Wolf Hollow (Wolf Hollow Shifters, Book 1)

by Nikki Jefford

  Jager limped his way in front of Garrick and held his arms out as though beseeching the pack.

  “It’s understandable everyone’s on edge after everything that’s happened. We will discuss the matter after we’ve all had a chance to calm down.”

  “Why wait?” Heidi swept back her dark hair. “We’re here now.” She glanced at the other den members in attendance. Collectively, they gave a nod of consent.

  As if realizing the issue couldn’t be put off, Jager squared his shoulders. At first his jaw shifted from side to side. Then he spoke. “Very well, I call to session a public meeting. All council members are present.” He made a point of looking at each member individually—with the exception of Garrick—before continuing. “It has been proposed that two members from the den be added to the council. That would bring our council to six. As you know, we require an odd number in case of a tied vote. Therefore, I’d like to propose we add three new members to the council.”

  The pack exchanged loaded glances. Whispers of “three” arose like steam from the cauldron.

  Clearing his throat, Jager continued. “I propose the council include two members from the den, and that we include Wolfrik.”

  An ugly grin crossed over Garrick’s lips, an expression about as pleasant as his scowl. Eyebrows jumping, he looked at Sasha as though, despite everything, he’d managed to pull a win over her.

  The man was both vile and stupid. Sasha had no problem accepting Wolfrik on the council, especially when taking an active role in pack matters was an ideal way to reintegrate him into the hollow and would help occupy his time. Wolfrik knew more about the outside world than any of them and his parents had been members. It was his rightful place. As such, she was happy to be the first council member to support Jager’s motion.

  “I second Jager’s proposal,” Sasha said with a challenging gaze directed at Garrick. She had to hope that Tabor would understand her support of Wolfrik was as a friend and faithful pack mate.

  “I’m in favor,” Raider said without hesitation. He leaned back slightly as though resting against an invisible trunk, and looked surprisingly subdued for someone whose father had committed an unforgivable act of betrayal.

  “Well?” Jager asked Palmer, a brow lifting in question.

  Palmer folded his arms. “Seeing as it’s already three against two, I’d say the matter is decided whether I agree or not. Seven members of council. Very well, then I propose Francine take the extra seat for the den.”

  Outcries arose at once, chorusing like howls on a full moon.

  “Preposterous!”

  “She’ll vote the same as him. What’s the point?”

  “Next he’ll propose one of his daughters take the third spot.”

  “You’re joking?” Chloe thundered from beside Heidi.

  Melissa stepped forward, hands on her hips. “And who would take care of Francine’s newborn pup if she were to sit on council meetings?” she demanded.

  Sasha would bet the moon the female shifter wasn’t about to offer despite her reputation as den mother.

  Francine kept surprisingly quiet, but her glower spoke volumes.

  “Trish,” Palmer said, tilting his head and speaking in a tone that conveyed it ought to be obvious.

  Amidst the low chuckles and grunts there were louder grumbles.

  “I hear Trish is sick all the time,” someone said. “She can’t take care of herself, let alone an infant.”

  “He has no shame, does he?”

  Even Devan crossed his arms unhappily. “Mates aren’t allowed to serve on council together.”

  Picking up on his words, Jager lifted his head. “With rare exceptions, as in the case of pure-blooded mates like Sasha’s and Wolfrik’s parents.”

  “I nominate Ford,” Garrick said, speaking the name of his nephew.

  “You don’t get to nominate anyone,” Peter reminded him at the same time Chloe grumbled, “Sure, put two more men on the council.”

  Flynn joined her side and patted her arm in a gesture of comfort.

  Feeling alert to everyone around her, Sasha had listened with sharp focus to the pack’s comments. The time had come to voice her thoughts. The sooner they nominated members for council, the sooner their new members could decide Garrick’s fate.

  “I nominate Heidi to the council,” Sasha said.

  Heidi’s eyes widened in surprise.

  Bracing herself for protests, Sasha drew in a breath, preparing to defend her choice. But as quiet settled over the clearing, pack members turned to one another in quiet discussion. Peter, who had been standing near Devan, walked over to his mate. “Is this something you want to do?” he asked in a low voice.

  “I don’t know,” Heidi said, pressing her hands to her cheeks.

  “You would make an excellent council member,” Chloe said. “Wouldn’t she, Flynn?” she asked, turning to her mate.

  Flynn nodded on cue. “Yes, yes, she would.”

  “The perfect choice,” Melissa said with an approving smile directed at Sasha.

  “Heidi?” Peter asked, stepping in front of his mate to give them a bit of privacy. Several seconds later, he moved aside.

  With a stoic nod, Heidi released a deep breath. “If the pack is in agreement, it would be my honor to join the council on behalf of the den and all of Wolf Hollow.”

  Raider shrugged and Palmer sniffed, but neither of them protested. Garrick could do nothing beyond glower.

  “Are we in agreement then?” Jager asked. “Heidi on the council?”

  “Yes,” Sasha said.

  “Yes,” Raider echoed.

  Palmer nodded.

  Jager lifted his chin. “Is the pack in agreement?”

  “Yes,” came the collective response.

  Jager nodded. “Then it is settled. I officially proclaim Heidi as a council member.”

  Den mates surged forward to congratulate Heidi, some offering her advice, while others wasted no time putting in requests.

  Jager cleared his throat. “Unless there are any objections to Wolfrik, I propose we swear him in as well.”

  “I want nothing to do with the council,” Wolfrik said.

  His voice jolted Sasha—she hadn’t noticed him until he’d spoken. Now he prowled out from the shadowed trees and stood apart from everyone with cool detachment.

  “And what of your pack?” Jager asked. “Do you want nothing to do with us?”

  Vacant eyes drifted over the gathered shifters as though they were another pack Wolfrik had happened upon in the woods. That brief moment of vulnerability Wolfrik had shown her felt like a dream—one she’d never experience again. Even if he did open up to her again, he’d never allow another pack mate to get too close to the truth. Wolfrik had always been proud and considered anything less a sign of weakness. Chills ran up and down Sasha’s spine. She had an urge to wrap her arms around her abdomen.

  Finally, he answered in a faraway voice. “Wolf Hollow is my home. I will not leave it again.”

  Those words should have brought Sasha some comfort, but they did not. They were spoken with no sentiment, no heartfelt sense of loyalty or belonging. She’d hoped that after sharing what he’d been through in captivity, he could begin to heal.

  As though to confirm her worst fears, Wolfrik trained his hardened gaze on her and Tabor. “So long as everyone leaves me alone, we can all live together in peace.”

  Sasha swallowed back her disappointment.

  “That’s not how a community works,” Jager said.

  Wolfrik’s eyes narrowed. “I know better than anyone how things work in the hollow, and I’m not bending over for anyone—certainly not for the council.”

  “Your pack needs you,” Jager tried, one last time.

  A bitter smile formed over Wolfrik’s lips. “Tabor can protect you better than I ever coul
d. The pack doesn’t need me. All I need is a place to sleep and hunt. The hollow will do.”

  With those last haunting words, Wolfrik stepped back into the shadows, which appeared to swallow him whole.

  Like a flame snuffed out by the wind, Sasha’s hopes for Wolfrik’s involvement in pack matters died out. She’d be there for him as a friend if he ever needed her, but she’d never run after him again. It was now up to Wolfrik to rejoin the pack—not just in body, but in spirit. After the horrors he’d been through it would take time, but she had to believe that one day his heart would find its way back home.

  “I would like to volunteer myself for council,” Ford said, bringing the attention back to the glade.

  A silent growl scratched up Sasha’s throat. Ford himself didn’t bother her so much as his relation to Garrick. Then again, Raider was the bastard’s son and she was happy to have him on council. Maybe Ford wouldn’t be so terrible.

  “I think Ford would make a great addition to council,” Palmer said, “and he’s a den mate.” He raised his brows as if to say, what more do you want?

  “Works for me,” Raider said.

  “I have no issue with Ford on council,” Jager said. “Sasha?”

  She was already outvoted and since no one around them had raised any objections she nodded.

  “I suppose Ford’s relation to Garrick shouldn’t prohibit a placement on council, though he would be wise to learn from his uncle’s mistakes,” she said.

  Unlike Garrick, Ford didn’t shoot her a nasty glare, merely gave a curt nod of understanding.

  “Since we need a seventh member of council, I’d like to nominate my eldest, Emerson,” Palmer said.

  “Knew it,” Melissa muttered.

  “I’m fine with that,” Sasha said. She wouldn’t mind another woman on council and, again, didn’t hold parentage against other shifters so long as they had a mind of their own, and Emerson had already proven her loyalty to Tabor twice now.

  “As am I,” Jager said. “Raider?”

  Surprisingly, Raider clenched his jaw and made it appear as though they would have to pry his answer from his lips. Garrick smacked his fist against his thigh, staring intently at his son, but Raider refused to look at him.

  “Raider?” Jager asked again.

  “Fine,” Raider said, teeth still clamped together.

  Jager brushed his palms together and smiled. “Good. It’s settled. We have our new council.”

  “Nothing’s settled,” Sasha reminded him and all the shifters around them. “A traitor still sits among us. Removing him from council isn’t enough.”

  “I vote that he stay,” Ford said.

  “You haven’t been sworn in yet,” Sasha growled, “and I see my warning has fallen on deaf ears. Perhaps we should rethink your inclusion.”

  “I’m with Sasha,” Heidi said. “Garrick is a danger to the hollow.”

  Ford folded his arms across his chest. “However misguided Garrick’s actions were, he believed he was acting in the interest of the pack. And he’s not the only one with concerns. He’s just the first who took action.”

  “Against the shifter who saved the hollow,” Heidi said, stomping her foot on the ground.

  “Heidi’s right,” Peter said. “We wouldn’t be standing here having this conversation if it hadn’t been for Tabor’s heroics.”

  “I think the pack should decide,” Chloe said.

  “Yeah,” Hudson hollered. “How many in favor of banishing Garrick?” He raised his hand.

  Other arms went up and more followed until over half the hollow had their arm—or both, in Hudson’s case—above their heads.

  With a smile of vindication, Sasha faced Garrick and said, “Looks like the pack has decided.”

  “Wait a minute. Wait a minute,” Jager said, waving his hands then lowering them when Patrick snickered and said, “Look, Jager’s raising his hands too.”

  Jager snarled, a sound that shut Patrick up. Seconds later, Jager clasped his hands together and turned beseeching eyes at Raider. “Surely you wish to speak up on your father’s behalf?”

  Raider mimed one of his father’s shrugs, giving his dad the briefest glance. “If the majority of the pack wants him gone, I wouldn’t think he’d want to stay, but if we did give him a second chance, we need to reiterate the terms of his probation. It should be agreed upon that any offense, no matter how minor, would result in immediate and absolute banishment.”

  “Yes. Yes. Yes.” Jager’s head bobbed eagerly.

  “No,” Sasha said. When she turned to Tabor, all the animosity whooshed out of her, replaced by a well of sadness drowning her vision and turning the forest into a blur both beautiful and blinding. How could she call this place home if Garrick stayed? He’d almost taken away the love of her life. Tabor had been willing to sacrifice everything for her. It was her turn to do the same. The greens of his irises came into sharp focus, but before she could speak, Tabor opened his mouth.

  “Let him stay.”

  A collective hush fell over the glade. Sasha’s head jerked. She must have heard Tabor wrong.

  He spoke louder. “If he left he’d just find another pack to bully and betray. Let him stay and face judgment for what he did for the remainder of his life under the watchful eyes of shifters who know his true nature. Let him stay and know what it’s like to be an outcast.”

  Garrick’s face turned beet red as his eyes locked on to Tabor’s. They stared each other down, neither looking away even when Jager jumped in to say, “I think that’s fair. Wouldn’t everyone agree that sounds fair?”

  “Fair would be beating him unconscious, marching him through the wasteland without food or water, and throwing him into a pit,” Sasha said. “Lucky for Garrick, Tabor is more tolerant than I.”

  Tabor steepled his fingers. “My charity only extends so far.” His eyes narrowed on Garrick. “Try and touch me again and I’ll make what I did to the vulhena look like a kindness compared to the punishment I’ll inflict on you.”

  Garrick had the good sense to avert his eyes while the rest of the pack held their tongues at the blatant threat. Not even Ford protested.

  chapter twenty-five

  The sun set swiftly that evening, though the voices of the pack rose and circled the clearing like the chatter of birds early in the morning. As light faded, the bonfire blazed and the smell of onion, turnips, and a hint of rabbit infused the air.

  Tabor stood off to one side, arms folded, as Jager swore in the new members of council.

  Stepping forward, Jager went before Heidi first. “Repeat after me,” he said. “I, Heidi of the Wolf Hollow shifters, swear upon the moon in the sky that I will serve the council on behalf of my pack.”

  She repeated after him.

  And so it continued until Jager declared Heidi a member of Wolf Hollow’s council as witnessed beneath the moon. He repeated the proceedings with Ford and Emerson.

  At the conclusion of the ceremony, Jager spread his arms and said, “The council welcomes Heidi, Ford, and Emerson.”

  Tabor watched Sasha congratulating the new members with her head slightly turned, stealing glances at him. They hadn’t gotten a moment alone since she’d told him that Wolfrik was just a friend. No matter what their relationship, Tabor was relieved the brute wouldn’t be serving on council with Sasha. But still, where did that leave Tabor and Sasha? As friends? Lovers? Soulmates? Or had Garrick succeeded in driving a permanent wedge between them?

  Betrayal still burned in Tabor’s gut like stubborn coals long after the fire had been put out. He wished he could tear out the memory of her and Wolfrik embracing with his fangs.

  He stared at Sasha and wondered how long it would take them to find a way back to what they once were, or if it were even possible. Her lips parted slightly, making Tabor’s throat go dry. He’d knocked out a horde of vulhena for her—
and she’d run naked into a human camp and taken a bullet for him. If they could survive vulhena, mad wolves, and humans, they could move past Garrick, Zackery, and Wolfrik. No force could keep them apart.

  Realizing this, Tabor’s lips parted in silent beckoning and, as though reading his thoughts, Sasha started toward him. Before he could take a step to meet her, Tabor’s heart began to beat wildly, not with the wave of affection from seconds ago, but in fear and forewarning. Jerking his head up, he sniffed the air and listened.

  Sasha stopped and stared at him uncertainly.

  Nothing seemed amiss, but Tabor could feel the warning ringing inside him like an electrifying tempest raising the hairs on his arms. There was magic in the air, and it wasn’t his.

  In the next instant, a thunderbolt cracked across the sky, though there were no clouds. The bonfire blazed to life in full flame, sparks shooting out and rising into the air like stars returning to the sky.

  These hadn’t been the tiny sparks that he’d played around with in quiet whispers to add a bit of flourish when shooting his bow; this was advanced magic.

  The small groups that had huddled together broke apart. All shifters present turned their backs to the fire and jerked their heads around, searching for the reason behind the mystical interruption. Garrick shot Tabor an accusatory glare, but everyone else seemed to know instinctively he wasn’t the source of the anomaly.

  Sydney screamed and scrambled back as a tall, cloaked figure emerged from the woods. A silver-and-gray haired man strode into the clearing. He was as old as Jager but moved with light-footed grace. He had a close-shaved moustache and beard the same silver-gray as the thick hair on his head, swept stylishly to one side. The same coloring did not extend to his eyebrows, which were a thick, lush black accenting sharp green eyes that were piercing without ever looking directly at anyone.

  Wizard, Tabor realized with a mixture of apprehension and awe.

  Flynn got to his hands and knees, shifted, and lunged toward the wizard, whose expression showed amusement rather than fear.

  “Down, boy,” the wizard commanded, lifting a finger, which he pointed to the ground.