Nature of the Pack

by Jae

  * * *

  Rue jerked awake. Her heart was still pounding from a nightmare in which Kelsey’s parents had taken Danny and Kelsey from her. Groaning, she rolled around and reached for Kelsey.

  The bed next to her was empty. Her hand touched only cold sheets.

  Rue frowned. Was Kelsey raiding the fridge, as she often did, or was something wrong? Yawning, she swung her legs out of bed and put on her T-shirt and boxer shorts to check on Kelsey.

  Wood groaned beneath footsteps on the stairs. The bedroom door opened, and someone tiptoed inside in the darkness.

  Rue’s frown turned into a smile. She slid back into bed, expecting Kelsey to join her in a moment. “Is there anything left in the fridge?”

  “I wouldn’t know,” a voice that was much deeper than Kelsey’s answered.

  The last remnants of sleep left Rue’s body. She wrenched open the drawer of the nightstand. Since a shape-shifter had tried to attack Kelsey on the street a few weeks ago, she always kept a gun nearby.

  The man closed the door, shutting Rue off from the rest of the house, and walked up to the bed.

  Rue made a grab for the revolver and swung it up and around.

  A resounding click made the man freeze.

  “Don’t move,” Rue said and kept the revolver trained on the figure. Never taking her eyes or the revolver’s muzzle off the man, she leaned toward her nightstand. One flick and her reading lamp flared to life.

  Franklin Yates stood in front of Rue’s bed, squinting in the sudden light. “Put that gun away, human!”

  Rue steadied her grip on the gun with her left hand but didn’t lower the weapon. “The gun stays where it is. You’re Kelsey’s father and Danny’s grandfather. I don’t want to shoot you, but I’m no fool either. You didn’t come into my room at two thirty in the morning to read me a bedtime story.” From what she knew of Franklin, he would do whatever was necessary to take Danny and Kelsey away from her.

  Franklin lifted his upper lip at her. “If I wanted to kill you, you would already be dead.”

  “Is that supposed to make me trust you?” With her back against the headboard, Rue balanced the revolver on her pulled-up knees, hiding the slight trembling in her hands. Adrenaline pumped through her. “What are you doing in my bedroom? Where is Kelsey?”

  Eyes that appeared almost copper-colored in the light of the reading lamp looked deeply into hers. “Out on the deck.”

  “What is she doing there? What did you do to her?” Rue wanted to scramble out of bed and rush outside to make sure Kelsey was okay, but she knew she had to deal with Franklin first.

  “Maybe she’s just enjoying the night air. Wrasa sometimes do that. Not that you would know anything about it—or about anything else we like to do.” Franklin lifted his upper lip in a sneer of disdain.

  “I might not know much about the Wrasa in general, but I know Kelsey and Danny. You have just met him today, and you haven’t seen Kelsey in months. Did you know that your daughter hates elevators and root beer? That pines are her favorite trees and that strawberries make her sneeze?”

  Franklin made an impatient motion, as if chasing away a fly. “This isn’t about strawberries. It’s about—”

  “And that she’s much less judgmental than her parents,” Rue said.

  Franklin glared at her. “We’re not judgmental. We just want Kelsey to be happy.”

  “Have you asked her if she’s happy?”

  Franklin’s mouth snapped shut. After a few moments, he asked, “Have you?”

  The gun in Rue’s hand wavered. “No.” She swallowed. Was she no better than Kelsey’s parents, making decisions for Kelsey instead of letting her decide for herself what would make her happy? She shook her head. “Kelsey loves me. And I love her. How could she be happy anywhere else?”

  “That’s what my daughter says,” Franklin mumbled.

  Had Kelsey talked to her parents again, after not getting through to them earlier? Was that why she was now sitting on the deck in the middle of the night? Rue climbed out of bed to go to Kelsey and make sure she was all right, but Franklin stopped her.

  “That’s why I’m here.”

  Rue gritted her teeth. “What, you think because you couldn’t get Kelsey to leave with you, you’ll try to convince me to send her away? Forget it!”

  “No. I’m here to tell you that we’ll let Kelsey and Frankl…Danny stay with you.”

  Oh, how generous of you. “You’ll let them stay with me?” She shook her head. “It’s not your decision to make.”

  Franklin’s jaw flexed. Finally, he sighed and said, “I know. I don’t like it—and I don’t like you—but I have to accept it.”

  Rue held back an annoyed retort. Let it go. This is a big concession for him. She slowly lowered the revolver and rested her index finger outside the trigger guard. “Then what are you doing in my bedroom in the middle of the night?”

  “There’s something I want in return for letting…I mean for accepting that Kelsey and Danny will stay with you.”

  Here it comes. I knew it was too good to be true. Rue eyed him suspiciously. “What is it you want?”

  “You’ve got to promise me that you’ll do your best to be a worthy natak.”

  The revolver slid to the bed. That’s all he wants? She had expected him to demand that she move her family to Oregon. Instead, his words seemed to indicate that he was ready to accept her as a fellow pack leader. Rue decided to return his concession with an admission of her own. “I’ll try my best, but I don’t know a thing about being a natak.”

  Franklin’s jaw moved as if he was trying out words before he spoke them. He leaned forward and with a quick movement scooped up the revolver.

  Oh, shit.

  Their gazes met. Franklin weighed the weapon in his hand and then set it on the nightstand.

  Rue stared at the revolver but made no attempt to reach for it.

  They regarded each other silently. “You’ll have to learn,” Franklin finally said. “I won’t have my daughter and my grandson living with someone who has no clue what being a natak means.”

  “Then tell me: what does it mean?” Rue sat and nodded at the other end of the bed, inviting Franklin to sit too. Maybe it would make Franklin feel better about letting Kelsey and Danny stay if she let him mentor her a bit. And when it came to Kelsey’s and Danny’s happiness, she wasn’t too proud to ask for advice.

  Looking as if he were afraid to catch a disease, he settled on the edge of the bed. “Being an alpha is not about bossing people around and getting your way. It’s about being responsible for your pack and making sure each pack member is safe and cared for.”

  Rue raised one eyebrow at him. “But isn’t that what you were trying to do...getting your way by insisting Kelsey and Danny come to Oregon with you?”

  Franklin’s bushy brows lowered, dipping the bright orange of his eyes into shadows.

  Uh-oh. Kelsey told me I’m too fearless for my own good. Had she destroyed their shaky attempts at communication?

  Finally, Franklin dropped his gaze to his knees. “Kelsey seems to think so.” His voice rumbled up from deep in his chest. He lifted his gaze and stared into Rue’s eyes. “Maybe I needed a reminder of what it means to be a good natak. The thing is that most of the time, there’s no one there to remind you. Nederi will rarely tell you if you’re acting like an egoistical prick...at least not right away.”

  “Nederi?”

  “Lower-ranking wolves like Kelsey,” Franklin said. “Most often, Kelsey will submit to your natural authority. You need to be sure that whatever you order her to do is really best for her. She won’t protest or refuse, even if you’re pushing her into something she’s not ready for.”

  Rue narrowed her eyes. She didn’t like his insinuation that she would take advantage of Kelsey. “I would never...” She stopped midsentence when she remembered talking Kelsey into going down the subway tunnel and into shifting on TV. “I pushed her a few times, but if I hadn’t, we never would
have found and rescued Danny.”

  A grim smile deepened the crow’s feet around Franklin’s eyes. “I never said the choices we have to make as nataks are easy.”

  “Letting Kelsey and Danny stay with me… That’s one of the hard choices too, isn’t it? The rest of your pack won’t like it, and neither will the council and the Saru.”

  Franklin’s silence was confirmation enough.

  “Then why do it? What made you change your mind?”

  “Kelsey did,” Franklin said. “Apparently, my daughter learned a thing or two from you. She made it very clear that she’ll never forgive me if I force her and Danny to move to Oregon. I lost one child. I won’t lose another.”

  Rue stared. Kelsey blackmailed the old wolf into letting her stay? She stood up to her natak? Then she understood. I’m her natak.

  “I’m not sure what you did to deserve her love and her loyalty, but you better make sure she never has reason to hate herself for staying with you.” Franklin’s gaze pierced her. “If you don’t, I’ll come after you and make you regret the day you ever laid eyes on my daughter.” His voice lowered to a vicious snarl. The wild intensity of a predator blazed in his eyes.

  Rue swallowed against her dry throat, but she wasn’t about to let Kelsey’s father intimidate her. “You know, you Wrasa have a weird way of saying ‘welcome to the family.’”

  Franklin growled.

  The smile dropped from Rue’s face, and she gave him a firm nod. “I promise to do my best.”

  “Good.” Franklin stood and walked toward the door. “Guess you can’t expect much more from a human. You’ve still got a lot to learn. I’ll be keeping an eye on you.”

  When the door closed behind him, Rue sank against the headboard and wiped her sweaty hands on the blankets.

  The door swung open, and Kelsey rushed into the bedroom. She skidded to a halt in front of Rue, knelt down, and reached for Rue’s hands. “Are you okay? What did my father want in here? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

  Rue rubbed her thumbs over the backs of Kelsey’s hands. “No, I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

  “What did he want?”

  Rue smiled. “I think,” she lifted one of Kelsey’s hands and kissed it, “I’ve just been adopted into the pack.”

  ###

  If you are curious about how Kelsey and Rue met, you might want to check out the paranormal romance novel True Nature.

  True Nature is available at many online bookstores as a DRM-free e-book.

  About Jae

  Jae grew up amidst the vineyards of southern Germany. She spent her childhood with her nose buried in a book, earning her the nickname “professor.” The writing bug bit her at the age of eleven. For the last seven years, she has been writing mostly in English.

  She works as a psychologist. When she’s not writing, she likes to spend her time reading, indulging her ice cream and office supply addiction, and watching way too many crime shows.

  Connect with Jae online

  Jae loves hearing from readers!

  E-mail her at jae_s1978@yahoo.de

  Visit her website: jae-fiction.com

  Visit her blog: jae-fiction.com/blog

  Like her on Facebook: facebook.com/JaeAuthor

  Follow her on Twitter @jaefiction

  View her profile at smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jaefiction

  Other books from Ylva Publishing

  http://www.ylva-publishing.com

  True Nature

  Jae

  ISBN: 978-3-95533-035-4 (epub), 978-3-95533-036-1 (mobi)

  Length: 137,000 words (novel)

  When wolf-shifter Kelsey Yates discovers that fourteen-year-old shape-shifter Danny Harding is living with a human adoptive mother, she is sent on a secret mission to protect the pup and get him away from the human.

  Successful CEO Rue Harding has no idea that the private teacher she hires for her deaf son isn’t really there to teach him history and algebra—or that Danny and Kelsey are not what they seem to be.

  But when Danny runs away from home and gets lost in New York City, Kelsey and Rue have to work together to find him before his first transformation sets in and reveals the shape-shifter’s secret existence to the world.

  Second Nature

  (revised edition)

  Jae

  ISBN: 978-3-95533-031-6 (epub), 978-3-95533-032-3 (mobi)

  Length: 143,000 words / 496 pages

  Novelist Jorie Price doesn’t believe in the existence of shape-shifting creatures or true love. She leads a solitary life, and the paranormal romances she writes are pure fiction for her.

  Griffin Westmore knows better—at least about one of these two things. She doesn’t believe in love either, but she’s one of the not-so-fictional shape-shifters. She’s also a Saru, an elite soldier with the mission to protect the shape-shifters’ secret existence at any cost.

  When Jorie gets too close to the truth in her latest shape-shifter romance, Griffin is sent to investigate—and if necessary to destroy the manuscript before it’s published and to kill the writer.

  Manhattan Moon

  Jae

  ISBN: 978-3-95533-012-5 (epub), 978-3-95533-013-2 (mobi)

  Length: 28,500 words

  Nothing in Shelby Carson’s life is ordinary. Not only is she an attending psychiatrist in a hectic ER, but she’s also a Wrasa, a shape-shifter who leads a secret existence.

  To make things even more complicated, she has feelings for Nyla Rozakis, a human nurse.

  Even though the Wrasa forbid relationships with humans, Shelby is determined to pursue Nyla. Things seem pretty hopeless for them, but on Halloween, during a full moon, anything can happen...

  Natural Family Disasters

  Jae

  ISBN: 978-3-95533-073-6 (epub), 978-3-95533-072-9 (mobi)

  Length: 25,000 words / 130 pages

  Five short stories that give us glimpses into the lives of Griffin, Jorie, and the other characters from Second Nature.

  Bonding Time: Griffin has been looking forward to a little feline bonding time with a special lady. Leave it to her sister Leigh to interrupt.

  Coming to Dinner: Jorie and Griffin are having second thoughts about their decision to invite Griffin’s shape-shifter relatives and Jorie’s mother for dinner on Christmas Day. What could be more nerve-racking than eight cat-shifters who don’t believe in Christmas celebrating with a human woman, allergic to cats, who doesn’t believe in the existence of shape-shifters? Will it end with peace on earth, or will fur fly?

  Babysitter Material: It’s Rufus and Kylin’s anniversary—and no babysitter for the triplets in sight. Kylin has a desperate idea, but is her gruff father Brian, ruler of the pride, really babysitter material?

  When the Cat’s Away: When a mouse takes up residence in Griffin and Jorie’s house, Griffin calls her fathers over. With three cat-shifters on the hunt, the house will be a rodent-free zone in no time. Or so she thinks.

  Plus One: Griffin accepts Jorie’s invitation to be her “plus one” at Jorie’s high school reunion, eager to find out more about her lover’s past. But the food at the buffet has an unexpected effect on Griffin.

  Coming from Ylva Publishing in spring 2014

  http://www.ylva-publishing.com

  Hidden Truths

  (revised edition)

  Jae

  “Luke” Hamilton has been living as a husband and father for the past seventeen years. No one but her wife, Nora, knows she is not the man she appears to be. They have raised their daughters to become honest and hard-working young women, but even with their loving foundation, Amy and Nattie are hiding their own secrets.

  Just as Luke sets out on a dangerous trip to Fort Boise, a newcomer arrives on the ranch—Rika Aaldenberg, who traveled to Oregon as a mail-order bride, hiding that she’s not the woman in the letters.

  When hidden truths are revealed, will their lives and their family fall apart or will love keep them together?

  Nature of th
e Pack

  © by Jae

  ISBN (mobi): 978-3-95533-129-0

  ISBN (epub): 978-3-95533-130-6

  Published by Ylva Publishing, legal entity of Ylva Verlag, e.Kfr.

  Ylva Verlag, e.Kfr.

  Owner: Astrid Ohletz

  Am Kirschgarten 2

  65830 Kriftel

  Germany

  http://www.ylva-publishing.com

  First edition: November 2013

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, events, and locations are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons or events, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

  Credits

  Edited by Brenda Errichiello

  Cover Design by UlinneDesign, Neuenkirchen

  Cover Photo by bucaniere | Fotolia und serge-b | Fotolia