by Abby Blake
Aiden pulled her into his arms. “Relax, sweetheart. It will all work out.”
“I can’t see how.” She was well aware of the fact that she was sulking like a five-year-old denied an ice cream, but she’d felt so hopeful once. If only Cal had stayed put long enough to hear them out.
“Come on, baby girl. Let’s get packed up and go grab some—”
Zeb’s words cut off at the same moment Louise sensed…something. The alarmed emotions that she felt coming off both men had her reaching for her revolver. Somehow she knew whatever was about to come through the door sure as hell wasn’t human. As quickly as she could, Louise reached into the side pocket of her purse, grabbed the specially doctored bullet Andrea had given her, and loaded it into her revolver. She had no idea if hollow-tipped bullets with a drop of mercury would kill any other paranormal creatures besides werewolves, but she wasn’t willing to put her gun away yet.
The door opened with an ominous creaking sound, and then the man stepped through. Although “stepped through” was probably a poor description for the maneuvering the man had to do to get his imposing height and impossibly wide shoulders through the doorway. Despite his size, he seemed to move quite gracefully.
He smiled, holding his hands palms out in a very clear sign that he didn’t mean any harm. “Sorry, I didn’t realize there were wolves in town.” His gaze bounced between Aiden and Zeb before settling on Louise. He smiled that wide smile she knew so well and laughed quietly. “Lou, when did you join the fur club?”
“Um…” It seemed shock had short-circuited her brain. She’d known Brandon Delko her entire life. What she hadn’t known until now was that he was some sort of paranormal creature.
Aiden and Zeb were both still tensed for a fight, but the one thing Louise knew for certain was that Brandon wasn’t here to hurt them. He’d been a peacemaker all his life. She’d never even heard him raise his voice, let alone get into a physical altercation with anyone. That could partially be explained by the man’s sheer size—who’d pick a fight with a mountain?—but mostly because the man was calm, friendly, and relaxed.
“Aiden Leckie,” Aiden said as he stepped forward to offer his hand, “and this is my brother, Zeb.”
“Nice to meet you,” Brandon offered with a smile. “How’d you meet Lou?”
“We were tracking a rogue wolf. When we finally caught up to him Louise managed to get in the way—”
She interrupted with an annoyed “Hey” but eventually let Aiden explain things his way.
“Anyway, long story short, Louise was badly injured and would have died. We couldn’t let her go, so we made her a wolf.”
“Mates?”
“Yup.”
“Both?”
“Yup.”
Brandon chuckled as he stepped over to give Louise a big bear hug. “Congratulations,” he said in her ear but laughed again when they heard two very distinct growls. “I better put you down before your mates tear into my hide.” But he didn’t move to put her down, seeming quite pleased with himself for riling her mates’ possessive urges. “Hey,” he said suddenly, finally letting her stand on her own two feet once more. “What about Cal? Weren’t you two an item?”
“We were,” she answered sadly, trying to control the tears that threatened to fall.
“They will be again, just as soon as we can find the man,” Zeb said confidently. “He’s one of her mates, too.”
“Three mates?” Brandon asked with a barely suppressed laugh. “I always knew it would take more than one man to keep you in line.”
“Hey!” she said again, but there was no heat in her complaint. Brandon had always teased her, and it felt good to know that some things never changed.
“Didn’t I hear a rumor about one of the local business owners running off with three men?”
Louise smiled at the mention of her friend. “That would be Andrea. She’s a wolf now, too.”
“Seriously?” Brandon asked with another laugh. “I really should come into town more often. It seems I miss all the fun stuff.” He smiled again, but then his demeanor changed slightly, and he indicated for Louise to take a seat at her desk. “I actually came to report some suspicious activity over at the Hampton farm. I heard that Belinda and her daughter Becky have moved away, but I wasn’t sure if she’d sold the property or not.”
“She hasn’t and, as far as I know, doesn’t plan to,” Louise told him as anxiety churned her gut. She was very aware of her mates’ tension as they mentally filled in the missing pieces of Brandon’s story. “What have you seen?”
“I was taking a stroll in furry form a couple of hours ago when I noticed several cars heading down the driveway toward the Hampton farmhouse. Well, as you know, bears have a rather curious nature, so I wandered closer to the tree line.”
“You’re a bear? A werebear?”
Brandon nodded, smiling at her startled question. “We prefer bear-shifter, but yes, I’m a black bear, and so are my brothers.”
Louise nodded, biting her tongue against the million questions wanting to escape. If Doug Grayson or some of his pack were on Hampton land, it could be a prelude to disaster, so she needed details.
“Anyway, I stayed and watched for a while. They went in the front door, seemed to search the premises for nearly an hour, and then got back into their cars and left. At the time I thought they were human, but judging by your faces, I’m now assuming they were shifters.”
“You assume correctly,” Zeb said with a low growl in his voice. “They were likely members of our former pack. We don’t have all the details, but somehow Becky Stiles has been erroneously identified as one of the wolves’ mates. The kid is barely fourteen years old, yet apparently they’ve been trying to abduct her for several months now. Her grandfather, Josh Hampton, has been protecting her.”
“Josh Hampton? Didn’t he disappear decades ago?” Brandon must have sensed something in their collective demeanor because he added, “Don’t tell me he’s a wolf, also. What happened? Did the town get overrun by werewolves while I wasn’t looking?”
“Not that I heard of,” Louise answered quietly. “Any more bears I should know about?”
“Only me and my brothers,” Brandon answered with a wry grin, “but there might be some cougar-shifters living nearby. I’ve come across a couple that don’t quite fit the behavioral requirements for them to be wild animals.”
“Cougar-shifters?” Louise asked in a small voice. She was starting to feel just a little bit woozy. How much of the world did she not know about?
“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Aiden said with a soft smile. “All shifter species try to keep a low profile. If humans knew about us…Well, let’s just say, historically, humans don’t react well to things they don’t understand.”
“Understatement,” Zeb added.
“Okay,” Louise said, trying to get her mind back to the problem at hand. Belinda and Becky were safe in the gated community over a hundred miles away, but on her last official day as fill-in sheriff, she really should check over the damage and file a report. Belinda would need it for the insurance claim. “I’m going to head over to the Hampton farm and catalog any damage. I’ll meet you back at my place.”
“Not a chance, baby girl.” Louise rolled her eyes at Zeb’s bossy tone. She also noticed Brandon trying to stifle a laugh.
“How do you expect me to do my job if you won’t let me work?”
“One,” Zeb said as he stalked closer. “You are no longer employed as sheriff’s deputy in this town. Two. This is no ordinary human concern. If Doug Grayson is involved, we are involved. And three. I don’t know how humans deal with danger, but in werewolf society we protect our mate, whether she wants us to or not.”
“That is so sexist!” As annoying as his decree was, she had trouble hiding the small kernel of warmth that curled through her. She was supposed to be an independent woman, well trained in her chosen field, but it felt kind of nice to know they had her back—especially if they were de
aling with a bunch of pissed-off werewolves.
Brandon must have read it in her body language because he couldn’t quite suppress a laugh. “I didn’t think I’d ever live to see the day,” he said in what she’d always thought of his “big-brother voice.”
“Shut up, you,” Louise managed to bite out. Unfortunately, it came out sounding far more indulgent than she’d intended. This falling-in-love stuff was going to take a lot of getting used to. Aiden looked ready to call her on that thought, but Brandon interrupted.
“I’ll go get my brothers. We’ll take a look around the edges of the forest just in case your werewolf friends left anything behind. They spent an awfully long time going through an empty house. Be ready for anything.”
“Agreed,” Louise said before either of her men could interrupt. “We’ll meet you there.”
“Okay. My brothers and I will be in furry form, so do me a favor and don’t shoot.” Louise smiled and nodded. Brandon grinned that mischievous grin she knew so well, turned to leave, but then turned back to add, “Congratulations. Let me know if these guys get out of line.” He winked, and then he was gone.
She felt Zeb bristle at the comment, but Aiden obviously understood it for what it was. “How long have you two known each other?”
“As long as I can remember,” she said as she grabbed her hat, checked her gun, and headed toward the door. “Me, Cal, Brandon, and his brothers, Declan and Jayden, grew up together. Brandon sort of took on a big-brother role for me and Cal.” She laughed happily at a particular memory that slipped into her mind. “Not that he was all that good at it. I lost count of how many pranks we pulled as kids, although, Brandon being a bear-shifter does explain our numerous expeditions for wild honey.”
She smiled as memories of less complicated days wandered through her mind. But then she glanced at the men with her and realized that she wouldn’t change anything about her life—before or after becoming a wolf.
Chapter Eight
Aiden looked around the trashed room. Everything had been smashed. Everything. But the worst part was that it had a rather methodical feel to it. Rather like someone had deliberately broken everything in sight, instead of the emotional outburst such damage would indicate.
“Stay close to me,” he said as Louise went to step through a doorway into another room. She rolled her eyes but moved back toward him.
“Is that urine I can smell?” She wrinkled her nose in disgust, grimacing as he nodded. It didn’t really shock him—he was a wolf after all—but it did seem a little extreme even for his ex-alpha. The most concerning part was that it was a mixture of scents, not just one.
Whatever was going on, it didn’t seem to be the instinctual behavior of an animal marking its territory but rather a deliberate attempt to hide another smell. Panic streaked through him as a theory sped through his mind.
“Get out,” he said to his brother, grabbing Louise’s arm as he rushed at preternatural speed toward the front door and far out into the paddock. Fortunately, Zeb didn’t question him, just followed his order.
Several hundred yards from the house, Zeb and Louise turned to him, waiting for an explanation. “Remember the alpha’s nephew? The one who got kicked out of the Navy SEAL program?” Zeb nodded, and it was obvious that both of them were beginning to understand his reasoning.
“So the urine was to hide the smell of an incendiary device?” Louise asked, looking rather pale.
“I believe so,” he said, glancing around the area, looking for anything that seemed even the slightest bit out of place. “A wolf’s sense of smell is far stronger than a human’s. Zeb and I both know the smell of putty explosives.”
“So why didn’t it go off? I mean, what would be the purpose of setting a trap and not catching us?” Louise asked, obviously running possible scenarios through her mind. “It couldn’t be a timed explosion. They had no idea if or when we’d get here.”
“Which would mean one of two things. Either they left someone behind to set off the explosives, or there aren’t any explosives in the first place.”
“But if they left someone behind…” All three of them searched the surrounding area, straining to see, hear, or smell anything that may be out of place. The scent of bear reached Aiden’s nose about the same time his brother and mate turned in the same direction. Fortunately, the scent matched the man they’d met earlier. The most unexpected part was that the black bear was dragging an unconscious wolf by its tail.
Aiden tried to hide the grimace. As a youngster, he’d once gotten his tail caught on a fence. It had been a very painful experience, and even after he’d shifted back to his human form he’d been unwilling to sit down.
As one, he, Zeb, and Louise moved toward the black bear and its captive. Brandon dropped the wolf as they got closer, bowed his head in acknowledgement, and turned to lumber back into the forest.
“Well hello,” Zeb said, obviously recognizing their old pack mate. “Look what the bear dragged in.”
“He’s unconscious,” Louise said, lifting the wolf’s eyelid to peer at the dull-looking eyeball. “But if I know Brandon, he used only enough force to obtain his goal. This guy will probably wake very soon. When will he change back to human form?”
“Not until he wakes up. Born werewolves remain in one form until we consciously change to the other. One day you’ll have enough control to do the same.”
Louise nodded absently as she glanced around the area. “The cuffs aren’t going to work on a wolf. Maybe Belinda has some rope in the barn.”
“Not necessary,” Aiden assured her quickly. “This guy is young and not really the brightest wolf in the pack. He would only have been following orders. My guess is he’ll spill the whole story as soon as he wakes up.”
* * * *
Louise shook her head in frustration. True to Aiden’s prediction, Terry Haynes, the newest former member of Doug Grayson’s pack, spilled all. Unfortunately, he’d known precious little. He’d been told to wait and watch for Aiden and Zeb and to press the remote control to the explosive device the moment they stepped into the farmhouse. Thankfully, the young man had been accosted by three black bears before he’d been able to follow through on his orders.
The most chilling part was that he’d also been told that nobody left Doug Grayson’s pack and lived to tell the story. The poor young man had been so frightened of the alpha that Louise felt certain he would have pressed that button exactly as ordered if Brandon and his brothers hadn’t intervened.
Yet one more thank-you she owed to her surrogate big brother.
“So now what? Where do we go from here?”
“I’ve dismantled the bomb,” Aiden said quietly, revealing that his training was far wider than she’d first understood. “There’s nothing else we can do here.”
“What about Terry?” Louise asked.
“I’ve spoken to Xavier, and he’s willing to take him in. Terry’s a decent-enough guy, but he’s a follower. Maybe with an alpha like Xavier, he’ll learn to be more independent.” Louise could hear and feel the deep respect that her mate had for Andrea’s husbands and was quickly learning herself just how special the three men really were.
“Okay, so we’ll escort Terry up to Xavier’s pack tonight and then head back here when Cal gets back from his vacation,” Zeb said as he pulled her into his embrace.
Louise nodded, swallowing the lump that always seemed to catch her by surprise. It was awful to be so unsure of her lover’s—she refused to think of him as her ex—feelings toward her. She wanted answers, and she wanted them now.
She was thinking so hard about the man, she could almost feel his presence. It took almost a whole minute to realize she actually could feel his presence. “He’s home,” she exclaimed gleefully. “Well, I mean, he’s on his way home. I can sense his emotions. I can sense…his guilt. What the fuck?”
All the nasty things she’d do to a cheating boyfriend raced through her mind. Zeb and Aiden both tried to stifle their laughs, but it was
n’t until she realized that, in Cal’s mind at least, they’d broken up and he was free to date anyone he liked that the depression slid into her mind.
“Don’t jump to conclusions, baby girl. Let’s just find the man and figure out what’s going on.”
She nodded, biting the inside of her cheek as she tried to convince herself that as long as Cal was happy, she was happy for him.
Now if she could just believe it, she’d be fine.
* * * *
Cal turned onto the main street even though he knew it was unlikely that Louise would still be at the sheriff’s station. A car accident blocking the highway had delayed his homecoming by several hours, and he’d tried to convince himself that everything happened for a reason, even as he cursed the universe for its stupid sense of timing.
His heart did a little excited dance as he imagined he could sense her nearby, but as he pulled out front of the darkened building, all hope fled. Despondent, he was left wondering if she’d already moved out of town or if she, Aiden, and Zeb had chosen to stay one more night and head home tomorrow.
Hell, home for Louise was halfway across the country now.
He was about to turn the truck around and go home to his farm when headlights from a vehicle pulling up behind him blinded him momentarily. The sound of Louise’s voice had him trying to get out of the truck without undoing his seatbelt, even as a little voice inside yelled that he was just imagining what he wanted to hear.
But then she was there, opening his door and climbing onto his lap. She peppered his face with kisses, mumbling words that didn’t quite make sense. Forgive him? For what?
“I missed you, and it doesn’t matter. Whoever she was, it doesn’t matter.”
“What?” he exclaimed, too confused to be angry. “There wasn’t another woman. Not now, not ever.”
Louise gave him that suspicious look he knew so well but had never before been aimed at him. “Then why do you feel guilty?”
