“Look… I’m not suggesting you take them all into your pack as members, Reed. I mean, they’re not wolves. They’re bears. That’s unnatural, right?”
Reed snorted. “Unnatural is an understatement… but you do want me to offer them all asylum like Matt did for the three of you.”
Gareth stepped close to his mate before turning to look at the most reasonable alpha he’d ever met. If Reed was this concerned about the mere suggestion of letting the bears live with his pack, they’d have to convince him long before he’d ever let the bears anywhere near his people.
“There’s also another good reason to let them visit your pack that Brandi hasn’t mentioned.”
Reed lifted an eyebrow. “My instincts just went on high alert, Gareth.”
“You’re wise to trust them, which is why I want to tell you upfront,” Gareth admitted. He looked at Brandi who nodded before he looked back at Reed. “Having the bears here would help the people Brandi and I work for to not have to divide their protection efforts between the bears in their Colorado location and your pack here in the wilds of Alaska. With the bears here with your people, we could ask for a few agents to be assigned here to protect everyone until this is all over. They’d be hybrids too—not full human. I’d get as many werewolves as possible and put as few prey species here as we could. However, most of the prey hybrids are intelligence workers and they’re necessary too.”
Reed stared at Gareth for a long time, then finally nodded. “I’m not keen on having anyone here from the government, but I can see how the logistics of having us all in one place would make sense to the people you work for. Before I can give you an answer about the bears, I need to think about this more—and talk to the pack. I can’t imagine how my already frightened people will react to living alongside bears for any reason.”
Brandi smiled at the male who was like a father to her. “If you don’t want to bring them here, temporary relocation of your pack somewhere else is another option. For example, we could reverse things. We can move all your pack out to Colorado—maybe to a Native American reservation near the bears. That would still allow us to protect everyone at once.”
Reed nodded but didn’t reply.
Brandi sighed. “I appreciate that you’re at least willing to listen to the idea. Don’t worry. We’ll come up with something you can live with, Reed. Whatever you decide is good for the Black Wolf pack, Gareth and I want you to know that you don’t have to fight the bad guys alone. Your grandsons may have created this mess, but we will help you end it.”
“Okay. I’ll try to think of the positives,” Reed promised, and hugged Brandi before slipping out the door to take a walk.
The room was silent while they watched Reed leave.
Katarina eventually turned to Brandi after she was sure the Black Wolf alpha was well out of hearing range. “Reed’s guilt is like large dark cloud over his alpha good judgment. Those of his blood brought harm to the rest of his people, and he cannot see beyond that fact. This shame I understand. My sister was taken by Travis only because I escaped him. What is good for one is often not good for the many.”
Brandy nodded as she stared at the door where Reed had exited. “Maybe that’s true about how Reed’s feeling at the moment, but a wolf with his blood also saved his people from the tyranny of his evil alpha grandsons. Did Ariel tell you this story?”
“Da. But I never tire of hearing that good wins out over evil. It helps me keep faith,” Katarina admitted.
“Because they looked identical, each took a turn being alpha and inflicting torment on the pack. Ariel killed Hanuk—the alpha at the time—in an open challenge for the alpha role. Reed’s hope that Travis could be saved prevented his death, but later Heidi killed Travis when he left her no choice. Both Hanuk and Travis were driving the Black Wolf pack into the ground with their violent dictates. Reed was trying not to destroy them because they were family. Unfortunately, no one’s gene pool comes with a guarantee of goodness.”
Katarina grunted in agreement. “Violent alphas must have been terrible burden for a village full of such peaceful wolves.”
Brandi frowned as she nodded in agreement. “By pack law, Ariel killing Hanuk earned her the right to be the next Black Wolf alpha of this pack. Reed only took pack leadership back so Ariel could go live with Matt in the Gray Wolf pack. He doesn’t want to lead anymore, but there’s no choice. Werewolf politics aren’t any easier here in Alaska than they are where you come from.”
Katarina nodded. Life was strange. What long ago seemed her biggest torment was now her greatest blessing. She had the instincts of an alpha, but no knowledge of living under the rule of one. At this moment, all those years of living alone looked like a much easier path in following her destiny.
She walked to Brandi and put a hand on the brave nano wolf’s shoulder. “A lone wolf needs no guidance, but I think most werewolves need strong leader. I think bringing giant bears here is good idea, but Russian wolves not afraid of bears. Fear, I know, often creates desperation. Despite all this, I think Reed will say yes to plan. He just needs time to accept fate.”
Brandi grinned at the petite Russian alpha. Katarina might be tiny in some ways, but she well remembered what the woman was like in full wolf form. When she looked at her, she saw the courage of Katarina’s wolf side. “Fear rules most people’s decisions, even the small daily ones. Reed makes excellent decisions and moves on quickly from any drama surrounding them. He also seems to have less daily issues than anyone I’ve ever met.”
“Or perhaps he has lost ability to give two shits. Guess time will tell,” Katarina said with a shrug.
Brandi grinned. “I don’t think that’s the case, but we’ll see. Everybody has a weak point. What are you afraid of, Katarina Volkov?”
Katarina looked up and studied the ceiling as she gave serious contemplation to the question. “When I figure out answer, comrade, I will let you know.”
“Yes, comrade. You do that,” Brandi said, chuckling at the Russian alpha’s innate arrogance.
3
“I assumed they were sending a pilot. You never told me you could fly a plane.”
Brandi snickered into her headset as she turned to Gareth. She pointed at his lap until he put his own headset on.
“It’s only a small plane. It’s not like I can fly a jet or a rocket,” she said after Gareth put it on. “And I remember telling you that I learned to operate all kinds of vehicles because I hated being trapped anywhere waiting for a ride.”
Gareth grunted from the co-pilot’s seat. “What other secrets are you hiding from me?”
Brandi laughed. “I wasn’t hiding this one. The subject never came up. Most of our conversations are about cattle breeding or how to keep the kids out of trouble. The rest of time we’re having sex and not talking about anything trivial.”
“I wouldn’t call flying a plane trivial. Never having mowed a lawn? Now that’s trivial. And it’s still hard to believe.”
Brandi snorted and made her headset crackle. “What is your real problem with this, Longfeather? Lots of agents have their pilot’s license. Do my multiple achievements as a female agent make you feel less masculine in some way?”
Gareth swore under his breath. “Don’t be stupid. I just don’t like being the last to know things, especially when they involve my mate.”
Brandi grinned about his continued complaining. It was fun knowing she’d surprised Gareth. “Maybe we need to play twenty questions now and again, but if we do, you’re not allowed to get mad if you don’t like my answers. I was a normal human in the US military when I learned most of what I know. Unlike you, I wasn’t always a kick-ass werewolf.”
Gareth didn’t bother responding to his mate’s snarky praise. Instead, he shook his head at the mystery woman he’d mated. “I’m changing the subject. Why did you bring Stewart on this trip? Kent and Aggie are not your biggest fans right now.”
Brandi nodded. “Yeah, I know. I have a lot of reasons. One is that Stewart
is evolving faster than they are. He’s doubled in size and they haven’t done that yet. Kent’s idea of handling their physical discrepancy is to exert even more power over Stewart, even though I’ve explained that will not happen on my watch. I think Stewart needs to see in person what he keeps seeing in his head. I want him to get in touch with and feel his own power. I’ll deal with Kent’s anger over this when we get home. Aggie already understands, but she’s worried about the boys fighting. Everyone will have to deal because I’m right about this.”
Gareth snorted at her confidence in reasoning with Kent, who was shaping up to be quite the little alpha-in-training. “You could have told them you were intending to spend some ‘quality alone time’ with each of them. Then Kent would only be mad that he didn’t get to go first.”
Brandi sighed, even as she laughed. “Yeah—maybe. I don’t have any fancy words for my logic, but what you said is exactly what I’m planning. They all need to learn that they’re individuals and not just a unit of three. Each of them needs to be free enough to live his or her own life. Ariel and Matt are good about not interfering too much. One way or the other, I will make sure Kent learns to be the same.”
Gareth grinned. “All I can say is that you better bring back some damn terrific souvenirs from this trip.”
Brandi barked out a laugh. “Gareth, I’m bringing back bear shifters for them to meet. What more could any kid want? Kent and Aggie will be ecstatic. Trust me.”
Knowing she was right, Gareth smiled and nodded.
“Aggie speaks Russian. I’m sorry I don’t speak Russian. I would totally speak it with you if I could.”
“Speaking Russian is unnecessary. I speak English too. Who is Aggie?”
Stewart wiggled in his seat. He could feel his legs growing again. It hurt, but he didn’t want anyone to know. This trip was the coolest thing he’d ever done in his life.
“Aggie is my sister. Well, not my actual sister. We were all orphans together—Kent, Aggie, and me. Now we’re wolf pack mates, though none of us have shifted yet. We’re experiments like Mom and her pack mates.”
Katarina’s eyes shot to the cockpit, where Brandi and Gareth smiled and talked through their headsets. This was news Brandi had never shared. She finally turned her gaze back to the boy sitting beside her. He’d been talking non-stop to her, and she was barely keeping up. His mind was so… expansive.
“Kent is our alpha, but Mom made him stand down when he said I couldn’t go on this trip with her. Mom says she’s a beta, but I’m thinking she’s becoming an alpha. Kent gave in to her awfully easily. Do you know what I mean?”
Katarina chuckled. “Yes. And I completely agree. Brandi is alpha material and is already alpha in many ways. So is your father. Only alpha prospects are chosen for betas, or so I have been told. Packs are mysterious to lone wolf like me.”
“Lone wolf? Does that mean you don’t have a pack?” Stewart asked.
“Nyet. I mean, no. I do not have a pack.”
Stewart shook his head. “What do you do when you have a problem? Or when you’re hurt and scared? When I get my visions, Aggie pats my head and Kent tells me everything will turn out fine.”
Katarina sighed at his innocence. She couldn’t remember ever wishing for such comfort. “When I am scared, I guess I comfort myself.”
Stewart reached over and put a hand on the pretty Russian wolf’s arm. “That must be very hard.”
Katarina lifted a shoulder, but she patted the small hand on her arm. “In a hundred and fifty years, I’ve had a lot of practice. Thank you for caring. How old are you, Stewart?”
Stewart bit his lip because he hated the question. He never knew what to say to people who asked his age. “Like in real years or wolf years?”
Katarina laughed. “Which answer will shock me more? I want to hear that one.”
Stewart laughed. “When Mom got us, we were about four. Then suddenly a few months ago we were somewhere around eight. Now I’m like twelve or thirteen—I think. Kent and Aggie are still eight though. What’s happening to me is strange, but Mom says it’s just my werewolf pattern of growth. Apparently, we can all have different ones.”
Katarina nodded. “I agree with your mother. I do not find it strange. That’s what destiny is like—always bringing big surprises. All you can do is pray for help to accept what life brings to you.”
Stewart snickered. “Well, actually, I have been praying a lot lately because I really, really, really want to shift into an actual wolf.”
“That is a very specific request. I am curious, Stewart. What god do you pray to?” Katarina asked because the boy’s openness and positivity charmed her.
Stewart lifted a shoulder. “I suppose it’s fair to say that I trade up gods frequently. Aggie finds me a new one whenever I get tired of waiting for my shifting prayers to be answered.”
Unrestrained laughter bubbled up and out of Katarina. When she heard a masculine snicker, she glanced over and saw that a sleeping Reed hadn’t really been sleeping. His eyes were all but closed, but a grin tugged at his mouth, proving he listened to the boy. Reed looked very appealing with that grin, so she turned her focus back to the male beside her.
“When I was kidnapped and running for my life, I prayed to ghost of famous Russian werewolf who left my father’s pack and came to live with Reed’s pack in Alaska. The spirit of Nicolai Vashchenko answered my desperate prayers and sent your mother and her pack to save me. Turns out he was also Reed’s great-uncle through friendship. I think sometimes the best family is the one you create for yourself as you go through life. Nicolai was lucky like that—he was lucky like you.”
“I suppose I have been lucky. You need to get lucky too,” Stewart insisted. “No wolf should be alone—not even a lone wolf.”
Katarina nodded as she grinned. “Well, I recently found a sister I didn’t know I had. Her name is Yana. So I guess I have begun process.”
Stewart nodded. “That’s awesome. Is your sister Russian too?”
“Da. And she looks like me. Except much, much younger. I was my father’s firstborn. She was one of his last.”
“It must be cool to know who your actual father is,” Stewart whispered.
Katarina shook her head. “No. It is not good thing. My father is evil wolf. Hundreds of times I wish he had never been part of my life.” She lifted her finger and pointed at him. “You are luckier to have parents who chose you and love you for yourself. That is special blessing. Never take it for granted.”
“Oh, I won’t,” Stewart promised as he looked to the front of the plane where his parents were fussing with each other. They were passionate about life, which made them passionate about the three of them. He really did feel lucky. “Dad said Mom made a deal that made our Grandpa give us up to her. My grandpa’s not evil, but he sometimes does some things my parents don’t approve of. I get why Mom refused to leave us there with him.”
“You have young body and old soul, Stewart Longfeather. You will make fine wolf one day. I need to sleep now,” Katarina told him, then leaned her head back so she could pretend to shut out the world.
The last thing she needed in life was to confess her envy of a young boy who knew with absolute certainty his parents loved him.
4
“Jon. Susan. It’s so good to see you both,” Brandi said, hugging each of them tightly before stepping back to get a better look at Jon. “Susan, you look great, but did you grow again, Jon?”
“Not that I’m aware of. The clothes Gareth bought me still fit,” Jon said. He peered around Brandi. “Who’s your little friend?”
Brandi turned to look behind her. “Oh. That’s Katarina Volkov. She’s a visiting Russian alpha who’s helping us.”
“Not the woman,” Jon said with a laugh as he pointed. “Him. The kid.”
“Oh, him…” Brandi laughed as she glanced at Stewart and waved him forward. “This is my son—I mean, mine and Gareth’s. Stewart, come meet the bears you dreamed about.”
&nbs
p; As the boy creeped forward to obey Brandi’s command, Katarina looked up at Reed. “You are tall like bear. Do you think I am short of stature as well?”
Reed thought she was perfect, but he knew what she was asking. Too bad he couldn’t bring himself to reassure her. “Do you mean compared to Stewart? Or in general?”
Katarina made a grunting sound in her throat. “What does size matter? Size means nothing. Bear is bigger than you, but you do not tremble in his presence, right?”
Reed’s mouth twitched. “My problem is not that Jon’s bigger than me. He’s a giant bear predator, Katarina. I bet he’s at least ten feet tall when shifted.”
“More like twelve feet when I raise up on two legs,” Jon said, stepping around Brandi and her son. “You must be Brandi’s… uh… what exactly should I call you?”
“How about just Reed?” Reed suggested dryly, putting out his hand to shake. The bear took it gently but shook it firmly. The man may have not been a bear for long, Reed decided, but he’d obviously learned how to master his bear’s strength when human.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Reed Black Wolf. Brandi saved my life… and my wife’s. Your nano wolf is very dear to us.”
Brandi snorted as she scratched her head. “If we have to label my relationship with Reed, let’s call him my alpha prime. He’s like a father to me—the strange wolf father that I never knew I wanted until I met him.”
“A father figure? Yes, that I can believe.” Jon sized up the large First Nation man gazing calmly at him. He liked what he saw. “I can understand why someone would want to make more of Brandi, but I also understand why she will never allow it to happen if she can prevent it. She suggested our group come to Alaska for an extended vacation. Are you the person issuing the invitation?”
Reed studied the man. “How much control do your people have over their beasts?”
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