Snow Wolf: Wolves of Willow Bend (Book 9) (19 page)

He had their undivided attention. By now, his packages of Yury’s organs had been delivered along with the message to leave the Yukon alone. The last package, the one containing the lieutenant’s tattoos, would be in Alexandrovich’s hands before they reached Lebeninsk.

“Russian pack law is very much survival of the fittest,” he said with a glance at Trask. “Like their history, it can be bloody and tragic. Their packs, however, can be driven from one territory to another. Our targets may have few allies. When we leave, they will have none.”

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Etienne closed his eyes. “It is a gamble.”

Julian said nothing, the Chief Enforcer’s focus locked on the wall of the truck separating them from the driver’s seat as though he possessed the vision to laser through it to where Dallas sent.

“The enemy of my enemy is a useful ally and nothing more.” He slid an arm around Dove and she curved into him. “Sleep if you can. Once we’re in Lebeninsk, we will move as swiftly as possible.” A surgical strike, get a face to face with one of Alexandrovich’s people, then hunt the Volchitsa and set the dogs loose on them. Dallas knew a guy.

She knew a lot of them. Her network of contacts far more extensive than his cousin could imagine. The debt she owed him was one of her own choosing. He would never call in such a marker, and had only contacted her for a favor. He suspected, debt or not, she would have done it. Her child was a part of the packs. She would not allow anything to threaten her.

R
anae hadn’t expected
to sleep even after Diesel advised it. Between the choking darkness and the aggravated Enforcer, not to mention the presence of strangers, which had to agitate Diesel, she’d still fallen asleep with her head on his shoulder. A light touch of his hand on her thigh awoke her. The thin gray ribbon of light appearing in the crevice of the truck’s back panels promised the darkness was no longer so deep or so absolute.

“We’re taking a break,” he told her, with a squeeze to her thigh.

Rubbing a hand over her face, she blinked and glanced around the truck bed. “How long was I out?”

“About ten hours,” he said gently, then pressed a bottle of water into her hands.

Ten hours?
Her neck ached then cracked as she straightened. The tepid water soothed her parched throat. The other wolves all appeared to be exactly where she’d left them. The truck ceased moving and the doors slammed shut as Dallas and Luc left the cab, a moment later the canvas pulled away to reveal Dallas.

“We’re trading the truck here. We’ll go overland for the next two hundred miles. It’s a hard run, so pack your things tight and we’ll shoulder them.” She didn’t wait for their response and turned heel to walk away. Julian abandoned them immediately…though from the way he leapt from the truck, Ranae didn’t think it had anything to do with her or the other wolves company.

Neither Trask nor Etienne seemed in any great hurry to follow, either.

“Cowards,” Diesel said to them, though the insult lacked any heat and carried an element of humor. He rose, then extended his hand to her. “Let’s go shield them from the battling wolves.”

Ranae laughed, the teasing on Diesel’s part welcome. They jumped down together. The truck was parked in a desolate little parking lot that was more a broken down cow pasture than actual lot. Some gravel remained visible through the winter dried grass, but if there had been a structure, it too had been reclaimed by the land.

Fingers twined with Diesel’s, she studied the area. A road ribboned through the fields, winding up and down the hills to vanish over a rise. Beyond the yellow grass verge were woods, deep, thick and foreign.

Scents of moss, bear, and more touched her nose. Above, gray clouds hung low, muting the light. But at least there was light. Trask busied himself stripping and shoving his clothes into a body pack. Hunters all carried them when on patrol. In most territories they had clothing caches, places they could find fresh clothes should they find themselves without.

Deep in foreign, likely hostile, territory? No, they needed to have their clothes. Diesel guided her around the truck until they were away from the others. When he slid his hand to cup her cheek, she raised her gaze to meet his.

“Does this mean you’ve forgiven me?” The worry slipped out, but she didn’t regret the honesty.

“Yes,” he said, pressing his forehead to hers. “I won’t ever like you going into danger.”

“Right back atcha.” Frankly, the last place she wanted him to be was thousands of miles from his pack in the middle of a territory she half-believed populated by real boogeymen, brutal wolves without conscience or remorse.

The corners of his mouth curved. “I also appreciate a fine tactic when played well. Involving the other Alphas meant you came at me sideways, and you didn’t need my permission to do it.” A generous helping of pleasure removed any sting from the comment. It damn near sounded like a compliment.

“I’m not sorry I did it,” she admitted. “I’m only sorry that I didn’t take the time to fight with you on the subject first, because let’s face it, it would have been a fight.”

“Absolutely.” He stroked her cheek. On the other side of the truck, the other wolves shifted. The sounds rippled seeming to echo against the near silence of the woods. They could have been a million miles from anywhere. “But don’t apologize for your success. Even furious with you, I want no one else.”

The admission sent her belly fluttering again. Kissing his palm lightly, she gripped his hand then rose to press her lips to his. They didn’t have time for more than a quick, fierce kiss, yet she reveled in the contact. “When we’re done, and we return to the states. I have to go to Willow Bend.”

His eyes darkened.

“I have to go first. I can’t do what Linc did.” Although his brother hadn’t meant to offend Mason, she suspected—even though the Alpha couldn’t punish the authority challenging action—he’d offended him anyway. “When he mated Sera, it ripped him out of our pack.” It had hurt, and it had left an ache. Joy soon filled in the crevice created, but for those few moments… “I can’t do that to my family or Mason. I won’t.” Swallowing once, she searched her soul, but didn’t have to look far. Her wolf rubbed against the inside of her skin in agreement. “I need to declare to them in person, to seek Mason’s permission.”

“You don’t need his approval.” Diesel’s tone solidified. “He can’t deny a mating. No wolf—not even an Alpha—will stand between a mated pair.”

“I know I don’t
need
it. I know I could mate you right this moment. You would pull me from Willow Bend, and I would be yours—as mate, as pack…as everything.” Shifting on her feet, she found herself almost wanting to drop her gaze but fought the inherent shyness in it. The way Diesel watched her, the vibrant love burning in his eyes, seemed to encompass the whole of her. “But I
want
his approval. I failed him when I lost control, when I attacked a packmate—when that attack ended up with Alexis bleeding because I cut her. I failed my family. I have worked so hard to make up for it, to prove my capabilities and my strengths not just to them…”

“…but to yourself.” Understanding dawned, and he pulled her into a tight embrace. “Dove, you are worth everything to me. You are a fiery blade in the night, a breath of summer sunshine in darkest winter…you have my heart and my pledge.” Releasing her, he pressed another kiss to her forehead. “If you need to go to Willow Bend, then you shall go, but when you come home, it will be to me.”

The emotion clogged her, threatened to pull her under with the wealth of sweetness and depth. No one had ever looked at her the way he did. “Or you’ll come get me?”

“Never doubt it.”

“I have your word?”

“If you need to hear me say it, then I swear. I will come for you if you do not return to me.”

Pleasure speared her belly, and her wolf released a deep sigh of profound relief. “That means you absolutely have to come home from this journey. You just gave me your word.”

Delight bubbling through her, she retreated from him to strip out of her clothes and get them stowed. Diesel stared at her until she stood naked in front of him. Desire seemed to be a torch adding to his already incandescent gaze, and it left no room for the chilly air to touch her flesh.

“Dove? You may just be the cleverest wolf I’ve ever met.”

“Maybe,” she was already reaching for her wolf, but she couldn’t help tweaking him once more. “Remember, it’s no fun if I don’t cause a little trouble.”

As her fur sprouted and her body twisted, his laughter chased her through the change. It took him bare moments to strip, pack his clothes then follow her. They both stepped through their body duffels, then trotted around the truck to find the others.

With a sharp bark, Diesel gained their attention then shifted his toward the only other female with them. Dallas let out a small yip of acknowledgement, then pivoted and took off like a streak.

Like missiles fired from a weapon, their motley crew of wolves—one from each pack, an enforcer and a rogue lone wolf—shot after her into the dark and forbidding forest.

There’s a sitcom in here somewhere…or a Joss Whedon series.

T
he trek
through the forest took them right to the edge of the Siberian plateau. They stopped only for brief breaks, long enough to drink, catch their breath and then ran again. Though Dallas set a grueling pace, Diesel had no trouble keeping up with her nor did Julian. His cousin probably reveled in having the source of his discontent within his sights.

When Dallas called the last halt, they were still deep in the woods but the air carried to them scents of the city. Night draped their forest, leaving dense pockets of shadows around the bases of the tree. Overhead, the moon had near reached its zenith. Working toward full, its light shimmered through openings in the canopy. Dove flopped down, sides heaving.

She was not alone. The other wolves dropped in a loose circle. Everyone taking a much needed rest. Diesel flicked his ears, listening. The intensity of the night and lack of wind aided them in their stealth run. Two hundred miles in what was just under five hours had been a killer pace.

When Dallas began her shift. Julian rose and took position at her flank. Still panting by the time she reached her feet, Dallas opened her pack and began to shrug into her clothes. Her breath fogged in the much cooler air. Considering the heat rolling off Diesel in waves, he hadn’t taken much notice of the external temperature. It was still warmer than his tundra.

Dressed, Dallas took a moment to pull out a water bottle, then she drained it. A minute later, she was pulling open a power bar. She ate it swiftly, not talking, then ate a second. Finally she drank another bottle of water, before she looked to Diesel. “I’m going in to find him for you.”

Dove lifted her head, flicking her ears toward Dallas. Though the rest of their group showed similar signs of exhaustion, they focused on their rogue guide.

“It could take a couple of hours. The town is three miles to the west.” She gave a jerk of her thumb. “If he is willing to leave the city to meet you here, we’ll be back by dawn. If one hour past dawn and I’m not here, come ahead. Use your papers to enter.” The rogue raked her fingers through her short, dark hair almost spiking it. “Word of advice? Don’t enter as a group…stream in ones and twos. Absolutely no more than three. None of you smell like pack…well, almost none of you.” She flicked a look to Dove then back to him.

Diesel opened his mouth and let his tongue loll in a bit of a wolf grin. Yes, he’d more than noticed his scent on his Dove. It was another reason he had stayed close to her.

“Once you’re inside the city, head to the Krasnyy sector. It’s just outside their inner ring. It’s filled with clubs. You’ll want to go to the Fioletovyy Luna.” While she spoke, Julian shifted, as did Trask and Luc. Like Diesel and his Dove, Etienne was in no hurry. “Find the club, but don’t bother to go in till evening. They don’t open till the sun is down.”

“Is it safe to build a fire?” Trask looked their rogue guide, and seemed to be taking his cues from Diesel. Cassius had done well in sending the brutish, deadly seeming man. He understood his orders and obeyed then, he also seemed to accept Dallas’ expertise.

“Yes,” she told him as she tied her boots. “This close to the city, it’s not unusual for some of the wolves to go for a roam or sleep rough. But…if military or others challenge you, and you don’t speak Russian, just don’t. Play the badass, go all silent and pissy, stare them down. There are two roaming volka tribes that come and go from Lebeninsk. They do not talk to outsiders, and they are known as vicious fighters when crossed. Since no one makes friends with them, if they think you are…they will avoid you.”

“Good to know.” Trask dressed as he spoke, using an economy of motion. “I’ll gather some wood.” He glanced at Etienne. “Up for a quick hunt? I can cook.” Delta Crescent’s second rose with a nod, and then the two vanished into the wood.

“And I suppose you speak fluent Russian.” They were the first words Diesel had heard Julian utter in her direction since their unexpected reunion.

Dallas slid on jacket, sparing the Enforcer an unreadable look. “
YA ne mogu dazhe smotret' na vas bez slez.
”

Julian had dressed while she did. “You’re not going alone.”

“Oh, yes, I am.” She rounded on him. “You’re too annoying to go unnoticed, and I fit in here. You don’t.”

“If you think I’ll allow it…”

Julian didn’t get to complete the sentence. Dallas had knelt to stow her duffle then rose, a loose log in hand, and clocked Julian across the face. One moment the Enforcer was up, the next he hit the ground.

Luc surged to his feet, mouth open and his ears pinning as he looked from Dallas to the downed Enforcer and back again. Dove might have done the same, but Diesel covered her paw with his and she gave him a wide-eyed look before resuming her flop.

Though more than capable, Dove was smaller than the rest of them and had taken extra strides to keep up. He wanted her to rest before they walked into what could one long fight night.

Blowing out a breath, Dallas looked at the downed wolf at her feet and tossed the log away. “Sorry, I don’t have time to debate this in committee.” With a glance at Diesel, she said, “If this is to work, you know I need to go alone.”

He did. With a bob of his head, he told her to go. She clenched a fist, then without another word left their moon and shadow patch. Luc sniffed at the downed Enforcer cautiously, then shook. Shrugging off his body duffel, Diesel shifted.

Dove tracked his movements with a flick of her ear, but she continued to rest, her panting becoming less pronounced. On his feet, Diesel crossed to his cousin and checked the goose egg beginning to form at his hairline. Testing the skull, he didn’t find any sign of bone malformation.

“He’ll heal,” he said more for Dove’s benefit than Luc’s. “When he wakes, let me deal with him.”

Neither Dove nor Luc seemed to have any objection. He adjusted his position so he could keep watch over all of them. It would be a long night. Etienne and Trask returned within the hour, several decent sized rabbits and firewood in hand. It wasn’t long before they had the meat spitted and cooking.

Luc shifted only when the food was ready, an easy grin on his face as he declared their efforts passable. Yet, he also took care with all the remnants of their meal, carrying it out to bury it. Like Diesel, none of the men ate until Dove had taken her fair portion and they saved another portion for the Enforcer. When he woke, he would need it.

Dove didn’t shift, and Diesel didn’t have to ask why. She listened to the forest around them, relying on her sharp senses to alert them to any potential threats…and if she stood naked in front of the rest, it would create another layer of tension. They were close, she’d all but said yes to him, but he didn’t
know
these other wolves and one smart ass comment more from their Hudson River contingent and Brett would be minus a wolf.

They kept the fire low, and through unspoken agreement, Trask rose to take first watch with Luc keeping him company. Etienne checked the Enforcer, who still slept off his concussion, then they pulled a light insulated blanket over him so he could stay warm. The Delta Crescent second settled against his own thermal cover on the far side of the fire leaving Diesel sitting nearer to it and the Enforcer with his Dove sleeping against his thigh.

The warmth of her bracketed him, and though he could call none of the wolves with him his, he found himself admiring—albeit reluctantly—the choices the other Alphas had made. They worked well enough together. Diesel glanced at his cousin, then shook his head. Julian would be furious when he woke.

A movement against his thigh snagged his attention and he glanced at Dove to find her watching him. Her ear flicked toward Julian, then to him.

“He’s still fine,” Diesel told her in a sub-vocal tone, stroking a hand over her fur. He had the right to touch her, a right she’d given him. As he petted her, he removed bits of bark, dust, and other detritus she’d accumulated during the run. “He’ll have a headache when he gets up, but it’s just another in a long list of headaches he’s had since he met her.”

Curiosity rolled off Dove in waves, and Diesel swallowed a chuckle. With only the faint crackling of the wood and the steady sounds of breathing around them, he still listened for other movement in the woods, tested the air whenever a hint of a breeze stirred and maintained his vigilance. He could continue at this pace for another three days, then he would have to sleep.

Three days was enough to get in, then get out and get Dove away. In the meanwhile, her rest kept her fresh and combat ready.

“You want to know what she said to him?” He rubbed the line between her eyes and felt her relax further against him. To be alone with her anywhere but hostile territory bracketed by allied wolves he barely knew. “She said, I weep every time I look at you.”

Dove whined, a low, soft sound.

“It’s an insult and a curse,” he told her. “I would guess very much a truth for those two.” Shaking his head, he dismissed worry for Julian and Dallas. They were very much adults and very set in their ways. “Sleep my Dove. We have much to do tomorrow.”

The first step in ending foreign aggression so they could go home and he could claim his mate.

Finally.

L
ebeninsk was
a far cry from the ugly city she’d been expecting. Though, truth be told, Ranae had no idea why she thought it would be dark and decrepit. The roads into and out of the city were monitored, and industrial warehouses sat on the outskirts. Walking in didn’t earn them any special attention. They’d followed Dallas’ direction when sunrise came and went without her appearance.

They broke into three groups, with Etienne electing to stay behind with Julian. The wolf hadn’t woken. Cold cocked he might have been, but the Chief Enforcer would have a hard time living down that story. To that end, Diesel commanded the word of the wolves present to never share the tale—even with their Alphas.

She and Diesel walked in hand in hand, just two lovers returning from a long hunt. No one gave them a second look. The guards on the road challenged them, and Diesel didn’t speak though his stare had the two men gripping their guns a little tighter even as they gave them more space. When they’d backed down, Diesel handed them their papers. The men barely looked at them before waving them inward.

Something to be said about Alphas, humans didn’t want to mess with one even if they had no idea who or what they were. The military presence ended a mile outside of the city, though they seemingly covered all the access points. Vehicles trickled in, a couple of motorbikes, but the majority of those entering arrived as she and Diesel did—on foot with no luggage.

The town itself mingled old and new worlds effortlessly from paved streets giving way to cobblestone to ancient buildings with their red facings to two new sprawling condominium complexes. Apartments stacked over shops, and though it was early and the air held the promise of snow, wolves by the hundreds began the process of opening their doors for business.

Diesel didn’t seem to choose any one particular direction. They meandered through the town, as though in no great hurry to arrive at their destination. In fact, at one small coffee house, he guided her to a table and left her to sit with her back to a wall. It gave her a premium view of all on approach. The doors to the shop had been left open, and rich scents of dark roasted coffees, brewed tea, and even grilling sausage teased her senses.

It had been a long time since they’d eaten the rabbit. She’d also burned more than her fare share of calories on the run. Diesel approached the counter and ordered, in fluent Russian, his voice blending into the symphony of foreign sounds around her—a deep bass which could not be ignored.

When he returned, he carried two large mugs of hot tea laced with sugar and lemon, as well as an oversized plate with bread layered by slabs of sausage and cheese. Her stomach growled at the scent and she grinned at him. He scanned the area, moving his chair until he sat immediately next to her and his back was also to the wall of the shop.

Saying nothing, they tucked into the food, each devouring two of the breakfast breads. The sausage had a spice to it she couldn’t identify, and left a pleasant burn on her tongue. She washed away the last bite with a deep drink of the tea. It retained its heat, the strength a welcome respite with its hint of sweetness from the sugar lifted by the sharp tart of the lemon.

Diesel nodded to a street on their right, then pressed his lips close to her ear. “We’re near the Krasnyy sector, the club she told us to go to is two streets over. It’s closed at this time of day.” He must have obtained directions inside.

Did he plan on waiting for it to be open? Before she could ask, a figure striding toward them from the direction he’d indicated arrested her attention. Most of the wolves coming and going, crossing the street, were just that. Wolves going about their business, but the one heading toward them seemed much more. Power radiated from him, and the wolves in his path cleared away like water breaking for a stone.

Placing her hand on Diesel’s thigh, she gave him a light squeeze of warning. She needn’t have bothered, he’d already noticed and despite the need to keep a low profile, he locked gazes with the other.

Energy sizzled over her senses, rising aggression as power collided with power. Whoever their visitor was, he was an Alpha. Diesel rose, unfolding from his chair with a predatory grace as the man crossed the street. As tall as Diesel, and dark where Diesel was blond, the wolf didn’t give her a second glance. All of his attention locked on the Alpha at her side.

Torn between rising to defend her mate, and understanding she had no place in the wordless communication passing between the two Alphas, she did her best to stay still but aware. Transferring her gaze from the drama playing out between them, she studied their surroundings. What wolves had been in the area had all vacated it. Even those in the shop behind her had gone quiet.

No one wanted the Alphas to notice them.

The man spoke first, his voice a low rumbling growl as though he didn’t waste more energy on speaking than absolutely necessary. Diesel responded in kind.
Oh, why the hell didn’t I study Russian at school?
She’d taken Spanish and paid exactly enough attention to get a passing grade, doing the bare minimum necessary and then promptly forgetting it all.