Authors: Lavinia Lewis
Mark strolled up beside him, butting his nose to Luke’s, as if wondering why he’d stopped. Mark started to walk forward then halted. He sniffed the air in front of him and began growling. The sound was low and menacing and caused the fur on the back of Luke’s head to stand on end. Luke wanted to turn around and run back to the house but he knew Mark would stand his ground and there was no way he was leaving his mate. Luke had picked up the same scent. Ethan Walker was nearby and he wasn’t alone.
As Mark’s growls grew louder, the rustling sound ahead of them moved nearer. A second later, Ethan stepped out of the clearing in wolf form. Mark moved himself in front of Luke. Ethan was huge but all Mark seemed to think about was protecting Luke, as if nothing else mattered to him. Luke whined behind him, begging him not to get involved in the fight it was obvious Ethan wanted.
As Ethan stalked towards them, two other wolves appeared behind him, flanking him on both sides. Luke didn’t recognise either of the other wolves, and he eyed them cautiously.
Luke tried to step in between Mark and Ethan, but Mark growled at him and shouldered him back.
Shit.
Please don’t let him get hurt
, Luke prayed as he watched the standoff between the two larger wolves. Mark was big, but he had nothing on Ethan and the two snarling wolves that accompanied him were anything but small themselves.
Ethan made a move forwards, circling them so that he was practically standing next to Luke. The other two wolves stayed back, as though waiting for an order from Ethan to attack. Ethan stared at Luke. He made a move closer but Mark growled and stepped in between them. Luke knew that would infuriate Ethan and he was right. Ethan snarled at Mark and called out to the other wolves before pouncing.
He slashed his claws down Mark’s side causing Mark to howl in pain, all the while his teeth snapped as they tried to find purchase in Mark’s neck. Mark fought back as best he could, but Ethan outweighed him by a good twenty pounds.
Luke howled. This was not going to happen. No one was going to take his mate from him. Seconds before the other wolves descended on Mark, Luke leapt forward and attached himself to Ethan’s back. Under normal circumstances he would have been terrified to take on a wolf the size of Ethan, but he didn’t spare a thought for his own safety. Mark was all he could think about. He peeled back his lips and sunk his teeth into Ethan’s leg, biting into skin and bone. The horrible, bitter taste of Ethan’s blood seeped into his mouth but he didn’t let go. He would protect his mate until his dying breath.
Ethan whined and fell to the floor, dislodging Luke’s teeth. The two wolves who were about to attack skidded to a halt when they heard Ethan’s cry. Luke immediately stepped back and moved to stand next to Mark. He could smell Mark’s blood but he was afraid to take his eyes off the three wolves to aid Mark.
Fortunately the two strange wolves moved back. Ethan got up from the ground and limped towards his goons. Luke growled a warning at them to stay back. Ethan hesitated, eyes cold and fierce and intent on Luke. Then without another backwards glance, he turned and limped off into the trees, the two wolves following obediently in his wake.
As soon as Ethan was out of sight, Luke started checking his mate for injuries. The blood he could smell was coming from a small wound on Mark’s side. The gash was deep but because of Mark’s fast healing ability, the cut was already starting to close. Luke licked at the wound, cleaning it, every so often checking over his shoulders to make sure Ethan and the other wolves weren’t coming back. When he was sure they were alone, he headed back towards the house, nudging Mark in front of him.
Mark was furious. He couldn’t believe his little mate had got into the fight. If anything had happened to Luke, he would have never forgiven himself. But Luke was okay, and he took comfort in that fact as he let himself be guided back to the house.
Once they were inside, both wolves lay on the kitchen floor panting and starting the change. Mark was the first to change back and as soon as Luke was human again, he grabbed hold of the smaller man and pulled him into his arms.
“Don’t ever do that again,” Mark admonished, squeezing Luke tightly around the waist. “You scared the crap out of me, Luke. What if something had happened to you?”
“Sorry,” Luke mumbled into Mark’s neck. “But I was so worried about you, I didn’t think. I couldn’t stand it if anything happened to you either, you know.”
“Something has got to be done about this. That asshole could have killed you.”
“I know, but I don’t think he was trying to kill me, it was you he attacked. We’ll have to wait for
Kelan
to get back. He’ll know what to do.”
* * * *
It was almost dawn when
Kelan
pushed open the front door. Luke and Mark were sitting cuddled together on the couch. Mark had insisted Luke try to get some rest but every time Luke tried, visions of Ethan attacking his mate entered his mind and he had to open his eyes and cling to his mate, kissing him passionately to reassure himself Mark was okay and in one piece.
The wound on Mark’s side was nearly healed. Luke hoped Ethan wasn’t so lucky. He wanted the asshole to suffer for what he’d done to Mark.
When
Kelan
entered the living room, his steps faltered as he saw the look on his brother’s face.
“What’s wrong?”
Kelan
asked, moving quickly into the room.
Luke started to fill him in on what had happened. He had nearly finished the story when he noticed
Kelan
shifting from foot to foot, favouring his right leg.
“What the hell happened to your leg?”
Kelan
waved away Luke’s question with a sweep of his hand.
“
It’s
nothing, got caught in a trap when we were checking out Joe’s place. It’s nearly healed.”
“What were you doing near Joe’s place?” Mark asked, snaking his fingers through Luke’s.
“Looking for information.
Rick heard a rumour in town that there are a bunch of new wolves working at Joe’s. None of them have petitioned to me for rights to stay here, so I figured they were siding with Ethan. I didn’t want to believe it but it looks like he’s trying to take over as alpha.”
“Shit. What are you going to do?”
“Confront him. Not much else I can do. If he wants to challenge me but won’t come here to do it to my face, then I’ll take the fight to him.”
“I don’t want you to fight,” Luke said in a small voice.
“I don’t want to fight either, but I don’t think I have any choice. If I let this sort of thing go unchallenged, there are going to be a lot more wolves around here thinking they can do as they please. The pack would be in chaos. Don’t worry—I’m not going to do anything just yet. I’ve called for a pack meeting in three days’ time. I’m going to talk to my betas and some of the older wolves in the pack about it. See what they think about the situation.”
When
Kelan
said goodnight and went up to bed, Mark pulled Luke into his arms and kissed his temple.
“How you holding up?”
Luke shook his head. “I feel like this is
all my
fault.”
“How do you figure that?”
“Because I rejected Ethan.
And then I met you which made him even more jealous. He could have killed you tonight. And what’s going to happen to
Kelan
?”
Mark took Luke’s face in both hands.
“Listen to me, Luke. None of this is your fault, okay? Ethan is an asshole. You don’t go around attacking people because someone spurned your advances. Ethan is unhinged. His behaviour has nothing to do with you. And
Kelan
is a grown man and a big one at that. He knows how to take care of himself. He’ll be fine. Come on, let’s go to bed.”
Luke nodded. “Make love to me?”
“With pleasure.”
Chapter Seven
Luke and Mark spent the next couple of days helping
Kelan
around the ranch. Although there was no livestock anymore, they still had the horses to take care of. Throwing themselves into the ranch worked to ease their worries about
Kelan
, and for a little while they were able to forget about Ethan.
Mark and Luke agreed to work in the stables while
Kelan
went into town to run an errand. Luke started mucking out the stalls while Mark brought in fresh hay and water.
“How come you don’t breed cattle here anymore?” Mark asked, removing his gloves and taking a seat on a bale of hay in the corner.
Luke stopped what he was doing and took a seat next to Mark.
“Well, the ranch was never my daddy’s, it was my mom’s. She inherited it from her father and my daddy never did have much interest in it. When she passed away about three years ago, I think he was relieved. Not with her passing, of course—they were mates and he never quite got over her death—but I think he was glad to not have to bother with the ranch anymore.”
“And you or your brothers weren’t interested in keeping it up?”
“No. Cody only ever wanted to be an artist. He’s damn good at it too.
Makes a heap of money selling his paintings in New York.
I always had a head for figures, so I decided to train as an
accountant,
and
Kelan
… Well,
Kelan
is another story.
Kelan
used to work here on the ranch when my mom was alive, and he was pissed that my dad wanted to get rid of all the cattle, but my father had the last word, as always.
“When Dad died,
Kelan
took over the pack and a few of my daddy’s business interests in town. I think he’d like to see this place working like it used to but pack business keeps him pretty busy nowadays.”
Mark nodded thoughtfully then got to his feet.
“Come on, let’s get this finished with, then we can go in and grab lunch.”
* * * *
Kelan
joined them about an hour later. The three men were still working in the stables when
Kelan’s
cell phone rang. He took off his gloves and fished the phone out of his back pocket.
“Hello? Okay, good, I’ll ask Luke to pick you up. Bye.”
Luke stopped what he was doing and looked at his older brother. “Who was that?”
“Cody. His flight gets in at six. You mind getting him from the airport?”
“Not at all,” Luke said, beaming. “I can’t wait to see him.”
“Don’t mention anything about Marianne or what’s been going on with Ethan, okay? I’d like to talk to him myself about that.”
Luke stared at his brother in confusion. “You haven’t told him?”
“No.
Wanted to do it face to face.”
“Rather you than me,” Luke said with a shudder.
Kelan
was working in the yard as Luke left the house to pick up his brother. Mark followed him to his truck and put a hand on his shoulder to stop him getting in.
“Hey, don’t I get a kiss goodbye?”
Luke smiled and let Mark wrap his arms around his waist.
“Of course.”
He leant forwards and kissed Mark gently on the lips. Mark pulled Luke closer to his body and slipped his tongue inside Luke’s mouth. The kiss heated within seconds. Luke was panting by the time they pulled apart.
“If I don’t go now, I’m going to be dragging you back inside the house,” Luke said with a chuckle.
“I wouldn’t complain.”
“No, but Cody would.”
“True enough. I guess I’d better let you go then. Be careful okay?”
Luke rolled his eyes at his mate. “I’m only driving to the airport.”
“Still, I don’t like that I’m not coming with you. I don’t like you being where I can’t protect you. And do you realise that this is the first time we’ll be separated since we met? I don’t like that at all.”
Luke smiled and leaned in to steal another kiss.
“Firstly, I don’t need protecting. I’m a grown man, Mark. And secondly, that is the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me. I’ll be careful okay?
Promise.”
“Okay.” Mark trailed the back of his fingers down Luke’s cheek. “See you soon.”
Mark watched Luke drive out of the yard. He waited until Luke was out of sight before walking over to join
Kelan
.
“I think I was right before,”
Kelan
said with a smirk. “You’ve got it bad, haven’t you?”
“Yeah,” Mark said. “Yeah, I have.”
* * * *
Luke waited impatiently in arrivals for his brother’s flight to land. He’d checked the information board three times and each time it had showed the same thing. Cody’s flight was on time. He was so excited to see his brother, he was practically vibrating.
He spotted Cody coming through the gate, wheeling a large black suitcase behind him. Cody looked good, paler than Luke was used to seeing him, but he was wearing a huge smile which lit up his whole face and made up for his lack of a tan.