Spoils of War

by Susan A Bliler

  Chapter 12

  Staring at the massive shifter who stood surrounded by his pack, War rocked his head from side to side as he approached, ready for battle. “Who the fuck are you?”

  The behemoth showed no signs of fear as he answered immediately, “Name’s Matese. Matese Lawson.”

  “Lawson?” War snorted and glanced at his enforcers. “Last I heard there wasn’t a Lawson pack.” He looked back at Matese. “What’s your real last name?”

  Matese sighed, and his gaze didn’t falter. “It used to be Yellowstone.”

  “Yellowstone?” War’s eyes narrowed on him. “You’re one of Cray’s then?”

  “No.” Matese shook his head. “I was one of Cray’s. I left before the battle with your pack. I walked on them about six months ago, been on my own ever since.”

  One of War’s pack muttered, “Coward.”

  Instantly, Matese’s brows speared down. “I’m fucking battle born!” He eyed the crowd surrounding him, letting his eyes touch on each man he could. “There isn’t a shifter here I wouldn’t challenge.” His eyes went back to War, “Including you.”

  “Is that why you’re here?” War asked. “You come to challenge for Alpha of the WG?”

  “Fuck no! I’m here seeking a place in your pack. I have zero desire to be anyone’s Alpha.”

  War regarded him silently. Hands already full with the impending finale of the war he’d launched, and having to deal with Nora, War didn’t have time for this shit. And aside from the lack of time, he had zero desire to babysit Matese. It wasn’t happening, and there was no way in hell he was letting this shifter inside his fortress without knowing for certain if he was a legit defector from the Yellowstone pack. Yeah, the guy was built like a brick shithouse and would be a good addition to War’s soldiers, but he just didn’t have the time or energy to deal with Matese right now.

  Turning his back, he ordered, “Kill him.”

  He made it three steps before Matese boomed, “Try!”

  War didn’t turn around, just stayed where he was.

  “They can try to kill me, and in doing so, I can kill a dozen or so of your men, or you can hear me out!”

  Turning, War frowned at him. Kill a dozen or so? Eyeing Matese up and down, he decided the shifter was probably capable of doing just that. With a grunt, he jerked his chin toward Matese.

  Matese uncrossed the arms that had been folded across his impressively thick chest. “When Cray told the pack he was going to war with the WG, I advised against it.”

  One of War’s men shouted, “Good advice!”

  Laughter broke out among the pack and had War’s lips ghosting with the merest hint of a grin before he lifted his hand and silenced the pack.

  Ignoring the jab, Matese continued, “I could’ve stayed with the Yellowstone. Could have been there when you all came for war. If I had”—he turned and sneered at the pack behind him—“I guarantee at least twenty of you wouldn’t be here now.” Turning back to War, he lifted his chin. “But I didn’t. I didn’t stay with Cray and the Yellowstone. I left six months ago when Cray said he was going to strike against you and then move on to every other pack in the northwest. The threat of you taking power made him crazed. He went power hungry. And, yeah, you moved against a lot of other packs too, but you did it for a purpose. You were trying to bring the packs in line, trying to create a unified law.” Disgust laced his tone when he spat, “The Yellowstone has no law. No honor! They abuse those who are smaller and weaker, even in their own pack. Submissives”—his look went guarded—“women. They suffer in the Yellowstone, and it’s fucking disgusting. Any who stay there do so because they like what’s happening, or because they’re too weak of character to simply walk.”

  “So you dumped the Yellowstone and now you wanna join the WG?” War asked. “Why?”

  “Because I get what you’re trying to do here. I tried to convince Cray of the need for it. He doesn’t want it. I do.”

  “Why?” War narrowed his eyes on Matese. “What difference does it make to you?”

  “I’m a shifter?” he thundered. “Shifters existing under a unified law makes a whole hell of a lot of difference to me!”

  “Look at you,” one of War’s enforcers, Rysik, scoffed. “Law or no law, a shifter as big as you can do whatever the fuck he pleases.”

  Matese shot Rysik a dark look. “You’re right. I can! And you know what I’ve been doing with all this might?” He looked back to War. “For the past ten years, I’ve been sticking up for the underdogs and submissives in Cray’s pack. I’ve been guarding them and watching out for them for ten whole years, and I’m tired of having to do it. I only stayed out of obligation, but when I heard there was a chance to join your pack and make a change . . . well, here I am. There needs to be law to protect all shifters. No more of this ‘only the strong survive’ or ‘Alphas make the rules’ bullshit!”

  War asked, “Just ten?”

  “I was a lone wolf until I joined the Yellowstone ten years ago.”

  War ordered, “Show me!” Eyes lowering to Matese’s arms, the massive shifter didn’t hesitate to hike up the sleeves of the blue flannel shirt that hung open over a fitted T-shirt to expose his forearms. One arm was covered from the wrist up in a sleeve of tattoos, but the other arm was completely bare save for the lone tattoo marring his forearm. It was a detailed mountain range with trees set close. Two stands of trees formed the pricked ears of a wolf and tapered down into a realistic version of a snarling wolf’s face—the Yellowstone pack’s sigil.

  War didn’t blink as he lifted his eyes from the tattoo and leveled them on Matese. “If you stay, it goes.”

  His pack erupted into a chorus of murmurs, but War snarled once and they silenced instantly. This is where an infiltrator typically backed out. This is where the truth came out. Because in order for Matese to stay with the War Gods, his Yellowstone pack sigil would have to go, and he had one of two choices.

  Lowering his chin, War asked with a sinister grin, “Cut it off or melt it off?”

  Both were equally painful, and both would leave a scar regardless of Matese’s shifter healing.

  Without hesitation, Matese shrugged negligently. “Whatever’s easiest.”

  Easiest, not quickest? Brows quirking up, War glanced at his twin enforcers, Rysik and Rylin.

  “If you’re gonna do this, you’re gonna do this,” Rylin grunted at Matese.

  Rysik finished for his brother, “And if you’re gonna run, best start now.”

  Matese gave the twins a weighty glare before growling, “Get your knife or get your fire.” He shoved the sleeve of his blue flannel further up his arm. “But get your asses moving. I’m not waiting all day.”

  Rylin and Rysik looked to War, and with his eyes never leaving Matese’s, War’s lips hiked in a slow grin as he nodded and said, “Welcome to the WG.”

  Chapter 13

  Nora was once again back on the cold, hard floor of War’s chamber, but this time it wasn’t because her body had melted into a useless puddle. No, her wolf had finally realized the danger they were in and had lent her just enough strength to make a complete ass out of herself by trying to escape Tallius.

  When she’d felt her wolf coming back to her, she waited until she had enough of a burst, and when she did, she feigned being overheated and asked Tallius to get her a cold cloth from the bathroom for her face. The second he stepped out of the room, she shot out of bed and raced for the door. She almost made it. Almost.

  Tallius tackled her to the ground with a snarled, “I knew it!”

  Now, pinned beneath him, no amount of talking was convincing the Beta to get off her.

  “I can’t stay, Tally. Please!” she begged. “I’m not an enemy. I’m not! I swear it!” She shoved at his shoulders and ignored her compromising position. Still wearing just one of War’s T-shirts, her legs were splayed on either side of Tallius’s hips. They were chest to chest, and to keep her from pushing at him, he caught her wrists and pinned them
above her head before he angled his face away from hers. Imploring eyes on him, Nora saw that his jaw was clenched tight like he was in pain.

  “Please,” she begged. “He’s not gonna believe me, Tallius! Let me up! I’ll leave! Right now, I’ll walk away and I won’t be a problem again for any of you. Please?”

  “Don’t beg,” he snarled, still not looking at her. “You have no fucking idea how hard it is for my wolf to hold you down like this. It goes against our nature. We protect! And I haven’t touched a woman in . . .”

  His words trailed off and now a new fear was skittering up Nora’s spine.

  “Tallius,” she breathed. “You gotta let me go.”

  But it was too late. The door was shoved open, and both their heads whipped around.

  War stood at the door, eyes going wide and mouth falling open for just an instant before his dark brows snapped into a frown and his lips peeled back from elongating incisors.

  Nora knew this didn’t look good, and she was worried about the conclusions War was jumping to as his face morphed into a mask of rage.

  War stepped into his room and was instantly shocked to stillness. It took one point two seconds for that shock to wear off before it was replaced by red-hot rage.

  “Get the fuck off her,” he snarled.

  Tallius was up in a flash, and with hands held up, he backed to the furthest wall. “She . . . she tried to make a run for it.”

  War’s dark eyes shot from Tallius to Nora. Still on the floor, she shook her head slowly from side-to-side. “What else could I do?” she cried. “Tallius said you think the enemy at the gates is my doing!” Eyes locked on War’s, she hissed, “It’s not! How in the hell could I contact an enemy?” Her voice turned to a near whimper when she said, “I can barely fucking move!”

  Without taking his eyes off Nora, War snarled, “Leave us!”

  Tallius was out the door in a flash.

  With slow, deliberate, almost vulturine movements, War crossed his room and squatted over Nora.

  Fuck she looked good all splayed out on his floor wearing nothing but one of his white T-shirts. Her nipples were budded against the soft fabric, and through the worn white material he could see the faintest pink hue. She glared at him mutinously, and it had his cock jerking to life.

  “I don’t want to be here anymore. Contact Reign and tell him he owes me!”

  Canting his head, War frowned at her. “Funny. Yesterday you said Reign didn’t owe you anything.”

  She tried to hide it, but he saw her try to move. Her limbs merely twitched, and then her eyes were filling with moisture that she rapidly blinked back. “I haven’t done anything to you to warrant this type of treatment.”

  He wanted to let her sweat it out a minute, but her emotion was doing funny shit to his insides. “No,” he breathed, pulling her up off the floor and carrying her to the bed. Peeling the comforter back, he was careful when he set her down. “The man at the gates wasn’t about you.”

  The scent of her relief blossomed in the air and had him feeling a bit of regret, which pissed him off. She was stirring up all these new emotions in him, and he didn’t like it.

  Jerking the cell out of his back pocket, he felt Nora watching him as he frowned down at it and punched in another text to Reign.

  I’m gonna fucking end you if you don’t get your ass back to the Fortress and get this woman!

  “You don’t trust me,” she accused.

  Lowering his phone, he frowned at her. “Of course I don’t trust you. I don’t know you, and I’ve got a lot at stake here. Trusting strangers is fucking stupid and costly. I get that you’re beautiful and appear defenseless, but so do a lot of dangerous creatures.”

  “I’m not dangerous.”

  “You a shifter?”

  “Yes,” she snapped.

  “Then you’re dangerous.” Turning, he gave her his back and headed for the door.

  “Wait!”

  He stopped but didn’t turn around.

  “What happens now?”

  “Now you get better. I’m doing what I can to get Reign back here. I want you gone as much as you want to leave.” Striding for the door, he stopped with his hand on the knob. Glancing over his shoulder, he growled, “Don’t try to run again, Nora. You don’t want me chasing you. It’ll only end badly.” Jerking the door open, he barked, “Rest. I’ll bring food shortly.”

  In the hall, War pulled the door closed and pressed his shoulders into it. He’d been harsh with Nora, and he’d done it to cover up the fact that he’d been ridiculously affected by seeing Tallius on top of her. Her bare thighs had been parted, and his Beta had her pinned down with her arms above her head. Even thinking about it now had his incisors shooting through his gums and flooding his mouth with blood. He’d been more than simply mad. He’d been ready to go after Tallius, his oldest friend and Beta.

  Ffffffffuck, he breathed quietly. Having Nora here was fucking with his head, and having his mark on her was making it worse. His wolf actually thought she was theirs. He saw Tallius on top of her as a challenge to his claim. But there was no claim. He shook his head hard. Confused. He’d confused his wolf by biting Nora. Even now he was reluctant to leave her.

  Shoving off the door, he scrubbed a hand down his face and stalked down the hall with a snarled, “Christ!” He’d been the one to send Tallius up here to watch Nora, and getting riled up over finding Tallius with her was dumb as shit! Fed. He’d get her fed, he’d get her strong, he’d find Reign, and then he’d get the she-wolf the fuck out of his territory. He had a war to finish, and he didn’t need her clouding his judgment and fucking with his head.

  Chapter 14

  Standing atop the stone curtain wall that surrounded the Fortress, Nora was in awe of all she saw. It had taken her two more full days in War’s bed being catered to before she was finally back at one hundred percent. And as if he’d been able to read her mind, War had warned her again the second she considered it, that trying to leave or sneak off wouldn’t be tolerated. As if to prove his point, the first stop on his tour of the Fortress had been the cold dungeon beneath the keep. Reluctantly, she’d agreed to wait for Reign’s return before she did anything. Satisfied, War led her back up the stone steps and through the long corridors. Men milled about the numerous floors but gave War and Nora a wide berth. Still, she caught some of them shooting her sidelong glances. War noticed too and had snapped at a few of his men, making Nora feel guilty as he continued his tour.

  The keep was the main part of the Fortress and housed the pack meeting hall/war room. It also had a large dining hall, a gym, a library, a theatre, and a few dozen rooms on the floors beneath where War’s personal quarters were located at the very top of the spiraling stairs. Only War’s closest men stayed in the keep. The rest had rooms in the massive curtain wall that surrounded the Fortress, and a fortress it was. It definitely lived up to its name. Built to resemble a castle, it housed the keep in the center of the compound, which was surrounded by the high stone curtain wall with parapets gapped with battlements. Fortified towers stood towering at each of the four corners of the curtain wall to provide vantage points should enemies ever attack. Hell, the Fortress didn’t merely resemble a castle. It was a castle. There were even arrow slits in the defensive walls and a drawbridge that could be raised and lowered over the moat that surrounded the entire compound. The place was stunning and a little eerie. It seemed to have been built in preparation for something.

  He’d been different since he’d found Tallius on top of her keeping her from trying to escape. He’d been . . . distant. Well, more distant than before, and it had her thinking she’d overstayed her welcome, but he refused to let her leave because he said he owed it to Reign.

  Peeking up at War, Nora noted how quiet he’d been during the tour. He’d only really spoken to explain each facet of the Fortress, and it had her wondering if she could get him to open up a bit more.

  “Are you expecting an attack? This place seems to have been built in an
ticipation of a war.”

  There was no hesitation when War answered, “I’m not expecting a war, but thanks to the design of this place, I’m not worried about one either.”

  Nora quietly studied him. He was different than most Alphas she knew. Her birth pack, the Winter Wolves, lived in closely clustered cabins up in the Highwood Mountains. The RedRun pack she’d been staying with had rows of trailers for its pack members, and again these were clustered deep in the mountains. Reign’s domain was different. It commanded respect, but it wasn’t hidden. Yeah, there were deep woods just past the moat and the field that surrounded it, but from atop the curtain wall, she could see that they thinned out. War wasn’t burying his people and what they were. He was standing proudly, his fortress a pillar that challenged any who dared take exception.

  “You’re brave,” she blurted out.

  When he glanced down at her and snorted, she looked away.

  “You don’t know me, woman. You don’t know shit about me,” he explained, lifting his eyes back to the landscape. “I could be the biggest cowardly piece of shit this side of the divide.”

  “You’re not,” she muttered, her eyes mirroring his as she stared out at the sun as it slowly dipped below the towering ponderosa pines in the distance. It was fall, and the ground was an explosion of colorfully littered leaves. The temperature dropped fast this time of year, and Nora was grateful that War had produced some really cute clothes. A pair of black leggings hugged her legs, and a warm gray sweater hung over top; tall boots that were only a half size too big covered her feet, and a warm black coat with a faux fur collar was zipped up to her neck. The sweater and coat were just a little big too, but they were better than her ball gown or having to wear War’s oversized clothes. Eyes on the tree line, Nora stared at the many leafless quaking aspens that reached up to the sky like skeleton hands. “You’re not hiding your pack like the rest of the packs do,” she explained. “You’re fearless.”