Frozen Tides
Author: Morgan Rhodes
Date: 2016-11-01 00:00:00+00:00
Description: The plans are laid and the players are determined . . . but nothing can prepare these unlikely warriors for what the elemental gods of Mytica have in store. CLEO: Reeling after a shocking realization about Magnus, Princess Cleo must cast aside her feelings and look toward her kingdom with the eyes of a queen. MAGNUS: The steely prince of Limeros is once again torn between love and duty, leaving him wondering whether he's strong enough to rule his people. LUCIA: Heartbroken and blind with fury, the betrayed sorceress allies with the awoken Fire god, who also seeks revenge. JONAS: The defeated r
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group

The Juneau Pack 2

By Katherine Rhodes

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

FROZEN ALASKA

All rights reserved.

Copyright 2019 © Katherine Rhodes

Cover: JRA Stevens for Down Write Nuts

Formatting: Down Write Nuts

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher

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Five friends.

One Summer.

Everything changes.

We wanted to celebrate the end of college. The end of all the hard work, the beginning of our new lives. Brandy had the perfect place:

Alaska.

Delia

I was only too happy to pay for the renovations to my bestie's hard earned homestead. I loved spoiling my friends, and I had ways to do it. I also loved the outdoors, and new adventures.

Jason was definitely a new adventure. We seemed to be the perfect couple, and we fell together easily. I thought it was his secret that was going to drive a wedge between us--I never expected it to be mine.

Jason

Fate has terrible timing. The instant I saw her, I knew Delia was mine-- and I couldn't have her. Still, being around her was amazing and I hoped that we could be together someday.

But there was someone who would go to any lengths to get rid of my mate. It would force me to make decisions that would change the course of our lives...

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Epilogue

Exploring Alaska

Taming Alaska

Darkwater

Consensual

About the Author

Also by Katherine Rhodes

Also by

Prologue

“I told you this would be worth it!” Brandy crowed.

“My ass is killing me,” I answered. “How much further? Why does this road suck so much?’

“Should be just ahead.” Brandy was clearly excited. I picked at my fingernail. The cabin had been ‘just ahead’ for about an hour.

The window had a great view. I had never been to Alaska and the views of Favorite Channel and Berner Bay were stunning as we managed to rumble, slowly and carefully over the rough road along side Davies Creek. A small sign, after a half an hour of plowing through the underbrush scraping and dinging and ripping the paint on the Land Cruiser and banging around against the car and each other in back seat, that directed us away from the precipice that had been getting closer. I groaned as Brandy took the turn.

Zanna admitted, outloud, she’d been afraid of heading straight for the ice field at the top. I hadn’t told her about the deadly rock faces on the right.

Addi questioned the road even more after a very long mile drive. Couldn’t blame her—I figured everyone’s ass cheeks simply couldn’t be anymore numb.

The view as we rounded what I though was supposed to be a corner, was well worth it. The bay, channel, and the archipelago that hid Glacier Bay National Park from view were set up neatly in picture perfect early summer scenes. It was everything I had ever dreamed June in Alaska would look like. I could never understand why my parents just refused to bring us up here.

The rough-and-tumble, barely functioning Land Cruiser managed to bust through the last bit of underbrush and into a clearing. Allegedly, the cabin would be there, slightly protected by the trees at the edge.

Brandy threw the SUV into park. Her eyes grew wide, and her face contorted with complete disgust. “No!”

Yanking her seat belt out of the lock, she nearly ripped the door off the hinges as she burst into the cool early summer air—and mud. “No, no!” Her feet stuck in the thick, sucking mud as she headed for what sort of looked like a porch. Yanking branches out of the way, screaming and yelling the whole time, it took only a minute before we could see a front door.

Brandy’s words echoed back to us through the trees. “This place is a mess! No! This can’t be! Harrison swore the place was in good order!” She turned to us, as we all climbed out the SUV.

“That lying fucking dick-weasel!”

1

I leaned over to Addi as we pulled the Land Cruiser on to the main road back into Juneau.

“Are we being smart about leaving Jess there alone with the electrician?”

Addi shrugged. “Someone had to stay. We can’t all keep hovering over her all the time. It’s been almost year, and she needs her space.”

I nodded. “You’re right. I’m just worried.”

“We were all worried,” Zanna said. “But I think we’ll all be okay.”

“I wanted this to be a damn vacation.” Brandy slammed her hand on the wheel. “Instead it’s renovation. Harrison is a dick.”

“He’s also your only cousin and you don’t want to alienate him,” I said. “Family is worth a lot.”

“She’s right, you know,” Zanna said.

Addi nodded. “I agree.”

“He lied to me, you guys. Lied. About thousands upon thousands of dollars of upgrades, restoration, rebuilding. There’s no power! I know I wanted to feel a little rustic, but this is insane. He’s a liar.”

“Don’t discount him,” I said, again. “And anyway, this is my treat. Mom and Dad already okayed whatever you need. Graduation gift, Dad said.”

“You are entirely too generous.”

“They are just passing on their luck.”

They all hmm and mmm’ed, but the matter was dropped as we headed for the Home Depot.

I never told my friends how much my parents had won. They didn’t know me when Dad bought the ticket, and we lived in Maryland. They had the option to remain anonymous and did so. I also never told my friends I had set each of them up trusts with the money my parents had given me.

It was fun to spoil my friends. I couldn’t wait until they all found out that their school loans were paid.

“Home Depot, on vacation. How is this a vacation?” Brandy scowled at the store’s edifice. “I don’t want to pick out plumbing.”

“We’re here for a fridge, and that’s about it for now,” I reminded her. “We also need cleaning supplies and beds. So we need to hit a few places. Let’s get going, and we’ll catch lunch at a local place.”

“Got it,” Addi said, with her signature thumbs up. “Brandy and I will get over to appliance, and you two head to the cleaning supplies and decide what we need.”

“Good idea,” Zanna said. “If I can’t identify the mold, we’ll just use industrial cleaner to kill it.” She grabbed a cart as we walked in and we wheeled it into the store as Brandy and Addi split off.

Zanna stared describing all the molds and mildews that could be in the house, and I just start grabbing the heaviest cleaners they had. I wasn’t going to mess around. Brandy had asthma and watching her suffer an attack was torture, so it was better to just kill it all.

I stopped in front of another aisle. “Do you think we should buy a generator?”

“I think the house has one. If not, I’m sure we’re going to be back here eight or ten times in the next two weeks trying to salvage that place.”

“Brandy is really pissed.” I shook my head.

“Yeah, you think? I can’t really blame her.” Zanna sighed. “Did you hear how much she paid Harrison for that place? He wouldn’t surrender it even though the grandfather’s will specified that it must be lived in, at least six months of the year.”

“Oh, so he’s a dick on top of being a liar? Great.”

“Her grandfather didn’t want Harrison to have it at all. But there was something wrong with the will and he got it. She’s up to her eyeballs with the mortgage.”

I quirked an eyebrow. “Oh, really.”

“Stop. Give her this. She worked her ass off to be able to afford that place. Fix it up for her, but don’t pay it off.”

I picked at the shopping cart we had grabbed along the way. “Yeah, so, I don’t have to pay for it. She can. It might be why she got the loan.”

Zanna turned her head slowly toward me. “What did you do?”

“So, after we all moved into the house and I realized all of you, minus that twatcicle, Wendy, were my people, I may have…maybe might have set you all up with little trusts?”

“You what?”

I grabbed the bottle of Nature’s Miracle off the shelf. “I set you all up with trusts. Small ones. For when we all turn twenty-five.”

“What the hell, Madeline? Are you nuts?”

“Look, Mom and Dad are always generous. I took some of mine, set up some well invested trusts, and sent them on their way.”

Zanna shook her head. “Jesus. You’re something else. You should be investing in your own future.”

I grunted. None of their business, and I didn’t advertise. Mostly because Dad didn’t want Uncle Chuck to know about the money.

Uncle Chuck was not a good person.

We marched through the store and halfway there, I pretended that I suddenly remembered something. “Zanna, can you handle this? I have to go to the store for…protection.”

“Uh…”

“Not that kind. The opposite.”

“Ohh,” she drawled. “Right. Better just grab everything for everyone. We’re here for three months.”

I handed her the Amex card and told her to just fake my signature. They probably wouldn’t check her ID, anyway. I made a beeline for the exit and out to the Land Cruiser.

As I thought, the door was open, and Brandy had dropped the keys in the glovebox. It was what people did when there were only 33,000 people in a land locked city. I pulled the massive vehicle down the road to a strip mall where I had seen a grocery store.

And, a gun store.

Jess and I had a conversation about what had both heard the night before. We didn’t like what we’d heard.

Jess had tossed a glance over her shoulder at the others getting ready to get going. “Did you hear…things…last night?”

“Things?” I cocked my head.

“Paws. Scratching. Yips.”

“Ah. Yeah. I did. I figured it was just me being paranoid about being this far in the woods with a shit door on the cabin. Make sure you ask the electrician about a carpenter and doors.”

“So, I wasn’t hallucinating those noises?”

“Nope.”

“Not good.”

“Nope.”

She watched our other friends for a moment. “Does anyone know how to fire a gun?”

“A—” I snapped my head around to her. “Wow. Um, Zanna does. Her dad took her shooting a few times. But, do you really think…?”

“Look, we’re here for three months, and I’d rather have than not. If she can shoot, maybe a shotgun or a rifle? No one has to know we have it. I’m sure there’s a place to stash it.”

“Precaution?”

She nodded.

“Rifle. Not a handgun.”

“Handguns are too unpredictable. And can a Ruger really take down a bear if we had to?”

“In desperation, yes.”

She raised an eyebrow and stared at me. “Do you want to be so desperate we have to take down a bear with a Ruger?”

“Fuck no.” I vigorously shook my head. “Rifle. Mid caliber. I’ll see what I can do.” With one last glance at the others, I asked, “Are you going to be okay here while we go into town?”

“Someone has to stay,” she answered. “Better me and a rusty cast iron pan and a wicked swing than one of the others.”

“Good point. You do have that wicked softball swing.”

“Division champs, baby.”

The lighthearted chatter was a way of both of us dealing with the fact we didn’t actually want to purchase a gun. But the sound of scratching the night before echoed in my head.

I didn’t know what I was buying, but the gentleman behind the counter, who was assuredly a rabid supporter of our second amendment rights and the right to ogle my breasts indiscreetly, was more than helpful. He helped me select a Remington 700 bolt action with extra ammo. He was desperately pushing a semi-auto, but that was a world I didn’t want to explore, at all.

I stashed the insanely expensive rifle under the back seat and with the ammo in my purse, and quickly made a run for all the wonderful feminine products we might need in the next month. Those got tossed in the back cargo area and I headed back to the store.

Brandy, Zanna, and Addi were just walking out of the store with the cart of cleaning supplies as I pulled in. They all piled in, completely unaware of the rifle under the seat.

This was, I swore to myself, the only time I was going to transport a deadly weapon. Ever.

* * *

After we stopped at the local furniture store for an order of three queen beds, a queen trundle, and queen pull out couch, everyone was exhausted from spending my money, and we decided it was time for lunch.

The bar we chose, at my insistence, was smoky. Mostly because the interpretation of non-smoking was ‘blow the smoke toward the ceilings and doors.’ Because of Brandy’s asthma, we opted to sit outside on the back patio.

I was determined to try this place. I had heard that they served a spruce beer that was amazing.

One didn’t often get to drink conifer juice.

Addi took one look at the menu and was slightly terrified.

“Elk? Elk burger? Caribou? Are you serious?”

Brandy sighed. “We’re in Alaska, Addison. What did you expect? Vegan kale bean burger and kombucha?”

“But…reindeer…”

“Mm. Dinner.” Zanna teased her.

Waving at the two of them to shut up, I pointed out other options. “Addi, they have chicken, and fish. Look. Fresh salmon.”

They really didn’t understand how close Addi was to being a vegetarian. One wrong move, one wrong bite of a chicken, and she was going to be done. She had problems with her digestion, and she couldn’t afford to give up her omnivore status. I’d have to explain that to the others.

For as smart as we all were, I seemed to be the only who knew all the little details about my friends.

Like the fact that if the electrician was even remotely hot, Jess was going to climb him like a hungry monkey up a banana tree. Woman was starved for sex, but I knew that she was also afraid to try. Out here, where she knew no one, and we were only committed for three months? Perfect for some random, anonymous sex.

We ordered our drinks, and Brandy decided to try the spruce beer too. Addi safely went with the fresh salmon, and the rest of us ordered chicken. I’d had caribou and reindeer when my parents had taken me and my brother to Finland for the summer in high school.

It was good, but I still preferred chicken.

We sat in the high sun of noon in Juneau, enjoying beer and each other. It was, despite the mess at the top of mountain, a very good day.

Addi leaned forward between rounds of beer and dropped her voice. “Do you guys feel that?”

“The dude staring at us?” Brandy asked.

“Yes. He’s at the bar inside and he’s been staring at the four of us for most of the time we’ve been here.”

“He’s creepy as Hell with those beady little eyes and gray streak.” Brandy picked up her glass and drained the rest of the beer.

“I agree,” Zanna said.

Addi dropped her voice and giggled. “He’s the kind of guy who thinks a dick would make you straight, Bran.”

“Gold star. No interest.”

We all chuckled. Brandy had no interest in men at all. Not sexually. She was as hard left on the spectrum as someone could get. She’d known she was attracted to girls when she was little, and her parents knew it before she came out to them.

All of us who had roomed together through college couldn’t care less, and all of us joked about it.

Except Zanna.

She was no fool. None of us were. We all knew that Brandy held a quiet torch for her, but Zanna had never responded. Not even a little. She also never made a joke of it, which was probably the hardest thing ever considering we’d lived together for four years at this point.

“What do we do about creepo?” Brandy asked. “I mean, I’m not interested, but I’m not the only one who has a convenient place for him to stick his tiny ego.”

“Is that our new euphemism? Tiny ego?” Addi chuckled as the waitress placed the plates of food around the table and retrieved our glasses for another round. Brandy declined, anticipating the drive back to the house.

“I like it, because it’s pretty accurate,” Zanna said.

“Me too,” I said. “But don’t look now. He’s on his way over.”

There was a collective groan from the other three as the short man walked over. He was creepy from the get-go, but watching him move toward us, he came off as…dangerous. He moved like a predator.

But one that would be happy with carrion too.

He had a sense of ‘trickster’ or ‘snake’.

Definitely more snake.

“Ladies,” he said, standing in front of them and crossing his arms. He couldn’t see Brandy roll her eyes, but he did see the rest of us choke back a laugh.

He did not like that. “What’s funny?”

Clearing her throat, Zanna looked at him. “Sorry. Just an inside joke.”

He passed his gaze over all of us and the slimy little smile was back. “So, which one of you ladies wants a dance with a real man?”

Zanna put her hand up. “Sure. Let me know when one gets here.”

I cut my eyes to hers. Could she not feel how dangerous this little scum bag was? The dude exuded ‘bad’ and she was provoking him.

He walked around the table to where she was sitting and gave the rest of us a grin. His hand snaked around her neck, and then clamped there, tight.

Zanna started coughing and turning red immediately. Addi was out of her seat before any of us could even think, and grabbed the wrist that wrapped around our friend’s throat. She pinched hard and the guy screamed and let go.

Years of jujuitsu served her well at the most unexpected times. She was more than a black belt, somewhere around triple. She loved her martial art, and to see her fight was shocking. But what always astonished us was her use of little things like this nerve pinch. Simple, powerful, effective.

And she ended her hold by tossing the creep against the building.

“Get out of here, you piece of shit,” she snapped.

He held his hand to his chest and growled at her.

Actually.

Growled.

And then he was gone, back inside, tossing something on the bar, and then out the front door disappearing down the street.

“Jesus Christ, Zanna! The guy was bad news, could you please, please show a little restraint?” I snapped the words off at her.

“I didn’t think that he was going to fucking choke me!”

Brandy shook her head. “Woman, you have got to hone your instincts. We all smelled the stank on him, except you. You gotta watch out.”

“I didn’t think he was going to be that violent.”

I leaned forward. “Zanna. It’s safe at this point to assume that if you don’t know a guy well, they may get violent. It’s not the way any of us want to live, but that’s the way it is now. And we’re in God’s Back Country now, where women are rare. Men will try to take what they want.”

“Good God, where did you all bring me?”

2

As predicted, Jess fucked the electrician.

I was relieved. She’d needed a good shagging for a while—and really, Garrett was damn hot. I’d have done the same thing.

But there was something about Garrett that whispered to me that he was not meant for me. Or anyone but Jess. And that he would hurt anyone who came near her.

Well good. She needed a man who gave a shit about her and not just what she could do for him.

Total bonus: he got the electrical working for the fridge and stove, so that when they delivered the new one tomorrow, we could use it.

Zanna peered into the mess that was our current refrigerator and wrinkled her nose. “I didn’t think that I would even remotely want access to a scanning electron scope while I was here. I’m pretty sure that’s the only way to identify what’s in there.”

“Stop,” Brandy said. “Just close the door. We have a stove and we have enough of food for dinner. Let’s do that and worry about science later.”

“Fine, fine.” She closed the door and sneezed hard.

“So everything is being delivered tomorrow?” Jess asked, sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace.

I nodded. “Yup.”

Brandy took a seat on the couch. “So, what did you and Garrett do to my house…aside from befouling it with your sex romp?”

Jess narrowed her eyes, trying to be angry, but the blush that rose told me she was more delighted than angry.

“You’re getting a whole new power system, including solar and wind. There’s new bathrooms coming in, the chimney is going to be shored up. New front door, new back door. The deck is going to be reinforced, and later this summer new windows. A new water heater, and everything is getting painted. He’s also going to have someone come in and check the septic tank so that we’re not dealing with a field of shit as we’re packing up at the end of the summer.” She paused, then finished, “Oh and a whole house fan.”

“Which we’re going to need if you keep having sex in the living room,” I teased.

“I fulling plan on sullying one of the new queen beds as soon as possible.” She gave me a ‘fight me on it’ look, and I cracked up laughing.

Jess was hilarious.

“And you’re sure you’re okay with paying for all that?” Brandy asked, her voice quiet and unassuming.

“Yes, yes.” I waved her off. Really, everything looked like it was going to come under $75,000, and that was just me not having a new car next year. Compared to the joy this place would bring Brandy?

Worth it.

I cleared my throat. “So, I’m going to be doing some hiking on Thursday. Anyone want to go?”

“Are you doing hard ascents?” Zanna groused.

“Of course. There’s no real verticals around here, so I had to do hard ascents.”

“By yourself?” Jess cocked her head at me.

“I’m crazy, not stupid. I hired a guide. A local guy who’s certified in search and rescue. I thought it would be smart to have that since I don’t know anyone up here.”

Brandy shook her head. “I’m passing. I hate hard ascents. If you were doing distance on a gradual…”

“Maybe next time. There’s plenty of coastal trails too. We can also go kayaking. I’d love to see if we could find some whales in the bay. We have a good chance.”

“Now you have my attention.” Zanna smiled.

I grinned. “The guy said he also does kayak tours, so I’ll talk to him about it. Fair?

“Fair.” Zanna nodded.

* * *

The scratching on the door made me sit straight up from the miserable air mattress I was sharing with Jess. She was only seconds behind me sitting up.

“Are those fuckers right at the door?” Her whisper was angry.

“I think so.”

“Damn, the fire. We all fell asleep. Can you stoke that and get some of those flowers burning?”

I crawled over to the fireplace and discovered we had only a handful of them left. I held them up to show Jess. She swore quietly.

“What the hell do we do? They’re right outside…” I didn’t want to think about killing the coyotes.

“I’m going to—” She held up a finger and walked to the door. “What’s that noise?”

I wasn’t interested in tiptoeing around these mangy coyotes anymore, so I walked to the window, and yanked the curtain to the side.

Aside from kicking up a shit ton of dust, I caught the damn animal mid piss on the front door. Leg up, full stream, all over the damn lower panel.

“Oh, my God,” Zanna gasped.

I screamed. I didn’t know she was there.

Zanna screamed back.

The coyote looked right at us and howled.

We jumped back and yanked the curtain back into place.

“He marked the door,” I managed to breathe.

“We need help,” Jess said, and grabbed for her phone, swiping a few buttons and putting it on speaker.

“Hrrr?”

Not a very well-formed hello, but Jess didn’t care. “Garrett? I’m so sorry, I didn’t want to wake you, but I don’t know what to do…”

“Jessica?”

“Yes.”

“What’s…” Garrett swallowed, then cleared his throat. “What’s going on, Jess? I don’t…”

“The coyotes are so close. The fireweed only backs them off for a few minutes. I picked a ton after you left, but we’re using so much we’re running out. They won’t go away. I don’t want to shoot them…”

“How close?”

“One peed on the front door. I think there’s one by the generator in the back.”

There was only just a few seconds pause, and he sounded much more awake. “I’m on my way. I’m bringing some friends. Keep the door closed, and locked, turn on the light, and keep tossing the fireweed on the flames. Got it?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Jess?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t be afraid to use the gun.”

“I won’t.”

She swiped the call to an end. Zanna, Brandy, and Addi were staring at her, and they were angry. Like eyes glowing angry. If their eyes could glow.

“Go get it,” I said.

Jess came back with the rifle she had stashed in her bedroom and held it out for Zanna. “You know what to do with better than I do.”

After a moment, Zanna swiped the gun out of her hand and marched to the window. She hoisted the gun and settled it against her shoulder, sticking the barrel between the glass and the curtain.

“I can’t believe you bought a gun,” Addi hissed at her.

“I didn’t buy it. Delia did, and I was hoping not to show you. Ever. But when they were clamoring around last night I felt like we needed one. Zanna knows what she’s doing with it, and I can at least look threatening.”

Addi narrowed her eyes at Jess. “And you called your fuck buddy to help us?”

“Addi! I am not going to argue with you about this!”

“I still can’t believe you slept with the electrician,” Brandy said. “We were only gone for four hours.”

Jess was angry. “There was no sleeping. And, you’re lucky we felt like being decent and not just fucking our way through the house.”

“Shut. Up,” Zanna barked by the window. “I’m glad we have the gun. I’m glad you finally got laid, and I’m glad you called him. Now all of you. Just shut up.”

All of our jaws snapped shut and the sounds of the coyotes outside—yipping, yapping, and territorial howls—filled the room again.

Jess cleared her throat. “Guys…”

“Don’t talk,” Zanna said. “You called your boy toy. Now hush and let’s just keep an eye on these sons of bitches. I don’t want to use—”

She was severely cut off by a howl at the back door. Right up against it, in fact. I hadn’t even thought about the generator back there. These damn coyotes had balls of steel.

“I think they’re rabid,” Brandy whispered.

“I think you’re right,” Jess said.

I quirked an eyebrow at her.

“What? I think she’s right. This is not how animals behave.”

Addi nailed me in the side with her elbow and pointed out the window. “Look at that one.”

I looked, and I didn’t like what I saw, and I stepped back from the window. “Holy shit, he looks like…”

“The guy we saw at the bar. The one that tried to choke Zanna.”

“When did you go to the bar? And who tried to choke Zanna?” Hysteria climbed into Jess’s voice.

“Lunch time. We figured we might as well eat while we were in town.”

“You didn’t bring me anything back?”

I smirked at her. “You had sausage.”

A simple middle finger was her answer.

I grinned then shared the story with her. “We stopped at the bar, and there was a guy there. He tried to pick any of us up. It wasn’t comfortable or fun, and the guy had that stripe in his hair, on the side.”

Brandy stared at me. “So you think the creepy dude who tried to pick us up this afternoon from the bar is also a coyote?” Brandy shook her head and looked back out the window. “You’ve been reading too many of my paranormal books. Try a contemporary fiction.”

“Contemporary fiction is boring,” I said. “I have my own problems, I don’t need to read about someone else’s. I like paranormal, so screw off.”

“Okay, can we all be quiet?” Zanna threw her patented I’m going to kill you look over her shoulder. “Just hush. How long is it going to take your boy toy to get here?”

Jess shrugged. “I didn’t ask. I didn’t think to ask. He said he lived down the hill.”

“At the bottom of the road, or like two mountains over?” Addi asked.

“I. Do not. Fucking. Know.”

There was a flash of lights through the trees and a moment later, we all watched as the white van that declared ‘Timberwolf Electrical’ cleared the last line of trees.

Jess gave a broad gesture. “There you go, there’s your answer.”

The coyotes all froze where they were when the lights from the van swept over them. Shuffling and snuffling a bit, they looked like they were waiting for someone to climb out to make a decision about leaving.

A new howl pierced the cool night air.

The long, slow crescendo of a wolf rose from the far side of the vehicle.

A moment later, a dozen more wolves answered, filling the dark with an ominous, frightening chorus of wild animals.

“I’m currently afraid I’m going to shit myself,” Zanna whispered.

“Wolves, now?” Addi’s whisper was terrified.

As the chorus continued the coyotes yipped and danced and started to back off of the house. The doors to the passenger cabin of the van popped open and two figures—one Garrett, and the other probably his brother by the way they were the built the same.

The coyotes reacted almost violently once the two of them strode out away from the van toward the front door.

As soon as the last coyote jumped from the porch, Garrett and his brother started climbing the stairs. Jess unbolted the door and pulled it open.

His big arms folded her into his embrace. She had a big doofy grin on her face as he held her close. I didn’t know if the others noticed, but she was very comfortable with him. Familiar and right.

He spared a smile for the rest of us. “Hello, ladies. Good to see you all again. This is my brother, Patrick. Patrick, these are our new neighbors. Jessica, Addi, Delia, Zanna, and Brandy.”

Zanna was trying to yank Patrick out of the door. “Come on, come on, there are coyotes and wolves out there now!”

Patrick grinned. “Don’t sweat the wolves. They won’t hurt you. I saw one or two on the way up. They’re part of the local pack.”

“You know the wolves?” Jess was astonished. So was I honestly. How did one get to know a wolf?

“Of course.”

“Do you know these coyotes?” Addi asked.

“We do, unfortunately,” Patrick answered. “That’s why you’re going to come back to our compound for the night and we’ll have everyone up here tomorrow, cleaning, repair, and securing the property. Pack a bag, ladies. Come on down to the St. Therese compound.”

“Just leave the place.” Just the tone of Brandy’s voice told us all how she didn’t like that idea.

“Just for tonight.” Garrett tipped his head.

“But, this is my place. I shouldn’t be scared away by some mangy mutts. I need to stay and defend––”

There was a bark and sharp growl from beyond the trees, and all of us jerked back from the door.

“I’ll get my bag,” Brandy said, scurrying off.

3

I looked up at the mountain, framed by the bright blue, cloudless sky. It was awesome, and I was glad to be outside.

I inhaled, pulling in the cool, damp air of the Mendenhall Glacier and—

—the scent of my mate.

What the fuck.

My mate was walking up the hill.

She had booked my services for the whole day from six in the morning until we got back to the trail head sometime in the evening.

Oh, crap.

Half of my brain wanted to call her, quickly, and cancel the whole thing. I wasn’t going to survive this day and I wasn’t ready for a mate.

I was still working on fixing the mess my parents had left for me and Cora. I could barely provide for the two of us.

My wilderness business had only just started taking regular bookings from the cruise ships after I had battled to be offered as an option on their excursions. The amount of time and money and insurance that I needed had nearly killed our precarious finances again.

I couldn’t provide for a mate. Not the right way.

And now she was walking up the path, into my life for the next eight to ten hours.

Screwed. So screwed.

I rubbed my nose, trying to get the scent out of my mind before she crested the path, but I knew it was useless. The instant she appeared, her scent would waft into my brain again.

And again.

And again.

Until all I wanted to do was throw her on the ground on all fours and fuck her stupid.

I shook my head and scolded my wolf. I didn’t need him misbehaving because she was so close. I didn’t need him clawing out or making this worse than it was already going to be.

I would have to reject her.

For now.

Swallowing, I shoved my wolf back. He would never understand why I couldn’t accept her right now. It was a very human reason, and he worked on instinct.

I distracted myself with checking my equipment. Ropes and crampons, just in case. Water, first aid, and emergency rations.

Summer in Alaska was usually decent, but there was always a risk of something, anything, going wrong. The woman had paid me as a guide for the whole day. I knew these hills. I was comfortable there. But how much she knew about rugged outdoorsy things—like bugs in her hair and teeth—I didn’t want to guess.

One thing I had learned with the cruise ships, people who thought they were in shape, and were well toned, had never had to rely on those muscles to carry them anywhere. They were uselessly strong. The hours in the gym mean shit when they couldn’t figure out how to use the rope on the ascent.

I had started to get smart. I had an office near the ships and had the groups come in there, and in the pretense of getting them harnessed and fitted correctly, I assessed them. It was easy enough to see that Betty Bigbottom was better suited to a rock face than Johnny Gymrat because she actually could use a rope and coordinate her hands. Yes, she’d be sweating and winded at the end, but I never had to worry about her getting twisted, and not listening to me.

Johnny Gymrat had wound up with a broken wrist.

Today though, a Thursday with no ships in, I had agreed to a private hike. The woman had agreed to all of my terms and conditions.

And was on time.

A head full of bouncing brown-black curls crested the hill and headed for me. Tall and long-legged, Madeline LaPlage was curvy in all the right places. She was no waif, which was fine with me. She was wearing sensible clothes: a jacket shell, a light sweater, a shirt, thick leggings, and hiking boots. She had a pack on her back, and when she stopped to look up at the trees and sky, I could see she was wearing a water bag slung low on her back.

She was not inexperienced in hiking.

And she looked good enough to eat whole.

Damn it.

As she got closer, I could see the gorgeous green eyes that reminded me of the trees around us, and she had an utterly infectious smile.

She also smelled like pack.

That was weird, and my wolf didn’t like it a bit.

“Jason McGarrigal? Misty Fjords Mountain Adventures?”

Oh, goddamn. She had a lyrical voice, too? It was no shock my dick went instantly hard.

“Yes, that’s me, Ms. LaPlage.” I extended my hand.

“Delia. Please.” She took the hand.

ZAP.

The connection erased any doubt this woman was my mate. Even her skin against mine was a perfect fit. I was not going to live through this.

Even she felt the connection, though she didn’t know what it was. She rubbed her hand absently. “I certainly hope that I didn’t interrupt any of your business today.”

“Not at all. Cruise ships aren’t coming in super frequently yet. And even then, it’s only Tuesday through Thursday.”

“Today is Thursday…”

“Early season. We’ll get full boats starting next week.”

She nodded. “So I lucked out.”

“Maybe we both did.” Why the hell did I say that? Now I’d made the whole thing awkward.

The smile on her lips said that maybe I hadn’t.

Oh, dear God.

Clearing my throat, I pointed behind me. “So, we’re going to start here. I didn’t ask if you prefer the verticals at the beginning or the end.”

“Beginning, please! While I have all my enthusiasm.”

“Woman after my own heart.” Awkward, Jason. Christ on a cracker. “I like to take my time in the afternoon, enjoy the winding down.”

“Good! Let’s get going. You said this was a ten hour hike?”

“Just under,” I answered. “With some of the best views of the bay and of the glacier. I don’t do this one often with the groups.”

“Too long? Or too wimpy?”

Chuckling, we started our hike down the level path. “Too wimpy. There’s a five hour version, but they always get caught in the ropes and the ascents.”

She laughed, and just like everyone had ever warned me, the sound shot right to my cock. I ignore my overly enthusiastic partner in crime and just headed us for the ascents.

Couldn’t have her, didn’t want to think about it.

The ascents weren’t real verticals. They were merely steep, rocky hiking paths that the local guides had decided would be safer with ropes and belays if needed. Most of the ropes were permanent, and most of us spent the first nice weekend in April clearing and replacing the ropes. We all pitched in and replaced all fifty on the way up.

Even though they were nylon, we’d had one accident a few years back with the moss that had covered them, and we weren’t about to repeat that.

That accident had started the downward spiral of my parents’ financial and legal issues. And as far as I knew, that grumpy old asshole was still out there, and pissed that he didn’t get nearly as much money as he thought he should from them—despite bankrupting them.

Delia was nimble with the ropes and the rocks. She was not afraid to climb, or ask for help, or consider how to approach something that wasn’t simple and straight forward. She was good enough that I felt more that I was just showing her the pathway than actually guiding her. She stopped at appropriate times and drank her water conservatively as we went up.

We were through forty of the fifty ropes in less than two hours, where I usually allowed five hours to climb.

It had been a long time since I had someone who was competent with the climb.

“Do you mountaineer?” I called up to her as she hauled herself up a sloping rock.

“Not as a habit,” she answered, topping off the rope. “But I have done some.”

“Straight climbing?”

“Yes, I did a few in the High Atlas.”

I stopped dead and looked up at her. “High Atlas? In Morocco?”

“L’Allumeur de Reve Berber.”

If I hadn’t had a hard-on already, I would have popped one instantly. This woman knew how to climb a real rock face. Maybe she wasn’t one hundred percent into it, but no one went to the High Atlas to climb unless they knew what they were doing.

“Anywhere else interesting?”

“I prefer coastal hikes, but I have done Lion’s Head.”

“South Africa.” I put both hands on the rope and hauled myself up. I needed to be closer to her.

She nodded.

“What else do you like to do?”

Grinning she offered me a hand to top off the rope. “I do lots of things. I’ve been hiking in the Alps, I’ve been on photo safari in Africa. I lived in New Zealand for a year between high school and college. I know how to surf and ski, and I love the water.”

“You’ve been to Africa more than once?”

“More than a dozen times. Morocco, Egypt, Mali, Kenya, South Africa…” She grinned. “Last winter, my parents took me and my brother on a cruise to Antarctica. I sat with penguins.”

“Damn…”

“But I also love touristy things, too. London, Paris, Rome, Athens. Beijing, Dubai, Mumbai, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney, Honolulu.”

It was perfectly clear why this woman was my mate. She was fascinating and adventurous.

“And you’ve never been to Alaska before now?”

“Weird, huh? My parents just never entertained the idea of coming up here. I don’t know why. I still want to see the Yukon, Fairbanks, and Nome.”

“I can do that,” I said.

“You can?”

Shit. My damn mouth was just having a field day. “Yeah, I can get to all three with ease. I have friends who are guides up there.”

The idea of handing her off to another male got my wolf all worked up, and I had to shove him down and shut him up.

“That would be amazing. I want to see McKinley. I don’t know if I’m even set enough to make a partial climb, but I’ll hike all the way around that fucker.”

Chuckling, I shook my head. “You know that’s like a four-day hike.”

“Not afraid, are you? Bears, wolves…”

“I am never afraid of wolves or bears.” They were literally some of my best friends.

“Why don’t you come up and show me?”

I almost said yes—then I remembered real life. “I can’t. Tourist season is through the end of September. I have a lot of stuff with the ships.”

“Don’t you have anyone to help?” She fluttered her eyes at me.

She was flirting with me.

Screwed. So screwed.

“I…don’t. I’m a one man show. My sister helps with the books, but she’s not…”

“Outdoorsy?”

“Physically capable.”

She peeled back, ashamed. “I’m sorry. I’m being too forward.”

Well, that was the end of me, of not engaging this whole damn mess. My feet carried me forward, and stood up against her, toes touching. I was not tall. Not like some of the others in the pack, like the Alpha and his sons. But what I lacked in height, I had always made up for in mobility. Sure, I wasn’t a big wolf, but I was fast, and I was quick-footed.

And right now, my height was perfect because I could stare straight into Delia’s forest green eyes and see every part of her soul.

“I’m not sorry. Neither is she. And you’re not being too forward. I’ll show you what too forward is.”

She sucked in a shocked breath as I leaned forward and took her lips in a severe kiss. Only a second passed before I slipped my arms around her, pulling her even closer.

Her arms snaked around me and pulled me in closer to her, too.

Dead, and screwed.

Her lips were so soft, so welcoming. They tasted like spring water and strawberry granola bars, all hinted with the taste of the real her. She teased my tongue, and I sparred happily with her, pliant then powerful.

I found my hand at the nape of her neck, holding her at an angle that was perfect for our kiss. She had her hand on my ass and squeezed.

We broke the kiss at the same time, panting. Our eyes were locked, but in the next moment and huge grin spread across her face, and she stepped back out of my arms.

“Race you to the top?”

“What do I get if I win?”

“Me.”

* * *

God, I was no better than Jess at this point. Two hours and all I wanted to do was jump this guy’s bones. He was sweet, honest, built, and damned good looking.

I did not think that he would pick up on my flirting, but he did and returned it. It was fun, and then he kissed me. I was lost to it.

No matter who got to the top first, I was going to have sex with this guy—with Jason.

Why I was so drawn to him, I didn’t know. I didn’t know that I cared either. He didn’t know who I was. I was just a woman who hired him for the day to go hiking.

And hike he did. He started scaling the ascents without the benefit of a rope. He was loping down the trails with the ease of someone who did it all the time, and who knew the trails like the back of his hand.

I ran to catch up and laughed hard when his foot landed squarely in the mud, sucking his shoe off his foot.

Trotting by, I waved and found the next rope up. Hand over hand, I walked myself up the rock face, and hopped off the granite and on to the dirt trail again.

Four more ropes to go.

Jason shot by me, but I was taking the slow and steady wins approach. Just because he knew the trails didn’t mean he was paying attention to the conditions.

Also, he was showing off.

I had no problem watching that delicious tight ass in pants running ahead of me. I’d had my hand on that minutes before and it was just as firm as I’d imagined.

Hauling up the next rope, I could see his ass ahead of me again. Once again, slow and steady and enjoyed the view on that one.

I grabbed a rope that he had run by and laughed to myself. Hauling myself up, I was confident and comfortable with the exertion. My friends didn’t get my need to do things like this. They joined me here and there, but there was a freedom in the outdoors for me.

They hadn’t been brought up the way I had. Even if we all escaped that life when I was fourteen.

Outside, wide open spaces, were the ultimate victory for me and my brother. We loved high places, wide vistas, open oceans, untouched forest. Our parents had picked up on it pretty quick once we were out of the Baltimore ghetto, and huge, long vacations started the next summer to places we hadn’t even heard of in school yet. Machu Picchu, Patagonia, Serengeti, the Gobi, Grand Canyon…if they could think of a place that was big and open, we went.

I loved my friends, and they were happy to come along, and happy to stay behind. They loved my quirky adventures.

Hauling myself off the top of the last rope, I was completely floored to see Jason leaning against a tree nearby, look at his nails.

“’Bout time.”

“How the hell did you do that?” I hadn’t seen him at all after he missed the one rope.

“I know this mountain.” He winked.

“So, you cheated?”

Lifting a shoulder, he gave me a lazy smile and walked over to stand in front of me. “Can you blame a guy when such a wonderful prize is on the line?”

Eee. My brain screeched, and I had a hard time bringing it back online. His delicious male scent was accompanied by the rich pines and salt air that was everywhere around us.

“I was promised a spectacular view,” I managed to breathe finally.

“I thought you’d had enough when you were ogling my ass.”

Caught. “Mm. I could always use more of that view.”

He took my hand and headed us over to a small clearing in the trees. There was a tableau rock there, and he jumped up, sending a hand back down to help me up. Yanking me up, I laughed as I landed on my feet. I turned—

And gasped.

The beginning of the Inside Passage was laid out before me, darting between the Misty Fjords and the islands of green that made them up. The sky was a shocking blue, and the sun a pale yellow but bold disc in the sky, shining off the water. Dark as midnight, the water seemed to glimmer and shimmer, soaking up the bright, early summer heat. Heat, in Alaska, being relative.

“You lucked out with an amazing day, Delia. We have cloud cover here three hundred days of the year. Ketchikan is one of the rainiest places on Earth, close to one hundred fifty inches of rain every year. That the mist isn’t over the fjords is amazing. They seem to be misty even when the sky is clear.”

It was the LaPlage Luck. I didn’t tell him that, but if something wasn’t expected, and it was good, it would happen around me. I didn’t know if it was a real thing, or amazing coincidence, but I was also careful who I associated with because of it.

I didn’t want it to be real and accidently give a sniper-for-hire a good day.

Still, it seemed to be real. White rhinos on safari, rare birds in paradise, right whales off the coast. And now a clear day in Alaska. I didn’t question it or share it. I just rolled along.

In that moment, I realized that Jason had never let go of my hand. He still had his finger twined with mine. I glanced over at him and he wasn’t looking out at Favorite Bay.

He was studying me.

I grinned. “Something you like?”

“Something that rivals the beauty of this view.”

Sweet Jesus, I did not expect that.

My eyes traced the contours of his face as he slowly got closer to me. I expected him to grab me, but instead—

Jason jumped off the rock and walked to the front of the tableau. I watched him, intrigued. He whipped the pack off his back and dug around, and victoriously pulled out a quilt.

A quilt?

Spreading it on the ground, pressing down the wildflowers that had overrun the field, he anchored one corner with the pack, and another with his water bag. He moved back to the edge of the tableau and offered me his hand to help me down. I took it, though I didn’t really need it.

He slipped the pack from my shoulders and used it to weight another corner of the blanket, and my water bag had the last corner. Offering another hand, he motioned me to the center of the blanket and had me sit.

I did, but I looked up at him. “You do this for all your single female clients?”

He knelt down next to me, moving in close. “Only when they promise they’re the prize in a race to the top.”

The words chased a shiver down my back and could feel my sex clench as the shiver landed there. I lowered my eyelids and looked at him. “I think you cheated.”

“What was the prize if you won?”

“You.”

“Freely given.”

Damn. This man was delicious, devious, and had been sporting a hard-on for me most of the morning. He’d tried to hide it, and I respected that, but there really wasn’t a way to hide something that large.

I was fortunate that I didn’t have sexual hang ups like my friends. It wasn’t their fault, or their upbringing, but it was from trauma, or prejudice. I wanted them all to be happy, but I didn’t know what it was going to take to do that.

Well. Not true. I knew what it took for Jess at this point: a hot electrician. Mental high five for her.

Me—I was fortunate. I was good with sex. I liked it, a lot. I wasn’t really into the anonymous sex thing, and I liked a good conversation before hopping in the sack.

But right now, with Jason’s lustful look and hot breath over my skin, I was willing to bend my own rules. Something drew me too him. Something made me want to just strip him naked.

“You feel it too, don’t you?” His voice was soft as he trailed his fingers slowly up my arm. “There’s something here…”

I was about to make a smart-ass joke but stopped myself. He was right. There was something pulling us toward each other. Something right…

It was only a heartbeat later that we were locked in a feverish kiss, his tongue surging into my mouth and claiming me for his own.

Holy shit, I was hot. Sweating in all the layers I had warn. Without untangling our kiss, I stripped—jacket, sweater, and after only a moment’s thought, shirt as well.

Jason grunted, and his hands found my breasts immediately. He kneaded and teased and raised my nipples to hard points in seconds.

“Lose the shirt,” I managed to squeak out between brutal kisses.

“Done.”

4

I couldn’t get my shirt off fast enough.

My skin was on fire. I was honestly worried that my clothes were going to burn right off me. Delia wasn’t much better—she had her shirt off before I could even ask.

I knew I wouldn’t survive the day.

But oh, what a glorious way to die.

Her breasts were perfect handfuls, plump, full, and pert. The skin that peeked out was soft and supple. There was absolutely nothing stopping me.

Reaching behind her, I unsnapped the bra with one hand. It was one of my better talents. I shoved the straps down her arms as I lowered her back to the blanket. Discarding the fabric, I went right to work on her.

Sucking a nipple into my mouth, I held it with my teeth as my tongue danced over it. I busied my other hand with her other breast, circling and dusting over the pert point.

She tasted amazing. Sweet strawberries, savory woman, and delicate spices I couldn’t imagine all swirled around my tongue. She groaned in pleasure as I placed open mouth kisses from one peak to the other.

I felt her body clench from the sensations I was creating. She was so fucking responsive I was ready to come in my pants.

As though she sensed my desperation to not unman myself in my clothes, she found the zipper and button and quickly released me from the confines. Her hand wrapped around my length and I had to still myself before I just came in her palm.

She looked at me, her fingers teasing my length.

“How fast can you get hard again?” she breathed.

“Really fast,” I said. All shifters could, some didn’t even go soft after.

“Good. Sit up.”

I groaned in protest but did as she asked. As I watched, she shucked her jeans and sweet little pink panties off to the side with her shirt. With a firm tug, she had my pants off my ass, and down by knees. Her body shifted to the side and she worked her way down me until her mouth was in the perfect place to suck on my cock.

Her tongue darted out, capturing the bead of precum that had leaked out. “Mmm. Tasty.” Her words were breathy.

She unfurled her leg up off the ground and the scent of hot sex was like a punch to my face—and I realized what she did. The pretty little pussy I was dying to see was right in front of my face. At the perfect spot for me to indulge in her taste.

A flawlessly positioned sixty-nine.

My hand went to the back of her leg to hold her up, and I dove in face first. I darted the tip of my tongue into her channel and tasted her.

I felt my cock twitch, heard a giggle, and then felt moist lips wrap around the swollen tip.

I could die happy now. My mate’s amazing lips were wrapped around my dick as I traced the lips of her pussy, both of us teasing each other.

She plunged her mouth down on me, taking nearly my whole, not entirely average size dick into her mouth. Right down it’s root, and her tongue trailing up the underside.

I was lost. Lost and dead.

Using a finger, I traced patterns around the pearl that was her clitoris. She offered it so willingly. I had never met a woman who was so comfortable in her skin—and only her skin.

Tasting her again, my tongue trailing through her sex, I was having a hard time concentrating on pleasuring her because she was working her magic on me with that exquisite mouth.

Still, I wanted to hear her scream my name, and make her shake and shiver as she came. With supreme effort, I studied what I had in front of me. Soft and pink, her pussy was hot, and she was wet. I had never seen a woman as wet as she was. I pressed two fingers inside her slicked channel and they slid easily in as my tongue once again found her clit.

“Oh, shit, Jason,” she breathed, releasing my shaft for a moment. Her hand, though, never stopped it’s ministrations, moving up and down easily.

I nipped at the hot bud, then swirled, then licked, then flicked. Her breath was stuttering in her chest and I had no doubts she was getting ready to come. So, I repeated: nip, swirl, lick, flick. All of it at a lazy pace as I moved one finger, then two fingers in and out of her depths.

Delia desperately tried to continue her work on my cock, but she was having trouble. That trouble was all my fault.

She was still doing a magnificent job and I was having the same problems.

I glanced down at her, and she was looking back at me. “Make me come, Delia,” I commanded.

She thrust her mouth down on me, sucking hard, hollowing her cheeks as she plunged me in and out of her mouth. Even watching her as my finger played with her sex made everything that much hotter and harder.

On her next pass, she scraped her teeth ever so lightly along my length.

Done!

I felt my cum release, and I didn’t have a chance to warn her to move—and she didn’t want to. She kept her lips wrapped around my dick, licking and sucking. Coaxing every drop out of me into her hot little mouth.

As soon as my senses came back, I caught her clit in my teeth and curled my fingers inside, finding her tender spot and discovered that she was extremely responsive to his touch.

Her keening wail frightened a few of the birds nearby, making them fly out of the trees. Her fists grabbed the quilt and while I continued to stroke her, she could barely breathe.

A moment later her lungs sucked in air and she yelled my name, frightening more birds. I smiled––no one had ever been that responsive before and I was so glad to hear my name trip off my mate’s lips.

Delia’s whole body undulated as I pressed my palm against her sex. The move helped to relive the pressure, and release the last of the tension her body was holding on to.

She flopped on to her back, seemingly made of jelly and utterly boneless.

“Holy shit.” She smacked her lips and he knew that she was licking my essence off. That went straight to my cock, and I could feel the next erection already poised to happen. I leaned up on my arm to look at her, and immediately crawled around on the quilt to lay next to her head to toe.

“That was gooooood,” she breathed, looking up at me.

“You’re inventive. I like that.”

“You’re naked. I like that even more.”

I chuckled. “I did cheat you know. I know a lot of ways up the mountain.” What I didn’t tell her was that they were only navigated easily and quickly by a wolf.

“I know you cheated. I don’t care. I wanted this.”

My finger lazily circled the nipple closest to me. Her breasts were insanely soft, and danced in slow waves as I traced them. She watched my finger, a low look of desire in her eyes. Not moving my hand from her breast, she rolled and found my lips, kissing soft and carefully.

“What’s our time?”

“We’re three hours ahead of schedule.”

“Good,” she whispered and ran her hand down my chest. “Fuck me, Jason.”

* * *

He rolled us so he was above me, and I could feel his shaft was already hard, poking me in the thigh.

This was utterly illogical. I had never felt such a connection with anyone as fast as I did with Jason McGarrigal. But he was such a perfect specimen and fit for me.

I didn’t even care that I was naked in a field of wildflowers in in Alaska in June. Mosquito bait. I was going to have them in highly inappropriate places.

And then my brain kicked in. “Protection…”

He grunted, “I can’t…”

“Use protection?”

“Have kids.” A shadow passed over his face.

I smoothed my fingers over his brow, a twist in my gut. That had not been my intention at all, and I needed to make that right. A moment later, I gave him a smile. “Well, I hope you’re at least clean. I mean…” I licked my lips.

A pleased little smirk appeared. “Oh, I’m clean.”

“Good, I plan to do that again.” I wrapped a free hand around his erection and squeezed lightly. Whatever darkness had been in his eyes was instantly gone, replaced by desire.

Guiding him to me, I spread myself wide to give his narrow hips room, and taunt him with how willing and ready I was for him.

I felt the lack of him acutely. Which was…new. Different. I had always loved sex, but the lack of him inside me was a new, terrifying, and awesome feeling. I wanted this, him, right now.

Damn the mosquito bites.

He was teasing me, rubbing the firm head of his cock up and down, coating me in my wetness from my delightful warm up orgasm. It made it very easy for him to slide through my folds, and magnified the feel of him there. I waited a moment as he slid again, once, twice—then pushed himself inside my waiting channel.

I was not to be denied.

He grunted as he slipped just past the entrance, and I gave him a little squeeze. His grunt turned to a groan and when he looked me, I could swear his eyes were golden.

“Woman, you…”

I grinned. “Kegels. I do yoga, too.” I squeezed again.

“Jesus Christ, keep that up and it’ll be over before I even start.”

I did it again.

Jason pushed himself inside me, all the way to his root, in a single smooth motion.

“Oh, shit, yes.” The words flowed out of me on a breath. I had wanted this so bad, so much since I had seen him standing on the path to the mountain. It felt good, real.

A devious grin spread across my face, and I squeezed again.

“Woman!” His lungs pushed all of his air out.

“Move, Jason. Move. I want to feel you.” It was nearly begging. I needed him. He had to move, or I was going to die—exploding or imploding, I wasn’t even sure.

He finally complied, pulling his cock out slowly, then torturously moving back in. And again. He dropped his head to my breast, found my nipple and sucked. Hard.

“Oh, God.” The words were a mantra from then on. His patience wore out for his own game and he started to thrust hard and fast, deep and punishing. I lifted my hips to meet each pump of him inside me. I trembled from head to toe, my pussy quivering and body shaking.

Devouring one breast before his lips found the other, he went back and forth, sampling, tasting, taking.

I wanted to come. So much, I wanted to come.

Snaking a hand down to our joining, I touched my clit and for all the times I had done this, I had never felt myself this hot, this swollen.

“You gonna come for me, baby?”

“Yes, yes.” I dusted my finger over my clit and changed my hand position to tease him as he traveled in and out of me. “You’d better come, too.”

His hips were relentless. He meant each and every thrust into me. His climax drove him.

“Need you to come,” he huffed. “Come, come around me, Delia. Let me feel you.”

He nipped the peak of my breast in perfect time with my own tease of my nerves and I flew apart, the orgasm roaring through me. It flashed white hot, consuming all thought, all consciousness. I tipped my head, pushing my breast into him, flexing my hips up to get him deeper and I screamed his name.

His cum jetted into me before I had barely started my orgasm, and the heat coated me, making everything that much more intense. My name fell off his lips, whispered into the flesh of my breasts.

I was pretty sure we both passed out.

When my senses started to clear, I had my face pressed to the warm skin of his shoulder. Somehow, Jason had rolled and pulled me in close. His chest rose and fell with each breath and I just enjoyed the quiet sound of his breathing.

“You okay, gorgeous?” His voice rumbled in my ear.

“Mmm.” It was all I could manage.

He shook with his chuckle. “That good.”

“Mmm.”

“Same here.”

I moved so my chin was resting on him and I could see his eyes. “Never, have I ever, had an orgasm like that. It was…primitive. Thrilling.”

With a waggle of his eyebrows, I knew I was in trouble. “Thrilling, eh?”

“Don’t stroke your ego, McGarrigal.”

“I’ll leave the stroking to you.”

5

I walked up the front steps of my house, wondering if the hand print was still on my cheek.

It sure felt like it.

Cora looked up from books and shot out of her seat. “What the hell, Jason? Why do you look like someone stole your puppy?”

How did I even begin to tell my little sister this story? I had basically sold my puppy off and was never allowed to have a shred of happiness again.

“I pissed off my mate.”

Her voice dropped and she stared at me. “The fuck.”

“Yeah, I kind of met my mate today. And at the same time, really pissed her off.”

“What did you do, you stupid male?”

“So, are you…um. Busy tomorrow night?”

Hello, awkward teenager. I didn’t know how to ask a woman out. It had been forty years since my last serious girlfriend.

That had ended in a disaster and her fleeing to the lower 48 in about a day.

Delia grinned, and damn it, I wanted her again. Passing out from amazing sex on the mountain wasn’t enough, apparently. Nor were the four quickies we had on the way back down.

We were walking back to the parking lot and our hands were brushing, but not quite connecting. It was frustrating and finally, I just grabbed her hand.

She didn’t fight me.

“I’m not. Are you asking me out?”

“I am.”

“I don’t remember this being so awkward when I was younger,” she said with a smirk.

“Yeah, me either.”

Except my younger had been in the Nineteen-Fifties. Poodle skirts and bobby socks, and girls willing to do just about anything as long as they were home by ten-thirty. Whatever people said about the Fifties being innocent had never been in the back of daddy’s Ford Fairlane on a Saturday night.

“So, there’s a great restaurant near the whale watching piers and the whales have all calved for the season. Want to have dinner with me?”

Her face lit up. “Of course.”

I let out a breath. “Good. Awesome. Do you want me to pick you up or…”

“I’m staying at the St. Terese Compound right now, while we deal with the coyotes and the cabin.”

I froze. “You are?”

“Yeah, I’m camped out at Patrick Pauler’s house.”

My wolf did not like that. “Why there?”

“Because there’s me and four friends and we didn’t want to put anyone out. I’m thinking about going back to the cabin after the last few nights, though.”

Even more riled wolf. I had pull him in. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, Patrick yes!” She was mimicking someone else, and I laughed. “They’re all over each other. It’s something in the air up here, isn’t it? Turning us all into insatiable women.”

None of the men I knew would complain.

“Delia, I’m going to refund the fees.”

She stopped dead. “What?”

“I’m going to refund the excursion.”

“Why?”

“Well, I don’t think it’s right I charge you—”

She yanked her hand out of mine. “Don’t say it, Jason. Don’t do it.”

I looked around. “What? We were more than a little off track up there and since we—”

“And she slapped you.” Cora folded her arms. “Serves you right.”

What?

“What?”

“You called her a whore.”

“I did not!”

Cora rolled her eyes and walked into the kitchen. I followed, my hands straight out begging for an explanation. She ignored me, and pulled two beers from the fridge. Uncapping them, she put one on one side of the table and one on the other.

I was told to sit without saying so many words.

“You’re an idiot, big brother. You should have just left the money alone.”

“I was trying to be nice.”

“You’re seventy-nine years old and you still don’t get this? When it comes to money and women, don’t ever mention money. If you wanted to refund her, which you shouldn’t, by the way, you should not have said anything. By offering her the refund and sighting what I assume was a tryst on the way, you called her a whore. That she could be bought for sex.”

“But she paid me.”

“Does not matter. Not at all. If she paid you, you paid her, you brought up a dutch bill. You brought money into sex and that’s implying that you paid for it somehow.”

I rubbed my cheek. So I had really deserved that. “I didn’t mean to, at all. She’s my mate and I didn’t…”

“Didn’t think. Like all men, big brother.”

“Well, shit. Now what do I do?”

“You need to find her and apologize. Probably with some phenomenal cunnilingus.”

“Oh, I don’t need my little sister talking about sex.”

She leveled a finger at me. “You asked. Where is she staying?”

“Patrick’s house.”

Her eye brows shot up. “She’s one of the Yéil women?”

“What?” Now I was really confused. “The Yéil clan is dead.”

Cora’s excitement had her bouncing in the chair. “You didn’t hear! There is group of women repairing the cabin. One of them bought the place from Harrison Opperdine, for an obscene amount of money.”

“Bought it? But it’s only supposed to be…”

“Right! From Yéil to Yéil .”

“So, one of them is a Yéil?” My eyes grew wide. That would be amazing if the clan could come back.

“Just one. What’s your mate’s name?”

“Madeline LaPlage.”

“Not her. It’s the one named Brandy. She’s descended from one of the two brothers who escaped.”

I narrowed my eyes. “And Brandy has no idea, does she?”

The bounce left her. “No. None at all. The Alpha was careful in getting all of the information out of her. She doesn’t know. She remembers her grandfather though, and he was the younger Yéil .”

“Where is she staying?”

“With the Alpha.”

I nodded. It made sense. It was the safest place for her. Martin and Garrett would be the best teachers for her when the time came.

“Your mate is staying with Patrick Pauler.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Good. Go find flowers, bring them to her, apologize profusely, and never bring up money again until you two are ready to fully mate and mingle your finances.”

I took a deep breath. “I don’t know if I have that kind of time.”

Cora dropped her head. “Jesus Christ, Jason. You don’t have to do this to yourself. She’s not going to hate you because you’re not Garrett Pauler wealthy. Not everyone here is.”

“We’re skimming by, Cora. We’re finally building something. I want to be able to take care of her, and you the way you really deserve. Not this hand to mouth shit.”

“Stop being so alpha. I’m fat and happy and graduating with a biology degree in December. You’ve done nothing but good for us. And I love you for it. She’ll love you for it too. But if you refund that money, I’m going to punch you in the balls.”

I laughed. “Bald-faced lie.”

She tossed her hair. “I need a dress for a date. Refund the money and I punch you.”

I laughed. “That noble speech you just gave got negated by that.”

“Whatever.” She turned and looked at me once more. “Seriously, Jase. Go and find some beautiful flowers, dress nice, and apologize. Don’t apologize for calling her a whore, though. Apologize for being thoughtless or thickheaded or something. Leave the word ‘whore’ out of it.”

“Okay, whatever, fine.” I grabbed the beer and took a hard draught off it. “How are the appointments looking next week?”

“Two contract ships, one no contract. I’m going to concentrate my ads on that one this week, and weekend. You might get a few, honestly. It’s a standard, not a high end.”

“Good, awesome.” I stood up and headed for the stairs.

Cora grabbed my arm. “Hey. Jason. You know you’re doing amazing, right? You kept the house, and the car. Even if our savings and the investments were wiped out, we always have a roof and food.”

I smiled at my little sister. She barely remembered our parents anymore, and I was always afraid I was failing her when the bottom had fallen out. I wondered if I would ever be able feel stable again. But she didn’t care. She didn’t remember having money and stability.

“Thanks, Cora. I appreciate it.”

“But you don’t believe it.”

“Not yet. I hope soon.”

“You’re such an alpha. Seriously.”

I snorted and patted her arm. The absolute last thing I was was an alpha.

She let me go this time, and I headed for the stairs again. I had an apology to practice and flowers to find.

* * *

Patrick walked back into the living room after answering the door, and smirked at me.

“You have a gentleman caller, my dear.”

I lifted an eyebrow at him. “Seriously? He’s here?”

Patrick nodded, and Addi made a shooing motion to the door. I really hoped she wasn’t in on this.

I put the beer down and headed over. We were all exhausted from working on the cabin. Jess, Addi, Brandy, Zanna, and I had all spent the day clearing land. Dry, dead brush, overgrown vines, invasive species. We had piles of tinder now, and on Monday we were planning to start working on the trees around the place.

I had scheduled someone to come up and level and pave a basic road. I was sick of bouncing up and down the dirt road there.

Truth be told, I wanted to spend a gob of money because I could after Jason had pissed me off so badly the night before.

He was standing on the porch of Patrick’s house after being told to wait. I stepped out and shut the door behind me.

“What do you want?”

He thrust a bouquet of flowers out, and there was no better word for it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything I said last night. I had a brain fart.”

“Flowers.”

He sniffled. “I picked them from the field.”

I quirked my eyebrows up. “You picked them from that field?”

His nod was firm. “Yes. I thought that might be nicer than a bouquet from the store.”

Folding my arms, I still didn’t take them from him. “Do you understand why I was so angry?”

He nodded. “I…implied things. I didn’t even know I was doing that. I didn’t mean anything by it. I felt more that we were on different footing by the time we left and that it was wrong for me to charge my…girl for a hike we both enjoyed.”

“Your girl?”

The sheepish look on his face was made adorable by his sheepish shrug.

Running a hand down my face, I shook my head. “That’s not how you run a business, Jason. I paid you, and that’s that. Even if we had known each other at the start of the hike, I would have insisted on paying. It’s your livelihood, and no one should ever expect a discount unless they have a coupon.”

Astonishment rolled over his face. “Is that why you slapped me?”

“No, I slapped you because you reduced amazing sex, and a hell of an afternoon to money.”

“Oh. That’s what Cora said.”

Laughing I shook my head, and finally took the flowers from the poor guy. He looked so sweet and sexy standing there in his pressed khakis and small-checked button down. The flowers were so simple, and it was nice to see them.

I honestly didn’t remember which ones had been in the field.

“All right, well…come in. Let me change and we can go to dinner.” I stopped and pointed at him. “But I swear to God, if you bring up money and sex, I’m going kick your ass.”

He held his hands up. “Nope. No way. My mouth is shut.”

Just inside the door, both Patrick and Addi were staring at him with their arms folded. This was a hilarious united front, since it didn’t exist until just a few days earlier.

“Are you going to behave, Jason?” Patrick’s voice almost seemed to vibrate the air.

“Patrick, it’s fine,” I said. “He apologized. And brought flowers.”

“Picked from the field at the top of the glacier. Today.” Jason puffed out his chest.

Addi rolled her eyes and dropped her arms. “Okay, that’s sweet. I’m good with this.”

Patrick lifted an eyebrow. Jason bowed his head, in a very strange show of supplication to him. There was a strange tingle in the air, and I rubbed my arms to try to get rid of it.

“I’m going to take a quick shower and then we’re going out to eat.” I stopped halfway up the stairs. “The house is yours. I’ll be back later, but do me a favor? Could you hang a sign or something if the two of you are naked anywhere in the house?”

The blush raced over Addi’s cheeks and I swore that I could hear Patrick growl. I grinned and ran to the bedroom.

Showering and dressing at record speed, I was back downstairs with Jason, and out the door. I could see that Addi and Patrick were just waiting for us to leave, and I was happy to do so.

If Patrick could make her scream his name in delight, I wasn’t about to stop them. Addi deserved a guy who could see her and not her scars and hang ups.

“So, Patrick and your friend?” Jason asked as he started the car that was waiting for them.

“Addison,” I supplied. “Yeah. All night every night. I don’t know how they make through the daylight hours. I had to buy earplugs.”

Letting out a raucous laugh, Jason drove the car down the street. Three blocks later, he turned and headed up a little hill, and pointed to a house on the right, nestled back behind some trees. “That’s my house.”

I physically turned in the seat. “You live here too?”

“A lot of the construction guys and wilderness guides live in the St. Terese compound. It’s a collective. It’s better to live in a group for the cold winters we get. Everyone can check on each other, and we can share meat and produce, keep each other entertained.”

St. Terese was a strange little place. It was a small suburb, really, of eclectic houses and unique people. They had a small general store, run by Dimitri Danikov. He was Olga’s brother, and a real grump. He carried everything and could order anything. He was also only there for two hours a day, but anyone on the compound could call him any time of day to buy something. The food staples were in a vending machine of his own making.

I’d never seen a gallon of milk in a vending machine. It was strange.

There was a doctor and a nurse, and tons of construction worker and guides, like Jason had said. I had no idea how big the compound was though, since I had only seen a few blocks of it. There were houses everywhere, and all of them sat, no matter their size, on an acre of land.

We cruised out on to the main road to Juneau, and passed the turn off for the cabin.

“Jason, do you know why there would a pack of wild coyotes living around that cabin?”

“Coyotes suck,” he said, and then grimaced. “That’s not true. Only some of them do. I have an issue with them. They encroach on the land here and threaten us all the time.”

“Are they rabid?”

“No, just assholes.” He chuckled. “I sound nuts talking about them like I know them.”

“Nah, lots of people do that.”

Our conversation from the house into the city was casual and light and comfortable. How was it I knew this guy for about two days and felt cozier with him than I had any of my last four so-called boyfriends?

I really did enjoy his company, and I was glad he realized, or had his sister beat it into him, why I was mad. His apology was sweet and sincere, and the flowers were…more than I needed, really. Just a sorry would have done.

I stared out the window, the trees passing by and the sunlight glimmering off the water beyond. I thought I saw the blow of a whale drift by.

I could live here. Why had my parents never brought us here? I could have been here a hundred times by now. Big spaces, open spaces. Sun that did what it wanted to the sky, making a day an abstract concept.

“You’re deep in thought.” Jason’s words were soft.

“I feel like…I’m home. Like this is where my heart is, like I should have been here all along.”

6

My heart leapt.

Delia felt it too. Even if she didn’t know it was a mating call, she felt it. Gods and stars, I could have died right there and never been happier.

And then I remembered that I was driving an eighteen year old truck I had barely kept running sometimes. That I had no money in the back and no way to give her everything she deserved. She didn’t know I was a wolf shifter, that I had almost no standing in the pack and that my parents had been killed by the Turner Lake exiles for the money they owed on gambling debts.

Well, there was no official proof of them being killed by the coyotes. But the cars brakes had gone around a sharp corner just days after my father had them fixed. And like any shifter, they could have survived most anything—except the car had plunged into the cold water, and the cold shock, and lack of air was completely unsurvivable. They were upside down in the water for nearly an hour. There was no coming back.

And now, the mate I was hoping for was here and I wasn’t going to be able to keep her.

Life could really suck sometimes.

Still, I’d take anytime I could get with her. Maybe one day in the not too distant future, when I was in a better place, she and I could find each other again. Meanwhile, I had places to show her.

“Where are we?”

Delia peered cautiously around as I pulled the old truck down a terrible, over grown road. “You promised me ice cream for dessert.”

I laughed. We had both eaten more than we should have at dinner, and it was nice to see her eat. There were so many women on the compound who were afraid of a candied yam and a nice steak.

I’d coaxed her away from the amazing looking desserts by promising her ice cream. What I didn’t tell her was I’d planned a little stop along the way.

With the way the undergrowth was in the area, I wondered if anyone else knew about this spot at all. I had come here a lot recently and just enjoyed the view, the sunshine, and the water. I also immediately remember that I had shifted to get here, so the truck was a bit of a hindrance.

The trees fell away a few minutes later and the expanse of the whole field that led to the water laid out before us. I turned the car around and pulled it next to the road, bed facing the water.

“Wow,” she breathed, and followed me out of the truck. “This is gorgeous.”

“I plan on showing you all the amazing places that we hid from the tourists.”

“Ooh, I’ve moved out of tourist?”

“Hell yes.” I grinned. “Move out of tourist, move in with me. Up. Move up with me.”

I darted away from her side to busy myself at the back of the truck. Holy crap on crackers, how the hell had I let that idea slip out? That was too much, overwhelming really, for either of us. I really felt like I had just drenched any heat between us, and now we were just going to be awkward around each other.

Seventy-nine years and tongue-tied like a hormonal teenager. Fuck.

A feather light touch drifted up my arm, and I knew I had to turn and face her. I grunted, then sighed, then surrendered.

She was studying me, her head tipped curiously. Her green eyes narrowed then opened, then narrowed again, all while her fingers were brushing slowly over my forearm.

“You feel it too, don’t you?”

“What?” I felt like an ass.

“This…thing between us. This connection. That this isn’t just another romp in the hay. Wildflowers. Whatever. That there’s something more. There’s something about this place that brought me here, and there’s something about you—us—that’s beyond right.”

Gah. Damn it. “I didn’t mean to ask you to move in with me. I also don’t mean this apology as an insult. We don’t know each other well yet, and I already almost scared you off once with my inelegant words. Fuck, I’m an idiot.”

I couldn’t stop talking. What the hell was wrong with me?

“You’re even hot when you’re flustered,” Delia said quietly.

“I’m sorry. It’s been a long time…”

“Could have fooled me yesterday.”

Damn, again. Her soft voice shot right to my cock, and I was half aroused by the time it got there and finished the job.

“I thought that you might like to come out here and see the stars come out.”

“Did you bring a blanket?”

No mincing words with her. “I did one better.” I unlocked the tailgate and lifted the bed cover. Lifting it off, I could see the happy smile on Delia’s face.

“I’ve never done this!”

“You don’t have truck beds?”

“We don’t have stars.”

“Oh, well! Allow me, my lady!” I hopped up on the tailgate and stood on the end of the bed.

Offering my hand down, she grabbed it and I hoisted her up with me. The airmattress had held all the air, the pillows were still in the right place, along with the sheet. There were two blankets, one on either side of the bed and we had an unimpeded view of the Alaskan twilight sky.

Sitting down in the center, Delia patted the mattress. “Come on, sit. The sun is just about gone. I want to see all these stars.”

We both adjusted ourselves in the back of the truck, and she wound up curled into my side, head on my shoulder. The darkness was slow to creep up on us in mid-summer, and deep twilight would last all night.

I reached behind my head and hit the play button on my iTouch, and soft music rolled out of the waterproof speakers I had in the bed.

Delia giggled softly. “You thought of everything.”

“I tried to.” I grinned into the night. “There’s also some drinks. Just water, but I didn’t want us to be thirsty.”

She leaned up on her elbow and considered me. “This is possibly the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me. Flowers, dinner, and star gazing.”

I leaned up and kissed her nose. “Come back. Just lay with me.”

It was quiet as we watched each of the bright stars appears in the wake of the retreating sun. I could name them all and pointed as they appeared.

“Where did you learn all this?”

I smiled. “My grandfather. He used to bring me out here when I was little. We’d camp for a few nights and he used to tell me Tlingit legends. Stories about the Thunderbird, and how the land was made. Each of the stars and their places in the heavens.”

“You loved him.”

“I was devastated when he died. I was only seven. My sister never knew him or my grandma.”

“Where are your parents?”

“They were killed in a car wreck. Years ago. Cora was just four, and I’ve been taking care of her since.” I glanced at her. “And your parents?”

“Happily settled in a place in Maine. Big house, couple of dogs, a few cats, lots of water. They love it. It’s still home. Me and my brother visit every year in the summer.”

I heard something in her voice that made me wonder about what else had happened with them. But I didn’t want to push, not yet. “Brother?”

She smiled. “Twin. Younger by five minutes.”

“That’s kind of cool.”

“Yes, we can tell where the other is and what kind of mood they’re in. Right now, he’s in a good mood. We talked last week, and he was spending a week in the Seychelles with his girlfriend, and they were heading to Tanzania after.”

“What’s his name?”

“Mitchell.” She smiled. I could see that she and her brother got along really well. “We’re as different as night and day, but there’s one thing we love, and that’s outside. Big wide space.”

“Hence, Tanzania.”

“Yup. I think he wants to propose to Violet there. At least, that’s what I was getting off him. We’re different.”

“So, he’s wild and you’re studious?”

“Basically.” She laughed.

“I’d love to see Tanzania one day,” I mused.

“I’ll take you. Oh! Are those…”

Her finger shot to the sky where there was a pale hint of green hung like a curtain.

“Northern lights, yup.”

“Ohhh.” Her breath hissed out, awed. “We’ve been to the Scandinavian countries, but we missed them every time.”

Her eyes twinkled back at the slow-moving ribbons, mostly green in their light, but once in a while a shot of yellow or blue danced up, and she laughed.

I felt a feather light touch to the front of my pants, and moments later, the clear sense of fingers. I didn’t move. I didn’t want to move. But I did question it.

“Delia?”

“Ssh. I want to play.”

Play?

Her fingers unfastened my button and lowered the zipper, and her cool hand slipped inside my boxers, where her touch before had already caused blood to rush to my cock. She ran her fingers over me, and I shivered.

Play. Okay. I could deal with this.

I returned the favor of releasing the button on her pants as well, peeling them to the side.

“What are you doing?” Her voice was teasing.

“Mm, it’s playtime, right?”

“I guess so…ohhh…”

My finger found her clit and I was just amazed at how wet she was. Good God, what had she been thinking about while she lay next to me?

That thought stiffened me even further and she wrapped her hand around me. Her fingers were long and slender, and her hand had warmed quickly. She brushed a thumb over the crown, and stole the drop of precum she had caused, stroking it down the hot flesh that wanted nothing more than to push into her and claim her.

No. Claiming. I yelled at my wolf as he perked up from his slumber. No. Not right now.

He whimpered.

Frankly, so did I.

The sweet, small strokes felt amazing, and I desperately needed to return her teases. I ran my hungry fingers up and down the silken lips of her pussy, dipping a finger in lightly to gather a touch of her cream and make the silk even softer, more supple.

Her breath hitched, then escaped.

I dipped a finger back in and left it there. She squirmed lightly against my touch, trying to get my finger deeper.

“Don’t move, baby,” I breathed. “No moving. Just hands and fingers.”

* * *

“I’m going to die,” I managed to breathe out.

This man was so hot, so tasty, so naughty, and willing to play that I was sure something was going to catch on fire.

His steel silk cock was Heaven in my hand. I moved my hand over him, pumping him, torturing him.

I never remembered handies being this much damn fun.

I had never had this much fun with sex, ever. End of. There was something about being here in this moment with Jason that was amazing, and soft and hot and, and…and.

I couldn’t stop the flutter of my eyes as he traced my sex with his hot, nubile fingers. One he had tucked neatly in my channel, moving it ever-so-slightly, and the others he openly tortured me with.

I wanted at least one more of those hot fingers inside me. There was no way I was going to get that.

Desperate to stave off his teasing, I refocused on the erection he had been half-sprung with all night. He hadn’t been able to hide it well. Only the table helped, but I saw it the rest of the time, pushing forward, begging.

He moaned low and I sped my hand up, putting a little more grip on him—but only a little. A grunt this time and Jason shifted his hips toward me.

“Nuh uh,” I whispered. “No moving. Just feel.”

“I’m going to die here, aren’t I?” His breath was deliberate, careful. Trying to stay in control.

I nodded. “I’m going to kill you with sweet sex.”

“What a way to go…”

I slipped my hand all the way down and caressed his balls. The gasp was shocked, but the groan was welcoming.

His finger caught me off guard as he dusted over the raging fire that was my clit. My back arched and I was helpless to stop it.

“Oh, fuck this,” he mumbled.

In a quick swift move, he had my leg out of my pants and his own down around his knees and he nestled into the cradle of my thighs, his cock poised and ready.

I grinned. “I wondered who was going to break first.”

“You have a marvelously dirty mind.”

Pressing against me, he slid deep inside my pussy and we both groaned. I pulled my legs further apart and lifted them, and Jason seated himself deep, touching my very top. I trembled from the fullness of him.

“God, you are so beautiful in the starlight,” he whispered, starting to move himself, in and out with deliberately slow strokes. Filling me, and withdrawing, he pushed every stroke of his cock against my clit, every sensation winding me tighter.

But it was so carefree, so lazy, so intimate. Like nothing I had ever felt before. I didn’t know why we were so connected. There was no reason why we were so close, so perfect together.

It was something that, after knowing him for only three days, I wanted to know more about it. I wanted him taking me out to dinner, out to watch the stars, out to see the whales and the ice. I wanted it all while waking naked next to him, stealing away behind a tree for a fuck, have sex in the wildflowers, make love on the bed of his truck.

Because, that’s what we were doing. We were making love.

Slowly, carefully, and it couldn’t be more sweet, more tender.

There was a strange noise through the night, and startled, I lifted my head to look.

“Whale song,” he whispered, bringing his lips to mine for a sweet, open mouthed kiss.

He stole my breath when I tried to sigh, and his finger found my clit a moment later. Jason dusted the tip of his finger over me. He was never in a rush, enjoying each groan, hiss, sigh, and gasp that I gave up, and I listened to his breath as the whale song echoed in the night.

“Come for me, baby. I want to hear you come.”

His cock slid in and out, with no hurry still, but brushing the tender spot deep inside me each and every time. With a few quick brushes over my hot nerves, he brought me right to the edge.

“Come with me,” I managed to hiss at him.

“Yes.” His hips pumped short strokes into me and the press of his thumb threw me over the cliff.

Jason followed me down, bathing my walls with his cum as he let out a quiet call of satisfaction. His head fell to the crook of my neck and I could feel the scrap of his teeth—and the strangest urge to have him sink them into my skin passed through me, drawing out my orgasm for just a few more seconds.

He dropped back down next to me and I let out a littler whimper of disappointment as he slipped out of me.

I glanced over at him, and his eyes were…almost glowing. They were gorgeous and ethereal in the northern lights.

Putting my hand on his cheek, I smiled at Jason. “This is possibly the most perfect thing that has ever happened to me.”

His smile grew, and he nuzzled at my shoulder. “You deserve nothing but perfect.”

My heart pitter-pattered at that. I was falling hard for this guy. I shouldn’t have been. It was supposed to be just a fling, fun, and my heart was getting all involved in this.

“Thank you,” I finally answered.

“Worth it to see you here under the lights.” His hand ran a trail up and down my hip. Not trying to do anything but feel my skin, to keep his fingers touching me.

It was completely erotic, and I was going to be ready to go again in just moments.

The howl, however, killed my desire instantly.

I tried to sit up, but Jason held me to the mattress. “No. Don’t sit up. They’re too close.”

“Is it the fucking coyotes again? That was their howl. I’d know it anywhere.”

He nodded. “Yes. I don’t know what they are doing here. This is almost on the compound.”

“Did you bring a gun or something we can use?”

“No, I don’t carry guns as a matter of course when I’m not on one of the more dangerous hikes. They shouldn’t be here.” He kissed my shoulder. “Pull your clothes up, right where we are. Don’t sit up. They’ll smell us already, we don’t need to give them any more hints where exactly we are.”

“Jason, these things are rabid. They have to be.” I slipped my one leg back in my pants and wiggled my panties and pants back up my ass.

“They’re diseased all right, but…” He laid flat and stared up at the sky. “I don’t need this. I really don’t.”

I curled toward him and listened to the howls. They were all around us and they were drowning out the whale song, and the beauty of the night we were lying under.

“What the hell are we going to do?” I whispered.

“Hope they aren’t really interested in us and just go away. There’s not much else we can do.”

I heard snuffling on the side of the truck and really hoped that they were just looking for food of the non-human variety. I looked at Jason who had a finger to his lips, and only his boxers on.

Why had he pulled his pants off?

7

There was no way that she hadn’t noticed my pants were off.

But if these were the same coyotes I thought they were, there was a good chance that she was about to find out a lot more about the St. Terese compound than I was willing to share at that point.

I also wasn’t willing to let these fuckers even lay a paw on my mate.

So, my decision was made. I wasn’t going to destroy my pants. I had just bought them a few days before, for this date. The boxers I could lose.

These were the exiles from the Yéil land. They shouldn’t have been on that property and they shouldn’t be so close to the edge of the compound. I knew that our territory expanded out beyond the fence line, out beyond this field. That they were on our pack land meant nothing but trouble for them.

Fergus was going to have do something about these exiles. I knew he didn’t want to deal with them, but they were nothing but pure trouble. And they were haunting all of the Juneau Packs.

I held Delia down, and just prayed these asses were smart enough to go away.

They weren’t. Of course.

One of them jumped up on the tailgate of the truck and swung to look at us. Delia yelped, and scooted back from the gate.

The coyote, one I recognized as Ulysses, cocked his head in a cruel grin and turned to us.

“Go away! Shoo!” Delia commanded. She grabbed her shoe to toss at him.

Grabbing her hand, I stopped her from throwing it. There was no point in losing her shoe. She looked at me and I could see terror in her eyes, and I hated seeing it there.

“He’s gonna kill us,” she whispered.

The bastard on my tailgate laughed.

I whipped my head around. Ulysses had never seen me in my human shift, so he was shocked when I growled at him. My eyes were lit, I knew. Amber magic flared and he almost fell off the gate.

I scooted down the air mattress, and Delia desperately tried to pull me back. I held her back without turning.

“Go. Get out of here. You’re on St. Terese land, and I have every right to have you killed.”

“What are you doing?” Delia hissed.

“Stay back,” I said, over my shoulder. I turned back to the coyote on my tailgate. “Get out of here, you mangy asshole! I will have your head.”

He laughed at me again, yipping a nasty, cruel laugh. I shot to my feet and landed right at the edge of the tailgate. I kicked him in the ribs before he could snap at me, and punted him through the air, back on to the ground.

There were suddenly four more angry coyotes at the gate, growling at me.

I snarled at them, recognizing two. “You all want to play this game on St. Terese territory?”

In unison, they leapt and snapped at me.

I jumped up and out from the gate, easily avoiding them, and shifted midair, landing on my feet facing them. I growled, barring my teeth.

My wolf was pissed. This was safe land for us. For me and Cora. We were not wealthy, influential, or high ranked in the pack––but the pack cared for all and we were safe, comfortable. These fleabags were threating not just us, but everyone else, from the omegas to the alphas.

And now they were threatening my mate and her friends.

There were seven coyotes that I saw, including Ulysses, when I landed on all four paws. Two immediately turned tail and ran back into the woods. One came directly at me from the truck and I dodged at the last moment, in just such a way that I was able to slam myself against him, and take him to the ground. Two yelps, and he was after the other two.

Ulysses was right in front of me then, and he was growling back. He was also half my size. I slowly circled him, forcing him away from the truck. I wanted that at my back, not his. I didn’t know if his lackeys were going to come running back and spring me.

Forcing him away from the tailgate, he started backing along the side of the truck. The other three remaining coyotes started to circle in behind me. I had to be careful. These bastards wouldn’t think twice about killing me.

While I didn’t want to kill anyone, I also wasn’t going to be noble about this.

A grunt and the flash of metal in the green aurora lights, and Ulysses was swung up and through the air backwards.

I snapped my head up.

Delia was standing there with a sledgehammer resting on her shoulder.

“Get the hell out of here! Get away from my boyfriend!”

She looked fierce, angry, wild eyed, and completely determined. Her grip on the long handle clearly said she was ready to swing the hammer again.

I fell totally in love with her right at that moment.

Ulysses stood from where she had sent him flying, and the snarl on his lips was sheer anger. He yipped, and the remaining three coyotes ran past me, snapping as they passed.

I sat on my haunches, watching them go. They stopped at the edge of the woods, and were getting ready to let out a howl.

Tossing my head back, I beat them to it, letting out a warning howl that I was sure reached the main pack. My wolf made sure it was nuanced enough to let the compound know what happened, but that we didn’t need help.

Their angry, insulted barks followed them back into the woods, and I listened to make sure they were moving away from pack territory. A minute later, I was sure they were, crashing through the brush like pups and barking at each other angrily.

Now. I had to deal with my mate.

Ugh.

Standing, I walked to the tailgate and jumped up. She watched me, her eyes darting over the black and cream fur of my wolf. The sledgehammer was resting on the bed of the truck, but her hand was still on the handle.

I sat. I waited.

Delia cocked her head and seemed to be memorizing me. She traced the contours of my wolf’s form, committing them to memory. After a moment she knelt on the mattress and motioned me to come and lay down on it with her.

My wolf went, down on all fours, carefully prone to her, showing no fear of her, and giving her no reason to fear us. Her hand reached out to my head, tentatively. She pulled back at least four times, before finally sinking her fingers into the thick fur behind my ears.

“Is this really you, Jason?”

My careful answer was a soft whine, and a quick lick of her forearm.

“I’m not hallucinating from bad mushrooms at dinner?”

Chuffing a chuckle, I put my big head on her knee and looked up at her. I hoped so desperately she could see the man inside the wolf’s eyes. Her fingers felt so, so wonderful in my fur. For a moment, I wished I was a cat shifter, so I could purr. Instead, I rolled over and exposed my underside—something we never did without heavy trust.

I trusted her.

Her hand sunk into the fur on my chest and she scratched there. It felt amazing to have my mate’s hands in my thick fur, doing nothing more than giving me a good scratch.

She giggled, and I let my tongue loll out of my mouth as I panted in delight.

“You are beautiful like that, but can you change back? I think that we need to talk.”

I stayed where I was, and let the shift wash over me so she could really see it: fur pulling back, head and arms reshaping, clawing withdrawing, tail fading away. The back of my head rested on her knee and I watched her watching me become human once again.

A huff of an exhale, and she slumped a bit. “That really just happened.”

Grabbing my pants on the side of the mattress, I nodded. “Yes. It did. They weren’t going to go away unless my wolf threatened them.” I yanked the pants on and zipped them up.

“That’s also why you didn’t put your pants on. You were afraid that you would have to change and those were your good pants.”

I nodded. “But it’s called shifting. I shift from human to wolf.”

* * *

“A werewolf?”

He shook his head, sitting up next to me, legs out. “Not as you would think it. Our half wolf forms are technically werewolves, but there aren’t many who can hold between the wolf and the human. Alphas, betas, and some enforcers. That’s really it. The rest are shifters alone—fully human or fully wolf.”

I took his hand and studied it.

“You’re awfully calm for someone who just found out the guy she’s seeing is a wolf.”

I grunted, “I think the word I used was boyfriend.”

He stilled. “You did.”

“But it’s more than that, isn’t it?” I knew it had to be. Why was I so damn calm about this? Werewolves were a thing. A real thing, and I was holding the hand of one in mine, examining it.

He nodded. “It’s more.”

I waited. I wasn’t sure he was going to go on, but after a moment of my fingers tracing the skin on his palm, he finally spoke again.

“Shifters—wolves, bears, ravens, eagles, coyotes, mountain lions, and more—are all over the world. We live an extraordinarily long time. And we have only one chance to find our true mate. One person on the whole planet, in our insanely long lives, who is perfect for us. We know them right away. By their scent and what they do to us when we are with them.

“When you crested that path five days ago, I was lost. I wanted nothing more than to take you and make you mine for the rest of my life. But you’re human and this world is foreign to you.”

Wow. I danced my fingers over his, and down to his fingertips. He was human, and he was more than human. I couldn’t see the more than while he sat there.

“Your eyes…”

“When I get…uh, worked up or angry they’ll glow a bit. It’s the magic inside.”

I ran my fingers over the dusting of chest hair that I’d really liked. It was soft, and his skin felt hot under my touch.

I wasn’t scared. I wasn’t even mildly freaked out.

I’d seen him shift in midair after the four coyotes had jumped up to bite him. He’d instantly been a wolf, landing on all fours, and immediately going after the mutts. He’d been fearless and massive, and I had been terrified of what had just happened.

But when I saw the leader of the coyotes trying to sneak up on him, I had to do something. I jerked open the tool box and found the long-handled sledgehammer. I swung without really considering what I was doing.

Sitting there, I was glad I had done it. I hoped I broke the fucker’s ribs.

“So, your wolf thinks I’m your one and only?”

“My wolf knows you’re my mate. But I didn’t want to go there yet. Not right now. I’m still trying to build up my life and business.”

“So, you don’t want me.”

“No, no that’s not it at all. I want you. God, the way I want you is like a pain in my heart. But I’m not financially ready for that. I’m not set enough to be able to take care of you the way you deserve. It’s one thing the St. Terese pack prides itself on. We take good care of our mates.”

I wanted to chuckle. No man I married would ever want for money. I held that thought in—maybe we were fated to be together—and, Sweet Baby Jesus, did it ever feel like that—but that didn’t mean I knew him enough to tell him that.

Studying him a little more, I saw a soft amber glow in his brown eyes now.

I shook my head. “I’m not afraid of you. Of this. I think I should be? But the connection between us is…shocking. I’ve felt it as much as you and I’m as magical as a stump.”

Jason grinned. “Stumps can be quite magical.”

The laugh slipped out, but I had no desire to stop it. “So, I’m a magical stump.”

“Well, maybe a magical log.” I chuckled as he grabbed my knuckles and ran his thumb over them. “You’re really not scared?”

“I was scared of that coyote hurting you. But of this wolf thing? No. Not really. I’m not going to rule out the possibility that I’m going to freak out tomorrow or later this weekend, but I think that I’m okay. For now.”

Plucking at the mattress, I quirked an eyebrow. “So, I can’t tell anyone, can I?”

“Your friends don’t know. If they find out, you can talk to them about this, but otherwise, no. These are pack secrets, and I’m obligated to them. As it is, I’m probably going to get reprimanded by the Alpha for letting you in on it.”

“I’m sorry.”

He snapped his head up. “I’m not. Not at all. The desire to protect a mate can overwhelm the senses and the sensibilities.”

“Probably why I just played sledgehammer polo with a coyote?”

He snorted. “Probably.”

Once again, I wasn’t sure what exactly happened, but we were tangled with each other, and the kiss was hot and dangerous.

At this point, I didn’t care about propriety. The adrenaline was still there, pumping through my veins, and I was ready to go again.

I grabbed the button on his pants and yanked him down and open. Jason was also ready to go again.

I pushed him back on the mattress, and straddled him, yanking my leg back out of the pants I had just redressed in. Didn’t care.

Fisting his cock, I slid down on him, and pressed him all the way inside me. I was still wet and slick from our last round and sliding over him was perfect.

“Holy shit,” he managed, grabbing my hips. “You’re not kidding around.”

“You wanted another round, don’t lie.” I glided my pussy over him, drawing him out, pushing him back in. I ground his erection over my clit, wringing my own pleasure out of him.

His hips popped up to bounce against me, and added more friction to our joining and I let out a delighted grunt.

“I want as many rounds as you’ll give me,” he said, his hand sliding up under my shirt. Nimble finger found my nipples and pinched.

Breathing out, I hiss a, “yes” to his attention.

“Faster, baby. No other goal than just fucking to come,” he commanded.

I could do that. I wasn’t ready to deny myself anything the way the adrenaline was pushing me. His hand dropped away from my breasts, and with ease found my clit with his thumb.

Neither of us were long for this. And because of the connection, we knew we weren’t going to try and make it. The utter freedom of knowing that we didn’t have to impress each other, just wring a magnificent climax out of each other, was something I never dreamed of.

“Go, baby. God, damn, go. Come, please!” His words were strangled, and his finger was relentless.

I shifted my hips just the tiniest bit and the cock inside me hit the soft, magical spot deep down. I came apart, screaming his name—and less than a second later, I felt the hot splash of his cum coating me again. It was so intense and consuming I could barely breathe.

His arms came around me and pulled me back down to the nest of the mattress and sheets, just holding me there, cradling me against him while the last of his erection throbbed inside me.

“Mine to hold, mine to protect,” he whispered against my lips.

“Don’t get too possessive on me,” I whispered, kissing his nose.

“Too late, baby. Too late.” He sighed, contented.

I couldn’t help feeling like I was settling in here. It should have probably scared me. But it didn’t. Not even a little.

And that scared me.

8

Coffee.

I could smell it drifting through the house, and I opened my eyes to see where I could find a cup of the magical brew.

I was in a warm bed, that was definitely not the cabin up the hill.

The bed was more than comfortable and taking a deep breath I reached back to the night before, to another date night—

Jason. He’d brought me back to his house, and we’d spent a few hours going at it like rabbits. I could smell him on the sheets that surrounded me, both his cool summer scent and the smell of our repeated sex trysts.

Wow.

Holding the sheet, I sat up and couldn’t find him anywhere. I hoped he was the source of the coffee.

I tossed the covers back and saw a pair of athletic pants and a giant sweatshirt, and a note tented over it.

D—

Had to run into the city for a few things. BBS. Your clothes are in the dryer, and I’m sure Cora’s made coffee. You can wear this meanwhile.

<3,

—J

The heart was a sweet touch. I knew where he was going with that—not yet time to utter the ‘L’ word, but that little heart said a whole lot.

I ducked into the bathroom I saw through the door and took a quick shower, enjoying the scent of his soap and shampoo. It was nice to be surrounded by him.

Jason. A shifter. A wolf.

Really amazing in bed. And in a truck bed.

And my mate, if I were interested in such a position.

I smirked. Hell of a vacation.

The clothes he left out for me were nearly perfect. The pants were the right size, and sweatshirt was comfy—if large in the shoulders. I inhaled, and smell Jason again.

I padded down the stairs and looked around.

“In the kitchen,” came a woman’s voice.

That didn’t sound like a little sister. I headed in the direction she’d called from, and the massive kitchen appeared. I padded in, a little trepedatious, but really wanting the coffee.

This had the potential to be super awkward, as Jason had brought me home for the first time in our three weeks of seeing each other while his sister was there, and there’s no question what we were doing last night. I braced myself.

Standing by the sink was a woman who appeared to be my age. She had hands wrapped around a mug and was inhaling the fresh aroma of the coffee inside it. She let out a sigh and opened her eyes.

“Hi.”

I smiled. “Hi. I’m Delia.”

She smirked. “I heard.”

The heat of a full body blush of embarrassment raced through me, and she chuckled.

“Don’t worry, I don’t care. I just had to bust you for it. I’m Cora. And I made coffee. Would you like some?”

“Please,” I answered, desperately trying to calm my heart rate.

Putting her own mug of the dark elixir on the counter she set about getting mine. “I’m glad Jason finally decided to bring you home. Three weeks and I was starting to wonder if you were just a figment of his imagination.”

“I’m real.” I grinned. Three weeks we’d been at this relationship. I was kind of surprised, but at the same time, we’d really been busy with each other and the refurb on the cabin.

Cora grinned at me again. “I had to bust you for the screaming sex. It’s not really a problem here in the compound. Since the majority of the people who live here are pack or alliances, we have a different view of sex. We share our lives with an animal, and they have two drives: food and fucking. We turn into absolute horn dogs, pun intended, as soon as we come into our maturity.”

She held out the mug and I accepted it with a grateful nod.

“Sugar in the bowl, milk in the fridge.”

I found some plain milk in the fridge and colored my coffee with it. “When do you come into your maturity?”

“About twenty, twenty-two. We’re later than humans because we live so long, and it would be really, really bad to have a thirteen-year-old dealing with that shocking rush of potent desire to have sex.” She shuttered.

“Women too?”

“All of us. We all have the beast inside.” Cora paused and stared into her mug. “And you should see us eat.”

I started laughing. I couldn’t stop. It was just one of those things that struck the right chord in my mind and let me relax and laugh my ass off. It felt really good.

Cora chuckled along with me. “Good. I’m glad he told you, by the way. Jason is a good man. A great brother. He worries too much though.”

“Those coyotes…” I shivered at the thought of them over the past few days.

“The Turner Lake Exiles. There’s a pack of coyotes that live south of Juneau. There was an…incident years ago and the old alpha just kicked them out instead of executing them as he should have.”

“Execute…”

“First thing you have to know is that we go by Pack Law on pack lands. We’re autonomous here because our ancestors were Tlingit, but our laws have to be different because of what we are. Most of us can bust out of jails and holding areas without a second thought. When someone, or someones, commits a crime, it’s usually far worse than you imagine.”

“Which is what happened with the exiles?”

“Yes. They…well, they wiped out a whole clan of shifters. The last clan of those shifters. There are no more raven shivers. Everyone agreed, both the coyote pack and the council, that they should have been executed for such a heinous crime. But the old alpha exiled them, and not far enough. It was the beginning of the end of his reign as alpha. Fergus, his nephew, is alpha now.”

I could hear her cut herself off. “But?”

“But. He’s going to have mete out the justice that wasn’t before. At some point soon, he’s going to have haul the exiles back and finish this.” Cora took a sip of her coffee. “Especially since they are haunting your friend’s cabin now.”

“Oh, shit,” I gasped, and dove for my purse. “I forgot to call them last night!”

I could hear her laughing as I desperately dialed Jess’s phone. She answered with a grunt after four rings, “What?”

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t come home last night. I…”

Her words were mumbled through sleep. “Why do you assume I did?”

“Christ, we have to get better at letting each other know where we are. Where are you?”

“Garrett’s place.” There was a pause. “Wait, where are you?”

“Jason’s place.”

“Where the hell is everyone else?”

“Addi’s at Patrick’s.”

“Of course.” I laughed. “And the other two?”

There was silence between us on the phone as the realization of what we’d done blossomed.

Jess spoke first, “Oh, shit. This isn’t good.”

“We’ve been too wrapped up in us. Crap, crap.”

“We have to apologize to them at the dinner tonight.” Jess was quiet. “Do you think…Oh, God, why did we leave them alone together?”

“Because we’ve each found guys we really like and got wrapped up in that. Damn.” I put a hand on my forehead.

The front door pushed open, and Jason walked in, smiling. He put me at ease just being there. I took a deep breath. “Look, Jess, we’ll deal with all of this tonight. Hopefully there’s nothing wrong and we can all just put this behind us and see how the rest of this summer is going to work.”

“Agreed.” She yawned. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Tonight,” I agreed and tapped the screen to end the call. “You have amazing cell service for the middle of nowhere.”

Jason chuckled. “That’s because the various packs around have insisted on it. It’s the state capital anyway, so it’s important.” He wrapped his arms around me. “Good morning, babe. Met Cora?”

“I was coffee’d by her. It was wonderful.”

Cora laughed hard in the kitchen.

* * *

I sat up straight in the chair on the back porch and looked around. Something was tickling my brain and I didn’t like it. It wasn’t a nice feeling.

Mitchell. It hit me. It had been so calm between us lately that I’d forgotten to call him. And this turbulence was not good.

I grabbed the phone and walked away from Cora and Jason sitting there bickering like a brother and sister. I dialed Mitchell’s phone, and waited for it to connect before it rang four times.

“M.”

God, it was like a balm on my soul that I didn’t even realized I needed. “M.” I smiled back. “What’s going on? I’m so sorry I didn’t call…”

“Do not apologize,” he chided me. “I’ve felt nothing but happiness from you, and I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“You know you’re the one person who would never interrupt me, no matter what.”

The sardonic smile came through the phone in his words. “Yeah, I can think of something you’d bite my head off for.”

“Hush.” My tone was teasing but firm. “What’s going on? Please answer the question.”

A deep, resigned sigh floated through the phone. “She’s gone.”

“What? Genesee…”

“Left. She’s gone. She’s done with our relationship. I took her to the Seychelles and was going to propose here in Kenya on the photo safari. She had her ticket home changed on her own dime and caught a connection without me.”

Rage boiled up in me. “She—”

“Used me. Totally used me. She just wanted to live a good life with me for a few years and then find something—someone else to do. I wasn’t in her plans.”

“Oh, Mitch. I’m sorry. She left you there in Kenya?”

“Yeah. I’ve been sitting in the airport for about eight hours. I cancelled the safari, but…I don’t know where I’m going to go. I don’t know what to do. I have a four-carat engagement ring that means nothing to anyone now and I’m…”

“Come visit me. Come here. I’m sure we can find room for you at the house, or at Garrett’s place. Somewhere. It’s great here, and you can just relax and do what you want, no pressure. I’ll be here if you want to talk.”

“Maybe. Where are you?”

“Alaska.”

There was silence on the phone. “What?”

“Alaska. Juneau. Come on, you can hang with me and the—”

“What. The fuck. Are you doing. In Alaska.”

A shot of fear and panic raced through him slamming through our connection. I almost stumbled from it. “It’s a summer vacation. Brandy bought a house and we all—”

“Did you never listen to Mom and Dad?”

“Mitchell. What the fuck are you talking about? It’s Alaska. I’ve always wanted to come here and I’m glad I did.”

“Do Mom and Dad know you’re there?”

“I’m twenty-three, Mitch. I don’t report to them anymore.”

“Dad will have the plane at the airport in twenty-fours to get you out of there. You have to leave. God, damn it, Madeline. Didn’t you listen? Didn’t you hear what they said when we were home? Never, ever Alaska.”

Scrunching up my face I stared at the ground. “What are you talking about? They never forbade me from going anywhere. Ever. They gave me the talks about being safe, and being careful who I made friends, but they never, ever told me not to go somewhere.”

The click of his shoes on cool tile sounded in the phone. Mitchell was pacing. “They never told you that Alaska was off limits?”

“No, they never told me that.”

“Hold on.”

The line went quiet, ‘hold’ button quiet. What was going on? Why was he suddenly freaking out that I was in Alaska? What had Mom and told him about this place that he thought Dad would have the plane here in twenty-four hours for me?

The line clicked live again and there was ringing, once, twice, and my father’s voice answered with a hearty hello.

“Dad. It’s both of us,” Mitchell said.

“Both of my offspring!” Holy crap it was good to hear my father’s voice too.

“Dad, Maddie’s in Alaska.”

The accusation in my brother’s voice along with the tone he put in my childhood nickname was like a shot to my gut. I hadn’t done anything wrong. I wanted to see Alaska. I wanted to see the frozen lands and glaciers before they were gone, and before I was too old to climb a mountain and scale a rock face.

“I don’t understand what Michelle is pissing on about. You never put limits on where we could travel.” I shot back, using the cruel schoolyard name he’d been christened with in Baltimore. Before everything changed.

There was silence on the phone again. I was becoming unnerved by all this quiet.

“Someone tell me what the hell is going on.”

The line clicked again and I knew my mother was listening now, probably by my father’s goading.

“Madeline. Are you in Alaska?”

I sighed. “Do you want the address? Are you going to humiliate me in front of the few friends I have by yanking me out by plane?”

“I didn’t think that it would be Delia who went,” my mother said, quietly. “I was so sure we had to just warn Mitchell.”

“You never warned her?!” Mitchell’s voice was undisguised anger.

“Mitch—”

He cut my father off. “Don’t start with the good-child-bad-child shit. Seriously. I didn’t want to go to college. That is not being a bad child. I wanted to travel and see the world. Now, both my parents and my ex-girlfriend have flung that in my face.”

“We’ll address the ex part of that in a minute,” Dad said. “Madeline. Where are you in Alaska?”

“Juneau. Brandy bought a cabin and we’re helping her clean it up and staying here for a few months before we all have to decide what we want to do with our lives.”

“You never mentioned you were going there.” Mom sounded hurt. I had, however, been a terrible daughter lately, not calling as often as I should have. “David, she’s in Juneau.”

“Will someone please tell me what’s going on?” I felt lost, and they were all making me terrified. “All I did was call my brother because I knew he was upset. Now I’m getting the third degree over my summer vacation. I didn’t know I was going to have report in where I was once I graduated from college and living on my own for four years.”

More silence. I was getting pissed. “Talk. Or I’m hanging up.”

“Your father and I cautioned your brother to never go to Alaska. Uncle Chuck is in the state prison in Nome, and we were always afraid he’d get out and come after you.”

“Again.” The rage in my father’s voice was unmistakable.

“Why didn’t you just tell me where he was instead of making this some kind of secret?”

“Chuck isn’t a topic we like to bring up,” my mother said. “Between ourselves, or to you two.”

“We were fifteen, we had no idea, and nothing bad happened in the end,” I said. “And clearly, now with him in jail, there’s really nothing to happen. Look, I’m beyond safe where I am. It’s a safe, guarded compound and there are patrols that watch Brandy’s cabin. Uncle Chuck is in jail, over a thousand miles and several large bodies of water away. I’m fine.”

Dad sighed. Chuck was his brother, after all. “I’d feel better if you weren’t there.”

“I’d feel better if you let my boyfriend handle my safety.”

Three voices came back at me. “Your boyfriend?!”

I could hear Jason and Cora crack up laughing. There was no way their sensitive hearing didn’t catch that chorus from the other end. I turned and narrowed my eyes at them, in a mocking tease.

“Yes. My boyfriend. His name is Jason McGarrigal. He’s a wilderness guide, and we get along splendidly.”

“Okay, so if she’s in Alaska, that’s where I’m going,” Mitchell said.

“Mitch—”

“Look, no. She’s there. I just had my girlfriend of four years break up with me as she boarded a connecting flight to London, leaving me stranding in Kenya. I’m going to Alaska. Strength in numbers, and I’m done with the super warm weather for a while.”

“I don’t need protecting. I’m here on vacation a thousand miles away from Chuck. Mitch, if you want to come visit, fantastic. But don’t come here out of some sense of duty that you need to protect your big sister.”

Mom and Dad chuckled as Mitchell huffed.

“Mitchell, she’s right,” Mom said, backing me up. “You know your sister doesn’t need protecting. Go there as her brother and go to recover from that skank ho dumping you.”

“Mom!” Mitchell’s voice was flustered, and Dad and I were trying not to laugh. Dad and I had liked Genesee just fine, but Mom had a radically different opinion of her.

“Mitch, seriously. Come up. We’ll put you up in the cabin.”

He sighed. “Let me get home to Mom and Dad, and I’ll be up in a few weeks. And tell your boyfriend that if he doesn’t take care of you, he’s got me to deal with.”

I smirked at Jason who had walked over to me in the yard. “I can guarantee, he’s taking excellent care of me.”

“That better not be an innuendo in your voice, firstborn.” Dad could hardly keep the laughter out of his own.

“No, sir,” Jason said into the phone. “Your daughter is in excellent care. I just make sure the ropes are tight and she’s nice and safe when I go to work.”

“I think my phone just exploded from double entendre,” Mom mumbled.

“Goodbye, parentals, sibling! Mitch just call when you’re ready to fly up.”

“Goodbye, sibling. See you soon, parentals.”

“So long, offspring!”

We all hung up laughing, and I shook my head. “I just wanted to check in on my brother, and that happens.”

“You have an amazing relationship with your parents, don’t you?”

He sounded a little jealous.

“I do. I love them. They’re amazing and they’ve been so good to me and my brother. I’m very, very lucky that way. I know that, even among my friends.” I sighed. “Really lucky.”

Jason’s arms wrapped around me and he hugged me tight. I could feel the patter of his heart against my cheek, and it was so comforting.

“Genesee wasn’t good for Mitchell. She was a gold digger, but I thought she lost that attitude after a few months with my brother. Apparently, she didn’t. I’m just glad she broke it off before he could give her the ring.” Glancing up at him, I grinned. “Now. You said something about tying me up?”

With a little laugh, he moved us back toward the house. “Maybe, maybe. I do have a new kind of rope I wanted to test…”

9

“So, you’re going to turn the keys over tomorrow?” I asked Garrett as we stood in line in the bank.

“Yes. It’s all done. I just need to put the last breaker in today and it’s complete.”

Delia shook her head. “Six weeks. I’m impressed. From that shit hole that we pulled up to, to this amazing little get away.”

“Well, not to be awful, but this job has put Timberwolf in the black probably for good.”

I whistled low. That meant a lot. I knew that Garrett and Jess had cozied up, and while he had Pauler money behind him, a huge fortune, the idea that he could keep her happy without it was a critical turning point for him.

We walked up to the counter, and Delia pulled out her checkbook.

“So, the final balance is…”

Garrett pulled a printout from his back pocket. “It’s 72,598 dollars and thirty-three cents.”

“What was the down payment? Twenty?”

“Yup.” Garrett nodded.

She looked up at the teller. “I’m going to need a cashier’s check for 52,598 dollars and thirty-three cents.”

Wait. What was going on here?

“And you have an account with this bank, ma’am?”

“Yup.” Delia pulled out her debit card, and driver’s license and slid them over to the teller. “You can check that the cash is there.”

“I’ll have manager handle this, if you don’t mind?” She motioned us away from the window toward where the woman sat in a glass office.

We moved over there, but I was confused.

Delia started writing the check out, using the tiniest little letters to write the full sum out. “I don’t want either of you to tell Brandy how much this rehab cost. Ever. This is a gift to her. The woman mortgaged her soul to get this away from her shit bag of a cousin, even though it should have been hers to being with.”

“You’re seriously writing out a check for that?” I couldn’t keep the disbelief out of my voice.

She nodded, glancing at me for just a flash of a second. “Yes. I am. This is making her happy, and it’s putting my friend’s business in the black, and all it means to me is that I might not be able to get a super fancy new car next year.” Signing her name, she looked up at us. “Keeping my friends happy makes me happy. All five of us came up from shit situations, and I won’t let anything keep them from being happy.”

“All of you?”

I was really lost. Delia had been so happy talking to her parents a few weeks before, and had made it a point to talk to them at least once a week, and now constantly texted them and her friends.

Her terse nod confirmed her statement. “Jess lost the baby she didn’t even want to be pregnant with just over a year ago. Zanna’s parents are ice cold, and I mean ice cold. Glacially frigid and think she’s only good for marriage. Brandy lost her father when she was a kid and her mother has outright rejected her for being gay. And Addi… Well, her story is hers, but she really had it worst of all.”

“Miss LaPlage?” The manager was standing there holding out her license and bankcard. “Everything is order, and I’ll be happy to certify that cashier’s check for you.”

Delia took the cards back and put them back in her wallet and held out the fully filled out check for the manager. A minute later, she brought it back with all the signatures and stamps, and tucked it in an envelope. “Here you are, miss. As always, it’s a pleasure doing with the LaPlage family.”

“Thank you.” She smiled, accepting the check.

How did my girlfriend have that kind of money sitting around in a bank account, so easy to access?

We turned and marched out of the one bank branch and down to the local bank, where most of the packs did their banking. The manager, Quentin Braun, was a shifter himself.

Garrett marched up to Quentin, and stuck his hand out. “Good to see you, Q.”

“Hey, Garrett. Long time. What’s up?”

“Just wanted to hand in a deposit of a cashier check.”

“Excellent, excellent!” Quentin took the envelope from Delia. “Your girl?”

I had to choke back my growl, and Garrett and Quentin laughed.

“Not his,” Delia said, “I’m just the money.”

The manager peeked in the envelope. “Indeed, you are the money. And certified.” He closed it back up, and handed Garrett a deposit slip to fill out. “This will take about a day to clear.”

“Perfect. My subcontractors are going to be chomping at the bit.”

“What job was this? If you don’t mind me asking?”

Garrett lifted his eyebrow, and I had the feeling I was about to be really enlightened about something. “The Yéil place.”

“Did that come out of arbitration?”

“No. It was purchased in family.”

Quentin froze. I turned slowly and asked the question painted on my fellow shifter’s face. “What?”

Delia caught that there was something significant about this, and supplied the answer. “Brandy Yéil bought it and fixed it up.”

Quentin’s voice dropped to a whisper. “The Yéils are all dead. For generations.”

Delia shook her head. “Clearly not, since Brandy is currently at the cabin putting up fucking blue gingham curtains in the kitchen.” She looked between us. “What the hell are you three going on about?”

I held up my hand. “I’ll explain later?”

“Fine. Let’s get going. Jess is at the salon and she’s probably just about done by now.”

Delia, Garrett, and Quentin finished up what they were doing and we headed out to the truck. After we all climbed in, I pulled away from the curb and headed for the hair salon that Jess was waiting at.

I had planned to ask Delia about the money, but I got distracted when I checked my mirrors.

“Garrett.”

“Yes?”

“You know we have a tail?”

“Yes.” He nodded from the back seat. “I thought that we might. I thought I saw someone…can you tell who it is?”

“It’s Heath. I’d recognize that hunk of shit car anywhere.” I had no idea why one of the wealthiest shifters in the pack would drive something that looked like it was held together with bakery string and chewing gum.

“Hmm. He, Steve, and Bart were at the house the other day with a complaint. They wanted to start hunting elk again and Dad told them to buy their meat at Walmart.”

I snorted. “Well, that’ll piss’em off.”

“Yeah. So I’m thinking they’re not happy and we need to have a talk with Heath.”

I nodded. “You pick up your woman from the salon and get in your car. I’ll go a little further, and turn off. He’ll wait and follow you if I don’t miss my guess. I’ll follow him, and we can play box cars.”

“Perfect.” Garrett nodded.

Twenty minutes later we had lead and followed Heath out of the main part of the city, and down the highway to road that led to the compound. It was a quiet and mostly deserted road, which was perfect for what we wanted to do.

Garrett slowed his truck down and pulled halfway into the other lane. I sped up my truck and pulled halfway into the lane, too. Between us, we forced Heath to the side of the road and to a stop, boxing him so he couldn’t drive away.

I watched as Garrett climbed out, and Jess slid over to the wheel. I motioned Delia to do the same as I climbed out.

Walking over, I stopped at the back end of the car and folded my arms as Garrett leaned down like he was the sherriff in these here parts.

“Well. Heath. Didn’t expect to see you out here. What on Earth are you doing?”

His terrified swallow easily reached my ears. Even my fully human girlfriend would have heard that one. “Just…uh…just coming back from the store. Had to pick up stuff.”

Garrett nodded, and thought a moment. “And you needed to do that following me all morning?”

“It’s just coincidence…”

“That you walked by the bank twice?” I tossed out. “And then walked by the other bank three more times?”

He tossed a look over his shoulder at me. “Man, I didn’t…I wasn’t going to do anything. Bart wanted to know what you and the females were up to. He’s really pissed your dad pulled the elk hunting and he’s doubly pissed he has to guard your bitches.”

The growl from the pack beta echoed through the air, vibrating everything, including the metal of the car. Heath probably pissed himself being as close as he was and the cause of it.

“Don’t hurt me, man. Garrett. Beta. I’m sorry. Bart’s higher in the order than me and I have to listen if he gives me an order. You know how that works.”

“Here’s a better order for you. Don’t listen to him if you know what he’s doing is wrong. You come to me, or you go to my father, and you talk to us. We’re not iron fisted death dealers, and you know that. Bart isn’t worth your standing in this pack.”

I nodded in agreement, just waiting.

“I’m sorry, Beta. Bart has ideas that aren’t great. I won’t be able to come talk to you tonight, but I will come and discuss what’s going on this Friday? I can’t do it without raising his hackles. He’ll tear my liver out.”

I snorted. “Well, since you’re lilly-livered, that might help.”

Heath leaned out of the window and looked back at me. “Who the hell are you to call me lilly-livered? I oughta—”

“Sit back!” I snapped.

He whipped around and slammed his back into the seat.

Wait. What?

Garrett narrowed his eyes at the man behind the wheel. “You’re going to be there Friday or I’m going to remove your liver for you. You won’t have to wait for Bart. And you will remember this: If Bart asks you about this little stalking expedition, at all, you are not to tell him anything. You lost me and my woman in the crowds. You never even knew that Jason was here.”

“Yes, Beta.”

“Go home.”

Heath rolled up the window and Garrett had Jess pull the truck forward just enough for him to pull away from the ditch and into the road. We watched as he disappeared into the distance.

Garrett looked at me. “Sorry about this.”

I quirked an eyebrow, but he climbed into the driver’s seat. The truck shot down the road about a quarter mile and turned down a small access road.

What the hell…?

I shook my head and pulled open the door to the truck.

The stunning potency of Delia’s scent speared through me and turned my cock to a spike painfully fast. Delia opened her mouth to say something, but instead she gasped—and that quickly turned to a groan.

“What the…” she managed.

I swallowed, louder than Heath earlier, and managed to climb into the cab. “Jesus Christ. Alpha effect.”

“Why do I need to fuck you so bad?” She was panting.

Now I understood why Garrett had driven into the access road. I slammed the truck into drive and gunned it. There was a firebreak less than a mile up the road, and I wasn’t sure I was going to make it.

“Jason…” Delia’s words were breathy.

“Take your pants off, babe. Hurry. I need to be inside you soon.”

She complied, desperately yanking her clothes down. Kicking them off on to the floor, her panties joined them too, and I let out a groan. Three quarters of a mile.

“I feel like I’m going to explode, Jason…”

I knew I was. “Touch yourself, Delia. Run your fingers over your pussy. Don’t be quiet, tell me, let me hear you.”

With a groan, she dropped her hand to her velvet soft lips that hid her from view. “Oh, God, I’m so wet.” She trailed her finger down into her depth, bucking when her skin touched the nub of her clit.

Half mile.

She moaned and spread her legs and it was damn hard to pay attention to the road. “I need your cock, Jason. I need you inside me.” Delia slid a finger into her entrance and hissed at her own intrusion. I could see her hand swirl, rimming the place my cock wanted to be immediately.

Quarter mile.

“Oh, God.” Her voice was husky now, and she started to move her finger in and out in a low steady motion. I almost drove off the road when she slid another into work with the first. I could smell her sex in the air. She used her other hand to hold herself open and circle her clit with a finger. It was an amazing feat of dexterity.

I nearly missed the turn off.

I yanked the wheel hard and we bounced over some rocks. She gasped, because the movement made her push her fingers deep inside.

The truck skidded to a halt, and I barely had it in park and the brake on before I was yanking my pants down around my ass, freeing my straining cock. I nearly leapt off the seat as Delia turned, sliding down, and throwing her leg over me, hooking it on the back of the driver’s headrest.

I was inside her in a heartbeat and we both let out a yelp and that slid into a throaty groan of delight.

“Fuck me, Jason. Hard. Don’t be careful.”

My wolf was boiling under my skin, and her permission to just take her pleased him—and me—and all thought of anything but rutting, anything but a hard fast fuck left me.

My dick dragged over her clit as I pumped my hips into hers, and she let out gasps of pleasure and pain each time I pushed my way to the end of her. I buried my dick deep on each thrust, trying to hold myself above her just enough to let her breathe.

“Go, hard. Jason, holy shit, yes.”

Her words were almost jumbled and the heat of our bodies were fogging the windows in the cool day. The smell of our joining filled the cabin and made me nothing but harder.

Her hips rose up to greet mine and the slap of bodies added to the primitive sensation of our sex. A moment later she was thrusting up as hard as I was thrusting down.

With a little twist of her hips, her clit was directly inline with my entry and withdrawl and her hand dug into my shoulder, her nails pressing into my flesh.

Delia gasped, “Yes, yes, yes,” as she rose to meet my erection. Each word rose in a crescendo, and finally she was at the edge. “Don’t stop, don’t stop! Fuck me, don’t stop!”

I twisted my hips this time, and the damn broke for both of us at almost the same time. Her pussy clenched, a tight fist around my cock, and the ripple of her orgasm punched though my body and landed in my balls, forcing the orgasm out, forcing my cum deep into her channel as we both screamed from the sheer pleasure we wrung from each other.

Four, five, six thrusts into that wet, tight heat, and I managed to roll so that I was tucked in the corner and she was on my lap.

My cock twitched a few times, the remainders of my cum beading at the top. We were panting hard, and covered in a sheen of sweat. I just held her in my lap, as we both quieted enjoying the recovery from such an intense joining.

“Jason?”

“Mmm?”

“What the hell just happened.”

I peered at her with a wicked grin. “I should think that was obvious.”

She nipped my earlobe. “You know what I mean.”

I drew a deep breath, trying to still myself. “It’s called the alpha affect. When an alpha asserts himself—or herself—the remaining energy turns sexual. It’s known to affect the Alpha, the beta and a select group of shifters known as enforcers.” I looked at the fogged window and hit the button to lower the one behind me.

“I’m not any of those, Delia. I’m just a rank and file wolf. I shouldn’t have been affected by that.”

“Okay, so there’s a whole bunch of stuff I want to ask, but first thing’s first… You’re freaked out by this, aren’t you?”

“Very. Very much. Not that I don’t like what just happened, because, holy shit that was awesome, but. I’m just a pack member.”

Her fingers brushed lazily over my thigh. “It’s not just that?”

“I gave Heath a command and he obeyed. Again. Not something that should happen. Usually common wolves can’t command other common wolves.”

“So before I go plowing forward…is everyone in St. Terese a wolf?” Her eyebrows were high, and she was trying to stay calm for me.

“Not…everyone. We have a few humans who are mated to wolves, a few moonborn, and a few other kinds of shifters.”

“Moonborn?”

“Shifter children who weren’t born with the ability to shift. Usually, they find they are mates to another shifter, though.”

“Okay, so the whole compound is shifter related, except for those of who came in late?”

“Yes.”

She put a hand on her forehead. “Garrett? Patrick? Martin?”

“Martin is our Alpha. Garrett is our Beta and he’s assumed to be the next Alpha, and Patrick would be his beta when that happened.”

“Holy shit, do Jess and Addi know?”

“That’s up to Garrett and Patrick, but I’d guess that yes, Jess knows if she just got screwed in the truck on the access road.”

“So who are the enforcers?”

“Voss, Thomas, Yeager, and Niles. And they all answer to Martin.”

“Wouldn’t it make sense then that Garrett needs his own? And maybe that was your audition?”

I cocked my head and considered her a moment. It actually made perfect sense that at some point, once Garrett found his mate—I assumed Jess was at this point—he would need to put his cadre together. But me? With a sister, no money, and no standing? That was…almost crazy.

* * *

Jason calmed instantly when I made the suggestion, but something else was bothering him.

It leapt in to his eyes and I could see that it would be something that would make him turn the position down. I put my hand on his cheek.

“What is it?”

His lip twisted. Whatever this was really bothered him.

“Being an enforcer takes quite a bit of money and prestige. I don’t have either.”

“If Garrett wants you there…”

“No, it’s not the prestige I’m worried about. Though, most people still judge me by my parents’ stupidity.”

I got it. “You’re afraid of the money.”

“I’m not afraid of it. I have none.”

“Well, that’s not such a big deal—”

“No, Delia. I’m broke. I’m beyond broke. I only just finally got to the point where I could pay back Voss for his generosity with my house. I had to ask for loans for Cora’s education. That’s…not the mark of an enforcer.”

“Enforcers give out loans?”

He laughed and slipped me off his lap, dragging my panties up my legs. “They’re extensions of the Alpha. The alpha keeps everyone not only in line, but happy. When my house was about to be taken by the debtors, Voss stepped up and bought it from me for a thousand dollars. I finally bought it back last year, for the same thousand. It took me twenty years to get the money back. Just a simple thousand and I couldn’t do it.”

He pulled his pants back on and fastened them. Like he was trying to put a barrier between us.

“One of the things that is incredibly important to the shifters of St. Terese-Mendenhall is that we are able to provide anything for our families. Our mates should always have what they want, what they need.”

I pulled my pants off the floor and slipped them on. “And you can’t?”

“I can’t.” He was staring straight ahead out of the windshield. He put his head down on the steering wheel and I could feel the pain and sadness cascading off him.

“I couldn’t pay for my sister’s college. I couldn’t pay for my house. The debtors stripped every cent we had when my parents were killed.

“I have spent twenty years desperately trying to get some savings back. Trying to get my truck paid off. Trying to buy back my house. They gambled every last penny we had and more and then went and got themselves fucking killed. They left me and Cora beyond destitute.”

He sat up and looked at me. “I can’t afford to be an enforcer. I can’t afford a mate. And the fact that it looks like I’ve been gifted with both screws me hard.”

I wrinkled my forehead. “You don’t have to afford me, Jason. If this relationship is going to work out, I don’t care if you’re poor or a billionaire.”

He looked straight ahead. “I care.”

I let out a short breath. There was going to be no talking to him now. He’d shared what he considered his deepest, darkest secret and now there was no reason for us to discuss this.

It was also the wrong damn time for me to mention the millions I had in the bank.

Just when I thought we were on a good path. Just when I thought that I might really want to give this relationship a go after the summer.

“Let’s get back to the cabin,” I offered. “I think there’s still some stuff Brandy needs help with.”

He nodded, tersely. All the desperate passion that had filled the truck just a few minutes before was gone.

I shivered.

10

The scratching on the door had all five of us sitting up straight.

“What was that?” Zanna whispered.

“No…” Brandy’s voice was beyond stressed.

I watched as Zanna ran for the closet near the kitchen. One of the features I had Garrett put in was a gun safe, and she yanked out one of the rifles in there, while Jess and Addi grabbed the other two we’d bought.

They lined up in front of the new breakfast bar as Brandy and I ducked around it. “This is insane,” I whispered.

Addi glanced at Jess. “Who was on patrol tonight?”

Addi knew! Addi knew that Jess knew too! They were dating brothers, so it made sense and I let out a breath.

“I don’t know,” Jess whispered.

Clearing my throat, I answered, “Pretty sure it was Bart tonight.”

The two of them snapped their heads to stare at me, and Jess blinked a few times. “What?”

I shrugged. “What? You asked.”

And they knew that I knew they knew.

Brandy’s eyes darted from face to face. “What patrols? What’s going on?”

I started, “The pa...” Halting I cleared my throat. Zanna and Brandy did not know about the pack. “The guys at the compound set up patrols around here. Someone watches the woods every night. They don’t like the ex—coyotes.”

“If it’s Bart, he’s not out there.” Jess cringed. “Bart is pissed at Martin and Garrett, so he probably decided not to play along. I can totally see him doing that for spite.”

Zanna was about to ask a question, but it didn’t get past her lips. The scratching turned to a bang on the door.

“They’re trying to break in.” Brandy was really distressed now. “I just got this place together today!”

“Call Garrett,” Addi said. “We need their help.”

Jess yanked the phone off the wall, and stared at it. “Dead. They cut the line.”

The other four of us held out our cell phones. Jess laughed and was already dialing her own. “I got it.”

Something banged against the door, and we all jerked around to see if the door was still standing. In that next moment, Jess started talking to Garrett.

“Bart was supposed to be on patrol, wasn’t he.” She paused. “We think the coyotes are trying to bust in the front door.” A moment later she pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at it. “Well. I guess he’s on the way.”

Another bang, and Zanna’s face distorted. “How are they going to get here in any less than ten minutes.

What she and Brandy didn’t know was there was a straight path up the hill from the compound to the back door of the cabin, and the wolves would be able to run it in less than five.

“Upstairs,” Brandy directed. “You can stand at the top of the staircase and pick off the mutts if you have to.”

Disgust washed over all of us. We didn’t want to ‘pick off’ anyone. Just the thought turned my stomach, but Zanna and I headed for the stairs anyway and we started up.

Halfway up, there was knock on the door.

A knock.

At least one of them had shifted.

“Brandy. Brandy Yéil. Come out here and face us. We challenge for this land. You have to answer to a challenge.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Zanna asked.

It meant that they wanted to fight her for it. Physical, knock down drag out fight. It was a shifter thing, and Brandy was not a shifter.

“They need to serve a subpoena. Why would they think I’d answer a knock on my door in the middle of the night?”

“Go, go, upstairs,” Jess said. “Come on.”

We scrambled up the stairs as the banging got louder and louder. By the time we got to the top, it was a steady beat on the door.

Then, I heard the howls.

Garrett and Patrick, followed by three more—including Jason’s. Jess and Addi recognized their wolves’ howls as well.

Surreal.

Zanna looked to the one bedroom, and tried to see out the window. “Oh, God. Wolves, too?”

The next instant, the yips and barks of the coyotes were surrounding the house. They were angry sounds, and they drowned out the banging and yelling at the front door. The sounds were overwhelming—but then stopped suddenly, and a single howl came from the front door.

The knob rattled.

Shifters were insanely strong, even in human form, and I knew we were in trouble. Jess opened her mouth to say something and was cut off.

The doorknob made a grinding sound. Then a crunch. Then, thunk.

The inner knob smashed to the floor.

“They ripped the fucking knob off?” Zanna whispered.

Jess grabbed my shoulders and pushed. “Go. Out the window. We can’t stay here. They aren’t going to be alone, there are going to be humans and we can’t hide here. I’m not shooting anyone.”

I grabbed Brandy and made for the back bedroom. There was a roof outside the window and I yanked the sash up. Zanna was right behind us and I pulled her to the window.

“You have a gun, you go first. Addi and Jess have us covered.”

Zanna nodded. Handing me her gun to hold, she stepped out on the roof and motioned for the gun back.

I heard the door downstairs snap open and fly back against the wall. They weren’t kidding around. I shoved Brandy out. She was the one they wanted, and we had to keep her away from them.

I looked back at the stairs to Addi and Jess. “Come on!”

Zanna had Brandy down on the roof crouching behind her. If they wanted her, they were going to have kill Zanna. Sliding the gun into the window, Zanna took aim at the door. I really hoped she didn’t have to fire that. I scrambled out and headed to the edge of the roof.

Jess was there next to me a moment later. I nodded to the back deck. “About ten to the deck. If we hang drop, it shouldn’t be that bad. We can head for the woods.

“The woods? Zanna asked. “Is that a good idea?”

I heard a wolf howl, very close.

Jess nodded. “Woods are a good idea. The wolves won’t attack us.”

It was getting annoying that Zanna and Brandy didn’t know. It would have been easier if they were in on the secret. I made a mental note to ask Garrett or Jason about that.

“Can we outrun coyotes?” Brandy whispered.

“Do we have a choice?” Jess cocked her head.

“No. Let’s just get down. We only have to stay out of their way until Garrett gets here.”

“Garrett alone isn’t going to be able to do much.” Zanna looked out over the back of the house nervously.

“Patrick will be with him,” Jess said.

“Jason and Martin too, I’d guess,” I added.

Jess snorted. “And Tati, because she’ll just invite herself along.” She tossed her chin at the edge. “Hang, then drop. Run for the forest.” She pointed to the right. “That’s the closest, and the furthest from the front door.”

Since I had the most experience with climbing, I helped Brandy over the edge and coaxed her through the hang-drop that we had to do. Dropping and rolling, she made almost no noise.

I was right behind her, and I grabbed her arm, running for the trees. There was a lot of cover right at the edge, and while the coyote might be able to sniff us out, they wouldn’t look for us if they didn’t know we were there.

As we skidded to the ground, I saw Zanna running after us with two guns in her hands. She slid into the underbrush and shoved one of the rifles at me. I was shit for a shot, but I could hold it.

Watching the porch, we saw Addi motioned down Jess’s gun.

Jess followed the gun down—but not the way she should have.

I saw the explosion of blood, bone, and sinew as she was jerked forward. Addi screamed at the top of her lungs and dropped the gun.

As she fell, the massive body of a wolf flew over the railing and Addi used it to cushion the fall. But I could see, even from here, Jess’s shoulder was a mess, and there was blood everywhere.

The massive wolf shifted under Jess, and Garrett appeared there, holding Jess in his lap.

Brandy and Zanna both gasped.

I grimaced and swore, “Shit, fuck, damn, fuckfuckfuck!”

Garrett’s voice floated over. “Who shot her?!”

“I don’t know!” Addi was hysterical.

“Did Garrett just turn back from a wolf?” Brandy hissed.

Before I could answer, there were three more wolves on the deck and one at the stairs. I recognized Jason and Martin instantly.

The gorgeous white wolf, with one black paw, yipped and ran off the porch, heading straight for us under the foliage, and Jason was right behind her.

They skidded to a halt, and the white wolf yipped, walking over slowly, head down. She wrapped her jaws around Zanna’s arm and tugged lightly.

“Zanna! You’re a field medic!” I gasped, my brain finally starting to kick in. “Go, go! She’s here to take you over to Jess.”

“Oh, shit!” Zanna launched herself out from the underbrush and ran with white wolf back to the deck. I grabbed Brandy by the arm, and we ran back as well, Jason running alongside of me.

Zanna shoved Addi and the wolves out of the way, skidding in next to Jess. Brandy and I moved closer, and I could feel Jason pressed against my leg in his wolf.

Jess’s shoulder was…unsalvageable. Even I could see that from where I was. Zanna’s hands were fluttering over the wound and she was lost as to where to start. “There’s no medic kit in the world…”

“Closest major hospital is Anchorage,” Garrett hissed.

Jess’s hand fluttered over Garrett’s shirt and she whispered something to him. I knew, just knew, she was whispering ‘I love you’ to him.

“You know what you have to do, Son.” Martin was next to us at the stairs. He had shifted at some point, and stood buck naked, unaffected by the chill in the air.

“She never said yes.”

“Raise her ire, or lose her forever.”

I stared at my dying friend. I didn’t have a chance to tell them how much she wanted to live because Addi did that. “Don’t let her die!”

Garrett looked up a second later, and there was a decision in his eyes.

God almighty. He was going to mate her to save her life.

“Go with Patrick. Go. Leave us alone.”

Jason nudged my leg and nipped at my shirt to get me going. Zanna and Addi were screaming at each other, but I took Brandy by the arm, and led her back from the porch, down the stairs.

Jason looked back for a second and I glanced to where his sight fell. There were wolves locked in battle with coyotes, near the front of the house. Half the pack was there, fighting the exiles.

With a yip, he herded us down the path I knew cut straight down the mountain to the back gate of the compound. Brandy was shuffling along, and I was sure she didn’t know what the hell to think.

I shifted the rifle to the side away from her. “You okay?”

“No.” She looked at me. “What the hell just happened?”

I looked down at the gorgeous wolf with my boyfriend’s eyes looking back at me. He yipped, and nodded, assenting to what had to happen.

“There’s a lot more in these woods than we thought when we first got here, Bran. A lot more. And I’m not just talking about coyotes.”

She shook her head. “That’s why you and Addi and Jess have been acting weird, isn’t it?”

“To some degree, yes.”

She walked quietly for a moment. “Did I really, honestly just see a giant gray and brown wolf catch Jess off the roof and turn into Garrett?”

“Yes.”

“Fuck.”

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t tell you. None of us could.”

“Did Zanna know?”

“Before tonight, no.”

She looked over to my right to the wolf trotting along with me. Jason was not a big wolf, not compared to the Pauler men, but no wolf was truly small. He easily reached my waist, and his dark gray and brown fur made it hard to see him in the night. He trotted along quietly with us, and returned Brandy’s glance.

“That’s…”

“Jason.”

“Jesus Christ, you aren’t kidding are you.”

The sound of paws on dropped needles reached us, and I grabbed Brandy and pulled her out of the way. But this wasn’t a coyote. It was Patrick’s big brown and red wolf, who came to halt next to Jason.

There were chuffs and whines, as well as a yip and a bark. Jason licked my hand and pressed his muzzle against my palm, and I nodded. “Go. I know the way.”

He yipped and took off a run with Patrick.

Brandy let out a breath. “I don’t even know where to start asking questions about this.”

“Let me see if I can just cover some ground with this,” I said. “Jason, and Garrett and his family, and most of the people at St. Terese, are shifters. They are mostly wolves. They can change from wolf to human and back at will. They are faster, stronger, and live longer than humans. That goes for all the shifters: wolves, bears, ravens, eagles, elk, coyote, mountain lions. The packs around Juneau include wolves and coyotes, bears and elk. There used to be ravens, but something happened, I don’t know what, and they don’t exist anymore.”

“So why did Garrett just shoo us away?”

“Jess is dying, and he can save her.”

She stopped dead. “Wait. Are you telling me that the insane books you read are actually true?”

“Somewhat?”

“Garrett can save her because she’s his mate. And if he creates the bond, she gets his powers of healing.”

“Yes.”

Brandy looked ahead, and we just walked in silence for a few minutes. “Does she become a shifter?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t know how that all works. Jason doesn’t want to talk to me about it.”

“Are you Jason’s mate?”

I blinked as a wave of sadness crested over me. “Yes. I am. But he’s…in denial. I think. It’s a sore subject for him. He was pretty messed up in the truck yesterday when he tried to talk about money and it’s getting in the way of everything he’s thinking about.”

“Is Jess going to be okay?”

I nodded. She will. As long the bond is real, she’ll be fine.”

Brandy smirked. “From what I’ve seen of those two, it’s real.”

I rolled my eyes. “You too?”

“In the fucking woodshed. Twice. This week.”

I laughed, some of the tension of the past few hours draining away. “Yeah. Me too. But the bathroom. Randomly.”

“Every surface. I don’t know how Zanna stayed in that house with them. It must have been a construction zone.”

I looked at her. “What?”

“With all that drilling.”

We crumbled into laughter.

11

The dinner was too quiet.

Jess sat munching on her hamburger while I poked at the potato salad, Zanna took another hot dog. Brandy grabbed a beer and Addi pushed her coleslaw around the plate.

“What does it feel like?”

We all brought our gazes up to Brandy.

Jess cleared her throat. “Which part?”

Brandy took a swig of the beer, and slammed it down. “Shit, all of it.”

Addi broke down in laughter. “Thank you! One of us had to ask!”

“Well? You read shifter romances all the time! Of course, I want to know! I mean, is he really that good in bed?”

Zanna chuckled and the next moment saw all of us breaking down into laughter.

Jess pointed her hot dog at Brandy. “He’s so good in bed, Zanna woke up needing a cigarette.”

Brandy was indignant. “Don’t wave your wiener at me.”

That was the end of the awkward tension. We all started laughing, and finally started to just talk.

“I wanna see the shoulder,” Zanna said, walking around the table.

Jess put the hot dog on the plate and pulled the sleeve of her shirt over. Her skin was pink, and seemed to have a starburst pattern on it, but there was otherwise no sign of a lethal shotgun blast having hit her only a week before.

“Damn that is so cool,” Zanna said, prodding the soft skin. “And it doesn’t hurt?”

“Only when you poke it!”

“And you’re really going to be able to shift?” I asked.

“Someday, according to Tomasina. In a few years. It’s in there, but it’s…she’s not ready yet.”

“What about the other stuff?” Zanna asked.

“Like?”

“Smell? Taste? Hearing?”

“Oh, the smell! Christ! I know why they make fragrance free everything! Damn,” Jess said, rolling her eyes. “I can smell numbers sometimes.” She pointed at me. “You and Jason were going at this morning.”

“Before my shower!”

“Exactly.”

I laughed. “Wow. That’s some nose power!”

“Hearing? Nuts. I had to learn to turn it down really fast. It was getting so loud sometimes, and it was just crickets at night. Garrett gave me some tricks, but even sitting here, I can hear things that are under the dirt about a fifty yards away. And that’s just casual. If I focus, it gets more powerful.”

She smiled and looked at each of us. “The best part is my sight. I can see in damn near total darkness. You want to know why all the lights in St. Terese are low, that’s why. Very few people need them to see, and sometimes they are even annoying now. But I can pick out amazing details in things, and it’s crazy. I’m thinking about picking up my oil paints again, and trying to captures some of what I can see now.”

“That good?” I hadn’t seen Jess touch her paints in three years.

She stuck her finger out at me. “Don’t even think about buying them for me. My husband…” She stared at the tablecloths for a moment. “My husband. That sounds so…strange.”

“You’re married?” Addi asked.

“In the eyes of the pack, yes. Very much.” She darted her gaze around the table, and pulled back the other side of her shirt. There was an oblong, broken scar there, made of pale white dots. “That’s a mating mark. That makes us married in the shifter world.”

Addi drew a really deep breath. “Do you hate him?”

Her head snapped around. “No. No I don’t. I’m sitting here because of this. I’m still alive because he did it. I can’t be mad at him.”

Addi slumped in the chair. “Martin and I told him to do it. He didn’t want to because you hadn’t said yes. And I thought that you might…”

Jess stood and walked around to Addi. She wrapped her arms around our friend and hugged her tight. “I do not hate you. I do not hate Garrett and I don’t hate Martin. This is where I belong, and I’m glad that I can be here to enjoy it. And enjoy these terrible burgers that Brandy cooked.”

Brandy threw the burger back on her plate. “They are really bad. I’m better than these burgers. And you all know that.”

* * *

I sat in the woods, listening to their laughter. The menfolk had been invited to show up later, but the women wanted to have a chance to clear the air, and just have time to chat with each other.

Garrett and Patrick trotted up next to me, and sat down to listen as well. They both had their heads cocked, and I could see the smile on Garrett’s face.

Happily mated, even if they circumstances had sucked.

Patrick yipped quietly, but not quiet enough for Garrett’s wife. Her eyes drifted through the trees around us, and finally went back to her friends.

His command though, was clearly understood in the one yip. He trotted off with Garrett at his side and I fell in behind them. We loped through the forest toward the back of the Yéil property where there was a secluded waterfall and pond.

Garrett hopped up on the diving rock that was on the edge of the water. A lot of us spent a hours of our life jumping in and out of the pond.

The whole property had been an extension of pack land. The ruins of dozens of houses sat beyond the view of the main drive. I wondered if Brandy even knew how big her property was.

Garrett shifted to human and laid down on the rock to catch some of the summer sun. Patrick and I followed suit, and could just imagine what would happen if our respective women wandered in to this scene.

“Doing good, man?” I asked.

“Yeah. Much better than I thought I would. She’s not mad at all. I’m giving her as much freedom as I can, all things considered. She’d made it clear she’s going to get her master’s, so I’m trying to back off the possessiveness.”

“Hard?”

“Constantly. Oh, you mean the possessive thing…”

I snorted.

“Yes. I’m really having a hard time with it. I want to lock her in the house and throw away the key, despite her being everything I wanted in a mate: intelligent, sweet, powerful, and curious. It’s a total internal battle.”

“Are you going to put any limits.”

“Noooo, no. Not if I want to keep her. I’m going to have to let her go down to Vancouver for classes in the Fall. Maybe when she’s pregnant I’ll lock her away. Just to shut up the wolf.”

“Pregnant?” Patrick picked his head up.

“No, again. Noooo. No we’re not having any babies yet. I’m not ready—which is funny when you consider I’m a hundred eighteen—and Jess is especially not ready. She needs more time between a baby and her miscarriage.”

I had head that before but… “Miscarriage?”

“Her ex-fiancé tricked her into getting pregnant.”

“Wow, how do you do that?”

“Poke holes in the condoms. Grade A asshole.” Garrett shook his head. “The alpha in me wants to go choke the fucker. The human in me also wants to go choke the fucker.”

“At least both sides agree.” Patrick laughed. “Hey speaking of alpha…could you warn the people around you when you’re going to go into alpha? I basically ripped Addi’s clothes off.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I was barely able to get down the road the other day and duck off in the truck.”

Both Patrick and Garrett turned and looked at me lying on the rock. They traded looks, and then looked back at me.

Twisting my lip, I sighed. “Yes. It hit me when we boxed in Heath. I had Delia pulling her pants off before I could pull the truck off the road.”

Garrett nodded and put his head back down. “Well. That’s that, I guess. I meant to ask you about the other night, what your standing was in the pack. I see you’re one of the higher ups.”

“I’m not. You both know that. I’m just a regular shifter in the pack,” I said. “I actually kinda freaked out about it when it happened.”

“Well, apparently, my alpha group is forming.”

“Yeah, I’m not really…”

“Oh, stop. I’m not taking the lead from my father for a long time.”

I put my head back down. I wasn’t going to be an enforcer for a long time, if at all. I also knew that this wasn’t the time to argue with him. We had a while to relax before we went back to the cabin.

“We’re going to have talk to Brandy. Soon,” Patrick said.

“It’s a relief she knows, anyway,” I said.

Garrett grunted, “Yeah, but it sucks that it falls to us to talk to her.”

“Why don’t you have Grandmother talk to her?” Patrick asked.

“You’re too young to remember, but Grandmother lost her husband in that mess. Bringing Brandy to talk to her could open a can of worms or hurt that I don’t want want to.” Garrett rolled over and lay bottom up on the rock. “I’m going to have Dad help me with it. I can’t just walk up to her, spit out the facts and walk away. That’s…not right.”

I nodded, banging my head on the rock accidently.

Patrick and Garrett looked over at me, and started laughing as I rubbed the sore spot. I shook my head. “You really want that kind of grace and awareness as an enforcer?”

They laughed harder.

12

“Why are we sneaking around?” Addi asked.

I parked the car on the side of the bank where I knew no one would go looking for it, and motioned Addi to get out.

“Zanna’s creditors are back, claiming she owes them another thirty grand.”

“Horseshit! Are you serious? That felonious bullshit treatment she went for?”

I waved her down. “Her parents were desperate. I don’t blame anyone but the scam artist who runs that clinic. And in fact, that’s part of why we’re here.”

I pushed open the door, and ushered her into the bank. Quentin nodded at me from across the room and pointed to the stairs on our right. I waved my thanks and Addi and I walked up.

“So, why are we here?”

I waggled my eyebrows. “I found a lawyer. He’s been working with four other people who are being defrauded by the clinic. I am thinking about hiring him for Zanna so this can go forward and we can close this clinic.”

“Zanna doesn’t have—”

I held my finger up. “Would I ever, ever hire someone for her if I wasn’t willing to front the cash for this?”

Addi’s jaw dropped. “You flew him here, didn’t you?”

“Of course. I want to talk in person. I trust lawyers as far as I can throw them.”

“I’m very light, Miss LaPlage, so you can toss me pretty far.”

I looked to the left and found a man standing there in pressed slacks, a long-sleeved shirt and a sweater vest. He had a briefcase open on the table as well as a computer next to it.

I grinned. “Mister Bellator, I presume.”

“Indeed, Miss LaPlage. But call me Jim. After all, it’s not every day a small-time lawyer like me gets an offer to meet a client, expenses paid.”

Motioning to the chairs around the table, we all sat. Addi looked confused, but I hoped she could see the ‘just hang on’ look in my eyes.

“So, Mist—Jim. Tell me about this case, and if we can put Zanna on your lawsuit.”

“Well, as you know I’m sure, Vitaz Clinic purport to have cures for all kinds of rare disorders that get no real attention from the CDC or research. They claim that just about any blood borne illness, pathogen, or cancer is able to be cured in their clinic.

“We all know this is bullshit, but they prey on the desperate. Four of the clients on this lawsuit were very young when they fell into the trap. They seem to prey on young adults. That is, the teenagers who are eighteen, nineteen years old, or just in college. People who have not responded to traditional medical techniques.

“Three of the people on the lawsuit were misdiagnosed, which was why they didn’t respond. Two more were victims of over-zealous parents who just wanted them cured from whatever it was they had. Four more are the families of the deceased.

“At Vitez, they treat with exercise, apple cider vinegar, and beets. Meditation and Tylenol. Sweat houses. It’s a holistic nightmare there. And I don’t know who they know, but even after they had four people die on property—more than, but the rest went unreported—the place was still open.

“We’re trying to sue for closure and damages. This is a huge medical malpractice suit that deserves it’s day in court, especially now that we’re going through a second round of fraud. It’s difficult though, because all of these clients are in desperate straits and I can’t dedicate the time I need to really, really dig into this.

“Mind you, I don’t mean to sound like I’m brushing them off for money. But the fact is that I’m pretty much a one man show, and I have to feed my kids.”

Addi wrinkled her brow. “That’s kind of forward.”

“No, it’s not. I had asked him to explain, a few a days ago, what was holding the case up.” I scratched my chin. “So you think that you could win this, if you had the resources.”

“Absolutely. This is a clear-cut case.”

Addi stared at me. She knew what I was about to do, though she didn’t know how.

“So, I would like to put Zanna—Suzanne Kilkenny on the lawsuit. They are pursuing her for another thirty thousand dollars, and this has to stop.”

“I wish she wasn’t joining us, but I understand why.”

“Now. I’m going to give you the resources.”

“Excuse me?” Addi and Jim both said it.

“I’m going to have my financial manager contact you, and my own personal lawyer, but you will have resources through them. The financial manager will set up a regular salary for you, and give you some latitude on how to run this case.”

“How is that…I mean…” Jim was stuttering and Addi was staring.

“You see, I’m quite wealthy, and I want to help Zanna get beyond this. Her SCT, that is stem cell transplant, has the potential to hold her chronic neutrophilic leukemia from reoccurring or mutating into myeloma for close to twenty years. We’re on year two. And I don’t want to hear from these damn people again. Ever.”

Addi swore, “You paid for her SCT!”

I nodded.

Jim shot to his feet, and I could see earnest tears in his eyes as he held out his hand to me. “Thank you, Madeline. Thank you. These victims deserve their justice, and this will help me so much to get them what they deserve and get that horrible place shut down.”

While Jim and I wrapped up the business of getting Zanna on the lawsuit, and I got him on the phone with my financial advisor, Addi just stared at me.

She was about to unleash a million questions at me. I held my hand up to stave off her questions until we were out of the bank and into the car.

And we almost made it.

“Hello, Madeline.”

I whirled around at that voice.

The world went black.

* * *

I was about to walk down to Patrick’s house when there was a bang on my door.

Patrick stood there, looking disheveled.

“Have you seen Addi or Delia?”

“I was just about to head down to you to ask the same thing. They went into town to take care of something this morning.”

“They’re not back.”

“Patrick, she’s not answering!” Jess yelled at him running down the street. She glanced at me. “Neither is Delia.”

“Something is wrong,” Patrick and I chorused.

“Of course, it is,” Jess said. “But—”

She was cut off my her phone ringing with Garrett’s number on the screen. She swiped to answer. “What? Oh. Really? Shit, hold on.” She held phone out to me.

I grabbed it. “Yeah?”

“Quentin just called from the bank. He saw someone come after Delia. He called the police, but by the time they were there, there was no sign of them. He could still smell someone who had Delia’s familial scent.”

I froze. “Holy shit. Jess, do you know Delia’s uncle?”

“Uncle Chuck the Asshole?”

“That’s him.”

“He’s in jail, though, isn’t he?”

“I’d put money on him escaping. Garrett—”

“I’m hanging up to call the sherriff right now. I’ll find out if he’s broken out. I’m going to assume that we’re looking for Charles LaPlage?”

“Something like that. I’ll call Mitchell and get that confirmed. We’re going to head into the city and talk to Quentin and see if we can possibly sniff them out.”

I clicked the phone off and handed it back to Jess. They followed me back into the house where I picked up the landline handset and paged down through recently dialed. Delia had been calling her parents and brother regularly—and we’d had the cell tower go out the week before. She used the house phone.

Both of the numbers were in there, and I picked the one with the Massachusetts area code. I put it on speaker, and it rang only one.

Mitch’s concerned voice came over the phone. “What’s wrong, M.”

“Mitch, it’s Jason. We got a problem.”

“Where’s Madeline?”

“That’s just it. We don’t know. She and Addi went to the bank this morning, apparently, and hasn’t come back. The manager said that he though he saw the two of them get attacked outside, but he didn’t get out there fast enough to see what happened or where they went.”

“Shit.”

“Your uncle’s name is Charles LaPlage?”

He coughed. “No. It’s Charles Aaron Hoengaard.”

I wrinkled my brow, confused. “But he’s your dad’s brother, isn’t he?”

“We changed our name after… She didn’t tell you the whole story, did she? I keep telling her she can’t play this shit so close to the chest.”

I looked over at Jess who was able to text Garrett the name as fast as Mitch said it.

“She hasn’t said anything, Mitch.” Jess leaned in. “Even I didn’t know LaPlage wasn’t your last name.”

“We were kidnapped by Uncle Chuck one summer. Neither Delia or I knew we were being kidnapped, or that we were being held for ransom. We got bored and tired in Florida and bought tickets to go home. Chuck was pissed because his two little million dollar prizes had just walked away.”

Jesus, this uncle was nothing but trouble.

“Why is he kidnapping her?”

His answer was short. “We’re rich.”

“That’s it?” Patrick asked. “I mean, I’m rich too. Could he be after my money?”

“No,” Mitch said. “He would have taken you. He wants the money and Madeline and I are finally old enough to access to the trusts our parents set up. It’s not the whole thing, but he’s a greedy asshole.”

“Mitchell. How much money?”

“Right now?” He took a deep breath. “About eighty million. He’ll get her to transfer the ownership to him.”

“Excuse me?” I coughed.

“That’s just her personal trust. There’s a larger estate, which is what he really wants. If he has someone with her, he’ll threaten the other person. Mom and Dad will sign it over to get her out.”

I could almost hear him running a hand down his face. “I don’t know if you’ve realized it yet, but that money means nothing to any of us. None of it means a thing to us if we don’t have family and friends. She will give it all up to save Addi.

“But Chuck…Chuck will kill them both no matter what. And with that money, he’ll disappear. You can’t let him get his hands on that money—he killed his wife and daughter in Florida and he killed a new wife and son in Alaska. He’s probably killed more than that, too.

“You have to stop him. If he gets the money, he kills Madeline and Addison. And gets away with at least six murders, if not more.”

“Jesus,” I breathed. “No wonder you didn’t want her here.”

“Do you need me? I can be there in a few hours.”

I shook my head and realized he was on the phone and couldn’t see that. “No, we’ll be good.”

“Whatever you need, if you need anything, text me and I will get it to you. I don’t care if you need a fucking Sherman tank, I will get it there.”

Jess leaned into the phone. “Mitchell, text me immediately if you feel anything, at all. Any twitch or twinge. You know my number.”

“Yes. Of course.”

Jess said the goodbye, and we ended the call. I looked at the three others in the room with me, and took a deep breath.

“Where do we start?”

* * *

My arm was numb.

Worse, my head was pounding like someone was inside with a sledgehammer, trying to get out.

“Don’t move.”

I couldn’t move. But I appreciated the warning. It took me a moment to place the voice over the hum in my head.

“Addi,” I whispered.

“Chuck smashed you in the back of the head with a what I swear was a brick. He tossed you up on his shoulder, and dragged us to a car.”

“Where is he?”

“He pulled over. He drank all morning waiting for us. So he had to piss, as he inelegantly put it. Someone told him we were going to be there, I just haven’t figured out who yet.”

“Surveillance.”

“No.” Addi’s lips were barely moving. “He’s good, Delia. He parked this shit boat in the grocery store lot across the street. Too far from their cameras, too.”

“I hate Uncle Chuck.”

“He’s coming back,” Addi said. “Play unconscious. I’ll bait him into the conversation again. You have to hear what this ass is saying.”

I wasn’t against that. I really felt like just going to sleep, but I had to hear what Uncle Chuck was up to. I knew it wasn’t going to be a damn good thing.

The whole car shook as he climbed in. I could smell the alcohol on him, too, as he let out a rousing belch. I hated this man with all I had to hate him with.

“She awake yet?” He stomped on the gas at the same time he turned the engine over.

“No.” Addi’s voice was laced with emotion, and she let out a few sobs. “What did you do to her? She’s still unconscious.”

“I should have killed her, but I need that money.”

“What money?”

There was a pause and I guess that Chuck looked back at her. “Don’t play stupid, girl. Her money. The money. All that damn green that her and her brother, and that shit bag, cheap ass brother and his whore wife have.”

I was glad to see he hadn’t changed. At all. Dirt bag.

“I’ve known Delia for four years and I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Please. They’re filthy fucking stinking rich.”

Now I was going to have to explain everything to my friends.

“How does kidnapping us get you the money? Since she’s unconscious, she can’t sign anything.”

“She’ll wake up eventually. And if she wants me to save your life, she’ll sign it all over. If my stupid fucking brother wants his daughter back, he’ll sign over the money.”

“I don’t understand why you think there’s this much money.” I felt Addi shake her head.

“See? They’re all liars and cheats. All of them. Family is everything, family is the only thing, and not sharing wealth with your family is wrong and cruel.”

I coughed. I couldn’t hold it in. The smell of his alcohol combined with the stench of exhaust just finally got to me.

“Oh, my niece the bitch is waking up, finally.”

I blinked a few times, and tried to get the pounding in my head to settle enough to sit up. Addie helped me to right myself and adjust in the seat.

I looked in the rearview and stared at my uncle Charles Hoengaard.

He looked terrible.

Heavy circles under his watery eyes. Yellow rimming the whites of them, and a sallow color to his skin. Scraggly salt and pepper scruff stood in for the beard he always used to have.

I squinted. “When did you break out of jail?”

“Watch your mouth, girl.”

I tried to rub my head, but found my hands were tied. I brought them both up and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Oh, fuck off, Uncle Chuck.”

“I’ll punch your lights out, you brat.”

“How did you find me? We’ve moved, we changed our names, we had no contact with anyone you would know. Not even the law enforcement that put you where you belong.”

“You really think I didn’t know exactly where you were all this time? You think that there’s no one in prison system to get me information? I was biding my time, trying to come up with a way to get to my miserable ass brother. And then lo and behold, someone slipped in the information that a LaPlage had written a massive check in Juneau.”

The check. For Brandy’s cabin. I wondered why the woman had said she enjoyed working with the LaPlage family again. I figure she was talking about the bank as a whole—but this asshole had someone pose to find out the information. The first check for twenty thousand would have triggered, and the second check would have confirmed it.

Damn. Damn. Damn.

“So what do you want? What do you need to let us go?”

“Your money. All of it. Transferred to my accounts. Or I’ll shoot your little friend here, right through the head.”

“I have no doubt you’ll do that, either.”

“And then your parents can do the same or I’ll kill you.”

“Also, not shocking.”

Addi was staring at me with wide eyes. She mouthed words at me. Are you nuts?

I shrugged. Uncle Chuck was a sociopathic serial killer. There was no reason to take him at anything but his word. There was a reason we changed our name after that summer.

“You gonna sign it over, girl?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Smart.”

The rest of our drive was quiet. I was half thinking about how to hide some of the accounts from him, and half occupied with how to get out of this mess. I honestly didn’t care if I did have to sign it all over—keeping Addi alive was the only option.

We bounced through the south end of the city, and off onto a crappy firebreak that looked like someone had just plowed it through a few weeks before. It eventually led to another road, and that one climbed the mountain there. The cut in the trees had been made to circumvent the road to that point.

This bastard had been planning to kidnap me for a while. He had plans.

He had someone in the bank.

I wanted to swear, loudly. Someone in that bank knew him, and gave him my information. I had a million questions for him, but I kept my mouth shut.

I had to get us out of this. It could be days before anyone figured out we were missing.

The massive piece of shit vehicle that Chuck was driving bounced and crashed over some moguls in the road before pulling to stop in front of dilapidated house.

He tossed the door of the massive, ancient Cadillac open. Where had he gotten this thing? Juneau didn’t seem like the kind of place that would lend itself to the impracticality of what amounted to a pimp-mobile. Especially not one from the early ‘90s.

The seat flipped forward and Chuck grabbed the rope tying my hands together. He hauled me out, unceremoniously tossing me against the car. Addi was trying to climb out, hoping to prevent any damage to herself. The girl could break so easily, literally.

She’d gotten herself up so Chuck’s yank merely helped her out of the car. Addi leaned next to me as Chuck slammed the door and walked to the trunk.

I held my fingers to my lips. I didn’t want to give him any kind of ammunition against us. She seemed to understand.

Closing the trunk, Chuck now had a shot gun and a brown bag. The bag was clearly full of his beer, and the shot gun was pointed at us.

“Move.”

Walking with our hands tied, we headed for the building.

13

Quentin leaned against the side of the building with the rest of us, and pointed up.

“That camera didn’t see him. I just had it fixed two weeks ago, and I’m getting the footage pulled up. It’s all stored off site, so it takes a few minutes. I just wish I had been a half a minute faster extracting myself from the customer.”

I waved him off. “Not your fault. But I don’t scent either one of them on this side of the building.”

“Where else could he have stashed a vehicle?” Jess asked, looking around. She wandered to the edge of the building and I could smell her disappointment. “Oh, shit. There’s a huge grocery store lot over there.”

I trotted over. No matter how many times I was in the city, I always forgot how close together everything was. And sure as shit, there was a huge parking lot for the strip mall that had a grocery store in it.

“So, we canvas.” Garrett, ever the alpha, leaned up from the wall. “We started asking people if they saw anything out of place today. We started asking if anyone in that strip mall has a security camera.”

Patrick nodded, vigorously. He was terrified for Addi, but was doing his best to hide it. “Contact the coyotes. We’re way south and they’re just out of town at Turner Lake.”

“I’ll get Dad on that, and the rest of us can split up and start looking.”

“You’re awfully calm, Jason,” Jess said to me quietly as we crossed the street. “Patrick is a mess.”

“You’re calm, too,” I retorted.

She smirked. “I suspect it’s because we both know what kind of bad ass bitch Delia really is. She’s going to do whatever she can to survive.”

I returned her smirk. “Bingo. That woman is no one to be trifled with, and I think that Uncle Chuck is going to regret having taken them.”

“I think you’re right.” Jess elbowed me. “We just need to find her. And I don’t know the first thing about Uncle Chuck.”

“You’ve known her for how long?”

“Four years. Almost five. As open as she is as a person, she’s closed-mouthed about a lot of other stuff. Like where her family’s money came from. I always thought she was a trust fund baby, but if Chuck doesn’t have any money…”

Those were my questions too. I had seen her write out a fifty-two thousand dollar check. That wasn’t pocket change. It also wasn’t time to really think about that stuff.

“We need to think like a criminal,” I said, as the four of us walked down the sidewalk.

“Juneau is like one of the worst places to commit a crime,” Garrett said. “There are no highways out, what few roads there are dead-end in the trees halfway up a hill. If you can find a track that takes you out, you need to have an off-road vehicle.”

Patrick covered another angle. “The water cuts off any of those escape routes, and since we’re in high tourist season, the coast guard and harbor patrol are all over the waterways.”

“And flying is tracked by the FAA, even irregular flights with last minute departures,” I concluded.

“What about the cruise ships?” Jess asked.

I shook my head. “Controlled ingress and egress. You have to have a card on and off and they check you against a picture that you have taken right away when you get on. Even I have an ID card on file with them in case I need to get on the ship for some reason. You can’t walk on and off those.”

“Not even the cargo?” Jess was amazed.

“That’s even more controlled.”

“So,” Garrett said. “Our options are what?”

“Wait, wait,” I said. “How did he get here? He has to have been here for a few days if not weeks before this. He had to make contact in the bank.”

“How could he get here?” Jess asked. “We flew in. Is there another way?”

“Container ship,” Garrett answered. “From Anchorage to here. There’s a ship that runs once a week to Skagway and here. There are a bunch of ships that run cargo, especially this time of year. It wouldn’t be hard to get on one. Getting back out with two girls would be tough, though.”

“I don’t think he has any intention of leaving with them,” Jess said. “He’s either going to let them go, unlikely, or kill them. More likely.”

That idea sat in my stomach like a rock. Patrick looked ready to let his wolf out and go storm the castle, and Jess was pale after laying it out just like that.

“All right, we need to canvas. Patrick, Jason, you stick together, and Jess and I will start in the grocery store lot. Meet in the middle.”

As Patrick and I were about to head down the strip mall, Garrett’s phone rang. Swiping it open, he gave a hello. With our hearing, there was no need to put it on speaker.

“Garrett, it’s Fergus.”

“This isn’t the time—”

“No, this isn’t about the cabin, Beta.”

Using his formal title in the conversation clued everyone in.

Garrett cleared his throat. “Go on.”

“You’re missing two women from the cabin, aren’t you? Patrick and Jason’s women, specifically.”

“Yes.” Garrett stared at us.

“Wendell saw them. He’s here with me, and I’m going to let him tell you what he saw.”

The phone passed from person to person. “Beta. I didn’t know who to talk to and figured my own alpha would be best. I saw the women in the car this morning. They were in the back with no driver and I thought that was weird for the part of the city they were in. I pulled ahead and parked. A minute later, a human emerged from the alleyway, zipping his fly. He climbed in and pulled away from the curb. I followed for just about half a mile, until he got to the turn off for the mountain. I couldn’t follow him further without suspicion.”

“And you’re sure it’s them?”

“Yes. I’d know them anywhere. I’d circled that cabin a thousand times.”

“So they’re in the south end of the city,” I said. “But we can’t pick up their scents. There’s too much—”

“He pissed in the alley.”

We all froze, except Jess whose face filled with disgust.

Patrick leaned in. “He pissed?”

“In the alley,” Wendell replied. “He was utterly fetid. Pickled. He smelled like cheap tequila and skunked beer. And I was three full cars behind him. It was just about two hours ago, so I’d bet if you got to that intersection, you’d still be able to follow him.”

“Down by Thane?”

“Yes, by Sheep Creek.”

“Good, put Fergus back on.” The phone switched hands again and Fergus was back with a ‘hello.’ “That’s twice, Ferg. Does he need one more?”

“He’s been actually living back on the compound for about a week, and I’ve had no trouble with him at all. This also goes a long way toward helping him regain status.”

“Good. We’re heading down to Thane right now, and if you can tell the other packs to keep their eyes open, I’d appreciate that.”

“Will do,” Fergus said, and cut the connection.

I was already heading back to my truck, and Patrick was striding right along with me. Jess and Garrett headed for their truck, and we pulled into traffic behind them.

* * *

We were in the bedroom, while Chuck was in the front room. He was on a sat phone, talking to people and drinking beer. I could hear some of the conversation and it was clear he was setting up the bank transfers from my account to some overseas account.

The man might be a murderer, but he was smart.

“So,” Addi said, shifting to look at me. “We’ve known each other five years now. Care to explain your money? When your shitbag uncle out there clearly has none.”

It was only fair she knew, since he was threatening to kill us for it.

“Dad won the lottery.”

“What?” Addi’s mouth fell open.

“When we were thirteen. We were the poorest poor people you ever wanted to know. We lived in a slum in Baltimore. Mom worked two jobs and Dad three. His single and only indulgence was a lottery ticket each time the lottery went off. He’d been doing that since before we were born. He hit the Powerball. Four hundred and ninety-five million dollars, single winner.”

“Holy shit, Delia.”

“Mitch and I didn’t even know. Dad had opted for confidentiality, and they never revealed his name. We were kept in the dark for about six months, and then two weeks before the end of eighth grade, Mom and Dad said we were moving once school was out, so say our goodbyes and pack only a few clothes and any of our things we wanted to keep, like books or video games.

“It was the day after school let out, and Dad left at eight in the morning. Mom and I emptied the fridge and cupboards. Mitch took out the trash while Mom took the canned goods to the local pantry. Mitch and I piled our suitcases and the few boxes we were taking by the door.

“Dad pulled up in a brand new Land Cruiser, and told us to put everything in there. A few minutes later a man pulled up, and he and Dad had conversation about the house, and at the end of it, dad handed over his keys with a promise that Mom would mail hers. The man stuck a ‘for sale’ sign in the tiny front lawn, with the words ‘fully furnished’ underneath.

“We piled into the SUV, and we drove away. For good. We were never going back. We drove from noon to five that day, and stopped at the first hotel I had ever stayed in. It was a Hilton just over the New York border by the Tappan Zee. And that night, over pizza in our massive suite, Mom and Dad explained how friggin’ wealthy were now were.

“My brother and I have trust funds we were able to access at twenty-two. We were given ‘fun money’ before that, and both of us decided to start investing it. We had no interest in partying or drugs—we’d seen all that in Baltimore.

“Our parents moved us to a town called Danvers in Massachusetts. We were there two years when Uncle Chuck showed up and said that me and my brother were going to go with him to Florida for a few weeks.”

Addi quirked an eyebrow. “He kidnapped you.”

“Without us even realizing it. We really thought that it was a legit surprise from our parents. So we went. And we were down there for about three weeks, doing the whole amusement park circuit. When Chuck wanted to do it all again, Mitch and I decided we were bored, and it was time to go home. We walked to the bank, took out the money, and bought two plane tickets home.”

Addi laughed. “You just walked away from your kidnapper, without ever knowing he was your kidnapper.”

I nodded, laughing with her. “When we got off the plane, there was a swat team and our parents would not let us go. At all. They were smothering us. We had literally no idea what was going on.”

Collapsing in a fit of giggles, it felt good to finally tell the story. No one in Baltimore had heard what happened to the Hoengaard family. We just disappeared. And after the world’s strangest kidnapping, we were no longer the Hoengaards. We became LaPlage, and my father had moved all of the holdings into a corporation, so we weren’t personally connected.

“So, you’re really insanely rich?” Addi asked as we settle from the giggle fit.

“Yeah. I am. And because we grew up so poor, we’re overly cautious and overly generous.” I cleared my throat. “You four are the first real friends I’ve ever had. We didn’t fit in at all in Baltimore, we didn’t fit in up in Boston. So, I opted not to tell anyone about the money.”

A rue smile grew on her face. “I get it.”

I paused, and changed directions on the conversation. “Have you told Patrick?”

She shook her head. “No. Jess helped me with that one.”

“Good. Everything working?”

The rue smile turned into a devilish grin. “Oh, yeah.” She paused. “But I think it’s more him than anything else. We’re just…”

“Perfect together.”

“Yes.” She looked me up and down. “You and Jason?”

“Oh, yeah.” I didn’t need to tell her Jason was holding something back from me.

“So. To the matter at hand. How the hell do we get out of here?” Addi glanced out the door, even though we really couldn’t see Chuck out there. Her voice was quieter. “Could he drink himself to sleep?”

I shook my head. “He’s a shrewd bastard. He drinks, but he won’t drink that much. He got more devious after Mitch and I just walked away.” Chewing my lip, I debated telling her the rest. “He had already murdered his wife and daughter by then, but we didn’t know it. He got caught up here six years later, after someone inquired about his new wife and son.”

All the information had come out after my parents realized I was just as likely to adventure my way around the world as Mitchell was. The fact that he had killed Aunt Lydia and Rachel, and then casually kidnapped us all added to how sociopathic he was.

“So, what do we do?”

“He doesn’t drink himself to sleep, but if I remember correctly, he does sleep like the dead. He left our purses in the trunk, right?”

“As far as I know.”

“If we can get his keys, we can get to the trunk and cut the ropes.”

Addi perked up. “We can take the car.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Do you remember what my uncle was driving? I wouldn’t want to take that. We’re better off going into the forest.”

“Into the forest?” That was her nervous voice.

“Yes. The forest.” I leaned in. “Remember who we’re dating.”

Her mouth made an ‘O’ and then she smirked. We just had to wait until my uncle fell asleep, an hope he didn’t wake up when we pulled the keys out of his pocket.

And that he hadn’t made all the arrangements for the money exchange yet.

14

The sound of a pickup coming up the firebreak wasn’t a good sound—the pickup was clearly not cared for by the sound of the engine.

Addi yawned. “God, does he ever sleep? It’s almost full dark out there.”

I was more alert than I had been earlier. “He’s not drinking the beer. He’s pacing. There’s something going on. I don’t like this.”

“He has to fall asleep, doesn’t he?”

“Of course, but I think he’s waiting for something.”

There was a flash of headlights through the window in the room.

“Or someone?” Addi asked.

“Or someone. That’s not good.” I could feel my anxiety shoot up about ten notches. We had to get out of here. It wasn’t even the money that was the problem. It was that something wrong was about to happen.

I managed to get over to the window and glance out. The piece of shit that Chuck had brought us here in was sitting there, and a moment later, an abused pickup pulled in next to it.

At least the pickup was believable.

Two men climbed out—one I instantly recognized as one of the officers at the bank. The other I didn’t know.

The bank man had a manila envelope, he probably had all the paperwork for me to transfer the funds to Chuck. I briefly wondered how Chuck was going to convince my parents to give up their money.

Dad had invested really well. It was a lot more than just the lottery winnings. There was a lot to transfer, but I would have bet on Chuck having no idea that there was more than the lottery.

That was one way to save some of the money.

Stomping up the porch, we could hear them slam the door open and let themselves in. Chuck’s pacing stopped.

“’Bout fucking time.”

“I was getting paperwork from Beijing, asshole. She’s got this money everywhere. It’s hidden everywhere. Trying to get the brother and the parents is going to take me weeks, if not months. So shut the fuck up.”

“Do you have them?” That was the third man.

“Do you think I would go through all this if I didn’t?” I heard the paperwork being passed from the bank teller to Chuck. “They’re in the back room.”

My stomach dropped out.

We had just been traded for sex.

My uncle had just traded his niece and her friend for sex. I whipped my head around to look at Addi, who had the same terrified look I was sure was on my face.

“Oh…God.”

This couldn’t happen. I didn’t even really care if they grabbed me and used me, but Addi—I couldn’t let them lay a finger on her. She’d never make it. She’d die, or worse, kill herself.

The two men sauntered into the room and stood staring at us for a moment. I moved to stand in front of Addi to keep her out of their view, but it was too late even before they had walked in.

The banker knew what he wanted.

“Hello, ladies,” the other said.

I didn’t move. “Leave.”

They looked at each other, and started laughing. “No, no I don’t think so. That pretty little piece of ass behind you is mine,” the banker said, and shoved me out of the way.

I kicked him in the knee as I hit the ground.

The other man grabbed me and yanked me to the end of the bed. He pulled me to my feet and shoved the ropes around the post at the end, catching then on one of the decorative hooks.

The banker grabbed Addi and before he knew it, he was sporting a bloody nose from her headbutt. The other guy backhanded her as fast as he could get to her.

“No, bitch. You’re gonna take this.”

He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her, entirely too hard.

I struggled against the ropes, yanking the whole bed, hoping to throw the men off, distract them. Addi started kicking the man in front of her, hard. She landed a shot right to his junk, and he cringed, starting to double over,

Addi leaned back and kicked him in the face this time. He did not like that, and neither did the banker holding her.

The banker grabbed her hair and pulled her head back. “You need some gentling before we break you.”

The other man pulled out a gun, and cocked it.

“No!” I screamed. “No, no!”

The man with the gun turned and smiled at me, and pulled the trigger, sending a slug right into and through Addi’s thigh. She started shrieking, and there was instantly too much blood.

He’d clipped her femoral artery.

She was going to bleed out and die.

* * *

The big, ill-maintained pickup careened up the hill, past where were hiding in the woods. Watching with a passing interest, I perked up when the massive machine slowed down.

It pulled a hard right, and disappeared into the woods.

“Uh…” Patrick said, pointing to where it disappeared.

“Yeah. I’ll bet that’s a new track someone carved through the trees.” Garrett nodded.

Chuck hadn’t been hard to pick up. Wendell hadn’t lied at all. The man was disgusting—he stank of fetid piss and bad alcohol. That was at complete odds with what the police dispatch had said about him.

Armed, dangerous. Expert survival skills. Do not approach without backup.

What was their definition of ‘expert survival skills’ if someone who could be smelled by an everyday human twenty paces upwind was an expert?

“What do you think that guy was after?” Patrick asked.

Garrett nodded after the truck. “Well, Chuck has to know someone here who works in that bank, because that’s the only way he could have found out they were going to be there today.”

“So, what are we doing hiding here?” I asked. “This guy has every intention of killing both of them once papers are signed.”

Garrett nodded. “Patrick, Jason, we’re going to shift and make our way up to his camp on his scent. Jess, we need you to follow in the truck so we can get the hell out of here as fast as possible.”

Jess looked like she wanted to object, but she didn’t have her wolf yet. It would be a while before she did, despite her mating with Garrett. Finally, she nodded.

“Give me your clothes. No more busting out of jeans, please.”

We all stripped down to our skin and Jess took all the clothes and shoes to the truck. As soon as I was out of the clothes, I shifted. I didn’t need Jess accidentally viewing my junk, and Garrett losing his shit that his mate looked at another naked man. Patrick did the same, and left just Garrett standing in human form.

He wasn’t a fool either. We all knew about our own possessiveness.

“We can’t miss him, so we’ll run a head of you. Take the truck, and follow, but not too close. I know it’s almost dark out here, but don’t turn on the headlights.”

Jess grinned. “Don’t need them anymore.”

Giving her a quick kiss on the forehead, Garrett dropped into his wolf, and took the lead. Jess was slow and careful behind us.

We’d taken a few hours to figure out how we were going to get Delia and Addi out of Chuck’s clutches, and from what we learned from Mitch and the police, he was determined. His style was more ‘bull in a China shop’ than anything else.

Mitch had put a friend in Florida on the case, wanting to know more. That friend had explained that Chuck had gotten off for the murder of his wife and daughter in Florida because of a procedural screw up.

We didn’t need to go through police procedure.

Chuck’s trail was well over eight hours old at this point, but his piss-and-alcohol fragrance hung on the air. I was both glad and disgusted that there was no breeze to blow his stench away.

I could also smell the brand-new exhaust from the other truck that had just barreled through the new cut in the trees. It paralleled Chuck’s stink.

In it, I could scent two other men and gun oil.

That was not good.

The forest flew by as the three of us ran through the brush. By then Garrett had picked up his pace, I knew that he had smelled the gun oil.

The truck was close to the side and the engine was pulling hard. Garrett steered us over to it, and Jess had roll down the window. “Jason, Patrick!” she called out, only having to raise her voice a little. “Quentin just called me. There are papers flying around for the transfer of funds. He thinks the two guys that just came up the hill have the official pages to sign.”

As soon as she was sure we heard her, she let off the gas and the truck slowed to fall behind us. None of us wanted the scream of that engine giving us away.

Just as she and the truck fell back out of hearing range, we crested a small hillock and halted, finding a small, dilapidated, miserable shack. It had maybe two rooms and a white Lincoln Continental out front that had been vomited up from the depth of 1986.

I was astonished. He’d driven that piece of shit up that choppy, terrible firebreak?

Next to that was the pickup truck we had seen barreling down the road.

I was about to shift back to human when there was a small caliber shot from in the house, and a scream so loud and high pitched it made my hackles rise. I didn’t know what to do, and we stared at each other, frozen in place.

Patrick took off like a hound out of Hell, and Garrett and I had no choice but to follow as the headlights of the truck crested the road. I could hear Jess skid to a halt and jump out of the truck.

“Go, Patrick!” she shrieked at the top of her lungs as she ran for the cabin. “Go!”

Garrett was right behind his brother and I took off after them.

The three of us got to the door at just about the same time, but Patrick threw himself against it to open it. It cracked, but didn’t budge. When he backed up to hit again, I joined him and the door popped off the hinges and fell into the room.

Chuck was standing with a handgun pointed at us and he didn’t react fast enough before my front paws landed on his shoulders and I dropped him to the ground.

The shrieking was coming from the second room and was accompanied by Delia screaming incoherently in the room as well.

I leapt after Patrick as Jess skidded in and ignored the prone body of Chuck by the couch. We reached the door at the same time, and what was there was beyond horrifying.

Addi was bleeding, badly. There were two men in the room and one had her pinned down while the other was cutting off her pants. Delia was trying to pull them away with her hands still tied in front of her.

“What the fuck?” The guy holding Addi saw the three of us—as wolves—in the doorway, and he freaked out and reacted faster than I’d seen a normal human ever react. He tossed Addi away from him and dove out the window.

The distinct click of a gun came from behind me, and I knew that Chuck was there with his hand gun. I whirled on him as he brought the gun around to me, and dug my teeth into his hip.

He screamed and I wouldn’t let go. I shoved back hard and pushed him into the living room while Garrett and Patrick shoved into the room with Jess. It was only when I had Chuck out of the way that I let go of his hip, and he took off as fast as he could.

“Go with Jason,” Jess snapped at Delia behind me. I heard Delia protest, but Jess cut her off. “Go. Deal with your uncle and the other asshole.”

Delia leapt out of the room, rubbing her now freed wrists. She looked at me, and could see the blood on my muzzle.

“Did you kill him?” she asked.

I whined and dropped my head, saying no. I pointed to the door in the next moment. Looking around, Delia found a bag on the floor, and walked over to it. She unzipped it and pulled out a hand gun. She pulled the slide back and chambered a round, flicking off the safety.

“He’s fucking dead.”

She strode out of the room.

I realized she was serious. Chuck wasn’t going to see dawn. I didn’t know whether to be proud or terrified, but I ran after her, to follow next to her.

For a moment I wished we had mated so I could use the telepathy mates had. Instead I tried to push her away from the path I could smell Chuck had taken.

However, he hadn’t gone far. He was in the white car, and desperately trying to start it. There was no mistaking the fear in his eyes as Delia and I walked toward him.

The engine roared to life, and Delia calmly walked around the front end of the car and shot the front tire.

“It’s piece of shit, you think that’s going to stop me? It’s one tire.” Chuck dropped the car into drive.

Delia moved her hand and shot the engine.

The car stalled and died. Chuck vaulted out of it and headed for the pickup. Delia followed him. I could smell the other guy who had been in the room with them hiding in the bed.

Chuck lucked out and the keys were still in the ignition, and he turned it over.

Delia shot the tire again.

This time, it was going to make a difference.

To be on the safe side, Delia put a slug in the engine too.

It was official. I never wanted to get this woman pissed off at me.

Chuck and the other guy made a break for the truck that was still sitting there. I knew that wasn’t going to move because it was a push start and the keys were in Jess’s pocket.

Still, he desperately tried to shift in to drive.

Delia walked around the passenger side, and yanked the door open. She grabbed the guy there and physically yanked him out the seat.

He started to run, but I snapped my teeth around his ankle, and he hit the ground. He tried to back pedal, but I growled and stopped as he pissed himself.

I moved around behind him so I could keep my girlfriend in my sights. She was leaning against the door in her, ‘go ahead, move asshole’ pose. It was a sight to behold, really.

“Now what, Chuck? Now what? You’ve killed four people that I know of. You kidnapped me for money. You sold me and my friend for sex, and now you’re trying to steal vehicles to get away from us. Your friend in there, who, I’m sure isn’t in one piece anymore, has basically killed my best friend, all while still trying to rape her.”

Chuck was trying not to shake—I didn’t know if it was from fear or adrenaline. “Your papa should have just given me the money.”

“Why?”

That caught him completely off guard. “What?”

“Why would my father have ever given you money? He was supporting his family on nothing. You never offered a dime. You never came to visit. Do you think I didn’t hear that phone call when I was eleven? Right after he lost his main job?”

“What the fuck are you talking about.”

Delia raised the gun and casually aimed at him. “My father called you. Two months after he lost his job. He begged you for just fifty dollars to buy food for his children. For me and my brother. There was nothing in the fridge, the pantry had turned us away because they were desperate too. There was no food kitchen that day that we could go to. And I remember him calling you. Hat in hand. Begging for fifty fucking dollars. Do you remember what you said?”

Chuck shook his head and tried to laugh. “You’ve got to be kidding me—”

She pointed the gun at him after chambering a round, and her face went red. “Do you. Remember. What you said. To my father?”

“No! No!”

“I do. I never forgot it. You said, I would never give your worthless, teat-sucking family a dime. I hope you all die, and your welfare takes you all to Hell.” She climbed into the truck, and pressed the gun to his head. “We. Were. Children. We didn’t know why Daddy had no money. We only knew there was no food in the house now and you couldn’t give enough of a shit to give my father fifty dollars for some damn eggs, milk, and bread.”

I whined at her. She couldn’t pull the trigger. I didn’t want her put away for murder.

Delia glanced back at me, and Chuck took that second to leap out of the truck and start running. Delia scrambled back out of the truck and hit the ground running.

I was torn as to whether I should go after her or stay with the other asshole—but the decision was made in the next instant when three coyotes barreled out of the woods and took Chuck down.

The guy I was holding down was trying to sneak away from me. It only took a growl to hold him where he was. I needed to get over to Delia but I couldn’t let this piece of shit get away.

There was a chuff from behind me and I tossed as brief a look as I could there.

Quentin. In his bear.

He chuffed again and I knew that I wouldn’t have to worry about this guy anymore. I nodded my thanks and ran for where Delia was holding the gun at Chuck as the coyotes circled him.

I shifted on the fly. She was so calmly angry it scared me. I was terrified that Delia was going to pull the trigger for real on him.

Darting between the coyotes, I leapt behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. “Don’t. Delia. Don’t shoot him.”

“He’s not getting away! He killed Aunt Lydia. He killed two of my cousins! Addi…”

“Let the coyotes handle him, love. Let them. If you pull the trigger, they’ll have to take you to jail. I don’t want you in jail. I don’t want any of you in jail.”

“He needs to die.” She looked over her shoulder at me. “You don’t understand, Jason. Addison is under our protection. She was hurt, badly. And my uncle just fucked up by opening those wounds against. I’m going to kill him, because you don’t fuck with my friends this way. You don’t sell your niece and her friends for sex. You don’t kill your wives and children.”

“No. You don’t. And you shouldn’t kill your uncle.”

The other man from the truck was herded over by Quentin and dropped into the circle of coyotes. The massive bear stood guard with us.

“Where’s…” Chuck looked around. “Where’s Ray?”

“If I don’t miss my guess,” I said, “in about ten pieces in that back bedroom. At least if those two wolves had anything to say about it.”

“I didn’t want them to kill your friend,” Chuck said. “I didn’t. I just wanted your money, but the only way Van would get me the paperwork was to trade me. I didn’t have anything to trade except you and your friend. It was just a fuck.”

Delia leapt forward and pistol whipped him. She caught him on the temple, and he went down, instantly.

“Don’t kill me,” Van whimpered.

“Why?” I asked.

“All I wanted was a quick screw. That was it.”

“That was it?” Delia asked. “You bought sex for paperwork. You bought sex. Maybe if you stopped treating women as commodities, and had a little Goddamn respect for us, you might be more successful in that department.”

“Why? You’re all stuck up bitches.”

Before I could grab the gun from her, Chuck’s hand shot up and ripped it out of her hand, spinning it to point at Delia’s heart.

“I don’t even want your fucking money anymore. I want you dead. I’m going kill you, and that brother of yours and both of your parents. And I’m going get all the money anyway because you all have no one else.”

The shot echoed from the porch of the shack and tore Chuck’s hand to pieces. While he screamed, I took a quick look at the house, and saw Garrett coming toward us with the rifle.

Chuck stared at the stump that was now his hand, astonished, going into shock. “What the hell?”

“You killed my brother’s mate. You killed her. She’s dead.”

I felt Delia collapse into my arms, and I hung on to her as I lowered us to the ground.

“Do you call Right of Blood?” I prompted him, looking at Fergus. Fergus nodded back at me.

We all understood that Right of Blood was not pretty. No one in the packs called it lightly or often. There was plenty here to have it called though—the kidnapping, the threats, the attempted rape, and now the murder of a future beta’s mate. This man who was holding his missing hand under his arm, had killed before and would kill again. No questions asked.

Garrett stared down at Chuck. “I call Right of Blood, in the presence of the coyotes and the bears. I invoke Right of Blood. Is it required to recite his transgressions?”

I nodded. “Yes. Give them to the wind.”

He took a breath and started listing everything that Chuck had done. I quietly added the ones I knew from Delia, and to my shock, Quentin had shifted and added a few of his own—including the murder of a deputy just outside Nome when he escaped the prison.

Delia stirred and tried to sit up. I wouldn’t let her. But she had been listening, and she started listing off all the wrongs that she knew Chuck and committed too. The silence was deep enough that her soft, sorrowful voice carried the words into the night.

“As his blood,” I finished, “you can stop Right of Blood if you wish. As his blood, you have the final word. If you say nothing, Right of Blood will be carried out.”

I leaned into her ear. “It’s not pretty, Delia. It’s a horrible way to die.”

She just looked at me, her eyes clouded with tears.

“Then Right of Blood is called,” Quentin said.

I rolled Delia into my shoulder, not wanting her to see the utterly brutal end that Chuck and Van were guaranteed. I thought she’d fight me, but she nestled closer, and sobbed quietly.

The screams echoed for quite some time.

15

Two days later…

“Delia?”

I flickered my eyes open and sat up on the bed. It took me a long minute to figure out that I was in Jason’s house. It didn’t take me nearly as long to realized I’d slept alone, and had pajamas on.

“Delia, babe, you up? There’s someone here to talk to you.”

Jason appeared in the door. I nodded and climbed out of bed, rubbing my eyes and following him. I was immediately grateful that I had pajamas on because there was an imposing woman in a suit standing in the living room.

“Ms. Madeline LaPlage?” she asked.

I stuck my hand out. “That’s me.”

She shook it. “Detective Mercy Gardner. I have some news you need to hear.”

I nodded, and tucked my hands under my arms, listening. Jason was standing behind me and a moment later, he put his hands on my shoulders.

“This morning, the remains of a man named Charles Hoengaard were found in the woods, just south of the city of Juneau.”

I blinked. “Charles…Chuck. Chuck Hoengaard. He hated Charles.”

“I’m afraid he was found dead, miss.”

“Huh,” was all I could manage. She cocked her head, and I shrugged. “You’ll forgive me if I’m not upset. Chuck was a stain on our family. He was supposed to be in prison, wasn’t he?”

“He escaped, about five weeks ago. We’d been trailing him, trying to recapture him. Our search took us up in the woods this morning and he was discovered dead.”

“So, why are you telling me this?”

“We aren’t always…fortunate enough to have a family member nearby to positively identify the remains of a body. With you here, we were hoping we’d be able to fully shut the case.”

I nodded. “Okay. Fine. Where, when?”

“The medical examiner’s office, this afternoon?”

“Yes, I can do that. Thank you.”

She laid a hand on my arm. I felt a spark—she wasn’t human. However, she ignored it. “Please understand that he wasn’t found in good condition. The initial report is that he met a terrible end against a bear, and several scavengers helped themselves.”

“Like I said, Detective, we weren’t close. At all. I doubt there will be a problem.”

She nodded and let me go. Jason smiled and gave me a kiss on the forehead. I smiled back and padded back through the house and up the stairs, stopping at the top to listen.

“Does she know?”

Jason chuffed. “Know what?”

“About you, about St. Terese.”

“Yes. Why?”

“Jason, this was Right of Blood. He suffered.”

There was silence for a moment, then I could almost hear him shrug. “I didn’t know the man, Mercy. I only heard the horror stories that Delia told me.”

“Jason, Right of Blood is…”

“It’s not outlawed by the council, Mercy. It’s not. They frown on it, we all do. But if the man was a horror and he was a threat, are you going to try and find out who pulled out such a rite? He’s a murderer.”

“Was. Was a murderer.”

“Where did you find him?”

“Turner Lake territory.”

“Then why the hell are you asking about this in St. Terese?”

“Because I smelled you fucking wolves all over that cabin. I smelled human blood. I smelled guns, alcohol, and burnt evidence. I saw things that shouldn’t have been there.”

I raised my eyebrow. She wasn’t a wolf, coyote, or bear. Interesting.

“And what would you do if you found out there was Right of Blood called on Hoengaard? Would you turn those shifters over to the police? Let the whole world find out about the freaks in their midst? You know, Mercy, better than anyone, that while we are strong as individuals, there is no hope for us as a species to stand against humans. And for all our human allies, there are many more who would be our enemies. Or worse, use us.

“If, and I mean if, someone called Right of Blood on an escaped murderer, do you think they would do it without real reason? Do your research on Hoengaard. You’ll find there won’t be a soul on this planet who would miss him. Because the ones who might have, he murdered.”

There was silence, again.

“Report your Right of Blood call to the council, Jason. Don’t be flippant with them. This looks like a mauling, so I’m going to leave it that way on the books. Make sure that your girlfriend at the top of the stairs understands the implications of all of this.”

Smirking, I stood and headed for the bedroom. I wanted to call down that she had no idea what I knew, but I had places to be and I didn’t want to poke the bear—or whatever.

Pulling clothes out of the drawers, I dressed as quickly as I could and ran down to the living room. Jason was standing in the door, holding it open.

“Go, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

I popped up on my toes and kissed him, darting out of the house. I ran full tilt down the few blocks to where Patrick’s house was, and when I went to knock, the door flew open.

Addi was standing there, red hair flying, green eyes flashing, grin firmly lodged in place.

We slammed into each other with the fiercest hug I had ever given anyone in my life. Instantly we were both laughing and crying, and twirling each other around.

With her new strength she lifted me right off my feet and spun me around.

“Damage report!” I snapped.

“All systems fully operational, captain. Impulse power was definitely full.”

I laughed as I stepped back from her. “Show me?”

She looked around for a moment and made sure we were fully in the house. Dropping her yoga pants off her hips, she popped her leg out and showed me the spot where the gun had ripped a hole in her leg, and let her bleed out.

There was nothing but tender pink skin.

I blew out a breath. “Jesus. Garrett said…”

“After he walked out,” came Patrick’s voice from the kitchen, “Jess and I changed Addi’s position, and Jess thumped on her chest, hard. It did…something.” Possessively, Patrick pulled her pants back up and both Addi and I shared a chuckle. “She took a huge swallow of my blood and it was done.”

He’d wrapped his arms around her middle and Addi tipped her head back and looked at him.

They were using the telepathy.

God, that was so wicked cool.

Patrick sighed. “Are you angry with Garrett?”

I wrinkled my nose. “What? Why?”

“Right of Blood…”

I waved him off. “Chuck was a sociopathic murder. No one deserved to die more than he did. Even if the rite was called under unclear circumstances. I was just as likely to put a bullet in his head.”

Patrick nodded. “I heard. Jason was a little afraid you were going to do just that after you shot the engine.”

Addi laughed. “You shot the engine?”

I shrugged. “On the white Continental, it was more like putting down an old, injured horse.”

There were no words for me to explain to Patrick how grateful I was he’d mated her. To lose Addi that way after all she had been through, and all we had done to help her would have been horrible. She was one of my best friends, and I was ecstatic she was still here.

* * *

Two weeks later…

Watching Delia fold her clothes for the trip home was like ripping my heart from my chest.

She was sad, and I knew part of it was she was leaving. What the rest was, I was still confused.

“We can talk, all the time. You know we have amazing cell service here,” I said.

Her glance shot to mine, and there was a dark anger there, one I’d never thought I’d seen in her eyes. She was mad, but that wasn’t the end of it.

“Jason, it’s probably better if we just cut it off when I get on that plane tomorrow. You need to be here, and I have studies that I need to get on with. Chatting with you would be too distracting.”

I tried a new approach. “It’ll only be for a few years. I’ve already got all of next year lined up with the ships, and I have quite a few of the five day adventures ready, right up to December, and starting in March again. I’m thinking about getting Cora involved with running the lower end tours.”

She zipped the bag with a serious sense of finality. “Jason, stop. I’m going back to Chicago tomorrow morning. I have no intention of ever coming back here. There are too many places to go and see for me to make it back here.”

“We can travel together—”

“Stop. Just stop. At some point one of us going to find someone else, and that’s going to be the end of it.”

I choked back the growl that threatened to erupt. Thinking of Delia with someone else was ripping me limb from limb, and making my wolf want to go on a rampage. No one touched her but me.

But she was leaving.

And I was letting her go.

I couldn’t ask her to stay. The wolves in St. Terese were proud of their ability to give their mates and families anything they ever needed, and I just couldn’t do that. I didn’t have the resources to do that. So no matter how much I loved her—and I did love her—I couldn’t provide for her. I couldn’t keep her.

She grabbed the small suitcase with all of her stuff in it, and headed for the stairs. I followed a moment later, shuffling, dejected and sad that I couldn’t stop her.

Delia was everything to me. My mate. My once in a lifetime.

And she showed up at the wrong time.

I stood at the bottom of the stairs as she headed to the front door. She opened it, stood for a moment, then looked back at me, far away from her.

“Goodbye, Jason. I wish things were different.”

She closed the door before I could answer.

Who knew how long I stood at the stairs, just zoned out, staring at nothing. The only thing I could feel was my heart breaking, and the utter silence of the house.

“You let her go?”

Cora and Addi were standing in the back door.

I nodded once.

Cora shook her head and walked into the house, passing me and heading for the coat closet up front. “You’re a fucking idiot, Jason.”

“What doesn’t anyone understand about this? I can only just keep the roof over our heads with what I make now. How the hell am I going to keep someone like Delia LaPlage happy? There are times when I get to pick and choose between food and bill.”

Cora ignored me, but Addi was staring at me from the door.

“You let her go why?”

“I can’t afford to keep her happy.”

She broke from her frozen position. “Wait, wait, wait. Are you telling me that you just let the woman you love, and who loves you back, and happens to be your true mate, go because you’re worried about keeping her? As in like a kept woman?”

“No, not like a kept woman. I need to provide for her. House, clothes, food, luxuries,” I said, sitting down at the table. “You don’t get it because you’re part of the Pauler clan now, and they shit money. You’ll always have what you need from Patrick.”

I saw Addi’s jaw drop as Cora shuffled back in, also with her mouth open.

“Try this again?” Cora asked.

“I just got the house back. I’m just able to pay for your school,” I snapped. “How am I supposed to give someone like Delia all that she deserves and needs? Oh, hi honey, do you want to pay the power or the water this month?”

“You think she needs your money.” Addi exchanged a look with my sister after her statement.

“She doesn’t need my money, I need money to support her.”

“Dude, you are a fucking idiot.” Cora tossed the paper towel in the trash. “You are a first-class moron.”

“She doesn’t need your money, Jason. Not even remotely. She doesn’t want you to support her financially. Do you think that her uncle kidnapped her over a few thousand dollars?”

I stared at her. I hadn’t thought about how much he’d kidnapped her for—just that he had, and for the money. I stared at Addi, and blinked a few times. “I don’t know. I never thought about it beyond getting her back.”

Cora pulled out three beers, and opened them, putting one in front of each of us. “Why did you need to get her back?”

“She’s mine. She my mate. She was in danger.”

Addi picked up the beer and took a swig before continuing. “Right. She was. But you never asked about the money? You had the right to, you know.”

“I never ask about money. Ever. Too many people have misconstrued my innocent questions as begging for handouts. And I don’t do that. I’ve made sure that Cora and I were comfortable, and fed, and never asked about money again.”

“She was willing to sign everything over to save my life. Everything, to a raging sociopath she knew would probably try to kill me or her anyway. You don’t sign over a few thousand for that.” Addi tapped her finger on the bottle, watching the rivulets of condensation drip to the table.

“I don’t like to make things about money.”

“Hypocrite,” Cora snapped the word off.

“What?” I stopped the beer halfway to my mouth.

“You don’t make things about money? When you just let your one and only mate walk out of this house because of money? Specifically, because you don’t feel you have enough?”

I stared at the bottle in my hand. “I…”

Damn it.

Addi put the bottle down with a ‘clink.’ “Look. This isn’t my story to tell, but because you’re being a giant idiot about this, I’m going to tell you. Delia doesn’t need a fucking cent of your money. Ever. If Chuck had gotten that money, no one would have ever seen him again. He would have disappeared under the radar and been gone—because he bought the fucking radar.”

Christ, how much money did she have?

“Why do you think she stayed here with you until the bitter end?” Addi cocked her head. “Do you think it was because she just wanted sex? Do you think it was because she wanted a place to crash? Or maybe she was hoping you’d get a fucking clue about what she really needed?”

“I can’t provide for her needs.”

“Jesus.” Cora thunked her head on the table. “Men are so damn dense.”

Addi stared at me. “Did you ever ask her what she needs? I mean out of life, not for lunch.”

“Well, no.”

Shaking her head, she took a sip of beer. “Did you ever ask her about her future? If you two had a future?”

“I knew we didn’t, so no.”

“Jason. She loves you.”

“I know that. I love her.”

Cora leaned forward. “Then why did you let her go? Why did you never ask her what she wanted? Why didn’t you lay all this out on the table for her to decide?”

“Because I can’t give her what she needs—”

Addi sliced her hand through the air. “You are what she needs.”

“What?” My heart stopped. Stupid, traitorous organ. Kept screwing with me.

Cora sighed. “It’s what she was trying to get you to see. She didn’t care if we lived in a cardboard box, as long as we were together.”

“Delia grew up wretchedly poor. The kind of poor you can’t even imagine, buying eggs out of date because they were half price. Milk that was nearly spoiled. Meat that was barely consumable by animals,” Addi explained. “She doesn’t care about money. That’s why Chuck went after her. He knew that her family was stronger than anything and her sense of loyalty and responsibility would force her to give up the money. She wouldn’t let him kill me for the money. Even if she lived in a flop house for the rest of her life.”

“You let her go over something you never talked about,” Cora said. “Something you just assumed she needed or wanted. But she didn’t.”

“All she needed was you.”

“What the hell were you thinking?” Cora asked.

“I’d let her go. And when everything settled here, seek her out.”

“How long would that be?” Addi’s question was honest. “How long until you were really ready for her to be your mate?”

“Well, if things were going the way I planned, about twelve, fifteen years.”

“In fifteen years, she’d be thirty-eight. Married. With children. With a life,” Cora said. “Do you think she’d really give up all that for a fling you had with her one summer too long ago for a tired wife and mother to even think about?”

I growled at the very thought of someone else touching Delia. She was mine, and mine alone.

And I was about to lose her at eight in the morning when she got on that flight back to Chicago. I dropped my head into my hands.

“I screwed up.”

“Don’t tell us!” Cora snapped. “Tell her!”

16

My bags were packed.

I was ready to go.

Goddamn earworm. Now I was going hum that infuriating song all the way back to Chicago.

I knew I wouldn’t be back. Ever. I couldn’t bear it. My best friends were all mated, getting married, to the people they were in love with. So much had happened, and I was the one leaving alone.

I hadn’t thought leaving everyone would hurt this much.

I spun the rolling case around in front of me, absentmindedly. It wasn’t like there was a lot to do in Juneau International airport with five gates and two permanent airline counters. I could see the waters of the fjords stretching out, and the mist was rising and grabbing hold. The beautiful, bright blue days of summer were going to be over soon, and that was autumn’s first warning.

I wanted it to be over, and I wanted it to never end.

Was there any chance that I was ever going to forget Jason? That I’d find someone I could love half as much as him? I didn’t want to think about things like that, but a girl could only drink so much coffee before a long flight, and entertain herself just so long before all that crawled in again.

“Will Madeline LaPlage please report to the customer service desk at Delta?”

Ugh, and here I had finally stretched myself into the most comfortable position in an hour. I grabbed my rolling case and purse and headed for the desk. I’d have to go through the damn security again, but hey! I had nothing else to do.

I walked to the Delta desk, and had to move a massive vase of flowers to get to the woman behind the counter. “Hi, I’m Madeline LaPlage.”

“Ah, hi! Those are for you.”

I looked around. “What are for me?”

“The flowers.”

Eyeballing the vase suspiciously, I stepped back. And realized the damn thing was filled with all the flowers that Jason and I had come across in the field the first day I met him, along with dahlias and roses.

“Oh, my God.”

The desk clerk smiled. “Who are they from?”

I plucked the card out of the massive arrangement and was almost afraid to open it.

Delia—

I screwed up. Please give me a chance to apologize. If you still want to leave, I won’t stop you. There’s a car waiting for you. The driver knows where to go. If he calls me from the garage, I’ll know your answer.

—Jason

The clerk smiled at me. “Sounds like someone realized what they were letting fly out today.”

I didn’t know what to do. Was he going to give me some lame excuse about letting me go? What was this all about? Turning, I glanced outside and there was a black Towne Car waiting for me.

Whatever the case, he was serious if he spent the money on the flowers and the car.

“Can you get my luggage off?” I asked the desk clerk.

“Your plane hasn’t even landed yet. I’ll get the baggage guys to see what they can do.” She held up a scanner. “Let me mark you as having refused boarding so we can get that going. We’ll hold it for you.”

After she scanned my ticket, I approached the Towne Car and the driver pulled the door open. “Miss LaPlage?”

“Yes.”

“Mister McGarrigal has given me directions. May I take your bag?”

He helped me in and stored the bag in the trunk. I pulled out my phone and texted Jess.

Deels: Did you talk to Jason?

Jesssss: No, Why?

Deels: Did anyone talk to Jason?

Jesssss: We’ve all been talking to him. More specific?

Deels: Flowers, car.

Jesssss: Oh, he figured it out.

Deels: Figured what?

But Jess wasn’t answering. I swore at her and the car eased away from the curb. The driver didn’t have anything to say, but he took the main road north out away from the city, toward the compound.

I watched the trees as I had so many other times, and sun glancing off the water. I loved this place. It had wormed it’s way into my soul and I didn’t want to go, but if Jason was here, I couldn’t stay.

The car drove for a few minutes and then found the same turn off that Jason had taken weeks ago on our second date. The fancy car bumped down the road a bit and finally pulled to stop.

“I simply can’t take the car any further, miss, without wrecking my suspension.”

“No, this is good. It’s fine.” We were only about a hundred yards from the turn-out to the field. “I’ll walk from here.”

The driver opened my door and helped me out and grabbed my rolling case from the back. He offered it to me and smiled. “May not do you any good to roll it if you’re going further down.”

I nodded, and reached into my purse for a tip, but he held up his hand. “No, miss. I was already tipped well. Have a good day. And good luck.”

With expert skill, he backed down the road and disappeared from sight. I grabbed the rolling case and carried it down the road. I felt a bit like Dorothy trying to run away from Aunt Em and Uncle Henry.

The road turned and the field was now filled with late summer foliage, and some of the trees—not many, as pines dominated the landscape—were getting their fall colors.

Jason’s truck was in the middle of the field, and he was sitting on the top of the cab, facing the water. He turned when my feet started crunching through the dried grass.

A smile like none I had ever seen lit his face. He threw his legs around, slid down the windshield, off the top of the hood, and bounced down to the ground. He was over to me in a moment, and grabbed the suitcase.

Before I could get a word in edgewise, he had wrapped his hand around my neck and pulled me in tight for a kiss.

My toes curled. It was a hell of a kiss, and every part of my body was tingling when he was done.

“I never want you to doubt what I feel for you.”

I could feel tears in my eyes and tried to blink them back. “I never have.”

“Good.” He wiped away the one that had escaped.

Taking my hand, he led me over to the truck and paused only to toss my case in front seat. He walked me around the back of the truck and hopped up, then offered me a hand up.

I grabbed it and Jason pulled me up easily.

Laughing quietly, I saw that the air mattress was back and all the sheets and blankets and two pillows.

“We can’t see the stars in the day,” I said.

“I don’t need them when I have the sun and the moon in my arms.”

I stilled. He was dead serious.

“Delia, I screwed up. I screwed up in ways I hope you’ll forgive me for. Can you let me explain? If you still want to go, I’ll take you to the airport myself tomorrow morning.”

Nodding, I really hoped I didn’t want to leave.

“For the past twenty years, I have been trying to fix the absolute mess my parents left me. When they died in the wreck, they were so heavily in debt that even after the large life insurance policies were paid out, and the bank accounts drained, I was in a deep, deep hole. I have been until last summer, dependent on the help of the pack to keep my house and start my business.

“I had a sister. She was only five. I needed to provide for her, and providing had a cost. Everything I’ve thought about for the past twenty years had a dollar value attached to it. Food, power, housing, schooling. How was I going to pay for any of it?”

He laced his fingers with mine and absently rubbed a thumb over my knuckles.

“One of the things that the St. Terese pack prides itself on is the ability to provide for their mates. Nothing is left to question—you need, you get. And I couldn’t see myself doing that for you.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but he put a finger on my lips. “Please. Let me finish. Please.”

I nodded.

“I couldn’t see how I could give you everything you needed, everything you wanted, everything you deserved. To fill each need, to provide when I was barely keeping the power on. It was…is why I’m willing to let you go. I’m not rich, not even well off.”

The desire to argue with him about this was nearly overwhelming, but I could tell he wouldn’t let me. I sat down on the mattress instead and he followed me.

“I was going to let you go, and when I was stable again, find you. Hope you still loved me. Hope you were still willing to make a life with me.

“But Addi and my sister…” He looked down at our hands, still twined together. “Well. Cora and Addi got through to me that in ten years, in fifteen years, you’d have another life you didn’t want to leave. Children. A home. A career. And they finally made me realizes that providing didn’t need to have a dollar sign in front of it. I didn’t need to spend money to give you what you need.

“We’d never talked about us, about you and me being a unit and going forward together. Even though I wanted you here, I was letting things get in the way. Stupid things. Things that a mated couple would work on together. I was just so damn terrified of not having the money to keep you happy, I never thought about what you thought you needed to keep happy.”

He was chewing the inside of his lip, and paused for a moment.

“What do you need me to provide for you, Delia?”

Holy shit, he’d gotten it.

I launched myself at him, tackling him backward to the mattress, laughing and planting kisses on cheeks, his forehead, his nose.

“Laughter, loyalty, love,” were my murmured answers. “Life, together. Figuring this shit out. The chance to spend a dozen lifetimes with you. To explore and discover the world. The chance to have our own family. To grow old and happy with you.”

He started laughing, and held me off him for just a moment. “I really screwed up, didn’t I?”

“You’re lucky my friends like you, or else you would’ve been torn limb from limb for this.”

“I can see them doing that.” He let out a breath. “I’m serious, Delia. I don’t have a lot of money.”

I folded my hands over his chest and stared down in to his eyes. “I do.”

“I don’t—”

“No, shut up. I’m rich. Filthy rich. I don’t care about your money. I have enough for our great-grandchildren to never have to work. So clam it. We’ll be fine.”

He stared at me. “You’re serious.”

I nodded. “You can hire all the help you need next year for the tours. I’ll—we’ll pay back all the debts you owe to the pack, and we can pay it forward.”

“You are serious.”

“As a heart attack. As long as you can make me laugh and love me, I don’t need anything else.”

“I do love you. More than life itself.”

His eyes sparkled like the sun on the water. I took a deep breath.

“I want to be your mate.”

* * *

My heart froze in my chest for too many beats.

“What?”

“I’m serious. Again.”

“You want to be my mate? Despite me screwing this up and being broke?”

She smacked my chest lightly. “What did I just say?”

When I had scrambled last night to get my apology together, I had not expected it to end like this. I was merely hoping she’d give me a chance…

“Does your wolf not want me?” Her voice was soft and sad.

I grabbed her wrists. “He wants you. So much I’ve had to back him down to not mate you. It’s not him. It’s me. I was just asking for a chance to make this up to you. I didn’t think you’d be this willing to forgive me.”

“What’s there to forgive? You figured out the only thing I needed: you.”

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her down to me. “God, what did I do to deserve you? You’re amazing.”

“That’ll fade when we have our first real fight.”

Our laughter shook the truck.

I brushed some hair from her face. “I am sorry, Delia. I was a complete bonehead. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“You didn’t hurt me. You scared me. I didn’t really want to leave. I love it here, and I would love to call this place home. I want to travel the world, but I always want a place that’s home. Where I can sit and watch television with you.”

“Somewhere we can stay in bed all day.”

Her voice fell to a whisper. “Somewhere we can take the truck and the air mattress and make love under the stars.”

“Or under the morning sun…”

This time, the kiss did more than give her chills. I felt every part of her relax into me with a sigh. I rolled us to our sides, and I found the bottom of her shirt, and tugged it up, looking at her for permission.

She did one better. Delia pulled it up and over her head, and tossed it behind our heads.

The buds of her nipples were so clear through her bra, I didn’t even take it off before I pulled one into my mouth and nipped carefully.

She pulled my shirt out of my pants and yanked it up. I let go of her peak just long enough for her slip the shirt over my head. My shirt wound up next to hers and her hands wound up all over me.

I looked at her and ran a hand over her cheek. She nuzzled it, and then kissed me, hard. Her tongue delved into my mouth, possessive and demanding. She tasted so good, like coffee and sweet cream, and I helped myself to her.

“You’re over dressed,” I whispered as she pushed her hands below the waist of my jeans, grabbing my ass.

“You too,” she whispered.

I wrapped my hands around her plump breasts, and trailed my fingertips over the satin of her bra. I found the edge of the cup and slipped my hand in, pushing it down and popping the pale, soft mound out. I teased the tip with my thumb as we still plundered each other’s taste.

When Delia moaned deep in her throat, I dropped my mouth to the delight in my hand and suckled at the hard peak again. The same throaty moan slipped out again and I was shocked my erection didn’t rip a hole in my pants.

Wanting to feel every silky inch of her body, my hand made a slow path to her other breast, and lifted it out of the satin cup.

“Sweet Christ, Jason, just take my bra off.” The request was tortured and humorous, and one was I gladly complied with. I used a hand to reach behind her and unfasten the hooks and dragged my fingers over her body as I peeled the damn thing off.

“Oh, God, yes…”

Her arousal tickled my nose, and I felt myself twitch. My wolf was scratching at me, telling me to hurry up. But the last thing I was going to do was hurry. She wasn’t leaving. She was mine.

With a subtle motion, she let me know that her other tit was waiting for my mouth. I kissed a trail over to that hard peak, and feasted there.

“Get naked, Jason. Please. Let’s just—”

I unsnapped her pants and pulled them down her legs, and she followed suit. Her hands guided my bottoms down and off and we both threw the clothes to the top of the bed with the rest of what we had been wearing.

She propped herself up and I wondered where she was going for just a moment until she spun on her hip and laid back down. Her mouth was now perfectly in line with my cock.

But she didn’t take me in me her mouth, not right away. She tickled the fine hair on my thigh and moved her fingers across them to where my balls were waiting for her. Wrapping one hand around my shaft she moved toward my body and ran her tongue over the skin of my scrotum—and sucked one of my balls right into her mouth and teased it.

“Oh, shit,” I managed breathe.

I could feel her smile, and her leg slowly raised to a bent position, assailing me with the scent of her sex.

I could take a hint.

My thumbs found the sweet, hot lips that hid her clit from me and stroked them, deliberately and carefully. As Delia changed sides on my scrotum, I licked a slow path up her slit, and I could feel my dick jerk hard in her hand as she let out a groan. Her sound went right to the base of my erection and I moaned into her pussy.

She shivered, and I slipped a finger into her wet channel. Hot and welcoming, I circled around her walls and withdrew just to slide back in with two fingers.

“Oh, shit…” she breathed, popping me out of her mouth.

“Suck me, baby,” I managed, pushing my hips at her. “Get your mouth around my cock.”

No words were wasted. She slipped her lips over the head of my erection and drew me in, dancing her tongue around the sensitive flesh.

I moved my fingers in and out of her pussy, her scent overwhelming me. I delighted her clit with licks and flicks of my tongue, both of us moaning as the pleasure suffused us.

She was going to come before my cock sunk into her welcoming pussy. Thing was, I was probably going to come before that as well.

* * *

Jason tasted so good to me. His thick cock pulsed with energy, and offered me tastes of him with teasing drops of his precum.

I wanted all of his cum. I wanted to taste him, fully.

Sucking him in deeper, I was proud of how far I was able to take him before I had to cover the rest of him with my fist.

There was no way I could fit all of him in my mouth.

And that was wonderful.

He was doing his best to distract me, too, with his thumbs, fingers, and tongue all over my pussy. He’d never made it a secret that he loved the way I tasted, and he was having a feast on me.

Our motions and moans bounced back and forth, echoing each other, bringing each other higher and higher and—damn.

I wanted this. I wanted this every day of my life. Laying with my soulmate, my true mate, bringing each other pleasure. Naked under the stars, or the sun, or the blankets, or the shower head. Whatever.

Just with him.

My mouth slid up and down over his cock, when I could manage to concentrate long enough, and I could feel him twitch, and his length became a little harder. Which meant he was going to come soon. I added just a little teeth to my last suck and my other hand found the balls that nestled there. I petted them, and rolled them a little—a shot of desire powered through me, making me yelp, squirm, and want to come—then sucked hard on his shaft. I teased his tip and I felt his hips pop toward me.

“Shit,” he hissed.

His cum raced up his cock and I swallowed every drop, as his teeth scraped across my clit, and my own orgasm wracked my whole body, curling my toes. I was utterly boneless as I gave his cock one last little lick and fell away.

“Are we always going to end up sixty-nine’ing?” I asked, staring up at the sky, gently stroking his thigh.

“I sure do hope so,” he mumbled.

As he spun on the mattress to set us right again, I laughed a little. I really didn’t have a problem with sixty-nine’ing. It seemed to be our thing.

He lay on his side, propped up on his elbow as his other hand gently stroked over my breasts, one then the other. “God, I love you. I can’t believe I almost let you go.”

“I can’t believe I almost went.”

“Stay with me. Always. We’ll figure this out.”

“There is nowhere else I’d rather be.”

His hand was warm as he followed patterns only he could see on my skin. I turned and lay on my side, and just smiled at him.

Chewing his lip, I could tell he wanted to ask me something. I wasn’t going to press, though. He was thinking hard, and my hand on his thigh met the resistance of his once-again-hard cock.

Just being there with him was all I needed.

He pulled in a deep breath. “You really want to mate with me?”

I simply nodded.

“My wolf is howling for me to take you, right here. Right now.”

I nodded again.

He closed his eyes for a moment and when he snapped them back open, they were glowing, yellow, full of desire, want, need.

Sitting up, he coaxed me to roll to lay on my front, and as I settled, his hands were instantly all over me, massaging, feeling, trailing, touching. Using my arms as a pillow I watched him. He was so intent on me, on touching me, nothing else seemed to matter at all to him.

And I found my body responding to his attention. I tried to just relax, but every touch shot right to my sex. There was no relief from him, and my hips started to move against the air mattress, trying to find something to push against.

Jason’s hands found the globes of my ass, and his possessive hands massaged them, grabbed them, delighted in them.

“You are so damn sexy,” he breathed.

Before I could reach a hand out to grab his erection and play a little, he moved behind me, spreading my legs. His hands scorched my flesh as he moved them to the apex of my thighs, and the seam of my legs on either side of my pussy.

A hiss escaped me…his touch wasn’t careful, but demanding and hard. I could feel the wetness on my legs, the want that trickled out, making me ready for his cock.

Wrapping his hands around my hips, he pulled my ass into the air, and nudged me wider. His slightly roughened hands traveled up and down my spine and the mere intent of his motions had me trying to press back against him, trying to find his dick to impale myself on.

“Impatient, love?”

“Yes, damn it. Please…” I wasn’t above begging at this point. Every nerve ending in my body was humming or screaming for release.

He dragged his shaft through my soaked slit, teasing me a little more. I was dying, slowly.

Finally, though, I felt him fit the head of his cock against my channel and press in, one agonizing bit by agonizing bit. He pressed forward, until his erection was seated completely inside me.

We exhaled at the same time, feeling complete. Whole. I knew that from that moment forward, I would always feel bereft of him, and never be fully happy unless he was inside me, possessing me.

Jason started to move, pulling his hips back, pulling his cock back out of me—and then pushing forward again, filling me. It was a slow, lazy rhythm at first, just for us to enjoy the sensation of being together. Of fucking. Of sex. Of making love.

His magical hands followed a path down to my breasts and each thumb found a nipple, stroking over them, then pressing his palms to them. His hands plumped them, enjoying their weight, and the sensation trickled down my spine.

“Ohhh,” I breathed out, the sensation of sexual satisfaction landing once again exactly where we were joined. “Yes.”

Jason’s hips started to thrust faster, harder. Our joined bodies heated, and I could feel both of us rising through the lust, heading for our climaxes. One of his hands left my breast and found my clit—dusting his finger over it.

Almost unthinking, I shoved my ass back against him as he pushed forward. We crashed, and the lazy lovemaking was gone in that instant. He grabbed a hip, and started thrusting, harder, faster—even deeper.

“I’m coming,” I breathed, his cock hitting a deep, tender spot inside. “Oh, God, Jason, make me come!”

He growled. Honest-to-God growled. His body leaned forward and covered mine, and I felt the scrape of his teeth against my skin, just at the joining of shoulder and neck.

His hot breath scalded my skin. “You want this?”

“Yes, please. Mate with me, Jason. Make me yours.”

“Mine,” he growled.

His hand let go of my breast, and I could feel his arm across my back. A moment later his arm appeared in front of me as he sank his fangs into my neck. He clamped down hard, and our lovemaking became animalistic rutting. I grabbed his wrist and brought the intentional wound to my mouth.

I didn’t care what he tasted like—but I was delighted to find that he was warm like wine and chocolate as I swallowed the offering of his blood.

The climax ripped through both of us, tearing primal screams from both of us, freezing us in place while our brains and bodies tried to process the shock of pure, sheer bliss that flooded both of us.

His cum raced into me, bathing me as my own walls clamped down possessively on his cock. We weren’t locked together, but there was no hope of moving for long seconds as the pleasure rode us both hard.

“Jason!” It was a scream so powerful the sound ripped out of me.

“Delia.” His voice was harsh and low but a scream nonetheless, as he pumped the rest of his orgasm into me.

I was pretty sure we both blacked out for a few seconds, because the next thing I knew, we were curled together on our sides, spooned, his now-softening erection still twitching just a bit inside me.

A thin sheen of sweat coated both of us, but I didn’t care. I snuggled back against him—and I could feel far more than just him, physically. I could feel his thoughts swirling, his exhaustion, his satisfaction.

“Jason,” I whispered.

Mmm. That was nice.

I laughed. “Nice? That’s all you got?”

I think I exhausted my balls on that one. Your pussy sucked me dry.

“So romantic.”

He pulled back and slipped out of me. I made a little whimper of disappointment, and I heard him chuckle. He rolled me to face him, and gave me the biggest smile I had ever seen.

“Mine.”

“Of course.” I put a hand on his cheek. “I love you.”

His fingers traced the contours of my face. “I love you, Delia. Under the sun, under the moon, under the blue of day, or the dark of night. As long as you are there, I am complete.”

Epilogue

I was wearing a blindfold.

Sadly, I was also full dressed.

I could hear my wife giggling with my sister as they moved around me in the house.

“Come on, you two. You’re killing me. It’s been two hours that I’ve been sitting here. What are you doing?”

“Patience,” Delia said. “Just hang on.”

There was more gigging and then Cora crowed happily. “Here they are!”

A moment later, Delia took my arm and levered me off the couch and led me…well. I guessed toward the front door of the house. I heard the latch a moment later and knew I was right.

A blast of cold arctic air blasted around me. We were in for a cold winter if my wolf’s olfactory senses were working. There was snow on the wind, again.

Cora and Delia walked me out to the porch and had me stand still again. This time I tapped my foot. If she was going to keep me blindfolded, I wanted something for it.

“Okay, I think it’s time.”

Delia slid her hands under the material and slipped it up over my head. She dropped a kiss on my nose.

You can pay me back later for the blindfold.

Oh, I will.

Stepping to my right, she revealed the little ruse.

Two brand new vehicles sat in the driveway.

“Wait…” I tossed a look at her. “What?”

“The old pickup died at the airport last weekend when we were heading back to Vancouver,” she explained. “I was tired of worrying about you and it. So, I bought two new ones for us. Land Rover is mine and the Tundra is yours.”

“Damn it, Delia. You shouldn’t have done this.”

I wasn’t really disappointed. I had been worried about the old Ford dying in a bad spot.

Before I could object any further, she tugged my hand and led me out to the Tundra and popped the driver’s door open. “Go on, climb in.”

My wife was up to something else.

I obeyed and climbed into the massive cab, situating myself. It was a beautiful vehicle with just a few dozen miles on it. It almost seemed a shame to keep it confined to Juneau for its existence.

The passenger door opened and when I looked over, there was a note there. My name was on the front, and it was in Delia’s handwriting.

I shook my head, and opened it.

Jason—

As of the date of this letter, all of your debts are paid off. Loans, credit cards, home equity, business lines of credit. All of it. Done.

And, as a future enforcer of the St. Terese pack, it’s important you have discretionary spending that doesn’t have my name on it to help those as you were once helped. So, you now have a debit line of one million to use as you see fit to help those around you.

You are being set up as the joint holder of all my accounts. I know you said you didn’t need this, but I did. I want to share my life with you, and that’s part of it. I never ever want you to think about money again.

I love you

—Delia.

“Baby, you didn’t have to do any of this.”

“I did. For me. For us. For the pack. It’s important to me.” She looked around the truck. “And you really needed a new truck.”

“I know…but there were so many memories in that old one.”

We’ll make new ones.

Her smile was filthy.

The End, for now…

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EXPLORING ALASKA

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Five friends.

One Summer.

Everything changes.

We wanted to celebrate the end of college. The end of all the hard work, the beginning of our new lives. Brandy had the perfect place:

Alaska.

Addi

I needed the vacation to get away from the hell that was my life. Alaska was about as far away as I could get from Oklahoma and Africa. I felt safe, and meeting a really hot guy, with a crazy secret, was the adventure I needed.

What I didn't need was him hiding a secret from me that would pull us a part and nearly break my will to keep going. Handsome, sweet, intelligent--and a liar.

Patrick

I was jealous of my brother finding his mate, for about two hours when mine walked into my life. Addi was perfect and amazing, and had her life under control despite her terrible past.

But when something I've hidden for years comes rushing into my life, I was sure she was gone. There was no saving what we had. But there was someone out there who wanted to hurt her and her friends.

Wild coyotes couldn't tear us apart, but my one lie threatens to destroy my world...

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Five friends.

One Summer.

Everything changes.

We wanted to celebrate the end of college. The end of all the hard work, the beginning of our new lives. Brandy had the perfect place:

Alaska

Jess

There were problems with the house, the wildlife, the land. The only thing that wasn't a problem was the neighbor: Garrett Pauler. We hired him to fix the house, and he did way more than that.

There was something in the woods though. Something that didn't want us there, something that would go to any lengths to get rid of us. But it shared the woods with something-- someone determined to keep us safe.

Garrett

The old Yeil place was a disaster, but I wasn't above the challenge. The challenge lay in the gorgeous woman who was waiting for me there. Jess Smythe. My mate.

As human as they came, she was everything I dreamed and wanted in my life. I just didn't expect to show her my wolf before I convinced her we were meant to be.

But there was something in the woods that would go to any lengths to get rid of the women, and of me and my pack. And it would force me to make decisions that would change the course of my mate's life...

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The water called her name.

Maybe it always had, but it was only when Betsy Tillman slipped into Pine Valley that she could hear it. She wanted to find out why. But Wayne, her boyfriend and partner in crime, wanted to stick to the plan: smash and grab and get the hell out. Money from that was a sure thing, why change it up? Robbery and larceny was her whole life, and she was good at it.

The water was too strong.

Betsy was too tired to resist.

What she discovered in Darkwater was nothing like she had ever seen before. What she found also found her, also needed her. It pulled her in and gave her a way out.

She found her escape.

She found a dragon, named Niko.

He was her answer.

All she needed to do was change everything…

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She should never have left the comfortable shadows…

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About the Author

Armed with a pen name, Katherine Rhodes has gird her loins and set her mind to writing erotic romances which are kinky, dirty, and fun. As a lackadaisical laundry goddess, and an expert in the profundities of bad music, terrible cinema, and awful literature—thanks to her husband—Katherine strives to find balance in the universe and time to cook dinner. An East Coast dweller, currently located in the Philadelphia Tristate area, she is the proud servants of two cats and would take a vacation in Prague over a day at the beach any time…

www.katherinerhodes.com

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Also by Katherine Rhodes

CONTEMPORARY

CLUB IMPERIAL

Consensual

Broken Bonds

Knots

Untied

Lessons

Now. Forever.

Inevitable

SILVER SOUL

Not Quite Juliet

Double Entendre

THE CLUB SERIES

The Darkest Corners

Anything for Her

Teach Me To Sin

Come Fly with Me with Isobelle Cate

Sweet Pain with Emily Walker and Jenni Moen

THE DASILVA HEIRS

All the King’s Horses

Princess of the Plains

Empire of Dirt

STANDALONES

Captain

Acts of Contrition

Obsidian Escape

PARANORMAL ROMANCE

VAMPIRE CROWN

Queen of Gods

King of Gods

Death of Gods

Blood of Gods (Coming Summer 2019)

THE COMPLEX

Balance Point

One Thousand Wishes, One Thousand Stars

Brilliance (coming in July 2019)

THE JUNEAU PACKS

Taming Alaska

￼Frozen Alaska

Exploring Alaska

Uncovering Alaska

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THE REALM

Half-Soul

THE NIGHTSHIFT IN NEW YORK

Moonlight Calling

￼

THE DEMON SLAYERS

Passion Flames

THE ELEMENTAL DRAGONS  (Pine Valley)

Darkwater

Skydance (coming June 2019)

Fireborn (coming 2020)

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Katherine also writes under:

J. Rose Alexander

Chatter box, compulsive writer, bon vivant, stunt commuter, and a ninja in her dreams, J. Rose enjoys losing herself in the capes and masks of her superheroes, finding new trouble for her witches and werewolves-- and is always on the look out for a new adventure, on the page or in real life. J. Rose write sweet, clean(ish) stories that are suited to readers 13 and up, unless she warns you otherwise...

www.jrosealexander.com

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THE ORIGIN STORIES

Penumbra: Equinox

Penumbra: Solstice

The Art of Dying

The Art of Living

THE FACTION STORIES

Apathetic Avengers

The Natural Order of Things

The Royals of Grand Island

Shadow in Glass

Family Portraits (coming 2020)

SKELETON KEY

Eunica

Neuvma (coming 2019)

STANDALONES

Zenko (Woodland Creek)

Slip the Waves (Hotel Paranormal)