Pack Ebon Red (The Seven Mates of Zara Wolf Book 1)

by C. M. Stunich

  “Who says they're dead?” I whispered aloud as a terrifying chill swept over me, my eyes lifting up to meet those of a tortoiseshell cat sitting perched on the black metal fence surrounding the property. Her eyes were the same lavender color as the Mother's hair. “Or that they're working alone?”

  I slammed the door of the Yukon and started up the steps of the Hall, all the while knowing and hating the fact that there was a piece of one of my pack members wrapped in plastic and hidden in the Cassidy's backyard shed. I couldn't risk anyone here or at home sniffing it out, and I knew that even if the vampires—or the witches—went to Faith's house, they wouldn't be able to find it.

  Only a werewolf could sniff out something that small with any success.

  'We need to tell the Alpha about this,' Nic said, broadcasting his voice so that only I could hear it. I'd been listening to him repeat this same thing over and over again on the way here. 'This is above your head, Zara. This is way bigger than the Contribution.'

  I ignored Nic and moved inside with Anubis on my right. Both boys were in human form still and thankfully had gotten dressed inside the SUV.

  In the lobby, lounging around in various spots were the other alpha-sons, sitting on crumbling stone steps or trailing fingers through the water of a broken fountain.

  'You smell like witches and fear,' Jax said inside my head, his white and cream paws crossed as he laid like a statue across the top of one of the banquet tables. For now, I ignored him. There'd be no way to hide either the fact that I'd been to see the coven or that I was scared. Disgusted. Pissed off. Anyone that came in contact with me would know right away.

  Too bad I don't have witch hazel, I thought as I realized the food must've been covered in the stuff. Otherwise, I would've known right away that what I held between my fingers was not an innocent square of cheddar cheese. That must also have been how the witches had kept me from picking up any werewolf scent whatsoever while I was there. For all I knew, our missing members were right behind that side door the tank top girl had walked in through.

  I lifted my right hand to my lips and chewed absently at my thumbnail.

  In the distance, a chorus of wolf howls rose like a song into the slowly darkening winter sky. I'm here and I'm alive and I'm with my people, they said, sending another quiet chill down my spine. If I didn't figure this shit out, some of them might not be any of those things for long.

  But if I told Nikolina … she'd organize every wolf within a hundred miles and storm the Triad Historical Society. I knew her too well to believe she'd do anything else. Casualties would be heavy; a war might ensue. We could be going up against other covens, maybe even the local vampire kingdom.

  I understood where Nic was coming from, but I wouldn't let that happen.

  “What's going on?” Montgomery asked, weapons clinking as he caught up to me and matched my stride, his black leather jacket sweeping back behind him. I flicked my purple-black eyes to his green ones, but I didn't know what to say. His mother and father, his grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and little siblings … they were all missing. I had a vision of that little girl he'd dragged into the assembly room with him, chained up while witches cut pieces of her living flesh so they could make a party platter.

  Nausea roiled, but I kept my spine straight and my head held high.

  I was late for my meeting with Pack Violet Shadow.

  “Tell you later,” I whispered, and then I hit the assembly room doors with both palms, Nic and the guys following along behind me.

  “Zara of Ebon Red,” I announced, not sure if the boys should be doing the same. Nic was my guard, so he wasn't required—or permitted—to speak, but as of right that second, the alpha-sons were still technically princes, just as worthy as announcing themselves as I was.

  “Zara Wolf,” Nikolina said, rising naked from her throne to peer down at me as I came into the room. I noticed right away how conspicuously empty it was, populated only with my mother, Majka, their guards, and the Ebon Red Betas—Merliah and Charlene. As soon as I glanced their way, Merliah bared her teeth at me and I bared mine right back. Pack Violet Shadow was nowhere to be seen, but I could smell them—like bergamot oil, lavender, and vanilla. The room was thick with their scent. Apparently I was later than I'd thought. “You stink of witches,” Nikolina snarled with a small scowl, digging her nails into her palm and drawing blood.

  My mother hated witches as much as she hated vampires. Maybe more.

  “I was asking Coven Triad for a favor to assist us in the Contribution,” I stated simply—even though I knew she was already aware of that. I gave her a cool, empty sort of look before glancing away to acknowledge her higher rank within the pack. “I'm sorry for being late.”

  “Mmm.” Nikolina was not happy, her lips tightly pursed as she examined my still sore and healing mouth. In the good old days—as Majka liked to reminisce—a wolf could get hit with a silver bullet, use magic to push it out of her body, and be healed within minutes.

  Now, with magic virtually nonexistent within the packs, it took hours to heal that kind of injury.

  “Where are the packs?” I asked, keeping my shoulders down and my head turned away, an extremely submissive position. I just didn't want to have to stand here while Nikolina schemed ways to put me in my place, assure herself that for now, she was still the Alpha Female of Pack Ebon Red.

  “I sent Violet Shadow to settle in at the guest cottages,” my mother said, referencing the numerous little cabins and cottages that dotted our sixteen thousand acre holding. Once upon a time, it had been a cattle ranch. Now, it was a haven for werewolves. Most of Pack Ebon Red lived directly on the property. “They were not pleased that you neglected to show up and meet their alpha-son.”

  I nodded, but I didn't have anything to say to that. The meeting had taken a lot longer than I'd thought. Afterward, I'd made Nic drive around the city until I felt like I'm calmed down enough to face my mother. And then we'd still had to stop by Faith's to hide the … evidence.

  Nikolina sighed and reached out a hand to lift my chin, forcing me to meet her eyes.

  As she studied me, I wondered if that was genuine concern in her face … or just simple curiosity. For years, I'd wondered whether my mother actually loved me or not. It was a question that was still up for debate.

  “Pack Amber Ash has been delayed,” she told me, tilting her head to the side, nostrils working as she took in my scent. I knew she'd smell evidence that I'd thrown up; I could only hope she didn't figure out why. “I suppose you'll meet them both tomorrow at the ceremony.” Nikolina sighed and released my chin. “It's as it should be anyway. I hope at the very least these extra days have assisted in locating the missing members of Ivory Emerald?”

  The taste of home, searing my tongue, the raw flesh of Ebon Red, pine and honeysuckle.

  My stomach heaved, but I refused to let any evidence of that show on my face.

  “We're making progress,” I told her honestly, and then waited to be dismissed.

  Majka made a huffing sound from her chair at my mother's right.

  'What a useless heir,' she scolded for what was probably the millionth time. 'Can't even bother to show up on time. Maybe you really do deserve all these useless males?'

  I ignored her—as politely and respectfully as I could. I felt tired, drained, overwhelmed. Sick to my stomach. I just wanted to go home and take a shower, listen to Faith complain about Owen, and pretend my life wasn't so fucked-up that I'd had to swallow a piece of werewolf flesh to make a deal—a deal that was probably going to backfire on me anyway. Whatever they could do to sabotage the map, Coven Triad would indeed do.

  “Go home,” Nikolina said finally, waving me away. “We'll likely be here making preparations for the rest of the evening. Will you at least attempt to be on time for your own Pairing?”

  It took a lot of energy for me to answer without sarcasm and an eye roll.

  “Yes, Alpha.”

  “Good. Then take your males and go.”r />
  I made my way toward the doors, past Merliah and Charlene. My mother's betas gave me looks that I really didn't like, as if they were already looking forward to challenging me in the old amphitheater this weekend.

  Once upon a time, it had been used to put on shows for hotel guests that wanted a piece of the untouched West, flocking into the mountains for a little peace and quiet. A lot of famous plays, operas, and symphonies passed through here back in the day. Because the spectacular views from the windows on the second story overlooked the water, it was called The Coyote Creek Theater. In an ironic sort of way, most of Pack Ebon Red simply referred to it as 'Coyote Creek'. Pairing ceremonies were held there, challenges to the alpha or beta positions, general sparring and education for young wolves.

  As far as the coyote part of the equation, most werewolves despised coyote shifters—if they came across them during a hunt, most likely they'd tear them to pieces. That was where the irony of the name came in: our packs' most important rituals took place in an arena named Coyote Creek.

  The two women stared at me with a disrespectful level of intensity until I made it out of the room and around the corner. If I hadn't felt as crappy as I did, I would've put them in their places.

  But that was okay: I'd do exactly that on Saturday.

  The two betas had been my mother's underlings for as long as I could remember, an all-female breeding pair that wasn't as rare as you might think. Although traditionally, males and females each had their own distinct lines of hierarchy and dominance in the packs, forming heterosexual pairs to take the place of alphas or betas, there were plenty of same-sex couples, too—especially nowadays—although our people had never cared to seek out or abuse anyone on the basis of sexual orientation. Same-sex couples either used donated sperm or surrogates to make their own pups—or they sought the help of witches and used spells to make their own children together. In the past, before breeding had been so wildly encouraged, almost mandated, nobody had cared if they had their own litters or not. The whole pack took care of the alphas' and betas' litters—regardless of their own status.

  “They're gunning for you,” Nic told me with a grim face, and I nodded. They were—and so were a lot of other people. During the Pairing, I'd have to fend off not only my own sisters, but any other female that thought she had what it took to be Alpha, my mother's betas—and Nikolina herself. At the end of the Pairing—the end of the twelve month cycle—whatever male I picked as my mate would have to do the same, fight off other males.

  “I know,” I said with a tight press of my lips, listening to the four sets of footsteps following along behind me. Four of the six males I'd be living with, fighting with, sleeping with for the next year. I shivered and breathed out a long sigh. “But that's tomorrow's problem. Right now, I just need a shower, some dinner, and some sleep.”

  Nic nodded, but I knew he was thinking the same thing I was: tonight … was our last night together.

  The shower water was hot enough to burn, but I didn't care. I washed my hair and scrubbed my skin until it hurt, brushed my teeth until my gums bled—and spent several minutes just leaning against the wall with my eyes closed, trying to make sense of everything.

  When I got out, I was disappointed to find that Faith was already asleep, curled up on my bed with her phone clutched in her hand, a soft smile on her face. I stool there for a moment and watched her sleeping before reaching down and carefully extracting the cell. Since I already knew her password, it was easy to get in and check her messages. There was one from her dad, letting her know that he'd be back on Saturday, but nothing from Faith's mom.

  I squeezed the phone a little tighter, knowing I had to get down to the bottom of Diya's disappearance and involvement with the vampires, regardless of their connection to the missing pack members. Something in my gut told me however that they were just as involved as Coven Triad—Jax and I had both smelt Ebon Red mixed with that vampire scent on the road after all.

  I navigated over to Faith's text conversation with Owen, feeling slightly guilty for spying on her, but knowing that this could literally be a life and death scenario for my friend.

  Miss you baby, see you on Saturday was the last thing she'd sent him. Owen had yet to reply, but scrolling up, I noticed that although they'd gotten into a small argument, Faith had remained tough and upheld her end of the deal not to meet with him until Saturday.

  Thank God.

  I set the phone on my nightstand and turned off the lights, padding across the hall to Nic's room. The other alpha-sons each had their own guest room to use for the night, but tomorrow … we'd all be moving into the Pairing House together, a large cabin on pack property where all alpha-heirs stayed during the yearlong ritual.

  I didn't bother to knock, pushing open the door to find Nic seated at his desk, laptop open next to him, an old tome sitting in his lap, and the map weighted down at the corners with a can of soda, a half-eaten granola bar, and two pairs of rolled socks.

  A small smile lit my lips as I closed the door behind me and locked it.

  At the sound of the lock, he lifted his head up, dark red hair bleeding across his forehead as he chewed on the end of a pencil and watched me carefully.

  “You're not going to tell Nikolina anything, are you?”

  “Not unless I've got a for sure lead that requires the full power of the pack.”

  He sighed and let his lids slide shut, closing the leather-bound tome with a loud snap.

  “I can't believe I won't be there to see you through this. There's just … so much to this whole thing. Zara, if this is a conspiracy between the witches and the vampires, we're going to have a hard time fighting back.”

  “Not if it's just one coven and one kingdom,” I said, thinking of how much stronger our people would stand united. Instead of a thousand small, scattered packs littering the continent, we'd make up a single force, a super pack. I couldn't see any of the other Numinous (non-human, non-animal species) doing the same—the witches, the vampires, the fae, any of the various races of demon. They didn't have this need for closeness, for bonding, for Pack, built into their DNA.

  Nic set the tome aside and before I could stop myself, I was sitting in his lap, putting my arms around his neck. All the places our skin touched … set me on fire.

  “Zara—” he started to protest, but I leaned forward and hovered my mouth over his lips, silencing him with my breaths, warm air feathering across his skin. Nic settled his hands on my hips, fingers digging gently into my navy blue satin pj's.

  For several minutes, we just sat there like that, almost kissing but not quite. Our breaths mingled, and his tasted so sweet, so much like honeysuckle in summer that I wanted to just die right there, collapse in his arms with his last floral scented breath hovering in my lungs.

  God.

  I knew my duties—I wanted to perform them, I was the White Wolf for fuck's sake—but … I needed Nicoli Hallett in my life, too. There had to be some way for me to get him into the Pairing. I knew I'd never be allowed to choose him at the end of it; the other packs might decide to buck the alliance if two Ebon Red Alphas held the throne, so to speak.

  One more year together wasn't too much to ask though, was it?

  “I love you,” I told him firmly, because I did. I had for years and it was now … or never.

  “Zara,” he whispered, eyes sliding shut like his lids were just too damn heavy to hold up. “You know I love you, too. I always have. Always.”

  While his eyes were still closed, I did the impossible. I did the forbidden.

  I closed the distance between us and kissed his hot mouth, took it with my own.

  Claws shifted involuntarily from Nic's fingers, cutting into my pajamas, digging into my skin. The pain was sharp and immediate, putting this violent edge on the moment, perfuming the air with the bright copper scent of blood. If we were caught by someone like Nikolina or Majka, Charlene or Merliah, they would try to kill him.

  And I knew without a single doubt that
I would defend him with my life—even if it meant killing one of my own.

  Desire bloomed between us like a rose, satiny red petals unfolding, silken and sensual. But underneath it all, were thorns.

  I parted Nic's lips with my tongue and curled my fingers around his shoulders, my own claws dipping into his flesh. He groaned with both pleasure and pain, helping me shift my body so that I was straddling his jeans, teasing the hard bulge beneath the denim with the wild heat between my thighs.

  I should stop, I thought, but the day had been such an awful mess, a nightmare really, and the delicious sweetness of Nic's lips banished any residual memories of the Crone's parting gift from my mouth. All I could taste, see, smell, hear, touch was Nic Hallett, my bodyguard, my friend, my male.

  He had to be mine. Had to.

  If I took him now, then there was nothing anyone could do. Werewolves mated for life. Once a mate had been chosen, there was no breaking up or getting divorced. The only way for a wolf to select a new mate was if their current lover died or lost in a battle for an alpha or beta position. And in the latter case, most wolves simply chose to abandon their position or join/form a new pack with their current mate. With the exception of (very rare) Pairing ceremonies like mine, werewolves did not often sleep with one more than one other werewolf.

  Nic … I could claim him right here, right now.

  I dropped my hands to the buttons on my top and started to undo them.

  “Zara, no,” Nic growled, his voice more wolf than human. “If we go any further, they'll know. They'll all know.”

  Panting, I stared down at him, at the same aubergine eyes that I had, and I knew without a doubt that he was right. Even with just this level of kissing and touching, we risked other wolves smelling our mingled scents. If we had sex of any kind, there would be absolutely no denying it. I could scrub my skin until it bled and I wouldn't be able to get Nic's smell off of me.

  I continued undoing the buttons until I reached the hem of the shirt and Nic … it was like his hands were possessed, sliding the dark blue satin off my shoulders and letting it fall to the floor. With each panting breath, my chest rose and fell, breasts bare and exposed to his gaze. It might seem logical to think that after literally hundreds, maybe thousands, of times seeing each other nude, that it would be impossible to turn a simple act of nakedness into an erotic act.