Protection (To Love And Defend Book 5)

by Daniella Starre

  To his surprise, she had shown up personally to gather the bodies.

  “Do you need help?” he asked.

  “You’ve done enough,” she said, waving him back as she removed a body bag from her trunk.

  “Ah, okay. I didn’t mean to intrude.”

  “You should have called earlier.” She wrinkled her nose, the moonlight hitting her face. “The stench wouldn’t have been so bad then.”

  “Yes, well, I was trying—”

  “Getting in the way. I heard.”

  He winced. “Officer, I didn’t mean any harm—”

  “Then you should have stopped the fight.”

  “I would be dead, too, then.”

  “Then I guess you aren’t strong enough. That’s on you, not them. Dallas and Dexter.” She shook her head. “I’m not surprised.”

  “Me neither.”

  She cut him a glance. “But they didn’t deserve this.”

  “No, ma’am.”

  Her eyes narrowed. She had just lugged Dexter into the first bag, and she glared at him before zipping it.

  “I hope I won’t have to call you again about a situation like this.”

  “At this point, the entire pack will be dead before someone is wolf enough to take charge and be a real alpha.” She shook her head.

  “Did you know?” he blurted after she easily lifted the second body bag into her trunk.

  “Know what?” she asked, sounding distracted.

  “That Melvin had drugged and raped at least one female in the pack.”

  “We had no complaints,” she said.

  “That’s not what I asked,” he protested. “Of course they weren’t going to make a formal complaint about their alpha!”

  “Without a formal complaint, we can’t so anything, especially against our alpha. What do you take us for?”

  “How about protectors of the peace?”

  She slammed the trunk shut and made herself as tall as she could even though she was a half foot shorter than his five-foot, ten-inch frame. Still, her aura and attitude made her intimidating, or would to someone who had broken the law.

  “We do protect the peace, but that peace is dictated by the alpha. Without one, you see what happens. We are doing our best, Mr. Hawkins, and I suggest you stay out of our way. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She had nodded to him, her expression grim and furious, and she slammed her car door shut, revved the engine, and peeled out.

  Now that it was morning, Adrian couldn’t shake her anger. It was misplaced, wasn’t it? He hadn’t intended to make their job more difficult. Maybe he could help them out on a volunteer basis. After all, because of the chaos, his father had closed the bank. If people needed money, they had the ATMs, which were heavily protected. Even a werewolf shouldn’t be able to break it apart to steal the money inside.

  On his way over to the police station, Adrian spotted suspicious activity. He drove on, not wanting to make a mistake, figuring he would tell the police about it. The station was only a minute drive away at this point.

  But then he heard a child start to cry from that general area, and Adrian made an illegal U-turn and sped back there, nearly hitting another car on the way.

  Leaving the car running, he jumped out to the small park-like area with grass and a few trees in the middle of the busy main area. A few werewolves, in human form, were fighting. Fists were flying, and he saw a glint of silver. One of the guys was wearing brass knuckles.

  Adrian hadn’t wanted to get into the middle of a fight between two wolves ready to tear out each other’s throat, but two men? He had no qualms there. He was more muscular than both of them put together.

  “What seems to be the issue, boys?” he asked loudly as he crossed over to them. He spied the boy standing by one of the trees, almost hugging the trunk. He looked to be maybe seven years old.

  Neither of them responded, and when one went wide to swing a punch, Adrian smoothly cut forward to block the blow, hating that this guy had the nerve to wear brass knuckles. Both guys had blood trickling down their faces, staining their clothes, although the wounds had already healed. All three of them were werewolves, the fighters and the boy.

  Still holding the arm at bay, Adrian nodded to the boy, hoping to make him feel less afraid, but then the other man, whipped out something silver of his own. Not brass knuckles.

  A gun.

  “Duck, kid!” Adrian shouted as he jerked the bass-knuckled man down to the ground just in time for the bullet to miss.

  Adrian released the guy and whirled around. The kid had made a sound, and he gasped as the boy had dropped to the ground.

  He had been hit.

  And killed.

  Yes, a gunshot straight to the head or heart could kill a werewolf. Anywhere else and the werewolf would have a chance to heal and recover from it, but not in those locations.

  Adrian didn’t even know the boy’s name, but he sank to his knees, threw back his head, and howled.

  Chapter 5

  There was only one word to describe how Adrian was feeling. Discouraged. He was discouraged by the lack of humanity his fellow werewolves were showing. He was discouraged by all the pointless deaths. He was discouraged and giving up hope that they could ever have peace again in Hazel Park. Would the pack be disbanded? What would the future hold for them?

  After the boy’s death and funeral, Adrian had retreated to his apartment, and he hadn’t been able to bring himself to leave his bed. Despair and worry for the future, Adrian grabbed his phone and tried to call Alexis. He had to know that she was all right, but she didn’t answer.

  Now, he felt willing to abandon his bed, and he hopped onto his computer. As much as he could, he tried to locate Alexis. He even used bank records to see if there was a means to locate her, but she had closed her account several months ago.

  Finally, he closed the browser and covered his face with his hands. “Alexis, I hope you found peace, happiness, and love. Honestly, no one deserves it more, and if I’m being even more honest, I’ll doubt I’ll find that for myself. I’m glad you got out. Stay away. Don’t return. Hazel Park isn’t the fun, safe place from when we were kids. Not anymore.”

  Maybe one day it would be, but Adrian was too discouraged to even dare to hope that could happen.

  Protection

  Adrian Hawkins has battled guilt for years. He killed his alpha, and now, Hazel Park hasn't known peace in five years. When cop Kiera Turner recruits him to bring down a werewolf who wishes to expose their kind to the humans, Adrian jumps at the chance to make things right. Can the two of them fight their growing attraction and their enemy in order to protect not only their town but the entire world for werewolves?

  Chapter 1

  Five long, terrible years had passed since Melvin Hayes, the alpha of Hazel Park, had died. Only five living werewolves knew the truth. Melvin Hayes had been murdered.

  Adrian Hawkins did not consider himself a murderer even though he had been the one to hold the pillow against Melvin’s face until the already wounded alpha had died. Adrian had only done what was necessary. Melvin deserved pain. He deserved so much worse than he received. He certainly deserved death.

  Why?

  Because Melvin had been terrorizing the females in the pack unbeknownst to most of the other werewolves. Adrian had no idea about any of that. He only knew that Melvin had said Alexis Luna had been kidnapped.

  Of course Adrian jumped to save her. Alexis was a dear childhood friend. Sure, they had lost touch over the years, but Adrian couldn’t allow anything to happen to her.

  Only Alexis hadn’t been kidnapped. She had been running away from Melvin, who had drugged and raped her. Now in Detroit, Alexis had fallen in love with another werewolf, one who critically injured Melvin.

  The werewolves had no choice but to flee back to Hazel Park with Melvin. He remained their alpha. They stood around, watching him die. Then, Adrian saw Melvin was beginning to heal. That was when Adria
n had picked up the pillow and smothered him.

  Adrian was a banker. He was now Vice President to his father’s bank, a position he had earned through sacrifice and hard work, not blood. Even then, five years ago, Adrian hadn’t wanted to be alpha.

  It seemed as if he was the only werewolf in all of Hazel Park who didn’t want to be alpha. So many had stepped forward and fought others for the right to claim that title. So many of them had died, and still, they had no alpha. Still, they had no peace. Still, Hazel Park was a dangerous place where not even children were safe.

  Most nights, Adrian had taken to walking the streets, trying to make sure no one was fighting, that no one was killing each other. Humans didn’t know about werewolves, at least not consciously; As if they realized something was off, humans tended to hate werewolves without understanding why. The last thing Hazel Park werewolves needed was a human to spy them. Humans weren’t exactly the most peaceful race themselves.

  Not two blocks from his house, Adrian realized he was being followed. He was still in the residential area, and most everyone who lived on this block was werewolves. Since there wasn’t a place to duck out of sight, he opted to turn around and catch the person.

  Half hidden in shadows stood a tall werewolf, muscular but not as big as Adrian. He might be a banker, but he did enjoy pumping iron.

  “Can I help you?” Adrian asked.

  The werewolf stepped forward into the moonlight.

  “Peter Martin,” Adrian said, recognizing the werewolf as a jerk from high school.

  “Adrian Hawkins,” Peter said coolly. “Why are you sniffing around every night?”

  “Casing the joint,” Adrian said sarcastically.

  But Peter nodded as if Adrian was serious. “You can’t be too careful,” Peter said. “Have to protect yourself, know what I mean?”

  “Exactly.” Adrian shifted his weight from one foot to the other. When the other werewolf remained silent, Adrian asked, “What do you want?”

  “To know if I can trust you.”

  “Trust me? For what?”

  “Nah, man. I have to trust you first to say.”

  Adrian had a sinking feeling in his gut about this. He wanted to just walk away, but he was curious too. Peter wasn’t the best of guys, and if he was involved in something, it was going to spell bad news for Hazel Park.

  “So that’s why you’re following me? To see if I’m trustworthy?” Adrian laughed and shook his head. “Not exactly trustworthy behavior, if you ask me.”

  Peter narrowed his eyes but nodded. “Guess you got the point.” He glanced around and then motioned Adrian closer.

  Although he didn’t want to, Adrian complied. “What is it?” he asked suspiciously.

  “It’s about taking back what’s ours. This place is our home. Ours.” Peter thudded a fist to his chest.

  “You want to become alpha,” Adrian guessed.

  Peter shook his head and then shrugged. “I guess you could say that I might end up that way, but this is bigger than that.”

  “Oh?” Now Adrian was even more worried, but he made sure to hide that fact.

  “Hazel Park belongs to the werewolves,” Peter said through gritted teeth.

  “You want to drive out the humans?” Adrian asked, horrified.

  “Nah. They can stay. Or they can leave. Their choice, but we’re going to take over this city.”

  “How are you going to do that?” Adrian asked. “Are you going to run for mayor?”

  “Hell, man! Think bigger!” Peter sighed. “I can see you’re confused. What we’re gonna do is this. We’re gonna out ourselves to the humans. Then, everything will be right as rain.”

  You’re delusional. Absolutely crazy if you think that’s a good idea.

  “Well?” Peter asked. “What do ya think? You in or out?”

  “That’s ballsy,” Adrian admitted, too floored to think.

  Peter burst out laughing. “That’s the spirit! Hell, yeah, it’s ballsy. It’s the only way. Hazel Park’s been run into the ground even before that scumbag was alpha.”

  Adrian smirked. It wasn’t as if Peter had been old enough to remember the previous alpha to Melvin.

  “But this is our chance,” Peter said. “We can make things right. We can make this place a sanctuary for werewolves everywhere. Hazel Park will be the home of all werewolves, and it will be the best pack there’s ever been. Can you see it, Adrian? My vision?”

  “I can see it,” Adrian muttered.

  He could. He could see fires and hear gunshots. He could smell fear and death, taste blood in his mouth.

  “Think it over,” Peter said. “You know where I live. Come around any time when you’re ready to be part of my inner circle. I won’t forget those who help me. It’ll be a bright new future. Just you wait and see.”

  Peter nodded and slinked back into the shadows.

  Adria just stood there for a moment, shell-shocked. If humans found out about werewolves, it would be the Hazel Park Werewolf Trials instead of the Salem Witch Trials. No way would Adrian ever agree to that.

  Chapter 2

  Too unnerved to walk anymore, Adrian returned to his house. He had bought the place two years ago when the fighting near his apartment complex had gotten so bad that a cop car was stationed in the back lot every night.

  But the sight of his small home only served to depress him. He had some friends but no girlfriend, and he felt all alone. The idea of going inside didn’t appeal to him any better than walking had. Instead, he hopped in his car and decided to drive around.

  Once again, a few blocks down the road, he realized he was being tailed. Shit, was it a cop? No.

  Lights went on.

  Shit, it was a cop. Had he been speeding? He hadn’t meant to, but the speed limit here was only twenty-five.

  Adrian pulled over and rolled down his window. “Good evening, Officer. How are you?”

  “Can it, Hawkins,” the cop said.

  Kiera Turner. Adrian grimaced. Since the chaos originated by Melvin’s death, the two of them had butted heads more than a few times. Adrian couldn’t help being furious with the werewolves on the police force. They were supposed to be protectors of the peace, but they hadn’t done anything while Melvin had been abusing authority. Yes, everything was complicated when an alpha was involved, but still. He didn’t have proof that the police did know about the assaults against women, so he knew he shouldn’t hold that against them, but all of the violence? The bouts to the death? One such bout was how they met shortly after Melvin’s death. Adrian had witnessed two werewolves fight and kill each other. Adrian had tried to get them to stop fighting, but he hadn’t interfered physically, only with words. He would’ve been killed himself otherwise.

  He’d explained that to Kiera. Her response? “Then I guess you aren’t strong enough.” Yeah, that still stung.

  But it was another remark she’d said that stayed with him, haunting him all of these years. “At this point, the entire pack will be dead before someone is wolf enough to take charge and be a real alpha.”

  If Peter Martin had his way, that might very well be the case and not just for their pack. Werewolves everywhere would be in danger.

  “Just give me my ticket. Let’s get it over with.”

  Kiera narrowed her eyes. It was dark out, but Adrian could see her clearly. Her green eyes were fixed on him. Her nostrils flared, and she parted her lips. No makeup for her. He supposed she was pretty enough, but her demeanor and harshness made her far too crabby to ever be considered beautiful.

  “Why? Were you speeding?” she demanded.

  Adrian appraised her critically. “You can’t pull me over without cause.”

  “Who said I didn’t have a reason? You were talking to Peter Martin. What about?”

  “Why? Want me to do your job for you?”

  She leaned down and crossed her arms on his open window. “I want to know what you two discussed.”

  “And if I told you it was a private matter?”<
br />
  “I would arrest you for disrupting the peace.”

  “Whose peace? Yours?”

  She smirked. “You will be obstructing justice and hindering an on-going investigation. You want to hop over to my car?”

  “If you’re investigating him, why don’t you just talk to him?”

  “Seriously, Hawkins? Start talking.”

  Adrian grinned. “All you have to do is say please.”

  “Damn it.”

  “Okay.” He was pushing too hard. “He wants to take over the city.”

  “There’s more.”

  “Yes.” Adrian hesitated, not wanting to voice it aloud.

  He expected something sarcastic from her, but all Kiera said was, “That bad, huh?”

  “He wants to out us to the humans,” Adrian muttered.

  “The rat bastard,” Kiera said.

  Adrian chuckled and shook his head. “You definitely aren’t a sailor,” he teased.

  “You want me to curse, I can curse. I try to be professional while in uniform.” She eyed him and rolled her eyes.

  “What?” he asked. “You clearly had a thought.”

  “I did. A stupid one. I don’t have many stupid ones, though.”

  “Sure you don’t.”

  “It wouldn’t be a good idea. It would never work.”

  “What wouldn’t?”

  “He tried to recruit you?”

  “Why do you sound so surprised?” Adrian asked.

  “Because you and I both know you won’t stick your neck out for anyone.”

  “What are you talking about? That’s not true,” he protested.

  “Oh, yeah? Tell that to Dallas and Dexter.” She glowered at him.

  He winced. Dallas and Dexter were the two werewolves who fought each other to death in front of him.

  “You could make it up to them,” Kiera said slowly.

  “You want me to do your job for me.”

  She grinned. “Yes, actually. I want you to go undercover. I want you to gain Peter’s trust and learn how and when and where he’s planning on exposing us to the humans. Do you think you can handle that?”