Book 2 Not his Werewolf

by Annie Nicholas

  Not His Werewolf

  By

  Annie Nicholas

  Chapter One

  Betty’s heart jammed in her throat and she couldn’t breathe. She retreated from the dogcatcher’s truck. Big dogs didn’t frighten her. They were her field of expertise. What the animal control specialist had wasn’t a stray canine though.

  Thick gray fur, tipped in white covered the huge unconscious werewolf.

  “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know where else to go once I realized what I’d done.” Trixie slumped against the vehicle. Sweat stained her one-piece uniform.

  “How the hell did you get him inside all by yourself?”

  Her best friend wiped her brow. “Fear, pure unadulterated fear. I can’t afford to get fired, Betty. Can you help me?”

  “Grab his feet and I’ll take his shoulders.” Lots of Hollywood movies had confused the general public about shifters. They thought of werewolves as people who could turn into animals, but that wasn’t the case. They were a race who could change shape but not as the actual animal. So, a werewolf was a mix of man and wolf. They walked on two legs and could talk like they did in human form, except they had fur, sharp teeth, and the face of a wolf. There was no mistaking one for the other, but underneath their skin, no matter the shape, they were still the same person.

  This was the worst bad idea in the history of bad ideas. A werewolf in her animal rescue? Sure, why not? Maybe she could call his alpha to come adopt him. The giggle that escaped held an edge of hysteria.

  With a lot of grunting and a few colorful words, they managed to drag the shifter’s body into the building.

  “You’re lucky he didn’t wake up in the truck.” Betty rolled the sedated werewolf into her biggest dog kennel and locked the door. It was special made to hold large aggressive dogs. Though she doubted it would contain a wolf shifter if he woke and freaked out.

  She crouched in front of the cage, heart racing. “What. The. Fuck, Trixie?”

  “I know. I know.” Trixie dropped her face into her hands. “I’m so fired.”

  The werewolf’s mouth hung open, exposing massive teeth—the kind that could gut an animal with one bite.

  Betty shuddered. She shouldn’t, but it had been years since she’d been this close to another shifter. His scent tugged at the hole in her heart. The place where her pack should have been.

  In the surrounding kennels, the dogs barked louder. Some of the pups chewed on the bars or clawed at the doors. She leaned over to look in the next cage. The three small animals were quiet and pressed together in the far corner.

  “Let’s get the place quiet so we don’t wake him prematurely. Put the dogs out in the yard so I can hear myself think,” Betty shouted as she started releasing the excited dogs from their kennels while Trixie herded them to the exit.

  “Won’t your neighbors complain about the noise again?” Trixie glanced at the dark windows surrounding Betty’s yard. Three story apartment buildings lined her borders. The only house on the block.

  The dogs quieted once out in the night air and away from Sleeping Beauty inside. They cuddled in a pack on the tall grass. Envy beat in time with her heart and she fought the urge to join them.

  “What were you doing with a tranquilizer gun?” Betty elbowed Trixie before returning to her newest guest.

  “They arm us with them in case of emergency. He was running on all fours, chasing three dogs down 47th Street. I panicked.” Trixie paced the hallway, running her fingers through her fluorescent pink hair. “I’ve never seen a werewolf up close. Next thing I knew I was holding the tranq gun with a werewolf at my feet.” She spun to face Betty. “I thought he was a bear. It was dark.”

  Betty could picture the six o’clock news. Werewolf goes berserk inside animal rescue. Two human females found inside his stomach. The rescue needed more publicity, but not this kind.

  She knelt in front of the cage and stared at the beautiful sleeping beast. It looked vicious unconscious. Barrel-chested and paws the size of dinner plates, he outsized her Great Danes. “How much sedative did you give him?”

  “Ummm, enough for a bear.” Trixie met her glare and coughed. “Twice.”

  Betty’s teeth clicked as she shut her mouth. She didn’t… What the…Oh my God. “There’s not enough wine in my fridge to make this better.”

  Trixie plopped next to her onto the concrete floor. “How angry will he be?”

  “How should I know?” The adrenaline of being roused at four AM by a frantic phone call was fading fast.

  “You grew up in a pack.”

  “That was in another city. New Port’s pack won’t even acknowledge my existence.” Neither would her old pack. Not since she’d turned eighteen and hadn’t been able to shift. To them, she was human, but her heart still howled at the moon and those assholes had broken it. The only thing that kept it beating was her dogs and their unconditional love. They didn’t care that her mother was human and Betty a half-breed.

  They both watched the shifter’s chest rise and fall in silence.

  Trixie’s eyes were the size of saucers. “Are we talking a fine or jail time?”

  “I heard New Port’s alpha is a piece of work, even for a wolf shifter.” Wolves were the worst gossips.

  “We’re dead.”

  “Yep. Coffee?” If Betty was going to have to defend her best friend from a drugged werewolf, she would do it with java flowing through her veins.

  “Sure, I’ll make it.” Trixie squeezed her upper arm. “Thanks, Betty. I knew I could count on you.” She kissed her cheek.

  Betty patted her hand. “Life is never boring with you in it.”

  Who would have thought humans could get in as much trouble as shifters? From Betty’s limited experience living among humans, they weren’t that different.

  Trixie grinned. “You did say you wanted to spice things up. A change.”

  “I meant sex with something other than my dildo.”

  Trixie’s cheeks matched her hair. “Oh.” And she jumped to her feet. “I heard werewolves were great in bed.”

  “Not going there.”

  Werewolves metabolized drugs faster than humans but she couldn’t remember how fast. They had covered it when she had been in high school years ago. She pulled out her cell and googled for the answer. She could call her dad, the only shifter who still talked to her, but how to explain?

  That conversation would be a nightmare. He’d almost gone lone wolf when his pack had denied her membership. The loss of being pack would have killed him though. She knew firsthand how terribly lonely it was and she was only a half-breed.

  Google listed a hundred links to articles on werewolf metabolism. If she started to read them now, she could be finished in a few days. So not helpful.

  The beast in the cage licked his muzzle yet remained asleep. He would wake up groggy and disoriented. Probably starved.

  Trixie came back with two mugs of steaming coffee.

  Betty rose and grabbed one. “Is Sarah’s Diner open all night?”

  “Yeah.” Trixie sounded confused.

  Pulling out her pocketbook, Betty silently prayed to the loose change gods to be generous tonight. She poured out the contents on her desk in the corner of the room. Coins rattled on the wood. “Go buy some burgers.” She counted right down to the last penny. There went her tight budget. “How much have you got?”

  Trixie was pulling out her coins and pennies, too, but at least she had a paying job. Well, for now.

  Her friend gathered all the money together and hesitated. “Are you sure? What if he wakes while I’m gone?”

  “What if he wakes while you’re here? Not like that would make much of a difference, but burgers will.”

  “Oka
y, be back in a flash.” Trixie left at a run.

  Ken’s mouth tasted like roadkill stew. He rolled, running his claws over his eyes, almost blinding himself. He was still in beast form? He tried to stand but only flopped onto his other side. What had happened? He shook his head to clear his thoughts, managing to spray drool across the wall.

  Bleary-eyed, he stared at the barred door. His heart drummed. Was he in jail again? His father—AKA the alpha—would beat his hide like an old blanket. Survival instincts, fight or flight, triggered his claustrophobia.

  He jumped to his feet and hit the ceiling with his head, cracking his neck in the process. “Otherducker.”

  Whoa, what was wrong with his tongue? It felt too big for his mouth.

  Wait…he wasn’t tall enough to hit his head on the ceiling. The sharp knock cleared his head. Metal walls, small space, smelled like kibble. He wasn’t in jail. He was crammed in a dog cage! Rubbing his sore noggin, he tried to recall last night.

  Running… He’d been playing with his dogs. Strays that he had picked up off the street a few weeks ago. They loved running in the park on 47th Street, and, well, so did he. Lots of things to smell and mark. While running as a pack, the group had spooked at something. He had spun around to protect them when he had been stung in the ass.

  On all fours, he crept forward cautiously. The room smelled of many breeds of dogs but that didn’t hide the scent of a female shifter.

  He eyed his pixie-sized jailer. Her black hair was pulled into a messy lopsided ponytail and she looked like she’d just tumbled out of bed. She wore a sleeveless pajama top revealing colorful tattoos all over her arms. Their gazes met and the smell of her fear suddenly flooded his cage. He waited for the screaming to start.

  But silence rang loudly in the room. She slowly knelt in front of him, within grabbing range, and placed a full glass of water between the bars. “Rough night?”

  He barked out a surprised laugh. His ears perked forward. “You can say that.” He lifted the glass to his muzzle—it smelled clean—and lapped the water.

  She seemed fascinated. “I thought you would go berserk when you woke up. Not your first time, I take it?”

  He choked, coughing repeatedly to clear his airway. “Drinking water in beast form? No. But you would think so the way I just inhaled that.” He thumped his chest. It was cramped in here.

  She smiled and the room brightened. “I meant waking up behind bars.”

  “I had a rough childhood. You have a name?”

  “Betty.”

  “I’m Ken. You plan on letting me out, Betty, or do I need to pop this tin can?” He gave it a push and the metal groaned.

  “About that.” She dangled a key from her finger. With supernatural speed, he snatched it and unlocked his prison.

  She gasped and crab walked across the hall until she bumped her head against the cages on the other side.

  On all fours, he crawled out and didn’t knock his already pounding head on the frame. He followed her retreat until he pinned her to the wall. “I think this is where you explain why I am waking up in a cage.” He could hear her heartbeat, like a bird trying to escape her chest. The scent of fear mixed with her smell and spun his head.

  “Shelter,” she whispered. The thin material of her night shirt did little to conceal her small breasts as her breathing grew erratic.

  His body reacted to her scent. The mix of pheromones was like magic for his kind. He licked his muzzle, savoring her taste in the air. Finally, he’d found her. All those fucking wolf pack mixers he had attended hoping to find his one true mate and here she was in a—wait…

  “Did you say shelter?” He took in his surroundings. Other empty animal kennels, cement walls and floors, a messy desk in the corner, stacks of dog and cat food in the opposite corner. “How did I end up here?”

  She squirmed away, smoothing the loose strands of hair from her face. “Welcome to Almost Home Animal Rescue. I rescued you.”

  He sat with his back to the wall, not trusting his legs yet, and scratched his head. “From what?” That name sounded familiar but he couldn’t place it.

  She cleared her throat. “The dogcatcher.”

  He jerked as the memory returned. “She shot me in the ass with a tranquilizer gun.” On rubbery knees, he rose, using the wall for guidance. Claws extended, he pointed at her. “You have some explaining to do.”

  “She’s very sorry.” The female gave him a pleading look. “It was all a misunderstanding. She thought you were a bear.”

  “In the city.” Well, there was a sleuth of bear shifters living in New Port, but they were on the other side of town. But still, they shouldn’t be shot at.

  “Trixie is new to the job and she saw you hunting dogs.”

  “Hunting? Those are my dogs and I was playing with them.” Now they were loose. Probably scared, or worse, thought he had abandoned them. “I have to make a call. What time is it?”

  “Four thirty AM.”

  “Damn, she’s probably still asleep.” He changed to human form and swept his soulmate into his arms. She was compact and tight. “So why haven’t I met you at any pack functions?”

  Her eyes were so wide he could see her retinas. “You put me down right now or I’m going to rocket your balls into your pancreas.”

  He tilted his head, not understanding her sharp tone. They were soulmates. Couldn’t she smell their bond? Was he wrong?

  The back door slammed open and a pink-haired human stormed inside, armed with a greasy paper bag held in front of her like a detonator. “I’ve got burgers. Don’t eat her.”

  Chapter Two

  “You!” Ken spun to face his assailant, shoving his mate behind his back. “You’re the one who shot me.” Who could forget that hair?

  The pink-haired human tossed the greasy bag at him. “Run, Betty.”

  He bared his teeth at her, not a human gesture and something his alpha discouraged doing to humans, but she had taken him down for no reason. There were laws in place to prevent such misunderstandings. “I was within my rights to be in the park. There wasn’t any reason to fire on me.” He sniffed the bag. “Are these from Sarah’s Diner?”

  “Yes, and you’re naked.” The human female’s cheeks colored to match her hair. She stared at the ground, avoiding eye contact.

  Public nudity was discouraged. Once his alpha was finished beating Ken’s hide, he would offer him to the local dragon as a snack.

  Tossed in a dog pound. He would be the butt of every joke for the next month. This incident couldn’t leave this room ever.

  Laughter bloomed behind him. Betty pulled a blanket out from the kennel he’d been occupying and wrapped it around his hips. “Go finish your shift, Trixie. I’ve got this covered.”

  Like a balm, her good humor soothed the rage boiling in Ken.

  The human hesitated, her gaze traveling between them. “Are you sure?”

  “He’s got burgers. All should be forgiven, right?” His mate elbowed him in his side.

  “It is?” He cocked his head. This hazard in pink couldn’t be ignored. She might shoot another shifter.

  “See, we’re good, but, Trixie, don’t touch the tranquilizer gun again.” Betty pulled open the bag in his hand and took a burger.

  His mouth watered. Shifting took a lot of energy and he hadn’t eaten since yesterday. Part of him adored how she took care of him, the other part was wary how easily she’d just manipulated the situation.

  He plucked a burger from his mate’s hand. “Forgiven, but if it happens again, I’ll report your human to my alpha.” He grinned, showing all his teeth. “Not the authorities. Trust me, he’s not the forgiving type.” His father was more of a tooth for a tooth wolf shifter.

  The pink-haired human visibly swallowed. “I’ve learned my lesson.” She backed out of the rescue and closed the door behind her.

  “So…” The female shifter backed away to her desk. “Who do you need to call for a ride?”

  He narrowed his eyes, biting
the burger in half. Oh, that was good. “Want one?” He spoke with his mouth full. It just couldn’t be helped, he was that hungry.

  She held her cell phone. “I’m fine.” She seemed determined for him to leave. He didn’t understand. They had just met. He’d been told things went better than being tossed a burger when soulmates found each other. Like why was she still wearing clothes?

  Scratching his head, he took the phone. His dogs were still running free to terrorize the city. At this hour, he could think of only one person to call.

  On the third ring, she answered tentatively. “Beth, it’s Ken.”

  “This a new number?” She sounded half asleep.

  “It’s a number you can use to reach me.” He chuckled at Betty’s frown. “My dogs are loose and I need you to find them.”

  Beth groaned. As pack omega, she wouldn’t say no. “No. Call someone else to catch your mangy mutts.”

  He growled. “You do realize I rank higher than you.” That meant he was more dominant in pack order. “I have a situation I have to take care of.”

  Beth made kissy noises. “What’s her name?”

  He ground his teeth. He didn’t believe in bullying his weaker packmates around, which was why Beth was comfortable teasing him. Normally, this pleased him, but not tonight. He needed to figure out his mate’s lack of interest and he wouldn’t leave this rescue without an answer. “My dogs are all alone and possibly scared.” Beth pretended not to like his pets, but guess who baked them homemade biscuits? “Can you gather them before they get hurt?”

  “Fine,” she dragged out the word. “But you—”

  He hung up and turned his full attention on Betty. “And you—”he pointed “—never answered my question. Why haven’t we met if you live in New Port?” There was no way his alpha would tolerate a lone wolf in his territory, even if female.

  “I’m not invited to pack functions.” She leaned toward him, eyes sparkling with dark mischief. The more time he spent with her, the more intrigued he grew.

  “What could you have possibly done to be banned? Are you a bad wolf?” he half-joked. They all had weaknesses and his apparently was a tattooed, pixie-sized werewolf.