Becky stopped in at the new broadcasting centre in town to have lunch with Grace. Jane Ann was back in the pack, claiming she couldn’t get away because her twins didn’t let them sleep last night. She’d had two males in offspring. Becky still thought it was odd to say that, but they could be lynx, wolf, or human. It was anyone’s guess right now. No one would know for another seven to ten years. Grace sadly lost a pregnancy. The healers claimed it was because she was doing too much, and the stress was too much for her. They would continue trying to have pups once Grace’s schedule settled down and became more manageable. Becky and Rob were still trying after a few false positives. But today was the day they’d first gathered as the mate’s self-help group and explained everything to Grace. How did the pack take the news that their Beta’s mate wasn’t human but a lynx shifter? It was mixed, but nothing like the reaction of the elders who were remo
Becky walked through the first floor hallway of her parent’s townhouse looking for them. She could feel the pounding of her heart and how winded she was. Becky knew Ivan wasn’t far behind her. She’d barely escaped the house they shared since they married. He’d kept her in it, making it impossible for her to leave the house for any reason. He’d taken her phone and the ability to use the internet with him every time he left the house. If she left the house and he found out about it, she’d end up crying in the bathroom with the first aid kit for solace. Now she searched the rooms of the townhouse Ivan bought for her parents as a thank you for the business as a wedding present. Her father retired not long after that and Ivan didn’t have a use for her anymore since he got what he wanted. Becky wasn’t sure the world even knew she existed since their wedding was that low key. He’s been seen at social events with his assistant on his arm, not her. Ivan brought no one home wi
Becky hated waking to mornings like this. Every time she had a nightmare like this, it haunted her for the rest of the day. Nothing ever good happened for or to her on days like this. She half expected Detective Underman to call and tell her that Ivan was out of jail on good behaviour or some such craziness. What she found this morning were several bills, all demanding more than she could ever hope to come up with to pay them. So, breakfast this morning was an anxious and lonely affair. She wasn’t built for living alone, and she’d reached her limit. Jane Ann Peters was her best friend and practically her only friend in town. Jane Ann’s parents were the best replacement parents anyone could have. But she wouldn’t go to them asking for financial help and be a burden to them. Becky couldn’t expect Jane Ann to be at her beck and call, either. That would just be too much for any friendship. As Becky went through her morning routine while everything seemed to get
Robert Northgate, Alpha of the Shadow Mists Pack, the largest pack in the state. He owned The Wolf’s Den Bar and Grill. He disliked being the town’s top bachelor. His reputation in the region often had him described by his good looks, protective nature, and his temper. Most of the town only thought his family was tight knit like many others in the region. But wolves stayed to themselves in packs naturally. Robert was putting the finishing touches on prepping the bar for tonight. All he needed to do now was accept the liqueur shipment. It was late, but that was expected. Sam warned him this would happen. The shop where he purchased his alcohol from changed Sam’s route.He’d spent most of his twenty-eight years of his life right here in Lilac Grove. He’d watched the women change toward him over those years. Ever since he got his first tattoo at seventeen and grew his beard, the women of Lilac Grove either hated or loved him in equal parts. It annoyed him sometimes, whe
He caught her rich scent right then. It was subtle at first and mingling with the scent of lavender shampoo, among other scents she wore. Her scent did things to shock his instincts. The surprise of the sudden and intense reaction to her scent had him blurting out the word. “Mate.” She was human. He could smell that. How? Why her? Who was she? Was she a witch or some other human presenting a supernatural creature? His mate couldn’t be just a human. He was an Alpha, and it wasn’t appropriate to have a human mate. They were the weakest creatures going that could speak. They carried no magic at all. Gods, what would he do with this knowledge? If she was his mate and human, how would he explain to her his world? A world she didn’t know existed. “Oh, uh, my name’s Rebecca Allen. I’m the new vet in town. Hold that thought. I just need to do one more thing, and then I’ll be out of here.” She didn’t run. No, she flew in a blink of an eye from where she stood to the clinic’s door. She
Becky heard and felt the two fenders kiss each other and she prayed the damage wasn’t more than a scratch. But nothing would get her to stop now. She needed to get out of there. His presence was just too much right now, and she needed to feel safe. Sure, he’d helped her out, but he’d also been angry with her and that triggered things deep down in her. She cursed her instinct to placate him until she got away. Which is what she was doing. Running and hating the coward that she was. Nothing made sense. Why did he call her his mate? They weren’t friends. They’d never met. Oh, Becky liked what she saw. Liked it a lot. Who wouldn’t? He looked like he’d walked out of a charity calendar. No, she was done chasing men. Her choices were always bad. Ivan was a fine example of that. Sure her parents encouraged her to marry him. She’d not known it was for their financial benefit. Though Becky allowed it to happen ultimately. This humiliating incident bothered her all mor
“What’s going on?” Becky couldn’t help asking James Clark, the owner of Clark’s General Store. “As I can tell, someone was behind the Wolf’s Den and found blood. When they went to inform Rob Northgate, the owner of the bar. No one could find him. When they contacted his brother, John, he said Rob was at the bar as far as he knew. Well, Rob’s not answering his phone. I think the police out back found Rob’s clothes and his phone, and they’re bloody.” Becky stared at James, dumbfounded. But she saw Rob just a few hours ago. “Excuse me. Is there a reason for any of you to be here? If you don’t have a reason, then please move along.” A police officer came up to the small group, making the hand gesture to move along with his hand. “Sir, officer. I know Mr. Northgate was here this morning. I spoke to him when I was loading my truck to do my rounds at various ranches today.” “Hold on. Let me get the officer who’s investigating this. No, b
“Well, he’s healthy if we go by his weight. Geez, I knew hunting was good in the area, but this guy must be very successful.” Jane Ann complained as they set the large crate in the corner of Becky’s old kitchen. It was clean because she used it so little, but its décor was showing its age. Butter cup yellow was showing as a pale mustard among the creamy colour that Becky was sure once was white. The floor tiles needed to be replaced along with the countertop, with it’s sizeable chunk taken out of its corner. “Okay, let me put a clean tarp down and then we can clean him up and bandage him. I don’t think he’s got any broken bones, but we can give him a few x-rays to be sure in the morning.” Becky brought in a clean tarp and other things she’d need to give this wolf the medical attention she could best provide from here. It’d keep him alive, at least. Once she was prepared. “You ready to help me get him out of there?” “Yeah, once you’re done fixing him
Becky stopped in at the new broadcasting centre in town to have lunch with Grace. Jane Ann was back in the pack, claiming she couldn’t get away because her twins didn’t let them sleep last night. She’d had two males in offspring. Becky still thought it was odd to say that, but they could be lynx, wolf, or human. It was anyone’s guess right now. No one would know for another seven to ten years. Grace sadly lost a pregnancy. The healers claimed it was because she was doing too much, and the stress was too much for her. They would continue trying to have pups once Grace’s schedule settled down and became more manageable. Becky and Rob were still trying after a few false positives. But today was the day they’d first gathered as the mate’s self-help group and explained everything to Grace. How did the pack take the news that their Beta’s mate wasn’t human but a lynx shifter? It was mixed, but nothing like the reaction of the elders who were remo
3 Months later- First Lycan Pack The seer entered the new territory and felt the rush of the past and present mingling there. Sadly, she may feel it. She wasn’t strong enough to see it. Thankfully, she couldn’t see it either. The headache she received to some time to get rid of. The land had a lot of traumas associated with it; the druids did their job and tried to wash it away. The issue was that only a god or time could purify a land fully, and no one had time like that to wait. She settled into the seat the pack provided for her as she waited for the time she’d be needed. Many spoke carefully with her, and it was all quite sombre and different from the last one she’d presided over. Someone pushed her right shoulder forward and when she looked behind her, there was no one there. Well, no one with a physical body. She’d told no one that she had a physical connection to the dream realm. She’d encountered no one with this curse? Ability? Whatever people
“Jon, wait. Uh, we need to talk. I want to know when we’re breaking the news to everyone. I mean, what’s one more scandal? One more controversial mating fact? I hate sitting here lying to everyone.” Jane Ann held onto Jon’s forearm and looking into his eyes. Her guilt and frustration were written all over her face. Only Jon knew their family’s secret, the reason they were one of the few families that kept the pack’s secrets over the years. Only the alpha’s knew about them, except no one told Rob directly and since Rob didn’t correct anyone about assuming Jane Ann’s species, she’d struggled with telling him. Jon though kept begging her not to say anything to him, because it was all too much at the time. Her big secret? Her mother and she were lynx shifters. One of the few shifters that didn’t have a pack or community. They lived usually in family groupings only. Jane Ann’s father followed her momma here and kept her secret and that of the pack this entire tim
Becky couldn’t believe how quickly the pack pulled off the preparations for the mating ceremonies. Two for the price of one. It seemed this was offending the case where there would be a spree of matings at the same time. She’d been given several reasons for this, but it all came down to people finding the one that fate made perfect for them. The wolf shifters don’t believe that people complete each other. Rather that they complement each other. No one is lesser in a pairing. Where one goes, the other will surely follow. The drive for family and community or pack was a driving force for the wolf shifters Becky was somehow now intertwined with. Rogues were an exception to the rule she found out, and it often harmed them mentally and eventually they would see physically it. That’s why the Ruling Council and Rob were so keen on convincing the young rogues and their pups to settle for the pack life. They didn’t show the signed of the mental of physical decay yet;
Everyone in the First Lycan Pack territory was trying their best to adjust to the changes. Even Bart found he had difficulty adjusting to the new routines. Half his problem, he found, was that he needed to write the routines so he could refer to them again and again. The week went by far too fast. Bart learned quickly that the rules and routines he introduced were a strong suggestion. Those rules and routines right now needed to be written in wet cement rather than be set in stone. Grace’s day was insanely busy with her forced to travel between the packs for her job with the Ruling Council. Once the rest of the pack was here, they’d find people to train for the jobs she’d need help with, and then they’d move everything over to their territory. Rob right now was being nice to them and more than generous to let them use the space they were using. Today, the plan to bring the rest of the pack here was in full swing. There was an excitement in
The seer sat last, and she smiled nervously between her guests. “Now, let me guess. You’re here because you want your lives to go on as the Moon Goddess planned them, but you’re encountering obstacles. Am I right?” She looked expectantly at Rob and Becky as if they had the answer she sought. They looked among themselves to see who would be the first to say anything, but the seer carried on as if there wasn’t an awkward silence. Her friendly voice prattled on as she tried to entertain her guests. “Don’t worry, it wasn’t anything mystical or magical that gave me that information. My phone and messages have been lighting up like a Christmas tree mid season with calls from many people who are angry one way or the other. Heck, one elder called me to find out if I, a seer, could put a curse on you, like I was a mage, druid, or witch. When I told him I couldn’t and wouldn’t he threatened to harm me. You really must get those old wolves under control, Alpha Northgate.”
The next day, Rob took his brother and their mates to see the local seer. She wouldn’t accept membership within his pack, but she didn’t have to. All she needed to do was provide guidance when some came looking for it. They well paid the seer for that. They hoped she wouldn’t respond like the Council of Elders had. If she did, they’d have to delay the mating ceremony until he would repopulate the Council of Elders with a better representation of the pack. This wasn’t something Rod discussed with anyone else. It was a silent worry that nagged on his mind as they travelled the distance to get to the Seer’s small home, which she’d built in a quiet corner of the county district. “How are we going to approach this one? A little more information would go down more nicely this time, because what you did yesterday, Rob, was a shocking revelation, and it doesn’t look good when the people backing you up have to pick up their jaws off the floor. We should k
“Okay, now I have a list of all your names here, and packages with the information you’ll need to know to settle in here. These packages contain everything from what room you’ll have here for now to the house that will be yours. Contact numbers are pre-programmed into the phone inside each package, so when you get your package, don’t drop it. Yes, your new position is within the package, along with a list of your duties. There are several maps, so you can get around here on your own. Your phones have an app that, if you get close to one of the current borders, it will beep. No one is coming to get you if this happens. But if you’re lost, please call. I’ve seen the land out there and it’s a mess. The humans messed with the terrain extensively. So try going for a run in pairs or small groups until you are familiar with the location. Or at least tell someone you’re going and about when you’ll be back. One of the lynx stone masons found a rather steep hillside one evening and wen
Becky and Rob were both pleasantly surprised by the response his speech received from the pack. Rob learned quickly that he’d been wrong. His pack was with him, and not the Council of Elders. He couldn’t believe the support he received with people volunteering to help set up the mating ceremonies for both couples. “Yes, I’ll let everyone know when we have a planning meeting, and we can make all the decisions then.” Rob assured them over and over until he had to stop the crowd forming. “I’d like to thank everyone who’s offering or offered to help right now. I’ll set up a meeting for everyone who’s interested in offering their services or volunteering. We’ll take a few hours and decide, organize who’s doing what. Just set things up so we don’t miss anything, or have too many people doing one thing. We’ll make this a success.” A murmur of approval went through the small crowd of people, and they talked among themselves. “Look, I’ll put a clipboard out tonight in the pac