by C. C. Wood
My brows lifted. “The alpha down in Houston?”
He nodded. “Yeah and something…feels off. He says he wants to meet. That he has something important to discuss with me but that we have to do it face-to-face.”
“Is it about the Faction?”
Calder shook his head. “I don’t think so. He said it was personal. But there’s just something about that guy that gives me a bad feeling.”
I knew exactly what he meant. Brian Kirkpatrick was not an alpha to be trifled with. He was ruthless, cunning, and had a deeply rooted sadistic streak I’d only seen in action once, but once was enough.
“Are you taking the meet?” I asked.
“That’s why I’m here,” he replied. “I wanted your advice.”
I got to my feet and moved over to the chin up bar I had set up in the corner. “What do you mean?”
Calder grunted in frustration. “I mean, do you think I should take the meet or not? I’ve only met him a couple of times, but you know him well. Is this likely to turn into a clusterfuck, or do you think he just wants to talk?”
I hopped up, grabbing the bar and began to pull myself up, smooth and slow. “As alpha, you can’t afford to offend your closest allies, Calder. I wouldn’t want to do it, but I would. If he needs help and we can provide it, we should. Because you never know when the situations will be reversed.”
He was silent for a few moments as I continued to do pull-ups. “I want you there,” he finally stated. “You have excellent instincts and it’s time for you to get involved in the pack again.” It wasn’t the request of a friend, but the command of an alpha.
My rhythm faltered for a moment before I continued. “Okay. Then I’ll be there. When’s the meet?”
“Tomorrow.”
I stopped and dropped back down to the ground, turning to face him. “Tomorrow?”
He nodded.
“That’s pretty damn quick.”
“Exactly,” Calder replied. “I’m not sure I can trust him. I feel like he’s up to something, but I can’t figure out what the fuck it might be.”
“I agree. He’s up to something.” I stared down at my shoes for a moment, thinking. “I’ll make some calls, see if I can find out if he’s in a dispute with another pack or something. What time tomorrow?”
“Ten a.m.”
“I’ll be there.”
Calder drove us into McKinney for the meeting. To anyone else, he would appear relaxed, but I knew better. There was a tension inside him, humming just beneath his skin.
It wasn’t unusual for the alphas of nearby packs to request meetings to discuss working together or alliances, but this one was unexpected. There had been no rumors of unrest among the Houston pack or challenges from others.
Though it could be dangerous to discuss pack business in public, he decided that a busy restaurant would be best for today. If the Kirkpatricks had an ambush in mind, they would think twice in a place full of humans. In fact, the restaurant we’d agreed upon was also frequented by cops. Another deterrent.
When Calder pulled into the parking lot at the greasy spoon we’d selected as a meeting place, I turned toward him.
“What’s the plan?”
He exhaled, his fingers tapping the steering wheel. “I’ll do most of the talking. Watch them. Maybe you’ll pick up something I won’t.”
We walked inside, a half an hour early for the meeting. It was intentional. We wanted to make sure that we were waiting when they arrived.
The waitress came over, her eyes moving first over Calder until they reached his wide platinum wedding band. She looked disappointed until she saw me sitting next to him. Her mouth curved in a flirtatious smile that did nothing for me.
“What can I get you two?” she drawled.
“Just coffee,” Calder replied, all business.
She nodded and strutted away, hips swaying.
Calder and I were still drinking our first cup when Brian Kirkpatrick entered the restaurant, his son, Brayden, right behind him. They were early. Twenty minutes early.
Brian smiled and came over, greeting us with firm handshakes and back slaps. Brayden was more reserved, his eyes moving over the crowd inside the restaurant as though he were looking for someone. Brian and Brayden looked more like siblings than father and son, both tall, muscular, and blond. The only difference was their eyes. Brian’s were dark brown, almost black, and Brayden’s were pale blue. The color of ice. Still, despite the variation in color, their eyes held the same cold detachment. They could hide it well when they wanted, but they were ruthless and brutal. Completely without mercy.
Despite Brian’s friendly greeting, I wasn’t fooled and my focus sharpened.
With the pleasantries out of the way, Brian and Brayden sat in chairs across from us, which meant the waitress came over once again. When she aimed her winsome smile at Brian, he grinned back, his appreciative gaze moving over her body in a way that had her preening.
“Hi, there,” she greeted them. “What can I get you gentlemen?”
I noticed that Brayden barely looked her way, his gaze still searching the other patrons.
“Coffee, darlin’,” Brian answered her with a wink.
She grinned and turned, adding an intentional sway as she walked away. Brian took the opportunity to stare at her ass and I bit back a grunt. Clearly he still fucked anything that moved. He never mated, choosing instead to impregnate several she-wolves in his pack over the years. Though he was over one hundred years old, he looked as though he were approaching his mid-thirties, still strong and handsome. He took advantage of that as often as he could, with she-wolves and human women alike.
When the waitress returned, she leaned over, giving Brian a clear view of her assets down the partially unbuttoned top of her uniform. I ignored his leer and turned my eyes toward Brayden. He looked distracted and angry, his fists clenching and unclenching as he continued to scan the people inside the restaurant. Whatever he sought wasn’t here and it raised my suspicions.
After finishing her banter with Brian, the waitress left us again and Calder looked at Brian.
“It’s good to see you, Brian. How have you been?”
“Good, good,” the other alpha replied as he sipped his coffee. “Busy with business. You?”
“Things have finally settled down.”
Brian’s eyes flicked to me. “Good to see you up and about, Lachlan.”
I nodded instead of answering aloud.
“I was sorry to hear about your mate,” he continued.
I waited for the usual stab of pain, but it was muted. It made me uncomfortable. I had become so accustomed to the sharp edges of my grief that this dull ache felt like a betrayal to her memory.
“Thanks,” I murmured, my voice rough.
Brian tilted his head in acknowledgement before turning back toward Calder. “So, where’s your enforcer today, son? I thought she would be with you.”
Something, an instinct maybe, made me look at Brayden. He leaned forward slightly in his seat, his eyes glued to Calder. For some unknown reason, he was extremely interested in the answer to his father’s question.
Calder must have caught Brayden’s reaction though he seemed entirely focused on Brian because he replied, “She’s away, handling some pack business for me.”
“Oh, really?” Brian said, leaning back in his chair. “Well, that’s too bad. She and Brayden used to be very close, if you know what I mean.”
My brows lifted at his implication. As long as I had known Chloe, she had never mentioned Brayden Kirkpatrick. Ever.
“Ah, well then she’ll be sorry she missed this meeting,” Calder stated smoothly. I knew he’d caught on to what Brian was insinuating but he wasn’t going to address it. “So what do you need today, Brian?”
The Houston alpha shrugged. “We’re in the area for business and I didn’t want to come into your territory without speaking to you first.”
Calder arched a brow. “That was very courteous of you, Brian, but
don’t worry. If you ever need to come to Dallas in the future, a phone call is more than sufficient. I hate to take up your time when you have business to handle.”
“Thank you, Calder,” Brian replied. He drained his coffee mug and looked over at his son. “Bray, we should probably get going.”
Brayden, who hadn’t spoken since we sat down, shrugged and got to his feet. When Brian reached for his wallet, Calder waved a hand.
“It’s taken care of, Brian,” he stated.
“Thank you.” Brian smiled as we all stood and shook hands once again.
Father and son left as Calder and I paid the bill for our coffee, neither of us speaking. It wasn’t until we got into the car and were heading back toward the compound that Calder said a word.
“Did you buy any of that bullshit?” he asked.
“No. They’re up to something.”
“Any ideas what that might be?”
I stared out the window as we drove out of the city, buildings and neighborhoods thinning out. “I do.”
“Chloe,” Calder muttered, his voice low. “Dammit, this has something to do with her, doesn’t it?”
I nodded, twisting my head back toward him. “Did you see the way Brayden acted when his father brought her up?”
“Yeah,” he affirmed. Calder’s tone was dark and angry. “I didn’t like it.”
“Neither did I.”
My right hand ached. When I glanced down, I realized I’d balled it into a tight fist. So tight that my knuckles were white and cracking from the tension.
“We need to find her and figure out what the hell is going on,” Calder stated.
“I’ll handle it,” I told him, forcing my hand open and flexing my fingers. “You need to be here to keep an eye on the Kirkpatricks.”
I wondered what in the hell the she-wolf had gotten herself into. Whatever it was, I would discover the answer. Then I would help her straighten it out, whether she wanted me to or not.
Chapter Five
Chloe
I flopped down on my back in the middle of the field, shifting into my human form. My breath was still coming hard from my run, my lungs pumping as I fought to suck in air.
The sun was warm, beating down on my naked flesh. I tilted my head back and drank it in, relishing in the way the gentle heat loosened my muscles. It was early May and the temperatures in Oklahoma were perfect, still cool in the mornings and evenings but warm during midday.
I’d been in Prater a week and was still no closer to finding the answers I was looking for. In fact, I’d barely seen any of the other pack members. As soon as I arrived, Darrell had whisked me out to a rustic little cabin a few miles outside of town. Away from most of the pack.
I wasn’t sure if it was because he wanted to keep me away from everyone or if he thought I needed the privacy. Considering the suspicion I sensed from the few pack members I’d seen, I thought it was the first.
Though I didn’t see many of the wolves in the MacArthur pack, I could still tell that there was something going on. It was obvious in the way the shifters carried themselves. The hushed tones of their voices when they spoke. The way their eyes darted quickly when I caught them watching me in town. The fact that none of them would utter more than two words to me at a time.
Darrell had been conveniently busy over the last few days and every wolf I came across would scurry away as fast as possible when they saw me coming. At this rate I’d never find out what happened to my parents.
I groaned in disgust at my defeatist attitude. I could hear my grandmother’s voice now, telling me that I never would find what I wanted if I didn’t get my head out of my ass and quit focusing on the problems rather than the solutions.
As I lay naked in the grass, staring at the sky, the wind shifted. A scent drifted in the air, one I knew well. At first I thought I was dreaming. It had been three long weeks since I saw Lachlan, but I swore I could smell him at night as I drifted off to sleep.
And I dreamed about him. Lush, sexy dreams where he would touch me in all the ways I needed him to. More than that, he would smile at me. Love me.
The dreams were as heartbreaking as always because I knew it would never happen. He’d lost his mate nearly two years ago. In the haze of his grief, he would never know that he was supposed to be mine.
I hadn’t even realized it until around the time Ricki had gotten pregnant. She and I had been training and it was the first time she managed to knock me on my ass. I’d fallen and cut my arm badly enough that it wasn’t healing right away. Lachlan had insisted on inspecting the wound and cleaning it with his saliva, which was common among shifters. Our saliva held healing properties, similar to a vampire’s though not as strong.
As his tongue swept along my skin, I’d felt the stirring inside me. Not desire. Something deeper. It was as if my soul recognized him and sang.
It was both the most intense and worst moment of my life.
I now understood what shifters meant when they talked about the call their bodies had for their mate. The yearning.
Yet I could do nothing about it.
Lachlan was damaged. Irreparably so. There would be no mating with him, no future. Everything I wanted was dangled in front of me, forever to be tugged just out of reach.
Still, I stayed. I told myself that Calder needed me to help with the pack as they recovered from their battle with the Faction. That he needed me to track down the remaining members and eradicate them.
Finally, I had to admit to myself that I stayed because I wanted to be close to Lachlan and help him heal. Even if I would never have him, I couldn’t live with the idea of his death. I nursed, bullied, pushed, persuaded, and coaxed him into eating, bathing, even sleeping. There were days that I felt like only my will alone kept him breathing. As much as the thought hurt like hell, I would have done everything within my power to bring Belinda back to him just to see his heartbreak eased. He deserved happiness, even if it wasn’t with me.
Once again, the wind shifted, bringing with it the scent of Lachlan and interrupting my thoughts. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. Then I heard the brush of denim on the tall grass and knew I wasn’t alone. Nor was that scent a figment of my imagination.
I rolled to my feet in a flash and gaped as Lachlan walked through the grass toward me. My stomach twisted at the sight of him. In the last three weeks, he had gained weight, his frame no longer frighteningly gaunt. Though he still hadn’t achieved the bulk he’d had when I first met him, he looked healthy and strong.
The biggest surprise was his hair. When I left, it had been long, just brushing the collar of his shirt and falling into his eyes. Now it was shorn close to his scalp, no more than a half inch long. The thick beard that had once adorned his jaw was also gone, his skin shaven smooth.
Without the hair to hide his features, the angles of his face stood out in bold relief. The sharp slant of his jaw and the high formation of his cheekbones and brow ridge were naked. And his eyes. They were so bright and brilliantly blue that it made my chest ache to look into them. He looked dangerous and beautiful, every inch the alpha wolf.
I tamped down hard on my body’s response. I was downwind of him so he wouldn’t be able to smell any changes in me, but I was also naked as a jaybird.
Then it hit me that he shouldn’t even know where I was. I hadn’t told anyone and I’d taken the battery out of my phone and hidden it in the cabin I’d left behind. Any arousal I’d been feeling moments ago was immediately quashed.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him, striding forward.
“Looking for you,” he replied, his eyes locked on my face.
His jaw was hard and his body tight. I understood then that he was angry. No, furious.
“Why?” I questioned, lifting my chin. “I left the MacIntire pack and what I do now isn’t any of your concern.”
He growled low in his throat and reminded me once again of the fact that he was an alpha wolf, not to be challenged.
Unfortunatel
y, he seemed to have forgotten that I had dominant instincts of my own and my hackles rose. I growled back, prowling toward him.
“Don’t threaten me,” I stated. I pitched my voice low and it vibrated with tension. “We aren’t on your turf any longer, Ian.”
He blinked at me in surprise. “What did you just call me?”
“Ian,” I repeated, meeting his eyes levelly.
“How did you…” Confusion momentarily replaced his fury before his eyes flashed once again. If anything, my use of his first name only intensified his anger. “Don’t call me that. No one calls me that but—”
He didn’t finish his sentence. I knew what had been on the tip of his tongue however. No one but his mate would ever have the guts to call him Ian. In fact, I didn’t think I’d ever heard Belinda call him by his given name either.
He hated it and went to great lengths to make that clear. Half the MacIntire pack had probably forgotten that Lachlan wasn’t even his first name because it had been so long since anyone dared use it.
I kept walking, brushing by him on my way back to the cramped hunting cabin that I was staying in. “You need to leave.”
“Not until you tell me what’s going on,” he retorted.
Though he moved silently, I knew he was following me.
“I told Calder. Ask him.”
His hand hooked around my elbow, spinning me toward him. I reacted without thinking, my body moving on autopilot as I twisted his wrist and swept his legs from beneath him. To my shock, he used his downward momentum against me, dragging my body with him as he hit the ground. Then he rolled us so that he was straddling my waist.
Lachlan leaned forward until those burning blue eyes filled my vision. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”
I bucked, throwing him off and reversing our positions. This time it was me straddling his hips with my face lowered toward his. “Then I don’t know what you mean,” I snarled. “I’m here to investigate my parents’ death, nothing more.”