Enticed (Two Marks 3)

“That’s a bold promise,” Gibson observed neutrally.

“Well, I’m a bold woman,” she countered, tipping her chin up.

A slow smile grew on Gibson’s face. “I have heard that about you,” he said mildly.

Ali flushed, and I wrapped an arm around her waist from behind, pulling her tight against my body. She melted against me and I was glad to offer her the reassurance she needed.

“Welcome to the pack, Ali,” Gib said, his words loud enough to carry. There was a formal ring to his voice, like this was an induction. “We appreciate you protecting our pack members, as we will always protect you.”

Goosebumps covered Ali’s skin. I kissed the mark I’d left on her shoulder. Theo reached for her hand.

“Thank you.” Her voice cracked a little as she answered, and she cleared it and offered a wobbly smile.

It was done. Gibson had accepted her into the pack even though she came from the enemy camp—to his eyes, and everyone else’s who surrounded us. But if the alpha considered her one of ours, then the others would as well.

“There you are!” Bessie, the diner owner, peeked out from the kitchen and gave us a wave. “Come on in here. We were just talking about you three.”

“Who is we?” Ali murmured, leaning into me. We had yet to tell her about shifter hearing, so she wasn’t aware that Bessie had probably heard her question.

“Don’t forget that shifter hearing makes private conversations impossible around here,” Theo murmured back. Yeah, we’d thought the same thing.

“Oh?” Ali asked, blushing. I kissed her temple, letting her know she was perfect just the way she was. No one expected her to know everything about a completely different culture—even if it had been in her own town—all at once.

We stepped into the giant kitchen and found Rachel and Caitlin working with Bessie at the center island. Rachel was cutting watermelon into slices while Caitlin formed burger patties between her hands.

“Hi guys,” Rachel greeted us.

“Heard you put a bullet in each of your mates,” Bessie chirped, arranging hamburger buns on a giant platter. There was no rancor in her voice so I didn’t take exception to the topic. “That’s one way to start off a new relationship.”

Ali didn’t take offense, either. She smiled and walked over to the counter, picking up another bag of buns and pitching in like it was the most natural thing in the world to her. “It was that or take the chance Tim Hollaroy would shoot for their heads. I just hoped Rachel knew what she was talking about when she told me they’d recover.”

Rachel set another patty on the plate. “I’m so glad we talked. God, you must have been so freaked out!”

“Takes more than a bullet to put our kind down,” Bessie said, steering the conversation away from getting Ali upset again.

Our mate sometimes woke up in the middle of the night from bad dreams, sweaty and panicked about what she’d done, but we soothed her. Told her we were fine. That we’d never leave her.

“Usually,” she added. Then, with a smile, she offered, “Welcome to the pack, honey.” The short stout she-wolf came around to the same side of the island and wrapped Ali in a grandmotherly hug.

Ali received the embrace with grace, and looked at me with wide-eyed surprise. “Thank you. I’m honored. It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

I loved the sound of that.

“You hear that?” I said to Theo. “Looks like she won’t be aiming for our heads next time, after all.”

This time, Ali laughed, which was what I’d hoped for.

“Hi, I’m Caitlin.” Landry’s and Wade’s mate washed and dried her hands to offer a handshake to Ali. “I’m also relatively new to the pack.”

“We’re the newbie not-wolves,” Rachel said, pointing between herself and Caitlin. “They don’t seem to hold that against us, though.”

“Of course we don’t,” Bessie said firmly. “You’re the future of this pack. Fate wouldn’t have picked you for our young men if you weren’t the answer.”

“Answer to what?” Ali asked.

“Their particular species of shifter is going extinct,” Caitlin explained. “We believe the mating instinct being triggered by human females, not just here but in other packs as well, is nature’s way of ensuring survival.”

“Caitlin is a wolf biologist,” I explained.

“Is that how you met your mates?” Ali asked.

“Uh, yes.” Caitlin’s embarrassed laugh rang out. “You’re not the only one with a complicated start. They caught me trespassing, trying to tag wolves. You can imagine how that went over.”

Bessie chuckled but Ali had stilled, biting her lip and looking at the floor. “Yeah… I heard about the wolf tags. I know my father was a part of that, and I’m terribly sorry for the pain it caused.”

“You and me both,” Caitlin said. “I thought I was doing research. I had no idea my advisor was selling the locators on the tags to your father and the other ranchers.”