Fifth (A Cinco Series Book 1)
Page 1
FIFTH
A Cinco story
Copyright ©2019 Kit Lane
First Edition
Cover design by Books by Design
Edited by Sue Meadows at No Stone Unturned
Published by One Hat Press
ISBN 978-1-9160237-0-3
All Rights Reserved
This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission. This book cannot be copied in any format, sold, or otherwise transferred from your computer to another through upload to a file sharing peer to peer program, for free or for a fee. Such action is illegal and in violation of Copyright Law.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Dedication
My first and biggest thank you is to India Arden. Without her, this story would never have been started. It’s been a whole new world for me.
Thank you to Sue Meadows, Kim Katil, Kris Jacen, and Mary Newman for helping me produce my first baby as Kit.
Much love to my office-mate, Clare London, and my doggy, Faith.
Contents
Contents
All Rights Reserved
Dedication
Contents
Meeting Kit
Blurb
Chapter 1 – Alex
Chapter 2 – Kyle
Chapter 3 – Alex
Chapter 4 - Matt
Chapter 5 – Alex
Chapter 6 - Lee
Chapter 7 – Alex
Chapter 8 - Ronin
Chapter 9 – Alex
Chapter 10 – Matt
Chapter 11 - Alex
Chapter 12 - Kyle
Chapter 13 – Alex
Chapter 14 – Lee
Chapter 15 – Alex
Chapter 16 – Ronin
Chapter 17 - Alex
Chapter 18 - Matt
Chapter 19 – Alex
Chapter 20 – Lee
Chapter 21 – Alex
Chapter 22 – Kyle
Chapter 23 - Alex
Chapter 24 - Matt
Chapter 25 - Alex
Chapter 26 - Ronin
Chapter 27 - Alex
Chapter 28 - Ronin
Chapter 29 - Alex
Chapter 30 - Matt
Chapter 31 - Alex
Chapter 32 – Lee
Chapter 33 - Alex
Chapter 34 - Kyle
Chapter 35 - Alex
Chapter 36 – Ronin
Chapter 37 - Alex
Chapter 38 – Matt
Chapter 39 - Alex
Chapter 40 - Lee
Chapter 41 - Alex
Chapter 42 - Ronin
Chapter 43 - Alex
Chapter 44 – Kyle
Chapter 45 - Alex
Chapter 46 – Matt
Chapter 47 - Alex
Chapter 48 - Ronin
Chapter 49 – Alex
Coming May 2019
About Kit Lane
Meeting Kit
Kit Lane has three passions in life; coffee, writing epic love stories, and dogs. She lives near London and claims the city as her own. Her email is kitlanefiction@gmail.com
Join Kit’s Newsletter
The Cinco series is Kit’s first venture into fiction. She hopes you’ll follow Alex and the wolves on their adventures.
Blurb
Alex offered to cook at a frat party to be helpful. Now she’s running for her life with four butt-naked wolf shifters.
Alex Rieke agrees at short notice to help cater a frat party. It’s just for a few hours, she’s a good cook, and she’ll be helping a friend. Instead she’s confronted by four wolves and, to her shock, discovers she’s the fifth member of a Cinco, a small pack of shifters. Matt, Ronin, Kyle and Lee are just as stunned—but they’ve been waiting to find the pack’s final member for a very long time. Now they don’t intend to let her go.
Since the death of her parents, Alex has been alone. Now she has a family, albeit an unusual one, but it comes with a death sentence. She is the daughter of Wulf Rieke, a traitor to all wolves, and as a result her life is forfeit. What’s worse, that death sentence now includes the rest of her pack.
None of it makes sense, but when one of the Cinco wolves is attacked, Alex realizes how deadly serious this is. As they run for their lives, Alex discovers her true heritage encompasses far more than Cinco, yet that’s where her loyalty now lies. Will she live long enough to avenge her father and build a safe future with her new family?
Chapter 1 – Alex
“You’d better be hungry,” I muttered as I laid the last slab of meat on the long table piled high with food. I rolled my shoulders to work the tension out.
My arms ached from carrying numerous heavy trays to the dining room, which was at the opposite end of the house to the kitchen. Yet another curl escaped the confines of my hairband again, and I pushed it back—a futile gesture. I didn’t know why I bothered to keep it under control, although my customers would probably take exception to finding strands of long black hair in their food.
Wayward locks dealt with, I surveyed the table. “You guys must be heavy on the protein diet.”
The whole table was filled with steak and chicken. I was used to customers who wanted canapés and finger food, not slabs of meat larger than my arm. Still, the client got what the client wanted.
I was catering for a fraternity house, not my usual gig. I’d been reluctant to take the job, but they paid me up front, and no haggling, which was a refreshing change. I was too used to people who tried to screw me out of every last cent. They provided the menu, and despite the fact it was way out of my comfort zone as a chef, I followed it to the letter.
The house had been empty since I’d arrived, apart from one young man who’d opened the kitchen door to me and promptly vanished. I had no idea where the clients were. I’d been expecting beer and drunk young men. I’d catered for the college before and knew what the Greek fraternities were like. Instead, the whole house was strangely quiet, and as far as I was aware, I was the only person in the building.
A click of the door behind me told me the situation had changed, and I turned, expecting to see a pack of hungry young men waiting for their dinner. Instead I faced…
Wolves.
My mouth ran dry.
Honest-to-God, four large gray wolves with large eyes and far too many teeth stared back at me.
What the hell? I swallowed back a shriek and attempted a smile. I knew about shifters, of course. We lived in uneasy co-existence with many species, but knowing of them and seeing shifters in the flesh was another matter.
“Now, boys, you really don’t want a taste of me,” I murmured, trying not to let my voice shake as I contemplated the four pairs of glowing amber eyes gazing hungrily at me. “I’m all tough and chewy. Why don’t you eat the nice steak over there, hmmm?”
I waved in the direction of the table, hoping the wolves would take their eyes off me and instead eat the dinner I’d spent all damn day cooking. They didn’t flicker an eyelid, their attention on me. It was unnerving. All those years I’d watched wildlife documentaries, I’d never expected to be starring in one, and especially not as the prey.
Of course, I had to be on one side of the room and the closed door was on the other side, and between, there was hundreds of pounds of predatory muscle. I backed away, praying they preferred their steaks rare, not raw. The wolves stayed where they were, but they didn’t take their eyes off me. I was more interesting than dinner.<
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I took another step, even though it was futile. My ankle twisted a little and I hissed. “It’ll be fun. You’ll pay your rent and get to hang out with hot guys, Alex.”
That had been the promise from Tony, the owner of another catering business begging me to help out when he’d double-booked.
One of the wolves chuffed as if laughing at the disgust in my voice.
“You can laugh, furball,” I snapped, annoyance overcoming my fear. “You’re not the one who’s broke and being stared at as kibble.”
“You’d be much tastier than kibble!” an amused male voice assured me.
“Thanks. But I’m the cook, not doggy chow.”
“Wolves, not dogs.”
“Potato, potahto.” Then I realized I was holding a conversation with a goddamned wolf. “What the hell?” I stared at them in horror. “You can talk?”
“Yes.” That was a different voice; deeper, just as male and just as amused.
One of them sat, and his tongue lolled out. I gritted my teeth. They were laughing at me and not trying to hide it. Anger rose, washing away any residual fear. “I’m not your dinner. There’s your goddamn meal.” I pointed at the long table filled with food. “I spent all day cooking it, and you’re gonna get your furry butts over there and eat.”
They glanced at each other, and then back at me. I glared at them, hands on my hips.
“I am hungry.” Another voice, one softer, more pleading.
It was like a mental shrug, and then I was faced with the last thing I expected. The air shimmered around the wolves, and four men stood in their place. Four men who studied me with the same predatory, amber-eyed gazes the wolves had a few seconds before.
Four butt-naked men who were far too pleased with themselves. It was a cover of GQ gone wild.
I gaped, because jeez, this was beyond any frat hazing I’d heard about. “Dudes, put some clothes on!” It was the first thing out of my mouth.
The second thing that happened was embarrassing and I would never live it down. The room got so hot I couldn’t breathe, and my vision went sparkly.
“I’m going to…” I gasped.
My knees gave way, and the last thing I remembered was someone yelling “Grab her.” I was swept into strong arms, and the world went black.
Chapter 2 – Kyle
“Grab her!”
Matt barked the order as the woman crumpled. I was the nearest, and I managed to twist and catch her before she hit the floor. I staggered, but Ronin and Lee supported me either side, and I regained my balance.
She was out cold, her dark lashes rested against her cheek and her soft, black hair spilled over my shoulder. I glanced at Matt, not sure what to do with the deadweight in my arms. His lips twitched, and he pointed to a sofa in the corner of the room.
“Put her over there.”
I flushed but I followed Matt’s orders as I’d done since I was a pup. I didn’t have much experience with women, especially humans. I’d spent all my life in the pack.
As I laid her down, the woman moaned a little and her eyelids fluttered. Concerned, I glanced over my shoulder at Matt, who loped over and knelt beside us. I envied Matt his confidence. He seemed to have no trouble talking to women, judging by the revolving stream of college girls through his door.
We both stared at her, but she didn’t stir. She was pretty, for a human. Her black hair fascinated me. Most of our females had gray or brown hair. I’d met arctic wolves with white hair, but never one with black hair. I reached out to touch a curl, to see if it felt as vibrant as it appeared, but she moaned again, and I snatched my hand back.
“Is she hurt?” I asked worriedly.
“She’s fine,” Matt said, although there was a note of concern in his voice.
Ronin joined us, but he remained standing. “She’s the one, though. She’s ours.”
“The Elders have to confirm her,” Matt warned. “We can’t jump fences until we know for sure.”
Ronin frowned, his dark brows knitted together. “You know it as well as I do. You smelled her as soon as we walked in the building.”
Matt sat back on his haunches, dwarfing me with his wider bulk. Everyone assured me I would grow into my adult form soon, but I didn’t think I’d ever be as big as Matt or Ronin.
“I did. We all did, or we wouldn’t have shifted. But what if we’re mistaken, Ro? We’re away from the pack. We’ve got no one to ask.”
“One of the Elders is on his way,” Lee said. “They felt it all the way there.”
Lee had the ability to communicate telepathically over long distances. The only reason the pack had let us go to college so far from home was the fact we could keep in touch. Ronin bitched it was more about fact the Elders still had us on a tight rein. It was disrespectful, but no one argued with him. He was right. Lee spent too much time reassuring the pack that we were fine.
“I can’t believe it,” Lee said, shaking his head. “We’ve finally found our Quinto.” He was so wide-eyed, almost comical in his shock.
Our Cinco had started to despair it would never happen. Most Cincos found their members in adolescence and matured together until they were ready to strike out on their own. It had always been five since the Book was written; mixed genders or same-sex genders, but always the same combination of alpha, beta, hunter, shaman, and communicator. Matt, Ronin, Lee and I were part of the same pack. Matt had easily fallen into the alpha role, despite some bickering from Ronin. He was a bossy bastard. But when Ronin had discovered his healing powers, he knew he was destined to be the shaman. Despite my size, I was the hunter. I’d been teased about my small stature as a pup, until the day I’d gone on my first hunt. After that, no one argued about my ability to provide for the pack. Lee was like AT&T, but cheaper. Which left the beta’s role.
The alpha/beta roles had been easy to spot from the time pups started to mature. The roles weren’t gender-based. We had plenty of female alphas and male betas. I felt the alphas were more the planners, and the betas the practical wolves. Between them, they took care of the Cinco’s living arrangements and security. When it had been obvious we weren’t going to find our beta within our pack, it had become easier to sever ties and move thousands of miles across the country to college. Somehow, we’d managed to get into the same school, all doing different courses, and set up home in this house. To the outside, it appeared to be an exclusive fraternity, to those in the know it was pack. Other wolves stayed here, but they weren’t part of our Cinco, or even part of our local pack. They were all wolves though, no humans allowed. Humans knew about us, but there could be tension, especially among human males.
The woman opened her eyes, blinking rapidly at the sight of four men surrounding her. First, I thought she was nervous, but she didn’t smell scared. Her eyebrows drew together, then her expression changed.
“You’re still naked.”
I was confused. We were wolves. Unless we were interacting with humans, being naked was natural. How else were we going to hunt?
Matt huffed and then he stepped back. “Guys, find some clothes and get back here.”
Ronin grunted, but he stalked from the room, obviously unimpressed. Lee followed him.
Then Matt nodded at me. “You too, Ky.”
I nodded, rose to my feet, then smiled at the woman. “I’m glad we’ve found you.”
Her expression changed from disgusted to confused. “‘Found’ me? What do you mean ‘found’ me? Do you mean the job?”
Now it was my turn to furrow my brow. I turned to my alpha. His expression was neutral, but I sensed the concern beneath the surface.
“Go get dressed, pup. We’ll discuss it in a few minutes.”
I gritted my teeth. I hated being called pup, especially by someone the same age as me. He knew it too, but he was my alpha, so I nodded once more and backed away. I couldn’t help the queasy roll in my stomach. For some reason my wolf was very unhappy at being parted from our new beta.
At the door, I glanced over my
shoulder at Matt and the woman. He stood over her, his arms folded, and scowling down at her. He wasn’t happy either, but I couldn’t work out what was wrong.
Oh well, we were going to find out soon enough. She was our beta and part of the Cinco. We would finally get to share everything, just as a Cinco should. As I hurried to get into my T-shirt and pants, I wondered how it was going to work with a human.
Chapter 3 – Alex
I could hear hushed male voices. Well, most were hushed. One was raised, speaking in clipped tones. They were talking about Elders and Quintos and being theirs. What the hell? I knew they were speaking English, but none of it made sense. I just wanted to get out of there before they decided to eat me for dinner. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes and saw more than I needed to.
“You’re still naked,” I said flatly.
Couldn’t they have put on pants by now? It wasn’t that I objected to the male form, but with four sets of dangly parts at eye level it was hard to concentrate.
One of the guys stepped back. He was tall and broad-shouldered, and I had to crane my neck to study him. He was handsome, even with the fierce scowl. I frowned as I focused on the color of his thick, slightly wavy hair. The room was bright, the overhead light still on, and I was fascinated by the way strands of brown, black and gray gleamed, each color distinct.
“Guys, find some clothes and get back here.”
So he was the owner of the pissed off voice. Figured. The other two, a tall black guy who almost dwarfed mystery-hair-color dude, and a Chinese guy who reminded me of a classmate back in grade school, obeyed, but not before more scowls were thrown in my direction.
That left a little guy who knelt by my side, the only one who seemed concerned for me. I say little. It was all relative as I was just over five feet tall in my heels.
“You too, Ky.” Obviously, the big man was used to giving orders, and expected them to be obeyed.
Ky nodded and rose to his feet with a grace I envied. I wished I had his coordination. “I’m glad we’ve found you.” He seemed pleased to see me but I was still confused.