He bit. Not hard enough to really hurt, but it sent her over the top and she screamed as an orgasm ripped through her. Her scream joined his shout and they collapsed together.
Marshall gathered her to him and whispered words of love and encouragement into her hair. He held her until her breathing returned to normal.
“Will it be like that?” she asked when her voice was working again.
“No. It’ll be much more than that. I’ll have to break the skin, Lizzie. It’s the only way for you to become a full member of the pack.” Marshall was watching her closely for her reaction.
“Will I change?” she asked. Her body was quivering.
“You’ll be able to. Once a year at the winter moon when the other women change and at any full moon should you decide to run with me.”
This was something she hadn’t thought about. She wanted Marshall as a woman wants a man. Could she become a wolf to make that happen? “Max told me that was a myth. You couldn’t change humans.”
“Max was right with the exception of an Alpha’s Mate and only because she’s born with the power already in her. It’s waiting there to be released.”
“That’s probably where the myth came from,” she said more to herself than to Marshall. She felt him relax and heard him chuckle. “What’s so amusing?”
“You,” he said. “You’re not shocked or frightened. You’re compiling data. I can see the wheels turning in your head.”
He was right. She wasn’t frightened when she really ought to be. She only wanted information. “Does it hurt?”
“To change? Not if you don’t fight it.”
“Will I change on the night we mate?” She wanted to do this, but it was too much at once. And yet, the thought of disappointing Marshall was breaking her heart.
He lifted her chin and kissed her. “I will never force the change on you and it won’t change how I feel about you. We all have a choice. It’s harder for the men to fight the full moon, but some do and some have to. For the women it’s always a choice. Maggie doesn’t run any more. She says she too old to bother with the foolishness. Ma Gruver says she’s too fat and it makes her joints ache the next day. No one holds it against them.”
“Did your mother run?” Elizabeth thought a lot about Marshall’s mother. Raising a son like him, Elizabeth thought she would have liked the woman.
“She ran with my father at every full moon. Even after the strokes, when he could barely move and couldn’t speak, I’d carry him down to the porch and leave them alone to change. He couldn’t run anymore, but they’d lie together out on the porch until dawn. I think they spent the whole night talking. She never said and I never asked.”
“Will we be able to talk? I can already hear you when you call my name.”
“I can hear you, too, and that’s odd. It shouldn’t be. But yes, once we’re mated, you’ll always know where I am and I’ll always know where you are. We’ll be able to communicate, but it’s easier and clearer in wolf form.”
He set her aside and rose to his feet, then gave her his hand to stand. He laced his hands lightly on her shoulders and bent to look her in the face. “Have you changed your mind? Can you do this?”
Elizabeth pushed him away and took off for the other side of the pool. “If I’m going to be chased, I’m going to need some practice,” she called.
The way down was so much easier than the climb. Still, in Max’s too large sneakers she tended to slip and slide. Marshall was of little help. He was loaded with the sleeping bags and blankets in a large pack on his back. He walked in front of her so that if she tripped she could at least catch herself on his back. It happened twice.
“Imagine how it was for our first Alpha, Alexander Goodman, and the Mate, Genevieve,” he said over his shoulder. “They led a pack of thirty men, women and children up through these mountains when this land was new. They had one horse, two mules and a pair of unyoked oxen to carry what they could. The rest they carried on their backs.”
“Are they the ones who built the Home Place?” Elizabeth was having a hard enough time keeping on her feet in sneakers and jeans. She couldn’t imagine trudging up these hills in long skirts and awkward leather shoes, never mind carrying a pack on her back or a child at her breast.
“They were. The place you’re living in isn’t near as small as the original was. The Home Place has been destroyed, burned down and torn down. But it’s always been rebuilt. If it’s all right with you, I’d like to live there until the first baby comes. It’s kind of a tradition. Then we’d move back to the big house for the others.”
Having Marshall’s child on land that his family had held for over three hundred years would make her a part of the history of this land, too. She almost skipped with happiness at the idea of it. Until another vine caught her ankle and she tripped again. Did he say others with an ‘s’?
“How many children are we talking here?” She watched the backpack shrug.
“Oh, I don’t know, seven, eight.”
Marshall started to laugh when he turned back to her. She was frozen in the path. Seven, eight?
“Okay,” he said, “How about we start with two and you can decide where we go from there.”
She nodded sharply. “I can live with that.”
“Ah, babe, you are so easy.” He laughed even harder as he jogged ahead while she threw pebbles at his back.
“You better be careful, mister, or the only babies you’re going to see are the ones that are living in your barn!”
They were still laughing when they arrived at Marshall’s where they found the yard crowded with people. Elizabeth stopped short. These were the people who’d greeted her before with hostile stares and unkind words. Marshall put his arm around her and leaned down to speak quietly so only she could hear.
“You said you would love them. Even the ones you don’t particularly like. They were angry because they brought you here and they thought you’d chosen Charles and broken my heart.”
She clutched his arm. “I never slept with him. Never. And I never would. We talked. We got drunk. That’s all. When I called him, I wasn’t sure he’d come for… I knew he’d come for me. Not because he wants me. He doesn’t. He came because he likes me and he thought I needed him. As a friend.”
“Your friend,” Marshall snarled and Elizabeth saw heads lift, alert, “Is trying to destroy my pack.”
“He saved your life, Marshall. Whatever else he’s done, I’ll always love him for that and if you can’t handle that, it’s too damn bad.” She didn’t care if they heard. It was too damn bad for them, too.
“And the pack be damned.” He glared at her.
“Without you the pack is damned, you big dumb ass! Who would take your place? Who?” She turned to the crowd and opened her arms. “Step right up folks,” she called. “Which of you is ready to take his place? Which one of you is ready to devote all your thoughts, all your time and all your care to each and every member of this pack? Your Alpha was willing to sacrifice himself to save Henry and he would do the same for any one of you. Which of you is ready to make that kind of sacrifice?”
“Lizzie, enough.”
She knew he was right. She’d said enough, but she couldn’t stop. She whirled on him, punched his chest with both fists and burst into tears.
“I love you, you big stupid jackass. You and Rabbit Creek have become my life. If you die, then I die, too. Oh, I’ll still walk and talk, eat and sleep, but I won’t be alive. I spent the first thirty-two years of my life existing like that. I don’t want to do it again. I won’t apologize for calling your brother to save your life. And I won’t apologize for loving him because of it. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.” She whirled back to the crowd and raised her fist to them, too. “Do you hear me? I’d kiss the devil himself if it would keep Marshall Goodman next to me for the next fifty years. And if any of you don’t like it, you can just… just…”
Marshall’s mouth came down on hers, hard and demanding. She was crying and
snuffling and he was kissing her as if his life depended on it. She wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him, trying to make him understand that her life did depend on it.
From the crowd, she heard Maggie call. “Guess we can break out the booze, folks. Looks like we got us a Mate.”
Elizabeth looked up at Marshall in question.
He sucked in his cheeks and shook his head. “Well it wasn’t the way I planned to announce it, but I have to say, your way was a lot more memorable.” He stroked her cheek with his thumb. “I’m sorry, Lizzie. I shouldn’t have lost my temper. I never even thanked you. You saved my life.”
“Charles saved your life,” she muttered and then because she didn’t want to argue, “So they’re not angry with me for what I said?”
Marshall finally laughed and the sound of it lifted a weight from her heart.
“Hell no. You’re everything they wanted in their Alpha’s Mate. You’re smart, you’re feisty, you’re protective and most important of all, you love me. They couldn’t ask for more.” He kissed her again. “And neither could I.” He smacked her rear end affectionately and she didn’t care who noticed. “Come on, my mate to be, let’s go get a drink.
Chapter 35
They teased her and they toasted her and some apologized to her, even Earlette, the woman on the phone. And the last of them were finally gone. Elizabeth wiped the last few crumbs from the counter. Marshall reached above her to put a glass away and she turned to wrap her arms around his middle.
“Are you upset about the wedding?”
“No,” he laughed, “I’d gladly put it off forever. The thought of meeting your mother terrifies me. The mating is what’s important to me. The wedding is for you.”
“You should be terrified,” she laughed and gave him a squeeze. “But she loves me and I’m her only child. I won’t let her take over, but I do want her to meet you and be there to see me married. Max and I will plan it for the Saturday after Mother gets home from Europe. She’ll barely have time to repack her bag.”
“You’re a good woman, Lizzie.” He bent down to capture her lips.
“Ah, um, Marshall?” Henry stood in the doorway. “We need to talk. I didn’t want to say anything earlier. Didn’t want to ruin the morning.” He shrugged. “Figured you’d want to hear it before they did, anyway.” He looked awkwardly at Elizabeth and shrugged again.
“Should I go?” It was obviously pack business and she didn’t want to interfere.
Marshall raised his eyebrow at Henry. “Should she?”
“It’s about her, Alpha.”
This was serious. Gwenna had told her no one addressed Marshall by his title unless it was.
“Grab the mugs, Lizzie. I’ll put on a pot of coffee. Sit down, Henry. Tell us what’s going on.”
Henry looked at the table. “Charlie called this morning.”
“And you took the call.” Marshall didn’t look happy.
Henry did that submissive slump she’d seen him do before. “Charlie’s my cousin, Marshall. He saved your life. He brought Elizabeth back to keep her safe. What was I supposed to do?”
“Follow orders.”
“Exactly what you did.” Elizabeth said at the same time. She glanced at Marshall. “Don’t scowl at me. Henry said it’s about me and it’s obviously important or he wouldn’t have interrupted.”
“He called to talk to you, Miz Elizabeth, and he had a few hard words to say when I told him you weren’t here. So I told him to shut the fu… to shut up. You was perfectly safe. You went up the mountain with Marshall.”
“And that shut him up,” she said confidently.
“Not exactly.” Henry gave Marshall a sidelong glance.
“What did he say?” His sigh was long on suffering and short on patience
Henry winced. “He laughed and said his baby brother sure knows how to romance a girl and he hoped you at least washed the sleeping bags.”
Elizabeth ran her hand over her mouth to hide the smile.
“Is there a point to all this or was this just an excuse to criticize how I court my mate.”
“No. We jawed for a while and then he dropped the bomb. Calvin Everest is gonna issue another Challenge for the pack and the Right of the Wolf for the Alpha’s Mate. Charlie says once the Challenge is issued, Everest will try to negotiate. He…”
“Let him Challenge. For the pack. No negotiation.” Marshall took Elizabeth’s hand. “He’s too damn late for the Mate. In three days, she’s mine.”
“That’s just it, Alpha. He’s issuing the Challenge tomorrow night for the next full moon. He figures you won’t have time to find your witnesses. You’ll be forced to use his. And he’s not coming alone. Because of the mating, he’s bringing fifty of his best friends to help him celebrate. Fifty. Charlie said it twice.”
“Which means fifty fighters.” Marshall leaned back and grabbed the coffee pot. He poured three cups and set the pot back on the burner.
“This isn’t going to be like last time,” Henry warned. “He’s willing to start a war. He wants the pack.”
“He wants Lizzie.”
“Well that one’s easy,” Elizabeth interrupted. “He can’t have me. I thought I made that pretty clear at the restaurant, though Charles seemed to think this Everest creep would see that as a challenge. It’s a moot point anyway. I’m spoken for.” She winked at Marshall. “You said yourself, in three days, I’m yours. Case closed.” Her face fell. “Three days from now. The next full moon.” She looked up in panic. “He doesn’t really think fighting you will win me over, does he?”
“He doesn’t have to win you over, love. He only has to win against me.” Marshall stroked her hair and cupped her face in his hand. “Lizzie, you’ve heard of the practice of Droit du Seigneur?”
“Of course. Ius primae noctus. The right of the lord to take a virgin on her wedding night. It’s a fiction. There’s no historical proof.” She looked from Marshall to Henry. “What does it have to do with me? I’m no virgin and Creepy Eyes is no lord, certainly not mine.”
Henry blushed behind his beard and looked uncomfortable with the topic of her virginity or lack thereof. What did he think they were doing up on the mountain?
“Maybe I should leave.” He pushed back his chair, leaving his coffee untouched.
“Henry, sit.” Marshall nodded at the chair. “Drink your coffee.” He turned to Elizabeth. “The practice was real. When Margaret of Scotland got the practice replaced with a bridal tax, the Convocation of Wolvers saw no reason to change their traditions. It was different, after all. They’d always left other wolver’s mates alone. It was the Alpha’s Mates they fought over. Droit du Loup. Right of the Wolf. To the victor belong the spoils. No one practices it, but it’s still part of Pack Law.”
“You can’t be serious!” She stood so quickly her chair crashed to the floor. “They’d let him do this because of some medieval law that no one bothered to rescind? Do you honestly believe I’d just sit back and go along with this?”
“It’s Pack Law. They’d have no choice.” Marshall raised his hand in front of her, palm outward, fingers spread. “You wouldn’t have a choice.”
The Alpha’s touch. Her stomach spasmed in remembrance of Creepy Eyes’ handshake. The thought of him touching her body… No! She wasn’t going there. Absolutely not.
“There’s always a choice,” she said fiercely, fighting the panic growing inside her. “I can run. I can hide. When it’s over, I’ll come back to you. If I’m not here, you can negotiate. He wants the mountaintop, Marshall. Give him that and the pack will be safe. You’ll be safe.”
“No, we won’t be safe and neither will you. He has money, resources. He’ll find you and you’ll have no way to protect yourself.” Marshall righted the chair and all but pushed her into it. “Calm down.”
“I will not calm down. I’ll go to the police. Tell them he threatened me.” This was the twenty-first century, not the tenth.
“And tell them what, Lizzie. He’s a
wolf? Or a stalker? They’ll write you off as a nut job or they’ll issue a restraining order. Do you honestly think Calvin Everest will respect a restraining order? No, you’ll disappear and he’ll have fifty witnesses to testify he was in Wyoming at the time.”
She appealed to Marshall’s second. “Henry, tell him. Tell him I’m right. If I leave, he can negotiate. The pack is more important than the land.” They were both so calm about this. They were talking about people dying. There had to be another way.
Henry shook his head. “He might negotiate, promise to leave us alone. Until the other side of the mountain is full of outsiders and they need more room. Then he’ll keep coming back until he has it all. We make a stand or the Alpha steps down. That’s the choice.”
Marshall tapped the table. Decision made. “Call the Lowland Pack. See if you can get Burt Hennessey. He’s a good man and the Lowlanders have always stood with us.”
“Done,” Henry said. “He was out when I called, but the Mate said he’d be there. Said she’d have him packed and ready to go. He’ll call when he gets in. John Morgan with the Blue Ridge said he’d come if you can’t find no one else. His daughter’s being mated and…”
“He needs to be there. Of course. There should be five witnesses and we need two for our side and a neutral, though who the hell is neutral when it comes to Calvin Everest. They either owe him or they hate him.” He nodded. Another decision made. “Call Tall Pine. Zeb Trehune hates Everest. I met him at GW’s mating. He’ll come.”
“Alpha? Charlie said Everest wants three witnesses. He’s got one from one of those survivalist packs from Idaho and another rancher from Alberta. All we need is the one.”
“The hell we do. We’ve got the fight for the pack and the Chase for Lizzie. Everest can take a fucking…”
Elizabeth had been sitting silently, her mind reeling as the two men made plans. The word brought her back to the present conversation. “Chase? What do you mean, chase?”
Both men turned to her.
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