Enforcers Embrace [Southern Supernatural Alphas] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Sara Anderson

  “Her memories are too entrenched. I’d hurt her more by trying to erase them.”

  “What are we going to do?”

  Marcus stroked her cheek. “Take her to Yerel. She is part of our pack now, and I want her treated as such.”

  Logan glanced over at Rachel. Tears were falling down her face still, and she groaned as if she was expecting to be the next victim.

  Rachel stared as he carried her out of the house. Her body may be intact, but her spirit was broken. He hoped for her sake that their healer could help her.

  * * * *

  Logan walked back to his Mustang after dropping Rachel off at the pack’s clinic. There was no telling what those fucking coyote dogs had done to her, but Yerel said he would take care of her.

  As Logan walked down the sidewalk, he felt the case that held his cell phone and gun. It was on a special belt that allowed him to shift from a lycan back to a human without losing those items, and the material didn’t shred like his clothing when he shifted.

  The case was empty, and Logan stopped. He lifted his shirt to check the rest of his belt. His gun, knife, and extra silver bullets were all there, but no phone.

  “Fuck.” He must have dropped it somewhere in that fight with the damn coyotes. He’d had it right before the fight, and he hadn’t used it since.

  It only took him a few moments to drive back to the house where he’d fought the coyotes, but a thorough search of the house and property surrounding the house didn’t find his phone.

  “Fucking goddamn piece of shit.” Logan wanted to punch something. All his contacts were in that phone. Thankfully, there wasn’t anything that would endanger the lycan pack, but if he didn’t find his phone, he’d lose a lot of personal information. If Emily ever forgave him, she’d have no way to get ahold of him.

  He heard footsteps and turned to see his closest friend and housemate, Ash. He was still wearing his uniform from his shift at the fire department.

  “I’d hoped I would find you here. Why aren’t you answering your phone?”

  “I fucking can’t find it. I have no idea where I dropped it. It’s just fucking gone.”

  “Damn,” Ash said as his eyes widened. “Did you back everything up?”

  Logan winced as he shook his head. “Of course not.”

  Ash shook his head and leaned against the doorway. “That means there’s no chance she can call you.”

  Logan didn’t have to wonder who she was. He’d just thought the same thing. They’d both wanted Emily, but Logan had fucked it up for both of them. Logan knew that Ash was also Emily’s fated mate. He’d been in denial, because he was scared he’d lose her if they showed her their lycan side and she rejected them. Thankfully, Ash was a patient lycan and had been willing to wait. Now they were both missing their mate.

  “She won’t call. I couldn’t tell her that I was the pack enforcer, and I had to go on the hunt for those rogue coyotes.” Logan could see the accusation in Ash’s eyes. You should have just told her and mated her. Now she’s gone and we’re both miserable.

  Logan pushed his fingers through his hair. “I’d go after her and bring her back, willing or not, if I knew where she was. The stars know we’ve both looked. I can’t track down every Emily Mullen in the US though. Matt doesn’t know where she went, and we can’t justify using lycan interrogation against her grandma. She has no ties to our pack.”

  Ash shook his head. “Myra believes she is helping Emily by letting her hide. If you’d managed to tie her to you, then we could go and track her down. She’s our fated mate, and out there alone and unprotected. I can’t stand it some nights. What if she’s in danger?”

  Logan couldn’t stand that thought either, but he could not leave his pack unprotected when he didn’t even know where to start looking. His wolf snarled and demanded to be let free. His wolf would find her somehow and bring his mate home.

  If Emily was Ash’s and his fated mate, she’d feel the pull to them as strong as they felt it, and she’d come willingly. She was probably miserable, but since she was innocent to their way of life, she had no idea why.

  “I’m sorry,” Logan said once again. “I fucked up. If we weren’t tracking coyotes in the Smokey Mountains, we could have stopped her. Now our only hope is she’ll come back some day, and we can grab her. One of us can shift in front of her and our problem is solved.”

  Ash stroked the day-old growth on his face. “It’s not entirely your fault, Logan. You saw your brother, Lance, waste away after the female he wanted couldn’t handle that he was a lycan, and your old Alpha had to erase her memory. I believe if that female had accepted your brother’s lycan side and they mated, you wouldn’t have been scared to tell Emily.”

  Logan crossed his arms and stared at the ground. Logan had obsessed over why he’d pushed Emily away, even though he loved her. Some lycans were dangerous to humans if they couldn’t control their wolf. If they went wild, then they could attack their own mate. Although Logan’s wolf was strong, he’d never once lost control. Every supernatural and even human he’d killed, he’d done as a pack enforcer, not a crazed wolf.

  His brother was different though. Lance was twelve years older than him and had fallen in love with a human female from town, but she feared him after he’d revealed his wolf to her. Logan never forgot how it tore his brother up to have a woman he loved repulsed by his lycan side. He’d gone wild and the Alpha had to lock him up. Logan couldn’t even visit his brother anymore, and he knew if Lance ever got free, he’d kill indiscriminately. Logan couldn’t help but wonder if he’d lose his sanity as well if Emily rejected him. Maybe, or maybe not. Before her death, Logan’s mother had assured him that Lance had always struggled with his wolf, and they worried he’d go wild well before he’d fallen for the human.

  Ash shook his head. “I told you to just knock her up. It would have made her a member of our pack.”

  “I thought about it, trust me. There were even a few times I wasn’t careful, but it never worked. I checked every time I saw her.” Logan remembered the relief and disappointment that filled him every time he smelled her and she wasn’t carrying his pup. When a human became pregnant, she started to smell like a lycan, and more specifically, the father of the lycan child. When the pup was born, they’d have a scent that was part mother, part father, and just enough of their own to make each scent unique. Every time he took in her scent, all he caught was her pure, sweet scent.

  “Unless she comes back, there isn’t much either of us can do. We have duties with the pack, and Emily could be anywhere.” Logan felt the bleak loneliness filling him at the thought of letting Emily go. There would never be another female for him. He’d be alone and always wonder what might have happened if he hadn’t been a coward.

  * * * *

  Logan got into the driver’s seat, started the car, and rested against the headrest for a moment. Ash was just as lost as he was, but at the time, he’d thought he was doing the right thing. He was scared of losing her forever if she hated his wolf, and dammit, he thought he had more time. He never imagined she would just disappear.

  After Lance’s terrible experience, Logan became a love-them-and-leave-them-without-as-much-as-a-second-thought kind of lycan. He’d had plenty of women warm his bed, but he’d never formed any attachments. Then Emily had entered his life, and she was everything he’d ever dreamed of in a mate. She made his head spin and she was all he thought about. Her love of chocolate, bubble baths, and movies in front of the fire. She was a fighter when she got mad at him, but she loved him just as hard. To top it off, she was a sweet submissive. She wasn’t a pushover though. No, his Emily was perfect, and he’d ruined it.

  A year ago, some rogue coyotes were attacking lycan families. When they killed three pups who were home alone, the enforcers had to act. He’d really thought it would be a quick hunt, and he didn’t need to tell Emily. They both went days sometimes without speaking, and her family lived in Wolf Creek. He had no reason to believe he’d come home and fin
d that his world would be torn to pieces.

  It wouldn’t have mattered if he knew she’d leave him though. There was no way he could say no, since he was the third-in-command of the Wolf Creek Pack and the chief enforcer. Ash was an investigator with the fire department and his skills were useful as they hunted the coyotes, so they both had gone to hunt and eliminate the rogues.

  Logan was foolish to believe Emily’s ties to her family would hold her here. He thought he could live in both worlds. He couldn’t have been more wrong. The memory of that day came back to him as it had daily for the past year.

  Logan arrived at the construction office where Marcus worked to report their successful mission. He’d never intended to be gone a month, but hopefully Emily would forgive him, and then he’d make it up to her. He’d take her to dinner, and then bring her home and tie her up and make love to her. She’d yell and scream at him about how awful he’d treated her, and he would let her vent. She had every reason to be angry, and then hopefully they’d talk before he showed her with actions what his words couldn’t. He loved her and wanted to mate her, but he was scared of the secrets he had. How will she react when she found out that he’s a werewolf?

  Once he was done, he and Marcus both walked out to his truck. He picked up the phone he’d left in the center console and turned it on.

  It vibrated with several messages and a voice mail. “Emily,” he murmured.

  Marcus leaned against his own truck and raised his eyebrows. “You’ve been seeing that little human for over a year, Logan. That’s a record for you. I expect you will be bringing her to me soon.” Marcus gave him a stern look. “You know, humans are very fertile. It’s one reason supernaturals seek out female human mates.”

  Logan shook his head. “No, she’s on the pill and I smell her a lot to be sure. It’s worked so far. My grandma is pestering me about giving her grand pups to spoil. She really likes Emily and wants me to bring her to you so you can bless our mating.”

  Marcus chuckled. “I would. Emily is good for you.”

  Logan stared at the phone, and fear inched up his spine as he thought about Emily watching him change. When she learned he was not only a werewolf, but one that killed to protect the lycans in his pack. He could start by apologizing about being gone.

  “I don’t know if I am ready to take that step, Alpha.” Logan rested his head against the headrest and closed his eyes.

  “Mating? Why would you not want to mate someone you loved?”

  “Not that, Alpha, but showing her my werewolf. What if she hates me?”

  “That’s a risk, and it does happen from time to time.”

  Logan knew from experience what happened next. The pack Alpha erased the memory of the human, and then the lycan broke it off with the human. They would be forbidden to ever see or mate with that human again, since they had proved themselves to be incompatible.

  “You realize that fate isn’t that cruel, Logan. Those relationships that fail happen because those involved weren’t true fated mates. I believe you, Emily, and Ash are fated mates. She’d accept your lycan side and love you even more.”

  “Maybe,” Logan said as he pondered telling her.

  “Your brother’s wolf wasn’t stable. If that had happened in this territory, my father would have put a stop to the relationship early, before Lance got so attached.”

  Logan nodded. “I know. It’s one of the reason’s my mother moved us out of that territory. A strong Alpha would have seen how unstable Lance’s wolf was.”

  Marcus leaned in closer to Logan’s truck. “You’re in control of your lycan side, Logan. I can see it. You know I would have made you stay away from Emily if you weren’t.”

  Nodding, Logan hit the voice mail icon on his phone and listened. Emily’s voice came over the line, but it was devoid of any emotion.

  “Logan, it’s me, Emily. I’m sorry for whatever I did to piss you off and make you ignore me. I am going to make this easy on you. I’m leaving North Carolina. Not sure where I’ll end up, but it won’t be here in town anymore. Please don’t worry about me or pester my grandma. Let’s just make this a clean break. Good-bye, Logan.

  What! That couldn’t be, but as Logan listened to her voice mail again, he heard the emotion in her voice. She was barely holding herself together. His poor Em. He had to find her and let her know it was a horrible misunderstanding. He’d show her his lycan side and explain he was hunting. He wasn’t ignoring her at all, just protecting the packs. Logan sat up straight. She left me? Suddenly he realized while he’d been scared about her rejecting him, he’d done the rejecting. He couldn’t tell her he was hunting rogue packs to kill them. He’d made a huge mistake by assuming he wouldn’t be gone long. He thought she’d be mad and he’d buy her a movie, wine, and chocolate, not this. He had to see her, now.

  “I’ve got to go, Alpha!” Logan said while turning the key in the ignition.

  “Is everything all right?”

  “No. Emily’s left me. She says she left town. I have to go and see if I can get to her.”

  Logan barely noticed Marcus’s shocked look as he shoved the gear shift into reverse and the tires spun on the loose gravel.

  Twenty minutes later, he pulled into the driveway of the historic home that had been Emily’s grandmother’s before she moved into the assisted-living facility.

  “Emily!” Logan yelled while taking the front porch steps three at a time. He pounded on the oak and glass door, but no sound came from inside the house. He reached over the doorframe, found the key, and opened the door.

  “Em, are you home?” He listened for a moment then deepened his voice to be more commanding. “Pet, answer me!” Logan walked into the old house and found everything as he remembered it. Footsteps sounded behind him, and he felt relief. “Emily, thank god.”

  Logan began to turn, but his sense of smell told him before he saw it wasn’t Emily. Still, when he turned, his heart fell. It wasn’t Emily, but her brother, Matt. He was still wearing his slacks and button-up shirt telling Logan that he’d come straight from his office.

  “Did Gram tell you, too?” Matt asked as he removed his sunglasses and looked around the house.

  “No, I got a voice mail she was leaving. Do you know where she went?”

  Matt shook his head. “No, but she’s always dreamed of going to the big cities. I’m stunned. I thought you two were happy.”

  “Yeah, we were.” Logan sighed in despair. “I’ve been trying to call her.”

  “Her phone broke.” Matt rolled his eyes. “Or so Gram said.”

  “So, how are you supposed to get a hold of her?”

  Matt shrugged. “Gram said if she needs anything, she’ll call.”

  Logan opened his eyes and stared ahead of him. He’d been in love with her, and he’d been a coward.

  “Well, you asshole, you had the perfect mate, then you blew it.” Logan put his car into drive and pulled onto the road. He needed to try to find his phone, and then go to the Underground. Despite the recent tension, the Underground was neutral territory for supernaturals. Maybe listening to some loud music and watching some scenes would help to clear his head.

  Chapter Two

  Ash Cooper concentrated on the Jaws of Life he used to snap off the supports of the mangled sedan’s roof. The kids screamed in the back while the paramedics leaned into the car to care for their father.

  As a lycan, he could smell the fumes building and he knew the gas was leaking from the tank. While the car wouldn’t explode like the TV was fond of showing, there was a real risk of a fire. His strength would allow him to rip the roof off the car, but many of his fellow firefighters were human, and it was against supernatural law for him to expose himself to humans. Ash would have to do this as the human way.

  “We’re going to need an air evac,” the paramedic, Luke, said.

  Ash wasn’t sure Luke’s partner, Sean, had even heard him over the noise of the equipment.

  “Get Life Flight in the air,” Ash yelled
loud enough for the other medics and firefighters to hear.

  Just as Ash cut the last support, flames started to erupt from under the car.

  Luke threw his own flame retardant coat over his patient, while Ash and Sean jumped onto the hood of the car to peel the roof away.

  Shouting drew Ash’s attention for a moment, and he saw the other firefighters rushing over to douse the flames and help with the roof.

  The children were screaming in terror when Ash climbed into the back of the car. “It’s okay now, I’m going to get you out.”

  “My daddy. He’s not talking,” the young girl cried.

  “No, he’s not, sweetie, but we’re going to get you all out. I am going to put this around your neck. It’s just to keep you safe while we move you.” Ash knew that telling the young girl that her dad would be fine may make his job easier for the moment, but the truth was he didn’t know. The medics were working hard to get him out, and the windshield had evidence that he’d hit his head. He couldn’t tell these children that their dad would be fine when he could have a serious brain injury.

  “I’m scared,” the little boy added with a frightened cry.

  “I know, but we’re here now.” Ash cut the seat belts free and helped the other firefighters move the children out safely. They no longer immobilized accident victims, but they sometimes used the boards to move patients more easily.

  Once the father and children were free of the wreckage, the scene turned into more of a cleanup than a rescue. The highway patrol’s accident investigation team had already arrived and taken their measurements while the sheriff deputies interviewed witnesses. The older man in the other car was dead on arrival, so this was a fatality investigation, and that would have much more scrutiny than an injury wreck.