Things just went downhill from there.
It started slowly, the internal rebellions. Retaliation for one act was followed by another. Both she and Evan spoke to their packs, but it seemed there was no way to make them see reason. Everyone took what had begun as a childish prank personally, and in some ways Amy couldn’t blame them.
For the first time Takhini and Canyon were in the middle of a huge change, and yet at every turn Evan blocked her suggestion that they work together. It wasn’t like him, not from what she had observed over the past year, but his leadership style had changed completely.
It seemed Takhini and Canyon had declared war.
Takhini egged her house.
Canyon somehow figured out which pack members had been involved and wrapped their cars with three layers of egg cartons and chicken wire.
Takhini sent invitations to participate in the next Iditarod—as sled pullers—to all the Canyon pack.
Canyon sent flea collars to everyone.
Harmless pranks for the most part, but all of them annoying and disruptive. And yet every time Amy offered to come and talk to the Takhini pack with him, Evan turned her down. She felt as if her hands were tied. Between the once-again-denied mating urge and the continued chaos in the packs, frustration was her constant companion.
If only Evan would come and ask her to work with him, but it seemed that was beyond the level of trust he was willing to show. All she could do was hold on and attempt to keep order over wolves who were increasingly hard to control.
Nearly a week later her phone woke her. Amy picked it up, still groggy from a poor night’s sleep. “What?”
“Damn vandals, and I bet anything I know exactly who the damn vandals are. Anyway, they took all four of my tires last night,” Tom complained. “Sorry, I’m going to be a little late to work.”
“No problem. Get there when you can.”
The third time the phone rang in the next five minutes with one of her pack letting her know they’d had a theft, Amy knew Tom was right, Takhini had hit again. She walked past her front window on the way to the kitchen for some extra-strong coffee, and froze in place.
Her entire old front yard was filled with tires. They’d been stacked like rubber Inuksuk, their torsos made of black circles, winter treads extending out as arms. Shiny hubcaps balanced on top as heads.
Her lips twitched, and she snorted briefly with amusement before getting on the phone to let her pack know where they could find their tires. Inside, though, the icy sadness only grew.
It was just after lunch when Evan stomped his way to the couch in the pack house where Shaun and Gem were talking with Justin. “I’m going to kill them,” he declared.
“Are you giving me a heads up so I can gather bail money again?” Justin asked.
“Very funny. I don’t mean literally kill them.” Evan paused. “Although, it’s tempting.”
“What’s the latest?” Shaun asked.
“As if you don’t know.” Evan narrowed his eyes. “You’re sure you’re not encouraging the brats?”
“Dude. Of course not. I want the little shits to start behaving themselves as well. Okay, it was funny when they toilet-papered the Canyon pack houses.”
Gem shook her head. “It wasn’t so funny when Canyon arranged to have fresh manure spread on the lawns of the troublemakers.”
“They’re going to be the envy of all their neighbours come next spring,” Justin pointed out, a huge grin spreading across his big bear face.
Evan offered him a death glare. “You’re enjoying this far too much.”
Justin shrugged. “There’s no bloodshed in the streets, so yes, it is rather amusing.”
“But it needs to stop, and soon.” Gem looked as worried as Evan felt. “So far it has all been fairly innocuous and safe, but what happens when it goes beyond that? And there’s the other trouble with the pranks. I thought the goal was to join the packs. This isn’t helping. If anything it’s forcing them farther apart.”
She had a point.
Shaun obviously agreed. “Toby and Lance cornered me yesterday. I swear they were sounding out if I was still supportive of you staying in power.”
This was a kind of chaos Evan had never expected. “I need to talk to you, right now.”
Shaun kissed Gem, gave Justin a finger wave then followed Evan into a more private part of the pack house. “What’s up?”
Evan leaned against the wall and stared at his Beta. “What am I doing wrong?”
He expected nothing but the truth. That was why he had brought Shaun on as a Beta in the first place, but what he got was unexpected.
“You’re not yourself.” Shaun paced a few steps away before turning back, his face serious for the first time in…well, maybe in forever. “You’ve always been someone I’ve admired. I’ve lived a lot of places in the North, and we wolves tend to be a wild and hairy bunch. You’ve never been so full of yourself as an Alpha that your attitude pissed me off.”
Evan nodded. “Go on.”
“In fact, I might have to admit to a bit of hero worship when it comes to you. You care, but you do it in such an irreverent and casual way it fits this pack, and it fits me.”
“You sound like a cheering section, and I know damn well something’s wrong. Just give it to me straight.”
Shaun smirked. “This is called a shit sandwich. That was the good part, here comes the crap. Ever since you met Amy, you’ve changed. I understand that whole unfinished-mate business is making you crazy, but it seems as if you’re not interested in the pack anymore.”
“Bullshit. You know the pack is important to me.”
“Then why aren’t you leading? Toby and Lance are doing more than pulling pranks now. They’re eyeing your position, and mine, and if you don’t get your ass in gear, we’re going to be fighting for more than control. We’ll be fighting for our lives.”
The words might be logical, but they still didn’t seem to register.
“It’s like…” Anger and confusion mixed as Evan spoke. “It’s like I’ve lost a piece of myself. Ever since I sniffed Amy, I can’t concentrate. I can’t figure out the right thing to do because every time I head in one direction, I’m tugged in another. It’s so damn infuriating. You’re right, this isn’t me, and I know that, and that’s another layer on top of the rest of the bullshit.”
Evan scrubbed his hands over his face. It wasn’t just meeting Amy. It was being reminded of the situation at Hudson Bay. Since that had been tossed in his face, he doubted all his decisions.
Back then he’d been pushed, hard, and Philip had paid with his life. Was he reacting to that mistake and choosing not to decide? It was fucked up and crazy-making, but it might be an explanation.
“If I could just move on and forget her altogether, I wonder if I would choose that.”
Shaun didn’t say anything. Just stood there and looked supportive. Shocked and cranky, but supportive.
“But the last thing I want is to give her up,” Evan growled. “She’s the missing part of me, but I can’t seem to make us fit. She’s a round peg and I’m a square hole, and all we do is keep butting into each other and never coming to any solution.”
“Well, your confusion, and hers, is contagious.” Shaun paced to the window, his shoulders stiff. When he turned it was with more determination than ever. “I’m with you, whatever you decide. I want you to be happy, but I also need you to be the Alpha of this pack. So get it together, or I will make you get it together.”
It was a sign of how far gone Evan was that the blatant challenge didn’t even get his back up. “I’m glad I’ve got you on my side. And I swear, I will find a way through this.”