A Gifted Curse (The Cloven Pack Series: Book One)

by D. Fischer

  Rolling her eyes, she starts to mimic my subtle dance moves and shortly after, begins to sing along with me. By the time we pull up to the parking lot of the bar, we are screaming the song out with the radio blaring.

  When I turn down the radio and pull into the parking spot, she turns and smiles. “Man, I needed that. You’re like the sister I never had.”

  “I am sort of a big deal,” I sniff, pretending to be arrogant, which makes her laugh.

  She looks around at our surroundings and frowns. I explain before she questions, “It’s the only place I could get him to agree to meet with me. It was hard as hell just to get ahold of him.”

  “Are we going in?” She makes a move to exit the car.

  “No, he said he would meet us at our car because it’s too loud in there to have a normal conversation. His words, not mine.” I laugh. A responsible adult would ask to meet in a quiet setting. Not at a place he intended to get blind drunk at.

  “He sounds like a douche,” she says.

  I pull out my phone and dial his number. Before he even answers he is making his way out of the bar, ringing phone in hand, and scanning the parking lot. I stick my hand out the door and wave him over.

  Smiling, he jogs over and bends his body down to talk through my window.

  “’Sup, ladies?” He grins wickedly at us.

  I roll my eyes. “Chad, this is Bre, a good friend of mine. Bre, this is Chad, Cassie’s friend.” They both nod at each other. “I’m glad I could catch you. What can you tell me about the night Cassie disappeared?”

  He recites the same story, although he only saw Kenner once. He also said he wasn’t paying much attention to Cassie the entire night like her girlfriends were. Something about lots of hot ass to grab. It makes me want to smack some maturity into him. That probably won’t get me any answers though. Maybe I can smack him after I get the answers.

  “I did see that guy a few nights ago, though.”

  “Oh, yeah? Where at?” Bre asks.

  “Here, at this bar. He was with another girl. I remember because they were all over each other. It was kind of sick. Like seriously, get a room. She was hot, though. Not as hot as you two, but still hot.”

  I can feel Bre’s amusement at this guy. Mentally shrugging, I figure she isn’t getting attention from her intended mate at home and is being assaulted by food from another male. I can see the appeal of being found attractive by a complete stranger. However, I don’t find this amusing at all. I’m not some piece of ass.

  I sigh loudly. “What did the girl look like? Did he leave with her?”

  He shrugs. “She was blond. He didn’t leave with her—she left on her own. After that, my friends showed up and I didn’t see him the rest of the night. We were pretty busy.” He grins from ear to ear. I roll my eyes. Horny young men—it never fails. “You think that guy took Cassie?”

  It’s my turn to shrug. “Not sure. Anything else, Chad?”

  “You two feel like a drink?” He smiles wickedly again.

  I let my head fall as Bre laughs. “No, Chad. No, we don’t. Some of us have men to get back home to.”

  “That’s too bad. If you change your mind, I’ll be here all night.” He winks and takes off back to the bar.

  I shake my head. “Is that guy for real?”

  “Kenner has a girlfriend and is abducting women?” Bre frowns.

  “Sounds like it,” I say.

  I put the car in drive and we head back to the territory. For kicks and giggles, I play Howling Moon by Coleman Hell. Bre and I spend the next few minutes laughing at the irony and howling away.

  Chapter Twelve

  Makenna Goldwin

  When we get back, Bre and I go our separate ways. She takes it upon herself to tell Evo and Ben about Chris’ new girlfriend, while I decide to take a little detour before heading back into the house. I don’t mind one bit that she tells the boys. If Evo is going to get mad, she can calm him down first.

  Once I get to the pond, which is quickly becoming my favorite place, I perch myself against a tree and stare at the water. It was still bright out—goodness knows why Chad was already at the bars. I swear the older you get, the less appealing the phrase ‘it’s five o’clock somewhere’ is.

  I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I know, I feel Evo lean against the tree next to me.

  “I know you’re upset with me, baby,” he says as he grabs my foot and begins massaging it. I am a little surprised that he doesn’t start off with a lecture, but I’m not going to voice that aloud.

  “I am,” I nod.

  “Talk to me.”

  “I see why it’s important that we both don’t go. If Kenner saw us together before we saw him, there’s a good chance he would bolt before we even noticed he was there. He would know exactly why we are there since he saw us together at the interrogation. Not to mention he may be with his new girlfriend, whoever that is.” I shiver at the thought. Who would date this guy? Can’t they feel the insanity rolling off him in waves?

  He nods. “If he saw only me there with the Pack, he would assume it was an outing. He shouldn’t have any idea we are mates, let alone that you’re a part of the Pack. I doubt he even knows you’re a wolf. That took me a long time to figure out. I’m not worried about the girlfriend. It’s of little importance to what we have to do tonight.”

  I arch my stiff back, stretching the muscles. “I get it, I do. But this is my investigation. How am I supposed to just let that go? I was hired to find out what happened to Cassie. I know what happened, but I can’t tell Johanna the truth—that a wolf snatched her granddaughter up and ate her for breakfast. I could, however, catch Kenner and kill him, ensuring that he never does this again. I wouldn’t be able to bring proof to Johanna of what happened to Cassie, but at least I would know that the abductions and murders would come to a stop. I want justice for Cassie and all his other victims, but I want to be the one to deliver it. Asking me to step aside is something I’m having trouble coping with.”

  “As do I. But that’s not all you’re upset about.”

  I glare at him. I don’t want to admit to anything. I don’t have plans to admit to what he is referring to. The man is too damn perceptive which is inconvenient for me at times like this. But as I sit there, glaring at my mate, my wolf urges me forward, wanting me to confide in him.

  I sigh and look away. “If something goes wrong—if something happens and you don’t return to me—I don’t want to live without you. I don’t know if I can.”

  This is true to my deepest level. In such a short amount of time, Evo and the Pack has surrounded my life and soul. If I were suddenly at a loss and lost everything, I would be an empty shell. I don’t think I could survive such a blow, such a loss. This is a life I never knew existed and never knew I wanted. Now that I have it, I will never let it go. And if I lose it … you might as well bury me six feet under because I would be a dead man walking. Or woman. Whatever.

  “I know, baby. That’s why I’m more than content on keeping you here. This world is new to you. The Pack and I … this has been our whole lives. We know how to deal with someone like Kenner. If you were there, I wouldn’t be able to focus right. I need my focus to be on Kenner and not on you. I want to keep you safe … I need to keep you safe. If something happened to you, I wouldn’t live through it, either.” He leans forward and snatches me up, bringing me to settle on his lap facing him, gently kissing me.

  “Promise me something, Evo.”

  “M-hmm.”

  “You know how every story has a hero? And they risk their life for those of others? Don’t be that hero.”

  Evo Johnson

  “Thanks, Kelsey,” I say as she places the food on the table.

  Kenna and I got back from the pond just in time to gather at the dining table to eat with the rest of the Pack. Everyone is staring with wide grins, looking from Kenna to me, and back again.

  While at the pond, Kenna and I
had bared our last fear. It was such a simple little fear—the fear of losing each other just after we found one another. It was a great fear, just the same as it was simple.

  Great, because love is a strong and immeasurable force of nature. Simple, because we know neither one of us can exist without the other, and we are afraid to come to that possible reality. Living in a world where your mate could die is something we didn’t want to admit to ourselves, let alone say out loud.

  I love Kenna, but I didn’t know how much I needed her. Not until the possibility of danger came up did I realize how much I needed her. Kenna feels the same.

  Feeling the need to be close to each other, we had sex one last time before I left for this evening’s events. We both know tonight could go very wrong and just the thought of our mate in danger made us want to be as close as possible. It is never good to gamble when it comes to a Rogue wolf.

  A small part of me hopes we don’t see him tonight. That he crawled in some small hole and is withering away his useless, pathetic little life. That would just be too easy though, wouldn’t it?

  Kenna places her hand over mine when she feels me getting angry through the direction of my thoughts. I turn to my mate and smile, my thoughts turning to what it was like to claim her, instead.

  We both had been moaning while having sex in the grass when an overwhelming urge had overcome me. My wolf was pushing for the surface. Not to take over, but to share the space with me. I’ve never had that feeling before and it was shocking. I can easily call upon his claws and teeth, but it was never anything more than that. It’s either him or me in control. This time wasn’t like that.

  When I opened my eyes, I saw that Kenna’s glowing wolf eyes were on mine, her canines elongated and her claws formed. I knew what that meant, and instinctually, my body began responding the same.

  I had asked her, a little muffled when I tried to talk around my elongated canines, if she knew what was happening. She didn’t, and she had looked a little frightened.

  “It’s the mating, baby. Our wolves are pushing us to claim one another. The mating is progressing. This will be the last step. Are you ready?” I asked, slamming into her.

  I wouldn’t allow the claiming unless it was something she was sure of. I wanted her to be ready to fully accept me and our mating. When she nodded, I had groaned. She was ready to be all mine and it had heightened my arousal.

  We let our instinct take over while I was pounding into her. When that moment hit, my wolf provided direction.

  I lunged forward and bit into her neck, my wolf growling in satisfaction as he shared my space with me, completing his part of the mating.

  She screamed at the pleasure and bite of pain, hitting her orgasm. I could hear her heart beat frantically at the reaction from my wolf’s bite. It was changing her, completing the mating and making us one.

  So fast I had barely caught the movement, she bit into my neck. The pleasure was beyond what I had imagined it to be, filling my body with such a heat. The snap inside my heart was startling and then it began to beat frantically as it matched Kenna’s.

  I could feel a space bloom inside my head that was meant for Kenna. Feeling her very essence there, her current happiness and love for me filled the space. It was a pleasant surprise. I knew she loved me, but to feel it and her contentment with the mating, was reassuring.

  Reaching my climax, I had come inside her so hard that I saw stars behind my eyelids and I desperately fought to stay conscious. Kenna however—I had felt her fall against my chest as she fainted. It is normal for some to faint as the sensation is so overwhelming and powerful in its own right.

  When she catches me staring, she turns and smiles at me from her chair beside mine. I can feel her love for me, just as I can feel the Pack’s excitement that their Alphas have completed the mating.

  For some wolves, it can take months or years, to complete a mating. On a rare occasion, it will only take days. It’s a relief to know that not only does the Pack find joy in our mating, but it hadn’t taken as long as they were expecting—as we all were expecting.

  When we completed the mating, her gift became mine. It was no longer her burden to bear on her own. When an emotion reaches me, it is a strange sensation that sweeps over my skin. It’s something I’m going to have to get used to, but I find it entertaining and interesting. You can really learn a lot about someone by how they are feeling. Gone are the days of dishonesty. I find this new gift intriguing and can’t wait to learn more about how it works. But that isn’t the only thing I find fascinating.

  As I can feel her in her own space inside my mind, I can also feel her heartbeat, and even feel what she was feeling. So much so that I know she is enjoying that bite of lasagna she is chewing. I can almost taste it myself.

  Her heart beat matches my own. When she’s excited and her rate accelerates, mine does as well. If we feed off each other like this, I can’t wait to see what it is like during sex.

  Knowing what I am thinking, or maybe feeling, her smile transforms into a glare. I can feel her annoyance toward me for thinking of sex while we’re eating.

  I lean over and peck my prickly mate, bringing my lips back and seductively licking off the sauce from them. Her eyes glow wolf for a moment as she stops chewing and her lust slams into me.

  I smile at her in triumph. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with my little spitfire. She is so easily provoked. So easily responsive.

  Feeling an odd sensation spread over my skin, I try to place it. It is going to take a while for me to get used to this gift Kenna now shares with me. It isn’t easy placing an emotion with its name.

  Anger, I realize. The feeling is anger. I look over my Pack mates. Flint and Dyson are still grinning like fools at their Alphas and I feel their excitement.

  Looking over at Ben, who is chatting with Kelsey and Jeremy, I feel nothing but anticipation as they go over the dos and don’ts while guarding our territory this evening.

  Moving on to Brenna, I watch as she picks at her plate, stealing glances of Ben. I can feel her jealousy for Kenna and me. It isn’t about us, but for what we have that she doesn’t. I can feel her deep longing for the one she loves.

  I suck in a quiet breath. Of course, she loves Ben. Oh, what a tangled web that’s been weaved. I’m going to have to tuck that away for further investigation.

  Glancing at my mate to see if she knows, I notice that she is actively ignoring the Bre and Ben situation, but I gather that she knows all about it. After all, she’s dealt with this gift her entire life. Her loyalty to my sister is astonishing. Bre and Kenna seem to be getting quite close to each other. To keep that nugget of information to herself shows a great sense of loyalty. Pride wells in my chest for my mate.

  About to lean forward and nuzzle her neck, I stop after noticing her own emotions. She’s annoyed.

  Frowning, I follow her gaze and land on Jazz. She isn’t eating her meal; instead, she is watching the Pack. I can feel Jazz’s anger, though I can’t place the reason for it. I can also feel her anticipation, but again, I can’t place the reason. This gift seems to have its limits, and rightfully so.

  Jazz, Kenna, and I are going to have to sit down and have a discussion. I doubt Kenna, being an Alpha and a Queen Alpha at that, will put up with Jazz’s hostility much longer. At some point, my mate will end up challenging her. As much as I know that is her right, I would hate to see one of our wolves be outcast from our Pack and become Rogue. Not if it can be prevented by a simple conversation to find some sort of understanding.

  Deciding to worry about that later, I tuck that idea beside the conversation I plan to have with Brenna. I need to have a clear head for tonight. These aren’t immediate issues and can be dealt with tomorrow.

  Kenna finishes her drink and sets it back down on the table. I watch as Jazz takes notice, stands from her seat, and walks into the kitchen. She quickly returns with the pitcher of iced tea.

  Frowning, I watch as s
he walks over to Kenna and fills her cup, giving her a smile and a low bow. I can still feel her hatred for Kenna, but I can also feel an odd sensation of relief. These emotions don’t add up to a gesture such as this.

  I can feel Kenna close to snapping at Jazz but refraining from doing so as the entire Pack goes quiet while they watch the two women. Anticipating a spat to unfold between the two at any moment, they have to be just as confused as I am as to why Jazz took it upon herself to refill her Alpha’s cup when we all know Jazz and Kenna despise each other.

  I put my hand at the back of Kenna’s nape to reassure her with my touch and to wordlessly tell her this isn’t the time or place.

  She understands my gesture, straightens her shoulders, and nods in thanks toward Jazz. When Jazz walks away, Kenna takes a sip of her tea and then looks at me, questioning.

  I frown at the kitchen where Jazz has disappeared to.

  I don’t know, baby, I send telepathically, answering her unasked question.

  I have no idea what Jazz is up to. But again, it is something to solve tomorrow. Maybe early in the morning, if Jazz is going to keep pretending to be nice to get on Kenna’s nerves. Jazz has to have no idea she is playing with fire.

  Putting all of this aside, I begin tuning into the Pack’s current conversation.

  “We should have a bonfire before it starts getting cold,” Jeremy suggests.

  “Yes!” Dyson shouts. “I could get out the sound system and bring it to the yard. We could play music and roast marshmallows. We could totally make this a thing. Oh! There’s also a new beer I want to try out, too!”

  “After we take down Chris.” Ben points his fork at Dyson.

  Dyson puts his hand over his heart and fakes hurt for being scolded. “But Dad!”

  Kenna chuckles when Ben frowns. She always finds Flint and Dyson amusing. I’m just used to their immature behavior, so I don’t find their antics as hilarious.