by Fel Fern
No one won, but Zack was ready to impart serious harm on his best friend harm and Matt didn’t look like he planned to back off the fight. Hell, Zack and Matt still carried the fading scars from that stubborn fight. Matt was serious about Jordie, who’d Zack worried about for the longest time. After failing to find a job in the city, Jordie came back home to Darkfall Mountain. Although unlike Zack, who was a werewolf, Jordie was human, but the Darkfall pack embraced both of them into their ranks.
Eight weeks later, everything went back to normal, except in a way, nothing was. Zack sometimes thought he’d lost his best friend and brother in one shot, but that was either selfish thinking or the loneliness talking. At twenty-eight, Zack was still single and unmated. Although he’d engage in the occasional casual sex with other pack members during full moon season, when most wolves went into heat, Zack never considered a long-term relationship.
Shifters mated for life after all, and he couldn’t see himself being tied down to anyone. He started thinking about seriously finding a mate though, after seeing how happy Matt and Jordie were. Damn it. Zack shouldn’t be jealous of his best friend and little brother.
So when the Alpha of the Darkfall pack asked for volunteers to patrol their territory borders, Zack leapt at the chance. Initially, it was Matt who volunteered, but Zack managed to convince Matt to stay with Jordie instead, knowing the new couple needed time alone. Lately, strange things had been happening to their town. Outsiders who had no business with them, seemed to love stirring up trouble. After the pack’s recent brush with a rogue clan of werehyenas, the pack leaders decided to tighten up security.
“I don’t mind. Anyway, I need to run.” Zack checked his wrist watch. “I forgot to tell my boss that I’m taking off a few days and I need to drive over the pizzeria to tell Alessio or Michella I’m taking over Matt’s shift.”
Since Seth Calhoun, Zack’s boss and the owner of Calhoun’s Auto Repair, was also a member of the pack, Zack knew there wouldn’t be a problem.
“Zack,” Jordie said, grabbing his arm before Zack managed to make his hasty exit.
Zack knew Jordie made it a point to always include him in any planned activity, but Zack also felt a little like an intruder. The honeymoon period would fade, but it didn’t look like anytime soon. It seemed Matt couldn’t get his hands off Jordie.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t overdo it,” Jordie said, sounding concerned.
“You don’t need to worry about me, little brother. I can take care of myself.”
“Sure you can.” Jordie gave him a small and uncertain smile.
Zack grabbed his jacket and packed duffel bag on the way out. Once in the privacy of his own car, Zack could breathe a little easier. He tossed the duffel in the back and started the engine. His skin prickled and he could sense his wolf, wanting to run free. The woods called to them and Zack wanted nothing but to surrender his control to the beast and let loose.
Some time away from human civilization so he could stop thinking about what a dick he was being, being so jealous of Matt and Jordie, was exactly what Zack needed. He should be happy for them. Zack reached the repair shop in less than fifteen minutes.
Noticing the familiar yellow VW Beetle parked in front, Zack got out in time to see Michella Esteban, the pack gamma laughing at something Seth said, before exiting the shop. Seeing Zack, she paused to talk.
“Hey, Zack. Are you on your way to work?”
“Good you’re here.”
For as long as Zack could remember, the three Esteban siblings ran the Darkfall Mountain pack. Michella’s two older brothers, Alessio and Sergio, were respectively the Beta and Alpha, but Zack was more wary of her. As an empath, Michella was highly sensitive to emotions, making her the ideal person to talk to when problems arose. Although she was only in her mid-twenties, Zack always felt like he was in the presence of someone older and wiser.
“Did you want to talk about something?” she asked.
Zack cleared his throat, willing his mind not to think about anything in particular. Jordie was especially close to Michella, seeing her as a kind of older sister. While Zack appreciated it, he didn’t want anyone else worrying about him because he’d always been the strong one. If someone was in trouble, Alessio or Michella would ring him up to settle it. In the next full moon, Zack planned to challenge one of the current pack enforcers for their position and he was certain he’d win.
“Alessio and you were asking for volunteers to patrol the border. Initially, Matt and I signed up, but I’m taking over his shift.”
She regarded him for a couple of seconds. “Are you sure, Zack? Being in wolf form that long is—”
“I know, but I possess more control than most. I won’t give to my animal impulses. Besides, I sort of need the break,” Zack confessed.
“I won’t stop you. Let’s discuss this inside.”
Understanding her serious tone, they headed into the shop where only other werewolf ears could hear them. Michella was often outgoing, so it was a strange sight to see her look so serious.
“We need a dependable team and our scouts have been noticing a lot of strange activity near the Northfield Mountains, which isn’t technically part of our territory.”
Zack frowned. “More shifter stranglers like the hyenas two months ago?”
“Worse. This involves humans, which makes this a tricky business.” She combed her fingers through her blonde hair. “Private military convoy vehicles have been sighted, moving in and out of seldom used mountain paths. They’re clever, moving or transporting cargo during daylight hours when most of us are at our day jobs.”
Zack’s nostrils flared. This didn’t sound good. “Have our spies found any information about their base of operations?”
“That will be your job and Zack? This is strictly reconnaissance. Don’t engage the enemy unless it’s necessary. Sergio and Alessio want to see what we’re up against first. If they’re transporting drugs or weapons, then we’ll contact the relevant human authorities.”
Zack’s lips curved in understanding. “If it’s a supernatural matter?”
“You answered your own question.” Her smile faltered. “Zack, I know it’s been a hard two months.”
“You know nothing.” The terse reply surprised both of them.
As usual, she didn’t seem insulted. Her brothers wouldn’t tolerate his immature outburst.
“Both my brothers found their mates in unlikely places. Matt realized his soul mate was there beside him all along. I’m sure you’d find yours sooner or later, Zack.”
He swallowed, feeling like an ill-mannered child when he prized his control above all things. “How are you certain?”
“Shifters come in pairs or threes.” She clapped his shoulder. “I’ll have someone text you the schedule and the details. We’re using one of Garret’s old cabins near the Northfield Mountains and volunteers will rotate shifts.”
Zack checked his phone, studying the schedule and asking questions before heading back to his car. Rolling down his windows, Zack drove out of the town proper and headed to the small roads leading to the mountains. The roads emptied out and trees bordered either side of him. Breathing in a lungful of fresh air, Zack sighed in relief. He reached Garret’s cabin in half an hour. Garret, a solitary pack member, had been one of the last men Zack expected to be mated, but Garret beat him to the punch, too.
“Everyone’s getting paired off these days,” Zack muttered, parking his car in the dirt path that served as the driveway.
He had the entire place to himself until the next day, when someone else would take over so he could catch up on sleep. Picking up his duffel, Zack got out of his car and checked the place out. Furnished with the bare necessities, the cabin had two bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room, and living room with a fireplace. Maps lay on the dining table, along with bags toting weapons in case of emergencies. After a quick shower, Zack gave these a look.
Every wolf in the Darkfall pack knew the lay of the land they
swore to protect from outsiders. Maps were unnecessary but a second check told Zack the map showed an area he wasn’t familiar with. Frowning, Zack traced the marked path on the map, a mountain pass leading to a couple of tunnels underneath the Northfield Mountains. A question mark in red marker marked the area.
Excitement thrummed through Zack’s veins. Finally, he had something else to focus on. Some selfish part of him hoped it wasn’t drugs or another human related crime. Zack wanted to sink his canines and claws into something that deserved to be hurt. Did that make him a bad person?
Shaking his head, Zack memorized the area before heading outside. After closing the front door, Zack took off his clothes. Placed them to one side of the porch and shifted. Bones popped. Fur covered his body. Once on all fours, Zack ran, loving the feel of the wind against his fur.
He didn’t stop, didn’t think. A howl caught in his throat, but he let it loose, knowing no one else heard him but the trees and animals. The mountain pass was still a distance away. Realizing he was closing in, Zack utilized stealth and treaded quietly on the forest ground.
Hearing the sound of wheels on road ahead of him, Zack hunkered down in the foliage. His ears flattened, and for some reason, he bared his nostrils. Something or someone had gotten the attention of his wolf, called to its basic instincts to protect and Zack wanted to find out why. Zack sniffed the air, catching wind of an alluring scent.
What the fuck?
Zack padded close to the road, knowing this was a bad idea. His job was to watch and report, but as he drew closer to the approaching vehicles, his wolf became more enraged. His fur prickled with unease and unexplainable anger. That delicious scent teased his nostrils. He snarled under his breath, smelling vanilla, some kind of soap and wolf musk. Another shifter. No. Another sniff told him there were more.
The vehicles came into view, a black sedan and an armored truck. His wolf confirmed the shifters were in the truck. Sunlight gleamed on the metal. Silver. Zack silently cursed. He could smell the other shifter’s fear now and the telltale coppery smell of blood. Jesus. Zack felt like a dick for wishing this was a human operation, not something against the supernatural. The others, the captors, were certainly human.
What the hell was going on? Who were these humans, toting the serious hardware? They all wore the same fatigues, a private military outfit then? Mercenaries? But the operation was too smooth, too organized. Zack didn’t like this one bit. The best solution was to continue watching. Follow these human fuckers at a distance. See where their base was at then head back to report his findings.
One thing was clear. Zack needed backup. To discuss this development with the leaders of his pack, but something kept him from doing the right thing. There was it again, that disarming scent, distinctive and tempting. Male. Young. An Omega. How Zack discerned all this while everything else went on eluded him.
A cry sounded from the convoy, raising his hackles. All of his instincts screamed at Zack to run, to protect, but that was close to suicide. For one, Zack was seriously outnumbered and out of his league, especially since these humans carried guns which he didn’t doubt carried silver bullets. A scream tore from the truck again, muffled by a thump of metal hitting flesh. Zack bared his teeth. How could he watch and do nothing?
Zack edged through the bushes, trotting at a steady pace. The humans didn’t seem to be in a hurry, as if they did this all the time. That pissed Zack all the more. How long was this operation going on?
Yells came from the truck. Zack spied the mercenaries in the sedan conversing with each other, looking worried. Well, they should be, because they wouldn’t know hit them. Screw it, but Zack was done being cautious. He ran right out of the road, in front of the sedan, trusting the first thing any good driver would do was to avoid running over an animal.
His gamble played off. He could see the driving cursing through the glass, swerving to the left. The convoy behind came to a halt, but Zack disappeared into the opposite side of the road, too fast for the human eye to see. The Sedan crashed into a tree. Air bags went off.
“What the fuck, Trevor?” one of the guys in the Sedan demanded.
Taking advantage of the situation, Zack returned his attention to the truck. More cautious than the others, the mercenary sitting beside the driver got out, frowning, rifle in hand. The bastard looked to the side of the road where Zack disappeared, not seeing Zack suddenly emerging from his hiding place and leaping for his throat.
Chapter Three
Riley miserably rubbed at his bruised cheek, the shiner he got for mouthing off to one of the guards. At first, only he and the other prisoners were in the truck, but the camera must have caught them whispering to each other. So one of the men in black joined them, openly carrying a rifle which he assured Riley and the rest carried silver bullets. Riley leaned back against the uncomfortable wall, about to rethink his strategy when the truck came to an abrupt stop.
“Jacobs, what’s happening?” their guard said to his ear piece.
“Leon’s getting out to check on the others. Trevor crashed into a tree.”
Riley and the others could hear the conversation perfectly. They might be average and weak shifters, but their supernatural hearing was fine. He crept closer to the next guy chained to him, listening, wondering if this could be some kind of opportunity he could take advantage of.
“What?” their guard demanded.
“Shit. That’s too big to be some random animal. I think it’s one of the Darkfall wolves the higher ups told us to avoid. Fuck I’m leaving Leon, he’s dead meat anyway.”
His mind raced. A Darkfall Mountain werewolf interrupted the convoy? Hope leapt inside him. Did the local pack intervene on their behalf? This situation was looking better by the moment. Still, Riley couldn’t let his guard down. Every second counted.
The truck lurched suddenly forward, jostling the prisoners and the guard. Riley’s gaze met the captive opposite him, who looked awake as he was. The guard’s gun clattered several inches from Riley’s reach. Cursing, the guard fumbled for it. The truck came to a halt. The guard’s rifle landed near Riley’s feet. The chains on Riley’s ankles were loose enough. He gripped the gun with his feet, flipping it so he held the gun with shaking hands.
The guard sneered. “Ever fired on someone before, little doggie? Go ahead. Shoot me.”
“Shoot him!” screamed the guy opposite Riley.
God. Riley had never killed anyone in his entire life. He raised the gun, aim off, but he was sure he’d hit something. Instead of shooting the guard, Riley shot at the lock barring the door of the truck shut. The guard leapt to his feet, fist blurring. Riley’s head reeled as he let go of the gun.
Riley heard a bone-chilling growl, followed by a scream from somewhere outside.
“You stupid piece of shit,” the guard cursed, ramming the end of the barrel against Riley’s head.
Sweat beaded down Riley’s back. Fear hammered in his heart. Riley opened his mouth, and then shut it. Pleading for his life like a coward wasn’t the way to go. He couldn’t even kill his captor, one of the assholes who planned to do God knew what to all of them. Riley didn’t want to die.
He wanted to live. To see his parents, to say sorry to his mother for screwing up his date and swore he’d take life more seriously. Warren might not be for him, but surely somewhere out there, his mate was waiting. A strong and patient mate who would make sure nothing like this would ever happen to Riley again. Someone who didn’t care Riley couldn’t shift. Damn. He shouldn’t be thinking about all this when he was this close to dying.
How did it come to all this?
The doors of the truck swung open. Light penetrated the truck. Riley shut his eyes. A direct bullet to the brain would kill him instantly. Brief pain, and then nothing, or so Riley hoped.
The guard fired, but the bullet never found its mark. The guard screamed. Riley opened his eyes to see the largest gray werewolf he’d ever seen, tackling the guard down. He winced at the sound of canines sinking int
o skin. The werewolf tore out the guard’s throat without ceremony, yellow gaze narrowing on Riley.
“Um, thanks for saving my life?” Riley didn’t know what else to say. His unknown savior set canines into the silver chains. “Wait, don’t do that. Silver will hurt you, too.”
He flinched when the big wolf continued trying to bite the chains off. Was the shifter insane? Judging by those feral eyes, Riley wasn’t far off. He understood a second later why the wolf was in a hurry. The truck started again. The chain broke, but the werewolf ignored the pleas of the others. Without warning, the shifter bit down on the chains dangling from Riley’s ankles and began running out of the truck. Riley clawed at the floor, eyes rolling to the other captives.
“I’ll get you out,” he whispered, unsure why he said those words.
Questions raced through his head. Why did this werewolf save him and not the rest? Clearly, the shifter didn’t have time. Heck. Riley’s wolf sensed no other werewolves. Did this crazy stranger attack the humans alone?
Riley didn’t even know if he could keep that promise to the other captives. He knew none of them. Owed them nothing, yet that wasn’t true. After going through the same ordeal, he couldn’t just forget and move on. He had to do something. Anything.
The wolf leapt out of the swinging doors, dragging Riley with him. They both landed roughly on the gravel. Tires squealed. Riley groaned. Pain flared in his back and legs, but nothing seemed broken. Recovering his senses, he got on his knees, staring at the back of the truck. There was another car in front of the truck, but both vehicles seemed to be in a hurry and faded quickly from his line of sight.
A mixture of relief and regret filled him. A growl shifted Riley’s attention to the empty road and back to his savior. The next thing Riley knew, the big wolf walked up to him. He swallowed when intelligent yellow eyes stood inches from his own. He let out a nervous cry when the wolf started to sniff him.
Riley felt the werewolf’s soft nose on the side of his neck and wetness a second later. The shifter was licking him. The significance of the spot didn’t miss Riley. It was exactly the place any dominant wolf would mark their submissive mate.
