“I know. Range wars are popping up everywhere.” They were pretty famous, really, and the government wasn’t stepping in and setting up any sort of guidelines to be followed. It was becoming a serious concern all over the West, not just for ranchers, but for people like her in law enforcement. People were dying.
“We fenced our property to keep them out of it. It’s a clear sign that our land is private property. They’re knowingly breaking the law.” Lawrence was still grumbling.
“I don’t disagree with you. I just think your actions may have escalated this.” She watched him stand back up and begin to pace. It wasn’t very often the werewolf Alpha was in a bad mood, but she couldn’t hold it against him. Humans had just shown up at his home with silver, of all things. Which brought her to the last problem. “How did they know you were werewolves?”
Lawrence stopped near his bookcase and began to fiddle with a knickknack.
Tapping her foot, she waited. When it was clear he didn’t want to answer, she tried again. “Lawrence, how did they know about the Pack?” she asked. “I know we don’t keep secrets very well here in Redstone, but we don’t announce what we are, either. They came in silver bullets, so they already know. It really makes me wonder.”
“We gave them a right spook on a full moon once, to hopefully scare them off for good. Happened about three months ago. We hadn’t had trouble since, until today.” He sounded like his mother was going to walk into the room and give him a red ass for it.
I wouldn’t blame her.
“You did what?” Adalyn got out of her chair, her anger making it impossible to stay in her seat. She touched the wall, whispering the sound spell to keep the entire Pack from hearing her, and locked the door while she was at it. “YOU DID WHAT, LAWRENCE?” Her roar echoed and bounced around the room.
The big werewolf paled slightly.
2
Remy
Remy trotted after the humans, watching them leave the property without causing any more problems. The werewolves around him on their horses watched as well, keeping their rifles trained on the retreating humans. Most, anyway. Some were casting him curious glances, probably wondering if they were seeing a real hellhound or something else.
He left first, abandoning the werewolves to their own problem. The moment the last human was gone, his job was done, and he shifted back to his human form. He hurried back to Adalyn, not liking leaving her back at the main area of the ranch with a bunch of cursed werewolves. They were essentially human unless it was a full moon, but their bites were always contagious. Unlike shifters like him or Forrest, who turned into a horse, the werewolves - and the werecats - were monsters. Real monsters. Bipedal, inhuman, animalistic monsters that could very quickly lose control over themselves.
He had a hard time trusting them alone with Adalyn, even on the best of days. Even though she knew them better than him, he had his fears about them. He liked plain shifters much more than the cursed werewolves.
He found Easton first, looking annoyed as a werewolf female ran a hand over his chest. When he noticed Remy, he ignored the female and walked to him quickly. “How was getting the humans out of here?”
“Easy. They didn’t want to play around anymore, since Adalyn showed them just what they had gotten into.” Remy grinned. It had been a thing to see. She was such a temperamental witch, and it was the sexiest sight he could ever be greeted with.
“If only the supes were as easy to deal with as the humans,” Easton muttered, shaking his head as he cast a glance at the female werewolf who had just been hitting on him.
“They would be if you told most of them what you are…” Remy reminded him, trailing off to see what the Nephilim’s response would be. Easton narrowed those cutting sapphire eyes at him. Remy played it off, changing the subject quickly. “Where’s Adalyn?”
“She went to talk to Lawrence privately about what’s going on. We’ll probably get a rundown of it later. I’m going to grab our horses.” Easton sighed and wandered off, looking for their mounts. Remy had jumped off his mare and shifted so fast that he had no idea where she ended up. He had a nice girl, and over the last five years, she was specifically trained, along with Easton’s gelding, to not find his hellhound form too frightening.
I should buy her some apples. I jumped and shifted faster than I normally do. Probably spooked her pretty good.
He shoved his hands into his pockets, wondering what to do with himself. Here he was, deputy of the small supernatural town of Redstone. What a change it was from the life he had a month before. He’d been a bounty hunter for a decade, traveling until his feet were aching, and he had no idea what home was. Sometimes, he still got an itch. He was used to that life. As deputy to Adalyn and the town, he was stagnant, always waiting for orders - or just for something to happen.
He was distracted by these thoughts until he saw Adalyn storm out of the mansion in the middle of the mini-town that belonged to the Ranch and the werewolves. Her black hair whipped in the wind, those blue-green eyes bright with an anger that he found devastatingly gorgeous, as long as it wasn’t focused on him. It never was. He went out of his way to never bring that fury on him.
Others called her aggravating, stubborn, and headstrong. He thought they were wrong. They just couldn’t keep up.
“We’re leaving! Boys, let’s go!” she called out, stomping away from Lawrence, who followed her out, hot on her heels.
“Adalyn! It’s going to be fine-”
“You exposed your kind to a hostile group of humans!” she screamed, turning on him. “You led your damn Pack in giving them a fucking spook and now we’ve got fucking pissed off free grazers with silver bullets. Now I’ve got to clean up the damned mess like your fucking mother. No, Lawrence, it’s not going to be fine.”
Remy stepped closer, finding himself at her side as Lawrence drew closer, obviously at the end of his temper as well.
“You don’t need to clean up anything for my Pack, Adalyn. What you do need to do is defend the supernaturals of Redstone.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t go out of your way to make problems worse,” she retorted. “What was it you said? While William was alive, you stayed forgiving, just working to keep communication open and talking peaceful options to handling it? Why was that?” There was a queer angry note to how she said that. Remy swallowed, but stayed right next to her. “Oh yeah. Because William would have hung you by your heels for exposing yourself in an affair involving humans.”
Lawrence’s face was turning somewhat red now. “You can get off my property.”
“With pleasure,” she snapped, turning away from him.
Remy didn’t move, though. He snarled at the werewolf Alpha watching his witch walk away.
Lawrence looked at him for a moment. “Yes, Remington?” the Alpha asked.
Remy didn’t react to hearing his first name. All the leaders of the town knew it now, thanks to his official documentation as the deputy. Thankfully none of them, even the other shifters, gave him a hard time for being a Coldwell. Yet.
“Don’t disrespect your sheriff,” he reminded the Alpha. “She’s only trying to keep everyone here safe. Plus, if you really did expose your kind to these humans, you honestly deserve what you have coming to you.”
“Like none of the other supes in the West do it,” Lawrence retorted, curling a lip.
Remy snorted. “No, they don’t. We all keep our heads down for the most part. We’re outnumbered. Even though humans know of our existence, that doesn’t mean we let them know what we are. Supes only live this openly here in Redstone.” He shook his head in disappointment at the Alpha. To expose his Pack like that was a stupid thing to do. He turned to follow Adalyn, finding Easton towards the exit of the Ranch with their horses.
Together, without comment, they all swung up on their horses and began to ride back to town.
“Easton, you were thinking about lunch earlier. If there’s nothing pressing in town, stop by the saloon and have Valen make something
up.” Their witch sounded tired now. Remy knew that her display took a lot of magic, but he had a feeling the exhaustion wasn’t from the magic use. It was probably more from her temper.
“Of course,” Easton answered softly. “Should I pick something up for…Tobias?”
Remy straightened. That’s right. They had run off, leaving her old friend in the office. “What’s he like?”
“He’s a nice guy. If he’s there, yes, please. He might have already eaten, though. We’ll play it by ear.” She sounded much happier at the reminder that Tobias was back in town, waiting for them. “Oh, it’s good to have him back. We’ll have to talk about our old potions business, and there’s so much for him to catch up on.”
“He’s another friend of Maxwell’s, right?” Remy was keenly interested. Something about Tobias had raised his hackles up immediately, and when he asked about Adalyn? Remy had to remind himself not to go over the desk and take the simple, innocent question as a challenge.
Tobias, the shaman. A part-Native man with strange dark red hair and a deep, woody skin tone that screamed earth and trees. He was tall, attractive, and obviously powerful. And wild. He had a wildness to him that Remy had only felt in one other person: himself. They were both creatures of nature. He also had the distinct scent of a hawk mixed in with his human scent, something peculiar.
“Oh, we’re all friends!” Adalyn began to laugh. “William and Maxwell were two guys who couldn’t be more different, or alike, depending on how you looked at it. Tobias was a good friend of William’s originally, and that’s how I met him. Maxwell had always been in and out of town. Tobias brought in Valen. Now those two, they’re best friends.” She smiled back at them over her shoulder. “If you want a trip down memory lane, get all of us together…”
Remy watched her face change. Something sad took over just for a moment before she turned away from them again.
She’s thinking of him again.
“I look forward to getting to know him,” Easton said diplomatically. Remy felt the sting of being the outsider. He and Easton were the new guys. The ones who showed up, moved in with her, and yet, they weren’t really her friends. Casual lovers, roommates, coworkers, but they weren’t her friends, or at least it was never said. They didn’t really know many people in town. Valen tolerated them like he tolerated everyone. Maxwell had dealt with them and there had been some connection, but now the marshal was gone back East on his own business for a few months.
“Oh, you’ll like Tobias. If you ever got annoyed with Maxwell, Tobias is the exact opposite of him. He’s just a wonderful guy.” She was quieter now, but she slowed Dark Prince, allowing them to ride beside her instead of behind. “He might have some advice on this. Let’s hope that today put an end to the problems. Going against a large group of humans like that could easily sway human towns against us, especially if we’re talking the werewolves or werecats. Humans don’t particularly like getting cursed, and we already support a large population. Not sure we can handle many more.”
Remy furrowed his brow. She wants to ask this shaman for help? Why? He hasn’t been here. Easton and I have been backing her up.
He looked over her at Easton, who met his stare. As they drew closer to town, he made a quick decision.
“I’m going with Easton to grab food for everyone,” he said. Remy wanted to talk to his friend and gauge how he felt about the shaman. He had a feeling they were going to see Tobias a lot from here on out. He and the Nephilim needed to be on the same page.
“Okay! I’ll meet you back at the jail.” Adalyn graced them with a bright smile, her bad mood forgotten or hidden. When the town came into view, they waved her off and Dark Prince jumped into a fast trot, leaving them on the dirt road. The moment she was out of sight, Remy took his chance.
“How do you feel about-”
“He wants her,” Easton cut him off. “He wasn’t okay with how I hung over her in front of him.”
Remy bared his teeth. “Of course he does. I could have told you that. But what do we do about it?”
Easton frowned at him. “What do you mean?”
Remy huffed, shaking his head. “I don’t know.” He didn’t know how to put the feeling into words. He was possessive and he wanted Adalyn just for them. The idea of another male now encroaching in on it, one nearly as magical as she was, someone she was close to…Remy could smell a threat. Tobias was a rival to his claim.
“Play it by ear, Remy. He’s only just shown up.” Easton reached out and thumped his shoulder.
They stopped in front of the saloon. Remy followed his friend in. It was a quiet afternoon, only a few early drinkers taking up a some of the more isolated tables. He looked down to make sure his badge was visible. They still dressed like the bounty hunters they had always been, but the badges made them official. It meant no one messed with the outsiders, even though that was exactly what they were: outsiders.
“Hey, deputies!” Valen called out. “What can I help you both with today?”
Remy eyed the enigma that was Valen, owner of the Magic Notes Saloon. He had tried to catch the man’s scent, but for some reason it eluded him. He had no idea how it worked, but the only thing the Russian smelled like was a bear, and he was certain that was on purpose because there wasn’t a drop of human in the scent. Valen could do a lot of things. This was just another trick.
“We’re here to get something to eat. We’ll need to take something back to Adalyn, too.” Easton sat down casually at the bar. He was just as curious as Remy as to what the saloon owner could possibly be, but neither of them were foolish enough to ask. “She said you would know what she likes.”
“I do.”
Remy narrowed his eyes on the Russian man walking away. If Valen were any other man, he’d feel threatened. The way he said that made it sound like he was the witch’s lover.
“Let’s take a seat over there.” Easton patted his shoulder, pointing to a small table. “We can enjoy a lunch here and give Adalyn a moment to talk to her old friend without us.”
“Yeah…” He didn’t like it, but he would respect her enough to not grow territorial…where she could see it, anyway. “I don’t want her to…”
“Play it by ear,” Easton ordered mildly. “There’s nothing we can do about any of it. We’ll eat lunch here; I already sent word to Adalyn with my telepathy. We’ll watch the town, see if there’s anything interesting going on, and let them talk.”
“We can talk about the werewolves,” Remy said, that coming back to him. “They exposed themselves—can you believe it?”
“Stupid. They have no sense of self-preservation, that’s certain.” Easton snorted. “Monsters do as monsters do, I guess.”
“What’s that about the werewolves?” Valen asked, suddenly appearing between them. Remy nearly jumped, glaring up at the big Russian unknown.
“They showed what they were to a bunch of humans they’d been in a small range war with. The humans came back with silver,” Easton explained. “We just got done dealing with it. Didn’t arrest any.”
“Hm…” Valen dropped two plates in front of them. “Sounds like Lawrence lost his patience for the humans. Not good. I’ll talk to him. Maybe I can keep him from escalating-”
“We’re hoping Adalyn’s display of power today will chase them off permanently. We’ll see how things go. You don’t need to get involved.” Easton said it kindly, and even waved at a seat. “Sit with us? You can tell us more about this Tobias.”
Valen’s laugh was booming. “Why do you want to know more about Tobias?” He sat down anyway, everything at the bar continuing on as if he were there. A patron was watching his drink refill with wide eyes and a washcloth shook in his face to snap him out of it. Valen was still chuckling, not looking behind him, but obviously aware of what was happening at his bar.
“Curiosity.” Easton gave nothing away. “Like I still desperately want to know what you are.”
“Hm.” Valen shrugged. “I’ll tell you what I am if you tel
l me who your father is.”
Remy swallowed, grabbing his whiskey to distract himself. He didn’t even know who Easton’s father was, and the Nephilim was sensitive about it.
“I guess the mystery remains for another day,” Easton said softly, lifting his own drink. “What did you bring us for food? I’ve never seen this before.”
“Russian recipe. Try it. Something to break the monotony of what you two always get while you’re here.” Valen stood back up slowly, waving at the plates. “Adalyn likes it. I’ll have some for her when you head out.” With that, the burly man went back to his place behind the bar.
Remy poked the food around. It didn’t look appetizing. Adalyn likes this? How? I guess I won’t find out until I try it.
“Eat, Remy,” Easton ordered, pushing the plate closer to him. Without another comment, he took a bite himself and shrugged. “It’s not bad.”
Remy sighed. He liked the steak he got every day, rare to the point that many would have thought it was uncooked. It was his favorite. He only needed some greens on the side. This looked strange. He wasn’t even sure how to describe it.
Defeated, he took a bite. While he watched the others in the saloon, he did as Easton said and put Tobias out of his mind. Until the man made a move on Adalyn, if he ever did, there was no reason to engage with her friend.
“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU!” a woman screeched outside the door of the saloon.
Remy winced in pain at the noise and glanced at his partner. Easton shrugged, obviously waiting for more to happen.
“Love, it’s not like that. She and I were just-”
“You were kissing her hand! And her cheek! And HER NECK! She’s a vamp!” the woman continued to screech. “IN THE BROTHEL!”
Remy sighed, shaking his head. “I’m not getting into this one.”
“Me neither.” Easton went back to his food.
“I’m going to kill you!” the woman continued to yell. Everyone in the saloon began to chuckle as they heard footsteps running. “Yeah! Run off! I’m always going to find you! Go on!”
Werewolves and Wranglers Page 2