The Alpha's Mate (35 page)

Elizabeth hadn’t noticed. Her brow furrowed
as she tried to recall what she’d seen. No strollers, no baby
backpacks, no car seats. No mothers chasing after escaping
toddlers, no babies carried on hips. In the gatherings at
Marshall’s, there were children running around the yard, but none
under six. No babies crying to be fed, no diapers to be changed, no
races to the potty. How could she have missed it?

“My God,” she breathed.

“Yeah,” Gwenna agreed sadly. “No Mate, no
babies. Now you know why we called Eugene Begley. It wasn’t for the
Alpha or for the pack. It was for us. It was personal.”

“So what we’re doing here now? It’s personal,
too,” Max added. She held out her hand to Gwenna. “For some of us
more than others. And it’ll be personal for every woman Harmony
calls to help. We were desperate for an Alpha’s Mate, Elizabeth. It
was a bonus you were perfect for the job. We didn’t pretend to like
you.”

“I know,” Elizabeth reassured her, “Maggie
told me about the others.” How horrible for these women to have the
solution to their infertility within reach and possibly snatched
away. Again. And then she thought in horror,
“No, it won’t be
snatched away. If anything happens to Marshall, I’ll still be their
Mate. Calvin Everest will be the Alpha.”
It would be a small
consolation for these women and none for herself.

It must have shown on her face, because
Maggie grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “Don’t you even think
it, Elizabeth, and if you can’t help but think it, don’t you dare
let it show on your face. You keep your faith in Marshall and you
let every member of this pack see it in the way you act and hear it
when you speak. He needs to see it and hear it. You complain a lot
about how your mama raised you, but that woman taught you how to
stand tall. Use it. You call up that anger we saw this morning and
you use that, too. We’re all going to do our part. We expect
nothing less from our Mate.”

Elizabeth felt herself redden with shame.
Maggie was right. She had to put her fear for herself aside. There
were greater things at stake here. She straightened her shoulders
and nodded.

“I need to make those phone calls. Oh, and do
you guys know a good attorney?

Chapter 3
7

Marshall had spent the evening with the men
of his pack. When Elizabeth entered the kitchen for a last glass of
water before her ordeal began, they appeared to be fighting over
who would fight and who would stay. He was angry that the Challenge
hadn’t yet come and was half convinced that it was all a hoax
perpetrated by his brother. Elizabeth knew different and told him
so. One of her phone calls had been to Charles.

She’d known immediately Charles wasn’t alone
when he called her by her mother’s name.

“Deborah, darling, I thought you were in
Europe. When did you get back? Lunch tomorrow? You know I’d love
to, but I’m afraid I’ll be out of town. I’ve been shanghaied to do
a little judging for some silly contest in that hamlet I was
telling you about. Yes, yes, I know, but we must keep the natives
happy. It’s for the best, really.”

He was telling her that he would be a witness
to the Challenge.

“I’ll only be gone for the weekend, so of
course I’ll be available,” he went on, “Thirty for dinner? I
thought John said fifty. Ah, that makes sense. Invite the others
for the party later.”

Gwenna was right. Calvin Everest was going to
cheat. He would say thirty wolvers, but would bring fifty. Why?

Charles laughed as if she’d said something
funny. “Yes, well, it’s best if some mysteries remain hidden, don’t
you think? You never know, I might have a few surprises of my
own.”

Thirty of the wolvers would be out in the
open. Twenty more would be hidden. She told him what she wanted and
this time his laugh was genuine.

“He’ll never go for it, but then you have
more influence in that department than I ever could. I’ll overnight
it to you and yours, Deborah. Best of luck with your party,
darling.”

Elizabeth’s revelations caused another flurry
of argument and discussion among the wolvers at Marshall’s. It was
obvious to all. There would be wolves in the woods where there
shouldn’t be and the only reason for their presence would be to
hunt Marshall. Everest was determined to win the Chase at any
cost.

“He can’t do that, Alpha. The Witnesses won’t
allow it.” George slammed the kitchen table with his fist. He
looked around at the others Marshall had chosen as his
lieutenants.

“Ah, George,” Roman groaned in disbelief.
“What world you been living in? Calvin Everest thinks he has the
Witnesses in his back pocket.” Roman shook his head at his friend’s
naiveté. “He don’t know we got two of our own.”

“Three,” Elizabeth interrupted. “We have
three. Charles wouldn’t have given us a heads up if he was in
Everest’s pocket.”

“That doesn’t mean he’s ours,” Roman told
her. “That Charles, he always was one to put himself first. If he’s
helping us, he probably has his own reasons.”

It was no use arguing. At least Marshall gave
her a sympathetic nod. She had more to tell him, but she didn’t
think now was the time.

“You and Max better get a move on.” He gave
her a quick hug. “You be careful once it’s dark. I don’t think
they’ll try anything now, but…”

“I’m not the one you need to worry about.”
Elizabeth smiled and ran her hand along his face. “When we’re done,
I’m going to the Home Place,” she whispered even though she knew
the others would hear. “It’s where I belong.”

“Me, too,” Marshall whispered back, “I’ll
stop by to say goodnight.”

Elizabeth was exhausted from traipsing
through the woods with Max. They’d gone over and over the route,
marking the way with bright red ribbons. At sunup tomorrow she
would run it alone. Again and again until she knew the route by
heart.

Max’s plans had escalated after Elizabeth’s
phone calls. She called in more boys like Junior; too young to be
chosen to fight, but old enough to work like men. The first time
she took Elizabeth through the woods, Max marked off the spots
where she wanted them to work. They were still working when
Elizabeth made her last run.

She’d showered, powdered, and dressed in her
nightgown with the little pink roses around her neck. Afraid she’d
fall asleep, she wrapped herself in a blanket and sat in her rocker
on her porch with a glass of red wine. She wasn’t afraid. She
wasn’t alone.

GW and Morgan were prowling around out there
in the darkness and they weren’t the only ones. Elizabeth was sure
Marshall had assigned some of the younger wolvers to keep watch. He
wouldn’t allow them to fight in the coming battle, but he would
make them feel they were contributing to the effort. How like
Marshall to make sure they all felt important to the pack.

Even ten year old Bobby had been sent up the
narrow trail to the pool. He was riding on the broad back of one of
the Percherons to carry her back to Marshall’s. The boy was so
proud he’d been given a job, Elizabeth didn’t have the heart to
tell him she’d rather walk over hot coals than climb up behind him
on that monster horse. He chattered about home and school which
would be starting soon.

“I’ll be in fifth grade this year and I’m
gonna work real hard. My grades weren’t so good last year and
Marshall says I gotta work harder. Pa says the Alpha wants his
wolvers to be strong in mind as well as body and if’n I expect to
see my first turnin’ when I’m fifteen, I’d best be getting’ busy.
You think that’s right, Miz Elizabeth?” His shoulders sank as he
sighed. “School’s awful hard.”

“Yes it is,” she agreed, “Awful hard. But the
Alpha’s right. He wants you to do the best you can for yourself and
for the pack.” She gave his shoulders a squeeze. “I tell you what.
If you need any help with your school work, you come see me. We’ll
work it out together.”

“You mean it?” Bobby’s shoulders straightened
as he glanced back.

“Indeed I do,” she laughed, “But there’s a
quid pro quo here. That’s Latin. It means something for something,
an exchange,” she explained. “You know a lot more about these woods
than I do. In exchange for my help, I need yours.”

“You got it, Miz Elizabeth.”

They rode for a few minutes in silence before
Bobby spoke again.

“Miz Elizabeth?” he said shyly. “Don’t you be
worried about this full moon. Me and the Alpha, we’ll keep you
safe.”

“I know,” she told him. “With you and the
Rabbit Creek Pack looking out for me, how could it be otherwise?”
And for the first time since Henry broke the news, she believed
it.

Her conversation with Bobby made her look to
the future, a future she wasn’t about to give up. In the end, she
enjoyed the ride. And after her third trip up the mountain, she was
grateful for it.

She swallowed the last sip of wine and stared
at her empty glass. One more wouldn’t hurt. She was feeling relaxed
and unaccountably happy. She closed her eyes and rested her head
against the back of the rocker.

“I thought you might be asleep. Max ran you
pretty hard.” Marshall held the open wine bottle in one hand, a
glass in the other.

“So you decided to sneak in and steal my
wine?”

She wanted him to smile, but it didn’t work.
He filled their glasses and leaned against the rail.

“The Challenge was issued about a half hour
ago. The bastard probably thought he was being generous giving us
twenty six hours instead of the minimum twenty four.”

She hadn’t realized there were time limits.
“So you still have time to counter his Challenge?” When he raised
his eyes in question, she went on. “Maggie told me the Challenged
Alpha has the right to counter with a Challenge of his own.”

“That’s right, but in this case, it isn’t
necessary. He’s willing to negotiate. I’ve decided to offer the top
of the mountain in exchange for the safety of the pack. That way,
it’ll come down to the Chase; winner takes both you and the
mountaintop.” He took a sip of wine and gazed off into the trees.
“You were right. The people are more important than the
mountain.”

Elizabeth rose from her rocker to stand
beside him, covering the hand that rested on the rail with her own.
“I was wrong, Marshall. The pack is the mountain. They won’t
survive without it. Like me without you; they’ll walk and talk and
eat and sleep, but they won’t be alive. There’s magic on this
mountain. You’ve known that all along. It’s why you’ve worked so
hard to preserve their way of life. Without the mountain, there is
no pack. Ask them, Marshall. Ask them what’s more important to
them; the mountain or their safety.”

“They aren’t trained to fight the way
Everest’s wolvers are.” He shook his head sadly. “It’s my decision
to make. It’s my duty to protect them.” He looked down at her and
his eyes begged her to understand.

But it was Marshall who had to understand.
“It’s your duty to lead them. They don’t want you fighting for
them. They want you fighting beside them. And they’ll have an
advantage over Everest’s wolvers. They’ll know what they’re
fighting for.” She turned him fully to her and held his face in her
hands. “Henry is wiser than either of us. He saw it right away. A
wolver like Calvin Everest won’t be satisfied with me or the
mountaintop. He’ll keep coming back, willing to negotiate, nibbling
away at this side of the mountain until he’s eaten the heart right
out of it.”

“He’ll do that anyway. I can only delay it
with as little bloodshed as possible.”

“Not if you counter his Challenge.”

“Calvin Everest has nothing we want.”

“Oh yes he does. He has the other side of the
mountain.”

“Lizzie.”

“Don’t you Lizzie me, Marshall Goodman.
Neither one of us has the time. You have to decide what the future
of this pack will be. Do you want room to grow and live in peace or
do you want to live out your life looking over your shoulder? It
won’t be any different than what you said before. Winner takes
all.” She smiled and kissed him quickly. “Only this time, you won’t
be fighting alone and when you win, Creepy Eyes and his Double W
won’t have a reason to come back.”

“This is what you want?”

“No. What I want is to drag you back to my
bed and have my wicked way with you, but according to Maggie, that
can’t happen once the Challenge has been issued.”

Marshall laughed and her heart almost burst
with relief because she knew she’d won.

“Then why’re you all decked out in your fancy
night gown and smellin’ like heaven itself,” he asked. He held her
hand over her head and twirled her under his arm.

“I wanted you to suffer as much as I will.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek to his
chest. “Will you counter the Challenge, Alpha?”

“I will,” he said, “But if you don’t let me
go, I’ll be too late.”

Elizabeth stepped back, turned him around and
pushed him toward the steps.

“His holdings,” she called as she watched him
make his way across the yard. “Challenge him for his holdings on
the other side of the mountain. It’s important to use that word.
His holdings.”

“I don’t know what you have up your sleeve,
Lizzie, but I’m sure it will be good.”

She crossed her fingers and hoped that it
would. “You just do as I ask.”

“I never pegged you for a pushy woman,” he
called back, laughing. “I thought you’d be easy.”

“I am easy. You could have had me the first
night we met!” There were others out there listening, but she no
longer cared. She loved this man and she didn’t care who knew
it.

“You thought I was gay,” he shouted through
the trees.

He knew! And now, so would everyone else. She
wondered what story they’d tell and surprised herself. She was
actually eager to hear it.