“I won’t lie and say that I wish things were different at Shadowbrook. It has been my home for my entire life, but things are different now. I couldn’t stay there anymore.” Tyler was a big reason for that.
He’d approached Josh when Harper had gotten out of the hospital, when it had been clear that she was going to be okay. He’d tried to apologize, but Josh didn’t want to hear it. The only thing he felt when he looked at his former best friend was a deep anger at what he’d almost done to Harper. And he’d known then that he could not stay at Shadowbrook. The tension inside him where Tyler was concerned, was too deep and too strong for it not to blow up at some point. And that would be helpful to no one.
“Do you think you will ever be able to forgive him?” Harper stroked her hand down his face. It struck Josh how perceptive she was. it was like all she had to do was look at him to know what was on his mind.
“You were hurt because of what he did. You could have died and been lost to me forever. that’s something that I am having a hard time forgiving and forgetting.” He stroked his hand her hair and pressed his lips to her forehead.
“Are you sure that you won’t miss Lenox? You grew up there. It’s a big part of you.”
“I will miss my Ben but Lenox isn't that far away. And if I’m honest, I’m a little excited to be out of a small town and into a much bigger city. For a lot of my life I’ve felt like something was missing. There was a restlessness inside me to get out of the town I was born in and explore more of the world. And with the way things are with the pack right now, you have to admit that we couldn’t stay in Lenox.”
Ben had stepped down as Alpha, and things were uneasy within the pack. Josh could hardly believe that his brother had walked away from his responsibilities to the pack, but he understood why he’d done it. Lana was his life, and he couldn’t live it without her. And things had become clear within the pack that they were not going to accept her or the baby. The pack’s behavior had forced his brother's hand and he had made the only choice he could. He’d put his woman and his baby first.
Derek had stepped up to the plate to run the pack until an Alpha was chosen. Josh wished him luck with that, but he was glad that his brother hadn’t forced him to step into his shoes. Being Alpha of the pack was not something that Josh ever wanted. He had what he wanted, which was a relationship with the woman he loved, and he would not give Harper up for anything in the world.
“I suppose. We couldn't exactly stay in the apartment with Ben and Lana.” The buzzer rang and Harper got up to go answer it. As Josh watched her walk away, he felt deep in his bones that this was the right move for them.
While they were waiting for Harper to recover and while they were making their plans for the future, they’d stayed at the apartment with Ben and Lana. The solution was only ever going to be temporary, as Lana’s tiny baby bump had proclaimed. Soon his brother’s growing family would make the apartment much too cramped for all of them. And it seemed foolish for them to try to find somewhere in Lenox to live when Harper already had a job and a condo in Boston.
With his experience as a firefighter, he could find work in a major city like Boston. And he had to admit that he wanted all his love for Harper to grow, away from the prying eyes of Lenox and the pack.
Harper came back and set the food on the coffee table. She looked at him with a smile on her face, and it hit like a sledgehammer to the gut just how much he loved her. There were times when she looked at him that he couldn't believe that he’d been lucky enough to find her.
A frown crossed her face as he continued to stare at her. She patted her hair and then raised an eyebrow at him.
“Is something wrong?”
He stood up and took both of her hands in his. He kissed the back of each one in turn. “There is nothing wrong. In fact everything is right. I love you more than I have loved anyone in my life and I’m so happy that we are starting our new life together.”
“Are you sure you can be happy here?”
He loved that she was concerned that he couldn't make a go of living in Boston. “How many times do I have to tell you that you are what makes me happy. It doesn't matter where I live as long as it’s with you.”
He leaned down and kissed her deeply. As she clung to him, the hunger he’d had for the food they had ordered was soon overtaken by a hunger of a different sort.
She gave a startled gasp as he scooped her up in his arms and walked with her toward the bedroom.
“But what about the food.”
“Let it get cold. We’ll eat it later.” And as she carried her into the bedroom they would not share he knew that they would eat much, much later.
Claimed by the Alpha Wolf
46
Derek
Derek Hargrove slammed his fist down on the hood of his Ford pickup with a growl.
“Fuck,” he cursed, kicking the flat tire and mentally berating himself for not replacing his spare.
It was almost 6 a.m, meaning he was due at the fire station now. Even if he shifted into his wolf form and ran back to Lenox, he would be late for work, more than likely causing his boss, and former Alpha, Ben Stokes to give him a hard time. Ben might not have been the pack’s Alpha anymore, but he sure as hell was still the chief of the Lenox fire department, meaning Derek still reported directly to the older man.
After Ben had stepped down as Alpha of the Shadowbrook Pack to be with his human mate Lana, and Ben’s brother Josh had left Lenox entirely to be with his mate - also human, much to Derek’s annoyance - Derek had stepped up to the plate, offering to be Alpha. He hoped the pack would make it a permanent position, but right now, he was on probation - needing to prove himself to the rest of his pack.
That’s why he was out here, in the middle of God only knew where, searching for any signs, even the merest scent, of the Carnegies. The human shifter-hunters, and enemies of the Shadowbrook Pack dating back a hundred years, had gone to the wind since they’d murdered pack-member Eloise, but Derek was determined to find them. He’d already failed his pack twice - first when he’d been unable to stop Ben’s mate from getting captured, and second, when he’d been unable to protect Eloise - he wasn’t going to make that mistake again.
The Shadowbrook pack had accepted him for who he was, and took him in when no-one else would. Even if he was the youngest Alpha to lead the pack, he was damn sure he was going to be the best Alpha. After all, he owed it to Ben for adopting him into the pack and giving him a home when he’d had nothing.
Knowing his only choice was to change into his wolf form and come back for his truck later, and thankful he was on an old country road where no humans would see him, he stripped out of his clothes and shifted. His bones cracked and his muscles spasmed as his body transformed from a man in his mid-twenties to a wolf with tawny brown fur, his guard hairs banded with gold. Derek lifted his head and let out a howl, then sprinted along the disused road, in the direction of town and the Shadowbrook estate where the fire station was situated, and the pack lived away from inquisitive humans.
It was almost seven by the time he arrived at the estate, dressed and entered the fire station, but thankfully it was quiet. The rest of the brigade on duty, who were also all shifters, milled around the station enjoying breakfast, hoping the day would be uneventful.
“Hey,” Jason, his closest friend in the pack, called him over. “I thought you’d have been here hours ago, eating all the pancakes.”
Jason smirked as Derek dropped into a chair beside him, pulled over a plate and started piling it high with breakfast foods.
“I was busy,” he said simply, before shoving a forkful of scrambled eggs in his mouth.
Jason raised an eyebrow. “Busy with a woman?”
Derek almost choked on his eggs. Some of the pack weren’t opposed to sleeping with humans, and as evidenced by the Stokes brothers’ relationship, inter-species romances were becoming more common. It didn’t matter to Derek though. Shifter or human, Derek wasn’t on the market.
Derek scoffed. “Hardly. I was looking for signs of the Carnegies.”
From the corner of his eye, Derek caught Jason roll his eyes. “I get that these guys are bad news. I was willing to fight alongside Ben when they ordered us out of here, but they’ve vanished man. We practically finished them off when we attacked their hideout, and since… well, you know…”
Jason didn’t need to elaborate. Derek knew his friend had always had feelings for Eloise and now regretted not saying something when he had the chance. He was taking her death almost as hard as her brother Tyler had, when he’d gone crazy and tried to scare Josh’s mate, Harper, off the road and caused a car accident.
“They can’t have just vanished,” Derek insisted, pushing his plate of half-eaten food away. The mere mention of the Carnegies ruined his appetite. Almost everyone else in the pack echoed Jason’s sentiments, they assumed the Carnegies were gone for good and thought he was obsessing over finding them. Maybe he was? But something deep inside his gut told him this war with the shifter-hunters was far from over.
“If you insist.” Jason shrugged and reached for Derek’s half-eaten breakfast, helping himself to the leftovers. “Oh, I forgot to tell you. The boss wants to see you in his office.”
“Did he say what he wanted?”
Jason shook his head as he stuffed food in his mouth.
Derek snagged a piece of bacon off his former plate, then stood from the table and made his way to the boss’ office.
He knocked on the door, and a moment later, Ben called, “Enter.”
Derek entered Ben’s office to see paperwork spread out on his boss’ desk and dark circles under Ben’s eyes. Not for the first time, Derek felt guilty for how much of an ass he was when he’d challenged Ben for Alpha status. At the time, he thought Ben wasn’t doing enough for the pack and went too easy on Josh. Now Derek knew all the responsibilities that came with being Alpha, he wondered how Ben had juggled it with being chief of the fire department for twelve years.
“Jason said you wanted to see me,” he said, dropping down into the seat opposite to Ben.
Ben looked up from his paperwork and said, “Yes, I have a favor to ask... or actually, Captain Alcott has a favor to ask.”
Derek raised an eyebrow. “What does the chief of police want with me?” After the cause of the fire at Lana’s bookstore had been uncovered, they’d had little to do with the police department.
“Her request is a little unorthodox. I know your feelings about helping humans, but she’s asked if the pack can assist her in a case…” Derek was about to cut him off and refuse when Ben added. “It’s about missing kids.”
Derek felt his chest tighten. It was true he didn’t like helping humans outside of his duties as a firefighter unless it was a child. Maybe it was because of his childhood, but any time he saw a kid in danger, he had to help.
“I’ll go see her after my shift,” Derek promised.
Ben nodded. “I knew I could count on you. It’s why I’m fully supporting you in becoming the Alpha permanently. I know we haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, but I believe in you, Derek.”
Derek huffed out a breath, and before he knew what he was saying, he was blurting out all his worries to Ben, something he hadn’t done since he was a teen and Ben had found him.
“I’m glad you do because I don’t think the rest of the pack do. Jason reckons I’m wasting my time continuing to search for the Carnegies.”
“Is that where you were this morning?” Ben asked, slipping several papers into a folder and putting it away in a filing cabinet.
“Yeah, I was over by October Mountain State Forest. Where we found Eloise.”
The mention of her name filled the room with a tense silence and Derek shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Even though it had been Josh who’d sent Eloise out to find the remaining Carnegies, Derek blamed himself for her death. He’d been the one tasked with finding her after she’d failed to check in one too many times for it to be an accident. He’d tracked her scent across town to the forest and recreational preserve, but when he’d gotten there she’d already been killed. He couldn’t stop blaming himself for not finding her in time. Perhaps if he’d just been quicker she’d still be alive today.
Ben cleared his throat, snapping Derek out of his brooding, and he looked up to his boss. “I don’t think you’re wasting your time,” he said to Derek’s surprise. “The numbers may be down to only a few, but Rebecca Carnegie is still out there. Her family stole Shadowbrook from us a hundred years ago, and she wants to claim back the estate she sees as hers. Plus she’s crazy and hates all shifters. I know in my gut she won’t just walk away from this.”
“That’s what I thought too. I’m sure their recent inactivity is just a ruse to lure us into a false sense of security, and then they’ll attack when we’re least expecting it.”
“I agree, and I also fear when they hear the news about me and Lana it will draw them out into the open again.”
Derek frowned. His boss and his human mate had moved into the apartment above her bookstore some time ago when the pack found out she was pregnant. What else could they do to draw the anger of the Carnegies?
“I asked Lana to marry me,” Ben said, and Derek noticed how his eyes light up. Even though Derek didn’t approve of Ben’s mate being a human, he couldn’t begrudge the former Alpha his happiness. He only wished he’d meet a mate who made his eyes sparkle as Ben’s did now. but he knew that would never happen. No one could love a man with blood on his hands.
It was almost eight in the evening when his shift ended, and after getting Jason to drive him over to October Mountain State Forest to replace the tire on his car, he figured it was too late to seek out Captain Alcott, and Jason’s offer to buy him a beer was too tempting to pass up.
Instead, Derek and his friend made their way to The Maple Inn, the town’s vintage hotel and pub, and enjoyed a quiet drink together before calling it an early night as they were both on the morning shift the following day. They walked back to the estate together, chatting about nothing in particular, and when they got back Jason joined some of the other pack members who were playing cards. Derek declined to join, needing some time alone before he went to sleep so that he could process the events of the day.
Lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling, an army of thoughts battled in his mind for attention. He’d exhausted his search of the October Mountain State Forest for the Carnegies - their trail had gone cold - and he had no clue where to try next. They left no evidence there’d ever been at the abandoned farm they’d used as their base of operations. He’d even resorted to checking local records, but his status as a firefighter only got him so far, and there was certain information he just couldn’t get his hands on.
Maybe if I help Captain Alcott, I can ask her to do some digging for me? he thought.
He knew deep down he would help Captain Alcott. He couldn’t walk away knowing children were in danger - even if they were human children. Besides, it would be good for the pack. If he helped with the case, it would prove his pack was a vital part of the community.
Vowing he seeks out Captain Alcott the following day on his lunch break, Derek drifted off to sleep, but his night was filled with strange dreams and disturbing visions. In his dreams, he kept replaying the moment he’d found Eloise’s body, only this time blood covered his body, like that fatal night when he’d first shifted. Then Eloise transformed before his eyes into a man Derek had tried to block from his thoughts for the past fifteen years.
The dream corpse opened his eyes, glaring at Derek accusingly.
“Murder!” the dream corpse shouted, and Derek awoke with a start in a cold sweat.
47
Grace
Grace Alcott wanted to cry. Her head pounded, her eyes stung and her chest felt tight. Her mind and body were exhausted, but she wouldn’t give in to the tears welling in her eyes. At least not here
in the station, with her colleagues watching, and her mom in her office.
If I was more like Will, I’d have solved this case already. Grace shook the thoughts of her twin from her head, dwelling on the life Will could have had would only make her current state of mind worse.
She pulled out the map again, marking the locations on the map of where the teens had all disappeared from. All within ten miles of Lenox Memorial High School. The only information that told her was that the kidnappers were targeting teens specifically, not anyone younger or older than high school age, which was interesting as the school shared a campus with the town’s middle school. Anything else the missing teens had in common, she couldn’t tell. None of them were friends, and each victim was different in age, gender and race. As far as she could tell, the only thing that connected them was the school they attended, which was expected as Lenox Memorial High School was the only school in town.
It had been four weeks since the first teen had gone missing, and since then three others had vanished too. All under similar circumstances - they’d finished school for the day and were walking home and then just disappeared. No one could remember seeing any suspicious vehicles in town. The missing teens’ parents had all confirmed none of the children had been into gangs or anything like that. By all accounts, they were regular high schoolers.
Grace was stumped. She’s followed the routes the teens took from high school to their homes and found nothing. She’d checked CCTV footage from the area and found nothing out of the ordinary. She’d spoken to other students, the teachers, parents, even local shopkeepers. No one had seen anything suspicious, no one thought their kids had a reason to run away. Every avenue she tried led to a dead end.
And the longer the case went unresolved, the more frustrated Grace became. It was difficult enough to accept four teens were missing because of her, because she hadn’t done enough to find them yet. Families were grieving because of her failure. In the back of her mind, a voice whispered that if Will had become a police officer, like he’d always dreamed, instead of her, the kids would be home and safe by now. But her twin never got to live his dream, and instead spent his days in a wheelchair as a quadriplegic. And that was all her fault too.
Firefighter Wolves Shifters (A Paranormal Romance Series Boxset) Page 21