Chapter Fifteen #2
Confused, he unfolded it and stared at the picture of an aerial view of a forest. A large, red square had been drawn over the picture.
Underneath was an address, and details on a property.
Thirty acres. One bedroom, one bathroom house.
Scenic views, a creek running through the back of the property.
Backing up to protected forest land that would never be developed.
“What is this?” he asked, holding it up.
“Can the Elders stop you from purchasing land outside of here?” she asked.
“No. The Government does that. We’re supposed to stay in designated areas.”
“So, it’s against the law to live outside of places like this? Where the Elders can just kick you out whenever they want to?”
“I guess it’s not against the law, but we don’t do that. Wolves naturally need to stick together. It keeps the animals steadier.”
“What is to keep you from being a Pack? Is it just the Elders saying you aren’t one?” she asked softly.
Where was she going with this? “They have the power to strip our titles, strip our registrations, and declare us Rogues. It’s a punishment.”
She shrugged. “So, you’re a Rogue. Maybe the solution is just to own it. You are a Rogue. You’re a fucking awesome Rogue. Is there a law to keep you from living near other Rogues?”
“Well…no.” And he was starting to get it. He was starting to understand where this conversation was going.
“So, if you just happened to live near Bridger, and Nate, and Delta, and Tabian, and Vic, and Dodger, no one could do anything about it? You would just be a bunch of Rogues hanging out?”
He bit back a smile. “Yes.”
“If you lived nearby, would you and your Pack of Rogues be able to defend yourselves from whoever moves into this territory?”
Another smile took his lips, and he nodded. “We are monsters, yes.”
“So, the real problem is you need territory to claim.”
His heart was starting to pound harder now. “We can’t buy land, Nory. Banks are forbidden to lend to us.”
“Because you are werewolves,” she whispered.
“Yes. Because we are werewolves. We get temporary housing in Pack territories, and if we are Rogues, we beg a room in a Pack territory and likely move around as the local Packs tire of us and kick us out of the territory. I can’t do anything for housing for a group of Rogues. No werewolf can.”
And now it was Nory’s turn. The prettiest smile he’d ever seen curved up the corners of her lips, and her eyes sparkled with determination. “Well, I’m not a werewolf.”
Chills rippled up his spine as he realized what she was really saying. Liam looked back down at the paper in his hands. A line had been drawn around the property line, and right in the middle was a clearing, with the roof of a small house.
“I love the thought, but I don’t think we would all do well in one house—”
“Here,” she said, handing him another folded piece of paper she retrieved from her back pocket.
“I did all the research, I talked to a contractor, I got the pricing as close as I could on running electricity up there and installing a septic system. It’s mobile homes, or RVs, or hell, even those sheds you make into houses.
You’re each going to have to figure it out.
That little house there is a tear-down. It’s barely standing.
” Her eyes were rimmed with such emotion.
“You’ll have to build it all from scratch. ”
And he understood what she was saying. He was going to have to choose to separate himself and his people from werewolf culture and choose his people.
He would have to call them back and try and convince them they were better off together.
He was going to have to convince them that living on human-purchased land was better than spreading to the four winds.
He was going to have to put in the work to bond them to this new life Nory was offering.
He would have to build the land up with his people, but even more importantly, he was going to have to build up his people.
Just like he had wanted to do.
It wasn’t going to happen here in the Elder controlled territories where he could have his Pack ripped away at any time.
But here…in the woods of these thirty acres, he could have a chance at being the Alpha he wanted to be.
“It’s expensive,” he rumbled. “I can’t even imagine what thirty acres cost.”
“Not as much as you think, because the home is a tear-down, so it’s just the raw land.
It doesn’t even have electricity to it yet.
It’s farther out of town too. The man who owns it is getting older and wanting to leave the money he makes from it to his family, who are not interested in the land.
I’ve been there three times,” she whispered, approaching him slowly.
“It feels good. Peaceful. If I have a big enough down payment, I can sign for the loan on my own with no co-signers.”
“How much down payment?” he asked softly, scared of the hope that was building in his chest.
“My income is low, so they want a big one. Fifty percent down, and I can get approved for the rest of the amount.”
And his mind was racing now. He could do this. They could all do this. There was a chance, and God, it was so tempting to claim territory that couldn’t be stripped from them. Nory would be tied to his Pack forever though. She would be tied to him.
“I can’t ask you to do this.”
“You’re not asking.” She lifted her chin higher into the air.
“I’m offering. I’m hoping. I’m wanting to do this.
My life has felt so cold without you in it over the last few days and I have hated it.
And I know. I know! It makes no sense because this is new, and it isn’t supposed to be so intense like this.
But you’re it, and that’s just how I feel.
I don’t care that you are a werewolf, and I don’t care that I am a human.
I’ve said it, and I still feel it, Liam.
We are made of the same thing, you and I. ”
Her ragged whisper tugged at his heart. Didn’t she know? Couldn’t she tell? It was the same for him.
He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, and all of the racing thoughts quieted. The sadness in his chest lifted. The uncertainty faded to nothing.
Only Bridger’s words murmured through his mind. A woman like Nory is going to want to help.
Liam understood her better now. She wasn’t an Alpha like him, or dominant. She was an Omega. She was a calming spirit. She was water to their fire. She was the one who would figure out a place for them.
She was the one who couldn’t stand him losing something that was important to him, so she was just going to fix it.
She was a fixer. She really was a happy-maker.
He hugged her closer and she was clinging to his shirt so hard. He scanned the woods for Bridger, but he was gone.
“Do you want to see it?” she whispered.
“Yes.” He stooped and picked her up, and instinctively, she wrapped her legs around him.
Nory cupped his cheek and looked into his soul with such a gentle expression on her face. She loved him. He could feel it emanating from her.
What an addiction he had grown to this beautiful creature. He’d never felt so sure of anyone in his life. She was just it, for himself and his wolf. She was his purpose.
“If we do this, it’ll bind us for always,” he said softly, wanting to make sure she understood what she was signing up for. “I won’t be able to walk away from you.”
Nory gripped his hair in the back and rested her forehead onto his. She just existed like that, eyes closed, smiling like his words had caressed her.
When she looked at him again, she nodded. “That would be fine by me.”