by Mina Carter
The only answer she got was the sound of the van slowing and the crunch of the gearbox as they changed direction. Onto freaking boulders, by the feel of it. The van lurched; she tried to brace herself in the corner, but it was no good. She was thrown about like a rag doll in a washing machine, spin cycle.
Finally the vehicle stopped, and she slid down the side panel to sit in a crumpled heap. The wild ride had slammed her knees and elbows into the metal walls and floor, leaving them aching and bleeding. She resisted crying and hugged her knees to herself as the back doors swung wide. No way was she showing weakness to these assholes.
“Out,” the alpha growled, his bright amber eyes hard.
He hated her, as sure as eggs were eggs, and the guy was a prick to boot. She’d heard him snap and snarl at the other wolves when she’d been locked in the bedroom in their pack “house.” Seemed their way of dealing with possible newbies was to lock them up. So much for the “care in the werewolf community” spiel her captain spouted when he allowed them to cart her off without a word of complaint. Cops stomping over people’s rights, she never thought she’d live to see the day.
“Don’t make me fetch you,” he warned, and she edged to the doors, trying not to wince. Her knee was cut, the denim already soaked with blood. His gaze flicked to it, but he didn’t say anything, just pressed his lips into a thin line as though the very sight irritated the fuck out of him.
She clambered out of the van, slipping under his arm, staying out of reach. He could catch her, she had no doubt, but the less he touched her, the better.
“Come on, then.” He walked away without looking at her, trusting she followed. She glanced around and nothing but scrubland and dirt looked back. No traffic noise, not even of a nearby highway, reached her ears, just night-time silence and quiet chirping of nature.
Great. A city girl, through and through, she freaking hated nature. Too much fresh air brought her out in hives.
Grumbling under her breath, she followed the werewolf asshole-in-chief around the van. And stopped dead. There, in a neat little semi-circle were more of the creatures. Three men, two standing and one on his knees with his wrists cuffed, and a woman also cuffed. At least, she assumed they were all werewolves.
“Hey, Daniels. How you doing? These the ones you want me to take?”
The asshole who’d brought her shook hands with one of the guys like they were old friends, and nodded toward the couple with cuffs. She padded to the front of the van to get a better look, keeping the alpha she’d arrived with between her and them. The kneeling guy was a little worse for wear, healing cuts and bruises marred his face. He’d taken a beating a couple days ago from the looks of it, but the woman was unmarked. Instead, she glared at one of the two men like she’d gut him with a blunt spoon.
“Assholes! You can’t do this! I have a home here, a life! I have rights! Riley, you’re a fucking ass!”
You go girl, Ce thought with a ghost of a smile. Someone needed to tell these bastards they couldn’t stomp all over people.
“Jenna, if you try to have another member of the pack killed, you lose those rights,” Riley replied. Ce’s gaze locked onto him. Same as Daniels, he had bright amber eyes, but that’s where the resemblance ended. Where the other guy had long, tawny hair that flowed over his shoulders, Riley had a buzz cut, military short.
Bigger and broader than any of the others, including the alpha she’d arrived with, he emanated danger like it seeped from his very pores. The woman on her knees didn’t seem to care, curling her lip dismissively and turning around. Her gaze found Ce half hidden behind the city alpha and the woman sneered.
“And you’re exchanging me for that? A human? Well, you always did like fucking defenseless women, didn’t you, Riley? That’s the problem, isn’t it…I’m too much woman for you.”
“You’ll be a fucking dead woman if you keep that up,” the long haired wolf snarled, his amber gaze snapping to the guy Ce arrived with. “Kev, she’s a handful…spoilt little brat, I’m afraid. Sorry to put this on you.”
Ce huffed to herself. So, alpha asshole’s name was Kev. She filed that information for later use as the man himself shrugged one shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, mate. We’ll break her or bury her. Simple as that.”
Fear entered Jenna’s eyes, but Ce had no time to deal with that because Kev snagged her arm, dragging her forward.
“This one used to be a cop. Shot and killed one of my youngsters a couple of days ago,” he said and both the other men looked at her like she was dirt. Worse than dirt.
She gulped in a breath, her throat dry. “He attacked me, fucker. What’d you expect?”
What if Kev had brought her out here to exact furry justice for the murder of one of their own? She was alone and unarmed. She wouldn’t last a minute.
“Department handed her over until the full moon, but I got the kid’s older brother in my pack…had to keep her locked up to stop him killing her on the spot.” Kev shoved her forward. “I take these two, you keep a hold of this one until we know if she’s turned or not. Win-win situation.”
The longer haired wolf slid a sideways glance at the bigger one, silent communication passing between the men. Wolves. Whatever. Then Max nodded. “Works for us. Riley, load ‘em up,” he ordered, then held a hand out as the bigger wolf grabbed both by the arm, preparing to haul them upright. The muscles in his arms stood out in high relief.
“If I see either of you in my territory again, you’re dead wolves. Understand?”
Chapter Three
Riley knew trading Jenna would be rough. Even though his love for her had long since died beneath her nastiness and contempt, he still remembered the sweet girl he’d fallen for years ago. Pity she didn’t exist anymore. Sighing, he loaded them both into the back of the van, throwing Paul in bodily before urging Jenna in.
Her face paled, and fear shone in her eyes, as though she just realized how badly she fucked up the situation. To be traded to another pack was a big thing. And not a good thing, not like this. If she’d met and married a wolf from another pack, then fair enough. But traded like a piece of meat…that was bad.
In their case, Jenna’s issue with him was the problem. One that wouldn’t apply to another pack. Not unless she hooked up with and ditched another wolf, then tried repeatedly to have him killed. Troublemaker she might be, Jenna wasn’t that dumb.
“Please…Riley…” she begged, shuffling forward on her knees with tears welling in her eyes. He smelled her fear, leeching out her pores, and he hardened his heart.
“Sorry, sweetheart, you made your bed, now you have to lie in it.” He shut the door with a slam, his keen hearing picking up when the lock engaged, and then headed around the vehicle. With each step, he felt lighter, as though the act of closing the van door ended that period of his life. A great weight lifted from his shoulders, and he flashed a grin at Max speaking to the visiting alpha.
“Watch your back with her. She’s a right pain in the ass, capable of inciting dissent,” Max rumbled, his voice low with his wolf. “So really, cheers for this, I owe you one.”
Kev nodded, reaching to shake Max’s offered hand, and his gaze flicked to Riley. He grinned. “Could do with a good enforcer, if you’re open to a transfer.”
Surprised, Riley shook his head. “Thanks for the offer, but no thanks. Not looking to move on. I got it good where I am.”
“Hey, no poaching my pack.” Max looped an arm over Riley’s shoulders, his amber gaze direct on Kev. His tone was pleasant, but there was no arguing the warning in his expression. An aura of danger surrounded him. “Besides, he’s family. He can’t go anywhere or his sister would kill me.”
Kev backed off, hands in the air to show he meant no harm. “Hey, can’t blame a guy for trying. Not with his reputation. Most of the packs on the east coast would trade half their number for that kind of firepower.”
“Thanks.” Riley added a smile to show he was flattered, which he was. “But I’m good. Have a safe dri
ve back.”
They watched as Kev walked to the van, started it, and drove off. As the taillights disappeared into the darkness, Max slid him a sideways look. “Of course, you do realize what the problem is now, don’t you?”
Riley frowned, meeting his brother-in-law’s gaze. Max was tired, he could tell from the subtle lines clustered at the corners of his eyes. Kids must have been keeping him up. Kelli certainly moaned about it, often with a fond smile on her face. As hands-on dads went, Max was up there at the top.
“What’s that?”
Max kept his gaze on Riley and smiled. “The woman Kev left. She’s gone.”
Riley whipped his head around to where she’d been, and sure enough, she was nowhere to be seen.
“Fuck!”
“That about covers it, yeah.” Max stepped away, fishing his truck keys out of his jeans pocket. “Since she’s staying with you, you might want to find her before she gets too far…or injures herself. Last thing we need is to explain to the police why one of their own wound up dead in our territory.”
“Me?” Riley stopped dead at Max’s words, a cold chill marching down his back. “Why does she have to stay with me?”
“Because you’ve got experience in bringing a woman through the change. If she is going to turn, she needs someone who’s been through it before.”
Oh, hell no. Riley shook his head. He’d been down that route with Jenna, and it had ended up with her hating his guts. He hadn’t gotten more than a quick look at the woman, she’d been tiny with intelligent gray eyes and a mass of dark curly hair. Cute, but human from the smell of her. Not his type.
“She’s human. False alarm.” Had to be. No way he wanted to babysit a change again. “And if she does turn, Susanna’s just gone through it. She would be better—”
“Not. Happening.” Max’s voice deepened. “Didn’t you smell it on her? She’s turning all right, and she’s going to be alpha material. She’d drive Susanna mad, the woman’s a beta through and through.”
Riley narrowed his eyes. He was just as much alpha as Max was…so how the hell did the other guy know all that just from the woman’s scent? “Bullshit. No way could you tell that already.”
Max didn’t let up with the eye contact, even taking a step forward. The air charged between them, so much testosterone and machismo Riley could practically taste it. His lips quirked. “You do know Kelli’ll kick both our asses if we fight.”
Max blinked and the tension diffused immediately. He gave Riley a sheepish grin. “Yeah, she will. Let’s not put ourselves in for that kind of pain, eh?”
“Works for me.” Riley took in a large breath. The woman’s scent hung in the air, faint and teasing. Deep within, his wolf rumbled in interest. He’d be able to track her easily. “Spill. How do you know she’s turning? That she’ll be an alpha.”
Max tapped the side of his nose, turning to head to his vehicle. “That’s for me to know, and you to find out. When you catch her.”
Riley crossed his arms as Max’s truck roared to life and the alpha pulled off, tires throwing dirt, headed back toward civilization.
“Asshole,” he muttered fondly, then turned and walked into the night.
***
She’d done it. She’d escaped.
Ce tore through the wilderness like an Olympic sprinter, her heart pounding in her ears. She expected to hear the sounds of pursuit any moment. Her shoulders rode high, tension in every line of her body as she waited for the impact as a wolf took her down. Every so often, she threw a glance over her shoulder, but nothing followed her. As far as she could see, anyway. The night sky was cloudless with an overhead moon, while not full, cast enough light for her to see. Which was good. Seeing was definitely nice, especially when running at a breakneck speed, because it would be just her luck to break her leg tripping down a rabbit hole.
She slowed from a sprint, forced by the fact her heart was going to explode, and gulped air as she looked around. Did they even have rabbits out here? Countryside was supposed to have rabbits. It might not, for all she knew since her only experience with nature was waving at it from a moving vehicle. Perhaps they didn’t have rabbits…
Maybe the wolves ate them all, the little voice in the back of her head added helpfully.
Something cracked behind her and she whirled with a squeak. The biggest damn wolf she’d ever seen was on the path behind her. She gasped and backed up, shaking her head and blinking at the same time. It hadn’t been there a moment before. How could it have snuck up on her so quickly?
Her heart redoubled its efforts in the explosion stakes, hammering so loudly she was sure the wolf heard it too. He—because there was no way a creature that size, even a werewolf, was a she—slowed his steps, stopping to look at her. Those eyes…the image of the big, sexy guy back at the trucks flashed across her mind’s eye for a second and her breathing caught. Was this him in his other form? A small thrill of excitement threaded through her fear.
“You carry on, little wolfy,” she said, wiggling her fingers and shooing him away. “Nothing to see here, no humans. Certainly not a cop trying to get home.”
He stepped forward, eyes intent on her, and she bit back a whimper. She couldn’t outrun him, but every survival instinct urged her to do just that. She edged toward the trail on her left. Perhaps she could trick him… She feinted to the left, then ducked the other way when he lunged. Her scream was drowned by a snarl, but she kept running, using everything she had to get away.
Paws hit the center of her back and both fell in a tangle of fur and limbs and…more limbs. He rolled on top of her, human now, and pinned her arms above her head as blazing amber eyes bore into hers.
“Never run from a predator, darlin’. It never ends well.”
He was bigger up close, way bigger, and for a second all Ce could do was lay there, stunned. How the hell had he moved so fast? Something as big as the wolf he had been had no right to move that damn fast. Then her training kicked in. Heaving upward, she brought her knee up sharply, aiming for his groin. He twisted and she made contact with his inner thigh instead, eliciting a grunt and a muffled curse from him. Not deterred, she snapped her teeth at his throat, looking for anything she could get a fix on, neck, ear…anything. He flinched back, loosening his grip on her wrists a little and she managed to yank a hand free. Instinct drove her to pull her arm back, balling a fist to punch him in the face.
Her blow didn’t connect with his perfect, male features. Instead, it smacked harmlessly into his palm.
“No,” he said patiently, as though talking to a child, and curled his fingers over hers, capturing them. “We’re not playing that way.”
She snarled, baring her teeth and tried to wrench her hand free. He waited, and finally she gave in, realizing that until he let her go, she wasn’t going anywhere.
“Okay, do it,” she snapped, glaring up at him. Anger rolled through her, banishing the tears that burned the back of her eyes. She might be overpowered and about to meet her maker but she’d be damned if she’d show him how shit-scared she was.
“Do what?” He frowned, his lips pursing a little in confusion. Instantly her attention focused there and her train of thought derailed. He had full, lush, kissable lips, the kind women craved and tried every cosmetic trick in the book to replicate, but that somehow didn’t look odd on such a masculine face. Instead, they looked right, sinfully and totally sexily right. Bastard. Why couldn’t he have been ugly? Ugly she could’ve handled.
“Rip my throat out, or whatever it is you guys do to women who piss you off.” She managed to finish without her voice breaking, even though inside she quaked with fear. She hoped it was fast. Painless. Her heart stuttered in her chest as he leaned down, and she squeezed her eyes shut. Blocking out the inevitable.
His lips brushed hers. A soft kiss of butterfly wings. Her eyes snapped open and she looked at him in shock. “What the hell was that?”
“Do we have to go through the birds and the bees here?”
&n
bsp; Her brows snapped together. “Wait…what? No!” She yanked her fist out of his hand and rubbed at her wrist. “No birds and definitely no fucking bees. We clear?”
He braced himself over her, hand by her head and his gaze riveted to her face. “I don’t intend to fuck any bees.”
Her mouth gaped, then she caught the hint of amusement in the depths of his eyes.
“Asshole.” She smacked his shoulder and wriggled out from underneath him. He rolled to one side, watching her as she clambered to her feet and brushed off her clothing.
“Are you planning on running again?” he asked, one eyebrow raised.
Which was right about the point she realized he was naked.
*
Riley let a lazy grin crawl over his face at her slight intake of breath and the little look along his body before she snapped her gaze back to his face. She really was new to wolves if she hadn’t known he wasn’t likely to be clothed after shifting.
Totally comfortable with his nakedness, he lifted his free arm and stretched it out over his head. He had a good body, worked at it as both a man and wolf, and the sudden flush across her cheeks told him that she’d noticed as well. Good. He wanted her to notice. He liked the shy little look she graced him with.
“Look all you like,” he offered, motioning toward himself. “Never seen a wolf before?”
She locked her gaze onto him. Fire burned in her stormy eyes. “Yes. I shot one, remember?”
“You had a reason.” Riley shrugged and rolled to his feet. “Wolves can be assholes. Particularly young ones. Kev’s got a lot of bitten wolves in his pack. They can be problematic.”
He watched her carefully as he stalked toward her. He’d missed it when he’d first seen her, his priority getting Jenna and her partner in crime in the van, but she was lovely. Masses of dark hair cascaded about her shoulders framing a small, heart-shaped face, dominated by large gray eyes. Her nose was little more than a button and she had small, but perfectly shaped lips. Lips she was currently mangling with her teeth. As soon as she saw him looking, she stopped.