by L. C. Davis
"Good luck convincing Dara Fields to let you mark her son. The woman might look gentle, but she's all teeth and Jesse is all she has left of Edmund."
"Edmund?" Kenneth frowned. "Her brother?"
"Not unless the Blue River wolves are more closely related than I thought."
Kenneth folded his arms, processing the beta's words. "You mean to tell me Jesse is the son of the late Blue River Alpha?"
"Yes. I'm sorry...I just assumed you knew that."
"No," Kenneth muttered. "I guess Jesse forgot to mention it."
Chapter 11
JESSE
"I'm sorry I let you think my dead father was my uncle." Jesse said into the mirror, his chest puffed out in feigned confidence. He deflated with a heavy sigh. "That sounds so bad no matter how I say it."
Kenneth had been gone for hours and Jesse found himself with an abundance of free time to worry and plan out his apology. An apology, as he reminded himself, that wouldn't have been necessary if he hadn't lied to his mate in the first place.
A knock at the cabin door jolted him from his fretting and he hurried down the stairs. Kenneth wouldn't knock, but maybe it was the sheriff. His breath hitched in his throat, realizing that the next few moments would bring news of his brother. It was just a matter of the tenor of that news. What he wasn't prepared for was getting it first hand from the source himself.
"Rand?"
Aside from the beta's sour expression, he seemed perfectly well and very much alive. Jesse gave a joyful cry and threw his arms around his brother's neck, letting his relief wash over them both. It took him only a moment to realize the reunion was far from joyful on both sides. Rand halfheartedly returned his embrace before holding him at a distance. "I'm glad you're okay, Jess."
"Me? You're the one who disappeared into Mountain Ridge territory," Jesse cried. "Where were you? Where are Alex and Chuck?" he asked, peering behind his brother. There was a car parked on Kenneth's lawn, but it wasn't one Jesse recognized.
Rand was silent, but as an omega, Jesse knew there were things that spoke louder than words. Emotion stirred around the beta, but Jesse told himself his intuition was out of whack. It would have made sense for Rand to be feeling all sorts of things. Relief, joy, maybe even anger, but guilt? That didn't make sense at all.
"We need to get out of here," Rand murmured, looking around the cabin.
"I can't." Jesse's hand flew to his neck and he felt the gentle hum of the invisible mark. "Rand, a lot has happened. I was rescued by an alpha. His name is Kenneth and he's on his own out here. He looked for you and the others everywhere."
"I know."
Something in the beta's sullen tone didn't sit well with Jesse, but he scarcely noticed Rand reaching for something in his pocket. His face grew warm as he knew the part of his confession that had to come next. "I um, went into heat and one thing led to another. There were wolves in the territory and I...I mated with Kenneth."
Some unreadable emotion flashed in Rand's eyes before they turned to stone again. "That explains why an alpha's scent is all over you."
The warmth in Jesse's cheeks turned to flame. "He marked me, Rand, and I... Well, I love him." Jesse's heart fluttered to hear the words out loud. It was as if a part of him had finally settled into place. "I can't leave. Not without him. Stay and when he comes back, we'll all go together."
"You're not going anywhere with him." The edge in Rand's voice caught Jesse off-guard, but before he could react, the beta slipped a syringe from his pocket and tore the cap off with his teeth. Jesse had no sooner cried out in alarm than he felt the needle plunge into his neck. Heaviness overtook him, spreading through his limbs first until they felt like solid lead. Just when Jesse was sure he was about to sink through the floor, Rand caught him in his arms.
"The mark's not finished yet," Rand muttered, hoisting Jesse over his shoulder to carry him out to the waiting SUV. "It can be undone. I've heard stories about tinctures they can use."
"No," Jesse whimpered, reaching for the cabin. Evening was setting in, making it hard to distinguish the view of the fire's glow in the window from the dream he had experienced ever since he could remember. Somehow, it was only then that he realized he had found what he was searching for in the woods all along. Now that it was close to being taken away.
Chapter 12
KENNETH
Kenneth began the run back to his cabin in sour spirits, but after being separated from Jesse for so long, his heart had softened. First things first, when he made it through that door he was going to take the omega into his arms and kiss him like he had the right that was now in question. Then, they'd have a long discussion about what Jesse had done--or rather, what he hadn't told his alpha.
In retrospect, Kenneth could understand why Jesse hadn't immediately divulged his prized status within his pack to a strange alpha under vulnerable circumstances. There were plenty who would abuse such information. It just stung that after all they had shared, Jesse still hadn't felt like he could be honest.
The look in the young omega's eyes just before the sheriff had come flashed in Kenneth's mind as the cabin came into view. Had he been about to tell him then?
Kenneth squinted into the distance when he saw that the chickens were still pecking around in the yard. He had shown Jesse how to take care of the farm in case he was ever late again, and it wasn't like the omega to miss a chance to help. Maybe he wasn't feeling well. Kenneth quickened his pace and the scent of another wolf on his land filled him with dread.
An alpha? No, a beta... There were tracks in the snow, too, but they were too small to belong to the sheriff's snowmobile. Kenneth wasted no time shifting and pulled the door open. His heart stopped in his chest when he realized that his omega's scent was everywhere, but he was nowhere to be found.
Jesse had been taken. That much Kenneth knew. He could feel it deep in his bones like a message the Spirits had carved themselves. The only question was, what beta on the face of the earth was foolish enough to take a half-claimed omega out of an alpha's home?
Well, he could think of three.
~
Kenneth found himself on the outskirts of Blue River territory late the next morning and had to fight the urge to cross the border. After all, those fool betas hadn't thought twice about coming into his home and running off with his omega.
Then again, igniting a territory war probably wasn't the best way to ingratiate himself to his future in-laws. This was more than a standard rescue mission, after all.
To Kenneth's surprise, the beta who came to greet him was accompanied by none other than the verum Alpha himself. He had only met Barnabas once at an obligatory gathering of all the alphas in the region but the black wolf with gray flecks in his fur was hard to mistake for anyone else. The energy that came off him was easy even for an alpha like Kenneth to pick up on.
Kenneth, Barnabas said, coming to a stop. The beta came to a stop a safe distance away. I have to admit, I'm surprised you came. And relieved you saved me the trip to come and find you.
Of course I came, but why would you be looking for me?
Barnabas' eyes narrowed and Kenneth could sense the other alpha feeling him out. Perhaps this would be best discussed indoors. And as men.
No offense, verum Alpha, but I don't have time to discuss anything until I find my mate.
Your mate? The other wolf's eyes widened in realization. Jesse is...? Wait, he isn't with you?
You really think I came all this way for anything or anyone else?
Barnabas considered that for a moment. No, he said in a grave tone. I suppose you didn't. Unfortunately, Jesse isn't here.
Then where the hell is he? Kenneth snarled, taking a step forward. The beta at Barnabas' side bristled and growled low in warning.
The other alpha held his ground. I'll tell you everything I know, Kenneth, but it'll have to be in front of Jesse's mother. It seems you both have a common interest.
Chapter 13
JESSE
"You ca
n't do this," Jesse slurred. He had been drifting in and out of consciousness for long enough to get snippets of Rand's reason for drugging him. He also knew that the hotel room he had been left in with Alex as his guard was just on the outskirts of Mountain Ridge territory.
Alex looked over from his post at the blinds but he wouldn't meet Jesse's eyes. The guilt emanating from him left little room to wonder why. "Please, Jesse, just calm down. It'll all be over soon."
Jesse strained against the ropes binding him to the chair. "You can't do this," he repeated. "This isn't like you, Alex. This isn't a joke, kidnapping an omega is a crime, to say nothing of framing another pack and inciting a war."
The beta winced. "It's for your own good, Jesse. For everyone's."
"How?" he cried. "How is framing the Mountain Ridge wolves for my 'kidnapping' going to help anyone?"
Alex sighed and turned away. Jesse was sure he was going to ignore him just like Rand and Chuck had, but instead, the beta pulled up a chair in front of him and leaned over the back. "Look, I'm gonna level with you, kid."
Jesse pursed his lips to keep himself from reminding Alex that being two years ahead in school didn't make him a sage, especially not with the mess he had gotten himself tangled up in.
"Your brother didn't want it to be this way," Alex continued. "The accident threw everything off. There was never supposed to be any real danger, not for you."
Jesse's eyes narrowed. "And who was supposed to be in danger according to my brother's brilliant plan, Alex?"
The beta looked away again. "We were going to fake a kidnapping the first night and tell everyone the Mountain Ridge wolves had taken you. Barnabas would send Benjamin to rescue you and as far as you both knew, he would have. The old timers would have no choice but to accept him as alpha, and things could finally go back to normal."
"You mean after his hand was forced to avenge my kidnapping," Jesse said through gritted teeth. "The Mountain Ridge Pack would have been sanctioned. Mitchell's authority would have been undermined at the very least. Worst case scenario, there would have been a war."
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
Jesse stared at him in disgust. "You of all people should know it is! You talk like you've never seen bloodshed. Like you don't remember what happened that night..."
"Of course I remember," Alex snarled, turning feral. Jesse flinched, but more than the anger, it was the pain coming from the beta that stung most. How had he never noticed how much of it there was, just beneath the beta's timid surface? Had Jesse really been so self-absorbed that he hadn't realized how desperate the wolves he had grown up with were for blood? "Laura was my aunt and those bastards got away with taking her from me. From us."
"Noel is dead, Alex," Jesse said, his voice softening. "He's the one who did this."
"And he hired Mountain Ridge wolves to attack. Where was their trial? Where's our vengeance?"
"Alex, you know they were mercenaries as well as I do. It wasn't the whole pack, they weren't acting under Mitchell's authority."
"Bullshit." Alex stood, knocking over the chair in his anger. "They're all the same. The Council might have swept it under the rug because it's too weak and afraid to go to war again, but our pack deserves better. It deserves a real leader."
"Benjamin is a good man," Jesse agreed, deciding to shift tactics. Arguing had done nothing. Maybe validating the pain rolling off Alex's aura wouldn't get him free, but it couldn't make things any worse. "He'll be a good Alpha one day, but not like this. Our pack's future can't be built on a lie."
Alex wavered. Jesse could feel the crack in his armor, however small, and knew it was his only chance. "You know this isn't right, Alex," he pressed. "This isn't you, and it isn't Rand, either. You've been blinded by pain, we all have, but I... I know there's a better way. I caught a glimpse of it these past few weeks with Kenneth, and I --"
Alex turned suddenly. "Your fling with that lone alpha is what jeopardized everything," he snarled.
Jesse flinched at the venom in the beta's usually gentle voice. "Alex, please..."
The door opened and Rand walked in, tracking water onto the mat by the door. He dropped a bag of food on the desk and walked over to stand in front of Jesse. "Has he been giving you trouble?" he asked without looking at the other beta.
Jesse's eyes met Alex's for a moment. Alex hesitated and finally shook his head. "No. Any news?"
"Chuck says the bastard is on his way to our pack," he muttered.
Jesse's heart surged in his chest. "Kenneth?"
Rand shot him an icy glare. He reached into his pocket and Jesse flinched. For a moment, the look of guilt on his brother's face reminded Jesse of the boy who had always been so patient and kind as his annoying little brother insisted on tagging along whenever he went out with his friends. That glimpse faded as Rand slipped a phone out of his pocket and held it to Jesse's ear. "You're going to talk to mom. You're going to tell her you don't know where you are, but Kenneth took you and you heard him talking about working with Mitchell."
"No," Jesse seethed.
Rand hesitated for a moment and his calm scarred Jesse more than his anger ever had. "This is for the future of our pack, Jesse. I know you're a pathetic excuse for an omega, but even you should be able to do this much."
Jesse's eyes stung, but it wasn't the words that hurt most. It was the realization that his brother, the boy he had once shared everything with, was now a stranger. "I'm not helping you. This is wrong and you know it," he said, turning to Alex in desperation. "You know it is."
Alex's gaze was full of worry and confusion, but he had no sooner opened his mouth to speak than Jesse felt a needle plunge into his neck again. That old familiar heaviness began spreading out through his limbs and he slumped in his chair.
"It doesn't matter," Rand said gruffly. "If I have to make you disappear for a while, so be it. At least this time they can't just sweep us under the rug."
Chapter 14
KENNETH
Kenneth had been in his fair share of awkward situations, but sitting across from the tiny omega whose son he had been partially mated to without going through any of the conventions of the Council certainly took the cake. His thoughts were too far from the cozy two-story home in the middle of the quaint village the Blue River Pack called home to dwell on the awkwardness.
The sooner he got out there, the better, but at the moment, he had an abundance of leads and not a single direction in which to follow them. Benjamin had arrived at Barnabas' request but Kenneth was too distracted to pay the dirty looks the young alpha was shooting him much mind. Besides, they were nothing compared to the ones Dara was giving him.
"You expect me to believe my son mated with you of his own will?" Dara demanded, her arms folded. Kenneth got the feeling that the table was the only thing keeping her from lunging at his throat. It had a leg that wobbled, which would have driven him crazy under normal circumstances.
"I don't expect you to believe much of anything, ma'am," he said, reminding himself to be respectful even though the woman was only a few years older than he was. Surrounded by Dara and the other Blue River betas, it became clear that Kenneth's initial assessment of their esteem for Jesse had been sorely off. His brother might have been reckless, but it was hard for Kenneth to imagine that there was a single omega in the world that was loved or cherished more deeply than Jesse was here.
Kenneth certainly knew why.
"Truth be told," he continued, "I expected that your son would be at my side when we had this conversation. Now, I'm not proud of the way things went down. I never expected I'd take a mate, but given the circumstances, I believe we both did the best we could and I have every intention of proving myself to you and this pack once Jesse is here. I'll let him and my actions speak for my character from there."
Dara fell silent and her rage seemed to have subsided for the moment.
"I'll say one thing," Barnabas interjected, "If I'd been alone in the mountains with Cameron in his heat, I certa
inly wouldn't have had the will to turn him down the way Kenneth did."
Dara glared daggers at the Alpha, verum or not.
Benjamin cleared his throat. "Like Kenneth said, we can discuss the details of the mating once Jesse is safe. Being that I'm here, future Alpha or not, I'll do whatever I can to help."
Kenneth nodded. "That's honorable of you."
"You said a beta had been to your place?" asked Benjamin. "Just one?"
"Hard to tell," Kenneth admitted. "I called the sheriff and he's combing the area, but I'd like to get back up there myself now that. I know Jesse isn't here." He frowned, turning to Dara. "All due respect, ma'am, I do have a theory of who he might be with."
Dara watched him with wary interest. "Go on."
"Jesse said it was Rand and his buddies who had the bright idea to take him with them on some hunting trip."
Dara looked away and Kenneth noticed a hint of red creeping into her cheeks. "I don't know what he was thinking. He's usually such a responsible young man."
"It's nothing like him," the older beta at her side agreed, putting a hand on his cousin's shoulder.
"My point is, maybe this wasn't an accident," Kenneth said carefully. "Jesse told me what happened to your pack, and I hate to dredge up a tragedy like that, but is it possible that Rand took Jesse out into the woods for a reason?"
Dara frowned. "If you're trying to say something, just say it."
Kenneth sighed. This certainly wasn't how his first conversation with Dara had gone in his head, but there wasn't any time to waste. "My point is, there's a young omega who's gone missing twice now and all signs point to Mountain Ridge. Now, I know what it's like to be on the receiving end of that pack's wrath firsthand but if there's one thing they're not, it's sloppy. If they want a wolf dead, they kill him. If they want someone captured, they don't need to do it twice."
"I can vouch for that," said Barnabas. "I can also vouch for the fact that if Jesse is on Mountain Ridge land, Mitchell had nothing to do with it."