by Cara Adams
The Alpha moved over to the center of the cookout area and gave a shrill, piercing whistle. Instantly, all the noise stopped, and people came across to him. Nelson knew the food wouldn’t be ready for at least an hour yet, so he guessed what the Alpha was about to say.
“It’s time to run. We’ll be running as a pack. That means no one, no one, goes off by themselves or with just a friend or two. We are running as a pack. Is that understood?”
His voice was full of authority, and everyone from the oldest to the youngest answered immediately, “Yes, sir.”
“Very well. The ladies will change in the house. Judith and Cherise will show you where to go. The men will change among the trees once the women leave us.”
Nelson watched as the women ushered the children inside with them. He and his brothers would be remaining here with a few of the older men to guard the humans and those who didn’t want to run. Sam and Jake would have more than enough people with them to guard the Alpha, and there were a few designated men who were going to watch out for stragglers or those inclined to disobey.
He would have liked to run, but Nelson was a security guard, trained to protect others, so staying was a much more sensible use of his skills and abilities right now.
The children who remained behind, with the few women who were watching them, plus a handful of humans, settled in the living room, and Nelson could see the two older men on lookout duty through the window. While Judith settled the children in front of the TV and switched the Disney Channel on, Cherise took a platter of cheese, crackers, and fruit, and put it on a coffee table near the women. Nelson was leaning against the wall, keeping an eye on everything when movement out front caught his attention. As it did, his cell phone rang.
“Could be trouble,” came the laconic voice of Tony, one of the guards.
“I’m watching.” Nelson waved to Naftali.
Originally the plan had been to put the women and children in the bus as they’d be easy to supervise there, but that had presumed the driver with the key to the bus would be around. Nelson hadn’t been outside to see where the man who’d driven the bus had been standing to know which pair of jeans to search for the bus key.
Ah fuck.
Nahum was already racing out of the room, so maybe he’d know. Naftali was watching the road outside the farm. A black SUV had stopped there, as if it was waiting for something or someone. Or maybe the driver was simply a law-abiding person who’d pulled off the road to answer his cell phone.
Just then his own cell phone rang again, and a voice whispered, “Might be trouble out back. Looks like an SUV parked at the edge of the property.”
“It is trouble. There’s one parked out front as well. Stay out of sight and follow them. We have to be able to prove Lutterworth was doing something illegal, not just sightseeing or that he didn’t notice the fence.”
“On it.”
His phone clicked off again, and Nahum was back holding the bus keys. Nelson cleared his throat took a deep breath and spoke loudly.
“Children, do you remember on the way here we said we might play a hiding game? Now is the time we’re going to play it. Stay close to your mom and go into the bus. Naftali will go first. You mustn’t make any noise. When you get to the bus, go to your seat and crouch on the floor in front of your seat. Let’s go.”
Some of the moms looked frightened, but the children moved swiftly and silently. Most of the younger ones seemed to think it was a good game. The older ones looked puzzled, as if they sensed there might be danger.
One of the last people to stand up was Maia. Maia was seven and a half months pregnant with triplets. As she passed him, she said very softly, “I might, just might, be able to get down on the floor. But likely you’ll need a crane to get me up again.”
Nelson grinned at her good humor. Getting her up again was the least of his worries. Protecting her and the triplet babies she was expecting was much more important right now.
Judith and Cherise followed Maia out the door, Nahum hurrying them along. Nelson did a brisk run through the rooms, to check that no one was still in the kitchen or the bathroom or mudroom, and then he followed everyone onto the bus.
Instantly, Nahum locked the door. Cherise was sitting on the floor in the back row, and Maia was lying with her head on Cherise’s lap. It wasn’t ideal, but if someone looked inside the bus likely they’d see quite a few of the people. The aim was that, since no one was sitting up on the seats and since everyone was at the cookout, no one would consider the bus as being the hiding place. They’d look in the house first.
The real problem was that most of the pack, especially the men, were running. Even if they shifted into human form, they’d be naked, and that would be obvious by all the clothing scattered around outside. Sam and Jake would have no way of knowing they were leading the Alpha back into danger by returning to the house, and the men didn’t even have boots on to move over the ground easily as humans. By the time they stopped and got dressed, Lutterworth could have kidnapped the Alpha and gone anywhere.
Damn. I should have thought about this as a weak point in the program! Why didn’t I consider it?
* * * *
Judith had settled herself on the floor of the bus, trying to be a good role model for a couple of giggling elementary school boys who’d curled up on the floor of the seats opposite her. She rested her head on her hands, thinking she really should be alert and watching out for danger but not wanting to alarm the children who thought this was all a fun game to play.
Deliberately Judi relaxed her body, suddenly aware of how tense she was. As she relaxed her various muscle groups, a wave of tiredness washed over her. The past few days had been hectic. First packing up their possessions and lives in Michigan and then opening everything up and trying to work out how to reclaim their lives here on the farm while planning to return to town. She let her eyes close as she relaxed.
Judi was in the kitchen of the farmhouse, alone except for Naftali. He must have just returned from running in his panther form, as he was gloriously naked and looked completely yummy. Exactly as she’d expected, his thighs and arms were corded muscles, his chest a perfect set of washboard abs, and his cock… Hell yes. It was long and thick and erect, ready for her.
Her pussy was filled with cream. She was more than ready for Naftali to take her. Her clothes vanished, and she slid into his arms, pressing her body against his rock-hard torso and equally rock-hard cock. She lifted her face to be kissed, and he smiled down at her with his dark eyes.
Those strong arms pulled her tighter against his body, and she sighed with need. Judi wiggled her damp pussy against his thigh, needing him to lift her up a few inches so his cock could claim her. But when she smiled up into his face, it was Nelson holding her. She grabbed his hair to pull his head down to kiss, but now it was Nahum she was kissing. Judi didn’t care anymore. The orgasm was right there, so close. Any of them would do. Naftali, Nelson, Nahum. Any or all of them were welcome to kiss her, to touch her, right…Oooohh, yes.
Judi blinked and shook her head, her eyes snapping open. Her cunt and belly were throbbing with a very satisfactory orgasm, but she was lying on the floor of the bus.
Oh shit! Was I masturbating in front of children?
But no, her hands were tucked under her head, her body fully clothed and lying on the cold, hard floor of the bus.
Shit! I haven’t had a dream orgasm in years. Those Meyer men must have very potent sexual attraction. Or maybe I just want them. It’s been much too long since I had a boyfriend.
Once again, she shook her head. This was no time to be thinking about sex, even though the pleasure of her orgasm still filled her body with a warm, happy glow. For fuck’s sake, her father and his friends were about to attack them, maybe even to attempt to kill her mom.
And the Alpha. The Alpha doesn’t even know he’s in danger. They’re off running on the farm and have no cell phones to be warned. We need to tell them. But how?
How can we co
ntact people without a cell phone? In the olden days, churches and schools used to have a bell to ring to let people know it was time to arrive. It was basically just a loud noise. Kind of like a fire alarm. There was no such bell here, and the house security alarm rang at the security company headquarters, not here. She and the other people were stuck in a bus. Helpless inside it, hiding in silence. In a bus. A bus. A bus had a horn. A horn was a loud noise. If they honked the horn on and on without stopping, everyone would know something was wrong and be prepared for trouble. The horn was the answer.
Judi lifted her head just enough to look around the bus. Nelson was crouched down near the back of the bus, his eyes at the very corner of a window, his head hidden by the side of the bus. Naftali was in a very similar position on the opposite side of the bus. She blushed as her clit tingled from her imagined encounter with him. Clearly her subconscious was telling her to make a move on them. But not right now in the middle of a crisis. After it was over would be better.
Judi crawled to the aisle of the bus and saw Nahum up in the driver’s bay, sitting on the floor and using a mirror to watch out the window. Damn, that was a good idea. But her purse was back inside the house unfortunately, so she couldn’t copy him. However, she would tell him about her idea of using to the horn to warn the panthers.
Doing her very best to remain silent, Judi commando-crawled up the aisle of the bus. It was a lot harder than it looked on the movies. Or else she was nowhere near as fit as she thought she was after five solid months of skiing every day.
“What’s the problem?” Nahum asked her very softly. Not in a whisper but in a breathless, hushed tone that didn’t carry.
“I thought of a way to warn the Alpha and the panthers that there was trouble.”
“You did? How?”
“Once it’s clear they’re going to attack, I hold the bus horn down and let it sound on and on until everyone knows it’s meant as a warning.”
Nahum turned away from his mirror and looked at her, frowning. “It would have to be timed perfectly. We can’t risk warning the interlopers away before they do something that’s a recognizable crime, not just an innocent mistake. We need your father in jail, not angry with us and planning his revenge.”
“I know. But if they smash down the gate to enter—and it’s locked, so their only other choice is to pick the lock—won’t that be a sign?”
“They’ll pick the lock. I’m sure those boys are expert lock pickers. We’ll have to wait until they actually break into the house and just hope they do it before the panthers get back and encounter them unaware.”
Fuck! “How long do you think they’ll run for? How long has it been?” Judith wasn’t going to say she’d taken a sexy nap and lost track of the time herself.
“Almost an hour. Likely they’ll be back soon. I bet that’s what your father is waiting for.”
Just then Nahum pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. Judi hadn’t heard any noise so he must have had it on vibrate.
She waited while Nahum grunted and then called someone else. “Tony? They’ve broken in through a back fence and are coming through the fields in a four-wheel drive. With luck, they’ll get bogged or break an axle, but watch your back.”
While he was talking, Judith took the mirror from him and tilted it so she could see out the window. She was just in time to see someone open the gate and the SUV drive through it. The person who’d opened the gate jumped back in the vehicle, and it raced toward them down the driveway.
“Here they come now,” she whispered.
“I know. They’ve broken in at the back of the property as well. It’s a pincer movement. As soon as they enter the house, you can sound the horn, but stay on the floor when you do it and wait for my word.” Nahum put the keys in the ignition so she only had to turn them on to make the horn work and slithered away to his brothers. He made the whole commando crawl thing look easy.
She watched his delightful ass wiggling down the bus aisle and licked her lips. Yeah. This was totally the wrong time and place for sexy dreams, but her libido wasn’t listening.
Chapter Four
Nahum dragged his mind away from Judith, the beautiful woman who’d been smart enough to think of a way to warn their Alpha about the trouble waiting for him back at the farm. Now he only had to worry that Lutterworth would be stupid enough to commit a crime before they ran out of time.
Very softly, not wanting the surrounding women and children to hear, he told his brothers about the attackers arriving from the front and the rear of the property.
“We have to tell the people on the bus about the ones approaching us now and ensure they stay in here,” he finished.
“We’ll answer any questions the people have but keep it toned down so you don’t frighten the children,” said Naftali.
That was easy for him to say but not so easy to do.
Pitching his voice as softly as possible he said, “Some people who aren’t friends are arriving, and we don’t want them to spoil the run for our pack. So we’re going to stay here very quietly until they’re in the house, and then we’re going to frighten them away. Your job is not to spoil the surprise. You all have to be very quiet.”
The younger children seemed to think it was all part of the game, but some of the women looked worried, and Naftali and Nelson immediately crawled down the aisle to offer support to them.
Fortunately, no one called out to ask a question because when Nahum put up his mirror it was just in time to see the black SUV stop right in front of the house and six young men jump out of it.
He watched carefully, but they were all gang members he thought. Unfortunately, Lutterworth wasn’t among them. He checked in his mirror, but although the gate to the farm had been left wide open, there was no other car coming. If Lutterworth wasn’t in the truck coming from the rear of the property, they were shit out of luck. He desperately wanted to know where that truck was but wasn’t prepared to phone and ask in case he distracted the men from their task of protecting the pack.
Naftali and Nelson were sitting on the floor by the bus door. They would be needed to help capture the six men entering the house. Tony must have locked the front door when he’d gone inside because one of the teenagers—and all the attackers appeared to be teenagers—smashed a window, and the kids entered through it.
As soon as they were inside, he said, “Open the bus door to let my brothers out and wait two full minutes before pressing the horn.”
Judith found the switch, and the bus door opened and then closed. Nahum phoned Zebulun. The Alpha had contacts to the various government agencies, but he didn’t. However, Zebulun would be able to call the right person in Amory’s absence.
“We’re at Cherise’s farm. Most of the pack is out running, and six teenagers in an SUV have attacked the farmhouse from the front and there’s another truck attacking or about to attack from the rear. The kids are safe in the bus, and I’m with them.”
“I’ll get you help.”
Zebulun clicked off the call, but Nahum didn’t know if that was to protect him or so the older man could ring for help. Either way he’d just have to wait and watch.
Judith said, just loud enough for the children to hear, “Put your hands over your ears now.”
A heartbeat later, the bus horn blasted through the silence. Just before it started he thought he heard glass breaking, but he couldn’t be sure. He knew his brothers were able to defeat a passel of kids, even if they had weapons. But the two older men wouldn’t be able to move fast and might not have perfect hearing any more. Hopefully they’d have plenty of cunning.
Nahum would be perfectly happy to hear they tripped the kids up and sat on them to tie them up. He kept watch on the front of the house, and Judith had her eyes above the level of the window, watching the driveway and the road. That was okay. They had to know someone was in the bus. He just didn’t want them to know about the children and women there. Especially Maia. He didn’t plan on delivering her babies six weeks
early if she went into labor from shock.
Elsie, Leah, and Zoe crawled up the aisle on their hands and knees and sat by the door.
“If any of those kids escape, we’ll take them down for you. I hate that my father has caused all this trouble with his stupid boy gangs,” said Elsie.
“I don’t think you women—”
“I hope you’re not about to say something sexist,” came a fierce whisper from Judith.
Nahum hid a grin. He would have called his thoughts protective, rather than sexist, but right now, annoying four very determined women wasn’t a good idea.
“No, ma’am. Hit the horn again the moment they come out of the house and, with your other hand, open the door. Hopefully, the noise will confuse them and they’ll go back inside,” he said instead.
“Nice save,” said Elsie very softly.
Apparently he hadn’t fooled his Alpha’s mate any more than he’d fooled the woman he wanted.
It seemed like a very long time that nothing happened, and some of the children started to become restless. Nahum wanted to order them to get back down on the floor, but likely their muscles were starting to cramp, and he couldn’t risk them becoming angry and unhelpful. If they got off the bus, he’d never be able to protect them. It was a better, although not good, scenario to have Lutterworth discover that the children were here.
And then everything happened at once.
The house door exploded open, and three intruders ran out at full speed.
Judith opened the bus door and put her fist on the horn, startling everyone with the long, loud noise. Elsie, Leah, and Zoe jumped off the bus, running straight at the escaping teenagers.
And overhead a helicopter appeared, diving low right over the front garden of the house.
When Judith took her hand off the horn, he could hear the heavy beat of the helicopter’s blades as it settled onto the grass and, over that, the screaming of the boys as the women herded them back toward the house.
