“We’re pack. Family isn’t blood—it’s spirit and love. That’s what makes us family.”
He hugged Tamsin one last time, whispering something to her. She tearfully nodded and he placed a kiss on top of her head before he shook hands with everyone and departed.
Dewi draped her arm around the girl’s shoulders. “I think we should leave tonight.” She didn’t want to give Tamsin too much time to think yet. It’d be better to get her settled in Idaho sooner rather than later, and under a doctor’s care.
And with Peyton able to keep track of her, and Gillian and Asia able to mother and console her.
Tamsin nodded. “Thank you for all you’re doing for me.”
“Well, what I just told him—you’re pack. We take care of our own.”
Dewi opted to take the Ridgeline instead of the Saleen. It would be more comfortable for them for the longer trip, and it had all-wheel drive in case they ran into any bad weather in the mountains. It was nearly nine that night when she and Badger said good-bye to everyone and, with Dewi driving the first shift and Tamsin in the backseat, they headed out.
As she watched the house disappear in the rearview mirror, she sent a silent thought to Badger.
“Promise me they’ll be okay while we’re gone.”
“They will, lass. Duncan will take care of things. He was a pack Alpha for nearly a hundred years before what happened. He just needed time to grieve and regain what was left of his spirit, that’s all. We all handle grief differently. I chose to escape by leaving Scotland and throwing myself into my friends and working and such.”
“Do you think Tamsin will be able to regain her spirit?”
He didn’t answer, at first. “For her pup’s sake, and Trevor and his mate, I certainly hope so.”
Chapter Fifteen
The trip was plagued by nothing but issues of the totally mundane and completely self-inflicted kind.
Dewi grumbled as she sat parked there on the side of the road while the Montana Highway Patrol officer took his fucking sweet time ambling up to her driver’s side window.
“That’s still seven fer me and six fer you,” Badger softly joked.
“It’s not a contest,” she grumbled. “It’s an annoyance, at this point.”
“Good evening, ma’am,” the trooper said when he reached her window. “Do you know how fast you were going?”
She smiled up at him. “Yeah. I had it pegged out at 125. If we had different tires, a different front cowling, a hard tonneau cover, turbo, and it wasn’t all-wheel drive, it’d probably do 140, easily. That’s the usual top speed on this year and model.”
He stared at her for a moment, obviously not used to such blunt honesty. “You know the speed limit’s only 70 here, right?”
“That’s what the signs I blew past said.”
“He’s wearing a body cam, Dewi,” Badger muttered next to her. “Bloody hell, girl.”
Sure enough, he was. “Shit.”
The officer looked taken aback and reached for her driver’s license, which she already had in her hand. When he did, she caught his hand and his face went blank as she ruthlessly poured the full force of her Prime power into him. “Turn off your body cam, officer.”
He reached up and switched it off.
“Your radar gun’s acting weird tonight. Actually, you’ll be deleting this whole incident from your body cam’s hard drive. And if you can’t delete it, you’ll destroy it somehow that looks accidental and can’t be recovered. Ditto your car camera’s video hard drive, if it has one.”
He slowly nodded. “Sorry for the stop. Radar gun’s acting weird tonight.”
“We’re free to go. I need my license back.”
“Here’s your license, ma’am. You’re free to go.”
“Thank you, officer. Take care of that other business immediately, please.”
“Yes, ma’am. I will. You have a good evening.”
“You, too, officer. Stay safe.”
“Thank you, ma’am. You, too.”
As they pulled away, Dewi quickly wound it up again, with the accelerator pressed to the floor.
“Next time,” Badger grumbled, “play it straight, would ye? Mind yer snark and bein’ a smart arse. Cripes, that was close.”
“Sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I’m exhausted.”
“As we all are. We’re almost there, though. Not too much longer.”
In all, it was a grueling three—and-a-half-day drive to Idaho, not made any easier by the sixteen stops total for speeding—always let off immediately, of course. The sun had set hours earlier by the time they reached the northbound exit on I-90 that would eventually take them to the compound.
They’d only stopped to refuel, use the bathroom, get food, and swap drivers. She and Badger had hardly talked aloud the entire trip, although they had hours of silent conversations. They played music and didn’t pester Tamsin with idle chatter the girl had no interest engaging in.
Dewi always felt a wistful pang when heading up this road. It was the main road into the town and compound. Part of her wished she’d been able to grow up here, and part of her was glad she’d been sent to Florida.
Especially now, that she had Ken.
She didn’t need a map or GPS to know when they drew close to the spot where Ken had driven him and Nami off the road that day.
The same spot where Grandmother Louisa had died in a tragic car accident.
When they reached it, there were no other cars coming from either direction as far as she could see, so she pulled to a stop and threw it in park, turning on their hazard flashers.
“Dewi,” Badger softly said. “Why?”
“Because I need to.”
She stepped out of the truck. The chilly October night air felt crisp, and the scent of pine trees pricked her nose, with achingly melancholy memories washing in of her childhood.
She walked over to the spot, staring down into the dark void formed by the huge gap in the trees from where the logging truck had gone off the road and taken her grandmother’s car with it so many decades earlier.
The same gap Ken had pointed the rental car at and had deliberately driven down to escape Segura’s men.
An action everyone agreed had saved their lives, in the end. A series of coincidences that came together to help save his life, and Nami’s.
She heard Badger get out and walk over to stand next to her.
“It’s a tragedy,” he softly said, “but it’s in the past. We can’t bring her back.”
“Da said he heard her in the wind. That’s what he told you. That’s why he didn’t come home after his accident, when he realized he was still alive.”
“Aye. I heard my Tahlia for decades like that. But I had yer father to help keep me livin’. That’s what friends an’ family do. Pack. That’s why we’ve brought Tamsin out here. We support each other, we love each other, through the good an’ the bad. Especially the bad. It’s easy to love each other in sunny skies and fair winds, an’ totally another to stick together through the worst o’ the storms. Charlie begged me to hang in there, that he was gonna need me one day. An’ he was so right, he had no idea.”
Badger pulled her in for a hug. “If I hadn’t hung in there, who woulda been around to take care o’ ye, hmm? An’ lookin’ back, there’s not a second o’ yer life I’d want to have missed. Even as stubborn and pig-headed as ye can be. Ye’re the daughter Tahlia would have loved to have, and I love ye like one.”
Dewi was not a crying kind of person.
As in, at all.
She was rarely moved to tears, although in her short time with Ken, fear about something happening to him, or relief that he was okay, had moved her to cry more than once already.
In this moment, she finally shed tears, reliving the terror that had filled her when she knew Ken had driven them off the road.
The worry that she’d lost her mate, the love of her life.
“Do you think their spirits were here that day? she asked. “Mom
and Dad and Grandma Louisa and Tahlia? Do you think they helped keep Ken and Nami safe?”
“I dunno, sweetheart,” he gently said. “It’s somethin’ I thought meself. I won’t deny I lifted up prayers to the Goddess to gather ‘round the two o’ them that day. I was terrified we’d not find ‘em in time. But we had a double miracle. We found ‘em, an’ got Duncan back. I know ye might want to think if Duncan hadn’t left, maybe yer parents would still be alive. Perhaps. But ponder this.”
He made her look him in the face. “If Duncan hadn’t left, if he were still pack Alpha, yer parents might not have been where they were, or goin’ to the meeting where they were, or even been missed and looked for. Endquist still would’ve tried to get his revenge at some point. Maybe, in a timeline where Duncan never left, ye would’ve died wi’ Charlie an’ Chelsea, because the feckin’ bastard would’ve had more time to finish ye off, too. Maybe the only reason ye’re still here at all is because Duncan wasn’t.
“And if ye never survived what ye did, maybe ye wouldn’t have become a Prime. Ye wouldn’t have been sent to Florida. Ye wouldn’t have met Ken. Beck wouldn’t have been there with us, and met Nami. Joaquin wouldn’t have met Malyah. Malyah might have been killed by that feckin’ dirtbag.”
He cupped her face in his hands. “Dewi, ye canna fash yerself about this. It’ll drive ye insane. Believe me, I did plenty o’ soul-searchin’ o’ me own over the years. All ye can do is deal wi’ what the Goddess gives ye, when she gives it to ye. Let’s love the ones we have in our lives now, an’ let the rest of it come as it will. Use this to remember that life’s damned short, an’ ye shouldn’t let fear hold ye back from findin’ yer happiness. Okay?”
She nodded and sniffled back tears. “Okay.” She hugged him tightly. “If I haven’t said it enough lately, I love you, Badger. You are my dad.”
He hugged her back. “Yeah, well, I love ye, too, sweetheart. Ye’re my daughter, ye pig-headed barbarian.”
She laughed. “Oh, if you tell Peyton and Trent I was crying, I’ll kill you.”
He chuckled and released her so she could wipe her eyes. “Yer secret’s safe wi’ me, kiddo. Ye know that. Always.”
* * * *
There were armed guards stationed at the pack compound’s front gate, which was a new procedure Dewi knew about, because she told Peyton she thought they should do it. Until Manuel Segura was captured or killed, they would have guards manning all the entrances into the compound twenty-four/seven. It was a pain in the ass, but it would help keep everyone safer.
When they stopped and she rolled down the window, the shifter who walked over smiled and gave her a half-hug through the window.
“Hey, Dewi. Welcome back. Good to see you.”
“How are you, Walton?”
“Good. Expecting our first pup! Just found out last week.”
“Congratulations!”
He laughed. “Yeah, guess we’re having a post-Muster pup explosion around here. Doc in town said we’re the fifteenth new baby he knows of.”
She smiled. “We always do.”
He looked around her and waved. “Hey, Badger.”
“Hey, yerself. Congratulations. Hug yer missus for us.”
“Will do.” He waved to the other guard to open the gate for them and let them through.
The outside light was on when Dewi pulled in to Peyton’s driveway and shut the truck off. Peyton and Gillian walked out to greet them before they even got out, and Peyton held his arms open to Dewi.
“There’s my Dewster.”
She let him pull her in for a long hug. No, she didn’t begrudge the nickname. It was just so good to be able to see him again this soon, even under the circumstances. As aggravated as she sometimes got at Peyton her pack Alpha and boss, and at Peyton her older brother, she’d never turn away a hug from him. There were too many times she wished Peyton and Trent had been around when she was younger, and they’d been here while she’d been in Florida.
But when she hugged Gillian, her sister-in-law, Dewi gasped. “Oh, my god!”
Peyton laughed. “Told you she’d know. I realized it a few days ago.”
Gillian giggled. “Yeah, we were going to call you and tell you, but then when Peyton said you were driving out anyway, he decided we’d wait and surprise you.”
“When are you due?” Dewi asked.
“Early July.
“That’s not all,” Peyton said, grinning.
“What?”
Gillian smiled. “You know your brothers. They went for two. You want to round out the sibling hat trick?”
Dewi blamed it on exhaustion, that it took her so long to decipher her brother’s evil smile, combined with Gillian’s playful one.
Then Dewi’s eyes widened. “No. Way. Asia’s pregnant, too?”
“Yeah. She just found out this morning.”
“Holy shit. It’s like it’s raining babies.”
Peyton reached out and poked her in the shoulder. “Muster Madness. You should jump in. The water’s great.”
“Fuck you, Peyton. If all our Alphas are pregnant—”
Badger cleared his throat.
“You know what I mean,” Dewi said. “If we’ve got most of our strongest Alphas distracted becoming dads, someone’s got to mind the store.”
“Yeah, well, as your big brother and pack Alpha, I’m telling you if you and Ken decide to start your family now, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.”
Dewi realized they hadn’t introduced Tamsin yet. Dewi turned. “I’m sorry, sweetie.” She motioned the girl over. “Peyton, Gillian, this is Tamsin Clarke. Her father-in-law is Trevor, Alpha of the Staffordshire Pack.”
Dewi didn’t expect what Tamsin next did. She sank to her knees right there in the driveway and bared her throat. “I pledge to the Targhee Pack, sir,” she tearfully whispered. “Thank you for sanctuary for myself and my baby…” she broke down sobbing.
“Hey, no, hey,” Peyton gently said. He brushed his fingers over her exposed throat before scooping an arm around her and helping her up, waving Gillian in to help and hug her. “Shh, it’s okay. You’re pack. Come on inside and let’s get you settled.”
Dewi started to turn to help Badger with the luggage, but he waved her back. “Go on wi’ them, hon,” he sadly said. “She’s gonna need a familiar face.”
It was nearly two a.m. before Dewi and Badger were stowed in their individual guest houses out back, the same ones they’d occupied the last time they were there. Peyton and Gillian had insisted on putting Tamsin in a guest room inside the main house.
Dewi felt so exhausted she barely remembered to text Ken that they’d arrived. Then she put her phone on her charger and face-planted into the mattress. At least she could stop worrying about Tamsin now, with her safely handed over to her older brother.
* * * *
Dewi slept until nearly two the next afternoon. When she finally stumbled her way to the main house in search of coffee and food, she found Badger was already up, and both Asia and Trent were there, along with Peyton and Gillian, and they sat talking with Tamsin in the living room.
Dewi hugged her oldest brother and his wife. “So you guys are playing copycat, huh?”
Trent laughed. “I think he’s technically copying me, now. This’ll be our fifth.”
“I thought you threatened to neuter him the last time?” Dewi teased Asia.
“Yeah, well, Chelsea’s twelve, and I miss having little kids around. This way, our babies will be close to the same age, and can grow up together.” She nudged Dewi. “Your turn.” She grinned.
“No. Y’all can stop that right now.” She turned and headed to the kitchen to get her coffee and food.
“Listen to her,” Trent said. “Dewster even sounds Southern now.” He laughed.
“Don’t pick on her too much,” Badger chastised. “Remember, I gotta ride all the way back to Florida wi’ her.”
“No, I could have them drive me to Spokane and catch a flight,” she calle
d back.
“Promises, promises.” That triggered another round of laughter between her brothers and sisters-in-law and Badger.
Dewi finally got her mug of coffee and joined them in the living room. She still wanted to call Ken and talk to him, but she wanted coffee in her first.
And she wanted to make sure Tamsin was okay.
“Did you eat breakfast today?” Dewi asked her.
She nodded. “And lunch.” Her expression turned dark. “They finally caught my oldest brother and killed him,” she said. “He wouldn’t tell them where Father is. They didn’t have a Prime there to interrogate him, and he was trying to shift to escape. He injured another wolf in the process. Trevor said it’s only a matter of time before they corner Father. I hope they make him suffer before he dies.”
“You’re still welcomed here,” Peyton insisted. “In fact, maybe it’d be better for you and your baby to stay for a while, even if they do catch him. We won’t know at first who was helping him. Trevor wants time to make sure he runs down all leads and eliminates the threats. Less risk to you and your baby if you’re with us. You’ll always have a home here with us.”
“Thank you. You’re very kind. I would like to…decompress.”
“This is a very healing land,” Badger solemnly said. “I canna tell ye how much it helped my heart an’ soul, bein’ here. Comin’ up on the holiday season soon. Winter’s beautiful here. The whisper of snow in the pines, the crunch underfoot as ye run shifted through the mountains, able to howl and forget, fer a while.”
“Trevor asked that I stay at least through New Year’s, even if they catch Father before then.”
“That sounds like a plan,” Dewi said.
Once Dewi got some food in her, she returned to the guest house to call home.
Ken answered his cell on the second ring. “Florida Furry Family. Press or say one for hours and location. Press or say two to speak to a very lonely husband.”
She giggled. “Two.”
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