Overcoming Stereotypes

Miracle Book 4

Shea Balik

BLURB

In a world where everyone was against them, they needed a Miracle. What no one had expected was to find their salvation in an abandoned town that was ready to collapse. Yet, that is exactly what happened when they moved to the town of Miracle, Oregon.

Kellach Alder hadn’t been given a chance in life to be the man he knew he could be. It never occurred to him that if he wanted others to see him differently, he would have to stand up and be the person he wanted to be. 

Trygg Snow was sent to kill Kellach and his friends.  Already conflicted about his mission, Trygg knew he wouldn’t be able to complete his assignment when he came face to face with his mate.  If only Kellach, a mountain lion shifter, would look past the fact that Trygg was a wolf shifter.

Against all odds, and an army headed their way to destroy them all, Trygg and Kellach must find a way past their differences if they are to survive.  The only way to achieve that is by Overcoming Stereotypes.  

Copyright ©2017 by Shea Balik

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
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Printed in the United States of America

First Printing, 2017

Cover by: Harris Channing

Edited by: Avril Stepowski

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Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER  6

CHAPTER  7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER  11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 19

EPILOGUE

DEDICATON

To my fans.

CHAPTER 1

“It isn’t fair,” Kellach Alder griped to Harper and Jari as he sat at the counter of Mousetrap, the diner his friend had recently opened.

“What’s wrong?” Harper asked as he placed several freshly made pies in the glass cooler behind the counter.

Kellach’s stomach growled seeing one of those pies was his favorite, chocolate cream with a thick layer of whipped cream and chocolate chips on the top.  When his mouth started watering, he said, “I’ll take a piece of that chocolate cream pie.”

Harper grinned as he pulled the pie back out of the case and cut him a piece.  The moment Harper placed his plate on the counter in front of him, Kellach dug in.  He moaned as the creamy chocolate and whipped cream hit his tongue.  “Amazing, as always, Harper,” Kellach said when he’d swallowed his first bite.  He was going to end up fat if he didn’t learn to stop eating his frustrations like this.

“Now, you going to tell us what isn’t fair, or do we have to sit here and guess?” Jari asked.

Kellach hadn’t meant to complain and had hoped his friends would forget he’d said anything, but, as usual, luck wasn’t on Kellach’s side.  His father had always drilled into him that “real men” didn’t complain.  He still wasn’t sure what that meant exactly but he was pretty sure it was a dig at his effeminate appearance.

Why it was his fault that he had long thick lashes, rich dark chestnut hair, high cheekbones and lush lips, Kellach wasn’t sure but the disgust on his father’s face every time the man looked at him was enough to let him know he was somehow at fault.

Since he couldn’t do much about his looks, Kellach had taken everything else his father had told him about being a “real man” to heart.  That included not complaining, even when his father had nearly beaten him to death for kissing another man.

Kellach shook his head to dispel those morbid thoughts and answered Jari.  “I didn’t mean anything by it.  I guess I’m just at a loss as to what to do with my time.”

“I thought you were helping to build the grocery store next door.” Harper asked.

He tried not to groan with dismay but he couldn’t help it.  Kellach hated construction.  There was only one job he’d despised more and that was cooking.  Most likely because he’d been forced to do it most of his life when the Alpha of his old pack thought with his effeminate looks, Kellach belonged in the kitchen doing “women’s work.”  The Alpha’s words, not his.

Kellach wasn’t sure why the Alpha thought it a woman’s job when it was hard as hell to prepare meals for a pack of shifters.  He had to give Jari props for being able to lift those heavy pots filled to the brim in order to feed so many men with bottomless stomachs.

Jari chuckled.  “Somehow I don’t think hammering nails is Kellach’s thing.”

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t mind getting hammered,” he mumbled.   Harper chocked on the water he was drinking, alerting Kellach that he’d said that out loud.

Damn, what was wrong that I can’t keep my thoughts to myself?

“Maybe it’s because you keep everything bottled up all the time,” Jari said.

“Fuck.”  This time Kellach didn’t even bother trying to keep his thoughts to himself.  There wasn’t much point since he seemed to have diarrhea of the mouth anyway.  “Just ignore me,” he told them.  “I’m having an off day.”

It was a lame excuse but he didn’t have any other reason to give for what he was saying.  Then again, maybe Jari was right.  Kellach had lived his entire life having to watch every word and every action for fear of reprisal from his father.  Now that he was relatively safe and away from his father, the words he’d been forced to keep inside for so long refused to be kept quiet any longer.

Harper and Jari chuckled.  “Okay, so you don’t like construction and, for some unknown reason, the men here are either blind or too stupid to want to sleep with you.”

It wasn’t that many of the men hadn’t tried but Kellach was a little gun shy.  Then again, who could blame him when the last time he’d kissed a guy, Kellach’s father nearly beat him to death for it?

Kellach and his five best friends were gay, which, in the shifter world, was the ultimate crime.  No one could explain why, since, at times, their fated mates were the same sex, but it was something that was absolute in their world.  To come out meant certain death.

“But I know I heard Crash ask you out just the other day,” Harper said.

Both men gave Kellach a quizzical look.  He knew he should have kept his mouth shut.  When was he ever going to learn?

“Learn what?” Iniko asked as he waltzed in from the kitchen.  When Kellach just shook his head refusing to think another thought in case it once more came pouring out, Iniko turned to Jari and Harper.  “Okay.  Well, I’ve made a list of what you need for the guys who are making a trip into town tomorrow.  Is there anything either of you want to add?”

Harper nodded.  “One of the guys mentioned wanting pumpkin pie.  I know it’s getting late in the season but I was hoping to get at least twenty baking pumpkins.”

Iniko wrote down what Harper requested and a few things that Jari added.  “According to Chadwick, my store should be open for business in a week or so.  I will need to get with both of you to figure out some of the items you’d like for me to keep in stock.”

Kellach tried not to be jealous that another one of his friends had figured out what he was good at.  Iniko was a master at organization.  He was currently helping Jari and Harper keep the diner stocked and was about to open his own grocery store.  As much as getting laid sounded good, he really would prefer to figure out what he wanted to do with his life.

“Um,” Iniko said, turning to Kellach.  “First of all, there is a town full of hot, mostly available men and with someone as smoking as you, getting laid shouldn’t be a problem.”

Kellach sighed and dropped his head to the counter just barely missing his mostly eaten pie when he realized he’d spoken his thoughts out loud again.

Jari laughed.  “Stop being so dramatic.  If nothing else, you are keeping us entertained with what comes out of your mouth.”

“Great,” Kellach muttered.  “Just what I wanted, to entertain.”

Then again, he had no idea what he wanted to do, so entertainment was always a possibility, except he hated being the center of attention.  Being afraid most of your life that someone in the pack would find out he was gay and be killed for it tended to make one want to hide as much as possible.

The bell over the door rang but Kellach didn’t bother to see who was coming through the door.  No point in knowing who else he was about to embarrass himself in front of when he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

He could feel Jari move away to greet the newcomer, but he couldn’t make out what was being said because Harper started telling Iniko the other part of Kellach’s issue.  “Kellach is having trouble because he doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life.  Apparently he hates construction about as much as cooking, so both of those are out.”

“Well, that should be easy enough,” Iniko said as if it were obvious.  “What do you like to do?”

Kellach lifted his head and opened his mouth, prepared to answer, but nothing came out.  His mouth closed as he thought about Iniko’s question.  The sad fact was he had no idea.  Kellach had never been allowed to do something for the fun of it.  If it didn’t have to do with cooking for the pack, Kellach hadn’t exactly had time for anything else.

Well, that wasn’t strictly true.  The main reason he had little to no time was that every spare moment he had went into training with his friends to fight.  Edrick, Lucca, Chadwick, Hudson and Kellach had been friends since they were in diapers.

At the age of five when Chadwick had talked about finding his male mate and his mother warned them all to never breathe a word of that to anyone, they had learned the harsh realities of being a shifter.  It soon became apparent, even if not all of them admitted it right away, all five of them were gay.

Knowing they would one day have to most likely fight for their lives if they had any hope of surviving, Kellach and his friends not only started training to defend themselves, but also started planning for having to run.  Several years ago, Edrick found Miracle, Oregon, an abandoned town, for sale.

Using shell corporations Edrick, a computer genius, who was paid to hack into some of the most secure government databases in the world, bought the town.  They knew they’d never be able to hide forever, not in a world made smaller with the advent of computers, but it would give them time to build a town they could make their own.  Open to anyone, no matter their lifestyle.

“I don’t know,” he cried out, as he let his forehead hit the counter one more time.  He was hopeless.

“You aren’t hopeless,” Harper insisted.

Great.  He still couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

“Okay, let’s approach this another way,” Iniko suggested.  “So far Miracle has a diner and is about to open a grocery store.  What else does a town need?”

“A movie theater,” Jari suggested as he went back into the kitchen.

“A dance club,” Harper said as moved his hips back and forth to an imaginary beat.

Iniko sighed and rolled his eyes.  “Seriously?  How are we going to open up a movie theater?  There are maybe fifty guys who live here. Same goes for a dance club,” he told Harper who stuck his lip out in a pout.

“How about a bowling alley?” Jari called from the window of the kitchen.  “We need something in this town that would fun to do.”

“And you think bowling is fun?” Iniko asked sarcastically.  “Even if that were true, which I assure you it isn’t, don’t forget most of the shifters in this town are strong.  They’d most likely destroy the pins, breaking them into little pieces.”

Jari nodded.  “You’re right.  They are nothing but animals.  Still, we need something to do in this town besides eating and building things.”

“Oh,” Harper said excitedly.  “What about a roller rink?”

Kellach couldn’t help it, he laughed.  “I can see it now,” he said.  “Kirill on roller skates flailing around.”  Kirill was Harper’s mate and a polar bear shifter.

Iniko was also laughing, his hand hitting the counter.  “I can just imagine the entire rink would shutter each time he fell.”  Kirill was seven feet tall and had to weigh over three hundred pounds. The man was massive and it was all muscle.  He looked like he could eat an entire whale all by himself.

“That’s not funny,” Harper said, his arms folded across his chest.

Instantly, Kellach felt bad for making fun of Harper’s mate.  Well, not for Kirill, the man would have probably laughed himself, but Harper hadn’t had it easy as his own brother, who had been the alpha of his mouse colony, had whored him out to his guards just because Harper was gay.  That the alpha was also gay hadn’t made a difference.

“What about a tavern with a pool table?” a husky voice from a few tables away said.

Kellach felt himself shiver as the sexy sound wrapped around his body and settled into his balls.  Except, after his father had nearly killed him for kissing another man, Kellach had refused to let himself get close to another man.  He didn’t care how sexy the man’s voice was, he wasn’t about to fall for any man.

“I’m glad you think my voice is sexy,” that sinful man said with a chuckle.

Kellach closed his eyes in dismay.  This time he didn’t bother to keep his thoughts to himself.  “Just kill me now.”

CHAPTER 2

“Just kill me now,” Kellach said, making Trygg Snow laugh even harder.

He had come to Miracle on a mission, one that would most likely lead to his death, but it would be worth it for just a few minutes with this sexy man.  It had been as if his entire life Trygg had been searching for Kellach and now that he’d found him, nothing else mattered.  Not the fact that he worked for the Council.  Not the fact that he’d done things he wasn’t proud of.  Not even the fact that he was sent here to kill the one person he would never harm.

His mate.

A little more puffed up than he probably should have been when his mate said his voice was sexy, Trygg joked, “Don’t worry, my pretty kitty, we won’t tell anyone how much you like my voice.”

He saw Kellach’s entire body stiffen.  Then his mate turned in his chair to face Trygg and it was as if the heavens had opened up to shine down as the world turned brighter when he got his first glimpse at the beautiful man.  Although he’d already seen Kellach’s picture, nothing could compare to seeing him in the flesh.

Dark hair shaved on the sides but long on top, flopped down one side as if Kellach had been running his fingers through it too many times for the hairspray to hold it in place any longer.  Perfectly shaped eyebrows curved over lavender eyes that mesmerized Trygg the instant they captured his.

High cheekbones, lush lips, and the longest eyelashes Trygg could ever remembered seeing on anyone gave Kellach an effeminate appearance.  But everything else about him was all man.  Sure he was on the smaller side.  From the file he had on Kellach, his mate was only about five-feet-seven and about a hundred and twenty pounds.  What the file didn’t mention was every inch of that delectable body was chiseled muscle with an air of someone who knew how to take care of himself in a fight.

“Don’t flatter yourself, dog,” Kellach bit out even as those lavender eyes opened a bit wider when he got a look at Trygg.

Trygg grinned at the way his mate was standing up to him.  Sure, he may wish Kellach would walk over to him and offer himself up on a silver platter, but that would be boring.  Sexually satisfying, but boring.  He much preferred a mate who didn’t take shit from anyone, even him.

“Not to worry, my pretty little kitty, with you around to boost my ego, I promise not to let it go to my head,” he teased.

His mate tried to hide the attraction he felt, even going so far as to turn his lower half away from him so the bulge in his groin wasn’t visible, but Trygg had noticed.  “Like I would stoop to compliment a mangy dog,” Kellach shot back.  “Did you just roll out of bed and figure what was the point of brushing your hair, or shaving?”

That Kellach tried to insult him didn’t even matter.  Trygg wasn’t vain, but he knew he looked good in a rough sort of way.  He kept his hair short in an unkempt military style, mostly because he couldn’t be bothered to get his hair cut, so he had the barber give him a buzz cut and then let it grow out for about two or three months before taking the time to repeat the process.

His facial hair was scruffy since he hated shaving.  The most he would do was run an electric shaver over it every couple of weeks.  Right now, it had been about a week so he was just getting to the point of having an actual beard.

As far as his body went, Trygg kept in shape.  If he wasn’t on a job, he worked out to the point of exhaustion.  It was the only way the nightmares that plagued him for his sins stayed at bay long enough for him to get a few hours of sleep each night.

“Are you interested in seeing what I look like as I roll out of bed, pretty kitty?” Trygg dropped his voice an octave.  “Because I have to say, I’d love to see what you look like all stretched out naked in my bed in the morning.”

The shiver that shook Kellach’s body had Trygg’s grin widening.  Kellach could try and act like he wasn’t affected by meeting his mate, but Trygg wasn’t about to let him get away with it.

Lust flared to life in those lavender eyes but instead of acknowledging it, Kellach turned fully back to the counter. “You might want to consider a no dog policy for the diner, Jari.  They tend to bring in fleas,” he said to the man in the kitchen boxing up the burger and fries Trygg had ordered to go.

The man sitting next to Kellach on one of the stools at the counter snorted in derision.  “They’re better than cats and we allow you in here.”

Jari walked out of the kitchen with bag in hand, laughing.  “Hey, my mate’s a cat.  You better watch what you say Iniko or you’re liable to be forced to face Lucca in the ring for insulting him.”

Iniko shrugged.  “I’m not worried.  You have him wrapped around your finger and you’d never let him hurt one of your friends.”

Jari handed Trygg his to-go bag.  “That would be true but when you insult my mate, I’m willing to let him knock you around a little.”

“Please,” Kellach said.  “It would only take one punch for Lucca to knock Iniko on his ass.  I should know,” Kellach said as he showed off a bruise to his upper arm that looked fresh.  “I faced him this morning in the ring.”

Trygg growled low and menacingly.  His hands gripped the bag tightly as he imagined it was Lucca’s neck.  He may not know the man, other than what he read in the files he had on these men, but Trygg was more than willing to show the man what he thought about picking on those smaller and weaker.

All eyes widened at him, except for Kellach’s.  Those lavender eyes glared at him in warning.  “Shut it dog.  No one wants your opinion.”

The problem with that was Trygg wasn’t one to take warnings well.  He tended to think of them as more of a challenge.  Clearly Kellach didn’t want the others to know they were mates.  Trygg issued his own warning by grinning at his mate and giving him a wink.  “Not in this lifetime, mate.”  He made sure to emphasize the last word so that the others clearly heard him.

Fire blazed in Kellach’s gaze but Trygg ignored it as he stepped right up to his mate and leaned down until he could feel Kellach’s breath upon his face.  “As much as I want to continue this little battle of wills, I have somewhere to be, but don’t worry, my pretty kitty, I’ll find you later so we can discuss our mating.”

Trygg had planned on walking away at that point but the temptation of those lush lips were just too much to ignore.  He closed the small distance and took Kellach’s mouth in a heated kiss that had him rethinking his original plan of giving his mate the space he so clearly needed and claiming him right there in the diner.

It was a close call, but somehow Trygg managed to back away from the softest, sweetest lips he’d ever tasted.  The small whimper of dismay that Kellach gave when Trygg stood up gave him hope that he was doing the right thing.  It was obvious Kellach wanted him.  Now all Trygg had to do was knock down whatever walls his mate had put up regarding mates, or dogs, or whatever else that was stopping him from accepting Trygg as his mate.

“I’ll be seeing you, my pretty kitty,” he whispered.  With far more effort than he ever thought he’d need, Trygg turned his back on his mate and walked out of the diner to his cherished Ducati Globetrotter.

If he was going to leave the Council as one of their trackers, which, now that he’d found his mate who happened to be the man he was tracking, Trygg most certainly was, he’d need to make plans.  There was zero doubt in his mind when he didn’t report back to the Council they would either assume he’d died or run.  Either way, they would send another tracker in his place to go after the five men Trygg had been sent to kill.

Five men Trygg had no intention of letting anyone get close enough to kill, as one of them was his mate.  It wouldn’t be easy to stop, but Trygg was up to the challenge of keeping Kellach safe from harm.  He hadn’t trained most of his life under the corruption of the Council without learning all of their tricks.

Swinging his leg over his bike, Trygg started the motor, loving the feel of the thrumming engine between his legs.  With one last look at the diner where his mate was, Trygg turned his bike toward the homes he knew housed the Alpha, Edrick Rapp.  If he had any hope of keeping Kellach alive, he was going to need to come clean to Edrick.  He just hoped the Alpha didn’t try to kill him for his role in the Council’s treachery.

CHAPTER 3

“Did he just say mate?” Jari asked.

A beeping from Harper’s phone stopped Kellach from having to answer the question he didn’t want to talk about.  In fact, he’d like to kill his mate for saying a word.

“Damn it,” Harper cursed.  “I have to go meet Nole and Hudson to look for our ghost.”  Harper swung around to the cooler he’d been loading the pies into earlier and made sure everything was in order before turning back to Kellach.  “I can’t believe you’ve found your mate and I can’t even stay around to hear about it.”  Harper shoved a finger his way.  “But promise me you will tell me all about it later.”

Kellach wasn’t about to promise any such thing.  “Since there is nothing to tell, you aren’t going to miss anything,” he said instead.

“Wait a minute.” Iniko held his hand up as if that would stop everything in its tracks.  “Are you telling me you actually are going to go chase ghosts instead of staying to talk about Kellach finding his mate?”

Harper appeared torn.  “I promised to be there and Hudson is depending on me to help him find that ghost again.”

Iniko shook his head.  “I thought you were just humoring Hudson with his crazy hunt.”

Harper scowled at his friend.  “Hudson isn’t crazy.”

“There’s also no such thing as ghosts, but apparently that doesn’t stop any of you from acting that way,” Kellach said.  “You know you really shouldn’t encourage Hudson in his search for something that doesn’t exist.”

“But we found a ghost,” Harper insisted.

Kellach had already heard everything about it when Harper and Nole had discussed it in great length at dinner the night they had supposedly caught the ghost on the infrared camera.  “Did you actually see the ghost, or just a bunch of colors that Hudson has convinced you means it is something otherworldly?”

For a moment Harper appeared ready to argue, then his face fell.  “But…I mean I saw…” Harper didn’t finish.  His gaze darted from Kellach, to Iniko, then to Jari, who apparently took pity on him.

“Just because Kellach and Iniko are too jaded to believe in things like ghosts doesn’t mean Hudson isn’t right about what you saw.”  Jari glared at Kellach.  “Go ahead and meet Nole and Hudson, I’ll fill you in on Kellach’s mate later.”

Harper gave Jari a grateful smile before running out of the diner and across the one paved road the town had to where Kellach could see Hudson and Nole setting up the equipment near the two buildings that had yet to either collapse, or been knocked down by Chadwick’s crew.

When Kellach had first arrived in Miracle with his friends Edrick, Lucca, Chadwick, and Hudson they’d been afraid if they so much as breathed on the buildings they’d fall over.  Since then, improvements were being made, mainly by knocking down the few buildings that had been standing and building new.

Since they had started on this side of the road, it had been decided to wait to knock down the two buildings on the other side of the road that hadn’t fallen down already until they were done with the diner and grocery store.

“Was it really necessary to say that to Harper?” Jari chastised both Kellach and Iniko.  “Hasn’t he been through enough in his life that you really need to dash his dream of seeing a ghost?”

“But they aren’t real,” Iniko said, clearly perplexed with Jari’s statement.  “Why would letting him believe in something imaginary help him?”

Jari gave a sigh and shook his head sadly.  “Because, moron, it makes him happy.”

Kellach wasn’t sure why that should matter.  Nothing that had made him happy was ever allowed.  Hell, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d done anything that had made him even smile, much less happy.  Still, one thing he’d learned in the short time Jari had been with them.  The mouse shifter may jump at just about everything after having been tortured by his former Alpha, but Jari wasn’t one to back down, especially when it came to defending someone he felt needed it.

“Whatever,” Kellach said.  “Now, can we get back to my problem.”

“You mean that you’ve found your mate and practically rejected him?”  Jari said before grinning wickedly.  “At least you did before he gave you that toe curling kiss, then you practically threw yourself at him.”

Kellach groaned.  “Toe curling?  Really?”  Kellach wasn’t about to admit his toes curled hard enough to give him a cramp.  “And no.  I was talking about what I’m supposed to do around here that doesn’t involve construction.”

“Yeah, riiiggghtt,” Iniko drawled out.  “Let’s talk about that instead of the sinfully sexy wolf shifter that practically claimed you right here at this counter with us watching.”

Kellach stood up, but Iniko put a hand on his arm to stop him.  “Wait, I was just joking,” he said laughing.  “I’ll be good, promise.”  When Iniko made a cross over his heart, Kellach knew he couldn’t trust him, but he was desperate to not have to continue doing construction.

“Fine,” Kellach said as he sat back down.  “But no talking about the dog.”

Iniko pretended to lock his lips and throw away the key.  Too bad Jari didn’t do the same.  “His name is Trygg,” Jari said.

Kellach stilled.  Trygg.  Damn it, why did it matter?  And why did his insides melt as he said the name in his head?

Both Iniko and Jari burst out laughing.  “If you want me to keep my promise you need to stop saying stuff like that,” Iniko warned him, alerting Kellach that he once again was unable to keep his thoughts from spilling out.  “But seriously.  What about what Trygg suggested?  A tavern with some games to keep us occupied during our down time.”

It was actually a good idea.  In order to meet men, Kellach often went to human bars.  His only criteria in picking a bar was that it had to be gay friendly and as far from home as he could manage.  If only he’d remembered that fact the last time he’d gone out to get laid.

Then again, he hadn’t actually meant to allow himself to be picked up by the handsome stranger when he’d stopped for gas on his way to hook up at a bar another two hours from home.  If Kellach hadn’t of waited so long between hook ups he probably wouldn’t have succumbed to the sexy human who had hit on him at the gas station.

He still wasn’t sure who had seen him and ratted him out to his father, but then again, it didn’t really matter.  Kellach had been stupid and allowed himself to get caught.  If Edrick and Lucca hadn’t of shown up when they did, Kellach would have paid the ultimate price for that mistake.  As it was, his father had made sure to make every blow as painful as possible by wearing spiked brass knuckles when he’d started hitting him.

“What kind of entertainment?” Jari asked.  “I mean, a pool table makes sense, but there’s not a whole let else to do in a bar is there?”

Forcing himself to push thoughts of his father out of his head, Kellach answered.  “Depends on the type of bar.  We can have TV’s set up to watch sports.”

“Or have Walking Dead marathons,” Jari said excitedly. “I have missed that show since…” Jari’s voice faded away, most likely as he thought about all he’d been through due to his former alpha.

“That sounds fun,” Iniko said.  “I love that show.  There’s also darts and cards.”

The more they talked, the more Kellach started to become excited about opening up a bar.  “There is one problem guys.”  Kellach’s gaze went first to Iniko, then Jari.  “Alcohol doesn’t exactly affect shifters.  What am I supposed to serve?”

Iniko waved a hand at him and gave a pfft.  “Please.  I’ve been with Kirill’s men most nights and trust me, they drink.  It may not exactly get shifters drunk, but apparently that doesn’t stop them from trying.”  His friend’s eyes lit up.  “In fact, with the way they drink, you should make a boatload of money.”

Kellach wasn’t sure owning a bar was exactly his dream, but he had to admit, providing a place for everyone to relax and have a good time sounded interesting.  “Okay.”  He slapped his hand on the counter.  “I’ll talk to Edrick and see if he’ll agree to this.”

Not that he doubted one of his best friends since they were in diapers would say no, but still, Edrick was their Alpha and as such needed to approve his plan.  “Wish me luck, boys,” Kellach said as he slid off his chair and headed for home.  As he walked toward the house they had somewhat restored for the five friends and their mates to live when they first moved to Miracle, Kellach realized he was smiling.

A real, honest, happy smile.

CHAPTER 4

“Edrick,” Kellach called as he entered the front door of their house.  “I need a favor and you can’t say no.”  Well, he could, but Kellach wasn’t going to accept anything but a yes, even if he had to cry to get his way.

That was something his friends had never been good at dealing with.  Seeing someone cry was like their version of kryptonite.  Not that Kellach used it – often.  But he had found it came in handy from time to time.  He just had to be sure his father wouldn’t catch him doing something so weak.  Again, his father’s words, not Kellach’s.

He strode down the hall to Edrick’s office and slammed to a halt when he stepped through the door to find Trygg sitting across the desk from Edrick.  Those firm lips Kellach hadn’t been able to stop thinking of since that kiss were curved up into a smirk.  Somehow he managed to move his gaze up to Trygg’s golden brown eyes, which were staring at him knowingly.

Damn the man.

“Hello, pretty kitty.”  Trygg’s deep voice sent shivers down Kellach’s spine.

Pissed that he couldn’t stop acting like some lovesick fool around his mate, Kellach glared at Trygg.  “Stop calling me that.”  He refused to admit how much he liked it when Trygg used the endearment.

Trygg’s lips lifted up even further and Edrick stared at Kellach as if he’d lost his mind.  “Then maybe you shouldn’t say it out loud, especially in front of him,” Edrick said.

Kellach closed his eyes and prayed he’d wake up from the nightmare he’d found himself in.  There was no way he had said that out loud.  Could this day get any worse?

When Trygg chuckled and Edrick practically choked trying to stop himself from laughing, Kellach knew he’d done it again.  Not about to face either man, he turned on his heel and headed right back out of the door.

Strong arms wrapped around him from behind and Kellach didn’t think, he just reacted.  Pivoting his hips, he tossed whoever had dared come up from behind onto him ass.  A glance down had Kellach’s day suddenly looking up.  There on the ground, looking up at him in disbelief was Trygg.

“As I already tried to tell you,” Edrick said as he leaned against the doorframe of his office with his arms crossed over his chest.  “Kellach can take care of himself.”

Kellach narrowed his gaze on Trygg.  “You talked to Edrick about me?”  He didn’t need to wait for Trygg’s answer, he could see the guilt in those golden brown eyes for himself.  “You had no right.”

In one swift motion that defied all laws of physics, Trygg rose to his feet until he was towering over Kellach.  “I have every right.  Whether you want to admit it or not, I’m your mate.”  There was a touch of anger in Trygg’s tone that indicated the man wasn’t happy about Kellach rejecting him.

Not that Kellach could exactly blame him. Mates were supposed to be sacred, something a shifter couldn’t just deny.  Which was why Kellach had never understood why the Council insisted mates deny each other if they were the same sex.  It was a death sentence either way. To deny one’s mate would cause a shifter to become more animal than human and the Council would have no choice but to order that shifter’s death before someone got hurt.

Yet, even knowing that, Kellach denied his mate.  “I don’t care what you seem to think.  I am not about to be mated to you, so get the fuck out of Miracle before I’m forced to put you on your ass, again.”

Trygg leaned just a little bit closer, as if boxing Kellach in.  “You might have been able to best me once, my pretty kitty, but it won’t happen again.”  As if to prove himself, Trygg moved forward, forcing Kellach to back up until his back was to the wall.  With a hand on the wall of either side of Kellach’s head, Trygg pressed his body into Kellach’s.

The heat pouring off that hard muscled body had Kellach biting his cheek to stop himself from moaning.  Yet Trygg didn’t stop there.  He leaned further in until their lips were just touching.  “I will give you the time you seem to need to come to grips with our mating, but mark my words, pretty kitty.  We are mates and one day soon I will sink my cock into that tight pert ass of yours.”

Trygg moved his lips so they brushed along Kellach’s, then along his cheek and down his neck until they settled at the juncture of Kellach’s neck and shoulder.  “Then I will sink my teeth into your flesh.”  Those teeth nipped at the spot Trygg was talking about.  “Drink down your blood before spilling my seed into your body and claiming you as mine.”

Soft lips brushed along his skin as Trygg spoke, sending shivers of delight through Kellach’s body to settle into his balls, which made them churn in their sac. Kellach was torn between wanting to push closer and away.  He just wished he could take what he wanted instead of denying himself.

Kellach reached out and grabbed Trygg’s balls, pulling until the man’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head in pain.  “As I already told you, I’m not about to mate a dog.  Now unless you want me to rip your balls off, I suggest you step back.”

When Trygg didn’t move right away, Kellach pulled even harder on the man’s balls.  Suddenly the hands that had been boxing in Kellach’s head were off the wall.  Trygg kept them up as if pleading for mercy, but Kellach didn’t have any.

While growing up, Edrick and Lucca had demanded Kellach, Chadwick, and Hudson train tirelessly to become deadly fighters for that day when they had to run for their lives.  Admittedly, Kellach was much smaller than his friends and didn’t have the killer instinct they seemed to have, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still lethal.

The most important lesson Edrick had taught him was never to back down.  So it wasn’t until Trygg had stepped back to allow Kellach room to get away that he finally released the man’s balls.

As Trygg bent slightly, as if trying to protect himself, Kellach turned to a very proud appearing Edrick.  He might appreciate what his friend had done to teach him to survive, but Kellach resented it, too.  He’d begged his friends to just leave the pack for years, but Edrick had refused and the others went along with him.

It was because of Edrick that Kellach had to train so religiously to begin with.  More importantly, it was because of Edrick that Kellach had nearly died at his father’s hands.  Sure, Kellach could have fought back, but he hadn’t because it was his father and as much as Kellach hadn’t wanted to die that day, he still couldn’t have laid a hand on his own father.  It would have been wrong.  If Edrick would have just listened to Kellach, none of that would have happened.

It was with that thought that he glared at one of his best friends. “I am opening a bar next to the diner.”  Kellach wasn’t asking, he was telling.  Whether Edrick agreed or not, Kellach was opening that bar.

One of Edrick’s eyebrows rose up.  But he didn’t argue with Kellach.  “Arrange it with Chadwick.”

His gaze went from Edrick to Trygg, who was still slightly bent over as he stared at Kellach as if he were trying to figure him out.  It made Kellach feel like a bug under a microscope, something he wasn’t comfortable with.  “Next time you come near me, I will rip those balls right off.  So do yourself a favor, leave Miracle.”

Then he turned and walked out of the house to find Chadwick. It was time for Kellach to start doing what he wanted for once.

CHAPTER 5

Even though his balls were still throbbing, Trygg couldn’t stop the smile that formed on his lips as he thought about the way his mate handled himself earlier. Kellach had been a sight to behold as he stood up to Trygg, besting him without even really trying.

It was true that Trygg’s ego had taken a hit, but it was worth it to see Kellach in action.  The man didn’t know the meaning of fear when it came to a fight.  He just wished he hadn’t seen the bone deep sadness that had been in those lavender eyes.  Trygg didn’t know why it was there, but he was determined to find out, just as soon as he won his mate over.

“Is this the guy Kellach dropped on his ass?” A man said as he walked into the office.

From the pictures the Council had provided him, Trygg knew this was Chadwick.  He had Edrick’s same dark looks but with gray eyes instead of the blue of the alpha.  From everything he’d been able to learn of Chadwick, the man was somewhat of an introvert, so he was a little surprised to hear the man make a joke, especially when he didn’t stop there.

“I have to say, I’m impressed shorty managed to drop one of the Council’s dogs so easily.”  Chadwick gave Trygg a grin that was all teeth.  “Then again, dogs are all muscle and no brains.”

Trygg rolled his eyes at the dig.  “I’m more than happy to face you in a fight if you think you can beat me, pussy.”

Chadwick scowled when Trygg insulted him.  “As if you could beat me when you can’t even win against little Kellach.”

That was the second time Chadwick insinuated Kellach wasn’t much of a fighter and Trygg wasn’t about to put up with it.  Turning to Edrick, he asked, “Do you have a training area that I could use to teach Chadwick a lesson?”

But before Edrick could answer, Chadwick asked harshly, “How do you know my name?”

Trygg flashed him a knowing smile.  “I know far more than just your name,” he said cryptically, clearly pissing Chadwick off even more.

“Stop,” Edrick barked out.  “Both of you, stand down before I drop both of you on your asses.”

Trygg just smiled at Chadwick while Chadwick glared back.

“Sorry I took so long,” Hudson said as he rushed into the room.  “I was out at the abandoned farm with Nole and Harper.  We managed to follow the ghost all the way out there but lost it when a deer raced out of the forest and spooked it.”

Trygg was pretty sure his jaw had dropped at what he was hearing.  “I’m sorry.  Did you say you were chasing ghosts?”

Instantly Hudson became defensive.  “What of it?”

Not wanting to have everyone mad at him, Trygg kept his expression neutral.  “Nothing.  I just wasn’t sure I heard you correctly.”

Hudson didn’t appear to believe him at first, but then relaxed his stance a little when Trygg didn’t laugh at him.  “You heard correctly.”

These were Kellach’s friends and for better or worse, part of his life.  If Trygg had any hope of changing his mate’s mind about their mating he was going to need these men on his side.  So instead of making a joke, Trygg said, “That’s cool.  I hope you can find your ghost again.”

Hudson didn’t respond as he sat in one of the available chairs and waited for Edrick to get started.  But they were still waiting for some people to show up, one of which was Trygg’s mate.  He just hoped Kellach didn’t decide to try and rip his balls off as he’d threatened to do earlier.

“You know if we’re going to have meetings like this, we really need to start having them at the diner,” Jari said as he entered with his mate Lucca, one of the other men the Council had sent Trygg to kill.  “I had to leave Iniko in charge, which means if anyone wants anything more than a sandwich or piece of pie they are out of luck.”

“At least they can eat, which is more than we get, unless you brought one of Harper’s pies.”  Chadwick’s hopeful look morphed into a crushed one when Jari shook his head no.

It was pathetic.  “You know, for someone who claims to disdain dogs so much, you sure have that wounded puppy dog face down pat,” Trygg said.

Chadwick gave him the middle finger and Edrick gave a heavy sigh as if he were preparing to tell them to behave again.

“What the fuck is he doing here?” Kellach said as he walked in with Nole, Edrick’s mate.

After accepting a kiss from Nole, the Alpha said, “He has news that we need to hear, so if you feel the need to go through with your threat, wait until after the meeting.”

Chadwick sat up straight.  “What threat?”

Kellach refused to look at Trygg which hurt far more than it should have considering he knew Kellach wasn’t ready to admit they were mates.  Then again, when it came to a mating, normal rules didn’t pertain.  “I told him I’d rip off his balls if he didn’t leave Miracle.”

All the men in the room instantly moved to protect their balls.  All except for Trygg, who let his legs widen even more in his chair.  “I’ll let you touch my balls in any way you want, mate,” Trygg said suggestively, relatively certain Kellach wouldn’t actually hurt him.

But when Kellach made a move toward him, Edrick stopped him by saying, “Seriously, Kellach, wait until after the meeting.  He has information we need.”

“Just so long as we all get to stick around and watch,” Chadwick said with far too much glee.

“Watch what?” Harper said as he walked into the room with a man large enough Trygg was sure he could be classified as a giant.  That’s when Harper saw Trygg.  “What is Kellach’s mate doing here?”  Then Harper’s eyes got really big.  “We aren’t going to have to watch them mate are we?  Because I really don’t think that would be appropriate.”

The man with Harper growled menacingly.  “You aren’t going to see anyone naked, petal.”

Harper shook his head.  “But I just saw you naked five minutes ago, Kirill.”

There was a twinkle in the big man’s blue eyes when he looked down at Harper.  “You can see me naked any time you want, petal.”  Then those blue eyes turned frosty as he glared at every other man in the room.  “But no one else.”

Trygg wasn’t afraid of many men.  In fact, he couldn’t ever remember fearing he’d lose in a fight until this moment.  This Kirill person was downright scary and Trygg couldn’t help being grateful he was on the same side as this man.

“Could everyone sit down so we can get started?” Edrick’s voice was laced with frustration.  “This was too important not to have everyone here but in the future I will think twice about calling everyone together if this is going to be the result.”

Trygg couldn’t exactly blame the man for wanting to get down to business as Edrick already knew all the details of why Trygg was there.  Still, it was good to know these men knew how to have fun with each other since Trygg planned on making Miracle his home.

There was nothing worse than an alpha and his inner circle who had the personalities of statues.  Trygg should know.  The Council was a prime example.  None of them knew what fun was.  He’d worked for them for over sixty years and Trygg couldn’t ever remember one of them giving a genuine smile.  Fake ones, or ones filled with malice, sure, but none of it was real.  Then again, nothing about the Council could be considered real in Trygg’s opinion.

“I called you all here because Trygg came to me with a situation.”  Edrick glanced Kellach’s way.  “As you have all probably just heard, Trygg is Kellach’s mate.”

When Kellach opened his mouth to refute it, Edrick held up his hand to stop him.  “Whether you accept it or not doesn’t change the facts, Kellach, so just let me get through this.”

Kellach didn’t look happy as he crossed his arms over his chest and silently fumed but he didn’t try to interrupt again.

Edrick then turned to Trygg.  “Tell them why you’re here.”

There was no easy way to say it, so Trygg decided to just rip the bandage off so-to-speak.  “I was sent by the Council to kill Edrick Rapp, Lucca Breck, Hudson Martin, Chadwick Ramos and,” his gaze went to his mate, “Kellach Alder.”

The room erupted in chaos as three of the five men mentioned started threatening to do him bodily harm, while several of the others not mentioned suggested ways they could all run.  But it was only Kellach that had Trygg’s attention as his mate stared at him as if trying to understand something.  What, Trygg had no idea, but he was pretty sure the need he suddenly had to squirm in his seat was how a bug felt when under a microscope.

CHAPTER 6

“When I started working for the Council, I honestly thought I was doing something good for our kind,” Trygg said when Edrick had finally managed to get everyone to calm down again.  If only he’d known then what he knew now, Trygg wouldn’t feel as if he’d betrayed his own kind.  Then again, there was no guarantee he would have met his mate.

“At first I was only sent after those who’d gone rogue.”  It was the smartest thing the Council could have done.  “I wasn’t told why they’d gone rogue, just that they were hurting others.”

Nole gave a bark of laughter.  “Most likely because they were forced to forgo their mates or risk being hunted.”

Trygg’s shoulders dropped in defeat.  “Yeah, in too many of the cases that was true.”  He still couldn’t believe he’d been that stupid.  Maybe stupid was harsh but naïve sounded like he couldn’t have known better.  The thing was, if he’d just bothered to open his eyes to the crimes of the men and women he went after, Trygg would have realized long ago that he was nothing but a paid hitman.

A murderer for hire.  In his mind, the only thing that separated him from any of the shifters he went after, was that he was sanctioned by the Council.  Not that it should matter.  Murder was murder and nothing could erase the crimes he’d committed against his own kind for something the Council had deemed punishable by execution.

“To be honest, I didn’t want to know what their crimes were.”  It was sad but true.  “All that mattered was that I had a job to do and nothing was going to get in my way of doing it.”  There were times the sounds of his targets begging haunted his dreams.  “Not even the fact that the only crime some of these people committed was to be mated to someone of the same sex.”

How fucked up was that?

Trygg just didn’t understand how loving someone, no matter who it was, could be considered a sin.  Hell, he longed to find the one fate had created just for him.  Whether it was a man or woman, Trygg would cherish that person with every fiber of his being.

His gaze went to the one man who had changed everything. Everything within Trygg soften with just one look into his mate’s lavender eyes.  “By the time I realized what was going on, I had killed so many…” he broke off, ashamed at what he’d done.  It was harder than he’d imagined to lay his soul bare to his mate, especially after the things he’d done in the name of the Council.

But no matter how hard it was, it was nothing compared to some of things he’d done.  So he stared at his mate and confessed his sins.  “My hands were already covered in blood. I guess, I figured after years of killing there was no point in stopping.” 

The disappointment he saw in those lavender eyes nearly brought Trygg to his knees.  It was a mistake to believe he could ever have a life with a mate who loved him.  He’d done too many things he couldn’t be forgiven for.  If he was smart, Trygg would have never come here.  Then again, he’d already proven he wasn’t smart by trusting the Council for so long.

“So now what?” Lucca asked.  “Clearly there is no way you’re going to kill Kellach if he’s your mate.”

Chadwick slapped his hand onto the top of his leg.  “Now what?” he asked derisively.  “Isn’t it obvious?  He came here to kill us, just like he did all those others, and now has found himself having to ask for our protection instead.”

Hudson surged to his feet and started pacing.  “Why should we protect you when all you’ve done is murder our kind?”  His feet stopped at the window and he turned back to Trygg.  “How can we even trust that you won’t lead the Council here to do what you can’t?”

“Kellach is my mate.  I would never let anyone hurt him,” Trygg insisted.

Chadwick snorted.  “But that doesn’t pertain to the rest of us.  How do we know you won’t run with Kellach while Council hitmen come and kill the rest of us?”

It was a good point.  Maybe if Trygg hadn’t thought the exact thing when trying to figure out what to do, he might have been able to defend himself, but with no leg to stand on, he chose to keep silent.

“Enough,” Edrick said.  “I have already talked with Trygg and feel he can be trusted.”

Both Chadwick and Lucca started listing reasons why that wasn’t a good idea.  Hudson resumed his pacing.  Kirill sat back and seemed to enjoy the infighting. Kellach continued to stare at Trygg as if he trying to pick him apart piece by piece.

“Did you really keep killing men and women the Council sent you after for being gay?” Kellach asked.  He hadn’t raised his voice over the arguing going on around him, but for Trygg the words were as clear as if Kellach had shouted them.

It was something Trygg never expected anyone to ask.  Then again, nothing about Kellach had been as he’d expected.  “I continued to be the Council’s hunter after finding out what they were doing,” he hedged.  It was the truth, even if he hadn’t exactly answered Kellach’s question.  He just hoped no one noticed.

“That wasn’t the question,” Kellach challenged.  “Did you kill people whose only crime was to be gay after you found out what the Council was doing?”

Damn.  He’d really hoped he wouldn’t have to answer that question.  Everything in him wanted to tell his mate they were all dead, but how did he lie to his mate?

“Why won’t you answer the question?” Kellach asked when Trygg had remained silent.  The room was quiet now as the others waited for Trygg to answer.

The only problem was he couldn’t tell them the truth.  Not for him, but for those who were supposed to be dead.

“He can’t tell you,” Kirill said with way too much authority.  “I have five men with me who Trygg was sent to kill.”  The big man gave a half smile as if he were amazed to have put two and two together.  “They all told me a story that was too unbelievable to actually think was real, but were so similar I wondered if there was some truth to them.”

Trygg shook his head at Kirill, silently pleading with the man to not tell anyone what he’d heard.  For decades, Trygg had also heard stories about a shifter who traveled around the country with a band of followers, taking anyone who needed help.  The man had managed to stay hidden from the Council, but Trygg suspected Kirill was that man.

First of all, the way the few who had been willing to answer questions about him, always mentioned the man was a giant.  The Council had always suspected that was a euphemism for the man’s ability to hide in plain sight.  Now that he’d met the man, Trygg knew those reports were an actual description.

How Kirill had managed to stay under the radar for the most part was anyone’s guess.  The man was massive.  Staying inconspicuous wasn’t something that could have been easy for the polar bear shifter.

“If you can’t trust your mate and his friends, you will never know a moment’s peace,” Kirill told as he tucked his own mate closer to his body.  “Trust me on this.”

His heart contracted in his chest as Trygg imagined holding his own mate in his lap, with Kellach’s head resting against his chest, a smile on those lush lips that told the world just how happy he was to be right there in his mate’s arms.  Shifting his gaze back to Kellach, he prayed one day he would get that chance, but Kirill was right, he needed to take a leap of faith if he wanted to get there.

“For those that hadn’t gone rogue I helped them to fake their death and got them new identities.”  Trygg prayed his admitting this wouldn’t end up getting those people he’d helped over the past few years killed.  “But if they’d gone rogue…” It wasn’t easy, especially when they only ended up that way because they were forced to deny their own mates, but once a shifter turned, there was no getting them back.

He gave a sigh before finishing.  “I still kill them.”

Something shifted within Kellach’s gaze.  Trygg thought he saw admiration, but he wasn’t sure as it disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared.

“And we’re supposed to just trust you’re telling the truth?” Chadwick scoffed.

“Like I said,” Kirill answered for Trygg.  “I have several men who have been helped by one of the Council’s men to disappear.”  Kirill flashed his pearly white teeth at Chadwick.  “I’m more than happy to call them in here to confirm Trygg is that man.”

When no one spoke up right away, Edrick asked, “If anybody needs the proof, I’m willing to wait for Kirill to call in his men.”

Again, everyone remained silent.

“Fine,” Edrick said.  “Then I expect to hear no more talk on trusting Trygg, got it?”  Those blue eyes met every man’s gaze, forcing each person to nod his head in acquiescence.  “Good,” Edrick said when he was done.  “Now, let’s get down to business.”  Edrick turned back to Trygg, pinning him with a hard stare.  “What exactly does the Council know about us?”

CHAPTER  7

“Are you okay?”

Kellach just managed to stop himself from reacting to being startled and throwing Jari to the floor.  Good thing too, since Lucca walked in behind him and would have most likely killed Kellach for attacking his mate without provocation.

Not that it would have been his fault.  If anything it was Lucca’s and the others for training him to react first, ask questions later.  They had drilled into him the need to ensure his safety before worrying about the consequences of doing so.

“You know sneaking up on someone will get you killed,” Kellach drawled out.

Lucca growled.  “Threatening my mate will result in the same consequence.”

Jari rolled his eye.  “Gods save me from men with too much testosterone.”

Kellach couldn’t help but laugh.  No one had ever accused him of having too much testosterone, especially since he had more delicate features than most men.  “Don’t you have to be at the diner?” he asked, hoping to make Jari forget his original question.

“Yeah, but you looked like you could use a friend,” Jari told him as he sat down in the chair next to Kellach on the front porch.

Jari might be right, but Kellach wasn’t sure he was ready to talk about what was bothering him.  How could he voice it out loud when he wasn’t able to admit it to himself?  “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not.”  Jari’s matter-of-fact statement surprised Kellach.  The sweet little mouse didn’t seem the type to stand up to anyone, yet Jari was proving far stronger than any of them had first thought.  “But if you don’t wish to talk about it, I understand.”

Suddenly, Kellach couldn’t seem to keep it inside any longer.  “I hate that I was given a wolf for a mate.”

“How come?” There was no judgment in Jari’s tone, just curiosity.  It was one of the reasons he liked the mouse shifter so much.  Jari rarely judged, just listened, which was more than any of them deserved considering they hadn’t done the same when Jari had first come to Miracle.

The pain of the past pressed on his chest until it ached.  “My sister was killed by wolves.”

“Oh, Kellach, I’m so sorry.”  Jari took Kellach’s hand in his, giving him a squeeze.  “What happened?”

“My father tried to double cross a wolf pack on a deal.”  That was his father, always trying to outsmart someone and usually failing.  “When he was caught, the wolves demanded he give my sister, Carolina, to them.”

Kellach hadn’t even been told until his father had handed Carolina over to them.  It was the only time Kellach had actually yelled at his father.  He’d paid for that mistake when his father punched him hard enough to knock him unconscious.  Kellach had only been eleven at the time, but it had changed everything.

From that moment on, he’d taken his lessons with Edrick, Lucca, Chadwick, and Hudson seriously.  Kellach had sworn he would never allow his father to hurt him again.  But when it came down to getting beaten to death, or hitting his own father, Kellach found he just couldn’t use the training he’d received against his own flesh and blood.

His father had never had that problem.  “Two weeks after she’d left, Carolina died at the wolves’ hands.”  A sob clawed its way out of his chest as he thought about his sweet sister.  She was probably the only person who actually was prettier than Kellach, yet she didn’t have a vain bone in her body.

To know she’d been treated so abominably was something Kellach still had a hard time thinking about.  “According to what they told my father, there wasn’t enough of her left to bury when the wolves had finished with her.”

“Is that why you don’t want to be mated to me?” Trygg said from the bottom of the porch steps.  “You blame me for what happened to your sister?”

There was so much pain in Trygg’s eyes that Kellach wanted to tell him no, but it would be a lie.  As much as he didn’t want Trygg to be his mate, Kellach still couldn’t lie to the man.  Nor did he see the point.  “Yes,” he answered, the anger of what happened to his sister filling his voice.

Maybe it was wrong, but Kellach did blame Trygg.  No.  He blamed all wolves.  His father was right.  They were nothing but animals with no humanity.

“Were you part of the pack that killed Kellach’s sister?” Lucca, who had stayed by his mate’s side while Kellach talked about his sister, asked.  Lucca had already known about Carolina.  All his friends did.

Trygg shook his head.  “No.  I’ve been with the Council for sixty years.  I left my pack long before Kellach or his sister were even born.”

Kellach lifted his chin.  “It doesn’t matter. All dogs are spineless cowards who enjoy torturing others.”

“That’s not true,” Jari said.  “There are several wolves that came with Kirill to Miracle and they’ve been nothing but nice.”

Kellach growled and Lucca growled right back, defending his mate.  But Kellach no longer cared if he pissed off Lucca, the Alpha’s second and one of his best friend.  “Wolves are heartless and will turn on you if you trust them.”  He started right at Trygg as he said, “I will never make that mistake.”

Then he stood, shifted, and took off into the surrounding woods, as far from Trygg as he could get.  Space was just what he needed from a mate he didn’t want.

Thoughts of his sister always left Kellach raw and emotional but it had been necessary.  Since meeting his mate, Kellach had felt an attraction he’d been hard pressed to deny.  When Trygg had admitted to helping shifters escape from the Council, Kellach found himself actually liking Trygg.

Neither of those emotions could he afford to have if he was going to keep the promise he made to his dead sister to never trust a wolf.  Memories of her sweet smile and kindness to others helped to harden his heart against any and all feelings he’d been having for Trygg.

Kellach just hoped he’d be able to keep up his resolve to stay away from the man he felt drawn to.

CHAPTER 8

There was nothing Trygg hated more than hearing how shifters used their superior strength to torture others, even other shifters.  Kellach’s sister may have been a mountain lion shifter but against a pack of wolves she wouldn’t have stood a chance.

As he dug further into the information he’d found on Kellach since he’d been given this assignment, Trygg couldn’t exactly blame his mate for hating wolves.  According to the file, Carolina had been sweet and loving without any malice.  Which, the deeper he dug, was surprising considering the father she and Kellach had grown up with.  The man made hyenas seem like fluffy bunnies in comparison.

Mr. Alder was into shit that would get him killed except somehow he managed to stay under the radar, which wouldn’t stay that way for long as the man got bolder the longer he played the game.  Too often, the man was working both sides, not caring which side won so long as he got as much money as possible.

It had started with petty stuff, but now the man was dealing la pequeña muerte, a drug created for the much faster metabolisms of shifters in an effort to get high.  The stuff was too strong for humans and often ended up killing shifters.

The Council had been trying to stop the making and trade of the drug for decades but hadn’t had much luck.  Those creating the lethal drug were extremely rich with far reaching arms, killing anyone who tried to get in their way.  Many agents working for the Council had never been heard from again once they went after the drug cartel.

Kellach’s dad clearly didn’t seem to understand who he was messing with or he wouldn’t have gotten involved with the cartel.  The man was going to end up dead.  Then again, from everything Trygg had learned, it couldn’t happen to a more deserving individual.

“Hey, Trygg,” Harper greeted as he walked into the diner where Trygg had set up his laptop to work on finding out more about Carolina and the pack that had killed her.  But try as he might, he couldn’t find any reference to her death.

“Hi, Harper.”  Trygg looked up, his eyes bleary from staring at his screen so long that he almost missed the stack of boxes Harper was trying to carry across the diner.  “Here, let me help,” he offered, jumping up from his seat.

Harper actually gave a relieved breath when Trygg took the four boxes that were precariously perched on top.  “Thanks.  I really thought they were going to end up on the floor before I could put them down.”

Once they had put the boxes down, Harper opened up the top one from his stack to reveal a tantalizing peach pie.  “Just for that, I will give you a piece for free.”  Then Harper opened another box to reveal banana cream.

Trygg couldn’t help but moan.  “I’ll take the banana.”

He received a bright smile from Harper.  “You got it.  Let me just put these away and slice up some fresh bananas to top it off.”

Saliva pooled in his mouth as the aromas of each pie opened assailed him.  “Damn, these smell like heaven.  Just how many kinds did you make?”

“There had better be twelve,” Jari said as he eyed the boxes skeptically.  “But that doesn’t look like twelve, Harper Lazo.  You promised me twelve.”  Jari’s hands went to his hips and a scowl appeared on his face as he glared at his friend.

Harper rolled his eyes at this friend’s dramatics.  “Look, I have eight done but I plan on making two chocolate cream pies while I’m here and I thought instead of two more pies I would do something different and make a couple of batches of cookies.”

Jari’s eyes narrowed for a moment, then he gave a sharp nod.  “Fine, but one batch better be oatmeal raisin.”  Then he turned on his heel and headed back into the kitchen.

“Drama Queen,” Harper mumbled.

“I heard that, and right back at ya,” Jari yelled from the kitchen.

Harper sighed loudly but continued to put the remaining pies away.  When he was done he took out a plate and a grabbed a banana from the back counter.  “So, what had you glaring at your laptop as if you were ready to throw it across the diner?”

Startled to realized he’d been so transparent, Trygg answered honestly.  “I was looking into who had killed Kellach’s sister.”

The door to the kitchen swung open.  “Did you find the pack?” Jari asked with a sharp knife gripped tightly in his grasp.

With an eye on that knife, Trygg shook his head.  “No.  Kellach’s father was into some pretty shady deals so there isn’t any clear cut path to which pack he’d been dealing with back then.”

“Snow Creek,” Edrick said as he entered the front door of the diner.

Trygg’s heart sank.  “That’s impossible.”

Edrick shrugged.  “To be honest, I can’t say if it was true or not.  We were eleven when it happened.  By the time we were old enough to look into it, I admit, I had forgotten about Carolina.”  Edrick appeared ashamed of what he was saying. “Kellach was one of my best friends and I let him down by not finding the bastards who had killed his sister and making them pay.”

All Trygg could do was pray Edrick was wrong about the pack name.  “How do you know it was the Snow Creek pack?”  Unless something had drastically changed in the past sixty years, Trygg couldn’t believe Snow Creek was responsible.

“That was the name Kellach’s father gave us.  It was also the pack that informed my father about Carolina’s death.”  Edrick’s blue eyes turned glacial as he said, “They claimed there wasn’t enough of her body left to send back for burial.  For that, they need to pay.”

Trygg couldn’t agree more, he just prayed there had been some sort of misunderstanding or he could kiss any hope of a future with his mate goodbye. Kellach would never be able to forgive him when he found out it was Trygg’s brother who was the Alpha of Snow Creek.

CHAPTER 9

Irritation built within Kellach as he turned to find Trygg heading his way.  The problem was his annoyance wasn’t at seeing Trygg, it was how happiness seemed to bubble up within him.  Nothing was going to change the fact that his mate was a wolf, so he needed to stop mooning over a man he couldn’t have.

“What do you want?” he snapped when Trygg approached him.  He hadn’t meant to be that surly but then again, if it kept Trygg away from him, it was probably a good idea to be as unpleasant as possible.

Except Trygg didn’t seem to be upset that Kellach had snapped.  In fact, he seemed amused, as if Kellach had done exactly as he thought he would.  Damn, if that didn’t piss Kellach off even more.

When Trygg actually chuckled, Kellach knew he must have once more voiced his thoughts out loud.  It was getting so bad, Kellach was tempted to find some duct tape to put over his mouth, or maybe a staple gun.

The bark of laughter from Trygg had everything within Kellach stilling as he stared in wonder at the man.  It didn’t make any sense.  His friends laughed all the time, yet when Trygg did it, pleasure coursed through Kellach’s body, filling him up until he overflowed with it and he found himself laughing right along with his mate.

The sound was so foreign to him, Kellach wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.  So why did he continue?  It made no sense.  It was something he was finding to be true whenever Trygg was around.  All of Kellach’s normal defenses seemed to melt away when he was near his mate, making it impossible to keep the man at a distance.

“You have a beautiful laugh, my pretty kitty,” Trygg said as he stepped even closer.

There couldn’t have been more than an inch or two separating them.  Yet instead of wanting to put more distance between them, Kellach desperately wanted to close the distance that seemed to stretch between them.  He even went so far as to lean in, but a loud crash behind him jolted his head back to reality.

Kellach scowled at himself for being so stupid as to forget, once again, that he couldn’t get involved with a wolf, even if Trygg was his mate.  “Don’t call me that,” he growled out as he took several steps back to give him some breathing room that wouldn’t involve taking in lungful’s of his mate’s tantalizing scent.

“I get why you hate wolves, but you have to know, I had nothing to do with what happened to your sister.”  Trygg sounded so sincere and Kellach knew he was right.

But none of that mattered.  He’d made a promise to his dead sister and no one, not even his mate was going to change his mind.  “That doesn’t change what happened.  Or that wolves are nothing but bullies who prey on the weak.”

Trygg gave a frustrated sigh as he ran his hand over his head to the back of his neck.  “You know that’s not true.”  When Kellach opened his mouth to argue, Trygg said, “Sure there are some bad wolves, but there are also bad mountain lion and every other type of shifter or human for that matter.  That doesn’t make all of us evil.”

Kellach wanted to refute what Trygg said, but he couldn’t.  His own father was a classic example of a bully, but that didn’t mean the rest of the mountain lions were the same.  “That doesn’t change anything.”  And it didn’t.

A part of Kellach may have wanted to give in to his mate so he could have that happily ever after his friends were finding, but life had taught Kellach a long time ago that things never worked out that way for him.  That lesson had started long before his sister had been taken from him.  It had started when he was five and Chadwick had announced he was going to find his male mate.

That was when Kellach had first been introduced to just how cruel life could be.  He hadn’t believed Chadwick’s mother that shifters weren’t allowed to like someone of the same sex.  Just as Chadwick had known he was gay without even knowing what it meant, so had Kellach.

He’d gone home and told his mother.  She’d been so horrified that she’d locked him in a closet for three days until he swore he would never utter such filth again.  Shortly after his sister died, his mother also died.  Kellach had never been sure what happened to her, but he hadn’t cried for her.

  Why would he?  After locking him in the closet, she hardly spoke to him.  She never hugged him any longer, or dried his tears.  It was his sister who had cared for him.  Carolina had been more of a mom than his own mother.

“Nothing will ever make it okay,” he whispered sadly.

Anguish creased Trygg’s features as he tried to take a step forward, but Kellach refused to let him any closer and moved backwards.  “Please, Kellach.  I just want a chance.”

“Don’t you get it?” he said as anger surged through Kellach when he felt tears stinging his eyes.  “There is no such thing.  My sister didn’t get a chance when she was handed over to that pack of wolves.” He barked out a harsh laugh as he flung his arms up from his sides.  “Hell, you’re proof we don’t have a chance.”

He knew he was shouting and drawing a crowd of onlookers, but he couldn’t help it.  “We’re gay, Trygg.  A sin in the eyes of the Council and most shifters.  Eventually they are going to send someone else and the odds are that person will kill at least one of us.”  Just the thought of losing Trygg to a bullet shredded Kellach’s heart.  “So there is no future.  No happily ever after.  No chance.”

Kellach’s whole body was practically vibrating with too many emotions rolling through him at once. Torn between wanting to run from Trygg and wrapping his arms around his mate and never letting go, Kellach did the only thing he could.  He turned on his heel and walked away.

“Kellach.” Tyrgg’s voice was desperate as he called after him, but Kellach refused to waiver in his resolve.

Turning, he yelled, “Just go.  I don’t want you here.  Do you hear me?  I. Don’t. Want. You.”  Kellach was sure he was about to be struck down by the Gods for his lie, but he just couldn’t stop himself from saying the hateful words. 

Please stop me.

Kellach shook the thought from his head and stormed away from his mate.  He may wish things could be different, but life rarely worked that way.  His own parents had taught him that harsh reality.     

***

“What do you mean he left?”  It had been what Kellach had wanted since the moment he’d laid eyes on Trygg.  So why was there an ache in his heart?

Edrick looked up from the screen of his computer to stare at Kellach.  “I thought this was what you wanted.  To leave you alone.”

“It was,” he blurted out realizing his mistake.  “I mean, it is,” he corrected.  “I just didn’t think he’d leave without at least saying good-bye.”

One of Edrick’s eyebrows rose up high on his forehead.  “Do you want me to call him back to tell you good-bye?”

“Yes.” As soon as he blurted out the word, Kellach retracted it.  “I mean, no.” Damn, was he ever going to get this right?  “I was just surprised, that’s all,” he tried to explain.

When he saw the amusement in Edrick’s eyes, Kellach knew there was no use trying to give reasons for his erratic behavior.  “Never mind.”  Since Trygg’s leaving hadn’t been why he’d come to talk to Edrick, Kellach switched subjects.  “Chadwick said he can put a crew on starting the bar tomorrow but he needs you to approve the plans.”

Kellach handed the rolled up plans to Edrick and prayed Edrick, the Alpha, wouldn’t give him grief on what he and Chadwick had come up with.

Sure enough when Edrick unrolled the plans both of his eyebrows went up until they practically disappeared into his hairline.  “Kind of big, isn’t it?”

It was true, but Kellach had high hopes for his business.  The more he thought about what he could do with it, the more excited he’d become and admittedly, he had gone a little overboard with his plans.  “Not really.  I mean this will be the only place we can all go to relax after working hard to build Miracle into a town where we can all live safely.”  That was stretching it a bit, but it was still true.

He pointed to an area of the bar that would house a mini viewing room.  “As you can see, I plan to have a T.V. room.  That way we don’t all have to try and get satellite since convincing a cable company to come to our small town will be nearly impossible.  Also we can have movie nights and sports nights, yet still also have other rooms,” he pointed to two other areas where there would be a pool table and lounge type atmosphere, “where people can relax without bothering anyone watching their shows.”

Edrick eyed the plans critically and Kellach feared he would reject them.  If he had to, Kellach would fight tooth and nail for this.  He’d never had a dream for his future, but the more he imagined what his bar would look like the more he dreamt about all the possibilities and became excited.  So excited that he’d started to dream Trygg was a part of that life.

But that was before his mate had just left him.  It wasn’t something Kellach had thought would happen and he wasn’t quite sure what to think about it.

“Okay,” Edrick said.  “Tell Chadwick to get started.”

Kellach stared for several moments at his friend.  “Really?”  It was almost too good to be true.

Edrick smiled.  “Really.”

Kellach gave a shout of happiness and even gave a fist pump.  Before Edrick could change his mind, Kellach grabbed the plans and rolled them back up.  “Thanks Edrick,” he said even as he raced from the office to find Chadwick.

Finally, Kellach was going to know what it felt like to do something he wanted.  He just wished his heart didn’t still ache at the thought of never seeing Trygg again.

CHAPTER 10

Exhausted, Trygg shut off the engine to his Ducati Globetrotter and sat in his seat staring up at the window he knew was Kellach’s.  It had been a long two weeks, and things were about to get a whole lot more complicated.

“And here I thought we got rid of you for good,” Chadwick joked as he appeared from the shadows of the house.  “Or did you decide to come back to have your ass kicked by Kellach once more?”

Of all the people to have on watch, it had to be Chadwick.  “I only left to find out what happened to Kellach’s sister and make those responsible pay for their crime.”

Gray eyes hardened to steel as Chadwick stepped closer.  “Did you make them pay?”

“Is Kellach in his room?” Trygg asked instead of answering the complicated question.

“Unless you really are looking to have your ass kicked, I don’t think you should go looking for Kellach,” Chadwick cautioned with a hint of amusement in his voice as if he were hoping Trygg would go anyway.

Little did Chadwick know, that was exactly what Trygg planned on doing.  He’d been gone for two long weeks and his heart ached to see his mate, even if it meant pissing Kellach off.  “I’ll take my chances,” he told Chadwick.  “You’re going to need to get everyone up.  We have company coming.”

“Wait, what?” Chadwick called after him, but Trygg didn’t bother answering as he entered the house and climbed the stairs.

Much had happened while he was away, but right then, Trygg didn’t care about any of it but the chance of seeing his pretty kitty.  His hand landed on the knob and anticipation seized him, tightening his body.  The moment the door opened a crack, his eyes landed on the most gorgeous sight he’d ever known.

Kellach.

Moonlight streamed through a window landing on his mate as if it were a spotlight from heaven.  Long lush lashes fanned out along his cheeks.  Soft full lips curved slightly upward.  He knew it was nothing more than a fantasy, but Trygg imagined it was because somehow, even in sleep, Kellach knew he was there.

Even his own mind rebelled at believing that bit of fiction.  Kellach would be more likely to punch Trygg for daring to come back than smile.  Trygg smiled at the thought.  His mate was feisty and Trygg wouldn’t have it any other way.  Sure it might be easier if Kellach would have fallen into Trygg’s arms the moment they met, but he liked that Kellach wasn’t like that.  It would make their mating all that more special when Kellach finally did give in to the lust Trygg saw burning in those lavender eyes whenever they were together.

“Trygg?” Kellach’s sleep voice floated in the air like the sweetest of songs.

Trygg knew he was being overly sappy, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself, nor did he want to.  Reality was about to come crashing down around their ears and he was desperate to believe, if only for a few more moments that his mate was happy to have him there.

Impelled by that thought, Trygg moved to the bed and leaned down to capture the sweetest tasting lips in a kiss that he prayed would melt Kellach’s normally icy demeanor.  He moaned when he felt Kellach’s lips respond, kissing him back.

Heart soaring, Trygg put one knee on the mattress to get even closer.  The next second he was flat on his back with sparks of fire spitting from Kellach’s lavender eyes as he pinned Trygg to the mattress.  “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Kissing my mate.”  Trygg had thought that was fairly obvious.  “I’ve missed you,” he admitted truthfully.

For a moment those lavender eyes softened but just as quickly they hardened into stone.  “You shouldn’t have come back,” Kellach said as he rolled off the mattress and quickly dressed.

Trygg tried to ignore the pain those words caused.  It was like a knife to the heart, but he knew one day Kellach would love him.  At least, he prayed that would be true.  For if not, Trygg wasn’t sure what the point of living would be.  He’d gotten a taste of life without his mate these past two weeks and Trygg hated it.

He may have only just met Kellach but in just a few short days he’d come to depend on seeing his pretty kitty.  Of the spitfire way Kellach stood up to Trygg.  Of his mate’s quirky way of saying what he was thinking without meaning to.  Hell, Trygg even missed being knocked on his ass when he tried to push Kellach’s buttons.

“There was no way I could have stayed away from you, pretty kitty,” Trygg admitted.  “After all, no one else comes close to challenging me like you do.”

For a second, Trygg was sure there was regret in those big beautiful eyes, but it was gone before he could be sure.  Maybe it was nothing but his need for Kellach to finally admit to wanting Trygg as his mate that made him see things that weren’t there.

“You need to leave, Trygg.”  This time he was sure he heard regret in Kellach’s voice.  Not that mattered.  Kellach could ask him to leave all day long, but he wasn’t going anywhere.

Climbing off the mattress, Trygg stalked toward his mate.  Kellach moved back for every step forward he took until his back was to the wall and had nowhere to go.  Trygg boxed his mate in, but this time was prepared for Kellach to try and put him on his ass.

When Kellach went to sweep his foot out, to knock Trygg’s out from under him, Trygg countered and moved one leg in between Kellach’s until his thigh was pressed up against his mate’s groin.  A grin formed on his lips when he felt just how hard Kellach was.

“You can try and deny you want me, pretty kitty,” he murmured against Kellach’s soft lips.  “But your body betrays you.”  Just to prove it, he pressed his thigh closer, making sure to rub against Kellach’s bulge.

His mate gave the sweetest of moans even as those lavender eyes glared at him.  “Get off of me,” Kellach bit out.

Trygg would never force his mate to do anything he didn’t want to but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to prove to Kellach that he knew the man was lying about wanting him.  “I don’t think that’s what you really want, my pretty kitty.”  Once more he rubbed his thigh against Kellach’s groin.  He felt it throb against his leg and smiled down at his mate.  “In fact, I think you want me as badly as I want you, but your stubborn pride is getting in the way.”

He felt Kellach relax against him and Trygg felt victory coursing through his veins.  That was all Kellach had needed to make his move.  Before he could even blink, Trygg was flat on his back staring up in wonder at those lavender eyes burning with triumph.  “You might want to rethink your strategy before you end up getting your ass kicked.”

If anyone else had done that to Trygg, he would have been pissed, but with Kellach, he felt nothing but pride.  “Is it wrong that I’m more turned on than ever?”

Kellach blinked at him.  Clearly his mate hadn’t expected him to admit that.

Happy that he’d managed to unbalance Kellach, Trygg got back to his feet.  “Now that you’re dressed, we have to go meet with the others before our guests arrive,” he said with the hope of keeping his mate a bit off balanced.

“What guests?” Kellach said even as Trygg took hold of his hand and tugged him out of the bedroom door and down the stairs.

He had nearly turned to the back of the house where Edrick’s office was but when he heard a commotion coming from the kitchen, Trygg went that way instead.  He had to admit to hoping someone was making food as he was starving.

Sure enough, as they entered the kitchen, platters of food were being put on the table while the group was firing questions at a frustrated Chadwick, who had no answers for them.  “I told you, all Trygg said was to get you all up because we have company coming.”  Then he glared at Jari, who held a plate away from the table.  “Now hand over the bacon.”

Trygg laughed at the groups’ antics.  “You can give him the bacon, Jari.  He really doesn’t know anything more.”

All heads swiveled to him, pinning him with their stares.  Then, as if choreographed, their gazes went to where his hand held Kellach’s.  His mate must have seen for he tugged his hand out of Trygg’s.

He tried not to let it bother him, but Trygg had to admit to hating that his mate had once more proved he didn’t want Trygg around.  He just hoped things would change once their guests arrived.  Maybe then Kellach would realize wolves weren’t the enemy.

“Who is coming?” Kellach demanded.  “You better not have led the Council here.”

That his mate would think that had Trygg wanting to howl in frustration.  “You honestly think I would bring the Council here?”

“How should I know?” Kellach said.  But his mate’s actions once more belied his words for his head had instantly moved back and forth as if denying that he believed Trygg would do anything of the sort.

It wasn’t much, but Trygg would take any indication that his mate didn’t think Trygg capable of something so treacherous.

“If it isn’t the Council, then who is coming here?” Edrick asked, or more like commanded.

Even though Trygg had yet to give his fealty to the Alpha, he still was compelled to do as the much stronger shifter asked.  Praying his mate wouldn’t knock him on his ass once more, Trygg said, “The Snow River Pack.”

CHAPTER  11

Everything was suddenly very far away.  The voices sounded hollow, as if they were coming through a long tunnel.  Nothing made any sense as Kellach stood there staring at the one man who was supposed to protect him at all costs.

He knew nothing ever went as it was supposed to, yet he still was having a hard time digesting Trygg had actually invited the very people who had killed Kellach’s sister to his home.  It just didn’t seem real, or possible. Yet by the shouting going on around him, Kellach knew it was not only an actuality but that tiny bit of hope that had somehow found its way into his soul for his future with his mate was extinguished.

Suddenly his legs just wouldn’t hold him any longer and Kellach felt himself falling.  Arms were suddenly there around him startling Kellach out of his stupor.

His gaze fell on the man holding him up only to find the one man he never wanted to touch him again, Trygg.  “Get. Your. Hands. Off. Me.” He spit out each word as if they were acid in his mouth.

It took ten full heartbeats before Trygg did as ordered.  Kellach knew, he’d counted each one.  Slowly his gaze went from those arms that had released him up to those golden brown eyes that appeared wounded, as if Kellach had stabbed him instead.  Ignoring the urge to comfort his mate, Kellach focused on the rage that burned through him instead.

His hands curled into fists.

“At least I’ll get to see Kellach knock Trygg on his ass again,” Chadwick joked.

But Kellached ignored his friend.  “How could you?”

He still wasn’t sure this was happening.  Well, he was sure, but it just didn’t seem possible.  His mate bringing the enemy to Kellach’s home was like a sick joke.

“It’s not what you…”

But Kellach didn’t let Trygg finish.  He had no desire to listen to the excuses that would come out of his mate’s mouth.  “I don’t want to hear it,” he told Trygg.  “I told you dogs couldn’t be trusted.  I just didn’t expect you to go out and prove me right.”

“But I…” Trygg started, but Kellach wasn’t about to sit there and wait.

Cutting his mate off yet again, this time Kellach turned to his friends.  “We need to get Kirill and the others up.  We have to prepare to fight a pack of wolves.”

Chairs scraped back as his friends rushed to get ready.  Chadwick grabbed several strips of bacon on his way out of the kitchen.  “You better not kick his ass until I’m around to watch,” he told Kellach.  Then Chadwick pointed a strip of bacon at Trygg.  “I hope he wipes the floor with you for this.”

Then Chadwick was gone as were the others.  All except for Jari, who was cleaning up the kitchen, Nole, who was helping Jari and Edrick, who sat there with his legs spread and his arms crossed over his chest.  There was no anger coming from the man.  No anxiety over a pack of wolves coming.

“What are you doing sitting there?” Kellach yelled at his Alpha.  “Did you hear Trygg?  The pack of wolves that killed my sister is on their way here, thanks to my mate giving them directions.”

The bitterness in Kellach’s voice sat heavily in the room.  But Edrick didn’t move, just stared at the two of them.  When he did speak, Kellach was sure his friend had lost his mind.

“I did,” Edrick said calmly.  “And I’m curious as to why he invited them”

Kellach didn’t understand Edrick.  “What difference does it make?”  He threw his arms up and then pointed them to the kitchen window and the front of the house.  “They are coming and we need to be prepared.”

When Edrick still sat there, Kellach dropped his arms in a huff and shook his head in disgust.  “Fine.  You sit here and dissect the traitor while I help get our men ready to fight an entire pack of wolves.  The same wolves, I might add, who tore my sister apar…” a sob cut him off as Kellach struggled to find air to breathe as he thought of his sweet sister being killed by those animals.

His mate took a step toward him.  Rage surged through Kellach making him far stronger than he probably was at the moment.  “Don’t come near me, dog.”  If he had a gun on him, Kellach would have shot Trygg in his traitorous heart for what he’d done.  “After I’ve killed every last one of those murderers, I will come for you.  Do us both a favor and don’t be here when I do.”

With that, Kellach turned on his heel and strode from the kitchen.  He refused to stop long enough to pick up the pieces of his broken heart.  How it had gotten broken to begin with wasn’t something Kellach was ready to face.  It seemed once more fate had decided to laugh at his expense.

***

“Mind telling me what made you invite Snow Creek here?” Edrick asked when the front door slammed behind Kellach.

Trygg closed and sighed.  He just prayed Kellach would find a way to purge all the hatred he had in his heart or they would never find any kind of peace.  “Kellach’s father lied about what happened to Carolina.”

Edrick stared at him for a moment.  Then he gave a nod.  “I hope, for your sake, he doesn’t kill them all before they have a chance to explain.”

Trygg made a sound between a snort and a laugh.  “Will he ever be able to trust me?”  He hadn’t meant to ask the question but suddenly Trygg found himself desperately wanting to know the answer.

“You’re his mate,” Nole answered as if that explained everything.

Trygg had always believed mates could get through anything but the Council had taught him that wasn’t necessarily true.  Just because fate put two people together didn’t mean they would find their happily ever after.  The hundreds of people he’d killed over the years for just loving someone of the same sex was proof of that.

“Kellach’s family life wasn’t easy.  His sister was the only one who loved him,” Edrick said after a few minutes.  “It won’t be easy to get him to let his guard down, but I promise you, when you do, it will be well worth it.”  As if to add truth to his words, Edrick smiled at Nole as if the sun rose and set on his mate. 

Trygg just prayed he and Kellach would one day be able to look at each other with that much love.

CHAPTER 12

It had taken less than an hour to get everyone in position.  Clearly they had spent more time rebuilding the town than on defense.  They would definitely need to work on their readiness in the future but since this had been the first time getting the entire town prepared to fight, it wasn’t bad.

All that mattered to Kellach was that they were ready for the wolves before they had arrived.  It wasn’t until he was standing on the porch waiting for the wolf pack to arrive that Kellach realized he probably should have found out how far out they were from Trygg before mobilizing everyone.

Not that he could have trusted the traitorous wolf, but it would have been better than the possibility of making everyone sit for the entire day and find out the Snow Creek pack wouldn’t be there until tomorrow.  Since Trygg had insisted on getting everyone up in the predawn hours, Kellach had to assume his mate thought the wolves would be in Miracle that day.

Then again, what in the hell did he know about what his mate thought?  He never would have imagined Trygg would endanger his mate by bringing a pack of wolves into their midst.  Nothing about Trygg made any sense.

Trygg stepped out onto the porch looking defeated as he stepped up next to him.  “Kellach, I need to tell you something before Snow Creek arrives.”

“Save it,” Kellach said, ignoring the need he suddenly had to take his mate into his arms and assure him everything would be alright.  Defeat wasn’t a good look on Trygg.  It just didn’t belong.  He nearly turned to do just that when the low rumble of engines reached his ears alerting him to the wolves’ arrival.

His heart hardened at the reminder of what was about to happen. “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say.”

He heard Trygg sigh, but Kellach ignored him as he barked out orders to the men closest to him.  He was ready to demolish the pack before they ever got close enough to start a war.  But Edrick stopped him when he walked out onto the porch and gave his own orders.  “No one fires until I give the order, is that clear?”

The wave of power those words created had every man there tilting his head in submission.  Kellach was pretty sure even those that could only hear their Alpha over the earpiece they were all wearing for the possibility of battle, had tilted their heads.

Edrick might not have wanted the role of Alpha, but he was a born leader.  No one who met the man could deny it.

The advantage to having grown up with Edrick his whole life, Kellach wasn’t as quick to just follow orders.  Oh, he had still tilted his head in submission, but when the effect wore off, he opened his mouth to argue.

“Don’t bother, Kellach.  You may not be able to trust your mate yet, but I do.”  Edrick’s gaze didn’t give Kellach any room to believe he might win if he tried to fight Edrick on this.  “Whether you want to admit it or not, Trygg is your mate.”  His friend’s blue eyes softened a bit as he said, “He would never betray you.”

Kellach knew that wasn’t true.  His own parents had turned against him.  Why would a mate be any different?  But he also knew there was no point in trying to convince Edrick of that.  “Fine, but when they attack I’m going to tell you ‘I told you so.’”

Edrick chuckled.  “Fine.  And when they don’t, expect me to do the same.”

A snort of derision exploded from Kellach.  “Right.  Like that’s going to happen.”

“Actually…” Trygg started to say, but three large black SUVs pulled up at that moment.

“I guess we’re about to find out who’s right,” Kellach said, once more ignoring Trygg as if he didn’t exist.  Except that wasn’t exactly true.  Even as he wanted to kill his mate for bringing the wolves to Miracle, Kellach was running through every scenario he could to save his mate when they attacked.

Confused as the contradicting emotions coursed through him, Kellach did his best to push them down when the doors of two of the SUVs opened.  It was the back door of the middle SUV that held his attention as a man who screamed Alpha stepped from the back.  But it wasn’t demeanor that had grabbed Kellach’s attention.  It was his looks that had Kellach staring at him in horror.

There were subtle differences, but the man who now stood next to the SUV, could be Trygg’s twin.  “He’s your brother, isn’t he” Kellach whispered.  “You betrayed me for your family.”  The second wasn’t a question but a statement.

At least it made some sort of sense.  Not that mattered.  But at least Trygg was loyal to his family.  Kellach just wished, for once, someone would put him first.  “Please tell me you didn’t know about my sister’s death,” he begged.

“That’s not what…” Trygg started but Kellach was beyond listening at that point.  He honestly didn’t think he could handle it if Trygg had known.

“You killed my sister,” Kellach called out to the man who had the same smile his mate had.

The back door to the third SUV opened.  Kellach didn’t pay too much attention to it as he stared daggers at Trygg’s brother.  So when he heard a voice call out to him, it took Kellach several minutes to believe what he was seeing.  “Kellach, no one killed me.”  There standing next to the open door of the third SUV was his sister Carolina.

Kellach blinked.  He couldn’t possibly be seeing what her.  It had to be a hallucination.  Nothing else made any sense.  He had mourned her.  His own alpha had said the wolves had called to report her death.

His vision swam as he tried to focus.  No matter what he did, how many times he blinked, he just couldn’t believe what he was seeing.  Did Trygg drug him?  Was he having a nightmare?  Was he dead?

There was no way Carolina could be standing in front of him any other way, could she?  “Carolina?” he asked in wonder.

Tears streamed down her face as she started walking his way with another man right beside her, who looked like he’d rip anyone in half if they harmed a hair on her head.  She had taken a half dozen steps before Kellach had been able to make his own legs work.

When he did, he didn’t walk, he ran to the one person who had always loved him, even when she had overheard him tell their mother he liked boys. No matter how his mother had treated him, or their father for that matter, Carolina always had a hug for him and told him how much she would always love him.

He stumbled on the last step but Carolina was right there, her arms wrapping around him, stopping him from falling as she had done so often in the past.  “Is it really you?” he whispered into her long chestnut colored hair, exactly the same shade as his.

“It’s me, Kellach,” Carolina whispered fiercely in his ear even as she held him tightly to her.

It was like a dream.  One he’d had every night for years after she had died.  He feared he would wake up as he had each and every time her arms would hold him close in those nighttime visions.  “Please tell me this is real,” he begged, his own hold on her as tight as he dared without crushing her.

“I’m real, Kellach.  I promise,” she told him.  “I’m so sorry you believed I was dead.”

Great sobs finally broke free as the years of believing the only person who had ever loved him was dead really hit him.  Even as he cried like a baby, he could hear his father’s angry voice telling him that real men don’t shed tears each time he’d caught Kellach mourning for his sister.  There was a part of him that tried to stop, but he was just too relieved to have his sister back to be able to do so.

It that made him less of a man, so be it.  At that moment, with Carolina in his arms, alive and well, Kellach was happy not to be considered his father’s version of a man.  His eyes went up to thank the Gods for giving him his sister back when they landed on Trygg.

Tears traced a path down his mate’s cheeks as he watched Kellach and Carolina.  Suddenly it struck Kellach that it was his mate he had to thank for giving him back his sister.  His mate had brought her here, to Miracle just for him.

“Thank you,” he mouthed.

Trygg’s lips lifted up into a smile before he mouthed, “You’re welcome,” back to him.

That flame of hope that had been snuffed out a short time ago, suddenly flared back to life, burning brighter than ever.

CHAPTER 13

“Not that I’m not glad to find you are alive, Carolina but do you mind telling us why?” Edrick asked as they all sat in the diner, the Mousetrap.  It was the only place big enough to fit everyone involved comfortably.  Well, his bar, The End of the World, would, but since they had only just finished it and it didn’t have furniture yet, the diner would have to do.

Kellach sat next to his sister, while her mate, Conrad sat on her other side.  But it was their alpha, Brecken Snow, who answered.  “We were dealing with Carolina’s father to buy weapons when my second, Conrad met Carolina.  They had managed to talk privately for a few minutes and she warned him that her father would never accept their mating and he would try to double cross us in the deal.”

Conrad gave his mate a kiss on the forehead.  “She was right on both counts.”

Carolina blushed but smiled at her mate like some lovesick fool.  Kellach would have gagged but the feelings he was having toward his own mate stopped him.  He couldn’t explain it but when Trygg had sat down next to him as close as Conrad was sitting to Carolina, warmth seeped into Kellach body.

Then when his mate had put his arm on the back of Kellach’s hair, his fingers just short of touching his shoulder, Kellach found himself leaning back the slight amount required to complete the connection.  The shiver of delight at feeling his mate touching him wasn’t supposed to be there.  Kellach had fought it tooth and nail, yet it shook his body just the same.

“Prepared for the double cross, we managed to catch your father red handed,” Brecken told Kellach.  “I threatened to turn him over to the Council for his dirty dealings unless he turned his daughter over to us.”

“The bastard thought we would just use her and throw her away like garbage,” Conrad told them with a snarl.

Brecken shrugged.  “That was his fault.  I never once said we would give her back.  But when he threatened to start a war claiming we kidnapped her, I went to his alpha.”  Brecken’s amber eyes landed on Edrick.  “Your father, I assume.”

Edrick nodded his agreement.

“I explained what Carolina’s father had done and that Carolina was now mated to my second and would not be returned.”  Brecken’s gaze then went to Kellach with a touch of remorse.  “Your old alpha said he would declare Carolina dead and she wouldn’t be allowed to return to home.  I didn’t know at the time about you or I might have tried to broker another deal.”

Carolina took Kellach’s hand in hers.  “It never occurred to me they would declare me dead, or that they would tell you I was…” she gave an audible swallowed, “killed in such a manner.  I had always planned on trying to get word to you, but…” her voice trailed off.  “I guess I just lost track of time.”

It hurt to know his sister had forgotten about him, but Kellach understood.  If he’d been freed from the hell of their home, he would have never looked back either.  “It’s okay,” he told her.  “I’m just glad I know now.”

He had his mate to thank for that.  Just that thought had his lips curving upward and his body pressing into those fingers a little harder.  As if knowing what he was doing and why, Trygg moved his hand to the back of Kellach’s neck.  His thumb stroked Kellach’s nape, soothing his rioting emotions.

Carolina squeezed his hand.  “No, it isn’t okay, but thank you for understanding.”  That sweet smile he always remembered lit up her face.  “You have a niece and nephew.”

Kellach felt his jaw drop as he stared at his sister in wonder.  “You have kids?”  He didn’t know why he was so surprised.  Carolina was an amazing mother figure to him so it stood to reason she’d make an excellent mother.

His sister laughed.  “Don’t sound so surprised.”

“I’m not. I just…”  Tears sprang to his eyes once more.  “I guess I’m just still trying to come to grips with you being alive.”

Carolina leaned into him and kissed his cheek.  “I’m sorry little brother.”

Kellach concentrated on the way Trygg’s thumb continued to stroke his nape as he struggled to gain control over the emotions that continued to swirl through him.  It was crazy.  From the moment he’d met Trygg, life had been a never ending whirlwind of chaotic feelings that he didn’t know what to do with.  Yet, when things were at their most turbulent, it was Trygg who centered him.

A man who seemed to be standing guard over Brecken and was every bit as big as Kirill, leaned down and whispered something into the Alpha’s ear.  Brecken was suddenly on alert.  “As much as I hate to break up this reunion, we do have more pressing matters that we need to discuss.”

Trygg stiffened, his hand stilling on Kellach’s neck.  When his mate leaned closer as if wanting to protect him, Kellach went on alert.

“I officially quit the Council and they didn’t take it well, especially when I told them why,” Trygg said.  His gaze searched Kellach’s as if waiting to see anger or hatred.

But Kellach wasn’t upset.  If anything, he was relieved to know his mate no longer worked for the group responsible for the laws that made mating the same sex illegal.  “What did you tell them?”

“That you are my mate and I wasn’t about to give you up because they had their heads up their asses with their bigoted laws.”  Trygg said it so matter-of-factly that Kellach had no doubt he said just that, not caring that he was talking to the Council of paranormal world.

“I bet that went over well,” Hudson drawled.

“And let me guess,” Edrick said as he tugged Nole onto his lap.  “The Council has now sent someone else to kill us?”

Chadwick grunted and nodded his head toward Brecken.  “Based on his reaction to whatever gigantor over there said, more than one person is coming.”

The big guy gave Chadwick a toothy grin, “Jealous, pussy cat?”

Chadwick rolled his eyes.  “Of you?  Please.  Like I really want to be so big I could double as a mountain.  Then again, I hear you wolves have rocks in your head.”

Gigantor flipped Chadwick off but before they could get into a heated verbal battle, Brecken held up his hand to stop his bodyguard from saying anything else.  “Alright, this isn’t the time for that.  According to my sources the Council has decided to make an example out of you and have amassed an army to destroy Miracle and all who live here.”

“You know I’m getting really sick of people thinking they can destroy this town,” Chadwick said.  “I’ve spent way too much energy rebuilding for someone to come in here and tear it back down.”

“What are you talking about?” Hudson asked incredulously.  “You love tearing things down as much as you love building them.”

Clearly not happy with Hudson pointing that out, Chadwick stuck his tongue out at his friend.  “Yeah but that’s only me that gets to tear things down.  Not other people.”

“The point is,” Edrick interrupted before Hudson could say anything more.  “We need to come up with a plan to not only stop the Council from destroying Miracle but to leave us alone.”

“And how are we supposed to do that?” Kellach asked.  He was sick and tired of constantly looking over his shoulder.  Growing up he had to make sure everything he did wasn’t considered weak and girly according to his parents.  When he was older, he was constantly having to worry about someone finding out he was gay.

He’d finally gotten free of every move he made being watched but it didn’t stop having to fear someone finding them and trying to kill them for their “sin” of being gay.  It wasn’t fair and Kellach was tired of it.  “We are gay.”  Agitated, Kellach stood up and slammed his hand onto the table.  “That isn’t going to change.  So unless the Council suddenly realizes they are bigoted assholes, we will always have to worry about someone finding us and trying to kill us.”

“Which is why we have come up with a plan,” Brecken said.  “It may not work.  Hell, it probably won’t work, but I’m not about to let the Council continue to implement laws that go against everything we believe in.”

Kellach wasn’t sure what to think about Brecken’s impassioned words.  “Why would you help us?”

Brecken tilted his head and looked at Kellach oddly.  “First of all, Trygg is my brother.  I would do anything for him.”

That didn’t make any sense.  In Kellach’s experience family didn’t go out on a limb for each other, especially when it meant going against the Council.

“Secondly, I am also gay,” Brecken announced.

That hadn’t been what Kellach had expected to hear.  No one announced that without having a mate to risk the consequences for, and so far, he hadn’t seen a mate.

“Obviously, it isn’t something I have advertised, but I also haven’t kept it a secret.  My pack knows and they don’t have a problem with it.”  Brecken shrugged.  “Or at least if they wish to stay, they don’t.  I won’t tolerate bigotry in my pack.  If fate chooses to mate us with the same sex, who are we to go against the Gods?”

It was a good question.  One the Council should ask themselves if anyone bothered to ask Kellach.

CHAPTER 14

As much as it pained Trygg to admit it, his mate was right.  Thanks to the Council, they would most likely always be a target for bigoted assholes who felt it their right to tell others how they should live.

With his brother’s plan, which most likely wouldn’t work, they had a shot of changing things, but it wouldn’t be easy.  In fact, it was going to take all of them working together if they had any chance at all.

It was funny if one thought about it.  Mice, cats, dogs and various other animals all working together for a common goal.  If they could manage to find a way to cooperate there just might be hope for shifters after all.

“Are you out of your mind?” Edrick shouted.  “You’re talking about killing the entire sitting members of Council.”

“No,” Brecken said.  “I’m talking about a coup.  If they choose to fight and die…”  One of his shoulders lifted as if to say he couldn’t help the outcome.

“If the Council got wind of this conversation, we could be tried for treason,” Hudson, who was both a human and shifter lawyer, said.  “We would all be executed.”

Kellach snorted.  “What difference does that make?  We’re already to be killed for being gay.  Dead is dead, how we got there makes little difference.”

Just hearing his mate talk about dying had Trygg scooting a little closer to Kellach.  He didn’t even want to think about a world without Kellach in it.  “Kellach’s right.  Like it or not, we are all in this together.  The way I see it, we either split up and run, always keeping on the move, hoping the Council doesn’t catch up to us.”  Trygg looked over at his brother and prayed he knew what the hell he was talking about.  “Or we stay and fight.”

Edrick gave a weary sigh that Trygg was pretty sure everyone in the room felt.  Then he turned to Hudson and asked, “Will it work?”

If Trygg were a betting man, he would say Hudson would rather be anywhere but there at the moment.  It was obvious he was reluctant to answer, but eventually he gave a nod.  “It should, but I warn you, the Council has protected itself from most of the old laws.”

Hudson paused as he looked around the room at the men and women who were there, putting their lives on the line just talking about this.  “I admit, as far as I know, there is no law to counter this one but that is only because it hasn’t been used – ever.  They mostly likely forget it even existed.”

Hudson leaned forward in his chair.  “That said, it should work in our favor.  Not only can we use the old law but many shifters have been complaining that they are getting tired of the Council’s high handed ways of getting involved in pack business.  Many are calling to return to the old laws that our ancestors created.”

Silence echoed in the room as they all took in what was said.  The risks were huge.  Then again, as Kellach had said, they already had a target on their backs for being gay.  Whether they died for treason or being gay, it didn’t really matter.  This way, they might actually have a chance.

“I’m in,” Trygg said.

Brecken shot him a smile.  “Since it is my idea, I’m in.  I’ve also talked to my people before we arrived.  They are all in.”

Kellach put a hand in Trygg’s free hand and said, “I’m in too.  I’m tired of the Council dictating who we can and cannot love.”

Trygg didn’t dare to breathe as he felt the warmth of Kellach’s hand sink into his body.  Just hours before he’d feared he would never know a moment like this.  It may only be a hand, but to Trygg it was everything.  That first real step in Kellach accepting him as his mate.  He just wished they weren’t about to face a battle that could end up killing them all before he got a chance to hold his mate in his arms.

Edrick glanced at each of his men in turn before saying, “We’re in.”  There was a collective sigh as men and women in the diner had a goal.  It might end up with them all dying but at least they would fight for what was right.

“I do have a question though,” Edrick said.  “Who exactly is going to replace the Council?”

Trygg already knew the list of candidates and he had to admit, his brother had thought this through.  Clearly he’d been planning for a lot longer than when Trygg had arrived to confront Brecken about Carolina.

“All the prospects are on their way here.”  Brecken glanced at his phone.  “I just hope they all make it before the Council’s men get here.”

“But doesn’t the Council have to be here for this to work?” Edrick asked.

“Oh, don’t worry about them,” Brecken said.  “I have already invited them.”

Trygg laughed.  When everyone looked at him, he shrugged.  “Sorry.  But it wasn’t exactly an invitation.”  He pulled out his phone and called up the video Brecken had sent to the entire Council, including office staff and hunters, along with every Alpha just so the Council couldn’t claim they didn’t get the message.

My name is Brecken Snow.  I am the Alpha of the Snow Creek pack and am sending this video on behalf of the Miracle Pack, who the Council has given order to kill for accepting the mates fate gave them.  A law enacted by this bigoted Council has made it illegal for mates of the same sex to remain together.

I, for one, disavow this law as it goes against the fundamental tenant of protecting one’s mate.  This unjust Council has tried to erase the main principals we were born to uphold.  The Gods themselves have proclaimed that nothing is to supersede that of a mate.  For the Council to have tried was overstepping their authority.

As such, I, Brecken Snow, and six others challenge the Council for their seats based on the old law of right of might for authority.  As it states, this law was designed for any person in position of power to be ousted by a someone stronger in the challenge ring without interference from any other.

If you do not show up for this challenge in ninety-six hours, we will assume you are stepping down to your challenger.  Of course, I realize we must first stop the army you have sent to kill us, but rest assured, we will prevail.  I expect to see you in Miracle, Oregon on Friday at noon or you will have forfeited your right to sit on the Council.

When the video stopped, every person in the room stared at it in shock.  But slowly, each face formed a smile.  They still had to defeat the army the Council has sent, but at least they now had a mission for winning.

CHAPTER 15

There was a moment of fear when everyone within the diner broke apart to get their men ready for the battle to come.  Brecken had reinforcements arriving any moment from his own pack, along with other packs he’d called, who felt it was time for a change within the Council.

There were also six men and women who would be joining them that would each fight a member of the Council for one seat.  There was no guarantee any of them would win, but Brecken seemed fairly sure they would.

But none of that was why Kellach’s heart was racing and palms sweating.  It was his mate’s request for a moment alone with him.  Kellach honestly didn’t know what to do.  Up until the moment he saw his sister – alive – Kellach was prepared to never accept his Trygg as his mate.

But now…well now it wasn’t so simple.  Now he had hope and Kellach couldn’t ever remember a moment in his life since his mother locked him in that closet that he’d felt that particular emotion.  Nor was he sure what to do about it.

Not a word was said as they walked through the worn path that led behind the town. When they walked up the steps of the porch Kellach’s anxiety only grew.  By the time they reached his bedroom door Kellach’s entire body was shaking.

“Hey,” Trygg murmured as he pulled Kellach into the room and right into his arms.  “It’s okay.  I’ve got you.”

The sound of the door latch clicking into place somehow soothed Kellach’s nerves.  He couldn’t explain it, but being there, alone in Trygg’s arms, was a balm to his soul.  “It’s just…”  He had no idea what he wanted to say but just as he’d been doing for the past few weeks, Kellach couldn’t keep it inside any longer.

Things started spewing out of his mouth.  Things he’d never planned on saying.  He started with that day Chadwick announced he was going to find his prince charming one day and how Kellach had ended up locked in a closet.  Everything about his life just poured out of him, including his devastation at finding out his sister had died.

“But then, today everything changed.”  Kellach held onto Trygg even tighter as he still couldn’t believe the moment his sister stepped out of that SUV.  “It was like a dream come true.”

He looked up into Trygg’s golden eyes.  “And you were the one to make it happen,” he whispered.  “In the blink of an eye my world has been turned upside down and I honestly don’t know what to do, what to think or what to feel.”

He had hardly finished when Trygg’s firm lips took his own in a soft kiss that melted what was left of his already frazzled brain.  Nothing else mattered but the way Trygg’s tongue licked a path along his lips.  Or the moan that slipped from his mouth, parting it so that Trygg could slip inside.

Oh, and that tongue.  His moan turned into a needy groan as Kellach pushed up into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Trygg’s neck to bring their bodies into perfect alignment.

The bulge that pressed into his abdomen told Kellach just how much Trygg wanted him.  It was then, in that moment, that all the doubt, fear and anxiety fell away and things became crystal clear.

This was his mate.  The one person who would stand by his side no matter what.  Trygg was created just for him by the Gods.  Put in his life by fate to love and care for.  Damn, but he’d been an idiot.

It became paramount he tell Trygg for there was no telling how much time they had left before the Council’s army arrived.  Pulling back from the kiss he looked up at his mate.  That thought had him smiling.  “My mate,” he whispered.

Trygg smiled down at him.  “It almost sounds as if you’re happy about that.”

“I think I am.”  How? Kellach still wasn’t sure.  Nothing really made sense and yet everything made perfect sense all at the same time.  “I mean…” he sighed as he tried to find the right words.  “I feel like I’ve screwed up so much since we’ve met.  But I’m beginning to realize that I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect mate if I’d tried.”

What was weird, Kellach was telling the truth.  Trygg was kind, sensitive, strong, understanding, protective and caring.  What more could he ever hope to find in a mate?

“Now I’m the one who feels like he’s dreaming,” Trygg joked.  “I wasn’t sure I’d ever hear anything like that from those sweet lips of yours.”  His mate leaned down and kissed Kellach once more.

This time Kellach thrust his tongue into Trygg’s mouth.  If they were going to mate, Trygg would need to learn they were partners.  But when he thought his mate would fight him for dominance, Trygg surprised him by letting Kellach take over the kiss.

He wanted to ask Trygg why he was letting Kellach take over, but he was too afraid his mate would laugh in his face and tell him he was just humoring him for a moment.  That there was no way he would let someone like Kellach top.  It was what often happened in his sexual encounters and Kellach just didn’t think he could handle it if Trygg treated him that way.

“Hey, what happened?” Trygg said as he pulled back from the kiss.  “You’re all tense.”

Still unable to keep his thoughts to himself, Kellach found, to his horror, that he was blurting out exactly what he was thinking.  “In the past, the men I hooked up with laughed in my face when I told them I wanted to top and I’m afraid you’re going to do the same.”

Kellach sucked in a much needed breath and waited for the laughing to start.  When he didn’t hear it, he dared to glance up into golden eyes that appeared…pissed.  He’d been prepared for quite a few different reactions from Trygg, but anger wasn’t one of them, nor did he understand where it was coming from.

Unless…Was Trygg mad that Kellach thought he could top him?  His heart sank.  For just a few precious moments Kellach had thought he was going to get his happily ever after, but just like everything else in his life, Kellach would only know disappointment.

The only difference was, Kellach was tired of just accepting his rotten fate.  It was something he was still trying to come to terms with, but he deserved better.  It may not change anything but Kellach wasn’t about to just lie down and take being treated this way.

With that thought in mind, he unconsciously set his stance as if preparing for battle.  “You know, I’m sick of being dictated to.  If we’re going to be mates, I expect to be treated as your equal.  I won’t be subservient just because you have some hang up about bottoming.”

Hands suddenly wrapped around Kellach’s upper arms and yanked him forward until he was nose to nose with a snarling Trygg.  “And next time you might want to rethink throwing your past lovers in my face.”

Kellach opened his mouth to yell when Trygg’s words finally sunk in.  “That’s not what I…” But he didn’t finish.  It may not have been Kellach’s intention to bring up his previous one night stands but the fact remained, it was exactly what had happened.  “You’re right.  I’m sorry.  I wasn’t thinking.”

The grip that was digging into his arms softened as firm lips met his in a gentle kiss that was all too brief.  “As for the rest, when are you going to learn I’m not like other men?” Trygg asked.  “We’re mates.  Of course I think of you as my equal.  Topping or bottoming in the bedroom has nothing to do with it.”

“Yes it does,” Kellach automatically said.  “Everyone knows the man tops.”

Trygg’s eyes closed as he took a deep breath.  “You know, if I ever meet your father, I’m going to have to teach him what it really means to be a man.  The ideas that man has put in your head are ridiculous.”

Kellach wasn’t sure if he should be insulted or not.  It sounded like Trygg was putting down his father, but it was the ideas in Kellach’s head he was calling ridiculous.

One of Trygg’s hands trailed down Kellach’s arm, to his hip and then down to cup the bulge that protruded in his jeans.  “Do you honestly think when you bottom you’re anything but a man, my pretty kitty?”  A kiss was placed on the side of his mouth, then his cheek, then his jaw.

As Trygg continued to make his way to his ear, Kellach was having a hard time concentrating on what he’d said.  The only thing he’d really heard was that stupid nickname.  “Stop calling me pretty.  I’m not a girl.”

Trygg gave a low chuckle that settled right into Kellach’s balls.  When his mate started nipping along the corded tendons of his throat, Kellach found himself tilting his head back to give him more room.  “There is no fear of you being mistaken for a girl, my pretty kitty.”  As if to prove that, he squeezed the front of Kellach’s jeans, causing his dick to throb in pleasure.

Then the button on his pants was opened and his zipper lowered.  “But I must warn you not to say things like that in front of my sister, Zara.”

Kellach let out a moan when Trygg clamped down on the spot where his neck and shoulder met.  He had to admit his thoughts were scattered but he was sure Trygg brought up something about a sister.  “Say what?” Although he wasn’t sure he’d even be able to understand Trygg’s answer if his mate continued the assault on his senses.

A hand was suddenly inside of his pants, stroking his heated flesh.  Another groan floated around them as Kellach rose up on his tiptoes to get closer to his mate’s exquisite touch.

“Your tone insinuated women aren’t as good as men,” Trygg whispered in his ear.  “Not only is that not true, my sister would put you on your ass for thinking it.”

Just then, Trygg covered his mouth with his own and Kellach was lost.  Thoughts of topping, bottoming, girls, boys, hell, even the battle to come fled as he gave himself over to the heaven that was his mate’s arms.

CHAPTER 16

As far as Trygg was concerned, there was nothing he wouldn’t do for his mate.  Even though his cock ached to bury itself in Kellach’s tight ass, Trygg would wait.  This was too important to Kellach, which made it paramount to Trygg for his mate to be on top.

He just wished they had more time. He would love nothing more than to spend a week in bed with his mate. But with the Council’s army on their way, time wasn’t exactly on their side.

Reluctantly Trygg released his hold on Kellach’s hard prick.  He wasn’t about to lose his chance to mate this incredible man by taking too long.  A rushed mating may not be ideal, but he’d take whatever he could get if it meant that Kellach would be his in the end.

When he managed to get Kellach’s pants off, which would have been easier if he’d remembered his mate had been wearing shoes, Trygg swept his hands up, snagging the hem of Kellach’s shirt and tugging it up over his head.  He inhaled sharply at seeing his mate completely naked.

Never had he’d seen such a beautiful sight.  Reverently he traced a finger down Kellach’s cheek, along his jaw and down that slim neck.  “Gorgeous,” he whispered.

He smiled when Kellach gave a shiver as his fingernail scraped across one nipple.  “There isn’t one inch of you that isn’t perfect,” he told his mate as he watched his finger continue on down defined abs to his straining cock with a pearl of fluid leaking from the tip.

His mouth filled with saliva at the thought of getting a taste.  With that thought in mind, Trygg dropped to his knees.  Wrapping his hand around the base of Kellach’s long slim dick, he held it out from his mate’s body.  With his eyes looking up into Kellach’s lavender eyes, Trygg leaned forward and swiped his tongue across the tip, lapping up his mate’s fluid.

Kellach’s body shuddered.  His hands went to Trygg’s shoulders as if trying to keep himself upright.  Feeling ten feet tall to affect his mate so greatly, Trygg continued to lick up and down Kellach’s stalk, making sure to pay special attention to the bundle of nerves under the cap.

“Oh, fuck, Trygg.  That’s it,” Kellach babbled.  “Right there.”

As far as Trygg was concerned, he was a God for being able to make his mate feel so good.  Emboldened to continue his exploration, Trygg ran his tongue along Kellach’s engorged vein before sliding the slim cock into his mouth.

“Trygg,” Kellach shouted.  “Damn, your mouth feels so good.”  His mate pumped his hips a couple of times, fucking himself into Trygg’s mouth.  Then, suddenly, he pulled back and stared down at Trygg.  “As much as I’d love to fuck that mouth, I want to complete our mating more.”  His voice went husky, guttural as he said, “Get on the bed.”

The heat in those lavender eyes was so real, Trygg was sure he been burned in the best possible way.  His own cock throbbed in his pants, but he didn’t have time to remove them as he scrambled to do as his mate ordered.

Like the graceful cat he was, Kellach’ lithe body crawled along the mattress until he hovered over Trygg.  Trygg was sure he was about to go up in flames when his mate lay down on top of him, his muscled frame pressing hard.  Even through his clothing, Trygg could feel Kellach’s heat.

Soft lips took his in a searing kiss that had Trygg’s toes curling deliciously.  He’d never been the focus of someone’s desire as he was right at this moment and Trygg had to admit to loving it.  Usually he was the one on top.  Not that he minded, but he’d always wondered what it would be like to have the roles reversed.

It wasn’t true that he’d never bottomed, because he had, but those times tended to be with men who just wanted to get off.  Taking their time and enjoying the moment wasn’t their priority.  But this…Trygg moaned loudly as their tongues danced while one of Kellach’s hands went to groin and squeezed.

Damn.

His eyes rolled back in his head as his hips arched up to get more of Kellach’s touch.  As good as this felt, Trygg was becoming desperate to know what Kellach’s hand would feel like on his bare cock.

When he started to undo his pants, Kellach rolled off him to reach into his bedside table.  Trygg prayed it was to get some lube as he dying to have his mate inside of him.  They could do slow and sweet another time.  Right now, Trygg just wanted to be mated to Kellach before they ran out of time.

His mate must have felt the same way for as soon as Trygg had pulled his pants off, Kellach placed a slick finger at his entrance and started massaging the muscles there.   “Have you ever bottomed?” Kellach asked.

The sensation of Kellach’s finger was so good, Trygg had to swallow twice just to get his voice working.  “Yeah, but it’s been a while.”

The pressure against his hole was getting more insistent.  Lips latched onto one of his nipples just as Kellach slipped a finger inside of him.  The difference between the burn of being breached and the wet suction of Kellach’s mouth was mind blowing.  Trygg arched his chest upward while thrusting his hips further onto Kellach’s finger.

He loved that his mate was trying to make this good for him.  To know he cared for Trygg so deeply.  His mate’s free hand went to his weeping cock and started to stroke him in rhythm with his finger. Sounds of every kind were pouring out of him as his mind tried to process everything Kellach was doing to him.

Kellach pulled off his nipple with a pop to grin down at him.  “Am I making you feel good?”  There was well deserved pride in Kellach’s voice.

But before Trygg could answer a second digit slid inside his channel and all speech was impossible.  The best he could do was grunt.  The burn of being stretched was there but it was nothing compared to the way his nerve endings were lighting up like fireworks on the Fourth of July.

Thoughts were nearly impossible as Trygg just let himself soar under Kellach’s expert hands and mouth.  He swore he was floating as his body was perfectly played.  If this was how Kellach planned on topping him, Trygg would happily bottom any time his mate wished.

When a third finger entered his chute, the burn had him hissing.  He took a steadying breath and did his best to relax.

“Sorry,” Kellach said as he waited for Trygg to adjust.  “I just have this driving need to be fully mated, especially since…” his mate didn’t finish.  He didn’t have to.  Kellach may have had Trygg’s mind and body filled with pleasure but that didn’t mean he’d forgotten they were about to go to battle.  For both of them, it was imperative they be mated first.  Even then, Trygg wouldn’t be happy until the fight was over and his mate was safely in his arms.

“It’s okay.  I feel the same way,” Trygg assured him.

When his muscles relaxed, Kellach quickly finished stretching him.  Need had Trygg pushing down on his mate’s fingers, trying to get them deeper as he chased the orgasm threatening to overwhelm him.  “Kellach, please.  I need you inside of me,” he begged.

Thankfully, his mate didn’t disappoint as he tugged his fingers free.  “Anything my mate wants,” Kellach teased as he lubed up his cock.

Then the blunt head was there at Trygg’s entrance, pushing against the ring of muscles.  Trygg stared into lavender eyes that held so much emotion his breath caught and his heart sped up.

With one push, Kellach’s cock slid inside of him and Trygg was lost as love filled up every cell in his body until he was fairly bursting with it.  He wanted to shout it from the rooftops but words were impossible to get out around the lump that had developed in his throat as the emotions he was feeling threatened to choke him.

His muscle gripped onto Kellach’s prick, drawing him deeper into Trygg’s body.  The moment Kellach’s balls touched his ass, they both groaned, knowing he was buried as deep as possible.

“Fuck, that feels good,” Kellach swore even as his hands gripped Trygg’s hips and he pulled back until just the head was still inside of him.  Then he reversed direction, slamming home once more.  And that’s what if felt like, home.

Spreading his legs even wider, Trygg met Kellach thrust for thrust as they set up a punishing rhythm.  The threat of the upcoming battling pushing them to forge a bond that would last in this life and the next.

“Fuck, you feel so good wrapped around my cock,” Kellach said.

Trygg agreed.  It was amazing having his mate inside of him.  He couldn’t wait to have the opportunity to reverse their positions because he was positive it would just as incredible.

Shouts from outside followed by the rumble of engines had both of them freezing for a moment.  Trygg prayed his mate wouldn’t stop, but he also wouldn’t have blamed Kellach if he had.  There was no telling what was going on outside.  Their gazes met for several heart stopping seconds. Trygg could actually see the various choices going through his mate’s mind.

Just when he was about to cry out in frustration, thinking Kellach was going to pull out, his mate slammed in, increasing their pace.  When his mate started stroking Trygg’s cock in time to his thrusts, Trygg did cry out – in pleasure.

“The world can blow itself up for all I care,” Kellach told him, his lavender eyes blazing with desire.  “But neither of us is leaving this room until we’re mated.”

Kellach’s head dropped down and his canines sank into Trygg’s neck.  Searing pain morphed instantaneously into sheer ecstasy.  His balls slammed into his body.  Trygg’s prick throbbed once, twice before hot jets of fluid spurted out to coat both of their abdomens.

Even as endorphins rushed through him, Trygg leaned up to bury his canines into Kellach’s neck.  His mate cried out, releasing the teeth from Trygg’s neck.  A heartbeat later hot seed poured from Kellach’s cock, filling Trygg’s channel.

When his mate dropped down onto him boneless, Trygg couldn’t help but smile.  Sure, he felt the same, but it was still good know he’d given his mate just as much pleasure.

Another shout from outside had them both stiffening.  But then there was laughter, and they relaxed.  “As much as I would rather stay here to worship this body, I suppose we should get dressed and greet whoever has arrived,” Kellach said even though he didn’t move.

“I think they can handle things a little longer.  Cuddling with my mate is far more important,” Trygg said.  “Don’t you think?”

Apparently Kellach did, for neither of them moved for a good long time. 

CHAPTER 17

“Seriously,” Chadwick griped.  “I get being happy to defeat the Council but I don’t think it’s appropriate to be smiling as we go into battle.”

There was a grin on Kellach’s face that he had no hope of controlling.  Not even the thought of going into battle with the Council’s Army could wipe it away.

He was mated.

Go him.

Kellach stuck his tongue out at his friend.

Trygg chuckled, his hand going to Kellach’s low back. “He’s just jealous we’re so happy, my pretty kitty.”

Even Trygg’s nickname didn’t bother Kellach.  In fact, he preened at being called pretty by his mate.  Trygg was right.  Why would being called pretty be a bad thing?  And why would he care what his father thought of him?  The man had never bothered to even get to know Kellach.  He’d given his only daughter to pay off a debt because he’d double crossed a pack of wolves.  The man wasn’t worth trying to please.

The roar of a motorcycles could be heard coming from the west.  There was also dust rising from the north announcing a large force coming their way.  Kellach didn’t worry about either.  The Council’s men would be coming from the east.  Both groups must be more reinforcements.

When Kellach and Trygg had finally emerged from their room, he was surprised to find just how many were there to support them.  Many packs Kellach didn’t even know existed came to join in the fight.  Apparently there were far more shifters who didn’t believe in the Council’s laws, including banning same sex matings, than anyone had thought.

But it was the sound of something above him that had Kellach’s eyes rounding in surprise.  “A helicopter?”

Trygg grinned.  “That would be Zara, the sister I was telling you about.”

“She likes to make an entrance,” Brecken said with a matching grin.

Dust swirled around them as the limbs of the nearby trees bent as if they were so honored by the new arrival that they had to genuflect.  The helicopter gently touched down and the door opened.  Kellach couldn’t be sure what he expected but he couldn’t have been more wrong.

By the way Trygg had talked about his sister, Zara should have been a giant with bulging muscles.  For some reason, Kellach actually thought she would have blonde hair, like a halo over her head.  Yet as Kellach took in the woman before him, he was surprised to find she was the complete opposite.

“Zara,” Brecken boomed over the noise of the helicopter.  “Welcome to Miracle.”

A smile lit up Zara’s features, giving her an ethereal glow that had Kellach tempted to bow before her as the trees had.  She couldn’t be more than five-feet-four and Kellach would bet she wasn’t even a hundred pounds.  Yet, there as something about Zara that made her appear…formidable.  As if she could take on the world and win without even breaking a sweat.

Dark hair pulled back away from her face in a long braid that showed off her high cheekbones and strong chin.  Even though her body was slight, Kellach could see the muscle definition as she walked toward them under her black long-sleeved shirt and leggings.

The guns strapped to her thighs and shoulders, along with the several knifes and sword at her back only added to her commanding aura.  Zara was not someone to mess with.  Kellach could see why Trygg thought women were equal to men.  Zara didn’t need to be big to prove that.  It was in every movement of her body that she knew how to take care of herself.

“If you would have told me I would be surrounded by gorgeous men, I would have worn something sexier,” Zara joked.

Brecken growled at her.  “And I would have been forced to kill every man here for daring to look at my sister the wrong way.”

Trygg barked out a laugh.  “Oh please.  Brecken is going to get far more looks than Tara.  All the men in Miracle are gay.”

But Zara wasn’t deterred.  “But not all of the men from the other packs are.”

Brecken shot her a mock scowl.  “Don’t make me kill them before the Council’s Army has even gotten here.”

Zara just laughed.

Just then, the roar of engines from the north grew deafening as giant black Hummers turned onto the dirt road that led to where Edrick had set up a command post from their home.

“It looks like Gyan made it after all,” Brecken announced as the first one stopped.  “I wasn’t sure I had been able to convince him to come.”

The driver’s door of the lead vehicle opened and Kellach thought he was going to faint as a man, who looked more like one of the berserkers from Norse times, stepped out.  With his training, it wasn’t often that Kellach was afraid of others, but Kellach had to admit to being glad this man was on their side.

When several more doors opened to reveal equally impressive men and a few women, Kellach actually felt sorry for the Council’s army.  They were going to be crushed if they had to face Gyan’s men.

“Gyan,” Zara squealed.  “You’re here.”  Suddenly she was running and jumping into the much bigger man’s arms, who easily caught her and hugged her tight enough that Kellach feared he’d crush her.

“Of course, I’m here, shorty.  I wouldn’t miss a chance to see my favorite girl,” Gyan said affectionately.

Zara slapped Gyan on the arm but laughed.  “Stop calling me shorty,” she said.  “Compared to you, everyone is short.”

“My mother was originally from the Bluestone Den.  She was a Kodiak Bear and cousin of Gyan’s father.”  Trygg leaned closer to Kellach and whispered.  “After our parents died, Zara and Brecken had a fight and Zara had left Snow Creek for about a decade and stayed with the Bluestone Den.”

“And Brecken tried to demand I return her.”  Gyan’s voice was so deep it nearly sounded like thunder as he talked.

Brecken scowled at the much bigger man, clearly not afraid of him.  “Which I still haven’t forgiven you for, by the way.”

Gyan let out a booming laugh.  “You’re just sore because I kicked your sorry ass when you tried to kidnap her from us.”

Now it was Trygg who laughed.  “Yeah.  That was hilarious.  Up until that moment, Brecken thought he was invincible.  The pretzel you turned him into proved him wrong.”

“He didn’t turn me into a pretzel,” Brecken groused.

“Really,” Zara said with an eyebrow raised.  “Then what would you call having one arm threaded between your legs and up over your back until it touched your shoulder?”

Kellach tried to stop himself from laughing at Brecken, who was basically his brother-in-law now, but he wasn’t very successful.  Brecken shot him a glare but Kellach just shrugged.  It wasn’t like he could take it back at that point.

“You know Jari has a great dip recipe if you ever find yourself turned into a pretzel again,” Chadwick said.  “But in the meantime, we have reports of the Council’s army two hours out so we need to load up before they try to destroy all the hard work I’ve put into rebuilding this town.”

Just like when they’d fought Alpha Abdiel, they would meet the approaching enemy away from town in hopes of saving it.  This time they would move everyone twenty miles east of Miracle. The only reason they’d waited to head out was because they had been waiting to arrive, the men and women who would challenge the current Council.

Both Brecken and Edrick had felt it important that those seven men and women be seen fighting the Council’s army to prove their legitimacy in removing the current members.  Already, in just the couple of hours since Brecken’s video challenge, the Council had denounced Brecken as a valid Alpha, even though he not only has won every challenge ever extended to him, which hadn’t been many according to Trygg, but Brecken was the great, great grandson of the original Alpha of the Snow Creek pack.

They claimed the Council never approved his becoming Alpha, so, as far as they were concerned, there was no current Alpha.  They tried to claim, because of this, they weren’t going to acknowledge the challenge Brecken had issued.  The problem the Council was running into by saying that was that there was no law that said the challenge had to come from an Alpha.  As far as the law read, anyone could issue the challenge.

“The only one not here is Saber.”  Brecken pointed toward the west where the roar of motorcycles was getting closer.  “I assume that is them since I’m not expecting anyone else.”

Edrick gave a nod.  “They should make it before we’re all out of here and they can follow us.”  Edrick headed over to Gyan and held out his hand.  “It’s good to see you again, Gyan.  Glad that you’ve decided to join us.”

Gyan shook Edrick’s hand.  “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.  It’s about time we showed those morons who run the Council what we think about their idiotic laws.”

“Wait,” Kellach said. “How do you know Gyan?”

Gyan gave him a grin that was all teeth.  “Let’s just say Edrick isn’t the only computer expert.”

Edrick rolled his eyes.  “Please.  Gyan is the best hacker I’ve ever known.  There isn’t any system this guy hasn’t been able to get in.”

Red seeped into Gyan’s cheeks at the praise.  Kellach had to admit to being surprised to see Gyan embarrassed.  Still, it was nice to know the giant of a man was human…well, shifter, but same difference.

“Let’s load up,” Edrick called out.

The entire camp scurried to do Edrick’s bidding.  Everyone there had a stake in this battle.  They had all felt the oppression of Council’s laws.  It was time to make a change and return to the old ways.

The battle would be hard and not everyone would survive but it was worth it to gain their freedom back.  Kellach just prayed his mate survived for he wasn’t sure he wanted to live in a world without his mate.

CHAPTER 18

“Okay, listen up,” Edrick called out as the team leaders surrounded him.

Trygg was more than ready to go to battle against the Council.  He, more than most, knew exactly how corrupt they had become.  It had gotten so bad that there were laws currently being enacted to force species to mate with only humans in order to eventually eliminate the human race as the dominant shifter genes always ensures a child born to such a union was a shifter.

“The army is coming from here, here and here,” Edrick said as he pointed with a stick to a map someone had laid on the ground between them.  “Scouts are counting nearly a thousand troops.”

Gasps were heard from all around.  They hadn’t expected so many.  Even Trygg was surprised the Council would send a force that large.  The humans were bound to notice.  Then again, if their plans went into effect, there wouldn’t be any humans left in just a hundred years.  A short time when one considered shifters lived at least five hundred years.

Once the orders had been given out, Trygg pulled his mate to the side.  He needed to know Kellach would survive, no matter what.  “Please promise me you’ll stay safe.”  But even as he said the words, Trygg realized them for the folly they were.

Kellach could no more promise him that than Trygg could.  His mate was a fighter through and through.  “You know I can’t make that promise,” Kellach told him even as he lifted up his hand to cup Trygg’s cheek.  “But I can swear I will do everything in my power to make it back to you.”

Just the thought of never getting to hold this amazing man in his arms again caused his heart to constrict.  The need to claim Kellach in some way had him swooping down and taking those soft lush lips in a bruising kiss that left them both breathless.

“The enemy is five minutes out.  Everyone get in position,” Edrick called over their earpieces.

Reluctantly, Trygg ended the kiss, but no matter how much he tried, he just couldn’t release the hold he had on Kellach.  Pulling him as close as possible, he said what was in his heart.  “I love you my pretty kitty.  There is nothing I wouldn’t do in this world or the next for you.  Please make sure you come back to me.”

His arms tightened even further as he placed his lips on the top of Kellach’s head.  “I just don’t think I survive in a world where you don’t exist.”

He felt Kellach’s arm tighten just as strongly around him and knew his mate felt the same way even if he wasn’t ready to say it.  Trygg understood.  His sweet mate had come so far in such a short time already.  Admitting his feelings of love was just too much for him.  But Trygg didn’t need to hear them.  He felt them all the way to his soul.

Gunfire rang out, splitting them apart in an instant as they both raced to get into position.  Trygg just prayed when all this was over, he would once more be able to hold his mate in his arms.

***

Kellach was mentally kicking himself for being a chicken shit and not telling Trygg he loved him when he had the chance. Now they were in the middle of a brutal battle with shifters from both sides dying all around and Kellach was coming to realize there was a good chance one, if not both, of them may not make it out of this alive.

When faced with death, things had become remarkably clear.  Kellach’s dad was full of shit about his ideas of what made a man.  All that mattered was being true to himself.  To stand up for what he believed in.  But more important than all of that, to love his mate with everything he had inside of him.  Kellach did.  He just wished he’d actually said the words.

A bullet whizzed right past his head and Kellach gave himself a mental slap for not paying better attention.  He needed to focus or he’d never get his chance to tell Trygg how much he loved him.

“Kellach, behind you,” Lucca’s voice rang out over the sounds of battle all around him.

Kellach didn’t bother to turn around first.  He dropped low, the whoosh of a sword could be felt more than heard in the din of the battle.  Kellach pivoted on the balls of his feet, his arm thrust forward, his fist slamming into the man groin of the man who had tried to decapitate him.  The guy dropped like a stone, screaming as he clutched his family jewels.

Even though his training always taught Kellach to finish the man, he just didn’t have it in him to kill a man who was down and defenseless.  It would most likely be a mistake, but it felt too much like murder at that point.

That didn’t mean he was going to leave the man fully armed.  In seconds he had the man stripped of gun, sword and two knives he had strapped to his body.  At least this way the enemy wouldn’t be able to kill easily.

“Fuck,” Edrick said through the earpiece.  “There are at least another five hundred of the Council’s men heading this way from the south.”

Kellach’s heart dropped into his stomach.  They were already outnumbered by more than two to one.  Worse, the battle had been raging for over an hour and they were starting to become exhausted.  If the enemy added fresh fighters into the battle, it would become a massacre.

They had to do something to stop those new soldiers from entering the fight. “Shit,” Hudson yelled from his perch high in a tree out of range of the direct fighting, yet close enough to use his sharpshooting skills.  “Kirill, Crash and Trygg are pinned down.  If they don’t get help soon, they will all be killed.”

Kellach didn’t think, his mountain lion came out.  The shift took seconds and then he was racing in the direction he knew his mate was to be.  Fear gripped him when he got the first whiff of his mate’s blood.  Even over all the gunpowder, sweat and other men’s blood, he could pick out his mate’s unique scent easily.  It called to him.

Zeroing in, he saw his mate, Kirill and Crash all trying to take cover behind an outcropping of trees.  But the enemy wasn’t letting up, giving the men little opportunity to return fire.  Kellach didn’t think, he just roared at the injustice of his mate’s certain death.

The enemy heard him and turned, aiming their weapons at him.  It would be impossible for them to miss as he was out in the open, but Kellach had an advantage.  He was small, and fast.  Very fast.

Darting to the left, he heard guns ringing out around him, except, as the enemy had turned away from Trygg, Kirill and Crash, they, now, weren’t the only ones firing.  The cries of men being shot down were horrifying, but not something Kellach wasn’t used to by this time.  He’d had to hear the same thing since the battle started.

That was until one cry reached his ears that had his heart stopping in his chest.  Suddenly, Kellach went from dodging bullets to racing right toward the enemy.  They must have been startled by his abrupt change of direction, for they stopped shooting for just a moment, but it was plenty of time for Kirill and Crash to finish them off.

When he reached Trygg’s side, the enemy no longer was shooting at them.  Not that it would last long as there were still just too many of them left to hope they would be left alone while Kellach checked on his mate.

The sight of blood pooling around Trygg’s body greeted Kellach.  Shifting back to his human form, Kellach knelt beside his fallen mate.  “Trygg, talk to me.”

Nothing.

Trygg didn’t even move.

Please be alive.

Kellach reached a shaking hand toward his mate’s chest, praying over and over again his mate was alive.  His palm lay flat over Trygg’s heart and Kellach was gasping for much needed air as he felt his mate’s heartbeat.

Hot tears streamed down his cheeks as he thanked the Gods that his mate was still alive.  But with all the blood Trygg was losing, he wouldn’t stay that way for long if he didn’t get him help.  “I have to get him to Nole,” he said to no one in particular but knew Kirill and Crash heard him.  “He can’t die.  Not yet.”

It just wouldn’t be fair for him to lose Trygg so quickly. Kellach hadn’t told his mate how much he loved him.

Kirill strode forward and bent down to pick Trygg up like he weighed nothing.  Then again, compared to Kirill he probably didn’t. Kirill was just that big.

Not wasting any time, Kellach and Crash made sure to cover the defenseless Kirill until they managed to get behind their own line.  Once Kirill had Trygg placed in the bed of truck to be transported to Miracle where Nole was set up to treat the wounded, Kellach jumped into the driver’s seat.

He threw out a thanks through the window before peeling out of the grassy area they had parked the vehicles.  He drove like a bat out of hell, praying the whole way that his mate would live.  For Kellach just didn’t know how he was supposed to survive in a world without his mate.

CHAPTER 19

“What the fuck do you mean he’s too busy to see Trygg,” Kellach shouted at Jari.  “You tell Nole to get out here, now.”

But Jari wasn’t backing down.  Kellach was beginning to think Jari finding his spine wasn’t such a good thing.  “I told you, he’s in surgery.  There’s no way he can stop now.”

There was a part of Kellach that understood what Jari was telling him, but he was beyond caring, beyond reason, beyond anything but saving his mate.  “I don’t care,” he told his friend.  “Trygg is going to die if Nole doesn’t get out here to help him.”

Jari glanced at all the blood that was dripping from Trygg’s body and onto the bed of the truck.  As much as it pained Kellach to admit, he couldn’t even lift his mate into the house where Nole had set up a medical office for times like these.

Shifters normally didn’t require a lot of medical care but that didn’t mean they couldn’t be hurt, or killed.  Kellach could attest to that after the carnage he’d just witnessed.  Both sides had lost men and if Edrick was right and there was another five hundred soldiers headed their way, that carnage would grow exponentially.

Kellach refused to allow his mate to be one of those casualties.  Jumping up into the back of the truck, he leaned down to whisper into his mate’s ear.  “Please don’t leave me.  I never got the chance to tell you I love you.”

Determined that he would have the opportunity, Kellach went to work ripping the clothes from his mate’s body to find the wound.  “Get me water and lots of it,” he ordered Jari.  As his friend raced into the house, Kellach yelled after him.  “And bandages.”

He had no idea what else he might need but Kellach wasn’t about to lose his mate.  “Come on Trygg, stay with me.  Don’t you dare leave me or I swear to the Gods I will find your ass in the afterlife and…”  Kellach had nothing.  The fact was, if he was lucky enough to see his mate in the afterlife, Kellach would drop to his knees and thank the Gods for letting him see his Trygg again.

Jari came running with his biggest pot filled to the brim with water, if the amount of it sloshing out of the top was any indication.  Iniko, his arms filled with towels and what Kellach assumed were sealed bandages.

It had taken all of Kellach’s strength but he managed to turn his mate’s dead weight over to find a bullet hole in his back.  Since there wasn’t a matching one in the front, Kellach had to assume the bullet was still lodged inside.  That wasn’t good.  Kellach knew nothing about medicine.  He could just as easily kill his mate as save him.

Yet he also knew that bullet had to come out.  “Get up here and help me,” he told his friends.

Jari had placed the pot on the tailgate and rushed to climb into the truck.  Iniko on the other hand placed his load in the bed of the truck and backed away.  “Yeah, thanks but I don’t think so.  Blood is just not my thing.”

Kellach glared at him.  “I don’t give a rat’s ass.  Now get up here and help me.”

Iniko shuddered when he glanced at Trygg but he did as Kellach asked.  The three of them managed to clean away most of the blood and staunch the flow so that it just trickled from the wound.  He just prayed that would be enough until Nole was able to pull the bullet out.

Until then, all Kellach could do was pray.  “Please don’t leave me.  I love you with all my heart.  I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you earlier.  Please come back to me.”  He kept whispering those words over and over again as he lay next to his mate with an arm around him.

Tears streamed down his face, but he refused to give up.  When Trygg shuddered as his breathing became more ragged, Kellach was sure he was about to lose him.  His gaze found Jari and he pleaded with his friend. “Please tell Nole, Trygg is going to die if he doesn’t hurry.”

Jari nodded and raced off into the house.

“Please, love, fight,” he begged Trygg.  “I need you to stay with me.  Who else will tell me what an nit wit I’m being for believing the idiotic things my father taught me?”  He closed his eyes when Trygg’s breathing stopped for a full thirty seconds before starting again.

Hot tears dripped down Kellach’s face.  “Who’s going to love me if you’re not here?  Who’s going to hold me at night?”  He hadn’t even gotten the chance to experience that because of his stupid pride.  “I’m so sorry I pushed you away but you can’t leave me.”

“He won’t if I have anything to say about it,” Nole said as he leapt into the back of the truck with a bag.  “In less than a second the bag was opened and Nole was pulling out a scalpel, cutting through the bandages Kellach had painstakingly packed against his mate to stop him from bleeding out.

Kellach was sure it wasn’t more than twenty minutes but it felt like years he waited as Nole opened up Trygg’s wound so he could see the bullet.  After pulling it out, he sewed the edges of Trygg’s skin together.  Together they turned him so he was lying on his side.

When Nole ordered Kellach to open up his wrist and feed Trygg his blood, he didn’t hesitate.  There was nothing he wouldn’t do for this man.

“It will take a time for his body to regenerate the blood he’s lost, but he should be fine. I don’t have anyone here who can help move him.  For now, just let him rest here and when someone comes who can help lift him, we’ll take him to your room,” Nole said as he put the few instruments he had used in a plastic bag and jumped down off the truck.  “Have someone come get me if you need me.”

Then he was gone, rushing back onto the porch, where men had been laid out in hopes of being patched up.  Too many of them would most likely die.  As a shifter, only mortal wounds would bring them to Nole, otherwise they would just shift in battle to heal themselves.

Knowing Nole, he would work tirelessly to save as many as he could, but the harsh realities were, if those men were there on the porch, they were nearly dead already.

His hand went to Trygg, once more praying his mate would live.  Wanting to be closer, Kellach once more lay down next to Trygg, getting as close as he dared.  The warmth of his mate’s breath on his face was comforting as he gazed at Trygg’s rugged features.

His mate was all man.  No one would ever mistake him for anything else.  The more he was around Trygg, the more Kellach was beginning to question those beliefs he’d always had about what a man was.  His mate was about as manly as they come, yet he not only willing bottomed, he enjoyed it.

But it was more than that.  Trygg was kind, considerate, compassionate and caring.  He never hesitated in admitting his feelings, even when he was scared.  There was no way in hell Kellach’s father would have ever done something he would have considered weak. Yet with Trygg, he didn’t make it seem that way.

If anything, he showed Kellach that being honest about those feelings was the bravest thing anyone could do.  He just hoped he’d get the chance to show Trygg that he could be that man.

“I love you, Trygg,” he whispered.  Leaning just a bit closer, he gently kissed his mate letting the love he felt for this amazing man flow into the kiss.

“I love you, too, sweet kitty,” Trygg whispered back.

Kellach gasped.  His gaze flew to those golden eyes he loved looking at to find them staring right back at him.  “You’re alive.”

Trygg’s lips twitched up just a fraction.  “I don’t know, you in my arms telling me you love me sounds more like heaven.”

He was sure the smile on his face could be seen miles away at his mate’s sweet words.  Life may not have been exactly easy and Kellach doubted it would be smooth sailing from here but that was okay.  With Trygg by his side, loving him, Kellach was ready for whatever came their way, just so long as at the end of the day he was lying in Trygg’s arms as they professed their love for each other.

EPILOGUE

“Okay, quiet down,” Brecken called out to the crowd.  He stood on Edrick’s front porch, with Edrick, and the other Alpha’s that had come to join in the fight by his side.

The battle had been bloody with too many causalities.  After the Council’s overwhelming reinforcements had joined in the fight, Kellach had thought they were doomed.  But then again, Kellach had never seen Saber and his men in action.  If Kellach thought he and his friends were deadly, Saber and his men were demons from Hell itself.

Death radiated from every cell in their body, forcing all who came near them to tremble in fear.  According to Chadwick and Hudson, Saber was like an entire army all on his own.  Nothing seemed to touch him.  Chadwick said he watched five men attack Saber all at once from different sides, yet in blur too fast for Chadwick to take in, Saber had cut them down without even one of them managing to get close enough to do any damage.

After witnessing Saber in action, Chadwick had started crossing himself whenever the deadly man was around.  It would have been hilarious if Kellach didn’t find himself wanting to do the same the first time he met Saber.  The man’s intense coal black eyes seemed to be able to see right into Kellach’s soul.  It was as if Saber were judging him and Kellach had to admit to not being able to breathe easy until Saber gave him a nod and shook his hand.

Since they had won, they now had to wait for the Council to come to them to see if they will accept the challenges given them.  It was doubtful they would show.  Any who did, would most likely try to use some sort of trick to defeat his or her challenger.  Although there were a couple of the Council members who were pretty strong in their own right and would likely believe they could defeat anyone who dared oppose them.

They would be wrong.

Trygg had seen what each of the men and women who had volunteered to not only face a member of the Council in the ring, but to take their position if they succeeded in defeating them.  He also knew each shifter on the Council. Trygg would bet on each of them losing.

If wasn’t because some of them couldn’t win, because at least two members had a good chance.  It was their cockiness that would be their downfall.  The Council had grown too powerful, too warped in their belief they were undefeatable.

Anyone, no matter their size or skill, could be beaten.  It was something Trygg had learned in his many years as a Hunter for the Council.  Even the mighty had a weakness.

“We’ve had word that four out of the seven Council members are on their way here.  The other three have disappeared.”  Brecken’s announcement wasn’t exactly a surprise.  Trygg was pretty sure he could guess which three had run.

“Regrettably what happens with those three seats will depend largely on what happens with the four who have accepted the challenges.”  The crowd groaned and moaned about the laws and that those three seats should be forfeit.

They were right, but the reality was, the four Council members who had accepted the challenges would need to lose for the law to be enforced.  “All right,” Brecken shouted.  “Settle down.”

Once the crowd had become quiet he said, “We have plans to set up a ceremonial ring, so please make sure to get with Chadwick to see if you can help with anything.  The first challenge will take place at eight in the morning the day after tomorrow.  The second challenge will take place one hour after the first one is done and so on until all four have finished.”

Brecken motioned to the group standing just off the side of the front porch.  “I’d like to introduce you to the seven men and women who have challenged the Council for their positions.”

The crowd erupted in applause as the seven men and women stepped up onto the porch.  “Tanis Cruz from the Angel Pride,” Brecken announced when the first woman approached.

Tanis was tall and lithe, who walked with the feline grace of her lion.  Her golden hair and sparkling blue eyes gave her the appearance of an angel, but Trygg wasn’t fooled.  Tanis was as deadly as they come.  She had ten older brothers who had been determined no man would ever touch her.  So they’d trained her to fight by any means necessary to ensure no harm came to her.

As Brecken continued the introductions, Trygg put his arms around his mate, glad they had both survived, even if he was still sore from being shot.  His wound had mostly healed, but it still pulled if he moved too quickly.

Still, they were alive and he had his mate in his arms.  “With my being injured I’d be willing to bet everyone would understand if we had to go upstairs and rest,” he murmured in Kellach’s ear.

His mate tilted his head back and gave him the most radiant smile.  “And would we really be resting if we did that?”

Trygg moved his eyebrows up and down suggestively.  “Hell no, but they don’t need to know that.”

Something within Trygg settled happily when Kellach chuckled.  The sound was like a balm to his weary soul.  They had been through so much already and Trygg wasn’t naïve enough to believe it would be over any time soon.  Even if their people won against the Council, there was little doubt there would be those who would fight to keep things as they were.

“And finally,” Brecken’s voice boomed over the crowd capturing both Trygg’s and Kellach’s attention once more.  “I would like to introduce the man who has challenged Chief Refugio Costa for leadership of the Council, Saber Thorsen.”

Trygg studied the man his brother introduced.  Saber was the only one of the seven challengers he’d never met.  The man had been elusive.  Many believed him to nothing more than myth, but Trygg had known better.  The Council’s file on Saber had been over twelve inches thick, yet no matter how much information they had gathered, none of the hunters had ever found him.

“Damn,” Kellach said with shutter.  “I’m not easily afraid, but that guy could give me nightmares.”

Trygg couldn’t agree more.  It wasn’t his size, which was impressive at around six-feet-four and probably two hundred and twenty-five pounds but it was the air of death that seemed to surround Saber.  The man exuded danger.

From the reports Trygg had read, that wasn’t far off the mark.  The ape shifter had a way of creating a path of destruction that was hard to hide.  But whenever the Council sent someone to investigate, the survivors kept their mouths shut about what had caused it.

“I just hope Brecken knows what he’d doing by asking Saber to take over the Council,” Trygg murmured to his mate.  “Admittedly I don’t know him, but from what I’ve heard, that man is dangerous.”

“Now that you’ve met the challengers, I expect everyone here to help get things ready for the main event in two days.”  Brecken gestured to Edrick.  “If you have any questions, direct them to Alpha Edrick.”

Cheers went up as those on the porch disbanded.

“So?” Kellach asked with a wickedly sexy grin as he turned in Trygg’s arms to face him.  “You ready to get some much needed rest?”

“How could I say no to that?” Trygg leaned down to kiss his mate’s soft lips.  When he finally lifted his head amongst several catcalls and whistles, they were both breathing heavy.  “I’m not sure anyone’s going to believe that we’re going to rest if we keep this up.”

Kellach shrugged.  “As long as no one tries to stop us, I don’t care what anyone thinks.  I just want to go up to our room so you can fuck me into the mattress.”

There was no stopping the groan that erupted from Trygg’s throat at the thought of finally sinking into his mate’s tight body.  That it was his mate to suggest it, only made it that much sweeter.  “You don’t care about being the bottom?” he asked to be sure.

But his mate shot him a grin.  “Nope.  It took my very loving mate to make me see there is no such thing as being weak so long as I’m true to myself.”

“I love you, my pretty kitty.”

Kellach lifted up on his tiptoes to press their lips together.  “I love you, too.  Now take me upstairs and make love to me, mate.”

“Gladly.”  Trygg took his mate’s hand and raced into the house and up the stairs to their room.  Their laughter could be heard as the door slammed shut.

There was no predicting what life would throw at them in the next few days, weeks, months or even years.  Even with the threat of the Council coming here, the furniture for Kellach’s bar had been ordered and would arrive, with any luck, the day after they defeated the Council for their seats.

Kellach had even asked Trygg to be a full partner in the bar and run it with him.  How could Trygg be anything but happy?  Sure the future may be uncertain, but right now, with Kellach in his arms, Trygg couldn’t ask for anything more.   