Chapter 8
RAIN FELL in silent sheets and low, scudding clouds wreathed the mountains, making the late autumn foliage look like it was on fire. Dark shadows gathered in the valleys spread out across the Cumberland mountain range as Hannah stared out the wide window. Seemed shadows followed them everywhere, no matter what any of them did.
Black Root. The damn bastards remained intent on capturing or destroying the Wolves, their mates, and their children. Hannah would not let that happen. Neither would her mate. As she gazed out the window watching twilight creep up on the cabin, she caught reflections in the glass. Behind her, Annie Donaldson cooed over the newest baby to join the pack. Little Sally Danielle kicked her feet and waved tiny fists in an attempt to escape her swaddling blanket. Named for a pair of fallen Wolf mates, the baby had a thatch of soft, dark hair like her mother and her father’s gray eyes. Annie swayed from foot to foot in the eternal motion of mothers, making soothing noises to quiet her daughter.
Mac and Sean huddled over a laptop. Hannah and Mac’s teen-aged son, Liam, played video games with Cody, Annie’s son, though he’d been adopted by Sean. They’d gathered in Mac and Hannah’s cabin for dinner after the local Wolf midwife checked in on Annie and Sally Dee. After the fight with Black Root’s mercenaries in the Louisiana bayous that spring, the Wolves had split up.
Sean had been the first to return to western Virginia in late summer. He was a West Virginia boy originally and had ties to this part of the country. His main concern had been finding a midwife he trusted to assist with his daughter’s birth. Who better than the woman who attended his own birth? Annie had been a trouper and came through in good shape. Sally Dee came a little early, and while small, she’d made up for lost time in the two months since her birth.
They’d been invited to stay, offered the run of this resort by the town’s Alpha. Cody and Liam were in regular school for the first time in ages and both seemed to be adjusting. The boys doted on the baby and Liam never bitched about babysitting duty, whether it was Sally Dee or Cody.
Annie nudged Hannah with her shoulder. “That boy is gonna be just like his daddy when he grows up.”
Snorting, Hannah cut her eyes from the kids to the men sitting at the dining room table. Sean’s fingers flew over the keyboard while Mac leaned over his shoulder, urging him to work faster. “Is it bad that I hope he grows up to be me?”
Annie’s pealing laughter got everyone’s attention. Sally Dee burbled, enjoying the sound of her mother’s merriment. Cody and Liam exchanged little boy looks that spoke far too eloquently of their comprehension. Liam caught Hannah’s eye and winked, tipping his mom into her own bark of laughter. The men favored their mates with indulgent smiles, each one’s gaze heated and lingering. That got rolling eyes from the boys.
Michael Lightfoot’s voice coming from the laptop’s speaker quieted everyone. Hannah strode over to stand next to Mac. One after another, other windows popped up, adding Nate Connor, Rudy Tornjak, and Antoine Fontaine, with DJ Collier peering over his shoulder. In the last window, Colonel Joshua Harjo’s face appeared. Harjo had been the Wolves commanding officer when they’d still been active duty Army. He’d stayed in the service after the 69th Special SciOps unit had been disbanded over ten years ago. At the moment, he was AWOL from his duties, as were all of them basically.
Wolves had died, sacrificing themselves for their brothers. Mates had died to protect the young in this misfit pack. Tala and Jacob Nakai in Wyoming and Nevada respectively. Sally and Danny Keegan in the swamps just four months ago. Hannah forced herself to breathe past the cinching tightness in her chest. Sally had taken a bullet meant for her. Since he could read her thoughts, Mac slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to his side. She curled into his warmth. So much. They’d survived so much—lost even more—and the fucking gods of war still weren’t done with them.
Hannah had never intended to be a warrior, but those same crazy gods forced her down a path she hadn’t wanted to follow and would not have done so. Except for Mac. Mac waited at the end of that shadowy trail. No matter what—births, deaths, heartache—life with him at her side was worth it.
Mac, Michael, Nate, Rudy, Antoine, Harjo, and Sean. They were seven warriors now and somewhere in the back of Hannah’s mind, the theme song from “The Magnificent Seven” played. Last Christmas, they’d all but lived that movie in a small border town in New Mexico. She studied the faces staring back from the screen, Wolves and humans. Concern mixed with the wear and tear of life on the run stamped each of their expressions. They were all tired—on the brink of exhaustion, but not one of them would give up the fight.
“We have news,” Mac said without preamble. “First order, head toward HQ.”
The men’s voices droned in the background, discussing the pros and cons. Annie moved up behind Hannah and tugged on her shirt. “HQ?”
Hannah stepped away, drawing Annie with her. “Yep. Seems the old post where the Sixty-ninth was originally based was a victim of brAC.” Annie’s puzzled look kept Hannah explaining. “Base Realignment and Closure Committee. They decide which military installations get to stay open. The Wolves were posted over in western Virginia, on the eastern slope of the Cumberlands. In fact, it’s not far from here at all. Blaidd’s Gap is pretty much in the middle of the Cumberlands. Anyway, the place closed when the Pentagon phased them out over ten years ago. It finally came up for sale at government surplus auction.”
“Convenient.” Annie’s dry tone was as effusive as a roll of the eyes.
“Very. I’m pleased to say that it is now owned by a non-profit foundation intent on preserving the area for local flora and fauna.”
Annie snorted as Hannah made a pious face. “Including wolves?”
“Oh, yeah. Absolutely. In fact, the foundation may just reintroduce Wolves to the area. Mac plans to regroup there, right under their noses until we can take care of business. That’s the reason for the Zoom call. The Wolves plan to end this bullshit, here and now.”
Annie jiggled Sally Dee when the baby fussed. “Hannah? What happens after?” She hated that her voice quivered a little, but she was scared—right down to her toenails. If something happened to the guys, what would happen to the rest of them? They had children to think about. She raised her gaze to study the older woman. Part den mother, part mother figure, all-consuming in her determination and loyalty to the Wolves and their families, Hannah stared back. “I mean…what happens if…something happens? To them. I mean…” She lifted her chin in response to the narrowing of Hannah’s eyes and continued in a rush. “Wouldn’t it be better if we just disappeared?”
Hannah’s response wasn’t what Annie expected.
“Dammit, sweetie! Don’t you think I feel the same way? That we should all just…I don’t know, drop out, disappear. Go our separate ways, start new lives and hope to hell we never give ourselves away?”
Turning away from her, Hannah stared out over the mountains. “We don’t have a choice. Mac’s tried. We’ve all fu- freaking tried to find another way. We’re…once upon a time, we might have made it alone. But we can’t now. We really are a pack, Annie. In every sense of that word. Family. Mac and I would go crazy worrying about the rest of you. And the kids? What about the kids? They’d have to be so careful. No going to a regular hospital when they get hurt for fear their DNA would show up in some data base.”
She swiveled her head to look at Annie, reaching out to smooth Sally Dee’s downy-soft hair. “None of us would be safe. Ever. And neither will anyone else like us. The Wolves are here for a reason, Annie. They have the training and the motivation. It’s in their fucking genetic makeup to keep us and their pups safe.” She inhaled deeply several times, but the expression on her face didn’t lose its intensity. “It would break Mac if anything happened to us, Annie. It would break all of them.”
Glancing back over her shoulder toward Mac and Sean still huddled around the computer monitor, Hannah relaxed just a bit. “Once we dispose of the threat, then I hope we can settle in at the old post. There are buildings there. Officer quarters. Storage. We could make the compound our own. Keep it private and safe. Keep us private and safe. Sort of like what they’ve done here in Blaidd’s Gap.”
Hannah brushed her palms up and down her arms, smoothing out the goosebumps. She wasn’t psychic by any stretch of the imagination, but damn if it didn’t feel like someone had just walked over her grave. She glanced over at Mac, only to find him staring at her, concern etched on his face.
What?
Nothing, she replied in automatic response. This mind meld thing Wolf mates had didn’t even register on her scale of weird psychic phenomenon anymore. Once, maybe, but after all the years she’d shared with Mac? It was just there, an intimate caress shared between them.
It’s not nothing. We’ll talk shortly. He blew her a mental kiss.
Sally Dee had nestled into her mother’s arms, drowsing. That was Hannah’s cue to suggest Annie do the same thing. “C’mon. I’ll get the two of you settled for a nap.”
They passed the men and Sean snagged Annie as she walked by, hauling her into his lap for a deep kiss and a nuzzle to the baby-fine hair on his daughter’s head. “Rest, baby. I’ll be in shortly to check on you.” He set Annie back on her feet and returned to the computer monitor.
Alone together in the bedroom, Annie didn’t fight the tears springing up behind her eyelids. “I’m scared, Hannah.”
“Me, too.”