by May Sage
Mate.
Chapter 10
The Wolf
No, he wasn’t her mate, dammit. It was just wishful thinking because they'd talked of it the previous day, and because he looked like that.
She recalled seeing him in the clearing, walking next to his father a year ago; she'd thought to herself that it was too bad that he was part of a pack of dicks, because he was hot. So was his brother, to be honest. A strong jaw, light blond hair, and those eyes; light brown, with long lashes that were wasted on a guy. She would have killed for perfect lashes like that; no need for mascara.
Hunter Force was standing in front of the door, a little boy behind him. Ian and Rye were talking to him, but he ignored both, his eyes cutting right through to her as she walked down the staircase.
"Christine Taylor, right?"
Caught by surprise, she did the dumbest thing she could think of and just swallowed the toothpaste.
Actually, that wasn't nearly as gross as she'd imagined. "Hey, stalker."
His eyes went from her eyes to her naked feet, and went back up to her mouth, taking everything in. Then he smiled. "Fan of elephants?"
Because, obviously, she had to be wearing her pink elephant cotton set. The universe wouldn't have had it any other way.
"You aren't?" she countered, lifting a judgmental brow.
He smiled slowly.
That was one sexy smile.
"My wolf would disagree. When I was in Africa few years back, my pal and I came across a parade. They had youths and that makes them very protective. I didn't want to have to defend myself against them, so I had to run out of there at full speed. Only, a few young males ran after me."
The kids, curious as they were, had started to gather in front of the living room, listening in.
"What happened to your pal?" Hsu asked.
Redirecting his gaze from Christine to the little girl, Hunter crouched to be at her level.
"I told him to stay put. See, wild animals can tell we're here because we're predators; we spook them a lot. But my pal was human and he could hide. There were some tall plants near the water point where the parade had gathered; he stayed put, and silent, until they'd moved on. Then, he rushed to the car because it's not smart to stay near water."
"Why?" a little voice piped in.
Christine saw the big bad wolf freeze, and his eyes widened, before softening, as Lola came out of the living room, and advanced toward him without hesitating.
The other kids had stayed at a distance instinctively, although no doubt whoever filled them in this morning had told them he wasn't dangerous. But Lola went right to him, standing very close.
Christine felt like she'd intruded on a private moment but she couldn't make herself move.
"Because, little one," said the wolf, at long last, "water is rare in Africa and all kinds of animals go to it. Including some who might have seen him as a nice dinner."
She giggled, unfazed. Shifter kids were generally taught the laws of nature right along with sweet fairy tales.
"What were you guys doing there, then?" Daniel wanted to know.
"Studying a rift. My friend and I were researchers. But, to tell you the truth, we should have been a lot smarter about it all. Our professor told us off. You know, after laughing at us, because Tim was scared and covered in mud, and I looked like I'd run seven marathons. Which I had."
The wolf was good with kids. She didn't know why it surprised her so much, after everything she'd heard about him.
"Did you see lions in Africa?" Jasper asked, unsurprisingly; he was a lion shifter, and shifters always found the actual animals they changed into fascinating.
"One, yes. I saw more tigers in India."
The kids were sold, just like that. Even Christine had to admit that the guy had her attention. She rushed back upstairs, finished with her teeth, and got dressed at the speed of light, before returning downstairs. He was now seated in the living room, telling them about his travels.
Christine had seen a lot of the US, because their pride had moved a bunch of times in the last few years - thanks to his pack - but she'd never gone abroad, so she found it fascinating. The adults in the pride who weren't on patrol duty also converged on the group and she could tell it was because they wanted to hear what he had to say. It wasn’t because they didn’t trust him, and felt compel to keep an eye on him. He’d already won a lot of them over.
"Are you going to travel again, now you've left the Vergas?" Rye asked him.
The wolf thought it out. "I'm certainly going abroad, but I can't go back to my studies, I don't think." He was frowning.
"Why?" Christine asked.
He chuckled. That was a nice sound. She approved. So did her cat, whose attention was still on him.
"Let's just say, they aren't too happy with me back home. They'll be trying to get to me. If my whereabouts are easy to pinpoint, they'll get me. And they wouldn't hesitate to hurt people around me, too."
Something inside Christine violently protested against that, a protective instinct that only flared up when someone entered her space, threatened her pride.
She turned to Rye, staring at him expectantly. The Alpha held her gaze, remaining silent.
His mate was another story. "You're welcome to remain around here for a while," said Ace. "There are some cabins available around the lake. If your pack tries to come here, we'll be ready for them."
The wolf was completely taken aback.
"Can we stay?" asked the boy at his side. "Please."
Christine said, "I homeschool the kids; well, I'm off for a week, so Daunte and Ian are doing it right now, but I normally homeschool the kids. I bet your boy is in the same grade as Hsu and Victoria. I don't mind adding him to the class if you wanted to stick around while you work out the next step."
Hunter didn’t talk at first. Christine found herself looking right into his eyes, trying to read his thoughts. Maybe he was trying to work out a polite way to refuse their offer. He was a wolf; maybe the idea of staying with them was repulsive to him. Maybe he thought they stank just as much as Cutie.
Now that she thought of it, she realized that he actually smelled nice. Woodsy. Her animal liked it. A lot.
The wolf looked back at her. The way his eyes focused, unfaltering, was a little unnerving, to tell the truth. She looked away first.
Then Hunter turned to Rye, prompting him to give his opinion. “Wayland?”
“Look at that. Someone cares what I think,” said the Alpha, half amused. He shrugged. His eyes said, ‘mess up, we’ll shred you,’ but he replied, “You can stick around.”
The wolf seemed genuinely surprised. Christine found herself holding her breath until he finally said, “Wow, well, thanks. I’d sure appreciate a breather for a little while.”
He was staying.
She breathed again.
“Let me know how I can make myself useful. I can pay some rent, too. And upkeep for Mike, plus our food.”
Rye cut him off. “That isn’t how it works around here, buddy. You’re not pride, you don’t pay in. Vivicia and Rain don’t pay, either.”
“Maybe they should,” Ian muttered. “They’re always around anyway.”
Rye shut him up with a glare.
“Anyway, money isn’t an issue guests worry about. But if you want to help, I’m not going to stop you. Vi and Rain want to revamp the guest lodges in the woods. You can help them out. Breakfasts and dinners are when you smell them or when someone yells to say it’s ready. We normally don’t do lunch together. You can come in any time, but upstairs is pride territory. Mike can go up with the kids; you’re staying downstairs.” Then, he had to say it, “Betray us and there won’t be enough pieces of you left to identify.”
“We might eat the pieces, anyway,” Christine added cheerfully.
“Dibs on the heart,” said Ace.
“You’re no fun,” Jas pouted. “I like me a fresh heart.”
The wolf seemed to wonder if they were serious.
They weren’t. Mostly. Eating people was gross, but they had body bags at the ready for just such an opportunity.
Chapter 11
The Wyverns
Hunter’s wolf was going crazy in there. He wanted out - needed out. The animal had been happy as part of the Vergas Pack once, a long time ago, when Gwen had run alongside him, but it had been years since he’d felt anything like it.
Since he’d left for school, now about twelve years ago, Hunter had, for all intents and purposes, become a lone wolf. An animal that trusted no one and found no comfort in the company of those around him. Instead, he’d observed them from a distance, taking them for what they were: potential enemies.
The animal still had protective instincts towards some Vergas, mostly kids like Anna or Mike, but it had felt no kinship.
Being in the middle of a community like the Wyvern satisfied a deep-rooted, long-ignored need, a longing he hadn’t realized he still had. Something that made him feel young and carefree.
The Wyverns were all familiar with each other and affectionate. They touched each other casually, brushing shoulders, tapping arms. Hunter wondered if they even realized they did it, or if it was just an instinctual reaction to satisfy their animals’ needs.
The mated pairs mostly kept their hands on each other, but they still touched the children at the first occasion, wordlessly conveying their love and protection.
It wasn’t just that; they also joked around, teasing each other, laughing at the slightest provocation. If Hunter had ever seen a happier group of people, he couldn’t recall it.
The Beta, a large, bulky, tanned guy, spat out his coffee, and glared at his Alpha female.
“That’s fucking unfair. You don’t mess with people’s coffee, Ace.”
“You forget, I still owe you,” the woman replied, winking.
“For heaven’s sake, it’s been a year! And my messing with your privacy has brought you a mate and a cub, in case you forgot.”
She shrugged. “Doesn’t change the fact that you went back on your promise, little brother. That gives me leave to fuck with you until the end of time.”
Daunte glared. “You know, some day, I might just fight back. How would you like salt in your coffee, hm?”
Ace looked at the woman grinning on Daunte’s lap. “I think you’d better watch your mate, Clari. He might just be suicidal.”
Hunter soaked in the atmosphere, loving every second of it. Lola had grown up with love and fun all around her.
Well, when she hadn’t been moving from state to state to avoid his pack, in any case. But the stress of the two-year-long chase hadn’t tainted the Wyvern, from what he could see.
It was a little piece of heaven right here in California. It didn’t help that the shifters around him were cats. The wolf wanted to play. Badly. Telling him that they may not appreciate being chased wasn’t going to work. Hunter didn’t want to mess up his unexpected invitation to stay for a while, so it meant the beast had to stay away.
To keep him in check, he was going to have to shift, and soon.
Lola played on the floor with the other kids. Other than the toddler who wasn’t walking yet, she was by far the youngest. Clive looked like he might be five years old; Will, Daniel, Jasper, Hsu, and Victoria, somewhere around ten, and Niamh was a sassy teenager who looked like she was borrowing makeup from Jas, their enforcer. The other Wyvern females wore little to no makeup, but Jas, with her short pixie-cut hair, wore dark red lipstick and rocked her black eyeliner. Niamh was clearly emulating her.
Although they were all so different in age, the kids all played together. Their quarrels ended with hissing, slapping, growling, and punches, because, well, they were shifters. But as soon as one of them tapped out, they went back to hugging and laughing. Mike had joined right in as though it was the most natural thing in the world.
Hunter watched them for hours, well after the bulk of the pack had returned to their affairs, leaving the kids to Ian and Daunte. The Beta and the enforcer took them out in the gardens and started a training regime not so different from what they did back home. Little Lola joined in, adorable as she sparred with Clive.
Lola was fast; so fast she was a fair match for the six-year-old, although she was just a little thing.
They were having a blast, laughing hard. Regular humans never got it when they heard that shifters trained their kids from the moment they could walk. It wasn't just a necessity because there were real dangers in their world; it was something shifters genuinely needed.
They had a lethal animal inside them, growing along with their human shell. An animal that needed exercise. Without it, they could grow violent, aggressive. And if their human counterpart ended up weaker than the animal when it finally came out of their skin, they were in a lot of fucking shit.
Going feral was the worst thing that could happen to their kind. Those unable to take over from the beast often had to be locked up, and eventually put down, because they were a danger to all.
So, training was good, and the kids loved it.
"Do they also have homework?" Hunter asked Ian.
"Yep, but honestly I have zero patience, and Daunte sucks at math, so, until Christine is back, they're training all day."
"That way, they'll collapse early," Daunte added, bouncing a baby in his arm.
Little Zack, the Turner. A newborn worth his weight in trouble because he had the ability to turn a regular human with a bite.
Hunter could have remained outside with the guys forever, but the dark-skinned, beautiful witch named Rain and his fellow wolf, Vivicia, came out with Christine in tow. The three females wore overalls and were carrying various tools.
Recalling he'd offered his help, he said, "Heading out to the cabins now? I meant it when I said I'd give a hand."
"You any good with power tools?"
"No," he replied honestly. "Never held one in my life."
"Manual saw it is. Come on with us, we'll make you work up a sweat, sweetie," said Rain with a wink.
He shook his head and smiled, following them as they walked around the house to get to the border of the woods.
They reached the closest cabin fast and Hunter whistled; it was one of those big places built with thick, heavy logs.
"Look at this."
"Ace owns the whole lot, houses included," Vivicia told him.
"She'd make a pretty penny in seasonal rentals," he said, all the while expecting a "hell no, she wouldn't do that," because shifters liked their privacy.
"I keep telling her she should rent it out to shifter families; you know, only allies and stuff," Rain said. "But yeah, she isn't too keen on that idea. Still, Vi and I get to pick our place so we don't have to stay in Ace's old house, or in the pride house, when we hang out around here. All the houses have been neglected, so there's work to do."
He could tell: the cabin was gorgeous but his nose picked up damp, mold, and rust. When they got in, it didn't actually look nearly as bad as it smelled, but it definitely wasn't going to be habitable anytime soon.
"Man, why did I volunteer for this on my week off?" Christine pouted.
"Because you love us," Rain replied. "We have to strip the walls and the carpet, and then it's all cosmetic."
"Insulation," he said, shaking his head. "You need to replace the insulation."
Rain sighed. "Really? That's not gonna be easy."
"It got drenched and it's rotting in there. Pretty sure you also have rats eating at the wiring."
"Fuck."
"You sure?" Vi asked, frowning. "I don't smell any of that. I mean it's a little pungent, but I figured it was the carpet."
He moved across the room, going to the closest wall, and punched it hard. His fist got through the wood beam. Grabbing a disgusting fistful of black and blue decaying insulation foam, he held it up. Some questionable liquid was dripping down his arm.
The girls grimaced as he grinned.
"Right. Insulation just moved up to number one on the
to-do list."
Chapter 12
The Cabin
Everyone was watching her closely and it was annoying as fuck, but she knew they meant well.
Every shifter knew that death was a very real possibility any day. Would it be because a nearby pack, pride, or horde felt like pushing through to their territory because of a hex, or a terrorist human with a bomb? They'd all seen stuff like that happen to people they knew, friends, even family.
Then there were the occasional challenges gone wrong. Felines from the same pride could challenge each other, but it was never meant to be to the death. The problem was, it happened, more often than it should. Dominant shifters couldn't easily stop once they got going.
Growing up in the biggest and most powerful pride of shifters, the royal pride, hadn't sheltered them from such things. They'd seen death on a monthly basis.
The Wyvern Pride had been lucky, all things considered. They'd only lost one member in years, mostly thanks to Hsu's visions.
The knowledge that something might have gone wrong, and that she could have lost a friend, had been a heavy burden for years, and now, she had. Tracey was gone.
The others felt the loss, she knew, but not like her. She was the weakest among them that way. The one who didn't have blood and war in her soul. Others could get angry, want revenge, kick something and feel better after some time. Not her, the submissive. She didn't want revenge, she just wanted Tracey back.
That was why she'd asked for time off from the kids, to get her head right. That was why Rye had granted it, and that was why Vi and Rain were acting like she might explode at any moment.
It didn't explain why Hunter's eyes trailed her, though.
"Stripping walls sucks balls," she said out loud, in case people didn't know it.
"Big, hairy, smelly balls," Vi emphasized.
"I can't say I have much experience with big, hairy, smelly balls," Hunter said, all the while ripping a half-log off the wall, "but given a choice between this and ball-sucking, I'd pick the balls."