by Dena Christy
Saving Grace
Dena Christy
Copyright © 2017 by Dena Christy
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Epilogue
Author’s Note
Also by Dena Christy
1
Grace Mayer stood in the middle of the crowded parking lot of Sawyer’s Place, and thought she was the only person there that knew what was going to happen next. As soon as the rumors had started to fly that something momentous was happening in Cold Bay, she’d gathered the remnants of her pack together and they’d made the journey here. The people around her stood in shock when Logan Sawyer, alpha of the Cold Bay Wolf Pack, repudiated his father for everyone to see. There was more to come and a hush fell over them all, members of the Cold Bay and East Brook packs alike.
As he started to speak, she knew this was why she’d brought everyone here.
“As all of you have no doubt heard, the members of the Cold Bay Pack and East Brook Pack are entering a dangerous time in our history. I know that for many years there has been bad blood between our packs, but the time for feuding is over. We are in a fight for our survival, and we need to stand together if we are to resist a take over by the Batesburg Pack.” He paused for a moment, and when he saw her standing there watching, she gave him a discreet thumbs up. She was so glad for him, that he was finally taking what he wanted and forging a new path for both their packs.
“Our packs need to be united, and the easiest way to do that would have been for me to bind myself with Grace Mayer, and mingle our bloodlines. I’m not going to take the easy way, because that’s not who I am. I cannot mate with Grace because I have already found the mate fate has intended for me to be with. She is the mother of my son and the love of my life. I am a better man and a better alpha with her at my side and I am not letting her go.”
Grace blinked hard and took a deep breath. She ignored the eyes on her, and stared straight ahead. The other members of her pack would only accept what was happening if they could see that Logan was not dealing her a deep insult. She and Logan had been friends over fifteen years ago, but friends was all they were and would ever be. She may have been prepared to mate with him to save her pack, but now friendship would be the only thing between them.
As she watched him put his hand out and take his woman's hand, she was glad for him. The deep abiding love he and Faith shared was evident for everyone to see, and seeing it put a lump in Grace’s throat. She thought she’d had something like that once, but it was not meant to be. With a shake of her head, she turned her attention back to Logan.
“I cannot promise that without a blood bond that we will succeed in keeping our independence. But I can promise you that if you accept me as alpha I’m not going to roll over and present my belly to the council. I will fight them tooth and nail for you, but I need you with me. I need you behind me, one hundred percent. We need to fight the take over together and that means solidarity, both Cold Bay and East Brook alike. Members of the East Brook Pack, accept me as your alpha and we can do this together. There may not be a blood bond between us, but I will fight for you the same as I would fight for any member of the Cold Bay Pack. Stand with me.”
As he roared the last words, adrenaline went through Grace. This was what her pack needed, what they’d been lacking in all the years since her father had died and her stepfather had driven the East Brook Pack into the ground. They needed a strong alpha, one who would do what was necessary to lead them into a more secure future than they’d had in years. She could feel the eyes of her pack on her as a hush came over the crowd. This was a make or break moment. They would take their cue from her, and she knew what she had to do.
She sank to her knees in the parking lot and bowed her head. It was the ancient werewolf signal that she was ready to submit to her alpha’s will. One by one, the members of her pack followed her lead, and soon everyone, East Brook and Cold Bay alike were submitting to Logan Sawyer as their alpha.
With the formal acceptance over, people surged to their feet and a cheer went through the crowd. It was going to work out, for everyone. Her pack would be in good hands with Logan at the helm, and that was all she’d wanted for them.
Her eyes went to her new alpha as he put his arm around his woman and his son. A surge of envy went through her, but not because Logan was with another woman. It was the family unit he had that caused it, and it was something that she would never have. She was glad that at least he was happy with the woman he loved.
“This is supposed to be a celebration, so why are you frowning?”
Grace looked over to her side and saw her friend Alena come stand beside her. She forced her melancholy thoughts away and pushed her lips into a smile.
“I’m not frowning, just thinking.” She’d known Alena years ago, but they’d lost touch when Grace had left East Brook. They had reconnected when Grace had come back a few months ago, but Alena wasn’t privy to the innermost workings of Grace’s mind. No one was. “Now that the show is over, I think I’ll probably head out.”
“No you won’t. Stay and have a drink, celebrate, otherwise everyone will think that something is wrong.” Alena tucked her arm through hers and tugged her toward the bar. “There isn’t anything wrong, is there? You knew this was coming, didn’t you? That he’d reject you for another woman?”
Grace drew up short, and pulled her arm free. She turned to look at Alena, and narrowed her eyes for a second. “Logan’s choice to take for his mate the woman he’s in love with, who is also the mother of his child, is not a rejection of me. I am not and have never been in love with him. We were friends a long time ago and that’s it. His decision has nothing to do with me, and I would appreciate that if anyone thinks so, that you set them straight. I knew about Logan’s love for Faith months ago, and I knew that he was going to choose her. He’s the best alpha this pack will ever have and I would like everyone to remember that.”
Her voice was a little louder than necessary for her to talk to Alena and there was a reason for that. If there was any doubt within the ranks of her pack that Logan had slighted her, this merger would never work. Her pack needed to realize that they needed to put aside their petty squabbles with the Cold Bay Pack and embrace the future. Otherwise they would become extinct.
If they thought that merging with Cold Bay was bad, Batesburg was much worse. She’d been out in the world more than some of the members who’d been in East Brook their entire life, and she’d seen the devastation Batesburg caused in the packs it took over. At least with Cold Bay, the people she’d grown up with would have a chance to survive, to build the lives they wanted under the leadership of an alpha who would have their backs.
Alena took a step back and raised her hands. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I didn’t mean any insult.”
She turned away and Grace sighed. People around her were giving her sideline looks and her shoulders sagged for a minute. Had what she intended back fired, did they now think she was protesting to
o much, that there was some truth in with Alena had said?
Grace straightened her shoulders and marched toward the bar. She’d have one drink, and put on her brightest smile. This merger had to work, and she hadn’t walked away from the life she’d built for herself to come back here to save her people to see it all fall apart. She carried the blood of an alpha in her veins, and that afforded her some respect within her community. If she lead by example, if she showed them that she was not bothered by what had happened with Logan, they would soon forget all about it.
She glanced around as she stepped into the bar. There was a celebratory mood in the bar, but there was some tension there too. It looked like an elementary school dance, but instead of all the boys on one side and all the girls on the other, it was East Brook on one side and Cold Bay on the other.
What side was she going to choose? If she went and joined the East Brook side it would only reinforce the division, and if she chose the Cold Bay side, it would look like she was abandoning her pack. The urge to turn around, to say screw werewolf politics and go home was so strong that she almost turned on her heel and left.
A huge male shadow loomed beside her and she craned her head to look at the man who’d come up to stand beside her. He was a member of the Cold Bay Pack, and if she wasn’t mistaken he was the alpha’s enforcer. She wasn’t sure what his name was though.
“Picking sides in a situation like this sucks, doesn’t it?” His deep voice rumbled beside her and her eyebrows climbed to her forehead in surprise. “Don’t look so shocked. A few pretty words from our alpha is not going to change decades of feuds and hard feelings.”
“I know, but they have to realize that if we aren’t together, we’ll be destroyed.” The weight of her responsibility to her pack pressed down on her shoulders and she wondered if things would ever get better.
“True, but it won’t happen overnight. Come on, let me get you a drink and we’ll show them that the world won’t end if East Brook and Cold Bay socialize. I’m Rafe, by the way.” He put his hand on the small of her back, and she wished for a second that it made her feel something. He was a good looking man, with his dark brown hair and deep green eyes, but it seemed that mere attractiveness wasn’t enough to turn her head.
The door behind them opened, and her pulse picked up speed when Mason, the alpha’s lieutenant, walked in the door. His deep blue eyes, which used to be so warm when they looked at her, darted from her to Rafe and narrowed. He could not have failed to notice that Rafe still had his hand on her back, and she resisted the urge to step away from him. It had been over between her and Mason a long time ago, and she could stand with and talk to whoever she wanted. She raised her chin as if daring him to say something, and his mouth gave a twist as he turned and walked away.
“What was that all about?”
“Nothing, just ancient history.” Now she was definitely not in the mood to stay. This bar, this town, wasn’t big enough to have both her and Mason here. Any hope she’d had that they could get past what had happened had been dashed when she’d seen him again months ago. He had not gotten over the devastation their breakup had wrought, and although she’d done what she had to save him from something worse than heartbreak, it hurt to see the bitterness in his eyes when he looked at her.
“That’s sounds like a story. Come on, we’ll get that drink and you can tell me all about it.” His hand was still on her back and he steered her toward the bar. He looked down at her, and she could see kindness in his eyes that was at odds with his tough exterior. “Unless you can think of a reason why you shouldn’t have a drink with me?”
She glanced over to where Mason had started playing pool and straightened her spine. “No, there isn’t any reason at all why I shouldn’t have a drink with you.”
What a night. As Mason Sawyer approached the bar, he knew he needed a drink to unwind after the events that had unfolded. Thank God his uncle and Logan’s father, Mike Sawyer, had gone quietly when he’d been repudiated. Mason was sure that they wouldn’t be seeing him again, and the pack was well rid of him.
He scrubbed his hand across his face, and debated on whether or not he should just go home. He wasn’t really in the celebrating mood, but he should put in an appearance for the sake of pack solidarity. It was important for everyone to see that Logan had the full support of both packs, and as Logan’s lieutenant, it was his job to back his alpha one hundred percent. So what if she was in there. His pack, his alpha was way more important than not wanting to look at the woman who’d stabbed him in the back fifteen years ago.
With his resolve firmly in place, he strode toward Sawyer’s Place and opened the door. The tension inside could be cut with a knife and he knew that it was going to be a while before the members of the two wolf packs would be at ease with each other after decades of rivalry.
He froze in place when he saw her standing there. Even after seeing her off and on for months, it was still the same whenever their eyes met. That first moment when his pulse sped up, when his body forgot that she was no longer his and then the realization that what had been between them was over came over him. Christ, even after fifteen years away from her, she still had to power to make his blood race with only a glance. Was he ever going to get over it, was he ever going to get over her?
He tore his eyes away from her and looked at who stood beside her. Rafe was standing a little too close to her for Mason’s liking, and his eyes narrowed when he saw his hand resting comfortably on her back. She didn’t even know Rafe and she was letting him touch her so casually? His eyes darted back to her and she raised her chin. The challenge there was unmistakable and made the muscle in his jaw twitch. He wanted to rip Rafe’s hand away from her, to start something with the man he’d always considered a friend, all because he was standing too close to the woman that Mason had always thought of as his.
She’s not yours any more. With a twist of his mouth, he turned away from them and made his way back to the pool tables. She could do whatever she wanted. If she wanted to throw herself at a dog like Rafe, that was her business. Rafe may be a friend, but that didn’t mean that Mason was blind to what he was like. Love ‘em and leave ‘em was a motto that Rafe lived by. At least he was up front about it, and the ladies didn’t seem to mind.
With a shake of his head, he tried to clear Rafe and Grace out of his thoughts. They were welcome to each other. Grace wasn’t his business any more, and the sooner he realized that the happier he would be.
Alex was at the table chalking up a cue and he looked at Mason with a raised eyebrow.
“Rack ‘em up.” Mason grabbed a cue and nodded his head toward the table to indicate to Alex that he should break. His eyes drifted to Grace, again, and she and Rafe were now moving toward the bar. That was fine. It was a free country and he didn’t own her.
“That was quite the announcement tonight. Did you know it was going to happen?” Alex looked up at him after he broke but failed to sink anything.
“Yeah.” Mason leaned down, lined up his shot and sunk the three ball.
As lieutenant, he was privy to a lot of things that the rest of the pack didn’t know about. He’d known about the proposed merger with East Brook as soon as Logan had returned from the council meeting a few months ago. The big reason Logan had told him was because the council wanted him to mate with Grace, and Mason hadn’t taken it very well. The thought of the man, who not only was his alpha, but his cousin and best friend, mating with the woman that he'd once loved had sent shards of jealousy through him. He didn’t know how he was going to be able to handle it, watching them together and seeing her give Logan children. Fortunately, Logan had come to his senses and realized that Faith was the woman he was meant to be with, not Grace. Mason didn’t want to look too closely at the relief that went through him when he found out there would be no mating between Logan and Grace.
His thoughts were not on his next shot, and as a result he failed to sink it. He tapped the bottom of his cue on the floor while he waited f
or Alex to make his shot. A woman’s laughter rang out, and he clenched his teeth when he recognized it. Rafe certainly must be an entertaining drinking companion if he could make Grace laugh like that.
He refused to turn his gaze toward them, he didn’t need to see her having a good time. It wasn’t any of his business. She was a free agent, she could do whatever she wanted.
Alex sunk two balls but failed with the third, and Mason bent over the table to line up his next shot. He drew the cue back and slid it along his fingers. Grace’s laughter rang out again, and he missed his mark. The cue hit the side of the cue ball, and sent it spinning away and failed to hit a single ball.
He straightened up, and although he didn’t want to, his eyes were drawn to them. His knuckles creaked as he tightened them around his cue when Rafe reached up to tuck a few strands of Grace’s blond hair behind her ear. It was a practiced move, one he’d seen him make a thousand times. That’s how Rafe operated, make them laugh, get them used to small touches and then when they were putty in his hands, he’d move in for the kill.
“Earth to Mason.” Alex snapped his fingers in front of Mason’s face and he dragged his eyes away from them. “Are you even trying to play here?”
“You know what? Not really in the mood for pool.” Mason turned and handed his cue to on of the guys watching. “Finish up for me. I’m going to hit the head and go home.”
He turned away from the pool tables and made his way to the bathroom. He gripped the edge of the sink as he stared at himself in the mirror. Was this what it was going to be like? Was he going to tear himself up every time he saw her? Was he going to be unable to concentrate, unable to get on with his life as long as she was around? What part didn’t he get? She didn’t want him, she’d made that abundantly clear fifteen years ago when she’d dumped him for another guy and fled the area. How much more did he need for her to spell out for him?