“Good,” replied Glenn. Then, wanting to dodge any more questions about what he and his friends were doing, he asked, “Mom, have you given your statement to the High Council yet?”
“Not yet…I wanted to speak to Hope first because it’ll affect her, but Mac doesn’t think she’s ready yet to relive what happened that night.”
Closing his eyes, Glenn sent up a prayer to the gods for the small favor. Even though he knew the asshole alpha who drove his mother into hiding deserved to hang for his crimes, it wasn’t worth his mother’s life. Once she filed her statement with the High Council, it was only a matter of time until the Collector would find out where she was and make another attempt. He knew he couldn’t dissuade her from moving ahead with her plan, so the only option left was to find and terminate the Collector.
“Any idea when your friend will be ready to talk about it, mom?”
“Not really…Mac and I are taking it one day at a time, but I’m beginning to see little bits and pieces of her old self surface, so I’m hanging on to that,” Willow said, softly.
Hearing the sorrow in his mother’s voice, Glenn clenched his fist; there wasn’t anything he could do to assuage it. Feeling powerless was something he rarely experienced, but he’d had a double dose of it this morning, and it was pissing him off. Finding the Collector…and the assassin…and Sawyer were all at the top of his list…and then, maybe, he’d be free to kill Josiah, the pack’s fucking uncle, something his mother would never learn about. It was the only way to finally free his mother from the nightmare she was living.
“So, mom,” he said, changing the subject, “what’s it like living in a wolf pack?” Leaning back in his chair, Glenn listened intently, filing away any useful information that would help him figure out the secrets of the Blackwood Pack.
~/~/~/~/~
Lying on his side, his eyes, hidden behind his aviator sunglasses, Sawyer watched Alex, sitting on the beach towel next to him. Being this close to his mate was driving him crazy but he wasn’t going to risk undoing all of the progress he’d made so far. Just the fact Alex plopped down less than a foot away from him was proof his mate was feeling more comfortable around him and, after this morning’s skirmishes, Sawyer viewed it as a major victory.
“I love looking at the movement of the ocean,” Alex murmured, keeping his eyes on the undulating waves rolling ashore. It was a far cry from the fury of the water he’d seen on the east coast. Even its color was different. “I could stare at the water all day…it calms me.”
“I know what you mean. Where I grew up, there was a river near our home. It was an endless source of fascination for me. In the early spring, when the snow melted, it became a raging monster…boiling with its foaming white caps all rushing to escape downstream. But by summer, the water became lazy, moving calmly and slowly past me, in no hurry to get to wherever it was going. By fall, the water level was so low, I could cross it by hopping across its exposed boulders.”
“Which one was your favorite?”
“Never could pick, I enjoyed them all,” Sawyer chuckled. “I spent hours there, so many. My brother Macstarted to call me a water rat. No one understood my need for that river except our Shaman. He gave me the name ‘Niwah’…it means ‘water sprite’. At least it sounded better than my brother’s nickname for me.”
“Niwah…I like that,” Alex said, staring at his mate. “Is that why you chose surfing? Because of the water sprite in you?”
“Yeah…probably. Water calls to me…much more than anything else. When I’m floating…held up by something that can run through my fingers and disappear into the ground…it boggles my mind. Floating feels like I’m weightless…something I imagine flying would feel like.”
“It sounds wonderful,” Alex murmured, gazing again at the ocean. Wrapping his arms around his bent legs, he rested his chin on his knees, losing himself in the motion of the waves.
Falling silent, Sawyer’s eyes scanned the ocean while his thoughts focused on his mate. Based on what he’d learned so far, he had a sneaking suspicion Alex was alone in the world—which might explain the melancholy that clung to his mate like an old well-worn coat. But it was only a guess, because even though they’d been together for several hours, Sawyer knew almost nothing about Alex. What bothered him more, though, was he feared his mate intended to keep it that way; the wall protecting Alex was high and well-fortified. Suddenly, a movement caught his eye. Looking at the spot in the ocean, Sawyer grinned as he removed his glasses. “Hey, Alex,” he said, excitedly, “do you see them?”
“See what?” Staring at the place his mate was pointing at, Alex saw nothing except people bobbing in the ocean.Narrowing his eyes against the glare of the sun on the water, he searched again. Just when he was about to give up, he saw them…a school of dolphins, jumping in graceful arcs out of the water before diving back in—over and over again as they swam parallel to the shore. Alex’s hand flew up to his mouth in astonishment, his eyes locked onto them until they swerved and headed further out to sea. Only then did he turn his head toward Sawyer, whose wolf eyes staring into his, mesmerized him.
Chapter 6
Held captive by the glowing golden eyes staring back at him, Sawyer was overcome with desire and lust for his gorgeous mate. His wolf, so close to the surface was growling as he tried to push forward to claim the fox who was his mate. Sawyer’s need matched his wolf’s but his gut told him it was too early, forcing a contest of the wills between himself and his animal. Struggling to win, Sawyer’s eyes sparked and lightning bolts flashed in his irises as he used every bit of his strength to force his wolf to retreat, but began to worry it wouldn’t be enough.
Fearfully watching the battle unfolding before him, Alex started to rise, determined to escape the inevitable outcome if Sawyer’s wolf triumphed. The consequences of that happening wasn’t something he was ready for now, or for that matter, ever. He needed to be free almost as much as he needed to breathe air. And while he could now admit he desired Sawyer, that didn’t mean he was ready to lose his new-found independence.
Alex had risen to his knees when the voice inside him bellowed “No!” once again forcing him to sit down. Wrapping his arms around himself, he shrank down, whimpering in distress at what would happen if Sawyer’s wolf broke free. His freedom would be taken from him with a simple bite, condemning him to a lifetime prison sentence. But he could do nothing; his inner beast refused to let him run.
Calling for his twin’s strength to augment his, Sawyer faltered for a moment when he felt Mac’s hesitation. It was something he hadn’t done since childhood, but when he saw the fear in Alex’s eyes as he fought with his wolf, Sawyer seized on the only resource left to him. Ignoringhis twin’s concerns, he tugged harder and, just when he was on the edge of losing, he finally felt Mac’s strength join with his, forcing his wolf back.
Sighing with relief, Sawyer turned his focus back to Alex, ignoring his phone which had begun to vibrate. Mac would just have to wait to find out why Sawyer called on him to help; his mate came first now. And what he saw, tore his heart apart. Alex, who only, a short while ago was smiling at the dolphins’ water ballet, was now cowering on the sand, silently crying, his eyes squeezed tightly shut. “Alex?”
~/~/~/~/~
Joining his friend in the safe room, Ghost listened as Glenn brought him up to date on the failure to locate Sawyer. He could see the tension in his friend’s body even though Glenn tried hard to hide it, but he supposed it couldn’t be avoided. That, in and of itself, put Ghost’s animal on edge since he’d never seen a crack in Glenn’s tight control during all the years they’d known each other.
Their friendship was forged in battle and, ever since, it had only grown tighter. Nothing had changed it, even when Glenn bailed on their plans in order to protect his mother, because Ghost understood and supported his friend’s decision. Willow treated him like a son from the first time Glenn brought him home. Not knowing what to expect, he was shocked when she hugged him tight, whispering in his ear her thanks for saving Glenn. How she ever discovered what happened on their first mission together was still a mystery to him, but he’d secretly offered his thanks to whoever was responsible.
From that moment on, Willow made sure to always include him and Smokey for holidays—making sure to have their favorite foods awaiting them. It was so different from his own family experience; it took some time getting used to Willow’s warmth and love she gave so freely to him and Smokey. But once he did, he’d finally found a home—something he never thought to look for, but now could never imagine losing.
After hearing how close he came to losing Willow, Ghost never hesitated a second when Glenn asked him to help find the son-of-a-bitch who was responsible for kidnapping her. But all that changed last night and now that search took a backseat to finding out who was trying to kill one of them. After thinking over what Glenn told him, Ghost asked, “Why didn’t you ask your mother if she knows where Sawyer went?”
“Because it would raise a whole lot of questions about why I was asking…and it would lead to her finding out about my mate…and then asking what caused me to lose him. The next thing is, she’d tell Hope I found my mate and Hope would tell Sawyer’s brother, Mac, and then, Sawyer would find out about me and would either, a) wonder why I didn’t talk tohimbefore my mother or, b) he would begin looking for me and that would put him in danger…exactly what I’m trying to avoid!”
