Every Were Gets A Mate

Chapter 10

"Mercenaries?" This brought to mind soldiers who fight and kill anyone for enough money, no matter how innocent or how just the cause. That bothered me. "Who do you fight for?"

Cade showed no shame or worry. "We hire ourselves out to packs in wars and feuds, fighting on the side that pays us. They usually pay us some money, but we get more supplies, weapons, ammunition, and the right to meet all the unmated members of the pack. Just because we are mercenaries, don't think we don't have morals. We try to only fight on the side of good. Most of the time, it is a peaceful pack being threatened by an aggressive pack. We fight on the side of those who just want to live in peace."

That did make me feel better about the idea.

"Sometimes there really isn't a right or wrong. Sometimes packs feud over stupid stuff. We charge those packs way more money, will only act defensively, and try to mediate the dispute rather than fight. For some small packs being bullied, we have hardly charged them anything. That is more like a big guy saying this is my little buddy, touch him and die."

We smiled at each other. I really liked that part. "Why do they call it Traveler Pack?"

"Because we travel around and don't permanently claim any land for ourselves. We live in RVs, camper vans, and nice tents. We're mostly made up of fighters, unmated men and women."

Imagining myself in a tent sent a chill through my body. "How do you stay warm? It's mid-January. There's snow on the ground, and the temperature has been in the teens at night."

Cade squeezed me tighter to his chest and smiled at me with a mischievous glint in his eye. "I'll keep you warm, Jess."

A half-laugh burst from my diaphragm. Heat sprinkled my cheeks. The toasty fire in my stomach intensified and spread down to my pelvis. Obviously Cade was right. I'd have to take off my flannel pajamas soon at this rate.

Cade let out a laugh as well. "We hook into the local power grid wherever we camp, water too. So we can run electric heaters and have hot water. Some people have propane camping heaters too. We aren't exactly roughing it. I promise you'll be comfortable."

The smile on his face was reassuring and reflected how happy he was at the thought of our lives together. But I wanted something else for us. "I was on my way to join my parents and brother. I've been separated from them for years and was looking forward to living with them again."

Cade's smile didn't change. "We can join your family, live in your pack. People rarely stay in Traveler after they find their mates and never once they have children. They join their mate's pack or take their mate back to the pack of their birth."

"So you weren't born into the pack?"

"No, I was born into the Black Hills Pack, South Dakota. I left them and joined Traveler when I didn't find you in my own pack. That's why most weres join, to look for their mates. It's easier and far less expensive than trying to travel around on your own not knowing where you'll be welcome. As we travel around, our alpha contacts packs we pass near to see if they'd welcome a mass lineup. There's always a mass lineup with the packs we help and usually with the other side after the dispute is settled."

"Was your alpha angry when you left Black Hills?"

"No, he supported it. Black Hills has a good history with Traveler. I already knew of several weres who had joined Traveler, found their mates, and returned to Black Hills. Our alpha wants us to find our mates, and he doesn't want unmated weres moping around."

I winced. "I've seen a lot of those."

Cade placed a chaste kiss on my forehead. "It's easier in Traveler, surrounded by other unmated weres instead of happy couples with their public displays of affection and children you wonder if you'll ever have. You can be happy for the lucky ones who find their mate and then go commiserate with the majority who still haven't."

Thinking of the how miserable the older unmated weres in Fury were made me feel guilty for finding my true mate only days after turning eighteen. I pulled my head back and looked at Cade. "How long were you waiting? How old are you?"

He gave me a little smile. "Five years and change. I'm twenty-three. How old are you?"

That guilty feeling grew inside me and was joined by sadness for Cade. "I just turned eighteen three days ago." I felt moisture grow in my eyes but blinked to clear it.

Cade's smile grew instead of disappearing at my confession. "Happy birthday, Jess." He kissed my cheek.

I looked away, blinking rapidly against the rising liquid and slight sting his sweetness brought on. This wasn't normal for me, but I reminded myself that these were new emotions around Cade.

He hugged me tighter. "Don't feel bad, Jess. Waiting for you wasn't that bad, I promise. I joined Traveler when I was twenty-one and met a lot of weres in their thirties that hadn't found their mates yet. I resigned myself to a long wait and was grateful the opportunity still lay ahead. Traveler has far too many that have found and lost."

I snuggled into him. "I believed I was going to be one of them before you knocked on my door."

"And now we've found each other. My wait didn't turn out to be nearly as long as I expected. And now I know it was necessary for you to grow up. Some pairs miss decades of the lives they could have had together. We weren't even possible until three days ago. We've both very lucky."

He brushed his lips across my cheek towards my mouth. I turned my head, impatient to meet him, and kissed him with a desperation to believe that we were lucky. It failed to banish my fear. I broke the overwhelmingly passionate kiss and pressed my cheek to his. We breathed little warm puffs against each other's skin for a minute before I had to remind him. "Not if he kills you."

Cade pulled his head back to look at me. "Tell me what we're up against."

~~~~~~~~~~

AN:

Sorry I missed two Wednesdays. Things have been crazy since New Year's. I normally have some down time to write at work but not lately. At home, my precious child has a bad case of medication-resistant fleas. He's never had more than a few before, and Advantage for cats has taken care of them. He picked these up at his Gramps' house, and they have been tormenting him. He has scratched so hard that I found scabs and had to trim his back claws. He's 16 and never had a bath, so I'm afraid to traumatize him with one. Sedation is way too risky at his age.

Flea traps with little light bulbs are now in every room of the house. We spend our evenings, which would normally go to writing, watching TV while I use a flea comb on him. He's so good and smart, turning the place where he feels them towards me and rolling onto his back and stretching so I can get everywhere.

Whenever I get some, the comb goes into a cup with a little Tide Free and Gentle and water. It kills the evil bastards within a few seconds! I use the point on a wooden skewer to push them off, rinse the comb in water, dry it, and go back for more. It takes hours.

I don't think of myself as a killer, let alone one who enjoys it. Spiders are picked up and put outside where they are welcome to spin webs and have babies. But I'm gleeful when I catch these bloodsuckers and plunge them into the death bath! I know they are born to do this but not to my baby! You hurt my child, you die. That's it. No second chances. We've been marathoning Black Sails as it matches my bloodthirsty mood.

I hope you understand, both the killing spree and the delay. We're down to finding less than ten a night now, but it might be two weeks until the next update. I hope you enjoy and that all your children, whatever their species, are free from tormenting monsters. Thanks for reading!