Dare the Wolf: A Bully Boys Novel of Paranormal Romance

by Cassandra Moore

  But they could not diminish her strength. It shone in her eyes, bright and steady like the full moon on a cloudless night. He loved every part of her. Her gorgeous face, with all its character and classical beauty. Her incredible body, soft and curved in all the right places. Her voice, her laugh, her delicious scrambled eggs that she made because he hated to cook breakfast. Yet out of her myriad charms, he loved her strength the most. Strength to stand up against that which scared her. Strength to save the pack in the face of unnatural horrors. Maybe the most difficult of all, strength to love again, when love had never done right by her. This time, it will.

  Unable to help himself, he kissed her again. Her arms wrapped around him as she melted against his chest. There, amid the aftermath of violence, on the scene of a tragedy she had prevented, he made her a silent promise with his lips against hers. She gave her love to me. She trusted me with it. I will never give her a reason to regret that trust. After tonight, she’ll never have to face the world alone.

  The kiss lingered until it couldn’t last any longer. When it broke, he opened his eyes to look at her. Red and blue lights from the police cars in front of the house painted her face with strobes of color, but he barely noticed. The only light he saw was the light in her eyes. “I love you,” he said.

  This time, her smile held happiness alone. “I love you, too. God, I have so much to tell you.”

  “Later,” he told her. “Words later. Kissing now.”

  “Kissing now,” she agreed, leaning up on her toes for the promised kiss.

  As their lips met, applause erupted from the pack of Bully Boys who’d crept in around them while they’d distracted one another. Holly put two fingers in her mouth to whistle loudly. Levi smirked as if this were all his doing, and Jake could read the I told you so right there on Levi’s face. Even Shane applauded through the bittersweet emotions he had to be hiding behind his melancholy smile.

  Anita ducked her head, laughing against Jake’s chest. “Guess this is okay with them.”

  “I never had any doubts,” Jake said. He put his cheek against the top of her head. “Only thing I doubt right now is that they can run fast enough to get away from me. Cause I’m going to kill the bunch of ‘em for interrupting that kiss.”

  By the pack’s hoots and yowls, they didn’t share Jake’s doubts. He ignored their shit and pulled Anita into a long kiss worth catcalling.

  11

  The Roadmap to the Happiest Ever After

  The police had questions for the pack to answer. How many Ferals? How had they ended up so close to houses and civilization? Would they pose a closer, more present threat to the town? No one knew how to answer that, not yet, but they’d done their best. The threat to Coyote Trail had increased. The Bully Boys would answer it. But they needed some time to pin down what shape that danger would take. In the meantime, people needed to watch themselves.

  With the most pressing questions done, Anita had pulled one of the officers aside to ask about the best way to present her evidence toward both the arson investigation and Lou’s involvement with the Ferals. The policeman didn’t want to believe her at first. He changed his tune when she played the video for him. Shaken and angry, he promised to go to his superiors personally to advance her case.

  Rigo bullied Shane into packing a bag and staying at Casa Hernandez for the night. Ferals could return to Shane’s house after everyone had parted ways. Even if they didn’t, Shane would never rest easy with the possibility there. No one wanted to state the obvious, which was that plenty of people would lose sleep now that the fight against the Ferals had shifted in nature. Those worries wouldn’t go away soon.

  Anita, they just escorted to Jake’s bike. Shane got her a spare helmet out of his garage, one of an appropriate size for a woman. His grim smile as he handed it to her said it had belonged to Nicole. Anita took it and put it on. Maybe she could redeem the helmet with better memories.

  Two people had left Rigo’s house earlier. Four people returned. Mama Hernandez clucked and fussed about having no warning so she could make enough enchiladas for everyone to eat, about Rodrigo’s terrible manners, about getting blood out of their clothes, anything she could grouse about. Yet Anita could see the little smile on the older woman’s lips, and hear the fond affection behind all the grumbling. Each complaint was a worry, and every worry came from love. The Bully Boys and their mates were as much family to her as her own children.

  Anita had always wondered what it might be like to have a mother who cared about her own welfare less than the welfare of the child she’d birthed. Five minutes with Mama Hernandez convinced Anita that the ownership of a loving mother might have exhausted her. Two hours with Mama Hernandez further convinced Anita to wish she’d spent her life exhausted by the older woman’s brand of aggressive affection. Mama Hernandez resembled Anita’s own mother in the same way a grizzly bear resembled a porcupine.

  Mama Hernandez sent her son and Jake to go buy milk and eggs with a casual yet imperious command. Rigo offered to go by himself, but she wouldn’t hear of it. Jake shrugged at Anita and grabbed his vest to go along. Once the two men had ridden off, Mama Hernandez disappeared to leave Anita and Shane alone in the living room. Anita suddenly understood why milk and eggs took two werewolves to shop for.

  “We’re kind of a sorry pair, aren’t we,” Anita said into the awkward silence.

  Shane’s eyes focused on her instead of whatever thought he’d been brooding on. “Hm?”

  “I said, we’re kind of a sorry pair. Last time we hung out together, Lou had gone out to the car to get that parts catalog he wanted to show you. He had big plans for your bike.” She leaned forward to put her empty plate on the coffee table.

  Shane snorted. “Big plans for my girlfriend, too. The girlfriend who told you she’d be glad to help you with the dinner dishes after she made a phone call.”

  “Then stepped out and didn’t come back in for two hours. After I’d done the dishes.”

  “That’s the one.” With a sigh, he relaxed back into the couch cushions. “Yep. We’re kind of a sorry pair. God, I was an idiot. How did I not see what was happening?”

  “How did we not see what was happening. Because it wasn’t just you who was blind.” Anita let her head drop back against the couch. “There were a hundred signs we were being played. But you know… They were happening in a place we couldn’t see from where we were standing. We got so used to the familiar view, we didn’t think to poke around in the dark corners.”

  “Why would we? We shouldn’t have had to look in the dark corners for trouble. Those people were supposed to love us.” The bitterness in his voice and the pain on his face stung her heart. Shane had always been kind to her, no matter that he’d been Lou’s friend and she’d been the Jonny Come Lately to the relationship. The alpha wolf had deserved better than Nicole had given him.

  “Maybe they did, once. Before they decided they loved themselves more.”

  “I’m not sure if I hope they did or not.” Shane bunched his shoulders in a shrug Anita knew couldn’t be as casual as he tried to make it look. “It’s strange, but I feel like I ought to apologize to you. For Lou, who used to be my friend. For Nicole, who- Well. Who I guess was never who I thought she was.”

  Anita propped her feet on the coffee table. Then took them down, because Mama Hernandez might appear and scold her. “Only if I can apologize for Lou. He cost you more than any one man should have, and almost cost you your life.”

  “The life you may have saved by sending Rigo and Jake after me. Nicole came a lot closer to killing you, from what I hear.” Shane’s words died off. Anita saw the questions bubble up, watched his jaw work as he decided to inquire, thought better of it, changed his mind, changed it again. “Did she really set fire to Jake’s trailer?” was what he asked at last.

  “She really did. Then she helped sell you out to that Feral in charge. I’ve got the video, if you want to see it.” Anita infused her voice with sympathy, but there was no way she
could soften that blow. Nothing could.

  Shane squeezed his eyes closed. He took a deep breath, let it out, and took another. At first, she wondered if he’d gotten angry enough to rouse his inner wolf. Then he forced down a swallow, and she realized he was fighting down tears.

  “Just… Send it to me. I’ll watch it later,” he said, when he’d steadied his voice.

  “Sure.” She left it at that. No matter how guilty he felt for his friend, and his lover, she owed him the dignity of crying on his own time. “So, I’ve got a couple propositions for you. One’s business. One’s personal. Which do you want first?”

  Grateful for the subject change, Shane answered, “Business first. Get that out of the way.”

  Get it out of the way, and take a break from the topics that are stabbing us through the heart. Anita didn’t mind. “Remember how I bought the garage for Lou when we got together? Then I had to twist his arm to sign it into his name?”

  “I remember,” Shane said.

  “Bet you can guess what Lou didn’t do.”

  “Take care of his legal- Wait.” Shane sat up fast. “He didn’t sign the place into his name like he said he did?”

  “Nope. Told me he did, apparently told you he did, but he was lying. Big surprise, right?” She nodded toward the room she shared with Jake. “I’ve got the deed. It’s in my name. Tomorrow, after I talk to the police, I’m going to talk to a lawyer about taking possession of the garage. I’m going to manage it myself.”

  “That’s fucking fantastic!” For the first time that night, Shane looked happy. One piece of good news helped to balance out all the rotten shit that had happened. “Who are you going to get to work on the cars?”

  “I’m going to keep the guys Lou had on payroll for a little bit, while I find folks I like better. Unless you think they’re not worth paying.”

  “They’re good enough for basic work. No surprise Lou was the best mechanic in the shop. He liked it that way.”

  “That’s the other thing. I want to build that shop up for the pack. Whatever you guys need for your bikes, I want to have it.” She canted her head. “How’d you like to help me hire some mechanics? We can dig up some resumes from nearby cities. Find someone who meets your standards. What do you think?”

  “I think that’s the best news I’ve heard all week. And I think I really needed it.” He collapsed back into the embrace of the sofa again. “God, I’m tired, Anita. I haven’t slept for shit this week, but it’s more than that. I feel like I’m exhausted to the marrow of my bones. But it helps to know my pack’s rides will be taken care of.”

  “I’ve got your back, Shane. I’ve always got your back. And now we land on the personal matter.” She heaved herself out of the plush couch cushions so she could sit next to Shane. “We both lost people in all this shit. Let’s gain something, too. From now on, what do you say we watch out for each other? We’re the only ones who really understand the fire we walked through.”

  “Literally, in your case.”

  She chuckled wryly. “That’s true enough. And you were right there when I stepped out of the flames. Pretty sure that makes us friends until the end.”

  He glanced over at her, expression full of a wariness she knew all too well. Then he scooped her hand into his to enfold it in his grip. “That’s exactly what it does. Friends until the end.”

  Anita caught movement in the doorway. As she watched, Mama Hernandez slipped away on silent feet to go take care of other matters. Anita smiled, and sat with Shane in comfortable silence until Rigo and Jake got home.

  The clock showed a time half past late as Anita rested her head on Jake’s chest. She lay in the hazy afterglow of passion, content and safe with the man she had declared her mate. A lupine word, but one she felt fit better than any other.

  “Boyfriend” had led her astray. “Husband” had betrayed her. “Mate” was for life. No takebacks.

  She’d started to drift into a doze when Jake’s voice rumbled in her ear. “Does it bug you that I’m an animal sometimes?”

  “Hm?” She flexed her fingers against his chest, over his heart. “No. Of course not. That animal you turn into gives you the strength to keep the folk in this town safe. Why would it bug me?”

  “The Ferals are animals, too. No one’s in a hurry to call them heroes or ask them to get their shit together.” Jake draped his arm around her bare shoulders.

  “That’s because they’d rather tear humans limb from limb than help anyone stay safe.” Idly, she traced patterns in his chest hair with her fingertip. “Where’d this worry come from?”

  His fingertips stroked her upper arm with tiny caresses. “That Feral I killed tonight. There was wolf in him, too. I could see it. And he asked me what made us different. I didn’t have an answer except to tear his throat out.”

  “Not a bad answer, since he’d tried to kill Shane a couple minutes before.”

  “He had, but… What if he was trying to kill Shane because he’s dead set to kill every Feral he sees? Hell, that’s what all of us do. See a Feral, run it down, bury it deep.” His fingers stilled so he could squeeze her arm.

  She turned onto her belly so she could look at him. “Jake, you saw Los Angeles.”

  “I did.” His brows knit together, very like the looks worn by concerned canines, or lupines, around the world. “What happened in L.A. ain’t ever going to leave me. But maybe because I saw it, I have to ask what makes me different than the Ferals we’re hunting down. Am I just as bad?”

  “You listen to me, Jake Ballard.” She levered up on her elbows to prop herself nearer his eye level. “You want to know what the difference is between you and the Ferals? You don’t threaten to bribe the town for safety. You don’t offer to cut people down if they don’t do as you say. You give yourself to this town every day. Even when they don’t ask. Even when they’re assholes.”

  A little smile quirked up the corners of his lips. “And Lord, can they be assholes.”

  “Mm-hmm.” She prodded him in the chest with one finger. “Ferals can be animals, it’s true. But that’s all they are. The difference is that you can be a man.”

  Jake stared at her for a long moment, concern still written across his face. At last, he nodded, and the furrows in his brow eased away. “Suppose you’re right.”

  “I know I am.” Satisfied for the moment, Anita nestled her head against his shoulder. “People who end up on the wrong side of life, they don’t set out to end up that way. They do what they think is right and don’t ask too many questions about it. But if folks aren’t careful, they’ll get sucked right in to the bad decisions.”

  He kissed the top of her head. “And who decides what’s wrong and what’s right, when it’s all said and done?”

  “The people who write the history.”

  “You mean the winners.”

  “Losers don’t get to write much.” She shifted her head to look up at him again. “Don’t let them get in your head. In life, there’s a few things pretty much everyone can agree are wrong. The Ferals crossed that line.”

  “You’re right.” Still pensive, he wrapped his arms around her to hold her close.

  As she tucked her head back down in a comfortable cuddle, she wondered if she ought to worry about Jake’s questions enough to take them to Shane. Existential concerns had to come with living as a creature one step to the side of human. Ferals were the closest species to werewolves. How many times have I wondered if humans weren’t the worst thing to happen to the Earth? How many times have I stopped wondering, because I knew the damn answer?

  A question occurred. “Jake?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Where did werewolves come from?”

  “No one knows. We just are, and as far as we know, we’ve always been. Lot of people have asked that question. Drove scientists batshit for a long time. Most they’ve ever come up with is that it’s a disease, one you can inherit, but not like any other disease they’ve seen.”

  “What about the F
erals? When the Beast Plague hit, it seemed like there was a new explanation for it every day.”

  Jake gusted a tense breath. “There was. Governments wanted folks to believe it sprung up naturally. Or that the disease that makes werewolves mutated and came up Ferals. Neither of those are true.”

  “So where did Ferals come from, then?”

  “Los Angeles.”

  Moonlight slipped across the floor as she considered what he’d said. Before the silvery patch of light from the window crept more than halfway across the room, she fell asleep.

  As the sun burned at the zenith of the sky and baked down with the intensity of an Arizona summer, a pack of police cars drove down the lane that led to Calderon Auto. Anita watched them over Jake’s shoulder as she and her mate followed on the werewolf’s motorcycle. The white cars looked like the Four Horsemen of Lou Calderon and Nicole Fleming’s personal apocalypse to her. In a way, it was her apocalypse, too. The true end of the world she’d lived in before.

  Unlike Lou, she looked forward to the life she’d build after. Once the police had done their duty, she reckoned Lou would consider it the unfair end to all he’d worked for. A tiny part of her felt guilty for it. She told that tiny part to shut its mouth.

  One of the mechanics spotted the first vehicles in the procession as they came around the bend. He trotted across the front yard to duck into the office. By the time the police cars pulled up outside the maintenance bays, Lou himself stepped out, wiping his hands on a greasy rag. Before they’d left the house that morning, she’d wondered if Lou would run when he saw the cops, or if he’d come to work at all.

  Seeing his casual façade now, though, she understood. He’d already learned to live with the sins he hid behind his genial demeanor. By now, he’d lied to half the town, and sold them out while wearing an easy smile.

  That smile slipped when he saw the motorcycle behind the police cars. Lou knew every Bully’s bike on sight. His hand clenched around the rag. The muscles in his jaw twitched as he fought down the anger he couldn’t let loose in front of law enforcement. Anger had forever drowned out Lou’s better judgement, from the first day Anita had met him. No, he wouldn’t run now. He couldn’t. His pride would never allow it.