Deacon: A Werewolf Shifter Romance (Small Town Pack Book 2)

by M. J. Perry

  “Fuck you’re fast, Deacon. There was no way we could keep up.” Jaxon winced.

  “Hybrid abilities have their perks.”

  “Tomorrow I want a do over.” Gabe said with a growl. He always was competitive.

  “Is he here?” Jaxon asked me.

  “I can’t smell him, but I can sense a dark cloud of hate coming from the hotel. It has to be him. I can also sense a smaller, much weaker person. Shit, someone is hurt and it feels bad. We need to help them.”

  “We need to advance. Deacon, you lead the way.” Jaxon ordered.

  I do just that, feeling the hate getting more obnoxious, the feeling settles like a film on my tongue. Shaking my head, I walked slowly and surely, to the room I knew he was in and kicked open the door. I’ve surprised him. I look him over with disgust. He’s small, grey-haired, with a potbelly protruding over a pair of brown cord trousers. He looks like a regular grandad, one who would sit and tell stories to his grandkids, not a murdering son of a bitch. A heard a groan from the corner of the room and as I looked over to see the source, Simon bolted out of the window. I should have seen that coming. I tensed ready to go after him, but an angry growl made me hesitate.

  “Don’t touch her.” Gabe said in a voice not his own. I turned to face him, saw his angry gaze on Jaxon who was standing next to a woman lying on the floor. His hands are up in surrender as Gabe is crouched ready to fight him. Gabe is breathing hard and he’s trying to control himself, but the room is full of the hurt woman’s scent and it’s a losing battle. I can feel Gabe’s wolf trying to take him over.

  “Jaxon, move away from her slowly,” I ordered as I honed in on Gabe’s feelings. He’s ready to protect her from anyone, including us.

  Jaxon does exactly as I ask although his face is full of confusion, which is fucking stupid. He’s just found his mate himself; he should know what Gabe is going through.

  “Gabe, we need to get her to Mary. She’s hurt, she needs medical help.” I said firmly.

  Gabe looked at me; his eyes pure wolf before he blinked and I see his human side once more.

  “Mine.” he growled as he slipped his arms under the injured girl and stood up with her. He cradled her body in his arms, his whole stance protective.

  “Go, take her to the pack. We’ll follow you when we can.” I said. Jaxon is still staring dumbstruck at Gabe’s behaviour.

  Gabe nodded and then he’s gone.

  “Simon got away. I can still sense him. Are you coming?”

  “Yeah, I’m sorry. I just… Gabe was ready to attack me.”

  “She is his mate. I remember when you tried to attack me because I got too close to Sierra when you first brought her home.”

  “Yes, you’re right. It just took me by surprise. Come on before he gets away.”

  “I think he may already have.” I said as I tried to smell him. I couldn’t detect a scent at all. He’d obviously used the perfume. “Fuck. I can’t believe we let the bastard get away.”

  “Well, Gabe kind of threw us a bit. We will get him. I’ll call the pack and have them canvas the area.”

  “Ok. I’ll try to find out which way he’s gone. I should be able to track his emotions. I’ll get a head start.” I said as I headed out of the window. I’m so mad at myself that I let him get away. I won’t make the same mistake twice. I walked towards the trees. I may not have a scent but I can feel him close, his anger is blasting at me and I followed it. I slowed my footsteps, not wanting to alert him to my presence. He is hiding behind a bush, which is ridiculous. He obviously thought he could jump out on me, and it would probably work on a shifter because they rely on their sense of smell, but not on me. I can hear his heavy breathing now, his hands clicking as they clench into fists ready to attack me, and I look forward to the fight that’s coming. I come up behind him, taking him by surprise, his face paled, and then he growled, showing me his teeth. Taking a step forward, he lowered into a crouch and then fired himself at me. I dodged his body and his claws, and he fell to the floor on his hands and knees. It’s almost comical how uncoordinated he is, a man with a reputation like his I had expected him to be a good fighter. He jumped up quickly but I lay a kick to his stomach, taking his breath away, and making him fall back to the ground on his stomach. He looks pitiful and if I didn’t know the terrible things he’d done, I would feel sorry for him.

  “I want to kill you.” I growled. “But I figure the pack deserves to decide your fate. I’m not a monster. I won’t kill a pathetic vampire in cold blood.”

  He whimpered at my words. What the fuck. Why is he such a wimp?

  “You found him.” Jaxon said as he walked up behind us. He gave Simon a once over and grimaced. “He’s a snivelling piece of shit isn’t he?”

  “Seems like it. I can’t kill a cry baby so I guess we’re taking him back to the pack.”

  “That does seem the right thing to do although I could think of a few things I’d like to do to him first.”

  “Jesus Christ, he just pissed himself. I’m not touching him now.” I growled.

  “We’ll just drag him along. You don’t have to touch him then.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” I said as I grabbed Simon’s arm and dragged him up from the floor. “Come on, it’s time to face the consequences of your actions.”

  “To think we were worried we’d have trouble dealing with him. Without his vampire followers, he’s useless. He didn’t send those vampires back to the coven, his followers must have.”

  “I think you’re right. We need a car. I’m not running with him, he’ll only slow us down.”

  “You won’t get away with this.” Simon suddenly shouted.

  I stopped walking and looked down at him. His fear is still clear but his eyes are calculating. “Found your balls now have you?”

  “You underestimate me.”

  “Right, I’m sure we do. You’re a pitiful excuse for a vampire. If I was a full one I’d be embarrassed.”

  “You’re that hybrid they talk about.”

  “I am?” I asked.

  “You think you’re so special. You think you’re the only one but you’re wrong. You are one in a long line of hybrids. You just happen to be the only one you’ve met who has survived.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He smirked. “There is a group; they call themselves Hybrid Syndrome, H.S for short. They’ve been trying to make hybrids for years. When they finally succeeded the hybrids turned on them all and killed them.”

  I want to call him a liar but I can feel the truth in his words. “The group are all dead?”

  “Yeah, but the hybrids aren’t.”

  I give Jaxon a nod to tell him Simon is speaking the truth. He grimaced and his mind is a sudden kaleidoscope of emotions. “Do you know where they are?” he asked Simon.

  “I will tell you everything if you let me go.”

  “I call bullshit.” Jaxon growled. “That isn’t going to happen.”

  “Why have we never heard of them before? Why do you know about them and we don’t?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “Shifters started disappearing a couple of years ago. I went digging and found out all about the company. That’s the reason I wanted to eliminate you. I promised the H.S that I’d have a pack for them to use. They said I could be the alpha.”

  “Well, clearly that plan failed.”

  “That is true, but I still know more than you do.” He smiled showing his yellow teeth.

  “Until we get back to our territory and I let my pack pull the information we want from you. They are good at that.” Jaxon grinned and it wasn’t a pleasant one.

  “I’m even better.” I growled. “And I won’t even need to lay a hand on you to find out everything I want to know.”

  “I’m a stronger person than you are. You won’t be able to drag my thoughts from me.”

  I chuckled. “Clearly you have a screw loose because if I were in your situation, I would keep my mouth shut.”

  “I’m going to ge
t away and I’m going to shag your girl before I slit her throat.” He snapped.

  I saw red, my hand shot out to grip his throat and I squeezed.

  “Deacon, stop.” Jaxon ordered. “He’s baiting you.”

  “I know, I’m just giving him a little pain, I won’t kill him that easily.” I told him. Turning to look the little weasel in the face, I bared my teeth. “I would never give you an easy death. If you thought you could get off so easily then you’re as stupid as you look.”

  We walked towards the edge of the trees and I heard a car coming up the road. Sensing the pack close, I walked out towards the car and it slowed to a stop. Jaxon headed towards the car and talked to the driver, opening the car door, he motioned for me to get in. Simon tried to struggle but I didn’t loosen my grip. As we got closer to the car, he struggled harder and I punched him in the side of his head. I let go of him as he fell to the floor. He’s out cold. Jaxon opened the boot of the car and I picked the vampire up and chucked him in it, slamming it closed. He’ll be ok there for the short drive back to the pack territory. If what he’d said is true and I don’t doubt it is, we have hybrids out there somewhere. People like me. I’m not sure if I’m happy about it or if it scares me, especially if they are as powerful as I am,

  “I’m running back home, Jaxon. It’s been too long since I’ve seen my mate. I can feel her worry. I need to make sure she’s ok.”

  He nodded. “I understand.

  “See you soon.” I called as I broke into a run. I can’t wait to hold Milly in my arms again. After dealing with the filth of Simon, I need to see her, to feel her love. Her goodness will wipe the dirty feeling away from me. Then I have to find out the truth. The only way to do that is to read Simon’s mind because even if the pack torture him for information, we can’t be sure he isn’t lying just to make them stop. I have to delve into the mind of a maniac, through the hate and evil and find out what he knows of the hybrids. It isn’t something I’m looking forward to at all, not even a little bit.

  Chapter Seven

  Deacon

  “Deacon, you’re back. Did you get him?” Milly asked from the circle of my arms. As soon as she’d caught sight of me she’d come running.

  “We did. He’s in our possession now and is awaiting trial from the pack.”

  “You didn’t kill him?”

  I shook my head. “He’s too pathetic. None of us could bring ourselves to do it.”

  “He’s done a lot of bad things.”

  “And he will be punished by the pack accordingly. I don’t care right now about him or anything else. I need to hold you.” I tightened my arms, pulling her more securely against my body.

  “What else has happened?” she asked.

  I brushed my lips against her hair. “There are more hybrids out there?”

  “I thought you were the only one.”

  “So did I, but according to Simon there are more. They were made by a group called H.S.”

  “They were made, not an accident like you were. That’s scary. Why did they make them?”

  “I’m not sure. I’m going to find out though.”

  “Do you think they are like you?”

  “I think that the people who made them into hybrids probably wanted them powerful for despicable reasons, maybe to sell them to people who could use their abilities for evil. I’m hoping they didn’t succeed in that plan.”

  “You think there’s a chance they could be our enemy?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, but there’s also a chance that they’ve kept enough of themselves from before the change to remember right from wrong. The power coursing through my veins is a darkness. I choose the light but it can be a struggle. Now I have you it’s no competition, but if they don’t have anyone who grounds them, it might be a losing battle for them.”

  “All we can do is hope we can find them.”

  “Simon’s mind is full of evil but deep down underneath that there is truth. I will find it. I just wanted to hold you first, to feel your love before I immerse myself in his hateful mind.”

  “You’re so sweet, Deacon, I love you.” She said as she leaned her head back to look at me.

  Smiling at her, I rubbed my nose against hers making her giggle. “I can’t wait to have you all to myself.”

  “I can’t wait either but it seems we’re destined to wait though.” She sighed. “Before you talk to Simon you should talk to Gabe first, he needs your help.”

  “He’s here?” In my race to see Milly, I hadn’t sensed him.

  “Mary thought it would be best to treat the woman here.”

  “How is she?”

  “She’s beaten badly but she has no broken bones or internal bleeding. Mary said she is very lucky.”

  I nodded. “It sounds like it. How is Gabe?”

  “Worried. He’s pacing, and growling all the time. I’ve tried to calm him as much as I can, but I think he needs a familiar face.”

  “I’ll go and talk to him.” I kissed her lips softly. “Where is he?”

  “He’s currently pacing outside Sierra’s spare room because Mary kicked him out.”

  “He was threatening her?”

  “He didn’t want to let the woman go, but he came to his senses and gave in.”

  “Go back to Sierra. I’ll come and find you when I’ve done what I need to do, and then I’m taking you home to keep you safe and to make love to you.”

  She sighed softly. “I’ve missed you. Even being away from you for such a short time has made my heart hurt.”

  “It’s our bond. It’s strong. So is our love.”

  “Yes it is.” She smiled. “Go look after your friend, find the answers you seek, and then come back to me.”

  “You can count on that.” I cupped her face, my eyes sincere as I stared into hers. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. You’ve brought me back into my pack. You’ve made me feel complete again and you have me at peace with myself. Thank you so much.”

  “Deacon, you never have to thank me. You came into my life and made it better. We are meant to be. You should thank fate, not me.”

  “I thank you because you gave me a second chance after I broke your heart. If you hadn’t, we wouldn’t be here right now.”

  “I think we would be. I like to think we would have found our way back to each other eventually.”

  “Maybe so, but if I hadn’t been so caught up in my own feelings and actually given a thought to yours, I wouldn’t have ran and then I wouldn’t have dragged you back the way I did and put you in danger.”

  “Do you want to know a secret?”

  “Yes. I want to know all your secrets.”

  “It made my day when you all but kidnapped me out of my bed. It gave me hope you cared for me. You were hell bent on protecting me and it was sweet.”

  “I didn’t protect you though. I let you down.”

  “No one could have predicted that someone would have the nuts to kidnap me from Jaxon’s house. You saved me again and now we have our future ahead of us. I can’t wait to have your babies.” She said in her sweet voice.

  I growled. “I can’t wait to make you pregnant with my child. To see you grow large. You’re amazing Milly, a miracle for this hybrid and I promise I will never let you go again.”

  “I promise I won’t ever let you get away again.” She said with a smile.

  I pulled her into my arms and held her close to my body. My lips brushed her hair as I sighed. “I love you, Milly.”

  “I love you too, Deacon.” Pulling away from me, she looked up catching my gaze. “Forever.” She whispered.

  “Forever.” I agreed. “I’ll see you in a while.” I said as I brushed my lips against hers and shifted her out of my arms. Taking her hand, I led her into the house. I kissed her again before I let her go and headed up the stairs. When I got to the top, I found Gabe leaning against the wall his head in his hands. He looked up, as I got closer.

  “I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose her
.” He whispered.

  “That’s not going to happen. I can feel her strength. She’s a fighter. Her will to survive is strong.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “I am. Mary has everything under control. She’s given her something for the pain. Your mate will sleep for a while now. Will you come with me?”

  He hesitated as his eyes lingered on the door of the room his mate was behind.

  “Mary will call you if your mate needs you. I have to talk to Simon and I’d like your help.”

  He nodded and started to walk down the stairs. “You found him? I’m sorry I let him get away.”

  “It’s ok. We all would have reacted the same way if our mate had been hurt. After I found Simon, he told me some things. I need more information from him.”

  “What did he tell you?”

  “That there are more hybrids out there.”

  “He told you this and you believe him?”

  “Yes I do.”

  “Then we’d better try to find them.”

  “He won’t tell us anything else willingly so I’m going to have to drag it out of him.”

  “You can do this with your mind?”

  “Yeah, but I figured you’d want some answers as well. He’s hurt your mate badly.”

  “He has and he’s going to pay for it but I won’t let my anger get in the way of your answers.”

  “I know you won’t.”

  “Do you think the hybrids are like you?”

  “Milly asked the same thing. We can only hope otherwise we have a dangerous problem on our hands.”

  “How many are there?”

  “We don’t know.” I admitted as I stopped at the door of the barn we were keeping Simon in. “It won’t take long to find out.”

  Gabe grimaced and followed me through the door. “He stinks.”

  “Yeah.” I agreed, as we got closer to Simon’s still figure. He’s tied to a chair. Jaxon and two members of his pack are surrounding him. He stinks of piss and fear.