Payne

by Kimber White

  Two other Alphas stood on the porch. One was tall with brown hair streaked with gray. He stared at me and his wolf eyes glinted silver. He shot a look to three wolves on the side of the house. So, he led the smallest of the Wild Lake packs. Beside him stood a lone Alpha; his deep green eyes pierced mine across the distance. The natural arch to his dark brow gave him a curious expression, not unfriendly, but there was something different about him compared to the other shifters. Something I related to before I could fully name it. I realized with cold clarity that he had no pack. The others seemed to orient themselves in subtle ways to the men and wolves standing around them. But this guy? He stood alone.

  Lena broke from her wolf escort and came to me. My heart tripped as she reached up and touched my cheek. “It’ll be all right,” she said. “I can feel it.”

  “You can wait up at the house,” Derek said.

  “I won’t let you hurt him,” she said, lifting her chin toward him. God, she was so brave. So defiant. Desire flared through me for her as it always did, but there was something else as well. I was proud of her.

  “That’s up to him!” Mal stepped forward. The man looked dark as sin with jet-black hair and a devilish goatee. Derek put a hand up, but he clearly didn’t run this show alone. Tension ran through the group and I realized the packs probably didn’t gather in one place like this very often. If I could detach myself from what was really happening and why we were here, I might be able to marvel at that. We’d heard stories about Wild Lake for decades. There was no other place in the world like it. Six packs, sharing territory and yet somehow managing not to rip each other apart. I wondered what their secret was.

  The front door to the farmhouse opened and Pat Bonner stepped outside. Beside her stood an old man with wispy white hair. Even from here I could see he was blind. Old, jagged scars ripped across his face, leaving his eyes as nothing more than cloudy blue orbs. God. What had happened to these people?

  Derek put a hand on Lena’s shoulder and I strained against the chains. “Why don’t you head up there with Pat and Harold?”

  I could feel Lena’s need to argue, but she took a breath and bit her lip. She was picking her battles. I knew I wouldn’t be able to do the same. She gave me a look and a weak smile, then went up to the house. Pat put a protective arm around her and regarded me with a hard stare. Oh, that old woman knew her way around shifters. I’m sure she had a story or two to tell.

  “Let’s make this quick,” Mal said. What he didn’t say was why. And yet, instinct told me the reason. Sure, the Wild Lake packs had their peace, but shifter instinct runs deep. Every one of them was on edge with this many of them in one place.

  “Say your piece,” Derek said.

  “Wait!” Pat shouted from the porch. She put a hand on the blind man beside her. Just that simple gesture conveyed something to him. He grumbled, but stepped aside. Turning, he opened the front door. Another old man came out to join him. The pair of them took a seat together on a wooden green porch swing. They bowed their heads together, deep in conversation.

  Derek let out an exasperated sigh. Whoever this new observer was, he didn’t seem happy to have him here. He turned to the crowd of shifters and shouted to them.

  “Just so we’re on the same page. This guy says he was sent by Mac Morris. You all know my history with him. Before we hear him out, I’ll say right up front that Mac and two of his friends helped save me and my family’s ass when we caught trouble in Banchory along the Kentucky border. That’s the only reason I’m willing to hear him out. But, the rest is up to the packs. I’m not here to vouch for him. Only to listen out of respect for Mac.” He turned to me and nodded.

  “Thanks for the ringing endorsement,” I said, growling.

  “Get to the point,” Derek said.

  I cleared my throat. Now that we were here and I had their attention, I had no fucking clue how to convince them of anything. I was no diplomat. Hell, none of us was, except for Jagger once upon a time. Now, he’d become something else. With a growing sense of unease, I realized we might be well and truly fucked.

  “My name is Payne Fallon and yes...I’m from Mammoth Forest.” Just telling them that much felt like a betrayal. The truth was already inked into my chest for all of them to see.

  “Go on,” Mal said.

  God. What the hell could I say to them? My eyes found Lena. She stood at Pat Bonner’s side, towering over her. Her auburn hair lifted in the breeze and those beautiful hazel eyes of hers went from gold to green as the sun lit them. She mouthed four words that made everything simple.

  Tell them the truth.

  I turned to face the Alphas of Wild Lake. “We need your help. You don’t know me. I know what I must seem like to you. Believe me, I’d like to be anywhere other than here. This woman is my mate. But she’s more than that. She’s a living example of what’s happening in Kentucky. The Chief Alpha…”

  “No!” Pat shouted. It startled me that none of the other Alphas asked her to keep quiet. This was shifter business even if we were on her property.

  She stepped off the porch. “He’s no chief. Call him what he is. Say his name. It holds no power here.”

  Dark knowledge lit Pat Bonner’s ancient eyes. I didn’t need a telepathic connection to understand what it was. She knew Valent.

  “Able Valent,” I said. The confirmation seemed to hit Pat Bonner like a physical blow. She staggered to the side and put a hand over her heart. Her eyes misted with tears and she turned toward the house. Quick as lightning, the lone Alpha was at her side. He put a protective arm around Pat and brought her back up to the porch. There was something between them. Instinct told me they were mother and son. Oh, yes, it seemed Wild Lake’s stories ran deep. But, I still had my own to tell.

  “Valent’s hold is still strong. There are a few of us who live underground. We give refuge to those we can. Not everyone in Kentucky agrees with how Able runs things. But, it’s getting worse. He’s aging and he’s beginning to lose his grip. It’s made him even more dangerous. He tried to breed out Alphas so no one is ever strong enough to oppose him. He uses death squads to control those who try to rise up. Worst of all, he violates the order of things by gifting women to his followers as mates against their will.”

  A rumble of growls went through the Wild Lake shifters. All eyes went to Lena. They understood. The scars she bore had meaning now. And I hated having to use her as a living exhibit. She bore it all though. With her chin held high, she let them look. My fists clenched and I strained against the shackles.

  “So what kind of help do you want from us?” Derek said. “You know there’s a treaty between the Kentucky Pack and us. They stay on their side. We stay on ours.”

  “How’s that working for you?” I asked. “I’ve heard rumors for years that Able’s tried to encroach on your lands in different ways. Given a chance, he’ll wipe you out next. The land you claim is far too valuable.”

  “He’s been trying for decades,” Alec said. “He’s failed every time. We can take care of ourselves. Why would we risk our families and our mates?”

  “Because we’ve done it for you,” I said leveling a hard stare at Derek. He couldn’t deny it.

  “So what is it you want?” Derek said.

  I took a breath. “Weapons,” I said simply. “We’ve heard rumors that you have access to ammunition that can bring down a shifter. Mac said he’s seen it.”

  Derek curled his lips back, showing his fangs. Just that simple, primal threat told me everything I needed to know. Oh, he knew about the Wolfkiller ammo, all right.

  “You want us to arm you with weapons you could turn around and use against us?” Bas said. “I’m sorry...Derek. We do owe a debt to Morris for helping bring you home. But this?”

  “We owe a life for a life,” Mal said. “Nothing more.”

  “Have you all forgotten how Valent has tried to infiltrate our packs and our land?” Alec said. “You know what he tried to do to my mate. I say we give the Mammoth Forest wolves
anything and everything we can.”

  “None of you have any fucking idea what you’re talking about.” The lone Alpha stepped away from Pat. His green eyes glinted and he stepped off the porch. “You have no idea the kind of power a Tyrannous Alpha like Valent can exert. And his has gone unchecked for generations. As long as he lives…”

  “Luke,” Mal said to him. “We know what we’re up against.”

  “You don’t,” I said. “That’s my point. We need the means to kill him. He surrounds himself with Pack guards day and night. But, he’s weakening. We can get to him. We can kill him. But they outnumber us. Wolfkiller ammo can help level the playing field. Do you have it or don’t you?”

  Again, Derek’s wolf tried to burst forth. Whatever the story on the Wolfkiller ammo, he was guarding it fiercely. My best guess was it was somehow tied to his own mate.

  Bas put a steadying hand on Derek’s back. Then, he turned to me. “Look, we all know the threat Able Valent poses. The Wild Lake wolves have gone up against men like him time and again. But, whatever we do, we do to protect our own packs first.”

  “I respect that,” I said. And I did. “But there’s going to come a time when defeating Valent will be the only way to protect your packs. Right now, we’re the first line of defense and have the best chance to get close to him. So, let us fight as allies. You have my word that no Mammoth Forest Alpha will ever go against the Wild Lake packs.”

  “I’ve heard enough,” Mal said. “You’ve made your request. We know what we owe Mac Morris. We know what Able Valent is. Let’s put this to a vote and be done with it.”

  “So you do have access to the ammo I need,” I said. My heart leaped with hope. The old man sitting next to the blind man rose and stepped off the porch. Derek went half mad as he approached. His fingers turned to claws as he got between the stranger and me.

  “Tinker, stand down,” Alec said, trying to intervene. Tinker. Tinker Lyle. Mac had mentioned him, but I didn’t know who he was.

  “You bet your ass these boys have access to the ammo, son,” he said. “But it’s my ammo. I invented it. So I say I get a vote too. And I also say we haven’t heard all we need to hear.”

  There was another rumble through the crowd. The front door to Pat’s house opened and a teenage boy came out. Recognition tickled the corners of my mind, but I couldn’t place him. He was tall, skinny and walked with a limp. He too bore horrible scars on his arms and across his neck.

  “Hey, Jonah,” Pat said. “Wait.”

  But, Jonah didn’t wait. His limp made his gait achingly slow. His back was bent and he held the porch railing to steady himself as he made his way down. Jonah’s wolf eyes shimmered. With each painstaking step he took, dread formed a hard knot in my stomach. Sweat poured down his neck with the effort of getting to the center of the yard on his own power. My eyes locked with Lena’s. She shook her head and shrugged. Though she’d spent time in Pat Bonner’s house, she clearly had no idea who this guy was either.

  I scanned the Alphas. None of them made a move to go to the boy. I could not sense whose pack he belonged to. That alone would have given me pause. But, there was something else as well. As Jonah finally made it to Derek’s side, he slowly lifted his eyes to mine. His were bloodshot from the effort of walking. The wolf inside him lay dormant. He was an omega. And I knew with instant, cold clarity, he wasn’t from Wild Lake at all.

  “Go ahead, Jonah,” Mal said. He put a hand on Jonah’s shoulder in solidarity.

  “Who are you?” I asked but instantly regretted it.

  “That’s my question to you,” the boy said. He couldn’t be more than sixteen years old. I’d seen kids like him a thousand times. Kentucky was teeming with them. It was the wretched byproduct of Able Valent’s meddling with the natural order. Forcing matings between betas and women who weren’t meant for them produced weaker omegas, not more strong betas.

  I tried to soften my voice. “I’ve already told you that. My name is Payne Fallon.”

  Jonah flinched when I said it. It occurred to me he already knew it and the knot in my stomach spread, becoming cold fingers of fear skittering up my spine.

  “You hear that?” Jonah shouted, his voice cracking. “He admits it. This is Payne Fallon. Do you need me to remind you who he is?”

  “Look, son,” I said, reaching for him.

  Jonah’s wolf eyes flared and he growled a warning. He nearly fell to the ground as he staggered back.

  “I’m not your son,” he said. “And you don’t remember me. I remember you though.”

  “Tell your story, Jonah,” Mal said. “Nobody’s going to hurt you.”

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  Alec went to stand by Mal again. The white wolf and the black. “Jonah’s a friend of the packs. We gave him sanctuary I think two years ago or so. He escaped across the border from Kentucky into Indiana. He said he had help.”

  “Jagger Wilkes helped me,” Jonah said. “He and his mate.”

  “Right,” I said, not understanding the hostility coming from the kid. “Jagger is one of the Mammoth Forest wolves like me.” I pointed to my bare chest. If this kid escaped the Chief Pack, surely he knew what my ink meant. Why did it seem like he was about to fuck me over?

  “You’re nothing like him!” Jonah shrieked. He raised a trembling finger and pointed straight at my chest. “He’s lying. About all of it. I don’t know how he infiltrated Jagger’s group, but don’t believe him. He did this to me. He was Able Valent’s thug. I tried to stand up to him when Valent’s men came for my older brother. They didn’t want me. They said I was too weak. But, my brother wasn’t. They were going to make him serve Valent. We tried to run. The Pack caught up with us. Valent dragged us into the middle of the street so everyone could watch. I got away easy. My brother didn’t. He’s dead. Payne Fallon killed him. I saw it with my own eyes. Valent ordered and Payne carried it out. Then, he gave me this to remind me. As if I’d ever forget.”

  My vision clouded. Jonah’s truth slammed into my chest. He was right. I was everything he said I was. I didn’t remember Jonah specifically, but there had been others like him I did remember. Valent had gone on a sweep a few years ago, trying to round up traitors. He made me put them down. And I did it. Oh, God. I did it.

  The poor kid was broken from the effort of speaking it in front of so many people. As I looked up, every pair of eyes in Wild Lake stared hard at me. Waiting.

  Mal spoke first. He turned to me, eyes blazing. “Well?” he asked. “Do you have an answer for this?”

  My whole body trembled with rage and guilt. There was nothing I could say. Lena’s words burned through me.

  Tell them the truth.

  “No,” I said. “I have no answer. I have no excuse. But, the boy’s right. I was Able Valent’s executioner. I did everything he said and worse.”

  Mal walked across the yard, back straight, eyes blazing. “You’ve killed other shifters at Able Valent’s command?”

  The chains pulled at me, keeping me from standing fully straight to meet his stare. It didn’t matter. Jonah had laid me bare. I could not lie. The voice that came out of me didn’t sound like my own. My reckoning had finally come.

  “Seven,” I said as the weight of the chains and my sins dragged me down. “Seven men have died under my hand.”

  A sob ripped through me, but it wasn’t my own. I lifted my eyes and found Lena across the yard. She’d collapsed against Pat Bonner, her eyes filled with tears.

  I’d done everything Jonah said and worse. And now, I couldn’t hide it even from her. She backed away, trying to put as much distance between us as she could. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t see. The scars she bore seemed to burn even brighter as she realized it could have been me that made them. It wasn’t. I couldn’t. But, the pain she’d suffered would forever twist her away from me. My heart turned to ash as she turned, staggered through the front door of the house and closed it on me.

  There was nothing left. I turned to face the j
udgment of the Wild Lake wolves.

  Twenty-One

  Lena

  My skin burned. The scars on my face and arms seemed to tighten. Memories of that last horrible night with Shelby came flooding back. I’d held my ground even as his rage bubbled to the surface. When he knew I could never give myself to him, that his mark would never make me love him, he marked me in a different way and nearly killed me.

  I slammed the guest bedroom door and turned my back to the wall. I couldn’t hear another word. I couldn’t see that poor boy Jonah’s pain without feeling my own. I thought I could shut the door on all of that. Payne had given me new strength to do it.

  Oh, God. Payne. It hurt. It all just hurt.

  Angry voices rose outside. A few of the shifters let their wolves out. I couldn’t make out the words, but maybe it didn’t matter. They believed Payne was a killer. He was. And the halves of my heart tore in two.

  He’d hidden the truth from me. In my heart I knew how strong Able was. It wasn’t Payne. He could deny that all he wanted. And yet, I saw the faces of the seven men he’d been forced to kill. My connection to Payne brought it all sharply into focus. His guilt became mine. His agony rolled through me.

  I don’t know how long I stayed in that room, but the morning sun faded. Voices quieted and I felt truly alone. Finally, a soft knock on the door drew me out of myself. I didn’t really want to see anyone, but I was a guest here.

  Pat poked her head in. Her kind eyes and soft smile warmed me. “You up for company?” she said.

  I let out a bitter laugh. I had no idea what I was up for anymore. The echoes of my desire for Payne flared through me still. But, I couldn’t feel his pulse beside mine anymore. Somehow, he’d closed it off. It left a hollow space inside of me and the air seemed thicker.