In the Company of Wolves

by Paige Tyler

  Screaming, he threw up his hands to protect himself. “Jayna, please. I’m begging you!”

  Jayna hesitated. But all it took was one quick glance at Megan, crumpled motionless on the ground a few feet away, to remind her who she was dealing with.

  Growling, she glared down at the werewolf who used to be her alpha. Now, he was nothing to her. The rage that filled her at what he’d done to her pack was almost too much to control. “Alphas never beg—ever. Isn’t that what you told me?”

  Liam’s lips curled into a snarl, his eyes glowing. He took another swipe at her face, aiming for her eyes this time. She knocked his hand away, hearing bones break as she did. Liam howled and went at her with his other hand, going for her throat.

  Jayna hated the idea of killing Liam, even after everything he’d done, but Megan needed her too much for Jayna to mess around with him anymore. Lifting her hand, she raked her claws across his neck, feeling them dig in deep. Then she was rolling off him before he even stopped breathing, leaping to her best friend’s side at the same time Eric reached them.

  Megan’s eyes were closed and Jayna had to put her ear to her friend’s chest to hear if her heart was still beating. It was, but very faintly.

  She looked at Eric to ask what to do and saw him pulling Kostandin’s big knife out of his own chest while he dialed his cell phone. He was bleeding from what looked like a dozen wounds too, and his face looked a mess.

  “Oh God, you’re hurt!” she cried, wanting to pull him into her arms but terrified of leaving Megan’s side.

  “I’m fine,” he assured her as he tossed the blood-covered blade on the ground, then put the phone to his ear. “Keep talking to her. Help will be here any second. She needs to know you’re here.”

  Jayna leaned over and grabbed Megan’s hand, whispering in her friend’s ear that help was on the way while keeping one eye on Eric. How the hell could he be okay after getting shot up like that and stabbed almost all the way through his chest?

  She blinked back tears. She couldn’t lose Eric. Or Megan.

  Not now. Not ever.

  * * *

  Jayna was kneeling beside Megan, holding her hand, Eric by her side, when Trey and Alex slid to the ground beside them. Jayna wasn’t sure how long it had been since she’d killed Liam—maybe a minute or two—but it felt like a lifetime. Since then, she’d sat there holding her friend’s hand and counting every beat of Megan’s heart.

  Eric took Jayna’s free hand and held it tightly. “She’ll be okay.”

  Jayna wasn’t quite as sure, but she nodded anyway.

  Trey immediately got an oxygen mask on Megan, while Alex ripped open her shirt and injected her with some kind of shot that made her heart beat stronger.

  Alex carefully rolled her over to check her back, then gave Trey a pointed look. “No exit wound.”

  Panic gripped Jayna. “Is that bad? Is she going to die?”

  Alex’s face was glum. “I don’t know. An alpha’s body won’t start the healing process while there’s foreign material in the wound. If she were an alpha, we’d be going in for the bullet fragments, but with a beta, I don’t know what to do. I’m not sure what would be harder on her—leaving the bullet in or the shock of taking it out.”

  “Take it out,” a calm, commanding voice ordered from behind them.

  Jayna looked over her shoulder to see Sergeant Dixon standing there, concern on his face. The rest of Eric’s pack was gathered around too, but kept their distance. They looked just as worried as their commander.

  Moe and Chris ran up then. Ethan and Kathryn followed behind, helping support Joseph. Blood ran freely down one leg of his jeans.

  Could this get any worse?

  “Take out the bullet,” Dixon repeated. “She’s a beta, but the same rule applies. The bleeding won’t stop until you get it out.”

  The SWAT medics exchanged looks, like they really weren’t sure about this, but after a moment, Alex reached into his bag for a pair of long forceps and gently eased it into the wound above Megan’s bra. Jayna didn’t want to watch, but she couldn’t look away. She knew Alex was being extra careful because he didn’t want to cause additional damage, but it was all she could do not to shout at him to hurry up.

  “Heart rate is dropping,” Trey announced urgently. “Get the bullet and get out of there before she goes into cardiac arrest.”

  Jayna squeezed Megan’s hand. “Hang on, Megan.”

  Suddenly, Dixon was down on one knee on Jayna’s other side. “Keep talking to her. You’re her alpha. If you tell her to fight, she’ll fight. But you have to be calm and you have to project confidence. She needs to feel your strength. Be the alpha she needs you to be.”

  Jayna wasn’t sure she could do that. She looked at Dixon. Up close, he didn’t seem as scary as before. “You’re an alpha. Can’t you do it?”

  Dixon shook his head. “I’m an alpha but not her alpha. It has to be you.”

  Jayna looked down at Megan again. The bullet wound was bleeding even more now, and her face was pale and pinched.

  “We’re losing her,” Trey said sharply.

  The tears Jayna had been holding back ran down her cheeks.

  Eric squeezed Jayna’s hand, placing his other one on her back and making gentle circular motions. “You can do this, Jayna. You’re stronger than you think.”

  Jayna looked into his eyes, amazed at the confidence she saw there. She swallowed hard. If Eric believed in her, she would believe in herself. He hadn’t been wrong about her yet.

  She glanced at Moe, Chris, and Joseph to see them regarding her with that same confidence.

  She took a deep breath and turned back to Megan. “Hold on, Megan. Just a little longer, okay? Alex is almost done taking out the bullet. And when it’s out, the pain will be gone and everything will be all better.”

  She waited for Megan to squeeze her hand, to give her some indication that she was listening, but her hand lay limply in Jayna’s.

  “We’ll stay together and be a pack, Megan—you, Moe, Chris, Joseph, and me,” Jayna promised, fighting back another rush of tears. “We’re going to stay here in Dallas, and we’re going to find an amazing place to live. Big enough for all of us—Eric too if he wants. You’re going to have a room all to yourself, and my room will be right beside yours. We’ll put Joseph in the room farthest away. I know his snoring keeps you awake at night.”

  Beside her, Eric smiled.

  Jayna kept talking even after Alex had the bullet out and Trey announced that Megan was getting stronger by the second. Jayna had so many things to say that she couldn’t stop talking. Jayna told Megan how important she was to the pack and to her especially.

  When Jayna stopped to a take a breath, she realized that both Eric and Megan were looking at her with tears in their eyes and smiles on their faces. Everyone else, including Moe, Chris, and Joseph, had moved away, giving them privacy.

  “Wow,” Megan said softly. “I don’t think I’ve heard you talk that much since I’ve known you. When you get going, you don’t stop, do you?”

  Jayna bent and kissed her on the forehead. “I guess I don’t.”

  “We’re really going to stay here in Dallas, right?” Megan asked. “You weren’t just saying that, were you?”

  Jayna glanced at Eric to see him grinning at her, even though he looked like complete hell. He was still bleeding from nearly every part of his body. But he looked happy.

  “We’re staying if Eric still wants me to,” she said softly.

  He leaned close to kiss her. “Of course I want you to stay. I love you, remember?”

  Jayna smiled. “That’s good because I never want to leave. It took me a while to figure it out. I had a little help from my friends.” She glanced at Megan. “But I finally realized that I love you too. So much it scares the hell out of me. But I’m ready to face that fear and be with you—to be The One for you. Because you’re The One for me.”

  He kissed her again. “Good. And before you even say anythi
ng, I know you and your pack are a package deal. And I’m okay with that.”

  “Does that mean you’re okay living with us too?” she asked. “Joseph really does snore a lot. And Chris listens to the most godawful country music.”

  Eric chuckled. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  Jayna felt the weight of the world lift from her shoulders. Loving her was one thing. Loving her pack was another. She was glad Eric was up for the challenge.

  She pulled him in for another kiss, but Megan interrupted.

  “Guys, maybe that should wait until Trey and Alex get a look at Eric. He’s bleeding all over me.”

  Chapter 16

  “You guys throw these things year-round, even when the weather is this cold?” Jayna asked as she and Eric cuddled together on one of the picnic benches at the SWAT compound, watching Cooper work the grill.

  “Year-round,” Trey answered from beside Max on one of the other nearby benches. Alex was sitting opposite them, devouring a burger. “If it gets really cold, we move most of the party inside. Except for the grill, of course. Whoever’s cooking gets stuck outside for most of the day.”

  Jayna shook her head. Yep, these SWAT guys were officially crazy. It had to be fifty degrees out here and most of them were in shorts and T-shirts. Heck, Cooper wasn’t even wearing a shirt as he stood over the grill flipping chicken and ribs. But she had to admit, while he might be crazy, the man knew how to cook. The food was amazing! And watching Cooper run around with his shirt off didn’t make her complain either. She was totally and insanely in love with Eric, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate a fine specimen of manliness when she had the chance to gawk.

  She wasn’t the only one. Tuffie, the pit bull mix and pack’s resident mascot, was glued to Cooper’s side as he cooked. Okay, the occasional piece of food the SWAT cop tossed her way may have had something to do with it, but Jayna was pretty sure the pooch didn’t mind admiring those rippling abs of Cooper’s. The girl was practically grinning, she looked so happy to be standing beside the hunky guy.

  Eric had been planning to man the grill for the day, but Cooper had volunteered to do it instead, so Eric could spend most of his time with her and her pack. Even if Cooper was Eric’s best friend, it was still a nice thing for him to do.

  It had only been two weeks since that night at the Stones’ place, but she and the rest of her pack already felt at home in Dallas—and at the SWAT compound. Mostly because everyone had gone out of their way to make them feel so welcome. In fact, Sergeant Dixon—Gage—had put on this cookout especially in their honor to officially welcome her pack to the area. If there was one way to win over her pack, Jayna knew it was with free food. The fact that the food was so good only made it that much better.

  “So, how did the session with Internal Affairs go?” Xander asked as he and his girlfriend, Khaki, sat down at the table with them.

  Both SWAT officers had their plates piled high with food, mostly of the meat variety. Jayna could understand why. Since becoming an alpha, she’d noticed a desperate hunger for meat more than anything else. But her body was stronger and faster than it had ever been, her senses were sharper, and her natural werewolf weapons—claws and fangs—were still filling out to their full size. She guessed all those changes took a lot of protein.

  Jayna jerked her attention back to the conversation as Eric mentioned Detective Coletti. That was the nosy Internal Affairs guy who’d had Eric on limited duty ever since the situation out at the Stones’ farm. As far as the district attorney was concerned, they had no problem at all with anything Eric had done.

  According to Gage, the DA was only concerned about Frasheri, and after they’d flipped a few of the low-level Albanians, the case against the mob boss was moving ahead at full speed. With all the money, drugs, and weapons Eric had led them to in the self-storage unit, Frasheri was going away for decades. The DA couldn’t care less about why Kostandin and his men had shown up at the Stones’ house, but the detective from Internal Affairs was a different matter. He’d questioned Eric almost every day since that night. Gage assured Jayna that Coletti was just doing his job, but as far as she was concerned, the guy was a complete ass.

  “He asked me the same questions we’ve been going over for the last two weeks,” Eric said. “Why do I think Kostandin and his thugs attacked the Stones’ home? Have Jayna and Megan ever had any dealings with the Albanians? How did Kos and Liam end up with their throats torn out?”

  Eric had kept his story simple. Jayna and her pack were just some friends visiting from out of town. Kos and Liam must have gone out there looking to get some revenge against Gage’s future in-laws, and Jayna and her friends had just gotten caught in the crossfire. Eric had suggested he was only guessing and that he didn’t know why bad guys did what they did.

  “Coletti might think there’s more going on than I’m telling him, but he’s got nothing to back it up,” Eric added. “I finally think he’s ready to give up and move on. Officially, he’s waiting on the medical examiner’s report to close out the investigation, but I heard she turned in her report this morning.”

  “You mean that hot blond in the lab coat at the Stones’ farm that night?” Trey asked as he bit into a burger. “She was so checking me out.”

  Max frowned. “Why the hell would she do that?”

  Trey grinned. “Because she finds me incredibly attractive, of course.”

  “Dude,” Alex said. “She works in a room surrounded by dead people all day. I’m not sure her thinking you’re attractive is a good thing. She could be measuring you up for a body bag for all you know.”

  Everyone laughed except Xander. He was regarding Eric thoughtfully. “And you’re sure there’s no loose piece of evidence floating around out there that can come back and haunt us?”

  Eric shook his head as he slipped an arm around Jayna’s waist. “Nah. We’re okay.”

  That seemed to settle the issue, and everyone got down to some serious eating. Jayna was glad to see the guys from her pack joining in with the fun, ribbing and joking like they’d been part of the SWAT pack for years—just another sign that staying here had been the right thing to do. Chris, Moe, and Joseph were more relaxed and outgoing than she’d ever seen them. Hanging out with all these mature alphas was good for them.

  She’d been a little worried about that, concerned the guys would be on edge all the time with alphas around to remind them of Liam. But that didn’t happen because none of Eric’s pack were the least bit like Liam.

  Her bigger concern, however, had been finding a place to live and jobs for all of them. But all those fears had turned out to be as silly as all the rest. Eric’s entire pack had busted their butts looking for jobs that would work for them, but it was Ethan and Kathryn Stone who had come through in the end.

  The older couple had been a little freaked out when they’d discovered there were werewolves in the world and that their daughter was marrying one, but they’d gotten over it surprisingly quickly. And after seeing how well Chris, Moe, and Joseph had handled the horses, Ethan had talked to a few friends and gotten all the guys, Megan, and Jayna jobs working at a horse rescue and rehabilitation center. The facility took in wild as well as domesticated horses and racehorses that had been injured or mistreated. The place was privately funded, and while the pay wasn’t great, it allowed them to all work together. The people who owned it had immediately picked up on the fact that the injured and abused horses were amazingly calm and relaxed around her pack, which was something that even Gage couldn’t explain. Megan and the guys adored working there, and in the end, that was all that mattered.

  Mac helped find them a really nice multiple bedroom loft apartment in a renovated furniture factory over by Baylor University’s Dallas campus. The place had five bedrooms, a big, central kitchen, and best of all, allowed pets, so they’d not only be able to have Tuffie visit, but also get a dog of their own, something Jayna really wanted. With its proximity to the campus, the place would have normal
ly been way outside their price point, but Mac had promised the owner’s college-aged daughter an internship at the paper where Mac worked in exchange for reduced rent. Plus, Eric had moved in with them, so they were sharing the cost with more people.

  Jayna had been afraid the rest of her pack would have an issue with Eric moving in so soon, but they hadn’t even batted an eye. Jayna was still getting used to the fact that her whole pack knew every time she and Eric had sex though. It was a bit unsettling.

  All in all, everything was going absolutely wonderful. If there was anything negative to pick out, it had to be what had happened to Eric’s bike. Jayna had gone out to the highway with him the next day to find his precious bike in pieces. Highway patrol had been picking them up and putting them in cardboard boxes. Jayna had thought Eric was going to cry, and she still felt terrible about it two weeks later.

  She’d been all ready to help him pick out another Harley, but he’d surprised her by getting an SUV instead.

  “Your whole pack won’t fit on the back of a Harley,” he’d told her with a smile.

  Yet another reminder of why she loved him. But she was glad he hadn’t suggested a minivan.

  Outside, a car pulled up to the fence. Eric immediately got up to unlock the gate so Megan could get in, but Max beat him to it, Alex on his heels. Jayna laughed. At least half the guys in Eric’s pack had a thing for Megan. There was something very intriguing to them about the small, quiet werewolf that went way beyond sex appeal and pheromones. Megan had risked her own life to save her pack leader, something every guy in Eric’s pack understood and respected.

  But Megan had been busy recovering from the gunshot wound and working part time at the horse rehabilitation center, so she hadn’t hung out much with the guys in Eric’s pack. This would be her first real chance to socialize with them, and they were all more than a little eager to talk to her. It was like her debutante ball.

  Eric’s pack mates stopped as soon as they saw that Megan was holding hands with Zak Gibson, Mac’s photographer and best friend. A person would have had to have been blind not to see the connection between the two of them. Megan was grinning from ear to ear, and there was a light in her eyes that Jayna had never seen before.