“They’re not all mine,” Dom answered, trying to wrestle the kid he held into a high chair. “We’re babysitting.”
“Oh.”
“Sit down,” Dom yelled fruitlessly as kids dashed around him. “Come on. It’s almost time to eat.” I snitched a piece of bacon off the platter and Jess gave me a warning stare but didn’t comment.
“Can I help?” I asked, not entirely sure the past ten years had prepared me for domestic hell. Jess shook her head and pointed at a chair which I took to mean, sit down so I did. Dom managed to get the little one strapped down, but kids still raced around the table.
“Everybody find a seat,” Dom said again, frustration lacing his voice, but none of them obeyed.
“Sit down,” Jess ordered, her voice cracking over the chaos like a whip and there was an instant scraping of chairs as they rushed to obey. “Caleb first,” she added, indicating I should fill my plate and Dom just sat back, shaking his head ruefully.
“I might be Alpha, but we all know who’s in charge,” he commented, a besotted smile on his face as he watched his mate and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“At least you know your place.” I crunched down on the bacon, my plate overflowing as the others filled their plates, and leaving enough left for seconds. Silence reigned as we devoured our food and I accepted when Jess dumped the last of the eggs on my plate.
“More?” She questioned when I finished it and I shook my head no. “You sure? You look like you missed a few meals.”
I chuckled and wiped my mouth. “I’ll never look at a can of Spam the same way,” I commented and her expression turned puzzled. “It was…you know what – never mind.” I found myself reluctant to talk about my time with the Ghost Pack and Dru. Thoughts of her were painful, but more than that they were mine and I wasn’t ready to share.
“Alright, everybody out,” Dom stated, standing up and there was a scurry as the kids all took off and Jess slowly stood, smiling as she kissed his jaw.
“You don’t fool me one bit, Dominic Navarre.” She pinched his cheek hard and picked up the little kid struggling to get out of the high chair. “You just don’t want to keep up with the kids.”
“Tell Monster to keep an eye on them,” he suggested. “They love it when Dylan plays.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Not a bad idea. It’s like you’ve done this a time or two.” He swatted her butt and she dodged out of the way, her finger wiggling my way. “And you, you better still be here when I come back.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I picked up my plate and brought it to the sink, turning on the water as Dom attempted to carry every plate on the table at one time. “How many times have you dropped them?”
“Only once,” he grumbled as several dishes slid with a clatter into the sink. He quickly checked to see if any had broken, grinning at me when he realized they were all good. “See? Faster.”
“Uh huh.” I started scrubbing and rinsing as he picked up the table and then started drying. “I’m fine, you know.”
He made a noncommittal noise, and muttered, “I didn’t ask.” I slide my gaze sideways and he rolled his shoulders. “It’s not like you died or anything.” He turned then, crossing his arms over his chest, reminding me size wise he could crush me, as he added, “Except, you did.”
I nodded, my mouth twisting as I turned to face him. “What do you want from me?” My eyes still only came to his chin even after I’d grown four inches, and I tilted my head up to look at him. “I should have told you were I was, what I was doing, but I didn’t expect to be taken prisoner.”
“Exactly, you don’t know what you’re walking into,” he growled. “It’s why we created the system in the first place. So I’d know you were safe.”
“Trent…”
“Is not responsible for you,” Dom interrupted. “I am. And I can’t do that again. Feeling you die once was enough, twice was,” he paused, his jaw working, “Let’s just say there better not be a third time. You get me?” I nodded, dropping my gaze at the reprimand in his voice. He exhaled. “Alright, I’m done.”
A grin tugged my mouth as I said, “Sure? I feel like you could yell at me longer.”
“Don’t tempt me,” he snapped, stacking the dry plates and pans. “You want to talk about her?” I gripped the sink at his question, my fingers whitening as I shook my head. “I’m here when you’re ready.” I managed a nod and he clasped my shoulder. “There’s a meeting in a few hours. Gregory’s going to tell the story of how we came to be. Everyone will be there.”
“Count me in,” I replied hoarsely and Dom nodded, stepping away. “The mating bond,” I burst out and he stopped, waiting for me to continue and I stared down at the white sink. “Have you ever heard of a pair recreating the mating bond after breaking it?”
A low whistle escaped him and I saw him start to shake his head out of the corner of my eyes before he stopped himself. “I’ve never heard of anyone surviving a broken mate bond to be honest.”
“It wasn’t sealed,” I told him, meaning we hadn’t had sex to finish the bond.
“Even then, that’s almost a formality. It’s the mental link that would concern me,” Dom replied and I nodded in understanding. “I don’t know for sure, but maybe talk to Sam and Payne,” Dom offered and my eyes shot to his. He shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t know for sure.”
“Thanks.”
“Anytime, Caleb.” His hand grazed the back of my head and I ducked out of habit. “I’m glad you’re here.” I didn’t look at him, hearing the choked quality of his voice and he cleared his throat before leaving the room.
The silence echoed with everything I’d missed and the need to escape pressed in on me, but this time I knew exactly where I wanted to go. I grabbed a shirt out of the box left by the backdoor and went outside, my feet taking me unerringly to the edge of the forest.
“Want some company?”
Liam appeared by my side and I cast him a sideways glance. “You got watchdog duty?”
He smiled, but didn’t answer, dogging my steps as I kept walking. “Thought we might catch up.”
“I visited fifteen packs across the country, ending with the Ghost Pack to the north where I met my mate and died, but…spoiler, I came back and here I am,” I summarized, lengthening my stride as my need to hurry intensified. Liam kept up, but I noticed his limp grew more pronounced and I stopped, spinning around. “Look, I’m not leaving Pack land. You don’t have to follow me. Or pretend like you care.”
“This is gonna come as a shock, but it’s not pretend,” he retorted, positioning himself so his weight wasn’t on his bad leg. “We all felt it, Caleb. It wasn’t just Dom, and this will probably shock you as much as it did me, but feeling your light fade….we mourned. It was losing a brother, one I don’t particularly like but still want to keep around,” he finished, his lip curling. “You know what it’s like to lose a Pack mate and an Alpha,” he reminded me unnecessarily. “So sue me if I want to check on you.” He turned, about to go back and I coughed. His head swung toward me, but he didn’t turn back, waiting to see if I was actually going to say something.
“I’m going to the burial grounds,” I admitted, shoving my hands in the deep pockets of the sweatpants. “I could use the company.” He nodded, swinging back around as I hunched my shoulders, unused to having another shifter at my side after years of roaming, but surprisingly, the position wasn’t an uncomfortable one. “How’s Leah?”
“You suck at small talk,” Liam informed me and I nodded in acknowledgement. “But she’s good. She’s a veterinarian now,” he said proudly. He gave me a meaningful smile. “Specializing in Canis Lupus to the never ending confusion of her father.”
“Your leg?” He’d broken it years before in a car accident and been forced to shift before it could be set properly, leaving him with a permanent limp.
Liam shook his head, grimacing slightly. “It’s a great barometer, but there’s nothing we can do to fix it. Trust me, Leah has tried.” I wondered
if Paige could fix it, but didn’t mention the possibility to him since I wasn’t sure if they’d ever have a chance to meet and I didn’t want to get his hopes up over a long shot.
We strolled silently until we came to the first tree which was also the oldest. I bowed my head, murmuring a blessing, as Liam hung back. Wind whispered through the bare trees and I lifted my head, entering the burial grounds of our Pack. I glanced over my shoulder but Liam just stood respectfully at the edge of the grove. He was originally a Hanley and so none of his family were laid to rest here, not that I thought he’d visit their graves anyway since he had no love for his former family.
The tree had grown since we’d planted my father’s bones beneath it, but there was no mistaking the cottonwood. Staring at the thick branches, I waited for something to come to me, for the words I’d never been able to say when he was alive to suddenly spill forth, but there was nothing. I crouched, picking up a handful of dirt and letting it run through my fingers, as I finally said, “I came back.”
The words were petty, but honest and I sighed, rubbing the dirt between my fingers.
“You should have trusted me, Dad.” I glanced at the older tree next to him, the one that had been planted years before I’d been born, the bench sitting underneath it worn with use. “I didn’t understand it, you know, how much you loved Payne’s mom. Why you favored Payne over me, but,” my chest squeezed tight as I thought about Dru, “I get it now. She was it for you and my Mom was just a poor substitute. Still don’t make it right how you treated her though.” Old, familiar bitterness coursed through me at the memory of Mom leaving and Dad forcing me to stay, binding me with an Alpha order to make sure I never left Pack land. All because his true mate had died and the son he’d had with her wasn’t a shifter, which meant Payne would never become Alpha.
“I don’t think it worked out the way you wanted,” I told him, pushing to my feet. “Life rarely does, but Payne is happy and I’m getting there so I’m not going to be bitter anymore. You did what you did and it’s done now.” Weight I hadn’t known I carried slipped from my shoulders and I breathed a little easier. I turned, ready to walk away, when I paused to tell him, “I have a mate.” A smile creased my cheek as I considered the two of them meeting. “You’d hate her, that’s for sure, but she’d like you out of sheer spite. She’s complicated like that.” I touched the trunk of the tree, the bark rough under my fingertips, and laid our past to rest. “Goodbye, Dad.”
Liam stood were I’d left him, his gaze sweeping over the trees, silently counting. He whistled quietly as he finished. “How old is this place?” He asked, his voice hushed. I glanced around, memories of coming here with Dad and Payne flashing through my mind.
“Over five hundred years,” I answered, each tree standing as a marker for a deceased Pack member. “Every Pack member is buried here, not just the shifters.”
“You honored them all,” he whispered in awe.
“Returned to the earth so their wisdom can continue to guide and shelter us under their canopy.” I bumped his shoulder. “Now, let’s go hear the story of how we came to be.”
Liam nodded, but his gaze lingered on the trees, some ancient and others barely a decade old. Something in his expression tipped me off and I grasped his shoulder. “You will be buried here, Leah too.”
“I’m not…” he swallowed, the protest dying in his throat as I curled my lip, baring my teeth at him.
“You are.” I shoved him forward. “Now, let’s go.”
***
The round community house was packed when we got there, every man, woman, and child squeezed onto rough wooden benches circled around an open center. Dom and Anna stood in the middle with Gregory and a few of the other Pack elders. Dom motioned to me and I made my way to his side, Liam right beside me.
Everything okay? Dom asked silently as we drew near.
Yeah, just paid Dad a visit, I answered and he nodded, appearing unsurprised. Liam’s gaze scanned the room, searching for Leah, and Dom pointed to the corner. I followed his finger and saw Leah bouncing, craning her neck to look around the room. Liam took off the second he saw her, not sparing a backwards glance for us.
I took in the curve of her belly and leaned toward Dom. “Is there something in the water here?” He snorted, shaking his head as Anna stepped forward, her eyes crinkling at the corners as she smiled warmly, her hands outstretched to me.
“Welcome home, Caleb.”
“Anna,” I greeted her, bussing her cheek and a low growl vibrated the air. I leaned back, releasing her hands as one side of my mouth lifted. “It’s been too long.”
Trent stepped between us, edging me further away and Anna leaned around him, laughing as she patted his flat stomach. “Excuse my husband, he gets jealous easily.”
“I’m not jealous,” Trent denied, but he didn’t move and Anna’s laughing gaze met mine.
“It’s really good to see you,” she said. “I’m sorry I couldn’t join the rescue team.”
I chuckled, shaking my head dismissively. “No worries.” I gestured to Trent. “He had it covered.”
“Your girl….I’ve met her,” Trent disclosed and Anna didn’t look surprised so he must have already told her about Dru. “She was the one who warned me away when I visited the first time.”
This didn’t surprise me considering Dru’s panic when Trent had said he’d been there. “I think she’s been scaring away shifters for a long time.”
“She didn’t scare you,” Anna declared slyly and I grimaced.
“Not for lack of trying.” I glanced at Trent curiously. “Did you ever hear voices in the forest?”
His face grew contemplative and finally he shook his head. “No, I don’t recall hearing anything. That was one of the reasons it was so strange. There was this overall feeling of wrongness, the sensation that there was something else out there and it wanted me gone.”
I nodded, knowing firsthand what he meant and Anna eyed me like I was crazy. “And you wanted to go there?”
I shrugged defensively. “It always intrigued me. There was this Pack that was so close but we knew nothing about them. Or at least no one told us about them,” I corrected, frustration lacing my voice. I didn’t mention how I’d felt drawn to the Ghost Pack, to the place labeled off limits, and now I knew it was because Dru had been there. She’d called to me, still did, and I was determined to get back to her.
“Welcome,” Gregory’s deep voice somehow managed to carry over all the buzzing conversations, silencing them instantly.
I really wish I had that ability, Dom murmured over the Pack link and I looked down, hiding my grin.
Maybe when you hit the hundred mark, I joked, keeping my expression neutral and my eyes alert as Gregory’s gaze swept over me. It felt like I was finally about to get some answers, the missing piece of a puzzle, one that would allow me to be with Dru.
“Thank you all for coming today to hear my little history lesson,” Gregory began with a self-deprecating smile. “I trust it will help put the little ones down for their naps.” A few chuckles met his words, relieving the tension that had built in the room. “The history of our people has been passed down from father to son,” he paused and smiled at Anna, “And now mother to daughter.”
His smile faded as a faint regret filled his expression. “But there is one story, the story of our beginnings, which has been left out.” An air of expectancy grew and I waited to see if he’d mention my father’s role. “It’s time you knew how the wolf and the man became one.” The stiffness in my shoulders eased and Gregory settled on a low wooden stool Dom had brought out. “Long ago man and wolf walked side by side, together but separate,” Gregory’s hands moved with the flow of his words, mesmerizing the room. “The wolf stood as companion to the man, showing himself as a fierce protector and the man returned the favor, providing shelter and food for his four legged friend. They shared their life’s journey, working as one. They provided a necessary balance between man and beast, each guiding
the other.” The wrinkled folds on his face deepened as his voice lowered. “They would die for one another.”
“One night they were woken by the rustling of a fearsome beast. It had huge paws twice the size of any they’d ever seen,” Gregory lifted one hand as the Packs watched with wide eyes. “Razor sharp fangs elongated out of its mouth.” He bared his own teeth as some sucked in quick breaths. “And it stood taller than the tallest sycamore tree.” One of the children whimpered and his mother quickly quieted him.
“The very sight of this beast froze them in place as they hoped it would leave them in peace.” Gregory shook his head slowly. “But it wasn’t to be.” His arms lowered as we hung on his every word. “The beast attacked,” Gregory leapt from his seat and everyone jerked back, one little girl letting out a shill scream. “He slammed one huge paw into the man, knocking him down, but before he could tear into him, the wolf stepped between them.”
Gregory’s face grew dark, his eyes glittering as he stalked the room. “The wolf stood ready, fur bristling, his eyes glowing as he protected his fallen friend.” We listened, enthralled as he painted a vivid picture of the valiant wolf. “The beast was confused by the wolf, as his snapping jaws kept the beast at bay long enough for the man to stand. They had no weapons to defeat this monster, only a slumbering fire and brave hearts.”
“The man grabbed a long stick, stirring the fire’s embers until sparks flew into the night air and the beast began to back away in fear. The wolf edged forward, his growls low and threatening as he stood between the man he called friend and the beast. The man threw more logs onto the fire, desperate to scare the beast away before he killed them, and as the wood began to flame, the beast lashed out.”
Gregory stopped, making his way slowly back to the stool as every single person in the room waited impatiently, their faces intent. He carefully sat, resting his hands on a cane in front of him. “The wolf yelped in pain as the beast clawed out his belly, and the man charged the beast, a war cry erupting from his throat as he shoved the burning stick he held right into the belly of the beast.”
Lone Wolf (The Pack Book 5) Page 13