Shelter Me (Sawtooth Shifters, #6) (9 page)

That, and the looming threat from Ember and her wolves. She was like one of those yellow-gray clouds hanging over the town, promising chaos.

“I have an idea.” I gathered the discarded pizza crusts; the dogs would appreciate them. “We can’t cash that check. As much as it sucks, we can’t take her money. But what if we make a big deal that she made the donation, and encourage people to match it? She wants to impress the town, and chances are, it’s mutual. They may think she’s a legit Friend of Forever Home, and fall all over themselves to look good to her.”

“Great idea.” Dallas rewarded me with a kiss when I sat down. “We’ll still use her money, but in a way she can’t control.”

“This could work. Ember’s playing everyone in town like a piano. She’s cozying up to Southworth, too.” Shadow rolled his eyes. The mayor had spent most of his terms sweeping potential scandals under the rug. “He can’t get re-elected. He’s not pack friendly. And we know he’s more than happy to take a bribe.”

“I thought you were going to run against him?” Trina settled next to him, handing him a fresh beer. “You’d have the pack vote, and people in town like you. More than they like Southworth, anyway.”

Shadow shook his head, but he didn’t look convinced of whatever he was about to say. “We’re already spread so thin.”

“Who else is running? Some rich asshole?” Dallas asked. He sat close enough to me to that I could feel his heart pounding inside his ribcage. It was a whole different kind of passion that had him fired up, and I loved it just as much. Dallas was a protector, no matter what form he was in. “No one will have our best interests in mind. I don’t mean just the people in this room. I’m talking about all the working class wolves in the forest. The ones who are watching their businesses struggle and their families die out. The wrong person gets in there, they’ll try to take our land and ignore our concerns, because we’ve got one foot in the fucking grave, so who gives a shit what happens to us.”

I put down my plate and wrapped my arms around him. My head settled on my favorite spot, his chest. Usually the sound of his heart thumping comforted me, but tonight, it left me empty.

I hated this helpless feeling. I’d fought too hard to move past this. Ember was attacking us from every angle. She had resources we didn’t, and she was hell bent on destruction. I didn’t understand her end goal, since the only one who’d be happy if she succeeded was her.

But what could I do? Standing by and holding Dallas’ hand wasn’t enough. I needed to find a way to best Ember in her human form. She favored her animal, so her weakness had to lie somewhere in her humanity. It would slip. She was way too cocky for her own good.

I wished I could give Dallas a baby. It had nothing to do with my biological clock, which rang like a bell anytime someone walked by with a stroller. These wolves needed hope, and the forest needed the kind of laughter only kids could bring. No matter how hard the wolves fought, they were going to lose. Someday they’d be old, weak, and with no one to fight for them anymore. I couldn’t imagine knowing I would to lose everything. It was bad enough when it happened without warning.

“Wait a minute.” Kiera broke the uneasy silence that had blanketed the room. Even the animals were quiet. “How does this bitch have so much money? I thought they were losing forest, too. But she’s coming here, gobbling up our town. Why didn’t she do that in Montana? Stop them from taking what was hers? It doesn’t add up.”

The brothers looked at each other, all as gray as Dallas had been with The Full Moon Fever. I hadn’t realized how bad he’d been until he was better. “She sold it,” Shadow said, his voice flat with the revelation. “She destroyed her villages and land, and now she wants ours.”

“Why the hell would she do that?” Dallas asked.

Shadow stood up, peering out the window at the forest. “We need to figure it out. Fast. And stop her from doing it to us.”

D
allas

“How’s X?” I asked when we got to the Lowes’ house. The chaos had settled from the last time we’d all been here, Christmas Night, when we brought X’s bloody, mangled body back home after the fight.

Things almost seemed normal. The little house that none of the Channings had visited since we were kids was overflowing now. Major’s mate, Cass, had moved in with her daughter, Emma, while they renovated her parent’s old house. Delaney had come to work at Forever Home, but she and Shea worked together better than any of us ever expected and she’d moved from Trina’s couch to his bed.

“He’s doing great,” Chandra said. I wasn’t expecting to see her here, glass of wine in hand, X’s head in her lap. She ruffled his coat. “Skin is totally healed, his fur is growing back, and he’s eating normally. I don’t think there’s going to be any problem with his shift next week.”

“Is that what you’re sticking around for? The shift?” Baron smirked. He knew damn well it wasn’t the reason. Now that we’d met our mates, the signs were crystal clear when one of us was about to hit the bullseye. It didn’t matter what form we were in, the connection was unbreakable. Before we shifted, I would’ve followed Lyssie to the end of the earth.

Chandra squinted in confusion. “Yeah. Everything’s up in the air. With X, with Dallas, even though you’re looking so much better. And especially this next shift. Why? Are you trying to get rid of me?”

X picked up his head and growled. Yup, total bullseye. He didn’t say anything else, but he got his point across. Everyone but Chandra laughed. X eyed us, but relaxed when Chandra’s hand easily fell into his fur.

“No,” Shadow said quickly. “We need an airtight plan for this shift, and if you have any advice, we’re all ears.”

Major groaned. His energy had changed completely with a little girl nestled in his lap. Not such a livewire anymore, he was much more grounded since he mated. “How the hell do you expect to be taken seriously as alpha? You’re fucking taking surveys. We do what we’ve always done. We stick together. We fight for what’s ours.”

“Ooooh.” Emma giggled at the word Major slipped in, but now wasn’t the time for apologies. Or softness.

Shadow pressed his lips together. Our family had always kept the peace in the forest, and Shadow was having a hard time reconciling that being alpha, something he’d always dreamed of, meant something completely different. And that his reputation as being non-confrontational made wolves question his status at every turn. But he was used to Major’s shit, since he’d been feeding my brother a steady diet of it his whole life.

“Since I’m pretty sure you need a high school diploma to be a doctor, yeah, I will ask her advice.” Shadow’s gaze locked with Major’s. “They practically made a rug out of your brother, and a slave of mine. Even if we were at our best, we’re outmanned. This is the time to think outside the box and make sure we’re firing on all cylinders. We can’t win this one with muscle. This one takes brains.”

“You mean common sense,” Major sneered, dismissing Shadow. “It doesn’t come from a manual. It comes from experience, and doing the wrong thing until you get it right.”

“I’m running for mayor,” Shadow said. Major’s head jerked around. Emma still held a piece of his long hair in her hand. Now Shadow had his attention. “The wealthy class is sitting back watching us kill ourselves. We may not be in a ring anymore, but nothing changed. We’re still their entertainment. Now we have Ember threatening your business and Forever Home. We’ve been relying on the packs of the forest. We need to align with the townspeople, let them know that we aren’t the only ones under siege.”

“What do you know about government?” Major asked. “All I know is how to bail Shea out of jail.”

Shea perked up. He and Delaney had been watching the exchange from a beanbag on the floor. “Does this mean I get a get out of jail free card?” Delaney turned around and made a chopping symbol with her hands. Probably sign language for
knock it off
. He pulled her against his chest and kissed the top of her head. “Kidding.”

“Let’s put Delaney in charge, since she tamed Shea. She can do anything.” I laughed. She shook her head, mouthing
no.

“Nah, I’m still wild.” Shea grinned, looking anything but while cuddling with his human mate. “I just stay out of trouble now.”

“It’s Granger Falls. All that matters is that I want the best for the town. Southworth has been driving it into the ground. This is our only chance of saving our land.” Shadow stood up, slapping his hands together. My brother didn’t look like a politician, with his long, streaked hair and callused hands from contracting. But no one cared more about this town than Shadow.

“No one will see it coming.” Major actually smiled. “What does this mean for the rest of us?”

“That I’ll need more from you and Dallas. I know, you’ve got your hands full with X, and the shit with the business, and your new family. Damn, it feels good to say that you have a family. I’ll handle the town, the two of you take the forest. I’ll fight beside you if we need to, but it’s time that wealthy wolves respect us. And that’s not going to happen in the forest. We’ve got to play their game if we want to keep what’s ours.”

Major turned to me, sizing me up. “Let me see that bite mark.”

“Yeah,” Chandra chimed in. I’d expected Shadow and Major to come to blows and I forgot all about her. “I want to see how it’s healed. Have you, um, been mating?”

The room erupted in snickers. Across town, Lyssie’s cheeks were probably burning and she’d have no idea why. “Every night.”

“Good for you, man,” Shea called out. “Me too.” Delaney gasped, and repeated the chopping motion. She probably did that all the time. But she didn’t hold a grudge, falling back against him in a fit of giggles.

Chandra pulled down the collar of my shirt and frowned. Major squinted, leaning in closer.

“It’s a scar.” I shrugged away from her. “Lyssie makes the fever stay away. It’s not an issue.”

Major shook his head. “Ember marked you, man.”

“The scar is like a brand. Lyssie couldn’t do that to you. I think Ember has a legitimate claim to you.” Chandra sighed. “This shift will be ugly.”

**

“L
et’s go out,” I suggested when I got back to Lyssie’s apartment. “Let Kiera and Baron have the place to themselves.”

Lyssie’s face fell. “I had something planned.”

“Oh really?” Maybe it could wait. Lyssie and I hardly left this apartment. Believe me, I was more than entertained, but I wanted to see a different side of her. Get to know every piece of her. I had to make her my mate in body, mind, and spirit. I thought I already had, but the pink crescent marking my neck disagreed. “I like the sound of this.”

“Get out of here,” Kiera insisted. “Let the anticipation build. It will make it better.”

“What is it?” I sat down on the couch and tugged Lyssie’s arm so she landed in my lap. Our lips wound up on top of each other, and I was so frigging turned on by the possibilities of what Lyssie had in mind I leaned back and got lost in the kiss.

Lyssie, getting her way, didn’t argue. Her fingers slipped into my hair, tangling in it and tugging as the kiss intensified. The rest of the world was becoming a fuzzy memory.

“That’s not letting anticipation build,” Baron laughed. Bastard. Lyssie pulled away from me shyly, smoothing her hair. Her cheeks were pink. I’d really like to see her other cheeks pink. Someday. We were still exploring, testing limits. I wanted Lyssie to drop her guard and surrender completely to pleasure.

“No, that’s like charge by the minute webcam stuff.” Kiera wiggled her eyebrows, grabbing Baron’s arm. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s hot as hell. You should show Ember that. Her ass would be back in Montana before you two put your clothes back on.”

Lyssie was too quiet until we got out of the house. “What’s the matter?” I asked when we got to the parking lot. I took both her hands in mine. “Where do you want to go?”

She looked up at her apartment. “The farmer’s market. They’ve got the indoor setup for winter, and they stay open late on Saturdays. Have you ever been?”

“Nope.” We started walking. “What’s your favorite thing to get there?”

Her entire demeanor changed. Lighter, freer, like any time she opened the door and let me in. “They have this sweet corn bread that makes the most amazing French toast. Sometimes Kiera and I pick up some champagne from one of the local vineyards. We hang out in our pajamas and toast...whatever.”

I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. The town was busy with skiers who’d spent the day on Bald Mountain. People had to walk around us, but I didn’t care. I had to kiss Lyssie, right then and there. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

“Well, yeah.” She smiled, but furrowed her eyebrows. “What makes you say that?”

“Because you can find happiness in the simplest things. The stuff other people overlook because they’re too busy complaining about what they have and don’t need. That’s what’s life’s about. Dancing around in your pajamas with your best friend and celebrating absolutely nothing. It’s the good stuff.”

“We can do that.” She tugged on my hand. “Let’s keep walking.”

Something was making her uncomfortable. “We will. But we’ll skip the pajamas,” I said. Her shoulders slumped. “What’s the matter?”

“I don’t want to talk about this here.” Lyssie picked up her pace. “Everyone can hear us.”

“No one’s listening, I promise you.” I stopped walking, pulling her back into me. “It’s just us. Tell me so I can fix it.”

Lyssie drew a deep breath. “Dallas, I love you, but I swear I could hear your thoughts upstairs. That you want to flaunt me in front of Ember. I’m not worried about losing you, but I am worried...” Her words trailed off and she looked away from me.

I only heard every other word after the first four, anyway. “What did you just say?” I wrapped my arms around her and drew her into a long, hot kiss that rivaled the one on the couch. I couldn’t fucking help myself.

Lyssie claimed me with those four little words.

“I love you, too.” I said, my lips brushing against hers. “And you better believe I want Ember to see us together. But it has nothing to do with her. Hell, I want to show you off to everyone. I want every person who passes us by to think ‘how’d that lucky bastard land the most beautiful girl in the world?’”