Terr5tory (4 page)

Chapter 6

“But what are they doing in there?” Parker whined as he sat on the dining room table, his feet dangling as he kicked them back and forth and eyed the hallway where the laundry room was kept.

Anders’ eyes were glued to the hallway as well.  “Nothing.  Leave it alone.”

“But I just wanna go talk to Alpha Bowden.  Why do I hafta wait?  He won’t care if I go in there.”

Anders shook his head once.  “Oh, he’ll care.  Believe me.  Just give ‘em some more time.”

“How come Eleanor gets to be in there with him?  Is he helping her do laundry?”

“Yeah.” Anders chuffed a laugh.  “He’s
helping
her.”

Suddenly, the door crashed open and Delano lunged from the room.  Eleanor was fast on his heels, shrieking, “DELANO!  WAIT!”

The Alpha didn’t listen.  He raced from the house in a flash.

Anders, who’d grabbed Parker off the table and shoved him behind his back, taking a protective stance, turned worried eyes to Eleanor as she rushed forward.

“Anders!  Where’s Bose?”

Anders lifted a hand, pointing toward the back door, and that was all Eleanor needed.  “Get the rest of the pack inside. 
Keep
them inside! YES?” She nodded, and Anders silently mimicked the action before she raced from the house.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!”  Her words matched her steps as she pounded out the back door.  Behind the large main house was a small barn that had been remodeled as a man cave—or wolves den—as they preferred to call it.  Pool table, large TV, sofas, a small bar, it was where the pack males spent most of their time, and where she knew Delano had gone to find Bose. 

Before she could even get to the door she heard a loud crash and then wolves snarling.  She was relieved that Anders had Parker inside.  Too small, the boy could have been injured if he’d been caught in the melee.

Eleanor rushed into the wolves den, sliding on the shaggy rug that was placed in front of the door.  Holding her arms out in a surfing motion, she lost her balance and titled before sliding to a stop and righting herself.  Delano and Bose were in wolf form, engaged in battle.  In one corner of the room, Miston held a microscope crushed to his chest protectively as he stared wide-eyed at the battle.  Warren’s head was peeking up from the couch where he too stared in slack-jawed astonishment at the dueling wolves.

“Stop!” Eleanor demanded breathlessly as she held up her hands, palms out.  When Bose and Delano continued to battle, she shouted, “STOOOOP!”

Nothing.

Huffing, she balled her hands into fists and marched right up to where they were rolling on the floor with teeth snapping and claws gouging.

“ELEANOR, NO!”  Both Miston and Warren lunged for her at the same time.  Delano must have heard, because he chose that exact moment to pin Bose to the floor.  His teeth locked in a vicious grip around Bose’s throat, Delano let his wolf’s eyes slide up to Eleanor.

She was shoving at Warren, who was holding her back.  Delano knew he should be grateful they’d kept her from harm, but his wolf couldn’t help but take exception with where Warren’s arm was wrapped around her waist, and his hand gripped her upper arm. 

Keeping his hold on Bose, Delano snarled, drawing everyone’s attention.

Dark eyes dipped to Warren’s hands and Delano snarled again.

Warren got the message loud and clear.  He quickly released Eleanor and stepped back, holding his hands up.

Eleanor stumbled forward, scowling at Delano.  “What?  Is?  Your?  Problem?”

Delano didn’t even twitch.

“I
told
you nothing happened between us.”

Still no reaction from the Alpha.

“EVERYONE OUT!” Eleanor bellowed, but there was no movement.  Delano dipped his head, and actually smirked with Bose’s throat still clamped in his jaws. 

Seething, Eleanor knew he was delighted that the men were no longer following her commands but his.  Dejection and anger warred, but the result was the same.  Eleanor lowered her head.  “Fine.  Do what you must, but know this.”  She lifted her chin defiantly.  “Me telling or giving you the truth about something is a gift.  If you shit on it, I won’t gift it again.”

She turned and took two steps before there was a loud snarl, and her hair whipped with the flash of movement that blurred to a stop in front of her.  That fast, Delano had released Bose, shifted, and blocked her exit.

“EVERYONE OUT!” He bellowed and the men hurried to do his bidding.  Over his shoulder, Eleanor’s eyes met Bose’s where he’d pulled himself up from the floor.  His nose was bleeding, and his cheek swollen, and the look he gave her was filled with dark promise.

She tensed, then jerked her eyes away and made to leave as well.

Delano caught her elbow. “Not you, lovely.  You stay.”

Bose jerked his angry gaze from Eleanor to Delano.  “Ohhhh.”  He said knowingly.

“Get the fuck out!” Delano snarled, and Bose exited the wolves den.

“Don’t
ever
do that to me again,” Eleanor snapped, before Delano got the chance to speak. 

“What?” His eyes rounded. “I didn’t do anything to
you
!”

“Yes,” she hissed.  “You did!  You took information from me and then used it against
my
pack.  It’s not enough you’ve stripped me of all authority, but now you want them to
hate
me too?”  She gave him her back so he wouldn’t see the fear and uncertainty in her eyes.  “If you want me to go, just say it.”  It was her worst fear.  To be displaced by the incoming Alpha was something she’d dwelled on, knowing he might take issue with her role in the pack.  “You don’t have to tear me down in their eyes first.”

“That is
not
what I’m doing!” he roared as he grabbed her arm and spun her to face him.  “You are a valued member of this pack, Eleanor.  I know that, and so do they.  I’m not trying to break you down, I don’t want you gone, and I sure as hell don’t want them hating you.”

“Then why did you attack Bose?” she challenged, staring up at him.

“Because…”  He held his words.  How did he explain to her that the thought of Bose attempting to take her was too much for him to handle?  Hell, the sight of anyone touching her was hard to bear, but to know that Bose had attempted to force her submission… Even thinking about it now reignited his rage.  He’d already declared he wasn’t interested in a mating, it was too much too soon.  Hell, he’d only just left his feral pack of Alpha’s in British Columbia, so acclimating to civilized life was hard enough.  As new Alpha of the pack, the weight of responsibility was new too.  He couldn’t afford to add to that the duty of a mate.  Still…. “That hotshot needs to learn his place.”

“Agreed,” she nodded, “but not at my expense.”

“Your expense?”

“You don’t know him like I do.  He’ll seek retribution for this.  You made him look bad in front of the guys, and he can’t do anything to you, so he’ll come after me.  He’ll want to know what I did…what I said.  This
will
fall on me.”

“The hell it will!”

“It’s already done, Delano.  No matter if you walk out of here right now and threaten him or beat him, he won’t forget that this was because of me.”  She jerked her arm from his grasp and walked away.  “You’re making things very hard for me.”

Genuine concern steepled his brows.  “Hey,” he grabbed her hand, pulling her back to him. “Listen, lovely, I’m sorry this transition has been difficult.  I’m sorry you feel attacked and ignored. I vow to you, as your
Alpha
, that I’m going to work harder to make this go a little more smoothly.”  He needed to apologize, but hadn’t uttered the words in years.  “I’m…sorry.” 

Eleanor looked up at him with an expression he couldn’t read. 

“I’m not asking you to make it easy for me.”  She shook her head. “I’m just…”

“I know.”  Unable to stop himself, he pulled her in for what he hoped she thought was a reassuring embrace.  Tentatively, her hands flattened on his chest and his wolf howled with joy.  “And I’ll take care of Bose.”

“God, please don’t.”  She shoved at his chest and looked up at him.  “You’ll only make things worse.  Besides,” she smiled, “I’ve handled Bose this long.  I’m sure I can deal with whatever blowback he has in store.”

His jaw ticked when he scented her apprehension.  Watching her, he waited for the scent to escalate to an anxiety attack.  Instead, she plastered on a false smile and steeled herself.  No panic attack came.  He nodded once.  He’d let her think she was taking care of it, but he’d ensure Bose didn’t seek retribution or bother her ever again.  The fact that she’d had to deal with the male this long was grating, but to think that Bose would dare attempt to intimidate her while under his authority was unbelievable.  He wondered if the shifter would have the gall, but he wouldn’t wait to find out, not where Eleanor was concerned.  Her safety was more important than testing the weight of his authority.

Chapter 7

The next morning, Delano called a pack meeting.  Eleanor was the first to the kitchen and was pouring herself a coffee as Delano entered.

“Morning.”

“Morning,” she replied, noting the tension in his voice and that he avoided making eye contact.

Upon his arrival at the compound, Eleanor had quickly moved her things out of the master bedroom and into her old bedroom.  He’d told her it wasn’t necessary, but she knew it’d look odd to outsiders to not have the Alpha in the largest and best room in the house.  Most of the other males slept out in the wolf’s den, where the loft had several beds.  Parker wasn’t one of those.  He stayed in the house, his room now next door to Delano’s, which the kid had declared to be “awesome.”  It was an Alpha’s duty to be on hand to protect the most vulnerable of the pack, which meant he’d stay close to the women and Parker.

“How’d you sleep?” Eleanor queried, by way of starting conversation.

Delano retrieved a mug from the cupboard and stalked across the kitchen where he leaned against the counter beside the coffee maker.  “Like shit!”

Delicate brows speared down.  “Why?  I never had a problem falling asleep in that room.”

***

Delano clenched his teeth at the reminder that his bed was once Eleanor’s.  Damn woman! 
She
was the reason he couldn’t sleep, but he couldn’t tell her that.  How did he explain that the scent of her that lingered in the room, in the
bed
, kept his dick hard all night and when he finally did find sleep it was filled with erotic dreams of her? When he’d decided he wouldn’t claim her as a mate, he didn’t anticipate obsessing over her.

He shrugged and chugged a full cup of black coffee, ignoring the burn as he stalled for a response.  When he finally righted his cup he offered, “Being in a new place is making my wolf edgy.”

“Maybe we should go on a run.  You know, get your wolf familiarized to the territory.  Plus, it’ll finally be a chance for you to take in the area.  It’s really quite beautiful.  You haven’t run the perimeter yet, have you?”

He shook his head as he refilled his coffee cup.  She was right.  A hard run is exactly what his wolf needed.  It’d be nice to clear his nose and work off some of the tension that had his balls still aching from the scent of her in his bed.  He didn’t get a chance to respond though, before the pack came shuffling in, all eyes avoiding his except for Parker’s.  The kid smiled and waved at the Alpha, and Delano jerked his chin up once by way of greeting. His eyes shifted to Bose, who was the last to enter and, much to Delano’s surprise, the male met his gaze full-on even after the lengthy “discussion” they’d had the night before regarding the pack and Bose’s place in it.  Now, glaring at Bose, Delano knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the male was definitely going to be a problem.

Setting his cup on the counter without breaking eye contact with Bose, Delano straightened to his full height and curled his hands into fists, letting Bose know he was ready to dance.

Bose jerked his eyes away, but didn’t lose his scowl as he shoved past Miston to take a seat on the kitchen counter.

After making a quick mental note to have another “talk” with Bose, Delano made quick work of putting Eleanor in charge of assigning pack duties and chores to each member.  He’d made a great display of letting the pack know that ignoring Eleanor’s directive would be tantamount to ignoring
his
directive and would not be tolerated.  Nobody complained except Bose, who snorted derisively and shot daggers at Eleanor.  Delano put a halt to that with a, “Still seething about your beating, Bose?  Keep up the attitude and I’ll adjust it again.”

Bose dropped his eyes, but his heated look didn’t cease.

“Pack run tonight,” Delano declared.  “Seven sharp.  Don’t be late.”  He ran his eyes over the pack once.  “You’re dismissed.”

The pack rose in unison.  “Not you!”

Eleanor and Bose both stilled as the rest of the pack shuffled out.  He could feel Eleanor turn to eye him, but his gaze was narrowed on Bose, which had Eleanor hurrying from the kitchen.  Butnot before he detected her anxiety.

***

Two hours later and after several rounds with Bose, Delano was showered and making his way through the house.  Bose had heart, but the male was no match for Delano, and he enjoyed proving it.  He didn’t know if he should credit Bose’s stick-to-it-iveness to mere stupidity, but after Delano had bested Bose three times, the guy kept coming back for more.  In retrospect, Delano supposed Bose had been expecting him to tire.  Fat chance.  He was in his prime and his skills were honed.  He’d be bested by no wolf. 

Walking through the house, he found that most of the pack were catching up on the chores they’d let slide for the past few days.  Good.  They deserved a few long hours of hard labor for being so damn lazy. 

The sound of a mower and weed whacker drew his gaze to the front windows where he saw Warren and Anders taking care of the yard.  His eyes shifted to the kitchen where he heard Miston directing, “And Parker, don’t forget the garbage in the bathroom.”  Passing through the house, he heard Riss humming in the laundry room and was wondering where May and June were when he walked by the sun room and found Shade on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor with a towel.

“Don’t we own a mop?” he queried with a smile.

“Yes.” She sat up and blew dark bangs back from her sweat-beaded forehead with a grin. “But you can’t get the corners and baseboards with a mop.”

He grunted, but felt appreciation stir.  Shade was a hard worker, and he valued a pack member that didn’t shirk her responsibilities or perform haphazardly.  Her ethic reminded him of Eleanor.

As if conjured by his thoughts, his eyes lifted and locked on Eleanor as she stood at the clothesline in the yard.  A pile of towels were thrown over her shoulder, and clothespins were clipped along the hem of her shirt with one sticking out of her mouth.  He watched as her hands deftly snatched a towel, snapped it, then pinned it to the line.  He stood mesmerized as light filtered through the fluttering leaves of the quaking aspens overhead and glittered on Eleanor’s upturned face as she concentrated on her task.  She was breathtaking.   The wind kicked up, blowing her long hair back.  A towel was blown off her shoulder, and he read her lips as she cursed, but wasn’t deterred from pinning up the towel she had in her hands.

“Thank you for the hard work, Shade,” he murmured, eyes still on Eleanor.  “You’re good pack.”

“Thanks, Alpha.”

As if unable to help himself, Delano let his feet guide him out the side door of the sun room and around the corner to where he’d been watching Eleanor.  As he turned the corner, he found Eleanor bending for the towel a scowl on her face.  It was cute as hell.

“Need some help?” he offered, only realizing after he’d said the words that all of the towels were hung except for the one in her hands.

“Uh,” she looked down at the lone towel.  “I think I got it.”  Her smile was teasing.

“No you don’t.”

Both heads turned as Riss approached with an overflowing basket.  “Can you hang these too, Sissy?”

Eleanor huffed, but bent when Riss dropped the basket and began throwing damp jeans over her shoulder.  When she stood Riss’ eyes dropped to her chest.

“Ooooh!” Riss exclaimed.  “I
love
that shirt!  Where did you get it?”

Eleanor smiled.  “Bought it in town a few weeks ago when I went grocery shopping.”

“Why didn’t you buy me one?” Riss’ brows speared down as she pouted, and Eleanor sighed.  “Plus, that’s not how you thank someone for a compliment.”

Eleanor stiffened.  “I appreciate a nice compliment, but you didn’t give one.  You said you loved my shirt.  You didn’t say you loved it on me.  I know what you’re getting at.”

“It’d look better on me,” Riss winked.

“If you want nice clothes, buy your own,” Delano barked after watching the exchange, annoyed at Riss for interrupting and for trying to sluff off her chores.  By the looks on their faces, he’d surprised both females by immediately coming to Eleanor’s defense.

“Geez,” Riss lowered her head and pouted, her bottom lip in a moue of sadness.  “I was just asking.”

“No, you weren’t.”  Delano planted his hands on his hips as he frowned at Riss.  “You were insulting Eleanor and hinting around.”  He cocked his head.  “By the way, isn’t laundry your duty this week?”  His eyes narrowed.  “Why is Eleanor doing your chore?”

“It’s alright,” Eleanor began, but halted when Delano held up a hand.

“She’s a big girl.  She can answer for herself.”

“Well,” Riss began, looking nervously from Eleanor to Delano.  “There was so much laundry…”

“Because you let it pile up for days.” He supplied.

“And I just asked if El would help and…”

“Guilted her into it you mean.”

Riss’ cheeks flushed under his scrutiny.  “So, I’m washing and she’s hanging.  Plus, I help Eleanor with her chores all the time.”

Riss’ eyes flitted to Eleanor and Delano could tell she was silently pleading with her sister to confirm it.  He didn’t bother asking Eleanor.  He knew it was a lie.  Instead, he dropped his eyes to the basket of clothes.  Reaching out, he ripped the clothes pins from the hem of Eleanor’s shirt and took the jeans off her shoulder before shoving them at Riss.  “You hang these,” he growled at Riss.  “Eleanor and I need to talk.”  Without waiting for a response, he grabbed Eleanor’s elbow and steered her toward the forest.