Soul of the Pack

by Jenny Frame

  Ripp ran her hand through her thick black hair. “I don’t know about that, but I treat them with respect, and I’ve learned a lot about them working at a wolf sanctuary.” Ripp felt like she was under the spotlight. They were right to be suspicious, she supposed. She hadn’t even told Kyra the real reason she was here. But this felt like she was getting the prospective girlfriend once-over.

  “What are you doing here, Ripp? Just visiting?”

  “I was just passing through for a few days, to check out the wolves your county is so famous for, but I really like it here.” Ripp looked at a smiling Kyra, and her heart felt like it was expanding in her chest. “I thought I might stay a little longer.”

  Was this what attraction was supposed to feel like? Because nothing ever had before.

  Nix stood up from stroking Storm and smiled instead of scowling as she had when they first met. “Cool wolf.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Come to dinner while you’re here. My mate said to ask you,” Xander said, still giving Ripp a hard stare.

  “Thanks, that would be great,” Ripp said. That will be terrifying.

  Chapter Eight

  Ripp was running through the trees, but she couldn’t see her body. All she saw was a wolf. A big gray, white, and black wolf. Only in her dreams could she be free to be what she truly felt inside.

  She caught her scent. It was Kyra, and she was calling for her. Ripp sped up and found a panting Kyra behind a tree. Ripp now stood tall in her human form and growled as she backed her prey up against a tree. “I caught you,” Ripp said.

  “You caught me.” Kyra smiled, but her eyes were glowing yellow. Ripp couldn’t not kiss her red lips, and she did. Her first taste of Kyra made her moan.

  Her body was on fire, her blood was on fire, and all for Kyra. She pulled back from the kiss when her gums hurt, then some wolf fangs burst through. When Ripp looked back to Kyra, all she could think was to bite and claim her.

  Without warning, she bit down on her neck.

  Kyra pushed her off and looked at her with disgust. “What kind of animal are you?”

  Ripp woke gasping for breath and sweating. “I can’t, I can’t ever hurt her.”

  * * *

  Caden sat at her desk in the ranch office with her feet up on the desk, looking through a file. There was a knock at her door, and one of her farmhands came in. “Second—I mean, Caden, there’s a Ripp here to see you.”

  She never looked up but said, “Show her in.”

  Ripp walk in and stood in front of her desk. “Morning, Kyra said I was to start work today.”

  Caden kept her focus on the file, dismissively playing a game of dominance. She didn’t reply and could hear Ripp’s feet shifting uncomfortably.

  When Kyra had asked about a job for Ripp, Caden had great misgivings about it, but after talking it over with the Alpha, she and Dante agreed hiring Ripp would be a good way to keep an eye on the newcomer.

  “Look, if you don’t want to give me a job, that’s fine. I’m outta here,” Ripp said angrily and walked toward the door.

  Caden stood quickly. “You don’t have much patience, do you, Ripp.”

  Ripp walked back over to the desk and said, “Do you want me to work or not?”

  Caden looked up and down her body. “You sure you’re up for farmwork?”

  Ripp gave her a hard stare. “I’m up for any work you could have for me.”

  Instead of meeting her challenge, Caden laughed at her attempt and said, “Then follow me, Ripp. I’ve got just the job for you.”

  She led Ripp to the back of the ranch where the stable block was.

  “How many stables do you have? This place is huge.”

  “Twenty-four, with two horses in each. We have a lot of land to cover.”

  Caden stopped by a pile of manure with a pitchfork sticking out of it. Next to it sat a quad with a small trailer attached. She picked up the pitchfork and held it out to Ripp. “Your first task—muck out the horses, then move the manure pile to the spreader. One of the hands will tell you where.”

  She could tell by Ripp’s demeanor, that she was trying not to show how angry she was. Ripp grabbed the handle and said defiantly, “I’ve done worse.”

  Caden walked off, and then turned back. “Oh, and once you’ve done that, clean the manure from the corrals and the road and paths.”

  She could hear Ripp whisper under her breath, “Arrogant fucking asshole.”

  Which just made Caden chuckle.

  * * *

  “I thought I’d never wash the smell of shi—um, manure out my clothes and hair,” Ripp joked.

  She had promised to meet Kyra at the diner before her second day of work.

  Kyra laughed and took a sip of coffee. “You know, I can wash some things for you at home if you like. Or if you’d like a warm shower?”

  Ripp’s pride stopped her. “Nah, I’m okay. You should have seen Caden’s face when I was finished by three o’clock. I think she thought I’d be there till midnight.”

  “I can imagine. Listen, why don’t we meet here every morning before work. It would be nice to find out how you’re doing at the ranch.”

  Ripp was so wary of getting any more involved, but she just couldn’t seem to say no to Kyra. “Okay, sure.”

  Hopefully she would get the information about her father in the next week or so, and then she could get out of here. But before she did, Ripp wanted to take Kyra out on a date, to thank her for being so kind to her.

  There were some essentials she needed to buy with her first paycheck on Friday, but after that she could take Kyra out the way she wanted to. “Ky, I was wondering. In a couple of weeks? Once I get a couple of paychecks, do you want to go out somewhere? Like a movie or—”

  “I’d love to,” Kyra said enthusiastically.

  Ripp’s heart filled with excitement, even though she knew she would soon have to leave this gorgeous girl behind. Her head told her this was a bad idea, but her heart…Her heart was telling her to grab Kyra and never let go. No one had ever understood her the way Kyra did. They had just dismissed her as an angry, messed up kid. But Kyra soothed what felt like a constant undercurrent of anger and emotion that filled every part of her.

  Dezzie came over and asked, “What’s all the excitement?”

  Kyra blushed beautifully. “We’re going out on a date.”

  “That’s awesome. You’ll need to double-date with me and Joel one night.”

  Kyra looked at her adoringly, and Ripp gulped hard. What was she getting herself into?

  Chapter Nine

  Caden had to admit that Ripp was a hard worker. Over the last two weeks she had thrown the hardest and most difficult jobs she could at Ripp, and she took them and completed them with ease. She was much stronger than the average human, and quick and sharp, and her wolf dog, after some initial wariness, had taken to become chief rat and mouse catcher.

  Caden’s farmhands kept a close eye on Ripp to catch her if she did any snooping and watch for anything strange about her behavior. And they reported nothing, although they did tell her that Ripp practically inhaled her food during lunch at the farm cookhouse. Clearly she hadn’t been eating well in a while. Could Ripp be what she appeared to be? A passerby, down on her luck?

  It was nearly the end of the workday, and Ripp was due to stop in the office to pick up her pay. Caden started counting the money out for her pay packet. There was a knock at her door. “Come in,” she called out.

  Ripp walked in, dusty, dirty, and muddy.

  “You finished everything?”

  “Everything, and set up for next week,” Ripp said defiantly.

  Ripp reminded her of a young teenage wolf, raw, uncontrolled, and ready to fight with their own shadow.

  Caden held out the envelope, but when Ripp went to take it, she held on tight. “You’ve done good since you’ve been here, Ripp.”

  Ripp snorted. “What? Is that an actual compliment, Caden? It’s only taken you two weeks.”


  Caden laughed. “It takes time to earn my respect, and you’re on the right track, but”—she leaned over and whispered in Ripp’s ear—“if you are not what you appear and let me down, just like your name, I will rip you apart.”

  Ripp said nothing, but Caden could feel the anger coming from her. Ripp stuffed her money in her pocket and headed for the door.

  “Oh, by the way,” Caden said, “there’s a little extra in there for your wolf. He did a good job too.”

  * * *

  Ripp monitored the security at the library and the town hall after work. She concluded she would have one shot at getting inside, and she decided to target the town hall which would have more local records.

  After dark, she returned to try to gain entry. In her surveillance of the building, she’d noticed there was one little bathroom window that seemed to be forgotten about, and that would be her entrance.

  Storm and Ripp moved as quickly as they could to the back of the building where the window was.

  “Okay, speak if you see anyone, buddy.” Ripp gave him the hand signals for stay and quiet.

  She climbed the stone wall and pushed her way through the window. No alarm went off, but she didn’t know how much time she’d have. She ran at full speed from the bathroom and leapt over the front desk. But all the office doors had similar locks to the ones at the library. She couldn’t get past. She’d broken in for nothing.

  She closed her eyes and felt the frustration brewing into anger. Everywhere she went, people were trying to stop her finding out what her Wolfgang connection was, why they behaved so strangely.

  All the answers were behind that door, and she wanted them. From her crouched position behind the desk, her anger propelled her into the door, and it cracked but didn’t break.

  Ripp looked around frantically for anything that could help. She picked up the heavy wooden chair from behind the front desk and smashed it repeatedly against the door, each time getting more and more angry. Her gums ached, and she had shooting pains all over her body.

  She dropped the chair and bent over in pain. Ripp heard Storm bark to alert her, but when she tried to walk, she dropped to her knees. She’d had episodes like this throughout her life, but nothing as bad as this.

  “This place is making me insane,” Ripp shouted.

  There was a blast of noise as the sheriff and his deputies burst through the main doors, with guns drawn.

  “On your feet!” the sheriff shouted.

  Ripp’s pain increased and blood started to drip from her mouth. The last thing she felt was a sharp pain in her spine, and then everything went black.

  Chapter Ten

  Ripp became aware of a dull throbbing in her head, her jaw, and all her joints. She slowly opened her eyes and the light dazzled her eyes.

  “Fuck.”

  She then became aware of Storm licking her face. “Okay, buddy. I’m awake.”

  When she opened her eyes again, she realized she was on a hard bed, with bars in front of her. Ripp patted Storm and sighed. “We’re in jail, huh? I didn’t even get my first date.”

  “You’re awake?” a harsh voice barked. “On your feet, Ripp.”

  She sat up and her head swam. “Whoa.”

  “I’m Sheriff Blaze. We’ll get you seen by a doctor as soon as he arrives.” Blaze unlocked the cell door. “Follow me. Your dog waits here.”

  Ripp gave him the stay command and said, “I’ll be okay, boy. Be back soon.”

  He took her to an interview room and gave her a bottle of water, then asked her to sit and wait. A short time later Blaze, Caden, and Xander walked into the room and stood by the back wall. Caden looked at her with disgust, and Xander, disappointment.

  “What is this? I tried to break into a town hall, not the Pentagon,” Ripp said angrily.

  Caden walked forward and leaned over her. “I knew you were up to something.”

  Ripp growled, ready to lunge, but then the door opened again, and a woman entered. All including Caden stood to attention.

  She was a tall dark-haired woman, in an expensive looking black suit and highly starched white shirt. If there was one thing Ripp knew instinctively it was hierarchy, and the way this woman carried herself, her very aura, told Ripp she was top of the food chain. She must be Dante, the community leader Ky told her about.

  Dante took a seat on the other side of the table, clasped her hands, and silently stared her out. Ripp couldn’t hold her gaze long before she broke and looked away.

  “What do you people want from me?”

  “Are you with the Lupas?” Dante said.

  “The Lupas? I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about,” Ripp said.

  Dante reached into her top pocket and pulled out what looked like her birth certificate.

  Ripp made a lunge for it, but Dante was too quick, and Caden and Blaze were there in a nanosecond to hold her back.

  “That’s mine. Give me it to me or I’ll kill you,” Ripp shouted with fury, struggling against her captors.

  Dante stared at her impassively. “You really have no control, do you.”

  “Yeah, so everyone’s told me all my life,” Ripp replied.

  “I wouldn’t recommend you trying anything. You’d be ripped to shreds. I want to know where you got this and why you are here. If you are working for the Lupas—”

  “I’m not working for anyone. That birth certificate is mine. I’m here to look for my father, but your fucking idiots won’t even let me in the library or the town hall.”

  Caden’s grip on her loosened and Dante’s gaze went straight to Caden. Then she said, “Blaze? Get Dr. Jaycen here now.”

  * * *

  Dr. Jaycen took a blood sample and Ripp was sent back to her cell.

  “Doctor? How long before you can get the results?” Dante asked.

  Jaycen carefully put the vial in his bag. “Not long. An hour maybe. I’ll call from the hospital when I get the results, but I would prepare for the fact that this young woman might be a Wolfgang.”

  Caden had been silent during this conversation, but her mind was racing and trying to put together all the pieces of information.

  “Daughter of Ansel?” Caden asked.

  “Yes, daughter of your uncle Ansel,” Jaycen said.

  “Why did he not tell my Pater? Did your Pater know, Alpha?” Caden asked Dante.

  Dante walked over to Caden. “Not that he ever told me. I would have never kept the fact that you had kin a secret from you, Second. He died so suddenly—maybe he didn’t know.”

  Then a thought came to Caden. “Doctor? When I asked you about Lena’s pregnancy and if there would be any differences because she was human, you said you’d never dealt with a hybrid personally. Does that mean you knew of one?”

  Jaycen sighed and put his bag down again. “Alpha, Second. There’s something I need to tell you. Not long after Ansel passed away, a young human woman approached me as I came into work one morning. She said she needed advice about a werewolf-human pregnancy. I tried to get her to come in and talk more, find out how she knew about our world, but she was nervous and flighty. I gave her all the advice I could and asked her to come back for a checkup. I promised total discretion, and I never saw her again.”

  “You think that was Ansel’s girlfriend?” Caden asked.

  Jaycen nodded. “I never connected the two at the time but looking back now it seems likely.”

  “Maybe Ansel told her to come here if anything ever happened,” Dante said.

  “If you’ll excuse me, Alpha, Second, I’ll get these samples back to the lab.” Jaycen thumped his hand to his chest and walked out of the room.

  Caden’s mind was spinning. She could have had family all this time?

  Dante put her hand on Caden’s shoulder. “Let’s wait here for the results, and if she is pack, we need to look after her.”

  “If she is,” Caden replied.

  * * *

  Ripp hit the bars of the cell, fury burning in every cell in her bod
y. “Fucking let me out of here!”

  But no one responded. These people were crazy. The sooner she got out of this county, the better.

  Ten minutes later, the sheriff and an ashen-faced Caden came back into the room. Blaze unlocked the jail cell, and Ripp said, “What’s going on?”

  “You’re coming with me,” Caden said.

  Ripp couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “What, my punishment for breaking and entering is to go with you?”

  “Think of it of being released on my recognizance,” Caden said.

  This place just kept getting weirder by the second, and now Caden had lost some of her usual arrogance.

  “Where are we going?” Ripp asked.

  “My home. Get your dog and let’s go.”

  * * *

  “You’re fucking kidding me. Werewolves? Is this a setup?” She had been hustled into Caden’s family room and told to sit on the couch and listen. The Wolfgangs were werewolves, and she was one of them. It was impossible. Ripp did not believe what she was hearing.

  In a second Caden was on her feet towering over Ripp, her eyes yellow, her teeth changed into fangs, and her face morphed to what looked half wolf and half human.

  “Do not swear in my den, runt!” Caden roared.

  Ripp jumped back against the couch in fear, and Storm whined and hid behind it. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, okay?”

  Caden’s wife Lena came hurrying out of the kitchen and placed her hand on Caden’s bicep. “Don’t be so scary, Cade. You’re frightening them. Calm,” Lena said softly.

  Ripp watched in amazement as all the tension and aggression disappeared from Caden’s body, and then she remembered Kyra doing the exact same thing to her at the diner, and at the lookout point. “Wow.”

  Caden’s features returned to normal, and Lena sat down beside Ripp. “Call your dog, Ripp—he’s frightened.”

  “Storm, it’s okay. Come here, buddy.”