Chapter Seventeen
Mac woke up with his woman draped over him, warm and delicious—despite the drool on his arm. Want rose slowly as he woke up little by little.
She had on flannel pajamas old enough to be soft against his skin. Old enough he knew the heat of his palms on her ass would have registered through the thinned material.
Her eyes opened slowly and she sighed happily at the sight of him before closing her eyes again and snuggling against him with a little extra squirm to let him know she was just as happy to get up to something dirty as he was.
Aimee was the best thing in his universe. Even as the mayoral race had kept heating up, things between the two of them had only strengthened.
At first he thought the knocking at the front door was his heart pounding after she’d grabbed his cock at the base. Enough that he got a little annoyed when she stopped and sat up.
Then he noted the annoyance in her sigh as she got out of bed and pulled a robe on and realized someone was at the damned door.
“I’m going to kill whoever it is, okay?” He growled as he managed to get some sweats and a T-shirt on and followed her out. “Let me go see who it is, for fuck’s sake.” The day before she’d received a threat note everyone in the pack had denied knowing anything about. But his brother had certainly seemed mighty pleased to hear it upset her.
“I already told you that I enlarged my wards of protection all the way to the sidewalk. Whoever it is, they’re recognized as friendly by my magic. Gonna be a Pembry I’ll wager.”
He moved in front of her anyway. “I can take a lot more physical damage than you can. I don’t know why you argue so much.”
She snorted. “Yeah, well, it looks like it’s Huston. So I’m going to start some coffee and something for breakfast. Come in when you’re done whispering about how much you adore me.”
Mac grabbed her, pulling her back for a quick kiss and a hug, drawing in the scent of her a moment. “Good morning. Don’t forget where we left off in there, okay?”
“I’m pretty sure you’ll know how to get back on track the moment you can,” she called back over her shoulder as she walked away.
He wiped the grin off his face as he opened the screen door to admit his cousin. “This better be important. Like someone bleeding or on fire important.”
But Huston’s expression told him it was, indeed, very important.
“Fuck. Okay, come in the other room and tell me what’s going on.” As he’d sort of taken up residence with Aimee, she’d given him one of her spare rooms as an office so that’s where he took Huston, having him take a seat once they’d closed the door.
“Your mom is the one who started the rumors about Katie Faith.”
“Wow, no easing me in on that, huh?” Mac scrubbed his hands over his face.
“Figured it was one of those ‘shove you in to the freezing-cold water to get it out of the way’ sort of things.”
“I can’t say I’m surprised. I did find out about this from my dad. I just thought he’d be smart enough not to leave breadcrumbs right straight back to himself or my mom. How did you find out?”
“The wolves supporting your father to that degree are a very small number. I think you don’t really get that. The pool of possibles was pretty easy to go through. I started with Darrell and his little followers and sure enough I found someone who bragged about what he’d heard after I bought him a few beers. From there it was only one more person until I found your momma as the source.”
“Do we know if this has gone any further than these numbskulls my brother lets fetch his water?”
“I don’t know. I’ve got my ear to the ground. The dipshit I bought beers for says he talked about it at the bar, but it’s so damned loud in there, even with shifter hearing I’m not sure anyone could have overheard unless they were very close. I don’t want to poke around so much I actually create a problem where there is none.”
“I’ll go talk with her now. I expect she got it right straight from my dad. I’ll just handle them both at once.”
“I’ll go with you,” Huston told him.
“You don’t need to be in the middle of this mess.”
“I’m already in the middle of this mess, Mac. I’m your lieutenant. It’s my job to be with you when you deal with this sort of thing. And this is my pack too. My family too.”
“Aimee is in there making us coffee and breakfast. Come on through and visit with us. I have to figure out how much to tell her. Some of it is about the campaign and we’ve said we weren’t going to talk about that. So far she’s respected that and kept her distance. But this involves her personally.”
“And she’ll be Patron with you someday soon enough. This mayoral race has only sped up the process for you to take over. You know that. Your dad loses more of his grip on his control every day. He’s letting this get personal. Your momma? I don’t know what is going on with her, but she’s gone from salty to bitter. And they’re letting Darrell run riot all over town stirring up his buddies and causing trouble. At some point you’re going to have to share this with her.”
“It’s the when and how much that I’m struggling with. She’s intuitive. Good with people. Wolves keep telling me what an asset she is. Like I’m buying a piece of art or some property.”
Huston laughed. “She’ll handle herself just fine. Aimee isn’t one for letting herself get talked over. She’s quiet, surely. But a quiet force. Tell her all you can, as soon as you can. That’s my advice. Now let’s go eat. I smell bacon and coffee.”
* * *
Aimee gave them both the once-over when they joined her in the kitchen. She’d gotten dressed and put her hair back with a headband and looked fresh and pretty.
“Coffee is done so help yourselves. I’d say something like I hope y’all like pancakes but whether you do or not, that’s what I’m making.”
Huston just shook his head as he poured himself a cup of coffee. “I never would have pegged you for so much sass. Mac needs more sass in his life. He’s too used to getting his own way.”
“On account of being so smart and handsome and accomplished? Yeah, it sucks,” Mac snagged the butter from the fridge, along with some preserves and syrup.
“He’s got low self-esteem, Huston. Give him a break.”
Laughing, she reached over to grab her phone, which had started to ring.
“Hey, Mom, how are you today?”
He and Huston took over the pancake flipping as she dealt with her mom’s call, but about three minutes in Aimee said, “What?” with so much alarm he knew the rumors about Katie Faith had to have gotten out.
Aimee cut her eyes to him and set her mouth in a hard line as she listened to whatever TeeFaye was telling her. Finally, she said her goodbyes and with one hand on her hip, she said, “Something you want to talk to me about?”
Huston, the traitor, jumped a little. “I’m just going to, uh...not be here. Sorry, Mac, but you’re on your own. Call me later if you’re still alive.” He grabbed his freshly buttered pancakes, rolled them up and scampered from the house lickety-split.
“Let’s have breakfast while we talk,” he said, taking the platter of pancakes to the table, where she’d already settled.
“I take it your mom had something to tell you that upset you. Why don’t we start there.”
“Don’t do that. It won’t end well for you.”
“What?”
“Don’t fucking patronize me. Or try to handle me. I’m empathic! I felt it when I was talking to my mom. You knew what it was about. You weren’t surprised when I confronted you and Huston ran out of here so fast he left burn marks so he knew too.”
“Will you please tell me what your mom said? I’m not going to lie to you, I just want to know what happened.”
She frowned at him. “My momma and Nadine were at the market when they overheard a Pembry wolf telling another that my best friend had been a total whore and that’s why Darrell left her at the altar. As you might imagine, Nadine was none too happy to hear such things being said about her daughter and she threw a jumbo can of peaches at the wolf saying it. Surprise surprise, it was Ronnie who, according to my mother, cried like a baby when the can hit him square in the goolies.”
Mac winced.
“Before Nadine could grab him though, he ran out of the store along with some other Pembry wolf he was with. What is going on? And is that why Huston was just here? They reported Nadine’s can to the junk like a bunch of crybabies?”
Aimee was pissed off and his wolf responded, wanting to fix it. Needing to make her feel better.
“Because if you all think we’re going to sit idly by while our reputations are being torn down by your fucking family yet again, you have another think coming and you all better watch out for your goolies. You catch my meaning?”
Damn, she was scary. And that was really hot. Something he wasn’t going to pass on at that moment.
“I do catch your meaning, yes. And in the interest and well-being of goolies everywhere, I’ll let you know, yes, I was aware of the rumors and Huston has been doing his best to track down where they came from.” Ronnie had been sent away from town and he’d just been allowed back the day before for this sort of shit. When he ran that fucker to ground it would be to grind him into a greasy spot and then kick him out of Pembry for good.
She raised her brows at him and the room got colder. “How long have you known and not mentioned it to me? Because I’ve got a problem with that, Mac.”
“I only found out two days ago and got right on handling it because I didn’t want it getting out and upsetting you or Katie Faith.”
His New Year’s Eve plans of sex and champagne at midnight were quickly fading.
Because of his damned family. Again.
Sometimes being the only adult in a room full of people supposed to be adults really fucking sucked.
“This isn’t going to help your dad in the polls. I know we’re not supposed to talk about this election, but there’s no way I can see this as anything but a pitiable last gasp of your dad’s as he’s losing his ass.”
Mac thought about it. Didn’t want to harm the pack, and despite what his father said, would never do anything to damage it, even if it meant not telling Aimee anything right then and possibly damaging their relationship.
But he didn’t think he had to do that. Because she was right, it was totally out of line.
“I know it won’t help him in the polls. Rumors like that never do. Especially when he’s done Katie Faith wrong, as has my brother. And my mother. She’s who’s to blame for this. That’s what Huston came over to tell me.”
“And?”
“What do you mean?”
“Really? Are you that sure you’re fast enough to escape me when I leap across this table and use that wooden spoon on your head?”
He barely withheld his surprised laughter, and was glad he had because she wasn’t in the mood to be teased.
“No, ma’am. I understand a woman as pissed off as you are can move very fast indeed. I’m only relying on the truth here. I am trying to fix this. This is not a pack thing. Some members of the pack did it. And they will be dealt with. Ronnie had been exiled after the shit at the market with you. He just violated the terms of his return to Diablo Lake. When I find him this will be handled.”
He had to go to his mother and talk this over with her.
“He’s too tight with your brother. He knows he can get away with stuff.”
Mac shook his head. “He did get away with stuff. Now I’m Prime. Like I said, when I find him, this will be handled. I’m asking you to trust me, even though you don’t have a lot of reason to trust my family right now.”
She gave him a long look and then sighed. “I do trust you, Mac. That’s why I’m not kicking you out and using the hose on you. Nadine would have called Katie Faith by this point. And I’m guessing it was a long call or she’d be lighting my phone up already. I’m going over there. She’s my best friend and this is happening to her because of me.”
“It’s not because of you. It’s totally on Ronnie, Darrell and my parents. I wish you’d wait for me. We could go over there together. Then I’ll have something concrete to tell Jace as to how my wolves were dealt with.”
“I’m not about to make your job easier right now, Mac. If the situation was reversed she’d come to me too. I’m going over there in an hour. You can deal with your business and go there to meet me, or come when you’ve taken care of it. I don’t care which. As to the rest. The next campaign event is in three days. I need this to be dealt with by then or I’ll have to deal with it myself and I’m quite sure your daddy won’t like that one bit.”
“After breakfast I’m headed out to do just that.” He looked across the table at her, his beautiful woman. “I promise you.”
“I’m trusting you. Don’t make me regret that.”
“I do my best, Aimee. I truly do.”
* * *
But when he stopped by his parents’ place, no one was there. He even used his key to let himself inside just in case they were ducking him. Annoyed, he headed over to his aunt and uncle’s place.
Huston was there, but he hadn’t told anyone else what was up. A very good quality in a lieutenant, Mac believed.
But this was the core of his new administration, so to speak. His cousins, aunt and uncle and a few trusted insiders, so he gave them a quick update.
“This is a waste of time and energy. Why all this focus on Katie Faith? She hasn’t done a damned thing to Pembry. She’s over at Dooley, being a Patron and not causing us any grief. But let me tell you right now, those rumors? Ronnie and whoever it was with him got Nadine and TeeFaye all worked up, and then they called Aimee. My woman is beyond angry. And she has the right to be. Which means the witches are going to be angry at us. Again. And for what?”
“You’re preaching to the choir.” His uncle Bern got himself another cup of coffee. “What are you going to do about it? We moving the timeline?”
They’d planned to challenge Dwayne after the election. To get the decks cleared so all the effort necessary would be far more easily used with no other distractions. “I wish he could keep himself under control so we could have an easy transition once he loses.”
His aunt gave him a stern look. “Boohoo. I want to be twenty-five again. I want a million dollars. Wanting’s just a wish. Stop whining, boy. I know this is hard. We know you love your momma and daddy and want to do the right thing by everyone. That’s impossible and this still needs to be done. You’re the only one who can do it. You have the support of the bulk of this pack. You’re strong and smart and you’re Prime. You can hide all that before the election, maybe if you can keep him from doing something else stupid. But that’s a lot of maybe and hope.”
“He’s been challenged halfway through his term because he’s doing such a piss-poor job of being this pack’s Patron and the mayor. Your daddy has had a lot of good fortune in his life and he used to know how to make the most of it. When I challenged him, he got lucky and he won and I respected those results. I stood behind him when he took over as Patron. And all these years as he’s been training you to run this pack, he’s done it at your expense over that dumbo brother of yours. And at the expense of the Pembry wolves as he’s gone and let your momma and your brother’s little friends turn the town against us.”
“We can’t keep on with this uncertainty,” his aunt said.
A pack needed a real leader or leader couple and it needed a clear line of hierarchy and governance. They were always at risk in a world where their numbers were far lower than humans. If they couldn’t trust one another, they went a little feral. Diablo Lake would get dragged into the whole mess and eventually, the town would lose its magic as people left to seek safety elsewhere.
Uncertainty was death to a pack.
Mac sucked in a breath. “I’ll tell you, honestly, what my concern is. If I move on him before the election, I’m messing with the democratic process in this town. For my pack. Aimee’s ahead in the polls by a pretty fair margin. And she’ll continue to widen that lead because this town likes her. Hell, she’s taken care of most of us at one time or another, shifter and witch alike. When he loses it’ll be a natural time for me to take over as Patron and we’ll have respected the election for the rest of the people who live here.”
“Your daddy’s a terrible loser. And there’s something really deep and personal between your momma and Katie Faith. Neither of your parents is going to let go. And your brother can’t deny you’re going to lead Pembry anymore. Makes him dangerous because he’s so entitled and stupid.”
“Josiah,” his uncle said to his aunt. “That’s what’s between them.”
Mac stilled as everyone turned to his uncle.
“What do you mean? And how could Katie Faith have anything to do with Jace’s dead father?” Mac asked with a wince. They weren’t supposed to even say his name.
“I don’t know the story. Your momma and I were never close or even part of the same circle. I just know there was some talk back when Josiah was repudiated and her name was part of it.”
“Why does no one tell me any of this?”
“Because of the rules. He was repudiated. His name to never be repeated. His story never to be told. That’s the point of the punishment,” his aunt said. “But I’m not a Dooley wolf. I don’t have to put their rules before my need to help you out. This is about our pack. Our wolves.”
Mac blew out a breath. “Okay. Okay. I’ll ask her directly.” He hoped it wasn’t something like she had an affair with Josiah Dooley. He shuddered at having to have that conversation with his mom.
“I’m going to discipline Ronnie—again—for shit stirring. He needs to be shunned from the pack. He’s not obeying and we’ve got plenty of disobedience as it is. And then of course, Darrell will cry about it and run to my parents. He better hope he gets to them before I find him. Because he needs to be disciplined too. He’s most assuredly part of this and he’s been warned before. Then, of course I’m going to have to deal with a very pissed-off Patron of Dooley who’s going to want to know why his wife is being spoken about like that by our wolves.”
“Which is one of the many reasons why I’m doubtful you’ll make it until after the election to deal with pack leadership. I wish I was wrong but I don’t think I am.”
His uncle was most likely right.
“We’ve got wolves in place, if you’re right,” Mac told him. They’d been planning this carefully enough over the last few weeks and now that he’d become Prime, he had even more strength to draw on.
Things were precarious, but he’d steer the pack through the worst of it. No matter what came, in whichever order.
“Huston, Everett, you’re with me. Let’s go pay Ronnie a visit.”
With a nod of thanks and a request that he be called or texted if his parents returned or showed their presence, he and his cousins headed out.
* * *
“Stop by Darrell’s place,” Mac told Huston.
His sister-in-law was home, along with their kids, who all came running at the sight of Mac. He may have thought his brother was a dumb asshole, but he loved his nieces and nephews.
“Darrell around?” he asked Sharon as he kissed the top of one of his niece’s head before putting her back down on her feet. She skidded off after the rest of her older siblings.
He sat, pulling James Royce into his lap. The toddler started telling him a very long, involved story about something or other that may or may not have involved a cat of some type.
Sharon sighed deeply. “Don’t put me in the middle of this.”
“I have done everything possible to do this in ways no one gets put in the middle of it. But the truth is, I can’t anymore. Darrell is his own worst enemy. Where is he? This is pack business and he’s got some things to explain to me.”
“He isn’t here. Honest!” Sharon held a hand out a moment. “He left about an hour ago. Didn’t say where he was going. Just that he’d be back in time for the party we’re going to later. We have a babysitter and everything.” She looked at him, her eyes begging him to let her have this moment, not to spoil this fragile fantasy that her life wasn’t about to change.
He hated that she was going to be hurt because his brother was so weak.
“Did he go with someone?”
“Ronnie and, uh, that tall one, buck-teeth, Jay, yeah, that’s him. I don’t know him very well.”
“Jay’s one of my cousins on my mom’s side.” And easily swayed because he wanted to be liked. “Where do you think he went? If something happened and you needed to find him, where would you look first?” At her hesitation, he added, “It’s way better for him that I find him before a Dooley does.”
She cursed and James Royce cheerfully repeated it in a singsong voice. Mac laughed and then the baby laughed and sang curse words. He wished it could be like this instead of what he had to do next.
“I’d look at Ronnie’s place. If he isn’t there, maybe he’s getting a drink? Stop laughing at him or he’s just going to keep saying that,” she scolded Mac.
Mac stood, handing the foul-mouthed toddler to his mother. “I’m trying to help him before he does something I can’t save him from. I know he doesn’t believe that, but I hope you do.” In this case, help might mean sending his brother’s dumb ass far away to start a new life in another pack.
“He means well in his own way. He’s just very committed to only seeing his own way sometimes. Okay, a lot of the time. But he’s a good dad and mostly he’s not a bad husband,” Sharon said.
He headed out after more kisses and hugs and hoped he could look them all in the face the next time he saw them after whatever he had to do to their father.
“Ronnie and Jay came by to get him an hour or so ago,” Mac explained as he returned to the car. They’d already gone by Ronnie’s, but no one was there.
“Jay Twombley? Your mom’s sister’s boy?” Everett asked.
“Apparently he’s been hanging out with Darrell and Ronnie a lot. Jay lives out on Marsh.”
They headed over and he tried his mom’s cell once more. When it came time to leave a voice mail he said, “I’m acting in my position as Prime to handle the pack discipline regarding member wolves who have been causing dissension by spreading gossip about the Patron of the Dooley pack. Gossip I know they got from you. And Dwayne. If you want to save his ass, you better call me back, Momma.”
Everett cleared his throat. “Ten bucks she calls back in less than three minutes.”
Mac laughed, relieved that he still could. Grateful for these two dumbasses he could always count on.
Just as they turned onto Marsh, heading to Jay’s, Mac’s phone rang.
Huston handed Everett a ten.
“Where are you, Mom? We need to talk,” Mac said as he answered.
“Your dad and I are off on a trip for a few days. Going to find us a little hotel that strikes our fancy. We’ll be back by the town hall on Wednesday. We can all talk then, including how to deal with whatever you imagine your brother has done.”
“That’s not how this is going to work. If Dad’s away from Diablo Lake, I’m in charge as Prime. I’m duly appointed to mete out justice and punishment.” And it had been long enough that his father had neglected his job.
“You’ll do no such thing,” she told him, her voice sour.
She was the damned reason he was out there right then!
“I know you’re the source of those rumors about Katie Faith. And I know Darrell ran off with Ronnie earlier, coincidentally not too long after Nadine Grady nailed Ronnie in the stones with a can of peaches in the grocery store when she overheard him calling her daughter a whore. Imagine that. Now imagine that Darrell is a momma’s boy and he’s awful close with the same wolf who keeps turning up every time there’s a problem. You want to run off because you can’t face what you’ve done? Do it knowing I’m having to deal with the discipline of these wolves because you two are turning tail and leaving them to it.”
He disconnected the call and shoved the phone back into his pocket.