Things had been going well for us since we had come to Hollow Crest, probably too well. Finding the old firehouse for sale at a price we could afford, acquiring it mostly furnished, and getting startup cash from our sponsors had all gone too smoothly. I should have known that trouble was just around the corner, and trouble had just arrived in the form of a strange female. The females of our kind were rare, and there weren’t many packs out there that would willingly give one up. If there was a female here, then there were males around too.
“The breeze is coming from that direction,” I told Wyatt with our pack bond. “She has to be that way.”
He started forward but I grabbed his shoulder and spoke out loud. “This could be a trap.”
He scoffed. “It’s not a trap, we both know there aren’t any packs around here.”
I tightened my grip. “What pack do you know would let a female wander into a strange town by herself?”
He gave me a reluctant nod. “True.”
I pulled out my phone to text Corey and Kannon. If someone was setting a trap for us then I wanted all of us alert and together. Whatever trouble was coming our way, we were going to face it head-on and as a team.
It was only a few minutes later when Kannon jogged up to us with a scowling Corey in tow. I explained the situation quickly with our bond. Kannon looked surprised and curious, but Corey’s scowl never budged.
“You wanna split up?” Kannon asked me with an eager look on his face.
Kannon was the youngest of our group and had an irritatingly idealistic outlook on life. If we let him loose, he would bound around the town like a happy pup looking for a new playmate. Wyatt and I exchanged glances, we needed to keep a close eye on Kannon.
“Stay in sight of each other at all times,” I cautioned them. “We need to cover both sides of the street to track the scent, but I want everyone to stay close.”
I met each of their eyes until I got a nod of agreement. Not surprisingly, Corey took the longest to agree. He had been a pain in my ass even more than usual since we decided to move here and try to build a new life together. After the battle that had costed us our pack, he had grown quiet and withdrawn and not even his twin could reach him. His silence had turned to bitterness and he had started to act out. I kept hoping that it was just a phase he would grow out of once we settled into our new life, but the stress of starting over was making things worse, not better.
Corey and Kannon crossed to the other side of the street while Wyatt stayed with me. It was usually best to keep the twins separated these days, otherwise they would clash. Wyatt had been sympathetic to his twin at first but had grown more frustrated with Corey’s often risky behavior. While Corey was irresponsible and unpredictable, Wyatt was steady and reliable. He had a mind for business and was the driving force behind Four Guys Auto.
I kept my eyes open and tried to focus on finding that scent again. We were lucky that the breeze had been moving in our direction, otherwise it would have been the female that got our scent. Or had it been on purpose? The scent of a female wolf was the one thing that was guaranteed to catch the attention of any male. Even if she wasn’t in heat, it would be almost impossible for a male to ignore the presence of a new female on his territory and just keep walking.
I tried to convince myself that I was only following this scent because I wanted to get to the bottom of what was going on, but deep down I knew that wasn’t quite true. I was following this scent because I wanted it to lead to a young unmated female. I tried to tell myself that it was just biology, and I was better than that. I would keep a cool head and investigate this rationally.
The breeze picked up again and I caught a hint of that faint scent again. I waved for the guys to follow me up the street. The scent lead us to the park in the town square and I stopped when I caught sight of her. She was sitting on a park bench, eating an ice cream cone, and watching the people shopping around the town square. I didn’t want to get too close and alert her to our presence just yet.
All four of us gathered on the other side of a large tree that would block her view of us if she happened to turn around. Thank god the oaks in this town were hundreds of years old and monstrously large. The twins elbowed each other and were shooting heated glares that meant an eruption was close. I stepped between them and pushed Wyatt as far from his brother as he could go while still remaining behind the tree.
I couldn’t see her face from this angle, but she had curly brown hair with gold highlights that glimmered under the sun. Her limbs were lean and toned with a healthy glow that meant she spent enough time outdoors to get a tan. She was wearing a simple t-shirt and shorts along with converse sneakers, which I hoped meant that she was down to earth and reasonable. I scowled at my own thoughts. What did it matter if she was down to earth or a raging bitch? We were just following her to see who she was with.
The female hopped up from the bench and all four of us huddled closer behind the tree. Luckily, she never looked back to see us and the breeze kept moving in our direction so that she couldn’t scent us. We watched as she crossed the town square, but she hesitated to look across the street and around the corner. That was the direction of our newly purchased, soon to be garage. Was she looking for us? Or was she looking at something else that just happened to be in that direction?
I narrowed my eyes. I didn’t believe in coincidences, chances were that she was up to something. But what?
We had moved out here in the middle of nowhere, at least an hour’s drive from the very edge of the closest pack’s territory. There would be no reason for another pack to target us, unless she was part of a band of lone wolves, looking for trouble. Was her job to lure us in while the males waited to attack?
“Follow in her general direction, but stay back,” I told the others with our bond. If she was looking for us at the fire house, then she didn’t know that we were right behind her. Now that we had her scent, we should be able to follow her without a problem, even if we lost sight of her.
The female took her time walking along the street and eating her ice cream as if she didn’t have a care in the world. I used the opportunity to examine her more closely. As far as lures went, she was a pretty one. Her t-shirt and shorts were snug enough to show that she had plenty of curves in all the right places, but I looked closer at the back of her shirt. It had the logo of the ice cream shop across town on it. Was she a local girl?
She disappeared inside of the YMCA and the four of us regrouped to strategize.
“She looks terrifying,” Corey said sarcastically. “So glad you called us here for an emergency stalking, oh wise one.”
Wyatt rolled his eyes. “It’s not her we have to worry about, idiot. It’s whoever she’s with.”
Corey shrugged, but at least he looked like he was thinking it through.
“She’s wearing a uniform,” Kannon pointed out. “So she works here and probably lives here.”
“So our intelligence was wrong?” Corey asked cautiously. “There’s a pack around here?”
I shook my head. “There’s no pack around here. If we weren’t helping out at the school, we would have been driven out by them. They were very clear that we were the only wolves around.”
There was silence in our little group. None of us liked adhering to the school’s rules, but what better place to hide? No other wolves would want to come near here.
“Two of you, go circle around the back. Make sure she doesn’t slip out while we are gossiping like a group of old ladies.”
Corey and Kannon shrugged and walked away while Wyatt and I stayed in place. A middle-aged couple walked along the sidewalk in our direction so I pasted a smile on my face. I hated the personal interactions that were necessary to run a business, that was more of Wyatt’s wheelhouse. But I would do anything to make this venture succeed. Hopefully once the business got started, I could stay in the garage with the cars while Wyatt schmoozed the customers. For now, I just tried my best to be friendly. “Hello, lovely day isn’t it
?”
Lovely day? What was wrong with me?
Their suspicious looks faded and they gave us pleasant greetings in return. “You’re the young men with the new garage, aren’t you?” the man asked us curiously.
“Why, yes we are,” I said with a smile that I hoped looked more genuine than forced. We might as well multitask while we were waiting out here and keep trying to promote our business.
“We’re having a grand opening special in two weeks. You should stop by and check it out.” Wyatt handed him a flyer with a friendly grin. “We do oil changes, repairs, and detailing.” Wyatt was much better at this than I was, he could schmooze with just about anyone.
“Impressive. I’m Roger Reaven,” he said as he held out his hand. “And my wife, Alice. I own the ice cream shop in town.”
“Grayson Lowry,” I replied, giving him a firm handshake. “I think we met the new girl that works at your shop earlier today.” I was gambling that she was new in town, we hadn’t run across a female wolf when we did our research before moving here.
His wife gave him an irritated glance when his eyes lit up. “Yes, Lori. She’s one of the girls from Hollow Crest Prep.”
I held back a snort. She was most definitely not one of the girls from that school. Our kind would never be welcome in those hallowed halls. My instincts about her were right: she was up to something. It seemed crazy to claim to be going to Hollow Crest prep, though. Didn’t she know what would happen to her if they caught on?
Wyatt introduced himself to them and we made small talk for a couple of minutes. Well, Wyatt made small talk and I just tried not to come off as an asshole. Lori seemed to be a sore subject for Alice so we didn’t ask about her again. One of us would have to catch Roger alone to get the full story about her.
“Us guys have a town business meeting the first Friday of every month,” Roger offered. “I’ll talk with the others and see if I can get you an invite, I think you would fit in just fine.”
Wyatt thanked him and I murmured my appreciation, but then caught sight of Lori coming out of the Y. Time to wrap this up. “Sounds good, we’ll be sure to stop by your shop pretty often. The weather this week has been hot.”
“Speaking of hot,” Alice interrupted. “We really should be going if we want to have dinner on time tonight.” Alice seemed almost as determined to get away from this conversation as I was.
Roger looked irritated but allowed his wife to pull him away. As soon as they were out of sight, I put all of my focus back on the mysterious female. She had lost the uniform, and instead put on frayed jean shorts and a top that looked too large for her. The whole outfit looked like it had seen better days.
My interest only grew as we followed her to the edge of town and she disappeared into the woods.
“You think she has a place out there?” Kannon asked with a frown when he and Corey caught up to us.
“She must,” Wyatt murmured. “It’s too hot out right now to think about going for a run.”
I nodded in agreement. “We know where she works and we have an idea of where to look for her home. Let’s leave it alone for now and come back to search the woods later tonight.”
Corey scowled. “Why? Let’s just wait for her to go back to work and talk to her then.”
The rest of us looked at him in surprise.
“What? She won’t be able to run from us without getting fired from her job.”
I frowned. “Or she can play the helpless female and say that we were harassing her. No. We talk to her in private so that we can ask her about the other wolves.”
“And if it’s a setup?” Corey asked. “What if the woods are rigged with traps? What if there’s a bunch of males out there waiting for us to venture in after the female?”
“If we catch the scent of any males, we immediately back off,” I told him. I wasn’t willing to risk our fresh start here with petty fights over a female.
“What if it’s a test?” Kannon asked quietly.
Everyone turned to him. “We’re the only wolves allowed out here, so what if they want to see if we’ll report her? Testing our loyalty?”
There was silence as we all considered his words. Hollow Crest University had recruited us for a reason and had bankrolled our new life in return for part-time servitude to them. But the powers that be at the university would not be happy to hear about lone wolves or an encroaching pack in the area. But were they aware of it? Were they setting us up for a test?
“And what if she’s just an innocent female and we put her in harm’s way?” I asked him. It was bad enough that I had made a deal with the school for us, I didn’t want to bring anyone else into this.
“What if we pass the test by reporting her and they let us keep her?” Kannon asked eagerly.
I rolled my eyes. “She’s a person, not one of your collectible dolls to play with.”
“They were action figures, and I haven’t played with them since I was a pup,” he said heatedly. “I just meant that she could be ours to protect, I didn’t mean…”
Corey rolled his eyes. “We all know what you meant.”
Kannon was the youngest of us and we had sheltered him from a lot while he was growing up. While some guys would have meant that comment as something perverted, he was honestly hoping to find a female to treasure. Kannon didn’t understand that finding a mate wasn’t in the cards for any of us.
“Whatever. You shouldn’t be talking about females that way,” Corey said irritably. “They’re nothing but trouble, you can’t put them on a pedestal like that.”
Kannon looked hurt, but he should have gotten used to Corey’s new asshole attitude by now. It had been months since Corey acted like a decent wolf.
I sighed. “We’ll investigate tonight. If she’s out there alone and is completely clueless, she could be in danger.”
Corey rolled his eyes. “She’s not in danger, she’s fine.”
“Either way, we’ll get our answer tonight.” We headed back towards the firehouse. There was still plenty of work to do before we were ready to open our doors to the public. And Lori was one problem that we didn’t need added to our already full plate.
Chapter 6
Lori
I blinked sleepily from where I had been dozing in my snug little den. The first couple times I had tried to sleep outside on my own while on the run, I had been terrified. I had slept under the stars in my wolf form before, but never alone. There were always several wolves standing watch as we slept, and it had always been on protected pack lands. And knowing that my entire pack could be out there looking for me, maybe even just a step behind, was enough to ensure that I never fell completely into a deep sleep. I was always on edge and ready to run at a moment’s notice.
Squeezing myself into this mini cave made me feel a little safer without having anyone to guard my back. If anyone wanted to come after me, they would have to come through the small opening in front of me. And if anyone so much as stuck a finger in here, I would be able to bite it off.
The bad part of being in a small den like this was that I was also trapped. There was only one way out and I was vulnerable while I wiggled out of the small opening. I hesitated with just my nose sticking out to take in the environment before making my exit, but I couldn’t hear or smell anything threatening. After a couple minutes of listening I decided it was safe to make my exit.
I wormed my way free and stretched before shaking out my coat. After a big yawn, I trotted towards the river for a nice cool drink of water and to clean the rest of my tears off my face and muzzle. Less than twenty feet away from my den, I froze. There was the very distinct scent of males here in this area. I sniffed around carefully, my heart beating faster. Should I go back to my den to hide? Should I make a run for it? Should I try to find safety somewhere in town?
The decision was made for me when a large brown wolf walked out in front of me. I panicked and tried to run in the opposite direction, only to find my way blocked by a grey wolf. Two other wolves came
in on my left and right, boxing me in completely.
I didn’t recognize any of these wolves; they weren’t from my pack. I gave a low growl and laid my ears back, letting them know that I was definitely not going to be easy prey. The big brown wolf widened his stance and stared me down, waiting for me to submit. I kept my eyes on his, unwilling to be the one to look away first.
The brown wolf to my left with the cream markings gave a yip to get my attention before going down in a play bow and giving his tail a wag. I blinked in surprise, not sure how to react to that. The big brown wolf in front of me looked satisfied that I had been the one to break eye contact with him.
I narrowed my eyes at him. That did not count; I was distracted! If anything, he looked even more smug when I glared at him. He shifted into his human form and I was pissed off that I had to look up at him now.
“Shift into your human form so we can talk,” he ordered.
I lashed my tail back and forth and growled at him. I wasn’t going to take orders from him, they were on my territory. I glanced at his playful friend, who merely perked his ears up at my attention. He wagged his tail hopefully, but I ignored him for now. He didn’t seem like a threat, but I wasn’t sure about the other two. They were both grey with black markings, and neither of them looked pleased to see me. They both watched me warily, looking poised to strike if I made a wrong move.
My heart started pounding in fear as they started to circle around me, keeping me trapped in between the four of them. I growled and snapped at them to back off, but one of the grays took that as a challenge and lunged at me. The big one in his human form yelled at him to stand down, but the damage was done.
I was in full panic mode now and memories of the night my mother died flooded back. Suddenly I was back in that clearing, being surrounded by wolves that meant me harm, wolves that wanted to murder me along with my mother. I snarled and pawed at the ground as the three wolves closed in on me.
New Beginnings: Hollow Crest Wolf Pack Book 1 Page 4
