Wolf’s Princess

by Maddy Barone

  She jerked in a sharp gasp. “Oh, no,” she moaned.

  Jasper forgot himself and dared to grab her arm to steady her. “Rose, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

  Grabbing him back would probably get him killed. She was sure that buzzing in her ears would go away any second. It would. It had to. The man in the slick suit came their way, and she swayed, willing herself to be calm.

  “Hello, Rose,” the man said to her with a cold smile. The hint of a dimple beside his mouth didn’t soften his expression. His head turned a fraction to stare at Jasper, and he continued in the same lazy, deadly tone, “I don’t know you.” The smile hardened to brittle ice. “If you want to live, you’ll take your hand off my mate.”

  Chapter 3

  The train ride from Omaha to Kearney took seven excruciatingly long hours. Sky spent the time alternating between his worry about the hearings in front of the city council and his fear that Rose might already be married by the time he arrived. Why did she have to do this now? Couldn’t she have waited another week? Just one lousy week? Her impatience might waste the years he’d spent finding out who in Omaha might be open to change, and then cajoling, sweet talking, and arguing to convince them to take action against the city’s policies concerning women.

  He fingered the letter in his pocket, sighing. He couldn’t blame Rose. She had written him a few months ago telling him she was tired of waiting for him, but with the hearings coming up he hadn’t found time to write her back. Her timing was rotten, but she had been patient for years. He would talk to her and convince her to wait just another year or so. By that time, change would have come to Omaha. He could leave the city with a clear conscience and come home. Then he would give her all the time she wanted to court her properly.

  Of course, if the hearing didn’t result in the changes to the law he’d so ardently campaigned for, it could be longer than a year. The wolf inside him whined softly. Sky wrestled him down. The damn beast hadn’t made himself known for over six years. Why was he manifesting now? Oh, Sky knew why. The beast pined for their mate, and now that they were on their way to see her, he had perked up.

  Sky wasn’t sure if he was happy about the return of his wolf or not. The wolf was a simple creature who didn’t understand the delicate dance of politics. His solution to the injustice in Omaha was to kill every man responsible. He didn’t understand that working inside the law would bring lasting change peacefully. Killing the mayor and his cronies would only bring chaos to the city. His wolf was an alpha, and at first he’d tried to yank control from Sky. Having the wolf sleep was safest.

  Yes, safest, but Sky missed the wind on his face and the prairie grass under his paws when he ran. He would have to wait three days for the return train to Omaha. For that long at least he could indulge his wolf. He could take off the business suits and dress shoes and run like the wind over the prairie.

  The train slowed and a man shouted that the next stop was Kearney. At last! Sky checked that his suitcase was still under his seat, and adjusted his tie to be sure it was straight. Of the thirteen men in the single passenger car, two others were also getting ready to disembark. Seven hours to travel from Omaha to Kearney was actually very fast, compared to the three or four days it would have taken on horseback, but Sky was glad for it to be over. All he had to do was find his mate, convince her to wait for him a while longer, and get back to Omaha as soon as possible. The vote might not take place for several days, depending on how much discussion was required. Maybe he could get back for the end of it.

  He picked up his suitcase and carried it down the ramp that joined the train to the platform. Would Rose be at the den north of Kearney? A sudden, sickening thought hit him. She could be with the Clan on the prairie. They could be anywhere from North Dakota to Kansas. Dear God, this trip could have been in vain.

  A terrible yearning to see his family again punched him in the gut. The only member of his family he’d seen in eight years was his brother Jimmy White Elk. That hadn’t gone well. Jimmy thought since his little brother owned a whorehouse, he would give Jimmy free passes with his ladies. Even now disgust curled in Sky’s gut at the memory. Jimmy was a married man. How could a husband even think of being with another woman? After a bitter fight, Sky ejected his brother from his house, and two days later he was dead, the result of a barroom brawl. He could have accompanied the body back to the Clan, but he had been too ashamed. Jimmy would still be alive today if he hadn’t turned his back on his brother. Why hadn’t he tried harder to talk Jimmy into going home to his wife and sons? He wrote a letter instead, and sent the body home with a pair of hired men.

  Right now, even with that shame standing between himself and his family, he wanted to go back to the easy life he’d had as a child in the camp of the Lakota Wolf Clan. But he couldn’t take the time to ride out to the Clan right now. He was here to find Rose, talk sense to her, and get back to Omaha as quickly as possible.

  Finding his mate turned out to be exceptionally easy. She stood on the train platform, arm in arm with a strange man, while cousins he barely recognized watched over them with what seemed like fond approval. He was so lost in the icy rage exploding inside that he was in front of them without remembering how he got there. His wolf wanted to shred the man. It took every ounce of his control to keep the wolf back. His mouth formed words, but the struggle with his wolf was so overwhelming he didn’t know what he said. The man—damn the interloping woman stealer—paled, and he immediately let go of Rose’s arm, but he didn’t back away.

  “No!”

  That angry voice was Rose’s. Sky couldn’t keep his wolf from staring at her with raw longing. He only hoped he didn’t look as besotted as his wolf felt. Her sun-bleached blond hair was longer, nearly to her shoulders, and she had shrunk a couple of inches, but that delicious spicy cinnamon scent which was forever enshrined in his memory was the same. He allowed himself to drink in the sight of her. Still slim, her bosom and hips were rounder than he remembered. She hadn’t shrunk, he realized; he had grown.

  “No!” she said again. “You don’t get to come back here and threaten people.”

  “Don’t touch him.” He snarled when she reached as if to take the man’s arm.

  She didn’t finish her reach for the stranger. Instead she whipped her hand around and stabbed her finger into his chest. The touch, brief and angry as it was, made his wolf happy. Stupid animal.

  “Look,” Rose said, pale blue eyes narrowed at him. “Who I touch is none of your business. And—”

  He cut in, driven by his wolf’s pain. “Are you married to him? Have you slept with him?”

  Her cheeks, already pink with wrath, went as bright as strawberries. “No!”

  His chest relaxed, the wolf calmed, and he was able to breathe again. “Then I guess I’ll let him live.”

  “Jerk!” She turned to the man at her side. “I’m so sorry, Jasper. I think you should go.”

  Sky hated the man’s smile.

  “I guess you’re right.” The man she called Jasper nodded at the circle of open-mouthed spectators on the platform. “We’ve put on enough of a show already today. Will you send me a message about Saturday?”

  “Yes.” Rose’s voice was quieter now, sweet. Sky wished she would use that tone with him. “I hope to see you then.”

  With one last smile, the guy turned and walked away. Rose spun back around with a face that was wiped clean of any emotion. “So. You’re back.”

  “Yes, I’m back. What’s all this about Saturday?”

  Her chin went up. “I’m not talking to you here. As Jasper said, we’ve given Kearney enough of a show already. We can talk at the den.”

  She turned deliberately away from him and strode off. Most of his cousins gave him quick grins and caught up with her, falling into a protective formation around her. His wolf yanked at his control, demanding to run after her. Sky made himself stand still, concentrating on his breathing until his wolf retreated to sulk.

  The remaining cous
in gave him a faint, twisted grin that faded at once. “Welcome home.”

  Sky examined him. He looked like most of the Clan did when out in the human world: long black hair worn in braids, a plain cotton shirt, worn out jeans, and moccasins. His face was still and stern, cynical for one so young. It was familiar, but he couldn’t place him. He ran through his mental catalogue of cousins of that age. “Jelly?” he ventured.

  “Stone,” the other wolf corrected. “It’s been six years since I was Jelly.”

  “Right. Forgot your new adult name. Sorry.”

  He didn’t look like Jelly. Sky hadn’t seen him since he was a goofy, fourteen-year-old kid who didn’t have a care in the world. Even though Sky was only three years older, he had never been as happy and light-hearted as Jelly. Now his eyes were hard and there was no smile on his cousin’s face.

  “You’ve changed,” Sky murmured.

  Stone flicked a glance up and down Sky’s suit. “So have you. Come on, I’ll walk with you back to the den.”

  Sky picked up his suitcase and walked beside his younger cousin. He was glad enough to leave the train yard and all the whispering residents of Kearney. But when Stone led him in a different direction than the one Rose had taken, he protested. “Wait. Rose is going that way.”

  “Yeah, she has to go back to the Plane Women’s House to pick up the supplies Taye ordered. And her horse is there. We’ll go straight to the den and meet the others there.”

  “Her horse? She rides to town?”

  “Yeah. Taye’s orders. All the women at the den ride to town. If they are attacked, the women have a better chance of escaping if they’re mounted.”

  His wolf pushed a growl up his throat. “Men try to steal our women?”

  Stone’s smile was humorless. “No. Taye is just extra careful.”

  “Good. How many women are at the den?”

  “At the moment it’s just Rose and the Lupa. Mel and Snake are visiting her family in Kansas this month, and Ellie and Quill are with the Clan. They took their kids with them. Sand and Amanda went too, and are in charge of Taye’s oldest boy. The Lupa said it would be good practice for them.”

  Sky was sorry to miss seeing Amanda. It had been two years since he’d seen her. She had worked in his house in Omaha and he thought of her like a sister. “How is Amanda?” he asked.

  “Pregnant.” A hint of the boy Stone had been peeked out in a quick grin. “She always seems so sweet, but when Sand tried to tell her they should stay home and not go with Quill and Ellie to visit the Clan, she pitched a fit. I think the Lupa convinced Sand to go just to get some quiet.”

  They covered ground fast, passing through parts of Kearney Sky didn’t recognize. Eight years ago, he had only lived at the den for a few months before he met Rose. He left for Omaha not long after, so he wasn’t familiar with the city. Still, some of it looked new. There was a Catholic church ahead that he was sure was newly built. The scent of freshly painted raw wood was strong in his nostrils. They finally hit the north end of town and the road leading to the den. Sky cast a sidelong glance at his cousin.

  “You haven’t asked about your mate. I saw Sara just a few days ago,” he said casually.

  “Oh?” Stone said, with an appearance of boredom that shocked Sky. “How is she?”

  Did he really feel nothing for the woman his wolf had chosen for his mate? “She’s scared. Her eighteenth birthday is less than a month away. Since she doesn’t have a marriage certificate to prove she’s married and her uncle doesn’t have enough money to pay the Single Status Tariff, she will have to go to work.”

  Stone grunted, but didn’t speak. Sky sniffed to try to detect Stone’s mood. There was a hint of something there, but Sky wasn’t sure what. His nose wasn’t nearly as developed as some.

  “You know what work women in Omaha have to do, don’t you?” he prodded.

  “Yeah. They have to be whores. Don’t worry about it. She’s young and pretty. She’ll find someone to marry her.”

  Sky stopped walking and stared at him. “How can you be so cool about it? Your mate, married to another man?”

  “She can marry whoever she wants.”

  “She’s already refused a dozen offers. She told me she won’t have any husband but you. If you don’t come, she’ll be forced to have sex with strangers.”

  Stone’s laugh was mirthless. “I doubt that will be hard for her.”

  Jarred by disbelief, Sky clenched his hand on the handle of his suitcase so he wouldn’t plow it into Stone’s nose. “You can’t mean that.” He drew in sharp breath and finally scented misery under Stone’s cool facade. “Who do you think you’re fooling with that act?”

  “It doesn’t matter. She rejected me every chance she got. And then—” He stopped to clear his throat when his voice broke. “She tried to seduce another man, after we were married. My wolf chose her, but I can’t bear to be humiliated by an unfaithful wife.”

  A mental image of Sara in her prim Sisters of Mercy novice’s uniform came to him. “You’d be surprised by your mate now,” Sky said sternly. “You have to go to Omaha and talk to her. She’s been waiting for you for two years. If you want to cast her off, at least be man enough to tell her in person.”

  Stone was quiet for a couple of minutes. “I guess you’re right.”

  Sky grunted his approval and followed Stone again. They remained silent for the next three miles.

  Like Kearney, the den had changed, too. The chain link fence was gone, replaced by a solid stone wall. It was bigger now too, enclosing more space. A thick door banded with metal strips opened for them and Sky blinked at two rows of small houses on each side of the den.

  “Houses?” he asked.

  “Yeah. Quill and Ellie live in the first one, there, and Snake and Mel are on the other side. Sand and Amanda have that one and—”

  Sky missed who the last house was for because he was stormed by cousins wanting to hug him and welcome him home. He dropped his suitcase to pound their backs.

  “I told you he was all fancy now,” Snow said with a big teasing grin, jabbing a fist at Sky’s belly.

  Sky dodged and flipped Snow over his hip, laughing.

  “He might dress fancy, but he’s still a wolf warrior,” shouted another voice over the roar of welcome.

  Still a wolf? To hide his doubt, he directed a grin at the man standing on a ledge that ran along the inside of the wall. “Jay,” he called, but broke off as more of his cousins tried to tackle him. “Hey, watch out for the suit.”

  “Make us,” was the loud reply.

  A new voice cut in, low and soft, but instantly obeyed. “Leave him be for a minute.”

  Sky turned at that voice, and saw Taye, the alpha of the Pack, standing between him and the den. Sky’s wolf, now thoroughly awakened from his six year hibernation, bristled in defiance at the alpha. A thought flickered. Maybe he was still a wolf warrior. Sky instantly thrust the wolf down, holding his hands palm out.

  “Hello, Taye. I’m not here to challenge you.”

  Taye’s hard black eyes bore into him before he nodded. “Glad to hear it. Why are you here?”

  All the others were quiet now, watching and listening. “I got your letter this morning. I need to talk to Rose.”

  “Uh-huh. She’s in town right now.”

  “I know.” The memory of a strange man putting a hand on his mate’s arm flashed in his mind. “I saw her. She’s not back yet?”

  Taye jerked his chin at Stone, who shook his head. “She had to detour back to the House to collect her horse and the supplies. I think she’ll take her time coming back.”

  Taye gave Sky a thoughtful look. “That’s good.” The alpha came forward and wrapped an arm around his shoulders to pull him toward the grassy area behind the den. “Because we need to talk.”

  Chapter 4

  A flutter tickled Rose’s insides when the wall around the den came into sight. It took effort to keep her hands light on the reins. Was Sky there, waiting for her?
The wretched man was gorgeous. Stuck up, bossy, and slick, but gorgeous. He looked nothing like the boy she remembered.

  Walking at her stirrup, Paint glanced up at her. “Don’t fret, Rose.”

  “I’m trying not to. But why is he here? What does he want?”

  Paint adjusted his eye patch and gave her a raised brow. “Why do you think he’s here?”

  She glanced away from the knowing look on his face. “I don’t know.”

  “Really? You don’t think that just maybe he’s here because you’re looking for a man to marry? Or do you think he decided on the spur of the moment to drop in after all this time?”

  Her cheeks heated. “Okay, okay, he must be here because of me. But why? He’s practically ignored me for eight years.”

  Paint patted her knee. “Well, I can’t read his mind, but I can tell you this: When I was in Omaha, I saw his face when your letters came. He’d try to act like it was nothing important, but you can’t fool wolves. He touched the paper like it was a woman’s hand. Your hand. He’d put it aside to read later in private, but he’d touch it over and over. I don’t think he was ignoring you.”

  “Really?” The hope in her voice embarrassed her. She tried to sound stern. “Then maybe he should have written back a little more often.” When her horse threw her head back with a snort of breath and a jingle of bridle, Rose laid a hand on her neck under the mane and gave her a pat. “I agree completely, Flora-sweetie,” she told the mare before turning back to Paint. “Well, I guess I’ll find out what he wants.”