Tracy took Nina’s arm, which had been gesticulating wildly, and laughed. “Nina, it’s okay. Nick and I talked for a long time about it and worked through it. I believe him when he says he just wanted to share his happiness over the bond with his friend. I don’t like that he called her his best friend, but I’m hoping that over time he’ll think of me that way instead.”
“And what about her?”
Lex came out onto the porch, sensing Nina’s anger, and began to move toward them both.
“Shit. Listen, please let me work this out. Lex will just try and protect me and I need to do this on my own.”
“What is going on?” Lex demanded curtly and over his shoulder, Tracy saw Cade come out onto the porch, followed by Gabe. Nick looked worried.
“Nothing! Sheesh, can’t a girl share the juicy details of her bonding night with her best friend?”
Lex put his hands over his ears. “Never mind! Don’t elaborate. Let’s get this thing started before an incident happens.”
Nina kissed Tracy’s cheek softly. “I got your back, sister.”
Tracy smiled. “Thanks, Nina. That means so much to me. I love you.”
“Everything okay?” Cade called out as they approached the porch.
“Fine, fine. Just girl talk.” She sent a look up to Nick, who exhaled and held out his hand.
“Before you go inside, Tracy, can you stand a bit more girl talk?” Sarah asked.
Nina touched her back and moved away, murmuring to Cade and Lex, and everyone walked inside.
Tracy leaned against the porch railing and Nick moved beside her, banding his arm about her waist.
“Tracy, I understand from Nick that you overheard some of the things I said to him on the phone this morning.”
“When you talked smack about me? Told my mate you loved him? That conversation?”
Nick tensed up and Tracy told herself that if he didn’t back her up, she’d walk off the property right then, mate or no.
Sarah sighed. “Yes, that one. I realize that it caused a fight between you two and led you to consider not joining Pacific to serve as Second with Nick. And I’m terribly sorry. What was said was said in a moment of high emotion. God, I’m so embarrassed. It was petty and small and I hope that we can get past it because Nick means a lot to me and you mean everything to him and you’re family now. You’d also be one of my wolves. And it would break Ben’s heart to know that my jealousy had broken the Pack this way.”
“Nick, I need you to go inside and wait for me please.”
“Tracy, I…”
She looked at him with one raised brow.
“All right. Tracy, I love you. I want you here with me, in my Pack, at my side.” Nick kissed her and pulled back, tucking a wayward curl behind her ear.
“I love you too. I’ll be in in a moment.”
He looked back over his shoulder at her and left them alone on the porch.
Tracy turned around to Sarah. “Now that we’re alone I just have a few things to say. First, I could not possibly care less if you like me or my eyebrow ring or how skinny I am. Certainly I would have preferred a warm welcome without fake smiles and pretending to like me in front of others. But whatever. The raw fact is that you had no business slagging me off to my mate. The wolf in me finds that very hard to get past. Nick is not yours. Ben is yours. Nick may be your anchor but he is my mate. Don’t think to ever try and get around me to him again or there will be trouble.
“I will join Pacific. For Nick. As to whether I forgive you or not, only time will tell if what you did and said is an aberration. Now that I have an anchor, I understand your reaction a lot better. But actions are the proof, I don’t put much stock in words. I’m going to pledge my fealty tonight but I want to tell you, alone out here, that you haven’t earned it. I’m doing this for one reason only, because Nick asked me to and I love him. But make no mistake, Sarah, I will tear your fucking head off if you ever try it again. Alpha or not.”
Sarah’s face was red and her eyes narrowed. Tracy knew that part of Sarah’s apology had been a front for Nick’s benefit, but how much of it would only be clear over time. “Okay.”
Tracy lowered her chin slightly, just enough to show deference and she was sure Nick relaxed from the place he’d been spying on them.
When they walked inside, she saw her parents and grandmother there with Nick’s parents. She rushed over to her mother and let herself be comforted by her presence.
“Oh, sweet girl! A million congratulations on you both. Let me meet this boy.”
Tracy held her hand out and Nick took it. “Mom and Dad, Grandma, this is Nick Lawrence. Nick, this is my mother Beth and my father, Henri Warden. And my grandmother Lia.”
Nick bowed to her parents and took her mother’s hand, kissing it and then her grandmother’s. He shook her father’s hand solemnly. “Mr. and Ms. Warden, Mrs. Warden, it’s my honor to have you here in Pacific House and doubly so to have Tracy as my mate.”
Her father looked Nick over carefully and slowly nodded. “Welcome to the family, son.”
Cade came forward and shook Nick’s hand and then Ben came up and there was a lot of sniffing and other status marker behavior that made Tracy look to Nina and roll her eyes.
“Oh, and Mom and Dad and Grandma,” she reached out and grabbed Gabe’s hand, the connection shocked her but she tried to hide it, “this is Gabe Murphy, my anchor.”
Her grandmother looked closely at the two of them but smiled and shook his hand.
“Shall we perform the joining ceremony?” Ben called out and the room quieted.
Nick looked to Tracy, holding his breath until Tracy nodded.
Walking to the center of the room, Ben and Sarah stood facing Tracy and Nick. As her anchor, Gabe stood to the other side as well.
“Do you swear fealty to Pacific Pack and her wolves? Do you pledge your life to her well-being and your obedience to her Alphas?”
“I do.”
“Then stand and be recognized Tracy Lawrence, Second and new Packmate.”
There was applause and Tracy became a member of Pacific Pack.
A feast was awaiting them in the large dining room and soon Tracy began to relax and get to know her new family. The wolves from Pacific, for the most part anyway, seemed to be happy to have her there. She did notice the small, all-female contingent hovering around Gabe and pointedly ignoring her, but she tried not to let it bother her. Gabe was her anchor and hers on a level those skanks could never understand.
Gabe watched her all evening. The light shone off her skin and hair and she seemed to glow with her happiness. She was so beautiful and animated and he wanted to kick Nick’s teeth in for having her. Tracy Warden should be his, damn it.
“So are you going to be around Portland a lot more now that you’re her anchor?” one of the females who’d quite obviously been rubbing against him all night, asked him.
“Well, probably. I like it here. It’s a nice change of pace and scenery from where I live in Virginia.”
“So please explain her appeal. What is it? She’s gawdawful, like Hot Topic exploded or something. Who pierces their face? A guy like Nick gets snatched up by her?”
Gabe heard the whispered discussion from behind him and turned slowly.
The other wolf continued, oblivious to Gabe’s presence. “She thinks she’s better because she comes from Cascadia. We’ll see how it feels for her now that she’s down here where every damned female in this room has had her mate.”
“I think you’d best close that nasty mouth of yours,” Gabe said in a low growl and the three wolves who’d been gossiping jumped.
“Uh, oh. What’s it to you anyway?” one of the lesser wolves said, the light of too much alcohol and not enough brains in his eyes.
“Excuse me? Are you not speaking of your new Second in a derogatory fashion and now addressing me in that same disrespectful way?” Discipline at Pacific was sorely lacking, that much was clear.
Ben approached wit
h Nick. “Is there a problem here?”
“We were just talking. We didn’t mean anything by it!”
“What’s going on, Gabe?” Nick asked.
Gabe looked to be sure Tracy wasn’t nearby before he spoke. “Just some of your wolves shooting off about your mate.”
Nick glared at the other wolves, who looked down, not bold enough to challenge their Enforcer.
Tracy, seeing the gathering of males with concerned faces, got up and went over. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing, baby.” Nick put his arm around her but she caught the looks the others were wearing.
“Okay. If you say so.” She knew it was a lie but she didn’t want to cause trouble. She just wanted to make the night a success.
Nick saw that and smiled at her, kissing her temple. “I like it when you’re this easy.”
Tracy laughed. “I’ll show you even more easy later,” she murmured into his ear.
“She isn’t worthy of you, Nick! Why are you all bending over for her?” One of the females who’d been sending Tracy dirty looks all evening stepped forward.
“What? You jealous that I’m getting bent over and not you?” Tracy asked, moving forward and directly into the personal space of the other female.
Shelley, the redhead whose scent had been all over Nick’s sheets, laughed. “She’s got you there, Jo.”
Tracy took the other woman’s measure. There hadn’t seemed to be any animosity and the redhead had been friendly and open toward her so she judged that she wasn’t a threat. Interesting, that.
She cut her eyes back to the incredibly stupid blonde who was challenging her. It was lunacy. Tracy was Second in the Pack and came from a powerful line of wolves. She was clearly far more dominant and capable of tearing Blondie apart. More than that, mates were mates, it wasn’t like jealousy would change the biological connection between her and Nick.
“I saw your little act out there on the porch,” Blondie hissed. “You think you can just waltz in here and take Second?”
Tracy snorted and stepped in closer. She could feel Nick’s tension and no small amount of arousal at her back. “Did you now? You sure are fascinated with me. What’s your problem anyway?”
Ben touched her shoulder and she turned, growling, and he backed off. “Tracy, let’s just calm down.”
Nick pushed between his brother and Tracy, muscles tensed. “Don’t touch her, Ben.”
“She should calm down? What kind of Pack is this, anyway? A far lesser wolf disrespects her and she’s the one who needs to calm down?” Gabe growled, tense from the sight of Ben’s hand on Tracy’s shoulder and Tracy’s growl of defense. He stood at Nick’s side, ready to defend them both if necessary.
Nick looked at Gabe and then back at Tracy and over to Ben. Everyone was still for a moment as Ben stood there, nose to nose with Nick.
Tracy sighed and turned back to Blondie. “You have a problem with me? Fine. It’s a free country. But don’t think to challenge me. You don’t have the slightest hope of winning. And even if you could, you don’t have a chance in hell with Nick. Sour grapes don’t look good on you.”
She turned and leaned into Nick’s body. “Back off, babe. It’s over now. I don’t want you fighting with your brother,” she murmured into his ear.
“We don’t need this drama, Tracy. You’re the new person here. You just need to understand that a new Pack member is slightly upsetting.” Ben’s tone was patronizing.
Suddenly Gabe was at her back and things began to really slide out of control. “Perhaps you can explain Pack governance to us then? A Second should allow herself to be disrespected because some female won’t be fucking Nick anymore? And so Tracy is the one who brought the drama? Over there on the couch trying to make friends?”
“Perhaps you can explain why you’re speaking for my brother’s mate,” Ben said with a growl.
“Perhaps you can all stop talking about me like I’m a chair!”
Nick was still holding her back and Cade and Lex had come over. Blondie smirked.
“Control your mate, Nick,” Sarah said and Tracy’s eyebrows shot up.
“What? What did she just say?” Cade growled and Nina was there, trying to calm him down.
And in the midst of the chaos, a blur of movement came from the left. Tracy, wedged between Gabe and Nick, couldn’t move and it knocked her down, but she was up and on top of Blondie in milliseconds, teeth bared.
“Stand down!” Ben yelled.
“Why should she?” Gabe demanded.
“If she’d just kept calm none of this would have happened!” Ben yelled back.
“This is not her fault!” Nick growled.
“I should kill you for that,” Tracy growled at blondie, who finally had the good sense to see just how outmatched she was and trembled beneath Tracy’s grip.
“I said, stand down.” It was then that the full impact of how ill-suited Ben was to lead the Pack hit Tracy. She had zero compunction to obey his command like she would have with Cade. If Cade had yelled an order like that she would have had no other choice but to obey. Pacific was a Pack rotting from the inside because it had an Alpha who wasn’t capable of leading. A sinking feeling took hold in Tracy’s gut.
Still, she had to deal with the situation at hand. So she continued to ignore Ben and kept focused on the women beneath her. “What do you say, Blondie? Should I rip your empty little head off for jumping me blind like a coward?” Tracy’s face was up close to the other woman’s, just barely holding back her wolf. But she did let it show in her eyes so Blondie would know just how close she was to real trouble.
Dimly she heard Ben move in her direction and Nick’s answering move to stop him. Gabe stayed in her peripheral vision, at the ready if he was needed. “He’s not going to save you, you know. Have you decided what you’re going to do yet?” Tracy’s voice was the barest of sounds but it registered.
“I…I apologize. Please, mercy. I was wrong to have attacked you blind. I yield.”
Tracy let go and stood up, turning her back on Blondie to let her know just how little she feared her. “You bet you do.” She turned her gaze on Ben. “I do not stand down when I’ve been challenged.” And it wasn’t Ben’s place to stop her in that situation either, she’d been attacked and it was well within her rights to answer the challenge, even to the death. But she didn’t say that, not wanting to hurt Nick or cause any more trouble.
“You’ll do what I say you will.” Ben raised his chin.
Tracy moved forward and there was a general shuffling of wolves as people moved to intervene. She stopped when she’d reached Ben and Sarah. “You’d have to have the authority to do that.” Her voice was low but deadly. She wouldn’t escalate but she wouldn’t cow to an unreasonable threat to her either.
“Clear out!” Sarah ordered and most of the wolves complied but for Nick, Cade, Lex and Nina and their assorted parents. Gabe stayed as well.
“You have been insubordinate, Tracy. You’ve brought trouble into this Pack.”
“Bullshit. You can’t control your Pack and you’re looking to blame me for it. I didn’t do anything wrong. Your wolf—an unranked wolf—jumped me blind. That’s an unacceptable breach of discipline. No Pack would frown on me defending myself, which is what I did. By rights I could have killed her for it, I didn’t even blood her.”
Ben pushed her and, shocked, she froze for a moment until she shoved him back. It occurred to her then that she could take him in a challenge. Her wolf was incensed and she did her best to rein it in.
“What is wrong with you?” Nick demanded of his brother in a growl. He pushed against Ben, his eyes had begun to get that otherworldly blue that she knew signaled his wolf trying to surface to defend her. His hands were around Ben’s throat, squeezing, Ben was desperately clawing at him to get him to let go. “You just shoved my mate!”
“Nick and Ben! Stop it this instant!” Chuck Lawrence, the former Alpha and their father, stepped in, pulling Nick back. “Ben, this
is insane! This is your brother’s mate, a Second in your Pack. You just put your hands on her!”
“Don’t do it again,” Gabe said in a growl.
“And what the fuck is that all about anyway?” Sarah demanded. “Why is he speaking for your mate, Nick? Have you asked yourself that question? Just what is between them?”
“Oh you’d love that, wouldn’t you? Jesus, what kind of Alpha throws blood in the water? What’s your agenda, Sarah?” Tracy was outraged. And upset. The whole evening was a clusterfuck.
“Tri-mate bond.”
Everyone got quiet and looked at Lia, Tracy’s grandmother.
“What? What did you just say?” Nick looked at her, eyes wide.
“It’s the tri-mate bond. Surely I’m not the only one who can see it?”
“The tri-mate bond is a fairy tale.” Gabe’s voice was flat as he said it but his heart raced at the thought.
“So are werewolves.” Ben and Nick’s mother said this kindly but firmly. “And it does happen. Not often, but once every generation or so. I can’t believe I didn’t see it until now.”
“What makes you think it’s a tri-mate bond?” Tracy asked, stung by Gabe’s fairy tale comment but not sure why.
“It isn’t real!” Nick’s voice was urgent and he grabbed Tracy’s hand.
“Mrs. Warden, I’m Tracy’s anchor, nothing more. Nick is her mate.” Gabe struggled for calm.
“You know that’s a lie.” Lia’s voice was calm and sure.
“Enough! What the heck makes you think so?” Tracy’s frustration was clear as she chewed her bottom lip. Her grandmother was up on that kind of stuff. She was an elder and knew the old ways and all of the metaphysical stuff that always made Tracy tune out. Cade always listened to it though, and one look at his face had Tracy more than a little freaked out.
“You three need to work this out in private.” Nick’s mother turned to Tracy. “Honey, I’m sorry about all that happened here tonight. There’s an awful lot of Alpha in one small space. I’d like to ask that you give us another chance after you, Nick and Gabe work all of this through.”