Black Mesa Wolves Complete Series Boxset Bks 1-7

by J. K Harper

  The rest of that evening and the next day had Caleb and Rielle in a firestorm of talks as the winter storm raged outside. They kept to themselves and discussed every possible aspect. At first Caleb had been naturally suspicious.

  “He wants me close so he can keep an eye on me. Keep your enemies close and all that.” His eyes darkened to the intensity of the wind-tossed clouds outside.

  Patiently, Rielle said, “That's why Alpha is making Luke's pack an adjunct pack, not one with full pack status. He's keeping an eye on Luke himself. Luke doesn't need to keep his eye on anybody.”

  “Not unless he's still in cahoots with his old rogue buddies and this is some sort of plot to murder us all in our sleep,” her mate said in dark tones, throwing out little practice jabs as he paced the few rooms in their home on the Black Mesa Pack property.

  Even as she internally rolled her eyes at his dramatics, Rielle couldn't help but admiring his fluid grace as he moved across the floor, almost seeming to float as he mimed punching someone out. Caleb moved like he was made from the air itself, yet also filled with strength and control.

  “And you, Ree. What do you think? We'd have to move. Again. And you,” he paused. His blue eyes were still generally upset. “You'd have to give up your job. Again. Both jobs. I couldn't do that to you.”

  He started to go on, but Rielle stopped him by stepping in front of him and forcing him to halt, even though she hated to curtail his graceful movements. “Caleb. It's a store. Yes, I love it”—okay, she loved it like mad and would hate to leave, but really, it was just retail, for crying out loud—“but it's just a store. As for being a pack historian,” she said as she dropped a kiss on his chin, the closest thing she could reach by standing on her tiptoes, “all packs need a historian. I'd be the historian for this new pack. Actually, that would be pretty neat. I was looking forward to that with Rafe's pack, anyway.” Shr shrugged. “This one would be even easier for me since so much of the history to record will be things I already know. Since it's an adjunct pack, Black Mesa Pack history will figure in a great deal.”

  Caleb stared at her with the look that said he was awed to have her. Rielle blushed a little. Funny thing was, she felt the exact same way about him all the time.

  “You're incredible, Ree,” he said, leaning down to brush his lips over hers. That of course intensified into a real kiss, and for long moments they stayed wrapped up that way, Rielle feeling her pulse beating all over her body in delicious little sizzles.

  Then he stopped so abruptly she was left cold. He pulled back. Though he still stared at her, uncertainty filled his face. She knew he wasn't thinking about her right then.

  “Or,” he started before clamping his mouth shut. She watched as a shadow moved across his expression. Caleb might have an excellent poker face in public. But she'd always been able to see his true feelings. He couldn't hide anything from her.

  Her wolf whined, concerned, as Caleb kept silent. His thoughts clearly ricocheted everywhere, though, to judge by the contortions his face went through. Rielle kept quiet, though she had a strong hunch she knew what Caleb was about to say. She'd had the same question herself almost as soon as Luke had made his incredible offer.

  “Or,” Caleb finally went on, the word dragging from him like a stubborn nail being yanked from a wall, “this is a final test.”

  “A test?” Rielle prompted softly when he faltered again. He looked at her, and her heart pretty much wanted to explode with love and fierce protection when she saw the naked need on his face. The sheer vulnerability.

  He nodded and pushed a hand through his close-cropped hair. “A test from Alpha. If I agree to be Guardian for—Luke's”—his hesitation was so quick Rielle might have missed it had she not known him so well—“pack, then maybe it means Alpha will think I'm good enough again to be a Black Mesa Guardian. I failed Rafe, but I'm a lot more ready now. That's the truth. I'm ready to get back to work for our pack.”

  Rielle couldn't help the soft sound that escaped her. She knew it must have sounded too close to pity, because Caleb threw her a stripped-down look that about crushed her soul.

  Darn it. She sometimes had a habit of not thinking before she spoke. Or, apparently, just made a random noise.

  Despite her best efforts, he refused to talk about it again that night, saying only that they'd talked the damn thing to death. They went to bed restless, and although Caleb held her, she felt the distance between them as yawning as the canyon they had overlooked together in a deeply understanding closeness just days before.

  When she finally fell asleep, Rielle dreamed about wolves who taunted Caleb about being a Guardian, laughing rogues, and a hidden betrayal that chased her until morning.

  * * *

  Hazy light pushed in from behind the curtain over the bedroom window as New Year's Eve day dawned. Caleb moaned quietly in his sleep. Rielle smiled at the sound as it woke her from a deep slumber. The wind outside had died down into an immense silence. She knew without looking it was snowing again, muffling sounds and making their little house a cocoon of safety. Her wolf yawned sleepily in her head, picturing a cozy den shared by her and her mate. Soon after they were mated, Rielle had given up her rented house in town to move into Caleb's place on the pack property. She had no regrets about it at all.

  Her mate turned and flung one arm over her, pulling her to him in unconscious need. She relaxed into it, desperately needing his touch after the chill that had descended over them the night before. He ran a hand down her hip, igniting the slow flare of desire for him that always simmered within her. Snuggling himself into her backside, his growing hardness pressed into her. Rielle caught her breath, feeling completely melt-y and perfectly at home in his strong arms.

  “Ree,” he murmured. She could tell by the sound he was still asleep, but it warmed her every inch to know he thought of her even then.

  Her mate was one heck of a wolf, and she was darned lucky to have him. No matter what happened next. Still half asleep herself, she felt her skin heat even more. She slipped her hand back and drew it along his muscled thigh, through the light scattering of hairs on his lower leg, then to the heavy warmth between his legs.

  Caleb roused, his arms reflexively tightening around her. His voice breathed out her name again, blowing gently onto her hair where his face nestled. She heard the sandpaper tone in his sleepy voice, felt the heat grow beneath her fingers where she gently held him, squeezing and stroking.

  “Ree,” Caleb said with a low gasp, coming fully awake.

  “Shh,” she whispered back, still gently stroking him. “I've got this, love.”

  “Ah, yeah, okay,” was his only, slightly breathless, reply as Rielle shifted around to face him.

  Caleb's eyes were a dark smoked blue, regarding her half-lidded as his breath slowly, gently began to speed up. She smiled at him. The languorous heat in her body simmered higher, coiling low in her belly and spreading tendrils throughout the rest of her. The world pinpointed to this moment, their bed, the soft weight of snow falling outside muffling the world and making them the only two living beings in it.

  Rielle's wolf curved her neck and ducked her head in approval as Rielle reached forward to capture Caleb's mouth with her own. He kept his eyes open as she kissed him. The intensity in his gaze ratcheted up her pulse and created a throbbing wetness between her legs.

  Everything felt liquid and delicious. Caleb's earthy male scent, filled with the strength and power of the mountains and trees and snow just outside, rolled through Rielle's being, mingling with her own soft strength.

  “On your back, love,” she ordered him in a soft yet firm voice.

  Caleb's jaw dropped a bit. He inhaled hard through his mouth as his eyes darkened even more. Without a word, just a single lick of his lips that sent a shiver bolting down Rielle's spine, he rolled over. Rielle threw back the white covers on the big bed so she could see his entire body.

  “Ah,” she whispered, her own voice now coming out a bit strangled.

>   Caleb's shaft jutted straight up, the tiniest bead of liquid glistening at the tip. Waiting for her. She saw him tremble a bit, the tremors passing through his huge arms, the sculpted torso, his firm jaw. Her big, bad wolf shifter, trembling at her touch.

  Just the thought sent molten lava pulsing through her. Without a word, keeping her eyes locked on his, she slid herself up to straddle him, then very slowly lowered herself onto him. Caleb's length pushed into her like she was melted butter, the feel of it sending tremors through her own body. She threw her head back and moaned without reservation.

  Caleb sucked in a fast breath and let it back out as her name with several hitches in it. His large hands gently grabbed her hips, rocking her up and down on him. Inside, everything was swirling and sweet and delicious, her entire body one giant nerve ending completely tuned into the moment and her mate.

  “Ree,” he whispered again, ragged need tearing his voice. “Ree. Look at me. I want you to look at me when you come.”

  Rielle felt a light-headedness spill over her at his words. They seemed to turn up the heat inside her from molten to blazing red-hot. She opened her eyes and looked at him, her mouth opening as well to pant a little. He slid her up and down, up and down, his fingers convulsively squeezing into her flesh as he drove into her or drove her onto him. She didn't know which, she didn't care which, she—

  “Caleb,” she said on a swift gasp as the sweet swirling inside her teetered on the very edge of exploding everywhere. “Oh, now. Now, love. Now.”

  Her voice chanted senseless nonsense as the snow blanketed their little house, as her mate shuddered inside her with his yell ringing into the room, as stars burst before her vision and she spiraled up and out and within. Caleb's eyes held hers as they rocked together, and she let herself drop into them without fear, vaguely hearing herself groan long and loud as her entire world burst into tiny points of light and pleasure.

  Hours later, or it could have been years for all Rielle knew in the lusciously blurry aftermath, Caleb held her tight as they drifted back to sleep. His hands roamed her body in small, sleepy motions until they stilled. Before she dozed off again, she clearly heard him as he whispered into her ear, “New year, Ree. Dunno what will happen, but as long as I can ring it in with you, we'll figure it all out.”

  “Mmm,” she answered, trying to keep the tickle of faint doubt from her voice. She had no idea what would happen tomorrow either, but she sincerely hoped he was right.

  5

  The entire Black Mesa Pack milled around, paws stamping on the ground, tails lashing as the younger wolves pounced on one another and rolled around in the snow. The storm had finally broken. Bluebird skies provided a backdrop for entirely white-coated pine trees that looked like they'd been dipped in frosting.

  Caleb felt supremely confident as he surveyed his pack with his mate at his side. After a mind-blowing day with Ree yesterday, which she of course had blushed about this morning, which turned him on as usual so they were a little late to the pack run, he'd come into this new year completely fresh and certain about his decision.

  Oh, hell, yeah. Caleb Bardou was back, and it was going to be awesome. He'd woken up knowing exactly how the day would turn out. No way was he going to throw away all the hard-earned street cred he'd gotten this year as a fight trainer.

  And no way was he going to blow this chance to be a Black Mesa Pack Guardian again, either. This was one test he was going to pass with flying colors. Finally.

  Frost tipped his coat. Rielle bumped against his side, reassuring him of her presence. Keeping her voice quiet, she simply said to him, “Take note of who Luke hangs out with on this run,” before she bounded off to play with some of the female wolves she'd gotten closer to since she began spending more time in the pack.

  Yeah, he wasn't about to take her away from all this, either. Not when she'd just begun to find her own place in the pack again. He knew she'd meant it when she said she'd go with him anywhere he wanted. She'd already followed him once to Montana, then back here again, both times without question. That swelled his heart and made him feel about fifty feet tall.

  But this whole scene here, today, had been planned out. He just knew it. It was time for him to pull out his secret weapon and prove once and for all that he was truly, completely ready to take up the mantle of Pack Guardian once again.

  Alpha was standing a little ways off from the main pack, watching them with his usual inscrutable Alpha eyes. Caleb watched his father watching the pack. Taking a breath, he plowed through the fresh fallen snow to his alpha's side leader of the Black Mesa Wolf Pack, waited for Caleb to speak. As usual, Caleb felt just a bit like he'd been called to the principal's office—which, for the record, totally paled in comparison to answering to one of the country's strongest alpha wolves. Holding his head high, he just said to his father, “May I run with you a bit to start?”

  His alpha shook a front leg to rid it of a slither of snow that tumbled off a nearby bush from sheer weight rather than any warmth in the January air. He nodded once at Caleb, then gave the signal for the pack to head out on their run.

  Up on the mountain above the den, far from the curious gaze of any humans on this deeply snowy, frigid first day of the year, the Black Mesa Wolf Pack let loose across the drifts and piles of snow, leaping over them as they yipped and howled and raced along. Despite a multitude of night runs, this was the first pack run in the light of day since the fall equinox. Everyone clearly meant to take advantage of it.

  Caleb watched his fellow pack members as they bounded along. His sister, Lily, ran beside her mate, Kieran, both of them with tongues lolling in laughter as they raced around trees and leapt over buried bushes. His brother Tate and his arctic wolf mate, Claire, whose white coat blended into the setting more than anyone else in the pack, leapt over things as one in what seemed to be some sort of contest that involved lots of laughter as well. His mother, Otsana, gracefully loping along with some of the older wolves, playfully batted them with snow now and again.

  His friends. His packmates. His pack.

  Then his gaze fell upon Luke Rawlins. See who he runs with, Rielle had said. Okay, then. Caleb watched closely. Luke's movements just running looked a little stronger, too. More focused, Caleb thought critically.

  Well, good. Three days of training had been good for the former rogue.

  Former rogue, hmm? his human thought. Gettin' soft.

  Caleb kept watching, though.

  See who he runs with.

  The dark wolf ran by himself. No one else ran with Rawlins. Oh, no one was turning on him or anything like that. No one glared, no one postured at him with hackles raised or lip curled. But no one ran beside him, either.

  Hmm.

  “I certainly hope you're not thinking of going after Luke again.”

  Caleb nearly jumped out of his hide when Alpha spoke. “Of course not,” he said, swinging his head around to look at his alpha, running with easy strides beside him as most of the pack streamed ahead of him. Time to pull out his secret weapon. “That wouldn't be a good idea, given his offer.”

  Alpha's eyebrows, expressive even in his wolf shape, twitched once. He glanced at Rawlins, back at Caleb, then focused on negotiating the snow again. “And what offer did Luke make you?”

  Huffing out a breath as he gathered himself to leap over a giant white lump he suspected was a hidden log, Caleb waited till he'd landed on the other side to answer. It wasn't like Alpha didn't know about this, anyway. “The offer to be lead Guardian for his new pack,” he said casually.

  Caleb was in no way prepared for his alpha to trip over the same damn log and tumble hard into the snow. Two young wolves behind them vaulted themselves sideways with agitated barks as they tried to avoid their fallen alpha, running fast ahead with their tails tightly tucked under their asses as if afraid they were at fault for his stumble.

  Veering to a halt and circling back around, Caleb stared in some shock as his father shook snow off him before standing firm to fa
ce Caleb.

  “Luke,” Alpha said slowly, still watching Caleb with careful eyes. “Luke Rawlins offered you a place as Guardian for his new pack?” The Black Mesa Alpha definitely sounded surprised.

  The first uneasy doubt crept into Caleb's mind thanks to the suddenly churning thoughts of his human. Ripping his gaze from his alpha's, he looked after the fast disappearing pack. He caught sight of a dark shadow on the pack's edges, running with them but not really of them.

  Oh, hell, no.

  Looking back at the leader of this pack, he chose his next words very carefully. “Ah. Yes. I had thought it was a final—test for me? Sir?”

  Caleb tended to address Alpha as “sir” during tense moments. This moment definitely was shaping up to be tense.

  Alpha gave him another long, searching stare, then leapt after the pack again. “Come,” was all he said.

  Caleb followed his alpha, his thoughts jumping all over the place. They ran in silence for a long time. Dodging tree trunks, navigating hidden holes or rocks in the white landscape, Caleb kept an eye out for the rest of the pack. When they caught up again to the others, Alpha slowed his pace.

  Finally, he slowed to a trot, then a walk. Caleb mirrored him. Another beat before the alpha said, “Well, this is very interesting news. And what was your response to Luke's request?”

  Whoa. This was not what Caleb expected. “I—haven't answered him yet, sir. I wanted to first tell you what my response is.”

  Alpha stopped and looked at Caleb again, looking every inch the very savvy alpha he was. “Indeed? And why would that be?” His voice was plenty colder than the snow.

  This was why the principal's office never scared Caleb as a cub nearly as much as being summoned to his father's office had. Straightening himself, he answered the way he'd planned since he woke up. “Because you hold the key to my future.”

  If Caleb hadn't known better, he would have sworn his alpha looked sad for just an instant. Quietly, he shook his massive head and said, “Never I, Caleb. Nor anyone else. Not even your mate. Nor your supposed enemy. Look at him.” Alpha jerked his chin toward Rawlins, who was sitting in an open patch of ground, watching the pack play around him but not with him. “He doesn't hold a key for you, nor was this a test. But it seems he did indeed see a tremendous opportunity here. For both of you,” Alpha added, his voice more in Caleb's head than spoken out loud. “One for which you are both truly ready to accept and thrive at.”