Chapter Five
Four hours later they finally pulled off the highway, taking the only exit to the small gathering of buildings on the side of the road. Sunshine Valley was exactly what the name suggested. The highway ran right through the center, and on each side was a tiny plain before the mountains closed in. On the opposite side from where all the buildings were, Laird could see the frozen streams and marsh. It may have been almost spring in the cities they drove through on their way here, but at this elevation, the high and pristine white snow was everywhere.
He’d never been to visit this pard before, so he really had no idea where to begin looking for his mate, but they spotted the large registration office for the cabin rentals and figured whoever worked there would know where to find Sybella.
“Hey, they’ve got a pretty nice set up here.” Jackson admired the log cabin style construction of the building. It was in pristine condition. Around the side, they could see an indoor pool that was connected to the building, and out front, there was a fenced off area with a children’s playground, covered deep in snow. “They seem to keep pretty busy all year around.”
Indeed, there were about twenty-five cabins tucked out up against where the woods began, all with various cars and trucks parked out front. In the field beyond those Laird could see a few trailers hooked up and see that the rest of the clearing must normally be filled with campers and trailers. There was obviously no hunting allowed here, but there were many areas for snowshoeing, sledding, cross country skiing, and as he could see from the tire tracks, a lot of folks brought up ATVs and motorbikes. This remote area would be a perfect haven for shifters of all kinds to enjoy the outdoors to full advantage.
“I’ll go see if I can get some answers.” Laird hopped out of the truck and headed into the registration office, leaving Jackson sitting to wait for him.
He was pleasantly surprised when he walked in. The office seemed to double as a small convenience and liquor store, complete with movie rentals even. He’d noticed the side streets leading into the more wooded areas with full sized houses on them, and of course, the residents would need access to some kind of store, since the closest town would be Hope, and they’d passed through it about thirty minutes before the highway exit.
There was a group of young males laughing at something on a TV behind the desk, and they all turned to look at him as he walked through the door. He guessed from their scent that five of them were wolves, but the largest one who seemed to be the one working behind the till could only have been a bear shifter—he was simply enormous.
“Hello, can I help you?” Despite his size, the young bear’s smile was welcoming.
“Yes, I’m here to see Sybella Gandry. Can you tell me where I can find her?”
The mood in the room changed abruptly, as all of their eyes narrowed on him at the mention of their Alpha’s name.
“What is your business with Alpha Gandry?” one of the wolves asked.
“My business is my own, pup.” Laird knew he was baiting these younglings. Regular teenage hormones were one thing, and shifter male hormones at this age were another thing altogether—but his cougar wouldn’t take a disrespectful tone from anyone … especially some mangy youths who were too dumb to realize they were way outgunned. “Do you know where I can find my mate or not?”
When they heard the word “mate” it received a mixed reaction. The large bear shifter immediately stood down, apparently knowing better than to get in the middle between mates. But the wolves seemed to get even more agitated at his declaration.
“You’re the reason she took off as soon as she got back. What did you do to her?” One stepped forward, his hands fisted at his sides.
“If she’s going to take a mate, it should be one of us in the pack. Not some stranger.” Another edged closer, his eyes giving away his beast’s need to come forth and fight.
“That’s not the way it works, boys.” Laird’s voice was calm, but he could tell from their stance that they were seconds away from attacking. Wolves and their tempers.
He was almost looking forward to a little stress release, but of course, he’d have to make sure to keep himself in check—it wouldn’t do to permanently maim any of his new mate’s pack. He doubted his Sybella would be very impressed with him if he did.
As the first wolf donned his fur and came flying at him, Laird could see from the corner of his eye the bear shifter talking frantically into his cell phone.
“You need to come quick. We’ve got a situation here.”
Laird resisted his cougar’s desire to shift, as that way he was less likely to do damage to his opponents. One after another, they came at him, teeth bared, trying to pin him down. But they still weren’t full grown, and it was easy enough for him to toss them away. Suddenly, two rushed him at once and while he grappled with the first one, the second managed to get his mouth on Laird’s leg and bite down. He roared out in pain and threw the wolf in his grip much harder towards the front door than he’d intended—at exactly the same time that someone opened it, and the poor kid went flying out into the snow to land in a heap with a loud yelp.
When he realized it was Gage and Jackson standing there in the open door staring at him, he pushed the last of the wolves away and looked at the lot of them lying on the ground, panting.
“What the hell is going on in here?” Gage asked, his eyebrows high in disbelief to see the Ruling Alpha fighting with a group of his young wolves.
“He said he came here to take Sybella, that she was his mate,” the bear behind the desk answered in a panic now that their pack’s second had arrived. “You know Bailey and his crush on her. Things, umm, escalated…”
The largest black wolf growled and barked in response to that from his place on the floor as if to argue.
“Boys.” Gage knelt down and sighed. “Now what has Alpha Gandry taught you about fighting? I want some answers so you’d all better shift back right this second.”
They did, and as they groaned, favoring different parts of their bodies, Laird could see the bruises he’d inflicted already surfacing.
“Well?” Gage pushed.
“To use your head before you jump into a fight?” the bear offered first.
“Exactly right, Carson, which I can see that you did since you aren’t over here on the ground with the rest of these yahoos. What else?”
“Not to engage your opponent head on until you know their strengths and weaknesses,” one of the wolves muttered as he tried to get his nose to stop bleeding.
“Indeed, and since none of you were smart enough to realize that not only is this male an Alpha, but our Ruling Alpha, you need to have a reminder of your lessons. If you can’t learn to sense someone with more power than yourselves, you won’t live very long—especially when you grow and leave our pard to make your way in another pack. I think ten rounds each on the gauntlet will jog your memory.”
Both Laird and Jackson’s eyebrows rose at the groans and moans that came from the wolves in response.
“How many rounds do you think Alpha Gandry would give you if she were here?” Gage asked, his arms folded in front of him. All the whining and grumbling immediately stopped. “That’s what I thought. Out you go. Carson, you will count for them.”
Four of the wolves slowly got to their feet and walked out, but the fifth seemed to have more trouble … until the huge bear walked over and scooped him up off the floor, threw him over his shoulder and joined his pack mates outside.
“Well, that was interesting. How long did you stand outside before you opened the door?” Laird dusted off his jeans and smoothed out his shirt.
“Only a few minutes,” Gage replied with a shrug and a grin. “I figured it was a teachable moment. Those wolf young have damned stubborn streaks when their tempers get up, unlike our cats, or even the bears. They need a more—visceral type of education.”
“So I see.” Laird looked out the window to see them all walking through the snow out towards the woods. “What is this ‘gauntlet’ you talked about?”
“Kind of like a boot-camp obstacle course, Sybella uses it for discipline and to use up some of that excess energy the kids have at that age.”
“It’s a good idea.” Jackson looked as curious as Laird was about the concept, thinking a similar set up could help a lot of the packs that needed help with rambunctious teenagers. “I didn’t realize that your pard was mixed. Has it always been that way in this territory?”
“No, back when Bella’s father was Alpha, we had about twenty families of cougars and a few linx. There have always been several bear families around, but they kept mostly to themselves. It was Bella’s idea when she took over to convince the bears to join, that it would make us all safer and stronger, and when we had a small wolfpack come through looking for a new home they were so impressed that they asked to stay. It’s been a learning curve for a lot of us, but all in all, we’re stronger together than apart.”
“I can see that.” Laird looked at the other man. “I’m impressed, Gage.”
“Well, your mate is rather impressive you know.”