by Dane, Lauren
She raised her hands toward the sky and felt herself—her human self—simply go elsewhere and her wolf surge to the surface. She fell to her knees and watched in fascination as her body suddenly wasn’t the same. She had four legs. She felt her nose and mouth as a muzzle. Wondered at the feel of her long tongue as it moved over sharp teeth.
From deep within her a sound of joy, of discovery and transformation, burst through her and into the evening air. A howl that echoed against the house and trees. Her howl was joined by Lex’s and Cade’s and the chorus of howls of the rest of the Pack.
The world was black and white. Sharp and vivid. The air was filled with a banquet of smells and sounds that she’d never noticed before. The earth under her feet was spongy and received her weight differently than she’d ever perceived it before.
She shook herself and took off at a run. Lex joined her, a wolf the size of a freaking pony, and bumped against her. She knew instinctively that it was playful and she shoved back. He grinned at her with those sharp teeth and yipped.
They ran and ran, playing and jumping through the forest for hours until Cade and Lex guided her back to that big maple tree. Once back, she dropped to her belly and crawled to Lex.
He grabbed the back of her neck with his teeth then let go. When she opened her eyes, the world was color again and he was holding out her robe.
Cade was ushering the others back toward the house and it was just the two of them under the stars.
“Such a beautiful wolf,” Lex murmured. “How did you like it?”
“It was incredible. I don’t even know how it all happened or even how I got back to this shape but I want to do it again.” She had a smile on her face and Lex laughed.
“We will, beautiful. Now, let’s go back inside so I can make love to you properly.”
“You have a deal.” She took his hand and followed him.
Before they’d reached the back deck, Dave rushed out and Lex’s relaxed posture changed immediately.
“Dr. Molinari called. The transformation went fine until the Rogues showed up and took the new wolf and…” His voice broke.
“Tell me,” Lex’s voice held authority then and Nina felt the compulsion of it in her bones. She saw Dave’s anguish and understood that something very bad had happened.
As Lex had demanded that Dave tell him the rest, he’d ushered Nina back into the house and was putting his pants on quickly.
“Brian is dead. They used silver shot. Eric is being treated right now for some pretty bad wounds. Charlie may not make it. He’s in surgery.”
Lex took long strides to their bedroom and pulled out a shirt and a bulletproof vest. Dave helped Lex get it fastened at the sides and Nina moved to get jeans and her Doc Martens on.
Lex looked up as he strapped a holster to his thigh. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
She fastened the Velcro at the sides of her smaller vest that Dorian had given her earlier that week. “I’m putting on a vest to go under my shirt.” She pulled a sweatshirt on over it and undid the trigger lock on her handgun, checked the clip and put it in the underarm holster that she’d strapped on.
Lex grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop. “I don’t have the time or the patience for an argument now, Nina. You are not going. You will stay here. Period.”
“I am Second in this Pack, I can shoot. I am a damned good fighter and I’m going. I’m not going to argue with you so that shouldn’t tire you out. Now let’s go.”
“Dave, wait for me downstairs. Call Stoner and tell him to meet us at the hospital.” Lex said it without taking his eyes from Nina. When Dave had gone Nina simply held up her hand.
“No. I’m not arguing with you on this. I am coming. I won’t be stupid but I’m coming.”
“You are being stupid, Nina. You are not trained to do this. I’ll be distracted worrying about you.”
“I’ll stay back. I won’t get into something I can’t handle. But I’m not staying here and that’s that.”
“Damn it, Nina! You are not coming! Stop being such a stubborn female!” He shouted all of that but Nina heard the fear in his voice.
She reached up and kissed his chin. “I’m coming. I’m not getting hurt and neither are you. Please, Lex. These people murdered my brother, they took him from me. Don’t make me stay back here. I need to be there. I need to see this through.” Her eyes pleaded with him and her voice showed the depth of her emotion. “Now come on.” She turned and walked out. He growled, following in her wake.
“Cade, order her to stay back,” Lex called out as they entered the living room.
“I’ll make every day of the rest of your life a living hell if you do,” Nina called out as she grabbed her hair, twisted it up into a quick bun and secured it with a ponytail holder.
Cade stood there with a smile on his face and shrugged at Lex. “She’ll be fine. She’ll just follow you like a puppy if you don’t take her. This way you can at least know where she is at all times.”
“Some Alpha you are,” Lex snarled as he checked the clips in his weapons and strapped them on while Dave helped him with the knife sheath at his waist.
Cade chuckled. “I like walking without a limp. I’m more afraid of her than you.”
Nina laughed and went to the door and waited.
“Damn it.” Lex stomped to her and pulled her shirt up and made sure she’d fastened the vest correctly. He rechecked her weapons and gave her a last look before shoving her out the door, knowing she was wearing a smug smile even when he couldn’t see her face.
Triumphant that she had won, she wasn’t stupid either. She knew that Lex was an expert at this stuff and she had no plans of doing the stupid heroine thing and getting herself trapped and endangering everyone else. No, Nina sat quietly in the car, listening as Lex gave orders to his men on the way over to the hospital. She had every intention of listening to and obeying his orders. He appeared to be partially mollified by her behavior, which relaxed them both a bit.
When they arrived the men fanned out on his orders and he headed toward Stoner, who stood similarly suited in a vest and weapons.
“What’s the story?” Stoner barked and Lex quickly filled him in.
One of the members of Lex’s team ran back toward them, still in wolf form. When Stoner noticed a panicked look flashed over his face. Nina touched his arm. “It’s okay. He tracks better this way. He can pick up the scent of other wolves.”
Lex looked deep into the wolf’s eyes and nodded. He gave quiet, terse orders to the group. “They had a car and shoved the new wolf into it. But they didn’t drive far and whatever it was they drove, it was unusual, so Shane kept the scent. They are two miles from here. We’re going to take the patch of woods behind the hospital and approach the house from the rear.”
Stoner nodded and spoke quietly to the two officers he had with him.
Lex approached Nina and looked into her eyes. “You will stay behind Megan. You will not hesitate to use your weapon on any wolf or human who attacks you. You will not run off or do anything stupid.”
Nina nodded solemnly and then with her fingertip drew an X over her heart. “Cross my heart and hope to wear granny underwear until I die.”
He choked a surprised laugh. “Nina, I have to know you’re taking this seriously.” His voice was urgent as he held her upper arms.
“I am. I promise you, Lex. I’m bitchy, but I’m not dumb.”
“I love you.” He kissed her forehead and she watched as he dropped the face of her mate and pulled the Enforcer mask on.
She took a step back in awe a bit of fear. He was so intense at that moment, strong and powerful. A killing machine. It was kinda hot.
He turned and made some movements with his hand and she watched as his men took their places while she took hers behind Megan.
They moved through the woods quietly. So quietly that it shocked Nina. Apparently when she became a werewolf she got wicked mad ninja skills too. She stifled an amused laugh, knowi
ng that Lex would so not appreciate her levity at that moment. Her ears were very sensitive, her muscles fluid as she moved. She felt more aware than she ever had, noticing every sound in the trees, differentiating between birds and small rodents, even two deer that watched them all from a safe distance.
She realized that she’d begun to take being a werewolf not necessarily for granted, but simply as a fact. She would deal with it because it was now her reality and it was what she had to do both to survive and to stay at Lex’s side. Moreover, she felt the responsibility to the Pack in a way she couldn’t have understood before she transformed earlier that evening. For whatever reason, she truly felt Second. She felt responsible for the wolves in Cascadia Pack. They were hers and in a very real way, she was theirs. Even if she still didn’t quite know how to get around what happened at the Pack house when she was attacked.
After a few minutes they approached the house. The lights were on inside and the back of the house faced the woods. From the tree line they could see into the living room. There were three men sitting in front of a television and one in the kitchen. A BMW 800 series sat in the driveway, not a very usual car, even in BMW-happy Bellevue.
Lex didn’t say a word. His face was impassive as he directed his people with hand signals. He looked over at Nina and gave one hard shake of his head. She knew he was ordering her to stay out there and she nodded. He looked to Megan and gave her the palm of his hand—she was to stay with Nina. Megan inclined her head and backed Nina up into the trees a bit further, but they still had a view of the house.
Nina watched, holding her breath, as they headed out. While the other guards on Lex’s team fanned around the house, he, Dave and Stoner walked straight up the back deck stairs and kicked in the back door. He was impressive and scary and Nina watched in awe as he did his Enforcer thing. Something deep inside her responded to how he moved, how he took charge. And she had to admit that knowing he was doing part of this whole thing to avenge Gabriel’s death touched her deeply. There’d never been anyone in her life she could count on, on that level. Having Lex made her whole. Made everything all right even if it still brought a lump to her throat each time she thought of how pointless Gabriel’s death was.
Lex shot two of the men in the head before they’d even stood fully. Stoner stood off to the side, weapon drawn just in case. Nina gasped as one of the wolves jumped at Lex, knocking him off balance but not off his feet. He was all violence and menace as he moved with liquid speed and threw the other wolf into the glass and out onto the deck.
There was a short struggle, but Nina’s attention was torn from the scene by the sight of two men running toward them. Megan drew and one of them turned and saw her and jumped on her.
The other turned and moved toward Nina, growling and snarling.
It was time for her to do her job as Second. The weight of that fell on her until time slowed. With great clarity and a sense of purpose, Nina reached out, sighted down her arm and squeezed the trigger. The sound exploded, the acrid scent of gunpowder hung in the air around them. In an odd sort of calm, she squeezed again, and one more time, and the man crumpled to the ground.
She felt a touch on her arm and looked to see Megan speaking to her but she couldn’t hear anything but the ringing in her ears. Her shoulder hurt, her eyes burned. Megan put an arm around her and squeezed. Nina had done her duty to her Pack and she’d saved her life and the life of her sister-in-law in the bargain.
Remembering Lex and the battle on the deck, Nina spun just in time to see Lex heading toward them at top speed. Fear on his face, he looked at Megan, who smiled and nodded, and he closed his eyes for a moment. Relief clear on his face, he moved to pick Nina up and cradled her against his body, holding her there as they walked back through the forest.
By the time they’d gotten back to the car she had her hearing back and his heartbeat was keeping time, lulling her.
He set her down next to the car and unlocked it. “Beautiful, are you all right?”
Nina sat down. “Yeah. I think so. I really don’t like shooting people, Lex.”
“I don’t like you shooting people either, Nina. But you saved Megan’s life. You saved your own life. You did what you had to do and I’m proud of you for it. You’re strong and I’m thankful.” He knelt in front of her and ran his hands up her legs and put his head in her lap for a moment.
She ran her hands through his hair. “Did you get the virus?”
“We got two vials. Jack Reed, the Alpha of the Rogues, is dead, his people in the house are dead. Our wolf was gravely injured, they took him to Dr. Molinari. I hope he makes it.”
“What about Pellini?”
Lex shook his head. “He denied any involvement when I called him earlier and you know we couldn’t find anything concrete tying him to any of this.”
Megan came out of the woods and Lex went off to speak to Stoner and the guards for several minutes before coming back to the car and taking them back home.
“Is Stoner okay with what happened back there?”
Lex nodded. “He understands our need to run our affairs. He’s going to be a liaison between the Pack and the police. I think it’s a good plan. He’s a good man.”
Nina nodded. “Yeah. It’ll be good to have him on our side.”
Cade was waiting for them when they walked back inside. He hugged Megan and then Nina, kissing her lips gently. “Go take a shower, baby. You did good.”
She smirked up at him. “Easy there, Mayor McTouchy.”
Lex tugged on her ponytail with a laugh. “I’ll be up in a few minutes.”
She stood beneath the spray and let the tears come. Big gulping sobs shook her body. It was over. The men who’d killed her brother were dead and her mate was the one who made sure of that. Lex protected her and avenged her loss. The depth of what that meant stunned her.
Nina realized that being with Lex, even through all the horror that she’d experienced, had enabled her to get through it. That was family. That was connection.
It would take a while but in time, she would get over what happened in the living room of the Pack house. Eventually, she’d come to forgive the other wolves their inaction. She would however, use her position to deal with the stupid way werewolves treated humans. She’d do it for Gabriel and for the Nina Reyes who wasn’t human anymore. Knowing that it would agitate the hell out of Lex and Cade just made the thought even more delicious.
* * * * *
When she walked out of the bathroom a dozen candles lit the room. Lex lay in the center of their big bed, the golden glow of the candlelight making him look godlike.
The corner of her mouth hitched up even as her body tightened in response to his presence.
“Hey there. You look happy to see me.” She nodded to his erection.
“Yes, my thingy is quite pleased.”
Nina laughed and jumped on the bed where he caught her easily and rolled so that he was above her, looking down into her face.
She reached down, wrapped her hand around his cock and squeezed gently. “I think you’re old enough to say cock now, Lex. Sheesh.”
He laughed and kissed her quick and hard. “Well, I am just a fuck-drunk werewolf, remember?”
“Oh yeah.” She snickered. “Come on in, Scooby. The water is fine and your wife needs some action.”
“I love you Mrs. Scooby.” He positioned the head of his cock just outside her pussy and pushed into her body slowly.
“Good. Now shut up and fuck me ‘cause I love you, too. You big tool.”
Their laughter died on a gasp as he entered her body fully.
About the Author
Lauren Dane been writing stories since she was able to use a pencil, and before that she used to tell them to people. Of course, she still talks nonstop, but now she’s decided to try and make a go of being a writer. And so here she is. She still loves to write, and through wonderful fate and good fortune, she’s able to share what she writes with others now. It’s a wonderful life!
Lauren welcomes mail from readers. You can write to her c/o Ellora’s Cave Publishing at 1056 Home Avenue, Akron, OH 44310-3502.
Also by Lauren Dane
A Touch of Fae
Triad
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