Loved by The Alpha Wolf (The Lone Wolf Book 1)

by K. T. Stryker

  He smiled at her, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “There’s nothing else to say,” he grinned. “We weren’t exactly going to leave another shifter there.”

  Jenny's breath hitched as he smiled, his face transformed in a moment. She suddenly realized she still held his hand and dropped it at once, thoroughly embarrassed.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled, glancing away.

  Clearing his throat, Ross turned to the side and introduced her to the rest of the pack: Thomas, married to Sarah, Ash, and Connor.

  “Ash was hit by a tranq dart the last time we were at Davidson’s place,” he explained, remembering the first time he’d seen her. “But we got him back here before Davidson had time to get him.”

  At the mention of Davidson’s name, Jenny shivered. “He’s a ruthless man,” she said softly. “If he’d caught you as your wolf, Ash, he’d more than likely have paraded you around for a while before shooting you in the head.”

  Ash’s gaze met hers with not a single trace of fright in his eyes. “Why would he do that?” he asked gruffly. “I know he’s a hunter, but why does he hate shifters so much?”

  Jenny saw each of the shifters sit down in various seats in the room, all waiting for her to tell them what she knew. “I’m not sure where his hatred of our kind has come from, although he did mention something about his wife once.”

  “His wife?” Ross repeated, frowning. There hadn’t been any scents at the house that had led him to believe there was a woman living in the house. “Did you ever meet her?”

  Shaking her head, Jenny frowned. “I did see a photo of her once, and there are boxes of her stuff in the cellar.”

  “So, you think she left him?”

  She shrugged. “Either that or she’s passed away.” Biting her lip, she glanced around the room. “Whatever his reasons, I do know is that he’s got two other people on his side. They are determined to wipe us all out.”

  “But that’s murder!” Sarah exclaimed. “They’d never get away with it!”

  Shaking her head, Jenny's mouth drew into a thin line. "Not if he kills us when we've shifted," she explained. "That's why he kept me in the cellar. He was trying to get me to shift so that he'd be able to kill me. After all, no authority is going to care if you've killed a wolf, are they?"

  She could see the effect her words had on everyone. Each face grew more serious, more cautious.

  "That's why they tranquilized me," Ash said. "So that they could shoot me the moment I woke up."

  Jenny nodded, hating that she had to tell them the truth. “Yes, exactly. There are around ten hunters altogether—that I know of, I mean. They’d all want to be there to see you shot.”

  “And they think that we’re the beasts,” Ross muttered darkly. “We’ve done nothing to humans, nothing that would bring this kind of retribution. We keep out of the humans’ way, help them where we can, and generally just stay out of their lives! There’s no reason for these hunters to be chasing us.”

  Wishing she had the answers, Jenny sighed, looking directly at him. “I really wish I had the answers for you,” she said quietly. “But I don’t. There’s obviously something that has driven Davidson to do this—because he’s definitely the one in charge—but I just don’t know what it is.”

  Ross shook his head before putting his head in his hands. “I doubt it would make much of a difference even if we did know what drives him,” he said quietly. Looking up, he nodded to Sarah and Thomas. “You two look into this wife of Davidson’s. Find out whatever you can and let me know.”

  “Will do,” Thomas replied firmly.

  He nodded in appreciation, before turning back to Jenny. “I suppose I should tell you the plan, Jenny. In a few hours, we are going to be driving out of town.”

  “We?” Jenny asked faintly, wondering what his plan was.

  "Oh, sorry," Ross muttered. "Myself and Connor. We're going to go up to the East River pack, which is quite a distance away. We'll have to travel in the truck for most of the way but walk the last five miles or so. I don't want to lead Davidson to them since he'll be searching for you."

  Feeling quite confused, Jenny glanced from Ross to Sarah and back again. “Who are the East River pack?”

  “They’re a bigger pack,” Sarah explained. “They can look after you better than we can here.

  “Less exposed, you mean,” Jenny murmured, understanding what they meant. “But I can make my own way there. I don’t want you to put yourselves in danger on my account.

  “Absolutely not.”

  Ross’s tone was firm, his voice filled with authority as he glared at her. Jenny felt herself wince inwardly, dropping her gaze.

  “Sorry,” she muttered, looking away.

  She heard Ross clear his throat, and, out of the corner of her eye, caught Sarah glaring at him.

  “What I mean is,” Ross continued, more quietly, “shifters look out for each other. I wouldn’t even dream of letting you go out there alone. Not after what Davidson’s done to you so far. It wouldn’t be right.

  Guilt trickled into Jenny’s soul. Ross was the leader of the pack and had clearly decided to make her one of his own. She shouldn’t have suggested walking out by herself. “I’m sorry,” she replied, finally managing to look into his eyes. “I haven’t been part of a pack before.”

  “Never?” Thomas asked, sounding surprised. “What did you do before now?”

  Jenny shrugged, relieved that the conversation had moved on. “I mostly kept to myself,” she replied. “My parents were both shifters, and I was their only child. We lived out in the sticks, so there wasn’t exactly a lot of other shifters nearby!”

  “That must have been lonely,” Sarah commented.

  Pain tore into Jenny’s heart. “It was, after my parents died,” she replied quietly. “Car crash, a few years back. Nothing they—or anyone—could have done. After their funerals, I sold the house and moved away. I wanted to start over.”

  She could still see Ross watching her but couldn't quite bring herself to meet his eyes. It was as though she was almost afraid of what she might see there, and if there were sympathy and compassion, her already confused feelings toward him might just get themselves even more knotted.

  “Did you meet Davidson here, then?” Connor asked, his dark eyes so like his brother’s.

  Nodding, Jenny gave a quiet laugh. “Yes, at the local bar, of all places. I thought he was just being friendly, at first. We dated for a few weeks.”

  “And then he got you back to his place,” Ross growled, his eyebrows furrowing.

  Heat rushed to her face. "He said he was going to cook dinner." Her stomach twisted as she remembered exactly what had happened. "It didn't go too well, considering I found myself locked in the downstairs cellar."

  “How awful for you,” Sarah murmured, reaching for Jenny’s mug and getting her a refill. “Had he seen you shift, then?”

  “He said he had,” Jenny confessed. “I’d never thought to be that careful. I mean, I always went far away from the town and made sure there wasn’t anyone nearby, but I guess he must have been looking specifically for shifters.”

  “And he’s not going to give up, either,” Ross interjected, looking grim. “Jenny, before we go, I was wondering if you had managed to get a good look at either of the other two hunters? Thomas here is a pretty good sketch artist, and it might give us something to go on.”

  Jenny frowned, thinking hard. “Davidson always kept the room quite dim, probably so I couldn’t identify any of them in case I managed to get away, but I’m sure I can try to remember. I got a good look at them once. Davidson took them down the stairs back to the cellar to show them where he was keeping me.” Her stomach clenched as his laugh echoed in her mind. “He told them he was keeping me caged like the animal I was.” Her voice drifted off into a whisper, and it was only the touch of Ross’s hand on hers that startled her back to reality.

  “It’s over now,” he murmured softly. “You’re part of our pack now, Jenny. Part
of White Fire. You’ve got a family.”

  A family. Jenny smiled slightly, filled with conflicting emotions of happiness, relief, and sadness. It was time to start again.

  Chapter Nine

  Jenny swallowed the last of her coffee, feeling quite full and content, even if she was a little nervous about leaving the office so soon. Even the scratching at her shoulder blade had lessened. Sarah had been nothing but friendly to her, giving her a good meal as well as a few clothes to keep her going.

  “Thank you for everything,” Jenny murmured, as Sarah reached to take her empty dishes away. “I really appreciate this.”

  Sarah smiled. “Of course. To be honest, I hope you’ll come back here when Davidson and his thugs have been sorted out. It’s been nice to have another female to keep me company!”

  Jenny smiled back, finding herself wanting the same thing. “I’d love that,” she said truthfully. “Do you think Ross meant what he said?” Her eyes searched Sarah’s face, hoping that everything Ross had said about her joining the pack was true.

  A quick laugh came from Sarah, as she began to wash the dishes. "Ross doesn't speak before thinking things through," she replied with a grin. "Everything he said about you being here, about being part of our pack now, was absolutely true. You're part of the White Fire pack if you choose to be."

  “Choose?” Jenny asked, not sure what Sarah was getting at.

  Sarah shrugged. “Well, sure. I mean no one is going to force you to stay with us, Jenny. Maybe you’ll find that the East River pack offers you more than we can, and maybe you’ll choose to stay with them.” She smiled again. “Of course, I’m really hoping you’ll stay with us, but it’s entirely your decision. No one forces anyone to do anything around here.”

  “Oh.” Jenny frowned, glancing away from Sarah to the patterned wallpaper. She didn’t want to be apart from the White Fire pack, even if she had to stay with the East River shifters for a while. They had been the ones to save her from Davidson, and she felt she owed them her loyalty. On top of all that, there was the matter of Ross. No matter how much she ignored it, there was something about him that she was drawn to. Even more than that, her wolf was drawn to him too. The thought of leaving him and the White Fire pack brought a swift kick of pain to her chest, and her wolf growled quietly, letting her know exactly what it thought of that idea.

  “No,” she said decisively. “I don’t think I want to join another pack. I feel like I’m tied here—in a good way. If I’m allowed to stay, then I want to be a part of the White Fire pack.”

  Sarah grinned. “I’m really glad to hear you say that,” she said, wiping her wet hands on a cloth. “Did you say you had a house nearby?”

  “Yes,” Jenny replied, giving her the address. “Although I don’t have my key any more. Davidson took everything.”

  Shrugging, Sarah sat opposite her. “That won’t matter to Ash,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. “We’ll make sure that your house is ready for you with brand new locks.”

  Not knowing how to express how grateful she was, Jenny gave Sarah another wobbly smile.

  “Now don’t you start getting all teary now,” Sarah laughed, reaching across and patting Jenny’s hand. “You’ve been needing a pack for a while now, huh? We’re all here to look after each other.”

  “That sounds about right,” said a low voice, as Ross walked into the room, pinning Jenny with his gaze. “Are you ready to go, Jenny? It’s already starting to get light out, and I’d like to have at least a couple of hours ahead before Davidson gets wind of things.”

  Swallowing the lump in her throat, Jenny drew in a long breath, got to her feet, and tried to smile. “Yes, I think so. Sarah’s done a good job of looking after me.”

  “I’m sure she did,” Ross replied with a quick grin at his sister-in-law. “You’re going to take good care of Thomas and Ash while I’m gone, right?”

  “You know I will!” Sarah exclaimed, swiping at him. “And Jenny’s given me the address to her place. I’ve promised we’ll have it cleaned and ready for her, complete with new locks on all the windows and doors.”

  “Sounds good,” he agreed, turning back to face Jenny. “I’m glad to hear you’re wanting to come back here, once Davidson’s taken care of.”

  She smiled tentatively. “I want to stay a part of this pack, Ross. After everything you have done for me—and are going to do—my allegiance is here.”

  For a long moment, he didn’t say anything, just looked at her steadily. Jenny didn’t know what to do, wondering if she’d said something wrong, but, finally, he stuck out his hand and shook hers fervently.

  “Guess it’s official, then,” he grinned. “I’m sure Sarah is delighted to have another female around, she’s always complaining.”

  Jenny tried to join in the laughter, ignoring the sparks that shot up her arm from where he’d shaken her hand. “I’ll see you again soon, Sarah.”

  Sarah quickly threw her arms around Jenny, hugging her tightly for a minute. “Be careful,” she said softly. “And make sure Ross stays in touch for as long as you can, OK?”

  “OK,” Jenny promised, not sure how she was going to do that but agreeing to it anyway. “Bye, Sarah.”

  Following Ross out of the room, Jenny smiled at Ash and Thomas, who each patted her on the shoulder and told her not to worry. They were all really trying to make her feel better.

  "We've got to move fast," Ross murmured, grasping her arm as they came to the front door. The light was off, and the corridor was lit only by the gray light coming in through the windows. "Anyone could be watching."

  Listening hard, Jenny heard the sound of a car engine coming closer.

  "Connor's driving the truck up to the front door," Ross said softly. "The minute he stops, we need to get out and get in. It'll only be a couple of steps to the truck door, but hopefully, that'll be enough cover. We don't want anyone to see you, even if they are watching. It doesn't matter about me, since the idea is that myself and Connor are going out to investigate."

  “OK,” Jenny whispered back, understanding at once.

  “When you get in the truck, lie down across the seats,” he said, lowering his head to whisper, as his hand grasped the front door handle. “I’ll tell you when it’s safe.”

  Jenny glanced up at him, wondering if her nerves were the only reason her heart was picking up speed. He was so close to her to the point that she could barely breathe. Their eyes met, and even in the gloom she could make out touches of silver in his eyes. His breath fanned across her cheek as she realized he had now wrapped one arm around her shoulders. Pressing herself against him a little more, Jenny tried to look away, tried to break the connection, but found she couldn’t. There was a magnetism between them that practically forced them together.

  “Ross,” she whispered, still unable to look away. “I—”

  The sound of the car engine stopped, and Ross was the first to move.

  “Now,” he whispered, pulling the door open and giving her a slight shove toward the door. “Go now. Hurry.”

  The moment completely broken, Jenny rushed forward into the glooming morning air, seeing that the 4x4’s passenger door was already slightly ajar for her. With numb fingers, she pulled it open, slipped inside, and lay across the back seats, hearing Connor’s mumble of encouragement. A blanket was draped over her, followed by the sounds of doors slamming. The engine burst back into life, Ross muttered something to Connor, and the truck moved away.

  Breathing heavily, Jenny tried not to think about how stupid she must have looked, staring into Ross’s eyes as though she were some silly teenager with a crush. Instead of focusing on what they were doing, on where they were going, she’d ended up losing herself in the connection she felt with him. Closing her eyes, Jenny winced inwardly as heat rushed into her cheeks. What must he think of her, acting like that? Giving herself a stern talking to, Jenny forced herself to consider exactly what it was they were doing. Now wasn’t the time to start exploring whatever feeling
s she had for the pack leader, especially since she’d only known him for a few hours! She had to just focus on what they were doing and where they were going. It wouldn’t do any of them any good for her to forget just how much danger they were in or that the hunters were after them. From now on, she was just going to ignore her attraction to Ross, no matter how much her stomach flipped over when he smiled at her. She’d was a member of the White Fire pack now, and that meant she needed to behave like one.

  Chapter Ten

  Ross glanced around, his ears straining hard for any sound. Walking around to the other side of their 4x4, he climbed in next to Connor, who gave him a tight smile.

  “All clear?” Connor asked with one eyebrow lifted.

  Ross shook his head. “Not sure,” he murmured, still feeling uneasy. “There aren’t any unusual scents in the air, and I didn’t hear anything but still.”

  Connor fired up the engine and drove away. “Something still feels off?” he asked as they moved through the town streets.

  Not able to explain it, Ross sighed, rubbing a hand over his eyes. “Yeah. Not sure what it is.” It was the same feeling he’d had when Davidson had first appeared in his office, and he wasn’t one to ignore his instincts.

  “Are you OK there, Jenny?” he asked, hearing her muffled reply. Grinning to himself, he leaned back in his seat. “Listen, feel free to take that blanket off your face but keep lying down for now, OK?”