“Brother Micah, I bring you greetings from the Pack. We are happy you have returned to us whole and sound. I am gladdened to return to you the mantle of the Alpha.” Pete rose to his feet to hold out the carved piece of wood that the local area Alpha held. It wasn’t traditional in every Pack for there to be such a token, but those near reservations usually followed such niceties. He clasped Micah’s hand firmly and stepped back. Micah rubbed his thumb over the form of the running wolf then looked back at Pete.
“Brother Peter, I thank you for watching over the Pack so well in my stead. I accept this mantle with honor and pledge to protect all within the Pack.” Micah set the small carved wolf down on his desk to look at Pete.
“Are you sure I can’t convince you to just keep on as Alpha, Pete?” Micah offered his friend a smile as he dropped out of the formal speech patterns. He asked every time he returned and every time the answer was the same.
“Micah, you know I can’t do that. Margie would eat me alive if I made her Alpha bitch. And I am just not cut out for that kind of leadership. It gives me a headache. I’ll just stay on as sheriff, run with the Pack, bust the bad guys and have a happy marriage.
“Besides, you make a better Alpha than me. Young, virile studs do so much better than paunchy, balding middle-aged guys.” Pete softened his words with a chuckle.
Micah sighed heavily. “I only take this token because you force it on me, Pete. You know I don’t want this responsibility. I will hold it until we can identify a Pack member who can wear this mantle-one who truly wants it. I just want to live my life in peace. Is that too much to ask?”
His friend smiled at him. “Micah, one day you’re going to have to realize that the Pack chooses who leads them. It’s the way of our people. We choose based on intelligence, power and presence. Sorry, but you have all of that in spades. You are the Pack’s choice and the sooner you accept that, the better it will be for all of us. Now who’s the female? I don’t know her scent. Did you bring someone back with you?”
Micah shook his head. “No, her name is Olivia Decatur and she’s a guest here. She doesn’t know she’s a shifter.”
Pete’s jaw dropped as his eyes widened. “Doesn’t know? She’s an adult and she doesn’t know? How is that possible? Why hasn’t she shifted? Where’s her Alpha? That’s criminal, Micah. Her Pack should be sanctioned.”
“Easy, Pete. She was adopted by humans when her real family couldn’t be found. You know how some Packs are. So off the radar that it’s hard for their own people to find them-much less humans. I think that’s what happened to Olivia. Good news is she knows her birth name so I’m going to do a little research to see if I can find a Pack member who remembers her family.” Micah stood up. “Let’s go find her. I want you to meet her.”
The sight in the kitchen warmed Micah to his toes. Olivia stood at the stove serving up omelets onto three plates while Talia laid out silverware. Her tongue stuck out slightly as she concentrated on the perfect placement. He could get very used to this.
“Ladies, I have someone I want you to meet.”
Olivia shook hands with Pete while Talia took refuge against Micah’s side. The child’s eyes seemed luminous as she stared at the other man. Her voice carried as she whispered to Micah, “He’s one of us, isn’t he? Is he going to take me away?”
Blonde hair snapped as Olivia oriented on Micah. She offered Talia a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, honey. Your Uncle Micah is not going to send you anywhere. And what do you mean one of us?”
Micah inhaled sharply. He should have considered Talia’s reaction to meeting Pete. And now knowing part of Olivia’s history, her immediate defense of Talia came as no surprise. Pete glanced at the two females then at him. Micah shook his head, easing Talia away from his side so he could pick her up.
“Talia, I told you. Your home is with me now. No one is taking you anywhere.” He rubbed her back as she threw her arms around his neck, hiding her face from both Pete and Olivia. Micah tried to ignore Olivia’s last comment, but knew a reckoning would come.
“Pete is the sheriff around here. He’s based in Howard, just down the road. He and his wife come here to the lodge for dinner now and then. Pete, Olivia is here to do an article on winter sports.”
There, that should get the conversational ball rolling. He knew Pete could talk for quite some time about ice fishing and snowmobiling. Olivia offered to fix him a plate and Pete grinned at her.
“No thanks. I’ve got to get to the station.” He nodded again at Micah, shook Olivia’s hand and waggled his fingers at Talia as he headed for the front door. Micah stayed in the kitchen. Setting Talia down on her feet, he moved purposely toward Olivia.
She stood in the sunlight, staring out at the woods. Talia raced into the other room, saying something about finding a stuffed animal. Micah stopped right behind Olivia. She didn’t speak, she just leaned back. His hands landed quite naturally on her shoulders and he pulled her even closer to his body, crossing his arms over her chest. She brought her hands up to rest right under her chin on his arms and sighed deeply.
“Sorry, that wasn’t really my business, was it?”
“What?”
“Jumping on your friend like that. I guess Talia’s question about him taking her away just brought up some memories for me. That seems to be happening a lot here.”
“Liv, no one is angry with you, least of all me.” Micah turned her around to face him, tracing her cheeks with his fingertips, touching her mouth and chin.
“You were protecting Talia, nothing more. Why would I be angry at that? And Pete didn’t take offense, believe me.” Lowering his head, he kissed her. Not the way he truly wanted to, but enough to drive his point across. She melted against him, wrapping her arms around his waist and clutching his shirt.
“Micah, what are you doing to me?” Olivia’s whisper reached him and he took a deep breath, savoring the scent of slightly aroused female.
“Not as much as I’d like to.” Micah stepped back slightly and smiled down at her. “Tonight, though, tonight will be quite a different story.”
He stepped away from her as Talia came back into the room. The child didn’t even slow down. Just ran right to the table with a stuffed penguin under her arm.
“Uncle Micah, do we eat penguins?”
“No, Talia. We do not eat penguins.” Watching Olivia smile, Micah moved toward the coffeepot. He refilled his cup and Olivia’s then sat at the table to enjoy his breakfast. He had the woman he wanted for his mate and a child to care for in his home. Life is good.
Breakfast over, Micah pushed back from the table. “If we all pitch in, we can get this kitchen cleaned up and then…” He wriggled his eyebrows at Talia. “Then maybe we can see about taking the sled dogs out for a run.”
Talia’s squeal of pure delight drew an answering grin from Olivia. The kitchen returned to its normally clean state in no time with all three of them at work. Talia even set her penguin up, declaring, “Emily is supervising.”
Micah felt as if his heart would burst when Olivia reached down and hugged Talia. “Tell Emily to keep a close eye on your Uncle Micah. I think he might be slacking.”
“Hey now.” Micah swung Talia up to sit on his shoulder. “You aren’t on her side, are you, Talia?”
“Uncle Micah, there are no sides in Pack.”
Olivia’s raised eyebrow and studied gaze lasered into Micah. He cleared his throat. “So who wants to go for a dogsled ride? Everyone needs to get dressed. Layers!”
The two females laughed as they raced out of the room. Talia pulled at Olivia’s hand trying to get her to move faster. Olivia glanced back at him and winked. Her gaze dropped from his head to his crotch and back, causing Micah’s heartbeat to increase.