by Bianca D’Arc
Hank nodded. “I think so. They’re a small group, so allying with a Pack like yours would be in their best interest. And your Pack’s connection to the Jaguar Clan is iron clad since it’s a blood bond that can never be broken.”
“Looks like that empire you’ve always planned on might actually be coming to fruition, Dad,” Ken put in, grinning at his father.
“It’s not an empire. It’s safety,” Joe reminded his son. “The bigger the Pack, the stronger we’ll be when bad times come.”
Enid heard the ring of conviction in Joe’s tone and was impressed all over again, with his foresight and strength. This Alpha had lost his mate, but he’d found something to live for. The safety of his family and his Clan was a worthy goal for an eminently worthy man. Enid feared she was halfway in love with Joe already. Every new facet she saw of him only made her like him more. It was a dangerous path she was on. Dangerous to her heart and her future happiness, but she couldn’t seem to make herself leave it…or him. Not just yet, anyway.
Chapter Nine
The two men left when Joe and Enid’s dinner arrived. They ate together, and Joe realized just how comfortable he’d become having Enid around over the past day. He had a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach that hadn’t been caused by the spicy barbeque. It had more to do with being with someone special.
Yes, he could admit that, at least. Enid was very special. She made him feel alive again, and not just because of the sex. That was a major development, of course, since he’d thought that part of his life had been over forever. Still, it wasn’t the only reason he liked being around Enid.
She had a calming presence that soothed his wolf. Maybe it was a priestess thing. Maybe it was just her personality. He didn’t know why, but he liked being with her, even just shopping or walking around town or sharing a meal. He’d enjoyed today more than he could remember enjoying anything in quite a while.
They left the restaurant after dinner, pausing on the way out to say a few words to some of the Pack members who were there. Joe had promised Enid that they could stop by the Pack house so she could get a feel for the space. He borrowed one of the Pack vehicles that had been parked in the lot for the restaurant. Kevin usually used the old truck for deliveries at lunch time, but dinner wasn’t as busy for take-out.
Joe held the door for Enid then went around and got in the driver’s side. They drove for a few minutes to the outskirts of town where the Pack house was located on its own wooded lot. When he pulled into the drive, he noted more vehicles parked around the front entrance than he’d expected.
“Lot of people here tonight for some reason,” Joe observed, parking the truck in the last open spot. As they approached the front door, Joe started to understand why it was so busy. “Looks like they decided to do a little more decorating,” he observed, nodding toward the boxes marked Winter Solstice on the porch.
Joe opened the door for Enid and ushered her in. The sight that met their eyes was a bit chaotic, but one of the happiest tableaus Joe had seen in this house for years. A wave of emotion came over him, and for a timeless moment, he remembered a similar scene from years past.
They habitually put a very large Christmas tree on the side of the dining hall that featured nearly an entire wall of windows. Tess had started the tradition as soon as this new Pack house had been completed. She’d even used that fake snow spray to put little fake snow drifts in each pane of the large windows, throwing tinsel and lights all over the enormous tree they’d had that year, and every year after.
As they walked in and saw the bustle of mostly women, but also quite a few men that had been caught up in the spirit of the season, Joe thought for one split second that he saw Tess there, smiling at him from beside the giant tree, as she’d done so many times. Joe shook his head, and the vision was gone, but the feeling lingered.
“Is it okay?” Enid asked, touching Joe’s hand. Oddly, it didn’t feel like a betrayal to have just been thinking of happy times with Tess and then have Enid touch him. Her touch was calming. Almost like a benediction.
Must be those priestess vibes. That had to be the reason she’d picked up on his swift change in moods.
“It’s all good,” he assured her. “That tree wasn’t here yesterday,” he went on, nodding toward the behemoth pine along the far wall. “I thought the Pack wasn’t going to have one this year, but I guess I was wrong.”
“What? You mean, you don’t decree things on high as Alpha and they’re done?” Enid teased him.
“Nope. I leave decisions about decorating for holidays up to the maternal contingent. My mate used to lead them, of course, but now, there are a few elders who do the job. I’d thought they’d decided against going to all the effort this year since we weren’t going to have an official ceremony, but now that you’re going to be here, I guess they changed their minds.”
Joe spent the next hour showing Enid around the Pack house and introducing her to everyone who’d turned out to help decorate. At one point, Enid was swept off to one side to render an opinion on the ceremonial space they were creating for her, near the giant Christmas tree. Joe just stood back and watched everything unfold, pleased with the way his Pack was coming together to welcome the priestess who had donated her time and talents to help them celebrate the solstice in style.
When Tracy, Hank and little Em arrived, Joe and his inner wolf felt the warm satisfaction of having not only Pack, but family around him. After greeting Joe, Tracy and Em joined the decorating group while Hank hung back with Joe. They got some coffee and sat at one of the communal tables in the dining hall, and watched the action unfold.
“You know, Enid is quite a pilot. The people they selected for me to train were all top ranked in combat flights. Most were shifters, of course, but there were a few humans who had the hand-eye coordination and quick reaction time to qualify,” Hank said matter-of-factly. “I didn’t know Enid had magical connections, though. She was actually one of only two women pilots they ever sent me for special training. The other was a young eagle shifter.”
“Her crosswind landing with an iffy engine was a thing of beauty,” Joe replied. “It was clear she had skill, and luck, on her side. If that engine had given out…” Joe shuddered, thinking of the possible consequences.
“She would have glided in, no problem,” Hank said, shrugging. “Plane that size, she could land almost anywhere, including the parking lot of the airport. She’d have been okay.”
Joe thought about it for a moment and realized Hank was right. Enid had been in one major airplane crash—the same one that had killed Tess. She’d been a fighter pilot and knew how to handle herself and her airplane. Flying herself when she needed to go somewhere meant that, like Joe and the rest of his Pack, they weren’t depending on commercial pilots flying behemoth airplanes to get them to their destination in one piece.
Enid would not die in a fiery crash like Tess had. Enid had been there and had survived, and she would not fly commercial again. It was amazing that she flew at all, after her experience, but Enid had guts. That went without question. Guts and heart and a strong connection to the Mother of All. Enid would not die before her time, as Tess had, and somehow, that was incredibly liberating. Somehow, it meant Joe could enjoy his time with her and not worry that she would be taken from him too soon.
“Did you know,” Joe asked Hank, willing to share with his son-in-law as he hadn’t shared with anyone else, “that Enid was in the same crash as my mate? Enid held Tess’s hand as she left this realm and prayed with her and for her.”
Hank didn’t reply, and Joe looked up to meet his gaze. Hank was clearly stunned, his mouth open as if to speak, but no words formed.
“I know,” Joe said, one corner of his mouth lifting in an ironic half-smile. “It was a shock to us both to discover it. Enid never knew who Tess was because she spent weeks in the hospital after the crash, but it’s clear now.”
“That’s…” Hank cleared his throat and tried again. “That’s…incredible. A
lmost miraculous.” Hank looked over at Enid, his gaze wide with awe. “Then again, she is a priestess. They say the Mother of All works in mysterious ways.”
Joe sighed. “You can say that again. Enid is…” Joe shook his head, not sure how to express himself. “She’s different. Older. Mature. Firm in her convictions of who she is and what she can do. She has a sort of calm competence that is so different from my mate. Tess was wild and free. Young and full of life. She never thought much beyond the moment, and frankly, back then, neither did I.”
Hank’s gaze returned to Joe. “Are you…uh…involved with Enid?” he asked in a low voice.
“I’m not sure how to answer that,” Joe admitted after a pause. “I like her. I’m interested in her, which came as a huge surprise to me. It shouldn’t be possible. I lost my mate. I haven’t looked at another woman since I found Tess, then lost her, but Enid…” Joe shook his head. “Things are different, all of a sudden, and I don’t know why or how. It shouldn’t be possible.”
“You’re right,” Hank replied. “Everything I’ve ever been told says it shouldn’t, but who knows? Maybe the Goddess is giving you a second chance? Like Enid was given a second chance to survive that miserable crash when almost nobody else came out of that wreck alive?”
“I have no idea,” Joe said. “I don’t understand what I’m feeling at all, and I’m only sharing this with you because you’re old enough to have seen a few things in your lifetime. I’m not sure my pups will understand if I suddenly take up with Enid.”
“Oh, I think they’ll be more understanding than you think. Tracy was already speculating about the two of you, and she was genuinely happy to see you socializing. She’s been worried about you, you know. She wants you to be happy. If Enid makes you happy, I doubt Tracy would object. Far from it. And look how Em is.” Hank pointed to his little daughter, being held in Enid’s arms as she placed decorations on the higher boughs of the tree.
Em was clearly enjoying herself, and she seemed to really hit it off with Enid. Unlike almost everyone else in town, Em was a cat shifter. Like her father, she shifted into a jaguar, which made most of the wolf shifters in town a bit standoffish. Em didn’t warm to many people, and never so quickly, but she sure seemed to like Enid a whole lot.
“Now, that’s something,” Joe agreed, noticing how Em clung to Enid and smiled up at her between decorating and giggles.
“Enid’s a natural. Many priestesses have that same vibe, though there are always exceptions, of course. A lot of the priestesses I’ve met in my time have been like Enid, with an open heart and a willingness to help everyone,” Hank observed. “Notice how the Pack is taking to her already.”
Joe did notice. They seemed to be rallying around Enid, even though they’d only just met her. The decorations were taking on epic proportions, as if the Pack was truly happy to celebrate the holiday with a real priestess—and even more so, with Enid, in particular.
Joe thought hard about all the implications of Enid’s reception the rest of the time they were at the Pack house. He talked with various members of the Pack who wanted to bend his ear over one thing or another, but mostly, he sat and sipped coffee, and watched Enid. Someone brought out cookies at one point and put them on the table, but they didn’t last long.
The Pack house was all about hospitality and gathering together as a community. The decorating turned into a party all on its own as some folks brought out more refreshments and someone else put holiday music on. Joe enjoyed the festivities, which really were sort of a rehearsal for tomorrow’s solstice howl, where they would all gather here to observe the ceremony, then have an even more festive party. After that, most of the Pack would run in the woods together, cementing the bonds of Pack, as they did after every community gathering. If this pre-party was anything to go by, tomorrow was going to be quite the celebration, indeed.
Much later, after many cookies had been consumed and the decorating had wound down, Joe and Enid took their leave of the Pack house. He drove them back to the B&B, and Joe didn’t demur when Enid invited him up to her room. There was no one around to see them go up the stairs, but Joe knew his presence wouldn’t go unnoticed. If he stayed longer than an hour or so, speculations would be made.
Did he want his Pack speculating about his relationship to Enid? Did Enid mind if they did? One thing was certain, the whole situation was complicated.
Chapter Ten
Enid felt strangely uncertain when she opened the door to her suite and let them both in. She decided to just brazen it out and be straight with him.
“In case you hadn’t realized it, I don’t mind if you spend the night here. With me.” She stood next to the coffee table. The couch was only a few feet away. “As long as that’s what you want, I mean.” Why was she suddenly so nervous?
Joe advanced on her like the wolf stalking its prey. His blue eyes pinned her in place, and the expression on his face sent shivers down her spine. Good shivers. Anticipatory shivers.
“I’m glad we’re on the same page, then,” Joe said as he moved closer. “I’d like nothing better than to be with you tonight, Enid. Ever since I met you, you’ve had a spell on me that I don’t want to break. You make life…easier…somehow.”
He paused and tilted his head, as if considering his words, then shook it off and came right up close to her. He put one hand under her chin and lifted her head gently so she could drown in his gaze.
“I don’t know what it is, but it feels like magic. The best kind of magic imaginable,” he went on quickly. “I honestly thought this part of my life was over forever.”
She moved into his arms as he moved the one hand from her chin to the nape of her neck and the other to the small of her back, pressing her up against his hard body. Oh, sweet Mother of All, that felt good! He felt good. So good.
His mouth covered hers and claimed her soul. At least, that’s what it felt like. She kissed him as time stood still, and somehow, before she knew what was happening, they were both naked. She realized only later that the kiss had completely blown her mind and had lasted long enough for Joe to do what was necessary to remove both his and her clothing. She was amazed he had the presence of mind to do that much if he’d been even half as affected by the kiss as she had.
She stood in his embrace, loving the rough feel of his skin against hers. He looked down at her, his gaze sultry and a bit mischievous.
“Turn around,” he told her, the dominance and playfulness in his growly voice a seductive combination.
She did as he ordered, not quite knowing exactly what to expect, but she had a little clue in the fact that he was a wolf. She’d been wondering if the stories she’d heard about their mating habits were true. Looks like she was about to find out.
They were at the end of the sofa, and he pushed on her back to lower her torso. She got the idea and played along, bracing her arms on the wide back of the overstuffed sofa. His hands roamed over her back, touching and stroking downward toward her butt. Then, he cupped her cheeks and squeezed, making her gasp.
“You’ve got a great ass, Enid,” Joe told her, the growl in his voice clearly a compliment.
His fingers explored between and lower, down to where she most wanted him, and then, she gasped as he tested her readiness. What he found must have pleased him because he gave a little rumble of a groan that she felt down to her toes.
After a few moments of making her squirm with anticipation, he removed his hand and replaced it with what she’d been waiting for. The hardness that told her exactly how much he wanted her at this moment.
He slid inside, the angle making new sensations of pleasure course through her body. She threw back her head and closed her eyes as he worked his way in fully. Then, he stopped for a moment, and she heard how fast they were both breathing. The sound was sexy in the quiet of the room.
“You feel perfect around me,” he gasped as he began to move with swift motions that pushed her against the softness of the sofa.
The abrasion of t
he fabric against her sensitive skin and the pumping action from behind made her head spin. Never had she had it so raw and real. So primitive and elegant at the same time. Each time with Joe was something new and wonderful and unexpected.
She couldn’t form words as he moved within her. Only a keening sound came from her throat as she strained toward something she’d only ever found with Joe, and this time, it felt even more explosive. His possession was masterful. She felt both totally exposed and totally protected. A paradox that she didn’t have the brain power, at the moment, to even begin to unravel.
All she could do was experience the force of nature that swept her along into a vortex of pleasure. She held back her cries, lest she wake others in the B&B. She was okay with them realizing Joe was here, but she didn’t want anyone else hearing what they were doing. This was private. Just between her and Joe.
Sweet, strong, dominant Joe, who had a heart so big it encompassed his entire Pack and everyone he came into contact with. The way he’d been with Henri and Lucinda had cracked open Enid’s heart to Joe. He could’ve come down as the big, bad Alpha, but he hadn’t. He was a gentle giant who knew his own strength and didn’t have to lord it over everyone he met. He was secure in himself, and even more confident as a lover.
Enid couldn’t believe the heights to which his passion lifted her. She whimpered and groaned into the soft fabric on the back of the sofa as she came, then came again, in short order. Only as she reached a third, impossibly higher peak, did she feel Joe join her in an ecstasy that went on and on.
When she came down from the heights, she could barely move. Joe took care of her, lifting her in his strong arms and padding silently into the bedroom, only to start making love to her all over again.