“Unless it’s owner is dead,” Pike said belligerently.
“And she’s not,” Sam retorted rising. “If that was a challenge, get off your ass and come over here and threaten my packmate to my face.”
“Let’s calm down,” the chairman said. “The land is in dispute. The girl and her papers, will be presented.”
“No, she won’t,” Sam replied, her tone implacable. “Cambrie is pregnant and is not setting one foot outside pack lands.”
“With the pack under our control we can go to her.”
Sam laughed. “Have you gone crazy, or just hard of hearing?” she asked softly. “I’m not stepping down.”
Mallory’s coyote tensed, picking up not only Sam’s rising aggression but that of Pike and to a lesser degree, the chairman’s.
“Then, we find you in contempt of this ruling and will declare action against you, effective immediately,” Pike said.
“Bring it on, wimp,” Sam said with a sneer. “You’ll send members of your packs to die, but none of you will be there because you’re too weak to fight your own battles.”
“I don’t support the action,” Claudia said quietly. “And I won’t provide any teams for this fight.”
“Neither will I,” a vice-chairman said. “I think this is a case of backdoor theft and I won’t have a hand in it.” He rose. “If you all want to move against Mystic Snow to support a land deal that’s on you.”
“Agreed.” Claudia got up and so did Mallory.
“I won’t support it either.”
“You three are outvoted,” Bradley said with a grin. “I’ll move in, take control of Gray tonight.”
“Come,” Sam said. “Your presence will be seen as an act of aggression.”
“I’ll call the guards,” Pike said.
“I withdraw,” Sam muttered.
“Then get out,” Pike ordered. “Mallory?” Pike glanced at her as Sam and the other male member exited the room.
“I don’t,” she said serenely. “But I refuse to allow anyone to cross my lands to get to Sam.”
“You’ll be held in contempt.”
“We’re both in contempt,” Claudia snapped. “No actions will be taken until we decide as a group.”
“Action has been decided,” the chairman argued. “We’ll attack by the end of the week.”
“Mallory, I suggest you keep that to yourself,” Pike said. “And open your lands to our efforts.”
“No.” She shrugged. “Do as you will, but I won’t move in an unjust act.”
“Leave,” Pike said. “We’ll deal with you later.”
“I’m sure you will,” Mallory said as Claudia took her seat.
Mallory stepped out and two guards were waiting for her. From behind them, Sam grabbed one and jerked him backward. The other was hit with a frosty wave of energy. He sank to his knees, freezing on the way down and breaking when he hit the floor.
“Interesting,” Sam drawled. “But a little showy.” Sam gave Cordelia a curious look.
“You weren’t supposed to be here,” Mallory muttered.
“Brynn sent me,” Cordelia said.
Mallory grunted. “Let’s get out of here.”
Sam discarded the dead man atop the melting ice.
“They did this to press your hand,” Mallory said.
“Or they doubt they’ll be exposed,” Sam replied. “I think our move inspired them to rush to action against me. Kill me, kill the problem.”
“A move they’ll wish they hadn’t made,” Mallory said, taking Cordelia’s hand. “I’m heading in.”
“I already had Mica close the club early on the pretext of being out of booze and legal issues,” Sam said. “So, we’ll both head to the den.”
“Is Adalyn safe?” Cordelia asked.
“Yes.” Sam frowned. “Why do you ask?”
“Before I came in, Brynn called. She said something about an emergency call from your den. Adalyn’s missing.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
“Damn it,” Sam exclaimed as she hurried for the parking lot.
“Sam!” Cordelia screamed, and a light flashed. The shot that rang out had her raising a wall of energy and ice.
Mallory growled behind her, and Cordelia turned to find two coyotes bounding toward them.
Mallory moved into a crouch readying for the attack, but the hard cry from the other side of the wall distracted her enough that she was knocked to the ground. Cordelia’s cat took over, and she snarled low, extending her hand.
“Ice.” She threw her hand out and a square of ice slammed into one of the coyotes, decapitating it. Cordelia moved quickly as four more came through the door. “Mallory, get rid of him and back up.”
“Sam!” Mallory cried as she threw the coyote off her.
The other four pounced, one of them landing on Mallory.
“Cordelia, help Sam.”
She couldn’t do that, and Mallory knew it. There was no way she’d leave her mate unprotected.
Cordelia’s claws extended as a third coyote attacked Mallory who was losing the battle. Mallory let out a cry and blood stained the ground.
Cordelia fired off a round of ice balls, hitting the coyote coming at her. She moved quickly sinking claws into the back of one of the animals on Mallory. The coyote yipped, and she retracted her claws as she curled her arm around its neck.
Cordelia drove her claws into its chest, retracted and drove them in again. The animal whined and went limp in her arms as it turned to ice.
“Get to Sam,” Mallory ordered.
Cordelia dropped the shield and hurled an ice ball at one of the animals still attacking Mallory before facing the shield. Sam was on the ground, but around her were already three downed bodies.
Cordelia exhaled sending out a blast of cold breath that hit one of the wolves in the back. Mallory raced past her, jerking a wolf back by its scruff.
Moving in quickly, Cordelia stopped. The cat raising its head. She sniffed. The air held blood, death and alcohol. Glass broke to her right and fire flared, spreading with a whoosh toward Mallory and Sam.
Her eyes widened, and her cat had her moving with purpose. Ice raced along the ground and rose up to smash into the fire. Cordelia moved, leaving the chill to suffocate the flames. The lot was suddenly dark, but her eyes lit the way and her cat’s senses picked up the stench of wolf easily.
She sent out a sheet of ice that rolled behind her, hitting the fire even as it ranged out before her. The ice rose up and broke into several pointed spears. Cries and growls followed the impact.
Behind her, the loud snarl jerked her around. Mallory and Bradley were trading blows while Sam was taking care of Pike. She was clearly injured, but she wasn’t pulling her punches as she beat the woman to a bloody mass.
Sam broke her neck and hurled her toward the pile of injured and dead before going to kick Bradley’s leg from beneath him. Mallory dropped her knee in his stomach and drove her clawed hand into his chest.
Her attack was messy and as crude as his had been to Jenner’s sister, but Cordelia could only watch in silent approval as she finished him off.
“Let’s get out of here,” Cordelia said when Mallory got to her feet. She went to Sam though as the other woman stumbled.
Sam allowed them to help her to the car. Then, Cordelia drove them out to the den. They were all silent for a time, the atmosphere in the car tense.
“What happened?” Sam demanded.
“I don’t know,” Mallory muttered.
“I got a call a few hours ago warning me about the attack,” Cordelia said. “She said time had changed. They’d be attacking you two at the meeting and while that was going on, others would be at the den.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Sam snarled from next to her.
“I did,” she snapped. “I went out to the den. I asked if I could leave early, remember?”
“I don’t see how that constitutes telling me,” Sam gritted out. “Mallory, I’m going to kill he
r after I find Adalyn.”
“I did my part,” Cordelia said. “I warned Mica, Brynn and Syd. They told me to act like nothing was wrong. They’d handle the rest. Brynn told me to come back to town and come to the meeting. I was all the back-up you guys were getting because they’d need all hands in the dens.”
“You should have told me,” Mallory said. “Did Brynn say anything more about the attack?”
“No. She just said to get you back as soon as I could. Kamari and Cambrie would do what they could.”
“Damn it,” Sam snarled.
“Double,” Mallory muttered. “Did you have a chance to do any of what we talked about?”
“I did. Kamari and Cambrie helped, but I don’t know how effective the line will be,” Cordelia said. “I’ve never done this with brute psychic strength before, but Cambrie has major juice pregnant, and Adalyn’s more focused than I thought she’d be.”
“What did you do?” Sam demanded.
“We’ll see if I did anything good when we get there,” Cordelia said softly.
Cordelia wasn’t sure the shields would hold long against a prolonged attack of wild animal energy. She’d never done a working of that magnitude before.
“I created an energetic shield. I do expect some gaps. The question is how many.”
When they reached the den, it was clear a confrontation was going on outside of Sam’s place. They dropped her off and headed to Snow Fur. The fight there was winding down from the looks of the dim lights outside.
A soldier allowed them past the gates, though, where men and women were lined up and some fighting was taking place a short distance away.
“Camden,” Mallory called. “Camden.”
“Hey.” She sighed. Her face was smudged with blood and her clothes were torn. “We’ve almost got it contained. Some of the traitors are dead. Others are contained. We got them coming across from Sam’s side. Someone let them in.”
“Adalyn?”
“The guards Syd assigned her were killed, and she was wounded.”
“How bad?” Mallory demanded.
“She’s okay,” Camden told her quickly. “She will be anyway.”
“I’ll call Sam,” Mallory said. “Cordelia, do whatever Camden needs.”
Cordelia looked a Camden. “Where do you need me?”
“Boundaries are holding, but I need you on a perimeter. Some coyotes and wolves were still prowling outside. Take the south end.”
Cordelia made it to the southern point to find the fight over. The magick she’d used had held. The four of them had worked well together, she mused, as the sentries cleared away dead bodies.
A fire flared to life on a ship and she knew Kamari must be out there on Mystic Snow’s side. Cordelia helped clear bodies on Snow Fur’s side and used magick to light the boats on fire when they were done.
It only took a few hours, but she was tired when it was over.
“Hey.” Kamari waved to her, getting her attention.
Cordelia walked over to the border. There was a ledge that she’d have to cross. She used magick to get her there.
“What’s up?”
“Do you have enough gas left to shore up the mines for the night?”
“If you have enough to share.”
“Take what you need,” Kamari told her. “I’m energetically connected to Sam. She’ll provide some extra.”
Cordelia nodded and closed her eyes.
“I’ve got your back,” Kamari said softly.
Cordelia poured more energy into the mines, re-energizing them. Kamari caught her when she stumbled.
After twenty minutes, Cordelia was done and even more tired than when she’d started out, but she still had energy left over since she hadn’t had to use all her own.
“They’ll hold the night,” Cordelia said. “With sentries out here, any weak pockets can be easily defended.”
“Let’s get you inside,” Kamari said.
“I can get back on my own,” Cordelia said. Part of it was a matter of animal pride. The rest was truth.
Cordelia made it back to the other side using an ice slide. She rested on the ground for a few minutes then headed up to the infirmary to check if Adalyn really was okay.
“She’s resting,” Mallory told her. “And Sam is with her.” Mallory took her hand. “Come on. You need to rest.”
Mallory pulled her close and led her to an empty room. There, Mallory removed Cordelia’s boots and her own before climbing into bed.
“Mica said you four did good,” Mallory said after curling around Cordelia.
“It worked,” she said and then faced Mallory. She stroked Mallory’s cheek. “Hold me.” Cordelia stared into Mallory’s blue-gray eyes allowing the warmth to wrap around her.
“Anytime,” Mallory said tightening her arms. “Cordi, you know what?”
“Tell me,” she whispered.
“I’m in love with you.”
Cordelia smiled, her heart expanding and filling her entire being with light. “Mallory.”
“It’s true.” Mallory kissed her softly, and Cordelia’s skin heated where their lips connected.
Cordelia felt as if her entire soul glowed and that love she felt for Mallory extended beyond her to engulf Mallory.
“Mal, I’m in love with you, too,” Cordelia told her breathlessly. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” There. She’d said the words despite the fear churning inside her.
Mallory laughed. “Crazy thing about that is that I want to do the same with you,” she said.
Cordelia grinned and rested her head against Mallory’s shoulder as she ran her hand up her side beneath her shirt. “I guess you should take me home tomorrow then.”
Mallory chuckled. “I had planned to.”
Cordelia drew in Mallory’s scent finding it comforting and seductive, but she let her eyes drift closed, too tired to do anything else.
****
Mallory held her until she was sound asleep. Then she kissed Cordelia’s forehead and climbed from the bed. She made her way to Adalyn’s room and Sam cut her entrance off.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m leaving. I should be back in a few days,” Mallory told her. “Can you handle things?”
“I’ve got you,” Sam answered quietly. “Do what you have to do.”
“Don’t kill my mate while I’m gone.”
Sam scoffed. “She’ll be protected,” Sam assured her.
Mallory gave her a quick hug and made a rapid exit.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Cordelia woke the next morning to a cold bed and stretched languidly with the anticipation of seeing Mallory. Mallory’s scent lingered, and she smiled and climbed out.
She knew Mallory probably had a lot of work to do this morning, but Cordelia was disappointed they hadn’t woken up together. Not dwelling on that, Cordelia took a long shower in the adjoining bathroom and dressed in jeans and a sweater she found on the chair near the bed.
“Morning,” Camden said when she exited the room. “Mallory’s going to be busy all day, but she said she’d see you later.”
“Thanks.”
“She wants you to see Brynn in an hour,” Camden said. “Just go to the office section. She has an office across from Mallory’s.”
She nodded. Cordelia checked on Adalyn before going to the den’s large kitchen which was located in the dining lounge. Just off of it, was a large dining room where she ate a light breakfast among a few coyotes already enjoying a bite.
“Cordelia.” Brynn sat down across from her at the round table. “How do you feel this morning?”
“Fine.”
“Good. You’ll be taking training each day from ten to eleven and then you’ll hook up with Camden who’ll be your guard.”
“Why do I need a guard?” she demanded with a frown.
“After that, you’ll make the rounds in the den getting to know the omega females. They have various jobs that ensure the pack runs smoothly.”
“I thought Mallory did that.”
“She can’t do it alone,” Brynn told her. “The omegas are important because they’re like the housewives—the nurturing ones who let Mallory know of problems that we dominants aren’t aware of.”
“Like what?”
“They’ll let you know,” she said. “I know you’re working for Sam, but you’ll be working from here until Monday. Then, you’ll have your weekly meetings here in the den with omegas.”
“Why?” Cordelia frowned. She wasn’t sure integrating her so firmly into the pack right now was a good idea.
“Your training will be moved to seven next week since Sam wants you in the office by nine. Training is flexible since you can train at the office with Camden or whoever Sam has on guard.”
“What if I say no to training?” she demanded.
“You can.” Brynn shrugged. “You can say no to any of this, but I advise you as Mallory’s not to. She has a lot on her plate with the club and running this pack. She doesn’t need a mate who’s a bone of contention.”
“Did Mallory tell you we were mates?” Cordelia asked. That would mean Mallory had felt what she’d felt last night, and she’d accepted.
“Yes, and as alpha bitch, you have your own job to do and that’s to take some of the burden off Mallory where you can by meeting with the omegas and dealing with some of their problems.”
“And I need to be trained so Mallory won’t fear I’ll be hurt every time I step out the door.”
“Actually, the reason is that a smart alpha mate is an asset rather than a liability.”
Cordelia started to glare at her but stopped. She took a sip of her tea as she let the significance more than the words sink in. She nodded slowly.
“I see what you’re saying,” Cordelia said. “And I imagine Mallory didn’t say any of that to you.”
“Of course not,” Brynn replied. “She’d be happy just having a mate, but this pack’s structure is weakening a little. You need not be a cause for further problems, though you will to an extent.”
“I understand,” she said, not at all offended. “I won’t tell Mallory we had this conversation because I’m sure she wouldn’t appreciate it.”
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