by Tl Reeve
“Dani?” Keeley croaked, peeking around the massive body that stood in front of her. “Ready to go?”
“Yup.”
Dani had a knowing smirk on her face. The whole way home her sister would bust on her about the way she reacted to Kalkin. Damn it, of all days, why did her sister have to be so observant today? It wasn’t as though others hadn’t seen their interaction. By tomorrow, heck tonight, they would be the talk of the town. The clumsy newbie and the sheriff. Yep, she could see it all now. She headed toward the car, bag clenched in one hand, laptop in the other, deep in thought.
“Keeley!”
Her head snapped up when she heard Dani call out. Deep in her thoughts, she hadn’t realized Danielle didn’t follow her, or the fact she stood beside the wrong vehicle. Damn it. She glanced up. Kalkin still stood in the same spot where she’d left him and Caden continued to sit at the table while Dani walked in the other direction.
“We need to get Aiden, and he is this way.” Her sister pointed to Mrs. Martin’s store down at the other end of the street. She felt the flush flare up her in her cheeks as it dawned on her: she’d forgotten all about the pup or what they were supposed to be doing while in town. This is why you can’t have nice things.
“I know,” she said, thinking fast as she held up her laptop. “I wanted to drop this back off in the truck first.” She hurried to her truck to put the laptop inside.
The whole time, she could feel his heated stare on her. It raised the small hairs on the back of her neck and her nipples tightened. Dear Lord, she needed to get it together. No man could be this potent, but as soon as the thought entered her head, she knew it’d been wrong. Kalkin was that man. She stepped away from the vehicle, then with as much dignity as she could muster, she walked right past both Kalkin and Caden Raferty to meet up with Dani. She ignored both men as best as she could, considering Kalkin chuckled at her antics while she passed him. Asshole.
Chapter Six
“Ah, fuck yes. Keep going, Keeley, fuck me.” Her body moved over Kalkin, her snug pussy gripping him just right. She lifted her arms over her head, pulling her long, wavy blonde hair up away from her nape, and the scent of honeysuckle and sweet jasmine perfumed the air. Her breasts bounced and swayed each time she shifted on his cock. Above him, the full moon shone brightly, bathing his mate in a silvery glow.
“Kalkin, oh God. It feels so good,” she groaned, rolling her hips, taking him deeper. Her body moved with a graceful innocence that made him want to come several times over and over again, knotting her pussy like a savage, untamed wolf. His thumb pressed against her clit and she cried out. “More. Please, more.”
“I’ll give you more, Keeley. I’ll always give you more.” He rolled them over, burying his face in her neck. His grunts of pleasure mingled with hers. “So fucking tight,” he growled.
Her pussy rippled around his dick and made it harder to keep pounding away at her. Each thrust brought him closer to the edge and by the sounds she was making, she was right there with him. Kalkin sat up on his haunches and lifted her legs over his hips, powering into her. His pace increased until every muscle in his body went rigid. His balls drew up against his body and he opened his mouth to speak…
The shrill sound of his alarm startled him from the best wet dream ever. His shaft throbbed as he rubbed it across the sheet that covered his hips and he groaned. Thick streams of his cum coated his stomach and bedding. “Fucking full moon.”
He threw the covers off himself and stared up at the ceiling. The dream felt so real. Part of him wanted to go back to sleep and see if he could find her again, while the other part of him knew he had work to do. He rolled out of bed, the evidence of his dream glistening on his belly in the early morning light. “Fucking mating,” he snarled, stomping into his bathroom for a shower.
Though he shouldn’t be angry, he welcomed finding his mate, but right now wasn’t the most opportune time. There had been too much going on in his small town. Kalkin glanced at his reflection in the mirror and cursed some more. His eyes were bloodshot and rimmed in purple from lack of sleep. It figured for him. Running his town and pack demanded his attention twenty-four hours a day. Add in this time of the month and well, sleep was a non-essential. His gaze continued down his body. Even though he’d just come, his dick was still rock hard and he knew he would stay that way until after the festivities.
For five days, most of the male wolves would run around town attending to their normal lives while their cocks acted like divining rods. And, if the randy bastards were lucky to find their mates, they’d knot them, claiming them in the most basic ways. Something that, he’d been told, was the ultimate aphrodisiac.
Those who were mated already took off for the week and could be found just about anywhere in town taking their mate, trying to relieve the ache. He could only speak for the men when he said it sucked. Gaining relief only happened through sex and that made it hard if you were the sheriff. It also meant the majority of the town shut down. Tourists were gently encouraged not to come during the festival; however, some still did. Most times they were caught up in the frenzy as well. Some were found huddled in darkened corners with their spouses taking pleasure in the idea of his town not having any inhibitions.
Kalkin opened the shower door and turned on the water. For the last twenty years, every month they went through the full moon needing. The urge to find a mate grew to the point it could cause some shifters to go insane while others screwed everything on two legs, trying to find the right one. He would have thought by now he'd be used to it, but the thought of Keeley being so close to him made it almost impossible to deal with the arousal coursing through him. When the water was warm enough, he stepped under the spray and began washing. The quicker he got done, the faster he could get out of the house and concentrate on getting the town ready for the festival.
The summer solstice celebration would start on Saturday and run through Monday evening. Come Tuesday, Keeley would be his completely—which brought him to a whole other set of challenges. There was a stalker after Danielle and there was also the FBI agent staying at the hotel near the Sheriff's Department. Full moon this time around was going to distract him. I’m completely fucked. Once his shower was finished, he climbed out and dried off. After donning a fresh uniform, he headed downstairs and came face to face with Caden. “I don’t have time this morning.”
“Me either. I had duty last night,” his brother grumbled. “Did you know Danielle smells like sage and cactus blossoms?”
“Nope,” Kalkin answered, somehow knowing Keeley smelled like jasmine and honeysuckle.
“Yeah, it’s crazy,” he said, adjusting himself.
“Not in front of me, man.” Kalkin shook his head, pushing past his brother. “I don’t need to know what’s happening in your pants.”
“Excuse me, cranky pants, but my junk is bound up right now and needs to breathe.” Caden laughed and followed behind Kalkin. “Besides, tell me you're not feeling the same thing.”
“Fuck you, I ain’t telling you shit,” he snapped. His brother laughed even more and he sighed. “Fine, yes. Okay, asshole?”
“Okay,” Caden answered. “I’m going to check in with Logan. Then I am going to head to the station and gather all the deputies, including the cute newbie Jace hired, Sage Abbott. We need to start delegating shifts and duty rosters. According to Mrs. Martin and a couple of the other elder women, this festival will be bigger.”
Shit. Now was not the time to hear about more people coming into town. “What about the hills and mountains around us?”
“Royce and Jace will be going up into the trail, marking it off and placing the ‘do not enter’ placards up.” Caden walked over to the coffee machine and poured himself a cup. “We’ll have maps at information booths detailing safe places and where to stay away. We’ll be giving them to the new shifter couples along with the different shifter families. We also need to remind our younger wolves human girls will be mingling in with our females. They n
eed to be careful.”
Yeah, especially after everything we’ve learned about Emmett. “Good idea. I would hate for some teenage girl to get pregnant because our boys couldn’t stay home or get out of the gym.”
“I have an idea,” Jace said, coming around the corner and entering the kitchen. “What if we put the ten to eighteen-year-old boys in the rec center? They won’t like it too much, but we won’t have to worry about them. We’ll put one of the elders of the pack with them.”
Kalkin liked that idea. It would help them tremendously. “Do it. Let the parents know where their boys will be and Mrs. Martin, too, so she can send the orphans over as well.” Another problem he would have to deal with sooner rather than later, he suspected.
With Mrs. Martin growing older, it wasn’t fair for him to lean on the elderly woman to watch the rambunctious orphans, especially when one of them should have been in their home with them. After the festival, he'd figure out the solution. As of now, he had to concentrate on what would be happening around them and keep the town safe, all while trying to get Keeley bedded and mated to him so he could tell her everything. Even though, he suspected, she knew more than she said.
Jace nodded. “I’m not going out with Loraine.” That statement came out of left field, but Kalkin realized it was coming. Jace had serious issues he needed to work through. One of them being his ability to accept that he was different and to heal from his experience. Some part of Kalkin understood the healing wouldn't come through until he accepted his son, Bodhi.
“Yeah, I figured.” Kalkin shrugged. “So, I told Loraine where you like to run,” he lied. It rolled off his tongue so smoothly he doubted his brother could detect it.
“Why the hell would you do that? You know I won’t be alone.” Yep, he knew that, too.
Kalkin looked at Caden and snorted. “I’m doing him a favor. You would think our brother would be happy.”
“More like torturing me,” Jace muttered.
“Oh, cry me a fucking river, Jace. Just be out there. I promise you will have fun. If not, you can kick my ass later. Okay?”
“Okay,” Jace said. “I need to get to work. I have to show the new girl around.”
“You do that,” Caden laughed. “I’m out as well. I think I’ll check on Danielle and Aiden.”
“Sure.” Kalkin smirked and grabbed his clipboard off the counter, heading out as well. The urge to walk across the bridge with his brother and do the same coursed through him. He knew he could jumpstart the mating for them, but all of this had to be her choice. He wouldn’t force a mating on her, and after the little bit the FBI agent told him, she needed to have some control. Even if it rubbed his wolf the wrong way. Of course, he would push her a little Saturday night. But until then, the ball was in her court.
He stood on the front porch of his house and watched his brother follow the path to the front door. Lucky bastard. He stepped off the landing and made his way over to his Jeep. The melodic tones of song birds coming awake for the day filled the air, while streaks of light pink and purple crisscrossed the sky. To the east, the horizon turned a beautiful shade of orange as the night faded into morning. Once he was backing out of the driveway, he did his routine radio check and got an update from Loraine about the night shift. Everything was quiet, thankfully.
“Sounds good. I’ll be in town today, checking on the festival prep,” he said, turning onto the main road.
“Hey, Sheriff, did you talk to you know who?” Loraine's voice was soft as she asked her question.
“I did. I need to speak with you when I get to the station.” He was going to tell her exactly where to find Jace and his lover. He knew it could blow up in his face, but he also knew it could be the best thing he did for his brother, too.
“Copy, Kalkin.” Dropping the mic into its holder, he made a quick patrol of the town, then pulled up in front of the café and parked his car. His first stop was Mrs. Martin.
He got out of his SUV and strolled down the sidewalk. The women of the town were already setting up tables and tents for the festivities; however, the front of Mrs. Martin's shop sat bare. With a cautious hand, he pulled open the door to the shop. The bell over the door chimed. “Mrs. Martin?” he called out, stepping further into the store. The scent in the store was off. “Mrs. Martin.” Kalkin flicked the button on his holster and his palm wrapped around the butt of his Glock. He lifted his head and breathed deep, scenting the air. Three males had been in the store. None of the scents belonged to anyone in his pack. Shit. Kalkin pulled his gun and pushed past the curtain that separated the main floor of the shop from the living area. The stink grew worse with each step he took. Instinct told him to call out again and to run through the place trying to find the elderly woman, but he took his time. He wouldn’t give away his position nor would he allow the elderly woman to be a target for whoever could still be inside the store.
“Kalkin.” Mrs. Martin’s voice was weak. “I’m…I’m back here.”
He didn’t hesitate. He ran through the space until he found the older woman lying on the floor in her bedroom. The space had been torn apart, and not a stitch of it remained intact. “Mrs. Martin,” he said, going to his knees before her. “What happened? Where are the children?”
“They came for the girls,” she whispered.
“Who came for the girls? Which girls?” Had the Quincy pack made their intentions known? Was this the beginning of the attack Jeremy warned him would be coming? He placed her head on his lap and grabbed the mic at his shoulder, keying it up. “Dispatch, we have a 10-25 with a female victim. Requesting EMS, paramedics and an ambulance code 3 at Pauline’s.”
The kind old woman who’d treated him and his brothers as if they were her own pups was battered and bruised. Her lip was split, her eye swollen shut. He was sure her arm was broken and God help whoever attacked her if she had any internal injuries.
“No,” she groaned. “Someone else.”
Kalkin’s attention snapped to her. “Who?”
“I don’t know.” She frowned and swallowed hard. “They rushed me. I didn’t get a chance to see them really. I’d be able to smell them, though. They want Keeley and Danielle.”
Yeah, so would he. “Don’t talk. It’s okay, Mrs. Martin.” In the distance, he could hear the sirens of the ambulance and EMS. He was sure his brothers would be on the way over as well. “Just hang tight with me. We’re going to get you fixed up, I promise.”
“Kalkin?” Bodhi peered into the room from the doorway.
He glanced over his shoulder at the boy. His nephew. “Kid! Are you okay?”
He sniffled. “Mrs. Martin told me to hide. I didn’t wanna. I-I couldn’t help her.”
Shit. He sighed. “You did exactly what you were supposed to.” And Kalkin would do what he should have the minute Jace returned home. “You’re going to stay with us now, okay?”
Bodhi crumpled next to Mrs. Martin, openly crying for the woman who’d cared for him his whole life. “Okay. I’m sorry, Mrs. Martin. So sorry.”
Her hand came up and gripped his. “It’s okay, my sweet boy.”
Royce and Caden were the first two to push through the shop and into her home. Both wore identical expressions. “What happened?” Caden narrowed his eyes and sniffed. “Who was here?”
“Someone came looking for the girls. Get back to the house and sit on Danielle. I’ll deal with Keeley as soon I know Mrs. Martin is taken care of.”
Caden nodded and headed back out. He turned his attention to Royce as the first paramedic entered the room. Kalkin knew his brother directed the emergency personnel back to where they were waiting.
When the paramedics took over, he walked out of the room with Bodhi and turned his attention to Royce. “You know where the video is for this shop. I want you to get it and bring it back to the house. Go over it inch by inch and see if you can get a face for me.”
Royce inclined his chin.
“Whoever hit this place knew the girls were here. Mrs. Martin says i
t wasn't a Quincy wolf, and honestly, it doesn't smell like it, but that doesn't mean anything.”
“You’ve got it. I’ll keep you posted.” Royce glanced at the boy. “Do you want me to take him with me?”
“No, I’ll take care of him for now. Maybe grab us some breakfast. Okay, kid?”
“Okay,” Bodhi answered.
Kalkin looked up when he heard the stretcher come out of the back half of the living area. Mrs. Martin was situated on the gurney, a nasal cannula fitted to her face to aid in her breathing while an IV was taped to her arm, replenishing her fluids. Already the color in her skin looked better, not so gray.
“Boys,” she said, stopping the two EMTs in their tracks. “Find who broke into my shop.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Royce and Kalkin said at the same time.
* * * *
Danielle stood by the kitchen window, washing the last few bottles Aiden used the night before. Earlier, she removed his casts and watched with pride as the little boy took his first steps without hesitation. He yipped and barked at her then proceeded to roll over on his back and presented her his belly.
For an hour, she rubbed his tummy off and on and played tug of war with him. When he didn’t play with her, he hopped and skipped around the living room. By the time she gave him a mid-morning bottle then laid him down for a nap, he’d been completely worn out. Danielle poked her head out of the kitchen and snorted. For the last couple of days, Aiden had taken to pulling a blanket over him while he slept. The little teddy bear she’d bought for him always stayed close as well.
If she stopped to think about it, she’d find it odd, but puppies were curious little creatures. And she wasn’t going to disturb him. He slept comfortably. He was happy. Who could ask for anything else? However, she decided she needed to talk to Caden about adding some solid food to his diet. Milk was great, but with the rate of his growth, he would need something to supplement it. In the last two days, she’d gone through an extra three packs of milk. At the rate he consumed it, she would need two deliveries a day, if not more.
