Why was he being a coward? He’d known this she-wolf as long as he’d known Kiera. That was why he didn’t want this confrontation. They’d broken up the moment Cal realized there was nothing and would be nothing between them. When he thought about it, that was right around the time someone broke the spell during a rather odd business meeting with a rather creepy druid. His brain finally put two and two together. Dean could only blame his stupidity on there being so much going on that it was too much for him to see the forest for the trees. “Lucy, I’m working. You know how I hate you interrupting me while I’m dealing with sensitive pack business. What do you want you to can’t talk to Jerome about?” “Where’s Oliver?” She wouldn’t call Oli by his nickname because she enjoyed teasing him with the name he hated. “Travelling on business for the pack and myself. Out with it, what do you want?” “I came to see if I can help ease your baser needs.” She
Dean stood at the railing looking down as he watched Lucy run from the study and he made eye contact with Jerome. “Make sure the enforcers on guard here know to escort her out of the packhouse. I don’t want her cropping up in a place where she no longer belongs.” “Yes, Alpha. I was just in the process. What is going on? It’s like everyone has gone crazy.” Jerome muttered this more than expected an answer. Something was bothering Dean since Lucy opened her mouth. She’d always been a female who found talking and acting dirty a turn on, but he’d stopped feeling it. Right when? That business trip, the one that went belly up and was a complete failure. He’d gone to talk to a druid who wanted to bring a horticultural business to the area. The druid was very strange when they met for drinks. He’d insisted on Dean going to him and they had drinks in the hotel bar. Something was wrong with that, and he should have known about it. He muttered all sorts of str
Dean sat there and all but ignore the protests and threats he received from several of the Elders. Once they’d run out of righteous anger and quieted down, then he continued. “I have received nothing but hate, excuses, and insults in the last few months from the Council of Elders. Then add in the threats and demands that I do specific things that go against my sense and sensibilities. Several messages I’ve received reach far out of your place within the pack and on this council. It’s becoming dangerous for people. I also have noticed that none have asked about one of your long-standing members. Elder Evans is sadly not in good shape. He’s survived surgery, but that’s only temporary. Someone has been providing him with Lycan blood that he’s been injecting into himself. That blood he’s been using hasn’t turned him into a Lycan, instead has damaged most of the organs within his body beyond repair. That includes his brain, all because the Lycan blood was not compatible w
Dean stalked from the building and headed toward the packhouse when he heard a woman’s voice calling from behind him. He knew it was Elder Rutledge calling him, and he turned to watch her catch up with him. “Thank you. I couldn’t say anything to you, but you figured out enough on your own to do the right thing. I’ll make sure that they do everything you have demanded. How is Kiera? No one asked about Elder Evans, but no one asked about her either.” This made him feel better. She was the one elder he felt he could trust. “She’s almost healed enough to come back and then we’ll plan our mating ceremony after that. Right now I need to get onto tracking down a specific disreputable druid.” “A disreputable druid? I have an old friend who might have a son that can help with that. He’s an investigator and as long as you don’t ask too many questions, he gets results.” Dean looked seriously at the elder for a moment. “Do you think he can get results
After that, Dean went to retrieve Kiera from the healing centre. He didn’t like her being there for this long. It didn’t matter that she needed to heal; he didn’t trust that one healer. That’s when he wondered. He speculated whether the healer was related to the druid they were looking for. The healer’s words were so lacking in empathy. Dean feared two polar opposite things, and so he put the guards there while he was gone. That healer either worked with the black market rogue druid, and Kiera wasn’t safe there. Or Dean was seeing conspiracies everywhere that didn’t exist. Could anyone fault him since everything appeared so complicated currently if he was seeing false conspiracies? His father, the wolf, was an enigma. No one would speak about him. Dean had to admit that he’d not tried now that he had a name to find out more about him. That’s when he thought of his uncle’s old files. He kept notes on the pack’s members, all on paper. His unc
Dean helped Kiera into the packhouse with surprising help from other members. From carrying her bag to hold doors open. Others greeted them both. Something changed, and the gossip was as strong as ever it appeared. Kiera sat in the sitting room across from Dean’s study. Someone left them a meal in there to share. It’s been hard to find time to eat. But now, with Kiera home, angry or not with him, Dean was happy. “You really suspended the Council of Elders? Dean, that’s crazy. You need to fix that. There’s a reason all packs have a council.” “I know and I will once. I’m sure they are all fit to represent the pack members’ interests. I would listen if I knew they made sense. But I can’t listen to them if I can’t be sure that they’re compromised and could endanger themselves or others.” “You really believe they are a potential danger to the pack? All of them or one or two?” “One or two, but I have to be fair across the board. If they aren’t inv
Kiera noticed Jerome at the entrance of the sitting room. He had a file in his hand, and he tapped the palm of his other hand. She could see his mind racing over something in his head as he hesitated there in the doorway. That must be the file Dean mentioned, and Jerome must have read it. Whatever was in it didn’t bode well for Dean’s temperament. Kiera was debating whether she should excuse herself or stay for this. Jerome decided for her, and the male entered handed the file without a word to Dean. Without a word, he all but fled the room before Dean could thank him for it. That wasn’t a suspicious in the least. For a wolf, he was a coward sometimes. Why Dean used him in the office when he was desperate confused her. But it wasn’t her business. What really confused her was that the coward was supposed to be an enforcer but couldn’t handle giving a little bad news. “What’s that exactly, Dean?” “My uncle’s file on my father. It must be bad if Jerome
“That’s why you pulled it. To figure out why your father had the Druid cast the spell and later remove it. You aren’t curious about him in any way?” “I’m curious about a lot of things, but I doubt I’ll find all the answers I want. But if I can understand the reason, he is this, I would at least have something to go on. There’s no forgiving him for whatever reason I find out. He wasn’t here to raise either myself or James. Our mothers would never speak of him, so I highly doubt he treated either well.” “True, I know how your mother would clam up when you asked about him. She wouldn’t even tell you, his name. Fine, why not open in and pull the proverbial band aid off? See if there’s anything in there about all of this. I don’t understand why your uncle said nothing about it.” “He claimed he didn’t know the facts. I get the feeling he suspected something but didn’t want to say because he wasn’t sure. She was his younger sister, after all.” Kiera made a
- One Year Later -Kiera stood watching a group of lone wolves returning to a pack. Many were raised for generations outside of pack life. But things change, situations change. These wolves are literally come in out of the cold, unprotected woods and their pack was opening their arms to them.It divided humans as always on what they thought about supernatural creatures. If nothing else, there were very few humans that didn’t care one way or the other.These wolves were coming in from other places in the world where the humans made it impossible for them to live. Now they were picking up everything they can and leaving everything they knew for a chance at a future.Their lycan members were now well established members, and the pack looked to them as the public faces of the pack. It wasn’t unusual to see one or more on the news as they work as a security team for various celebrities and figures of note. The pack now ran a small but lucrative security firm, because several of the lycans
Hours. They only had hours to get ready. With much of the pack working together to get things done and sooth disgruntled feelings, they pulled off a makeshift welcome for the thirty lost souls coming to stay with them. Dean struggled to get through thirty files on the different lycan. It was as if each one came with a warning label of their own. No two had the same difficulty. Some were complete loners who they’d have to work with to bring back into the pack and life within it. They bonded others, who had that’s why they had so many lycan arriving. They wanted bonded pairs together so that a community could grow from the families that would form. It meant that they’d not planned correctly, but that could be adjusted again. Dean agreed with Oli and Jerome that the Ruling Council screwed up sending the lycan to them. The order was off and there wasn’t enough time given to prepare for their arrival. Also, they’d agreed to a few new lycan members, not t
Their mating went on after the cleanup and Kiera’s world was addressed. Dean ended up marked as well at some point by Kiera and, finally exhausted, they fell asleep hours later. With the sun coming up and the mating over, Kiera felt a disturbing calm between them. Like this took away the jittery need to find a stable footing. Kiera could swear she could feel Dean’s mood as he slept. He’d exhausted her so much that she’d not been bothered by any of her usual nightmares. Kiera felt delicious and loose-limbed. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt like this. If she were a cat, she’d be purring at this point. “Morning. Luna Jonas.” Dean stated with a proud grin like he’d accomplished something last night. Kiera wouldn’t tell him, but he had accomplished something. The jerk got his way. He had the pack and her permanently. It wasn’t fair. She wasn’t ready for this, but she didn’t know what she was ready for. She wasn’t sure if she should be unhapp
In the bathroom, Dean had the shower running, and he was making sure they had everything they need within easy reach. He remembered to heat the towels and lay out the mat. Whoever built this bathroom put down super smooth tiles on the floor and it was like skating on ice when you stepped out if you weren’t careful. The mat had rubber grips to prevent that while drying your feet on it. Dean heard Kiera sigh as she settled under the spray of their large shower. A standard wolf could bath in this shower while in their fur. Now Dean wondered if he needed to remodel the bathroom to fit their new size. Kiera was smaller in her dire wolf form, and he didn’t think she’d fit in here. That was something for another day to think about. Right now, he had an eyeful of his mate and a promise to keep. There was no question for him if she was his mate. Just seeing her like this made everything right. Dean followed her into the shower and cornered her under
It took another week before Dean managed to shift into his alternative forms. He’d noticed a lot of changes in him. He needed to get larger clothing because his entire body went up to two clothing sizes while he lay in bed. That surprised him quite a bit. Finally, he could hold Kiera and kiss her without feeling like he’d been hit by a steamroller. Once they were home, Kiera wouldn’t speak of their mating and she wouldn’t set a date for the mating or acknowledgement ceremony. So he surprised Kiera with an evening to mate with her. He didn’t need an acknowledgement ceremony. His daily pain was almost nonexistent now and he want to give her what she deserved. Dean wanted Kiera to love their new form and position within the pack. So this evening they’d start with a private dinner in his apartment and then enjoy the evening with his soon-to-be mate. His mind kept wandering to what was to come. By dawn, they’d be mated, and thi
Two days later, Kiera and Trisha waited outside Dean’s room as Dr Graves examined him and looked at the latest test results. James returned to his pack to manage a few things. “So what are you doing for your mating ceremony? When will it be?” Kiera asked Trisha to try to find a different subject that didn’t revolve around Dean’s or her recent decisions. “Oh, I have him waiting until we can have both packs in the same place without there be fighting. I figure in a few years. I mean, technically, we’re mated. It’s just the ceremony of recognition of the mating that’s not been done. It seems so old-fashioned to me.” Trisha tried to brush it off. “Hon, if that were true, then you’ll be waiting forever to have the ceremony. Why don’t you just have it, and we’ll threaten to string up anyone and post signs of what they did? Like those photos of cats in their harnesses. “I shredded all the toilet paper while my owner was pooping.” Or “I pooped in m
“That bastard. Dean’s a jerk. He knew he’d do this and didn’t tell anyone that he’d do it. Kiera went there to discuss if it were possible. I know Kiera. She’d want to plan for all the worst things before trying anything. I bet he pushed her to let him do it.” “Enough Trisha. I’ll get us the earliest possible portal to there if you just let me think and listen to the portal booking system.” The mages ran the portal system and with it’s high risks of danger, they kept a stranglehold on almost all portal travel. When, where, and how long it would take are just a few of the questions James needed to answer. “Crap. I forgot to ask Kiera if she needed me to bring her anything. I don’t know if she has a change of clothes.” “Well, I’ll leave you to create a care package for Kiera and Dean. Let me get this booked.” “With four bags, James. We’re taking four bags with us. We can carry them if we have two duffle bags and two packs.” “Fine, I’
At some point, Kiera looked up at Dean. “Did you call your sister and tell her you were doing this right now?” “Nope, because you know very well what Trisha would say and I wasn’t going to listen to it, because this is between you and me.” “Goddess save me. Fine, I’ll do it. But when she’s pissed, I’m laying all the blame at your door. So you better be prepared when you see her next, because you’re going to hear about it.” Kiera couldn’t take it. She needed to talk to someone other than Dean. Trisha was the first person she thought of. Her mind did flit to April and Mary, but right now they were too busy trying to impress her to be reliable. For two who claimed they wanted to help her part-time, that changed when they understood she wasn’t dreaming that Dean wanted her as his mate and Luna. Kiera wasn’t leaning toward either of them because right now she didn’t feel she could trust them to receive the unvarnished truth. She hoped that would change.
“Are you both in agreement with this? If so, I can get you admitted Alpha Jonas, Kiera. We’d only need permission to draw your blood. If all goes well, you could be home in a day or two. Free to mate in a more relaxed and traditional manner on your own timeline.” Dr Graves looked calm and understanding. He didn’t press them further than that. “I’m game if you are Kiera.” Dean knew he was taking risks with his life. If it meant his life would finally be on track and he could see a happily ever after, he’d do it. He knew it was risky, but something in the back of his head was pushing him to do it and he wasn’t strong like Kiera, and he couldn’t resist listening to it. “Fine. I will let them take some blood. As long as I don’t need to be admitted for this. How long will it take to know whether it’s working or not?” “Once your blood is within his body it, we can test his body to see if there’s any rejection or damage to his organs. But since you