Pack of Trouble

by D. M. Turner

  Ian stepped past to greet the new wolf, who hunched her body and showed deference. He nuzzled the top of her head then picked up the carcass by the neck and dragged it toward the house.

  Sophia padded behind him, the other she-wolf on the opposite side of him but slightly behind her.

  It was only minutes before they passed through the open gate, so they hadn’t been as far from the house as she’d expected.

  Ian carried the remains of the deer around the side of the house and dropped it at the back corner. Then he trotted to the back door, which stood open.

  A young man of maybe thirty (assuming he wasn’t a hundred and only looked thirty) stood inside the door and smiled. “Hey, Dad. A good run and successful hunt, I see.”

  Dad. Colin. So the other female, probably Colin’s mate, Tanya.

  His gaze turned to her. Curiosity lit his eyes. “I thought I smelled a new female in the house.”

  Ian trotted straight into his bedroom.

  Sophia made a beeline for the guestroom, grabbing her robe off the chair in the dining room as she trotted past the table. Shower to remove the blood left over from the hunt. Dress. Then meet the woman she’d spent weeks searching for.

  * * *

  Cleaned up and dressed for mixed company, Ian returned to the living room, almost missing the days when the entire pack had been male and clothing had been optional. Since Tanya had joined the pack in 2015, soon followed by more females, he’d done more laundry than ever. Not to mention, running around the house in the nude was a thing of the past. Life had been simpler without females.

  His gaze fell on his one-year-old grandson playing on the still-bloodstained area rug in the living room. He smiled. Okay, maybe life had been simpler without females, but some things were worth the trade-off. Duncan made all of it tolerable.

  His thoughts drifted to his long-dead mate. My heart, you’d be delighted with our grandson. I wish you were here to see him, and to see how our son turned out. You’d be so proud of Colin, and you’d adore the mate he’s chosen.

  Tanya sat on the couch, fully dressed and keeping an eye on her son.

  “Where’s Colin?”

  She grinned. “I told him about the carcass you dragged home. On our trip, he was sure he’d starve. He figured it’d be bad form to be caught by some tourist killing a deer. He’s out filling his stomach.”

  Ian chuckled. “Maybe next time he’ll think about that before he decides to play tourist surrounded by humans for a week.”

  Head cocked, blue eyes studied him. “Who’s the new wolf? She’s too thin, like I was when I came here.”

  “Sophia Ferguson. She’s from Seattle. She was in worse shape when she arrived on Friday.” He raised a brow. “She’s eating better than you did, so she’s recovering much more quickly.”

  “Good.” She nodded.

  Duncan crawled to the couch and pulled himself up in front of his mother.

  She leaned over and pulled him into her lap. “Am I wrong in believing she’s on the dominant side?”

  “No.” He chuckled. “In fact, she backed Brett down yesterday morning.”

  Tanya’s brows rose. “Really?”

  He nodded.

  “I wish I could’ve been here to see that.”

  “To see what?” Sophia exited the hallway, crossed the dining room, and halted behind the couch.

  Tanya turned in her seat to look at the other woman. “To see you back down Brett.”

  With a snort, Sophia shot a teasing look at Ian. “Funny, given Brett thought it was pretty amusing that I backed Ian down.”

  He clenched his teeth.

  Tanya’s head whipped around so fast, she probably gave herself whiplash. Her mouth hung open for a moment, and she blinked at him. “Is that true?”

  “I was wrong. I apologized.” He shrugged as though it wasn’t a big deal. “I am capable of being wrong, you know.”

  Tanya pinched her lips together then sent a sly look at the other woman. “I’m not touching that opening with a ten-foot pole.”

  Sophia chuckled.

  He sent her a quelling look, which she completely ignored. Great. Two females ganging up on him. That’s all he needed.

  “So”—Tanya set her wiggling son back on the floor—“Ian tells me you’re from Seattle. How’d you end up in this neck of the desert?”

  “Looking for you, actually.” Sophia plopped on the other end of the couch and turned to face the younger woman, propping a knee on the couch between them.

  “Me? Why?”

  “Your books,” Ian grumbled. “She found us through your books.”

  “Oh.” Tanya grimaced. “Sorry.”

  “Why?” Sophia shook her head. “I’m not! Your books saved my life.”

  “They did?” Blue eyes widened.

  The other woman nodded. “I was becoming more and more convinced I was a horrible threat to humanity and trying to figure out how to end my life when I found the first one.”

  Ian scowled. “You didn’t tell me that!”

  She gave him an annoyed look. “There are a number of things I didn’t tell you. You’re not exactly the most approachable man most of the time.”

  “I’ve done nothing to threaten you or otherwise make you feel unsafe.” He growled. “In fact, I’ve gone out of my way to help you feel at home here.”

  “I’ve known you two days. Just how personal do you truly expect me to get?” She glared at him. “I probably wouldn’t have told you what I have already if it hadn’t been for… well… circumstances being what they’ve been.” Her gaze slipped away to Tanya.

  So much for thinking her playfulness after hunting and eating together meant anything.

  Ian scowled, got up, and retreated to the kitchen. Stinking females never made life easier.

  He smacked the counter with the flat of one hand. What are you thinking? Of course they don’t make things easier. You don’t want another one. Remember?

  * * *

  Tanya watched with wide eyes as Ian stormed away then turned to Sophia. “I think you hurt his feelings.”

  She frowned. That hadn’t been her intention, but did he honestly think she’d told him all about herself? How naive was he? From where she sat, she could see him in the kitchen. Tension tightened his body, visible even from that distance in the tense cords along the sides of his neck.

  “Why were you looking for me?”

  Sophia sighed and turned her attention to the woman she’d sought so diligently. “I’m not sure how to explain without sounding like an idiot. Ian understood.” He had. From the first explanation, he’d understood the need that had driven her to seek the author of books that had resonated so deeply with her. Her gaze returned to the man in the kitchen. He’d been right. He hadn’t done anything to make her feel threatened. Annoyed, yes. In danger, no.

  “Sophia?”

  She blinked and forced her gaze back to the woman sharing the couch with her. “I was turned four years ago, and I was alone from then until I came here.”

  Tanya’s eyes widened with wonder and something uncomfortably reminiscent of admiration. “You survived that long on your own?”

  Sophia nodded. “I needed answers. I figured the best way to get them was to come straight to the source rather than wait for more books and hope they provided them.”

  “I put those out as fiction novels and short stories. How did you figure out they weren’t?”

  “Too much reality jumped off the pages from my own experiences. Fiction or not, I knew at least some elements were truth. I wanted more.”

  “How in the world did you find us? I used a fictional place in Montana along the Canadian border as the setting for my stories and changed all the names.”

  “Lots of driving and searching to find the location of the author.”

  “Wow.” Tanya shook her head. “I think you might be able to give Max a run for his money.”

  “Max?”

  “The pack omega. I guess you haven’t met hi
m yet.” She leaned over to redirect her son from messing with the satellite phone on the side table. “Uh-uh, young man. That’s mommy’s. This is yours.” She offered him a small stuffed wolf from a bag on the floor.

  Duncan’s little face scrunched up then he plopped on his butt, accepted the toy, and appeared to forget the phone.

  Tanya turned back to Sophia with a smile. “Anyway, Max is a private investigator.”

  “Until today, I’d met Brett, Kelly, Jeremy, and Annie. That’s it.”

  The young mother nodded. “Jeremy and Annie, that makes sense. Ian said you were in pretty bad shape. I suppose he called Jeremy to take a look at you.”

  Sophia grimaced. “I’m guessing Ian told you that I almost died.”

  “No.” Her eyes widened. “He left out that part.”

  “Pretty bad shape is an understatement. It was my fault, but I actually died soon after meeting Ian. Thankfully, my heart started again, but he wasn’t happy with me. If I’d eaten like I should during the months I searched for you, I wouldn’t have been in such horrid condition.” She shrugged. “I’m doing better now though. I haven’t had any more symptoms today.”

  “That’s good.” Tanya cocked her head. “Why were you planning to kill yourself? Did you try to eat a family member or friend or something?”

  “Or something.” She frowned and sighed. “I had a weird… episode last May. I woke up covered in human blood and had no idea where it had come from.”

  Blue eyes widened. “Did you ever find out what happened?”

  “Last night, actually. Ian and the others helped me find out the truth.” She shivered and shook her head. “All I knew then was that I’d hurt a human. Given the amount of blood, I knew whoever it was hadn’t survived. I was afraid it might happen again.”

  “I can’t blame you. My worst fear when I first Turned was that I’d hurt or kill someone I cared about.”

  “I knew it wasn’t anyone I cared about. I was in the middle of nowhere. I don’t have any family, and I’d lost all my friends in the months after my Turning because I was too afraid to leave the house to go out with them.” She frowned. “I thought it might’ve been a tourist, to be quite honest, because I was in a national park. I was afraid to investigate and find out. I kept envisioning some poor, unsuspecting backpacker or hiker like they show in horror movies.”

  Tanya nodded, her gaze full of sympathy.

  Sophia glanced toward the kitchen to find Ian standing on the other side of the counter, watching her and listening, his expression closed up. Had Tanya been right? Had she hurt him?

  “So… Ian and the others helped?”

  “I killed a serial rapist and murderer. I remember all of it now, though I wish I could forget again.” She grimaced.

  Tanya snorted. “It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Are you sure he’s dead?”

  “Absolutely no doubt.” Even a werewolf couldn’t survive in that many pieces. Her stomach pitched.

  The woman nodded. “Good.”

  If Tanya knew all the facts, she might not think so. Sophia glanced at Ian. Her gaze clashed with his.

  He held her gaze and shook his head. “Don’t go there.”

  With a shaky sigh, she nodded. She took a deep breath, smiled, and turned back to Tanya. “Anyway, I ran across the first of your books online last fall and ordered it. Since silver had no adverse effect on me, I wasn’t sure what might kill me. Everything else I’d read struck me as Hollywood influenced, little more than urban legend, or even outright ludicrous.” She shrugged. “When I got into your books, I found out we could die, but I didn’t really want to. I wanted to live. I just needed to know how to do it safely.”

  “I’m glad you found your way here, then.” A bright smile curved Tanya’s mouth. “If there’s one thing Ian and this pack are good at, it’s helping wolves find peace with who and what they are. They sure helped me.” Her gaze rested on the toddler, who had lain on the rug and appeared to have fallen asleep. “I’m so blessed to have met them.”

  “Ian told me that first story you wrote and published was about you.”

  A nod.

  “I admire you for finding the courage to share so deeply what had happened to you.” Sophia smiled. “I realize sharing it as fiction gives you a layer of protection, but it still couldn’t have been easy to write.”

  “No, it wasn’t, but I’m glad I did it.” Tanya drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “It proved to be good therapy, helped me put so much into perspective.”

  “I’m glad. Reading it sure helped me in some ways.”

  The woman cocked her head again. “So, what is it you still want to know?”

  “How I fit into the world as this thing I’ve become. Where I belong. What the purpose for all of it is.”

  “Wow. Tough questions.” Tanya frowned. “I wish I had answers, but I think the answers to those questions are different for each of us.”

  That pretty much meshed with what Ian had said on the matter, which brought her no closer to understanding why God had allowed a monster to Turn her into one.

  Chapter 15

  His gaze on the one woman he least wanted to pay attention to, Ian half-listened to her conversation with his daughter-in-law. Truth be told, Tanya had been right, though he doubted she realized he’d heard her comment. He was hurt by the fact Sophia had chosen not to tell him about her desire to end her life.

  Hadn’t he proven she could trust him? He’d protected her when she lost herself in the wolf. He’d supported her when she confessed to killing and partially eating a man. Sure, the guy had been a serial killer and, therefore, a victim less likely to garner sympathy, but still, he’d been a human being. He’d even made an effort not to order her about. Granted, he could probably do better on that score, but still… he was trying. Didn’t that count for anything?

  “What do you care?” the dark moon whispered. “You want her to leave, so why do you care if she withheld information? You’re too big a coward to take what you want. She’ll leave as soon as she finds what she seeks.”

  He scowled. “I’m no coward.”

  “A man driven and dictated by fear is a coward.”

  He couldn’t refute that, unfortunately. So where did that leave him?

  “Alone, and too terrified to be otherwise.” The moon snickered. “Let her go. Let her find a man with the courage to take what he wants. You’re too old and damaged for her.”

  The moon was right. Sophia deserved a man who wasn’t so jaded by having lived far too long and done some of the things he’d done. Ian closed his eyes and lowered his head, his heart heavy. He knew who he was, what he was capable of. She needed someone better.

  “Dad?”

  He opened his eyes and lifted his head.

  Colin stood on the other side of the breakfast bar, studying him with a perplexed and worried expression. “Are you alright?”

  “Yeah.” He forced a smile.

  Doubt flashed in Colin’s eyes, but he smiled and let it go. His gaze moved to the women in the living room. “They seem to like each other.”

  “Sophia has that affect on the women in the pack.” He half-smiled. “Kelly and Annie like her, too. In fact, Annie stopped just short of threatening me last night over her.”

  Colin’s brows shot up. “Really?”

  Ian nodded.

  “Wow. I didn’t realize Annie had it in her to threaten anyone, much less you.”

  He chuckled. “She’s tougher than she looks.” Like someone else he could name. His gaze rested on Sophia again.

  “You like her.”

  He chose to misunderstand, knowing full well which “her” Colin meant. “Of course. She’s perfect for Jeremy and wonderful with the pack. What’s not to like?”

  Colin snorted. “Oh, please, Dad. Do you really think I don’t realize you know exactly who I meant. You like the new she-wolf.”

  “She’s here temporarily. She’ll be gone before the next full moon.”<
br />
  “Not if you invite her to stay.” His son’s brows rose.

  “Why would I do that? I don’t want another mate.”

  Head cocked, Colin studied him. “Do you really think you can tell the wolf no?”

  “It’s been a very long time since I’ve been a slave to the animal inside.” No matter how much he longed for her, she was leaving. She’d made that clear. “Besides, you’re assuming she’d be good with the whole pack. She and Brett have a tenuous relationship at the moment. I can’t have my mate and my best friend and pack second at odds with each other.” He shook his head. “Anyway, she doesn’t like dominant males. The last thing she’d want is to be mated to one.”

  “Have you asked her?”

  “No.”

  “So… you’re assuming she doesn’t want you.”

  Ian pinched his lips together to keep from admitting that her wolf had already chosen him. That confession wouldn’t help his cause.

  “Come on, Dad. Since when do you run from anything, especially a woman?” Colin half-grinned, the double canine on the right side of his mouth peeking out. His father’s son, right down to that little detail. “I hate you rambling around in this big old house alone.”

  “I’m fine being alone.”

  “It makes you too somber and brooding.”

  “It does not.” He scowled. They couldn’t possibly know—

  “Yes, it does. The women in the pack have declared you to be a tragic, classic-fiction heroic figure tortured by demons only you can see and hear. Did you realize that?”

  “They have not!”

  “Yes, they have.” Colin pointed to the living room. “Ask Tanya. She’ll tell you the truth if you ask her point-blank.”

  He clenched his teeth and glanced at his daughter-in-law. Colin was right. If Ian asked, she’d be honest. Did they truly see him as some dark and brooding hero figure? How stupid was that? No. Colin was being overly dramatic. Right?

  The satellite phone in his office rang, the chirping tone carrying down the hallway. Ian dashed for it.