by T. S. Joyce
“But she’s a damned Hell Hunter!”
“No, I’m not.” Emily leveled him with a serious look. “Listen to my voice when I say that. I’m not a Hell Hunter anymore. I’m loyal to Chance. I will protect him at all costs.”
“Then why did you set a damned trap on my land, Emily? My wife almost snapped her leg in half, and while she was carrying my pup in her arms. She isn’t a shifter with fast healing. She would’ve bled out before I could get her to any help.”
“I told you I didn’t set that trap, Link. My uncle did. He’s ailing, and his lungs don’t work very well. He’s on his last legs, and he’s using what time he has left to try and finish what I wouldn’t. I told him if he comes after you, I’ll hunt him. And I’ve spent the last couple of days tracking him, but every lead I’ve had hasn’t panned out. I’ve even checked most of the abandoned cabins within a twenty mile radius of Galena. He’s here, and he’s hunting, but I have nothing to do with that. I’m trying to stop him.”
“Why? Why protect me and my family?”
“Not you. Your pack. Chance’s pack. He loves you guys more than anything. Losing you would destroy him.”
“You would hunt your uncle, your own flesh-and-blood family, to protect Chance?”
She huffed a single empty laugh. “It’s actually an easier choice than I thought, and no, I don’t care what that says about me.”
Link cocked his head and leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest like he didn’t want to believe what she was saying. If he could sense a lie, though, he couldn’t deny she was here for the right reasons.
Tilting his chin toward the books in front of her, he asked, “What are those?”
She pushed the stack across the rustic wooden table toward him and smiled. “This is my olive branch.”
Chapter Fourteen
Tobias circled back toward a landing strip in the middle of nowhere. It was lined with giant spruce trees and clusters of alders. “Silver Summit is right over there,” he said across the headphones.
Emily looked where he pointed to a clearing, and from here, she could just make out the roof of the lodge. Another wave of excitement trembled through her stomach.
Tobias made a clicking sound behind his teeth and pushed his hips forward, then pulled his cell phone out of his back pocket. One glance at the screen, and he plugged in his phone and pointed to her. “Can you take this while I get us landed? It’s Link.”
“Sure.” Emily accepted the call and static blared over her headset. “Hey, Link.”
“Hunter,” he greeted her. It wasn’t her favorite nickname, but Link seemed to enjoy taunting her, so okay. “Listen, I can’t get ahold of Chance. He isn’t picking up his cell and no one is answering the landline.”
“Are you worried?” she asked, suddenly drowning in a jittery panic.
“No, not at all. It’s hard to get ahold of the guides. He could be out on a tour or out in the barn where he doesn’t get reception. More likely, he’s ignoring me because he’s pissed. I just wanted to warn you that the order will still be affecting him when you see him, so don’t get mad at him. I’ve never given an order like this, and I don’t know exactly how his wolf is feeling because he bolted back to Kodiak so fast. Just be patient with him and get him to call me as soon as possible so I can lift the order. I’ll be waiting by my phone. I’m up in Galena at the post office just so I can make sure the patchy reception at my place doesn’t drop the call.”
“Okay. Thank you so much for doing this.”
“No, don’t thank me,” Link said low. “Nicole is right. I had no right to lay down that order. I was mad and scared for my people, and I reacted without taking the time to think out the consequences. I took it out on you, and it hurt Chance.” Link sighed. “I’ll do better.”
“Link, you were protecting your pack. I’m not mad. Not anymore. I really do understand. You’re doing fine. Stay by that phone. We’re landing now.”
“Yep. Later.”
The call ended, so she clutched the phone in her lap and braced herself for impact. Tobias was good, though, an experienced flyer who know this landing strip well. When his little four-seater bush plane came to a stop near the end of the long, concrete pad, he shut it down while she grabbed her overnight bag from the back.
As they made their way to a thin trail that led through the woods, she asked, “Are you sure Lennard will be okay with me booking this tour?” It was her first time to Silver Summit Outfitters, and she didn’t really know all the rules. But if Chance had clients to entertain, she was afraid she would be in the way.
“Lennard will be fine. He is co-owner to this place with Jenner. Jenner’s mate, Lena, visits all the time, and when Dalton is out here guiding and Kate has a couple days off from the medical center in Galena, I usually fly her out here so they aren’t split up too long. Lennard has always been open to visitors. Jenner, Chance, and Dalton are professionals, and act accordingly, but Lennard knows if they don’t get visits from their families, he might not be able to hold them long-term. Plus, I think he likes the company. So many clients come through here, but the only steady people Lennard sees are his guides. Them hookin’ up with ladies doubled Lennard’s circle. He loves Lena and Kate, and he’ll love you, too. Just, for God’s sake, don’t tell him you’re a friggin’ Hell Hunter. He loves Jenner, Chance, and Dalton like his own sons.”
She made her way around a stump in the middle of the trail and asked, “So Lennard knows what they are?”
“He knows. He’s been around them too long not to, but good luck trying to get him to talk about it. He’s fierce about protecting their secrets.”
Emily liked Lennard already. Anyone who protected Chance was okay by her.
“Are the others mad at me? Vera, Lena, Elyse…your brothers?”
“For being a Hell Hunter?”
“Former Hell Hunter,” she corrected.
“Nah, Link explained it well, but you’ll have to work to earn everyone’s trust. The night your dad came for Dalton was hard on all of us. We’re close, you know? If one of us goes down, we’ll all be cut deeply.”
Tobias cast her a quick glance, his bright green eyes the same color as the towering spruce trees behind him. “Families are complicated. We kind of made our own. It’s hard to let someone dangerous in when we have so much at stake.”
“I understand—about complicated families and your reservations about me. I’ll earn your trust.”
Tobias offered her a slow smile. “Link told Vera about the fox cookies with the glitter sprinkles.” He opened his mouth, then closed it again and pushed around a mud skid in the path.
“What?”
Tobias sighed. “Look, my wife is an easy sell. She was stuck on an island with the same shifters who helped your dad attack Dalton and Kate, and they weren’t kind to her. She was the only female on Perl Island for three years, and she wanted friends so badly. She gets fulfillment out of loving friendships with Lena and Elyse, Kate and Nicole. I know she wants that with you, too. Maybe bring her some of those glitter cookies when you get back. She’ll like that. If your family is as fucked up as I suspect they are, the pack and the Silver mates might be able to fill a little bit of that hole for you.”
Tobias was trying to help her. He was telling her exactly how to appeal to his wife so that Emily would have a chance at making amends for everything. The least she could do was repay his kindness with information of her own.
“I know your dad,” she murmured.
He locked his legs and stopped just at the edge of the tree line. “You do? I mean…” He frowned. “Of course, you do. You’re a Hell Hunter, and he worked with your people.”
“Yeah, but you should know he didn’t come to us. My dad and uncle started blackmailing him about ten years ago. They used you and your brothers against him. They used Lincoln’s safety against him. Always threatening.”
“Two men threatening an enforcer bear shifter.”
“Yeah, but he didn’t know it
was just two men. My dad made him think we were building an army. They did eventually recruit the shifters out on Perl Island, but there was no army. Just two really manipulative men who weren’t afraid to threaten your dad’s sons and who weren’t afraid to follow through if he stepped too far out of line. My dad kept tabs on you three. Where you denned on Kodiak every season, Ian’s delivery routes, Jenner’s movements here at Silver Summit. My dad and uncle didn’t have the manpower to end the McCalls, so they manipulated Clayton into every kill order he gave you and your brothers. I know you probably don’t trust Clayton, but he was always trying to protect you three, and Link, in his own way.”
“All information he could’ve shared with us at any point in time,” Tobias gritted out. “My father likes his secrets too much.” He hooked his hands on his waist and stared off into the woods with a sigh. “Shit.”
“If it makes you feel any better, he definitely used my dad and uncle.”
“How?”
“They paid him a lot to take care of their dirty work, and all the while, Clayton was diverting their money to fund a lab in Anchorage to work on the cure for the McCall madness. He was trying to save Link and his brothers, and using Hell Hunter money to do it. All of Vera’s lab equipment? Clayton used Hell Hunter money to fund her fixing all those problems. Your hibernation, female baby werewolves dying, slow Changes, the McCall Reset, all of it.” She gave him a sly smile. “Your dad is a cunning man, Tobias. He wasn’t ever sided with the Hell Hunters. He was using us to fund the very things we feared the most, and he kept his family safe at the same time.”
“But he tried to sacrifice Dalton and Kate.”
“Yeah, because my dad and uncle swore if he didn’t, they would kill Elyse and Ian’s new baby boy and then come after each of you, one by one, starting with your mates. Clayton thought we numbered in the dozens at the time. My dad told him if he gave up Dalton and Kate, the rest of you could live.”
“Jesus,” Tobias whispered, leaning back against a tree. He shook his head back and forth for a long time, then ran his hands down the scruff on his face. “Can I take this information to my brothers?”
“Of course.”
“It doesn’t mean we’ll forgive him, but maybe it would be nice to hate our dad less.”
She smiled sympathetically. “I know all about that. It takes a lot of effort to hate someone, Tobias. More than you even realize. Trust me, it takes its toll.”
The faint echo of an ax on wood sounded across the clearing. Tobias jerked his attention and went still, and then his face transformed into a slow grin. “Chance is here, not out on a tour.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I can hear him cussing up a storm from here. Come on.”
The clearing around the sprawling cedar log lodge was vibrant with little green shoots of new grass. The lodge itself looked like it belonged in a magazine and had a gorgeous wraparound porch and huge window in front that showed the living room inside. From here, she could see a huge stone fireplace and antler chandeliers. An inviting warmth radiated from the inside out. Some distance away was a babbling river with another deck, rocking chairs, a lounge chair, a hammock, and a fire pit. And on the other side of the huge clearing was a barn with a corral and a pair of appaloosa horses eating off a hay bale.
“This place is beautiful,” she murmured as she adjusted the strap of her overnight bag and jogged to catch up to Tobias’s long strides.
“Yeah, the boys do well with it, and this place stays pretty busy during the hunting and fishing seasons.” He cut off toward the lodge but pointed toward the corner of the huge house. “Your man is that way. Good luck. He sounds like he’s in a mood.”
“Thanks,” she said sarcastically.
Around the edge of the lodge, she slowed and then stopped. Chance had his back to her, and it was plain and clear Tobias had been right.
“Mother fuckin’ fucker,” he snapped, kicking a pile of split logs away from the chopping block.
Chance wore a forest green T-shirt that looked positively threadbare and camouflage print cargo pants that hung low around his tapered waist. His work boots were covered in an inch of mud, and the back of his neck was red, though whether from exertion or from anger, she couldn’t tell. Through the thin material of his shirt, she could see every muscle ripple as he lifted an ax and blasted it down onto a log. The blade sank deeply into the chopping block, and Chance shoved the split wood into the substantial pile, then set up the next log. It was the last one from what she could tell, but when he finished with that one, he left the ax in the block, then yanked the cord of a chainsaw. Without a single second’s rest, he began sectioning off a long, dry log, all the while muttering something too low for her to hear.
“Chance,” she murmured. Her voice wasn’t loud, but the word had an immediate effect on him.
He spun and stared, his eyes a frightening shade of lime green, his blond hair mussed, his face twisted into a feral mask. He hadn’t shaved, and his beard was only a shade darker than his hair. It was sexy as hell, but it made her sad because she knew that feeling. She’d let everything go in the days since he’d left, too. Today had been the first day she’d brushed her hair in the better part of a week. The chainsaw idled in his grasp as his chest heaved, and his lips curled back over his teeth.
Not the reunion she’d hoped for, but at least Link had warned her about this.
Chance closed his eyes and doubled over, as if he was going to retch. “What are you doing here?”
“You haven’t been answering Link’s calls.”
“Fuck him.” Chance huffed a painful-sounding breath and turned off the chainsaw. “Em, you can’t be here until I leave the pack. The order—”
“Call Link, Chance. Right now. Please.”
Hands locked on his knees, he stared at her for the span of three heart beats, then straightened his spine and pulled his phone from his pocket. His back to her, he punched in a number and pressed the phone up to his ear as he rested his other hand on his hipbone. From here, his entire body had gone rigid, every muscle tensed and frozen.
He didn’t say a word into the phone, but as minutes dragged by, Chance’s body began to relax. He turned, looking utterly shocked as he stared at her and listened to whatever Link was saying on the other end. “Are you serious?” he asked low. Was that hope in his voice? “Link, don’t fuck with me,” he rasped out. “No,” he said, answering a question she couldn’t hear. “Let me have her, and I won’t leave the pack. Yes, yes, yes, you have my word. I have to go. She’s here. I have to go,” he repeated more urgently. He lowered the phone as he walked toward her, then jogged, then ran.
She bolted to meet him, and he caught her, pulling her off the ground as he crushed her against him. His heartbeat pounded so fast from his chest, and he buried his face against her neck. His back was so tense she rubbed her palm over it again and again, trying to soothe him.
“I thought I had to choose. I thought I lost you or lost the pack. I thought… God, I missed you.”
“I missed you, too,” she whispered, her throat tight around the admission as she pressed her cheek against his. His beard tickled, but she didn’t mind. She inhaled his scent possessively, wishing she could bottle this moment. Chance made her feel so safe.
“How did you do it?” he asked, easing back just enough to look at her.
“Well, I couldn’t have you leaving the pack for me, you silly man. I went to Link’s house and told him everything. I laid it all out there and begged him to lift the order. Nicole helped.”
“You told him everything?”
“Yeah, what is the point of keeping Hell Hunter secrets? My loyalty lies with you and your pack now. Even if Link never lets me be a full member of the Galena pack, if I have you, it’ll be enough.”
“Damn, woman,” he murmured, settling her on her feet.
She’d almost forgotten how tall he was, how wide his shoulders were, and how intimidating he could be, especially with those blazin
g inhuman eyes that said his wolf was so close. He cupped her cheeks in a much gentler touch and searched her eyes. “It’s really over?”
She smiled and blinked back the burning sensation in her eyes. “I’m with you.”
Chance rolled his eyes closed and let off a long sigh that seemed to lift a hundred pounds off his shoulders. He leaned down and kissed her. This one was gentle sips of her lips and quiet, sexy smacks. It was a soft prodding of his tongue against the closed seam of her lips. She opened for him with a helpless moan. God, she’d missed this. She’d been so scared she would never share another moment like this with Chance—her Chance. Her last chance at happiness.
He kissed down her cheek and let off another shaky breath against her neck as he hugged her tightly. His arms were trembling now, and she rubbed his back to comfort him. She knew what he was feeling, could almost sense the relief wafting from his skin. It matched her own.
“Did Tobias fly you in?” he asked, looking up at the lodge. “Can you stay the night?”
“Yes and yes. I brought extra clothes, and Chance, I brought money.”
He frowned down at her. “Em, I’ll take care of you. You don’t need money here.”
“I do. I booked you online for a two-day fishing trip,” she said through a grin.
“For tomorrow? I knew I had a couple and a single. The single is you?”
She nodded. “I know you have to work, but I need to be around you right now. I can’t explain it. I’ll be good and won’t ask you to lose your professionalism in front of your other clients, but I just need you right now.”
He blew a breath and shook his head, staring at her like he’d never seen anything so beautiful. “You’re amazing, Em. You fixed this with Link, faced his wrath alone, and then you came all the way out here. No one has ever done anything like this for me.”
“Yeah, well, you’re mine,” she whispered with a helpless shrug. “And I’m apparently a stage five clinger, so I apologize in advance.”
“Barnacle me, baby,” he said through a wicked grin.