Werewolves and Wranglers

by Kristen Banet

  “Fine.” She was just trying to help but she could see she was no longer wanted. “Tobias? Want to help me round up Remy and Valen?”

  “I’ll find the horses,” he told her. “We’ll talk about all of this on the ride home.”

  “Good idea.” She sighed, running a hand through her hair. It was still the new moon. There were still werecats to deal with. Please, no more, karma. I’m not sure what I did to you, but please, have mercy on me.

  13

  Adalyn

  Tobias brought Adalyn her horse as she whistled again. Valen was already by her side by the time the shaman was back, but Remy still wasn’t around.

  “Remy!” she called out, grabbing the reins for the horse she had commandeered. A howl returned. “Let’s go!”

  “What do you think he’s doing?” Valen asked.

  “Probably trying to catch the scent of one of the humans so we can track them. If he didn’t, we need to find a way to catch them on a night that isn’t pouring down rain.” She was pissed off. Not with her hellhound lover, but the entire situation. Twice now, the Ranch was attacked, and no one had been prepared for it. Again, she had caught Lawrence not telling her what was going on. She specifically had Easton and Remy follow up after the last time so she could prepare for any trouble.

  No, the fucking Alpha probably wants to be a big strong man. He would never ask a witch to help him. Of course. He’s probably thinking, ‘I can’t ask a woman for help. It’ll make me look weak.’ I’ll show him. If he dares say that to me, I’ll fucking show him.

  They waited on the road, looking out for Remy. Finally, aglow lit up in the night and she could see the hellhound walking over.

  “Shift back in town. We don’t have an extra horse.” She swung up on the gelding and started moving, letting the men catch up. Remy made a small circle around them, getting in the front and making some distance. She assumed it was because none of their horses were trained to handle his form. She had to fight a little with the gelding to get him to follow Remy, and that was with twenty feet between them.

  The ride to town was uneventful, but the new moon wasn’t over. She could hear the werecats in the bank as she drew closer. Easton was back on the porch of the sheriff’s office and jail, holding his rifle at the ready.

  “We’re back!” she called out. “Bad news on this end. How’s the werewolf?”

  “He’ll live,” the Nephilim answered. “It wasn’t a bad injury, but I took your advice and didn’t want to leave the silver in him. I see the help caught up to you.” He nodded to the men around her. Remy jumped up the stairs and lay at his feet, not shifting back into his human form. She dismounted and walked up with Valen and Tobias.

  “Have you told any of the werewolves here what happened?” She knew she had to be the person who broke the news. She had seen it. She hated it, but she would do it. She could deal with Lawrence, even though the idea of that was already giving her a migraine.

  “Not yet. Was waiting on more information. I didn’t want to scare them. That’s why I got the injured guy into a cell where he could rest and they couldn’t see him.”

  Smart boy. She appreciated his foresight in the matter. “Tobias, Valen, would you two mind running back and checking on him? Then I would love if you stuck around. The more we can tell these werewolves, the better dawn will go.”

  “Can do,” Valen answered. Tobias was quiet as they walked inside.

  She fell back into her seat, going back on watch. Looking down, she saw Remy was still in his hellhound form and not his human one. “I’m going to need you too, Remy.”

  The hellhound whimpered and she frowned. “Are you injured?” The worry set in at that. She hadn’t considered any of them getting hurt.

  Easton lowered his rifle from the bank and looked down now. “Well, man, shift back. We need to talk.”

  Remy rolled on his back, ignoring them.

  “Remy, come on. This isn’t the time to be cute.” She really wanted it to be, though, and scratched his chest. “Now shift back.”

  She could hear what amounted to a sigh. On all fours again, Remy began to shift. It was fluid and strange to watch, but she was long used to it. She had seen more than enough shifters in action in her lifetime.

  What she wasn’t expecting was the magnificently nude form of Remy Coldwell.

  “I didn’t have time to put on clothing. I had ground to make up,” he explained, covering himself. “Now, I don’t want my lover and boss to arrest me for public indecency, so…”

  Valen and Tobias walked out at that exact moment. The Russian began to laugh while Tobias just turned away, obviously uncomfortable.

  “Oh, yeah.” She swallowed, nodding. “You can run home and get something to wear.”

  “Thank you. I’ll bring dry clothing for you all as well. And bring our horses. Looks like we’re in for a busy day.” Remy smiled, leaning to kiss her before shifting back into his hellhound form. Easton was chuckling as he retreated, running back into the rain.

  “Well, now I see exactly why you’re sleeping with him,” Valen commented lightheartedly.

  “Funny,” she muttered. She couldn’t resist a smile though. Yeah, he is something to look at. Then again, most supernatural men are. Tobias, Valen, and Easton are all something to look at too, even with their clothes on. She dared to do just that, wondering what the burly Russian looked like without anything on. He was the only friend in the group she had never seen naked, actually. Maxwell and Tobias she had, thanks to some of the magic they had done together.

  “He can shift what he has on, but he can’t just magic up clothing when he needs it,” Easton said.

  “Like any other shifter. Well, at least that’s normal about him.” Valen was taking it all in stride.

  “Can we stop talking about how we just had a nude man on the porch?” Tobias asked, sounding a little strangled.

  “Sorry,” she said gently. She knew it was because Remy was the man in her bed, not him. It’s female intuition. He’s probably feeling self-conscious. Tobias isn’t the most confident man. He’s too sweet to see how good-looking he is. She wished she could say he had nothing to worry about to make him feel better, but that seemed like it would give the wrong impression.

  Something pained her for a moment. Something different. She wanted him to know she found him gorgeous and sexy and that all she was avoiding was his heart. She didn’t want to hurt him, but she couldn’t handle that level of depth. She could and would ride him until dawn if that was all he wanted, but she knew it wasn’t. She was attracted to him, more than she ever wanted to say out loud, thanks to her fear of losing the friendship completely.

  Trying to put it out of her mind, she went back to watch, letting the men continue a small conversation.

  “So, how’s work?” Valen asked casually.

  “Good.” Easton’s answer was curt, but not that rude for him. She knew he didn’t want to elaborate where he didn’t have to.

  “Bounty hunter to deputy. I bet you never thought that would happen.” Valen didn’t seem to notice Easton wasn’t up for a conversation.

  “Nope. Definitely out of the ordinary.”

  “So, what convinced you to come back and offer your services to our town?”

  She waited for his answer, wondering what he would say to them. She remembered what he had said to her. They came back for her. She was the reason they had decided to finally settle and try this new job. As strange as that was, it was touching and it rubbed against the very thing she was trying to hide and hold on to. Her heart.

  “Remy and I had been looking to settle down for a little while. This seemed like a good opportunity. Decided to take a chance.” Easton was evasive, and the answer was the same one they had originally given her. But he turned and met her gaze over his shoulder and she had to look away. She wasn’t going to say anything. If that’s what they wanted the town to know, that was their business. “And there was this passionate little witch that we enjoyed our time with too muc
h for it to end. It worked out well, I think.”

  She tried to ignore those words in her head. Damn, that was romantic. She felt like she was missing something. Did they have bigger feelings than they let on? Was that what they were trying to tell her with their little gifts and the pampering at home? Was that what Easton was trying to make clear?

  No. They’re not allowed to have feelings for me. That’s against the rules. This is supposed to remain uncomplicated. With that thought, she dug her proverbial heels into the ground. She wasn’t going to let this get out of control. She didn’t know if she could handle Tobias having feelings for her, much less those two. She hadn’t even started to consider Maxwell and how he had kissed her that once. It was just the metaphorical cherry on top of her now vastly overcomplicated life.

  “You took a good chance, I think. Redstone is a nice place. I’ve been here for a long time.” Valen reached and patted Easton’s shoulder. “And, forgive me if this is forward, but you make our little witch happy, so you’re on my good side. I’m glad to have you around.”

  Tobias made a strangled and annoyed sound on the other end of the porch, but Easton just raised an eyebrow at Valen, ignoring it. She glanced at Tobias, who was watching her now. Then he looked away quickly and her heart sank.

  No, Tobias. Don’t be hurt, please. Don’t. Maybe in a year. Maybe in two years. One day I’ll be ready for you, just not right now.

  “Well, if I cared about being on your good side, then great.” Easton smiled dangerously.

  “You should,” Valen promised softly, growing more serious. “Or you’ll find you’ll never have a good time in my saloon. In fact, I can make it quite hellish for you.”

  “You don’t need to worry. Remy and I have no intention of hurting Adalyn.” Easton had obviously taken Valen’s comment as a threat.

  “I’m right here, you two. There’s no reason to bust each other’s balls over me,” she snapped, trying to cut off their posturing before it went any further. It didn’t work.

  “You also said you were never looking for anything long-term to Maxwell and I, yet here you are,” Valen fired back.

  She raised her eyebrows now. That was the first time it was mentioned that they had talked about her like that. When had that been?

  “Things change I guess,” Easton hissed. He squared up his shoulders to the big Russian, as if he was gearing up for a fight, Valen puffed his chest out, meeting him.

  Oh fuck. Men. Now they’re downright hostile.

  “Exactly, so if things change again and you hurt Adalyn, I’m going—”

  “Stop!” she yelled, jumping up. She shoved in between them. “Just stop it, both of you!” She rounded on Valen first. “You. You have no say in my relationship with them. You don’t get to play big brother looking out for my virtue, just like Maxwell couldn’t. You know better. You damned sure don’t get to be an asshole to whoever I’m sleeping with like you’re my fucking father.”

  “Sorry.” Valen looked away. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

  She accepted that, hoping it was the only time she ever saw that sort of behavior from him. Valen wasn’t normally so openly hostile to people. He normally just accepted whatever decisions she made, much like Tobias always had.

  She turned on Easton next. “You don’t get to be an asshole to my friends. Valen cares about me and I care about him. And Tobias. And Maxwell. If you have a problem with my male friends, you can walk away.”

  “Okay.” He didn’t move much, but he did relax. “Okay, Adalyn. But if they’re going to stand there and accuse me of hurting you, I’m going to say something about it. I would expect you to tell me, not one of them.”

  “I know. I would tell you.” She reached up and touched his cheek, trying to comfort him. They liked it rough in bed. They always made sure she was okay when all was said and done. They took it seriously not to physically hurt her.

  But this isn’t about my body. This is about my heart. And I have no idea what’s going on with that now.

  When she sat back down, Easton went back to leaning on his post, looking away from the group. Valen sat down wearily nearby, looking up at her.

  “I’m sorry, little witch. I am. That was uncalled for.”

  “I don’t know what’s going on between all of you, but if I see it again, there’s going to be more than just words from me. This is my life and I’ll defend my choices to the bitter fucking end. Is that clear?” She was never going to have someone tell her how to be happy or what to do with herself.

  “Very clear. I know better, I do.” He sighed. “Can’t blame us for being a little worried. We don’t know Easton and Remy well, and you spend so much time—”

  “Deal with it,” she snapped. “Or try to get to know them.”

  “I don’t hate them! They’re not bad guys and I would get to know him if he gave me the chance.” Valen growled back. “But he’s so damn evasive—”

  “So are you!” she reminded him. “I still don’t even know what you are.”

  That made him look away again.

  He has a point, though. They wouldn’t have a hard time with Remy and Easton if they got to know each other. The problem is, Easton is very private and quiet, and Remy follows me around like a puppy, not caring about any of them. I need to get them in the same space and working together or my guys will never like each other.

  I don’t want to lose my friends for my lovers or vice versa. Why can’t they see I just want this to work?

  There was an uncomfortable silence as Remy got back. Easton must have used his telepathy to tell the hellhound what had just happened, because he ignored her friends flat out as he came up the porch. He handed her a dry shirt and jacket, giving the same to Easton. He then picked a post near Easton, leaning on it and staying quiet.

  With two distant and angry pairs of men around her, she watched the sun come up and waited. The first werewolf walked out, waving at them.

  “All good!” he called out.

  “No, it’s not,” she answered loudly, letting it carry. The rain was still coming down on them, hitting roofs and making noise. “I need Lawrence immediately. I have bad news.”

  “Yes ma’am,” he said before pushing back into the bank, knocking other werewolves out of his way.

  Time for the rest of this shit night. Why can’t anything go as planned ? The werewolves are keeping secrets and getting attacked. My men all hate each other and refuse to make any attempts to get to know each other. I just wanted to protect Redstone and get laid. Come on, karma!

  Lawrence stomped out of the bank, looking torn up and tired. “What do you need, Adalyn?”

  “That’s Sheriff Lovett,” she corrected, not feeling very casual. If she needed to throw the badge around to get the werewolf in line, she was going to. “When were you going to tell me you killed a bunch of cattle belonging to the humans?”

  Lawrence’s jaw went tight. “Why?”

  She stood up and walked out into the rain, and he joined her, meeting her in the middle of the road. “Because the Ranch was attacked last night. When I left, there were eleven wounded. One of your dominant females told me to get gone, so here I am, telling you what happened. I was pulled away from this to go deal with that.” She poked his chest. “And I find out that you were still having problems with them and didn’t tell me.”

  The werewolf growled and Remy snarled behind her.

  She waved her hand, dismissing the hellhound. “I don’t need that, Remy. I just need Lawrence’s answers.”

  “I can’t have my pack thinking I need help—”

  “You got help from William!” she screamed, shoving him. “But not me? Why?”

  He kept his mouth shut and she knew. Her suspicions were right.

  This son of a bitch. She raised a hand and flung him up in the air, probably over ten feet. If she dropped him, he would need to act fast to keep from breaking anything. Werewolves stood on the porch of the bank, growling at her, but she didn’t let them bother her.
Her arm shook from the exertion, but her sheer force of will kept it up and him with it. “I’ll remind you that I’m more powerful than William. I’m more powerful than most people in this damned town! And yet you wouldn’t tell me what was going on because I’m a woman! You voted for me to be sheriff, Lawrence. It’s time you live with the consequences! You have to ask a little woman to help. Deal with it!”

  William would have approached this in a different way. She had been trying William’s approach for weeks now, and this is where it had gotten her. No, she was finally going to do this her way, and if that meant she had to toss this fucking Alpha and his entire pack around, she was going to.

  “Put me down, you crazy bitch!” Lawrence roared.

  “How about you stay up there, unable to check on your people until you admit you need help?” she fired back, feeling a self-righteous anger take hold. Men always thought they knew best. They always called her crazy for being more dangerous than the sweet women they surrounded themselves with. You know what, Adalyn? They aren’t wrong. I am fucking crazy if I think this is a good idea. I’m making a gods-damned werewolf Alpha float just to prove a point.

  “FINE! I should have told you what was wrong! You helped us before, and I should have let you in more! You’re more powerful than William and should be considered a respected ally and not a weak woman!”

  She held him up there for a little longer. Her arm burned. Her magic was fading fast. She could easily run out if she wasn’t careful. But the point had to be made and she was out of patience with all of the damned men in her life.

  When she let him down, it was a little harder than she planned, but he landed on his feet, none worse for wear. He snarled at her and she boldly snarled back, even though it didn’t sound nearly as intimidating.

  “My people were attacked and you have kept me here for this?”

  “I defended your people. I directed them to start helping each other and getting the wounded inside. Remy, Tobias, and Valen were all there with me. You see, Lawrence, when you work with me, like you did with William, you don’t just get me. You get my entire circle, just like you had with William. Don’t make me toss you around again. I’ll fucking do it.” She glared at him, raising her chin. He was so much taller than her, but she didn’t let his massive size intimidate her.