****
Across town, Nafarius loaded the last of the meat into the back of the SUV. The butcher had been unfazed by the large order, accepting Nafarius' explanation of a year's supply to be divided among family members. The reality was this much meat would last them about as long as it took to thaw.
"That's the last of it," Nafarius said, closing the cargo door and slipping into the passenger seat. Behind the wheel, Roland pulled the SUV out from behind the butcher and aimed it towards the warehouse.
"At least it's dressed and packaged," Roland said. "We can divide it up and carry it back to the den."
"It's not enough." Nafarius's voice was grave. Back at the warehouse, a brand new deep freezer was already plugged in and growing cold.
"We've had lean years before," Roland reminded him. "We're well stocked on supplies and we can still hunt. We'll just have to go further out until our usual hunting grounds come back."
Nafarius nodded, staring out the window. "We won't have to go too far," he said quietly. "Dimitri's grounds will be up for grabs."
Roland turned to look at his alpha. Nafarius sat erect, his hands resting lightly on his thighs. "You're going to make a play for his territory?"
"Seems I have no choice," Nafarius said. At one time he had coveted the rich hunting grounds held by the old alpha. It was why he had agreed to mate the male's daughter and join their pack. "It feels wrong," Nafarius admitted. "I get everything I wanted with no sacrifice."
Roland pulled into the warehouse, throwing the SUV in park before turning to his alpha. "You're wrong," he said, waiting until Nafarius turned to look at him. "Don't think for a moment that it won't cost you dearly to put Dimitri down."
Nafarius searched Roland's face, the cab of the SUV painfully quiet.
"No matter how justified, you lose a piece of yourself when you're forced to kill someone you once respected." Roland reached for his door, hesitated. "But it's only fair, that kind of killing should never be easy."
****
A few hours later, Sam pulled the Mini around to the back of the warehouse. She had thought to pull inside and unload there, but the bay doors were already closed.
Craig watched her park the car, gratified that his patience had been rewarded. He brought the rifle up, and looked into the powerful scope. Dimitri's daughter stepped from the car, and opened the trunk.
"I still can't believe I let you talk me into buying the boots." Natasha groaned, grabbing a handful of bags and dragging them out of the back of the Mini. "I seriously doubt they were what Roland had in mind when he gave me his card."
Sam smiled across the roof of the car, a slight breeze blowing the hair back from her face. "Wear them once for him and he won't care."
"What the hell am I supposed to wear them with?" Natasha asked, thinking about the black thigh-high boots, the supple leather had been too tempting to pass up.
"Nothing," Sam said and laughed as Natasha blushed. The three of them had spent the afternoon shopping, easily cleaning out half the town. Sam had convinced both females to pick up a few things other than the usual jeans and dresses.
Natasha fit in well with her and Maddie, and Sam was planning on speaking to Nafarius about making her pack.
Craig brought the crosshairs of his rifle down on Sam, but she was behind the car, then behind Natasha. He cursed at the lack of a good shot.
"Come on," Sam said, grabbing a handful of bags. "Let's get this stuff inside."
Inside, Nafarius and Roland stood staring down at a freezer full of meat, talking logistics. Both males turned as the females walked in, eyeing the assorted shopping bags.
"We're going to need more males," Roland warned.
Nafarius groaned. "Is there anything you didn't buy?"
"You'll thank me later," Sam said, smiling at her mate.
Nafarius caught a whiff of desire along the mate bond and wondered what, exactly, was in those packages.
"We forgot the pie!" Natasha said, dropping her bags by the door.
"I'll get it," Sam said, stepping towards the door.
"I'll help," Maddie said, hurrying past Sam. "I figure I'd better get to the coconut cream before Natasha eats it all!"
"Hey, I wasn't the one practically licking the plate!" Natasha retorted.
Sam turned, catching a glimpse of Maddie's blonde hair as she slipped out the door.
Craig saw a female step out, and his patience reached an end.
The shot, when it rang out, echoed off of the buildings, the bullet lifting Maddie into the air and hurtling her across the pavement. Her body bounced, the sickening thud of her head hitting the ground reaching Sam as the last of the shot faded away.
"Maddie!!" Sam screamed, launching herself out the door.
"Sam!" Nafarius caught him mate, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her out of the doorway. "Everybody down!"
Craig reloaded, taking aim as a flash of black hair moved passed the doorway and disappeared. "Damn!"
He'd missed his shot, the blonde bitch appearing out of nowhere. Grabbing his rifle, Craig hurried away from the warehouse.
Roland grabbed Natasha when she didn't move fast enough, shoving her behind the SUV.
"NO!! Let me go!" Sam growled, clawing at Nafarius' arm.
"Roland, find the shooter," Nafarius order. "Kill him."
Roland nodded and disappeared outside.
"Let me go, please." Sam begged. She had to get to Maddie, couldn't leave her out there.
Nafarius held his mate while she struggled, his eyes scanning the nearby buildings before returning to the small, crumpled form laying motionless on the ground.
"I can't feel her," Sam sobbed, frantically searching along the pack bond. "Why can't I feel her?"
"Shhhh," Nafarius cooed. "She's unconscious," he assured her, hoping it was true.
Natasha looked from Sam's tear-streaked face to where Maddie lay in a growing pool of blood. Pushing away from the SUV, she darted out the door.
"Natasha!!" Nafarius roared, suddenly caught between holding his mate and going after the female.
Natasha skidded to a stop, Nafarius' voice echoing off the surrounding buildings. Dropping to her knees, she quickly pressed her hands against Maddie's abdomen. Why hadn't she thought to bring something to help stop the bleeding?
Nafarius' eyes bore into Natasha's back, his body tense, just waiting for a second shot. He couldn't send anyone else out to retrieve her, not knowing if it put another of his pack in danger.
An eternity later, Roland slipped back inside. "All clear," he said. He'd found the shooter's spot, the place rancid with the acidic scent of sweat, gun powder and deer urine. The urine was an old hunter's trick used to hide your scent and keep from tipping off deer.
"Let me go," Sam growled, wrenching herself free and bolting out the door.
A restraining hand on his arm stopped Nafarius from immediately following his mate. He looked at Roland.
"Only one shooter, gone when I got there," Roland reported, his words clipped. "I did a quick sweep but I'm heading back out."
"Send someone else," Nafarius ordered. "You're with me."
"Where's Natasha?" Roland asked, wanting to reassure himself.
"With Maddie," Nafarius growled, following his mate.
Sam crossed the parking lot in a blur. Dropping to her knees, she covered Natasha's hands with her own, blood seeping through their combined fingers. "Maddie! Open your eyes, come on, Maddie. Look at me!"
Nafarius was there pressing his fingers against Maddie's neck. "She's alive," he said, though the pulse beneath his finger was weak and irregular. Moving quickly, he stripped off his shirt, slipping it under the females' hands and pressing both back to the wound. Warm, wet blood, slick and sticky seeped into his jeans where he knelt on the ground.
"Help her shift," he ordered. Sam's gift had saved Natasha, she could do the same for Maddie.
Natasha looked back and forth between Sam and Nafarius, never letting up on the pressure to Maddie's wound.
Using the pack bond, Sam tried reaching for Maddie's wolf. "I can't, she's too weak."
Nafarius glanced at Maddie's face, another check of her pulse. Slow. Too slow. They were running out of time. "Heal her," Nafarius ordered.
Sam glanced up. "What?"
"Remember the mate bond?" Nafarius asked, his words coming in a rush. "You and I can use it to lend each other strength and power. Try doing the same for her."
"But she's not my mate," Sam said, her eyes wide.
"But she's yours, more than any of the others, she is
yours
." Nafarius said, pressing his hands over Sam's and applying more pressure. "You two have a unique bond. Use it!"
Sam didn't hesitate. Sinking into the pack bond, she realized Nafarius was right. Her bond with Maddie was different, separate from the rest of the pack but so close Sam had never noticed the difference.
Thinking of their time together, the tilt of Maddie's smile, the taste of her skin, all of it helped Sam to focus. Gathering her strength, she sent it flowing down the bond, feeding it to Maddie until it was hard to tell where one of them ended and the other began.
Nafarius watched Maddie's pale face for a change. "Come on, girl. Come back to us."
Sam poured everything she had into Maddie, drawing on Nafarius and the mate bond when she felt herself starting to tire.
"Take it all," Nafarius ordered, surrendering his strength to his mate.
Sam became aware of Maddie's energy growing brighter, its pulse stronger as heat gathered beneath Sam's palms.
"She's shifting," Sam warned, as Maddie's energy opened up, releasing the wolf into Sam's hands. Gently, she guided Maddie's shift, slowly drawing the wolf out and letting the female slip beneath the surface.
"
Maddie
," Sam gasped against a moment of panic as the female disappeared leaving her holding a small blonde wolf.
"Get her inside," Nafarius ordered, pulling Natasha away. Rising, he went around to Sam, wrapping her in his arms. "Let them take her," he urged. "She's still losing blood. We need to dress the wound, help her with as much of the healing as possible."
Sam growled but eventually let Roland lift the small wolf from her arms, Natasha helping to cradle the animal's head.
"Come on," Nafarius said, lifting Sam to her feet, his eyes still scanning the surrounding buildings and the tree line. "Everyone inside."
Sam let herself be led inside and up to the loft. Roland had Maddie laid out on the bed, the sheets already soaked with blood. He was issuing orders, Jeff and the others rushing back with pressure bandages, towels and whatever else was needed.
"The exit wound is the worst," Roland reported. His hands spanned the jagged wound, applying pressure while Natasha worked around him.
"The bleeding has already slowed down," Natasha told Sam. "You did good, gave her the time she needs to heal the rest."
Sam nodded, not trusting her voice as she watched them work to wrap the wounds. Eventually, Roland stepped back, dropping the last of the bloody towels on the floor.
"That's the best we can do for now," Roland said, wiping the back of his hand across his forehead. He was covered in sweat, blood sticking to his hands and drying his clothes stiff.
Sam slipped out of Nafarius' arms and knelt beside the bed. Maddie's wolf lay on her side, her head facing Sam. The animal's breathing was quick and shallow, but reassuringly warm where it brushed Sam's face as she laid her head down on the bed.
CHAPTER SEVEN
In-laws, For Breakfast...
"Roland." Nafarius called quietly, careful not to disrupt his mate. He was the last except for Sam to take a shower, washing off Maddie's blood and putting on a clean set of clothes.
Roland and Natasha had been keeping watch over Sam and Maddie. Both of them sitting by quietly in case either female needed anything. Giving Natasha's arm a quick squeeze, Roland slipped out of the bedroom and into the living room.
"What did you find?" Nafarius asked. Roland had made a second sweep of the area, sending Jeff and the others searching in an ever-widening circle around the warehouse. They had orders to search the surrounding five miles and report back.
"There was one shooter," Roland confirmed. "Not human, but whoever it was took steps to cover his scent."
"Dimitri?" Nafarius asked. How could he have been so stupid? This was the second time in so many days that his shortsightedness had put one of his pack at risk.
"My father doesn't use guns," Natasha said quietly. She'd stepped into the doorway, one eye on Sam and Maddie as she listened to Roland's report to his alpha.
"I beg to differ," Nafarius snarled, his fists clenching at his sides.
"Go back inside," Roland ordered quietly. This wasn't her fault, but if her father was the shooter then Nafarius would be hard pressed not to take his anger out on the male's daughter.
Natasha looked from Roland to Nafarius, understanding that her welcome was slowly wearing thin. "My father doesn't use guns," she reiterated. "But Craig does."
Nafarius watched Natasha disappear back into the bedroom. "Even if it was Craig, he would have been acting on Dimitri's orders."
Roland rubbed at his face. "There's more."
"Tell me," Nafarius ordered.
"He had a clear line of sight into the warehouse," Roland said, keeping his voice low. "And by the looks of things, he'd been there a while."
Nafarius turned away and stared down into the warehouse. Thinking back, he replayed those last few seconds before Maddie was shot over in his head.
"But why Maddie?" Roland asked. Maddie was the weakest of their pack, her strength coming from her relationship with Sam. "Could Dimitri know what she means to Sam?"
Sam. Maddie. They both had been headed for the door. Sam had moved past Nafarius first. He knew because he had caught the light scent of her skin as she stepped into the doorway. At the last second, Maddie had darted around her alpha, laughing at Natasha over her shoulder.