Hearts on Fire

by Serenity Snow

  “Stupid woman,” she muttered as she looked at herself in the mirror. “Must have a little more testosterone than you think.” Joslyn smoothed her hair and then reached for her purse, and removed a pink bag with hearts on it. She pulled out a tube of gloss and smoothed it on. She didn’t like lipstick overmuch, but she did like a little light color in her lips.

  “What are you doing?” Cyanna asked after opening the door.

  “What does it look like?” she asked as she ran a thumb around the corner of her mouth.

  “Damn, girl, it’s just my parents.”

  Joslyn shook her head. “Cy, we aren’t all naturally beautiful.”

  Cyanna pushed out an exasperated sigh. Joslyn gave herself one last look and replaced the bag before climbing out and grabbing the quilted shoulder bag.

  “You think if I told your mom I was just using you for your dick, she’d be upset?” she teased as Cyanna helped her from the car.

  Cyanna smirked. “Joss.” The admonishment was full of humor and Joslyn laughed, leaning into her.

  They strolled along the walk, and a few people waved to them and stopped Cyanna for a brief chat before they made it inside. Joslyn learned the building was city hall, where the mayor had his offices. They took a private elevator up after Cyanna spoke with the security duo stationed at the elevator.

  They were climbing out a few minutes later on the fourth floor and striding down a quiet corridor of shiny tile floor and white walls. A few pieces of art decorated the walls, and a few tables were topped with flowers.

  They rounded a corner and a guard standing at a door a few steps down broke into a grin. “Cyan, it’s good to see you.”

  “Hello, Marcus.” She let him pull her into a tight hug. “It’s good to see you, too.” She laughed. “You’re getting a gut, boy. You better lay off Tamila’s cookies.”

  He grunted and looked her up and down. “Looks like you need to put on a few pounds.”

  She sniffed disdainfully. “You have your mate, so I guess you can afford to let yourself go a little bit.”

  He snorted. “Dad’s expecting you. I’ll take your girlfriend down to meet your mother. She’s in her office playing with the pups.”

  “Marcus, this is Joslyn. She’s a member of the Redwood pack.”

  Joslyn noticed his surprise, which immediately turned to interest. “Nice to meet you, Joslyn.”

  “Same here.” She smiled, noticing he didn’t offer his hand, and wondered why.

  “I’ll be down in a minute,” Cyanna said and Joslyn nodded.

  * * * *

  Cyanna stepped into her father’s office. The rich browns with a touch of cream suited his earthy nature. He was a practical man, yet not without passion. Macon Storm was six-three with the russet skin and high cheekbones of his Native American heritage. His thick black hair had been cut very short years ago, but had grown out to collar-length. He was a lean man with a muscular frame that belied his nearly sixty years of age.

  He stood, and his face, still showing no sign of age, split into a grin. His black eyes sparkled as he rounded his desk. “Cyan,” he said with warmth. “Come here, my girl, and give your old Dad a hug.”

  She beamed up at him. “Hi, Dad.” She let him tug her in close. She was the third of five children and the only unmated one.

  “Let me look at you.” He put her away from him. “You’re still as beautiful as the day you were born, but you need to gain a little weight. How can you attract a mate like this?” he teased, and laughed when she cocked a brow at him.

  “Oh, Dad,” she admonished and then smiled. “How are you?”

  “Oh, we’re all fine,” he said with a wave of his hand as he captured her hand and led her across the room to sit on the bench in front of the window. Her father loved to sit in the sun.

  “Then, why was the Gathering called?”

  “I met with the Redwood alpha and his closest advisors a few weeks ago,” he began in a quiet tone. “They’re slightly concerned about a jackal threat.”

  “Are you?” she asked. If he was, that meant she’d be called home to take her place in the pack’s security structure as a sentinel. She and all three of her brothers were dominants that had risen high in the pack ranks. They were protectors and defenders. She wouldn’t shirk her duty.

  “No, you know we don’t have any problems with those no-account mutts,” he said disdainfully, but she knew her father didn’t discount the jackals as threats. “They’ve had a few attacks and lost a few people. Now they’re worried a full-scale war may ensue.”

  “Maybe it was just wanderers,” she said. Few of them settled in one place for long, and when they did, it was in small packs of four or five males looking to mate. They didn’t grow large packs because of the infighting between alphas. Of course, there were exceptions.

  “It seems to have been, at this point,” Macon said thoughtfully. “How are things in the city? Trenton mentioned to your brother that he was doing some work for you.”

  “Yeah, I’ve had a jackal attack, but it looks like a wanderer,” she said. She thought that wanderer might be Neal, but she’d deal with him when they got back. “If you think it was just a casual skirmish, why call a Gathering?”

  “It’s time for a new intermarriage,” he said. “That’s primarily why the Gathering was called.”

  “Why? The old one is strong.” The intermarriage was a way to cement the ties between the two packs. As such, the couple selected was always from the sentinels’s families or from the alpha’s, which meant she could be put forth as a candidate. That’s why he’d wanted to see her.

  “It was formed two decades ago. The children from it have aligned more strongly with us. The problem is that none of the unmated sentinels want to ruin their chances of finding their true mates by being attached.”

  That had presented a few problems in the past, since wolves only mated for life, as did eagles. Cynogryphons were both, half eagle and half wolf. A double dilemma for them.

  “So, what do you want me to do?” she asked carefully. The Redwood wolves would never go for a female-female union. It wouldn’t produce children, and both sides considered the reproduction of offspring a duty and an importance. Without children, there was no pack future.

  “Michael is talking of selecting a male this time,” he said. “You are an anomaly among our people, along with a few others like you, and you all have trouble with relationships.”

  “I don’t have trouble, Dad,” she protested coolly, and got to her feet, “but I can’t take a man to my bed. I’m sorry. Get Capulet.” She named her step-cousin.

  “Your body makes it hard for you to trust anyone with your heart,” he said. “You know the alliance between us and them hinges on these agreements.”

  The couple was like an offering to the peace gods. The two packs wouldn’t go to war, but the tension and aggression that existed with two strong packs so close could turn into war between them. Plus, they counted on each other in any serious disputes with other shifters. Their numbers gave them strength and power. If they weren’t together, an enemy might turn them against each other.

  “It’s not about trust,” she said softly. “It’s about strength. I won’t submit to any man, and I won’t accept a weak man as a lover.”

  “I understand,” he said grimly. “I’ll talk to him and then select a nice young woman. Capulet is a lesbian, too, and she wouldn’t do anyway, because she’s not blood. There is a wedding rehearsal dinner which, as you know, in this case includes the Gathering connection.”

  That just meant since a Gathering had been called the alpha and three of his top sentinels would be there along with any other members of the allied pack that had been invited by the couple being joined.

  “I was going anyway,” she said. “My date, Joslyn Browning, is a Redwood pack member. It’s her sister’s wedding.”

  “Good. Your friendship with her bodes well,” he said. “It might come in useful someday.”

  Chapter Nine />
  “Your mother is really nice,” Joslyn said after they were seated at a quaint little restaurant with a view of the hills. The wood floor and the checkered cloths created an inviting air. She smoothed a hand over the cloth, thinking Hyacinth Storm had welcomed her with friendliness, despite the careful attitude of her daughter-in-law April, whose pups had been in the office.

  “Mom is like that. She’s empathic. She knows when she meets a good person, and she doesn’t hold back.”

  “Your brother is nice, too. I only talked to him for a minute, but I like him.”

  “Marc is empathic, too,” Cyanna answered with a smile.

  The waitress brought their drinks and assured them the meal would be up soon. “Did you ask your dad about the Gathering?” Joslyn asked.

  “He said it was because of a skirmish with jackals, and your alpha was concerned about a full-scale attack.”

  “Did he think it was possible?” Joslyn put her hand on Cyanna’s on the side of the table and lightly raked her with her nails.

  Cyanna growled low in her throat. “It’s always possible, sweetheart, but he said this Gathering was more about selecting a new couple.”

  “A new sacrifice,” Joslyn murmured. “I’ve always felt so bad for the couple forced to do this. It seems so wrong to make them miss the chance of meeting their true mate.”

  “It’s a necessity,” Cyanna said. “Pet me like this once we get to the B&B.”

  “I need a nap. I have this sexy girlfriend who’s been keeping me up late these last few days.” She grinned. “I’m not complaining. The sex is incredible. You know she has the most delicious cock that makes my toes curl.”

  Cyanna smirked and Joslyn linked their fingers together. She loved the feel of Cyanna’s skin against hers. Her hands were slightly calloused, but her skin was still soft as any woman’s.

  “I guess she’s just too much woman for you,” she teased. “You should have called in.”

  “Umm, I don’t know. She’s also my boss. That might not have gone over too well.”

  Cyanna laughed. “Baby, you should have said something. I can survive on four hours of sleep for days before I need to get a full six.”

  Joslyn snorted. “I need six to eight to be at my best.”

  “Your beauty rest,” Cyanna teased.

  “Yes, in fact.” She laughed. “If only my family would be as good to you as yours was to me. I don’t expect anything tonight except trouble.”

  “That’s too bad, but we’ll handle it.”

  Joslyn smiled. “As best we can, but you know what?”

  “What?” Cyanna leaned toward her.

  “I don’t care what they think,” she murmured and leaned forward. Cyanna caressed her jaw.

  “I’m not ready to give you up, either.”

  * * * *

  Joslyn looked at herself in the mirror. The dress she’d selected for tonight was a simple A-line dress that flattered her figure. She’d picked it up in a shop in Wind Haven that day. The yellow looked good on her and the black platform sandals worked perfectly. She smoothed a hand over her dress and then leaned close to the mirror to wipe away a smudge of lipstick.

  “You look beautiful, Joss, so why are you still in the mirror?” Cyanna leaned against the door frame of the bedroom.

  Joslyn glanced at her in the round mirror on the dresser. “I need a full-length mirror like I have at home,” she complained. She turned. Her woman was hot in her black chinos and tangerine blouse left open at the throat, revealing a gold chain. “Babe, I’m going to have the yummiest date in the room.” She smiled and went to give Cyanna a kiss.

  Cyanna pulled her in close for a long, slow duel of tongues before Joslyn sighed and a rap on the door forced them apart. Cyanna left her to go out into the sitting room to get the door. Joslyn grabbed her handbag, but decided to leave the wrap. It would give her an excuse to borrow Cyanna’s jacket later.

  “That was Caddy. She had a message for you.” She held out the slip of paper.

  Joslyn took it and read the note. “Seymour. He wanted to know if I needed a ride since I wasn’t answering my phone.”

  “Oh,” Cyanna said. “Are you ready?”

  “Yes.” Joslyn smiled.

  The dinner was being held ten minutes away at the hotel where the reception was to take place. The gardens there were beautiful, with the fall colors of plum and deep gold ranging around the grounds, but they had the biggest ballrooms in town that overlooked a hothouse garden of roses and creeping ivy.

  When they arrived, Joslyn’s mother Joanna was waiting for them. She gave Cyanna a cool greeting when Joslyn introduced them.

  “I left you a message to call me when you got to town,” Joanna chastised her. “We need to talk to you immediately.” She took Joslyn’s hand. “Seymour.” She waved a hand at him and Seymour joined them with a smile.

  “Hello, Joslyn,” he said, taking her hand even as his gaze went to her boss. “What is she doing here?”

  “Oh, good, you know each other,” Joanna said. “Seymour, keep Cynthia company.”

  “Mom,” Joslyn chastised, and gave Cyanna an apologetic look as her mother dragged her away.

  Cyanna smiled as she turned a bland stare on Seymour. “Hello, Seymour.”

  “What are you doing here?” he demanded.

  “I’m Joslyn’s date,” she told him coolly.

  “That’s impossible,” he said coldly. “Joslyn would never disrespect her family and bring a woman as her date.”

  She gave him a mocking smile. “You thought it would be you? Well, maybe she’s still thinking you over.” She couldn’t create waves for Joslyn with him since she may well be joined to someone else in a few months.

  “She’s not thinking me over,” he said icily. “We dated for three years. She only broke up with me because I went to the Navy. Now, that I’m back, I’m going to win her back.”

  Cyanna shrugged. “You sound a little delusional,” she murmured, and his eyes glittered icily. “Joss doesn’t appear interested, so back off. Stop calling her, stop stalking her, or I’ll report you to your alpha. I’m sure he won’t be happy to hear you’re not man enough to take no for an answer.”

  Seymour leaned toward her. “Go ahead, report me. Michael would rather see her with me than you.” He sneered. “So you back off.” He gave her a hard look and stalked away, bumping into a man who’d been standing close to them.

  * * * *

  “Joslyn, how could you be so disrespectful?” Joanna demanded as she led her daughter into a small room off the ballroom.

  “I’m gay, Mother,” she answered calmly. “I wasn’t going to come with Seymour.”

  “All that is coming to an end. Your father has arranged a marriage for you.”

  Her jaw dropped. She knew it could happen, but she also knew her father was too smart a man to inflict her on a straight man. He had to know she’d never make the man happy.

  “That’s crazy,” she said finally, her voice coming out in a whisper as her hands clutched at her stomach. “Daddy wouldn’t…”

  “There you two are.” Tucker Browning strode toward them, clad in black suit and white shirt. He gave them a smile and took Joslyn in his arms. “Joslyn, you were supposed to call, and come by earlier.”

  “I was with someone,” she said. “Daddy, you can’t do this to me—to him.”

  Her father cupped her face. “I’m doing what’s best for you, Joslyn. Our alliance with Blood Moon has always hinged on an arranged marriage keeping our packs joined. It’s been twenty years since the last one.”

  Anger rippled through her, had her fists clenching at her sides as she glared up at her father. Bile coated her tongue and made her stomach roil as she thought of what she was going to lose, and for what? An empty, loveless life with a man she could never love. It was heartbreaking.

  Looking into her father’s blue eyes, she saw determination, unshakable finality.

  “Why offer me? There are plenty of women—straight one
s who deserve something like this. The man could be a good guy who’d make them happy.”

  “He could make you happy,” her father said softly and then his jaw firmed, “and he could make you respectable and straight.”

  She jerked out of his hold and wrapped her arms around herself. “Respectable?” she whispered, conscious that the others in the room could hear every word. “Straight? You think I’m a disgrace because I like women?”

  “Yes,” Joanna said, tilting her head up, face set in hard lines. “You will do this, and you’ll move to Wind Haven if you have to. You’ll be a good wife. Do you understand?”

  She shook her head, her entire body trembling. “I’m falling in love with someone—”

  “What you have with her is nothing worth our considering,” Joanna broke in coldly, “so get used to the idea that you belong to someone, a man.”

  “I will never forgive you if you make me do this,” Joslyn said angrily, eyes clouding with tears.

  “You’ll get over it,” Tucker said quietly.

  “I will never have one single child with him,” she told them softly.

  * * * *

  Joslyn endured the introductions, her heart already breaking. She tried not to cry, but a few tears escaped before she could corral them.

  “Miss Browning already smells as if she belongs to someone,” Macon said to Michael, the alpha of Redwood pack.

  “There is nothing wrong with the way I smell,” she muttered. She had no idea she even carried Cyanna’s scent. It was too soon for their scents to mingle and go skin-deep.

  “Indeed not,” Macon agreed with a faint smile.

  “The scent isn’t deep,” Tucker said. “You know as well as I do that it will dissipate in time. In fact, with a long engagement, he won’t have to encounter the scent at all after tonight.”

  Macon’s gaze went to Michael. “Are you sure you want this girl as the betrothed? We’re prepared to accept her, but if you withdraw her that will materially damage the alliance.”

  Tucker stepped forward. “We understand, and we have no wish to prevent the alliance’s renewal.”