Claiming Shayla

Chapter Seventeen

As the pack dealt with Wolfe’s announcement, a confusing blend of scents swept through its midst, mirroring her own—fear, confusion, dismay, a hint of anger, and a whiff of trepidation.

“Which brings me to our next order of business. Laurie Bell, please step forward,” Rory requested in a mild tone, breaking the silence.

The strangeness of the request had her forgetting her own problems. Laurie Bell, her slim body encased in jeans and a white T-shirt, long hair gathered in a ponytail at her nape, pushed her way through until she stood a few feet in front of Caleb and Michael, a quizzical expression on her serene, Madonna-like face. God, just for once Ashley wished others could see behind the mask her mother wore.

Alex and the male with Shannon moved to stand slightly behind and to either side of her. Ashley’s, along with every other pack member’s, interest sharpened. Why had they flanked her like that, she wondered as Rory stepped past his second and third until he stood directly in front of her mother. She moved to a better position that allowed her to see her mother’s expression and still keep everyone in view.

If the two men standing behind her mother perturbed Laurie Bell, it didn’t show. She kept the same placid, mildly confused but agreeable expression on her face. “Yes, alpha?”

“Laurie Bell, you’ve been accused of a heinous crime against the pack. How do you plead?” Rory asked, his expression neutral.

Her mother tilted her head to the side, a faintly amused smile on her face even as her brows furrowed in puzzlement. “All right. What’s the crime?”

“Attempted murder of the alpha pair’s unborn child,” he announced.

There were gasps and cries of outraged denial from the pack. Ashley whistled under her breath. Man, that was ballsy, even for her mother. Did she really believe she wouldn’t get caught? What am I thinking? Of course Laurie Bell thought she’d get away with it.

Laurie Bell’s mouth dropped open, and she brought her hand up to capture her gasp. “You’re serious? Someone actually accused me of doing something so…so dreadful?” Tears welled up in those innocent-looking eyes.

“How do you plead?” Rory repeated.

“My God, you actually believe…” Her voice trailed off, and she examined the alpha’s expression. He didn’t crack a smile. No mercy there, Ashley thought. Her mother’s gaze slid past Rory to zero in on the human. “Shay, I’m a healer. I save lives, not destroy them. You can ask any person in this pack. I would never do something so…so…” She shook her head, apparently too overcome to speak. The sheen of tears sparkled in her eyes.

Bravo, Mother, bravo! Talk about an award-winning performance. If I didn’t know you to be the viper you are, I’d believe you. I can’t even smell your lies.

“You plead not guilty?” Rory asked.

“Of course I’m not guilty,” her mother responded, her voice containing just the right amount of injured outrage.

“What’s the meaning of this? Who would dare point the finger at Laurie Bell, after all she’s done and continues to do for this pack?” Uncle Graham demanded.

Questions were shouted out as the pack demanded more information. Laurie Bell was a beloved member whose legacy as a pack healer went back several generations. Ashley wasn’t surprised only she, and possibly the alpha, believed her mother capable of murder, and even Ashley wasn’t sure. God knew her mother was cold enough to accomplish it.

Rory ignored Graham and the others and nodded. Alex and Shannon’s male stepped closer to her mother, each one grabbing one of her mother’s arms, holding her immobile. Then before the pack’s shocked and horrified gazes, Shannon’s male bit her mother on the neck, drinking her blood.

Vampire! Shannon’s male was a vampire? Shannon had mated a vamp, for there was no denying the two were mated. Ashley stood frozen with shock, watching the tableau unfold before her.

Some of the men protested and moved forward as though they would put a stop to whatever was happening. Alex snapped his fingers, and quick as a blur, there was a wall of Raven pack wolves standing in the way. Knowing they were no match for the others, the Sparrowhawk men settled down, resorting to angry mutterings and hostile glances.

The vampire raised his head, fangs showing clearly in the moonlight. He closed his eyes and licked the few drops of ruby-red blood spotted on his lips. There was a tense silence as everyone waited to see what would happen next. Ashley didn’t know much about vampires and their powers. Most of what she’d heard was probably rumor. She did know that shifters had a natural immunity to some of their more powerful psychic powers.

Suddenly her mother shrieked, “Get out of my head!”

All movement ceased. Ashley’s startled gaze bounced from her mother to the vamp. He was in her head? How was that possible? Unless it had something to do with the blood… Ashley glanced around at the older pack members. Their gazes were somber, knowing.

“Nikolai?” Rory asked.

“Guilty as charged,” Nikolai stated calmly as his eyes opened.

“You can’t prove anything, you bastard! Let me go!” her mother shouted furiously, the mask beginning to crack.

Ashley heard the mutters.

“He read her mind.”

“That’s impossible.”

“He’s a vampire.”

“He took her blood. Never give blood to a vamp. It gives them a path in.”

“On the contrary. We have proof. We took the herbs you gave Shay to an herbalist in Fort Knox. He’s the one who told us what you did,” Rory said in a voice gone as cold as his expression.

There were more gasps. More whispers, but opinions were divided. The mood of the pack shifted from angry disbelief to denial and uncertainty.

“He’s a liar,” her mother hotly denied. “I’d never do such a thing.” Laurie Bell glanced at the council, the pack. “You know me. I delivered most of you, doctored the rest. There’s been a mistake.” She turned back to Rory.

“It’s no mistake,” he said in a flat voice. “You own a shop. You knew what that particular blend of herbs would do to Shay’s body, to the babe.”

Oh God, this was awesome. Damn, all she needed was popcorn. It was about damn time someone else knew what her mother was capable of. Ashley felt the gazes of others searching her reaction to the unfolding events. Seeing what she knew, if she knew anything at all. She held in a smile, struggling to look as horrified and stunned as the rest.

“I want to know why.” The human’s quiet voice cut like a knife through the uproar that had risen at Rory’s words.

“Why what? I didn’t do anything,” Laurie Bell protested. “Shayla, I know you’re new here, but believe me, this is all a terrible mistake. I’m a woman, a mother. A midwife, for God’s sake. Bringing healthy children into the world is what I do.”

The human stared at her out of a face set in stone. No sympathy there, either, Mother.

Laurie Bell glanced around wildly. “Why aren’t you listening to me?”

“I’d also like to know why,” Shannon stated. “Nikolai, can you…?”

All eyes turned toward Nikolai. He nodded. Then his eyes lost focus.

Her mother began struggling. “Stay out of my head!”

“She’s fighting me,” he said to Rory in a low voice that still managed to carry. “I need to get in front of her.”

“Kian,” Rory called.

Kian left Shayla’s side, stalked toward Laurie Bell like the predator he was, and grabbed hold of her arm. From the way the muscles in his arms bunched, Ashley would bet money that his hold was painful. Nikolai joined Rory in front of her mother. As he stared into her eyes, her mother screamed her rage. Her eyes changed and jaw elongated. The scream morphed into a deep-throated growl.

“She’s trying to shift,” Alex warned.

Nikolai’s eyes flashed red as he firmly ordered, “You will not shift!”

Ashley watched in horrified fascination as the wolf seamlessly faded away.

The scent of her mother’s fear rose in the air. She stared at the vampire like he was the devil coming to steal her soul, eyes wide and glassy.

Nikolai’s hand clenched on her jaw, and he leaned in close until they were eye to eye. His were a red flame of power. “Bitterness. Hate. So much hatred.”

Laurie Bell shook her head and threw her body back, trying to escape his grasp.

“Betrayal,” Nikolai continued, moving with her. “Love and hatred, intertwined.”

“Noooooo!” she moaned.

“I see a man, one she loved heart and soul. He turned away, mated someone—”

She turned to Rory, hatred in her gaze. The mask was finally gone. “Stop! I’ll tell you all. Just make him stop,” Laurie Bell demanded.

Rory considered, then gave an abrupt nod. Nikolai released her and stepped back.

Laurie Bell angled her gaze up toward the alpha’s mate. “You want to know why? I’ll tell you why. Magnus was mine. Then she came along. She was nothing. Less than nothing, but he mated her. When I asked why, you know what he said? The bastard actually fell in love with her. An omega. A nobody.”

At her words, Wesley protested. Magnus’s mate had been his sister, after all. No one paid him any attention, too caught up in the drama.

She turned her venomous gaze on Rory, then Kian. “When she got pregnant with twins, Magnus was so happy. Even happier when it turned out to be boys. The pack began to accept her. I couldn’t tolerate it. She had my man, my children, and what did I have? Nothing but pitying looks and questions about my suitability to be a mate.” Laurie Bell’s rage was palpable. Her voice and body trembled with it.

“He got his precious sons, but I made sure he didn’t enjoy them, enjoy her.” She smiled then at Rory and Kian, and it was purely evil. “If Magnus had been this much slower”—she held her thumb and forefinger less than an inch apart—“getting into the room, you both would have been…” She snapped her mouth closed as though realizing she’d said too much.

“Would be what?” Rory asked in a dangerous voice.

Laurie Bell tightened her lips, refusing to answer.

“You will speak the truth, all of it,” Nikolai ordered. Ashley could feel the power in his words. They pressed on her mind and in her heart, and she had bite down on the urge to blurt out what she’d done. As insurance against confessing, she retreated farther into the safety of the pack, her hand covering her mouth.

“Dead. As it was, I damaged his precious firstborn so he couldn’t lead. Told him it was because his bitch was so weak that his sons were flawed. He died believing it.” She cackled, her laugh so manic Ashley felt the hairs on her nape rise. Her mother was well and truly crazy.

“No matter how much she tried, I never let her or anyone else forget she wasn’t good enough,” she continued. “I was happy as long as the three of you were miserable, but then you brought her here,” she said to Rory, nodding her head in the human’s direction. “Your pregnant mate. And you were happy—” She spat.

The interrogation began. The Raven pack’s alpha and mate, Shannon, and the human all asked question after question, demanding answers when Laurie Bell hesitated or resisted. At one point she bit her lip bloody trying to keep silent, but in the end, the combined powers of the vampire and Rory were too strong.

The whole sordid tale came powering out of her mother in fits and starts as she fought the compulsion. It infuriated her, but she told them all, and she spoke the truth. How she’d tried to smother Kian to death at birth because she couldn’t risk breaking his neck as she’d wanted. How she’d seduced and mated Magnus’s beta so she could remain close to him. How she’d fed Magnus’s mate, Susan, insecurities, causing trouble between the couple at every opportunity, and never let them know a day of peace.

When she got to the part of how she’d pushed her mate into challenging Rory for the position of alpha, Rory bellowed out, “Enough!”

The force of his power sent most of the pack to their knees.

Laurie Bell’s mouth moved, but nothing came out. If looks could kill, the look she shot Nikolai should have incinerated him. She closed her mouth, a disdainful expression on her face.

Ashley was devastated. For the first time she realized that nothing she’d done and nothing she could ever do would make her mother love her, or approve of her. Laurie Bell hated her, not because she wasn’t a healer, but because she didn’t come from Magnus’s seed.

Sick at heart, she turned and left the clearing. She didn’t care what became of her mother, just as her mother had never cared about her.

“RORY,” SHAY CALLED in a soft voice.

She knew her man, and he was all but vibrating with fury. His claws were out, and through the bond she felt the struggle he had to control his beast. Her mate wanted blood. No, he wanted to gorge on Laurie Bell’s flesh and wallow in her blood.

“Rory,” she called again, “I need you.” Through the bond she pushed, hoping he’d hear her, “Please, come to me. She’s not worth it. Remember the plan.”

It was touch and go, but finally he returned to her side. Shay immediately burrowed close. Rory wrapped his arms around her and held her to him. Now that he was with her, Shay realized she was shaking.

So much hate. So many years of misery, attributed to one woman. It was sickening and so very sad. Shay still intended to make Laurie Bell pay for what she’d done. Justice demanded it, but she was woman enough to feel compassion. She couldn’t imagine the pain of giving someone all of you, only to be rejected, tossed over for someone you considered less than your equal.

“You’re shaking,” he whispered in her ear.

“So are you,” she told him.

He grunted, tightening his grip on her.

“I’ll be all right in a bit. Just give me a moment,” she told him in a soft voice, uncaring if others heard her.

The pack was enraged. Anger was a living, breathing entity in their midst. One wrong word and things would turn ugly. Mob justice would prevail, and Laurie Bell would be ripped to pieces. Even the Raven pack’s wolves’ fur stood on edge, their teeth bared and hackles clearly raised.

“Remember our plan,” she murmured to Rory, her gaze on Laurie Bell’s haughty expression. “Death is too easy for her. I want her to pay for what she did to you, Kian, Shannon, and your mother. And then I want to go home, me and you, skin to skin, and forget this night ever happened.”

They’d determined Laurie Bell acted alone. She might not be the only threat, Shay mused, but after tonight anyone should think twice about coming after her and their children.

Rory slid his hand from her waist down to cup her butt. The sudden hardness pressed against her stomach told her that her words had their desired effect. She raised her face to his. “Kiss me.”

The kiss was hard, brutal, tasting of the anger he tried to manage. But when it was over, both Rory and his wolf were more in control of themselves. He turned her so that her back pressed against his front, and wrapped his arms around her waist. Shay relaxed into his hold.

“Laurie Bell, I find you guilty as charged. Caleb?”

“Guilty.”

“MacDougal?”

“Guilty.” MacDougal’s voice showed his disgust.

“Council?”

Wesley and Bertram’s response was instant. “Guilty.”

When Graham didn’t answer, Rory asked, “Graham, how do you vote?”

In a voice so cold it made Shay shiver, Graham said, “Kill the bitch and be done with it.”

Laurie Bell flinched and looked at her brother in shocked disbelief. “What?”

Graham kept his eyes on Rory. “She’s dead to me.”

He really is a bastard. And to think, she thanked me for saving your sorry, worthless life. “Finish this so we can go home,” she told Rory, revolted by the whole matter.

“The penalty for the crimes committed against the alpha pair and their unborn child is death, but…” Rory paused.

The pack began muttering.

“What? What does he mean, ‘but’?”

“Kill the bitch and be done with it!” Graham hollered again.

More cries of the same were called out.

“But,” Rory continued in a louder voice, “as my mate stated, death is too kind for you.”

All eyes swung toward Shay, taking her measure. When Rory remained silent, the quiet increased as anticipation grew. What could be worse than death? Shay knew what they were thinking by the expression on their faces.

“I hereby declare you outcast. All property is to be seized. You have three days to clear all your personal belongings.”

Laurie Bell’s mouth dropped open. “You can’t kick me out! I’m the pack’s healer. You need me.”

“Three days!” Rory reiterated.

“My house! My shop! You can’t take them from me,” Laurie Bell protested.

“They belong to the pack, purchased with pack money. The house and its land, the shop and all the merchandise therein,” Rory reminded her. Shay had the satisfaction of seeing Laurie Bell’s face turn white as the impact of what she was losing hit her.

“But what am I supposed to do?” she wailed.

Did she really think they cared?

Behind her Rory seemed to expand. The heat of his flesh scorched hers where they touched. His power rose in the air, so heavy breathing became difficult. Her wolf stirred, rising to the surface in response to whatever Rory was doing.

“Don’t fight it,” he stated in her mind. Until then Shay hadn’t realized she was. She relaxed, trusted herself to Rory’s care. Her beast rose, joining with Rory until they were no longer two beings but one powerful entity.

Then Shay felt something else, someone else’s wolf join with them. It felt like Rory, but there was a subtle difference. A glance at Kian showed his eyes were glowing pure gold and he’d partially shifted. He still looked human, but his mass was larger and he’d sprouted claws and fangs.

Shay felt a tug and realized Rory was pulling on the pack. Caleb, MacDougal, the council, then each member, one by one, eyes began to glow bright gold until the clearing was lit. Her hair whipped around her face, but there was no breeze. The sheer buildup of energy had Shay staggering, punch-drunk under the strength of it.

“You. Are. OUTCAST!”

At Rory’s roar, something burst out of them and hit Laurie Bell straight in the belly. Shay could almost see the flow of power. The force of the blow bent Laurie Bell over, then bowed her spine. Head thrown back, she let out a high, agonizing scream that hurt Shay’s sensitive eardrums. Laurie Bell collapsed to her knees. Would have fallen on her face if Alex and Kian weren’t holding her upright.

Like a dimmer switch being turned, the brilliant glow of the pack’s eyes slowly faded until everyone’s irises were their natural color. Rory’s heat, though still high, no longer felt as if it would scorch a layer of skin off Shay’s back. The power rush faded, leaving her mentally tired but physically energized.

Shay turned to say something to Rory when there was a muffled scream, then a gurgling sound. Spinning around, she saw Laurie Bell on the ground, her bloody hand clutched to her throat. Kian casually flicked the blood off his clawed hand, his face impassive.

Her mouth gaped. That wasn’t part of the plan. Shay glanced at Rory. “Did you know he was going to do that?”

He smiled grimly. “It appears Kian felt it necessary to inflict a bit of justice of his own.”

“Did he kill her?” Shay asked, prepared to be pissed.

“No, she lives.” He watched Laurie Bell continue to bleed out, then shrugged. “I don’t believe she’ll have much of a voice from now on.” He glanced out over the pack. “Sanders, you and Davidson escort this outcast to pack up her belongings.”

The crowd parted as the men came forward. When they reached her side, both recoiled slightly and gave Rory a look of terror-filled awe.

“What’s wrong?” someone asked.

With a cautious glance at Rory, one of them answered, “She smells human.” Then they picked her up and carted her off.

That started another round of shocked mutters. Shay mused that this day would go down in pack history, and prayed they’d never have to repeat it.

After Laurie Bell was gone, Rory turned to the rest of the pack and said, “Let’s run.”

The Sparrowhawks were slow to respond, but gradually they shook off the anger and lethargy, began to undress and shift. Once on four legs, they pranced restlessly in place, looking at Rory.

“Go ahead,” Shay told him. “They need you.”

“You wanted to go home,” he reminded her.

“We will. After…” she said.

“You too, Alex,” Kee called out as Rory shucked his clothes. “Go burn off some of that energy.”

“I won’t leave you unprotected,” Alex said.

“I’ll watch them,” Caleb said.

Kian signed, I’ll stay as well.

“Kian said he’d stay too. Go, run. Rory needs you,” Shay said, eyes on the form of her mate. His ears were flattened, tail hanging low. “You’re the only one who understands what he’s feeling right now.”

Alex followed her gaze, then without another word of protest, cast off his jeans. His body flowed seamlessly into that of a wolf, and he loped over to join the rest of the mingled packs. Rory arched his neck and howled. Alex did the same. Then the Sparrowhawks and Ravens charged off into the woods.

So, in a replay of her first meeting with the Sparrowhawks, Shay found herself once more sitting on the mound, waiting for her four-legged lover to return. This time instead of the women of the pack, she had Kiesha, Caleb, Kian, and Nikolai keeping her company.

“You can shift now. You didn’t want to run with the packs?” Shay asked Kiesha.

Kiesha cast a wary look at the pine-strewn ground before reluctantly settling beside her cousin. “I’m still not that good at it, and Alex wants me to avoid shifting until after the babe is born.”

“Why? Does it hurt the baby?” Shay asked, placing a protective hand over her stomach.

Kiesha shook her head. “Alex doesn’t think so, but he’s not willing to take any chances either. In fact, he hesitated on allowing me to come tonight—not that I wouldn’t have come anyway—because he was concerned all the people shifting at once would force me to change as well.”

“Did it?” she asked curiously, keeping to herself that she was able to shift at will. That was something only Rory and Kian knew. She’d shocked them with her capacity to shift easily from human to wolf and back, especially since her scent still proclaimed her to be fully human. One day that ability might save her life, and Rory wanted the element of surprise on their side. Not only could she do a full shift, but both Rory and Kian were teaching her how to do a partial one as well.

Digging her hands into the soil, Shay concentrated until she felt her nails shift to claws.

“I felt the tug on my wolf—God, it still feels so strange saying ‘my wolf,’” Kiesha admitted with a laugh, “but Alex taught me how to control it.”

Shayla hadn’t felt a pull at all. Of course, she’d still been tightly linked to Rory when the pack shifted en masse, so that might have had something to do with it.

“Do you think she was the only one?” Kiesha asked Shay.

Shay glanced at the men, who stood in a group talking before answering. “I don’t know. Conor said enemies, plural, so I doubt it. What I do believe is that after what Rory did to Laurie Bell, anyone else planning to betray him will think twice.”

“And what, exactly, did Rory do? She screamed like someone was tearing her apart from the inside out,” Kiesha said.

“He bound her wolf.”

Kiesha’s brows drew together as she tried to understand what Shay was talking about. “He did what?”

“He bound her beast,” she repeated. “Locked it up so tight it can’t come out. I told Rory as punishment I wanted everything taken away from Laurie Bell that mattered to her. Rory couldn’t make her not be a shifter, so he did the next best thing. He made it so she couldn’t access her wolf,” Shay explained.

Kiesha’s jaw dropped. “I didn’t know that was possible.”

Shay glanced at Nikolai, who watched them. “Neither did Rory until Nik told him,” she said, gesturing toward the vampire, who winced at her abbreviation of his name. “I guess being older than dirt has its advantages.”

He bared his fangs at her, and Shay burst out laughing. It felt good after the tension of the last few weeks.

She turned back to Kiesha to finish her explanation. “To the Sparrowhawks, the only thing lower than an omega is a shifter who can’t shift.”

“Not just the Sparrowhawks, but all shifters,” Nikolai corrected.

“And this is something all alphas can do?” Kiesha asked.

“No,” Caleb answered. “It takes a lot of power. More power than one alpha alone can command.”

“So how…?” Kiesha asked.

The men all looked to Shayla. “Don’t look at me. I know what he did and where he got the idea to do it because I read him while our bond was wide open. I still don’t know how or why it worked.”

Nikolai sighed and came and crouched down beside them. “Because of the wolf’s bond with his pack, he’s able to link with them on the spiritual plane and gain strength when needed. A pack’s alpha also has a certain amount of control over his members’ beasts.”

“Like the ability to force a shift when necessary,” Caleb added.

Shay remembered how Rory had forced her wolf to retreat when she hadn’t known how to change back to her human form.

“Yes, exactly. The reverse is also true. Just as an alpha can force a change, he can also stop a change,” Nikolai continued. “But the effect is usually temporary.”

“Most alphas only use this ability to help omegas learn how to control their beast in situations where it would be dangerous for them to shift,” Caleb said.

“So what Rory did to Laurie Bell, binding her beast like he did, is only temporary? It won’t last?” Kiesha asked.

Nikolai shrugged. “It’s difficult to say. It all depends on how strong the woman’s beast is and how determined to break loose. Right now she’s sense blind. Her wolf is there, but it can’t connect with her. It’s like being in a concrete box with no opening. The woman will still have better vision, hearing, and sight, and faster reflexes than the average human, but she won’t be able to tap into the strength of her beast. And she won’t be able to shift into her four-legged form.”

“She looked down on Rory’s mother all those years for being an omega, and now she’s less, and outcast to boot,” Shay stated with grim satisfaction. It wouldn’t make up for all the damage the woman had caused, but it was a start.

“Thank you, all of you,” she said, looking at Nikolai and Caleb in particular, “for all you did tonight. Nikolai, I know you and Rory have this whole vampire/shifter stuff going on, but I appreciate you not only allowing Shannon to come here—don’t tell her I said ‘allow’—but stepping in with much-needed advice and wisdom.”

“Of course he did.” Kiesha slung her arm over Shay’s shoulder. “We’re family. Family sticks together. You know how it is: we may argue and fight with each other, but let someone else threaten us and it’s on.”

“Hmm, I always wanted a vampire as a brother,” Shay mused, eyeing the vampire thoughtfully.

Nikolai shook his head and smiled, a mere crook of the mouth. “The wolf has his hands full with you.”

“Yep, but he’s never bored,” she said with a cheeky grin.

Caleb choked on a laugh. From the way Kian’s eyes twinkled, she knew he was amused as well.

Rory retreated, letting his wolf take control. Unlike the man, the beast saw things in simple black-and-white and wasn’t conflicted by emotions. Betrayal was severely dealt with, then forgotten. Now it took joy in running with its brothers, its sibling at its side.

He brushed his side against hers in a show of easy affection as they ran through the dense woods, not minding that she had the scent of vampire on her. Even the vamp was pack.

The man inside the wolf knew that later he’d have to deal with fallout from tonight’s actions, but for now he was content to simply revel in the multitude of smells—the rich soil, new and decaying leaves, pine needles and cones, the smell of small prey.

He chased after a rabbit, caught and killed it, and brought its bleeding carcass to Shannon before bounding off after another one.

As a pack, they roamed all over the state park, traveling miles and remarking territory that belonged to the Sparrowhawks. Occasionally Rory caught sight and scent of couples mating in wolf form, and missed Shay with a longing that was physically painful.

Both man and wolf made the decision to turn and head back to the clearing, to their mate.

MacDougal fell into step beside him. “I contacted the Arizona pack’s alpha.”

“And?”

“I’m going to go, check it out,” MacDougal answered before trotting off.

Rory silently wished him luck. When he’d put aside his pride and gone to Alex for help, one of the issues they’d discussed was MacDougal and his discontent with the Sparrowhawks. Alex had put out feelers among his considerable contacts and discovered there was a small pack, numbering about thirty total, whose alpha was old and was looking for a strong wolf to take over. None of his males were strong enough. None of the men in Alex’s pack were interested since it meant relocating. Rory had taken the information and passed it on to MacDougal.

MacDougal was a strong wolf and had the makings of an alpha. Unfortunately he’d focused his attention on the Sparrowhawks, where he had no hope of leading. Rory had no intentions of giving up control anytime soon, and when he did, there were others higher in the hierarchy—Kian, Caleb, and should enough time lapse, his unborn son.

If everything worked out, this would be a win-win situation for them all. The Arizona pack would get a strong male alpha to take over when their leader stepped down, and Rory would have peace in his pack.

He padded into the clearing in time to hear his mate say, “Kian, now that we know what caused your muteness, you need to let Alex or someone at his clinic examine you. They may be able to fix the damage.”

It doesn’t matter. I’ve been this way this long, he signed.

“It does too matter,” Shay argued stubbornly. “Besides, you might meet a cute nurse or doctor who’ll insist on loving you back to health.”

One corner of Kian’s mouth kicked up, indicating amusement, but he shook his head.

“You might as well give in,” Rory telepathed him. “She’s not going to give up until you agree.”

“At least think about it.” Shay proved Rory right when she said it in a manner that showed she had no intention of letting the matter drop.

“Let me know when you’re ready, and we’ll get it scheduled,” Alex said.

“I’ll call Carol and make an appointment,” Shay said as though it were a done deal.

Shifting back to human, Rory laughed at the annoyed expression on his brother’s face. “Told you.”

He strode forward and lifted his mate into his arms. “Time to go.”

“You’re not waiting for the others?” she asked, eyes wide with surprise.

Rory stopped walking long enough to shove his tongue down her throat, letting her feel how much he wanted her through their bond.

“Oh!” she gasped when he ended the kiss and continued toward the truck, the perfume of her instant arousal scenting the air.

“But what about Kiesha?”

“I’m not into threesomes, and even if I were, I doubt Alex would agree,” he answered.

“You got that right,” Alex called out in response.

Shay slapped him on the back of his head. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

He pinned her with a look, allowing the heat of his lust to show. “Home or here? Your choice.”

She swallowed audibly. “Home.”

They made it to the house in record time. As soon as the front door shut behind them, Rory ordered, “Strip!”

The smile on her face should have warned him she was in a mood to tease. Shay undid the buttons of his shirt, one by one, taking her sweet time about it. By the time she reached the snap of her cargo shorts, he was panting and his claws were unsheathed.

She pulled down the zipper, then slid the tip of her forefinger beneath the slice of panties visible and gave her clit a stroke.

“Shay,” he warned, control hanging by a thread.

“Hmm?” She gazed at him under heavy lids, her face flushed.

“Mate, now is not a good time to tease.” He felt the shape of his eyes change and knew his wolf was close to the surface, as aroused as he. Her cream was driving them both crazy.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, striving to look innocent, but the devilish glint in her eyes gave her away. “I thought I’d indulge in a bit of foreplay.”

By alternating sides, Shay used her free hand to push down her shorts and panties. Rory’s gaze stayed glued to the triangle of pubic hair and her busy little finger circling her nub. When the clothing dropped to her ankles, she stepped out and kicked them to the side.

“Rory?”

He grunted, words beyond him.

“I’m naked.” Spreading her legs, she tilted her hips forward and speared her pussy with her finger. Seconds later she dragged the glistening digit through her nether lips, circled it around her clit, then plunged it into her vagina again. It made a squishing sound. Shay threw her head back and moaned.

Rory’s control snapped as with a roar, he scooped up his mate and bore her to the floor. He flipped her onto her belly, snatched her hips into the air, and like an arrow, pierced her glistening sheath to the hilt. Teeth locked onto her nape, he rode her like a bronco as she bucked, squealed, and screamed her pleasure beneath him.

After her orgasm ripped through her, he jerked free, lifted her into his arms, and carried her upstairs to their room.

“You didn’t come,” she panted.

“Not yet,” he gritted out between clinched teeth.

“Why?” she asked, sounding sated but confused.

“Bed first,” he explained, then had no more words.

He tossed her onto the mattress and followed her down. His mate’s comfort seen to, he was free to satisfy his own desires. Rory loved her until they both collapsed onto the mattress in an exhausted heap, the emotional trauma of the night forgotten.

Snuggling close, Shay murmured into his neck, “Laurie Bell deserved everything she got tonight. There’s no need for you to feel guilty.”

He closed his eyes and tugged her closer, thanking the Creator for giving him a mate who understood him better than he often understood himself. “I know.”

“More importantly, she’s no longer a threat to us or the pack.” She licked a bit of sweat off his neck.

“I know,” he agreed, running his fingers lightly down her spine. “I just…”

“Feel like you lost your mother all over again,” she completed.

“Yes,” he admitted with a sigh.

Shayla shifted until she lay on top of him and cupped his face in her hands. “The woman you thought you knew doesn’t exist. Eventually you’ll realize this and not feel so bad. Right now it makes me happy to know that you can’t do what was done tonight and not feel anything.”

“I’m alpha, Shay. Tough decisions come with the territory. It’s not the first time I’ve had to do something difficult.”

“And it’s not the first time your heart has suffered as a result. You know what this makes you, Rory?” she asked, their noses almost touching.

Eyes narrowed in suspicion, he asked a touch belligerently, “What?”

“Human.” Then she kissed him, and Rory forgot about Laurie Bell, the pack, and his justifiable actions tonight and gave himself over to his mate’s tender, healing mercies.