BestTace

by Jana Leigh

  They assumed that they did not have to follow the laws the elders set up. When Quin arrived in Denver, his parents and other European Pack leaders developed a Council to help them set up the laws. It was a constant battle trying to keep them in line, and protect the humans they wanted to hurt. Of course, the humans knew nothing of the threat that was looming over their head.

  Many of the younger Pack members did not look at the gift they were given by being a wolf. They instead, looked at the power they had, and used it to their advantage to gain what they could from the humans. They felt like they were entitled. This negative propaganda is what drew many of the lone wolves to join the Rogues who were out for what they could get. Gods, he was sick of hearing the nasty rhetoric they spewed to one another. Quin was raised to respect people, and the gifts the Gods gave them. The misconceptions of wolves, and the shifters, were promoted by the Rogues who tried to make people afraid of them and hard to overcome. Humans like to believe there were no terrible beasts that shifters did not exist. They explained many of the attacks on wild dogs. If it were not so sad, it would have been humorous. Instead, they turn a blind eye from the reality around them, and that was fine with the Were Council.

  Quin was excited when first approached by his parents to leave their Pack and come to the United States. Along with seven chosen Enforcers, he struck out and finally settled in the Front Range. With the help of his previous Pack's riches, they settled and expanded their power. Lately, his restlessness had become more prominent. He told his Beta, he missed the women of the Pack. When they were in France, he had the pick of the litter. All of his men were waiting to find their mates. When they left the safety of the homeland without any females, they knew it would be a long time before they found their other half. They could not chance a female being hurt before they had become settled. It had only been in the last year that female wolves had began to arrive from Europe, unfortunately none of them had been his mate. With the arrival of more women, it had begun to feel more like pack and not a freewheeling fraternity. For a wolf, meeting their mate was what grounded them. Female wolves were to be cherished and taken care of. He could not wait until he could find his mate and settle down.

  Quin stood staring at the setting sun and sighed loudly, wishing he could shift and run through the mountainside. He planned a retreat for next week for him and his Enforcers high in the Rockies. Then they could truly be free to shift. Most of the time they had to be careful not to let a human see them, they needed to remain a secret for the sake of everyone. In the past few months, it had been harder and harder to hide their presence in the city. They had to deal with the Rogues and more often than not, they fought in wolf form.

  “Alpha, your father is on the phone. He wants to know if you have made any progress with the Rogue's in the area.” Devon, his Beta called from the door to the roof.

  “Okay, I’m coming.” Quin sighed and went to speak to his father.

  In the past few weeks, a group of Rogue wolves decided they wanted to try to take over the area. Quin and his Enforcers had been busy trying to clean up their mess. His Pack was currently around fifty members. All of them living in the three blocks the Pack owned in Denver. They had seven apartment buildings that held all the members. They lived worked and played in the area. On the top of all of the buildings, they had made gardens with grass and trees so they could shift in private. In addition, they owned about 1000 acres in the mountains with a dozen or more cabins, so they could run when they wanted.

  Quin prided himself on making sure all of his Pack members were happy and had jobs.

  They were one of the most successful Packs in the States and were gaining members every month. Soon they were going to have to expand, Quin made a note to have his personal assistant start looking at buying another city block. Many of the families that could have joined his Pack were waiting until he found his mate to make the Pack more stable. He wanted more than anything to find a woman, to lead by his side, but so far, he had not found anyone who called to his wolf.

  His mother explained to him long ago that his wolf would be the one to recognize his mate. He knew the restlessness was because of not having found her yet. His mother and father assured him that when the time came, he would find the one who was meant for him.

  Quin went into his office and answered the phone that was blinking at him. “Hello Father.”

  “Son, what progress have you made with the Rogue's?” A gruff voice responded to him.

  His father, never a man for long discussions, was always quick and to the point. When he was growing up, his mother was the one who dispensed the hugs. His father, though Quin knew he loved him, was more serious. His father also believed the Alpha of every Pack had a greater responsibility than even to his own family. This is where they differed. When Quin finally found his mate, he was going to make sure she knew how important she was to him. His children would know the love he was shown by his mother.

  “We had a skirmish last night in a suburb, but so far we can’t seem to find their lair. I hope that they will show themselves soon. We have heard their Alpha is a wolf named Roark, but so far we have not been able to find him.” Quin said turning in his chair so he could watch the last of the sun setting.

  “You may have to send out more patrols. I heard from Roan in Northern Ireland, and his Alpha in the States is having problems too. He has lost three females and one Enforcer in the last week. You need to watch the Pack.” His father warned.

  “I know what is at stake here. I will talk to my Beta and the Enforcers. We are planning a retreat next week, but I do not want to leave the Pack unguarded. We may have to postpone until this mess is sorted out. They will understand, even if they are itching to run.” Quin said.

  “I agree, do you need any more people? I could send your brother and a few others to help.” His father asked. Quin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was the Alpha of this Pack. He loved his father, but he was still set in the old ways.

  “Let me talk it over with the others, I will let you know. I may have to have some more help if they try to take one of our females.” Quin replied.

  They spoke for a few more minutes, and then Quin hung up the phone, hoping he would be able to give his father a better report the next time he spoke to him. The Denver Pack was its own Pack but as the elder who sent him to the U.S., he had a responsibility to still report to his father so that he could update the Council with how things were going.

  He did not want his brothers to come here unless they were needed. They were all working on settling their own Packs. All except for his youngest brother Adrian, who was just finishing his training? He hoped to offer the young wolf a place in his Pack. It had been too long since he had seen his family, and he wanted to have that connection again.

  He had no clue what the Rogue wolves were trying to do. Taking female wolves was an act of war and soon he would have no choice but to hunt and kill the Rogues if they could not get them under control.

  He could hear loud voices in the outer office and sighed again. What else could happen today? It had been a long day, and he wanted to have a nice quiet dinner and go to bed.

  Just before he reached the door, it burst open and his Beta fell in the room. Devon was larger than most of his wolves, so he nearly took up the entire space when he sprawled on the floor. Being the Beta of the Pack, Devon was the strongest wolf. Quin never wanted to find out who would win if they fought for Alpha, he suspected it would be a close fight.

  “Get your ass out of my way.” He heard a female growl come from just outside the room.

  Quin laughed when Devon jumped up and looked at him with red cheeks. “She caught me off guard.”

  “Riiiight.” Quin agreed and poked his head out of his office to see who had thrown his Beta through the door. It must have been a large female wolf to do this kind of damage.

  He laughed even harder when he saw the small sprite before him. A small blonde woman stood there tapping her foot with impatienc
e. Wow, she was beautiful. Long flowing hair pulled back into a high ponytail and voluptuous curves, the woman stood a good foot below him. It made him feel like he was a giant. Quin grinned and looked at the woman with more interest. He wondered why she was here. He knew every member of his Pack, and she definitely did not belong.

  “Listen buster, I have been sitting out here for the last two hours, waiting patiently for the head dog to come and see me. I no longer have the time, or the inclination to sit here any longer. Tell your overly important man when he makes an appointment; he should have the courtesy to show up.” The woman fumed and turned on her heel and stomped to the elevators.

  Quin laughed again until the breeze from her turn caught his nose. She smelled like rose petals and fresh mountain air. He wolf immediately responded and began howling, pushing him to follow her. Holy shit! She was his mate, and she was a human!

  Devon growled when his Alpha walked by him, like he was in a trance. “Alpha let me handle her. The human doesn’t know her place.”

  “Huh?” He said, still moving in the direction the woman had gone.

  “She had an appointment with you to talk about renting space in the bottom floor of the building we just bought. I told her we were not ready to make any decisions, but she said she had a lease already with the previous owners and she wanted us to honor the contract. She wants to open a bookstore. I tried to explain that you were busy, but she said she called and made an appointment with Shelly. I explained Shelly was out on emergency leave and had not put her in the book, but she refused to reschedule and said she would wait.” Devon said obviously frustrated. “I will send her a letter stating we will not be honoring the contract. After the last meeting, we decided to make more apartments for the Pack. We have only one more apartment before we run out and there are new people inquiring every week. Then I may teach her what happens when she pulls a wolf’s tail.”