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  “What’s the issue?”

  “I like Brady and Felicity.” He grinned. “And I love watching you squirm under Alison’s attention.”

  He just had to bring that up. Ian’s greatest hope was that the novelty of his presence would wear off, and the teenager would get bored and move on to other interests. “But?”

  “We haven’t really had much chance to interact with the rest of the pack. You and I both know we won’t be content at the bottom of the pack, which means a couple of existing pack members will be displaced from their current positions if we stay. They may not take kindly to that.”

  “I can’t worry about that.” Ian frowned. “As far as I’m concerned, they’ll have to adjust. I spent decades alone before you and I met. Having you travel with me has felt right all these years. This feels the same way. Right. Deep inside, I feel... complete here.”

  Brett frowned then sighed. “I feel that, too, but I don’t like it.”

  He chuckled. “Really? I never would’ve guessed. We better Shift. They’ll be waiting for us.”

  “Yippee.” His friend went right into the transition.

  Ian smiled then did the same.

  A few minutes later, they found the rest of the pack gathered outside the back door, which stood open. The full moon peeked over the horizon.

  Brady’s wolf stood to one side with his mate and daughter, his keen gaze studying the others. Ian raised his head and walked boldly onto the back porch, Brett close behind. Most of the pack lowered their heads and tails. A couple even took half-steps back. Counting the alpha and his family, they numbered eleven in all.

  The same wolf who had challenged Ian that first day stepped forward and growled, head high, tail rising, hackles up. The slate gray coat appeared black in the increasing night, but bright white markings would’ve given him away even on a moonless night.

  This one will be a problem. Ian had hoped to at least get some exercise before the jockeying for position began, but this one wanted a fight, so that’s the way it would have to be. He snorted and glared hard at the challenger, locking eyes with him. If anyone looked away now, it’d be the upstart annoyance coming his way.

  Brady didn’t intervene. In fact, he and his family sat to watch. Ian could just see them out of his peripheral vision. Their actions seemed to spur the challenger forward. He launched himself at Ian.

  Ian sidestepped the wolf’s assault and hit his mid-section with a hip, taking him off his feet. The wolf scrambled quickly to his feet and turned with bared teeth. Ian met him fang for fang, claw for claw, unwilling to back down from a temperamental idiot. He waited for an opening as they performed a dance as old as their species. When it came, he didn’t hesitate.

  Teeth met the flesh of the other wolf’s throat. He lifted the wolf off his front feet then slammed him down on the cement, placing a paw on his shoulder and leaning weight onto it. The artery pulsed beneath his teeth. He paused. If his challenger surrendered, he’d let him live. If not, he’d kill him. Period.

  The challenger squirmed then accepted defeat. He went still and raised his hind leg to expose his belly.

  Ian growled once, released him, and stepped back.

  The other wolf remained prone, rolling his front end until his foreleg was in the air and his throat fully exposed.

  Snorting, Ian glared at the others in turn.

  None of them would even look at him.

  He glanced at Brady, who met his gaze and nodded slightly. Ian averted his gaze then approached the alpha and lowered his head.

  Brady nuzzled the top of his head once then walked past him.

  He had no idea who he’d just displaced, but suspicion said it was Brady’s second. No other wolves would challenge Ian. If the challenger had been below anyone besides Brady, wouldn’t that one have stepped forward instead?

  The rumble of growls drew his gaze. Brett glared at the whole pack at once, daring them to mess with him.

  All of them turned away, following their alpha into the forest. The challenger was the last to do so, slinking after the pack.

  Brett glanced at Ian and sighed. If a wolf could be seen to roll its eyes, Ian was pretty sure Brett did exactly that.

  * * *

  Friday, May 30, 1980

  “So, who was he?” Ian stared at his alpha. His alpha. How weird was that?

  “Who?”

  “The... wolf who challenged me last night.” At least he managed not to throw in “idiot”. Barely.

  “My second. Darrell.” Brady shook his head. “He’s always been a hothead. If he’d taken the time to watch you a bit, he’d have known he couldn’t take you.”

  “Why didn’t he observe before making a move?” A good warrior did so. It kept him alive.

  “He’s young and impetuous.” The man dropped into the chair behind his desk. “Darrell’s only been with us a couple of years. He was Turned a few months before that.”

  “Good grief. He’s just a pup.” A stupid pup, to be sure, but still a pup.

  “Yeah, well, he’s an adult. We can’t give him the same leeway we allow for Alison.” Brady frowned in thought then chuckled. “I don’t think you’ve seen the last of her attention. The fact you won that fight last night, and now are my second, will only increase her interest in you.”

  Not what he wanted to hear. “Why?”

  “Alison never liked Darrell. He’s tried to get her attention the last year or so, despite the fact she’s far from ready to take a mate. He tends to be a bully, and she has no respect for that. You, on the other hand, have the qualities of a true leader. She’s strong-willed and confident enough to appreciate that.”

  “I’m no leader. I never have been.” He laughed softly. “In fact, until Brett came along, I spent my life as a loner, a rogue, if you will. I don’t lead. I just... do what I do. Brett follows or doesn’t, which is entirely up to him. I’ve never demanded his loyalty.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m talking about. A true leader has no need to demand obedience or loyalty. He earns it by showing those under him that he’s trustworthy and wants to keep them safe.”

  Ian narrowed his eyes and studied the man for a moment. “Are you trying to give me your job? Is that what this is about?”

  “No.” Brady grinned. “But the day may come when I can no longer lead the pack. At least now I’m confident that, should that day come, the pack will be taken care of by a second who can truly do the job.”

  “Yeah, well, let’s hope and pray nothing ever happens to you. I don’t want to be responsible for these people. I can barely take care of myself.”

  The alpha laughed. “Oh, yes, you’ll definitely do.”

  1984: Mate

  Home of Ian Campbell

  Outside Flagstaff, Arizona

  Thursday, March 1, 1984

  MURD-ER-ER....

  Ian tugged the blankets closer and tried to ignore the moon’s whispers. Three days. That’s all. Three lousy days until the new moon passed fully. It wouldn’t be quite so bad if it wasn’t a micro new moon. Man, he hated those. Even with a roof over his head and walls all around with the drapes drawn, he could track the moon’s progress across the sky. He’d been alive over a hundred and forty years. Three days was nothing in the grand scheme of things. Still, every minute crept by, one eternity after another.

  A coal popped in the fireplace. He peered over the edge of the blankets. The fire he’d nursed during the night had died as morning had come. The one-room cabin hadn’t held the heat particularly well. Given the chill in the air, he should toss a log or two on the fire. He stayed in bed. His stomach growled, but he ignored it.

  I should be writing. He and Brett had left a handful of times since joining the pack to retrieve metal boxes of notes, letters, and such they’d hidden in various places over the years. They’d been delightfully surprised to discover they’d both done that since their human lives had been stripped from them. Compiling all they’d written had left them with quite a wealth of documentation ab
out historical events and emotional impressions they had forgotten over the decades.

  He’d also reached the son of their old friend, General Harold Clark, who had died in early 1981. Harold’s father had served in the Union Army during the Civil War, in the same regiment as Ian. The son had sent Ian the family’s entire collection of the man’s letters home during the war. Apparently, no one in the family wanted the old papers. Ian had been grateful to end up with them, rather than someone throwing them away and the information in them being lost forever.

  Normally, Ian could spend hours at a time reading through those documents, compiling information into a book he’d worked on for the past year. On that day, it held no interest.

  If I sleep, it’ll be easier. The day will pass faster.

  He rolled away from the fireplace, curled deeper into the blankets, closed his eyes, and willed himself to sleep.

  The moon hissed softly, Sleep is for those with a clear conscience. Not someone like you.

  Ian pulled the blankets over his head. “Go away!”

  The dark moon wrenched open a door he’d closed on memory, releasing a flood of sights, sounds, and smells. The screams of men. The pungent aroma of terror and pain. Lots and lots of blood. The coppery taste of it flowed through his mouth even then.

  You did a horrible thing. You’ll never be free of it, but you don’t have to live with it. It would be so easy to be free forever.

  “No!” He flung the covers off and sat up in bed, panting. The moon wanted him to die. He couldn’t surrender to that.

  “Ian?” The soft, hesitant, female voice sent the moon scurrying into the dark corners of his mind.

  Eyes wide, he turned his head to face his unexpected visitor. Alison. Dark brown hair nearly to her waist. Startling blue eyes that always seemed to pierce his soul. When they’d met four years prior, he’d known she would be lovely as an adult. She’d exceeded his expectations though, and temptation stared him in the face, boldness tempered by hesitation probably brought on by his erratic state.

  He couldn’t face that right then. She’d chased away the dark moon. The desire to cling to her conflicted with the need to protect her. He lowered his gaze and turned away.

  “What are you doing here?” He made sure his naked self was adequately covered. If he exposed himself to Alison, even by accident, her father would have his head. As the pack alpha, Brady had the power to back up his anger with force if he felt so inclined.

  “You didn’t come to breakfast. I was worried about you.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “Then why won’t you look at me?”

  Don’t answer that. It’ll only encourage her. If she found out how much he wanted her.... “You shouldn’t be here.”

  “That’s my decision, not yours.”

  “I doubt your father will care about that distinction if he finds you here.”

  “Are you kidding?” She chuckled and sat on the edge of the bed. Far too close.

  He swallowed and fought the urge to move away.

  “You’re his second. He thinks the world of you.”

  “Until he catches me with his daughter in my current state of undress.” He looked up but avoided her gaze and pointed toward the front door. “You need to go.”

  She shook her head and rested a hand on his arm. “You shouldn’t be alone right now. I’m not leaving, so you might as well accept it.” Determination gleamed in blue eyes even as her chin rose a notch.

  Ian shook off her touch and lay down, rolling away from her while holding the blankets close. “Do as you please. You generally do.”

  The bed shifted as she got up. He waited, barely breathing, to see what she’d do. The faint scuff of footsteps on the hardwood floor advertised her movements. The front door remained closed. Wood clattered as she built up the fire. Then she returned to the bed and stretched out at his back, not quite touching him but close enough he felt the heat of her body despite the blankets between them. At least, he imagined he could. If Brady walked in at that moment, Ian’s head would roll.

  Oh, well. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about the new moon or an unforgiving past ever again.

  * * *

  “Ian! Alison! Wake up!”

  Ian startled at the growled command. Disoriented, he wiped a hand across his eyes and tried to shake off sleep. Only then did he realize the “pillow” under his head was more firm than it should’ve been. And warm. He rose up on one elbow.

  Alison stirred next to him.

  Horrified, he pushed away from her. How had he ended up cuddled with her in his bed? He shot his alpha a wide-eyed look.

  Brady glared at him, but his lips twitched suspiciously. Was the man angry, or amused?

  “Alison Elizabeth Dolan, what do you think you’re doing?”

  “Daddy?” She wiped sleep from her eyes. Then, instead of leaping from the bed with the guilty flush Ian most certainly felt, she smiled and lifted her chin. “I didn’t want Ian to face the new moon alone.”

  One of the man’s brows rose. “Home. Now.”

  “But—”

  “Now!” He used that tone that brooked no argument and made lesser wolves cringe.

  Ian shuddered.

  Alison shot Brady a resentful look but quietly left. The front door clicked shut behind her.

  He went to the front window to watch her then sighed, shook his head, and turned to face Ian. A smile quirked his mouth. “What are we going to do with her?”

  “Excuse me?” Ian blinked at his alpha, confused.

  Brady closed the distance to stand beside the bed. “You need to marry her and get it over with.”

  Alarm shot through him, increasing his heart rate even more. “Nothing happened, I swear.”

  “I know.” He shook his head. “She’s in love with you, you know. She’s already made it perfectly clear to me that you are her choice of mate now that she’s turning eighteen.”

  Ian gathered the blankets around his waist and lowered his feet to the floor, shaking his head. “It would never work. Hopefully someday she’ll realize that.”

  The alpha cocked his head in thought. “What do you perceive as the hurdles?”

  He snorted. “I’m almost a hundred years older than you, and you can ask that with a straight face?”

  “Age is irrelevant for us. Surely you realize that by now.”

  “Not in this case.” His gaze on the floor, Ian frowned and yanked the blankets around to stop them from binding his knees. “I’ve seen and done too much to see the world the way she does. I’m not proud of the man I’ve been.”

  “What have you done that’s so bad?” Brady frowned. “If this is about displacing Darrell as my second, don’t carry regret over that.”

  He wiped a hand across his eyes. “If knocking him down a few pegs was the worst thing I’d ever done, I’d have a clear conscience.”

  “Hm.” The alpha sighed. “Alison’s right about one thing. You shouldn’t be alone right now. Even I have noticed how much you’re struggling this time around. It’s worse than usual.”

  Ian couldn’t deny that, so he nodded.

  “Come to the house. You can use the guestroom until this moon passes.” He grinned. “You probably should get dressed before we walk to the house, though.”

  He nodded again and got to his feet, tossing aside the blankets and reaching for blue jeans lying on a table a few feet away. “Your daughter has horrible timing, you know? She waltzed in here and wouldn’t leave, leaving me with two choices. Go back to sleep and ignore her, or climb out of bed stark-naked, put her outside by force, and lock the door. I figured you wouldn’t be too happy with the latter. If I’d been dressed, she’d have been home without incident within minutes of walking in here.”

  Brady chuckled. “You might try keeping the door locked.”

  “It was.” Ian shook his head. “Are you aware that one of your wolves taught her to pick locks?”r />
  “What?” He rolled his eyes and sighed. “Well, that certainly explains a couple of recent events.”

  Ian didn’t ask. He was pretty sure he didn’t want to know. He dug through a drawer for a clean flannel shirt, pulled it on, and buttoned it up. Then he grabbed socks and his boots and flopped onto the bed to pull on both.

  Murderer....

  He clenched his teeth and shook his head, trying to shrug off the whispers.

  “Ian?”

  He glanced up at Brady, who frowned in concern.

  “Are you alright?”

  “No.” He sighed. “Does the moon ever speak to you?”

  “I can’t say that it does.” The alpha shook his head. “What does it say to you?”

  Ian looked away. “We should go.” He got to his feet, picked up his coat from a chair, and shrugged into it. He made sure the fire in the fireplace was well contained and followed Brady out the front door. He didn’t bother to lock it.

  Brady put a hand on his shoulder as they walked the short distance through the forest to the main house. “If you ever decide you want to talk, I’m here.”

  He nodded.

  * * *

  Home of Brady Dolan, Pack Alpha

  Outside Flagstaff, Arizona

  Friday, March 2, 1984

  Elbows on his knees, Ian sat on the edge of the bed in the guestroom clad only in sweatpants, staring blindly out the window. A wide swatch of grass separated the house from the forest. Sunlight shone bright, but darkness cast a shadow over it all. Though he knew it was only in his mind, it was tempting to think the moon had stripped the sun of the ability to light the world.

  One down, two days to go.

  He’d gone for a long run the night before, accompanied by Brett, Brady, Alison, or a combination of the three for the entire night, despite his attempts to assure them he’d be fine. They hadn’t listened. He’d surrendered to their hovering concern.