One Second (Seven Series Book 7) (7 page)

I leaned forward. “First of all, I’m not leaving your side. Secondly, you need to talk to the Packmasters in our territory. Some of them have a tendency to be shortsighted and not see the bigger picture that if they make a few small sacrifices to help the other packs, then they’ll strengthen alliances and increase our chances of winning a war. If the Northerners pick off the smaller packs, then it just gets easier for them. Especially if some of those Shifters make bargains and wind up becoming spies or siding with them. If larger packs give up at least one man to the midsize packs, then maybe the smaller ones can band together, and we can have a better line of defense.”

Austin poured a handful of mix into his palm. “You know what?”

“What?”

“I think I’m the luckiest bastard that ever lived. That’s what. You have a head for strategy, and I’ll present the idea to the Council. There’s no guarantee—it’s all contingent on how immediate the threat is. I don’t know about the last suggestion; two packs living in the same house with two alphas running the show will never work.”

“Yeah, I can see that being a problem. It was just a thought.”

I collapsed on my right side, pillow beneath me, wondering why men were so thirsty for war. All this over land. Shifters could easily own land and businesses without humans noticing. The higher authority planted Vampires in key local and government positions, monitoring their systems and using their gifts to erase suspicion. This wasn’t just to benefit Shifters, but all Breeds. Hackers monitored computer databases, and Vampires used their gifts to influence leaders and scrub memories.

Austin pinched my knee and leaned back, giving me a hot look.

“Are you going to tell Axel about the trespasser?”

He held a chocolate candy between his fingers and studied it. “I gave him a quick call, but he’s getting reports of similar skirmishes. There’s not much they can do about the local rogues—not unless they break one of the laws set by the higher authority.  The Council mostly keeps order among the packs and other organized groups of Shifters. If a rogue attacks a Packmaster or pisses on his patio, the Council can’t do much. Most rogues are harmless, but there are always jackasses in the bunch.”

Austin continued staring at my foot, watching me stretch and wiggle my toes. He finally sat up and began giving me a foot massage.

Bliss
.

Nothing was sexier than lying in bed, half-dressed, spent from an afternoon of amazing sex, and having my shirtless mate rub my body with his warm hands.

“Do you think this is really the pack war everyone’s been talking about?”

He sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe they’re just testing our weaknesses, but I have a feeling this isn’t a drill. If they targeted Colorado, then they’re going after the strong Shifter states first. That means we’ll be at the top of the list.”

“Why don’t they just come down and buy land if they want it so bad?”

Austin set the tray on the floor and lay down next to me, stroking his hand up and down my thigh. “They can only sell so much land to rogues, and sometimes none at all. Nobody wants to buy from humans if it means paying taxes and not having any privacy. Shifters who band together and form packs or dens are entitled to more land. The Council sees them as a stable, trustworthy group. They’re not discriminating; they’re trying to maintain balance. It wouldn’t be fair to give one man five hundred acres when a neighboring pack of twenty only owns ten and needs more room. They could probably get something in the extremely rural areas, but living close to a major city is attractive. Food, nightlife, shopping…”

“What’s so bad about living up north? I’m sure there’s enough land up there. And besides, some Shifters would rather live in a condo or house than out in the woods.”

“Mostly it’s the wolves, Ladybug. Territory holds value, and this really goes back a long way. After we gained our freedom, some chose to live up north where it was safer, while others risked everything to venture out. Few were selling land to Shifters at that time, and eventually we formed Councils to help negotiate with that. They bought up land to keep on reserve. It’s jealousy, pure and simple. They want to have their cake and eat it too. These are modern-day barbarians—men who refuse to live by the law and have nothing to contribute to society. Why should we hand them what we’ve worked hard for?” He rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes drowsy.

“Let’s not talk about this anymore,” I whispered sleepily.

I rested my head on my right arm, eyes closed, and enjoyed the tranquility. Austin cupped my jaw with his rough hand, stroking his thumb across my cheekbone.

“I don’t say it enough, Lexi, but I love you.”

I smiled, snuggling closer to him. “Tell me again how you first fell in love with me.”

“You’ve heard the story.”

“Yeah, but I want to hear it again.”

I’d never experienced a heat spell so short in duration.
Either Austin was a phenomenal lover, or something was wrong with me.

Still, I couldn’t complain. Despite the anomaly, Austin still behaved as a lover on a mission to satiate his woman. Luckily, there wasn’t as much to break in the cabin. Austin and I had a tendency to lose control when we made love, and we’d torn down many a curtain. Plus he’d packed his fringed leather gloves. They were a souvenir from his teens, and even though I made fun of their tackiness, I secretly loved Austin in those gloves. He knew it and I knew it, but neither of us admitted it.

Three days later, I shouldn’t have been able to walk. My heat spell hadn’t returned, but we were acting like newlyweds on our honeymoon. Axel finally called to confirm it was safe to leave the state if we wanted to.

Austin wanted to.

Thirty minutes after the call, he was plowing a path to the main road while I packed our things. I walked through the cabin a dozen times to make sure we hadn’t forgotten anything, and Austin cleaned all the embers from the fireplace. Halfway to the main road, Austin cussed when I went back for the second time to make sure the stove was off. Men don’t seem to understand that all women are afraid of burning down the house by way of stove or curling iron.

Twenty minutes after fueling up, Austin made an unexpected detour and pulled into another busy gas station. He parked the truck facing the road, away from the gas pumps. Lorenzo’s monster truck rumbled as it pulled up next to us. Austin rolled down the window, letting in a gust of the cold, humid air that often accompanied a wet snow.

Lorenzo eased up to Austin’s window. “Car trouble, Cole?”

Austin shut off the engine. “Nope. Just want to make sure we don’t run into any snags crossing the border. Three Texas plates moving in a group might attract attention.”

Lorenzo raised his head and scanned the parking lot. His long hair tangled in the cold wind, and he gave his head a shake to get it out of his eyes.

“Something up?” Reno asked in a gravelly voice, coming up behind Lorenzo.

“We need to swap out our plates,” Austin said. “We’re traveling in a group and—”

“Yeah, that’s problematic,” Reno agreed, hands in his leather coat. “I’ve got a friend I can call. He’s not far.”

Austin reclined his head, taking a minute to gather his thoughts. “I want two Colorado plates and one Louisiana. Think he can pull that off?”

“No sweat.”

I shivered and grabbed my coat from the backseat. “Austin, I’m going to run inside. Do you want anything?”

“Bring me something hot—whatever they got sitting underneath one of those heat lamps.”

I snorted. “It’s ten in the morning, so you might end up with either a sausage biscuit or a slice of pizza.”

When Ivy and April saw me getting out, they quickly followed. We strolled across the wet parking lot, past the gas tanks, and into the convenience store. Once inside, I cupped my hands and blew a heated breath to warm my fingers.

Ivy tapped a chunk of dirty ice from the end of her cane and headed toward the auto aisle while April and I sought out the snacks.

“Reno wanted me to stay here,” she said, grabbing a package of powdered donuts, beef jerky, and corn nuts.

I pulled two bottles of orange soda out of the cooler and grabbed a few snacks. “Alone?”

“No, not in the cabin. He wanted me to stay with a pack who takes in troubled Shifters—the same place he took Naya’s friend all those years ago. With me being human, he’s worried something might happen. Jeez. Do you think they’ll come after us in Texas?”

“I don’t know.” I set my basket on the floor and adjusted my knit hat so it wasn’t covering my eyebrows. “Did you hear about the wolf that showed up on our property?”

“No,” she said as I picked up my basket, clearly surprised.

“Just a local rogue. He was going to challenge Austin and blame his actions on the Northerners.”

“
Holy smokes,
” she whispered. “Were you hurt?”

I grabbed two sausage biscuits from under the warming lamp. “Just a few splinters on my ass, but nothing serious.”

When she furrowed her brow, I laughed and said, “Never mind.”

My mouth watered when I passed the summer sausages, so I bought a few. Something about the cold weather was making my wolf hungry for meat.

A dark-haired man in a suede coat leaned in front of April to reach for a bagel.

“Can I buy you breakfast?” he asked, his heavy cologne wafting my way.

When the bell on the door jingled and Reno walked in, I knew this situation was about to get epic. He had on his mirrored shades, dirty ice sliding off his black boots. He scanned the store while removing his gloves and stuffing them into his coat pockets. Everything about Reno looked like a soldier, from his short hair and clean shave to the way he carried himself.

He slid his glasses on top of his head and locked eyes with the guy hitting on April.

“Oh, shit,” I murmured.

He moved in our direction, his arms swinging and making the leather on his coat creak.

I started to turn when the checkout guy said, “Ma’am, are you ready?”

I quickly moved forward and set my basket on the counter, and naturally he wanted to converse about the weather.

“April!” I hissed.

She peered around and spotted Reno approaching.

Reno didn’t like men invading his woman’s space. He was protective of her, as all Shifters were with their women. In fact, that sort of possessiveness went both ways. It was instinctual to guard our territory.

“Let me buy that for you,” I heard the man offer.

Reno clapped his hand on the man’s shoulder. “I ain’t gonna church it up for you—”

April wrapped her arms around Reno’s neck and locked lips with him.

Stunned, Reno had little choice but to kiss her back. When his fingers clawed at her sweats, and I saw his tongue moving in, it was clear the stranger in the tan coat was long forgotten.

“Where’s Reno?” Austin asked when I got in the car with our bags.

“He’s having sex with April on the counter. Look what I got you!”

I handed him the hot sausage biscuit, and he immediately opened it and took a bite, steam rising from the meat.

“Reno’s guy should be here any minute,” he said around a mouthful of biscuit. “What the hell is all that?” He nodded at my bag.

“Summer sausage.”

He picked it up and read the label. “Are you sure a pound is enough?”

I snatched it back and placed the sack on the floor, opening the second sausage biscuit. “Did Ivy make it back? She checked out before we did.”

Austin wadded up the empty wrapper. “Church wanted an ice scraper for his side windows.”

“Huh. All that money, and he doesn’t come prepared.”

I suddenly coughed when a piece of biscuit tiptoed to the back of my throat before I was ready to swallow. Austin patted my back and quickly handed me his bottle of water.

“You okay?”

I chugged it down and coughed a little more.

Austin rubbed my back, his hand moving in a circle. “You’re supposed to eat it, Ladybug, not inhale it.”

We both simultaneously looked up when a thunderous noise filled the parking lot. A small group of eight motorcycles circled the lot, driving past Reno and April, who were walking at a brisk pace toward the trucks.

Reno knocked twice on Austin’s window and jerked his thumb at the bikers.

“What is it?” I asked, pivoting in my seat and looking through the back windshield. “Hey, that’s Axel.”

I recognized him by his impressive bike with a unique style. Axel was wearing leather from head to toe. His helmet wasn’t black but a burnt-orange color that matched his gas tank. The rest of his bike was all black—not a single speck of silver chrome on it.

“Can you even drive a bike in this weather?” I mused.

What kind of crazy person wants to ride around, exposing themselves to freezing temperatures?

Austin rolled down the window when Axel approached.

“I had a feeling it was you with the Texas plates.”

“We’re taking care of that,” Austin replied.

Axel blew out a breath of frosty air. “Good thinking. I just heard through the grapevine that Texas is on the hit list. Some of my men spotted you ten miles back, and since I was in the area, I thought I’d swing by and give you fair warning. I don’t know any more than that. One of the rogues we captured has been
very
cooperative. He doesn’t have any idea what’s going on, only what the original plan was. Stay alert, and good luck to you.”

“Thanks. We appreciate your hospitality, and…”

“And?” Axel leaned on the car with his left arm, stroking his goatee with his right hand.

“If we ever need to seek shelter here, would that be all right?”

Axel’s eyes swung over to the food on my lap. “You’ve been square with us. Just keep your original plates on the vehicles; that’s what we have on record. But if you want my advice, stand your ground. If they think you’re going to back down and run, they won’t stop. Sometimes it doesn’t have anything to do with numbers but who has the most love for that land.” He tapped on the hood. “Godspeed, Cole.”

***

I’d always enjoyed long car trips, but usually that feeling evaporated by the time Austin became possessed by Frank Sinatra. He had a smoky timbre to his voice that was sexy as hell, but ten hours into a drive, he would turn into the obnoxious big brother, singing commercial jingles just to get a rise out of me. Our trips inevitably became a contest to see who could annoy the other person the most.

I won by wearing my bra on the outside of my shirt and waving at passing truckers. Austin pulled the truck over, and after a scuffle with him trying to remove the bra, we ended up having a quickie. Lorenzo and Reno had pulled over in the distance ahead, undoubtedly wondering what the trouble was, but they’d never been on a road trip with the Austin and Lexi duo.

We skipped lunch to make up time and snacked on the gas station goodies. Hours later, trail mix could no longer satisfy my appetite. Just after dark, we pulled up to a Taco Cabana to chow down on tacos and guacamole. Austin was uneasy about dining inside the restaurant since two alphas might attract attention if there were any rogues on the premises. So instead, we made a quick run to the restroom and then ate in our trucks.

Shortly after we merged onto the highway, I fell asleep to the hum of the tires, snuggled beneath a lap blanket.

“Lexi, wake up. We’re here.”

“Where?” I murmured, awakened by car doors slamming.

“Home.”

I blinked and sat up, moving my pillow out of the way. “Huh? How long have I been asleep?”

“It’s midnight.”

I felt more like a hibernating bear than a wolf.  “Must have been the tacos.”

“Or maybe it was eating half that sausage,” he said with disdain, pointing at wrappers on the floor.

The warmer air took me by surprise when just hours ago we’d been buried in snow.