Wolf Creek Alpha (Texas Pack 1)

by Ellen, Jo

  Colin went with Rafe to his office. Since it was Sunday, he didn’t expect any trouble, but wanted to call in and speak with his deputy to be sure.

  Ian and Robert left to relieve the men who had been on patrol all night. Devlin told Ian he would be out later to help patrol, first he needed to do some research on witches.

  Mack came in telling Rafe he would patrol around the cottages at the back of the castle. They were normally empty, but Ian had moved the families with younger children into them.

  Once everyone went about their duties, Rafe started working on the correspondence piled on his desk. He figured he could get some work done while he waited for Lisa to wake up. Colin had left, saying he’d find Stephanie and help get the girls up and dressed. He and Stephanie were going to take them riding. They would only ride around the perimeter of the castle. Amy and Sarah were too young for a longer ride. Colin rued the day the girls would be big enough to ride by themselves. He didn’t think his heart could take it.

  Lisa woke up with a good feeling. Falling asleep while remembering her parents had given her a good night’s sleep. If she had dreamed, she didn’t remember it. It felt good just lying there in bed. She was thinking about magic and of what she might be able to do. It was really kind of empowering, she thought.

  She rose from bed and went to the bathroom, looking pensive. After brushing her teeth, she stared at herself in the mirror. She looked the same.

  “That was dumb. What did you expect, sparkly lights around your head or something?” she asked herself.

  Dressed, she went to the kitchen to get some breakfast. Colin and Steph were at the table feeding the girls. Liz came over and hugged her, telling her to sit while she brought her a plate. Lisa was thinking it might take her a while to get used to these touchy-feely wolves.

  “Did you get any rest at all?” asked Stephanie. Rafe had come in and sat beside Lisa.

  “Actually, I had a really good night’s sleep. Thinking about my parents had me remembering how much they loved me.”

  Rafe reached over to hold her hand, which was nice, but kind of awkward when you were trying to eat.

  Lisa tugged her hand back so she could pick up her fork. She gave him a little smile and sighed heavily when he finally let her go.

  “I want to see what I can do. I always took for granted some of the stuff I did, unthinking. You know, like the phone’s going to ring, that kind of stuff. I never even realized it was actually paranormal. I didn’t know I could move things, but then again, I’d never thought to try.”

  Lisa went on to explain about her parents. While talking, Robert and Ian came in, quietly sitting down.

  “Lisa, I believe your mom was probably a witch,” said Robert.

  Lisa started giggling. She had suddenly pictured her mom with a black pointy hat, holding a broom.

  “I’m sorry, visual meltdown. All right, why a witch?”

  Robert explained about the woman that he had known years ago, telling her he thought her aura had been somewhat like Lisa’s.

  “So I’m a witch? Wow, that sounds so weird. Okay, I’ll look in to that later. Right now, I want to see how much I can do.”

  The men were surprised. They had expected her to be afraid, or to panic when asked to be tested.

  “Weel then, lass, you ready to go outside? Since you’ll be practicing, I think being outside would be safer,” said Robert.

  “Safer? You think I could hurt someone? Maybe we shouldn’t do this,” Lisa said worriedly.

  “Don’t worry. I can deflect an object if needed,” said Robert.

  Colin and Stephanie went out through the kitchen, taking the girls for their ride. Lisa was glad. She didn’t want the girls anywhere near her while she practiced. The rest of them went out the front, moving further away from the castle.

  Standing near the edge of the pond, Lisa could feel the magic. It was almost vibrating. Rafe picked up a rock and skimmed it across the surface.

  “Do what Rafe just did. Only, do it with your mind,” said Robert.

  “Um, okay, but don’t expect much.” Lisa looked at a small rock sticking out of the mud. She stared at it, saying a mantra in her head. Move, move, move. Nothing.

  “Don’t try so hard. Close your eyes and picture it lifting, and then skim it across the water,” Rafe said.

  Easy for you to say, she thought. I can do this. She closed her eyes, mentally seeing the rock move up from the mud. Then she threw out her arm, opening her eyes and seeing the rock fly. Really, really, fast. It churned the top of the water and bounced off a tree on the other side.

  “Oops.”

  “You’re hired,” said Ian.

  They all started laughing and she felt her tension slipping away.

  “Now that we know you can move things, it’s just a matter of control. I think being near the water makes you more powerful. Do you feel like yer feeding off of it?” asked Robert.

  “You know, I think you’re right. I can feel the magic going through me. It felt like I pulled it in, and sort of directed it.”

  “Very good, lass. That’s exactly how it works. Part of being a witch is getting yer energy from nature. That’s the difference between fae and witch. Best way to explain it is that we power up before we leave Faeiry, while witches power up in the mortal world.”

  That made sense. In the back of her mind, she wondered why her mom had never told her what they were. Why hadn’t her mom given her some kind of training? Only thing she could think of was that, for some reason, her mom had hidden what they were. This led to the next question. Why hide?

  “Try again, only this time, try to control the rock more. Imagine it moving slowly across the pond. See if you can stop it on the other side and let it sink,” Robert said.

  Lisa focused her attention back on her training. She tuned out everyone and everything around her. Choosing a small stone, she concentrated. Watching the stone, she moved it slowly up, and then managed to skip it across the pond.

  “I skipped it. I know you said to stop it and let it sink, sorry.”

  “Yer doing fine. You had much more control that time. Try once more, lass.”

  Lisa did not like to fail. She decided she was going to do exactly what he said this time. The first time she had thrown her arm out. The second time was just fun. This time, she chose a stone, moved it up and across, and then simply dropped it.

  “I did it!” Lisa jumped up and did a jig. Holding her hand up, she ran around the group high-fiving everyone. They couldn’t help but laugh at her exuberant performance.

  “I’m going to check in with the patrols. Let me know if Miss Missile projects anything my way,” Ian left smiling.

  They worked another hour on her control. Robert could tell she was getting frustrated with moving rocks around. Rafe sat relaxing on the edge of the pond. He was enjoying just watching Lisa. She is so beautiful, he thought. Looking at her now, he could see her brow furrowed in concentration as Robert explained a new exercise to try. Now it was getting interesting.

  “You want me to hold you in place? I don’t think I can do that.”

  “Picture stopping me from moving any closer as I walk towards you. I want to see if you can protect yerself from someone wanting to hurt you. If you can stop me, you can stop a dark fae also, unless they’re very powerful.”

  Robert ran a few paces further away. Lisa watched him as he turned to start walking up to her. She couldn’t concentrate while staring at him, so she closed her eyes to get a mental picture. Opening her eyes, she saw he was a lot closer. She threw up a mental wall, and saw him pause slightly before walking right up to her.

  “I didn’t stop you,” she said annoyed.

  “But you did slow me down. I felt it. Now do it again, only try and use more power. Remember, if dealing with a fae, you’ll need to be strong. If a human attacks you, tone it down.”

  Once again, he jogged further away. All right, more power. She watched him without looking away. As he came closer this time, she m
entally threw up a hard wall as she flung out her arm with palm turned up. Immediately, Robert flew ten feet back, sliding on his butt to the base of a tree. Rafe rolled over onto his back, laughing so hard, his body was shaking.

  Lisa ran over to Robert, afraid she’d really hurt him. He was leaning against the tree with his eyes closed.

  “Oh shit! Robert, wake up! Stop laughing, Rafe! I think he’s hurt,” she reached down, touching his face and checking his breathing.

  Rafe growled as he rose to walk over to them. “He’s fine. You can take your hands off him. Quit faking, Robert, you’re scaring Lisa.”

  Robert grinned and opened his eyes. “But the lass has such soft hands. I needed help waking up,” he said winking.

  “Argh, I’m going to kill you both,” Lisa said, walking away from them.

  “I’m sorry, lass. Just having a wee bit of fun. Come on, give us a smile.”

  Lisa turned back to look at him. It was like dealing with a couple of five-year-old boys. They both stood there smiling, looking so innocent.

  “Come on, we’ll go back to the house. We can discuss things inside. I’m afraid Lisa is starting to get sunburned,” Rafe said. He walked over and ran a finger across the tip of her nose. “You’re looking a little pink; let’s go get a cold drink.”

  Lisa opted for iced tea. It was better than soda when wanting to cool down. Settling into the great room, Ian and Devlin came in to find out how the rest of her lessons went. After catching Devlin up on the rock incident, Robert went on telling them about her stopping him.

  “She is powerful. I didn’t use any shields, because I wanted to see how strong she was. Lisa, a fae resisting you would be harder to stop. Also, we think the pond increases yer power. So if you run in to any trouble away from here, keep that in mind.”

  “If she is away from here, I’ll be there to protect her,” Rafe stated firmly.

  Lisa just rolled her eyes. Men. “I’ve been able to take care of myself in the past. I doubt you’ll be glued to my side the rest of my life.”

  “I wouldn’t count on it,” said Rafe. “In the past, you didn’t have an evil fae after you.”

  “And I may not have one now. You got the warning before you even met me. So, moving on, why wouldn’t my mom have trained me or told me what we are?”

  Rafe spoke first. “We’re guessing here, but we think she may have wanted to keep you hidden. You are a powerful witch and witches don’t go around broadcasting their existence. There is evil out there that would try to use you to their benefit.”

  Sadly, Lisa asked, “Why didn’t she save herself and Dad?”

  Rafe put his arm around her and pulled her closer, wanting to comfort her as he spoke.

  “She may not have been as strong as you, or she simply may not have had the time to do anything. Also, no matter how strong or powerful we think we are, we cannot change fate.”

  They all sat quietly, contemplating. Devlin spoke first. “So, my new sister is a super hero,” he said seriously.

  That got them smiling again. “Yeah, so you’d better watch out. Who knows what I can do to you,” Lisa said evilly.

  Rafe noticed she hadn’t corrected Devlin calling her his sister.

  “I think we should go somewhere further away and see how you do,” said Robert.

  “After lunch, if Lisa feels up to it.” Going into the kitchen, Rafe pulled food from the fridge to make sandwiches. Lisa got the bread and some plates out and put them on the table. Devlin went and grabbed the chips while everyone started making their sandwich. Conversation flowed around Lisa. She wasn’t paying close attention, lost in her own thoughts. She spoke during a break.

  “I want to go into town, wait, and just listen. That man I saw, and dreamed about,” she paused, gathering her thoughts, “he needs my help. If I don’t find him, he’ll come looking for me. I’m afraid of what your men will do to him. It’s better if I go to him on neutral ground.”

  They all exploded. She heard, no way, you’re not going, it’s too dangerous. She waited for them to get it all out. Rafe was the loudest of them all.

  “You are not meeting this man! For all we know, he could have used magic to make you think he needs you. No, not happening,” he said vehemently.

  “Are you done? First, I’m not stupid. Second, I can do anything I want. You are not my keeper. Third, he’s not using magic on me, and don’t ask how I know, I can just tell. Fourth, I wouldn’t go alone,” said Lisa.

  Rafe interrupted, murmuring, “Damn straight you won’t go anywhere alone.” Rafe stood, staring grimly down at her.

  He is so hot. Lisa blushed realizing she had drifted while staring back at him. It should be illegal to have that much charisma. Hoping he didn’t notice her red cheeks, she casually glanced around before looking back at him. Crap. He noticed, she could tell by that shit-eating grin. She pulled her eyes from his to address the rest of them.

  “As I was saying, fourth, you can all go with me. I don’t care if you come along. My point is that I am going, with or without you guys.”

  “We need to have a plan in place, just in case something goes wrong,” said Ian, always the strategist.

  Every one of them said they were going with her. Great, nothing like having four hunks following her around. Then again, who was she to complain?

  “When and where were you planning on going? How are you going to locate this guy?” asked Ian.

  Sheepishly, Lisa said, “Well, I haven’t a clue where to find him. I thought I’d go to that restaurant Steph and I went to and sort of hang around. And as far as when, how about tonight?”

  “It’s a date. We can leave around five,” said Rafe, daring her to contradict him.

  “Cool, I’ve never been on a date with four men at once,” she said smirking.

  Chuckling, the men put the food away then moved on to the great room. Rafe pulled Lisa up and whispered to her.

  “You are a bad, bad girl. I look forward to dealing with you later, in private.”

  “Whatever,” she said bravely.

  They joined the others, with Rafe crowding her on the couch, again. Listening to their master plan, she leaned back, waiting to hear the final outcome.

  “Okay, Lisa, here’s the plan. Rafe will be with you, of course. Devlin and I will be sitting at another table, watching. Robert will be across the street, shielding himself from view with his glamour,” said Ian.

  “You can do that? Can you teach me?” asked Lisa.

  “Sorry, lass, it’s a fae thing,” Robert said smiling.

  “If I feel any threat, I’m taking him down. I’ll not chance him hurting you in any way,” Rafe said gravely. “I expect all of you to protect her with your life.”

  They all nodded, solemnly giving their vow.

  “Chill out, guys. I want to talk to him so don’t scare him off.”

  “If he is dark fae, he will not be afraid. More than likely, he’ll be cocky. They tend to think themselves superior to humans,” said Robert.

  Lisa had to listen to each of them giving her a litany of instructions. Each basically repeating what the others had said.

  “I’ve got it!” She yelled. “Don’t leave with him, like I could with Rafe stuck to me. Don’t touch him. Don’t stare into his eyes too long. Don’t trust him. Now, I’m going to shower.” She marched off while they sat planning some more. Men…

  Chapter 10

  Dunstan left his hotel room, heading for the restaurant where he’d seen the woman. He had a compulsion to go there. Deciding to follow his instinct, he went in and asked for the booth he’d seen her in. Luckily, it was empty. Or fate.

  He sat back after ordering, looking out the window. How does this all fit together? He could not figure it out. Maybe she knows where my mother is, if she is still alive. Then his thoughts took a dark turn. What if his father was involved? He didn’t believe so, but he’d learned long ago not to trust someone just because they looked reliable.

  The waitress set his plate down in
front of him. He smiled at her absently, thanking her.

  She sighed. Gorgeous guy sits in her section and he doesn’t even notice her. Typical, she thought, walking away.

  Lifting his glass to his lips, he paused. He felt a tingling down his spine. He sat his glass back down, casually glancing around the restaurant. It wasn’t inside. Looking out the window, he thought he saw a shimmer across the street. It wasn’t his father. He knew that immediately. He would recognize his father’s signature anywhere. This was different. Not dark.

  Just then, he saw two men come thru the front doors. They were wolves. He could see that right off. Brothers too, no mistaking that. Not trying to hide their interest, they glared at him. Neither was the redhead’s mate, there was no connection to anyone showing. Hmm, interesting. The waitress seated them further back, but across so that they could watch him.

  Something was about to happen. He could feel it. Just then, she entered, followed by a huge man. This was her mate, although still unfinished. Three brothers, he could see now. The man was trying to pull her back, behind him. She glared at him, stepping forward. He could almost feel the frustration flowing off the man. Dunstan smiled. The guy had his hands full. She glanced around, eyes lighting on the other two men and moving on. He felt it the moment she saw him. Before she could take two steps, her mate growled and physically lifted her behind him.

  “Don’t move,” Rafe said, his jaw clenched.

  Moving quickly to Dunstan’s table, he glanced over his shoulder to make sure she wasn’t behind him. She was still by the door, but now her arms were crossed over her chest as she glared at him.

  Arriving at the table, Rafe blocked her view. She started slowly making her way closer so she could hear what was said.

  Rafe didn’t make or ask for an introduction. “What do you want with my mate?” he demanded.

  By now, Lisa had slid in behind Rafe. She leaned around him to look at the man. He was even better looking up close, she thought. Oops, glancing warily up at Rafe, she was happy to see his entire concentration was on the man.