Every Blissful Moment (Hyena Heat Book 4) (17 page)

Memphis said to Kayne and Kross, “We need a bonfire to destroy the carcass.  We need to honor our ancestors.”

Kayne said, “I’ll light a fire in the pit, and we’ll ensure the pack knows not to touch the owl.”

“This won’t take long,” Link said as he stripped.

Kross wrapped up the
yolic
and said, “On behalf of the alpha of the Beyton Pack, we wish you a good hunt.  May you exorcise your demons this night through blood and flesh.”

Kayne and Kross lifted their heads and howled, and Mack joined in.  Link and Memphis shifted just a moment before the owl slipped back into his feathered form.  The owl managed to get into the air, but Memphis and Link weren’t going to let him get away.  No matter what, they’d make sure that he didn’t live to see the sunrise.

* * * * *

Link and Memphis chased the owl through the woods.  The trees were so close together that it couldn’t fly high enough to get away from them, and chose instead to dodge in and out of the trees.  Link would chase it until it fell from the sky.  He refused to give in or let the bird win.

The owl landed on a low branch and Link leapt at it, missing the bird but knocking into the branch and making him hoot in alarm and fly away.  Link knew he had to get ahead of it and high enough to catch it.

Several yards ahead of them, a half-dozen wolves waited.  Kayne had promised the wolves would steer clear of the owl, but Link understood they were there to help corral the creature, who showed no signs of slowing.

The owl, spying the wolves, wheeled in the air and rounded on him and Memphis, talons spread wide and wings moving powerfully through the air.  Link leapt once more; knowing from Rome’s injuries that the talons could do a lot of damage to flesh, he bared his fangs and snarled loudly.  The owl screeched.  The sound pierced Link’s ears and made him cringe, but he never gave up on his target.  The bird had chosen to go on the offensive, and it would be a fatal mistake.

Memphis leapt at the owl a moment after Link did, and together the two sank their jaws into the bird.  Feathers filled Link’s mouth as his sharp teeth sought flesh.  He bit down hard, feeling the bones of one leg snap beneath feathers and skin.  Bitter, metallic blood filled his mouth as his paws hit the ground.  The bird cried loudly.  Link released his hold on its leg and buried his claws in the soft belly of the creature, splitting it open with ease and going for the throat.  Memphis jerked hard on its wing, and it cracked as Link closed his jaws around the neck and ended the bird’s life.

Releasing the owl, he lifted his muzzle and vocalized his joy at the death of the last owl who knew the whereabouts of their mate.  Memphis joined him, as did the wolves, and the woods were filled with their celebration.

Memphis nudged the owl toward Link, who picked it up in his jaws and carried it back to the full-moon meeting place, where, as promised, a bonfire was blazing brightly.  Kross and Nyte stood near the fire, a pile of clothing and the two other dead owls, at their feet.

Nyte said, “These are the owls’ clothes and belongings.  We found a rental receipt in the wallet of one of the males.  I had Fade contact the rental company and they located the vehicle for us; it was in the next town.  Two pack members have gone to return it to the rental agency, which has a drop-off so no questions will be asked.”

“I checked their pockets and found a small tracking device, which we believe is what they used to track the she-owl.  It will be destroyed along with any evidence the owls were here,” Kross said.

Link lobbed the dead owl onto the fire.  Its feathers caught fire immediately and the scent of burning flesh filled the air as he and Memphis systematically tossed the owls’ belongings onto the fire.  When everything was burning, Kross stripped and shifted, and Nyte sat down, leaning against a tree.

“I’ll keep watch over the bodies if you want to go for a run,” Nyte said.

Memphis and Link both shook their heads and sat down next to their friend to keep vigil over the flames.  It was a hyena tradition to occasionally burn the carcasses of their kills instead of feasting on them, but more important than that was the tradition of burning the enemies of the
baro.
  He watched the flames licking at the owls, turning their bodies and belongings into ash.  Smoke swirled overhead and the sickly sweet scent of their deaths filled the air.

When they were able to shift back, Link donned his clothes and added more wood to the bonfire, using a long stick to push at the charred bones of the owls.

“I’m going home to see Bliss,” Memphis said.  “I’ll send Rome to relieve you.”

Link nodded.

Nyte stayed until Rome arrived.  Link said goodbye to his cousin, then waited for the wolves to come back from their hunt and thanked Mack, Kross, and Kayne for their help.  The three most powerful wolves in the pack stayed with Rome while Link went home to see his mate and catch a few hours of sleep.

By the time the sun rose, his clan – including Bliss – had returned to the clearing. The bones of the birds were mostly ash, and the three males used shovels to transfer the smoldering remains into an ash bucket and carried them deep into the woods, where they buried them.

Bliss stared at the place where the earth had been disturbed.  She’d been silent for most of the time, watching intently.  She looked at Link.  “I hope to hell I never see another owl again.  No offense to Brierley.”

Memphis kissed Bliss.  “She won’t come back to Beyton, so I think it’s safe to say you’ll probably never meet one again.  But you know something, love?”

“What?”

“I know that it was a hard night in the mountains with the nest, but we survived, and you’re carrying our cub.”  He touched her stomach.  “This is our silver lining.”

“I like that.”

“What do you like?”  Rome asked.

“Silver.  I think we should name our baby Silver.”

Link joined his brothers and tilted Bliss’s face to plant a kiss on her lips.  “Silver Gable.  It sounds good to me.”

Chapter 1
4

Bliss turned from the place where the owls had been buried and took Memphis’s and Lincoln’s hands in hers.  “Let’s go home.”

“Now that’s the best idea I’ve heard all day,” Memphis said.

Rome walked behind them.  “Are you okay?”

She looked over her shoulder and smiled.  “I am.  I know they’re dead and no one else is coming for me.  I never thought of myself as much of a fighter, but I found out last night that when push comes to shove, I can at least hold my own for a little while.”

Lincoln snarled softly.  “You never should’ve had to.”

She squeezed his hand.  “It’s over with.  You can’t wrap me up in bubble wrap and never let me go anywhere.”

“I could.”

She laughed.  “Okay, you
could
, but I know you won’t.”

“We just want you to feel safe and to
be
safe,” Memphis said.

“I know.  I want all of us to be safe, especially this little kiddo in my belly.  Rome and I talked last night about me quitting the bar.  It’s got nothing to do with what happened with the owls, but I think it’s a good idea.  I just don’t want to be in a place like that while I’m pregnant.”

Rome said, “I can take over your duties.  I’m sure Mack won’t mind as long as the work gets done.”

“We’d be happy for you to not work,” Memphis said.  “If it makes you happy, then it’s definitely okay with us.”

“Are you sure?”

They reached the SUV.  Her mates surrounded her suddenly, and she sighed and leaned against Memphis.  “We’re positive,” Memphis said.

“Okay.”  She liked knowing that her mates wanted her to be happy.  She wanted them to be happy, too, and after what Rome had said about most clan females not working, she was beginning to think that it was meant to be.  Maybe there was something about carrying a hyena cub that made her want to stay in the den, or maybe it was that the bar wasn’t a family-friendly business.

“What?”  Rome asked, giving her shoulder a light squeeze.

“I was just thinking about family businesses.  You used to work for your dads.”

Their fathers owned a successful landscaping company in Ocean City.  They handled all of the landscaping for the hyena-only development, as well as for the other clans’ businesses in and around the area.

“We were thinking about that, too, actually,” Memphis said.  He pulled open the door to the second row of seats and she, Lincoln, and Rome climbed in.

“Were you?” she asked as she leaned against Lincoln and covered her mouth, yawning.

“Sure.”  Memphis glanced over his shoulder at his brothers but didn’t say anything else.

She frowned as silence settled in the SUV, but wasn’t sure what to say.  Then it dawned on her.  “You want to go back to the
baro
.”

“We’re happy here,” Memphis said.

“Oh my gosh, you’re not!  You liars, you’re supposed to be honest with me.”

All three of her mates growled and she waved her hands at them dismissively.  “Just tell me the truth.”

“We never thought we’d leave Ocean City.  When we met you, we wanted to be wherever you wanted to be, it was no question.  You weren’t happy in Ocean City, and you wanted to be with Whisper and Angel,” Rome said.  “There was never a question of us asking you to stay down there when your heart was in Beyton.”

Tears pricked her eyes.  “Damn it, Rome,” Lincoln chided with a growl, pulling Bliss into his arms.  “You upset her.”

“I’m sorry, love,” Rome said, earnestly.

She shook her head.  “I’m the one who’s sorry.  I’ve been completely selfish.  You uprooted your lives for me.”

“Whisper is our sister; it’s not like we don’t have family here,” Memphis said.

“But you didn’t come here for her, you came here for me.”

She stopped talking while Memphis parked in front of their house and they walked inside.  She turned in a circle in the center of the family room.

“Maybe the owls were a wake-up call.  My parents disowned me, so the only real family I have is you and your family.  Whisper and Angel are like sisters to me, and Whisper is actually my sister-in-law because of you, but I haven’t really felt right since we got back from the honeymoon, and I don’t think it’s because of what happened on the mountain.”

“Then what is it?”  Memphis asked, resting his hands on her hips and pulling her close.

“I think that Beyton isn’t home anymore.  I’m not really part of the pack because I can’t shift.  I’m part of our clan, but we don’t have a
baro
.”  She pressed her hand lightly to her stomach.  “Silver needs a
baro
, and I need one, too.  A real one.”

Her mates smiled tentatively.

“What?” she asked, looking at them.

“Are you sure, sweet thing?”  Lincoln asked.

Rome said, “Let’s sleep on it and talk some more in the morning.  It’s been stressful, and we wouldn’t want you to regret a life-changing decision like this.”

She didn’t think she’d change her mind, but she appreciated them giving her some time.  “All right.  We can table the discussion until morning.  For now, I’m freaking starving.”

Rome chuckled.  “What sounds good?”

“A bagel with strawberry cream cheese.”

He leaned down and kissed her cheek.  “As you wish.”

She grinned.  “I’m the luckiest she-wolf in all of New Jersey.”

“You’re not as lucky as your mates,” Memphis said, his voice lowering in a way that made everything low in her belly clench.

She closed her eyes as Memphis’s lips pressed to hers and for the first time in a long while, she was truly, deeply happy.

* * * * *

Whisper groaned.  “You can’t move to Maryland.  I’ll never see you!”

Saturday night, Bliss sat at a booth at the bar with Whisper.  Both of their mates were with them, but the males were pretending to be involved in their own discussion.

After a good night’s sleep, Bliss had woken up feeling as though she’d made the best decision since she mated with her guys.

“Whisper,” Bliss said gently, squeezing her bestie’s hand, “Beyton isn’t really my home anymore.  When my parents were still here and there was a chance that we could reconcile, I was willing to stick it out.  But this feels right.  Remember what you told me about when you were in Dalton?  You said that although you liked the
baro
, you didn’t feel like it was home for you.  That’s how I feel, but about Beyton.”

“I thought we were going to raise our kids together.”

“We still can.  I’ll just be a few hours away.  I know I gave you a hard time about moving to Dalton, but if you’d felt at home there I would’ve accepted your decision.  I’m not asking you to be happy about me leaving, but I am asking you to try to understand.  I think part of the reason I haven’t really been happy here is because I
was
happy in Ocean City, but all I could think about was coming back here to live.  Sometimes it’s hard to see the forest for the trees.”

Whisper chewed on her lip for a moment.  “I hate myself for saying this, because I don’t want you to leave, but I understand, I really do.  Beyton is home for me and my mates, but it’s not home for you.”  She sniffled and it made tears spring fresh in Bliss’s eyes.  “When will you leave?”

“We have to talk to their parents first and see if there are any homes available for rent or purchase in the development.  I don’t know, though.”  She looked at Memphis.

“Depending on what our family says, I would think we could stay here until the first day of spring.  Technically we’re supposed to be in our den until then, and it would give us time to get settled into the new place without having to rush.  Dads would need help with the business about that time, so we could hit the ground running.”

Whisper leaned against Nyte and sighed.  “That’s almost two months to hang out before you go.  I guess I thought you would just be taking off.  I feel like everyone is disappearing on me.”

“What do you mean?”  Bliss asked.

“Well, I don’t know what’s going on with Angel, but when I talked to her this morning she told me she loved the campgrounds.  It sounds like Ally offered her a job if she wanted to stay up there, and considering she has no job here, I wouldn’t be surprised if she took it.  And then there’s Kross and Kayne.”

Bliss blinked.  “What about them?”

“They took off for Ocean City.”

“What for?”

“Because Kayne was finally able to convince Kross that he was worthy of Heaven, so they went to claim her.”

“Wow, I didn’t know.”  Bliss glanced at Whisper’s mates, who looked at their mate in concern.  “I can’t imagine Kross and Kayne leaving.  They’re pack betas; they’re meant to lead when Mack steps down.  I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up back here with Heaven, and you’ll have another sister-in-law.”

Whisper smiled.  “I hadn’t thought of that.  You don’t think that Heaven would want to stay in Ocean City?”

“I hate to say this, because it’s a total double standard, but it’s different for the female hyenas.  They grow up believing that when they find their mates, they’ll move to wherever their mates’
baro
is,” Memphis said.

“That’s definitely a double standard,” Bliss said.  “It makes sense, though.  The
baro
is kind of like a pack.  There’s safety in numbers, they all work together and rely on each other.  And I really liked being on the water at your mom and dads’ house.”

“They’re your parents too, sweet thing,” Lincoln said.

“I guess they are.”

Her mates’ parents had accepted her immediately without reservation.  She couldn’t think of a better place to raise their kids than in the
baro
, with grandparents who would love their kids whether they were hyenas or wolves or even non-shifters like Bliss.

Whisper looked at her mates.  “Do you guys want to go back to your home
baro
?  Am I being selfish?”

They all snarled in disagreement and Whisper put her hands up with a chuckle.  “Okay, okay.  Sorry I called myself selfish.”  She reached for Bliss’s hand again and said, “If your heart wants you to be in Ocean City, then I’ll be happy for you.  I’m going to miss the hell out of you, but you won’t be that far, and it’s not like I won’t be visiting my parents and able to see you, too.”

“I’m trading the woods for the beach.  It’s not a bad deal,” Bliss said.

Memphis lifted his beer and said, “Let’s toast to family.”

Bliss picked up her glass of Pepsi and grinned at her bestie.  “To friends, too.”

“Best friends and sisters,” Whisper added.

The sound of clinking glasses filled the air, and Bliss smiled through tears that were both happy and sad.  She had time before she’d be moving permanently though, and she vowed to make the most of it.

When they got home two hours later, she collapsed onto the pillows on the floor with a sigh and snuggled against the soft fabric.  “I have a request,” she said as she yawned.

Her mates surrounded her, their hands gently removing her clothes, not for anything exciting but because they could tell she was about to fall asleep.