To Chase A Wolf

by Sara Kimball

  "And he didn't promote you...instead sending you off to tackle this problem."

  Royce nodded again. “Your brother and I have been friends for a long time, and we’ve both been planning this almost as long as we've known each other. We decided to keep our friendship secret so no one could suggest taking down Dupree was a coup to take over the Everglades Pack territory and add it to the Great Plains."

  Something was still bugging her about what Royce said. “Why? Why do you want to take Dupree down? Making it your life goal to 'eradicate' him is a little extreme for just wanting to be an Alpha.”

  His jaw twitched as he regarded her. “Dupree took the woman I thought was my mate. She killed herself after a short time with him. Hard for a werewolf to do, but she managed it. Repaying her by removing him from history is the least I can do.”

  Lincoln, Gareth, and Trent all nodded at this. They understood vengeance. But something else struck Alex just then. If this was all just a complicated plot of her brother’s to remove Johnny Dupree from power…then why would he make a deal to give her to the man…and what Levine had meant by ‘a few weeks’. The answer occurred to her at the same time Gareth spoke.

  “Prima petitio.” Gareth’s gaze turned yellow and flashed to Lincoln and then Alex before swinging back to Royce.

  Lincoln was confused for a second before he too caught on. Trent was the only one that still looked confused. “I’m sorry what Latin saying did you just sneeze? Some of us weren't alive in the Neolithic Era.”

  Royce filled the silence. “Prima petitio means primary claim. It’s an old werewolf right from our days in Europe. Basically, if the family member of a mated wolf doesn’t feel like they are being treated fairly, as in, they are being abused, the family can challenge for control.”

  Alex's eyes glittered as she took in the other man. "Basically, a divorce. Except it's an execution too."

  Royce shook his head. "Not necessarily, but in most cases it would be."

  Trent’s eyes grew wide and he looked a little concerned as he glanced at Lincoln out of the corner of his eye. “You mean…Mitch was going to give his sister to that bastard, knowing he would abuse her—to say the least—and then fight Dupree to get her back?”

  Royce nodded. “Killing him in the process. Or that was the goal. At least until you ran.” He directed his last comment at Alex herself, who was staring at him with a hard expression on her face. Anger at her brother burned hot through her for the first time in many years.

  In a flat voice she asked, “You are telling me that my brother was willing to sacrifice me to get the outcome he wanted?”

  Royce tried to ease the tension as much as he could. But he only made it worse. In a cajoling voice he continued his explanation. “Think of it as the fastest way. Mitch had been fighting with your father and the other Alphas for years about Dupree, but no one was willing to do anything about it. And as we can now see, it's too late, the damage is so extensive and widespread it has destroyed more than can ever be repaired.

  "By the time Dimitri died, Dupree's organization was already out of control, and it was spreading like cancer through the other territories, carried by the humans. Mitch didn’t have time to waste. These past eight years have shown that. It’s gotten so much worse.

  “His concern was for the Pack. And as an Alpha you sacrifice for the Pack. He and I both thought you would understand. But you didn’t.”

  Alex’s eyes had gone golden. “I never knew that was his plan. All I knew was that when I told him I was done with his edicts and leaving for good he hit me and knocked me unconscious. Then I woke up with him and Dupree talking about how I was injured and Dupree couldn’t play rough with me like he wanted to.” She waited for that to sink in as she stared at Royce with murder in her eyes. “What the hell do you think you would have done in that circumstance?”

  Royce had the grace to look guilty. “I suppose I thought you had agreed to the plan. I didn’t know he hadn’t told you.”

  “I never would have agreed to that. Never. While yes, I think that sometimes sacrifice is necessary, giving a seventeen year old girl to a monster to be tortured for a few weeks is far beyond the realm of what I view as acceptable. And believe me, I will let my brother know it when I see him.”

  Royce leaned forward as if intent to reply but was stopped by snarling from Trent and Gareth. Lincoln was holding on to Alex’s hand in a bruising grip, and she could tell he was close to snapping. The audacity of my brother. I can’t believe him.

  Leaning back, the other man continued softly, still behaving as if he and Mitch had done the right thing and trying to bring the others around to his point of view. “Look, you have to think of it from the Pack’s perspective. That’s how your brother looks at it, and he was right, if you give yourself time to think of it objectively. The quickest way for him to stop Dupree was through something that the man wanted. You. Mitch had the ability to stop decades of suffering and torment, and to put in place a good leader that would be a beneficial ally to the Great Plains Pack. Why wouldn’t he utilize all the tools available to him for the fastest and best possible outcome?”

  Alex said softly, because she could hear the waitress approaching through the doors. “I may be part wolf, but I am not an animal. And that is why I would never volunteer someone for torture just because it was the fastest way out of a situation. I certainly wouldn’t volunteer a young girl. There were other ways and Mitch could have used one of them. He chose not to. And if you were any kind of decent human being, you would have known to discard that plan as soon as you objectively thought about it.”

  The waitress entered, oblivious to the tension in the room, and put down the plates of appetizers. Alex took a mozzarella stick and shoved it in her mouth, chewing to keep occupied even though the food tasted like dust. When the door closed behind the server, Alex swallowed, then faced the man across from her with poise.

  “Thank you very much for the warning, and the information. I rather doubt Dupree will live through the entire Conclave. For one, if he is as fixated on me as you say then Lincoln will put the man down. Secondly, I have a bone to pick with him.” She picked up a fry to avoid saying she might eviscerate her brother as well.

  Royce put out a cautioning hand. “Please. Be careful. He’s been taking some kind of drug. It’s making him irrational, but at the same time he’s stronger and faster. Especially for a werewolf. It will be a struggle to take him down alone.”

  Alex chewed slowly. “We are aware. I am confident in Lincoln, however.” Unlike my brother, who tried to barter me to the devil for his Pack’s benefit.

  1905

  His little whore cried out under him, tears rolling down her cheeks as he pinched her skin roughly, leaving deep bruises. “Johnny, easy sugar. You’re hurtin’ me.”

  He laughed, her cries of pain helping him along. Finally, he lay beside her on the bed. She was quiet for a while, crying. Then she told him softly, “I’ll miss you while you’re gone, sugar.”

  He pushed her off the bed and then got dressed. “I’m only gone a few days. He wants me to do it, so I will.”

  She got dressed, her eyes on the floor. He loved her subservience. She fought him a little still, because she knew he liked it, but otherwise she demurred to him, and he relished her obedience. The control he had over her.

  “I have a plan. And then you won’t have to live here. I’m gonna get a little extra, so I can buy a house and you can be all mine, any time I want you.”

  She shuddered. “Are you sure, sugar? I don’t think you should go against your Alpha…”

  He punched her in the face, only remembering at the last minute to pull his punch, because he couldn’t kill her. Not yet, anway. She slammed into the floor, crying and holding her cheek. Leaning over her, he growled at her menacingly, “Don’t tell me what to do. I have a plan, I’ll get it done. I know what I’m doing.”

  Johnny dressed and left, slamming the door behind him.

  ///

  Jo
hnny tried to hold back the retort about how he had tried…he knew it wouldn’t be good enough. Yeah, he had messed up the job, but his father—his Alpha—didn’t have to demean him so in front of all the others.

  The old man was cursing and yelling at him, throwing things. “I asked you to do one simple thing…and you go off half-cocked like an idiot.” He had tried hitting him, but Johnny had just sat there impassively, no emotion on his face. His second ‘mother’ used to give him far worse as a child.

  Finally, the Alpha had it, and he stalked to the door. “Get me Betty.”

  Betty came in, half her face livid purple and blue, the other half scowling at him. “Yes, Alpha.” She curtsied to his father.

  “Seems like Johnny doesn’t want to play by the rules. And since you’re the only thing he seems to care about, how about we teach him a lesson. Her eyes were drawn away from Johnny quickly and to his father, fear now in her expression.

  “Yes, sir.” She was meek now, and Johnny was gloating, imagining what her punishment would be. He didn’t care if she got hurt. He did that every day anyways.

  His Alpha studied his face, and then smiled himself. “I know exactly what will work. Johnny is no longer allowed to use any services of any woman here.” He made it a simple proclamation to all the men in the room. “Since Johnny’s been hogging you, Betty, none of the others have had a chance to use you, which is just a waste of money. So why don’t you show us your skills?” She looked relieved. “You both don’t get to leave until we’re all done.”

  She went to work, and Johnny clenched his fists. He hated sharing, which was why he paid her to keep to herself and off the floor with the others. The bitch was his.

  What really got him mad, however, was when two wolves laid her on a table, one flipping her skirts up to use her cunny, the other using her mouth. And she…he felt his breath stop as he smelled the air…she enjoyed it.

  Rage, consuming rage, filled him. He would get her back for that. She never smelled like that for him.

  ///

  Johnny saw the light go out of her eyes, and laughed through his muzzle, standing over her. It had been several days before he could get to her, and even now their last conversation was burned into his brain.

  He had found her in her room after his ‘punishment’, washing under her skirts with a washcloth. “You should leave, Johnny.” He growled at her. She always called him sugar, but now she was calling him by his name.

  “You liked that?”

  She rolled her eyes at him, and unbuttoned her dress a little so her cleavage showed. “Well, they did a sight better job than you do. And it was less painful. I haven’t had a good fuck in ages, what with you being so possessive. So yeah, I enjoyed it.”

  He nearly snapped her neck, but held himself back. “I thought we were a team. I told you about how I felt.”

  She shook her head. “Look. I thought you’d take over for the old man. So I was trying to get into your good graces. But now I see, you’re just a loser who is never gonna be the Alpha. So I have to go back to working the room every night, find another prospect to take care of me.” She waved him to the hall. “Better get going, before they see you in here.”

  Johnny had backed away in disbelief. Where was his subservient little blonde? What happened to her to make this self-centered bitch take her place? Anger had curdled in his stomach, and he had hatched a plan.

  Now, he was done with the first half. He had taken Betty to the woods and hunted her in his wolf form. And it felt so good to kill her, savage her body with his teeth before seeing her die.

  Now, for his father. And then he’d close that whore house and make it his personal harem. He liked the sound of that. Women on hand to use whenever he wanted.

  Chapter 19

  The mood was spoiled from then on out, but they finished the appetizers—even though she felt sick, but there was no need to let perfectly good food go to waste—and then meandered back to the hotel instead of continuing on their sightseeing adventure. The rest of the crew was supposed to join them in a few hours anyway, so Alex decided to take a nap. Lincoln sat on the bed next to her, working on his laptop with her leg twined around his for comfort. It took a long time for everything she had learned to stop spinning through her head, and when she finally dozed off her dreams were hazy and scary, Mitch and Johnny both chasing her through distorted landscapes. Royce Levine stood to the side, telling her over and over, “It’s for the Pack.”

  She woke when she heard voices in the living area of the suite, seeing that Lincoln was no longer with her, and got dressed quickly. As she neared the door she recognized the familiar strident tones of Elizabeth’s voice and sighed in relief. Opening the bedroom door softly, she interrupted Lincoln and Trent telling Elizabeth, Jax, Davin and Moira what had transpired earlier in the day. Gareth was off to the side, listening, and turned to her when she opened the door.

  His movement made Elizabeth turn, and when the older woman saw Alex the concern and emotion etched on her face made Alex feel like she was facing her mother as a child, bravely sucking in the tears after skinning her knee. She pushed it aside with a smile, not wanting to dwell on her brother's perfidy any longer, and stepped fully into the room.

  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sleep the day away."

  "It's been an eventful morning for you all, I hear, so I don't blame you. Especially in your condition." The mischievous glint in Elizabeth's face was echoed in Moira's and Alex shook her head.

  "I’m beginning to think I was the last person to know that I was pregnant." They laughed and visited about things from home for a while. After a few minutes the women were escorted by Jax and Davin to get settled in their own suite next door and dress for dinner. Alex followed suit as well, heading to the bedroom and pulling out the garment bag labelled '1st night formal dinner' in Moira's neat hand.

  Unzipping the black covering, Alex revealed a golden silk gown that was far more formal than anything she had worn in her life. In the bottom of the garment bag she found a matching clutch purse and even some gold shoes. In the separate case that Lincoln had tucked in the safe were several sets of jewelry, she knew, one of which would go with this outfit. The whole ensemble was much nicer than anything she had worn, and all through her shower she was feeling particularly nervous about wearing such expensive items.

  After she left the bathroom, Lincoln came into the room and kissed her gently. "I'd love to keep you here...but unfortunately the hair and makeup women came early and are waiting for you."

  She blinked at him for a second, then shook her head ruefully at herself. "I forgot Moira said that we would do that for the formal events." She sighed and slipped on a robe, resigned to being primped and prodded for the next hour. At one point Moira slipped in and made Lincoln get the jewelry out of the safe so a headpiece made of seven strands of shimmering 24k gold could be placed across the crown of her head, spread apart about an inch at the top. All the strands were brought together at the ends, which were tucked under her up-do and held down by copious bobby pins. The finished effect was that of subtle golden flashes woven into her hair, shimmering when the strands caught the light just right.

  Alex finished slipping into her shoes when Moira and Elizabeth joined them, both dressed to the nines. Sometime during Alex's first foray into professional makeup application Lincoln had disappeared into the bedroom and gotten dressed in a tuxedo, Trent and Gareth doing the same, and Alex could see Davin and Jax behind Moira in the now-familiar penguin suits.

  Lincoln took the opportunity, now that the humans were gone, to go over their plan one more time with everyone. "I'll be there trying to direct Dupree's attention towards me. Grandmother, if you could take Alex under your wing and introduce her around, Gareth can stay with you both. Jax, Davin, and Trent, scatter throughout the room and be alert. Moira, if you can take care of Mitch...keep him occupied, with schmoozing or something. That would be helpful.

  "When Dupree makes his move, I'll take him down as quickly as I can
, and then we'll be able to hand the mess over to Royce Levine to clean up." Alex was confident in Lincoln's abilities to fight with Dupree, even though they had been warned he was faster and stronger thanks to the drug. She had seen Lincoln sparring during the past month with Gareth and Trent, and knew that he could more than handle himself.

  Alex and Tyler, with all their training, hadn't even been able to come close to Lincoln's abilities. She warmed herself with that thought rather than worry about him.

  They all agreed and then headed down to the lobby where a limo was waiting. Even though the vehicle accommodated eight people, it was a tight squeeze, as all of the men were larger than human men. Luckily it was a short drive, and they pulled up to another prestigious hotel, disembarking in the order Elizabeth instructed.

  Arrayed like a fancy parade, they strode through the hotel to the venue. Elizabeth walked smoothly in her heels at the front on Jax's arm, Alex and Lincoln a pace behind her, with Gareth by himself trailing them—he was her appointed primary bodyguard for the duration of the Conclave. Behind Gareth was Trent and Davin on either side of Moira, keeping her entertained and laughing gaily.

  Alex noted that both her and Moira's gowns were of a brighter gold hue, but Elizabeth's was a darker, more of a burnished golden color. She laughed at the thought of dressing only in gold colors because of the Gold Pack's name, but was somber a moment later when they turned a corner and went into the ballroom.

  Here we go.

  The crowd of wolves before Alex was overwhelming, and she was glad that Elizabeth and Jax were serving as a buffer between her and the rest of the room. Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of her brother, and fought against glaring. She didn't want to give him any acknowledgement if she didn't have to.

  Elizabeth soon swanned over after greeting the Alpha of the Texas Pack, demanding Alex join her and be introduced. After nearly thirty minutes Alex had met the Alphas of the Texas and Pacific Packs, and also the representatives sent by the three Canadian Packs and their mates. When the Mexican Pack Alpha came in, Elizabeth finished up the conversation they were having about possible visitations to British Columbia and took Alex over to be introduced to the suave Spanish man who ruled over America's southern neighbor.