TerrIIItory
Authors: Susan A. Bliler
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Cover fonts, spine, design, and back cover done by:
Cindy Hubbard
Image courtesy of Ilona Mikolajczak
Safiru with Deviant Art at:
Editing done by:
Leiah Cooper with
So I Read This Book Today…
http://soireadthisbooktoday.com/
Referenced:
The Law for the Wolves,
Rudyard Kipling ©
This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidences are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from Susan A. Bliler.
DEDICATION
For Pony
“
Mitakuye oyasin
and at one with the earth.
Pack stricken, the death, rezurrection,
rebirth
.”
-by Russell J Hubbard
Never forget, little brother,
That, “the strength of the
pack is the wolf
and the strength of the wolf
is in the pack!”
In this, your time of rebirth,
the pack is always here.
Chapter 1
Shit!
Evander Kane had a serious, serious problem, and one that he didn’t need right at this particular moment.
“You alright Kane?”
Everybody called him Kane. He nodded abruptly in response to Briggs Blackbird’s query. Focusing his attention, he fought to ignore the overwhelming pull that had him reaching for the unconscious women who lay near lifeless on a matted bed of straw on the ground. Through the dried blood crusted on her body, he could scent that, unlike the other four women being carried out of the bunker, this one was a shifter like him.
Two years earlier, his good friend Dell Blackbird, Alpha of the Northwest Territory, had asked him to join the battle for the Colorado area after its former Alpha, Theron, was killed by Dell’s brother, Briggs. Having too much territory of his own, Dell had beseeched Kane to fight for Colorado. Dell hadn’t wanted it, but he didn’t want another cruel Alpha ruling the territory either.
Damn!
Kane shook his head as his piercing green eyes stared at the too small female he held. He should have ignored Dell’s request. If he had, he wouldn’t have joined the challenge and fought for the position of Alpha of Colorado. Instead, he’d fought nine rounds against numerous opponents and, when all was said and done, he stood—bathed in blood—with the title of Alpha of the Colorado territory. As such, Dell had been within his rights to request Kane’s assistance when several women had gone missing on the southern border of Wyoming, just on the edge of Colorado pack territory. As was typical, Dell sent his brother—and pack Beta— Briggs, in his stead.
Now, having discovered the missing women in a mountainside bunker basement, Kane knew he was truly fucked. He was sweating with the knowledge that the intense draw to the woman could well and truly be a mating.
NO!
Thank God she was unconscious! The last thing he needed was some hysterical, half-dead woman seeing the fierce possession that he was struggling to tamp down. All his life he’d dreaded the instantaneous impact a mating would have. He’d heard about it a thousand times. A shifter, upon meeting his true mate, was affected. Dell had told him it felt like being kicked in the balls by such a fierce need to claim and protect his mate that it was unbearable. For the first moments, the pain was agonizing and when it finally eased, sheer need took its place. Designed to ensure no shifter overlooked or attempted to ignore the attraction to his true mate, the male was instantly stricken. Searing pain in his gut accompanied the onset of his wolf’s possessive and claiming instincts. Even touching his female without the intent to claim her was painful. The female was also afflicted, but to a lesser degree. The male experienced actual physical pain when touching his female without a claiming, while the female wasn’t pained by the experience, though her energy was sapped.
Luckily, the feminine burden in his arms had no energy for him to claim.
“Will she make it?” Briggs asked as he handed a second unconscious woman to one of his pack.
“YES!” Kane snapped, then turned when Briggs eyed him curiously.
What in the hell is wrong with me?
He looked down at the woman in his arms. Her cheeks were hollow and there were dark circles under her eyes. She was thin and too damn light underneath the knee-length, tattered, dirty nightgown she wore. Long, chestnut-colored hair hung dull and limp. Despite the strange bite marks that marred her body, her heartbeat was steady, but faint.
Ignoring his Beta’s outstretched arms, he stalked with the woman out into the cold night. She
would
make it!
He walked to his jeep, ignoring the fact that he’d driven his Beta and three members of his pack to the site. Quickly, he placed the woman in the back seat, covered her with a blanket, then closed the door before climbing into the driver’s seat and starting the vehicle. He was halfway down the mountainside when he felt his Beta’s mental nudge through their pack ties. He permitted it.
“Uhhh, Kane?”
“Is medical on the way?”
He ignored Weston’s unspoken question.
“Yeah, they’re sending in medevac now. You coming back?”
“No.”
He severed the contact. His eyes darted to the rearview mirror as he attempted to glance at the still-unconscious woman.
What in the hell am I doing?
He had just kidnapped an injured woman from a crime scene and left his pack to fend for themselves! He shook his head and growled as his fingers tightened on the steering wheel, causing it to creak under the pressure.
I don’t want her,
he told himself.
I’m only taking her because I can’t trust anyone else to do the job right.
What job? The question echoed in his mind and his expression darkened. Honestly, he had no idea what he was going to do with her once he got her back to his pack compound. He didn’t know the first thing about her.
She moaned weakly, and his anger flared to life. When his and Dell’s packs had stormed the bunker, they’d only found the women. The captor, or captors, were still on the loose.
Why hadn’t she shifted?
If she’d changed to her wolf form, she should have been able to take down her captor, or at least escape.
And why isn’t she healed?
Shifters healed more quickly than humans. The strange bite marks and other wounds should have healed within hours. His jaw worked and his brows speared down.
Maybe she didn’t attempt escape because she didn’t want to leave the others behind.
Or, maybe she’d been afraid to reveal her gift in front of the humans? For now, his questions would have to wait. His priority was getting her home and getting her healed.
“Stop.” The word expelled on an almost inaudible whisper.
Pulling quickly to the side of the road, Kane threw the car in park and turned to eye the woman.
“L-let me go.” Half lidded, dove-gray eyes found his, and his worst fear was confirmed.
Fierce pain wrenched his gut and had him doubling over in his seat. He growled long and low, and his canines elongated of their own accord. His breath came in short, fast pants, and he struggled to regain his composure when he heard the woman’s fear-filled moan from the back seat.
He didn’t dare look at her again. Instead, he gripped the steering wheel in a white-knuckled hold that had the damn thing bending under the pressure.
Chapter 2
Three hours later, Kane pulled his jeep up to the large, two-story house that served as his pack compound. As social creatures, his pack mates resided in his impressive home. Paying for it had been easy. He ran his own security business that employed most of his pack. Word had spread quickly of his team’s skills, and it hadn’t been long before they’d secured nearly every single guard job, protection detail, and security officer position in the entire state. They even supplied agents to protect the state’s senators and the handful of celebrities who lived there.
A soft cough had him rushing to exit the vehicle as he barked orders to his pack through the pack ties.
“Raina, get the guest room next to mine prepared, now! Swan, I need food, water, and the first aid kit.”
Lincoln, who he’d left to guard the compound and the two pack females, came bounding down the front steps. Large, muscled arms, covered in scars, bulged as he rushed to his Alpha. He didn’t say anything as he approached, though that wasn’t unusual. Lincoln rarely spoke. The scars on his outstretched arms matched those that marred the man’s face and shone through his closely shaved dark hair. The shifter looked brutal, and he could be, but he was loyal beyond measure.
“I’ve got her. Just get the door,” Kane commanded.
Wordlessly, Lincoln slammed the jeep door closed behind Kane then rushed up the steps to hold the front door open.
Kane hurried through the front entryway and straight up the stairs just next to the door. The wooden stairs creaked under his weight as he went, and he heard Swan as she strode toward the kitchen. “Food’ll be up shortly, Kane!”
Behind him, Lincoln stomped up the stairs, brushing his shoulder in the hall as he rushed past to get the guest room door open before Kane could reach it.
“Thanks!” Kane nodded his appreciation as he closed the short distance to the bed and placed his light burden there.
The two towering men were staring down at the unconscious form when her eyes jerked beneath her closed lids and then slowly opened. Kane knew what was coming, and was glad only Lincoln was present.
The female’s drowsy, dove-gray eyes slowly blinked before jerking sluggishly about the room, locking on Lincoln before skipping to Kane.
Kane clenched his jaw and braced, but it didn’t help. When her eyes collided with his, he dropped to his knees with a hiss, even as the female’s eyes drooped closed and unconsciousness re-claimed her. She had no idea what she’d just done. Her brief emergence was enough to confirm both Kane’s hopes and fears. She was his mate.
On his knees, Kane throttled a growl and bit hard into his bottom lip. Any second, the rest of his pack would arrive with the supplies he’d demanded, and he didn’t want them knowing what had just happened. Lincoln wouldn’t talk. Hell, from the way the larger shifter was backing up, Kane wondered if he even knew what had just happened.
Hearing hurried steps, Kane drew in a breath and forced himself to his feet. He wobbled, then righted himself as he balled his shaking hands into tight fists before scowling at Lincoln and commanding, “Not a word.”
Lincoln jerked his head in a nod.
Raina rushed in. Her soft, red hair, typically tamed into an elegant up do, had strands pulling free around her temples. She gently touched Lincoln’s arm, and the behemoth moved as he only ever did for Raina.
“Who is she?” Raina’s willowy frame settled on the edge of the bed as she opened the first-aid kit, her crystalline blue eyes dark with concern.
Struggling to temper his voice, Kane supplied evenly, “She’s one of the missing women.”
Rounded eyes jerked to Kane. “Why is she here?” Her tone was accusatory and had Kane growling in both pain and displeasure. Closing her perfect, red lips Raina’s attention went back to the unconscious woman. She didn’t miss that Lincoln had stepped protectively closer to her when she’d upset Kane.
“We need Clay.” Raina’s perfectly polished, slender fingers touched the woman’s throat as she worried her bottom lip and wished the pack’s medic was on-site. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her, Kane.”
“She’s probably starving.” Swan elbowed her way between Kane and Lincoln, sloshing hot soup over the side of the bowl and onto the sandwich that sat next to it. She scowled up at both men as if it were their fault.
People often thought Swan was Evander’s sister because the two shared the same black hair and green eyes. She wasn’t. Evander had taken her into his pack after he’d bested her Alpha in the battle for the Colorado territory. She’d sought him out after his victory, begging him to take her into his pack. Seems her Alpha was the ruthless type. He thought that all female members in his pack were there for his personal use.
After his victory, Evander’s life had changed rapidly. He’d gone from being a lone wolf to needing a pack. All Alphas needed a pack. Luckily, there were many offers, but the first member he’d accepted was Weston, who he’d quickly made his pack Beta. Mateo was an easy choice, after he’d warned Evander that Mateo’s own Alpha had intended to ambush Evander prior to his challenge. Mateo had stood at Evander’s side as Evander bested his former Alpha.
Once Evander took in Swan, Raina joined shortly after. The two were like sisters, and had shared eerily similar lifestyles in their respective packs before joining Kane’s.
Clay, the pack medic, was a friend of Weston’s and once Weston vouched for the man, Kane accepted him. The blonde was taller than the rest of the males in the pack but nowhere near as dominant. In fact, Clay had nervous ticks and tendencies towards obsessive behaviors that ensured he’d never be an Alpha or Beta to any pack.
Finally, Lincoln had shown up on his doorstep. The newest member of the pack, he’d been with them the shortest amount of time, and the pack still knew little about him.
The shifter appeared out of nowhere during one of the worst blizzards in Colorado’s history. He refused to speak, and Weston was mere seconds away from attacking the man when Raina begged to speak to Lincoln alone. Reluctantly, the pack had eased back into the house—at Kane’s command—while the Alpha stayed close to the door should Raina need protection. Barely audible, he’d heard Raina’s gasp, and had rushed to her aid only to find Lincoln on his knees. He’d been stricken upon meeting Raina. Problem was, wherever Lincoln had come from, he’d never been told of being stricken, of what it meant. He thought it meant Raina had some power over him, and he revered her for it. Raina implored Kane to keep the truth from Lincoln. She wanted him to come to terms with what she was to him in his own way.
With little recourse, Kane accepted Lincoln into the pack—much to Weston’s displeasure. After a year, he was pleased with his decision, and while Lincoln still refused to openly admit that he recognized Raina’s significance, he rarely spoke to anyone but her, and had grown consistently more protective and comfortable with her.
Evander’s pack was closer than most, and each day relationships blossomed and the pack grew stronger.
“You guys should leave.”
Lincoln’s eyes slid to Raina, and she nodded without looking at him, knowing he wouldn’t leave her unless he knew she was okay with it, a habit he’d picked up over his past year with the pack.
As Lincoln exited the room, Kane knew he should follow, but he couldn’t bring himself to go.
“It’s okay.” Raina spoke softly. “We’ll take care of her.”
Swan nodded as she reached for the cloth and pitcher of steaming water Raina had carried in earlier. “We got this.”
Reluctantly, Kane turned and exited the room, stopping to bark, “She doesn’t leave.”
Raina and Swan eyed each other at the odd command. Clearly, the woman wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
“Ahh, okay.” Swan’s lips tipped knowingly.
Kane growled as he exited the room.
“Holy shit!” Swan squeaked. “You don’t think he’s trying to keep her?” She eyed the half-dead woman excitedly.
“Well, it won’t matter if we can’t get her healed, will it?” Raina pursed her lips disapprovingly.
“Right!”
Both women worked to strip the woman and get her clean. Swan cleaned the strange bite marks covering her body as best she could while Raina concentrated on contacting Clay through the pack ties for instructions. After several minutes of concentrated silence, she opened her eyes and dug through the first-aid kit, pulling a small flashlight free.
“What’d he say?”
Raina lifted one of the woman’s eyelids to flash the light in her eyes before doing the same to the other. “We need to make sure she doesn’t have a head injury or a concussion.” Both pupils dilated, and Raina perked up. “No head injury.” She pressed on the woman’s abdomen, then used both hands to feel down both arms and legs. “No broken bones.”
“Do you think it’s infection? Some of these wounds look bad.”
Rania huffed an exasperated breath. “I don’t know. I wish Clay would get back.”
“Hey, look at this.” Swan bent to study a bite wound on the woman’s shoulder. It was surrounded by dark bruising, as were all her wounds, but this one appeared more recent. “I think there’s something in there.”
Curious, Raina leaned forward as both women inched closer and closer to the wound. “My God! I think you’re right.”
Swan rinsed her hands in the washbowl before lifting shaking fingers to the wound. She poked at it once, and when the woman didn’t move she looked at Raina, who nodded in encouragement.
Slowly, Swan poked her fingers into the wound, attempting to dislodge whatever it was. “It looks like a…” She probed deeper, until her fingers came out holding the small item. “A tooth?”
Suddenly, the woman sat bolt-upright and punched Swan in the face.
Swan fell backward off the bed with a howl of pain as Raina screamed in startled surprise.