Bayou Wolf (14 page)

In the front seat their phones buzzed, but neither moved to reclaim them. Unless the vehicle caught on fire, she didn’t plan to move until he’d fully settled and found comfort. She’d never lost her pack, never left it and couldn’t begin to imagine what went through his mind.

“I love you,” he said against her skin, each word a revelation and a balm to her soul. Hurting him had been the last thing she wanted. “I will always have you.”

Tears pricked in her eyes at the catch in his voice. His brothers meant everything to him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered to him. “If I could have you kept you together…”

When he touched his finger to her lips, and declared, “My brothers are always with me, Sera. I’m where I belong.” Her heart soared. Her wolf settled within her, a sense of contentment sweeping her such as she’d never experienced. He was hers. No one would ever take him from them. Yes, they might have to share him with the pack. His strength and skills would be useful—many damaged properties existed across her territory thanks to the hurricanes of the last decade.

Even if he did nothing for them, he would still be hers. They were not alone.

“I’m with you.” He replaced his finger with his lips and kissed her. The combination of tenderness and affection had her wrapping her arms around him. When his cock slowly began to stiffen, she indulged in a long languid exploration of his skin. She wanted to know him, know what he enjoyed, what made him crazy. He seemed to be of a like mind, nuzzling a path from the mark he’d left on her neck to her breasts.

“We need more room,” she laughed in complaint.

“I agree,” he said before locking his lips around a nipple. The world narrowed to the point of contact between his mouth and her flesh. Arching her back, she held him to her. He varied his nips, with tiny laving strokes of his tongue to mind pulsing sucking, when he surged into her they found their rhythm swiftly. The SUV rocked around them shedding snow and laughter bubbled out of her.

At the first sign of her mirth, he slowed and followed her wondering gaze. With a devilish grin, he increased the pace until the vehicle almost bounced and then she shattered and came with such force she forgot to care about the dancing car in the snow.

Thirty minutes later, she traced the line of his spine and said, “I hate to say it, but we need to continue with our original plan.”

Face down against her throat, the masculine blanket draping her groaned. “I don’t want to.” His muffled words made her laugh.

“Me either, but we have no choice. I told them we were coming. Chances are, Rayne may have pissed himself at the delay thinking something went wrong.” The phones had vibrated a couple more times then gone silent. Either they’d sent someone to trace the phones and find them, or they were giving them a few more minutes to check in then they’d send someone. They’d all but fallen out of contact for nearly two hours.

But what a set of hours they were. No doubt Linc’s brothers felt him slip his pack bonds, and Mason as well. Mason, she’d told of her intentions, so perhaps their ‘rescue’ wasn’t imminent. Slapping her mate’s ass, she grinned. “We have to go now, sweet boy. Trust me, the sooner we deal with them, the sooner we can return to Willow Bend and the rather lovely bed you had installed for me.”

He stiffened at the mention of the town and raised his head. Worry trickled through the pleasurable haze of his scent.

“They will let you in, Linc.” She traced the line of his jaw in the dark. He captured her hand and kissed her fingers gently.

“I hope so.”

“I
know
so.” It was a problem they would address when they returned, at the moment, she still had the new pack in front of them and Luciana Barrows to meet. Wit reluctance, they pulled apart and she eased into the front seat. Dressing in the SUV proved more uncomfortable than stripping, and she had far less incentive.

His jeans were ruined unfortunately. Linc shrugged off their destruction. “I’ll shift when we’re near, then go with you on four feet. It will hopefully discourage them from acts of stupidity.”

After pulling her t-shirt on, she smiled slowly. “I’ve already decided Luciana Barrows has one thing going for her.” Linc pulled the blankets into a neat stack, then paused to glance at her in question. Though he knelt on his hands and knees, he was not remotely submissive, merely inquisitive. “Without her actions, I might never have met you.”

Her mate, hidden away in Willow Bend—the idea she’d never have known him, never realized what she missed was not worth considering.

“Oh, I would have roamed eventually.” He crawled toward the front and leaning between the seats to wrap his hand around her nape. Thumb skating over her pulse, he continued, “Something had been missing my life for a long time. I watched both of my brothers find their mates, got in the way of both with all damn good intentions. I’m a stubborn guy, and determined. I knew you were missing, I’d come to find you eventually…and wouldn’t my arrival to roam in Delta Crescent as a pain in the ass have been fun.”

“Oh. Lord.” She chuckled. His appearance there would have set them all off, but none more so than her. “I almost wish I could see that.”

“Well you will,” he promised. “I’ll follow you anywhere. It may take some time to get used to life there, I’m probably going to stir up the crazy. I’m a little hotheaded…but I’ll always come.”

“Hot headed? Wait till you meet Etienne.” Her brother would be both pleased and upset. Mostly pleased, she knew. “He’ll want to threaten you.”

“I’m good with that. All good brothers do it.” The flicker of melancholy drifted through his eyes. She would secure him safe passage to Willow Bend, allow him to see his family whenever he wished.

For the time being, however, she could promise him one thing. “Your family has safe passage in Delta Crescent. Your brothers may come whenever they wish, and their mates, your parents… Anyone you claim as yours.”

“A.J. is Mason’s second.” Wonder eased his sadness.

“He is your brother first. I will not keep you from them even as I steal you away for me.” Because they were his family, but Linc was
hers
to protect. Hers to make happy, and hers to ease.

“Well, all right then. Think you can find a carpenter and builder a job? I’m not really sure I like the idea of being a kept man, though…” Heat scorched her as his gaze roamed over her body. “I’m really good on my knees.”

Fresh lust woke within her. She grinned, but pushed his shoulder lightly. “Tempting, terrible, wonderful wolf. I need to meet the Alpha now, but all I’m going to be thinking about is which of us is better on our knees. I’m very competitive you know.”

He groaned, and she laughed again. “Cruel woman.”

“Suffering is better when shared.”

After tugging her forward as he slanted his head, he kissed her—a slow, devastating stamp of possession and toe-curling tease. “It’s a good thing I like to play,” he said against her lips. “You just upped the ante.”

She was still laughing when he slid into the snow out of the back of the SUV. His torn jeans didn’t diminish his strut. Once he slid back into the driver’s seat, she settled into hers. The combined scents of lust, sex, and male filled the interior of the vehicle. Without a doubt, he wore her scent as close to his skin as she wore his. Smug pleasure filled her as he started the vehicle and kicked on the windshield wipers. The windows were frosted—it had been too hot inside.

“Time to return to the real world.” Despite his statement, he didn’t put the vehicle in gear. Instead, he stared out at the snow falling beyond the window.

Sera retrieved her phone from the floor in front of her seat, then eased her feet into her shoes. A muscle worked in his jaw, but his gaze seemed a million miles away. Ignoring the phone, she ran her fingers over his forearm. “What’s wrong?”

“My mother is going to cry.” Dread and awe tangled in his voice. “I hate making my mom cry.”

“Mothers earn the right to cry whenever they wish because they gave us life. We will hug her and hold her tight, and promise to give her grandchildren to spoil.” Squeezing his arm lightly, she whispered, “And I will swear to her on my life to protect and keep you as safe as she would wish, because she deserves to know I am worthy of her son.”

“I mated up in life. I’m going to have to prove to your brothers I’m worthy of you.” Still, he sounded happier so she snorted.

“You could torture them for me instead. Be a total beast and terrible influence.”

His laughter warmed her to her soul. When he put the SUV in gear and pulled away, she settled back to see what fires they’d ignited by ignoring the world.

Nebraska might vie for one of her favorite places in the world. Perhaps in a year, she’d steal away with Linc to return to this little slip of a road to renew their vows. Still grinning, she scanned Mason’s message.

Take care of my wolf.

One word would suffice, so she simply replied,
Mine.

T
en minutes from their destination
, Linc pulled the SUV over. The snow continued to come down in thick, puffy white flakes. It reminded her of a postcard. They didn’t see snow in Louisiana as much as their Northern cousins. She could appreciate the picturesque quality, especially when Linc stood in it, bare-ass nude, and began to shift. Admiring her mark on his throat, she didn’t wait in the vehicle. Too deep in
unknown
territory, she kept watch while he slipped his human form.

One benefit of him changing—the bruises on his face would heal.
My mark might vanish some, too.
She’d simply have to bite him again. Desire warmed her from inside out. He made a sound somewhere between a groan and a growl.

“I promise,” she whispered, as bone and muscle began to snap and reshape itself. “You can bite me again, too.”

Nothing moved in the night around them save for the flurries. The only wolves she scented were her and Linc, but she refused to relax her vigilance until he finished his shift. When his fur rippled over him, and he straightened on all four legs, Sera turned to him.

The headlights illuminated the snow around them. Flakes gathered against his salt and pepper fur. Hints of a brown undercoat gave his coat a deeper color. Like his human form, his wolf was massive. His head stood higher than her waist and his body was bulky, heavily muscled, and his paws? They were huge.

Impressed, she dropped into a crouch and let him come to her. When he bumped her chest with his head, she grasped his fur to remain upright. “Don’t tell anyone, but I think you’re the biggest damn wolf I’ve ever seen.”

The low yipping he made cracked her up, and he nuzzled her cheek. Powerful build, powerful jaws, and all hers—God, he was exquisite. The longing to simply go romp and play threaded through her veins, but they had to make their appointment. She’d already kept the other Alpha waiting and, hopefully, sweating long enough.

“Some days,” she told him as she pulled the door open. “Being Alpha sucks.”

The bark he issued was definitely laughter. After he leapt into the vehicle, she closed the door and circled to take her place behind the wheel. The road they were on dead ended into the town, and they’d passed two Hunters on their way in. Wolves roamed the snowy countryside, their eyes glittering in the darkness when headlights caught them.

Linc’s panting filled the silence. Taking the last few minutes of the drive to pull her thoughts together, Sera tucked her feelings away. Rayne had been a packmate, a fellow Hound, during her time as one. They’d both served her father. She could use that connection. His mate was the Alpha, a powerful female, but what kind? She needed the answer to that question more than anything. Could she hold her pack? Would she put them first? Would she protect them against all takers?

Could she protect them from herself?

The day you see yourself as more important than your pack is the day you should fall.
Her father’s dying words of advice echoed in her ears. He’d gathered his most powerful Hounds to him, counseled them all. Through years of failing health, they’d stood by him and secured his rule. His will, forged in iron, and his wisdom, cultivated by years, proved more valuable to them than a strong body. She’d taken out more than one challenger herself.
When the time comes…the pack will fray, some of you will fall away, some of you will leave, and only one will rise. Support the one as you have supported me, but only if they put the pack first.

He’d been right. Some had fallen to the fights. Some, like Rayne, had chosen exile. She had risen. Those who remained had sworn to her as she swore to them. Her pack came first.

Luciana Barrows needed to be of like mind and power. A mile from their destination, she said, “Linc, if I don’t think she can hold her pack, I will take it from her.”

He snapped his attention to her, ears flicking forward.

“Yes, I should have told you sooner. If I challenge her, you are
not
to interfere unless any of her wolves attempts to interrupt. Those you may take out.” Hesitation shivered around her heart. A hint of self-doubt plagued her thoughts. “I know you may not like the idea, and maybe I did mislead them when I said I was coming here to meet her for answers, but Delta Crescent comes first. If I think this pack is a threat, either because she cannot hold them or because she wants war…I will end the threat.”

Her mate had accepted her, but she was still Alpha. Could he accept the harshness in the decision she might have to make?

A low rumbling whine released from his throat, then he slurped her cheek. Faith radiated from him, and she gripped his ruff.

“Thank you,” she said softly. “Ready?”

One nod, then he swung his attention ahead. The town lights gleamed through the snow, piercing the fairy tale setting with a hint of gloom.
Odd how light could add such a sensation
. Slowing as she arrived on the main street, she followed the directions to a home tucked on a side street one block behind the main strip. A sign on the front advertised it as a bed and breakfast, though she suspected Rayne and Luciana chose it for the architecture and size.

An Alpha’s home often became the social center of their pack. With only two hundred wolves, they probably had several wolves staying in the same house with them. Parking, she studied the layout. Three floors, dozens of windows, and light shining from within each one despite the fact they neared midnight.

Rayne and his pack waited for her. Linc made a rumbling noise, and she followed his gaze to the open front door. A woman strode out into the snow. Rayne stood a foot behind, blocking the doorway. Slender, athletic, her dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, the Italian wolf—if she was correct—looked about twenty rather than the suspected sixty-plus years old.

Course, Sera didn’t think she looked forty-five either, but what did she care?

Since Luciana made the first move to greet her Alpha-to-Alpha, Sera kept her attention on her as she said, “Follow me out. Stay behind me.”

Trusting Linc to listen, she killed the engine, pocketed the keys and stepped out into the storm. The SUV gave a little bounce as Linc leapt down. After circling the vehicle, she paused a few feet away. Rayne took three more steps toward his mate at the sight of Linc padding alongside Sera.

A dozen different wolves closed in around them. The wild tangle of scents rode the cyclonic winds blowing the fat heavy snow. The misdirection provided by the airflow didn’t let her pinpoint them. Linc bumped his shoulder to her hip once, then fell back and to her left. He’d found the wolves, and his attention lasered on them.

“Serafina Andre, Alpha of Delta Crescent, I welcome you to Three Rivers.” The distinct roll of her syllables identified her Italian accent. She spread her hands as though to show she carried no weapons and bowed her head slightly—the acknowledgement of one Alpha to another.

Fuck.
They’d named the pack. Certain none of her displeasure showed, Sera inclined her head. Pleasure lit the other woman’s face at the simple display. Folding her arms, she studied the wolf. “Luciana Barrows, thank you for the welcome to Three Rivers.” The pleased look faded when Sera failed to address her as Alpha. Words mattered in protocol. Testing her, Sera switched her attention to the wolf on the steps. “Hello, Rayne.”

“Miss Serafina,” he said with the faintest of smiles. “It’s not like you to be rude.” The chastisement earned him another smile.

“No, nor is it like me to arrive in the middle of unclaimed land in the middle of a snow storm to see what all the fuss is about.” Luciana’s smile vanished completely at the last. Rayne sighed, and his gaze said please even though his expression went to stone.

“This territory is claimed,” Luciana said, striding forward two steps. Aggression wreathed her. The baby doll pretense evaporated as her power rose. “You are welcome because of your friendship with Rayne and because my mate speaks highly of you. Do not presume to have authority over
my
wolves.”

Good girl.
Establishing rules between predators kept everyone in line. As with Diesel and Cassius, Sera yawned lightly. The deep brown of Luciana’s eyes went pure gold. Keeping her power contained because she had nothing to prove, least of all to the woman before her, Sera said, “And it is only due to my friendship with Rayne that I have taken the time to see you for myself.”

Luciana paused, and Rayne blinked.
Surprise. Worry. Need.
The spirits whispered in her ear.
Proud. Frightened…
For herself or…
her wolves.
All at once the display of power evaporated and Luciana said, “Would you accept my invitation to come inside and get to know me better?”

“Yes,” Sera said, dropping her hand and extending her fingers to Linc. Her mate padded to her and bumped her hand with his head. Mate. A blanket of warmth and comfort enveloped her. He had her back. “I would like that.”

She followed the pair into the house. The other wolves watching them melted away, returning to their homes or to their runs. Inside, Linc stayed with her, his baleful gaze following Rayne around the living room. The modest lodging was clean, filled with colorful pillows and blankets. Most of the furniture was ancient, though it appeared to have been reupholstered.

It seemed as though Luciana and Rayne did not let their status with the other packs slow their efforts. Intrigued, Serafina took a seat in one of the wing backed chairs. Linc paced over and settled at her feet, positioning himself between her and them.

His actions didn’t go unnoticed. Rayne sat next to his mate, but between her and Linc. Once settled, Sera stroked the wolf’s head and studied Luciana. “Why the U.S.? My understanding is that your brother rules Italy. You could have had any pack there, so why come here?”

No immediate answer was forthcoming. Luciana studied her for the space of several heartbeats before saying, “Because this is Rayne’s home and because he told me of the Lone Wolves. Do you know we do not have such a thing in Italy?”

“I heard something to that effect.” Margo’s report had included the information. “Your brother allows those who wish to roam the freedom to do so, but they are always a part of the greater pack even if only one of the satellite packs.”

“Exactly.” The Italian woman smiled and grew more animated. “Wolves are social creatures. We need ties of pack, even the thinnest, barest connection to those that matter must exist. Your Lone Wolves, do not some have family? What if you were unhappy, and chose not to follow any of the Alphas available, yet you met your mate? What would you do? Could you walk away because it is the law? Would you join a pack because it was the only way? What if it did not suit you at all? Could you leave your mate?”

Leave her mate? Not hardly. “Fair arguments. Reasonable ones for those who have existed as Lone Wolves or who live around them.” Serafina pinned her gaze to the other wolf’s. “You are neither of those. So why did
you
decide to make this your cause?” A cause wasn’t enough. “And what happens if you win your argument? If we—the Alphas decide the days of Lone Wolves ends, if we pull home our wolves and let them roam, though they shall always be a part of our packs? What then?” She didn’t add, why didn’t they bring the argument to the existing Alphas? Why go about it so sneakily? Why did they attempt to cover their tracks?

No, she saved those questions.

Rayne glanced at his mate, a wordless pulse of communication passing between them. She nodded once, and Rayne cleared his throat. “Miss Serafina,” he drawled, reminding her of home. “We didn’t honestly think the Alphas would listen.”

Ringing truth filled the sentence. “Well bless your hearts, we’re listening now.” She eyed Luciana. “That doesn’t answer the last question. What will you do if we call them home?”

Knuckles whitening, Rayne tensed. Power swirled around Luciana and her golden eyes seemed to glow from within. “They
are
home. If they wish to return, they have that freedom. You had better bring more than one wolf if you intend to try and take my pack. They are
mine
to defend.”

Better
. Relaxing, Serafina continued stroking Linc’s head. The action soothed her, reminded her of his presence and at the same time made her wish they were anywhere but here. “What are you willing to give us to be acknowledged?”

“I’m sorry, what?” Luciana’s anger deflated and her blink betrayed a certain lack of skill in negotiation. No matter, she was young in the ways of leading a pack. Young didn’t mean incapable, it simply meant young.

“You behaved in a sneaky fashion. You snuck into our country, bypassed our laws, gathered up Lone Wolves and created a base of operations under the radar. You did everything you could to not engage us—but we’re engaged now. We’re aware. Willow Bend has you surrounded. What will you give us to allow you to continue and not simply end the exercise completely?”

Would Luciana die for her pack? Would she give up everything for them? Would she fight to keep them? What did she want?

Stillness rippled through Linc and Rayne. The males had locked gazes and the tension threading Rayne seemed to amp. He’d sensed the threat, understood exactly what Sera had just done, but Luciana raised her chin.

“I did all of those things. I believed it to be the best course of action for wolves whom you all oppressed out of neglect.” Silence reigned for several seconds. “I was wrong to act as I did, but I was not wrong to want to take them in, to give them an opportunity. I am willing to meet. To negotiate. To form new laws. I will release anyone who wishes to return to their packs or…to go Lone Wolf again.” Despite the distaste in her tone, she didn’t hesitate. Gripping Rayne’s shoulder, she turned her attention to her mate. “To survive, a pack has to believe in themselves. My pack is new and they are still getting to know each other, to know me, but I bear the weight of their trust, whatever your—council of Alphas decides. My only request is you bring the judgment upon me and not them.”

Right answer.

“I’ll take it under advisement.”