Wolf Pack Complete Series : Mate (Silver Mountain Wolf Pack), Alpha Bait (Russian Wolf Pack One) and Wild (Russian Wolf Pack Two)

by Zoe Perdita

The little wolf raised an eyebrow. “Not whelp?”

  “No, you’re a full grown man, not a whelp. I should’ve seen it sooner.”

  Wild grinned at that. “You’ll have the rest of your life to make it up to me.”

  Caleb nodded, and silently hoped he got the chance.

  Then Wild slipped through the trees to settle in a different bush, and the white wolf crouched to wait for the hunters and the finale of their game.

  Caleb didn’t remember how he got to the hospital. The doctors and nurses cleaned and stitched his wound at some point, and his mother cried and squeezed his hand. Everything came in quick flashes between his burning fever and the stabbing pain shooting through his body.

  In the back of his mind, he wondered where the wolf was. Whenever Caleb’s eyes fluttered open, he scanned the room for Peter, but the man wasn’t there – only his mom sat by his side. She smiled and told him it would be all right. The doctors were doing everything they could. The rabies shot should work, and he’d be home in no time.

  Angry red marks shot from the bite mark. No matter what the doctors did, Caleb’s fever didn’t drop. He heard them tell his mom one night that there wasn’t anything more they could do. The antibiotics weren’t working – he’d either fight the infection off on his own or he’d die.

  As his mom wiped the tears from her eyes, a hollow pit formed in his stomach. She was this worried about him, and he’d been about to runaway without a goodbye.

  “Sorry, mom,” he said as she settled into the seat next to him.

  “You don’t have anything to be sorry for, Caleb. We’ll get through this. The doctor said you could come home, if you wanted. You’re getting so much better every day.”

  He wondered if she believed the lie, or if she just said it to reassure him. Whatever the reason, he didn’t want to stay in the hospital any longer. Plus, he needed to know what happened to the werewolf – his mate – the man he loved.

  Where was Peter?

  “Yeah, I want to go home.”

  Her face twisted, and she nodded and kissed his hand, the IV pinching as she did.

  Was he really going to die? Peter should know, but why wasn’t the man there?

  Caleb didn’t remember the ride home, but the painful walk up the porch woke him well enough. The chilly air cooled his skin, and he would’ve slumped on the porch bench and let the sweat dry across his flesh, but his mom urged him inside the dark house.

  “I set up the downstairs room for you so we don’t have to bother with the stairs,” she said and led him into the smallest guest room. The bed was made, though a thin layer of dust lay across the dresser.

  After she helped him settle in and brought him a bowl of chicken noodle soup, he finally asked the question turning his stomach inside out.

  “Where’s Peter?”

  His mom blinked at him as she poured a little pile of oyster crackers in his bowl. “Oh, he checked out the day of your accident. I told him I couldn’t care for a guest and my son at the same time. It’s fine. With summer coming we’ll have plenty of people staying here, and you’ll be well enough to help out again.”

  The soup tasted like ash in his mouth. “Is he still in town or did he take off?”

  “How should I know? What happened to him isn’t important, unless he was there when you got attacked. Did he see the dog that bit you?”

  Caleb shook his head, though he wasn’t sure why he kept Peter’s secret when the man abandoned him. That wasn’t fair – his mom kicked the werewolf out. Dammit! Why couldn’t he remember what happened after Peter bit him and killed that other wolf? The only thing that rose to his mind was Peter’s frown and what he’d said.

  “You fool. Look what you’ve done.”

  After that, his memories faded into a blur until he woke at the hospital, but no one mentioned anything about a dead body. In fact, they all thought a dog bit him, not a wolf. It’s not like they’d believe him if he told them a werewolf did it. His mom would think it was a weird fever dream, and the way he felt, like his muscles were cooked noodles, he couldn’t blame her.

  Strange things happened in the days that followed. His fever didn’t clear, but an ache seared his gut, twisting and turning it. His senses seemed sharper as well. Not only could he smell his mother’s cooking every morning, noon and night, but the scent of the flowers blooming outside the closed window came to his nose too – and the neighbor’s cat reeked every time it strutted through their yard.

  Caleb also heard things. The scurrying of a mouse across the living room floor, his mom crying in the bathroom as she took a shower, and the footfalls of people walking down the sidewalk.

  Did this have something to do with the fever or the bite? Dammit! He needed to find Peter and ask him, but if the man really left town –

  No! He wouldn’t go without Caleb. What if he was wrong and the wolf had abandoned him here to die? His skin froze at the thought and he frowned at the white ceiling and tried to formulate a plan to find Peter. Whatever else happened, the man deserved to know the truth.

  Two weeks after he’d been bitten, Caleb made his move. The wound was sore and red as he slipped the T-shirt on and crept toward the window. If he went out the front door, his mom might hear him leave – it was better if she didn’t.

  He slid over the ledge and left the window open a crack before limping off down the street. The moon peaked out from behind a halo of clouds, the night sky a deep bluish-black that twinkled with stars. There weren’t many streetlamps on this side of town, so Caleb didn’t worry about being seen – he worried about finding Peter.

  As he limped toward the beach, he caught a familiar odor in the air – musk with something spicy laced underneath. Peter? How did he know the man’s scent so well? Sure he’d smelled the wolf, but he never recognized the complexity of the fragrance before. What the hell was happening to him?

  He followed the smell, leaning against trees and benches for support, until he stumbled upon the park they’d fooled around in.

  His skin burned when he remembered the taste of the werewolf’s cock throbbing in his mouth, how that same length penetrated his ass so many times after. Why the hell hadn’t the man come to see him?

  A shadow moved toward the parking lot. When Caleb squinted, it sharpened into the wolf he knew so well.

  “Peter!” he said, and cursed how weary his voice sounded.

  The werewolf turned. His teeth glinted and his eyes shone in the darkness, like a cat. “Up and about already? You still don’t look so good.”

  The car he stood next to wasn’t the same car they’d almost escaped in. What was going on? “No, I’m not. You bit me and now I’m. . .” his voice faltered, and he blinked back the stinging behind his eyes. “Why didn’t you come to see me?”

  Peter took a step toward him, his boots crunching on the gravel. “Your mother didn’t tell you? She all but kicked me out when you were injured. I didn’t think I’d be welcome.”

  It made sense, but something turned in Caleb’s stomach all the same. “So? You could’ve sneaked over at night. We’re lovers, right? Mates or whatever.”

  The man’s eyes widened. “You don’t even know what’s happening, do you?”

  Caleb glowered, and wished his damn legs would stop aching so badly, and that the moonlight would stop shining right in his eyes. “You bit me, that’s what! The doctor’s said I’m dying – is that your fault?”

  Peter snorted. “Human doctors would say that. They can’t understand the change that’s taking place. I’m a werewolf, boy. Can’t you figure it out?”

  The young man’s heart slammed in his chest. A werewolf bite. Did that mean – “I’m turning into a wolf?”

  “Ding. Ding. Ding. Give the boy a prize!”

  Caleb shook his head. He was turning into a werewolf! “I thought you had to be born that way.”

  The man shrugged and glanced at the night sky. “Changelings, like you, are an unfortunate circumstance of our kind. The fever is just a symptom. Onc
e you fully transform, it’ll fade.”

  The young man looked at his hands. Every line showed up, even in the dim light. That’s why his senses were sharpening. He was turning into one of them – a wolf just like Peter. It made everything easier. They’d travel the world together.

  “So when are we leaving town?” he asked.

  “What?” Peter said, his eyebrows shooting up.

  Caleb frowned. “We were going to run away together. Right before you bit me!”

  The man actually chuckled, and it sent a cold stab right through Caleb’s heart. “I think that ship has sailed.”

  The young man stared, and shoved his fists into his pockets to hide how badly he shook. “But we’re mates. I – I love you!”

  Peter rolled his eyes. “We were mates before this unfortunate accident happened. Now you’re nothing more than a broken toy.”

  If the world stopped spinning, Caleb wouldn’t notice. “Broken toy? What about wolf’s bait? You said we’d get out of this town together!”

  The werewolf sneered, showing his sharp fangs. “Wolf’s bait? You aren’t wolf’s bait anymore. The change wipes that glorious affliction from your body. You’re nothing more than a typical wolf now, or will be soon enough. I can hardly even smell the old scent on you.”

  Caleb opened his mouth to speak, but his throat closed up. Even with his hands hidden, tremors raked across his body, and his dinner turned in his stomach. Everything between them had been a lie. A game for this bastard. Now that he was no longer fun to play with, Peter was going to run away all on his own and leave Caleb behind.

  “What am I supposed to do?” he whispered.

  Peter shrugged. “Don’t kill anyone in town, I suppose. You’d probably get taken down if you did.”

  “Kill anyone in town?” What the hell was he talking about?

  “Changelings can’t control themselves at first. It’s such a hassle, and I don’t have the patience for it. If you’ll excuse me,” he said and turned back toward the car.

  Caleb wanted to run forward. To say something that would change the man’s mind, but his feet stayed glued to the ground, his heart crumbling to pieces in his chest. It was all a lie –

  Then something flashed through the darkness and lodged in Peter’s back. The man screamed and spun around, hunching and shifting into his wolf shape. A second bolt whizzed toward him and stabbed his side.

  Without thought, Caleb stumbled back and ran. Someone was after them! Someone was trying to kill them! He tripped in the grass but kept his feet upright, and he charged forward as fast as he could go.

  The final swish of a bolt flew through the air as he reached a stand of trees. Peter’s heart, which pounded so loudly only a moment before, dulled to nothing in a manner of seconds. Caleb hated himself for turning around to see the aftermath, but he did.

  The sharp tang of blood stung his nose, and Peter’s human form lay sprawled in the parking lot, three bolts protruding from his body. Blood pooled around each wound.

  Whoever did that was dangerous – more dangerous than a werewolf by far. Bile rose in his throat, but he swallowed it and turned away. As the moon broke through the clouds one more time, a great pain erupted through every nerve.

  He fell. Bones broke and twisted. His body reforming into that of an animal.

  A wolf.

  His senses sharpened. Peter’s blood smelled stronger than ever – and another scent, stingingly metallic with an undercurrent of human, brushed his nose as well.

  Caleb ran away from the man who bit him. He ran from his mother and the town he hated, Peter’s words burning into his mind. He might hurt someone – might kill someone – and that man with the crossbow could be waiting for him.

  He ran and never looked back.

  Chapter 13

  A breeze rustled through the trees and over Wild’s fur. He caught Caleb’s scent on the wind, and squinted through the leaves to catch a glimpse of his mate. No good. The white wolf was too well hidden.

  They’d been out there for hours so far. Crouching in his wolf form was easier than the other option, and he knew Caleb figured the same. When the hunters showed up – if they showed up – he hoped the plan worked. Killing them was a last resort, but he’d do it if they hurt the white wolf again, no matter what Caleb said.

  His hackles rose, and that twisting pit in his stomach lessened as he thought of the man he loved. Caleb claimed him – finally! They were officially mates, and nothing could change that. Not even a stupid rival wolf like Sam or a dangerous pair of hunters.

  And maybe someday the white wolf would love him too, not only as a mate, but also as a man. At least he admitted Wild wasn’t a whelp any longer.

  A branch cracked and his ears perked up. He sniffed and caught the hint of a human on the air – not just any human, one of the hunters!

  Slowly, he rose to his feet as not to upset the bush, and waited. Another step and the leaves crinkled under the hunter’s boots. No matter what the man did, he couldn’t be totally silent with two wolves waiting in ambush for him. Was this the one that shot Caleb or the one who attacked the Eurasian omega? He hoped for the former.

  Wild glanced back and forth, but the man wasn’t in his field of vision. Just a little closer and he’d be in range –

  Snap!

  A scream broke through the forest’s still air, and a group of birds took off from the surrounding trees at the cry. The hunter’s coppery blood reached the little wolf’s nose, and he carefully peeked out of his hiding place.

  Another rustle, and Caleb stepped out of his bush, naked and human.

  The man whimpered on the ground, clutching his leg uselessly. The entire thing was snapped at an unnatural angle – the bone broken. He didn’t notice the white wolf, or even pick up the crossbow he dropped when the trap closed on him.

  “Look what I caught,” Caleb growled as he picked his way toward the hunter.

  The man’s clothes were leather and form fitting, and his plain brown hair was cut short, though it was streaked with gray. He didn’t have any visible scars from the mother bear, but they could be under his shirt.

  “A wolf,” the hunter spat and reached for his weapon.

  The white wolf nudged it away with his foot. “No. I don’t think you’re in any position to use that. You might miss.”

  Sweat beaded across the man’s brow, and his breath came in uneven gasps. Shock – that’s probably what was happening to him. “Kill me, monster.”

  Wild swallowed and held his position. No use letting the hunter know he was out-numbered until they had to.

  Caleb crouched down. “Is that what you want? To die for all the lives you’ve taken?”

  The man’s dark eyes widened in his nondescript face. “That’s exactly what a beast like you would say.”

  The white wolf’s hands trembled, and Wild wondered if his mate would do it – snap the hunter’s neck and leave his body to rot in the woods. Instead, Caleb stood up slowly and shook his head.

  “No. I’m not going to kill you, but you’re not going to hunt anymore wolves.”

  “Fuck you!”

  Wild’s heart slammed in his chest almost as quickly as the hunter’s, though he knew what his mate would do and the man didn’t.

  Caleb picked up a rock and rubbed its smooth edges with his fingers. The man tried to back away, but when he moved his eyes rolled in his head, and he collapsed in a pile of leaves.

  “Looks like the shock got to him,” the white wolf mused.

  Wild still heard the man’s faint heartbeat, and he slipped from the bush as the first bolt flew through the air. It lodged right in the hunter’s chest – the man’s heart stopping suddenly.

  The white wolf spun on his heel and shifted at the same time, and another bolt flew through the trees and brushed his arctic fur.

  Both hunters tracked them here? That’s not what was supposed to happen! Wild moved, slipping around the trees toward the second hunter. If the man focused on Caleb, maybe he wouldn�
��t notice a second wolf. And if the hunter shot his mate –

  The little wolf ran.

  He wouldn’t let that happen.

  He caught the second hunter’s odor. There. In the maple trees, behind the cover of leaves. Wild leapt when he was close enough, catching the man off guard.

  Together, they tumbled out of the tree and hit the ground with a heavy thud. Rolling, they both jumped to their feet. The man, younger than the first hunter, swung his crossbow toward the little wolf, but Wild’s teeth sunk into his shoulder. A strangled cry came out of the man’s mouth, and the sharp point of a bolt pressed right into Wild’s chest.

  The little wolf shifted into a human as the hunter pulled the trigger.

  The metal impaled his shoulder. A sharp stab of pain coursed through his body like lightning, and Wild stumbled back, grabbing at the tip. Pulling it out would make the bleeding worse.

  The hunter’s blood stung his tongue, and he stared at the man’s dark, angry eyes. They burned as the hunter raised the crossbow again, and Wild fell, collapsing in a bush just as the huge white wolf tore at the man. A scream ripped through the air, cut short by the gnarling of his mate and the crack of bones.

  The little wolf tried to sit up but four more wolves descended onto the hunter, blocking him from view.

  In the ruckus, the little wolf couldn’t hear anything but the pounding of his heart, and he blinked the tears from his eyes.

  A branch cracked, and Sam crouched by his side. His face looked a little green. “I think that hunter’s dead. Come on. I can carry you back to the cabin,” the rival wolf said and smiled tightly.

  Wild stared at him, then glanced at the bolt lodged in his shoulder. He tried to lift his arm, but it wouldn’t obey his command, and he frowned.

  “I want my mate.”

  The white wolf rose from the dead hunter’s body, returning to his human shape as he rushed toward the injured wolf. “Wild,” he breathed and wiped the blood from his lips.

  “I can’t move my arm,” the little wolf whimpered as Caleb picked him up. The man was careful not to jar the wound.