The Alpha's Mate (34 page)

“It’s Pack Law. They’d have no choice.”
Marshall raised his hand in front of her, palm outward, fingers
spread. “You wouldn’t have a choice.”

The Alpha’s touch. Her stomach spasmed in
remembrance of Creepy Eyes’ handshake. The thought of him touching
her body… No! She wasn’t going there. Absolutely not.

“There’s always a choice,” she said fiercely,
fighting the panic growing inside her. “I can run. I can hide. When
it’s over, I’ll come back to you. If I’m not here, you can
negotiate. He wants the mountaintop, Marshall. Give him that and
the pack will be safe. You’ll be safe.”

“No, we won’t be safe and neither will you.
He has money, resources. He’ll find you and you’ll have no way to
protect yourself.” Marshall righted the chair and all but pushed
her into it. “Calm down.”

“I will not calm down. I’ll go to the police.
Tell them he threatened me.” This was the twenty-first century, not
the tenth.

“And tell them what, Lizzie. He’s a wolf? Or
a stalker? They’ll write you off as a nut job or they’ll issue a
restraining order. Do you honestly think Calvin Everest will
respect a restraining order? No, you’ll disappear and he’ll have
fifty witnesses to testify he was in Wyoming at the time.”

She appealed to Marshall’s second. “Henry,
tell him. Tell him I’m right. If I leave, he can negotiate. The
pack is more important than the land.” They were both so calm about
this. They were talking about people dying. There had to be another
way.

Henry shook his head. “He might negotiate,
promise to leave us alone. Until the other side of the mountain is
full of outsiders and they need more room. Then he’ll keep coming
back until he has it all. We make a stand or the Alpha steps down.
That’s the choice.”

Marshall tapped the table. Decision made.
“Call the Lowland Pack. See if you can get Burt Hennessey. He’s a
good man and the Lowlanders have always stood with us.”

“Done,” Henry said. “He was out when I
called, but the Mate said he’d be there. Said she’d have him packed
and ready to go. He’ll call when he gets in. John Morgan with the
Blue Ridge said he’d come if you can’t find no one else. His
daughter’s being mated and…”

“He needs to be there. Of course. There
should be five witnesses and we need two for our side and a
neutral, though who the hell is neutral when it comes to Calvin
Everest. They either owe him or they hate him.” He nodded. Another
decision made. “Call Tall Pine. Zeb Trehune hates Everest. I met
him at GW’s mating. He’ll come.”

“Alpha? Charlie said Everest wants three
witnesses. He’s got one from one of those survivalist packs from
Idaho and another rancher from Alberta. All we need is the
one.”

“The hell we do. We’ve got the fight for the
pack and the Chase for Lizzie. Everest can take a fucking…”

Elizabeth had been sitting silently, her mind
reeling as the two men made plans. The word brought her back to the
present conversation. “Chase? What do you mean, chase?”

Both men turned to her.

“Lizzie, honey,” Marshall said gently, “I
thought you understood. I told you about the chase when we talked
about the mating.”

“You said it was symbolic. Only you and me.
This doesn’t sound symbolic at all. It sounds like Creepy Eyes
running me down like a damned deer!” She couldn’t do this, she
wouldn’t.

“Calvin Everest would have to beat me to you.
That’s not something you have to worry about.” Elizabeth could see
him hesitate.

“I hear a ‘but’ in there.” She was on her
feet again and she shook her finger an inch from his nose. “And God
help you and every member of this pack if you say what I think
you’re going to. Because that’s where I really draw the line.” When
he paled, she had her answer. She went to the wall phone and ripped
the receiver off the hook. She ran her finger down the yellowed
list on the wall.

“Lizzie, honey, what are you doing? Let me
explain.”

“There is no explanation. I will not, under
any circumstances, with you or anyone else, now or in the near or
far future, fu-fu-fu- fornicate in front of an audience!”

“Aw, jeeze.” Henry buried his head in his
arms.

“Lizzie!”

“Hello, Maggie? Can you meet me at the Dizzy
Dish? No, it’s a little more serious than that and I need to talk
to someone who has some sense. Oh, and my laptop is in the truck.
Would you ask Gwenna to bring it over? Thanks, I’ll see you in a
few.”

“Lizzie.” The word was an order and a
plea.

“I’m not running away,” she huffed. “I know
you’re right. I have no choice but to see this through. I love you,
Marshall, but I can’t sit here and listen to you plan the deaths of
our people. And don’t ask me to play a part in some sick medieval
tournament where I’m the prize. You and Henry do whatever you need
to do. I’m going to the Dizzy Dish and talk to Maggie. At least
she’s sane.

Chapter 36

“How can you possibly think this is a good
idea in this day and age?” Elizabeth scowled at the older woman.
“You’re as insane as the rest of them!”

Max snickered and said in a clearly audible
aside to Gwenna. “She’s just figuring that out? And here we all
thought she was the smart one.”

Elizabeth included the two younger women in
her glare. “You two aren’t helping. This is medieval.”

“Oh, I think it dates to before that,” Maggie
commented wryly.

Gwenna shrugged. “Compared to the Double W,
it’s positively enlightened. If George had Challenged for me, they
would have made sure he never made it to Wyoming. Personally, I
think the only reason Everest is Challenging for a Chase is because
they screwed up the kidnapping in the first place.” Elizabeth and
Max stared at her. “What? After all this you think they were trying
to do to you what they did to Max? No way. Their goal wasn’t to
kill her, but they didn’t care if Max died.” Her eyes shifted to
Elizabeth. “They could have run you off the road any time they
chose, but they wanted you alive. Scared shitless, maybe, but in
good enough shape to mate. That’s how they operate. I would’ve said
something sooner, but I didn’t know you’d met the bastard.” Gwenna
looked sympathetically at Max. “Didn’t know the bastards that got
you were from Wyoming, either.”

“Nobody did.” Max shrugged.

“My point is it don’t matter whether you like
it or not,” Maggie got back to the subject at hand. “The Chase is
Pack Law and there’s nothing we can do about it.” She pointed at
Elizabeth. “You need to quit your bellyaching and start thinking of
ways to make sure Marshall wins instead of giving him more to worry
about.”

“I can refuse to participate.” Elizabeth
stubbornly held her ground. “They can’t chase what isn’t
there.”

“And all that’ll mean is Marshall forfeits
the Challenge and Everest will be free to do what he wants. Use
your head, girl. Quit whining and start thinking.”

“Start thinking about what?” Elizabeth cried.
“About how I’ll have no idea where I’m running up in those woods,
about how I’ll probably fall flat on my face within the first five
minutes, about how, if Creepy Eyes gets to me first I’ll have to
spend the rest of my probably short life with him? Thinking about
my probable rape is not conducive to a clear analysis, Maggie!”

“There ain’t going to be no rape and shame on
you for thinking Marshall’s going to let that bastard touch you.
He’ll be there for you or die trying.”

And that was the worst of it. Marshall could
die trying. But he could die in the battle beforehand and Everest’s
men would certainly do their best to make that happen. Then the
Chase would again be symbolic. She wouldn’t have a chance. Maggie
was right. There was no way to avoid this. The best she could do
was make Creepy Eyes’ plans as difficult to execute as possible. It
was time to start thinking. Elizabeth blew her breath out in a
great windy huff and looked Maggie in the eye.

“Where do I begin?”

“Right here.” Sally Ann, who’d been working
in the back, came around the corner with a rolled up tube of paper
about three feet long. “It’s a map of this side of the mountain
from Roman’s Granddaddy’s time. I thought to frame it once, but
never got around to it. You work out a place where Elizabeth and
Marshall can meet up if he don’t catch her right off. Then you mark
off the route she needs to take.” She nodded at Max and Gwenna.
“You girls get her up there this evening and tomorrow morning. Show
her the way. Leave a few markings for her to follow.”

“The Alpha’s pool,” Elizabeth said without
thinking. “It’s not a place people talk about. Everest wouldn’t
have heard about it. The path isn’t well used…”

“You’re going to have to cut through the
woods. Paths, even old ones, are too easy to follow.” Max ran her
finger in a diagonal from Marshall’s to the pool. It’s a rough run,
but you can do it.”

“Town might be better,” Sally Ann suggested.
“She can cut around the ridge and over the creek. It ain’t too high
this time of year. She can pick up the tail halfway down and it’s
all downhill. Make an easier run.”

“Too obvious,” said Gwenna. “They’ll be
looking for her to head downhill. She won’t ever make it to town.
They’ll stop her.”

“You think they’ll cheat?” Eileen stood
behind the counter wiping her hands.

“Hell no I don’t think. I know they’ll cheat.
Before I came here, I thought cheating was a way of life. Anyone,
wolver or not, was fair game. You all better start thinking about
how to play this game by their rules.”

“We don’t cheat,” Maggie said firmly.

“No we don’t,” Max agreed just as firmly,
“But I don’t see as it would be our fault if there was a thing or
two out there in the woods that all us locals knew about, but
strangers might find a bit troublin’. I’m calling Vickie. She can
get Junior and some of the younger boys up to Marshall’s where we
can put ‘em to work while I show Elizabeth where to run.”

Elizabeth looked at the map again and
shrugged. “This morning my only problem was finding a dress for my
mating. No problem now. I’ll be wearing jeans and a long sleeved
shirt with sneakers on my feet. At least they’ll be my own so my
feet won’t blister.”

Maggie patted her hand. “Oh, honey, what
you’ll wear hasn’t changed. You’ll be mated in a plain white shift
same as we all were. I got yours all made and hanging in the
closet. We wouldn’t want ole Everest to think you were prepared to
put up a fight.” She looked at the map and then at Elizabeth.
“Though now I think about it, we might need to alter it a bit.
Max?” she called to the young woman who was just hanging up the
phone. “You get Harmony on there and tell her we need her sewing
machine and six young women over here right away. Tell her they all
need to be faster than a rabbit with a hound on its tail. Oh, and
we’ll need six or eight plain white sheets.”

Maggie explained to the others what the girls
and sheets were for. “We’ll call them your unofficial bridal party.
Max, Gwenna, you two take Elizabeth back up to Marshall’s and start
planning the route. None of us got time to waste.”

“I need another hour,” Elizabeth said
quietly, “I have a phone call to make. It’s long distance Sally
Ann, but…?”

“You make your call, honey. We’ll consider
the bill a gift to our new Mate.”

“One way or another it looks like I’ll be
your new Mate. All we have to do now is make sure I’m attached to
the right Alpha.”

Elizabeth meant it to sound positive and was
unprepared for Gwenna’s reaction. The young woman began to shake as
if some emotional dam had broken. She put her head down on the
table and cried.

“Marshall is my Alpha. He has to be the
Alpha. Any other way and George dies.”

Elizabeth put her arm around her. “Oh,
Gwenna, you don’t think after all this time…”

Gwenna’s head snapped up. “Yes! You stand
against Calvin Everest and he’ll hold the grudge for a lifetime.
He’ll bide his time. He’ll wait his chance. But sooner or later, he
will get his revenge. This whole disaster is my fault. If I’d done
what was expected…”

“Whoa, wait a minute,” Elizabeth said
laughing with a heartiness that sounded a tiny bit false. “I
thought it was my overwhelming beauty and animal magnetism that was
at fault here.”

“I thought it was Marshall’s good for nothing
brother,” Max added.

“And I thought it was Marshall’s for not
calling Everest out the last time.” Maggie shrugged. “Told him then
he needed to kill the bastard.”

Both wolver women looked at Maggie in awe.
“You told the Alpha he was wrong?”

“I didn’t tell him he was wrong. I jest told
him since he was fighting anyway he ought to make the Challenge
personal and put an end to it. And it looks like I was right.”

“Everest didn’t fight the last time?”
Elizabeth asked, surprised. She’d thought Marshall had fought
Everest before and won.

“Hell no. The Alpha don’t have to fight
unless it’s a personal Challenge, but Marshall believes it’s wrong
to ask the pack to do what he’s not willing to do himself. The old
Alpha was the same way.” Maggie grabbed some napkins from the
holder and passed them to Gwenna. “Now you dry your eyes Gwenna
Hadley. Nothing’s going to happen to George. Our wolvers are going
to win this fight. Our Alpha’s going to win his Mate. And come next
spring, you’ll have that baby you’ve been waiting for. You, too,
Maxine.”

“Babies?” Elizabeth looked from one to the
other. “If you two are pregnant, I’m not going to let you risk
yourselves for my sake.” The plan didn’t call for them to place
themselves in danger, but Everest’s wolvers were ruthless and she
wouldn’t let them take that chance.

They looked at Maggie and Maggie nodded.
“There’s been enough secrets. She needs to know the whole of
it.”

“You ever noticed how there’s no babies in
Rabbit Creek? No children under six?” Max asked quietly.