Chapter Eleven

Judging from the shrieks and moans that had drifted down the stairs that morning, sending Blake away hadn't accomplished a damn thing.

Lucas scrubbed his hand over his face with a groan. Hell, it might have had the opposite effect, what with absence making the heart grow fonder, and all that shit. He'd meant to give the man a little time and space, and instead he'd brought Blake's infatuation into even sharper focus.

No. Lucas had seen infatuation. It was harmless, nothing like the straight-up obsession that could grip a wolf in the throes of instinct. And he'd seen that go bad more times than he wanted to admit. More times than he wanted to remember. It was terrible enough when it turned to fixation, addiction. But when the woman in question ended up choosing another wolf as her mate, things got downright deadly. He had witnessed challenges based on nothing more than sorrow, all because some heartsick wolf hadn't been able to deal with the woman he wanted not wanting him back. In those cases, it seemed as though a quick, bloody death was preferable to the torment of being alone.

Lucas had meant to explain it all to his men, his pack. He'd planned on it, but then Ashley had already been in heat, receptive, and there just hadn't been time.

And now Blake had gone and fallen for her.

"Fuck." His curse echoed in the empty great room, answered only by the crackling of the fire. The whole damn thing was like spinning out on an icy road--too late to do anything but hold on and hope for the best.

"Trouble, boss?"

"Not at all, Connor." Lucas lifted his coffee and wished, for the thirtieth time, that he'd chosen a stronger drink. "Not a damn thing is wrong."

"For now." Connor dropped onto the couch and held up a folded piece of paper. "Message from Ivan. Those wolves from the Great Lakes want to meet up."

Lucas snatched the note with another curse. "When? And where?"

"Soon." Connor scowled. "And here."

"Impossible." He flipped it open. It was actually a picture of the message from the Great Lakes pack along with a typed note from Ivan, because the motherfucker was nothing if not thorough. Or maybe he just wanted to make it crystal clear that the barely literate words were direct from the other alpha, and certainly not his.

It seemed like an Ivan kind of thing to do.

Lucas skimmed the note, then crumpled it up and shoved it back at Connor. "No way. Not with Ashley in this condition." They'd managed to keep the peace in the lodge so far, but if a bunch of strange wolves showed up... "Blake would lose his shit."

"If by lose his shit you mean kill them all, yeah. Probably." Connor shrugged and smoothed the paper flat again. "But it's weird, right? They've never wanted to make friends before."

"Maybe they're out of money." Or maybe they'd heard about Ashley.

"Want me to find out?"

It was damn hard to track wolves, even under the best of circumstances. It was almost impossible to do so with the ones who stayed off the grid. "No, you know what? We can do better than that. You can go see them. Take Mac and Jud with you."

Connor tilted his head. "That could work. They'll piss themselves when Mac growls, so they won't see Jud coming."

A distraction, just for now. They couldn't afford to turn away friendly overtures--provided the Great Lakes pack was sincere--but they could buy some time. Time Lucas could use.

"You were with her last night," he observed.

"You weren't," Connor replied, his voice easy, his gaze slightly averted.

Words meant to elicit a reaction, so Lucas gave him one--a smile. Probably not the one he wanted. "That could change."

Connor snorted and shook his head. "It better. When that girl finds her feet, she's gonna eat the rest of us alive. What if you're the only one who can handle her?"

His smile almost faltered. Then he'd lose one of his oldest and best friends, his second. His beta. "I'll do what I have to do. And so will Ashley."

"I guess so." Connor rose to his feet, taking the note with him. "What happens if she doesn't pick one of us at all? Does she have to wait until she goes into heat again?"

"That's not going to happen."

Connor went still. His sudden tension wasn't surprising. Neither was the darkness in his expression. "Shit wasn't supposed to go wrong last time, but now Mac has nightmares."

Of course he did. "There were things Serena had gone through. Things none of us knew about until it was too late."

"Okay." Connor gave himself a shake, and then he was him again, easy, relaxed, and obedient. "I'll have Ivan set up a meet in neutral territory."

"Good. Find out what he wants." Lucas hesitated. "Connor?"

"Yeah?"

"Ashley wants to be who she is. That makes a big difference. All the difference in the world."

Connor rubbed the heel of his hand over his chest, a familiar gesture that usually surfaced when his wolf wasn't sitting easily inside him. "I guess so."

That was the real terror, wasn't it? Connor wasn't afraid that Ashley would lose her mind, just as poor Serena had. He was afraid he would. "You're all right."

"I am," Connor agreed, letting his hand fall. "So far. But if I'm ever not...you have to take care of it, Lucas. Promise me."

"I promise."

"Good." He smiled abruptly. "Maybe it won't come to that. She helped, a little. Maybe that's what we need. A full pack."

It had been just the five of them for a long time, but Lucas could remember vividly the comfort to be found in larger numbers. "I'm working on it."

"I know you are." Connor tossed him a teasing salute and headed for the stairs.

His coffee had grown cold. Lucas abandoned it and headed into the study in search of that stronger drink. Besides, he needed to plan. Sending all his men except the two strongest was a message in itself--don't forget who has the power here--and he had to be ready for a reaction from the Great Lakes pack. Anger was the likeliest, though he supposed they might be desperate enough to take it with a forced smile.

But just to be sure, to be safe, he had to make other plans, as well. Because if they were coming here, to his territory, Ashley had to be protected. And the best way to do that was to have her mated by the time any strangers arrived.