Moon Shine

Chapter Nine

Light had just begun to sneak over the mountain when she woke. Sometime in the night, Evan had shifted and was now in his wolf. They were cuddled together like two puppies, and her heart fluttered.

It felt so right.

Less than twenty-four hours had passed, and already there was a place inside that couldn’t imagine not being with him. And yet, she didn’t know for sure what came next, because that kind of trust and belonging were for other people.

Too many plans had been set in place that would have to be worked out one step at a time. Like shoving a musk ox into a china shop, things were about to get complicated.

After extracting herself from their warm, comfortable nest, she slipped outside to get some fresh air before the crazy day began.

She’d barely made it to the edge of the trees when it registered. Something was wrong. No birdsong, only utter silence from the animals of the woods and her sentries. Amy listened carefully, concern increasing at the unexpected stillness.

The faintest of rattles warned her in time to turn and face the wolf who leapt at her. He hit her hard enough to knock her to the ground, his jaws snapping on air rather than on her neck as she put on a burst of speed and moved to the defense.

She scrambled to her feet to face her foe, growling displeasure at having been attacked on her own territory. There was no way anyone should have been able to sneak up on the cabin like this.

Either her sentries were in trouble, or they would be.

The wolf she faced was black-furred and vaguely familiar. Amy cursed, the sound coming out as a furious growl. She’d expected to have to deal with Shaun at some point. She’d considered the Beta of the Takhini pack as she planned her strategy for revenge on Evan.

But it was too early in the day for this kind of discussion.

He took another run at her. Even as she dodged to the side to avoid his paw swipe, the attack just made her angrier.

Fine. He wanted a lesson in hierarchy? She would oblige.

She leaned forward on her front paws, crouching as she bared her teeth. Shaun hesitated for a split second, obviously surprised at the amount of power she put behind the snarl. While he was distracted, she slashed out, claws raking his shoulder. Before he could go on the offense, she crowded forward, batting again, this time striking the side of his muzzle as if disciplining a baby.

Her body might be smaller than his, but when she rushed in and hit simultaneously with her wolf side and a physical blow, Shaun had no chance of maintaining his feet. They rolled down the slight incline, claws scrambling as they fought for freedom. A series of growls and yips escaped into the morning air.

Amy hung on tightly as he attempted to roll her one final time and get his jaws around her throat. The momentum took them farther than he expected, and she thrust out her legs to halt their motion. She jabbed a paw at his eyes, and while he was temporarily blinded, caught his throat in her jaws, biting ever so carefully.

She didn’t break the skin, but her grip and body position was solid enough he wasn’t going anywhere until she released him.

A third wolf stood only feet away, observing. Amy had sensed his arrival, but thankfully Evan didn’t move to interrupt. She was determined this first fight would end the way she needed.

Shaun finally relaxed, tilting his head to the side just enough to loosen her jaws. It wasn’t a complete offering of submission, and Amy debated biting harder to make her point clearer, but something warned her to ease back.

She let him free. Shaun rolled to his feet, shaking his fur to shed the dirt and sticks clinging to him.

Evan chose that moment to pace forward, but instead of going to his Beta, he surprised her. He moved smoothly to her side, leaned in and brushed his muzzle against hers.

Shaun shifted. His hands were clenched in fists by his side, his eyes snapped dark with anger as he sniffed distastefully at Amy. “Dammit, Evan. She’s the important business you had to take care of in such a hurry yesterday?”

Oh goodie, this was going to be entertaining.

Both she and Evan shifted to their human forms.

“Is something wrong with the pack?” Evan demanded.

Amy had to give Evan credit for asking about them first.

“Yes.” Shaun jerked to a stop then kicked his feet like a little kid with a hand in the cookie jar. “I mean, no. Nothing that needs your attention this instant.”

“Then why are you here when I told you to stay in Whitehorse and take care of everyone?” Evan’s growing displeasure was clear, in both his tone of voice and posture.

Shaun didn’t seem to get the message to back off. “Yeah, well, there’s news. I thought it was important enough to track you down.”

That raised an interesting question. “How did you know where to find us?” Amy glanced into the trees. “And what have you done with my sentries?”

The Beta of the Takhini pack looked far too pleased with himself. “They’re a little tied up at the moment.”

Fury struck, and Amy moved without thinking. She had an arm wrapped around Shaun’s throat, him on his knees before the man could blink. Evan cared about his pack mates? She cared for hers as well. “If you hurt a single one of them, I swear you will pay.”

“Amy. Let him go. Please.”

She had no intention of setting Shaun loose until she was satisfied he’d learned his lesson, but the fact Evan had said please made the difference. She relaxed her grip, but shoved between Shaun’s shoulder blades at the final moment to send him sprawling to his hands and knees.

He mumbled something, and she rolled her eyes. “Working with you is going to be an absolute joy. Yes, I am a bitch, thank you very much.”

Evan stepped forward as Shaun scrambled to his feet, brushing the dirt from his knees. “Where are the Canyon members?” Evan asked.

Shaun pointed into the trees. “When I realized I’d tracked you into the heart of Canyon territory, I figured I’d better make sure no one could make a move on us. I found some rope in one of the outbuildings then snuck up on the sentries. They’re where I found them.”

Bastard. “You go and untie them this instant,” Amy snapped.

He rocked on his feet as her order slammed him, but the fool still had the audacity to cross his arms and glare haughtily. “You’re not my Alpha. I don’t take orders from you.”

“You want me to kick your butt some more to prove you will take orders from me?” She leaned forward, ready to take another swing, but Evan raised a hand.

“You made your point. Shaun’s being an ass like usual.” Evan turned to the dark-haired man. “Let her sentries loose then get yourself back to the Takhini pack house.”

“But, Evan,” Shaun protested. “You need to hear me out. Justin’s team called this morning, and they’ve got crazy news.”

Shaun continued to glower at her, his gaze filled with suspicion and concern. Amy couldn’t blame him for his misgivings. There were big changes coming in his life, and she was the cause of most of them.

Evan snapped his fingers in front of his Beta’s face to get his attention. “You said there was nothing that needed my attention. Do you really want to do this now?”

“There’s probably not much you can do about most of it,” Amy offered. “Isn’t that right?” she asked Shaun.

His eyes narrowed and his expression grew colder. Then he deliberately ignored her and faced Evan.

“I thought figuring out my mate was insane, but you picked an even crazier woman than me to get stuck with.” Shaun sighed as if the weight of the world were on his shoulders. “Fine. I’ll go back and make sure everything is waiting for you. Come back as soon as you can. And, dude, I suggest you keep your wallet hidden while you’re around this chick.”

Evan smacked him lightly on the side of the head. “Go. And don’t forget to release the Canyon wolves. We’ll see you later.”

Amy stepped forward before Shaun could disappear. “If I hear you’ve been unnecessarily rough with any of them, I won’t be pleased.”

“What will you do? Send me to my room without supper?” Shaun snarked.

He should have seen it coming. Amy gave him plenty of time to react, but he was obviously still figuring out who exactly she was. And while she would never have used violence on one of her own pack members, Shaun was Takhini. A few sessions inflicting unexpected pain were exactly what she’d anticipated would be needed to bring Shaun around to the idea she was going to be his Alpha. Whether he liked it or not.

Her sucker punch hit him in the gut hard enough he curled around her fist, air rushing out in a choking gasp. She patted him on the head as she pulled her other hand free. “I would never deny a growing boy his meals, but you might have to sit at the little table for a few weeks until you’ve learned some manners.”

Shaun straightened, that look of distrust lingering in his eyes, but a hint more respect in his body language. “I’ll see you at the pack house, Evan. If you bring the she-dragon, consider handcuffing her for all our safety.”

He headed into the trees, shifting as he ran.

Evan draped his arm around her, chuckling softly. “That went well.”

It shouldn’t have felt so easy to lean against his body and soak in his warmth. “You know he’s right. Nothing will be simple in the coming days.”

He turned her on the spot, his strong hands caressing her bare shoulders, an unexpected smile on his face. “He likes you.”

Amy snorted. “Thanks for letting me deal with him on my own.”

“Oh, I understood completely. And I’m serious. I think he’s very impressed with you, once he gets over the shock of how the hierarchy has changed. If he wasn’t safely mated, I might even be a little jealous.”

Now Evan was being ridiculous, not to mention he was doing this thing with his thumbs against the skin of her neck that made her want to lean in and lick him all over. The desire made her uncomfortable on all sorts of levels.

“I’m more powerful than him.” Amy gestured toward the cabin with her head, the motion breaking the physical contact between them, which was sad, but necessary. His touch made it tough to think. “In the end, he’ll acknowledge it. He just might not like it.”

“He doesn’t have to like it for it to be real.”

That brutal truth applied to them as well. The mating urge was there. The yearning to wrap herself around the solid man at her side and never let go grew every minute, cancelling out the impulse that suggested she stomp down hard on his unprotected toes. She focused on a new topic before the sexual tension could build again. “I can’t believe he tied up my sentries.”

“I wouldn’t be too upset with them. Shaun is awfully sneaky when he wants to be.” Evan followed her back to the cabin. “You may not want to hear this, but the fact he got away with it kind of proves my point about how strong Takhini is. Just think. One man, working alone. How many sentries did Shaun put out of commission?”

Amy stopped her rumble of displeasure seconds after it had begun, hiding her frustration by stiffening her spine as she paused in the hallway between the bedrooms to stare him down. “And I’ll remind you again, there are different types of power.”

He shrugged, not looking even remotely worried. “Wolves are wolves. Whoever is in control calls the shots.”

She closed the door to her bedroom while she dressed. So. It seemed the next part was less about them as a couple, and more about the packs joining.

Maybe that was the only way for her to survive this crazy situation. Amalgamation seemed to be Evan’s main focus, for all his talk of wanting to make things right between them as a couple.

The pack merger was going to be a huge event, with lots of delicate manoeuvering required. Did Evan realize that? Or was his method going to be as crude as Shaun’s? Sneak up on the unsuspecting, and force them to either cooperate or shut up?

Her pack might seem quiet, but they weren’t helpless, and they wouldn’t take being overrun without a fight.

Three issues loomed. Finding closure regarding her brother, dealing with her and Evan’s mating, and joining the packs. Solving all three came back to trust. She wasn’t sure she could trust him. Not yet, and Evan had no idea how much he had to learn about her.

Her phone rang as her sentries checked in one after the other. She reassured them she wasn’t hurt, upset or otherwise in trouble. They were all fine as well, although embarrassed at having been caught so easily.

Shaun wasn’t going to be able to pull off that kind of trick again.

A knock on the door interrupted her in the middle of pulling on socks. “Are you okay with us heading back to town? I have no idea what Shaun might do if I leave him unsupervised for too long.”

Amy nodded. “Of course.”

The sooner they got back to town, the sooner the rest of the story would come out.

“Can I take you for breakfast, though?” Evan asked.

None of this was perfect, but she had to work with what she had. “Sure. I know just the place.”

Evan paused for a beat when she handed him her car keys. “You aren’t serious. I get to drive?”

“Trust me, I have enough confidence in my abilities I don’t have to always be the one behind the wheel.” Amy gave him directions to where she wanted to go for breakfast, then pulled out a miniature computer and started working on it as he drove.

“I thought you took time off from work,” he teased gently.

“This isn’t work. This is fun.”

Evan shuddered. “Fun and computers are not words that go hand-in-hand.”

She blinked at him before shaking her head. “Oh, you sad little man. You have no idea what you’re missing.”

“Frustration and carpal tunnel?”

Amy waved a hand in the air. “See that? That is why some wolves pick the Canyon pack over approaching you.”

“Hey, just because me and computers don’t get along doesn’t mean I’m not an awesome Alpha.”

“It’s not about your skills, it’s your attitude.”

She worked for a while as he concentrated on driving. The logging road was twisted enough he had to focus forward instead of staring at her. At the silky smooth surface of her skin. At the strong neck he wanted to wrap his hand around before slipping his fingers into her hair. Fisting tightly so she couldn’t move away as he took a long, deep taste of her pouting lips.

Fuck.

He wiggled in place in an attempt to ease the pressure on his rapidly increasing arousal. The dire need to convince her to take the next steps with him grew exponentially.

They were nearly back at the highway before she put the tablet to one side and twisted in her seat to face him. “Not all wolves are the same. Not all wolves need the same thing.”

“I don’t need Alpha lessons,” Evan muttered, pulling onto the Alaskan highway between a couple of eighteen wheelers. Yeah, he was being cranky, but he and his cock were still not on speaking terms.

She crossed her arms over her chest and deepened her voice in an uncanny match of his. “I’ll make it right. I swear I will. I swear I’ll find a way to prove I’m worthy to be your mate.”

Okay, that was freaky. “You have that thing that lets you repeat word for word anything you’ve ever heard.”

“Uh-huh. Total auditory recall. Doesn’t work on things I’ve read, but if I hear it, I can repeat it. And that’s why I was doing the little Alpha lecture. From things you’ve said, it’s obvious you’re used to Takhini dynamics. Canyon operates differently, and if we’re going to work together, you need to adjust your attitude.”

“Not all wolves are the same. Gotcha. Attitude adjusted.”

She shook her head, concern creasing her brow. She took a deep breath then settled with her body turned away. Closing herself off from him, and Evan gave himself shit. He wished he could back up a few steps and avoid the conflict. What he needed was forward motion, not poking her already sensitive edges.

Evan pulled into the parking lot of the tiny, beat-down truck shop, wondering why on earth she’d picked such a dump to stop at.

Amy spoke softly. “Some of my pack are always around here. Please be careful how you move.”

It was a test. He hadn’t expected that, but in a way the challenge seemed a good thing. It meant she was at least willing to give him a chance.

When Shaun had showed up at the cabin, Evan had thought the fragile peace growing between Amy and himself would be shattered. Seeing her exert her dominance over his Beta had been an awesome surprise. A little early in the game, maybe, but the challenge would have happened eventually. Evan had been impressed.

Now it appeared he needed to do some impressing of his own.

Evan held the door for her, waiting as she stepped past. And…he had to do another mental adjust. The inside of the tiny highway café was sparkling clean, the heavenly scent of coffee and crispy-fried bacon strong enough to overpower even the addictive aroma of his mate. “Mmm. Already my taste buds are cheering, while my arteries cringe in fear.”

Amy gestured forward. “Pick us a spot.”

Three steps forward he froze, one foot damn near suspended in midair. The people seated at the table nearest the door had left so rapidly one of the glasses on the table rocked unsteadily before tipping and spilling the leftover contents over their abandoned plates. Escaping from the room with their eyes averted.

Shit. He glanced at Amy who pointedly avoided his gaze.

This is a test, he reminded himself. He had instinctively headed to a place of central attention—a place where his pack mates could find him easily and take comfort in his presence.

Amy’s little hints earlier made him reconsider if perhaps that wasn’t the best choice. He studied the room, checking faces and examining eyes for clues.

Most of the remaining occupants were human. Toward one side of the room, though, a wolf who was about eight years old stared straight at him. Not in fear, but perhaps with a bit of awe.

“How about over there?” Evan asked, the words coming out so quiet he could barely hear himself. Hell if he wanted to freak anyone else into running away.

Amy led him across the room and slid onto the bench next to the boy. “Hi, Dex. How’re things this morning?”

The kid’s jaw hung open as Evan took a seat opposite them, but even as he stared he answered. “Good. Mom says I get a new book today.”

“Nice.” Evan snuck into the conversation. “What’s it about?”

Dexter turned to whisper behind his hand to Amy, the words loud enough everyone in a five-table radius could hear. “He’s with Takhini.”

“He is, but you should still answer him.” Amy picked up the menu and pretended to study it. Her gaze met Evan’s over the top of the paper, a clear warning to tread carefully.

The little guy crawled up on his knees and leaned his elbows on the table. “It’s the final book in the Goligal series. Have you read it? It’s really good. They’re dragons, and they can fly, and they take care of their tree houses, and then there was this fire, and they got moon thieved, and…”

Evan nodded, and continued to nod as information flowed in a nonstop stream for the next five minutes.

“Dexter, I swear someday you’ll wear someone’s ears off telling them about your stories.” The waitress turned to Evan, her smile vanishing between one breath and the next. She backed up toward where Amy and her son sat, protective even as her fear shone out.

“Laney, it’s okay.” Amy laid a soothing hand on the woman’s arm. “He’s with me.”

Laney’s eyes were still panicked, and she licked her lips nervously.

Evan considered ways to ease the tension, but he couldn’t make a rational decision if his life depended on it. Which was stupid, crazy and so unlike him, but for some damn reason, his brain seemed to have frozen between one beat and the next. His mouth might be hanging open, his expression blank for all he knew.

Talking. Maybe talking would be good. “Your son is very smart. He enjoys his books, and I don’t mind listening.”

The woman swallowed hard and nodded, but it was obvious she was very uncomfortable. “The special today…umm. The special…”

“The special would be great. And a coffee, please.”

“Same for me,” Amy ordered. “Cream for both the coffees as well.”

The waitress nodded, then fled.

Dexter’s gaze remained glued on Evan. “Do you like reading?”

“I like that you like to read.”

Good enough for the kid. He went back to drawing something intricate on the pad of paper before him.

Across the table, Amy folded her hands, calmness and serenity pouring from her as she stared at him, her expression unreadable. It was a damn good thing she was calm because that was the last sensation Evan felt. He couldn’t believe how fucked up he was inside.

A meet-and-greet at a café with a woman and her son, and he was tied up in enormous knots as if he were a baby all over again. Evan wanted to slap some sense into himself if nothing else. This wasn’t him. He knew how to deal with people, how to offer assurance and a steady hand to wolves.

But right now he felt totally adrift and lost. Why was Laney so scared? Did the wolves who left at just seeing him think he was some kind of monster?

Stupid, crazy mating urge—it had to be the cause of his emotional chaos that was as unwelcome as it was unexpected.

Amy tilted her head and caught his attention, breathing with deliberate slowness.

Shit. He took the hint and concentrated on relaxing. Three breaths later he did feel better, and he reached across the table to cover her fingers with his own as a thank-you.

Amy tensed.

Dexter stiffened.

Heck, the entire café went deadly quiet, and most of them were humans, for fuck’s sake. There was no reason for anyone to overreact.

“Uh, sweetheart, can you up the positive vibes again?” Evan forced himself to keep looking straight at her instead of swinging to watch his back. He was not about to get into a brawl when she was simply trying to make a point about leadership styles.

Slowly her fingers relaxed in his. “Sorry. You surprised me.”

“Understood.” He swept his thumb over her knuckles. “Looks as if I have a tendency to do that. I hope you get used to it.”

He maintained a grip on her fingers until the coffees arrived. Laney filled their cups as quickly as possible, dropping a bowl of creamers onto the table. But her gaze was focused on their joined hands, and this time when she left, her escape was noticeably slower because she was looking over her shoulder to keep examining the scene.

“You realize my entire pack now knows something is up.” Amy slipped her fingers free to stir her coffee.

“The more alert of my pack probably have heard as well. Well, the ones who are awake. If I know Shaun, he already made some kind of grand proclamation in the pack house.”

“Chicken Little running through the halls screaming the sky is falling? Or maybe warning the dragon-lady is on her way?”

Evan grinned. “Hey, that’s the kind of reputation that impresses my pack.” Although, as he looked around, he had to wonder…

Dexter finished colouring the picture he was working on and handed it to Amy. He pressed a kiss to her cheek before scrambling over her to get to the floor.

He twisted to face Evan. “Be nice.”

“I’m always nice,” Evan insisted.

The kid planted teeny fists on his hips, his expression far too serious for someone that young. “If you make her cry, I’ll get even with you.”

Then he darted off, escaping into the kitchen.

Evan looked into Amy’s face. “You have quite the admirer there.”

“He doesn’t trust a lot of guys. His dad abandoned them before Dexter was born, and the guy Laney was living with until recently made it clear he thought Dex was nothing but a nuisance.” Amy took a sip of coffee, staring into the café. “After she left Mike the first time, he tracked her down, stole her savings and left her with a broken arm and fingers.”

Anger rumbled in Evan’s gut. “What the hell?”

“They were part of the Dawson Creek pack. The Alpha gave the bastard a lecture, and that was that. So she moved south. When they got here, she came to me. I helped her find a job. They live upstairs from the café, and there’s always at least one of the pack around to protect her in case her ex shows up again.”

Evan gave in to a momentary mental fantasy that involved ripping off the bastard’s arm and using the bloody stump to beat some sense into him. “Good. If they need any more help, let me know.”

She tilted her head. “Yeah, you would be good at that part. Providing defense. Only, can you see why she never came to you in the first place?”

Indignation set in fast. “I’m not an ass like the Dawson Alpha. No one gets away with shit like that in my pack.”

Amy shook her head. “If you can’t see it, I can’t explain it.”

Their meals arrived, Laney still moving cautiously, but at least not throwing the food at the table and running.

Evan worked even harder this time to display his usual charming-and-completely-not-scary self. “Thanks. It looks great.”

She dipped her chin briefly.

Amy brushed her hand along the other woman’s arm. “My thanks as well. Will I see you later this week?”

Laney nodded, glancing at Evan before focusing on Amy. “Are you still going to make it?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

The food was good, he was sitting across from his mate, but at the same time Evan wasn’t quite sure what was going on. Somehow in the last while he’d lost all control. It was more than uncomfortable, it was downright frustrating.

A reluctant smile twisted Amy’s expression. She spoke in a whisper. “You did okay.”

The faint praise shouldn’t have thrilled him as much as it did. “I feel like I should get a gold star, or something, for that.”

Her lips twitched harder. “Eat. You’ll need your strength for later.”

“I could misinterpret that so many ways.” He allowed the heat inside to escape in his tone.

Her eyes flashed for a brief second with that incredible passion he craved to indulge in, then faded to sorrow. “Wait and see if you’re still interested in me after talking to your Beta.”

Her warning was sincere, but Evan shook his head firmly. “There’s nothing he can say that can change my mind,” he insisted. “You’re mine, Amy, and I’m not letting you go.”

She looked both pleased and nervous at his comment.

The tug of war between them continued.

Chapter Ten

There weren’t a lot of people awake and moving around the Takhini pack house at this time of the morning. Evan pushed the front door open for her, and Amy boldly marched through the entrance.

“Shaun and the guys should be around somewhere.” Evan followed closely, his body heat a security blanket around her shoulders. “The common area is just to the right.”

She wasn’t sure if she should confess this, but in the interest of total disclosure, it was necessary. “Evan, I already know the layout of the entire place.”

“Amy, Amy, Amy.” He clicked his tongue. “Have you been spying on me?”

“Do I really need to answer that?”

“Spying is the least of what she’s done.” Shaun stood before them, his arms crossed over his chest. He wore a disgusted expression as if he smelled something rotten.

“Hello again, my sparkling ray of sunshine. I’ve missed you so.” Amy patted Shaun on the cheek harder than necessary.

“Yeah? Well, I’m watching you. I’m watching you closely.” Shaun did that little pointing thing, aiming two fingers toward his eyes then directing them toward her. “Because you are one dangerous woman.”

“Shaun, back down,” Evan snapped.

“She started it,” Shaun protested.

“I said, back down.”

There were a half-dozen wolves in the common area and more trickling into the room, checking her out.

Since Evan didn’t seem to be interested in introducing her, Amy ignored the questioning glances. Instead she turned her focus to the quiet, dark-haired woman tucked into the corner of the room. Her hands were folded in her lap as she perched on the very edge of a couch, as if ready to spring to safety at any moment.

At her side sat an enormous shifter Amy recognized as one of the bears who had remained after conclave had concluded. She nodded politely, but spoke to the woman at his side.

She held out a hand. “Hi. I’m Sa…Amy.” Maybe not using her first name would hold off a few problems for a while.

The dark-haired woman slowly accepted the greeting. “Amanda.”

Mr. Shiny Suit beside her leaned to the left as he extended his hand. “Justin. You have a bit of explaining to do, young lady.”

“Hold that thought,” Amy requested as she lifted a finger in the air. “Amanda, you okay?”

The woman seemed surprised at the question. “Of course, I am.”

Amy stood silently for a moment. “We can talk later if you’d like.”

Amanda got very busy looking nowhere, and Amy knew she’d guessed correctly. From the questioning glances Justin was directing her way, a lot of her work from the past year was about to come to light. That didn’t mean she could ignore a person like Amanda whose body language was all but screaming for comfort.

Offering help was part of who Amy was, and as necessary as breathing.

Evan stepped behind her, his hand settling on her lower back. “Let’s take this to my office.”

Amanda excused herself and vanished into the back of the pack house, but the rest of them ended up crowded into the small room. Her, Evan, Justin and Shaun.

Amy hung back at the door. She didn’t need to be around when the truth came out. “I’ll wait outside while you talk.”

“You’re not going anywhere.” Evan caught her by the waist and pulled her to his side. Already the contact was so familiar she was sad that the coming minutes would tear it away. He tucked her onto the chair next to him.

Amy eyed how far it was to the door in case she needed to make a quick getaway.

Evan folded his arms over his chest. “So. I’m here. What was so damn important you felt the need to break a direct order and track me down?” he demanded of his Beta.

Shaun gestured to Justin. “He’s the guy with the goods.”

Justin handed printed pages to Evan. “These are from the accountant I told you about. He faxed them over this morning.”

Evan shuffled through them, clearly not seeing their importance. “What am I looking at?”

The bear shifter ran a finger down the summary page. “These are the names of the properties and investments you’ve been building up over the past year. This column shows the total value of each.”

A low whistle sounded. “Looks as if I’ve done all right.”

Justin cleared his throat and pointed. “And this column shows how much you own of the investment.”

“What do you mean how much I own?” Evan rearranged the pages. “These properties were purchased by myself or the pack. Why do we not own one hundred percent?”

Justin looked straight at Amy. “It appears you had a silent partner. Someone else contributed money toward your investments. In some cases, after making a purchase, you made some of the investments sellable through shares, and your silent partner picked up as much as was available.”

“Here it comes,” Shaun warned, imitating the sound of a bomb plummeting toward the earth.

Evan shook his head. “But these numbers in the final column make no sense. How can I own only forty-eight or forty-nine percent of something?”

Might as well make sure he knew exactly what he was about to hate her for. Amy laid a hand on his thigh. “It means someone else owns a majority of the investment. They have control over it.”

“Bullshit. That wasn’t what my accountant was supposed to do.”

“It was done legally, but very under the radar. I’m not surprised your accountant missed it.” Justin’s expression remained fierce. “Amy’s got it right. Everything listed on that paper, you or the Takhini pack has an interest in, but someone else owns more than you. They are the ones in charge. They have the right to make decisions.”

Evan’s rising anger was apparent to everyone in the room. “Who the hell owns the other half?”

“Half plus a little bit,” Amy explained again. “And that would be me.”

It was a good thing he was sitting down, because Evan didn’t think his legs would hold him. He dragged a hand through his hair and fought to keep from growling.

“How? Why?”

Amy took a deep breath. “Do I really need to tell you why?”

Evan stopped in shock. “You planned this? You planned this all along?”

“This is why I came to Whitehorse.”

“Holy crap.” Evan shot to his feet and stomped across the room. Okay, this wasn’t something he wanted aired in public. Not when there was so much at stake. He needed everyone to get out now so he could have a heart-to-heart with his mate.

He rotated slowly, working to keep his voice below a roar. “Justin. Shaun. Leave.”

He could tell Shaun wanted to stay. Tough. Fucking. Beans. Evan snapped up an arm to point at the door. His Beta and the bear shifter reluctantly left, Shaun tossing a final warning glare at Amy before he closed the door.

The click echoed in the silent room like a gunshot.

She leaned back in her chair.

“You want to start explaining?” Evan demanded.

“I think you figured most of it out.” She met his gaze without fear. “When I did my research and discovered you were the one responsible for Philip’s death and everything that happened afterward, I was furious. The most logical thing seemed to be to take everything from you, like everything had been taken from me.”

He’d thought being hauled to jail was insane, but this? This was an entirely new dimension of lunacy, never before experienced. Evan took a deep breath. “But you were wrong. And now you’ve potentially not only hurt me, but my pack. How am I supposed to react?”

“Takhini will be fine. Just because I have control doesn’t mean I want to tear anything away from them.”

He struggled to understand. “This was about personally taking me down.”

“Yes. That’s all it was ever about.”

Evan dropped into the chair on the opposite side of the desk from her.

“So now what do we do? You own…” He glanced at the list of assets, resisting the urge to swear because that wouldn’t make the conversation run any smoother. “You own just about everything. The hotel, the bar, the pack house. How the hell did you do some of this? I’m no expert, but wouldn’t I have had to put things up for sale?”

She looked sheepish. “You did. You just didn’t realize you had.”

“Dammit, Amy. Did you forge my signature or something? Because that seems like the only way possible.”

Her non-answer was an answer.

“That can’t be legal and stand up in a court of law. There’s no way…”

He fought for control, refusing to shout at her like he really, really wanted to. No matter how fucked up this was, giving her hell for doing it in the first place didn’t change the current reality. He stared at the table and took slow breaths until he was rational enough to speak. “I understand why you started this, but now that you know more about what happened in the past, don’t you think the situation has changed? My question remains, what do we do now?”

Amy stood and walked to the window, her body tension tight. She remained silent for a while before turning to face him. “We join the packs, like the plan was all along.”

“But my plan was for Takhini to take over Canyon. From the looks of things, you’ve already joined the packs, and Canyon owns my ass.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Amy demanded. “The only difference is you’re not the one in charge. Does that make it wrong?”

“Yes,” Evan snapped.

“Because you’re the only one who can lead the joint packs. That’s a rather bold presumption on your part.” She glared at him, ice in the depths of her eyes. “I still say I could lead Takhini, but you could never lead Canyon. Maybe that moment in the restaurant would give you a clue as to why.”

This was getting them nowhere. “Are you really demanding I challenge you on a leadership level? My mate? Because that’s what it sounds like.”

“It’s not a challenge to point out a gap in your logic.” Her words came softer. Slower. “You made a wrong decision, and I’m trying to help you make it right.”

She was attempting to be reasonable, but Evan was so far gone from reasonable, it wasn’t even funny.

“I need some fresh air.” He was going to explode. He jabbed a finger at her. “Stay here.”

Her expression darkened. “Ha. I don’t think so. Nice try ordering me around. If you need to burn off some steam, that’s fine, but I’m going back to work. You know where to find me when you’re in control of your emotions.”

A growl burst from his throat.

It was as if there were two of him, and one half wanted to get the hell out of here and run off his frustrations. The other half didn’t want Amy out of his sight, and not only because he had no idea what else she had up her sleeve. “Look, I’m trying hard not to blow my temper, because I don’t want to say something I would regret.”

“Just assume I understand what you’re feeling,” Amy snapped back before softening, her expression growing sorrowful. “I can’t change what I’ve done, but I will tell you this. I’m sorry. I wish I’d found more information before I started.”

“Revenge is always a fucking stupid move.”

She seemed to stop breathing, regret and frustration shooting from her, and that was the final straw. His wolf backhanded him for sniping after she’d apologized. Whatever happened before, they had to move forward, and blaming was certainly not going to get the job done.

Evan crushed her against him, holding her tight to his chest. She remained stiff for the first moment before slipping her arms around his torso and allowing him to offer comfort.

“We’ll get through this as well,” he promised. “Yes, I make assumptions. There’s got to be a middle ground that we can find. Because all the wolves who live in Whitehorse deserve to have strong leadership, and the reassurance they have a pack who cares for them.”

“I want that too,” she whispered.

He slipped his fingers under her chin and lifted her face. “We’re both fiercely independent. Coming together is going to take some work, and we have to learn to trust each other.”

She stared at him silently then nodded. “I’m willing to try. I need to trust you more first.” She laughed ruefully. “But I bet you could say the same thing.”

“I’m in shock, yes.” Evan confessed. She was nestled against him, though, and he couldn’t stop a smile from escaping. “But along with the shock, I’m damn impressed. You kicked some serious butt. I like that.”

The corner of her mouth tipped upward. “You would be happier if it wasn’t your butt I’d been kicking, right?”

“Yeah, but this is still exciting. Who wants to turn down a grand adventure? And damn if we aren’t going to have the best pack in the entire North, with the skills we bring to the table. Whitehorse is going to rule, just like I’d always hoped.”

That inner layer of ice encasing her heart only got colder. While she understood why he was upset, it wasn’t very reassuring that once he did calm down it was all about the packs—joining and leading them. Not a single word about him and her as mates. Learning to trust, yes, definitely. What about learning to love?

You tore everything from him. Don’t expect promises of eternal love and devotion right away.

Don’t expect them ever.

She wanted to snap her teeth at the condemning internal voice. No matter how logical the realization, facts didn’t matter to her heart. She still wanted what she couldn’t have.

Evan continued to stroke her, his strong hands trailing over her back and arms. They were both craving physical contact, but she stared into his dark eyes and fought giving in.

An entirely different observation poked her as she stood within the circle of his arms. Amy examined him closer. “You don’t seem that upset anymore.”

“Anger isn’t worth holding on to.” Evan shrugged, the move making his muscular shoulders that much more apparent. “You had your reasons for what you did, and I have mine. Also, touching you calms me like whoa.”

He stroked her cheek with the back of his knuckles, and suddenly Amy couldn’t breathe. A decision needed to be made, and now. Did she pull away? Or give in to the craving?

His gentle touch on her face created devastating effects. The wolf’s appetite returned, hotter and hungrier than ever, and Amy turned her cheek to rub against him.

He held her firmly, one hand pressed to the center of her back. The other cupped her chin and angled her face to the side. The first contact between their mouths was gentle, but the tenderness lasted for all of five seconds before the pressure increased and he took control.

Her wolf cheered in satisfaction as Evan took her mouth with wild passion. He swiped his tongue across her lips and demanded entrance, thrusting deep. They tangled for a moment before he pulled back and put his teeth to her bottom lip. Goose bumps erupted on her arms, and a trickle of electricity shot along her spine from where his palm rested.

Her head was filled with his scent, the need to consume him growing more urgent by the second. He grasped the back of her neck, cradling her even as he tightened his grasp and held her motionless. A low rumble of satisfaction started in the back of his throat, and Amy melted against him.

She dragged her nails across his back, finishing with her fists tangled in the front of his shirt. Evan caught her butt in his hands, pulling her against his body, the rock-solid mass of him tight to her softness.

He took two steps and pressed her against the wall of his office, pinning her in place with his strong, muscular body. She was tempted to rip his shirt open so she could place her palms against his naked chest. Still he kissed her, still he took the very breath from her body until she grew lightheaded, clinging to him, her legs wrapped around his torso like some sex-starved Gumby.

Somewhere in the middle of their raging passion, she remembered what had brought her to Whitehorse in the first place, and the fire was doused with a bucket-load of unanswered questions. She stilled and retreated.

He sensed it. Between one heartbeat and the next, he dragged their lips apart, staring into her eyes as their breath rattled on like they’d sprinted a marathon uphill.

“Is this the beginning of the next step?” She looked for the confidence she’d had so abundantly not even a day ago. Careful to word her next comment in a way that made no guarantees she couldn’t keep. “We move forward?”

“As partners. Two Alphas finding the best way to provide for our people. Maybe Takhini will rule in the end, maybe Canyon. Those are simply names. It’s the people who are the heart. It’s the wolves we need to provide a home.” He lowered her to the ground but kept her by his side. “That’s who we serve, and that’s who we care about. Agreed?”

Even agreeing with him left a bitter taste in her mouth. For the pack. The focus wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t what she’d hoped for from her mate.

So be it. She twisted another protective layer around her soul. “I still need to know what happened to my brother, Evan. I need to be able to put it behind me.”

He pulled her in again for a hug, stroking her hair. “I’m going to ask you to trust me a little longer. When it’s time, I’ll share it all, but not yet. It’s too much.”

When it’s time. Amy beat down her frustration but saw no other way. In spite of the burning ache inside, she squeezed him tight, savouring the last moment of physical contact before letting him go and stepping away. She tilted her chin up.

“For the pack, then. What should we take on first?” She had her plan already in place, but she’d see what his take on things was first. She didn’t have to be in charge.

He paused, considered. “Do you have a leadership team?”

She wiggled her fingers. “I have an assistant. Canyon runs a little differently than a typical pack.”

Evan’s grin returned. “Our first step is to get all of them on board.”

Oh goody gumdrops. “Shaun will be thrilled.”

A burst of laughter escaped him. “You feel the need to step on him, you go right ahead.”

“Gee, I don’t think you’re enjoying this much,” Amy deadpanned.

He rubbed his hands together. “You have no idea. He might be my best friend and Beta, but Shaun’s still a pain in the butt.” Evan leaned over and whispered in her ear as he pulled open the door. “I’m eager to see more of what my mate can do. Malicious takeover included, you’ve been pretty impressive up to now.”

That much at least was a positive. Amy checked him carefully, but he didn’t seem to be putting on a show for her sake. He really had gotten over his mad in an awfully short period of time.

How important was it for her to show the same kind of boldness? Especially when it came to representing Canyon’s best interests. Perhaps everything else was mucked up and foggy, but her devotion to her pack would never be questioned.

Her wolf pouted. The only thing currently on the beast’s mind was how much longer the silly human side was going to postpone the time until she and Evan got naked.

It was an impossible question. Amy soothed the creature with a promise of a long run. That was the best thing she had to offer.

Which sucked. Hugely.

Chapter Eleven

Evan had always considered himself an observant man. He ran his pack with what he considered firm, but fair control, and overall he was a decent guy.

Being put into the situation of having to convince his mate of this fact was a rather bizarre twist.

It had taken a little wrangling, but they’d organized the first gathering. In the end the female Beta of his pack, Gem, with her easy southern hospitality, had risen to the occasion and offered to host a meal.

So now there were five. Evan on one side of the table, Shaun and Gem on the other. Amy led her second-in-command to a chair at the head of the table before stepping into position next to Evan.

Shaun was doing his stormy-face thing while Gem examined Amy with a great deal of curiosity. Evan didn’t even want to speculate how much mischief the two women would get up to once they got to know each other better.

His mate and her hacking talents? Gem and her ability to sweet-talk the universe into going her direction? His and Shaun’s gooses were well and truly cooked.

The thought made him smile like a maniac.

Amy elbowed him, and he blinked, dragging on a more serious expression.

She turned to the table and headed into introductions. “Sarah, I’d like you to officially meet everyone. Gem and Shaun. And this is Evan. I’m sure you’ve seen them around town.”

It was clear the elderly wolf was strong, but Sarah still stared at him as if he were a monster with two heads. The urge to make a scary face was far too tempting.

“Okay. I met everyone, now I have other things to do.” Shaun began to turn away, his nose wrinkling as if he smelled something funny.

Amy leaned forward before he could leave, a gentle smile on her face and insistent pressure blaring from her wolf side. “Shaun. Darling Shaun. Put your ass down in your seat or the next time you’re in wolf I will grab a nail gun, pin your tail to the floor, and force you to shift to human.”

Tension spiked briefly, easing as Gem sat, pulling Shaun down with her. By the time everyone else was seated, Amy had turned her attention to Shaun’s mate. “Gem, I understand you found some work with the Yukon government.”

Gem wore an expression somewhere between exasperation and admiration as she glanced between her mate and Amy. She laid a soothing hand on Shaun’s shoulder and rubbed as she answered. “Yes, I’m working through some research projects and summarizing details for the records. Suggesting future projects that will fill in the gaps and fit within the environmental guidelines for the area.”

“When you’re done, I would love a copy of anything you can share for the library.” Amy’s friend nodded cautiously at Gem. “With all the cutbacks, I’ve been struggling to add resources, and up-to-date research is always scarce. I heard amazing things regarding your work.”

Gem beamed. “I’d love to help you, Sarah.”

“Be careful what you promise,” Shaun warned. He pointed a finger at Amy. “This one—”

“—and I think it’s time to put the meat on the grill.” Evan shot to his feet. The ladies were working at getting along, but his Beta needed some sense smacked into him. “Shaun, you’re with me.”

“The steaks are on the counter. Please don’t burn them this time,” Gem ordered, her glare at Shaun sharp enough to cut.

Shaun stood, sniffing indignantly. “We don’t burn things, we add a healthy dose of charcoal to aid digestion.”

“Well, last time my digestion was squeaky clean for days. Let’s not do a repeat.” Gem blew him a kiss to soften the words. “We’re good here,” she insisted. “Go. Go make things smoke. You know you want to.”

Thank God for smart, reasonable women. Evan winked at Gem, and she smiled, pushing Shaun toward the door.

Shaun glared over his shoulder, but he followed Evan outside. Behind them, the three women continued to talk, the discussion branching into online book shopping and resource acquisitions.

Shaun stood silently as Evan cleaned the grill. Evan waited, figuring it would take about ten more seconds before his Beta let it all out.

“I can’t believe you’re mates with that barracuda.”

“Aww, you like her.” Evan slapped the first steak on the grill. “I don’t know what your problem is. She’s just as sneaky and twisted as you are.”

The other wolf snorted. “Sure, I like her. Kind of how I like double pneumonia and hives. She took everything, Evan. Are you going to let her get away with that?”

“It’s not a matter of letting her get away with it. She did it. There’s no going back and erasing it. That’s why we’re meeting tonight, to move toward the next stage for Whitehorse and the packs.” Evan closed the top of the grill and turned his full attention on Shaun. “I know it wasn’t the best of beginnings, but tell me the truth. What do you think about her?”

Shawn hesitated long enough Evan smacked him in the chest.

A slow grin snapped free. “Fine. She’s got balls, I’ll give her that. And I suppose if she puts as much effort into building the pack, I’ll refrain from trapping her in an alley some dark and stormy night and burying her in rotting compost.”

Evan nodded. “That’s what I figured.”

“Besides, she’s cute, in a sort of ‘willing to tear your throat out at a moment’s notice’ kind of way. And she’s strong—damn strong—which is sexy even while it’s freaky to have someone as tiny as her pack that much of a punch.”

A rush of extraordinary anger slammed into Evan at the thought anyone, even Shaun, was looking at Amy with sexual admiration. He crowded the man, backing him toward the railing of the deck. “The word sexy never again comes out of your mouth along with her name. Don’t even think it, do I make myself clear?”

The words weren’t that frightening, but the threat was there in his tone.

“Someone’s got an issue.” Shaun gave him a look. “You don’t have to warn me off. I mean, I’d never cheat on Gem in the first place, but I’d never in a million years go after someone you’re mated to. You need to chill the eff out.”

Evan squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Sorry. That wasn’t about you.”

“Your balls are turning blue, I get it.” Shaun shoved him away. “But no matter how much I love and respect you, I’m not offering to help with that issue.”

“Fuck off.”

Shaun grinned. “You know, you teased me unmercifully when I was figuring out this mate thing with Gem. It’s very amusing to be on the other side of the fence.”

Evan glared harder. “You’re going to get that fence shoved where the sun don’t shine if you’re not careful.”

“Just saying.” His Beta opened the barbecue to flip the steaks. He glanced through the window at the three women who were now gathered around the main table, putting out cutlery and making salads. “When did we get domesticated, dude? I mean, I love Gem and all, but this picture is scary weird.”

“The world had to change,” Evan pointed out. “As much fun as it was being single, this is our destiny.”

That is, as soon as he and Amy were truly mates. They were stuck in limbo. Not only was it physically frustrating, Evan hated not being in control.

Maybe he should take charge and make it happen.

Or maybe he should back off a little more.

Or maybe he should…

Jeez, he was being pathetic again. Maybe he should get rip-roaring drunk and not have to make any choices. He needed to screw his head on right and make a bloody decision. This going around in circles wasn’t him, dammit.

Gem joined them, slipping her arms around Shaun’s waist and settling in tight. She kissed his cheek then turned her smile on Evan. “I like her.”

Relief struck. “Good to know.”

“There’s something different about her.” Gem frowned. “I’m not sure what it is, but on the other hand, she’s easy to talk to, and she seems to care. Whatever she’s holding back doesn’t worry me, since this was our first meeting. I can work with her.”

Her assurances meant a lot. “Thanks.”

Gem stroked a hand down Shaun’s cheek. “And you, my darling, are being a problem child. Do I need to remind you to watch your manners?”

“I will be an absolute prince from now on,” Shaun promised.

Gem laughed. “I will believe it when I see it.” She turned to Evan. “I invited a few others from the pack to join us after dessert. I hope that’s okay.”

She was brilliant. Post-dinner they would have had enough quality time as a small group for the first day. “That should distract Shaun so he doesn’t do anything stupid. Any objections he’s got to my mate need to get buried and lost, and soon.”

“He’s feeling a little threatened,” Gem offered. “I’m sure he’ll get over it soon.”

“Still needs to behave, or I’ll sit on him,” Evan warned.

Shaun glared. “Hey, I’m right here. Don’t talk about me in front of my face.”

“Were we talking about you?” Gem draped her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly. “Oh, and here’s motivation. If you do act like an ass? I get to pick all the movies we watch for the next month.”

Evan whistled softly. “Man, I’d watch your p’s and q’s.”

“You know it.” Gem smiled as she backed away, waving farewell over her shoulder. “I’ve been saving every weepy chick flick I could find.”

Shaun crossed his arms over his chest and frowned as Gem closed the door behind her. “A guy could get a complex around here. You’d think I was an asshole or something.”

“If the boot fits…” Evan sniffed, swearing as he realized what the strange hissing sound was. “Dammit, Shaun, did you turn the heat up?”

His Beta scrambled for the tongs, but it was too late. He held a sadly shriveled jet-black steak in the air. “You like yours well done, or well done?”

Evan rolled his eyes. Some things never changed.

The meal passed without too many troubles, the emergency “back-up” roast Gem pulled from the oven going down easily. Shaun pretty much refused to talk directly to Amy, but the rest of them found enough to discuss that didn’t involve major pack decisions. Just an open, welcoming time to get their feet wet and start new relationships.

Supper was barely done when there was a knock on the door. Amy paused in the middle of helping Gem clear the table.

“Oops.” The beautiful dark-skinned woman straightened, turning to lay a hand on Amy’s arm. “I forgot to mention. Some of the pack said they would be dropping in. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not. It’s your home.”

“I don’t want you to feel…rushed, or anything.”

Gem bit her lower lip, and suddenly it was Amy offering a soothing reassurance the other direction. “I’ll be fine, but could you warn Sarah?”

Amy needed to touch base with Evan to see how he wanted to approach the evening.

That morning, people had been curious but reserved because she’d only been visible for a short while. Plus they’d been in the pack house, where all sorts of people could be expected to drop in.

Tonight’s gathering? Questions would be asked, and if she’d done her homework correctly, she needed to be ready to make a show of power.

Takhini respected strength.

Her Canyon members needed quiet. They needed plenty of space and freedom, allowing them to choose to come to their Alpha. They needed guidance, but many of them were damaged in some way, skittish and ready to bolt. The right Alpha met those hungers by being a deep, calm lake where they could refresh themselves.

Takhini were more like kayakers on a violent set of rapids in the moments before the river burst over the edge of the cliff, flinging them into free fall over a wild torrent. She had to be ready to throw herself off the precipice and prove she could guide their energy.

She pulled Evan to the side of the room. “What’s the plan?”

He slipped his arms around her, tugging her against his body. “Plan?”

God. How was she supposed to concentrate when her senses were filled with him? The heat of his body, his scent in her head? The lingering taste of the meal vanished until all she wanted for dessert was more of him.

The kiss earlier in the day hadn’t been nearly enough.

She struggled back to her question as new voices rang out from the front door. “What are we telling your pack? Do I need to make a challenge?”

“Oh, no.” He shook his head, skimming his knuckles over her cheek before tucking her hair behind her ear. “This is a social night with a few of the pack. There’s no need for any formal announcements.”

Unease settled in hard. Amy glanced over her shoulder in time to spot Sarah disappearing, the elderly librarian vanishing into the night before any of the newcomers could even ask her name. “This looks like more than just a few. They’re going to wonder who I am.”

“They’d be pretty stupid not to be able to sniff out who you are to me. But you need to go with the flow.” He leaned over and snapped his teeth beside her ear, sending a shiver racing over her skin as he lowered his voice to a whisper. “Trust me, and chill for a bit. Stop worrying about the details, and enjoy yourself for once without a computer in your hand.”

“Smart-ass.” This didn’t seem right, not with what she’d researched.

But then…she’d made her take-over plans based on having removed Evan from the picture before fighting her way in to prove she could care for Takhini.

Maybe with the unexpected mating on her side, things had changed.

Evan was staring at her, one hand cupped around her hip, his thumb teasing under her shirt along the waistline of her jeans. “So?”

Amy nodded slowly. “Okay. We’ll do it your way.”

He pressed his lips to her cheek. “Good girl. Now come, and say hello.”

Evan brought her with him to the middle of the room, dropping onto the arm of the couch and tugging her onto his lap. She leaned against him for balance, loving how his body heat wrapped around her. Hating how sitting with him felt so natural. It had only been a day. How could she change her life in a flash like this?

Her wolf sighed contentedly, answering the question in the most basic of ways.

“Evaaaaan!”

The shout sounded from across the room a second before they were surrounded by half a dozen oversized male wolves, all over six feet tall and all loudly demanding Evan intervene in their dispute.

“Knock it off,” he ordered, and the squabbling hushed in a surprisingly short time. “Lance, you first. What happened to your truck?”

While the man answered, Lance checked her out, his head swiveling between her and Evan. The entire group took turns poking their heads around Lance to stare at her with curiosity. Evan lifted his hand to her neck, stroking her hair to the side. His touch was driving her mad, and her physical reaction to the caress had to be obvious to everyone in the room.

Damn wolf senses.

Lance’s complaints stuttered to a halt. “What the fuck is up with you two?” he demanded.

Evan’s tone dropped. “Is that really what you want to say?”

The man stiffened, glanced again at Amy as he cleared his throat and spoke more civilly. “I mean, hi.” He held out his hand.

She accepted it. “Hi, Lance. I’m Amy.”

He squeezed her fingers a touch tighter than was polite.

Amy was good. So very good, which meant she resisted jabbing with her free hand and blacking his eye. Any other time, faced with his attitude, she would have reacted in an instant—attacking felt like the right thing to do.

But Evan had asked her to chill. So she was chillin’.

Much to both her human and wolf’s dismay.

Evan grumbled, easing her to her feet as he stood and faced Lance head on. It was no relaxed man but Takhini’s Alpha who moved forward and crowded the other man. “Amy, go say hi to someone else. I need to chat with Lance and the boys for a minute.”

Oh hell, no—

Chillin’. She was chillin’.

Amy stifled her anger. Now this was going to be a big deal, like she’d expected, but Evan was playing fix-it instead of them working together to set a firm foundation. But she refused to undermine his authority in front of his pack by calling him on it.

She pulled back as ordered. “Fine.”

She made sure the word flounce couldn’t be applied to her departure, but damn if she didn’t want to make a fuss.

Amy retreated to the sidewall so she could observe the entire room. It seemed watching was all she had done for the past year, but now a different perspective shaped her observations.

Not even five minutes later, Evan had an arm wrapped around one of the wolves’ neck, rubbing his knuckles briskly against his head. She glanced at the man’s face, but there was no discomfort, only satisfaction in receiving attention from his Alpha. Loud, physically aggressive and wild attention he seemed pleased with. Lance was in the middle of the melee, a broad grin on his face. In fact, the entire room was full of dynamic, eager-for-attention wolves.

Huh.

The situation had smoothed over rapidly. She’d been wrong, she guessed, and Evan had been right.

Then Amy considered what Laney would do if plopped into the room, and she shook her head. No, she might have been wrong about some things, but she wasn’t wrong about this. Her pack members would never feel comfortable in such a free-for-all setting.

And even here there was someone out of her comfort zone. Like a fish out of the fishbowl, the delicate bear-shifter Amanda Ainsworth sat in the middle of the room. Her knees were pressed together, back straight, hands resting in her lap as she stared forward and avoided making eye contact with anyone.

This was worth coming out of hibernation for. Amy made her way across the room, putting herself between Amanda and the noisiest of the gathering. “Mind if I join you?”

Amanda blinked in surprise then forced a smile. “Go right ahead.”

Amy made sure to leave space between them on the couch. She sat silently for a moment, glancing around to see what Amanda was taking in. Pretty much what had been apparent from the corner of the room.

Moving chaos. Energy and life bubbled around them, but for the quiet woman with the damaged soul, it had to be far too much shouting and questionable humour. “If you pick one spot straight ahead of you and focus on it, it will seem as if there are less people in the room,” Amy suggested softly.

Amanda turned toward Amy. She didn’t say anything for a moment. Her wolf power wasn’t useful in this situation, so instead Amy deliberately matched her breathing with the bear shifter. The tension drained from the other woman’s shoulders. Around them, the crowd continued to move in waves, but they were safe in their little oasis.

“Thank you,” Amanda mouthed.

“It’s not always possible to avoid gatherings like this, so it’s good to develop some coping strategies. I can teach you, if you’d like.” Amy shifted her gaze into the room, giving Amanda more space. “You seem to be doing very well, though. You are strong enough to accomplish anything you want.”

A small aching sigh escaped the other woman. “I’m pretending I’m strong, but each step takes so much energy.”

“It does, I agree.” Amy offered her hand. “It looks as if you’ll be around town for a while. Any time you want, you call me. Ask me anything. I’m pretty good to talk to.”

Amanda snuck her fingers into Amy’s and squeezed. “These wolves have been nothing but welcoming since I escaped my abusive husband, but they are rather…”

“Rambunctious?”

A small nod. “I enjoy the energy, but at times it’s overwhelming. And I want to move forward, but it feels as if I keep getting dragged backwards.”

Oh boy, Amy could understand. “Is there one thing you’d like more than anything else?”

The other woman stared into the room for a moment, her gaze landing on the large imposing bulk of Justin.

Ah. That was an unexpected twist. “You like him.”

Amanda shook her head in denial, before reluctantly turning it into a single nod. “It doesn’t matter if I like him or not, I’m not falling into the same trap twice.”

“Is he a trap?”

“He’s a dominant male bear. He’s demanding, and dangerous, and always looks as if he’s ready to whip out a weapon or his checkbook to make his point.” Amanda paused. “I don’t need someone with that much power. A powerful man had me in his grasp, and it nearly killed me. The next person I let in will be someone who wants me for myself.”

A rush of pain struck. Deep inside, Amy realized, that’s what they all wanted.

Fortunately for Amanda, her dilemma might be more easily solved than Amy’s convoluted situation. “I think Justin’s outside might not be showing you the real inner man,” she hinted.

“Perhaps.” Amanda brushed Amy’s arm lightly in thanks then slipped from the gathering down one of the quiet hallways.

Evan was working the room. Patting people on the back. Hugging some, joking with others. The volume continued to rise, and someone turned on music. The dining room table was picked up and moved to the side and dancing spontaneously broke out.

Amy sat quietly for another few minutes as she debated. This was her life. All her planning and preparation had been taken out of her hands, and this was what was left. Revenge had been torn away. There was no agreement between her and her mate how to proceed.

She still wanted him with a craving that neared obsession.

Ever since she’d removed herself from her final foster home, she’d been in charge of her own destiny. Maybe she couldn’t change some of what she’d been handed in the past twenty-four hours, but she would damn well take what she needed.

She was pissed off at how her life was proceeding? Fine.

Angry sex was better than no sex.

She tracked her mate to the corner of the living room, standing to one side until he noticed her. The delay gave her time to ogle his strong body with an increasing determination to enjoy what she’d denied herself. His muscular arms flexed against his short sleeves, biceps and shoulders a mass of curves she longed to grab hold of and explore. That firm jaw she wanted to bite, the layer of scruff she wanted him to rub against her sensitive bits.

The wolves he was speaking to fell away as he moved toward her.

“You forgot to say goodbye.” Amy accepted the hand he held out. “I was waiting until you were done.”

He pulled her against his body and swayed to the music. “Are you freaking kidding me? They understand. You came looking for me, and the expression on your face says something other than you want to kill me or kick me. No way am I letting this opportunity slip by.”

Amy allowed a laugh to escape. “I’m not confrontational all the time. Really.”

He pressed his cheek against hers, fire flaring between them. “I’m not complaining. I’ve decided I like you the way you are.”

Her frustrations unfurled a tiny bit.

Amy slipped her fingers into the hair at the back of his neck and stroked as she spoke. “You’re good with your pack,” she admitted, caving that much.

“Stop analyzing for a bloody moment and dance with me, woman. You have to take a holiday from your plotting at some point.”

All around them, people continued to talk and drink and eat. Some joined the dancing while laughter rose from the corner of the room where someone had started a board game. The entire house rocked with energy, but Amy’s world reduced to the man who was holding her. He pressed one hand possessively against her back, using his firm grasp to direct her where he wanted. And where he wanted her was locked tight to his torso, no distance between them. Only rising heat and need.

Her wolf had been sulking, but roused to agree that taking her mate for a test drive wasn’t a bad idea. Amy wasn’t nearly as upset at the beast’s suggestion as she should have been.

Evan put his lips by her ear and spoke in a whisper, probably in an attempt to keep the other sharp-eared wolves from overhearing. “Come home with me. Let me make you feel good.”

Lust was temporarily smacked down by another shot of guilt. “Umm, about your place. We need to talk.”

He chuckled. “Don’t worry, I noticed my apartment was on the list of things you appropriated.”

“You can ignore the eviction notice when it arrives, okay? I mailed it two days ago.”

His chuckle broke into full-out laughter, and he twirled her. Brought her to the ground carefully and cupped her face in his hands. “You are the most perfect woman in the world.”

Then he kissed her. Wrong place, wrong time for a gesture that might have appeared a claiming, but she was far too into what they were doing to complain.

To hell with it. All she was worried about was enjoying the way he tasted. The way his tongue tangled with hers, and the intense pleasure streaking through her entire body.

Some smart-ass wolf whistled, and Evan finally let her go, breathing heavily as he flashed the bird at his pack member. He grabbed Amy by the hand and dragged her toward the door.

Raging desire fought with the urge to do at least a few things to smooth her future with the pack. “We shouldn’t vanish. We need to say goodbye, and say thank you to Gem, and all of that,” Amy chastised him.

“You’re right,” he agreed without slowing one notch. He shoved her coat at her, jammed his arms into his leather jacket. He barely waited until she’d pulled on her coat before picking her up.

“Evan!”

He jerked the door open, shouting over his shoulder into the room. “Thanks for dinner, Gem. Goodbye, everyone. Don’t do anything that gets you arrested, because I’m not bailing anyone out.”

They were beside her car before she could protest again. She went for one desperate shot at regaining control. “My place.”

His response was to grin like a maniac. “No problem.”

Oh boy. Amy focused hard on not getting any speeding tickets on the way. The little internal argument with her conscience about keeping things platonic until she’d been told the full truth was over. Evan met her outside the driver door, scooping her up in his arms again and damn near sprinting to the front of her house.

If she hadn’t been as eager as him, she would have laughed.

It was time. Her head and heart might regret this in the morning, but her body was currently the one in control. Damn the consequences, full speed ahead.

Chapter Twelve

He needed to get his head back in the game, but with the scent of his mate filling his head, Evan teetered on the edge of losing the final link to his humanity.

He should be more concerned about how they were going to balance their differences, but he simply couldn’t muster a single damn fuck.

She unlocked her door, and he pounced, every last iota of patience vanishing. Maybe she had other plans, but his were pretty direct and to the point. “Excuse me while I shred your clothes.”

He kicked the door shut behind them before crowding closer. He picked her up and planted their lips together the way they belonged.

Amy wrapped herself around him like she had earlier in his office, fingers driving into his hair to keep their mouths connected. Her taste was mesmerizing, and he could’ve stayed there all night licking and tasting, and tasting some more. Nibbling on her lower lip as the air from their lungs mingled.

His shirt was already open as she worked to strip it away. She clung with her inner thighs to his hips while she jerked the fabric free, tugging upward to bare his skin. He leaned back, balancing her against his body so he could return the favour and yank her shirt off in one motion.

Their bodies made heavenly contact. He went back for another round of kisses, stumbling forward blindly. Amy moaned, and the noise went straight to his balls. His knees trembled, and the next thing he knew she was smack up against the wall.

Twice in one day. He could get used to this position. Oh. Hell. Yeah.

She pulled his hair hard enough to free their lips from each other, drawing in a deep breath. “Touch me. Touch me everywhere.” She tilted his head until their eyes made contact. “Just don’t mark me. Promise.”

“Biting is okay though, right?” He snapped his teeth, and her pupils dilated further. “And nails. Please, dear God, tell me you like to use your nails.”

She shivered and touched their foreheads together. “This thing tonight between us? It isn’t a forever commitment, but I want you. So, yes, do your worst.”

“You mean do my best.” He twirled them, finally having identified where the couch was. The curtains hung wide open, and the sky was clear enough that moonlight slipped in. He dropped her and had the button on her pants undone, unzipped and stripped away before she stopped bouncing.

He snapped the fabric at both sides of her thong and tossed it over his shoulder. He picked her up and returned to the wall, only this time, he lifted her higher. Nudging his teeth against her breast.

Amy caught his head for balance. “I don’t need a lot of foreplay.”

“It’s not foreplay, it’s a conversation. And I like to talk in detail.” Evan hummed happily as he examined one pretty breast then the other. “Oh look! Just what I ordered.”

He licked in slow circles, sneaking in on the tip until he could no longer resist closing his lips and sucking. Amy squirmed, attempting to get more of her breast into his mouth. He was content to torment her, alternating sides until she was swearing at him, thighs squeezing his ribs so hard they creaked.

“I can scent how turned on you are,” Evan gloated.

She groaned in frustration. “I think we’ve established that fact. Hurry up and fuck me.”

Evan shook his head, pushing one hand down her body so he could slip his fingers between her folds. “I’ve waited a long time for this. No one gets to take away my toys.”

He played her, stroking his fingers over sensitive spots. Every time he hit the right speed and tempo, Amy rewarded him with a gasp or moan. He had two fingers buried deep, his thumb working her clit when she stiffened, a long, low keen of delight echoing off the walls.

They weren’t yet fully mates, but the absolute satisfaction of getting her off blew him away. He always made sure his partners had a good time, but this was different. He not only wanted her to feel great, he wanted her to know it was him who had taken her there. That no one else could possibly want as much for her.

He put her feet on the ground, bracing her against the wall as he fell to his knees. “Again. A little louder this time. I don’t think the neighbours heard you yet.”

She attempted to collapse to the floor with him, but he held her vertical, one hand braced over her stomach as he put his lips to her sex. Her full taste hit him, and for a moment he froze, absolutely rocked with delight.

Amy trembled. “If you stop right now, I swear I will duct tape you to the center of the street then organize a stampede of wild caribou.”

“Hush. I’m savouring my dessert.”

Her shaking turned to laughter. “Damn you, Evan. I need you inside me.”

He nipped at her inner thigh, rumbling happily when she let out a little shriek. “Once I get in, I’m not leaving for a while,” he warned.

He leaned forward, scraping his teeth over the sensitive spot at the apex of her mound. She buried her hands in his hair and stopped fighting to get away.

Evan lifted one of her legs over his shoulder to get more room to work, then slid back in to enjoy himself. Using long slow licks followed by deep plunges, he tormented her until her fingers tightened in his hair, pulling the roots as she shook and came.

Hmmm. His cock might be rock hard, but he was already satisfied at making his mate happy.

He scooped her up and headed down the hallway. “Where’s your bedroom?”

“At the end of the hall, on the left. I can walk, you know.”

Evan clicked his tongue. “Damn, I didn’t do a good enough job then.” He pushed the door open with his shoulder. “Oh, now that is nice.”

He lowered her to the king-sized bed, staring into her eyes as he crawled over her, once again taking her lips. He was in the middle of a long, slow kiss when his hand touched something hard. He adjusted his fingers, and a click sounded.

Music burst out from nowhere.

Amy’s lips curved into a smile against his. “So that’s where I left the remote.”

Evan tossed the small object aside. “Now we have the perfect ambience.”

He supposed it was perfect. Classical music swelled around them as some guy with a deep voice bellowed in a foreign language. Evan was more interested in licking every inch of Amy’s perfect naked body. He put his teeth together over the curve of her neck, lightly enough not to be a mate mark, but with perfect pressure. She just about levitated off the bed.

She curled upright, swooping in on his belt and jeans. “Naked. Now,” she ordered.

“Eager.” Evan evaded her grasp and slid to his feet, debating if he wanted to get naked as fast as possible, or continue to push her delectable buttons.

“Desperate.” She scooted forward on her hands and knees, bouncing as she stared. “Hurry up, or I’ll tie you to the bed first next time.”

“That’s kinky.” He leaned on the bed and got his face right in front of hers. “Ropes can be added at some point, but I think you’ll be the one wearing them.”

“Too much talking, not enough fucking,” Amy complained.

“Savouring, remember?” Evan dropped his clothes to the floor. It took two seconds flat.

His mate swallowed hard, settling back on her heels. Her gaze dropped to take him in, and her look of appreciation made him rumble.

This moment had been a long time coming, and it had been totally worth the wait.

Amy let out a contented sigh as six-foot-something of muscular shifter stood before her in all his naked glory. He was sculpted and cut in all the right places. She’d finally gotten a good look at his tattoo, the words Whitehorse Forever waving on a banner that wrapped the rock-hard biceps. From his shoulders to his toes, she didn’t have any complaints.

She wasn’t even focusing on any sexual bits, but if she did…

“Whoa.” Okay, the sexual bits were as fine as the rest of him. Although bits was too…small…a word for what she was looking at.

Evan laughed, and his abdomen and other parts of his anatomy moved in the most interesting ways. “You’re drooling.”

“You’re gorgeous, and you know it. Now get your ass over here and stop making me wait.”

He prowled closer, the predator clear in every step. “You’re damned demanding.”

“What did you expect when you put two Alphas in bed?” Amy stared up at him as he stopped at the foot of the bed, close enough she could drag her nails across his ass cheeks.

“Hell, yeah. Do that some more.” Evan’s head fell back as she leaned in and pressed her lips to his skin. He moaned as she kissed her way past his belly button, headed for her target.

She swiped her tongue across the head of his cock, enjoying the constant rumble of pleasure rising from his chest. She moved slowly, running her tongue along the underside of the heavy shaft. Licking and getting him wet. Taking in his taste, which was oh-so-right, and far too addictive.

Only when she went to wrap her fingers around him, he broke free, grabbed her under the arms and collapsed onto the mattress with her on top of him.

The music station changed, this time to old-fashioned bluegrass. Evan dug under his back. “This thing is going to haunt me, I can tell.”

“I’ll teach you how to use it tomorrow. Just don’t push—”

The dim lighting was shattered by neon glaring along the ceiling. Brilliant red and blue strobes alternated with green and yellow, turning the room into a bad disco setting.

Evan sat up, his jaw falling open as he looked around. He kept a tight grip on her though, refusing to let her go even as he laughed. “Do I want to know?”

Her cheeks were red hot. “It’s a long story. Just give me the control.”

Evan held the small object in his hand, lifting it away from her so she couldn’t make any adjustments. “What happens if I push this button?”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

The bed started shaking under them. Evan collapsed back, clutching his stomach as he laughed. Amy joined him, because there was nothing else she could do.

Fiddles blared in the background, out of sync with the flashing lights. The bed switched from a constant shake to a slow undulating motion like the ocean.

“It’s like being on the set of a bad porno,” Evan gasped.

Amy crawled up his body and peeled the remote control out of his hand, pressing the stop button before collapsing onto his chest.

“Don’t say another word,” she warned.

Evan slapped a hand over his mouth, but his eyes sparkled.

Amy leaned down and bit his chest, hard. “One of the pack wanted to experiment with decorating. It wasn’t my idea, but I haven’t gotten around to changing it back.”

His hands settled on her hips. “Don’t go changing anything on my account.”

He shifted her higher, and suddenly all their important bits and pieces were lined up just right. He moved her again, rubbing her clit over his rigid cock. Laughter faded, but there was something a lot gentler between them now than even ten minutes earlier.

Amy reminded herself that great sex was fun and satisfying, and a good partner made a difference. She couldn’t dare wish for more, or she’d break.

Evan sat up, rearranging her so they stayed in contact, but he could touch her. Smoothing his hands up to her breasts and teasing with his fingertips until her nipples were tight and aching. He slipped his tongue along her ear, and put his teeth to the lobe and bit.

Laughter had changed the moment from a mere physical act to a connection between two people who maybe could learn to like each other as well as lust after each other.

“Give me your lips,” Evan whispered.

She set her mouth to his, rubbing back and forth. Sneaking out the tip of her tongue to trace the outline of his upper lip. He sucked her tongue into his mouth, pulsing in a way that made her heartbeat shoot skyward again.

She couldn’t wait any longer. Amy rose to her knees and reached between them, pressing the rock-solid head of his cock between her folds.

She looked into his face as she slipped downward. So full, so good. He helped her, hands tight to her hips, fingers splayed over her ass cheeks.

All the while his eyes never left hers. They were connected, his body deep inside hers, but it was the expression on his face and the tender look in his eyes Amy didn’t know how to deal with.

“If you don’t move in about two seconds, I’m going to lose it,” Evan warned, the words shaking as he spoke.

Moving wasn’t a problem. Amy lifted just far enough to tease before sinking, pressing him as deep as possible. Evan’s head fell back as she enjoyed the decadent sensation.

Suddenly slow wasn’t enough, and simply speeding up wasn’t going to cut it either. Amy pressed her hands on his shoulders, attempting to turn up the pressure even as she luxuriated in the wonderful pleasures enveloping her body.

Evan curled an arm around her back, bringing their torsos in line so that on every move they brushed. His lips pressed against her neck, sucking and biting, and the tension inside rose again in spite of her earlier orgasms.

He rolled them, dropping her to the mattress. He hooked his arms under her thighs and opened her wide. Then he leaned over and rocketed forward. Thrusting deep and hard. Demanding, and controlling.

Amy reached over her head, fingers clutching the quilt as she attempted to keep his name from bursting from her lips. She found herself holding the hard plastic of the remote, and as she tossed it aside she bumped the control button.

The music started again, a heavy drumbeat shaking the walls. Evan matched the music’s tempo, as if following a ritual seasonal dance. He slipped a hand between them and rubbed in exactly the right spot, and Amy lost it. She screamed, the sound turning into another of the musical accents, and Evan shook. He buried himself deep, hips jerking as his release exploded from him.

The entire time he never stopped watching. Never took his eyes off her. It was too much, and as she shook under him, Amy closed her eyes to focus only on the pleasure flowing through her veins.

He wrapped her arms around his back and rolled her on top. She couldn’t resist licking his neck, tasting the salt lingering on his skin and the passion of his wild wolf.

They lay in a heated tangle for the longest time. Evan stroking her cheek, Amy drawing circles on his chest with her nails. Somewhere in the silence they were connected, and neither of them seemed ready to break the tenuous bond.

It wasn’t forever, but it had been pretty spectacular just the same.

Chapter Thirteen

Around three a.m. Amy woke, her heart pounding madly. The room was pitch black, silence surrounding her.

The warm body at her side was unexpected, but perfect. Evan had refused to give her any space in the enormous bed, and even now was plastered against her back. He had one arm curled around her stomach, his hand casually pressed against her breast. Between the two of them the temperature was hotter than a volcano, and they’d tossed the quilts to the foot of the bed sometime in the last couple hours.

She stared into the darkness and tried to rearrange her plans. She wasn’t about to complain regarding the sex—she was no idiot—but how did this all fit in to her familiar reality?

People left. Whether they died or disappeared, it made no difference. The end result was the same, and there was no way she wanted to have to rebuild her life again. Once was enough.

His first focus might be her saving grace. Keeping their focus on the packs was the only way she could survive. Pack would never abandon her, because she would never abandon them. Concern for their well-being was always there. Her first thought, and her last, every single day.

Evan’s nose rubbed the side of her neck, and she fought the urge to roll to face him. He was dangerous, far more now than she had ever expected.

Still, she couldn’t resist laying her hand over his, gently stroking his fingers and up his forearm as he breathed at a steady pace behind her.

He seemed mighty content. The two sides of her psyche battled—between the part that was pleased she had such a profound effect on him, and the part that still wanted to kick out his knees.

She might have lain there for an hour thinking before his breathing sped up. Otherwise he didn’t move, but his heart rate increased, and small twitches shivered his skin. Another low rumble started in his chest, but not like when they’d been playing, or when he was sexually aroused. This seemed more frantic. As if an edge of fear had crept over him.

This time she did roll, examining his face. His eyes were closed, but his eyelids moved rapidly.

He was having a bad dream. Something horrible enough to cause him to shake, and his arms to tighten around her. Still gentle enough he wasn’t hurting her, but Amy placed a warning hand against his chest.

Beneath her palm his heart fluttered wildly.

And then as quickly as it had begun, everything went back to normal. Except he moved them slightly, tangling his legs between hers and pinning her to the mattress. His groin tight to her hip, an arm across her chest and his face buried in her neck.

So much for sneaking out of bed.

Amy matched her breathing to his. She cautiously stroked his hair off his face. There was just enough light for her wolf-enhanced eyes to admire his strong jawline and his long lashes where they rested against his cheeks.

She didn’t want to feel for this man, but it seemed nearly impossible to hold back her longing for their mating to be real. Forever. The only thing she knew for sure was to enjoy the sexual side and guard her heart as much she could.

Even while falling asleep, she sensed her wolf’s agitation at her decision.

Morning light brought no new changes. Other than Evan had finally rolled away, giving her enough room to sneak off the bed and into the bathroom. It was only five thirty, but she rarely needed that much sleep. She washed and dressed.

The entire time Evan slept, sprawled across her mattress. One arm flung over his eyes in a position of absolute relaxation and trust.

She left the television and computer off for once, grabbing a quick bite before leaving the note on the counter for him along with her spare key.

She hoped he didn’t read anything too big into that gesture.

Stopping in the park was as natural as breathing, but she wasn’t sure if today’s pause was for her sake, or for the others. And when Matthias turned up again, Amy soaked in his comfort.

Preparing her old friend for the coming storm.

“I found my mate,” she announced, testing the words.

They felt strange.

Matthias sat with his haunches on the grass, his head resting peacefully on her thigh.

“We’re still dealing with a few things. It’s not as simple as I hoped. But trust me, I’ll take care of your pack, no matter what.”

The old Alpha butted his head against her hand.

“You’re right. My pack.” She nodded. “Remember I told you I planned to join Canyon and Takhini? It’s going to start soon. Not sure how—all my plans are kind of up in the air, but it’ll work out,” she promised.

And somewhere in that promise to him, she found hope. She could do this. No matter how much effort it took, she would make a way for her people to stay safe and have a home.

Matthias put his paws on the bench on either side of her legs, lifting his grey head until their eyes were level. He tilted his chin to one side, examining her for the longest time before nodding.

She waited until he’d returned to the trees before she left the bench.

Things were pretty chaotic at the shop considering she’d only been gone for a day. She didn’t blame her staff for panicking when Evan had surprised them, but there was no reason they shouldn’t have been able to pull it together and stock the shelves like they usually did on Sundays.

Amy spent two hours on the floor before the shop doors opened, stocking shelves and cleaning up. The work soothed her. Simple enough she didn’t need to make any decisions, but detailed enough she had to concentrate.

“Sam? What are you doing here?” Tom stepped from behind the counter. “It’s okay. I can take over,” he offered.

She planted her fists on her hips. “Did you get anything done yesterday?” she demanded.

His sheepish expression answered her.

“Oh, Tom.” She shook her head. “It’s okay to get scared and react, but once you’ve had a chance to think, you need to make the right decision.”

“Are you closing the shop?” Worry creased his face.

What? “Of course not. Why would you ask that?”

He shrugged. “I don’t think the Takhini Alpha likes computers very much.”

“What would that have to do with Bytes Unlimited?” Amy narrowed her eyes as she examined her pack member. Oh dear, she knew what was up. She didn’t even wait for his response. “No. I am not closing the shop, and it doesn’t matter whether or not Takhini likes computers. Trust me, everything is going to be fine.”

The tension drained from his shoulders. “It was just with you taking off, and then you and Sarah heading over to…” He smiled, hesitantly, but with growing confidence. “I was just being silly.”

“It’s okay, I get it. But, really, Canyon is fine. And even though there are changes coming, I promise I’ll take care of you.”

The other half of her Tweedledee and Tweedledum popped out from behind the counter, Caden’s smile shining like a beacon. “That’s good enough for me.”

Amy remained patient. “So. Is there a reason why you didn’t get the stock put out yesterday? Decided to take Sunday off instead of your usual Tuesday Wednesday?”

The two guys eyed each other before Tom spoke for them both. “Well, there was this bear. He didn’t do anything, but he sniffed around the entire store. When he left, I kind of might have locked the door and forgotten to open it again.”

“And what with us hiding in the back,” Caden confessed, “we got a little behind on our duties.”

Amy laughed, letting her amusement wash over them and soothe them. “I’m not mad at you, but I need to get some work done and I want you to promise you’ll get your work done today as well. Deal?”

They assured her loudly everything was better than fine, and Amy headed upstairs to dive into her regular morning routine.

Only everything was different. She’d been gone for a day and a half, but she couldn’t get comfortable behind her desk. It was as if her skin was one size too tight.

And opening the computer just reminded her of her plans and all the changes that had to be made in the next weeks to join the past into some sort of cohesive future.

By the time she gave up and slipped back to the shop, there was one final box to be put away. She sent the guys for coffee and got to work, her back to the door as she bent over and lined up the small components where they belonged.

A pair of strong hands slipped over her hips, and she jerked upright, smacking the back of her head into the shelf above her. The metal pulled away from the supports and tilted toward the floor, packages and boxes falling around them like techno rain.

“Do you mind not sneaking up on me?” Amy took a deep breath to continue to scold Evan, when she realized it wasn’t his scent. It wasn’t his touch on her body.

She twirled, looking up into Colin’s bright green eyes.

Oh, damn.

She opened her mouth to warn him off, but it was too late. He’d already curled himself around her, his lips warm and passionate over hers. She didn’t want to freak out and blast him, but holy moly, this was not what she wanted.

Complications? With a capital C.

It took a moment’s effort, but she got her hands on his chest and gently peeled him off.

His expression was one of complete confusion. “Did I read your signs wrong the other day? Because I don’t usually go around kissing women who have no interest in kissing me back.”

Where to start? “It’s not you—”

“—but it’s me?” Colin chuckled, dropping his hands to her hips. “Come on, now, you can do better than that.”

Amy caught his wrists and gently pulled them away. “That’s not what I was going to say. No, you didn’t read me wrong, but things have changed.”

“In two days? That seems odd.” He inched back, his smile tugging the corners of his mouth upward. “Oh. You’ve been with someone else. I guess I shouldn’t have been so patient.”

Amy hesitated. She didn’t want to blurt out what had happened, but there wasn’t much else that was logical. She wouldn’t have made a date with Colin for Monday, then taken another lover. She was trapped with the truth. “I might have run into my mate.”

Colin’s eyes widened. He looked around the shop, before leaning forward and taking a long slow sniff. He shook his head. “Still not buying it. You met your mate and yet you’re here, working, at ten a.m. the day after it happens? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong.”

He shook his blond head in denial, and dammit all if he didn’t inch forward again. “If I had discovered someone like you was my mate, there is no way she would be back at work as if nothing had happened the day after we met. So don’t try that one on me. If you aren’t interested anymore, that’s more than fine.” He moved in even closer and lowered his voice. “But if something is wrong, I’m here for you.”

Oh, brother. Just what she needed. “Honest, I’m not looking for protection. There are some things I’m working through, but it’ll be fine.”

“That’s not a denial,” he informed her. “Things I’m working through and I met my mate are not phrases that are supposed to be put in the same conversation.”

Amy checked her watch. It was nowhere near the drinking hour. “Drop it, Colin,” she warned.

He crossed his arms over his chest.

Amy tossed him a single bone. “Fine. If there’s anything I need you to do, I promise I will let you know. But in the meantime, I apologize. I forgot to call and cancel our date.”

A dangerous rumble sounded from the front of the store. Amy and Colin both twirled.

“Oh, shit.” Colin put himself between Amy and Evan, who was wearing his angry face. “Is this what you’re working through?”

“Get away from my mate,” Evan snarled. He stomped closer.

Amy grabbed Colin’s jacket, jerking him toward the back of the shop as she slipped around him to form a barrier between the two men.

“She’s the one who makes that decision,” Colin asserted firmly. “Sam, you can step aside.”

There was terror in his voice even as he insisted on standing up for her. Cute, and yet as close to a suicide note as he could write.

“Testosterone is making this entire place stink,” Amy muttered. She raised a hand toward Evan. “Stop right there. Colin was just leaving.”

Evan’s eyes were wolf wild, and his body trembled as he tensed for attack.

“Are you sure—?” Colin began again.

This time Amy snapped. “Get your ass outside, or I’ll let him eat you.”

Colin darted along the farthest aisle and headed for the door. Evan turned on the spot as the other wolf ran, a roar of possession echoing off the walls of the shop.

Amy closed the distance between the two of them and swatted him on the arm. “Don’t you ever do that again.”

Only when he turned to face her, she wasn’t talking to the human. Evan’s wolf was at the foreground, and there was nothing she could do to pull him back until he was ready.

Evan caught her against him, lifting her feet off the ground as he clutched her tight. He took her lips with a ferocious kiss, one of ownership, and damn if Amy didn’t like it.

And hate it at the same time.

She gripped the back of Evan’s head and attempted to jerk him away, but all he did in response was bite her lower lip. The resulting flash of desire pissed her off as much as it heated her blood.

She was furious with him, and she’d never wanted to fuck anyone so badly in her life.

From deep in the haze of his madness, Evan struggled to focus on the here and now. Finding some other wolf hanging off his mate was the last thing he’d expected when he walked through the door.

It was bad enough to wake in an empty bed and discover a casual note telling him nothing more than she’d see him later.

Things to decide or not, no one was touching Amy.

And now with her taste roaring through his system, he knew he needed to calm down, but damn if he wanted to.

Pain exploded along his spine as she fisted handfuls of his hair and pulled violently. Of course, with the way he was feeling that was just a lovely bit of foreplay.

She did manage to break the seal between their lips. “Damn you, Evan, there was nothing going on, and now you’ve freaked out one of my pack.”

“He kissed you.”

That was all the explanation he needed, which was good, since it was the absolute limit of comprehendible words he could manage.

Fortunately, she was as wild as he was, using her firm grip to jerk his head to the side. “You will not scare any more of my pack. Do you understand?”

“No kissing,” he demanded.

Amy licked him. Started at his neck and went all the way up to his temple, before she put her lips by his ear. “You are such a jerk.”

He had been considering putting her back on the floor, but after that? “Someone is looking for trouble. Like getting tied up. Or a spanking.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” Amy had him by the ears, her gaze boring into his. They stayed still for one hesitant moment as a world of possibilities swirled around them. Something flashed in the depths of her eyes, dark and hungry.

“Lock the front door,” she whispered.

Halle—fucking—lujah. Evan held on with one hand as he sprinted for the front of the shop, miraculously avoiding taking out any of the displays. She clung to him while he turned the deadbolt and damn near ripped off the cord controlling the blinds covering the glass door.

The next second his shirt was shred from his shoulders. Amy put her mouth to his neck, biting hard as nails scraped down his arms. Evan’s cock went from zero to five hundred between one breath and the next.

She wasn’t marking him or accepting him as a mate, but fuck, he liked that touch of pain from her, especially when he was at a feverish pitch to begin with. “Use your teeth again.”

Amy caught him by the chin and kissed him madly, all teeth and delicious fire. He tore her shirt open, pushing her against the wall with his hips so he could get his hands on her perfect breasts. Massaging and playing, teasing her nipples to tight points so he could lick them again and again with his tongue.

By the time she was whimpering, they were both shaking violently. Tucked in the corner of the computer shop, broad daylight streaming in the front display window only two feet to the side.

Evan brought her feet to the floor, ripped her pants and underwear away and put his mouth over her sex. It was only a matter of seconds before she started swearing. Loudly. And creatively, especially when he slipped two fingers between her folds and plunged them into her while he worked her clit with his tongue.

“Oh, yes, right there. Right there. Right there…”

She screamed. Evan moved before she was done shaking. Pulled out his cock, twirled her and plunged in deep. He was bent over her, one arm wrapped around her waist, the other braced on the door as he pumped wildly. Her feet hung off the floor, legs swaying every time he buried his cock as deep as possible. The overwhelming sensation of being surrounded breaking him.

His orgasm surprised him, not only with its power but with how long it lasted. Every time he thought he was done, she squeezed her muscles, and he would jerk again, another layer of ecstasy breaking free.

By the time they had stopped tormenting each other, he could barely stand. Amy had both hands clutched around the door handle. Evan had to lean on the wall as he helped her back to vertical. Bodies curled together, he reluctantly pulled his cock free.

He slid down the wall, drawing her into his lap and brushing her hair off her face. She wore a bemused smile, and he figured his expression must be pretty much the same.

“You will not freak out any more of my pack,” she mumbled as she tugged on the remains of his shirt.

He kissed her cheek, working to catch his breath so he could respond. “I will not freak out any more of your pack, except if—”

“There are no exceptions, Evan,” Amy challenged him.

He cupped her face, twisting her so he could nibble on her lips and press kisses to her cheeks. “I don’t want to see that blond close to you again. Not for a while. I know it’s stupid, and I’m sure there’s a logical explanation, but my wolf wants him for a rug.”

She sighed, looked as if she was going to say something, then changed her mind. And when she rested her cheek against his chest and relaxed, Evan took that as a yes.

Chapter Fourteen

Evan straightened himself up before following Amy into her office. His mate pulled extra clothing from the cupboard, tossing him a T-shirt.

He sniffed it.

“It’s new. I occasionally get wolves in here who need clothes, so I keep some on hand.” She straightened her own clothing then settled into one of the easy chairs. “Let’s talk about dealing with the packs.”

He pulled his chair close enough he could lay a hand on her thigh. The need to touch wasn’t fading.

She stared at his fingers, a faint smile on her lips. “I did a lot of planning, and if we’re careful, things shouldn’t get too messed up. I have to warn my pack before I bring you around, so give me a couple days for that. But with the way Takhini operates, I should join you as soon as possible.”

It was a great idea, but…

Something felt off. Dangerous.

What if Takhini rejected her? Or hurt her. Images of the Hudson Bay disaster flashed to mind, not just the fire and the explosion, but the screams.

The crying.

No way was he letting her get into a situation where she could be hurt. He’d step on the hotheads before they could get out of line, which meant putting the fear into them before Amy starting hanging around.

Evan shook his head. “No. Let’s tell them on our own. Sort of a heads up before the merge officially begins. You talk to Canyon, I’ll deal with Takhini.”

Her nose wrinkled. “You think that’s the best way?”

“Straight-up shocking my crew isn’t a good idea either. Last night worked great—no one was upset or worried with you there. It’s a good start.” Yeah, this was a plan. Evan patted her leg. “There we go. We both spend the day working. We can get together for supper, touch base on how things are going, and make plans for the next stage as the packs fall into line.”

Amy hesitated. “I thought Takhini would need a bigger show of power.”

“No.” Evan insisted. He was not going to let that be needed. She’d done fine dealing with Shaun, but the entire pack? Hell, no.

“But—”

“No,” he snapped. “Drop it.”

She eyed him for a long time before rising to her feet and heading to the chair behind her desk.

Evan looked at the obstacle she’d placed between them. He watched as she turned on her computer and without another word went back to work.

Okaaay.

Evan moved his chair beside her. She seemed to have pulled on a mask. This was not the hot-blooded, enthusiastic woman he’d just fucked in the front shop. “What’s wrong?”

Amy blinked. “Nothing’s wrong.”

Silence returned.

Evan leaned back and watched her. The next fifteen minutes she kept her eyes glued to the computer screen. Every now and then her lips twitched, and she seemed to hit the keys a little harder than was necessary.

Something had gone wrong, but he was no super sleuth. Unless she gave him a clue, he wasn’t going to be able to solve this mystery.

Finally she gave up her façade of being deathly interested in whatever she was working on, and faced him. “Can I help you with something?”

“Yes, you can talk to me.”

Her exasperated sigh escaped in a gust. “I thought you wanted to talk to the packs on our own.”

“This isn’t about the packs. It’s about us.”

She paused before speaking. “I need some room,” she confessed.

“Room for what?”

Amy shrugged, her gaze not meeting his. “An awful lot has happened in the last two days, and I need some time to process it. Plus I’ve got pack to see, without you in tow.”

“I have things to do as well,” Evan reminded her. He paused and considered. While he hated the idea, he supposed there was no reason to push. He leaned in and kissed her cheek, frustrated at the wall building between them.

She didn’t even say goodbye.

Justin and Shaun were both waiting in his office.

“I’ve got good news.” Justin glanced up from the computer screen. “Amy sent an email with a list of the cancellations she had made that would impact the hotel and restaurant over the next two weeks.”

“We’ve already gone through and updated the orders. No more having to shut down the restaurant because we have no supplies on hand.” Shaun lifted his hands in the air and did a cheer. “You did it, dude. You got the evil she-dragon to cave.”

Evan glared at his Beta. “I did not get her to do anything, she gave up that information of her own free will. And you will not shit talk her again. Do I make myself clear?”

Shaun’s eyes widened as he backed away to a safe distance.

A bit snarky, maybe, but Evan refused to apologize. Amy was his, and the sooner that sank in for Shaun, the better.

Justin stroked his chin thoughtfully. “There’s a lot that needs to be dealt with. I checked her place yesterday morning, and it seems she knows plenty about running a business.”

“So we let her keep ownership of everything? Is that what you’re suggesting?” Shaun demanded.

“I’m saying it’s not as big of a worry to leave control in her hands as it would be if she were incompetent. As long as Evan trusts her to act in a manner that doesn’t harm Takhini, there’s no need for immediate action.”

Evan settled into his favourite chair, the worn leather upholstery nowhere near as comfortable as he remembered.

This was bullshit. Why was he hanging out in his office when his mate was somewhere else?

The big bear shifter excused himself with a comment about needing to meet someone. Shaun threw himself onto the couch across from Evan, propping his feet up on the coffee table. He examined Evan thoroughly, shaking his head.

“I hate to say it, but you don’t look good.”

“Shut your yap.” Evan stared at the ceiling. “She wants some space.”

Shaun gurgled. “What the fuck?”

“Seriously.” Evan ran a hand through his hair. “I mean, I get it. She came to Whitehorse to track me down.”

“Wait. What? You didn’t tell me any of this yesterday.” His Beta’s eyes narrowed. “And that doesn’t sound good at all. Track you down? Where the hell has she ever met you before, and if you’d met, why didn’t you know you were mates?”

Evan swung his feet to the floor and rested his elbows on his knees, allowing him to brace his aching head in his hands. “She’s from Hudson Bay.”

“Shit.” Shaun knew Evan’s history, shared during late-night drinks. Over the past months, they’d become best friends as well as a leadership team.

“It gets worse. Remember how I told you things went to hell at the end?” Evan stared into the concerned face of his Beta. “Her brother was the innocent wolf who took the fall.”

Shaun figured it out right away, swearing softly. “She tracked you down because her brother died.”

Evan nodded. “All of the crap she pulled was because I’m responsible for his death.”

Shaun’s rejection of Evan’s statement was instantaneous. “No, you are not responsible for his death. You told me what happened, and if she thinks—”

“I didn’t tell her everything yet,” Evan confessed. When Shaun looked as if he was about to protest, Evan hurried to explain. “Look, she just had something huge thrown at her, between meeting me in person and us being mates. I told her the explosion was for good reason, and that Philip’s death was an accident, and she seems to have accepted that so far. Telling her anything more…”

His Beta’s expression changed, no longer judgmental but incredulous. “That’s bull. You need to go the whole way, dude. Half truths aren’t enough with your mate.”

“But I don’t want to make things worse.”

“And her wanting space from you isn’t worse? I didn’t know any of this yesterday when I gave her hell. Now I feel like a shit, and you’re being a jerk.” Shaun paused, his discomfort and irritation rising. “Wait. Why am I trying to get you to confess everything? I don’t like her.”

The most entertaining part of the whole fucked-up situation was watching Shaun shuffle around the change in dynamics. “She’s got your number. She is the Alpha of the Canyon pack, which puts her a good boot print higher than you.”

Shaun sniffed. “We’ll see about that.”

The phone rang, and someone knocked on the door, and he and Shaun got tugged in different directions dealing with a crisis around the hotel. Fortunately, a normal, ordinary, everyday crisis that could be solved.

Through all the work, Evan couldn’t stop thinking about Amy. He hated not having her around, but he didn’t want to crowd her. He fought the urge to drop everything and haul ass to the computer shop so he could stay on her butt as a bodyguard. She could go ahead and do the things she needed, and he would innocently tag along…

And then he remembered her comment about him not fitting in with her pack.

He was stuck between two evils. Being without his mate, or being with her when his presence could damage delicate relationships. As a wolf, he wanted to say screw everyone else. As a fellow Alpha, he understood her dilemma.

Not to mention his insistence she not show up at Takhini. If he pushed her, she might push back and end up hurt.

If what she needed was space, that’s what he would give her. He pulled paperwork forward to distract himself. The entire time, though, his focus remained on one petite dark-haired wolf who had already tangled her fingers around his heart.

Amy rested her head against the window to gather her strength. She hadn’t lied to Evan about having work to do, but the biggest work she had was to avoid spending too much time with him. Familiarity was only going to make this harder.

Sex with him had felt so incredibly right. And then…all the doubts had returned. The confusion of those days after Philip went missing. The loneliness that had filled her life for the rest of her growing-up years.

Evan refused to tell her what had happened. He refused to listen to her suggestions and talk about the best way to merge the packs.

Was this going to be her life? Having a connection to a man who her body and wolf craved, but her mind and soul felt distant from? Like the married human couples she’d seen who were used to being with each other, but that was all they had. Familiarity. Comfortable with a person who they maybe loved once, but didn’t really like anymore.

She would be better off never falling into that trap in the first place. Until he trusted her enough to tell her everything, trusted her enough to listen to her advice, she couldn’t let her walls down again. She’d focus on her commitment to the packs.

Although, after she’d met with the first of her members, she wasn’t sure what was going to be tougher, avoiding Evan or making Whitehorse one.

The couple she’d thought would be the most reasonable about the announcement stood in shock, faces reflecting their horror.

Terry pulled his saucepan off the gourmet stovetop so it wouldn’t burn, a stream of faint curses escaping his lips. “Joining with Takhini would be like mixing cream and vinegar. You can’t be serious,” he gasped.

He could have been in theater, not culinary arts. “There are a lot of positive reasons for a merger, one of which is our joint powerbase would be expanded.”

“We don’t need more power,” he complained. “We have everything the way we like it. A comfortable catering service where we get to cook but don’t have to deal with actual people. It’s a nice, quiet and orderly lifestyle. Which is the opposite of most of them. Noisy, rude creatures.”

Good grief. “Don’t stereotype them all as hoodlums. There are good people in the Takhini pack. A few hotheads, yes, but we can deal with them.”

A sniff was all she got in response.

Amy sighed wearily. “Look, I know it’s not what any of us expected, but…” She had to confess it. “Their Alpha is my mate, and we are going to do this.”

Marie stepped closer and eyed her with concern. “You don’t look thrilled at finding your mate. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Amy insisted. “I’m adjusting. Giving myself time, like I expect all of you to give this merger between the packs the time and effort it deserves.”

They still looked skeptical, but at least they weren’t complaining anymore. Amy visited for a while longer before gathering her things and getting ready to go.

“I plan to bring Evan around so you can get to know him one on one before we try anything with mixed packs. I’ll make sure to warn you ahead of time.”

“So I can find a good hiding spot,” Terry muttered.

His mate bumped him, and they both smiled innocently at Amy.

She shook her head. Wolves. “Behave, and that’s an order.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

They ushered her from their kitchen with a hug, an enormous cookie in her hand as a farewell. She nibbled on the sweet treat as she paced back to her office, wondering how much more challenging the rest of her pack were going to be.

The familiar bulk of a bear approached the doors of the computer shop from the opposite direction. She waited until Justin had come to a stop, her head tilted so far back to meet his eyes she thought she might tip over.

“It’s like going on the floor during a basketball game.”

Justin nodded politely. “I’d like to speak with you.”

Tom and Caden would crawl out of their skins if she brought the bear back into her office. She gestured to the nearby coffee shop. “Do you mind if we grab a drink?”

“Not at all.”

She kept her curiosity at bay until they settled into chairs, steaming cups of the locally brewed Midnight Sun in hand. Amy eyed the bear shifter.

Justin raised a brow. “Do I have something on my face?”

She shook her head. “I was just admiring your suit. I didn’t know the Men in Black supplier carried big and tall sizes.”

He chuckled. “Blunt.”

“It’s how you prefer it. I’m not that outspoken about shitty clothing choices with everyone.”

The big man lowered his coffee mug. “Blunt again. Is this a wolf thing I’m unaware of? Upfront and in people’s faces?”

Amy didn’t hesitate. “I try hard to speak the language people understand. It saves misunderstandings.”

“So, you up and confessing everything to Evan the other day was what he needed to hear?”

She cleared the knot in her throat. “That’s kind of a special circumstance.”

“I see.” Justin looked her over carefully. “What type of language do you understand?”

Good question. “I think you can pretty much say anything you want, and I’ll be okay with it.”

“I have a business proposition for you.”

Talk about out of the blue. “Whoa, okay, that was unexpected.”

Justin smiled. “This is, of course, provided you and Evan don’t end up whipping Whitehorse into a frenzy of bloodshed and scandal.”

“Now you’re being no fun at all,” she teased.

He shrugged lazily. “I know, I know. Although, since my boss stopped the bear shifters from tearing the city apart, I wouldn’t object to a little fireworks from the wolf side of the equation.”

Bloodthirsty bastard. “I think Evan and I can find some common ground that doesn’t involve ripping out entrails and leaving them strewn in the streets.”

Justin leaned forward, elbows on the table. “Harrison Enterprises owns diamonds, but they have other holdings as well. I took a look through your computer shop the other day. It’s pretty impressive for a small, locally run enterprise.”

“I try my best.” His compliment didn’t make sense, though. “Surely you don’t want me to set up a computer shop in Yellowknife.”

“It’s more your overall business savvy. We could use someone like you on staff. Tyler has extra work because of his position as head of the bear clans, but he wants to be sure Harrison Enterprises continues to advance.”

She wasn’t quite sure where this was leading. “You did catch the part where I’m an Alpha here in town, right?”

He nodded. “Yes, and I heard the rumour stewing about you and Evan being an item. That makes no difference to me, I mean, to Harrison Enterprises. We’d want you for consulting services. You could work from anywhere, including here in Whitehorse.”

Well, now. She was always up for alternative sources of revenue. “Put together a business proposal, and we’ll see what we can do.”

He looked slightly sheepish for a moment. “You do realize if we hire you, I’ll suggest we put in the tightest fail-safes possible. To make sure at the end of every transaction, we actually end up owning what we intend to buy. No offense.”

Her amusement rose. “None taken. I wouldn’t hire me without major supervision as well.”

They chatted about the difference between living in Whitehorse and Yellowknife, until Amy interrupted. “I realize this might be out of line, but what are your intentions regarding Amanda?”

Justin sat back, obviously surprised by the twist in the conversation. “I’m not sure what you’re asking.”

“Remember my business about speaking people’s languages?”

He nodded.

It was interfering, but Amanda seemed so determined to make the wrong decision. Amy didn’t want the woman alone when a simple misunderstanding was keeping her from happiness. “You’re accidentally speaking a language she doesn’t want to hear anymore.”

Justin frowned. “Could you be more specific?”

Amy tapped her fingers on the table as she pondered the best wording. She gestured toward him. “My comment earlier about your suit. You’re a good-looking man, Justin, but you wear the trappings of civilization a little too hard. At least in terms of what Amanda is looking for.”

“Did she say something to you?”

Amy tilted her head from side to side. “Sort of, but mostly it’s in the way she watches you. Her body language says she’s very attracted then she remembers something, and up pops a barrier.”

The bear across from her nodded. “She does run hot and then cold. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong, but I suppose…”

Amy reached across the table and laid her hand on his. “She’s been hurt, but she’s not permanently broken. You can make a difference.” She let her gaze run over his expensive clothing, and her nose wrinkled. “But you need to lighten up.”

She patted his fingers.

Justin cracked a smile. “Are you into psychiatry as well as computer hacking?”

“Being a shrink is part and parcel of being an Alpha.” She tossed him a wink. “I admit this is the first time I’ve attempted other-species matchmaking.”

He sat up straighter, fumbling with his coffee.

Amy grinned into her coffee cup. Awww, she’d never seen a bear blush before. He must have it bad for Amanda.

They rose to their feet and he escorted her out the door. “Well, I’m thankful for your suggestions. And I’ll get that information to you as soon as I can.”

“No rush. I have a fair bit on my plate to deal with.”

Which was pretty much the understatement of the century.

Chapter Fifteen

Two days later Evan was ready to crawl out of his skin. He’d done everything possible to honour Amy’s request, but not showing up at her house was getting more and more difficult.

The sudden flurry of activity she’d buried herself under was frustrating, especially when he had thought things were straightening out.

His pack was no help either. All of them were as confused as his wolf. Those who had been at the spontaneous gathering the other night knew Amy was his mate. Word had spread through the pack, and now none of them could figure out why there wasn’t more action taking place.

A few of the more aggressive males had made comments regarding his leadership and strength. He’d dealt with them sternly, Lance and Toby especially, but they were young and cocky enough to continue to be pains in his ass.

Having to deal with an internal rebellion at the same time as dealing with his reluctant mate was not Evan’s idea of a good time.

Tonight she had promised to get together with him, bringing him as a guest to a concert her pack was involved in. As long as she didn’t cancel like she had their previous dinner and luncheon dates.

Evan was beginning to get a complex. He’d never had such trouble with any female before, and the fact his mate was the one avoiding him only made things worse.

So now he was standing outside Amy’s house waiting for her to answer the doorbell, feeling like a complete ass. He’d wondered about bringing her flowers and rejected it as the act of a desperate fool.

Amy swung the door open, and Evan’s tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. He peeled it off and barely managed to keep it from flapping like a damn dog in heat.

She wore a clingy dress, its shimmering wintry-white fabric like a second skin. The neck scooped low and the skirt skimmed up, stopping at exactly the right moment to entice him to explore. Add in high heels that made her legs go on forever, and he was pinned in place for far too long.

“Did you want to come in?” Amy stepped back.

Evan sighed happily as he watched her move. “I’d love to.”

It took an incredible amount of control to not make his forward motion become stalking. What he wanted to do was keep walking until he had her pinned to some flat surface so he could put his hands on that gorgeous body. Check out how soft the fabric she was wrapped in really was.

“Did you want a drink before we go?” she asked.

He shook his head, already intoxicated from looking at her. Just from the scent of her filling his head for the first time in days. He was tempted to skip the activity and spend the night devouring her. Tasting her skin and driving her mad.

Instead he’d concentrate on pack, like they’d agreed. “You want me to drive?”

She accepted his arm and he led her to the sidewalk. “Park around the side of the building.”

He opened the door and watched with fascination as she placed herself in the passenger seat. It was impossible to look away from her legs as she pulled them into the car. Her shoes were held on with delicate bows, and visions of untying them with his teeth struck.

A cough snapped his attention back up to her face, and he sheepishly closed the door and came around to the driver’s side.

“What do you need to tell me about tonight?” He slipped into the traffic and headed toward the theater.

“Canyon sponsored the concert—this is one of the few cultural exchanges that includes musicians from all over the northern hemisphere. The performance typically brings in people from around the world. This is the second time we’ve hosted, and it’s growing on an annual basis.”

The event wasn’t something that had ever been on his radar. “Good for business?”

Amy nodded vigorously. “The financial implications are huge. Investors considering setting up shop in Whitehorse like to know their people won’t have to sacrifice the experiences available in the more civilized South.”

“Makes sense.” He supposed. Although the idea of sitting and watching people while they played music had never been on his bucket list.

“I want you to meet two of my pack. Giorgio is part of a string quartet, and Tessa works the soundboard. They are both very good at what they do, but Giorgio especially might be hesitant to see you.”

“On the shy side? That seems a little strange for a performer,” Evan wondered.

Amy shrugged. “Just because someone is talented doesn’t change their internal character. Giorgio escaped from a pack in Russia that was using him for entertainment.”

Evan thought for a moment, but couldn’t figure out what she meant. “Entertainment? As in, he played for them upon request?”

“More like they kept him in a small room, and every time they turned on the light he was required to play. When they didn’t need him anymore they left him back in the dark.”

His mind reeled. “Sometimes I want to go back to the days when my job was to eliminate the stupid and the cruel in the packs out there.”

She stared out the side window. “Eliminating people in charge who are horrid individuals is important, I agree. But it’s dangerous to get so caught up in that side of the equation the actual people who need our help get ignored.”

They were at the parking lot. Evan slid into a stall to the side of the building where she directed him. “If packs were run properly, and leadership did what they needed to do, wolves wouldn’t feel they were trapped. What if there are others still imprisoned like your friend was?”

They were on the sidewalk headed for the main doors when she spoke again. “Giorgio is free from that room, but he’s not necessarily free from his past. Going back and eliminating his captors doesn’t liberate his heart. That’s where I can help, so that’s where I put my focus.”

Only a moment later they were following a red carpet to massive doors that swooshed open as they approached.

Men in suits bounded up to greet Amy, gesturing her forward even as they eyed Evan with caution. She slipped her coat partway off before he woke up enough to assist her. The moment of contact between his hands and the bare skin of her shoulders was far too brief.

A neatly dressed woman reached for Amy’s coat, and Evan passed it over. Even in his suit he felt out of place in the midst of the elaborate formalwear milling around the brightly lit area. His ignorance of an entire portion of Whitehorse population shocked him.

But Amy’s fingers were wrapped around his biceps so in spite of the discomfort in his gut, the night wasn’t a complete write-off.

She leaned in, her lips brushing his jaw, and he swallowed hard to control the urge to pick her up and go somewhere private to switch the evening’s agenda to ravishment.

“There are a dozen visiting CEOs we’ll try to touch base with before we move into the auditorium. Are you okay with that?”

His discomfort flashed to anger. “I’m not a bohemian. I know how to behave in public.”

Amy stiffened, her fingers cutting into his arm.

Great. Evan took a deep breath and pasted on his most pleasant expression.

She answered a wave from a couple and led Evan toward them. He fought the urge to do something outrageous, which was kind of annoying, since she obviously didn’t think he belonged in this world and him being an ass would just affirm her belief.

The next twenty minutes were filled with banal conversation and polite nothings. Or at least that’s the way Evan thought of it. He made sure he kept a smile pasted on his face although the edges got a little more ragged each time the conversation turned to employment. He’d announce his occupation only to be greeted with raised brows and almost sympathetic congratulations.

The current bastard pontificating in front of them was the fifth, and Evan’s patience had been stretched thinner than a small order of wings at the pack house.

“I think that’s fascinating. You must be thrilled to have so many opportunities to observe human nature while you’re in that bar of yours.” The behavioral-scientist expert, or whatever the hell his job had been—there had been too many letters and shit for Evan to be able to repeat it. The man wore an oh-too-familiar expression of “let’s humour the peon” that was really beginning to grate on Evan’s nerves.

Evan laid his fingers over top of Amy’s to make sure she didn’t run away as he spoke. “It is a great place to hang out and people watch. I’ve even analyzed exactly how the evening is going to go based on what people order to drink. There’s a science to it, you know.”

His opponent blinked. “Really? That’s fascinating—”

“For example, the beer drinkers have a totally different objective to their evening than the ones who order fancy mixed drinks with names that are hard to pronounce after they’ve had three or four. But my personal favourites are the customers who are so pretentious they ask what years our wine cellar carries, and then go on to recite some memorized spiel to show exactly how knowledgeable and classy they are.”

The man’s face drew tighter as Evan spoke, and he lowered the glass of red wine he’d praised only moments earlier.

Amy tugged Evan’s arm, smiling sweetly as she made her apologies. “If you’ll excuse us. It was lovely to see you again.”

And then they damn near ran across the room as Amy dragged him toward a door that said Staff Only.

“Oh, goody, do I get a new job?” Evan asked. “Maybe I should go back and tell that ass I’m moving up in the world. Now I get to use a broom instead of pouring drinks.”

Amy shoved him through the door and jerked it closed behind them. “Could you not hold your tongue for a couple of hours?”

Evan snorted in derision. “No, I think it would make it really difficult to tell that jerk off if I was actually holding my tongue.”

The hallway lighting was dim, but it was bright enough to see the frustration on her face. “You know what I’m talking about. Yes, I agree, Dr. Winston is an absolute jerk.”

“Then why do you care if I let him know he’s a jerk?”

“Because he’s not a dangerous jerk, he’s a potential business opportunity for the pack, and that’s worth putting up with a little bit of jerkdom for. Plus, there’s no need to prove I have more balls than everyone in the room. I already know I’m smarter than most of them, and that I’m nicer than most of them, and so I let the stupid things they do go.”

Evan narrowed his eyes. “You’re not making any sense.”

Amy rubbed her temples in frustration. “No, I suppose I’m not making any sense to you. The point is, I asked you to be polite, and it’s now only thirty minutes after I asked you that, and it doesn’t seem you’re capable of following any kind of instruction.”

Evan caught her by the upper arms, rubbing his palms up and down against her bare skin in an attempt to soothe her. “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you. I have no objection to being polite, but I do have trouble being polite when there seems no need.”

“And sometimes it’s not worth the fight. That’s the point I’m trying to make.”

She crossed her arms, brushing his hands away and breaking the contact between them. Evan was more disturbed by that than by her words.

“Were you going to introduce me to this Giorgio of yours?”

“After the show. Right now I want to talk to Laney.”

“The woman from the café?”

Amy nodded. “She plays the violin. Or, she did before her ex broke her fingers. She’s still trying to regain her skills, but she loves coming to these concerts, so I bought her a pass. She’ll be hiding down here until the lights go out.”

She tilted her head to indicate the hallway. He followed her, mentally rearranging his plan of attack so that he could get through the evening without pissing her off again.

He was smart. He was strong. He should be able to be suave and debonair for a couple more hours, especially when impressing his mate was on the line.

Only he did miss his comfy chair and the game that was going on back at the pack house. But if this was what it took to bring him and Amy back on track, he’d make the sacrifice.

Amy’s headache had a headache. They were finally seated in the auditorium, and for the next forty-five minutes there should be no necessity to put out any fires or sit on Evan to stop him from offending anyone.

Up on the stage the string quartet was already into the second movement, and the peaceful sounds flooded the room. Perfect acoustics carried the gentle performance of a soothing melody.

Her soul needed a whole lot of soothing. At her side Evan slumped, totally relaxed with his hips forward on the seat, his upper body set against the chair back. His knees were wide apart, his entire muscular body seemingly too large for the delicate auditorium chairs.

He’d dressed up, and she had no complaints about the external packaging. In fact, everywhere they had gone, people’s gazes had followed them as if he were a highly sought-after model. Whispered conversations from those in the room who were visiting made it clear they were all intrigued by the handsome stranger on her arm.

But the chip on his shoulder seemed to get bigger by the second. She had no issues with his job choices—owning the bar and hotel. Both were good solid positions and perfectly suited for his role in leading a wolf pack. Bringing him to the symphony hadn’t been about making him feel inadequate.

His defensive responses every single time someone questioned him had gone from bad to worse. He didn’t seem to get the concept that if the person didn’t matter, their opinion didn’t matter either.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. By the time the performance was over, she hoped Evan would have settled down enough she could take him for a brief meeting with Giorgio. They could escape before tensions rose again.

A few others of her pack were scattered through the auditorium. Laney had smiled hesitantly at Evan when they’d met, but the rest stayed away.

Joining the packs was going to take a lot more finesse and planning than even she had expected.

The music swelled, and she closed her eyes in an attempt to soak in as much relaxation as possible. The biggest thing she could sense, though, was the man at her side. The scent of him filled her nostrils, his presence borderline overwhelming. She wanted him so badly, and she hated that she wanted him when he didn’t seem to care about her in the same way.

Their knees bumped, and she jerked away from the electric connection between them that remained as strong as ever. He reached over, and for a second she thought he was going to take her hand. She was already opening her fingers to accept his touch, kicking herself for wanting it. Craving contact with her mate desperately.

Evan ignored her fingers, and instead pulled the program from where she’d tucked it beside her hip.

He stared intently at the small brochure while she fought to get her pounding heart under control.

A set of lights on the right side of the room clicked on, the unexpected brightness drawing everyone’s attention. An usher rushed forward, slipping out the side door. A moment later, everything was restored to normal.

Until a flash struck on the left as lights clicked on there. The musicians didn’t falter, but the audience was distracted as, one after the other, banks of lights all over the auditorium flashed on and were hurriedly turned off.

A low beeping sound began. This time the base cellist turned her head toward the side of the stage.

An Energizer Bunny toy appeared, its little furry arms pounding in steady repetition on an oversized drum, the turning wheels of the toy bringing it toward where the quartet was seated.

A murmur rose, and fingers pointed toward the stage. At her side Evan was no longer in a relaxed slouch but seated upright, raptly watching the action. She thought a low curse rose from his lips.

Suddenly, from behind the curtain and the sides of the stage, more toys appeared. A wild assortment this time, not just bunnies, but leaping frogs and mooing cows. Battery-operated devices of every kind poured onto the platform with a whirling pandemonium of noise and disorder.

The performers gave up all attempts at continuing, the final notes dying off into a melodic dissonance that mixed in a strange way with the clattering toys.

She had never seen such a thing before in her life.

Evan had his head cradled in his hand. Amy dropped an arm around him in concern. “Are you okay?”

He cleared his throat. “I think we should leave.”

There wasn’t much reason to stay. Everywhere around them, people were abandoning their seats and heading back to the foyer. Up on the stage, one of the performers had retreated to the top of her chair as hundreds of wind-up and battery-operated toys milled around them, the volume increasing all the time.

Amy pointed to a side exit. “We can get out that way.”

Evan caught her by the hand as they briefly fought people moving in the opposite direction. They pushed through the door, and Evan jerked her to a stop.

At least a dozen wolves were waiting, huge grins on their faces, all of them Takhini.

Understanding hit, and this time Amy was the one who swore. She pushed past Evan. “You’re responsible for this?”

Lance sneered at her.

She was going to rip him apart.

Before she could take a swing, though, Evan had come between her and her target. “I don’t know why you thought this was a good idea, but it wasn’t. Get your asses back to the Takhini pack house. I’ll deal with you there.”

Evan continued to block her path, and before she could get past him, the group had vanished as silently as they had come in the first place.

“Those little shits. What the hell did they think they were doing?” Amy was a second away from punching a wall since she couldn’t punch the miscreants.

“They probably thought they were being entertaining.” Evan dragged a hand through his hair. “Don’t worry, I’ll deal with them.”

She was furious again, but maybe this was the final straw needed to make Evan see reason. “Let me come to the Takhini pack house with you, and we’ll deal with them. That will help with this whole joining-the-packs issue. You and me, working together. Facing their concerns as a team.”

He shook his head. “They’re just feeling their oats. I’m sure they thought it was funny.”

“It wasn’t funny.”

Evan wrinkled his nose. “Well, it kinda was, if you think about it. I mean it was wrong of them, and I will totally rake them over the coals for it, but you have to admit it was rather hysterical when that first bunny showed up.”

This was a perfect example of what she’d talked about earlier. Another of those moments where it wasn’t worth making her point because he obviously wasn’t on the same page as her. Amy jerked past him, not even caring if he followed her or not. “Fine. Do it your way. But if they try something like that again, I will have something to say about it.”

“Of course you will, and rightly so,” Evan soothed her. “Let me drive you home.”

She already had her hands on the exit-door release. “Don’t bother. I’ll get a cab. You have some brats waiting for you at home to discipline.”

“Will I see you tomorrow?” Evan asked.

Slamming the door was the only answer she gave him.

Chapter Sixteen

The morning after the symphony had been disrupted, Amy’s staff looked far too amused. She hesitated before heading up to her office. “Do I want to know?”

Tom and Caden exchanged glances before shaking their heads.

Which only meant she had to know. “Okay. Tell me.”

They pushed a printout toward her. She picked it up to read an energy bill.

“What’s this?” She rapidly scanned the page until she spotted something out of the norm. “Damn. You guys are a bunch of turkeys.”

Tom shrugged. “An eye for an eye. We didn’t do anything to the Takhini pack members who weren’t involved. Just the select group who need to learn a few manners.”

Amy shook her head. “It’s not funny, and I don’t want you to do anything like this again, do you hear me?”

“Is that a direct order?” Caden asked.

“Do I have to make it one?” Amy watched them for a moment, and when they slunk away, she left it.

She’d barely sat down when her phone rang. “Hi, Evan.”

He was in a vile mood. “I thought you promised you were done messing with my finances.”

“Don’t look at me this time. Couple of my pack decided to be smart-asses. What happened to you?” She paused for a moment, confused. “Hang on, they did something to you? That doesn’t make sense. They told me they only went after the jerks who screwed up last night.”

“Well, it looks as if they’re blaming me as well. Some of the pack have bills from the electric department for three months’ back payments. Others got shipments of rabbit traps delivered to their door COD this morning.”

“And yours?”

Evan sighed. “My cell phone bill just got delivered. It’s for over thirty-two thousand dollars.”

Poetic justice in a way. “They seem to be making the punishment fit the crime.”

There was silence for a moment before Evan spoke. “Okay, I get the electric bill and the bunny traps, but why my cell phone?”

“As head of the pranksters, they probably figured you should be in better communication with them.”

A low growl came over the phone, and not the one that made her heart rate pick up. This one was sheer annoyance. “What are you going to do about it?”

That was polite. Not. “I’ve already spoken to them.”

“I mean, can they get the charges reversed? I’m going to spend all day on the phone with customer service trying get this straightened out.”

“Poor baby.” Her snarky response snuck out before she could help herself.

“Amy. It’s not funny.”

Vengeance was sweet. “I don’t know. It’s actually kind of funny, if you think about it. I mean, I can just imagine what your face must have looked like when you opened that bill.”

He must have accidentally dropped the phone, the clatter in her ear extremely loud.

Things just went downhill from there.

It started slowly, the internal rebellions. Retaliation for one act was followed by another. Both she and Evan spoke to their packs, but it seemed there was no way to make them see reason. Everyone took what had begun as a childish prank personally, and in some ways Amy couldn’t blame them.

For the first time Takhini and Canyon were in the middle of a huge change, and yet at every turn Evan blocked her suggestion that they work together. It wasn’t like him, not from what she had observed over the past year, but his leadership style had changed completely.

It seemed Takhini and Canyon had declared war.

Takhini egged her house.

Canyon somehow figured out which pack members had been involved and wrapped their cars with three layers of egg cartons and chicken wire.

Takhini sent invitations to participate in the next Iditarod—as sled pullers—to all the Canyon pack.

Canyon sent flea collars to everyone.

Harmless pranks for the most part, but all of them annoying and disruptive. And yet every time Amy offered to come and talk to the Takhini pack with him, Evan turned her down. She felt as if her hands were tied. Between the once-again-denied mating urge and the continued chaos in the packs, frustration was her constant companion.

If only Evan would come and ask her to work with him, but it seemed that was beyond the level of trust he was willing to show. All she could do was hold on and attempt to keep order over wolves who were increasingly hard to control.

Nearly a week later her phone woke her. Amy picked it up, still groggy from a poor night’s sleep. “What?”

“Damn vandals, and I bet anything I know exactly who the damn vandals are. Anyway, they took all four of my tires last night,” Tom complained. “Sorry, I’m going to be a little late to work.”

“No problem. Get there when you can.”

The third time the phone rang in the next five minutes with one of her pack letting her know they’d had a theft, Amy knew Tom was right, Takhini had hit again. She walked past her front window on the way to the kitchen for some extra-strong coffee, and froze in place.

Her entire old front yard was filled with tires. They’d been stacked like rubber Inuksuk, their torsos made of black circles, winter treads extending out as arms. Shiny hubcaps balanced on top as heads.

Her lips twitched, and she snorted briefly with amusement before getting on the phone to let her pack know where they could find their tires. Inside, though, the icy sadness only grew.

It was just after lunch when Evan stomped his way to the couch in the pack house where Shaun and Gem were talking with Justin. “I’m going to kill them,” he declared.

“Are you giving me a heads up so I can gather bail money again?” Justin asked.

“Very funny. I don’t mean literally kill them.” Evan paused. “Although, it’s tempting.”

“What’s the latest?” Shaun asked.

“As if you don’t know.” Evan narrowed his eyes. “You’re sure you’re not encouraging the brats?”

“Dude. Of course not. I want the little shits to start behaving themselves as well. Okay, it was funny when they toilet-papered the Canyon pack houses.”

Gem shook her head. “It wasn’t so funny when Canyon arranged to have fresh manure spread on the lawns of the troublemakers.”

“They’re going to be the envy of all their neighbours come next spring,” Justin pointed out, a huge grin spreading across his big bear face.

Evan offered him a death glare. “You’re enjoying this far too much.”

Justin shrugged. “There’s no bloodshed in the streets, so yes, it is rather amusing.”

“But it needs to stop, and soon.” Gem looked as worried as Evan felt. “So far it has all been fairly innocuous and safe, but what happens when it goes beyond that? And there’s the other trouble with the pranks. I thought the goal was to join the packs. This isn’t helping. If anything it’s forcing them farther apart.”

She had a point.

Shaun obviously agreed. “Toby and Lance cornered me yesterday. I swear they were sounding out if I was still supportive of you staying in power.”

This was a kind of chaos Evan had never expected. “I need to talk to you, right now.”

Shaun kissed Gem, gave Justin a finger wave then followed Evan into a more private part of the pack house. “What’s up?”

Evan leaned against the wall and stared at his Beta. “What am I doing wrong?”

He expected nothing but the truth. That was why he had brought Shaun on as a Beta in the first place, but what he got was unexpected.

“You’re not yourself.” Shaun paced a few steps away before turning back, his face serious for the first time in…well, maybe in forever. “You’ve always been someone I’ve admired. I’ve lived a lot of places in the North, and we wolves tend to be a wild and hairy bunch. You’ve never been so full of yourself as an Alpha that your attitude pissed me off.”

Evan nodded. “Go on.”

“In fact, I might have to admit to a bit of hero worship when it comes to you. You care, but you do it in such an irreverent and casual way it fits this pack, and it fits me.”

“You sound like a cheering section, and I know damn well something’s wrong. Just give it to me straight.”

Shaun smirked. “This is called a shit sandwich. That was the good part, here comes the crap. Ever since you met Amy, you’ve changed. I understand that whole unfinished-mate business is making you crazy, but it seems as if you’re not interested in the pack anymore.”

“Bullshit. You know the pack is important to me.”

“Then why aren’t you leading? Toby and Lance are doing more than pulling pranks now. They’re eyeing your position, and mine, and if you don’t get your ass in gear, we’re going to be fighting for more than control. We’ll be fighting for our lives.”

The words might be logical, but they still didn’t seem to register.

“It’s like…” Anger and confusion mixed as Evan spoke. “It’s like I’ve lost a piece of myself. Ever since I sniffed Amy, I can’t concentrate. I can’t figure out the right thing to do because every time I head in one direction, I’m tugged in another. It’s so damn infuriating. You’re right, this isn’t me, and I know that, and that’s another layer on top of the rest of the bullshit.”

Evan scrubbed his hands over his face. It wasn’t just meeting Amy. It was being reminded of the situation at Hudson Bay. Since that had been tossed in his face, he doubted all his decisions.

Back then he’d been pushed, hard, and Philip had paid with his life. Was he reacting to that mistake and choosing not to decide? It was fucked up and crazy-making, but it might be an explanation.

“If I could just move on and forget her altogether, I wonder if I would choose that.”

Shaun didn’t say anything. Just stood there and looked supportive. Shocked and cranky, but supportive.

“But the last thing I want is to give her up,” Evan growled. “She’s the missing part of me, but I can’t seem to make us fit. She’s a round peg and I’m a square hole, and all we do is keep butting into each other and never coming to any solution.”

“Well, your confusion, and hers, is contagious.” Shaun paced to the window, his shoulders stiff. When he turned it was with more determination than ever. “I’m with you, whatever you decide. I want you to be happy, but I also need you to be the Alpha of this pack. So get it together, or I will make you get it together.”

It was a sign of how far gone Evan was that the blatant challenge didn’t even get his back up. “I’m glad I’ve got you on my side. And I swear, I will find a way through this.”

“Don’t take too long, dude. The clock is ticking.”

Then the fire alarms went off in the pack house for the fifth time that day, once again showing everything was not right in Evan’s world.

Chapter Seventeen

Shaun left, claiming he had something important to do.

Evan needed to get his head on straight, and sitting in an office was not going to do it. Five minutes later, he was pacing down a trail in Riverside Park, fresh air in his lungs, but his mind still fogged over.

He’d reached the end of his rope. The increasingly bad pack situation. Amy shutting him out of her life.

He hadn’t really needed Shaun to point out something was wrong. Evan knew it far too well, he just didn’t know where to start to make it right. If there were some magical fix, he would have promised to wear pixie wings for the rest of his life in exchange.

Evan settled on a bench near the forest, leaning back and staring into the pale blue sky. He needed to think more about this idea he’d had—the one regarding being unable to move past Philip’s death. Had he made the wrong choice back then? How many times since had he made mistakes and ended up hurting others in the process?

It was one thing to have confidence in himself, and another to be an ignorant fool.

The soft pat of a paw against his knee brought him to attention.

A lone wolf sat beside his feet. An ancient creature, his fur turned silvery-white with age. Even though he was older in years, his power remained. Bold and firm, he was obviously an Alpha.

Evan spoke politely. “Hi. Do I know you?”

The wolf shook his head.

Ah. “You’re one of the Canyon pack, aren’t you?”

Amy had warned him again and again her pack members needed something different than the Takhini bunch. He’d kind of thought she was pushing her point too hard, and too often. It wasn’t as if he didn’t know how to slow down and soothe an upset wolf.

But… Just to be sure, Evan took a really, really cautious approach. Held his questions, and instead, sat motionless.

“Please don’t turn around.”

Evan shot upright, shocked to realize someone had snuck up behind him.

“You’re good. I didn’t even hear you.” Evan didn’t sense any malice in the stranger at his back. “Are you a part of Amy’s pack too?”

“Sam’s pack? Yes. That’s Matthias, our old Alpha. She took over for him last year. It was a good change. We love Matthias, but it was time to let someone else take care of us. He needed to rest.”

Evan dipped his head respectfully. “Matthias.”

The old-timer laid his chin on Evan’s thigh.

“Don’t worry, we’re not here to hurt you.” A new voice, female this time.

“That’s reassuring.” If he’d been impressed with Shaun getting the jump on Amy’s sentries before, he was even more impressed with how sneaky her pack were now. “By the way, I never saw either of you coming. Well done.”

“Warn your Beta if he ever trespasses on Canyon land again, we have a roll of duct tape with his name on it.”

Evan chuckled. They might be quiet, but Canyon still had a lovely wolf sense of retribution. “Are we doing this incognito for a reason?”

“It’s not that we mind you knowing who we are, but our faces and our names are less important than what we came to say. When Sam told us the packs needed to join, we didn’t like the idea. No offense, but most of us don’t like you.”

Evan stroked Matthias’s head respectfully. “I’ve kind of picked up on that. But I really am interested in doing all I can to help you, and to be the kind of Alpha you need.”

“The point is, we don’t need you. We’ve got Sam. She knows what our problems are, and we trust her.”

“But you’ve got me, because we’re a pair. It’s not up for discussion. The packs are joining.”

A low murmur of upset rumbled behind him before a feminine voice scolded him. “That’s why we’re here. You say you and Sam are a pair. If you’re talking about wanting to be our Alpha, you have to show us you know how to care for all the people under your watch. We’ll agree you do a great job with the rowdies. But you’re doing a crappy job with Sam. That doesn’t give us much hope you’ll be good for us.”

Not much he could argue about. “I know.”

His confession seemed to take them by surprise, and he waited for their response. The wind picked up, shaking the leaves. One detached from a branch and floated on the air currents, slowly spinning on its way to the ground.

Evan was spinning on the wind as well. Control out of his grasp.

A hand rested briefly on his shoulder. “Matthias wants to talk to you alone, but before we go, we want you to know we’re willing to settle the issues we have with the Takhini crowd.”

“We just want Sam to be happy. And you too, I guess. You need to be happy as well. Because while you’re not nearly as scary when you’re being Mr. Mopey, those adrenaline junkies from the Takhini Asylum need you to be yourself. They’re running rampant.”

No way Evan could keep a straight face anymore. “Mr. Mopey?”

No one answered.

He peeked over his shoulder, but there was no sign of anyone in the area. “Wow. Very impressive, indeed.”

The weight on his leg lightened as Matthias lifted his chin. Evan faced him, wondering how on earth this was going to work. “You’re not really going to talk to me, are you?”

A wolfie smile greeted him as the old-timer sat up straighter and grinned.

Okay, he’d done some strange things over the years, but waiting for a feral old wolf to “talk” to him ranked right up there at the top.

Why the hell not? Things couldn’t get more fucked up than they currently were.

Like Evan expected, no words were exchanged, but he sat and listened with everything he had. Sensing the things the wolf wanted to share—mostly in bursts of emotion that were strong enough for him to pick up without any pack connection at all. Brief flashes of memory hit him, images and ghosts of scent and sound.

The timing was all wrong, but it was also perfectly right. With urgent issues begging for his attention, Evan calmed his soul, closed his eyes, and allowed the old man to reminisce.

Like an old-fashioned movie reel starting up, snapshots of the wolf’s life emerged, mixed with the steady background beat of emotion.

Anticipation. Youthful vigor and hopeful dreams. Traveling north for the gold rush. Finding a home. A people. Settling into a pack. Day-to-day activities that made Evan smile as the young wolf’s world moved forward, one adventure after another.

Contentment. A long life filled with responsibility he’d met the best he could. Joining the pack for a hunt, fur and fang and limbs in motion under a shining moon. Laughter and teasing. Hard labour followed by times of rest. A life lived to the max.

Joy. The strongest emotion yet. Full and satisfying and oh-so-deep. An image flashed of a pretty redheaded woman, and Evan smiled. It had to be the wolf’s mate who had brought him such delight. Sensual pleasures mixed with more laughter, and for a split second Evan was blindingly jealous.

But then…sorrow. Waves of it. Heartbreaking in its intensity, like drowning in unending tears. Everything was gone. Everyone. Evan gasped at the pain the man shared, wondering that carrying the burden hadn’t killed him outright.

The wolf straightened slowly until he looked directly into Evan’s eyes, paws braced on the park bench. The old-timer moved cautiously but brought his nose against Evan’s for a split second before returning all four paws to the ground. His head and tail held high as he disappeared back into the bush.

Evan pushed to his feet. Shaking off the memories before they could knock him to his knees. Instead, he embraced the realization that had flooded in with the message.

It didn’t matter if he’d made a mistake years ago. What mattered was the here and now. Confusion and fear had snuck in, and he’d let them steal the joy he and Amy could have been sharing.

They had been apart for too long. There couldn’t be more secrets between them, either. It was time the past stopped getting in their way. Time he stopped getting in their way.

Because only once he and Amy were truly mates could they find what their future was supposed to look like.

Amy lay curled on the couch in utter misery. She reached into the cookie package, grumbling discontentedly when she discovered nothing left but crumbs.

The three containers of Häagen-Dazs on the coffee table were empty as well.

What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. Not.

She laid her head on the back cushion and fought the urge to cry. This wasn’t her. She was a strong, powerful individual—

Who was absolutely devastated and lonely.

None of it made sense. Evan wasn’t paying any attention to her now, and while she understood part of it was her own fault, it also wasn’t. She’d never once heard of a mate turning away from another unless they did it deliberately. She’d been hiding, and Evan had let her, and now she didn’t know how to turn things around.

It seemed she knew how to speak everyone’s language except his. The pain in her heart expanded a bit more.

The front door of her house jerked open, and Amy jumped to her feet. Shaun stomped across the room to get in her face. “You’re an idiot.”

It would’ve been funny if she weren’t already on the edge of breaking. “Thanks so much for your unasked-for opinion. Close the door on the way out.”

Shaun shook his head and finger at the same time. “Oh, no, you’re not getting out of this that easily. You’re making him miserable. So you decided not to destroy him financially. Great. Instead you’ll just rip his heart out. That’s so human of you.”

Amy turned her back on him. “You know nothing about what’s going on.”

“I know nothing? Me?” Shaun laughed. “Maybe I don’t have all the details, but if I’m a pot, you’re the kettle.”

“What am I being such an idiot about then? Since you obviously want to tell me.”

Shaun glared. “You say you want what’s best for the pack. That’s all Evan has ever wanted his entire bloody life. Even in the past, before he should’ve had to worry about it, he gave everything for the pack.”

“Not now. He’s doing the things least positive for everyone. It’s as if he sees one solution, and he refuses to try anything else. Hell, he was so out of line he scared one of my pack into moving away.” Colin Wheeler had sent her a farewell note along with word he’d asked for a transfer to Ottawa.

His rapid departure from the area had hurt. She’d failed someone who had given her their trust. Frustration was too mild a word for how devastated her wolf had been.

“If Evan was this stubborn years ago, maybe that’s why he ended up killing innocent people.” It was a shitty thing to say, but she was pushed beyond exasperation.

At her bitter words, Shaun froze. His fists were clenched tight at his hips, and he spoke slowly, attempting to maintain control. “Jeez. Has he still not told you what happened?”

Amy shook her head. “Every time I ask him he insists it’s too soon.”

“Ah, for fuck’s sake.” Shaun dropped onto the couch, his anger cooling. “Don’t I feel like the ass of the century. I thought he’d told you everything, and you were being an ice-bitch.”

“Tell me,” Amy begged, squatting in front of him. “I keep trying to think of a reason I can accept. It’s killing me, being tossed between two minds. I want to trust Evan, but he’s doing his best to frustrate me and, along with me, the packs.”

Shaun shook his head. “I can’t tell you. Don’t get me wrong. Now I want to, more than ever, but that’s his job. Only I agree, he needs to tell you now.”

Amy gave a frustrated snort as she turned away. “Good luck with that. I’ve asked, and I’ve asked, but it seems I’m not to be trusted. Which I understand, but our discord is bleeding into the packs, and I can’t seem to stop it.”

When Shaun spoke this time, his attitude was quieter and less confrontational. “He trusts you on one level. I don’t understand why he’s not trusting you with this.” Shaun looked her in the eye. “I’ll talk to him. But I need to tell you something I know he won’t share. Evan is all about pack. He’s all about everybody else, and not himself. He told you he challenged Kirk a number of times?”

Amy nodded, the tightness in her chest still there. “He challenged his Alpha before he tried anything else. I heard. So what? He said he tried twice, and then the third time he ended up…” She couldn’t say it.

For the first time Shaun willingly laid a hand on hers. “He was only thirteen the first time he made that challenge. Kirk took it as an insult, but the fight was more than expected, and it took Kirk nearly an hour to break Evan’s arm. Two years later when Evan tried again, Kirk had planned ahead. He knew he’d never win in a fair challenge. He had a group of his flunkies, all of them Beta level, beat the crap out of Evan. They left him for dead.”

Agony ripped through her at the thought of a youth that age being so abused. “God.”

Shaun nodded. “He kept trying, Amy. He didn’t succeed in any of the normal ways, and in the end he did what he had to do.”

The Beta rose to his feet.

“Wait.” Amy took a deep breath. “Thank you for telling me.”

“We all have history. It’s part of what makes us who we are.” Shaun shrugged. “I’ve had a pretty easy life of it, really. Sometimes I forget that. Take it for granted.”

Pain hovered, only this time for different reasons. Her troubles, Evan’s, her brother’s lost opportunities. “It’s never easy to leave the past behind.”

Shaun was tugging the front door open before she could say anything else. He paused and turned back to face her where she stood only paces behind him. “For what it’s worth, I don’t hate your guts anymore. Maybe.”

She smiled even though it hurt. “You’re still an ass. But that’s part of what makes you unique.”

He slipped out the door, his laughter fading in the distance.

She stood there, trying to figure out the best thing to do right here and now. She was to blame for some of the trouble. Evan had to take responsibility for some of it as well.

But nothing was going to get accomplished if they weren’t in the same room at the same time. She reached for the phone, her fingers shaking as she hit his number.

He answered on the first ring. “Amy?”

It might be difficult but it was the right thing to do. “Can you come over? I have something to tell you.”

Tires squealed in the background.

“You okay?” she asked.

“No problem. I’ll be there in five minutes.” He hung up before she could say anything else.

Oh boy.

Amy looked down. She’d pulled on comfy clothes to have her pity party, and her worn flannel pyjamas and fluffy slippers made her look about twelve years old.

What the hell. He was coming to see her, not some slinky outfit. In fact, the last thing she wanted was to distract him.

This wasn’t about letting the wolves take charge, it was about finally getting to the truth so they could move forward, or be brave enough to call it off altogether. Yes, they needed to get this done for the pack’s sake, but more than that, this was their future happiness on the line.

The thought that it all came down to the next half hour made her more afraid than anything ever had before in her life.