A Bleacke Wind (Bleacke Shifters Book 3) (7 page)

“Then come for me, baby.”

Her eyes fell closed as her body responded, giving him what he wanted. A pleased growl escaped him as he quickened his pace, finally falling still inside her as his own climax swept through him.

Lips on hers again, kissing her, taking her away from the world into one where only they existed. With his arms wrapped around her, he rolled onto his back, taking her with him, still joined together.

As he nuzzled his head against hers, he whispered, “All you have to do is trust me, mate. I will take care of you. I promise.”

On that note, she crashed into an exhausted sleep full of delicious dreams.

Chapter Six

Late the next morning, after a large family breakfast at Peyton’s house, Beck, Nami, and Badger headed to Spokane to pick up Nami’s family.

Dewi and Ken took the little Honda and went for a drive in the compound.

Despite what he’d seen on the Google Earth previews, Ken hadn’t been ready for the compound’s rugged beauty. The higher elevation and the cooler, dry, pine-tinged air was far different than he was used to in Florida. The mountains both surrounding and running through the pack compound almost appeared to be standing guard.

“Why
wouldn’t
someone in the pack want to live here?” he mused aloud as Dewi drove them around and played tourist guide.

“I guess if you grow up here it’s different,” she said. “Like I can’t imagine anyone wanting to live anywhere but Florida all year round.”

“It’s a matter of perspective, huh?”

“Exactly.”

“So how are we going to keep Nami’s family from finding out about the wolf stuff?”

“We might not be able to despite everyone already having been warned. Her family are the only ones in attendance at this Muster who aren’t clued in. Peyton, Badger, and I will make sure to have a final sit-down talk with them before they fly out next Sunday.”

“And selectively Prime edit their memories, if necessary?”

Dewi smiled. “You could say that. Meanwhile, once they arrive, we’ll somehow figure out how to place a Prime suggestion in their minds that everything and anything they see this week is completely normal and ordinary.”

“At least this will be a relatively uneventful stay,” Ken said. “It’ll be nice being able to kick back and relax.”

She let out a snort.

“What?” he asked.

“Pack business,” she said. “Peyton’s got a full agenda lined up for us for the next several days, of people who have petitioned for time with the pack council. It’s a Muster, meaning people have shit to bitch about.”

“Like what?”

“To settle disagreements, petty family arguments, things like that. Stuff that we can’t exactly take to the usual municipal small-claims courts, but it’s not worth sending an Enforcer to settle in person on behalf of the pack.”

“Oh. Why didn’t anyone tell me that?”

“Because you don’t have to be there. I mean,” she quickly added, “you
can
be there, if you want to be there. It’s boring as hell.
I
don’t even want to be there, but as head of the extended pack council, and as Head Enforcer, I
have
to be there. So do Badger and Beck. I figured you could help Nami and the others with the preparations for next Saturday. Or you can feel free to explore the compound, if you want.”

No, he didn’t want to be stuck in stuffy meetings all week. While a few months ago he never would have dreamed he’d want to be anywhere but in a classroom and teaching, now he enjoyed being outdoors. He almost chafed when he had to spend more than a few hours at a time in his office now. Even if it was just walking the property with Dewi, or taking a mountain bike and riding the wooded trails behind her while she ran shifted, he was really starting to love the great outdoors. On his very first trip to Idaho, he’d like to at least see a little of it.

“So, stupid question,” he started. “If there are going to be grievances aired, what are the chances of something bad happening this week?”

She snorted again, sounding much like a wolf in this way. “Not very damn likely. There’s a better chance of Mother Nature dumping a few feet of snow on top of us.” She frowned. “Which, I was surprised to see on the weather this morning isn’t exactly out of the realm of possibility. Nami was right, we might get some early this coming week.”

“I mean bad wolf-wise, not weather-wise.”

“Still not very damn likely. Who in their right mind would try to start shit in a pack compound during a Muster in honor of the pack Alpha’s little sister’s wedding? The little sister who is not only a Prime Alpha, but the pack’s Head Enforcer,
and
head of the extended pack council?”

“Okay.”

“No, seriously. I mean, we might get the odd drunk and disorderly kind of bullshit. Especially among some of the non-shifting members or human relatives. But nothing worse than at any other family get-together.”

“I’ve never had a family get-together.”

“Ah. True.” She smiled, showing teeth. “I really think Peyton is a little bit of a sadist. He’s always enjoyed threatening people to send me in to stop shit when it got started. Nothing like watching a grown man nearly wet his pants in fear when I stand up and glare at him.” She sighed. “That is about the only fun I get to have at these damn things.”

“You have one hell of a reputation, huh?”

“Yep. Don’t worry. As my mate, chances are you’re going to find yourself treated with more respect and deference than the President of the United States while you’re here.”

* * * *

One of the places they stopped was a well-shaded cemetery not too far from Peyton’s house. Ken laced fingers with Dewi as she picked her way through the graves to two double headstones on the far side.

Then she sat at the base of a nearby tree, Ken snuggling with her.

One of the headstones marked the final resting place of Charles Bleacke and his wife, Chelsea Lister Bleacke.

Beloved parents — pack Prime Alpha.

It listed their dates of birth and death.

Next to it, a headstone with two names and different sets of dates. For Louisa Lister, and her husband, Duncan Lister.

Beloved parents, cherished wife — pack Prime Alpha.

Ken could envision a young Dewi sitting here in this exact spot, reading, studying, talking to their headstones.

“Grandfather Duncan’s not here,” she softly said. “I feel bad about that.”

“He lives on in your heart. That’s what’s important.”

“I know.” She tipped her head onto his shoulder. “I wish I could remember my parents. Peyton and Trent have some old family videos, but it’s not much. Those and pictures, of course.”

“Where was their house?”

“It’s Peyton’s. He remodeled before they moved in. It sat vacant for a couple of years, I guess, before Badger and Beck and Trent finally convinced him to do it.”

“Where were you raised, then?”

“Where Trent and Asia live now. That was Badger’s house. Badger was Dad’s second. Beck moved in after…
after
. Peyton and Trent both had other houses in the compound.”

“Why wasn’t Badger Peyton’s second?”

“He volunteered to raise me and knew he couldn’t do both. He told Peyton that, rightfully, Trent should be the second since he took a knee, and Peyton agreed.”

“Thank you for bringing me here.”

She tipped her face up to his. “Other than my family, you’re the only other person I’ve ever brought here.” She kissed him. “I think they would have loved you.”

“Don’t be so sure,” he muttered.

She smiled. “We have a mate bond. They would have welcomed you as a son, the way Peyton and Trent welcomed you as a brother.”

“Even though I’m a grazer?”

“Even though you’re a grazer.”

* * * *

The house whose driveway they pulled into looked nondescript, comfortable, neat, and tidy from the outside. Dewi didn’t bother getting out. She laid on the little car’s horn, beeping it a few times and frowning at its anemic sound.

“What are we doing here?” Ken asked.

She didn’t have to answer. The front door opened and Joaquin emerged, tossing a wave behind him at the residents before pulling the door closed and jogging over to the car.

Before Ken could even reach for his door handle, Dewi had slipped out and pulled her seat forward for Joaquin to get into the back.

“Hey, Ken,” the wolf said.

“Hey. I didn’t realize we were picking him up,” Ken said to Dewi.

“Peyton wants a debriefing while Beck’s away,” Dewi said.

“Man, that was years ago,” Joaquin said. “I cannot believe Beck still holds a grudge.”

Dewi fastened her seatbelt and shifted the car into reverse. “Maybe if Sadie hadn’t walked in on you fucking the Giraldi twins a few hours after you were with her,” she said, “he wouldn’t be holding a grudge. That’ll piss off any big brother, when his little sister is upset.”

“Sadie herself said we weren’t exclusive. Hell, she was dating Roger Carmans. I know she fucked him. I could smell it on her.” His next words sounded low, grumbly. “I wouldn’t have minded not being exclusive with her, but no, she had to
lie
to me and say she hadn’t fucked him. I
smelled
him on her.”

“Two wrongs don’t make a right,” Dewi said.

“Yeah, but two Giraldis sure made for a hot night.”

Ken laughed.

Dewi scowled. “Following getting caught in the act of screwing around, accusing his little sister of being a slutbag wasn’t exactly your best course of action. Especially when you were the one caught with twins.”

Ken sucked in a breath. “Wow. Duuude.”

“I know,” Joaquin said. “To be fair, that was like ten years ago. And Sadie is seven years
older
than me. I was a horny wolf. What can I say?”

Ken glanced over his shoulder and caught the wolf’s playful smile.

“I wouldn’t say
that
around Beck, either,” Dewi said. “Remember, it’s only me and Peyton and Badger keeping him from turning you into a girl with his bare hands.”

“Yeah, well, believe me, I’ve matured a lot in the past few years,” he said. The wolf’s voice turned somber. “And I owe you an apology.”

Ken turned again. “For what?” he and Dewi asked in unison.

Joaquin glanced at Ken before focusing on Dewi in the rearview mirror. “Yeah, I was chasing you a little, too,” Joaquin said. “In retrospect, I look back at it and realize I was trying to gig Beck. Not that you weren’t or aren’t attractive,” he quickly added when he must have realized how that sounded. “But…I’m sorry. It was a childish game on my part, and you deserved far more respect than that. Especially accounting for your position in the pack. I’ll be offering up an apology to Beck as well, once I know he won’t try to kill me in the process.”

Dewi slammed on the brakes and brought the car to a stop in the middle of the road. She turned to look at Joaquin. For a long moment, she didn’t speak.

“You know, I do believe you’ve matured a lot since the last time I laid eyes on you.”

“You’re only twenty-five,” Ken said, realization dawning. Now he turned, his own territorial nature kicking in. “How old
was
she when you were hitting on her?”

Joaquin held up his hands. “Hey, she’d turned eighteen already. I swear.”

Dewi’s mouth curled in a smirk as she gently touched Ken’s shoulder. “I
was
eighteen,” she said. “We’d come back to the compound because Peyton and Trent wanted to throw me a birthday party.” She stared at Joaquin. “Romeo here ended up getting his ass shipped to Mexico the next week, courtesy of me being Head Enforcer.”

“I deserved it. I admit it.”

“You’re lucky Peyton overruled me. I wanted to send you to Anchorage.”

“Then I appreciate the latitude even more.”

“Glad to hear it.” She faced forward. “Oh, and apology accepted, thank you.” They started on their way again. “Be nicer to me this time or you still might find yourself shipped to Anchorage at some point.”

He let out a soft, moaning howl from the backseat. “No, please. I swear, I’ll behave myself.”

Ken didn’t miss her satisfied grin. “Good. That’s all I wanted to hear.”

* * * *

Peyton and Trent wanted to hear the full and detailed timeline and account from Joaquin about what had happened in Mexico. While the shifter sat with Dewi, Peyton, and Trent to discuss it, Ken joined Gillian in her large kitchen. She stood at the counter and perused a magazine.

“No nieces and nephews today, huh?”

Gillian offered up a smile. “No, not today. Asia took them over to meet up with some cousins who came in for the Muster. The kids are going to go for an overnight run into the park. Asia will join us for dinner later.”

“All of them? Even Chelsea?”

“She doesn’t shift yet, but all the older kids keep an eye on the younger ones, don’t worry. They need this time together to bond and play and learn. There will be some adults with them to keep an eye on things and step in if there’s trouble.”

Ken wondered if he’d ever be comfortable turning a child of his own, of that young an age, loose in the woods with other kids. “Okay.”

“They’ll be fine, trust me. Especially a large group of them together. The compound is safe.” Gillian’s smile widened. “It also means adult date night for both households.”

“But you don’t have any kids.”

She chuckled. “Doesn’t matter. Trent and Asia’s pups might as well be mine. They’re in and out of here all the time since they live right next door. You know how big families are.” She straightened. “That’s right. I’m sorry. I forgot you don’t have a large family.”

“Any family. Well, except all of y’all now.”

A sly smile lit her face. “You’ll be having pups before you know it, I bet. A big family of your own.”

He side-stepped her comment. “Do you mind if I ask why you and Peyton don’t have any?”

“I didn’t want pups of my own before now.” A wistful expression clouded her usually bright features. “Honestly? After losing Charles and Chelsea, and with Dewi getting attacked…It broke Peyton’s heart, and, frankly, it scared me.”

“I didn’t think you were mated to him then.”

“I wasn’t. I had met them years ago, when Peyton and I were both kids, before our hormones kicked in. But Charles was our pack Alpha. A Prime. If he could be taken down, I worried about any kids we had. We never knew who did it. Never caught the son of a bitch. I didn’t know if he’d come back and try again. But now…”