AllFreeNovel
Share Us
There was a pause; Jessie stubbornly refused to even consider it.
Ryder:No, listen, Jess. We have two bonds, did you know that?
Yes.
Ryder:I think you can continue to send energy my way through the mate bond to help me heal. But through the Alpha-Second bond, we merge dominance. Dominance, not energy. I’m as weak as a newborn kitten as far as energy goes. But dominance is something I am, not something I have. Does that make sense?
Ryder sounded frustrated. But it did make sense, she thought, and she told him so.
Fine. Glad it does to someone,Ryder muttered. Jessie giggled, and she felt his smile.
I love you,she said shyly.
Back at you, babe,Ryder replied.Remember, we’re a team, right? And as a team, we can’t be defeated.
Jessie realized someone was standing in front of her, blocking others view of her. She looked up. Jason. He looked at her gravely. “They’re here.”
He handed her another skewer of meat and she ate it quickly, starving, although she’d just polished off a plate full of roast beef. She grabbed a second skewer. “Let’s do it,” she said, mustering a smile at him.
“Whatever happens, know that I’m proud to stand with you tonight,” Jason said quietly. “I’ve fought under a lot of commanders. I was in ‘Nam. And you are as creative and savvy a commander as any of them —and I’d include Jake Lewis and Benny Garrison on that list. It’s a good plan, Jessie. We’re going to win this.”
Jessie nodded, wishing she could muster up a smile or say something to bolster his confidence like he was trying to do hers. But it was hard to even get the words out. “They’re on their way,” she said instead. “Ryder says two hours.”
But they both knew that was going to be too late to do anything but bury the dead.
Jessie straightened her shoulders, tipped her chin up, and strode to the center of the curved buffet line. She stared out into the dark trees behind the cabins where shadows of men waited for their commander. Well, she wasn’t waiting.
“Welcome,” she said clearly. “I am the Second of the Penticton pack. I hold the bonds. You’ve been trained by Penticton, and we welcome you as our own. There’s food. Help yourself.”
The men flooded into the back yard, coming in between the small cabins at a run. One of her friends in wolf form growled, and they slowed to a stop, uncertain what to do. Her men splayed out on both sides of the yard, creating a funnel, pushing the invaders toward Jessie and the barbeque buffet.
They’d been told to expect a fight, Jessie thought with amusement. Instead they get... supper?
She repeated her message. “You’ve been much abused lately,” she said calmly. “That’s not right. Look around you. These are others who were recruited like you, who trained with you. See that they’re well fed and cared for. They belong to me, and I take care of my own. You belong to me too. And this isn’t right. Come and eat. And we’ll talk.”
“It’s a trick!” Someone shouted.
“No trick,” Jessie said. “You’re part of the Penticton pack. You had employment bonds with the former pack Second, and we will honor those commitments. But Bjorn Hansen is dead. I killed him. And Alpha McKenzie is dead. And my mate is the new Alpha. We will protect the pack members who have been abused by the past Alpha. We will protect you.”
She picked up a plate and started through the line as she had with her own wolves earlier. “Eat with me,” she invited and then held her breath. She needed a few to obey. Just a few.
“She’s right you know,” said that young man from earlier. “We aren’t hungry. And you don’t have to be either.”
And there was something about his simplicity that broke the barrier. The young shifters fell into line behind her.
“Stop!” a man called.
Right on time, Jessie thought. The young shifters behind her stilled. “Go on,” she said quietly, stepping out of their way. “Eat. This is between him and me.”
“They are mine to command,” she said clearly. “I am the Second of the Penticton pack. And these men are not yours. They aremine.” She pushed that last word out — not to the man who stood in the shadows of the cabins, but to the wolves he’d brought. She linked her dominance to Ryder’s through the alpha-second bond and prayed that it would work without harming her mate. Her wolf surged forward, grabbing the dominance. Jessie let her take over and focused on the energy she was sending Ryder through their mate bond instead.
“I challenge! Penticton needs a real Second, not some biker’s floosy.”
Jessie pulled her sweatshirt over her head and shifted, letting the sweatpants fall around her legs. She stepped out of them as a wolf, dancing a bit. Actually, it was a relief to be in wolf form. She’d been barefoot in preparation for this shift, and that ground was really cold.
She didn’t wait for her opponent to shift, or for any niceties —she didn’t know what they were anyway. Quite frankly, she’d always thought rules of war sounded pretty stupid, something only a bunch of men could think up. If you could still negotiate rules, you didn’t need to go to war. And if you were forced to go to war, you did whatever it took to win.
But then women would only go to war to defend their people, she thought. She might be a bit hazy about all of that. She looked forward to asking Ryder what he thought.
