“Ginger,” Evan growled.
Neither my wolf nor I were cowering to the grizzly. Not today. Not ever again.
“No,” Cain said, holding up a hand before I could continue to speak. He turned to Evan, “I need to do it this time.”
He met my eyes. All trace of humor and affection was gone as he stared at me, “Ginger, I have never seen you as a mate. Even if Lee never existed, we would not be mates. There has never been an us the way you see it. I see you as a pup. My wolf sees you as a pup to protect. Nothing more. Nothing less. And the way you act toward me and Lee keeps showing you are nothing more than the pup you were when I found you in the Bearden forest all those years ago.”
“Take it back.”
“Ginger, I don’t want to hurt you.”
“But I’m nothing to you. I understand,” I stood from the table, “I’ll be gone by nightfall.”
Where do we go now?
It was all for nothing
Jules is nice, maybe he’ll-
I’ll show them. I’ll show them all. Ginger’s not some dumb pup
Oh boy, this is not going to be good
“I have an offer to join a pack. I’m going to take it. The RSC will fall apart without me. Then you’ll be sorry.”
They made no move to follow me.
This was it.
What I’d always feared was true.
Alone, as we should be
We don’t have to be alone
We won’t be alone for long, we have a pack
Which one?
My wolf hid so many things from me over the years. It was her turn to be left in the dark. I shut her out of my mind as I packed my bag, only one. After all these years I didn’t accumulate much. Everything I had was for the Rogue Shifter Coalition. But it was apparent, there was nothing for me here.
No one helped me pack. There was no goodbye party in my honor. Who would have organized it? Without Ginger around, nothing would get done.
They’d crumble in weeks.
Good
I borrowed a car and drove to the bus station. I rode to the airport and purchased a ticket to my new home. My new pack my new life.
“Hello, is this Celeste Hill?”
“Speaking, who is calling?”
“This is Ginger, we met at the Easterville Review?”
“Oh, yes, of course. How can I help you?”
“I’ve decided to join Red Rock.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ginger
Red Rock, Arizona
Present day
The plane ride to Arizona was longer than I’d have liked. My wolf argued with me the entire trip. As if the entire state had offended her on a personal level.
“I must be something special to warrant the Alpha Female picking me up from the airport,” I said, loading my luggage into the back of Celeste Hill’s car.
“You are joining the pack at my personal invitation,” she said with a smile, “It would be rude not to pick you up.”
I sat in the front seat as Celeste pointed out different landmarks from Tucson to Red Rock. The whole trip felt off. Like I’d been here before. Something out of a memory but not quite.
Have we been here before?
Turn around. Go back to the airport. Get in another metal tube. Anywhere but here
No, here is good. Celeste and Alpha Hill recruited us
No get out it’s not safe
Maybe danger is what we need
“We don’t get to hunt in wolf form as often as other packs,” Celeste was in the middle of a story, “But that doesn’t mean we aren’t in touch with our wolves. Alphas seek out our sentinels all the time for detective work.”
I nodded along but I was only half listening.
We have been here before haven’t we?
Get out while we still can
Is this where our mate is?
Pup, please don’t make me beg
“And here we are,” Celeste pulled into the driveway of a large ranch style home. There was no lawn, but the landscaping was immaculate despite the lack of greenery.
“We’ll put you up with us until you get on your feet and find your own place. No rush though.”
“Thank you, that is very generous,” I told her, “I’ll be sure to find a job fast. I have many marketable skills.”
“I know you do. I know our pack will be fighting over who gets to hire you.”
I got out of the car and cupped my hands over my brow, shielding my eyes from the sun. I regretted wearing pants and sleeves. It was the middle of winter and felt like a Minnesota summer day.
“You’ll get used to the heat, and if you don’t there’s air conditioning,” Celeste laughed, “Other than AC, we keep it as close to natural as we can. Some prefer sod but we don’t like the water waste,” Celeste said. She gave me a brief history of the house her great grandfather in law built back in the Wild West days. And how over the generations it’s expanded and been updated.
All the time she talked, the uncanny valleyness of the house raised my hackles.
Run, have I ever steered you wrong pup?
Have I? You have to trust me sometimes too
Let me out. We need to get away
Why?
I hefted my suitcase out of the car and followed Celeste inside. I felt an ache in my chest. I wrote it off as wishing I could have stayed in Easterville. That had to be it.
“Are you okay, Ginger?”
I scratched my chest, “Yeah, my wolf is just upset with me about something.”
“Oh,” her eyes lingered on my chest, “I didn’t think to ask, do you-er did you have a mate before you went rogue?”
I shook my head, “I doubt it. My wolf doesn’t act like a widow or rejected mate. She is really pissed at me for leaving Easterville though. She’ll come around.”
“Well, let’s get you settled, and she’ll see the desert is more than it’s cracked up to be. We’re glad to have you join us. I think we can really use your talents.”
I followed her inside and the Deja vu sensation got stronger and more painful.
We’ve been here before haven’t we?
Leave, get out of here
A rumble of heavy foot falls raced through hallways. The ache in my chest pulled tighter. It hurt to breathe.
What was happening?
“Thyme.”
“No, this is Ginger,” Celeste continued to talk explaining my origins, but her voice faded as I saw him. The man from my dreams. The one who didn’t seem real.
Mine
Chapter Twenty-Five
Rosemary
Airplane, somewhere over Minnesota
Present day
My wolf seemed to know that something was happening. She normally hated plane rides. But this one she thrummed under my skin. Egging me to sniff the letters again. I had to pretend to squint and struggle to read a word to avoid the weird looks from my other passengers.
Almost six years of letters, unsent until the final. By the time I boarded the bus, I was only halfway through them. Jules documented his slow decline in medical school. He wrote to me about how he wished he was better so he could live up to the expectations of his father and brother. How he wished he’d hidden his above average intelligence, so they’d be proud of what he’d already accomplished.
In every letter he blamed himself for my leaving. It wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t either of our faults. We were just dumb kids trying to do what we thought was best. But we didn’t know what was best.
Jules caved under the pressure of his father and brother. I caved under the selfish desire to not be alone in a strange place.
The bus trip was long and agonizing. Each stop more of the passengers got off until it was just me and one other guy: both of us going to Easterville.
“Are you looking for the Tooth and Claw?” I asked, hoping to make conversation.
His brows furrowed, and he shook his head, “My brother is going to school at the college, I’m visiting him for
the weekend.”
“Oh, okay,” so he wasn’t a rogue. The road signs along the highway finally started counting down the miles to Easterville. One hundred, fifty, twenty-five. My heart raced as it got lower. Fifteen, ten, five. The bus pulled off onto an exit. The tiny town came into view. Decked out in Valentine’s day hearts and cupids, though the holiday was still a week away.
I’m not dressed nearly warm enough for the frigid night air. The stars seemed brighter than they did in Red Rock. Even though there was more light pollution. It didn’t make sense.
I didn’t linger long to analyze the problem. After my luggage was unloaded, I crossed the street to the Tooth and Claw Pub. Just another rogue hoping to find their future.
Rogue. That’s what I was now.
But even packless, I wouldn’t be alone.
***
The pub was packed with humans and shifters alike. All laughing, telling stories, and eating delicious smelling food. The shifters in the pub looked up when I entered. A few high-pitched chirps and careful hand signals brought my entrance to the attention of the owners.
The legendary Lee Harris approached me. She was dressed like any of the other waitstaff, a Tooth and Claw pub V-neck, jeans, and a name tag simply reading “Lee.”
“Welcome to the Tooth and Claw, are you here for a visit or seeking refuge?” Her friendly tone was cut with the seriousness of her question.
“Is Jules here?” I asked. My voice cracked when I said his name. I was so close I could practically taste him, but I was still so far.
What happened if Lee said I couldn’t see him? That he was better off without a useless mate like me? What if he’d found someone else since he’d written that letter.
Lee looked me up and down, “You can’t possibly be Rosemary.”
“That’s me. I just got his letters,” I held up the most recent one to demonstrate, “I swear I would have found him sooner had I known.”
Lee’s face softened and she reached out to rub my arm, “Come on, I’ll have Olly give you a ride. Jules is moving into Ginger’s room and he’s a bit down in the dumps about her leaving.”
I had no idea who this Ginger person was. I wasn’t sure if I should be glad or furious she abandoned him too.
She led me through the pub to the back door where a lanky man a little older than me was waiting, “Olly at your service,” he said with a dramatic bow.
“Reign it in Casanova,” Lee teased, “This is Rosemary. She came for Jules.”
The man’s shoulders sagged, “Figures. All the pretty ones are mated.”
I chose to leave that comment where it was and helped Olly load my bags into the back seat of the car before hopping inside.
“Not from a cold climate are you?” he teased, cranking up the heat in response to my shivering.
“I’m from Spatsizi Pack in Canada,” I told him, “But I’ve been living in Arizona the last few years.”
“Oh, Canada,” Olly sang, “We don’t get many from the Great White North down here. Something about Canadian Packs being nicer.”
“Probably more to do with more territory to be rogue on than anything,” I admit, “It seems every square inch of forest in the US is controlled by a pack or other shifter group. In Canada you can go for thousands of miles between packs.”
“Huh, good to know.” Olly cranked up the heat again and turned on the radio. Apparently he wasn’t one for conversation today.
Outside the car, dark green trees whirred by briefly illuminated by headlights of passing cars. Olly turned off the road onto a gravel driveway I hadn’t even seen.
“Just up ahead,” Olly said, “So, he’s your mate right?”
I nodded.
“Do you feel the pull yet?”
I shook my head. Then my wolf perked up inside of me. Then I felt it.
“Yes, I feel it.”
“What’s it like?”
“If he doesn’t reject me outright it’s the best feeling in the world.” I wanted to get out of the car and race toward Jules. But the road still had a ways to go before stopping and it was freezing out, “Can you go faster?”
Olly laughed, “If I go faster I’m likely to spin out on the ice or break an axle on the potholes and then Cain will have my head.”
A halo of light up ahead delineated the house that Jules was in. As soon as Olly parked the car, I raced to it.
Could Jules feel me? Was he getting the pull too?
Would he meet me at the door?
Or would he run?
I shook those thoughts out of my head and focused; the door was unlocked. My wolf directed me where to go. Up the stairs. Down the hall. The furthest room.
The door opened when my hand reached it.
Jules.
I couldn’t breathe. Face to face after years apart and he looked more handsome than I’d ever seen him.
“Rosemary?” he spoke first. But he sounded out of sorts.
“I should have never left,” I said. My hands itched to pull him to me. To feel his arms, wrap around me, “I can never tell you how sorry I am. No apology is enough.”
His brow furrowed, “So you were kicked out of Red Rock?”
I shook my head.
“So, you abandoned a different mate?”
I shook my head again, “Simon was never my mate, Jules. I’ve regretted what I said to you from the moment I hung up the phone. I thought after what I did that you’d never want to see me again, so I tried to make it work at Red Rock. I’m not Alpha Female material. I don’t know what I am. But I know I want you. And had I gotten your letters sooner, I’d have been back years ago.”
His eyes searched mine for some sign of falsehood. There was none to be found. I meant every word.
His hand extended, crossing the distance between us, “I don't think we’ve met, I’m Jules Redford, and you are?”
I wasn’t sure where this was going, but I took his hand, “R.. Rosemary Willette. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
He shook my hand twice. The connection of skin to skin sent electricity up my arm. This was what it was never like with Simon. There wasn’t a rush. My wolf didn’t howl when he was near. How had I been so stupid to let him go?
“I’m a former kid genius med school drop out with limited social skills,” he said, still not dropping my hand, “I have been kicked out of my home pack and rejected from the rest so I’m a member of the RSC. They’re talking about sending me back to school.”
“I’m an excellent flash card maker and study buddy,” I offered, “That is... if you’ll have me.”
“I’m sorry I left you alone with no one to talk to. I had no idea how awful that kind of isolation is. I’m sorry I didn’t fight for you. You seemed so much happier as Thyme. I didn’t... I didn’t want to make you miserable.”
I wrapped my arms around him, sobbing.
“We had just been kids,” Jules said, his face buried in my neck, “Hell, we still are kids. Expecting us to go out into the world and understand everything wasn't our fault. Our Alphas should have supported us. Our parents should have said something. Someone should have been there for us. But we don’t have to worry about that now. We’re older, wiser, and have the Coalition on our side. Right?”
I took a deep shaking breath, “As long as we’re together.”
He broke the embrace and moved a hair out of my face, “So, you’re staying? Staying-staying?”
I nodded and buried my face in his shoulders pressing my whole body to his. He was finally in my arms and the world made sense again.
Jules and I cuddled for hours, talking about everything and nothing all at once. We ran as wolves in the icy tundra. My wolf had never been happier than when Jules’ brushed against her. She buried her nose deep into his fur.
My heart ached. He was here. We could be together. And we weren’t alone. As we raced around the property, more wolves joined us. Then a mountain lion, a polar bear, and tiger too. A menagerie of shifters all playing in the snow. But o
nly one shifter mattered to me.
My mate.
My Jules.
Mine.
***
I woke from the most marvelous dream in a tangle of limbs.
That’s odd, Simon never sleeps in my room.
My heart tugged as my cuddle buddy moved.
Jules.
My mate. My mate was in my bed. I squeezed him. He was real. He was here, he was mine.
“Mmm, morning Ginger,” he murmured.
“Who’s Ginger?” I asked. I had no right to feel jealous. I’d woken up thinking he was Simon. But my wolf wanted to attack the interloper who called to my mate.
“Rosemary. Rosemary you’re here. It wasn’t a dream.” His big brown eyes filled with tears and he wrapped me into his arms, muttering over and over again how happy he was that it was me.
Relief washed over me. I kissed him. Hard.
“Who’s Ginger?” I asked after we broke the kiss.
“She’s -was, she was the Rogue Shifter Coalition’s designated puppy piler. She was helping me through my grief of losing you,” he brushed my hair from my face, “My wolf cried out for you every night since you left and her wolf slept at the foot of the bed, calming mine. I promise she was just a friend.”
“I’m so sorry Jules.”
“I don’t know what she did to get kicked out. No one will tell me. One morning she wakes up with me. By the afternoon she’s packing her bags. But it’s all for the best I guess. You arrived that night.”
“I did. I should have come sooner.”
“Stop. The past is over. Let’s focus on the future. Did they ever find Thyme?”
I shook my head. That reminded me I needed to let Simon know I arrived safe. He didn’t need to feel responsible for both Willette sisters disappearing.
“I wonder what happened to her,” Jules mused, dropping back in the bed.
“I’m going to call Simon let him know I made it okay, then I want you to introduce me around.”
Jules bounced his eyebrows at me, “Maybe I want to keep you to myself for a while. Make up for lost time.”
I kissed him again but broke it before I got too distracted, “First Simon. Then food. Then make up for lost time.”
Ginger and Thyme (Kootenai Pack Book 4) Page 16