Chapter 17

LEXIE

The wolf pack congregating in Ollie’s parents’ house was much smaller than I’d expected, but it was a Tuesday afternoon. I had to assume some of them were working and couldn’t get away.

“What’s this about, Oliver?” a big man asked from the comfort of Anne and David’s couch.

We were all crowded around the living room. Nancy was in the corner, keeping her eyes to herself, and Anne was trying not to look at me as well.

Cowards.

I stuck by Ollie’s side, not willing to leave him alone for even a moment. What if I looked the wrong way and lost him too? I wasn’t sure what I’d do if that happened.

Out of nowhere, those two men had become my whole world, and I couldn’t imagine my life going forward without them. As a woman who’d tried never to look more than one day into the future, I now had years mapped out.

For the first time ever, I had plans. I had something to look forward to. A place where I belonged. People who loved me, or at least wanted to build a life together.

I’d finally gotten something worth holding on to, and I wasn’t going to lose it. Not now. Not ever.

“Markus is missing,” Ollie said, answering the man’s question. “I’d like the pack to help me look for him.”

The big guy shifted on his chair. “He’s only been gone what, a day? Not even twenty-four hours. Surely, it’s possible that he’s just hunting, or dallying with a shifter from another pack. Markus has been known to do some wild things.”

There was a general mumbling of agreement, and Ollie grabbed my hand, pulling me closer. “Markus is my twin, and Lexie is our Fated mate. We know something’s wrong with him. We can both feel it.”

The big guy on the couch glanced at me, then threw a pointed look at Ollie’s parents, then back at me. “Well, no one mentioned that before now. Welcome to the pack, my dear. But I don’t see how either of you can feel anything that would make me endanger our pack. You know a storm is predicted for this evening. The forest will flood and trees will come down. People could get hurt.”

People? What about Markus? He was still out there.

I kept my mouth shut because I was the outsider and didn’t know most of the men and women standing around the room.

“You don’t have to force anyone to help us, Alpha. But I’m here to ask for help. If anyone would be willing to search some of the forest with me, we can cover a lot more ground, hopefully getting in and out before the storm hits.”

“I’ll go,” Nancy called out, putting her hand up. “I’ll take the north end, near the lake. Markus used to love swimming there.”

“Thanks,” Ollie said, though I glared at her. She wasn’t helping us, she was helping herself. But I wasn’t turning away another set of eyes and paws.

“We’ll come, of course,” Anne said, stepping forward and indicating between herself and her husband. “I suppose we’ll go east. Along the city edges and around the forest.”

A few of the other shifters offered to accompany Anne and Nancy, and I could see Ollie visibly relax. “Thank you. All of you. And please understand that I don’t expect anyone to put themselves at risk. As soon as the weather turns, get home.”

The wolf shifters began filing through the doors and walking outside, and Ollie followed, dragging me along.

Once we got outside, I turned to Ollie. “Has someone got a dirt bike I can ride? I’ll follow you. I assume we’re going up to that cave you were talking about?”

Anne and Nancy turned toward me, the latter with a nasty smirk on her face. “You’re going up to the bluff caves, Ollie? You’ll be lucky to make it that far before the weather hits.”

Ollie shrugged, unbuttoning his shirt and folding it up. “I have to try. If there’s anywhere Markus went to wait out the storm, it’ll be the cave.”

Nancy turned her gaze on me and there was a sneer lifting her upper lip. “You won’t make it up there. You’re human for one thing, and no bike I know could make it over that terrain. It’s steep and hasn’t got any roads. You need to be a wolf shifter to travel through the forest.”

You wanna bet?

Nancy turned to look at Anne, who was nodding with an oddly triumphant look on her face. Then Anne said, “Nancy’s right. You don’t belong here, Lexie. Go home... or wherever it is that you sleep.”

Fury roared up inside my head. “I sleep right beside your sons, Anne. And I suggest you get used to that idea.”

Nancy opened her mouth to speak, and I pushed my hand out and snapped at her. “No! You two listen up because it’s my time to talk. I’ve been riding bikes and patching guys up since I learned to walk. I grew up in a motorcycle club and there isn’t a bike I can’t ride, nor a hill I can’t get up. So, you can just shut your faces.”

I could feel Ollie beside me, shifting nervously from foot to foot, but I didn’t take my eyes off the two women in front of me. It was their fault that Markus was missing, and it was time I put them in their place.

“You better watch who you’re talking to,” Anne growled at me, the silver of her wolf flashing in her eyes.

I dug deep into that place that was hardened by a childhood that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. My man needed me, and no one was leaving me behind.

I stepped forward and glared at the woman who would be my mother-in-law and growled right back.

“Anne, you better watch who you’re talking to. If you don’t get your shit together, you won’t be seeing any of your grandbabies. And, yes... your son here has made it clear we’ll be having kids as soon as possible, so is that what you want? To miss out on seeing them grow up?”

Anne’s eyes widened, then her lip quivered as though she hadn’t thought about the fact that by ostracizing me, she would lose so much more.

Good.

I turned to Markus’s ex-lover. “And Nancy... I don’t give a shit if you pull it together or not. I’ll be happy to never lay eyes on you again. These men are mine. Mine. So get on board, or get the fuck outta my way.”

A tough-looking chick with short, spiky hair walked up. “Hey, I’ve got a bike you can borrow. Not sure it’ll get all the way to the cave, but it’s the best shot you’ve got.”

I nodded at her, heaving a little from my tirade. “That would be great. I’ve got a bag in Ollie’s truck I need to take.”

Ollie grabbed my arm. “I’ll shift and follow you. Toni just lives down the road.”

The woman, who I assumed was Toni, indicated I should follow her, so I did. I grabbed the stuff out of Ollie’s truck that I needed, packing as many of the supplies as I could into the backpack and fanny pack.

“You really think Markus is hurt?” Toni asked.

I nodded. “Yeah, I do. I have this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach, and it just won’t go away.”

She walked over to a very nice-looking bike. “Jump on. It’ll be faster if we go home on this.”

“Hell, yeah,” I said, unable to stop myself as I climbed on behind her. “I’ve missed these machines.”

We took off, and just as I was almost enjoying the vibrations beneath me, we pulled into a driveway. The dirt bike Toni had been talking about was in the garage.

“Whoa, that’s hot.” I said, hurrying over to the motorcycle with huge shocks and a large engine.

“She’s full of gas, and helmets are on that wall. Take whatever you want.”

I glanced over at the wall Toni was indicating and sighed. “Oh my God. This is awesome.”

“You know, I own the only motorcycle shop in town, and I could use some help running the place. What can you do? Mechanic stuff? Sales? Answer phones? Deal with customers?”

I stared at her, shocked that at this horrible moment in time she was offering me something so perfect.

“Ah... I can do it all, really. Got taught how to take a bike apart and put it back together by the time I was twelve. It’s been years, but that’s not stuff you forget.”

“What about the people side of the business?”

I laughed. “I’ve been waitressing for ten years. Dealing with people and their shit is my job.”

Toni grinned. “Then when all this is sorted, how about you come by my shop, and I’ll hook you up with a job? Sounds like you’re exactly what I need.”

I would have hugged her, but a large silver wolf ran up the driveway.

“That’s Ollie,” Toni said. “I’m gonna shift and join Anne and David. See you later, Lexie.”

Toni shifted into a black wolf and took off down the street, a puddle of clothes left in her wake.

I shook myself, still not used to the sight of a human morphing into another creature.

I grabbed a helmet, slid it on and jumped on the huge dirt bike. “You run, I’ll follow.”

Ollie’s wolf nodded, turned tail and took off.

I revved the engine and followed him, and for the first time in my life, I was grateful for the upbringing and knowledge I’d been taught along the way.