A/N: All cannon characters and settings belong to the brilliant mind of Patricia Briggs. The rest comes solely from my imagination. This is written merely for my own pleasure and the pleasure of others. Also, I tend to get long-winded, so some of my chapters may be long, no, not may be, will be.
P.S. My muse is in overdrive right now and as such I have three fics going at once. I have this one plus another with Asil that will be posted in the Alpha and Omega series section, as well as one over in the Mercy Thompson series called Finding Home, which features Ben and an OC. If updating gets slow, that is the reason why. I am working on each one daily so bear with me.
P.S.S. I would like to thank melissa, book-lover2873, and pinknose1 for their kind reviews. Any writer, no matter if they're a best selling author or a mere fanfic writer, likes to know that others, besides themselves, are enjoying their work.
You have been warned. Now, without further ado, on with the story!
Leah was fuming as she reached her rooms and slammed the door. "That arrogant British bitch! Who in the hell does she think she is?" She paced her room and growled. She had half a mind to barge into her mate's study, knock that arrogant snob on her ass, and dare her to retaliate. She needed to get out of the house before she acted on the urge.
The one thing that could put her in a better mood was shopping. She could be in Missoula in under two hours, depending on the roads. That snobby bitch might think her shit didn't stink but she would never have the kind of financial security Leah had as Bran's mate.
Leah grabbed her purse and stalked downstairs to the front door and the closet where her winter coat hung. She'd all but forgotten Anna and Charles were still there. "Going out?" she heard Anna say and started to ignore her. "Missoula," she finally snarled.
Anna arched a brow at Leah's anger. She was going to milk it for all it was worth, obviously. "Have fun," she said cheerily and tried to not laugh at the growl she received.
"You might want to rethink that," Charles said. "The roads are pretty bad."
"I am quite capable of driving in the snow," Leah replied and left.
"Da's liable to throttle her if she wrecks that car," Charles commented.
Bran escorted Aria into his study and motioned to a chair before sitting behind the desk. "First, let me say I was a bit surprised anyone from Arthur's old pack would want to come here, considering it was my son who killed him. The new Alpha tells me you've had moments of instability and feared for the safety of those around you?" he asked, studying her.
"I already told Charles and Anna that no one in my old pack holds a grudge against him for that. What Arthur did, and tried to do, was unforgivable. His mate, Sunny, was well loved by all of us and she deserved so much more than to be ravaged by vampires he'd hired himself. Had he succeeded his head would have been delivered to you, via Anna, so you would know retribution had been paid." Aria sighed softly. "Instability is one way to put it. Thirty years ago my mate was Arthur's third. He was a good man and he always put the pack first. He was challenged for his position and lost. Even though yielding was mostly unheard of, it did happen, and he tried to show his challenger that he submitted to his dominance, but Nicholas refused to show mercy and ripped his throat out. I'd begun to fantasize about all the ways I could kill Nick. Three nights ago, just before Winston informed the pack I was leaving, Nick cornered me because he had it in his head I was just challenging him to make my wolf submit, and I shot him in the stomach. The bullets were lead but I'd almost put the silver ones I had in it instead. I honestly believe that if you hadn't honored my request the time would have come, very soon, that I would have gone into another pack's territory and forced them to kill me. I was losing myself to the anger and resentment."
"Why not ask the Alpha to kill you?" he asked. The man had told him his side of it but he wanted to know if their views matched.
"I've known Winston and his mate Sarah for a very long time. They helped me through the worst of it after my mate's death. He wouldn't have been able to bring himself to honor the request."
"And you know, should the need arise, I won't hesitate. That's very practical of you."
"I do. Your reputation for doing what needs to be done to keep your wolves safe is well known," she confessed.
Leah roared through town ignoring anyone she passed on the way out. Fat wet flakes fell from the overcast gray clouds and clung to her windshield despite the wipers going full blast. She usually paid more attention to her speed, and the road, but not today. Today she was too angry to even think straight. The road leading out of Aspen Creek had several sharp, winding curves that required a much slower speed than she was traveling at. Thanks to the falling snow Leah didn't realize she was so close to one of them before it was too late. Just as she hit the curve she slid in a patch of ice and lost control of the wheel. She grabbed it and over-corrected and screamed when the car flipped. The rag-top on her convertible was torn off and the metal frame was mangled. The car continued to roll and part of the mangled frame cut into the side of her neck, causing her to gasp in pain. It wasn't life threatening, she was a werewolf, she could heal that, but it still hurt. The car hit a boulder and part of the steering column snapped off. A metal rod came loose and as the car made its final flip it pierced her chest, going through her heart and out her back, impaling her. 'Bran!' She tried to scream his name but no sound came out. The pain faded to numbness and then there was nothing.
"I do. Your reputation for doing what needs to be done to keep your wolves safe is well known," she confessed.
Bran studied the woman across form him. "We have a few rules here. If you have trouble with anyone you bring it either to Charles or myself. Some of our older wolves can be tricky to deal with, especially with you being an unmated female. They might get a little aggressive because they come from a time when females were to be sheltered, not allowed to live alone. If you need anything, again let us know. Your things will arrive sometime this week, but it may take time to get everything here, given the snow. For the time being the house we've set aside for you has been furnished with items pack members and townspeople have offered for your use. Everyone who lives in Aspen Creek knows what we are. Many of the families have lived here for generations. You'll find, once you've settled in, that we're one big family."
Aria smiled at that. "That sounds lovely, really. That was the one thing I always hated; having to hide what I was from everyone I knew. After my change, I had to let my family think I was dead. I watched from a distance as my parents aged and then died, watched as my brothers and sisters married, had children, and aged as well. I've kept tabs on their descendants but I never approached any of them. Maybe with the changes, with the wolves in the open, one day I will."
"It'll get easier for others now that the wolves are out," he agreed. "I'll show you to the living room where Anna and Charles are waiting for you to take you to your new home. Tomorrow we will bring the pack together and perform the ceremony. I'm sure with the long flight, jet lag will catch up to you soon and you'll appreciate the chance to rest first." Bran stood and started to move around his desk when he froze. "Leah?" The bond between them wasn't as strong as it was with wolves like Charles and Anna who loved each other, but he could always feel his mate if he wanted to. Reaching out to her he felt her terror and pain and stumbled.
Aria watched him. Was his mate up to mischief? When Bran stumbled, however, she knew what was happening. She'd lived through it. "Charles!" she yelled, knowing he'd hear her.
Charles was waiting patiently for them to finish when he felt his father's distress. At least he thought it was his father's distress until he looked at his mate and saw she felt it too. It was Aria's voice that had him charging into the room though. "Da?"
"Where's Leah?" Bran panted.
"She said she was going to Missoula. I told her the roads were bad and she ignored me." It dawned on him what was going on and he headed for the front door. "Anna, stay with Da," he growled. As soon as he was outside he shifted. He could cover more ground that way.
"What's happening?" Anna asked, confused.
Aria moved to Bran's side before she answered. "It's... Leah is gone. The mate bond, when the unthinkable happens, you know it. You feel it. It doesn't matter if you're in the next room or another country. You feel it." She guided Bran to a chair. The man wasn't incapacitated but he was in shock.
"Oh god." Anna and Leah were never going to be friends but she never would have wanted something to happen to the other woman. Immediately she was on the phone making a call to Samuel. Bran would need both of his sons right now.
"Sam, you need to come home," she said as soon as he answered. "Your Da needs you. Leah is gone. As in forever gone from this world," she added quietly.
"Put Da on," Sam said and she handed the phone to Bran.
"Da? I'll be there as soon as I can. Don't you do anything you'll regret later," Samuel said in Welsh before he hung up.
"I'm alright," Bran said but his voice sounded hollow.
Anna ignored him and made several more calls. She sent Tag and Asil out after Charles and then had Sage go pick up Thea and come to the house in case there was a problem. With two Omegas, maybe they could keep things calm. She'd seen Bran when the berserker was in control. Mariposa had managed to subdue his human half and the beast was... feral. If things got ugly they might be able to keep him from losing it completely.
Aria was quiet while Anna made her calls. She stayed at Bran's side and told herself it was because she'd been through that loss herself. She told herself there was no other reason behind it. If anyone understood what he was going through it was her. She was just a silent sentinel, giving as much comfort as she could with her presence.
Charles reached the wreckage and shifted back. He knew without even checking that Leah was dead. Her eyes were open and clouded over in death and he bowed his head for a moment. He was careful as he yanked the rod out of her chest and picked her up to carry her body back to his father. He heard the sounds of an engine as he neared the road.
"Oh shit.. is she?" Tag asked at the limp body in his arms. They'd all felt the break of a pack bond but no one knew who it was or that it was because they'd died. Sometimes wolves left the pack without any fanfare so it could have been anything.
"Yes. Anna must have called you. We'll need to get her car, what's left of it, out of the gully but I need to get her body back to Da first."
Tag nodded. "Hop in. I'll drive you."
Asil pulled up at that moment. "This is not good. Go, get her to him so he can say goodbye. I'll start clearing a path to her car." She might have been a shallow, self-centered snit but she was pack. Now he knew why he'd felt that stab of pain earlier, why they'd all felt it. Things could go very badly if the Marrok reacted poorly to the loss of his mate.