Pack Rogue by Crissy Smith (11)

Chapter Eleven

Austin ducked out of the kitchen into the living room with a smile on his face as his cell phone rang. After the initial shock and misunderstanding, Kiley and Ginger had become fast friends just like he’d thought.

Colt’s number flashed over the caller ID and he pressed talk.

“Hey man,” he greeted.

“Hey, did you get home?” Colt asked.

“Yeah, couple of hours ago.”

“Good, do me a favour and stay close by the guards.”

Austin’s stomach dropped. “What happened?”

“The guy’s still not talking much, but he did say one thing,” Colt explained.

“What?” Austin asked cautiously.

Colt hesitated. “Prepare for war.”

“So someone else could be after us,” Austin questioned.

“I believe so. Since we didn’t agree to go public, maybe they will leave us alone—if you want to take the chance?” Colt asked.

“No,” Austin stated firmly. “I won’t put the Pack in danger by ignoring any threat. Plus our friends will need all the help they can get.”

 “I think so. Tony finally spoke to the Prince of Felines. He’s agreed to meet with us. He said he didn’t know anything about the threat but he wasn’t surprised,” Colt informed him.

“I didn’t know they even had a Prince.”

“I guess they have a royal family. Not that they have much control over the shifters. But the Prince seemed upset about it, and we’re going to meet with him when we get to Grand Falls.”

“That’s the shifter that’s mated to the vampire and the witch right?” Austin had heard about the Alpha taking his unusual mates a while back.

Colorado was broken into three territories. His, Tyler’s, and Tom’s. While his Pack was small, and Tyler’s consisted only of wolf shifters, Tom actually had several different animal shifters in his area. Plus vampires and other paranormal creatures.

“Yeah,” Colt said, amused. “Gotta tell you, I’m curious about how an Alpha can handle those relationships.”

Austin agreed. Being with his mate was already consuming every minute and thought. He couldn’t imagine having to add a Master vampire to the relationship.

“Call me when you head out. I’ll call Tom later and speak to him.”

“Will do,” Colt agreed.

“Okay. Talk to you soon.”

Austin hung up and stared out of the large window to the territory surrounding the house. He’d always loved being out in the open, the freedom it provided. Now he worried that by not having the same security as other Alphas, he was making it easier for Kiley to be hurt.

Before he could think too much about it, he heard his name called from the kitchen. He joined his mate and his sister as the two women giggled about something.

His sister stood in front of the stove stirring a saucepan while Kiley sat on top of the counter watching. He strolled over to his mate, trying to convey that everything was okay. But when he kissed her cheek, she turned to him and frowned.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

Austin shook his head and offered her a smile. “Nothing, just got a lot on my mind.”

She pressed her lips together but didn’t call him on his lie. She also didn’t believe him.

“I’ve got some phone calls to make. There may be some members of the Pack stopping by in the morning,” he told her, trying to sound casual.

“Austin,” she grabbed his arm when he tried to move away. “Tell me what’s going on.”

He knew he really didn’t have the option of not telling her. “We have trouble with the feline shifters.”

He watched as a series of emotions crossed her face until she got control. “Whatever it is, we’ll handle it.”

Austin cupped her face and made sure their eyes locked. “We will.”

They stared at each other until Ginger broke the tension.

“Attacks? Threats? Does someone want to let me know what’s going on?”

Austin stepped back. “I’ll let Kiley fill you in. I really do need to make some calls.” His mate nodded as Austin backed away. He headed to his office as he heard his sister speak again.

“Okay girl! Tell me whose heads I need to knock together.”

Kiley laughed despite herself when Austin’s sister threatened the unknown people. Sister—she still couldn’t believe Austin hadn’t told her ahead of time, although she liked the other woman. Ginger was loud and brash but funny, and Kiley felt comfortable being alone with her. For such a small woman, Ginger had an attitude that even the biggest guards had to fear.

She took a deep breath before filling Ginger in on everything—everything that had happened and the worry about future attacks against anyone going public. Ginger removed the soup she’d started to make from the burner and turned, giving Kiley her entire attention.

The longer Kiley spoke, the more Ginger scowled. When she was finally done, Kiley took a deep breath. Ginger just stared at her for several moments before she nodded. Then the woman turned to the fridge, opened it, and pulled out two bottles of beer.

She opened both and handed one to Kiley, before draining a third of the contents of the bottle she held.  

“Well,” Ginger said when she finally spoke. “That sucks.”

Kiley laughed. She laughed until she had to wipe tears from her eyes. “Kind of does,” she agreed when she stopped. She took a pull of her beer.

“So,” Ginger looked around the kitchen. “Want to see the outside?” Kiley shrugged and jumped off the counter when Ginger motioned for her to follow.

The back door was in the living room beside the full window. Kiley stepped outside and grinned. The sun was just starting to set, the orange and red colours fading in the distance. For as far as she could see, there was nothing but green grass and trees.

“I love it here,” she said out loud, not really talking to Ginger.

“Yeah,” the other woman agreed. They stood in silence lost in their own thoughts for several minutes before Ginger stirred and walked to the right. “Over there.” She pointed to the east set of trees. “There’s a small trail that leads deeper into the wildness. That is where most of the Pack lives. Some members live in town but most of us prefer the openness here.”

When Kiley looked closely enough she could see the narrow trail Ginger was talking about. It was obviously made to remain hidden unless you knew to look for it.

“Wow!” Kiley exclaimed in appreciation. “That’s nice.”

“When we left our birth Pack, Austin promised we would always have open space. We travelled from Minnesota until we found this place. Austin said he felt the pull of home and we searched and searched until we came here.”

“This isn’t your birth Pack?” Kiley asked.

“Just what have you and my brother been doing if you didn’t know that?” Ginger inquired with a lifted brow and a smirk.

Kiley blushed. It seemed that with learning each other’s bodies, and worrying, they really hadn’t spent a lot of time talking. “Well, you know,” Kiley tried to explain with a wave of her hand.

Ginger giggled like a little girl. “Yeah, I think I got it.”

Kiley ignored the other woman’s obvious amusement. “It’s complicated.”

“I’m sure it is,” Ginger agreed too easily.

“Just wait!” Kiley waved a finger at her. “When you meet your mate, you’ll understand.”

Ginger shook her head. “I’m not worried. I have no doubt my mate will follow me around like a good man should.”

Kiley snorted. “Can’t wait to see that.”

Ginger grew serious. “This, all of this space and the people and everything that comes with being an Alpha, Austin would give up to have his mate.”

Kiley didn’t respond, just stared out as the sun dipped lower and lower on the horizon.

“It would be sad. Austin is the finest man, the greatest brother, and a wonderful Alpha. It would be sad for those that neede him,” Ginger continued. “But I would back him if that’s what he decided to do. If that’s what he had to do to have his mate.”

Kiley frowned and turned to look at the other woman. “I’m not asking him to give anything up because of me. I don’t want to take Austin away. I want to add to his life,” she responded honestly.

Ginger grinned. “I’ll remember that you said that. I’ll remind you when things get tough. You not only got a mate but you just got yourself a sister too.”

Kiley gave a mock shiver. “I hope she’s sanerthan you,” she teased.