Reynolds Pack (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Becca Van

  “I promise.”

  He bent over and kissed her lightly on the lips. “Thank you, sweetheart. I’m sorry our time was interrupted. We’ll make it up to you tonight. Okay?”

  “Okay.” Mel nodded and watched his denim-clad arse as he walked away. She didn’t move toward the bathroom until she heard the front door close.

  After a long soak in the tub, which eased her stiff muscles and the tenderness between her legs, Mel tidied up the kitchen and then headed to her cabin. She wondered if her mates would want her to move in with them, and although she was tempted to pack up just in case, she didn’t want to presume and end up getting hurt.

  She hurried to her kitchen when she heard her mobile phone ting, and after unplugging it, she read the three texts from her mates.

  Why haven’t you texted me yet? That one was from Johnny.

  You look sexy as hell first thing in the morning, babe. Jules was always trying to lighten the mood, but she knew he could be just as authoritative as his older brother.

  Kris’s text was straight to the point. Where the hell are you?

  Melanie added their phone numbers to her contact list and then sent them a group text. I’m still at home. I promise to text you if and when I leave and then every hour thereafter.

  She wondered if they were out searching for those horrible men in wolf form, and if so, how the hell they were able to carry mobile phones with them. It was a question she would have to ask them later. For now she was feeling a little lost. She was so used to being busy and working she didn’t know what to do with herself, so she decided to go and visit Jenny.

  * * * *

  Jules led the hunt in wolf form as Johnny and Kris followed behind. Blue and Joe were coming from the east while Trent, Mick, and Shayne tracked from the south.

  The men after the brumbies had been spotted five kilometres north of Reynolds Pack land, but Blue had decided he’d had enough stuffing around and ordered the Omegas to capture the men so they could be arrested and charged. Blue and Joe were worried that the men would somehow find out what they were, and if that happened, Jenny and their pup could be in danger.

  Jules was in total agreement now that he and his brothers had found and mated Melanie. He wanted the men incarcerated so that the women would be safe.

  When he felt vibrations beneath his paws, he lifted his head, but there was no dust hanging in the air. He lifted his nose to the breeze and caught the faint scent of wild horses, but he estimated them to be at least another five kilometres away.

  “They’re heading north, away from us,” Jules informed the other members of their pack through the common link.

  “I can see dust hovering in the air,” Shayne said.

  “How did you get there faster than we did?” Johnny asked.

  “We took the dirt bikes,” Shayne’s brother, Mick, answered.

  “Speed things up, you lot,” Blue ordered. “We aren’t going home until this is done.”

  “Yes, Alpha,” they all answered.

  Jules leapt forward, going from a fast trot to running full-out. He didn’t need to worry that his brothers couldn’t keep up. Before he’d sprung ahead he’d seen the golden-yellow glow come into their eyes and knew they had brought their wolves to the surface for speed and agility.

  “They’ve changed direction,” Shayne yelled. “They’re heading southeast.”

  “Shit, they’ll slip right between us.” Johnny tugged his shoes and socks from his feet, ripped his shirt from his body, and shifted between one step and the next, his shredded jeans falling to the ground.

  When they turned, Jules ended up following his oldest brother, as he, too, changed to wolf form, and Kris still sprinted beside him on two legs. Kris was clutching two rifles in his hands, and Jules assumed Johnny had passed the one he’d been carrying over.

  “I see them,” Johnny said. “The brumbies are heading toward the road.”

  “Damn, I hope no cars are coming,” Kris panted.

  “If they’re alert, they’ll see the dust way before the horses make an appearance and slow down.” Jules hoped like hell no one was coming from or going toward Silverton because he didn’t want any of the horses getting hit and killed. And then his heart froze when he remembered that Melanie had wanted to head to Broken Hill for some supplies.

  “Melanie?” he called to his mate, allowing his brothers to hear him calling her through his private link with her.

  “Jules? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

  “No, babe. Where are you?”

  “Visiting Jenny.”

  “Thank God.” The fear that had grabbed hold of his heart waned. “Don’t leave pack land, babe. The men we’re chasing have guns.”

  “Okay. Please be careful.”

  “You, too. Stay inside the house with Jenny.”

  “I will.”

  “Stay safe, mate.”

  “You, too. Call me if you need me.”

  “We’ll be fine as long as we know you’re okay,” Johnny butted in.

  “I promise not to go anywhere.”

  “Thank you, Mel. We’ll see you when we get home.”

  * * * *

  Melanie shoved up from the sofa and hurried to the living room windows. She and Jenny had been chatting for the last hour, but when Jules had contacted her, she’d felt his fear. At first she was scared he’d been hurt, but when he’d asked after her, her heart had melted.

  “Are you all right, Mel?” Jenny asked.

  Mel turned to face her Alpha female, new friend, and employer and saw the worry on her face. She must have been frowning as she hurried to the window.

  “Yeah, Jules just contacted me to check that I was safe.”

  “I hope they catch those horrible men soon. They’ve been after those horses for the last six weeks, apparently.”

  “Have they caught any?” Mel asked.

  “From what the Conservancy has said, yes, they have.”

  “What do they want with them?”

  “Money. They’re selling them to farmers to break and breed.”

  “Isn’t that against the law?”

  “Yes. The Conservancy was contacted by someone when he spotted the horses at an auction. Those horses were released back into the wild, but I’m sure others haven’t been so lucky.”

  “Do you think the men are in danger?”

  “There’s always an element of danger, but our men are strong and fast and know how to take care of themselves.”

  “I guess,” Mel muttered, but she had a knot of dread forming in the pit of her stomach, and no matter how hard she tried to dispel it, it wouldn’t budge. “I need to get some fresh air. Are you going to be all right by yourself?”

  Jenny laughed. “I’m never left alone. Blue and Joe are so damn overprotective they drive me up the wall sometimes.”

  Mel frowned. “Yet they’re not here.”

  “They’re not, but Jay Domain is patrolling outside.”

  “The American.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Is he a werewolf, too?”

  “Yes.”

  “How did an American werewolf end up here?”

  “The Reynolds and Friess Packs are the largest in the world. The two Alphas wanted an alliance that would encompass the southern and northern hemispheres of the world.

  “Crag Reynolds, Blue and Joe’s cousin, volunteered to move to America since he didn’t have any siblings, and Jay came here. Crag ended up finding his mates, and even though Jay in still unmated, he’s loyal to us. The alliance has made the Reynolds and Friess pack the strongest and largest wolf pack on the globe.”

  “Oh, but if they were already the biggest in the two different hemispheres, why would they need to combine packs?”

  Jenny shrugged. “From what I’ve heard, there was some dissension and talk from smaller packs here and in the U.S. about taking down our two families. Now that we’ve banded together, the talk has waned.”

  “Just because there’s no more talk of taki
ng over doesn’t mean that plans have changed.” Mel frowned.

  “Yeah, but hopefully the idiots will think twice about doing so. There are other packs in New South Wales who have aligned themselves with Blue. There were also rumours about a young Alpha in Russia wanting to try his hand at challenging Blue and Jonah Friess, but his numbers are nowhere near what ours are singularly or combined. When he heard that the strongest packs aligned, he decided against challenging.”

  “Does a leadership challenge mean what I think it means?”

  “First blood or a fight to the death? Yes.”

  “First blood?” Mel walked back to the sofa and sat down.

  “Whoever draws first blood is usually the strongest and fastest contender. If the injured wolf submits, they all walk away with no loss of life.”

  “I am so glad that I didn’t turn into a werewolf when they mated me.” Mel grimaced.

  “You and me both, Mel.” Jenny rubbed her hand over her belly. “I worry about this one though. If it’s a boy, he will one day lead the pack. Blue and Joe told me that the Lycan gene in a male is dominant and a boy will always be able to change into a werewolf once puberty hits.”

  “And if you have a girl?”

  “A girl has a fifty-fifty chance of becoming a werewolf. We won't know until she reaches adolescence.” Jenny smiled. “I can see Blue and Joe carrying shotguns wherever they go if we have a little girl.”

  Mel burst out laughing. She could see her men doing the same if she ever gave her mates a daughter. When her laughter subsided, she rose and wandered out to the porch. All was quiet, and even though she tried to see if there was any dust stirring in the air, she sighed when she couldn’t see anything.

  She turned to go back inside and nearly fell on her arse when she saw a very tall, muscular man sitting in a large chair against the side of the house.

  “Sorry, ma’am. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “You’re Jay, right?”

  “That would be me.”

  Melanie held her ground when he stood, but it was hard to when all her instincts were telling her to back up. He was even bigger than her mates, and although he wasn’t quite as tall as Blue, he was a hell of a lot brawnier. Jay must have felt her nervousness because he pushed his Stetson back so his face was no longer in shadows, and then he lifted his hand. When she met his kind hazel eyes and saw the gentleness in his soul, she relaxed and clasped his hand.

  “I’m Melanie.”

  Jay grinned as he shook her hand gently. “I know who you are, Melanie. You cook the best food.”

  Mel smiled. “Thank you.”

  Jay released her hand, his body tensing, and then he moved so fast he was a blur. He stood in front of her blocking her view of the yard, but when he began to back up, she did, too.

  “You need to go inside now, Melanie.”

  “What’s happening?”

  “The wild horses are heading this way.” Jay reached around her and opened the front door for her. “That means so are the men trying to capture them. There’s a loaded shotgun on top of the bookshelves in the living room. If anyone you don’t know manages to get past me, shoot to kill. Okay?”

  “I’ve never even touched a gun.”

  “We have to protect Jenny and her pup.”

  Mel met Jay’s gaze and swallowed convulsively as she nodded. Jay was right. If someone tried to hurt Jenny and her baby, she would do what she had to.

  “You need to cock the gun, aim, and fire. There are only two shells.”

  Mel couldn’t speak her mouth was that dry, but she nodded again. Jay gave her a last look before he nudged her forward and closed the door after her.

  “Check all the windows and doors. Make sure they’re all locked, and stay out of sight. I don't want you or Jenny being seen or getting shot.”

  “I will.” Mel turned the deadlock on the front door and then raced around the large house to check all windows and doors. But she knew if someone wanted to get in, all they had to do was break a window. However, they were after horses and not people. At least she hoped that was the case, but if the men were cornered and desperate enough, they could end up doing anything.

  The men of the Reynolds Pack were intent on capturing the arseholes, and although she was glad they were on the brumbies side, she was still worried that her mates or the other men could end up getting hurt or worse.

  “Melanie, get the gun.” Jenny pointed to the tall bookcase when she entered the living room. “Blue’s worried about us.”

  “Tell me,” Mel demanded as she grabbed the footstool near an armchair and dragged it over to the bookcase. She climbed up and searched with the tips of her fingers, being careful she didn’t touch the trigger, until she felt the cold metal of the shotgun.

  She gripped the barrel and, when she lifted it, was surprised by how heavy it was. She carefully climbed from her perch and hurried back across to the large window. Even though Jay had told her and Jenny to stay away from the windows, she just couldn't sit by and do nothing—especially if her mates were in danger.

  “Do you know how to shoot?” Jenny asked as she came up behind Mel.

  “No. Do you?”

  “No. I asked Blue and Joe to teach me since we live in the Outback, but I pretty much got pregnant the moment we mated, and they decided it was too dangerous.”

  When she held up her hand and Mel saw the bat she was clutching, she smiled.

  “I wield a pretty mean baseball bat though.”

  “Anything is better than nothing.”

  “My sentiments exactly.” Jenny gave her a determined smile.

  Mel knew if someone got into the house she would do whatever she had to, to keep Jenny and her baby safe.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Fuck! Those arseholes are heading toward pack land.” Kris pushed harder than he ever had before. He had no idea of how long he kept the fast pace and ignored the burning lactic acid in his muscles as he covered kilometre after kilometre.

  He was only about ten metres behind his brothers and two hundred metres from the main house, and his heart was pounding in his chest with adrenaline and fear for his mate and his pregnant Alpha female.

  Clouds of the fine, red, talcum powder-like dust from the scared, fleeing brumbies made vision difficult, but he could see the ten pricks chasing them. Those fuckers didn’t seem to give a shit that they were on someone else’s land and so close to the houses. They pursued those brumbies with dogged determination.

  Johnny and Jules nipped at the heels of the mounts the men were riding, hoping the horses would buck the riders off.

  When Kris was closer, he lowered the rifle Johnny had thrown to him before his brother had changed into his wolf, then he took a steadying breath, aimed above the heads of the riders, and fired.

  All hell broke loose. Several gunshots echoed through the air. Jay, who was also in animal form, leapt up and knocked one of the riders off of his horse and the other pack members came racing into the melee. Blue, Joe, Shayne, and the others had remained in their human forms like Kris had, so the fuckers could be restrained once they were captured. The last thing they needed was for the human race to find out there were werewolves in the world.

  A low yowl of pain reverberated against his ears. Kris didn’t need to look to know that Johnny had been shot. He could feel the fiery hot burn and the agony ripping through his brother’s right hip. The only consolation was that they healed quickly as long as silver bullets hadn’t been used.

  Kris turned the rifle toward the man who’d shot Johnny just in time to see the fucker cock his gun and begin to squeeze the trigger, but he didn’t get the chance to save his brother from another wound. Someone else beat him to it.

  His heart nearly stopped when he saw Melanie standing on the porch with the fiercest expression on her face as she held a smoking shotgun in her delicate little hands. He glanced at the bastard writhing on the ground and saw blood seeping from the arsehole’s left thigh. He was glad she hadn’t killed t
he man and didn’t have to deal with a death she’d caused because he knew she wouldn’t have been able to live with her conscience if she’d taken the bastard’s life. And he also wondered if she’d ever even held a gun before.

  All of Melanie’s attention was on Johnny as his brother limped around and under wild and tame horses, trying to keep from being trampled in the crazy confusion of sound and movement. He quickly shifted his eyes back to his mate when he noticed that Johnny was fine. His wound would heal within the hour. Already his brother’s wound was closing, which meant the bullet was out and hadn’t been silver.

  He could see Melanie's mouth moving, but with the loud panicked squeals coming from the brumbies and the shouts from the other men, he couldn't hear what she was saying. Not even his wolf could pick up the words she was speaking. When Melanie's eyes widened with horror, Kris turned in time to see Jules being kicked by one of the wild horses. His brother yelped as he flew through the air and then landed with a hard thud.

  Johnny raced across the ground, dodging under and between horse's legs. The muscles in his hind legs bunched and then he leapt up from the ground knocking another of the fuckers from his horse. His brother was just in time because the asshole had been aiming at Jules, his finger already squeezing the trigger. The gun fired harmlessly in the air as the bastard tumbled off his mount.

  Blue, Joe, and the others were already restraining some of the men with rope around their wrists and arms behind their backs.

  He glanced back toward Mel, and his heart nearly stopped when he saw one of the men had already climbed through the porch rails and was creeping along the side of the house toward her. He had no doubt the fucker was going to try and use his mate as leverage to try and escape, but he wasn't about to let that happen.

  Kris grabbed the other rifle from the ground and began running for his woman as a red haze of fury covered his eyes. If that fucker harmed a hair on his mate’s head, he would rip the bastard’s head off with his bare hands. He couldn't take the shot because the brumbies were still milling around and were blocking his view. Right now, he didn't care about shooting one of the wild horses, but he wasn't about to shoot blindly and end up hitting his woman instead.