Marty hadn’t expected to feel nervous, but his palms were sweating. He wiped them dry on his pants, squared his shoulders, and knocked on the door. This bedroom was right across the hall from the room Victoria was staying in, although he knew she wasn’t there now. With their hearing and sense of smell, the wolves must have known who was there, but they kept him waiting a long minute before Stone opened the door.
“Victoria is not here,” Stone said. “You can find her in the kitchen with her aunt Renee.”
“I know. I came to talk to you.” He looked over Stone’s shoulder into the room. “All of you.”
One of Stone’s eyebrows hooked up. He stepped back, opening the door wide. “Come on in.”
All of the men from the Wolf Clan who were in Omaha were there, except for Colby and Rock. Colby was probably still trying to woo Miss Summer, with Rock providing moral support. That thought almost made Marty smile, but this was too serious an occasion for that. Marty glanced around the room, marking Eagle, sprawled on the end of a bed, and Hawk, who was sitting in a wooden chair against the far wall. The room wasn’t small, but it felt crowded with five of the Wolf Clan there. Marty mentally girded his loins and walked over to Hawk.
The older man flipped a long lock of graying black hair over his shoulder and looked up at him blandly. “What can we do for you?”
Marty saw no point in dancing around the subject. “I love Victoria.” He kept his voice mild. “And she loves me. We are going to get married.”
An explosive “No!” came from Eagle.
Marty continued in the same mild tone, looking Hawk in the eye. “We’d like your approval.”
Eagle lunged off the bed. “No,” he snarled. “We told you no.”
“At the gala in January.” Marty nodded. “And I backed off because I didn’t want to start trouble there. But my feelings for Vic haven’t changed.”
Sand slung an arm over Eagle’s shoulders just as the younger man opened his mouth again. “Let him speak, Eagle,” he said soothingly.
Directing his words at Hawk and Sand, Marty went on. “Victoria and I have talked about it, and we want to be married. That’s our plan, even if you don’t approve. It would break her heart to go against her family’s wishes, but she will. Please don’t do that to her.”
They all regarded him silently. Under the weight of their stares, Marty forced himself to stand still, no fidgeting. After a long pause that grew ever more uncomfortable as the moments passed, he finally spoke again.
“What is it that you have against me?”
“You’re a cat,” Eagle spat.
“So? Miss Olivia mated with a cat.” He looked challengingly around the room. “Is that your only problem with me?”
Quill, arms folded, leaned his shoulders against the wall. “Your brother didn’t know how to treat his mate during the first year of their marriage. It wasn’t until she left him that he changed.”
Stone came up from behind and stood next to Marty. “Maybe Shadow is afraid you’d treat his daughter the same way.”
“Yeah,” added Eagle hotly.
“I wouldn’t,” Marty said flatly.
Oddly, the other men all looked at Stone. Marty turned his head to see Stone nod.
“Maybe you wouldn’t mean to,” Eagle conceded, “but you could. I’ve heard about how you can turn only part of you into a cat, like your fingers into claws. That would hurt Victoria pretty bad.”
Marty shook his head. “I have too much control for that.” He drew a deep breath and let it out. “Look, Eddie had never been taught about the cat. He never learned to handle it. That’s why he didn’t treat Lisa as well as he could have. It’s different for me. I was taught self-control from the time I could walk. I knew everything about the cat before I ever shifted. My mom taught me. Eddie taught me even more, like how important it is to accept the cat. That’s why you don’t have to worry about me ever hurting Victoria.” He leaned forward, to emphasize his point to Eagle. “Besides, Vic isn’t like Lisa. Would she put up with me doing anything she didn’t like?”
Eagle’s smile looked reluctant, but real. “No.”
“Give us your blessing,” Marty urged.
No one answered, but Quill asked a question. “Why do you love Victoria? You can’t know her very well.”
The answer to that was very reasonable, even simple, in an unexplainable way. He decided to start with the reasonable thing. “She’s a strong woman. I like strong women. My mom is a strong woman, too, the queen of our little pride. When mom is gone, we’ll need another strong woman to be our queen.”
“She’s not a cat!”
Marty shrugged at Eagle’s exclamation. “Your mom isn’t a wolf, but isn’t she the Lupa of the Clan?”
“Yeah.” Sand nodded. “So, you want a replacement for your mother? That doesn’t sound like the right kind of love.”
“No!” Marty suppressed a shudder. It was time for the very simple reason. “She’s my mate. I don’t know exactly how it works with you wolves, but Kit McQueen says that cats don’t choose mates very often. When we do, it’s for life. When I met Victoria last fall I was completely fascinated by her. She’s beautiful. She’s commanding.”
“You mean bossy,” Eagle cut in.
“Yeah, I guess she is.” Marty smiled. “And I wanted to rub up against her and purr.”
The half-smile was wiped from Eagle’s face. “What?” he growled.
“I’ve never wanted to do that to another woman,” Marty explained quickly. “Really.”
Hawk stood up, eyes boring into him. “You want to marry her,” he began.
“I am going to marry her,” Marty cut in quietly but firmly.
“Ah.” Hawk nodded. “With or without our blessing.”
“Yes.”
“Because you love her and she loves you.”
“Yes.”
“And you promise to do everything you can to keep her safe and happy?”
“Yes.”
Hawk glanced at Stone, who nodded.
“Well,” Hawk said, the lines around his eyes deepening with his frown. “I’m not her father, but I’d say she’s worth ten horses. What do you say, Eagle?”
Eagle’s bunched eyebrows didn’t look particularly happy. “Fifteen. She’s the only girl in the family. Dad would insist on at least fifteen horses, all well-trained and healthy.”
Marty blinked, his head feeling oddly light. “You want to sell your sister for fifteen horses?”
“Want to?” Eagle made a sound of disgust. “No, I don’t want to.”
“It’s the Lakota way,” Quill said solemnly, taking his arm off Eagle’s shoulder. “The number and quality of horses show how much you value the woman you love.”
Marty began calculating how he could get his hands on fifteen good horses. Or twenty. “Victoria is worth fifty horses,” he said recklessly.
Stone smothered a grin behind his hand. Sand laughed out loud.
Even Eagle and Hawk smiled.
“We’re just kidding you.” Quill stepped forward to throw a light punch at Marty’s arm. “We don’t do that anymore. We’ll talk to Shadow and smooth things over for you.”
Marty caught his breath, intensely relieved, and still feeling a bit light headed.
“But if you’d like to give us a token of your regard, I like a tall, powerful gelding that can carry my weight,” Eagle said helpfully. “Preferably a bay.”
Marty looked around the room and felt the twist of anxiety in his guts relax. Somehow, he had changed their minds. They approved. “A bay. Sure, I’ll keep that in mind.”
Victoria nearly floated to the mayor’s house a few hours later. She and Marty walked hand in hand, an officially engaged couple.
The mayor’s home resembled a castle Victoria had once seen a picture of in an old book. The stone wall around the property was high and thick, and the two men manning the gate were much stricter than the men who guarded the gate at The Limit. They were expected, though, so after a few questions, their party was allowed in. The approach from the street was quite steep, so she used that as an excuse to hold onto Marty’s arm. She noticed Renee raise an eyebrow, but no one said anything about how closely she and Marty were walking. Maybe they were getting used to the idea that she had chosen a husband.
Mrs. McGrath surprised Victoria by being nearly as tall as she was, with a beautiful face and a voluptuous figure that age and childbearing had only softened. As she welcomed them to her home, Victoria hoped that she would be as shapely and beautiful when she was in her mid-forties.
“Miss Cayla,” Quill said fondly, giving their hostess a kiss on the cheek. “You look beautiful. How are you? Are these your children?”
The mayor beamed proudly at the boy and girl standing beside him. “We have three sons and a daughter. Our two older boys are out training with the City Guard, but our daughter, Anna, and our youngest son, Nicholas, will be joining us for supper. Anna just turned thirteen and Nick is twelve.”
Anna was at that gawky stage where her skinny arms and legs seemed too long for the rest of her. Victoria remembered going through that stage. She’d tripped and stumbled so often that the clan had changed her Lakota name to Sandhill Crane Woman. She preferred Victoria.
“Please come in,” Mrs. McGrath urged them. “Supper is ready. Rye, will you take them into the dining room?”
Renee cleared her throat. “Do you need any help in the kitchen?”
“No, thank you. Anna will help me carry the food in.” The mayor’s wife laughed, and Victoria heard a nervous note in it. “I’ve been told what a superb cook you are. I hope you won’t be disappointed by meatloaf and potatoes.”
“It smells wonderful.”
Aunt Renee wasn’t just being polite. It did smell wonderful.
Mayor McGrath and his son led the way to an elegant dining room with a long table set with china and crystal. “Take whatever chair you like. This isn’t a formal dinner party. Just old friends catching up.”
Victoria made sure she sat beside Marty. Colby was on her other side. Colby had been quiet all day. He might have spoken with Rock or Eagle, but he’d said nothing to her about his mate. When she’d asked early this afternoon if he’d seen his mate at the coffee shop, he had only shrugged with a stony face.
Mrs. McGrath and her daughter brought in platters of meatloaf and bowls of beans and mashed potatoes. Once everyone was in their seats, the food was passed around. The mayor was at the head of the table, with Quill on his right and Stone on his left.
“I’m sorry I won’t be a very good host tonight,” he said loudly enough for everyone to hear. “The Council will be coming over at half past seven so we can continue to read the questions and discuss what answers we can give, so I’m afraid I won’t have as much time with you as I would like. But I didn’t want to miss the chance to visit with you. We don’t see the Wolf Clan here in Omaha very often.”
Stone shook his head. “No, we don’t really fit in here. I haven’t been in Omaha since… Well, since you became Mayor.”
McGrath chuckled. It didn’t sound amused to Victoria. “The good old days.” He shook his head. “Right now I would give almost anything to be Rye Thomas again. No worries or concerns except what my next load of merchandise would be. I actually never wanted to be mayor.”
“I remember,” said Quill. “But from what I’ve heard, you’ve been a good mayor for Omaha.”
“Better than my father.” Again, the chuckle was not amused. “I wonder how he would’ve handled Todd.” He waved a hand. “Let’s not talk about politics right now. Tell me how your families are.”
Quill and Stone took turns telling about the various members of the clan, recent births and deaths, and marriages. Victoria ate and listened. She didn’t know how well acquainted Mayor McGrath was with her kinsfolk, but he listened with every evidence of interest. At the foot of the table, Mrs. McGrath listened with equal interest. She knew Sand’s mate, Amanda, because they had worked together for Uncle Sky at the Limit.
Marty leaned a little closer. “I love watching you eat,” he murmured.
Victoria paused in spearing a potato. Her plate was loaded with meatloaf and potatoes drenched in gravy, with a small mountain of green beans on the side. A glance around the table told her that the McGraths’ plates were not nearly so full. “Am I eating too much?” she whispered.
“Oh, no.” His voice dropped to a purr. “You should eat as much as you need to keep that gorgeous figure of yours nice and …”
He trailed off, apparently having noticed her brother and cousins glaring daggers at him. He cleared his throat and went back to eating. Victoria glared back at her brother and cousins. Those killjoys need a poke in the eye. Dammit, just when Marty was starting to say something interesting. She moved her leg to press her thigh against his and gave Eagle a sweet smile.
She might have been bored with all the reminisces between the older people except that Marty had obviously decided not to bow down to her brother and cousins. He leaned a little closer again.
“Have you seen the house that I am building in the mayor’s compound back home?” he asked.
She thought about Eddie Madison’s home in Kearney, a stately mansion built in the last decade of the nineteenth century. Several blocks of Kearney were walled in around the mansion to form a private compound reserved for the Mayor of Kearney and his friends and family. She had never been inside the wall. “No, I didn’t know you’re building a house.”
“I am.” He smiled an intimate, quiet smile. “I started it last fall after I met you.”
Warmth fluttered in her chest.
“We’ve torn down one of the old buildings to make room. I plan three bedrooms right now, but there’s space to add on.” He cleared his throat. “To make room for more children.”
Eagle looked like he would crack teeth if he didn’t stop clenching them. Victoria gave her brother another bland smile. She turned her attention back to Marty. “When do you think it will be finished?”
She didn’t think Marty could be any more handsome than he was right then. “That depends on you, Miss Wolfe.”
He was doing that purring thing again with his voice, and Victoria had a stray thought. Would he have that same rasp in his voice when he talked to her in bed? She had to swallow to find her voice. “Oh?”
His smile said he knew how he was affecting her. “Say the word and I’ll send a message home to tell Eddie that it has to be done now. We can honeymoon here in Omaha for a few weeks until it’s done, and then we’ll go home where I’ll carry you over the threshold and—”
The captain of the city guard rushed into the dining room, coat unbuttoned and blond hair standing straight up. He stopped in the dining room doorway and cast a quick glance at them sitting around the table. “Rye,” he said curtly. “I need a minute. Right now.”
The smile left the mayor’s face. “My office.”
Captain Erickson disappeared.
The mayor stood up. “Please excuse me for a few minutes.”
There was silence for a long moment after the mayor left. Mrs. McGrath cleared her throat.
“I hope you have room for dessert,” she said brightly. “We have brownies and vanilla ice cream.” She nodded at her Anna. “Anna, Nick, bring it in.”
Victoria exchanged a glance with Marty. Maybe the mayor was called away from supper all the time, but Mrs. McGrath seemed a little too cheery, as if she were trying to hide worry.
“Brownies,” Quill said happily. “I love chocolate.”
The scent of warm chocolate entered the dining room before Nicholas and Anna. It was a mouth-watering scent almost delicious enough to distract Victoria. Anna was going to be a beauty one day, and she had more social graces than Victoria ever would have. Even with her gawky arms and legs she managed to serve everyone gracefully.
“Very nicely done,” Mrs. McGrath told her daughter.
The girl’s round cheeks glowed with a pleased blush.
Renee surveyed her plate of brownie topped with a perfect sphere of vanilla ice cream before taking a bite of brownie. “Heavenly,” she announced. “A perfect blend of chocolate and vanilla.”
Anna’s blush grew brighter. Her mother gave her a fond smile. “Anna made the brownies.”
Renee looked surprised. “They are very, very good.”
Mayor McGrath came back in, followed by Captain Erickson. Both of their faces were grave. The mayor stopped beside his wife at the foot of the table and looked at each one of them.
“This is unexpected,” he said. “President Todd is sixty miles from Omaha, and he brought his army with him.”
Mrs. McGrath grabbed his hand. Her beautiful face remained calm, but her knuckles shone white. The mayor glanced down at this wife, but didn’t speak. Victoria noticed that Marty stiffened beside her.
“How long until they get here?” he asked calmly.
The mayor lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Maybe two hours to get to the river. They might camp on the other side of the river tonight or they might push through.”
“What does he want?” Hawk glanced quickly at his mate, trouble in his eyes.
Now the other shoulder rose in a shrug and the mayor shook his head. “I don’t know. We were supposed to have until the end of the month to get an answer to him about whether or not we would accept his alliance.” He snapped an order at Erickson. “Cable the train. I want it here right now.”
Erickson slipped out.
Quill looked grim. “How likely is it that this is a peaceful visit?”
“He brought his army with him. Between two and three thousand men. That doesn’t strike me as particularly peaceable.” McGrath looked down at his wife again, and then over at Hawk. “I want my wife and daughter safe. Will you take them back to Kearney with you?”
No,” said Mrs. McGrath instantly. “I’m not leaving you.”
“Cayla,” the mayor began.
“No,” she said again, more forcefully. “I know you want me safe, Rye, but not all the women of Omaha have a way to leave. I will not run away and desert them.”
Worry twisted the mayor’s face as he looked at his wife. And after a long moment of silence he nodded and turned his attention back to Hawk. “My guess is Todd will do one of two things. He’ll attack tonight, hoping to take us by surprise, or he will wait until morning and try to bargain with us.”
“Why would he attack and risk casualties to his own army if he can have the alliance he wants?” Stone tapped his fingers on the table, frowning in thought. “Maybe he brought his army to intimidate you into agreeing to the alliance.”
Hawk stood up. “And he’s coming now, while all the representatives of all of cities and settlements in the region are here in Omaha. If he takes all the leaders hostage, he won’t have to attack the cities to control them.”
Dean Erikson came back in and nodded grimly at Hawk. “That’s my take. We should notify the representatives immediately. They may want to evacuate back to their homes.” He looked at the mayor. “Cable sent. I assume you want the train here to take the representatives home?”
McGrath jerked his chin in acknowledgement. “Or at least out of Omaha.”
Rock had an eager look on his face. “We should stay. If there’s going to be a fight, you can use us.”
Eagle and Colby nodded vehemently. “If Omaha is conquered, it’s only a matter of time before Todd heads up our way,” Eagle pointed out. “Better to stop him here.”
“Yeah,” Colby agreed.
“I could use your help.” The mayor looked tempted, but shook his head. “No, you should be sure Miss Victoria and Mrs. Renee get home safely. I wouldn’t trust their safety to Todd. I’ve heard stories of what he does with women.”
Colby whispered, “Georgina.”
Eagle looked torn, glancing between Victoria and Renee. “Hawk can escort them home.”
Hawk shook his head and gave his mate a tender, regretful glance. “I am older and more experienced. I should stay. Quill, you will see to our women.”
“Rye Thomas saved my mate once. I will stand here with him. Stone?”
Stone shook his head. “We all stay or we all go.”
“But Renee and Victoria must go home,” Hawk decreed. “We don’t want them on the train alone.”
“Sand, you could take them,” Quill suggested.
The mayor raised hand. “Time is short, gentlemen.”
Marty’s chair squeaked as he stood up. “I will take the ladies back to Kearney.”
Eagle’s thick eyebrows dove down over his nose. “You’re not kin.”
“Not yet.” Marty flashed a confident smile around the table before turning to Mayor McGrath. “Marry me to Victoria. If I’m her husband, I can be her escort. And escort Mrs. Renee, as her new kinsman.”
Victoria’s heart leapt in her chest. It was a sign of just how much Eagle wanted to stay for the possible fight that he didn’t protest immediately. He glanced at Hawk with his lips pressed tightly together. Hawk stared back for a look minute before looking toward the mayor.
“Do the ceremony quick,” Hawk said. Victoria’s heart leaped into her throat and began to dance there. She strictly forced her face to remain neutral.
McGrath looked at Marty. “Will you take charge of my daughter?”
Marty glanced at the girl, her round cheeks now pale. “I will see that she is safe.”
Rye McGrath pointed to his daughter. “Anna, get my book.”