Snow Wolf: Wolves of Willow Bend (Book 9) (4 page)

At the central cabin, he arched up to hit both paws against the locking mechanism. The door opened to the antechamber. Just like the guest quarters. It was designed to let them shift out of the dangerous wind and weather. He waited for Ranae to enter, then stepped in behind her to shield her from Julian and the pair of Sentries as they stepped inside, too. Julian closed the outer door and the room automatically began to warm. Not waiting for the temperature to hit fifty, he began his shift. He was standing before his Sentries then he shrugged into a pair of sweats.

The speed of his changes coupled with three back to back, left his skin steaming in the chill. Ranae stared at him from above her neoprene mask, her eyes deep pools of mystery. When she caught his gaze, she glanced away. He didn’t want to let her retreat, but his wolf clawed at him. The predator understood the hunt even better than the man. She was with them and he was about to introduce her to his world, his pack…on his terms. Giving in on her terms was a small price to pay. Grinder stood a split-half second before Fluff. She raked a hand through her short, spikey hair.

“Why the hell are we letting them—?” The wolf choked off her own question at his look. Clearing her throat once, she clenched her fists and then released them. “Apologies, Alpha. I did not know we were allowing outsiders into protected territory.”

“We aren’t.” He didn’t elaborate further. Fluff nodded then grabbed clothes off the rack. Grinder hadn’t questioned his choices, at least not verbally. The Sentry positioned himself so he could intercept Julian if he made any move. Neither of the Sentries approached Ranae. Satisfied they understood, Diesel checked Ranae. She had remained silent during the exchange, yet her eyes remained watchful and assessing.

Smart. Calculating.
Diesel approved. Understanding the dynamics within a pack, judging who held power and who did not suggested a powerful dominance. The alarm beeped once when the temperature hit fifty degrees inside the antechamber and the inner door released. Ranae stripped off the neoprene mask and shoved her hood back. Diesel knelt a beat before she could then released her feet from the snowshoes.

Her eyes narrowed a fraction, and his wolves went absolutely still at the position he’d placed himself in at her feet. His lowered head and her stiff posture detailed the esteem he held for Ranae. Fluff and Grinder didn’t move, but the tension in the air ratcheted a fraction higher. A distant part of his mind acknowledged their unease, but he had no interest in settling their fears or even answering their questions.

All they needed to know was the deference he held for Ranae. Rising, he captured Ranae’s gaze and held it as he reached his full height. On his feet, he began to loosen the ties of her parka. She accepted his assistance, but he didn’t let her composure fool him. She would not be so easily swayed. “Welcome to Tikaani, Ranae Buckley. You are my guest and under my protection.” He reiterated the welcome for his wolves.

“Thank you for the welcome, and I will extend to you my protection as a Hunter of Willow Bend for the duration of my stay.” The politeness in her voice held the edge of bite and he spared her a half smile.

“I feel very safe in your capable hands.”

Anger flared in her eyes then her gaze seemed to shutter. Irritation raked over him at the way she closed herself off. They’d made a connection. Surely, she’d felt it. The rejection irked him. Well aware of their audience, however, he set the emotion aside along with her parka. He had to get them inside and settled with the pack—well, Ranae at least. Julian could leave.

Pushing the inner door open, he shepherded Ranae inside. Doubt rolled off her in waves, but he didn’t try to assuage her concerns. With a glance, he ordered Grinder to stay on Julian. Fluff folded her arms, but said nothing as she took a middle position, segregating the Chief Enforcer. If the change in positions bothered Julian, Diesel didn’t give a damn.

Inside the main room of the cabin, Ranae tugged off her knit cap. The strawberry blonde of her hair spilled out like autumn fire. The warm color beckoned to him to run his fingers through the thick strands. Would her wolf share the same sable pelt? No spring pup, he controlled the urge.

“How is this any different from the cabin we were in?” The skeptical note in her voice clawed him.

“Be patient and find out.” Not waiting for her response, he strode across the room to the broad, brick wall. The hum of the underground generators vibrated against his ears. The sound added a fresh layer of irritation to rasp against his flesh. Flipping open a switch pad, he entered a code. A high-pitched alarm warned him the security doors opened behind the wall. Once they completed their hydraulic withdrawal, the brick wall itself released.

Gripping the edge, he shoved the wall along the runner. A pull switch inside could open the brick, but raw strength was needed to open it from the outside—a security feature should the village be raided while the strongest roamed. They kept their vulnerable secured below.

Ranae released a little gasp at the corridor and stairs he revealed. Drinking in her surprise, he glanced at her. Even the nuances in her scent changed, a hint of sweetness like melted caramel atop dark chocolate. “As I said earlier…welcome to Tikaani.”

Chapter 4

T
he steps descended
thirty feet to a well-lit corridor. Machinery hummed beyond the walls. The vibrations shivered through her legs and along her frame. Shock piled atop shock—since when did the Yukon have such technology? Everything she’d been briefed on detailed an almost archaic lifestyle. The damn guest cabin had a refrigerator that dated back to the 1950s, if not further.

Diesel strode one pace a head of her. The corridor narrowed at the top of the steps. Despite the almost painfully white walls, it seemed littered with shadows—or maybe it where the stairs disappeared into the darkness below. Claustrophobia wasn’t her issue. Fragments collided in her thoughts. As a pup, she’d been afraid of the dark. Not because she didn’t have night vision or because she feared monsters in it…but because her brothers used to prank her and each other. More than once, they’d leapt out of the dark and pounced her.

Adrenaline-fueled terror plagued her through childhood. Her brothers always made it up to her. They never complained when she wanted to sleep in their room, but she hated the weakness. Tough wolves didn’t need their brothers to protect them. Dominant wolves didn’t need to be told it would be okay. She made herself sleep in the dark, even when she couldn’t sleep. Even when she stayed up all night, sweating buckets as she waited for something terrible to happen.

Maybe she made it happen herself. Intellectually, she knew what utter crap the idea that her fear proved complicit in A.J.’s incarceration or Claire’s abandonment of Ty. Ranae had nothing to do with either of those events, yet she’d seen one brother vanish and another have his heart ripped out. The dynamic within the family changed. Her parents weathered the challenges, but her brothers Ty and Linc had seemed lessened until A.J. returned. Before that happened, Mason overthrew Toman and the pack split its time between mourning and celebration—Mason proved a capable Alpha, but even his focus had been torn between acclimating the pack and saving his mate.

One thought pinged off another. The air clogged in her throat. The narrow corridor seemed to funnel her toward the stairs and the past. Ranae shook her head. The damn humming behind the walls, the narrow corridor… It was all too much.

With the wolves swarming behind her, she couldn’t back off and her shoulder brushed against the Alpha’s. Power flared at the contact. Her wolf bucked at the shadowy quarters. Her chest tightened. How far down did it go?

Trapped against Diesel, she struggled against the twin desires of fight and flight striking at once. A warm hand closed over hers. Strength flooded her, settling her beast’s urges.

Unease pitted in her gut. She didn’t want the Yukon Alpha’s comfort or the contact, no matter her body’s traitorous response.

“This is about fear. Not trust.” His sub vocal words ruffled her fur and stifled her argument. How the hell did he arouse such contradictory responses within her? “Stay with me, and stop scowling. You’ll scare the children.”
Children?

Tending to and protecting the next generation united disparate packs at a most basic level. Willow Bend would protect the children of any other pack without question, even those of Three Rivers, a pack on probation who faced dissolution should the Alphas finally reach a consensus. The reminder, however, jerked her attention back to where they stood. The steps descended into the darkness and her wolf surged beneath her skin. She wanted to rip her arm out of Diesel’s grip, but he was right.

It was his pack. They were his to protect. Wildness threaded through her veins. Her wolf surged to the surface and no amount of self-control could prevent her eyes from their shift. The lack of light below betrayed the true darkness awaiting them. All she wanted to do was flee, but Diesel’s grip steadied her. The race of her pulse betrayed her—when he slid his fingers to thread with hers she relinquished a small measure of control.

It was far better to accept his assistance than to run screaming up the stairs or worse—burst into tears. Her pride wouldn’t survive either. Mirroring his use of the sub vocal, she murmured, “Thank you.”

He gave her hand a light squeeze then resumed his descent. With no choice but to join him, she fought the harsh tightness of her lungs. Rasping pants wouldn’t do much for her ego or her image. Strength steadied her, buoying her past the initial panic.

Inch by inch, the shadows ebbed into light. Either her night vision only noticed the subtle lighting at the edges of the walls or it illuminated slowly of its own accord as they descended. The surety in Diesel’s steps offered her almost as much comfort as the hand he held tight in his grasp.

It felt as though they walked forever, though a distant part of her mind acknowledged it couldn’t be more than two flights. At the bottom, a panel of red lights offered the hope their time in the dark drew to a close. Diesel released her hand, but shifted so he could rest his free hand against her back.

The liberty should have annoyed her, but since it kept her from turning into a shaking, blubbering idiot, she said nothing. Pressing his palm to a flat screen she hadn’t seen, an entirely new shock went through her system.
He has a palm reader?

Panel lights going green, the door released with a hiss of hydraulic pressure, then swung inward almost silently. Light flooded out of the opening, a split second after Diesel said, “Close your eyes.”

It dazzled her, blinding in its effect, and she squinted her eyes shut too late to avoid the brilliance. Spots danced over her closed eyelids, and her claws sliced out. It took her a moment to regain her equilibrium. When her claws retracted, Diesel gave her a light nudge to step inside.

Thankfully, they entered a much wider area. Once she was able to open her eyes to mere slits, almost daytime brightness had been achieved by the lighting embedded around the walls. It was an empty room, and a second door waited at the end.

“A gating system,” she verbalized her thoughts, impressed. “In case someone breeches it.” The second door seemed barely visible, and it had no access panel that she could see.

“Exactly.” Diesel seemed to watch her intently. Movement had her turning as Julian and the other pair of Yukon wolves trailed them into the room. She’d half-forgotten they weren’t alone. Grateful for the distraction, she shook off the layer of intimacy which seemed to have draped around her while Diesel held her hand. The light helped, though she couldn’t say she cared for the enclosure.

Once they were all inside, Diesel nodded to one of his wolves. The male put his palm on the access panel and sealed the door behind them. A minute vibration passed through the floor. The gears? Or mechanisms maybe? The feeling rotated through the floor, faint but when she cocked her head, she could almost hear the machinery. It had to be top of the line because it was near silent. Across from her, the lines around Diesel’s eyes tightened. Did the sound bother him?

Curiosity welled within her. Everything she knew about the Yukon said primitive, yet nothing of their design suggested the same. How had they hidden this from the representatives who came to see them? Dylan certainly hadn’t mentioned it.

When the door opened on the far side, Diesel spread his hand and gestured for her to take lead. Or was he simply allowing her to walk in front of him? Confusion tangled with her curiosity. Nothing about this Alpha matched what she’d been told. Cataloging each new discovery, she experienced a stab of guilt. The emotion didn’t belong; she was Mason’s wolf. Whatever she learned, she had a right to share, didn’t she?

Two steps from the open door, she paused. Someone approached from the opposite side. A trickle of running water masked his soft steps, but her nose warned her it was a man.

“Alpha,” the man’s voice was soft, gentle and loaded with kindness. His scent carried notes of lavender, chamomile, and more.
Teas.
Whomever he was, he’d been brewing tea. The man standing in the doorway was nearly as tall as Diesel, but he lacked his bulk. The lean muscle could be deceiving, however, because it didn’t indicate a lack of strength. “We did not expect you to return so early.”

Ranae had to admire his composure as his gaze swept first to her, then to Julian. He didn’t ask, he merely extended his hand to his Alpha.

Diesel accepted it, then pulled the man in for a firm hug. Another surprise. Apparently her visit would be populated by them.

“Chowder, this is Ranae Buckley. She is my guest and under my protection.” The statement had the other wolf’s eyes widening before he could recover. His expression seemed filled with wonder and his grin, when he gave it to her, was wide and full of welcome. “Ranae, this is Chowder, he is our healer and brother to Grinder over there. Chowder, take Ranae to my rooms. She will use those while staying with us.”

His room? Now wait a damn minute.
Before she could voice her objections, Diesel pinned her with a look. The order—no, the demand—in his blue eyes silenced her. When her lips compressed together, he nodded then glanced at Julian. “Come with me, Enforcer. Grinder, you can come with me. Fluff, return to patrol.”

The woman didn’t like the order but, like Ranae, she said nothing. Her gaze, when it met Ranae’s, didn’t hold an ounce of welcome. Her, Ranae could deal with. She recognized scorn and doubt. It was like looking into a mirror. She’d felt much the same way about Claire’s return.

Meeting her hostile gaze and holding it, Ranae raised her brows. If she wanted a challenge, Ranae wouldn’t back off. As a guest, she couldn’t offer one. Stubbornness and pride, her mother called it. For Ranae, it was much more basic. Bullies liked to throw their weight around, and the only way to end it was to meet it with equal force.

“Now, Fluff.” The order severed the rising tension between her and the other wolf. The woman with the short, spikey hair ripped her gaze away and Ranae glared at Diesel. Having him end the dominance battle before it truly begun wasn’t a win for her. With a hint of a smile, he tapped her nose with one finger. “Behave.”

The admonishment stymied the rise of her sympathy toward the Yukon Alpha. Clamping her jaw shut around her response, she took a deep breath. A mistake, because it flooded her with his scent. The elusive lure of snow on fur pulled at her—clean, crisp, and captivating. Not shaking her head, she shifted her grip on her bag and transferred her attention to the healer.

He stared at her in wonder, and it was only then she realized all the wolves were staring at her. Despite his call to Julian to follow him, Diesel hadn’t moved. Was he planning to stay there all day until she went with Chowder? What the hell was up with the names? Grasping onto the fresh spill of irritation, she used it to buoy her mood.

“After you,” she told the healer. He was safe to have his back to her, and he knew it because he simply smiled and turned to lead the way. Only a mad wolf attacked a healer. It didn’t matter what pack he belonged to because, like children, they were to be protected.

Steadfastly ignoring Diesel, she went around him and stalked after the healer. It took her three steps to realize she was stomping her feet and to correct the behavior.

Halfway down the new hall, with its running water along the walls, she caught the distinct echo of a faint chuckle.

Fucker is laughing at me.

Fine. Let him laugh.

She was there to do a job and nothing else. She hoped he enjoyed being locked out of his own rooms.

D
iesel stared
after Ranae as she stomped away from him. Perhaps it was her relative youth, but he’d really annoyed her with the tap to the nose. Her annoyance, though, brought the welcome return of her attention to him. Dominance play with Fluff aside, his wolf wouldn’t lay a hand on his mate, no matter how irritating Fluff found Ranae. He’d deal with their contentious behavior later.

Still, Ranae’s heavy footsteps earned a chuckle. When she stilled at the sound for a moment, then continued on quieter steps, he almost laughed aloud. The desire shocked him. When was the last time a belly-ripping laugh tore free from him?

Amused, he glanced at Julian then Grinder. “Let’s go.” If they didn’t, he’d follow his mate to his rooms and try to piss her off more. Her anger tantalized him.

Ranae’s scent teased him through the portal way. While Chowder took her to the right and toward the personal rooms, he diverted left. Dealing with Julian was a pain in the ass, but the sooner he got rid of him, the sooner he could focus all of his attention on Ranae.

Ahead, a class full of kids trailed behind their mentors and, one-by-one, they turned to look at him. His heart squeezed at the open affection the little ones showed. Many of them only saw their parents now and again during the winter months. The very young had at least one, if not both, parents wintering below, but by elementary age, the kids learned independence and reliance on their year groups. They slept in dorms, with den mothers looking after them.

It was an excellent exercise in both pack bonding and developing their instincts. Still, despite his own age, he could remember missing his parents when they joined the pack on their winter shift. Seeing the question in their eyes, Diesel held up a fist to stop Grinder and Julian from continuing.

Squatting down, he opened his arms and the kids broke from their formation to race toward him. They swarmed him, then he was under a dog pile of happy kids. Laughter and tickles soon followed.

The maternal leading their line followed at a more sedate pace, and Diesel let out a chuckle as three of the boys clambered onto his back. Their arms wrapped around his neck, and they fought to pull him off balance. Sweeping a girl out of his way by cuddling her, he tumbled to the boys then slipped free. Diving into the game, the kids divided, some coming at him from the right while the others came at him from the left.

Pride burned in him as larger kids blocked the smaller, protecting them. The more submissive among the children laughed as they circled behind their more dominant brethren. Soon he had kids locked onto his legs as more began clamber on to him. Working together, they rocked his balance. However, when he raised his arms in mock surrender, he laughed as only some withdrew. The others continued their effort to take him off his feet.

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