Heir To The Pack (The Cursed Pack Book 1) (30 page)

Dash bit back a curse as
he looked out at the assembled wolves, scowling down at the room. He waved his
hand to indicate people could sit.

What if he couldn’t talk
Annie around and she stayed in New England? How much taller would Jack be by
next year? What milestones would he miss? What did kids learn when they were
two, three years old, anyway? His eyes stung, and he blinked, repeatedly. Damn
pollen.

Dash threw back his goblet
of moonshine, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. His throat burned,
the pain a welcome counterpoint to the thoughts circling in his brain. “More,”
he said, gesturing to a server. Below him, at the long tables, others drank,
shooting him nervous glances.

He supposed he would have
to say something about today’s events, and why there wasn’t going to be a duel
after dinner. Throwing back another glass of the throat-searing stuff, he
stood, abruptly.

The people below scrambled
to stand as he did.

“You may sit,” he said. “I
have a few words to say.”

A screeching of chairs and
more general scrambling ensued. He darted a look at Annie. Her eyes were fixed
forward, staring at the crowd, her face expressionless.

After dinner, after the
obligatory hunting, he was going to get really Gods damned drunk. And stay that
way as long as possible, or until any of this made sense.

Better get on with it. He
cleared his throat. “There will be no duel tonight.”

Excited murmurs filled the
room, and people turned to look at where the Mexican pack sat. Michael’s chair
was noticeably empty. The murmurs grew louder.

A few people wore smug expressions.
Clearly they already knew what was going on, having been informed, no doubt, by
the pack grapevine. Some things were hard to keep secret.

“Earlier today, Michael
entered my quarters, killed six of my pack, attacked my mate and tried to take
her life. And she killed him.” Even through his grumpy mood, he felt a surge of
pride. She might not have her own wolf form, but she’d fought as well as any
seasoned warrior. Never cross a mother.

The talking stopped. Gazes
turned from him to Annie. He did not look at her, wanting to watch the crowd’s
reaction.

As he opened his mouth to
speak again, she kicked him under the table. Hard. Apparently she didn’t like
the attention. Instead of continuing his speech, he grunted.

A chair scraped hard
across the floor, attracting stares from around the room.

Ivan stood. For Gods’ sakes,
what else could go wrong today?

“Your highness,” he said,
his “r” rolling generously. “Or should I say, your highnesses.” The blond man
smiled, and took an elaborate bow.

Dash fought the urge to
roll his eyes. “You may speak, Ivan.”

“Your highness. It appears
that not only are you the only suitable candidate, but that you have chosen
wisely and well in your choice of mate. I have a proposal.”

This was not the time or
place for a private proposal. Dash’s mind raced, trying to work out the correct
response that obeyed both the rules of dominance and etiquette.

Ivan took the opportunity
to continue. “I propose we take the vote for the next Lycaon and hold the
ceremony tonight. Now.”

What the hell?

He couldn’t figure out
what Ivan hoped to gain here. Was he going to stand himself as a candidate? Dash
calculated quickly. Even if Ivan stood against him, he should have the numbers.
And if not, he’d have to kick his ass.

It was worth the risk just
to get this over and done.

“Any objections from the
other packs?” he said, trying to make eye contact with each of the Alphas in
turn. Each held his gaze, nodded. “Let's do it.”

Silence fell. Joel took
his place before the dais. He tugged at his lapels. Dash wondered if he wore
that damn suit to bed.

“Are there any challengers?”

A murmur filled the room. Dash
watched Ivan carefully, but his face stayed neutral. No one spoke.

Joel continued. “I will
now poll the packs for support for Dash Campbell of the Big Sky pack as Lycaon.
Let us begin. Western Canada?”

“We give him our support.”

The polling continued
around the room, each Alpha pledging his loyalty.

“Mexico?”

There was a short scramble
at the far table. A young, tall man, shirtless and covered in tattoos, stood,
taking his place as the new Alpha. “We support Dash.”

“Thank you, Angelo.” Joel
favored him with a rare smile. “Russia?”

Ivan stood, and smiled
lazily at Dash. “We support him, unconditionally.”

Taken aback, Dash worked
hard to keep his mouth shut. He didn’t know what he’d done to not just escape
Ivan’s enmity, but win his favor. Irina, seated at her brother’s side, didn’t
look happy, exactly. But she gave him a nod and a tight smile. It had been
worth having that conversation with her in the woods.

Joel continued, until at
the end he said, “Finally, I pledge the support of the Jersey pack. That
concludes the pledges of support. It is unanimous. Dash Campbell is Lycaon,
until death or dishonor. We will swear to it.”

The collected werewolves
surged to their feet, and waited for Dash.

He threw back his head and
howled. The packs joined in, their wolf song declaring their loyalty. The sound
of so many werewolves howling together raised the hairs on the back of his neck
in pride.

He finished the ceremonial
howl, and Joel called, “Lycaon! Lycaon! Lycaon until death!”

The horde returned the
call in a shout, their voices filling the hall. “Lycaon! Lycaon! Lycaon!”

 
Everyone broke into clapping, cheers, and
howls, a cacophony of celebration.

Dash’s blood sang with
excitement. Light-headed, he lifted his glass, which had been refilled, in a
toast. “Thank you, one and all. I will give you my best.”

The crowd shouted and
cheered, and soon grew quiet, expectant.

 
He considered making a speech, but at
this point nobody really wanted to sit and listen to him drone on. Instead, he
called out, “Now, let us celebrate,” and downed his glass. The cheering broke
into riotous applause.

At last, he could draw
breath.

He had everything he’d
worked for. A healthy son and heir. Leadership of the packs. Freedom from the
ridiculous arranged marriage with Irina. He felt relief, but that was all. Why
did he feel so damn empty?

Probably exhaustion. That
bastard Michael—or was it Shura?—he didn’t know which of them to
blame—had burned down his house. His wolves had been killed. He’d been in
a battle and nearly died.

Annie and Jack might go
back to the east coast without him. He sank into his chair beside her, beaten.

“Congratulations,” she
said, quietly. Her face had softened, no longer icy, but she looked sad.

He wanted to talk to her,
but this wasn’t the time, or the place. Servers piled food in front of them. On
the floor below, an impromptu dance had broken out on one of the tables. Some
werewolves were discarding their clothes in preparation for a night of
celebrations the way wolves did it best—hunting, dancing, drinking, and
sex.

“Let’s dance,” Dash said
abruptly. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her to her feet, hopped off the dais and
helped her down to the floor where bodies jumped and danced around them. The
pack made space for the Lycaon.

He faced Annie. There was no
one else in the room, as far as he was concerned. She looked beautiful tonight,
her pale face serious in the lamplight.

Her lips drew into a smile
and she curtseyed. Where did she learn to do that? He pulled her into his arms
and they moved with the music.

Her free hand rested on
his shoulder, a gentle reminder of what they’d shared in the hours before
dinner. He wanted to kiss her, but her gaze was down on his chest somewhere.
She was avoiding his gaze. He put a finger under her chin and lifted it. Tears welled
in the corners of her eyes.

“Hey,” he said softly. “What
have I done?”

Annie shook her head. A
teardrop escaped and rolled down her cheek. He wiped it away with his thumb. She
was breaking his heart, and he didn’t know how to fix it.

The full skirt of her
dress swirled around his legs as they danced. He looked down at it, his gaze
captured by the sparkle of tiny beads sewn into patterns across it. White
seemed like a weird choice. It looked almost like a wedding dress.

He stumbled. Gods, he was
an idiot. Completely fucking clueless.

Move
to Montana
.

She was a mom. She didn’t
want to move in with him. She wanted stability, security, a happily ever after
for her and Jack. She wanted to get married.

Of course he’d give that
to her. He just hadn’t thought about it in such human terms.

He put his mouth to her
ear. “Let’s get out of here as soon as we can. A couple dances, then I think we
can escape. I want to talk to you before the hunt.”

Her head bobbed in a brisk
little nod, but she didn’t look any happier, and she didn’t speak.

He had to fix this. Fix it
now.

Pulling at her hand, he
drew her from the dance floor, and toward the exit. Joel caught his eye, and
Dash grinned and waved a hand at Annie.

Joel winked.

“Where are we going?”
Annie asked.

“Somewhere we can be
alone.” Private time could be hard to come by surrounded by even a single pack,
let alone a whole bunch of packs. But he had an idea.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-SEVEN

Annie followed Dash out of
the house, into the courtyard. In the moonlight, the pavers were starkly white
and the roses in pots around the perimeter, black silhouettes of themselves. The
moon was full tonight. A beautiful, romantic night.

Dash had clearly dragged
her out here to continue their discussion. The knots in her back tightened.

He pulled her into the
center of the courtyard.

“This isn’t very private,”
she said. Anyone might overhear them. She didn’t need any further embarrassment
after Dash had called her out in his speech. She was happy for him, of course. But
she hated having attention drawn to her. It had taken the edge off her
enjoyment of his confirmation.

“It’s as private as
anywhere here,” he answered. “And besides, it’s pretty.”

She glanced up at the
balcony of their room from which she’d climbed down the previous night, like
some combination of Little Red Riding Hood and a ninja.

“We should get a
staircase,” he said. “So you don’t have to risk your neck, next time.”

“Will there be a next
time?” She couldn’t imagine doing something so extreme again, now Jack was
healed.

“Annie,” he said. “We need
to talk.”

She let go of his hand. His
tone was soft, which meant she knew what came next—an apology. Fine. She’d
worked her way around to his point of view while she dressed and made herself
coldly beautiful for dinner. “We’ll move out here.”

Dash’s face broke into a
broad smile. “You changed your mind?”

 
“He needs his father.”
And I need you, too
. She folded her arms
across the front of her dress so she would have something to do with her hands.

“Annie,” he said, stepping
closer to her. “I want to apologize.”

“No need,” she said. “I
understand.” Her voice sounded clipped, but she forced herself to be practical.
“Let’s take time to get to know each other better and take things from there.”

“I know you well enough
already.” His voice had deepened. The moonlight threw his face into shadow and
relief. “My wolf has been inside your head. Inside your body. I’ve been inside
your body. I know you. And I want you.”

Too many emotions filled
her mind. It had been a long day, a long year, and she was exhausted. A sob
broke free from her lips.

“Annie, I don’t
understand. Why are you crying? How can I fix it?” His desperation showed in
every forced word.

She shrugged, hugging
herself tighter, trying to keep the emotion inside, but failing. It was too
much. She couldn’t cope with anything else, today.

“Don’t you understand me? I
want to marry you.”

He wanted to marry her. It
was what she wanted. There was only one possible answer.

“Yes,” she managed. She should
have felt happier, but it was strangely flat.

He pulled her in close,
and she rested her head on his chest.

Softly, he spoke into her
hair. “I want to marry you. I want to be a father to Jack. I want us to be a
real family.”

She closed her eyes. His
words were sweet, but reminded her of the essential problem they faced. “Loyalty,
lust, need. Those things might make a werewolf pack, but they don’t make a
family.”

“No. But love does.” She
could barely breathe, he squeezed her so hard. “I guess I’m going to have to
spell it out for you, aren’t I?”

She half-cried, half-laughed.
She’d never behaved like this in her life. Too many emotions all at once. “I’m
a scientist, Dash. I like evidence. I like things spelled out.”

He looked down at her, smiling,
his pupils huge in the moonlight. “I’ve given you plenty of evidence. But you
need more. Okay. I’ve never said this to anyone in my life, you know that? I
love you, Annie. I love you. I just love you. That’s all.” He lowered his head
and rested his cheek against hers.

“Never?”

“Never.”

“That’s sad.” She cradled
his head with both hands, breathing in the scent of his skin, treasuring him,
her heart alight with more emotions than she could name.

He loved her. That was
all. And it would be enough.

“It doesn’t feel sad from
here,” he said. “It feels pretty good, actually. I’m surprised.”

She brought her lips to
his, spoke against his mouth. “I love you, too. But you knew that already.”

He kissed her, starting
tender and gentle. But it turned into something else, a declaration in touch
that echoed his words. It took her breath, took her out of time into a memory
that she would keep close, forever.

He broke off, and she
breathed deeply, holding him hard.

“I hoped. But I didn’t
know.”

“I told you earlier.” She
shook her head. Such an emotional thing for her to say, and he hadn’t even
registered it. “I guess you were distracted. But you wanted to marry me,
anyway?”

He shrugged. “Having you
would be enough. But this is better.”

She flushed, embarrassed
at her need to be loved before she could commit, in awe of how he’d opened his
heart to her. Before she could speak again, he swept her into his arms, lifting
her from the ground.

“Now will you marry me?”

“Now seems very soon. But
yes, yes, I will. I’ll even move to Montana.”

He kissed her again, and
she kept her eyes open this time, wanting to remember every second, every
sight, sound, and smell.

*
         
*
         
*

Annie stood on the balcony
with Jack watching wolves gather for the hunt. How long would it take her to
get used to all the nakedness?

Daisy stood on the other
side of her, resting her head in one hand, her elbow on the balcony railing. “I'm
glad you came to your senses. I like it here.”

“Me, too.” Annie said.

Dash stood up on the
railing, and waited. Annie admired the clean lines of his body. Hers, now.

He threw back his head to
howl, and she closed her eyes, feeling the pull on her body again. She could
barely wait for the hunt to be over so she could have him again.

As Dash’s Call to Change filled
the air, Annie’s stomach clenched into a painful cramp. She doubled over, the
nausea hitting her like a sledgehammer.

“Mama,” Jack said, his
voice high pitched. “Mama!”

She swung around to her
son. His form shimmered in front of her as he changed.

The curse. The curse was lifted.
Nothing kept their wolf spirits in the abyss. Now, Dash could call them back.
She'd had the right idea, after all.

A wave of power spread
through her. Every hair stood on end. Her nerves sang. Her muscles twisted into
an unfamiliar ache, and her body began to shift.

Her eyes changed first. The
black and white of the courtyard became a thousand shades of grey, each wolf’s
coat a map of their identity.

As she completed the
shift, a voice spoke in her head.

I
am free. I am with you.

Wonder filled her heart. For
once, she didn’t care why or how this thing had occurred. She just accepted
that it had.

She, Annie, was a
werewolf, in a wolf body. This, at last, was the price of magic. To break the
curse, and solve her problems, she had given up her humanity. But it didn’t
feel like a hard price. It felt incredible.

She was a wolf. And her
son was one, too.

He was adorable, her heart
filled with pride. His coat, like his father’s, was sleek and black, his eyes
pale blue. Jack wagged his tail and let out a little yip.

Beyond him, Annie saw
movement in the shadows, and growled. A near-white wolf stepped out of the
darkness.

Mom?
Oh my God.

She didn’t know a wolf
could look so damn smug. Her mother, the werewolf. Daisy had to have known
something. They'd have to have a conversation about it. But that could come
later.

Annie put her front paws
up on the balcony railing, and yipped, the sound carrying over the writhing
bodies below. Dash looked up, still in human form, and his jaw dropped.

Laughter sounded in her head.
I like him
, her wolf said.
I like his wolf. This is going to be fun.

Dash shimmered to wolf
before her eyes, and loped across the courtyard. He looked up at her, sat on
his haunches, and howled once more.

This time, the call held
so much meaning for Annie, hearing it through her wolf ears and her wolf mind.
Come hunt with me.

She trotted over to Jack,
poked him gently with her nose. He play-growled, and rolled over on his back. Good
thing he still knew who was boss, this future alpha.

Lifting her head, she made
eye contact with Daisy, who moved her head meaningfully toward Dash.
Go.

The balcony rail was an
easy jump, and from there she launched herself down into the courtyard, landing
on her new wolf legs, the impact slightly more than she had expected.
Oof.

Then Dash was with her,
beside her, touching noses, rubbing bodies, tails wagging. He looked at her,
his tongue lolling out, and she knew he laughed at her.

She guessed she’d fit in
around here better than she’d thought.

Dash ran out of the
courtyard and Annie followed him out, under the moon, into the darkness, into
their future.

THE
END