Pack Enforcer (Were Chronicles Book 2)

by Crissy Smith

  Beside her, Tony was keeping pace, and if his happy face was anything to go by he was having as much of a good time as she was. It was just the two of them out there, as it was the middle of the day and most of the Pack were at work or were busy. It was like they had the entire woods just for themselves.

  They ran another mile before Tony paused, blocking her path. Emily looked around, confused. It couldn’t be time to head back yet. Cain wouldn’t be home for another couple of hours.

  Tony batted his head against her side until she lowered herself to the ground. He stood over her with his ears twitching. Emily tried to calm herself so she could concentrate. The run had taken a lot out of her and she was panting. As she breathed, she sniffed the air.

  There was a faint scent of someone she didn’t recognize. The person had been right where she was lying not too long ago. She jumped to her feet in alarm. Tony immediately pushed her back down.

  Okay, he was too strong to fight, and he needed to stay alert. He was keeping his gaze in the direction of where it seemed the scent had disappeared to.

  She whined softly. What were they going to do? Lamont and a couple of guards knew where they were, but there was no telling how long it would take before they realized they hadn’t returned. Plus, she didn’t know what the strange scent meant.

  Another shifter would know by Lamont’s markings that this was Pack territory and they shouldn’t be there.

  A ripple of energy emerged beside her, signaling that Tony was shifting. Once he was crouched down in human form, real fear enveloped her. Tony wouldn’t shift like this if it wasn’t one hundred percent needed.

  “I want you to start heading back toward our clothes. One of the guards should be close to that spot to keep an eye out for us,” he said.

  Emily nodded.

  “I will be right behind you but I want to make sure no one is following,” he added.

  Again, she nodded. It wasn’t like she could argue as a wolf. She whimpered even though she wanted to be strong. Lamont had told her about what had happened to Mindy and she was scared.

  “Hey,” he said, rubbing his hand over the top of her head. “You’re going to be fine. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  She licked his other hand.

  “Okay.” He patted her one last time. “Let’s go.”

  Emily waited until he had changed back into a wolf before she started off in a fast lope. She moved quickly but was also having to be aware of her surroundings. Now that she remembered the area better, she took the most direct route.

  She glanced several times over her shoulder to make sure Tony was there. She couldn’t see or hear him but she just knew that he was there.

  Up ahead, she could see where she’d stashed her clothes. Emily jumped over a thick tree root then stumbled to a stop as a large wolf darted in front of her.

  Emily sniffed but she didn’t recognize this male.

  Growling, she tried to sound as menacing as she could. The strange shifter growled back before he launched himself in her direction.

  * * * *

  After dropping Adam off, Cain drove faster than the speed limit. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. Picking up his cell phone from the middle console, he tried once again to reach Emily.

  It rang four times before he got her voicemail. Dread filled his stomach as he tried his brother. No answer there either. He’d spoken to both only a couple of hours ago but now Cain wished he had insisted that Emily be inside the main house until he got there. Not knowing where she was and if she was safe made him feel like he couldn’t breathe.

  Cain stomped his foot harder on the accelerator, and the car shot forward. Tony had been waiting on him to get there, and Emily had promised to not go anywhere alone. They should be answering their fucking phones.

  He dialed Emily’s number again before tossing the phone on the passenger seat in disgust. Cain took the next turn too sharply and the car skidded. Correcting the vehicle, he took a deep breath and slowed down. Getting himself killed wasn’t going to help either of them.

  His cell phone rang from where he’d thrown it, causing him to swerve again in surprise. The number of the main house showed on the I.D.

  “Emily!” he answered.

  “No, it’s your father. What’s wrong, Cain? I can feel your unease from here.” His father’s voice was soft but sharp, pulling him out of his panic.

  Cain laughed almost hysterically. Why hadn’t he thought of calling the house? Of course his father could sense when he was worried, so why wouldn’t he be able to sense if Tony was in trouble?

  “Cain, are you okay?” his father asked again.

  “Yes. Yes, I’m fine. I couldn’t get a hold of Emily or Tony, and I started to freak out. I didn’t even think of calling you,” he tried to explain.

  His father’s sigh of relief was audible even over the phone. “Emily and Tony are both fine. She was so restless waiting on your return that they went for a run.”

  That made Cain feel better, but he just wanted to be absolutely sure she was okay. “Can you sense them?”

  When his father remained silent, Cain knew he was trying.

  “Yes. Emily is very happy right now, and I believe she is outrunning your brother.”

  Cain could picture Emily in her small limber wolf body running from the bigger black wolf. While his brother was big and powerful, Emily was smaller and faster. She had almost outrun Cain the first time they’d gone out.

  “Thanks. I’m only about thirty minutes away, but I could feel something wasn’t right.” He still had that feeling, but it had lessened. He still felt on edge, just that something wasn’t right.

  “It’s probably just your bond. You’ve been away from her for too long. I’ll have Kyle go tell them you’re almost here.”

  Cain felt a growl try to escape from the back of his throat at the mention of Kyle.

  “Cain.” His name came out as a warning.

  He shook his head to clear his mind. “That would be great. I’ll see you soon.”

  He drove like a madman and actually made it in just under twenty minutes.

  Cain pulled up to the gates and waved to the guard to open up. Antonio waved back as he pressed the button to let him in. Cain looked in his rear-view mirror, still uneasy.

  The drive to the house seemed to take hours even though it was actually less than a few minutes. He had his seat belt off before the car came to a complete stop.

  Lifting his head to the wind, he concentrated on the sounds and smells around him. Then, using the mating bond, he tried to find Emily.

  He could sense her behind the house, still in wolf form. She was only about a mile away. He started to go to the house until another smell reached him. One mixed with hers. He knew that smell. It had been at the meeting. The unusual mixture of pine and sweetness.

  Cain took off running while pulling at his clothes. He shifted as he ran, which was as painful as it could get. Once on his four feet, he could run faster. That didn’t stop the black and grey wolf coming up from behind and passing him. His Alpha. So Lamont could sense the trouble too.

  He sped up and ran after his father into the woods. His ears picked out a loud growl then a whimper. He ran faster, jumping over fallen branches instinctively as he headed in the direction of Emily.

  When he and his father broke through to where the sound of battle was already taking place, he immediately sought Emily.

  His brother, in wolf form, was fighting a larger wolf while another went from snapping at the strange wolf to blocking Emily from it.

  Lamont howled and headed into the fight. The strange wolf threw Cain’s brother off his back and met his father. The sound of impact when Lamont threw himself at the stranger echoed around them.

  Cain ran to Emily to make sure she was okay. She seemed unharmed. Her small frame was hunched down but there was no blood. There were little whimpers coming from her and that did worry him. The wolf guarding her moved aside as Cain appro
ached. Looking in his eyes and smelling him, Cain knew who he was. But if Larry was the wolf protecting Emily, who was his father now fighting? The only reason Larry and the stranger had beaten him there was because he’d had to drop Adam off, but that shouldn’t have given them that much of a head start. If Cain wasn’t sure that Larry had been protecting Emily he would have his fangs buried in Larry’s throat.

  Cain nuzzled Emily’s neck and could have cried himself when she used her small tongue licked his paw. She knew he was there and everything would be okay. He shifted away from her and nodded at Larry. Thankfully Larry understood and moved to stand guard in front of her once again. Next, Cain checked on his brother, who was lying on his side, panting. Tony was injured but alive. He turned to the dark wolf who now stood muzzle to muzzle with his Alpha.

  Lamont darted in and nipped at the dark wolf, making his opponent have to scramble around. Cain waited patiently while Lamont distracted him until the perfect moment. Then he jumped, knocking the dark wolf off its feet, causing him to stumble. The dark wolf tried to regain his footing, but Cain pounced and held him down.

  They rolled, teeth clashing, as they both tried to get the upper hand. Distantly, Cain could hear Emily’s whines and his father taking care of Tony, but he couldn’t look back and give up his attention on the attacker.

  The wolf made a move to get his back legs under Cain. It was just what he had been waiting for. Adjusting his body weight, Cain got a hold of the wolf’s neck. He slammed him down hard once, then again. His sharp canines sank further into the fur until the attacker gave up.

  Going limp, he submitted to Cain.

  Cain remained on alert as other members of his Pack—both in wolf and human forms—joined them. It was Antonio who spoke quietly to Cain, telling him to release his grip. But the wolf inside Cain wouldn’t let him. Instinct told him to rip the wolf’s throat out for endangering his mate. Then his father was there in human form, adding his voice to Antonio’s. But it wasn’t until Emily dropped next to him, human and naked, and placed her hand on his head that he could. She was back in human form and he could smell her fear and relief.

  The betrayal he felt was keeping him from being able to think clearly. He knew the wolf that he held by his powerful jaws.

  This wasn’t some stranger that had just happened to cross paths with their Pack or Emily. The attack against his mate wasn’t random.

  Cain growled and shook his head again just so he could hear his captured prey’s pain. He couldn’t believe this was even happening.

  “Cain.” Emily stroked his shoulders.

  That was what he needed to make the final push at his instincts so he could release his foe. Letting go of the wolf, Cain crawled into her lap and started his own shift back, staring into her eyes the entire time. It hurt—the adrenaline in his body was so strong that he had to force the transformation.

  Once he was back in human form, Emily began to cry and he pulled her into his arms as she shivered and wept. He couldn’t believe how close he’d come to losing her.

  “Is she okay?” Antonio asked as he placed a jacket over her.

  Cain hadn’t even realized she was still naked. He tried to help her get the jacket to cover her body but his hands were trembling. Another pair of hands assisted Emily when he could not. Not only was his body fighting to recover but he could also not believe that the attacker was Brent Simpson. Brent Simpson… what the fuck?

  A man who he knew had been the one responsible for those atrocious attacks on the females. Had he always been evil? When Cain had met him had Brent already had this planned? He’d been so sure a rogue would have been involved in the crimes.

  He turned and glared at the other non-Pack member present.

  “You knew,” he accused Larry. “You followed him here and didn’t tell us!”

  “I had my suspicions,” Larry told him, shrugging. “I wasn’t sure, so I decided to follow him when we left the meeting. There was no reason other than to hide his scent to bathe in that smell. I didn’t know where he was going so I had nothing to tell anyone. By the time I figured out his destination, I couldn’t call since I needed to keep him in sight.”

  Cain was still shaking with rage at the thought of any man putting his hands on his mate. Even though he knew Larry had helped protect Emily, she wouldn’t have needed that protection if Larry had given him a heads-up.

  Emily’s soft hand turned his head toward her. “He saved me, Cain. I was trying to make my way back to my clothes when the other wolf appeared in front of me.”

  Cain tightened his hold on her.

  “He came out of nowhere. One minute he was standing in front of me, and the next, he attacked. Tony tried to get to me but this guy was there faster and he held him off until Tony arrived. I don’t know what would have happened if he hadn’t…”

  “Shh…” Cain ran one hand over the back of her hair, letting the silk fall through his fingers.

  “No, I want to tell you,” she insisted.

  Cain nodded, knowing she needed to get out what had happened.

  “He had me pinned down, and I really thought he was going to kill me. Then, all of a sudden, he was gone. Larry had pulled him off me, and they started fighting. Then Tony ran in and joined the fight.” Tears welled up in her eyes.

  “It’s okay,” Cain said. “I know he saved you. I just have to calm down.”

  “I’m so sorry, Cain. I just wanted to run.”

  “Oh, baby, it’s not your fault.” Cain let her bury her head in his chest as she cried. He looked up and met Larry’s gaze.

  “Thank you.” It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough to him. But this man, who he had suspected of being involved in the attacks, had saved his mate’s life.

  Larry shrugged and half-smiled. “I’m just happy that Brent has been caught and we can all move on and begin to heal.”

  “Why not tell your Alpha?” Lamont asked, walking up and handing Cain Emily’s clothes.

  Larry barked out a laugh. “Things run a little differently in my Pack. If Riker had come into what you had, he would have watched the fight and then offered the winner a job.”

  “Sounds like you need a new Alpha,” Cain commented.

  The shadow that crossed Larry’s face was brief, but Cain had seen it. He wondered if maybe Larry wasn’t as happy in his position as Cain had believed.

  “Maybe I do,” he whispered softly. He looked around the area surrounded with Cain’s family and friends, his face showing a bit of longing. Then he backed away until he blended in with the trees and was gone.

  Cain didn’t stop him and his father only watched him go. They couldn’t really do anything to keep him there and he probably hadn’t gotten permission from Riker to be gone.

  Still, Cain now owed Larry. He hoped he could find a way to help him get away from Riker, if that was what Larry wanted. Cain would come up with a plan.

  * * * *

  “Cain?” Emily rolled over and reached for him as she called out his name. The bed beside her was empty. She sat up and saw him sitting on the end of the bed. “Cain?” She moved up behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her breasts into his back. He hadn’t said much once they’d gotten back inside the main house.

  He’d been so gentle with her as he’d led her to his bathroom and into the shower. He’d washed her with soft strokes until all of the day’s activities had seemed to run down the drain with the water.

  Knowing he needed time to process, she hadn’t pressed him to talk. Instead, she’d taken his hand and they’d fallen into bed, where they’d held each other tight. It seemed he was taking what had happened even harder than she was. But she hadn’t been hurt, at all, and she needed him to overcome the attempted attack. “What’s wrong?”

  “What’s wrong?” He laughed bitterly. “You could have been killed yesterday while I wasn’t even here.”

  Emily sighed and crawled onto his lap. “I could have been killed even if you had been here.”

&nbs
p; He shook his head. “He knew I was with Adam and he could beat me here. He went after you because you’re my mate.”

  Emily understood. “And you blame yourself.”

  “Of course I do.” Guilt laced his words. “He heard me telling someone we were going to mate so he decided to go for you!”

  She placed her hands on either side of his face and made him look at her. “You love me.” When he started to respond, she put her fingers over his lips. “You love me, and you’re afraid that because of that I’ll get hurt.”

  When he didn’t deny it, Emily knew she was right. “But here’s another thing. I love you too. I love you so much that when you’re gone, I find myself going crazy thinking about you.” She placed a soft kiss against his lips as she moved her hand. “There’s always going to be danger, Cain. Whether I’m with you or not. I’d rather know that you’ll always be looking out for me than have you push me away because of it.”

  “That’s just it, though. I’m so selfish that I would rather have you in danger than give you up.”

  Emily smiled, hoping he would understand. “I need to be with you, Cain. Always. I don’t want you to ever give me up.”

  He visibly relaxed and under her bottom his cock started to come to life. She wiggled and nipped his bottom lip. “Seems to me someone is feeling better,” she said as she teased him. She didn’t think she’d ever get tired of the way he responded so quickly for her. It was heady knowing that she was the reason he walked around with a hard-on.

  With strong hands, he cupped her ass and pulled her tighter against him. They hadn’t dressed after the shower earlier so his shaft slid against her clit.

  “I’ll show you just what I’m feeling.” And he kissed her.

  Emily had never known a kiss to be so sweet and promising in her whole life. He drugged her with his caresses and tenderness. She wrapped her arms around his neck before burying her hand in his hair so she could hold on tight.

  Cain broke away, and she tried to follow, not wanting to lose his taste yet.