Brothers - Pack Special- Complete Set (Books 1 - 8)

by M. L. Briers

  Connor stood no chance. He might have been vampire fast, but he’d been blindsided by the sight of Mari and the scent of her blood…

  Cole’s claws were already out and he sunk them into Connor’s flesh as he took the vampire down under his own weight, rolling across the grass with him, and he wrenched one set of claws from the vampire’s flesh and pulled back his fist to plant it in Connor’s face – but this time – the vampire was faster.

  Connor’s fist hit Cole square in the chest and shot him backwards through the air, landing on his backside with a loud bone jarring thud across the Path that led to Mari’s front door gave the vampire a feeling of great satisfaction. Cole would have roared as his bear did within him, but for the fact that he’d had the wind knocked out of his lungs…

  Connor was up on his feet and already stalking towards the man, when Mari’s voice reached his ears, the urgency was a warning to Connor’s senses…

  “Connor stop fighting,” she growled. It was a low pitiful growl for a she-wolf, especially for Mari, but it still garnered Connor’s attention.

  The vampire stopped in his tracks and groaned inwardly. He slowly turned his upper body to look back and see her sitting on the edge of the back seat.

  Her legs were dangling freely downwards. A blanket was wrapped around her shoulders, and his eyes took in the almost, but not quite, healed welt on one the side of her forehead.

  “Do you need my blood?” Connor asked to the sound of another angry growl from the bear shifter…

  “No,” Mari gave a small shake of her head.

  “Then I have a bear to pummel,” Connor announced with glee.

  “Connor,” Mari dropped to her feet on the hard ground, absently letting the blanket slip from her shoulders, and she had found that she to reach up and grip the top of the door to steady herself.

  “He run you off the road, Mari?” Justice demanded answers, and she whipped her head around towards the alpha, meaning to deny it, meaning to speak up for him, but her head spun and her vision faltered.

  “Yes… n-o…” She went down like a ton of bricks before Justice could get to her.

  Cole roared at the sight of his mate as she fell. He pushed up to his feet in one swift movement and started towards her, but Connor noted the man, and moved to take him down.

  CHAPTER THREE

  ~

  With one swift punch, and giving it everything that he had, Connor lashed out at Cole as the shifter tried to get by him, and a heartbeat later Cole’s back hit the floor and the lights went out.

  Connor turned back towards Mari. She was already being lifted up into Justice’s arms.

  “What the hell is going on around here?” Connor said in disbelief, stalking towards the she-wolf, as Justice growled and shook his head.

  “Don’t have a damn clue, but he needs subduing.” Justice started towards Mari’s cabin, and Connor turned on his heels and headed for Cole.

  “Love to. She need my blood?”

  “No, I think she’s just in shock.” Justice turned his nose up at the bear shifter on the ground.

  The vampire reached him just as Cole started to come to. The big man lifted his head, opened his mouth to say something, and Connor punched his lights out once more.

  “I could get used to this.” Connor grinned.

  Justice chuckled. It was good to see the vampire happy in his work, at least it would have been something to savour, had it not been for Mari.

  ~

  ~

  ~

  “Cole?” Mari muttered a moment before she opened her eyes and realised that she was back in her own cabin and lying on her sofa.

  “Just me,” Justice offered from the comfy chair beneath the window from where he’d kept watch over her to make sure that whatever was wrong with her wasn’t something more serious.

  “What happened?” Mari pushed the blanket off of her body and pulled herself up, kicking the soft material down her legs and off of her feet before she turned in place and then sat back against the cushions.

  “You fainted,” Justice’s lips pulled back in a slow to boil smile as her eyes flicked to his and she scowled.

  “Did not,” she grumbled. Wrapping her arms around herself as she tried to settle the wolf inside of her. It was getting antsy, probably something to do with the alpha’s slur.

  “Did too.” Justice’s grin was epic. The damn alpha was enjoying the fact that she was uncomfortable with the thought of passing out like a damned girl. He knew Mari and the fiery she-wolf would rather have gnawed off her own paw that show any real girlie qualities.

  “Shut up,” she grumbled, eyeing him through a deep scowl.

  “How you feeling now?” Justice sat forward in the chair and eyed her some more.

  “Stop staring, I feel fine. Wolf’s… annoyed.” She told herself that was what it was. She still felt a little out of things but only because her wolf was playing the martyr to her girlie side.

  “Annoyed, you say?” Justice frowned hard at her. His eyes narrowed, and she felt as if she was standing naked and being inspected for damn flaws by the whole of the pack.

  Geez, I fainted, get over it.

  “Okay, so you can leave now.” Mari pushed up to her feet and for one long second the room moved. Then she was fine.

  “Gee, thanks.” Justice bit out as he pushed up from the chair and filled a good sized portion of her cabin with his presence. “Not even a piece of pie for carrying your backside in here.” Justice muttered good-naturedly as he stalked towards the front door.

  Mari rolled her eyes to the ceiling and was about to let out a sigh of relief, when he came to a grinding halt, and slowly turned to look back over his shoulder at her, as if she was some kind of spy or something.

  “You asked for Cole when you woke up,” he offered and she raised just one eyebrow.

  “Probably a nightmare,” Mari offered back, and her wolf growled in annoyance. She was in total agreement, the alpha was being a royal pain in the backside. She just wanted a little peace to come to terms with the fact that she was fallible… that she’d damned fainted.

  Justice grunted in agreement.

  “He run you off the road deliberately?” Justice asked, his top lip was twitching with annoyance, just in much the same damn way that her wolf was feeling.

  “Nope.” Mari shrugged.

  “Something you’re not telling me?” Justice asked and she tried to hold back on her guilt. On the fact that she’d taken Cole’s damn bumper off when Justice had told her to stay away from the bears.

  “I...” she paused for thought.

  This will go badly… for me.

  If I admit what I did then Justice is going to go three shades of shite.

  If I don’t admit it then Cole’s going to get bounced around on someone’s fist….

  “Yessss?” Justice waited. He could sense there was something that she was hiding, but he didn’t know what.

  “I… have a crush on you,” Mari lied. Digging her nails into the palm of her hand in the hope that the pain it caused would throw off his damned alpha lie detector nose.

  “Excuse me?” Justice almost swallowed his tongue.

  Not a – damn – nother one! Justice thought it was bad enough that her friend, Tania, had a damn big crush on him, and there were a few female teen pups that seemed to always be trying to garner his attention, but now… Mari?

  “Yep.” Mari lied with a helpless shrug off of her shoulders. “I’m trying to fight the attraction, but there it is, loud and proud. I just want to… get up close and personal…”

  “Okay, I need to leave now.” Justice growled out as he backed towards her front door.

  “Really?” She milked it for all it was worth. It was kind of worth the effort and the lie just to see the look of horror on the alpha’s face. Let alone the way that he was backing away from her as if she was about to try to jump his bones.

  He’d be lucky!

  “Thought you wanted pie?” Mari took a step to
wards him and he held up both hands in front of him to try to ward her off.

  “Big lunch.” He lied. “Full.”

  “Next time,” Mari called as he turned towards the door and thumped his knuckles against the handle, he growled out with a curse, before yanking the door open and shooting outside like she was about to chase his alpha butt.

  “Sure,” Justice called, slamming the door shut behind him.

  “Whatever.” Mari giggled to herself as she planted her hands on her hips and looked around her.

  Something feels off…

  Something’s not right.

  Like I’m forgetting something… left something to burn on the stove…

  Mari’s beast growled inside of her. The animal wanted out. Wanted to run wild and free… but Mari wasn’t up for that just yet.

  She strummed her fingertips against her hips and frowned harder, trying to remember what it was.

  She needed to get a grip on her wolf and she needed to figure out why she felt so… unsettled.

  Apart from the fact that the idiot bear shifter, Cole, had chased her up the road and made her kill her truck…

  Apart from the fact that branch had almost speared her head and given her the proverbial third eye in the centre of her forehead… she was kind of blank about anything else until Connor and Cole went at it…

  That’s not it.

  I don’t mind seeing Cole flat on his back on the damn ground…

  Mari’s wolf whined. She snorted.

  Do not get a damn soft spot for that bear shifter just because he’s got a nice pair of soulful eyes and a butt you could bounce a penny off.

  She warned the beast and the beast growled back.

  Men like Cole were a dime a dozen in clans up and down the country. Big, muscled – no-brained – bear shifters, with a body for sin and a brain for trench digging as an occupation.

  Although, he would be fun to play with for a while…

  No, a while would be too long… maybe a night.

  One long night of debauched – no strings attached sex in the woods with a man that I am sure would give me a run for my money – in more ways than one…

  But that’s never going to happen. The pack would find out and I’d be ridiculed. Never live it down.

  There were plenty of males in the pack that would be open to those same terms and agreements if I’m feeling that damn horny…

  Am I feeling that horny?

  Come to think of it… I am feeling a little itchy and scratchy, and I haven’t had a man since… wow, that long I can’t remember – except Connor – not that I had Connor, but he did take my blood and give me a rather nice thank you in return…

  Maybe I should just offer him blood again?

  No, not Connor…

  Damn, what’s wrong with me?

  Maybe I should just go write down a check lists of pros and cons for every member of the damn pack.

  Maybe I should just pick up a human male?

  Nah, I want fulfilling sex, not plink-plink fizz… compared to shifter men humans are about as satisfying as diabetic chocolate…

  A shifter…

  A wolf… bear shifter, maybe, possibly… Cole…

  But what if the pack finds out, I’ll never live it down.

  Although, the pack didn’t need to find out…

  Her wolf practically purred in agreement. She couldn’t exactly rely on the wolf as her moral compass in life… no, the wolf would throw her to the bear with no damn questions asked – what she needed was a sounding board, and she knew just the person to bounce her ideas off.

  ~

  ~

  ~

  Tania looked horrified at what Mari had asked her.

  It had been a simple question; would you ever have a one night stand with a bear shifter… she’d even phrased it like they were playing truth or dare or something.

  Now the she-wolf stood there looking as if Mari had just told her that she had an hour left to live. Tania could be so… over dramatic.

  “What’s the problem?” Mari asked. She was done waiting for her friend to snap out of it and give her a reply.

  “Problem?” Tania snorted. “Seriously?” She snorted again. “A bear shifter?” Third snort lucky. “Wow.”

  “Gee, short, sweet, and to the point. Not.” Mari shot back as she snatched up some berries from the bowl on the counter top and palmed them in her other hand.

  “It’s just…” Tania shrugged her shoulders and looked for answers in her wine glass. “A bear?” She brought her eyes up to Mari, and Mari’s conscience prickled and her wolf growled.

  “Tyler’s a bear.” She offered back.

  “Tyler’s a…” Tania rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “Mated. Thank God, we don’t have to worry about him, but…” she paused and stared hard back at Mari. “Would you want to take a walk on the wild side with Tyler?” She curled her lip in disdain.

  “Not – so – much – no,” Mari admitted.

  That thought had occurred to her once or twice when she was drunk and Tyler was around, but she’d never thought to act on it. Tyler was more like a big brother or something… and she liked his bear.

  “But, we’re talking hypothetically about a hypothetical bear shifter, and no one person in particular.” She just wanted to make that clear. She wasn’t about to wave Cole’s name around.

  “Okay,” Tania shrugged again, considering it.

  “So, would you?”

  “No.” Tania shook her head as she delivered her unhelpful answer. Mari sighed inwardly.

  “Me either.” Mari lied and shrugged.

  Damn it to hell and back, but she would. Right then and there, she most definitely would.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  ~

  Tania rested her arms against the counter top and leaned in towards her friend on the other side. Her eyes were like Justice’s had been, full of suspicion and questions.

  Mari didn’t like that look. She liked it a whole lot less when she truly had something to hide.

  “Is this about what happened with Cole?” Tania asked.

  “Please, that bear ran me off the damn road with his beep-beep road-hogging ways. Don’t even mention his name.” Mari snorted again, but her wolf was back to being unsettled – just as unsettled as she was.

  “Are you getting into your breeding cycle? Feeling horny? Because there are a couple of the pack who wouldn’t mind helping you out with your little problem,” Tania wiggled her eyebrows and Mari groaned.

  “Little problem? The insatiable need for sex and the damn inability to be totally sated until the cycle is over, is not a little problem.”

  “That’s why female she-wolves need mates – just one shot of their seed and wham-o, job done.”

  “Wham-o?” Mari grinned. “Nice way to put it.” She chuckled.

  I wouldn’t mind a bit of wham-o with Cole… or his ilk…

  No, just Cole, and more than a bit of wham-o, a lot of wham-o…

  Like whack – a – mole with a difference. Shag – a – wolf…

  Yeah, Cole and shag – a – wolf sounds like really, really good fun…

  Just so long as she was the wolf…

  Ouch… Maybe Tania’s right. Maybe that’s why I feel unsettled. It must be my breeding cycle coming on.

  Damn!

  ~

  ~

  ~

  Justice’s eyes took in the sight of Cole, bound against the pillar that ran up to the roof inside the barn, with his mouth covered in electrical tape, and his eyes shut to the world while Connor stood next to the pole with his shoulder resting against it, and his eyes down inspecting his nails.

  “Seriously?” Justice growled out.

  “You said subdued.” Connor reminded him.

  “I said… Okay, I did say subdued, but how many times have you knock the poor guy out?” Justice thrust his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and eyed the vampire.

  Sometimes, Connor took things literally, and had a
little too much enjoyment in his work.

  “I… have lost count, but it’s been fun.” Connor admitted.

  “You risk starting a war between the pack and the clan, and it’s been fun?”

  “Does that make me a shallow person?” Connor teased back and Justice sighed with a shake of his head.

  “Yes.”

  “Well, it’s good to know one’s flaws so one can work on them,” Connor shot back.

  “Untie him.” Justice growled.

  “Can’t I work on my flaws later and keep hitting him in the meantime?” Connor gave a small innocent shrug. When he didn’t get a rise out of the alpha he sighed, flicked out his claws, bent at the waist and cut through Cole’s bindings.

  Cole’s eyes came open almost on cue. His arms came around and he went to speak at the same time as he reached for the tape, but Connor lifted a finger to halt him. Then he ripped the tape from the man’s face and half of his stubble to boot.

  “My pleasure entirely.” Connor offered as Cole’s top lip curled with anger, his lip twitching, and he thrust his body upwards from the ground.

  “I should rip your damn head off and put it on a spike,” Cole started to stalk towards the barn doors.

  “I’m a vampire, it’s a stake, and it goes through my heart.” Connor tried to be as helpful as possible.

  “Where’s Mari?” Cole growled. His bear was already clawing and demanding to be set free. Cole needed to settle the damn thing before all hell broke loose and he couldn’t be held responsible for his actions.

  “Leave the she-wolf alone.” Justice called after him as he started to follow the man.

  He wasn’t about to stop the bear from leaving pack land. He wanted him gone. But he wasn’t going to allow the man access to one of his females either.

  Whatever had happened between the bear and Mari, she’d been through enough, and from what he knew of tonight, and the fact that she’d reported her breeding cycle was coming on, a requirement for all unmated females so the male population could be warned and kept at a distance… She was about to go through more of it.

  “Can’t do that…” Cole ground out between clenched teeth.