Mated to the Pack (12 page)

“Wow,” Allison said. “And you couldn’t talk
to him?”

“No one can,” Michael said. “And if he’s
back, the further away we get from this area, the better.”

“Besides, Seth’s pack is strong,” Logan
added. “I don’t think even Simon could take them.”

“Who is Seth?” Allison asked.

“He’s Alpha of the Primrose pack, and his
brother, Wyatt, is their Beta. Second in command, basically. Their
territory is known as Primrose Peak. It’s a few days North of
here,” Michael said. “Seth is very powerful, and his pack is very
loyal. He’s a good friend to us, and he was a good friend to
Thaddeus, too.”

“And you think he’ll let us stay there?”
Allison asked.

“I don’t see why not,” Michael answered.

“You don’t think he’ll be upset about us
dragging our troubles into his territory?” Logan asked.

“Seth is a good guy,” Michael said. “He’d
never turn away a friend in need.”

Allison began to notice the pain of her bare
feet again. She gritted her teeth and tried to stay quiet, but she
noticed Luke sniff the air, and then he froze and looked down.

“Your feet are bleeding,” Luke pointed
out.

“I’m fine,” she said quickly.

“Sit,” he said, pushing her onto a log.

He kneeled in front of her, picked up one of
her feet, and examined the bottom. A low rumble sounded within
Michael’s chest. He glared down at Luke as if he might attack him
at any moment.

“Calm down, Michael,” Logan said, grabbing
Michael’s arm.

“Tell him to take his hands off her,”
Michael snarled through gritted teeth.

Luke sighed and pulled himself back into a
standing position, approaching Michael. He poked his chest out
defiantly.

“I don’t see why you have to act all
possessive, Michael,” Luke said. “You know pack law. She is ours,
not yours.”

Michael’s jaw clenched and relaxed
repeatedly. His lip curled into a snarl, baring his teeth.

“Michael, chill,” Logan whispered, his grip
on Michael’s arm tightening.

“She’s mine,” Michael said. “Pack law or no
pack law.”

Allison’s mind began to reel. She was
utterly confused. Michael had said they were unable to disobey pack
law as if they were under mind control, but now he was breaking all
kinds of their rules.

“Michael, I thought…”

“Stay out of this!” Michael warned her.

She sighed heavily and folded her arms
across her chest. She said nothing, but she glared stormily at
Michael.

“Let’s just get to Primrose Peak,” Logan
said. “Come on.”

Michael flinched toward Luke, but finally
relaxed. He shook his head and said, as he turned to walk away,
“You’re not worth it.”

“Likewise,” Luke said.

Michael ignored the slight and kept walking.
It was still a long journey to their destination, and nightfall was
coming.

A chill was in the air, and Allison noted
the familiar scent of a coming snowstorm. Wearing a tank top and
shorts with no shoes was one thing when the temperatures were in
the seventies, but the chill crept through her clothes and made her
skin crawl with constant goose bumps and stiffened her nipples. She
wrapped her arms around herself, but it did little to quell the
chill.

“She’s getting cold,” Logan said. “We need
to find her something warm to wear.”

“There’s a snowstorm coming,” Luke said.
“Logan’s right. She won’t survive in this weather.”

“I’m fully aware of this,” Michael said.
“What kind of useless Alpha do you take me for?”

Allison saw Luke’s mouth open, but quickly
close again. She was thankful he’d managed to keep his thoughts to
himself, if only this once. Her feet were beginning to ache as much
from the cold as from the wounds that mottled her soles, and she
was in no mood to hear them argue.

A wolf howled in the distance, and Allison’s
hair stood on end. She froze, but Michael perked up and shifted
himself. He belted out a somber response, and moments later two
large wolves trotted into sight. They shifted into human form, and
Michael followed suit.

“It’s good to see you, Michael,” said the
taller of the two men. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been better,” Michael answered. “A lot
has happened since we last spoke.”

“Well, come back to the den and you can tell
us all about it,” Seth said.

Seth glanced at Allison, who was staring
into the distance, avoiding letting her gaze fall on the two nude
men who greeted Michael.

“And who is this?” Seth asked.

“Her name is Allison,” Michael answered.

“A new mate?” Seth asked. “I don’t smell you
on her.”

“She has not yet been officially claimed,”
Michael said. “Besides, you know we follow different pack laws. We
still follow the old ways.”

“Oh, right,” Seth said. “The whole pack or
death thing, right?”

“So it was supposed to be,” Luke spat
contemptuously.

Seth raised an eyebrow and said, “Trouble on
the home front?”

“I have… made mistakes,” Michael
admitted.

“He copulated with her on his own,” Luke
growled.

“Well, I can see where that would be a
problem under the ancient laws,” Seth agreed. “Luckily, we no
longer observe such laws at Primrose Peak.”

“That’s right,” Wyatt said, speaking for the
first time. “For decades, we’ve followed a law that said the Alpha
alone may claim his mate, and no one else can touch her.”

“Of course, that rule, too, has been bent,”
Seth added.

“Oh?” Michael muttered.

“Wyatt and I have claimed a mate together,”
Seth said. “But by choice, not because of some outdated laws.”

“Interesting,” Luke said. “The most
progressive pack we know, and they are following the ancient laws
after all.”

“As I said, we didn’t do it because of
laws,” Seth corrected Luke. “Wyatt and I were jealous over Callie,
and we both wanted her as our mate. We saw that she was on the
verge of leaving, and we knew we couldn’t push her away by
continuing to argue. It just made sense for us.”

“How did you…” Michael started to ask a very
important question.

“There will be time for more questions
later,” Seth interrupted him. “Come. We’ll prepare a welcome feast
back at the den!”

Seth and Wyatt’s den was just that… a den.
Allison had heard Michael’s pack refer to their run-down house as
their den, so she hadn’t been expecting a literal den. It surprised
her when Seth pulled back a wall of natural vines and leaves to
reveal the entrance to their den.

“Wait,” Allison said, pausing at the
entrance. “They don’t go by your old pack laws. So that means
they’re not going to try the whole mate or kill thing. Right?”

“Seth and his pack have never lived by that
law,” Michael assured her.

“Barbaric,” Wyatt muttered. “A lot of the
ancient wolf ways were. We considered ourselves enlightened here at
Primrose Peak.”

They entered the den and headed down a
corridor that led into a very large cave-like room with a huge
bonfire built in the center, which currently wasn’t lit.

“Welcome to our den,” Seth said, bowing
graciously. “Please make yourselves at home. Wyatt and I must check
on our mate, who is currently expecting pups. We will have food
prepared shortly!”

Seth and Wyatt disappeared down a dark
corridor, and Allison and the others stood around awkwardly until a
female voice cleared her throat. Allison turned in the direction of
the sound.

“Hello,” said a smiling young woman who
happened to be completely nude. “I’m Willow. And you are?”

“You don’t remember me, kid?” Michael
asked.

Willow tilted her head to the right and
pinched her chin. She surveyed him for several moments, and finally
shook her head.

“No, sorry,” she said. “Should I?”

“Last time I saw you, I think you were only
this tall,” Michael said, indicating a height a few inches below
his waist. Seth and Wyatt are good friends of mine and have been
for a while.”

“I’m sorry, I really don’t remember,” Willow
said. “So what brings you here?”

“We are seeking temporary asylum,” Michael
answered “My pack is being hunted at the moment, and we need a
place to shelter until we regroup and figure out what we’re
doing.”

“Well, as Seth said, make yourselves at
home,” Willow said. “I’m assuming you’re familiar with the den
since you’re friends with my brothers?”

“I haven’t been here in quite some time,”
Michael admitted. But I think I can find my way around for the most
part.”

“Why don’t you take time to familiarize
yourself with the place again, and your lovely mate and I can
chat,” Willow suggested.

“I’m not their mate,” Allison quickly
interjected.

“Oh… I’m sorry, I… I thought they subscribed
by the ancient laws,” Willow said.

“We did,” Luke grumbled. “Until Michael here
took it upon himself…”

Logan nudged Luke sharply in the ribs, and
Luke glowered at his brother. But he went silent.

“Let’s go,” Michael said.

Luke and Logan followed Michael down the
hallway and Michael looked over his shoulder and said, “We will
return in a few minutes.”

“I’ll be ok,” Allison said.

Michael nodded and continued down the hall,
and Willow took Allison’s hand and led her to a log by the quiet
bonfire. They sat down together.

“So, tell me what’s going on here,” Willow
said. “How’d you meet these guys, and what’s the story with the
mate thing?”

“I was attacked by wolves, and they saved
me,” Allison explained. “Some guy named Victor.”

Willow sucked in a sharp breath and said.
“That’s not good.”

“Well, Victor’s pack apparently thought I
belonged to them, but Michael and his pack have been trying to
protect me,” Allison said. “I really don’t understand all these
complicated pack laws. They don’t make any sense, and they keep
getting twisted around.”

“Yes, I’ve heard of this happening,” Willow
said. “You see, the ancient laws were put in place during a much
different time. Humans were much more violent than they are now, if
you can believe that. They’d have slaughtered us en masse had they
really believed we were real. But things are different now. Most
people aren’t so willing to believe in the legends of werewolves,
so it’s easier to keep our secret. If someone had told you before
you met any of us that we existed… would you have believed it?”

“No, probably not,” Allison admitted.

“You’d have thought they were crazy,” Willow
said.

Allison nodded in agreement.

“Anyway, some packs are starting to go
against those old laws,” Willow said. “Our pack did years ago, but
Michael’s pack is apparently just now gaining the ability to break
away from them. They’re going against centuries of ingrained
behavior. It will be confusing for a while.”