Friday morning

Chelo couldn’t remember a more beautiful morning, though she imagined the man sitting beside her driving the big SUV had a lot to do with it. This was what happiness felt like, this sense of freedom, of well-being. Excitement. She had never looked forward to her days before.

There’d been nothing to look forward to.

They opened the shop and she set out her displays. The truck arrived with the flowers for the wedding as well as for the displays ordered by local churches. One restaurant had left a phone order for a last-minute dinner that she’d have to do for tonight.

Trak took his laptop into her office and went to work on a list of things Cherry had asked him to handle, while Chelo got busy in the shop.

By the end of the day, she was absolutely exhausted and still smiling. The orders were done; she had quite a few of the wedding items completed and boxed—they’d go in the extra refrigerator at the lodge. It was all good.

Trak wandered out to the showroom. “Well? How’s it feel to work your tail off and know it’s just the beginning of a busy weekend?”

“Wonderful.” She stood on her toes and kissed him. “I’m ready to load everything in the back of the car. I’ve got a sign up saying that the shop is closed for the weekend due to a Feral Passions wedding, and I’ve got my tools all packed. I’ll spend tomorrow putting the displays together. Boutonnieres are done and so is the crown of flowers for Meg, along with an extra box of flowers for the bridesmaids’ hair. Darnell wanted those.

“I’ll put the bouquets for the bridesmaids together tomorrow along with the big flower arrangement for the wedding site. Brad told me I can use the laundry room behind the kitchen for my work. There’s a big table for folding clothes that will double as a worktable, and a really nice big country sink. It’s close to the walk-in refrigerator—Brad said there’s room in it to store the flowers. It should work perfectly.”

“Good.” He kissed her again, taking the lead this time and doing a thorough job of it.

She felt almost giddy driving back to the resort. This wasn’t just a wedding for Meg. It was the beginning of Chelo’s new life.

Evan and Nell went through each of the cabins. It was Nellie’s idea to put bouquets of wildflowers in each one. “Don’t they look wonderful?” Nell set the final one in the fifth cabin. Meg and Zach had the sixth, and they were having a quiet day together, before all the guests began arriving tomorrow.

Evan finished a final check in the bathroom and walked out to admire Nellie’s handiwork. She’d gotten the idea from Chelo, and the bouquets really did make a beautiful addition, each a burst of yellow lupine, pink checkerbloom, blue delphinium, and white valerian in a Mason jar wrapped in brown burlap and tied with a bright blue bow.

Evan knew he’d never forget picking flowers with Nellie. She’d tied her hair back and put on an old pair of jeans and hiking boots with one of his flannel shirts so they could pick the flowers in the early morning when they were fresh and covered in dew.

The shirt was huge on her, but she’d tied the tails at her waist and he’d spent the morning waiting for glimpses of her smooth belly. They’d even managed a little bit of down and dirty in the meadow. Spreading his flannel shirt on a patch of green near the creek, he’d made love to her as if it were their first time, though, in so many ways, every time with Nell was like their first, and always unbelievably good. She never failed to surprise him. He loved her. It was as simple as that.

He couldn’t wait to make her his. They’d already decided to do it Sunday night after the reception ended and everyone headed out. Meg and Zach were planning a morning wedding, a luncheon reception, and then a honeymoon on one of Zach’s yachts, tooling along the northern coast and up to the San Juan Islands.

Someday, that was a trip he’d like to take with Nellie. So many things he wanted to do, places he wanted to go. So many dreams, and Nellie was featured in every single one.

Dinner was over, the kitchen cleaned up with everyone helping out, and the entire pack—except for Trak, who always seemed to have more to do—had gathered on the deck. Chelo had parked her butt near Darnell, and Meg joined them a few minutes later. All the other women were in the vicinity, tossing barbs back and forth at one another. Laughter really was infectious, and Chelo couldn’t ever remember laughing as much or as hard—or at such silly things.

Zach was busy pontificating on something of utmost importance, over in the corner with the guys, where the humor tended more to the raunchy side. Trak had just rounded the curve in the long drive, walking back up the road from Growl, where he’d gone to check the liquor supplies. Preparation was important, he’d said, for a party that would most likely begin tomorrow afternoon once guests began to arrive and then last through the wedding and possibly well into Sunday night.

There was a wonderful, relaxed sense of celebration tonight, a last blast before the human guests began arriving tomorrow. Darnell laughed at something Evan shouted to her across what they were calling the great divide, between the group of men and the growing group of women, and Meg merely flipped them all off. That nonexistent space between men and women who loved to laugh and tease had never seemed so wonderfully infinitesimal. Chelo had never laughed so much, nor loved so freely.

Meg followed up her timeless hand gesture with more laughter. “That was meant for all the males of the species, Evan. Not merely you, so don’t think you’re special.” The women applauded; the men laughed and offered sympathy and suggestions. Evan merely whimpered, but the smile on his face was obviously meant for Darnell. Chelo was so relieved that Darnell finally knew the truth about them, and all was as it should be. Evan had promised to turn her Sunday night, after the wedding.

They all figured they’d be so tired after Meg and Zach’s big party that no one would even notice if Darnell slept a few days away. Chelo took another sip of her wine—she was finally figuring out which ones she loved and those she didn’t care for. She was fascinated by the scents of the various kinds of grapes, the mixture of fruits that seemed to come from every glass.

She held her glass of sauvignon blanc to her nose and tried to pick out the various scents. A hint of melon, a bit of peach, the slightest touch of apple. All from something as simple as a grape.

Closing her eyes, she drew in another breath and jerked away in disgust. A new scent on the evening air fouled the fruity wine. She set her glass down and closed her eyes, turned, and inhaled into the evening breeze coming out of the east. She stood, continuing to sniff the air. Still concentrating on the unexpected scent, she walked over to the railing. Down the stairs, moving quickly now toward Trak. Suddenly the stench hit with familiar nauseating force.

She knew that smell. It could only be the alpha from the Rainy Lake pack.

A glimpse of movement at the edge of the woods, much too close to her man. “Trak! Look out. To your right!”

A large, burly, naked man stepped out of the dark trees, faced Trak, and shouted, “I challenge you, you bastard!” And then, without giving Trak a chance to respond, he shifted. A huge black wolf charged Trak.

Chelo screamed. Cain flew by her, stripping his clothes off as he ran. Trak was fully dressed with jeans and boots and a heavy shirt and vest against the night’s chill. There was no way he could get out of his clothes and shift. Spinning away from the wolf, he nimbly sidestepped the animal’s leap for his throat, throwing up an arm to ward off the attack.

He shoved, using the weight of his human body to throw the wolf off course. The beast landed hard, rolled to his side, and came up snarling. Cain ripped off his jeans and shifted, launching himself from human feet and catching the alpha with wolven jaws. Trak was out of his clothes and on all fours by the time Cain brought the interloper to the ground.

As soon as Trak reached them Cain backed away. The alpha twisted and leapt to his feet, but Trak grabbed him by the throat and brought him down once more. Cain shifted, essentially ignoring the action behind him as he walked over, recovered his pants, and slipped them on. Then, tugging his sweatshirt over his head, he walked back to the alpha, now flat on his back. Trak held him down by the throat.

Cain squatted down beside the two wolves. “Ya know, Trak, I’ve got a simple and relatively painless solution to this irritating situation. It certainly wouldn’t hurt you or me any.”

Trak snarled around his mouthful of hair and wolf.

“We’ve got a really good vet. He does a lot of spaying and neutering. I imagine Tuck could take care of this guy pretty easily. Might make him think twice before challenging a pack leader for no apparent reason. Hard to get it up over a fight when you’re missing your gonads.”

Frantic now, the wolf struggled, twisting and turning in Trak’s grip, but he couldn’t break free.

The rest of the pack, along with Tuck, had meandered down during the conversation. “I could do it easy enough,” Tuck said matter-of-factly, “but I don’t know if he can shift back without his balls. Of course, I’m just guessing. I’ve never neutered a werewolf before.”

“One way to find out,” Cain said. He glanced at Tuck and winked. “How long does the surgery take?”

Tuck just grinned. “Ten minutes, tops, maybe less. Depends on how long it takes to knock him out. Unless you want me to do it without anesthetic. Might make a better impression on him, make him rethink his stupid challenge.”

“We’ll have to discuss that one,” Cain said. “After Trak shifts and he can be part of the discussion.”

“Sounds good. I’m going to give him a shot now so Trak doesn’t have to hang on to him all night. As far as cutting the bastard’s balls off, it will definitely take care of the aggression, and if he can’t shift we can just turn him loose here on the preserve.”

Cain shook his head. “That won’t work. He strikes me as the kind who’d hold a grudge.” He stood back while Tuck pulled a syringe out of his bag and injected the wolf. Once he finished giving the wolf the shot, he grinned at Cain. “That conversation’s going to give the bastard some nightmares.”

Chelo waited until the wolf’s body went lax. “I figured you didn’t mean it. Cutting his balls off. Personally I think it sounds like a great idea.” She glared at the wolf.

Trak stood, shifting so quickly that he was fully human by the time he was upright. Grabbing his pants off the ground, he slipped them on. Bare-chested and barefoot, he stepped over the wolf and held out his hand to Cain.

“Once again, it appears I owe you my life. You’re one hell of a fighter, Cain. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in action before. I’m definitely glad I’ve never seriously crossed you. Just let me know when you want to take over so I have time to get the hell out of town.”

Cain chuckled as they shook hands. “It’s all yours, Mr. Jakes. I am not pack leader material. This came under my job description as enforcer.” He glanced down at the wolf. “I’m sorry I didn’t kill him. At least he heard the discussion about removing his balls.” Cain laughed. “I think I saw his pickup down by the road. I noticed one earlier, just figured someone was hiking, but I think it might have had Minnesota plates. Didn’t get close enough to pick up any scent. The idea of the alpha coming all the way here to attack never even crossed my mind.”

“Why should it?” Trak stared at the unconscious wolf. “I’m sorry he’s still alive, too. I’d prefer he went the way of Rube, but I think just putting the fear of losing his balls into him should make him think twice. Anything you can inject him with, Tuck, that could make him think he’s had the surgery?”

“Yeah. I’ve got some hormones I use when we’re trying to get a mare to ovulate. Doubt he’ll be pumping out eggs, but he’ll know something’s different. Might develop breasts after a while, but they won’t stay once the drug wears off. I’m going to keep him sedated until the wedding is over. I don’t want to have to worry about him trying another attack, though if there is a next time I say we get rid of him permanently. Any pack alpha that would allow a woman to be mistreated by members of his pack deserves whatever happens to him. His life has very little value in my book.”

He squatted down and grabbed the wolf by his front and back legs, picked the huge beast up, and slung him over his shoulders. Chelo watched as Tuck walked back down the road toward his cabin carrying almost two hundred pounds of deadweight wolf as if he were nothing at all. Elle went with him, his black satchel in her hand. Tuck had a small surgery in the back of their place and there were cages for wolves being treated. Closest thing they had to a jail cell.

Chelo was actually sorry they weren’t really going to do it. She thought it was only fair. But Tuck was right. He was going to think they’d castrated him when he woke up in the clinic. She was mostly hoping the wolf would leave and be afraid to come back.

Trak and Cain cleaned up and joined the women and the rest of the guys on the deck. Meg was snuggled up with Zach, looking very content and not at all nervous about the wedding on Sunday. Trak took the chair next to Chelo, but he easily lifted her and set her in his lap. Cain did the same with Cherry, and that was when Chelo noticed that all of the couples were paired up.

She leaned close to Darnell and whispered, “Are you ready, Darnell?”

“I am, though I was a bit disappointed when Evan told me I wouldn’t be able to shift as fast as Trak. Guess that’s something I’ll need to work on, right?”

“It is. But just think how much fun you’ll have, learning about your new life.”

Darnell laughed and snuggled close to Evan. She looked about as satisfied as any woman possibly could.