Finding the Fire Within

by C. C. Masters

  I nodded at Cody. “Will you go explain the situation to him?”

  Cody dipped his head in agreement and headed up the stairs.

  I communicated silently with James as we waited. I was leaving him in charge of the pack while I was gone, he was the best suited to protect what we had here. A thought of Anna crossed my mind, but I pushed it away.

  I would be bringing Cody with me and would send for Trevor and a few of our guys to meet me in the morning. They were the most intimidating of the pack and I think the council needed a reminder that we were not a bunch of pups that could be pushed around and intimidated. If they went after one of our pack members we would not roll over, we were going to fight for him.

  Cody came down the stairs with Caleb, who looked pale and nervous. I sent some reassuring thoughts his way. He would not be facing this alone, he had the weight of the entire pack behind him. Other packs might bow down to the council and hand over a wolf to placate them, but not this pack. The council had a habit of making an example of one wolf to keep the rest of the pack in line, but I was not going to let that happen.

  James clenched his hands and I knew he was not happy being left here when there was a chance of danger where we were going. I pressed towards him the importance of keeping our stronghold secure and reminded him what was on the line. I hesitated but then decided to send him an image of Anna. It had become more clear to me that he had a soft spot for her, but I didn’t want to push too hard with that. Otherwise he would just withdraw in denial.

  James reluctantly nodded at me. I took a deep breath and motioned for the two errand boys to precede us out the door. I gave Caleb’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze as we headed out the door. He looked at me with anxious eyes and gave me a small smile in return.

  It annoyed me that the council would target Caleb. I knew exactly why they did it. Caleb was probably the least intimidating member of our pack. He was the most comfortable in front of a computer and had no direct combat experience. I think the council would have been afraid to take James or Trevor, knowing that either one could easily kill them all in their sleep.

  “We will be taking our own vehicle,” I told John. “You may follow behind us.”

  John looked irritated but nodded in agreement. Had he really expected us to just hand Caleb over to them? That would never happen.

  Chapter 4

  Anna

  The twins had done a great job at getting my spirits back up. Or it could have been the effects of the five marshmallows and two beers I had consumed over the last hour. Either way, we were back to happily laughing and joking around when the patio door opened.

  My two little puppies ran out to greet me. I happily knelt down to give them some love. Now that Reagan was leaving we didn’t have any reason to keep them cooped up in Caleb’s room, so they could go back to following us everywhere. I looked up, expecting to see Caleb following them out. I was shocked when I saw that it was James that came out and shut the patio door behind him.

  James pretended to ignore the puppies most of the time, but I know he had a soft spot for them. They were incredibly cute, and I had caught him giving them scraps of meat when he thought no one else was looking. But it was extremely out of character for him to bring them outside, or even for him to bring them anywhere. I frowned, what was going on?

  The twins also looked surprised to see him. “Is Reagan gone yet?” Jason asked.

  James frowned. “No. Reagan is leaving in the morning.”

  The twins both groaned in disappointment.

  James looked at me. “Anna, I know you had something planned for tonight, but it’s going to have to wait.”

  My heart dropped. I wasn’t worried about delaying the scattering of the ashes, I had already planned on that. I was worried about what was going on that we would need to cancel it, especially if James was delivering the news.

  “Austin and Cody had to take Caleb to see the council, they may be gone for a few days.” James told us soberly.

  “What?” The twins exclaimed simultaneously.

  “Why would they do that?” I asked nervously. I knew those guys showing up earlier had been bad news.

  James sighed. “Caleb has been accused of spying on council members. Everyone knows the charges are bullshit to try and get to our pack.”

  I growled a little under my breath. I did not like anyone taking Caleb from us.

  “What can we do to help?” I asked James.

  He looked at me in surprise. “How much do you know about the projects that Caleb is working on?”

  “Um, a little.” I told him cautiously. Was Caleb allowed to share projects with me? I didn’t want to get him in trouble. I had occasionally helped him go through video footage or review documents, but he had a lot going on and I didn’t understand everything he worked on. When he started talking about algorithms my eyes started to glaze over.

  “I had him working on a few high priority projects. I could go through his room to try and figure out what he had found so far but… well, you’re smart like he is.”

  I blinked in surprise. Did James just give me a compliment? Surely, I must have heard him wrong.

  “If you tell me what you need I can see if it’s there.” I told him slowly, still a little shocked.

  “You won’t be able to get into his computer,” Mason warned.

  “Yeah,” Jason added. “He put a fingerprint scanner on it after that one time we-“

  “It’s well secured.” Mason interrupted.

  “Oh, I know. He added me as a user so I could help him out sometimes.” I told them.

  Mason’s jaw dropped. “He doesn’t let anyone touch his computer.”

  “Or any of his electronics.” Jason added.

  James grunted. “Looks like he does.” He stood up. “I don’t have time to talk about it tonight, I have a lot to do now. I’ll find you in the morning.”

  I chewed on my lip as I watched the puppies run out to the grass to do their business. James was acting like this was no big deal, but the council was accusing Caleb of being a spy. That sounded serious.

  I turned to the twins after James had left. “Okay, what is really going on here?”

  The twins exchanged glances. Jason shrugged helplessly and looked at Mason. Mason sighed. “We don’t know, this is the first we are hearing about it.”

  I frowned. “I’ve never actually seen Caleb leave the house before.”

  Mason looked uncomfortable. “He doesn’t like to. Austin said it was fine if he stays here.”

  That made me even more worried, I knew Caleb didn’t like dealing with people. “But Austin and Cody are going to stay with Caleb, right? They won’t leave him alone?”

  “Of course not,” Mason reassured me.

  “Austin’s cool like that.” Jason added. “He gets riled up if anyone tries to mess with one of his wolves. There’s no way he’s going to let Caleb out of his sight.”

  That made me feel a little better for Caleb, but I was still worried about all three of them. “Can Austin really win, though? The council seems pretty powerful.”

  “His father is on the council.” Mason said thoughtfully.

  “He’s not really challenging the council if one of their own is on our side.” Jason added.

  “But what if he’s not?” I whispered.

  The twins both looked at me in confusion.

  “What if Austin’s father is part of the problem?” I clarified.

  They frowned at each other before Mason turned to me. “Then we are in deep shit.”

  I sighed, that what I was afraid they were going to say.

  Chapter 5

  James

  I stalked inside after delivering the bad news to Anna and the twins. I had considered just telling the twins through the pack bond, so I could get on with what I needed to do. But Caleb’s only request as he had been taken out of the house was that I let Anna know that he wasn’t going to be able to watch the pups.

  Is that really the only re
ason you brought Anna the pups? A small voice inside me asked. I pushed away the thought. It had nothing to do with the beautiful blonde with the worried green eyes. I tried to tell myself that I did not bring her those two little dogs because I knew she would want some comfort along with the bad news that I insisted on delivering to her personally.

  I cursed at the council. It infuriated me that they would go after Caleb. A coward picked on a gentle soul like Caleb. A warrior would challenge someone like me. It was probably a good thing that Austin had chosen to bring Cody as his second.

  Cody was physically intimidating with his large size and that meant that most wolves would back down from challenging him instinctually. But he was also a nice guy and understood diplomacy. My first instinct when threatened was not diplomacy.

  Austin knew that I would defend our territory ferociously, but I needed to get the pack organized. If word got out that two of our three alphas were away from our pack territory it would be an invitation to lone wolves or other packs to attack.

  I felt a nudge from Trevor, letting me know he was on the property and heading to the house. I made my way to the formal dining room which we had repurposed as our ‘war room’.

  I spread out one of the maps we had made of our territory and gave Trevor a nod as he entered with a couple of his guys.

  Austin wanted Trevor and some of the more intimidating wolves at the council meeting tomorrow. Caleb was going to be held at council headquarters overnight, probably just as a show of power and intimidation. Tonight, we needed to work as a team and close ranks around our territory.

  Trevor and I worked closely together on security for the pack. Trevor kept the guys organized in teams and made the schedules for guard duty. Every group that he had assigned had six members to it, except his.

  His group consisted of himself, Davis, Mike, Rich, and Quinn. He was still holding out to find the right man for the last spot. I occasionally filled in as the sixth member when needed for missions. Any time we had a stateside job, it was Trevor’s team that was called up to bat.

  I knew Trevor from my past and had been the one to recruit him to the Seaside Pack. We had saved each other’s lives more than once and that created a bond that we never spoke of.

  If I had to describe Trevor, I would go with bad-ass-motherfucker. He had family ties to the Montreal wolf pack from up north and looked every bit the descendent of the Vikings.

  Trevor, Davis, and Mike circled around the table with me to look at the map. Quinn and Rich were currently on the grounds patrolling.

  “I’m guessing you want us to pull in and concentrate on the center of our territory?” Trevor asked in his baritone voice.

  I nodded at him. “Protect the heart of the pack.”

  “Is she here?” Davis asked.

  Trevor and I both gave him a glare and he held up his hands in defense. “Just asking. That girl can really cook.”

  “Let’s focus on the heart of the pack territory.” Trevor scolded him. “Keep your stomach and all other body parts out of this.”

  I gave him a low growl to back up Trevor’s words. He had better not even think about using any of his body parts near Anna. Davis respectfully bowed his head in submission so we were able to continue our planning.

  Trevor and I worked out where we wanted the various teams in order to best protect our lands and interests. The other guys gave input when needed but I couldn’t help but feel the loss of our other pack members.

  Normally, Austin would be here to inspire us, Cody would encourage us, and Caleb would pipe in with excited proposals of how we could use tech to augment our plans and reach our goals.

  I gave a sigh. We were going to get him back, no matter what it took.

  Chapter 6

  Anna

  The twins and I had stayed outside late until the fire had started to die. We had kept the conversation light, but the shadow of the council was looming over us. I had told them that there was no way I could go to sleep just yet. I was too worried about Caleb and the others.

  Jason had suggested a late-night movie in our personal theatre, so that’s where we were now. Jason was currently curled up on the left side of me, snoring softly. I glanced over to my right. Mason was still awake, and he must have felt the weight of my gaze because he turned to me.

  “Hey, Mace?” I asked quietly.

  “Yeah, Anna?” he murmured to me, inching closer so our voices wouldn’t wake Jason.

  “Are we going to talk about earlier?” I said nervously. I hated to be the one to bring it up, but I guess I was being a typical girl because I really wanted to talk about what was going on between us.

  He raised an eyebrow at me.

  “You know, in the pool.” I whispered to him with an embarrassed look.

  He gave me a slow smile. “Are you asking if we can make out again?” He teased me.

  “No!” I answered defensively. Then I thought about how that must have sounded and lowered my voice again. “I mean, not right now or anything.”

  His smile got a little wider when I clarified with the second part of my statement but quickly faded back to sober.

  “It kind of feels wrong right now.” He answered me quietly. “With what’s happening with Caleb…”

  “I know.” Guilt flooded me as he pointed that out.

  He reached out a hand for mine and I gave it to him. He moved even closer to me so that we were only inches away.

  “You know, I didn’t think you would kiss me back.” He told me. “I thought you would laugh and push me away.”

  My eyes widened with surprise. “So, you didn’t mean to really kiss me?” Now I was even more embarrassed about how I acted. He had meant it as a joke and then I took things too far.

  “That came out wrong,” he murmured to me. He released my hand and instead put his arm around me to pull me close.

  “I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long, but I didn’t have the courage to do it.” He told me quietly.

  My mouth opened in surprise. “I didn’t think that you really liked me that way.” I told him honestly.

  He chuckled. “I think it would be impossible for me not to like you that way.”

  I smiled back at him. “I don’t want this to come out the wrong way, but I think this is the first time that I heard you talk about things that you want, individually. You and Jase usually use the word ‘we’ when it comes to things you want.”

  He got a dark look in his eyes that sent a thrill down my spine. “Don’t misunderstand, we both want you. You would be getting the package deal with us.”

  My eyes widened. It was one thing to kiss them both, but what exactly was he suggesting? Did he and Jason really want to be my boyfriends? What would they say if they knew that I also had thoughts about other pack members as well?

  “Would you be able to handle that?” Mason growled. I felt a pang of desire low in my belly at the thought of both of them together. My mind drifted back to the scene in the pool, both of their hands all over my body, my skin pressed against theirs, them taking my mouth one at a time.

  “Yes,” I responded breathlessly.

  I could see the desire building in his eyes and I cleared my throat. “I have to tell you, that I’m not really a casual girl.” I lowered my eyes awkwardly. “I mean, I’m not the type who does the whole friends with benefits thing.”

  My face flushed red. I was making this conversation even more awkward than it had been. But I wanted to be clear because I was already emotionally attached to them. I don’t think I could handle it if they were with me one night and another girl the next. I had no idea what their previous dating habits were, but I could probably take a guess.

  He raised my chin so that my eyes met his. “Believe me, I know. I never thought that girls like you existed. But here we are.”

  I felt his breath on my lips a moment before his mouth brushed mine gently. He pulled back with a sigh. “You are making it difficult me for to do the right thing.” He told me as he brushed a piece
of my hair out of my face.

  I sighed as well. Thoughts of Caleb came rushing back to me. What was happening to him right now? Was he in a prison cell? Was he hurt or suffering while I laid here comfortably with the twins?

  I pulled away from Mason. “I’m going to go up to bed.” I told him resolutely. I needed to put some space between us to cool down the heat that was rising inside me.

  He leaned back and threaded his fingers behind his head. I forced my gaze away from his abs where his shirt had risen up to expose them and tried to keep my eyes on his face. His very handsome face, with lush lips that were waiting to be kissed.

  I groaned and turned away. “Goodnight, Mason.” I quietly murmured as I headed for the stairs to bring me up to my room.

  After getting ready for bed and climbing in beneath my blankets I just stared at the ceiling. This morning had started off with me feeling sad, but comfortable in my new life. The chaos surrounding Caleb’s arrest brought everything back into perspective for me. I was feeling helpless, not being able to help him.

  That feeling reminded me of how I felt after Evelyn was murdered. I still did not know who was responsible for her murder. How could I say goodbye to her and make peace with her loss when whomever had done it was still out there?

  I had a promise from Austin and the other guys that they were doing everything they could to find the murderer. But why wasn’t I? How could I be content to just sit by and wait for them to solve my problems for me?

  I had become too complacent. I needed to find my place here with the pack, but it wasn’t going to be as a passive bystander. I needed to take control of my life again.

  Chapter 7

  Caleb

  I took a deep breath as I laid in the dark. I had not slept at all during the night and the sun was going to be rising soon. I dreaded the events of the day to come, but I also wanted it over as quickly as possible. Not knowing my fate was torture in itself.

  I glanced over at the bodies on either side of me. Last night we had been offered three rooms, one for Cody, Austin, and myself, but the rooms would have been spread throughout the building. This would have left us vulnerable, so Austin had made the decision for all of us to stay together.