An Alpha's Trust

by Shannon Duane

  “What?” Yeah, Jake must be seriously pissed.

  Conner replied, “Hey, you better get back here. When I walked through the door all I could smell was your mate.”

  Jake growled. “Is she there?” he snarled. He was having a hard time containing his rage at the thought of his pack mate smelling his chosen.

  “She must have just left the office because the scent is fresh.”

  “I’m coming.” Jake disconnected and tossed his phone on the passenger seat. He would finally see his mate.

  Conner could hear the truck barreling around the corner and yelled to Grant who was in the back, “You better get in here.”

  Grant came from around the corner as Jake slammed open the front door and took a deep breath. “What the fuck is going on?” Grant asked, clearly confused.

  Jake turned to his brother with rage in his eyes. “Where is she?”

  “Where is who? What is going on? You don’t have control of your wolf.” The pack had excellent control of the magic of their wolves, but when emotions ran high the beast would take over.

  Grant was upset. He rarely saw his brother like this. “I don’t know what’s going on. If someone would care to enlighten me as to why my brother is about to rip my head off, I’d be grateful.” He turned to his brother. “Put your fangs away. I didn’t do anything.”

  Conner intervened. “Jake’s mate smells like vanilla ice cream. Do you have any idea why the entire front office smells like that?”

  Jake could feel his partial shift; he needed to track her. His jaw was elongating and his claws came out.

  “Shit, wait!” Grant pleaded. “There’s no need to shift; I have her contact info on the application for a system. We have her address, bro. She signed up for the premium package and I’m going over tomorrow to install it.”

  Maybe, if Jake didn’t kill him.

  “The hell you are,” Jake growled as he snatched her info from Grant’s hand. “Did you see her? What does she look like? Did you touch her?” Jake leaned over to sniff his brother.

  Grant pushed him away. “Don’t, bro. I shook her hand and that’s all. She looks...average.”

  At the word average, Jake pushed Grant. Grant saw that Jake’s eyes were lighter, almost yellow; wolf’s eyes.

  “Okay, she has brown hair and brown eyes, with a normal build.” Jake growled and Grant turned so his neck was exposed. “Just go see her, bro.”

  Conner piped in, “Let’s go over to her house and scope the place out so you can get a look at her. But you’re going to have to temper your wolf or risk scaring her.”

  They parked down the street from her house, shifted, and went to the woods bordering her backyard to watch and wait.

  * * * * *

  “Mom, can I go play in the backyard while you cook? You can see me from the window and I promise not to wander,” Trevor asked, sounding hopeful with wide innocent eyes.

  “Sure, buddy. You know the rules. No going into the forest. It’ll only take me half an hour, so no whining when it’s time to come in and wash up.”

  She had planned on putting up a fence around the backyard because it bordered the woods. She felt it was an area of exposure. Anyone could have access to watch them or wander through the woods. Trevor’s safety was her number one priority.

  As Trevor was going out the back door, the phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and picked up the phone. “Hey Katie, shouldn’t you be at work right now?” she said with affection. Katie was a true friend and she missed her.

  “Hi Shana. How was the move? Are you settled?” Katie sounded off, worried. Shana knew something was wrong.

  “I just talked to you a couple days ago so you already know the answer to your questions. We’re fine but you sound like you have something on your mind so spill girlfriend.”

  Shana could tell something was up. They had become fast friends since the incident five years ago. Most important, Shana trusted Katie, which was big.

  “Sorry to be calling so late but,” she let out a sigh, “I hate to be the one to tell you this but Ryan was released earlier today.”

  “What? Are you kidding me? Why? He was given ten years. What the fuck is going on?” She was starting to panic and Katie could tell.

  “Someone messed up and put him on a work release program which he shouldn’t have been eligible for because of the violent nature of his crimes. It slipped through the cracks. He only had to serve the five years and now he is out on parole.” Katie could tell her friend was preparing for a fight.

  “Listen Shana, I know this sucks donkey balls but he still is not allowed within three counties of you. Plus, you moved and he doesn’t know where you are. If you want me to come down for a while, I’d be more than happy. I’ll bring my gun.” She knew Shana would decline her offer but she wanted her to know she wasn’t alone and she’d always be able to count on her.

  “No, it’s fine. I’ll be fine. I’m just exhausted of this whole thing. Just when I feel safe it gets ripped away from me.”

  The doorbell rang.

  “Hold on Katie, someone is at the door.”

  Chapter 4

  Shana went to the door and looked out the peephole. There was a man standing on her porch with a letter in his hand. He appeared to be scanning the neighborhood.

  “Can I help you?” Shana yelled through the door.

  The man called back. “I have a letter addressed to a Shana Dunn. Is she home?”

  “Just leave the letter on the porch please.” She was no longer so trusting.

  “Sorry lady, no can do. It needs to be signed for.” Shana’s heart skipped a beat. Maybe it was a letter notifying her of Ryan’s release from prison.

  “Pass it under the door. I’ll sign it and pass it back.”

  “I’d prefer not to do that, ma’am.” He sounded irritated now.

  Well, too damn bad.

  “Either do it or go. It makes no never mind to me. I’m not opening the door for someone I don’t know.” She let her anger show through her tone.

  “Alright, so be it.” He passed the letter under the door. She signed it and passed the certified portion back to him. She distantly heard him say, “You have been served.” as he walked away.

  She saw the letter was from the courts. She opened the letter and began to sob openly. She remembered Katie was on the phone so she put it to her ear and said, “You still there?”

  “What’s going on, Shana?” Worry was evident in her tone. “Who was it? Are you okay? I’m on my way.”

  “No, I’m fine. Ryan is a sonofawhore. He just served me court papers. He wants joint custody of Trevor.” And…more crying. Shit, she couldn’t control herself.

  “Oh my God. He’s got some nerve, doesn’t he? Get a lawyer Shana, but try not to worry. The most he’ll be able to get is supervised visitation, right? He’s a criminal.”

  “I’ve gotta go, Katie. I just want to be with Trevor right now.” Shana disconnected the phone and sat heavily on the couch.

  She wanted to cry and hold her son tight and keep him safe. But later when he went to bed she would rage and curse her life, and her stupidity. When would things get better for her and Trevor?

  She got herself up from the couch and looked out the window in the kitchen to check on her son, and immediately froze in shock. She was yelling, “Trevor!” as she ran out the back door.

  * * * * *

  Jake saw the little boy in the yard playing. He was so happy and you could tell he was well loved. He had an innocence about him that was refreshing. He sat in a sand box making sand castles and crushing them with a toy car.

  Jake sat on his back legs and watched him play for about ten minutes when he picked up a scent on the wind. A couple yards away at the edge of the woods were two coyotes, non-shifters, waiting and watching. They were clearly hungry.

  Jake anticipated the coyotes’ movements and ran for the boy. He stood in front of his future child on all four legs and growled. Normally, the animals would flee when
challenged by a much larger predator but these looked so very hungry. Apparently, they would risk going up against him.

  One coyote lunged and Jake stepped to the side and took the animal by the neck and shook, exacting a whimpering sound from it. Jake heard a little voice say, “Don’t hurt him.” Jake threw the coyote up against a nearby tree and growled at the other coyote, who quickly realized Jake was dominant before retreating. The coyotes went back into the woods, one running and the other limping.

  Jake turned and saw the boy with wide trusting eyes. Jake stood completely still as the boy began to approach. The boy put his hand out in front of Jake’s nose and let him get his scent as he said, “Thanks.” He showed no fear of the large grey wolf.

  Jake finished his sniff and licked the boy’s hand. The kid gave a lighthearted giggle and said, “Eew, yucky Jake. Keep your tongue to yourself.”

  Trevor gently patted Jake’s head and ran his hand down Jake’s back, saying, “Wow, you’re kinda soft.”

  Connor was still at the edge of the woods and Jake gave him the sign--which happened to be turning in a circle then raising his head to go back to the car. He saw Conner dip his head in ascent and turn to walk back to the car.

  In his wolf form he was pretty scary, even to his own pack, so it shocked him that this small child would sit and pet him like he was a family pet.

  As he was getting a rub, he finally let the child’s words sink in. He’d called him Jake. He couldn’t possibly know him or about his kind. This was their first meet. As he got lost in his thoughts, he heard an ear-splitting screech that sounded a lot like the word Trevor.

  Chapter 5

  Trevor saw his mom run out of the back door and he said, “Wait ma, you don’t want to scare Jake. He just saved my life.”

  That’s when he saw and, more importantly, got a big whiff of his mate. She was gorgeous, with the most enchanting shade of light brown hair, with natural blond highlights. Not to mention her brown eyes which he swore saw straight into his soul.

  Right now however she was looking at him like he was going to eat her and her son. As if he’d have room to eat them both. He’d get a terrible tummy ache.

  Jake needed to ease her fear of him so he slowly put his muzzle up to the boy’s hand and gave a big lick.

  The boy smiled, hugged him, and whispered in his ear, “I said no licking but thanks again for saving me. Let’s introduce you to mom.”

  The boy, apparently named Trevor, walked up to his mother and pat the side of his pants calling Jake to his side. Jake wanted to argue that he was an Alpha male and did not come when called, but he couldn’t resist getting closer to his mate.

  As Trevor told the story of how the mean coyotes tried to attack him and the good doggie saved his life, Jake sat still and simply enjoyed the smell of his mate. It was comforting. Occasionally she would glance down at him but she didn’t reach out to him which was discouraging. He was, however, a wild animal and not a man right now so he understood her hesitation.

  Finally, when Trevor was done with his story, he reached out and began to pet Jake again. Trevor looked to the wolf. “Hey Jake, this is my mom. I call her mom, but you could call her Shana. She likes animals, but we can’t have any because we might have to move again.”

  The poor kid looked so sad and they both stared at him for a moment.

  Shana was finally dragged out of the moment by a sniffing of her hand and a wet nose to her palm. She stiffened; Jake the wolf was smelling her hand. This was silly. If her five-year-old was not afraid of ‘Jake,’ by golly she wouldn’t be either.

  “You named him Jake, already. That didn’t take long, big man. I don’t think he’s a dog, Trevor. He looks more like a wolf to me.”

  Shana reached down and the wolf licked her hand. Yuck. “Whoa there wolfie, no licking. Bad wolf, bad. No lickie.”

  It looked like the huge scary wolf smiled. Wait, a wolf can’t smile. But if they could she would have sworn he did.

  Jake was laughing. If anyone saw what these humans were saying to him, he’d never live it down. He put his muzzle right into her crotch and took a big sniff. Take that, mate. If I’m gonna be called a bad wolf I might as well act like one.

  After his sniff, he bent his head and went under her skirt pressing his cold wet nose to her inner thighs. He could smell her panty covered mound and tried to get far enough for a small taste. Oh, he longed to taste her, she smelled so sweet.

  Shana turned, grabbed Trevor’s hand and pushed the wolf away. She called over her shoulder as she was walking in the house, “Naughty wolf.” He caught a small smile before she closed the door in his face.

  Well, that was a good first interaction with his mate. He only wished he had been in human form. He knew he’d dream of her tonight. Of her soft skin and sweet smelling sex; bad wolf indeed. No worries, he’d see her tomorrow with Grant at nine in the morning, sharp, whether she liked it or not.

  Jake walked back through the woods and sat, watching them eat through the window. They seemed so happy, smiling often. He longed to be a part of this family. Every so often he caught Shana looking out the window with a worried expression which she quickly hid from her son. But he saw and he was determined to find out what caused her sadness. She would trust him soon and he would protect her. But how to gain her trust?

  He went back to Twilight Lookout and informed Grant of the change in plans. Grant wasn’t very happy to be deceiving his new client, but when the Alpha decided on a plan you went along with it, or took the consequences. Now, how to win his mate? And what was she hiding? He could do a background check on her but he wanted her to trust him enough to tell him of her life, her fears, wants and needs. Why did he suddenly feel like his life was thrust into a lifetime movie with all these…feelings?

  * * * * *

  When Trevor went into the house with his mother, he began to question Shana. “Do you think Jake will be back? I think we should let him in, mama. He’ll get cold outside all night. He really is a good wolfie. We should get some food for him too. He’ll protect us.”

  Shana was amazed at her little boy’s thought process. He was so kind and giving. “Well, big guy, maybe tomorrow after school we can go get a doggie bed and some dog food and we’ll leave it on the porch for him. He can’t stay inside because he is a wild animal and they need their space to run free. I’m sure he wouldn’t like to be cooped up. Plus, he probably has fleas.”

  Trevor beamed up at his mother. “Can I pick out his bed? I don’t think he’ll like dog food, mama; it smells funny. Maybe we can give him wolf foods.”

  He looked so excited it chased some of her fears away, for now.

  “Honey, wolves eat raw meat like rabbit and deer, if they can catch ‘em. I’m grateful to Jake for savin’ you and all, but I’m not gonna go out hunting rabbit.” Trevor snickered. “What’s so funny?”

  “Let’s go hunt some waskalie wabbit, mama; just like Elmer Fud.” They began to laugh in earnest and it lightened her heart to know that he was her family. He made her feel whole and when she got upset he knew just what to say to make her happy she was alive.

  “Come on, big guy, time to get ready for your bath, then to bed. You have a big day tomorrow.” She chased him up the stairs and gave him a tickle before sending him to bathe.

  That night, instead of dreaming about Ryan, the bastard, she dreamt of her wolf, Jake. Wait a minute, when did he become her wolf and why couldn’t she stop thinking of running her hands in his soft fur. Wouldn’t ya know it; she hadn’t had sex in five years and she’s dreaming of a wolf, instead of her dream guy, figures.

  Chapter 6

  “Have a great day at school. See you at one o’clock,” Shana called to her son. She had pulled the teacher aside to remind her that Trevor was in a special situation and he was only to be released into her care. She told the teacher if she wasn’t there at one then to call the police and her parents because something would be wrong.

  She drove away from the school crying and thinking a
bout Trevor. The first time he crawled, walked and the first time he told her he loved her. She wanted to go back to the school and pick him up and never let him out of her sight, but that wasn’t realistic. She had to work and he had to grow wings and make friends.

  As she pulled into her driveway, she noticed a red truck parked on the street and, without thought, began to panic. That is, until she noticed Grant getting out of the passenger side.

  When she looked to the driver, she stopped completely and stared. The man was tall, maybe six foot-two, with shaggy brown hair and the deepest brown eyes that she had ever seen. She smiled and then realized she was staring, so she quickly looked away but not before they noticed her blush. Fabulous.

  Grant extended his hand. “Good morning, Ms. Dunn. Did Trevor get off to school okay this morning?”

  She was about to answer when she heard a low growling sound. She looked around to the back of the house thinking Jake, her wolf, had come back. But she didn’t see anything.

  Shana turned around to find the fine ass driver standing right in front of her. His eyes closed, looking like the cat that got the cream. With his eyes still closed he inhaled through his nose and smiled when he let it out. Damn, he was hot.

  Shana gave a slight cough. “Hello, can I help you, sir?”

  His eyes opened and she felt a physical pull towards this man. Until, she noticed the coloring of his eyes, almost yellow. Weird, she thought she had seen dark brown eyes moments ago. She must be more traumatized with Trevor going to school than she thought.

  “Uh...Um, yeah, I came here to help Grant with the setup.” He stepped closer, holding out his hand. “I’m Jake, nice to meet you.”