by Zoe Chant
“Yeah,” Ken said. “There’s a reason I ran away and joined the military.”
Lynn felt her mouth quirk a little. “Where they told you what to do and wanted to control every aspect of your life?”
“Hey.” There was laughter hinting at the edges of Ken’s voice. “I never said it was an especially smart decision.”
“But it worked out for you.” Lynn was honestly curious.
“It did,” Ken said, thoughtful. “I think I ended up kind of a hybrid. My parents and the Marines trained me to be prepared for every possibility, always be ready in a crisis, know what was going to happen next. And I’m good at that, when I have to be. But I still like to go with the flow, when I can. I never thought I’d end up as an environmental scientist, after all. I just figured that I’d go back to school and do something that let me be outside a lot.”
“Well,” Lynn said, “I’m glad you did.”
His voice was warm. “Me, too. Although I bet we’d have ended up finding each other, no matter what I did.”
“I hope so.” Lynn didn’t like to think about the possibility that they might not have. That she could’ve been driving out to face a wolf pack alone…she shivered.
“Hey.” His hand was warm on her thigh. “I’m here, don’t worry about it. Tell me more about your family. Stella has a daughter?”
Lynn broke out into a smile. “Eva. Eva’s a great kid. Although—” She had to laugh at herself a little. “It’s possible I’m saying that because Eva’s more like me.”
“Oh, man. A planner daughter and a flighty mom? I’m picturing the epic fights now.”
“You’re not wrong.” Lynn gave in and laughed a little. “It’s not as much of a disaster as it could be, I don’t think. Stella has an easier time listening to Eva than she does listening to me, for whatever reason. But Eva’s still a kid—seventeen—and so she can’t always know what the best thing to do is. And, of course, sometimes Stella’s just going to do what Stella’s going to do.”
“Like getting with this guy?”
“Like getting with this guy,” Lynn confirmed.
“Do you know anything about him?” Ken sounded more serious now. “Or his pack?”
“Not much,” Lynn admitted. “I only met him once. He didn’t seem dangerous or anything, just kind of—whiny and unimpressive. The sort of guy who gets captivated by Stella because she’s pretty and funny all the time. I don’t know why she picked him. He’s attractive, I guess.”
“You guess?” Ken’s voice was teasing again.
“I don’t like them little and weedy,” Lynn said pointedly. “I want a guy with some substance to him.”
“Aha,” Ken said. “I better not quit lifting, then.”
Lynn didn’t dignify that one with an answer. “Anyway, I’ve never met the rest of his pack at all. There’s a lot of wolves in the forests up here, and I’ve never gotten to know most of them very well. They stick together.”
Ken nodded. “Wolves are like that.” He leaned back in his seat, thinking. “Okay. Well, let’s figure that first we text or call Stella when we get there, see if she thinks it’s safe for her and her daughter to just come out on their own. Say they’re going out for food or something.”
Lynn nodded. That would be easier, for sure.
“Then, if they think that isn’t a good idea, or if someone tries to stop them, we can go in. I’ll go first.”
Lynn shot him a glance. “What if I want to go first?”
“I’ll point out that if there’s a room full of hostile wolf shifters in there, I want to be the one they’re looking at, because I’m a Marine veteran and my shifter form is scarier than yours,” Ken shot back.
Lynn sighed. “Fair enough. I just don’t like the idea of you putting yourself in danger.”
“Well, neither do I, and I have a better argument so I win,” Ken said, with an air of finality.
Lynn had to laugh. How could he make such a serious situation seem funny? And there wasn’t any sense of—ignoring it, or making fun of how worried she was. She knew he was taking this absolutely seriously, that he did want to protect her, and that he was depending on his combat experience to see this through.
And yet somehow, he knew exactly when to turn the conversation lighthearted, so anxiety didn’t completely take over her body, leave her tense and shaky and too scared for Stella to think things through.
“Anyway, this works tactically as well. Because I’ll come through the door, and the wolves won’t be expecting me, and they’ll see me as a threat and not you, because I’m willing to bet they’re sexist as hell, right? So they’ll be staring at me, and meanwhile you can hustle Stella and Eva right out the door, and we can all run away like little bunnies before they even know anything’s wrong,” Ken finished.
Lynn glanced over. “Like little bunnies?”
“Terrified little bunnies,” he confirmed. “That’s the smartest tactical choice, unless they make a real move to stop us leaving.”
Suddenly, another thing to worry about. “You think they will?”
Ken shrugged. “Not sure. I’ll have a better idea when I meet them. And if they do, just keep back and don’t worry. They won’t be expecting a fight, and I’ve stayed in good practice since I left the Corps. How far out are we?”
“Still a ways,” she said. Despite all of his cheerful optimism, a chill was starting to seep into her bones. “Will you—?” She stopped.
“Will I what?”
“Nothing. It’s stupid.”
“Don’t you call my mate’s ideas stupid,” he said with gentle reproof. “What?”
She sighed. “Will you just—talk? About something silly? I need a distraction.”
“That is so far from stupid, Lynn,” he said, still in that gentle tone. “Getting worked up and scared before doing something dangerous is a bad idea. It makes you reactive and dumb, in the moment. You want to be calm and relaxed, and sometimes the best way to be calm and relaxed is to tell silly stories. Very well-established Marine training technique.”
She smiled. “Oh, yes?”
“Oh, yes,” he said. “Here, I can tell you about some more well-established Marine training techniques. You’ll appreciate them, I’m sure.”
And he launched into a series of stories about Marine recruits doing the dumbest things she had ever personally heard of. Each one was sillier than the last.
“Balancing it on his head,” she repeated once, not sure if she could quite believe it.
“Did his entire drill that way,” Ken confirmed. “Which reminds me of the time that Rafferty dared Jansen to eat an entire MRE off the top of Kowalski’s head—”
Marines, Lynn eventually had to conclude, were a crazy bunch.
The stories passed the time so well, they were pulling onto the street where Todd lived almost before Lynn realized it.
“This is it,” she interrupted a tale of Vandalization By Condom Balloons. “Coming up here.”
Ken peered out into the gloom. “He lives down here? He has a house?”
“Yep,” Lynn confirmed. She’d memorized the address when Stella had given it to her, a couple of months ago. Just in case something like this happened.
“Okay. Pull up a little ways away—not into the driveway, far enough that he won’t be alerted we’re right outside. Then text your sister that we’re here, ask if she can get out fast and easy.”
Lynn nodded. It was such a relief to have someone with her who knew how best to handle this situation, who would be prepared if something went wrong.
It was more of a relief that that person was Ken. Her mate. Whose warm, encouraging voice told her that he trusted her, too.
She pulled over and got out her phone, texting Stella, I’m here. Parked on the street. Can you and Eva come out?
There was a long, long pause while she waited. Ken reached over and took her hand. “If she doesn’t respond, that’s okay,” he said. “There are plenty more steps to take.”
Five min
utes passed. Seven. Ten. “I don’t think she’s going to answer,” Lynn said finally.
“That’s fine. Try calling her.”
So she did. It rang once, and then suddenly Stella’s voice was loud in her ears. “See, she’s calling me!” she shouted. “Lynn, I’m coming—!”
“No, you aren’t!” a male voice yelled.
“Stella, I’m coming in right now,” Lynn said tersely. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
Ken was already getting out of the car, and Lynn followed him, keeping the call open in case anything happened in the few minutes it took them to run up the drive towards the house.
Ken reached the door first. He didn’t bother knocking. It wasn’t locked, and he burst in with Lynn right behind him.
The occupants of the house froze in surprise at the sight of them. Lynn took in the tableau with a quick glance.
There were six men in the room. All shifters, Lynn was pretty sure—this must be the pack, then.
Todd, the boyfriend, had Stella’s arm in a tight grip. Behind her was Eva, looking white and scared. Standing next to Eva was the biggest of the six pack members, a six-foot-plus hulking man with a bushy beard. Eva’s eyes jumped to Lynn as the door opened, but then they went right back to the man.
“Called your sister to come rescue you, huh?” Todd snarled as Lynn came in. “That’s not going to help. Even if she brought her boyfriend.”
“Are you hurt?” Lynn asked tensely, looking from Stella to Eva.
“No,” Stella said, her voice steady. Eva shook her head.
“They’re not leaving,” the big man said.
“What do you care?” Lynn snapped, taking a step forward. She could feel Ken as a warm, solid presence at her back.
The other four members of the pack, thankfully, were sprawled in front of the TV, where there was a game on. Clearly they hadn’t thought that a fight between Todd and his girlfriend was enough to stir themselves.
But now they were starting to sit up and take notice. Lynn kept her focus on Todd and the big man. The pack alpha, maybe?
“Well,” the big man said reasonably, “that’s none of your goddamn business, is it? You’re not a part of this pack.”
“Neither are they,” Lynn said. “They’re not wolves.”
Behind her, Ken said thoughtfully, “How many women do you have in this pack of yours?”
There was a long silence.
Lynn understood, and then wished she hadn’t. These guys hadn’t been able to keep any female shifters around—no wonder, if this was how they treated them. The alpha didn’t want to let Stella and Eva go, because then they’d be an all-male group, not a real pack at all.
“You can’t just kidnap people like this,” she said firmly, and strode forward, hoping that the men’s focus would turn to her, and Stella and Eva would have a chance to run away.
It sort of worked.
The big alpha definitely turned his focus to Lynn—he stepped up to meet her, reaching out to grab her by the elbow before she could reach her sister or her niece. Eva took the opportunity—smart girl! Lynn thought—and darted away while his attention was on Lynn, disappearing behind Lynn’s back somewhere.
Lynn tried to yank her arm away, but the alpha’s grip was too strong, and he caught her other arm when she tried. “Ow!” she said, glaring.
There was a rush of air.
The alpha’s hands slipped from her like they were made of water, and when Lynn was able to focus again, she saw that Ken had him up against a wall, one arm twisted up behind his back. The alpha was swearing a blue streak, but Ken’s voice cut sharply over him when he said, “Don’t touch her again.”
The room seemed to freeze for a moment. Lynn wondered if the others were afraid. Any fear she’d felt had vanished in the moment her mate made his presence known.
Ken kept the alpha in an armlock for a few more beats…and then stepped back and released him.
“Okay,” he said calmly, as though nothing had happened. “You’re going to let these women go now. We’re all going to head out and drive away, and no one’s going to be hurt.”
“Or what?” Todd got himself together enough to whine. He turned to Stella. “You think this is all over just because you brought your sister’s boyfriend to come try and beat me up?”
The alpha was shaking himself out, watching Ken with a bit of a bewildered look on his face, like he couldn’t understand what had just happened. Ken was staying between him and Lynn.
“I’m not her boyfriend,” Ken said. His voice was mild, but somehow it still carried throughout the room. The other men had started muttering to each other—when Lynn looked over, she saw that they’d stood up, no longer staring at the TV—but they fell silent when Ken spoke.
“I’m her mate,” Ken continued. “This is my family that you’re threatening. I don’t appreciate it when people threaten my family. I also don’t appreciate it when a man won’t let go of a woman when she wants to get away.”
“She doesn’t know what she wants,” Todd blustered.
Which was when Stella decided to speak up—with perfect timing, for once in her life. “Let me the hell go,” she snapped.
Todd looked over at her, startled, and his grip must have loosened, because Stella yanked her arm free and took several steps back. She didn’t seem to know what to do, though—she was eyeing Ken with a bit of wariness.
“Baby,” Todd said, “what are you doing? You said you wanted to stay with me. You promised.”
“I changed my mind,” Stella said, her voice shaky. “I don’t want to be here anymore.”
“Why not?” He took a step or two forward, and Stella took a step or two back. Ken was still standing easily, as though he was totally relaxed. But Lynn could—feel the readiness in him somehow.
Todd’s alpha finally seemed to get himself together. “Okay, that’s it,” he said. “Todd, quit whining and do something. Boys, this asshole and this interfering lynx need to get gone.”
The wolves moved.
But Ken moved faster.
Lynn had been prepared to shift. She couldn’t fight in human form, had never been trained like Ken had, but she could do some damage as a lynx. But if she shifted, so would the wolves, and those would be much, much worse odds.
But as it turned out, no one needed to shift. These men didn’t have the kind of deadly, focused attention that Ken brought. Before any of them had raised a hand, he’d knocked two of their heads together, leaving them slumped against the couch, rubbing their foreheads.
He did something complicated to the third one that left him doubled over clutching at one eye, and popped the fourth one in the solar plexus.
It was all quick, neat, and involved no blood or broken bones. Lynn had never seen a fight quite like it.
Stella took advantage of Todd’s distraction and broke for the door, and at a glance from Ken, Lynn followed.
Out in the cool night, Eva was waiting, hesitating by the door. “Come on, let’s get to the car,” Lynn said tersely, and hustled the two of them down the walk.
When she glanced back, Ken had appeared in the doorway, following more slowly. Keeping himself firmly between them and danger, Lynn understood.
Only Todd followed, though. And all he was doing was yelling.
But he yelled, “You can’t just leave like this, Stella! You’re going to regret it!”
Lynn sure hoped that wasn’t true.
She followed Stella and Eva to the car, and Ken must have been moving faster than he’d looked to be, because he arrived just as they were getting in. “We’re clear for the moment,” he told Lynn. “Drive.”
She put the key in the ignition and drove.
The fight was still replaying in her mind. It was so clear to her that Ken could easily have hurt those men very badly. Maybe even killed them—if he’d hit the one man in the throat instead of the solar plexus, for example.
But he hadn’t. He’d taken care of the problem quickly and efficiently, without any
danger of trouble from the police, or any awful things for Stella and Eva to remember.
Lynn only breathed out once they were safely off Todd’s street, accelerating away from the house.
“Thank you, Aunt Lynn,” Eva said from the backseat. “Thank you so much. Those guys were awful. Scary and—and awful.”
“Did they hurt you at all?” Lynn asked tensely. “Get too close, even?”
But she could see Eva shake her head in the rearview mirror. Thank God. “No, they just said stuff that made me—worry. Mom never left me alone with them.”
Lynn let out a breath. “Good. That’s good.”
“I wouldn’t leave my daughter with those assholes,” Stella said indignantly. “I know you think I can’t do anything right, Lynn, but for God’s sake.”
“Well, I just had to drive out here in the middle of the night to rescue you from your boyfriend, so forgive me for being a little worried about both of you!” Lynn said explosively.
Now that they were out of that house, her fear was transmuting itself into anger at Stella for getting into that situation in the first place. Hadn’t she known going in that Todd was a loser who was part of a pack of no-good jerks?
“Todd wasn’t the one causing the problem!” Stella protested. “It was the rest of them. They’re basically a gang, they sucked him in and now he can’t get out, and they’ve been coming over every day, causing trouble—they’re dealing drugs, I think—”
“It sure looked to me like Todd was causing some trouble,” Lynn said grimly. “The way he was holding on and he wouldn’t let you leave.”
“That’s just because he loves me,” Stella said, but her voice was smaller.
The tone made Lynn regret what she’d been saying. Stella had just been in a scary situation, with a man who didn’t want to let her leave, and now Lynn was piling insults on top of that. Sure, Stella didn’t always make good decisions, but there was probably a better time to talk to her about it than right now.
So she said, “I’m sure he does,” although the words threatened to choke her a little bit on the way out.