“I don’t know. For now, assume he is the enemy. If on our property, I want him and his men captured, not killed. Belle and I will deal with it from there.” Rick was at his most commanding. The threat was very real, very immediate. There was nothing to discuss, only preparations to be made.
“I’ve been in touch with Emma of the Halle Pride. She assures me everything that we are doing to keep our people safe, they are as well. And they have white shifters among them, friends and loved ones who desperately need protection.” Belle stood tall and proud, her shoulder length blond hair surrounding her face like a halo. He could feel the Alpha Pair’s power flowing around them, uniting them and them Pack as one.
“It will be okay.” Charlie took hold of his hand. “Sebastian will take care of this.”
“I know.” Ted felt the need to protect when one of the children of the Pack, a small girl named Jennifer, began to quietly cry. He raised his voice, hoping he wasn’t stepping on any toes, but unable to keep silent. “Our cubs most of all need to be guarded, especially if there is mixed blood anywhere in your bloodline.”
Rick nodded his approval. “Yes. Keep watch for anything strange or out of place. Report it immediately, even if it’s something as simple as, say, a cigarette butt too close to a dwelling or broken branches where no animal has passed by. Use your senses, all of them.”
Ben spoke next. “We’ll be increasing patrols and calling on the younger Wolves to lend a hand. Training will commence tomorrow to all who are fit enough to fight.”
“We hope it doesn’t come to that, but our Pack comes first,” Belle added. “We will not lose our children in some foolish belief that white shifters are dangerous.”
“Are they?” One woman cried out. “The Senate believes they are, that’s why they’re killing them.”
Belle shook her head. “I’ve met with several white shifters. I can tell you some of why I think the Senate fears them, but not all. I believe that their powers are a little stronger than an average shifter. The connection to Pack a white Wolf would have would be much stronger, his reach greater than any normal Alpha’s. The Bear white shifters, the Kermode, have extremely powerful healing abilities, but the price they pay is equally powerful. Someone I know nearly died helping someone he found wounded on the street in a brutal attack. They’re people, just like us.”
Not all of the Pack seemed convinced, but then again they had no white shifters among them. Still, they’d follow their Alpha or leave the Pack. There was no other choice for them.
Ted decided to give them a little something to think about, but before he could Rick stepped forward and spoke, pointing toward little Jennifer. “What if she is the white Wolf?”
Jennifer’s parents quickly pulled her back, holding her tightly.
“They’re killing children, hoping to stop the white shifters from appearing before they shift. Will you allow your cubs, our Pack’s children, to be destroyed for what they might become?” He placed his hand on Belle’s stomach. “Would you allow your future Alpha to be destroyed?”
The resulting howl of denial nearly deafened Ted.
“Good.” Rick again nodded his approval. “Ted and Ben are in charge of training all eligible males and females for Pack protection. See them at nine tomorrow morning and expect to be added to a guard rotation. Positions in the Lodge will remain the same, no matter how high up the chain as an enforcer you climb. Belle, Chela and Charlie will be in charge of emergency supplies and keeping in touch with our neighboring Pride and Pack. Dave and I will handle hunts and keep in touch with the Leo.”
“In the meantime, we want you to try and live your lives.” Belle joined Rick, taking hold of his hand. “Nothing has begun quite yet, but the Halle Pride Alpha fully believes something will happen, and soon. So for now, eyes and ears and noses open, and remember. If anyone shifts and is white, tell us.”
As the Pack began to mingle, Charlie shivered. “Is this really happening?”
Ted nodded. “Yeah. It is.” He pulled her close. “I’ll keep you safe.”
“We might want to hold off on cubs until the danger is past.” Charlie leaned against him in her favorite position, her head on his shoulder and her arm around his waist.
“We’ll see. If this goes on long enough, we might revisit that.” Ted kissed the top of her head. “And if our child is the white Wolf, or even the next Leo, we’ll deal with that, okay?”
“Okay.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay.” Within moments she was with Belle and Chela, listening intently as Belle gave out orders to the two women.
Rick was among the Pack, reassuring here, touching there, making sure everyone knew that he was there and he would take care of them. His presence calmed them as nothing else could, because they all knew they had the most badass Alpha around.
Ted moved to Ben and Dave, both men chatting quietly. “Ben?”
“Ted.” Ben glanced around at the Pack. “We’ve got our work cut out for us.”
“We can handle this, babe.” Dave kissed his husband’s forehead. “You know, I doubt the girls will sit this one out.”
Ted chuckled softly. “Hell no. Expect the unexpected with those three.”
Steve joined them. “Are you talking about the girls?”
“How’d you know?” Ted asked.
“You looked right at them.” Steve kept his back to the girls. “I think they’re up to something.”
“We were just discussing that.” Ben glanced once more at the women. “Honestly, I’d back those three against anything the Senate throws at us.”
“Is there any chance our Luna is pregnant?” Ted glanced at Belle again, noticing the way she rubbed her stomach over and over.
“I don’t know, but Chela is.” Steve’s eyes were the golden brown of his Wolf. “So we need to deal with this shit sooner rather than later.”
“Damn, man. Congratulations.” Ben did the bro-hug with Steve.
“Thanks. We wanted to tell everyone at the Pack meeting but Rick’s announcement sort of derailed that.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll protect the Stevelet with everything we’ve got.” Dave clapped Steve on the shoulder, winking at Ted at the same time.
“Stevelet?” Ben muttered.
Steve just rolled his eyes. “I want to help.”
“Good. You’ll get trained by me, because Ben will go easy on you.” Ted shot the new Wolf an evil grin. “You’re gonna sweat, city boy.”
“Great.” Steve sounded less than enthused, but his gaze never left his mate.
Ted could understand his distraction. Nothing, not even one of the almighty Senators, would touch a hair of his mate’s head and live.
About the Author
Dana Marie Bell wrote her first short story when she was thirteen years old. She’s now a USA Today bestselling author with Samhain Publishing and Carina Press. Dana has lived primarily in the Northeast with a brief stint on the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Croix. She lives with her soul mate and husband Dusty, their two maniacal children, two evil ice-cream-stealing cats and a bull terrier that thinks it’s a Pekingese. She’s been heard to describe herself as “vertically challenged” and “a lapsed brunette.” Dana also suffers from ankylosing spondylitis (a progressive inflammatory arthritis that primarily affects the spine), and can be seen walking with a cane or tooling around in her mobility scooter. Her condition was the inspiration for Belle’s hip injury in Steel Beauty.
You can learn more about Dana at:
www.danamariebell.com
danamariebell.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/pages/Dana-Marie-Bells-Fan-Page/185916691436341
www.twitter/com/danamariebell
Look for these titles by Dana Marie Bell
Now Available:
Halle Pumas
The Wallflower
Sweet Dreams
Cat of a Different Color
Steel Beauty
Only In My Dreams
Halle Shifters
; Bear Necessities
Cynful
Bear Naked
Figure of Speech
Indirect Lines
The Gray Court
Dare to Believe
Noble Blood
Artistic Vision
The Hob
Siren’s Song
Never More
Heart’s Desire
Shadow of the Wolf
Hecate’s Own
The Wizard King
Warlock Unbound
Poconos Pack
Finding Forgiveness
Mr. Red Riding Hoode
True Destiny
Very Much Alive
Eye of the Beholder
Howl for Me
Morgan’s Fate
Not Broken
Coming Soon:
The Gray Court
Electric Dreams
True Destiny
Hide and Seek
Don’t miss these other titles by Dana Marie Bell!
The last Beckett brother is going down.
Heart’s Desire, Book 4
If he had a choice, Daniel Beckett would wait to cast the Beckett family mating spell until his life is more settled. But his brothers, worried he’s losing himself to his wolf, aren’t giving it to him.
Daniel doesn’t need a spell to know Kerry Andrews is his mate. With the last of the Godwin warlocks still on the loose, Daniel crosses his fingers that the willful, stubborn, beautiful woman will allow him to protect her.
Kerry is tempted to make Daniel wait, like he’s made her wait for so long. But the decision is taken out of her hands when things start going horribly wrong. A sleeper hex is activated, putting her life in danger—and the only safe place to run is Daniel’s waiting arms.
Once there, Kerry finds a whole new world to explore with her magical mate. But Arthur Godwin is plotting to rip away their newfound happiness. Women who look like Kerry are turning up dead…and it’s only a matter of time before the killer’s weapon hits its intended prey.
Warning: This title contains explicit sex, graphic language, a growly wizard and the woman who loves him.
He’ll fulfill her wildest fantasies… but only if she believes.
The Gray Court, Book 1
Leo Dunne has been searching his entire life for the one person born just for him. He finds her working in his own company, but the shy little Ruby Halloway constantly hides from him. He hatches a devilish plot with her best friend to bring her out of her shell, and the result proves her desire is more than a match for his own.
Ruby has had the hots for her boss for some time now, but she knows business and pleasure shouldn’t mix. While that can’t stop a girl from dreaming, she sticks by her guns and does her best never to be alone with the handsome CEO. Until the company masquerade party, where she discovers a passion with him that leaves a mark on her soul.
A family emergency calls Leo away, and rather than spend one night out of Ruby’s arms, he convinces her to go with him. With his brother’s life on the line, it’s vital she learn how to deal with who, and what, her new lover really is…before it’s too late.
Warning: This book contains explicit sex, graphic language, some violence, a bit of bondage, and a Sidhe Lord determined to claim and protect what is his.
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B
Cincinnati OH 45249
Sorry, Charlie
Copyright © 2016 by Dana Marie Bell
ISBN: 978-1-61923-626-4
Edited by Tera Cuskaden
Cover by Angela Waters
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: April 2016
www.samhainpublishing.com
Sorry, Charlie (Poconos Pack) Page 8