by Meg Ripley
“No, the tourism is more of a problem for us than anything. Lots of people coming into the area looking for adventure means there are fewer places where we can safely shift, even though there’s so much wilderness nearby. We have to be very careful.”
Nate slid a crystal shot glass across the table, where it landed perfectly in front of Flint. “That’s why we’ve got fifty acres here with the pack house, and I’m working on purchasing an adjacent lot that’s another twenty. We need all the space we can get.”
“You’re going to purchase the Cambridge ranch?” Audra asked her brother.
Shit. Even her voice was sexy. Sort of low for a woman, in a sultry, enticing way. Flint frowned into his shot glass and took an experimental sip. Even the whiskey was good, not the cheap shit he always bought. If he was a different person, he would’ve thought he’d died and gone to heaven.
“I’m in the process,” Nate replied. “There’s some paperwork to take care of, but it’s just about done.”
She pressed her lips together and nodded, looking like she wanted to say more.
“Flint here just got out of the Air Force with quite a commendable record,” the Alpha told the rest of the group. “I understand he’s got a specialty in weapons, which I find very interesting.”
“Interesting how?” Flint didn’t like the way Nate said it, as though he was accusing him of something.
Nate’s smile was a cold one as he poured himself a glass of whiskey and refilled Flint’s. “In that it’s different. Like I said, most of our members have been with us for a long time. We’ve got people from all different walks of life, but no one quite like you.”
“What, no military folks in a place like this?” Statistically, there should have been plenty.
“Oh, a few here and there. Just maybe not someone so…tactical.” Nate smiled again, a grimace that showed off his wolfish tendencies but not a hint of friendliness. “I have to wonder why you’d pick us and not one of the other packs in the area.”
Flint knew they were all watching him, but it was Audra’s attention that he was most aware of. The men were openly ready to pounce, looking for any weakness that would give them the opportunity to. Audra eagerly leaned forward with her elbows on the table, her cleavage apparent over the hem of her black tank top.
Concentrate, Flint. You’re not here to make friends, just to pretend you are. He cleared his throat. “I checked with the state conclave for a list of packs, just to see if there were any in the area. But like I said, it was the town more than anything that drew me here.”
“I can understand that.” Jeremy had been looking over his discharge papers, which Nate had set on the table. He passed them to Ryan. “Have you been up Pike’s Peak yet?”
“Not yet, but it’s on the list.” Yep, it was on a list of all the numerous things Flint had researched. Whether or not he actually went and did any of them was a moot point. He was there on a mission, to find out what was going on with the packs, sort it out, and get his ass back to D.C.
“Where are you from originally?” Ryan asked.
“Michigan.” That was mostly true. No point in making up too many lies.
“Then why not settle in back there? Wouldn’t you want to be near your family? Maybe your hometown pack?” Nick was a heavyset guy with wild brown hair that stuck out in all directions. If he combed it and put on a suit, he’d look like a bank president.
“It was just a really small family pack, one that never recruited or took in outsiders. My parents have been gone a long time, and the remains of the pack dissolved after I left for the service.” Not exactly true. It was a small pack, but as far as Flint knew, they were still very much intact. Minor details that he’d have to hope no one tried too hard to check out.
A small but thunderous set of footsteps sounded on the stairs, and a little boy came barreling into the basement. His blonde hair flapped as he ran, stumbling once but recovering quickly. “Mommy! Mommy! I was upstairs playing with my tablet like you said, but I heard the doorbell. Jordan said we had company. Did they bring any kids to play with?” His eyes, the same blue as his mother’s, brimmed with hope.
Audra rose from her chair and took him by the hand. “No, sweetheart. But you should be upstairs. I told you we have pack business to take care of.”
The boy wore his disappointment on his sleeve, his body going limp and his mouth taking a distinctive downturn. “There aren’t any kids here.”
“Maybe not, but there are some in the pack. We’ve only been here a couple of days.” Audra glanced up at the men who sat around the table. She’d been cool and confident the entire time Flint had been there, but she suddenly looked uncomfortable. “This isn’t the time to talk about it. You need to go on upstairs.”
“But who’s the company?” the boy insisted.
Audra pointed at Flint, her cerulean eyes tunneling into his until Flint couldn’t see anything but her. She was gorgeous even just sitting at a table, but seeing her interact with her son put her in a completely different light. It did something to the inside of Flint that he couldn’t quite explain and didn’t want to think about. It felt too soft and mushy, and he wasn’t a soft and mushy guy.
“Randy, this is Flint. He’s thinking about joining our pack.”
The kid couldn’t have been any older than five, but he marched straight up to Flint with his hand stuck out. “Hi! I’m Randy.”
Flint couldn’t stop the smile that spread over his face, and this time it was a genuine one. “Flint. Nice to meet you, kid.”
“What’s that?” Randy poked at the silver clip of Flint’s folding knife on the pocket of his jeans.
Flint wasn’t one to miss an opportunity to show off a weapon, even if it was to a little boy. He pulled it out of his pocket and flicked the blade open. “It’s my favorite knife. I carry it with me all the time.” He refrained from explaining that he also carried his favorite pistol, and when he had the chance, he carried a hell of a lot more than that.
Randy’s eyes widened until they were little round blueberries. “Whoa, that’s cool. I’ve never seen one like that before. Can I hold it?”
“That’s up to your mother.” Flint had nearly forgotten that he was sitting there with the top members of the pack, on trial to see if they thought enough of him to let him join. He glanced up at Audra, whose mouth had been drawn into a tight circle.
“I don’t think so right now, honey. Go on upstairs, and I’ll come get you in a minute.”
“Are we going back to Grandma and Grandpa’s tonight? I like my room there.”
A tinge of color crept into Audra’s cheeks. Flint wondered if there was a way he could bring even more color to her skin, maybe if he put one hand on the small of her back and drew her close, the other hand moving up her back to grab that thick ponytail… His own face heated as he closed the knife and put it away.
“Yes, Randy. Now go, please.” She pointed at the stairs. Randy left, and Audra sat back down in her seat. “Sorry about that.”
Nate spread his arms wide in benevolent forgiveness. “Hey, our pack is a family oriented one. It’s important that we all stick together. You know that.”
Richard and Nate exchanged a meaningful look. “Flint, before you make a permanent decision about where to settle down, you might want to know that our group has been having some trouble lately,” Richard started.
“Trouble?” It was hard to act innocent when he’d heard all the phone calls that had come into the Force’s headquarters.
“Attacks on our members,” Nate explained. “I don’t exactly know the motivations behind them, and they never seem to happen too close to home. We just get reports after the fact.”
Flint slid his whiskey glass away. “Did some of the normies get wind of the presence of shifters in the area?”
“Not exactly.” Jeremy shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “It seems that these attacks are coming from other shifters in nearby clans. Sometimes they’re on our territory, and sometimes it hap
pens when a member has to venture into another part of town, even when they’re not on pack business.”
“Sounds like there’s even more adventure here than I imagined.” Flint leaned back in his chair with a grin. “Maybe I can help, with a little more information.”
“No offense, Flint, but all that will come in time. Right now, I’m considering granting you a temporary membership. You know, to give us time to get to know you. Besides, it sounds like you might have some valuable skills we could use.”
“I’m happy to extend my services.” As he said it, Flint realized he was looking directly at Audra. He immediately flicked his gaze back to Nate, noting the simmering suspicion just beneath the surface. The Alpha didn’t like him, but that was no surprise. Flint was used to not fitting in, and he didn’t exactly give people reasons to like him or trust him. No, right now they just needed him, and that was good enough.
“If you’d like, you can stay here in the pack house. We have plenty of extra rooms. Most of our members live in their own homes in the surrounding area, but we all meet here at least once a month.” Nate took the empty glass in front of Flint and set it on the bar.
Flint knew that was his signal to go. “Thank you for your time and for the temporary membership. I have some things to gather up, but I’ll check back in with you soon.” He rose and headed for the staircase, focusing hard on every step.
The wolf inside him was going absolutely crazy now. It thrashed and bared its teeth, growling its protest at leaving. Flint clenched his jaw as he fought to control it. He couldn’t lose his cool now, not when he’d gotten these suckers to let him in so easily.
It was that Audra woman, and he knew it.
The cool evening air brushed his skin as he stepped outside and down the driveway to his Jeep. That—and probably the increasing distance from the Alpha’s sister—made the temptation to shift abate somewhat. Still, he couldn’t stop thinking about those blazing blue eyes as he drove back toward the hotel. There was no good reason for a woman to make him feel like that, not even a pretty one, not unless—No. That was ridiculous. He refused to even entertain the thought.
A left at the next road would take him back to the center of town to his hotel room, back to the four walls that would crush him all night long. He took a right instead, looking for some place to slide his vehicle into the shadow of the trees just long enough for a good, hard run.
4
Audra sighed heavily as the pack house quieted down and she stepped out onto the back deck. Randy had fallen asleep on the couch in the living room, and she was content to let him nap there until it was time to get back to her parents’ place. She sat in one of the big Adirondack chairs and tipped her head back to study the night sky, so clear and beautiful as more and more stars stood out.
“Beer?” Nate was at her shoulder, holding out a cold bottle.
She laughed a little as she accepted it. “Thanks. I think I need it.”
He sat down across from her, the fire pit between them cold. There was no need for it yet, with the end of summer still lingering in the air, but the fall air would only get chillier. “Was it that bad of a day? I thought you’d enjoy hanging out here, just like the old days.”
Audra sighed. “I thought so, too. I used to spend so much time here, both in the pack house and in the woods. But it’s like I’ve been gone just long enough, and my life has changed just enough, that it’s weird. I recognize it all, but it’s different. I’ve never really understood what that old expression about never going home again meant, but I think I get it now.”
“Randy seems to enjoy it,” Nate pointed out as he took a swig from his bottle.
“He’s too young to know any different, and you don’t see all of it. You don’t see him asking me when his daddy is going to get here.”
Her brother stiffened, his eyes icy in the starlight. “Luke is coming here?”
“No. Chill out. Randy just has it in his head that if we’re here, then Luke belongs here, too. He’s young and he doesn’t understand.” That was what had broken her heart the most about her marriage ending. It wasn’t that she would miss Luke, but that her son had been affected by this more than anyone.
“So just tell him,” Nate reasoned. “He’s a smart kid.”
“Sure.” Audra rolled her eyes. Her brother could be awfully naïve for someone who was in charge of so many other shifters. “I’ll just sit down with him and calmly explain that his daddy is a cheating douchebag, and that Mommy caught him sticking his dick in someone else. I mean, it’s a lesson straight out of PAW Patrol, right?”
“Yeah, okay. Maybe it’s not that simple. I don’t know anything about kids. I’m content leaving that for everyone else.” He took another slug of beer and sighed. “I’m sure he’ll be just fine, though. Plenty of other kids have divorced parents.”
“I just didn’t think he’d be one of them,” she replied honestly. “I was an idiot.”
“You’re not an idiot,” he said. “So you chose the wrong person. You’re not the first, and you won’t be the last.”
“Easy for you to say, considering you don’t have to worry about anyone but yourself,” she retorted, feeling resentful of his single life. Audra wouldn’t give Randy up for anything; he made even her failed marriage worth it. But it would be nice not to have to worry so much for once.
“Hey, I have plenty to worry about.” He shot to his feet and paced across the deck to the railing, looking up into the craggy foothills that butted up to the back of the property. “I invest everything I have in this pack. I might not have a wife or a kid, but I have all these people that I have to take care of. I’m constantly working on ways to protect them, and that’s only getting harder and harder to do.”
“I guess that’s why you’re buying the Cambridge ranch?” she questioned. It was a point that had bothered her as soon as she’d heard it, but she hadn’t wanted to question her brother in front of everyone.
“Makes sense, doesn’t it? We need more space to be able to roam.” Nate turned around and leaned on the railing, stuffing his free hand in his pocket. “We’re not made to live in the city, Audra, but that’s what everyone is trying to do. They’re cramming themselves into this civilized lifestyle that makes them forget who they really are. We’re not normal people, not in the sense that most of the rest of the world is.”
“But that property is worth a lot,” Audra pointed out. “I’m not saying it isn’t a good idea, but I don’t see how you can afford it.”
“Dues,” was his simple reply.
She frowned. “Dues? You mean you’re charging them to be a part of the pack?”
“That’s the idea.”
Audra set her beer on the edge of the fire pit, no longer interested in it. “You’ve got to be shitting me.”
“What’s the big deal?”
She sighed, pressing one hand to her forehead. “The big deal is that it’s never been done like that. Shifters come to the pack for protection, for companionship, for family. It’s not right to charge them for that.”
“Even if it means providing more for them than they’ve ever had before? Look, Audra, the pack might not’ve been run that way before, but there are a lot of things that have changed.” He strode back and forth across the deck as he explained, his boots making a hollow echo in the night. “It used to be that members could do work that directly benefited the pack, and that was how we were able to stay afloat. But no one has time for that anymore. They all have their normal jobs, their houses, and their families to go home to at night, but they still want everything pack life has to offer when it’s convenient. It’s the best way to do things.”
“I guess it is, especially when it lets you completely remodel this place with all the best furniture, decorations, and flooring money can buy,” she countered. “Don’t get me wrong, Nate. The pack house looks great. But you can’t tell me that marble countertops and a jacuzzi tub are the best way to serve the pack.”
“There’s a lot you
don’t know about pack life anymore, Audra.” He slammed his bottle on the railing and glared at her. “You go running off north to start your own life and then want to come back here and criticize me? That’s pretty shitty of you.”
She sighed. She didn’t want to fight. “Whatever, Nate. It’s your pack. You can do what you want with it.”
Audra expected him to go storming back into the pack house, but instead, he stood for a long moment, simply looking out into the evergreen forest. “That’s the thing. It’s not just my pack. I have to think of everyone else. That’s why I hope it was the right decision to let Flint in.”
Oh, so now he wanted her opinion? Nate had always been like that, though. He wanted whatever was convenient for his own agenda. It’d made her question him taking up the position as Alpha, but she loved her brother, even when he was an ass. “It sounds like you wanted him in for his military experience.”
“Yes, but I question whether he really is who he says he is.”
“Really?” She’d thought about Flint a lot since he’d left. There had been something sizzling in the air between them as soon as he’d walked into the room earlier that evening, something that had been impossible to ignore. Audra was certain the other pack members had noticed it as well, because it seemed so obvious to her. As soon as their eyes had met—or maybe as soon as she’d sensed his presence in the building—chemicals began pumping through her bloodstream. She’d kept herself as stiff and cool as possible on the outside, even though she was churning with instinctual need on the inside. Flint was a different kind of wolf, and her own animal knew it immediately. Flint might have been telling Nate that he’d do as he was asked, but she had the distinct feeling he would do what he wanted. Would that include doing what he wants with me? she mused. Damn it! No, this wasn’t the way she was supposed to be thinking, especially as the Alpha’s sister.
What the hell was wrong with her, always being drawn to the wrong men? That wasn’t the point right now, though. “I thought he was a little suspicious, myself.”