by Zoe Chant
“The crew are frightened off,” Stella said firmly. “Thank you so much for your help with that.” Wilson and Mavis had come to help drive off the wolf pack, back when she’d first gotten away from Todd and moved back in with Lynn.
He waved a hand. “My pleasure. Why didn’t you call on me again?” He glanced back and forth from her to the men. “I would have been glad to help you. Mavis as well, I’m sure.”
Mavis was a snow leopard shifter like her mate and daughter. Stella stammered, “I didn’t—want to impose on you both again.”
Last time, it had been an emergency. There’d been a whole wolf pack to deal with, and they’d had to get help right away—no time for calling in out-of-state security specialists. Stella hadn’t even considered bothering Wilson and Mavis over something like Todd refusing to leave her alone.
Wilson’s brows drew together. “No imposition. I don’t like to hear that people are being intimidated or threatened. I’d much prefer to be allowed to be part of the solution. In the future...”
“Understood, sir,” Nate said quickly. “We’ll let you know if you can help us any further.”
“See that you do,” Wilson said firmly.
He left with the same purposeful step he used to go everywhere, and they turned to go inside. Carlos insisted on going first, which made Stella feel like some kind of famous celebrity.
And then Stella was on her way to sit down and talk about becoming an artist.
Mavis smiled when she knocked, inviting her in with a wave. Stella closed the door behind her, motioning Nate and Carlos back to sit in the hall—she wanted this to be private, especially if it turned out that the whole idea was a non-starter.
“Stella,” Mavis said, getting up to shake her hand. “It’s lovely to see you again. I trust the wolves of the area have learned their lesson?”
Stella winced. “Well...all but one of them.”
So then she had to explain the whole situation again—and, startlingly, she got the same reaction.
“I wish you’d called us!” Mavis looked angry. “I can’t believe that worthless young man is still following you around. Though, well, I suppose if you’d only called on us, you’d never have found your own mate, so it’s all working out for the best, but if you have any more trouble in the future, please let us know.”
“I will,” Stella promised, feeling a bit dazed. It was strange how many more connections she had than she’d realized. She’d been feeling alone, before Nate arrived, always waiting for Todd to catch her by herself or just with Eva. But really...she was anything but alone.
“Good. Now.” Mavis sat back down behind her desk, attentive and businesslike. “Let’s talk business. What brings you in?”
“I want to be an artist.”
Hearing the words out of her own mouth was a shock. She hadn’t said those words since...maybe not since she was a teenager. Certainly not since well before Eva was born.
Because back then, she had wanted to be an artist. She’d thought about painting the Montana landscape, selling her work, becoming well-known enough to make her living traveling the world and painting the beautiful things she saw in foreign countries.
Maybe now she was getting a second chance. It seemed dangerous to hope so much, but...maybe it was really going to happen.
Mavis was smiling. “Professional art, hm? I think we can start you off in that direction. Let’s talk audience.”
And just like that...it was starting.
For the first time in a long time, Stella could feel something lock into place inside her.
Purpose.
When was the last time she’d had a real goal to work for? It had been so long. She’d been drifting from place to place, from person to person, idea to idea, job to job.
Well, now she had a place, and a person. And here was her idea. Hers.
And with the help of these connections she hadn’t realized she had...she was going to work for it.
***
Nate
When Stella came out of the office, she was smiling. Nate relaxed internally at the sight.
Unlike Stella, he’d been sure that the meeting would go well. No one could see Stella’s raw talent and not think she could make something of it. But he’d still wondered how Stella would feel about whatever Mavis said—whether she’d be afraid, intimidated, worried.
Instead, she looked...triumphant.
Nate tugged her close and dropped a kiss on her lips. “Hey. Did it go well?”
She nodded, grinning. “Yes. I think—no. I know. I’m going to do this. I’m going to be an artist.”
“You are an artist,” Mavis said from behind her. “You’re going to be a professional artist.” She was smiling as well. “I was about to go meet Wilson at Oliver’s for lunch,” she said. “Would you all like to join us?”
So they went together to Oliver’s. Nate was getting more and more used to the comfortable diner, the surprisingly good food, the small-town ambiance. There weren’t any places like this in Chicago, and he was realizing how much he liked it.
Stella was newly excited about career possibilities, and she expounded on all the ideas Mavis had had for her through the meal. Mavis chimed in occasionally, smiling warmly, but Stella did most of the talking. Nate was captivated. He’d only seen little flashes of this energetic, happy, youthful Stella so far, and every time, he felt the same—he wanted her to be this joyful all the time.
He was smiling like an idiot, he knew, but that was fine. Occasionally he transferred a bit of that smile to Mavis, to make sure she understood how grateful he was to her for bringing this out in his mate. Her knowing return smile suggested that she did.
Carlos, seated nearest the door, kept a watchful eye on the place throughout the meal. Nate was grateful for his presence—he couldn’t imagine maintaining sufficient awareness of potential threats right now, not with the laughing vision that was Stella taking up every ounce of his attention.
Eventually, they collected themselves—Nate tried to steal the check, but Colonel Hanes got there first—and moved toward the exit. Stella caught Nate’s hand as they walked, and he twined their fingers together. He couldn’t wait to get her alone back home and—
“Wait.”
Carlos’ voice stopped them in the doorway. Carlos glanced at Nate, then nodded toward a figure waiting by a beat-up old truck in the parking lot. “That him?”
“That’s him,” Nate said grimly.
The weaselly little bastard took a step back when he saw the size of the group Stella was with. But then he seemed to gather himself, coming forward. “Stella!” he called.
Carlos stepped up to put himself between them. Nate was grateful once again, because it meant that he didn’t have to choose between focusing on Todd and focusing on his mate. He put his arm around Stella and tugged her close, relishing the way she pressed up against his side. Stella wasn’t going to have to face this guy alone ever again.
“She’s not interested in talking to you, buddy,” Carlos was saying.
“Who the hell are you?” Todd asked.
“A concerned third party,” Carlos shot back.
Todd’s eyes flicked from Carlos, to Nate, to Colonel Hanes, who was a silently intimidating presence behind them. “Where did all these goddamn men come from, Stella?” he demanded. “I didn’t realize you were such a slu—”
“That’s enough.”
The steely voice cut through Todd’s words and Nate’s growing, red-tinged rage alike. For a second, he wasn’t even sure where it had come from. Then Mavis stepped forward.
“I don’t know what sort of insecurity is driving you,” she said. Her voice was quiet, but it seemed to penetrate the silence more thoroughly than if she’d shouted. “I don’t know why you’re harassing an unwilling woman like this. I don’t know whether your feelings are real and you just can’t deal with them like a man, or whether you’re simply taking some kind of malicious revenge.”
Her voice hardened. “And I don�
��t care. Stella won’t stand for this, and neither will I. Take your nasty, unwanted presence away. Or there will be consequences.”
Nate was more than prepared to be those consequences, and from the way Todd’s eyes flicked nervously to him, the man knew it. Then he looked over at Carlos, and back at the Colonel, and his shoulders hunched.
“Stella...” he tried once more. Nate’s arm tightened around Stella’s shoulders.
Mavis took another step forward, until she was shoulder-to-shoulder with Carlos. “Get out.”
Todd stumbled back involuntarily. His face twisted into an ugly expression, but at last he turned and fled back to his truck.
“That,” Colonel Hanes said after a moment, “is my mate, gentlemen.” He sounded smug.
“Oh, be quiet with your nonsense,” Mavis said, and turned to Stella. “Are you all right?”
Stella nodded, standing straight. Her side wasn’t pressed to Nate’s any longer, but she reached for his hand, and he took it. “Thank you,” she said, sounding a little dazed. “I didn’t realize—I appreciate that. Your words. Thank you.”
“Believe me when I tell you that it was my pleasure,” Mavis said firmly. “Now, how about Nate takes you home?”
“We can follow you, if you’d like,” the Colonel rumbled from behind her.
“We have it covered,” Carlos said. “But thank you, sir.”
“Well, do call on us if you need anything at all,” said Mavis. “And whether you need something or not, let’s all have dinner soon. I’m realizing that we haven’t been keeping up with you as well as we should, have we, Wilson?”
“Not if one of my men can be in town to deal with a problem like this, and I didn’t even know about it,” the Colonel said wryly. “Come over Friday night, all of you, and bring Ken and Lynn, too.”
“We will, thank you,” said Stella. Her eyes were bright, and she came forward to hug Mavis.
Mavis embraced her back. “We’ll talk more about your business then, too,” she said.
Stella smiled all of a sudden. “I almost forgot about that just now,” she confessed. “Thank you for everything.”
“And Sanders,” the Colonel put in.
Nate straightened automatically. “Yes, sir?”
“Deal with that man.”
He fought the urge to salute, and just nodded instead. “Yes, sir.”
***
Stella
Stella tried to thank Carlos also, in the car on the way back to the house. Carlos waved it off just like Mavis and Wilson had, and Stella was left thinking.
It was crazy how...isolating this whole thing with Todd had been. Stella had been embarrassed at first, and then ashamed—first that she couldn’t just make him go away, and then that she’d dated someone like this in the first place. Didn’t it demonstrate that there was something wrong with her? That she could have found Todd attractive, even sweet, back when they first met?
Stella hadn’t wanted to admit how bad it was getting. If Lynn hadn’t been paying attention, if Eva hadn’t started getting concerned...how long could it have gone on, how bad could it have gotten, before she asked for help?
She didn’t know.
But now this—this was almost the complete opposite. Not just Nate by her side, not even just Carlos, but also Mavis and Wilson, acting like Stella had nothing to be ashamed of. Like Stella was worth protecting. More than that. Like they wanted to protect her, and even have her around for other reasons. Even if Todd might show up. That dinner invitation...
Stella blinked back tears. She’d always thought of herself as someone who liked people, who was happy to have them around. But somehow, in the last couple of months—maybe even before that, maybe since she’d gotten together with Todd, and he’d wanted to have her all to himself, all the time—she’d withdrawn. Made herself smaller.
Well, no more. She had a gorgeous, amazing mate. She had a new career to think about. And she had a group of friends. A little quasi-pack. And she was going to make the most of all of it.
“Are you okay?” Nate asked her quietly.
She found a smile for him, and it felt real. “I’m just fine.”
***
Nate
Back at the house, Stella went to go spend some time with Eva, so Nate sat down with Carlos in the front room, where he’d been bedding down—and where Carlos would be setting himself up.
“He’s going to escalate,” he said quietly.
Carlos nodded. “Did you see his face? He’s furious. But that kind of guy isn’t man enough to get furious when someone might be a match for him. He’ll do something sneaky.”
“Tonight, you think?”
“Probably. Since Stella’s off tonight, we’ll all stay in, stay close, see what he does. If nothing happens, maybe start thinking about drawing him out, finding some way to catch him doing something criminal where there’re witnesses. Law enforcement, even. This place have any to speak of?”
“Sheriff has a good reputation,” Nate said. “According to the locals, at least, she’s likely to be sympathetic. Only problem has been that the asshole hasn’t done anything even slightly illegal yet.”
Carlos nodded grimly. “We’ll just have to make sure he does.”
Nate grinned. “Glad you’re here.”
Carlos’ expression held for a second, and then he broke and grinned back. “Same.”
“I’ve been too close to this,” Nate said thoughtfully. “I knew it’d just keep drawing out until there was some clear violation of the law, something that could take him away. I knew he wasn’t just going to give up. But I just...I want to protect Stella. I don’t want him to scare her, or do anything violent or dangerous. I haven’t been thinking long-term.”
Carlos shrugged. “What you’ve got me for.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“You said you’d explain why you were so all-fired-up to get away,” Nate remembered.
“Yeah.” Carlos ran a hand through his hair. “I’m getting fed up with the job. All that fast-paced, high-powered crap...I don’t need it anymore. I won the game already. I have more money than I’ll ever use, you know? And once I realized that...the whole thing started to seem just...like a pointless game. Played by a bunch of rich assholes.”
“Don’t talk yourself down like that.”
Carlos didn’t laugh. “You’re kidding, but you’re right. I’m late to the game, but I figured it out: I’m one of the rich assholes. That’s what I’ve become. So I’m getting out.”
Nate’s eyebrows rise. “You’re—”
“Retiring,” Carlos said firmly. “Got a few more loose ends to tie up, and then I’m out of there. No idea where I’ll go.”
Nate processed that for a second. “Well. I have to recommend beautiful Glacier National Park. You never know what you’ll find here.”
Carlos’ sober expression broke into a broad smile. “You sure found something. Can’t believe you finally got caught. Bet you didn’t see that one coming.”
Nate shook his head, silently wondering. “Not in a million years. Neither did she. We’ve both been kind of blindsided by it all.”
“In a good way, though,” Carlos said, half a question.
“The best way possible.” He sighed. “I should’ve known right from the beginning. Normally, I come to a new place, I start thinking about which women might be fun to get to know, who might want to get taken out and shown a nice time. But from the second I laid eyes on Stella...” He shook his head. “Didn’t notice a single other woman.”
“And there are some pretty ones here,” Carlos said thoughtfully. “Our waitress, the dark-haired woman, she was really something. Nametag said Pauline.”
Nate thought about it. It was funny—he could realize that Pauline was an attractive woman. In her late forties, probably, pretty features, a deft hand with her makeup. But he didn’t feel a thing. “Guess so.”
“I wonder if...never mind.”
Carl
os’ voice trailed off, and Nate waited a second to see if he had anything else to say, but it seemed like he didn’t. So Nate stood up. “I’m going to go see if Stella needs anything.”
Carlos shook his head, smiling. “Go on. Be with your mate. I’ve got security covered.”
Nate went off, a warm feeling in his chest. He’d forgotten how it felt to be with his buddies like this. When Ken got back from whatever he was doing in the Park, maybe the three of them could catch up a bit.
***
Stella
Stella woke up to a sharp noise.
She and Nate had gone to bed together, in her own room, the two of them pressed close together under her gauzy canopy. They’d made love slowly, gently, Nate moving inside her and Stella feeling as though their hearts were commingling along with their bodies. Her orgasm had been a slow, sweet thing, rolling through her body and leaving her poised on the edge of sleep.
She’d been sure that she was going to sleep the night through, solid and restful, with no bad dreams.
But something had woken her up.
Beside her, Nate sat up. “What was that?” Stella whispered.
“Stay here,” he said, slipping out of bed. He’d insisted on taking the outside, even though Stella had pointed out that she did tend to wake up in the night and she didn’t want to disturb him by crawling over him while he was asleep.
“I’ll wake up if you get up no matter what,” he’d replied. “And I want to be between you and anything that might happen.”
So he was sleeping on the outside. And it looked like something had happened.
Stay here. But what about Eva?
Suddenly caught up with worry about her daughter, Stella got up and followed Nate out into the hall. Eva’s door was closed, thankfully, and when she eased it open, she could just see her daughter sacked out in bed, hair a messy tangle on the pillow. She breathed easier.
Another noise downstairs. Then a sudden male shout: “Stop right there!”
What Stella did next probably wasn’t smart. She should’ve stayed up in her room, waiting until everything was safe. A few days ago, that might have been what she did.