Every Sunset Forever (4 page)

“Well, one of two things will happen when you find your mate or mates, here or wherever they might be.  One, they’ll want you to come home with them, and you’ll be so happy that you won’t mind leaving Beyton for wherever the hell they live.  Or two, they’ll be so crazy about you that they’ll come to Beyton and join the pack.  When I find my mate, there isn’t anything that I won’t be willing to do to make her happy.  And that includes leaving Beyton.  So don’t think that you have to give up everything like you’re cursed or something.  You might find yourself willing to go.  There’s no good worrying, anyway.  You know what Grandma used to say: ‘Worrying is like sitting in a rocking chair; it gives you something to do, but doesn’t get you anywhere.’”

“Thanks, Kross.  You’re the best.”

“I know.  You’re not too bad yourself.”

Bliss and Kayne came back into the cabin a few minutes later, laughing, and she showed her the bedroom.

“I don’t mind sharing as long as you don’t hog the covers,” Bliss said.

“And you don’t kick me,” Whisper added.

They unpacked, and Kross came into the room, sitting down on the bed.  “The meet-and-greet is at seven.  If you want to go, we should get a move on.”

Whisper considered not going, but decided that she was going to make the most out of the situation.  Kross’s advice about what her future might bring had actually eased the knot of worry in her stomach a little.  And their grandma’s advice was still sound.  She was worrying over something that wasn’t an issue right now.  She hadn’t found her mate — or mates — yet, and when she did, then she’d see how things went.

She sent a text to her dad.

“Thank you for sending me to the
gathering
.  I love you.”

He replied quickly, “You’re welcome, Sweetling.  I love you, too.”

Chapter 4

Nyte rolled over and nearly fell off the bed. Then he realized that the entire cabin was dark, as was the sky outside.  They’d overslept!  Reaching for his phone, he discovered it was after two in the morning.  So much for the meet-and-greet.  Bunching the pillow under his head, he sighed and settled back down to catch some more sleep.

The next time he woke up, sunlight was streaming through the windows, and his brothers were waking up.

“Damn it, I must have turned off the alarm.  Sorry, guys,” Az said.

Fade stretched and yawned.  “I didn’t wake up at all, so we must have been dead to the world.”

“Hope all the single females aren’t taken,” Az groused as he rolled out of bed.

“If they are, then they’re not meant to be our mates,” Nyte reminded him.

He sat up and rolled his neck, checking his phone for messages.  Their cousins had sent cheerful messages of encouragement to them, wishing them luck on their ‘mating expedition.’  Alyssa and Sydney were looking forward to having another female in the
baro
.

By the time Nyte got into the cramped shower, the water was ice cold, shocking him further awake and making his teeth chatter.  He’d never showered so quickly in his life.  As he stalked to the dresser for clean clothes, he said, “I get the first shower tomorrow.”

The brunch was in full swing when they got there.  A large clearing was set with enough picnic tables for the thirty-some clans at the
gathering.
 Buffet tables laden with food had been set up around the perimeter, and long lines of males and some females milled around waiting for food.  A male voice said, “You guys can share our table.”

Nyte looked over his shoulder and saw a large picnic table with three males at it.  They walked to it and sat down, Nyte extending his hand to the one that spoke.  “I’m Nyte Stone, clan leader.  These are my brothers, Fade and Azrael.”

“I’m Memphis, clan leader,” he gestured to two large males next to him, “my brothers, Rome and Lincoln.”

The two clans shook hands.  “We’re from Maryland.  You?”

“Our family lives in Tennessee, but we joined a
baro
in Kentucky.”  Nyte folded his hands and looked around.  “Have you been to one of these before?”

Lincoln made a face. “Every year.  At least there are females at this one.”

Fade nodded.  “We normally attend ones in the south because of where our family’s
baro
lives, but our mother suggested we try a different one.”

Memphis rubbed his knuckles under his chin.  “I hadn’t thought about trying another
gathering
.  That’s not a bad idea.  Of course, there are so few females born that I’m not sure these things are even worth attending anymore.  A hyena mate would be nice, but we just want to find our mate — whatever she does or doesn’t shift into — and settle down.”

“We want the exact same thing,” Nyte said.

There was a scraping sound of wood on the ground, and another picnic table was scooted close, one male pushing it by himself while two others held plates filled with food.  “These are our cousins,” Memphis said as the three males sat down, and the males introduced themselves as Shiloh, Camden, and Salem, and more introductions were done.

“The lines have shortened,” Rome said.  “I’m starving.”

The two clans stood and joined the buffet lines.  It took ten minutes, but they eventually were able to sit back down with their full plates.  Azrael groused, “The food smell is so heavy that I can’t smell anything but bacon, sausage, and eggs.  If our mate was here, I don’t think we’d even be able to tell.”

Nyte looked around as he ate and decided that Az was probably right.  There were too many conflicting scents for them to be able to tell if their mate was here.  The conversation around the tables was light as the males chatted about the weather, the
gatherings
, and the lack of female hyenas.

Back in their grandparents’ day, hyenas never mated outside of their own kind, even if it meant taking a mate that was not their true mate but a chosen one.  Arranged matings were commonplace, even in their parents’ generation.  But slowly the idea of mating outside of the hyenas’ race became acceptable.  Although he knew there were
baros
where only hyenas were welcome, he knew that his family’s
baro
wouldn’t care what their mate shifted into as long as they were happy.

And when they found their mate, he knew that they
would
be happy.

* * * * *

Fade glanced over the itinerary posted on a large bulletin board in the communal eating area.  The tall wooden board held sign-ups for various activities, everything from hiking to cooking classes in one of the larger cabins.  He and his brothers had agreed to stick together for the week, so while he was interested in checking out the gym and maybe going for a hike, he knew that Az would prefer to take a cooking class.

“I think it would be cool to go hiking,” Az said, surprising Fade as he looked over his shoulder.

“Really?”

“What?  We’re camping, why not hike?  Besides, the cooking class is already filled up,” Az pointed out.

Fade signed their clan up, and they headed for the meeting area for the one p.m. hike.  One female hyena showed up to the hike and stayed very close to a clan of males who were apparently part of her
baro
.  Discreetly, Fade scented her and found that not only was his human side not interested in her, but his beast pretty much just yawned.

Nyte clapped Fade on the shoulder.  “Let’s hike.”

The land surrounding the campground was heavily wooded.  The hike leaders, a mated clan related to the owners, encouraged everyone to stay on the trail and began walking.  Fade watched as other clans attempted to talk to the female, but the males with her were very possessive and kept snarling.  Overprotective brothers or cousins, perhaps.  It didn’t matter to him in the long run, of course, because she wasn’t meant for them.  If she was theirs, nothing and no one would keep them apart, that was for damn sure.

The fall air was cool but the sun was shining, and his beast reveled in the woods.  He wanted to shift and go exploring.  Dalton was pretty flat, and although they hunted in the woods of their
baro’s
territory, the mountains were something special.  He inhaled deeply and froze.

He smelled something…amazing.  Sweet.  Tempting.

His brothers stopped next to him, and the hikers continued on around them.  Fade was rooted to the spot, unable to pinpoint what the scent was.  “Do you smell that?” he asked, his voice deeper than usual.

He heard his brothers inhale and make sounds of surprise.

“What is it?” Az asked.

“It’s compelling, whatever it is,” Nyte said.

Another trail bisected the trail they were on, and just as he was about to suggest they shift and hunt down the source of the scent, a small group appeared and turned down their trail.  Two tall males and one short female.

“Excuse us,” the female said as they slipped by them.

Fade scented quickly as she passed.  All three were werewolves, although the female didn’t quite smell like a true wolf.  And although the sweet scent was around her, it didn’t seem to be her own scent.

Turning so he could watch them walk away, he folded his arms and wondered what the hell was going on.  His beast, which had been fairly quiet since they’d arrived at the campgrounds, was now growling at him.

“That’s weird,” Nyte said.  “I am curious about the scent but not about the she-wolf.”

“Me, too,” Az said.

Feeling torn, Fade turned around and said, “Let’s catch up to the group.  Whatever we’re smelling isn’t her, I’m sure of it.”

His beast howled in dismay, but he tuned it out.  The wolf was not theirs, so whatever he liked about the scent was not her.  Maybe it was some product that she used.  He refused to chase after her like a madman and demand to know what smelled so good.  Although he didn’t consider the males adversaries, if they were with the she-wolf, they would want to protect her, and he didn’t want to spend the rest of their vacation sporting any fight injuries.

Sighing inwardly, he focused on the trail ahead of them and tried to forget the alluring scent.

* * * * *

Azrael stood on the tiny porch of the cabin and braced his hands on the railing.  The wood felt like it would crumble under his grip, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself.  His beast was agitated.  Had been since they went hiking and they had crossed paths with that she-wolf and the two males with her.  He knew she wasn’t their mate, but there was something about her that he was drawn to.  He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about…well, not her so much as whatever he was sensing about her.

“You okay?” Nyte asked, stepping from the doorway onto the porch.  Fade was just behind him, and they stood next to Az.  He could feel their concern.

“I’m feeling antsy.  My beast is clawing at me, but I have no idea why.”

Fade said, “I thought it was just me, but Nyte said he was feeling strange, too.”

“Really?”  Az turned and looked at his brothers.  “You didn’t say anything earlier.”

Nyte shrugged and leaned against the house, folding his arms.  “Ever since we ran into that she-wolf, my beast has been snarling at me.  I know she’s not ours, so I don’t know what the problem is.”

Fade leaned on a post and stared off into the darkness.  “I feel like we should be doing something or going somewhere.”

Nyte’s voice was low when he spoke, “Our mate is here somewhere.”

Az snapped to attention, and Fade straightened, turning slowly.  “How do you know?”

“Because we’re all feeling agitated.  I think the she-wolf is with our mate somewhere, so we need to find her and see who she came with,” Nyte said.

“We can call the front desk and ask for one of the owners to tell us where the she-wolf is staying,” Az suggested.

“Fuck that, let’s go hunting.”  Fade put one hand on the railing and leapt over, landing solidly on the ground.

Nyte said, “The owners are probably in bed by now, anyway.  I believe our beasts will lead us to either the she-wolf or our mate.  What do we have to lose besides a few hours of sleep?”

“We have a lot to gain if we find her, though,” Azrael said, unable to stop his grin.  His beast urged him forward, and he joined his brothers as they strode with purpose into the woods.  They would find the she-wolf and demand she tell them who she was with so they could find their mate.  Either way, his beast rejoiced at finding their mate and urged him to move faster through the dark woods.

Calm down,
he chided his beast.

His only answer was a growl.

Chapter 5

Whisper sat at a long table with a hot plate in front of her and carefully turned over the quartered red potatoes, which were frying alongside a stuffed chicken breast, while listening to the cooking lesson from Ally and one of her husbands.  Bliss had planned to come, but at the last minute had decided to go hiking with Kayne and Kross.  She wasn’t sure why, but she thought that they were trying to give her some alone time with the hyenas.  The large cabin had a dozen long tables turned into miniature cooking stations for each attendee.  Whisper sat at the front and had been quickly joined by three males.

She pushed the potatoes around some more and tried to listen to what Ally was saying, but she couldn’t get over the feeling that she was being watched.  Every time she took a surreptitious glance over her shoulder, she was met with many eyes watching her.  She was flattered on some level, but she wondered if they were interested in her solely because she was a hyena.

Ally continued on with the cooking lesson, and Whisper followed along.  She enjoyed cooking but tended to go for more simple things.  In her own home, she would have just cooked the chicken plain in the pan and put the potatoes in the microwave until they were soft.  She’d thought having Bliss with her would have made the experience better, but she didn’t mind being by herself.  Not that she was really alone.

The male next to her leaned close and said, “I’m Harry.  Ally’s our mom.  These are my brothers, Mark and Taylor.”

She leaned over and looked down the line of the three males and smiled.  “Nice to meet you.  I’m Whisper.”

“That’s an interesting name,” Harry said.

“Thanks.”  She frowned, not really wanting to share her life story while sitting at a folding table in a room full of people with extremely good hearing.

Harry put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently.  “You don’t have to say anything; just wanted you to know there’s a friendly face in the crowd.  Or three.”  He smiled and a dimple formed in his cheek.  He was adorable, as were his brothers.  But aside from their adorableness, she didn’t feel any kind of stirring inside.  No fluttering butterflies.  No hungry licking of lips, imagining a kiss.  And her beast was very quiet.  What did that mean?

Harry and his brothers made small talk with her while they cooked, and when the chicken was done, Whisper plated her food and turned off the hot plate.  The ham-and-Swiss stuffed chicken breast looked really good, and even though she’d had a big meal at brunch she couldn’t wait to dig into it.

“Looks wonderful, hon,” Ally said as she came to stand in front of her.  “You must cook at home.”

Whisper smiled up at Ally as she chewed her first, delicious bite.  “Thanks, I do.  Can I ask why you have cooking classes?”  There was a cooking class each day of the
gathering
.

“Well, you can only go hiking and boating and sit around talking for so long before people start to get restless. We try to offer a variety of things for the clans to do.”

Mark leaned back and flashed a wide smile at Whisper. “Besides, when there are so few females, we have to do something to keep the males busy so they don’t come to blows.”

Whisper put a small wedge of potato in her mouth and chewed slowly, her mind spinning.  Ally said, “What do you want to know?”

“I, uh…”  She glanced around and saw that not only were Harry and his brothers paying attention but several other clans were listening intently, without even attempting to hide their interest.

Ally chuckled and said, “Why don’t you come outside onto the back patio and we can chat privately?”

“Thanks,” Whisper said, picking up her plate, saying goodbye to the three males at her table, and following Ally out a side door to a small, covered patio.  The door closed, and her husband stayed inside the cabin and left them alone.

Whisper ate a few more bites as she gathered her thoughts and then she asked, “Do those guys in there…do they only want to talk to me because I’m a hyena?”

“What do you mean?”  Ally’s head tipped to the side as her brows furrowed.

“Well, they all look at me like I’m something good to eat and they’re starving, but they don’t know anything about me.  What do hyenas do when they find their mates?”

“Ah,” she nodded, a small smile curving her lips, “you want to know what a mating is like.”

“Well, not a
mating
-mating, just…how do hyenas know they’ve found their fourth?”

Chuckling, Ally leaned back on the patio chair.  “There’s an instant
knowledge
when you’re in the presence of your mates.  It almost defies explanation.  One minute you’re by yourself and you’re fine with that, the next minute you can’t imagine being apart from them for a second.  And it’s not only the females that feel that way but the males, too.  When I met my mates, I was on my way to a
gathering. 
I’d stopped to get gas on the way.  I was sitting in the car, and then I felt almost pulled from the car by this strong desire to find something.  I had no idea what it was, only that my feet wouldn’t stop moving and my beast was going crazy.  I turned the corner of the gas station and found my mates coming out of the bathroom.  They froze, we stared at each other for a full minute, and then, well, let’s just say that I didn’t make it back to my car for such a long time that the guy pumping the gas thought I’d taken off and came looking for me.” She laughed lightly and blushed.  Whisper smiled.

“So you knew from the moment you saw them?”

“Sure, hon.”

“Why would they want to settle with me, then?  If we’re not mates?”  She looked over her shoulder and could see through the window that many of the males were looking at her.

“Some
baros
are stuck in tradition, and believe that clans should only contain hyenas.  Those sorts of archaic
baros
encourage their young males to take mates of female hyenas regardless of whether they’re true mates or not.  You could fall in love with a clan like that, but you might always feel unsettled, knowing that they weren’t the ones you were meant to be with.”

“If I’m even supposed to be with hyenas.  I mean, I could end up mated to a wolf or a human.”

“Very true.”  She leaned forward and put her hand on Whisper’s shoulder.  “I firmly believe that everyone will find their true mate eventually, Whisper.  That you aren’t feeling like jumping the bones of any of the males in that cabin tells me that they’re not right for you.  And there isn’t anything wrong with that.”

“Thanks, Ally.”

“My sons are very enamored with you, but even I can see that there’s no spark between you.”

“They’re cute.”

“Thanks.  They won’t pressure you, I promise.  And if anyone gives you any trouble, let me know.  You or the three that you came with.  This week is about relaxing and having fun, and if a few clans find their mates, then that’s wonderful.  But if not, then that’s okay, too.”

Whisper liked Ally a lot, and she was glad that she had spoken to her.  She hadn’t ever thought she missed out on anything by not having a mother because the pack females had been there for her in every way they could, but she’d never had someone she could call Mom.  Her heart ached a little bit at the thought.

As she finished her meal and Ally shared some more stories of her early mating days with her husbands, Whisper’s mind wandered to her own family.  Her biological family.  Had Ally been right?  That no
baro
would allow a baby to be raised by anyone else?  Had something really happened to her when she was little, and no one knew where she was?  If so, why hadn’t they found the alerts listed with children and family services that said that she’d been found?  Old worries surfaced.  The feeling that she hadn’t been wanted by her biological family.  Ally and her husbands would never have given up one of their sons, that much was clear.  So why had Whisper wound up in a crack house in Atlantic City next to a dead prostitute?  Shoving away all thoughts of the mysterious circumstances of her earliest years, she focused on Ally and laughed at a joke, relaxing in the moment.

* * * * *

When she got back to the cabin, her brothers and Bliss had just returned with food from a nearby grocery.

“What did you get?” Whisper asked, peering into one of the bags.

“Dinner,” Kayne said.

“There’s a dinner for the
gathering
,” she pointed out, brows furrowing.

“Don’t be mad,” Bliss said, wringing her hands, “but there were these three guys that kind of cornered me, and they totally freaked me out.”

Her temper flared.  “They did?  Who were they?  When did this happen?”

Kross patted Whisper’s shoulder.  “We handled it, Mouse.  I don’t know what their deal was, but they said that unmated females were ‘fair game.’  Kayne punched one of them in the face, and they slunk away into the woods.”

“You punched one?” she asked.

“His face was fair game, too.”  Kayne shrugged.

“I’m sorry.”  Whisper frowned.

“Not your fault.  They’re clearly Neanderthals.  I called the main office and gave them the description of the males, and the guy I talked to said that they’d had other complaints and were going to find the males and kick them out immediately.”

“Good.  Maybe we should head home?”

All three answered, “No!”

“Whoa, sor-ry,” she put her hands up in protest.  “I don’t want Bliss to be miserable.”

“She’ll be fine, we promise.  You’re here for a reason, and that’s to hang out with hyenas.  She’s promised to never go anywhere alone, and that goes for you, too,” Kross said.

“Alright.”  She nodded, accepted Bliss’s hug, and turned to see what was being pulled out of the grocery sacks.  Kayne offered to take her to the dinner, leaving Kross and Bliss at the cabin, but she decided to stay there.

The sun set while they ate dinner, and Kross said, “I saw a small firepit a hundred yards from here.  They’re sprinkled all over the woods.  There’s a stack of firewood in the pit and some waterproof matches.  Why don’t we hang out?”

“Sounds good to me!” Whisper said enthusiastically.

They gathered their things and followed Kross down a trail near the cabin to a small clearing.  Wooden logs lay around the perimeter of the stone-lined firepit, and she and Bliss sat down on a long log while her brothers took up two other shorter ones.  While Kross got his guitar from the case that he had brought along, Kayne started a fire in the pit.  Before long, the wood was crackling, flames dancing brightly and lighting up the area.

“What do you want to sing, Mouse?  Happy songs?  Sad songs?  Silly camping songs?”  Kross asked, sliding his thumb down the strings one at a time and then giving her a rakish grin as he strummed quickly a few times.

“Happy,” she said, drawing her coat around her shoulders to stave off the chill of the evening.

Kross began to play one of Whisper’s favorite songs, and Kayne kept the beat on his thighs, adding his voice to hers and Kross’s, as they began to sing.  Bliss joined in on the chorus, and Whisper felt the music lift her spirits.  They moved seamlessly from song to song, Kross choosing songs with good beats to keep things light.  Whisper soon forgot about her worries.  Each new song lifted a weight from her shoulders and let her slip away from reality a little bit more until there wasn’t anything in the world except the four of them and the music.

They shared stories of their childhood, laughing and talking between songs, and Whisper couldn’t remember a time when she’d ever been happier.

And then all hell broke loose.