“Try it,” Ryder said softly. “I can take you, Mitchell. But I wouldn’t because it would break your sister’s heart if I turned her brother into lunch meat.”
Her stomach tightened. The assembled males shifted their feet, their stances threatening. Kara held her breath as the two leaders glared at each other, any second ready to shift into wolf.
Then Aiden’s shoulders relaxed the tiniest bit. “Lunch meat? That the best you can do?”
“Over processed and filled with preservatives. What more of an insult do you want?” Ryder descended the steps and held out his hand. Aiden shook it.
Her mate nodded at the restless males, shuffling their boots in the dirt. “Why all the muscle if you didn’t plan an attack?”
A slow smile touched her brother’s mouth. “I planned an attack of labor. Brought them here to work. Figured the place still looks like shit and you could use the extra hands. We’ve got hammers, nails and energy.”
Ryder laughed, turned and barked an order to the males on the porch. They led Aiden’s men in the direction of the barn.
Her mate clapped her brother on the shoulder. “Come in. I’ve saved all your father’s papers for you to go through. There’s forms you need to sign. Legal shit Skins need to turn the ranch over to me. I have enough cash from my land sale to keep your ranch from foreclosure. Long as you’re here, let’s take care of business. Beer?
“Beer, hell yeah. None of that cheap crap Alastair always stocked.”
“Hell no, I have the good stuff.”
They walked away, talking, their stances relaxed. Kara leaned against the door frame with a heavy sigh of relief.
She looked up and saw Darius shaking his head.
Kara raced down the steps. She hugged the Lupine, inhaling his unique scent. Tugging him inside to the living room, she sat down at the sofa, patted the space beside her. “How did you convince Aiden to call off the war?”
He grinned, shoving a hand through his thick, black curls. Mischief danced in his deep blue eyes. “I told him like it is. Said that if he stormed the castle, he’d probably catch the princess in bed in a very compromising position with her new mate. That’s what I’d be doing instead of preparing for battle. Making love is much more pleasurable than making war.”
Kara blushed.
“I think the visual was too much for your brother.”
“Thank you.” Grateful this charming Lupine had diffused Aiden’s anger, she squeezed his hand. “When you’re finished here, will you return to the ranch or go fetch your mate? I know you’ve been dying to see her.”
Darius went silent, staring into the empty fireplace. Kara’s heart gave a painful squeeze. “What happened? You told me as soon as everything was stable, you’d go get Sam. Did they move? You can find her, we can help…”
“She’s dead.”
Kara stared, her throat tightening.
“I snuck back to my old man’s pack. Knocked on her mother’s door, asked for Sam.” Darius laughed, but there was no humor in it. “She told me Sam died.”
“She might have lied, might not have wanted to give up her daughter…”
“I saw the gravestone.”
Dear gods. Kara squeezed his hands, feeling helpless, wishing she could comfort him. Gone was his cheerful, mocking air, replaced by a male who seemed cold and distant as an iceberg.
“It’s okay to mourn her,” she told him. “You must grieve.”
“I can’t. I won’t break down.” His rough voice caught. “Sam was my life, and she was the only person I’ll ever love. I can’t mourn her in public because Aiden needs me to appear strong at all times.”
And then she knew that even when a love so deep existed, and your heart shattered after losing a mate, a Lupine could act with strength and courage. Darius had lost everything, but stood firm in his resolve to help her brother build a new, resilient pack.
Kara suddenly knew how to help him. She opened her arms. “Then while your pack is at the barn, allow me the privilege of letting you mourn her here in private.”
A single tear escaped his brimming blue eyes. It cascaded down his thin cheek, splashed onto her hand. Kara drew him close, like a sister would a big brother she comforted.
Darius sobbed, his broad shoulders shaking, as he wept. Tears clogged her own throat. This big male who had helped her brother keep the peace, who held the frail pack together through hard work and respect, needed to grieve.
You are our strength, the heart of our people, who keeps us alive and strong and lets us be whoever we are, omega or alpha. You give us the rare privilege of releasing our feelings without fear. Your father used our frailties to tear us down. You take our frailties and make us stronger.