Blood of the Wolf (Safe Haven Wolves Short Stories Book 1)

by Sherry Foster

  “Well, yes, but—”

  “No, Edward, no buts. You have explained, in detail, the positions in a pack and how one might move up in a pack. You went into exhaustive detail about the hierarchy of a pack. Our daughter will mate to a male second only to the Alpha. How much higher position could you ask for our mythical daughter you should not be stressing over yet?”

  “I would prefer she had an Alpha of course. Honestly, I didn’t realize he was high enough in Gammon’s pack that he could Beta to another. It never crossed my mind to ask my brother. I think I was flung too far in the past to look at the future.”

  “I don’t have your memories of your little brother climbing out of windows and sneaking into his Alpha’s house to snuggle with the mother of his future mate. But I have your stories and I don’t think you ever stopped to think about the future. I would rather have the man here, where he could learn of our country and the dangers of our area before our daughter is even thought of than have him come over like a tourist risking his life over the wildlife later. Think about it, how many dangers have Trisah and I, and even Dawn faced since we got here? Kangaroos look so cute, yet we have been stopped from approaching them for our safety. The brown snakes in the area so deadly to others, how many have we been saved from over the last few months? This country is full of dangers someone from Alaska isn’t prepared for and if I am honest I would rather he be trained by a native to protect himself and others.”

  “I would have trained him.” Edward muttered.

  “I know. But you wouldn’t have let him come until the daughter we don’t have, and you should not be stressing about was of age. At that point you would have made him look weak in front of others. I mean, I get it, we don’t know the dangers when we go to another country, no one instinctively knows how to stay safe when they move to new dangers. But, speaking from my own point of view as someone who recently moved to a new country with a man I didn’t know, I would rather he have the skill set and confidence and the position in a pack to protect her and make her feel safe.”

  “I don’t know why I get the feeling you think I should not be worrying over our daughter yet, but you can’t stop me. You realize it is my job to worry about the future?”

  “Right now, it is your job to make sure your mate is happy, and I am not at all happy. Did you see the mess you made? Who do you think is going to clean up behind you?”

  Edward shrugged, “Dennis will arrange something.”

  “Nope. Nu uh, not happening. You made the mess instead of calling me and letting me talk some sense into you and you are going to clean it up. That is something even a child knows, you make a mess you clean it up.”

  Edward gave a wicked smile as he looked into her eyes. “Didn’t you say Dennis and Trisah should have known better than to break the news to me without you around? And didn’t you say you are mad at both of them? They tried to protect you from? What? They both had to know I could never hurt you. I think it would be fitting if they cleaned up the mess as a reminder not to ever come between their Alpha and his mate.”

  “They didn’t exactly come between us, Edward.”

  “Yes, they did. They made the decision not to involve my mate in a situation that affects her as much as it affects me, perhaps more so because you are the one Shiloh wants to protect. They made the call to let me rage knowing you can calm me. If that isn’t making a decision about a couple without the input from the couple, I don’t know what you would call it.”

  Julie pursed her lips before saying, “You are stretching it thin there buddy. Very thin. I don’t think that explanation would go far if someone wanted to pick it apart.”

  Edward shrugged which moved Julie slightly up and down against his body. His sharp indrawn breath was her only warning before he set her on her feet. “Alright little one. I tell you what I will do. Dennis and Trisah knew better, you have to admit that.” He waited until he saw her nod. “Dennis will help me clean this up while Trisah cooks for the four of us. You will not help her.” He placed a finger over her lips when it looked as though she would speak. “No, wait, I have more to say. You had your say, it is my turn. What they did, the decision they made, they knew it was wrong. I don’t know which one of them made the decision but at this point it doesn’t matter. They can’t make decisions that so gravely affect two mates. Even if Trisah didn’t know, or didn’t understand, or refused to realize it because you are her baby sister Dennis knew the risk he was taking. What if in my rage I had headed to Dylan’s and attacked him for something not in his control? Your sister and my Beta could have cost two good Alphas their lives with their meddling. Yes, don’t give me that shocked looked. What they did needs to have consequences but how do you punish someone for trying to do the right thing even when they know it is wrong? What punishment would you suggest for two people who were trying to protect you because they love you?”

  Julie let out an exasperated huff of air. “Fine. I get it. I do. I am not up to the position I need to be yet. I still get shook up over violence. I still shake at night and wake from nightmares.”

  Edward stopped her before she could keep going. “No. You don’t get to take the blame for what happened to you. Not in this lifetime or the next. You have made an amazing recovery and you have grown emotionally and mentally. But they don’t get to make the decision about what you can and can’t handle. That job is mine and mine alone. Not because I don’t think you can or can’t handle something, it is because I can feel your emotions. No one else alive can feel you like I can. No one else will ever be in a better position to determine what you are strong enough to handle and when you need to lean on me. There isn’t anyone else you can lean on to give you strength. You need my strength and I need you. I will always need you. They are guardians to you in name only because of your age. But don’t mistake the tradition of them having you till you turn twenty-one with them knowing what is best for you. They don’t and they never will as long as there is breath in my body. As long as my heart beats in my chest I will always feel you and I will always know when you need me. Do you realize the pain and anger and fear I felt through our bond is the only thing that kept me here, in our territory?”

  “Dennis said he disabled all the cars around so you couldn’t go after Dylan or Shiloh.” Julie told him.

  Edward snorted and pointed to his feet. “He didn’t break those did he? I could have shifted and been in Dylan’s territory in a matter of hours. But I didn’t. Because I felt your emotions I stayed. Your anger didn’t exactly help the walls inside though.”

  “It is alright,” she told him, “Dennis can fix them. After all, it is his fault.”

  “Exactly, I knew you would see it my way. Come, let’s go find those two and tell them exactly what they are going to do to make it up to us.” He held his hand out for Julie to take. With a final look behind her at the mess her mate had created she turned and slid her hand into his.

  Two hours later in Dylan’s pack

  “Yes, mum. I understand. Thank you.” Dylan rolled his eyes as his mother filled him in on what had happened at Edward’s earlier. “I love you too.” He told her before he ended the call. Turning to Shiloh, who had just walked in the room in answer to his Alpha’s call, he grinned.

  “Uh oh, I don’t think I like that grin. What has Joseph done now?”

  “Oh, no, it isn’t Joseph this time, mate, it’s you.”

  “Not me. I haven’t done anything except brainstorm with Amber on how to get your wolf to cooperate for the good of the pack. We think we have it figured out.”

  “Fine, tell me later. You want to hear what mum told me.”

  I want to hear. No tricks. Wise to the tricks. Take him back.

  We don’t take a Beta back just because he is trying to help you. Come on, you heard what mum said, he is going to enjoy the story. We can hear his idea for helping you after we tell him our story.

  Tricks.

  No one is trying to trick you Joseph.

  Tell Beautiful.


  I swear I will take you back if you don’t start helping us.

  Can’t.

  “You have the losing an argument with your wolf look on your face. Sure you don’t want me to come back later?” Shiloh asked.

  “Oh, no, you aren’t going anywhere.” Amber sang out as she walked in the room. “I want to hear what happened.”

  Shiloh shrugged. “Alright, hit me with it.”

  “Mum said Dawn came over and filled her in on what happened at Edward’s earlier today. You know, I think I may like the females of the packs talking. Right up until someone spills secrets from this pack to another pack.” He sent a brief glare toward Amber.

  She held her hands up in defense. “Don’t look at me. You are the one who got me introduced to the mates of the other Alphas. Don’t blame me if we got along. You said it was a good thing.”

  “It is. At least, I thought it was, but I am not certain how the others will feel. In fact, I take that back, I know exactly how Edward and Trevor would feel if they realized how much the females of their packs are sharing.”

  “So, what did they share that they shouldn’t have?” Shiloh asked.

  As Dylan filled the two in on the story he had from his mum they both rolled in laughter.

  “Edward knows I am here now, and it sounds like his is as unhappy as I imagined he would be. You know, I have a new appreciation for Julie. I worried about her and how she would recover from her trauma. Many rescued females take months and years to recover. Some never really recover, they retreat into themselves and the pack lets them. I thought, even though Edward is similar to Gammon, I thought her moving and being mated to someone like that wouldn’t be in her best interest. I have seen so many lost and lonely females over the last couple of decades. Stories of tragedies that would make a grown man cry. Hell, I think most of the men in Gammon’s pack have shed tears at one time or another over the females recovered and brought there for safety, including me. She was, I think, one of the more lost looking ones. The shattered look in her eyes as she stared at nothing made us want to kill as many someones as possible even though we knew no matter how many rogues we killed we couldn’t fix her. Her sister carried that shattered look for years after what she went through. We can’t imagine what some of these females go through, present company excluded for the most part, Amber. I say that because I am not trying to trivialize what you suffered, but some of those females suffered far greater for far longer.”

  “I know, Shiloh. I get it. I talked to some of those females in Alaska. I can’t imagine what my life would have been like if not for Dylan and Edward and the pack. If Fletcher had caught back up to me with no one to defend me. I don’t think I could have caught him off guard a second time. Enough, that is the past. What are we going to do about Edward and Shiloh?” Amber asked.

  “Nothing. There is nothing we can do. Not right now. My wolf is content to know Julie is close. And he understands it will be years before we have a mate. At least, everything seems fine for the moment. I don’t believe in creating a problem where one doesn’t exist. We have enough problems with Joseph being so selfish without worrying about what my wolf might do when Julie finally gets pregnant with our mate. Hell, that could be years from now.”

  Selfish. He said selfish. Take him back. Not selfish. Hero.

  “About your idea for Joseph, I don’t think it will work. He wants me to take you back to Alaska.”

  “Pretty sure you can’t do that. We have laws about that.” Shiloh said.

  Don’t.

  “If your idea is to try to tell me the laws of the pack and make up new ones, I have to point out that Joseph knows the laws governing packs as well as I do.”

  Shiloh shrugged and with a grin told him. “Maybe so but he doesn’t know everything. If he did, if he was as smart as he thinks he is, then he wouldn’t be so selfish. He would realize the two of you must equally lead the pack. Since he doesn’t know that I have to conclude he doesn’t want to be the Alpha of the pack. He doesn’t want to work with the others, and he doesn’t want you to be happy. He obviously doesn’t want Amber to be happy.”

  A howl reverberated through the room as Dylan fought to control his wolf. A shudder shook his body as something deep inside him snapped into place. His look of shock as he realized, for the first time in his life, he was whole was a sight to behold. His voice, when he spoke, was awe filled.

  “Another path opened in my mind. I feel the rest of the pack, differently.”

  Joseph?

  His wolf didn’t reply.

  JOSEPH? Dylan turned his sight inward and was rewarded with a huff from his wolf.

  Tricked. Leave lone. Mad.

  Dylan looked at his mate and his Beta with a grin on his face. “Joseph said he is mad at the two of you and to leave him alone.”

  You too. Mad. Need story.

  How exactly can we leave you alone and read you a story?

  Voice read.

  Yeah, no, I don’t think I am going to sit here and let you listen to audio book just so can get a story without talking to us. I think it is time you met our pack, don’t you?

  No. Mad. Leave lone.

  Dylan looked at the other two in the room. “He is mad, and he wants to be left alone. I can’t even shift at the moment. I do believe his feelings are hurt and he doesn’t feel like he is as important to the pack now.”

  Amber gave a gurgle of laughter. “Give him time. He will realize he has an entire book loving pack he can pester for books to be read to him. And you can retreat into yourself and relax.”

  Said no one read to me in pack.

  Well not as long as they couldn’t meet you without me being there also. Now you opened the path you were blocking I don’t see why Amber’s idea won’t work. It isn’t like they will suddenly decide to leave and start their own pack. They are sort of stuck with you and they will love you. Who knows, maybe they will let you tell them stories.

  Superwolf, without cape. Need see pack. Go.

  Dylan laughed as he headed for the door. “Come, Joseph has demanded I call a meeting of the pack. He is finally ready to meet them with me as his voice of introduction.”

  And so it was that the day that Edward lost his every loving mind was the day Shiloh and Amber figured out how to trick Joseph into opening the pack path that would allow Dylan to speak to others while he was in his wolf form. The pack was about to get an interesting introduction to the other side of their Alpha. And it probably wouldn’t be long before the other two Alphas, Trevor and Edward, found out just how much shaking up their mates intended to do in the land down under.

  Author Notes

  These stories came together over several months and I have to say I had fun with them. I took a survey and asked my readers who they wanted to see short stories about. Then I went about giving them what they requested. Of course I naturally ran into a problem right off the bat when the characters got involved. The next thing I know I have new characters I have never heard of before and certainly never intended to write about. That is okay though, I had fun. And I hope you enjoyed the short stories, though some are not very short at all. Oh well, I will have to try again with another book and see if I can successfully write the planned stories.

  It has been many months since the pandemic hit and life has not returned to normal for most people. I hope you are taking care of yourself and your family during this difficult time. I gained two rabbits and Jack is still a pain in the ass. She is currently doing something she shouldn’t be, I know because I heard a cabinet door open somewhere in the house. But I am determined to write this anyway.

  I have several more books planned in the series along with continuing my blog on Mondays and the short story releases every couple of weeks. If you haven’t joined the newsletter list then why not give it a try. If you don’t like it you can always unsubscribe.

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