River Wolf (21 page)

His chest ached as he dropped the towel and slid onto the bed. Running a light hand over her, he grounded himself in her nearness. A full day since he’d had to cope with her sassy responses and dammit, he missed her challenging grins and way of twisting his words back on him.

With care, he adjusted the shirt over her. Then settled in, eyes half closed. He wouldn’t go all the way to sleep. When necessary, he could doze for days on end without full sleep. The moment she woke or needed something, he wanted to be there.

A twitch jerked his eyes open. Darkness blanketed the room and the digital clock on the nightstand told him only a few hours had passed. Not dawn yet. Letting his eyes shift, he checked on Colby. She twitched again, her legs and paws moving in short, sharp bursts as though she ran in her dreams. Rising on an elbow, he brushed one of her ears and the twitching turned to writhing.

Finally.

His drowsiness faded in a heartbeat and he withdrew his hand to wait. Focused solely on her, he rode out the soft cry she made when her body wrenched itself human once more. Her eyes never opened and for that he remained grateful. It wasn’t unusual for wolves to resume their human forms when they slept. Especially if they dreamed of being human. Some went to sleep wolves and woke in their wolf form, others slid into their wolf while they slept. The curiosity of their nature was one every wolf simply accepted. He’d never wondered the
why
before. Only when she let out a last harsh exhale and her eyelids parted briefly, did he let his fingers stroke through her hair.

Not her skin, no matter how much he wanted to tug her into his arms and sleep wrapped around her. After a shift, they were too sensitive and she was so new. To his night vision, her skin was blotchy. She would be too raw, too uncomfortable with contact.

“Hey,” he murmured when those beautiful eyes opened again.

“I hate you.” The mumble came out so sleepy and petulant, he grinned.

“No you don’t.” Something in his chest settled. Colby was still with him.

“I want to hate you,” she complained, the throatiness of her whine drawing away the dark cloud of brooding.

“No, you don’t.” At his repeated response, she reached out with a fist and mock-tapped his jaw. “Oh, that showed me.”

“You are
way
too happy.”

“The woman I love is in my bed, and she has all her faculties and isn’t trying to rip my throat out anymore. Yes, I am exceptionally happy.” Propping his head on his fist, he contented himself by drinking in the sight of her.

“It’s too early for that.” Mumbling, she buried her face in the pillows. Yet, she also reached over and flattened her palm against his chest.

“Five days or five years, it doesn’t matter.” She’d quite stolen his heart and he had zero intention of trying to retrieve it.

“No,” she groaned and lifted her head to glare at him. “It’s too
early
in the morning. I’m going back to sleep now.” Then with a kiss to his lips, she rolled over and pressed her back to him. Seconds later, a snore drifted from her perfect lips.

Laughter wound through him and he curved an arm around her waist and buried his face to her throat. He’d almost forgotten—she didn’t do mornings.

A
couple of hours later
, dawn edged the horizon and his phone buzzed. Ignoring it, he let the call go to voice mail. When it buzzed a second time, then chirped, Brett groaned. Rolling over, careful not to wake the beast, he grabbed his phone. A dozen messages waited on the screen. Most were wolves announcing their arrival times. The last two chased away his drowsiness.

A wolf from Sutter Butte had crossed into Hudson River along with two from Three Rivers. They all stated Alpha Challenge. Two separate messages from two different Hunters. The messages were the most recent. His phone rang and Pierce’s name flashed on the screen.

Sitting, he hit answer. “How far out are they?”

“The two from Three Rivers are on the far western edge, they crossed into Pennsylvania about an hour ago. It was only dumb luck Duncan was filling his gas tank at the same time to head in for the gathering. They’ll all probably be in Story Pointe by tonight. The other is in Manhattan. He landed at La Guardia and is in the process of renting a vehicle. He reached out to the Hunters in the city and for directions. I’d expect him by lunchtime.”

“Does he have a name?”

“Sutter Butte—Landon Templeton. From Three Rivers, Mischa Marko…I think that’s right.” Pierce waited a beat. “Mischa is traveling with his mate.”

Son of a bitch.
Three Rivers. Russian name. Traveling with his mate. Luciana was Italian. “Did he have an accent?”

“Not sure, want me to find out?”

Normally in an Alpha Challenge all contenders were given free passage direct to an Alpha. They would come, they would fight and one of them would walk away. Sometimes both, if one were willing to yield. Brett didn’t particularly care for fights to the death—only a lunatic would—but he also didn’t like having repeat performances. Marko wasn’t a Russian last name, but the echo to Marco didn’t bode well.

“Brett?” Pierce was still waiting for an answer. Glancing at Colby who’d rolled onto her stomach and sprawled, the sheet draped only over her hips. What he wouldn’t give to be right next to her again.

“Yes. Find out.” Disconnecting the call, he dressed swiftly. Brett had dealt with a Russian incursion once before. Traveling with his mate? Or his Krysha? Russian wolves were not to be trusted. They didn’t respect rules and their coup attempts were always bloody. None of the North American Alphas would have granted a Russian wolf entry without certain blood guarantees.

Except Luciana probably doesn’t know that.
One oversight he would need to live to correct. Pausing to stroke her hair, he dipped down and left a kiss on her forehead. If the Sutter Butte challenger didn’t arrive till lunch, Brett still had time for breakfast with Colby when she woke. They had so much to discuss…

After he dealt with Templeton, they’d have some time. He was on the stairs heading for the kitchen and coffee when Pierce called back. “Last name is actually Markov and yes, definitely Russian accents. Really thick ones. Duncan said he had a hard time understanding them.”

“No one is to engage them, have Duncan keep track but stay well back. Alert all Hunters in the area to move any civilians lingering out. I want Markov and his so-called mate to have no reason to stop.” Decades before, a Russian challenger had entered Hudson River crying Alpha Challenge. On his way to meet Brett’s grandfather, he’d paused at a family run restaurant on the edge of Story Pointe and taken offense at something one of the wolves said to him.

To the present day, Brett could recall the remark. The Russian had savaged the wolf in question, then struck at his friends when they attacked. Brett hadn’t known he’d called Alpha Challenge, only that he was killing wolves.

“Yes, Alpha. Are they going to be a problem?” Pierce had been a child when that incident occurred. Chances were he didn’t know about it.

“That’s what I want to avoid.
No
one else speaks to them. Walk away, avoid, and that’s an order directly from me. They come straight to me.” He’d meet them on the road before they reached Story Pointe proper. “Alert our men at the State Troopers. None but wolves on our patch of state highways tonight.” It was their problem how they managed it.

“Yes, sir.” Pierce’s voice tightened. “Anything else I need to know?”

“Your primary responsibility—protect the pack.”

“Done.”

After disconnecting the call, Brett diverted to the guest room and pushed the door inward without knocking. Luc sat up with a snarl, but didn’t growl. “What’s wrong?”

“Russian Alpha Challenger on the way, get up. We have to talk.” The sleep vanished from Luc’s face and he thrust the blankets away. Brett headed for the kitchen. By the time he had the coffee pot started, Luc joined him, still finger combing his sleep tangled hair.

“How far away are they?”

He didn’t have to explain to Luc the problem. Luc had been there fighting alongside him to take down the Russian bastard. Brett had snapped his neck after Luc gutted him. The Russian’s pack sent their Krysha, their type of Enforcer to exact revenge for what they cited as an assassination.

“They’ll be here by nightfall.”

“How the fuck did they get in the country? Don’t the Enforcers send someone when a foreign pack member enters? Don’t they have to get an Alpha’s permission?” Anger slid along his tone, anger and a distinct hint of concern. While he might have been a Lone Wolf for decades, Luc loved Hudson River.

“Three Rivers.” Brett answered as he poured the coffee and Luc swore. Neither said a word as they took long drinks of the dark, bitter brew.

Julian sent the Krysha’s head back on ice. The standoff had lasted most of the year leading to his grandfather demanding Brett take over. In some ways, it was how he’d protected Brett, placing the Enforcers between Brett and outside invasion, but it had also been an acknowledgement. Wolves of their pack had died because of an Alpha Challenge.

The thought paused him. He’d never seen the parallel before between the bloody altercations and his grandfather’s decision. Hadn’t Brett even entertained the possibility himself once or twice over the last year? Stepping aside so the pack could have the strong leadership and protection they deserved?

“What do you want to do about it?”

“What the law says, but I’ve deployed Hunters to evacuate any wolves in their path. I won’t give them an excuse for more bloodshed.”

“Them?”

“Yes, he apparently brought his mate.” No one took their mate to an Alpha Challenge. But then, he was Russian so who knew?

“A krysha?” Luc wasn’t buying it either.

“Maybe. Either way, keep your eye on her when they get here. If she even looks cross-eyed at one of our wolves…”

“She’ll be dead.” Absolute finality rang in the words.

“I have another coming in at noon.”

“Wait,” Luc blinked. “What?”

“Apparently word of potential weakness in Hudson River has slipped out. A Sutter Butte wolf flew into LaGuardia this morning. He’s on his way, he’ll be here by lunchtime.”

Setting down his coffee mug, Luc stared at him. “Two challengers in the same day? No way that’s a coincidence.”

“Whether it is or not, I will deal with it.” Had they come even a week before, the outcome may have seemed pre-determined.

“You can’t fight two Alpha challenges in one day.”

Sparing his best friend a glance, Brett took another sip of his coffee. He wouldn’t dignify the disparagement with a response. “Colby usually doesn’t wake till after ten-thirty. I’ll have an hour with her before the challenge. During the challenge, you will
guard
her. Do not let her come anywhere near the field.”

Too much she didn’t know or understand. The last thing she needed was to see a conflict when they had a tendency to be ugly.

“Afterwards, we’ll have lunch and work with her on her shifting.”

“Brett…”

“Don’t interrupt.” He didn’t need his best friend worrying, he needed his game face on. To do that meant planning. “We need to know if she can shift willingly or not. Pierce will coordinate with the Hunters. The gathering is set for tomorrow night, but we’ll need to make sure the fields are and the local state park are clear. Reach out to your dad, he usually coordinates with the rangers for me as needed.”

“And tonight’s challenge? Where do you want me then?”

“With me, I’ll send Colby to Gillian and Owen.” With orders to take her out of Hudson River. Mason would give her shelter, and they would need to have Trent and his family as well. They could stay in Willow Bend until… “If I fall…”

“Hey…”

Brett set the mug down with a click and glared. Luc went silent. Nodding once, he finished his thought. “If I go down, take out the challenger. Challenge him immediately and execute him. Hold Hudson River together and get ready for the krysha to strike. I won’t doubt for an instant they won’t have a contingency plan in place.” Over the years, he’d studied some of the Russian wolf packs. They weren’t centralized, if anything, they spent as much time at war with each other as they did poaching from other packs.

One strategy he’d seen repeated over and over, however, was the Alpha was usually their target. Once he—or she—went down, they systematically wiped out a pack or used their new pack to throw at an old enemy. No one was hurting Hudson River. No one.

“You sound like you’ve been defeated already.” Disbelief clung to Luc’s tone.

“Good,” Brett smiled. “I want them to think I’m beaten before they step onto the field. They picked the wrong week.” He had everything to survive for and a reason to fight.

His best friend paused, then a grin stretched his mouth wide. “Hell yeah, they did. Dammit, dude, you had me worried there for a moment.”

Perfect. If he could fool Luc, he was already edging ahead. Flicking a glance at the clock, he checked his time then poured more coffee. Hope for the best, and prepare for the worst.

B
reakfast in bed waited
for her when she managed to open her eyes. Sunshine spilled in the windows as cheerful as Brett had been at
o-dark-hell no.
He, by contrast, lay on his side, fist propping his head as he studied her.

From the deep dark eyes to his rakishly tousled black hair, he looked so damn perfect. Even his shirt was pressed to perfectly and didn’t seem remotely wrinkled from his posture on the bed. The ideal man—and he turned into a wolf.

Rising on her elbows, she wiped at her mouth to make sure no drool clung to her lips and taking a moment to surreptitiously check her breath. “Hey…”

“Good morning, beautiful. Forgiven me yet?”

“No,” but she grinned to remove the sting from her words. “Not sure what I’m supposed to forgive though. Next time give a girl a little more warning.” Dog. She turned into a dog. No, wolf. Both canines, but wolf sounded way sexier. “I…” What did she say?

He cupped the back of her head as he swooped in for a kiss. The brush of his lips against hers left her smiling. “Thank you.” The whispered words accompanying the caress accompanied by the tender expression on his face were something she never wanted to forget.

“You’re welcome.” Licking the faint taste of him still lingering on her lips, she said, “I really don’t know what else to say at the moment. I—was a wolf. Am I still a wolf?”

“Yes.” Concern tightened around his eyes. “You have every right to be furious.”

“I know I do, but thanks for your permission.” The words bounced out of her and she felt a part of herself shrink back with a wince. Was that her wolf?

His chuckle erased the sensation and the taut part of her soul eased. “I am personally grateful you are still you.”

“Do people change?” She asked, then thought better of the question. “I mean when their wolf shows up—or you’re born a wolf so I guess you don’t change…” Dragging herself upright, she reached for the sheet, but Brett plucked it away and set the bed tray across her lap instead. Rather than cover her bare breasts, she raised her eyebrows. “Like something you see?”

“In order, yes some people have a more enhanced personality after they’re turned. Yes, even we born wolves change as our wolves mature and their more dominant personality traits begin to express. And yes, I absolutely adore what I see.”

He’d made her waffles and added a pile of scrambled eggs and sausages. She cradled the mug of coffee first. “You’re spoiling me.”

“That is my intention. I’m sorry about the lack of bacon, Luc helped himself to the last of it.” The light words were sweet, but intensity hung over him like a too tightly made sheet.

“I like sausage, too. And I can say with some authority that I will probably love anything you make for me. Though, I think you need to teach me to cook so I can do this for you.”

“Make me breakfast in bed?”

“Why not?”

“I get up at six every morning.” The teasing slid over her, soothing the nervous pit of agitation gnawing at her belly.

“So I can make you dinner in bed.” A reasonable exchange.

Another laugh which barely touched the worry in his eyes. “You can be my dessert anytime.”

“Brett,” she set the coffee mug down. “What’s wrong?” The buzzing in her ears and the gnawing in her stomach increased.

“Nothing for you to worry about.” Now she knew something was up. “We’re just two people enjoying breakfast together.”

“Except I’m the only one eating.”

“I ate with Luc earlier. I promise to wait for you tomorrow.”

Her bullshit meter seemed to be going off the charts. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No.” Swift. Certain. Absolute. “Except you are avoiding the rather large elephant in the room.”

“If I turn into an elephant, I promise not to avoid it.” Shuttling aside her discomfort, she reached for a piece of sausage. “I don’t know what to say about the wolf thing. I don’t know how it happened or if it will happen again or even how to control it.”

“I know and we’ll work together. You’re a bright, sharp woman with a hell of a survival instinct. You and your wolf need time to accept each other…and until such a time as you can, I will control her.”

Biting off a piece of the sausage, she studied him. His offer sounded good in theory, except… “I don’t give up my power to anyone.”

“Not even to someone who will never abuse it?” No hurt in his question, only genuine curiosity.

“Brett, if I give up my power, how do I save you if you need it? No one controls me.” The words escaped her before she could rein them in. “I don’t want to hurt anyone, least of all you, but I barely understand who I am now and even struggling to hold onto this sliver myself I know without doubt, I will not surrender who I am to you or to that wolf or anything.”

“That wolf,” he said carefully. “Is a part of you. It is an extension of who you are, and all the potential you’ve kept bottled all these years. It’s…what do you remember from the last two days?”

Two days? What?

“It’s been over thirty-six hours since you changed. Last night, while you slept, you finally let go of the wolf and became human again.”

Two days? Her brain seemed to be stuck on some kind of Matrix glitch. “I…I was on the porch with you and Trent last night.”

“Night before last.”

She put the sausage down. The last time she’d blacked out…her stomach lurched. Brett cupped her cheek and the icy stain of apprehension slithering over her halted.

“Colby, deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth.” The command resonated through her and she let out the breath she’d sucked in and held. Another breath and the spots dancing in front of her eyes diminished. “Listen to me, if you believe nothing else, believe me when I say this gets better and you
will
be fine.” He offered her no other alternative.

“I don’t remember.” She hated the quivering note.

“I know, and we’ll work on that together, but until you—Colby—are as present with your wolf as you are now, I will control her.” He stroked his thumb along her lower lip. “I will always protect you and her, but I will never force
you
.”

Trying to reconcile the information with the kernel of fear in her gut, she said, “Is that what it means to be Alpha?” She hadn’t forgotten that part. Brett was Alpha. He led his pack—Hudson River.

“Part of it.” He released her cheek, then tapped her plate. “You need to eat. Shifting burns a tremendous amount of calories, do you remember talking about that?”

“Yes.” She hadn’t slid out of the bed to look in the mirror yet, but before she did… “Do I look different to you?”

“You look like my Colby.” The possessiveness in his tone sent a shiver through her. Trusting his word, she took a bite. He didn’t let her say anything more because he used a fork to begin offering her some of the food. What appetite she had grew with every morsel.

Finally, she cleared the plate and the last of the queasiness and jitters seemed to have evaporated. “I’m going to have to get to know myself all over again.”

“Probably, but think of it as an adventure.”

“Easy for you to say, you’ve always been the big bad wolf, I thought I’d get to be a kick ass Red Riding Hood or maybe Mulan. I could handle Mulan.”

“Mulan who saved her whole country by defying convention and going into battle pretending to be a man?” He sounded as though he weighed the idea.

“Yes, her only pretense was gender. Her success and her skill were her own.”

“I can handle that—but you don’t have to pretend to be a man for me, sweetheart. In fact, I think I can handle being the only dick in the family.” His tongue in cheek delivery left her gaping.

“That’s such a
me
remark.”

He grinned, then glanced at the door and said, “Do not come in.”

“What?”

“No problem. He’s running early. He’ll be in place in fifteen minutes.” Luc’s answer startled her, but then she heard him walking down the stairs. The sound rushed in and she was acutely aware of other voices in the house. Gillian was back and her husband, too.

“I can hear them.”

“Good, it means some of your wolf is accessible to you. We’ll work on—”

“Who is running early?”

“No one you need to worry about.”

And enough of that. She lifted the tray and set it aside, then scooched toward him. He opened his arms and she crawled into them, looped her arms around his neck and pressed her forehead to his. Nose to nose as it were, she studied his beautiful eyes. “Maybe I don’t need to worry about it, but you’re distracted and something
is
wrong. So while I’ll consent to letting you control my wolf when I look like a dog, you do not get to blow me off. Tell me.”

The long stare bored into her and once again, she was reminded of how he seemed to see into her soul. Maybe it was his wolf or maybe his being Alpha, or maybe it simply was who Brett was. She chose to believe the latter.

“I will tell you, but I do not have time to answer your questions so I will need you to hold them until I come back. Can you do that?”

The icy sense of apprehension returned. “Okay.” If agreeing was the only way he would tell her.

“Your word, Colby.” Dammit.

“Fine. I give you my word.”

The corner of his mouth tipped a bit higher, but the smile held so much sadness. “The only way to become Alpha is to challenge the sitting Alpha unless he or she dies of natural causes. We can die, old age, infirmity, illness or accident.”

“Or someone killing you.” It wasn’t a question, it didn’t count. She was going to throw up.

“Yes.” So calm, so utterly nonplussed, he ran his hand through her hair. “To do so is to call Alpha Challenge. The laws are explicit. None may accost them and I will face the challenger in single combat.”

She couldn’t swallow. “Winner takes all.”

One nod, then he massaged the back of her neck and glanced at the clock behind her. She knew exactly where his gaze went.

Gripping his face, she pulled his attention to her. “You are not allowed to die. Clear?”

His expression gentled. “I have no intentions of leaving you Colby, I’ve just found you.”

“That’s great, super sweet. You cannot die. Say those words to me and I’ll believe you. You haven’t lied to me yet and you told me you didn’t want to lie. So tell me you will not die.” His face blurred and a tear slipped down her cheek. He pressed his lips to the spot and caught it, then covered her mouth with his. The tear salted their kiss, but when he stroked his tongue across the seam of her lips, she opened to him.

Need, fast and furious, kindled in her belly. The anxiety redoubled as did her wild desire to hold onto him and never let go. When he broke the kiss, she fought the urge to beg. She wasn’t that girl. She had never been
that
girl. One thing she’d learned from her work at the hospital, no matter how terrified or out of her depth she felt, the patients needed her calm and confident.

So did Brett. “You said you loved me last night.”

“I did.” Another kiss, this time to the corner of her eye. Then with a show of great reluctance, he lifted her and set against the pillows before standing. “I love you.” Three simple words and yet they seemed to encompass so much more.

Hugging one of the pillows to her chest to keep from reaching out and dragging him back she chose instead to challenge him. “Well, if you want my response to that, you need to come back.”

Canting his head, he grinned slow and devastating to her equilibrium. “Challenge accepted.”

Then he was gone and she bit down on the pillow as she tracked his movement through the house. At the door, he spoke in a voice so low she couldn’t hear the words even though she strained to hear them. Then the door closed and a car started.

He was leaving.

Pushing off the bed, she hurried over to the window and peeked through the curtains. His car backed into the driveway. The shivering began with her hands and she danced away from the window trying not to let the urge to cry out. What the hell was wrong with her? She wanted to scream. Snatching his shirt from the bed, she pressed it to her face and sucked in a deep lungful of his scent. The shivering slowed.

A footstep beyond the door had her wheeling around.

“Colby?” Luc. “I’m here if you need me.” A slid and a thump as though he slid down the wall and sat next to the door.

Brett went to face an Alpha Challenge and Luc was guarding her door. She wanted to do more than scream. She wanted to tear something apart. Why the hell was he…and then the cramps struck and she couldn’t not scream. Her arm snapped and heat swam over her and flooded her mind.

The door wrenched open and Luc filled the center of the dark void and she ripped Brett’s shirt and fell to the floor.

“Don’t fight,” he said. “Do you hear me? Don’t fight.”

He was the
wrong
person to tell her that.

She wanted Brett, dammit.

Then her body bowed and wrenched itself apart again.

T
he urge to
spin the car around and return to Colby ate at him, but Brett packed it away. He had to. He knew nothing about the wolf challenging him other than he came from Sutter Butte. That pack held Arizona, pieces of New Mexico, Nevada, and southern California. Dangerous lands bred dangerous wolves. His wolf had zero interest in leaving their mate in the care of an unmated male even if said male was Luc when she didn’t wear their mark.

Brett understood the desire, yet the pack came first and if he didn’t go to the fucking challenger they’d come to the house. Then their mate would have to see the fight and it would scare the crap out of her. Watching the realization shimmer across her eyes and elicit tears from a woman who’d snarled him down and made him laugh in the middle of a temper left him ripped. He would not allow his world to scare her anymore than it had.

And Luc
would
protect her. Before he even knew what Colby was, he’d known she needed to be with the pack. He’d chosen to meet the challenger, Landon Templeton, about five miles from the house. Plenty of distance even if the fight spread out.

Unsurprisingly half his pack awaited him. They’d been arriving for two days and the gathering was scheduled for the following night. Word of an Alpha Challenge spread. What he hadn’t been expecting was to see his parents. Parking, he pulled his phone from his pocket and tossed it onto the passenger seat before exiting. His mother said nothing as she walked to him and gave him a hug. Then his father embraced the two of them. As if by cue, the closest pack members joined, one after another until he stood in the center of them.