Snow Wolf: Wolves of Willow Bend (Book 9) (21 page)

They found Luc and a now very awake, and very pissed off Julian at the camp. Dallas faced off against the much larger enforcer, her expression almost sanguine. Luc sauntered over to them.

“Please tell me to go ahead and run on back, hell, I’ll swim, just don’t leave me alone with those two anymore.” The wolf shook his head. “Dallas is…just
damn.
”

“I heard that,” she said, not looking away from Julian.

Diesel chuckled. “Cousin, leave her be. You couldn’t go with her and you would have insisted.”

Julian finally looked from Dallas to Diesel. His expression so frigid, it seemed a frown had permanently frozen to his features. Ranae covered her mouth, trying to smother the laughter bubbling up.

“She’s a
rogue
and you let her just wander off and get…beaten up…while I was unconscious?”

Dallas released a snort of disgust. “Beaten up. I’ve had worse bruises after going cliff diving. Trust me, I don’t need any of you to
save
me.” Not content to leave the discussion there, Dallas sliced a hand through the air. “It will be night soon and the moon’s already risen. If we shift and run now, it will be hard, but we can get back to the truck before dawn. If the Volchitsa are really making a play for Lebeninsk, we don’t need to linger here.”

“Agreed,” Julian said, giving Ranae a start. “We go.” Then he took Dallas by the arm and hauled her with him away from the rest. If he said anything further, it was far too quiet for Ranae to hear.

She was exhausted even if making a run for it sounded good.

“Eat,” Diesel told her, pressing something into her hand. A napkin had been folded over a thick, sweet bar of baklava. It smelled terrible and wonderful all at once. Not arguing, she took several bites. Luc had shifted, and he joined Trask and Etienne on their perimeter. While she ate, Diesel cleared away the signs of their makeshift camp, then pulled out his bag and hers to stow their clothes.

“If you were Maxim when you were a boy…when did you become Diesel?”

He stripped off his shirt, then looked at his arm. A faint red dot appeared on his flesh where the acid had hit the fabric. It had burned through quick enough to do a little damage. “After Amara faded, and roamed to join the wild packs, I made a point of looking after them. A fuel company decided they were going to build a pipeline through our lands, and drill. They had no approval, they were working…under the table…as it were. I made sure they found the work too hazardous for their health or their profits. The others began to call me Diesel, for the fuel.” He shrugged. “It was a good enough name and it helped for a time to become that person, the one who had not lost his mate.”

A dense, well of sympathy opened within her. She ached for him. “I’m sorry you lost her.”

“As am I.” He didn’t hide his emotions or the cost. “I have been alone a long time, Dove. I never thought I would find another.”

Until her. He didn’t have to say it.

“Are you done?” He pointed to the food when she didn’t reply immediately.

“Yeah, I am.”

“Then shift. We have a long run.”

Even after she slipped into her wolf form and had her duffel snug to her body, she couldn’t stop thinking of all the years he’d served as Alpha without his mate, all the years he’d taken care of his people and yet he’d been alone. Who took care of him?

His pack
. Her wolf didn’t hesitate in the answer. They’d done everything for him they could, loved him, held him to them, and needed him. They’d given him purpose.

We can give him joy.

The absolute certainty within her wolf bolstered her own faith and her speed. Even when she wanted a break all she had to do was brush up against Diesel to remind herself exactly what and who she ran for. Tapping into a fresh reserve, she increased her speed.

By the time they reached the truck, she was dragging and didn’t even pretend to try and shift as the others took stretched, then gradually regained their human form. Instead, she guarded Diesel until he stood.

Weariness didn’t loosen its hold on her. Diesel spared her a look as he pulled on his jeans. Dressed, he reached for her and pulled her into his arms. With one leap he climbed into the truck. Someone pulled down a blanket, then another and he made a pallet for her. When Diesel set her in it, she lowered her head to her front paws.

Resting his hand on her head, he murmured. “I have you. You’re safe,” and that was all it took. She slept.

She woke to Diesel carrying her, her head tucked against his shoulder. Thankfully, she was dressed, but irritation stretched her along her nerves until she spied the plane in the distance.

“You didn’t sleep, did you?” she demanded of him.

The cool look he gave her had her almost regretting the snapped words. Almost. “Not yet.”

He hadn’t on the plane ride, during the ride in the truck, and barely at all in the woods. In fact, she couldn’t recall him sleeping since they left the Yukon. The man needed sleep, too.

“Shh, Dove,” he kissed her forehead as he approached the plane steps. The small airport was quiet and the Asian wolves who’d greeted them on arrival, stood waiting for them once more.

“Put me down a minute before we get on board,” she amended her tone. She’d never been a morning person, much less any kind of person before coffee. Her whole body ached, and she must have been deeply asleep if she reverted while out. For certain it had been Diesel who dressed her because he wouldn’t have allowed anyone else.

“Of course.” He paused to set her on her feet. With one hand, he touched two fingers to her cheek. “It’s healed mostly, a little pink. More food and rest, and another shift and it will be gone all together.”

“It was just a ricochet.” It stung when it happened, and had been messy, nothing more.

“Good.”

Dallas cleared her throat, and like Diesel, she looked weary as hell. Her bruises only looked nominally better since her shift. “Job is done.”

He inclined his head. “The job is done. Thank you.”

She nodded, then flicked a look toward Julian who stood like a stone statue at the plane door. “He’s really pissed.”

“He’ll get over it.” Diesel shrugged. “Or he won’t…”

“…yeah, but now I feel bad so I’m going to throw the dog a bone.” She raised her hand, palm forward. “I’ll be in Kansas City in three weeks to go to a comic book convention. Tag, you’re it.”

Then she was gone. The speed with which she moved startled Ranae and she jerked her head right, then left and scanned the area. “Holy shit…”

“She’s quick,” Diesel grinned, but his gaze rested on Julian and the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Quick? I didn’t know we could move that fast.” And she knew how fast wolves were, it was as though Dallas could move between the blinks. “I feel bad about leaving her.”

“Don’t,” he said, cupping her elbow and turning her toward the plane. “Dallas can take care of herself.”

At the plane entrance, Julian met Diesel’s gaze and shook his head, then climbed aboard.

“And that is a very unhappy man.” She pursed her lips. The one upside to the plane was it was comfortable versus the tin can she’d flown up to Alaska in. The downside, the Enforcer released a lot of aggression in a small space. “Are you sure we have to fly back with him?”

“We’ll be fine. We’re all tired, and a little cranky.”

“Speak for yourself,” she patted his arm before beginning the short climb up the steps. “I’m a lot cranky.”

The scent of fresh coffee, orange juice, danishes, bacon, and eggs met her inside the cabin. The other wolves had already dropped into their seats and dug into the food. They’d left a wider sofa in the back open, so she headed toward it with Diesel right behind her.

No sooner had they taken their seats than the crew brought them food. Like the others, she and Diesel ate without saying anything. Her abdomen actually ached, and her stomach felt hollow.

Soon as the first meals cleared away, the pilot announced they would be taking off. The lights in the cabin dimmed, plunging them into a gray darkness. Diesel closed his hand over hers and she settled her head against his shoulder. Oddly, the panic she’d come to expect didn’t put on an appearance.

Maybe she was just too damn tired to be scared.

Or maybe watching a child choose death rather than reveal anything about his pack…
There were more monsters in the world than just what existed in the dark.

One by one the other wolves dropped off. Too tired to worry about what each other was doing, the low snores filled the dark. Next to her, Diesel didn’t sleep. He was thinking, she could practically feel it. The tense energy licked over her skin.

Sliding her hand along his arm, she teased her nails along his nape. Light, gentle pets until she felt the muscles in his neck begin to unlock. When he continued to relax, she reached for his seatbelt and unclicked it, then patted her lap. “Lie down a bit.”

“I’m fine, Dove.”

“I know you are, but I need to take care of you for a change.” The request did what no amount of coaxing or orders would manage. He relented, then shifted his weight until he could sprawl on the sofa, his feet propped on the end. With his head in her lap, she began to massage his temples then stroke her fingers through his hair. She alternated the slow and smooth movements until the last of the wildness batting against her ceased and his soft breathing drifted up to her ears.

She doubted he would sleep deeply or for long, but whatever minutes she could give him. She would.

Almost eleven hours later, she had lost all the feeling in her legs and her fingers were numb, but the look of surprise then pleasure in his eyes when he woke to see her looking down at him made it all worth it.

He looked almost embarrassed, then even more pleased. When he slipped his hand around her nape and pulled her down for a kiss, she savored the sensuous taste of him and to hell with their audience.

The last hour of the flight they went over the trip, what they’d learned and what needed to go back to the other Alphas. Julian said nothing. His attention somewhere else.

Maybe on someone else.

It wasn’t until Etienne offered to give her a ride back to Willow Bend after they landed that it struck her. It was time to say goodbye.

Everything in her system resisted the idea. When the others trickled out while Etienne went to deal with issues for refueling the plane and prepping it for further travel, she was left alone with Diesel.

“How will you get back to the Yukon?” Somehow, she suspected Julian would not be flying him.

“I’ll manage,” he traced the line of her cheek. “You’ll know where I am.”

A part of her wanted to say,
Wait, I’ll come with you. We’ll go together.
At the same time, she kept those words to herself. “I’m going to miss you.”

“We’ll work on your aim.” It took a moment, then she laughed even as tears flooded her eyes.

“You made a funny.”

“I did.” Then he kissed her tenderly, a gentle brush of his lips to hers. “Fly home, my Dove, then come to me.”

She was still trying to wring the tears out of her heart, when he exited the plane then he was gone. Torn between heartbroken and heartsick, she sank back onto the sofa.

In truth, she didn’t
have
to go to Willow Bend. Intellectually, she knew that. She understood everything, but it didn’t matter. She needed to go. She needed to tell Mason, face to face and her parents. It would be hard to say goodbye in person, but it would be better for all of them if she did it the right way.

She dug her phone out of her bag and stared at it. Less than ten days since she departed Seattle for the Yukon.
Ten days?

It had been an eternity.

A
ll through her
uneventful flight home, she texted Mason, filled him in on the events in Russia. She edited some of the information—only those parts which were personal and private to Diesel. Two more skirmishes had happened…one in Delta Crescent and a second in Sutter Butte. Cassius had routed a pocket which had set up on his southern border.

Your brothers are both fine. The Delta Crescent attack was sloppy. They went after the Omega that’s no longer there and ended up getting one really pissed off Hound. Ty and Claire were with Cassius, but neither were hurt.

Relief flooded her. So now all the packs had faced some type of attack, all except Willow Bend and maybe Three Rivers.

What about us? Have we seen anyone in Willow Bend?

Not yet.
The addition of the word yet added a fresh layer of worry and guilt stabbed at her. She was a relatively young Hunter in the scheme of things, and losing her wouldn’t hamper the pack’s defenses much. Still, she was planning to leave them and it ate away at her. Was she being selfish? Hadn’t that been why she’d been so angry with Claire? She’d chosen herself over pack?

Or she chose herself over Ty…is it the same thing to choose pack over mate?
The whole idea made her sick. Etienne didn’t disembark from the plane, the wolf needed to return home and she understood the desire. He promised to punch her brother for her when she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Collin waited for her with a vehicle. He gave her a quick hug, dropped the keys into her hands and a bag of take out burgers before telling her to go home and don’t report for duty for at least a week.

She was halfway back to town before she realized she wouldn’t be reporting for duty at all. Everywhere she looked, she saw a place she had a memory. Trees she’d climbed, fields she’d run through, a dock where she’d had her first kiss. A bridge where she’d shoved the same wolf who’d kissed her off and into the water cause he’d gotten handsy.

Willow Bend was her home, her heart should be singing to return and it wasn’t. She still loved it, the cozy shops where she was always likely to find a familiar face or Sexton’s Grocery where the family who ran it knew her as well as her own.

Wiping a hand over her face, she brushed away the tears. Maybe her exhaustion ran deeper than she’d believed. She was getting all maudlin over whether Willow Bend felt like home or not. Turning onto her parents’ street, she had to laugh. Her mother stood in the middle of it, with a giant sign in her hands. A banner stretched across the front of the house.

They all said welcome home. Wolves were all over the yard, and on the porch. Family. Friends. She parked the car and climbed out, well aware she stank of travel, and woods, dirt and blood. Then she was in her mother’s arms. Claudia Buckley gripped her tight.

“You’re nothing but skin and bones. Let’s get you fed.” But she hugged her again, then Ranae’s father had her, hugging her tight to him. Pride shone in his eyes when he stepped back.

Ranae pivoted a step, then A.J. swooped into her watery vision. He scooped her up and gave her a whirl of a hug. Then another. “You get three,” he told her. “Since Ty and Linc aren’t here to claim theirs.”

“Put me down, you brute.” But despite her words, she hugged him tighter.

“Hey,” A.J. murmured against her ear. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she sniffed once. “Not going to ruin a party they’re throwing for me.”

“Oh, you think this party is for you?” A.J. leaned away. “They just found the banners to put up for Ty—ow.” Ranae punched him in the shoulder, but he laughed, then hooked his arm around her neck and rubbed a hand to her head. It was so much like he would do to their brothers that she laughed alongside him. “Speaking of homecomings, brat…you made it just in time.”

“For…” Before she could even finish the question, she heard the sharp cry of an infant and her heart did a little somersault. Then a second one joined the first. “Oh my God, they’re here…twins?” She whirled on her brother.

A.J.’s grin couldn’t be contained. “One boy, and one girl. Twins.”

Squealing, she threw her duffel at him and raced up the stairs. The other wolves laughed and she waved to everyone on her way by. A.J. followed her, smugness rolling off him in waves. In his old bedroom, she found Vivian settled on the bed with a babe in her arms.

“Oh,” Ranae whispered, captivated by the sight of her nursing her little one. She pressed two fingers to her lips. “How long?”

“Come in,” Vivian gave her a tired smile, but one full of maternal delight. “A couple of days ago. It was really quick, I thought A.J. would have a heart attack.”

Ranae crept deeper into the room and paused to look down at the baby sound asleep in the little crib. They were perfect.

“Don’t talk about me like that, I was very diligent in handling everything—even your grip when you had to push.” He rolled up his sleeves to show off the deep, but well on their way to healed claw marks on his forearms. With absolute care, he settled on the side of the bed and put his hand on the baby’s head.

The mated couple locked gazes, lost in adoring each other and their babies. Ranae wanted to hold them, to stroke their tiny little heads. But she was so filthy.

“I’m going to go take a shower, then I’ll come back and snuggle my niece and nephew.” She crept out as quietly as she’d crept in, then walked down the hallway to the bedroom that had been hers her whole life. Nothing in the room had changed. It still had the big bed in the corner, the book shelves, a stack of mail waiting for her on the desk and an unopened package—probably a movie or a game she’d ordered. The quilt on the bed was one her mother had made her when she was still a teen.

Nothing in the room had changed, it was exactly the way she’d left it, yet it seemed so much smaller.

“You know it’s okay, right?” A.J.’s quiet voice behind her pulled her around.

“What is?”

“Feeling out of place here, not really seeing it as your home anymore. It’s okay.”

“A.J. you were gone a lot longer than ten days, I don’t get why…”

“…because when you know your mate, your world turns upside down and your priorities shift. You changed. Not the room, not the home and not us. You.” He caught a lock of her hair and brushed it away from her forehead. “You’ve been growing up on us for years, I saw it more than they did. When you left here to go on this mission, you were an impetuous, determined Hunter trying to make her mark. The woman who came home? You know who you are now. You know what you want…and I think you know where you want to go.”

“I thought it would be harder.”

“Coming home? Or leaving?”

“Leaving. I’m sad. You and Vivian made those two perfect babies and I want to be here. I want to see them grow up and I won’t be…and that’s sad.”

“You’ll see my kids, don’t you worry. They need to know their Aunty Ranae.”

Everything in her vision shimmered, then she was in his arms, gripping him as fiercely as he held her. “I want that,” she told him. “I feel like you came home and now we’re all leaving.”

“It’s the way it’s meant to be, squirt. We grow up. We find out mates. We build our lives and, whether it’s here or somewhere else, we don’t stop being family.” Leaning back, he studied her and she could almost feel his approval radiating through him. “You did good kid, you’ve really owned it. Just do me one favor, okay?”

“Anything.”

“Make sure they have internal plumbing before we visit.”

Laughter burst through her tears, and she punched him again, but they were still laughing.

An hour later, after she’d showered, dressed in fresh clothes and cuddled her new niece and nephew, she descended the stairs to find the party had reached the coming and going portion.

Though there had been snow on the ground when she left, they were having an unexpectedly mild day with the sun shining down. Most of the wolves had taken advantage of the weather. Her father grilled, her mother tutted about moving from group to group. Kids ran and played, romping.

So many people, just hanging out, laughing, sharing stories—like so many other days when she’d been growing up. She found the coolers with the beers, and tugged one out. A part of her wanted to go crash for about thirty hours, then pack to head north. Before then, she needed to spend time with her pack, to let her parents then Mason know. Twisting off the cap of her bottle, she tipped it up for a drink then stopped. A distinct scent of snow on fur touched her nose.

She’d know that scent anywhere. Pivoting, she searched the gathering and caught sight of A.J. leaning against the porch with a shit-eating grin on his face. Not two feet away from him stood Mason…and Diesel.

Mason whistled, and the chattering crowd quieted, everyone turning to face him. Diesel’s beautiful blue eyes seemed to glow even at the distance she stood.

“Ranae Buckley,” he called across the open yard. “My Dove, I told you I would come. I’m here to declare before your Alpha, your family, and your pack…you are my mate. I want you to be mine, forever and always…what say you?”

Pure, unfettered joy burst through her. “What are you doing here? I thought you were going home.”

The entire gathering remained silent, though she heard more than one snicker at her questions.

“First off,
you
are my home.” Diesel told her as he began to close the distance. “And someone once told me it’s no fun if I don’t cause a little trouble.”

Relief and happiness twined together when he stopped in front of her. He was there. God, it hadn’t been a whole day and she’d missed him horribly. “You know, I’ve heard that before.”

“Good, and you cause a lot of trouble for me. Trouble I’ve enjoyed.”

“I can be demanding.”

“Your brother warned me.” Diesel managed that with a straight face and she leaned sideways to glare at the brother in question. “No, Dove, not that one.” He turned her around and she stared at Linc and Ty crossing over the yard from Claire’s house. Laughter rippled through her and whoops went up all around. Giving A.J. another look because he’d been in on it, she glanced at Diesel again. “Family is important,” he told her. “You needed to see all of them, you needed to know they were okay. I needed to make that happen for you.”

“I love you,” she announced, the words barely encompassing the depth of emotion she felt.

“Good. Now will you have me, my little Dove?”

“I—crap. Mason?” Had he taken care of that wrinkle, too?

“It’s all good Ranae,” her Alpha told her, his smile encouraging. “Not thrilled about losing you, but I am happy for you. You will always have a home with us and you have my blessing.”

“And mine,” A.J. called.

“And ours,” her parents added.

“Mine, too, kiddo,” Ty said as he reached them.

“Not mine.” Linc threw in and she pinned a look on her brother. “Hey,” he held up his hands. “Do you have any idea how long the flight is up there?” Then he gave her a faux punch with the light touch of his knuckles to her chin. “Of course you have our blessing, as long as that yahoo can make you happy and takes care of you.”

“Oh, he will.” Ty said, unequivocally. “We already had that discussion.”

“Yes,” Diesel seemed in agreement. “I told them if I hurt you I would let them beat me senseless.”

“See, it’s a good deal.” Ty clapped Diesel on the shoulder, then kissed her cheek. “Put the man out of his misery, Ranae.”

Sliding a sidelong look at Diesel, she shook her head but couldn’t contain her grin. “You didn’t fight this one fair.”

“No,” he said. “I learned from the cleverest wolf I know—Get everyone important on my side then present the plan.”

“Wow…who says an old dog can’t learn new tricks?”

“That sassy mouth of yours.” He said the last sub vocal and she stepped right up to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled slowly.

“You love it.”

“I do, and I love you.”

Gripping him tightly she rose on her tiptoes and surrendered to the pull she’d felt from him nearly from the beginning. “Yes.”

His mouth closed over hers, fierce and possessive. Beyond them, she knew her family and the pack cheered, but she only had eyes for Diesel.

M
ine
. Hours after the party and festivities ended, Diesel swept Ranae away to the house Mason had him occupy during the council. He and Ranae barely made it in the door before they stripped each other out of their clothes. The first coupling was fast and fierce, on the stairs. The second they made it to the landing. By the third, he tumbled her into bed and as he thrust into her, he closed his teeth on the point where her shoulder and neck met.

The world shifted sideways. She locked her legs around him and sank her teeth into his shoulder. Their blood mingled, and their bodies twined as their souls danced. Radiance seemed to flood him, his Dove occupying all the shadowy places of loneliness.

Never alone.

Never again.

More, he felt the surge of pack and the welcome of his wolves calling down the ties that bound him to them together. His mate. His pack. His.

Sprawling together, he cuddled her to his chest and she traced a line across his pecs. “I still can’t believe you came so fast. I thought…”

“That I would go home and wait patiently until I couldn’t stand it anymore?” Even being with her over the last several days, he’d miss simply holding her, talking to her and teasing.

“Does it sound awful that I thought you would?”

“No, foolish maybe, but not awful.” When she pinched him for his remark, he chuckled. “Dove, I told you that first night in the Yukon, you were mine.”

“This is true,” she scraped her teeth over his shoulder lightly. “You were all caveman, my woman, thud, mine.”

Snorting, he smacked her on the ass. “I did not thud or go caveman.”

“Yeah, you didn’t see you.” Not that she sounded like she minded. Sobering, she rolled onto her belly, sprawling atop him and gazing down. “How is Demon? Chowder? Have you been able to check with them at all?”

“They are fine,” he said, rubbing his palm over the part of her ass he’d smacked. “I did talk to them. The fevers have broken and the infections are all clear. I also told them when I returned, my mate was coming with me if it took me a day, a week or a month to persuade you.”