“You should go check on her,” Chase said, picking his bowl off the ground.
“Where are you going?” Hudson asked.
“To see if I can find Jordan before patrol begins.”
“Better hurry,” Hudson said.
The two friends waved to Sasha and Tabor before striding off in opposite directions.
Once alone, Sasha raised her brows. “Nice to see we’re not the big gossip.”
Tabor grimaced. “Enjoy the peace while it lasts. I fear we’ve heard the last of the congratulations.”
Sasha threaded her arm around Tabor’s. “Or maybe everyone will be too busy selecting mates of their own to bother us.”
“Tell that to Zack and his friends. They’re glaring at us right now.”
Sasha searched the crowd until she spotted them near the cauldron. Once she had a lock on their location, she glared back, lip curling the slightest bit over her front teeth.
Tabor straightened to his full height. “Do I have your permission to toss him on his ass if he misbehaves?”
Sasha growled. “If Zackary or any of his friends threatens or insults you in any way, they’re all mine.” The curl of her lips turned into a wolfish grin full of promise.
As though sensing her threat, Zackary’s friends quickly looked away from her and Tabor, shifting their focus to Rosalie and Olivia, who were huddled together whispering near Raider. Zackary continued to glower in Tabor’s direction until a cry rose above the crowd.
Everyone turned to look at Amber, who lifted her hands in the air. “It’s time! Francine’s water broke!”
Francine stood nearby, bent over wet soil. Her head jerked up. Through clenched teeth she roared, “Where’s Palmer?”
Everyone began looking around, scratching their heads. Not Sasha. She strode forward and made her way to Francine while Tabor followed several steps behind.
“We need to get you back to the den,” Sasha said, placing an arm around Francine. Sasha met Tabor’s eyes. “You can help with delivery, can’t you?”
Before he could answer, Francine snarled. “That half-breed isn’t delivering my baby.”
Sasha removed her arm from Francine and gave her an icy stare. “Amber,” Sasha said. “Help Francine to the den.” Sasha lifted her head and looked around at the faces gaping back in the clearing. “I’d like a male volunteer, as well.”
When no one volunteered, Sasha’s eyes scanned the crowd.
“Wiley!” she hollered.
Zackary’s friend winced.
“You and Amber will escort Francine to the den.”
Wiley gulped and stalked over carefully as though approaching a hissing lynx.
“Hurry, you big oaf, before I have this baby right here,” Francine snapped.
Wiley jumped in place then hurried to Francine’s side.
“My pup is coming!” Palmer’s voice boomed through the clearing.
Shifters moved aside as Palmer barreled across the glade toward his mate. His face was flushed with excitement, a huge dopey grin spreading up his cheeks. Even Francine’s splintering glare couldn’t diminish his elation.
“Where the hell have you been?” she snapped at her mate.
“I came as soon as I heard,” Palmer said, kissing her forehead.
Francine scowled and pulled away.
“Come, let’s get you comfortable.” Palmer turned to Wiley. “You take one arm, and I’ll take the other.”
“No,” Francine snarled, eyes flashing. “Not him. Sasha.”
Sasha did a double take. “You want my help?”
“Yes,” Francine hissed between clenched teeth.
Sasha chewed on her lower lip and looked at Tabor.
“Go,” he said. “I’ll handle patrol.”
Sasha kept chewing on her lip.
“Well?” Francine demanded.
“Head to the den,” Sasha said. “I’ll catch up.”
Wiley, who had begun to back up with a look of relief, stopped when Sasha said, “Wiley, you can help Palmer with Francine. I’ll be right behind you.”
Wiley’s body slumped.
“Let’s go, Wiley,” Palmer said.
Wiley had no choice but to try and take Francine’s other arm, which she pulled away with a snarl. “I don’t need your help now.”
While they bickered and made slow progress across the glade, Sasha leaned beside Tabor’s ear, speaking in a low voice. “I’ll meet you at the bluff as soon as I can. Until then, watch out for trouble, and I don’t just mean vulhena.”
“Understood,” Tabor said. He kissed her cheek and forced a smile, as though trying to ease the worry written across her face. “Don’t worry about me. Powerful half-wizard, remember?”
But that only worried Sasha more.
chapter fifteen
Tabor could feel Sasha’s eyes on his back as he cut across the clearing. When he looked over his shoulder she was still watching. He shot her a reassuring smile, but the one she attempted to return was strained. She kept her place, as though rooted to the earth. She was still watching him when Tabor made his way onto the forest path.
He headed for the cave, as had become their habit, to undress before shifting.
Sasha’s concern on his behalf felt like a soothing balm over an aching wound. He’d ended up with the strongest, kindest, and sexiest shifter in all of Wolf Hollow.
As the birds sang overhead, a whistle emerged from Tabor’s lips.
The full moon was in two days. Two days until he and Sasha claimed one another and mated beneath the moon’s fertile power.
A merry tune followed him, cut short when Garrick stepped into his path, glowering. The man was shirtless, as usual, muscles rippling across the bulk of his torso. He was a couple inches shorter than Tabor, but more massive than most shifters in their pack.
Tabor gave himself a mental kick for allowing his mind to wander after Sasha had just warned him to be cautious. “What do you want?” he growled, halting in his tracks.
Garrick held his ground, looking Tabor over as though sizing up an opponent. “I want you to stay the hell away from Sasha,” he said, grinding out the words.
Rage exploded through Tabor’s chest. His fingers twitched. “Sasha’s my mate,” he said.
“Not yet.”
Energy coursed through Tabor’s veins. He heard shuffling from behind and whipped around to find Jager scuttling up the path.
“All we want is a few words,” Jager said. He stopped roughly six feet away from Tabor, catching his breath.
With careful steps, Tabor moved off the path, back to the trees, so that he could keep an eye on both Jager and Garrick.
“Obviously you’re fond of Sasha,” Jager said, favoring his left leg as he leaned to that side. “I believe your feelings are sincere.”
“Of course they are,” Tabor snapped, taking note of Garrick, who had made the wise decision not to move in any closer.
Jager nodded. “Which is why I believe you will make the right choice and walk away from this claim.”
“Not a chance,” Tabor said, gritting his teeth.
“There is still time to do the right thing.”
Blind fury rocked through Tabor’s body. He growled. Forget magic—he wanted to rip off the hand Jager extended toward him.
Seeing the anger in his face, Jager snarled back, piercing Tabor with his glare. “Don’t you snarl at me, boy. You’ve never fit in here. Your pack mates tolerate you, at best. Your poor mother was bewitched, and you were the unfortunate result of a wizard forcing himself on her. Nobody wanted you raised with the pack. We tried to convince Lucinda to leave you at the gates of Balmar Heights, but her mind was too far gone to listen to reason.”
Jager’s words hit Tabor like blows to the gut, one after the other. Everything inside him twisted and churned. H
e growled.
“Do my words make you angry?” Jager asked, brows jumping as though he’d made a point. Tabor’s gut clenched at Jager’s brightening eyes. “Think of how the pack will treat Sasha if she takes you as her mate. Think of what they’ll say. They’ll never accept the pair of you. They’ll never stop taunting you. Do you really want to drag Sasha into this? Do you care so little for her well-being?”
Tabor’s fists tightened. “Enough,” he said.
“Your children would be half-breeds,” Jager continued, as though he hadn’t heard Tabor. “Think of those poor pups, if not Sasha. Think of how the other children would tease and torment them. You ought to know, Tabor. Would you really want that for your children?”
“I said enough!” Tabor bellowed.
Jager and Garrick stood stone still. The only movement from them was a twitch of their lips, a smug sort of smile like they’d won the battle. Tabor glared from one elder to the other.
“You’re trying to manipulate me. My heritage shouldn’t matter. I was born in Wolf Hollow. I’m still a wolf shifter and as much a member of this pack as anyone else.”
Jager nodded solemnly as though he sympathized, which Tabor knew was a big fat lie.
“But it does matter, and you know it.”
All Tabor knew was that he loved Sasha to the moon and back and the elders weren’t going to scare or guilt him away from making a claim.
“There’s a lot of unrest in the hollow. I’m sure you don’t want to contribute to it,” Jager said.
“Yes, you’ve certainly given me a lot to think about,” Tabor answered bitingly.
“That’s all that I ask, that you consider the consequences,” Jager said, lifting his hands. “We’ll leave you to your patrolling.” Jager looked at Garrick, who shot Tabor a lingering glare before joining the other elder.
Tabor tensed as Garrick walked past. He watched the pair make their way back down the path toward camp. Neither looked back.
Ungrateful coot. Jager could forget about receiving any more potions from Tabor. What the crippled old man lacked in physical strength he made up for with his poisoned tongue. Sasha would be fuming when she heard what Jager had said.
Tabor’s heart sank.
He didn’t want to repeat Jager’s words to anyone, especially not Sasha.
They were spiteful and harsh.
And everyone agrees with him, a nagging voice crooned inside Tabor’s head.
He shook it off.
No, not everyone. Heidi didn’t agree. Chase and Hudson didn’t agree, nor Kallie. According to Sasha, Raider didn’t agree with the elders, including his own father.
Devan and Flynn would agree. Dirty, filthy half-breed, tainting the gene pool. Francine didn’t even want him anywhere near her unborn child. Her pup would be no friend of Tabor and Sasha’s offspring; Francine would see to that. Devan and Flynn would see to it their pups didn’t speak to his pups either. His children would suffer the consequences of his decision. They’d be treated like outcasts, sneered at, looked down upon.
No! Tabor screamed inside his head, furious that Jager’s words had effectively penetrated his defenses.
Tabor had been ready for a fight—to take on Garrick if he charged him. It would have been easier to throw him back as he’d done with Zackary.
Jager had done something far worse. He’d made Tabor doubt. His words burrowed inside Tabor’s brain, squirming, biting, and nagging at his thoughts with relentless loathing.
He was so caught up in the tumult raging inside his head he forgot to leave his clothes at the cave, instead storming on foot all the way to the bluff.
Tabor would have been better off shifting and allowing his wolf to run off some of the aggression burning a hole in his chest. Instead, he paced the edge of the bluff, arms tightly folded across his chest, brooding. He tramped down the already worn path as he walked back and forth, fists clenching and unclenching. The sun rose to its peak and glared down at him, beaming into his eyes with its fierce rays.
Where was Sasha? She’d said she’d meet him as soon as she could.
Tabor wouldn’t put it past Jager and Garrick to waylay her as well. Try and talk her into backing out of claiming Tabor.
No. They’d already tried that during their council meeting and Sasha, feisty pureblood that she was, had stood up to the mongrels. Sasha went after what she wanted. Knowing this, Garrick and Jager thought they had a better chance dissuading Tabor. They thought they could weaken him with their words. They were wrong.
Tabor stopped his pacing. An angry howl rose up his throat. He should shift and get it out of his system. Before he had a chance to undress he heard Sasha howl, announcing her approach.
Soon she trotted into view, dust flying up around her paws along the dry path. Her ears twitched when she saw Tabor. She stopped and shifted, rising onto two feet naked in the sunlight.
If Tabor hadn’t worked himself into such a bad temper, his mouth would have gone dry at the sight of her sun-kissed perfection.
He stood his ground, letting Sasha come to him.
She grinned as she approached. “You have me at a disadvantage all covered up in clothes. Let me give you a hand with this cumbersome attire,” she said, reaching for the button on Tabor’s jeans.
He took a step back.
Sasha frowned. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing’s the matter,” Tabor said. “Shouldn’t you be with Francine while she delivers her baby? Or did she decide she didn’t want the future mate of a filthy half-breed to help her out, after all?” Tabor demanded, kicking up dirt. It formed dust clouds around his ankles.
Sasha cocked her head sideways, staring at him.
“This is only the beginning, you know,” he continued. “You’ll have to get used to the scorn of the pack if you claim me.”
Sasha’s eyebrows furrowed. “I didn’t realize Francine had upset you so much. You can’t take it personally, Tabor. Francine’s nasty to everyone. It’s her loss. If she hadn’t pissed me off, I would have stuck around for the birth. Hopefully it’s the pregnancy hormones and she’ll calm down once she pushes out her pup.”
“It’s not just Francine. If we go through with our claim, it’s going to upset most of the pack.”
Sasha lifted her chin. “You know I don’t care what anyone else thinks.”
“You’re not listening!” Tabor growled in frustration.
Sasha snarled back, eyes narrowing. “Don’t you growl at me, Tabor. If you’re having second thoughts, tell me. Don’t go putting this on the pack.”
Tabor ran a hand through his hair. “I’m not having second thoughts. I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life. I’m only thinking of your well-being.”
“If you truly care about my well-being, then you’ll stop talking this way at once,” Sasha said, folding her arms beneath her breasts. They squeezed together and lifted in a way that would have normally made Tabor’s groin tighten. “What happened?” Sasha demanded. “Everything was good between us when I left you in the clearing. Did someone do something to you? Threaten you?” Sasha’s eyes flashed with anger.
“No one threatened me.” Tabor sighed. His shoulders slumped. “I ran into Garrick and Jager.”
“Garrick.” Sasha snarled. Her teeth snapped together and she punched the air. “I should have knocked that asshole to the ground while I had the chance.”
Tabor took a tentative step toward her. He hated to see Sasha distressed. This was the kind of turmoil he wanted to shield her from. “He didn’t do anything,” Tabor said quickly. “He didn’t really say much either. Jager did most of the talking.”
Sasha snorted. “I’m sure he did. It’s about the only thing he does anymore.” Her grin was a bit twisted, but at least her shoulders relaxed. “Let me guess. He said I have a duty to the pack to mate with a pureblood.”
Sasha growled. “It’s none of his business. He had no right to say anything to you.”
Tabor wished Sasha’s defense made him feel better.
“I don’t like it either, but he has a point. Our children would be taunted and teased, ruthlessly; I know from personal experience. I don’t want them to go through what I did.”
Sasha marched up to Tabor and took both his shoulders in a bone-crushing grip.
“I’ve heard enough of this nonsense. It’s your turn to listen to me, Tabor. Our children will be part pureblood, part wizard, and part wolf. No one’s going to mess with them.” She snarled for emphasis.
“But—”
Sasha’s growl cut Tabor off. A grin spread over his lips. Sasha was still in pissed-off-alpha-shifter mode. Her grip on his shoulders tightened.
“Do I make myself clear?”
“Yeah, I think I got the message loud and clear,” Tabor said with a chuckle.
“Good.” Sasha’s grip on him loosened. She dropped her arms and stepped away. “Now get your clothes off. We both need to go for a run.”
“Er, a run?” His dick had other ideas.
“You got me all worked up. Now I need to run it off.”
Tabor undid his jeans and pulled them down to his ankles, then stood straight.
Sasha glowered at him until her eyes dipped below his waist and noticed his erection.
“Oh,” she said, sounding surprised. She moistened her lips, continuing to stare.
“You got me all worked up too,” Tabor said with a wolfish grin.
“Very well,” Sasha said, sauntering up to him. “But afterwards we go for a run.”
Tabor didn’t waste any more time losing his clothes.
After they made love and shifted, Tabor bounded along the bluff full of energy. He never dreamed he could feel this content. Rather than follow Sasha, he ran by her side, their animals in sync and in harmony with one another.
The coming of the full moon made him feel extra animated and spry.
When Sasha slowed, Tabor nudged her shoulder. She turned and pressed her nose against his.
Wolf Hollow (Wolf Hollow Shifters, Book 1) Page 19