by T. S. Joyce
He leaned his forehead against hers and sighed. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here. I was upset over seeing my dad, but I shouldn’t have left. Not now when you’re so at risk.”
“Stop it. If you have to Change, there isn’t much we can do about it. You can’t do it in the house. Wolf would destroy the place.”
Grey rubbed his hand over his face. Even his burning, golden eyes looked exhausted. “Then maybe Summit is the safest place for us right now after all. Safety in numbers and all.”
Chapter Four
The waiting area in the airport was a steel trap around Wolf. Flying was their best bet. After a heated discussion, both packs had decided a road trip with a bunch of hungry, testy werewolves, the meanest and blackest of which couldn’t control Wolf’s Changes overly well, sounded like a hell-fire in the Texas desert. Grey had voted no to flying but was the only one. Majority won. He jumped as the elderly lady sitting beside him patted his leg.
“Are those contacts in your eyes, Deary?”
He stifled a growl and forced a smile. It probably looked like a grimace. “Uh, yes they are. Kind of silly looking, aren’t they?”
“They look frightening. You seem like such a nice man with your family. You don’t need those things in your eyes.” She nodded her head definitively and went back to reading her book.
“Okaaay,” he mouthed to Morgan who sported a big grin.
He stood to pace around a few laps for the tenth time. They had all met up at the airport as close to departure as they dared so they could avoid this exact scenario. The plane was delayed of course, successfully laughing in the face of all of their planning. Having a bunch of werewolves used to open spaces milling around the middle of a crowded airport ranked right up there on the ten-most-dangerous-things-to-try list. The girls seemed to be handling it all right. Other than a darting glance at their watches every once in a while, they seemed as if they did busy airports a couple of times a day. Their superior acting made him and the boys look downright pitiable. The scowl on Dean’s face would have been comical if Grey wasn’t so fuckin’ stressed out.
Brent came up behind him and steered him toward an airport store. “Come on, man. Morgan said Lana needs a road snack.”
Brent was shorter by a few inches. He had medium brown hair and friendly dark brown eyes. For a reason he couldn’t explain, Brent had always had this calming quality about him. He couldn’t figure out if it was because Brent was a submissive and Wolf didn’t feel defensive, or if it was from his laid-back personality as a human. Either way, the easy friendship was welcome. It helped that Brent loved helping out with Lana and that Marissa felt absolutely no threat from him.
The tension between his shoulder blades eased with a job to do. Anything to take his mind off the claustrophobia. After they returned with a bag of snacks and a few magazines, a bored-sounding flight attendant announced it was time to board their flight. Great. It was time to strap Wolf into a tiny seat in a plane with no escape.
Fuck this, Wolf muttered in his head.
“For once, we agree,” he muttered.
“Huh?” the older lady asked from right beside him.
Grey jumped like a jackrabbit. Where had she come from? Old lady moved quiet as a wolf. “Uh, just talking to myself.”
Ha ha ha, Wolf said.
Grey clenched his jaw against the urge to tell him to piss off. Instead, he plastered a vacant smile to his face to cover the grimace.
He loaded their carryon bag into the bin above their seats. He could do this. The flight was only two and a half hours. Easy, peazy, booty squeezy. Morgan was wearing these skin tight gray jeans with holes on her upper thigh. Her ass looked awesome in them.
Bite it, Wolf said. She likes when we do that in the bedroom. Just drop to your knees…
“No,” he ground out, fighting the urge to fall to the floor behind her. “Just get on the flight.”
And bite her in that juicy ass, Wolf finished. She will give that wicked smile. We like when she’d wicked.
“What’s up with this ‘we’ shit?” he demanded loud enough that his voice echoed through the terminal.
Everyone around him froze, and Morgan twisted around. Her eyes were round as she uttered a nervous laugh. “He’s joking!”
She slipped her hand into his and pulled him along with her. “Everything is fine, Wolf. It’s great. Here. Hold the kiddo.” She handed him Lana, and within seconds, the tension in his shoulders left him.
“Hi, Daddy,” she said, hugging her favorite stuffed bunny.
“Hey, baby.” Wolf was practically purring. He adored Lana.
Morgan handing the child to him was nothing shy of genius. They handed over their boarding passes and made their way behind the Dallas pack onto the plane
The rows by the windows were four seats long. Grey, Morgan, Lana, and Marissa, who had wanted to sit by the window, took up the first row. Jason and Brent sat across the aisle from him, and Dean, Rachel, Wade, and Logan were in the row behind.
Grey turned to Rachel and held up a gossip magazine. “Do you want this? We picked up a few at the store.”
Rachel held up a worn paperback. “I have my book, but thanks.”
“I’ll take one,” Logan said.
Dean rolled his eyes and sighed. “I prayed for a normal pack.”
“What?” Logan asked through a deep frown. “I like to keep up with the latest gossip.”
Grey tossed him the magazine and buckled his gigantic frame into the tiny seat. His knees touched the wall in front of him. Morgan was pursing her lips against a laugh.
“You’re supposed to have sympathy for your husband,” he muttered.
She flagged down the stewardess. “My husband is scared of flying. Is there any way we can get a double jack and coke?”
“Of course,” the stewardess said, and bustled to the little café up front.
Morgan cocked her eyebrow. “See? I do have sympathy. I’ll take my wife of the year trophy in solid fuckin’ gold.”
“Dat’s a bad word,” Lana mumbled as she poked the button that reclined the seat over and over.
“Wife of the year. Not guardian of the year,” Morgan said.
Lana was content with slamming the chair back and forth for the moment so he would keep the snacks until he needed a secret weapon. Morgan leaned her head on him as the stewardess stepped forward to give the safety precautions. He slid an arm around her and brushed his finger in lazy circles on the exposed skin of her arm. She stretched up and brushed her cheek against his. It was amazing how she could do that. All she had to do was touch him and Wolf settled.
“You think we are doing the right thing, don’t you?” she asked. “Bringing Lana along for this?”
The runway blurred outside the window as the plane took off, and he frowned. He had been asking himself the same question on a continuous loop over the last couple of days.
“Trying to keep you guys a secret didn’t work, and people got hurt. People got killed.” He swallowed audible. “Brandon got killed. If we are upfront about everything and what we want, hopefully it will be taken into account, and we can reason with them. We can’t have everyone listen to rumors about you and Lana. We have to be direct, and honest, and try to control the information that is out there as much as we can. We need allies. Not enemies. And besides, I wouldn’t want to leave her unprotected with your mom while we’re gone.”
“I know. I just wanted to hear you say it again. I’m a little scared.”
Her admission was a pinprick. He liked for her to be happy and confident, not scared. “Don’t be. I won’t let anything happen to you guys.” He lifted her chin with the tip of his finger until she met his eyes. “Do you trust me?”
Her kiss was answer enough. Their bond hummed with her belief in him.
His worry over how Lana would handle her first flight was for nothing. She was a little bawse, like Morgan. Just easy, go-with-the-flow, handle-things-as-they come kinda gal. She colored for a while and then took turns w
ith Marissa looking out the window before she nodded off in Morgan’s lap with a packet of cheese crackers clenched in her little fist. Morgan sighed heavily and leaned back against her chair. Lana cuddled tightly against her, sleeping without a worry in the world. Her eyes were a clear, crystalline blue as Morgan watched him. He moved a strand of her dark hair off her cheek. She was so beautiful, it hurt to look away. She smiled at his touch and brushed her lips against the palm of his hand. God, he loved her. He’d never loved anything or anything even close to this. She was everything. No matter the cost to him, he would find a way to keep them safe.
Thank God, everyone survived the flight, unassuming humans included. They poured out of that plane with such a sense of relief, and as Grey shoved the last suitcase into the back of the black Hummer he had rented, he smiled at the chaos. Everyone was chattering, smiling, laughing, shoving each other in play, teasing the girls, who were dishing it right back, and doting on Lana. A year ago, he would’ve never thought his life could have moments like this. Dean gave a sharp whistled as he finished loading the identical vehicle behind them. “Load up, assholes.”
“Dat’s not such a bad word!” Lana offered.
Everyone murmured, “Yes it is,” in unison, except for Marissa who tilted her head and said, “Yeah, it’s not so bad.”
Lord help him, Grey was going to have a pack of sailor-mouths.
“Are we going straight to Summit?” Marissa asked. “I’m hungry.”
“You’re always hungry,” Dean muttered with a smirk. “You’re like a garbage disposal.”
Jason spoke up. “I could eat too.”
Logan popped his head out of the window. “I’m starving.”
“All right, all right,” Grey said, shutting the trunk. “We’ll find somewhere close. Fast food or sit down?”
“Sit down,” Dean said. “It’ll probably be the last peaceful meal we get for a while. Let’s enjoy it.”
“Chinese food,” Marissa suggested.
“Noooo,” Logan and Jason groaned.
“I want a fortune cookie!” Lana said from her car seat in her cute little voice. Grey would order her an entire truckload of fortune cookies when they got home. That little girl could have everything she ever wanted.
Dean pulled off at a restaurant specializing in home-style buffet. The wolves shoved tables together and joked between bites. So far, it hadn’t been as brutal as he had imagined the trip would be. The wolves hovered around Morgan and Lana, partly out of an ingrained instinct to protect, but mostly because they obviously loved spending time with them. That part was obvious from their genuine smiles. Children in a pack were so extremely rare, and Lana was just amazing. Bright, friendly, intelligent, wanted everyone included, affectionate, and sweet as all get-out. She brought a lightness that hadn’t been there before. She eased the seriousness of their stressful situation without even knowing it.
He and Dean had actually managed to make it through the entire meal without even so much as a rude snarl or overprotective growl. For all intents and purposes, they were a team with a similar goal—protect Silver Wolf and Lana. They were on neutral territory with little time for a dominance pissing match.
I will admit, I don’t want to kill him as much anymore, Wolf grumbled in his head.
“Ha!” Grey laughed. “First sane thing you’ve ever said.”
Dean tossed him a look from across the table.
Grey swallowed a bite of mashed potatoes. “Wolf just said he doesn’t want to kill you as much anymore.”
“Oh my God, we are friends,” Dean teased.
We aren’t friends, fuck him, Wolf growled.
“Bromance,” Logan said through a grin.
Fuck you all, I’m gonna kill you in your sleep, Wolf muttered.
Feeling confident AF, Grey allowed Brent to ride with his pack the rest of the way to Summit. Grey watched Marissa through the rearview mirror to see how comfortable she was with being in a confined space with another male, but she seemed at ease and happy enough. She laughed and joked with him and took turns playing games with Lana. Okay. So, if he ever added males to his pack, they needed to be as submissive as Brent. Noted.
Nighttime shadows had descended on the towering mountains and the winding roads that weaved between them. New Mexico was stunning. Dean was driving the SUV in front of him, and he approached the gate and shook the hand of the wolf in charge of check-in. He talked cordially for a few minutes, and his occasional good-natured laugh drifted this way and that through Grey’s open window. Grey pulled in next and gave a short, stout man his name. The man scribbled onto his clipboard and gave him their cabin number.
“Hey Mr. Crawford?” he called as Grey began to drive away.
“Yeah?”
“I’m Able, from the Savannah Pack. We are a small pack, but I wanted to let you know on behalf of my alpha, we’re honored to have you and Silver Wolf here.”
Grey didn’t even know how to respond.
Tell him you’ll eat him and shit out his bones if he even looks at Morgan, Wolf advised.
Grey pretended to be normal and gave an absent smile and a two-fingered wave, and Morgan leaned over him and shouted out the window, “We’re happy to be here too! Nice to meet you, Able!” She was much better at being social than Grey was.
Cabins lined both sides of the road, and werewolves darted this way and that to meet with old friends and unload cars. It was hard to drive, it was so congested with people on the one-lane asphalt street that ran the center of the cabins. The going was slow, but when they finally pulled up to cabin 1010, he and Dean parked the vehicles around back so they wouldn’t block the front entryway. Should they need a quick getaway, it wouldn’t hurt to be able to escape through the back door and straight into an off-road vehicle either.
Escape plan, Wolf said with an inner nod. Good job, dumbass.
Grey wished he could punch his inner voice in his stupid wolf snout.
The cabin was large enough for them all to be comfortable for the next couple of nights. It was split into two sections. One side was bigger with two large bedrooms and twin beds that lined the walls. A bathroom, kitchen, living, and dining area separated the two spaces. A wooden picnic table had been pulled inside to make a dining table, and a small heater sat comfortably in the shadow of a stone fireplace. Separated by French doors, the other side had one large bedroom with bunk beds along the back wall and a bathroom.
Morgan set her suitcase decisively beside one of the bunk beds in the smaller section. Okay, the first lady had marked her territory. It would work better for their smaller pack and give Dean’s larger family more room on the other side. A meet-and-greet was starting in an hour, so they unpacked quickly and cleaned off the travel grit.
Grey leaned against one of the bunk beds as Morgan fussed over what she would wear. She never was one to worry much about her clothes. He understood though. So many eyes would be on her. He wasn’t stupid, the rumors about Silver Wolf would be circulating already, and she would be a focal point. She knew it, too.
“I can feel you watching me,” she said from her squatting position in front of her suitcase.
“Just enjoying the view. I like those jeans. You should wear them more.”
“Grey?” She hesitated. “Do I smell enough like you?”
He couldn’t help his wolfish grin. “No. You can never smell enough like me.”
That wicked smile Wolf loved so much spread across her full lips. “What if I’m quiet?”
His dick stiffened and pressed against his jeans. He followed her into the bathroom and shut the door behind them with his foot. He couldn’t keep his hands from her body. She was soft and firm in all of the right places. Pliable under his touch, she was as anxious for a connection as he was.
He pulled her shirt over her head, and her long, dark hair fanned across her shoulders. Undressing her slowly, he took his time to enjoy the sight of his mate. He’d only claimed her recently. Her body, still new to him, pulled at all of his sense
s. Her skin, soft as he trailed a finger along her collarbone, made him want to taste every inch of it. Her low groan perked his sensitive ears as he pulled the taut bud of her nipple into his mouth. The heady scent of her arousal just about buckled his knees. He hadn’t even gotten his jeans all the way down before he’d parted her knees with his and leaned her against the sink. Already, she was wet for him. God, he loved this. She was tight as he pressed into her, and a shaky breath left her lips as their bond hummed. Lowering his lips to hers, he tasted her as he eased back, then pushed into her deeper. His control was slipping. Wolf was howling his pleasure, filling up his mind. Harder. Faster. His hands shook as he gripped her hair tighter. He eased her head back so he could taste her neck. Her pulse raced just at the base of her throat. She clawed his back, and he thrust into her faster. Oh, she was right there, gasping, tipping over the edge. Fuck this feels so good.
He would kill anyone who wanted to take her from him. Morgan was his. His in every way. She was begging now. His name was a plea upon her lips. A chant to tell him she was coming, so he slammed into her again and again, harder. God, she felt so good around him.
“Grey,” she whispered in that sexy, helpless voice she only had when they were together like this.
It was too much. He kissed her again, his tongue thrusting against hers as she came. Hips bucking, he gritted his teeth as the pleasure became blinding. Three more hard strokes, and he froze and spilled into her in pulsing jets that matched her own throbbing orgasm.
Spent completely, he held her for a long time, languidly kissing her nose, cheeks, and lips. Revering her as she deserved because his mate was everything good in his world. A soft growl rattled his chest, but Morgan only smiled up at him with those stunning, lightened purple eyes and pressed her hand against his sternum as if she wanted to feel the vibration there. She was used to Wolf, and this was the way his inner animal revealed his devotion to her.
She looked into his eyes but didn’t show any fear at the monster she probably saw there. Instead, she touched his cheek. He closed his eyes as a feeling of adoration and tenderness stretched between them.