Claiming a Beta Coyote

by Serenity Snow

  She lifted a brow at him. “Take your empty threats and drop them on somebody who gives a damn before I grab you by the scruff of your neck and throw you out.” She rose and rounded her desk prepared to do just that if she had to.

  “This isn’t over.” He looked up at her, his gaze hard. Then, Lewis made his exit.

  “Dick,” she muttered and rubbed the back of her neck. It had already been a long day starting with yet another meeting with the lead Special Agent investigating the deaths of those agents.

  Being mayor of a small town sucked, but it sucked big donkey balls when half of the residents were shifters playing their own games of politics. Any roll of the dice could mean a turf war that led to a battle of attrition she could see coming between the damned wolves and the coyotes.

  Samarra wasn’t going to back down, never had as long as Claudia had known her, and Mallory wasn’t much better. The two of them were business partners and had each other’s backs, the rest of the town be damned.

  That would make things hard enough. In fact, after that attempt by a couple of the members of the Coalition, which was short for the Wolf Coalition, to arrest them, it was clear they’d have to move against them in full force or risk death.

  That girl, Mallory’s lover, was going to be a problem, too. Claudia had only met Cordelia a few times, but she knew the girl had snow lynx blood. Her scent and the power that thrummed beneath her surface had given her away even before Claudia had seen her in action.

  “Is everything okay, Mayor?” Annabelle, her assistant, asked from the doorway of her half open office.

  “Fine. I’m going home,” she said as she loaded her laptop into the bag she’d put on her desk just before Lewis showed up.

  “Don’t forget you have that meeting with the business association in the morning, then the police chief.”

  “Firmly in my mind.” How could she forget?

  “And the Daughters of the Founding Fathers.”

  “When’s that?”

  “Brunch at Coffee Crossing,” Annabelle told her. “They’ve reserved the Wolf Howl Room.”

  “Thanks, Annabelle,” Claudia replied. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “I’ll be in late, remember? My doctor’s appointment?”

  “I remember,” she said and joined Annabelle at the door.

  She hadn’t thought much about it. Annabelle was a wolf shifter, a member of Jenner’s pack and four months pregnant and just starting to show. Claudia was concerned the woman might become a spy for the Snow Dogs if tensions developed between her and Jenner.

  “Terrance will walk out with you.” Claudia wanted to get rid of her personal guard anyway.

  She didn’t really need the police’s constant company, but she had a guard with her at all times unless she dismissed him, and tonight, she was in a hurry to be out of his company.

  “Thank you, Mayor,” Annabelle said with a smile. “I appreciate it.”

  She returned the other woman’s smile before nodding to the officer in plainclothes. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Terrance.”

  “Mayor, my replacement isn’t here yet,” he said. “I’m to go to your den with you.”

  “I can manage,” she replied. “You can head on home.” Claudia took the stairs down while Terrance waited for Annabelle to gather her things.

  The downtown building was only six floors and had been renovated once since the 1930s. All of the town’s officials including the city council had offices here. The mayor had the top floor along with her aids and staff.

  The Wolf Coalition’s members often belonged to the human governmental system as well, which provided overlap that normally prevented them from having to meet often as the Coalition. However, there were times that required them to meet to deal with issues that were of more concern to the shifter population than the human one.

  Then, they met at their Mystic meeting hall.

  “Councilor.”

  She stopped on the stairs at the sound of the wolf’s voice. “Yes, Chairman?” She turned to face the golden-skinned male.

  Victor Astor lived in Mystic, but the wolves and the coyotes had thought it best to have the Coalition include Mystic since both were small towns with bigger cities bordering them. Those cities had larger packs who’d tried to invade their towns and claim dominance in the past.

  However, one of the Stonington packs was part of the Coalition as well. The unification was a protective measure that had served them well, but Claudia was beginning to wonder if that would continue to be the case with some of the Coalition members dead as of three weeks ago.

  Still, they were lacking balance until those packs selected a new representative.

  “I was wondering if you’d gone over the files on the Gray Tail pack.”

  “The Mystic Snow pack?” she asked. The Gray Tail pack had been defeated and claimed by a new leader.

  “We both know Summerfield took illegal possession of the pack,” he said. “There are members of it that are protesting and want to be heard. We owe them that.”

  “We do,” she agreed. “They’ll have to bring their petition before the Coalition like everyone else. I won’t step outside of convention just because you or one of your friends want that land.”

  “It’s not about that,” he said tightly. “However, the pack will be without a leader, leaving it open for take over.”

  “Well, you won’t get my support in acting inappropriately,” Claudia told him coldly. “Call a formal hearing and conduct an inquest, and then we’ll discuss the file.”

  “I don’t understand why you’re being so unbending on this,” Victor muttered. “You have no real stake in the results.”

  “I beg to differ,” she answered in a hard tone. “The shifters of this community will be affected by our decision, so it had better be the right one before we go and create conflict.”

  His lips tightened, and he came to stand closer to her. “What about Summerfield and Blacklaw’s machinations to get rid of Jericho and Isaiah?”

  Claudia snorted. “A serial killer and a pedophile who sometimes kills his victims? That’s like asking for sympathy for the devil,” she muttered.

  “What about the video files we all received? It’s obvious they were forged and the attack on Pike and Bradley was unforgivable.”

  “I’m not privy to all the details of those attacks,” Claudia told him evenly. “And if you are then that makes you complicit in the assault on Summerfield and Blacklaw. That kind of subterfuge against Coalition members is unacceptable.”

  He sneered at her, showing canines, and she snarled, refusing to back down to his attempt at dominance. She’d been down this road with men who’d been bigger and more powerful than he, and their intimidation tactics and size hadn’t won them the fight.

  “Your pack could find itself in a difficult position if you refuse to back the majority move against Summerfield.”

  “That’s a risk we’ll have to take, Chairman,” Claudia retorted.

  Her pack had nearly been lost to a jackal-wolf pack when she was twenty, but they’d survived and with her determination, they would continue to do so.

  “As for your move against Summerfield,” Claudia went on. “I’ll suggest a counter move against you. Something was going on that the rest of us weren’t aware of.”

  “Don’t think you can win this,” he said, getting in her face. “Summerfield and Blacklaw will lose and so will you. So, I suggest you go over the file I sent you, and consent to the action that needs to be taken.”

  “You’re not dealing with a fresh to the job alpha, Astor,” she said impatiently. “I don’t scare that easily, and I won’t act without a formal investigation run by fair and impartial parties.”

  “You’re getting on the wrong side and that’s someplace you don’t want to be, coyote,” he muttered.

  Her pack was small, and everyone always thought they could use that against her. What the wolves didn’t seem to get was that she didn’t back down from a threat no mat
ter what day of the week it was.

  “Jenner is on it,” he said. “His findings are all we’ll have to go on in the early going.”

  “Then call a meeting so we can select investigators, because now that he’s on the Coalition, that’s not going to be enough.”

  “You can’t stop what’s been started,” Astor told her, pointing at her. “But you can be knocked out of the way.” He stalked back the way he’d come.

  Bastard.

  Claudia exited the building and strolled to her sleek black Harley. She unlocked the storage box and stored her gear before removing her helmet and black leather motorcycle jacket.

  Once she had them on, she climbed onto her bike and let the kickstand up before inserting the key and starting the engine. She let it idle for a moment and then headed out.

  Claudia took a slow drive home which was on the outskirts of town near the ocean. The Mist pack was comprised of a rare breed of coyote who knew their way around the snow and the water.

  They’d been bred to survive life in the higher altitudes as well as the most brutally cold conditions. They were also at home in water. They swam easily in animal and human form and could hold their breath up to seven minutes even in animal form.

  Her residence was like most of her pack’s, beneath ground in a series of watertight tunnels that had been constructed over two decades ago. However, not all of their life was underground. Some of them lived above ground in small homes which were only five or six years old.

  The old alpha would never have allowed it. His control of the pack had become dictatorial in the last months which had sealed his and his followers’ fate.

  She pulled into the parking garage making her way to the secured area she shared with the other high-ranking members of her pack. Their parking was kept separate to ensure no unauthorized use of their vehicles.

  After parking, she climbed off her bike and headed for the entrance.

  “Hey, Claudia,” Evan said. His job was keeping her up to date on what was going on in technology and relevant information that could affect the pack.

  She pulled up short to avoid running into him. “What is it, Ev?” she asked, her mind slipping to the task she’d assigned him. “Anything on those jackals?”

  “Not much,” he replied. “All I was able to find out is that they’re running with the Russo family.”

  “The drug cartel?”

  “Yeah,” he replied grimly. “They’re planning to move a couple of shipments of meth and coke through here soon. Word is they might be using a local club as the pick up and drop off point.”

  “Which one?” she demanded.

  He shook his head. “I got nothing on that. The girl I was chatting up got a call and took off,” Evan answered. “I couldn’t get her to commit to another meet up, but I’m sure she knows something.”

  “Stay on it, and let me know whenever you get anything relevant,” Claudia said grimly. “Is anyone we know connected to this?”

  “I’m not sure yet,” he said. “It’s a wait and see game.”

  Claudia nodded. “Keep me posted.” She’d need to inform the Coalition. That kind of business coming through their area would only mean trouble in the long run. She especially needed a word with Mallory and Sam.

  Their club was only one of three in town which meant if it wasn’t them it was one of the wolf clubs. One of them just so happened to be owned by Jenner’s pack.

  “I had a brief chat with Jenner today, too. Seems he’s taking over the Snow Dogs pack,” Evan commented quietly. “He said he was going to put a stop to the coyotes penchant for running roughshod over the police and the law.”

  “I’m sure.” Sam and Mallory’s packmates did have a habit of pushing back against the wolf police officer with impunity. However, she saw that as a personal weakness on the wolves’ parts rather than a problem spilling out into the legal arena.

  “Personally, I don’t think you should take sides,” Evan advised. “From what I’m hearing, this conflict is as much about getting rid of Sam as it is about securing former Gray Tail land.”

  She sighed. “I heard the evidence presented against Jerry has vanished.”

  “Likely the D.A. took care of that,” Evan murmured with a frown. “He was a good friend of Jerry’s from way back and even went on several trips with him.”

  They had been members of the same pack so the friendship wasn’t unexpected.

  “Any whispers that he was involved in their killer club?”

  “Nothing substantiated.” Evan shrugged. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Get more intel. I’m already being pressured to support the Coalition’s move against them. I’m not doing anything against my conscience or evidence.”

  He nodded. “I’ll see what I can find out, but I suggest you bring Sam in at least,” he answered. “Two packs working this would be better than one. She has some of the best investigators in the business in her pack.”

  “I’m not sure I want to go down that road yet,” she said and blew out a breath. “The cooperation could cause a blow back on us that might end badly.”

  “Might end badly either way,” Evan answered quietly. “Sam’s strength is what scares the wolves and the jackals. It’s also the thing they hate about Mallory and you.”

  Claudia nodded in understanding and agreement. She and Mallory had taken over their packs before they were twenty-five. Violence and betrayal had shaped them into the leaders they were.

  “Just keep me updated,” she said. “Later.”

  “Gotcha.”

  She left him, heading to her quarters. Claudia wasn’t surprised Evan hadn’t assumed the coyote alphas were running drugs.

  Everyone knew they’d never do anything like that. However, she was going to have to talk to them which meant going to the club or arranging to see them in her capacity as leader or mayor.

  Claudia had rather keep things unofficial right now until something gave her cause to do otherwise.

  She made it to her quarters in fifteen minutes and unbuttoned her suit jacket as soon as she closed the door behind her.

  Claudia removed her cell from her pocket on the way to her bedroom and input Mallory Blacklaw’s number. She put the phone on speaker and tossed it onto the bed while she undressed.

  “Hello?”

  “What’s going on, Mallory?” She wouldn’t discuss business over the phone but going to the club would be a good cover.

  “It’s all good. What’s up with you?”

  “It’s been a long day, and I’m looking for some company,” she said. “Same girl. Same place.”

  “Same time?” Mallory asked coolly.

  “Thirty minutes later. I just got in.”

  “Would you like anything?” Mallory asked.

  “A bottle of club,” she said. “No ice.”

  “Gotcha, later.”

  “Out.” She ended the call and went to shower. Claudia knew she was taking a big risk going to Coyote Closet especially with all that was going on. However, it was the only lesbian strip and play club in town.

  In fact, it was the best strip club around. The girls were hot, and she knew they were all clean. Mallory and Sam insisted on mandatory check-ups so if she wanted to take one of the girls to bed, she didn’t have to worry about getting anything.

  But she wasn’t in heat, so she wasn’t looking for sex just to unwind, and the one girl there that floated her boat was all she was in the mood for.

  Kyra was hot, and she made both woman and animal crazy with lust. Claudia was starting to think about Kyra more than she should and want her with a passion that ate at her.

  Claudia was thinking about asking her out despite the conflict it could bring. Any dancer not a wolf was considered aligned with Mallory or Sam. That could create a problem for her with Jenner and the Coalition.

  The problem was, her coyote wasn’t listening to reason. However, the coyote wasn’t in charge, she assured her animal sternly.

  After her shower
, Claudia ran a comb through her short hair and then moisturized her skin. She dressed in a royal blue shirt leaving it open at the throat to reveal the gold of the chain on which her hunter tags were on.

  They’d been a gift from her father when she turned seventeen. The long-standing tradition of presenting those dominants who left the pack’s ranks as soldier and entered into the ranks of the hunter and trackers.

  There were never more than four at any given time which spoke to the rarity of their birth. They had the superior skills of scent and hearing. They could sense and find prey no matter the conditions.

  No female in her pack had ever been marked with that distinction. Claudia had to fight to earn the respect of the males she’d trained beside. Even her alpha hadn’t treated her as he should have. He’d dissed her with back-handed insults about her confused sexuality and sexual anomaly.

  She was one of the few in her pack who had the cock and balls of a male but were genetically female. She’d learned the bodies of the intersex were still a mystery to modern medicine. No one knew why it happened or what caused it, but she’d learned to live with it.

  He hadn’t thought she could best him at anything even as he trained her, as was the custom. He’d assured her there were two other males who would eventually become hunter, not her.

  The man had been right in a way. However, he was dead for his betrayal of the pack along with both of those males he’d thought were true hunters unlike her.

  With an angry grimace, Claudia put on black pants before pulling on black boots. Her life had changed so much since she’d become alpha at only twenty. She had the respect of most of her pack, but there were still some who thought she’d been the one out of line for killing their alpha even though he’d betrayed them.

  You never betrayed pack for profit, if at all, and you certainly never enticed others of the pack to back you in that.

  Her alpha had, and he’d attempted to kill those who’d realized what he was doing. Claudia’s father had been one of the soldiers who’d attempted to enforce law and their alpha had set the other hunter on them, changing the course of Claudia’s life.