by Lisa Oliver
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Con had always loved being a wolf shifter – the freedom to run on four paws, the affinity with nature inherent to every animal species, and the sheer simplicity of how life could be when viewed through his animal spirit’s eyes. He never ascribed to the view wolf shifters were better than anyone else, and he hated with a passion the posturing the likes of Jones thought was so important to who he was and his position.
But as much as he didn’t think anything positive about Jones’ attitude, or the way he’d presented himself to a highly respected member of the paranormal community, he couldn’t let Ven just kill the man because of a few misplaced words and ideas. Although the fact the challenge had been issued in front of witnesses was going to be an issue. Jones and his big bloody mouth.
“Ven, hon, stand down. Remember your carpets,” he said in what he hoped was a soothing voice. Con realized he’d only seen a hint of Ven’s power before, in the dining room the first night they went out together. To be sitting next to him now, seeing how Jones was brought to his figurative knees by just a look was intoxicating.
“Jones, you seem to have talked yourself into a bit of a pickle,” Con continued, when Ven sat down, still glowering, his claws tapping on the huge desk. “I have no doubt I can beat you in a fair fight, but I would never have challenged you because I didn’t want to run your pack. I’m quite happy here and have never felt the need to throw my alpha weight around to prove how big a man I am. I thought you came here to talk about my sister-in-law’s offspring, but you just want my brother’s house and land, don’t you?”
“I’d have got custody of the pups when I beat your ass,” Jones said between gritted teeth.
“You haven’t even asked after them. You just came in here throwing your weight around, so full of arrogance, you didn’t even stop to consider how someone who looks like my mate could keep hold of a rich territory like this. You challenged me, because you thought I was the wimp Megan painted me out to be, am I right?”
Jones snarled, showing his teeth.
Con leaned back in his chair. Ven was still bristling beside him. “If you were so sure I was a weakling, why did you want me as a mate for your daughter?”
“I don’t want you anywhere near her now. Fucking faggots cluttering up…”
“Stay on track, Jones. My mate is one of the richest men in the country. He can afford to replace his carpets if he must and slicing your throat won’t make him lose any sleep. Let me see if I’ve got this right.” Con held up his first finger.
“You thought the Donel pack was weak because of the information you gleaned about the pack when you were taking advantage of my brother’s mate, right?”
He held up a second finger. “You only agreed to the merger because if something happened to Donny, then I’d be next in line to take over the Donel pack, and you already planned to have me knocked off by your daughter, or enforcers, or maybe you’d take me out yourself.”
“Taking you out would be as easy as taking a piss.”
Con tut-tutted. “We’ve already seen how easily you piss. It’s wrecking the couch you’re sitting on. Three.” He held up another finger.
“You didn’t come here to take the pups at all. You don’t even care about them. You came here explicitly expecting me to be hunched over in grief, crying in my Wheaties because my beloved twin is dead. You were going to take advantage of my grief, take me out, and take over that territory you’ve been drooling over since my father was alive. Am I right?”
“Yeah, well look at the ass you are. I’m not seeing any sign of grief and you and your poxy mate stole Megan’s pups that are rightfully mine.”
Using the desk for leverage, Con vaulted over it, his hand around Jones’ throat in seconds. Looming over the man, he snarled long and loud. “You just made another mistake. Those pups aren’t yours. I could scent that the moment I walked in here and smelled your stench, and yeah, while I know there is no way they could be Donny’s they sure as hell aren’t your blood either, so under pack law, those pups are mine. So is Donny’s land, his territory and everything else he owned. Do you have an heir?”
Jones made some gurgling sounds. Con shook him hard enough to make his teeth rattle. “Do you have an heir? Someone to take over the pack when you’re gone? Nod once for yes. Shake for no.”
Jones shook his head.
“Fuck it.” Con released the man’s throat and paced angrily in front of the desk. “Damn it all. What am I meant to do now, Jones? Aye? Have you got any big ideas? I don’t want your fucking pack. But no, you just had to open your big mouth and issue a fucking challenge. You come into vampire territory, insult my mate with no provocation at all, and now you’re all trussed up with nowhere to go, all thanks to your own stupidity. It’s shits like you that give wolf shifters a bad name.”
Working his mouth and throat hard, Jones managed to gasp, “Sorry… res… restitution.”
“Restitution?” Con whirled around to face the hapless alpha. “Jones, you’ve stuck your foot in it big time, can’t you see that? You slept with my brother’s bond mate. You probably knew Megan’s plans to kill him and forty-two innocents. You insulted my mate and an entire species of paranormals, while you were in their territory, and you issued a challenge to me you’ve clearly lost, thanks to my mate and do you want to know what the kicker is?”
Jones looked as if he didn’t know if he should nod or shake his head.
“The kicker, you hapless moron, is that every single thing you’ve said and done was in front of witnesses, and the events were recorded. My mate is fucking clever and has been dealing with idiots like you since before you were born. I might just as well kill you now, because there is no way in hell you’re getting out of this mess. Once the council hears…”
“No. Please. No.” Jones was shaking his head wildly.
“You think you’re in any position to negotiate?” Con shook his head. “I mean, look at these guys, will you? Really look at them.” He pointed to where Ven was sitting like a statue, Mosh equally stern beside him. “You insulted their species, you vilified the leader of this territory, and you insulted me, which in turn was another insult to the leader of this territory. They have more money than you could ever spend and a territory twice the size of yours. What can you offer for restitution?”
There was a long silence, only Jones’ eyes betraying how hard he was thinking. Con went back and sat down next to his mate, threading Ven’s fingers in his own. When it was clear Jones couldn’t come up with anything on his own, it was Ven who spoke up.
“Technically, under shifter law, the challenge was never completed, so I suppose it could be considered a draw. Lord knows, we’ve got enough to do without running another pack.”
Jones looked at Ven as though he was the only hope on earth, which Con figured, he probably was as far as Jones was concerned.
“However, the insults to me, my beloved, and vampires as a paranormal species cannot be ignored as easily, especially in my own territory. I mean,” Ven gave a short chuckle, “I do have a reputation to upkeep.” He squeezed Con’s hand, and Con chuckled along with him.
“Therefore, the restitution demanded will be in the first instance, a cash settlement of five million dollars, to be set up in two trusts at two point five million each, in the names of Donny and Demetra Semyonov-Donel, for them to access in full from their twenty-first birthday. Money to be forwarded to our accounts within three days.”
Ven’s smile was pure evil. “Your spunk might not have been strong enough to give the pups life, but you can give them a good start for their future. Furthermore, you agree as part of this restitution process, to provide daily enforcer patrols for the Donel pack land, until such time as we decide what we’re going to do with it, and you’ll also ensure that anything found to be missing or damaged from the currently empty property will be your responsibility to fix, replace, or pay restitution for, regardless of who was responsible.”
Jones looked as though he’d ra
ther swallow his tongue and Con realized with a sinking heart, there was a good chance the Jones pack had already taken anything of value from the house. Still, Ven’s clause was a good one and the enforcer patrols would ensure no rogue wolves took up residence in the home his brother loved.
“As a final clause,” Ven paused for effect, “you, Alpha Jones agree that you will never issue another threat against the Donel pack, their offspring, mates, or anyone associated with that pack or this coven ever again. You also agree that you will never set foot in Rockville again, or you will be killed instantly and without warning. Do we have an accord?”
Inhaling heavily, Jones nodded. “You have my word as an alpha wolf shifter.”
“Excellent.” Ven pushed his chair back from the desk. “Come along then, beloved. I think we’ve got time for a spot of lunch and cuddling before the twins need us. Mosh, I can leave you to sort out the details, can’t I?”
“Of course, my lord, consort.” Mosh bowed a lot lower than normal, as if to make a point. “Enjoy your lunch.”
“We intend to.” Con let himself be led out of the room; unsurprised Jones had one last question to ask. He was still bound by Ven’s magic. But the nature of the question did surprise him.
“Alpha Donel, do you know who did father Megan’s pups?”
Con looked over his shoulder. “According to Megan, the father could have been any one of at least a dozen alphas, all, according to her, as arrogant and overbearing as yourself. I won’t be looking for him, whoever he is, and he’ll have no claim on our kids no matter what story he has to tell. The council appointed me and Ven as the children’s guardians and we’ll fight to the death to keep them safe. Who knows, maybe Megan already killed him? She had a real hate-on for alpha males and she was another one who’d been underestimated far too many times.”
He walked out, point made, Ven proudly hanging onto his arm. Con made sure they were well out of earshot before he asked, “When is your magic going to wear off him?”
Ven’s laugh was long and loud, causing heads to turn in the hotel foyer. “It doesn’t wear off beloved. I’ll let him go after we’ve eaten, if I remember of course.”
“If I remember, I’ll remind you,” Con said, dropping a kiss on his mate’s very pretty hair. “But I plan on being distracted as soon as we’ve eaten.”
“Bad luck for Jones then,” Ven said, dropping his voice as they approached the maître de, “because I plan on doing a lot of distracting.”
Epilogue
The old homestead looked just as Con remembered it – a huge solid wooden structure in need of a lick of paint. The shuttered windows were tightly closed, the wide porch still held the old sofas so many of Donny’s pack members used to sit out on in an evening. After living in Rockville for six months, Con appreciated the quiet – no cars, no businesses, just the sound of birds tweeting and the sound of the wind in the trees.
“It’s a beautiful spot,” Ven said quietly, coming up beside him, leaving Mosh to get the twins out of the back of the car. “There’s no sense of anything but peace in this place.”
Con snorted. “Mother nature is good like that. She can clean things up faster than bleach ever could, and wolves hold with ideas like that. The pack are all buried in those woods, their bodies returning nutrients to the earth that fed them while their souls roam free.”
“Did you want to go in the house?”
Con appreciated Ven asking. It had taken six months of living with Ven, immersing himself in raising the children and settling into his new mating before he could even think about coming back to the place that held so many negative memories for him. But the not going, not seeing the house, not standing on the grounds where he was born was like a nagging ache to him, and for all he dreaded going into the house, Con knew it had to be done.
“Come with me?” He asked, holding out his hand. “I’d prefer if the children stayed outside with Mosh for now, if that’s okay.”
“The Duke and Duchess of Rockville will be picnicking with me,” Mosh said loftily as he strode towards the shade made by the trees, holding the wide-awake twins with one arm, and balancing a huge picnic basket with the other. “Take all the time you need.”
“He insists on calling them Duke and Duchess.” Con shook his head fondly as he and Ven walked towards the house. “I still don’t understand how two wolf pups took on vampire titles.”
“Lines of hierarchy, my beloved.” Ven took his arm, and while Con didn’t know if Ven did it deliberately to show his support, he wasn’t going to argue. “Technically, the twins are mine too, and they are my heirs should anything happen to me.”
“Which it won’t.” Con didn’t even want to think about that. The shadow of the porch overhang hit his face and he looked up at the huge double wooden doors guarding the alpha house. “This is it,” he said, fishing in his jeans pocket for the keys that hadn’t been used since he’d left the place. “I’m not sure what state…”
Ven turned him, in a way that had become as familiar as breathing. “It’ll be fine, beloved. You don’t have to go in. We don’t have to stay, but I think you should at least do a walk-through.” The sound of the twins’ laughter rang across the glade. “Then we’ll go and see what the chefs thought appropriate picnic food was. I thought they were going to have a conniption when I ordered the hamper this morning.”
“Rose and Marsha weren’t too keen on being excluded from the trip either. Donny and Demetra are very lucky to have such devoted people around them.” Con looked deep into his mate’s eyes and felt as though he’d come full circle. Almost eight months before, he’d stood right where he was standing now, overcome with grief and rage at the senseless death of the brother he loved, and the innocents who surrounded him. Now, he was back, with the family he’d formed with his mate and friends.
“Thank you, my lovely,” he said softly, stroking down the side of Ven’s face. “Thank you for everything.”
“It’s me who should be thanking you,” Ven said, with a wide smile. “The day we met, I was cursing a video I’d been tagged in, watching my current paramour shafting someone else. Then you walked in, and I knew my life was going to change for the better, and it has. I love you, beloved, and no matter what we find in the house today, know that will never change.”
“As I love you.” Con took in a deep breath and then strode up the steps to the front door, Ven right by his side.
The key slid in the lock easily. It seemed Jones had taken the commandment to maintain the house and grounds seriously. Inside, sunlight shone through the large bay windows, across the hard-polished floors. Instinctively, Con sniffed, but all he could smell was a light scent of lemon furniture polish.
“Looks like Jones has had a cleaning crew in. There’s not a speck of dust anywhere.”
“He knew we were going to be visiting handy to his pack grounds,” Ven said with a chuckle. “He probably ensured we’d have nothing to complain about.”
“This place never changed, you know?” Con draped his arm over Ven’s shoulder and led him from the hallway, into the large living space. “I cracked the corner of my head on that fireplace there when I was five years old. On the odd times he was home, my dad used to sit in that chair there by the fireplace, always with a beer in his hand. When Donny took over, he claimed he never wanted to change a thing. He liked it just the way it was.”
Moving them forward, Con prepared himself for what was to come. “Through here is the dining room. My father never used it much unless we had visitors from other packs, but Donny… well, as you know Donny loved to have the whole pack around the table every Friday night. He adored being among his fellow wolves.”
The dining set was new – the table just as big as the one Con remembered, but the chairs of this set had soft red cushions on the seats and a chunky vase of wildflowers sat in the center of the light wooden tabletop. For a moment, Con was thrown back in time – to the last time he’d been in the room. His heart started to pound, and he closed his e
yes.
“Hey.” Ven tapped his face lightly, causing Con’s eyes to open again. “Focus on the here and now. I’m here. Your brother is in a far happier place, his soul free – remember that’s what you told me. What happened here was terrible, and I’m never going to make light of that, but look around. This is just a room, and your brother and those other poor innocents will live on in your memories forever.”
“Just a room.” Con found he could breathe again, and he looked around the space with fresh eyes. “There was a lot of laughter went on in here after my brother took over the pack. Donny could be so funny when the mood struck him right and the little kids adored him.”
“I’m glad you’ve got good memories of him. Our kids will want to hear about him one day.” Ven snuggled against his arm. “Did you want to see more, or should we head out and see what Mosh is feeding our darlings?”
“We’ll head out.” Con took one last look around the room. There was nothing triggering there, just a bright pleasant room with a huge table. “Maybe we could set this place up as a holiday resort for overworked city paranormals?” he suggested as they made their way out of the house. “Put in staff to run the place, make sure it’s fairly exclusive so the place doesn’t get wrecked. We could offer therapists and spa treatments. There’s a whole basement area that only has the wine cellar in it. Get in a decent chef and keep the booking numbers down so it’s not overcrowded for anyone. What do you think?”
“I think I’m rubbing off on you at last,” Ven said with a delighted laugh. “That’s a brilliant idea and then later, when the kiddies are old enough to shift and run around and want a holiday, we’ll have somewhere safe to send them.”
“You just like the idea because it would annoy the crap out of Alpha Jones, having a resort on adjoining lands to his,” Con chuckled.
“Meh, maybe.” Ven gave him a sideways glance. “Or maybe I’m just pleased you’ve faced the shadows of your past, which means we’ve got nothing but a bright future ahead of us.”