Caden seemed content to allow Vanessa and Mal to duke it out. He had released his grip on me when Mal placed his arm around me. The anger washed from him, leaving him stoic and pensive as usual. Hank, his eyebrows still held high, looked on in what appeared to be amused surprise.
"It's clear she has greater resources than we do. She attacked a hospital, kidnapped Shawnee, and convinced dozens of leeches that weren't her own to attack us. Whatever power she has, whatever influence, is far greater than we can imagine. Killing her could have meant war. A war we're not equipped to handle," Mal said as he gave me a squeeze. Vanessa seemed to soften slightly. "Lives aren't gained in wars, only lost. Don't you agree?" Mal watched Vanessa as she pondered his words. She drew her gaze from him to me and our bond relaxed. She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed.
"Like Adia said, sometimes with ancients it's about control and not winning. We have her heart. Adia will make it a totem like the ones she has," I spoke up. "It's better this way."
"But Nee, why didn't you tell me about your plan? You're always supposed to tell me." Xany huffed and puffed.
"I didn't know I had a plan until the end." I took a deep breath. "We can't afford a war. I know you'll agree with that, Vanessa. We don't need our children growing up in orphanages or our Breeders scared to live."
"So we have a truce on our hands," Caden spoke before Vanessa could.
"Let's just hope the bitch listens to it," Xany grumbled.
"What would you have done differently?" Hank turned to Caden, his thoughtful expression lingering with the twinkle in his eyes.
"Differently from Shawnee?" Caden glanced between us, his heavy gaze landing on me. "Nothing."
"Ana?" Hank turned to my mother. Her amber eyes bore into him at first until he reached out to pat her shoulder. "And you? As an Alpha, what would you have done differently?"
I watched as contemplation rolled across the features of my mother. She watched me, considered me as she tilted her head. In time, she caressed my cheek, letting out a soft sigh.
"Maybe I have taught you too much, Dodi," she said.
"There's no such thing as teaching me too much." I leaned into her touch, though my focus remained on Vanessa.
"Vanessa? What would you have done differently?" Hank gave Vanessa's shoulder a squeeze. To my surprise, she seemed to accept his touch.
"Killed her from the beginning," Vanessa said, glancing between me and Hank.
"Me too," Xany chimed in, offering Vanessa a firm nod.
"I'm not a Leader for a reason," Vanessa conceded, reaching out to stroke my cheek.
"What about you, Hank?" Caden asked as everyone seemed to settle that my decision was the right one to make. "You're our Leader."
"Me?" He chuckled. "This is what I've done, isn't it?"
"I suppose it is." Caden smirked and Hank clapped him on the back.
***
"Thank you both for trusting me," I told my mates as we watched the bonfire burn away the rest of the leeches. Ashes littered the area around it as snow continued to fall.
"I still don't like the risks you take, Shawnee," Vanessa said. "I don't like it at all. I can understand them better though."
"And you." I nudged Mal. "Knowing my everything."
"Of course." He reached up and stroked my hair, tucking it behind my ear. "My privilege will wear off soon as the bond between the two of you grows."
"I thought Caden was going to kill me for a minute," I admitted.
"He almost did." Xany dropped down beside Mal on the fallen log. "And me too."
"I know," I said, leaning closer to Mal as he rubbed my shoulder.
"Well then figure it out already." Xany slapped her hands down on her knees. "We all gotta 'trust you' to keep us safe, but what about trusting us to keep ourselves safe without you having to throw yourself in the flames all the time? It's not your job to keep us safe."
"Yeah, it is, Xee."
"Oh then why don't you go and put on Caden's pants then. You can be Alpha and save him the trouble." She waved her hand in my direction.
"Stop it, Xee. You know that's not how it is," I said.
"She's right, Shawnee," Vanessa said.
"See? I'm right. We should be a team, not a Shawnee-saves-everyone-all-the-time." Xany nodded to Vanessa as the two of them ganged up on me. "And don't give me the 'I didn't know until the end' talk either because you asked Caden if you could do the talking so you knew something was up."
"I didn't know anything for sure," I said.
"That's the problem right there," Xany shrugged as if saying 'point proven.' "What are you gonna do when you've got a kid to worry about?" She nodded toward Vanessa.
"I don't know…" I admitted.
"We're all bound together. That's what it means to be a pack so start acting like it already. It's not you against the world anymore. It's all of us together against it." Xany huffed. "At least you didn't get kidnapped again."
"I'm working on breaking that habit," I said, dropping my head down on Mal's shoulder as I watched my family. Even though I didn't want to admit it, Xany was right. I'm not sure why I had an insane desire to protect them from everything but I was beginning to see it wasn't doing us any good. "Let's go home."
Chapter Thirty-Four
"She's nearly doubled in size and it's been five minutes," Xany said as I entered the kitchen with a basket of laundry. I set it beside the sofa and watched as she fussed over several pots on the stove. Vanessa sat at the kitchen table, rubbing her very round belly now nearing full-term.
"It's been longer than five minutes." Mal laughed as he patted Vanessa on the shoulder. "She called you fat, Red. What are you gonna do about it?"
"Eat her," Vanessa hissed and took a swipe at Xany as she walked by.
“Then who would pamper you with all your stinky fish stuff.” Xany giggled as she nearly missed the cat’s claws.
"Now Vanessa, you know eating people is against the rules." Caden chuckled as he set a stack of plates on the table. Mal poured glasses of iced tea and set them by the dishes.
"Shawnee will." Vanessa stuck her tongue out at Xany.
"Oh no I won't." I laughed. "Don't you remember when I tried to make breakfast? I burned everything. Including Xany's best frying pan which she has yet to yell at me about."
“Me yell? Why would I do that?” Xany snickered. I had a feeling there was more to that snicker then just playfulness.
The front door opened and Mom entered with Dakota following behind her. He removed his hat and nodded a greeting to us as he pounded the snow from his boots.
"O'siyo," Mom said.
"Hi Mom," I said as she kissed my cheek. I waved to Dakota over her shoulder.
"Evening Shawnee-girl," he said.
"Ah, a nice family dinner to ring in the new year," Caden jested.
"The new year past already, TB." Xany gave him a light shove as she swept her way back toward the stove.
"We're reliving the moment." Caden helped Xany carry the food to the table. First the roast from the oven, followed by veggies, mashed potatoes, and Vanessa's salmon. Xany set Vanessa's plate in front of her.
"Careful, it might be poisoned by my awesomeness." Xany giggled.
"Thanks," Vanessa said, grinning up at her as she continued to rub her stomach.
"Xany made a feast," I said, ushering my mother and Dakota to the table.
"She always does," Mom said as they took their seats.
Mal brushed his hand over my stomach when I sat. I caught his hand and held it tightly. Talking to Dakota outside was one thing, sitting at the table was a little different. The more I looked at him, the less he resembled my father. For that much I was grateful.
"Thank you all for having me. This old man hasn't eaten at a table with family in many years," Dakota said, his voice offering nothing less than the greatest sincerity. His deep level of emotion, comfort beside my mother, and eagerness to be a part of us had me watching the interaction between him and my mother. Sin
ce his arrival, she'd grown quiet and more reserved in ways I'd never expected.
"Of course, Dakota," Caden said as he began serving the food. Dakota watched him with surprise in his expression, smoothing out the light wrinkle in his forehead.
"Things are different here than in other places," he commented.
"Alpha doesn't eat first here. We eat together." Caden nodded and only sat once everyone had a plate.
"Thank you," Dakota said.
"Do you belong to a pack?" Xany asked him.
"No, my dear. My time in packs ended with our last one. I live in Montana working with farm animals. Horses mainly, they're my favorite. Great beasts with the emotions of man," he said, lifting his fork to eat while everyone else did the same.
"All right, Dodi?" Mom asked me as I continued to stare at them.
"I'm fine," I said, scooping some potatoes onto my fork.
"You have things to ask and yet you are silent," Mom said.
"I'm just waiting for the right time…"
"There is no right or wrong time. Go on." Mom gestured toward me, setting her fork down gingerly. All eyes turned to me and I fought the urge to slouch in my chair.
"Why did you send your mate away? I look at the two of you sitting beside each other and... " I shook my head, unable to finish my thought. Just the idea of sending Mal or Vanessa away had my insides twisting.
"It was complicated times back then," Dakota answered for her, a gesture I thought out of pure protection.
"He is right," Mom said. "Though times are less complicated now."
"We want to hear the whole story already. Sheesh," Xany exclaimed, leaning her elbows on the table with her chin resting on her hands. "Go ahead." She giggled.
"You are too much to manage, Loud One." Mom chuckled at Xany before looking to her mate.
"I'm all right with you telling the story. You're the best at it." A wry grin spread across Dakota's mouth and Mom offered him a sharp elbow to the side. I laughed softly at their harmony as Mal squeezed my knee.
"You just want to keep eating," Mom said, nodding toward his plate.
"Right you are." Dakota lifted his fork and laughed.
"All right, I will tell it. It is what I do, yes?" She looked to each of us and everyone, including Vanessa, nodded. "Well then, you know our original pack ended in a wave of taint and destruction. That is no secret. Our story began before that time. The matings in our pack were arranged by dominance and suitable Breeder. It was the way for centuries. Many times the practice was successful. As time passed and values changed, our old ways no longer fit in."
"Around the turn of the century after the Europeans moved Westward, our practices changed," Dakota added and my mother nodded.
"Yes. We held out for many years until more modern times made their way on to pack land." Mom folded her hands in her lap, her eyes falling on me. "When I was fourteen, I was promised to Viktor. We did not care for one another but Dakota and I knew each other well. We studied medicine together in the fields."
"Viktor was an entitled kid. Thought he was something special. Turns out he wasn't much good at anything except causing trouble," said Dakota, nodding in Ana's direction.
The mention of my father's name sent anger up my middle rather than fear. Vanessa's link inside me responded first followed by Mal's. She reached for me and I laced my fingers with hers beneath the table.
"That's not surprising considering what he turned into," said Xany.
"This is true." Mom nodded. "In the time I spent with Dakota, I knew he was to be my mate. He knew it, too. We tried to keep it secret and, for some time, we did. I was to wed Viktor when I turned sixteen. I would not let him hold my bond if I could help it. So, on the night before the wedding, Dakota and I became mates. The wedding happened though Viktor and I never bonded. He resented me for it, knew of my mating with Dakota and threatened to disgrace us both. We played along with his demands for some time until I became with child." My mother's cautious retelling of the story had me slightly worried about what she would divulge next. I squeezed Vanessa's hand and she stroked her thumb over the back of it. Mal nuzzled my cheek with his nose while we listened.
"That's a game-changer right there," Xany added.
"Yes, it is. Viktor threatened to tell the Alpha about us if we chose to continue in secret. We would be disgraced and our families made to suffer. Dakota and I decided it was best for us to separate. He remained with the pack for some time. When our Alpha was killed, we saw our chance when I took leadership. But the taint grew strong, infesting our numbers faster than we could control. Viktor threatened him and the other Breeders.
One night, Viktor lured his brother and another to the fields where a tainted Changer cub hid. Distorted by darkness and feral-born, there was no saving him. They were attacked and the taint spread to the Breeders. Dakota escaped to tell me the tale. I knew then I could not protect everyone, and I hadn't the time to worry about a mate when I had a cub to care for.
Dakota remained until Shawnee was about seven or eight. I asked him to leave, to save himself from the taint that tore through our Breeders. To save our families, I demanded that if he ever sensed my nearness, he would move further away." Ana glanced at Dakota. "And he did."
"Well until this past month that is. I got stubborn," he said. "I hadn't sensed anything but your life for nearly twenty years."
"That is another story we will not discuss tonight," Mom warned, her eyes falling on Xany in particular.
"Okay, sheesh. Go on," said Xany.
"It was all for naught, however," Mom said, her gaze falling on me again. "Soon after Dakota left, Viktor enacted his plan to remove me from leadership. He did and my cub suffered for it."
Again, the deep desire to melt into the chair hit me hard. I swallowed my emotions and tried to stay calm. Why hadn't she told him how my father removed her from the pack?
"The pack fled after, scattered across the country to save whatever was left of themselves. Viktor took the one thing I valued most in the world and tried to destroy her as a way of getting back at me." Mom's half-truths might as well contain flashing red lights. Dakota looked at her, tilting his head. He could tell.
"Just tell him," I blurted out.
"Tla, Dodi. The time is not—"
"You said there's no right or wrong time," I tossed back her own words.
"I did, didn't I?" Mom sat back in her chair, glancing to her mate.
"Out with it, woman? I knew there was something you weren't telling me." Dakota lifted a brow at her, turning in his seat to face her.
"After you left, Viktor summoned the Andrus to our pack. He gave away our secrets and turned us in. I was ripped from the night in an ambush of silver while Shawnee watched," the words flew out of her mouth as if she tore a bandage off a painful wound. "Galilahi and Tiva were also taken. Tiva did not survive."
"What?" Dakota's expression fell from lighthearted gentleman to devastation in a split second. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"It is not important anymore," Mom said, her lips pressing into a thin line. My heart quavered in my chest as I watched my mother battle emotions that she didn't want to fight.
"Of course it's important, Ana. Of course it is," Dakota's voice softened, he made to touch her face but she pulled away, turning back to us.
"Tla." She cleared her throat. "The story is this. Viktor called the Andrus and we were taken. Shawnee remained with him at the peak of his taint. Her mate here." She nodded toward Vanessa. "Killed him. I found Shawnee by tracking this cat. And the leech guided you here to further torment Shawnee. Which did not work."
"No, it didn't," I said, firm in my conviction of at least that much.
"All our sacrifice, all our giving in, was for nothing?" Dakota sat back in his chair, his mouth slightly ajar.
"Not for nothing. We are here now." Mom turned her attention back to him. "Reunited "
"But wait a minute," Xany said, waving her hand in front of her. "You were sleeping with Dakota and Vikto
r at the same time?"
"Xee, that isn't really important right now," I scolded her, narrowing my eyes a bit.
Both my mother and Dakota grew quiet and still.
"Of course it's important," Xany drew her gaze to Caden. "Right, Caden?" she asked. It surprised me that she didn't call him by her usual nickname for him.
"All of our stories are important," Caden said rather flatly.
Vanessa, who sat by rather quietly until now, leaned forward in her seat. Her eyes darted over the faces of everyone in the room as if reading something deeper.
"Yeah yeah, don't give me that. You already know, don't you?" Xany waved him off. Caden said nothing, though he turned his attention to my mother.
"Xany, don't instigate. It's hard enough for Mom to tell her mate that the Andrus took her. That's enough for one night," I said as the heated desire to protect my mother overcame me. Mal gave my knee a squeeze and I glanced at him. He looked rather green around the gills himself. Vanessa's eyebrows flicked upward and she twitched her nose. They were telepathing.
"That is the story of why I sent Dakota away," My mom said, as if trying to regain control of the story. "He remains my mate for all time."
"Don't send him away again, Mom. You deserve happiness, too," I said.
"As do you, Dodi. All the happiness in the world." A soft smile loosened the tension in her cheeks.
"I've already got it."
***
Vanessa stood at the edge of the lake, gazing over the mountains in the distance. Stars littered the night sky along the belt of the Milky Way. I slipped my arms around her middle, resting my chin on her shoulder and hands on her belly. Her fingers danced along mine as she leaned into me.
"See any shooting stars yet?" I asked.
"Just you," she said as the pack bustled behind us in preparation for the meteor shower to come.
"I'm no star." I laughed as she did and kissed her cheek. Mal's boots crunched in the snow as he approached.
"Moon's rising," he said, nodding toward the mountain.
"It was waiting for you." Vanessa snickered which earned her a nudge from him.
Bound (Legacy Series Book 4) Page 35