Chapter 9

Maya hadn't worked with Rafe Mendoza before, or any of the Council Enforcers. He followed her to the pack jeep and got in the passenger side without any protest, which earned him points in her book. A male wolf confident enough not to demand to take over, even though they were on her pack's lands, might be okay as a partner, even for the short term. She headed for their border headquarters and gave him a quick run of the situation to date, both the attack and the ongoing tensions.

He didn't say much, just listened to her, which she studied him out of the corner of her eye and checked with her wolf to see if there was any kind of recognition. He was a handsome male, dark in a Spanish way, with medium tanned skin and dark wavy hair that brushed his collar and looked silky to the touch. His eyes were dark brown and watched her with a sharp intelligence but didn't demand her submission as so many male shifters did, even as she sensed his dominance was stronger than hers. He was adjusting his presence to work with her, not control her, something she didn't expect, and that somehow made him even more attractive.

Yet her wolf didn't react to him like a potential mate, damn it. If she had to find a mate outside her pack, why did it have to be from their enemies, Saranac?

Just thinking about Garrett soured her mood. He couldn't be her mate. She could never mate with a male from Saranac, not with their outdated ways of treating females, especially strong females like her. When mating across packs happened, one member had to leave and join the other pack. Garrett's whole family was integral to the Saranac pack structure. He would never leave and, even if he was willing, Dirigo couldn't trust him, not with Dirigo and Saranac being enemies. So she would have to leave. In Saranac, she would never be allowed to be anything more than a mate and mother to the next generation, not an enforcer and a member of the pack's hierarchy. That was unacceptable to her or her wolf. She had worked too hard for her position.

She'd been thinking of a way out for the entire month and couldn't think of any options, unless Garrett was willing to leave his pack, except her pack hated all of Saranac, especially the Colvins. And now, with the latest attack, it was only going to be worse. Would there ever be a chance for them?

"You and Colvin seem to have a history."

"Yeah, I hate the bastard and don't trust him at all," she spat without thinking about who she was talking to. No, she didn't care that she was talking to a Council Enforcer. They needed to know who they were dealing with.

"He seemed awfully protective of you." Rafe's tone was amused, but he stared straight ahead.

"Protective? Oh, you mean Garrett."

"Isn't he a Colvin?"

"I suppose he is." She didn't really think of him as one of them because he had always seemed different. She wondered if he really was tainted by their blood or could rise above it? Or would he lower himself to their level the more he was around them? "You probably know him better, since he was an enforcer with you."

Rafe shrugged, a casual movement. "He kept to himself, sticking with his partner and that was all. We all work alone or with a partner. It's not like a true pack. We're almost never together."

"Don't you miss it?"

A hint of a smile ghosted his lips. "Every day. Now, show me the scene of the attack."

She pulled off the road. "The easiest way is through here. Best to go on foot the rest of the way."

He nodded and followed her through the trees to the clearing where enforcers from her pack guarded the scene to ensure no one interfered. One of her close friends, Matthew, was closest, and he stood rigid, as if bracing himself against the pain and grief that they all felt in that area. Instinctively she hugged him and felt him tense for a moment, then hug her back, an exchange of comfort between pack mates.

After a moment, he released her and fixed his gaze on Rafe. "Who is this?"

"Council Enforcer. Checking out the situation."

"If you could both wait here, please. I'd like to walk through the scene alone, then I'll shift and do the same. Please ask everyone else to remain separate."

Maya nodded and let the male proceed alone. She leaned against the tree with Matthew and watched Rafe begin his investigation. Weariness swamped her, and she closed her eyes, resting her head against the rough bark. Her wolf knew she was safe with her pack mates there.

After several minutes, a scent teased her nose and her wolf pushed at her. She opened her eyes and saw Garrett with the other Council Enforcer, Caleb, standing a few feet away. Garrett was studying her with solemn eyes, as if unsure of his welcome. Caleb murmured something, then headed off to join Rafe in his exploration of the scene. Matthew had wandered off sometime during Maya's rest, leaving her and Garrett alone.

"You look tired."

"We are under attack. I haven't had much time to sleep."

He took a few steps forward until he was at arms-length away. "It wasn't Saranac. I asked my father and uncle point-blank. They swear they didn't attack."

A harsh laugh burst out from her, causing both Council Enforcers to pause and stare at them. After a moment, then resumed their discussion. "Forgive me if I call bullshit on that. You've been gone a long time, Garrett. There's been too much shit that has been going on, instigated by your pack, for me to believe they had nothing to do with this."

"You don't believe remnants of the Tri-State pack could have anything to do with this?"

She shook her head. "We have members of their pack here. In fact, one of their pups was taken and his mother was killed. So, no, I don't believe Tri-State would do this."

"Maybe they wanted their pup back and felt his mother was keeping him from his father," Garrett continued in a reasonable tone.

"His father was killed by Saranac in the war. There is no one to claim the pup except us. Don't try to come up with a political excuse to get your pack out of this shit, Garrett. They've been trying to expand their borders at our expense and aren't above sneaky methods."

"That's your story," he replied.

"Actually, you said it when you were on our lands, saying you were shown a map with that border. Ask the Council to show the real border and compare it to what your uncle showed you. That will prove the land grab."

She pushed past him, unwilling to continue the conversation, but he stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Are you just going to ignore it? We said we'd talk about it when I got back."

She didn't pretend to not understand what he was talking about. "You're damned right I am. At least for now. A mating between us would be a disaster."

"I disagree. I think it could go a long way to soothing tensions between our packs."

She wrenched her arm free and turned to face him, getting very close and lowering her voice so no one would hear. "Maybe our wolves think we are mates, but we have a choice. And I reject that mating. I can't be a member of Saranac. Never will I join your pack, and you know your family will never let you join Dirigo. So that's it. We move on. And never speak of this again."

"Maybe we're supposed to bridge the gap between our packs. Mating is a gift from the goddess. True mate bonds don't happen very often. Maybe she wants us to heal the breach between us."

She gestured to the meadow in the afternoon sunlight, where patches of dried blood still lay. "We cannot bridge a gap this far. Not with a mating. Not with any kind of bond."

She turned and walked away without a backwards glance.

* * *

Garrett watched Maya walk away from him, the angry strides of her long limbs and the hard beat of her feet a death knell in the hopes of his wolf. He had been telling the truth. On some level, he always knew they were destined to be mates, even when they were young and didn't know how to define the pull that existed between them. Their parents had recognized it and made every effort to interfere, going so far so to send him to live with his other uncle on the western border, then sending him to the Council as an enforcer, the pack's representative. Every pack sent one to support the Council, and it was his turn, and a convenient way to sever a growing bond.

They had had a choice between him and Brandon and everyone knew Brandon would have been put down by the Council if they had sent him. He was too on edge, bordering out of control, to be trusted as an enforcer. Garrett had the same strength, possibly more, but could control it better, so they sent him instead. His cousin should have had more controls placed on him, yet Garrett suspected he'd been protected and allowed to continue his ways under cover of his uncles and father for far too long. Would Garrett be expected to do the same?

Now that he was back, though, and he could feel the mate bond strengthening and calling to him, his wolf pushing at his own leash, trying to go to her. He could never bring her onto Saranac lands. She wouldn't be happy. He didn't want to watch the light fade from her eyes as he did from his mother's before her death years before.

Maya wasn't wrong. Neither pack would accept the other. Well, not exactly. His pack would gladly take her as a mate, then grind her down, beat her and force her to submit, or destroy her in the process, killing what made Maya special in an effort to control her. She was too strong for the Saranac leadership, who liked their females biddable, pliant, and submissive. Maya was definitely not any of those and leadership would make it their mission to correct her behavior and he wouldn't be able to protect her.

Could he live without his mate?

"You okay, Garrett?" Caleb asked, coming over after finishing his own tour of the scene.

Garrett shook himself out of his reverie. "I'm fine. What did you sense?"

Caleb let out a heavy sigh. "It was a brutal attack. A lot of scents, many I can't place since I'm not from here."

"Hell, Caleb. You have the best scent memory on the team. You only have to meet the wolf once to identify them."

"Exactly. And I think Maya was right. Your father was here."

Garrett's heart chilled. "Maybe he came after the attack to offer aid. Or they were old scents from patrols."

Caleb studied him with an impassive look. "You and I both know that was highly unlikely. I scented him strongly near the place where Maya said her cousin was killed, near a pool of blood. The scent wasn't fresh, but around the same age as the overlapping scents from the unknown wolves, who were likely the assailants."

Damn it. His father and uncle had lied to him, and to the Council. Now what?

He stared into the clearing at the other wolves working the scene as he tried to figure out what to do next. Caleb stood silently next to him as Garrett thought.

"We can talk to the Saranac enforcers stationed on the border to see if they were involved. See what they say."

Caleb grunted as if not convinced. "What about Maya and the mating?"

Garrett glanced at him. "I don't know. This complicates things."

"Mating always complicates things. The way that everything has always been between your packs would never make this easy. You had to know that," Caleb replied.

Garrett sighed. "I know that. We knew each other when we were kids. We weren't supposed to, obviously, but we kept finding each other in the forest."

"Fated mates. Drawn together. Doesn't always happen as children, but it can. It's a strong bond," Caleb commented. "How are you going to handle it?"

Garrett barked a laugh and a few wolves glanced over. "Can you see me bringing her to Saranac?" Caleb grimaced. "Exactly. And Dirigo will never accept me here. Even if we were to accept the bond, which Maya has already rejected."

Caleb arched an eyebrow. "Has she? If she had rejected you, you'd know it. The pain would feel like a knife wound to the gut. Only worse."

This time, it was Garrett's turn to eye him speculatively. "Sounds like you know something about being rejected."

"Maybe. Just remember, a true mate bond is not something to toss away lightly. It leaves a wound that never fully heals. Be sure there is no other option before you accept the rejection. You will never have another bond again, not even a witch one. No other bond can heal the wound or take hold if you reject a true mate bond."