A Ravenous Pack: Wolf's Hunger 5 Books

by A. K. Michaels

  And that’s when she heard it . . . the name that had haunted her childhood as a whispered hiss reached her ears.

  “The Queen of Sheba has spoken . . . we’ll all bow down before her . . . yeah, right!”

  Sheba launched herself from the porch, leaping down toward the voice and knowing exactly who’d spoken, damn Hoyt, the asshole of the Pack. There was always one and he was the Dark Moon’s resident idiot who skirted the fine line of disrespect on an almost daily basis.

  With the way she’d been feeling the past few days, the gnawing hunger in her belly, her Wolf acting up, and an unbearably bad mood hanging over her . . . today was not the day for him to test her. She raced toward him, snarling viciously, knowing without having to look that Ray was right behind her, but she wouldn’t need his help, not for this weak and pathetic asswipe.

  Grabbing his neck she tugged him almost off his feet, using her Alpha power to inflict some well-deserved pain as she did so. “What was that? Did you just call me Queen of Sheba? Again, Hoyt? Didn’t we just have this fucking conversation a few days ago?”

  Hoyt’s face paled, his eyes darting around for support from his so-called friends who’d suddenly deserted him as he stuttered, “What? No. Nope, not me.”

  Sheba’s fangs descended, her skin rippling as her white fur began to sprout through, anger bubbling up inside her, not only at his use of the childhood taunt that she hated but at his bald-faced lies. “I’ll say this once and only once . . . from now on you will address me as Alpha only. Never, ever, call me anything else. You will refer to me as Alpha, not Sheba, not Queen, not anything other than Alpha. If you dare to use anything else, I swear I’ll make you regret opening that mouth of yours, Hoyt. I am not shitting you on this and this is your final warning. I’ve had enough of your crap, so if you want to remain a member of this Pack and in one piece you’ll shape up . . . or face the consequences.”

  Hoyt’s eyes darkened and she wasn’t certain if it was fear, anger, or pure hatred. She’d place her money on all the above. She didn’t care. He was a no-good shit who was a drain on everyone around him and the Pack and with that in mind she smirked over her shoulder at Ray before releasing Hoyt with a hard push and a last word. “No more not doing shit for the Pack either, Hoyt. You start pulling your weight or you’re gone. As of tomorrow, you report to Raylon for duties as yet to be decided. If you don’t comply then you can apply to another Pack for admittance.”

  Turning her back on Hoyt she shook her head, throwing over her shoulder. “Don’t bother arguing, you’ve done shit all for years, it’s about time you did some work, same as everyone else.”

  Sheba heard more than a few chuckles as well as mutters supporting her. Seems she wasn’t the only one fed up with Hoyt and his ways. Ray smiled widely, his teeth pearly white against his dark skin as he grinned wickedly over at Hoyt as she stomped away, waving her arm. “Show’s over folks. Let’s go about our business . . . and remember, stay safe.”

  Her heart thudded in her chest, not because of her scuffle with Hoyt, and not because of the threat of the rogues, but because of the damn pain in her belly . . . again. She sped up, rushing up the stairs and into her home, quickly followed by her mother and her best friend in the whole damn world, Ray. The one person who could’ve snatched the position of Alpha from her so easily, but he’d backed her up and stayed by her side as her second in the challenge fights she’d endured in the weeks after her father’s death.

  She literally owed the towering hulk everything and right now he knew there was something wrong and she didn’t know what to tell him. Hell, she didn’t know what to tell herself. All she knew right at this second was she had to transform and hunt. However, her inner Alpha kept her pacing back and forth as her mother’s eyes scanned her from top to bottom, looking very worried, and Ray lounged against the wall, his face inscrutable as always.

  “Has Dion got everything organized?” she asked quickly, her belly clenching painfully.

  “Sure has,” Ray drawled, cocking his head to the side, his eyes closing to squint at her. “Wanna tell me what the fuck is going on with you?”

  His knowing eyes never left her as she squirmed under his intense scrutiny. Shit. She’d never been able to keep anything from him, not even when she was a kid. He was only a few years older than her but they’d been best friends since she could walk and talk. She’d toddle around after the much larger boy and not once did he shoo her away, instead he’d hold out his hand and allow her to go with him wherever he was going. And if any of the other kids complained, they invariably ended up with a bloody nose courtesy of his large fist. Even as a child he’d been much larger than the rest of them and he’d always been their “leader.”

  Nobody had been more surprised than her when he’d supported her, instead of going for Alpha himself, when her father had been killed. But right now, he was staring her down, the fact he knew her inside out was definitely not doing her any favors as she attempted to hide something from the two people she cared about most in the world. It didn’t help when her mother stepped forward, worry clearly showing in her eyes.

  “Sheba, you’ve been out of sorts for days, and I heard you sneaking out before dawn even cracked a light, so please don’t try and push us off.” Her mom wrung her hands, a sure sign she was getting worked up. “Tell us what’s wrong and we can help. Don’t we always?”

  Sheba spun away, a snarl escaping without her permission. “I don’t know what’s wrong! I just feel the need to hunt all the time and I’m freaking starving.”

  “Oh,”—her mom stepped toward the kitchen—“That’s something I can help with.”

  “No, Mom.” Sheba stopped her. “Not that kind of hungry. I don’t want anything you can give me . . . I want prey. Lots of it. I want to hunt it down, sink my fangs into it and eat it all down and I don’t mean a rabbit or two. I mean whole damn deer.”

  “What?” Her mother’s face turned ashen, a hand shooting up to her throat as she stared at her wide-eyed. “You can’t eat a full deer on your own.”

  “No? Well, I did. I ate one this morning, all by myself, and I’m still freaking hungry.” Sheba admitted, glaring between her mother and Ray, daring either of them to call her a liar.

  Her mother shook her head as Ray stepped toward her, his eyes boring into hers. She felt as if he were looking into her very soul as he drew closer, his hand reaching out and his fingers gently grasping her hand. “We’ll figure it out, Sheba. Whatever it is that ails you, we’ll find out what it is and fix it. But for now, I’ll come with you while you hunt.”

  She shook her head, a gamut of emotion overtaking her. Her Pack needed her. Renegades were invading their land and she had work to do to protect them. The pain lancing through her would have to wait. She didn’t have the luxury of going on another hunt, not now, not when her people needed her. “No. Not right now. We need to go speak with Myla first and I want to check on Dion and see what he’s doing too. I want our land checked, checked and checked again. I will not have any of our people hurt by those bastards. You heard what happened to those Shifters from the Packs nearby, didn’t you? They had casualties, Ray. Not just injuries but dead. A woman and her pup were killed when they were ambushed in the forest right near their damn cabin. I won’t have that happen here. Not while I’m Alpha.”

  Ray merely inclined his head, his eyes twinkling. “There’s my girl. Let’s go.”

  “Sheba, be careful.” Her mother’s voice tinged with concern as she followed behind Ray, her belly feeling as if someone was lancing it with a silver blade.

  She did her best to ignore the pain, gritting her teeth as they walked around the side of the cabin, she hoisted herself up into the passenger seat of the truck as Ray settled in to drive. His eyes flitting to her time and again as they left the camp, the silence in the cab so thick it seemed to stick in her throat as she sucked in deep breaths. Her Beta finally slowing the truck to pull over, his hand landing on her shoulder and softly shaking her.

&nbs
p; “You know I can feel your pain, and the turmoil inside you?” Ray released her, turning to sit side on so he could watch her closely, his dark eyes boring into hers but his face was an inscrutable mask, showing no feelings whatsoever. She was grateful for that at least. She’d hate to look at him and see some kind of condemnation, or worse . . . pity.

  “I know, Ray.” She ran a hand behind her neck, feeling the damp sweat that coated it and causing her hair to stick to it uncomfortably. She quickly snatched an elastic from her pocket and pulled her long red tresses into a high ponytail as she tried to think, but all she could focus on was the deep need inside her to sate the hunger that cascaded through her entire being.

  “We have time, little one.” Ray’s voice cut through the pain, gentle, quiet, and full of his love for her. “I can’t stand seeing you like this. Come on, let’s go feed what ails you and then we’ll go see Myla.”

  Sheba couldn’t wait any longer, her beast was already forcing her transformation. She scrambled to get out, tearing off her clothes and throwing them back inside barely in time before her white fur shot through her skin, her bones cracking and realigning as her Wolf took over and dashed into the trees moments later. She sped onwards, slaloming with grace between any obstacles in her path with one thought careening through her brain: feed the hunger. She could hear Ray behind her, his massive beast not nearly as subtle as hers as he rushed after her, but she didn’t care. She didn’t give a shit if her prey heard her coming, the thrill of the chase, taking it down and devouring it fully was all she was focused on.

  A whiff of a scent touched her nostrils . . . a buck was close by and she zeroed in on it like a scud missile. She turned on a dime, spinning around a tree without breaking stride, and took off with a speed that surprised her. Sheba was fast, always had been, but right now she was hurtling through the forest so fast she could barely focus on anything around her. Trees, bushes, even the damn ground were merely a blur as she zoomed faster and faster toward the beast she was going to consume. The sound of Ray’s paws slowly fell away and she knew she was leaving him behind. That was a first.

  Although she was swift of foot, he was much larger than her, and never before had she been able to outrun him. Today she was leaving him far behind and the feeling was . . . euphoric.

  Crashing through shrubs, she saw the buck running and in her mind, she knew it was fleeing as fast as it could for its very life, but to her eyes it looked as if it were running in slow motion. Sheba caught up with it in no time at all, launching herself high into the air and landing easily on its back, all four paws digging into its body as her jaws opened wide and sank deep around its neck. It squealed in fright and pain, legs buckling under her weight as blood filled her mouth, her jaws clamping down to end the beast’s suffering quickly. When its heart stopped beating, she released her hold, her head rearing back as a wild roar rumbled up from her chest and tore free before she leaped off, using her claws and teeth to start consuming her kill.

  Her pure white fur soon turning blood red as she demolished the buck, leaving nothing but some meagre bones lying on the forest floor, swiping a paw over her snout one last time and looking around the clearing to find her Beta watching her silently.

  Finally, through their Pack link, Ray spoke. “Alpha, I think we have a problem.”

  Sheba shook her head, blood spatters dropping to the ground as she eyed Ray. “No shit, Sherlock. You think I don’t know that?”

  Ray’s beast rose, towering over hers and slowly came toward her, he looked at the place where once there was an entire prey that should have fed several Wolves and then back to her. “How could you eat that all by yourself? Even I couldn’t do that. It’s . . . strange to say the least.”

  “I know that, Ray.” Sheba’s voice came out as a whine and she knew it was filled with her own worry at what was happening to her. “I have no idea what’s going on and yeah, I’m worried too. But what do I do? I don’t feel ill, apart from this damn hunger thing.”

  Sheba forced herself to stay in place as his beast stalked around her, his nose sniffing feverishly as he went before he stopped, his head shaking and his dark eyes looking confused. She couldn’t stop herself from asking. “What?”

  “It’s strange, little one, but your scent has . . . changed. You smell different, it’s subtle but it’s there. It’s almost like . . .” He stopped, once again shaking his massive head and turning away.

  Sheba followed, nudging him roughly. “Tell me! Almost like what?”

  Ray turned back, a look of shock in his eyes. “If I didn’t know any different I’d say you were mated . . . or something similar. It’s strange, Sheba, but your beast’s scent has changed, although I haven’t noticed a change when you’re in your human form. Damn, girl, this is getting weird and I say after we’ve been to Lunar that we need to go and speak to Tilly. She may be the only person that can shed any light on what the goddamn fuck is going on.”

  His words struck her like a blow, right in her chest. Her beast seemed to welcome them, but she damn well didn’t. “You’re speaking in riddles, Ray. I’ll go to see Tilly, but only to show you how much shit you’re spouting and to hopefully get rid of this hunger. It’s driving me insane and I can’t go much longer with it burning my insides like this. I’m going to see Myla, get home, see Tilly and put a stop to this once and for all.”

  She whirled away, throwing over her shoulder. “First I need to go soak in that stream we passed and get rid of this blood. I’ll see you back at the truck.”

  Not waiting for a reply, she sped away, a frisson of unease running through her as she ran toward the stream to cleanse herself of the gore of her kill. What did it mean? Her scent couldn’t have changed . . . that was ridiculous. Wasn’t it? Yes. Absolutely. Ray must be wrong. There was no way her scent had altered, it just wasn’t possible. She’d show him. Tilly would smack him upside the head with his nonsensical talk, and she’d laugh herself silly when the Healer did so. Yeah, that’s what would happen, definitely, absolutely, and with any luck Tilly would then tell her just what the hell was going on and fix her on the spot.

  Her beast slowed and let out a whine, pawing at the ground and shaking her head. “Don’t start!” Sheba snarled, jumping right into the middle of the brook in front of her, shaking herself in the cold water and watching as it turned pink, floating downstream quickly. She stayed until the water ran clear before leaping out and retracing her steps back to the truck, wiggling herself around to get rid of the excess water as she went.

  By the time she reached the road she was almost dry and Ray sat waiting on her, arms crossed and his usual inscrutable look back in place. She transformed and dressed quickly, getting in and giving him a huge smile. “Come on, let’s get this over with.”

  Lunar was the Shifter club she’d started and ran until her father had died. After his death, she’d handed over its day-to-day management to Myla and she had to admit, she’d done a great job. She’d brought in more business and taken it to the next level, making Lunar the best Shifter bar in the area. Hell, it wasn’t just the best in their area. Shifters and humans came from miles around, especially on weekends, to the club and Myla ran it well and took no nonsense from anyone. She also took care of people, especially when youngsters had too much to drink (usually humans who couldn’t handle their liquor) and got them home safely.

  She was right on board with the new rules for the Pack and had no problem with reporting anyone breaking the “no walking home” decree.

  As they were about to leave Myla stopped them. “Alpha.” She looked down at Sheba. “With this rogue problem would it be possible, just for a little while, to have a couple extra guys on the weekends for back-up? I’m a little concerned that the renegades might decide to pay us a visit and with there being humans here they’ll be more at risk.”

  Sheba had to agree, hell, they were all at risk. Humans were doubly so. “I think that’s a good idea. Ray, will you speak to Dion and get him to organize that?”

&n
bsp; “Sure,” Ray replied quickly. “We can set up a schedule to cover Friday and Saturday nights, is that okay?”

  Myla nodded. “That should do it. Sunday’s are quiet so we don’t need anything for then.”

  “Fine, that’s covered then.” Sheba opened the door, turning back to Myla. “Just like to say thanks again for how well you’re doing here. You’ve done a great job with the place, Myla, I’m impressed.”

  “Thanks,” Myla said, blushing. “I’ve a few new ideas I’d like to run by you when you’ve got the time but I know you’ve got your hands full with the rogue problem right now.”

  “Yeah, gimme time to sort it and we’ll talk.” Sheba nodded on her way outside, her skin itching, her belly aching . . . again.

  Ray’s hand landed on her shoulder as he ushered her toward their vehicle. “Think we need to get to Tilly.”

  “Yeah, we do,” she responded, breathlessly, desperately trying not to show the pain she was hiding inside.

  Fox crawled into the cave he’d found several days before after leaving the mountains he’d spent the last few months on. He’d managed to lose the small group of Wolves that had attacked him earlier, his wounds minor, and it was more his pride that was hurt than anything.

  Anger coursed through him at his momentary lack of concentration as he’d fed near the small waterfall. The fact that the sound of the cascading water was loud as it crashed against the rocks wasn’t an excuse, no, he was a full grown Lion! He should’ve heard those mangy dogs sneaking up on him. Instead he’d been too intent on his first good meal in weeks and was head deep inside a deer’s belly when they’d struck. At least there was only four of them and he’d managed to send them packing fairly quickly, getting away with minor injuries that would heal after a good night’s rest. Pity he’d lost his meal though.