Aristotle (The Strong Pack Book 2)

by Crystal Dawn

  Funny wasn’t it? I ran away from him but he came with me in my dreams.

  Now I was headed home and I was nervous as hell. I said goodbye to my assistant and told him to look me up if he ever needed a job. I boarded the plane with the weirdest combination of feelings. I was dreading seeing Aristotle and dying to see my little sister and her mate. I missed home, while I worried that I would miss the excitement of my recent activities. I feared he would try to mate me and I worried he wouldn’t want me. Crazier than the average girl, aren’t I?

  The plane landed and Sandy was there to pick me up. I loved that girl like a sister most of the time. She had a bad habit of interfering which I wasn’t going to put up with. I knew she was loyal to the pack and I forgave her for sticking her nose in T.J.’s business, but she better stay out of mine.

  I got my bags and followed her to her jeep. I hopped in and held on tight because Sandy likes all things fast and driving that way topped the list. I was ready to kiss the dirt when we pulled up at Tabby’s. I held back because I knew she’d feel insulted. I also knew as soon as I carried my bags upstairs that she’d make a call to the pack. Having to call T.J. saved me.

  As soon as the bar opened I saw they were short handed. Sandy said that a waitress and the new cook both quit. They were a couple and he just wasn’t cutting it. Rather than tough it out, he quit and took her with him. Sadly enough the girl was a good waitress. Now here I was trying to cook and wait on customers. I was tired and ready to take a break whether the others could handle it or not.

  I felt the change in the atmosphere the moment he stepped in the place. I ignored him. What else could I do? My breath came faster, my heart raced like a runaway train and my temperature soared.

  I couldn’t fight it anymore and I looked up and saw him. I felt like I was in a daze and all I could do was stare at that magnificent male animal. He looked as if he would leap at me, take me to the floor and ravish me. The worst part was I wanted him to, desperately. My mouth watered as I saw his muscles ripple under that tight shirt and I imagined I could see his cock pressing against those tight jeans. I could be sent straight to hell just for my thoughts. He was my sister’s father in law. Wasn’t that against some kind of law or at least a moral code? The more I thought about it the more I decided he wasn’t really related to me so it was actually okay to lust or maybe to even act on it.

  Mating wasn’t okay because wolves were cavemen. Jericho wasn’t but only because he loved my sister too much not to give in to what she wanted at least part of the time. Aristotle couldn’t love me, he didn’t know me. He was from the last generation not this one and he would subjugate me. I was a free spirit and I couldn’t live like that.

  I wasn’t surprised when I joined them at the table after straightening out an overly enthusiastic customer. It was then that Ari, as he asked me to call him, wanted me to go home with them. The bar was shutting down and everyone left but the three of them. I was surprised when he didn’t push to get his way. Maybe he wasn’t as stubborn as I thought him to be.

  They finally left and he sent a lingering look of pure longing in my direction that almost dropped me to my knees. I told myself I was stronger than that but I nearly ran after him and begged him to take me any way he wanted. I stuck it out and saw their lights heading away.

  I dragged my ass up the stairs and showered before putting on my favorite jammies. I always dressed when I went to bed when I stayed here. Overly enthusiastic customers who didn’t understand the bar was closed sometimes broke in. I didn’t want to be caught naked and alone. It made me shudder to think about the difficulties that it could cause.

  We had a baseball bat and T.J. had a gun somewhere. My gun was still packed in my bag and I was just too tired to dig it out. What were the odds I would have problems on my first day home? I locked my bedroom door and turned off all the lights. I needed a goodnight’s sleep so bad. I got in bed and covered up. Once I got my pillow positioned properly I was asleep in no time.

  I woke thinking it didn’t seem like I’d been asleep long. I heard a noise and then I heard something again. Someone had broken in or T.J. had come back for something. I got up and slipped quietly to the closet grabbing the bat as I moved to one side of the door.

  The knob moved but caught because it was locked. They rattled the knob just to be sure it was locked and exchanged some words. The voices were low and deep, males.

  The thoughts running through my head about their intentions weren’t good and I prayed they were human. Even with a bat I didn’t stand a chance against at least two supernatural males.

  The noise was loud as they crashed in the door and I caught the first one unsuspecting with my bat. He dropped, probably unconscious but not dead. The other one dodged me, but I managed to adjust and he caught a glancing blow off his head.

  He grabbed my bat before I could do more damage and I ducked under his arm and got to the bottom of my steps as he caught me. I screamed bloody murder before he got his hand over my mouth. I promptly bit him, he cursed and knocked me upside my head. He rang my bell, but I got another scream out and struggled furiously.

  “I can’t wait to fuck you till you bleed you stupid cunt,” he whispered in my ear.

  I knew that voice. He was the customer that didn’t know what the word no meant. I should have listened to Ari. Damn my stupid independence, I was about to get raped by an asshole.

  I struggled, of course I did, but the strength of a wolf was such that he laughed in my ear again.

  “Stop!” I demanded hoping to delay him even though I knew no help was near. Any moment of delay might give me a plan of action. The other wolf, the one I had brained came wobbling down the steps.

  “Fuck her hard Deeds. She really hurt me bad. Can I have her ass after you’re through?” He asked.

  “No you fucking idiot! Didn’t we discuss that she’s my alpha bitch and I wanna know that my kids are really my kids?”

  “But it’s just her ass! She can’t have kids that way.” He looked at me a moment and a look of awe came over his face. “She can can’t she? That’s the magic you were talking about.”

  Deeds shook his head. “See what I’ve got to work with?” He asked as if looking for sympathy and not like he planned to violently take whatever he wanted from me.

  “What do you want, a pity party?” Probably not the smartest response I could have given him. Apparently it put his mind back on what he wanted.

  He kissed me. His breath was gross and his taste indescribably horrible. His kiss was hard, punishing and he bit my lip hard enough to make it bleed. I screamed when he licked my wound because his spit burned like the devil. He laughed, he was a sadist with a new toy.

  “I need to get you somewhere in case someone checks on you. Your ‘would be’ mate burned down my house. Any suggestions?”

  “Are you fucked in the head? You can go to hell and I’ll smile watching you go all the way there,” I answered. I wasn’t going to figure out a spot where he could attack me without interruptions.

  He cuffed me upside the head. Since I knew how strong he was I knew he held back. Asshole probably thought it was a love tap. He stood up and pulled me with him. He groped me as he did and squeezed my breasts painfully enough that I knew there would be bruises tomorrow and I wondered if I’d be alive to care. Sure, he restrained himself now but I wasn’t going to lie still while he did what he wanted. He might kill me if I protested too much. He started dragging me toward the door and I let all my weight drop so he would have to support it.

  “You think that’ll slow me down Bitch?” He asked in a whisper. I refused to answer.

  “What’s she doin’ now Deeds?” His buddy asked.

  “Would you just shut up Larry?” Deeds shot his guy a dirty look.

  “Where’s Moe and Curly?” I asked. But I could see my ‘Three Stooges’ reference went way over their heads.

  “See Boss, she wanted more males to do her,” Larry said, his excitement escalating.

  “Y
ou dufus she’s making some kind of joke. Aren’t you Bitch?”

  “Three Stooges. Didn’t you watch TV as a child?”

  “Oh yeah. I remember them. They were hilarious. I figured they were shifters since they never got hurt doin’ some of that stuff,” Deeds said. “Come here Larry and help me carry her.”

  “I thought I wasn’t suppose to touch her,” Larry grouched.

  Deeds smacked him upside the head much harder than he’d hit me.

  “Just do what I tell ya. It’s not smart to talk back,” Deeds advised.

  Larry came over and grabbed my arm putting a lot of pressure on it. I screamed loud and long.

  “What the fuck? Damn it Larry, she’s still human! Take it easy on her till I change her.”

  I tried to grab onto stuff as he and Larry carried me out of the bar. It didn’t help they just pulled me loose and now we were out the door.

  “Where’s your car Bitch?”

  “I don’t have one here. I just got back from a long trip.” He didn’t hesitate to slap me across the face. I could taste the blood in my mouth but I wasn’t sure where it came from.

  “You’re stupid and I get hit?” I asked him.

  He slapped me again, harder. I screamed for all I was worth. If anyone was near they would hear me. I heard a loud and angry howl from a wolf in the distance. It was answered by another and another still. I counted eight howls in all and some sounded closer than others. I couldn’t tell if each was an individual or if some howled more than once, but I could tell Deeds was scared.

  It gave me hope since he couldn’t morph and carry me. He had no car and he had no place to hide. He seemed to freeze up for a moment and he had a wild look on his face when one of the howls sounded off nearby.

  “I’ll be back for you Bitch. Keep lookin’ over your shoulder cause one time you’ll look and see me!” He said just before he morphed and took off.

  Larry looked at me and his mind seemed to be racing. He finally figured out what was going on and he paled as he saw how far his boss had already run. He said, “Ditto!” Then he took off running after Deeds like his crotch was on fire.

  Those were two sorry pieces of shit. I wondered who had come to rescue me and I was disappointed it wasn’t Ari. I knew that was silly because I had practically ran him off.

  “The Alpha sent us to check on you. Good thing too with those worthless rogues hanging around. Are you okay? By the way, I’m Earl. I’m one of the betas and in charge of this crew.” He said as he gestured at the wolves that now circled us.

  There were eight in total and all looked ready to kill someone. Deeds wasn’t such a popular guy it would seem.

  An SUV pulled around and one of the wolves morphed and ran to the door pulling it open. Another one gently took my arm and escorted me there to seat me. “I’ll see everything is taken in hand,” Earl said.

  I knew he meant they would hunt down Deeds and see that the bar was guarded until I could make better arrangements. I would think twice about rejecting Ari’s advice again. The horror of what had almost happened was just now settling on me. I was in the world of the wolf and I was a puny human not even capable of properly defending myself. To make matters worse I seemed to have a target on my back that lured in alphas of all kinds. Some like Ari that were powerful, desirable and fully in control of themselves. Others were like Deeds, a piece of shit that thought highly of himself and took what he wanted with not one thought about what anyone else wanted or didn’t want.

  I sat in the seat afraid to relax for fear that I would breakdown. I kept telling myself that I had been saved and what had happened to me wasn’t as bad as it could have been. I sat rigidly in my seat and hoped I wouldn’t break down if T.J. was there to greet me. She didn’t need to deal with the mess I’d created by being my usual stubborn self.

  We pulled up at the pack house and one of the wolves opened my door and helped me out. They were showing me the deference their alpha’s mate would be shown even though we were not mated. I knew they all thought it just a matter of time and maybe it was.

  I was escorted up the steps and into the pack house where the only one waiting on me was Ari. It should have occurred to me that he would never allow T.J. to be disturbed just after she went to sleep.

  Relief washed over me and I felt grateful. I also felt weary, weak and in need of a good cry. Ari pulled me into his arms and carried me to his room. Like a child, I felt the need for someone else to take over while my stunned mind worked through what had almost happened and what actually had happened.

  He undressed me and I didn’t even pull away. He put one of his shirts on me and he settled us both in his bed. I felt his warmth wrap around me and before I could think that I would never get to sleep, I was.

  I don’t know how long I slept, but he was gone when I woke and his spot in the bed was cold. I wasn’t sure if I should put on my jammies from last night or keep on his shirt until I found something else to wear. I just wanted to burn the jammies since they were a reminder of something I wanted to forget and I was certain there was blood on them.

  I didn’t have to decide because there was a knock on the door and when it opened T.J. stepped inside. She had a bag in her hand and I assumed she’d brought me something to wear. I was right and I pulled out the jeans and shirt someone had brought from the bar. I had underwear in there too and I tried not to think about one of the male wolves digging through my suitcase to find these delicate items. T.J. looked at me in horror so I knew I looked bad.

  “Ari wants us downstairs for breakfast. He has some things you’ll want to know.”

  I nodded and quickly stripped. T.J. gasped and I wondered what was wrong but I looked down and I was heavily bruised. I guess my face hadn’t been nearly as bad as my body.

  “It’s worse on your back,” she observed looking angry now that she was over her surprise.

  It didn’t shock me once I gave it some thought. I’d been tossed around like an unwanted gift. The surprise was that it wasn’t worse. I gingerly touched my lip with my tongue. Oh man it hurt. T.J. stood by the door waiting patiently so I dressed in a hurry and followed her to the private dining room. Ari and Jericho stood as we entered and we all sat down once T.J. and I got to the table.

  “I’m sorry Sweetheart, but my guards didn’t catch him last night. He got in a vehicle and escaped. This morning we found out he’d hijacked a car with an elderly couple in it. He kept them with him until he made the next town. When they gave him a hard time about getting out where he decided to drop them, he morphed and the old man had a mild heart attack,” Ari explained

  “Isn’t morphing in front of humans against the rules?” I asked. I was upset that they hadn’t caught him. He would hurt many more people and possibly even find a way to come back and hurt me more.

  “Yes it is and I’ve contacted the council and they’ve given me carte blanche to handle the situation. They are also sending a warden from Blake’s area. Someone you know.”

  “Who are they sending?” I asked excited since they were all mated to cousins of mine.

  Ari’s eyes narrowed. “Are you close to one of them?”

  “All of them. They are all mated to white wolves.”

  “All of them?” He asked in surprise.

  “Yes all of them that I know and I was hoping their mates might come too.”

  Ari seemed to relax and it occurred to me he might have been jealous. I didn’t know why that made me feel good. I looked at the handsome alpha and I couldn’t say I didn’t want him. He made me feel hot and slick to my inner core. I just wasn’t up for mating a wolf. No, never, no how, not me!

  He sniffed the air and his eyes blazed with his inner wolf. He swallowed and seemed to be calming himself before he spoke. “They sometimes bring their mates. We will be carrying out an intense search but I want you to stay here until he’s found.”

  I nodded, I’d be a fool not too. He looked relieved that I’d acquiesced so easily.

  “I’ve hired e
xtra help for the bar and I want you to rest today,” T.J. said with a no nonsense look in her eyes. I had to admit I had no desire to work at the bar or even be at the bar today. I held up my hands in defeat.

  “Hey I agree!” I exclaimed. I didn’t want my very pregnant little sis on the war path. No good could come of that.

  Jericho and Ari snorted. I would get even with them.

  “When the warden gets here he’ll want to take your statement. Just tell them what happened, he’ll write it down, you read it and then sign it. I’ll be right there with you every step of the way,” Ari assured me.

  I couldn’t deny I felt safer and more comfortable knowing he’d be there. Even if I knew therein lay the way to a forever mating.

  “I’ll be ready. Thank you.” I said knowing he had saved me.

  He just nodded and stared so deeply into my eyes I felt lost.

  We finished eating and T.J. filled my coffee mug and hers. She took my arm and led me away.

  “Since you’re here for a while let me show you around while we catch up.”

  I nodded again. I seemed to be doing a lot of that and I hoped my bad experience wouldn’t turn me into a submissive personality. I wasn’t normally bossy, okay I was, but only in the things I was very knowledgeable in. I just had a good sense of self worth and I’d had to learn to be a bit pushy to do my job. I would never hound someone who had endured tragedy like some reporters did. I wouldn’t lie, cheat, or steal for a story which made it harder to compete against those that did.

  We walked through the pack house, it was as large as a manor house or a small castle. It seemed many people lived, worked and played there so it needed to be. We talked about the baby mostly although T.J. snuck in questions about what I had been up to. It wasn’t my favorite subject and I tended to redirect her when she started talking about it.

  I had seen a lot and gone through a lot too as I chased my stories. I wasn’t abused. I had just starved, froze and overheated. Those were all things I put myself through so they were easier to accept than being the victim Deeds had turned me into.