Too Far Gone (Adirondack Pack Book 1)

by K. C. Stewart

  She made a quick stop at the post office before heading home. That had been enough socializing for one day. Maybe in a day or two she would come back and venture into the library. It was pitifully small but she needed a library card regardless of the size of the building. Right now, she was going home to finish setting up her TV. All morning she had been wrestling with the cables with no luck. The directions must have had some steps written in invisible ink because no matter how many times she started from the top—following them exactly as written—it always ended with a blank screen. Maybe Sam could help her out. He had a penis after all. It was a known fact that electronics only work correctly for things with a penis.

  Fred would find her troubles amusing when she told him later that afternoon. He’d sit on her couch and watch her with a spark in his eye that made her want to lash out at him. The damn wolf could probably hook up her TV better than she could--too bad he didn't have thumbs.

  She had bought them steaks for dinner. Sadie was a bit concerned after she had selected two of them with no more thought than how big he would want his. When had he became a permanent resident at her house? A dog was one thing to have, but Fred was a wolf. As in wild animal. He shouldn't be sitting on her couch laughing at her with his eyes.

  His eyes were more expressive than Sadie ever imagined an animal's could be. He was fine most of the time. She saw normal emotions in their glassy depths. Only every now and then she saw something that scared her. There was one other time she saw the same look Fred had and that was as she was shooting her stalker.

  Something in him was broken...just like her.

  Last night she had researched wolves. In particular, lone wolves. It worried her. Why was Fred wondering alone without a pack? Did he used to have a pack? Was he forced to leave or did he do that on his own? Her reading told her that lone wolves were stronger and more aggressive than those in a pack. Was unstable in there too?

  Sadie just didn't know enough about them to understand if his beginning attachment was a good or bad thing. Well, it couldn't be a good thing. He was a wild animal and shouldn't be comfortable on her couch, but he was. For now he was ok. Fred seemed happy and she liked the company he gave her. But she had to be cautious as time went on. More research was in her very near future.

  The drive from town to home had gone by fairly quickly. It was a beautiful day and she had the windows down and the music loud. Too long, she thought as the radio announced the next song. It had been too long since she felt this content. Moving had been the right thing to do. Sadie had known that she could never move back into her old place after what happened. But moving to a new town wasn't in her plans until she had clicked on the wrong link online that took her to houses in Andora instead of Buffalo. A week later she was packing up a trailer and leaving.

  Here, she wasn't the woman who was attacked and killed her stalker.

  Here, she was Sadie James instead of "that poor thing."

  Here, she might find peace.

  With a smile on her face and a song on her lips she turned up her driveway but then slowed to a crawl at the unfamiliar scene in front of her. The smile faded instantly and the song became a mindless buzz in the background. There was a car. A fish and game warden from what the side of the car read. A man in uniform stood on her porch and when he caught sight of her, a look of relief swept over his face.

  The hair on her arm raised. Sam had made her smile with his dimpled grin and shaggy brown hair, this man made her nervous. His reaction to her, scared her. Why was he relieved? It's not like they had ever met before. Sadie would have remembered a face like that.

  Not knowing what else to do, Sadie parked. Her heart thumped hard and steady. She could do this. He was just a man after all. Two quick breaths and she was getting out of the car. The man was already down her porch steps and headed her way. He was clean cut, especially in the neatly pressed uniform. An all American wholesome boy...or man as it was. His features were even and smooth, not too angular but not rounded either. Dark brown hair was peeking out from underneath his flat brimmed hat.

  He smiled. It was hot...he was hot. Not so much handsome but sex on legs. She could still admit that to herself. Peter hadn’t taken away her sex drive, just her confidence. The man’s expression confused her. Sadie wasn't sure what she wanted to feel. Lust? Fear? He hadn't even spoken and she was picking apart everything about him. Something about the way he held himself made her anxious. Sadie wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing yet.

  Regardless of his uniform, this man was in her safe zone and that bothered her.

  "Can I help you?" she asked annoyed.

  "My name is Jack Naughton and I'm going around to the area homes just issuing a warning about a wolf sighting."

  Shit, Fred. Not here for you dumbass, stop wallowing. "Oh?" She feigned surprise. "I haven't seen any."

  His nostrils flared at her lie. "Well that is good to hear. However if you do, I would like you to call me...us." He smiled at the slip up with a small hint of embarrassment. "A lone wolf is a dangerous thing Miss?" The word trailed off in question.

  "James. Sadie James."

  That smile was back but this time held a hint of something wicked, something dirty and full of lust. The lump in her throat was a hard one to swallow. But damn, that look just zinged up her spine. "Here is my number, Sadie James. Please don't hesitate to call."

  "Thanks," but no thanks.

  Jack Naughton was fine to look at, nobody could deny that. She was just too shaky after everything that happened to even think seriously about anyone lustfully. She took his card and waited for him to drive away. Her home felt slightly violated. She didn't like people in her space, at least not anymore.

  Before she went inside, Sadie scanned the yard for Fred. He'd have to be careful if the game warden was looking for him. The warning came back in her head. Dangerous the warden had said. But Fred wasn't, was he?

  The wolf in question stepped from the tree line. His mouth up in a snarl as he looked the way the warden's car had gone. Like this, he looked like the wolf she had met in the woods. Like a wolf who was ready for a kill. Like this, she wasn't sure he wouldn't hurt her.

  *****

  "Sir?"

  The alpha turned and nodded his head towards his office. Jack walked past into the room and took a seat.

  "Didn't expect to see you today." Owen stated as he came around the desk. He took off the glasses that perched on his nose and gave the bridge a pinch between his fingers. The man looked over worked and exhausted. "Sorry. It's been a long day."

  Jack had stopped by as a courtesy. He wanted to say what he had come to say and leave. "She's alive."

  "Who? Oh..." relief quickly followed the question, "Good. That's good."

  "She lied when I asked her if she had seen any wolves about but I gave her a warning to stay away from them. She has my card if she happens to see Tyson again. And there was one thing I noticed when I was out there."

  Owen looked like he didn't want to hear it but nodded for him to continue. "Tyson's scent is everywhere on her property. I didn't have time to check the inside because she came home but I believe he's been there too."

  "That's...unsettling."

  "It is. I plan on dropping by every few days to see how this all progresses."

  "Good idea. Let me know if you need any of the pack's help."

  Jack smiled not feeling the emotion at all. Sadie was not going to be shared with the pack. She was his prey. "I'm good."

  "So be it." Owen looked at his watch and sighed. Break time was over. "Now get out of here. I have an appointment."

  Chapter Three

  Her house was finally looking complete. Kitchen was put away, her bedroom arranged how she liked it and the office bookshelves filled. All that was left were the half dozen boxes of random things that never had a home in her last place. They floated around, always moving from one room to the next just to be pushed aside to make room for something else. Those boxes would take weeks to empty. Sadi
e was just happy to relax in her living room—with a working TV—and not have to crane her neck around a bunch of boxes.

  Now that she felt settled, it was time to call her mother. Sadie had put off that particular phone call since she picked up and moved. She had text her sister that she was fine but everyone would worry until they heard her voice or saw her. Preferably the latter on their parts. There was no way she was inviting them there just yet. Sadie liked to be established in the town to show them how much better she was doing.

  It would be more convincing that way.

  In all reality, Sadie wasn't sure she was healing at all. Physically she had healed. The broken nose and shattered cheek bone were fixed in surgery and the bruises had long since disappeared. Her bruised ribs no longer hurt to breathe. And the fracture in her ankle no longer made her limp. It was the mental damage that seemed to linger. For the first few months she saw a psychiatrist. The lady was a joke. Sadie knew she would benefit from therapy but saying and doing were two different things. In this, she was a child, lost. Her usually strong independent mindset was obliterated. Give her 50 people and tell her to manage them and she was a goddess. Give her a couch with someone asking her how she felt and she stumbled over her own tongue.

  It was embarrassing.

  Today though, with her house put together and the sun shining in through the bay window, things were ok. She felt good, happy for the first time in months. Sadie found her cell phone nestled under her leg and the couch. It had barely rung once before her mother had picked up shooting off questions at her.

  "Hey mom," she said once there was a break in the interrogation.

  "Don't you ‘hey mom’ me! I am very angry with you. Why don't you answer your phone?"

  Sadie sighed. "Because I needed to breathe."

  "Pffft. Breathing is overrated. Mothers are supposed to smother and you are taking away my god given right to do just that."

  "And that is exactly why I haven't given you my address yet." She smiled despite herself. Her mom wasn't really mad. Probably more frustrated and worried than anything. Which considering the circumstances, she couldn't blame her for.

  "You sound better," her mother stated.

  "I feel better," she admitted.

  "Then I can't be too mad, can I? Are you safe?"

  "Yes." She looked at Fred. "I have a guard dog." His tail gave a thump on the hard wood floor.

  "Really? That...helps."

  "Figured it would."

  After convincing her mom that she was safe and happy, they caught up on life. Her younger sister, Miranda, had just graduated from college and had moved back home. She had gotten a job a few weeks earlier and was still in the part where everything was new and exciting.

  Fred lifted his head from his place on the floor. His ears perched high in attention had caught something too quiet for her own.

  "Mom, I have to go."

  "Everything ok?" she asked, worry edging into her restrained voice.

  "Yeah." No. Maybe.

  "Ok. Love you, Sweetheart."

  "Love you too." Once she hung up, Sadie followed Fred's gaze toward the door. "What do you hear?"

  He stood abruptly. Sadie jumped from her position on the couch. "What?" she asked with a tinge of fear. "What is it?" Fred growled, his ears flattened low against his head. Her hand trembled as it went for the blinds, but if it was because of the unannounced visitor or Fred's growls she wasn't sure. Between the strips of vinyl she caught sight of the game warden coming up her drive with a cloud of dust billowing behind him.

  "You little snot." She blew out a long breath and tried to laugh. "Smart snot," she admitted. If Jack Naughton caught Fred in her yard, let alone in her house, he would have a fit. She was still trembling but could ignored it now that she knew who was coming. It was time to move past the fear of people in her safe zone. That was the point of moving and starting over, was it not? Besides, he was in law enforcement, if there was anyone she could trust, it was him.

  "Go hide and don't make a sound," she told Fred.

  His growling stopped as he obeyed her command. Although, he didn't hide. Instead, her wolf stood defiantly in the center of the room. They took a few seconds to stare each other down but at the sound of the car door closing Sadie marched over toward him, grabbed the scruff of his neck, and drug him to the door where he would be hidden but close enough to touch. Just because she was turning over a new leaf with the whole starting over thing, didn't mean she had to do it alone. With a hand on his head she took some of his strength and courage.

  "Stay here. For me, please," she added when he began to stand. With a look containing too much intelligence for a common wolf, Fred sat back on his legs and licked her palm.

  "Thank you."

  She had the door opened before the warden could knock. Today he was out of uniform. Clad in jeans and a red cotton v-neck shirt, she had to admit defeat. The man was lust worthy. A man with good hair always did her in. Now that his hat wasn't hiding it, she could see just how soft and touchable his dark locks were. It wasn't fair that some men had great hair while many women spent hundreds of dollars to get their hair that shiny and smooth.

  "Well hello there, Sadie James." He smiled as he came up the steps onto her porch.

  "Jack the Warden. What brings you out here? Still haven't seen any wolves about."

  The look he sent her told her that lying was not her strong point. If he only knew what she was hiding only two feet from where he stood. Jack leaned back on his heals with a smug smile. "Not here about the wolf. I'm here to ask if you would like to go to dinner with me."

  Well, that was...unexpected. She stumbled over her words for a second. "Oh...um...wow, I'm flattered. I appreciate the offer but I'm-"

  "Taken?"

  "No!" Her eyes bulged. She hadn't meant to yell that. "No, I'm just not looking for anything," because she was broken. Fred nuzzled her hand.

  Jack and his hazel eyes found that funny. Like the deep rumble of a motorcycle, his laugh vibrated the air around her. "Then how about as friends? Seems like you are low on those around here."

  Presumptuous of him but true none the less. "I have friends." Fred and Sam the electrician were her friends. After he fixed her mess of a TV, she paid him back in margaritas. They had bonded over Grey's Anatomy and tequila.

  "I never said you didn't. Just thought you might like one more."

  Sadie crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the door frame. He was a confident one. Strolling out here asking her on a date like he already knew what she would say. It was refreshing but a little cocky at the same time. Jack, unfortunately had a point though. She could use more friends.

  Behind her Fred had begun to growl. Not loudly. But enough for her to stiffen and Jack to look around.

  "What was that?"

  Sadie laid a hand on his muzzle and squeezed his jaw together. The growling stopped abruptly. Probably more from surprise than anything but she would take it. "My stomach. Sorry," she said with a slight blush to her cheeks.

  He tilted his head—quite like she’d seen Fred do—and watched her. It should have made her squirm or at the very least be uncomfortable but instead she straightened her spine and returned the look. Victim was a word she didn't want to be associated with anymore. She was not a victim. She was a survivor. And survivors moved on with their lives and went out with handsome men.

  God, she needed to work on her pep talks. That was just pathetic.

  "Fine," she agreed.

  "Yeah?" A grin spread slowly across his face like colors of sunset across the sky. Jack was going to be a temptation she didn't want or need.

  "Yeah. But-"

  He laughed. "Of course there is a but."

  "Just friends," she said sternly with a raised brow waiting for his agreement.

  Jack nodded. "Alright. I'll see you tonight at the Wick. Say 7:30?"

  She had remembered seeing the bar on the square. One of two the town had. "Sounds good." As Jack walked back to his car w
ith a little too much bounce in his step, she wondered just how much trouble she was inviting into her life by agreeing to dinner. Once in his car, she closed the door and let go of Fred's muzzle. He didn't look happy. In fact, he looked downright pissed.

  "Sorry."

  He shook his head with a snort and walked away, slowly and deliberately. "Fred?" He paused and looked at her over his shoulder. The yellow of his eyes were brighter somehow. They looked at her with...betrayal? "Fred," she said again taking a few steps toward him. He growled in response. Growled at her. Sadie stopped mid step with her hand stretched out toward him. Without thought, she shrank back.

  This wasn't a dog, this was a wolf. A wild lone wolf. She tended to forget that. And this, was his not so subtle way of reminding her.

  In a flash he was gone. Out the open back door and into the forest behind her house. She wasn't sure if she should be relieved or upset that he was gone.

  *****

  Jack sat at the bar with a half drunk bottle of lager. The place was busy, as it usually was every night of the week. With few dinner options in the town, people tended to flock to the Wick. There was a menu but the locals paid no mind to it. If Chuck knew how to make it, then you could order it.

  Every so often someone would stop by to say hello. Both women and men alike came to talk. He knew most, if not every person there. Some better than others, he thought as he looked over the tall blonde with the legs that had a very fine beginning and no ending. Jack, on more than one occasion, had those legs wrapped around his hips. She caught him looking and smiled. If things didn’t go well with Sadie, he might just take home Christy tonight.

  Sadie.

  Pleasure lapped at him. The woman pulled at him. He had researched her. It was one of the perks of his job. Sadie had been stalked and attacked in her home just over a year ago. She had killed her stalker. Jack had looked at the reports and the pictures. Things could have ended very differently had she not been so proficient with a gun. She had been beat on hard before getting away for the weapon. Everything he had found pointed to her strength of will.