He dropped the man and turned again. It didn’t matter if he slumped to the pavement or charged. Jay had friends, pack, who would watch his back and make sure Jonas never reached his mark.
No. Instead, Jay strode toward Christian, stopping mere inches from the other alpha’s face. “Do you acknowledge the sanctuary, or do I have to pound every one of your f**king faces in right now?”
The other wolf was strong. Dominant, to be sure—enforcers had to be—but when Jay leaned in, Christian leaned back, a tiny, telling retreat.
A dominant, but not alpha. Not a leader.
Christian stepped back and snapped his fingers before pointing at Jonas. One of the silent wolves at his back dragged the dazed man to his feet and hauled him to the cargo area of the SUV. Christian retreated another step and looked past Jay. “We’ll respect your sanctuary, but you keep that feral bastard on a leash and out of our territory.”
Fletcher had twisted Zack’s arm behind his back, and power spiked from them both as Fletcher spoke, quiet and firm. Colin stood, stone faced and silent.
“This is the last place we want to be,” Jay shot back.
“Fine.” The man retreated to the passenger side door. “Be clear of the county by sunset, or the pack will come hunting.”
“Uh-huh.” Jay knew better. Christian had lost face in front of his pack. Even if he was too much of a coward to come after Jay, he’d never forget the humiliation of not being able to put him in his place in his own territory. And he would never, ever forgive.
A problem for another time. Jay turned his back, dismissing the man as soundly as possible. “Colin?”
Colin stayed silent until the SUV peeled out of the parking lot in a screech of tires, leaving the stink of burnt rubber behind. “None of them are strong enough to take control of the rest, and none are willing to step aside. That’s good for us. And bad for us.”
Good because a pack without a leader couldn’t stand. Bad because a pack without a leader didn’t know how to do a goddamn thing but fight.
Jay shook off the sense of foreboding. “You straight, Zack?”
“Yeah.” Zack shoved a hand through his disheveled hair, pulling at the too-long strands with a growl. “I should have known they’d sink a verbal knife. They do it whenever they can.”
“It’s all they’ve got.” Jay rubbed the back of his wrist over his forehead. “Let’s get this done and get the hell out of here.”
The kitchen porch had always been Eden’s favorite. The driveway led to the front porch, but years of hungry farmers and hungrier kids had worn a path straight to the kitchen, one everyone followed these days. Her grandmother’s rocking chairs were back in their old place, and Eden found the squeaky rhythm soothing as she rocked slowly and listened to the bugs chirping and the fainter noises of Lorelei overseeing the preparation of dinner.
Shane was nearly silent beside her, his feet planted flat on the porch and his chair still. The companionable silence had been welcome at first, but the nervous flutters in her stomach doubled with each second that ticked past. Instead of admiring the view or enjoying the quiet, she strained her eyes looking for the first hint of headlights, the visible confirmation of Jay and Zack’s safety that a phone call from enemy territory couldn’t provide.
She needed a distraction. She sipped her tea and cleared her throat. “How long have you and Jay known each other?”
“About ten years, I guess. Could be twelve.”
“And all four of you worked together?”
He laughed. “More like we didn’t, not worth a damn, anyway. We met down in Houston. There was a big pack there—bigger than you’d expect with one guy in charge. He was old and crotchety as hell, and he ran the place like it all belonged to him. I guess because it did.”
She’d already witnessed the tension between Jay and Fletcher. Too many strong personalities would be trouble when only one could lead. “So what did you do? Did you all leave together? Or just all leave?”
“We tried to travel together for a while. Finally, we figured out we do better if we can have our own space.” He squinted out into the dying evening light. “Dispersal, that’s what they call it. You know anything about wolves?”
“A little.” She ran her thumb along the edge of her mug and stared into the darkness. “When I was a kid, I read every book in the library that had anything to do with wolves. I wanted to be like Zack. Growing up, he was my hero.”
“And he was born a wolf.”
His tone was inquisitive enough to express interest in the answer without demanding it. “He was born a wolf,” she confirmed. “His mother was one.” She hesitated. “And I guess his father was too, whoever he happened to be. His mother seemed pretty certain it couldn’t have been my uncle.”
“No, it really couldn’t have been, huh?” Shane sat forward and braced his elbows on his knees. “This isn’t a pretty life. The few wolves who don’t wind up dead or traumatized have other problems. They don’t fit in with humans, they have urges and instincts they can’t necessarily control…”
“So I’m learning.” She glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t want the wolf to bite me, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
“It wasn’t.” He met her gaze. “You and Jay are going to do a good job. You’ve both got it in you.”
It felt nice to have the approval of someone who understood, and even better when it came from one of Jay’s closest friends. “Thank you. I hope you’re going to stick around for a while and help us.”
“I think I might.”
The door from the kitchen creaked open and Mae slipped out. “Kaley’s still out,” she said, her voice no louder than the squeak of Eden’s chair. “She hasn’t slept much since they first came for Zack.”
Shane rose, stripped off his hoodie and held it out to Mae. “It’s too chilly for no sleeves.”
Eden tensed, but Mae didn’t recoil. Her gaze stayed fixed on his hand as she reached out and accepted the offering without touching him. Eden held her breath, afraid to upset the quiet balance of the moment as Mae tugged the sweatshirt over her head. It fell to mid-thigh and enveloped her body, but she seemed to relax as the fabric draped around her, just like Eden had relaxed the first morning when she’d wrapped herself in Jay’s shirt and taken comfort from being surrounded by the scent of a strong wolf.
Mae pulled up the hood to cover her hair and stared at some point slightly beneath Shane’s chin. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Eden gestured to the empty rocking chair on her right. “Want to sit with us for a little bit?” No pressure, no expectations. The invitation hung between them for a dozen hopeful eternities before Mae nodded and slipped past her to the rocking chair.
Such a tiny bit of trust, but Eden had to fight back a triumphant smile. When Jay was safely home, she’d celebrate this step forward with him.
If he got safely home.
No. When. Eden refused herself the satisfaction of checking her watch as she willed the headlights to appear. She found herself talking to fill up the empty air. “I think we’ll have everyone settled in here before the fall festival in town. Y’all are going to love it. There’s dancing and a carnival and so much food.”
Shane leaned one shoulder against a porch column. “That part sounds good, anyway. Can we bypass social niceties and head straight for the chow?”
Social niceties didn’t seem to be Shane’s specialty, not when they involved words instead of body language or wolfish instincts. Eden grinned at him. “What if the town girls chase you for a dance? Are you going to run from a fight?”
He snorted. “I think I’ll let Colin and Fletcher handle the Casanova stuff.”
Eden opened her mouth and forgot what she was going to say when headlights flashed through the trees lining the drive. Engines rumbled, and she was out of her chair and down the steps by the time Jay’s truck pulled into sight, followed by Fletcher’s car and a mid-sized U-Haul.
She ran across the yard and was waiting when Jay stopped the truck. Anxiety and relief bubbled up along with her power, and she hauled open the driver’s side door and dragged Jay’s head down for a blistering kiss.
He tumbled out and caught her around the waist, tugging her up off her feet. He met her kiss with more kissing, met her power with that wave of sweet, soothing magic she’d needed from the moment Kaley had fallen apart in her arms. The steadily building pressure vanished so fast her ears should have popped, and for a beautiful moment she floated on the release.
Then she just floated, her toes dangling inches above the ground as Jay turned his mouth to her ear. “Missed me, huh?”
“Just a little.” She closed her eyes and rested her cheek against his. “Is everyone all right?”
He tensed in her arms. “Yeah. We’ll talk about it later.”
The screen door slammed, and Kaley walked out on the porch, her arms crossed over her chest. It was Eden’s turn to tense as Zack took a few steps toward the house before shuddering to a halt.
Zack stared at Kaley. She stood, still as stone, expressionless. Jay lowered Eden to the ground as Mae eased toward Kaley, but no one spoke.
No one dared.
Finally Zack broke the silence by clearing his throat. “We brought the stuff you had in storage.”
“Thank you,” Kaley answered flatly.
Someone had to move before Kaley’s control snapped. Eden eased out of Jay’s arms and crossed the yard. “You boys leave the U-Haul for tomorrow and get cleaned up. We’re sitting down to dinner together tonight.” The steps creaked loudly in the silence as she climbed to stand next to Kaley. “Come on, honey. Will you help me set up the folding chairs?”
“I’ll do it,” the girl said, already turning toward the door. “You have other stuff going on.”