by Dara Fraser
“It is.” Leaning over, she reached up and traced the shape of Leo’s mark on his neck, being sure not to touch the actual mating mark. “This means everything to me. Promise me you will remember that.”
“You do know it is lower than that.”
She nodded before barely brushing it with her fingertips and watching his eyes darken. He grabbed her wrist and gently brought her hand to his chest, over his heart.
“It means everything to me, too, love, and there’s no need for me to promise because you will be there every day to remind me.”
She didn’t taste a lie. He meant every word.
“Thanks.” She turned to face forward, adjusting her seat belt as she did. “We best be going if we are to be the first there.”
“Aye, aye, boss.” They were on the highway in moments and the clouds were back, only this time she knew what was behind them and that gave her a bit of calm.
“So, Leo, speaking of boss... Do you know who my power works on?”
“Are you getting kinky?” His attempt at lightening the mood was appreciated.
“Not at this moment, no.” She patted his knee. “Maybe if you are good, I may later. Seriously, though, do you know?”
“This is only conjecture because you are mated to an alpha so that makes things a bit hazy. You should be able to use your influence on all alphas and probably betas since they are so strongly connected.” Leo was talking very slowly and if she were to guess, he was trying to figure it out as he answered.
“And what about Richard?” She had assumed it would be only alphas although betas made some sense. Granny was technically an alpha, but Richard, he was just clan and not her clan. At least not technically.
“Richard is clan and you are alpha female, so here is where I’m guessing. I think you probably have equal power to me when it comes to our clan.”
“Am I clan though?”
“YES!” His answer was more roar than voice, and if he wasn’t her mate, she would have most likely been cowering in the corner.
“Think about what I just asked and then think about your response.” Samantha made sure her voice was calm and firm.
Silence filled the vehicle, and she could almost pinpoint the second it clicked. She understood that things were tense but really.
“You are clan because you are my mate.” His voice was much calmer. “Technically, you aren’t officially pack because of the ceremony but given your connection to me, that wouldn’t make a difference when it comes to your authority as alpha female.”
“Thank you.” She saw a sign for the quilt festival. They were getting close. “So what’s the deal with the quilts anyway?” She decided a change in conversation was for the best and it really did seem odd to her. “I mean seriously, who cares?”
“You grew up on a ranch, how do you not understand the joy of a quilting guild?” She stuck out her tongue and while he didn’t respond in kind, she could see that it amused him by the almost smile he was trying to hide.
“That’s all you’ve got?”
“Yeah. That’s all I’ve got. I don’t get it, either.”
She heard the turn signal and saw the exit approaching. No one was going to miss the festival. The exit was lined with signs and as they reached the stop sign at the end, there were more signs. Three heavily marked turns later and they were being flagged into a field turned parking lot. Cars were everywhere.
“This looks more like a county fair than an old lady festival.”
“It is. There are the quilts and the judging, but this is also a fundraiser, so they have fair food, cheesy carnival games, and pony rides.” They pulled into the spot they were directed. She didn’t love that. It might make it difficult if they need a fast exit.
“I can feel your worry. It is crashing into me at full force, love. What can I do to make it better?”
“You can’t. I just wish we had an easy exit out if need be.” He looked around and started to back out. “What are you doing?”
“Moving the car.” He said it like it was no big deal, but the volunteers with flags looked like they were going to lose it. He rolled down his window as one of said people were tapping furiously at it. “Yes?”
“Sir, what are you doing?” The poor lad’s voice was shaking. He was a fox.
“I’m the mayor of Lionville.” Samantha could sense the power in his voice and while he might not be able to control those who weren’t clan, they would be able to sense it, too. “My mate wants us to have a pull-through spot near an exit.”
“Yes, Alpha.” He got on his walkie-talkie and pointed to the far corner. “I asked and it looks like that will be the best exit once the lot fills. It means a walk now or I could get a golf cart or I could get my car or whatever you need.” The poor kid was a bumbling mess.
“You did well, my friend. My mate just likes to not sit in traffic. Walking is no problem.” The teen nodded furiously, his fear seemed too much.
“Where are you from?” Samantha suspected she knew, but given his age, it might be fear of lions more than fear of his own pack.
“Aldric, ma’am.” He looked down, not meeting her eyes.
“What is your name?”
“Leroy, ma’am.”
“Well, Leroy, I would like you to follow us to the parking spot.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Leo rolled up his window and drove slowly to the spot.
“Number four, love?” She didn’t realize she could love her mate more and then he went and did something like this.
“Number four. He can’t be any more than thirteen and there is no way he is pack.”
He pulled into the spot. It was perfect and most definitely an easy out if need be. “You’re right on that. He is a fox and Aldrics are wolves, done.”
They got out of the car and Leroy was standing there, head down waiting a command.
“Leroy, can we trust you?” She used her alpha voice and it seemed to hit him in a way Leo’s didn’t. She was right. He might live there, but he was not pack. He was a lone fox. A teenage lone fox.
“Yes, ma’am. With your life.” Not a lie to be tasted.
“Most excellent. You aren’t pack.” He shook his head. “Would you like to be clan?” He looked up at her, tears in his eye. She would take that as a yes.
Just then, Zara and Dylan pulled into the spot next to them and Zara plopped on out, talking a mile a minute. “I think we gave them a heart attack following you instead of the signs.” Zara seemed highly amused by that until she noticed the scene before her. “What’s up?”
Dylan was now standing beside her. He looked at the boy and then to Leo before asking, “Number four?”
“Number four.” Zara and Dylan nodded in understanding.
“Leroy, this is Zara. Zara is our beta female and as you can see she is very pregnant.” Leroy looked up, but from what Samantha could see, he never met Zara’s eyes. “Zara is going to drive you back to the clan. You are to stay with her and anyone she says she trusts. Do you have a phone or anything with technology that could be tracked?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Well then, give me the walkie-talkie and get on in. Under no circumstance are you to contact anyone without my direct consent.” She knew she put a little too much force in the last part when his knees started to buckle.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And I want you to call me Samantha. You’re one of mine now. None of this ma’am stuff.” Samantha leaned over and gave him a quick hug before Zara kissed her mate quickly and dragged Leroy to the car, driving away before they could even think about saying good-bye.
“I owe you, Samantha.” She could sense Dylan’s relief. “The last place I wanted Zara to be was here. Now she has a mission and I can focus on mine.”
“Do you think anyone saw?” She knew Leo was taking care of that part so she could focus on Leroy. There was no way he would let his sister be in danger.
“None. The cars are coming in so quickly, they are lucky
to keep up, Samantha.” Leo grabbed her hand and they walked to the main buildings, conveniently dropping the walkie talkie in the trash can along the way.
“You’re letting the Samantha thing go?” Dylan was bemused by them.
“Are you really encouraging him?” She smacked her brother-in-law on the chest.
“You did well. We are lucky to have you as our alpha female.”
She didn’t respond. She had no idea how to without letting her emotions get the best of her.
“I need to go find Sybil and Mindy.” He started in the opposite direction before turning back. “We’ll meet you at the house at five o’clock. If you’re not there and we have not heard anything, we will be coming back for you.” He jogged off, probably trying to avoid them commanding him to do elsewise.
“What do we do now?”
“Now we enjoy the day.” He wrapped his arm around her waist before continuing their conversation in silence. We’re supposed to trust that we know what to do and when, so for now we’ll just be a happy couple enjoying the day.
Samantha focused on sending her thoughts. She had been successful a couple of times, but they had both been accidental and while her mouth was otherwise occupied. Can you hear me?
Yes, love. You don’t need to try so hard. You did well last night.
She was sure she was blushing as the memory of their time in the shower ran through her mind.
Love, you can’t think those kinds of things when we’re in public.
Then quit bringing them up.
“Win a stuffed animal for the lady. Two dollars a play or three plays for five dollars.” The poor guy was dressed in a clown costume with full makeup and wig. He was probably melting, and he looked more like a horror story clown than one that was kid friendly.
“One please.” Leo handed the man two dollar bills. Blending in had officially begun.
“It is three for five if you would like to increase your chances.”
“I only need one.” Cocky Leo had emerged and the clown gave him a “yeah right” look before handing him a ball.
“You need to knock all of them out of the ring to win your choice from row one. If you manage to also get one off the table, you get your choice of row two and with each additional one on the floor, you get a higher row.”
“And when I get them all on the floor.”
The clown chuckled. “If they all fall off the table, you get your choice of any prize.”
Samantha counted the bottles and the tiers and chuckled. It must be rigged because there were not enough prize levels. She was looking forward to seeing this.
“Good luck, honey.” She laid it on thick and squeezed his butt for good measure.
Behave.
What? You do realize this is rigged, right? There aren’t enough prize levels.
I noticed, which is why I will win. Can you imagine the hemming and hawing?
Samantha stepped to the side and watched her mate make a show of “warming up.” He looked absolutely ridiculous. Okay, ridiculously cute. A crowd was forming, and she could almost see the clown adding up the money he was going to bring in.
In the blink of an eye, Leo whipped the ball at the bottles with a force she couldn’t have anticipated. He really was all power wrapped up in a hunk of hottie. From the sound of the ball hitting the bottles, it was a good thing they were metal. From the cheers, every last one was on the ground, but she couldn’t tear her eyes off of her mate.
“What do you want, sweetheart?” Leo asked with a wink.
“Eh, you pick.” Show-off.
You love it.
No, I love you. Big difference.
Leo pointed to a giant stuffed chicken, and the clown happily handed it over as people started to demand their turn.
“A chicken?”
“What? I won it for you.” She just shook her head. “Just kidding. I’ll be right back.”
Samantha turned her head and watched her mate as he walked to a bench where a little girl with huge eyes was sitting with what looked like her grandmother. He handed the girl the chicken and her squees could probably be heard for miles.
She walked to meet him halfway and greeted him with a kiss. “That was a nice thing you did. How did you know?”
“She was telling her foster mom all about how she wanted to win the chicken with her tooth fairy money, and the old woman agreed that would be a fine thing to do once she was ‘big’ and lost her baby teeth.”
Foster mom?
Yes. Her mom is in the hospital, though, so it is only temporary. He squeezed her tightly. “Your heart is so big.”
“Says the man who won a chicken for a random stranger.” She grabbed his hand, leading him towards the food vendors. “Now buy me cobbler.”
“Yes, ma’am.” His voice was light, but it immediately brought her back to Leroy.
He will be okay, right? There was no need to clarify who he was. Leo had to know how much the poor kid weighed on her mind.
Yes, love. We take care of our own. He will be fine. Leo meant every word. One brief encounter in a parking lot, and now Leroy was just as important as every other member of the clan.
Our house only has two bedrooms and both are in use. Her brain started to think of other places where he might be at home. She wanted to make a home for him and while she assumed it would be with them, maybe it was only her job to help him find the place where he belonged. Darn this alpha female stuff was hard.
Our new house will be larger, and my guess is Granny is going to be spending her time elsewhere. This was the second time he mentioned a new home. From the sounds of it, he had already planned the whole thing out.
Oh really. You sound like you know something I don’t. She turned to see her mate trying to look all innocent.
I do. Now let’s get cobbler. Yeah, something was up with Granny.
The cobbler was twice as delicious as it smelled. Halfway through her first serving, Leo had told her that Dylan’s mission was accomplished, and all he knew was number five was accounted for. She loved how her mate had contact with his beta at all times. It gave her relief to know he was never alone if danger presented itself.
“I can’t eat another bite.” Samantha was not sure she had ever eaten as much dessert as she had today, but it was addictively yummy, and the sign said all funds raised went to the local food pantry, so how could she not help out.
“Three servings of cobbler will do that to you.” He was right. She should have stopped at two.
“You had four.”
“And a half,” he added as he devoured the rest of hers.
“Do you know what strikes me as odd?”
“The number three?” Math jokes. Yes, fate matched them perfectly.
“No, wise guy. The absence of actual quilts at this quilt festival.” It was true, they passed rides, games, and more food choices than she could even remember, but they had yet to see one quilt.
“Truer words were never spoken. Shall we go hunt down the quilts?”
“Yes. Quilt hunting it is.”
The sky was getting darker and a few times she wondered if it were time, but then the clouds broke and the rays of the sun beat upon them. She was so edgy and yet she hoped to the random person they looked like two people out on a date. There were times, though short lived, where it felt like a date, but then the reality of the day would hit her once again.
They did indeed find the quilts and while they were beautiful, they didn’t really hold Samantha’s interest. She really hoped that being alpha female didn’t mean she would end up having to help the town’s women make their yearly entry. She could muster up excitement at their accomplishments easy enough, for their entry was by far the most intricate of the lot. But sitting there weekly with her pin cushion in hand just wasn’t her.
Her head became lighter somehow and she knew it was time.
“Let’s go.” He must have sensed it also because he had her out of the building and into the woods before she could mention it.
It was darker than before, though hardly eclipse worthy, yet as they got further and further away from the festival, she felt more and more sure they were going in the right direction. Her unicorn wanted to run, but she forced her down. They needed to do this as human.
“My lion is riding me hard.” They kept running as he spoke, and the sky did get darker but not much.
“My unicorn is doing the same. It’s hard for me to keep her down.”
A stench hit her nose. Wolf. She was sure of it, but it smelled off.
“You smell that?”
“Smell what?” Standing in front of them as they turned the bend was the origin of the odor.
That smell is blood. Blood of a shifter. Ignore it.
Aldric?
Yes.
“Yes, I smell it. Cobbler. It is quite yummy. Well, we need to be somewhere.” She started to lead them away, but Leo stopped them. It seemed that the alpha before them was going to have to be dealt with before the Theron.
“I can taste your lies, woman.”
“Fine, I smell you, but we really best be getting on our way and you best be getting a shower.”
Poking a wolf is not a good idea, love.
Letting our window of opportunity slip isn’t, either.
“Oh how cute, you two are mates.” Hostility filled his words. “You have what is mine and I want it back.”
“What are you talking about?” She had to give it to Leo, he sounded legitimately perplexed.
“You have five of my pack members.”
“Who are you?” She knew his pack, but she wanted his name. There was power in a name.
“I’m Eric, alpha of the Aldric pack and I want Lily, Daisy, Rose, and Darnell back.”
“Not going to happen.” Leo was throwing power, but it didn’t seem to faze Eric one bit. “You said five. Who is the fifth?”
“The boy from the parking lot.” He was baiting them and Samantha tried not to let it get to her, but maternal instincts over the boy won out.
“Leroy is not yours.” Screw this. Samantha didn’t have time for games and pulled up all of her power. “He wasn’t pack and I claimed him as mine. You and your pack will never contact him in any way. If you see him coming, you are to run.”