by R. E. Butler
She’d been sitting by the bonfire in front of her family’s tent with her aunt, trying to stay awake until her family returned with the herd. They’d gone foraging in their shifted form. The sun was starting to set, and everyone was supposed to be back before full dark. It was dangerous for reindeer to be in their shift after nightfall. Their vision wasn’t as sharp in the dark as a predator’s and they could easily miss a wolf or mountain lion stalking them. She wasn’t old enough to shift yet, but she looked forward to spending the time with her family out in the woods.
She’d turned to her aunt to ask if she could have another cup of hot chocolate when the unmistakable sound of coyotes howling echoed around them. Her aunt leaped to her feet, her eyes wildly scanning the area as she pulled Dani to her feet and shoved her behind her.
Coyotes stalked through the trees toward them. Her aunt lifted Dani in the air toward a high branch and she grabbed hold of it and pulled herself up just as the coyotes attacked. Her aunt tried to shift to protect herself, but the coyotes chased her into the swiftly falling darkness. She’d tried to block out the sound of her aunt’s screams by covering her ears, but that hadn’t stopped it. She stayed perched on the branch with her arms clinging to the trunk until the sun rose. The coyotes had come back and circled the tree for a while. She’d stared down at them, and knew she was looking at natural coyotes and not shifters. After what felt like ages, a loud howl broke through the air, and they slunk back into the trees. She thought perhaps their leader was calling them home.
She’d waited on the branch until she almost fell off as exhaustion tried to claim her. After climbing down, she’d found the herd’s belongings destroyed by claws and fangs. She thought the coyotes were probably looking for food, but that hadn’t made anything about the situation easier. She took refuge in one of the tents and stayed for a few days, and then she salvaged what she could – some food, clothes, a blanket – and began to walk. As she wandered through the woods, she scented the metallic peppermint of her people’s blood and knew she’d hit the killing ground. Her people had fallen here, including her mother and father. The herd was small, only fourteen, and she was the only child not old enough to shift.
Days later, after the food ran out and she was exhausted and sore from sleeping in trees and worrying about predators, she stumbled right into a group of bears. They were enormous, with big black claws and huge fangs. She’d thought she would die right there, after surviving the killing spree of the coyotes and managing to walk who-knew-how-far on her own. She’d dropped to the ground, too tired to flee or put up a fight. Someone picked her up, and she blinked weary eyes at the man who held her. It was the bear king, who took her to his wife, Glory, who took her to Alice, the woman Dani would come to think of as her mother. Alice had loved her from that moment, even though she’d tried for years to find any link to Dani’s family. Reindeer, however, never used human-run hospitals or doctors, or dealt with the government – there was no record of Dani’s birth or her parents. She was a ghost and an orphan, until Alice adopted her, and Row had promised to be the best big brother to her.
“Are you okay, Dancer?” Tesli asked, putting a gentle hand on Dani’s shoulder.
“You can call me Dani, and yeah. I was just thinking about my herd.” She touched her cheeks and found them wet with tears she hadn’t realized she’d been crying.
Tesli sat down. “Herds are nomadic by nature. I think it’s an instinct thing from our natural ancestors, you know? Like how birds fly south for the winter.”
“We’re technically winter animals,” Liam pointed out.
She snorted. “We’re nomads like our ancestors, but now we drive RVs and caravan like circus people.”
Liam’s brow arched. “Seriously? Did you just compare us to circus people?”
“Or gypsies. Is there such a thing as circus gypsies?” Tesli asked, her voice teasing and her eyes glittering with mischief.
“Good grief,” Dragos said.
“My mate fenced in our yard and said he’d plant willow trees for me. I think you can have safety and freedom at the same time.”
Dragos’s dark brow arched. “I don’t have to remind you that you said you were stolen from your own backyard.” He gestured to his outfit. He looked ready to go to war. “We train from youth to be fighters. Nothing is more precious to us than our herd and our family. I can fight in my shift as well as my human form. Our horns and hooves are deadly.”
“You can’t fight against drug-laced darts or guns,” Dani pointed out.
His lips tightened in a frown, and Dani wondered if she’d crossed a line. He blew out a sharp breath and said, “You’re right. Tesli was stolen from us when she was grocery shopping. Her guard was nearly killed trying to protect her.” He looked over her head out the window, his eyes focusing sharply on the movement of the males outside.
“Why are reindeer nomadic?” She rubbed at her arms to stave off the chill she felt. It wasn’t that it was cold in the office, it was that she found herself feeling like that little girl lost out in the woods again, and she couldn’t shake it. She needed Adam. She wanted him there so she could make sure he was okay, but also so she could stick herself to his side with industrial strength adhesive.
“It’s the way things have always been,” Dragos said.
“Even a devastating change like the death of my herd and my family can bring about something wonderful as time passes. Without being adopted by the bears, I might never have found my truemate. It was painful to lose my family.” She stopped for a long moment, watching the males carry more accelerant, dousing the buildings inside and out. “I wouldn’t wish that pain on my worst enemy. But I love my mate, and I’m blessed to have him in my life.”
Dragos smiled at her when she looked over her shoulder at him. “You’re very sweet.”
“You probably think I’m naïve.”
He shrugged. “You know about love. I know about war. I’ve been fighting my whole life to keep the herd safe. It’s tempting for me to want what you have with your mate – a place to call home that is never changing – but I still fear it’s too dangerous for us.”
“I wonder if there are orphans like me out there in the world, with no way to contact herds for help.”
Liam said, “That’s not a bad idea.”
“What isn’t?” Tesli asked.
“Having a website. I need to think about it a little more, but we should have a way for our people to keep in contact with each other. We have no clue how many reindeer there even are in the States, because none of the herds keep in touch with each other. If we’d been available before, your bear family would have found us and we could have helped.”
“None of us should have to be alone,” Tesli said.
Chapter 11
Adam couldn’t stop his constant, rumbling growling. His wolf was agitated and prowling. He believed that Dani was safe with the reindeer, but he wouldn’t feel remotely at ease until he held her in his arms and was sure that she was okay. His knuckles popped as he clenched his fists together.
“She’s safe. That’s what you need to focus on right now,” Acksel said, turning from the passenger seat of the SUV and looking at Adam.
“I know,” Adam bit out.
Jeremiah, who was sitting next to Adam, put his hand on his shoulder, but said nothing. Adam closed his eyes and ran his thumb along the underside of the engagement ring that was still on his pinky finger. It helped him feel a little connected to her in spite of the circumstances, as if he could touch her through the metal.
“We’re going to make changes to ensure Dani’s safety. We’ll do whatever we need to so you both can rest easy. I’ve already called my partner Lucian, and he’s coming in to help me set up safety protocols for your property,” Malachi said.
Adam didn’t know much about Malachi’s human partner except that he worked for the military. He wasn’t even sure he’d ever seen the male around town. Adam sighed as he thought about security cameras on the fence, and peri
meter alarms, and who knew what else Malachi and Lucian would suggest. He didn’t want Dani to feel like she was living in a prison, constantly monitored and fearful.
“I can see where your train of thought is going and you need to put the brakes on. Dani’s safety is paramount to anything else now.” Acksel said. “Do you think I enjoyed knowing that Brynn was tortured because of me? That I couldn’t keep her safe?”
“Nila was taken right in front of me,” Malachi said.
“Honey and I were both kidnapped and nearly killed,” Jeremiah said.
Acksel shook his head. “I never realized how many of our mates have been hurt because of their association with us.” He blew out a breath. “But the important thing is that Dani’s safe. All our mates are. Wounds heal, memories fade, bad guys get dead. That you can hold Dani in your arms is what you need to focus on.”
“I might kill my father,” Adam said. The words popped out of his mouth before he could censor them.
“We’ll cross that bridge with you when you come to it. You’re not alone here, Adam; the whole pack is behind you. Mates are precious and to be protected at all costs. What your father did is inexcusable.”
Adam turned his attention to the window and watched as the scenery blurred by. Dani had been away from him for hours. His arms actually ached to hold her, to touch her soft skin and look into her beautiful blue eyes. She’d become an integral part of his life so quickly, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to survive if something happened to her.
It felt like an eternity before he finally saw the sign for Little Lambs Petting Zoo in the distance. The entrance had been blocked off by several vehicles, and large males wearing ill-fitting Little Lambs security uniforms stood in front of the vehicles.
Acksel rolled his window down. “We’re here for Dancer.”
One of the males pressed a communication device in his ear and said, “The wolves are here, Sire.” After a brief moment, he gestured to the left and said, “Park there and we’ll escort you inside.”
Adam’s heart was pounding as they pulled into the parking lot and got out, following the males through the gates and into the park. Under any other circumstances, Adam might have been amused by the cheerful decorations, but all he could think about was that his father had engineered all of this to pay a debt.
Earlier, when he’d gotten his grandmother on the phone, he’d been surprised by her response.
“I was expecting to hear from you,” she said.
“You were?”
“Your father came here a few days ago and he was pretty beat up. He wouldn’t tell us who did it, but we can guess.” She sighed deeply, the sound of a mother wondering where she’d gone wrong.
“I believe he had my mate drugged and kidnapped,” Adam said, a vice squeezing his chest as he wondered what Dani was going through. “I need to find him so I can find her.”
“Oh, Adam, I’m so sorry.” She sounded genuinely upset, but Adam couldn’t think past how they’d enabled his dad to be such a mess for such a long time.
There was the sound of the phone being covered, some whispered conversation, and then she said, “I’m texting you the address of our car.”
“What?” He shook his head, wondering if he’d heard wrong.
“A few months ago, your dad gave our car to some lowlife to get out of getting his legs broken for a bad bet. Your grandfather got a locator installed when we got it back after paying off the debt. It disappeared last night. We were hoping he would bring it home today, but so far he hasn’t. It’s in Crowley.” There was a brief pause, and she said, “I know you think that we screwed up with your dad, and you took the brunt of the fallout. I know we failed you as grandparents, but there’s just something about having your only child crying and pleading for his life that we couldn’t ignore.”
Adam’s lip curled, and his wolf rumbled in anger. “If my mate’s hurt…”
“Just don’t leave us in the dark, whatever happens,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion. “I’m sorry for all you suffered, Adam. I hope you get your mate back, and I hope that someday you can forgive us.”
The snow crunched under his boots, bringing him back to the present. It was easy to blame his grandparents for the current situation, for his shitty childhood and the bad luck of the draw he’d gotten in his dad, but the truth was that he’d failed Dani. It was all on him that someone had drugged her in their own damn backyard and he didn’t know if he’d ever get over the sight of her falling to the ground, helpless.
A door creaked, and Adam saw Dani as she raced toward him, calling his name.
* * * * *
Dani thought Adam would never arrive. Time seemed to slow to a snail’s pace as she stared through the window toward the gate. After the reindeer were finished dousing every building with accelerant, they changed into security uniforms they’d found and stood at the barred front gates to deter anyone who happened by.
She saw the gate open and the uniformed guards walk through with a small group, and she knew it was Adam and the pack. Without a word, she opened the door and rushed outside. The scent of gasoline hit her full force; the air was saturated with it. Her eyes watered, but she ignored the sting and screamed Adam’s name.
He broke through the group of wolves and raced to her. They met, arms immediately wrapping around each other and lips pressing together. She couldn’t stop the tears that fell from her closed eyes as Adam held her tight, a growl rumbling in his chest.
He cupped her cheek, his eyes the bright amber of his beast. “Are you hurt?”
She swallowed the lump in her throat and blinked at the tears that obscured her vision. “No. Are you?”
“Don’t worry about me.”
“Can’t help it.”
He pressed his forehead to hers. “It was my dad. He gave you up to get out of a debt.”
“I know. He’s here, in the barn.” She burrowed against him, opening his coat and sliding her arms around him.
He went very still, and she lifted her head and peered at him. His face was stony, but his eyes were blazing the amber of his wolf. “Is he alive?”
“No.”
His arms tightened around her and his expression darkened. “We were on the way here when you called. My grandparents had put a tracker on their car, and my dad took it.”
Releasing his hold on her with one arm, he traced her jaw with trembling fingers. “I was scared out of my mind, sweetheart.”
That made the tears spring back. “Me too.”
He kissed the tears from her cheeks and hugged her close. She could have stood there forever, but she knew they needed to leave.
A throat cleared and she lifted her head. “You must be Adam,” Liam said.
“You helped my mate?” Adam’s arms tightened around her a fraction.
“We were looking for our sister Tesli, and found her with Dani.”
“Where are the people who were running this place?”
Liam’s eyes narrowed slightly, but then he nodded. “They’re in the main barn. We waited until you arrived, but we’re planning to torch this place. Before we killed him, one of the humans who was instrumental in both Tesli’s and Dani’s abductions told us that this place is no longer in use, and their gang took it over as a way-station for abducted shifters.”
Adam frowned. “Why were they abducting shifters?”
“From what we were told, it was a new venture. They were looking for rare shifters to sell at an underground auction. Whether they would have become brides or sex slaves or who the hell knows what else isn’t certain, but we were very close to losing Tesli forever.”
She pushed against Adam’s weight when he moved to release her. “What are you doing?”
“I need to see my dad.”
“He’s not alive,” she reminded him in a low voice.
He stared at her for a long moment and said, “I still need to see.”
She rose onto her toes and kissed him, his fangs pressing against her lips as he g
rowled, his chest heaving with emotion. “Go see. I’ll stay with the pack.”
“Jeremiah!” Adam barked. His friend joined them, and Adam said, “Keep her safe.”
With a final glance at Dani, Adam followed Liam toward the barn where she’d been kept captive. Acksel joined them, and Malachi came over to stand with her and Jeremiah while the two uniformed guards went back outside the gate.
“It hasn’t even been twelve hours,” she said.
“Feels like an eternity, doesn’t it?” Jeremiah asked. “When Honey and I were kidnapped, time felt like it slowed to a crawl. It felt like days, but it had only been hours.”
“Dani?” Tesli called from behind her.
“Come and meet my pack,” Dani said, holding a hand out to the young woman. After being introduced to Malachi and Jeremiah, Tesli handed a piece of paper to Dani.
“I wrote my information down for you. Liam and Dragos are talking about starting up a website for our people to communicate through, but in the meantime, I don’t want to lose touch with you. I like what I heard about pack life.”
Malachi’s brow arched, but he said nothing.
Tesli laughed. “I don’t mean joining the pack, I mean that I like the idea of being in one place and taking care of each other. Being on the road all the time is a hard way to live, and no way to raise a family.”
“I’d like to stay in touch,” Dani said.
“Good. I know we can’t replace the family you lost, but I think you can never have too many friends, especially if they know where to get reindeer moss wholesale.” Tesli’s brows wiggled and Dani laughed.
“Do I even want to know what that is?” Malachi asked.
“A reindeer delicacy,” Tesli answered with a wink.
* * * * *
Adam’s head pounded from the scent of accelerant. It was everywhere – puddled on the wooden floor of the barn and dripping from the rafters. Underneath that smell was the metallic tang of blood and the sickly sweet scent of death. He hadn’t wanted to leave Dani’s side, but he trusted Jeremiah to keep her safe, and he absolutely didn’t want her to suffer any further by being back in the barn where she’d been a prisoner.