by Scarlett Ray
When he got a little too close, I held Dani tighter and growled a warning at him. He ignored me completely, “Either way, the wolves on the preserve will have to be driven off or disposed of. I’m in favor of the latter, but who knows, maybe you can persuade me otherwise.”
“Fuck you,” Dani growled.
“Yes, that’s what I had in mind,” he chuckled. “Of course, the country girl thing will probably get old quickly, so we’ll need to do something about that. I’ll have you trained right soon enough.”
I had to hold Dani back so she wouldn’t attack him herself. “And what about your pack?” I asked. “They’ll be fine with all that?”
“Why wouldn’t they? I’m securing an entire town for our use and displacing your filthy lot in the process. What’s not to like?”
“I’m not marrying you, you bastard!” Dani snapped. “I don’t give a shit how much money you have or how many promises you make—”
“Don’t you? Weren’t you telling me earlier that you would do whatever you had to if it meant saving this town?” He took another slow step toward us, “After all, if I leave, your beloved hometown and your precious preserve are both as good as dead. You know that just as well as I do. That’s how I know you’ll make the smart choice and do what I say. Before this has to get ugly.” With a cold smile, he reached up to pet her cheek.
Seeing him touch her, I snapped. “Too late,” I growled, shoving him back. His mouth twisted into a sneer. But I was already way past the point of talking, tired of holding back when my beast was begging me to tear into him. “Dani, stay back.”
When I shifted, I vaguely heard her shriek and saw a split-second of shock on Will’s face before he shifted as well to defend himself. He was a little bigger than me, but he didn’t have nearly as much rage fuelling him. I leapt at him, snarling, fangs bared, and we rolled across the floor in a vicious, growling tangle of limbs. After all the times I’d thought about this, I had a lot of pent-up aggression to work out, so my attacks kept him on the defensive every second; he couldn’t even manage a swipe in my direction without me snapping right back at him.
We paid no attention to the deep gouges our claws left in Dani’s hardwood floors or the furniture we knocked to the ground in the scuffle. I made a conscious effort to keep him away from her, refusing to let her become part of the fight I had started. I sure as hell didn’t put it past him to attack her to save his own skin. Finally, I managed to grab him by the scruff of his neck and throw him against the solid living room wall. His back hit it, and he crumpled to the ground with a pathetic whine. When he shifted back to his human form, I knew I’d knocked him unconscious.
I shifted back, panting, bruised, bloodied, but not beaten. None of the damage was anything permanent. I grabbed a blanket from the couch and threw it over his naked form before going back to Dani. Somehow, I managed not to limp as I headed back to the front hallway, where she had collapsed after seeing us shift. She sat there wide-eyed, mouth open in shock. She didn’t flinch when I knelt next to her, just staring at me like she wasn’t quite sure what she’d seen. Considering how recently she’d seen me naked, that part didn’t really seem to faze her.
“Uh, sorry about the mess,” I muttered. “Are you okay?”
“Define ‘okay,’” her tone was surprisingly calm. “If ‘okay’ means I don’t feel like I might be going crazy, then no, I’m not okay.”
“You’re not crazy. I should’ve warned you, I know, but I couldn’t stand listening to him talk for another minute.”
“So this is no big deal to you? What just happened, that’s…that’s normal?”
“For my family? Yeah.”
“Your whole family?” she repeated. “How—how is that—oh my God,” she dropped her head into her hands and took a slow, deep breath. Not the worst possible reaction, but it wasn’t very encouraging either.
“We’re still ourselves even when we shift. I mean, we don’t go crazy or turn into actual animals. It’s just our bodies that change. Will is the same way. Just from a different pack.”
She let out an absent laugh, “So it really was a family rivalry. That was why you two hated each other.”
“Well, that, and the fact that he’s an asshole,” I agreed. She shook her head—then snapped it up to look me in the eye.
“Jesus. The wolves on the preserve. Don’t tell me…”
With a sheepish smile, I nodded, “No wild wolves out there. Just us when we needed to, uh, blow off some steam.”
“Your whole family,” she repeated. “You’re all like that? Luke? Miguel?” I nodded. Suddenly, Dani looked worried. “Then does that mean…Nicky too?”
“Yeah. It’s how I figured out he’s mine. And you shouldn’t tell the boy it’s ‘weird’ for him to recognize his own pack,” I added with a frown. “You’ll confuse him.”
“How in the hell was I supposed to know that was—”
She was interrupted by heavy, running boot falls outside, and I sprang up, ready to defend against another threat—but when the door burst open, Luke was the one standing there looking ready for a fight himself.
He quickly took stock of the room, including Will lying unconscious on the floor, and he sighed at me in irritation, “You need a change of clothes?”
* * *
The spare set of clothing Luke kept in his truck didn’t fit me quite right, but it was better than walking around in my birthday suit. Especially since we still had to deal with Will. Luke suggested we tie him up or something, but I had a feeling he wouldn’t be stupid enough to attack us when he was outnumbered.
It didn’t take long for him to wake. He sat up with a groan, rubbing his head, then went rigid when he saw the three of us staring him down. But, like I’d assumed, he didn’t bother going on the offensive.
“Great, another one,” he said, looking at Luke with disdain all over his face. “You know how stupid it would be to hurt me, don’t you? Even you people can’t be that thoughtless.”
“Fucking coward, hiding behind your daddy’s name,” Luke muttered, disgusted.
“Here’s the thing, Billy,” I crouched on the floor to be eye-level with him. “I talked to one of your packmates earlier today—Craig, I think was his name—and he told me that what you’re doing down here isn’t something your alpha’s willing to defend.”
“Wait, what?” Luke looked down at me with a frown. “There was another northerner in town?”
“He only came to give this one a message,” I gestured to Will dismissively. “You’re down here deliberately picking fights with other packs, trying to take over a town you have no claim to, and your daddy isn’t too pleased about it. But you already knew that, didn’t you?”
“Oh, that’s why he didn’t want you here,” Dani reasoned, “because you’re making him look bad.”
“What’s your point?” Will asked through gritted teeth.
“The point is you’re getting called home. That’s what Craig wanted me to tell you. Your alpha says if you still want to be part of his pack, you’d better get your ass back to Detroit as soon as possible.” I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t enjoying the helpless fury on his face. “And if you don’t, you’re on your own. He won’t bother defending you. Meaning if you stay in this town, you’re liable to get torn apart by a whole pack of very angry wolves. And if you think I would have any moral problem with that”—I grinned menacingly—“you are dangerously wrong.”
“I get it,” he grumbled, hands clenched into fists. “There wasn’t anything here worth all the trouble anyway.” He shot Dani a pointed look, and I hit him again before I could stop myself, knocking him onto his back and sending blood pouring from his nose.
“You better leave before I change my mind about letting you,” I warned. Despite the tension in his body, he looked at me, looked at Luke, and then left with his tail between his legs, slamming the door behind him.
“Good riddance,” Luke spat. Then he looked to Dani and then to me. “We need to talk.” Wary
of where that conversation might go, I took a step toward her, keeping myself between them. He lifted his hand, “Relax. We just need to figure out how to handle this. How much did you already tell her?” As he spoke, he went to sit at one end of the couch, so Dani and I took the other.
“Only the basics. You’re welcome to explain more.”
“Please,” Dani added.
“First off, I think we owe you an apology,” he told her, leaning forward to rest his elbows against his knees. “Our rules kept Noah from being with you. He wanted to, but we aren’t allowed to get involved with humans.”
“Why not?”
“You didn’t exactly have the best reaction when you found out what we are,” I pointed out. “Imagine if it got out to other people. It could put us in serious danger—not just us, but all shifters. The rule is supposed to keep that from happening.”
“Wait. You thought I would tell someone?” she asked, giving Luke a hard frown. “You thought I’d turn you over to the government or something?”
“Not you, no, but a rule is a rule. We’ve trusted the wrong people in the past and paid for it.” Shaking his head, Luke went on, “But I didn’t realize Nicky was Noah’s son. I wondered, but I figured we would’ve been able to tell.”
“Does it change something?” I asked. Although I had made up my mind to be with Dani no matter what, I still didn’t relish the idea of having to fight with my family. I would if I had to. But if there was another option…
“I talked to Mom and Dad. They said if he’s your son, if he’s a shifter, then he’s part of the pack. And so is his mama,” he nodded at Dani. “Mind you, they weren’t exactly thrilled about that part, but they aren’t about to exclude one of our own.”
“Well thank heaven for little miracles,” I muttered, running a hand through my hair, immensely relieved.
“I’m not sure I understand,” Dani said. “What do your parents have to do with anything?”
“I’ll explain it later,” I assured her. “For now, just know that no one’s going to try to keep us apart anymore.” She smiled at me, and my chest clenched as I realized that finally, finally this was actually happening. I leaned in to kiss the smile off her lips, but Luke cleared his throat to interrupt.
“This does make the whole moving thing a little more complicated, though.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Dani said firmly.
“Yeah, that’s what I figured.”
“We’ll figure something else out,” she insisted. “There has to be something we can do. I’ll do press conferences. I’ll go to more of those god-awful parties if I have to. I’ll…” She was quiet for a second, thinking hard, then looked up with wide eyes. “I have an idea, actually. You probably won’t like it, but I think if we do it right, it could really work.”
“Whatever it is, I’m behind you,” I wrapped my arm around her waist, and she leaned in to kiss my cheek.
“I know you are, honey. But we’ll need more help to pull it off.” Glancing at Luke, she added, “Maybe even the whole family.”
Epilogue: Dani
Late February was the perfect time of year for camping. It was still cool enough that day hikes were pleasant, but it wasn’t so cold that you’d freeze your ass off in a tent. My boys and I had set up our site along the river, where plenty of other visitors to the preserve were camped out as well. When we heard wolves howling in the distance, an excited chorus of oohs and aahs went up from the other campers, and I couldn’t help smiling. I’d gotten used to the sound over the past few months, even started to find it comforting. It reminded me of my family.
“Ouuu!!!!” Nicky scrambled out of the tent to join the others with his own little howl, just like he always did when he heard them. I laughed and started to shush him—then his daddy let loose a howl of his own in support, and I could hardly breathe from laughing so hard.
“You two are gonna give away our secret,” I warned, scooping Nicky into my arms to tickle him. “You sound too authentic!”
“Aw, humans can’t tell the difference,” Noah waved me off with a smile. Nicky had his face all screwed up like he was concentrating hard.
Noah shook his head sympathetically, “I’m telling you, bud, it’s not gonna happen for a few more years.”
“Maybe I’ll start early,” Nicky insisted. He had been just crushed when Noah told him that shifting didn’t usually start until around puberty. Poor thing might have to wait a whole ten more years before he could turn into a little adolescent wolf at will. I felt like since I’d learned about the whole shifter thing, I understood him a lot better. There had always been things, habits and impulses of his, that I just couldn’t make sense of, but having a support system of adult shifters around to help made it much easier (especially Camilla, who had raised a couple of her own “pups” already).
Noah had moved in with us the day after Will left Palo Verde, and all three of us had been on cloud nine ever since. Not that it didn’t take a little getting used to—having a third person in the house, not being the sole decision-maker when it came to Nicky—but we were working through all of it, and the good definitely outweighed the bad.
“Even if you did, you wouldn’t want it to happen in front of a bunch of strangers,” I pointed out. Looking to Noah, I asked, “Who all’s out tonight?”
“Luke and Todd, for sure,” he told me. “Todd’s been talking about it the whole month. Lorenzo and Kaitlyn. Maybe Anita and her girls. That’s all I can remember off the top of my head. Sounds like they’re milking it for all it’s worth, however many of them there are.”
“Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
For reasons no wildlife study could seem to understand, the Palo Verde Wolves had become more active and visible in the past few months. They still stayed in the off-limits part of the preserve, for the most part, but people saw them much more often. In fact, it was almost like they had a predictable schedule for their hunting and romping in the moonlight, predictable enough that curious humans could watch them from a distance through binoculars and marvel at their grace and power. There had also been plenty of eyewitness accounts testifying to how serene they were, how there was a certain dignified intelligence about them and they weren’t aggressive in the slightest.
Most of that had been my idea, but the Wrights pitched in suggestions of their own here and there.
Some of the pack had balked at the idea of playing a more active role in the preserve’s operations, mostly the older ones who tended to be grumpier and take themselves more seriously. They argued that they didn’t exist to be a tourist attraction and entertain humans, but I convinced most of them that this was about respect and admiration, not about them being circus animals. People were fascinated with the wolves, even thought of them as “mystical” in some ways. It was clear from the way our visitors treated the subject that they had the utmost respect for our resident wolves—and if they didn’t, our rangers and I were quick to set them straight.
But the ones who argued were the minority. Most of the pack thought of it as a game and enjoyed the attention. They were helping their town by drawing visitors from all over the country, and our home was doing better than ever. It seemed like Will leaving town had helped a lot as well; once he was gone, the rumors and criticism mysteriously stopped, and all the money raised at the gala turned up too. I figured his dad must have made him reverse all the damage he’d done, which almost made me forgive him for being a north pack bastard.
Well, I was a member of Noah’s pack, after all; I needed to have all the pride that any shifter did if the others were going to accept me. And they had, of course. On the whole, the pack had welcomed me and Nicky with open arms. It was nice to have family everywhere I turned. I had to admit it stung a little that I would never actually be a shifter, would never be able to share that experience with my son. But I was glad his other parent would.
There was a group of kids about Nicky’s age playing wolves over by the water, scampering around on all fours
and howling up a storm. Before he ran off to join them, Noah moved closer to my side and slipped an arm around my waist, “What are you thinking about so hard?”
“Just how good things are right now,” I told him, leaning my head against his shoulder. I was a little bothered sometimes that we’d waited so long to get to this point, but better late than never.
“Oh. Well then, maybe I shouldn’t bother you with this…”
“What?”
“Eh, you’re probably not interested. If you’re so happy the way things are now, I’m sure you don’t want them to change.”
“Boy, what are you talking about?” I asked, looking up at him in annoyance. His answer was a kiss, and I couldn’t bring myself to reject it. He took my hand to pull me closer, letting me lean against him happily, so comfortable I never wanted to move from this spot. When he let me go, I was smiling despite myself, and it took me a second to realize he’d put something in my hand. Looking down, I found a gold ring featuring a single diamond—and I took in a sharp breath as I closed my hand around it. Trying to keep my heart calm, I gave him a sly look and raised an eyebrow, “What am I supposed to do with this, cowboy?”
“Wear it, if you don’t mind. Not that I don’t enjoy leaving bite marks all over you,” he growled, burying his face into my hair to breathe against my neck, “but I hear this is a more ‘appropriate’ way to show that you’re mine. I mean, only if you want, obviously. I’m not dumb enough to try to tell you what to do.” Unlike some people.
“Hmm, I don’t know,” I said as I was putting the ring on and enjoying how it looked. “That’s it? You just want me to wear it? Nothing else?”
“I want you to marry me,” he said plainly, forcing my smile to widen. “I feel like it’s about time we made you an official part of the pack. What do you think?”
“I think there’s not much else in the world that I want more,” I confessed, leaning in for a longer kiss and letting him hold me as close as possible. Maybe we’d had some trouble finding our way together. Maybe there had been bumps in the road. But if this was where it had gotten us, I wouldn’t have changed a single thing—and I couldn’t wait to see where that road led next.