She didn’t know how long they slept, but they woke her in the night hungry again. Hungry for her. Hunter took her first this time, followed by Jack, and then they all went to the kitchen to devour some of the leftovers they’d pilfered from the lodge.
It hit her then, after they’d climbed back into bed, full and ready to go back to sleep. She was no longer with two men she could fall in love with. She was with two men she had fallen in love with, and it was that ugly fall nothing in reserve kind of in love. Sighing, she laid her head on Jack’s chest and snuggled back against Hunter, who curled himself around her from behind.
Mikayla drifted to sleep with a smile on her face. If this was what she could expect from mated life, all she could say was “Yes, please.”
Chapter 8
As much as she loved Nikki, Mikayla wasn’t happy to see her when she knocked on her cabin door early the next morning. Mikayla had slept well and deeply, but not nearly long enough. She woke hungry and wanting to eat and snuggle back in bed with her mates, only to be summoned out in the cold to see the alphas. And to make matters worse, there would be no breakfast or morning snuggles. Nikki said they wanted to see her right away.
Her mates woke less pleased with the summons than she was, but they’d all dressed quickly and hurried to the courtyard outside the lodge. They’d snuck in a quick shower, but that was it. Hopefully, the alphas wouldn’t notice the extra minutes that took.
Why Zion and Grey had to choose to lay down their verdict outside in the cold was beyond her. She hoped they’d at least get it over with quickly. She was grateful they hadn’t called an entire clan meeting to deal with her, though. It looked like just part of the alphas’ families, including Nikki and Hope. Robyn showed up, too. Nikki must have called her. Unfortunately, Nikki’s cousin Jackie was there as well. She never missed a chance to enjoy someone else’s misery.
When the alphas acknowledged her, she walked to the front of the crowd, flanked by her men, with her head bowed and her eyes cast low in submission.
Zion took the time to welcome her men to River’s Bend and Grey told Jack and Hunter they could use two strong wolves like them to help keep the clan secure. Then Zion ordered her to look at him, which she did, trying to make herself look much sorrier than she actually felt. In her mind, she’d done what they should have. It had turned out that Liz was fine, but what if it hadn’t. Her friend could have been dead in a ditch somewhere and none of them would have even known.
Zion gave her his stern look. “You’ve disappointed me, Mikayla Lowell. I’ve never known you to be so disobedient.”
“I’m sorry, alpha,” she said quietly. And she was. Sorry he hadn’t sent anyone after Liz, sorry she’d almost been captured by Ulric’s men, sorry she’d been attacked in the woods, and sorry she’d done her version of borrowing his van. Beyond that? Not so much.
“You’ve earned discipline,” Zion said. “Since this is your first time disobeying in this manner, two weeks in isolation is in order. Next time, do not expect leniency from your alphas.”
Mikayla forced herself not to smile and hoped like hell her mates would be allowed in isolation with her. It would be like a mini hydan. Two weeks indoors would be hard, and it was longer than she’d hoped for, but at least there would be windows, good food, and unlimited mating time. After the shelter, she could deal. No problem. But then Grey had to speak and fuck up her dreams.
Grey didn’t just look at her. He sneered. “The Tortura would discourage others from disobeying our orders.”
Zion scoffed at that amid gasps and murmurs of outrage from her friends. “This hardly deserves severe punishment. She was worried for a clan member, and yes she disobeyed, but she only took my van as far as Silver Spring. The only risk was to herself. Isolation is punishment enough.”
Too right, Mikayla thought. She’d come home expecting a slap on the wrist, not the Tortura as Grey suggested. Mikayla was glad she hadn’t known a whipping was on the table before. She might not have come home after all.
Tension poured off each of her men, and she pushed a comforting thought their way. It’s okay. Stay calm, okay? The last thing she needed was one of them getting mouthy with the alphas or worse. She had no doubt that they would attack to prevent anyone from hurting her, and that included the alphas. Attacking one of the alphas would result, in the best of circumstances, in banishment. It was much more likely that someone would end up dead.
If she had to, if she absolutely had to, Mikayla would leave River’s Bend to live with her mates. Of course, her relationship with them had to come first. But she loved the territory and her home in Silver Spring. She couldn’t imagine anyplace else feeling as much her home. It would truly break her heart to leave.
“I never thought I’d say this,” came a deep voice, projected loudly from somewhere behind her, “but Grey has a point. If you’re to lead, those who follow you have to fear you. Otherwise, why should they obey?”
Mikayla craned her neck, trying to figure out which asshole had actually just said he wanted her punished. Of course, Mikayla wasn’t friends with every clan member. Hell, she didn’t even know them all. It wasn’t so long ago that Clan Raven and Clan Lycan had merged, becoming Clan Liekos. Since then, it had become even more impossible to be on a first name basis with every shifter. Still, Mikayla didn’t have any enemies. She’d heard a few snickers from Jackie, who apparently found her situation funny, but she didn’t even consider her true enemy.
The man pushed his way toward them, separating himself from the others, who for the most part, stared at him as if he’d sprouted vampire fangs.
Grey’s expression changed from his usual superior glare to outright shock to something that looked a lot like fear. He’d masked it quickly, but it had been there. His voice was clear and strong, though, when he finally spoke to the man who stood before him. “Ulric.”
The roar that charged through the crowd was deafening. Ulric? This was the shifter who’d caused so much trouble? The man who’d sent his men to provoke Clan Liekos again and again? The shifter dead set on provoking the vampires into a war that could wipe out the bulk of the wolf shifter population? Mikayla couldn’t understand why he would risk coming to River’s Bend, especially without an army to back him up.
The crowd gathered to hear her punishment was on the small side. Less than fifty wolves but more than enough to squash one wolf, evil incarnate or not. Yet there he stood, calmly addressing the alphas as if he had some right to be there.
No clan member could kill him in the presence of an alpha without the alpha’s permission. Beyond the alphas’ sight was another story, but here, the alphas had the right to decide what to do with him. And if he was to die, they had the right to either land the killing blow or order someone to do it. What Mikayla couldn’t figure out was what they were waiting for.
She didn’t have to wait long to have that question answered. Ulric filled her in, provoking a harsh collective gasp.
He looked straight at Grey, his expression hard and unwavering, and said the unthinkable. “Hello…Father.”
* * * *
Ulric had always liked making an entrance. And having all eyes on him just felt right. So when the gasps faded and he knew everyone watched him, waiting to hear what he would say next, he was pleased. It also pleased him to know that he’d caught Grey off guard. He hadn’t missed the look of shock on his face, nor the fear, fear that felt like a reward for Ulric. It was almost as good as the pure joy he would feel once Grey was dead. But first, he’d make sure everyone knew they weren’t in the presence of some great alpha. He’d make sure everyone knew exactly who Grey was.
“This is your son?” Zion’s voice boomed loud and unbelieving.
Grey’s eyes shot daggers first at Zion and then at Ulric. “I do not claim him.”
Ulric wanted to rip his throat out right then and there, but it wasn’t the time. He had to stick to the plan. It was a good one. “You don’t claim me, yet I’m your son. I’m not you’re precious
firstborn, not your Luke, but I’m no less your son.”
He watched as Luke and Mason pushed past to flank Grey, somehow deluded enough to think their father deserved their protection or even their support. Both men, his brothers, looked down their noses at him, but he could already see the recognition in their eyes, in Zion’s. He and Luke shared the same dark hair, the same smoky gray eyes, and even a similar build. The resemblance was there with Mason, too, but on a lesser basis. Mason was only a half brother.
Luke stalked toward him, aggression pouring off him. “You’re no brother to me.”
Immediately, Grey’s arm shot out, arresting Luke’s movement. Luke looked at Grey with questions in his eyes. Ulric only looked at him with hatred.
“Still protecting him, I see,” Ulric said. “But don’t worry, Father. I didn’t come here to kill him. He’ll live, unless he’s foolish enough to get in my way.”
“Why are you here?” Zion spat. “You came to die?”
Ulric sighed. “Why am I here?” He shrugged. “I have a few reasons for visiting River’s Bend today, but the first is to say hello to my loved ones. As you can see, I’ve come without my pack. There are no warriors spoiling for a fight. All I ask is the chance to say my peace.”
Grey took an aggressive step forward and Ulric growled in warning. “My army waits less than a mile away, old man. If I don’t return in an hour, they will attack.”
“They will lose,” another wolf said. What was his name? Ah, yes, that was Adam. Zion’s son. Ulric had seen him before.
“Maybe. You do have a point. There are more of you in River’s Bend.” Ulric nodded at Adam in acknowledgement. “But my pack won’t lose before taking out a fair number of your able-bodied men, leaving you even more vulnerable to a vampire attack.”
Zion growled, looking poised to lunge. “They have no reason to attack here.”
“They do now. It’s only a matter of time. I’ve made sure of it.” That gave the big man pause, and Ulric smiled. “That’s another story, though. Before we get into that, I want to know why my father has never told my brothers about me.”
“Is what he says true?” Mason asked, his furious frown mirroring Luke’s. Ulric hoped he wouldn’t have to kill them.
“It doesn’t matter,” Grey said. “He doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me,” Luke said.
“And me,” Mason agreed.
“Our father seems at a loss for words, so let me clear things up for you.” Though the air was thick with tension, no one attacked, so Ulric prepared for some good theater. He’d waited his whole life to bring Grey down, and before things dissolved to blood and guts, he would give all who’d gathered one hell of a show. “The mighty Grey was mated to Mason’s mother but not really yours Luke. I never had the pleasure of meeting her, but I’ve heard she was very beautiful. Too bad Grey is such a greedy man.”’
Grey lunged then, clearly ready to kill him to stop the truth from coming out. He swung hard at Ulric’s face, but Ulric stepped to the side and Grey went stumbling past, a victim of his own momentum.
To Ulric’s surprise, Luke and Mason restrained Grey, but it was Luke who spoke. “You haven’t denied any of this, Father, so now I want to hear what he has to say.”
Mason appeared to agree. “Then, with permission, we’ll gladly kill him.”
Ulric smiled. Men after his own heart, though his brothers would be sorely disappointed. He had no intention of dying. And who could say? Perhaps, after hearing his story, they would hate Grey enough to join him.
Clearing his throat, Ulric continued, unable to resist smirking at Grey. “As I was saying before our father tried to kill me to keep his sins hidden, Grey is greedy. He had a mate, but he met my mother, Delana, while visiting our pack. She was mated to the pack’s alpha, Cullen, who I’m told was powerful but not as attentive to his mate as he should have been. Feeling the neglect of her mate, who was often unfaithful, and enjoying the pursuit of the rather sneaky Grey, she succumbed, beginning an affair with him, an affair that led to Luke’s birth.”
“Tell me this is a lie.” Luke growled at Grey, who could only growl back, apparently unable to find the words to deny it.
“It’s no lie, my poor deceived brother.” Ulric looked at Luke, with something like pity in his heart. It was an ugly truth. “And there’s more, much more. You see Grey wasn’t about to leave his mate and the position he had as alpha of Clan Lycan. Who can say why? Did he love her? Who knows? Personally, I think it was the power he loved, and he needed the right mate on his arm to maintain it. So he stayed with his mate but visited our pack often, always when Cullen was away or too busy with his own whores to realize another wolf was fucking his mate. I’ve often wondered how she managed to hide Grey’s scent. Can you tell us, Grey?”
Ulric laughed at Grey’s ineffectual attempt to break free. “So, anyway, little Luke was born and Delana passed him off as Cullen’s. Apparently, Grey liked the setup so much that he continued fucking Delana until he impregnated her again, with me. Somewhere along the way, though, Cullen got wind of what was happening and cast my mother out of the pack, with you, just a tiny pup in tow, and a belly large with child. She sought Grey out, getting a message to him and convincing him to meet her in a town near River’s Bend. She thought he’d help her, but instead he snatched Luke away from her, threw some money her way, and told her if she ever contacted him again he’d have her and the bastard she carried killed.”
Grey’s shoulders sagged and he seemed to suddenly find his tongue. “I couldn’t think of anything else to do. I couldn’t let the clan know I’d been sleeping with another alpha’s mate and had fathered a child with her. And I couldn’t let your mother know…she—”
“Was not his mother!” Ulric roared, struggling to get his temper under control. Tarla was part of the reason he’d never had a normal puphood, a normal life, and he couldn’t stand to hear talk of her as Luke’s mother. “That bitch raised you from a pup, always knowing you were the result of Grey’s transgressions.” He stared hard at Luke. “Do you really think she loved you? It had to turn her stomach each time she heard you call her Mama.”
Hurt flashed in Luke’s eyes. So he’d loved the bitch, a sure sign of weakness. Ulric would break him of it.
“No, she loved him. She loved both of our sons.” Grey actually looked as if he believed his own lies. “It never mattered to her how he came to be.”
Mason decided to join in reassuring Luke. “Mom always loved you. You know that, Luke.”
Ulric was disgusted. Neither of his brothers were focusing on the important issue—his abandonment or the vile nature of Grey’s crimes against his own blood. “Whether Mommy loved Luke is not my concern. What does concern me is what happened next. You’re both weak enough to stand here worrying about Mommy’s feelings, when what should make you furious is the fact that Daddy’s transgressions caused my mother, your real mother, Luke, to fall into the worst of hands. And eventually, it caused Mason’s mother’s death.”
Luke roared so loudly the veins popped out of his neck. “What the fuck are you saying?”
A beauty of a dark-haired female approached from somewhere in the crowd, her clear green eyes flashing with anger. Ulric had seen her before.
“Nikki, get out of here,” Luke said. “Go back to the cabin.”
“Not a chance.” She glared at Ulric hard enough to produce a half-grin from him. He liked her daring. Then she looked from Adam to Zion, and to Ulric’s surprise, both men’s body language changed as if she exercised some control over them.
“We’ll move this conversation to a more private place,” Zion said.
Adam nodded, though his face remained hard, and Ulric could tell he’d rather just kill him. But then, he wasn’t in the minority there.
“If you’ve really just come to talk,” Adam said, “there are much better places for it.”
“No, this is the perfect place, though I wouldn’t have minded more of an audience. Your entire clan
needs to know who they have for a leader.” He looked to Grey, who, still restrained by Luke and Mason, appeared resigned, beaten. But Ulric was no fool. “And the moment you release Grey, he’ll attempt to kill me to shut me up.”
Grey’s lip curled in acknowledgement.
“I said try, and that will be the last thing you do, Father.” He’d ultimately come to kill Grey, and Ulric had every confidence that he would succeed. “Back to the women. I do not blame my mother. Mother was a whore and weak-willed by nature. A female can only have so much strength. She ran through the little money Grey gave her and ended up giving birth to me alone, in the woods. Well, we all know a lone wolf doesn’t fare very well, especially with a nursing, so she somehow ended up in the company of a vampire.”
More gasps circulated the crowd, and Ulric took the time to acknowledge them. “It is very shocking. I agree. I’m guessing she had no place else to go, but she was always very tight-lipped about exactly how and why she ended up, living with a vampire. I spent nine years living with the blood sucker, never knowing if he would decide he’d had enough of her and make me his next meal, always feeling like vermin who had to stay on the shadows.”
“But on my tenth birthday, Mother decided to give me a special treat. She took me to the Crimson Moon Pack and left me there with my uncle. Mother told me she had something special in store for Grey, too. She planned to kill his mate, and she planned to use her lover to do it.”
“Our mother died in an accident,” Mason said.
“Of course, that’s what he told you. He couldn’t tell you the truth, could you, Grey?”
“Don’t.” Grey truly seemed to want something from him. Perhaps mercy? But he wasn’t going to get it. “You don’t have to do this, Ulric. We can settle this…whatever it is you’re blaming me for… Let’s settle it in private, man to man.”
Fated for Mikayla Page 17