“Sit still, it’s almost cleaned up. With a bath you won’t need to get a dressing wet. There now into the tub with you. I want you to relax while we talk.” Cal was happy with how accepting she was of her training. That training had only started. What he didn’t like was the surfacing of what was clearly past traumas. He thought she was the quiet sort. Now, with one comment, it called everything into question. Tara slipped into the water until only her head and shoulders showed, with the stark white gauze bandage. Her hair fell mostly behind her and over the edge of the bath. Cal stepped into the bath with her, but sat on the edge of the bath and watched her. “What do you not understand about this situation?” Tara didn’t say anything right away. She mulled over her thoughts in her head before anything came out of her mouth. Cal believed at first, she did that because she feared the situation; she was in with him. Now, however, he susp
Cal woke up around mid-day which wasn’t unusual, nor was his phone ringing on the nightstand beside him. What was unusual was the warm body beside him. This was the second time he’d fallen asleep with Tara beside him. Which did good things for his mood. What killed his mood was the call from Jaxon. There were developments, and they needed Cal in the club’s office to deal with it. The issues were piling up, and Jaxon needed him. “Hey, it’s time to get up. I need to get into the club’s office. You’re coming with me.” Tara moaned as she tried to resist him and continue sleeping. “Nope, you’re getting up. It’s bad enough that we missed training this morning. That will be corrected tomorrow. Come on, there’s no rest for the wicked.” “I’m not wicked.” Tara’s muffled voice came from deep within the pillow she had her face buried in. “You’re getting up and that’s that.” Cal left the bed and took the covers with him. More because he wanted
Cal led them to his club office to find Jaxon and Rachel pacing within. The club was busy with the cleaning crew. That was a necessary job in this line of work and it took a lot of hands and time. “Alright, what couldn’t wait a couple of hours before I got down here?” “Well, right now we have a human detective wanting to have a meeting with you about issues in the neighbourhood. Before you ask, he won’t tell me anything when I asked. He’ll only speak to you. Then we have a surprise meeting of the council and they expressed the need that everyone make an appearance.” “Alright, great. Now where’s the urgent issue that has you dragging me from my bed early?” “I’ve not got that far yet. We have a team of NARC enforcers sitting in the neutral zone demanding that they get permission to enter our territory and meet with you about several issues. Or and this is a quote, don’t shoot the messenger. They come in and clean up without your permission.”
Their meeting went on and Tara was now firmly entrenched in her belief that her silence equalled her survival. Cal wasn’t as sure about, the things happening around him. He wasn’t questioning his decisions, but he was questioning the information his people were receiving. He got back to the NARC enforcers on his border. He’d meet with them before Tara’s appointments. Whatever had them knocking on his door without a word of warning from their superiors had Cal concerned. In today’s climate, he needed to know as much as he could. Since biting Tara, Cal found he was feeling something off. It was like he could feel her emotions, and they weren’t what Cal expected them to be. They weren’t as simple as he’d expected. As soon as he thought he grasped her mood, it shifted, or he’d misread her mood. He was struggling with this concept of feeling her emotions. It wasn’t something he’d ever heard of happening. Which led him to question if he was imagining the e
They set the front bar room up to receive the NARC enforcer team. They’d be here within the next ten to fifteen minutes. Cal was on his fourth cup of coffee today and he knew he needed to change to something else to drink, but his mood wouldn’t let him. Jaxon came over to him with his cellphone in hand. “It’s the human detective. Do you want me to transfer the call to your phone?” “Yes, go ahead. Send it through. I’ll take it in the back room.” Cal got up from his seat. “Tara, you’re to stay here. This should take long. If the NARC Enforcers enter, I want you to make sure they sit down and have drinks if they want them. Act like a gracious host. Can you do that?” “Yes, sir.” “Good girl.” He left a lingering kiss on top of her head before he left to take the call. Once he was sitting on a box of supplies in the back room, Jaxon forwarded the call. “Calvin Nichols.” That was his greeting to the human detective. “Good afterno
He needed to make sure everything added up. With the NARC Enforcers in his territory, he had to ensure everything was covered. Every line of investigation, every suspect, and every detail, no matter how absurd it was. Cal sat in a chair with Tara seated on a stool within reach of him. Touching her helped him calm down and think straight. When the invading visitors entered the darkened space. They were on edge in an unfamiliar location. Cal and his people were relaxed and had the home ground advantage. “Good afternoon. Please have a seat and we’ll get down to business. I’m sure you are very busy.” Cal directed the three shifters to the unoccupied seats on the other side of a large table. Cal had several of his enforcers spread out behind him and on each side. “Thank you, Alpha Nichols, for your prompt response and interest in this situation. My name is Al Barnes and I currently head a team who is tracking several issues. One of those issues is the issues
Tara was frozen for most of the meeting. Was he going to give her up to them? She’d almost convinced herself that he’d told her one thing and then tell them another. Tara assumed he’d hand her over to them and claim he’d had hopes she’d be a breeder. But he didn’t, though he changed the story he told them. In the end, they took some rogues with them but left her there. No questions asked. The enforcers didn’t question the collar, chains, or any of it. Not once had they asked her if she was there against her will. His hand never left her hair or neck. All he had to do was squeeze, and she’d be silence permanently. But instead he’d made it clear, he wouldn’t let her go. What parallel world had she fallen into? This wasn’t the world she knew. Ever since Eddie ran away from her, the world felt off kilter. Like it was a twisted version of home. The thing is, other than losing her freedom and an attempt on her life, that almost worked. The alpha had treated h
Tara returned from changing into the first outfit. She wasn’t used to dresses and definitely the heels she was given. Her life was second hand jeans and t-shirts. Tara could walk in the heels, she just wasn’t used to wearing them for so long. Or having so much bare skin between the mini dress and the shoes. “No, too short. This isn’t for the club here. It’s supposed to be for when I take her out for a day event. I don’t want her being seen as a hooker. All skirts must be above the knee or longer.” “But she’s so short this makes her look like she’s got longer legs and therefore taller.” “I said no. Am I not being clear? I’m the client and alpha here. I know what I am saying. I won’t have her showing off herself at inappropriate times and causing trouble. You can’t be trying to start wars, are you?” “Start wars?” The tailor looked confused for a moment and then she clued in on what the alpha was talking about. “Oh! Oh, no, of course not. I’ll ma
One Year Later —Tara sat out on the poach behind the packhouse with a laptop open to a spreadsheet. She and Emily were working out the next year’s budget and the projects they’d tackle.With Emily looking after the club while they were up here. It was interesting, to say the least.Tara gave birth on schedule. It was about the only thing that was on schedule these days, and Cal was sitting on a blanket on the grass with one-year-old Natalie Nichols. The apple of her daddy’s eye. She had him wrapped around her little finger and he’d have it no other way.Eddie and his Lycan girlfriend were now running the kitchens here for Rachel. They’d mated and, well… Tara expected to hear that they’d have pups soon enough.Jaxon, well, he was back in the city. Tara wasn’t sure what was happening with him. Cal wouldn’t speak of it. But Jaxon took a leave of absence from his position for a bit. Tara wasn’t receiving the full story. But as far as she could tell. Jaxon may have two mates. One wasn’t d
Five Months Later —Tara felt like the size of a house. She propped her ankles up on her desk and she had to eat her fries with no salt. It wasn’t the same, nothing tasted the same. The poking from inside was regular now and she couldn’t wait for the last six weeks to go by. She’d been six weeks pregnant when her symptoms started and since then, if it wasn’t one symptom, it was another. Tara would be more than happy for these little monsters to enter the world.Cal was everywhere and nowhere, it seemed. He told her to clear her calendar today because he wanted to show her their new territory. The thought of trudging out there was exhausting to her. But she’d do it because he was just so insistent. He promised they’d stay the night out there and come back the next day at a leisurely pace.“You ready to go?”“Yes, I just don’t understand why we have to do this now. When all I want to do is take a nap.”“You can nap in the vehicle on the way. Don’t worry, I’ve packed everything we need a
Tara could feel the ball of conflicting emotions rolling about in her head and her belly. She had a new life inside her. No matter what, she’d never be alone again. But how did she explain all of this to them when the time came?How should she explain this to Cal? He had to be expecting this. Look at the second floor. She didn’t like it necessarily. Their pups living completely separately from us with someone else looking after them. Why hadn’t they spoken about this before?Tara’s eyes closed as the elevator dinged and opened. She’d not thought that it was important before this because she wasn’t pregnant, and they didn’t have any pups. Now she thought of it.This morning, Cal was gone before she got out of bed. This was a day she didn’t train, because there were other things she needed to get done. Which, of course, didn’t get done? A few steps brought her to Cal’s office over the club.She knocked and entered when she received the okay to enter. Tara lucked out because Cal was alon
David Monroe struggle with the enforcer training. His heart wasn’t in it and his skills lay in other places, but everyone lumped him in with the other male Lycans because he was a Lycan. He’d exhausted almost every avenue trying to explain to them he’d rather be patching people up and treating pups with fevers. While he was moping during a break, his phone rang, and it surprised him to see that Emily’s name came up on his phone. “Hello, Emily. What’s wrong? Why are you calling?” He couldn’t think of a reason she could be calling him for, but any chance he got to speak with her was better than nothing. “I’ll tell you, but you have to be very careful with what you say. No one can know why you’re about to be ordered to the Luna’s office. What we need you to do, is slip out of the packhouse. If anyone asks, you’re running an errand for the Luna. That’s it nothing more. What you need to do is go to the closest pharmacy and pick up a pregnancy kit. Come back here
Again, Tara was up late the next morning. Cal was determined he wouldn’t let her feel like he neglected anything about her. From sympathizing with her, to how her emotions were toward absolutely everything, and he didn’t forget to include planning their future together.Well, he talked, and she mostly listened. What he said wasn’t bad. Tara didn’t have a problem with any of his ideas. She didn’t have much to add or at this time have an emotional connection to any of it.Now, though, Tara needed to get her day going, and she felt like something that had been dredged from a swampy pond. It took only minutes for Emily, her newest staff member, to realize there was something wrong with Tara.“If we had a cat, I’d say you look like the latest thing it dragged home. When will we see you going to a healer?” Emily eagerly asked Tara as she returned from her latest flight to the bathroom. Tara looked at her with an expression of exhaustion.“I’m fine and I’m not planning ongoing to see one.” S
“Stone dear, you know I love you. I’m your mate and partner in life. I have always advised you about everything honestly and in your best interest.” Elaine still quietly sat in the sitting room and calmly spoke to Stone. The others had slowly filtered out to go on with their day or to watch their guests leave. “Of course you are, and you have.” Stone looked out the window and watched the vehicles leave. Elaine could see he was distracted by what was going on and his own thoughts. “Then why are you being an ass and not listening to anything I say now?” She let her irritation slip into her voice and she dryly responded to him. Her annoyance was obvious. Stone’s instincts instantly alerted him to the fact that not all was good between himself and his mate. Over the years, that instinct helped him avoid many different disasters from exploding in his face when it came to their relationship. “I’m listening Ellie. I’ve always listened.” “Then explain to me if you listened to me, then why
No one said much of anything on the way home. The privacy divider between the front of the vehicle and the back raised then never went down. Cal pulled Tara to him and sat her in his lap. He didn’t do anything more but let her soak up his warmth and strength. He buried his head into her neck and hair. The smell of the wool sweater mixed with the natural spice of her scent. He instantly felt his aggressive feelings smooth out and gentle. It’d been difficult watching her get so wound up from it all. Tara sat there, and all but purred. As their vehicle made slow progress through traffic, it’s darkened windows gave them the privacy that Cal didn’t care, Tara turned and straddled his lap instead. She didn’t do anything more than that. But his body felt her skirt hike up and he groaned, knowing how naughty she was instinctively gravitating to for comfort. That wasn’t what their mating would ever be based on. He’d never satisfy his needs while she was seek
Kole wanted to get back to the gathering as quickly as possible. He didn’t want any misunderstandings between anyone, let alone the two packs. There was no way he’d explain to the pack that their beloved elder and ex-alpha alienated his first born grand pup with blind stubbornness, hateful questions, and fear. That wouldn’t be happening today or any day. Kole wouldn’t risk fighting with Cal. How would it look when the Council of Alphas met? His father always forgot about that. Though the council of alphas didn’t exist during his time in control of the pack. He’d been a forward thinker of his time and moved his pack to a territory that was being noticed by the local humans. It meant he could settle their businesses in, and those humans would see those businesses as founding members of the business community. “Let’s go back down now and please be nice to her. She’s so much like Heather and you wouldn’t talk to Heather that way. Just apologize and let mother do
“That’s my third pup there and his mate. Your uncle, Stephen, and his mate, Ariel. Their grown pups, Erin, and Eric. That about covers your living family here, dear. Everyone sit please. Stone has created enough excitement and drama for one day. She has a sweet soul. Stephen, treat her like you would your sister and don’t act like your father if you know what’s good for you. As for the doghouse, it’s an old guard shack that’s been turned into a bunkhouse for single wolves who, for one reason or another, don’t want to make the trip all the way back to their homes to sleep. It’s affectionately called the doghouse because often there’s trouble between the few mated wolves that stay there.” “Oh, good grief. That’s horrible.” “Oh, don’t think your grandfather hasn’t stayed there a time or two. Though these days he’s more likely to use a guest apartment.” Tara looked over the tissue at Elaine with a shocked expression. “You’re joking.” “No, I’m n