by J. L. Wilder
“So this is her?” the new man asked.
“We think so,” said someone Natalie couldn’t see.
“Does she have the mark?”
“We didn’t check. We were in a hurry.”
“You didn’t check?”
“For fuck’s sake. What did you want us to do, Hank? Stop and give her an exam right there, with her packmates ten yards away from us? It’s a miracle we got her away at all without them chasing after us.”
The one named Hank turned to Natalie. “Give me your arm,” he said.
She obeyed at once. There would be no way to keep this a secret. She could show them willingly or she could wait for them to force her.
He examined the tattoo on the inside of her wrist. “Oh, it’s her, all right,” he chortled, all the anger gone from his voice. “Nice job, boys. Go inside. We saved you some dinner.” He grabbed Natalie by the arm and pulled her roughly from the inside of the truck, and she just barely managed to get her feet under her.
“I know who you are,” she said darkly.
“Do you?” Hank sounded amused.
“You’re the Rocky Mountain Wolves,” she said. “You’re the enemies of my pack. And they won’t like that you’ve taken me.”
“No,” Hank agreed. “I don’t think they’ll like it at all. I’m counting on that.”
“They’ll find you and attack,” Natalie said. “They won’t just leave me here. You’re inviting trouble.”
“You’re so sure they’ll come for you,” Hank said. “But how can you really be certain? After all, you’ve been away from the Pacific Northwest for—” He looked her up and down. “It must be fifty years at least. And in all that time, no one has come looking for you.”
Natalie wasn’t about to let that comment get to her. He knew perfectly well how long she had been away. She had been in the shifter world long enough now to know that that was common knowledge. He was pretending not to know her age, to think she looked older than she really was, in an attempt to hurt her, to weaken her.
I won’t give him the satisfaction.
“I know because your people have already tried to take me,” she said. “It happened in New York. And my own packmate intervened to save me. He did it then, and he’ll do it again.”
A shadow crossed Hank’s face. “I thought that was one of the Pacific Northwest Wolves,” he said. “It’s nice to have my suspicions confirmed. We weren’t too happy with what your friend did to our brother.”
“That’s what happens to people who try to take me from my pack,” Natalie said. She was surprised at her own boldness, but the words wouldn’t stop coming. “That’s what’s going to happen to you if you don’t return me to my pack.”
Hank laughed. “You can’t really believe that,” he said. “My men have been watching your pathetic little band. It’s you and two others, not even the whole pack. I know exactly how the Pacific Northwest Pack is—fractured, divided. I’m willing to bet the ones you’ve been traveling with haven’t even told anyone else they’ve got you yet, and they won’t be willing to involve anyone else in your rescue.”
“That isn’t true,” Natalie said.
But she wondered. She knew that Gage and Ozzy would be hesitant to involve Randy in anything that had to do with her. Maybe they would insist on coming to save her by themselves.
And she could see already what Hank was laughing about. This was clearly the heart of his pack’s territory. She could see at least a dozen men in the distance, loitering outside the longhouse or jogging back and forth across the yard, and those were just the ones who happened to be outside.
There are too many, she thought hopelessly. Gage and Ozzy won’t be able to stand against them. They won’t have a chance.
The only hope of rescue for her would be if they did appeal to Randy, and the rest of the Pacific Northwest Wolves, for help.
And if they did that, her situation wouldn’t be much better than it was right now. Of course, she would be with her own pack, and with her mates. But would Randy allow her to keep them? Or would he insist that she belong to him only?
“Nobody’s going to steal you from us,” Hank said, interrupting her thoughts. “It was one thing when it was just your packmate and mine, far away from here in a New York hotel room.”
“If you think they won’t attack you just because we’re on your territory, you’re wrong,” Natalie said, trying her best not to allow any doubt to creep through into her voice.
“Maybe,” Hank said. “I hope I’m wrong.”
“What do you mean?” Something about the way he’d said that had chilled her.
He laughed. “You must realize that we want this fight,” he said. “Surely your packmates have told you that? If they don’t attack us, we’ll attack them.”
Her skin crawled. “Why would you want a fight?” she asked.
“Because we’ll destroy them,” Hank said. “And it’ll be thanks to you.”
“Thanks to me? I won’t do anything to help you harm my pack!”
“Not deliberately, maybe,” Hank said. “But you’ll help us whether you want to or not. Didn’t your packmates tell you anything? Didn’t they tell you why they were so desperate to have you back?”
She said nothing.
“Whoever has ownership of the omega has the best claim to the alpha position,” Hank said. “We haven’t been able to establish among ourselves who the alpha should be. We have leaders for months or even a few years at a time, but nobody lasts long.”
Natalie felt sick. His story was so similar to what she had heard about the Pacific Northwest Pack. It sounded to her as if the two packs had the same weakness—a lack of strong, consistent leadership.
Which means they probably haven’t attacked one another all these years because they couldn’t know who would win the battle. They were too evenly matched.
Finding her had made Ozzy and Gage confident, she knew. They had felt that they would be able to take on their rivals, and that their pack would be strengthened in a way it had lacked for years.
But now she was with the Rocky Mountain Wolves.
Hank was right. The advantage had shifted.
“Having you here will strengthen my claim to power,” Hank said. “And then I’ll finally be able to mount a real attack against the Pacific Northwest Wolves. One way or another, we’ll destroy them for good.”
If they could manage to claim her, the one who did would become a strong leader. That would give him authority over the whole group, and he would be able to command them effectively in battle against the Pacific Northwest Wolves.
It’s not just that I’ve been taken away from my mates. It’s that my being here will cause them to be wiped out. I’ll end up costing them everything.
She felt such haunting, desperate despair that she wanted to die.
I should have screamed, back in the woods. I should have let him kill me. Better that than to be here, strengthening my mates’ enemies.
And that wasn’t all. She knew all too well what would happen to an omega who had been claimed. She’d been happy to give herself sexually to Gage and Ozzy—they had so clearly loved her and wanted to give her everything. But it wouldn’t be like that here.
Hank—or if not Hank, then whoever eventually claimed her—would use her how he liked, without care for her pleasure or pain, without worrying about whether he was hurting her or scaring her.
And when I can’t bear children for them? Then what?
She had feared Gage’s and Ozzy’s disappointment, of course, when they eventually discovered she couldn’t carry their children. But the worst thing they would have done was lose interest in her.
Here, she might be killed for her failure.
“Take her away,” Hank said, and another Rocky Mountain Wolf came and took her by the back of the neck, guiding her away. He wasn’t violent with her—he didn’t grip her painfully or drag her. But he handled her the way a porter might handle a piece of luggage. Dispassionately, without lo
oking at her or talking to her. Without seeming to care that she was human.
He brought her into the longhouse. She saw that it was all one big open room. Everyone stared as she walked down the length of it and toward a small cage at the end. He pushed her in—not roughly, but firmly, so she couldn’t possibly resist.
She turned around in time to see him lock the cage door behind her.
What am I going to do now? she thought desperately and went to curl up in the corner of her cell.
Chapter Nineteen
GAGE
“Are we insane?” Ozzy whispered to Gage.
“Do you care?” Gage countered.
Ozzy’s mouth quirked slightly, almost as though Gage had said something funny. Gage understood how his friend must be feeling, even though nothing had ever seemed funnier in all his life. What they were facing now was so outlandish, so impossible, that it almost had to be a joke. There was no way they were going to survive this.
But what else can we do? They have Natalie. We can’t abandon her to them.
The two men were several yards away from the house that belonged to the Rocky Mountain Wolves. Gage considered himself lucky that he’d spent so much time away from his own pack exploring this territory. He had seen this beaten-down longhouse of theirs many times in the past.
If only this place was a reasonable reflection of who they were as a pack. But Gage knew that even though the Rocky Mountain Pack wasn’t especially strong, they definitely weren’t as much of a disaster as the house suggested. They knew how to fight. That was why the Pacific Northwest Wolves had held off for so long on attacking them.
But now, an attack was necessary.
Now they had Natalie.
He and Ozzy had debated trying to contact the rest of their pack so they could attack together, but in the end, neither one of them had been able to stand the idea of waiting for anyone else to get there. It would be days before the other Pacific Northwest Wolves could reach them, and who knew what might happen to Natalie in that time? Even though the odds weren’t on their side, the only thing either man could bear to do was to go after her immediately, hoping against hope that they would be able to win her freedom somehow.
I saved her from a kidnapping once before, Gage reminded himself. It’s not completely insane to think that I might be able to do it again. And Ozzy has saved her too.
That was true. But they hadn’t been nearly as outnumbered on those occasions as they were now. Looking into the clearing where the Rock Mountain Wolves’ longhouse stood, Gage could see at least a dozen men milling around in the yard or sitting on the porch, smoking and talking.
We’ll be lucky to even get inside the house, he thought despairingly.
Ozzy seemed to be thinking along the same lines. “What the hell are we going to do?” he asked. “I don’t know how we’re going to get to her.”
Gage nodded. “I wanted to shift,” he said. “But if we go in that way, they’ll notice us immediately. We’ll never make it even as far as the door.”
“Which means we’re going to have to do this in human form,” Ozzy said miserably.
“Unless they shift,” Gage said. “If that happens, we’ll shift too.”
“Sure,” Ozzy agreed, “but if they shift, that’ll mean they’ve already spotted us, and the game will be up.”
“We need to get around behind the house and see if we can find a window,” Gage said. “If we can, maybe we can slip into the house.”
“That won’t work,” Ozzy objected. “As soon as we drop in through the window, everyone who’s inside will see us.”
“Well, what do you suggest?” Gage asked, beginning to feel the ache of impossible frustration.
“The only thing we can do is to walk right in as if we belong here,” Ozzy said.
Gage stared at him. “Maybe you are insane.”
“No, I’m not,” Ozzy said. “If anything will work, this will.”
“They’ll attack us as soon as we step out of these trees.”
“I don’t think so,” Ozzy said. “Think about what we know about the Rocky Mountain Wolves. They have the same problem with leadership that we do. They don’t know who’s in charge. Some of them will probably want to attack when they see us, but I’m willing to bet that they won’t be sure if that’s what they’re supposed to do. Confusion will make them hesitate. And we can use that hesitation to get close to whoever’s in charge in there.”
“You’re willing to bet, huh?” Gage asked. “Are you willing to bet our lives?”
“For Natalie?” Ozzy asked quietly. “Yes, I’d bet my life for her. Wouldn’t you?”
I would.
Gage nodded.
“Then this is what we have to do,” Ozzy said. “We have to march in like we own the place and demand an audience with the alpha. Who knows—maybe he’ll see us.”
“And maybe he’ll try to kill us,” Gage said. “And what help will we be to Natalie then?”
Ozzy was quiet for a moment. “If it comes to a fight,” he said at last, “we’ll just have to win. That’s all we can do.”
“All right,” Gage said. “I suppose it’s the best plan we’ve got. I’m with you.”
Together, they walked out, past the shelter of the trees in which they’d been concealing themselves and into the yard.
At first, they weren’t noticed at all. Nobody looked up from what they had been doing, and it occurred to Gage that the Rocky Mountain Pack’s weaknesses lay in more than just leadership. They were shockingly unobservant.
Would we be like this if a stranger walked into our territory?
He didn’t think so. But on the other hand, it had never happened, so he couldn’t be sure. And there was the fact that Ozzy had managed to sneak out to go in search of Natalie without his absence being noticed for a day and a half.
When I’m alpha, he thought, I’ll make sure people become more attentive.
It was an idle thought, a throwaway thought, and it was several moments before he realized the significance of it. When I’m alpha, he had said to himself.
When did I start planning on a future as alpha? When did I decide that was something I actually wanted?
He wasn’t sure. But standing in the middle of enemy territory felt like an opportune moment for the realization.
His confidence bolstered, he strode right up to the porch and stopped at the foot of the stairs. The men who were seated there stared up at him, clearly taken aback by the appearance of a stranger.
“We’re here to speak with your alpha,” Gage said.
“That’s right,” Ozzy agreed. “What is his name?”
“Hank,” one of the men on the stairs said. Another elbowed him and gave him a dirty look, and Gage was surprised that anyone had been so willing to answer a direct question. Ozzy had been right. They were going about this the right way.
“Take us to Hank, then,” Gage said, doing his best to make his voice sound authoritative. Still, he was shocked when the men gathered there got to their feet and headed into the house, indicating that he and Ozzy should follow.
This is going better than expected. He caught Ozzy’s eye and lifted his eyebrows. Ozzy nodded as if in agreement with his unspoken sentiment.
The inside of the longhouse was a single open space, raucous and dirty. There were piles of blankets that must have been where the Rocky Mountain Wolves slept, and there was no furniture at all. But Gage hardly got a glimpse inside. They held him in the doorway while they beckoned to someone.
“Hank will be out in a minute,” one of them said, turning back to face him.
“Good,” Gage said. “Thank you.”
“You’re Pacific Northwest Wolves,” another man said, his expression rather like a leer.
Gage said nothing.
“Well? Aren’t you?”
Gage remained silent. Ozzy didn’t answer either, for which Gage was grateful. Things were going their way right now. There was no purpose to be served by giving these men any more
information than they already had.
A short, stocky man came out of the house now. He was about Ozzy’s age, Gage thought, or maybe a little older. His hair hadn’t yet begun to go gray, but his face showed a few lines of a life hard lived. “So,” he said, looking Gage and Ozzy up and down. “I suppose you’ve come to rescue her.”
Gage felt Ozzy move a little closer to him, protecting his back. The other Rocky Mountain Wolves had taken notice of the fact that their alpha was being confronted and had begun to cluster around, watching to see what would happen.
“That’s right,” Gage said evenly. “We’re here for our omega. Have someone go and get her and bring her back to us, please.”
Hank chuckled. “You’re in no position to make requests,” he said. “In case you haven’t noticed, you’re a little outnumbered here.”
“She’s ours,” Ozzy said. “She belongs with our pack.”
“Not anymore. Finders, keepers,” Hank said. “If you’re not strong enough to hold onto your omega—and you’ve demonstrated repeatedly that you aren’t—then you shouldn’t have her. She belongs with someone who can give her the strength an omega needs.”
“She belongs with her own pack,” Gage said, a low snarl escaping him.
“Do you want to fight for her?” Hank said, his voice a parody of congeniality. “I’m sure I could find a few men who would be more than willing to take you on.”
“And I suppose you’re offering a fair fight?” Gage asked. “Two of yours against the two of us? The winner takes the omega?”
Hank laughed. “Don’t be stupid,” he said. “Why wouldn’t I use every advantage I’ve got? You’d do the same thing in my position. No, if it’s a fight, it’ll be all my men against whatever forces you can muster.” He made a show of looking around as if to see whether any more allies were coming to Ozzy and Gage’s aid.
Being taunted by this man was more, suddenly, than Gage could stand.
He leaped forward so quickly that no one had time to anticipate his movement or react. His hands closed around Hank’s throat, cutting off the alpha’s air supply.