by Cara Adams
Werewolves of Hanson Mall 5
Tightly Held
Werewolves Ethan Simon and Nolan James are sent to Hanson Mall to help Georgia Edwards with the shape-shifter family history project. They’re determined to succeed at their job, bring honor to their pack, and also to claim Georgia, who’s a wolf, as their mate.
But it’s not that simple. They have an enormous amount to learn. The city is very different from their home on the farm. Georgia is their boss and they love her far too much to hurt or embarrass her by clumsy actions. Besides, more drama from the discredited well-being center comes to light, and something has to be done to drag their own pack out of poverty, as well.
How will they ever be able to demonstrate to her how much they’ll love and adore her if only she'll give them the chance? All they want to do is hold her tightly in their arms forever, but making it happen is proving incredibly difficult.
Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Vampires/Werewolves
Length: 35,809 words
TIGHTLY HELD
Werewolves of Hanson Mall 5
Cara Adams
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
TIGHTLY HELD
Copyright © 2014 by Cara Adams
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62741-584-2
First E-book Publication: May 2014
Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2014 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
About the Author
TIGHTLY HELD
Werewolves of Hanson Mall 5
CARA ADAMS
Copyright © 2014
Chapter One
“You two boys fancy yourselves in love with that redhead from the Hanson Mall pack, don’t you?”
When the Alpha of the Simon pack asked a question, only a very foolish wolf would lie. “I’d certainly like to get to know her better, sir,” said Ethan Simon.
The Alpha’s piercing black gaze moved from his face to Nolan James’s but Ethan was too smart to move a muscle. The Alpha wasn’t finished with them yet.
“I don’t know, sir. I don’t know her yet, sir.” Nolan was sounding even worse than he had.
“Cadfael Hanson, the Alpha of the Hanson Mall pack, has agreed to take you two to help with the werewolf genealogy project. You will obey him in all things.” The Alpha’s voice was stern and Ethan could clearly hear the unspoken words. “The honor of our pack rests on your shoulders.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You will be starting at the bottom. You know nothing of their work but you will apply yourselves, work hard, and learn all the tasks as fast as you can. There’ll be no sneaking time off or wasting your opportunities.”
“No, sir.”
“We will do our very best, sir. Thank you for choosing us,” said Nolan.
“You will not antagonize Georgia Edwards. She is your superior in this work. She’s also a female wolf and there are far too few of them around for you two to recklessly waste your chances with her. If you discover she won’t accept you, make sure she doesn’t develop a distaste for this pack. There are other young men here who deserve a mate as well.”
“Yes, sir.”
Ethan thought he was starting to sound like a children’s toy that was broken and could only say one thing. But he was fucked if he could think of anything else to say. It wasn’t like the Alpha was looking for a conversation here. And the chance to find a mate was a huge gift as well as a challenge. He was up for the challenge and had no intention of wasting the gift.
“Sit down.” The Alpha waved to the couch opposite him. He was sitting in the huge armchair in the front room of the old farmhouse where he often sat, his back ramrod straight, though not at all relaxed. Ethan thought his gray hair had thinned even more the past few months. The pack was struggling to survive. They all couldn’t help but notice it. If he and Nolan were being fed and kept in another pack, that would take a little bit of pressure off the rest of the Simon pack. But only a new income stream could save them. He knew the Alpha was working on something but had no idea what it was or whether or not it would actually be successful.
“You don’t need to know all the ins and outs of the changes that will be happening in this pack, but in order to succeed in your task I’m about to tell you some things. This is strictly pack business, and not to be chattered about with your friends. I’m telling you so you know how important it is that you either succeed in your mission, or at least leave the pathway still clear for me to send others to follow you. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir. I appreciate your trust in us,” said Ethan.
“I’m honored you’ve chosen us,” said N
olan.
The Alpha wrinkled his nose, but Ethan thought he relaxed back into his armchair just a fraction. So far so good. Although I wish I knew what the fuck is going on.
“The lack of females being born into our pack is not something that’s unique to our pack, or to Ohio, or even to the Unites States of America. All around the world werewolf packs have noticed the lack of female babies being born over the past few generations. The Supreme Alpha of North America is aiding a research project that’s tracking shape-shifter genealogies to determine if there’s a cause for the lack of females, or if it’s a regular cyclical trend. It seems when male wolves mate with female humans, more girls are born. Not that it helped the Simon family. Quintana’s the only girl in three generations. Still, that’s what they’ve discovered.”
Ethan knew that. He was Quintana’s cousin, sharing the same human grandmother she had, although his father was the third brother born to their grandmother and hers the fifth.
“The Supreme is involved, sir?”
Yeah, good catch, Nolan. I didn’t know that.
“The Supreme’s headquarters is coordinating the project. The Hanson Mall pack is providing the key staff for it. Georgia Edwards and Wynn Evans. You will do exactly as they tell you. Always remember you’re there to learn and to help. If they tell you to fetch coffee, you go get it without complaint. I have chosen you both believing you are smart enough to learn whatever you need to learn, and to keep your mouths shut, and work hard on any menial tasks you’re given until you know enough to perform more advanced assignments. I will be extremely annoyed if I learn that either of you has been rude or lazy. And if it happens that you fail and the pack is not permitted to send anyone else on this project, the results will be extremely severe for you both. Have I made myself clear?”
“Yes, sir,” said Ethan.
“Crystal clear, sir. We won’t fail you or the pack,” said Nolan.
“Go now, and talk to Elsie. Learn what things attract a woman to a man and what things they dislike. Pay attention and heed her advice. Then pack all your things. You may take the oldest truck with you. I expect you’ll need your own transportation in the city.”
The Alpha stood up and Ethan jumped to his feet as well, as did Nolan.
“Make me proud of you, boys. Learn the trade and learn it well. And if you can win the woman as well, that’ll be a double bonus both for yourselves and for the pack.”
“Thank you, sir. Thank you for choosing us for this task,” said Ethan.
“We won’t let you or the pack down, sir.”
Ethan sure as hell hoped Nolan was correct. He’d do his damndest to solve the problem of the lack of females, and to make Georgia fall in love with them.
* * * *
“The Alpha of the Simon pack is sending us two of his men to work with us,” said Wynn.
“For us to interview? I thought we’d interviewed everyone in that pack already? Do they have some new information for us?” asked Georgia.
“They might have added data for us. Certainly we’ll interview them once they arrive, but it’s not that. The Supreme has been working with their Alpha to help the pack survive and he wants these two men to learn about the project from us.”
Georgia was confused. “But we don’t really need them. There aren’t that many people to interview at the moment, and Willow and Hawthorne Cunliffe do most of the data entry you and I used to have to do.”
“Well, since the Supreme wants them on the project, maybe we need to think about some new directions we can investigate.”
Hmm. That was a valid point. Upsetting the Supreme would be a really, really bad mistake. Georgia leaned back in her chair in the genealogy office. It had started out as the guest apartment, but then the second bedroom had become their office, and now their work was spread right through the entire apartment. At least there were still two beds in the main bedroom so these men would have somewhere to sleep. The bed from the second bedroom had long gone.
“So they’ll be staying here, in the apartment? That makes sense because the Simon pack hasn’t got a lot of spare cash.”
“The Simon pack is barely scraping by. We’ll feed them as well as provide their accommodation, but they’ll have to work.”
Georgia gazed blankly at the ceiling. “Willow and Hawthorne have given us quite a few new questions and leads, so the data we collect now is much better than what we got originally. What we could do is get the new people reinterviewing the groups that were interviewed at the very start with the new questions, and also asking if they’ve thought of anything they forgot to tell us. While the new men are doing that, it’ll give us some time to decide where we should go next.”
“Hey, I’m a mated man now. I don’t want to go running all over the countryside. You can do that with the new people.”
Georgia shrugged. She actually didn’t mind traveling and meeting people. It was one of the reasons she’d signed up for this project in the first place. Besides, with two male wolves to protect her she’d have no trouble going anywhere. As long as they were polite and housebroken. She certainly wasn’t going to cook for them or clean up after them like that old man in their pack had seemed to think a woman should do.
Georgia remembered the meal she’d shared with the Simon pack. Wynn had brought all the food and their women had cooked it. But an old man, Samson, had been incredibly rude to Quintana. Fortunately Quintana had refused to lose her temper with him, answering him politely but firmly. If these Simon pack wolves were as smart as Quintana, they’d be a pleasure to work with. If they were like Samson they’d better shape up fast. She wouldn’t take any nonsense from them.
“Do you know which men we’re getting? Have you asked Quintana what they’re like?”
Wynn, along with Keelan the mall jeweler, had mated Quintana just recently.
“I don’t know their names, but Quintana left the pack so long ago likely she’d only remember them as children, which wouldn’t be much use to us anyway.”
“Fair enough. Now, what is the logical next step for this project? Which direction do you think we should investigate next?” asked Georgia.
They had to discover why werewolves weren’t breeding enough girls. The future of all shape-shifters everywhere depended on knowing the answer to that question.
* * * *
Nolan James was determined not to let down his Alpha or his pack. Ever since he could remember he’d been the “pleaser.” The person who wanted everyone around him to be happy. His own happiness had always seemed unimportant, or at least secondary to the pleasure of those around him. If they were content he didn’t care about himself. Except now, at the ripe old age of thirty, he’d seen a woman who tugged at his heart as well as at his libido. He’d never even spoken to her. He wasn’t one of the elders of the pack invited into the front room of the old farmhouse for conferences. But he’d watched her speak to the seniors, had seen her smile and laugh, and knew she was what he wanted. Just completely out of his reach.
Now he’d been offered the opportunity to work with her, and nothing on Earth would prevent him from doing his utmost to please her. Growing up on the farm, in the heart of a wolf pack, it had never occurred to Nolan that being surrounded by males was unusual. He had a mom. He had vague memories of a grandmother who’d let him sit on her rocking chair. The lack of sisters, female cousins, and girl playmates hadn’t even registered with him until he’d gone to school and seen females everywhere. Girls in class, girls on the playground, female teachers, mothers, grandmothers, and little sisters at the school bus stops.
Gradually he’d understood that the fact that there was only one female in his generation on the farm was not normal, as he’d always thought, but a huge problem. He’d accepted the situation as unable to be changed and assumed he’d never mate and never have a family of his own. Some of the other men he’d grown up with had left, going to other packs or distant towns to work, hoping to find a mate. But he was happy enough at home. Even when he’d first
seen Georgia, and was hugely attracted to her, the thought that he might get to know her better never occurred to him. His place was here on the farm. Hers was in the city.
In one interview the Alpha had turned his entire life upside down. He was heading into town to work for the delicious strawberry-blonde-haired, blue-eyed city wolf. Nolan was half scared witless and half excited. Scared that he wouldn’t be able to live up to the trust the Alpha had placed in him, excited that he’d see and talk to Georgia every day. Then scared again that she would be disappointed in him if he couldn’t do as she asked. Or worse, that he wouldn’t even understand what was required of him. Making coffee was fine. He knew how to do that. But he wasn’t too sure if the kind of work he’d done on the farm would be transferrable into a city. Unless she had a garden. He could certainly look after that for her, and mow her grass, and wash her car.
He’d graduated high school. He’d never owned a computer but he did know about data entry and spreadsheets. As long as they weren’t too complicated. Ah, hell. He had a terrible feeling he was going to be worse than useless.
He stared at the old-fashioned suitcase sitting on his bed and the clothing spread all around it. The luggage was so old it didn’t even have wheels. It was the one his father had taken on his honeymoon thirty-five years ago.
“Sweaters first,” Nolan told himself and neatly folded four sweaters, stacking them in the suitcase. “Now jeans.” Talking to himself helped center him, and soon the suitcase was full. He zipped it up and sat it by the door of his room and lifted his mother’s suitcase onto the bed. Hers was even older than his father’s. He was pretty sure the sides of it were cardboard, not even some ancient kind of vinyl. But it would hold his things and that’s all that mattered. Some jackets, his good shoes, his athletic shoes, his spare boots, his underwear, his spare belt, a few button-down shirts and neckties, his Dopp kit, and he was done. It was just as well since both cases were full.