Pack Mates (Were Chronicles) (10 page)

Ben looked around and nodded. “I think so. Even if Samson tries something, without Brandon there to back his play I don’t think much can come from it. The Pack respects Brandon and that was our biggest concern. He would have support just because he has earned it. Samson doesn’t have that going for him.”

“Brandon never wanted to be Alpha,” Nikki reminded him.

“No, he didn’t. But if you hadn’t come down, I don’t think we would have been able to come together like we did. All Dylan and Brandon needed to do was get together and talk about the future of the Pack. To see that they both shared the same ideas on our future.”

Nikki laughed. “Yeah, well, leave it to the men to be stubborn and almost fight instead.”

Ben chuckled and Justin caught her eye as he moved from the group of teenagers to talk to Max. She glanced over at Ben.

“So you want to let me in on what’s going on between you and Justin?” she teased.

Ben blushed and shifted on his feet. “Uh…well…”

Nikki turned to face him with a smirk. “Should I ask what your intentions are with my brother?”

Ben shook his head, his eyes going wide. “No! It’s not like that! I mean…we haven’t really decided…”

She threw an arm over his shoulder and turned them so they could see Justin trying to steal a cookie from one of the platters an older Pack member was placing on the table. She slapped at his hand, but he danced away, laughing.

“Just treat him right. I think the two of you are perfect for each other,” she told Ben sincerely.

Ben sucked in a breath. “Really?”

Nikki hugged him closer. “Yeah.”

“I’ve never felt like this before,” Ben confessed. “He makes me laugh. Makes me feel like there is something besides work. He’s just so friendly and free.”

“Good. Make sure he treats you right also. I’d hate to have to kick my brother’s ass.”

“Speaking of kicking a brother’s ass, may I ask why you are hanging on mine?” RJ’s voice came behind them.

“Because he is so damn cute!” she told RJ as he pulled her away from his brother and into his arms.

“Not cuter than me, though, right?” RJ asked and winked.

“I…I think I’ll go see if Justin needs some help,” Ben said quickly and left them alone.

Nikki didn’t even glance after the other man. Her entire focus was on the one in front of her. “I wouldn’t really say you were cute,” she taunted.

“No?” he breathed against her neck.

She wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him closer. “No. Sexy, maybe. Hot, for sure.”

“Mmm, sexy, I like that,” he told her, licking a path from her ear down her neck.

“Oh yeah, sexy as sin.” She shivered when he started to nibble.

“Haven’t the two of you had enough of each other yet?” Dylan asked sarcastically as he joined them.

RJ sighed and loosened his hold. “Maybe if you would stop cockblocking me,” he groused.

Dylan laughed. “My sympathies.”

“Where’s Brandon?” RJ asked, looking around. It had been agreed upon that Brandon and Dylan would partner up for the day so neither man would be alone.

Dylan nodded to the parking lot. “He’s going over something with his deputies. He wants everyone on high alert. Hopefully the ceremony will go off without any problems, but I don’t see Samson just giving up. That attack on your shop last night shows how pissed he is.”

“Hey, where’s Mike?” Nikki asked RJ. Mike was supposed to stay with RJ for the same reason.

“He had some calls to make. I left him in the truck.”

A commotion from the parking lot had them stiffening up. Nikki laughed nervously when a dozen small school-aged children came running into the clearing.

“Damn,” Dylan groaned rubbing the back of his neck. “We need to calm down or we’ll have heart attacks before the ceremony even starts.”

RJ kissed the side of her neck before pulling Dylan by the arm. “Come on, let’s get a drink.”

Nikki watched them go, smiling. They stopped to talk to several people, both new and old Pack members, before they made it to the drink table. She saw Justin and Ben sitting at a table sitting close together off to the side.

“I never thought I would see you smiling at someone like that here at home.”

Nikki sighed and turned to face Brandon. “I didn’t either,” she admitted. “You know I was pissed when you ordered me home.”

He nodded. “Yeah, you didn’t hide that well.”

“What would have happened if I hadn’t come?”

Brandon shrugged his shoulders. “I hope I would have gotten my head out of my ass before I did something stupid like challenge Dylan, but I don’t know. I got caught up in all the politics.”

“You have it worked out now?” she asked, stepping closer to her brother. He was a good man so she did believe he would have figured it out. No matter what happened, she was proud of him.

“Dylan asked me to be his Beta. He wants Max and RJ as his enforcers and a couple others from both Packs in the inner circle. Everyone he named made sense and Cameron agreed with his choices. I do believe he will make a good Alpha.”

“Well then, congratulations,” she said with a hip bump against him.

He grinned. “Thanks, but it’s not over yet. Stay close tonight.”

Nikki sighed but he cut her off.

“I mean it. This will be the last chance before anything done against Dylan will be against the Alpha. It’s all or nothing tonight.”

“I know, Bran,” she assured him. “I’ll be careful.”

He nodded. “Cameron just arrived. I have to go over a few things with him.”

He left her quickly and she rolled her eyes. Brandon in full protective mode once again. She spotted RJ and made her way over to him to steal some more kisses.

* * * *

RJ could feel the excitement in the air. The Alpha ceremony would start soon and the Pack was in full celebration. Cameron, Dylan and Brandon stood in the middle of the clearing, preparing for the circle. Justin and Ben were working the crowd like pros and Nikki was in the middle of a group of women around her age. They laughed and squealed, and he couldn’t hold back a smile as she shook her hips and danced away, laughing.

He caught her eye and the look in hers changed, moving from happy to heated with passion. He jerked his head to the edge of the crowd and she nodded.

He captured her in his arms as they came together on the outskirts of the clearing. Their lips met, breath mixed, and he devoured her. She broke away panting and rested her forehead on his chest.

“I’ve been watching you,” she informed him, slipping her hands down his back.

“I know,” he whispered back. “I’ve been watching you too.”

They kissed again until she shivered in his arms. It was getting too hot, too fast.

“I want you,” she admitted, mouthing his collarbone. “I always want you.”

He moaned and looked around for any semi-private place. They were surrounded by Pack members. No one was paying attention to them now, but it wouldn’t be long before they drew some unwanted attention. Especially if she kept teasing him with her tongue…

“We can’t…” Damn it, there had to be somewhere close by.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Pack members,” Cameron’s voice rose above the crowd. “It’s time.”

“Oh God!” Nikki whimpered and pushed him away. “They better hurry and get this over with.”

Her chest heaved, her eyes wild, and he could smell her arousal. He reached for her again but she shook her head. “If you touch me again, everyone is going to get a show,” she promised.

He dropped his head and stifled a groan. He had better control than this. They would get through the ceremony then he would take her to the first private spot they found and pound into her.

“Please join me at the circle as we welcome our new Pack members and begin the Alpha ceremony,” Cameron invited.

RJ led Nikki around and through the crowd until they stood next to the circle beside Brandon, Justin and Ben. Dylan knelt in the middle of the circle with his head bent.

“Woodrow Wilson once said, ‘The ear of the leader must ring with the voices of the people’. I have tried to listen to each member of this Pack and always advise with all of your best interests in my heart. My time has passed and another’s has begun.”

RJ looked at his brother with pride almost bursting from his chest. Nikki slipped her hand into his and gave it a squeeze. The feelings of happiness threatened to overwhelm him.

“I know in my heart that my replacement will be able to lead the Pack in the right direction and protect you as the shifter world moves forward with plans on going public.”

There was a stirring behind Cameron but RJ’s view was blocked.

“The future of the Pack will rest on the shoulders of this man before me. I want each—”

“Excuse me, Alpha Cameron!” someone shouted from the crowd.

Pack members shuffled around while Samson led a small group forward to stand at the edge of the circle across from them.

Samson was backed by the elders and their families and a half-dozen men he’d never seen before.

There was a gasp in the crowd and he heard the murmur of words like ‘feline’, ‘cats’, and ‘shifters’.

RJ searched for Mike and saw him moving forward. He looked down at Nikki’s pale face.

“You and Ben go with Mike,” he whispered to her, waving a hand at the man.

“RJ, no!” She gripped his hand tighter.

“Please, baby.”

Mike arrived to pull Ben and Nikki back. Both fought but a look from Brandon had them grumbling back into the crowd.

“What is the meaning of this, Samson?” Cameron demanded and he faced the other man. Dylan stood and RJ, Brandon, Justin, Max and a few others fanned out behind him and Cameron.

“You have your pick for the future and we have ours,” Samson told him, motioning to one of the big strangers next to him.

“You have no authority to choose the next leader. I am Alpha and the choice is mine,” Cameron stated, bracing his feet apart and standing to his full height. While aged, the man was still a powerful force.

“You just said you listen to your Pack,” Samson challenged. “Your Pack has a different vision than you.”

Cameron took his time looking around his Pack. All of the Pack members that had already been at the ceremony had separated away from Samson, leaving a wide area between them. “I believe the majority of the Pack respect my wishes.”

“But not all. This is a Pack decision, one that will affect us for many years,” one of the elders spoke up from behind Samson.

“So instead of following my choice you bring forward a man, a feline shifter we know nothing about?” Cameron inquired with a nasty twist of his lips.

“Fred has led his small group of felines for several years,” Samson argued. “He is just as qualified as Dylan Cross.”

There was more rumbling in the crowd but Cameron held up a hand.

“What exactly do you suggest?” the Alpha asked.

“Simple. A challenge. Dylan and Fred. Winner takes Alpha position.”

RJ went to step forward, having heard enough. There was no way he was going to let his brother fight some feline they knew nothing about. Dylan cut his eyes over to him and shook his head. He was going to ignore his brother when Brandon gripped his shoulder.

“Dylan needs to handle this,” Brandon said quietly.

RJ shook his head. This was unbelievable. They had a problem with Dylan leading so they brought in a cat shifter no one even knew? Dylan had been in town for months getting to know his new Pack.

And it didn’t matter what anyone said. RJ would not be convinced that the fight would be fair.

“I accept the challenge,” Dylan stated, his voice strong and proud over the crowd.

“No!” Ben cried from the crowd.

RJ agreed with his brother. “Absolutely not. How can we even ensure it would be a fair challenge? There is no one here to judge the feline,” he protested.

“It’s a good thing I made it in time, then,” another voice rose from the crowd.

RJ turned and saw the members of his military unit standing with Mike, Nikki, and Ben. The Prince of the felines stepped forward.

“I believe I am able to judge the challenge fairly. I also have the ability to take down one of them if they choose to use means not approved for the challenge.”

Activity picked up when everyone recognised the power of the strongest cat in the world.

Cameron nodded and waved the Prince forward. RJ met the gaze of his friend and the Prince’s mate, Casey Williams. He cut his eyes to Nikki in silent meaning. Casey looked surprised before he smiled. He nodded and placed his hand on her shoulder. RJ knew Casey would protect her.

“The terms,” Prince Zachary called out.

RJ walked with Mike, Brandon and Justin to his brother’s side.

There would be a challenge and he’d be damned if he was going to lose his brother. He would give the man every single piece of information he had learnt over the years of fighting next to the cat species.