Wolf Next Door (5 page)

The house needed to be inventoried, and she needed to make some decisions. At the top of the stairs, her stomach began to rumble. Tyler’s scent lingered, but the smell of frying ham and fresh coffee overlaid it.

At the bottom step, she paused to listen. Tyler’s scent was stronger on the first floor, and only one set of footsteps echoed in the kitchen. If he was cooking, he’d shifted to human. Licking her lower lip, she made her way through the living room to the kitchen.

Ty stood at the stove wearing only a pair of jeans. Bruises mottled his back and his left arm looked like someone had taken a meat tenderizer to it. Without turning he said, “Coffee’s in the pot. I have no idea how you take it.”

His voice poured over her like warm honey despite his terse tone and impersonal information.

“I grabbed some muffins from Mom. She said you always liked the blackberry ones.” A shrug. “So, they’re on the table.”

Sparing a glance to the table where she’d sat alone to eat the night before, she blinked slowly. It was set with clean dishes, place settings, and silverware. The sun shone into the sitting nook glass and warmed the spot.

“I’m making eggs and ham. If you want something else, you can go find it because your fridge is empty.”

She hadn’t exactly had time to shop and, if not for his mother’s basket of food, she’d probably have gone hungry the night before. “Thank you,” she said, after searching for two words to rub together. “I appreciate it.”

Tyler spoke to her. Even the cool distance in his tone didn’t alleviate the longing his voice aroused in her. Her wolf crouched and studied the man at the stove. He moved with a quiet confidence. When he did spare her a glance, the bruising around his right eye was pretty nasty. It had to have been much worse to look half-beaten after two shifts.

His knuckles were raw and beginning to scab. His state was a testament to how hard he and his brother had fought.

Over me.

Claire poured a cup of coffee for herself, then scanned the kitchen. Had he made any for himself? “Would you like a cup?”

His gaze collided with hers briefly, then he returned his attention to the sizzling ham. “Yes.”

Did he like cream and sugar? She tried to remember. It had been years, and some memories faded more than others. Had they ever had coffee together before?

She didn’t think so. Her mother hadn’t approved of coffee when she was a teen. Her first cup had been on the road with Justin—and she should let that sleeping wolf lie.

“I don’t know how you take your coffee.” Or if she even had cream and sugar, really.
Maybe in the pantry?

“Black is fine.” He stood right next to her, and she went completely still. The scorching heat of his body seemed to rub against hers, though he made no contact. He set a plate down in front of her and took the coffee cup she’d poured. Claire didn’t breathe while he was so close, though her wolf wanted to get even closer. To inhale his scent and roll around in it.

Not yet.
Maybe not ever.
The animal within her wasn’t interested in either statement and snapped at her. With more control than she felt, Claire retrieved her coffee cup and took a drink. Tyler didn’t move away. When she let herself glance at him from the corner of her eyes, she read the curiosity in his intent expression.

Swallowing the scalding coffee, she ignored her burned tongue and throat. Finally, she said. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Claire, I’m mad. I’m beyond angry with you.” Then he stroked a single fingertip down her cheek. She knew he’d seen the faint and fading scar, a remnant of a battle she hadn’t been able to heal completely away. “I will never hurt you. Don’t be afraid of me. Please.”

“I’m not afraid of you,” she told him, but kept her gaze on her coffee and the food in front of her. “I’m afraid of making bad choices.”

His hand fell away from her cheek and he returned to the stove. A minute later, two eggs landed in the pan and began to sizzle. “We’re the sum of our choices. You’ve made some interesting ones.”
Interesting
must be the new way of saying
fucked up beyond all recognition
. The careful tone, the guarded wariness—she deserved all of them. Thankfully, he was talking to her.

“Why are you talking to me? I didn’t think you wanted to and—I was all right with that.” The lie flopped between them, and she gave a start of surprise. No, she hadn’t been all right with Tyler shutting her out, no matter how much she deserved the reaction. Turning, she found him studying her. Brows drawn together, he frowned. Meeting his gaze, she said, “I’m sorry. That was a lie. I didn’t realize how much it bothered me.”

“Good.” The single syllable didn’t tell her if he meant her acknowledging the lie or that it bothered her.
Probably both.
“Go sit down with your food. We’ll eat. Then we’ll talk.”

Her wolf balked at the order, and so did Claire. Leaning against the counter, she used a fork to dig into the ham. The weight of his regard struck as she continued to eat then he sighed. When his food was ready, he walked over to the table and sat. Standing across the kitchen while Tyler dug into his food seemed ridiculous, and yet, she couldn’t make herself close the distance and sit.

Which is stupid. He made the concession to speak to me. Why can’t I concede some space?
Her wolf considered the idea. The woman had never cared for Tyler’s high-handed manner nor the way he handed out edicts. He’d blow in and out of her life like a fierce summer storm, wrecking whatever stability or choices she’d made with his counter orders.

“I hate this,” she said aloud and Tyler paused.

“The food?” Disappointment edged the words—disappointment and something more.

“No, the food was wonderful.” Not that she’d tasted a single bite. “I hate this. We’re strangers. I know you, I know who you are, and who’ve always tried to be for me, but we’re strangers, Ty.”

Cradling the coffee cup in his large hands, she focused on his knuckles. They were strong hands, calloused from hard work. He’d always been good at building and repairing things. He’d started working with his father alongside his brothers, but he enjoyed the work. That she remembered, too. He liked to fix cars, equipment—everything.

Plate and mug in hand, she walked over to the table and set them down. He nudged the chair out next to him, but she chose the one across instead to give herself some distance. His low growl raised the hair on her arms, and she found the blue in his eyes bleeding yellow. She’d pissed off his wolf.

Not flinching, she met the wolf’s gaze, and let her wolf out to return glare for glare. The air in the kitchen crackled with tension. Her nipples went tight and heat stroked through her blood. As irritated as their wolves were—God, he was a beautiful man. His arousal teased her. Yes, she’d provoked the response, but she suffered from it at the same time. Nostrils flared, the aggravation in his expression gave way to puzzlement.

“Yes, I’m very attracted to you,” she admitted. “I always have been.”

Tyler’s frown deepened. “Then why the fuck did you leave?”

The question slammed down between them, dispelling the sweetness of arousal, and Claire shrugged. “I don’t have an easy answer for you.”

“I didn’t ask for the easy answer, Claire. I want the real answer. I want to know how one day everything was fine, and the next you’re blowing out of Willow Bend with a hunter from another pack. Then we never saw or heard from you again. I want to know why my mate thought it was okay to leave me. Why my mate
wanted
to leave me.”

Her temper snapped. “Because I wasn’t your mate, Ty.”

His fist impacted the table. Fortunately, the heavy wood had been designed for wolves and, while the dishes shuddered, the table didn’t give. “The hell you weren’t. We’ve been mates since we were kids. I knew from the first time I saw you on the playground. My wolf knew. We claimed you.”

Patience.
She had to have patience for this conversation. Not a child anymore, she had no excuse for thoughtless indiscretions or worse—running away. Forcing herself to stay in the chair even as he loomed over her, she raised her chin and met his gaze. “You claimed me. You ordered me around. You made decisions. You never once asked what I wanted or who I wanted. You never gave me a chance to be me.”

Temper fading, he blinked and his eyes were the startling blue she loved so much. “Claire, mates make decisions together. They’re together because they belong together.”

“No, they’re together because their wolves recognize each other, because they
can
fit well. But just because they can doesn’t mean they do.” The lesson had taken her eight long years to learn. “I regretted leaving the moment I did it. I wanted to come home so badly—to flee into your arms, to tell you I was sorry, and beg you to take me back.”

“Then why didn’t you?” Confusion and old grief splintered his scent. “I was here. I haven’t been anywhere else. Why didn’t you reach out to me?”

“Because I made a choice and, right or wrong, I had to live with the consequences of it. Toman would never have allowed me to return because I learned something else over those months…” She licked her lips and put her utensils to the side.

“What?” Nothing deceptive marred his tone. He genuinely wanted to know, wanted to understand. She didn’t deserve a wolf as good as Tyler. Not yet, anyway. Not until she proved who she was to both of them.

“Justin—”

Tyler’s snarl ripped through the room, and she swallowed her own growl. His wolf fully filled in his eyes, and he bared his teeth. “I don’t want to hear that bastard’s name.”

“You’re going to have to if you want to know what happened.” No sugarcoating it. No trying to soften the blow. “It sucks for you, I get that. You didn’t know Justin,” she said, then continued despite the raw fury echoing in his growl. “You didn’t want to know him, and I didn’t get to know him well until well after I left here, but Justin offered me something you
never
did.”

The sound from across the table stopped. He clenched his fists and dropped his head. When he finally looked at her again, his expression was blank. “What did he offer you?”

“A choice.” Swallowing, she locked her trembling hands together. Never show fear. Never show doubt. Never show how much their reaction means.
That’s how you survive among wolves, baby girl. You don’t wait for them to give you a choice. You take it. You stand up and mean something. You have tremendous capability, but you’ve spent your whole life letting everyone else make decisions for you. What are you, predator or prey?

“He offered you the opportunity to repudiate your mate?” Yes, Tyler was feeling the sting.

“No,” she shook her head. “I didn’t feel like your mate. I felt like the woman you got to boss around. I felt like the woman who’d had all her decisions taken away. He gave me the option to take them back. That said, I didn’t realize what would happen when I walked away. What would happen to you, to me, to the pack. When A.J. went to prison, I asked Toman to let me return. He said no.”

Surprise sparked in Tyler’s eyes.

“It was probably a good thing he did, though. While I wanted to see you, I didn’t think you were ready to see me.”
Tell him.
Her wolf was done with the hesitation. Dropping all pretenses, she unfurled her power and raised her head. Her wolf surged forward and strength filled her veins.

Tyler’s nostrils flared, and his surprise gave way to shock. Meeting his gaze, she held it and his wolf’s strength met her. Their power sizzled together, yet she didn’t back down nor did he.

“I’m not submissive,” she told him. “I’m not any less dominant than you. More than that, I have a gift. I’m a damn good fighter and tracker. I’ve spent the last eight years as a hunter for the Sutter Butte pack. I lived for the pack, and I would have gladly died for it.”

Spreading her hands wide, she said, “I’m on probation because my loyalty to Cassius Braun came into question when Justin made a play for alpha. All of his wolves were expelled from the pack.”

“You tried to stage a coup?” The stunned comment almost made her laugh.

“No,” she said, still holding his gaze. “I killed Justin.”

T
he sun hovered
close to the horizon, and Ty stared at the red streaks as if they might give him some insight. All day, he’d turned the bombshell Claire dropped on him over and over in his head. Despite trying to reconcile what he knew of his mate with what she’d said, he couldn’t make either work.

“I killed Justin.
” Killed him. His wolf thrilled at the news. The bastard had lured away their mate, convinced her to go with him, and perhaps even touched her. He deserved to die. Or
had
Ty convinced her? She’d said she made a choice.

The man struggled with that piece of information. Claire told him he’d never given her one, and so she’d taken the choice from him. Was it true? He scrubbed a hand over his face. He hadn’t shaved—hell, he hadn’t showered yet. All night, he’d slept on the floor outside her room and wrestled with the decision to speak to her.

She was right about one thing. If he wanted answers, then he had to ask the questions. Making breakfast had been his peace offering. Then she’d ignored his invitation to sit at the table and ate at the counter for several long minutes.

After she confessed to killing Justin, the conversation between them died. He’d had no idea what to say and, while his wolf wanted to howl his pleasure, the man was far more troubled. She’d made some comment about sorting and he’d—left. Halfway to his house, he changed course and walked toward the lake. It was cool, but the temperature hardly bothered him despite his lack of shoes and shirt. His bruises ached and the swelling around his eye continued to sting. If he shifted again, he could alleviate the discomfort, but the physical issues couldn’t compare to the wound in his heart.

Had he driven his mate away? Left her with no choice but to leave him? How was that even possible?

A crunch of leaves alerted him to a new arrival. They’d stayed downwind or he would have scented the approach. Glancing to the side, he sighed. Mason Clayborne stepped out of the brush. The Alpha of Willow Bend was only a couple of years his senior, but the power he wore brushed every wolf it touched. Dressed in jeans, a t-shirt and hiking boots, he looked as at home in the woods as Tyler felt. Nothing about Mason was distant—Toman ruled over them, Mason ruled alongside them.

Without a word, Mason joined him on the log and gazed out over the lake. The water lapped at the shore, and the sun continued its descent. Mason’s arrival let Tyler’s wolf settle. It wasn’t all that long ago that he and Linc had been at odds with Mason.

As Alpha, he had the right to demand total obedience. He’d wanted answers to the question of what happened the night A.J. was arrested. Linc and Tyler had refused. Resisting the urge to give him the information he’d desired had been tough and, though seriously irritated with them, Mason hadn’t punished them for the small rebellion.
Much.

What he had done, however, was act on the information and sent his father-in-law Ryan, the pack lawyer, to secure A.J.’s release. Tyler owed the man his loyalty for that, if for no other reason.

“She told you why she left Sutter Butte.” It wasn’t a question and Tyler didn’t have to ask who he’d meant.

“Yeah,” he rolled his head from side to side, vertebrae cracking with tension. “Did you know before you let her come home?”

Most Alphas wouldn’t appreciate being questioned. Mason only shrugged. “Cassius was pretty candid about what happened from his perspective. To her credit, Claire told me first.”

Somehow, the knowledge comforted him, and his wolf’s agitation decreased further. “She killed a packmate.” Whatever else had been done, Claire killed another wolf and had been expelled from her pack for the charge. What did that mean for her future in Willow Bend?

“Yes, she did.” Mason leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “She did so in a full blood challenge. She didn’t murder the man, Tyler. She fought him, and she won.”

The revelation spiked his heart rate. Fought. She
fought
him. Blood matches weren’t unheard of, though they were usually reserved for Alpha challenges. Most Alphas didn’t want their wolves battling for supremacy. Bad blood could lead to vendettas; vendettas destroyed packs. She’d said she’d killed Justin, but she hadn’t been explicit in her details.

His wolf could give a fuck about details. If it had been a blood match, she could have
died.

“Easy.” Mason gripped his shoulder and steadied him. Violence lashed throughout Tyler. He should’ve been the one who killed Justin. He should have done it before he could have lured her from the pack. What if she had died? His mate would have been… “Easy.” Mason repeated the word and Ty bowed his head.

Sucking in a deep breath, he tried to control the emotions swamping him. His wolf’s clarity focused on their Alpha. Mason wanted him to calm, so he calmed. He’d sworn obedience to the man, and his wolf agreed he was a good choice.

“What do you know about Sutter Butte?” Gone was the power from his voice, leaving only Mason to ask the question.

“It’s a pack in Arizona.” Beyond that, he hadn’t paid much attention. Hadn’t wanted to. The pack stole his Claire.

“Yes, they are. They live by some of our older laws. They also don’t live in one concentrated area, but are more spread out. Cassius Braun has been Alpha there for twenty years or thereabouts.”

Older laws?
He gave Mason a questioning look. “Have you met him?”

“In New Orleans, a few years back. He represented his pack at Serafina’s ascendance. Brutal guy, but honest.” A fair endorsement from Mason. “And, by old laws, I mean pack hierarchy is established through combat. The wolves are too spread out to form a tight community like we do here or even as they do in Delta Crescent or Hudson River. Once a year, they gather for festival. Pack bonds are renewed and the hierarchy is re-established.”

Ty frowned. “So, they get together once a year and kick the crap out of each other?”

“More or less. Last man standing earns his place at Cassius’ side and the opportunity to Alpha challenge, if they so desire.” Mason shrugged. “Like I said, brutal system, but it works for them.”

In Willow Bend, if someone wanted to declare Alpha challenge, all they had to do was say the words and seek out Mason. None had, not since he’d taken the pack from Toman. No one
wanted
to take the pack from him.

“She said she was a hunter there.”

Mason cleared his throat. “I’ll tell you one more thing about Sutter Butte, and then you can get the rest of the story from her. Did she tell you why she became a hunter?”

Became
a hunter? Weren’t hunters born? The skills and talents necessary to serve the pack were embedded in their DNA. It had never interested Ty. “No. She said something about choosing…and being given a choice. But, beyond that, no.”

“Fair enough. Sutter Butte is old-fashioned about hierarchy, but also about pride of place. Everyone in the Sutter Butte pack has a position. Maternals, teachers, healers, soldiers, hunters…you have to choose your path, then you train for it. When she arrived in Sutter Butte, they gave her a choice if she wanted to stay. She had to mate or serve.”

A chill iced his blood, and a killing fury swept over him. “Did she know this before she left?”

“That you’ll have to ask her. I know the system, and how it works. It’s brutal, and a lot of their women don’t want to fight for position to protect themselves. Those who are higher up can take what they want, so mating is the safest way for a female without family to protect herself. Claire didn’t take the safe way, Ty. She didn’t choose another male over you.”

But she had—“What about the bastard who took her with him?”

“Again, not my story to tell. I don’t know all the details. She was honest with me when she called, and she was honest with me when I asked her questions. She wants to return to Willow Bend, and she’s willing to swear a blood oath to that effect. She’ll even take an assignment as a hunter on the reaches, if I ask it.”

The reaches—the fringe of the pack. Some of the hunters out there might as well not be in the pack for all the contact they had with the others. He hated the idea. “Will you let her stay? I know my mother said she would sponsor her.”

“She withdrew her offer to sponsor this morning. Unwillingly, I might add, but she withdrew it. Even if she maintained the offer, Ty, if you can’t handle Claire returning to the pack, she doesn’t come back. I’ll give her the time to settle her parents’ affairs, then she can go.” No judgment lingered in his tone.

Guilt stabbed through years of resentment. Could he be responsible for sending her away? Was that really his place?

“Don’t do that,” Mason said, his gaze on the horizon. “Don’t tear yourself up over the decision. You’re pack. Whatever gets decided will be my decision, not yours. But if it hurts you, it hurts the pack, and I’ll protect
my
pack from all outsiders.”

Claire wasn’t an outsider. “She’s not.” Tyler stood and paced away from his alpha all the way to the water’s edge. The lake was cold this time of year. A part of him wanted to dive headfirst into the frigid water and wake from the nightmare. “She’s not an outsider, Mason. She was born in Willow Bend. She grew up with us, and she belongs here.”
With me.
Though he didn’t say the last part out loud. He didn’t even know if mating with her was possible anymore. His wolf wanted her.

Fuck,
he
wanted her.

But he had no idea if she wanted him or not. The arousal he’d scented that morning haunted him. Her statement about attraction never being the problem confused him. Had she rejected him? Or their mating? What? She’d said she’d wanted to come back, but Toman refused her, and before that she’d said… “Can I ask you a question?”

“You can ask,” Mason told him.

“You fought Toman.” he turned slowly. “You came home and called Alpha challenge. A lot of us thought it was over Alexis’ pregnancy.” Before taking the pack, Mason had been a Lone Wolf. Lone Wolves were not allowed family or mating, they had to walk alone. It was the choice of the packless. Enforcers made sure they obeyed the rules.

Mason’s expression was inscrutable, and nothing in his scent betrayed a reaction either. “Not a question.”

“Claire said something about Toman. About him not wanting her back after what she’d learned about herself. She also said she did make one request, and he’d denied it.” Intent on Mason, he watched for any nuance of a response. “What could Toman have possibly learned that would make him not let her back in?”

“She’s got alpha potential.” The ease of the reply stunned Ty.

“What?”

“Like A.J., and like you, and Linc, to a certain extent.” A faint smile creased the hard line of Mason’s mouth. “A lot of wolves possess the potential to be an alpha. It’s dominance without the need to submit. Toman didn’t let those with potential stay in his pack. I don’t kill wolves because they might someday challenge me, but Toman didn’t allow them the opportunity to even make that choice.”

“A.J. has no desire to be alpha.” He knew his brother. Hell, being alpha was the last job Ty wanted. Alphas ruled, but they were also responsible. Mason carried the weight of thousands of wolves, not just a family group but all the family groups.

“Exactly. He doesn’t choose to be Alpha. He chooses to submit.” Standing, Mason folded his arms. “Claire Webster may not have had the full potential when she was younger, but it grew beneath the surface. What happened to her in Sutter Butte, the choices she made, they honed her. She’s a weapon, so don’t make the mistake of thinking otherwise.”

The flash of the wolf in her eyes. The way she met his gaze. How she faced off against Linc. Her repeated insistence that she wasn’t submissive. All of those images ran through his head.

“Does she know?” It was a stupid question.

“Yes.” Mason’s answer surprised him. “One of the reasons she said she would make a blood oath to never challenge me. She wants to come home, but I stand by my decision. If you don’t want her here, I will deny her request.”

If Mason denied her, and she really wanted to come home…

“Yeah,” his alpha nodded once. “She might challenge me. If she does, she does. I won’t hold back, not even for you.”

His wolf tensed, and Ty dropped his gaze. Mason was his alpha. Claire was supposed to have been his mate. That situation had to be avoided at all costs.

“You aren’t going to tell me what you want me to do, are you?”

“Nope.” Mason smiled then. “I don’t envy you…but I will tell you that I think I know how you feel.”

His mate had never left him. How the hell could Mason know how he felt? His expression must have said as much, because his alpha laughed.

“I left Alexis. Not quite the same thing, but it was there—the bond between us. Knowing what I know now, I realize it. She meant the world to me when we were kids.” The confession added the final shock to the morning. “I would have done anything for her, but I didn’t recognize it for what it was, which is good. Children are too intrinsically selfish and too self-involved to appreciate mating. When I left, all I thought about was
my
pain. I didn’t see hers. Didn’t see it for a long time. It can be hard to acknowledge your part in someone else’s pain. Once you do, you can atone for it and begin to make it right.”

Bullshit.
He’d known Claire from the beginning. His wolf recognized hers. Being her mate was all he’d ever wanted. Making her world safer and preventing anyone from taking advantage—he’d…ordered her around. Dictated whom she could be friends with because her judgment always seemed questionable. Made decisions and choices for her, because he didn’t like what she was doing. She’d said Justin gave her something she’d never had—a choice.

Fuck.
Ty wanted to beat the shit out of something.
Was I really that arrogant and stupid?

“Ahh, now someone’s thinking.” Mason clapped his shoulder. “I trust you can figure it out from here on your own?”

“Yeah, unless you have some great insights about how to court an alpha?”

“Don’t give an inch.” Mason smiled as he walked away. “We know how to take the mile.”

At the forest edge, Mason paused and said over his shoulder. “Do remember she’s not the only alpha potential, Ty. You have that same strength in you. You choose to submit to A.J. and to your parents and to me, a choice I appreciate.”