The Alpha's Pack

by Conall, Tabitha

  Ted stuck his head in the door. “Are they coming?”

  Shit, he knew. “Who?”

  “Your mates. Do you think they’re on their way? I would be, if you were my mate. I’d run over here as fast as I could, kneel down on the ground and beg. You think they’re doing that right now?”

  Deirdre took a deep breath. He hadn’t heard the phone conversation. He wouldn’t be talking like this if he had. “I don’t know, Ted. I guess so. Maybe.”

  Ted nodded happily. “Maybe I’ll stick around and wait. Wouldn’t want them to show up right after I leave.”

  No, no, no. He had to get out of here or they’d have to challenge him. “It’s pretty late, Ted. I know I’m going to bed soon. I’ll bet my mates are, too.”

  Ted’s eyebrows rose. “Really? You think they’d just go to sleep with all this hanging in the balance?” He paced over to the window and looked out. “If that’s true, they aren’t any kind of wolves, are they?”

  She’d rather have him think her mates were wimps or cowards than have him still be here when they showed up. “They both had long days. We all have. This would probably be better dealt with after a good night’s sleep.”

  He gazed at her, the moment drawing out long enough to be uncomfortable. “You might be right. I’ll have to think about that.” He walked to the door. “You go on to bed, then. And no ideas about sneaking out. Marcus will be watching.”

  Great.

  ***

  Jake felt like he would go out of his mind. Sam had a car, a big black SUV, while Jake had nothing, so Sam was driving them to Deirdre’s house. And he was driving too slowly. He was stopping not just at stoplights, but at stop signs too, for God’s sake.

  “I’m going as fast as I can,” Sam said.

  “I didn’t say anything.”

  “You didn’t have to.” Sam slowed for another stop sign. “Your claws are about to spring from your fingers.”

  “I want to kill someone. Not someone. Ted.” Jake’s voice sounded gravelly. Sam was right; he was on the edge of changing.

  “We’re almost there.” Sam’s hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, his fingers turning to a mottled white and red. But no claws.

  “You’re not changing,” Jake said.

  Sam took a breath. “I still hope we can get them out of there without bloodshed.”

  Jake growled. “Kill him anyway.”

  Sam scowled at him. “Maybe you could wait on that until the women are safe.”

  Jake growled again, nearly beyond words.

  He kept thinking mate. Mate. His mate was in danger.

  Sam turned another corner, then slowed and pulled over to the curb. Jake opened the door.

  “Not yet.” Sam motioned to a house on the other side of the street, three down. “That’s it. Deirdre said someone would be guarding them. We should scope it out before going in.”

  He had to be kidding. Jake felt the sharp tips of his claws pushing against the inside of his skin. “No,” he managed to say.

  “Let’s not be stupid about this,” Sam said.

  Jake got out of the car and started for the house. It was another ten seconds before Sam’s door opened behind him. Jake had already crossed half the distance to his target.

  Sam’s door slammed shut, then his feet pattered softly across the pavement in Jake’s direction.

  As Jake neared the lawn, a figure came out from the house. Tall, built. Male. He opened his arms wide. “You came. I told Deirdre you’d come. She said you’d all gone to bed.”

  Jake sped up, jumping the last few feet and slamming his fist into the man’s face. The man reeled, blood spurting and running down his face.

  “Ted!” Another man ran from the house, aiming at Jake. Sam rammed into him before he could get there.

  The man in front of him wiped at his nose. So this was Ted. Good.

  Jake’s claws pushed through. His next punch landed as more of a swipe, his claws scraping through Ted’s skin.

  The man screamed and lunged at him.

  Jake caught Ted in a bear hug, digging his claws into the back of Ted’s neck. Ted growled, shook his head, then sunk sharp teeth into the side of Jake’s throat. Jake dragged his free hand down the man’s back, shredding his shirt and digging deep into his flesh.

  A woman screamed.

  At the same time, Deirdre yelled, “Jake! Sam!”

  Jake didn’t have time to look. He wrenched his body around and flung himself toward the ground with Ted underneath him. The impact jarred Ted loose. Jake scrambled to his feet, and the other man did the same.

  Ted had his back to the house. Jake couldn’t take the risk of looking away from him, but could see Deirdre and Bridget in his peripheral vision, standing on the steps. Sam and Ted’s friend fought far to the left of them, closer to the front of the house.

  The two men circled each other. Ted’s eyes flicked in the direction of the steps, so Jake lunged at him. Ted jerked back.

  “Mine,” Jake growled.

  Ted bared his teeth. The men circled some more, making a full 360.

  “My pack,” Ted said, having the same trouble speaking as Jake was having. Too many long teeth sprouting in his mouth.

  Jake lunged again. This time, Ted sprung backward, toward the steps. He grabbed Bridget and held his claws against her throat. Jake stopped short.

  “Deirdre, come over here,” Ted said.

  Deirdre didn’t move. “Let Bridget go.”

  “You two are coming with me,” Ted said. His teeth retracted enough so that he stopped lisping. “This has gone far enough.”

  “You said it.” Sam stood twenty feet to Jake’s left, his opponent three feet from Sam’s side.

  Deirdre, standing a little behind Ted, went through one of the fastest changes Jake had ever seen. He’d never seen anything so beautiful in his life. The wolf she became bared her teeth. Her silver fur gleamed in the light pouring out of the house.

  Ted scowled at Jake, his arm tightening around Bridget’s chest. He didn’t seem to realize what Deirdre had done. “You pups need to learn respect. When you do, call me and we’ll talk about what you have to do to get your mate back. Until then—”

  Deirdre barreled into him from the side. The three of them ended up in a pile at the bottom of the steps. She snapped at Ted’s neck. He jerked back, claws retracting into fingers.

  Interesting. Ole’ Teddy-boy was afraid of Deirdre. Or at least her teeth.

  Jake strode toward the three of them. Sam started to as well, but got tackled by Ted’s friend. Before Jake could reach them, Ted scrambled to his feet, his bare hands dragging Bridget by her neck.

  Deirdre lunged for them, growling.

  “Stay back,” Ted said, his voice a little high. “You stay back, or I’ll kill your sister.”

  Chapter 5

  Deirdre’s growl grew louder.

  “Marcus! We’re leaving.” Ted inched backward, hauling Bridget with him.

  Jake stalked toward them. “You’re not going anywhere. Stay and fight like a wolf.”

  “This isn’t a fair fight.” Ted’s claws came out, one scraping across Bridget’s neck and drawing a thin line of blood. “You ambushed me.”

  “Ambush?” Jake threw his arms wide. “You kidnapped my mate. You planned for us to come here. It was a trap, not an ambush.”

  Ted took another step backward. “Marcus!”

  Deirdre growled and circled around behind Ted so he had no way out.

  Ted glanced behind him. “I’ll hurt her.” He squeezed, and Bridget cried out. “You get out of my way, Deirdre, or I’ll hurt your sister.”

  Deirdre put her head to the ground, teeth bared, but stepped backward, moving out of his way.

  “Good girl.” Ted walked backward toward the side of the house. “Marcus!”

  Ted’s pet wolf couldn’t answer him. Sam had him in a head lock.

  Ted apparently didn’t care. He hurried toward the back of the house, Jake and Deirdre pacing him. “Stay ba
ck. You stay back.” He pressed his claws into Bridget’s neck and drew more blood.

  Bridget didn’t cry out, but her eyes looked wild.

  Deirdre growled.

  Ted shook his finger in her direction. “You should have done what you were told. If your sister gets hurt, it’s your fault.”

  Deirdre stepped toward him, Jake by her side.

  Sam cried out. Marcus was holding a knife on him, and Sam had a red slash across his shirt. Jake stepped toward him, then looked back at Ted.

  Ted was gone.

  “Shit!” Jake ran around the side of the building, Deirdre bounding beside him. They ran clear around to the back, split up to look in both adjoining backyards, but couldn’t find him.

  Ted was gone. And he had Bridget.

  Jake ran back to the front. Marcus had taken off. Sam pressed his hand against his wound. He was bleeding pretty well, but still standing.

  “Bridget?” Sam said.

  From the backyard, Deirdre howled. She must be pretty far gone; they never howled in cities or residential areas. Never. The neighbors were probably calling the cops right now. The cops and animal control and anyone else they could think of.

  “Gone,” Jake said. “We’ve gotta get out of here.”

  “Get Deirdre. I’ll get to the car.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah. Although you might beat me there.” Sam started to walk slowly toward his SUV.

  Jake raced to the back. Deirdre had her nose to the ground, trying to track Ted.

  “We’ve got to go.”

  She didn’t look at him.

  “We can come back later. Right now, we’ve got to get out of here. The cops will be here any second.”

  She looked at him, shook her head, and put her nose back to the ground.

  He knelt beside her. “I’ll carry you if I have to, but it’ll be easier if you come on your own. You know we have to go. Now.”

  She looked at him again. This time, the look in her eyes nearly broke his heart. She looked mournful, almost hopeless.

  “We’ll get her back. I promise you. We’ll get her back and make him pay. But we can’t do that if we end up in jail.”

  She tossed her head and headed around the house. He jogged beside her. When Sam came into sight, limping toward the car, Deirdre broke into a flat-out run. She dogged his heels once she reached him, yipping worriedly.

  “I’ll be okay,” Sam said.

  Jake ran past them and opened up the back door. Deirdre jumped inside, then Jake helped Sam. Once they were both settled, Jake got the keys from Sam and drove them back to the B&B.

  They needed to get Sam patched up, then prepare for battle.

  ***

  Deirdre knew she’d gone to a very dark place and was having trouble coming back. She knew it, but part of her didn’t care. That part wanted to jump out of the window, find Ted, and tear his throat out. If it weren’t for Jake and Sam, that’s exactly what she’d be doing. And Sam . . .

  She went back to her dark place. Ted’s second had hurt Sam. She should tear out his throat, too.

  Jake was talking to her from the front seat where he was driving, but she wasn’t listening. Instead, she stared at Sam, sitting on the seat next to her holding his stomach. He was talking to her, too.

  “It’s okay, Dee. I’m all right.”

  She whined. Sam was hurt. Her mate was hurt.

  “Deirdre.” Jake’s voice sounded like a shot that echoed through the car. “Change back, now.”

  She growled.

  Jake spoke more softly. “Sam needs you.”

  Her mate needed her. She bent herself to the hard work of changing again so soon.

  A few minutes later, Deirdre sat next to Sam, naked and human once again. Jake tossed his shirt to her and she put it on. “How are you?” She reached toward Sam’s wound, but didn’t touch him.

  “I’ll live,” he said. “But it hurts like a bitch.”

  “We need to get you cleaned up,” she said softly, her voice a little hoarse.

  They pulled up to the B&B. Jake parked in back, then came around to help Sam out of the car.

  Hopefully they wouldn’t run into anyone on their way in. Jake’s shirt reached her mid-thigh but it would still look odd for her to come in with no pants, no shoes, no nothing. And Jake with no shirt.

  Sam refused to let Jake carry him, but allowed him to help. Deirdre held the door for them then followed them through. They made it up to Jake’s room without incident, although taking the narrow stairs made helping Sam difficult. Sam went straight to the bed and sat.

  “Lie down,” Deirdre said.

  “I need my stomach muscles to lie down,” he said. “I think that’s going to hurt. A lot.”

  “Then I’ll help you.” Deirdre could lift Sam if she needed to; one of the perks of being a werewolf. So helping him lie down shouldn’t be a big deal.

  Just as she got Sam situated on the bed, Jake brought a small first aid kit from the bathroom. “How’s it look?”

  “Not sure yet,” she said. “Sam, honey, we need to look at the wound.”

  Sam moved his hand away from where he’d been pressing on it. The fabric of his shirt was stuck to his skin, so it was hard to tell how bad the wound really was.

  “We need to get that fabric out of the way,” Deirdre said.

  “Might be easiest if we cut it.” Jake rummaged through his kit.

  “We’ll still have to peel it off his skin.”

  “Yeah, but it’ll come easier if we don’t also have to push it up in the back and sides.” He pulled out a pair of scissors. “Trust me. Not my first rodeo.”

  Deirdre stepped out of the way so Jake could cut the shirt.

  Sam briefly raised his head to watch, then dropped it back on the pillow again. “Shit. That was one of my favorite shirts.”

  “Seriously? That’s what you’re worried about?” Deirdre put her hands on her hips, which made Jake’s shirt rise to dangerous heights. She should probably put some clothes on. Except—shit, she didn’t have a thing to wear. Nothing.

  Well, they could worry about that later.

  “I’ll heal,” Sam said. “The shirt won’t.”

  Jake peeled back the pieces of fabric to reveal a bloody mess. Still impossible to tell how bad the actual wound was. Jake tossed some gauze pads at her. “Here. Go get these wet. I’d use wash cloths, but the B&B would have a problem with it.”

  She wet the pads then brought them back to the room. Jake put out his hand, but she said, “I can do it.”

  “We’re not going to fight over which of us gets to take care of him.” Jake still had his hand out.

  Damn alpha. She put the gauze in his hand.

  “Thanks.”

  Jake cleaned Sam up while Deirdre hovered over him. When all the blood had been washed away, the wound didn’t look as terrible as she’d thought. Deep, but already starting to heal.

  “You’re going to be okay,” Deirdre said.

  Sam opened his eyes to look at her. “I’ve been telling you that.”

  “I didn’t believe you.”

  He closed his eyes and put his hand back over them. “I noticed.”

  “She was worried. Give her a break,” Jake said.

  Interesting. He was the last one she thought would jump to her defense on an emotional issue. She put her hand on his shoulder. “You do good work.”

  Jake flashed her a smile.

  Deirdre went around the bed while Jake finished patching Sam up. She climbed onto the bed and lay close to Sam, not touching. She just wanted to be close to him.

  Sam removed the arm that was flung over his eyes and curled it around Deirdre’s shoulders. “I’m sorry about Bridget. We’ll get her back.”

  “Thanks.” She didn’t want to think about Ted having Bridget. She couldn’t.

  “He’s probably not hurting her,” Sam said. “She’s leverage, that’s all.”

  “Doesn’t matter.” Jake taped the last edge of bandage.
“I’m going to challenge him. And when I beat him, this will all be over.”

  That didn’t make her feel better. “He’s been challenged before. He always wins.”

  Jake met her eyes. “Which means he’s cocky.”

  And Jake wasn’t? But she realized something. Jake was easily the biggest alpha she’d ever met. Not physically, but in intensity. He was more of an alpha. More—yes, more even than Ted. “Yes, he’ll be cocky. Which will help you. But even without that, I think you have a better chance than anyone before.”

  Something shifted in his eyes. She knew what it was. She’d doubted him, and now she backed him up. Sometimes that made all the difference to a man.

  “Why’s that?”

  “You’re more alpha than he is.”

  Now Jake smiled. “You’re so sure of that?”

  “Yeah.”

  He came around the bed to lie on her other side. “That couldn’t just be your pride in your mate talking?”

  “It could be, but it’s not. Ted ran tonight. And he had to run, because he couldn’t beat you and he knew it.”

  Jake rubbed her arm. “That’s right. He took the coward’s way out.”

  Deirdre curled into him. She could touch Jake without worrying about hurting him—unlike Sam—and right now, she needed her mates’ touch. “It still won’t be easy to defeat him. He has minions and cronies who will back him up.”

  “There must be some good wolves left in the pack. You’re still here.”

  She was glad Jake put her in the “good” category. “There are a few, but they’re the weaker wolves. All the strongest ones are his people.”

  “Strong or weak, it doesn’t matter. When I challenge him, we need people on our side. The more the better. Can you contact them? Spread the word? We need them physically there, so he won’t pull any tricks.”

  “What about Roanoke Pack?” Sam said, his voice a little weak. “If you set the challenge for neutral territory, I can get some of my pack mates to show up. That’ll help keep everything fair.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Deirdre said.

  “Will Ted go for the neutral territory thing?” Jake said.