by Celia Kyle
“Depends who you ask.” She tried for flippant and uncaring, but she wasn’t sure she accomplished her goal. And by not sure she meant she definitely didn’t.
The stranger ambled closer, his progress slow, but no less deadly. He neared her, less than ten feet separating them, and he breathed deeply before releasing it with a rapid gust. His fight, his rage fled with the exhale. Oh, the menace still clung to him, but it no longer roiled and hunted for a victim. It was as if he banked all that violence with the single action.
“You’re Zoey’s little pet.”
“Pet?”
“Come inside. She’s been waiting for you.” With that order, he spun on his heel and traveled toward her house only to pause when he hit the steps. He glanced at her and frowned. “Come inside. She’s waiting.”
The words were filled with a stronger wolf’s demand.
“Who the hell are you?” She reached for Ebenezer, the dog’s snarls now nothing more than rumbles. She stroked her pup, taking comfort in the smooth fur beneath her fingers.
Hate-lined joy filled the man, bursting from him and nearly bowling her over. “I’m your father’s worst nightmare.” He stomped up the steps until he stood on the porch. “And Zoey’s brother.”
She rejoiced at his first statement and overflowed with happiness at his second. Okay, it was fear-tinged happiness, but she still smiled.
Kira leaned down to pat Ebenezer’s side, soothing the dog. “C’mon, Ebie. Zoey’s inside and you met the wolves, huh? Maybe someone has a cub to play with.”
The male snorted. “A pup playing with a dog.”
A growling male stepped from the house and his scent told her Bates came to her rescue. “That dog has helped Zoey’s little pet more times than either female can recount. He is welcome at any wolf’s table including my own.”
“What the hell did you do to my pack?” The stranger spat and Kira realized the man before her was Reid Bennett, Zoey’s supposed brother and male who’d been banished and taken into custody by the werebear Southeast Itan.
Yeah, staring down an Alpha as strong as Reid probably hadn’t been her best idea.
The two males locked in a silent fight for dominance and it was Reid who relented first, leaving Kira and Bates as he stomped into the house.
“You okay?”
“Huh?” Kira shook her head, tearing her attention from the back door. “Oh, yeah, I’m good. He’s meaner than Alpha Asshole, but not by much.”
Okay, by a lot, but she wasn’t about to release that truth and reveal her fear. Then again, the man could smell both the size of her terror and her lie.
He was nice enough not to comment.
“Come on in. Your house is overflowing with pack and you’ll see more than a few wolves, but Zoey said you’re used to that.”
Kira nodded. Most of her old pack simply ignored her and went along with their wolfy business, uncaring of her presence when they shifted. She wished all of them had ignored her.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
She climbed to the porch and waited for him to step aside, to either enter her house or give her room to pass. Instead, he stared down at her and for the second time in ten minutes, she locked eyes with an alpha. Maybe that’d been her problem all along. Being unable to see meant she never truly engaged in a visual dominance fight. How could she stare down a male she couldn’t truly see?
“Thank you for caring for her.” His voice was hoarse.
“What? I didn’t…”
“You did. She said you saved her. She would have…” He shook his head.
Kira traced the worst of the wounds she’d sustained over the years, the deep gash between her breasts that ran from the top curve of her breast straight down to her belly button. If they’d waited even another minute, another five minutes… It would have been over for her.
“I didn’t do anything she hasn’t done for me a million times over.” Kira gave him a sad smile. “You don’t know what you have with her. She’s strong as hell and more vicious than you can imagine when it comes to people she loves. Don’t let yesterday fool you. I don’t have the story, but knowing Zoey, it took at least three shifter males to tie her down. It wasn’t just my brother who did that.”
His pure, unadulterated fury poured into her and she forced herself to remain standing. “Five.” A hint of pride joined the scents of his anger. “It took five plus your brother to hold her and do that.”
Kira nodded. “There you go. There’s no one stronger than Zoey.”
“There’s you.”
She adopted a rueful smile. “We’ll have to agree to disagree on that one.”
Ebenezer whined, nudging her hand, and she tasted the air. Bacon. “All right, pup. We’ll see if the wolves will share,” she murmured.
“That, we can handle. Most of them will be in the kitchen and I’m sure someone will give him a few slices.”
Kira padded past him and into her house. The place was filled with new scents, but beneath them all lurked hers mixed with a bit of Isaac’s. Home. It smelled like home and it made her realize that it wasn’t a place that made her happy, comfy and safe. It was Isaac. He was home.
Which had her thoughts whirling and wondering and… she’d have to talk with him later. Yes, she’d wanted to find a home outside Alpha Asshole’s reach, one where she could be safe, but that didn’t mean it had to be Grayslake. With Isaac at her side, she could be safe anywhere. Maybe their final decision last night wasn’t so final.
The moment they entered the house, Ebenezer trotted toward the kitchen and at the same moment, someone yelled for Bates. The wolf left her with a murmur, telling her Zoey was upstairs.
The wolves in the house barely gave her a glance. She got a delicate sniff from one or two who were shifted, but overall, she was ignored. Which was good since, as much as she wanted to be comfortable around them, she couldn’t. Knowing they weren’t her old pack and knowing they weren’t her old pack, were two very different things.
Kira padded down the narrow hallway between the kitchen and entryway. Regardless of her familiarity with the house, she kept her hand trailing over the wall to her right. She brushed her fingertips over the thinning wallpaper and along the trim surrounding the small door that led to the crawlspace beneath the stairs.
She continued on her path, nearing the bottom of the steps.
Of course, like any other time when she had someone other than Isaac or Zoey with her, she tripped. It could have been something as simple as a discarded pile of clothing, an errant shoe, or the stepstool. Again.
Regardless, she went sprawling, knees colliding with the worn wood, heel of her hands striking the ground as she fought to catch herself. At least this time she didn’t snap a finger or gouge the hell out of her shin.
Not the stepstool, then. Yippee.
A low snort came from her right, followed by a laugh covered by a cough.
Ass. Holes.
With a groan, she pushed to her knees and took a moment to get the throbbing pain under control.
The rapid patter of feet on the floor above her told her Zoey was coming even before her voice echoed down the stairs. “Kira?”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“On the floor,” the speaker snorted.
And then Zoey was there. The Zoey who’d gotten into more fights than Kira could count. To Kira, it was annoying. To anyone else who wasn’t used to her friend going from zero to “I will gut you with a spoon” in under two seconds, it was scary as hell.
“Excuse the fuck outta me?” Even a foot shorter than the male, Zoey seemed to loom over him. “I didn’t just hear that, did I?” Zoey stepped forward and the wolf stumbled back. “I didn’t hear my best friend, my sister, trip on something because you people can’t follow a simple goddamned direction. Did I?”
“Uh… Alpha…”
“Because I’m pretty goddamned certain I told everyone to put their shit back where they got it and if it was clothing, they damned sure weren’t going to
leave it in the middle of the goddamned floor.” Zoey was big on damn. “And I also said I’d tear apart any wolf who didn’t do as I asked because I didn’t want Kira to get hurt. You know, Kira, the woman whose house you’re standing in? The woman who saved me yesterday?”
“She’s prey, Alpha.”
Zoey’s rage slammed through Kira and she knew things weren’t going to end well unless she could calm her friend. She opened her mouth to speak, to do something to diffuse the situation, but another voice overrode hers.
One that told Kira things just went from bad to a fuck-ton of worse.
Isaac responded to the wolf’s pronouncement that she was prey. “And so are you.”
Then snarls, grumbles, grunts, and growls filled the air a split-second before the unmistakable sound of shattering glass reached her. Dammit.
Kira flopped to her back, waiting for someone to finally realize she still lay on the ground. Really, she was waiting for Isaac to remember her. It didn’t take him long. Shortly after he finished breaking things with someone’s body, his face filled her vision.
“Hey.” She smiled. She was pretty sure he frowned. “Did you throw a wolf through my window?”
That was the only conclusion she could draw.
“Just a little one.”
“A little wolf or a little window?”
Isaac shrugged. “Big wolf, small window. He has a few nice cuts now.” He reached for her. “Lemme help you up.”
“Aren’t you going to do something about the bleeding wolf?” She raised her eyebrows and got another shrug in response.
“Yeah. I’ll make sure he rinses off the front porch. Blood really stains.”
“Isaac,” she sighed.
“He was an ass. Now he will be less of an ass. At least to you.”
The power of both Reid and Bates slapped her and then the two massive males were there. And then she saw nothing but Isaac’s back.
Kira sighed. Men.
*
Women. Isaac growled.
He’d allowed her to go to her house and then she was to come right back to him. He’d even allowed for an extra five minutes because she’d probably want to visit with Zoey for a moment. He knew Bates wouldn’t allow even Kira to keep Zoey from resting for very long. So when she still hadn’t returned after what he believed was an appropriate amount of time, he’d gone hunting.
Frustration was his companion as he stomped from his yard to Kira’s. That’d quickly blossomed to annoyance when he found a handful of wolves feeding Ebenezer strip after strip of bacon. Did they have to sleep with the farting dog? No. The answer was no.
The annoyance transformed to anger and worry when he scented Reid. Isaac accepted that the male would be allowed to come back to Grayslake to see Zoey, and he had no doubt males loyal to the Southeast Itan lurked nearby, but he didn’t like the alpha so close to Kira.
Then he’d heard her stumble, her flesh striking the ground, and worry filled him. Until a fucker chuckled. It was low, almost silent, but there.
Zoey got to the wolf first, ranting at him, but it was Isaac who took out the dirty laundry.
Now, hands a tiny bit scratched, but still ready to tear into any other males who pissed him off, he faced the two alphas.
“Bates,” he tipped his head at the interim alpha, but didn’t take his gaze from Reid.
The crazy alpha had done enough to their clan, to Isaac’s family, and he wasn’t about to let the male harm Kira.
Prey or not, she was his and he’d tear apart anyone who forgot that fact.
“Isaac.” Bates’s voice was smooth. “Will the wolf live?”
Isaac shrugged. “I suppose.”
Zoey’s voice boomed through the house. “As long as your mate doesn’t kill him.”
Kira cleared her throat. “Just an FYI, that’s a possibility. Since she doesn’t have to worry about me because I have Isaac… Did I mention she’s a balls to the wall kind of girl? I’m pretty sure I did, but just in case. Yeah, she is.”
With a curse, Bates stomped toward the living room, only to stop short before leaving them entirely.
“You can’t kill him.” Him meaning Reid. Dammit.
The alpha gave Isaac that warning before disappearing. His low tones were offset by Zoey’s rising voice, but Isaac was sure the alpha would win through whatever means necessary. Zoey and Bates weren’t mated yet, but with the scents of arousal surrounding the male… Isaac didn’t think it’d be much longer.
Isaac faced off against Reid, staring down the wolf. Because no matter what, a wolf wasn’t much against a bear. Well, as long as the wolf fought fair and didn’t ambush a bear or hold a gun to his opponent’s head.
Like Reid did to Keen and Trista.
Pussy bastard.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “How long are you staying?”
The wolf mirrored Isaac’s stance. “As long as Terrence and Ty allow.”
So, he’d leave by the afternoon, then.
Reid wasn’t done. “Part of my sentence is to make peace with Keen and Trista.” The wolf smiled, albeit ruefully. “Funny how I’m tied to those two, huh? Trista’s asshole father fucked with my life and now I’m tied to him through her.”
Isaac furrowed his brow. “How are you supposed to make peace? You almost killed them, Reid. I’m surprised Terrence let you off your leash.”
Reid chuckled. “I wanted Trista’s family to disappear because of what her father did to mine.”
Isaac nodded. Trista’s father had repeatedly beaten and raped Reid’s mother before dropping her across the wolf’s territory line. There’d been a message carved into the female’s skin. The story haunted Isaac’s mind and part of him recognized Reid’s desire for blood.
“I tried to end their line. Funny how God fucks with you, man.” Reid shook his head.
“What are you talking about?”
Reid took a step back and leaned against the wall, giving Isaac a moment to really look at the deadly wolf. Lines of fatigue and worry were etched into his skin, making the male look older than his thirty-four years. “If I want to end the hyena alpha’s line, I gotta kill his kids, right? Destroy any lingering evidence of his life.”
Isaac growled and Kira pushed closer, reminding him of his need to care for her. He did not like hearing about the wolf wishing for anyone’s death.
He froze and shoved the echoing sound down. He couldn’t protect her in this house of wolves if he went after Reid. He’d bide his time.
“I’m not going after Trista, Isaac. Or anyone else in your family. I’ve already given up on revenge. Fucking Terrence is making me do this kumbayah bullshit. Your clan is safe from me. Hell, I feel like the man has my balls in a glass jar. Turned me into a pussy. Talking about my feelings and shit.”
Isaac would have laughed at the dominant male’s words if he hadn’t wanted to avoid a fight. “The point is, had I succeeded, had I continued, I would have had to go after another of Heath Scott’s bastards.” Reid sighed and stared past Isaac, gaze directed at the living room. “I’d have gone after my own half-sister.” The wolf closed his eyes with a sigh. “Life has a way of fucking with you, huh? God damned bastard fathered Zoey. He… My mother…”
Truth lived in those words. A truth that had him following the threads and coming up with a convoluted family tree and more questions than answers.
“In a way, that makes Trista your sister, too.” Kira’s soft, timid voice broke through the silence and the words had Reid stiffening a bare moment before he relaxed once again.
“Yeah, yeah it does.”
“How’d it happen? How’d…”
How’d the wolf’s mother give birth to Zoey and no one knew?
Reid shrugged. “I can only assume my father made Zoey disappear. My mother obviously carried her to term, but I know the kind of bastard my father was. He let Mom carry her but wouldn’t let her keep the baby. Sometimes I’m glad the old bastard is dead.”
“That’s…” Isaac
shook his head, having a hard time wrapping his mind around the concept.
If something similar happened to Kira, would he do the same? He’d like to say no, but to condemn a child to the type of pack that’d hurt Kira so badly… he couldn’t do it.
“What’s next then? That pack is so fucked. Plus it’s tied into Redby and even Grayslake.”
Reid shrugged. “They die.”
That was the alpha Isaac remembered.
“You can’t kill an entire pack,” Kira snapped, stepping behind him before he could stop her.
The wolf snorted. “Of course I can.”
Isaac believed the male.
“You…” Kira’s attention shifted to him, then Reid, and back again. “He can’t mean to go after Alpha Asshole.”
“I’m pretty sure he does.” Isaac grinned at his mate. Her shock was kinda cute.
“But… He’s just one…”
Reid’s chuckle was filled with menace. “Sweetheart, while every other baby was fed milk, I was raised on blood and pain. A few wolves aren’t much.”
“You can’t take on the whole pack.” She tried again and Isaac draped an arm across her shoulders, giving her arm a reassuring squeeze.
“Not the whole pack. I think a few will probably run. I’ll let Terrence’s men take them out.”
“Terrence?” Isaac quirked his brow.
“Yeah, the regional alpha is less than thrilled with me. Told Terrence that he could kill me or let me into a werebear clan; I wasn’t staying with any wolf pack and I wasn’t allowed to go lone wolf. I’m ‘unstable.’ So I’m officially a bear now. When I can stop trying to kill his guards and merely make ‘em bleed a little, he wants to give me a werebear clan.” Reid shrugged. “Can you believe that? Wolf leading bears? It’s bullshit, but I’m still breathing. So what the fuck ever.”
Apparently Kira wasn’t done. “How can you take on a whole pack? You had that woman with you and you still lost against Keen and Trista. There are a lot of wolves.”
Isaac tightened his hold, ready to shove his mate behind him. He really needed to talk with her about how she should converse with crazies.
