“My wolf was going crazy; he needed to rub up against you. I tried to shift back, but he wasn’t having any of it. How long have you been awake?”
“About half an hour. I’m surprised you’re on your feet—I can feel how tired you are. You were in a worse state than me, so that’s probably why it took you longer to wake.”
“I was in a worse state than you?” Zander echoed, the image of her head wound flickering through his mind. He’d been absolutely frantic. His mind had been in complete chaos because she’d been dying. And he was in a worse state? “Are you kidding me?” he growled.
Soaping him down, she said in a soothing voice, “I meant you had a lot more wounds than I did and that you lost a whole lot of blood. You fed me a lot of strength too—and that was after a battle and a duel with another wolf. It zonked you out.” She gave him a quick kiss. “I didn’t want to leave you in bed on your own, but I needed to get all the blood off me. My scalp was itching like crazy.”
“I need a shower even more than you do.” He grimaced at the stench. “I don’t know how you slept next to me.”
She chuckled. “I was totally out of it. You sure you have the energy for a shower?”
“I’ll fucking find it.”
Gwen chuckled again. “Our bond’s complete now.”
He nodded, stroking a hand over the curve of her shoulder. “My wolf’s fear was in the way.”
“Fear of me?” she asked, a little hurt by that.
Zander shook his head. “Fear of the power you hold over him. He’s a tough motherfucker. Not used to feeling vulnerable. You’re his only weakness, the only thing that could really hurt him. He feared that power you hold. Still does a little. I think it will take time for it to really fade.”
“Then how did the bond . . . you know . . .”
“Snap fully into place?” Zander massaged conditioner into her hair. “He stopped letting the fear hold him back from you. He fears losing you more than he fears that power. That realization cleared the path for the bond.”
Zander’s breath caught in his throat as he remembered their bond weakening, remembered the feel of her energy fading and her slipping away from him. He hadn’t truly grasped the extent of how essential she was to him until right then.
He buried his face in her hair. “When I saw the son of a bitch smashing your head . . . I’ll never get that picture out of my mind. Never. I felt your pain. Felt everything go . . . dark for you. I’ve never been so fucking scared. No, not scared. Terrified. My wolf wouldn’t withdraw at first, the stubborn bastard. I can usually fight him for dominance, but he was all about you.”
She kissed his chest. “I was a little scared when I woke to see you covered in blood. Panicked. Even went banging on Derren’s door to ask Ally to heal you. She assured me that she had healed you and that you’d wake soon. I could feel through the bond that you were okay, but the panic didn’t ease off.” Trying to keep her voice sensitive, she said, “I take it you killed Rory. I heard the two of you fighting.”
“It had to be done.”
She wrapped her arms around him. “I’m sorry he put you in a position where it had to be done.”
Zander figured he should be feeling guilt or shame or something about having killed Rory. All he felt was relief, because it meant his mate was safe from the threat that Rory had presented. “Tell me what happened after I left here last night.”
Gwen took a deep breath and told him everything, pausing only at moments when Zander took a second to spit out a harsh curse. “Ally healed Yvonne—that she-wolf is the shit, by the way. She also saved Bracken’s life, you know.”
Zander stiffened. “What happened to Bracken?”
“A coyote and a cheetah teamed up to try and tear him to pieces. He’s okay now, though. Ally healed him before healing me. He’s probably still sleeping it off.”
Zander kissed her hair. “I should have known Moore brought the mercenaries to draw us away from the house. I should have stayed with you.”
“No. Your pack mates needed you.”
“You needed me.”
“Yeah, I did. And you came. I knew you would.” She nipped his lip. “So, no guilt.”
He helped her rinse off the conditioner as he asked, “How about you? Are you stupidly giving yourself a hard time about hurting and killing those bastards?”
“Part of me is shook up by what I did. Feels bad, even. But then I remember that Ezra, Moira, and Brandt beat on Yvonne. I remember that Thad, Gerard, and Nelson shot at us, and that Ezra almost killed me. Then I don’t feel too bad about it.”
“Good.” He kissed her forehead. “They don’t deserve your guilt. They chose to come here, they put you in a position where you had to defend yourself and Yvonne, and that was exactly what you did. They put you in a position where you had to choose between their lives or yours and Yvonne’s. You made the right choice, and it’s not one you should feel any remorse over. Okay?”
“Okay.”
He doubted it would be that simple for her, suspected there would be times when it tormented her a little. Zander took her mouth. He’d only meant to give her a swift kiss, but it quickly turned hot and hungry. Before long, he was fucking her against the tiled wall. Not hard and fast, but soft and slow. And when she came, he bit her neck to leave yet another mark. He rested his forehead against hers. “I love you, Gwen.” He hadn’t actually meant to say the words—they’d just popped out. But it was only the truth. Her winning smile made his chest tighten.
“And I love you.”
“Good. Now let’s finish here, get dressed, and go for breakfast.”
Sounded good to Gwen. A short while later, she was walking downstairs, hand in hand with Zander. Her knees felt a little rubbery, but she seemed to be doing a good job of hiding it from him because he didn’t comment. As they strolled into the kitchen, it was to find Marlon, Yvonne, and Donnie sitting at the table.
“Damn, I’m starving,” Gwen declared.
“Thought you would be.” Marlon jumped to his feet and hugged her tight. Then he started crying.
Alarmed, she exchanged a panicked look with Zander and patted her foster brother’s back. “I’m fine.”
Marlon actually slapped her arm as he pulled back. “Fine? You almost died. We could have been picking out your coffin and headstone right now.”
“There’s no need to say it like it was my fault.”
He put a hand over his chest. “Sometimes I think God sent you here to test the strength of my heart.”
“Then you’re weird.”
He snorted. “Says the person who always flushes the toilet twice—before and after she uses it.”
“Says the person who stupidly lies that he’s color-blind.”
“I am color-blind.”
Gwen rolled her eyes. “I’m too sober to deal with you. And stop with the dramatics.”
“I’m not being dramatic. Yvonne thought the damn ghosts had come for you.”
Gwen frowned. “Ghosts?” As Yvonne then told her what happened, Gwen gaped. “I don’t get how the girl could have helped.”
“Ally said the girl gave her a sort of . . . dose of preternatural energy,” Yvonne explained. “It boosted her healing skills, because her healing energy is preternatural too. Or something like that. She said it better.”
“Damn, I wish I’d been awake for that.”
Marlon looked at Zander. “I heard you saved my sister and then practically ate Ezra Moore alive. For that, I will forever adore you.”
Not really sure what to say to that, Zander just nodded. That seemed to please Marlon, because he beamed at him and then declared he’d make pancakes.
Donnie frowned. “I want Pop-Tarts.”
Marlon sighed. “I’ll get you Pop-Tarts.”
Yvonne stood and drew Gwen into her arms, squeezing her tight. “I’m so glad you’re okay. You scared me last night. I wasn’t sure you were going to make it.” Her voice broke at the end.
Gwen hugged her tight
. “I’m sorry that Ezra, Moira, and Brandt hurt you and—”
Yvonne pulled back and gripped her face, pinning her gaze. “Don’t you apologize. Nelson was restraining you and had a gun to your head.” Ignoring Zander’s growl, she continued, “There was no way you could have done anything, Gwen. Besides, you got free in the end. You saved us both . . . and then Zander and Ally saved you.” Yvonne smiled at Zander. “Thank you. And thank you for not dragging her away from me—I can see you want to keep her close right now.”
Zander ignored the teasing note to her voice. Besides, she was right. He needed to keep Gwen close, needed to breathe her in. He sat, and at his urging, Gwen settled on his lap.
“You okay, Donnie?” Gwen asked him as he bit into a Pop-Tart.
Donnie gave her a thumbs-up. “Nearly died.” And for some reason, he sounded . . . cheery about it. Like it was the first bit of excitement he’d had in a long time. “If Ally hadn’t done that healing thing, I’d have met the reaper and you’d be planting lilies over my head.” He looked at Yvonne. “Make sure that happens when my ticker finally stops ticking, okay? Lilies. I want lilies.”
“Lilies,” Yvonne promised.
Donnie lifted a brow at Gwen. “What do you want planted over your grave?”
Zander growled. “Let’s not talk anymore about Gwen dying, yeah?”
As Marlon made pancakes and Yvonne made coffee, more and more people came downstairs for breakfast. Considering the night before had been one hell of a fuckup, it was surprising that the atmosphere was . . . peaceful.
The arrival of a car ruined it.
“It might just be Julie and Chase,” said Yvonne.
But as Zander stepped out onto the porch, it was to see that she was wrong. The sheriff slid out of his car, face grim. Beside him, Gwen quietly cursed. The others all emptied out of the house and spread out along the porch.
As Colt marched up the steps, Gwen lifted a brow. “Can I help you with something?”
“Where’s Ezra?” he demanded.
Gwen blinked. “Ezra?”
“Don’t play with me, Gwen,” he clipped.
Zander growled, and his wolf swiped his claws. “Watch your fucking tone.”
Colt’s lips thinned. “Last night, I had several reports that there were all kinds of noises coming from here.”
Yvonne snickered. “Kind of you to check on us the day after the reports came in.”
Perching his hands on his hips, Colt jutted out his chin. “Shifter business is shifter business.”
He had that right, thought Zander. “We went on a pack run. Things can get noisy.”
But Colt wasn’t buying it. “Ezra talked about coming here with his brothers, making you pay,” he told Gwen. “I calmed him down, thought I’d made him see reason. But I went by to see him this morning, and he’s gone. So are Moira and Brandt. His chauffeur and brother are nowhere to be found either.”
Gwen frowned. “And you think they’ll come here?”
“I think they have been here. I think you did something to them last night.”
“Why?” she asked.
His face flushed. “Because they wouldn’t just vanish like this! I want to search the premises. I want to get a crime-scene unit out here and—”
“That’s not going to be possible,” Zander told him, voice hard.
Colt did a slow blink. “Excuse me?”
“Well, see, you have no jurisdiction here anymore,” Gwen explained. “Haven’t you noticed all the shifter markings?”
Colt’s nostrils flared. “That doesn’t make this shifter territory.”
“This does.” Derren handed the sheriff some folded-up papers. He snatched them fast and began to read them. “These are the deeds to the house and land,” said Derren. “As you can see, they no longer belong to Yvonne.”
“Who’s Nick Axton?” Colt asked.
“Our Alpha,” said Jesse. “That makes this shifter territory, which means, as Gwen said, you have no jurisdiction here.”
Gwen barely hid her smile as Colt glared at her, looking ready to explode. Nick had bought the house and land from Yvonne just days before the hearing to cover their asses in case such an event occurred.
Fisting his hand in the papers, Colt growled, “Your neighbors said they heard fighting!”
Gwen arched a brow. “Do we look like we’ve been fighting?” Thanks to Ally, the answer was no. And as they’d moved the cars so that they covered the bloodstains on the ground from Zander’s and Rory’s duel, there was no way to tell that there had been a battle without taking a stroll around the marsh.
The bodies of the dead shifters and humans had all been lumped together deep in the marsh near two of Ezra’s cars. According to Zander, Cain would be sending some people from The Movement to collect them all. Collecting and disposing of bodies was apparently something they’d done for the Phoenix Pack before.
“The deeds,” said Derren, holding out his hand.
Colt handed them back with a petulant frown. “Ezra and Moira wouldn’t have just . . . left.”
“They might have if they were worried that shifters would come hunting Brandt for what he had done to Andie,” said Harley. “We’ve all heard of The Movement.”
The sheriff shook his head. “Ezra would have told me if he was leaving. And he wouldn’t run from shifters.”
“But he might run from Kenny Cogman,” Gwen mused. “Ezra said some pretty mean shit about me at that hearing. Told some lies about me too. Kenny wasn’t too happy to hear that.”
Colt’s frown turned thoughtful. “If you have nothing to hide, prove it and let me inside.”
Yvonne raised a mocking brow. “You sure you want to come inside, Sheriff? You never did like this house.”
Zander folded his arms. Like hell was he letting this bastard enter. “This is shifter territory now. You have no right being here. And we sure as shit don’t want you here.”
“Even if the Moores did come here last night, it would be no business of yours,” said Bracken. “We all know that if someone takes their chances trespassing on shifter territory, they can’t expect to walk away unharmed. As you yourself said, shifter business is shifter business.”
“They’re my friends,” said Colt.
Gwen shook her head. “Not friends, Colt. Not really. People like the Moores aren’t friends with anyone. They’re all about themselves. You lost the respect of a lot of people around here because of them. There had to have been times when you did want to arrest Brandt for one thing or another. After all, he was making your job harder for you. But you always had to let it go, didn’t you? They didn’t respect your authority, and soon other people stopped respecting it. At least you won’t have that problem until they come back from wherever they’ve gone.”
The sheriff sighed. “Just give me a straight answer. Did they come here last night or not?”
“If they did, I didn’t see them,” said Marlon, which was true as he’d been at Dylan’s. “And I doubt they’d have come here just to hide in the trees. Besides, I think the noises this lot made on their pack run would have scared them off.”
For a long moment, no one spoke. Colt pointed a finger at Gwen. “If I find any evidence to suggest they came here—”
“There’ll be nothing you can do about it,” Zander stated. The pack would never admit to anything. Explaining or justifying themselves to humans would be the same as answering to them. “And me, well, I’m not eager to talk to a person who didn’t protect my mate or one of my kind when they were being harassed and persecuted. Now drop your fucking finger, get back in your car, and don’t come back.”
Looking strangely tired all of a sudden, Colt muttered to himself as he slowly returned to his car. Watching him drive off, Gwen said, “It really was smart of you to ask Nick to buy the house and land so that Colt couldn’t insist on coming inside.”
“I’m always full of smart ideas,” said Zander.
As the others retreated into the house, Gwen slid her arm
s around him. “What does Nick intend to do with the place?”
“I don’t know. You’ll have to ask him.” Zander brushed his mouth over hers. “You can do that tomorrow, when you come home with me.”
She raised her brows. “Tomorrow?” That was a lot sooner than she’d expected, and she could admit, if only to herself, that it made her panic a little. But then, she supposed it was important to him to get back to his pack.
“Tomorrow,” he stated.
She saw the dare in his eyes, knew he was expecting her to object and claim it was too soon. Instead, she sighed and agreed, “Tomorrow.”
Mouth curving, Zander wrapped his arms tight around her, lifted her off her feet, and kissed the breath out of her.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Two months later
Gwen nodded along as the beautiful little girl talked around a mouthful of cake, swinging her arms.
Lounging in the chair beside Gwen’s, Zander leaned in and whispered, “Did you understand what she just said?”
“Not a word of it.” But Gwen figured it was probably another creepy line from a movie—the Alphas’ daughter had a habit of repeating them to freak people out. It worked.
Gwen was surprised the two pups were still awake. The barbecue had started at noon, and it was now the evening. The kids had spent the day cycling, arguing over toys, playing in the outdoor area, and chasing the dog that was currently lying on the grass.
Most of the adults were close to falling asleep too. In fact, Kathy had passed out on one of the lawn chairs. Ally was sprawled on top of Derren in the hammock that was strung up near the play area. Other people were settled on patio chairs or sharing blankets on the ground.
Although it was almost dark, the glow of the fairy lights that were strung on the trees enabled Gwen to see well enough. She figured the shifters didn’t need any such light, given they had excellent night vision—she envied them that.
She sighed as the evening breeze brushed over her skin and ruffled her bangs. It had been one hell of a hot day, and she’d almost wilted from the glare of the sun. The chirping of birds and the lively partying had been replaced by the sounds of grasshoppers, crickets, soft laughter, quiet chatter, and the wood snapping in the fire pit.