She Wolf Wanted Read online

  She Wolf Wanted

  By Jane B. Night

  BZ Publishing LLC

  Lancaster Ohio

  Copyright 2019

  No part of this book may be reproduced without the written permission of the copyright holder.

  The characters in this story are works of fiction. Resemblance to anyone, living or dead, is coincidental.

  If you find any errors within this book please send them to [email protected]

  If you enjoy this book please remember to leave a review.

  Chapter 1

  The bell over the door rang and Noah Vance looked up from the contract he was writing.

  Edgar was leaning against the doorway holding an envelope. Noah pushed the contract aside and set down his pen, waiting.

  Edgar was somber as he handed the envelope to Noah who noted that the seal was already broken.

  Noah looked back up to Edgar.

  "I needed to know if the contents were anything my father needed informed of," Edgar explained.

  "Of course," Noah nodded. Then, after a moments hesitation added, "are they?"

  "I think you better read the letter for yourself."

  The stamp on the letter indicated it had come from Alabama. A sense of foreboding filled his chest. No good news could be coming from the place he once called home.

  Dear Mr. Vance,

  We regret to inform you that your brother, Michael, has died leaving behind four orphaned pups. They are currently in the care of a maiden aunt but she has no means to support them. After careful consideration Marcus has decided he will allow the pups to be adopted by you and integrated into whatever pack you consider yourself part of. We will be glad to send a formal notice to your alpha if you choose to take on the pups. Otherwise, I am afraid they will have to be sent to a foundling home.

  Sincerely,

  Mr. Brice Attorney at Law

  Noah inhaled sharply and leaned back in his chair. His chest felt heavy and a million emotions flowed through him all at once.

  "I'm sorry about your brother," Edgar whispered.

  "Thank you," Noah said. "But I haven't heard from him in fifteen years."

  "Because of the war?" Edgar asked.

  Noah nodded. His brother had joined the Confederate army. Noah's family and pack had expected him to do the same, but he couldn't. Not in good conscience. After the atrocities he'd witnessed, he didn't know how any conscionable person could think allowing one man to own another was moral.

  "When I left for University he was seeing a girl but I had no idea they'd gotten married."

  The silence had been mutual. Noah hadn't sent a letter home to tell his family that he'd married Abigail either.

  Noah hadn't sent a letter to his family announcing the birth of his twin daughters. There had also been no word sent home when his wife and children had died.

  Noah's pack felt more like family than those he shared blood with. They had mourned with him and given him a reason to continue living. Serving his pack was enough purpose, most days, to keep on breathing.

  "Did you show this letter to your father?"

  Edgar nodded. "He needed to be informed."

  "What do you think he will have to say on the matter?" Noah asked.

  "He will leave it up to you," Edgar said. It was the answer Noah expected. His alpha, Isaac, had always been a man to let his pack members make decisions for themselves. He hadn't even protested when his daughter chose to marry beneath her. Instead, he'd welcomed Noah into the family.

  "I have a law practice to run," Noah said. He was in no position to care for four pups. Sally, Isaac's wife, brought him occasional jams and baked goods but it was rare for him to cook a meal. Most days he ate at the restaurant near his law practice. Sometimes he slept in his office to avoid returning to an empty house. He barely managed to care for himself. How would he care for four children?

  "If Abigail were still here-"

  "But she isn't," Noah cut him off. He didn't want to talk about her. Hearing her name still made his heart ache even though it had been three years since she'd died.

  "She would tell you not to turn your back on your kin. Whatever happened with your brother is no reason to let those children suffer."

  Noah had never told Isaac or Edgar the details of why he left his pack. He'd given them a truthful but surface story of the events that drove him away. He wasn't about to reveal more details now.

  "I've never met those pups. I didn't know they existed until now," Noah said.

  "Still, it seems they have no one else to care for them," Edgar said.

  "Perhaps the maiden aunt would care for them if I could send her funds."

  "If there were other options I doubt the pack's lawyer would have contacted you."

  Noah raised a finger to rub his temple. Edgar was right. If Marcus had wanted only funds to help support the pups he would have said so in the letter.

  "The last thing I need right now is four pups to look after," Noah said quietly even as he felt a tug of guilt pull at his heartstrings. He'd been a father. He hated the idea of children suffering for things beyond their control.

  "I'm sure Rachel and Remember would be happy to help look after them. You aren't alone. You are family which means your kin is our kin," Edgar said.

  "Children need a mother," Noah said.

  "Do you think they will be better off at a foundling home?" Edgar countered. Werewolf pups had no place in foundling homes. There were only a few homes that could handle werewolf pups and those places were under-funded at best. If they were sent to a foundling home the chances of them being adopted into a family were barely above zero. He'd dealt with adoption cases while he was in law school. He'd seen what foundling homes looked like. The children there were thin and dirty. They stared up at him with hauntingly vacant eyes.

  "No, they wouldn't be better off at a foundling home," Noah sighed. He leaned his elbows on the desk and buried his face in his hands.

  "You could marry again," Edgar said softly.

  Noah raised his head and gave him a hard look. "I'll never love another woman like I did your sister."

  "I'm not saying you have to love her. I'm saying find a wife who can share the burden of these children. Remember married Cyrus so her child could have a father and you've seen how that turned out."

  Remember was Abigail's cousin. She'd come to Barton three years ago and married Cyrus, the town doctor, to escape the man whose attack on her virtue had left her pregnant. Fortunately for all involved, Remember and Cyrus had fallen in love. After her son, Alexander, was born she'd given Cyrus a daughter, but their story was an anomaly.

  "How many women do you know who would want to take on such a burden. Certainly no women in our pack," Noah said.

  "If you wanted him to I am sure father would find you a wife who would be willing to marry and take on four children. However, there is another way you might try first."

  "What do you suggest?" Noah asked.

  "Two weeks ago Thomas Harvey came to the post office with a letter to the Associated Press. He was requesting that the paper run an advertisement for a wife."

  "The Associated Press runs those kinds of ads?" Noah asked.

  "I have heard of papers running matrimonial columns though my wife might have something to say about it if I looked into those too deeply," Edgar said with a chuckle.

  "Even if such things exist, it isn't as if I can send a letter to the Associated Press requesting eligible she-wolves send me a letter."

  "I wasn't suggesting you send an advertisement to the Associated Press. I thought you might pop into the print shop and speak with Malachi and Barty on the matter. They come into the post office once a month to mail a thousand copies of the Lunar Times Press to subscribers all ov
er the country. Perhaps they could place a notice in their paper for you."

  "You really want me to take these pups," Noah said.

  "It's your choice, of course. I would never tell you what to do on such a personal matter," Edgar said. Noah could hear the unspoken "but."

  "Just say what you need to say."

  "You've been carrying on since Abigail and the girls died but you haven't really been living. A man needs people to care for. Otherwise, he loses himself."

  "I have the whole pack to take care of plus all the other good people of Barton," Noah said. He was the only lawyer in the area and, though the legal work for the pack was his first priority, he provided for the legal needs of everyone in town regardless of whether they were bear, wolf, witch, non-supernatural, or other.

  "You know I don't mean on a professional level. Yes, you have your duties to the town and the pack but that isn't the same as a family. A lawyer can be replaced. A father and husband can't. Those pups need you and I think you need them more than you realize if you are going to feel alive again," Edgar said.

  The words lingered in the air between them.

  "You and Isaac have been discussing me."

  "The duty of the alpha is to worry about his pack," Edgar replied with a shrug.

  "As is the duty of the alpha's heir," Noah said.

  "I'm concerned for a member of my family. You are as much a brother to me as Jeremiah is. All of us have worried about you," Edgar said.

  It was good to have people in his life that cared enough to be concerned.

  "Do I need to ask the alpha for permission to buy train tickets for these pups or can his heir grant me permission?" Noah asked.

  "Buy the tickets. I'll ask father to send a formal letter to the pups' alpha."

  "I'll head to Des Moines train station tomorrow to make arrangements," Noah said.

  "Send a ticket for the maiden aunt as well. Young pups shouldn't travel so far by themselves and it would be good to have someone to care for them until you find a wife," Edgar said.

  Chapter 2

  Catherine sat the pot of soup in the center of the table and all four children attacked it like rabid dogs. She wished there was more to give them but the pantry was dangerously low. In another few days she would need to go to Marcus and beg for food.

  "Soup?" Emma asked reaching out her bowl to her aunt. She was the youngest of the children at only three years old.

  "No. You eat it," Catherine said. It was the third meal she had skipped in the last two days. Emma was the only one who seemed to notice. The boys were too busy with their own hunger pains to care about anyone else.

  James was the oldest at almost nine but he had the appetite of a grown man already. Peter was seven and Benjamin was five. Both boys were growing though they thankfully had much smaller stomachs than their older brother.

  Emma lifted the bowl to her mouth and sipped the soup. Once the broth was gone she used a spoon to scoop out the meager vegetables that remained. There hadn't been any meat left to put in the soup this time.

  James stood up and carried the empty bowls over to the sink.

  "You need help cleaning up, Aunt Catherine?" he asked.

  "They'll keep. How about we all curl up together for a story instead," Catherine suggested.

  All four children nodded.

  Catherine pulled the rocking chair in front of the hearth even though the night was too warm to warrant lighting a fire.

  She lifted Emma into her lap and the boys sat on the floor in front of her chair. They looked up at her expectantly.

  "Once upon a time there was a boy named Charles d'Artagnan. He was older than James, but not by very much. He wanted, more than anything in the world, to join a special group of knights called the Three Musketeers," she began.

  "Were the knight very brave, Auntie Catherine?" Benjamin asked.

  "The bravest of the brave," she assured him.

  "Good," Benjamin said.

  "He couldn't very well be a knight if he wasn't brave. That's one of the requirements for being a knight," Peter added.

  "He left his home and his family and traveled to-" Catherine was interrupted by a knock on the door. Shifting Emma to her hip she hurried to answer it.

  Standing on the other side of the door was Mr. Brice.

  "Miss Danielson," he said with a nod. "Children."

  Mr. Brice was the younger half-brother of Marcus and bore a strong resemblance to him. Like their mother, he had a sallow face topped with salt and pepper hair. Frown lines creased his mouth and his thin long nose hooked downward slightly.

  "It's a late hour for a social call," Catherine said steeling herself. His appearance could only mean one of a two things.

  "I've received a reply from Noah Vance," Mr. Brice said, unsmiling.

  Catherine's breath caught in her throat.

  She'd begged Marcus to locate Michael's brother and ask him to take the children. If he refused her request she didn't know what she would do. She couldn't let them go to a foundling home but she also didn't know how she could keep them from starvation on her own. Noah Vance was her only hope.

  "He's agreed to take the children," Mr. Brice said. Catherine let out the breath she'd been holding, "Five train tickets were bought on your behalf. You leave in two days on the noon train."

  "Five tickets?" Catherine asked.

  "You can't expect the children to travel alone."

  "No, of course not," Catherine said. It hadn't occurred to her that she would be traveling with the children but it made perfect sense. They were too young to make such a journey alone.

  "Marcus told me to remind you that you could still agree to a marriage to his youngest son and raise the children yourself," Mr. Brice said.

  "His youngest son is twice my age," Catherine said.

  "He is only a dozen years older," Mr. Brice corrected.

  "I am grateful for the offer, but I never intend to marry."

  "A she-wolf's place is bringing new pups into a pack."

  "Our pack can't afford the pups we have," Catherine countered. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be having this conversation. There are plenty of willing she-wolves. Let him marry one of them."

  "I'll tell Marcus you are still too scarred from your sister's death to marry. Marcus is being patient with you but don't think he will allow you to become a spinster," Mr. Brice said.

  "I intend to remain unmarried unless he gives me an alpha order forcing me into matrimony. I promise you that any husband will find me a most disagreeable wife," she said.

  Mr. Brice shook his head. She decided to move onto a safer topic of conversation.

  "Did Mr. Vance say in his letter if he has a wife to help him care for the children?"

  "He didn't say."

  "What were you able to find out about him? Does he have the money to provide for the children?" she asked.

  "I can only assume he will do a better job than you seem to be able to," Mr. Brice said softly.

  "Thank you for sorting this all out," Catherine said.

  "Don't thank me. Marcus was the one who wanted it all settled as soon as possible."

  "What should we take with us on the train?" Catherine asked.

  "We're going on a train?" Benjamin asked wide-eyed. She hadn't realized he and his brothers were standing right behind her listening to every word.

  "You should take whatever you want to keep from this place. It won't be yours when you return," Mr. Brice said.

  Catherine gave a nod of understanding. The house belonged to Marcus. Michael had paid his rent by farming for Marcus. Now that Michael was gone the home would be given to another sharecropper. Marcus allowed the children to remain in their home as long as he had because Catherine begged him but his patience with her was stretched like taffy. Much more pull and it would break.

  "I don't plan to be away very long," Catherine said. The train ride from Alabama to Iowa would take a few days each way but she doubted she would be gone even a full week.

  Mr
. Brice leaned in and spoke so softly she wouldn't have been able to hear him if she wasn't a werewolf with exceptional ears.

  "These children have lost their mother and father. They are losing their pack and their home. It might make things easier if you stay until they are settled in. What do you have to rush back here for?"

  Mr. Brice drew back and handed her the envelope that held their train tickets.

  "Thank you," she said.

  "I wish I could do more to help you." Mr. Brice gave a little bow before disappearing into the night.

  Catherine felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her. Her nephews and niece were going to be safe. It was the best news she could hope for.

  "We are being sent away?" James asked. His voice shook despite the fact she could tell he was trying to put on a brave face.

  "Not sent away. Marcus decided it would be best for you to go live with your Uncle Noah."

  "I don't know Uncle Noah," Peter said.

  "None of us do," James said.

  "Auntie Catherine, will you come live with Uncle Noah too?" Benjamin asked.

  "Course she won't. He's our uncle. Not hers," James said.

  "But if you are our aunt and he is our uncle-" Benjamin began but Catherine cut him off.

  "I'm sure your uncle will be wonderful and you won't mind at all when I return home," Catherine said.

  "But we'll miss you," Benjamin said.

  "I'll miss you too, darling. But you must be a very brave boy. We need to get to bed. We will get up early tomorrow and prepare for our grand adventure," she said.

  "It doesn't feel like a grand adventure," Peter said.

  "It might not feel like a grand adventure now but I'm sure it will once we get started," she said.

  "Can you finish our story before we go to sleep? The one about the boy who wanted to be a knight."

  "I think I better save it for the train," she said.

  The boys slumped their shoulders, disappointed.

  "Off you go," she said.

  They changed into their nightclothes and climbed the ladder to the loft.

  Their ticks were laid out on a bed of straw. She listened to the familiar sounds of the boys settling down to sleep as she changed Emma into a night gown and pulled her trundle mattress from under the bed. Once Emma was settled Catherine walked across the room to the sink and began to clean the dishes from dinner.