Protecting the Pack

by Tabitha Conall

  Dana smacked him on the arm. “Stop staring at her.”

  “Sorry.” He said it automatically. It was never a good idea to piss Dana off. Just one more reason he hoped she was wrong about their being mates. He didn’t think he could live with her temper for the rest of his life.

  Keith walked up to the beauty by the door. He had his back to Chris, but by the look on the woman’s face, he must have said something rude. Or mean. Chris fought the urge to smack Keith.

  But his presence explained a few things. The beauty must be the young female Keith had mentioned, the one who wanted to join his pack. As much as Dana welcomed Ben’s joining, Chris knew she wouldn’t want this female anywhere near them. Or near him, to be precise.

  Keith and the woman walked toward him.

  Chris leaned toward Dana. “I’ve got some business with them. Once it’s done, we can leave. But for now, we need some privacy.”

  Dana frowned at him then leaned over and kissed him. Not a peck, either. Chris let her. He knew what she was doing—letting the other woman know who Chris belonged to. As though Chris would ever date the little beauty. She was hot, but far too young for a thirty-something like him.

  Dana sauntered off, swinging her hips suggestively, just as Keith and the woman stopped in front of him.

  “Hey, Chris,” Keith said.

  “Keith.”

  “This is Alex, the wolf I told you about. She wants to join.”

  Chris stuck his hand out to her. “I’m Chris.”

  As she shook his hand, her mouth moved in a semblance of a smile that vanished so quickly he wasn’t sure he’d seen it. “Hi.”

  “Why don’t you sit down and we’ll talk,” Chris said.

  Alex sat in the chair next to him, and Keith grabbed the stool next to her, dragging it toward them to make a small circle.

  Chris stopped him. “Just the two of us. If Alex wants to join, I need to hear it from her.”

  Keith shot a glance at Alex. Chris couldn’t quite make out what the expression on his face meant. Was he angry? Frustrated? Annoyed at not being able to stay?

  “Sure, no problem,” Keith said. He returned the stool to its spot and walked off.

  “So, Alex,” Chris said. “Why do you want to join Roanoke pack?”

  In the background, a voice raised over the ambient noise, then fell down again.

  She pressed her lips together. Up close, she looked a little older than he’d thought. Not necessarily just out of diapers. But he’d be surprised if she was much past high school.

  “I heard it’s a good pack,” she said. “Keith said it’d be good.”

  That was the lamest reason he’d heard yet. “Are you and Keith a couple?”

  Her face screwed up. “I wouldn’t date him if he were the last man on earth.”

  Chris barked out a laugh. He couldn’t agree more. “All right, then. You’re awfully young.” He wanted to say—why aren’t you still in your parents’ pack? But maybe something terrible had happened to her. Maybe her parents were dead, or maybe she was one of those rare cases where a wolf is brought up by a Loner.

  Before he could think of how to ask, she answered him. “I’m nineteen. Not that young.”

  Again, a voice shouted over the crowd, loud but indecipherable, then faded away.

  “And the pack you grew up in?” Chris said.

  “I left.” She tucked her hair behind one ear and wouldn’t meet his eyes.

  “Did they hurt you?” He kept his voice low.

  “No.” Her voice sounded sharp. “My parents are good people. They’d never hurt me.”

  “Then why did you leave?”

  She opened her mouth then closed it. “Long story.”

  He waited. If he were going to be her Pack Alpha, he needed to know all of that long story. And he needed her to trust him enough to tell him.

  Now two voices rose over the din, shouting at each other. He tuned it out.

  “There was a guy,” she said. “And my parents didn’t like him. He wanted me to leave with him and they forbade it. So I went anyway.”

  Great. She goes off with this guy then he dumps her. “Where is he now?”

  Her eyes shifted to the side. “Not here.”

  The crack of wood breaking snapped through the crowd. Two wolves rounded each other, one of them holding a partially broken chair.

  The one with the chair was Mad Dog, one of the new wolves in Roanoke. The other was a guy from Stonewall, Kevin somebody. Mad Dog smashed the chair over Kevin’s head, further splintering it. He dropped the remains and charged Kevin instead, picking him up by the thighs and dropping him forcefully to the ground.

  “Hey!” Chris yelled. From the other direction, Chris’ second and third, Nick and Matt, pushed their way through the crowd.

  Mad Dog smashed his fist into Kevin’s face, again, and then again.

  Some of the other new wolves, including Keith, were making it hard for Nate and Matt to get to Mad Dog. Chris was a lot closer. “I’ll be right back. Stay here.” Chris pushed past the couple of people in the way and hauled Mad Dog off of Kevin.

  The room fell silent.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Chris said. Mad Dog struggled, but Chris held him easily.

  “He insulted me,” Mad Dog said.

  Matt and Nick helped Kevin to his feet.

  “No bar fights,” Chris said. “I made that clear.”

  “He’s a runt. He’s not even in our pack. What do you care?”

  Chris pushed Mad Dog so hard he fell onto the floor on his back. Chris stood over him. “First, I’m the Alpha. My word is law. I tell you no bar fights, there are no bar fights.” He leaned forward as he said the last few words. “Second, if you want to fight, you can challenge someone in Roanoke for rank. But Kevin’s not in Roanoke. No fighting with Stonewall.” This time he gazed around the room, meeting the eyes of all the new wolves. “Am I clear? Because the next time one of you breaks the rules, you’re out.”

  He waited to see what they would do. He almost hoped someone would question him, because his wolf wanted to fight. And while the ‘no bar fights’ rule applied to him, too, there was nothing stopping him from taking one of these pups out to the alley for a lesson.

  His human side hoped it wouldn’t be necessary.

  When no one moved for several seconds, Chris straightened up and walked back through the crowd. When he sat down next to Alex, it was like a flip had been switched. The wolves around him broke out in conversation while Mad Dog struggled to his feet.

  “Where were we?” Chris said.

  Alex took a breath deep enough that her chest moved. “Does that happen often?”

  “Almost never.” He didn’t remember what they’d been discussing, so he started a new line of questioning. “How do you know Keith?”

  Alex’s eyes darted across the room to where Keith sat, glowering at her. “He’s a friend of the guy I told you about.”

  “The guy who took you away from your family and left you high and dry. Sounds like a complete jerk. Why are you still hanging around with his friend?” Adrenaline still pulsed through his veins. He was aware he wasn’t being very gentle with her, but he found it hard to pull back.

  She shrugged with one shoulder. “He said he could help me. And I don’t know anyone else around here.”

  She seemed on the up and up. Immature, but many nineteen year olds were. She’d grow out of that. But there was still the wider problem. All the new pack members—and her one friend was one of them. Chris was probably paranoid to think there was some conspiracy going on, but he couldn’t help it. So he had just one line of questioning left.

  “Why Roanoke and not Stonewall?”

  “What?” she said.

  “Why not join Stonewall pack? My pack is full to the gills, and Stonewall could use a few new wolves. I can talk to the Stonewall Alpha about you. Plus, it’ll mean you don’t have to be pack members with Keith.”

  She smiled, the first time she’d reall
y smiled since he’d met her. Her face lit up like it was glowing from within.

  For a second he forgot how young she was and wondered what it’d be like to see her smile at him like that while she lay under him in bed. Then he remembered himself. None of that.

  “It sure would be great to get away from Keith,” she said.

  Thank God. She was going to go for it. Not that he couldn’t use another female in his pack, but this confirmed she wasn’t part of his alleged conspiracy, and for that he was glad.

  “But I really want to join Roanoke pack.”

  And then she ruined it. Was she in on this whole thing, too? Or was it all just his imagination running crazy?

  “I’ve kind of decided not to take on any new wolves for now. We’ve had a few too many join over the past few months.” That wasn’t entirely true. He was seriously considering letting Ben in. But he wanted to see what Alex would say.

  “I hope you’ll reconsider. Or maybe take me in on a conditional basis. I’ve heard such good things about Roanoke pack.”

  “From Keith.” Who’d been a pain in Chris’ ass ever since he joined. Almost as much of a pain in the ass as Mad Dog.

  She faltered for a split second. “Yes, from Keith.”

  Shit, she was in on it. He felt sure. Yet, how could he turn her away? A young female wolf out on her own would be prey more than predator. She needed a pack. Maybe he could still convince her to join Stonewall.

  “I’d like to meet again before making a decision,” he said. “Can you come back tomorrow night?”

  “Sure.”

  They agreed to meet at nine. “I’ll see you then,” Chris said.

  As he went to collect Dana, Chris called Jake. Maybe the Stonewall pack Alpha could join them and convince her to change her mind. Jake agreed to meet them at the bar at nine the next night. After that, Chris didn’t protest when Dana nearly dragged him home.

  ***

  After her talk with Chris, Alex headed out to the parking lot. She just wanted to go home and be with Brett. She’d felt like an idiot, trying to piece together truths and half-truths for Chris. And she wasn’t so sure she’d convinced him, either.

  Keith caught up to her before she got into her car. “How’d it go?”

  “Fine.”

  He grabbed her arm. “Are you sure? He didn’t look convinced to me.” His gaze traveled over her body. “Maybe you shouldn’t have worn so many clothes.”

  Alex pulled away from him. “I suppose you think I should have raised my ass so he could mount me.”

  He chuckled. “Yeah, if it’d work.”

  “You’re disgusting. I’m with Brett.”

  Keith got in her face. “Just ‘cause Brett’s fucking you doesn’t mean anything. It sure as hell doesn’t make you anything. You’re just a little slut.”

  Chapter 3

  Alex slapped Keith. “You shut up. If Brett heard you talking like that, he’d—”

  ”He’d what?”

  She scoffed. Keith knew damn well what Brett would do. He’d kick Keith’s ass. Brett had done it before when guys were mean to her or came onto her or in any way showed disrespect. “He’d beat you.”

  Keith chuckled, but took a step back. “Whatever. You just better not screw this up. Or Brett will beat you, not me.”

  “I’m not screwing anything up.” And she didn’t believe for a second that Brett would beat her.

  “See that you don’t.” He loped back into the building.

  Alex got into her car and left. It wasn’t bad enough she’d looked like a naive little fool in front of Chris. The Roanoke Alpha was right about one thing. She’d love to be in a different pack from Keith, and never have to deal with him again. Unfortunately, Brett liked him. She couldn’t figure out why.

  When she got back to the house, Brett had gone out. He’d left a note telling her not to wait up. So she watched a little television, still hoping he might come home then went to bed. In the middle of the night, he woke her up to make love to her before they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

  ***

  Ben met Liam at a quirky restaurant called The Weeping Widow for lunch the next day. The restaurant harkened back to colonial times, both inside and out, starting with its name and ending with its wood timbers and dark interior.

  Liam looked like he always did—squared away. Ben felt like a mess next to him then realized the mess was all inside his head. Outside, he looked just as fit, trim and clean-cut as Liam. Too bad it wasn’t as easy to clean up his insides.

  After they'd ordered, Liam took a swig of his beer and said, “So you want to join Stonewall?”

  Ben fiddled with his fork. “Maybe. I went to the bar last night after I got in, and I met a guy named Chris Byers.”

  “Yeah, Chris. Good guy. He's the Alpha of Roanoke pack.”

  “Yep, that's what he said.” Ben didn't want to insult Liam but he had to let him know what he was thinking. “He said there are some problems in Stonewall. The old Alpha left a mess.”

  Liam leaned forward. “True enough. Jake's doing a great job. But the old Alpha ran off all the strong wolves and now most of the pack members are submissives.” He clapped Ben on the back. “That's why we need alphas like you to join.”

  Ben didn't say anything at first, just flipped his fork over and over with his fingers. “I'm just not sure I can go into a pack like that.”

  Liam stilled. Ben could feel his friend's gaze on him.

  “Is this about the shit that went down with your father's pack?”

  Not many people knew about Ben's past. Liam did. “Yeah.”

  “Stonewall's not like that. Jake's the strongest Alpha I've ever seen. And he's a good leader.”

  Ben laid the fork on the table. “But the pack's not strong. If a group came in to take over, Jake couldn't fight them all by himself.” That's what had happened with his parent's pack. A group had come in, overwhelmed them, killed his father. Destroyed his life. And his parent’s pack hadn’t been weak.

  Liam peeled at the label on his beer bottle. “You're thinking Roanoke is stronger overall. That it'll be safer.”

  “Yeah.”

  “We need guys like you,” Liam said.

  “It's just…I'm tired.” It sucked to have to admit that. To say straight out, I'm used up at twenty-six. I've got nothing left. And it rankled. He might be tired, but he was still an alpha. His wolf didn't want to show weakness, even to someone as close to him as Liam.

  Liam finished peeling off the beer bottle label, leaving it perfectly intact. “I hear you. You might be right. Roanoke would be more restful than Stonewall.”

  When Liam said that, Ben realized he'd made his decision. Hell, he'd made it the night before, talking to that behemoth of an Alpha. Just sitting next to Chris, he'd felt safe in a way he hadn't in years. He needed that. Even more than he needed to be with his friend Liam. “I'm sorry.”

  “Don't be.” Liam clapped him on the back. “We'll get together often. One of the great things about Marysburg is the large neutral territory. And since Chris and Jake are friends, the packs mingle on a regular basis.”

  Ben smiled to keep up Liam's pretense. They both knew seeing one another once in a while couldn't compare to the closeness of being in the same pack. But at least Liam didn't seem mad.

  A calm feeling settled over Ben. He’d talk to Chris tonight. Hell, he’d pledge himself tonight if Chris let him. And then he’d be home.

  ***

  That night, Alex walked into the bar a few minutes before nine. A Friday night, the place was just as crammed as the night before. Most of the people she passed smelled like pack—both Roanoke and Stonewall.

  She found Chris at nearly the same spot he’d been at the night before. This time, a big dark-haired guy sat next to him. Someone from Stonewall pack.

  When Chris saw her, he pulled a stool in between them and patted the seat. “Good to see you again.”

  She climbed up. “Same here.”

  Chris motioned tow
ard the other man. “This is Jake, the Stonewall pack Alpha.”

  Shit. He was trying to pawn her off on this other guy. Brett would be so pissed if she didn’t manage to get into Roanoke. Still, she had to play along. “Nice to meet you.” They shook hands.

  “I hear you’re looking for a new pack,” Jake said.

  “Yeah,” she said. “I heard good things about Marysburg.” She almost said ‘Roanoke’ but it wouldn’t do to insult the Stonewall Alpha. Especially when Chris was the one who brought him here.

  “It’s a good little town,” Jake said. “We could use more wolves in Stonewall. But I hear you’re set on Roanoke.”

  Crap on a stick. What was she supposed to say? She wanted to be with Keith even though she’d already admitted she thought he was an ass? She’d been prepared to talk to Chris, not Jake. “Don’t you already have a lot of females at Stonewall?” She was grasping at straws.

  “No more than at Roanoke,” Chris said. “Females are always prized.”

  She met Chris’ eyes. “If we’re prized then why don’t you want me?”

  Something flashed across his face, an expression of naked lust followed immediately by disgust.

  She really should have thought about how that sounded before she’d said it. “I don’t mean want me want me, I mean…you know. In your pack.” And what was that disgust about? She was decent looking. Maybe not petite and pedicured like Chris’ girlfriend, but not that bad.

  Chris seemed to stumble over his words for a second then he spit out, “Pack politics.”

  No, no, no. Brett would kill her if she couldn’t get in.

  A loud crash split through the voices and music. Everyone quieted as heads turned to look. Two wolves grappled with each other in the middle of tables rapidly being abandoned.

  “Shit. Not again,” Chris said. He stood and pushed through the crowd to get to the wolves. Jake followed right behind him.

  Alex stayed where she was, but craned her neck to see what was happening. Mad Dog was fighting again. Why the hell couldn’t he keep himself together? What an idiot.

  Chris yanked Mad Dog away from the other wolf, who stumbled into Jake. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Chris growled. He continued to hold onto Mad Dog.