by R. E. Butler
“You said I could have clothes,” she said loudly as he walked down the hallway.
“I didn’t say when,” he answered.
“Asshole,” she growled and he chuckled as he went into the kitchen to cook for his mate.
After checking in with the protectors that surrounded his home, he called Sam for an update while he looked in the fridge.
“I’m out of touch for the rest of the day unless it’s an emergency,” Acksel said, after Sam told him that all was well.
“The lady doctor called and asked to have Brynn check in with her. She’s worried and won’t take my assurances that she’s okay now.”
Dr. Kimmi. Acksel smiled inwardly at the thought of the doctor, glad that Brynn had such a fierce friend.
“I’ll have Brynn call. Thanks, Sam.”
“My pleasure, Alpha.”
Ending the call, Acksel pulled breakfast fixings from the fridge and began preparing a meal for her. He was hungry as well, but he wanted her to be fed first. From now on, she would be his highest priority. As two steaks sizzled in a hot pan on the stove, he thought over a conversation he’d had with his dad and Eveny before her heat cycle, and the reason his father hadn’t wanted to fight for alpha many years earlier. Acksel hadn’t given much thought to his dad’s reasoning — that he didn’t want to be alpha because it would take away too much from his family and put his life on the line. Before Brynn, there hadn’t been a family for him outside of his dad and sister. But blood family was not the same as a mate and pup. Brynn was solely his responsibility and their pup, and any future ones they might have, would fall to him alone to keep safe.
Which begged the question — how did he ensure that no one messed with Brynn?
Turning the steaks in the skillet, he took a notepad from a drawer and jotted down ideas on how to handle things in the pack. He had already made several changes recently in pack law. First he’d declared that pack members could mate with whoever they wanted, whether they were wolves or humans or another supernatural creature. Although the mates would not be accepted into the pack if they were not wolf, now mating with a person other than a wolf was not grounds for banishment. Then he’d changed how the pack handled ranks, expanding the protectors and giving them more responsibility under the guidance of the theto, Sam. Ren, as beta and Acksel’s right hand, was going to be handling more of the day-to-day, which would free Acksel up to handle the bigger issues with the pack, which now included re-writing several thousand years of pack law. The most important thing for him now was to make sure that the females didn’t try to prove that they were more suitable mates for Acksel than Brynn by beating her to a pulp. Not only was it an unfair contest because she was human, but it could potentially harm her pup. Females could be vicious in dealing with others they viewed as threats. He needed to make it clear to them that if they physically harmed Brynn in an attempt to sway him they would be punished harshly.
He called Ren and had him set up a meeting with the females for the following morning.
Tucking the phone into his back pocket, he finished making breakfast for her. He was feeling a lot more confident that she would be safe from the pack females until the November full moon when he could take her officially as his mate and make her alpha female.
If she was willing to become his mate by then, that is.
Once Brynn was formally his, no one within the pack would think twice about hurting her because it would be against pack law. The females were not held to hierarchy the way that males were, so there would be no challenging for position once he claimed her.
Placing the dishes on a metal baking sheet, he carried breakfast back to the bedroom, feeling more confident about his decisions.
Until he opened the bedroom door and saw Brynn staring at him suspiciously and angrily. Then all his confidence fled. He stood in the doorway, breakfast in hand, feeling like an awkward teenager with no social skills. It didn’t help that his wolf wanted him to crawl on his belly and beg her for affection.
Her stomach growled and he snapped out of his awkward feelings and marched into the room. In spite of the angry glint in her eyes, she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever known. That she was in his bed, carrying his pup, only increased her beauty to him.
“Hungry?” he asked as he set the tray on the nightstand next to the bed and sat down. Placing a napkin across her lap, he picked up one of the plates and began to cut the steak on it into bite-sized pieces. He wasn’t sure what she would like, so he had brought a variety of things, including a bowl of scrambled eggs topped with cheese, cinnamon raisin toast, and two large glasses of milk.
Spearing a piece of steak, he held it up to her mouth. Her eyes narrowed and her lips pressed into a thin line as she turned her head slightly. “I can feed myself.”
“I know. But it’s my duty and honor to take care of you.”
“Duty? Honor?” She shoved his hand away. “Don’t talk to me about those things, Acksel, I’m not even fucking kidding. Get me some real clothes and let me leave.”
Shaking his head, he lowered the fork and said, “I can’t do that, Brynn.”
“They’re dead, right?” She swallowed hard and met his eyes. “I mean, those guys that kidnapped me are gone, so there’s no more threat.”
Tears welled in her eyes and it took every ounce of his willpower not to haul her into his lap and comfort her. “Yes, they’re dead. But there are things you don’t understand yet about what’s happened between us. I’ll explain everything, but you need to eat.”
“And then you’ll get me clothes and let me leave?”
Not in a million years.
“First eat, then talk, then we’ll see.”
She gave him a grumpy look, but her stomach growled again and she flushed with embarrassment. “You’re not the boss of me.”
“What are we, twelve? You’re a courageous, independent, beautiful woman. I don’t want to boss you around, I just want to take care of you. Let me, damn it.”
She looked at him speculatively. He was certain that words like asshole and idiot were rolling through her mind. Then her lips parted and she looked at the fork in his hand. Taking the hint that she was ready, at least for this much, he began to feed her.
There was something extremely satisfying about taking care of her needs. He hadn’t expected it to feel so good to do something simple like make a meal and feed her. Just hours earlier he’d found her, set her free, dealt with the ones who had hurt her, and gotten her medical attention. But feeding her a meal he had prepared? He was off the charts proud. His wolf was prancing around in his head like a puppy.
She ate one whole steak and half the bowl of eggs before swiping a piece of toast and chewing on the corner. “Thank you, Acksel. For coming for me and taking care of me now.”
He brushed a lock of hair off her shoulder and was pleased when she didn’t flinch away.
“I’m sorry that you were hurt. It grieves me that those wolves took you and harmed you to get to me.”
Swallowing her bite of toast, she said, “I’m ready to hear whatever else you think I need to know and then I’m dead serious — I want clothes.”
He liked her pluck.
As he began to tell her about the pack, briefly touching on the history of his kind and their laws, she listened intently, stopping him when she needed clarification. Although he didn’t really want to share any more flaws with her, he felt compelled to tell her the truth about his actions with his sister and her human mate which had led him to change the laws about accepting non-wolves as mates.
“That’s why you were drunk that night? Because you were angry at yourself for putting Eveny in harm’s way?”
He nodded. “But I don’t regret what happened that night, Brynn, only that I couldn’t see the forest for the trees. I was convinced that you’d be harmed more by being with me than being away. In my panic, I didn’t think to change the laws about the alpha female.”
Her head dropped forward quickly and a mo
ment later he scented her tears. Cupping her chin, he lifted her face until he could see the liquid pooled in her eyes. “I should have come for you sooner, Brynn. I’m so damn sorry.”
She closed her eyes and tears slipped down her cheeks. “Go away.”
“What?”
She knocked his hand away and turned onto her side, facing away from him. “Go. Away.”
His wolf protested leaving her when she was so upset, but he sensed that she needed time alone to process all that he’d told her.
“When you’re ready, Dr. Kimmi wants you to call her.”
She didn’t say anything. Although leaving warred with his desire to make her happy, he bet that it would make her happiest right now, so he stood and left, closing the door behind him.
Waiting at the door, it wasn’t long before he heard her crying, but he didn’t dare go in, choosing instead to give her the time she’d asked for.
Chapter 13
After Acksel left her alone in the morning and she had a good cry, she spent a long time considering all that he’d said. When he brought lunch for her, they ate together but he was quiet, not filling up the silence with a repeat of the history of wolves or his reasons for walking away from her after their night together. She wasn’t really sure what to say to him anyway. Part of her was still angry about his behavior and wasn’t ready to forgive him yet.
He left his cell for her before he walked out of the room and she knew that he was showing that he trusted her. It would have been easy enough to call the police and say she was being held against her will. The chief of Wilde Creek was human and would not take kindly to anyone — not even the alpha — holding a pregnant woman hostage.
Although she thought she’d probably take some measure of pleasure in seeing Acksel in trouble with the police, she didn’t really want to see him arrested. Instead, she called Dr. Kimmi and filled in the gaps in what her friend had been told.
“Do you need help, Brynn? Is there anything we can do?” Dr. Kimmi asked, her voice filled with concern.
“No, but thank you for caring. I’m safe now and healed.”
“I’ll let Nila know you’re okay. She wanted me to let you know that she was worried.”
Brynn hung up and dialed her dad, who Acksel had also filled in. He sounded very impressed with Acksel. “He’s a good man to come for you,” he said.
She almost said that the good man was the reason she had been taken in the first place. But the truth was, she was starting to feel as much to blame for what happened as he was. First, she’d woken up with him eating her out and hadn’t stopped him and hadn’t grabbed a condom from the nightstand drawer before they had sex. But when she realized she was pregnant, that changed everything. She had thought she could go through it alone, and she probably could have if he’d never wanted anything to do with her and the baby. But he was so eager for her forgiveness, so eager to make her understand that he had cared for her all along and that the baby was only a sweet bonus to his already sincere feelings.
Did she believe he cared for her?
Yeah.
Did she think if she’d told him two weeks ago that she was pregnant that he would have come busting into her home like some knight in shining armor to sweep her off her feet and take care of her and be there for her?
Yeah.
So if she truly believed what he’d said, believed that he felt caught between her safety and his desire for her — and help her, she was starting to — and he would have come begging at her door soon enough, wouldn’t she have forgiven him? Didn’t she care about him a great deal, as she had for a long time?
She sighed deeply. “I know, Dad. I know he’s a good guy.”
There was a long pause and she thought her dad might ask if Acksel was her baby’s father, but instead he said, “I met with his dad, Dade. We went to school together, did you know that?”
“No.”
“Back in those days, humans and wolves didn’t get along quite as well as they do now, but I knew him and he was a friendly guy. One night, I saw a car off to the side of the road with a flat tire and Dade was on a date with the she-wolf that was his mate. Not only was his tire flat, but so was the spare. I stopped and gave them a lift into town so he could get a tire from Wilde Creek Auto Repair and took them back to the car. Dade said he thought they’d have to walk home. Said he would never forget that I stopped when no one else had. He’s from good stock, and so is his son. Regardless of what you might think of his behavior.”
Her heart sank. “So you know.”
“That Acksel is the father of your baby? Yeah. I’m not trying to tell you what to do, Brynn, but it’s hard for men to admit when they’ve made mistakes, and sounds like Acksel is trying his damnedest to make up for what happened.”
Before she could say anything, he continued, “I’m not saying that I’m not on your side, honey, because I damn sure am. If you tell me that you want to get away from him and keep him away because he’s a total bastard, then I will come to get you myself and no one, alpha wolf or otherwise, will stop me.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“So do I need to storm the castle?” She could tell he was smiling when he spoke, but he was also serious.
“No. I’m okay for now.”
“Good. Take care of yourself and my grandbaby.”
“I will, Dad.”
Ending the call, she stared at the phone for a few moments and then called Mia, who, just like her dad, promised to come rescue her if she needed or wanted it.
Brynn chewed her lip for a moment while Mia ranted a bit at her alpha’s behavior. “Can I ask you a question about the alpha female stuff and have you be really honest?”
“I would never lie to you, B, you have to know that.”
“I know.” Brynn sighed and said, “If I am his mate, then why would I be in danger from the females? Why wouldn’t they recognize that I was his and leave us both alone?”
Mia hesitated for only a moment and then said, “It’s an instinctual thing for the females on two levels. First, a female wants to be with the most powerful male because her wolf tells her that he’s the most capable of protecting their cubs and her. If the alpha is single and unmated, the females will try to sway him to their beds in hopes of convincing him how awesome they are. And second, although the females aren’t ranked like the males are, the alpha female is the boss of them, right under the alpha. Even the males are accountable to the female in most cases, as long as what she’s said doesn’t go directly against the alpha’s orders. So the reason that Acksel worried about mating with you isn’t because he doesn’t care for you; it’s because he was worried that the females would attack you to try and prove that they’re better suited for alpha status than you.”
“Because I’m human.”
“It sucks, but yeah.”
“Do you think I’m less than because I’m human?”
“Of course not! Crap, B. How long have we known each other?”
“Forever.”
“Right, damn it. You’re my best friend. I’m pissed as hell at you for keeping the one-nighter with Acksel a secret from me, but that’s just because I think I could have helped you understand him better. But don’t feel guilty. You can make it up to me by naming your first born after me.”
Snorting, Brynn said, “What if it’s a boy?”
“We’ll call him Mi for short.”
Laughing, Brynn felt some of the tension she’d been holding onto ease away.
“Look, I’m a very mate-and-let-mate sort of gal. The only thing that matters to me is that you’re happy. If Acksel makes you happy, then know that he’s going to change things within the pack to make sure that you’re safe. Once you’re mated officially on the November full moon, you’ll be untouchable without serious consequences, the same as if you were a wolf. And there’s a meeting with all the females tomorrow morning, so he’s probably going to change things now so that you’re protected before the full moon.”
Well, wasn’t t
hat interesting?
Brynn thanked her best friend and ended the call.
She hummed in her throat, thinking over all that Mia had said. But one thing had stuck in her craw: Acksel hadn’t asked her to be his mate, he’d simply said that she was and that he was going to protect her. She had a feeling that if she was a wolf, that there would be some protocol or something involved in choosing a mate and she was a little miffed. Although Acksel had told her about the laws and the pack history, he hadn’t really talked about what would happen going forward, and being kept in the dark was definitely not something she wanted. She didn’t want to be taken for granted, either.
Rising, she went into the attached bathroom and turned on the shower. Pulling the gown over her head, she inspected her body using the long mirror over the double sinks. None of her wounds had scarred. Acksel had said some kind of natural remedy had been used to accelerate her body’s natural healing ability. Whatever it was made of, it should be bottled and sold to the masses. It was good stuff.
She showered, scrubbing at her skin with a washcloth and washing her hair twice. She’d been sponge-bathed while she was unconscious because the blood had been off her skin, but she still hadn’t felt entirely clean. What she really wanted was to take a nice, long soak in her tub at home, but she’d settle for a shower for now.
While she dried off, she formulated a plan to get Acksel to prove his dedication to her and to find out just how much he cared about her.
Chapter 14
Acksel sat on the couch and looked at the laptop screen on the coffee table, his eyes blurring and causing the words to jumble. The elders had drafted new laws according to what Acksel had proposed, starting with laws regarding the choosing of mates, particularly the alpha female.
He felt her before he heard her walking down the hallway. Brynn had been shut up in his bedroom all day. Aside from lunch, he hadn’t heard a peep from her. It was nearing dinner and he’d planned to see if he could coax her out of his room to eat in the kitchen.