Garrett’s cheetah was faster than the other felines so he ran ahead to locate the Roosevelt Elk grazing between two large outcroppings of rock. We let Flynn have a go and then helped him refine his technique after the first one got away. Eventually the cats were all feasting on elk, teasing Flynn by getting close enough for him to bat at them and then running away like sensible felines. A serious swipe of his paw could send you spinning into a tree. Not wanting to feel completely left out, I started a small campfire and roasted a few small pieces of elk so I could enjoy their successful kill right alongside the rest. Garrett curled up next to me and I laid back on his soft spotted fur, relaxing as he purred.
After he'd finished eating and cleaning the blood off of his face with his paws, Flynn stood watching me for a moment, then loped a little closer. I sat up and Garrett's cheetah rose to his feet, growling softly, not sure of what Flynn wanted. Having learned my lesson on numerous occasions I pulled in power and waited. When he was about ten feet away, he crouched and crawled to me, letting all of us know that this was not an aggressive encounter. When he was close enough for me to touch his head, he waited, twitching his tail in what I'd learned was a playful way.
Because a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth was only inches away, I held out my hand with great care. He licked it gently and then put his giant head down on his paws and sighed. I laughed. "You're welcome." I gave his ruff a scratch. "We're glad you're with us."
By the time we got home, we were all exhausted, but also elated because Flynn had finally seemed to accept his new fate. Rob came by the next morning to take Flynn back to his house. He'd be brought before the Shifter Council next week, so Rob needed to prepare him for the meeting.
The few days that followed Flynn’s first hunting excursion passed quickly with all of us taking care of a variety of errands. Sinc and I helped Liam pick out furniture for his new home, Garrett and I had an appointment with my snow leopard OBGYN, Dr. Connors, and I took a secret trip to the art store with Sasha. The vamp villa was going up in record time, because Lord Argon insisted on helping out with a serious dose of fae magic, and so Sasha’s studio was already partly finished. The look on his face when he’d reviewed the plans was priceless and I think he just caught himself before he reached out to kiss my hand in gratitude. Twenty-first century, Sash, c’mon!
The day arrived for the Los Altos Pack trials, so Garrett, Sinc and I traveled the lines to the Greenway Pack Territory. This was the first time I’d been to Aaron’s home and I noticed right away how different it was from the Los Altos property. There, the entire pack lived on the central grounds, taking up about one third of the total property span. Here, 95% of the acreage was natural, unpopulated forest. There were only six buildings on the grounds, all of them modern: Aaron’s home, Franklin’s home, a kind of dormitory for other assorted weres, the doctor’s home with an extension which served as an office and clinic, a school, and a large meeting hall with a huge kitchen attached. The buildings were set in a cluster, three hundred yards back from a main road which got you into the center of the nearest town in fifteen minutes.
“The rest of your pack lives in town?” I asked after he’d pointed out the buildings.
“Yeah, or right outside. I can’t see having them hanging around me all the time. They have jobs and lives of their own to lead. We can connect mentally, so if there’s a problem I usually know before they do. I make sure to keep in touch if I haven't heard from them in a while. It’s kind of a hoot ‘cause they never know when I’m going to show up in the flesh at their front door. Keeps them on their toes." He winked. "Plus they can’t lie to me 'cause I know right away when they try.” I laughed at the mischievous glint in his eye. He cared about his pack as if they were part of his family, something that was missing within the Los Altos pack community.
Aaron had insisted on Sinc using this really cool motorized wheel chair he’d gotten for her, feeling that the walk was too far from building to building. She wasn’t happy about it at first, but the more she used it the more she started having fun with it. She’d be doing wheelies soon. She asked Aaron, "Is Gabe here?"
“You want to see him?” Aaron glanced at Garrett.
“I do.” When I noticed her gaze shifting to me, I shrugged and took Garrett’s hand. Aaron squinted in concentration and Gabriel walked out of the bunkhouse a minute later.
When he saw the three of us standing in front of Aaron's house, he hesitated. There was a change in his expression as he concentrated on a mental message from Aaron and then he walked, limping slightly, the rest of the distance. He faced Garrett and myself first. Bruises were evident around his face and forearms.
“Mr. Cuvier, Mrs. Cuvier. I'm grateful that you agreed to give me this second chance with Aaron's pack." He snuck a quick glance at Sinc. "I’m not without blame in what happened to your team. I’d like to apologize for any part that I played in the attack.”
It sounded like a bunch of memorized bullshit to me, but Garrett was nodding. “Thank you, Gabriel. We...”
I interrupted. “You should suffer the way Sinc has.” Everyone stared at me, but I didn't give a damn. My friend was crippled because of this young wolf and his family.
“Jackie…” Sinc sounded upset but Gabriel and I were looking at each other with complete understanding.
He took a closer look at Sinc’s leg where the foot had been removed just above the ankle and then back at me. “I'd accept that punishment without protest, Mrs. Cuvier.” He was telling the truth, so I nodded and leaned against Garrett. I wasn't about to take him up on his offer, no matter how angry I was.
Gabe crouched down next to Sinc and took her hand, speaking softly. “I can’t make up for what happened to you. I’m sorry. I hope you can forgive me someday. I’m trying to turn my life around.”
Her response was shy and sweet. “I’ve already forgiven you. Kyle and I are working on some ‘bionic woman’ prosthesis prototype. I'm gonna be fine.” The look she gave Aaron was cold. “I’m glad to see he can still walk.” She snapped.
“Franklin’s been holding back, but now that Gabe is getting stronger I’ll give him free rein.”
Gabe met Aaron’s teasing gaze with a smile, but then lowered his eyes. “I’ll train with Franklin to the best of my abilities, alpha.”
“Testifying tonight will be tough for you. Take a break and then join us for dinner at my house at 6:30.”
“Thank you, alpha.” He grinned at Sinc and then turned away to get cleaned up for dinner and the trials.
I looked carefully at Sinc’s face as Gabe walked back toward the large brick bunkhouse. They’d been close as young children and promised to each other as mates. He'd probably been her first lover. It occurred to me that the loss of her parents wasn’t the only pain she’d suffered when she’d been kicked out of the pack.
“When is Kaera arriving?” Aaron asked Garrett.
“Both sisters will be here at 8:00 this evening.
“Did any of you want to see Karl, Quentin, Katrina or Jake before their trials?” His gaze swept the three of us but Garrett and I shook our heads and turned toward Sinc.
“Is my—my mother here?”
“Sharon is staying with Franklin and his mate, Gloria. She’s been excused from any blame in the bombing and the kidnapping and has helped with organizing the placement of the rest of the pack, since she knows all the individual families. We’ve placed five families with Bridgett’s old pack. Their alpha, Fred, visited me yesterday and told me that he would accept new members if they were cleared by the council and they didn’t put a financial drain on his existing pack. They’d have to pledge loyalty to him of course. I’ve set him up as manager for one of my construction firms in the Gasquet area. Apparently he’s been working construction jobs for the last five years, and the club certainly can’t support his entire pack. He’s an interesting young man with a shitload of natural power.
Aaron continued, "You know about his mom being a witch, right? His sorcerer abilities never manife
sted themselves the way Karl's did. I think they're latent. He's been raised by the pack laws, so he's not likely to turn to dark magic. Brownlow wasn't like Quentin. He tried to do right by his pack—until he fell under Kennet's influence.
“And my fa…Jake?” Sinc asked.
“He’s in a holding cell now. He tried to escape, but he hasn’t been hurt.” Sinc nodded and looked toward Franklin’s house. Aaron smiled. “She’s probably looking out the window. She knew you were coming. I’ll take you over.” She nodded, but still looked wary.
Garrett took my hand. “We’ll take a walk, if that’s okay, Aaron. I'll show Jackie the grounds.”
“Sure, knock yourself out.”
He walked beside Sinc in her wheelchair as they headed toward Franklin’s large, but unassuming home. There were gardening tools tucked into an open shed, a hose left unraveled near a flower bed, a kid's plastic pool, and a tricycle in the yard. This was a house where a family laughed and argued and played and loved and lived. This was a home.
When they reached the steps, Aaron lifted her up as if she weighed nothing at all, Sinc managing to grab her cane at the last second. Sharon opened the door and after only an awkward couple of seconds threw her arms around her daughter. I was very happy to see Sinc relax into the hug and not pull away.
Garrett and I walked west toward the school and the meeting hall. Children were playing outside in the school yard, so we paused to watch them swinging on the enormous swing set, some playing volley ball or jumping double-dutch off to the side.
Garrett put his arm around my shoulders and drew me closer, kissing my cheek and whispering, “Today is an anniversary of sorts. I spoke to you for the first time in the Solo Island cabin three months ago today.”
“And you made note of the date?" I laughed.
He tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. "I'd waited a long time to speak to you face to face. You were perfect; an angel glowing in the last of the firelight."
"I'd just gotten out of bed. I was a crazy mess and I was so nervous. You were my first vampire."
"I fell in love with you that night."
I smiled as his warmth washed over me."You have low standards."
"You still don't know the effect you have on me." He kissed the corner of my mouth.
"We've come so far, so fast. Another three months and you’ll be all—been there done that—nothing much left to do. It's kinda boring around here.” I smiled, but part of me wasn't kidding.
He slid his hand to my lower back and then smashed me up against him. Some of the kids looked at us and giggled. “Mon ange, you are as far from boring as it is possible to be. I have many ideas as to how we can spend our years together.” He kissed me sweetly and quickly, not wanting to get too serious in front of such a young audience.
My body still managed to tingle. “I feel like I’ve lived these past months on the spin cycle. As long as it’s you I’m tumbling around with I guess it’s okay.”
“You guess?” He was nuzzling my ear now and there were a few kids up against the fence watching more closely.
“We have an audience and I think they’re a little too young for this kind of an education.”
He smiled at the kids. One brave little boy, probably around seven asked, “You a vampire?”
“Yes.”
"Can I see your fangs?"
"It's probably not a good idea." We crouched down next to the fence and Garrett whispered, "I wouldn't want to scare the others."
The boy nodded sagely. “I thought you smelled different. And you, lady, are you a shifter?”
“Yes, I am. How did you know?”
“I’m a really good smeller. What kind? I can't figure it out."
"I'm a cheetah."
"Wow, that's sooo cool. My teacher says cheetahs are...," he tried to remember the word, ...rare." Lifting his chin with pride, he glanced toward the meeting hall. "Are you here because of the bad wolves? The ones who used blood and blew people up?” His curly blonde hair fell into his eyes so he pushed it back.
“We’re here for the trials, yes.”
“You should never do that, ya know. Never use blood for bad magic or blow people up.” He looked very serious, like he was teaching us a lesson.
Aaron had made his way back to us. “Excellent advice, Joel. How are your classes going?”
“I like all of them except history, alpha. Why do I have to learn about a bunch of American humans who fought a bunch of English humans when I’m gonna be a wolf one day?”
“Because our race of wolves might have been wiped out of existence if those American humans hadn't won their war. And anyway, it wasn’t only humans fighting.”
“Really?”
Aaron put his hand on Garrett's shoulder. “My cousin, Garrett, and I could tell you all about some shifters and some wolves who fought right alongside the humans.”
“Cool.” He ran off to tell the others.
I stood again and turned to Aaron. “He’s a good smeller, huh? I thought I caught a faint whiff of leopard shifter.” I was getting better at sniffing out shifters as children.
“We’ve considered that. He’s extremely bright. We could use a genius on the payroll. Or there’s a team of shifters I know of that might be able to use him somewhere in their organization.”
“Oh I’m sure Jackie will be happy to add Joel to her collection.” I elbowed Garrett in the side and he tried to look contrite, while Aaron laughed.
Dinner was delicious and never-ending. Catherine, looking spectacularly beautiful even in casual clothes, was the perfect hostess. Besides our crew and Gabriel, she’d invited Franklin and his mate Gloria, Sharon, Sinc’s mom and Dr. Kruper, whom I’d never met. He was on the shorter side and slightly chubbier than most wolves, but he put you instantly at ease with his warm laugh and his twinkling eyes. He asked me how I was feeling and wanted to know what it was like to go through a pregnancy that usually took nine months in only two and a half. I explained that since I’d never gone through the usual kind, I had no frame of reference, but it did seem like my belly was growing larger by the hour.
The fae sisters arrived just in time for dessert and even in that they held true to form. Brina ate gooey chocolate cake while Kaera munched on a plain cookie. I opted for the gooey cake myself.
After dinner, we walked to the meeting hall where the trials would be held in a smaller room set up like a courtroom off to the right of the main room. Keara, Brina, Garrett, Sinc, Gabriel and I were all given seats in the first row. The rest of the courtroom was filled up with some of the key members of Aaron’s pack, along with a few of the Los Altos Pack members who were still awaiting their new pack assignments. The other two representatives of the Western Pack Council sat at the central table raised up slightly on a long platform. Aaron sat in the center.
Karl was the first to be tried.
When he entered the room, I could see right away that he’d lost weight. Liam explained to me that when a sorcerer or a witch uses blood with their magic, they become addicted to the power, and so suffer a kind of withdrawal when they no longer have access. Aaron had told us that Karl had refused to eat solid food, only taking a few energy shakes and a minimal amount of water. Besides his two guards, he was accompanied by another wolf, his lawyer. The man carried a briefcase and a sour expression, either because he knew his case was a tough one or because Karl had been giving him a hard time. I’d have put money on the latter.
One of the WPC members read the charges and then asked us to testify as to what we remembered on the day of the bombing. Kaera and I gave as much detail as we could, but it was Sinc’s testimony as to how Gabriel behaved that afternoon that seemed to interest them the most. When Sinc was helped down from the stand, having to use her cane to get back to her seat, the room was respectfully quiet. All of the wolves understanding the significance of a shifter without a foot, especially a species known for its ability to climb.
Gabriel faced his brother and told the court about all the t
imes that he’d suspected Karl of using blood magic. He spoke about the disappearances of other children who'd never come back, and the recent kidnappings as well. He talked about how the pack had prospered financially from the spells that Karl had used and how the alpha, his father, had given up leadership in lieu of his powerful younger son. He’d watched the codes and laws that pack wolves lived by to protect themselves and the supernatural and human community ground into the dirt by a bloodthirsty young man and a greedy pack leader. Finally, he told them about the threat Karl had made on his own mother’s life.
Karl took the stand in his own defense. No one else stepped up to defend him, not even his father who had the right, even though he was in custody.
He was allowed thirty minutes to speak and plead his case. I tapped into the lines to keep an eye on the amount of power he’d pulled up, but it was within normal levels. He started to talk, and what he said surprised us.
“Esteemed council members, I thank you for allowing me to speak before you roast me on the spit later tonight." He looked at his lawyer. "Phil, I'm sure your advice was sound, but I'll never grovel."
His gaze then locked on Gabriel. "Gabe. I’ve wondered why you haven’t seen fit to visit me even though you’re living here on the grounds. I didn’t enjoy listening to you turn traitor to your family to save your own skin. While you sat around mooning over your lost love these past years, our father and I built up our wealth and power. When you eventually took over as alpha, you'd have been respected and feared. Not that you deserved to take over as alpha. You were a great disappointment to Father—and to me. I can't believe I used to look up to you.
His gaze passed over Garrett and moved to Sinc. “Sinclair, I'm sorry to see that you were injured and that you won’t be hunting for a while. However I’m sure you’ll come up with some kind of nifty device with your little gay leopard, which will work, roughly, as well as the real thing.
Blown Away (Rogues Shifter Series Book 4) Page 23