by Crystal Dawn
Reese
The Red Wolf Series (1)
By Crystal Dawn
Copyright 2015 by Crystal Dawn
Cover by Cindy Lucas Fantasy Covers
Edited by Katrina Breier
This is a work of fiction and all characters are imaginary.
This book is dedicated to the heroes among us: soldiers, firemen, policemen, and all of those who put their lives on the line so that others can be safe.
Prologue
Twenty years ago
It was a tough time to be a wolf in Howlington. A couple of rogues had been attacking humans locally and strangers were coming around trying to find out what was going on. They had no clue what was really happening. They only knew that there had been unexplained disappearances and reporters and investigators were drawn to the mystery.
Jake Horton, freelance reporter, was one such person. He thought why not take his family on a vacation. His oldest daughter was a big girl now, all of five years old and would be staying the summer with his mom, but they would take their newborn with them. If anything turned up, he would have a story to sell to his editor. He hadn’t really planned on him and his wife being the next victims of the mystery or leaving their baby daughter behind to be raised by wolves, but who plans on something like that happening?
Reese
Chapter 1
The Alpha’s Daughter
Earlier in the day.
“Hey, Reese! When did you get back in town?”
“Just a few seconds ago Stan.”
“I was about to go to Betty’s Place. Why don’t you come along? All the guys will be there and whatever girls are available around here.”
The thought of hanging around with the guys after being away was nice. The thought of getting laid after so long was even nicer. I’d been busy and honestly even when I could find the time, I hadn’t found anyone who interested me. Maybe that would change.
“Let me go home, shower, change and I’ll meet you there.” Stan nodded so I turned to go home.
I unlocked my door and stepped in. The place had that stale smell from being abandoned for too long. It wasn’t fixed up nice like a real home would be, but I was a bachelor so I didn’t need any frills. My job in the pack was important and I was called away regularly. If I had a family, I would probably send others. Since I was alone, why not go myself and see things are taken care of properly. Some called me an enforcer, but my title was Overseer, most of the men just called me boss. I wasn’t the pack alpha or an elder, but we lived in one of those rare places, a pack town. Our population was six thousand, give or take, mostly wolves. We had the odd human or other supernatural being, but mostly we kept to ourselves.
Our governing method was simple. We had a pack alpha who ran things, a town council of elders who advised and occasionally interfered and we had an overseer for the serious stuff. That was me, I was the baddest bad ass around. I generally stayed out of the daily things and I stepped in whenever there was a problem the alpha or the council couldn’t deal with. I had been doing my job for around fifteen years now. The alpha and the council knew enough to stay out of my way and leave me be. I’m sure they were relieved that I took trips often because I knew I made them uncomfortable. Not that I gave a shit. We had a live and let live agreement and if I took an interest in a matter, everyone left it to me to handle. Our town had no discipline problems because I handled the discipline and everyone was scared to death of me.
When I was home, my office and home was the center of activity and everything ran out of here. When I was gone, I locked it up tight and I doubted Stan ever left Betty’s place or his house. He ran everything from those two places. It worked since I never got any complaints from the alpha or the council, not that they would be eager to bring me one. It would have to be bad, horrible even before they would risk my ire. Even then, only the alpha had the balls to approach me. The council was mostly made up of whiny pussies that interfered more than they helped.
It made it hard to know who your friends were when everyone either ran to avoid you or sucked up like their life depended on it. Stan wasn’t like that though. We had been friends since we were pups. We’d gone in the military together, become SEALS together and came back home together.
Over half of the SEALS I’d met while I was in the military were supernaturals of one sort or the other. The majority of those were either wolf or vamp. When I say vamp, I’m not talking those wimpy vampires that can’t go out in the sun or have to be invited into your house to come in. It’s true many newly made vampires have a slight sun allergy they eventually outgrow, but that shit about being invited in, who comes up with crazy shit like that? The allergy is just itchy and looks nasty. It doesn’t really make them explode or melt or whatever the movie makers have come up with. We all get a good laugh when we watch those movies.
Stan was my second then and he’s my second now because I had trusted him with my life more than once and he always came through. It was sad, but he was only one of a handful of people I even missed when I was gone. Other than that, it was only memories and the fact that they were my pack that kept me coming back. I had carved out a life for myself here that was nothing like the life I was forced to live growing up in this pack.
I got into the shower and set the water to hot. It would help the aching muscles from my long drive home. I wet my hair and soaped myself up wishing I had a sexy female to do this for me. As I ran my soapy hands over my chest, I imagined someone softer with a lighter touch working me up so they could take care of me later. When was the last time I had sex in the shower? I couldn’t even remember. I was missing something in my life and it was more than just sex, maybe I needed to find a mate. Hell that was just crazy. I was barely fifty years old, I had time. I finished my shower quickly and took a little time to dress. I decided to go with comfort so I put on a pair of well-worn blue jeans and an old T-shirt that hugged my muscles like an old friend.
Betty’s place was the local hangout for the drinking crowd. It was midweek, so it wouldn’t be hopping like it was on the weekend. It was also early afternoon so most people were still at work. There was another crowd that hung around at Betty’s at times like this and that was the younger kids and families. Betty’s had a small area that served food which was very popular with those that didn’t drink. She had chili cheese fries on the menu that were a meal all by themselves. This area was on one side of the place with the bar on the other. Those who wanted to order food had to walk through the bar to get there. It made it easy to check out some of the local females who otherwise wouldn’t be caught dead in a dive like Betty’s Place.
Some of the families would come down, order food and sit outside and eat. They didn’t want anything to do with the kind of people that hung out in this place and they tried to make sure their kids wouldn’t grow into that kind of person either. It was especially worrisome for those blessed few that had daughters. Mostly whores hung around here and they were passed from one disreputable male to the next falling lower and lower until they ended up with a male that made most of us look like a fucking prince. We didn’t bring the girls down to that level on purpose. We just wanted some sex and then we moved on. Male wolves are just like that. I planned to have pups one day and if I ever had a daughter, no one had better lay their filthy paws on her. Especially any male like I was right now, which was a player.
It was only a couple blocks so I walked there. I entered and the dark atmosphere with all the smoke and stale beer smells hit me right away. Maybe I had just outgrown my enjoyment of this kind of life. Stan was at the pool table playing with a couple of wolves that must be from out of town. I knew all the males, but not all the females. That was because daddy wolves were protective of their little princesses and most wouldn’t want me around them. It would be a
different matter if they thought I was looking for a mate. If that was the case I would be hounded by every parent in town with an unmated daughter of appropriate age.
There would be a few exceptions like the alpha who had a daughter, or at least I’d heard he had and wouldn’t want her mated to me. Two of the elders, Jameson and Trivett, both had daughters and wouldn’t want me near them for any reason either. The four of us never got along with each other. We all rose to our positions at nearly the same time and our relationship had always been strained. I couldn’t tell you what any of their daughters looked like or even how old they were. They had done that good a job of hiding them. If I wasn’t so busy, I would have made a point to hunt them down and see if they were worth my time. It would give me the added joy of pissing off my rivals.
Stan finished his game taking all the money his two new buddies had on them in the process. We sat down to have a beer and started catching up, since we hadn’t seen each other in person in three months. This had been my longest time away in, well ever. I heard the door open, but I didn’t pay any attention to it. I picked up this scent rolling through the room. It’s a female human but it is more than that. There’s a she wolf with her, but her scent doesn’t interest me. No, it’s the human that has a sweet, fresh scent, it’s tangy and tickles my nose. I don’t want to, but I have to turn around to look. I’m not a racist, but I’m just not into human females. At least I wasn’t before.
Stan was already looking with his mouth gaping open. “Holy fuck!”
I turned to look. “Shit!” It was all I could think to say. Every male in the place was checking out the two cuties walking through, but I was only looking at one of them.
She looked to be in her early twenties. Her glossy honey colored hair hung down to her ass in windblown curls. I couldn’t tell her eye color or see most of her features clearly, but I could see a pair of full kissable lips. She was wearing a bikini top that didn’t adequately cover an impressive set of tits that I wasn’t sure my large hands could cover. Her very short cut offs looked wet like she had pulled them on over wet bikini bottoms after taking a swim. Once she walked by, I could see the cheeks of her ass peeking out as if they wanted to play. Hell, I would play with them. I had a fucking raging hard on and I was sure every other male in the bar had one too. I was a little irritated that anyone could see what I was looking at. I growled without realizing it. Now all eyes were on me. I shrugged, I didn’t know what was going on in my head either. I only knew I wanted that young human female, I was going to have her and no one had better get in my way.
She walked up to the counter where she and her friend were picking up a food order. The order was waiting and they paid. They turned and her eyes fell on me. Her gaze moved over me taking in my features and then back up to look me in the eyes. Doesn’t she know not to feed the wolves? There’s nothing as tempting to an alpha as a delicious little human female looking him in the eyes. It says come and get me. It’s a challenge to everything that makes me who and what I am. Her friend whispers in her ear so low, that even with my exceptional hearing I can’t tell what she said. She turns and leaves the bar quickly. Run little human. You won’t escape me, but I love a good chase. The atmosphere in the bar changes the moment she leaves. It once more becomes a dark, tired place to kill time when there is nothing else to do. I don’t mind, I have a mission now. I will catch the female and I will take her. I feel an energy thrumming through me that I haven’t felt in a very long time. I give her a head start. I have her scent, she won’t get away.
*****
My friend Gena and I went to the lake and spent the whole morning swimming. There were some really cute guys there and they were interested in us. Maybe that’s why we stayed later then we planned on. We had to go to Betty’s Place to pick up our usual order of chili cheese fries because she would have them waiting for us. I knew I wasn’t supposed to go there after noon, but I never thought any one I needed to stay away from would be there until after five. That was when the party animals came out to play. I had just graduated with a bachelor’s degree and I was nearly twenty one. I hadn’t been home for any length of time in the three years I had been going to college. Maybe that was why I had gotten slack on the rules my parents had set down for me since I had turned fifteen.
I was adopted and I was a human raised in a wolf family. Not just any wolf family, my father was the pack alpha. My natural parents had been killed in an accident and I was left all alone. The alpha’s wife Jenna, had told him she wanted to keep me. Alpha Roberts could never say no to his mate. Theirs was a love match. When I turned fifteen and began to look like a young woman, my parents told me to avoid certain people and places. I knew it was for my own good, but they were so protective.
I knew the moment I stepped into Betty’s that trouble was there. When Gena whispered to me that the overseer Reese Jensen, was there I knew it was time to leave. I didn’t think he would hit on me even though he was famous for his use ‘em then lose ‘em tactics. He didn’t like human females so I was safe there but he was just so damn scary and he didn’t like my family. I couldn’t help myself and I looked up. I saw broad shoulders covered by a tight T shirt. I knew he was tall, but I couldn’t tell how tall since he was sitting down. His hair, black as pitch, was wavy and just below his collar. I’ll admit it made me want to run my fingers through it. It looked so silky and tempting. His lips were full and kissable and he had a patrician nose. I finally looked at his eyes but I had made a mistake. He was staring back at me with a molten look that even a female as inexperienced as I was couldn’t mistake.
He wanted me. I felt my nipples get hard and a slow burn started between my thighs. What was I going to do now? I had to escape, but I knew better than to run as long as he could see me. Once we were out the door we got into my pickup and got out of there. I dropped Gena off at her home before going home myself. My original plan had been to stay for the summer to enjoy time with my family. Now I might have to leave early. Everything depended on what the overseer did next.
“You’re late!” Mom yelled from the kitchen as she heard me close the living room door.
“Sorry, Mom. We ran behind a little. I still brought you an order of chili cheese fries from Betty’s.”
“You didn’t run into anyone there, did you?” she asked suspiciously.
I considered not telling her, but I knew I had to. “The overseer was there with his second.”
I heard her gasp. “The two worst wolves you could run into. I’m surprised they let you leave. I’d better call Harve.”
“Do you have to tell Daddy?”
“I want him home before one of them gets here.”
I remembered the heated look that the overseer gave me. Mom was right. She did need to call Daddy. I hoped he made it home in time.
Mom came back in the room. “He’s on his way.”
*****
Stan is giving me funny looks. “Don’t you think you should catch her before she gets away?”
Stan was always perceptive. “Who do you think would stand between me and a human female?”
“The alpha or a council member could. You don’t know who she belongs to. I think the alpha has a human child.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?” I looked at Stan with irritation. That damn alpha was going to rob me of my prize if I wasn’t quick. “Let’s go!” Stan’s truck was parked outside the door, so we took it. Her scent was still strong so we headed slowly down the road with the window open.
“Shit! This is the way to the alpha’s house.” I cursed up a blue streak. Damn my luck all to hell!
I was very unhappy. Of all the wolves in town, that one was the most likely to stand in my way. The thought of having to wait and plan to abduct her if her father got in the way made frustration run through me. I growled and Stan cast a nervous glance in my direction. Calm down. She will be ours, wolf. My wolf settled now that he had my promise. I wondered how my wolf could be so invested in claiming a human’s body. I k
new that there was something special about her, but I tried not to focus on that. I just wanted her until I tired of her, didn’t I? I didn’t want to join with her. That would be crazy! And yet my wolf looked back at me with obsession in his eyes. He was fueled by a desire I had never before known. I knew nothing about this woman, but I wanted her with every fiber of my being. Was she a witch? Had she cast a spell on me? If that was true, why had I sensed fear and the need to escape as she left the bar?
We sat in front of the alpha’s house. I saw his SUV in the driveway. We would wait until he left so I could take her. My wolf prowled in my head. Take her now! Claim her. She is ours, no one can stop us. My wolf was going crazy. I told him to view this as a hunt. We were waiting until the right time to strike. This, my wolf understood. Yes, she is our prey. We will keep her forever. We must not let her escape. I didn’t know what to think of the things my wolf was thinking.
Once we, my wolf and I, tired of her, she could go. A human couldn’t possibly hold our attention for long. So we sat and we waited. Wolves can be patient when they must. I hoped they would think she hadn’t attracted me since she was only human after all. The alpha waited a few hours before he left. It was late enough that I expected him to wait until the morning, but he must have gotten called away. The coast was clear and she would soon be mine. My wolf rejoiced.
We waited a few minutes to be sure he wouldn’t come back. Stan and I exchanged a look of silent agreement that enough time had passed. We exited the truck and slipped around the house to figure out who was inside. It seemed she was alone with her mother as near as I could tell. I wasn’t sure that they would answer a knock on the door, but decided to try anyway. The second time I knocked, her mother opened the door. She didn’t seem surprised.
“She’s already gone.”
