by Skye Jones
I wasn’t in love with him. Not in such a short space of time, but I honestly believed I might be beginning to fall for him. In a big way. Once this week away from reality ended, I’d be pretty bereft. And my home had felt lonely for the longest time, so it would only feel worse with the happiness of these few days to compare it to. I didn’t see how I could go and stay with him. Not really. I didn’t doubt Adam, but I’d be amongst a group…a pack of supernatural beings. What if someone took a dislike to me or wanted a human snack? Did werewolves eat people?
I spent the rest of the shower internally at war with myself. My sadness at the idea of saying good-bye battled with my fear at going with Adam and walking into what may be a very dangerous situation.
Chapter Seven
Adam stirred and blinked open his eyes. He knew before his brain came online properly that Pam slept with him. Breathing deeply beside him. Her scent wrapped around him, soothing him. He frowned.
He hadn’t fully bonded with Pam yet, certainly hadn’t mated with her, and already she soothed him. He’d read that empathines soothed all wolfen, not only their mate. He’d also witnessed it firsthand. Brooke could calm an argument between their young males easily with a few low-spoken words. She could get two females who weren’t speaking to talk again and solve their differences. But he wondered now if she soothed Drew any more than Pam calmed him? He doubted it. Which meant, if Pam left, he’d find it hard to deal with. Empathine or no.
He swallowed and winced at his dry throat. A glance at the bedside table told him he didn’t have water there. Taking care to be quiet, he got up and pulled on the sweat pants by the bed, then snuck out into the hallway. After a long drink of water, he filled the kettle, deciding to take Pam a cup of coffee in bed.
His phone beeped and whirred on the side. He picked it up and sighed at the text from Jake. He’d have loved to hear from back home at the start of his time away, but now he wanted to stay in a cocoon with Pam a little while longer.
Dad, have sent you an email. Check your mail.
His heart skipped a beat; no way would either of his sons email him unless urgent. Not when they’d been the ones to send him away for a break. He hoped to the gods no trouble had found the pack.
Coffee put on the back burner, he opened his email app and clicked on Jake’s message.
Hey Dad, don’t worry, but a few things have come up. The Seer came to visit yesterday. She spent time with Laura and has taken the ring Laura possessed. The one we think belonged to an empathine.
Adam took a deep breath in and ran a hand through his hair. This meant their pack would now be under scrutiny of the Seer and her Warriors. He’d been expecting her to visit, but he hated it had occurred while he was away. She’d taken the ring the rogues had given Laura, Boyd’s mate, when they’d kidnapped her. He went back to reading.
She wants to use the ring to find out more information about the empathine and then plans to ask some of the Warriors to find her and bring her to our pack. See if she wants to work with us or live with us. Truth be told, we think she wants the empathine for you, Dad. Maybe if you and she hit it off… Well, enough said…
Adam sighed at the string of stupid emojis following the dots. Yeah, wouldn’t be happening. He didn’t want some empathine when he had Pam. The thought brought him up short. Holy fuck, was he already so far bonded with her that he’d turn down the chance of being with an empathine? Yes, he didn’t want anyone but Pam. He didn’t want to let her go. He loved her innocence. Not that she was stupid or naïve, but she still experienced a wonder at the world he’d lost long ago. He also loved how she trusted him and let her barriers down for him, despite finding it hard to do so.
Then he’d found out she shared the same desires as he did. He’d always fantasized about dominating a woman in bed. Nothing major, and not something he needed. But it had been a long-term itch, and now Pam wanted the same thing. They liked the same books. They liked the same kind of sex. They laughed together. Fuck. He’d have to call the Seer himself, tell her she could bring the empathine, but not for him.
There’s something else. Something big. It’s caused a bit of a ruckus in the pack, but the Seer calmed things down. It seems the number of empathines and human females our small pack has been running into recently isn’t a coincidence. The Seer has picked up some magic, strong magic. It seems someone may have been giving our human women a push in our direction.
What the fuck? Adam reared back as shock hit him. An icy slap to the face, it made him face up to something unpleasant. His son’s relationships may not be real. Neither might his developing feelings for Pam. Nausea swirled in his gut. Holy hell, this would cause some shit. It seemed he’d be heading out of one storm right into the heart of another, and this one would be central to his pack.
With a heavy heart, he continued to read.
Cait freaked the fuck out, Dad. Thought what we had might not be real, but I know it is. Told her so, tried to reassure her. Brooke and Izzy panicked too. Louis and Drew are with me all the way. We are certain our bond is real. The Seer confirmed it, thank the gods. She spoke to our females and tried to calm them down. Her vision shows the witches are giving the women a push in our direction. They are only placing compatible females in our path. They do nothing else. So if it isn’t going to work out, it won’t. Boyd and Laura are different. No magic there, from what the Seer can tell, only the link to Cait and me.
So, as well as the Warriors heading our way at some point, maybe with a new empathine, the Seer is sending some of the mage Warriors to go and see what the hell these witches are up to. She senses only good intentions in their magic, and she assures us the feelings we all have for one another are real. Still, it’s been a shock all round. Why our pack? Drew and I think it ties in to the increased activity from the rogues. Maybe they think we needed to rebuild our numbers? I don’t know.
Hate to do this to you, Dad, but we think you ought to come home. Despite the Seer’s reassurances, the pack is het up and stressed out, and they need their leader. Hate to tell you in an email, too, but we tried to call and no reply.
Hope you’re okay. Speak soon.
Jake
This information meant Pam needed to return to the pack with him. If she’d been somehow picked by the witches, on their radar for some reason, then the rogues and Kikan Myre might have her in their sights. Add in the vamp sighting as a kid and the witch on her street, and no going home for her. Not yet.
With brisk, no-nonsense movements, he made two coffees and took the steaming mugs through to the bedroom. It was time to take his female home and hope she’d decide to stay with him. Hopefully, if they worked well together, she’d want to stay forever.
****
I stirred and stretched. Normally, I awoke with a jerk and a pounding heart, but not this morning. A gorgeous, deep aroma filled my nose, and I blinked my eyes to see a steaming mug beside me on the bedside table.
“Made you a coffee,” Adam said, and I looked up to see him standing by the bed, sipping from his own cup.
“Thank you.” As I sat up, I noticed the soreness between my legs. Not exactly unpleasant, it reminded me of what we’d done the night before, and I blushed. “What’s the weather like now?”
“Blustery, but a whole lot better. I need to check if there’s any flooding still. I need to go home.”
“Oh?” I hated the way the word came out loaded with disappointment. My heart sank at the idea of Adam leaving so soon. I’d hoped we’d have more time together. Did his invite to go see him still stand? Maybe in a few weeks, I’d go and visit his pack. If I dared, which I still hadn’t quite made my mind up on.
“I need you to come with me.”
I’d taken a sip of coffee and spluttered as some went down the wrong way. “Beg your pardon?”
“You need to come with me. Something has happened. Events are moving fast. I fear you’ll be in danger if you go home alone.”
I nibbled at my lip and tried to process his words.
“I understand, but you’ll be safe with us.”
“No, I mean…” Oh, crap. How did I explain this without offending him and his kind? “I’m scared of your pack. What if they hate me? I mean, they might…they might hurt me.”
He blew out a sharp huff of breath. “Firstly, we don’t behave in such a way. It was part of our promise when we made peace with you humans many years ago. Secondly, I’m their leader and have been for a very long time. They won’t go against me. Some young, rogue males out in the forest may present a threat to you, but you’re safe within pack boundaries. And the biggest threat comes from what’s possibly going on. Stuff I frankly don’t understand yet.”
I found myself stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Now that I knew the vamp I’d seen all those years ago existed outside my imagination, going home alone terrified me, but so did the idea of going with Adam. I ruffled my hair as I pondered it.
“I swear to you, Pamela, I will protect you.”
Adam’s words were heavy with serious intent.
“Okay. I’ll come with you, but do you personally promise me that if I feel uncomfortable, you’ll take me straight home?” I had nothing left but my instincts. My whole world had been turned upside down by all I’d learned. My mind didn’t seem able to make sense of it all, so I relied on my gut instead. My gut wanted Adam by my side. At least for the time being. Long term, who knew? I still needed to come to grips with the frankly terrifying creatures living amongst us.
“I promise, if you want to leave, you are free to go. Although, I’ll worry for your safety, but you’re not my prisoner.”
I nodded and took in a deep, bracing breath. “I’ll go back to my cottage and get packed. How long does it take to get to your…erm, your home?”
He smiled. “My village is quite a drive as we are off-road for much of it. We’re somewhat isolated. We like it so, as I’m sure you can imagine, now you understood what we are.”
Yep! I doubted wolf shifters wanted to be living in and amongst humans.
“Do you raise all your own food and live completely off-grid?”
He nodded. “We live off-grid. But we don’t raise and grow all our food. We do make the odd trip to the nearest supermarket.”
I nearly choked on my coffee again, imagining a bunch of wolf shifters meandering around the local store.
“I’ve put some clean towels in the bathroom. I’ll let you get yourself ready. We need to leave as soon as possible, if it’s okay with you?” Adam brushed a kiss over the top of my head in a familiar and reassuring gesture.
I nodded and picked up my mug again, taking in more lovely coffee.
Adam headed out of the room, and I finished my drink and used the bathroom. Pulling on yesterday’s clothes, I headed into the kitchen where Adam sat feeding Humphry some cooked chicken.
“Oh, thanks for feeding him!”
“It’s fine. I wasn’t sure what you give him, but most dogs are fine with chicken.”
“Can I leave him here with you while I go and pack up?”
“Of course. I’ll sort my stuff out, too, then we can get going.”
I opened the door and gasped as cold wind hit me. I loved Scotland, but the weather sucked much of the time. “Oh, how I’d love to spend a few weeks somewhere warm and tropical,” I muttered under my breath.
“Really? Like where?” Adam surprised me as I didn’t think he’d be able to hear my words.
“Erm, I’ve always wanted to go back to Florida. We went to the theme parks and stuff a good few years ago, but we briefly visited some of Sarasota and the areas around the Gulf Coast and it was lovely. I’d really like to go back there and spend time exploring the white beaches and the small islands. One day, maybe.” I smiled at Adam and prepared myself to go out into the freezing wind.
Once outside, I jogged the distance between our two cottages and fumbled with my keys in my keenness to get inside my own rental home and out of the cold.
When I was indoors, I wasted no time. I headed straight for my bedroom and began to pack. I didn’t dare stop to think, because if I did, I’d probably back out of the whole thing. So I moved at breakneck speed, keeping moving all the time in order to stop any serious contemplation.
In record time, I’d packed all my stuff and Humphry’s few bits and given the place a quick clean.
I left a note thanking the owner and dragged my case and bag outside. I locked the door and put the key back in the outside lock box, turning the combo to some random numbers and locking the key inside. Then I hauled my case across the sandy dunes, which turned out to be incredibly hard. By the time I reached Adam’s cottage, my breath came in big pants.
“Hey.” I flung open his door and stumbled into the warm house.
“Hey.” He looked at me dragging my case and frowned. “You should have called me when you were done. I’d have brought this over for you. Here.” He came to me and took it from me. “I’ll load this into the car. I’m ready. Once I’ve loaded up, we can take Humphry for a quick walk and then get going.”
“Shall I follow you in my car?”
He frowned and then shook his head. “Shit. Didn’t think about that. No, yours won’t make it over our terrain. I’ll get a couple of males from the pack to drive back here and take it back to your home if you’ll let me have your address.”
I nodded and swallowed down my nerves at how deep into this I seemed to be falling.
True to his word, Adam loaded up our belongings and then we took Humphry for a brief walk amongst the dunes. And then we were off. Humphry sat perched on his basket in the back of Adam’s car like some sort of canine prince. I sat up front with Adam, nervous as hell as we drove in increasing silence. The more the journey progressed, the more I sensed an air of heaviness settle over Adam. I began to convince myself he regretted asking me along. Eventually, it became too much for me.
“You don’t have to bring me with you if you don’t wish,” I blurted out.
“What?” Adam turned to me, taking his eyes off the road for a brief moment. “No. I have no regrets in asking you to come with me.”
“Then why the silence and the brooding?”
“Brooding?” His eyes crinkled as he smiled briefly.
“Yes. You are definitely brooding.”
Adam sighed. “I guess I am. It’s a long story, but basically, I think I need to make some changes back home, and it’s weighing heavily on my mind. I think my sons need to be in charge going forward. There will be a transition period. I can’t simply walk away and leave them to run the pack. And I won’t leave the pack, as such. But what you said about wanting to travel… It touched a nerve.
“I’ve never really wanted to do anything like that. We live in packs because we are social animals, more so than humans. But recently, I’ve felt…suffocated almost by my position in the pack. A while ago, I made a decision regarding Louis and his mate that haunts me to this day. It all worked out for the best, but I realized then I’d had enough. I’ve been doing this forever, it feels like. And the idea of going off and exploring, particularly if it were with you, I liked it more than I’d have ever guessed.”
I heated with pleasure at his words. Traveling with Adam sounded like a pretty cool plan, if we managed to make a go of things and create a real relationship from this strange and intense beginning.
“I suppose…” Adam’s words cut into my musings. “I suppose I’m brooding because I am working out how to tell my sons and my pack that I’m planning on stepping down as their alpha.”
“Alpha?”
He nodded. “It’s what our leaders generally are. Alpha wolves, male or female. Although, not always. And alpha doesn’t mean the biggest and toughest or any of the other stuff that humans always take the word to mean. Alpha wolves are often tough and strong, but pack enforcers are rarely alpha, and they are the strongest amongst us. And if an alpha runs a pack badly, they can be replaced by the enforcer’s choice of a new le
ader.”
I shuddered at the idea of such a primitive and violent way of organizing a society. “But your enforcers are loyal, right?”
He laughed and glanced my way. “Yes, my little worrier. My enforcers are incredibly loyal. To me and to my sons. I’m a powerful alpha. I come from a long line of leaders, and I have run my pack very effectively for decades and decades.”
“Well, at least two decades.” I laughed and looked out of the window.
“No. Many decades.”
As Adam’s words sank in, I slowly turned away from the gorgeous view speeding by and looked at him. “But…you’re forty-something, right?”
Maybe in his fifties at a push, but looking incredibly good for his age if so.
“Nope. I’m hundreds of years old.”
I gasped and swore in shock. “No fucking way.”
“Yes, fucking way. I love it when you swear. You don’t do it often. It’s cute.”
“You can’t be hundreds of years old. It’s not possible.”
“It is, and I am. Did you imagine it possible for a man to change into a wolf before you saw it happen?”
He had me there. I’d ended up with a man who was hundreds of years old. So…he must age super slowly. Which meant if I ended up in a relationship with him, I’d wither away into old age while he remained young and virile.
What a horrible future. I began to feel the old stirrings of panic. “Stop the car. Turn it around, I mean. Take me back.”
“What?” Adam did as I asked, though, and pulled the car onto the side of the road, leaving the engine idling. “What the hell’s wrong?”
“You’re not going to age like me. If we do this, if we have a relationship, which is a big if—”
“Not really a big if,” he added.