Wolf Flight

Chapter 9

Tad threw his cell phone into the backseat with the rest of their things. “That’s the last chance for reception around here. We’ll have to wait until we get over the pass to try again to reach Keil.”

He glanced at Missy, noting the tension in her body as she fidgeted with the seatbelt strap. “Hey.” He waited until she looked up at him. “We’ll be fine.”

Missy nodded but it lacked conviction.

He fought to control the wide range of emotions pouring through him, some hers, some his. “Catch me up on the werewolf lessons I need. You’re an Omega and you ran away because they were nasty assholes. Right?”

Missy snorted. “You have such a way with words.”

“Yeah. Elegant and verbose, that’s me. We’re mates, but you think some jerk plans to take you as a mate anyway?”

“My brother-in-law, the Alpha. Whistler pack has gotten into illegal activities because of him. He wants to use my Omega skills. He had something on my dad years ago, which is why I ended up married to his brother. I’ve been gathering evidence to use against him with the werewolf council, but it’s tricky. It will be dangerous to attempt to bring him down because he’ll stop at nothing. He’s a skilled liar, a bully and a killer. He killed his own brother, Tad. He’s…” She turned away to stare out the window.

Tad swore under his breath. This being connected thing was brutal. Fear rolled off her and he felt every nuance to the center of his being. His need to protect her surged to overload, making it really hard to concentrate.

“Sweetheart, you’ve got to stop. Every time you let the Big Bad Wolf scare you, I feel the need to rip limbs off trees. It’s tough enough to drive in the dark, let alone convince the border-crossing guards to allow us into Alaska, if I’m foaming at the mouth. Oh shit…”

The border. He had no ID and the Alaskan side closed at midnight. What the heck were they going to do? “So, this Omega thing? Does it give you the ability to make someone real peaceful and content so they won’t look in the trunk?” Tad asked.

Missy goggled at him.

“Just planning ahead. You get to drive us through customs, sweetie. I’m going to be hiding out.”

They drove in silence for a while, the dark mountains looming above the highway.

“I think you’re one too, Tad. An Omega.” Missy spoke quietly. She clasped his right hand, warming his fingers as she rubbed them like worry beads.

“Really?” He racked his brain for everything he knew about Omegas. Other than what Shaun had shared, it was very little. Except there was something very comfortable about the knowledge settling over him, very natural. A part of his brain he had always known was there but never used seemed newly available. “Isn’t it really weird we’d end up as mates? I thought Omegas were rare.”

“Mates complement each other, complete each other. There must be things that you’ll be able to do that I can’t, or that I can’t without your help. I’m still trying to figure out the extent of my skills. I know I can calm crowds and soothe someone when they’re angry. The last Omega I spoke to said he could locate pack members by their thoughts. He went through the pack each night and helped relax their burdens so they could sleep well.”

Tad grunted. “I don’t think being a night light is the kind of thing I’d enjoy. You really think I’m one?”

She nodded. “One of the minor skills all Omega’s have is the ability to hide our scent if we need to. You were doing that even before we…you know.”

“Made love? Had sex? Did the horizontal hoochie coochie? You realize we’re still not done, by the way. That was nowhere near long enough or enough times for a real FirstMate. From what I’ve been told,” Tad teased, trying to lighten the mood.

Missy kissed his knuckles. “Trust me, I’m looking forward to more as well.” She laughed. “I think ours is the strangest mating I’ve ever heard of. It’s taking the longest time to complete!”

Tad squeezed her fingers. “I love you, Missy. And everything will be fine.”

They would be at Robyn and Keil’s in an hour. Whether it was her ability as an Omega or his ability to bullshit, peace descended and Tad relaxed. It was going to work out. It had to.

He was in love and that made everything right.

All the house lights were blazing as they slowed on the approach to Keil’s log house on the outskirts of Haines, Alaska.

“Tad.” Missy’s eyes were huge in her face. “He’s here.”

Shit. “You sure?”

She gave him a dirty look.

“Sorry. You’re sure. Don’t worry. We’ll just go talk to him, explain we’re mates and that’s all there is to it.”

Missy turned away from him and Tad felt her fear rise again.

He, on the other hand, was getting royally pissed off. It sucked big time he’d caused so much trouble with their mating by his ignorance, but enough was enough. Werewolves or not, some things were the right thing to do. If the Alpha from Whistler didn’t understand, he could shove it up his ass.

The area in front of the house looked like a parking lot. Half the pack must have been there, and a couple of fancy rentals were noticeable front and center. Tad opened the car door for Missy and held her arm as they approached the house.

The Granite Lake Beta stepped from the shadows.

“Hell, am I glad to see you. Did you get our message?” Tad asked. Erik nodded and motioned to the side of the house with his head. Tad followed toward the edge of the stairs.

“A group from Whistler showed up today and demanded Granite Lake’s assistance in regaining one of their AWOL pack mates. They said she might be suffering from mental trauma, and they were concerned she could be a danger to others if she wasn’t dealt with properly.” Erik snorted in disbelief.

Missy clutched Tad’s arm tighter.

“Dangerous? Missy? Please, what kind of crap are they trying to pull? And last time I checked there was no such thing as going AWOL from a pack. It’s not a military membership or anything.” Tad soothed a hand down Missy’s back as he looked up into Erik’s worried face.

Erik squatted his huge body down to Missy’s level so they were eye to eye. “You’re close to the end of your time of mourning. Did you know Doug planned to take you as a partner?” She nodded and Erik cursed. “Damn, can’t even claim ignorance and ask for an extension. I take it you’d prefer not to accept his proposal?”

Tad felt the wave of fear and nausea that swept over her.

“I would sooner permanently shift and go feral, but they threatened my sister.”

Tad laid a hand on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “You’re not going anywhere, Missy, and we can keep your sister safe.” Tad turned to Erik. “We can keep her safe, can’t we?” He stared at Erik, ready to do whatever it took to convince the Beta to help them.

Erik stood and rubbed his chin. “I have some friends in Vancouver that I could call in a favour from. But she would have to be ready to leave fast. In the meantime, it doesn’t change the fact they”—he pointed with a thumb over his shoulder—“want Missy.

“We got your message that you plan on getting hitched. When they overheard the news, the Whistler pack stopped talking about recovering a missing member, and Doug informed us that you were promised to him. Keil’s done what he could, but they’ve issued a challenge for Missy.”

Tad wrapped an arm around Missy. “Nope. She’s my mate, Erik. The real deal. They can’t take her—”

Erik shook his head. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. They can. They can take her if you’re dead.”

Well, that would really mess up his day.

“Bloodthirsty wolves.” Tad cursed.

Erik nodded. “Not one of our better personality traits, I’ll admit.”

Tad took a long breath in and considered. He’d just been triggered. Next full moon was in three weeks. In that amount of time they should be able to help Missy’s sister get away and he’d be able to prepare a battle plan. Figure out how to use his new skills as an Omega if he really did have them.

“Fine, I accept the challenge. Do they want to fight in Whistler or—”

Erik’s face screwed up into a frown. “Tad, they want to fight here. Now.”

Shit. Werewolf politics sucked. “But I can’t shift yet. How the hell is that a fair challenge?” He was supposed to defend himself against a wolf attack tonight?

“There are rules about these things set out in the code, of course, but it seems since you’ve been triggered you count as a full wolf. There’s nothing in there about having to wait until you actually can shift.” Erik looked extremely uncomfortable. “It would be in the interest of fair play to wait, but I think Doug’s comment was something like ‘I want to kill the little bastard as soon as possible.’ We’re not talking about nice people here, Tad.”

Missy crowded into his side. The connection between them flared. Images flashed through his mind—Missy accompanying Doug away, Tad left in safety—Tad groaned. While it was neat to know what she was planning, it was going to make it tough to give her surprise gifts in the future if they couldn’t keep any secrets from each other. He turned her to face him and brushed a soft hand against her cheek, gazing into her eyes. He lowered his voice to speak quietly to her alone.

“Missy, you are not going with them. You think you can deny our mating and go be with Doug now? I don’t think so.”

She pressed her hand to his, her fingers cold and shaking. “If my sister is safe, I can stand it. I don’t want to lose you. Just get her to safety and I’ll eventually get away from Whistler.”

Tad hugged her close, his lips brushing her cheek. This time he spoke intimately through their mate connection trying to pass the emotion he felt along with the words. “I can’t let you go back. I can’t stand the thought of him touching you. I’d sooner die killing him than let you return to a life that’s caused you so much pain.”

Missy clung to him for a second then stared up at him with fear in her eyes. “It’s a challenge. He’ll turn into a wolf and kill you, and it will be all my fault.” She covered her face with her hands. “I wish I’d never come back.”

“You don’t mean that.” Tad held her close to his chest. “I love you, and I’m so glad you came back north and found me.”

“But he’s an Alpha wolf and he fights dirty.”

Tad kissed her. Here she was in his arms, the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to him, and a criminal wanted to take her away from him. No bloody way. “I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve. I can fight dirty myself if I have to. As far as I’m concerned, he’s not entitled to a fair fight after what he’s done to you, your family and your pack.”

Erik cleared his throat. “If you’re ready, everyone is waiting in the back.”