CHAPTER 11

Tess was frustrated that Connor made up his mind about going so quickly. She wanted to keep him close. She couldn’t fathom the thought of him getting caught or maybe even killed by the other wolves. It was just another enemy he was willing to make and another worry that wouldn’t leave her mind.

Tess tugged at Connor.

“Can we talk?” she asked.

Connor excused himself from his food. Tess pulled him along, leading him to the edge of camp, out of earshot of everyone else. She had things that needed to be said and he needed to hear them.

“Why the hell are you going off on another crazy mission? You can’t keep doing this!” she screamed just below her breath. Her desperation was echoed in her voice. Connor bowed his head in shame.

“I have to,” he replied, “It’s my job as alpha.”

“You have a bunch of other people you could send to do this for you. This isn’t something you have to do by yourself. You have to know that,” she cried.

“It’s not how I was raised,” he replied, “The alpha is the one that does the dangerous things so that the rest of the pack can rest easy.”

She beat her fist against his chest.

“How am I going to rest easy if you die?” she started, “Every day it’s something new. Hunters, crazy bikers, bears, what’s next? I can’t take this anymore,” she said. Her tears streaked down her cheeks and she rubbed her nose with the edge of her shirt. Connor opened his mouth to say something but stopped.

He lifted her chin so she could look into his eyes again.

“I love you,” he said, “I want to make our world a better place for you …” his hand rested on her stomach, “… for us. I’m one of the only people who can. I can’t trust anyone else to solve this problem right now.”

“But, why now,” she asked. He kissed her on the cheek.

“My dad raised me for exactly this purpose. Rain or shine. I might be the one in charge but I don’t feel like I understand what it means. I can bark out orders but I don’t think that makes me the one capable of being the head of the pack.”

She continued to sniffle as her head fell into his chest. His heart beat quickly. She hoped it wouldn’t be the last time she’d have the chance to feel it. It reminded her of that calm, glassy lake with the breeze calmly cradling their bodies in the moonlight. She wanted to be back there.

“I wish I could tell you how much I just want things to be the way they were. How much I want to just lie with you under the stars again, or how much I just want to run away with you and forget the world; you are what matters most to me,” he said.

“Why can’t we,” she said, speaking into his chest, “why can’t we just leave it all?”

He hugged her close and felt her body shake with every sniffle. She wasn’t bothering to hold back her feelings anymore. Everything she’d bottled up while at the den came pouring from her.

“I wonder that same thing,” he replied, “Yet deep down I know that if we don’t save the rest of the pack, they’ll have to shoulder my burden. Someone else will have to rise up and answer the same questions I have right now. And, another family will be at risk when I could have just fixed everything.”

Tess rubbed the tears from the corner of her eyes and looked up at Connor. He lowered his head and kissed her gently on the lips. She urged for more and pushed herself in tighter.

She felt so small in his arms, so protected, but she knew the feeling wouldn’t last. Deep down she knew he was right; he made a commitment to protect the pack from any threat. However, that didn’t mean she had to like it.

“I want you to go back to Cliff Walker den,” he said, “Take Cynthia, and the rest of the girls there as well. They may be bears but they’ll be safer there. Can you do that for me?”

Tess shook her head no.

“We’re safe here. Crunch is a strong fighter and if Cynthia is here I doubt any harm will come to us.”

“Fine,” Connor sighed, no longer able to argue, “Stay here if it makes you feel safe. We’re going to get Torque and make him give us some answers. If we get them then maybe, just maybe, we can convince the bears to end all the fighting.”

“Promise me you’ll come back,” she said.

“I promise,” he said. He held her close again. Tess didn’t believe it for a word. Neither of them wanted to let go, they wanted to savor the moment they were spending together. Tess made a memory of his scent, hoping she’d have a chance to smell it again.

Alex walked over to join them. Tess rubbed at her eyes to try to push away the tears. Her brother had seen her upset many times before but this time she felt so naked.

“Are you two finished?” he asked.

Connor nodded as he reached his arm around Tess’s shoulders. They walked together to join the rest of the group.

“What’s the plan?” Alex asked as they rejoined around the morning fire.

“We’re going to find Torque, when we do we’re going to make him answer every question we have. Once we know who the real killer is we can capture them and maybe try to talk some sense into the bears so we can end this war,” Connor said confidently.

“Well, I hope you boys have fun with that,” Crunch said, “I’ll be staying right here.”

“Can you at least take care of the girls?” Connor asked.

Crunch grunted and spat on the ground which Connor only assumed meant yes.

“I’m going too,” Samantha chimed in.

“Why?” Alex asked.

“So I can punch this Torque guy in his stupid face for starting all this shit,” she replied.

Connor and Alex glanced at each other. Would it be safe to bring a bear along on their trip? She was the only one that knew how to get to the bear den, if they’re going straight there then maybe she would be an asset.

“Sounds good enough to me,” Connor said with a shrug.

Tess raised her hand to join but was shot down by Connor immediately with a sideways glance.

“Tess, don’t say it. You’re having our child and the last thing you should be doing is running around and fighting,” he said.

She closed her mouth and accepted her fate.

“Get in,” Connor said, pulling the truck keys from his pocket, “we need to go now.”

“I thought I was taking the bike for this one,” Alex asked.

“We don’t have the time to gas up every twenty miles. Just get in the truck,” Connor said.

Tess took one last moment with Connor, her eyes watching him listlessly.

“You better come back,” she said. She planted another kiss on his lips.

Beside them, Cynthia handed a stuffed basket to Alex which he tossed in the cabin of the truck.

“Leftovers,” she said. Cynthia leapt on him like a horny dog. Tess almost didn’t want to keep watching but couldn’t look away. She tilted her head when they didn’t stop. Their hands were all over, it was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began.

“Ahem,” Connor coughed.

Samantha was already climbing in the truck and she braced the food on her lap. Connor eased into the driver’s seat and twisted the ignition to start the truck. Alex got the hint, finally pulling away from his woman. Tess giggled at the sight. He hopped in the passenger side and rolled down the window to plant one more kiss on his Cynthia’s cheek.

“I’ll see you soon,” he said. Cynthia smiled back, eliciting an eye roll from Tess.

“This is going to be fun,” Samantha said as the truck started to pull away.

“Right,” Alex replied rolling his eyes, “that’s one word for it.”

The loud truck eased its way down the dirt path with Crunch watching them from behind.