Summit of the Wolf (11 page)

Garrety spoke up again. “Also accepted.”

A tall woman stepped forward. “I’m pledging to Garret Reynolds’ San Francisco pack.”

Garret Reynolds spoke up, surprise in his voice. “Gladly accepted.”

Morgan remembered him from the meet-and-greet. He had mentioned having four men in his pack. A she-wolf would be a welcome addition for him. The last man stepped forward. He seemed so familiar, even the faint scent of his skin that wafted her way perked up the wary wolf within. She squinted, trying to make out his face in the shadows. Grey was playing with Lana and not paying attention in the slightest. The silhouette the man cut didn’t make sense. He was so thin he seemed sickly. Did werewolves even get sick?

“I’m pledging to Dean Cooke’s Dallas pack,” the man said.

All of their heads snapped up at the declaration. Dean looked downright rocked. He hesitated. “Acceptance will depend on a three-month probation period.”

The man stiffened, but nodded his head.

Grey’s nostrils flared, and his look darkened. “It’s the pup who tried to challenge for you and Marissa,” he said. His focus on the man never wavered.

Marcus had called an end to the pledges, and the strange wolf approached the Dallas packs.

Dean stood. “Why do you want to pledge to this pack?” he asked directly.

The man cleared his throat and waved to Morgan and Marissa, ignoring Grey completely. Probably wise if he didn’t want to get eaten. “Nice to see you ladies again. I’m sorry for what happened before. I know better than to mess with you again,” he smiled awkwardly and held up a scarred arm.

So, she had hurt him enough to scar. The deep twinge of satisfaction tasted even better than the food. Surely, he would think twice about messing with a lady now.

For Dean, the young werewolf cocked his head to the side and exposed the tender flesh of his neck in a sign of submission. “Look, I spent all of the money I have in the world to come here. I wanted to pick a pack this year, so I’ve been watching all of them, every single one of them, trying to figure out which one I might be happiest in. I promise not to make trouble for the girls,” he said, holding his hands out. “I know none of them are for me, but I like the way your packs work together. I like the way you all seem to get along, and even when you fight, it is short-lived. I’m a little thickheaded—” Grey interrupted with a snort, but the young man continued, avoiding Grey’s eyes. “I think I could learn from you, and hopefully I can be a better wolf because, Lord knows, I’m not doing so well on my own. Please.”

The man looked to be in his late teens or early twenties. He obviously hadn’t taken care of himself for an extended period of time. His dark hair was unwashed, and he was dangerously skinny for a werewolf. Talking to the pack had lightened his eyes, but one was an unnaturally light blue and the other light brown.

“What is your name?” Dean asked quietly.

“Levi Wright, sir.”

“Where do you live right now?”

“I’m up in Boston.”

Aaah, now she could place the accent.

“But I don’t have a home there. I’ve been bouncing around since I was Changed.”

“Who was your maker?”

“Couldn’t tell you, sir. I don’t remember being Turned. I was out at a park late at night. I was supposed to be meeting a girl, and that’s all I remember. I woke up in the woods, and I was…different. The Boston pack found me and told me the rules, but we never got along so I never joined up. Last year’s Summit was my first one, but I wasn’t ready to Pledge.”

Dean seemed satisfied with his answers so far, but who could really tell with that clever old wolf? “Everyone in our pack works and provides for themselves. You are welcome to come back with us for your trial period, but you need to get a job and hold it down and get a place of your own as soon as possible. We also don’t want any trouble. Our packs have a certain lifestyle and goals to maintain. If you can’t get on board with that, you won’t be accepted. Do you understand?”

Levi nodded, hope flickering in his wild eyes.

Dean jerked his head toward Grey. “Is this arrangement acceptable to you and your pack?”

Slowly, Grey nodded.

Dean turned back to Levi. “Before you get on a plane with us, you are going to have to clean yourself up.”

Levi stared at the ground and ran a hand across the scruff on his face. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t afford a cabin so I’ve been crashing in the woods.”

Rachel made a sympathetic clicking noise behind her teeth. “You will come with us and shower in our room. You can’t sleep inside with us—not yet. We have only just met you, and we have a lot to protect. We can set up a cot in the back of our cabin if you want it, though.”

The new wolf nodded and gave her a shy smile.

“Do we need to send for any of your belongings in Boston?” Logan asked.

“No, everything I have is in my backpack. I had a jeep I was living out of, but I had to sell it to pay back a debt.”

Everyone had started noisily gathering to one side of the bonfire in preparation for the last event of Summit.

“Are you guys not going to Change and run with the others?” Levi asked.

“I am. I think most of us are, but the rest have to go to that meeting about Morgan,” Logan said. “You can come with us and run, and then head back to our room to shower afterward if you want.”

“Thanks, man.”

The group that was joining the Summit run made their way to the gathering packs near the bonfire. Marissa slid in beside Morgan and looped her arm in hers.

“Are you all right with this?” Marissa asked her.

“I guess. I trust Dean to make the right decision. I know he won’t let him in the pack if it puts any of us at risk. What about you?”

Marissa shrugged. “I sort of feel sorry for him. Especially now that I know he has been on his own this whole time without his maker or anything. He isn’t that dominant, and I was confused on why he would think he could challenge a wolf like Grey. I thought he was cocky, but now I think maybe he really didn’t understand any of that. I’m glad he isn’t joining our pack, though. Next door will be plenty close enough.”

“Agreed. Are you running with everyone else?”

Marissa sighed. “I guess. I know I’m not invited to your meeting, and I don’t want to sit by myself in the rooms. The safest place would be as a wolf with Logan and the rest of them. I know they won’t let anything happen to me.”

“I think so, too, and you might have fun. You never know.”

“Yeah, totally. Me, an unclaimed submissive with a hoard of testosterone-filled macho werewolves. Fun times.”

“You’ll be fine. The boys will watch out for you.”

“Mmm hmm, and two of those boys are the main problem.”

Morgan laughed. “Yeah, okay. They really can be obnoxious, huh?”

“Understatement of the century,” Marissa muttered as she walked off to join the group.

As she, Grey, Dean, and Rachel started making their way to the mess hall, the other alphas and their mates split off from the group at the bonfire and headed that direction, as well. A wave of dread washed over her. In just a few minutes, her private life would be put under a microscope. She’d give her left kneecap to join Marissa and the others for a run.

“So Silver Wolf gets a meeting all about herself,” Alexis snarled from behind. “Looks like you are getting exactly what you want once again, Morgan.”

Stupid Alexis. The name brought her happiness. Maybe she’d call her Stupid Alexis from then on. One tiny victory was all she wanted. “And what would that be, Alexis?”

“Attention, of course. All eyes on you, as usual.”

“No, that sounds like your thing. I don’t want to do this at all.”

“Hey, Morgan. How are you holding up?” Jonathan asked kindly, earning a smack on the arm from his mate. He gave her a warning growl.

What on earth was a respected pack alpha like Jonathan doing with an obnoxious twit like Alexis?

She adjusted Lana on her hip and smiled tiredly. “I’ll be much better when this meeting is over.”

Alexis glared at Lana’s sleeping back. “Having children seems like a terrible inconvenience.”

Dean’s exasperated voice came from behind them. “Alexis, go away.”

She looked furiously between Dean and Morgan and stepped in front to effectively bring their little group to a halt.

“You have always chosen her,” Alexis spat. “I was loyal to you all of those years, and she comes in for a minute, and you don’t care about me at all anymore.”

Dean rubbed his eyes as if he hadn’t slept in days.

Rachel spoke up. “Alexis, enough. It’s like arguing with a child every time you are around. It’s time to grow up and move on. Leave Morgan alone. She isn’t even fighting you on anything.”

Alexis’s eyes blazed. “We’ll see about that,” she promised before she spun on her heal and stormed off. Jonathan apologized and fell into step beside her.

Morgan sighed dramatically. “She makes me want a nap.”

“Me, too,” Grey said with a tired smile on his face.

Dean chuckled. “Me, three.”

“Me, four.” Rachel held the door to the mess hall open for them. “I don’t know how Jonathan isn’t in a coma already.”

Forty wolves gathered in the chairs in front of the podium. Most of the pack alphas were there, and about half of them had their mates with them as well. Marcus motioned Grey and Morgan to a couple of chairs placed on the stage near where he stood. Rachel took Lana from Morgan’s arms and pulled up chairs to sit with Dean and the others. Wolf squirmed uncomfortably, and tingles assaulted his arms at the first signs of a Change. He swallowed hard and tried to reason with the beast, but so much dominance in one room was more than Wolf was willing to deal with. He’d show them all.

Morgan’s eyes had lightened to their brilliant purple. She had always thought she looked scary. More zombie than exotic beauty, she would say, but she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on. Especially with her wolf so close to the surface. Her dark hair and thick dark lashes always made the vibrant color of her bottomless eyes stand out even more.

Her nerves were likely to blame for the glimpse into her animal. Her eyes had been the deep blue of storm clouds most of the day as she had relaxed into her surroundings. As they took their seats stage center, Marcus rapped on the podium to quiet everyone down and start the meeting. In the front row were four older wolves—the Old Ones. He nodded respectfully to them and received the same in return.

Marcus began. “As you all know, we are here to discuss Silver Wolf and what the reemergence of her kind means for our future. You are all to take the information you gain in this meeting to your packs so there won’t be any more misunderstandings in the future.”

When a wolf in the back raised his hand, Marcus pointed his gavel at him.

“What kind of misunderstandings are you talking about? We haven’t heard much about her and have been left out of the loop, I fear.”

“Fair question. Grey, would you like to describe what has been going on in your territory?”

Grey took the podium. “I received formal challenges before Morgan accepted me as her mate. I understood and accepted those challenges, as they were done according to pack law. However, after I claimed her, wolves kept showing up on our property, and once seeing and smelling for themselves that she was officially claimed, they were still making challenges. These, I didn’t accept. She was already mine, and I, hers. One left willingly but the day we came back from an overnight stay, the North Ogden, Baton Rouge, and Little Rock packs were waiting for us. They attacked both Dallas packs unprovoked, even after I explained to them she was claimed. The fight was a blood bath with losses on both sides. There is no reason to issue a challenge for her anymore because she has made her choice. I will not be lenient on anyone else showing up in my territory wanting to fight for her. She is mine.”

The last part came out as a snarl, and he shook his head. Warm, content tendrils wafted over their bond, and he looked far enough to his left to find Morgan focused on him. Wolf settled, but not enough for him to find words again.

Morgan stood and took a deep breath. “Rachel, can you take Lana outside?”

Rachel nodded and headed for the door without a word.

Marcus’s eyebrows shot straight up into his hairline. “The child should be present at this meeting. What is discussed here today affects her future, too.”

“Lana, my niece and ward, is old enough now to catch on to what is said. It is bad enough this discussion has to be had in front of complete strangers, but we will decide the best time to tell her about all of this. She is too young for this discussion, and we aren’t ready.”

When Marcus nodded and the door shut firmly behind Rachel, Morgan began. “Grey didn’t mention something else that happened to me. I’m assuming out of respect for my privacy. I was kidnapped by the Southern Montana pack, and my niece was used as bait.” Her voice shook, and it only got worse after the crowd’s uncertain reaction to the mention of the now-deceased Montana pack. “I was held in a basement for two days while the alpha planned to claim me against my will.” She shook her head and looked at Grey as a tear made its way down her cheek. “I was undressed and abused by a man I didn’t know because of what I am, and then I was chained to a wall and tortured. He put a collar around my neck so that if I tried to Change to defend myself, it would kill me.”

A rumble of voices burst forth from the crowd, some in anger, but most in disbelief. Some of the women’s eyes filled for what Morgan had been through. Dean had his head in his hands, and Grey rubbed his hands angrily through his hair. He’d asked her about Montana before, but she had avoided the details. But now, hearing what she went through out loud, felt like liquid pain was running through every fiber in his body.

She continued when everyone quieted down. “Grey saved my niece. He made sure she was safe, and he and the Dallas pack tracked me down and rescued me from those monsters. He was made for me. I love him, and I choose him. I will never want anyone else. I just want our pack left in peace.”

The crowd was quiet for only a moment before a man near the middle spoke up. “What is so important about a silver wolf? Why do these wolves want you so badly they would go to these extremes?”