Ties (Running With Alphas Book 6) (3 page)

Olivia did most of the talking, probably because Silas was pissed beyond words. As it turned out, Hale played a believable egocentric asshole.

Who’d have thought?

On their way to the border, Alder had attempted to rehearse their impending encounter with Hale. Each attempt was met with Hale saying something to the effect of “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”

Alder had been worried.

The plan was far better than anything he’d come up with himself, but there was so much room for error. They had to consider every possible move that Silas might make as well as develop a contingency plan if the young alpha called their bluff. Neither of these things were Hale’s strong suit and so it had been up to Alder to muddle over them during the all-too-short trip between the den and the border.

Once again, he was flanked by Holly and Laurel, while Fenix flew above in his hawk form. Aside from Fenix, Laurel was his best fighter, as well as his most trusted confidant. Holly was more bark than she was bite, but what she lacked in brute force, she made up for with agility and cunning.

Then, there was Lark.

They left the raccoon shifter farther back in the woods, but close enough to summon when the time came. Neither he nor Hale had told her where they were going or what their intentions were. It was a deliberate move. If everything went according to plan, she would undoubtedly be interrogated by Whiteriver. The less she knew, the better. That, and a sadistic part of Alder enjoyed smelling the fear and anxiety that rolled off her in waves. Perhaps in time—and provided his daughter was returned safely—he could find it in himself to forgive her, but not tonight.

They were met at the border by two Whiteriver wolves, a beta male and a smaller omega on patrol. Despite their obvious unease, they stood their ground, growling and posturing towards Alder and the others. Both visibly jumped when Hale bellowed at them, ordering them to get their leader. Hale threw out an arbitrary time limit, threatening to send his pack into their territory to drag Silas out if he wasn’t there in fifteen minutes.

Silas was there within ten minutes, accompanied by at least a dozen wolves. He remained in his wolf form, presumably to appear aloof and disinterested. That didn’t last long.

“It’s a shame you didn’t manage to get my mate,” Hale yelled across the divide. “Then maybe I would have given a fuck about whatever demands you have.”

Alder winced, both at his brother’s unnecessarily loud voice and his absurd opening. Anxiety turn his insides to lead. Snow’s life was on the line and Hale’s words had been a little too convincing.

Hale began to pace back and forth, affecting the zeal of a warlord addressing an army he had already conquered.

“You killed one of my wolves, injured two others, and attacked my mate,” Hale said. “You have three minutes to tell me why I shouldn’t have my entire pack raiding your den by dawn.”

Laurel and Holly, neither of whom had been briefed on the plan, exchanged confused glances and then looked to Alder. He ignored them and did his best to keep a straight face.

Silas appeared unperturbed by Hale, which further exacerbated Alder’s anxiety. The dark brown alpha continued to stare at Hale for several long seconds before finally shifting into his human form. His eyes zeroed in on Alder.

“I have your daughter.”

Hale gave an undignified snort, drawing Silas’s attention. “I don’t give a shit what leverage you think you have over Alder, he’s just one of the alphas of Halcyon. I can assure you that he doesn’t speak for the majority. We aren’t going to fold to your demands just because you took a sickly juvenile that doesn’t even belong to us. She’s not pack.”

Alder’s fists clenched tightly. But just as he was considering intervening and trying to smooth things over, he heard something that gave him pause.

“She’s your family. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?” Silas said.

His voice trembled. It was a small slip—almost imperceptible—but Alder was certain he’d heard it. Silas was afraid.

Hale shrugged. “I barely know the kid. Don’t get me wrong, I’d kill any number of you to get her back, but I’m not about to give up my pack’s hunting grounds over her.”

“You don’t even need the whole forest to feed your pack,” Silas retorted.

Hale shrugged again. “I’m thinking it’s going to be a long winter and I’d rather not take any chances.” His words caused at least three of the Whiteriver wolves to snarl. Hale simply held up a hand. “By the way, you’re out of time.”

As Hale turned to walk away, he gave Alder the briefest of looks.

‘You’re up.’

Alder wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say, but knew he had to do something. He quickly moved to block Hale’s path. Placing a hand on Hale’s shoulder to halt him, Alder looked across the divide to where Silas stood.

“Give me a moment alone with my brother.”

Alder didn’t wait for a response, knowing that given the circumstances, there wasn’t much Silas could do. Instead, he tightened his grip on Hale’s shoulder and pulled him back into the shroud of the trees.

They walked in silence for a few moments. Once he was certain that they were out of earshot, Alder turned to face his brother.

“What the hell are you thinking?”

“I’m just making it up as I go,” Hale admitted.

Alder’s eyes widened. “And that’s your plan?”

Hale shook his head. “Look, the reason you couldn’t get anywhere with Silas is because the two of you are a lot alike. You’re both logical—you try to plan for everything, but when something happens that you didn’t or couldn’t account for, you flounder.

“All he can do is threaten to kill Snow, and if he does that, he’s just as screwed as if he didn’t. Right about now, he’s probably praying you can talk some sense into me.”

Alder reluctantly nodded. “Fine. What do we do from here?”

“We get Lark, you act like you smoothed things over, and renegotiate.”

Ten minutes later, they arrived back at the border with a trembling Lark. Silas appeared to have cooled off, but Alder noted that he had one hand tightly clenched.

Hand pressed against her back, Alder gave Lark a firm shove, putting her out on display.

“This is Lark,” he called out. “She’s the one responsible for your pack infiltrating our territory. She’ll be staying with your pack.”

“We don’t need her,” Olivia said, stepping forward.

“I wasn’t asking,” Alder replied. “Hale and I have come to an agreement. For as long as you hold my daughter, Lark will be reporting back to us weekly. If anything happens to Snow or Lark, we won’t hesitate to take your den.”

“You’re also not going to be hunting in our territory,” Hale added. “If I catch any wolves on our side of the divide, they’re dead.”

“What kind of terms are those?” Olivia snapped.

“Those are the terms you’re getting,” Hale replied. “And they’re the best ones you’re going to get.”

Alder said, “When you decide to return Snow, you have my word that Halcyon will show you mercy. But I suggest you do so sooner, rather than later. We’re going to be notifying her alpha, and believe me, he makes Hale look agreeable by comparison. Unless you want two strong packs bearing down on you in the middle of winter, you better rethink your strategy.”

Taylor wandered the hallways of the den, not sure what else to do with herself. Alder and Hale had left to confront Silas, taking almost everyone she knew with them. The only person who might have been able to keep her company had been Glenn, but the most she’d been able to do was convince him to feed her quail in between his guard rounds. She had wanted so badly to go with him, to get out of the musty cave and return to the sanctuary of her cabin, but she had a feeling it’d be a long time before she’d be surrounded by four walls and a roof again.

A faint orange glow emanated from a room up ahead. Curiosity drew Taylor in, until she was peeking inside the doorway. The light came from a large metal bowl filled with tinder and a crackling fire. A woman with chestnut hair sat beside a pallet. She dipped a cloth into another bowl that was filled with steaming water. After wringing it out, she pressed it to the forehead of the man who lay stretched out across the furs.

He appeared to be sleeping, but didn’t stir from her touch. He had long, unruly hair that reminded Taylor of Hale’s, only black. He had a sharp, angular face that wasn’t the least bit softened by sleep. Though the length of his body and his broad shoulders were that of a full-grown man, he had the uneven beard stubble of an adolescent.

“Can I help you?”

The woman didn’t look up, but her tone was pleasant and sincere. Taylor thought she recognized her voice and stepped inside to get a better look. It was Cammie, the pack member who had stitched Taylor’s cheek up.

She felt instantly at ease. Though she had only met Cammie once, the she-wolf had left a good impression. She had a very calming presence and had somehow managed to keep Taylor from freaking out while a needle was being threaded through her face.

“What’s wrong with him?” Taylor asked.

As she came to crouch beside Cammie, she got her answer. Across his muscular chest was a huge gash that ran down towards his navel. It appeared to have been hastily stitched and the skin around the wound was an angry shade of red.

“Don’t worry,” Cammie said. “This kid is pretty much indestructible.”

“Kid?”

“Don’t let his size fool you. Caim’s only a couple years older than his sister.”

She had only seen Snow’s brother in his animal form—a hulking black wolf. He was nearly the same size as his uncles and she found it hard to believe he was so young.

She glanced at his wound. “He was trying to protect Snow.”

“So were you,” Cammie said, her eyes on Taylor’s cheek. “While you’re here, let me see how it’s healing.”

Taylor gave a slight nod, Taylor allowed Cammie to examine the scratch. It hurt less today, but she still cringed as Cammie ran a finger over it.

“You were very brave,” Cammie murmured.

“Caim’s the only brave one. I didn’t do much of anything and I only helped because I was afraid Alder would be mad at me, you know, if anything happened to Snow.”

“You could have run and you didn’t. That’s all that matters,” Cammie said. Before Taylor could protest, she changed the subject. “Any bleeding?”

Taylor knew she wasn’t talking about the wound on her face. “No. I did bleed a little, though, right around the time my scent started to change.”

“That’s not unusual,” she said. “Nothing to worry yourself with, so long as it doesn’t keep happening.”

“Do you know a lot about pregnancy?” Taylor asked.

Cammie nodded. “If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to come to me.”

“Lark thinks I’m having twins,” Taylor blurted.

It was the first time she’d acknowledge the news aloud. With everything else going on, the fact that she could be having twins fell very low on the conversation priorities, even though it was something Taylor now realized she desperately wanted to discuss.

The fact that she was pregnant had seemed very abstract since she’d gotten the news, but she had given it a little thought. In the mornings, usually as she lay in bed trying to fall asleep, she’d picture what her baby might look like, taking all of her mates’ features and mashing them together with her own to make an adorable child—always a boy for some reason.

Taylor had just started to become comfortable with the idea of this child, maybe even a little excited to meet him, but now, all of the sudden, there could be another child. She hadn’t planned for that at all.

“Twins are very common among our kind,” Cammie told her. “So I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“Is it even safe to give birth to twins out here? What if there are complications?”

“I’ve delivered plenty of twins with no problems. Don’t worry.”

Taylor was still skeptical. “Not to sound like an ass but, um, you don’t really look old enough to have a whole lot of experience with that sort of thing.”

Thankfully, Cammie didn’t seem offended.

“In the pack where I was born, I was helping to deliver pups from the time I could boil water. After that, I lived in Shaderunner for a few years. That’s the pack Caim and our alphas are from.”

Taylor’s eyes widened. “Oh. Did you know Caim’s mother?”

It was a very roundabout way to ask her if she knew Dawn, Snow’s mother and Alder’s former lover.

Cammie gave her a knowing look. “I’m afraid that was before my time. But I knew Sarah, the woman who raised Snow and Caim. I still go back to their pack every spring to help out with the new pups.”

“She has a baby every spring?” Taylor asked, arching a brow.

“At least one,” Cammie said, grinning.

Taylor released a huff of air. “Well, you’re not going to have to worry about that here. After this one…or two, I’m done.”

Cammie simply smiled.

“Is there anything I can help with?” Taylor asked, looking down at Caim again.

“No. He’s on his own now, but he’ll pull through. He always does.”