“There’s no need. Tell her I was just curious.”
I put the dried plates on the mantel and pulled the pots from the stove. Mary had already filled most of them with water to make cleaning easier. Once we had the roasters washed, I started filling the pots with water for our evening meal.
“Do you know what kind of meat we’re getting tonight?”
Mary was quiet for a minute.
“Thomas is sending the new pack members out to hunt something big.”
“Big?”
Mary nodded slowly, a slight frown growing.
“There are quite a few new members. Thomas wonders if we can make enough to feed twenty.”
We’d been feeding twelve, sometimes a few more, when he only had nine members. I looked at the pots on the stove and the supply cabinets.
“Yes,” I said firmly. I put two pots on the stove. I emptied a large bag of beans into one. If they weren’t ready for tonight, they could soak overnight for tomorrow. Carrying another pot to the pump to fill for wash water, I thought of the meal we’d just eaten and wished we had more fresh vegetables. “Do you know where the carrots came from or who might have gotten them?”
Mary shrugged.
“They weren’t from one of the pack, so I’m not sure.”
The door opened, and I turned from the pump to see Thomas and Grey stride in. Thomas seemed frustrated. His eyes didn’t give him away; it was his hands. He tapped his middle finger on his leg as he walked. He made his way to the table and sat. I noted a dark slash on his pants and knew he’d bled a bit more after putting the clean pair on.
“Is everything all right?” I asked.
“Everything’s fine. I sent all of the new members out to find bigger game since they feel it is now their right to eat at a table.” He ran his hand through his hair. His fingers lingered at his temple.
“Headache? I’m not sure if medicine will work the same on you, but there is some pain reliever left.” I made to move toward the cabinet, but he stopped me.
“It won’t help.”
“What will help?” I asked.
“Cooperation.”
I studied his face. He looked tired, which I would expect after the morning and afternoon he had. But there seemed something more weighing on him. His weary gaze held mine as if begging me to help.
“I don’t understand,” I said.
“Eight more have joined my pack...eight angry men with the single purpose of pulling my pack apart.”
“Why let them join, then?” I asked, leaning back against the trough.
“Several reasons. As a member of my pack, there is little any of them can hide from me; and when I command them, they must obey. That means more protection for us from those who still want to cause trouble. But, it also means resistance because the new members are doing things they don’t want to do.”
“Like what?”
“Leaving these buildings to hunt for food to feed the pack. They would rather stay and make nuisances of themselves, in hopes of making you leave. Their resistance to my command...” He rubbed his head again. “Imagine I’m holding one end of a rope, and the other end is held by a member of my pack. We are both pulling to keep the rope taut. When the member cooperates in holding their end steady, it requires very little effort on my part to keep the right tension in the rope. However, if the member pulls, I need to use more force to pull back to keep the member from pulling away completely.”
It sounded a lot like how I controlled a human’s will.
“Now imagine sixteen ropes. I hold the end of all those ropes in one hand, and each member holds their own end. If one of those members pulls hard enough to jerk their rope from my grasp, I lose hold on all the ropes. The pack will fall apart. A leader can only hold so many ropes here.” He tapped his head. “And the more ropes he holds that resist him, the harder it becomes to maintain control.”
“So you need their cooperation.”
“Yes.”
And he didn’t have their cooperation because of my presence.
“Do you want me to leave?”
He gave a weary smile and shook his head.
“No. I want to know how I can Claim you. As my Mate, they are less likely to resist you. As my Mate, you could help me hold the pack together.” He sighed, his expression rueful. “I want to keep trying, Charlene. I promise I won’t hurt you again.”
I couldn’t believe he was asking.
“Does your neck hurt?” I asked.
“A bit.”
“Good,” I said. He exhaled a laugh, and I put my hands on my hips, annoyed with him. “It’s not fun being bitten, is it?”
“If you were doing the biting, I’d think it very fun.”
My stomach pitched wildly, and heat rose to my face.
“I’m tempted to bite you just to prove it wouldn’t be.”
He stood suddenly and crowded me until I backed up against the pump. The sound of a door closing distracted me, and I pulled my gaze away long enough to note we were now alone in the room.
“Do it,” he said, reclaiming my attention.