by D. Fischer
Evo Johnson
Ben takes a seat across from my desk as I lean back in my office chair. He brought a folder with him and I’m curious as to what it contains.
“I looked into Chris Kenner’s history,” he begins.
His cryptic words make me raise my eyebrows. Patience isn’t always my strong suit.
“Go on,” I wave.
“He’s from the Gray Pack.”
I frown. “I don’t recognize the name of that Pack.”
“I didn’t either, so I did some digging. Their territory isn’t far from here. About fifty miles. The Pack Alpha is extremely … difficult. He run’s his Pack like a cult. He basically makes his Pack worship him and he never lets them leave their territory. From what I hear, the Alpha is controlling and very much on the loony side.”
“So, what does this have to do with Kenner? How did he get banned?”
Ben clears his throat. “He didn’t. Kenner is the Gray Pack Alpha’s son. He ran a few years ago because he wanted to find his mate. Since his father wouldn’t let his wolves off the territory, he did the only thing he could and left while his father was unaware. The Alpha is still looking for his son.”
“So, going Rogue is what turned Kenner insane. He couldn’t join another Pack because his father would find out. I’m also guessing he never found his mate.”
“That’s what I’m thinking, too. It’s rough to hold onto that sanity when you’re not a part of a Pack. Lord knows how Kenna did it. Did you notice that his victims are always female?”
“Yeah, I did, but I couldn’t find any other connection besides that.”
“I have a theory. If his wolf went insane, doesn’t it make sense that his wolf was searching for his mate, trying to find it in any female he showed interest in, then lead that female to her death when his wolf discovered she wasn’t his mate?” Ben has always been excellent at reading people and what makes them tick. It’s what makes him an excellent choice for Beta.
“Hmm. That’s a good theory. I wonder why he hasn’t taken anyone recently.”
Ben shrugs. “Your guess is as good as mine. I have the Pack Alpha’s number here if you want to give him a call. It might be a good idea to let him know we are going after his son.”
We probably should let the Alpha know, even though I’m not looking forward to having a conversation with this guy. If the situation were reversed, I would want to be informed on one of my missing wolves.
I nod and grab my phone from my pocket, dialing the Alpha’s number as Ben rattles it off. “His name is George Kenner.”
I nod and listen to the phone ringing. “Hello?” a female voice answers.
“Hello, this is Evo Johnson, Alpha of the Cloven Pack. Who am I speaking with?”
“Oh, ah … this is Victoria Dunlap. Um—I’m not—I’m just a member of the Pack—I mean, I don’t have any authority. Do you want me to get my Alpha?”
I raise my eyebrows. This female wolf is extremely nervous. “Yes, if you could, that would be great, Victoria.”
I hear her set down the phone without another word. In a minute or two, the phone is picked up and a gruff voice comes through the receiver. “This is George. Who’s calling?”
“Mr. Kenner, this is Evo Johnson, Alpha of the Cloven Pack.”
“What do you want?” he growls.
I frown. Not only does he run is Pack like a cult, he is a rude fucker. “I’m calling about your son, Chris.”
“I haven’t seen Chris in years. Whatever he’s done to you and your Pack is no business of mine. What’s this about?”
I sigh, already sick of this conversation. “We believe he’s gone Rogue and is running loose in our city. We have reason to think that he’s abducting and killing women.”
The receiver is silent for a few seconds. “He’s here? I’ll take care of this. Is that all?”
“Actually, George,” I am done with trying to show this guy any ounce of respect, “this is now my responsibility. He’s tried attacking one of my wolves already, aside from recklessly rampaging through this town and chancing the discovery of wolf shifters. The FBI is already on him and is keeping a close watch out for him. I don’t plan to hand him over to you nor do I plan to let him live.”
I am well within my right to take care of this situation. If another wolf went after another Pack, it is within that Pack’s right to deliver justice. There is no way I am going to tell him he went after my mate as well because that would mean that I, myself, have every right to kill him.
“You will do no such thing,” George screams into the receiver.
“Oh, I will. This is not your problem anymore. Chris has gone Rogue and there’s no saving him. He attacked a member of my Pack, and we are within our right for retaliation and justice. We will deal with him as we see fit. I called to keep you informed on a wolf that you let go Rogue. I don’t care if he’s your son.”
“You’ll regret this! If you kill him, you’ll regret this. My wolves and I will come after you,” George screams.
“Then, I suppose we’ll be waiting for your visit. Have a good day, George.” I hang up the phone.
Ben, who has an amused expression, has heard every word with his wolf hearing. “That was … interesting. Think he’ll live up to his word?”
“I have no doubt.” I smile back. It’s been a while since I saw any action. A part of me is hoping he does retaliate. I can be ruthless if I need to be, and my Pack is more than ready for such a challenge. It’s what I’ve been preparing them for.
“I’m looking forward to it. Should I be planning for such a thing?” Ben smiles.
“Probably. Let’s table that for now. What else you got?” I incline my head to the folder he brought.
Ben looks at me sheepishly. “Uh … well … I wanted to wait until you made that call before I told you the rest. I figured it would cloud your judgment. While I was looking up Kenner’s information, I also found a few things about a missing child that was reported by a … err … Pack.”
“Ben, if you don’t get on with it, I will seriously punch you in the face. After dealing with that asshole, I’m in no mood. Use your words. Explain to me what the hell you’re talking about.”
Ben puts the folder on the table and opens the first page.
I read about the child. Brown hair and brown eyes, whose date reported missing is the day before Kenna was found. My heart sinks.
“Which Pack is she from?”
Makenna Goldwin
Bre is laying her head on my lap while the entire Pack, minus Ben, Evo, and Jazz, is gathered in the Alpha’s living room.
How odd—if you would have told me a few weeks ago that I would be living with a man I love, discovered I had a wolf heritage, belonged to this family we call a Pack, and be attacked by a vampire hired by a psychotic wolf shifter who lost his marbles, I would have laughed in your face. So much has changed. I’ve changed. Before, I didn’t know it was possible for someone to change—I never actually believed in that.
Idly playing with Bre’s shoulder-length blond hair, both our bodies shake as we laugh at Flint and Dyson.
“Remember that time when you first started working out?” Flint asks Dyson, already snickering at the memory.
“Don’t you say it, man!” Dyson threatens.
Smiling with curiosity, I look at Flint. “Do tell.”
“Well you see, Dyson thought he was a bad ass and … Son of a bitch!” Flint yells while still laughing. Dyson had thrown his shoe at him and it hit him square in the jaw. We all laugh at the dramatics.
“He decided it would be a grand idea to read while running on the treadmill. When he was done running, he shut off the machine, stepped off, and fell flat on his face!” Flint dramatically demonstrates.
Defending himself, Dyson shouts over our laughter, “Oh, come on! It was a case of vertigo! You can’t tell me that it’s never happened to any of you before!”
Kelsey, still giggling
, replies, “Well, of course not! None of us have tried to squeeze in a chapter during a two-mile run!”
“Must have been a damn good book.” I laugh.
“It was a manual” he replies, a sheepish blush overtaking the color of his cheeks.
“That’s even worse, Dyson,” Bre replies.
My stomach hurts and tears are streaming down my face from laughing so hard, while Dyson fakes hurt feelings at us finding his predicament hilarious. I know his feelings aren’t hurt. I feel amusement coming from him. He’s enjoying being a part of a joke.
Ben and Evo come down the stairs and round into the living room. Immediately, I know Evo is trying to hide his emotions. He is upset and sad. Ben … well, Ben is straight angry.
I frown and am just about to ask what is up, when he looks at me and shakes his head slightly, letting me know we will discuss it later.
“We’re going to leave tonight and head to the bar where Kenna’s witness last saw Kenner to see if we can get a lead on him. We found out a little about him, so we are hoping we can use that information to our advantage.”
Everyone is silent as he makes his way around the couch to scoot Bre over so he can sit next to me.
“He’s from the Gray Pack.” At everyone’s frowns, he holds up his hand to stop the questions from spilling out of our mouths. “It’s a very secluded Pack. He wasn’t banished. He had left on his own when he decided to search for his mate. I already talked to their Alpha and he’s not happy that we plan to deal with this on our own because Chris Kenner is the Alpha’s son. We also need to be prepared since the Gray Pack may come knocking on our door.”
“Should we call for back up?” Flint asks.
“Ben thinks it’s a good idea to see if the Riva Pack would be willing to stand beside us if it comes down to it. Do you still have your connections to that Pack?” he asks Flint who nodded. “Good. Why don’t you put in a call and have their Alpha call me when he’s available.”
“The Riva Pack?” I ask.
“They’re friends of ours—it’s a neighboring Pack. Some of our old wolves transferred there,” Bre supplies.
I can tell Evo is leaving information out. I resolve to ask him more details later. It is important that I knew everything for my investigation.
Evo looks at me. “Kenna, baby … Ben and I discussed it. We think it best if you stay behind.” I start to object, but he doesn’t let me get a word in. “I know this is your fight, baby, but if we run across Kenner, he will have a harder time recognizing one of us instead of both. If he catches sight of both of us, he will run before we ever get the chance to catch him.” That isn’t the only reason, I can tell. It is just a half truth, but I can’t focus on that. I am fuming.
This is my investigation and finding Cassie’s abductor is my responsibility. I also am mad because I know he has a point. The fewer recognizable people, the better.
Taking opportunity from my silent fuming, he continues, “I’ll take Ben in your place and you’ll stay with Kelsey and Jeremy. They’re also staying behind because we can’t leave the territory undefended.”
Ben puts in his two cents. “It would be responsible to leave one of our Alphas behind. It wouldn’t be smart to have both of our Alphas in danger.”
I mumble some not so nice things under my breath as I cross my arms over my chest and avert my gaze to the wall. I’m so angry that I don’t even want to look at them.
“I’m going to stay behind, too,” Bre announces. She turns to me and smiles. “I’ll keep you company.”
I know why she isn’t going. With Ben now a part of the group that is going to track Kenner, with the lustful atmosphere of a bar, I know it would be a blow to her. Nothing could suck more than watching the man you love being approached by other women or watching other couples have what you don’t have. And then to have Flint there as well. He would definitely be laying on the moves. I’ve gathered that the ‘ladies’ are his hobby. Avoiding all of that would be a less stressful night. Staying here is best for her, emotionally.
I can feel her relief when Evo nods. Eventually, I’m going to have to do something with this Ben and Bre thing. Seeing her hurt like this breaks my heart. I’ve come to love this girl. Ben is getting close to landing on my shit list for ignoring her. I can feel that he doesn’t see her that way, which means one thing—he’s completely oblivious that his mate is in front of his face. It’s making me question if he is even interested in finding his mate.
“So, what do we do when we see him?” Flint asks. Though his question is directed at Evo, his eyes are searching Bre’s face trying to find answers to the reasoning behind her announcement of staying behind. I’m going to have to do something about the Flint and Bre thing, too. I sigh. I’ll just add that to my to-do list. I sort of feel bad for Flint. If Ben and Bre ever do get together, I may have to help him through it if he doesn’t come to terms on his own.
Evo spares me a glance at the sound of my annoyance. He’s probably assuming I’m throwing a tantrum about not going. Though I’m annoyed with being left behind, I’m more concerned with the love triangle that is plaguing my Pack at the moment. Flint likes Bre. Bre loves Ben. Ben doesn’t know Bre exists. A triangle all –right—a triangle of doom. And I’m determined to fix it.
“I don’t want anyone roaming around by themselves. Everyone must be in pairs or a group. There’s a chance he won’t be at any of the bars tonight. If he is, as soon as you see Kenner, pursue him. We can’t let him abduct anyone else and we can’t let him get away.”
Kelsey looks around. “Where’s Jazz?”
Evo frowns as he searches the room with his eyes. I admit, I’m a little smug that he didn’t notice she wasn’t here. I noticed, though; her hatred isn’t coating the air and sucking the fun out of life.
“Earlier, she said she was going to town for some shopping or something,” Ben supplies with a shrug.
Kelsey rolls her eyes. “She’ll be gone for a while then. I doubt she’ll be going along with you guys.”
“Probably not. Though the bars are her thing, I doubt she’d want to help go to capture this guy. She has never gotten her hands dirty. It’s probably best that she stays behind. She’d probably slow us down, anyway,” Dyson says. Though he’s on the nerdy side, I can tell Dyson is looking forward to a little action.
Over the next hour, everyone who is going goes over all the possible scenarios. After a while, I excuse myself to our room for a shower. I feel grimy from practicing this morning with Bre and still have a few spots of dried blood on my face. I also have an errand to run.
Needing to get out of here and meet with the last friend of Cassie’s I plan to interview, I have to shower fast. But I also need someone to come with me. The friend, Chad, wants to meet outside a bar tonight since he already plans to be there with his friends later this evening. Bre will be a good choice to take.
I decide to try my hand with telepathy while I rinse shampoo out of my hair. Bre?
Kenna? She’s confused, and rightly so—I never used the telepathy before.
Feel like a road trip?
There is a short pause. Where to?
I have to meet one more friend. The kicker is, you can’t tell Evo. Not until after we get back. Can you be ready in thirty minutes? I don’t want him freaking out and holding me captive. I need to talk with this guy.
Yeah, of course. Where are we going?
I ignore her question. Dress casual and meet me by the garage.
Thirty minutes later, Bre and I are headed to the downtown area. We sit in silence, listening to Too Old To Die Young by Brother Dege—which makes me smile ironically—but I can tell she is bursting with questions about where we are headed.
I decide to break the silence with a different topic. “How are you doing with this Ben thing?” I ask.
“I’m alright,” she responds while keeping her eyes on the road.
“No, you’re not,” I reply, taking my eyes off the road
for a second and giving her a pointed look.
“Nope.” She pops the ‘p’ like she always does.
“What are you going to do?”
“What can I do?” She shrugs.
“Well, … you could approach him. I don’t think he has any idea that you two are mates.”
“He doesn’t. He’s all consumed with his Beta stuff. It’s tempting to approach him, but I want him to see me. You know, like actually see me. To him, I’m just a little side blimp compared his duties. A wolf that he’ll only pay attention to if I’m coming to him with Pack stuff. That’s all he sees me as.”
I sigh. “You’ve got me there. I don’t have a romantic bone in my body, so I can’t give you solid advice here. The only words of wisdom I can give you is to give him an ass whooping. I’m sure he’ll see you then. Preferably when he’s bloodied and laying on the floor, wondering what hit him.”
She thinks about it and then smiles. “That brings such a tempting scenario in my head. It would get out a lot of frustration I have toward him, too. But it still won’t help me reach my goal for him to see me for what I am. Or what I’m supposed to be to him.”
“Yeah.”
“How are you and Evo?” She changes the subject. I understand that she is uncomfortable with her situation.
“Good. It’s different—I’ve never had anything like this in my life so I have nothing to compare it to.”
“That’s good. You’ve changed a lot since you came here. When you got here you were all doom and gloom, or whatever.”
“Yeah, I sort of was.”
I smile when one of my favorite artists comes on. When I start to sing along to Glitter and Gold by Barns Courtney, Bre’s sad expression morphs to amusement.
“You like Barns Courtney?” I can feel her approval for my choice in music.
I’ve always loved songs that have a blues or jazz feel to it. Evo says my taste in music is more of a new-age Johnny Cash. Whatever works. Johnny Cash has a special place in my heart, too.
Shuffling my shoulders to the beat, I ignore her question and give her a look that says I don’t intend to dance it out in the car all by myself. I’ll look like an idiot if I must, but it’s much more enjoyable when it’s a party of dancing idiots.