Shadows of the Ancients (8 page)

“I’m not sure what’s going on with me for next weekend, but I will let you know as soon as I can.” I returned his hug this time, truly happy that he’d finally worked things out with his parents. They weren’t really too thrilled about him running off to be a werewolf. “Now, who’s your favorite sister? That’s right, this girl!” I said pointing to myself.

“I’m going to agree with you today, but just don’t tell Ashley. She’d kick my ass, my new found werewolf strength be damned.”

“You’re right about that!” I agreed with a laugh.

“So, seriously, what’s going on? People are starting to stare at you.”

“Can’t I just be that amazing?”

“I think you are,” Evan said as his head popped down by my shoulder. “I’m pretty sure we’re going to be needed momentarily, so we might as well make our way closer to the front now.”

“Yeah, okay.” I agreed. When I turned to wave goodbye to Jack his eyebrows shot up in a questioning look.

At the last pack meeting it had been announced that Zach and I were chosen to be paired. Which probably explained all the funny looks I was getting for marching, with the arm of a strange wolf wrapped around me, up to the front of the stage that the pack had set up in the clearing.

“She smells like the stranger.”

“I knew nothing good would come from her always traipsing off with that human of hers.”

“Do you think Zach will challenge him for her?”

“She’s not worth it, if she’d throw away a pairing from our pack like this.”

Evan was standing behind me when we reached the front of the crowd. He wrapped both his arms around my waist and pulled me back into his chest. Then he whispered in my ear. “Ignore the comments for now, my sweet. They’re about to get a bigger shock.” He pressed a kiss to my temple, and at the shocked gasps from two of the female wolves nearest us, he leaned in and started marking me with his scent again. The feel of his slightly stubbly face rubbing all up and down my neck was starting to cause my body to tingle in places that shouldn’t be tingling during a pack meeting.

My father had taken the stage, and looked pointedly at Evan as he cleared his throat. Evan chuckled, but stopped trying to shock the women around us.

“You’re terrible,” I whispered. He gave me an appreciative squeeze. He may be trouble, but I was loving every minute of it so far.

“I thank you all for coming out on such short notice today. We have a few important things to discuss that involve the pack. If you’ll bear with me, and hold your comments until the end, we’ll try to get through this as smoothly as possible.”

“Where’s Marcus?” David, one of the older wolves in the pack asked.

“He’ll be along shortly, but I am the one calling this meeting.” He made a gesture towards me, “Jess, come on up and join me for a minute.” I walked forward, and went to stand beside my dad. “At our last meeting Marcus announced that my daughter, Jessica, would be paired with Zachariah Brighton. As a family, we have decided that is not a wise decision for her.” There were some angry shouts, and a few nasty comments thrown my way about how I smelled. “ENOUGH!” My dad shouted, and he threw all his power behind that one word. Even I wanted to crawl beneath his feet momentarily. Everyone stopped what they were doing and started paying closer attention now. “Now, I did say, no interruptions, and I meant it. Jess would have eaten poor little Zach alive if they were a mated pair. She has far too much power to be bonded with him equally. It wouldn’t have been fair to either of them.”

I heard Zach mumble under his breath. “This is such bullshit. Like she could ever overpower me.” It took every ounce of willpower I possessed not to show him just how wrong he was. My dad was about to announce the fact that he was challenging Marcus for pack leader though, so I wouldn’t dare dishonor him in this moment. Not any more than I probably already had by showing up marked by another wolf. Besides, there were murmurs of disbelief already rolling across my pack family. One, in particular stung. “She’s always thought she was better than us. You know, I’ve never even seen her wolf. I bet she never fully completed transition.”

My father had to have heard her, but chose to ignore the comment. “We had no eligible males that would make a good pairing with my daughter, and rather than see her mated for life in a catastrophic union, she has found one who was strong enough to lay claim to her, and will make the best match possible. Evan,” My dad gestured for him to join us on the stage. As he came to stand by me, and placed a hand possessively at the small of my back, my father continued on. “As some of you have pointed out already, Evan has claimed Jess by scenting her. Jess did not object to this being done. She finds him a suitable mate, and there will be nothing more to say on this matter.”

“That is for the pack leader to decide, not you. Father or not.” Dave interjected.

“And on that matter,” my father started, standing straighter as he spoke, “I put forth challenge for the position of pack leader. I will concede that Marcus can willingly step down, or he can fight me for it. After that is settled, if there are any others who feel they deserve this position, your challenges will be dealt with. Marcus has been breeding the strength right out of our pack for generations with his ridiculous pairings. We can’t stand by any longer and keep allowing this to happen.”

There were a great many whispered comments at that point. Some were definitely in favor of my dad taking his place in the pack that should have been his when his father passed on. Others were just confused. But one stood out from the crowd.

Sierra stood apart from a very unhappy looking Jack and shouted above the din, “Who is this man, Evan, that he can come into our pack and lay claim to one of ours? Marcus decreed that our females would not breed outside of the pack. Even Jack had to be accepted as pack before we could be a mated pair.”

“Man, she’s never going to stop being a pain in my ass, is she?” I mumbled under my breath. I didn’t get a chance to respond though, and neither did my father.

“Jessica is too powerful for any of you to mate with, and I am counting those who have already bonded too. I understand pack law, and normally I would not go against it, but for this, I must.” Evan stepped back and let the shudder of power he threw out into the crowd speak for itself.

“Prince Evan is one of the Ancient. You will respect this pairing. There will be no further questions about this topic,” my father informed them all. The whispers on the wind from the pack changed their tone at that point to one of shock and awe. I’m sure they could sense his power, but they hadn’t expected an Ancient, let alone a prince. The looks on some of the women’s faces were priceless now. Especially the ones who only moments ago had been all but saying I was a whore.

“Well, that shut them right up didn’t it?” Evan teased into my ear. I turned my face, to snuggle into his chest, scenting him back for the first time, even if not in the proper place. I wanted him marked with a piece of me, and I wanted it done in front of my pack. They needed to know this was serious. My wolf needed them to know, because she was tired of us being underestimated. Just because I had chosen on numerous occasions not to make waves, didn’t mean I hadn’t been capable of doing so. “If you keep that up, we’re going to have to leave this party early.” He had whispered it so low I doubted anyone but maybe my dad heard it. I laughed out loud. “Come on,” he grabbed my hand and started pulling me along with him as we left the stage. We didn’t go as far as I thought he was intending though, just to the edge of the crowd to stand beside my mother and Asi. “This is your dad’s moment now.”

“Marcus Dupris, I challenge you!” My dad shouted above the small roar of conversation that had begun to fill the meeting area. I looked around, trying to find Marcus. “Come forth and answer your challenger.”

Marcus came forth alright, head hung low. If he’d been in wolf form his tail would have been between his legs. Audible sighs rippled through the crowd. Marcus was a man defeated. The stench of fear clung to him like a second skin, and the sheen of sweat gracing his brow was just one more physical manifestation of it. When Marcus got all the way to the stage my dad started again, as was the way of things.

“Marcus Dupris, I challenge you for the title of Alpha, and the leadership of this pack. What say you?”

“You can have it.” It was nothing more than a whisper, but he knew we all heard it. There were gasps among those present. Zach looked like he wanted to punch my dad in the throat, but he wouldn’t dare attempt it.

My mother jumped up and stood in front of the stage, “Unless any others bring challenge, let the pack recognize its new master, Jameson St. Marks.” Everyone went down on one knee before my father, paying him the respect he was due as their new leader. There would be no other challengers.

“I have offered mercy, in not making Marcus fight this battle, but he has dishonored himself, his family, and this pack with his cowardly display. Marcus Dupris, I shun thee.” My father turned his back to Marcus.

“We shun thee.” The pack replied in unison. Every one of them turned their backs on him. Marcus shifted into his wolf form and took off at a dead run into the forest beyond the meeting area. He would not be welcomed back. This was the first shunning I had ever seen or taken part in. It was a very rare occurrence.

My father turned to face the crowd again, calling them back to attention once more. “One more point of business now that I am pack leader. Zachariah Brighton, come forth.”

Zach looked shocked, but he moved forward to the stage and stood tall by my father. I gave him a point for that, at least he hadn’t run off behind his shamed uncle.

“Zachariah Brighton, you are hereby charged with trying to bend a potential mate to your will. Our pack law states our females are free to choose without influence of power. This morning, before witnesses, you attempted to make Jessica Marie St. Marks submit to your will, to be your mate, by use of power.” He looked out over the shocked faces in the crowd. “Do you admit to the charges brought against you?”

Zach said nothing he simply nodded and hung his head.

“You will speak when spoken to. Do you admit to the charges brought against you before this pack?”

“I am in agreement.” Zach finally answered.

“Since you met this inquiry with honesty, you shall not be shunned with your Uncle. If you choose to stay you will follow these rules. You may not request or seek out another mate for a full year from this date. You may not leave pack territory without escort for the next year, from this date. And you will do your best to steer clear of Jessica St. Marks when she is in residence with the pack.” My father looked out at the rest of the people gathered, to make sure everyone heard and understood the conditions. “Are these terms agreeable to you?”

“We are in agreement.” The pack said as one.

“Zachariah Brighton, are these terms agreeable to you?”

“I am in agreement.” He offered, before bending to one knee in front of my father, and then the pack.

“You are dismissed, Zach.” My father said, some of the edge in his voice now relaxing. “As I’ve already alluded to, we have guests amongst the pack. Prince Evan is here with his second, Asriel. You will treat them with respect, and while they are within our territory, they have agreed to adhere to our pack rules.”

“There will be a bonding ceremony for my daughter, Jess, and her chosen mate during the full moon. Anyone not happy with the pairings already made by Marcus, and requesting changes, should come see me on Tuesday. If you are happy with your pairings, then you still need to see me to discuss when your bonding ceremony will take place.” My father, once again, gazed over the gathered wolves from our pack. “If there is nothing further, you may all be dismissed.”

“Well, that went better than I thought it would.” I said as we stood waiting for my parents to finish up their conversations with some of the older pack members.

“It would not have gone badly, no matter what. We would have seen to it if we needed to.” I believed he would have, though I had no idea what I’d done to earn the loyalty Evan was already showing me. I watched as my mother moved up beside my father, snuggling into his side, as he pulled her closer. If I was honest with myself, they were the reason I hadn’t wanted to accept Zach. It had nothing to do with power, looks, status, or even his douchebaggery. I couldn’t see myself as an equal with Zach. My parents had always shared everything on a level that I couldn’t even fully comprehend. I had always hoped that when I found a mate, it would at least come close to comparing to what my parents have. “I like the way they are together.” Evan spoke softly, as he pulled me closer to him. “There’s an equality there that makes them stronger. It is an enviable trait in a bonded pair.”

“Sometimes, it’s like you’re reading my mind.” My eyes narrowed as I looked up at him. “You don’t have a certain special talent do you?”

“I have many special talents, little wolf. I’d be glad to show them all to you, in depth.” The teasing smile that spread across his face only added to his attractiveness, as it brought out the dimple in his left cheek. “But alas, I don’t have the ability to read your mind.” Asi stepped forward, still snickering over the first comment.

“Evan, will we be staying in the pack territory tonight, or heading back to the club?” I saw the indecision playing over Evan’s face. He needed to be at the club, since it was a newly acquired business, but he did not want to leave me behind just yet.

“I can always stay with Ashley again. Then we’d be closer.”

“Ah, little wolf, so now you’re reading minds?”

POSSIBILITIES

“Ashley, are you sure it’s not a problem for me to stay here tonight?”

“Seriously? I can’t believe you’re even second guessing that. Mi casa es your casa.”

“Um, I’m pretty sure that’s not how it’s said.”

“Well, I’m never going to be a linguist, so sue me!” She opened her closet up and started tossing things out. “Now, the real question is, what are you wearing tonight?”

“Hmm, well, Evan didn’t seem to mind me in old sweatpants and bed head, so I’m thinking it really doesn’t matter.” I joked, stopping Ashley dead in her tracks, as she was about to toss another outfit out on the bed. Her normally pouty full lips were hanging agape.