Untamed (Wolf Lake)

by Kohout, Jennifer

  Having identified the pack's likely point of entry, Craig circled back around until he found the perfect place to set up. He guessed the pack was less than a half of day's run behind him and should arrive within the next couple of hours.

  All Craig had to do was wait.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Pie, Pie, I Love Pie...

  Two days later, Nafarius bounded down the last ridge, leaping over deadwood with Sam by his side. The others were spread out behind him, Roland guarding the rear as they covered the last of the distance to Roslyn. The sleepy little town was nestled at the base of the mountain pass. Quiet and quaint, it was too small for most tourists to bother stopping, which made it the perfect place for the pack.

  Anxious to get inside, Nafarius left the others at the tree line. Darting around to the back of the warehouse, he slipped inside a small, doorless shed that he had added to the property and shifted.

  A ten-key pad installed at the back door of the warehouse eliminated the need for keys - or a place to carry them. Still naked, Nafarius quickly keyed in the seven digit code, popping the door and slipping inside.

  Roland waited with the others, eyes and ears alert. This side of town was mostly deserted, the warehouses rundown and abandoned. Still, it wouldn't do for an unsuspecting human to come across a small pack of wolves sitting placidly at the edge of town.

  A shrill whistle suddenly pierced the air, Roland's head lifting as Nafarius signaled the all clear. Nudging Natasha ahead of him, Roland kept his eyes on the surrounding area as they sprinted to the back side of the warehouse.

  Catching sight of Sam's black coat, Craig shifted the butt of the rifle against his shoulder and eased his finger on to the trigger. The small pack of wolves darted around the side of the building and trotted down Craig's line of sight, Sam in the lead. Craig's finger flexed, putting pressure on the trigger, only to stop when a flash of silver cut across the scope.

  "Bitch!" Craig whispered fiercely, recognizing Natasha's silver coat as she crowded Sam and followed the alpha female into the warehouse.

  Easing back from the scope, Craig examined the warehouse. Made up of sheet metal and glass, the large square structure housed a row of windows on what was likely the second floor. If he moved to higher ground he might be able to catch sight of his target through one of the windows. Weighing his chances of success against the likelihood that Sam and the others would eventually exit out the back, Craig once again lowered his eye to the scope.

  Nafarius held the door for Roland and the others, Sam and Natasha the first ones inside. He waited patiently as everyone shifted, handing out jeans and t-shirts as one by one they gained their feet.

  "Roland, get the SUV ready, we'll need it to - " Nafarius was cut off as a small black wolf darted across the warehouse floor. "Sam, you need to shift." Once in town, they risked being seen by humans, or worse, hunters.

  Sam stopped, sitting back on her haunches and looking up at Nafarius.

  "Sam..." Nafarius growled a warning, unease turning to concern as bright, green eyes regarded him but she made no move to shift.

  Roland glanced over at where Nafarius stood staring down at Sam. The male was frowning down at his mate, concern slowly filling the pack bond.

  "What's wrong?" Natasha asked, pulling her shirt over her head and wiggling into her jeans.

  Roland didn't take his eyes off of Sam. "Too much time as a wolf," he said quietly. Inside, his wolf paced restlessly. Too easily, the animal could connect with the alpha female, his wolf calling for her to run.

  Catching movement to his right, Roland shook his head when Declan would have stepped forward, his intent to help. Too many people would just confuse the animal, making it harder for Sam to surface and shift.

  Natasha followed his gaze. Head cocked, Sam sat staring up at her mate. "But it's only been three days."

  "She's newly made," Roland reminded her, ignoring the rising wild call that was emanating from Sam's wolf. "This is the longest she's gone without shifting."

  The bell toll of metal striking concrete rang in the distance, the sound breaking the tense silence. Sam darted off to investigate.

  Nafarius snagged his mate as she started past, ignoring her sudden snarl of surprise as he grabbed her by the scruff of the neck. Squatting down and pulling her in face to face, it was all Nafarius could do not to shake her. "Sam! I know you're in there..."

  "Sam," Maddie pleaded, kneeling down beside Nafarius and burying her fingers in her alpha's fur.

  Seeming to sense Maddie's distress, Sam leaned up and licked at the female's chin.

  Mine.

  Ours?

  Nafarius searched the mate bond, a spike of fear searing his gut. He could feel Sam's wolf, the animal curious and happy, but no Sam.

  The small black wolf left off licking Maddie, her green gaze shifting to where Nafarius knelt. Nuzzling his neck, she whimpered softly.

  Mine?

  Ours.

  Sam laid down on her belly, her eyes darting back and forth between Nafarius and Maddie. Slowly, her body shifted, her human form painstakingly overtaking the animal.

  "Well that was new and different," Sam panted as she tried pushing herself off the floor. The world was slow to snap back into place, shades of gray gradually morphing into a palette of color.

  Nafarius scooped up his mate, cradling her against his chest and burying his face in her neck. "My fault," he whispered, his voice hoarse. "I didn't think - "

  "Shhhh..." Sam cooed, wrapping her arms around her mate and holding him tight. She could still feel his fear at not being able to find her along the mate bond, his spike of panic reaching her when nothing else did. "I'm here."

  Roland turned away, relief mixing with a sense of loss he didn't care too examine to closely.

  Nafarius carried his mate to the back of the warehouse and up the stairs to the loft. He couldn't bring himself to set her down, instead sitting on the edge of the bed and settling her on his lap.

  "I'm sorry I frightened you," Sam whispered, Nafarius' big body shuddering in her arms.

  "Don't apologize," Nafarius said, easing back and searching her face. "I was in such a rush and I never stopped to think..."

  "I don't know what happened," Sam said, trying to understand. She remembered leaving the den, running with Nafarius and the others. The first night had been an experience, her first time spending the night as a wolf, curled up with the rest of the pack for warmth. After that, things started to blur. "I just sort of slipped away."

  Nafarius nodded. "It's the risk of going feral," he said. Needing to touch her, he brushed the hair back from her face, running his hands over her shoulders and down her arms.

  "But none of you had any trouble," Sam said, leaning into Nafarius' touch as she started to shiver with the realization of just how close she'd come to losing herself.

  Nafarius pulled Sam back into his arms. Grabbing a blanket from the bottom of the bed, he wrapped it around her. "Most of us know how to slip into the background without letting our wolf take over completely." The ability allowed their human forms to rest even while their animals worked covering long distance like that between their den and Roslyn.

  "I should have prepared you better," Nafarius said, guilt chewing its way down the mate bond. "Or made time to stop and let you shift for short periods." Such a stupid mistake, so easily avoided if he'd just been thinking instead of rushing to get them to Roslyn.

  "Don't," Sam said, leaning back. Taking Nafarius' face in her hands, she brushed her thumbs across the tender skin under his eyes. "This isn't your fault - "

  "I wasn't watching out for you," Nafarius said, taking her hands in his and pressing a kiss to her palms.

  "You have a lot on your mind," Sam said. She could feel his guilt, understood that he felt like he'd failed her.

  "That should never keep me from taking care of you," Nafarius said.

  "You did take care of me," Sam insisted. "You brought me back - "

  "You never should have been
at risk in the first place," Nafarius growled, his wolf equally unhappy.

  "Make me a deal," Sam said, once again taking his face in her hands. "When this is all over, we'll sit down and go through the 101 things every werewolf should know."

  Nafarius smiled. Guilt still slid down the mate bond but it was tempered by the fact that his mate was sitting on his lap.

  "Okay?" Sam asked.

  "Not even close," Nafarius said. "But it will be."

  Sam smiled, getting her first look around. "This wasn't exactly what I pictured when you said the pack had a place in town."

  "You don't like it?" Nafarius asked, instinctively reaching for her when she slipped off his lap, his hands fisting on empty air. It took everything he had to let her go.

  Sam walked over to the banister, looking down from the loft to the warehouse floor below. "Hey, that's my car!"

  The Mini Cooper was parked along side a black SUV, the little car noticeably cleaner than when she'd left it. "How did it get here?"

  "I sent Marcus to move it," Nafarius said, joining her at the rail. "I couldn't have some park service employee coming across it and starting a search for a missing hiker."

  Sam looked up at her mate. "Was that before or after we were mated?"

  "Before," Nafarius admitted, looking her in the eye.

  "Did you ever intend on letting me leave?" Sam asked, sending her mate a sideways glance.

  Nafarius hesitated. "No."

  Sam barked out a laugh, the knowledge warming her better than any blanket. Turning her back to the rail, she looked around the loft.

  The second floor was large, extending about a third of the way out over the lower floor and had a full living space complete with a bedroom, living room, kitchen and even an office.

  "Here," Nafarius said, digging out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and handing them to Sam. "We're due to pick up the order from the butcher. Roland and I will take the SUV. Why don't you take Maddie and Natasha and get whatever things you need from town. We can meet back here in a couple of hours."

  "Keys?" Sam asked, buttoning up her jeans and digging through a pile of shoes for ones that would fit.

  "In the car," Nafarius watched his mate, his fear for her still pounding behind his heartbeat. It would be a long time before he was able to forget the feeling of finding her place in the mate bond empty. In that moment, he had known that even if he were strong enough to survive the severing of the bond, he was destined to follow her. He would never be able to live with that void.

  "I'm okay," Sam assured him, catching a hint of his emotions along the bond.

  "I know," Nafarius said quietly.

  "Besides," Sam said, lacing up a pair of Converse "I promised Maddie pie."

  "You're the one that wants pie!" Maddie called from the lower floor.

  "Oh, what big ears you have!" Sam called back. "It's damn inconvenient," she muttered.

  "I heard that!" Maddie called, relieved when a moment later Sam jogged down the stairs, Nafarius not far behind.

  Sam smiled at Maddie, reaching out and running her hand down the female's arm to take her hand. "I'm fine."

  "Don't do that again," Maddie said, surprising Sam with her fierceness. Those few minutes when she had been unable to feel her alpha were some of the most terrifying of her life, solidifying for her just how much Sam had come to mean to her.

  "I won't," Sam promised, giving Maddie's hand a quick squeeze.

  Maddie nodded, flipping a thick lock of blonde hair back over her shoulder. "Good. Now about that pie..."

  Sam laughed, shaking her head at Maddie's unbreakable spirit.

  "Go on around to the front," Nafarius said. "I'll have Jeff pull the car out."

  Sam nodded. Maddie bounced out the side door, anxious for her first tour of the town. She wasn't much impressed by what she'd seen so far.

  "You ready?" Sam asked Natasha.

  "Yeah, just give me a minute," Natasha said.

  Sam waited while Nafarius opened the warehouse bay doors, watching Jeff try to fold his large body into the small car. "You know, I'm perfectly capable of pulling my own car out."

  "Let him fuss," Roland called out. "It makes him feel better," he added. Taking Natasha's hands in his, Roland pressed a small square of plastic into her palm. "Pick up whatever you need."

  "I can't - " Natasha started to object, staring down at the credit card.

  "These are my separate funds," Roland said, understanding that she wouldn't want to take anything from Nafarius or the pack.

  "I'll pay you back," Natasha said, she had thought to hit the bank and see about getting access to her father's accounts. It wasn't a sure thing and Roland's offer eliminated the need to try.

  Roland pressed his forehead to hers. "Please let me do this for you."

  "Your own bit of fussing?" Natasha asked.

  "It makes me feel better," he confirmed with a smile. Perhaps he was more like his alpha than he had thought.

  Natasha nodded, slipping the card into her back pocket. Cradling Roland's face in her hands, she pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "Miss me while I'm gone?"

  "Every moment," he said, meaning it.

  Natasha gave Roland another kiss, this one slow and deep, leaving them both a little breathless as she went to catch up with Sam and Maddie.

  Outside, Sam stood waiting beside her car. Maddie was already tucked away in the backseat, the small blonde obviously eager to be on their way.

  "Be careful," Nafarius warned, Roland coming to stand beside him as Sam slipped behind the wheel. A moment later, the small car sped away from the warehouse, music blaring as Sam shot around a corner and out of sight.

  "Roland?" Nafarius said, his eyes staring after his mate. "Can werewolves have heart attacks?"

  Roland laughed, slapping his friend on the shoulder. "She'll be fine."

  "She'll be the death of me," Nafarius said, half serious.

  "Nah...but I have noticed a few gray hairs," Roland said, laughing when Nafarius ran a hand through his still red hair. "Come on, old man, we've got meat to pick up."

  "There is something seriously wrong with that statement," Nafarius said, following his beta back inside.

  ****

  Craig watched as Sam sped away, followed a few minutes later by a large, black SUV.

  "Son of a bitch!" This far away, he hadn't heard them opening the bay doors.

  The bitch was starting to tax his patience. He had no desire to spend the day waiting for Sam to return. Unfortunately, there was no telling where she was off to and the occupants of the SUV gave Craig a moment's pause.

  He wanted Nafarius to witness the death of his mate and suffer. But chances were that the alpha couple had parted ways for a reason. Logic dictated their return to warehouse, leaving Craig to wait.

  He'd make her pay, Craig decided.

  Her death would not be quick or painless.

  ****

  Sam zipped through the small town, music blaring and the windows open. Driving past Bettie's, she pulled around back and into a gravel parking lot. "Food first," she told Natasha and Maddie, releasing her seatbelt. "Then shopping."

  Conversation stopped when, a few minutes later, Sam entered Bettie's flanked on either side by Maddie and Natasha. "I feel like a joke," she said, surveying the staring crowd. "Three females walk into a bar..."

  "But it's a diner," Maddie said, startling a nearby fellow when she flashed him a smile.

  Sam narrowed her eyes at Maddie.

  "She makes a great straight man," Natasha said, peering around Sam.

  "Don't encourage her," Sam said, turning to glare at Natasha.

  "Mornin' ladies, take a seat anywhere," the waitress called, motioning to the half empty restaurant. "I'll be right with you."

  Sam led them to a window side booth, slipping in next to Maddie and across from Natasha. She ignored the menus already on the table, tapping her fingers lightly while they waited.

  "Y'all know what you want?" the waitress asked, he
r pencil poised to take their order.

  "We'll have one of each of your pies," Sam said. "Are you Bettie?"

  The waitress blinked. "There is no Bettie. Was that one slice of each? To share?"

  "No, we want a whole pie, one of each kind you have," Sam clarified. "No Bettie? Who makes the pies?"

  "Pete," the waitress said, pointing over her shoulder with her pencil. "We have five different kinds of pie," she warned. These three didn't look like they could put away one between the three of them let alone five.

  "Pete's pies?" Sam grumbled, clearly disappointed. "Doesn't conjure quite the same image as Bettie's pies," she added.

  "But it has a nice ring to it," Maddie said, smiling up at their clearly confused waitress.

  "Why don't you bring us one slice of each," Natasha offered helpfully. "Box up the rest to go."

  Sam nodded, still frowning over the fact that there was no grandmotherly type in the back baking her pies.

  A minute later and the waitress returned with their pie. Conversation around them once again ceased as the waitress slid five dishes across the table, the busboy behind her with a tower of bakery boxes.

  "I'll have Joe leave these here," she said, nodding to the empty table one over from them. "He can help carry them out to your car when y'all are done."

  "Thanks," Sam said, digging into a slice of chocolate pecan. Her eyes closed in ecstasy as butter and brown sugar burst on her tongue. "Oh my...I can feel it settling on my butt as we speak."

  Natasha laughed, the alpha female's pleasure was contagious. "The benefit of our metabolism - all the pie you can eat, no exercise required."

  "Is there such thing as a fat werewolf?" Sam asked, her eyes looking around to make sure they couldn't be overheard.

  "I've never known one," Natasha said, trying a bite of the coconut cream.

  "PMS?" Sam asked, perking up. Why hadn't she thought about questioning Natasha sooner?