?”
Amara sighed. “Fine, deal. But I need a day, soon. I’m getting stir-crazy just walking in circles around the compound. Stick however many guards you need to on me, but please, just let me outside the gate for a while.”
Nova chuckled and kissed her forehead again. “I’ll see what I can do.”
<
br /> A light rap sounded against Nova’s cabin door. “Nova, Amara, may I come in?” Nemoy called by way of introduction.
“Door’s unlocked,” Nova called back, and almost tentatively, the front door swung open.
Nemoy looked a bit green around the edges, and more than a bit tired. Amara moved before she knew what she was doing. “Oh my goodness,” she gasped. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Nemoy muttered, his exhausted eyes shifting from Amara to Nova and back. “Nova, you got a moment?”
Nova shrugged. “All the time in the world, but we don’t have to keep secrets from Amara, I’ve pretty much told her everything to date.”
Nemoy gaped at his brother and Amara felt the urge to step back from the impending spat they were headed toward. “Nova,” Nemoy warned.
“She doesn’t know anything more than your wife does,” Nova said, shrugging again.
“The difference is that my wife is on the Council. Yours is not privy to Council information,” Nemoy snapped back.
“A wolf does not keep secrets from their mate. She knows what I know. Today, tomorrow, forever. If you don’t want me breaking the precious Council only rule, you know what to do.” The two brothers stared each other down in tense silence, and Amara had the sinking suspicious that they’d had this argument before.
“Wait, do you want me on the Council, Nova?” Amara asked in the thick silence.
“Yes,” Nova nodded, “but the holy powers that be are against it… for some reason,” he answered, jutting a pointed look directly at Nemoy.
“You take too many liberties with Pack Law, Nova. Amara cannot be a part of the Council simply because you want her to be. She hasn’t gone through the proper channels.”
“Channels be damned, Nemoy!” Nova bellowed.
Mountain Wolf Protectors Complete Series: Books 1 - 4 Page 33
