Reluctantly Lycan (13 page)

“Tell me what you’re thinking.” She said, moving back a little, closer to him.

“I think we have a traitor. Either someone wants to out me as leader or they want to destroy the pack.” He rinsed her hair with fresh water from the faucet as he spoke, trying to be careful. Though, if he hadn’t broken her during sex, he figured she could certainly survive a bath.

“That’s hard to believe, but I have been gone a long time. I can see that things have changed.”

“Yes, as pack leader I have been a failure.”

“No,
Kade. I didn’t mean it like that!” She started to apologize further but he shushed her.

“
Stop.” He used a cloth to wash along her shoulders and neck, down her arms. The man didn’t own a loofa either. He made a mental note to take her shopping after life returned to normal. If it returned to normal. “I’ll make the pack whole again. To do that, I’ve broken it apart.”

Mara lightly rested her hands on his legs.
“How?”

He wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning in to hold her. “I disbanded the high pack.”

Her gasp was audible. He could feel her stomach suck in at the shock of his words. “Kaden….”

“I know, but
it had to be done. I don’t trust them.” His chin rested against her shoulder. “After you and I finish with the bonding at the full moon, fights for rank will be held. Maybe it’ll help me figure out who’s doing the kidnappings.”

“I hope so.” She hesitated. “About the bonding….”

Kaden released her from his embrace and leaned back, dreading her words. “You’ve changed your mind.”

“No, no. Not at all, but I don’t want a big ritual or anything.
Just us, in this house. It’s not right with everything that’s happened to make a huge celebration so soon.”

“You’re right. That’s fine.” He relaxed again. “I don’t want you or
Jak leaving the house without me. Don’t open the door for any wolves.”

“I want to help,
Kaden.”

“Unacceptable. Please obey me with this one thing and I’ll try never to ask again. For all I know,
Nashoba or Levi could be the culprit.”

Mara bowed her head. “I’ll do as you ask, but
this will not become a habit. I’m only
obeying
because I need to protect Jak.”

Kade
ran his strong, calloused hands up her back and massaged her shoulders, easing some of the tension away. Running around on all fours was not only hard on the paws, but the hands as well. “We will.” He promised.

Mara awoke and reached out to squeeze Kaden in an embrace, but he was far too soft. With a groan she opened her eyes to see the large pillow in her arms. She propped herself up on her elbow and thought about the night before. So much had happened.

Making love
with him again had been one of the best moments of her life. She didn’t want to know where he learned all those moves, but she was glad he knew them. The smile on her face faded when she thought about Taylor. While she was out being ravaged in the woods, someone had taken him. The guy was crazy and unpredictable, but she regretted the unwitting part she’d played in his disappearance.

She slipped out of bed and opened one of the Hefty sacks that held her unpacked clothing. After rummaging around for a minute, she found all the
apparel needed for the day and carried the clothes over to the dresser. The surface was cluttered with Kaden’s possessions. It was a man’s mess, through and through. Mara extended her arm and raked the items aside far enough to make a place to set her clothing. A half-filled can of soda toppled off and began leaking onto the hardwood floor.

“Shit….” She grabbed a roll of toilet paper sitting on the dresser next to a bottle of lotion. It wasn’t hard to guess what those supplies were for. Using the
tissue paper, she dried up the spill and sighed. The place needed a womanly touch.

She poured the rest of the soda that hadn’t spilled into the bathroom sink and tossed the can in the trash. Her eyes went to the bathtub. At least that much was
clean since he’d bathed her last night. She closed her eyes, remembering his caring touch. Kaden wasn’t the monster she’d told herself he was for so many years. Nowhere close.

Mara shook herself from her thoughts and went back into the bedroom to dress. She lifted her hair, examining the scar on her shoulder.
The mark had been a badge of shame for so long, now it filled her with pride once again. This had her thinking about the bonding.

Bonding was one of the most sacred and respected ceremonies in wolf society.
The
most important to a she-wolf. A female lycan reached maturity at her eighteenth birthday, but unlike the males, girls did not shift automatically at the full moon. The tradition was a bit different for her since she’d been promised to Kaden on the day of her birth. The basics still held true, though.

During a full moon, male wolves release a bonding pheromone when they ejaculate. This signal tells the female’s body she’s ready for the first shift and she will go through the transition. After
the transformation, she can go from human to wolf form at will.

Marala
couldn’t believe after all these years she would be experiencing it. No wine and cigarettes this time. Hopefully never again. The promise of relief from the anxiety of needing to go through the shift overwhelmed her fear of it.

She finished dressing and cleaned up the room for about an hour before exiting it.
It had taken longer than expected. Jak was still sound asleep on the couch. A quilt had been kicked off him onto the floor, the corner the only part hanging over his foot.

“
Jak.”

No indication he’d heard her.

“Jak!” She said louder and he groaned. “Get up and help me clean. It’s nearly noon.”

“Come on, Mom. It’s summer vacation.” He covered his head with a pillow from the sofa.

“Now.”

He grumbled, barely audible from underneath the throw pillow. “Just because you’re used to working all the time doesn’t mean I want to get up earl
y.” Despite his arguments, he sat up slowly. “Can I get breakfast first?”

Mara smiled, obviously giving him a hard time for fun. It
was
true that she wasn’t accustomed to not having to go to work every day. “Sure. I’m hungry, too.” She headed into the kitchen with her son close behind. “I can’t believe how much of a slob your father is. How hard is it to hit the hamper?”

“Yeah, I noticed that. Good thing I’m not messy.”

“You know better.” She told him as she took down a few bowls from the cabinet and filled them with a generic brand of cereal labeled Fruity Circles. After adding the milk, she slid him a bowl.

“I guess, but if I lived by myself the place wouldn’t be this bad. Definitely less bottles of booze sitting around.” He dipped his spoon into
the cereal and took a bite.

“Well, like you said, it will give me something to do while we’re on house arrest.”

Jak frowned. “House arrest?”

“
Kaden doesn’t want us out of this house when he’s not around. Until they find out who took Mason and Taylor.” She sat down on a barstool beside him, eating her breakfast.

“
Makes sense.”

Mara laughed. “No protesting or pouting? I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“Nope. I found the record player in a closet. I’ll just lose myself in the music.” He seemed like he wanted to say something else by the way grew quiet and chased a red loop around in his bowl with a spoon.

“What is it?”

“Nothing.”

“
Jak, spill it.”

“You ever get bad vibes off people?” He asked.

“Only almost everyone I meet.” She gave a half smile.

Jak
rolled his eyes. “We are an anti-social duo.”

“Why do you ask?”

“That Levi guy. Something seems off with him. He’s nice… almost too nice. And he makes my skin crawl.”

Mara thought for a moment then shook her head. “
He’s a good guy. He and his wife were a big part of my life.”

“Okay.”

“What do you think about Nashoba?”

Jak
grinned. “He seems like a badass. I’d like to meet the rest of the wolves.”

“You will wh
en things settle down. Kaden has a lot on his plate right now. He wants to keep you safe.”

“Okay.” He said again. “You know I’ll always be thankful for you, Mom. I know things are changing with the move, Dad being in our lives, and the fact that I will be a wolf
soon. Just wanted to throw that out there. Don’t get all mushy on me.”

It was too late for that. Mara dotted the corner of her eyes and nodded.
“Right back at you.” She focused on her breakfast, trying her damnedest not to cry.

The house had been cleaned top to bottom and there was still no sign of Kaden. Mara was alone with her thoughts again. Jak had wandered off to his room to read a book about lycans he’d found when they were cleaning.

Then, an idea came to her that she couldn’t push away. She wanted to go speak to Mason’s parents. They were in a bad spot, one she didn’t want to imagine, and she was going to be the alpha female soon. It was her place to be there for the pack.

Of course, Kaden would be none too happy about her leaving the house. But, it was daylight and she wasn’t going far. Convincing herself all would be well, she ran her fingers through her hair and headed outside.

A man was climbing a nearby tree. She couldn’t see who it was
since he was so high up, but he appeared to be adjusting some solar panels. Life out in the sticks had definitely become more advanced in the years since she’d run away.

Mara doubled-checked the door and head
ed toward the house Mason’s parents had lived in when she was a teenager. She knocked on the door a couple of times and stuck her hands in her pockets as she waited.

Josie
Yunger opened the door. Her swollen eyes widened and she reached out, hugging Marala without warning. Stiffly, Mara removed her hands from her pockets and patted the woman on the back. They’d met a few times, but they were barely acquaintances. Josie had been a few months pregnant when she and her husband had joined the pack. Only a little farther along than Mara had been.

“Hey. It’ll be okay.”
Mara said, knowing full well it probably wouldn’t be.

The woman let her go and bowed her head respectfully. “It is good to have you home, She-Wolf Dakota. We females need a strong woman to lead us. It’s been far too long. I was so happy to hear you were bonding with the leader.”

Gossip travels fast
. Mara frowned, but quickly decided her own problems meant little when the woman before her was missing a child. “I’m here for you and the others. Anytime you need anything. Speaking of which, how can I help you through this tragedy?”

Josie
invited Marala inside. The house was tidy, but outdated in style like most of the homes. Josie had a frail frame, more so than most females in the pack. Mara figured the woman probably hadn’t eaten much since her son had disappeared. That certainly wouldn’t help the situation. She poured Mara a cup of coffee which was accepted with a gracious smile and a thank you.

“
Marala, the moon will return my son to me. This is a test of faith. A test of the pack’s strength.”

Mara doubted that the kidnapping had anything to do with the moon or any other spirits, real or imagined. “They’ll find him.”

Josie nodded, moving to the kitchen window and looking outside into the dense forest. “Martell searches from dawn until late into the night. His paws are blistered and he’s fatigued when he returns home. The other wolves hunt, too, but if they’ve not found him yet….” She cleared her throat. “All we have left is faith.”

A debate about whether the moon was some sort of Goddess or a chunk of rock orbiting the Earth would be a bad idea.
The only thing any of the wolves knew for sure was that their life cycles were tied to the lunar body. Mara decided to veer away from the topic. The last thing she wanted to do was crush the woman’s last bit of hope that her son would be returned.

“I don’t know what to say to make this better. There is nothing.” She sipped her coffee. It was shockingly sweet like candy. “Just know I’m here for you
if you want to talk or go for a ride. Whatever you want.” She’d said something similar when she entered the house, but it was the only thing she could think of and it was the truth.

“There’s something I need to give you.”

“Give me?”

Josie
left the room and walked down a short hallway. When she returned, she carried a dress by a hanger. Plastic was draped over the white material. “This dress had been chosen by your mother soon after you were promised to Kaden. His mother kept it safe after your parents were… you know… anyway, before the alpha female passed she left it with me.”

“She must
have respected you.” Mara stood and accepted the item from Josie as she spoke.