Chapter 7

Maya ran back to the den and headquarters, shaken by her encounter with Garrett and heartsick at the same time. She had been feeling low-grade sick since she left the Council almost a month ago and knew it was the fledgling mating bond acting on her, trying to get her to go back and complete the mating. Yet, now with the heightened aggression between the packs and the recent attack by Saranac, she wondered if there would ever be a chance for them, if they could overcome this obstacle between them.

At no time had Garrett ever acted like a typical Saranac wolf, not tonight nor in their previous encounter. He hadn't threatened her or made her feel concerned for her safety at any time. Tonight, he'd been supremely confident that he was in the right, not arrogant, just assured that he was correct and she was wrong. That bothered her more than the other wolves, who knew they were wrong, yet pushed and tested the boundary every step of the way.

Most of the other Saranac wolves were more aggressive, nasty even, and all the Dirigo females on the border had to be careful not to be cornered by them. She ran into every Saranac wolf along the border at one time or another, usually with some kind of skirmish in the mix. Saranac males had low respect for females, ingrained in them from their Alpha, and reinforced by the rest of their leaders.

In Maya's opinion, they couldn't deal with powerful females and beat them down, broke their spirits where they could, or abducted them to breed strong pups. Dirigo did their best to rescue females where they could, but they had to play the game of not invading Saranac lands or it could be a declaration of war. Maya danced the line every time she went out against a Saranac wolf, worried they might be setting a trap for her to kidnap her. It wasn't unheard of, based on rumor and gossip, but the Council, who governed all packs in North America, refused to engage, saying it was a pack issue. Once a female was absorbed into Saranac, she was often lost, hidden deep in the bowels of their land in central New York State. No pack risked open warfare over retrieval. Once captured, her fate was sealed, and Maya knew how the males of Saranac treated their she-wolves. Horror stories emerged from the few that did escape.

Feminism might exist in the broader world for humans, but it hadn't yet come to the shifter space for many packs, especially with pureblood female shifters in short supply. And everyone knew the strongest pups came from a mating between pureblood males and females. Maya was grateful she hadn't been grounded because of her power and blood status.

Dirigo respected and valued a strong female wolf such as herself, not just as the potential bitch for breeding the next litter of strong males for the pack. She had a place in the pack and could serve, and not dinner or at the feet of the males.

This was the very question she had wrestled with over the past month since the mating bond had been revealed between her and Garrett. He came from that world, would go back to it. Was he secretly like his father and uncle? She honestly didn't think she could live in Saranac under those conditions, but her heart felt torn apart just being away from Garrett for a month, and they hadn't yet completed the bond. Was there any form of compromise?

Of course, then the attack happened, and it probably shattered any hope between them.

She walked up the stairs of the central headquarters, noting a few of her fellow enforcers gathered on the porch. They weren't talking, just sitting numbly, staring into the night, eyes dead, shoulders slumped, opened but full bottles of beer in their hands or by their sides. There wasn't any of the usual joking, camaraderie, or conversation. Yet they all needed each other for comfort. A few were even in wolf form, in a pack huddle, with a couple of pups, which was unheard of, but even the pups needed to be close to the enforcers to feel safe in this trying time.

One wolf looked up at her and he blinked, focusing on her, then he struggled to his feet. "Maya. You're back. Good. We were getting worried."

Giving in to her wolf's need for touch, she went into his arms for a friendly hug that was more about comfort than anything else. "Matthew, I'm not late. I just finished patrol. Did something happen?"

Hope flared inside of her. Had they found their pups? He drew back and shook his head mournfully. "No, not yet." Then he wrinkled his nose, a gold sheen rolling over his eyes. "You smell of something. Male wolf. Saranac?"

His lips pulled back from his teeth, and he snarled. The other wolves on the porch responded, turning their focus to them, eyes glowing gold and teeth gleaming in the dark.

"Settle down," she ordered. "There wasn't an incident. Nothing happened. But I need to talk to Isaac. Is he in there?"

Matthew had subsided to low rumbles, but he jutted his chin inside. "There's been incidents all along the border. Lots of petty attacks."

Her blood ran cold. "Prelude to war?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. Everyone made it back. Patrols are now only with two. No one goes out alone."

She nodded and pushed her way inside. Things were escalating quickly. Too quickly. And, if what she'd been feeling since she saw Garrett again was any sign of what she could expect, her life was about to get more complicated.

The very thing her family had feared back when she was a pup might be materializing at the worst possible time. An ache built in her chest with every step she took away from the clearing. A force trying to pull her back to Garrett, not letting her walk away. If she saw him again, it would only strengthen.

A fucking mating bond. With a Saranac wolf. What was once welcome was now a complete disaster. No one could know, especially now. Her life would be over.

* * *

Garrett puzzled over the interaction the whole way back to base. He headed straight for his father's office, where he knew his uncle would spend most of his time. Before he could cross the into the office, a large body blocked his way. His cousin, Brandon, was a large, broad male with more brawn than brain, though he had enough to be known for his cruelty and his willingness to follow whatever directions he was given, and then take a few liberties along the way. The females of the pack avoided him, but he was rumored to have a mating ceremony coming up. Garrett pitied the female tied to him and he wondered if it was a true mating bond or if they were creating a witch bond, an artificial mate bond designed for the purpose of allowing wolves to have pups.

But in one area, Brandon was perceptive. Ferreting out other people's weaknesses. If he sensed that Garrett had been with Maya or possibly found his mate, Maya would be in danger and the situation, which was already volatile, would explode and destroy everyone.

He deliberately relaxed his muscles even as his wolf growled to show Brandon who was stronger. "What's up, cousin?"

"You're late. We expected you hours ago. Out fucking around? Not that there are many worthy females." He paused, leaned in and sniffed. "Unless you found yourself someone new."

Fuck. But he kept himself relaxed. "Nah. Ran into a little trouble on the border. Handled it easily. Some female who thought she was strong."

Brandon's eyes glowed, but it wasn't the wolf. It was a little bit of crazy shining through. "Those Dirigo bitches. Think they're better than us, better than males. Hope you put her in her place. Under a male."

"I didn't waste my time. Just put her down and continued on my route," he said nonchalantly, as his blood chilled. His cousin was on the cusp of being out of control, if not sprinting over it. Who held his leash?

"Is that Garrett?" His uncle called from inside the office. "Get in here. We've been waiting. Thought you got lost or something."

Brandon sneered, but stepped aside for their uncle. "Or something."

Garrett angled himself to walk past his cousin, keeping him in sight, but not letting him think he was afraid. Delicate line there. He didn't dare turn his back. Brandon would think nothing of going for his back and claim might over right as an excuse, but if Garrett refused to turn his back, then it showed he was afraid, and he was weaker, which he definitely wasn't. He'd forgotten how cut-throat Saranac pack politics were while he'd been away working with the Council.

His father was standing just to the right and a little behind his uncle, who was seated behind the large, ornate antique desk. Both brothers looked so much alike that they could have been litter mates. Both men were tall and muscular, a hint of silver at their temples that took nothing away from the strength radiating from them. They both still ruled their part of the pack with an iron fist. Garrett's father managed the border with Dirigo and had since Garrett had been a child, while his brother, Linc, was the Beta to their Alpha, Victor Treadway. Between them, and a third brother who managed the western New York border, they controlled the Saranac Pack.

Garrett stopped across from the desk and fell into a military parade rest as he'd been taught in training. "Just took a little longer exploring the borders."

"Met up with a Dirigo bitch," Brandon offered, helpfully, from the doorway.

Uncle Linc raised an eyebrow. "Really? Which one?" He looked at Brandon. "Didn't I give you an order? Why are you still here?"

Brandon gave a sullen look and slunk from the room. Uncle Linc waited until the door closed. "That boy. I need to stay on him all the time. Did you find anything?"

"There's clearly some confusion about the border," Garrett started, shifting into soldier mode, glad to avoid the topic of Maya.

His uncle and father exchanged amused glances. Uncle Linc leaned back in the leather chair. "Dirigo owes us more land. We're … discussing it."

Garrett didn't show his confusion but, in his time with the Council Enforcer ranks, he had experienced many border disputes and it was always the Council who handled them. He also remembered the border dispute during the last Council meeting but didn't know if a ruling had been made. Either way, he knew better than to argue with his uncle or father. "Understood. Is that why there is so much tension on the Dirigo side tonight?"

Uncle Linc grew very still for a moment, then he stood and walked around the desk, leaning on the edge. "Tension? Elaborate."

"I came across multiple patrols and the wolves were tense, on edge. The wolf I ended up confronting mentioned an attack."

Uncle Linc smirked at that, and his father outright grinned. "Did they give any details about this alleged attack?"

Garrett felt like he was walking through a minefield, though he wasn't sure why. "They said that their pups and caregivers were on a picnic well within their territory and were attacked. The adults were killed, and the pups taken." He took a deep breath. "Tell me you didn't know anything about it."

His uncle moved faster than he expected. His hand shifted into claws and around his throat before he could avoid it. He was slammed into the wall in the next moment, pinned with his feet off the ground. His breath left him and he gasped around the pressure at his throat, the prick of claws terrifying.

"You're not disrespecting your Beta, are you, pup? I'd hate to think that you got ideas while you were away at the fancy Council Enforcers training."

"I told you it was a bad idea to send him there. A bunch of pussies at the Council. Sticking their noses where they don't belong," his father drawled from his position over by the desk, not making any move to help his son.

Then again, no one would move against the Beta of the pack, not if they wanted to live. Uncle Linc had a volatile temper and the only one who could override him was their Alpha, but he was in the pack headquarters near Albany, New York.

Garrett couldn't speak, and could barely move, but he angled his head the best he could to bare his throat further, showing his submission. It was the only thing he could do. A stream of blood ran down his neck, hot and wet, from his uncle's claws. His pulse pounded. It wouldn't take much for his uncle to kill him and no one would mourn him. No one would care. Though maybe Maya would wonder what had happened to him. Would she feel the other end of the mate bond die? Would it affect her at all? Maybe.

After what felt like an eternity, the grip eased, and the claws retracted. Garrett's feet touched the ground, and he sucked in air like a drowning man. But his uncle didn't move away. Instead, he crowded closer, his nose sniffing the other side of Garrett's neck.

"Is that the Wessex bitch you encountered on your patrol?"

His heart stuttered in his chest. He hadn't thought they had gotten that close for her scent to be on him, but he forgot she had her claws at his throat. He nodded. "It was."

His uncle stepped back and straightened his shirt, smoothing it down. "Is she your mate?"

He was so grateful that his partner with the Council was a strong wolf, Caleb North, and he had shown Garrett how to lock his emotions in a vault and hide other things deep inside. On his run back to the pack, he'd practiced hiding the emotions, not reacting to anything, and burying the beginning of the mate bond deep inside. It appeared to have worked because the strength of a Beta in a pack could recognize the bond forming, could force Garrett to reveal the truth.

He shook his head. "No, I don't believe so."

"Pity. She's a strong bitch, would make strong pups. We have nothing but weak pups spawning now. Could use some fresh blood." He turned and headed back to the desk. "If that changes, let us know."

"I doubt she'll leave Dirigo if she is my mate," Garrett said.

His father snorted. "It wouldn't matter. The mate bond supersedes all. She'd be forced by the Council to join her mate. And if she won't, we have the authority to… retrieve her."

Judging by the grins both men sported, they wanted that to happen. Garrett would make sure that day never came. Even if he gave up his mate for it, he'd never force Maya into a situation she didn't want. He would only bring her over with assurances of protection and a place she was comfortable with. Back less than a day and he despaired of finding those options.

He gave a casual shrug. "So, what's happens next? I hear the Council is coming?"

His uncle settled back in the chair. "We'll be waiting. Dirigo wants to blame us for this attack, but they have no proof. You'll come with me. We can use your connections with the Council and, maybe the more you meet with the Wessex bitch, a bond might form."

That was his greatest and worst fear, all rolled into one.