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Day 158 of the re-emerged Hat Island pack, Tuesday, Nov. 12, Penticton
Jessie liked Titus. He was salty, good-humored, and told great stories about Ryder growing up among a bunch of bewildered old men. She didn’t have time to get the jitters.
Who was she fooling? She was well past jitters. She was in a full-form freak-out. While she joked and teased Titus, she found herself doing a check of her bonds and barriers. The soaker hose was working; no one had their faces pressed against the plexiglass barrier screaming at her. The Alpha was still raging though. And, she thought, her eyes narrowing, plotting something.
She thought she should be able to tell what he was plotting, but she couldn’t. Maybe if she loosened the barrier wall she could, but she wasn’t about to do that. The vileness that seeped into her nap when the barrier fell made her sick to her stomach.
She touched her mate bond and got a blast of goodwill. Her shoulders relaxed a bit. She thought she might have been freaked out about a mate bond to a biker if they weren’t facing catastrophe after catastrophe.
“Where did you go?” Titus asked, amused.
She blushed. “Checked my mate bond,” she admitted. “But the Alpha? He’s planning something, Titus. I can feel it. But I can’t tell what. Not with the barrier in place. And I’m not letting it down.”
Titus nodded. “To be expected,” he said, seemingly unworried. “But we’ve got Benny Garrison, once one of the most infamous intelligencers in the world, doing our plotting. Just leave it to him to script it all out. And then we just say our lines.”
Jessie laughed. “In the world?” she asked. “Really?’
Titus let out a long breath. “Yeah,” he said. “Doubt Benny knows how far his rep spread. But Alphas gossip like crazy. And Tom Garrison was tapped in — he probably did a fair amount of spreading his son’s reputation himself. Benny was often loaned out to other regions for investigations. And he did work for Tom when Tom needed a guard unit for a trip. Worries me a bit that Tom didn’t take him this time. But Benny was all involved in the Hat Island pack starting up when Tom left. Guess Tom didn’t think he could leave that.”
“Is Benny like his father?” Jessie asked, more to keep the conversation going than because she cared. Now Ryder? No detail too small there.
“In many ways,” Titus agreed. “But.... Tom grew up a long time ago, in a different world, in a stable pack with loving parents. He enlisted — I won’t tell you which war — and then found that he liked intelligence work. Benny didn’t get that stable core. He grew up in Cambodia, and by the time he was 13, he was in Thailand as part of the resistance to Pol Pot.”
“Thirteen,” she repeated. She thought about herself at 13, just going through her first shift, playing happily with friends, enjoying school. Would she have survived if she’d been thrust into the Alpha’s house then? Probably not, she conceded. Those stable years allowed her to have a sense of who she was separate from who the Alpha wanted to make her into.
“He’s somewhat of a chameleon,” Titus said. “He becomes who he is expected to be, who someone wants him to be.” He grinned at her. “Makes him successful with the ladies.”
She snorted. She’d seen that. “Charming man,” she agreed. “Ryder seems blunter around the edges.”
“Because he had that safe-home upbringing,” Titus agreed. “His mother is an amazing woman. I can’t wait for her to meet you.” He grinned as if that thought amused him, and Jessie wondered why. “For all that Ryder has Tom’s restlessness and dominance, he’s not as devious as either his brother or his father. He’s pretty straight-forward.”
OK, she could see that. And that might be why Ryder appealed to her in ways that Benny hadn’t. Benny was amusing to watch, but she didn’t want to embrace it. Ryder? She’d been attracted from the beginning.
The mate bond may well have started earlier, she thought. No one really understood them. And then she realized Titus seemed to think Ryder would take her home to meet his mother? His human mother. She set that aside. She’d panic later.
“I think we should swing by the motel, reserve some rooms,” Jessie said, changing the subject to more practical matters. “And maybe I can use a bathroom. I don’t want to piss my pants when I’m confronting that bastard.”
Titus grinned, and obligingly pulled into the parking lot of the motel they’d stayed at before. He stayed in the pickup, and she hopped out to go use the bathroom and make the reservation. Benny had been right, she thought. Riding with Titus had been useful. He’d given her a lot of good tips.
The clerk seemed a bit nervous, but he made the reservations, and agreed that Ryder could come in and pay for them later. “Already gone to the bar,” she said with a laugh. The clerk started, and looked out the front window, but he didn’t say anything.
Jessie frowned. She used the bathroom and considered the clerk’s reaction. Stay alert, she told herself. She felt Ryder question where they were, and she sent a verbal response, along with a picture of the motel. She wasn’t sure what was getting through. But it was kind of fun — like some kid’s game....
Jessie thought again about the clerk’s nervousness. She sighed and kicked off her shoes. She was still dressed in just her sweats from her shift. No bra, no panties. Shifting in a bra sucked. And truth was, she didn’t really need one. Barefoot made just one less step from human to wolf. She picked up the shoes and headed out the front door.
Titus was out of the pickup and there were four men surrounding him. She squinted. Strangers. She inhaled slightly. Shifters. Shit. Were they Penticton pack? She supposed she should be able to tell, but she couldn’t — not without lowering the plexiglass wall. And she wasn’t doing that unless Benny was around.
“Don’t stop,” a voice said behind her. Jessie glanced back — another strange shifter. “We’re going to go across the street to the Last Chance. That’s where the bikers will go, isn’t it?”
“Wasn’t where we were planning on going,” Jessie said sourly. “We were planning on going to the Alpha’s Social Club. Like civilized people. So you’re dragging humans into this?”
The man paused, then shrugged. “Too late to change the Alpha’s plans now,” he muttered. “No, we emptied the bar, and one of our own is bartending. He knew the bartender. So we’re good.” He frowned. “Why am I answering you?”
Jessie shrugged. If he didn’t know, she wasn’t going to tell him. She walked up to Titus. “You ready for this?”
He grinned at her. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
Jessie heard her phone ring in the pickup. And then Ryder pinged her through the mate bond. Can you tell where the Alpha is?
She snorted. Trap! Last Chance.
Jessie tossed her shoes into the back of the pickup, earning a nod of approval from Titus, and allowed the men to escort her across the street.
Her men, she thought suddenly. She wished she knew more about how all of this worked. But she was their pack Second. Were they 100 percent loyal to the Alpha? Or could they be persuaded to support her as pack Second? Or at least to stand down?
Something to consider.
She scampered across the street and onto the porch. She wasn’t going to look reluctant! And besides, she was barefoot and it was November. No snow, but it wouldn’t be long. She paused at the door and waited, making one of the men open it for her and then she sailed on inside. She could feel Titus’s amusement, although he was doing a pretty good job of keeping a straight face. She ignored him.
She stopped in the center of the room. Far enough in for the men behind her to come inside, but they were trapped behind her — as if they were her supporters. She glanced around the room, noting the differences from Sunday night. A different man stood behind the bar — a shifter, she saw. He was pouring beer into pitchers. Sure. Just what this mess needed, booze. Tables had been pushed back to the edges leaving the center of the room clear. There were probably 20 men in the room, seated around tables, with beers in front of them. If a human did come by, they’d just see a bunch of men drinking. But she’d bet the human would leave soon. Might not know why, but they’d go. The tension was palpable.
In the center of the half-circle was one table with a man Jessie assumed was the Alpha.
He was a big man. As much as a shifter could be overweight, he was. Beefy, she decided was the right word. She didn’t think she’d ever seen a shifter like that — they tended toward lean and mean, or muscular and built. Benny and Ryder, she thought with amusement. She didn’t think a wolf would let a shifter get that out of shape. She wasn’t sure that was the right word for it. He was probably still tough. Sad, her wolf mourned. Something’s not right with the Alpha.
Jessie grimaced. Her wolf would be a better judge than she was.
“You’re back,” the man said sourly. “Are you the one who killed my Second?”
Jessie started. Was he talking to her? But Titus answered. “Not me,” he said, projecting amusement. But he was braced for a fight, if necessary. Heartened, Jessie took stock of her own preparedness. There were worse people to stand with than Titus Black. “But it was the prettiest little takedown you’d ever see. Glad I got to watch. Damned little bastard. And damn you too, John. What the hell? Imprisoning a neighboring pack Second who stopped by for a drink? Used to be, you’d have bought me one.”
McKenzie shrugged. “Times change,” he said indifferently. “So you didn’t kill him? Where are those Garrison boys? Who holds my pack Second bond?” He was yelling by the time he got to that last question.
“I’m sure they’ll be along soon,” Jessie said. “We were planning on a courtesy call to your club. So it was a surprise to find you here instead.”
“Shut up,” the Alpha growled. “Women don’t speak when men meet.”
She grinned slowly, taunting him with it. Almost there, Ryder sent. Buy time. She snorted mentally. Sure. “You wanted to know who killed your pack Second, didn’t you?”
“Silence!” the Alpha shouted. The room got very still. Jessie knew what that meant. The Alpha had been getting more and more out of control, and the pack was wary of the outbursts. She’d seen another Alpha spiral out of control, and she recognized the signs. She would see those outbursts from Chen in her nightmares for the rest of her life.
So that was why the pack had been distressed, she thought, remembering the image in her mind of people pressed against the glass screaming for help.
“John, what the hell are you trying to do here?” Titus asked. “Do you really want the problems of the Okanogan pack? A bunch of mangy wolves with PTSD? And I count myself among them! Why?”
“I need a place for all the young wolves coming my way,” McKenzie said matter-of-factly, his rage subsiding as fast as it came. “My partner has plans. And so we’re building an army of shifter youth. But then Chen got himself into a pissing match with that bitch on Hat Island and lost. Jesus Christ. Lose to a woman. I thought he was better than that. But there are only so many young men I can integrate into a small-town family pack like this one. Can’t send them on to Vancouver. So, we’ll take over the Okanogan.”
“Except you kidnapped me before Chen fell,” Titus observed. “Something is wrong with your timeline.”
McKenzie grinned. “Well, I noticed your Alpha was missing again. And I’ve got some revenge stored up from the last time he came interfering with my plans.”
“That was 15 years ago!” Titus said. “You’re still bearing a grudge? You should be grateful. There were those who wanted him to take your pack from you then.”
“He knew he couldn’t.”
Titus snorted. “Oh he could have, and you know it, or you wouldn’t have waited until he was out of town to make your move.”
We’re outside, Ryder sent. Be prepared.
Jessie acknowledged the heads up. “You wanted to know who holds your pack Second bond,” she said. “It says something, Alpha, that you can’t tell. You want to know who killed Bjorn Hansen? I did. And I hold the pack. I will do whatever is necessary to protect the Penticton pack.”
Jessie dropped the walls. She staggered a bit as the fear of the pack hit her. A pack should not be afraid! It was the duty of the Alpha and the Second to protect the pack, to make them safe. She glowered at the man in front of her, who was staring in open-mouthed disbelief.
I will protect you, she promised the pack in her head. I will make you safe.
“Kill her,” the Alpha ordered the man sitting to his left.
The man looked at Jessie, and she met his eyes steadily. He shook his head. “No,” he said. “I’m not going to attack a girl-wolf, Dad. She’s done nothing wrong.”
“She killed Hansen!”
Benny stalked into the room at that point, followed by Ryder and his men. She could feel Ryder, but she didn’t turn around. She kept her focus on the men in front of her.
“I am Benny Garrison, intelligencer for the Northwest Council of Alphas — again,” he added a bit sourly. Jessie sensed the amusement of some of the wolves at that. “I stand witness. Jessie Nickerson, granddaughter of the former pack Second for the Vancouver pack, and great-granddaughter of the former pack Alpha, defeated Bjorn Hansen in a fair fight. The pack bonds judged the rightness of her cause and moved to her when he fell. Hansen, her former fiancé, abandoned her to the hands of the Alpha to rape and abuse, while he came here to set up his own small empire. He admitted it, and she retaliated. All praise to her for her dominance in battle.”
Well, he could hardly say skill, she thought sourly. But it was an interesting summation. Was he saying she had inherited that kind of dominance? Her grandfather had been formidable. An amoral would-be dictator. But formidable.
“She’s female,” the Alpha protested. “Women can’t be pack Seconds!”
“Six months ago, the packs of the New World believed women couldn’t be Alphas, and we were wrong,” Benny countered. “There are three of them in the region now. And a female pack Second. She holds the bonds, Alpha McKenzie.”
“Not for long,” McKenzie growled. A man leaped into the center of the circle.
“I challenge,” the man said with a grin. “Come here, little pussy.” The men laughed. Jessie stepped out of her clothes and shifted. Score, she thought. It works. She leaped for the man’s throat and tore it out. She stood over him and howled her triumph as he bled out.
“Looks like my advice in the truck paid off,” Titus said into the silence. Jessie-wolf laughed at him, and then trotted back to her clothes. She girded her courage up to shift back and stand naked in a room full of men.
We have your back, Ryder said. Heartened, she shifted and pulled the sweats back on. Even the sweatshirt was still good. The room was silent while she dressed.
“Challenge accepted,” she said levelly. “And defeated.”
“I won’t stand for a female Second!” the Alpha roared. He stood up. “I’ll kill her myself.”
Jessie prepared to shift again. She worried her wolf was tiring from the multiple shifts. Her wolf snorted. Or maybe not.
“No,” Ryder said, stepping forward. “I cry challenge, McKenzie. I am Penticton pack, heir to the Alpha. And I challenge you for the kidnapping and torture of our pack Second. I challenge you for the good of the region. You have stirred up unrest and participated in schemes that came close to first-rule violations in Vancouver. You scheme and play politics while your own pack cries for help. I challenge.”
“Well, now,” McKenzie said softly. “The Garrison cub thinks he’s grown some teeth?”
“For the love of God, fight as men,” the bartender pleaded. “Do you know how hard it is to get a dead wolf out of a bar like this without people noticing? And I promised Joe, no blood on the floors!”
Jessie glanced over her shoulder and gave him a small nod of approval. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, and she thought his lips twitched. But mostly he focused on the men in the center of the room. She turned back to them.
“So noted,” Benny said, and he was amused too. It didn’t show, but she’d been working closely with him for a week. She knew. “The challenge has been declared. Because we are in a human establishment — a choice made by the Alpha, I remind you — the fight will be in human form.”
“Attend me, pack Second,” the Alpha ordered, his smile was cruel.
Jessie shook her head. She felt Ryder’s alarm. For her, not for himself, the idiot. But she was her grandfather’s girl, after all. She’d watched pack politics from day one. And she thanked Benny for that reminder. “I protect the pack,” she said, simply. She moved back to the door. “No humans will be allowed to enter.”
“Fair enough,” Benny allowed.
Both men stripped to the waist. Jessie paused to admire her mate, and then blushed when she realized her mate knew it. She glanced around the room. Looked like a lot of them knew. Well, Ryder was a fine-looking man, and her mate. So they could go suck eggs.
Ryder was just shy of 6-foot, a bit shorter than Alpha McKenzie. He had one of those chiseled chests that narrowed down to his hips. His leathers rode low. Her eyes mentally traced the light dusting of hair that ran down his chest and belly. Would the leathers hamper his movement? She worried for a moment. Not his first fight, she reminded herself.
He was much darker than the Alpha, who was of Scottish heritage, if she had her history right. He was ruddier, with sandy brown hair. And he was hairy, she saw as he pulled his sweater off. And she’d been right. He was packing extra pounds. She wondered how old the man was, and how long he’d been Alpha. Too long, she thought. Much too long.
She studied the scene in front of her as the two men circled warily. McKenzie wasn’t going to win, she realized suddenly. She couldn’t tell much about the dominance of the two, but Ryder was younger, stronger, and she didn’t think McKenzie had been in a fight in years. Maybe decades. He was an old wily wolf, that was true, and perhaps in wolf form it would be different. She glanced at the bartender again with respect. But in human form, the contrast between the two men was stark. And the men of the Penticton pack shuffled warily.
What would Abby do, she wondered. She pondered that for a moment. She’d call the women, Jessie thought, suddenly sure of it, although she didn’t know why. Margarite would too. She’d hold a potluck. It was all she could do not to laugh. She got a grip on herself and visualized that soaker hose. I protect the pack, she sent out. Come. We will gather together and be pack together. She visualized the Last Chance bar, confident that everyone would know it. Penticton was a small town. Bring food, she added, inspired by her thought of Margarite. No one in their right mind eats at Last Chance. Come.
She widened her stance a bit, and then she poured her love and support to her mate.