Sorry, Charlie (Poconos Pack) (10 page)

Ted thought about that, about leaving his beloved mountains, his Pack, his friends. “Never gonna happen.”

“I thought not, but the offer’s open if you ever want to take it.”

They all stared out at the mountains, watching the wind in the leaves and listening to the chatter of birds in the early morning air. There was a sense of peace Ted felt whenever he looked out at the greenery. The cabin had a beautiful view of the valley to the side of and below the Lodge, giving the impression that you could fall off into infinity and be swallowed by the land. He smelt the smoke coming from the cabin’s chimney, nearly overpowering the scent of bacon and eggs. “I don’t think I could breathe anywhere else.”

Sebastian took a deep breath. “The air in Sedona is different, but I know what you mean. I love my home, the town and the red mountains in the distance. When you stop and really give yourself a second to breathe, you feel like you’re a part of something greater than yourself, like you could disappear into those mountains and become one with them.”

“Exactly.” Ted finished his coffee. “Charlie and I wanted to know if you two would go horseback riding with us.” He’d discovered that his mate loved the horses here, enough that she’d told him she wanted one of her own. He was going to see if that was possible.

“We’d love to.” Kincade put his mug down on the bannister and stretched. “After breakfast.”

“Works for me.” Sebastian picked up Kincade’s empty mug and followed him into the cabin.

Ted turned back to the landscape, enjoying the solitude, until someone joined him who would never break the peace he felt. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Charlie put her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her waist. “Did they say yes?”

“Mm-hmm.” He sighed happily, lost in everything he’d ever wanted and never thought possible.

“Good. I want them to see some more of our home before they go.” Charlie leaned her head against his shoulder with a purr of contentment.

“They told me it reminds them a little of Sedona, except their mountains are red and ours are green.” He tilted his head so that his lay on hers. “What do you think?”

Charlie smiled smugly. “I like green.”

“Red is good.” Ted pointed to some of his favorite trees. “Their leaves turn crimson in the fall. Those over there turn yellow. It’s like the forest has been painted with fire.”

Charlie pointed to a pine. “But the green remains, even under the white. That’s something Sedona doesn’t have.”

“Seasons?” Ted laughed when Charlie poked him in the side.

“Ass.” But she was smiling as she said it, so that was okay.

Holding Charlie like this, just quietly enjoying their morning together without drama, meant everything to him. He hoped more mornings would be just like this, peaceful and serene.

“God damn motherfucking piss bucket!”

Or not.

Belle stumbled up the stairs, her cane catching on the top one and nearly sending the Luna to her knees. She managed to catch herself before falling, the snarl on her lips frightening to anyone who didn’t know her.

“Are you all right, my Luna?” Ted let Charlie go with great reluctance. Turned out his Lioness was one hell of a cuddle buddy, and stopping to help Belle was almost physically painful.

“I’m fine.” She smiled through gritted teeth. “I’m just going to kill your Alpha.”

Uh-oh. “What did he do this time?” Ted was always amazed at the numerous ways his Alpha could piss off his Luna, half the time without even trying.

She threw her hands up in the air. “I don’t know!” The cane came down with a loud thump. “He’s being sneaky and quiet. Hell, he brought me
flowers
.”

Charlie started to laugh. “Yup, he’s up to something.”

This time the Luna’s snarl was all cat, her eyes bleeding to gold. “It’s not our anniversary, so that’s out. We’re not pregnant, we’ve got everything under control as far as the Lodge goes, so what gives?”

“Maybe he wanted to say I love you?” Ted shrugged away when the Luna hissed at him.

Right. Time to play this another way and calm Belle the best he could. He grabbed his wounded shoulder and winced.

Immediately her arched back—yes, she
was
that upset—straightened, the gold of her eyes bleeding back to jade green. “I keep forgetting you guys are wounded.” She scowled. “Maybe that’s why he’s acting so weird. He has rabies and doesn’t want to tell me.”

Ted burst out laughing. “I think you’d know. Ben or Chela would tell you even if he didn’t.”

“Not if he ordered them not to.” Belle shook herself. “No, that’s insane. He’s just being his usual crazy self. I’ll figure out what he’s up to.” She stared at the two of them. “Why
are
you two here, anyway?”

“We came to see Seb and Kin, to see if they want to go horseback riding.” Charlie helped Belle to one of the Adirondack chairs on the deck. “You want me to get someone to help you back to the main house?”

Belle stuck her tongue out. “Nah, I’m good. You two go back to making out, I’m calling Rick.” She pulled her cell phone out, pressed a key and held it to her ear. “Hey, Fido, guess where I am?”

Charlie nudged Ted back. “Let’s give them some privacy.”

His brows rose. “You have heard the two of them fight, right? It’s King Kong versus Godzilla in surround sound.”

“And we know Kong always wins.” She glanced toward Belle. “See that smug smile? That’s a winner.”

“Well, the kitty usually wins in cat versus dog.” Ted pulled her against him. “I’m smart enough to realize that, and dumb enough not to care.”

Charlie slugged him in his uninjured arm.

“Owie.” He rubbed the sore spot, pouting. “What was that for?”

“Be nice or I won’t push treats off the counter for you.” She grabbed the arm she’d punched and snuggled against it. “And you know you like my treats.”

“I thought I was being nice,” he muttered.

“You need a keeper. Luckily, I’m just the woman for the job.” She gave him a gentle nudge.

“Sorry, Charlie.” He kissed the top of her head. “I think we get to keep each other.

“Hmm.” She tilted her face up to his. “I think I can live with that.”

As he kissed his mate (ignoring the clapping from the male Lowes and the “Woo-hoo! Suck that face!” from his insane Luna), the only thing on his mind was the feel of his mate in his arms, right where she belonged.

Epilogue

Ted stood in the Pack’s meeting spot and shivered, despite the warmth of the day. What Rick was telling them was damn near impossible to process.

“War?” Ben’s expression was concerned as he glanced around at the Pack members. None of them had seen this coming, and Rick had been holding it close to his chest for some time, it seemed. Since it hadn’t directly impacted the Pack, he’d chosen to keep silent, watching on the sidelines as things happened down in Halle, Pennsylvania that simply blew Ted’s mind.

“Did you know about this?” Ted whispered to his mate.

She shook her blonde head quickly, still watching the Alpha pair. “Belle never told me. Neither did Seb.”

He grunted in acknowledgement, but he knew Belle had to know. Rick wouldn’t have kept his Luna in the dark over something so big. “Can we trust our Senator?” Ted asked. It was important for him, and the Pack, to know, because the Senators were the ones who laid down shifter law. If the Wolf Senator was in on this whole white shifter thing, then all of his rulings, his Alpha appointments-including Rick-could be brought into question.

“I don’t know. For now, assume he is the enemy. If on our property, I want him and his men captured, not killed. Belle and I will deal with it from there.” Rick was at his most commanding. The threat was very real, very immediate. There was nothing to discuss, only preparations to be made.

“I’ve been in touch with Emma of the Halle Pride. She assures me everything that we are doing to keep our people safe, they are as well. And they have white shifters among them, friends and loved ones who desperately need protection.” Belle stood tall and proud, her shoulder length blond hair surrounding her face like a halo. He could feel the Alpha Pair’s power flowing around them, uniting them and them Pack as one.

“It will be okay.” Charlie took hold of his hand. “Sebastian will take care of this.”

“I know.” Ted felt the need to protect when one of the children of the Pack, a small girl named Jennifer, began to quietly cry. He raised his voice, hoping he wasn’t stepping on any toes, but unable to keep silent. “Our cubs most of all need to be guarded, especially if there is mixed blood anywhere in your bloodline.”

Rick nodded his approval. “Yes. Keep watch for anything strange or out of place. Report it immediately, even if it’s something as simple as, say, a cigarette butt too close to a dwelling or broken branches where no animal has passed by. Use your senses, all of them.”

Ben spoke next. “We’ll be increasing patrols and calling on the younger Wolves to lend a hand. Training will commence tomorrow to all who are fit enough to fight.”

“We hope it doesn’t come to that, but our Pack comes first,” Belle added. “We will not lose our children in some foolish belief that white shifters are dangerous.”

“Are they?” One woman cried out. “The Senate believes they are, that’s why they’re killing them.”

Belle shook her head. “I’ve met with several white shifters. I can tell you some of why I think the Senate fears them, but not all. I believe that their powers are a little stronger than an average shifter. The connection to Pack a white Wolf would have would be much stronger, his reach greater than any normal Alpha’s. The Bear white shifters, the Kermode, have extremely powerful healing abilities, but the price they pay is equally powerful. Someone I know nearly died helping someone he found wounded on the street in a brutal attack. They’re people, just like us.”

Not all of the Pack seemed convinced, but then again they had no white shifters among them. Still, they’d follow their Alpha or leave the Pack. There was no other choice for them.

Ted decided to give them a little something to think about, but before he could Rick stepped forward and spoke, pointing toward little Jennifer. “What if she is the white Wolf?”

Jennifer’s parents quickly pulled her back, holding her tightly.

“They’re killing children, hoping to stop the white shifters from appearing before they shift. Will you allow your cubs, our Pack’s children, to be destroyed for what they might become?” He placed his hand on Belle’s stomach. “Would you allow your future Alpha to be destroyed?”

The resulting howl of denial nearly deafened Ted.

“Good.” Rick again nodded his approval. “Ted and Ben are in charge of training all eligible males and females for Pack protection. See them at nine tomorrow morning and expect to be added to a guard rotation. Positions in the Lodge will remain the same, no matter how high up the chain as an enforcer you climb. Belle, Chela and Charlie will be in charge of emergency supplies and keeping in touch with our neighboring Pride and Pack. Dave and I will handle hunts and keep in touch with the Leo.”

“In the meantime, we want you to try and live your lives.” Belle joined Rick, taking hold of his hand. “Nothing has begun quite yet, but the Halle Pride Alpha fully believes something will happen, and soon. So for now, eyes and ears and noses open, and remember. If anyone shifts and is white,
tell us
.”

As the Pack began to mingle, Charlie shivered. “Is this really happening?”

Ted nodded. “Yeah. It is.” He pulled her close. “I’ll keep you safe.”

“We might want to hold off on cubs until the danger is past.” Charlie leaned against him in her favorite position, her head on his shoulder and her arm around his waist.

“We’ll see. If this goes on long enough, we might revisit that.” Ted kissed the top of her head. “And if our child is the white Wolf, or even the next Leo, we’ll deal with that, okay?”

“Okay.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay.” Within moments she was with Belle and Chela, listening intently as Belle gave out orders to the two women.

Rick was among the Pack, reassuring here, touching there, making sure everyone knew that he was there and he would take care of them. His presence calmed them as nothing else could, because they all knew they had the most badass Alpha around.

Ted moved to Ben and Dave, both men chatting quietly. “Ben?”

“Ted.” Ben glanced around at the Pack. “We’ve got our work cut out for us.”

“We can handle this, babe.” Dave kissed his husband’s forehead. “You know, I doubt the girls will sit this one out.”

Ted chuckled softly. “Hell no. Expect the unexpected with those three.”

Steve joined them. “Are you talking about the girls?”

“How’d you know?” Ted asked.

“You looked right at them.” Steve kept his back to the girls. “I think they’re up to something.”

“We were just discussing that.” Ben glanced once more at the women. “Honestly, I’d back those three against anything the Senate throws at us.”

“Is there any chance our Luna is pregnant?” Ted glanced at Belle again, noticing the way she rubbed her stomach over and over.