Owned By The Alphas: Part Five (3 page)

He had to stop that from happening.

F
ollowing
the path the others had taken, Calt leapt over the same rocks, the light layer of snow that had begun to cover their tracks tossed aside under his sure footing. On the other side of the river, he soon passed where the grizzly had fallen. The snow was so thick that Ali’s pelt and coat were no longer visible, but he smelled her on them and sniffed around until they were uncovered. He stared at the violently ripped pelt, picturing her change, and what it must have been like.

He had not known Tawny before
she
changed. He and his pack had found her in the streets of Toronto in her human form, but already a werewolf. She was like a wild thing, dirty, beat up, and alone, ravaged by the life she had been thrown into, one she barely understood. She never knew about packs, that they existed. She was just barely nineteen and the only wolves she had met she had had to fight, or fight off. When Rait approached her, her pale blue eyes had flashed above barred fangs. It was Shaynah whose soothing voice had retracted her claws and helped her to listen, and to join them.

So he had never seen her shift until after she’d already been used to transforming. He himself was full-werewolf born, descendent of wolves on both sides. Changing had come easily to him.

And now Ali, once purely human, not half like Tawny, had shifted out of her own soul’s will. He still could not believe it. It was so rare. And more than that, he wished he could have seen it for himself.

It must have been miraculous.

Leaving the abandoned clothing behind, he ran on through the sleet, scanning the ground, though he knew to do so was pointless. If they were not where he hoped they would be, it would be impossible to find them tonight. He would have to camp in the small caves himself and set off again when the weather changed.

But that plan proved unnecessary as he turned the sharp bend toward the embedded, dark entrance to the caves in the mountain ahead. Because of the way the mountain was shaped, the wind was not continuous and its power to cover footprints lessened. Their tracks were only half-covered, and he stared at them.

His heartbeat began to hammer in his chest. Suddenly he became very aware that he was about to burst in on two lovers, two who had run off to be together…and be without him. With the satchel pierced between his fangs, Calt stopped in his tracks and stared at the cave waiting ominously in the distance.
What am I supposed to do, drag her home? Force her to be with me?

His approach was disguised by the storm’s loud wind. He quietly placed the satchel on the wet ground just inside the entrance, then turned away and started back. His steps were much slower, his heart a dull throb. Through three sets of footprints, he trudged back the way they’d come. He would tell the others when he returned, that he let her go. Both packs needed an alpha now, and he would unite them. Together they would decide the rules they wanted to live by. Lucin must live! If he was to lose his love, then his young wolves must not lose theirs. Life could not be that cruel.

Love
. He had not used that word in regards to his mate before.

Do I love her?

He trudged on and as the wind swirled through his heavy coat of fur, an image of Ali sprang before him. Her in his arms, eyes soft, her body open to him. He had not given it much thought at the time, but he had felt love pouring from her. It had been a tangible knowing, something he had taken for granted. But he had not asked himself how he felt about her.

Do I love her?

The answer was a resounding
Yes
.

He stopped walking.

Does she love us both? Is that it?

He turned back and ran to the cave, snatching up the little leather bag on his way in. He was so fast, they had no time to react to his arrival, and when he found them in the tiny room, both sets of eyes were wide as they stared at him, caught.

“Oh, shit.” Red whispered, his lips pale and sickly. He caught the satchel thrown at him, glancing down to see what it was.

Ali’s wolf stared at Calt with so many thoughts flitting across her eyes. She began to rise, but stopped, and Calt saw why. She was lodged behind Red, and if she moved, she would brush his wound with her fur and cause him pain. She stayed put, and it hurt him to see her care for the alpha even while he stood before her.

But you know this. Let it go. ASK HER.

Calt shifted, forming quickly into his human skin and kneeling, so as not to intimidate with his height. Both of them were close to the ground, and he did not want to frighten them. “It is for your injuries,” he said in a heavy voice as Red opened the bag, looking inside, blue eyes wary.

Red laid a hand on the she-wolf’s head to claim possession. “I will not let you take her. I will fight you, even in this state! She has chosen to come, and I will not lose her again.”

Calt exhaled, searching for the words. “You have mistaken my intent. I wish only to ask Ali a question. And if the answer is not what I think it is, I will leave. Without a fight.”

Red frowned, distrusting him, his muscles flexed and ready.

Gazing at the she-wolf, for the first time Calt soaked her in, marveling at the change. She was gorgeous, her fur a luxurious, mahogany brown, her eyes sharp, glowing amber. He leaned in and locked with them, his own heterochromia irises softening. “Do you love me?”

She hesitated, and stole a nervous glance at Red. Then she met Calt’s gaze and her eyelashes fell with sadness as she nodded. “Do you love him, too?” She blinked twice and nodded again.

Calt’s head dropped and he took in a several long, deep breaths. For a moment there, all the air had left the room. The crispness was welcome now, and he straightened his spine and faced the alpha. “I know you love her. I love her, too. I cannot believe I am saying this, but could we come together on this? The three of us, together.”

Red’s frown deepened instantly with shock. “I don’t think anyone has surprised me more than you just did.” He thought about the offer. “It is not like me to have ever considered such a thing as that, and so before now, I haven’t. But if I’m honest, I do not loathe you.”

“Well now, that’s something.” Calt could not help but laugh, which brought a crooked smile from Red.

He stared at Ali, clearly still thinking about how this would work. “Ali, would you want to try this?” Her eyes were bright and she nuzzled Red’s arm and swatted at Calt with her paw.

Red interjected, “I still have not made my decision.”

“Let me see these wounds of yours.” Calt asked. When he got the nod, he leaned in closer to inspect the damage. Retrieving the satchel, he pulled out the Aloe Vera and began to apply it, trying hard not to be his normal, rough self. It wasn’t easy.

Red did a commendable job of acting as though it wasn’t the most painful thing he had ever experienced. And maybe it wasn’t. There were plenty of scars on his body, and Calt had a feeling he knew why they were there. But now was not the time for sharing stories from their past. Perhaps they would explore that another night, in the near future.

Calt threaded the needle and held it up.

“Oh God.” Red stared at it, then said through gritted teeth. “Go ahead. Try not to enjoy it too much.”

Calt smirked, beginning the arduous task. “Truth? I do not loathe you either. There was a time when I thought it a shame I could not call you a friend.” He met the other alpha’s surprised look with calm eyes. “The only wolf I was close to has now chosen to leave us. You would be a welcome addition, if I can just get over you sleeping with my mate.” He chuckled and glanced over to Ali. “Yes. Borhan is gone. He did not long for a harmonious existence after all. To say the least.”

“It’s never easy to lose a member of your family.”

Calt made a noise and slid the needle again into flesh, carefully dragging the ridges back together. “No. And I have lost many in a short period of time.” His voice deepened as he added, “But it seems one I have recently lost will now be back, if we combine our packs. What do you think of doing that?” He met Red’s eyes and paused sewing. “I think we would be stronger together.”

Red’s eyes glowed as he considered this. “I can’t argue with that. Tawny joining us has balanced our…I hesitate to say weaknesses. We were strong as a team, but she has balanced us in unexpected ways. Jal, for instance. It turns out he prefers a life of leisure. He’s happy to let her hunt.”

Calt’s eyebrows rose. “Oh? After Canada, I cannot blame him.”

“Nor can I!” Red gave a tired grin. “Although if someone could remind this storm it’s in California, I’d appreciate it.”

While threading, Calt mumbled, “Turns out we should have tried Joshua Tree after all.”

“The desert park?”

“Mmm. The very one. I researched it. It was a possibility. But…I would have missed the seasons. You?”

“I know I would have. It’s not comfortable in our coats to live in that kind of heat. You chose well.” Red cringed as Calt moved upward, and he had to adjust for the reach. Ali rose up and moved out of the way to sit on the ground beside them, watching.

“Whatever your decision, we will need to sleep here, until the storm passes.” Calt felt the other alpha’s eyes on him, so he glanced up from his work. “What is it?”

Red stared at him for a long while. “I am in. I agree to this deal, but I do not guarantee it will last forever. And if it does not…”

Calt answered evenly, “We will talk about it, like men, if it does not.”

“Like wolves,” Red corrected, filled with pride.

“Like wolves,” Calt agreed, somberly.

Ali turned both their heads with a forlorn howl.

Calt frowned. “What is it?”

“She wishes she could talk to us.”

He looked at her from under his eyebrows and joked, “I’m enjoying the quiet for once.” Ali barked and he grinned, reached over to hold up her chin, inspecting her. “I cannot believe it! Look at you! You are beautiful.”

“Isn’t she? She takes my breath away.”

Calt resumed sewing and threw him a glance. “Not to discount her beauty, but I think that loss of breath is from these. You are pale, friend. We need to get you back. You need warmth, water and food. This is not enough.”

“It is a lot more than I expected.” Red paused and added, “Thank you.”

Calt kept his eyes down and gave a curt nod. “I have surprised myself.” A long, swiping lick on his cheek made him turn his head to meet the she-wolf’s bright eyes. “I no doubt surprised you!” She licked his face again to affirm that. He laughed and went back to sewing. “What a trio fate has made us. Let us see how long it lasts.”

T
awny poked
her head into the beta’s den where Lucin was being tended. When she returned last night, she hadn’t had the courage to check in on him after all the fights they’d had. She’d been exhausted and did not expect a warm welcome were he awake, or from Lorn if he were not. Gearing up for that, she waited, but because of that had slept uneasily through the day, and awoken before most of the others, with too much on her mind. Lucin’s life. The alphas. The new she-wolf. And where that left her.

“How is he?”

Lorn was kneeling by her lover, awake, but her eyes were hazy as she glanced toward the wolf-made door. Lorn whispered, “Tawny,” and opened up her arms, fresh tears falling at the sight of her old friend.

Tawny rushed over and took the young she-wolf into her arms, rocking her gently. “Oh, how I’ve missed you!”

Lorn whispered into her hair, “I’ve missed you, too!” squeezing her hard. “We messed up! We messed up so badly.”

“You guys couldn’t take on a bear that size. It took four of us to finish it! Don’t blame yourself.”

Lorn pulled away, eyes as red as her wet cheeks. “But we should never have left the pack! Lucin did it for me, but I was so selfish. Things could have stayed as they always were, and then he would be okay.”

Tawny pushed a stray lock of knotted hair behind the young wolf’s ear, holding her cheek as she said, “Don’t beat yourself up. That won’t help him. Or you!”

Lorn stared at her, then her face squished up as she fought back more tears and looked at Lucin’s pale face. Tawny followed her gaze and took him in for the first time. He was gaunt and his cheeks were hollow, his lips a scary gray.

“Come on, kid. You’re a fighter!” Tawny whispered hoarsely at him, reaching to grab his limp hand. “Don’t give up!”

Lorn dropped her head on the bed next to his shoulder and clasped his arm and neck gently. “I won’t be able to live if he dies.”

The words were so painful they slipped into Tawny’s jaded ears and broke her wide open. She swallowed to control it, staring at the couple and wishing she didn’t know exactly what Lorn was going through. Pace, her first love, flew into her mind. She had buried his memory when she buried him, and now here he was smiling at her as though in the room. She could not take it.

“I’m so sorry, Lorn,” she whispered, rising.

Another voice sounded from the door. “No need for sorry yet.” Shaynah entered with a large rock filled with steaming water and a slew of rags draped over her arm. “I thought I saw you missing from the sleeping bodies. How are you?”

Tawny, grateful for the distraction, blinked away the images from the past. “As well as I can be, given all that is going on.” She watched the healer place the heavy rock by the bed’s side and kneel to take a closer look at the wounded wolf. “Will he make it?”

Shaynah paused, her eyes still on Lucin. “I am keeping positive thoughts, as always. I suggest you do the same. It is the best way to help, to surround him with our healing light and good wishes.”

“I wish him well!” Tawny exclaimed. “I hope you know I do!”

Shaynah sighed. “I know that.”

Wiping her eyes, Tawny exhaled a little huff. “You don’t believe me.”

“I do.”

Unconvinced, she crossed her arms. “Can I do anything else to help? Do you need anything? I can run to the other den and get it for you. I’d be back in a couple hours.”

Lowering two rags into the water, Shaynah answered, “Thanot went back for me. He just returned with these. He hasn’t slept.”

“Thanot did that?”

A small smile appeared on Shaynah’s lips as she handed Lorn one of the damp towels. “Yes. His heart is bigger than his body.”

A small chuckle snuck out of Tawny as she cocked her head. “You’ve learned that in one day. It took me a month.”

Lorn wiped down Lucin’s face. Shaynah pulled back the pelts and tended to the sewn up wounds as she calmly explained, “I am an old wolf, Tawny. I see things most do not, very quickly. But you have strengths I never had.” To Lorn, she whispered, “That is very good. I can see your light blending with his and strengthening it. Keep showering your love on him and don’t lose hope!” Lorn nodded. Shaynah rose up, smoothing down her pelt as she faced Tawny. “Come. Let us talk.”

They walked through the tree and past the sleeping, mingled packs. The baby bear crawled by the wall, picking up pieces of bark from the large pile Thanot had accrued over time.

“You’re up early,” came a tired voice. Jal’s head was lifted and his hair a mess.

“Go back to sleep. We’re just going out to talk,” Tawny told him.

Bleary-eyed, he nodded and dropped his head back to the ground with a thud.

Outside, the sky was light blue, the sun a small yellow crescent that dipped lower than the lowest branches of the trees. It would vanish in a half hour at most. The winds were gone. The ground was thicker now with white, and everything in sight was snow-covered and pristine. The view could have been photographed for a postcard.

Tawny stared. “It’s so beautiful.”

“Yes. The storm has passed,” Shaynah sighed. “Tell me what you saw last night.”

Tawny glanced to the ground, remembering. “She turned when the bear clawed Red and knocked him down. She made the most amazing sound I have ever heard, and then she tore the pelt right off her body and changed before our eyes. She didn’t even look surprised. She was intent on saving him!”

Shaynah nodded. “You asked me if this would happen, during the sex-battle.”

Tawny smiled. “
Sex-battle…
that’s hilarious. Yeah, I saw her eyes glow that night. Her skin, something about it, too, reminded me of me.”

Their bare feet crashed through the snow as Tawny described in detail all that had happened. She left nothing out, except one thing. She didn’t share that Calt blamed her for not searching for his mate. Walking and talking with Shaynah like this, it felt like old times. And she didn’t want to raise suspicion that what he thought might be true. She wasn’t sure it wasn’t…

When she finished, they were a good ways away from the tree, and it was interesting to see it stretch across the forest in the distance, coming into view in sections behind pines, maples and hedges next to large rocks, all perfectly layered with snow.

“Do you like living with them?” Shaynah’s serene gaze was on the tree, too.

Tawny didn’t have to think about it. “Yeah. I do. They’re good wolves. It could have been awful.”

“Yes.”

“I lucked out.”

Shaynah cast a sideways glance before continuing their walk. “Borhan has left us.”

Reacting, Tawny whispered, “I didn’t see that coming!”

Cocking an inquisitive eyebrow her way, the healer asked, “No?”

An incredulous chuckle escaped her as she shook her head in disbelief. “No! He was Calt’s best friend! He told me himself that Calt wanted me gone a long time ago.
It’s good you’re leaving, for your own happiness,
he told me.
He would never have loved you.
”

Shaynah stopped walking, her face saddened. She took the younger she-wolf’s face in her hands. “That was a lie. Borhan lied to you. He lied to me, too, once. Oh, my fearless rebel, you were a threat to him.” She dropped her hands. “As was I, I guess. And anyone who had Calt’s respect.”

“Why would he do that?” Tawny fumed. “Why the fuck would he
do
that?” Off Shaynah’s expression, she took a step back, thrown. “HE wanted to be alpha?!” A sardonic laugh ripped from her lungs and echoed off the trees. “Him? Borhan! How pathetic! As if we would have followed him anywhere! It’s–” Something caught her eye and she froze. “It’s them!”

Shaynah turned to see three figures in the distance. Red had his arm over Calt’s shoulder, and he leaned on him. Calt was saying something they could not hear. The newly turned she-wolf walked beside them.

“Well, well,” Shaynah breathed.

Tawny blinked and straightened her spine. Grabbing Shaynah’s arm, she whispered so as not to be overheard, the distance still safe. “Calt did not want me gone?”

Shaynah’s green eyes were wary. “No. I believe it was his anger, and then his pride. But Tawny, do not get your hopes up.”

Tawny swallowed and curtly nodded. “Hope left me long ago. I only wish for
one
thing.” The elder waited. “To not be cast aside as something unimportant. I need a pack. I will never be out on my own again. I promise you!” On that note, she left to meet the returning wolves, forcing a smile. Calling out so they could hear, she said, “This is an unexpected and welcome surprise.”

From under heavy brows, Calt held her gaze, then addressed the healer. “He is not well.”

“Bring him to Lucin’s bed. There is room enough.”

As the two groups met, Calt asked, “Do you want your own bed?”

Red shook his head. “No. There will be nowhere else for the others to sleep. We’re in close quarters as it is. I am normally by the boulder, but I should not be the one to guard now. Not until I have my strength back.”

“Fair enough.” Calt glanced to Shaynah, “How is Lucin?”

“Not stable. In truth, having the alpha by his side might help him. Like when sick babies are laid together and by their touch, they heal.”

Red chuckled. “I don’t know how I feel being compared to a baby.”

Calt smiled and Shaynah offered a small smile of her own. But Tawny felt raw watching all of this and not knowing what was happening, why they were so civil. How were they laughing together? What had happened out there? Was Calt letting his mate go? Was this a sign of his acquiescence?

As he was guided to the sequoia, Red stumbled and shook out his head in frustration, swearing under his breath.

“Some food will make all the difference,” Calt told him.

Shaynah stayed back a moment and let them pass, her eyes on Ali. She kneeled down and took the new face in her hands. “Look at those eyes! Aren’t you a sight to behold! Have you turned back yet?” Ali shook her head. Shaynah smiled and rose up. “You will. It will be up to you, as this was. Come. The others will be happy to see all of you safely returned.”

Tawny was frozen, watching the alphas and the healer return to the den. Calt had barely looked at her. Red, too. Were things going to be as they had been, or what? What was going on?

Ali was walking like she still wasn’t used to her four legs and paws, every step ginger. Then she paused. Looked back and held the she-wolf’s pale blue gaze. She returned to her, staring up without the need for speech. Tawny knew she was asking her to join them, and her heart hurt at the kindness of the gesture.

“Thank you,” she whispered hoarsely, glancing over to make sure the others had not heard the emotion in her voice. They were thankfully already inside. Ali’s eyes were on her, and Tawny sighed. “Okay. Let’s do this. Whatever this is.” The two walked to the den together, carrying a white flag of surrender between them.