by T. S. Joyce
This was her favorite time of day. Evenings in the mountains were gorgeous, but that wasn’t all of the magic here. She would get to spend the rest of the evening with her mate, riding in his truck, eating dinner—sometimes just them, sometimes with the Bloodrunners—and they would hold each other and love each other until she fell asleep in 1010. Not tonight, though. Tonight she was going to let Weston read all the letters she’d never sent him. She was ready. She was strong enough to sit beside him and answer his questions about the dark parts of Raven’s Hollow. And then she would ask him again to sleep beside her the whole night because she was strong enough to shoulder his burdens along with her own.
When the roar of ATV engines brushed her ears, Avery grinned, rushing to the front door to greet the tour.
Ryder held back to gas up the quads for the busy day tomorrow, while Weston strode toward her with the large family they’d taken out. His gaze collided with hers the second she opened the door, and his smile was breathtaking. God, she loved him.
The tour filed past her, murmuring their greetings, and Weston did what he did every time he returned from a tour. He leaned down and kissed the claiming mark he’d given her, brushed the pad of his finger over it gently, then kissed her lips. “Hey, little phoenix.”
And then he squeezed her ass hard. With a laugh for her shocked expression, he followed the others in. The butt-grab was new.
The next twenty minutes was a rush of getting surveys filled out, answering a late call to book a tour for next week, and getting all the returned helmets in order on the shelves in the gear room. Out in the shop, Weston rang up the souvenirs the family wanted. She loved the routine around here. She and Weston and Ryder had grown so comfortable with each other they were running Big Flight like a well-oiled machine already.
She said her goodbyes to the last tour, her hands on her back as they exited the shop. “So I’ve been thinking,” she said to Weston, who was closing down the cash register.
“Uh oh.”
Ignoring him, she said, “I think instead of doing the safety lesson each time, we should do a video, and set up a little screening room out back where the clients can watch it. Then it cuts out the smart alecks who want to joke through the lessons, and it saves you and Ryder’s voices. And you’ll have more time to prepare in between those back-to-back tours while the clients are watching the safety video. We could even make it funny if you want.”
Weston snorted. “Ryder would love that.” He closed the cash register and took the credit card receipts and cash to the office. “I think that’s a good idea. I’m tired of saying the same thing over and over.”
Avery fist pumped and gave a manly grunt, then called, “Can I shoot it? I watched videos on how to make videos.”
Weston laughed from the other room and said, “Sure.”
Ryder shoved open the door and sighed the word, “Margarita.”
She knew the drill, though, so she pointed to the counter where the frosty can of his favorite libation was waiting with a swirly straw already. “Guess what?”
“You got your period.”
“No! Well…yes, but that’s not what I’m talking about.”
Ryder slurped his drink. “You got invited to be one of Alana’s bridesmaids.”
“Nope.” Avery drew back. “Wait, is that going to happen?” Damn the excitement in her voice, and damn the smirk on Ryder’s face when he zipped his lips and pretended to throw away the key. Narrowing her eyes at him, she said, “Weston said yes to the video.”
“Oh, hell yeah,” Ryder crowed, giving her a high five that made her whole hand sting. She was still new at those. Ryder drank down the rest of the margarita and raised his hand like a schoolboy. “I already wrote the script. I call lead role!”
“You can have all the roles,” Weston muttered as he strode in from the office. “I don’t want to be in it. You ready to go home?” he asked Avery.
“To fuuuuuuck,” Ryder sang, using the tiny blue can as a microphone and pelvic thrusting. “Y’all are loud.”
“We’re loud?” Weston asked. “I literally heard you and Lexi role-playing a saloon girl and an outlaw last night. Every word, Ryder. I’m traumatized.”
“We had to hone our acting skills.”
“Did you have to yell every word in the front yard? I can’t get you saying, ‘Lemme stick my six-shooter in your cooter’ out of my brain. It’s on this puke-inducing endless loop.”
Ryder cocked his head like a proud rooster. “You’re welcome.”
Avery snickered as she made her way behind the counter to grab her purse.
She liked that the boys didn’t tame down their discussions around her. It showed they were comfortable with her. That she was accepted around here. Plus, she had broadened the colorful nature of her vocabulary greatly since she’d started working, and she didn’t know why that made her feel lucky, but it did.
For a moment, a shadow shielded the light from the front window.
Crap, a late tour?
But when she got a glimpse of the visitor through the other window on the porch, Avery froze in fear. It couldn’t be him. Not now, and not here.
Two more figures walked in front of the window, blocking out the pretty evening sunlight. Avery stumbled backward, then inched her way toward the corner, as far away from the door as she could get.
Maybe she’d imagined them.
“What’s wrong?” Weston asked, his eyes intensely trained on her. He was too close to the door. Too close to them.
The door swung wide and in stepped a man she’d never planned on seeing again.
Benjamin.
His eyes weren’t the blue they usually were, but instead were pitch black, matching his dark crop of hair.
Behind him was the head council member, Caden. Her own personal demon. His thick gray hair was disheveled on top of his head, and he looked different. He’d always been able to terrify her with a look, but today his cheeks were red, and his dark eyes sparked with a fury she didn’t understand. He was breathing too hard as he stared down Weston. Maybe he was sick. She couldn’t muster a single ounce of concern for his well-being though. He’d never cared about hers. Behind Caden, her father pulled up the rear and closed the door with a quiet, echoing click behind him.
“W-what are you doing here?” Avery stammered.
“We’re here to bring you back home,” Benjamin answered in a cold voice.
“She is home,” Weston murmured. “Who are you?”
Benjamin smiled. She’d always hated the way his face looked when he did that. He always wore an empty expression that didn’t reach his eyes and looked more like a snarl. His smiles were pretend.
“I’m Avery’s fiancé. Who are you?”
Weston went rigid, his back muscles freezing against his damp T-shirt. She couldn’t see his face, but from the scent of fury wafting from him, it probably looked terrifying. Avery cowered, wishing she could melt into the wall completely. She knew these men well. Caden had always been the one to put her in The Box. He didn’t mind breaking people. His eyes were empty, too, just like his soul, and now Dad wouldn’t look her in the face. He was here to ruin her life. He should be ashamed.
Weston crossed his arms and canted his head. In a bland voice, he said, “I think you probably know who I am. She ain’t leavin’ with you unless she wants to. Avery?” He looked at her over his shoulder and, oh, his eyes roiled with fury.
“I don’t want to leave here.” She forced trembling words past her lips. “Remember that boy I told you about? The boy who wouldn’t quit bullying me? The boy I beat up?” She dared a look at Benjamin. “That’s him.”
“Dude, you got your ass kicked by a girl?” Ryder asked. He laughed hard and too loud, but Avery didn’t miss it. He was inching his way behind the counter, closer to her.
“The lady made her choice,” Weston gritted out. “Kindly get the fuck off my property.”
Ryder pulled a long, serrated machete from below the cash register and slamm
ed it onto the counter top. With a psychotic grin, he said, “Please?”
Caden stepped forward and spoke up. “Avery was taken from our care at Raven’s Hollow without permission, and the engagement between her and Benjamin was already in negotiations.” His leathery gray lips rimmed with white spittle as he talked.
“I didn’t sign any contract, and I’m not marrying—”
“Don’t speak!” Caden yelled, his dark eyes round and furious.
Weston was on him in an instant. There was a blur, and then Caden was up against the wall, his feet kicking three feet off the ground. “I fuckin’ dare you to speak to her like that again.”
The other ravens surged toward Weston, but Ryder leapt gracefully over the counter with the machete in hand and put himself between them.
Caden wasn’t protecting his neck from the stranglehold. He was hitting Weston in the face and shoulders with his closed fist, and his eyes were full of a hatred Avery didn’t understand. He was turning blue, but still, he gave up his throat to try and hurt Weston.
Weston didn’t seem affected by the punches. He barely even reacted to them, like they didn’t hurt at all. Instead, he slammed Caden against the wall twice, hard enough that his head made sickly thuds against the logs, then he threw him in a crumpled heap and turned to the others.
“She isn’t going with you assholes. I know what you’ve done to her. I’ve seen it! You’ll have to pry her from my cold, lifeless talons.”
“Look at her. She’s terrified!” Caden choked out from the floor, his eyes flashing with rage that didn’t match the concern in his words.
“Dumbass, she’s scared of you,” Ryder muttered, looking like he wanted to kick the shit out of Caden’s ribs.
“Are you engaged to her?” Dad blurted out, eyes averted. He was holding a cell phone. He’d never cared about cell phones before. What the hell was happening?
Weston hesitated. He cast a quick glance to Avery, but she still couldn’t move. Terror had seized every muscle in her body.
“Are you engaged?” Dad yelled, enunciating each word.
“No.” Weston blinked slowly and stood to his full height, looked down on the others like they were nothing. “But she’s mine. I’m not letting her go. Come here again, and I’ll rip your intestines through your mouths and watch you choke on your own entrails. I know about The Box, you sadistic fucks. If I see you in these mountains again, if I even feel like you’re thinking about coming back for her, I’ll burn your entire fucking flock to the ground.” He licked his swollen, split lip and looked like he wanted to spit. “Get out.”
Ryder was grinning and bouncing on the balls of his feet as though this was the best day ever. “Yeah, what he said, mother fuckers. Get out!”
“Come on, honey,” Dad said, waving Avery to him. “You don’t have to stay here with this bad man.”
Avery stood there panting, frozen against the corner, wishing she was braver. Wishing she understood what was happening. What the hell was he talking about? He didn’t care about her. He didn’t care about anyone but himself, his precious rank, and a seat on the council. “You’re the bad man.” Avery forced herself out of the corner and scuffled her lead shoes across the wood floors until she reached Weston. She stopped beside him, absorbed the ready rage that was pressing from Weston against her body, and used it to fuel herself. He was as much a beast as a raven shifter could be—a true War Bird—and that made her braver. Weston would keep her safe. Safe, safe, safe. She was safe under his care. The council had no power here.
“I was never yours, Benjamin.” She dared a look up at him. “I am my own.”
Benjamin huffed a breath and shook his head. His eyes as cold as a snake’s, he said, “This isn’t over.”
Ryder was picking at his teeth with the pointed blade of the machete and made a loud sucking sound. “It should probably be over if A, you don’t want Weston serial-killing all you assholes, and two, our alpha charring your corpses like little crispy chickens and getting her eat on. Our monsters are better than yours.” He arched his red eyebrows up. “Bye.”
Weston and Ryder didn’t say a word as the raven shifters filed out of the shop with Caden leaning heavily on Dad.
They followed them out and watched them leave in a gunmetal gray Jeep Patriot. And when the sound of their engine disappeared completely, Avery whispered, “I’m so sorry.”
“Ave, please tell me you aren’t really engaged,” Weston growled out.
“No! Well…kind of.”
Weston ripped his hat off and threw it into the yard, strode away from her down the porch and returned looking frightful. “What do you mean you’re kind of engaged?” His voice was dark and intimidating.
“What happened was…I told the council I was engaged to you, and they allowed me to live here to obey our customs of courtship.”
Weston shook his head in shock and blinked hard. “What?”
“So, you and I are kind of technically engaged. Or we were, before you told them we weren’t.”
Weston stared off in the direction the Patriot had disappeared. “Ave, that makes no sense. They seemed to think you were still with Benjamin. They sure as shit didn’t seem to think we’re living our happily ever after!”
“I don’t understand what they were talking about. I swear I’m telling you the truth. My Dad telling me I didn’t have to stay with you—”
“That was your dad?”
“Yes. He was acting all concerned for me, but that’s not the relationship we have, Weston. It’s not! I left in the middle of the night from Raven’s Hollow, sure. But my mom encouraged me to elope with you.”
“But I didn’t even know you were here for me. We aren’t even engaged!”
“Yeah, but the council didn’t have to know that. I was just going to live here near you, near the Bloodrunners, and pretend I was under your protection so I didn’t have to marry Benjamin or anyone else. Benjamin is scary. He’s powerful in the community, the future head of the council, and he would give my family the rank they want. But he’s the boy who was awful to me. He’s always hated me, and now he wants to marry me? No. He wants to have control over me. I couldn’t do it, Weston. The day after I left, my mom gave the council a letter I’d written, telling them I couldn’t marry Benjamin because I was being courted by you. It was a desperate move, but I didn’t see any other way they wouldn’t come for me. I called her when I had been here a couple days, and she told me the council approved a courtship with you. And of course, they did. I should’ve wondered why they let me go so easily, but I was just so happy to be out of there, I didn’t ask questions. But you’re the Novak Raven! Why wouldn’t they be happy that I was being courted by you? That was the game plan since birth, right?” She held her hands out helplessly. She hated the disappointment on Weston’s face. “I don’t know why they were here acting surprised and concerned. They aren’t like that. None of them are.”
“Benjamin said this isn’t over,” Weston murmured, a deep frown marring his striking face. “You can’t go back there. What can I do to stop them from coming?”
Marry me. She wouldn’t force him into that, though. If he’d told Dad that yes, they were engaged, this would be done. But that wasn’t fair on Weston. He’d only just begun trusting her again.
Weston was staring at her, waiting for an answer, so she gave him what she could. “Until I’m married, I’m up for grabs. Claiming marks don’t count in Raven’s Hollow. I’m of breeding age and apparently Benjamin is determined.”
Standing here, looking into Weston’s eyes, the ones that had grown dark with his anger and disappointed at the turn of events, she hated the ravens for tainting her home here.
“What do we do?” Ryder asked grimly.
Weston didn’t take his angry gaze from Avery, but he answered his best friend without a moment of hesitation. “We call a crew meeting. Avery’s one of us now. If the ravens pose a threat to her, they pose a threat to the Bloodrunners.”
Chapter Twenty
“If the ravens are coming, I can’t protect her,” Harper said.
Anger blasted through Weston’s veins. His alpha was sitting on the tailgate of her truck beside Wyatt, who looked sick.
“It’s okay,” Avery whispered. “I’m not one of you.”
“Stop,” Weston gritted out. He swung his pissed-off glare to Harper. “What the fuck, H? You’ll throw down for anyone here, but when it comes to the mate I choose—”
“Don’t finish that sentence, Wes,” Harper gritted out, her blue dragon eye flashing brighter. “I love you like my own brother. I love all of you. Avery is one of us, sure enough. I knew it from the first time I saw you two together, but I can’t physically protect us if the shit hits the fan right now.”
“Why not?” Weston yelled.
“Because I can’t shift! I don’t have a dragon for you. I don’t have fire. I don’t have the fucking ability to shield you right now.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because I’m pregnant!”
Weston felt socked in the gut. All of his air whooshed out of his lungs and wouldn’t return.
“Harper, you’re pregnant?” Alana sounded like she was crying.
Lexi reached her first, though, hugged her up. Alana followed, and slowly, submissively, Avery padded to the tailgate and slipped under Harper’s outstretched arm.
The girls were new to the crew and didn’t understand though. Harper could die from this. Female dragons weren’t like bear shifters or flight shifters. Harper was going to have to force herself not to Change for the next nine months until she grew weaker and sicker and likely died in childbirth.
“What the fuck man?” Weston asked Wyatt.
Wyatt gritted his teeth so hard the muscles in his jaw jumped. “You don’t understand.”
“I do! I understand this could kill her. Kill her, Wyatt!” Weston squatted down and clutched the back of his hair, so pissed he didn’t know what to do. He stood and jammed a finger at Wyatt. “You were supposed to protect her!”