“I will go with Farrah to the sheriff’s office to speak with him.” Grange said matter of factly as the group made their way to town, by horses and also cart because there were now more pack members than Grange had horses used to werecreature scent. The horses weren’t completely sold on Farrah but hadn’t panicked so for that Grange was thankful.
“I can take her.” Trig cut in quickly and Grange shook his head.
“You are too protective of her, naturally since she is your mate, and if the sheriff asks a question you don’t like you are likely to snap at him and that would not help anything. I am the alpha, this is a pack safety issue and so I’ll go with her.” Trig wanted to argue further but it was clear that Grange was not going to back down and he did not want to upset the alpha.
“I have a lot of work to get done at the bakery. Nickolai, can I count on you to help deliver the bread today?” Dawn asked.
“Of course.” Nickolai replied. “My Brie was always a fair baker. I’m sure she would be happy to help you in the bakery.”
“Really?!” Dawn exclaimed happily. “I would be happy for the help!” Brie looked uncertain.
“It has been a long time since I have cooked anything…” she admitted and Dawn just waved her hand.
“Then you can keep me company until you get the hang of it again.”
“I am not much of a cook.” Farrah replied absently. “But I did burn down a bakery once.” Dawn looked at her with a bit of shocked fear.
“She doesn’t come near the building.”
“Farrah can help me at the sawmill when we get done talking to the sheriff. I think she would probably like chopping wood.” Grange said and he grinned at Dawn’s expression.
“I chopped wood for the Master.” Farrah replied with a nod. “It is good for the arms.”
“I’ll chop wood too.” Trig said, though honestly that sounded like torture but he wanted to seem tough in front of Farrah. Grange reached out and touched Trig’s chest where the worst of his wounds was still fairly bad and then he poked his shoulder and Trig whimpered.
“No you won’t.” Grange countered. You can take the cart and deliver lumber if you must have something to do.” Trig slumped down in his saddle.
“Fine.” he pouted.
As the group rode into town and hitched their horses behind the bakery, Grange motioned for Trig to take the cart to the sawmill and then he looked at everyone else.
“Farrah, we better get to the sheriff’s office and let him ask whatever it is he’s going to ask.” Farrah nodded, Grange kissed Dawn softly and then led Farrah down the road.
“Now look, it’s very important that you act as normal as possible.” Grange warned her and then he rolled his eyes when she put her head back and scented the air deeply. “Doing that is probably not the best thing to do.” he muttered and Farrah quickly lowered her head.
“Sorry, it’s a habit.” she said quickly. Grange nodded.
“Nothing happened yesterday.” he informed her. “There was no attack by the miners. No one was killed and no one fought anyone. You haven’t seen those men since you escaped them a couple of days ago.”
“I’m not stupid.” Farrah complained and Grange simply raised his brow and said nothing.
They made their way to the center of town and stepped up on the boardwalk in front of the sheriffs office. Grange gave one last nervous look at Farrah, who simply smiled in return, and then he opened the door.
“Grange.” Sheriff Bishop said good naturedly as he stood from his desk and walked over. Gladys sat in the chair on the other side of the desk and simply appraised Farrah with jealousy. Grange looked at Farrah and tried to see her through the eyes of a man not completely devoted and in love with his mate to figure out what would make Gladys jealous.
She was wearing a white blouse that hugged her lean frame. The top few buttons were undone, revealing her tanned collarbones and the shirt clung to her full chest and flat stomach. Her split skirt was tanned and showed off her flared hips. Her thick wavy brown hair was long and curled down her back and her face was pretty enough.
She was actually just the kind of woman Grange would have been drawn to before Dawn. Though now that he had Dawn he had lost all desire for any other woman than her. She was all he wanted and all he needed.
“Sheriff Bishop, this is Farrah. She is the woman I was telling you about.” Sheriff Bishop nodded and Grange saw his gaze pass over Farrah rather inappropriately before he looked back at Grange and blushed.
“I trust you haven’t had any trouble from the miners? They have not been back in town since I asked them to leave yesterday.” he said as he walked to his wife and stood behind her with his hand resting on her shoulder.
“No, we haven’t seen them, though if they do show up I can promise you now that they will wish they hadn’t by the time Trig is through with them after what they did to his fiancee’” Grange replied. He saw Farrah look over at him but thankfully she did not say anything. Grange couldn’t very well tell these people that Farrah was Trig’s mate and simply calling her his woman would not have satisfied the gossip that was Gladys.
“I understand.” sheriff Bishop admitted. He looked back at Farrah, this time managing to keep his gaze on her face.
“Ma’am, if you don’t mind, could you please tell me exactly what happened in the woods that day between you and those men?” he asked. Grange nearly blew the whole situation when his jaw just about hit the floor the second Farrah opened her mouth.
“Oh my goodness!” she gasped, a southern accent suddenly thick in her voice. “I was so scared. I had been traveling this way to come join my fiance when there was a mix up at camp one night and my traveling party left without me. You have no idea how scared I was. Just little old me, lost and alone out in the woods.”
“You poor thing.” Gladys stated sympathetically and Farrah gave her an appreciative smile.
“I saw the firelight of a campfire and so I made my way to it and those men…. They grabbed me. They started making lewd comments and remarks that woulda had my Christian mother rolling over in her grave, God rest her soul.”
“Is that right?” sheriff Bishop demanded angrily and Farrah nodded before sniffing and wiping a tear from her eye. Grange couldn’t believe what he was seeing and hearing. This woman belonged on stage or something because he had never seen a more believable act.
“They tried to… They tried to…” Farrah covered her face and Grange put his arm around her shoulders.
“I think you can guess what they tried to do.” he said to the sheriff and his wife and they both nodded.
“But they didn’t know that my daddy hadn’t raised me to be no pretty wallflower. I knew how to defend myself and so that’s just what I did. I got me a couple of them and then I ran away.”
“You know those men said that you turned into some sort of creature.” sheriff Bishop informed her gently and Farrah shook her head and tossed her hair over her shoulder.
“They’re just mad because they didn’t manage to get what they wanted and because I escaped from them. Please sheriff let this be over. Don’t question me anymore, it’s just too difficult.”
“Of course dear.” Gladys said as she pulled a clean lace handkerchief from her breast pocket and held it out to Farrah, who happily took it and dabbed at her moist eyes.
“If Trig is your fiance’ then why didn’t he come with you?” sheriff Bishop questioned and before Grange could answer Farrah was speaking.
“Because the poor man feels so guilty about the whole thing and it makes him so angry to think about those men touching me that he simply can’t stand it, sheriff. It causes him to see nothing but red so we figured it would be best if he didn’t have to hear the story told one more time.” Sheriff Bishop nodded and tapped his fingers on Gladys’s shoulder.
“Okay, ma’am, you’re free to go. I’m sorry that happened to you and if you need anything or see any of those men again please come to me and I will deal with them swiftly.”
“Thank you so much, sheriff.” Farrah said gratefully as she shook his hand. Grange tipped his head to the sheriff and Gladys and then led Farrah back out the door and into the late morning sunlight.
“Where in the hell did that come from?” he asked with shock as they walked back toward the edge of town and the sawmill.
“Did I do well?” Farrah questioned, her voice returning to normal, as she shoved the handkerchief the deep in her pocket and then wiped her nose on the back of her hand.
“Well? Hell I haven’t ever seen acting quite like that before. Only trouble now is you’ve gotta act like a southern belle from here on out around the townfolk.”
“I find that men will believe anything I say if I say it sweetly enough and if I act just desperate and sad enough then women open their hearts to me as well. The desperate southern belle act was always my favorite. The Master liked us to be well trained and able to blend in and adapt to situations. He was hoping to use us as spies though he was both blind and stupid if he thought we would be that loyal.”
“Well thank God for blind, stupid elves because you just pulled that off amazingly well, Farrah. I am impressed.” Farrah’s normally emotionless eyes beamed with pride.
***
“I’m thinking that I’m going to regret letting Brie help me at the bakery.” Dawn admitted with a sight that night as she and Grange sat beside the pool of water. She had her head on his chest and his cheek was laying on her hair.
“Why is that?” he asked as he ran his fingers along her arm.
“Because she’s good.”
“Not as good as you, my love. I am very glad we made the arrangement we made about your rent.” Dawn laughed.
“Yes well I believe you’re getting more than just baked goods in exchange for the building, Grange Michaels.”
“Am I now?” he asked and Dawn could hear the smile in his voice. She undid the top few buttons of his shirt so she could slip her hand inside and feel his bare skin. She smiled when she felt him tremble just a little beneath her touch.
“So what are we going to do, Grange? Are we going to let them build a bigger home for us here or are we moving on?” Grange sighed.
“What would you like to do?” he asked and Dawn kissed his jaw.
“I want to stay if we can. I don’t want to lose my bakery and I really like the town. They’ve noticed you don’t age and surely they know something is going on with our little group but they don’t question it.”
“I will do anything to make you happy, Dawn, and this town feels like home to me but I have to warn you of one thing. If someone does question, if trouble arises and people start screaming that we are monsters, I will have to end the threat and then we have to leave.”
“End the threat?” Dawn asked cautiously and Grange nodded.
“I can’t let anything threaten the were creature population and unlike vampires I do not have the power to erase anyone’s memory.”
“Vampires can do that?” Dawn gasped and Grange nodded. “Then we need to find one of those to join our pack.”
“A vampire in a werewolf pack?!” Grange asked incredulously and Dawn shrugged.
“Sure why not?”
“Hell why not is right.” Grange chuckled. “We’ve already got a cat living with us dogs, might as well have a leach too.”
“I know!” Dawn said giddily as she bounced on his lap. Grange growled when her bouncing awoke his desire.
“I know a few things myself but first why don’t you tell me what you know.” Dawn felt what he ‘knew’ pushing against her backside and her cheeks flamed red as she tried to move away from it but he held her in place with a grunt. “Tell me what you know, love.” he urged.
“Well we could find a couple of vampires to join our pack and we could call them fleas. Then when you try to argue that wolves don’t have fleas I can tell you you’re wrong.”
Grange laughed and then flipped her onto her back and braced himself on top of her. He kissed her neck and then moved his lips along her jaw, across her cheek and to her eyelids. She gripped his back and moaned and he pulled away just enough to look into her eyes.
“You are something else, love. Thank God I have you to help keep my head on straight.”
“And to scratch your fleas.” Dawn added and Grange flashed her a crooked grin before crushing her mouth with his own.
***
Trig looked up from his cards and found his mouth going dry as he focused on Farrah’s teeth chewing on her plump bottom lip.
“I just do not understand this game.” she stated with irritation as she tossed her cards down. Trig sighed and sat his down as well.
They were at the cabin by themselves. Dawn and Grange had gone to the pool and Nickolai had locked himself and Brie up in the barn.
Trig had been trying desperately to teach Farrah to play poker but while the werelion was good at many things, (this thought made Trig grin), she was the single worst poker player he had ever met in his life.
It wasn’t that she didn’t have a good poker face, her poker face was top notch, no the problem was that she couldn’t seem to wrap head around all the different hands and which was better than which. Not to mention that when she thought she had a hand won but ended up losing it, she did not have very good control of her temper and had already smacked Trig’s arm pretty damn hard several times, not that he would complain about it hurting. He didn’t want her to think he was a complete wimp after the way she had bragged about his bravery with those miners.
“We can do something else.” Trig said with a sigh. “I can always get my poker fix at the saloon now and then.”
“Saloon?” Farrah asked with a frown. She tapped on her chin and then her hazel eyes narrowed. “You mean one of those places with freely mating women and alcohol?” Trig laughed loudly.
“Well the women don’t mate for free, I’ll tell ya that much but, yeah, I think you know where I’m talking about.”
“Are those the women you like then?” Farrah asked as she stood. Trig shook his head and wondered if she’d lost her mind. One moment she was an emotionless soldier and the next she was a jealous mate. The funny thing was that she looked confused over her own jealousy and anger but she couldn’t seem to be able control either.
“Calm down, Farrah. You are the only woman I want.” he assured her. He grabbed her arm and tugged her toward him. At first she stiffened and he knew that her instincts told to fight against him just the way she would have men in that dungeon she’d been kept in, but then she seemed to shake those instincts off and let him pull her to his lap.
“I don’t know what is wrong with me.” Farrah stated as she scratched at her hair. “I have never felt emotions strongly like this. Or maybe I did…” her frown deepened. “It was just so long ago that I don’t remember it.” Trig didn’t like the memory of her life with Faugrimm.
“Emotions are normal, Farrah. But you don’t have to be jealous of me going to the saloon because I expect you to come with me.”
“And what would I do exactly?” she questioned. Trig grinned.
“Be my little southern belle whiskey bringer.” he replied and Farrah threw her head back and laughed. Trig couldn’t stop himself from putting his lips against her throat and when she trembled against him he began tracing patterns with his tongue, feeling her claws sharpen and dig into the skin of his back.
“I think I could manage that for ya, baby…” she breathed out, her voice suddenly taking on a deep Georgian accent. Then she stiffened and pulled away and Trig pouted up and growled.
“I was having fun.” he informed her and she shook her head, causing her hair to smack his face.
“We have made love once.” she reminded him and he nodded.
“Yes and I’d like to do it again.” he said as he once again tried to go for her neck but she put her hand on his forehead and held him back.
“You have not yet marked me.” she complained and Trig tilted his head.
“You haven’t marked me either.” he stated.
“You should go first, you are the man. Or perhaps you are trying to be a gentleman and let ladies go first?” Her voice was suddenly very serious as if she was trying to figure out a great quandary of life. Trig couldn’t help but laugh.
He stood up and lifted her into his arms, cradling her against his chest.
“Grange would be very angry to see you carrying me. He worries much about your shoulder and chest.”
“He doesn’t want an injured beta.” Trig replied simply. “I’m no good to him if I can’t fight.”
“That is not the truth.” Farrah argued as she wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder. Trig had never felt like a tough guy in his life but he felt like one when he held her close like this. “Grange worries about you because he cares about you. This pack is different from most I have seen before. Werelion’s do not have packs or family groups. We are loners, and most wolf packs are simply based on hierarchy and positions, not love and caring. This pack is loving and caring. I am proud to be a part of it and learn the ways of Grange’s wisdom.”
“Wisdom?” Trig asked and Farrah nodded.
“It is not many alpha wolves that would welcome in a young beta with no real training and an older lone wolf with far more training than himself and then also welcome their mates without question, specifically the daughter of a well established pack alpha and a werelion. Grange must be very wise indeed.”
Trig chuckled.
“I’ll tell him you said so.” he replied. Then he kissed her hair. “But first, what d’ya say we head on out to a private spot and take care of business.”
“Ladies first?” Farrah asked and Trig licked his lips and felt his arousal growing.
“Oh yes, I’ll make sure the lady gets there first. I wouldn’t be a real man if I didn’t.”