The Grant Wolves Box Set

by Lori Drake

  Chris released Eric’s leg and sprang away again, circling while his foe struggled to stand on three legs. Eric’s cocky confidence was flagging. His bushy black tail pointed straight down, almost but not quite tucked between his legs. With a growl, Chris launched himself at Eric again. They went down in a flurry of snarls, but Chris got his teeth around the black wolf’s neck and tightened his jaws, almost but not quite piercing his foe’s thick scruff as he held him down. Eric squirmed and kicked but couldn’t get free. Chris clamped down harder and tasted blood. Eric whined and went still.

  That was it. He’d won. Regardless, Chris growled and held Eric there a little longer. His wolf wanted to revel in the victory, rub Eric’s nose in it. But eventually he loosened his jaws and stepped back, breathing heavily from the exertion. He closed his eyes and willed himself back into his human form. With the icy wind once more licking his bare skin, Chris opened his eyes and looked at the man crouched a few feet away.

  Eric held his savaged arm against his chest. They were both breathing heavily from their efforts and bloodied from various punctures and scratches, but they’d survive. Considering how Eric’s past challenges had ended, Chris was grateful for that. And, truth be told, a little surprised.

  “It’s over,” Chris said. He clutched his aching side as he struggled to his feet.

  Eric sprang forward in a full-on tackle.

  Chris went down. Something cracked as he hit the ground; that crack was accompanied by a sharp stab of pain that put the rest to shame. Though Chris scrambled to lift his arms in his defense, Eric had the element of surprise, and proceeded to pummel his face.

  “You think you can beat me?” Eric snarled. “You think you’re better than me? You’re nothing. You’re no one!”

  “Stop him!” Joey barked.

  Seconds later, Itsuo and Jessica grabbed Eric’s arms and hauled him off Chris.

  “Judas!” Eric screamed, after they flung him on the ground. “I’d expect this from him, but you, Jess?”

  “Fuck you, Eric,” she said. “I’m not your bitch anymore.”

  Ben’s face hovered over Chris’s. “You okay, bro?”

  Chris couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. He shook his head rapidly.

  “Talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong.”

  Chris opened his mouth, but no more than a gasping wheeze came out.

  Ben’s brows shot up. “I need my bag!” He prodded Chris’s ribs with gentle fingers, and a fresh stab of pain lanced his side. Struggling to breathe, Chris managed to produce a groan, but nothing more.

  “Hurry!” Ben yelled.

  Eric was still shouting in the background, but it was all so much noise to Chris as he lay there on the cold ground. Seconds passed like hours. Joey’s worried face joined Ben’s in hovering over Chris. He locked eyes with her and she caught his hand. Her lips moved, but he couldn’t hear what she said over the blood rushing in his ears.

  So this is how it ends.

  It was probably fair. He’d gotten a second chance at life, and he’d squandered it. He’d let Joey slip through his fingers, wasted months being hurt and angry, stubbornly remained behind in San Diego while most of the rest of his family moved to Seattle and got on with their lives. He’d repeated the same mistakes, trying to fight battles that weren’t his to fight, and this time it wasn’t even for a friend. He’d put his life on the line for strangers—like he had another to spare. Still, gazing up into Joey’s brown eyes with the biting wind nipping at his bare skin and his brother frantically trying to help him… if he did it all over again, there was very little he’d change. Maybe standing up for the Granite Falls pack wasn’t his job, but he could at least die knowing it was the right thing to do.

  He knew he was running out of time when he started to see stars. Reaching up, he half cupped and half grabbed the side of Joey’s face. She covered his hand with hers and said something else. He couldn’t make out the words, but her tone was pleading.

  Then he felt a pinch in the center of his chest and the pressure in his ribcage started to abate. He managed to suck in one breath, then another. Breathing was still difficult, but possible. Each subsequent breath got a little bit easier.

  The first words he was able to make sense of were Ben’s.

  “Holy shit, it actually worked.”

  Chris laughed reflexively, but that was a bad idea. Pain flared, and he coughed, gurgled, and spat up a little blood.

  “Is he going to be okay?” Joey asked, worry still etched in her face.

  “I think so, yeah. I had to field-expedite a chest dart to relieve the pressure in his chest. I think his broken rib punctured a lung and it collapsed. Give me that blanket, would you?”

  Joey slipped the blanket from her shoulders, but rather than giving it to Ben, she draped it over Chris herself. “They taught you that in EMT school?”

  “Yes. No. Actually, it was an anecdote from the trainer about his time in Iraq during Desert Storm. I believe his exact words were ‘do not ever do this in the field or you might lose your license.’”

  Joey snorted. “Well, I’m not going to report you. What happens now?”

  “Normally, a trip to an ER. But the way we regenerate… give him a minute or two. His lung should reinflate on its own.”

  Now that he was covered, Chris began to realize just how cold he was. Before long, he was shivering under the blanket, but too grateful to be alive to voice any complaints. He closed his eyes and lay quietly, waiting while the magic in his blood repaired his broken body. Bones took time, but organ and tissue damage healed more quickly. Even during the new moon.

  “Thank you,” he said, when he could spare the breath.

  “Sure. Anything for you, bro. But to be honest, I hope to shit I don’t have to do that again.” Ben rummaged around in his bag until he produced a bottle of scotch, and uncapped it for several lengthy swallows.

  Being healed enough to talk seemed to make Joey think he was healed enough to get a piece of her mind too. “You fucking idiot. What were you thinking?” She pinched his arm. His arms were basically the only part of him above the waist that didn’t hurt at the moment, so he grunted and eyed her.

  Ben at least tried to help. “Maybe now isn’t the best time.”

  Joey shot Ben a glare, and he lifted the bottle to his lips for another drink.

  Chris’s eyes roamed Joey’s face. He smiled. “You’re pretty when you’re angry.”

  “Don’t change the subject,” Joey snapped, but the corners of her mouth twitched in the barest hint of a smile before she refocused her ire. “Why did you do that? Why?”

  “It had to be done.”

  She frowned, rubbing his hand between both of hers. “Not here, not now… not… you!”

  Chris squeezed her hand. “It had to be me.”

  He lay there for a little longer, then pushed himself up into a sitting position with some help. The blanket fell across his lap and he looked down at the limp piece of rubber hanging from his chest. Ben reached out and tugged at it, pulling the slender needle out of Chris’s chest. A tiny dot of blood welled from the puncture, but Chris wiped it away with a thumb and no more appeared. The tiny pinhole in his skin had already closed.

  “What is that?” Chris asked, motioning at the thing.

  “IV needle and a latex glove finger. Long story,” Ben said.

  Chris looked around and found things almost exactly as he’d left them. The Granite Falls wolves were still gathered around in a circle, but they watched him with universal concern. He put on a reassuring smile for them, at least briefly.

  “Let me up! I won, dammit!” Eric’s objections were overruled by his former second and Itsuo, who still held him pinned to the ground. Someone had thought to toss a blanket over him too.

  Chris grabbed Ben’s arm. “Help me up. I need to finish this.”

  He waved off Joey when she tried to help, not wanting her to put more weight on that leg than she had to. Ben had dug the bullet out earlier, but she was still
in bad shape. Nonetheless, she hovered by his side. He took her hand again after wrapping the blanket around his waist. He’d thought being out here without a coat earlier was bad, but being naked was a whole other level of cold. Still, he had unfinished business to take care of before he could get dressed and, hopefully, fall into a nice, warm bed.

  Looking down at his not-quite-vanquished foe, Chris felt nothing but contempt. “Has anyone ever mentioned that you’re a really sore loser?”

  Eric growled and renewed his struggles against the other two alphas. “Let me up and we’ll see who’s the real loser!”

  “The contest is over. You submitted.”

  “I’ll never submit to anyone, much less you! This isn’t over, dammit! This pack is mine!”

  Chris arched a brow, then looked around him. “What say you, Granite Falls pack? Do you still recognize this piece of shit as your Alpha?”

  The chorus of “nos” came without hesitation.

  Chris looked down at Eric again. “You heard them.”

  Eric craned his neck, looking around the circle. “How dare you! After what I’ve done for you? This is how you treat me? This is the respect you show me?”

  Beside Chris, Joey growled. He squeezed her hand.

  “The thing about respect is that it can’t be demanded or taken,” Chris said. “It has to be earned. You’ve broken trust with your pack, put them in danger—even got two of them killed—when you swore to protect them. You deceived them into committing a vile act they never would have done otherwise. They no longer recognize you as their Alpha. What you think about that doesn’t matter.”

  The muscles on Eric’s shoulders and arms stood out as he pulled against the grip of his captors. “Just like that, you’re going to waltz into my territory and try to take over? You’ll have to kill me first.”

  Chris shook his head. “It’s not your territory anymore.” He glanced at Joey. She met his eyes and nodded. “It’s mine.”

  Eric howled in rage. “I’ll kill you, Martin! Just like I did your parents!”

  Chris blinked slowly as the assembled wolves gave a collective gasp. He took a step forward. “What did you say?”

  “You heard me! Poor little Chris, orphaned at the age of two. You were a thorn in my side from the day you were born. I should’ve smothered you in your sleep before that uptight bitch showed up and carried you off.”

  Chris’s mind reeled. Could it be true? Was it possible that his birth parents’ boating accident wasn’t an accident at all? Dumbfounded, all he could do was stare as the implications of that hit home. He glanced at Itsuo, finding the oft-stoic wolf’s eyes smoldering with barely contained rage.

  “How could you do that?” Chris asked Eric. “He took you in. He treated you like a son. Why would you betray him like that? Why would you twist his legacy into something so—so wrong?”

  Eric barked a humorless laugh. “Why do you think, you simple fuck? Because of you. As soon as you came along, it was like I didn’t exist anymore. You’re right, he was like a father to me, only better, because he didn’t beat the shit out of me the way my pops did. You took that from me, so I took him from you. I took everything from you, you pathetic piece of shit!”

  His tirade was interrupted by Itsuo’s fist. Eric’s head snapped to one side, and finally he was silent.

  “If you do not wish his blood on your hands, Christopher-san, I will carry out your sentence. With pleasure.” Itsuo’s eyes glittered with moisture. Chris knew how much Henry Martin had meant to Itsuo, and how much this revelation must’ve hurt him. It’d happened right under his nose.

  “No,” Chris said, the word spoken with more instinct, more gut reaction, than intent. But that one word was enough to stay Itsuo’s hand.

  “Are you sure?” Jessica asked. “At this point, I don’t think anyone would blame you. Much less miss him.”

  “Not even you?” Chris met her eyes, but she quickly looked away.

  “It’s… complicated.”

  Chris knew a few things about complicated. All of this could end, right now. All he had to do was say the word. He wouldn’t even have to do the deed himself. Eric wouldn’t hesitate, if the roles were reversed. Maybe that, in and of itself, was what held him back. He wasn’t Eric, would never become Eric.

  “Killing him won’t undo what he did,” Chris said eventually. “It might feel like justice, but it’s not. It’s just revenge.”

  The look on Itsuo’s face said he begged to differ, but he remained silent. Chris felt all of their eyes on him. Joey squeezed his hand, quietly supportive.

  Chris inhaled and squared his shoulders, ignoring the painful protest of his ribs. “Eric Jensen, you are exiled from my territory. Leave this city and never return.”

  Eric just moaned. Itsuo must’ve hit him pretty hard. He and Jessica released Eric and stepped back. Eric struggled up into a sitting position, dazed but conscious. “You’ll regret this. This isn’t over, Martin!”

  Chris turned and walked away. His pack, new and old, went with him.

  22

  Joey couldn’t remember feeling so tired in all her life. She fell face-first onto the bed, biting back a groan as her leg protested the movement. Beside her, Chris settled gingerly on the edge of the bed and eased himself to lie down. Joey turned onto her side and pulled the extra blanket up from the foot of the bed. She draped it over them, then curled up against his side and pillowed her head on his shoulder. She didn’t even have the strength left to undress. Chris seemed to be in the same position. He curled an arm around her and gathered her against his side, breathing a quiet sigh.

  Morning sunlight peeked around the edges of the room’s musty old curtains. Joey closed her eyes to block it out, expecting sleep to claim her in short order, but it remained elusive.

  “Do you think he’ll come back?” she murmured, breathing in Chris’s familiar scent and taking comfort in the warmth of his body beside hers. One of his first acts as man of the house had been to crank up the thermostat. Everyone approved, but it’d take time to warm up the big old house.

  “Eric?” Chris asked, in a tired murmur. “Or Roger?”

  “Either. Both.”

  “Dunno.” He was quiet for a moment. “Would you have really let that girl bleed out if Roger hadn’t agreed to your bargain?”

  “No.” Joey didn’t have to think about it. It had been a risky bluff, but she’d made it anyway. No regrets. “I just hope he keeps his word if she doesn’t make it.”

  “Ben seemed confident she’d be okay. She made it to the hospital, I’m sure they took care of her.”

  “I hope so,” Joey said, and she truly did. The girl was distraught, and had probably been goaded into doing what she did by her dead father’s spirit. Those were some extenuating circumstances Joey was willing to excuse. She just hoped the girl didn’t run her mouth off to the police. Or, if she did, that she ended up on some sort of psychiatric hold. They didn’t need the cops sniffing around. There was no telling what they might find if they searched the woods at the edge of the lake.

  Quiet settled between them, until Joey was again compelled to break it. “You know what this means, right?”

  “Hmm?”

  “You’re their Alpha now.” She traced an idle circle on the center of his chest, feeling the warmth of his skin through his shirt.

  “I know.”

  “You can’t be in two packs at once…”

  He sighed. “I know.” His fingers caught hers, and he brought them to his lips. “We’ll figure it out. Can we just get some sleep?” Those lips brushed the palm of her hand, and she shivered despite her tiredness.

  “Only if you quit doing that,” she mumbled.

  He chuckled softly and carefully turned onto his side, facing her. A soft hiss escaped him as he jostled something that wasn’t ready to be jostled.

  “Careful.” She slid her arm around him and snuggled closer, resting her forehead against his.

  “Say it again.”

  Joey m
ade a noise and opened her eyes, looking into his from a decidedly short distance. She could lose herself in those eyes, and for a moment, she did.

  “What you said in the woods, when you thought I was going to die.” He smiled, coiling a lock of her long red hair around a finger.

  “At the rate you’re going, you’re not out of the woods yet. Uh, figuratively speaking. You need to rest.”

  He smirked and lifted his chin. She thought he was going to kiss her and let her eyes drift closed, but he kissed the tip of her nose instead. “Come on, say it again.”

  The panic, the fear that had driven her away from him in the first place was still there, lingering beneath the surface. It was different now that she realized the only thing that scared her more than loving him was losing him. Death would come for them one day, as inescapable as the tide, but loving him, being with him, was something she could control.

  Joey opened her eyes and met his clear blue gaze in the morning light. “I love you.”

  He smiled that boyish smile she knew so well and closed his eyes, appearing more at peace in that moment than she’d seen him in months.

  “You’re really going to leave me hanging?” She asked, when he didn’t say anything in return.

  His smile twitched into a grin. “Didn’t think I’d let you off the hook that easily, did you?”

  Joey groaned, but kissed him anyway. She didn’t need to hear it to know it.

  Epilogue

  Smoke poured out from under the hood of the aging Camaro as Eric pulled over to the side of the remote, largely deserted highway.