Tameka's Smile (29 page)

“Go back to work, Meka,” Alex ordered.

“She can’t. She has to be protected at all times and the best way to do that is to keep her under lock and key,” Chad vehemently protested.

“Can’t you see this enforced confinement is killing her?

She’s a wolf. She needs the social interaction of others of her kind,” Alex explained.

“She has me,” Chad insisted stubbornly.

Alex took a deep breath. “Chad, she’s a new shifter. She’s not a loner like you. She needs to be around the pack. Not only that, her wolf needs to come out and play before it sickens. If safety is your concern, I’ll arrange for someone to watch her while she’s working. They can even transport her back and forth to work.”

193

TAMEKA’S SMILE

“No,” he gave in with a sigh. “I can take her and pick her up. Rome’s not going to be happy about this.”

“I’ll clear it with him. None of us expected this to drag out like it has. For Meka’s sake, life has to return to normal, or as much as possible under the circumstances. Meka, next week to celebrate my wedding, the pack has a series of events planned.

One of them is a run. Kiesha won’t be able to participate, but the rest of the pack is getting together in our wolf form and spending the night running as a pack. I think you would enjoy it. I expect to see both of you there. No excuses,” the last was directed at Chad.

The alpha has spoken
, she thought with an internal grin.

Just the thought of returning to work—and getting free of the house—had her feeling better.

The next day, Chad began escorting her to and from work.

Various members of the pack kept watch while she was at the shop. Now that he had a couple of hours of freedom a day, Chad was able to go into the station a few hours each day. Rome wouldn’t let him back on patrol. Chad told her he’d simply traded one computer for another, still piecing together the life of one Emily Carstens and child.

That Wednesday night, when Chad picked her up from work, she could tell he was troubled. “It’s the damndest thing, Meka. I’ve tracked this woman all over North Carolina. She moved constantly. Worked any and everywhere that she could.

In some places, she’s listed as having a son. In others, it’s a daughter. Even the school records aren’t consistent, when there were any. Many times she home schooled, citing medical reasons why her child couldn’t attend. Reasons that aren’t listed in the files.”

“You think she had more than one child?”

“Not according to the VRU.”

“Maybe their records are wrong. We’re talking, what?

About forty to fifty years ago? Did they even have computers back then?”

“No, everything was manual, but it should be archived into a computer database somewhere by now for easy access if she’d had one.”

“That’s if she had her baby in a hospital. She could have 194

ZENA WYNN

used a midwife and home delivered, especially if she didn’t have much money. Keep searching, babe. Something will come up.” He sighed heavily. “It would help if I knew what I was looking for. You sure that doctor didn’t say anything else?”

“Positive.”

* * * *

The wedding was this week and most of the guards Alex assigned to the house had gone back to their regular lives. They couldn’t stay indefinitely. There’d been no threats, no hint of a threat. Until something happened, they had other things to do, like celebrate the alpha’s mating.

Chad was no closer to finding what he was searching for.

Instead, what he discovered raised more questions than it answered. Both suspects were still at large. The taps on the phone proved unnecessary, since no one called. Even the watcher they’d placed on the mailbox had been reassigned. Life was slowly returning to normal.

“What time is the run tonight?”

“We’ll meet at Alex’s house in time for moonrise. As soon as it appears, we’ll all shift and run.”

It was almost sunset now. “What if I have problems changing?”

“You won’t. We’ve been practicing. Just remember what I taught you and you’ll do fine. I’ll be there to walk you through it.”

She went to shower and dress for the run, settling on a pair of old faded denims and a t-shirt with her prettiest panty set.

“No one’s going to be looking at your underwear, Meka,” Chad commented dryly.

“I will.” She was nervous enough about getting naked in front of people without the added worry of if her underwear had holes.

195

TAMEKA’S SMILE

He just shook his head.

They drove Chad’s truck, which he’d just gotten out the shop that day. She fretted the whole trip, but her heart really went into overdrive when they arrived and she saw all the people gathered. “I’m not stripping in front of all of them. You run. I’ll sit with Kiesha and keep her company.”

He got out, came around and opened her door. “They’re not going to be looking at you.”

“They’re looking now,” she pointed out.

“That’s because we’re one of the last to arrive. You’re new in town and I rarely come. When it’s time to run, we’ll be forgotten about in the excitement. One of the guys mentioned hunting deer.”

Her eyes got big. “I’m not eating Bambi.” He grinned, showing a lot of teeth. “You’ll feel differently in your wolf form. Come on, it’s almost time.” He gently pulled her out of the truck and toward the waiting crowd.

Meka was doing a good job of pretending to be invisible when Alex called her name. “Meka, come forward.” Instantly, all eyes were on her.

Remembering the lessons Carol had been teaching on pack hierarchy and shifter etiquette, she mumbled under her breath,

“You can’t kill your alpha, Meka. It’s just not done, no matter how much he pisses you off.”

The crowd parted like the Red Sea before her. She walked between them, not making eye contact with any of them until she reached the porch where Alex was standing, a smiling Kiesha to his right, Carol and Mark to his left. “You summoned, oh Great One,” she muttered.

Kiesha snorted and buried her face in Alex’s shoulder, muffling her laughter. Chad groaned behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, fingers lightly circling her neck.

“I can see those lessons are coming along swimmingly,” Alex told Carol, who like Mark, was trying not to laugh.

Meka prayed her face wasn’t turning red. She hadn’t meant for anyone to hear her, but since they had, there was nothing for her to do but brazen it out. Thankfully, Alex seemed more bemused than angry.

Then Alex straightened from his relaxed stance and gave 196

ZENA WYNN

her his full attention, all hints of humor wiped from his expression. Chad’s grip on her neck briefly tightened. In warning or as a nervous reaction, she wasn’t sure.

“Tameka Jones, mate to Chadleigh Wilson and newly formed shifter, you have been nominated for membership into the Raven pack. How do you respond?”

“Ah…yes?” She threw a quick glance at Carol and Mark, who nodded encouragingly. Neither one of them had mentioned this. From the way they talked, she’d thought she was already a part of the pack because of Chad. Although, now that she thought of it, Alex never did say what would happen if she didn’t adjust to being a shifter.

“Pack means family. Within a family, there are rights as well as responsibilities, privileges as well as duties. One of the rights of family is to call on others in the time of need for assistance. As a member of the Raven pack, do you agree to request help when you need it and receive help when it’s offered?”

“I do.”

“One of the primary responsibilities of a pack is to take care of the young, the weak, and old. As a member, do you agree to put their safety and welfare before your own?”

“I do.”

Alex paused a second, then continued solemnly. “Our race is dying. There are fewer females being born every year. Your mating to Chad gives our unmated brethren hope that they, too, will find someone. It gives our sons hope that when the time comes, there may be daughters born that they may bond with. As a young, mated she-wolf, do you accept your duty to this pack—

and shifters as a whole—to try to prevent the extinction of our species by bearing young?”

Chad stiffened and pushed her behind him in a move so quick it made her dizzy. She clutched at the back of his shirt to keep from falling. “The decision to have pups is a private matter between me and my mate and has nothing to do with this pack,” he growled.

Meka, after a brief struggle with Chad—who was apparently determined to keep her where she was—managed to stand by his side.

197

TAMEKA’S SMILE

“On the contrary, it impacts us greatly. Tameka’s daughter, if she has one, may end up being mate to my son or Mark’s.” The crowd began to murmur. Kiesha elbowed Alex in his side. “Way to go, mate. We weren’t going to announce the sex of the baby just yet, remember? Chad’s right. Whether they have children or not is none of our business. That’s a matter best decided between husband and wife.”

“But…” Alex began.

“But nothing,” Kiesha cut him off, glaring at him.

After a brief battle of wills, Alex continued. “Fine. I withdraw the last statement. Anyone having any objections to Tameka Jones, mate to Chad Wilson, becoming a member of the Raven pack, say so now.”

It was quiet.

“All in favor, say aye.”

The roar was deafening.

“Tameka, step forward.”

Alex walked down the steps until he reached the bottom one, with Meka standing on the ground before him. “Look into my eyes.”

His eyes flashed gold and began glow. Meka was sucked into his gaze, then into his very being. She could see herself through his eyes, and through him she felt his intense love for his mate, the pack, and his connection to them all. She became a part of that link. The feeling was indescribable. When she came back to awareness of her surroundings, she was kneeling on the ground with Chad behind her, supporting her.

“Welcome to the Raven pack,” Alex said.

Kiesha, Carol, and Mark seconded it. As Chad helped her to her feet, the sentiment was echoed all around.

Kiesha kissed Alex on the cheek, smiled at the group and went into the house, closing the door firmly behind her.

Anticipation began to build. Some sort of weird energy began to rise. Meka could feel the hair standing on her arms.

Chad started tugging on her clothes. “What are you doing?” she hissed.

“You need to strip. And hurry.” That’s when she noticed he was already naked. So were many of the others she saw when she glanced around to see if anyone was watching, before quickly 198

ZENA WYNN

averting her eyes.

Alex stood back on the porch where the crowd could see him. “Tonight, we’ve gathered to run.”

The crowd went wild, cheering and yelling at the top of their lungs. She even heard a few howls.

“Alphas first, then women, children and elders, followed by the omegas with betas bringing up the rear,” Alex commanded when the noise died down. “Let’s run!” Alex let out a howl and all around her people began to change.

A surge of power went through Tameka and she fell to her knees. Her wolf literally leapt out of her, no coaxing necessary.

It just took over. She looked up to see Chad hovering over her protectively.

What happened
?

The combined energy of so many people shifting at one time
brought on your change
.
That’s why Kiesha went inside
.

He nudged her with his snout.
Come on. Everyone’s
leaving
.

She rolled to her feet and took off running with Chad at her side. She’d never seen this many four-legged creatures in one place in her life. There were wolves of all sizes and colors, encompassing all ages from preteens to the elderly. She’d discovered that wolf shifters don’t experience their first change until puberty. For some of the pups, this was their first run. She could sense them all, felt connected to them in a way she never believed possible.

It was…exhilarating. Exciting. The world looked different at night with the moon shining down upon them. They ran and played. Occasionally, a scent would catch her nose and she’d run off to investigate. When she dangered of straying too far from the group, Chad would nip at her heels until she was back in position. She chased rabbits, not to eat, but for the thrill of it.

Feeling playful, she pounced on Chad, then took off running. He was hot on her tail, letting her stay one step ahead.

Then he tackled her and they went tumbling through the underbrush. She wrestled with him, laughing when some of the pups joined in on the fun. Chad was being such a good sport about all of it that she was startled when he shook everyone off 199

TAMEKA’S SMILE

of him, his fur bristling, a growl of pure fury emanating from his chest.

Meka, take the pups and go back to the house. Lulu will
show you the way
.

What’s happening? What’s wrong
?

Fire
.
I smell smoke
.

He took off, leaving them behind. Several of the males ran with him.