Midlife Omega (Midlife Shifters Book 3)

by J. L. Wilder

  But even as he said it, he remembered the evil look Randy had given him as he’d gone inside.

  Even if they won this battle against the Rocky Mountain Wolves, there would be other battles left to fight.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  NATALIE

  “Here,” Chuck said. “You’ll be safe here.”

  She stared up at him. “This is a root cellar.”

  “We built it for storage,” he said, leaning on the door he had lifted up from its frame in the ground. “But it goes down five feet deep and stretches back about seven feet. You won’t be comfortable, but you’ll have enough room to spread out until the fight is over, and you’ll be safe.”

  “Can’t I wait in the house?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “I want you somewhere we can defend easily. The house has a lot of entrances if you include the windows.”

  “It has a lot of exits, too,” Natalie pointed out.

  “You’re not going to need exits,” Chuck said. “We’ll come get you when it’s all over. Until then, stay inside.”

  She reached out and took his hand. “Chuck..”

  “You’ll be safe here,” he assured her. “I promise, Natalie. No one is going to let the Rocky Mountain Wolves get anywhere near this cellar. Nothing will happen to you.”

  “It’s not me I’m worried about,” she whispered.

  “We can beat them,” Chuck said. “We’re stronger. And we’ve got you to fight for.”

  “They’ll be fighting for me too,” she pointed out. “Whoever wins the fight is going to claim me. That’s going to give them extra motivation.”

  “We’re not going to let them take you,” Chuck said. “Don’t be afraid.”

  Natalie shook her head. “Don’t you get it?” she asked. “I’m not afraid of what’s going to happen to me. I’m afraid they’re going to fight so hard to get to me that they’ll end up hurting you. Or Gage or Ozzy.”

  He sighed, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her close. She was trembling.

  “If I go down there and let you shut that door behind me,” she whispered, “I’m afraid that the next time it opens, it’ll be someone telling me I’ve lost you forever.”

  “You won’t lose me,” Chuck said, tightening his embrace. “I know what you need, Natalie. I’ll make sure you don’t lose any of us. I won’t let that happen to you.”

  She looked up at him.

  “Can you trust me?” he asked.

  “I trust you,” she said quietly. “I’m afraid. But I trust you.”

  “Go down into the cellar,” he said. “It’s the best way to get us all through this.”

  She didn’t want to. She wanted to put up a fight.

  But he was her alpha.

  He’ll take care of me. I do trust him.

  She picked her way down the rickety stairs that led into the cellar and turned to watch as Chuck slowly lowered the door over her, blocking out the light.

  Once the door was closed, it was pitch-dark inside. It was cold, too, and damp, and for the first time in a long time, Natalie found herself wishing she had something more substantial to wear than the tattered remains of a cocktail dress.

  I’d give anything for some woolen socks and hiking boots right now! Or a warm sweater, or some fleece-lined leggings...

  Was it the cold that was making her so desperate for those things, she wondered? Or was it the fact that warm clothing would have felt like a comfort in this situation?

  And then she remembered—there was a way she could have a warm coat.

  She retreated to the very back of the cellar and recalled the way it had felt to be in her wolf form. The strength and the power that had come along with it. As a human, she was overwhelmed and afraid. But wolves didn’t feel those things, did they? She would be much more capable of handling what was about to happen above her in her wolf state.

  She reached inside for her animal self, as Chuck had taught her—

  But she couldn’t find it. The wolf wouldn’t come to her.

  She shook with effort and frustration as she tried to pull her animal self to the forefront. It had been difficult the first time she had managed it, but it hadn’t been this hard. Could she have lost the ability?

  What if I can never do it again?

  Maybe they were right to have hidden her away during the battle.

  She curled up in the rear corner of her little shelter and wrapped her arms around her stomach, thinking of the pregnancy she might well be carrying right now.

  They were right.

  She couldn’t be out there, where things would almost certainly become violent. Not if she was pregnant. She had precious cargo to protect.

  If she was pregnant, though, what would it mean? She was deeply in love with all three of her mates. She had made love with all of them recently.

  Who’s the father?

  Eventually, she was going to have to tell them of her suspicions. Would it lead to another fight—this time, one between her mates themselves? She couldn’t bear it if that happened.

  They must have known something like this might happen, she thought, wrapping her arms around her knees. They must be prepared for it. I’m sure they have a plan.

  But it was hard to imagine, as she sat in the dark, what that plan might be.

  And then, just as despair began to pull her in, she heard a sound that froze her blood—the howl of a wolf.

  It sounded so close it sounded as if it was coming from right on top of her.

  The Rocky Mountain Wolves. They’re here.

  She heard shouts and the sound of footfalls. She could feel the ground above her shaking as her pack surged forward to meet the intruders.

  Natalie hurried forward too. She couldn’t help it. It wasn’t a conscious action on her part, but she felt as if she was connected to the rest of them, as if they were moving as a single creature. It reminded her of the way she had felt when she and her mates had run together, when they’d been four wolves racing north to save their pack.

  We’re one, she thought, amazed, even as fear bloomed within her. I’m part of them.

  Her hands met the door of the cellar. Without thinking about it, without planning it, she found herself pushing. I need to get out. I need to join the fight.

  But the door was blocked. It had been barricaded somehow, and she was trapped inside.

  A shudder went down her spine, a tremor of mingled fear and rage. How could anyone dare to trap her in here? Those were her mates out there, fighting. She should be by their side.

  Her gut twisted, suddenly and shockingly, and she felt as though she might be sick. Her hands went to her belly.

  The baby.

  I have to stay calm. The baby will react to my getting upset. The baby can feel what I feel.

  She had no idea whether that was true. But it felt true. Whatever she was going through, it would have an impact on her body. Her body would be flooded with adrenaline right now, and that couldn’t be good for the baby.

  She had to calm down.

  She retreated once more to the back of the cellar.

  I am doing my part.

  She wasn’t up there fighting beside her mates—but it was right that she wasn’t. They were fighting to protect the pack, and she was protecting the pack by keeping the future safely concealed in the cellar.

  “This is what it means to be an omega,” she whispered to herself in the darkness, feeling for the first time as if she really understood what her role would be in this new world.

  It wasn’t about belonging to the men who had become her mates—although that was a part of it.

  It was about providing for the future of her family.

  That was why the Pacific Northwest Wolves needed their omega back so badly. That was why the Rocky Mountain Wolves had been so desperate to claim her for themselves, and why she had found herself kidnapped so many times on her way back home.

  It was about alphas who were trying to cement their power—but it was someth
ing more than that as well.

  Having an omega made a pack stronger for generations to come.

  I’m the only one who can give birth to a new omega for the new generation. I’m the only one who can keep that strength alive.

  And because the pack’s alphas were mated to her, she was the one most likely to give birth to a new alpha as well.

  That is, if they become the alphas. If they’re able to take the position away from Randy.

  She knelt on the dirt floor of her little shelter, breathing as quietly as she could. She saw clearly now that they hadn’t taken her out of the fight at all. She was helping them as much as she could. She needed to remain quiet and calm until the fight was over.

  Above her, everything was chaos. She heard the sound of snarls and snaps, letting her know that the fight was taking place in animal form. She had known, on an intellectual level, that that would happen, but hearing it was something else. The sound of wolves fighting each other sent a shiver down her spine. It was so violent.

  She heard a yelp of pain that ended in a whimper.

  She pressed her hand to her mouth to stifle a horrified cry. It sounded as though someone had been badly hurt. Who was it? Was it someone on her side?

  What if it was Ozzy? Or Gage? Or Chuck?

  She felt as if her own heart was being ripped out.

  She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, trying to force her body to calm down. She couldn’t allow herself to panic. That would be the worst thing for the baby, and it wouldn’t help anyone.

  Just breathe.

  She sank into herself, ignoring the sounds above her, ignoring the terror that gripped her, trying to find a place of peace and strength that she could cling to to see her through this awful stretch of time.

  And then, without warning, she felt the shift come over her.

  She opened her eyes. She was lower to the ground now, and she saw paws, not hands or feet. She had shifted. When she had searched inside herself for the strength to stay calm through this, she had found her wolf self.

  She curled up on the floor in the rear of the cellar, resting her head on her paws, and closed her eyes. Now that she was a wolf, her focus was narrower, her thoughts simpler. She was able to ignore what was happening above her and focus on what was happening inside her.

  And all her doubt was gone.

  She knew. She was pregnant. Not with one child, but with several. Even though this body was so new to her, it was deeply aware of every aspect of itself. She could feel the change within her, the new lives starting to grow.

  It’s all of their babies, she thought, and even though the idea hardly made sense, she knew she was right. Chuck and Gage and Ozzy. I have all of their children within me.

  I won’t lose them. No matter what happens. As long as I keep these babies safe, I’ll be keeping a part of them safe.

  She felt her body relax. The fear that had paralyzed her slipped away.

  Her mates would do all they could to win the fight. She would have faith in them to win. And Natalie would keep their children safe within her until they were born.

  Suddenly she realized that the noises above her had stopped. The yard had grown silent.

  She waited, holding her breath, her heart hammering in spite of her resolve to stay calm, her anxiety lifting her back into her human body.

  Then the door to the cellar was thrown open, and her mates stood looking down at her. Sweaty, exhausted, and alive.

  She ran up the stairs and flung herself into their arms.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  CHUCK

  “Get her inside,” Chuck said quietly, passing Natalie into Ozzy’s arms. “Get her something to wear. Get her cleaned up.” He wanted to do it himself, but Ozzy was the quietest and calmest of the three of them, and Natalie was shivering. She needed someone who could help her settle down, who could reassure her that everything was going to be fine, and Ozzy was the best man for that job.

  When they were gone, he and Gage jogged back over to where Randy was standing with a few of his most trusted betas. They’d formed a circle around the Rocky Mountain Pack’s alpha. Other members of their own pack were holding individual Rocky Mountain Wolves, though a few were too badly injured to get up.

  Randy was snarling into the other alpha’s face. Though he’d resumed his human form, he still looked wolfish and almost manic in his rage. “You dare to come onto our land?” he asked. “You dare to try to take what’s ours?”

  “You should have known better, Hank,” Gage said quietly. “We beat you on your own territory when there were only two of us. Did you really think you would beat us here?”

  “You didn’t beat anybody,” Hank snapped. “Not in Colorado, and not here. This doesn’t end until you’re dead or we are.”

  “Oh, that can be arranged.” Randy flexed his fingers menacingly.

  “Wait, stop.” Chuck stepped between them. “The fight’s over, guys. Randy. We’ve got them neutralized. We don’t have to do anything to him.”

  “You heard him,” Randy said. “He wants it. He wants this to be to the death. We all heard him, didn’t we?”

  Around them, Randy’s acolytes nodded.

  “And since when are you in the business of giving Rocky Mountain Wolves what they want?” Chuck demanded.

  “That’s right,” Gage agreed. “We don’t need to do this. We can just send them away. Maybe some of them would rather join our pack.”

  “If we let them go,” Randy said, with the exaggerated patience of someone explaining a simple fact to an idiot, “they’ll keep coming back. They’ll attack us over and over. We’ll be fighting this fight for the rest of our lives.”

  “No, they won’t,” Chuck said.

  “Why not?” Randy demanded. “You think they’ve magically turned into good people? You think you can trust them now?” He scoffed. “You’re delusional. And this is the man who thinks he can replace me as alpha of our pack,” he added to the group at large, and several of the men laughed.

  Chuck held his ground. “It’s not just me,” he said. “It’s Gage too. And Ozzy. And maybe if the three of us were in charge, this pack would actually be something our rivals were afraid to attack.”

  “You think they’re afraid of my little brother when they weren’t afraid to attack me?” Randy demanded.

  “I think Ozzy beat them on their own territory,” Chuck said. “Ozzy and Gage working together neutralized them on their own land, and I was able to take Natalie right out from under their noses. We came into their home and did that. So yeah, I do think they would think twice about attacking us. They came here because they knew you were in power. Because they know you’re not a strong leader.”

  As if he had been summoned, Ozzy came out of the house. Natalie was with him. For a moment, everyone fell silent as they turned to look at her.

  She had washed her face and tied her hair back with a ribbon. Ozzy had found her a set of clothes—a pair of jeans and a cotton tank top—somewhere, as well as a pair of sneakers. It was the most put-together Chuck had ever seen her look.

  Emotionally, he was torn. It was good to see her properly attired, for once, and to know that she was protected from the elements.

  But he also kind of wanted to run over and rip the clothes right off her.

  He had just been successful in battle, and now here was his omega. He wanted her viscerally. He wanted to feel her body against his. He wanted to taste her, to feel her hands on him and the way her muscles worked against him.

  It was all he could do to look away, to turn his attention back to Randy.

  “I am not a weak leader,” Randy said.

  “You’re a weaker leader than I am,” Hank said. “If this was a one-on-one fight, you wouldn’t have stood a chance.”

  Randy slapped him hard across the face. Hank snarled and surged forward in the arms of the men who were holding him, but they hauled him back. Randy smirked. “Put him in the cellar,” he said. “We’ll decide what to do with hi
m later.”

  “What about the others?” one of his betas asked.

  “They’re fine where they are.”

  The betas hurried Hank away. Chuck watched them go.

  Ozzy came over to stand beside Gage and Chuck. “We should look at some of them,” he said. “There are some serious injuries here. We should be helping them.”

  “We don’t help the enemy,” Randy snapped. “And you’re out of line, Ozzy.”

  “We found the omega,” Ozzy said quietly. “The three of us found her. We imprinted on her. She’s our collective mate. We claim the role of alpha of the Pacific Northwest Tribe for ourselves.”

  Randy shook his head. “This horse shit again? You know as well as I do that you can’t have three alphas, Ozzy. You’re going to destabilize our pack with this.”

  “Our pack is already unstable,” Gage pointed out. “Think about it. I’m not the only one who leaves for weeks at a time. We have a hard time getting people to stick around.”

  “And your orders aren’t exactly well followed, Randy,” Chuck said. “Just look at Ozzy. You told him to stay and help you with research, and he was the first one of all of us to take off and look for the omega. And he found her, too.”

  “If you want the alpha role, you can fight me for it,” Randy said. “Single combat. Of course, if you do that, whichever one of you wins will become the alpha. There’s no provision for three people to take over the role at once. It doesn’t work that way.” He smirked at them.

  For a moment, Chuck felt hopeless. Randy was right. When he had envisioned this moment, challenging for the role of alpha, he had always imagined a fight. But they couldn’t all fight Randy together. That would be no way to build a new, strong pack—on a foundation of unfair fighting. There would always be those in the pack who claimed that they had only won the fight because they had ganged up on Randy and would never follow their lead. And that would keep them from becoming strong leaders in their own right.

  But how could any one of them fight him? Even if Chuck, or one of the others, stepped up and said that he was fighting on behalf of all three, everyone standing there today would always know who had really won the battle. The other two would never have equal standing in the eyes of the pack.