Pride Before the Fall (10 page)

There was an apartment ready for Tyrone, Melissa, and any children they might have in the future. Another room had the right blend of hard edges and feminine touches to fit Amilynn. And she'd even have a large, luxurious bathroom all to herself. There were three guest rooms over the garage. Conall could have his choice.

As he walked through the foyer to the driveway, Sampson and Bianca came out to stand with him. Sampson slapped Kasey on his back roughly. "You nervous, brother?"

"Naw, I'm good." Kasey adjusted the buttons on his black shirt. "Why? Do I look nervous?" Sampson and Bianca laughed. "Where are the boys?"

The teens bounded out the door as soon as he spoke. Nathaniel and Thomas were much like their father. Dark hair, dark eyes, and bronzed skin of the Native Americans they descended from. The two boys were good-looking kids, but their older brother, Ezekiel, was the one the local girls seemed to fawn over. The twenty year old came walking around the corner of the house from the pool area.

Ezekiel—Z—was one of the many who had heard terrible things about the Pride. As a future alpha, Z thought this merge was a bad idea for the Pack. But no matter his opinion, he would still be respectful to his alpha. He had his black hair cut much like Kasey's, only Z chose to spike his hair up. The black muscle tee showed off his powerful frame.

Kasey knew that Ezekiel was prime alpha material. He was confident, authoritative—a born leader who already had many followers. But he had a lot to learn about what it actually took to shoulder the duties of alpha.

"Z, how's it going?" Kasey asked casually.

"Alright."
 

"Nice shirt," Kasey commented with a hint of sarcasm. In white print on the black muscle shirt, it read "
Does it look like I give a shit?"
with a stick figure crossing his arms and rolling his eyes.

"Thanks." Z stuck his hands in his pockets and poked out his muscular chest as the suburban containing the Pride pulled up.

"Don't encourage him," Bianca muttered. Z had a vast collection of smart-ass shirts he wore at inappropriate times.

Kasey just laughed. He was the same way as a youth, if his sister cared to remember.

The alpha family waited as people piled out of the vehicle. A tall drink of water with long, thick reddish-brown curls hanging to her shoulders and hazel eyes that could ensnare a man with one look stepped out of the car first. There was a collective gasp among the wolves. Kasey's jaw fell to the ground.

Vivian was too goddamn sexy for her own good. What in the hell had he been thinking?

* * * * *

That morning Vivian had sat in their dingy apartment looking through a magazine for inspiration on what to wear. Even after flipping through three catalogs stolen from Amilynn's stash, she hadn't come up with anything that she was comfortable in. Her bed was covered in clothing. Time after time she had shifted, used the magic of the shift to clothe herself, not liked the outfit, taken it off and piled them up. That was it; she was calling in an expert.

"Amilynn!" she screamed. The blonde came in the room. Fresh out of one of the ads Vivian had been looking at, she was in low slung leopard print pants and a black tank top that showed about four inches of her incredibly defined abdomen. Over the tank was a tan suede jacket with brass-studded accents. Vivian looked her up and down and giggled, "Leopard print? Really? You don't think that's a bit over the top?"

Amilynn ran a hand through her long blonde and black hair. "Might as well let the mutts know what they're in for." Then Ami studied V, looked at the bed, and back at V. "Uh-oh."

"Help me," Vivian pleaded. "I have no clue what I'm doing. This is why you are in charge of wardrobe for the show. I'm just not good at this girly crap."

Amilynn smirked. "Ok, you need something sexy so that all the men know why the big bad wolf chose a cat. You need to also be elegant so the women know why the wolf chose a cat. And it has to be comfortable so you aren't preoccupied with your clothes." Amilynn continued with a game of twenty questions until she knew exactly what Vivian needed to wear.

As Amilynn helped Vivian fix her hair, she asked, "So, uh, this whole
mating
thing, you cool with it?" Truth be told, Amilynn was scared to death she would never find a man her leopard wouldn't chew up and spit out. The fact Vivian, who was ten times more dominant, had found a mate gave her reason to hope.

Vivian shrugged. "I'm warming up to the idea. My cat is in heaven. I guess the human has to take her time and fall in love, or whatever." Vivian tried to act like the idea of being committed to Kasey for the rest of her life wasn't a big deal.

"I guess that kind of makes me the odd woman out, huh?" Ami didn't give Vivian a chance to answer. "The truth is I'll never really find a guy that meets all my expectations, you know? I want a guy who isn't intimidated by me, but doesn't try to chain me. Like Kasey is with you. I don't guess he has a twin brother?"

Vivian smiled. "Nope, sorry. Ami, if I can find a man who doesn't scare me but does challenge me, then you can find a guy who loves the—" Vivian searched her vocabulary for the right word. "... unbridled side of you."

"You're not worried about Conall and me being around?"

Vivian looked up at her, completely confused. "Of course not. Why would you think that?"

"Because that means that you're merging our Pride with unmated members. What if we cause problems? Two dominant, unmated cats among a Pack of wolves and bears."

Vivian laughed, holding her stomach. "What's the matter, Ami, afraid you're going to mate with a wolf or a bear?"

"Oh, that's just nasty—" Ami paused, remembering that Vivian was now mated to a wolf. "Nice, it's nice, a perfectly acceptable thing." Amilynn nodded and quickly looked down even as she and Vivian laughed.

"Kasey doesn't know what the hell he is getting into."

"Do I look okay?" Melissa came bustling in the room and stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes took in Vivian. She smiled brightly. "You look amazing."

"Thanks to me," Amilynn preened. "And you're very welcome."

Vivian nudged Ami affectionately, then replied to Melissa, "As do you, little sister. Real pretty."

Melissa had picked a long flowing black multilayered skirt with white lace roses on the trim. A simple white cotton tank top and lots of beautiful beaded jewelry made her look elegant and casual at the same time. Her long black mane looked like a sheet of silk around her shoulders. Vivian loved the maroon at the tips. It was just enough color to add character, but not enough to be distracting.

Tyrone was right behind her sporting a simple dark blue jean button up shirt and his signature black baseball cap. It was simple, efficient, timeless and essentially Ty. Even Conall looked nice in western-style rust colored shirt. It complimented his sandy hair and blue eyes.

The five of them stood in the living room, ready to leave for their introduction to the Blackburn Pack.

"Before we leave," Vivian commanded their attention. "If anyone has anything they need to say, now is the time to do it. If there is
any
hesitation or resistance in your mind, you'd better speak up now. Because once we're with them, we're with them for good. Right now there are no hands tied. I will not force you. I chose Kasey, not you. You don't have to do this."

There was a moment's pause when she thought someone might speak against the merge. It was Melissa who broke the silence. "Ty and I have really talked about this over the last couple of days." She placed a loving hand on her mate's chest and leaned into him, cradled under his arm. "If Kasey's Pack can give us the home we've been looking for, and you're finally with your true mate, then there's no hesitation within us." Melissa looked up at Ty's dark features. "Right, baby?"

Ty nodded. "I'm cool. Got a solid grip on this."

"Me too," Amilynn said. "Besides, we all do have our hands tied. You're our alpha and we'll never let you escape us—I mean,
leave
us." She jested in a moment of stress, her specialty.

Everyone looked to Conall for the final answer. Melissa always went with Vivian, Ty with Melissa, and Ami with Ty. The four of them were connected by blood and mating. Conall was the odd man out, but his loyalty was as strong as any of their bonds. "We go. We follow you. But you should know, V, you're the only alpha I'll ever give my allegiance to. Maybe one day I might trust this Pack, be a part of them, but the only person I answer to is you."

Vivian nodded. She had expected as much. Conall had witnessed everything Trace had put her family through and had been a faithful friend through it all. No one dared mention that Conall was Trace's first cousin and by blood should have been bound to Trace. He had never been loyal to his cousin from the time he rebelled against the horrific things Trace had wanted him to do. Conall had vowed that no one but Vivian would ever rule over him again. And Vivian knew that it was Conall who would always remind her what it meant to be a true alpha, to lead those who look to you with honor, trust, and love.

Decision made and seconded, Conall drove the group out to the edges of the forest where the city seemed to dwindle and finally disappear. "Are you sure this is the way?" He turned onto a well-used rural road.

"That's what he said. Go two miles to the gate."

"I'm not going to have to get out and move the cows to open it, am I?" He chuckled.

They were deep in the mountains when they approached a large bricked entryway with a guard station to control the twenty feet tall set of solid wooden doors. The wood was carved with a beautiful picture of a pack of wolves. The gate looked ancient, but Vivian was not fooled. She had no doubt that those doors were a mere façade for what was really guarding this place.

Conall pulled up to a shack that sat on the outside of a simple wooden privacy fence. A man in blue jeans and a tee shirt came out with a huge smile on his face. He knew who they were, their scent unique. Pleasantries were exchanged. He reached for something inside and then waved at their vehicle as the gates swung open.

"Bet that shack is a ruse," Ty muttered. He and Conall were on high alert. The rural road turned into black asphalt. "Sharp shooters a hundred yards from the gates on either side. Surveillance cameras and motion detectors."

Conall pointed deep into the trees. "Looks like wooden fence turns into a block wall. They've made it look so innocent from the road, but this place is protected."

Even after they entered the gates, there was a mile of wilderness before the first signs of life. Once they cleared the trees, forest opened up into rolling hills dotted with houses. A sidewalk and street lamps appeared as the houses became more and more dense. The homes were like any other subdivision they had ever seen. Garage doors open to reveal the simplest of things: cars, lawn mowers, children's toys.

"I don't know why," Amilynn mused from the back seat, "but I actually expected caves and huts or possibly tee-pees. Is this the Stepford Pack?" She gave everyone a laugh, but Vivian was also caught off guard by the human looking neighborhood.

"You never know what's behind those walls though," Conall mumbled.

Vivian's heart caught in her throat as they headed up the main road to a sprawling house on the other side of a long, thin lake. The driveway led over a curved bridge to the side of the house where a portico was flanked by two garages, three stalls on each. The rustic mansion was built into the waves of the earth and covered with a mixture of stone, slate and siding. It sprouted from the landscape naturally.

Kasey was standing under the covered patio. Her brain acknowledged there were others, but her eyes were on Kasey. He was so handsome. The black button up shirt he wore made his hair look darker and his eyes were watching the vehicle closely. Her chest pounded like snare drum.

"Don't worry, everything is going to be fine." Conall assured her with a pat on her leg, the touch anchoring her.

Vivian took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. Look at how proper they were! What in the hell had she done?

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

"My God," Bianca whispered with her hand over her mouth. "You said she was beautiful, Kasey, but your mate is
ravishing
."

Vivian and her Pride walked up the concrete path to meet him and his family. She was breathtaking. A red silk shirt flowed over her body like a dancing wave of air. It dipped down between her breasts exposing just enough plump luscious flesh to tempt Kasey's strained control. The sheets of silk were bound at her waist with a thick leather belt. The short, brown leather skirt she wore curved over her hips and stopped mid thigh. Endless legs flowed into a pair of red boots. Vivian was a tall woman anyway, but in the slight heel of the boot, she was even more statuesque. Holding back some of her curls was a red flower. His eyes got stuck on her plump red lips and his mouth watered to taste them.

"Man, Uncle Kasey," said Nathaniel. "Your mate has some hot friends." He stared adoringly at Amilynn. Most likely at the four inches of toned midriff she was exposing between the black top and leopard print pants hanging low on her hips.

She flinched when Nate winked at her. God, the boy was shameless.

"She's still a
cat
," Ezekiel sneered, thumping his little brother on the back of the head.

Kasey shot Z a look of reprimand and the boy turned his eyes away. Unable to stand it, he walked the rest of the way to Vivian and took her in his arms. Kasey didn't care who was watching, he kissed his woman. They had been apart for a few days, each to get some well-needed time with their families before taking this big step. Seeing her now made him think of the hours they spent in the cabin alone, naked, lying in front of the fireplace talking about how to make everything work. He was pleased when Vivian threw her arms around him and pulled him closer while they kissed.

"Oh, come on!" Sampson hollered out with a laugh. "You two can take care of that mushy stuff later."

His comments made wolf and cat alike snicker. Vivian pulled back, her cheeks flushed. She wiped the bright red lipstick from Kasey's lips with a smile. "Sorry. Guess I've missed you."