A Pack of Two

by Jacky Russell

  Chapter 20

  Lucas

  We were five steps from the porch when the sound of a car engine broke the stillness. Two steps from the front door, her arms tightened around my neck.

  I didn’t make it inside before they called to her.

  “Hey, Breanna! Can we talk to you a minute?”

  I froze, my back to whoever had ruined this magical, perfect moment. I tried not to growl, holding her tighter, unwilling to share.

  “Not now, fellas,” Breanna snipped, burying her head in my neck.

  Footsteps pattered up the sidewalk toward us. My muscles bunched, prepared to defend against an attack that never came.

  “Actually, we wanted to speak to the Italian.”

  Her head never moved from my shoulder. “Too bad. He’s mine tonight. You can talk to him tomorrow.”

  Her words almost brought me to my knees. She wanted me.

  The footsteps came closer and she stiffened. My wolf roared to life, the need to protect my mate overwhelming.

  Mate?

  “Towsky, you guys need to go away. I’m not in the mood to play your stupid reindeer games tonight,” Breanna said over my shoulder. “Lucas is mine.” She leaned up and glared at the werewolves behind me. “Leave.”

  I was hers?

  More footsteps approached. Breanna took a big breath and I set her gingerly on her feet. “I am so gonna kill somebody tonight,” she said low enough only I could hear.

  Had a group of six werewolves not been closing in on us, her comment would have been amusing. There was no fear on her part, the scent of her anger filling the crisp night air.

  “They are part of Trenton’s unit,” she bit out. “This is not a social visit.”

  I allowed my wolf to surge, my dominance stopping the approaching wolves in their tracks. Breanna nodded her approval before addressing the group.

  “What the hell do you want?” she asked the apparent leader of the group. His gaze landed squarely on me.

  “We want to talk to him.”

  Breanna’s head tilted. “Why?”

  “Werewolf business.”

  The werewolf probably had no idea how bad an answer he had given. Breanna’s sharp intake of breath was the only physical indication she was about to make these werewolves very sorry for their actions.

  She glared at the group. “Galen said Lucas was to be left alone, that he had earned the right to be in this territory. Leave now and nobody gets hurt.”

  A smaller wolf in the back let a chuckle slip. Bad, bad idea.

  The fire in her fingertips scorched my skin. She dropped my hand and took a single step toward the group. They parted, except the chuckler, who apparently was not familiar with Breanna’s powers.

  “Wolf nuts roasting on an open fire,” she said in an icy voice. “Witch sparks nipping at your nose.”

  The werewolf wasn’t laughing anymore. He looked left and right, noticed his fellow soldiers had backed away from him, then squared his shoulders and took a step toward Breanna. A fireball landed at his feet and he yelped. He leaped sideways, roared a curse, and charged.

  The world lost its color, turning to shades of black and gray as my wolf responded to the attack. Breanna braced for the charging wolf but I met him first, grabbing his shirt and tossing him to the side.

  The air exploded as the remaining five wolves attacked. With Breanna at my side, the attacking wolves didn’t stand a chance. The fire I expected to see flare from her fingers never materialized–instead she became a whirling combat machine with kicks and punches coming faster than the wolves could counteract.

  I took out three while she easily handled the other two. By the time the air settled, I had a bloody lip, she had a bruise on her cheek, and the wolves were all down for the count.

  “Assholes,” she snarled as the last wolf rolled away, grimacing in pain.

  “What did they want?”

  She shrugged. “Probably Trenton’s doing. He’s never liked me.”

  “Why?” I asked, brushing my hand across her hair. All the wolves seem so dedicated to her.

  She sucked in a big breath. Apprehension rolled from her in waves. “I killed his brother.”

  There was no way I was going to ask her to explain.

  She tightened her grip on my waist and rubbed her cheek against my chest. “I tried to get to him,” she said, her voice breaking. “The Humvee was sinking and I got the guys in the back seat but the current was too strong.” Her body went boneless in my arms. “By the time I made it back down, both of the werewolves in the front seat were dead. Trenton’s brother, Isaac, was driving. He was a recon specialist, like me.”

  “You did all you could.” She would have fallen had I let go. “You didn’t kill him.”

  “I wasn’t strong enough,” she said hoarsely. “I tried to get back to him.” Her voice muffled against my chest. “I swear I tried.”

  We stood in the yard for a long time, holding one another. A few snowflakes dusted her hair. She shuddered a few times and held on like her life depended on it. I’d never felt so helpless. Unable to do anything except hold her close and allow her emotions to run their course, I kept a watchful eye on the six wolves as they climbed to their feet and struggled back to their truck.

  “You can’t keep beating yourself up about this, Breanna,” I offered softly when she began to stir in my arms. “You did your best.”

  “It wasn’t good enough.” The self-loathing in her voice was so out of character for the confident woman I had grown accustomed to.

  “Could anyone else have saved him?”

  “Doesn’t matter what anyone else would have done. I’m the one who surfaced with a dead recon soldier.”

  A rustle in the bushes had us both leaping to our feet. Galen pushed aside the boxwoods and nodded a greeting. His power hit me when his eyes met mine.

  “Isaac wasn’t your fault, Breanna. Had he not disobeyed orders and driven on that road, none of them would have needed saving.” Galen’s voice resonated with the authority of an Alpha, though there was an edge of understanding, of kindness.

  The vulnerability Breanna had shown was gone, the cool facade of an elite soldier now in place. She stood tall beside me, her grip on my hand strong. A part of me wanted to send her inside and deal with the Alpha on my own, but that would be wrong. She was at my side, where a mate should be.

  And I hadn’t had a panic attack when the werewolves surrounded me.

  “What happened here?” Galen asked, looking directly at me.

  My wolf settled, leaving me stammering for words. “Six wolves attacked us.”

  Galen’s eyebrows shot up. “Unprovoked?”

  Breanna kicked an imaginary rock. “I started it.”

  The big Alpha didn’t believe her. “How did you start a fight, Breanna?”

  “I threatened his nuts,” she answered. “And he took offense.”

  Galen laughed heartily and clapped a gloved hand on my shoulder. I held my breath as his power coursed through my body. “From what I gathered, they were here to stir up trouble with Lucas. Your actions were acceptable given the circumstances.”

  “Circumstances?” I asked.

  He looked at Breanna for a few seconds before turning back to me. The slight upturn of his lips made me uncomfortable. “I’ll leave you two alone.” He patted me on the shoulder again. “If you need me, either of you, don’t hesitate to call.”

  Galen disappeared into the hedges, leaving Breanna and me sitting on the steps.

  “Sorry I lost it,” she muttered. “I hadn’t thought about that night in a long time.”

  I draped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “No need to apologize. That’s what friends are for, to listen.”

  Her amber eyes sparkled. “Friends?”

  I touched the silky soft skin along her neck. “Everybody needs somebody to listen. Somebody to trust.”

  Her cheeks went pink. “I can field strip an AK-47 with my eyes closed, can take down the
meanest supernatural you put in front of me, but I don’t know shit about relationships. I’m not exactly a princess.”

  “You’re an angel.”

  She laughed to herself. “You must have recurring post-concussion syndrome from that motorcycle wreck.”

  How someone so beautiful could be so modest dumbfounded me.

  And made me love her more.

  Our shoulders bumped, her strawberry scent tickling my nose. I had never felt anything like this. I wanted her beside me for the rest of my life. My throat was tight, my heart hammering as my brain tried to find the right words to say.

  “Want to go get that movie?” she asked with a half smile.

  I took her hand and kissed her fingers. “Honestly?”

  She nodded.

  “No.”

  I stared into her eyes, praying I had not pushed her away. After an eternity of silence, she squeezed my hand and stood, tugging me up along with her.

  “Me neither,” she whispered as she led me toward the front door.

  Chapter 21

  Breanna

  At any moment spontaneous combustion would occur. Everywhere Lucas touched me sizzled, his hands working me into a frenzy. The warmth of his body seeped into mine, the tenderness of his lips igniting inescapable need.

  It didn’t matter that I was a master sergeant or that I was a witch. Nothing mattered as he tugged my sweatshirt over my head and tossed it into the corner. Nothing mattered as I unbuttoned his shirt and ran my hands along the granite muscles of his chest.

  Except Lucas.

  His tongue danced with mine as he pulled me onto the bed beside him. A hot tingling between my legs turned to a slow burn as his fingers slid along my stomach. My hands trailed along the rippling muscles in his back and captured the firmness of the most incredible ass ever created.

  He is so perfect.

  The pressure of his body against mine was sinfully good, the feel of male desire sending my own need into the red zone. I now understood the stuff of romance novels. Hells bells, this was good.

  Lucas growled when I grabbed his hair and pulled him toward me. He was gentle. I wanted wild, feral. Now.

  My nails raking along his back made him tremble as he nipped the “send Breanna into orbit” place behind my ear. My hips arced toward him, demanding, pleading. The primal need to feel him inside me was out of control. I was out of control.

  “Lucas,” I cried, my body stretching to accept him, to consume him. He ground slowly against me, whispering my name as he surrendered to the passion of the moment. Throaty growls and the power of Alpha male sent me to oblivion.

  The connection between us spiraled higher until we panted for breath, out bodies covered in sheens of well-earned sweat. I buried my head in his chest, the security of his arms the most blissful thing I’d ever felt. He brushed a kiss on the top of my head.

  “Amazing,” he said softly. “You are amazing.”

  “You’re pretty damn amazing yourself,” I mumbled into the ripped muscles of his chest.

  His fingers found my chin and tipped my face toward him. “You are so beautiful.” His fingers travelled along my neck. “An angel.”

  Before I could respond, his finger covered my lips. “And no, I did not hit my head again.”

  Lucas spooned around me, his chest pressed to my back. His leg rested possessively over mine, our interlocked hands curled against my chest. The feel of him made my soul happy. He wanted me. Me. And I wanted him. All of him.

  He can’t stay in Wisconsin. The son of an Alpha must remain with his pack.

  I tucked our hands tighter against my chest. My heart wanted to feel him, as if holding him would make the real world go away. For now, the real world didn’t matter. Lucas was in my bed, his head resting against my Pluto pillow. Everything was perfect.

  * * * *

  The annoyingly happy singing of an idiot bird perched on the windowsill woke me.

  “Can it, Tweety,” I muttered, rolling over to find the warmth of my wolf.

  The only thing there was a cold spot.

  “Lucas?”

  Pluto grinned at me. I punched him.

  I tucked the sheet around me and padded into the bathroom. Lucas had showered and was gone, long gone from the lack of steam on the mirror. At least he’d hung the damp towels back on the rack and not tossed them in the corner.

  I prayed for some sound from the other side of the closed bedroom door, anything, a clink of a glass or the scrape of a fork. Hell, the stupid TV blathering would have been good, but there was nothing.

  “Damn it.” My heart did a nosedive. If I’d fallen for a one-and-done kind of guy, I would kick my own ass. Stupidly feeling the need to be quiet, I snuck into the hall toward the kitchen.

  The constant tick of the cuckoo clock echoed from the hall.

  “Oh, for the love of Mother Earth, please be here somewhere.”

  Nobody answered. No toe-curling Italian accent, no drop-dead sexy werewolf, no brown eyes that made me melt, nothing but the cuckoo clock and the steady hum of the refrigerator.

  With the Pluto sheet dragging behind me, I trudged to the recliner, a big hole gaping in my chest. Anger would have been easier.

  Sinking into the recliner and pulling my feet off the chilly floor, I buried my head against my knees. His lonely lost little boy look had done a number on me.

  And I had fallen for it.

  “Stupid, idiot, moron, dumbass.” The damn cuckoo clock laughed at me.

  I grabbed my phone from the bar. Should I call him? Would that be groveling? I did have my pride, though right now I’d trade every shred of it for a call from Lucas. Had I really been that wrong about him?

  The cuckoo clock shrieked from the hall and I couldn’t take it anymore.

  Chapter 22

  Lucas

  My trip to find breakfast had taken longer than expected–however, I had real strawberries and pancakes. Breanna loved strawberries.

  Watching her sleep, holding her, feeling her breath against my arm, all things I never thought possible for somebody like me, a screwed-up werewolf who couldn’t feel pack bonds.

  Boldly affectionate and fearlessly demanding, Breanna had taken me on the ride of my life last night. She wanted me. Me. And I could not live without her. The way it felt to have her arms wrapped around me. I could have lain in that bed forever if my stomach hadn’t roared so loudly she rolled over.

  As I pulled into her drive, a strange sensation crawled up my spine. Uneasiness, sadness, anger. My wolf stirred.

  Breanna. Something was wrong.

  The front door was ajar. My trip had taken almost an hour, and she had been sleeping peacefully when I left. A Pluto sheet pooled on the floor beside the recliner. The cuckoo clock lay in pieces on the hall floor. Picture frames hung crooked on the walls.

  My heart pounded. The only scent was Breanna’s, but she wasn’t here. The doorknob crumbled in my hands as I plowed into the bedroom, yelling for her.

  There were no sounds anywhere, her clothes tossed in the corner just as they had been when I left. The Pluto pillow was across the room. The nightstand lay on its side. Her phone was in three parts by the wall.

  There was no blood, no fresh scent. My wolf surged as I ran room to room, praying she would answer. She didn’t.

  I ran around outside, looking for footprints or any sign of what may have happened. There was nothing out of place other than the slightly open front door. My phone shook as I called Tristyn.

  “Is Breanna there?” Maybe she’d gone looking for me at the guesthouse. Why hadn’t she called?

  “No. Haven’t seen her.”

  “Damn.” My heart jumped to my throat.

  “Luc, what’s wrong?”

  Tristyn listened while I relived the nightmare. By the time we hung up, I was pulling into Galen’s drive. There were lots of cars in the parking area, but Galen’s SUV was missing. The front door opened and Cody McGregor stepped into the light.

  “Good morning, Lu
cas. Come for breakfast?”

  Food was the last thing on my mind. “Is Breanna here?”

  “No.”

  I swiped a hand through my hair. This could not be happening. More wolves spilled from the house and my stomach wretched. My already racing heart tried to beat out of my chest. Now was not the time for a panic attack. I backed toward the Suburban before turning quickly and jerking open the door.

  The smell of musk intensified. “Hey, Lucas?”

  The door handle crunched in my hand. “What?”

  Cody pulled open the passenger side door. “I’ll help you look for Breanna.”

  My wolf surged. “I don’t need any help.” Other werewolves didn’t help me.

  He acted like he didn’t hear me. “I know the area.”

  There wasn’t time to argue and he was more familiar with the area. My gut clenched at the thought of being so close to him inside the Suburban. Sitting as close to the door as I could, I turned the key and waited while he made a phone call.

  “Let’s go,” he said, slamming the door. “She was on base an hour ago.”

  We checked the base. Breanna was gone. Her scent lingered strongest in the training area. The heavy aroma of musk and sweaty bodies kept my wolf on edge. Cody spoke with several werewolves while I talked to the vampires. They remembered seeing her earlier, but had no idea where she may have gone.

  I walked around the base and picked up a faint whiff of strawberries. Getting down on my hands and knees, I followed the scent to a sidewalk leading off base. Satisfied the scent was Breanna’s, I started walking.

  Cody ran across the road and caught up with me. The startled look on his face meant he’d caught her scent also.

  “I got it,” I said with more of a growl than voice.

  “Yeah, but you might need backup if something’s wrong. I’ll go with you.”

  What the hell? “Why?” My wolf surged.

  “Damn, man, I’m just trying to help. Calm your ass down.”

  Help? He was trying to help? Nobody helped me.

  Cody fell into step beside me. “This is the way Breanna walks home. Have you tried calling her?”