Shifters in the Snow

by Jacqueline Sweet

  Everything felt liquid and delicious. Caleb's earthy male scent, filled with the strength and power of the mountains and trees and snow just outside, rolled through Rielle's being, mingling with her own soft strength.

  “On your back, love,” she ordered him in a soft yet firm voice.

  Caleb's jaw dropped a bit. He inhaled hard through his mouth as his eyes darkened even more. Without a word, just a single lick of his lips that sent a shiver bolting down Rielle's spine, he rolled over. Rielle threw back the white covers on the big bed so she could see his entire body.

  “Ah,” she whispered, the sound coming out a bit strangled.

  Caleb's shaft jutted straight up, the tiniest bead of liquid glistening at the tip. Waiting for her. She saw him tremble a bit, the tremors passing through his huge arms, the sculpted torso, his firm jaw. Her big, bad wolf shifter, trembling at her touch.

  Just the thought sent molten lava pulsing through her. Without a word, keeping her eyes locked on his, she slid herself up to straddle him, then very slowly lowered herself onto him. Caleb's length pushed into her like she was melted butter, the feel of it sending tremors through her own body. She threw her head back and moaned without reservation.

  Caleb sucked in a fast breath and let it back out as her name with several hitches in it. His large hands gently grabbed her hips, rocking her up and down on him. Inside, everything was swirling and sweet and delicious, her entire body one giant nerve ending completely tuned into the moment and her mate.

  “Ree,” he whispered again, ragged need tearing his voice. “Ree. Look at me. I want you to look at me when you come.”

  Rielle felt a light-headedness spill over her at his words. They seemed to turn up the heat inside her from molten to blazing red-hot. She opened her eyes and looked at him, her mouth opening as well to pant a little. He slid her up and down, up and down, his fingers convulsively squeezing into her flesh as he drove into her or drove her onto him. She didn't know which, she didn't care which, she—

  “Caleb,” she said on a swift gasp as the sweet swirling inside her teetered on the very edge of exploding everywhere. “Oh, now. Now, love. Now.”

  Her voice chanted senseless nonsense as the snow blanketed their little house, as her mate shuddered inside her with his yell ringing into the room, as stars burst before her vision and she spiraled up and out and within. Caleb's eyes held hers as they rocked together, and she let herself drop into them without fear, vaguely hearing herself groan long and loud as her entire world burst into tiny points of light and pleasure.

  Hours later, or it could have been years for all Rielle knew in the lusciously blurry aftermath, Caleb held her tight as they drifted back to sleep. His hands roamed her body in small, sleepy motions until they stilled. Before she dozed off again, she clearly heard him as he whispered into her ear, “New year, Ree. Dunno what will happen, but as long as I can ring it in with you, we'll figure it all out.”

  “Mmm,” she answered. She had no idea what would happen tomorrow either, but he was right. No matter what the new year brought, they'd figure it out. Together.

  Chapter 5

  The entire Black Mesa Pack milled around, paws stamping on the ground, tails lashing as the younger wolves pounced on one another and rolled around in the snow. The storm had finally broken. Bluebird skies provided a backdrop for entirely white-coated pine trees that looked like they'd been dipped in frosting.

  Caleb felt supremely confident as he surveyed his pack with his mate at his side. After a mind-blowing day with Ree yesterday, which she of course had blushed about this morning, which turned him on as usual so they were a little late to the pack run, he'd come into this new year completely fresh and certain about his decision.

  Oh, hell, yeah. Caleb Bardou was back, and it was going to be awesome. He'd woken up knowing exactly how the day would turn out. No way was he going to throw away all the hard-earned street cred he'd gotten this year as a fight trainer.

  And no way was he going to blow this chance to be a Black Mesa Pack Guardian again, either.

  Frost tipped his coat. Rielle bumped against his side, reassuring him of her presence. Keeping her voice quiet, she simply said to him, “Take note of who Luke hangs out with on this run,” before she bounded off to play with some of the female wolves she'd gotten closer to since she began spending more time in the pack. Yeah, he wasn't about to take her away from all this, either. Not when she'd just begun to find her own place in the pack again. He knew she'd meant it when she said she'd go with him anywhere he wanted. That swelled his heart and made he feel about fifty feet tall. But this whole scene had been planned out.

  Time for him to play his trump card.

  Alpha was standing a little ways off from the main pack, watching them with his usual inscrutable Alpha eyes. Caleb watched his father watching the pack. Taking a breath, he plowed through the fresh fallen snow to his alpha's side.

  Channing Bardou, longtime alpha of the Black Mesa Wolf Pack, waited for Caleb to speak. As usual, Caleb felt just a bit like he'd been called to the principal's office—which, for the record, totally paled in comparison to answering to one of the country's strongest alpha wolves. Holding his head high, he just said, “May I run with you a bit to start?”

  His alpha shook a front leg to rid it of a slither of snow that dripped off a nearby bush from sheer weight rather than any warmth in the January air. He nodded once at Caleb, then gave the signal for the pack to head out on their run.

  Up on the mountain above the den, far from the curious gaze of any humans on this deeply snowy, frigid first day of the year, the Black Mesa Wolf Pack let loose across the drifts and piles of snow, leaping over them as they yipped and howled and raced along. It was the first daytime pack run since the fall equinox, and everyone clearly meant to take advantage of it.

  Caleb watched his fellow pack members as they bounded along. His sister, Lily, ran beside her mate, Kieran, both of them with tongues lolling in laughter as they raced around trees and leapt over buried bushes. His brother Tate and his mate, Claire, whose white coat blended into the setting more than anyone else in the pack, leapt over things as one in what seemed to be some sort of contest that involved lots of laughter as well. His mother, Otsana, gracefully loping along with some of the older wolves, playfully batted them with snow now and again. His friends. His packmates. His pack.

  Then his gaze fell upon Luke Rawlins. See who he runs with, Rielle had said. Okay, then. The dark wolf ran by himself, it seemed. Sure, he clearly was enjoying the day. His movements just running looked a little stronger, too. More focused, Caleb thought critically.

  Well, good. Three days of training had been good for the former rogue.

  Former rogue, hmm? his human thought. Gettin' soft.

  Caleb kept watching, though.

  See who he runs with.

  No one. No one else ran with Rawlins. Oh, no one was turning on him or anything like that. No one glared, no one postured at him with hackles raised or lip curled. But no one ran beside him, either.

  Hmm.

  “I certainly hope you're not thinking of going after Luke again.”

  Caleb nearly jumped out of his hide when Alpha spoke. “Of course not,” he said, swinging his head around to look at his alpha, running with easy strides beside him as most of the pack streamed ahead of him. Time to play his trump card. “That wouldn't be a good idea, given his offer.”

  Alpha's eyebrows, expressive even in his wolf shape, twitched once. He glanced at Rawlins, back at Caleb, then focused on negotiating the snow again. “And what offer did Luke make you?”

  Huffing out a breath as he gathered himself to leap over a giant white lump he suspected was a hidden log, Caleb waited till he'd landed on the other side to answer. It wasn't like Alpha didn't know about this, anyway. “The offer to be lead Guardian for his new pack,” he said casually.

  Caleb was in no way prepared for his alpha to trip over the same damn log and tumble hard into the snow. Two young wolves behind
them vaulted themselves sideways with agitated barks as they tried to avoid their fallen alpha, running fast ahead with their tails tightly tucked under their asses as if afraid they were at fault for his stumble.

  Veering to a halt and circling back around, Caleb stared as his father shook snow off him before standing firm to face Caleb. “Luke,” Alpha said slowly, still watching Caleb with careful eyes. “Luke Rawlins offered you a place as Guardian for his new pack?”

  The Black Mesa alpha definitely sounded surprised.

  The first uneasy doubt crept into Caleb's mind thanks to the suddenly churning thoughts of his human. Ripping his gaze from his alpha's, he looked after the fast disappearing pack. He caught sight of a dark shadow on the pack's edges, running with them but not really of them.

  Oh, hell, no.

  Looking back at the leader of this pack, he chose his next words very carefully. “Ah. Yes. I had thought it was a final—test for me? Sir?”

  Caleb tended to address Alpha as “sir” during tense moments. This moment definitely was shaping up to be tense.

  Alpha gave him another long, searching stare, then leapt after the pack again. “Come,” was all he said.

  Caleb followed his alpha, his thoughts jumping all over the place. They ran in silence for a long time. Dodging tree trunks, navigating hidden holes or rocks in the white landscape, Caleb kept an eye out for the rest of the pack. When they reached everyone again, Alpha slowed his pace.

  Finally, he slowed to a trot, then a walk. Caleb mirrored him. Another beat before he said, “Very interesting. And what was your response?”

  Whoa. This was not what he'd expected. “I—haven't answered him yet, sir. I wanted to first tell you what my response is.”

  Alpha stopped and looked at Caleb again, looking every inch the very savvy alpha he was. “Indeed? And why would that be?” His voice was plenty colder than the snow.

  This was why the principal's office never scared Caleb as a cub nearly as much as being summoned to his father's office had.

  Straightening himself, he answered the way he'd planned since he woke up. “Because you hold the key to my future.”

  If Caleb hadn't known better, he would have sworn his alpha looked sad for just an instant. Quietly, he shook his massive head and said, “Never I, Caleb. Nor anyone else. Not even your mate. Nor your supposed enemy. Look at him.” Alpha jerked his chin toward Rawlins, who was sitting in an open patch of ground, watching the pack play around him but not with him. “He doesn't hold a key for you, nor was this a test. But it seems he did indeed see a tremendous opportunity here. For both of you,” Alpha added, his voice more in Caleb's head than spoken out loud.

  Despite the dazzling blue skies and the promise of a fresh new start, Caleb suddenly felt really tired.

  He'd royally messed up. Again. This time, though, he was going to fix this like the wolf he was.

  Man I am, his human muttered, but it was subdued.

  “So,” he said slowly, trying to make sure his thoughts didn't stumble over his words and confuse him even more. “Let me make sure I understand this time. You didn't tell Rawlins—Luke, I mean—to ask me to be a Guardian as some sort of test to get reinstated as a Black Mesa Guardian? To see if I'd have the appropriate response or something like that?”

  Very gently, his alpha shook his head, brilliant amber eyes still fixed on Caleb. Like he was waiting for the real answer. Like this, right here, right now, really was a test. Just not one planned by the Black Mesa Pack Alpha.

  Okay then.

  Caleb sensed Rielle watching them from a distance. He took a deep breath to pull in her sweet cinnamon scent to him, to lend him some desperately needed strength from her calm reserves. Then he plunged on.

  “So I do have a chance here.” Caleb's voice was quiet, driven by the racing thoughts of his human, who was at the forefront of his consciousness. “Just not the one I expected.”

  “Perhaps not the one you expected.” Alpha's voice was quiet as well. “But perhaps the one you truly need.”

  “I've proven myself outside of the Pack, though.” Caleb kept his tone measured, although his heart was thudding against his ribs. “I already saw a chance, and I took it.”

  Alpha sighed, the whisper lost in the playful noises from the rest of the pack as they raced and played and enjoyed the day. “Indeed, and I am very proud of you for that.”

  Damn it, Caleb's human muttered again. Got something in my eye.

  Caleb huffed to himself at that. Wolves never cried. Humans were odd.

  “But,” Alpha went on, “you are a Guardian at heart and soul. And I suspect Luke needs you more than you realize. He has proven himself here as well, Caleb. Perhaps the two of you can build something stronger than you each ever imagined on your own.”

  With that, the Black Mesa Pack Alpha inclined his head at his son in a clear sign of respect. Then he walked away, toward his mate and his pack, and didn't look back.

  Caleb swallowed hard. He looked toward his own mate, who watched him with eyes he knew were a gorgeous soft russet-brown, even though she was too far away from him to see her that clearly. She was sitting on the other side of the open space where Rawlins sat, though far away enough from him that her message was clear. The choice was Caleb's. And no matter what he chose, she'd stand by him.

  Swallowing hard again as he thought how frigging lucky he was to call Rielle Amoux his mate, Caleb then thought about his fighters. About Bran, the young pup who needed guidance. About his own dreams. About his lifetime of training to be a Guardian. To protect his pack.

  To protect any pack that is mine, his human whispered. Any pack I belong to.

  Ah, hell. Being a grown up was hard.

  With deliberate steps, Caleb crossed the piles of snow and headed toward Luke. About three feet away from the silent dark wolf, who watched him without a trace of the smugness Caleb swore was usually there, he stopped.

  After about five breaths, he stated the one question he had left. In situations like this, it was always better to state questions as if they were fact rather than just ask. “So if I say yes, I have to keep training cage fighters, too. I've worked too hard for that to give it up now. It's a solid business, and I have shifters relying on me now. I won't let them down just to help you out.”

  Caleb sensed Rielle's ears sharply perked toward them as she listened.

  Luke had a quick response, still watching Caleb hard. “What if I said it was an either/or choice?”

  Damn it. Time for poker game face here. “Then I guess my choice is clear, Rawlins.”

  The rest of the pack had slowly figured out something big was going on. By ones and twos they quieted their games, quit their howling, and drifted in closer to watch something crazy important unfold. Caleb tuned them out. He tuned out everything except the dark wolf who'd dangled another tempting key to a future before him—and Ree. No one else mattered right then except those two wolves.

  And me, his human whispered, growing confidence in his voice.

  Yes. Truthfully, his future belonged to Caleb and no one else. This was his choice to make.

  “And what is your decision?” Luke's voice was quiet but direct. It carried to every wolf in the pack, all of whom were now watching with rapt attention.

  Inhaling long through his nose and expelling it quietly through his mouth, Caleb looked at Ree. She nodded her head once, as solemn as he was. Then he did the only thing he could think to demonstrate his answer. He laid down and showed his belly to the air, exposing his vulnerable side for Luke to rip out in a split second if he so wanted.

  Almost to a wolf, the audience whined in the wolfish version of gasps.

  Then he said, “I, Caleb Bardou, accept your offer to lead as Guardian for your new pack, Luke Rawlins. I swear loyalty to you and your pack as my new alpha.”

  The only sound for long, cold moments was the far-off whomp of an avalanche loosing itself somewhere in the mountains surrounding them. Caleb's nerves, oddly enough, didn't ring any al
arms at all.

  So this was what making the right decision felt like. Calm and just—right.

  Yeah. He'd take it.

  Finally, Luke responded. “Thank you, Guardian. I accept your fealty. I will also,” he added, looking around the loose circle of wolves around them watching wide-eyed, “accept any younger members who wish to join this pack, on the permission of the Black Mesa Alpha, of course.”

  Ree's voice had Caleb's head whipping around as he easily got back to his feet, shaking the snow off his coat. “I will join your pack, Luke,” she said, her voice carrying in the silence. “Even if I wouldn't go anywhere Caleb goes, I still think you will make a very good alpha. I'm honored to be a part of your new pack.”

  Caleb's heart did that pride-bursting thing again as he watched his dainty little mate walk with sure steps toward them. She nodded at Luke as she passed him to take her place beside Caleb, pressing into his side right where she belonged.

  Everything suddenly felt so damn right in the moment he could hardly stand it.

  Another long silence kept everyone still, although Caleb caught some of the youngest pups fidgeting at the back. He opened his mouth to break the silence.

  Then he remembered what he'd just done. It wasn't his place to speak right now.

  His human sighed this time. Being an adult. Hmm, was all he said, though.

  The Black Mesa Alpha stepped forward, also going up to Luke. “Your choice has made an excellent start to your pack, alpha,” he said, looking at Luke although he nodded his head at Caleb. “Now all you need to do is come up with a good name for it.”

  Luke appeared startled. “We will have to give it some thought,” he finally said, looking at Caleb.

  Then Alpha—no, Caleb thought. Not his Alpha anymore. Just pack alpha to him now. The Black Mesa pack alpha looked at Caleb. He nodded, the simple move so full of approval that Caleb's human started muttering about his eyes again. Then he swept his gaze over everyone else.