Ebony Rose Kilburn returned to her beloved station after visiting for a few days with her family. She was eager to look at the new video footage of the local wildlife. But she got a rude awakening. The door was open, her things scattered everything. The red-haired beauty growled and cursed in annoyance. She was deep in the provincial park for the work of vagrants. There were two kinds of people. Both types were bad news, poachers, or rogue shifters. Officially, rogue shifters weren’t an explanation. As a wolf shifter, she was well aware of their existence. The reason she believed it wasn’t a pack of roaming raccoons is they don’t go into your fridge, take a can of cola out, open it, and leave the empty can on the table. She’d have to report this. Ebony looked at the door. She knew she locked the door. When she left for more than a few hours, she locked it. They didn’t force the door open. That most disturbed her. How did they get in? Ebony reviewed th
Ebony was awake before dawn as normal and ready for the radio call in the meeting. Her boss, Alan Dover, called her promptly at eight am once a week. Today’s call, was a safely check and update her on several things. “Tower Twelve, Ebony you there? Come back.” “Home Base, Alan, I hear you. How are things?” “Better than expected. We got the funding for you new team. They’re hired and on their way to you. Three new rangers. I sent your satellite link an email with their information. The new supply drop is tomorrow. Details in message. You have six weeks to whip them into shape and have them caught up to speed.” “That’s great. I need to report that Tower Twelve was broken into. Nothing appears stolen, so I will keep a close eye out. Nothing out of the ordinary on the trail or security cameras. It will be in my next report.” “Noted. Anything special you need?” “Yeah, more cola. Lots more. That’s all they took.” She heard c
Benedict watched their mate attempt to track them. He loved the way she wrinkled her nose in confusion, and he knew why she was confused. Benedict, Peter, and Franco had been together for so long that their scents mingled into one. Often pack wolves would their personal scent and a pack scent. The pack’s scent formed from being around each other. Touching, hugging, sharing clothes, and even sleeping with each other. But they took it a step further, and they’d practically lost their individual scents. She’d learn soon enough. Ebony could scene them. That was a good sign. He couldn’t wait to meet her and find out more about her. Gods, she stood there in a barely there tank top and a pair of cargo pants. Comfortable and practical. Hmm… She filled them out to perfection. She’d braided her long red hair. Gods, he’d love to hold that in his hand while he was in her. He could tell she wore no bra as her breasts flowed freely with every step she took. Benedict knew Franco would love th
The men quickly tossed their packs into a couple of rooms. They were sure that this division of space would end quickly once Ebony was on board with, their unique arrangement. They tromped up the ladder and into Tower Twelve. Ebony was sitting at a table with a heavy duty laptop in front of her. They designed it to fall off sides of mountains. “Oh, good you’re here.” Ebony wouldn’t admit to them she’d just finished reading the file their boss sent her. These three had impressive resumes. “Okay, I was checking the minute details the boss sent over. We’re stuck with the food we have here until lunch tomorrow, when the supply drop arrives. We’ll need to share the chores. I’m afraid I’m no chef. So, we’ll trade off so there’s less chance that I’ll accidentally kill someone with my cooking.” “That shouldn’t be a problem. I assume the drop’s made in the meadow? Peter’s good with food. He can help with the cooking while Franco and I bring the dropped supplies h
Ebony sent the guys out to get comfortable with their surroundings of the camp. She’d already ensured they knew all the communication equipment. Where to first aid kit, and other equipment for their various jobs. The satellite radios they’d carry were charged, and they ensured we’re working so they could contact her if they had questions or got lost. But she got a funny feeling this wasn’t needed. If they got lost, they could get themselves straightened out. With time to think, she returned to the male wolf. He couldn’t have moved on because she could swear his scent was stronger. When she entered the cabin, its air was warm and on the verge of stale. Ebony entered only when she needed to. But it quickly became obvious to her that his scent was there, too. But she’d locked it like the tower. The door wasn’t damaged when she checked. His scent was stronger now in here. Ebony couldn’t figure it out. She couldn’t shift to improve her tracking skills. This was one
Benedict was the last one in the tower. Franco punched the tabletop. “She hates us. What were we thinking not to approach her as wolves rather than humans? Benedict, what were you thinking coming here and breaking into the tower?” “I wanted to know more about who she was. Her likes and dislikes. How do you think I found out she’s, our mate? The moment I lay down in her bed, and was surrounded by her scent. Gods, the way my body reacted so fast to it. I knew she was ours. I couldn’t control my reaction to her scent.” “You didn’t.” Benedict raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I marked her bed, so she’d know who was coming for her.” “Benedict, you came on her bed. Gods, no wonder she’s pissed at us. You need to apologize to her.” “I can smell her in here. Everything Carrie’s her scent.” Peter mumbled as he sat in a chair. He’d opened his pants. “Think she’s orgasmed right here.” His hand rubbed the front of his pants. The other two men watched him
Ebony ran a short way. It wasn’t enough to run as a human. She shed her clothes and shifted. Leaving her satellite phone with her clothes, she ran on four feet. Just ran for a few minutes. When she’d calmed enough, Ebony slowed and noticed her surroundings. She picked up scents and thought about what happened. Should she send them packing? They were the first team she received in four years. If she fired them without a reason, she might not get another team for a long time. Or she might not have a job. It wasn’t like she couldn’t tell Alan about them being shifters. This wasn’t pack lands. Even if she felt territorial about it. Maybe she was tired. She’d not slept well. She caught their scent in her nose and it struck the right cords to give her some kinky dreams. She’d dreamt of several wolves in different scenarios taking her. Some they were wolves and others faceless humans taking her willing body until she woke up sweating as her body throbbed from her climax. There
Dinner that night, Ebony sat with her laptop, going over the pictures she took of the campsite. “Benedict, your discovery of the poachers. Do you know how many there might be that we’re dealing with? I can’t find anything at the camp that tells me definitively how many there are.” “I wish you’d taken one of us with you when you went back. As for numbers, I would hazard a guess of two to four, but I could be underestimating. You know how they work in big operations. With several camps and smaller groups.” Benedict said this while he ate. Peter was still at the stove retrieving seconds of a stew he made earlier that day. Franco was eating and listening. Clearly, they were staying out of this conversation for now. She was feeling if they commented she’d be placed in at a disadvantage. “They were long gone. I made sure of that before I came back for my camera.” “Still, if one of us was there, it would have been a second set of eyes to find more evidence.
Ebony took Benedict to the closest healing center she had her Beta call ahead to explain the situation to explain that they weren’t having an emergency but they did need extensive healing for a leader. Her Beta sent a file that Benedict’s Beta received from the healer about his condition so that they could understand what to expect when they arrived. They wouldn’t book an appointment until the healer received it. But when she received the file it took minutes to receive a response. Ebony wasn’t happy that they didn’t seem to accept their words and explanations. It wasn’t until someone recognized Ebony’s last name and connected it to her mother then things changed. “Why did you have no one say anything about it Luna?” A junior healer who worked as a senior administrator and was working as the leader of the group managing Benedict’s needs while was there. “I love my family but I’m not a shadow or a facet of anyone of them. I’m
“When when last spoke and I told you I hadn’t received injuries I wasn’t lying. We had a freak accident nothing that we could have predicted or accounted for. They misplaced truck and the ground was too wet under it. When a second vehicle moved out while they were moving a skid of equipment into place. The earth under the rear wheels shifted off the back of the truck in seconds and I was beneath it. The skid was no longer full but heavy enough to break my femur and three ribs.We had a healer there, so they patched me up. The planes needed several repairs that would take days. I didn’t want them to take time away from the repairs to take me to a healing center then it would take longer to get home. Before you say anything, I didn’t believe I was that severely injured.” Benedict hadn’t believed he’d been that injured until after the Druid had stabilized his breaks and the pain had settled in when his adrenaline had faded. He’d been embarrassed by his response to that, but it was to la
Benedict didn’t tell Ebony that he stayed away an extra two days because he had gone to the front lines to review the damage to their equipment and vehicles. Fate got him and he ran right into a freak accident and a human skid slid off the back of a flatbed truck. There was no question about it the accident being an accident. Wolves and humans were working together to pack the truck at the time. But the mud under the truck shifted when another vehicle started and moved out.He’d left with a broken leg and three ribs. At least they’d had a druid healer here who could start his healing process. But he wouldn’t be able to shift for a week. Benedict would walk home though a little slowly.Benedict knew he’d lied to Ebony, but he didn’t want to explain it on the phone. Not when she was so close to giving birth. His people had to make several repairs on their vehicles there in the field to get it home anyway. It took a day longer and it didn’t hurt Benedict’s recovery. Even though h
Ebony waited at the Pack house. It had been three days since Benedict and their team had left for the fire. The pilots had come in for fuel and repairs. Several vehicles had come in baring injured people on the way to get care. They’d been found trapped within the fire or were injured during fighting the fire. But so far, their wolves, mages, druids, bears, and such had stayed safe and were still working toward stopping the fire. However, Ebony had heard complaints that magic was a disappointment by the human fighting contingents and not nearly as powerful or magical as they had believed it should have been. Which received sighs, warnings, and reminders of their that there were limits like anything within reality. Ebony used the time, or she tried to, to finish the pups’ suite. It wouldn’t be used fully right away. They would have the pups in their room first before they would use their suite. She wondered who these pups would look like. Ebony h
Benedict was teasing Ebony with names over dinner when the call came through. The first real call. They’d been watching a storm for the last three days. It’s winds were pushing thirty-five miles an hour and lightning was flashing randomly throughout the mountains. The problems they were having was the area the storm was in had been a dry zone for the last eight months. They were waiting for the lightning to start multiple fires, flash floods, landslides, and car accidents. Humans would need help it’s how these things worked. Extreme weather was becoming worse not better. Humans could handle a lot but it was adding up.“Go on, this is what we made this place for. Show them why we’re here and what we can offer.” Ebony all but pushed Benedict out the door. “I have enough people here to help me. I’ll be fine here missing you. Now go.”“Right. Don’t do anything crazy while I’m gone okay?” Benedict begged. He wasn’t sure what she would do. But she was pushing him out the door when he w
Ebony couldn’t get comfortable. Her stomach was so large now. She struggled to get out of the bed and chairs. Ebony avoided standing for too long. It had been months since she’d shifted into fur, and she missed hunting. She missed running and there wasn’t any way she was going to run like this. But her balance was off like her pups decided they wanted to sit only on one side of her body. That’s the only way she could describe it in her grumpy upset mood.Benedict was distracted by Ebony’s distressed attitude. She still had two months until she gave birth. He tried to ensure she had everything she could want and if she wanted to move then she had someone with her to help her. Preferably it would be him. He hated anyone touching her but him now. They spent more time together. “I have a few gifts here from the families and the Pack wants to set up the pups’ nursery. Are you ready for that or is it too early for you?”“oh no I’m great. Go ahead and have them bring me in the gifts
Ebony had her staff enter and between her staff as Marian’s staff they worked with the school’s staff. They had to brute force at times to get the documentation completed and wait times waived. To gain the testing schedules at a specific date and location. But between Marian and Ebony’s joint effort they were able to overcome the bureaucratic mess presented to them. Marian used the media and the public eye to keep the gears moving. While Ebony had the eye of the supernatural government on her through Benedict’s father and her father. So, there was no room to falter and no time.Even so it took months to achieve this and get this far. Now they were able to step back into their everyday life. Ebony’s baby bump was beginning to show now. Benedict was managing the building of the healing center and hiring of healers as many would also work as teachers, rescuers, emergency workers, and such.Benedict knew he had to have a certain amount of medical foundation up and running fast sin
Benedict moved through the Pack house searching for Ebony. He’d received word that Marian had arrived at the gates and was headed there right now. This was the first time she’d visited their territory and Ebony along with many others were abuzz with trying to make everything perfect for her visit. “Ebony, Marian is here. She wants to talk to you about the results of her PTA meeting.” Benedict leaned into her study and saw the stress on her face. “What’s going on? Do you think it went that badly?”“Badly? I don’t know. I mean come on. It can’t get any worse than they say no, and we carry on with our previous plans. No, they might want to limit where out pups can and can’t go after this. They might fear our pups can’t control their aggressive nature and might cause problems.” “I don’t know about that wouldn’t she have said something on the phone if it had been a no.” Benedict asked in an effort to point out the effort Marian was taking to come to their home.“I don’t know Ben
“Marian, I know in a perfect world we could plan this between the two of us and we’d have pups and children learning together without a problem.” Ebony went to a meeting luncheon with Marian to speak about Marian’s idea of the pups going to school in the town with the town’s human children.“Right. It would never happen that way, would it? Alright, so how will we do this?” Marian said a little chagrinned. Ebony shook her head and shrugged. She cocked her head to the side as she got a sudden thought.“We’ll start with talking to the children’s parents. We don’t have to talk to them. A questionnaire or a phone call. A town hall meeting or a PTA meeting. You can choose what would make the community feel more comfortable. I would hate to hear someone a year from now say that they felt they were left out of the decision and didn’t feel like a member of the community.” Ebony gave a vague idea. A blush crossed her cheeks when she realized how random and unworkable it was. But Marian did