Claimed by the Pack - The Complete Series: Werewolf Shifter Romance

by Kimber White

  “What’s your name?” he asked.

  “Oh,” I answered. “I probably should have started with that. It’s Neve. Neve Dalton. I was on my way to U. of M.”

  He nodded, and looked at me through the rearview mirror. “Nice to meet you, Neve. We’ll get you back on your way soon enough. Let’s just fill out an accident report and make sure you’re not in need of any medical attention.”

  “Thank you,” I said. “How much longer exactly?” We seemed to be headed further and further away from civilization, and my hackles started to raise. Maybe I should have asked for I.D., but he was in a marked patrol car and in uniform.

  “I’m not a county deputy,” he answered as if he could sense my growing unease. “I mean, I’m deputized. But I’m a park ranger, technically. You can call me Jake. Jake Glanville.”

  “Huh,” I said. “Park Ranger Jake. Why did the 911 dispatcher send you out?”

  He smiled. “I was just the closest to you. That’s all. The storms knocked out a few power lines closer, so the county boys have their hands full taking calls.”

  He made another turn. It was just about full dark now. The patrol car’s headlights shone on a large, wooden sign. “Hidden Forest Nature Reserve.” Ranger Jake made a last slow turn and took us down a dirt road going deeper into the woods.

  His tires crunched on the gravel as he took a long, winding driveway up to a cabin at the top of the hill. Two other patrol cars were parked in front of it as he came to a stop and stepped out of the car.

  It was pitch black, and when Ranger Jake opened the passenger door to let me out, I found myself scanning the woods for more golden eyes in the darkness.

  Jake looked down at me with kind eyes and a warm smile, and held his hand out. I shook off my skittishness and took it. Then I followed him into the log cabin outpost at the top of the hill.

  I almost felt normal again as he opened the creaking screen door and jangled his keys until he found the right one. I was still freezing, and my wet clothes were plastered to my skin, but that wasn’t what raised the hairs on the back of my neck and made me shiver. Somewhere, out in the darkness, I heard a single keening wail and knew in an instant what it was.

  A wolf’s howl. It was some distance away, but the sound of it curdled my blood. Maybe I really had hit my head harder than I thought, but the sound I heard was filled with grief and pain, but something else as well. It sounded like a warning.

  Chapter Three

  I stepped inside the cabin behind Ranger Jake, eager to get behind four walls and a lockable door. The cabin was large and mercifully warm. Jake flicked a light switch on the wall and the harsh fluorescents flared to life. The building was a long rectangle with state maps covering the pine-paneled walls, and several desks arranged around the room.

  “Have a seat,” Jake said. He lobbed his hat on one of the desks and ran a hand through his unruly blond hair. He really was young. Maybe closer to my twenty years than I first thought. He had the long, lanky build of a distance runner. Something about the way he carried himself set me on even more of an edge than my circumstances. Jake shot me an automatic smile whenever he caught my eye. The rest of the time, he looked back at the door, and chewed his bottom lip.

  I took a seat at one of the desks and worked on getting circulation back to my hands and feet.

  “Coffee sound good?” Jake called out as he stepped through another door at the back of the room. “Might be a little stale, but it’ll be hot.”

  “Sounds perfect,” I called out as Jake disappeared behind the door. As soon as he’d gone, I took the opportunity to scope out my surroundings a little more. The maps and posters on the wall detailed the wildlife native to the area. One poster showcased the frogs and turtles of Michigan in brilliant color. Another featured waterfowl. A third showed fish. Another poster highlighted the hundreds of large and small lakes dotted throughout Michigan.

  I heard some kind of commotion behind the door where Jake disappeared. Another door slammed deeper in the building. A loud bang as something crashed to the floor. Jake finally reemerged bearing a steaming cup of coffee in a white Styrofoam cup. He smiled wide as he handed it to me. I didn’t get much of a chance to enjoy it before the cabin door flew open. Jake’s face lost all color.

  Three of the largest men I’d ever seen charged in together. The biggest of the three slammed the door behind him loud enough to make the whole cabin shake beneath my feet. The two who came in before him had to be well over six feet, broad and thick like linebackers.

  “Uh,” Jake said. “Miss Dalton. Let’s see about getting you started on that paperwork.”

  At least, I think that’s what he said. I couldn’t take my eyes off the last man towering in the doorway. He was so tall, he had to duck to come in through the door. His flinty gray eyes penetrated me, glowering with menace, raw power, and sex. His broad shoulders filled the door frame as the other two men flanked him. But I couldn’t look at them. The big one held my gaze, daring me to look away. He worked the muscles of his anvil-sharp jaw, dusted with coarse black stubble. His beard couldn’t hide his full, sensual mouth that seemed set in a permanent pout. He wore a white t-shirt that stretched across his rippled chest, his biceps straining against the sleeves. His waist tapered down into faded blue jeans that hugged his massive thighs.

  “What the hell is this, Jake?” he said in a rich baritone that vibrated across my skin.

  Jake stepped forward, his hands shaking as he handed me a pad of paper. “Just write down what happened,” he said. “It’ll make it easier when you deal with your adjuster.” I took the paper, eager to focus on something other than that cruel, beautiful gaze from the mountain of a man still standing in the doorway.

  “Let’s talk outside,” Jake said. A quick jerk of the larger man’s chin was all it took to make Jake and the other two men fall into step behind him, and they walked outside. Alone now in the cabin, I shivered again, but this time it wasn’t from the cold.

  I wanted my car. I wanted to get the hell out of here. The only thing clear to me was that I had unwittingly walked into the middle of something between these men that seemed to have nothing and everything to do with me. They spoke in hushed voices that were still loud enough to carry through the thin walls, so I could pick out a few words and phrases.

  “It was Magda,” I heard Jake say. “She’s dead, Tuck. I got there too late to do anything about it. I didn’t see Ash, but you could be sure he was close.”

  Rumbling. I heard something smash against the side of the cabin. It might have been a fist or a boot.

  “Why the hell did you bring her here?” This came from the leader of the group. Tuck? For the rest of my life I’d remember the deep tone of his voice. It made me scared for Jake. Whatever the hell was going on between them, Jake hard earned this man’s ire, and I hoped I never would. The sooner I could get a hold of my insurance company and a rental car, the sooner I could get the hell out of here.

  I didn’t wait for Ranger Jake or any of the rest of them to come back. I pulled out my insurance card and called from the landline. I gave the representative the particulars of my situation. After a few minutes of repetitive questions, I got the answer I dreaded. Yes, I had rental car coverage. No, they wouldn’t be able to send something out until tomorrow morning.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said to the rep. It wasn’t her fault. Not really. She was probably reading most of what she told me from a script. “What do you expect me to do in the meantime?”

  “Well,” she said. “If you spend the night in a hotel, we can reimburse you up to one hundred dollars. And we’ll send someone out tomorrow with the rental car. You’re going to have to make arrangements to have the car towed to a body shop anyway. I’ll give you a list of places in the area where you can take it.”

  “Great,” I said, just as Jake and the others came back into the cabin. The insurance rep said more things, but my focus wasn’t on her anymore. Mr. Tall, Dark, and Pissed Off charged back in and sk
ewered me with eyes that flashed like fire. My heart tripped in my chest, and my mouth went dry. I didn’t know who he was. I couldn’t fathom why he looked so angry with me. But something happened when he came close. My skin prickled with gooseflesh and his presence seemed to warm me from the inside out.

  I finished up with the insurance lady and hung up the phone.

  “All set?” Jake said. He slapped his hands together and gave me that nervous smile.

  “Not quite. They can’t send a rental car out until the morning. It looks like I’m stuck here. Can you recommend a clean, cheap motel or something?”

  The big guy let out a sound low in his throat just like a growl.

  “May I help you?” I said. “I didn’t ask for any of this. I don’t want to be here anymore than it looks like you want me to be here.”

  He cocked his head to the side and a smirk came over his face. God. He was gorgeous, if not scary as hell. He jerked his chin again at the two burly men next to him. They looked similar enough to be brothers. Both had wavy, chestnut hair, broad noses, and wide set eyes. They stood at attention on either side of the room, and their eyes darted from me to this Tuck. They wore plain clothes, not uniforms—worn jeans and work boots. Faded t-shirts that showed off their hard muscles just like Tuck’s did. They moved around their leader and headed toward the back of the cabin and the door Jake went through when he got my coffee.

  “Jake,” the leader said. “Why don’t you drive Miss Dalton to the Woodland Inn off of 94?”

  It unsettled me that he knew my name but hadn’t bothered to introduce himself. Jake cleared his throat and plastered on that unhelpful smile.

  “Sure thing,” he said. “It’s clean. It’s cheap. And they have better cell reception than we do.”

  “Perfect,” I said. More than anything, I just wanted to get the hell out of this cabin, and away from the watchful eye of Jake’s boss, or whoever he was. Though he wasn’t in uniform, Jake clearly took orders from him.

  “We’d better get a move on, then,” Jake said. “There’s another storm moving in, and the whole area’s under a flood and tornado watch.”

  I pulled my purse and backpack off the desk and slung them over my shoulder. Jake grabbed his hat and held it in front of him as he waited for me by the door.

  “I’m ready,” I said. Jake held the door open. As I passed in front of the boss, Tuck, my skin prickled again. He stood just a few inches away from me. I swear I felt heat coming off of him. My fingers twitched and I had to resist the urge to put a hand on his rock hard chest as I came around him. I pursed my lips before I smiled up at him as I stepped through the front door after Jake.

  Jake held the passenger door of his patrol car open for me. He straightened his hat on his head and closed the door after I stepped inside.

  As Jake got in and backed the car away from the cabin, I couldn’t help but look back. Jake’s boss hadn’t acknowledged me when we left. He didn’t say goodbye, good luck, or anything. My first thought was to hope I’d never have to see him again. As soon as the words formed in my head though, something else stirred me to my core. The thought of never seeing him again left an ache in me that was completely unexpected.

  I saw two smoldering silver-gray eyes stare back at me through the slats in the blinds. Who the hell was that man? Why did he seem to hate me on sight? What strange power did he have over me that made me want desperately to see what he looked like under that thin shirt?

  Chapter Four

  “You sure you don’t want me to stop at 24-Hour Urgent care? You might have banged your head harder than you think.”

  “I’m fine.” Jake had just pulled off the Interstate again. We made a long, slow curve, and I could see the Woodland Motel just off the exit. It was a long, rectangular one-story motel that offered free HBO and 24-hour room service, or so it said from the tall flashing marquis high above it. “I really just want to get a shower and go to bed. I’ve got to deal with the rental car company and the body shop in the morning.”

  “So, where did you say you were headed again?”

  I shrugged. “U. of M.” I knew I should sound more excited when I said it. Tomorrow was supposed to be the first day of the rest of my life, and yet I felt lost and adrift.

  “Go Blue,” Jake said as he flicked his blinker on before making a right turn into the motel parking lot. “Here’s hoping the new guy can get that football team turned around.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “My Dad was a fan.” The minute the words came out of my mouth, I wished I hadn’t said them. I didn’t want to answer questions about my personal life. Not with Jake. Not tonight.

  “You a freshman?” Jake said as he pulled into a parking spot.

  I nodded. Jake regarded me for a moment and then put the car in park and stepped around to get my door for me. It was sweet and chivalrous, and I felt like an ass for just wanting to finally have a few minutes to myself.

  “You sure I can’t call someone or do anything else for you?” Jake had the nicest puppy eyes, and it’s possible he was trying to hit on me. I had terrible radar on that kind of thing.

  The wind picked that moment to kick up again. The Woodland Motel was aptly named. Though it faced the highway, a Denny’s, and three truck stops, the rear of the hotel butted up against a strip of dense woods. The tops of the tallest trees began to sway, and the temperature dropped quickly.

  “I’m good,” I said. “You’ve gone above and beyond the call of duty as it is. Have a good night.”

  “Oh, it was my pleasure. I’m just very thankful you didn’t get hurt. It could have been a lot worse.” Jake wasn’t looking at me when he spoke. Instead, his eyes scanned the tree line. His fingers played at the handle of his holstered service weapon.

  “Is something wrong?” I had to ask. Now that we were away from the specter of his boss, I had more than a passing curiosity about what had made him so angry back at the nature reserve outpost.

  Jake shook his head but his eyes were still scanning the woods. “Nah,” he finally said. “Just thinking we’re in for a monster of a storm tonight. You’d better go ahead and get yourself checked in and stay indoors.”

  “What was all of that back there?” I said, as I slung my backpack over my shoulder. “Was that your boss? Tuck? Is that what his name is?”

  Jake’s attention snapped back to me. “Tucker,” he answered. “Yeah. He’s kind of in charge, yes.”

  “Well, Mr. Tucker sure didn’t seem like he was a very big fan of mine.”

  Jake fixed his smile back in place. “Don’t pay that any mind. There’s just a bunch of, uh, work stuff going on. Stressful day. Glad it’s finally over.”

  His answer was less than convincing. His guarded posture didn’t help. Well, whatever it was, I didn’t see the need to borrow trouble. “Goodnight then,” I said. “And thanks again for coming to my rescue. Please don’t forget about the DNR.”

  Jake’s mouth dropped then his eyes widened with understanding. “Right. Yeah. The wolf. That’s already been taken care of. Don’t you worry.”

  “Thanks.” The memory of that poor, broken creature flashed through my mind again filling me with that strange sense of terrible loss. “Good night again.”

  Jake slapped his hand against the side of his leg and nodded one last time before he turned and got in his vehicle. He waited until I went inside the lobby door before shooting me a final wave, then pulling the cruiser out of the parking lot.

  I turned and faced the desk clerk. “Had some excitement this evening?” The clerk was a middle-aged balding man with a sour, down turned mouth that didn’t match the friendly gleam in his deep set eyes.

  I smiled. “Fender bender. Do you have a non-smoking single?”

  He nodded. “Don’t get a lot of activity here Tuesday nights. You can pretty much have your pick.”

  “How about the Presidential Suite?”

  The clerk laughed and punched in an entry on his keyboard. “Good choice. Room 124. Second door when you walk out
of the lobby. Check out’s noon and the breakfast buffet will be set up here in the lobby by eight.”

  “Sounds like heaven.” I slid my credit card across the desk. He gave me a key card in exchange. I gave the desk clerk a weak salute and headed out for Room 124.

  The temperature had dropped probably another ten degrees by the time I walked outside again. The wind whipped through the trees, making them groan and howl loud enough to nearly drown out the freeway sounds. The hairs on the back of my neck rose as I had the sensation of being watched. Just like Jake had, I scanned the tree line, but saw nothing but pitch black and shaking foliage. I fumbled with the key card and went inside, grateful for the protection of four walls again.

  I closed the door behind me and engaged the deadbolt. I grabbed the plastic rod hanging from the corner of the bay window next to the door and closed the heavy curtains. The room was small, square, and clean. I had one double bed, a T.V., and a table. The only thing I cared about in that moment was the presence of hot water. I crossed the room to the bathroom and turned on the bathtub knobs. Water blasted out of the faucet and turned hot almost instantly. I pulled up the metal plunger and switched the shower on. The water pressure was hard and steady. For the moment, this was my own little slice of heaven.

  I peeled off my t-shirt and jeans. Under the harsh fluorescent lights, I finally got a look at the damage from the accident. I leaned across the sink and looked in the mirror. My bottom lip swelled a little where I’d struck it on the steering wheel. I fingered my jaw and moved it back and forth. It ached a little and I imagined I’d be sore in the morning. I had a little crust of blood just under my nose, but I was otherwise intact.

  Lucky. So lucky. It could have been much worse, just like Jake said over and over. I peeled off my tank top and underwear, and kicked my clothes into a heap in the corner of the bathroom. I stepped under the shower and washed the day away. I hadn’t packed any toiletries. My plan was to go shopping as soon as I got settled in the dorms. I’d just brought something to sleep in, and a change of clothes in my backpack. I wanted to start fresh. New clothes. New things. New life. I left most everything I owned in a storage unit back in Evanston. I’d sold the house and the money from that would get me comfortably through four years of college with what my scholarship didn’t pick up. It was settled and arranged, and the right thing to do for all the wrong reasons. It felt like running away, except I had nothing to leave behind.