The Ulfic's Mate

by Leona J. Bushman

  He pulled on his cowboy boots, trying to regain his equilibrium. He felt Alex’s fury as well. She had read his thought of drugs and knew her mother likely had something to do with it, and the betrayal had rocked Alex again. For that alone, Nolan would willingly kill.

  When he was dressed, he went over to Kamiakin. “How’d he find you?”

  “Must have followed me from the bar I was at when you called. I didn’t notice until I’d pulled down this street. Glad you were here. What are we going to do with him?”

  Nolan sighed. Kamiakin’s voice shook with fear, not of the unknown man, but of the consequences of failing his ulfric. The lieutenant’s thoughts might as well have been put in neon lights, they were so clear to him. He wondered if he would ever get to the point of being able to block such thoughts. Or maybe he shouldn’t. It helped him in so many ways as leader.

  Later, he promised himself. Later, he could ponder the positive and negative impact of reading people’s thoughts and desires. For now, he had to deal with Kamiakin’s fear as well as help the one who had attacked them.

  “Get him inside. We need information from him. Figure this mess out,” he finished tiredly. There were days when being in charge exhausted him. “Then we’ll deal with the original reason I called you here.”

  Following them into the warehouse, Nolan felt a prickle of unease as if someone were watching him. He looked around but could sense no one lurking in the shadows. The awareness would not leave him though, so he took the extra precaution of locking the door behind them after entering the building.

  Walking over to the center where Kamiakin had the stranger, Nolan contemplated on how to best get the information he needed. But once he heard the man’s thoughts, he decided on the direct approach.

  “Who are you and what the hell are you doing attacking someone so obviously an alpha?” The stunned look on the man’s face almost made Nolan smile. The prisoner had been expecting them to kill him, as was their right under pack justice.

  “I’m Marty Finch. I was told that you two were responsible for the killing of the pregnant weres in your pack you disapproved of and that you planned on killing any pregnant weres not of your pack. I’m beginning to doubt my source. You could’ve killed me already and you haven’t.” The man spoke quietly, shame creeping in as he talked.

  “Hold that thought. I still might. Even if someone made you believe I and my second in command were responsible, why do you care? As a submissive, it’s not your job to take care of an alpha, especially not of our status. The ulfric and his second are not people to send a submissive after.” The emotional distress coming off the man kept Nolan from getting any clear thoughts. Outwardly, the man appeared calm, but inwardly, he was a mess.

  “I just found out my mate is pregnant,” he whispered. The silence in the room was deafening. The man’s fear, joy, and pride all warred with his anger and frustration, and Nolan was swamped by it both physically and telepathically.

  Now Nolan understood what motivation could be so strong to cause a normally submissive male to attack the alphas from another pack. Protecting the mate and their young was imprinted on the werewolf psyche so strongly, few could deny its impulses, even against the logic of their human sides.

  He felt Kamiakin’s exhale of relief as he too realized the reason behind the attack was something they could fight.

  “Ulfric?” he questioned. Nolan shrugged, not answering the unspoken question. Nolan waited and let Kamiakin do his job. The reason Nolan had a second in command was to handle some of the crap he hated. Kamiakin was staring at Nolan, waiting for him to do something. However, Kamiakin needed to handle this to get back some of his confidence and maintain his alpha position.

  “Marty, what pack are you from?” Kamiakin had lowered the pistol so it no longer pointed at Marty, but Nolan noticed Kamiakin’s finger had not left the trigger.

  “I’m from the Seathe pack. My mate’s a descendant of the Quinalt tribe.” Surprise flickered across Kamiakin’s features. The Quinalt tribe were not known to have any weres, wolf or otherwise.

  Nolan thought that was strange given the color of his hair—red. Only a few shades darker than Alex’s. But he would look into it later.

  “She’s a were?” Kamiakin asked.

  “Yes, but her parents aren’t. My wife and I are trying to track the lineage to find out if there are weres in her family history. It’s difficult since we can’t ask her parents. I’m sorry. I had to fight for my right to mate her since no one in my pack believed she could change since her tribe isn’t known to have weres. She had to prove it to my pack. After she became pregnant, it was even more worrisome since her family can’t protect her while I’m at work. They have no idea what we are so have no understanding that she needs protecting. They think I’m an over worrisome father-to-be.” Marty was talking more comfortably now, completely at ease with what was obviously a familiar story to him.

  “What of your pack?” Kamiakin, more comfortable now with the threat neutralized, easily fell back into his role.

  “My pack’s policy is for the mother’s family to protect her while the mate is away. It usually works. My family is older, with only one brother still alive. He’s in Iraq. So there’s no one who can protect her from another alpha if they chose to kill her. I’m sorry for the attack on you. I’m desperate.”

  “I can see how you were pushed into attacking us. Where did you get your information?” Kamiakin asked, putting the gun away in his holster.

  Nolan nodded his approval. Good. The threat had been minimized and his second did not feel the need for the show of strength. Maybe this night could be salvaged after all. He folded his hands across his chest and leaned against a table a little way off while Marty and Kamiakin talked. He liked watching his lieutenant at work.

  The drug haze in Marty’s mind quickly wore off; the adrenaline seemed to have rushed the poison out. It took a lot to make drugs effective on a were, and Nolan guessed someone had hand-fed him some at the bar Kamiakin had been taking his turn at watching Joseph.

  “Someone named Joseph from your pack came over,” Marty replied to Kamiakin’s question. “He met with our leaders; then the leaders had us attend a meeting that Joseph spoke at. Everyone’s afraid of you now.”

  “Joseph? Do you know a last name?”

  “No, he was only introduced as Joseph. Said he had a mate back home who was pregnant and he was afraid he and his wife were next.”

  “What next?” Kamiakin asked even though Nolan could see he knew the answer.

  “That Joseph’s mate would be the next pregnant were you mutilated because of personal animosity between him and the ulfric.”

  Fury exploded in Nolan’s chest as he realized the double whammy Roxy had set up with Joseph’s move. One, she had informed everyone of how many pregnant weres were in his pack in an insidious manner sure to cause envy and fear among the other packs. Second, by implying he was responsible for their deaths, she’d made him look dangerous and heartless enough to kill his own pregnant pack members, presumably because they’d displeased him, which made him lethal as an enemy—an enemy with a rapidly growing pack.

  “Kamiakin,” he interrupted the questioning softly. “We need to find somewhere safe for Marty to stay. Call in the pack’s guards and have one of them take him where he decides to go. One who hasn’t had any recent connection to Joseph. Marty, you need to keep this information to yourself. You can either go home to your mate in the morning, with no consequences from us, or stay here under our protection. Or, if you fear retaliation, you can have your mate brought here where we’ll keep her safe as well.”

  “Retaliation?” Marty asked, confused. “If you’re not retaliating, then what do I have to fear?”

  “The ones who set you up for this attack are not your friends. And they may have had ulterior motives we aren’t aware of yet. Also, you failed to kill either one of us.”

  Nolan sighed as he sensed the fear which washed through the younger male. It had not
occurred to poor Marty that he might be leaving his mate in more danger by leaving her with his pack.

  “I’d be grateful if you could have her brought here,” Marty said.

  Nolan nodded at Kamiakin who looked at Nolan with a sort of awed agreement.

  “I’ll call in Lisa Sanchez. She hasn’t been on detail with Joseph for personal reasons. And she’s a midwife. Would be good for Marty’s mate,” Kamiakin said.

  “Agreed. Marty, I need you to wait over there,” Nolan said, pointing to indicate where he meant. “I have business with Kamiakin.”

  ***

  They waited until Marty moved near a dampening field. Nearly impossible for him to overhear and effectively blurring other quiet sounds in the room. An extra precaution Nolan had set up by installing the proper electronics when he’d had the remodel on the building done to meet the pack’s needs.

  “Joseph’s betrayed the pack?” Kamiakin asked indignantly. “Bad enough he’s been trying to overthrow you by manipulating others to fight you but to go outside the pack like that?”

  Fury hit Nolan in waves, his own and Kamiakin’s. He saw Kamiakin’s face change from angry to startled to awed. “Sorry,” Nolan said when he saw the direction of his lieutenant’s gaze. “When I get seriously angry, I make those around me shift. I’m learning to control it more, but it’s still new.”

  “You can make other alphas shift?”

  “Yes, and other weres, I think. But that’s not the issue at hand. We need to deal with Joseph. There’s more. He’s the reason I called you here.”

  Kamiakin’s fury roared back to the forefront. “There’s more? Enough for a secret meeting? I’ll kill him myself,” he growled out.

  Nolan looked over at Marty, who was staring at them in fear. He was changing. Nolan took a deep breath and calmed himself. Business. It’s just like another police bust.

  “Nolan?”

  “I’m okay. I’m angry, and I caused another pack’s submissive to change. I hope he has another set of clothing in his car.”

  “The one you caused to change, is it the same person you were fighting earlier?”

  “Yeah. Why?” Curious now, it helped take his anger down to a manageable level despite Kamiakin’s fury.

  “The image in your mind, it was…” she hesitated, then changed tactics. “He’s the spitting image of my dad,” she said.

  Nolan did not know what to say. It explained her earlier gasp. “I’m planning on putting him into protective custody with one of our elite guard. He’ll be safe. We’re also bringing in his mate, so you can talk to them later if you want.”

  “Really? Thank you!” Alex sounded delighted. Nolan hoped it went as she wanted.

  “I need to smooth the fur of poor Marty Finch. Any ideas?”

  “You called his wolf. Soothe the wolf.”

  He smiled. Of course. “Thanks,” he said.

  Nolan walked toward Marty. Nolan did a partial shift to bring the smell of his wolf out for Marty to get a whiff. Since it was not a fight, he only shifted one hand. The submissive wolf went on his back exposing his belly, his fear palpable in the confines of the warehouse. Even Kamiakin’s respect and awe held a tinge of fear.

  Squatting over Marty, Nolan took the hand, which was now a wolf paw with long claws, and scratched down the wolf’s belly. He made sure he did not puncture the skin. “Change back to human when you’re able or ready. I didn’t mean to hurt you or force the change.” The wolf nodded, so Nolan stood up and strode back to Kamiakin.

  “Joseph was instrumental in the kidnapping of Alex.” He watched the display of emotions cross the face of his second in command. When Kamiakin’s eyes widened slightly, Nolan knew he’d realized some of the political fallout.

  “You haven’t killed Joseph. Why have you waited?”

  “Number of reasons. Mainly because I just received confirmation rather than only having my suspicions. He gets the choice of pack justice or human justice. Also, there’s an accomplice in my precinct. I have to find out who it is, and I’m hoping Joseph can lead me to him or her. However, if I haven’t found the accomplice before the plan I’m about to tell you is finished, Joseph will be punished.”

  Kamiakin took a step back from him when his last words came out with a fierce growl. The wolf in him was satisfied at the show of fear. He wanted blood.

  “After we take care of Joseph, we can figure out how to tell the pack about Alex at the meeting next week.” Kamiakin doused his fear and moved on to the challenge of finding a solution.

  Nolan outlined his plan, including Sherona’s part in it. His pack’s elite guard would take Joseph and bring him to the pack’s holding site while Nolan and Alex moved in on Boris and Roxy. As expected, Kamiakin protested.

  “Why do we have Sherona and the guards when you’re only taking Alex?”

  “If Roxy refuses my challenge, she’ll lose face with her pack. I believe that most of her pack would be willing to change leadership. She is cruel and kills without care or thought. Boris is the main threat. But they don’t know Alex is a true were.”

  Confusion clouded Kamiakin’s expression before he spoke. “How could they not know? And if they don’t, why is she in the pack?”

  “It’s a long, complicated story. I’ll have her tell you sometime. But it boils down to her being a natural healer, like her mother. It’s her gift. She’s also a fully certified doctor, so they don’t want to lose her. Even with her mother as backup. Which is another ace in the hole for us. When their pack finds out Boris and Jason kidnapped the healer and tied her up, they’ll be in an uproar.”

  “I don’t like it, but I can see your points. I’m sending two elite guards after you, though. Fifteen minutes behind you. And if they don’t like what they see, they’re coming to get the rest of us. I know Sherona well, and she can finish off Joseph. She’s got the killer instinct.”

  Nolan wanted to protest but did not. What if he lost or Roxy’s pack cheated somehow? He would need Alex protected. “Promise me that if something happens to me, you’ll pull Alex out of there. She won’t be safe within the pack if Roxy wins.”

  Kamiakin nodded his agreement, but Nolan could feel his reluctance. He wished he had more time to explain everything, but he felt the need to get back to Alex and Marty needed to be taken to safety.

  “Marty!” he called, making sure to speak louder than the dampening field. “Come here.”

  When Marty stood before him, Nolan asked, “Are you alone or did someone come with you?”

  Nolan passively watched as Marty’s face screwed up. The man was concentrating hard on Nolan’s question and why he was asking. “Alone,” Mary answered, reluctance evident in the drawn out word.

  “You’re sure? I thought I sensed someone earlier.”

  “As far as I know, I was alone. But I don’t know anymore. Everything’s too complicated.”

  “Okay. We’ll protect you. Give Kamiakin the information for reaching your mate, and then you call her and fill her in. Let her know we’ll be protecting both of you. I don’t want any more deaths of our women.”

  “Yes, thank you. I will,” Marty answered, before trailing behind Kamiakin out to their respective vehicles.

  Nolan followed, paying close attention to the dark spots where someone would likely hide. He did not feel the presence any longer, but he did not want to take any chances. If something happened to Marty while under his protection, there would be war with Marty’s pack. And that, he suddenly realized as the feeling of surety flowed through him, was exactly the point.

  War.

  Roxy wanted there to be war between his pack and the other strong packs in the state. It would make it easier for her to take over. He had other plans for her. Plans which included pack justice.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Alex roamed around Nolan’s house, getting to know him. His taste in books and movies was proving entertaining. Everything from Nine Months Later to Aliens vs Predator. She smiled as she thought of the duality of the man. He w
as a tough fighter and loving man, then blushed as she thought of how those two traits sometimes intertwined for her benefit.

  After she had snooped as much as she dared without his permission, she got a glass of iced soda and looked out his huge bay windows. Mount Adams rose up in the distance. From where she stood, it seemed a lifetime away. Yet she knew those mountain trails as well as anyone. They had been her comfort when she had needed to get away from her pack.

  All these years, she had never thought much about the possibility of her father having other children. The instinctive protectiveness of a child’s mind or the subconscious knowledge that it would put them in danger if she found them? Those were two reasons she hadn’t wanted to face the possibility that he’d had other children before dying.

  She tried to stay out of Nolan’s head, especially with her own feelings in conflict about Marty. He had intended to kill her mate. She felt the low growl from deep within her at the thought. But he had stopped and had possibly been under the influence of drugs.

  She wished she could be sure her mother had not had anything to do with it this time, but with Joseph’s involvement, there was still a chance.

  She wanted revenge on everyone. Roxy, Boris, her mother, Marty, for a myriad of reasons, and the unaccustomed anger and harsh feelings warred with her healer’s normal wish to take care of people. Back and forth, her mind battled between wanting to help them and wanting to hurt them.

  She sank to the floor. She stayed there for about fifteen minutes trying to find her Center. Nothing. Both needs were just as strong within her. The need to protect her mate, herself, and the unborn weres. Even justice seemed too good for those who would take her mate from her or kill others with unborn children.

  She felt tears streaming down her face and angrily wiped them away. Her mom had either kept a lot of secrets from her to hide her nefarious dealings with Roxy or had protected her from getting caught up in it. She felt Nolan trying to comfort her but did not allow him to.