by Susan Bliler
“We have a plan.” Alise’s declaration had ice flooding his veins. He was supposed to the one coming up with a plan.
Finally lifting her head, Alise looked right at him, and even though her eyes were void of all emotion, she couldn’t mask the scents wafting from her. There was sadness tinged with…embarrassment? His nostrils flared as he inhaled again. No. That wasn’t embarrassment. It was humiliation. Alise was mortified, and he couldn’t place the source of her shame. Not until she spoke again.
“We’re stricken, but you don’t want me.” Dropping her eyes back to her hands, Alise forged on. “Dell and Chloe explained the mate mark.”
Chief’s narrowed eyes cut to Dell and Chloe before shooting back to Alise.
“If you give me one, and I give you one. It should be enough for us to…to be able to go our separate ways and struggle through until the stricken can pass.”
No! Fuck no! Brows spearing down, Chief took a step toward Alise, but she shot up out of her seat, holding up a hand.
“Don’t. I don’t want to discuss this. I don’t want to even talk about it. Let’s just do it and get it over with so that we can be rid of each other.”
Rid of each other? A pang of sorrow shot through him and had his wolf whining for him to do something. He wondered if the hollowness slowly filling him was how Alise felt this whole time because of the way he’d treated her for being human.
“I’m a human,” Alise continued, confirming his suspicion. “And you hate humans, so it makes no sense for us to waste any more time. I think we should just…”
No, no, no. It wasn’t ending this way. Not this soon! Not like this!
“My mother was human,” Chief blurted out.
Alise’s mouth rounded in shock, but he forged on before he lost the courage to do so.
“My mother was a human, Alise. She was a human who didn’t want a shifter child. A human who went into town one day and left me with my father when I was just weeks old. A human who never came back.”
Hating the pity he saw in Alise’s eyes, he forged on, wanting and needing to get it all out at once. “My father raised me until I was a teenager, but on my fifteenth birthday, he took me to a section of the forest I’d never been in, told me to find my own territory. He said his job was done just before he shifted and walked away. I grew up alone, and I blamed her. I blamed her for walking out, and I blamed her for my dad abandoning me when he did because I never missed the way he looked at me sometimes like he was seeing a ghost.” Heart constricting with the memories, Chief had to swallow hard at the emotion threatening to close his throat. “He saw her in me, and he hated it. I was a reminder of what he couldn’t keep. And she knew there’d be a wolf in me and she hated that too. I blamed her for all of it because if she didn’t run then maybe she’d have grown to like me and my dad would have too. Disgusted, I pounded it into my head that humans don’t stay. They can’t tolerate us. I didn’t want to give a human a chance because she never gave me one.” Helplessly he muttered, “Humans don’t stay.”
“We can’t stay, Chief. Not if you don’t give us a chance to.”
Alise’s words hung between them. He wanted to tell her that she was right. He wanted to tell her that he’d give her a chance, but no words came. He was thinking too hard about getting attached to Alise and what would happen if she walked too.
With sadness brimming her eyes, Alise turned to Chloe and Dell. “Thank you for your hospitality. If it’s okay, we’ll stay the night and leave first thing in the morning.”
“Where will you go?” Chloe asked.
Glancing over her shoulder at Chief, Alise said, “Tomorrow we’ll exchange marks before he takes me home, and he can go back to StoneCrow to fulfill his vow.”
Without another word, Alise hurried from the den leaving Chloe, Dell, and Chief staring after her.
Chief snarled, “You think me marking her is going to make it even remotely possible for my wolf to let her go? I can’t fucking do it now!”
“Others have done it,” Chloe offered sadly. “And if you’re so anxious to be free of her then it’s what you’ll have to do. Best to do it sooner than later. Rip the band-aid off, as they say.”
“And who in the fuck said I want to be rid of her?”
Chloe jabbed her finger toward the empty doorway, face snapping into a frown. “She did! Your mate believes you don’t want her, Chief! And if that’s the case, I’m gonna do what I can to make her separation from you as easy as possible.” Chloe stomped toward the exit. “And if it’s not the case, you’ve got some serious fucking work to do, which I suggest you get on because Alise wants to go home tomorrow!”
Alone with Dell, Chief growled, “Chrrrrrist!” Scrubbing a hand down his face, he heaved out another breath before frowning at Dell. “Is it always like this with a mate?”
With a chuckle, Dell clapped him on the back. “Every minute and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Good lord, I’m screwed.
Chapter 18
Alise went up to the guestroom that Chloe had pointed out earlier. Her suitcase was on the bed, and with nothing else to do, she rifled through it, pulled out a cute velvety pair of joggers and a matching top. Snagging a pair of panties, a bottle of coconut scented lotion, a brush, q-tips, and a pair of thick socks, she stacked the items on her pile of clothes and made her way to the ensuite bathroom. All through blasting on the shower, laying out her clothes and toiletries, Alise avoided looking at herself in the mirror. She couldn’t. She didn’t want to see what it was that Chief saw. A woman lacking.
Tears clouding her vision, Alise stripped out of her clothes with her back to the mirror. She wondered what it was about Chloe that had made Dell decide to keep her. She was the human woman the two girls had been talking about. Her daughters. Chloe BlackBird, mate to the Alpha of the BlackBird pack, was once human…just like Alise. But unlike Alise, Dell had decided to not only keep Chloe, but he’d changed her too.
Stepping into the shower, she dumped shampoo into her palm and wondered what it would be like to be a shifter.
Fucking awesome, she decided.
Long minutes passed with her thinking about racing through the forest in wolf form. All through her shower, she thought on the pros and cons of being a shifter. She thought on how it would change her life, and whether or not she’d welcome that change. As she dried her hair she decided that watching her best friend Alex fall for Skin Walker, Recker Rhodes, had been eye-opening. Alex had become a totally different person, and Alise knew it was the person that Alex was always meant to be. She wanted that too, but it didn’t matter what she wanted. It didn’t matter if she’d accept being changed or if she would enjoy a life mated to a shifter…because Chief didn’t want her.
Dressing quickly, she stayed facing away from the mirror as she brushed and braided her hair and cried quietly. Always the bridesmaid.
Stepping out of the bathroom, Alise was lost in self-pity. She didn’t even see Chief sitting on the end of the bed until he asked, “You been crying?”
Head snapping up, Alise slammed to a halt. Instantly, her defenses went up.
“No,” she clipped out. “I got soap in my eyes.”
With a snarl, Chief shoved up off the bed. “We can scent lies.”
“Good for you.” She skirted around him and went to her open suitcase. She stowed her dirty clothes and toiletries inside and then took extra minutes re-folding clothes because she didn’t know what else to do.
“I’m sorry,” Chief muttered. “I’ve fucked this all up.”
She didn’t respond.
“Are…are you hungry?”
Trying to remember the last time she ate, she was startled to realize it was the breakfast that Chief had made for her that morning. God, it’s only been one day! It felt so much longer. They’d been through so much and finally stopping to take stock of herself she realized that she was drained and famished.
“I’m starving.”
Her admission had Chief stalk
ing toward the door. “I’ll bring you food.”
When he left, she wondered if he was bringing her food because he didn’t want her waltzing around the house. She wondered if he was hiding her. She wondered if he was embarrassed of her.
***
Inside of Chief, Beast was snarling. They were doing a shit job of taking care of their mate. She was famished and regardless of what she’d said, he knew she’d been crying in the bathroom.
Scrubbing a hand over his face, he hurried down the stairs and made his way to the kitchen.
When he caught sight of Mama stirring a pot of something on the stove, he almost considered leaving and coming back later. Nah, Alise was hungry, and if he had to face an army to get her fed, he’d do it.
“Your woman must be hungry,” Mama spoke without turning around. “She’s had a long day.”
“Yeah,” he admitted. “She is. I haven’t been taking very good care of her.”
Mama grinned over her shoulder. “Well, you just found her. It’ll take a minute.” Pointing a wooden spoon and the kitchen island, Mama directed, “Sit, I’ll make you both something.”
Doing as directed, Chief glanced at the window. It was dark out now, but that didn’t mean it was late. In Montana, it was dark more often than it was light.
“You’ve decided to keep her.” Stepping away from the stove, Mama rummaged through a cupboard and pulled out a large serving tray before ladling soup into two bowls and placing them on it. “I’m glad.”
“I thought Monroe made it happen,” he admitted quietly. “I thought it was arranged, so I was reluctant to get attached.”
“But you did anyway,” Mama supplied.
She was right. He did.
“I said some shit…” he glanced up. “Stuff,” he amended quickly. “I said some stuff about her being a human and it hurt her feelings.”
“Your words didn’t hurt her feelings. You did that.”
Well, this little talk wasn’t making him feel any better.
“You’re right,” he conceded. “But I wanna fix it.”
“And you don’t know how.” Mama buttered two thick pieces of still-steaming bannock bread and set them on the tray. Stopping her work, she shook her head. “Alpha’s have a hard time admitting when they’re wrong. They’re not used to apologizing.”
“Exactly,” Chief muttered.
Mama pointed her butter coated knife at him, “But it doesn’t mean they don’t know how. My Dell and Chloe had a difficult time at first. All you young people have this vision of what you think your life should be. You let it get in the way of what you need.” Carrying the tray over to the island, she set it in front of Chief. “Especially males. You all struggle so hard with what’s right and what’s wrong. You think true wolves do that? No!” she answered for him. “Wild wolves don’t hem and haw over what they should and shouldn’t do. They don’t fret over who wants what. They find a mate, they claim her, and they protect and covet her all their days. That simple. Maybe you should do that.” She pushed the tray toward him. “Maybe, for now, you just focus on your mate’s immediate needs. Food, warmth, rest, protection, and companionship. You can do those things. Can’t you?”
With a slow nod, Chief said, “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good,” Mama gave him her back and went back to her soup with an ordered, “Then go do them.”
Chief took the tray and made to exit the kitchen when Mama halted him. “And Chief, don’t go giving that Monroe StoneCrow so much credit. He may think he’s figured out a loophole with his people, but it’s about to bite him in the ass. And he’s nowhere near discovering our secrets.” With a snort of offense she scoffed to herself, “He’s not that damn powerful.”
Back in their room, Chief stood near the door while Chloe pulled out a TV tray that had been propped in the corner. Setting it up, she pulled a chair to one end before taking a seat on the bed. Chief liked that she set the table for two instead of just taking her food and asking him to leave.
Setting the tray down, he opened both cans of Coke on it before handing one to Alise.
She drank long and deep, and it made him feel like shit for not taking better care of her.
Taking up her spoon, Alise stirred her bowl of soup. “What’s this?”
“It’s called bullets.” Chief stirred his own. “It’s just seasoned broth, rice, potatoes, and venison meatballs. It’s really good.”
Alise took a few bites and then beamed up at Chief. “It’s really good!”
He was glad she liked it. When she reached for her bread, he explained, “That’s bannock. It’s made like one giant biscuit. When it’s done you just rip pieces off.”
Alise bit into the buttery bread and closed her eyes with a moan that had Chief’s body tensing at the sound.
“So good,” she spoke around the bite.
Forcing his attention from Alise, Chief dug into his own food. Alsie was right. The food was damn good.
Chief chewed slowly, wanting to talk to Alise about the mate marks she wanted to exchange. He wanted to tell her he was sorry for treating her so poorly, but Mama was right. Finding the words was difficult, so they ate in a strained silence until their bowls were empty and all the bread was gone. Falling back on the bed, Alise flattened a hand over her stomach. “I’m so full.”
Chief’s eyes though were locked on that hand. A hand that looked like it could be protecting a little life beneath.
Fffffuck! They’d been stricken one damn day, and already he was envisioning Alise swollen with his cub.
Shoving up from his chair, he collected the tray and looked at Alise as she sat up. “I’m gonna take this stuff down. Do you need anything else before you turn in?” He glanced at the room. “Want a glass of water? How’s the temperature? You need more blankets?”
Alise turned and looked over her shoulder at the bed before frowning up at him. “Where will you sleep?”
He liked the hint of worry in her tone but was quick to vanquish it. “I’ll shift and sleep in front of the door. Beast has to stay close, and guarding your door might just let us both get some sleep tonight.”
“On the floor?” Alise twisted her hands together. “That doesn’t sound comfortable.”
“We’re used to it.”
Looking at the bed again, Alise offered, “I could stay on my side, I…”
“No,” Chief bit out. He didn’t want her being uncomfortable all night trying to stay on her side. She deserved a good night’s rest, and Mama was right. Giving her what she needed shouldn’t be that hard. Still, the look that passed over Alise’s face told him that his immediate rebuff was wrong. Give her what she needs! “It’s been a long almost two days, Alessandra. You deserve a good night’s sleep, and while I’d love nothing more than sharing your bed…to sleep! I-I think you deserve better than that.” Jerking a thumb over his shoulder toward the door he offered, “I’m gonna plant myself just on the other side of the door. Beast needs out anyway, and making sure no one messes with your sleep will make us feel like we’re doing something worthwhile.” He eyed the bed. “Don’t get me wrong. Sleeping beside you would be…it’d be perfect, but like I said, it’s been a long two days.” He backed up with the tray in his hands. “But if you need anything. Anything,” he stressed, “I’ll be just outside your door.”
“Does…does it hurt?”
He stilled.
“Letting Beast out? Does it hurt?”
One corner of his mouth lifted. “Nah. I’m really good at shifting now.”
Smoothing a hand over her thigh, Alise watched it as she murmured, “I would have liked to have seen it, to have met him.”
You will, sweetheart. You will. Backing out the door, he said, “I’ll be just outside.”
Chapter 19
Tucked beneath a puffy star quilt, Alise struggled to sleep. Outside, the wind howled, and she could hear trees creaking as they swayed in the sudden blizzard that had struck the mountains. She tried to concentrate on the sounds of the storm ragi
ng, but her thoughts kept going to Beast. Was the floor hard? Was he cold? Was Chief present when Beast had his skin? What did Beast look like? She tried to envision his fur color and decided it’d be black like Chief’s hair. The color perfectly suited his mood.
With a sigh, she rolled onto her side and blinked in the dark. Straining to hear, she concentrated on the door trying to hear Beast’s breathing.
She heard nothing and wondered if he was even there.
I could go look.
She desperately wanted to. It’d be the only chance she got because tomorrow she and Chief were exchanging marks and going their separate ways. She’d never see him again, and this would be her only chance to see Beast.
Ignoring the pang of sadness that struck at the thought, she pulled the quilt off her legs and settled her bare feet on the cold floor. Inching off the bed, she winced when it creaked. Holding a moment to make sure there was no movement outside, she slid off the bed when she heard none.
Tip-toeing to the door, she grabbed the knob and wondered what happened if she startled Beast. Would Chief’s scared wolf attack her? She doubted it, but just to make sure, she lifted a finger and tapped it on the door a few times, just to get Beasts attention. Outside the door, there was a rustling sound. Taking a deep breath, Alise turned the knob and pulled the door open a mere fraction.
Peering out into the darkened hall, she didn’t see anything at first as her eyes struggled to adjust. When they finally did, she jerked back with a quiet gasp.
Standing there, staring right at her, was the largest wolf she’d ever seen. He was eye level with her, and he was just what she’d expected. He had pitch black fur and glowing amber eyes. He was magnificent.
Opening the door wider, Alise stepped into the hall. “Oh, wow!” she breathed in awe. Reaching out a shaky hand, she made sure to go super slow as she stretched her fingers toward Beast’s head.
The animal blinked those big amber eyes at her once before surging forward and pressing his head into her palm.
“Whoa!” Alise giggled and then buried both hands in his coarse fur. Beast rubbed against her arms, legs, chest, and all the while Alise giggled quietly until she was pressed up against the wall and her arms went around Beast’s neck.