Chapter Eight
Joseph lay awake as the sun rose and began streaming onto their bonding bed. A bed that held his entire world: his mates. Arms and legs tangled together, their matching mating tattoos filling him with pride. He would love, protect, and care for them for the rest of his days and hopefully into the afterlife. The three had made love until the early morning hours and his mates were both sleeping soundly when he heard footsteps on the front porch followed by someone sitting down in one of their rocking chairs.
Rowl’s eyes popped open and he looked at Joseph. “Easy, Rowl, I’ll go check to see who it is. You stay and watch over our mate.” Joseph knew if Karli was awake to hear him she’d give him an earful about not needing to be watched over. But he couldn’t curb his instinct to protect.
Joseph slipped out of bed, put on a pair of pants, and headed for the front door. Whoever it was better hope they had a good reason for taking him from his loves this early in the morning or there’d be hell to pay. He opened the front door and scented their visitor before seeing him. Alpha Aldric. It had to be important for him to bother them the morning after their bonding ceremony.
“Alpha, is something wrong?” Joseph asked.
Aldric looked up and Joseph could see the worry in his eyes. “Good morning, Joseph, Rowl, and Karli.”
Joseph turned to find his mates standing in the doorway, Rowl in his jeans and Karli in one of his T-shirts that went to her knees. He should have known neither would stay behind and let him face the unexpected alone, even if it was only their alpha.
“Come sit down. We have a lot to discuss.” Aldric motioned to the surrounding chairs.
Joseph kissed each of his mates as they walked past him and then joined his alpha and sat. It didn’t take long for Aldric to jump right in.
“New information has come to light as the result of King Leonidas’s investigation into Alpha Saxx and Karli’s parents’ disappearance.”
“Did they find them?” she asked, and Joseph could feel the pain she was experiencing as if it were his own. That was the strength of their bond; they could now feel each other’s emotions. Over the next few days, these changes would become more evident, along with Karli’s gifts, which were shared during mating.
“No, there still hasn’t been any sign of Atilia or Ferone. But we have uncovered the motive behind Alpha Saxx’s interference in this matter. He’s first cousins with Alpha Rocco and had struck a bargain with your parents to deliver you to him in exchange for money and protection.”
“Why me? Why do they want me so badly?”
“Apparently, your secret is out. They know about your ability to withstand magical attacks.”
“How did they get all this information?” Rowl leaned forward in his chair. “Did Saxx admit to this?”
“No, Saxx didn’t say a word. He can rot in prison with his cousin. It was his beta that filled us in before he was taken away for his part in the scheme. It seems they believed if you mated one of them, they’d share your ability,” Aldric explained.
“Moot point now. We’re mated—there shouldn’t be any further threat. Right?” Karli prompted.
“We hope so. Your parents have to be found, as well as the reaper they hired with the help of Saxx.”
“So it was a reaper,” Joseph grumbled as he reached for her hand.
“Yes. Karli was right.” Aldric smiled warmly at her before continuing. “There’s another matter that we must discuss and a decision made before the king returns to the palace tomorrow morning. I wish I didn’t have to throw this at the three of you so soon after your bonding, but I have no other choice.”
Joseph looked at Karli and Rowl before facing Aldric. “Tell us, Alpha.”
Aldric leaned forward and rested his arms on his thighs. “It appears Saxx ran his pack a little differently than most. Power and all decision-making came from the alpha and beta alone. There is no further hierarchy or pack administration to take over in the interim now that their alpha and beta have been jailed.”
“Will the king take responsibility for the pack?” Joseph knew it was a relatively small pack of roughly three hundred wolves.
“No, he has another alpha in mind for the job. The king wishes to present the pack to you, Joseph. Ceva has confirmed that you are a matured alpha simply waiting to be given the chance. Once you accept, your alpha marking will come into place on your right arm.”
Joseph stood abruptly, stared at his mates, and then began to pace the length of the porch. Him? Could he run his own pack? Not alone, that’s for sure. He needed his beta. His best friend. His trusted mate. “I will take the position only if Rowl is my beta.” Joseph knew Karli would be a fantastic pack omega, but he didn’t know what Rowl would say, especially since his leg was still healing. “Wait, we need to discuss this as a family. We can’t give you an answer right now, Alpha.”
“Understandable, this is a family decision. But I need an answer by supper tonight. I’ll expect the three of you to arrive before six. We have a lot more to talk about,” Aldric instructed before standing and walking to the steps leading down to the front yard. He turned at the last moment and said, “Although we’ll miss you three, know that you’ll make a fine alpha, Joseph, especially with those two by your side.”
“Alpha, how far away is this pack?” Karli asked.
“Over six hundred miles,” Aldric replied. Not exactly a distance conducive to popping over for a visit, Joseph thought. “I’ll see you tonight.” Aldric waved as he walked away.
“Is this the same pack from the ghost town we found you in while we were hunting the ogres of few months back?” Rowl asked Karli. Joseph remembered it as a fairly nice town with a town hall, fire and police stations, and shops.
“No, we were visiting my aunt’s pack. I loved going there. Eagle’s Cove isn’t as nice as that town,” Karli explained. “We moved to Saxx’s pack when I was seventeen. I hated living there. Besides, if Alpha Saxx wanted me, why wasn’t he the one to try and court me and not his cousin Rocco?”
“He was on the list of the three alphas scheduled to attend your courting,” Joseph explained. “Alpha Aldric had Lothar checked each of the three out for any suspicious activity, but his family tree or the state of his pack never came up. Lothar was kind enough to provide us with the suitors’ names after that.”
“I’m almost afraid to ask who the third alpha was supposed to be,” Karli stated.
“The king has already sent out a team to visit with the third alpha and try to ascertain if he was involved,” Joseph assured.
“Why would three alphas be working together?” Rowl asked the question Joseph had been thinking. He didn’t have an answer either.
“Why don’t we go back inside, make some coffee, and talk it over?” Joseph suggested.
If Karli hated living there, Joseph would never force her to go back. The same could be said about Rowl. If he refused to become Joseph’s beta, Joseph would not take responsibility for the pack. In actuality, this decision wasn’t up to him at all. Whatever his mates decided, he would honor. After all, their needs came first.
Karli made the coffee on autopilot. She couldn’t believe they had been offered the same pack she would have run from only months earlier. It wasn’t the other members of the pack that were the problem; that honor fell to her parents, the alpha, beta, and a few powerful families in town. How Saxx ever thought she would choose him as her mate was mind-boggling. She had never told her mates about her experiences while living under Saxx’s rule and the fear and intimidation he’d inflicted upon his pack to keep that control.
She hadn’t been shocked when she learned her parents had made a deal involving handing her over. After everything that’d happened, she’d be more surprised to find her parents on bended knee begging for her forgiveness.
“Karli, calm down, sweetheart,” Rowl soothed, bringing her out of her thoughts. She looked down to see she had small electrical pulses shooting between her fingers.
She took a deep breath, shook out her hands and got herself under control. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize,” Joseph urged. “If you are against returning to the Eagle’s Cove pack, then we won’t go. I promise I would never put you through anything you weren’t one hundred percent behind. I love you, mate. Your happiness is everything.”
Karli was touched by Joseph’s offer. This was his chance at becoming an alpha wolf of his own pack, but he would give that away in an instant for her. Joseph would be a wonderful alpha, completely selfless and always putting everyone else’s wellbeing before his own.
“Let’s sit down so we can discuss this calmly, and I’ll tell you what I know of the pack,” Karli suggested before taking her mug of coffee and heading for their big sectional couch. She cuddled into one of the corners as Rowl sat down beside her and Joseph sat in the upholstered chair in front of them.
She took a sip, needing the caffeine boost desperately before she delved into the past. Joseph and Rowl waited patiently for her to start, but she didn’t know where to begin. Might as well be the beginning. “I never understood why my parents moved us to Eagle’s Cove, but with everything we’ve learned so far, I can see now they had my future all planned out for a long time. It was always their intention to sell me off to the highest bidder, or in this case, possibly three bidders.”
Rowl and Joseph both moved closer to comfort her, but after the dyr attack, Karli no longer wasted any more emotions on her parents. “It’s okay. I’ve come to terms with what my parents are really like. I have a family that loves me now.”
“Yes you do, mate,” Joseph said without hesitation.
“We have always loved you,” Rowl agreed.
“That’s why I’m able to move on and stay strong.”
“You have more strength inside of you than me and Rowl combined. You lived through hell, even before your parents took you away from us. They never showed you the love you should have had.” Karli could feel Joseph’s sadness as he talked. “I remember all the times we found you hiding in the forest in tears. You never told us why. To this day, I still wonder what happened to set you off.”
To share what she’d lived through, to face her past, she had to reach inside to a place she’d buried the moment she reunited with Joseph and Rowl. Karli took a deep, cleansing breath before aligning her thoughts. “My mother was, and I’m sure still can be, violent on occasion.” Their deep, deadly growls confirmed that her men had an idea of where this story was leading. “She’d become irate when I wouldn’t do as I was told.”
“Including the many times you were told to stay away from us, right?” Rowl asked.
Karli had a feeling they already knew, but they deserved an answer anyway. “Yes.”
She had seconds to place her mug on the side table before she was lifted into Rowl’s arms. Joseph’s chair went crashing to the floor as he stood and began to pace. “I remember all the times they warned us to stay away. Gods, if I knew you were being hurt…”
“You two would have disappeared from my life to protect me, and I couldn’t have lived with that. Little did I know I would be forced to leave you. I should have run away with you back then.”
Joseph dropped to his knees in front of her and Rowl. “Mate, I’m so sorry we were the cause of any of your pain.”
“Please. You know none of this is your fault. My parents are responsible for their actions. She was violent and he allowed it. Hell, for all I know, he encouraged it.” Karli felt her fingers tingle. “At least now we know why they wanted me far away from the two of you.” Rowl’s chest rumbled with his deep growl.
“When we arrived in Eagle’s Cove, I realized how different this pack was from the pack we’d left. Our home was basic, and parts of it were in disrepair. I began to notice all the houses and shops were much the same way. But the alpha’s house and those of two powerful families put the others to shame. Those were freshly painted with manicured lawns.
“I was a sad, withdrawn teenager when my parents pulled me away from you and the home that I loved. At the time, I didn’t really understand everything that was happening around the Eagle Cove pack, but over the years, I began to hear things and see things that didn’t make sense. The members of the pack were friendly to me but always seemed on edge, as if they were waiting for something to happen. I was ordered to stay in the house or on our property. I could never wander around on my own. It became my jail.”
“You told us that you discovered you were immune to magic when you hired a white witch to help find us. How did you manage that?” Rowl asked.
“My aunt was helping me. When I would visit, I could go out with my aunt without suspicion. Over the years we were in Saxx’s pack, my aunt and I were biding our time. Trying to find a way to get me far away from my parents. They’d become impossible to live with. They were my parents, but I knew I had to get away. When you found me, that had been the weekend my aunt was going to go before her alpha and seek asylum for me to become part of their pack.”
“And that had been interrupted by the ogre attacks and the disappearance of the entire town,” Joseph stated. “Is she safe?”
“Yes, my aunt’s back in her home.”
“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” Rowl squeezed her gently.
“Because then I would have to relive the reasons why I needed to get away from my mother and father. I wasn’t ready to do that,” Karli confessed. She saw Joseph about to defend her actions and she didn’t want to spend more time reliving a past no one could change. “We’ve gotten off track. I need to explain a few things about the Eagle’s Cove pack before we decide what to do.”
Joseph couldn’t help himself. He had to say something. “Remember we love you unconditionally, no matter what happened.”
Karli leaned forward and grabbed his hand. “I know, my love. You don’t have to keep reminding me.”
“Yeah, we do,” her men replied in unison.
She sighed and gave up trying to assuage their guilt. “All right. Here’s the rest of it. The pack is broken. They have lived under tyranny at the hands of Alpha Saxx for the last three hundred years. I didn’t realize how bad it was until I came here. Perspective is a wonderful thing. Now I understand my being an omega had some sway with the alpha and I wasn’t treated like the rest of the pack. But the others had to surrender eighty percent of their income to the alpha. If they didn’t, horrible things would and did happen. I had no idea the average pack fund contribution is only five percent in other packs.” Karli shook her head and went on.
“First, there’d be an ‘accident’ where one of the children of a family that didn’t pay was injured, but not too severely. If that warning wasn’t enough, then a family member would disappear until they submitted to the tax. Recently, each member was forced to swear a blood oath to Saxx. Now that he’s been removed from power, the oath is severed and they no longer have to live by it.”
“That’s insane. No one would be able to survive on only twenty percent of their income.” Joseph cursed between growls. “And a blood oath?”
“Exactly, but the townspeople were so used to being treated that way they stopped fighting back.”
“Why didn’t they move to another pack before taking the blood oath?” Rowl asked.
“The first few families who tried that were blackballed by Saxx. No other pack would take them after their alpha, along with a few high-ranking families in Eagle’s Cove, had destroyed their reputation. They were forced to either return to Saxx or live as rogues, packless and alone.”
“So this is the reason the town and homes are in disrepair?” Joseph questioned as he laid his head on Karli’s lap.
“Yeah. There was never enough money left over for renovations. Most of the people lived in the same houses as their grandparents had without any money for upkeep. Their shops barely got by, and no one was allowed to leave the pack even if you found your mate. You had to bring them to Eagle’s Cove instead of staying with your mate’s pack. A lot of wolves stayed in contact with their mates but never dared to bring them to Saxx. They loved from a distance.”
“That’s heinous, to separate mates. Why didn’t anyone approach the king for help?” Rowl clasped her tighter to his chest.
“I learned one family had tried, but they disappeared before they could reach the king. No one ever tried again. All correspondence, phone or online, was monitored by the alpha’s allies, the Restone and Haleybrook families. They were the only two families exempt from all the mandates of Alpha Saxx.”
“Is the town salvageable? Will the pack accept my rule if I was the new alpha?”
“I think so. Tales from the older members foresaw a brighter future. With Saxx gone, it’s already brighter. I remember when I sat in my garden unable to leave the property, and dug my hands into the dirt. I was forbidden to use my powers over flora to assist the townspeople in their gardens for their own personal food. So I found a connection with the pack in my own way. While abiding by the restriction put upon me, I stayed in my garden, hands sunk deep in the earth, reaching out to all the other plots of land used by the pack.”
“Why were you forbidden to use your gods-given gifts?” Rowl sputtered. “They are to be used for the benefit of all wolf shifters.”
“Oh, Saxx wanted me to use my gifts, but only on what he had an interest in. Ventures that paid him the highest return. He even put restrictions on hunting wild game. My parents would keep an eye on me, but they never realized that I could reach out as far as I could. I wasn’t about to tell them, but I also wasn’t about to let the people starve. It became a weekly tradition of sorts. Every Monday evening, I would boost the fruit and vegetable production in their family plots, and they would hide it and never divulge where their food was coming from.”
“You saved them,” Joseph stated plainly. “Without you, many would have starved. This explains why all our inquiries to find you came up empty. Saxx was hiding you from the world, but after the ogre attacks when Ceva found you, he could no longer deny your existence.”
“Yep. Now I see how my parents were plotting for me to be his mate, whether I wanted it or not. Once I came to the attention of the king, they had no other recourse but to stack the deck with three alphas that were involved since the beginning. My parents know about my gift. I’m sure of it. How else do you explain the alphas being aware of it? I’m not sure how they discovered it or why Rocco would risk trying to place a spell on me knowing I could repel black magic.”
“Perhaps it was a test, or he didn’t believe you capable of withstanding such strong magic. Either way, his attempt has cost the bastard his freedom and his pack.” Joseph took her hand again. “If you don’t want to return to Eagle’s Cove, I understand and will support your decision.”
Karli needed to figure out her true feelings for a place she used to dread. “Give me some time to think about everything. It’s all so sudden after our bonding.”
“Of course, love. We have until this evening to think it through and discuss what to do,” Joseph assured before he looked at Rowl. “You have been my best friend for as long as I can remember. You’re my lover and mate. I refuse to take over a pack without you by my side as pack beta. The decision of where we go from here is up to the two of you.”
“But you deserve to have a say in your own future,” Rowl argued.
“You are my future. Both of you. That’s what’s important to me—our family.” Joseph stood and kissed her then Rowl and headed toward the kitchen. “I’ll get breakfast started.”
Karli watched Joseph’s retreating figure before turning to Rowl. “Do you want to become a beta?”
Rowl held her closer before answering. “Yeah, I do. But am I the kind of beta he needs?”
“Why do you say that?”
“This pack needs strong leadership to bring them back after so many years of tyranny. They’ll look to us during the changes to come and they’ll need to see a powerful triad, not one hampered by my disability.”
“You’ve already been able to put weight on your leg. It’s getting better every day.”
“But is it enough? I still walk with a cane, which in and of itself might make them question my abilities as beta. That could lead them to question Joseph as well.”
“Then it’s your duty to show them what you’re capable of so there are no questions. I believe in you, and so does Joseph, but you need to believe in yourself first.”
“Yeah, well, easier said than done, isn’t it? That’s the part I’m having trouble with since the shooting,” he admitted, and Karli could feel his conflicting emotions. She knew Rowl would make a remarkable beta, but he needed to regain the confidence he’d had in himself.
The two sat silently, both deep in thought while listening to Joseph working away in the kitchen. Could she stand in the way of Joseph becoming an alpha? Could she leave those poor people to a fate made worse by Saxx’s removal? They had no money and no one to protect them. Her only answer was no. She’d made a promise when she mated her men. She had as much of an obligation to support and defend them as they did her. Karli’s resolve to support Joseph’s chance to be an alpha and Rowl chance to be a beta was rock solid. And her job as omega to her new pack was a challenge she was willing to undertake.
Rowl moved her so she was looking at him directly. “I believe in the two of you. I intend to say yes to Joseph. Are you sure you’re okay with returning?”
“I am. Someone has to help those people, and I think the three of us are exactly what they need. That pack deserves to have some happiness and peace. We can give that to them.”
“It won’t be easy to wash away hundreds of years of pain and mistrust.”
“No it won’t, but I can’t think of anyone more deserving than those who have been wronged for generations.”
Rowl looked at Karli and smiled. “You make a convincing argument, my mate. Are you one hundred percent sure about this?”
“I’m sure about my mates. I believe this is the right move for our family. But it only works if you take your rightful position as beta.” Karli could smell the bacon frying in the kitchen and knew that breakfast was almost ready. “Take your time to consider everything and look into your heart before you make your decision, my love.”
“How do you always manage to make any situation hopeful? No matter how hard the decision, you find the strength and compassion to face it head on. I feel fortunate beyond measure to be your mate,” Rowl whispered before leaning forward and taking her mouth in a kiss filled with promise.
“Now that’s what I like to see, my mates happy,” Joseph called out as he came around the corner carrying two trays of food. “I thought we could eat out here today—watch some television and decompress a little. Care to join me at the coffee table, my loves?”
Karli slid off of Rowl’s lap and gathered three huge cushions from the couch. She laid them on the floor in front of the trays and sat on the middle one. Rowl joined her, keeping his injured leg stretched out to the side of the table. Joseph returned with another tray and three plates, setting up a buffet for them. Shifters could eat a lot of food in one sitting.
Karli wrapped her arms around Joseph’s neck as soon as he sat down and kissed him softly. “Thank you.”
“Anything for the two of you,” Joseph responded then reached for the television remote and turned it on. “Now let’s clear our minds and enjoy being together. No more talk of packs until we’ve eaten and rested. We were up until early this morning and need some time to relax.” He picked up a slice of toast and pointed it at them. “After we’ve eaten, we’ll crawl back into bed and cuddle like we should have been able to this morning.”
“Sounds like a perfect plan.” Rowl smiled wide and dug into the pancakes with purpose.
Karli laughed and felt her body relax into enjoying her time with her mates.
Joseph sat waiting for his mates to dress and join him in the dining room. They’d fallen asleep while cuddling and were now rushing around to get ready for supper with the king, Aldric, and Helena. Joseph hadn’t had a chance to speak to Karli and Rowl again about taking over the Eagle’s Cove pack and was still unsure where he stood on the matter.
On one side, the desire to become an alpha was hard to ignore, and the chance to rebuild and make a better life for the members of his pack was appealing. After hearing what Karli and the pack had been put through, he wanted the chance to help them. With Rowl and Karli by his side, he was sure they could do it.
On the other hand, Rowl was still unsure of becoming beta, even though Joseph knew Rowl would be perfect. Also, Karli would have to be willing to go back to the place she had spent years trying to escape from. When it came down to it, he knew he would accept the decision of his mates. If even only one didn’t feel as though they should do this, then that was good enough for him. He wouldn’t accept becoming an alpha wolf with his own pack without complete accord. His mates were his entire reason for being. Without them, he’d be lost.
“Ready to go, sweetheart?” Rowl’s voice brought him out of his thoughts.
He looked up to find both his mates dressed and ready. Karli was in a stunning blue cotton dress while Rowl wore dress pants and a button-down shirt. They were both gorgeous, and he wished they’d never had to leave their bed.
“Perhaps we should talk before we leave.” His mates came to where he was sitting on the couch and arranged themselves on either side of him.
“Of course, you need to know how we feel before you face the king,” Karli agreed.
“Yes, but I’d like to say that I think we could do wonderful things for that poor pack. They need help, and I feel the three of us could change their lives for the better. I love you both. The two of you will always come first, and I would never make either of you do anything you didn’t feel right about. We’re a family, and we can stay right here in Black Ridge if you wish.” He grasped both of their hands and waited for their decision.
Karli spoke first. “Joseph, I love you, and I believe you are the perfect alpha to lead Eagle’s Cove pack back from the brink. I will gladly go with you to make things right and become omega to our new pack.”
Before he could respond to Karli’s declaration, Rowl spoke up. “I’m still having a hard time accepting that I’m the best choice for your beta.”
Joseph’s heart fell a little, but he understood Rowl needed more time to heal and regain his confidence. “It’s okay, Rowl. I understand—”
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t become your beta, but I’m going on faith here. Your faith in me. I’m getting stronger every day, and I believe I’ll be able to walk without the assistance of the cane in a few days. I want to be your beta and help that town recover. We’re with you, Alpha Joseph,” Rowl declared as he grasped both of his mates’ hands. “We’ll follow where you lead.”
Joseph was amazed by the trust they were giving him. Both having reasons to say no but putting that aside for him and their new pack. Such a lucky man. “Are you positive? I want you to be happy.”
“I’m sure.” Karli clapped her hands together.
“Looks like we’re moving,” Rowl deadpanned.
“First, we’d better tell the king our decision.” Karli glanced down at her watch. “We need to get going or we’ll be late.”
They stood and Joseph took the opportunity to hug both of his mates at the same time. They remained in each other’s arms, the three of them holding tight, each knowing their lives would never be the same again.