Her Hidden Pack (House of Wolves and Magic Book 4)

by Helen Scott

  Finally after I didn’t know how long, I let my breath ease from my lips, and when Denver finally pushed back up into a sitting position, everyone else did the same, which meant that I could leave the footwell. I hadn’t expected to be so stiff as I moved again, but I definitely was. Maybe it was the tension, or maybe it was the hits I’d taken before Denver showed up. I wasn’t sure, but my body was unhappy with me.

  Sitting in Roman’s lap was the only thing keeping me from jumping out of my skin with anxiety, and as we started the car back up and left the parking structure, all of us were watching and no one was trying to make conversation, since we were all too aware that we could be followed.

  Denver wasn’t taking any chances either though, and I knew wherever we were going, he was taking the most circuitous route possible. Finally, he pulled into a motel parking lot.

  I glanced at him, and he mumbled, “This is where I’ve been staying. You’re all welcome to stay here until we can get your shit.”

  “You’re living in a motel?” I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

  “We have a lot to talk about,” Denver said before turning the car off and heading into room number eleven. At least it was my lucky number. That had to mean it wouldn’t be so bad from here on out, right?

  30

  Nina

  We all followed Denver into his hotel room, and I caught the tail end of him picking up clothes that had been dropped on the floor and empty liquor bottles. To say that the situation was awkward would’ve been an understatement. I could still feel the anger and resentment that was rolling off my mates and what may have been remorse coming off Denver. I didn’t know him yet though, so I could’ve been wrong.

  After a few moments of watching him clean, I couldn’t help but ask the question that had been turning around in my brain ever since he showed back up. “What changed your mind?”

  Denver’s shoulders tensed at the sound of my voice. At first, I thought he wasn’t going to respond as he kept his back to me, to all of us, and shoved his clothes into a rucksack. Finally, he sighed, and once his hands were empty of clothes, he turned back to us, pinning me with his dark eyes as he said, “I couldn’t let you die. I could scent the wolves showing up after I walked away, and I knew you stood no chance of making it out of there alive. It was either walk away with your death and the death of all your mates on my conscience, or help you. I chose to help you. I couldn’t just let my mate die.”

  “So did you just change your mind about letting me live or about being my mate in general?” I asked, feeling a little salty still about his rejection. As I spoke, he began gathering up the empty liquor bottles, and I remembered what Skuld had said about him being in pain. Had he just been hungover when she saw him, or was something else going on?

  “About you in general,” he mumbled as he stacked empty liquor bottles in the trash. He looked at me again once he was done, and I couldn’t help but soften a little toward him. The bond was there, forming slowly, thanks to him fighting it, but the longer we stayed around each other, the harder it would be to resist. I hadn’t known it could be like that. I always thought it was how it was with Micah and Roman, but my time with Tate, Blake, and now Denver had shown me that it could be more gradual than being hit by a car.

  I raised my eyebrows at him, silently asking for more, maybe even an explanation. I knew that my mates would stay out of this until I relaxed, and I was definitely not relaxed yet. They knew that this had to be handled by Denver and me, so for now, they just stood like silent sentries around me, which I knew must have been intimidating for Denver. He had to realize that I would never let my mates hurt one another intentionally, and even if he was only just starting to admit it, he was one of my mates.

  “Your little speech actually made it through my drunken haze. I’ve been fighting against the urge to find you again ever since I first saw you, and when Skuld told me who you were and who I was to you, it scared the shit out of me, so I ran. You were right though—it is a fight, and I’ve been making things so much harder on myself than they needed to be. When you were in danger, it was like the last remaining mental block I had finally broke down. I just couldn’t fight anymore, not when I knew you needed me.”

  “Well, thank you. I thought you were reinforcements and that we were all doomed, so to see you pulling up to save us… It was something I’ll never forget.” My brain was spinning from his words, so I wasn’t surprised when one of my mates jumped in, picking up on something I’d missed.

  “What did you mean by seeing her again?” Roman asked with a quiet menace that made a shiver run over my skin. It wasn’t fear though, it was desire. Why did his anger turn me on so much? Well, I supposed it wasn’t just his anger but any time he seemed close to losing control, whether it was with rage or passion. It was intoxicating, much more so than any alcohol.

  I could feel all their gazes shift to me as they picked up on the fact that I was turned on. Fortunately, Denver was choosing to ignore it, or maybe he wasn’t as attuned to me yet as the others, but he started speaking and shifted the attention away from me.

  “I am, or was, a member of the Shadow Pack.”

  I froze, all lusty thoughts vanishing from my head as what he said sunk in. “The Shadow Forest wolves?” I clarified.

  He nodded. “We, uh, saw each other in the woods? I was a wolf.” He ran a hand across the back of his neck and looked at me through lowered eyelashes.

  We stared at each other for a moment, and I tried to understand what he was saying.

  “You’d been sleepwalking or something?”

  The light bulb finally went off in my mind. “That was you?” I couldn’t believe that the wolf that had been trying to scare me off was now one of my mates, though it did seem that the fates had somewhat twisted senses of humor like that.

  “Yeah, I was, uh, curious about you.” The fondness in his voice shifted, and his tone became hard as he continued, “When I realized what was happening, I told my pack, at which point they said I had been infected by you and the human poison, that my magic was going to be drained until I couldn’t shift anymore, and if I wanted to stay, then I had to lead them to you. Which I did because I was scared. That might not be the manliest thing to admit, but I didn’t know you or them, and I didn’t want to lose my family, so I did as they asked. After the fight, I followed you and made sure you got away okay, but when I came back, they knew that I’d thrown the fight and that I’d seen you again, that the bond was already forming between us. They kicked me out, which is why I’m here. I was trying to drink myself out of the bond so I could go home, but I guess now it’s too late.”

  My heart broke for him, and I knew that the grief of losing his pack must have been the pain that Skuld had been sensing. “If it makes you feel any better, Roman and Micah’s pack kicked them out as well.”

  His gaze slipped past me to my two other mates. “They said we were an abomination,” Micah added from behind me, making me wince at the memory.

  “We’ve done nothing but fight ever since. Jax is after me, and as you saw tonight, he’s not giving up any time soon.” I felt like I should come with a warning label, something along the lines of “Psychotic stalker attached.” Suddenly, I couldn’t stay standing any more, and I sat heavily on the edge of the bed. I didn’t know if it was the one Denver was using for sleeping in or if it was just a useful storage space while he figured out what to do with his life, but I didn’t care if I was being honest. We were all exhausted and deserved some rest.

  Denver knelt in front of me and I felt the others tense for a moment, but when I didn’t respond with fear or aggression, they moved around the room, relaxing in their own way. Micah and Roman took the chairs by the small table, while Blake sat on the other bed, and Tate pushed himself up so he was sitting on top of the dresser.

  “Then it sounds like you need one more knight by your side,” Denver said quietly, hesitation staining his words. “If you’ll have me?”

  I reached ou
t and cupped his face, gasping at the electricity that seemed to flow between the two of us from just that simple touch. “Of course I’ll have you. You’re my mate. We belong to one another. I just happen to belong to four other men as well. Can you deal with that?” I asked as my gaze searched his.

  Instead of answering, Denver pushed up slightly on his knees until his lips collided with mine. It wasn’t so fast that I couldn’t have objected if I’d wanted to, but he could certainly move when he wanted to. The rush I’d felt when I touched his face was only the beginning though. The feel of his lips on mine was like going over the edge of a waterfall, a rush of sensations, and I felt the bond snap into place. It wasn’t unbreakable yet, since we hadn’t consummated it fully, but it was there, gleaming in my mind.

  When he pulled away, I couldn’t help but smile at him. The sense of completeness, of power, of security and love was overwhelming. I wanted to fuck him right then and there if I was honest. Now that the bond had formed, the need to strengthen it was almost overwhelming.

  “Do you need us to leave for a while?” Roman asked, dead serious.

  I took a breath to respond, but pain washed over me. It felt like I was being crushed to death and pulled apart at the same time. A scream escaped my lips as I curled into myself, unable to focus on anything else except the sensations that were rippling through my limbs.

  Finding my fifth mate was supposed to be a good thing, not make me feel like I was dying, right? So why did I feel like my world was ending and everything was crashing in on me, crushing me within its grip? As I struggled to get any air into my lungs, everything started going dim around the edges, as though colors were fading from the world and it was narrowing to a pinpoint. I didn’t want to die in a random motel room with no visible attacker. I tried to fight, but the pain only got worse, so much worse, that I couldn’t scream any more, couldn’t make a sound. All I could do was give myself over to the darkness.

  Also By Helen Scott

  Don’t forget to check out Helen’s other series!

  Magical Midlife in Mystic Hollow

  (Cowritten with Lacey Carter Andersen and L.A. Boruff)

  Karma’s Spell

  Karma’s Shift

  Karma’s Spirit - Coming Soon

  Immortal Hunters MC

  (Cowritten with Lacey Carter Andersen)

  Van Helsing Rising

  Van Helsing Damned

  Van Helsing Saved – Coming Soon

  Prisoners of Nightstone

  (Cowritten with May Dawson)

  Potions and Punishments

  Incantations and Inmates

  Curses and Convicts - Coming Soon

  Legends Unleashed

  (Cowritten with Lacey Carter Andersen)

  Don’t Say My Name

  Don’t Cross My Path

  Don’t Touch My Men

  Twisted Fae

  (Cowritten with Lucinda Dark)

  Court of Crimson

  Court of Frost

  Court of Midnight

  The Hollow

  (Cowritten with Ellabee Andrews)

  Survival

  Seduction

  Surrender

  Salsang Chronicles

  (Cowritten with Serena Akeroyd)

  Stained Egos

  Stained Hearts

  Stained Minds

  Stained Bonds

  Stained Souls

  Salsang Chronicles Box Set

  The Wild Hunt

  Daughter of the Hunt

  Challenger of the Hunt

  Champion of the Hunt – Coming Soon

  Cerberus

  Daughter of Persephone

  Daughter of Hades

  Queen of the Underworld

  Cerberus Series Box Set

  Hera’s Gift (A Cerberus Series Novella)

  Wardens of Midnight

  Woman of Midnight (A Wardens of Midnight Novella)

  Sanctuary at Midnight

  The Siren Legacy

  The Oracle (A Siren Legacy Novella)

  The Siren’s Son

  The Siren’s Eyes

  The Siren’s Code

  The Siren’s Heart

  The Banshee (A Siren Legacy Novella)

  The Siren’s Bride

  Fury’s Valentine (A Siren Legacy Novella)

  Standalones, Shared Worlds, and Box Sets

  The Sex Tape (Cowritten with Serena Akeroyd)

  Spin My Gold (Cowritten with Lacey Carter Andersen)

  Buttercup

  Neve

  Acknowledgments

  I would like to thank you most of all, as the reader, for giving me a chance to entertain you and invite you into my world. Thank you so much. I hope you enjoyed it!

  A big thank you to my cover designer, Rebecca Frank, for helping me bring these books to life, and to my editor, Meghan, for making sure that the readers get the best possible version of the book.

  Thank you to my family for helping me pursue my dream and putting up with my wandering mind.

  Last, but not least, thank you to my husband for pushing me to share my stories with the world. Thanks for putting up with me every day, babe. You’re amazing!

  About the Author

  Helen Scott lives in the Chicago area with her wonderful husband and furry, four-legged kids. She spends way too much time with her nose in a book and isn’t sorry about it. When not reading or writing, Helen can be found absorbed in one video game or another or crafting her heart out.

  Thank you for reading!

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  Her Hidden Pack

  House of Wolves and Magic Book Four

  Copyright © 2021 by Helen Scott

  Cover Design © Bewitching Book Covers by Rebecca Frank

  Editing by Bookish Dreams Editing

  All rights reserved.

  This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author, except for the brief use of quotations in a book review.

  This book is intended for adults only. The sexual activities represented in this book are a work of fiction intended for adults. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are used fictitiously by the author. Any resemblance to actual places, events, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.