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Authors: M. Limoges
Tags: Black Hills Wolves
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whole world went black.
***
Eleven years earlier ….
“Where is he?” Colt needed to pound out his anger. Magnum Tao had gone too far. Alpha or no Alpha, he didn’t get to haul the unmated, young females in front of him like a sexual cattle call to determine who he and his disgusting followers would eventually mate.
If they waited to claim them at all….
“Colt,” Tasha Moore’s voice called behind him, and he turned to see her rushing up behind him.
He smiled at her approach, some of his temper cooling with her presence. She was fourteen years old and sweet. A lot of the young juveniles developed tempers as their dominant tendencies warred with the human rules the pack self-imposed on themselves so they could exist in the world without discovery. But not Tasha. At least not yet. He suspected she would end up a true non-dominant Wolf, the kind that made all the strong shifters want to take care of her; the reason wolves like him had been given such protective instincts.
“Tasha?” He stared at her pale face and the dark circles under her eyes. “What’s the matter?”
“Don’t.” She placed a hand on his arm, and he smiled. In addition to being calming, she had the true and rare quality of being one of the kindest shifters he knew.
“Don’t do what, sweetheart?” He was only five years older than she, but in their world, that meant a monumental difference.
She narrowed her gaze. “Don’t go there and make Magnum mad. Since Drew left, there’s no stopping or controlling him. Look what happened to Brick. No one has seen him since. Please. We need you. If you die or he throws you out, what will happen? All of the dominant males can’t disappear. What will happen to us?”
The frantic tone of her voice made his skin crawl, and the acrid smell of her fear burned his nose. “Honey, I’m not going to die. I’ll tell Magnum to leave you all alone, and then if he won’t, I’ll do what every capable male here should be doing. I’ll stop him one way or another, but not from an Alpha challenge. No one wants that.”
He would find a way. His uncle couldn’t continue to be allowed to torment the young females as if they were toys to use and discard. The fact that he wanted to in the first place meant their Alpha had transitioned from menacing to disturbed. Magnum had once possessed a mate. He’d been a father and a competent, if not kind, leader. Now? The abhorrent man had dragged all of them into his pit of misery.
Worse, he was Colt’s uncle, and Colt wouldn’t allow him to continue to disparage their family the way he’d been doing. Colt Hannigan would never be that cowardly.
“No.” Tasha shook her head. “He’s the strongest. I don’t know how to make you understand this. I don’t think I can. But I have the ability to feel all of you differently than most Wolves. Because I’m not dominant, I can tell when I’m around you what your strengths are I can also feel who can take care of me, who is strongest, who is able to fight. I know. He can beat you in a fight, Colt. He’ll rip you apart.”
He patted her on the shoulder. “I think you’re confused because you don’t really understand your instincts yet. They’re only starting to come through. Beta Wolves can’t tell who the strongest dominant in the room is. That’s not possible.”
She put her hands on her hips, an unusual show of temper from such a passive juvenile. He grinned at how irritated she appeared. “Or maybe the Beta Wolves simply don’t tell you everything. Maybe there are some things we generally keep to ourselves.”
“Tasha, you can’t even tell if you’re a Beta yet. You have years before you’ll be fully in control of your Wolf side.”
She sighed, shaking her head. “Did you ever not know you were dominant?”
Tasha made a good point, but he didn’t want to stand around and debate semantics. Not when Magnum could be bothering more of the young females while they argued.
“I
***
Eleven years earlier ….
“Where is he?” Colt needed to pound out his anger. Magnum Tao had gone too far. Alpha or no Alpha, he didn’t get to haul the unmated, young females in front of him like a sexual cattle call to determine who he and his disgusting followers would eventually mate.
If they waited to claim them at all….
“Colt,” Tasha Moore’s voice called behind him, and he turned to see her rushing up behind him.
He smiled at her approach, some of his temper cooling with her presence. She was fourteen years old and sweet. A lot of the young juveniles developed tempers as their dominant tendencies warred with the human rules the pack self-imposed on themselves so they could exist in the world without discovery. But not Tasha. At least not yet. He suspected she would end up a true non-dominant Wolf, the kind that made all the strong shifters want to take care of her; the reason wolves like him had been given such protective instincts.
“Tasha?” He stared at her pale face and the dark circles under her eyes. “What’s the matter?”
“Don’t.” She placed a hand on his arm, and he smiled. In addition to being calming, she had the true and rare quality of being one of the kindest shifters he knew.
“Don’t do what, sweetheart?” He was only five years older than she, but in their world, that meant a monumental difference.
She narrowed her gaze. “Don’t go there and make Magnum mad. Since Drew left, there’s no stopping or controlling him. Look what happened to Brick. No one has seen him since. Please. We need you. If you die or he throws you out, what will happen? All of the dominant males can’t disappear. What will happen to us?”
The frantic tone of her voice made his skin crawl, and the acrid smell of her fear burned his nose. “Honey, I’m not going to die. I’ll tell Magnum to leave you all alone, and then if he won’t, I’ll do what every capable male here should be doing. I’ll stop him one way or another, but not from an Alpha challenge. No one wants that.”
He would find a way. His uncle couldn’t continue to be allowed to torment the young females as if they were toys to use and discard. The fact that he wanted to in the first place meant their Alpha had transitioned from menacing to disturbed. Magnum had once possessed a mate. He’d been a father and a competent, if not kind, leader. Now? The abhorrent man had dragged all of them into his pit of misery.
Worse, he was Colt’s uncle, and Colt wouldn’t allow him to continue to disparage their family the way he’d been doing. Colt Hannigan would never be that cowardly.
“No.” Tasha shook her head. “He’s the strongest. I don’t know how to make you understand this. I don’t think I can. But I have the ability to feel all of you differently than most Wolves. Because I’m not dominant, I can tell when I’m around you what your strengths are I can also feel who can take care of me, who is strongest, who is able to fight. I know. He can beat you in a fight, Colt. He’ll rip you apart.”
He patted her on the shoulder. “I think you’re confused because you don’t really understand your instincts yet. They’re only starting to come through. Beta Wolves can’t tell who the strongest dominant in the room is. That’s not possible.”
She put her hands on her hips, an unusual show of temper from such a passive juvenile. He grinned at how irritated she appeared. “Or maybe the Beta Wolves simply don’t tell you everything. Maybe there are some things we generally keep to ourselves.”
“Tasha, you can’t even tell if you’re a Beta yet. You have years before you’ll be fully in control of your Wolf side.”
She sighed, shaking her head. “Did you ever not know you were dominant?”
Tasha made a good point, but he didn’t want to stand around and debate semantics. Not when Magnum could be bothering more of the young females while they argued.
“I
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