I had accepted that I would always be alone. But acceptance is a stage of grief, isn’t it? It’s not joy. It’s not right. A part of me knew this was out here, waiting. That’s why I never got too close to another female.
Every moment with Una, my end of the bond thickens and surges. It was a shadow, a cloud floating across the sun, but now it’s a living thing, strong, seeking.
How did I not recognize it?
Thankfully, my brain gives it a rest when we get to Una’s place. As soon as she mounts the stairs, the door flies open, and Mari’s curly mop boings out. Annie and Kennedy crowd behind her. Their eyes pop simultaneously when they catch sight of me.
“Oh, shit,” Kennedy whispers. They shuffle backwards, necks bent. The stench of fear reaches me at the same time Una’s back straightens.
“They had nothing to do with it,” she says to me over her shoulder.
“Don’t lie to me, mate.” I walk her through the doorway, the others backing up, clustered tight together, guilt written all over their faces.
Do they think I’d hurt them? They’re females. Everything I’ve ever done is to keep them safe.
But as soon as she crosses the threshold, Una scurries away, putting space between us. Every foot of distance raises my hackles higher, but I let her go to her friends. I want to grab her, yank her back to my side, but following my gut has not been standing me in good stead these days.
The females’ arms reach for her and pull her close as they shuffle and fuss until they surround her. They’re protecting her from me. They’re terrified, especially Annie, but all of their wolves are close to the surface, rumbling a warning.
My wolf is smart enough not to take it as a challenge. He stays silent. The last thing I need is him ripping out a snarl that makes three lone females piss themselves in their own living room.
“W-what is he going to do?” Mari says under her breath to Una, those ridiculously big blue eyes trained on me. I get why Darragh thinks she’s too young to mate properly. She looks like a living doll. It’s kind of unsettling.
Una draws herself to full height and looks at me, raising her eyebrows. Now that’s an unmistakable challenge.
What am I gonna do?
Females aren’t allowed off the territory without an escort. If the Last Pack knew our unmated females roamed unprotected, they’d snatch them, and I can’t say I’d blame them. If we can’t keep our females safe, we don’t deserve them.
But I’m not gonna shoot myself in the foot, either, and sentence Una and her girls to any kind of punishment.
I can’t sweep it under the rug. I heard the police sirens back in Chapel Bell. Once the local officials grab their balls, they’ll head out here for “a talk.” It won’t come to anything. It never does. The locals don’t want the hassle of feds swooping in. But I won’t be able to keep humans in our territory under wraps. The elders will be knocking on my door the second they catch wind of the aftershave and tobacco.
Luckily, Una saves me for the moment.
“He’s not going to do anything.” She hikes her chin and glares at me for a full three seconds before she slides her gaze to the side. My quiet lion.
“Not true. I’m gonna have a guard posted across the path from here, and if he doesn’t scent three females at all times, I’m gonna move all of y’all into the basement of the lodge.”
Mari’s hand flies to her mouth, a sob escaping. Annie whimpers. Now I feel like an asshole. What’s wrong with the lodge basement? It’s finished. There’s a pool table down there.
Una winds her arm around Mari’s waist, tucking the younger female under her arm, shuffling her body to block Annie. “No, he’s not.”
“Yes, I am.” I’m not gonna let them take risks with their lives ‘cause they cry when they get busted.
“No. He’s not.” Una glares daggers at me, and it hits me—what used to happen in the lodge basement when my dad was alpha. Fuck. That’s not what I meant. I would never—
“Shit, I won’t put you down there. I, uh—” I scrub my neck, at a loss. I look to Una, and she’s got her stance wide and shoulders squared like she’ll fight me. “You’re just grounded to the cabin.”
“But we have to leave for work.” Kennedy’s face is turning purple, her fists balled. If she throws a punch, I’m screwed. She’s ballsy for a female. There’d be no subduing her without a bruise or two, and Una would never forgive me.
But I can’t backpedal anymore and keep any authority. “No, you don’t. You stay here.”
“For how long?” Kennedy asks.
“Until Una convinces me you all are never going to do something so stupid and reckless again.”
Una’s teeth grind. A cord in her neck strains, disappearing into the collar of the hoodie. She’s got it zipped all the way up, and I can’t see my bite, but I know it’s there. My dick twitches, and at the same time, my brain refocuses.
Una.
Mate.
Unhappy.
Fuck.
“Or a week or so. Maybe a couple days. I don’t know.”
I glare at Una.
“Get dressed.” My voice is sharper than I intended. Annie chokes off a yelp.
The females bend their heads together and murmur, more sound than words, before Una finally obeys and heads off down the hall. I force myself to stay in the front room, and after her scent clears a little and I can think, I start to notice shit.
There are obvious empty shelves on a console along the far wall, and a strangely placed candle, right in the middle of a dust-free rectangle. And there’s a cord hanging out of a drawer. My guess is they’ve got themselves a widescreen TV, and at least one gaming console. Maybe a DVD player.
TV is allowed, but shifter ears are hyper-sensitive. We keep the media at the lodge, and most families don’t have it in their homes.
The females have gotten away with a lot up here on the outskirts.
And none of them have been winning any fights. The money came from somewhere. Yeah. Dealing with humans. For ten damn years.
Holy fuck. My heart thuds with delayed panic.
Shifters are exotic; shifter females even more so. Shit happens. A North Border male was killed, his female taken and never recovered. A Moon Lake scavenger was lured off by a sweet-talking human, hooked on their drugs and turned out. When the pack finally found her, she was broken. Her wolf gone.
And those are the human dangers. Last Pack is always looking to poach females. They’ll steal young, too, to lure away their dams. They don’t care if the females aren’t their mates, or if they’re someone else’s. They’re animals.
It could have happened to our females. On my watch. Because of my lack of attention.
This is on me. I deserve the punishment.
Maybe that’s how I present it to the elders. Ultimately, the females’ transgressions are my responsibility, so I should bear the consequences. Lochlan’s gang will get off big time, watching me take a beating in the commons, but it’d be a pleasure to go a round with each of them straight afterwards and whup their upstart asses. So they remember just who and what they’re dealing with.