by Zoe Chant
“I was just telling Ken and Aunt Lynn about Doctor Who,” she said after she swallowed.
Stella smiled fondly. “Of course you were. I don’t understand a thing that happens on that show,” she confided to Lynn.
“Mom,” Eva said. “You’ve seen, like, twenty episodes.”
She turned back to Ken, and Stella whispered, “I never pay much attention. But she likes it when I sit with her while she watches.”
“I like it when she tells me about it,” Lynn said back in a low voice. “But I never remember any of it.”
They smiled at each other, and Lynn was struck by the moment—when was the last time they’d been in perfect accord like this? And it all would’ve been ruined if Lynn had started the morning by criticizing her sister about choices she’d already made and couldn’t take back.
“So what do you want to do now?” she asked, as neutral as she could manage.
Stella looked startled again. Then she scowled. “You mean, how am I going to fix this latest screwup?”
Lynn’s instinct was to scowl back, but she stomped down on it and smiled instead. “No, I mean, what do you want to do now?”
The scowl slowly faded as Stella studied Lynn’s face, maybe searching for signs of derision or sarcasm.
“Well,” she said finally, “I have to get our stuff back from Todd’s place. I guess I’ll wait until he’d be at work, and go pick it up. So that’ll have to wait until tomorrow, he’s off today. And then…” She hesitated. “We’ll need to stay here until I can get a job.”
In the past, Lynn thought, she might’ve made some comment about Stella having been fired from half the jobs in town already, so what plans did she have for somehow getting a new one? Now that she thought about it, she realized how unhelpful that would’ve been.
It was true—or, well, not half the jobs in town, but a few of them, for sure. And Lynn had always thought that that made it all right to say. After all, if Stella couldn’t face the truth, how could she ever change?
But being reminded of past failures wouldn’t put her in a mindset of success, either. That was for sure.
“I hired one of the Oliver’s waitresses away a little while ago,” Lynn said instead. “They had another girl working for a bit, but she quit in a hurry. I think they’re still looking. They’d probably be happy to have you.”
Stella had worked for Oliver’s on and off over the years. As far as Lynn knew, she’d never been fired, only left when she was moving in with this or that boyfriend or leaving town for this or that wild idea.
Stella blinked. “Thanks. I didn’t think—”
“Didn’t think what?” Lynn asked after a second.
“Oh, it doesn’t matter what I thought. Thanks, Lynn, I’ll definitely do that.” She smiled, and the warmth in it was genuine.
It was funny, Lynn thought—she’d always figured Stella for capricious and unreliable. She’d decide to do one thing one moment, and then the next moment, she’d want something else. She’d leave a boyfriend, go back to him, and then leave him again.
But another way of thinking about it was that Stella was too warm-hearted to hold a grudge. She never wanted to believe that someone could truly be cruel, and she never wanted to let go of an opportunity for something good to happen.
She was perpetually optimistic, and it got her in trouble. But seeing her little sister smile happily at her, just because of a few words of encouragement—when she’d been half-expecting Stella to be suspicious of her, because Lynn had criticized her so much in the past—Lynn couldn’t judge her for it.
Maybe there was a virtue in Stella that Lynn had just never recognized. Maybe Lynn could stand to be a little more optimistic, a little less suspicious. A little happier with whatever might happen.
After all, she’d been hit with something totally unexpected, in the form of one Ken Turner, and that was the sort of thing Lynn usually hated. And she’d been suspicious of him. But it had turned out to be the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to her.
In the same situation, Stella would’ve been delighted from the start.
It was something to think about.
After breakfast—a more pleasant breakfast than any Lynn could remember, the morning after one of Stella’s stunts—Ken’s phone rang.
“Aha,” he said, and answered it. “Hello, sir.”
Oh. Lynn suddenly understood what Ken’s plan was. He was going to ask his old commanding officer for help.
Help. Of course.
It was such a foreign concept to Lynn. She’d always been so sure she had to stand on her own two feet, especially after Grandmother had passed away. After all, no one was going to do anything for her, were they? And she had to prove that she could make it on her own.
Why, though? Why did she have to make it on her own? That wasn’t how people worked—humans or shifters. People lived in towns. Shifters had packs.
Lynn had never had a pack. The idea suddenly seemed amazing. Having a whole group of people to rely on—and people she could help, if they needed it. People who all relied on each other.
And enough people so that if one left, like Stella always did, or passed on, like Grandmother had, no one would be left all alone.
Ken was explaining the situation in a low voice. Then he said, “Yes, sir. Yes, sir, I’d appreciate that. You can? Thank you, sir.” He hung up.
“Colonel Hanes?” Lynn asked, eyebrows raised.
Ken nodded. “I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up before I heard back, because God knows he’s not under any obligation to drop everything and help one of his former Marines. And I didn’t even know if he was currently in town.”
“You could’ve asked me,” Lynn said, smiling. “I work with his stepdaughter, after all.”
Ken looked startled. “That’s right. You mentioned that, and I didn’t even think of it. Wow, small towns really are all interconnected, aren’t they?”
“They are.” It occurred to Lynn that she could’ve called Nina, or Cal, and asked for the Glacier leopard pack to come help. They would have come, she thought.
Maybe she’d been less alone than she realized, even before Ken arrived.
“So he’s coming?” she asked Ken.
“I shouldn’t have had a second of doubt,” Ken said ruefully. “Of course he’s not going to leave one of his Marines to face trouble alone. That’s how he always was, and he hasn’t changed.”
And in fact, it wasn’t long at all before a car was pulling into the driveway, and out came Colonel Wilson Hanes (retired), of the United States Marine Corps—and his mate, Mavis, Nina’s mother.
Both of them were snow leopard shifters, although Mavis had only been changed recently, after she and Wilson met. Lynn had only met Mavis in her professional capacity as a financial advisor, and only spoken to Wilson a few times, but she heard Nina talk about them so often, it seemed like she knew them well.
They came up the drive and knocked, and Lynn opened the door with Ken standing at her side. “Come in,” she told them. “Thank you for stopping by on such short notice. I really appreciate the help that you’ve offered. You didn’t have to.”
“Turner here asked me to come, and I wasn’t about to say no,” Wilson said. His voice was deep and warm, and he held out his hand for first Lynn, and then Ken to shake. He had a strong grip, but none of the attempts at showing off that some men would put into handshakes.
Mavis smiled at Lynn. “And I wasn’t about to stay behind. Hello, Lynn, it’s always good to see you.”
“You as well.” Lynn smiled back, feeling the same thing she always felt around Mavis: a little rough and unkempt. Mavis was only a few years older than Lynn, maybe fifty or so, but she was still beautiful, and—more intimidatingly—graceful. She had a sort of understated elegance about her that Lynn would never, ever be able to emulate.
And would always have sworn that she didn’t want, of course, but when she saw Mavis, she always had a moment of wistfulness, wondering how the ot
her woman achieved such a stunning effect.
And she looked happy, too, which was always nice to see. She and Nina had had such a tragic history. Even though Lynn only knew a little bit about it, she was so glad that mother and daughter had finally found each other again, and that Mavis had a mate like Wilson to care for her, after what sounded like a truly awful marriage in her past.
“Let’s have a sit-down and talk tactics, then,” Wilson rumbled, and they all somehow found themselves in the front room, with Stella and Eva sitting on the chairs by the fireplace, and Ken and Wilson positioned with their eyes on the windows. Lynn narrowed her eyes and seated herself next to Ken.
She might not have been a Marine, but she knew enough to keep an eye out for trouble, and she wasn’t going to be left out of defending her little sister, if it was necessary.
“So we’ve got a pack of wolves,” Wilson was saying. “We know how many?”
“Six at least,” Ken answered. “Don’t know how many would bother to show up here.”
“Maybe they won’t come,” Stella piped up, sounding a little desperate. “There’s no reason to mess with us. They’re not all bad guys, just a little—rowdy.”
Perpetual optimism again, Lynn thought.
“Has Todd contacted you?” Ken asked her.
Stella had her phone in her hand, Lynn realized. She clutched at it, her knuckles whitening. “Well…yes.”
“What did he say?” Lynn asked. “Did he threaten you?”
“Not—well.” Stella sighed. “Not really threaten. He wants me to come back.”
And what did you say? Lynn thought suspiciously, wondering if Stella’s perpetual optimism was going to get in the way again.
But Eva beat her too it. “You told him no, Mom, right?” she asked, nervous.
Stella put her arm around her daughter’s shoulders. “Of course I told him no, sweetheart. I’m not letting you go back to that house again, I promise.”
Of course. Stella might always be willing to give people a second chance, but she was a fierce shifter mother, and she’d never let Eva stay somewhere she might be in danger. Lynn shouldn’t even have doubted.
Another reason that she should lighten up on Stella, she thought. It wasn’t even just that Stella didn’t benefit from remembering the past—it was that Lynn was conditioned to assume things about Stella. And maybe those things weren’t always true. Maybe Lynn was remembering things wrongly, sometimes, because of how angry she’d gotten in the past.
“Anyway,” Stella said, “he seemed to think—well, I think he’s going to show up and cause trouble, for sure. I don’t know if the pack’ll be with him or not.”
“Probably,” Eva said bitterly. “Those guys can’t do anything by themselves. They’re like a preschool class on a field trip, all holding hands in a big long line.”
There was a pause while everyone took this in, and then Ken laughed, a big, bright laugh that relaxed the room immediately.
“I like you, kid,” he told Eva. “Okay. Sir, you have any suggestions for tactics?” he asked Wilson.
“Let’s keep a few people on watch here today,” Wilson said thoughtfully. “The more time goes by, the more likely it is these wolves will get bored and forget about the whole thing. Today’s the day we’re most likely to see real trouble.”
“Today’s my day off,” Lynn offered. “I was thinking about taking walkins, but Nina can handle those.”
Mavis smiled in real pleasure at the mention of her daughter. “I’m sure she can. She’s settling in so well with you.”
Lynn nodded sincerely. “I’m not worried at all. She can handle the office by herself, no problem.”
“Good.” Mavis turned to Wilson. “I can work remotely today. I’ve even got my laptop in the car, so there’s no issue with sticking around.”
Wilson took her hand. “You don’t have to. The rest of us can handle any trouble. I know you don’t like violence.”
“I don’t like entitled men thinking they can frighten women into submission, either,” Mavis said tartly. “And if I have a chance to stop some of them, I’m going to stick around and take it.”
Wilson smiled. “Then I’ll be glad to have you here.”
Stella was looking around the room with a startled frown on her face. Lynn knew how that expression felt. “You’d all stay here for us?” she asked. “You don’t have to. I don’t even know you,” as she turned to Wilson and Mavis. Then she looked over at Ken. “And I just met you yesterday.”
“It’s just like I told Todd,” Ken said to her. “Lynn’s my mate. So you and Eva are my family now. And there’s no way I’m going to stand aside and do nothing when I could be protecting my family.”
“Besides,” said Wilson with a dark expression, “it’s to nobody’s benefit to allow a pack of wolves to go around terrorizing women and children. I don’t want dangerous men like that roaming around thinking they can do whatever they want. Particularly not in the town where I live with my mate.” He touched Mavis’ shoulder.
“And you know I’m not going anywhere,” Lynn added. She moved to sit closer to Stella, leaning against her side. “No one threatens my little sister and my niece and gets away with it.”
Stella smiled, blinking a little too fast. “Well, then, I’m—I’m grateful. I’ll make it up to you guys.”
“Make it up to us by being happier without that jerk in your life,” Lynn said. “For now, let’s work out how we’re going to keep these guys away.”
***
Ken and the Colonel worked together to set up a perimeter. The women were willing participants; Eva was sent upstairs, but Mavis, Lynn, and even Stella wanted to be part of the watch crew.
“This might be for nothing,” Ken warned them as they were pointing out the best spots to take up a position. “Maybe no one will show up today and nothing will happen. Being on watch is pretty much always boring. And boring’s what you want, because that means nothing’s going wrong.”
Lynn nodded seriously. Stella quirked her mouth in a smile and said, “I’d actually rather they did show up, because then I’d know something. If nothing happens today, then I’m just going to be wondering when I’m going to turn a corner and Todd’ll be there.” Her smile flattened out. “Although I guess that even if they do show up today, they might just show up again later.”
“Trust me,” Ken said with conviction, “if they show up today, they’re going to learn that they’ve made a mistake.”
Lynn had smiled grimly. It was clear as day to Ken that she was looking forward to making some wolf regret his decisions.
It was also clear as day that she was the perfect mate for him. A woman who could kick ass—what more could a man want?
Now, he was out in the yard, scanning the forest from the cover of the patio.
Then he caught the scent.
Wolf.
He crouched and waited, easing his phone out of his pocket to text the Colonel. He didn’t shift yet. In his human form, his scent wouldn’t be as noticeable, and they’d be expecting there to be people around. He didn’t want to scare them off before he had a chance to give them a piece of his mind.
There was a soft tap on the glass door behind him, and he glanced back to see Lynn just inside. He motioned for her to stay where she was, and they waited together.
His mate guarding his back. That was a hell of a nice feeling.
The wolves came out of the forest in shifted form, two of them. But once they were in the yard, they shifted back to human. Neither of them was Todd, but Ken recognized them both as part of the game-watching group last night. They were nudging each other and laughing to themselves.
“Take a look at that house,” one of them was saying to the other. “She must have money.”
“What was she doing in that hole of a place with Todd, then?” the other wondered. “There’s no way. Maybe her other boyfriend lives here.”
“Guess we better show her what happens when she disrespects a wolf like that,” s
aid the first one. They both laughed again.
A fun prank, Ken thought grimly. Showing up to terrorize an innocent woman and her seventeen-year-old daughter. What a great time for the whole pack to enjoy.
One of the wolves had found a rock, about the size of his fist. He showed it to his buddy, who grinned, and then he hefted in his palm a couple of times.
Ken couldn’t think of a better opening than this. He shifted, keeping his body low-down behind the big bushes next to the patio. They still hadn’t seen him, and the wind was in his favor, so they weren’t scenting him, either.
The wolf hauled his arm back, ready to send the rock through one of the windows. Just as he was about to release, Ken leaped, letting out an ear-splitting roar.
He landed, crouched, in front of the two wolves. The rock fell from the first guy’s fingers, landing behind his back with a thump. The two of them scrambled backward, shifting belatedly.
Ken eyed them with disdain. They were small and scruffy; they didn’t look like they could handle themselves in a fight at all. Probably spent most of their time in human form drinking beer and watching TV, he thought—and when they were shifted, making trouble for others instead of hunting or learning anything about how to handle themselves.
He could see them sizing him up. Two against one, they probably thought. But he was a hell of a lot bigger than either of them.
The sound of the glass door got his attention. He cocked an ear, keeping an eye on the wolves in front of him. One of them had moved his attention to where Ken could hear the sound of footsteps. The other kept his frightened eyes on Ken.
There was a puff of displaced air, and then the scent of stalking lynx rose on the wind. Ken took one step to the side, leaving room for Lynn to take up position next to him.
Now there wasn’t even the slim chance of victory they might’ve hoped for before, facing just Ken. Two big cats against them, and even Lynn was at least as big as either of them, and in way better shape.
One of them decided to try anyway. With a snarl, he leapt at Lynn—choosing the smaller combatant, maybe hoping to enrage Ken by hurting her, push him into a bad decision.