Wolf Claim (Wolves of Willow Bend Book 3) (4 page)

The distress in Gillian’s voice and scent chased Owen every step of the way toward the green belt. The moment he’d issued the challenge, he’d understood the dangerous ground upon which he walked. The tension in the room had become unbearable. Mason held his gaze for the space of several seconds before he’d ordered him out of the house. After he’d ordered the others to stay, Mason followed him.

Neither had said a word until they’d encountered Gillian arriving—with Dylan, of all wolves. Every muscle in his body had tightened at the sight of Gillian’s hand on the other wolf’s arm. The desire to spill blood hit him fast and furious…until she’d flinched. Dylan hadn’t hesitated to shield her, and she’d cringed away from Owen.

It cut him all the way to the bone. He’d frightened her. The action scored his soul. Mason comforted the sweet wolf, and Owen fought to bury the unreasonable anger all the while ignoring the question in Dylan’s eyes. The other Hunter didn’t have the right to ask him anything.

Still, it was Dylan who’d left with Gillian. Dylan who caught her when she turned to follow him and Mason. Dylan who carried her out of sight.

Owen was going to fucking kill him.

“Deal with that later,” Mason said, snapping Owen from the haze sheening his vision. “You’re dealing with
me
now.”

Swallowing the growl rumbling in his throat, Owen nodded his ascent and stalked into the woods three steps ahead of Mason. He spotted the trap and could have avoided it, easily. Instead he slammed his foot forward, pouring every ounce of his anger into the blow. The wood latch smashed and the spring gave, releasing the loaded branch and Owen slammed a hand out to catch it. Snapping the branch backward, he broke the shaved wood off. Some clever little bastard had honed a portion of the wood into a switch.

The damned thing could have taken out someone’s eye. Scowling at the remnants of the switch, he lifted it to test for a scent. Two boys—and he recognized both.

Mason sighed, reached for what was left of the trap and destroyed it, aggravation in every movement. “Those kids really do want to get their asses kicked.”

“It’s normal.” Owen shrugged. “We did worse.”

“We’re not sixteen anymore, and we know better because someone kicked our assess.” Since Owen had kicked Mason’s ass at one point for just such a trap, he didn’t disagree with him.

“You have a plan for dealing with them.” One that would be most effective. Hunters had a way of working a body until it was too damn tired for mischief.

“I do.” Mason nodded and stacked the debris at the foot of the tree. He’d likely send one of the teens responsible out to clean and disarm the rest. “So what am I supposed to do about you?”

Since he’d made his bed—or thrown down the challenge, as it were—Owen faced his Alpha. “Don’t send her.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about, and you know it.” Anger simmered beneath Mason’s cool exterior. Owen recognized it easily enough because he felt the same way.

“No, it’s exactly the same matter. You’re Alpha, and I accept that and you. I pledged you my loyalty, and I would do it again. But I’m not a lapdog, and sending Gillian—the kindest, sweetest wolf in the pack—into the midst of a group that could house rabid dogs, for all we know, is a bad call. I protect the pack, Mason, and I
will
protect her.” From Mason if necessary, and against anything that might hurt her.
Even me.
And he’d already inflicted a few wounds.

Though his expression didn’t change, Mason studied him with a renewed intensity. “Exactly what did you think I planned to do? Drop her off at the edge of their territory with a candygram and a kiss off?”

“If Emma went, her mate would go with her.” It wasn’t even a question because, though the gardener spent his time tending his yard and his flowers, he’d served in two human wars, trained in their military. In addition to being a skilled medic, he was a capable fighter. No one would touch his mate. “Gillian has no mate.”

For a split second, Mason almost looked amused. “So, you did expect me to just dropkick her to the curb. Got it. Thanks for the faith.”

“You said you trusted the Alpha, Dalton, to look after her.”

“No, I said he’d protect her as if she were his own, especially because he needs her so much.” Frost chilled his tone. “I never said I wouldn’t protect her. Make no mistake—or maybe I should say make no
further
mistakes. If I decide to ask Gillian and she consents to going, I will make sure she is protected. Not for lack of trust in Brett, but because she is
mine
.”

His temper stymied, Owen blew out a breath between clenched teeth. “Mason…”

With all the speed of a freight train and the grace of pure predator, Mason struck him. Owen had only a split second to react to the fist coming at his face. He took the hit because he deserved it. Right eye twitching, he staggered back a step. The hot burn of copper filled his mouth and pain radiated along his jaw.

His fingers curled into his palms, fists tightening, but he kept his hands down and forced them to relax. Mason had given him a hell of a lot of leeway and while his Alpha couldn’t back down from the perceived challenge, Owen could.

“Alpha.” He paused to spit the blood from his mouth. “I misspoke earlier.”

“I’ll say you did.” While his tone remained steely, the rancor in his voice diminished. “For fuck’s sake, Owen. I get that others here are still learning to trust me, but I thought you did.”

“I do,” he said, and he cut a glance upward. “Gillian is different. She’s so much softer and more vulnerable than even some of our young.”

“She’s a healer, man. She’s going to walk through fire to help people. That’s not weakness, that’s a strength neither of us possess.” The admission shocked Owen. “Didn’t you see what happened with Alexis? There were days we nearly lost her during the pregnancy. It fucking killed me to see her put herself through that hell, but do you know why she survived?”

“Pack bonds.” Owen had felt the pull the day Melissa was born. Every single member of the pack felt it.

“No.” Mason shook his head. “That was after Melissa was born, when she tried to die on me again.” No amount of steel or fury could disguise the ragged note of pain in his voice. “That wasn’t the only time her pregnancy and the need to shift nearly killed her. If it hadn’t been for Gillian and Emma on multiple occasions, we would have lost Alexis. They saw her through the worst, individually and together. Gillian took that pain, she held Alexis together, sometimes I think with her will alone. She isn’t weak, Owen.”

Her weakness or lack thereof wasn’t what concerned him, but rather her open, giving heart. The heart that would give until it stopped beating, if left unchecked. To send her to strangers, to ask her to give and give of herself? It flew in the face of everything he believed.

“Keep this shit up and I’ll send Dylan with her.” The verbal blow struck as solidly as his fist. “While I do that, I’ll send you to the Yukon to make nice with them.”
Two for two.
 

Eating his pride left a sour taste in his mouth, but Owen inclined his head. “I’m an idiot.”

“Yes,” Mason agreed. “Yes, you are, but you’re
my
idiot.” He clasped Owen’s shoulder on the last. “Can you trust me? In truth? I will never abandon a member of my pack. I will never discard one nor turn away when they need me most.”

“I do trust you, Mason.” He meant it. “And I know you wouldn’t do those things.” Shame tasted worse as an adult than it ever had as a teen.

“We all get a little stupid when it comes to protecting our women.”

“She’s not mine.” Not that she hadn’t tempted him beyond measure over the years. Still did, but she was too young. Too delicate. Too—
Not for me. She deserves better.
She wasn’t for Dylan either, a fact he would make very clear to the other Hunter when he got his hands on him.

“Uh huh.” Mason grunted and squeezed his shoulder. “We’re done with this fight, we’re good you and I. Challenge me again, and I will kill you. Am I clear?”

A second chance after such a gaffe was gift. “Crystal. May I say one last word on the subject?”

Mason rolled his head from side to side, the vertebrae cracking audibly and the stiffness in his tone wasn’t lost on Owen. “Tread very lightly.” Yes, his Alpha had given him some leeway, but his temper was up and the challenge had left him in a worse mood.

“I’d like to choose who goes with her.” He knew all the Hunters, soldiers, and fighters within the pack, who could be trusted to put her safety first and who could get her out of Hudson River if it went sideways.

“No,” Mason answered, flatly. “I already know who’s going.”

Fuck.
If he beat the shit out of Dylan beforehand, maybe the other wolf would understand it was his life if Gillian didn’t return whole and unharmed. “I understand.”

“Somehow I doubt that.” Mason jerked his thumb toward the house. “Let’s go. Put a lid on that temper. You already scared her once tonight.”

Owen scowled, but unable to dispute the charge, he kept his retort to himself. Thin ice was not the time to make a lot of noise. He could still do something about this, he just had to figure out what. Following Mason, he considered his best approach.

“You really are a pain in the ass,” Mason said, his sudden chuckle easing the tension. One thing about Mason, he didn’t carry a grudge. His temper was swift, fierce and to the point.

“I would apologize, but I try not to lie.”

“Yeah, me too.”

The only thing Owen was sorry about was frightening Gillian. He’d apologize for that.

To her.

And only to her.

“By the way, you got a wicked left.” He rubbed his jaw and when Mason laughed again, he knew at least in this, they were on solid ground again.

Chapter Three

Owen wasn’t surprised to see Kyle Huston leaning against the railing on the front porch to Mason’s house. His father was a hard man, hard but fair. The teen’s slouch disappeared at Mason’s arrival. “Hey, can I come in?”

“Who told you to stand out here?” Mason paused at the door, eyebrows raised at his mate’s younger brother.

“Dad—”

Shaking his head, Mason held up a hand. “I’m not running interference with Ryan. He told you stay, you stay right where he told you. Got it?”

Dejected, Kyle slouched. “Yeah.”

They left him to his punishment and walked back into the house. The council members were all still present, with the addition of Gillian and Dylan. Their hushed conversation halted when Mason had spoken to Kyle, but at their arrival, the tension in the room diminished.

Gillian let out a small, yet audible sigh and he tracked his gaze to where she sat on the sofa next to Emma. Dylan stood just behind her, one hand resting on the sofa back far too close to her head. To her.

“Thank you for waiting.” Mason paused to stroke his daughter’s hair. Emma cradled the little girl while the baby held on tight to one of Gillian’s fingertips. “Did Emma tell you what is going on, Gillian?”

“No…” Gillian elongated the word and slid a glance toward him before focusing on their Alpha once more. “We’ve actually been talking babies.” The sweet contralto of her voice relaxed the knots in his spine.

Talking about his daughter would likely soothe Mason’s temper. “She seems quite content.”

“Alpha.” Gillian slipped into protocol and her gaze dipped a fraction when Mason focused on her. “I came this evening to announce the arrival of three new members to your pack.” Everyone stilled and, one-by-one, smiles spread through the group. Even Owen felt the corner of his mouth curve. Babies were proof of the future, of continuity, of legacy and survival.

They were who he fought to keep safe. Gillian glanced in his direction and, for a split-second, their gazes locked. The quiet, fierce pleasure in her eyes offered the sweetest temptation, but she glanced away as quickly as she had looked toward him. Gillian announced the names of the families and the atmosphere within the room turned festive.

“Thank you for bringing them into the pack.” Mason’s reply observed a formality dating back generations. Healers or midwives, whomever was present for the birth, brought the news to the Alpha. He would make plans to visit the families, to meet their newest members and to let them know his scent. It was a promise and a bond tying individual families to the Alpha and thus to each other.

“It was my honor.” Even she spoke, she scooted forward on the sofa as though intending to rise. “If you will forgive the briefness of my announcement, I am very tired.”

The weariness clinging to the underside of her words gave Owen pause. He studied her, even as she continued to look at Mason. Shadows darkened the underside of her eyes and fatigue slumped her shoulders.

“Normally, I’d send you upstairs to get some sleep, but I actually have a matter I need to discuss with you.” Mason stopped her forward motion and she frowned, curiosity filling her expression.

Owen’s spine stiffened. The urge to interfere and make Mason back off swarmed through him. She’d already said she was tired, so he had no right to ask her for more. Yet, he’d already trod on dangerous ground and their Alpha wouldn’t forgive a second infraction, not in his current mood.

“Of course.” She agreed so readily, without petty rancor or a glimmer of the frustration Owen experienced. “What can I do for you, Mason?”

“I’m not sure yet, but you should be aware a request has been made by the Hudson River Alpha, and I’m considering granting it.”

Locking his jaw, Owen waited.

“I’m working on all the details, but they have an issue with losing wolves. Several have died over the last few months, through several unrelated incidents. However, their healer didn’t think the events unrelated.” Mason clasped his hands together, his full attention on Gillian and Emma beside her. The celebratory chatter quieted fully. “Their healer just passed away, and Brett wants to believe it was natural causes. His healer was a much older man, considered a grandfather to many within the pack—in fact, that’s what they called him. He was a
good
man as I’m sure you know.”