by Mandy Rosko
He’d saved the lady from an unhappy marriage, but their mission had yet to be accomplished.
Fanny clapped her hands to gather the attention of the crowd. "As we can see, a marriage between Anne and Westley is now out of the question,"
Mike leaned his mouth down to Anne’s ear. “She second in command or something?”
Anne pressed herself closer to Mike and shook her head. Her words were so soft he barely caught them. “Just likes to think she is.”
The scent of her hair wafted up directly under his nose. Inexplicably, his lips were drawn to it and he placed a tender kiss on top of her head.
She stiffened in his arms and then abruptly relaxed. Mike wanted to kick himself.
Why did he just do that? Anne probably thought he was reacting to the crowd to make themselves appear as a true couple. She must have been so sure of it that she didn't bother to look up at him at all. Truthfully, he'd gone ahead and done it for no reason. It just happened. A moth to a flame.
And here he was believing that Stockholm syndrome only happened to women.
At least the attention of the crowd was focused on Fanny. That way, no one would look at his face and point out how red he'd gone.
Fanny kept giving orders as if she, herself, were pack master. "So we'll go and calmly explain to Gordon why this can't be done," she said, finishing her lecture.
Every head in the group nodded before turning to walk down the dirt road that connected Mike's borrowed cottage with Gordon's home.
Anne tugged his hand and he was dragged along with them. Damn, getting Anne out of this marriage was proving to be faster than drive-thru.
He squeezed her hand, getting her attention as his voice dropped to a breezy whisper so the large group of weres with super hearing couldn’t listen in.
“What about your Westley?”
He sensed her emotions take a bad swan dive. “We’ll have to speak for him later.”
Mike wanted to ask the people what would happen to Westley right now. He wanted this done and over with. He had to trust that Anne knew the nature of werewolves, knew the nature of her pack, better than he did.
If he seemed too eager then it would be obvious that this entire thing was set up.
Gordon must’ve seen them coming through one of the many high windows of his house. He stood on his porch, waiting like a king on high, looking down at them before they made it to him.
His pale eyes scanned the pack before they landed on Anne, arm in arm with Mike. He scowled at them.
Mike scowled back and held Anne tighter.
"Calm down," Anne whispered. Had she not been standing so close, he never would have heard her.
The scowl melted from Gordon's face, replaced with cool suspicion. "May I ask why you are all gathered on my front lawn like this?"
Those cold eyes landed on Anne. “I’d hate to think this mob was your doing, Antoinette.”
“It’s not her fault,” Fanny stepped forward, instantly marking herself as leader. Mike raised an eye at her constant need to be in center of everything.
Mike’s new best friend.
"Gordon, we have important news that voids Anne's marriage to your son."
Mike studied Gordon's reaction. The old man’s face didn't twitch a muscle, his brows didn’t crease, and his mouth didn’t pull down at the corners.
Mike still caught the deep spark in his voice and the flash in his eyes as he turned them back to Anne and Mike. "What?"
Anne flinched under the stare. Mike returned the cold stare, a silent fuck you inside it.
The man knew they were lying, they concocted this plan knowing he would know. Getting him to call off Anne's wedding would only work so long as they both stayed strong. Without a doubt, freeing Anne from that obligation was the most important thing for him to get done.
Fanny half turned and pointed her whole arm at them. "They've bonded."
Gordon's fingers tightened against the rail where he clasped it. This time his face did give away hints of his rage. Mostly in the way his face swelled with red rage. "I want proof."
Every back stiffened and every murmur halted as the entire pack stared at their leader in awe.
Mike gently elbowed Anne. She leaned her head up so that her ear would be closer to his mouth. Damn if he didn't want to kiss her again right now, run his tongue along the shell of that delicate little lobe.
More important things to be done. Cut it out, already. "Looks like you were right," he said.
She smirked. "Of course I was right."
It happened again where he knew what she was thinking without the benefit of reading her thoughts. She was congratulating herself on the fantastic guess that Gordon would want proof when they were obviously lying to him.
Not that he hadn't seen it coming, Anne just happened to be the first to point it out.
Fanny sputtered, Zeke put a hand on her shoulder. "You want proof?"
Gordon shrugged. The air around him turned calm as he spoke as though merely asking to see Mike’s DVD collection. "I said it, didn't I? Come on up here, you two. If you're bonded then I want to make sure of this for myself."
Gordon waved them up and he and Anne walked with ease towards the wooden steps of the porch, holding hands as they went.
The pack continued to murmur amongst themselves, creating a backdrop of noise that made Mike feel as if he was walking to his execution.
This was another thing that he hadn't been prepared for. This wasn’t something that he could just read and study in a book, the expectation to believe when someone was bonded without proof.
Or was Gordon's demanding of proof only shocking to them because of who they thought Mike was? Accusing an almost-god of being a liar would be a big thing to anyone.
Usually the one interrogating suspects, Mike knew when he was being interrogated, studied by someone who searched for the flaw in his story as Gordon did now. He tried to keep every thought, every movement calm and precise in case Gordon happened to hear his heartbeat and pulsing blood.
He just hoped Anne was right when she said Gordon would only ask for proof of their mental bond.
If the man asked Mike to provide bed sheets with virgin blood on them then Mike was calling bullshit.
Gordon folded his arms, drawing up as much height as he could, yet still remaining an inch shorter than Mike. "This is going to be fairly simple. If the two of you are bonded, then, regardless of your wolfless status, Mr. Carter, you should be connected with Anne in the same way that we all are. You should have the ability to read her thoughts, but to a more … intimate level, I suppose you can say."
How much more intimate could it get? He’d been kicked out of his family because they thought it was too personal as it was.
Face calm and confident, Mike said, “Well, we shouldn’t waste time then.”
Gordon nodded. “I agree.” He motioned with his fingers for Anne to come forward.
She moved without hesitating. Her booted feet made no sound on the wooden deck. She stopped when she stood beside Mike, close enough that he could feel her body heat. Gordon leaned in, close enough to kiss her if he wanted.
Mike tensed. His arms itching to toss the old man away. Instead of touching his mouth to hers, Gordon’s lips moved to her ear, whispering something.
Stupid. Mike thought, his shoulders de-icing. He and Anne weren't together, there was no reason for him to feel anything that resembled jealousy even if the situation did call for Anne to receive a kiss from someone else.
Someone who happened to be older, uglier, and creepy as all Hell.
Gordon leaned away, smug satisfaction twisting his face. "Alright, Mr. Carter, what did I just tell her?"
He looked into Anne's eyes. She kept them wide and unblinking, just as he’d told her to do. The eyes weren’t just windows into the soul.
As long as she kept those pretty eyes of hers wide open, she was offering him a clearer view of what was going on inside her head.
Mike frowned, stru
ggling to see or hear. He’d known this was going to happen.
Annie could force her eyes wide and stare at him all night, didn’t change the fact that she was a werewolf and he’d have trouble seeing. Her thoughts were misty, like he stepped into a steamy sauna and decided to sit down and read a book.
Anne’s words finally came. They sounded like she was shouting from far away. Thoughts tended to echo, but he still made out the quick, ghostly sound that was the voice inside her head.
Then Mike got it and his mouth dropped. Anne didn't keep her eyes wide just for Mike’s sake. Shock had taken hold of her face, stiffened her body, and panicked her thoughts.
"You told her that she and I should get married today."
The smug satisfaction slid from Gordon's face like water. Mike would have laughed had the situation been different.
The man ordered them to get married because they were bonded. Counting on the fact that they weren't and hoping they’d make fools of themselves in front of the pack, who all cheered and clapped to celebrate the upcoming nuptials.
Mike tried to peer into Anne’s head again. Her eyes were cast down at her feet so he had trouble hearing her. Though, he didn’t need to hear words to know she was in a screaming panic inside her mind.
"It's true." The tortured words whispered from Gordon's mouth. Mike half expected him to take back the command to become husband and wife, but instead he stepped away from them before facing Anne. "I supposed your wedding to my son is off. Congratulations. I'll make some calls."
Mike couldn’t believe it. “Just like that?”
Gordon nodded, his eyes still blank from shock. “Just like that.”
For all the trouble the man had given him, Mike expected for him to put up more of a fight.
Anne looked up at Gordon but said nothing in response, continuing to remain silent as he stepped back inside his house and quietly shut the door.
Mike’s eyes twitched. His hands clenched in anger and panic.
Goddamn it. They were just supposed to come here, get Mike away from this ranch and Anne out of a marriage. Not tie her into another marriage, with him no less, thereby keeping Mike trapped here.
This was not how this was supposed to go down.
Did werewolves believe in divorce? Last time he checked they didn't, but that was only because they tended to marry the people they'd bonded to. Mike wasn't actually bonded with Anne, so maybe he could get away with it.
Or they could just stay married.
He shook away the thought. Of all the ridiculous things to be thinking about.
Of course they’d get a divorce. He sure as Hell was no werewolf and he wasn't tied to this pack. So what did he care what these people thought?
He’d still phone his partner in Griffon, then he would leave. It would just have to be delayed a bit longer.
He wanted to convey his thoughts to Anne, who still seemed to be in a twisted Wonderland with the way she stared at her feet.
“Anne,” Mike stepped forward, his hands out to touch her.
“Sorry, honey, you’ll have to give her to us first,” Fanny said, cutting in front of him.
He hadn’t even heard her running up the steps of the deck in those heels of hers. She grabbed the still comatose Anne around her shoulders and led her down into the sea of awaiting females.
Their hands reached to Anne as if they thought her touch could heal the sick and dying. Everyone wanted to pull her into embraces filled with cheeky kisses and congratulations.
Some eyes wistfully went to Mike. Envy was still present in the crowd.
They wouldn’t be envious if they knew I was faking this.
Anne put up no struggle as she was led away by the women.
Shit! He had to stay with her. Mike jumped down the wooden stairs two at a time. When his boots kicked up a cloud of dust at the bottom, his arm was grabbed, Werewolf strength yanking him to a halt.
Damn. The women left with Anne, but the men hadn’t gone anywhere. Congratulations were thrown at him from all angles, his back slapped, and hand grabbed and pumped more times than he could count.
Jesus, could the idea of the first werewolf be such a big deal that these men didn’t notice when some of their own wives ogled him? He guessed so since he sensed no aggression of jealousy among any of the males.
The only man in the crowd who didn't come forward to offer congratulations was Anne’s grandfather, Bill.
Mike caught sight of him, just standing outside the group of men who circled around Mike. His arms were crossed, stance defensive and eyes narrowed before he stormed off, housecoat swirling in the air behind him.
TEN
Anne couldn't believe she was married. It took only a few hours to get the marriage license and then they were in front of a priest who had some time to kill and bang! Married. She didn’t even change her clothes.
Fanny and her pack of she-wolves dragged Anne away while she was too drunk on shock to do anything about it. By the time she came out of her stupor her make-up had been done to perfection.
Anne had to blink a few times before she realized that the china doll she was staring at in the mirror was herself.
No one actually brought pretty dresses to the ranch since it was assumed they wouldn’t be needed. And even though she hadn’t changed her clothes for the wedding, even though getting married was the last thing she expected to happen, Anne thanked her pack mates and said with all honesty that she didn’t think she’s ever looked better.
She only wished she felt as happy as she should’ve been.
Just like that, she was a missus and she barely remembered saying I Do. To escape one marriage she entered another, yet for some reason the all-consuming panic that usually came whenever she did something monumentally stupid didn't show up.
Shock, she thought as she stood between her new husband and the door to her pack master's truck, who was going to give them a lift back to the ranch.
She turned her eyes up to Mike, her husband, her old man, her hubby. Okay, calling him that didn’t make her feel better.
His eyes were scanning the roads and shops around the church. Anne didn't know if that was any better than when he kept his head down the whole drive here. Even after the little ceremony ended, he still did nothing more than offer a weak smile to the men who wanted to slap his back some more and offer cigars for his marriage.
"This is Sunset Valley," he said.
The jingle of Gordon's keys stopped when he looked up at him. "It’s what the sign said when we got into town hours ago. Took you that long to read it?"
Mike's face twisted into a snarl. He was going to say something they were both going to regret if she didn't intervene.
"This is the town where I found you. Do you know it?"
The snarl left his face as he looked at her. "My family lives here."
Anne's mouth dropped. His family lived here? Here?
He’d said something about them when they first met but she didn’t think they’d be so close. They didn't even get to come to the wedding.
Even Gordon replaced his annoyed visage with something more sympathetic. "I'm sorry, if we'd known they could've come."
He gave a low chuckle. "Don't worry, they wouldn't have showed."
Anne cocked her head. "I don't understand."
He turned and walked in the other direction. "You don't have to."
Anne ran after him. "Hey, wait!"
Gordon was right on her heels, though his expression said he was there reluctantly.
Gordon grabbed his arm yanked him to a halt. "It's safer if we get back to the ranch."
The tiny hairs on the back of Anne's neck stood up. Silence followed Gordon’s order to Mike. Every one of her pack mates still in the parking lot stopped what they were doing to watch.
The wind became as still as they all were. Gordon lost control, Anne could see it now. Because of what Mike was, the pack viewed him as their leader now.
Gordon must be pissed.
Mike
yanked his arm out of Gordon's grasp, not an easy task considering he was being gripped by a werewolf. "The entire reason why I came back here was to see them. I don't care who you are or how many people you're in charge of, I'm not one of them. Get the Hell out of my way."
There was no shocked gasp, no one stepping forward to enforce Gordon’s order. Everyone just watched, bodies tense and fists clenched.
Whether from anger or confusion, Anne couldn’t say.
The poor guys. Must be hard being torn between loyalties like this.
Mike gave Gordon his back and continued walking. Anne couldn't believe it.
A thrilling rush raced inside her like a rapid river. No one just disobeyed like that, arguing a point was one thing, but this...
Mike really was in charge.
She ran after him again, grateful when Gordon didn't call her back. Then again, she was Mike's wife now. Practically second in command of the pack.
Niiiiice. "Hey, hold up!"
He kept walking, not bothering to look at her when she caught up to him. "I'll go back with you. Eventually. I just need to take care of something."
"I'm not going to try to stop you. I want to go with you."
He barely glanced at her. "You don't have to do that. It's the middle of the day. I don't think Hadrian will attack."
"He attacked Chris when it was the middle of the day."
"Chris was at a disadvantage because he didn’t know what kind of enemy he was up against. I know the dangers. I'm keeping my mind open. Trust me, I wouldn't be doing this if I thought it would put my family in danger."
"Well, it's good that you thought this through, but that's not why I'm coming with you."
He looked at her, a dubious spark in his eyes.
"To meet my new in-laws." She grinned.
She watched the muscle in his firm jaw clench. "Fine. Don’t let them know you're a werewolf."
He stomped ahead and she had to catch up again. "What? Why? I mean if they know about psychics and everything—"
"No, they don't know about everything," he interrupted, "and what they do know about they're not comfortable with."