Bounty [Dominant Wolves, Submissive Mates 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Natalie Acres

  In his head, Heck quickly transmitted messages to the others, telling them of the dangers at his back. Minutes later, he heard the pack’s unified howls. Then the barking wolves raced toward the river, determination in their voices as they yowled back and forth between pack members, relaying one clear message—there were a number of bear sightings in the area.

  Even so, the others would soon come to their aid. They were prepared to fight. They were prepared to die.

  The wolves would do whatever necessary to save their female Alpha, even if it meant some of them would lose their lives.

  Chapter Five

  Frank’s body went into a quick, violent spasm. He pushed away from Grant and rushed the door. “Something’s wrong.” He cocked his head and closed his eyes. His lips twitched as if he were saying a prayer. “It’s Carla.” He opened his eyes and stared at Jock, transmitting what Heck had shared with the pack members who were close enough to alert Frank.

  There was trouble in WolfDen. By the time Frank and Jock would return, the threat would be over, but they shouldn’t expect him there in Laramie to pose as an officiating minister. At the moment he was on the run, trying to escape an angry bear. And from what the pack had relayed, there were several other burly beasts in the area, too.

  “I’ll handle things here,” Jock said aloud.

  Frank phased and left. Jock turned to face the man he’d once thought of as a friend. He and Grant shared a similar history. That history was steeped in WolfDen, Wyoming’s traditions and their pack’s heritage, passed down through generations of a strong WolfDen pack strewn together with familiar ties and what Jock once considered an unbreakable bond.

  “You can’t kill me,” Grant said smugly. “Ya tried once and failed. What makes ya think ya can off me now?”

  Jock flinched. “There are more significant ways to destroy a man than to simply lead him to his death.”

  “Death by hangin’ appeals to ya, does it?” Grant narrowed his gaze on the rifle hanging on the nearby gun rack.

  “Don’t even think about it, Grant. I will shoot to kill.”

  “Ya probably believe that.” Grant stood in front of Daisy. “And you? You’re under arrest. We don’t take kindly to thieves in this town.”

  “I didn’t steal from you. I was paid for my time. Bet the folks here in Laramie would love to hear tales of how their newly appointed marshal was spending his time while the rest of this town’s men were out in WolfDen trying to find the shifters with bounties on their heads.”

  “Don’t ya threaten me, girl.”

  “Sit down, Grant.” Jock paced in front of the desk. “Ever since I saw those wanted posters this morning, I’ve been going over this notion of yours in my head, wondering what might have possessed you to make such a claim.” He came to an abrupt stop and drew his pistol. “I said ‘sit down’ and I won’t ask again!”

  “Which claim might that be?” Grant slowly obliged, but he didn’t get in any particular hurry as he reclaimed his seat.

  “The attempted murder of this town’s upstanding marshal.”

  “Are you denyin’ it?”

  “I think your story is shoddy. The night Frank and I went to the den, we went there to collect my personal belongings. You meant to kill us and—”

  “And the job would’ve been done if that bitch of yours—”

  Jock yowled in anger. His incisors jabbed through his gums and it was all he could do to keep from attacking Grant.

  “You can show me those damn teeth of yourn all ya want. Ya don’t scare me, Jock.”

  “I guess not,” Jock said, narrowing his gaze. “But you ought to be afraid, Grant. According to what I read on the posters, rewards would be given to anyone with information on a shifter’s whereabouts. That includes you though, doesn’t it, Marshal?”

  Grant snarled. “No, it does not.”

  Understanding Grant wouldn’t shift with a witness present, Jock shook off his fury. Cocking his head, he wagged his finger at Grant. “You only get one warning. If you say anything off-color about my mate again, I will not only put you in the ground, but I’ll also make you dig that grave before I shoot you in the back.”

  Grant laughed. “Ya got that part right. There’s no doubt about it. If you’re gonna shoot me, you’re gonna put that bullet in my back. Ya ain’t got the balls to face me if ya take my life.”

  “If I were you, I wouldn’t test that bet.”

  Grant sighed and stretched. “I’m plumb bored, Jock. I’ve had a busy mornin’ and I’m jest tuckered out. If the two of ya ain’t gonna need a marshal, and I suspect ya don’t, I’d like it very much if you’d just skedaddle.” Grant focused on Daisy. “I’m gonna say Jock here didn’t understand Frank’s plan for me. You’d best be runnin’ on along, Daisy.” His eyes never averted, but before she made it outside, Grant called out to her, “If you’re smart, you’ll keep right on movin’. I will get my money back or I’ll work it off ya. If it’s the latter, ya can bet that sweet ass of yours, I won’t be interested in your body the next go around. I’ll put that cock-holster of yours to real good use.”

  “Damn it, Grant!” Jock charged him like a raging bull. He grabbed him by his collar and slung him to his desk. Pinning him to the surface, he pressed his forearm against Grant’s neck. Applying pressure, he snarled. “We were like brothers! You and me go way back, and won’t you just look at the two of us now! You’re talkin’ to women like they’re dirt and I’m standing here wondering why my best friend put a bounty on my head!”

  “The bounty is there because it deserves to be,” Grant grated out. “And I’m pretty pleased with myself. Thank ya very much.” He clucked. “There ain’t gonna be a wedding, I take it? What happened out in WolfDen? Did the minister get detained?”

  “That marriage was Frank’s plan. Not mine.”

  “I figured as much.” Grant snorted. “Ya ain’t even the man of your own home now, Jock. Frank Smith has ya by the balls, boy, and ya think you’re sharin’ Carla because ya both imprinted on her. Hell, we see who ran out the door when there was trouble in WolfDen. My best guestimation is—”

  “Estimation,” Jock corrected him, easing the tension on Grant’s arm.

  “You’re in my town now,” Grant said, shoving Jock away from him. “Here, we say guestimation. Yep, siree. We say and do anything we damn well please. Can ya say the same?”

  Jock snarled. He knew the moment was coming when Grant would go for his weapons, so he turned his pistol on him with a steady aim. Then, he collected Grant’s rifle and picked up his holster on his way to the door.

  Grant was right about one thing. He wasn’t going to die there today. If Grant happened to die, his killer wouldn’t wear Jock’s face or carry his name.

  “So now you’re stealing from me, too?” Grant asked, following Jock to the front stoop.

  “No.” He secured the rifle behind the saddle bag and mounted his horse. “I’m making sure you don’t put one in my back as I’m riding out of town. I’ll drop your guns on the outskirts of Laramie. You can pick them up there.”

  Jock secured a tight grip on his horse’s reins. He shifted his weight in his familiar saddle and looked down on a complete stranger.

  “All you had to do was open your mind and willingly accept change. When Frank and I imprinted on Carla, our packs were joined. There wasn’t a thing we could’ve done about that, even if we’d wanted to. We didn’t ask you to join us in bed.”

  Grant smirked. “From what I remember of your woman, she ain’t too fond of the bed anyhow. It was that loft of hers that I wanted to visit.”

  “So this was always about Carla.” It wasn’t a question. “Was it ever about the two packs joining or was that just one of many lies?”

  Grant hung his head. When he lifted his gaze, he said, “I was at your flank. Me, Jock. From the time we were kids, it was always just us. No, none of this shit was ever about Carla. It was always about you.”

  “I didn’t abandon my pack, or you, Grant. I as
ked you to accept change so we could all work together to make the Wyoming territory a safer place for our mates and our future children. If you think back to the night in our den, you’d know I didn’t go there to kill you. I went back for my personal belongings. You’re the one who dropped a net over Frank and me. You were planning to set fire to us. If you ask me, Carla did what any other mate would’ve done. She protected her family.”

  A deep-seated sadness overcame Jock as he recalled the night Carla pumped a few bullets into Grant. Shaking off those old unsettling emotions, he added, “We were like brothers, family. You knew me then and you know me now. I wouldn’t turn my back on my pack, Grant. You made that decision. You walked away from men and women who thought of you as a brother.”

  They locked eyes and for a minute, Jock could’ve sworn he could hear Grant’s thoughts, but it was only a brief second. Slapping his worn leather reins against his horse’s withers, he clucked, “Let’s go girl! Giddy-up!”

  Old Dolly had just broken free of her trot into a gallop when Grant yelled, “Jock! Jock! Wait just a blame second!”

  “Whoa, Dolly!” Jock reined in his mount. Dust flew around his horse’s back hooves as he came to a sudden halt. “What is it?”

  Grant hurried to him, swaying from one side to the other. The few paces he ran apparently wiped him out. By the time he reached Jock, he was doubled-over and breathless. “It’s…it’s the bears.”

  “What about the bears?”

  “They’re here to collect on that bounty.”

  “What do you mean they’re here to collect on the bounty?” Jock asked, pulling the brim of his hat low on his brow in an effort to keep the sun out of his eyes.

  “Marshal out in Tombstone said they always collect on bounties.” Grant stood next to Dolly with his shoulders slumped. “Ya can’t stay here now, Jock. If ya do, they’ll kill ya.”

  “I thought that’s what you wanted, Grant.” As the sun lit up the Wyoming sky, Jock saw the regret in Grant’s face. “So the bears are shifters? Is that what you’re saying?”

  Grant nodded rapidly. “I sent word to Tombstone and he sent word to Bear Mountain, not even a half a day’s ride from here. Marshal there is a bear-shifter, too. He and his deputies are…” He paused and stroked Dolly’s mane, apparently trying to decide what to share. Finally, he stepped back from the horse and yelled, “Damn it, Jock! They’re coming for ya. Go home and fetch Carla. Then ya need to ride as fast and as far as ya can. Don’t ever come back here, Jock. Once they start huntin’, there ain’t no stoppin’ ’em. These fellas always get their man.”

  Chapter Six

  Carla was aroused by the time the cabin was in sight. She’d been riding atop Heck’s back for the better part of three hours. When his muscles had flexed, she’d tightened her inner thighs and rode the hell out of him. He’d loped through the mountainous terrain, rushed over springs, and sprinted across rocks. The whole time, she’d clung to him and held on for dear life.

  At various points, her tired body would sway to the left or right and she’d almost lose her balance. During those times, he would slow down long enough for her to regain her seat.

  She felt as if she’d let him down during those brief moments. When he’d come to a halt, he’d turn his head and peer over his flank, apparently aware of what the short break had cost them. Once she’d regain her seat, he would take off in another direction.

  Several times she’d clenched her thigh muscles so tight, she could’ve sworn she heard Heck’s guttural groan. His expression was so deep and carnal, it left goose bumps up and down Carla’s arms and legs. After the excitement of the chase had ended, she had time to reflect on those noises she’d heard.

  The reason she’d been alarmed was because Heck’s vocal expression hadn’t been that of the wolf. It had been a throaty call to the wild and reckless from the man within to the woman riding his back.

  Running through the open prairie, Heck had seemed so determined to stay ahead of the bears. Even though Heck often spent a lot of time lounging around on her cabin’s porch, his strength and agility had come through as he’d sprinted across pastureland, climbed between large rocks and darted through the hills.

  They would escape one bear and meet up with another. It was as if the grizzlies had all decided to come out of hibernation at one time with a collective decision to harass the wolves living among them. Somewhere in the back of Carla’s mind, she had a feeling the bears weren’t just there to pester the other animals living nearby. They seemed to pursue them with determination and an incredible focus. Still, after the pack caught up to them, the bears had appeared disoriented and unfamiliar with the area. The wolves easily surrounded the beasts before they chased them away. The grizzlies probably wouldn’t have fled if they’d known the area, which made her wonder all the more.

  Why were they there? Where had they come from? Why had they chosen to show themselves on that particular day, at a time when their pack was at odds with their neighbors in Laramie?

  She gasped as a possibility entered her mind. Were the bears shifters or wild animals? Had the wolves disturbed them and threatened them in some way or had they been called upon for a specific reason?

  Vaguely aware of Heck’s flexing muscles as he carried her to safety, Carla reflected on the past. She had lived in that prairie all her life. Wyoming was her home. She knew the land as well as she knew herself. Bear sightings were rare. Attacks were even more unusual. Someone—Grant Ford, for instance—had enlisted the bears’ help. It was the only logical explanation.

  Those beasts were shifters.

  Mated to Frank and Jock for less than a year, Carla still had so much to learn. She needed to know if there were others like them and if so, what kind of threat they posed.

  As they topped the ridge overlooking WolfDen, Carla breathed a sigh of relief. Heck bowed his head and whimpered, too. In Carla’s front yard, the wolves from Frank’s and Jock’s packs lined up as if they were prepared for war, ready to protect their home. Each wolf crouched in a defensive position. Some of the males yowled. They wanted Heck to hurry and carry Carla to safety.

  Pushing aside her anxiety and questions, Carla held her shoulders back and her head high. Frank had once told her that the pack should always view her as a symbol of strength. Questions weighted her down with uncertainty, a trait viewed as weakness.

  Riding her protector, Carla scanned the pack ahead of them and a great sense of pride swept over her. They’d defeated the bears without losing one of their own. They’d protected each other and their home.

  Minutes later, Heck traveled through the center of an open procession of sorts. Wolves from both packs escorted them to the cabin, remaining on either side of them as Heck carried Carla to the porch.

  One of the omega males from Frank’s pack shifted long enough to open the door. Heck entered the cabin in his wolf form and lowered his body to the dirt floor. She dismounted with ease. A second later she stood in front of Heck, immediately noticing how he didn’t keep his gaze downcast as he might have in the past. Instead, he looked at her dead-on. Curiosity burned blazing bright in his eyes, and something quite distinct, too—lust.

  For a split second, Carla longed to tell him how her emotions were running rampant. She wanted to explain how she’d felt when she’d been seated atop him, how she’d known he would save her, how she’d easily trusted him and left her life in his hands. Before she had the opportunity to share any of her feelings, he shifted.

  Heck stood before her as a hard, proud, and very aroused man.

  Carla stood before him as a naked and confident woman.

  Shifters often saw one another without clothing, but Carla was human. The only reason she didn’t have her clothes was because of where and when the grizzly found her. Still, Heck had often accompanied her to the river when she’d gone for a bath, but out of respect for Frank and Jock, he’d never gawked. Now, for whatever reason, he could not look away.

  Natural brown locks of her silken hair l
ay loose around the peaks of her small, rounded breasts. Her cheeks turned pink as he perused her body at will, but he didn’t stop looking. This moment, for whatever reason, was cooling that ache, soothing that burn.

  Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was aware of the quiet. His fellow pack members had somehow managed to concentrate on the calm, yet with considerable dangers beyond her front door, he realized there was something more to the silence, a significant reason they weren’t transmitting messages between them or thinking about the battle to come.

  They were undoubtedly waiting to see what Heck would do. They were aware of his lust for his Alphas’ mate. They were holding their breaths and wondering. Would Heck act on his desires or would he have the strength to walk away?

  “Heck.” Carla closed those honey brown eyes. Tears pooled in the corners and slipped down her cheeks. “It isn’t right.”

  “Shh,” he whispered, needing to touch her, longing to hold her. He raked the pads of his thumbs over her lids, following the stream of moisture streaking her flushed cheeks. Then, remembering everything about his pack’s laws, but more importantly, his pack master’s trust, he reluctantly stepped away from his greatest temptation.

  Before he hit the front stoop, he phased and reclaimed his wolf form. With his fellow pack members at his back howling in a nearly practiced song, he ran for the hills.

  Heck was now entrusting others with Carla’s care. He would trust them as Frank and Jock had once placed their confidence in him.

  He couldn’t risk being near Carla after he’d saved her. More than anything else, he couldn’t trust himself alone with her after they’d shared such an intimate connection.

  Heck had been Carla’s hero. He’d saved her life by guarding her with his.

  Now, he had to run off that indescribable yearning and put aside that raging desire once and for all. He needed to be alone so he could figure out what went wrong.