Wolf's Bane (Shifted)

by Leite, Lynn

  “Ashley, honey, are you alright?” she said rushing toward them.”

  “I’m alright, Auntie. Just worried.”

  “Drew told me about your call. Come in and get settled,” she said putting her arm around her niece to lend support. “Bryce, your family is here. We are all in the great room. They would all like to hear exactly what happened?”

  Bryce followed the women. He told Julie what they knew about the call as they made their way back to the pack house. He would feel better once Ashley was inside. He didn’t think the men after her would dare come for her when she was surrounded by guards and his brothers, but they could report back to Bane that she was indeed there. Ashley had been right about one thing. She couldn’t spend the rest of her life hiding in the pack house. They needed a plan. He just hoped one of them could come up with one.

  The loss of contact with Bryce’s hand was slightly uncomfortable when Ashley’s aunt swept in and started leading her into the house. She knew her aunt was trying to comfort her and meant well, but she wanted Bryce. She looked back over her shoulder noticing Bryce was not far behind. His smile told her he wasn’t going far, so she relaxed a bit.

  The Great Room was designed for huge gatherings, yet the presence of Bryce’s brothers along with their father and a woman she assumed was their mother, made the room look small.

  “Ash, this is my mother, Jane,” Bryce said steering her toward the one person in the room she didn’t know. His hand was on the small of her back as he led her through the room. The questioning stares told her they might be figuring it out. She went from being afraid to have a man in the room, to having one touch her intimately in a matter of hours. This was no time to make some big announcement. They had things to discuss.

  “I see where Lexi gets her looks from,” she smiled. The woman had red hair and a petite frame just like her daughter. The boys had obviously taken after their father in the looks department. Ashley’s mind wandered to images of a redheaded child running toward her. The daydream had her smiling.

  “So pleased to finally meet you. My boys have spoken highly of you.”

  “I can’t imagine why. I’ve been a wreck since I got here,” Ashley joked.

  “You seem to have made an impression on all of them.” Jane looked at Bryce, who just nodded to his mother.

  The next hour, the room filled with ideas as to how to proceed. Ashley was surprised when Lexi walked in with her mate, Gage. He looked like Maverick and Royal, who she had met just after the attack. You could tell from a mile away he was a Cheveyo. You could also tell he was completely devoted to Lexi.

  Lexi bounced over to the couch that Ashley was sitting on beside Bryce. They weren’t touching, but the nearness of him soothed her.

  “I see you two figured it out,” she said in a hush bending to kiss her brother’s cheek.

  “You knew?” he said a little louder than he had intended.

  “I had an idea, yes.”

  “How?” Ashley asked as she looked up at the woman that was now pretty much her sister-in- law.

  “The way you looked at each other. I’m so happy for both of you. Have you said anything to the others?”

  “No, it didn’t seem like the right time.”

  “I suppose you’re right,” Lexi smiled before going back to Gage.

  11

  The next few hours were filled with one after the other sharing their ideas on how to handle the Bane situation. Ashley was feeling self-conscious. The mate fever would explain Bryce being so devoted to her but not the others. Being an only child, she wasn’t used to having a huge family rally around her in support. Every single person in the room was there for her.

  “If Bane is out for blood, why would he tell the shifters he sent to bring her back alive?” Matt asked plunging the room into silence. Most of them had been very careful to not upset her. Matt pointing out that Bane wanting her brought back alive didn’t make sense, was the first time they had discussed anything but hiding her.

  Bryce stiffened beside her as she answered. “My guess would be that he wants to make an example of me.’”

  “Example?” Bryce’s mother asked.

  “I killed his son. Warren Bane isn’t exactly father of the year. It was probably taken as more of an insult to his authority. When the council stepped in, he wasn’t all broken up about Richard’s death. He was more concerned that I had defied his Alpha order. I hate to think about it, but he might be thinking a public execution would show the others in the pack what happened when you defy the Alpha. Then, of course, there is the possibility that he wants me alive to force a mating with one of his other sons.”

  “Oh, hell no!” Bryce growled. Ashley placed a hand on his to calm him.

  “He might just want me dead, but it seemed like he was more concerned with the mating and having his line strengthened. The pack has many young women in it, but Bane is careful not to allow other Alpha shifters other than his sons’ into the pack. I am the only female with an Alpha lineage in my family. Bane is all about power.”

  “He has to know you won’t agree,” Lexi said looking at Ashley.

  “I don’t think he cares whether I agree or not. If he gets to me, I won’t be given a choice. The only reason I was able to defy his Alpha command in the first place was that my will is strong. I’m sure he equates that to my lineage.”

  “He’s trying to breed super grandchildren?” Colin said as more of a statement than a question.

  “That would be my guess. Otherwise, why not just send them to kill me?”

  “Ash, these men your friend mentioned, what do you know about them?” Drew asked in an Alpha tone.

  “They are enforcers. They were with Richard the night I was attacked. I’m actually surprised Bane didn’t have them executed when they failed to protect his son.”

  “Sending them here might as well be an execution,” Aiden growled. “If they come after you, it is a death sentence. You have both the Reiner pack and the Cheveyos protecting you.”

  “You know what? That might be it,” Matt said. Ashley could tell the were had an idea. She could almost see the wheels turning in the man’s head. “Ashley, Bane knows Drew’s your uncle, right?”

  “Yeah, that’s why the whole mating thing was even arranged.” Ashley looked at her uncle who had a pained look on his face. “Uncle, it isn’t your fault. It’s just a fact,” she tried to tell him. She could tell he was now thinking it was his fault.

  Matt continued. “He knows you’re probably here with Drew. What he doesn’t know is that the Cheveyo pack has any connection. Lexi and Gage’s mating was recent. He won’t expect another pack defending you. The Reiner pack is small. He might think he can get to you?”

  “They are probably watching for you somewhere in the area,” Lars agreed with his son.

  Gage nodded. He seemed to be following the thoughts of the others. Ashley wasn’t. “So what are you thinking?”

  Matt thought for a moment before speaking. “I was thinking we let them see her.”

  “What!” Bryce roared.

  “Calm down. Let me finish. What if we let them follow Ashley on our terms. We can seem like we’re hiding her somewhere. Then when they come, they won’t expect the Cheveyo guard to be anywhere near. It will look like an easy job.”

  “You’re suggesting we use her as bait?” Bryce tried to calm the rage building inside him.

  “Bryce, it makes sense,” Ashley agreed.

  “You’re seriously considering this?” Ashley was once again floored by the differences in the pack she had grown up in and this one. Her mate was letting her decide. He wasn’t demanding she do it his way.

  “I am considering it. Maverick said he would help. Maybe taking him up on his offer is the best way to end this.”

  “I don’t like it,” Bryce groaned.

  “I didn’t think you would, but think about it. I can’t just hide here. I can’t go off on my own; they would follow me for sure.”

  “So we get the two
were’s that are following you, then what? Won’t Bane just send more?”

  “Let him send more,” Gage interjected. “The more he sends, the weaker his pack is. I know that Ashley is the main focus, but we do need to consider the bigger picture. Bane can’t be allowed to continue. I know both my Brother and the council agree on this point. I don’t see this ending without Bane being eliminated.”

  “Then what would happen to the pack?” Ashley asked. She had no love for Bane, but there were good people in the pack.

  “These sons of his, are they likely to take the lead if their father is eliminated?”

  “I don’t know. Richard was the one Bane had been grooming to take over. Jack and Frank didn’t seem too interested. I think taking Bane out would cripple the pack. I don’t see either of them challenging.”

  “So we, the Cheveyo pack and the Reiner pack, could absorb the Bane Shifters into our community. Letting one of his sons take over might not be the best plan.”

  “You’ll kill Warren?”

  “Ashley, you are my niece. That makes this a direct threat to my family. As Alpha I have the right to take out that threat.”

  Bryce was thinking that gave him the right as well. He wasn’t the Alpha yet, but, as the Alpha heir any threat to his mate being eliminated was within his rights according to pack law.

  Bryce hadn’t made his claim on Ashley known to the men in the room. The timing was bad. He knew he needed to go slow when it came to Ashley’s well-being. She had been through so much in such a short time. A growling, possessive mate wasn’t going to help the situation. She may not be ready for a full mating which involved a bite during sex. She might not be up for either at this time, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t his. The mate fever was all the claim he needed. He was about to make his claim known when Drew continued.

  “I have a lake house not too far from here. I could take her there; make sure the weres Bane sent are watching. Then when they come, they won’t know we expect them. We will have the advantage.

  "I’ll take her, “Bryce snapped. Drew gave him a curious look.

  “Sorry Alpha, but you are needed here. If I take her, they will think she had only a guard. If you go, they will be less likely to make a move on an Alpha. They don’t know I am Alpha. I’ll just look like one of the guard.”

  “Brother, there is no way we are letting you go alone,” Aiden snapped.

  “May I suggest the boys go on ahead to the house? Then, Bryce can follow with Ashley. They will follow Bryce, thinking he is her only protection.” Jane Woodland’s family nodded at her in agreement.

  “And we will be there waiting,” Matt chimed in.

  “That might just work.” Ashley said, seeing for the first time there was hope.

  “It better work,” moaned Bryce.

  Bryce didn’t like the plan, but he saw the wisdom in it. As far as he was concerned, he would lock Ashley in the Alpha house and never let her go. His need to protect her was over riding his common sense, and he knew it. Keeping Ashley locked in his care would only hurt her. What kind of life would that be for his mate and for his future children? He also had the pack to think about. If they remained there, then the Reiner pack would be targeted. He would someday be Alpha. He had to think of the big picture.

  As the others milled around discussing time tables and attack plans, Bryce could see that Ashley was fading. She looked dead on her feet from the day’s events.

  “You need some rest,” he whispered to her as soon as he got close to her.

  “I am tired,” Ashley smiled at Bryce. His concern for her showed on his face.

  “Go to bed. We’ll figure the rest of this out in the morning.”

  “Like I believe that. You boys will be up half the night planning. Look at your brother Matt. He’s all wound up at the prospect of a fight.”

  “He’s the one that should have probably trained as an enforcer. Matt never backs down from anything.”

  “I do feel as if I’m in good hands.”

  “You are in good hands. Now go to bed. Get some rest.”

  “I will. Don’t stay up too late. You need rest too.”

  “I’ll be fine,” Bryce grinned. There was no way he was getting much sleep with Ashley upstairs so close to him.

  Bryce had a suite of rooms at the pack house that Drew had insisted he use when he first asked Bryce to train to take over. Now he wished he had a home to go to. Being so close, unable to take her was going to drive him crazy. He was tempted to make the announcement to the others. Even if this was neither the time, nor the place, to make such a happy declaration.

  He wanted the news to be met with the same joy he felt in his heart, not be over shadowed by plans to rid them of the Bane problem. Tomorrow, he would discuss staying with her. This would be his last night alone in his bed. If she wasn’t ready for more, he would understand, but his mate was going to sleep beside him.

  Ashley made her excuses. No one questioned her need for rest. With all the crying she had done earlier, she had to look like a mess.

  “Ashley?” Jane, Bryce’s mother, called as she started down the hallway after saying her goodnights.

  “Yes, Mrs. Woodland?”

  “Jane, please, or better yet, Mom. I know the men don’t see it, but I do. You are a welcome addition to the family.”

  “How could you tell?”

  “A woman knows. The men, they don’t pay attention to such things. I’ve seen the same look my son wears when he looks at you before. Lars still looks at me that way from time to time.”

  “I’m sorry I’ve put your family in the path of danger.”

  “Now stop that. This is in no way your fault. My boys are very capable of defending themselves as well as others. Bryce would die for you.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

  “You can’t live in fear, Ashley. Fear only cripples you. It doesn’t really solve the problem. You need to be cautious and aware, be smart about your decisions, but don’t be afraid to act. It is my understanding that Bane is coming for you whether you are here or somewhere else, whether you are my son’s mate or not. Do you think for a second that, if you weren’t Bryce’s mate, he would act any differently… that any of my sons - who have no idea you’re Bryce’s mate – would let Bane get away with taking you back?”

  “No, I don’t suppose they would.”

  Ashley saw in Jane a strength that would have been doused if she had been raised Bane. This woman was strong. Her sons respected her. As they had spoken earlier, she saw that both Lars and Uncle Drew listened and valued her input. For so long, she had been trapped in a pack where woman were seen and not heard. Her home life had been the only exception to the oppression women in the pack experienced every day. Regardless of what happened to her, freeing those women, showing them there was a different way, was even more important to her now that she had met Lexi, Faith, Gwen Cheveyo, and her new mother-in-law, Jane Woodland. She knew that Bane had to go.

  12

  It was a little after midnight when the plans for the next few days were finalized. Bryce would escort Ashley to the lake house. To whoever followed them, it would look as if Bryce was her only guard?

  Bryce’s brothers would already be at the house waiting. If Bane’s men decided to make their move on the house, Ashley would be more than protected. Maverick had been called and agreed to be on standby in case his men were needed. Bane wouldn’t expect the Cheveyo’s men; he would have only factored the Reiner troops into whatever plan he had.

  Exhaustion was setting in. This one day had held a lifetime of events. Bryce needed to sleep if he was going be his best while traveling. He doubted that Bane’s men would make a move while they were on the road, but it would be the time they were most vulnerable.

  Bryce blindly headed straight for the bathroom once he entered his suite. A hot shower was the main goal. If he could stay awake long enough to enjoy it. Almost as if he was on auto pilot, he showered and threw some sweat pants and a tee shirt o
n to sleep in. He thought about taking the stairs to the second floor to check on Ashley. He just wanted to see her. Deciding it might scare her to have a man looming in her doorway while she was still half asleep; he chose to wait until morning.

  Opening the door to the bathroom, his bedroom was bathed in the dim light from the doorway.

  “Hi” a small voice said as Bryce noted movement in his bed.

  “Ashley?”

  “You were expecting someone else?”

  “No, I wasn’t really expecting anyone. I thought you went to bed.”

  “I did,” Bryce could see her smile as she rolled to face him. “Are you going to just stand there or are you coming to bed?” she asked shyly. Bryce realize he was still standing in the doorway.

  “I’m trying to remind myself to take it slow.”

  “I was thinking about that.”

  “You were?”

  “Yes, I was thinking that the only reason I was the least bit hesitant was because I was attacked.”

  “That is understandable,” Bryce agreed.

  “Bryce, I know you are not him. When you touch me, I don’t feel fear. I feel like I found peace. I started to go to my room but decided that my mate’s bed is where I wanted to be.”

  “You have no idea how happy that makes me.”

  “So, why are you still standing there? Come to bed.” Bryce could detect a slight waver in Ashley’s voice.

  She was nervous, but, hell, the woman was in his bed. He wasn’t going to just stand in the doorway all night. Ashley slid over as Bryce tucked in next to her. Feeling the warmth of her body next to his was almost too much. “Come here,” he said while pulling her back against him. Feeling her skin against his arms, he stilled for a moment. “Ash you’re naked?”

  “Yes I am,” she smiled in the dim light.

  Bryce growled low in his throat, trying to reign in the urge to flip her over and just take her, as he leaned in to kiss her. He kissed her softly at first. He didn’t want to scare her, but her being there in his bed ready, and apparently willing, was messing with his resolve. The wolf inside him wanted to ravage her, but the man knew she had been through too much to respond to that kind of action. Slowly, he deepened the kiss as he felt her fingers in his hair. She pulled him to her, holding him there as if she thought he might escape. Not likely. This was heaven, and there was no way he was letting her go.