Chapter Twelve
“Drive faster, Fletcher,” Mitch said, hands gripping the dash. Something bad is happening. His wolf knew it, and he knew Fletcher knew it, too, but he couldn’t keep quiet. “She needs us.” He gritted his teeth to keep from shifting in the front seat, but his fingers sprouted claws and he gouged the hell out of the plastic in front of him.
“You think I don’t know that she needs us? If I go any faster, we’ll crash, and it’ll take even longer to get there,” Fletcher said grimly, but he pressed on the accelerator anyway. Their speed inched up a fraction. “We’re five minutes out. Keep it together, Mitch.”
“Shit. I’m not going to last.” Mitch was already unbuttoning his shirt. “I’m not going in there as a human.” He knew that Fletcher wouldn’t shift unless he had to. Traditionally, the Beta was the beast that enforced the Alpha’s decision, and Mitch was okay with that because it meant he could act. He didn’t have to stand around and think about protecting Avery. He could just go in there and do it. He felt bad for Fletcher. The Alpha shifted only when the shit truly hit the fan, and he knew his best friend wished he had more freedom, but he had to look at bad situations from a different perspective.
“All right.” Fletcher nodded grimly. “I’ll be ready to shift if I have to.”
“I know,” Mitch said, hoping it wouldn’t be necessary. If it was, that meant things had truly screwed the pooch. Fletcher slowed, then swerved into the Sanctuary’s parking lot. He gunned it to the front of the building and then hit the brakes. The SUV slid to a stop on the gravel, and they both leaped out just in time to hear a gunshot.
“Goddammit,” Fletcher said, diving out of the vehicle. He rolled behind the engine block. Mitch followed him to the ground.
“What the fuck was that?” he asked, pushing off his pants. The gravel bit into his bare feet and ass, but he barely noticed. He had to get naked. He could shift while dressed, and tear his clothes apart, but he didn’t want to risk having his jeans caught up on his flanks and slowing him down.
Another shot rang out. “Avery is in there. I can smell her,” Fletcher said through clenched teeth. He rolled out of cover, then ran for the doors.
“Fuck!” Mitch cursed, shifting as he followed his Alpha. Why couldn’t he just wait? was his last coherent thought, and then he was inside the building, snarling and ripping up the floors with his claws. He saw Avery fighting with a young wolf, and he was about to help her when she tore out the beast’s throat.
“Queen,” he thought proudly, running over to touch noses with her. Another gunshot rang out, and he whirled, growling. An old dame wolf stood over Paige and Lillian, blood on her muzzle, and he froze, recognizing his grandmother. Avery nudged him, and he knew she’d be okay, but he wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t want to face down his own matriarch, but one look at Fletcher told him he was the only one left to do it.
“Mitch. Come here,” his grandmother demanded, but he sniffed, and realized the blood decorating her grizzled fur was Lillian’s. He snarled as his loyalty to his Alpha and Queen warred with his duty to his matriarch. He walked over, fur bristling.
“You did this?” he asked, looking down at Lillian, then at Paige. Avery’s best friend had blood on her arm and hands, and she held pressure on Lillian’s wound, ignoring Bridget. Anger sifted through him. His grandmother dared injure their former Beta’s wife? And Fletcher’s sister?
Bridget lifted her head. “Help me finish.”
“Finish?” He growled, then attacked her. He didn’t want to kill his grandmother, but she couldn’t hurt the former Beta’s wife and Avery’s best friend and not think she wouldn’t pay for it. “You are mad,” he sent, fighting through his beast’s natural inclination to act first and talk later. He swiped at her, raising blood along her muzzle.
Bridget whined, and then abruptly backed down. He pushed her until she bared her stomach and throat to him. “Stay,” he ordered.
Another shot whizzed past him, and he glanced up to find Fletcher confronting Avery’s sire. The man had a gun, and he waved it around wildly. Avery whined very softly and shook her head, and Mitch understood her pain. She shouldn’t have had to kill her ex. She shouldn’t have a madman for a sire. He stalked forward, needing to be close to her and Fletcher. He’d step between her and a bullet if necessary. “Protect,” he projected to her, sheltering her with his considerable mass.
Avery growled and faced her father. “Evil,” she sent.
Mitch understood. Something, though, nagged at him. He raised his snout and sniffed deeply, and then whined in shock. “Not your sire.”
Avery snarled agreement, and then shifted back into her human body. “My mother never told me he wasn’t my true father,” she whispered, hands going to Mitch’s ruff. She wound her fingers into Mitch’s fur and hung on. He didn’t mind. It was better this way. He could keep her safe if the man did something crazy.
Kurt shouted at Fletcher, and then charged him. Avery cried out and darted forward before Mitch could stop her.
“No!” she yelled.
Fletcher grabbed Kurt’s arm, and another shot hit the ceiling, but then Kurt turned and pointed the gun at Avery. Fletcher froze.
Kurt shrugged him off. “You are coming with me,” he said to Avery.
Mitch’s blood ran cold, and he snarled softly, barely restraining the urge to attack. He wanted to kill the man. He wanted to taste his blood. How dare he threaten his mate? His Queen?
Avery tossed her head. “Not in a million years.” Her silver eyes glittered with defiance.
Kurt bared his teeth. “How dare you.” He squeezed the trigger, and Mitch leaped forward just as Fletcher shifted in a huge, violent rush. Mitch would die before he let anything happen to his Queen, and clearly Fletcher felt the same way. He closed his jaws on Kurt’s thigh, tearing through his femoral artery just as Fletcher ripped out the man’s throat. Blood sprayed everywhere. Mitch opened his mouth and stepped back. Kurt’s body dropped to the floor with a thud.
“Done,” he thought as satisfaction bled through him. Fletcher howled, short and final, punctuating Mitch’s sentiment with approval.
Avery sank to her knees. “Oh my God,” she said, hands reaching out, but then she pulled them back in, shaking. A bloody scratch marred the perfect skin of her cheek. The bullet had just missed its mark, but it hadn’t left her unscathed.
Mitch met Fletcher’s gaze. “Queen,” he thought, and both wolves simultaneously shifted back to human. Before he could speak, Avery looked at him, the despair clear in her expression.
“He’s dead,” she said, trembling. She touched a finger to her cheek and grimaced.
“Yes. He’s dead.” Mitch gathered her in his arms. “But you’re okay.”
“He wasn’t my father,” she murmured into his shoulder. “I had no idea.”
Mitch sighed, and handed her to Fletcher. He wanted to make sure his grandmother didn’t try anything. “No, he wasn’t.” He stood up, glancing at the counter. His grandmother sat on the floor in human form, wrapped in an old blanket. “You did this,” he said, glaring at her.
“Avery has no business being mated to you and Fletcher. She’s weak. And she has mixed blood. Kurt knew that,” the old woman said, glaring at him.
“You did this when you pushed Avery’s mother out of the pack. You and your cronies,” Mitch said, sure of it. He didn’t know how he knew, but he saw the knowledge on her face. “If you hadn’t been so judgmental, her mother wouldn’t have had to try and find an acceptable father. She wouldn’t have had to lie about her pregnancy.”
His grandmother looked away. “Times were different back then. A female should never have a pup outside of the pack. Out of wedlock. Avery’s mother dishonored all of us by bearing the offspring of the Gorge Rock Alpha.” She spat derisively. “She tried to claim he was her mate, but we all knew she was lying.” She glared down at Lillian. “And this one sheltered the female brat for years. It isn’t right. Avery isn’t Boulder Pack. I was happy when her mother died.”
Jesus. Avery is the daughter of the Gorge Rock Pack’s dead Alpha? Mitch made a sound in the back of his throat. What a fucking tragedy. He thought of all the misery that had arisen from wolves trying to adopt stupid human rules of behavior. His grandmother disgusted him. “Those attitudes go counter to everything that makes us Pack,” he said, thinking of duty and loyalty and love. “We’re not going to live like that anymore.” He glared at her. “You will be quiet about this, do you understand me? You will keep your antiquated attitudes to yourself.”
His grandmother shrank from him, but Mitch didn’t care.
“Mitch speaks the truth. Nothing like that will happen in Boulder Pack again,” Fletcher said, and Mitch could hear his vow in his voice. He nodded, trusting his Alpha to stay true to his promise.
“I called nine-one-one,” Paige said, interrupting them.
Lillian. He turned to look at her and Paige. Her color was a little better. Thank God for shifter healing. “Good. You did the right thing, Paige.” He walked over and crouched down. His fingers on Lillian’s throat told him her pulse was steady, and she was already healing, thanks to shifter strength. “She’ll make it. She’s strong,” he told Paige. She nodded, but the drying tracks of tears on her face told him how upset she was. “You can ease up on the dressing now. The bleeding’s stopped.” He stood up again, surveying the room. They had a hell of a mess to clean up. We’ll have to go with wild animal attack when we talk to people. There’s too much blood everywhere for it to be anything else. Thank God we have friends in the police force.
“I had no idea about my mother. How could I not know?” Avery repeated.
“You were a child. You believed your mother,” Fletcher said, shaking his head. “We all believed your mother.”
Mitch grabbed some clothes from the gift shop counter and headed over to them. “We need to get dressed.” He glanced at his grandmother. “Can I trust you to go home and stay there?”
She nodded, subdued. “Yes.”
“Then go,” Mitch said, relieved when she slipped out the back door without any further argument.
“My father fooled everybody. Your dad was the Alpha. Why didn’t he say something to me?” Avery sounded angry as she spoke to Fletcher. “Was everything my whole life a lie?”
Mitch’s heart broke at those words. “No, sweetheart. Your mother loved you. She did her best for you in circumstances that must have been very difficult.” He stood over the body of the man Avery had believed was her father and barely resisted the urge to spit on it.
“My father wouldn’t have known you and Kurt weren’t blood related because you weren’t able to shift. Scents don’t work the same way when you’re fully human,” Fletcher said softly. “I doubt he realized the truth, especially since your mother passed away so long ago.”
Avery sighed, then pushed away from him. “Kurt said they wanted my blood. He’s the one who stole the archives. He said Gorge Rock Pack paid them to grab me, and he paid Brian to help him.” She stood up, gloriously nude, and Mitch couldn’t help but feel just the tiniest bit in awe of her, even in the middle of this disaster. She was strong and gorgeous, and she was his mate. He caught Fletcher’s eye and knew his Alpha felt the same way.
“We should get dressed,” he said again, regretfully.
Avery sighed, touching a hand to her face where the bullet had grazed her. The cut had already closed up, and she swiped at the blood, then grimaced. “I know.” She took the clothes he offered and slipped them on. “I don’t know what Gorge Rock thinks they’re going do with me, because I like my blood where it is, thank you very much.” She glanced at Mitch and Fletcher. “And I’m already mated.”
“They can’t do anything,” Fletcher said, yanking on a pair of sweats. “We don’t even know if your father—” He caught himself and shook his head. “If Kurt was telling the truth. For all we know, he went rogue.”
“We’ll ask about the archives,” Mitch said, rubbing his chin. “How they respond will tell us a great deal.”
“I doubt Gorge Rock Pack will want Avery anymore,” Paige said, surprising Mitch. “They have much bigger problems to deal with.”
Mitch turned to her. “How do you know?”
Paige swallowed, then squared her shoulders. “I met two wolves in the forest a few days ago. They’re not from here. The one guy was an Alpha. He told me that his mother used to be married to Gorge Rock Pack’s Alpha, and that she’d run away when he was little.”
“What? Is that why you’ve been acting so strange the past few days?” Avery asked, striding over to her friend. “Why didn’t you tell me?” She looked at Fletcher, then back at Paige. “If not me, why didn’t you tell your brother? This is important information. The Alpha needs to know when strange wolves cross our land.”
“I know, and I’m sorry,” Paige said, face crumpling. “I didn’t know how to tell you. You had so much to deal with already, and I didn’t want to worry you with my problems.”
Avery stared at her, then pulled her friend into a hug. “Oh, Paige.”
Paige hugged her, hiding her face in Avery’s hair.
Two wolves in our territory? Mitch frowned. “Do you have any idea what the hell is going on?” he asked Fletcher. “This feels like more than just a couple of wolves traveling from one place to another.”
Fletcher rubbed his chin. Clearly, he understood exactly what Mitch was thinking. “Paige,” he said to his sister. “Talk to me. I need to know when stuff like this happens.”
Paige let Avery go. “I think they’re my mates,” she said shakily.
Oh, wow, Mitch thought. That changes things. He looked at Fletcher, sensing his Alpha’s surprise.
Fletcher’s eyebrows rose. “Both of them?”
His sister gave him a look, and Fletcher inhaled slowly. “Okay, then. Why did they steal the archives?”
“They didn’t steal them. In fact, I don’t even know if they’ve confronted the Gorge Rock Pack yet. They were just passing through when I ran into them,” Paige explained. “They probably don’t even know about our archives.”
“Gorge Rock Pack has been without an Alpha for over twenty years now,” Fletcher said.
“Yes.” Paige didn’t need to explain any more.
“And the one guy is the son of the woman who used to be married to their old Alpha. Well, shit,” Mitch swore. “They’re back to take it over. What the hell kind of mess is this going to make?” He glanced at Paige. She looked … stressed the hell out. What will it mean for us if those two strangers are her mates? He empathized with her. How could he not? She was Fletcher’s sister and Avery’s best friend. “It’ll be okay,” he told her.
Paige shrugged uneasily.
“It’s probably a good thing,” Fletcher said, nodding thoughtfully. “Having them take over Gorge Rock Pack can’t be any worse than what’s going on right now with their lack of leadership.”
“Rafe told me that his mother had recently died, and that he’d had no idea about his true origins until he went through her stuff.” Paige shrugged. “He’s nice. So’s his Beta.”
“Nice,” Mitch said, almost choking. “An Alpha, out to take back control of his birthright pack. Nice.” He clamped his mouth shut when he saw Fletcher’s warning glance. I suppose if the guy is her true mate, then he’d be nice to her, but I don’t know of any Alpha who people would call nice. He looked at Fletcher, and almost laughed out loud. Fletcher looked every inch the Alpha: muscled, fierce, and definitely not nice.
“Do you have any way to contact them?” Fletcher asked her.
Paige shook her head. “No. I met them in wolf form. None of us were human.”
Fletcher’s expression turned grim. “We’ll have to petition Gorge Rock Pack formally, then, for the return of the archives.”
“No! Don’t do that. Just wait. Give it a few weeks, okay?” Paige asked.
Fletcher sighed. “Why should I?”
Paige flushed. “I just … I have a feeling.”
Fletcher stared at his sister for a long moment, then turned to his Beta. “Mitch?”
Mitch thought about it. “The archives don’t contain anything that we need immediately. We could’ve used the histories to solidify Avery’s position as Queen, but I don’t think anyone is going to question her position after what’s happened, especially if my grandmother behaves herself.” He scowled. “And I will make sure she lets everyone know what’s happened, and that she fully supports Avery as Queen.”
Fletcher nodded. “Good. Anything else?”
Mitch continued. “There are probably some old member lists, from before we converted to electronic records for that stuff, and our genealogical records. Those are shared among different Packs anyway, or rather, they used to be, when dealing with inter-Pack matings. And we know who broke into the archives cabinet, so we don’t have to hunt down a traitor anymore.” He stared at Kurt’s body for a moment, then lifted a shoulder. “It can’t hurt to wait, in my opinion.”
“I agree. Even if they have information on my bloodline, it doesn’t matter. I’m already mated. I already know he wasn’t my father,” Avery said, giving Kurt’s body a dark look. “It doesn’t matter if I was the old Alpha’s daughter or not. My loyalty lies here, with Boulder Pack.”
Fletcher nodded. “Okay, Paige. We’ll wait, but not forever.” He pulled his sister in and hugged her. “I’m really glad you’re okay. When I heard the gunshot, and I knew both Avery and you were in here…” He trailed off.
“I know, but we’re okay. Look, see? I don’t even have a scratch anymore.” Paige showed him her arm and then hugged him again before stepping away. “I’m worried about Lillian.” She crouched back down by the older woman. “At least her wound closed up. But she isn’t waking up.” She looked up at her brother. “Shouldn’t she be waking up by now?”
“Her color is good and she’s strong, but it was a deep wound. Those take longer to heal. She’ll be okay,” Mitch said. He looked at Fletcher. “Did anyone call her husband?”
“I did, right after I called nine-one-one,” Paige said. “Uncle Marcus will be here any minute now.”
“Paige? What’s going on?” Lillian suddenly said, sounding groggy. “Oh, wow. My shoulder is killing me.”
“Don’t try to move. You lost a lot of blood,” Mitch said, crouching down by her. He took her hand. “What’s the last thing you remember?”
She frowned, then winced. “Avery’s father lost his mind. Bridget lost her mind.”
Mitch had to laugh at that. “Succinct, but all true.” He squeezed her fingers. “You’re going to be fine.”
She blinked, then struggled to sit up. “Help me.”
Mitch and Paige helped her up as Fletcher crouched down. “The authorities will be here any minute.” He glanced over his shoulder at the carnage, then turned his attention back to Lillian. “I had to kill Avery’s father. Turns out he wasn’t her real father, and he was working with Gorge Rock Pack to kidnap Avery. Bridget was working with him and took advantage of the situation to attack you.”
Lillian sighed. “Bridget has held a grudge against me for years, ever since Ann and I took Avery in. She didn’t like Avery hanging out at the big house with Paige, but what were we supposed to do? She was a girl who’d just lost her mother. I couldn’t let her grow up without someone to help her. She’s Pack, and what the elders did to her mother was a disgrace, in my opinion, and I know Ann felt the same. It was too late to do anything about it by the time Marcus became Beta.”
“My grandmother was one of that group of elders who pushed Avery’s mother out of the Pack before Avery was born,” Mitch explained. “She had archaic ideas about out of wedlock children, and her prejudice bled over onto Avery. She also had a problem with her own lack of status.” He sighed. “She should’ve known better. We’re not human. She shouldn’t have been trapped by those kinds of attitudes.”
“It was a terrible time.” Lillian shook her head. “I was only just mated to Marcus, and he wasn’t Beta yet when it all happened. I know Susan went to Gorge Rock Pack, but I didn’t know Kurt wasn’t the father of her child. When she came back with him after she had her baby, we thought…” She trailed off. “Well. I don’t know what I thought, but that’s no excuse. At the time, I was trying to deal with finding out that I couldn’t have children. It was a horrible few years.” She frowned, eyes shadowed. “I’m so sorry, Avery. I know I told you to ask Kurt about your mother, but I had no idea he wasn’t your biological father.”
Avery had come over while she explained. “Don’t, Aunt Lillian. You’ve been nothing but kind to me. None of this is your fault.”
“But if I’d paid better attention to things back then—” Lillian protested, but Avery cut her off.
“No. You couldn’t have known. My mother didn’t even tell me about all of that. I had no idea she’d even gone anywhere, let alone fallen pregnant with me before she was married.” Avery explained.
“If Kurt wasn’t your father, who is?” Lillian asked. “Do you know?”
“I think it was the old Alpha of Gorge Rock Pack,” Avery said, running a hand over her face. “But he’s long dead, so it doesn’t matter.”
Lillian stared at her. “But that means you have the blood of two Alphas running through your veins.”
“What? No.” Avery sat on the floor and took Lillian’s hand. “My mother wasn’t the daughter of an Alpha. My father might have been an Alpha, but my mom was just an ordinary werewolf.”
“No, she wasn’t. She was a descendant of Alphas.” Lillian glanced at Fletcher. “Fletcher’s grandfather was a wandering Alpha. He took over the pack from the old Boulder Alpha, who at the time had only daughters.” She looked at Avery. “You’re the great-granddaughter of Boulder Pack’s original Alpha line. Me and Ann were delighted when you and Fletcher and Mitch formed a triad. So were Marcus and Boris. It seemed only fitting.”
“What?” Avery stared at her. “Are you serious?”
Lillian nodded. “It’s in the genealogy archives. Didn’t your mother tell you?” She smiled at Avery, then looked at Fletcher. “Your father showed us the records. I’m still in the process of converting over the older genealogy lists to our new electronic database. I didn’t get to your grandfather’s generation yet.”
“Wow.” Mitch laughed. “That explains so much.”
“What do you mean?” Avery asked. “Explains what?”
“It explains why you’re a Queen Wolf,” Fletcher told her gently. “It’s not a myth. You’re a descendant of two Alphas, and if you were male, you’d be the strongest Alpha of us all.” He grinned, then took Avery’s hand and kissed the back of it. “I’m so lucky.”
“That’s why you have the voice power,” Paige said, nodding. “It makes sense.”
“That’s why we’re a triad,” Mitch said.
“Then why the hell couldn’t I shift until now?” Avery asked, standing up.
“The stronger the blood, the later the shifting,” Lillian said, smiling faintly. “Fletcher didn’t shift for the first time until he was sixteen. He’s a very strong Alpha.”
“I forgot about that,” Paige said slowly. “I was a late shifter, too, but I didn’t even think about it, because of Avery. Shifting at age seventeen didn’t seem weird to me.”
“Because I couldn’t shift at all,” Avery said, shaking her head. “It would’ve been nice to know all this. I thought I was defective.” Her eyes were haunted.
Mitch wished he could take all of her bad memories and make them disappear forever. But that would erase who she is. Her life has made her into the amazing woman she is now.
“Your children will know of their heritage. We’ll all make certain of it.” Lillian sighed. “The lack of education of our heritage and bloodlines is the fault of my generation. We should’ve done better,” she said, closing her eyes. She leaned her head back against the wall.
“It’s not important now,” Avery told her, crouching down again. She took the older woman’s hand. “Just rest, Aunt Lillian. We’ll take care of everything.”
Lillian smiled faintly and patted Avery’s arm. “Thank you, dear.”
Avery stood up, then walked over to Mitch and Fletcher. “I want this day to be over so badly.” She glanced over at her so-called father’s body and shuddered. “I never got along with him, especially not lately, but he was still my father. The only one I ever knew.” She grimaced.
“You’re allowed to feel what you feel,” Fletcher said softly, touching her cheek.
She leaned into his touch. “I know,” she whispered. “But it hurts.”
Mitch’s heart broke at the sadness in her voice. “You’re not alone, love. We’ll always be here, through the good days and bad days.”
She nodded, tears in her eyes. “I hate that I had to kill Brian. And I hate that my father let his bitterness twist him into doing these things.”
“I know.” Mitch gathered her in his arms and tucked her head into his shoulder. “I know.”
She sniffed, hugging him hard. “Dammit.”
Mitch met Fletcher’s gaze and shook his head slightly at the helplessness mirrored there. Inside, his wolf whined, wanting to help their mate, but not knowing how. “Let yourself grieve. You’re allowed to be sad.”
She snorted softly. “It’s not like I have a choice.”
They stood like that for a few minutes, and then she pulled away. “I’ve got to get myself together.”
Mitch cocked his head as he heard distant sirens. “They’re coming.” He looked at Avery. She was beautiful, even with tears on her face and blood on her hands. She was his Queen. “I just want you to know, I would’ve chosen you even if you’d never shifted. I would’ve chosen you for your fortitude, your intelligence, and most of all, for your heart.” He tipped her face up to him. “You’re my mate. I love you.” He lightly kissed her lips.
“You had to say it first,” Fletcher said, sounding grumpy. His fake annoyance coaxed a brief smile from Avery, though, so Mitch couldn’t complain. “Show off.”
“If I’m a show off, you’re a loser,” Mitch countered lightly. He could sense Fletcher’s love through their bond, and his lover was as worried as he was about Avery. “You snooze, you lose.”
Fletcher shook his head, then turned to Avery and kissed her slowly and gently. “Mitch is right. I would’ve chosen you anyway, too, because I love your spirit and your strength and your compassion. I love you. You’re my Queen Wolf.”
Avery hugged them both tightly, tears in her eyes again. “You guys suck, telling me this now. I love you both so freaking much.” She swiped at her cheeks. “Even though you made me cry again.”
Mitch hugged her again, and then pulled Fletcher into it, relishing the solid feel of his Alpha. He loved them both. He’d defy anyone who tried to tell him he wasn’t allowed to love his mates the way he wanted to. Sure, a triad wasn’t the norm these days, but he had a feeling that they might start seeing more of them as other packs started to remember that there were multiple ways to live and to love. “We can’t let humans dictate how we’re supposed to live,” he murmured.
“Agreed,” Fletcher said, his low voice rumbling through all three of them.
“It’s not going to be easy, though,” Avery said.
“We’ll get through it together,” Mitch assured her. “I promise.”
Avery nodded, wiping her eyes. “I know we will.” She stepped back from their embrace and looked around with purpose. “And now it’s time to get to work.”