Page 1 of Branches of the Willow (The Ancients #3)

1

Happy

“I never expected that my happily ever after was going to be so busy.” I smirked as I declared that to my best friend.

“Maybe because you never believed in the fairytale ending to start with?” Ashley reminded me as she went down on her hands and knees and hunted under the bed for something.

“Can you blame me? I mean, back when you worked to persuade me that fairytales were a real thing, Zach Brighton might have been my mate, if everyone else got their way.” I mock gagged, and the weight of Zach’s disappearance once again settled heavily on my shoulders. He had been part of a plan to capture and assassinate me, or keep me for his mate, twice now. Both times he got away while the people responsible for encouraging him were being handled. Even though I didn’t worry about him as a powerful foe, he was turning out to be a slippery bastard and particularly adept at finding powerful friends to assist him in his relentless, albeit delusional, quest to procure me as his own mate.

“They’ll locate him,” Ashley tried to sound sure of herself, but even I could hear the doubt in her voice. “What about this one?” She held the shirt up, deciding to shift the subject. I wondered why on earth it had been hiding out under her bed, but it was Ashley, so it kind of made sense. She had probably tossed it to the floor and accidentally kicked it under there one night when she rejected it for another option. The woman had trouble simply picking a shirt out. She had to try on twenty before she went back to the first one.

“Your boobs are going to be on full display in that one.”

“Perfect!” Ashley tossed the shirt into her suitcase with a big grin on her face. I wanted to laugh at her, because she might not have been on the market for men anymore, but Ashley still loved being ogled, and of course, tantalizing her mate relentlessly.

“What am I going to do without you while you’re gone?” I poked my lip out in what I meant to be a fake pout, but it felt all too real. Part of me was jealous that I couldn’t travel along with them. I had never been far from home before, and the thought of traveling anywhere, let alone halfway around the world, was an intriguing luxury I realized I couldn’t afford anytime soon.

“I’m sure Mikael will think of ways to keep you plenty busy while I’m away.” Ashley waggled her eyebrows at me as her smile lit up her beautiful face. Those gorgeous, denim-blue eyes of hers sparkled with excitement as she spoke. “I can’t believe I’m getting to go away with Asriel.” She squealed in delight for what was probably the hundredth time while her feet shuffled back and forth in some strange, Ashley-happy-dance move. I needed to be excited for her since she was going on an adventure that I could only dream about, but I was going to miss the hell out of my best friend while she was gone.

I tossed a teal, silk blouse her way, “Take that one too.” I offered as she continued to dance around. “I’m sure I’ll be plenty busy with Mikael, and wolf stuff, but who am I going to talk to about everything?”

Ashley came over and wrapped her arms around me in a tight, warm hug that I never wanted to end. “There are these things,” she whispered into my ear. “They are called phones. We have international plans, and we can talk whenever you need me. I promise!”

“Except when Asi is keeping you busy.” I grinned as I hugged her back.

“Yeah, well, that goes without saying.” She laughed again.

“I wish we could go with you guys. There is just so much going on here. I know that I won’t be able to get away anytime soon.” I looked around the mess that was Ashley’s room for anything else I could add to her already overburdened suitcase. “It looks like we packed everything you own.” A strange feeling gnawed at my gut as I said that. What if Ashley and Asi decided that they didn’t want to come back? This was not Asi’s home, after all.

Ashley struggled to get one side of her suitcase zipped closed. “I think you’re right, but a girl has to be prepared for anything.”

“What do you think Evan will claim for himself and Mikael? I know there are properties, and all the stuff in the houses, but I can’t even imagine what all that entails. You are going to need to send me loads of pictures.” I stopped rambling and went to sit my ass on Ashley’s suitcase so she could get it zipped the rest of the way.

“I will, Jess. I cannot wait to see everything. I’ve never been out of the country.” She smiled at me, her red curls bouncing as she struggled with the zipper once more. It finally gave way, and slid into place with a metallic noise, closing around the remainder of the life she had packed away inside. “This is going to be an amazing trip. I promise I will send enough pictures back that you can live vicariously through me until you are all squared away here. Maybe then we can all take a trip to some place tropical, like we used to dream about.”

“Oh, yeah! One of those resorts, with the white sandy beaches, and umbrella drinks?”

“You know it!” Ashley bumped me with her hip as she picked the suitcase up off the bed and sat it down on the floor with a loud thump. Once her hands were free, she turned to pull me into another big hug. “I wish you were going too,” she whispered.

“Are you ready in here?” Ashley’s mate, Asriel, asked as he came through the door. His eyebrows quirked up as that wicked grin slid across his face. “Son of a bitch, I guess I owe Evan some cash. I swore that you two would find a way to pack Jess in there.” He glanced down at the suitcase by Ashley’s feet, then did a double take at the size. “You know we’re coming back, right?”

“Don’t start.” Ashley pouted. “A girl has to be prepared…” her voice trailed off as she looked at the extremely large, overstuffed suitcase. “Can you get that for me?”

“Why am I not surprised?” Asi sighed but leaned in for a kiss before grabbing the bag and hauling it out to the car as if it weighed nothing at all. I watched as the muscles in Asi’s forearm and biceps bulged a bit as he did so, even while making it seem effortless. Ashley was definitely a lucky girl. Then again, the man across the room that headed towards me caught my eye and stole my breath away. I was very blessed in the luck department, myself.

“Jess, we have to get you over to the meeting with the pack leaders soon.” Mikael reminded me. I watched as he prowled ever closer, not stopping until we met somewhere in the middle. He slipped an arm around my shoulder and retraced his steps back out of the temporary house we had set up for Asi and Ashley while they were waiting for their own to be built on the pack’s land.

“They can wait a couple more minutes. I need to say goodbye, and we’ll head over.” I leaned into the passenger side of the car, where Ashley was adjusting her seatbelt, and I gave her a peck on the cheek. “Your house should be finished by the time you guys get back. Then we get to throw a housewarming party!”

Ashley giggled in my ear. “Still looking for excuses to party, hon?”

“Actually, I just think by the time you get back, I’ll need to blow off some serious steam and have a reason to spend time with you that no one can deny.” There was a certain amount of sadness that tainted my request. I knew what was headed for me, and while I was determined to take up the mantle of white wolf ruler, I knew it was going to come with a lot of personal sacrifice, like time that could no longer be spent with my best friend.

“Isn’t your man supposed to help you destress?” She teased. I heard Mikael chuckle off to my side. I rolled my eyes in Ashley’s general direction as I turned to find Evan standing nearby. He was taking things well these days, but he always seemed a bit lost to me. I could see the pain that clouded his eyes when I caught him watching me. Part of me felt for him, even though I was happy with Mikael. No matter what, I wanted Evan to find his own happiness, and until he did, my heart would always hurt a little. Not for the choice I made, but because making it hurt him.

Evan leaned in and wrapped his arms around me. “Stay safe and take care of my brother while I’m gone. Between the two of you, getting kidnapped seems to be a thing, and I won’t be around to rescue you this time.”

In response, I gave Evan a playful punch to the gut and laughed. “Shut it, Evan. You just worry about taking care of Ashley and making sure she gets back here in one piece.” He squeezed me a little harder then.

“You know I will.” Evan turned to plant a kiss on my cheek about the same time I heard Mikael’s low growl, warning Evan that he was lingering too long. For his part, Evan just pulled back and grinned at him. “Calm down, Brother. I was just saying goodbye.”

“I heard what you said. No need to say goodbye with your lips too.” Mikael’s gruff complaint made me laugh as I walked over and put my arm around his waist. He actually reached up and brushed the spot on my cheek where his brother had kissed me goodbye, effectively wiping away the trace of him. I giggled at his ridiculous behavior even as something inside of me alighted at the fact that he wanted me all to himself.

“I think it’s cute that you get jealous,” I whispered, “even though you have absolutely nothing to worry about.” Evan hopped into the back of the car and let Asi take position in the driver’s seat. “Take care of her, Asi. I mean it!” I called out.

“You have my word, Jess.” He nodded to Mikael and bowed his head reverently towards me. “Call if there are any problems. We will be back as fast as we can.”

“Thank you.” Asi may have been Evan’s man through and through, but he had sworn his own allegiance to me, as the white wolf, too. I knew he would come running without hesitation if I asked. For that reason, I had vowed to myself that I would check my moments of weakness and only call on him if things were truly dire.

Mikael draped an arm around my shoulders and hugged me closer to him. “She’ll be back soon,” he told me as I hugged him back. His woodsy scent soothed me as I stayed wrapped in his arms while we watched them drive away.

“I know. I just worry that whatever it is that glues Asriel and Evan together will eventually mean that I lose my best friend to their constant travel. I’m happy for Ash, don’t get me wrong, but I would miss her terribly.” I poked my lip out in a very unbecoming pout. “I’m selfish, huh?”

“You’re not selfish to feel things, Jess. Selfish would be if you used your powers to hold her back. You’re not doing that. She’ll be back and with tons of new stories to tell you. Hell, they’re building a house, here, on your father’s pack lands. I think that tells you all you need to know about where Asi’s heart is in all of this.” He tugged me a little closer to him then. “Now, let’s get you to that meeting before anyone gets antsy.”

“Jessie!” A male voice called out from somewhere behind me. My heart stuttered in my chest at the sound because it was so reminiscent of Jack. He was the only one who ever called me Jessie with any regularity, and his death was still too fresh in my heart. I turned to see Andy Wallace running towards me. “Hey, Jess!”

“What’s up Andy?”

“I’m glad I caught you before you took off for the meeting hall. We have three new males, Ancients, here on pack lands asking to speak with you.”

“We’re running late already,” Mikael pointed out to Andy. It was also his subtle way of reminding me as he slid his arm free of my shoulders.

“Andy, have them wait at my parents’ house. Keep an eye on them until I get there. I really must get to this meeting. We’re late. The Ancients can wait. Twenty pack leaders crammed into a small, enclosed room for too long is probably not a good idea.” Andy nodded as a grin spread across his face, and then he took off again in the opposite direction. “The good news is, it looks like I’m going to be too busy to remember I have a best friend somewhere out there having fun without me.” Mikael bumped into my side playfully. He was quieter than usual. “Do you wish you were going with them?” I asked. “You could have.”

“No, the only place on Earth I want to be is right here with you. I just worry about everything that’s been dropped on your shoulders. Promise me something?”

“Anything.” I answered, meaning it.

“Let me know if it’s too much. We can haul ass for a private sanctuary, recharge, and decompress anytime. You just say the word. You the White Wolf, and that’s important, but you’re also Jess. You have to be able to check out and take care of yourself too.”

I smiled up at my mate knowing that was why he was perfect for me. He would not stand in the way of what I needed to do, but he was there to make sure I mattered too. “I love you!”

“Ah, love, you are my heart, always.” He leaned in and planted a kiss on the tip of my nose then. As if he had given me permission to feel it, exhaustion swept in, weighing down the very bones in my body. As much as I wanted to just go home and curl up in bed for a nice long nap with my mate, we had things to do and responsibilities that would not wait.

We walked along the path toward the reception hall where pack leaders were currently awaiting my presence. I felt bad for keeping them waiting, but damn it, Mikael was right, I needed some me time occasionally too. Ever since I had come out as the white wolf ruler, things had gone nuts. Leaders from far off packs were coming to see for themselves, and of course they all wanted me to prove it, which left me feeling a bit like a circus side-show of late. I finally, got fed up, and called the closest twenty pack leaders to come have a sit down with me. I needed to start piecing my people back together into one whole unit. It started with these twenty leaders, the top twenty in the United States. There were smaller packs out there, but we needed the larger packs onboard with my plans first in order to get anywhere.

“I’m sorry to have kept you all waiting,” I announced the moment we walked through the door. I expected some light grumbling, the likes of which I would have heard had a professor walked in at the last minute before we could officially call class canceled for the day. Silence greeted me instead. They were all watching as Mikael walked over to the table and pulled the chair out for me. Mine was the seat at the head of the table, while Mikael sat himself directly to my left. I took a quick inventory of the people present and noted two absences. “I knew Avery Daniels was unable to make this meeting, because of a problem with interlopers on his lands. I see someone else is missing?” It was a question. I still didn’t have faces to match with a lot of the leaders’ names. It was a rare occasion that this many high alphas sat amongst themselves peacefully.

“John Freedman is missing, Jess.” My father called out from across the long table. I wondered why he sat down there, as I was hoping he would have seated himself to my right, but that was neither here nor there.

I nodded. “Freedman…” I was lost in thought, trying to process why the name sounded so familiar.

“He sent a messenger.” My father stood to read a piece of paper out to everyone. “So long as the Ancient Immersion Program is on the table, you will feel my absence.” I saw my father hesitate, and then he dropped the hand the paper was in down to his side.

“There’s more?” I asked, wondering why he would hesitate to read it in front of the others.

My father cleared his throat, and picked the paper back up, although he did so reluctantly. “Yes. He goes on to say that any who stand for the intermingling of the Ancients with the Lesser wolves will be no friend to him or his clan.” A quiet murmuring trickled throughout the room as leaders discussed Freedman’s decree amongst themselves.

I nodded again. “Thank you.” I looked around at the faces that were processing the latest information. The agenda that was being pushed was one I knew would meet with some pushback since there had been centuries of an ‘us’ versus ‘them’ attitude to combat when it came to mixing the two groups. I wanted to abolish the thought of Ancients and Lessers as separate and make everyone understand that we were all simply wolves. I held off the sigh that wanted to present itself at what was likely to be the first of many dissenting voices amongst the wolves. Instead of allowing them to see my exhaustion or the fact that I’d been disheartened by the response, I chose to make an example of it.

“Well, since Mr. Freedman didn’t have the gumption to show up in anything more than letter form, I’m not sure I’d consider him a great loss to begin with. What is he going to do as an ally, write a scathing letter to our enemies?” There were a few startled looks in the crowd as the words left my mouth, but then a ruckus laughter bellowed forth from Andre Marmont, and it became infectious amongst the group.

“You are a breath of fresh air, my dear.” Andre stated as he wound down his own laughter. “I’ve never liked Freedman. He does things differently in his pack than most of the more civilized clans do.”

“What do you mean?” I hated having to ask a question like that in front of everyone, but unfortunately, my father had tried to protect me from the ugliness that could be inherent in our world, and I had not been kept up to speed on which packs were decent versus which were destructive to our kind as I was growing up. That put me at a slight disadvantage with my current position as would-be leader of the entire werewolf race.

“Women have no rights there in his pack. They are taken by those strong enough to capture them, and then they are kept in the background only. They are for breeding, keeping house, and not a lot more. I think, even if you took the AI program off the table, he would still have a problem being here. Freedman isn’t going to take orders from any female.”

I nodded to Andre. “Thank you for your candor.” I quickly glanced at all the other leaders who sat around the table. “Does anyone here share in Mr. Freedman’s feelings about a female ruler?” I waited. There were a couple men who shifted around nervously but made no move to say a word. I took note of the ones who seemed uncomfortable with the question, for future reference.

“Okay, then. Let’s get this show on the road. I want to get busy with the immersion plans as soon as possible. As many of you know, there has been something lacking in the way we have been choosing mates for our kind. Wolves are being born with less and less power as of late. It’s not just the Lesser packs who are having this problem. The Ancients have also seen a steady decline. Not only in abilities, but in the birth of females.” I listened as a round of grumbling agreement permeated the meeting hall.

They all knew what I said was true. Each pack had been dealing with these issues for a couple generations now, since the last white wolf who had a true mate had been around. “I’m proposing something, a step beyond the AI Program. We need to also make sure our kind are mingling more amongst the different packs. I know everyone has their territories to protect, but we need to come up with a peaceful way to introduce wolves from other packs to potential mates. A true bonding pair won’t necessarily live in the same packs. That means everyone is going to have to step outside of their comfort zones and allow for some unorthodox socialization.”

“Maybe, we can set up a central location, times, and dates, to get people together. Perhaps throw a party, barbeque, or whatever occasionally so interested singles can get together and mingle?” Susan Oliver offered up in the form of a suggestion. She was the only female pack leader at the meeting. The other seventeen present were all men. She was also one of the few who were openly excited about the AI Program, as her pack had been suffering from not having high enough caliber males to mate with their females.

“I think that’s a fantastic idea. Why don’t you take the lead on finding a good, centralized location that we can begin building up for that purpose?” Susan inclined her head in my direction and started taking some notes on a legal pad in front of her. She seemed to be the only one prepared to take down any kind of notes today. “If any of you are in disagreement with the measures discussed here today, I really hope you’ll come forward with your issues, so we can get them worked out.”

“I have an issue.” Brian Maynard stood and looked over all the other leaders in the room before he turned to address me. “You are still young. I am not sure you’ve thought things through. The impact this will have on packs, could be staggering. What if none of our females are a true match for the males in our pack? Where will that leave the pack?”

“It leaves you needing to explore the other options available. Your single males will need to show up to the social events that Susan proposed. I know this doesn’t seem ideal, but we are all aware that previous leadership, and strict regulations against intermingling with other packs, have led to the current issues our people are facing. We’re just going to have to find ways to work around the issues, so we can ensure the survival of our kind.”

“What if we find more human women and change them?” I didn’t recognize the man who spoke up.

“You are?”

“Drew. Drew Ryan.” He looked me up and down, and then continued. “I know we’ve all been in silent agreement about not purposely turning humans anymore, but maybe that’s the answer to our problems more than these proposed parties, and Ancient Infiltration Programs.” His tone was flippant and beyond condescending.

“Ancient Immersion.” I corrected him. “What would you have us do? Take out an ad in The Times ? Wanted: women who want to walk on the wild side. Take your 70-30 chance at death in order to mate with lonely werewolf men?” Snickers followed my sarcastic response, but there were some curious, too interested, looks as well. “It was a joke,” I snapped. “Seriously, how the hell do you propose going about finding these women? Are you planning on changing them against their will? What happens when they die? Not to mention, what if they do change, and they decide they don’t like you? It would draw far too much attention to our kind.”

“Not if we do it right. We can look for the strongest women, the ones who we think can make the change ok.” Drew argued back.

“No.” I spoke firmly, so there was no question as to where I stood on the matter. “I will not have a bunch of human women ending up dead in some crazy rush to re-populate our female stocks, like we’re some kind of chattel to be replaced, or made, at a person’s whim. We’re talking about lives here.”

“Didn’t he turn your best friend for you?” Drew pointed at Mikael, who hadn’t said a word yet.

“I didn’t have any intentions of turning anyone, and certainly not for mating material.” Mikael managed through his clenched teeth.

“What happened with Ashley Reynolds isn’t something we’re going to discuss, as it wasn’t a matter of finding mating material.”

“But she did become mating material. His buddy, Asriel, is with the girl now, is he not?” Drew pressed on.

“If it weren’t for Asriel’s abilities, Ashley probably would not have survived the change. You already know 70 percent of human women don’t make it. That is too great a risk to ask of anyone, outside of special circumstances. If you feel like you have an exception to the rule, by all means, bring it to me. We’ll evaluate and go from there. As a whole, we will discuss and implement other measures before I allow that to happen.” Drew inhaled, ready to push the subject further. “That is all I have to say on the matter, right now.” I threw my power behind the words, making the statement stick as a command. They all felt it. Those who opposed it felt the sting of my words as well. Drew twitched where he stood, before he decided to take his seat again. It was clear that he was unhappy, so I added him to my mental list of leaders to keep an eye on.

“Does anyone have anything else to put on the table right now?”

“What of Malachi? I understand the White Wolf traditionally trumps any claim to the throne, but shouldn’t he have to concede that claim before you just waltz in and take over?” At the warning growls coming from Mikael and my father, Drew quickly amended his question. “No disrespect meant. I just think clans like Freedman’s would be more willing to fall in line if things are done correctly.”

“From what I hear, Freedman’s Clan isn’t going to just fall in line, no matter what I do. Unless I magically grow my own cock and balls.” I ignored the chuckles, most of which came from Mikael. “Even then, he’d take issue.”

“He also didn’t play nice with Antoine when he was King,” Mikael added.

“I don’t think we have anything to worry about there. You all know that Malachi is a wanted wolf, for his assistance in murdering another of our kind and his assistance in the attempt on my life and that of my mate’s. If he’s seen, I expect a call. If he’s captured, you will hand him over. If you are caught harboring him, you sign your own death warrant right along with his.” My voice grew stern as I spoke. “On this subject, you will not test my resolve.”

“As Malachi is wanted, and will likely lose his head anyway, that makes me the next in line for the throne.” Mikael added, power radiating out with his words. “I have already conceded the right to rule to Jessica. Let there be no further question of her legitimacy.”

“I know you all have had a long day. Some have travelled quite far to be here. I suggest we table this discussion for the morning to give everyone time to think things over, and to sleep on those thoughts.” I stood and looked over the faces of the pack leaders once again. “Does anyone have anything further before we close for the night?”

“I do.” It was Brian Maynard again. “It’s all well and good for each leader to come see you, and verify that there’s truly a white wolf leader, but what of our individual clans? When will you come speak to them?”

“I will be traveling to each clan, but before that happens, I want you all to set up a council. I’ve spoken to some of you about this before. Each council will have equal representation. Men, women, old, and young. We’ll discuss the rest of the details in the morning.” I slid my chair out from behind me and moved back from the table. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some other business to attend before I can call it a night myself.”