Authors: Lissa Matthews
“We never found Rex. Not…” Martin shook his head and looked down. “Not all of him, at least. Like your wolf, we found arrows. Bastards didn’t even take the evidence.”
“I bet if we put them together, they’d be identical arrows, too.”
“I heard tell of another family of bears who were killed in the mountains, but those were by gunshot,” Michael said. “And I was a kid.”
“Word travels fast among the packs and clans whenever there’s a shifter killed by any means other than another shifter. Over the years there’ve been several bears killed by bow and arrow and a few by shotgun. Guns you can explain away as hunters and maybe even stray ammunition, but not a bow and arrow. Not to take down a bear.”
“You have a theory,” Gus bit out. “You have another goddamn theory and you’re just doling it out, little by little. I told you I thought it was poachers who killed my parents. I told you I’ve heard things, seen things, but you’re just… Fucking spit it out, Blackwood.”
“I’m careful. I don’t know what they already know, and I’m not about to put myself further in harm’s way without going through this point by point, bit by bit. So, yes, I have another theory.” Luke stood and stomped toward Gus. “I have a lot of them about a lot of things, but this? Yeah, I have one main thought. It’s not a pretty one and it once again involves someone from Bex’s mother’s past.”
Bex watched as the two shifters stood toe to toe, breathing fire at each other. She watched as her new uncle and cousin slowly took up residence at Gus’s sides. She watched as pain and sadness, fear and determination… As anger changed the look on Gus’s face with each word that passed through Luke’s lips.
She watched, as though she stood outside herself, as all eyes turned to her once more. She had no idea what Luke was talking about this time. She had no idea
who
Luke was talking about this time. The longer he stayed on her porch, the longer he talked, the more confused she became and she decided enough was enough. “Look, I’m lost. For twenty-four years, I only had a mother, and snippets from conversations I didn’t understand.” She drew a circle in the air, encompassing everyone standing on her porch. “I’m new to all of this. You’re all new to me, and I’m lost. The only people from my mother’s past that I knew of was her fiancé and his family, primarily his father. That’s all. That’s it.”
Luke’s gaze locked with hers. He smiled, feral and predatory, and fear slithered up her spine. “Bingo.”
Chapter Five
Gus sighed.
Bex left the porch and walked toward downtown with his Aunt Mary. For all intents and purposes she was his aunt and just as she had with Gus all those years ago, she wanted to know everything about Bex. Gus couldn’t blame her. He wanted to know everything about Bex, too.
He wasn’t sure Bex wanted to know any of them. Not anymore. Including him. But he couldn’t dwell on that right then. He had to trust that she was all in with him, the way he was all in with her. He had to trust that even with all the recent revelations, that how she felt, or was beginning to feel about him hadn’t changed.
He turned his attention back to his father and his brother, and the wolf who had been pacing the porch for a few minutes after his latest bomb drop.
The wolf was antsy. Gus understood.
Everything, the whole world seemed to be splintering apart around him and Bex, though Bex had to be feeling it more than he was. Everything she knew about herself had been called into question in the last twenty-four hours.
Shit. If he thought about, it had all been called into question ever since Gus walked up to her back in North Carolina, really.
“Son?” Martin addressed him, laying a hand on Gus’s shoulder. “She’ll be all right.”
“Will she? I wish I had that much faith. She’s strong, but I don’t know anyone strong enough to handle all this.”
“You should look in a mirror sometime, then.”
“That was different. I was a kid. I don’t even remember them.”
“And she never knew her father.”
“But finding out she’s a shifter? How does an adult cope with that?”
“She’s got you to help her.”
That was true and unless she told him to, he wasn’t leaving. “So,” he said, fixing Luke with an unblinking stare, “who do you think is behind the poaching? The father?”
Luke gave a casual shrug. “They never found the fiancé.” His tone was conversational, but Gus knew better than to take it at face value. Not to mention the heaping helping of implication in Luke’s statement.
“How do you know?”
“Because along with the humans searching for the man, there were shifters looking for the wolf and the bear. They heard the stories about the man who disappeared into the woods and never came back. Stories about the man who was dragged into the woods by a bear of a man.”
Gus thought back to one of the first real conversations he’d had with Bex, the one where he’d learned how she’d been conceived and what she’d told him about the mayor. “And you think think it’s his father? Beck. That was his name. Beck was her mom’s fiancé.”
Luke gave a short nod. “That’s my suspicion, yes. As I’ve gathered information over the years, talked to the wolves who were involved in the search, that’s the conclusion I’ve come to. Because the bear wasn’t from around our parts, I never was able to investigate, or even make inquiries. No one knew much about bear shifters, or nothing they were willing to part with.”
“Fuck. It’s like a never ending cycle.”
“What do you have to back this up other than conjecture?” Martin asked. His question was valid and on some level, Gus figured that Luke knew it, only Luke’s exasperated sigh didn’t convey it.
“Look, the man was an avid hunter and preferred the bow. None of that was a secret. He had more heads on his walls than the forest should’ve been able to support. His son was all the family he had and Bex’s mother being raped was a blight on an otherwise pristine family name. He never got to run for governor.”
“That wasn’t her fault.”
“And how often is the blame placed on the victim among humans?”
Gus nodded. “Is he still alive? The mayor?”
“Yes. Needless to say, he’s not mayor anymore. He still maintains a residence in Bryson City and I definitely get why your woman didn’t want to stay in the same town. He has a private hunting club, too. I don’t know what the criteria is for membership, but whenever something like that is private, it’s been my experience that it’s never for any good reason.”
“But it’s all conjecture. You’re trying to tie one thing to another, and those two things to something. Do you have a file or something?”
“I have a whole damn cabinet dedicated to this.”
“Then, I’m going to ask you again, what’s the real purpose of you being here and bringing it all up? You’re stirring up a hornet’s nest and I’m struggling to understand why and what you get out of it.”
“An answer to that would be nice, Blackwood. You know what happened to your pack member. And you think Rex was killed by the same people You also think my parents were gunned down by them, too, which I’m still not seeing the connection on that one. What do you get out all this?”
“I can’t just want to look at your pretty face?”
Gus snarled. “Want to see my pretty fist up close and personal too?” Luke hadn’t given him a reason yet, but that didn’t mean Gus didn’t want to deck the wolf shifter just for the hell of it.
“I want an alliance,” Luke said finally, with no shortage of defiance in his tone and stance. Gus was taken aback. He hadn’t considered that. An alliance. He had to admit it was a really bold idea and possibly a really stupid one, too.
“Bears and wolves?” Martin asked. “Off the record?”
“Yes. Nothing formal. An oral agreement.”
“Why?”
“My pack needs freedom to roam, to search for mates. We need to do so in different areas and I’d like to see if we can travel into Tennessee a bit further than we’ve previously been able to. If we’re going to expand our population, we need new ground to cover.”
“In exchange for what?”
“We’ll help you find the poachers. Or the hunters. We’re faster, smaller, more stealthy. Dealing with the poachers will not only be good for bears, but for all shifters.”
Gus had underestimated Luke. The wolf knew how to bargain and how to hit at the heart of things. Getting rid of the poachers
would
be a good thing. He’d like to keep his hide for a while longer.
“The area we reside in is too small,” Luke continued. “We need more land, seek out new places to look for mates. You can provide that and I can help you track those who’ve hunted you in the past and who may hunt you in the future.”
“How do we know we can trust you? That you won’t come onto our lands and start picking off bears?”
“It wouldn’t do me any good to start a war. My pack’s numbers are too low for me to be that reckless. I have no interest in anything that will get anyone killed. I’m interested in survival.”
“I see.” Martin looked at Gus, then. “What do you think, Gus? I mean, these are your parents we’re talking about, too.”
Gus turned his attention to Luke for a long moment before replying. I understand what he’s asking and I know why he’s asking it. We’ve talked a bit, as he said earlier. I didn’t know this was his end game though.”
“You trust him?” Michael asked. It was hard to look beyond the disbelief and distrust in his brother’s voice, but Gus had to try.
“I wouldn’t say that, but like
he
said, he’s more interested in the survival of his pack than he is in starting a war between bears and wolves. If he wanted violence, he and those he brought with him could’ve taken me and Bex out yesterday. He’s not shown any aggression beyond some trash talk. I think he’s sincere.”
“I see. We’ll have to discuss it with the rest of our family and those who live close to us. I’m not going to make a deal without their agreement. I need to know if any of theirs have gone missing or turned up less than whole.”
“I’ve already told you that I’d know if there was.”
“Regardless, Wolf. I’ll be making some calls.”
Luke shrugged as if what Martin said didn’t matter, only Gus knew it did. He could see it in the stiff posture and in the strained lines around the wolf’s mouth. Luke didn’t like being second guessed. He wasn’t used to it. He wasn’t used to being beholden to anyone, to putting his faith and the lives of his pack into the hands of others, especially bears.
None of them liked being questioned. None of them liked being doubted. They all had egos and pride.
“Look at it this way, Wolf,” Gus said, trying to placate Luke. “You can stick around until we hear from Martin, and I’ll finish your ink.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” Michael added. “I think I’ll stick around, as well.”
“Don’t trust me? I’m wounded.”
“Screw you.”
“You’re not my type.”
“Stop,” Gus snapped. “Michael, I’ve got this. He’s not going to do anything stupid.”
“Maybe not, but I’d feel better if I were here. Besides, from what I saw inside the house, Bex could use some help with the renovations. Unless she’s going for the destructive, needs to be demolished look.”
Gus’s mood switched like a light coming on and he laughed. “The place is pretty torn up. I know she’d appreciate any help you’re willing to offer.” Michael had never treated Gus with anything other than acceptance and brotherly affection. There were two other brothers as well, but one was married and the other headed up the family construction business.
“Good. We’re settled so far, so we might as well all chip in to work on things inside. Always something we can do. That includes you, Luke Blackwood.”
“Not my family, not my job. Definitely not my responsibility.”
“You want on my land, my property, my territory? You want my blessing? You want me to put in a favorable word with the other bears in the area? You can prove yourself here. Now. I’ll put a hammer in your hand and trust you not to smack me over the head with it.”
* * * * *
Dandridge was small, like Bryson City had been. Small enough that she could walk to work at the restaurant, to the general store, to the pharmacy, to the farmer’s market. She could do most everything on foot, or bicycle, but with the inn, she’d soon have to invest in a small truck or SUV for trips into Knoxville for supplies and larger grocery hauls.
The money had come through from the sale of her mother’s bed and breakfast and she’d put a down payment on the house she was currently renovating. Little by little it was coming along and she’d stashed enough cash in savings to do what she needed to do and get through a couple of months once opened. The fact that she wasn’t contracting the majority of the labor out, helped.
Dandridge was supposed to be her safe place, and in less than a month, safe had turned into uncertain. Safe had turned upside down, sideways, and somewhat screwed up.
The older woman at her side was part of that turned upside down feeling.
If everyone was to be believed, she had a grandmother. She had a family. She wasn’t all alone in the world as she’d thought she was when she walked out of the bank a few weeks ago with nothing left of her old life but a key.
She’d imagined Gus would be her family as the future unfolded. Maybe she’d meet the family who’d taken him in. Maybe not. That would’ve always been up to Gus to decide. But to learn she was their blood, their real blood? It was a lot to take in.
“I’ve always loved this little town,” Mary said, stopping in front of a gift shop window display. The building that housed it wasn’t much different than the Queen Anne that Bex lived in, although Bex’s wasn’t now, and wouldn’t be when she was finished, purple.
“You’ve been here before?”
“Oh yes. Many times. We used to come for the fishing tournaments. Martin and my current husband, David, used to compete. They were exceedingly good at it. No one could ever quite figure out why, and no one knew what their unfair advantage was. They made a lot of money and won a lot of trophies traveling to the different tournaments.”
“Your current husband?”
“He’s my second mate, I suppose you could say.”
“What happened to your first?”
“Richard. He’d have been your grandfather.” Mary’s smile turned sad as they started walking again, this time back in the direction they’d come from. “Richard and I… We tried to hold it together after Rex, after we learned what had happened to him, but Richard couldn’t handle it. He took his own life about a year later.”
“Oh. I… I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you, dear. It was hard for many years, but I’m stronger for having gone through it.”
“I can’t imagine what that must have been like for you.”
“It’s pretty indescribable, all those feelings. It wasn’t until I met David that I understood how much I needed to get it out into the open, to start healing. I never imagined that I’d find someone else.”
“Why was Rex the way he was?” Could there even be an answer to her question? She didn’t know.
“I wish I could say, but I just don’t know and I won’t try to make excuses for his behavior. He was always more of a follower than a leader. He wasn’t aggressive or violent. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know why he did what he did to your mother and as violent as it was, as wrong as what he did to her was, he met a very violent end to his life.”
So much pain came from that one event for so many people. “I know she tried to befriend him when he would come into the diner. At least she said she did, and that he was nice enough at first. I don’t really know what happened after that, why he turned on her.”