The Mini Cooper was parked along side a black SUV, the little car noticeably cleaner than when she'd left it. "How did it get here?"
"I sent Marcus to move it," Nafarius said, joining her at the rail. "I couldn't have some park service employee coming across it and starting a search for a missing hiker."
Sam looked up at her mate. "Was that before or after we were mated?"
"Before," Nafarius admitted, looking her in the eye.
"Did you ever intend on letting me leave?" Sam asked, sending her mate a sideways glance.
Nafarius hesitated. "No."
Sam barked out a laugh, the knowledge warming her better than any blanket. Turning her back to the rail, she looked around the loft.
The second floor was large, extending about a third of the way out over the lower floor and had a full living space complete with a bedroom, living room, kitchen and even an office.
"Here," Nafarius said, digging out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and handing them to Sam. "We're due to pick up the order from the butcher. Roland and I will take the SUV. Why don't you take Maddie and Natasha and get whatever things you need from town. We can meet back here in a couple of hours."
"Keys?" Sam asked, buttoning up her jeans and digging through a pile of shoes for ones that would fit.
"In the car," Nafarius watched his mate, his fear for her still pounding behind his heartbeat. It would be a long time before he was able to forget the feeling of finding her place in the mate bond empty. In that moment, he had known that even if he were strong enough to survive the severing of the bond, he was destined to follow her. He would never be able to live with that void.
"I'm okay," Sam assured him, catching a hint of his emotions along the bond.
"I know," Nafarius said quietly.
"Besides," Sam said, lacing up a pair of Converse "I promised Maddie pie."
"You're the one that wants pie!" Maddie called from the lower floor.
"Oh, what big ears you have!" Sam called back. "It's damn inconvenient," she muttered.
"I heard that!" Maddie called, relieved when a moment later Sam jogged down the stairs, Nafarius not far behind.
Sam smiled at Maddie, reaching out and running her hand down the female's arm to take her hand. "I'm fine."
"Don't do that again," Maddie said, surprising Sam with her fierceness. Those few minutes when she had been unable to feel her alpha were some of the most terrifying of her life, solidifying for her just how much Sam had come to mean to her.
"I won't," Sam promised, giving Maddie's hand a quick squeeze.
Maddie nodded, flipping a thick lock of blonde hair back over her shoulder.
"Good. Now about that pie..."
Sam laughed, shaking her head at Maddie's unbreakable spirit.
"Go on around to the front," Nafarius said. "I'll have Jeff pull the car out."
Sam nodded. Maddie bounced out the side door, anxious for her first tour of the town. She wasn't much impressed by what she'd seen so far.
"You ready?" Sam asked Natasha.
"Yeah, just give me a minute," Natasha said.
Sam waited while Nafarius opened the warehouse bay doors, watching Jeff try to fold his large body into the small car. "You know, I'm perfectly capable of pulling my own car out."
"Let him fuss," Roland called out. "It makes him feel better," he added. Taking Natasha's hands in his, Roland pressed a small square of plastic into her palm. "Pick up whatever you need."
"I can't - " Natasha started to object, staring down at the credit card.
"These are my separate funds," Roland said, understanding that she wouldn't want to take anything from Nafarius or the pack.
"I'll pay you back," Natasha said, she had thought to hit the bank and see about getting access to her father's accounts. It wasn't a sure thing and Roland's offer eliminated the need to try.
Roland pressed his forehead to hers. "Please let me do this for you."
"Your own bit of fussing?" Natasha asked.
"It makes me feel better," he confirmed with a smile. Perhaps he was more like his alpha than he had thought.
Natasha nodded, slipping the card into her back pocket. Cradling Roland's face in her hands, she pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "Miss me while I'm gone?"
"Every moment," he said, meaning it.
Natasha gave Roland another kiss, this one slow and deep, leaving them both a little breathless as she went to catch up with Sam and Maddie.
Outside, Sam stood waiting beside her car. Maddie was already tucked away in the backseat, the small blonde obviously eager to be on their way.
"Be careful," Nafarius warned, Roland coming to stand beside him as Sam slipped behind the wheel. A moment later, the small car sped away from the warehouse, music blaring as Sam shot around a corner and out of sight.
"Roland?" Nafarius said, his eyes staring after his mate. "Can werewolves have heart attacks?"
Roland laughed, slapping his friend on the shoulder. "She'll be fine."
"She'll be the death of me," Nafarius said, half serious.
"Nah...but I have noticed a few gray hairs," Roland said, laughing when Nafarius ran a hand through his still red hair. "Come on, old man, we've got meat to pick up."
"There is something seriously wrong with that statement," Nafarius said, following his beta back inside.
****
Craig watched as Sam sped away, followed a few minutes later by a large, black SUV.
"Son of a bitch!" This far away, he hadn't heard them opening the bay doors.
The bitch was starting to tax his patience. He had no desire to spend the day waiting for Sam to return. Unfortunately, there was no telling where she was off to and the occupants of the SUV gave Craig a moment's pause.
He wanted Nafarius to witness the death of his mate and suffer. But chances were that the alpha couple had parted ways for a reason. Logic dictated their return to warehouse, leaving Craig to wait.
He'd make her pay, Craig decided.
Her death would not be quick or painless.
****
Sam zipped through the small town, music blaring and the windows open. Driving past Bettie's, she pulled around back and into a gravel parking lot. "Food first," she told Natasha and Maddie, releasing her seatbelt. "Then shopping."
Conversation stopped when, a few minutes later, Sam entered Bettie's flanked on either side by Maddie and Natasha. "I feel like a joke," she said, surveying the staring crowd. "Three females walk into a bar..."
"But it's a diner," Maddie said, startling a nearby fellow when she flashed him a smile.
Sam narrowed her eyes at Maddie.
"She makes a great straight man," Natasha said, peering around Sam.
"Don't encourage her," Sam said, turning to glare at Natasha.
"Mornin' ladies, take a seat anywhere," the waitress called, motioning to the half empty restaurant. "I'll be right with you."
Sam led them to a window side booth, slipping in next to Maddie and across from Natasha. She ignored the menus already on the table, tapping her fingers lightly while they waited.
"Y'all know what you want?" the waitress asked, her pencil poised to take their order.
"We'll have one of each of your pies," Sam said. "Are you Bettie?"
The waitress blinked. "There is no Bettie. Was that one slice of each? To share?"
"No, we want a whole pie, one of each kind you have," Sam clarified. "No Bettie? Who makes the pies?"
"Pete," the waitress said, pointing over her shoulder with her pencil. "We have five different kinds of pie," she warned. These three didn't look like they could put away one between the three of them let alone five.
"Pete's pies?" Sam grumbled, clearly disappointed. "Doesn't conjure quite the same image as Bettie's pies," she added.
"But it has a nice ring to it," Maddie said, smiling up at their clearly confused waitress.
"Why don't you bring us one slice of each," Natasha offered helpfully. "Box up the rest to go."
Sam nodded, still frowning over the fact that there was no grandmotherly type in the back baking her pies.
A minute later and the waitress returned with their pie. Conversation around them once again ceased as the waitress slid five dishes across the table, the busboy behind her with a tower of bakery boxes.
"I'll have Joe leave these here," she said, nodding to the empty table one over from them. "He can help carry them out to your car when y'all are done."
"Thanks," Sam said, digging into a slice of chocolate pecan. Her eyes closed in ecstasy as butter and brown sugar burst on her tongue. "Oh my...I can feel it settling on my butt as we speak."
Natasha laughed, the alpha female's pleasure was contagious. "The benefit of our metabolism - all the pie you can eat, no exercise required."
"Is there such thing as a fat werewolf?" Sam asked, her eyes looking around to make sure they couldn't be overheard.
"I've never known one," Natasha said, trying a bite of the coconut cream.
"PMS?" Sam asked, perking up. Why hadn't she thought about questioning Natasha sooner?
"Never had it," Natasha said.
"The flu?" Sam went for the blueberry next, pleased to find it full of fat, sweet berries.
"Can you imagine Nafarius or Roland with the flu?" Natasha asked, skipping the lemon and going straight for the meringue.
"Talk about unpleasant." Sam shuddered dramatically. "But we can have chocolate," she said, saving the chocolate cream for last.
"We're not dogs," Natasha said, rolling her eyes.
"Are there others?" Sam asked.
"Other types of shifters?" Natasha asked, taking a stab at the last bite of coconut cream, glaring at Maddie when she scooped it up and unapologetically ate it. "Sure."
"Really?" Sam stopped with her fork halfway to her mouth. "Like what?"
Natasha shrugged. "Around here, mostly wolves and bears. As for the rest of the world? It's overrun with cats."
"Cats?" Sam asked.
Natasha wrinkled her nose. "Lions, tigers, cheetahs, jaguars, panthers...all the large breeds."
"All shifters?" Sam asked, falling back in the booth. A minute later, Joe came and cleared their plates, the waitress dropping off the check. "Does everyone get along?"
"For the most part the various species avoid each other," Natasha said, frowning when Sam waived away her attempt at picking up the check. "Except for the Council, that's made up of members from across the different species."
"I'm guessing that's your governing body," Sam said, signing the check and making sure to leave a nice tip.
"Yours too, now," Natasha said, standing and helping Sam with the boxed up pies.
"Anything I should know about them?" Sam asked, appreciating Natasha's insight. It hadn't escaped her notice that she could learn a lot from the female. Nafarius had explained that Natasha had been the alpha female of her father's pack, sharing many of the same duties and responsibilities as Sam.
"They can be ruthless," Natasha said, handing Maddie a couple of the bakery boxes. "But as long as you conform to their rules, they'll leave you alone."
"What are their rules?" Sam asked, not entirely thrilled at the idea of being held accountable to some distant power.
"They really only have one," Natasha said, sliding into the passenger seat and buckling her seatbelt. Werewolves may be hard to kill but Sam had a heavy foot when it came to driving. "No exposure."
"Ahhh...yes," Sam said, looking both ways before pulling out of the parking lot and heading towards the small downtown area. "It would be."
"No," Natasha rested her hand on Sam's arm, drawing the female's eyes to her face. "Absolutely no exposure," she said, her voice serious. "They will kill anyone that finds out about us."
Sam searched Natasha's face, behind her Maddie was silent, busy looking out the window. "That's why Nafarius was so intent on not letting me leave."
"If anyone outside of the pack found out about you, the Council would have sent someone to kill you." Natasha said. "Word of a human, even up in these woods, spreads quickly. It was just a matter of time."
"Now that I'm pack?" Sam asked, worried that there could still be repercussions.
"You're one of us now," Natasha said, taking back her hand. "You're a werewolf now, you're pack and you're Nafarius' mate. The Council can't touch you."
"And Nafarius?" Sam asked. "Would they punish him for making me?"
Natasha shook her head. "The packs, the prides - all of the species really - have a certain amount of autonomy, we wouldn't settle for anything less. Nafarius was within his rights as alpha and as far as the Council is concerned, he took care of the problem by mating you."
"You make it sound like that's the reason he mated me," Sam said, her voice chilly.
"Anyone looking at the two of you knows exactly why Nafarius mated you," Natasha said. Nafarius never looked at his mate with anything less than complete adoration. "But ultimately, the Council won't care, so long as the threat is eliminated."
"They really are cold," Sam said.
"My father called them pragmatic," Natasha said as Sam pulled out of traffic and parked along the street.
"I suppose they have to be," Sam said, grabbing her keys and letting Maddie out of the back. "But enough of that," she said, smiling at Maddie. "We're here to shop."
"What are we here for?" Maddie asked.
"Everything," Sam said. She had yet to replace the wardrobe she'd left behind and Natasha was similarly without.
Maddie smiled, slipping her arms in Sam's as they wandered down the sidewalk, looking in windows and deciding where to start.
"This looks like a good place," Maddie said, peering in the window. The racks inside were lined with warm sweaters, sweatshirts and hoodies, while along one wall stood row after row of jeans.
"I don't know about you," Sam said, holding the door for Natasha. "But I plan on putting a serious dent in Nafarius' liquid assets."
Natasha laughed. She had absolutely no doubt the female meant what she said.