Mountain Wolf

by Amber Ella Monroe

  “No, just the food and that’s it,” he said.

  Garrett’s gaze shifted from the nearly empty bar and searched around the room. He wasn’t even aware that he was being watched. He had been so busy analyzing the people around him that he hadn’t given thought to someone sizing him up from across the room.

  Seven new customers, all wolves, walked into the tavern and almost everyone inside stopped what they were doing to acknowledge the group. An exorbitant level of fear rose in the room, but why were the wolves in this place wary of their presence?

  Tension thickened as the men made a beeline for the lounge area of the bar. The shifter who seemed to head the group was a redheaded, big buff guy who looked like he was on steroids or spent an insane amount of time in a gym. The guy was huge. He wore a heavy gold chain around his neck and there was an oversized gold ring on his left hand. The way the rest of the shifters surrounding the pool table greeted him with a slight nod of their head and a handshake told Garrett that the guy led more than just the six men who’d followed him into the bar. Interestingly enough, the Beta of the Cross City Wolf Pack was also a redhead—a fact that had been confirmed by multiple sources. Without a doubt, Garrett knew that he was one of the leaders. Had to be with the way he walked in like he owned the place.

  But something wasn’t quite right. He could sense that now, and that wasn’t because nearly half of the customers had left the restaurant after the guy had come inside.

  Garrett picked up his mug, took a healthy swig, and then sat back in his chair to observe them. The waitresses that worked the area brought several bottles of beer out to the redhead and his followers without hesitation and left the area. The suspicious men held what looked like a serious conversation over the pool table. Over the rock music, and even with his heightened sense of hearing, Garrett only picked up on bits and pieces of the mumbling that made no sense.

  The waitress came back with Garrett’s burger and fries on a platter and slid it on the table in front of him. “One half pound burger and fries with all the condiments on the side.”

  “Thank you,” he said. Before she could leave again, Garrett caught her hand and asked, “The seven men that just came in and entered the lounge…I think I know one of them. Are they regulars?”

  She took a quick look and nodded. “You’re damn right, they are. Simon, the redheaded fella, is the Beta of our Pack. He bought and owns the tavern now. Well…maybe I shouldn’t say bought, as the locals say. More like took, if you ask me.”

  Garrett frowned. “Took? From who?”

  “From the old owners—The North family. They owed a debt to Simon's family and he came collecting shortly after the Alpha died. Nothing changed. Everyone working here at the time got to keep their jobs, but tips sure have gone down. Folks say Simon's a jerk. I think he’s just lonely.”

  “Hmm. You couldn’t really tell that he was lonely with all of those men standing around him.”

  “Oh, those are just his bodyguards. They’ve been working for him ever since he became Pack Beta. Is any of this pertaining to your Pack business,” the waitress asked.

  Remembering how careful he had to be about what he said, Garrett replied, “Doesn’t sound like it. He just looks like someone else I know.” He pulled the platter of food closer to him.

  “Well, let me know if I can get you anything else,” she said. “One of the waitresses ditched her shift early, so it looks like I’ll be servicing her tables tonight too.”

  Garrett nodded, took the top bun off his burger and dressed it up with condiments. Before he could take the first bite to subdue his hunger pangs, a disturbance broke out near the back of the lounge area. Someone was arguing with someone else. Sounded almost like a protest or maybe a fight over a game of pool. With Garrett’s view, he couldn’t tell what was going on. He only witnessed a lot of commotion as Beta’s bodyguards moved to flank him.

  “Don’t you dare leave. We have business to discuss,” the Beta growled, his voice directed at someone that Garrett couldn’t see.

  “Try and stop me,” a woman said.

  A tall slender woman with deep mahogany brown hair stormed past the Beta with her purse held tightly to her side. The first thing Garrett noticed was the tension in her walk and, of course, that beautiful thick curly mane of hers. She wore black leggings and a fitted white blouse, just like all the other waitresses here tonight. Her name badge was still clipped to her shirt. From his distance, he couldn’t hone in on all her features or her name, but there was no mistaking her womanly physique or what he could see of her face. She was extremely attractive. As she squeezed her way between the crowds and neared the front of the lounge, several heads turned in her direction and eyes lingered on her.

  The mahogany-haired beauty never made it outside of the lounge. The Beta slipped in front of her path and then forcefully backed her up into a small corner of the room. No one intervened.

  Garrett dropped his burger and sat straight up in his booth. As his sympathy for the woman rose, his appetite fell. As he watched the mess unfold, his displeasure grew.

  The Beta’s position in front of the woman, looking down on her, was condescending in the utmost. This wasn’t an ordinary couple having an ordinary argument. There was anything but a mutual understanding between the two. She grimaced as he grabbed her wrist and held her arm against the wall. He was talking to her, but she had her face turned away from him and her lips were pressed closed in defiance.

  Garrett focused on her lips, trying to read them as she spoke.

  I won’t.

  Those two words were the only complete sentence that Garrett could make out from the woman.

  Garrett’s wolf reared up as he sensed that something was very wrong and truly off about the interaction between the Beta and this woman.

  At the flick of his fingers, two of the Beta’s bodyguards grabbed the woman. She protested as they took her arms and led her to a more concealed corner of the tavern, toward the back where she had come from initially.

  From the beginning of the altercation, no one had intervened to help the couple or console the woman.

  Fuck being discreet and sitting around watching this train wreck waiting to happen. Garrett rose from his seat.

  Before he made it out of the booth, an unfamiliar shifter slid in the empty seat right in front of him. The man wore a blue baseball cap, which covered nearly half his face.

  “I wouldn’t go there if I were you,” the unfamiliar shifter warned. He lifted his left sleeve to reveal his Pack’s insignia. He was a Cross City Wolf. “She and Simon are connected by this here restaurant. He’s claimed her, just like everything else in it. That’s out of our hands now.”

  Garrett sat down. “Who are you?”

  The shifter extended his hand. “A verbal “thank you” for the beer is more appropriate under the circumstances.”

  Garrett exchanged handshakes and settled back down in his seat. “You bought the beer for me?”

  “Yes, that was me. I’m Alejandro.”

  “Thank you. I’m Garrett. But why do I feel like I’m going to owe you big time for this one mug of beer?”

  Alejandro grinned. “Maybe…”

  “Well, get to it…what do I owe?”

  “I’m part of the Cross City Pack’s advisory circle. I’m one of the Enforcers. I mainly work for Benjamin now. The Senior, not the Junior. We’re the ones who reached out to your Pack about an acquisition,” he said. “But there’s been a change in direction and we need to speak with you pronto. We saw you and your men roaming through our city the other day, but we had to make sure you were here on positive terms before approaching you.”

  “We just wanted to come express our condolences on your Alpha’s passing. Dane feels bad about not having enough time to speak with him about his plans before he died.” Garrett directed his gaze to the direction where he last spotted the woman and the Beta. “I’ve been looking all over for a Pack leader and it looks like I found one here tonight.”


  Alejandro shook his head and lowered his cap. “That’s the thing. Our change in direction doesn’t include him…anymore.”

  Garrett leaned in, resting his forearms on the table. “Well, that’s…strange. I’m here in place of my Alpha Dane. None of this was discussed. Why the divisiveness in your Pack?”

  “A lot has changed quickly since then and since Benjamin sent out that letter. Unfortunately, your Pack Alpha seems to be in high demand and isn’t the easiest to get a hold of,” he said.

  Garrett nodded in agreement. “He’s dealing with issues of our own back at home. We deal with the most pressing matters first and then move on down the list. I’m sorry to have disappointed you if you were expecting my brother instead.”

  “Actually, we’ve been doing some research on you since we spotted you in our city.”

  Garrett frowned. “Have you?”

  Alejandro cleared his throat. “As I said, we had to make sure you hadn’t sided with anyone yet.” His gaze flittered over to the lounge area—to the Beta. “We know that you and your brothers are in a specific line of business that might involve getting rid of trouble makers.”

  He rubbed at his jaw. “So you did research on me and found out who I was?”

  “Not entirely, but what we did find was enough to realize that you are the Alpha’s brother. You and your brothers have a reputation, but it’s odd that no one really knows that much about you. You outlaws don’t actually come up in a Google search, neither do you publicly post “available for hire” ads,” Alejandro replied.

  “There’s a reason for this.”

  “Of course. I respect that, but we’re glad we know who you are now. Benjamin Sr. would like to talk to you about a job.”

  By the way, this was going and the way Alejandro kept tilting his cap down and slumping down in his chair to avoid detection, Garrett knew they were working independently of and against the Beta.

  When Garrett didn’t entertain the offer, Alejandro said, “We haven’t got much time left. Simon's gains are advancing quickly. The news of his planned takeover of our Pack has spread far and wide.”

  “Takeover?” Garrett glanced warily at Alejandro. “If he’s causing so much trouble for you, why don’t you go over there and shoot him dead on the spot?”

  Alejandro’s expression dulled and he leaned back in his chair. “It’s not my life to take and I’ve been given clear orders. I didn’t know he’d show up here tonight. I was actually tracking you.”

  Garrett frowned and mentally decided to make it a point to watch his back more carefully in this town. While he was busy doing some tracking of his own, others had been tracking him too.

  Garrett tapped his fingers on the table, thinking his next steps through. “Truth be told, I don’t know how far Dane or I are willing to get involved, but I came here at his request and I’m willing to listen to what you and Benjamin have to say.”

  “Good. I’ll let Benjamin know that I’ve reached out to you. We can shoot for a meeting around noon-ish tomorrow…”

  Alejandro’s words faded as Garrett’s thoughts drifted back to the mahogany-haired beauty, who was long gone from his sight. A sickening feeling rose in his gut as he envisioned what she was going through. He’d wanted to track her down and find her, but all wolf shifters knew the rules. Claimed meant off limits. To encroach on another wolf’s territory that way was looked down on and often not even considered.

  “Garrett? You listening?”

  Garrett swung his gaze back to the pressing matter. “Yes. Noon, right?”

  Alejandro chuckled. “You were looking for her, weren’t you? She’s a lost cause like I’ve said. She’s been promised to him since before Simon was named Beta. The only reason they’re not mated yet is because she’s human. The mating is different between a human and a shifter, you know? We can’t go around biting humans like we can our own kind. I’ll let you in on a little something. Her refusal to mate him right now is our gain and his downfall. However, I doubt she’ll be able to hold him off any longer.”

  “Well, if there’s no consent, why was she being pursued and forced like that?”

  “Her family owes a debt to the Montagues, so they’ve benefited from Simon's money already.”

  “And let me guess? She doesn’t want to go through with it.”

  “You’ve got it. Us wolves mate humans every day and, unfortunately, sometimes those reasons are business-driven. But that’s neither here nor there. Simon's choice of a mate isn’t what concerns us right now. Truthfully, I hope she fights it until we get a hold of Simon. If she doesn’t and moves ahead with the mating, she’ll be a widow. There are more than a handful of us that wants Simon dead and gone for good. So, will you help us make that happen?”

  DOWNLOAD NOW ON AMAZON & AMAZON KINDLE UNLIMITED

  Chapter 1

  Garrett Justice pulled his motorcycle to a halt in front of Cross City Country Tavern and shut off the engine. About a dozen other cars and bikes were scattered about the parking area. Blaring music and lively chatter could be heard from all the way across the lot as the patrons pushed their way in and out of the building. Cigarette smoke, engine oil, and strong wolf pheromones wafted through the air when a light breeze passed over him.

  After taking off his helmet and securing his bike, Garrett walked a short distance to the entrance and pushed through the door. The sound of the band music, shouting, and laughter hit him full force. Pool tables sat off to the right in a separate section of the tavern where most of the noise was coming from. In the main area, excessively seasoned beef burgers grilling over an open flame and the aroma of savory bacon grease had his belly rolling in hunger all over again. A big screen television was hung high in almost every corner of the room, airing everything from a live sports broadcast to the evening news. But Garrett wasn’t really expecting quiet anyway. Just somewhere to eat a meal, drink a beer, unwind, and—if he was lucky—gain more intel where his mission was concerned. But first…the food.

  When no one came over to greet him at the little hostess stand near the door—which was inconveniently unmanned—he took it upon himself and slid into the first empty booth he came to.

  The clerk who worked the front desk of the motel had recommended the place. As the only eatery on this side of the city that remained open late into the night, he hoped the food and service lived up to its reputation. Eating packages of cheese and peanut butter crackers and bags of beef jerky from the motel vending machines once again tonight wasn’t going to cut it. And hunting for food on the territory of another Pack without their knowledge was just asking for trouble.

  Nonetheless, Garrett hadn’t visited Cross City for pleasure. Not in the least bit. He was here on business—business that entailed tracking down the leaders of the Cross City Wolf Pack. So far, everywhere he’d ended up resulted in false leads. Either the leaders were out of town, on vacation, or just plain AWOL. Hardly anyone was willing to speak on Pack matters either as if they’d been forbidden.

  Something told Garrett that the leaders of the Cross City Wolf Pack didn’t want to be found. Their Alpha had been discovered dead on the side of the highway not too long ago, so one would think they’d be more apt to being present in their community rather than so apprehensive when a visitor came to help them. Something just didn’t add up, and Garrett’s stay was long overdue. The deadline to report back to his own Alpha and brother—Dane Magnus—had come and gone.

  Time was more of an issue for his brother than it was for Garrett. Just the month before, Dane had received an offer from the Alpha of Cross City Wolf Pack. An offer that, if accepted, would unite the resources of both Packs. Garrett’s understanding was that Dane had been seriously considering the offer. But not too long after that, the Cross City Alpha had been found dead.

  Dane had sent Garrett to send condolences and to offer support until they could agree on the new direction of the Pack. Extending support was the right thing for allying Packs to do, and Dane Magnus’s faculty for keeping his word a
nd helping other Packs was what gave him a most trusted reputation among the wolf shifter population.

  Somehow Garrett had found himself in the middle of it all…all because he couldn’t and wouldn’t say no to the Alpha who he currently served. Not only was Dane Magnus his brother, he was the youngest of four siblings—all male wolf shifters. The four of them had stuck together through thick and thin, and nothing—not even the death of their father and decision over who would lead the Aspen Valley Pack—had torn them apart.

  As he turned his focus to the menu on the table, a waitress sauntered up to his table. He noticed that she was a fellow shifter right off the bat. Her smell and the Cross City Wolf Pack insignia tattooed on her arm was what gave her away.

  “Hi handsome.” She sported a preppy grin and had her hair braided to the back, which gave her a younger, studious look. “What can I get you?”

  Garrett fumbled with the menu for a bit but settled for what he usually ordered when dining out.

  “I’ll have a half pound burger, medium rare, and a mug of beer?”

  “Bottled or draft?”

  “From the tap is fine,” he replied.

  She held a small pad and pen in her hand but didn’t write anything down. “Are you enjoying Cross City?” she asked.

  He looked up, a bit perplexed by her question, which was out of context and out of the blue. She pointed to the Aspen Valley Wolf Pack insignia, which was engrained on the inside of his left wrist.

  “I’m not really here to enjoy the views, but I’ve been getting around the city just fine,” he replied.

  “You’re here with others, aren’t you? The blond haired fella with the silver Harley came through this afternoon. Are you guys staying a while?”

  “No, I doubt we’ll be here very long after today.”