“Thank you, Neema.” She could barely speak past the lump in her throat. The years had been hard since she’d taken her sons and run from her pack. Adding half-breed children into the mix as she’d discovered them along the way had only made the job more difficult. But there was no way in hell she could have left any of them behind. They were hers. Just as her sons were.
“Mom.” Michael stood before her, tall and proud and strong, a male of worth. Someday he would make a female a wonderful mate. If he could find one, that is. There were fewer females than males and their numbers were dwindling with each passing decade.
She’d lose him then, most likely. He’d probably join his mate’s pack. She tried not to think too hard about that day. She wanted both her sons happy, but she prayed they’d both want to stay with their small pack.
The others wouldn’t leave. There was little acceptance for half-breeds in most werewolf packs. It was rare and there was no way to find out how a pack felt without putting yourself in danger. That was why they kept to themselves and maintained a low profile. Something she’d put in jeopardy.
“Damn it,” Michael swore. “The pack has to come first. Isn’t that what you’ve always taught us?”
“Yes, it is.” That was the first rule they’d all learned. And it was the most important. Their safety hinged on everyone obeying it.
“Yet you chose to ignore it,” her son challenged.
“Michael,” Benjamin cautioned, pushing away from the bar, his body tense.
Hank stilled his movements and sheathed his knife, his muscles coiling for action.
“No.” Michael brushed off the hand Benjamin laid on his arm and faced her. “I’m not sure you’re fit to lead this pack any longer. Not if all it takes is for some wolf to tumble you into bed to make you forget the rest of us.”
Pain lanced through her, but she gave no outward sign that his words hurt her. She heard Neema gasp and several of the others emitted low growls of challenge.
Straightening to her full height, she faced her eldest son. She’d known this would happen eventually. If not over this, then over something else.
He was at the age where his hormones were charged, pushing him to exert his independence, his dominance. It was only natural for a male werewolf. She’d been expecting it for the last five years, but was still shocked by how devastated she felt. This was her son. She’d carried him in her body, had raised him single-handedly after escaping from her pack.
It was Hank who stepped forward, placing himself between Michael and her. “I think you need to take a step back and cool off,” he cautioned.
“What are you going to do if I don’t?” he sneered.
“Enough.” Her voice cracked like a whip in the room. She stepped around Hank and faced Michael. “It is your right to challenge. We’ll go to the park tonight after the bar is closed.” There were quite a few large parks in the heart of the city, and they sometimes shifted and ran through them, one or two at a time while the others kept a watch.
Michael’s eyes widened as recognition hit. “I’m not going to fight you.” He sounded horrified by the very thought.
“Yes, you are.” She turned in a slow circle, addressing them all. “Michael has challenged my leadership of the pack and the challenge will be met.”
“This is crazy.” Benjamin came forward, holding out both his hands in supplication.
She shook her head, knowing she couldn’t give in. There was too much at stake. Deep down at their core, their wolf nature demanded that the strongest, the fittest lead. The rest wouldn’t follow a weak leader. Either she’d win or her son would defeat her. No matter the outcome, the leadership of the pack would be secure. That was all that mattered.
If she didn’t accept the challenge, there would be unrest in the pack and more challenges to come. This way, there would be stability, at least for another year or so.
She feared this was only the beginning. Michael was too much of an alpha, too much like his father, and her for that matter, not to want to lead the pack. She’d known it was inevitable. She’d only hoped for a few more years to give him time to mature into the man she knew he could be. Right now he tended to be a bit hotheaded and impulsive. And that was a dangerous combination.
“Tonight,” she repeated. She walked behind the bar and helped herself to a cup of coffee from the freshly brewed pot. Behind her, all of them lingered, still in shock over what had just happened.
This was the first internal threat to their pack they’d ever dealt with. Up until now, they’d all been focused on a common enemy and that alone had kept them unified. But things had changed. Isaiah had done that.
No, that wasn’t fair. She’d done it by allowing him into her life and her bed.
She’d been unable to resist his rough charm, the way he’d made her feel. For the first time in years, she’d felt like a female instead of simply the alpha.
She brought the cup to her lips and sipped. Kevin hovered near her and she sensed his anxiety. He was such a sensitive soul. She offered him a smile. “Everything will be all right, Kevin. You won’t lose your home. The pack will survive this.”
“I don’t like it,” he muttered, shooting Michael a glare.
She lightly touched his arm. “No, don’t blame him. It’s his right to question my decisions, my leadership ability. It’s the way of things among our kind. Only the strongest can lead.”
“I think you’re doing just fine.”
She smiled and leaned up to kiss his cheek. “Thank you.” She turned back to the rest of her family. “Now, if this drama is done for now, we have work to do.” She glanced at her watch, shocked to find the morning almost gone. “We open in an hour. I’ll be in the office if anyone needs me.”
Benjamin made his way to her side. “Mom, you can’t be serious about this.”
“A challenge is deadly serious. And it has to be treated as such.” Because he was her son and she loved him, she tried to reassure him. “We probably won’t kill each other tonight.”
“If that’s meant to calm my fears, it’s not helping,” came his wry reply.
“Go to work, Benjamin. Michael and I have to work this out between us.”
As she left the room, she heard their voices raised in discussion. She shut it all out. They had to learn that there were repercussions to all actions, just as she had. She’d known there was a good chance her family would find out about Isaiah, but she’d taken him to her bed anyway. Now she had to face that.
Michael had challenged her authority in front of the rest of the pack. She couldn’t let that stand without answering it or her leadership was worthless. They would all start to doubt and question her loyalty, her ability to protect them and hold their pack together.
No, as much as the thought of fighting her son made her sick to her stomach, she had no choice. One way or another, the pack would survive with a strong leader at the helm. Whether it was her or her son remained to be seen.
Meredith turned on her computer and sipped her coffee as it fired up. She was eerily calm for someone with so much upheaval in her life. A week ago her life had been predictable and safe. Now it was out of control.
A part of her regretted being with Isaiah, allowing his presence to cause such a rift in her family. A bigger part of her was anything but sorry. She felt more alive than she had in years. It was as though he’d awakened a part of her that had been dormant for far too many years. The friction between her and Michael had been growing. Just little things here and there, but enough for her to know this was coming.
Meredith set her mug down on the corner of her desk. Like her life, the desk was tidy. Organized. No matter what happened, she’d set a good foundation for her pack. One that would continue whether she led them or not.
That made her feel better about the situation. But not much. She still had to face her son on the field of challenge.
“Damn.” She rubbed her hands over her face, suddenly wanting to do nothing more than go back to bed and pu
ll the covers over her head. But there was no do-over and the facts were what they were.
Heaving a sigh, she called up her accounting program and went to work. It was going to be a long day.
Isaiah sat with his back against a crumbling brick wall, the cool of the stone seeping through his shirt and into his skin. He ignored the discomfort and watched the garage and the street beyond. People came and went with regularity. He’d been watching for days now and was starting to get a feel for the place. It had a predictable rhythm.
Otto Bykowski was the first to open shop every morning. The yeasty, sweet smells from his bakery wafted out through the vents in his building, competing with the odors of gasoline and garbage. Gradually, others would wake and find their way out into the world. Leon would show up at the garage around eight o’clock. The barbershop opened at nine. Divine would usually head down to the bakery somewhere between ten and eleven. The bar stayed closed until two in the afternoon.
He’d made his decision in between showering at his motel and arriving here this morning. It was time to pack up the truck and head out of Chicago. The attraction he had to Meredith couldn’t go anywhere.
It was one night of hot sex between willing adults. Nothing wrong with that.
He absently rubbed his chest. “Everything wrong with that,” he whispered. Meredith was so much more than just a quick roll in the sheets. Just the thought of leaving her was making him crazy. He worried about her and her small pack. Would they be okay? What would happen if hunters found them? Did they have some kind of escape plan in place?
So many questions with no answers. They hadn’t talked about such things because he wasn’t a part of her pack. He was just some wolf she’d taken to bed to help ease her when she was in heat.
He didn’t believe that either.
He’d caught a glimpse of the pain in her eyes this morning. Seen the yearning as well. She felt as troubled by what was happening between them as he was.
A car pulled up outside the garage and a tall, lanky man with cropped blond hair stepped out. Isaiah shoved aside his personal problems and catalogued the stranger. The man glanced around, his eyes skimming over the rooftop Isaiah was situated on, but not stopping. He sauntered into the garage and a few minutes later, Leon strode out with him and popped the hood of the engine.
Must be a legitimate customer. Still, Isaiah watched for anything suspicious or out of the ordinary. An hour later, money exchanged hands and the man was on his way again.
The day progressed slowly. The sun rose to its peak and began its slow descent. By the time it finally sank, Isaiah was more than ready to move. His skin itched with the need to shift.
He dug out his cell phone and dialed. A woman answered. “Hey, Divine. I’m going to bring a truck in about an hour and load James’s and Alexandra’s stuff.”
“You sure it’s safe?” Her voice was raspy and filled with concern.
“You see anything to make you think it wasn’t?” Because of the life she’d lived before inheriting James’s building, he knew Divine had good instincts.
“Nothing I can put my finger on.”
“I think we’re clear.”
“Why don’t we do what we talked about earlier? I’ll go downstairs and ask Leon to get his father’s truck. We can load everything and then he or his father can drive it to another location where you can transfer the load to your truck. Better safe than sorry.”
Isaiah once again marveled at how these humans were willing to put themselves in harm’s way to help a bunch of werewolves. “Sounds good to me.”
“Okay, I’ll go down and talk to Leon. Watch for the truck. I assume you’re close by.”
“You assume right. See you in a bit.” He ended the call and then placed another one. It was picked up on the second ring.
“Striker.”
“I’m loading the truck tonight.” He saw no reason for preliminaries or pleasantries. He wasn’t feeling real sociable right about now. He hadn’t left the city yet, and already he missed Meredith. The thought of never seeing her face, touching her soft skin, kissing her lush lips or losing himself in her body was untenable.
“No sign of trouble?” Joshua was always concerned about security.
“None I can see.” Which left what he couldn’t see. He couldn’t quite shake the feeling that someone was out there. Watching. Waiting.
He explained to Joshua what the plan was. “I’ll leave the loaded truck for a day or so to make certain no one is watching. If I see anything suspicious on my tail when I leave, I’ll dump the truck somewhere along the way and we can pick it up later.”
“Do you need any help?”
His fingers gripped the phone so hard his knuckles began to turn white and he forced himself to relax his hold. Part of him wished his brother was here beside him and that they were close enough for him to talk to. But he’d been reserved for years, keeping to himself, and they didn’t have that kind of relationship. Suddenly he wished it were different. He wanted to ask his brother about his mate, how he’d felt when he first met Alexandra.
“No, I’m fine.”
“Okay, see you soon.” Joshua disconnected and Isaiah was left listening to a dial tone. He pressed the off button and tucked the phone back in his pocket just as the Bykowski Bakery truck pulled up in front of the garage.
Isaiah hurried across the roof, down the interior stairs of the building and out the back door. He paused, listening for anything that seemed out of place. When he was sure he was alone, he worked his way over to the garage and slipped in through the smaller door. The truck was already inside, the large garage doors closed.
Divine was there along with Leon and his father, Otto.
“Let’s get started,” he growled. Quicker they were done, the quicker he could go see Meredith. There was no way he would be able to leave the city without going to see her first.
“Everything is upstairs.” Divine led the way up the back staircase. They all followed behind her, Isaiah bringing up the rear.
Maybe he’d be able to see her again when he came to Chicago. It wasn’t so far away that he couldn’t come up at least once a month. Yeah, like a classy lady like Meredith would settle for something like that. Not a chance.
“You okay?” Divine had stopped to wait for him, her expression concerned.
“Yeah.” She really was a great lady, for a human, and he told her so. She laughed, her blue eyes twinkling, and the moment passed.
The mound of boxes and furniture was substantial so he grabbed one and started back down the stairs. He heard the men chatting with Divine as they all fell to work loading the truck.
From his vantage point down the road, Collins noted the truck driving into the garage. He also noted the way that Leon looked up and down the road before shutting the door.
It had been genius of him to loosen a few wires under the hood earlier this morning and drive to the garage to get the problem looked at. It had allowed him to introduce himself to the man working there. Leon Bykowski was quiet, but competent. But most importantly, he was human. There was none of the fluid grace when he moved and his senses were no more than normal. He’d lightly blown on a dog whistle when Leon’s back had been turned just to be certain. Not loud enough for anyone outside the garage to hear, but loud enough to get a reaction if Bykowski had been a werewolf. The man hadn’t jerked or shown any reaction at all.
When Collins had asked about the former owner, James Riley, Leon had shrugged and said he didn’t know much about him. He’d simply rented the garage from the new owner of the building.
Still, he hadn’t been able to shake the sense that the man was holding something back. Quinn had taken the afternoon shift but seen nothing. Collins had switched cars and driven back to take up his watch for the evening. From the looks of things, their luck was about to change. He shifted his lanky body and yanked his cell phone out of his back pocket.
He thumbed a button and waited while it rang. It was picked up on the third ring. “Yeah?
”
He was glad he answered to Jones instead of Macmillan. That bastard creeped him out. “There’s a lot of activity at the garage tonight.”
“Okay. Keep a watch. I’ll bring the boss up to speed, then I’ll round up Warren and Quinn and we’ll stay ready if you need us.”
“Sounds good.” He wouldn’t mind getting a little action. It had been a while since he’d bagged a werewolf and his trigger finger was getting itchy.
“If you see that tall bastard, don’t lose him.”
Collins winced. Warren had seen him but lost him last night. Macmillan hadn’t been happy.
He rubbed his hand over the stock of his rifle that lay on the seat beside him. “Don’t worry. I won’t.”
Chapter Ten
It was late by the time Isaiah reached Haven. Too late. The club was already closed. Isaiah swore under his breath. Taking care of business had taken much longer than he’d anticipated. The bakery truck had gotten a flat on route to the parking lot where he’d stashed his truck. By the time they’d fixed that, driven to the lot, shifted everything from one truck to the other and moved his truck to a parking garage, Leon and his father were ready for a meal and a drink. And they’d wanted to talk with Isaiah.
He’d been unable to refuse them.
They’d done so much for James and the pack they deserved his respect. They were also genuinely nice men. They’d put themselves in harm’s way just to help a friend.
Otto had driven them to a pizza place where they’d devoured two large pizzas. Well, Otto and his son had shared one. He’d managed one on his own. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was until he’d started eating.
Two hours later, Isaiah had managed to extricate himself and say his final goodbyes to the two men. Divine had been waiting for him downstairs at the garage with a letter for Alex, which was currently stuffed in his back pocket. He’d said goodbye to her as well, not flinching when she’d reached out and hugged him.
He liked these people, but he didn’t plan on coming back anytime soon. At least not to the garage. Meredith’s club was another matter altogether.
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