CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Jaw clenched, Zander drew in a breath through his nose, seeking calm. “I asked her to stay inside.”
An amused Marlon bit his lip as he wiped down the kitchen counter. “But did she say that she would?”
No, she hadn’t. Gwen had done that thing where she nodded her head, and made an mm-hmm sound. It was a sound that usually meant she was going to do whatever the hell she wanted, which was exactly why he’d pushed her to agree to remain inside until he got back from his morning patrol. Her response had been, “If you need me to stay inside, I’ll stay inside.” Yet, she was gone.
“To be fair, she hasn’t exactly gone shopping or anything,” added Marlon. “And there was no way she was ever going to sit around relaxing when she knows she has the hearing tomorrow. She’s actually been pretty calm this past week, all things considered. Plus, she has Ally with her. They only left, like, a minute ago. You could probably catch up with them.”
“Where are they headed?” asked Derren.
“To see Donnie at the outdoor shooting range.”
Zander had seen the range during his patrols. It was a pretty sweet setup. Donnie had constructed a simple outbuilding with a short row of shooting benches on the firing line. Various homemade targets had been set up at different ranges. The closest was approximately twenty-five yards away, and the farthest was more than one hundred yards away. At the back of the range was a wall of rubber tires to stop projectiles.
Zander gave Marlon a curt nod and then strode out of the house, with Derren and Bracken close behind him. As they approached the range, his wolf snorted at the scents of gunpowder, hot metal, and lead. They were faint, which suggested no one had shot anything recently. Apparently, Donnie hadn’t yet begun.
Rounding a cluster of trees, Zander saw the two females crouched near a huge black case, which Gwen was looking through like it was a treasure trove.
When his mate pulled out a whopper of a gun, Zander growled, “What are you doing?”
Chewing gum, she gave him a cursory look, then focused on the weapon. “Flossing my teeth. What does it look like I’m doing?”
Even from there, he could smell the gum on her breath—it was strawberry flavored. “Put that down before the damn thing goes off. I thought you were inside the house.”
She sighed. “This again?”
“Gwen.”
“I can’t talk. I’m introverting right now. You’re disturbing me. That’s not good, because I’m already pretty disturbed.”
“Gwen.”
“Stop being snippy.” She eyed him, dubious. “You’ve been moody lately.”
He had. It was wearing on both him and his wolf that they hadn’t yet claimed her. Especially because they knew she would be safer with the bond. Zander would be able to sense her and feed her energy if need be. “You said that you’d stay inside.”
“No, I said that if you needed me to stay inside, then I’d stay. But you didn’t need me to; you just wanted me to—there’s a difference.”
Zander opened his mouth to argue . . . but he couldn’t. It had been a sneaky move on her part—a move similar to those he’d seen Shaya use on Nick dozens of times. He should have recognized it. He shot Ally a hard look. “I would have thought you’d have kept her inside.”
Ally shrugged. “I didn’t really want to bring her out here, but I couldn’t claim that she was breaking a promise to you. Plus, she has her own mind. I’m here to protect her, not smother her or tell her what to do.”
“Awesome,” breathed Bracken, staring at the array of weaponry in the box. Zander didn’t have a clue what the models were—he fought with tooth and claw. But Bracken was a Call of Duty addict, so he probably had a fair idea of what he was looking at.
Zander turned back to his mate. “Not sure if Donnie will like you touching his stuff, Gwen, but I really don’t like it.”
She pursed her lips. “Hmm.”
“Gwen.”
“Don’t interrupt me while I’m ignoring you—that’s just rude.” Gun in hand, she clicked the mag into place and then swerved to face the targets. “There are ear and eye protectors in the box, if you want to use them.”
Wait, she was planning to shoot? Before Zander even had the chance to object, she fired. Several times, in fact, sending shiny casings scattering across the ground. By the end, Zander was gaping, because she’d hit every single target dead-on.
Bracken gave an appreciative whistle. “Wow.”
Derren tilted his head, grinning. “You can shoot?”
Gwen shrugged. “I’m not as good a shot as Donnie, but I’m okay.”
“That’s better than okay, Gwen,” said Bracken.
Gwen carefully put down the gun and then looked at Zander. “I don’t know what will happen when I tell the council the truth at the hearing tomorrow, but I know the aftermath will be bad. I intend to be ready for it—hence the target practice. You can stay and watch and frown as if I’m a kid playing with her daddy’s shotgun, or you can go, and I’ll see you in an hour or so.”
Zander crossed to her and gently pulled his mate to him. “You’re a woman with hidden talents.” He kissed her neck, breathed her in. While a part of him balked at the idea of her holding a dangerous weapon, the rest of him—his dick included—was totally turned on by how competent and badass she looked when she aimed and fired. He knew exactly when she realized just how hard he was, because she smiled up at him.
“Zander Devlin, you’re a weird one.”
“What’s in the other box?” Bracken asked.
Gwen moved to the smaller box and unlocked it, revealing plenty of self-defense items—some legal, some not so legal. “Donnie believes in being prepared, as you may have noticed.”
As Zander settled on the gun bench, Gwen reset the targets and then switched weapons. He watched as she dug some bullets out of a box of ammunition with utter ease and confidence and quickly and expertly loaded the gun. “It’s wrong just how hot I find it to watch you do that.”
Gwen laughed. “You sure you guys don’t want to wear ear protectors? This must be hard on your enhanced hearing.”
“I doubt it’s much harder for us than it is for you. Noise is noise. Besides, I’m not going to use ear protectors when my woman isn’t wearing them—I’ll just look like a pussy.”
She laughed again. “Zander, you could never look like a pussy.” Gun ready, she turned to face the targets. As taught by Donnie, she automatically shifted her weight to find her balance and let that familiar sense of calm wash over her as she steadied her breathing. Narrowing her focus on the target ahead of her, she pulled the trigger. Adrenaline spiked within her as the bullet tore through the center of the circle.
Again and again, she fired, hitting her target every time. Appreciating her handiwork, she smiled. Yeah, she still had it.
While the Mercury wolves sat back and watched, Gwen used a series of guns to hit her targets. It was as much about blowing off steam as it was about practicing to keep her skills sharp. She needed time to just filter out all the bullshit by having a task that required her complete focus. This way, she didn’t have the time or opportunity to sit and contemplate the hearing.
A little while later, Donnie kicked aside a few casings as he approached. “You done?”
She rolled back her shoulders. “Yeah. Just keeping my skills sharp. You ready for whatever comes next?”
“Born ready.” Donnie crossed his arms. “Traps are all set. I already showed your friends here where they are so they know to avoid them.”
“Good.”
“That wolf was damn lucky he didn’t fall into one or set any off.” Donnie huffed. “He’d better not come back. He’ll get a shock if he does.”
Zander’s heart slammed against his ribs. He slowly pushed to his feet. “What wolf?”
Brow furrowing, Donnie replied, “The one I saw round these parts last night. Didn’t Yvonne mention it? I called the house. I told her to tell you.”
Gwen puffed out a breath. “Ah. The thing is, Donnie, you probably shouldn’t have relied on a shitfaced woman to pass on an important message.” Anxious about the hearing, Yvonne had poured herself a glass of wine to “settle her nerves.” That would have been fine if she hadn’t kept refilling the glass until it was a true wonder she hadn’t passed out right there at the table.
“I thought it was one of you at first,” Donnie told the Mercury wolves. “But it didn’t move like it was patrolling or investigating. It was hunting. When it sensed me there, it growled, the little bastard. I shot it in the flank, but it rushed off. I was just changing out of my wet clothes, and I wasn’t about to chase it through the marsh while I was only wearing my boxers and shower cap.”
Zander blinked. “Shower cap?”
“I don’t like getting rain in my hair.”
Lost for words, Zander just looked at him.
Ally forced a smile and said, “Who does, right?”
“Right,” said Donnie. Turning to Gwen, he studied her expression. “You all prepared for tomorrow?”
“As prepared as I can be,” she replied, cleaning one of the guns.
Donnie’s gaze cut to Zander. “Tell me about the shifter council.”
“There are four members,” said Zander. “The council was, for the most part, created to appease humans. It aims to resolve issues between shifters before violence can occur. It’s a good thing. It helps people like Andie. It helped the shelter when an Alpha wolf tried to take it. In cases where humans have harmed shifters and not paid for it according to human laws—like with Brandt—the council has the right to step in and administer punishment.”
Donnie pinched his lip. “Could it rule for Brandt to be killed?”
“I doubt it,” said Zander. “He hurt Andie badly, but he didn’t kill her—the council is unlikely to choose a punishment that outweighs the crime. But the council won’t go easy on him. They can’t be seen to go easy on anyone.”
“Can we be sure they’ll take Gwen’s word as gold?”
“No.” Zander had warned Gwen of that, but she’d insisted on speaking up for Andie anyway. “They may have already looked into the matter discreetly, though. They may already know most of the answers to the questions they ask her. In fact, they may have already made up their mind what they’re going to do, but they’ll have the hearing just the same.”
“What’s likely to happen?”
Tapping his fingers on the bench, Zander said, “If all goes well, they’ll charge Brandt and detain him. He’ll be punished and later released.”
“And if all doesn’t go well?”
“They’ll find him innocent—something which is extremely unlikely, especially given the case that Gwen is able to put forward to support her testimony.”
“But either way, the Moores will retaliate somehow.” Donnie twisted his mouth. “They may wait for you to leave here and return to your pack before they make a move.”
Zander wouldn’t be leaving Gwen. He looked at her. “I still think you should take your family and go stay on my territory after the hearing. Me and my pack mates can deal with the—”
“I’m staying,” she insisted.
As she walked off to pick up the casings from the ground, Donnie spoke to Zander. “You won’t get her to leave. Gwen doesn’t run. She fights.”
Yeah, Zander had already learned that. He loved it about her. He just didn’t want her to have to fight. He wanted her to be happy and safe. His wolf didn’t like it that there were threats to her safety out there, and he wanted to tuck her into his lodge back on their territory, where she’d be out of reach from said threats.
When his pack mates and Donnie left, Zander remained with Gwen as she packed away the weapons. “I didn’t mean to snap at you for leaving the house,” he told her. “I just like to know you’re safe when I’m gone. I don’t ask you to stay inside permanently, just when I’m not around.”
It was a half-assed apology, thought Gwen, but she’d take it. “If the range was near the border, I would have waited for you. But it’s pretty much smack bam in the middle of the land. Intruders would have a hard time getting that far undetected—which you know full well. Besides, it’s not like I gave Ally the slip or anything. I took her with me.” Locking the gun storage box, Gwen said, “As much as I appreciate that you’re protective, I’m looking forward to having a break from the weight of it. It’ll ease off when all this shit’s over.”
Zander frowned. “I will never be any less protective of you, no matter what is going on.”
“But you won’t be here every day, growling orders at me.” Gwen refused to admit how much it would hurt when he went back to California, even though it wouldn’t be the end of their relationship. “I don’t know how often you plan to come down here—”
“It doesn’t have to be a long-distance relationship, Gwen. You could come live with me; you could join the pack.” Zander held his breath, waiting for her response, hoping she didn’t freak out. His wolf waited, anxious. For a long moment, she just looked at him steadily.
“Is that what you want?”
“Fuck, yes. I want you with me. I want you in my pack. I want you to be there when I wake up. I don’t want to see you on weekends or whenever either of us have free time. That won’t be enough for me. I’d like to think it won’t be enough for you.”
She rubbed her forehead. “I don’t know, Zander. It would be a major decision. And it would surely involve you taking me as your mate, because I’m doubting your Alphas would take in a human for no good reason.”
He placed his hands on the bench and leaned toward her. “I’ve made it clear countless times that this is more than a fling. I told you I was keeping you, I told you that you’re mine. This is not a temporary thing for me. I want you with me. Not just for now. For good.”
“You also told me that imprinting can happen without the conscious decision of the couple, and you said it can happen fast.” Gwen had waited, reasoning that if she and Zander really had something deep and true, imprinting would have begun, but . . . “It hasn’t happened for us.”
“I also said that it can take months.”
Gwen folded her arms. “Where’s your wolf at?”
“He adores you. He wants you happy and safe and at our side. He wants you as our mate.” Zander rounded the bench and closed the distance between them. “I know you’ve gotten used to people turning away from you or giving you up, but I’m not going to be one of those people. I’m here for good.”
“I know.”
The total confidence with which she’d spoken both relieved and satisfied him. “Good. You’re it for me.” He flicked her bangs out of her face. “But I need to be it for you. I’m not saying I’ll leave if I’m not. That’s not going to happen. I just want you to know that I need that. I need to be as important to you as you are to me.”
She tossed him an impatient look. “You know you’re important.”
“How important?”
“Important enough that I’m considering moving to California. Be fair, Zander, it’s easy for you to suggest it—you’re not the one who’d have to make all the changes.”
He’d figured out in advance that she’d say that, so he had his answers prepared. “You’re right. I’d be asking you to move out . . . but really, Gwen, did you imagine yourself living in that house forever? You might not have planned exactly when you’d leave, but you knew that you’d move out eventually. I’m not asking you to do something you wouldn’t have done at some point anyway. Okay, yeah, my territory isn’t exactly down the road from here, but take the distance out of the way for a minute. Can you envision yourself living in a place that’s more beautiful to you than my territory?”
No, Gwen couldn’t, but . . . “It’s not the only change I’d have to make.”
“You’d have to give up your jobs, I know. But those are jobs that you do for your family, not for you, not because you enjoy them. You can’t honestly tell me that you’d miss either position.”
That was totally true, Gwen conceded to herself.
“And yes, living with me would mean leaving your family, but it’s not like they’d be on the other side of the globe. You could visit them anytime, and they could come visit you. Plenty of people live far away from their relatives. My sister lives a fair distance away from me. It’s not ideal, but it’s not soul-destroying either. I know you feel that they need you, but you can’t sacrifice your own happiness so that they have your company regularly. It’s senseless. They’ll tell you the same thing.” He cupped her face. “Just say yes, Gwen. It’s real easy.”
Easy? Gwen snickered. “You have to see this from my point of view. You’re not just asking me to move in with you. You live on pack territory. You and all your pack mates live virtually on top of each other and are probably constantly in each other’s business. In some ways, it’s the human equivalent of living in a house with most of your relatives. Moving in with you would mean moving in with them, in a sense.”
Zander brushed his nose against hers. “Baby, you’re not fooling anyone if you think I don’t know how much the idea of belonging to a pack appeals to you. The idea of being surrounded by people who will care for, support, accept, and protect you is drugging to you. You’re hesitating right now because you’re scared to reach for it. I don’t like how scared you are of reaching for happiness.”
“I reached for you, didn’t I?” she shot back.
Satisfaction roared through Zander at that. His mouth curved. “Yes, baby, you did. And you have no idea how glad I am of that. But I’m greedy—I want all of you. I want you with me every day and every night.” Neither he nor his wolf would settle for anything less.
“Who says your pack would want me anyway? Your Alpha male didn’t seem too enamored of me.”
“They’ll welcome you because you’re mine. The females like you a lot, especially Shaya. Stop looking for excuses and just agree.” His wolf growled when she backed up a step and bowed her head, eyes to the floor. Zander didn’t like it either, but he understood that she just needed that moment to think, needed that little bit of space. So he held himself still, waiting.
Finally, Gwen raised her gaze to his. “You have to be positive—positive—that this is what you want.”
“I am absofuckinglutely positive.”
She let out a long breath. “I need to speak with Yvonne and Marlon about it first. I’m not saying I won’t act without their approval. I just want to talk with them.”
“You’re stalling.”
“Why does that make you smile?”
He crossed to her and cupped her chin. “Because if you’re stalling, you’re scared. And I’ve come to learn that the only thing that really scares you is happiness. The idea of saying yes to me would make you so happy that you’re afraid to risk it.”
Gwen narrowed her eyes at the smugness in his voice. “I preferred it when you were moody.” He just shrugged.
“You know, I was thinking . . .”
“What?”
She shook her head. “Never mind.”
“What were you going to say?”
She sniffed. “It’s nothing, really.”
Zander ground his teeth. “Tell me.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Will you just fucking tell me,” he clipped. “I can’t stand it when you start a sentence and don’t finish it.”
Bristling at his tone, Gwen lifted a brow. “Yeah? You know what that sounds like? Your problem, not mine.”
Growling, he fisted her shirt, pulled her close, and gave her a hard kiss. “No one gets my blood boiling like you do.”
“Aw, that’s such a nice thing to say.”
He just shook his head.
With nothing to do and nowhere to go, the day was a fairly boring one for Gwen. But having so much unoccupied time gave her the chance to think about everything Zander had said, to realize just how much she wanted to reach for what he was offering, to concede that, yes, she was stalling. However, she really did want to talk to her family about it before making an informed decision.
So, later that evening when the Mercury wolves went on their nightly patrol, she settled at the kitchen table with Yvonne and Marlon. As they drank coffee, Gwen engaged them in a little chitchat, not wanting to just blurt it out. Surprising her, Yvonne mentioned the wolves first.
“I’ve gotten used to having Ally and the boys around,” she said. “It’ll be strange when they’re gone.”
Biting the bullet, Gwen confessed, “Zander wants me to leave with him.”
Yvonne didn’t seem the least bit shocked or even disappointed. “I thought he might.”
“What do you want?” asked Marlon, who also didn’t look surprised.
“There isn’t an easy answer to that question.” Gwen cradled her hot mug in her hands. “Leaving with Zander would mean leaving here.” She sliced her gaze to Yvonne. “You’d only have Marlon to help you with this place.”
Yvonne set down her cup. “I’m actually thinking of selling it.”
Gwen blinked. “You serious?” She hadn’t seen that coming at all.
Yvonne glanced around. “I’ve run this place for a long time. I’ve loved every minute of it. But I’m tired. And not all the memories here are good ones. I’ve been looking at houses online. I saw this gorgeous little house by a lake. There’s room for you and Marlon there if you want it, though the rooms are a lot smaller than the ones here. And it has plenty of land so that I can build a cabin where Donnie can grow old. You’re not mad at me, are you?”
Marlon’s brow creased. “Why would we be mad?”
“This is your home.”
“Dylan asked me to move in with him,” Marlon admitted. “I’m not ready just yet, but one of the reasons I held back was that I didn’t want to leave you.”
Yvonne huffed. “I’m not an invalid.”
“No,” allowed Gwen, “but this place isn’t something you could run on your own.”
“Don’t worry about me.” Yvonne leaned her elbows on the table. “I never intended to spend the rest of my days here. You two need to live your own lives.”
Marlon shifted in his seat. “It would feel like I was abandoning you.”
Face softening, Yvonne put a hand on his arm. “You know how it feels to be abandoned, and you don’t want to repay me for giving you a home by leaving me. I understand, but that’s a load of crap. Fleeing the nest is a normal step in life. And I’m sorry to say this, kids, but you’re murder on my sex life. You scare away every guy who shows any interest in me. I know you do it to protect me, but . . .”
“A girl’s gotta eat,” Gwen finished.
Yvonne laughed. “Exactly. If you’re not ready to move out, fine. But don’t stay for me. You have no idea how happy it will make me to see you taking such a natural step in life. It means that I didn’t screw you up when I married husband number two.”
“We prefer to call him Asshole,” said Marlon.
“An apt description.” Yvonne sighed. “Zander’s good for you, Gwen.”
Yeah, but . . . “A relationship with a shifter would be far from simple.”
“Sweetie, no relationship is simple. They’re what you make of them.”
“But it’s not like I could leave if things didn’t work out. Zander and I would have to mate. You can’t escape a mating bond.”
Yvonne looked at her like she was crazy. “Why would you want to escape it? He adores you. Protects you. Looks at you like you’re some kind of gift to him.”
Marlon nodded. “He’s good to you. Good for you. I think if you don’t leave with him, you’ll always regret it.”
And that was what made up Gwen’s mind. She would regret it if she said no. She didn’t want to live with regrets. She also didn’t want to live a life that didn’t have him in it.
When she gave Zander her answer later while they lay in bed, he smiled and crushed her to him, eyes glinting with triumph and contentment. His eyes flashed wolf, and she saw that same satisfaction there. Both man and beast were smug bastards at times.