by Cara Adams
Forest was a good man. His motives were of the best and purest intent. He longed to make everyone safe and happy. It was just that in a society heavily dominated by men, and bossy, possessive men at that, he’d missed the memo that women could be just as strong, independent, and secure in themselves as men.
Ny couldn’t imagine where Forest had gotten the idea that women were weak and helpless. Anyone less helpless than Mrs. Wishram would be hard to find. Well, it seemed they had found two of them in Chloe and Jaz. But seriously, Forest had known his mom his entire life, and she’d never been afraid of the desert or its creatures and people. She and her husband had carved themselves out a good life for their family and left an amazing legacy that their sons were building on even now.
Chloe was just such a woman. Her family lived and worked in the desert, and Chloe had spent her life in it. Sure, her brothers had continued to look out for her, but they weren’t by her side twenty-four-seven. She spent her days in her own way and doing things according to her own plan. Certainly he’d have preferred her to be accompanied on the long journey back to her home from theirs, but she’d followed the highways, apart from at the start and finish of her journey. First, Damien had led her across the desert to the correct track, and at the end of the journey where she knew her own part of the desert intimately, she didn’t need a babysitter. She was a smart woman and well aware of the dangers of the land where they all lived.
Now it was almost time for the masquerade ball. He was thrilled to be seeing Chloe again really soon. He knew she’d be busy with the organizational details, but he’d told her several times he wanted to help her in any way he could. And he’d reminded Jaz about that, too. In fact, Hawk, Stone, and Yuchi had all insisted they were free to help Jaz and Chloe alongside Hunter and Damien.
Forest hadn’t said anything, but Old Man Morgan and his wife had agreed to mind the gas station and the store for the entire week, so Forest must be planning to attend the ball as well.
Ny suspected Forest missed Chloe as much as he did. However, he was determined to ensure Forest didn’t ruin the event for the family. Forest could be extremely stubborn. Ny thought that Chloe walking away from him would have gotten him thinking and planning to get his life back on track, but Ny also wasn’t going to risk Forest ruining his own future. They’d agreed to share a woman, but Ny hadn’t agreed to be a martyr to Forest’s blockheadedness.
And Forest hadn’t even really admitted that his actions had been the deciding factor for Chloe leaving as and when she had. He had made a few comments that indicated he was sorry he’d antagonized her, but that wasn’t enough as far as Ny was concerned. Forest needed to admit culpability and to commit to behaving better, or Ny was breaking their arrangement to share a woman. As far as Ny was concerned, Forest had been given every opportunity and the maximum allowable time to make his decision. Today was the day.
Ny waited until the store was empty and no cars were pulled up out front. He walked behind the counter and stood beside Forest, who sat on a tall stool, looking over the stock records. Ny knew he wasn’t really working. Everything they needed for while they’d be away had already been ordered the previous week to ensure it would arrive in good time.
“So, Forest, we’re heading to Towler in two day’s time. Is there anything you want to talk about?”
Forest swiveled around on his chair and stared blankly at Ny. His black eyes were focused on the distance, and Ny guessed that’s how they’d been when he’d been looking at the computer as well.
Forest reached up and gripped his own hair. “I totally fucked up, didn’t I? I’m lucky the Alpha didn’t punish me for being rude and disrespectful to him. But I just want… I need… I can’t help caring for Chloe. She’s everything you and I could ever ask for in a woman, and every cell in my body yearns to hold her and keep her safe. I can’t bear the thought of anyone hurting her.”
Ny was shocked at how open and passionate Forest sounded. He was usually restrained and buttoned-up, especially at work, but every word was laced with pain. That was the good news. He knew he’d been wrong. The question was, had he learned anything from it?
“So what do you plan to do?” Ny asked Forest.
“At this fucking event?”
The word event came out sounding like a swear word.
Ny nodded, keeping his face impassive, determined not to condemn but not to make it easy for Forest either. Any changes had to come from Forest’s heart and mind.
“I won’t say anything to Chloe that will upset her, even if I have to walk around with my mouth duct-taped shut all weekend. I can’t bear to hurt her or you anymore than I already have. If, no, when, she agrees to give us a second chance, I’ll be good. I promise. I know she understands the desert, and I know the Alpha is in control of what’s going on. Not that I understand how he can be so relaxed about those rogues. But I promise not to say anything. I do trust him, and I promised to obey him.”
“But what about Chloe?” Ny didn’t think Forest had answered him properly yet.
“I’ll stay with the rest of you, offering to help her and do what she says. I’ll be good, I promise, even if it fucking kills me. I want to dance with her at this ball and demonstrate to her that I’ve learned my lesson, so I will behave. But I know it’s going to fucking kill me not to be able to look after her.”
“What sort of thing can go wrong at a huge party with two hundred wolves at it?” asked Ny.
“Nothing, I agree. I’m more thinking if she chooses other men to dance with and— Oh fuck, she wouldn’t, would she? Go off with other men?”
Yeah, Ny felt sick at the thought of Chloe spending the night with other men as well. But it was her choice. “She’s a free agent, Forest. We had our chance, and we blew it.”
“That’s good of you to say we. But it was me. I alone fucked up. I just have to hope she cares about the rest of the family enough to give me another chance. I promise that this time I won’t fuck up. No matter how hard it is.”
“Atta boy.” Ny punched Forest on the shoulder. His biggest worry was cleared. Forest had learned his lesson. Now they just had to hope it wasn’t too late. But still, between the five Wishram brothers and Jaz, Damien, and himself, surely they could win her back again. Oh, hell, they had to. He wanted her more than he wanted an arm or a leg or his next breath.
* * * *
Chloe stood in the center of what she supposed could be loosely termed the Alpha’s backyard. Very loosely termed his backyard. He owned several acres here on the outskirts of Towler. She didn’t know how far his land extended, but when she’d e-mailed him her design layout for car parking, camping, and bathrooms, he’d okayed it all and even suggested she move the campground a little farther away from the gathering area. Which she’d done.
She, Gideon, Reuben, and Tekoa had been here for two days already. Her parents and the two men who worked on the farm with them, Luther, and Nicu, were due to arrive tomorrow. The party itself would begin with a getting-to-know-each-other casual cookout at dusk on Friday. Saturday was reserved for meetings with the Alpha in the morning, party preparations in the afternoon, and the masquerade ball at night. Sunday would be a time of cleanup, followed by a casual cookout again mid-afternoon, leaving people time to travel home before dark or to stay an extra night, whichever they wanted to do.
The people who had the greatest distance to travel were mostly staying Sunday night and leaving early on Monday. Others were already arriving, keen to help set everything up. That’s why all her brothers had come with her, instead of some of them coming later. So, since they were there, she’d worked them hard, helping the men set up the temporary bathrooms, the smaller tents, and the huge party tent, with its own built-in dance floor.
Of course the companies she’d hired the equipment from had their own workmen, but they all gratefully accepted the extra muscle her brothers offered.
Besides, it freed Chloe to walk around the area, measuring and checking to ensure everything was just the w
ay she wanted it. She and Jaz had spent hours with pieces of paper cut out exactly to scale, moving them around on a scale diagram until they were both happy with the best possible arrangement of everything.
They had a smaller tent for children, where strictly child-appropriate DVDs would be available, along with plenty of kid-friendly snacks, a table tennis table, and several tables with board games. However, she suspected that since two-thirds of the children would be boys, likely they’d be outside playing ball at least all the hours it was daylight.
The second smaller tent was filled with comfy chairs, tea- and coffee-making facilities, and adult munchies with the older members of the gathering in mind. Chloe and Jaz both thought the seniors would be more interested in learning about long-forgotten friends and relatives than watching movies or even dancing.
Her brothers had done most of the set-up of these tents and all the work of designing the cookout area. She’d shown them the exact placement of where it needed to be and left them to do the rest, only reminding them to keep plenty of walking space around the tables that would hold plates, ketchup, sauces, and salads.
Right now they were working under the direction of her friend, Indigo Windsor, who was in charge of the decorations of the main party tent. Since they’d all spent so much time thinking about how to decorate, and then Indigo’s team had taken almost a month to make all the decorations, they’d decided to put them up immediately. That meant everyone here would have plenty of time to admire all their hard work. It’d also add to the party atmosphere, Chloe hoped. Indigo and her friends had arrived today, with Indigo giggling that ninety percent of their luggage was decorations and costumes.
Chloe was looking forward to spending time with Indigo after the ball was over. They should both be able to relax and sit and talk to each other for hours. She and Indigo had gone to school here in Towler together but hadn’t seen very much of each other since then. Chloe hadn’t even stuck around school long enough to graduate. None of her brothers had either. The commute was just too long for too little return. Chloe and Indigo usually spent a few days together a couple of times a year at each other’s homes. Thanks to Facebook and Skype, Chloe still felt as though Indigo was a close friend, even now that Jaz had entered her life. It was wonderful having two special female friends. After this weekend, maybe she’d have a few more as well.
Chloe smiled at the way everything looked, exactly as she’d imagined it, especially now with people starting to bring the design alive. She hurried across to the party tent, standing just inside the huge, open flap at the front. Indigo had everyone very organized with a member of her decorations team supervising each group of helpers. Those working included Chloe’s brothers, Indigo’s own brother and father, and a couple of other early arrivals, possibly friends and family of Indigo’s team.
Indigo had always loved art and craftwork, and Chloe had been thrilled when she’d agreed to turn the party tent into something really special. She’d snuck into the high school gym with a group of girls when she was in tenth grade, her final year at school, to see the decorations. It had looked wonderful, but while the other girls were all busy working out how to get a senior to invite them to next year’s prom, she’d decided that an entire extra year of school, and dating someone in the hope of a ticket to the prom, was nowhere near as good as staying home on the farm.
She hadn’t really wanted to come to school for tenth grade because Gideon, the brother immediately older than her, hadn’t been coming back, but her parents had insisted she finish out one more year. But to stay on again in the hopes of a prom date? No way. However, this ball was going to be much better than a prom could ever be because it was a party lasting the entire weekend. And she really hoped people would enjoy themselves so much they’d agree to another one. Maybe not next year—they were a lot of work—but perhaps the year after that.
Ny and Forest. Chloe couldn’t get them out of her mind. Her anger at Forest’s attitude had faded over the past few months. She felt she’d acted harshly toward poor Ny, who’d been the perfect companion the entire time, but she wasn’t prepared to accept him as a package deal with Forest unless Forest was ready to grant her more freedom.
However, she was looking forward to seeing them again. Forest was so much like Tekoa. Tekoa had learned to step back a bit now that she was an adult. Maybe Forest had learned that, too. If not, well, perhaps there’d be some other men here just as nice as Ny. Although even dominating Forest was going to be very hard to beat in the tall, dark, and devastating eye-candy stakes.
Chloe shrugged it all off. She’d managed to put the men out of her mind for hours at a time. She needed to do that again to be sure everything was ready before Friday afternoon.
Chloe stepped out of the party tent as a white truck pulled into the yard. It stopped well away from all the equipment and the tents, and then Damien erupted from the truck, clearly pushed by Jaz who was just about climbing over him in her haste to get out. Chloe hurried across to greet them, happy to see her friend as Jaz threw herself into Chloe’s arms and said, “This is going to be so much fun. I couldn’t wait to get here.”
“Hi, Chloe. We were supposed to be traveling in convoy with Hunter’s brothers, but as you can see, Jaz wasn’t interested in obeying the speed limit,” said Damien.
“I didn’t tell Hunter to speed. I just asked why we weren’t going faster,” explained Jaz.
Chloe laughed and stepped back. “I’ve missed you. It’s wonderful to be together again.”
“Hey, Chloe. Jaz said she knows where we’re supposed to set up our tents?”
That sounded a bit like a question, rather than a statement to Chloe. But then Hunter was a Dom, so likely he needed to know he was doing the right thing for his family.
“Everything is exactly as Jaz and I planned it. There’s a section right at the front for any lone females, and only females may go there. There’s a section at the back for families with younger children. Jaz and I thought they would like to be as far as possible from the noise so the children might go to sleep. Other than that, it’s whatever you want.”
The men went back to the truck, and Jaz hugged Chloe again. “Maybe this time your romance will get sorted. And if it doesn’t, likely there’ll be plenty of other nice wolves around anyway.”
Chloe nodded, but she wasn’t sure there’d ever be a nicer wolf than Ny, and Forest, while annoying, was also quite attractive and engaging. “Come and take a peek inside the big tent. It looks amazing.”
* * * *
Forest, Stone, Hawk, Yuchi, and Ny were all crammed together in the one truck for the journey. The truck was overflowing with the usual things taken on a desert journey, such as extra fuel and water, a shovel, and desert mats for if they got bogged, plus their luggage for almost a week, costumes for the ball, and some food and beverages.
The three in the backseat at any one time usually found themselves juggling sleeping bags, pillows, sweaters, and other soft items, trying to find space for their legs. Or just throwing them at each other as Yuchi and Stone had done for far too long in Ny’s opinion. He’d been sitting in the back with them at the time.
Right now he was riding shotgun but was unlikely to get a turn driving. According to the map, they’d almost arrived.
“Next left. I can remember that turn-off,” shouted Stone.
“When did you come here?” asked Ny. He wasn’t aware that any of them had visited the Alpha’s home before. Although he was a human, unlike the rest of them, and likely unlike ninety percent of those who’d be at the party this weekend.
“I came with Dad once, probably six or seven years ago now. Not long before they moved into Burton. Mom didn’t want him to travel alone, and everyone else was busy. We only stayed one night, but it’s not much more than a mile down here, I’m sure.”
Ny watched out the window. He knew Towler a bit because this was where his parents lived now. But mostly he drove to their apartment, spent time with them doing whatever they wanted to d
o together, and then went back to Junctionville. He’d never bothered to explore the surroundings.
The Alpha’s house was quite a modern building, all one story, and it extended down the block of land, with wide eaves shading a verandah along the front and side. Hawk drove slowly via the long dirt driveway past the house and out into an expansive backyard. To one side was a barbecue pit with a long trestle table set up on one side of it and a stack of folding chairs piled high nearby. A little farther on was the giant party tent and to the right of it were two smaller tents, one decorated with balloons and movie posters and the other with a sign saying, “Tea and Coffee Lounge.”
Ny pointed to another sign, which read, “Campgound This Way.”
“Let’s get our tents set up first, and then we can go explore and meet people,” he said.
He glanced at Forest. Forest had been very quiet on the journey, quite subdued and far from his usual organizing self. Ny wanted to help his friend, but Forest had to make his decisions himself. Only he could decide whether he was sufficiently in love with Chloe to give her the independence and self-reliance she clearly demanded or whether he couldn’t loosen his innate dominance and control enough to abide by her wishes. It seemed to Ny that Forest was hurting and tense inside, and that wasn’t a good thing. He needed to relax and be more accepting of the situation. I guess that’s easy enough for me to say. I’m not Forest.
They’d bought two tents with them, one for Forest and Ny, and the other for Hawk, Stone, and Yuchi. It didn’t taken them long to set them up and put their bedding and luggage inside. They were all very familiar with desert camping.
Then they wandered back down to the party tent area and drifted around. Yuchi almost instantly met up with a friend from his school days and headed off with him to a couple of chairs to sit and talk. Hawk and Stone offered to help set up tables and chairs in the large party tent, and it was just Ny and Forest left together.