“Why?” she asked, sounding sated but confused.
“Bed first,” he explained, then had no more words.
He tossed her onto the mattress and followed her down. His mate’s comfort seen to, he was free to satisfy his own desires. Rory loved her until they both collapsed onto the mattress in an exhausted heap, the emotional trauma of the night forgotten.
Snuggling close, Shay murmured into his neck, “Laurie Bell deserved everything she got tonight. There’s no need for you to feel guilty.”
He closed his eyes and tugged her closer, thanking the Creator for giving him a mate who understood him better than he often understood himself. “I know.”
“More importantly, she’s no longer a threat to us or the pack.” She licked a bit of sweat off his neck.
“I know,” he agreed, running his fingers lightly down her spine. “I just…”
“Feel like you lost your mother all over again,” she completed.
“Yes,” he admitted with a sigh.
Shayla shifted until she lay on top of him and cupped his face in her hands. “The woman you thought you knew doesn’t exist. Eventually you’ll realize this and not feel so bad. Right now it makes me happy to know that you can’t do what was done tonight and not feel anything.”
“I’m alpha, Shay. Tough decisions come with the territory. It’s not the first time I’ve had to do something difficult.”
“And it’s not the first time your heart has suffered as a result. You know what this makes you, Rory?” she asked, their noses almost touching.
Eyes narrowed in suspicion, he asked a touch belligerently, “What?”
“Human.” Then she kissed him, and Rory forgot about Laurie Bell, the pack, and his justifiable actions tonight and gave himself over to his mate’s tender, healing mercies.
Epilogue
Rory stared at his brother, a half smile on his face.
“Your mate is a nag,” Kian telepathed.
“She loves your mangy butt. God only knows why,” Rory said.
Kian glared at him. “This isn’t funny. She keeps hounding me to let Alex’s staff at the clinic look at my throat.”
Rory leaned back in his office chair. “And…”
He knew why Kian hadn’t before, but none of those reasons were valid now. After Laurie Bell—four weeks later and Rory still couldn’t think of her without his wolf bristling—had made her confession, they knew the cause of Kian’s defect had nothing to do with genetics but was simply an injury caused in his infancy. One that could possibly be corrected. Since Refuge had a top-rate, fully equipped medical emergency center staffed with people who knew about shifters, most of whom were shifters themselves, there went Kian’s only other reason for refusing.
“I’m doing it,” his brother snarled in his head. “It’s the only way I’ll get any peace.”
Smiling, Rory asked, “Want me to come with you and hold your hand?”
The heat in his brother’s gaze should have scorched him. “You want me to rip out your throat?”
Arching his left eyebrow, Rory reminded Kian, “You can try, but if you succeed, you’ll be stuck running the pack by yourself.”
Kian’s chest vibrated in a growl only Rory could hear. “Should have drowned you as a pup.”
“Then you’d be alpha now instead of coalpha,” Rory stated with unconcealed devilment, relishing having his brother in his rightful position, both in the business and the pack.
Snatching up his hardhat and clipboard off his desk, Kian gave Rory a look of disgust and stalked out the office door.
Rory stared unseeing at the empty doorway, the joviality of the moment fading away as concern took its place. He hoped for his brother’s sake that things would work out well, fearing that disappointment would crush Kian and send him back into his lone-wolf shell.
At least one good thing had come out of the mess last month. Rory had his brother back as an active part of his life. No more did Kian hide in the shadows. Not only that, but after what they’d done to Laurie Bell, the pack no longer looked on his brother with disdain. Instead their actions had instilled a healthy level of fear and respect in all of them.
Hours later Rory was knee-deep in the mountain of paperwork that had accumulated since Shayla’s arrival. He glanced up, irritated, when the door opened and a spill of sunlight fell across his desk. Damn place was busier today than an inner-city bus station.
MacDougal entered the office, followed by Ashley. “You got a minute?”
With an inward sigh, Rory tossed his pen on a stack of papers. “Yeah, what’s up?”
MacDougal strode forward confidently to stand before the desk. “Me and the Arizona pack clicked. I’ve been officially offered the position of alpha.”
“Are you taking it?” Rory asked.
MacDougal nodded. “No offense, but I’m not like Caleb. I want to lead. Being third, and now with Kian being coalpha…”
“I understand,” he said when the other man trailed off. “It’s not easy, especially when the wolf is riding you.” MacDougal was a strong beta, borderline alpha. Without him, Kian, and Caleb in the way, his wolf would grow into the alpha MacDougal was meant to be.
“You’ll be missed,” Rory told him sincerely. Now that Mac no longer had his butt on his shoulders, he’d proven to be a good man to have at your back. They might eventually end up friends once this dominance crap no longer stood in the way. “When do you leave?”
“I was able to get on with the electric company in nearby Phoenix. Gave my two-week notice today. I start work there in three weeks. The thing is, Ashley’s coming with me,” he announced.
Rory felt his eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. “Ashley?”
“I stood a better chance of getting and holding the position if I were mated. The pack there is small, and the alpha’s daughter is too young to be mated. By the time she comes of age, I’ll be so well established that it won’t be a problem,” MacDougal said, showing the ruthless cunning that could make him a force to be reckoned with in years to come.
In packs without a male heir, it was typical to mate with the alpha’s female offspring as a means of securing the alpha position. It ensured continuation of the alpha line, while bringing in new, stronger bloodlines.
Still, MacDougal’s reasoning, though it made perfect sense, concerned Rory. He glanced behind him to Ashley. “You’re okay with this?” She was a part of his pack, and as alpha, Rory had a responsibility to see to her well-being.
Ashley’s expression was serene. “He could have chosen someone else, but he wants me. That’s all that really matters. And,” she added, “I’m more than happy to be leaving this place and going somewhere no one knew my mother. It will be a fresh start for both of us.”
Rory winced, seeing the truth of her words. Besides, the news of Ashley’s leaving would make his mate a happy woman. “Well, I wish you both great success. Mac, you need anything, pick up the phone and call.”
“We’ll be all right, but thanks for the offer.” He placed his hand on Ashley’s back and turned to leave.
“Could you give me a minute? I’d like to speak to Rory…alone.”
MacDougal glanced at Rory, then back at her. “I’ll wait outside.”
She smiled. “Thank you.”
Ashley waited until the door closed with MacDougal on the other side of it before turning to Rory. Then she seemed to flounder.
Curious, Rory waited for her to gather her words.
“I didn’t know what my mother was up to,” she finally said.
“I never thought you did,” he assured her.
“No, let me finish. I knew she was power hungry and that she had no respect for anyone she considered lesser than herself, like me.” Ashley drew in a shaky breath. “I said…I did… Hell!” She cast her gaze down to the floor. After a few more breaths, she stiffened her shoulders and raised her head. “Mother wasn’t the only person who was a threat to your mate. I’d rather not say how I know, but watch your Uncle Wesley. He wants to be alpha and doesn’t particularly care how he accomplishes it.”