Climbing the Ladder Read online

  Climbing the Ladder

  A Shifting Elements Book

  By BA Tortuga

  Resplendence Publishing, LLC

  http://www.resplendencepublishing.com

  Resplendence Publishing, LLC

  2665 N Atlantic Avenue, #349

  Daytona Beach, FL 32118

  Climbing the Ladder

  Copyright © 2011 BA Tortuga

  Edited by Darlena Cunha and Liza Green

  Cover art by Les Byerley, www.les3photo8.com

  Electronic format ISBN: 978-1-60735-416-1

  Warning: All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Electronic Release: October 2011

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and occurrences are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places or occurrences, is purely coincidental.

  To the Central Texas Pack. Sit. Stay. Good dogs.

  Chapter One

  “Congratulations, Mesa.” Grandma Minnie smiled at him, clapping him on the shoulder. The other elders gathered around, offering happy noises and claps on the back. They were all very tickled for him, happy as pigs in shit.

  At least as happy as they could be, with Ben disappearing one afternoon a month ago with Susan, David slitting his wrists a week later, unable to do anything but cry their names. It had been Mesa who had found the two bodies, desiccated and still, their throats torn out. Ben had been a good Alpha, strong. Mesa couldn’t imagine what could do that sort of damage.

  Couldn’t imagine how to defend his Clan from it, either.

  “Such serious thoughts.” Granny winked at him, but her eyes were worried, too. Knowing.

  “Mesa! You did it!” One of the pack females—Alicia, he thought her name was—leapt at him. He tried to catch her, but after the last few days of visions and fur and fang, he didn’t have it in him, and she ended up slumped against his body. “You did it! We’re so proud, all of us. You can choose a woman now, move into the big house. You must be so excited!”

  She certainly was, eager and aroused, rubbing against him.

  “I guess.” Mesa didn’t particularly care. He was exhausted, his muscles shaking. He wanted a nap, a beer and a shower, and not in that order. Hell, he just wanted to go off and lick his wounds, which were pretty extensive, considering he’d just passed his Alpha trials. The trials were designed to test all of his abilities, physical and mental, and he was wiped out. He’d passed, though.

  One of the youngest tribe members to do it, too.

  “You’re a full Alpha now, son.” Grandma Minnie hugged on him, her teeth dull and round from years of use. “I’m so proud.”

  “Thanks, Granny.” He loved the old lady. He really did. Too bad, she was squashing a six-inch gash on his shoulder. He was going to have to tell Canyon off for that one. The cut above his eye was his own fault. He’d fallen down like a cub at the end of the final run.

  “Well, boy, what are you going to do now?” Grandpa Moses asked, coming to peer into his face with those bluish cataract-filled eyes. The old man had never been his biggest supporter, but had cheered him on like a champ today.

  Even after all of Mesa’s trials, and all his bitching about wanting a bath, his thoughts went to Kody, just as he’d known they would, and Mesa squared his shoulders. He was sick to death of missing his best friend, and now that he had the resources of the entire pack behind him, he was ready to get his life back where he wanted it.

  “I’m going to clean up. Go tell Juniper I passed and tell Canyon I need to see him.” He grinned, making Grandma Minnie hoot when she saw his expression.

  “Then I’m going to go get my mate back.”

  * * * *

  “Hey, Sammy!” Becky waved at her from the patio of Tapatilia’s. “Margaritas are coming!”

  God, she did love a lunch date. “Excellent.”

  She slipped into the chair and put her bag down by her legs. She’d flown in to LAX mid-morning and had headed into the office to check emails, all that garbage. Then she’d called home, made sure Kody was back from his weekend, and promised to bring some bubbly for some late afternoon nookie.

  “How’s the baby?”

  “With the nanny today, thank God. I needed my girl time. How’s business?”

  She shrugged. “It could be better. You know.”

  Becky nodded. Her husband was an investment guy and the recession had kicked the man’s butt there for a little while. “I do. How is Kody?”

  Even after two years, Becky’s nose still wrinkled when she asked about Sammy’s husband. The worst part was that it wasn’t just Becky. It was Becky, Meg, Ginny. Steph. All of them.

  They just couldn’t see how amazing Kody was, how wanton, how he took care of her.

  “He’s great. He just got home from a gig in San Jose.”

  “How is the fortune telling business these days?”

  “It’s good.” She sighed, stared at the lunch menu. This wasn’t supposed to be nasty, damn it. This was supposed to be lunch.

  “I’m sorry, Sammy. That was mean. Kody’s a sweetheart, you know that.”

  “I do. I just wish you guys would give him a break.”

  Becky tossed her hair, the blonde highlights freshly done and perfect, making Sammy want to check her do. Kody liked it darker, though, more natural. He said the hair color smelled bad, even after a wash. “We try, Sammy, but, good God, you brought him home from a fair. He didn’t have a house!”

  No, but neither had she, once upon a time. None of these people knew about her upbringing, about the foster homes, the homelessness, the shame. Kody had –known—magically, wonderfully, absolutely.

  Kody had known and not cared.

  “Two years ago. You said your piece. You all told me what a big mistake I was making. Now he should have proven himself.”

  “I know, but…”

  She held one hand up, tired of the conversation. “Enough, okay? No buts. I love him. He loves me. We’re married.”

  And she’d never been so happy, so free. So loved for exactly who she was.

  She ordered a Cobb salad, texted Kody, then turned the conversation to something easier. “Are you going to host another Halloween party this year? We’re thinking about ordering Red Riding costumes, since we’ve got plenty of time.”

  She listened with half an ear, her mind already home with her lover, his hunger, his need.

  * * * *

  Potatoes. Tomatoes. Carrots. Celery. Onions. London broil.

  God, the stew smelled good.

  He’d made four loaves of bread—enough for the week’s lunches, plus three dinners, and one loaf for Sammy to take to the office for the potluck.

  Now, apple crisp or a coconut cream pie? They both sounded good, and Sammy loved the coconut, but the apples were in season now. So yummy. And the cinnamon would make the house smell so good.

  So good.

  Cinnamon made Sammy snuggly.

  There was something very nice about snuggly Sammy. Hot. Spicy, like the cinnamon.

  Kody growled happily, peeling the apples and indulging in a little fantasy about Sammy’s hands.

  Kody loved Sammy’s hands.

  He got three apples peeled and was working on number four when something intruded on his fantasy, a scent that had his nose quivering. It was familiar…

  His nose twitched and he put the apple down, whining deep in his throat, following his nose. Yes. Familiar, but different. Full of strength. Weird. Fascinating.

  He headed towar
d the back door.

  The scent got stronger, and he identified it as male, musky, almost addictive.

  Kody pushed the hair out of his face, moved the curtain from the back door. The door popped open, all but knocking him down. It wasn’t Sammy. Not at all.

  “Hey, Kody. ‘Bout time I tracked you down.”

  He was dreaming.

  Dreaming.

  Not awake.

  Sound asleep.

  Not here.

  He was chasing the moon.

  Kody reached down, pinched his arm. Hard.

  “Still here.” His oldest friend and first love, Mesa McMullen, was standing right there. Huge and beautiful and dark and strong. Male. Fierce. Grinning at him like a monkey.

  Mesa.

  His Mesa.

  “You’re in Los Angeles.”

  “I am.” Mesa smiled, the expression pure wolf. “So are you.”

  “Uh-huh.” His nostrils flared. “You smell different.”

  Even after three years, he remembered exactly how good Mesa smelled.

  “I passed, baby. My trials.” He could see Mesa’s hands flex, as if to keep from reaching for him. Or maybe preparing to.

  “Mesa…” Oh. Oh, lord and lady. His Alpha. “I’m so proud.”

  “Good. Come home with me.”

  “Oh.” He whined softly, his body going immediately, painfully hard and he took a step forward, wanting his mate more than almost anything. Almost. “I… But there’s Sammy.”

  “Sammy. Who the fuck is Sammy?” Mesa’s growl vibrated all the way down Kody’s spine, as if someone had hit a tuning fork against his bones.

  He held up his hand with the wedding ring. He hadn’t believed Mesa would come for him, had thought, when the moon led him down out of the mountains, that he would never be Clan again.

  He could almost hear Grandma Minnie’s laughter in his soul.

  “You—” Mesa blinked. “You’d never marry a man.”

  He chirruped softly, head tilting. “Why would I marry a man?”

  Mesa was his mate. When they bonded—if they bonded—it would be for life.

  “So, Sammy is a girl?” Mesa was starting to smile, a look Kody knew well. It was sex and need and pride and pleasure, all at once.

  Kody nodded. “Of course. My wife. She’s beautiful. Fierce.”

  “We’ll have to bring her with us.”

  “Oh.” He stepped forward, vibrating. Those words were his most hoped for wish, spoken aloud. “Yes. Yes, Mesa. Please.”

  Mesa closed the rest of the gap between them, hand behind Kody’s head to pull him up for a kiss.

  Broad and fierce, Mesa felt like heaven against him, growling, mouth hovering right above his lips. Kody sobbed in anticipation, hands spreading over Mesa’s chest.

  “Need you, baby. Waited so long.” Mesa kissed him, just like Kody wanted.

  Everything inside him howled. Mate. His Mate. His Alpha. His Mesa.

  They rubbed together, Mesa’s leg sliding between his and lifting. Ached. It ached so good. “Mate…”

  Those big hands closed on his ass, squeezing, and his cock jumped, his need tripling, quadrupling.

  His fingers tangled in Mesa’s thick, black hair, holding them together. Mesa was going to devour him, just eat him alive. He’d missed this, the flavor of his best friend, for years.

  Now he could have it. He could have all he wanted.

  He heard a soft sound, then “Kody? Kody, what the hell?”

  Oh.

  Oops.

  Mesa lifted his head, teeth bared in a growl. “Who is this?”

  “My wife.”

  Chapter Two

  In all the scenarios Samantha had came up with for her homecoming this afternoon, walking in on her husband in a clench with another man hadn’t been on the list.

  At all.

  The champagne bottle fell to the floor and rolled.

  The two men, her Kody, someone she’d thought she knew, and some big, dark guy with a hefty snarl, stared at her. Like she’d interrupted or something. Like she should have politely waited outside her own house for them to finish.

  Okay. Okay.

  Okay.

  Focus.

  She needed to move. Bedroom. Pack a bag. Go. Call Becky. Buy tequila. Call a lawyer.

  It was good to have a plan, right?

  Right.

  She took off for her bedroom at a dead run. Which made it really odd that the boys got there before her.

  “Get out of my way.”

  “Sammy, honey.” Kody reached out for her, and she slapped his hand. Hard.

  “Don’t you fucking call me honey. You never get to call me honey again!”

  He didn’t even have the decency to ask his lover to leave while she explained to him how she was going to leave him. She could handle a lot, but not this.

  “She’s feisty.” The big guy had a rumbly voice and a callused hand. She felt it on her arm, fingers long enough to circle her arm completely.

  “Don’t you touch me!” She spun around, decked the guy as hard as she could before fumbling for the doorknob. It would lock behind her once she was through.

  Kody put himself between her and the door, pleading with her with those big, blue eyes. “Honey, please.”

  “Don’t you call me honey. You…you cheater! You…And with a guy? Why didn’t you… You knew I was coming home.”

  So Kody must not have even cared…

  “I didn’t know Mesa was coming to find me.” Kody was still pleading, hand outstretched.

  “Oh.” It was like being hit with ice water, leaving her gasping for breath, it hurt so badly. “I want you out. Tomorrow.”

  She’d go to Maggie’s, spend the night. Becky had kids. Becky wouldn’t understand. Becky would bitch. Maggie would help her plan Kody’s homicide.

  “No. No, you don’t understand…” Kody looked frantic now. She got a tiny little nugget of satisfaction out of that. Maybe the big guy didn’t have the money she did.

  “You’re right, I don’t. I don’t understand any of this. I thought…” She thought that she was Kody’s love, Kody’s lady, and even though all of her friends had said she was a fool for taking up with a tarot-reading, festival-going psychic, she’d thought it was for real. She was going to be a laughingstock. Samantha looked at Kody, blinking hard, refusing to let him see her cry. “You have until close of business tomorrow to clear out of here. I never want to see you again.”

  “Stop it.” The big one’s voice snapped through the room, making her jump. “You need to calm the fuck down.”

  “Fuck you, asshole. You wanted him, take him.”

  Kody was staring at the guy now, not her. He was shaking hard. “Mesa. Make her understand.”

  That was it. She’d had enough. She was out of here. “Tomorrow, Kody. I’m serious.”

  All she needed was her purse and her keys.

  She was out of here.

  Except that the big asshole kept pushing, invading her space, until the only place she could go was her bedroom. Kody was moved neatly out of the way to give her access to that.

  She managed to grab the door, slam it, and lock it.

  Then she stood there looking at the bed that was supposed to be where she and Kody were having wild, amazing sex.

  Maybe she should have offered them the bedroom. Assholes. Fucking assholes.

  She leaned against the door, closed her eyes. She needed to plan, needed to think. Needed to call her lawyer.

  One way or the other, if Kody thought he could have his cake and eat it, too, he was sadly mistaken. She could figure out what to do next, damn it. She was a smart dog.

  * * * *

  Mesa blinked, then rolled his head on his neck. What a cluster fuck. “How likely is she to climb out the window, baby?”

  “Out the window?” Kody looked completely destroyed, chewing his lips, hands scrubbing together.

  “Yeah. To get away.” He chose not to bark, moving close instead, sharing his scent
with Kody.

  “She’s not. No, she’s going to take a bath.” Kody sniffed him, panting softly. “What am I going to do? I didn’t mean to hurt her. I didn’t.”

  “Shh.” He reached up and rubbed his thumb along Kody’s cheek, his palm curling along the pointy jaw. “I like her.”

  “She’s amazing.” Kody panted, leaned into his touch. “I hurt her, she’s crying.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.” Mesa wasn’t sorry. Not a bit. He’d found Kody, and in the meantime, Kody had found their third, the all-important person that they needed to be whole. It might have been nice if Kody had mentioned she was due home, but it was all doable. “You did good, Kody. You did. She’ll be ours.” His sweet Beta. If Mesa had known that Kody needed to leave the Clan to find their third, he wouldn’t have been so pissed. Mostly.

  “She doesn’t know about me, Mesa.”

  “What?” Now Mesa was blinking again, his mouth falling open. “How can she not know?”

  “I go out of town during the full moon. Run.”

  “No, I mean how can she not know about her?” Kody’s girl was one of them. A wolf. He could smell it. Shit, even if he couldn’t smell it, Kody wouldn’t have imprinted on her if she were human.

  “She doesn’t change. It happens, yeah? To a lot of them?”

  Mesa thought of all of the pack history he’d had to learn in the last few months. “Yeah. I mean, solitary or halves, whatever. If they don’t get the right pheromones at the right time, that sort of thing. She will, though.”

  “You think so? She doesn’t know I do. Change.”

  “Obviously there’s a lot she doesn’t know.” He put his ear to the door to see if he could hear her. The water was running, her sobs sounding under it. The sound tugged at him, deep and low. He bit off a growl, wanting to go in there and comfort her. He couldn’t, but at least she wasn’t running. He put a hand on Kody’s shoulder. “Tell me about her.”

  The connection between them flared, the scent of his mate immediate and strong. Suddenly he could hear Kody inside him, the voice tiny and distant. Mate.