A Beta's Haven

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  At any moment, since the circle was over, they could break out in brawls to release the tension.

  There were only two ways to release the tension riding through their bodies—fighting and sex. As wolves, they didn’t care about privacy and modesty. If there was a woman—or a man, if that was their inclination—in front of them, they’d fuck them hard, letting the stress and worries from the day seep away.

  Since there were no willing partners at the moment, Hunter was sure a fight would break out soon. Blood and sweat would soon permeate through the air, filling Hunter’s nostrils to override the stench of betrayal and anger that poured from the wolves that had lost their hope today.

  Today, like most other days, fighting would rule over sex.

  The females were back in their homes—what few females they had. Wolves were born, not bitten, in their world, unlike what the fandoms believed. Though it was easy to get pregnant, it was hard as hell to keep that baby and even harder to produce a girl.

  Their absence at the circle meeting had been the council’s decision, not the Alpha’s. Their history had always held their women in deep respect. Not only were they wolves in their own right, but strong fighters as well. They were feared among the men if someone threatened their pup.

  Yet the council had declared them weak in Hunter’s four-year absence. Apparently the women—and men—who had fought back against the council taking over had been beaten or killed.

  Nothing was right in the Nocturne Pack.

  Hunter kept blaming the council for all of it, but he knew it wasn’t the five of them. No, it was three of them who held the power—or at least thought they did.

  For now.

  “Come on,” Liam whispered. “Let’s look at those cuts of yours at my place. It will rain soon anyway. I’d prefer not to get my hair wet.” He grinned at his last remark, but Hunter didn’t respond. Unspoken was their need to talk about the undercurrents within the circle.

  Hunter had been back in the human realm for a full month, yet change took time. After Ambrose, Jamie, and Balin—and of course the young demon, Fawkes—had rescued him from the depths of hell, he’d returned to the realm he’d grown up in.

  Unlike most supernaturals, wolf shifters and some other types of shifters lived within the human realm but were hidden deep within the forests. Their own magic kept the humans away and their secrets buried. Other supernaturals lived in other realms that were accessible through only the human realm. It was as if the humans themselves were the glue that held everyone together.

  Fitting considering the humans weren’t really humans at all but merely diluted down versions of supernaturals themselves. They didn’t know the things that went bump in the night were real and had no idea that, within themselves, they held the ability to change into another being…if something were to alter their course, that is.

  Hunter had grown up with the humans around him and his Pack at his side. They might be dark and depraved in the best of times, but he’d loved them like his own.

  He’d thought he’d return to the Pack he’d known, but that had not been the case.

  Four years was a long time to be gone.

  Everything had changed and not for the better. Though one thing might offer the light on his horizon.

  He’d left her alone so he could find his place and be better for her. Now it was time.

  He’d find her soon. His Becca.

  “You must be thinking about a woman,” Alec teased as they made their way back to Liam’s home. “You’re smiling.”

  Hunter grunted then walked inside the place with Liam and Alec following. He turned on the lights and stretched his arms over his head. He was damned tired after that run even though he still felt a bit on edge since he hadn’t hunted big game.

  “I don’t smile,” Hunter growled.

  Alec just shook his head and stole a beer from Liam’s fridge. Liam scowled and slapped the back of Alec’s head.

  “You never ask to take my shit,” Liam snapped.

  Alec frowned. “I didn’t think I had to, Murray,” he drawled.

  Hunter blinked at the two of them, their tension different than it had been before he’d been gone. While before the two had always bickered and annoyed each other, this felt different. Before they’d always smile and get over it, the tension dissipating after a few moments. Now, though, there seemed to be an underlying current between the two that Hunter couldn’t quite put his finger on.

  “Guys? It’s beer. Get over it.”

  The two men swiveled their heads at him and glared. They might have looked nothing alike, Liam with his dark looks and blue eyes, Alec with his brown hair and green eyes, but right then, they had the same expression.

  Hunger, anger, and confusion all rolled into one.

  What the hell?

  Looking at Liam, Alec twisted off the beer cap then took a long swig. Liam’s jaw clenched as he ground his teeth together, and then he handed Hunter a bottle.

  Hunter looked between the two men but put his questions aside. He had enough to deal with without delving into whatever drama they had.

  “Tell me about what I missed,” he said after a minute of awkward silence.

  “Everything, Hunter,” Liam said.

  “No shit,” Hunter snapped. “Give me specifics.”

  “When you left—” Alec began then cut himself off. The other man clenched his jaw then took a deep breath. “No, when you were taken, things went to shit. We still don’t know how you were taken to the demons, Hunter. You have to believe that.”

  Hunter nodded and meant that. He knew the two men in this room wouldn’t have sold him to the demons. That was all he knew though. He had his ideas of what had happened, but no proof.

  Finding out how he’d been sold as a slave to the highest demon bidder was high on his list of priorities.

  Liam cleared his throat then put his hand on Alec’s shoulder before sitting down on the couch. Alec shot him a look, and Liam pulled his arm away.

  “When you left, Masterson, Lloyd, and Jacobs thought they found an opening for their plan,” Liam continued. “They’ve never hidden from those who’ve looked as though they want to take over the Pack. They want to bring the wolves into the twenty-first century, as they put it, and force a democracy.”

  Hunter cursed. “We’re wolves. That cannot happen. None of the other Packs who have tried that have survived. We’re not humans. We have wolves wrapped around us, deep within the very aspects of our souls and beings. Denying an Alpha should hurt.”

  Liam nodded. “You’re not telling us anything Alec and I haven’t said before. The amount of pain, though, depends on the Alpha.”

  Hunter held back a grimace. “Josiah is getting older, but we don’t age like humans. His power should only increase with age.”

  Alec shook his head. “Not without a Beta who can support him or without the magics that got him the position anyway. An Alpha can’t survive without a Beta. Josiah holds all the magic and strength of the entire Pack on his shoulders, but he can’t rule and be himself without another to lean on.”

  Hunter nodded. “He would have been fine if he hadn’t lost Clara.”

  Liam ran a hand through his hair. “She’s been gone for a decade, Hunter. Josiah is stronger than he gives himself credit for, but he can’t do it alone. He shouldn’t have to do it alone.”

  “And Samuel, may he rest in peace, wasn’t strong enough to protect him,” Alec whispered.

  Hunter didn’t wince or move at the mention of his late brother’s failures. No, that wasn’t quite right. He couldn’t call his brother’s decision a failure since the boy had done all in his power to protect the Pack. It just hadn’t been good enough. There had never been any question that Samuel hadn’t been strong enough for the position, but the kid should never have been put in harm’s way to begin with. If Hunter had been there, Samuel would be alive.

  That above all else would be something that would haunt Hunter until the day he died.

 
; “Have you found his killer?” Hunter asked, his voice low, deadly.

  Alec shook his head. “No, but we can make guesses.”

  “The three bastards who think they can take over the Pack.” Hunter clenched his fists, his fury riding him hard.

  “You’re here now and named Beta in truth,” Liam said. “We couldn’t do it alone, not and keep our families alive and the Pack fluid, but we’ll be by your side, Hunter.”

  Hunter nodded but stayed silent.

  “The struggle has only just started, Hunter,” Alec put in. “We don’t know what the others have in store, and we don’t know exactly what they’ve done in the past. All we know is that we’ll protect Josiah and you with our lives.”

  Hunter inclined his head at the two men who had been his best friends since they were pups. The three of them had always been thick as thieves, and when they’d grown into adult wolves, they’d taken their positions as council members and Beta in stride.

  Alone they were strong.

  Together they were stronger.

  “This will cause a war if we’re not careful,” Liam murmured.

  “We’re already in a war,” Hunter said flatly. “We just need to make sure it’s contained.”

  The last thing he wanted was to bring their conflict into the other realms and hurt the humans.

  Especially one particular human. She’d already been hurt once from a supernatural battle, and he’d be damned if he’d let another touch her.

  He’d walked away from her once to ensure her safety.

  He wouldn’t do it again.

  You can find more from An Unlucky Moon on Carrie Ann’s website.

  www.CarrieAnnRyan.com

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