Whatever the case, she couldn’t wait for the meal to be over so Ryne could bond them and then—she pressed a hand to her stomach, trying to still the quivering inside—she and Bryan would finally be mates and consummate their union.
Surprisingly enough, since they’d arrived in Stump River, Bryan had behaved like a perfect gentleman, much to her chagrin. Oh they’d kissed, had even made out, but the stubborn man had a will of iron. He claimed he wanted to give her sufficient time to be sure this was what she wanted; that her life had been too full of changes and she needed to adjust first, to become one with her wolf...
It was sweet of him, thoughtful, kind... And at times she’d wanted to bash him over the head with his good intentions, especially when she’d gone into heat. Thank heaven for the werewolf form of birth control! Even with its help, she and her wolf had spent many a night bemoaning their fate, pacing restlessly, wishing for their mates...
Someone reached in front of her and she gave a start. They were removing her plate and she’d barely eaten a thing. With dinner over, the ceremony would be soon. A few of the guests were getting up and starting to mingle. She watched Bryan stand up and step towards her only to be intercepted by Levi and Marco who steered him in another direction. He cast a helpless look at her and she gave him a tiny wave, sighing as he was whisked out of sight.
“This is lovely, Cassie. I can’t believe how beautiful Stump River is in the fall.” Elise sat down beside her, looking out the window at the trees. Cassie followed the direction of her gaze, taking in the amazing array of colours; deep reds, burnt oranges, leaves so golden they looked like drops of sunshine against the dark tree trunks. Warm days and cool nights had created the perfect conditions for an amazing display of fall colours.
“Thanks. Mel said September was the perfect time for a bonding.”
“And a naming ceremony, too.” Mel sat down on her other side, cradling the baby in her arms. “Where are Jacob and Leah? It’s almost time for the ceremony and they won’t want to miss it.”
Elise surveyed the room, scanning the tables still overladen with food, the tall pots of dried grasses and fall flowers, the groups of visiting guests... “Hmm, Kane’s outside with Leah, and Jacob was supposed to be with Daniel...”
“Ah! Then they’ll be playing computer games in Daniel’s room.” Cassie nodded wisely, having come to know the pack ‘computer geek’ quite well over the past few months.
Elise made to get up. “Oh, I’d better get Jacob then. It isn’t fair that Daniel misses all the fun because he’s babysitting.”
Mel chuckled. “Relax. He’s happy to have a reason to hide. Ever since Cassie snagged Bryan, Becky and Emily—they’re the teens in the pack—have set their sights on Daniel. The man spends half his time hiding nowadays.”
“Poor fellow.” Elise frowned.
“Not really. It’s made Tessa come out of her shell a bit. She was always so shy and nervous around Daniel, despite the fact that he obviously liked her. But now that the girls are after Daniel... Well, let’s just say that she’s feeling a bit territorial.” Mel gave a satisfied smiled which quickly faded as an undeniable odour wafted up from the baby. “Uh-oh. Time to find Daddy.”
“Ryne?” Elise raised her brows and gave a disbelieving laugh.
“Yep. It’s amazing what a man will agree to do when he watches you give birth.” Mel stood up and holding the baby gingerly went in search of her mate.
Elise turned back to Cassie. “So, how are you holding up?”
“Fine.” She gave a self-deprecating laugh. “Actually, nervous as hell.”
“Bryan will be a fine mate.”
“I know, it just seems like such a big step.”
Elise gave a reminiscent smile. “It is, but it’s worth it.”
“You and Kane... You’re happy together?” Cassie was hesitant to ask, but she’d sensed undercurrents between the two of them when they were in Chicago and was curious to know how it had worked out. They certainly seemed happy enough now.
“Uh-huh. We have our moments, but we manage to work out our problems. For example, back in Chicago. Kane had been working too much and I was spending too much time with the kids. We had a long talk and came up with a solution we hope will work.” She frowned as if a bit uncertain.
“What’s the solution?”
“Kane wants to split the pack. It’s getting too big for one person to manage. He has his eye on a territory that’s under-populated with wolves and, in his opinion, poorly managed. There’s something in the works, but he’s being pretty close-lipped about it until he has all the facts. Damien—he’s a friend of Kane and Ryne’s—is going to do some preliminary scouting.” She shrugged. “If it works, Kane should have a lot more free time.”
“When will this all take place?” Cassie asked trying to distract herself from her growing nerves.
“If everything goes well, Kane’s hoping to have a report by time we get back.” Elise glanced over at her mate. “He has a lot of confidence in Damien.”
*****
Sam Harper tapped the table with a pen, eyes narrowed, mouth clamped shut into a straight line. Six months ago a meeting with Kane Sinclair had raised everyone’s hackles. The arrogant son of a bitch had dared to claim the Chicago pack was inefficient and mismanaged. Ha! As if he knew anything about what went on in this city. The man had no idea; absolutely none!
And then there was the brother. Ryne Taylor had stolen from the Chicago pack; Cassandra Greyson had been a potential pack mate and her land and money would have gone far to assist their beleaguered resources.
But instead of being grateful that the Chicago pack wasn’t pressing charges against them, Kane, Ryne, and the Beta, Bryan—another pain in the ass—had pulled out the Book of the Law, using it to claim what wasn’t theirs. And then Sinclair had the gall to leave mumbling about a takeover!
Well, it wasn’t going to happen. The pack had met and agreed on a course of action. It wasn’t ideal—they all knew it—but sometimes necessity drove you to take actions you never thought you would. For example, hiring ‘Sylvia,’ or whoever she was, to kill Leon Aldrich. It had gone against the grain to go to outsiders for help, but that damned Sinclair wouldn’t leave them alone; constantly demanding reports and updates.
Sam snorted. Well, Aldrich was gone and at least they hadn’t had to pay Sylvia. It was a small thing, but some days you took what you could get in the way of good news.
With the money saved, they could afford to buy some more help for the next problem looming on the horizon. Rumour had it, Sinclair was sending someone in to check the pack out, but the intruder would have a surprise waiting for him. Sam took a swig of beer and leaned back against the wall, one lip curled.
There was a small faction of werewolves that were true loners or rogues. They were usually tough, mean and as deadly as they came, but they were also for hire. A meeting had been set up with one of them for tonight. On the off chance Sinclair’s ‘spy’ came around, the Chicago pack would have the rogue in their back pocket and whip the intruder’s butt, sending him back Oregon with his tail between his legs.
A glance at the clock let Sam know it was almost time. A final swig of beer; a glance around the smoky, crowded bar… Yep, the usual crowd looking to start something. Well, good luck with that you losers, Sam thought. I don’t take crap from anyone.
Shoulders back, chin up; look each person straight in the eye until they’re compelled to look away. Sam smirked. I’m an Alpha, buddy. You don’t stand a chance.
Almost to the door and… There it was, a hand on the shoulder. Some jerk always had to try his luck.
“Hey, baby. You got a cute ass.” The man’s liquor soaked breath was offensive as was the stench coming off his sweaty body. He tried to pull her backwards. “Wanna share—”
The man never stood a chance. Sam jerked her arm back, elbowing the idiot in the stomach. As he bent forward, clutching his mid-section, she ground her stiletto heel into his foot, then pivoted around
to deliver an uppercut to his chin. In less than a second, the man was an unconscious heap on the ground.
“Anyone else?” Sam surveyed the men who were gathering around her with disdain. The assault was nothing new. She frequented quite a few bars and the human males always thought she’d be an easy target not knowing what she lacked in size, she made up for with skill and speed.
When no one answered, she sniffed and turned, walking slowly towards the doors; no hurried exit for her. She could see her reflection in the glass doors as she approached. Short, black hair spiked on top with a longer fringe almost hiding her eyes. She’d used black kohl liner to take further attention away from her eye colour. They were violet, a rare shade in humans and even rarer in wolves. Sam despised the colour; it was too girly for the image she tried to portray. Now, her black jeans and T-shirt, complete with leather jacket—that gave off the right vibes. Her heels were her only concession to femininity since they gave her some much needed height.
She was at the door now. No one had made a move to follow her, not that she expected them too. As the door started to swing shut behind her, she could hear the murmur of voices and allowed herself a tight smile.
“Did you see that?”
“She flattened Phil in two seconds!”
“Just a might of a thing, too.”
“Hey, Phil! You okay, buddy?”
The sound of the voices faded as she walked down the street, carefully assessing the shadowed doorways. Pools of brightness from the street lights brightened select areas giving a false sense that the street was safe, but Sam knew better.
Someone was following her. Not someone from the bar. This person had been waiting outside. Her rogue perhaps? She wouldn’t put it past the unpredictable beasts. Well, if he thought to get the better of her, he had another think coming.
The man was good, she’d give him that. His pace matched her perfectly, but a prickling on the back of her neck, and the faintest shuffling sound gave him away. He had a slight limp and she wondered why. Wolves usually healed completely. Well, she’d ask him once she was done taking him down a peg or two for tailing her.
It wasn’t that she needed help against Sinclair’s spy, she was sure she could take whoever the bastard sent, but a male always seemed to impress other wolves more than a female and creating an illusion was what this was all about. Smoke and mirrors. She’d been using it successfully for the past three years, it would work again—a faint frown passed over her features and she bit her lip—it had to.
Sam reached the corner and walked around it, then ducked into the first doorway she came to. This was the corner she was supposed to meet the rogue at. She chuckled thinking of how the meeting wouldn’t go quite as the man had planned.
The sound of his footsteps grew closer, but the tempo had changed. The man suspected something. Sam twisted her lips, impressed, but not ready to let the man off. Muscles tensed, senses alert, adrenaline rushed through her as she prepared for a fight.
*****
Damien paused in the shadows and assessed the situation. He’d been standing outside the bar, looking in through the windows, and had seen the little she-wolf sitting in the corner acting as if she owned the place. Her chair had been set an angle to maximize her view of the room and prevent anyone from creeping up on her. It was a smart move, especially given the fact that she was nearly daring every red-blooded male in the joint to approach her.
She’d negligently rested her ankle on her knee, pulling the already tight jeans even tighter against her shapely legs. And her t-shirt, while conservatively cut, showed off her curves; not overblown but definitely present and well toned. Yes, she had the type of body that haunted every man’s dreams but what really attracted attention—at least his—was her attitude. The tilt of her chin, the narrowed eyes—were they really violet or just a trick of the light?—and arrogant half smile that played over her full red lips all screamed a challenge.
He’d love to take her on, but he had a job to do. Damien snorted at the word ‘job.’ It was a make work project dreamed up by Kane but he’d taken it to humour his old friend. What was supposed to be a short visit with Kane’s pack had turned into two months. Every time Damien made noises about leaving, Kane had another ‘job’ for him to do.
Kane and his cute little mate, Elise, were trying to save his soul, Damien was sure of it. Not that he had a soul left to save, but with no real plans of his own, he’d let himself be drawn into their various schemes.
Which was how he found himself in Chicago, watching this little girl with the purpose of gathering intelligence about her pack. Were they really vulnerable to a takeover or was Kane overstepping himself? So far he’d only encountered the little girl, but no doubt other pack members were about the city. Damien gave a brief chuckle. He really shouldn’t call the female a little girl. While her height was lacking, she was supposedly in her early twenties.
Sighing, he tried hard to recall being that young. He’d just turned thirty and felt twice that old. And when he looked in the mirror each morning, the bleakness in his eyes and the haggard lines of his face told the tale of a life lived too hard for too long. Not that it mattered to him what he looked like. In fact, nothing really mattered anymore. He was just going through the motions of living.
When the girl finally stood up, she’d strolled across the bar and was promptly accosted by a middle-aged man unable to say no to the challenge she presented. Damien took half a step forward, ready to act—old instincts hadn’t died after all—but stopped himself. He had to see if she was as tough as she pretended to be. If things got really bad, then he’d step in.
Of course, his chivalry hadn’t been required. She’d flattened the man with a few smooth moves that gave no indication she was a werewolf before strutting out of the bar as if she owned the place. Observers would just think she was a star student from some local self-defence class.
Now she was walking down the street as causal as could be. Only the slight stiffness of her shoulders gave any indication she was aware someone was following her. Most wouldn’t even notice the change in the set of her shoulders, but fine points like that always stood out to him; just one of the many ‘talents’ he’d acquired over the course of his misspent life.
Well, he was here to learn about the Chicago pack. Using Samantha Harper seemed as good a way as any of getting up close and personal. With any luck, he’d have the information he’d need in no time and be sending it back to Kane.
If the Alpha decided to go with a takeover, it would eventually lessen the man’s workload. Part of the pack could move to Chicago and function under the direction of a strong Beta appointed by Kane. With half as many wolves to watch over, in theory Kane would have more family time. It was a wise move. In just the short time Damien had been there, he’d seen how much time the pack took, how the hours spent on pack business carved lines of stress in Kane’s face and took away time from his personal life.
Yeah, he’d do this for Kane and his family. Family was important; they were with you for so short a time... Damien blinked and swallowed past the lump that suddenly appeared in his throat. No, it didn’t pay to think of the past. There was only today. No past. No future. Just...today.
His skin prickled, the hairs on his arm rising slightly as his instincts warned him of upcoming danger. Narrowing his eyes, he inhaled slowly and gently so no one could hear him testing the air. Picking through the scents, he drew out the salient information, then assessed the shadows again for any new movement. He cocked his head and listened. The she-wolf was poised, ready for action. He’d discreetly followed her progress down the street. Now he wondered what she’d be like against one of her own species.
This is for you, Kane, he thought to himself. I hope your idea works.
Holding his arms loosely at his side, ready for what might come, he stepped forward.
Chapter 29
Time seemed to drag by. Cassie smiled politely, made small talk, and tried to stop checking the time every few mi
nutes. Where was Bryan? When was the ceremony? Did it really take this long to clear the tables? She clenched her fists and tried not to scream in frustration.
Mel came bustling up and pulled Cassie to her feet, leading her to the back of the room. “It’s almost time. Let me look at you.” She began to adjust Cassie’s dress and smooth her hair.
“Mel, stop fussing. She looks fine and you’re going to make her nervous,” Elise appeared with a glass of water and Cassie took it thankfully, enjoying the feel of the cool liquid sliding down her throat.
“I’m living vicariously through her—I never had a bonding ceremony—so leave me alone.” Mel continued on with her poking and prodding, but Cassie frowned.
“You and Ryne never officially bonded?” She looked at the Alpha female in surprise.
Mel’s hands stilled for a moment and then she continued. “No. Ryne was too unconventional back then and I was too new at being a werewolf to even know bonding ceremonies existed. And there was no Alpha around to perform the ceremony, so...” She let her voice drift off and shrugged.
Elise frowned. “I’ll be back in a minute.” She hurried off and a minute later could be seen talking earnestly to Kane.
“I wonder what that was all about?” Cassie stood on her tiptoes to see over the crowds, squinting as she tried to determine what was being said.
“Who knows?” Mel gave the dress a final twitch then stood back looking satisfied. “There, all set and just in time. Here comes Ryne and Grace.”
Cassie watched Ryne proudly carrying his daughter. The baby was now dressed in a frilly pink dress with a lace headband complete with a big flower. Her eyes were already deep brown and framed by long lashes reminiscent of her mother’s. “Here’s our princess, all clean and ready to go.” He tenderly kissed the baby before passing her to Mel.
Elise must have finished her conversation with Kane, for he strolled up and nodded at Ryne, smirking. “All done with your diaper duty, daddy?”