One Second (Seven Series Book 7) (4 page)

“Maybe it’s the owner,” Austin considered, running his fingers through his dark hair.

“The owner would sneak over in the middle of the night to mark land he knows you’re on?”

“No, but if you have any other theories, feel free to share them.”

“Wait a second,” I said. “How can you tell it was a Shifter? We’re in the middle of the woods with wolves out there. Real wolves. Not the kind that shift into people.”

“A Shifter crossed territory lines and left his mark,” Lorenzo replied flatly.

“Did you get a urine sample?”

“I’m an alpha.”

I looked to Austin for help. I wasn’t about to debate with Lorenzo on how he could tell whether it was a man or a chipmunk by smelling pee.

“I’ll keep an eye out,” Austin said. “It’s probably a rogue who wandered onto the territory and decided to be a dickhead. Outside of Reno’s barking, I haven’t heard any wolves since we’ve been here.” He cut Reno a sharp glare before continuing. “Church, would you mind escorting them back to the cabin?”

“Brother, I think I can handle any trouble without a babysitter,” Reno said, patting his chest where he kept his gun strapped.

“You’re also mated to a human.”

Ivy held up her cane with the silver wolf’s head on the grip. “I can’t clear that distance in the dark,” she said to Lorenzo. “The terrain is too rough. I’ll take the road back to our cabin while you walk with them.”

“Absolutely
not
,” Lorenzo said, his voice inviting no argument. He turned and regarded April for a moment.

Austin glanced back at the garage. “I could drive if y’all don’t mind sitting in the back of the pickup.”

Lorenzo lifted his chin and looked up at the stars. “It’s a magnificent night. It would be a shame to miss it bouncing around in the back of your truck while exhaust fumes are choking us. Reno, walk with us to our cabin and then we’ll drive you to yours. We’re safer in numbers, and the road is well lit.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Reno agreed, unzipping his jacket so he had better access to his gun. “Probably just a bunch of young pups doing initiation dares.”

Shifter hazing?
This was too much. “What kind of dares?” I asked.

Reno’s thin lips eased into a tight grin.

“Get going,” Austin said, shoving him toward the path.

I snatched Reno’s jacket and yanked him back. “What dares?”

He gave Austin a cursory glance before answering. “Sometimes when a man reaches his first change, his pack gives him a challenge to complete. Something dangerous and stupid. Rite of passage.”

I smiled, sensing a good story. “Or in Austin’s case, his brothers gave him a challenge. Am I right?”

Austin cleared his throat and circled his arm about my waist. “It’s getting late, and I want some of that pie.”

Like I was going to let Reno walk away with a juicy story. “Back off, Austin Cole. I’m about to get the skinny on you.”

Reno smirked and stuffed his hands in his coat pockets. “He asked one of the local Councilmen for permission to date his daughter.”

My shoulders sagged. “That’s all?”

Reno pinched his lip, sliding a glance toward Austin. “Naked.”

I erupted into my Beaker laugh, almost falling backward into the snow.

Reno chuckled. “Funniest damn thing I ever saw. I was on assignment when the boys planned it, but it was worth the trip down.”

“Thanks,
brother
,” Austin growled.

“Wait, wait…” When I finally managed to stop laughing, I stood up straight and wiped the tears from my eyes. “What did the Councilman say?”

Austin shook a clump of snow off his boot. “I didn’t get to find out because his mate was the one who answered the door. She slapped me, the pack came running, and that was that.”

Reno patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t leave out the best part—when they tied you to the little red wagon and brought you back home.”

Austin kicked snow at him as the group headed out. We watched them amble down the road, talking and laughing until they moved out of sight.

Once alone with Austin, I threw a snowball at the tree where Lorenzo had picked up the scent of another Shifter. “Do you think we should worry?”

Austin didn’t have on his coat, but he seemed impervious to the cold. He wrapped his arm around my waist and then lifted my legs off the ground, carrying me back to the cabin. “I think what you need to worry about is what I’m going to do to you on top of that kitchen table.”

“Are you busy melting snow with all that body heat?”
Naya asked, her voice sultry.

I let go of the baluster and switched the phone to my other ear. “It’s been a memorable trip.”

A memorable trip of not having sex with my own mate,
I thought. Last night after Austin carried me inside, he wanted me to try on my new lingerie, but instead I washed the dishes, swept the floor, and did everything I could to tire myself out before bedtime. Technically, I wasn’t in heat yet, but what if my ovaries were already primed for pregnancy? Shifters didn’t have biology books, and I didn’t trust hearsay.

“Memorable isn’t the word I was hoping for,” she quipped.

The ladder up to the loft was more like a staircase with handrails on either side, and I’d been sitting with my feet on the top step for the past half hour, thinking about home.

“Is everyone helping Mom with the cooking? I don’t want her overdoing it since I’m not there to make her sit down and let someone else take over. You know how she loves to stay busy, but she’s getting to the age where she tires out easily.”

“Nothing to worry about, darling. Denver grilled hamburgers last night, and I’m about to dash to the store and get what I need for my baklava.”

“For dinner?” I asked, imagining the sweet pastry.

“One taste of my dish, and I don’t think it’ll be dinner he’s hungry for,” she purred.

“Well, if you guys need anything, call me anytime.”

“What’s wrong, chickypoo? A woman doesn’t go on a secluded vacation in the woods with her sexy mate only to beg her family to interrupt with phone calls about a broken garbage disposal.” She sighed on the other end before continuing. “April and Reno should have stayed home and given you two privacy, but after Lorenzo agreed, what would be the point? You shouldn’t have invited everyone.”

“We’re having fun, and William’s got plenty of experience managing a pack in Reno’s absence. You should have come. I’m sure Wheeler would have agreed.” My ears perked up when the motor shut off outside. “Look, I’ll call you later. I need to run.”

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” she sang. “Which doesn’t leave you with much.”

I tossed the phone on a pile of clothes by the bed before heading down the ladder. Austin was a morning person and loved sunshine, so while I slept in, he’d gone out to clear a path to the main road. The snow acted as a reflector for the sun’s rays, and without blinds or curtains, I had to shield my eyes from the piercing light. I glanced at my aviators on the table and realized they were more trendy than practical. What I needed was a pair of dark shades, like the kind ophthalmologists hand out after cataract surgery.

The door swung open, and the first thing I noticed was Austin’s flushed cheeks.

He pulled off his sunglasses and tossed them onto the table by the front window. “I cleared a path to the road. I should have called Reno to help me take the equipment off the truck.
Goddamn,
” he said, out of breath, while hanging his brown coat on the hook.

Despite the cold weather, he was all sweaty.

“Do you think we could make it to the store? I need to pick up a few things.”

He kicked the snow off his boots, sending chunks of dirty sludge onto the mat. “We’re heading out that way in a little while, so yeah.”

His mood seemed off.

“What’s going on?”

“The local Council slipped a notice under our door. They contacted all the local Packmasters, from what Hector was telling me.”

“Wait, when did all this happen?”

He unwound his scarf and draped it around my neck before pressing his cold lips to my forehead. “While you were unconscious beneath a pile of blankets. I called Hector to find out what the invitation was about, and he said they’re calling an emergency town hall meeting.”

I watched him stroll languidly into the kitchen. “But we’re not local.”

Austin wrenched open the fridge and grabbed a carton of orange juice, then drank it straight from the container. He sighed with satisfaction before putting it back in the fridge. “All the wolves in the territory were summoned. It’s mandatory. Something’s going on,” he muttered, leaning against the counter.

I didn’t like seeing my mate on edge, especially when we didn’t have our pack with us.

“Should we pick up Reno and April on the way?”

He shook his head and pushed off the counter, swaggering in my direction. “No. He got the same notice, so we’ll be heading out in separate vehicles.”

Austin sniffed his armpits and then stripped out of his shirt. My eyes feasted upon his body and then went back for seconds. I felt just the slightest sensation of tingles, as if an invisible finger had grazed across my sex with a featherlight touch.

When he gripped a wooden beam with one hand and did his sexy lean, I licked my lips.

Damn
, that lean.

“Anyhow,” he continued, “everyone’s heading out there, including Church. I need to jump in the shower before we go. I don’t want to make a bad impression since I’m representing one of the Texas territories.”

“So while all this excitement was going on, you didn’t consider waking me up?”

He lowered his arm and cocked an eyebrow. “You seemed really wiped out from last night. All that… cleaning.”

The sarcasm that rolled off his tongue made me want to sock him in the mouth, but instead I smiled and waltzed past him to put on my boots. “I can’t
wait
to meet the Council and make a lasting impression. Think they’ll let me sing a song before the meeting?”

“Lexi…”

I bent over to grab my boot. “You know, something like ‘Werewolves of London’ or maybe—” I squealed when he grabbed my hips and yanked me against his thick arousal.

Still bent over, my happy hormones began to have a fiesta. “Shit,” I murmured, stumbling out of his grasp.

“Did you get your shower?” he asked wolfishly, sexing me up with his eyes.

“While you were plowing.”

“Mmm,” he growled. “I’d like to do more plowing.”

“Not now. We have to get ready.”

He turned away and swaggered toward the ladder to our loft. “If not now, when?”

***

The town hall meeting took place in a large building on private property. Rows of metal chairs faced a wooden podium and a microphone. A dramatic painting of wolves in battle spanned the entire length of one wall, and an area near the doors had wooden letters spelling out what looked like pack names. Posters of various businesses covered the opposite wall—presumably shops run by the local Shifters.

The refreshments in the back were calling my name, so April and I shimmied over to the table and loaded up on strawberry punch and chocolate cookies. We watched the crowd trickle in, and while I kept my ears open to the chatter around us, no one knew why the Council had summoned us. No one except for a few alphas huddled in the back, speaking in low voices and watching the crowd as if they were there to control any outbursts.

Austin suggested we stand by the left wall with the business posters since we didn’t belong in this territory, and he didn’t want to take someone’s chair if they had limited seating. This was a hell of a lot more organized than what we had, which was basically nothing. They must have held meetings regularly, because the packs sought out specific sections to sit in, most likely in order of power.

A formidable man approached the microphone, his heavy steps announcing his arrival. A few people stirred in their chairs and quieted. He wasn’t a man you could easily forget—bald, stout body, and a grey goatee. Not to mention the leather vest. I was willing to bet he was the one who owned the Harley parked in front of the main door.

“If everyone will take a seat, we’ll begin,” he said gruffly, tapping the microphone.

Chairs filled up fast; there must have been close to five hundred people. No children though. The Packmasters had probably left them at home under heavy protection.

“Most of you know who I am. However, for the sake of formalities, I’m Wendell Rivers. But everyone knows me as Axel.”

A few people in the crowd chuckled, as did Axel.

“Some of you know why we’re here, but most of you don’t. To give you the short and sweet of it—Northern rogues have invaded our borders.”

Murmurs grew loud within the room, and chills swept up my arms.

Axel cleared his throat while adjusting the mic. “We’ve kept it quiet to prevent unnecessary panic. Over the past few weeks, these men have been entering our borders and taking out packs. It started up north with the smaller ones, so we had a feeling they were targeting the weaker packs in order to gain a foothold. We didn’t make the connection until a few local bounty hunters compared notes and put the pieces together.”

“Why weren’t the Packmasters informed?” a voice boomed from the back.

Axel gripped the edge of the podium and delivered a penetrating stare to the audience. “Because paranoia would set in, and you’d be killing each other. Once we had everything under control, we captured a few prisoners and drove the rest out. Packs throughout the state have been given information on a need-to-know basis, depending on where they live.”

“Are we safe? What if they do it again?” a woman yelled out, and a few people murmured in agreement.

“Then they’ll meet with opposition. Packs along the border have agreed to patrol, and we’ve set up a system to make sure no Shifters get in without us knowing about it. Our bogus patrol cars are pulling over suspicious vehicles with out-of-state plates and multiple male passengers, but some of the rogues came in on foot. If you see any unfamiliar wolves on your property, I want you to report it before taking action. Packmasters, we’re giving you full authority to do whatever necessary to protect your territory, but we need to know about every single incident.
Do not
act unless you’re certain it’s not a neighboring pack accidentally crossing territory lines. Mark your territory, and stay alert.”

Axel leaned back and let everyone talk among themselves.

My heart beat at a hummingbird’s pace, and I wondered if our cabins were close to any of the local packs. “Austin, we can’t let our wolves out,” I whispered.

“I know,” he murmured.

Axel cleared his throat and continued. “What I want to reiterate is that we’ve driven out every last rogue. Our Councils are comprised of different animals, so we’re holding separate meetings for those who live in organized groups, such as dens and herds. As you can see by the familiar and not-so-familiar faces around you, I’ve also invited the local rogues who stay on the right side of the law. I want everyone to spread the word in the Shifter community, especially among the troublemakers. This is their business, too, because a couple of them were killed in Lamar. If any of you join with the interlopers, you’re going to be on the receiving end of one hell of an ass kicking. Until we’re certain that the Northerners aren’t coming back for seconds, make sure your animals stay in your territory and don’t go wandering where they aren’t supposed to.”

Austin raised his hand. “Is this happening anywhere else?”

Axel slanted his eyes in our direction and gave Austin a good once-over. “You’re not from around here.”

Austin put his arm around me. “We’re vacationing from Texas.”

“If I were you, I’d call your local Council and tell them what’s going on. Colorado is the strongest Shifter state, so I’m guessing the Northerners thought it would be easier to invade if they were able to occupy it. This is the war we’ve been fearing, son.”