Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sneak Peek
Author’s Note
Other books by Kristin Coley:
The Challenge
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
THE CHALLENGE
First edition: August 31, 2018
Copyright © 2018 Kristin Coley
Written by Kristin Coley
The Challenge
Jess Carter wasn't looking for a place to belong when she arrived in Banks, Idaho. It was supposed to be a temporary spot to finish out her last year of high school and bond with her dad.
Meeting Dom changed everything.
Now, the Pack needs her. Dom needs her. And she's figuring out she needs them if they plan to survive what's coming.
A challenge has been issued and if the Pack doesn't respond they'll be seen as weak. With the motel at capacity, they have a lot to lose if the challenge coming their way isn't met. Caleb is struggling, Anna is absent, and Sam refuses to see her brother or father. Can Jess bring them together before the Hanley's finish tearing them apart?
Chapter One
“You’re going to your mother’s. That’s final,” Dad barked, or attempted to bark. My standards had gone up since Dom entered my life. Dad tried to be intimidating but fell short when compared to a giant black wolf.
“No,” I enunciated clearly least he think he’d changed my mind.
“Yes!” He shouted in exasperation. “I’m your father. You have to do what I say.”
I shot him an, “Oh, really?” look and he huffed. “The same way I had to do what Mom said? Come on, Dad. I’m eighteen.”
“I will throw you out,” he threatened, nodding as he pointed at the door. “How you like them apples?”
“Well, it’s a motel.” I braced my hands on the countertop of our small efficiency apartment, the one attached to the motel where we lived and ran the rundown motel my Dad had bought on a whim. “I could just book a room.”
“I won’t rent you a room,” he declared with a sharp nod.
“Well, I could always go stay with Dominic at his place,” I suggested, watching as he blanched. “But that won’t be necessary since I own half the motel.”
He growled and I stuck my tongue out. “I win.”
“Why are you so stubborn?”
“I’m your daughter?”
“Yes, and I want you to be safe.”
“I can’t really think of anywhere safer, Dad.” I glanced at him and seeing his worry, eased up. “The Pack patrols constantly. Most of the time Dom is sleeping outside my window.”
“So long as he stays outside,” Dad interjected, pointing at me.
“Outside,” I repeated. “Plus, Trent is still renting a room and we have more guests than we know what to do with.”
“Women and children,” Dad corrected, concern tightening his expression. “They’re going to come for them eventually.”
“I know and they need our protection,” I reminded him. He wasn’t the only one worried about the sudden influx of guests and how vulnerable they were. I knew Dom was running himself ragged patrolling, and part of it was because his sister was the one who’d led them here.
“I want you to be safe,” he mumbled, giving up the fight as he came and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “And a little distance from your teacher wouldn’t hurt either.”
“He’s not my teacher,” I said in exasperation, elbowing him lightly. “He’s a coach at the school and we keep it completely appropriate.”
Dad shot me a look and I amended, “PG-13.”
He groaned, “Not helping your case.”
“Seriously, Dad, you have nothing to worry about on that front.” For now, I added mentally. His sharp glance gave me a moment’s pause, wondering if he’d suddenly developed the ability to read my thoughts.
I relaxed when he said, “I love you, Bunny.” He squeezed my shoulder and released me. “I have to go finish some paperwork. You going to be okay?”
“Yep, Anna’s coming over in a little while.”
“Alright, you girls stay close, okay?”
I patted his arm, knowing he needed the reassurance. “We will stay on pack lands.” He kissed my forehead and went out the door, and a few seconds later, I heard the office door open. The apartment was next to the office on the bottom floor of the two-story motel, but Dad had intentionally left them separate when he’d remodeled. It was one of the many changes he’d made after he bought it with my college fund. The place retained the retro vibe I loved, but had lost the creepy pay by the hour feel I’d noticed when I’d first moved here.
I flopped backwards on my bed and noticed some long black hairs on my pillowcase.
Dom! Keep your hairy butt off my bed! I shouted mentally. A silent chuckle drifted through my mind and I rolled my eyes.
Marking my territory, he rumbled, and I growled.
Say that to my face, I challenged him, smirking when there was no reply. That’s what I thought, I added in satisfaction.
The sound of my window opening caught my attention in time to see a massive figure slip through it with an ease that suggested he’d done it more than a few times.
I jumped up from the bed but there was nowhere to run, even if I was stupid enough to attempt it.
“Dom,” I said warningly, holding out my hand. He arched one perfectly black eyebrow, waiting. “My Dad is in the office.”
He shook his head, unconcerned. “I can only stay for a minute.” His broad shoulders were bare, only a loose pair of workout shorts keeping him decent. He stepped closer and I backed up, bumping into the bed as he continued to stroll closer. There was no escaping him and I couldn’t stop my shiver as he caged me in. “I’m here to mark my territory, you might say,” he growled low, his sheer size keeping me in place. He was enormous and there was no escaping him once he had you.
He tossed me on the bed and I bounced lightly, my eyes widening as I realized his intent. “NOOOOO,” I cried, trying to wiggle away, but it was useless as his fingers ran along my sides. Giggles erupted from me as I squirmed, but he was merciless.
“Who’s the big bad wolf?” He taunted as I tried to grab his forearm and hold him off. My fingers couldn’t wrap all the way around and I couldn’t budge his arm.
“Uncle.”
“Nope. Who’s territory is this?” He continued to tickle me as I gasped, flopping like a fish. “Hmmm? Who?”
“Dom! It’s your territory, you big bad wolf,” I shouted. “Now, let me go!”
He stopped tickling me, but his hands kept my arms firmly anchored against the bed as he leaned forward. A sharp nip along my jaw had me gasping as he pressed his lips against a particularly sensitive spot on my neck. His mark burned and any attempt at struggling on my part ceased.
“MINE,” he growled again for good measure, shoving himself up in a smooth move as he crossed back to the window. The loose pants did nothing to hide his reaction and I gave him a slow smile.
“Mine,
” I repeated back to him as I sat up, feeling my hair spill across my shoulders. My ponytail must have loosened during our tussle and I knew he didn’t mind as he watched me gather it up.
“Yours,” he agreed, slipping back through the window and disappearing.
A minute later, my door opened and Anna walked in. Her nose wrinkled and she looked at me. “Dom was here?”
“You just missed him,” I answered, pointing to the window. She saw my messy hair and the rumpled bedspread and grimaced.
“Thank God for small favors,” she muttered and I grinned. I felt around for the ponytail holder as I yanked my hair back.
“How’s Caleb?” I asked bluntly, knowing that was why she wanted to come by.
“Overwhelmed, sad, angry, pick an emotion.” She collapsed on my desk chair, her own expression unhappy. “I don’t know how to help him.” She bit her lip. “I don’t know if he wants my help.”
“I imagine Caleb doesn’t know what he wants right now. He just lost his dad.” I gave her a sympathetic glance. “I would lose my mind if something happened to my Dad. Even now, after he just told me I’m going to live with Mom.”
She shot me a panicked glance. “You’re leaving?”
I snorted. “Hell no. Like me living with my Mom would ever happen. I’d move in with Dom first.”
Anna’s eyes widened comically as she glanced at the window and then the bed. “Have you two?” She wiggled her fingers and I shook my head.
“No! Why does everyone assume that?”
“Because it’s the next step,” Anna answered logically. “You’re already partially mated which is basically unheard of. You’ve pushed so many boundaries what’s one more?”
“He’s a teacher at our school?”
“Coach,” Anna said dismissively.
“We’re in the middle of a potential pack war?”
“Okay, I could see why your dad might want to send you away.”
“What about your parents? And Gregory? What are they saying? With Caleb as Alpha?”
Anna rubbed her face, not answering and I sank into the bed, grabbing a pillow. “That bad?”
She nodded, “They want Hank or Dominic.”
“But Caleb…”
“His dad wanted him to be Alpha, but everyone thought that was years away and it would have been fine if that was the case. But it’s not and Caleb isn’t ready.” She jammed her fist in her mouth after she said it, her eyes glossy as she admitted out loud something none of us wanted to say. “Jess, I’m worried.”
“Dom doesn’t want the alpha position,” I rushed to reassure her, knowing it was true. I’d read it enough times in his mind to be confident in my words.
“I know that. I know Hank doesn’t want it either, but it’s more about what the Pack wants.” Dominic’s father, Hank, had been beta of the Pack, essentially the enforcer and for the moment he still was, but everyone knew Dom would take the position eventually. “It’s dividing people and we can’t afford that right now. It’s only a matter of time before they strike at us again.”
“The Hanleys,” I murmured, remembering the massive fight that had taken place in the motel parking lot a couple weeks before. They’d also been responsible for kidnapping me and I had no love for them. Anna was right when she said they’d retaliate. We had their women and children after all.
“Have you talked to Sam?”
I sighed and nodded. “I have but she won’t budge.”
“I can’t believe she doesn’t want to talk to Dom. Their dad, I can understand.” Anna’s eyes met mine as I nodded in agreement. Hank Navarre was roughly the same size as his son, but he’d had years to perfect the intimidating stare. It was all I could do to form words in his presence. I could only imagine how Sam would feel facing her father after all this time.
“I’m still working on her. I know Dom wants to see her and Nicky.”
“He’s adorable,” Anna cried and I nodded. He was Samantha’s son by one of the Hanleys, but there was no mistaking he was a Navarre too. The unusual yellow eyes were a dead giveaway. They were a trait shared by all the Navarre’s I’d met so far.
“I still can’t believe they shot him,” I murmured, my mind still stuck on the fight that had happened right outside of the apartment. The Hanleys had come here to kidnap me back after I’d escaped them. My dad shot the sheriff, who happened to be a Hanley, to save me. The true loss came when someone shot the Navarre Alpha, Caleb’s father, in cold blood.
“It’s not our way,” Anna agreed quietly. “It’s why they couldn’t take the Pack.”
“Take the pack?” I questioned. “What do you mean?”
Anna looked at me in surprise. “I forget how little you know about the Pack way.” I tilted my head, we’d been through this before, I was completely ignorant about Pack life. It was random chance and a dart that brought me to the tiny town of Banks, Idaho, home of a wolf shifter pack, and the place my life had turned upside down. Apparently, I got my shifter genes from my dad, but he didn’t know any more about it than I did since he’d been adopted as a baby. I couldn’t shift into a wolf like Anna and Dom, but I had the right genes that if I mated with a shifter there was a high probability our children would be able to shift. A valuable trait in the shifter world.
“Another wolf can challenge for Alpha,” she continued and my mouth dropped open. “That’s why things have been so tense. Dominic or any wolf in our Pack can challenge Caleb.”
“But Dom protects Caleb,” I reminded her. “And a challenger can’t take the whole pack, right?”
“Wrong. If someone challenges for Alpha and wins, they get the Pack. How do you think the Hanleys wound up like they did?”
“That’s horrible,” I answered, remembering the total control the Alpha exerted over the Hanley pack.
“That’s why its so important to have a strong Alpha. It’s another reason rogue wolves are run off.” I glanced at her curiously. “A wolf without a Pack has nothing to lose. Challenging an Alpha and winning will give him his own Pack.”
“Yeah, but not everyone wants to be Alpha. There would be challenges all the time.”
“You have to win,” Anna stated, her face drawn. “It’s a fight to the death.”
Chapter Two
Her words froze me in place as I considered what she was saying. Caleb was vulnerable at the moment and the Pack was in turmoil. If a challenge came now, he might fall. “What happens if they don’t accept the challenge?”
“You forfeit or,” she hesitated suddenly and my eyes narrowed.
“Or?” I drawled, having a feeling I wasn’t going to like her answer.
“Someone can fight in your place,” she answered slowly. “The same rules apply, but it’s more a proxy fight?”
“Someone like Dom,” I concluded, piecing it together.
“Someone liked Dom,” she echoed as I pressed my lips together. I knew Dom would step into Caleb’s place in a heartbeat if it came to it.
“He….ohhhh. He didn’t say a word,” I snarled, pissed beyond belief.
“There hasn’t been a challenge and there’s no guarantee Dom would accept it on Caleb’s behalf.” I shot her a disbelieving glance and she shrugged. “Okay, so we know he would, but it doesn’t mean Caleb would ask him too.” Worry flickered across her face as she admitted her own fear and I went over to her.
“It seems like we both have things to worry about,” I sighed, knowing I wouldn’t stop Dom, even if I could. He was overprotective, overbearing, and born to keep everyone around him safe. I couldn’t fault him for that. I knew he’d do anything in his power to keep Caleb safe. He was the closest thing Dom had to a younger brother.
“I didn’t mean to worry you,” Anna said softly, her lithe body making me feel clunky as I stood next to her. “Dom – well, he’s Dom.” I nodded, understanding her perfectly. Dom was Dom. There was no getting around it. “I have to go. I told my Mom I would help with dinner.”
I nodded, “I’ll walk you out.”
>
We went out the door and almost bumped into Trent as we turned the corner.
“Whoa, sorry ladies.” He stepped back as we came to a sudden halt. “I wasn’t expecting to run into two beautiful women.” He popped the sucker from his mouth and gave us a charming grin. “Anything I can assist you with?”
“You could move out of our way,” Anna challenged, crossing her arms, completely unimpressed by him. “Why are you still hanging around here anyway?”
His grin dropped as he spun the sucker between his fingers. “Dom asked me to hang around. Keep an eye on the motel and his sister.” He ducked his head so he could meet Anna’s eyes. “Run off any big, bad wolves.”
She gave him a tight smile. “Just as long as you don’t become one of them.” She zagged around him, waving at me as an afterthought as she disappeared into the woods.
“Feisty little she-wolf,” Trent commented, turning back to me once she was out of eyesight. “Don’t see those very often.”
“What? Feisty?” I asked cluelessly.
He gave me a blank stare. “No, wolfy. Females aren’t generally furry.”
“Anna mentioned something about that once.”
“What? That she’s rare?”
“Rare? What do you mean?”
“Female wolves are rare. Especially now. We’re lucky if we see a female that has the right genetics to have shifter pups. You, for example.” He rolled the sucker around his mouth for a second, staring at where she’d disappeared. “She’s something else.”
“No argument here,” I said breezily, dropping the subject. Anna had the right to privacy and I didn’t plan on gossiping about her. “I’m off to see Sam.” I twisted around to go back to the stairs and it took a second to realize he was following me. “Mmm, can I help you?”
He shrugged, “Figured I’d go with you. Keep my promise to Dom to check on her.”
“You could do that any time,” I called after him as he charged up the stairs. He paused at the top, using the railing as a push up bar while he waited for me.
“Nah, she doesn’t really want to see me,” he admitted candidly. “You’re doing me a favor. She won’t slam the door in your face.”
The Challenge (The Pack Book 2) Page 1
