Fighting the Inevitable

by J C Gordon

  Only he and his betas walked within the normal human world. They had various businesses, which they tended to supply the funding for the pack’s compound in the forest. It was necessary to take care of so many people. Only his most trusted lieutenants were allowed to mix with humans, but that was only because it was how it had been done by his father and his father before him. Generations of Hanlon Alphas had protected the pack for centuries, and he didn’t know if he could do it any differently. It was deeply ingrained within.

  “Interesting points,” he finally answered, though his tone was doubtful. “I suppose I can understand why you question the pack laws, but it’s the way it has to be, Millie. It’s the only guaranteed way to keep my people safe.”

  She worried her lip with her teeth for a moment, and then she sighed deeply and tried again. She could see he was trying to be receptive to her comments, but she could also see his denial, too. “How many of your pack find their mates within the pack?” she asked, watching surprise cross his face.

  change of subject surprised him and made him frown. The little he knew of his mate was enough to let him know she was up to something. “Not many. Probably about a quarter.”

  “So, what happens to the rest of them?” she pressed. “Do they just go through life unmated?”

  Jared’s frown deepened, and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Unless they’re betas. The alpha and his betas can seek their mates within the human community.”

  Millie stifled down a touch of anger. It seemed so unfair that only a select few could seek out mates when the rest of the pack went without. From what Jared had explained about mating, almost three quarters of his people never got the chance to meet their one special person, the one they could mate with and produce young.

  “So, the pack doesn’t grow. It stagnates because only a quarter get the opportunity to mate and have children. That just seems so wrong, Jared. Why do you prevent your people from having what you’re asking of me?”

  Jared stood up abruptly and paced into the sitting room, his wolf howling mournfully at her words. He felt a rush of anger, of denial, and he struggled to dampen it down. Did she really think he was deliberately torturing his people? Did she really think so little of him? His eyes darkened as he struggled with him temper.

  He wasn’t used to being questioned like this. He was the fucking Alpha for crying out loud. His pack submitted to him. His mate submitted to him. He turned around intent on making her submit and stopped when he saw the tears in her eyes and on her cheeks. She was crying, and she wasn’t crying for herself; she was crying for his pack. He knew it without being told. She felt pain on behalf of his people.

  His angry words died on his lips as he looked at her, his beautiful Millie, and he felt the weight of her words crushing him. “It wasn’t intentional.” His voice was hoarse as he jammed his hands into his jeans and looked down at the floor. “You have to understand the overriding need to protect the pack, Millie. It’s everything to the Alpha. It’s the one law I can’t make arbitrary decisions about.”

  She scrubbed at her cheeks and ran a hand through her unruly curls. “Then, ask the pack. I know things are different in Rafe’s circumstances, because he’s officially dead, but the rest of the pack needn’t give up their human lives, if they don’t want to. It’s the one major obstacle I have about even considering joining with you, Jared. I like my job. I like my human life. I don’t want to give it up to go live in a wooden house in the forest cut off from everything.” Her cobalt eyes pleaded with him to understand where she was coming from.

  He raised his head and looked at her, his expression guarded. He seemed less like the Jared she knew and more like the Alpha wolf he really was. She wondered what was going through his head. Was he thinking she was rejecting him, because she really wasn’t. Was she? He had said he would still love her and be with her even if she decided to remain human. Had he been just saying that in the hopes she would let him turn her anyway? Had he lied when he said that?

  Jared’s thoughts were in utter turmoil, and he automatically retreated into himself, as he tried to work out what to do. Millie didn’t want to leave her human life, and he couldn’t not be with her. She was as necessary to him as his need to breathe air. She was bright and beautiful and so very intelligent and sharp. She had cut straight to the very heart of what was a major problem within the pack. A problem he had so clearly overlooked, and for that, he didn’t deserve to be the Alpha of the pack. In protecting themselves, they had quite literally stunted their evolution.

  The pack would be split by Millie’s controversial suggestion. The older wolves would want to stick to tradition, the younger wolves would most likely jump at the chance of being able to walk among humans and seek out their mates. It would be utter chaos and give him the worst headache imaginable. Even worse than dealing with Rafe, which had been his toughest challenge to date as Alpha. Still, the pack had supported him when he asked for their approval to help save Rafe. Maybe, they wouldn’t be so resistant to changing pack laws as he thought they would be.

  The only thing Jared knew for sure at that moment was that he needed Millie badly, and his pack needed her too. Her keen way of looking at things and reaching conclusions of such staggering importance was direly needed. She was his equal in every way. She was his mate, and therefore, she had a say in how the pack was run, even if he hadn’t officially mated with her, and maybe never would, if he couldn’t convince the pack to change.

  His long silence worried Millie, as did his carefully neutral expression. She had no idea what he was thinking and the longer the silence stretched, the more her anxiety increased. Finally, she couldn’t take it any longer and she let out a little sigh, “Jared?”

  Her hesitant tone, her worried expression, wrenched at his heart and he smothered down a groan and crossed the room to pull her up from her chair and into his arms. He buried his head in the side of her neck and inhaled her sweet scent deeply, as his lips whispered over her satiny skin. “I’m going to need your help, baby. It’s not going to be easy to convince the pack. We’re all so set in our ways. Not everyone will understand the need to make changes.”

  She melted into his embrace and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. He seemed so unsure of himself, so unlike the arrogant ass he could be, but the vulnerable side to him called at something deep inside her, and she found she couldn’t resist it. “I’ll be with you every step of the way, Jared. I don’t seem to have any choice in the matter. I love you too much to walk away.”

  He smiled against her neck, as his woman told him she loved him for the first time. He knew she did even though she hadn’t said the words before, but hearing them made his heart soar, and he suddenly felt able to take on the whole world if he needed to. He was capable of achieving anything with Millie at his side. They would convince the pack if they stood together. He just knew they would.

  CHAPTER sixteen

  Caleb sat high in the tree, his sharp gaze watching Rafe in his wolf form as he stalked the wild boar slowly. He was keeping his scent away from the boar to allow Wolfie to explore his animal nature without any hindrance. Rafe really was an impressive wolf. He moved with such grace as he came at the boar from downwind.

  He used an economy of movements and was on the squealing animal in the blink of an eye. His normal gentle nature reared up, and he silenced the boar with a quick kill. The animal’s throat was gone in an instant, and its life extinct a fraction after that. A quick, merciful kill. Other Weres may have relished the excitement of sparring with the boar before they ended its life. Caleb doubted Rafe would ever be like that. He leapt nimbly down the branches, landing lightly on his feet, and headed towards the wolf. Now, the next part of Rafe’s lesson.

  Wolfie sensed the vampire close and raised his head, a feral growl rumbling from his throat as he rose quickly to stand over his kill. If the intruder thought to take his food from him, he would tear him limb from limb. The red mist of rage clouded his mind, and he roared at the ad
vancing vampire.

  Caleb kept on walking towards Rafe. He could see he was completely wrapped up in his feral side. There was no trace of the gentle man in the fierce brown eyes regarding him with rage. Caleb’s stride appeared nonchalant, but he was alert and ready to move if the wolf attacked. The whole point of the lesson was to ensure that Rafe didn’t attack.

  If he could control his feral nature in the face of Caleb’s challenge, then the vampire was certain Rhianna would never be in any danger from her brother. It was imperative to Caleb that his Annie was safe at all costs. The wolf growled, a savage rumble emanating from his throat once more and Caleb tensed further sensing an impending attack

  If the vampire came one step closer to his kill, Wolfie was going to rip his throat out. He relished the sheer joy he’d experience as his teeth sank into the disgusting smelling creature’s neck. He would rip hard and fast and feel the hot blood flowing into his mouth, just as it had with the wild boar. He tensed, his powerful body coiling ready to spring agilely into the air. The approaching man paused a millisecond before he sprang, flying through the air, a snarling blur of dark brown fur.

  Caleb was Ancient and able to spot the slight tension in the wolf before it exploded into action. He sidestepped to the left, his vampiric speed taking him out of the animal’s way and foiling its attempt to rip out his throat. This clearly enraged the wolf as it took the vampire closer to its kill. Not wanting to infuriate Rafe any further, Caleb took off running before the wolf could halt its forward progression and turn for a second strike. He leapt into the air, catching a tree branch and swinging himself gracefully into the thick canopy of leaves.

  Golden brown eyes tracked the prowling wolf as it launched itself against the tree, scrabbling to find purchase to get to the vampire out of its reach. Loud snarls filled the forest as the animal hurled itself repeatedly against the tree, claws raking away the bark on the trunk. Finally, the wolf paced away, growling as it headed back to its kill.

  Caleb watched Rafe protect his food, a frown marring his brow. Jared was right about the big man’s latent Alpha abilities. Weres were fast but Alphas – they were something else entirely. They had to be the biggest, strongest, fastest wolves to run a pack. The speed Rafe had moved at was a clear indicator that he was born to be an Alpha, whether he wanted to be one or not.

  Another thought crossed his mind that made his blood run cold. If Annie had tried this…dear God, Rafe could have killed her without realising what he was doing. There hadn’t been any recognition in the wolf’s eyes as it attacked him. There had been no sign of Rafe at all. Caleb was glad his woman had seen sense and agreed to let him work with her brother. Despite both Annie and Rafe’s protestations, neither of them had the first inkling about how to deal with the wolf half of a newly turned Were.

  As Rafe became enamoured with his food again, Caleb slipped back out of the tree and decided to try again. There was no shame in the big man failing the first time. There was a high probability it would take numerous attempts at this before Rafe was able to fully control his animal side. It was just a case of trial and error until he got it right.

  The blur of colour was the only warning the vampire got before the wolf careered into him. Caleb spun sharply, cursing himself for being distracted thinking about Annie’s welfare that he hadn’t been giving Rafe enough of his attention. His palm snapped out and he had to moderate his strength as he connected with the wide chest of the wolf. With a startled yelp, the huge beast flew backwards but not before his jaw raked down Caleb’s arm drawing blood.

  ~~~~~

  Blood; hot, metallic, tasty blood filled the wolf’s mouth as it flew through the air to land with a hard, thump against a tree. The collision hurt but it struggled to its feet ready to make another lunge at its enemy. A voice sounded somewhere, and the wolf stopped in confusion.

  ‘Best not do that, Wolfie,’ the voice said. ‘Annie will be really pissed, if you hurt Caleb.’

  The vampire forgotten, he turned around wildly to see who had spoken, but there was no one there. The voice was laughing now in his head, and he roared furiously, his confusion growing.

  ‘You’re not going to find me behind you,’ the voice said, with more than a hint of amusement. ‘I’m inside you, Wolfie. I’m your other half, your human side.’

  The wolf sat down heavily and shook his head, a low whine coming from his chest. He instinctively knew who the voice was, even if he didn’t want to listen to him right now.

  ‘I’m not going away,’ Rafe continued. ‘I belong here, too, Wolfie. We are one.’

  Wolfie whined loudly again and turned his big head to look at the vampire, who was now standing right beside his kill. The desire to rip out the man’s throat was still there, but it was muted now. His human side was starting to take more and more control from him, stopping when they were balanced evenly.

  Wolfie/Rafe looked at Caleb and chuffed lightly, his teeth baring into a wide grin. This really wasn’t as difficult as he had imagined it would be. Oh, he knew he’d failed a couple of times, but something about drawing Caleb’s blood had gotten through to him before he could do too much damage. The second that had happened, Rafe had been able to gain enough control to reason with his beast.

  His human side could look at his kill with only a modicum of discomfort. His wolf side could recognise the vampire as a friend and dampen down his need to protect his kill. His back hurt where he’d hit the tree as did his chest. But apart from that, things had gone reasonably well for both sides of his dual nature and Caleb didn’t look too pissed at being bitten.

  Caleb smiled at Rafe when he grinned at him. He walked over to the big wolf and placed a hand lightly on his large head. He felt the wolf quiver fractionally and then fully relax. He could sense the balance within the animal and felt genuine pleasure. He was actually beginning to like Rhianna’s brother. He wasn’t that bad for a wolf, and he was important to his woman, so he had an added incentive to like him.

  “That didn’t seem too hard,” he said to the wolf, removing his hand and stepping back as the animal shifted, and Rafe’s human body uncoiled and stood up quickly. “I expected you to fail a few more times before finding some balance.” He wasn’t concerned about the bite. He had healed instantly, and he’d let Rafe bite him a thousand times if that’s what it took to keep Rhianna safe.

  “It was easier than I anticipated,” Rafe answered with a slow smile. “Wolfie was a little surprised for a moment, a bit resistant to listening, but I was able to get through to him quite quickly. Sorry about the bite.”

  “It’s a wolf’s instinct to see one of my kind as being an immediate threat. The fact you managed to talk Wolfie down and reach a balance so quickly is commendable. I was expecting you to fail at least the first half dozen times we tried this,” Caleb told him.

  The big man’s smile broadened. He was pleased he had surprised the vampire. The surprise was evident in Caleb’s tone along with grudging respect, too. Annie’s choice in mate was appearing to be a good one. He still wasn’t comfortable with his sister dating a vampire, but she was all grown up now. She didn’t need him the way she used to. She had Caleb now and he had the pack. They would always be extremely close, but he could now see their lives had moved in completely different directions. At least, they would still be able to see each other.

  Caleb tossed his clothes to him, and Rafe quickly stepped into his jeans and T-shirt. He looked back at the wild boar and found he could look at the animal without wanting to heave his guts up. He smiled wryly, as he felt Wolfie’s approval deep inside him. “Seems a bit of waste.” He nodded his head at the carcass.

  Caleb’s keen gaze was still intent on the man before him, taking in every nuance of his speech and emotion crossing his face. He smiled and pulled out his cell phone, making a quick call to the Hanlon compound to let them know there was a fresh kill near the stream. Some of the pack would come out soon and claim it.

  “Ready to go home, Rafe?”

  Rafe looked
at him steadily, knowing he wasn’t referring to returning to the mansion. The vampire seemed to sense his more balanced state. He was asking him if he was ready to return to the pack. He ran a hand through his shaggy hair and pursed his lips. “Another few days,” he finally answered. “I’d like to spend a bit more time with Annie, if you don’t mind?”

  Caleb smiled and turned to head back towards the mansion. “I meant what I said, Rafe. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like. Even when you go back to the pack, you will still be welcome in my home. You’re Annie’s brother.” It was just as simple as that, as far as the vampire was concerned. Rafe made Rhianna happy, so he would always be welcome.

  “You’re not so bad, for a bloodsucker.” Rafe laughed, matching Caleb’s long strides, as they threaded their way through the trees.

  Caleb threw his head back and laughed, loudly. “You’re not so bad, for a dog.”

  They entered the house from the rear, using the back door, which entered into a large utility room. Caleb stopped and inhaled, discerning instantly that Rhianna was gone. His brow drew down in a frown, as he moved into the kitchen and spotted the note on the dining table.

  “What?” Rafe asked, following him inside, seeing him tense.

  “Annie’s gone,” he answered, handing him the brief note that simply said she would be back later. He looked at the two coffee cups, scented Demetri in the room and pulled his cell phone from his pocket.

  “What did you say to Annie?” he demanded, when his friend picked up.

  “Good morning to you too, Caleb,” Demetri drawled. “I only stopped by to see if we were at war with the dogs and showed Annie how to use the coffee machine. Why? What’s wrong?”