Dancer's Heart (5 page)

“Omegas are the lowest members in the pack.
Females are always omegas, and so are retired males who aren’t at
full strength due to age or injury. In my case, I became an omega
when I shifted as a teenager and it became clear that I couldn’t
function fully. My leg tightens up and aches, and the pain has even
brought me to a complete stop at times in the middle of a hunt. So
while I might be a good tracker, and a good hunter, and even a good
fighter, I will never be anything but an omega. I’m at the beck and
call of the alphas and any high ranked males.”

“Are the omegas ranked?”

“Not officially, but there’s an unspoken
hierarchy within the omegas. While all of us work for the
high-ranked pack members, not all pull their own weight. For
example, some of the females actually order around some of the
lower-ranked females.”

“You mean wolves like Kammie?”

He nodded. “It’s supposed to be equal among
the omegas – everyone should be working to make the pack a better
place – but there are those who don’t, and the alphas aren’t
interested enough to do anything about it. Or at least Acksel
isn’t. Brynn cares, because she doesn’t really understand pack
hierarchy.”

“It must be hard to be human in a pack. At
least I understand about shifting.”

“My friend Jeremiah and his mate Honey are
stewards. They work exclusively with the retirees.”

She hummed. In the sleuth, bears who were
unable to hunt, take care of their homes, or help out, were taken
care of by everyone. That wolves had to be assigned to take care of
the retirees made her curious.

They stopped walking, and Dani looked around.
The woods were beautiful. Snow and ice-covered trees stretched for
what seemed like miles. “When we talk to Acksel tomorrow night,” he
said, grasping both of her hands and giving them a squeeze, “I’d
like to ask if you and I could join the stewards.”

“I thought I couldn’t join the pack because
I’m not a wolf?”

“You can’t, but I know that Jeremiah and
Honey could use some help with the retirees, and it would be a way
for you and I to work together. Unless you wanted to do something
else?” He stammered a little. “You can work wherever you like, or
you don’t have to work. I wouldn’t mind if you stayed home.”

She quirked a brow. “Want me barefoot and
pregnant, huh?”

His cheeks flushed, and he shook his head.
“No. Yes.” He groaned in frustration, and Dani laughed.

Untangling their hands, she pressed her
gloved fingers to his cheeks and smiled at him. “I never worked
outside of the sleuth. I want to be able to do whatever you do in
the pack, but I wasn’t sure if I would be allowed. If we can work
together with your friends, then I think that’s a wonderful idea.
I’d love to be able to help people who need it.”

He blew out a relieved breath. “Good. I’m
sure Acksel will approve, and then I’ll call Jeremiah and we can go
visit them and hash out the details.”

“He’s your best friend?”

Nodding, he gripped her hips and drew her
close. “He and I shared a similar dislike of being omegas, but he
found a place in the pack, with his mate, where he fits. Now that I
have you in my life, I want us to find that, too. I think the
stewards are the perfect place.”

They continued their walk through the woods
until they reached the far edge, and she could see a row of homes
through the trees. “This is the retiree development. Many of the
retired pack members live here, but there are others scattered
around town.”

“What does retiring mean?”

“Some wolves want to run and hunt their whole
lives, but sometimes things happen to take a wolf out of that
activity. Age can bring arthritis, and even in the wolf form the
joints can ache. We heal faster than humans, but we don’t escape
everything that comes with old age. Some wolves get injured and
shifting causes them pain. Retiring is a way to stay a member of
the pack and under the care of the alphas, without being required
to hunt or be active pack members.”

She stared at the small houses. “Will they
mind that I’m a reindeer?”

“Why would anyone care what you shift
into?”

She shrugged. “I’m prey.”

He growled, and his upper lip curled. “You’re
mine.”

“I know that,” she said, shaking her head. “I
mean my shift is prey. Sometimes predator shifters don’t like prey
shifters.”

He let out a deep sigh and wrapped his arms
around her. “I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe, Dani.
You could shift into a chipmunk and it shouldn’t matter to anyone
in the pack, because you’re a shifter, not a natural animal.”

She quirked her brow. “Are there chipmunk
shifters?”

He blinked and then laughed. “I have no
idea.”

She looked around the woods and said, “Better
not do anything really private out here, just to be safe.”

His eyes darkened and he leaned forward,
pushing her gently against a tree. “We can be quiet.”

“Yeah right,” she said with a snort as she
wrapped her arms around his neck. “I almost went deaf this morning.
You howl when you come sometimes.”

“Just for you.” He lowered his lips to hers
and everything ceased to exist around them. The world could have
fallen away and she wouldn’t have cared.

She eased away from the kiss. “You make me
forget everything.”

He laughed. “Is that good or bad?”

“It’s good, except when I want to take my
clothes off and we’re out in the woods.”

“I wouldn’t want you to freeze anything
important.”

“Let’s go home.”

He took a step back and swung her into his
arms. She hugged herself close to him and rested her head on his
shoulder, yawning and snuggling close.

“Sleepy, sweetheart?”

“I had a horny wolf in my bed last
night.”

“Sounds like a real hardship.”

She kissed his neck. “Well, it helps that
he’s sexy as hell and has a talented mouth.”

“At your service,” he said with a soft
growl.

He carried her all the way across the woods
and into the house. After they’d removed their winter gear, they
hurried to the bedroom, stripping and slipping under the covers as
quickly as possible. As they settled on the bed together, she could
see his face tighten in pain when he moved his leg. She had no
doubt it was aching from the strain of carrying her.

“Can I do something to help your leg?”

“The pain will ease with time,” he said. He
kissed her gently and tugged her closer. She rested her head on his
bent arm and slid her hand up his side. The scars had become
familiar to her already.

“I don’t want you to be in pain.”

“To be honest, it doesn’t matter to me much
right now. I get to have you in my arms. The pain is dull compared
to how I’m feeling inside.”

She tilted her head to look up at him. “What
do you mean?”

“You’re mine.”

“I am. You’re mine, too.”

“I’m falling for you, sweetheart. I know it’s
only been a few days, but when you’re in my arms everything else
slips away, even the pain.” He kissed her and she settled her head
on his bicep.

“I’m falling for you, too.”

“We’ll catch each other.”

* * * * *

The following night, Dani took care to dress
well for dinner with the alphas. She didn’t have a lot of fancy
clothes with her, but from what Adam had told her about the alphas,
they sounded like pretty down-to-earth people. She dried her long,
blonde hair with her travel hair dryer and braided sections on both
sides, connecting them at the back with a few bobby pins. The
mating mark that Adam had given her their first time together had
scarred, and now showed with her hair pulled up.

She had unpacked her things the day before,
filling up one dresser drawer and a little bit of closet space. She
rummaged in the drawer until she found a bra and pair of panties,
slipping them on before heading into the closet to find something
to wear.

Adam was waiting in the family room for her.
It had taken him no time at all to get ready; men had it so easy.
Dani finally decided on a white sweater and a pair of navy
leggings. After dressing, she tugged on socks and slipped into her
favorite leather boots.

“I’m ready,” she said as she walked into the
family room. Adam stood from the couch and growled softly.

“You look amazing.”

“Aw, you’re sweet.”

He crossed to her so quickly his movements
were a blur, caught her in his arms and kissed her. “Gorgeous,” he
whispered against her lips before kissing down her jaw to her
throat, where he nibbled on the mating mark and made shivers shoot
down her spine.

“Careful. Compliments like that will make us
late.”

He lifted from her neck with an annoyed
grumble. “Why didn’t I tell Acksel that tonight was a bad time for
us to leave the house?”

“It’s only for a few hours,” she said,
patting his cheek and slipping from his arms to get her coat from
the hook by the door.

He joined her, tugging on his own jacket.
“We’ll eat fast.”

They walked together to his truck and he
opened the door, helping her inside. “Do you have a car in Oakville
we need to make arrangements to get?” he asked as he climbed in
behind the wheel and started the engine.

“No. Mom let me use her car.”

“You can use my truck whenever you’d like,
and we can get a car for you if you want,” he suggested, pulling
away from the curb.

She thought it was sweet of him to offer. “I
don’t think I’ll need one, but if it turns out I do then we can
cross that bridge when we come to it.”

As he drove to the alphas’ house, she asked,
“How long has Acksel been alpha?”

“Four years. He and Brynn have been together
since the fall. She’s human and grew up in Wilde Creek.”

“Is it a big deal that she’s human?”

“According to our old laws, it was a huge
issue. The old laws said that wolves weren’t allowed to mate with
anyone but another wolf. If a wolf chose another kind of shifter or
a human for a mate, they were exiled from the pack.”

“That seems harsh.”

He shrugged. “It’s pack life. I guess Acksel
and Brynn had a long history, but he was determined to never be
with her because she was human and he’d have to leave the pack.
Then his sister, Eveny, decided to mate with a human named Luke.
Acksel opted to change that one law and allow pack members to mate
with whoever they wanted, regardless of whether they shifted or
not. The law change allowed Acksel to finally claim Brynn as his
mate.”

She mused on that for a moment. “There was a
time when bears only mated with other bears, and I think that was
actually true of reindeer, too. From the little memory I have of my
herd, they were all reindeers. I guess if you only stick to your
own group then you eventually end up mated to one of your own.
Personally, I’m glad I wandered through Wilde Creek.”

He smiled. “Me too, sweetheart.”

He parked on the street in front of a house.
The yard was covered with snow, and the salt scattered on the
freshly shoveled sidewalk glittered in the porch lights. As Dani
looked at the house and thought about where she was and who she was
going to meet, her nerves kicked in.

She was literally walking into a wolf’s den;
and not just any wolf, but the freaking
head
of a wolf pack.
Her pulse raced as Adam turned off the engine. The automatic doors
unlocked, and the sound made her jump.

“Baby?”

“Sorry, this is just…a lot to take in.” She
forced her hands to unclench.

Adam unbuckled his seatbelt and released
hers, then pulled her into his arms. His spicy scent surrounded her
and eased her fears. She slid her hands under his coat and gripped
his shirt.

“I would never let anyone hurt you,
Dani.”

“I know. My reindeer is just reminding me
that I’m prey.”

A growl rumbled in his chest. “Because you
wear my mark, even in your human form shifters would recognize you
as one of their own kind, regardless of what kind of beast you
shift into.”

He nuzzled her throat and kissed her pulse,
which beat erratically. “The rational part of me knows that.”

“This isn’t the same as when you’re in your
shift. There’s no danger here. This is my pack, you’re marked as my
mate, and you’re covered in my scent.”

She inhaled and willed herself to relax. She
did trust Adam to keep her safe, and although a deep, ancient part
of her wanted to tuck tail and skedaddle, she wasn’t about to walk
away from her mate for anything.

“Okay.”

“Yeah?” He tilted her face and studied her.
“We can leave.”

His concern for her made her smile. “No, it’s
okay. It’s just that I’ve only known bears. They’re predators, but
not like wolves. I trust you.”

He kissed her briefly and opened his door,
then walked around to her side of the truck and opened hers,
offering her his hand. She loved how much of a gentleman he was. He
always thought of her first, not just in bed but in all things. She
mentally shook her reindeer out of the fear that kept trying to
creep in and grab hold, and she walked purposefully up the sidewalk
with Adam.

Adam knocked on the front door and it swung
open a few moments later. A tall, dark-haired male stood in the
doorway.

“Good to see you, Adam,” he said, extending
his hand.

“Thanks, Alpha. This is my mate, Dani
Grayson. Dani, this is my alpha, Acksel Moore.”

Dani stared at Acksel, who regarded her with
gray eyes. He didn’t look at her like she was something furry to
chase through the forest and devour. “It’s nice to meet you,” she
said.

“I’d shake your hand, but males can be funny
about others touching their females,” Acksel said as he took a step
backward into his home. “Please come in. My mate is in the
kitchen.”

The door swung shut after they stepped
inside, and Adam took her coat and hung it up next to his on hooks
by the front door. A pretty woman, smelling of human and wolf,
walked into the front room, brushing what looked like flour from
her hands.