Leader of the Pack (20 page)

“I officially challenge you for
leadership of the
Whitewolf
pack.”

She didn’t know if the ringing tone
of his voice was intended to give himself courage or try to get the crowd to
move back toward him. But either way, she was out of options.

“I accept your challenge.” She
pounded the gavel. “I will entertain a motion for recess of this special
session of the city council to attend to pack business.”

“I so move,” Zach growled.

“I second,” Drew
Goldwolf
agreed.

“I have a motion to recess the
session.
All in favor?”
All the members of the council
said aye. “Opposed?”
Silence.
“The motion passes.
We’ll attend to pack leadership right now and return to finish the remaining
business on the agenda.”

Dan rose to his feet as if he was
ready to go after her right here. Damn fool. She leaned into the mike. “We’ll
move this meeting to the park across the street to observe the formalities.”

Yohana
made her way to the door, ignoring Dan as he strutted ahead
of her. He nodded benevolently at certain wolves from their pack and she made
mental notes. Those she made note of cringed. Once she took this pup down, they
would find no favor with her and they knew it. She’d do her best to remain
impartial and not penalize them for their stupidity, but they’d better keep
clear of her for some time. Just before she exited she caught sight of Dr.
Quinn
Goldwolf
and made her way to his side.

“Quinn, could you please act as
official doctor? There are always injuries and I’d like to have someone I trust
close.”

“Certainly.”
He took a deep breath and frowned.
Then
inhaled again.
“Wait. You can’t—”

“I’ll meet you out there.”

She walked away fast, swearing
mentally. He’d scented the pup on her. She had to meet this challenge, but if
she did then she broke her vow to Per. A vow to protect her pups with her very
life. She wanted to howl. What the hell was she going to do?

Per swore viciously as he rounded a
corner and pressed the pedal to the floor as he hit the valley. Thank god. From
Yohana’s
description he should only be about ten
minutes from the center of town. He slammed his hand against the steering
wheel. The surgery had been tricky and he’d had to concentrate and shut
everything out to help on the consult. He was glad he wasn’t the attending
because he’d needed to get to his
Yohana
, but the
fucking traffic on the edge of Denver had slowed him down. Now, he was so
close. Just then he heard a siren and saw flashing lights in his rearview
mirror.

“Shit!” He growled and pulled over.
Tension flowed down his link with
Yohana
. He knew
that the shit had hit the fan and he needed to get to her.
Now.
There was a knock on the window and he jumped. He lowered it.
“Yes, officer?”

“Do you know how fast you were
going?”

“Too fast.
But I’m on my way to the special council meeting. I need to
be there.”

The officer shook his head. “Well,
you’re going to be late.” He pulled out a pad. “I’ll need to see your license.”

Per wanted to scream but he took a
calming breath. “Do you know what the session is about?”

The officer looked him over and
Per
scented wolf. “The mayor was supposed to deliver some
news.”

“Of a
personal nature.
Introduce her mate?”

“Mate?”
The young male looked hopeful. “What do you know?”

“I’m her Mate. But if I don’t get
there her cousin is going to challenge her for the pack.”

“Damn. Dan isn’t pack leader
material.”

“Look, I’ll pay whatever fine you
assess me but I’m her Mate and I need to get to that meeting.” Per handed his
license to the officer who wrote down the name and information about the car.

“I’ll give you a warning this time
but watch your speed.”

“Thanks.” The officer finished off
the warning fast and handed it and his license back to him. “I’d take it as a
favor if you don’t clock me going into town just now.”

The officer smiled. “I’ll be heading
in the opposite direction. Just do
me
a favor. Keep
Yohana
in the job. She’s damn good at it.”

“You have my word.”

Per peeled out, leaving the cop in
the dust and continued into town at high speed. He tried to reach
Yohana
on their mental path but she was blocked. So
completely focused on something else he couldn’t get through. But he could
sense she was leaving a building and crossing the street to a large park. Hundreds
of wolves surrounded her. Shit, that could only mean a challenge had been
issued and she was determined to meet it. He had to prevent it. She carried his
pup and he wouldn’t allow either of them to be injured.

He streaked through town and nearly
spun into a parking place. Then he took off at a sprint for the crowd of people
assembled on the opposite side of the park. He hit the crowd hard.

“Let me through.
Now!
” he
barked.

Bodies parted, allowing him to the
front. A male with shoulder-length blond hair was being held away from
Yohana
by a black-haired male.
A
Goldwolf
and a
Blackwolf
by the
look of them.

“You can’t fight,
Yohana
,” the blond yelled.

“I can and will. I
must
. It’s
my duty.” Her fingers settled fleetingly over her belly and her face twisted with
concern and pain. Was she in pain?

Yohana
.
Hear me. I’ve arrived. You don’t have to do this alone.

Her gaze flew toward his and her
face lightened, joy filling her eyes.
“Per.”

Her single word settled into a
moment of quiet and all gazes turned toward him. He straightened and crossed
the open area to her side. He took her hands, leaned down to kiss her. She
stepped close to him and he felt a faint shiver run through her.

“Forgive me for my lateness. I made
it as soon as I could.”

“How’s the patient?”

He smiled. “She’s fine. The surgery
became complicated but she’ll heal well now.”

“Good.”

What’s happening,
älskling
?

Dan challenged me. I accepted. So
I’m getting ready to fight.

He brushed a strand of hair from her
brow.
You can’t fight. You made me a promise.

She lowered her gaze.
I know. But
if I don’t fight, I lose the pack. It really would kill me,
Per
.
I was born to serve. Why can’t they let me?
She raised her gaze back to
his, her eyes wide.
Pleading.

There’s an alternative to you
fighting your cousin.

Just give up. Let him lead? I
considered it. I know that after six months with him as pack leader, they’ll
beg me to come back. But the
damage done
in that six
months will be…
She shook her head.

That wasn’t the alternative I meant.
Surely your pack law here has the same provision for pregnant females as my
pack’s
did.

Her fingers clutched his.
You
mean having you fight as my champion?

Ja
.

It’s so archaic.
Medieval.

So are wolf packs.

She chuckled and their gazes met and
held.
Are you sure? To do this—I’d be asking you to violate your Hippocratic
Oath.

You come first.
You
and our pup.
I’ll do what must be done. Is there a requirement to fight
to death?

No, but Dan has been backed into a
corner. He’s dangerous.
Unpredictable.
He’ll come at
you with everything he’s got.

Better me than you. So what’s your
decision? I’ll abide by it.

Her eyes widened. “You will?”

“I will.” He tapped the tip of her
nose. “You’re my pack leader.”

“They’re True Mates,” Zach shouted,
laughing out loud. “Damn it all, they’re True Mates.”

Yohana
turned, staring Zach down. It only took a couple of minutes
for his raucous laughter to fade. He pretended to look chastened and a little
shamefaced, but his eyes still twinkled with amusement. She nodded and pulled
her shoulders back. She gently drew
Per
to her side.
He placed himself carefully just behind her left shoulder, standing as her pack
second would and almost at attention.

“
Whitewolf
Pack…and interested parties…this is Dr.
Per
Goldwolf
. He’s a general surgeon currently part of a
surgical practice in Denver. He’s my True Mate.”

Per’s
throat tightened and he smiled at her dignity.
Her beauty.
She was a miracle and she was his. She reached
for him and he grasped her hand. She squeezed it.

“I’m pregnant and
Per
is the father. As my True Mate and the father of my pup, he will stand as my
champion per pack law.”

“That’s bullshit,” Dan snarled.

He tensed, wanting to go after the
bastard. She squeezed his hand again, so he waited for her next move.

“What part is bullshit, Dan? That
he’s my True Mate? That he’s the father of my pup? Or do you challenge pack law
as well as the pack leader?”

Dan clenched his jaw. “This is crap.
You aren’t even pregnant. You just don’t want to face me yourself.”

“That’s what I was trying to tell
all of you,” Quinn burst out. “I was trying to stop this fight because I can
smell her pregnancy.” He tugged away from Zach.

“Hey, sorry, man. I didn’t
understand.”

Quinn rolled his eyes at Zach then
faced Dan. “She is most definitely pregnant.”

“Then she knew, so she shouldn’t
have accepted the challenge,” Dan argued.

“What and just let you roll over me?
I don’t think so, cousin.”
Yohana
growled.

Per squeezed her hand and she
relaxed slightly.
I know. I can’t let him rile me but his behavior is
unbelievable.
Unforgivable.

Let him show everyone who he really
is. Sometimes a pack challenge is decided by the mood of the crowd, not just by
the capabilities of the fighters.

I know. I just wish he’d let it go.

But you know he won’t. Don’t
worry,
älskling
. I’ve got this.

“I accepted the challenge because
this pack is mine and I intend it to remain that way.”

“Then you face me yourself.”

“When I accepted,
Per
wasn’t here. Now he is. Just acknowledge it gracefully and get ready to face
him.”

Dan glared at her and curled his
lips to show his fangs and
Per’s
hackles rose. No one looked at his bitch like that. He stepped in front of
Yohana
.

“Unless you’d
care to drop your challenge now that you’ll be facing me instead of my Mate?”
Per taunted him.

The male’s pale eyes flared and he
snarled. “I’ll rip out your heart and since you are True Mates, when you’re
dead, she’ll die too. We’ll be rid of both of you.”

There was a quiet gasp around them.
Dan had just made a critical mistake even though he didn’t seem to realize it.
A True Mate pairing was held sacred by all
shapeshifters
and no one took lightly the likely death of a pair if one partner died.

Dan turned from them and began to
strip.
Per followed suit.
One didn’t shift from human
to wolf while wearing clothing. The clothing didn’t
shift,
it tangled around the wolf and tripped him up. When Per was nude, he met
Yohana’s
gaze. Her lips pursed as she looked him up and
down.

Don’t do that. I’ll get a hard-on
and this isn’t the time for it.
She chuckled and nodded. He leaned down to her and gave her a kiss.
Anything
I should know about him?

He likes to go for the legs.

Hamstringing?

Yes. It’s a favorite. He lets anger
lead him. He’s vicious when cornered.
She reached up and cupped his cheek, holding his gaze with hers.
Have you
heard the legend of the two wolves?

He frowned. He’d heard many tales
but not that one.
What is this legend?