She glanced over her shoulder to see them running toward her. When she looked back at the place where Gideon had been standing, he was gone.
And then she heard his voice in her mind. Good job, Wolfie. Go enjoy your victory. I’ll see you soon.
Before she could reply, the members of the pack had surrounded her. Needing to make sure her aunt was going to be all right, she shifted, then stood there, shivering a little as the wind picked up.
Tyler Red Elk broke away from the pack. Removing his shirt, he wrapped it around her shoulders. “You’re bleeding.”
Only then did Kay become aware of the numerous bites and scratches on her arms and legs, feel the pain from the deep gouge in her right side where Victor’s teeth had savaged her. But it was a small price to pay for her aunt’s life.
She felt a rush of relief when she saw Brett gently lift Greta into his arms and start toward the compound. Calling, “Wait,” she hurried after them.
“Is something wrong?” Brett asked, frowning.
“No.” Kay covered her aunt’s hand with her own. “I didn’t side with Victor because I wanted to. You know that, don’t you?”
“It doesn’t matter, Kiya,” Greta said. “He’s … he was your husband.”
“That had nothing to do with it. I never would have chosen him over you, but he threatened to kill you if I didn’t put his name up as Alpha. And I believed him.” Kay squeezed her aunt’s hand. “There’s something else you need to know. My father’s death wasn’t an accident. Victor hired someone to kill him. Gideon saw it all.”
“I don’t believe it!” Brett exclaimed. “He wouldn’t—”
“He did.”
“Kiya, I’m so sorry,” Greta said.
“You’re our Alpha now,” Brett said. “We’re behind you all the way.” He glanced at his wife, worry lining his brow. “We’ll see you back at the house.”
Kay nodded. “I’ll be along soon.”
Bobby One Horse came up beside her. “You need to get up to the house, too,” he said. “Those bites need tending.”
Kay nodded. Bobby was the pack doctor. “I’ll be all right.”
“Victor was an Alpha. Those bites won’t heal as quickly. I’ll feel better once I clean them up.”
“All right, but go and take care of Greta first. And have someone dispose of the body.”
Bobby smiled at her. “As you wish, Alpha.”
Lying on her bed upstairs while the doctor tended her wounds, Kay overheard snatches of conversation from downstairs as the members of the pack rehashed Victor’s battle with Greta, and then Victor’s battle with Kay. One and all, they agreed that both she and Greta had upheld the honor of the Shadow Pack.
With her wounds tended to, Kay donned a long-sleeved, red silk dress that covered the half-healed wounds on her arms and legs, took a deep breath, and went downstairs where she accepted the congratulations of those present. Then, calling for silence, she stood before all the members of the pack and demanded their fealty.
One by one, each pack member over the age of eighteen came forward and swore allegiance to her, promising to defend her and the Shadow Pack to the death.
It was the most moving night of her life. What would her father think if he could see her now?
Feeling a sudden need to be alone, she slipped out the back door and made her way to the cemetery.
She hadn’t gone far when she sensed Gideon’s presence. Moments later, he materialized beside her. “Do you want me here?” he asked. “Or would you rather be alone?”
“Stay.” She bit down on her lower lip to keep from crying when he took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze.
Side by side, they made their way to the meadow.
Gideon leaned against one of the cottonwood trees outside the fence while Kay went inside and knelt at her mother’s grave.
Kay bowed her head in prayer, silent tears tracking her cheeks.
She deserved a good cry, Gideon thought, watching her. She had lost her parents. She had almost lost her aunt. She had killed the man who was her husband. She had taken over the position of Alpha, and all that it entailed.
Looking at her, his heart swelled with sympathy and pride. His wife was a hell of a woman.
His head snapped up as he caught the scent of wolf.
Alpha wolf.
A second breath and he identified the intruder as Victor’s father. Before he had time to consider the man’s presence in the vicinity, the wolf vaulted over the fence and knocked Kay to the ground.
Gideon was on the wolf in an instant. His hands locked around the animal’s throat. With one quick twist, he broke the wolf ’s neck, then tossed the carcass aside and reached for Kay.
“Are you all right?” he asked, helping her to her feet.
She nodded, too stunned to speak.
“Are you sure?”
Nodding again, she glanced at the dead wolf, who even now was reverting to his human form. And then she swore softly. “Do you know what this means?” she exclaimed. “I’ve only been Alpha for a few hours, and we’re already on the verge of war.”
Gideon opened his preternatural senses, his gaze sweeping the darkness. “You’d better get back to the house,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anyone else out here, but there’s no sense taking chances.”
“Come with me?”
“You’ll have to invite me in again.”
“As Alpha, you will always be welcome in my home,” she said, kissing his cheek. “This invitation is irrevocable.”
“So,” Kay said, after explaining what had occurred at the cemetery. “What are our options?”
Sitting in the easy chair beside the hearth, she glanced from her aunt to Brett and back again. Greta sat on the sofa in the living room, her broken leg propped up on a footstool. It would be healed by morning.
Brett sat next to her. Gideon stood beside the hearth. He had carried Diego Rinaldi’s body back to the compound, wrapped it in a sheet, and left it in the barn.
Greta shook her head. “If we’re careful, we should be able to avert a war. After all, you defeated Victor fair and square. And Rinaldi attacked you from behind with obvious intent to kill you. They can’t blame Gideon for defending you.”
Kay shook her head. She hoped Greta was right and that the Green Mountain Pack would realize that Victor’s father had transgressed pack law by not openly challenging Kay to a fair fight to redress his grievances, but somehow, she didn’t think the wolves of the Green Mountain Pack would see it that way.