by Lauren Dane
They’d stayed long enough to get Nadine talked down off the ledge before heading home.
“I’m sorry,” he managed to say once they were alone.
“For what?” She kicked off her shoes as she climbed the steps leading up to their apartments.
“Tonight was supposed to be our night. A good time. A wonderful memory.”
She sighed. “There are parts that are most definitely wonderful memories. It’s not every day a gal gets proposed to. The rest? Like the part where my mom got into a brawl? Well, sometimes things don’t go the way we planned. Oh shit.” She came to a halt and he nearly ran her over.
The hallway outside the apartment doors was lined with Dooley wolves.
“What’s going on?” he asked Major.
“They need some reassurance,” his brother said quietly.
“I’ll make some warm apple cider while you talk to them,” Katie Faith said, unlocking her door and disappearing inside. “You may want to run and get some cups so everyone can keep warm while they wait,” she called out to Damon.
Major looked his way and Jace nodded. “Let her be. It’ll keep her busy and I could use some warm cider anyway.” He clapped his hands. “What can I do for y’all?”
* * *
It had been as if a switch had been thrown. The scene at the dinner dance had catapulted him into the leadership position in such a definite way and the wolves who’d shown up out of nervousness or anger, whatever their reasons, had done so without hesitation.
Jace figured he’d done something right, at least, for them to have shown up. To have waited patiently and calmly as Katie Faith brought them out cups of warm cider to enjoy while they waited.
Major showed Imogene Hadry in.
“Mrs. Hadry, it sure is nice to see you. What can I do for you?” Jace asked as he helped her into a chair before he sat.
“I surely don’t like all this upset. My granddaughter is having a baby in a month and all this fighting makes her anxious. That’s not good for the pregnancy.”
Jace leaned close enough to take her hands in his. “She’s lucky to have a grandma who cares so much about her.”
“She’s young. Young enough not to remember what it was like when we were truly at war with the Pembrys. Her mother and father look to me for reassurance and I’m here looking to you.”
“That’s what I’m here for. I’m doing all I can to set this all straight. But I won’t stop until I feel like my wolves are safe and taken care of. Plenty of Pembrys are fine, upstanding citizens of this town. Our friends and family. There’s no reason to think we can’t get through this rough patch like we have before. So your great-grandbaby can have as wonderful a future as possible.”
He knew her granddaughter so they talked about that for a while. About growing up and having the next generation of wolves to fill their pack.
She just needed to be heard. To feel like she could tell her family things were going to be all right and the world that baby was going to be born into would be protected and safe.
And after she left, and several more wolves came in with the same sort of need, Jace lost his hesitance and embraced his role. The role he’d been trained for his whole life.
Still, it was after one in the morning by the time everyone had cleared out. Katie Faith came over, having changed into soft pants and a long sleeved shirt, tucked herself onto his couch at his side and listened as he talked with his brothers about the whole situation.
“I think you managed to calm them all down,” Major said. “Grandpa wanted to come deal with them, but Grandma made him go home and told us to call you if you didn’t return within the hour.”
“We stopped off at the Gradys first. Just wanted to make sure they were all right.”
Major looked to Katie Faith. “I have to say, I’ve been scared of your mom my whole life but I never really knew why. She’s tough, but she’s always been sweet to me. After that scene at the grange I now understand it was my subconscious telling me she was a predator.” He patted her knee. “Your daddy okay?”
“They’re both okay. Or they were when I left. Tomorrow, or I guess later today, will be a challenge because I feel like she’s not done,” Katie Faith said. “I’ve never seen her so outraged. Not even after I was left at the altar.”
Jace put an arm around her shoulders to hold her close. He hated her being unhappy. It sent his wolf to pacing.
“Thank you guys for defending me tonight when Scarlett said all that about your mom. I know it hurt you too.”
“It’s no secret that she died in childbirth. I just can’t imagine what Scarlett thinks to gain by reminding people of that. This town may not like our dad, but they all seem to have liked our mom.” Damon frowned.
“They pitied our mom,” Major corrected. “Not the same as liking her. But I think Scarlett is past thinking about what the outcome of her actions might be. Which makes her a bigger threat than I first imagined. She’s truly out of control and Darrell isn’t helping.”
Katie Faith exhaled sharply. “I don’t care. I mean, I do care that she’s affecting her wolves, but she needs to be removed. And if Pembry won’t do it, they deserve what they get.”
All three males looked at her with some surprise.
“What? You don’t think I can’t be vicious when I need it?”
“Darlin’, I think you’re plenty vicious.” Jace kissed the top of her head, not allowing himself a smile at how adorable she was to protest that she was mean.
“You were pretty fantastic tonight, all things considered,” Damon told her. “Here and at the dinner.”
She’d treated his wolves like her own. Already tending to them, seeking to soothe and comfort. He wondered if she’d even noticed that.
They visited a while longer until finally his brothers headed off to bed and he was alone with her once more.
“So, I think tonight will go down as one of the most memorable Founder’s Days in history.”
Tucked into his side like a kitten, she managed a laugh.
“Did you really mean it when you said we could get married soon?” he asked. “I know it was the heat of the moment.”
She shifted to sit astride his lap, facing him. “Do you think I don’t know what it costs you to give me space and time?”
Surprised into momentary silence, he thought about her question and realized maybe he’d just done it without thinking because she needed it to be that way. And he told her so.
“You’re an alpha wolf. The Prime of your pack. It’s an indelible part of your nature to want to take care of those you feel responsible for. I took that for granted a little.”
Before he could argue, she put two fingers over his lips a moment.
“No. Let me finish. I love the way you love me. I’m spoiled. Used to the way you put me first. I don’t need any more time. I’ve thought about this a lot and had long conversations with Aimee about it.
“I know I want to be married to you. It isn’t early days when you’ve known someone pretty much your whole life. When you make me feel like I belong to something bigger than myself. I guess I have to ask you if you still want to marry me after that brawl earlier.”
He shook his head, stretching up to kiss her quickly, his hands then settling at her hips.
“If anything I want to marry you even more. Nadine will be an awesome mother-in-law. Damn, she didn’t waste her time with any bullshit, did she?”
She giggled. “Oh my god. Jace. She flew at Scarlett. If she hadn’t gotten the upper hand through surprise...”
“Your mother can handle herself. She went straight for a punch to the face. Made Scarlett’s eyes water. Blood went everywhere, freaked people out. Nadine made her point. Don’t think she didn’t. Scarlett won’t come at you without a second thought again.”
; “But she will come at me again. Let’s be real here.”
Jace was pretty sure that was going to be true. “Yep.”
“When she does, I need to be ready. I’ll use magic to defend myself.”
“Don’t say it like you’re warning me. I want you to use your magic to toss her off like a flea. Remember, you’re my woman. You’ll be Patron when I take over for my grandparents. I’d assumed your strength would be your brain. And I still think that. But how could another wolf take you seriously enough to let you lead them? And then I saw you tonight and I understood. You’re a force to be reckoned with because you’re brilliant and powerful with your magic. Nadine didn’t need to be a shifter to blacken Scarlett’s eye. And you don’t need that either.”
Once he’d spoken the words aloud he realized what a huge thing it was that he’d just accepted.
She smiled at him with a little cunning at the edges and his cock throbbed at the sight. “You know what it does to me when you get vicious, right?” he asked her.
“I know enough to let her come at me first so I’ll have the ability to use my magic to defend myself.”
He growled as he yanked her down to kiss her.
“I have to confess something though. Before we go any further.” She pulled back, her lips kiss swollen and her hair a sexy tumble around her face.
“Am I going to like this?”
She grinned again, swiping her thumb over the line between his eyes. “That frown line is so sexy. I don’t know what to do with myself sometimes.”
“I have some suggestions. If you face that conundrum again, I mean.”
“I told myself I’d be circumspect once we married. Let you make all the decisions.” She shot him a look. “About the pack I mean. I told myself that even after we marry I can do my witch thing and you do your wolf thing. But I’m not sure now.”
“What do you mean?”
“I have opinions about things, Jace.”
“Good Lord, Katie Faith, did you think that was a secret? You have opinions on lots of things. Hell, most things.”
Snickering, she gave him a quick kiss. “Har har. I don’t think I can be married to you, be Patron at your side, without truly being involved.”
Relief flooded him. And then so much joy that she wanted to be a real partner in the running of the pack.
“Like tonight?”
“They stood up for me.” Her bottom lip wobbled a little, but she sucked in a breath and kept going. “Dooley wolves defended me tonight. They cared about me and I don’t know. It feels like a special sort of magic happened tonight between me and you and your wolves.”
He agreed.
“I’m going to remember who defended me tonight. And who didn’t. When we marry, my magic will make you all stronger. The power balance will change. I know it and to be truthful, I want that. Because unless new leadership takes over Pembry, they’ll just get worse and worse.”
“I didn’t expect you. Not to be this. Hell.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “I didn’t expect to love someone so much it hurt a little sometimes. The way it feels to watch you switch gears from sexy lady about to have hot sex with her man to concerned alpha when we got to the top of the stairs and saw everyone waiting. I don’t know that I’ll ever forget this night for as long as I live.
“Not for the fighting, but for the myriad things I learned about us both. You’re not just my witch, though you most assuredly are. You’re Dooley’s witch. I really do think that. When are you going to marry me then?”
“No way. You can’t say all that sweet stuff and not let me coo over you a bit.” She tried to look stern, but the kisses she laid all over his face belied that. “The Dooley wolves are mine. I feel that too. Strange. Wondrous. I’ll have to figure out how to work with both parts of my life, but I figure that’s a situation by situation thing. I’ll learn as I go along how to be a witch who loves the wolves she’s responsible for even though she’s not a werewolf.”
“When are we getting married?” he repeated.
“I need a few things. A dress being one of them. Carl can perform legal marriages. You’ll have to handle the wolf side of things. I don’t know enough and I don’t want to leave anything important out.”
“Well we eat raw deer liver under the full moon.”
She reared back, her lip curled and he burst out laughing.
“Hey!” She punched his arm. “Not funny, mister.”
As he was still laughing, he disagreed.
“You’ve planned a wedding to a werewolf before. I’m more handsome and my family is less crazy than that one. You’re good. We could go to city hall and have Carl do our vows. All I need is you. The ceremony around it doesn’t change the commitment.” And he didn’t want to have to wear a suit if he could avoid it.
“Darrell didn’t count. On pretty much every level. This is the first time I’ve done this. I didn’t feel for his wolves the way I do ours. I never felt for him not even the tiniest bit what I do you. So the wedding was a silly, fluffy fun thing for me, but it wasn’t necessarily a commentary on who or what I was. Most assuredly not about my relationship with Darrell. Which I suppose explains why we didn’t get married.
“This is our forever.”
He drew her close, resting his chin on the top of her head.
“So, in a month? A week? Tomorrow?”
“I have to set up a few things. We don’t need a big church wedding, but my parents will want to have a party or reception of some kind. I expect Patty and your aunts will too.”
He growled again, annoyed. He wanted her right then. But would he deny her this? Not a chance. If it pleased her, he’d make it happen.
“Give me two weeks. Okay? That’s not even very much time, especially with Thanksgiving coming up and you know we’ll hear about that.”
Two weeks was doable. He could live with that.
“I imagine my grandma has some help she’d love to give.”
“Of course. The rings, they’re special. She gave them to you for me?”
“She told me she’d had them and was waiting for the right woman to pass them on to.”
“That’s a really nice thing,” she said sleepily, her body a warm, comfortable weight in his lap. “I’m sure my parents will want to do the food. How many do you think will be there? Is this a whole entire pack feed four hundred thing or what?”
“Dooley will feed our guests. The wedding will be open to the entire pack. So about six hundred or so, but most likely not all at once.”
“Darrell didn’t do that. That’s a lot of wolves to feed. Will they all come?”
“The Prime is marrying, of course they will. As for what your last fiancé did or didn’t do, he’s a poor excuse for a wolf.”
“You have such low self-esteem.”
He smiled at the slowing of her voice as she got sleepier and sleepier.
“If you talk to my dad, he can coordinate with you on the food. It’s going to be a big job.”
“It’s my job to provide for my mate and my wolves. It’s who I am, Katie Faith. We’ll hunt, all of us in the Dooley family, then we’ll feed our people.”
“Oh. Well that’s nice. Given where the mercantile is, how about we do something there? We can use the lawn, get some tents up for the reception.” It took her a while to get the whole thing out and he knew she teetered on the edge of sleep.
“Darlin’? It’s late. What time do you have to be up?”
“On a normal Sunday I’d get up at nine or so to be at the Counter to open by 10:30. But we both know it’s not going to be a normal Sunday. I have until about seven. I need to stop by my parents place, go see Miz Rose and then go in to prep for what’s going to be a big day once church lets out.”
“Gawkers.” He curled his lip.
“W
hatever. I will make sure not a one of them gets away without having spent at least five dollars. I’ll make it a contest for myself.”
He smiled. “You’re a pain in the ass on purpose?”
“I have a business to run. If the people in this town want to come in to my shop to stare and gather stuff to gossip about, they will most assuredly do it with a soda or a milkshake or whatever in their hand or they can get out. I have bills to pay. A wedding dress to find and purchase. They damned well better spend money in the Counter.”
Jace certainly had no plans to tangle with her. He’d throw his money down happily to watch her make him a chocolate malted any old day.
“I’ve been putting money aside for us for a few months. I’ll get you added to the account so you can pay for that dress.”
She snorted and he heard the tired in it. “No you won’t. It’s very sweet of you to be saving for us.” She sniffled. “But the dress is something I want to do myself. And just stop that growl you’re about to give me. I know you can’t handle being told no. But if you want me in your life, you’re going to have to get used to it.”
He swallowed it back but tightened his hold a little. She wriggled, but it was more to get closer than anything sexual.
“You’re a pain in the ass.”
“I know. How on earth do you put up with me?” she asked sleepily.
He smiled, let her hear it in his voice. “It’s a trial at times.”
Her harrumph didn’t have much behind it. Then, she got a little heavier as she sighed, dropping into sleep right there in his arms.
After a few minutes more, he carried her into the bedroom and settled at her side, curled around her. A last touch, his fingertip slid across the ring she wore that marked her as his. That metal she said carried the magic of the women who’d come before her.
She fit into that line well, he thought as sleep began to sink hooks into his consciousness.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Mac Pembry strolled in to Salt & Pepper as Katie Faith shared some dinner with her friends the next day.