Nathan scoffed. “Well, isn’t it obvious? Our alpha here is too weak to deal with human encroachment. Not only did he refuse to shut down the bed and breakfast idea, he invited the weak human into the pack. That makes her what-—the fifth human you’ve brought in in the past two years? Is no one else concerned about this trend? About an alpha who apparently wants our kind to die out through matings that go against nature?”
“Enough!” Rob ordered, silencing the menacing growls that had gone up from me, Clint, Boyd and Colton.
Levi hadn’t growled, but he shoved Nathan to his knees, a ferocious scowl on his face.
“Nathan Brown, because you did not intend Natalie Sheffield direct harm, I will not demand your life. But for breaking human law and endangering pack and humans, as well as for your continued lack of respect for my position in this pack as alpha, I hereby banish you and all your kin from this pack. Your house will be sold to another pack member and any expenses not covered by Natalie’s insurance will come from the proceeds and the remainder sent to you. If you ever return to these parts again, I will take it as a direct threat to the pack and send my enforcers to end you. Understood?”
Nathan’s wife gasped, and his daughter let out a small sob of dismay.
“You have twenty-four hours to leave. During that time, I will keep my pack members from exacting their own revenge.” Rob glanced my way, and I let my upper lip curl to show Nathan some fang. “If you delay your departure, though… I will not stop them. Go now.”
Levi unlocked his handcuffs and gave Nathan a kick.
Nathan’s wife, daughter and her mate all stood and congregated at the door to the lodge, waiting for Nathan to join them and leave together. Nathan’s wife was crying as they left the building.
The rest of the pack members stood and began to talk and mingle. I didn’t sense any dissent from them over Rob’s ruling. The elders remembered the pack with Rob’s father as alpha. Some even remembered his father before him. Traditions had been upheld, but Rob was his own man, his own alpha and was forging the future for the pack in his own way. While some elders may resist or not like everything Rob did, only Nathan had been so outwardly hostile.
Hopefully a meeting like this would be the last.
“Are you gonna be cool?” Rob asked me as he came over, a warning in his tone.
I nodded. “Yeah. I’m cool. I would’ve preferred to get a few swings in first, but I can live with his banishment.”
“I got a few swings in for you last night,” Levi said. He raised his eyebrows. “Quite a few.”
I grinned. “Good.”
“Everything okay with Natalie?” Clint asked, dropping a hand on my shoulder.
My smile grew wider. “My mate?” I couldn’t help but gloat by calling her that. It felt so good to have claimed her. To be able to legitimately call her that. “She’s great. In fact, I need to get back to her.”
The guys all chuckled. “I’ll bet you do,” Clint said.
“Yep, you get back to your mate,” Boyd said, thumping my back.
“Give her a big hug from me,” my mother said. “We’ll have you both over for lasagna later this week.”
“I will,” I promised and walked out to my truck.
Nothing—not even Nathan Brown—could keep me down today.
Not when Natalie was in my cabin waiting for me. Not when she’d be there again tomorrow, and the next day and the next day after that.
Epilogue
NATALIE
The insurance adjuster’s truck turned onto the main road, leaving Rand and I to stand in front of the rubble that was my house.
“So, know a good builder?” I asked, not looking at him.
“How will you pay, Red? I only take payment in sexual favors.”
I spun and faced him, poked him in the ribs, which made him grin.
“From all your clients?”
He pulled me into his arms, planted a kiss on my lips. “Only you. Guess we’ll have to get some plans drawn up. Time to build your dream house.”
“Don’t you mean our dream house?”
It had been five days since the fire-—not that I was counting—and I’d spent almost all that time with Rand. I wasn’t sure if it was because Rand didn’t want to let me out of his sight or if we were newly mated. Either way, I didn’t care. Either way, I agreed. I wanted Rand to be where I could see him at all times, waking up in the middle of the night with nightmares.
He’d soothe me with his touch, making love to me which always put me back to sleep. And when we were awake… it was almost impossible to keep our hands off each other.
But with the sobering sight of the house, all that history of Uncle Adam that had burned to rubble and ash, reality was right in front of us.
“Our house,” he replied. “Got something in mind?”
I pursed my lips. “Besides no creepy basement with spiders…”
He grinned. “Besides that.”
“I’m thinking log. One story. Big windows across the back to take in the view.”
He slung an arm around my shoulder and stared at the rubble, as if he could picture what would be put in its place.
“A three car garage,” he added.
“A deck off the back.”
“Five bedrooms.”
I turned in his arms to face him, tilted my chin back to meet his eyes. “Five? I thought you didn’t want a B&B.”
“I don’t. I was thinking more along the lines of kids.”
I did the math. “You want four kids?”
“That’s if they have their own rooms. But if they shared…”
I punched him in the stomach. “Rand Tucker, what you want is a football team.”
He laughed, and I loved that sound.
“How about we start with one.”
He went still at my words, his dark eyes meeting mine. “You ready?”
I shrugged, and my cell rang. I pulled it from my jeans pocket. “Hello?”
“Hey, Natalie, this is Kurt from the Barn Cats.”
“Hi, Kurt,” I replied and Rand nodded, knowing who it was.
“I heard about your house. I’m glad you’re all right.”
“Thanks. I’ll rebuild.”
“That’s good to hear. I was hoping you wouldn’t leave town after that.”
“Oh?”
“Not sure if you know, but I’ve been the music teacher at the high school for the past twenty-six years.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Well, I’ve been planning to retire, even bought an RV to go roaming the west. There just haven’t been any replacements, being that the school’s so small, and Cooper Valley isn’t exactly a metropolis. But now, I’ve got one.”
“That’s great! Congratulations on your retirement.”
“It depends on you, though.”
I frowned. “Me?”
“I think you should be my replacement. You have the qualifications. You know your way around an instrument, and the kids will love you. Know how to lead a marching band?”
I stepped back, and it was Rand’s turn to frown. He snatched the cell from me. “Kurt, why are you upsetting my woman?”