by M. L. Briers
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
BROTHERS
DEXTER’S PACK
SHAWN
BY
M. L. BRIERS
Copyright © 2017, M L Briers
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced whatsoever without written permission of the author, except for brief exerts in reviews. Any unauthorised reproduction or distribution of the material herein is illegal and may result in criminal proceedings. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded to the internet or distributed via electronic or print without prior consent.
Note from the Author;
All names, places, and incidents contained herein are purely fictional and have no basis in actual events or linked to actual Humans, Witches, Vampires, Werewolves, Lycans, Werebears or persons living, dead or undead.
Copyright © 2017, Cover Design by; Rebecca Pau at The Final Wrap.
Table of Contents
BROTHERS
DEXTER’S PACK
SHAWN
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER ONE
~
Shawn felt as if his every move was under the spotlight. He knew that Dexter’s pack was new and just starting to take shape, and he knew that he was on some kind of a trial run with the shifter and witch community, not to mention the vampire, on the mountain, but still, given the way that his wolf was scratching inside of him at every opportunity, he had to wonder if the mountain was the best place for him to be.
Two of the pack were mated, Dexter, the alpha, had Isobel, and the relative newcomer, Brody, had found a mate just after he’d arrived, and Eden was a little different, but neither witch really bothered him.
Aside from them there was George, the man tended to keep himself to himself and skulked off on his own most nights – he didn’t know him well enough to be interested in where he went.
The only fly in the ointment as he saw it right then was the Witch Isobel’s insane liking for cookouts. Maybe it was just him, but it seemed a little weird in the depths of winter to have a damn barbecue. Still, she did make a mean mustard, honey, and beer sauce, and he liked that.
Shawn liked the mountain. It suited his purposes.
The pack lived high enough up that they got the kind of frosty weather that he and his wolf liked, and it was well away from the majority of the humans that lived in the half baked town below.
What Shawn didn’t like was shopping in town. His wolf was literally just under his skin most of the time and that made him anxious that someone was going to annoy the hell out of him and push him to the point where he lost control of his beast, and that would be bad.
His wolf could be a mean one. It never used to be that way, he used to have the beast under lock and key and it would take more that a wrong word or look to get that wolf riled up, but now…
He headed towards the checkout with his basket and heard the bell over the door signalling another customer had walked in. That jangling annoyed him to the point where he gritted his teeth against the ringing in his ears and his brain, and what annoyed him usually annoyed his wolf too.
Another customer being in his locale also annoyed the hell out of him. In truth, there wasn’t a lot that didn’t nowadays.
He hated to scent humans. Hell, he hated to scent anyone; it reminded him that there other people in the world besides him.
Maybe Dexter’s pack wasn’t the place for him. Maybe he should just consider moving over to the other side of the mountain, stay high up where there was no pack, no humans, nothing but lunch, dinner and supper for his wolf…
The thud against his shoulder made his wolf growl. It wasn’t that it hurt, hell; he brushed the dirt from his clothes harder than that. It was the fact that it had happened because he was around other people … he wanted to be alone … he liked being alone, and he wanted some damn peace in a world that seemed to have gone mad.
“Sorry,” she said, in something of a hushed tone that made her sound weak.
He hated weak people, females especially. He wasn’t into drama or hassle, and his wolf wouldn’t tolerate it, and weak people usually had drama in their lives.
Shawn grunted in response. He didn’t know why he turned his head to look down at her, but she was wearing a hood pulled up around her head, shielding her from his view.
As she half turned, like she was acknowledging his presence, he caught sight of her face, pretty, with the greenest of jade coloured eyes that he’d ever seen, not that she looked directly at him, more down and to the side, like she was accepting the dominance of his wolf, and then she turned away again, and his gut twisted in annoyance…
Shawn grunted once more and dismissed her. He felt his wolf claw beneath his skin like it wanted out, and that wouldn’t work well in the middle of the damn town…
He moved one way down the aisle and she moved the other. As he swung his basket up onto the counter top for the female behind the counter to total up; he couldn’t help but flick his gaze back to where that female had been … there was something about her, a nervousness, like she was trying to blend into the background…
He knew all about that.
The aisle was empty, but it didn’t take long to find her at the back of the shop. He looked up to the security mirror that was bracketed on the top of the wall and adjusted in just the right way to give the teller the best view of the shelves, and he watched as she crouched down…
Thief…? He wondered as the teller clicked her tongue as she rang up another bottle of scotch. How he hated judgemental people…
“It might be easier for you to just buy a case…” the woman sneered and his temper flared as he flicked his eyes back to her.
His beast wanted to growl long and hard at her…
“It might be better if you just do your job…” His tone of voice sent the woman’s eyes back down to his basket as she started pulling the packs of meat out.
Shawn flicked his eyes back to the mirror and found the woman gone.
Damn!
His eyes flicked around the shop, finding the top of her hooded head on a slow walk down the far aisle … if she made a rush for the door then he knew that she was a thief…
He held his breath, watching, waiting … there she was stepping out between the aisles … her eyes flicked towards him and he got the full blast of those beautiful, startling green eyes before she snatched them away again.
Then she ground to a halt and sucked in a breath in fear… Shawn snapped his head around on his neck and saw what she did. A male, about his own height but without the muscular frame
; his back might have been turned towards Shawn, but she had a good view of his face…
His eyes snapped back towards her… she already had pale skin, and but now she was ashen…
Not your problem…
Don’t get involved…
Turn away … she’s not your worry…
You have enough to worry about!
“Cash or card?” The teller asked and snapped his attention right back around towards her.
With his wallet in his hand; he offered her the card and turned to look back out the window … nobody there. The coast was clear…
What’s she going to do now?
Why the hell is she so afraid … and that’s damn fear. I don’t need to scent the air to know what I’d find there…
Her eyes flicked towards his for the briefest of seconds and she frowned. Then she tentatively put one foot in front of the other and he found himself willing her not to go out there…
If you sense danger then stay inside…
Stay where there are people…
Stay hidden…
“Pin code, please…” The teller’s voice was annoying him now. Her presence was annoying him.
Shawn turned and tapped in the number … turned back as fast as he could … and there she was at the door, pushing it open, walking through into the cold night air…
He felt torn. He wanted to follow her.
He felt the need to know what she was so afraid of, and yet, he didn’t want to get involved.
It’s none of your damn business…
She’s no one you know … stay out of it…
“Thanks.” The teller sounded bored and a little impatient.
Shawn turned fast; snatched his card from the machine. Grabbed the two bags of shopping and started for the door with a cursory grunt over his shoulder for the service and attitude.
He rushed out of the shop and eyed the night around him.
Empty. No female, no male … not another person on the damn street…
Boy was he tempted to sniff the air. Find her damn scent and hunt her down to wherever it was that she’d gone, just so he knew what it was that she feared, what it was that made him give a damn…
“Idiot…” He growled; berating himself for even thinking that way.
He was no good to anyone the way that he was. She might have been in trouble, but having him getting tangled up in her problems would only bring her more.
She was probably better off alone….
Why the hell didn’t he think that was the case…?
Shawn took a slow walk to the side of the building where he’d parked his truck. His eyes were still scanning the area for a sign of her. He took both bags in one hand and yanked open the back door …
“What the…?” He growled out in surprise; there she was, squished on the floor between the seats.
Those green eyes flashed with recognition for him…
“Just please get me out of town and I’ll be gone…” She whispered.
CHAPTER TWO
~
Shawn had the urge to slam the door shut and walk away. Wait until she’d had enough of playing hide and seek in his damn truck and then drive off home without ever having to think about her again.
The woman was in his damn truck, that meant her scent was in the air, the fabric, the leather… damn! He couldn’t even take a breath in his own vehicle for days until he’d aired it out…
She was lying where he wanted to put his bags … everything about this scenario just annoyed him to hell and back.
He should reach in and yanked her out. She wasn’t his problem … her problems weren’t his problems…
He bit down on his annoyance and handed her the bags…
“Don’t break a bottle …” he grumbled, before he slammed the door and grunted in annoyance. “Damn it!”
He tossed it over in his mind. He wasn’t sure if he really wanted to have anything to do with her or not.
It was just a ride … just to the outside of town … and she’d already sullied his truck with her scent…
Having his wolf freak out and bursting free when he was behind the wheel wasn’t exactly the ideal scenario…
“Just hold on in there, man … do not get any ideas…” he warned his beast as he turned and yanked open the driver’s door.
This certainly wasn’t how he expected his night to go.
~
~
~
Eva knew that even with the best will in the world she was asking for trouble. She knew what he was … wolf shifter … she’d sensed it the moment that she’d bumped into him inside the store.
One of the best things about being a witch was having the inbuilt alarm that went off every time there was a supernatural being around, and he certainly fit that bill.
Shifters, vampires, warlocks, and other witches to name but a few, they were all on her radar and she liked it that way. She knew what was coming before it got there…
Him; she wasn’t so sure about. She hadn’t touched him yet, not skin to skin to be able to get any kind of imprint from him. But needs must, and she needed to get the heck out of town and fast.
Who else was she going to go to for help that wouldn’t try to involve the local police?
Humans had a tendency to overthink a situation, whereas shifters didn’t want anything to do with local law enforcement so that meant it was the last place that they were ever going to take you.
Still, she’d put herself in danger just by being in the damn truck with him. Not that he was actually in the truck yet, the man was still grumbling and procrastinating at the door…
“Please…” she whispered, knowing that his ears would pick up her plea.
She could only hold her magic in place for so long and then she’d need to recharge her energy. The magical cloak that she’d woven around her body was the only line of defence that she had right then and if it failed – even weakened too much – she’d lose that edge…
With a grunt and another grumble; he climbed into the driver’s seat. She felt the truck pitch and sway under his weight, and closed her eyes, saying a thank you to the ancestors for being on her side tonight and finding her a way out of town.
She’d spotted his truck outside and knew that it was his. Who else would drive a truck like that with all of the bells and whistles, but a dominant personality?
It certainly had the guy’s name written all over it.
The roar of the engine made her jump inside. She was getting more nervous by the day, but that was only right … she hadn’t really slept in over a week, except for when she’d nodded off on a bus journey … and that was sheer exhaustion.
She couldn’t remember the last time that she’d eaten a real meal rather than something you could microwave in seconds at a store … She needed to find a haven, somewhere that he couldn’t find her, somewhere that she could sleep, if only for a while…
“How much trouble are you in?” Shawn asked, even though he told himself that he didn’t want to know, and didn’t really care…
“Too much,” Eva answered.
She didn’t need to share her woes, besides, it was better that he didn’t know much about her.
“You’re a witch, I got that much…” He admitted and heard her sigh.
He’d felt the magic in the air the moment that he’d opened the door to his truck. It was electric, like tiny little shocks to his system…
“That’s all you need to know,” Eva offered back.
“Who you running from?” He asked and she stayed silent. “Vampire?” He surmised, because the guy back at the store didn’t look like a shifter…
“No,” Eva bit back.
She guessed that there was no real harm in him knowing, and forewarned was forearmed just in case Kal stayed around the area searching for her…
“Warlock.”
“Warlock?” He sneered at the thought of the man. His beast was certainly paying attention inside of him.
“Jus
t drop me anywhere outside town, the further the better, but that’s your call,” she said.
She wasn’t going to ask him for anything else. He’d helped her, played his part, done his bit, and it was all that he could do.
Now she was on her own again, and she liked it that way.
She hated the fact that she’d imposed on him already.
Life was all about choices and she’d made hers. There was no sense in dragging anyone else into her mess with her.
“This guy scares you…” Shawn growled a little at the thought of the female being afraid of anything.
Females should be protected from fear, even witches…
“Ya think!” Eva bit down on that annoying habit that she had of speaking before her brain was in gear.
He was helping her; she guessed he had a right to ask questions.
“I could let you out right here…” He growled.
“Sorry, it’s been a rough few…”
“Keep your head down. I can see him.”
Shawn had half an eye on the road ahead and half on the back of the man that she was running from.
He had the urge to stop the truck, get out, and beat the guy half to death, just so the man knew fear…
Man. Not in his book. A real man didn’t use fear and intimidate a female, ant female.
He kept going; knowing that he couldn’t do that. At least, not in the middle of town, not now, but if the man followed him out into the middle of nowhere then all bets were off.
CHAPTER THREE
~
Shawn shot a look back over his shoulder to the where she was lying on the floor of his truck. Her hood had fallen down over her eyes, but he knew that they were closed. He could hear the change in her breathing the moment that she’d fallen asleep.
It had irked him at the same time as it had warmed him to her. He’d intended to let her out as soon as he could. Open all of his windows and air out the truck as best he could … but now that she was asleep; he knew that she was in real trouble.