Chapter 28: Mating Pull

On New Year’s Eve, I went to the hospital in an ambulance after the hit and run. New Year’s Day, we almost lost Liv during her first shift and brought five families into the Pack. Yesterday, Alpha Todd was arrested and my brother said goodbye before heading back for a showdown at Marengo.

It had been a hell of a holiday week already, and I hadn’t watched a single parade or football game.

Now it was Friday. Liv was still hampered by the stitched-up gashes on her leg, some of which had reopened during her last shift. She wasn’t supposed to shift again until the skin had healed together, at least a week from now. Sharkbait was recovering well, and the restrictions on her activities were being loosened since she wasn’t having headaches or dizziness. She still had a day or two left before I’d let her shift again, just to be safe. Anita’s arm was giving her some pain, but her cast would come off in six more weeks. In the meantime, she couldn’t shift. And me? I was an ad for The Scooter Store for two more weeks before I could get a walking boot, and my arm had to stay in a sling for another three days.

The most unhappy of us right now was Sharkbait. Liv was able to wrap her leg up tightly and get into a boot, which allowed her to go snowmobiling with Brent and two other guards. I knew that in the big picture, Liv wasn’t the real target, Vicki was, so I was all right with them leaving. It would give Brent some time alone with her, and they could have a romantic lunch date alone.

With guards in a nearby booth. Still, it would be Liv’s first ‘date’ in over five years. She didn’t even know why she was so nervous about picking out the ‘right’ clothes until I reminded her that, at most, she’d take her snowmobile suit down to her waist. Now that the two could talk mentally, they would have a lot of time to get to know each other better.

They had been gone for an hour, and Vicki was NOT happy that she could not go. “We can’t have your head banging around inside that helmet, Sharkbait,” I said. “There will be other days to go.”

“But Unky Leo, I’ve barely had any FUN this vacation!”

“No fun? Going to SeaLife wasn’t fun? Going snowmobiling wasn’t fun? Having your Unky Leo over for Christmas wasn’t fun?” She wasn’t convinced. “Eating prime rib until your belly looked like you swallowed a ball, then throwing up in the ambulance wasn’t fun?”

“UNKY LEO!” I laughed at her attitude. “School starts tomorrow, and I can’t do ANYTHING.”

“You aren’t going back to school, little one. We can’t protect you there yet, so you’re going to be staying home.”

Her eyes got wide, and she punched a fist into the air. “YAAAAY! NO SCHOOL, NO SCHOOL!”

That was when Lois Temple walked into the room. “Yes, school, young lady,” she said. It was like Vicki was a balloon poked with a pin, she deflated so fast. “I’ll be working with your teachers to get the units and your assignments, and we’ll do them up in your kitchen. That way you won’t be behind when you can go back.”

“When,” she asked.

“When Uncle Leo finds the people who are trying to hurt you and stops them,” I said. “I don’t know how long it will take, but I will make it happen. You can count on me.”

She leaned back into my chest as we sat on the couch together. “What should we watch next?”

“I know the perfect show for you, young lady,” Lois said. “It’s a show called The Aquarium on Animal Planet.”

“Do they have sharks,” Vicki asked. “I won’t watch it if they don’t have sharks.”

“They have whale sharks the size of a school bus,” Lois said as she sat down in the chair and grabbed the remote. She found the shows and sat with us as we started from the beginning.

“That shark is HUGE,” she said as she saw the whale shark, which was a slow-moving filter feeder. “The tank is SO BIG!”

“It’s the largest aquarium in the world, with over ten million gallons of water,” I told her as I looked down at the article on my phone. “It has about eight times as much water as the SeaLife aquarium.”

She was absolutely fascinated, and Connie just brought us our sandwiches for lunch so we could keep watching. She loved the playful sea otters and the big sea turtle. We were still watching the episodes after it got dark when Brent and Liv returned. She was flushed and smiling. “Did you have a fun date,” I asked.

“Mommy mated?”

“No, Mommy is not mated,” Liv said quickly.

“Yet,” Brent whispered.

She came over and smacked me behind the head. “What?”

“You knew we were mates and you didn’t tell me!”

“You weren’t ready yet,” I said.

“I’m not ready for this NOW,” she said as she put her hands on her hips, the same way Vicki did when she was upset. Laughing at her probably wasn’t the right thing, and she smacked the back of my head again. “It’s not funny.”

“Momma have sex now,” Vicki said matter-of-factly before she turned back to watch the show.

“No… I’m…. AAARRRGH!” She ran up to her room and slammed the door behind her.

“It went that well?” I shook my head.

“She wanted to know why I was so clingy, and I couldn’t lie to her,” he said. “She’s frustrated. Her mind is saying no no no but her body and her wolf are saying yes yes yes.”

“She won’t be able to resist forever,” Lois said. “Her wolf will keep pushing her until she accepts the bond.”

“She’s agreed to date me,” he said. “She will introduce me as her boyfriend, hold my hand in public, and we’ve had our first kiss. She has to get used to the idea of having a mate before it can move forward, and I’ll give her that time.”

“She won’t come down for a while, so you may as well watch with us.” He lifted Sharkbait up off the couch, sitting on one end so she was trapped between us. She was crying over the sea lion who lost his eye to a detached retina when it was time for dinner. “Can you go upstairs and wash up, and bring Mommy down,” I asked.

“Okay, Unky Leo,” she said. By the time the two came downstairs to join us, most of us had already started eating. Her eyes looked like she had been crying. Brent helped get Sharkbait settled, cutting up her big piece of ham and putting a blob of cheesy potatoes on her plate next to the green beans. “Ham tastes better now,” she said.

“A lot of things are different once your wolf senses kick in,” I said.

“I’m figuring that out,” Liv responded. “How could Brent know I was his mate? I didn’t have a wolf.”

Larry took that one. “We don’t know how Luna picks out her mates. I have faith that she knew what she was doing and that you were always meant to be one of us.” He looked across the table at her. “Is there something wrong with knowing you have a man who was made just for you, who will love you more than himself for the rest of your lives together?”

She sat back, a little shocked. “I always thought I would get to choose the man I fell in love with.”

Donna picked it up. “Do you believe in love at first sight? The fairy-tale romance?”

“That’s different,” I said.

“Is it? You should be thanking Luna for the gift she has given you. You don’t have to worry about him cheating on you because you’ll be able to feel over the bond if he does. You don’t have to worry about divorce because it’s exceedingly rare among our kind. Talk to your wolf; she is already in love. I think your human is as well, you are just afraid of love.”

“I don’t have time for love,” she said.

“You don’t have time to live without it,” I said. “I had twenty-five years with my mate, and they were the best years of my life. I would give anything to have her back.”

Larry took Donna’s hand. “We have been mated for over forty years now. She’s the best thing in my life.”

Mike took Anita’s hand. “I will do anything if only to see my Anita smile,” he said.

Brent took her hand. “You aren’t alone now. You don’t have to work to support yourself, and your life doesn’t have to focus on your daughter. Vicki is growing older; she has Pack mates her age, and a whole Pack to look out for her. She’s happy here. You don’t have to sacrifice your happiness for hers, Liv. You deserve it, too.”

“Momma, I want to go to the Atlanta Aquarium for my birthday,” Vicki said as he finished off her ham. I started to laugh, and soon everyone else did too. The previous moment had been so poignant, so emotional, and Sharkbait didn’t care. She wanted her sharks.

“You don’t want to get in shark cages with Great White Sharks swimming around you?” It was fun teasing her.

“CAN I? SHARK SHARK SHARK!” She was moving her arms like shark jaws, pretending to take a bite out of Mommy’s shoulder.

“I don’t think they allow tiny shark bait like to be used to attract sharks,” I teased her. “The big ones want a steak. You’re more like a fun-sized candy bar waiting to be unwrapped. If we put you in a shark cage, you might fall out!” She huffed and glared at me.

My cellphone rang, and it wasn’t someone I expected to hear from. I backed away from the table. “Hello?”

“Alpha Leo, it’s Susan Miller. Can I beg a few moments of your time?” Susan Miller was Todd’s mate and the Luna of the Welch Pack. I still respected her, even as I wanted her mate’s blood in my teeth.

“Of course, Luna,” I said. I opened the bond to Mark and Anita as I drove to my office. “How may I help you?”

“Everything is falling apart over here,” she said. “Todd was not granted bail, but even if he was, I don’t have any cash to bail him out. I need help from you, and fast,” she said.

“Todd owns a majority of Volkov Construction,” I said. “Can’t you borrow against that?”

“I do the books for the company, Leo. It’s been losing money for two years, and he’s borrowed against both the company and our home. We’re completely tapped out, and with Todd in jail, the creditors will be all up my ass. I have less than a month until I have to declare bankruptcy.” I had no idea it was so bad. “It’s getting worse, because I’m losing Pack members to you and to other Packs, and they are quitting Volkov as they leave. My children and I will be out on our asses by spring at this rate.”

I had to know something. “Your husband tried to kill me and my friends, Susan. Why should I care about his family being left destitute?”

Susan paused before she answered. “Todd told me what you warned him about at Wiederholt’s. He did it anyway, and he missed his chance. I’m begging you, Leo. I know you aren’t that man. Take back the company and leave my family enough that we can start anew somewhere far from here.”

“And Todd?”

“Todd will do what he needs to do for his family, Leo.”

I let out a sigh. I hadn’t planned to get back into the business, but a large portion of the Pack I now had, and those that would join, looked to Volkov Construction for their livelihood. Todd might be the largest owner, but he wasn’t the only one. If the company declared bankruptcy, many of them would lose a big chunk of their wealth. “We have a funeral tomorrow, and I need some time to bring in an accountant to look at the books with me. If it is as bad as you say, I will see what I can do. Bring the financials over tomorrow afternoon at three.”

“I’ll be there,” she said. “I’m so sorry, Leo. I always liked you.”

“Thank you, Susan.” I hung up, closing my eyes as I started to think about it.

What a mess.