"Emily. That's Charles' mother right? You said she wasn't a wolver, but not quite human either."
"That's right, child, just like you."
Kat pulled her hand away. "Oh no, I'm human. I know my mom and dad and everything. I never had any special gifts. I wasn't special in any way. I'm human, through and through."
"That's what Emily thought, too, and you're right for the most part, except for bein' special. You're an Alpha's Mate. You're a human woman born special and once you reach your womanhood, should you meet an Alpha and that's with a capital 'A'," she laughed, "He'd know you right away for what you are the minute he laid a hand on you. The instinct to mate is powerful in an Alpha and if he finds the one he wants, the magic is almost impossible to resist." She paused for a moment, waiting and watching for Kat's reaction. A minute passed, then two. "Are you going to say something or are you going to stand there with your mouth hanging open? You're meant to be an Alpha's Mate and our Alpha needs a Mate more than most."
"Why?" Kat's mind was reeling and it was the only word she could speak. That one word covered a lot of territory. Why was she born that way? Why hadn't she been told this before? Was this why she had always felt like she didn't belong? Why now? Why would these people consider her special when no one had before?
The housekeeper chose to answer the question that was most important to her. "Our Alpha needs his Mate to help him take this pack in the direction it's supposed to go. It ain't normal to have a pack of lone wolvers. That ain't the way the Good Lord intended. The men, they may go out to hunt and fight, but without their mates and families, they got nothing to hunt and fight for. They got nothing to protect. They can pair up with a likely woman, but they can't mate and if they can't mate, they can't breed. No young'uns, no families, no pack. It's the way it's always been and the way it always will be."
Kat was thinking about what Jo told her about traditions and there being more to them than she thought. "I don't see what all that has to do with me."
"It's got everything to do with you, girl. It don't matter how strong the Alpha is. If he don't find a Mate, the pack can't breed. You having your babies, allows them to have theirs."
"What exactly does that mean?" Kat asked worriedly. "Is the Alpha's Mate some kind of breeding machine having baby after baby just so other women in the pack can have theirs? Charles said he only has two brothers. Was he lying? Or was he trying to ease me into it. And how do these babies come out anyway, because I don't see myself raising a litter."
Tilda laughed at that. "Don't go borrowing trouble where there is none. It's the possibility is all, though with the first one there's usually a passel of others following right along. You'll have them one or two at a time, just the way your mother did. It ain't no different really, except for when they're grown they can go over the moon."
"I don't even know if I can have children." She'd made mistakes in the past and it was always a tense few weeks until the pregnancy test came out negative. She'd always thought she was lucky. What if she was barren?
"You'll have 'em," Tilda said with confidence. "Never heard tell of a Mate who couldn't."
"I don't know if I can do this. I think I need to sit down."
"You go sit and I'll make you a cup of tea." Tilda busied herself with the teapot and cups while Kat went to sit in a little room off the kitchen where a table had been placed for Tilda and her son.
"What if I'm the wrong woman for the job?" Kat muttered to herself. "What do I know about being the Alpha's Mate?"
Tilda answered as if Kat had called the question across the room instead of whispering to herself. "If you're the wrong woman, we'll all know soon enough, but I don't think you are. I see a lot of Emily in you. You're down to earth. You don't mind pitching in when it's needed and you're listening to what the Alpha's people have to say. You're on his side and it don't matter what side that is as long as it's his. You were ready to give that highfalutin Stephanie her comeuppance this morning because she insulted your man. If you ask me, and I know you ain't, you got the makings of a good Alpha's Mate."
Tilda brought in the tray, set it on the table and settled herself into the other wooden chair. She poured tea from the pot into two cups and handed one to Kat.
"Thank you." Kat took a sip of the steaming brew and sighed. Like everything else in the kitchen, Tilda knew how to brew a good pot of tea. "I'm keeping you from your work. They'll be hungry when they're finished."
"Then they'll be good and hungry by the time it's ready. If they complain too much, I'll serve them salad. That'll fix their wagons."
Kat laughed and her laughter was as refreshing as the tea. "Don't take their shit, huh?"
"Damn right I don't. I answer to the Alpha and no one else. You'd be wise to do that, too." Tilda sipped her tea, in no hurry to get back to fixing lunch. "So, what are you planning to do now that you know?"
"Nothing," Kat told her honestly, "Not until I've thought it through."
"At least you ain't a-howling and crying locking yourself in the bathroom."
"Nope. I'll fall apart later when I have more time. I'm not going to think about it right now. The children should be arriving soon and I need to get ready for their arrival."
Tilda nodded sharply to indicate she thought that was a wise decision.
Chapter 19
It may have been a wise decision, but it was one Kat couldn't keep. She thought about it while she helped Tilda finish the lunch preparations and all during lunch. She tried to concentrate on the conversations going on around the table, but her mind kept straying to the conversation in the kitchen.
Charles kept eyeing her with concern and touching her hand. She smiled weakly at his unasked question and closed her eyes to indicate she was tired and to let him know she was all right. Charles, however, wasn't buying it and after lunch, he detailed four of his Council members to the kitchen for clean-up and directed Mrs. Martin in no uncertain terms to put her feet up. He then grabbed Kat's hand.
"How would you like to go for a little stroll?" he asked cheerfully of Kat and practically dragged her through the front door. He set off at such a rapid pace Kat was almost running to keep up.
"It would be nice if you asked," she grumbled and tugged on her arm to release it from Charles' grip. His fingers wouldn't budge. Kat gave up and yelled at him instead. "This isn't strolling, it's power walking. Slow down!"
"I asked," he argued, keeping up the pace until they'd gone about fifty yards.
"It's only a question if you give the person a chance to answer," she said and tugged on his arm. "Slow down!"
She had to dig in her heels and skid a few feet before Charles got the message and even then she got the feeling he only slowed because he'd come as far as he wanted to anyway. He looked back at the house and readjusted their hands to a friendlier position as he slowed to a comfortable walk.
"What did Mrs. Martin say to upset you?"
Kat stopped walking, snatched her hand from his and smacked his shoulder with it. "You have a nerve, Wolfman. You spanked my ass for eavesdropping and here you are doing the same thing."
Charles' lips twitched. "Does this mean you want to spank my ass?" He sighed regretfully, "Because if you do, then I need to tell you that in this instance, what's good for the goose is not good for the gander. It ain't happening, kitten. Your bottom stays on the bottom. Which is all moot since I never spanked your ass for eavesdropping."
"You did so. I was there, remember." It may have made her feel hotter than hell, but it was still a spank.
Kat turned and stalked away, then realized she was marching every bit as fast as he'd been before. She slowed to a walk. It didn't really matter how fast or slow she walked. Charles would catch up if he wanted to.
"Then you should also remember that you got spanked for speaking out of turn, not eavesdropping. That was running the bases." Charles reached for her hand.
He was laughing at her and she'd be damned if she'd hold his hand. Se folded her arms across her chest. "
You know what I mean," she huffed.
"I do, but I definitely think a refresher course is needed to jog your memory. You have a terrible memory, kitten, and I think we should jog it at least once a week, maybe twice. There's a great little clearing up here with an oak tree that would be perfect. I can see it now. A little rope, a few feathers and you won't believe what you can find on the internet…"
"Charles! Stop. You're making me angry."
"No I'm not. When you're angry, you get that little crease in your forehead. Right there." He touched the spot with his finger. "Okay, okay. Serious business," he said quickly when the crease appeared. "I still claim not guilty." He was now walking backward so he could speak to her face to face. "I didn't eavesdrop. It was the process of elimination. You were happy when I left you upstairs and you weren't when lunch started. Everyone except Buddy and Mrs. Martin were with me. Buddy isn't likely to say anything upsetting to you, Ergo…" He spread his hands and bowed.
Kat relented. "Mrs. Martin didn't upset me. She answered some of my questions. There were things I needed to know, things I should have been told," she said, giving him what Grams called her evil eye. "She told me about the wolver version of the birds and the bees. She told me about the Alpha's Mate."
Charles nodded. "So you and she had a chat."
Kat nodded. "She thinks I probably am one."
"Oh you are. You definitely are. I knew that the first time you kissed me. Scared the hell out of me." He wasn't laughing.
She wasn't either. "You kissed me. So when were you going to tell me?"
"If I recall correctly, I mentioned it last night."
They walked together, not speaking, not touching, up the narrow lane. She was so engrossed in trying to remember, she failed to notice when Charles stopped. When she finally realized she was walking alone, she spun around to find him standing in the middle of the lane with his hands on his hips.
"Why didn't you ask me?" he asked and there was something in his voice that told Kat this wasn't a curiosity question.
"Because at the time, I didn't know what I was asking. I was asking for clarification about some things I'd heard," she hedged.
"Is that it, or was it because you didn't trust me? The others don't. Mrs. Martin didn't trust me to heal her son. The Council doesn't trust me enough to follow my lead and support my decisions. Maybe you didn't trust me enough to ask about these things you heard."
"Trust you? I don't trust you?" She marched back toward him, her finger up and ready to poke him in the chest. "Damnit! I let you strip me naked while running around the damn backyard. I let you tie me to a beam in the barn. I don't do those kinds of things, Charles Goodman. I've never done anything like that in my entire life, but I did it for you and I trusted you wouldn't hurt me. So don't give me your 'You don't trust me' shit."
"Then why didn't you come to me?" he demanded.
"Because a girl doesn't go up to a guy she virtually just met, no matter how hot and heavy they've been making it, and ask about marriage… mating… whatever! And if she does, that guy is likely to take off for the hills." Kat threw up her hands and turned away.
"I said you were the one," he said as if that should be enough.
"Good God, Charles, guys always say stuff like that when they want to get in a girl's pants. You ought to know that being the charmer that you are."
"I never said it," he said defensively, "The women I've been with all knew it could never end in a mating. The only other unattached Mate I've met wasn't interested. She was in love with my brother."
"Did you love her?" Kat whispered, more to herself than to him, but in spite of her back being turned, he heard her.
"I was attracted to her. It's in the nature of the beast to be attracted to a Mate, but no, it felt like more of a game. In the end, we were friends. She's the one who made me see what Wolf's Head might be missing."
Kat turned back to see him smiling wryly. "What about me?" she asked quietly, hating the catch in her voice, not wanting to hear the answer, but knowing it was important to them both. "Is what we share just the nature of the beast? Is this just a game? Because it's not a game for me, Charles. This is something that has changed my whole life."
Kat knew from the beginning that her reaction to all this wasn't natural, wasn't normal. These people could morph into wolves and yet she'd accepted that as easily as she would a change in their clothes. She'd had a harder time adjusting to Lucy Spellman returning to work as Luke Spellman after the school's summer break.
This was much more than an adjustment in perception and yet it didn't feel unusual. It felt right. For the first time since her mother died, Kat felt like she was where she was supposed to be. She felt like she'd met the man she was supposed to be with. She felt like she'd found her place and her place was beside Charles. And she was terrified to find out what it would feel like if all this was taken away.
"It's not a game, Katarina," he said solemnly. "What I feel for you is more than the nature of the beast. You are an Alpha's Mate, but am I the true Alpha? After this morning's meeting, I'm not sure. What if someone else is meant to be the Alpha of this pack? If it's not me, if I'm not the Alpha, then you and I can't be."
Over Charles' shoulder, Kat saw Ryker running with amazing grace and speed down the lane to meet them. He was waving one arm high over his head to attract their attention. There wasn't time to say what she wanted to, so she kept it short and to the point.
"You're a damn fool, Charles Goodman," she said as Ryker jogged to a halt beside them. "You are the Alpha of Wolf's Head pack. If the others don't see that, then they're damn fools, too. I'm new to this Alpha's Mate business and even I know the difference. Now, do I have to kiss him to prove it?"
She pointed her thumb at Ryker who stepped back with his hands, palms outward, in front of his chest to ward her off. His usual stone cold face cracked enough to show his surprise. He looked to his Alpha.
"What the hell?" he asked as if someone here had lost their mind.
"She wants to see if kissing you is different from kissing me," Charles explained.
Ryker took another step back. "Sorry, ma'am, but didn't you just say you were an Alpha's Mate?"
"I did," Kat agreed.
"Then if there's any kissing to be done, you should be directing your attentions that way." He pointed to Charles. "Like you said, he's the Alpha."
"See? One down and…" Kat paused. "Just how many are in this pack?"
"Only fifty three."
"Then forty-eight to go. You've got Jo and Hyatt and Mrs. Martin and Buddy. They're definitely in your corner." She meant it as a joke. In her mind, Charles was the Alpha and that was that.
"He's got more than that, ma'am." Ryker seemed to understand what she was talking about only he wasn't smiling.
"How many?" Charles asked, as serious as Ryker.
"Twenty-five if it comes down to it. More if you knock some heads."
"Heads? Whose heads?" Kat was walking between the two and had a crick in her neck from looking up.
"You and I need to talk, Ryker."
"I've been waiting for you to ask."
"I was afraid you might be one of them."
Ryker chuckled and it sounded odd coming from that granite mask. "I could take you in the fight, but I'm not smart enough to run the pack. I'd probably kill half of them. Easier that way."
"He doesn't really mean that, does he?" Kat asked Charles worriedly. The man looked like he could do it without batting an eye.
Charles smiled at her and winked.
The look that Ryker gave her said he'd do it in a heartbeat. Then he ignored her and spoke to Charles. "We make a good showing tonight and you'll probably convince a few more." he said to Charles. "Oh, and Marcus called to say they finally found the cubs. He'll be bringing them in tomorrow. Wanted to know if we had any cages."
Chapter 20
"It's our land. We have every right to drive them off."
"We'd be better off to charge them rent, a percentag
e of the take. Alex had a good point. They'll only move their business elsewhere."
"It's dog fighting!"
"It's money!"
"You wouldn't say that if it was your pup instead of Buddy."
"We don't have any pups and we have the brains not to get caught. Buddy should never have been allowed to run."
"We've got pups now. I overheard Ryker on the phone."
"Yeah, and who's bright idea was that. I didn't sign on to be a foster parent."
There were a half dozen voices all shouting over the top of one another from the room where the television blared. Ryker moved toward the door, but Charles stopped him with a signal from his hand. Alex was coming down the hallway shaking his head.
"They're only blowing off steam. I'll settle them down."
"No." Charles moved the hand he held up to Ryker and showed it to Alex. "I've let you do enough of my dirty work. It's time I did it myself."
"It's my job. I'm your Second."
"And now it's my job. I'm your Alpha."
"Charles, I don't think this is a good time to…"
"Go all Alpha on you?" Charles finished the sentence for him. "I've heard those words before, Alex, and I disagree. I can't think of a better time."
He slid the doors to the TV room back and the crowd roared. The roar was from a televised football game, but Kat thought it was appropriate. Ryker followed on his Alpha's heels and once inside, he slid the doors closed behind him and stood in front of them, blocking the exit and the view.
There was some harsh talk, a bit of swearing, but Kat couldn't hear what was said and then she felt that wall expanding power again. There was a crash. The TV went silent. There was another crash, followed by a groan. Kat didn't know why they thought Charles shouldn't go all Alpha. She found it pretty impressive. She bent in half to see if she could see past Ryker's big body and wondered if she could ask him to move.
There were more thuds. Kat knew what those sounds were. She'd worked in enough low life bars to recognize the sounds of body blows. She bobbed and weaved herself, trying to get a better view. There were two of them getting a pounding, maybe three.
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