United (The Ushers)

by Vanessa North

  She threw her head back and laughed as the elevator doors opened.

  As soon as they were outside, they shifted and began to run. Monica felt Fionn’s presence in her and around her as she bounded toward the woods, with him right at her heels. She realized that he was as fast and strong as she, and she didn’t need to hold back, so she stretched her legs and really ran, the ground flying beneath her feet.

  “Fuck yes!” His joy rolled through their link as he sped up, too.

  She’d never met a wolf who could keep up with her before. She’d always held back. The freedom of really, truly, running all-out was something she hadn’t felt since she was barely more than a pup. Even Robert hadn’t been able to match her speed. Her heart was pounding and her lungs were burning, and it was the most amazing thing she’d felt in years. When she’d finally exhausted the novelty of the speed, she slowed and came to a stop, watching her mate do the same.

  They stood for a moment, nose to nose.

  “That was…amazing.” Monica touched her gray muzzle to Fionn’s black one and rubbed her face along his, melding their scents together. When she presented herself to him, she felt his uncertainty.

  “I’ve never…”

  “It’s okay. Just follow your instincts.”

  Taking her fur between his teeth, Fionn made love to his mate as a wolf, and both felt their bond strengthening. Afterward, they lay together under a big tree and let their human sides shift back. She held his head in her lap, stroking his beard.

  “So, when are you going to tell me about Tavis Kirk?” she asked.

  “I didn’t think we’d talk about it naked in the woods, in the middle of the night, I can tell you that.” He grinned up at her, teasing one nipple with his fingers.

  “What better time?” Her face was serious. “Tell me.”

  “He only has one leg. He sits alone in his bed, no wheelchair to be seen. He’s a libertarian, a Christian—” her eyebrows shot up when he said that “—and I think he might be at least a little bit crazy.”

  “Interesting. I’ve never heard of a Christian wolf before.” She frowned. “So, not an ally in the cause, then?”

  “To unite wolves under one leadership and restore the Goddess? No, not his scene.”

  “So, he’s the head of the whole southeast?”

  “This is where it gets weird. He bared his neck to me—he pretty much had to. He was lying in bed and he’s only got one leg, and I just sort of let loose on him. I felt his brothers in him—one was there, but the other…not. I felt a few other wolves, but it seems the pack there isn’t really connected to each other. The loyalty I felt in them was not so much to him—but their God. And they aren’t strong, like Mid-A or Amazon. Their bonds to each other are superficial, not like family ties. I didn’t feel mate bonds, or parental bonds. Nothing solid.”

  “Oh boy. So, they have no real leader? So you have to hunt them down and woo them all one at a time?”

  “Goddess, I hope not. Annie wants to research the history of Appalachia to see what exactly is going on down there. It could be that the pack is divided into smaller, rogue packs. I just didn’t get a feel of ‘Pack’ from Kirk and his brothers.”

  “Okay, we’ll follow Annie’s lead on this, then. I trust her. Fionn, when you go, I’m going with you.”

  “But the pack…” He frowned.

  “I’m going to sever, Fionn.” She said it calmly, carefully, as if it were the most mundane thing in the world.

  “Mo, it’s very lonely, being unaffiliated. I don’t want you to give up Amazon for me.”

  “You’re such a sweetheart, mate. Listen, you and I have a mutual destiny. Unification. I’m gaining more than I’m giving up. Besides, Bianca will be a fantastic Alpha. She’s smart, strong, very fair-minded, and an easily recognizable figurehead. I can’t think of anyone who would handle it better.”

  “What about Jackie?”

  “Your brother has no desire to be Alpha. He’s a damn good Guardian—as good as Bianca—but he doesn’t want the top spot. He hates politics.”

  “You’ve really thought this out.” His brow furrowed. “I’m different, Mo. I can feel all of them, my wolves. I don’t know if you’ll be able to feel them, too.”

  “I can,” she said, smiling at him. “When we mated, I felt all your connections. That’s why your mind is so bright when it touches mine. It’s all those wolves. I never realized it before. You have all of Amazon, all of Mid-Atlantic, Kirk and his brothers, all the packs that were at that awful council where we were ratified. All those wolves are in you, and now they’re in me.”

  “You can feel them. That’s great.” He grinned. “Well, that spares me the severance guilt-trip. There’s another connection there, too, of course.”

  “Oh yes, I feel her, too. She’s asleep.” Her mind brushed Annie’s in something very like a caress, and she felt a sleepy purr rumble back through the link.

  “Ah, she likes that.” He smiled. “She is really happy for us.”

  “It’s a little redundant, feeling her and you describing it, you know.”

  “Old habits die hard.” He paused. “Mo, there’s one more thing I need to tell you.”

  She saw Devon in his mind, felt a pang of sadness.

  “You told the kids.”

  He nodded. “Dev didn’t take it well. Annie said they needed to know.”

  “Well, the Guides tend to know when something is inevitable. It’s happened for a reason.”

  “You’re not mad? I’ve exposed us.”

  “You didn’t expose us. You shared a family secret with your kids. It’s done.” Her eyes met his, and she shrugged. “Seriously, Fionn, don’t let it take up valuable brain property.”

  He traced the outline of her lips with a finger. His thoughts rolled through their connection—love, lust, wonder. He was still reeling from the impact of their mating. But it was a good kind of wonder, almost giddiness.

  She felt the same and named the feeling: love drunk.

  “Love drunk.” He grinned before tugging her down for a kiss.

  She let her tongue slide slowly into his mouth, teasing at him. Running her hand along his chest, she felt his nipple ring and gave it a gentle tug. His gasp made her smile into his mouth, and then she nibbled down his jaw to his chest. She kissed the bite mark that had healed over his heart, leaving a brand-like scar. She felt his groan rumble up through her lips as she sucked the nipple, ring and all, between them.

  “Don’t ever stop touching me.”

  “I never will,” she promised, running one hand down his thigh and then back up to grip his erection in her hand.

  His eyes closed, and his mouth fell open as she explored him, learning him with her hands, the softness of his skin over the hard heat of his erection, the way his shaft was actually wider than the tip, the veins pulsing around him. She learned the taste of him and the way he liked to be stroked, and when he fisted his hands in her hair to guide her movements, she groaned around him.

  He tugged her up to him gently, sitting her astride him. As she sank down on him, they both sighed in satisfaction at the sensation of being complete. Leisurely, she rode him, stroking his hair, his beard, every part of him she could reach while his fingers teased at her clit. When their tempo became more urgent and she started to tremble, he took her hand and bit into her palm, smiling in satisfaction as his bite took her over the edge and she shuddered her fulfillment around him. When her shudders subsided to small tremors, she returned the gesture, sinking her teeth into his hand and watching his head fall back and his muscles tense in exquisite pleasure. Tasting him in her mouth, his culmination was the most beautiful thing she’d ever witnessed. She felt his pleasure sweep into her soul, and she bared it to him, feeling his wonder as he shook in her arms.

  “Mo…” he breathed her name reverently, and his eyes half-closed in a decidedly lupine way.

  She grinned down from where she perched, his body still inside hers, and tickled at his beard, just needing
to touch him.

  “We should get back.” She loathed to separate herself from him.

  He sat up, holding her tight to his chest, smoothing his hand down the tumble of black hair that surrounded her shoulders. She felt a curious protective bent in him. She could tell that within his human exterior, his wolf paced nervously. A little whine slipped from between his lips. She met his eyes with a sad smile.

  “Yes, I’m vulnerable. But only to you.” She reached out to his mind, feeling how the sensation had changed since he had taken her as a wolf. She’d always loved the way he felt in her head, but now, fully mated, he was in her heart, too, and the touch of mind to mind was warm and intimate, a mental kiss.

  “I can’t promise I’ll never hurt you.”

  She felt a touch of the darkness that stole over his face, and she seized his face between her hands.

  “Don’t,” she ordered. “Remember what I said? That voice, that one that tears you down, she’s a lying bitch. Don’t let her touch this.” She sent a wave of love through their link. “Being vulnerable to each other is a good thing. You cannot trust someone without giving them the power to hurt you. I choose to give myself to you, to let you be the one wolf who can hold that power over me. Just because you can hurt me doesn’t mean you will. Have faith in yourself.”

  “I’m not good at this.” She was struck at the raw honesty in his eyes. She could feel his fear, his difficulty trusting himself.

  “Follow my lead. You’ll learn how to love yourself the way I love you,” she reassured him, stroking his beard with her delicate fingers, smiling into his eyes.

  “I hope I’m half as wise as you when I’m your age.” He smiled.

  “Oh, nice. Bring up my age.” She rolled her eyes on a laugh.

  “Honey, your age is part of your appeal. That two-hundred-fifty-year-old brain of yours lives inside the hottest fucking body I’ve ever seen. It’s insanity. You should be illegal in most of the lower forty-eight.”

  “Oooh, such sweet words. You’re forgiven.” She grinned.

  With a sigh, she pulled herself off his lap and stood, reaching a hand down to him. He stood and pressed a tender kiss upon her lips, a chaste kiss that spoke of storms of the soul, to be weathered together. Wordlessly, they shifted into wolves, and she howled her joy before leading him back to their home at a full-speed run.

  Chapter Nine

  WHEN BIANCA, JACK, AND ANGELO walked into Monica’s office in the morning, Starbucks cups in hand, Monica and Fionn were already hard at work, faces pressed close as they pored over the information they had found on their laptops.

  “Querida?” Angelo asked. Fionn watched as Angelo’s eyes widened, noting the way his best friend’s hand stroked languidly over the Usher’s forearm.

  “Hi, Angelo. Jack, Bee, c’mon in. Fionn and I mated last night.”

  Fionn smiled behind a hand. His mate was as direct and abrupt as ever. He watched as his pregnant sister-in-law enfolded Monica in a heartfelt embrace—he wouldn’t say the Albina waddled, exactly, but she no longer moved with the liquid grace of a fighter.

  “Oh, Mon, sweetie, I’m so happy for you!” Bee exploded in an effusive crowing that seemed barely this side of human.

  “Congrats, bro.” Jack’s voice was quiet. He shook his brother’s hand, a look of pride and friendship fierce upon his face. “You deserve every happiness life can throw your way.”

  “Thanks, all.” Monica grinned before turning to Angelo, who stood silent, his hands in his pockets. “What of business? Can we spare Fionn and me for a few weeks?”

  “We can.” Angelo smiled warmly to see his friend so happy. “But it’s more than that, isn’t it? This is not a honeymoon?”

  “No, you’re right.” Monica’s face sobered. “Bianca, are you prepared to take over as Alpha of Amazon?”

  “What?” Bianca’s face was startled. Fionn watched his mate reassure her, sending the knowledge that she was ready, she was capable.

  “Well, c’mon, Bee, it’s a simple question,” Monica teased.

  “Yes, I’m ready. Jack will serve as Guardian. Angelo, you’ll stay on as my Third and continue to oversee the business interests of the pack?” Bianca looked from Jack to Angelo, who both nodded.

  “Very well.” Monica swallowed hard. “Bianca Murphy, I sever myself and my wolf from Amazon.”

  Fionn felt Monica’s hand clutching his beneath the desk, and he gave it a reassuring squeeze.

  “Monica, you and your wolf are severed from Amazon. Go in peace.” Bianca touched her former Alpha’s face with a questioning hand. Fionn knew that through her bond with him, Monica could still sense her, like she could all of Fionn’s wolves—their wolves.

  “I’m still here, Bee.” She pushed the thought to her friend with a gentle smile, happy to see relief and joy spread on Bianca’s face. She turned to Angelo. “Can you take a look at what Fionn and I have found?” she asked him.

  He nodded, reaching for the laptop. As Angelo read over what was on the screen, he let out a low whistle.

  “You’re going south again, then?” He looked from Monica to Fionn, who nodded.

  “What’s up, Mon?” Bianca asked quietly.

  “We’ve been played.” Monica grimaced. “Manipulated by a one-legged wolf. Tavis Kirk is not just a lonely old wolf missing a leg. He really is Alpha to a lot of wolves. We couldn’t sense them before because his religious fervor doesn’t leave much room for his wolves in his head.” She shook her head. “He is trying to accomplish something very similar to what we are. Unification. But Kirk’s real goal is to convert all wolves to Christianity. He has a few religious tracts to the effect of reuniting us with our true God, rendering false Goddesses inert.”

  “Ooh boy. This should be fun.” Annie strode into Monica’s office. She looked smugly at Fionn and Monica before taking her seat. Fionn half expected her to start preening.

  “I’m just happy for you, that’s all.” Annie’s voice was a thick purr in his mind.

  “Okay, so, here’s the deal,” Annie began. “Monica told you all about Kirk’s goal to convert wolves to Christianity. He’s an evangelical. Under his bizarre exterior, he’s actually very charismatic, as is Jonny. The third brother seems to work behind the scenes. They hold old-school tent revival-style events across the southeast, and they’ve started moving in on Mid-Atlantic and over into the gulf states.”

  Jack and Fionn both growled when Annie referenced Mid-Atlantic, their former pack, their childhood home. She held up a hand.

  “They aren’t making huge inroads outside of the southeast and the gulf states just yet. We’ve got some concerns about some areas of Tennessee and Kentucky, especially those that are geographically close to Asheville, and even little snippets of West Virginia. As far as I can tell, most of Mid-Atlantic and the midwest packs haven’t really been approached.” Annie frowned.

  Fionn nodded his head. “I’m thinking we need a show of power in the border states. Angelo, can you spare Graham? He’s a solid tactician; I’d like him with us.”

  Angelo nodded thoughtfully.

  “You should take Ellen or Kathy, as well,” Jack suggested. “Ellen would be good in a fight, but Kathy’s skills could also be useful.”

  “We’ll take Ellen. As much as I’d love to see Kathy work her mojo on these guys, it’s too risky when they’re already accusing us of witchcraft.” Fionn’s voice was decisive.

  “Good point.” Jack picked up his cellphone and dialed Ellen’s number. After directing her to join them in Monica’s office, he returned to the conversation.

  “So, Monica and Fionn, Annie, Ellen, and Graham. Four wolves and a panther?” Bianca frowned. “Is that enough muscle? I feel uneasy.”

  “Yes. We are showcasing our metaphysical strength, not brute force. We can’t win this one with our teeth.” Monica smiled at Bianca—they could all feel Bianca’s uneasiness, her desire to protect her friends and family. “But we appreciate the concern.”

  “Okay.” Bianca finall
y nodded her agreement. “I think we can handle that just fine. One other thing—there were a lot of ghosts from the southeast. Those wolves may be willing to consider leaving Amazon and returning to their home territories as we Unify. It could be a good bargaining point. I don’t want our wolves to feel we’re turning them out, but I’ll start gauging interest and see if anyone is tired of the cold New England winters.”

  Bianca stood.

  “Thank you, Monica. For everything you’ve done for this pack. And thank you both for what you’re doing in efforts for the Goddess.” Bianca smiled at Fionn and Annie. “Sara would have been really proud of you guys.” A sadness flitted across her face. “When are you leaving?”

  “In a few days. Something has to happen first,” Annie interrupted, a puzzled expression on her face.

  “What?” Fionn asked her.

  She shook her head. “I’m not sure, but I’ll know when it’s time to go.”

  “Oh, you Guides, always so mysterious.” Bianca grinned at Annie. “That used to drive me up the wall when Sara would do it.”

  “Sorry. I would share if I knew.” The Guide’s face was sheepish. “I’m not as prescient as Raven was.”

  “Don’t apologize! I actually like being reminded of her. I miss her so much.” Bianca’s smile was wistful. “We’re naming the baby ‘Sarita,’ for her.”

  Fionn felt a wave of love running from Annie to the new Alpha of Amazon Pack. He knew that after years of Sara’s gentle spirit and her teasing humor, Annie’s more aggressive presence would take some getting used to. It had been difficult for Monica to learn to trust Annie the way she had Sara, but he could feel that she was trying. Feeling Annie’s genuine affection for Sara’s Usher would go a long way toward building that trust.

  The next few days passed in a blur, with the Usher’s small crew packing and plotting. Fionn and Monica spent their days poring over the internet for information and allusions to Tavis Kirk and his bizarre werewolf cult. They spent their nights making love, strengthening their bond as they made up for lost time. Monica awoke suddenly one night, sitting bolt upright in bed.