Saving Grace (2 page)

Barry was the smallest Lycan male she’d seen yet. He was thinner than the rest and judging from the men sitting around him, quite a bit shorter too. His reddish brown hair accenting his mousy face only made him stand out further.

Colin pointed to the next man. “Tom Johnson, he heads security.” Tom was a mountain. Dark hair nearly buzzed off made even his head look muscular.

He continued. “This is Jake Miller. Jake here, well, he is our inventory guy. He keeps track of our land, our supplies and such.” Jake looked like Colin’s twin. He was had the same toned look with curly blond hair.

“Finally, Xander Merrell at the end. He’s in charge of all things electrical. He handles repairs, wiring and technology. If it has power, he’s your man.” He looked young, maybe twenty, as best as she could guess. Long auburn hair tied at the back and emerald eyes that screamed ‘trouble.’ Xander leaned back in his chair and nodded at her.

“Um, hi.” Grace gave a weak smile.

“Barry, why don’t you begin?”

He nodded and looked at the legal pad in front of him. “Funds have been transferred from the pack account a discretionary fund to pay to the University of Tennessee, in Knoxville, for Tiffany Ruiz to attend.”

Xander groaned.

She squinted at him. Tiffany and her had made fast friends when Grace came to the Belfast pack. Tiffany was smart and wanted to go to college, but was certain the pack would not let her go. She had convinced Colin to send Tiffany to college. He agreed as it was Grace’s first official request as a pack member. Xander seemed to take issue with that, which made her angry.

Barry continued talking about finances.

She mentally checked in on her inner wolf.
I still don’t understand why I’m involved in this meeting.

“Be calm, Princess,”
her wolf tried to comfort her.
“The importance of your position in the pack should increase over time and you need to be prepared. It’s best to pay attention.”

“Very good. Anything else?” Colin asked.

Barry shook his head. “One more thing. I’ve transferred the money out of Ada’s account and back into the McGoverns’.”

“Excuse me?” Grace’s brows shot up.
Ada’s money? McGoverns’ account?

Barry smiled. “Your parents had a nice fund set up. It went into an account Ada could access. It’s what she’s used to raise you. Clever little Fae always transferred the funds into an off-shore account before accessing them. She never took more than she needed. Anyway,” he said waving his hand, “it’s now back in your family’s account.” He slid a large brown envelope to her. “Your checkbook and debit card are inside, along with the transfer receipts.”

“Good work, Barry.” Colin nodded.

Grace wanted to dump the envelope on the table and see what was inside, but forced herself to focus on the conversation around the table instead.

She’d only just arrived here and couldn’t understand why Colin wanted her present for what was probably a private meeting. Her ears perked when Tom spoke.

“There are only three packs left that haven’t joined the High Council. The Scottsboro pack, the Northern Louisiana pack and one up in Canada. I don’t think we need to fear the Canadian pack. They value their independence and stayed out of the last war. The Scottsboro pack, being the closest, concerns me the most.”

Colin folded his hands and tightened them. “What’s the intel on the Louisiana pack?”

Why isn’t he asking about the Alabama pack if they’re closer?
She looked back and forth between Colin and Tom.

“Is it as bad as we’d heard?” Roman spoke up for the first time in the meeting.

Nodding, Tom leaned in on his elbows. “I’m afraid so. We have learned that the Alpha there is abusive to the females.”

“Like my mother?” Xander blurted, his arms crossed over his chest. His face was red. Grace swore she saw his eyes welling up but he blinked and looked away.

Roman tilted his head. He tightened his lips and nodded toward Xander. “We’re working on it. We’ll figure this out.”

Continuing, Tom looked to Colin. “Most of the males haven’t survived his rule. He’s taken at least three females from other packs to thicken up the blood since most of the pups born now are his.”

“Not that they had a choice,” Xander interrupted again.

Grace felt ill. An Alpha was raping his pack?

“We are meeting with the High Council soon. Someone will need to do something. I can only offer an apology for how long it is taking to get an answer from them. I cannot imagine how difficult this must be.” A low rumble came from Roman after he spoke. Apparently, Grace wasn’t the only one sickened by this.

“Xander,” Colin said in a low voice, “this is upsetting for us all. I know it is personal for you. But we have laws we must follow now. We can’t go and invade a pack half-cocked. I can’t risk the lives of my pack to invade another pack’s territory where your mother may or may not be. This is a delicate situation, of course. It is a dangerous and complicated one as well. We need to nail down where the Scottsboro pack is, first. They’ve been very skillful at hiding.”

“I can help,” Xander croaked.

The gentle half-smile on Colin’s face melted Grace’s heart. She could see his empathy and it warmed her toward him. “And you will. But please understand that I have to consider the safety of my entire pack, you included.”

“I made you a promise, Xander. We will find your mother.” Roman’s jaw tightened. “We’ll strongly urge the Council to make a move sooner rather than later.”

Colin nodded. “And soon. Meeting adjourned.” The meeting ended on a sour note.

As they quietly strolled back toward her room, his words of sympathy wrapped around her like a soft quilt, giving her comfort that something would be done about the nasty situation revealed at the meeting and quickly. Stopping in front of the bedroom door he pushed it open and motioned for her to enter before him. “Are you okay? You’ve been distant since dinner.”

Each throb of her pumping chest gave the sensation her heart was about to burst through her skin and take flight. The actual possibility of her being kidnapped for breeding was now too real, and the thought of it happening force a twinge of panic to course through her like scorching lava. The threat was real.

He followed her inside, but didn’t close the door behind him. He stood there studying her. She didn’t know whether to pace or sit down. Her thoughts were all over the place, from concern about exploring her new home, the
family,
pack, to kidnapping. She couldn’t settle on one solitary thought. Instinct made her turn into Roman’s big frame and rest her head on his chest. “I’m just tired.”

Stroking his fingers up and down her arm, soothing her ruffled nerves. “Get some rest. I’ll go investigate this further.” Kissing her forehead, he left her room.

Sitting on the bed, she addressed her wolf.
Are we going to be okay?

“Yes. I will keep us safe. We have our mate to look after us too.”

She smiled at the wolf’s reference to Roman as their mate. It was such a foreign idea, being raised as human. She opened the envelope and dumped the contents on the bed.

Picking up the bank statement with her name on it made her eyes bulge on spotting the balance. It was more money than she’d ever seen in her life.

The next paper she found was the Royal Decree. A tiny percentage of her inheritance was to be given on an annual basis to her pack. Further reading told her she had a discretionary fund to manage–of which Tiffany’s education would be paid out of. “Money well spent.” Grace nodded but her smile faded on realizing she had money and power and no idea what to do with it.

When her eyes moved over the papers in the stack, her heart sank when she picked up and held the death certificates for both of her parents—parents she could not remember—were shaking in her hands. This was as close as she’d ever be to them, holding the proof of their death.

After cramming everything back into the envelope she crawled under the blanket. Even with the new pack she felt like something was missing. She was longing for something and the envelope with her parent’s information made the feeling deepen. It was so cruel her parents were taken away from her at such a young age.

She didn’t get bedtime stories and nighttime snuggles. She didn’t have the memories of her mother brushing her hair, or getting her ready for school. There were no vacations, no camping trips, nothing the other kids had.

Ada was an old woman from the time Grace could remember, and she never engaged in such behavior.

The evening brought more frustration as the meeting demonstrated the lack of headway made with the High Council. If that wasn’t bad enough, more frustrations came with Grace’s unexpected heat and their first mating.

In the privacy of his own room, Roman flopped on his back, bouncing against his down mattress. Rolling to his side, he stared down at his chocolate brown comforter and picked at a piece of lint. He didn’t want his first time with her to be during a heat. The need was physical, not emotional. He’d wanted to connect with her on a deeper level first.

“She wanted you. Don’t be stupid.”

His wolf’s attempt to talk sense to him, wasn’t sinking in. If she wanted him, she would have jumped him instead of Colin, wouldn’t she?
She didn’t need me, just a male.

“No, or she would’ve gone further with Colin. She’s our mate. She needs us.”

Roman ignored his wolf and rolled to his other side, restless. She was financially wealthy, educated, and Lycan royalty. She didn’t need him. She could choose anyone she wanted. He never understood why he was so obsessed with finding a woman he’d never met. His wolf rambled constantly about his destined mate and he’d been foolish enough to listen.

What if she didn’t feel the same for him that he’d felt for her? What if her wolf rejected his wolf?

“You are blinded by insecurity. She told you her wolf likes us. She told you she likes you. Just let nature take its course.”
His wolf curled up in a ball and dozed.

Maybe his wolf was right. He’d been plagued with insecurity where Grace was concerned. Insecurity was an alien emotion for him, deepening his confusion. Grace had accepted being Lycan more easily than he would have guessed. She’d become upset when she kissed Colin and fled for her room. She’d wanted
him
.

His chest ached.

He and Colin had already discussed Roman taking over as Alpha. As soon as Grace was settled and married to him, if that’s what she chose, Colin would step down.

Colin had never really recovered from his mate’s death, and though he was in no hurry to take on the role of Alpha, the Pack business had suffered because of their leader’s suffering until recently when he stepped up to fill in Colin’s role, making his friend’s position purely superficial at this point.

He felt bad, Colin was a perfect Alpha. He’d been deeply in love with Kalinda, his mate. She was pregnant and due to deliver when the semi-truck hit her car that horrifying day. A freak accident ripped Colin’s heart from his chest and shredded it to bits. He lost his mate and his pup because a semi blew a steer tire.

Roman’s wolf had been relentless five years ago, claiming he could feel their mate. Claiming he had to search for her or suffer a lonely existence.

The obsession passed from wolf to Lycan and back for five years until he finally had a solid lead. Xander told him Grace’s name popped up on a college list of alumni on-line.

Finding her was easy once he knew where to start looking. And she accepted their offer to come back to the pack with them, with little resistance.

She not only accepted the fact she was Lycan, but had embraced it. Grace had worked hard to become one with her wolf—at least from what he could see.

Now it was his obligation to keep her safe. He had no choice but to quash the packs that wouldn’t join the Council or follow the new laws. He didn’t want to risk another war, but would die in battle if it meant Grace would be safe from the indignity and scarring of forced breeding.

He’d seen it before—seen what it had done to the Lycan women. They were withdrawn. They refused to even try to run after a while. The suicide rate was high once they reached an age where breeding was impossible. With no purpose, a numb soul and no mate, death was the only way out for some.

Bile rose in his throat. How could any pack mate do that to another Lycan?

Grace had settled in nicely. It had been a month since her first heat. She’d managed to paint and decorate her room the way she wanted, and busied herself with teaching self-defense to the younger Lycans so they would know how to defend themselves in human form without drawing questions about them being supernatural.

Her wolf was healthy and happy. She spent every night shifting into wolf form and running in the woods to solidify her connection with her wolf and Mother Nature. Roman had complimented her silver coat more than once. She felt a sense of warmth with him—acceptance. He approved of her in wolf form.

But other than a few sweet kisses, he hadn’t touched her since she’d begged him for sex during her heat and it drove her crazy. She spoke to her wolf and had a plan.

He peeked his head inside her room. “Ready for that run?”

She smiled. “Yeah, I’ll meet you at the clearing in five minutes.”

He nodded and walked away.

She opened her robe and stared at her naked body, making sure everything was clean, shaved and ready for an intimate encounter with him.

She slid on sweats and snuck into the woods and undressed in the moonlight before shifting. It had taken her awhile to get used to shifting forms. At first, it required a lot of concentration to summon the magic that changed her on a molecular level. Now, she easily thought of her wolf, how her rump and shoulders rolled when she walked, how her snout felt on her face, how her fur rustled when she shook. The air around her shimmered like a pool of water as her eye level shrank to wolf height. Her body tingled as it made the shift. She felt her paws touching the earth. She felt strong…powerful.

Once in wolf form, she made her way to the clearing where Roman stood waiting.

“Couldn’t wait for me to shift too, huh?” He looked down at her and smiled. The air around him shimmered briefly before he reformed as the beautiful bronze wolf she had admired so many times before.

She nudged him with her snout and took off at a run down the trail toward the lake. Roman on her flank, he kept glancing her way. Inside, she congratulated herself as it was clear he had no idea what she was up to.

When they reached the water’s edge, she skidded to a stop, lapping up a bit of water. Thanks to a small secret placed in a book kept by the vampires, she had a power that only she knew about. Well, except for Tiffany, who she shared the secret with so she could practice the technique.

When he took a drink of water, she pounced toward him, then jumped back. His head snapped toward her and tilted to the right.

She pounced toward him again, this time, using the top of her head to nudge his ribs.

He pounced back. Within seconds Grace had him pinned and focused her energy on forcing them both to shift back to human form.

“What the hell?” Roman asked.

She wiggled her eyebrows. “Lycan royalty, Beta sir. I seem to have a few skills.”

She was straddled on top of him, his shoulders pinned under her hands. She smirked before sitting up, revealing her naked body.

His gaze fell on her breasts. “You, uh, need to work on your abilities. You forgot your clothes.”

“No. I didn’t forget a thing.” She leaned in to him and used her tongue to tease his lips.

He put his hand on her butt cheeks and pulled her into him, his arousal growing evident against her stomach.

“Why have you been avoiding intimacy with me, Roman?” she whispered on noticing the hunger in his eyes.

“I haven’t been avoiding you. I just wanted to be sure it was you that wanted me—not your hormones.”

His words wounded. They’d spent time together, shared kisses, and took long walks and runs in the woods. She thought she’d made her interest clear.

“I must be really awful at flirting.” She grinned. “Let’s see if I can be a bit more forward.” She wanted him. She was fairly certain her sexual experience with him wasn’t so fantastic only because she was in heat, or because it was her first time having sex with a Lycan. She’d often joked with her human best friend, Barb, that sex with men felt like aliens were invading her body. It wasn’t until she’d been with Roman that she’d enjoyed sex so immensely.

“Grace.” Her name rolled through his lips before they brushed against her neck. “My need for you isn’t just sexual.”

She pushed herself up, placing her hands on his shoulders. “We are going to have a real discussion about this. But not now. Not before you make love to me.”

He wound his fingers in her hair and pulled her down to meet him for a kiss. He flipped them over, placing her on her back.

She ran her hands down his shoulders to his hips, squeezing once she reached his butt. His kisses trailed from her neck, pausing to use his tongue to tease her nipples.

He made his way to her mound, stopping to appreciate the way she trimmed, leaving just enough hair to let him know he was with a woman. His kisses deepened when he reached the bud that rested at the top of her slit.

She moaned, her legs relaxing as he massaged her swollen clit with his tongue and caressed her thighs with his warm, rough hands.

Her heart raced as she clutched at the earth below her, looking for something to hold on to. Roman took his time, bringing her to the point of release, then retreating. It was building tension in her, bringing her muscles to the brink of spasm, then easing her down, withholding her release, which she so desperately needed.

“Bit more exciting than the conference room, huh?” The voice came from behind them.

Grace yelped before she shifted herself back to wolf, growling at Xander who seemed quite pleased to have interrupted the intimate moment she’s worked hard to plan.

“Is there a reason you’re invading our private time, Xander?” Roman said with a growl.

The punk shrugged his shoulders and tossed his head. If his hair didn’t look so much like hers, she would have ripped every strand out of his head.

Her blood boiled.

“
Calm yourself, Grace. He’s just beyond being a pup himself
.”

She ignored her wolf and lunged at Xander. He jumped back, lost his footing and fell on his behind.

She snatched the opportunity and stood over him, snarling.

“Grace. That’s a bit much,” Roman said as he tried to step in between them.

“Chill, Princess.” Xander shook beneath her.

Good. He’s scared.

“Don’t abuse our power, Grace.”
Her wolf pleaded.

She took off toward the house, leaving Xander and Roman together in the woods. She stopped by the tree where she hid her clothes and shifted back. Once dressed, she stomped toward the house.

Tiffany was in the kitchen, stirring a cup of tea. She smiled at Grace. “Well? Did it work?”

She ran her fingers through her hair. “Yeah, well, sort of. Xander decided to interrupt.”

Tiffany contorted her face, scowling. “That doesn’t make sense. It’s sort of an unspoken rule not to interrupt mating Lycans.” She shook her head. “I wonder why he did that?”

Her bottom lip protrude. “I don’t care why. He ruined it for me…for us.”

Tiffany giggled and threw her arm around Grace’s shoulder. “You’ll have another chance. Roman is crazy about you.”

****

Roman glared down at Xander before offering him a hand to help him up from the ground. “This had better be important, Xander.”

The kid still shook. Grace took a very dominant stance over Xander. It scared the kid so bad it probably hadn’t even occurred to him to shift. His wolf was significantly bigger than Grace’s.

“Dude. I got ping back.” Xander pulled on Roman’s hand and stood to his feet.

“And that couldn’t wait?”

Xander growled. “Some of us are focused on more than a piece of tail. I’d like to get my mother back, in case you’d forgotten.”

A Beta and soon-to-be Alpha shouldn’t tolerate that level of disrespect from a pack member. He considered Xander for a moment and decided Grace had scared him bad enough.

“What’s a ping?”

Xander squeezed the area between his eyes. “I set up an algorithm to search for certain things. It notified me that the Scottsboro pack just bought up some supplies that are suspect.”

“Such as?” He tried not to let his irritation come through in his tone.

“Wolfsbane, silver, and other herbs that don’t make sense unless they have a black witch on premises.” Xander’s face lost color.

Any irritation he had with Xander subsided when he saw the boy’s reaction.

Roman nodded. “We’ve used wolfsbane topically as an anesthetic for decades. It’s not that suspect.”

“And silver?”

Roman tried not to laugh. Lycan’s had been a bit silly about silver. It didn’t kill them, despite the folklore. “Why is that important?”

“It’s not. But why silver? Why silver
and
wolfsbane? Roman…that’s not all. They’re building cages of some sort. The manifest had poles and metal fence.”

He nodded. “Thank you Xander. I’ll go speak with Colin. You did well.”

Why didn’t he see Colin first?

“Because you’ll be Alpha soon. The whole pack knows it.”
His wolf yawned.
“Our mate is upset. We should go see her.”

Pack first.
He answered.

“Sorry for, uh, bustin’ up the party.”

Roman shrugged and started walking toward the house.

Grace had made it clear she wanted more of him. He wanted to make her his and his alone but didn’t want to rush her. She’d just only accepted being Lycan. Taking on a lifetime mate at this point would definitely be rushing it.

Once inside the house, he went to Colin’s room and filled him in on the discussion with Xander.

“I’m so glad we took him in. He’s a smart kid.” Colin scratched his head. “But he’s too emotionally invested in what’s going on in Scottsboro. He wants to rush in based on a whim, when we don’t know what we’re up against.”

“He thinks his mother is still alive.” Roman sighed. “I can’t say I have much hope. At her age, past the age of breeding, they’ve probably killed her already.”

Colin rubbed his forehead, a quirk he had when frustrated and clearly, he was disturbed over the amount of time the Council was taking to handle the investigation into Xander’s mother’s welfare.

“Our meeting with the High Council is next week. Hopefully, they’ll know what to do.”