by Amanda LeMay
“D’you watch?” Les laughed.
“Hell, no!” Seff shouted back. “That shit was messed up. Not even a full moon and all of ’em taking turns on one. I wasn’t gonna go jumping to save that male’s ass, especially when he didn’t seem to mind so much. But...I stayed close enough to hear they were looking for Simone here, and once they found her they were gonna take her back to Rule and...uh...he’d make her disappear.”
By the look Seff gave Gunner, it was obvious there was more to his story. Even though Rule was more than capable of making someone disappear, it was what Seff didn’t say that frightened me most.
Gunner’s squinting eyes seemed to study Seff. “Spread the word—Simone is under the protection of this pack. Anyone scents, sees, hears a strange wolf, it gets reported immediately. Strange activity, it gets reported immediately.” Every male in the room gave a quick nod.
And just as if Gunner had dismissed them, every male at the table, except for Brenin and Seff, stood and walked out of the dining room, pulling out their phones as they left.
“Son,” Gunner looked at Brenin, “you gonna explain sanctuary to Simone, or am I?”
Brenin hesitated, the muscles in his jaw tightening.
Gunner spoke again. “Don’t bother sugar-coatin’ it. Give her the truth.” He took a bite of cookie and washed it down with coffee, looking as relaxed as he could be—the total opposite of his son.
Brenin looked up from his coffee cup. “Coming here, asking for sanctuary, you put Jessy, Dain, Kern, and especially Maygan at risk.” His voice rose with each word until he was on the verge of shouting. “If those wolves would’ve showed up at their place last night, Dain, Kern, Jessy, and even pregnant Maygan would’ve fought to keep you safe.” His finger jammed the air in my direction.
Shocked, I stuttered, “I’m...I’m sorry. I never...never would’ve—”
“Simone,” Gunner interrupted, “there is not a damn thing you need to apologize for. Every one of them understood the risk when they took you in. They accepted it. More importantly, I knew the risk and allowed you stay where you knew someone, instead of dragging you out to stay the night in a stranger’s house.” He took another bite of cookie and waved a hand in Brenin’s direction. “Go on.”
Brenin’s face softened a bit, as if he had taken those few seconds to get his thoughts together.
“Normally, a wolf can drift from one pack to another without any problem, so long as they weren’t kicked out of their own pack, or cause trouble in the pack that adopts them. When a wolf runs because they feel threatened by a member or members of their pack, and asks for sanctuary, they have to find a sponsor—someone who’ll speak for them, present their case to their Alpha.”
“In your case, it was Jessy and Dain,” Gunner added. “That means they agreed to keep you safe, even at their own risk, until you could be handed off...here, to me. Normally, if the Alpha agrees to hear the case, the decision of whether to allow the wolf to stay is completely up to him.”
“Of course, your case is not normal.” Brenin shot a look at his father. He waved a finger between his father and me. “The decision was made the second you two laid eyes on each other.”
I looked at Gunner, waiting for him to expand on what Brenin had said. His eyebrows lifted for a second before he gave a little shrug of his shoulders, as if he had nothing else to say.
“Anyway,” Brenin went on, “once an Alpha agrees, depending on the severity of the reason, you either live happily ever after, safe in your new pack’s territory or, as with your case, a tribunal is called to discipline one of their Alphas. The danger with that is, Rule’s gonna want to get you back, which it’s pretty damn obvious he does. He may have kept the truth from you, but you can bet your ass he knows the laws. Mutilation and murder are against our laws, no matter what. In the meantime, he’s already sent out a hunting party, trying to cover his ass. They crossed into our territory and even though we may not want to risk an all-out fight with them, if they push it, we’ll have no choice but to hunt them down, run them off our land, or kill them. That puts every single member of this pack at risk.”
My heart slammed away in my chest. Brenin was right. I’d brought this danger here. Jessy. Dain. Kern. Maygan and her baby. Gunner.
“If those wolves had found me last night...” The words barely made it past my constricted throat. Because of my ignorance, I might very well have started a war.
I can’t stay here. I have to go back.
“Simone.” Heat rushed up my right arm. Gunner’s thumb gently stroked the inside of my wrist. “Simone?”
I couldn’t make my eyes focus on him. If I did, he’d see the tears I didn’t dare let fall.
I was okay. Everything would be okay.
I’ll make it all right.
“Simone.” Brenin’s suddenly calm voice struck me odd. “Listen, that’s what a pack does. They take the risk. They step up for each other.” He looked at his father and something passed between them. I didn’t know what it was, but it seemed to make Gunner sit up a little straighter as a tiny smile curved his mouth.
Suddenly Derry was next to me, pulling my hand from Gunner’s. “Well, now that all y’all have finished eatin’, I’m gonna take Simone to her room. Let her get settled. Y’all go on ahead talkin’ strategy, beatin’ your chests, showin’ how manly you are, but there’s gonna be a tribunal, which means there won’t be no all-out fightin’. Sure as hell, Rule knows the laws and that’s why he’s been isolating his pack up there in San Francisco. He may have sent out a scouting party aiming to catch her before she got where she was going, but I’d bet good money he didn’t tell them to invade our territory. Those idiots obviously had no idea what they were doing. Now that Simone is here, she’s out of his reach. Rule sends that hunting party in to get her, it’ll be a damn slaughter and he knows that.”
A slaughter.
Gunner stood, pulled my chair out, and took my hand as I stood.
“I’ll come make sure you’re all settled once I finish up here with Seff.”
Gunner squeezed my hand as I nodded. I followed Derry through the living room, past the front doors and down the hallway Gunner had taken. I followed close behind Derry while I tried to wrap my mind around the danger I’d brought to the Comfort pack.
A slaughter.
No, I won’t let that happen.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
WITH EACH TWIST AND turn, it was easier to believe there were rooms here Gunner might not have stepped foot in since he’d built them. I was beginning to believe I might have to track my way around this log cabin mansion to keep from getting lost. Maybe, if I was lucky, I’d find the long-lost piano.
Derry had escorted me past three widely spaced sets of double doors, down a long hallway. Narrow console tables of varying lengths and heights lined the passage at spaced intervals, each adorned with small lamps or lanterns, books, or small leather chests, and Southwest-style statues or pottery jars. Mirrors, paintings, and large metal stars covered in a pale aqua patina finish hung on the walls. Everywhere I looked, there were items handmade by skilled artists.
Gunner’s home was the complete opposite of my mother’s mansion. Here, with its natural textiles, leather, wood, and rock, every room was warm and welcoming, not cold and sterile with white tile, white walls, and white carpets, modern metal furniture, and crystal tabletops.
Derry turned to the left and stopped at a room where she grasped both handles and opened the doors wide.
Where the rest of the house was furnished in dark, rich browns, tans with a hint of red here and there, this bedroom was light and airy. Cream-colored furniture sat against light tan walls. The burgundy, tan, and cream quilt on the king-sized bed matched a thick rug that covered most of the dark wood floor. Burgundy-colored candles were here and there, clustered in groups, with the largest candles alone in stands. A wall of windows at the opposite side of the room led out to a covered patio. If I wished, I could walk right out onto the deck, sit in one of the b
ig wooden lounges, and take in a starry night or gaze at the acres of trees spreading across Gunner’s ranch.
“I washed up the new clothes you brought back and hung them there in the closet.” Derry pointed at a set of mirrored doors opposite the bed. “Your underclothes, PJs and stuff, I put away in here.” She walked over to a tall, cream armoire and tapped the two drawers. “The bathroom’s right here.” She opened a door next to the closet. “I set your bag of toiletries on the counter. Feel free to light the candles. They’re unscented beeswax so they don’t mess with your sense of smell. Somebody comes to your door you’ll scent who it is before you open it.”
Would I?
I glanced around, breathed in deeply, and tried to identify the scents around me—fresh, clean bedding, candle wax and...Derry—vanilla and lavender. Two soothing fragrances mixed together. Her voice, her manner, her scent—everything about her would relax any wolf before they even realized why.
“Thank you so much. I truly appreciate everything and I’m so sorry I’ve brought such a disruption into—”
“What did Gunner just say, not five minutes ago?” Derry stood, hands on her hips, shaking her head as she gently scolded me.
I remembered what he said, but I couldn’t help it. “He said I don’t need to apologize.”
“That’s right.”
“But I do.”
“No, you don’t.”
I took in a deep breath. “Derry, I’m putting every single wolf in this pack in danger, the least I can do is—”
“You can just back that pony up.”
“Wh...what?”
“I’ll tell you what you can do. Respect Gunner’s decision, not that he had much of a choice, considering what’s going on between you two.” She smiled, her eyes crinkling into half-moons. “Listen, honey, every one of those males out there is a damn good male. Sure, we got some not-so-good males in this pack and a few screw-ups, my son being one of them, but like Brenin said, this pack comes together when it’s necessary and does the right thing.”
“They are only following his orders.”
“No. He tells them what’s going on and sure, he gives them a few directives, but this pack is smart and they know Gunner would never steer them wrong, even if his judgment is a bit partial at the moment.” She flashed her smile at me once again. “Anyway, they follow him because they want to, not because he orders them to, or threatens them if they don’t.”
“Okay.” I sighed. I wasn’t going to win an argument with her. “I’ll try to remember not to apologize.”
“Sounds good to me.” She started toward the door.
“Derry, can I tell you something?”
She turned back to face me. “Okay...as long as you’re not trying to finagle a way to apologize without saying ‘I’m sorry’.”
“No, I’m not, I promise.”
“Okay, go on ahead.”
“I haven’t experienced much warmth and affection in my life. I haven’t felt like someone truly cared about me for a very long time. I’m not used to others touching me.” I paused, thinking about my next words. “When Gunner kissed me, I should’ve pushed him away, but I couldn’t. For some bizarre reason, I...crave his touch. I can’t explain it.” I swore inwardly, making a promise. “I’ll try not to make this situation any more complicated than it already is. I won’t...” The words wouldn’t come out.
“Kiss him again?”
I nodded.
“Yeah, you will. And if you two are kissing,” her eyebrows rose, “or whatever, I’ll try to make sure you don’t get interrupted.”
My mouth dropped open for a second before I was able to croak out, “Or whatever...what?”
“Whatever—whatever.” Her smile widened. “You need it. He needs it. It’s all good.”
Sex. She means sex.
“But...I haven’t...we’re not...I can’t...”
He wouldn’t...want me.
“But you want to.”
Yes, I do. But how could she possibly know? “Am I that...superficial?”
“Superficial...as in shallow? As in, I can read your thoughts on your face?”
I nodded.
“No.” Her eyebrows pinched together. “You’re trussed up tight. Like, you’ve been watched and judged your entire life and you’re afraid to let loose and have fun because the real you might come out to play, and getting caught being yourself scares you to death.”
Yes. “But how...?”
“How do I know this?”
“Yes.”
She frowned. “You need to open up those wolf senses of yours, honey. See with your pretty wolf eyes. Listen with those wolf ears. Smell with that little wolf nose of yours.”
I breathed in a deep breath and let it out on a groan. “My wolf senses suck.”
“Like I said, living in the city can really screw you up. Your senses, they’ll come back to you. Might take some practice, but they’ll come back. Just like that wolf that’s hiding inside you, wanting to break free and play.”
I looked away out the large picture window. “I was caught, being myself, once. My mother...” scared me to death, “beat me...” among other things, “and locked me in my safe room. Afterward, she made sure I understood the consequences if I should ever dishonor her again. And even knowing the consequences, I dishonored her again anyway.”
I turned to find Derry standing with her arms crossed, her mouth set in a straight, angry line.
“Your mother sounds like a world-class bitch.”
I smiled. “I certainly won’t argue with you there.”
Derry smiled back. “That’s because you’re smart.”
“I may not know who the real me is, but I do know I’m not that smart.”
Derry took my chin in her hand. Her light chocolate eyes looked into mine. “Yeah, you are.”
I tried to shake my head “no”, but she held firm, her eyebrows going up in question.
“Listen, I’ve been living in this house for years, been a part of this pack even longer and in all that time, I’ve never seen the light shine in Gunner’s eyes the way it does now. Right now, in this room, I can see the evil that touched your soul, but when Gunner looks at you, the real you is the only thing he sees. And you are beautiful.”
My eyes stung. I whispered, not really wanting to say the words I was about to speak, but I couldn’t hide from the truth. “Derry, he’s already mated.”
Her smile disappeared and her eyes went soft.
“In name only.” She cupped my face in both her hands. “There’s more going on here than you understand. And honey, he wants you, you want him, and you’re not gonna walk away from that. Besides, being mated doesn’t always mean a whole hell of a lot when we’re talkin’ about Alphas. And anyway, it’s not my place to say what Neeta’s reasons were for leaving this house thirty-five years ago, but I can say, she is the last wolf you ever have to worry about.”
I blinked. “Thirty-five years? She’s been gone thirty-five years?”
Derry nodded. Her hands dropped away from my face. “Her and Gunner’s kids were grown, outta the house with little ones of their own. Brenin is the only one who stuck around, but he doesn’t live here. He’s got a place of his own, though he don’t spend much time there. Neeta comes to visit when the kids come around for holidays and such.”
“Neeta left this house seven years before I was born.”
“Simone, honey, I see where you’re going and you’re gonna learn that wolf years are not human years. Age doesn’t have the same meaning.”
“Gunner has lived an entire life.”
“What do you see when you look at him? He may be crotchety sometimes but he ain’t a feeble old male.”
“No, I don’t see an old male. He’s strong and smart, and kind and...gentle.” And, if I ever bothered to dream of what my perfect mate might be, Gunner was all that and more.
“And damn easy on the eyes.”
I sighed. “Yes, he is that, too.” I shook my head in defea
t. “I’m never going to win an argument with you, am I?”
“Yeah, you will, eventually. But, you gotta learn to pick your battles and keep your promises.”
My stomach dropped. I had promised to stay and at the first sign of danger, I’d swept it aside like I’d never spoken the words.
“There really are no secrets in this house, are there?”
“Nope. And we’re done talking.” She turned and made it to the doors just as Gunner’s scent and Alpha power wafted into the room. I heard Derry say, “She’s decent, go on in.” She must have passed him in the hallway.
And then, he was there, filling the doorway with his big, broad shoulders and wide smile. His green eyes sparkled as he stood gazing at me. He propped one arm up on the doorframe and slid his other hand in the pocket of his jeans.
“This room okay for you?” His deep voice rumbled through the space.
“Yes, I’m okay.” I replied automatically. I glanced toward the bed. My heart sped up. I couldn’t control it. I turned quickly toward the windows and scanned the room in a complete circle, only to land back where I started, looking at Gunner.
“Simone.” Gunner pulled his hand from his pocket and walked in slowly, as if he thought he might frighten me. “You’re safe here.”
“I know.” Without even thinking about what I was doing, my gazed roamed down Gunner’s body and then back up slowly until I reached his eyes. My mouth watered as I imagined him naked. In this room. On this bed. With me. He stepped closer and my breath hitched.
“Simone, you are safe. What happened to you is not your fault. What’s happening now with Rule’s hunting party is not your fault.” He took my hand in his, his thumb stroking back and forth over the inside of my wrist. “There’s not a damn thing to be afraid of here.”