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Whatever passed between Aunt May and Ruth must have been effective. Because the tension in the room ratcheted down when I was only halfway to my destination.
Luke noted the change also. Unfolding upward, he took command of the situation before I could share Ruth’s request. “Up against the wall,” he ordered in that whip-crack alpha voice.
And this time it worked. Presumably because the pack wanted what Luke wanted. Or maybe because bonds were forming? No matter the reason, I missed parts of what happened next because I was caught up in the sea of wolves scrambling to obey his command.
Still, I breathed a sigh of relief when Cop Number One reached Aunt May’s body and commented: “Grisly.” Grace nattered on about makeup artists and plastic guns until Justice materialized in the doorway claiming to be Alec Carmichael’s lawyer. Before long, two-legger footsteps retreated up the stairs, cut off at last by the clang of closing cellar doors.
The only ones left in the dark, dank cellar were me and the skinless. The skinless...who were still locked in a contest of uncertain leadership.
“This isn’t finished.”
Victor’s statement was all it took for the battle lines to begin reforming. This time, though, Ruth stepped into the open space between.
“No,” she said simply. “Aunt May challenged and lost. We have an alpha and we have an heir. The Hunt is over.”
A spark of ozone from the back of the crowd was followed by a question. “What heir?”
“My son,” Ruth answered, hand falling to cup her naked belly. “Luke’s nephew. A direct descendent of the Acosta line.”
Skinless froze. Heads cocked. This time, the murmur was united and interested.
Meanwhile, Luke’s blue eyes latched onto mine, a question in their depths. Was this acceptable to me? Did I mind that any children of ours would never become pack leaders?
If our bond had been operational, I would have told him that I was ecstatic. That the pressure to churn out babies wasn’t something I wanted. That I wasn’t so sure I could handle any child of mine being thrown into the shark-filled waters that surrounded being alpha of a pack.
But our bond wasn’t operational, so all I did was nod. And Luke accepted that. Strode over to his sister and gave the pack permission to follow. “You may smell the heir of the pack.”
***
NOSES IN CROTCHES WERE, apparently, kosher among skinless. Wolves sniffed. Tails wagged. A few shifted upwards and called out questions that Ruth didn’t deign to answer.
“He’s mine. That’s all that matters,” she said eventually. In response, a joyous howl enfolded us as Ruth’s unborn child was accepted as future leader of the pack.
Accepted by some...not by all. A handful of skinless hung back around Victor. Their mutters weren’t quite audible to my ears, but Luke must have heard because he spoke in that alpha whip-crack. “Anyone unwilling to follow me, Ruth, and her son can leave the pack. Now.”
Victor took a long step toward the door, tendons rising on either side of his neck as he strained against the compulsion. He didn’t quite manage to turn to face Luke, but he did bite out a rejoinder. “Do you really want that? Do you want us to walk out of here carrying knowledge of your mate’s weakness?”
Luke and I weren’t technically mates at the moment. But his growl didn’t take that into account. “You can tell anyone you want that Honor is a woelfin. They’ll have to come through me to get to her.”
A murmur from the wolves around us. Most hadn’t known my secret. That knowledge alone weakened Luke’s standing, and it was about to get worse.
Because I had a sister. Two cousins. All with pelts that could be filched...or were already missing.
“My family,” I murmured, wishing everyone else didn’t have to hear my dissent. “Outing them is dangerous....”
Luke shook his head. “Every member of Honor’s family falls under my protection.”
A mate bond would have been really useful at the present moment. Lacking that avenue of communication, I had to clue Luke in the hard way, knowing full well that back talk toward a standing alpha left us open to another Alpha’s Hunt. “My family is really big, Luke. I have aunts, uncles, bucketloads of cousins.”
Victor had turned around while Luke’s attention was on me, and now he smirked. An additional skinless slunk out of the ranks of Luke’s pack mates and joined the rebels.
Lines were being redrawn and I was partially responsible. I didn’t know how to backpedal, though, without endangering my woelfin family.
Luckily, Luke had everything under control.
Because, he’d already proven himself willing to be a hard-nosed alpha if it meant protecting his loved ones. Which is what I’d become, even if we weren’t officially mated. I could hear that in Luke’s voice when he spat out the type of ultimatum he’d eschewed ever since stepping into the alpha role.
“Every woelfin anywhere is under my protection,” Luke growled. Then he proceeded to drop a mortal threat as easily as if it was a pleasantry. “Touch a woelfin pelt and die.”
This was exactly the sort of posturing skinless responded to. A show of pure, arrogant strength that went far beyond the reasonable...yet became reasonable when emerging from the mouth of an accepted alpha. Especially when Luke’s clenched fists promised he was ready to start right then and there by wringing his errant cousin’s neck.
Strength radiated from Luke’s shoulders. The air froze around us. In that moment, he was 100% alpha. This was the pack leader Ruth had been begging him to become.
And the kind of pack leader Victor wasn’t. The younger male’s head bent down. His eyes hit the floor.
Wolves beside him responded immediately, slinking across the line in the opposite direction so they could rejoin Luke’s followers. Those who had wavered on the edges pressed in closer to the alpha at their core.
Luke noticed, but he didn’t smile. Instead, he speared Victor with a glare that sent the other male stumbling back three paces. “Carry that message with you when you go.”
***
I EXPECTED CARL AND his cronies to leave when Victor did. Instead, the young male dropped to one knee, head bowed but voice projected loudly enough to fill the room. “Alpha. I request an alliance.”
The formal decision we’d been sidestepping for days was upon us. In the face of Luke’s rash promise to protect all woelfin, we needed allies more than ever. Still...
“Carly, do you want this?” Luke asked.
I expected a head-bowed mumble. Instead, the girl shook her head furiously. “I’m not Carly.”
Her uncle’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re not?”
“No.” Her voice shook, but her words were loud enough to be heard throughout the cellar. “I won’t be named after some guy I was once betrothed to.”
That was a denial worthy of her scarred relatives. No wonder Ruth was the one who asked the obvious followup. “What should we call you then?”
“I haven’t decided yet. Maybe...Blade?”
That sounded like a comic-book character. Something Carly might regret when she had a few more years on her. Still, Ruth nodded. “We’ll start with that.”
Throughout their conversation, Carl had remained kneeling. He hadn’t leapt up and lambasted the girl formerly known as Carly. He hadn’t stormed out to join Victor either.
Which, from a skinless perspective, meant the kid had potential. No wonder Luke crouched down to his level before rumbling out acceptance.
“We can use allies. But my niece won’t be the glue that binds us together. And we won’t kill your brother for you either.”
Carl didn’t dare glance up at the stronger wolf, but he did prod for reassurance. “If C—Blade isn’t our glue, then what is?”
“You want glue?” Luke’s blue eyes sparkled. “I’d be personally indebted to someone willing to let other packs know Clan Acosta is strong and ready to safeguard our own now. Spread the word that woelfin are under my protection. Spread that news fast and spread it far.”
His hand fell down to Carl’s shoulder, and the younger skinless leaned into his touch rather than seeming weighed down by it. “Do that,” Luke continued, “and you will be shielded also. You’re welcome to join us if you’re ever in need of a pack.”