The Helheim Wolf Pack Novellas: The Complete Collection

by Dawes, Lauren

  “Ready,” she replied, still catching her breath.

  He picked up their bowls and walked her down the stairs and into a kitchen that looked as if it had been renovated recently. Every appliance was top of the line from the side by side fridge to the—was that an eight-burner stove? The only thing that didn’t look new was the round table placed off to one side. She could already see why. It had sentimental value to the family, dents and scratches included.

  The woman standing at the stove turned around when they entered, her nostrils flaring for a moment—taking in Layla’s scent—before her fierce expression softened.

  “So this is why you were cooking this morning, Riley,” the woman said. “She must be a special one if you haven’t shoved her out the door already.”

  Layla looked at Riley, unable to stop the smile that was forming when she saw the blush creep up his cheeks.

  “Jesus, Mom, you make me sound like a slut.”

  “You are a slut,” someone else said behind them. Layla spun around to see a dark-haired male standing there. He punched Riley in the shoulder as he passed, smirking.

  “Fuck you, Oliver,” Riley spat, then gave her an apologetic look. “This is Layla. Her car broke down last night, so she’s going to be in our territory for a while.”

  “Well, it is nice to meet you, Layla,” the female said. “I’m Patricia, Riley’s mother.”

  “It’s very nice to meet you too, ma’am.”

  “Call me Patricia. Everyone does.” She went back to cooking food that smelled divine. Even though she’d had the cereal, Riley had been right. It wasn’t enough, and after a shift, she needed all the calories she could get.

  “Does Hunter know?” Oliver asked. He was slumped in one of the chairs around the table.

  “He was indisposed last night. I was going to talk to him today.”

  The back door opened, and a tall dark-haired male walked in with a female wolf beside him. She was carrying a little girl who looked to be at least two, maybe three-years-old.

  “Happy Thanksgiving, everyone,” the male said, his blue eyes settling on Layla. She scooted a little closer to Riley.

  “Just the male I wanted to see,” Riley said.

  “Can it wait? It’s Thanksgiving. Also, why is your latest fuck buddy still here?”

  “Hunter!” Patricia scolded at the same time Riley said, “Fuck!”

  Layla shook her head, wondering what she’d done to deserve this. She took an unsteady step away, looking to bolt, to lock herself away in her room until either her car was fixed or she was thrown out of the house.

  “She needs help, asshole,” Riley growled, stepping up into his brother’s face. Holy shit, that was the alpha of the pack, and Riley was defending her honor. “As alpha of the pack, you’re obligated to give it.”

  Hunter’s expression smoothed into indifference, his blue eyes dancing with flashes of yellow. The woman, who must have been his mate, placed a hand on his arm.

  “Why don’t you three take this into the study?”

  Hunted nodded stiffly, kissed her on the mouth, then stalked from the kitchen.

  “Well, that could’ve gone better,” Oliver drawled, not even bothering to look up from his phone.

  “He’s just a little prickly at the moment on account of some pack business,” the woman said. “I’m Ava, by the way.”

  Layla looked up to see she was talking to her. “Hello. I’m Layla.”

  “Well, it is lovely to meet you, Layla.” She moved to the table and sat down while Riley guided her from the kitchen and down a hallway.

  Inside the study, she braced for more yelling, more insults, but found Hunter was sitting behind the large desk at the top of the room, his hands folded in front of him.

  “I apologize for my comment,” he said.

  She dropped her gaze to the rug, feeling the dominance of his wolf like a weighted blanket being wrapped around her. “No problem.”

  His gaze shifted to his brother. “You can leave us, Riley.”

  Like her head was attached to a string, she jerked it up and stared at him with wide eyes. She didn’t want Riley to go. She didn’t want to be left alone with Hunter.

  “But—” Riley tried to protest.

  “Leave.” The command prickled against her skin. She could only imagine how Riley felt with the full force of the order.

  He placed his hand on the small of her back, his touch sending a shiver through her. “I’ll be right outside that door.” His words were a promise, and she nodded, biting her lip. She could do this.

  When Riley was gone, she felt the oppressive authority lift from the room, and she blinked.

  “Please take a seat,” Hunter said. Once she was seated in the chair opposite the desk, she kept her eyes lowered and her chin dipped. If she showed an ounce of defiance, she would brace herself for the beating. “What can I do for you, Layla?”

  “Umm… I guess I need permission to pass through your territory.”

  He grunted. “Where have you come from? Which pack?”

  “The Rogue Wolves in Maine.”

  He sat forward in his chair. “Is that right?”

  The intensity in the air was tangible. “Yes.”

  “Does Mitchell know you’ve left the pack… temporarily?”

  The way he tacked on the word gave her pause. “No, he doesn’t.”

  “Where are you going? It’s Thanksgiving weekend. Are you visiting family?”

  “I don’t have any family, sir.” She felt like she was in front of the principal at school again. Except this principal could legally tear her to bits and not think anything of it. She curled in on herself even more.

  “You’re safe here, you know.”

  His statement caught her by surprise, and she met his eyes for a moment before dropping them once more.

  “You’re safe, and Mitchell can’t get to you.”

  She shrunk in on herself again and shook her head slowly. He didn’t know that. Others had tried to leave too. They’d always been dragged back, broken and bloody. Sometimes they were still breathing, and sometimes they weren’t. She knew the stakes—the consequences—when she left.

  “How much money do you have on you and don’t even think about lying to me.”

  “Eighty-three dollars.”

  “Enough for another tank of gas, maybe. That might get you across the border if your car is really economical, but it won’t get you much else.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He shifted in his chair, turning it around, so he was looking out the window instead of at her. “Are you running from your pack?”

  She let out a breath. “Yes.”

  “Because Mitchell hurt you?”

  “Yes.”

  Leather creaked as he clutched the arms of the chair. “I need to know everything that’s happened, Layla, but I don’t want you to tell me today.”

  “Why?” she croaked. Reliving it all sounded like she would end up in therapy afterward. It was a miracle she wasn’t in there already.

  “Because I know about your alpha, what he’s doing. I just didn’t have the goddamn proof.” He spun the chair back to face her, and she immediately dropped her gaze. His eyes were blazing gold, his wolf angered to the point of violence. He took a few deep breaths then added, “I need your help with this. In exchange for that, I’ll allow you to stay in my pack if that’s what you want to do.”

  Was it? What she wanted was never to have to obey a command ever again. She wanted to get a little cabin off-grid and live alone, peacefully. Was that too much to ask? “Thank you, sir, but I’d rather keep moving once my car is fixed.”

  “Okay, but for now, you’ll stay here with my family.”

  “I don’t need a handout.” She met his eyes for a fleeting second. They’d settled back to blue.

  “This wouldn’t be a handout. You’re in need of help. I’m in a position to give it, but if you feel that strongly about it, you can work your debt off at Riley’s garage. He could
always do with someone fetching him tools and coffee.”

  She knew he meant that as an insult, but she took it. “Fine. I’ll work for him while my car is repaired.”

  “Good. You can go. Send Riley in here, please.”

  She nodded, thanked him, and left the office.

  Chapter Seven

  Riley pushed off the wall and ran his eyes over Layla. She looked to still be in one piece. Logically, he knew his brother wouldn’t do anything to hurt her, but the other half of his soul—the one that was driven by instinct—was demanding that he give her a thorough checking over.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m getting kind of sick of answering that question,” she replied, tempering the heat of her words with a smile. “But yes, I’m okay.”

  “What did he say?”

  “Riley, get your ass in here,” Hunter called from the office.

  Layla turned to walk away, and he stopped her, letting his fingers graze down her arm. “I’ll come and find you later.”

  “It’s not like I have anywhere to go right now.” She shook her head. “I’ll be in the kitchen helping your mom.”

  With a nod, he watched her leave before turning his attention to his alpha. Walking into the office, he shut the office door behind him.

  “She’s been hurt pretty badly.”

  Hunter’s statement knocked his legs out from under him, and he stumbled to the chair, planting his ass on the thing before he fell over and ate rug like a pussy. The declaration shouldn’t have been a newsflash, but hearing it said out loud was like getting hit in the chest with a baseball ball with nails hammered through it.

  He tightened his fingers around the arms of the chair. “How badly?”

  “Badly enough that she’s terrified to return to her pack.”

  The invisible weight that had started to sit on Riley’s shoulders suddenly got even heavier. “She slept in her wolf’s skin last night.”

  Hunter’s dark brows rose. “Did she say why?”

  “A nightmare, apparently. She didn’t go into any more detail than that, but I’d smelled her fear. Whatever she’d dreamed about, it touched her on more than just a subconscious level.”

  His alpha made a slight noise of agreement, spinning the chair around, so he was looking out the window again. “I told her I want to know everything she knows about what her alpha is doing, but I said I didn’t want to know today. It’s Thanksgiving for fuck’s sake. Ava loves this holiday, and I don’t want to spoil it for her with me being angry.” He spun back around, his wolf pushing through. “And I have a feeling whatever Layla tells me, I’m going to be angry.”

  “Is it that bad?”

  “I’ve been hearing rumors, whispers. All the alphas have, but nobody has been able to prove a goddamn thing. Layla, though…”

  Riley connected the dots for himself. “Layla could put a stop to it.”

  He nodded. “Only if she’s brave enough to stand up and do what’s right.”

  He got up to pace, needing the movement to process his tangled thoughts. They weren’t all tangled, though—some held enough anger that he could commit murder. He’d only known Layla for less than twenty-four hours, but the urge to protect her was stupidly strong.

  “It happens quickly when you find your mate.” Hunter gave him a smug smile. “That’s why you’re reacting the way you are.”

  “She can’t be my mate.” But as soon as the words were out of his mouth, he could taste the lie. “I mean, I’m attracted to her…”

  “And your wolf?”

  “Yeah, he’s fucking all about her right now.”

  “Then, that’s all you need to know.” Propping his hands behind his head and leaning back in the chair, he looked the picture of calm. “I’ve told her to stay here until her car is fixed. I made it an order. She also said she didn’t want a handout, so she’ll be working off her debt at the garage with you.”

  He stopped pacing. “Okay. I want to be there when you start questioning her about her experiences, though.”

  “Are you sure? Shit is going to get ugly.”

  “She’ll need a friendly face,” he replied with a shrug.

  “Have it your way, Riley, but you’re going to have to keep a tight leash on your wolf. If he sees me drilling her for information and stressing her out, you can bet your ass he’s going to want to put a stop to it.”

  Well, that sounded like a hell no. “What if she opens up to me before that?”Hunter raised his brows. “What if she does?”

  “Can I tell you what she said? It’ll save her the heartache, and you the need to dominate my wolf because it won’t back down.” He knew that deep in his soul.

  He seemed to think about that a minute. “Fine. Deal.” Hauling himself up out of the chair, he added, “If you’ll excuse me, I plan on getting some breakfast at some point this morning.”

  Hunter left the office while Riley stayed behind. He slumped down into the chair and gave himself a mental pep talk. A lot had happened, but the biggest win was Layla staying with them until her car was fixed. He had about six days to sort through these feelings. He just hoped he’d get to the bottom of them.

  He left the office and found Layla in the kitchen with his mom. They were making pumpkin pies together while waiting for Hunter and him to finish up in the office. The production line started at one end of the long countertop and snaking around the kitchen. All the breakfast foods had been laid out on the table, each tray with a cover to trap the heat.

  “Oh, you’re here,” his mom said when he pulled out a chair at the table. “Okay, we can finally eat!” his mom called out. Taking Layla by the arm, she eased her into the chair beside him. Layla sat down with a small smile, a smear of flour on her otherwise perfect face. Reaching up, he swept the line of white away with this thumb, his fingers lingering on the side of her neck for a moment too long. Her pulse pounded against his fingertips, the rhythmic thumping and the scent of her arousal a direct line to his dick.

  “Eggs?” Oliver asked, breaking the moment.

  With a sledgehammer.

  Then throwing a stick of dynamite on it.

  Layla blinked quickly and looked away, while Riley shot his brother a dirty look.

  Oliver grinned and winked, offering Riley the serving platter. Snatching it off the male, he spooned some eggs onto Layla’s plate first, then his own. He may not have been able to cook for her, but he could serve her. Next was the bacon, the pancakes, sausage, and waffles. When he was satisfied she had enough on her plate, he stopped the procession of food and picked up his fork to start eating.

  “This is lovely, Patricia,” Ava said, holding her forkful away from Grace’s grabbing hands. “Just delicious.”

  “Well, thank you, Ava. You know how much I love cooking for my family.”

  Layla stilled beside him, not moving, barely breathing.

  “Are you okay?” he whispered in her ear. Private conversations in a house full of werewolves was a fucking pipedream, but there was an unspoken rule that we tried not to eavesdrop if we could help it. He hoped that today was one of those days.

  She turned her head to look at him, placing their mouths less than half an inch apart. “Fine. Thank you.”

  He felt her unease slowly begin to drift away as the breakfast went on. She didn’t speak a lot, but Riley felt like she didn’t need to. Plus, with Casey around, it was kind of hard to get a word in edgewise, anyway.

  “Watching the game this afternoon?” Dylan asked Riley.

  “You know I am. Why break with tradition?”

  “Care to make a wager, then? The Tigers slay the Vikings.”

  He looked at Hunter, who was shaking his head, then to Casey who was grinning and giving him the thumbs up. “What are the stakes?”

  “Winner gets off patrol duty for a month, the loser picks up the slack.”

  It was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

  “Deal.”

  * * *

  When breakfast was don
e, Layla stood and began clearing away the dishes.

  His mom said, “No, Layla, you’re a guest here.”

  Layla shook her head. “I need to pull my weight if I’m staying.”

  When his mom finally shrugged, Layla began loading the plates one on top of the other. Oliver, Dylan, Hunter, and Ava all excused themselves from the room, migrating through to the living room where the TV was already turned on to the pre-game commentary.

  Riley helped Layla, moving all the dirty serving bowls and trays over to the sink to rinse off before stacking them in the industrial dishwasher in the butler’s pantry. Everything in this kitchen was over-scaled, but the pack house was a hub for all of the pack, so it needed to be able to handle having dozens of werewolves under its roof at the same time.

  As they worked, his mom put the pumpkin pies into the oven, the scent of cinnamon and nutmeg filtering through the space.

  “Would you like to go for a walk or watch the pre-game?” he asked her.

  “A walk would be nice,” she replied, slinging the dishtowel she’d been using to dry her hands over the railing of the oven.

  He led her through the rear door, out onto the closed-in back porch. “Two feet or four?” He hoped it was two. He needed to find out what had happened to her because he had no desire to rip out his brother’s throat for hurting her with probing questions.

  “Two, I think.”

  Snagging a blanket from the box beside the door, he wrapped it around her shoulders and opened the screen door. The air was crisp, vibrant, and soaked with the smell of late fall. It hadn’t snowed yet, but it would. Dried leaves crunched under his boots, the crinkle reminding him of being a kid and making snow angels in them when he was too impatient to wait for actual snow.

  “Did you have enough to eat at breakfast?”

  She touched her stomach and laughed. “More than enough. Thank you. I needed the calories after my shift this morning.”

  The path they were walking on split into two, and he took the path on the left, the one that took them farther into the forest.