by Liza Street
“It’s not just that,” Marius said. “I don’t know if Hayley’s told you, but…I was there. At the pride war.”
“She told me,” Jackson said. “And I know you didn’t hurt our family. So we’ve moved past that too, okay?”
Marius nodded.
Hayley said, “Should we go inside?”
Jackson scanned the parking lot, as if looking for someone. Then he sighed and said, “Yeah, I guess so.”
The inside of the burger joint was dimly lit. It looked more like a bar than a restaurant with its dark wood paneling and neon beer signs in the windows, but the scents of burgers and french fries filled Hayley’s nose. A host led them through a little hall. When they stepped into the larger room, Hayley spotted the Lockmans right away.
Boris Lockman sat at the far side of the table, his back to the wall. A position of power in some ways—it claimed the advantage. But to Hayley, it also signified weakness. He didn’t want to be vulnerable. A red-haired woman sat at his side. Hayley had never met her before, but she had to guess this was his mate, Mabel Lockman. Mabel had sent Hayley those roses, although Hayley suspected, given the woman’s extremely submissive posture—head down, hands clasped in her lap—that she rarely did anything that wasn’t prompted by the alpha.
On Boris’s other side sat Alec, smiling his fake smile. Showing teeth without any crinkle of the eyes. And next to Alec, a man Hayley hadn’t seen before. His eyes were what she noticed first. More gold than brown, penetrating. His dark brown hair was buzzed, giving him a military look. If Hayley had to pick someone out to play “enforcer” in a movie, she’d have picked this guy. She wondered how much of his appearance was for show.
She grabbed Marius’s hand. Not to prove any kind of point about their relationship, but to feel his support.
Jackson started to move past Hayley, but she grabbed his arm. This was her meeting—she could be in charge.
She took a seat across from Boris. His gray and black hair and long nose reminded her of a peregrine falcon. Marius sat on her left, putting him next to Mabel. Jackson sat on her right, leaving one seat between him and the enforcer. A server hurried over, asking if she could bring them anything to drink. Everyone else ordered water.
Hayley asked for a chocolate milkshake.
The server winked at Hayley and took away the spare place setting. Jackson looked as if he’d try to stop her from taking away the napkin and silverware, but then he relaxed and shook his head. Hayley wanted to send him a questioning glance, but she didn’t want to call even more attention to Jackson being weird.
Beneath the table, Marius squeezed her hand.
“So. We’re here,” Hayley said. “This is my mate, Marius Nichols—”
“I’ll start the meeting,” the enforcer said in a low, no-nonsense tone.
“I was speaking,” Hayley said.
“And now I am speaking. My name is Kris Gregorio. I’m an independent enforcer serving several shifter packs, prides, and clans in Washington and Oregon. The Spokane Pride has hired me to resolve a dispute involving a betrothal.”
“Yes, mine,” Hayley said. “There’s been a mistake. As you can see, I already have a mate.”
“I see no such thing, and you will wait your turn to talk, young lady.”
Hayley pursed her lips together. The nerve of this asshole.
He continued in clipped syllables. “My word at this meeting is law. I will primarily speak with the alphas of each pride. Mr. Boris Lockman, and…” He looked at Hayley, Marius, and Jackson. “Which of you is the alpha of the Dark Pines Pride?”
Hayley tried not to react. Alpha? They didn’t have an alpha, because…because they weren’t a pride, yet. Will would have been her natural answer—he’d been leading Hayley and Jackson since they were kids, but Will—
“I’m the Dark Pines alpha,” a deep voice said from behind her.
Hayley spun in her seat, already scenting him. Pine and wet earth. This was the only person she knew, other than her father, who smelled like he not only belonged on the territory, but that he’d sprouted, fully-formed, from it.
And there he was. Will.
She let go of Marius’s hand and jumped up to hug him. Three weeks since she’d seen her brother, but it had felt like three years. “You’re—you’re here!” she exclaimed.
“Jackson told me what was going on. Why didn’t you call me, Hayley?”
She hadn’t thought it necessary. She’d hoped that she and Marius would waltz into this restaurant, show the Lockmans how much they loved each other, and waltz right back out, never to see or hear from the Lockmans again. Maybe it had been a wild hope, but she really hoped they didn’t need Will’s help, that they could resolve this one on their own, with the truth on their side.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” she said again. Then she turned around so she and Will both faced the table. “This is William Jaynes, alpha of the Dark Pines Pride.”
She’d never said it before. Nor had Will, nor had Jackson. But her words rang true.
The Lockmans sat, tight-lipped, at the table. The enforcer, Gregorio, said, “Now that your reunion is over, may I suggest that we continue with our meeting?”
“Sure,” Hayley said, reclaiming her seat. She wanted to nuzzle into Marius, but she was afraid it would look too affected. She could not wait until this was over so everything would feel natural again.
Will took a few limping steps over to the last remaining seat, between Jackson and Gregorio. Hayley wondered if his limp bothered him now, because it was a blatant effect of his old injury from the pride war. But if it did bother him, he didn’t show it. He looked as strong and stoic as ever.
Just as Gregorio was about to speak again, the server brought over Hayley’s milkshake and several waters. She looked as if she’d ask Will what he wanted, but seemed to lose her nerve under Gregorio’s stare. She handed Will an extra water and scurried off.
Hayley suspected the Lockmans were already paying the restaurant owner to use this table tonight, but as she took her first sip of milkshake, she promised herself she’d leave a giant tip for the server.
Looking highly annoyed, Gregorio continued. “The disagreement tonight is in regards to an old verbal contract, agreed upon by the alpha of the Spokane Pride and the former alpha of the Dark Pines Pride. The contract stated that in exchange for the Spokane Pride’s assistance in the pride war taking place approximately four years ago, the Dark Pines would promise their daughter, Hayley Jaynes, into engagement with the Spokane alpha’s son, Alec Lockman.” Here, Gregorio looked to Alec and nodded.
Something felt off in that nonverbal communication. Hayley felt chills run through her body.
This enforcer—he wasn’t an unbiased consultant. He’d been hired by the Lockmans, and…fuck. They were so screwed.
Will seemed to pick up on the tension Hayley was feeling. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and raised his eyebrows ever so slightly.
But how could she tell him? Straight up saying, out loud, that Gregorio was biased in favor of the Lockmans could start a giant fight, right here in the restaurant. Boris already looked like he was ready to pummel someone, and Gregorio, well, shit, he looked like he’d feast on the remains.
She wasn’t sure what kind of shifter Gregorio was, but if she had to guess, she’d say it had “sociopathic” as a prefix.
“The only loophole for getting out of the arrangement entirely,” Gregorio said, “is if Ms. Jaynes has already bonded with a mate.”
Gregorio held his hands in front of him, as if the backs of them were fascinating. Then he glanced up quickly at Hayley and Marius. Marius took her hand again, with gentle pressure. She squeezed back maybe a little too hard.
With his eyes still locked on Hayley and Marius, Gregorio said, “I’ve been watching the interaction between Ms. Jaynes and her so-called mate, and it is my ruling as the enforcer of this meeting, that their bond is fabricated.”
Hayley jumped out of her seat and leaned acr
oss the table. Sociopath or no, she had to correct this asshole. “That is a lie,” she said, “and we can all hear it.”
“Can we?” Gregorio asked, unmoved. “And I would ask that I communicate only with your alpha.”
“I agree with Hayley,” Will said. “She’s speaking the truth. The bond isn’t fabricated—look at them together.”
“Truth, lies,” Gregorio said. “I’ve heard of a shifter in eastern Oregon who can lie well enough to fool other shifters.”
“Impossible,” Will said. His forearms flexed as he tightened and loosened his fists, struggling for control. “And this isn’t a statement given by one shifter. This is a bond felt by two people, a bond which you seem determined to deny.”
The Lockmans didn’t seem to care. They didn’t look at Hayley and Marius. In fact, Hayley looked from Mabel, to Boris, to Alec. None of them reacted. It was going to be a case of the Dark Pines against the Spokanes. And the Spokanes had the enforcer in their pocket.
“Because you haven’t been able to prove that your attachment is anything substantial,” Gregorio continued, as if his honor hadn’t just been called into question, “I have to maintain that Ms. Jaynes uphold the contract made between her former alpha and the alpha of the Spokane Pride. In the event that she does not marry Mr. Alec Lockman, the Dark Pines territory will be transferred to the Spokane Pride.”
Hayley turned to look at Will and Jackson, and then she turned to Marius. Everything around her was blurry because her eyes were filling with tears. Not tears of sorrow or defeat, but tears of rage. This could not be allowed to happen. It was wrong.
“What will it be?” Boris asked.
“I’m not going to ask or even suggest to my sister that she marry another man while she’s bonded to Marius,” Will said, his voice deep and decisive. “And we refuse to give up our territory simply because a biased enforcer has proclaimed it is our only option.”
“You must,” Gregorio said. “There is no other option.”
“There is one other option,” Will said. “I challenge the Spokane pride to an individual fight for the territory.”
“No,” Hayley said, trying to reach across Jackson. Will couldn’t fight—he’d never been the same since the beam had fallen on his leg. Sure, he was still one of the strongest men she knew, but to lay everything on the line like this? She couldn’t let it happen.
“I accept,” Boris Lockman said quickly.
“Father,” Alec said, speaking for the first time. “Let it be me.”
Hayley couldn’t stop shaking her head. No. There could be no fight. She didn’t want a war, either, but an individual challenge for the territory? It could be just as bad.
Boris frowned, then looked to Gregorio. “Is there a problem with that, in pride law?”
“No problem at all. You each send one fighter. Winner takes the territory for his pride.” Gregorio looked to Will. “Do you agree?”
“Yes,” Will said, his jaw tight.
“No,” Hayley said again.
“It isn’t up to you,” Jackson hissed under his breath.
It was a good thing Marius was holding her other hand, or she might have strangled Jackson.
Gregorio said, “This Sunday, eight a.m. You will battle on the Dark Pines territory until one of you cedes. The winner keeps the Dark Pines territory. The loser forfeits all claims to it. Do you both agree?”
“Yes,” Will and Boris said in unison.
Sunday. Today was Friday. It was too soon. Hayley looked from Alec, a thirty-five-year-old shifter in his prime, to Will, a twenty-nine-year-old shifter who couldn’t walk smoothly after the injury he’d endured while protecting his family.
Sure, there was still a chance Will could win. He was strong, and smart. But she didn’t like the odds. She didn’t like them at all.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Marius waited by his truck while Hayley argued with her brothers. The rear parking lot was lit only by the faint neon lights coming from the restaurant’s windows, and a misty rain had started to fall, making everything darker still. Colder. He wanted Hayley by his side—she smelled like desperation and anger, and he wanted to help her. He wanted to make everything better, and it killed him that he couldn’t.
Will seemed determined to continue with the challenge. Marius was impressed with the guy. His face revealed almost no emotion while Hayley gesticulated and called him names and finally stood before him, shaking with rage. Jackson stood somewhere in the middle, between them. Typical middle sibling—he presented Will’s points to Hayley, and Hayley’s points to Will, as if in restating them, he might help them reach an understanding.
It wasn’t going to happen. Not tonight. Hayley’s world was threatened, and with this challenge, the Spokane Pride had come after the only thing more important to her than the territory—her family.
How did he know this? Because he knew Hayley.
He ignored the mist coating his skin and clothes and settled himself against the side of his truck.
Will raised his voice, slightly. “I thought you didn’t have an alpha. I’m stepping up.”
“Does that mean you’re gonna live here?” Hayley asked.
Will didn’t answer.
She threw her hands up. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
Marius watched as Will seemed to stand up, taller. The favor he had been giving his left leg looked unnecessary as he towered over Hayley.
“I’m the alpha,” Will said, and his voice held that power, that weight. “I’m in charge. I’ve accepted this challenge. Now go home.”
Will turned around and walked to a black Ford Raptor. His limp was noticeable once again, and Marius understood why Hayley didn’t want Will to take the challenge. The guy looked pretty fucking capable, honestly, but any old injury would be considered a weakness, and a smart enemy would figure out how to use it to their advantage.
Will climbed into the truck. As if sensing Marius’s thoughts, Will made eye contact and flipped Marius off. “Fuck you,” he mouthed.
It wasn’t Marius’s fault, but tensions were high, tempers on edge. Marius wasn’t in the Dark Pines Pride…yet. But he hoped to be, someday, and that no-nonsense giant was going to be his alpha. So instead of growling or roaring, he lifted his middle finger and used it to salute Will like he would a captain.
Marius’s night vision was great, but it was drizzling, so he couldn’t be sure…but he thought, just maybe, a ghost of a smile played on Will’s face as he drove out of the parking lot.
“Did you just flip off my brother?” Hayley asked, trotting over to him.
“Might have.”
“Good.”
Past her shoulder, he could see Jackson climbing into his SUV.
“I’m on orders to go home,” Hayley said. “My alpha said so.”
Marius opened the door for her. “I’m sorry it played out like that.”
“It’s what the Lockmans had in mind all along. Doesn’t matter if I met you two years ago or two days ago, they’ll say we aren’t bonded.”
He came around and climbed in behind the wheel. The drive was just half an hour, and when he reached Huntwood, he didn’t take the turn for Hayley’s road.
“Where are we going?” she asked. “I’m supposed to go home.”
“I’m taking you to your real home,” he said.
A few minutes later, they were parked in front of a ruined house. Marius climbed out of the truck. “Let’s go to the lake,” he said, stripping out of his shirt and pulling down his pants.
Hayley’s red-rimmed eyes brightened somewhat. “As our animals?”
“Hell yeah. We need to burn off some energy.”
Marius watched in appreciation as Hayley stripped. Goosebumps covered her skin, but otherwise she was unaffected by the chilly night air and the misty rain.
They put their clothes in the truck. Hayley dropped to all-fours and shifted into her mountain lion—a beautiful, tawny beast with wicked fangs and kind blue eyes.
Marius shifted into his bear, reveling in the magic that allowed him to grow seven feet tall and weigh over five hundred pounds. Being a shifter hadn’t always been easy, especially when he’d been young and his dad had brought him to the Clausens. There were some definite benefits, though. Marius was strong.
As he stood on all fours, Hayley nudged him with her golden-brown head, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder. He turned his head to the side to nudge her back, but she was already quickly walking in the direction of the lake. She twitched her long tail once and turned to stare at him.
Then she was gone, springing over fallen trees and dodging trunks and brush. Marius followed her. He was fast, but he didn’t have her speed, and he let out a gentle roar of irritation.
Suddenly, he stopped. He couldn’t hear Hayley running anymore, and she was nowhere in sight.
He could smell her, though. Red licorice and fur and—up. Just as he looked up to the trees, she pounced, landing on his back and twisting off of him. He batted at her, but she was already out of reach.
And the chase began again.
She led him deeper into the forest until they reached a clearing. Hayley stopped next to a giant cedar and stretched, reaching up with her deadly paws. After a moment, she fell to all fours and shifted to her human form. She stood again. “This is where I’m gonna build my house,” she said.
Marius shifted into his human form, as well. The giant tree must have reached upward of thirty-five feet. Deep green moss grew along the lower part of the trunk, and the limbs were draped in dark green sprays of flattened leaves. A sense of peace filled the area. “It’s a great spot. That’s a gorgeous tree. Cedar?”
“Alaska yellow cedar. I’ve been in love with this tree since I was a little girl.”
He looked from the tree and down to his dick. “I can’t compete with that,” he said.
“You’re close enough.” She laughed, softly. “Marius, I don’t know what to do. We’re about to lose everything. Even if I don’t lose Will, we could lose all of this. We just got it back.”