by Jessica Ryan
Rowan stood up, giving her space. His eyes were still fixed on Eva, but his nostrils were picking something up: cheap cologne. He sniffed the air hard—he had smelled this cologne earlier today.
He looked up to see the police car at the same time Sheriff Jerry Hewitt and Deputy Donovan Woods walked out from behind his truck, guns drawn. Hewitt had his usual revolver leveled at Rowan while Donovan held a shotgun, holding it steady and aiming directly at Rowan's heart.
"Fuck," Rowan said, putting his arms up.
"What?" Eva asked, facing Rowan as she stood up. She turned around and yelped, her hands shooting up too.
"I knew you weren't being entirely honest with me earlier, boy," Jerry said.
Rowan had to fight rolling his eyes. He had been on plenty of busts with Jerry before; he called everyone he arrested 'boy'.
"Take it easy, Jerry," Rowan said, trying to move forward. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Jerry's thumb expertly pull the hammer back on his revolver.
"Not another step, boy!' Jerry screamed. "You lying son of a bitch. I came to you earlier and you lied to my face. You knew exactly where the girl was, because you took her!"
"He didn't take me!" Eva protested.
"Quiet!" Jerry hollered. "I don't want to hear any stories!"
"Jerry, just listen to her," Rowan started to say.
"Call me Sheriff!" Jerry screamed again.
"Sheriff," Eva said, trying to step forward. "He didn't kidnap me. I went with him willingly."
"What are you saying?" Donovan asked, lowering his shotgun a bit.
"The dead man outside the bar attacked me," she said. "Rowan and his dog saved me from him."
"Your dog killed that man and you didn't report it?" Donovan asked. "Why wouldn't you tell us any of this today?"
Rowan didn't have an answer, Eva was trying to concoct a story on the spot to save their asses, but it was already full of holes. Jerry was a hothead, but Donovan was the dangerous one here. He had a good head on his shoulders and he was quickly destroying her made-up story.
"Because that man is a member of a biker gang," Eva said. "We knew they'd be out to find me, and Rowan didn't want me to get hurt."
"That makes sense," Donovan said, turning it over in his head. "But he's still sheriff. Rowan should have called us. We could have contacted Witness Protection."
"No," Eva said. "We can't risk it."
Rowan wanted her to shut up. There were so many holes and the story was clearly falling apart in Donovan's eyes.
"I've never seen you with a dog," Donovan finally said, raising his shotgun back to Rowan.
"Enough of this," Jerry said. "She's obviously got Stockholm Syndrome or something. Donovan, cuff him."
Donovan sprinted forward, pulling Rowan's hands behind his back as he prepared to clank the heavy metal cuffs home.
Rowan didn't make any motion to fight him; he was still turning over a possible solution in his head.
"No!" Eva shouted, turning to try and stop the tall deputy.
Jerry was on her quickly, tackling Eva to the ground unnecessarily.
All Rowan could see was red as he heard the thud of Eva hitting the ground with the heavier man on top of her. She let out an audible "oof" as all the air exited her body. His wolf could feel her pain via their neural link, and it enraged him.
Rowan tried to control it, knowing if he fought now he might be shot dead and Eva would be taken away for good. Nobody would be able to protect her from Satan's Angels when Jerry went on TV and announced he had found the girl, touting himself as the big-balled, virile, conquering hero he thought himself to be.
Calm down, boy, Rowan said inside his head. It'll be okay; he's not going to hurt her. We'll get our revenge.
"Stop fighting," Donovan said.
Rowan hadn't realized he had flexed his entire body, growing tense all over. As strong as Donovan was, he wasn't able to budge Rowan's arms.
He tried to relax, but it was hard. His whole body was on edge and his mind was frazzled. His wolf was ready to explode to the surface and destroy both men.
"It'll be okay, Eva," Rowan said to her as she struggled underneath the sheriff. "I'm going to fix this."
"You won't fix anything, criminal," Jerry said, looking up at him with a sinister smile. "I've been wanting to see you go down for a long time, and this was all I needed. I'm going to take jurisdiction over this shithole of a town too, and find out why you boys are so secretive."
Over my dead body, Rowan thought.
Donovan finally got him cuffed, securing his hands behind his back.
"Be easy, Jerry," Rowan said. "She's scared."
"Not as scared as she was when you kidnapped her!" Jerry yelled. There was a gleam in his eyes, one that reminded Rowan of bloodlust. He thought he had one of the biggest cases of his career and he was going to milk it for everything it was worth.
The gleam quickly left his eye, replaced by a glassy look of pain as Eva's elbow shot up into his sternum, knocking the wind out of him.
"Get off me, you fat son of a bitch!" she screamed, rolling over to face Jerry, who was gasping for air.
With one quick motion she brought her knee up hard into Jerry's balls, buckling his knees and bringing him to the ground.
"That's no way to treat the victim!" she screamed, jumping to her feet.
Donovan quickly let go of Rowan and moved forward cautiously, his hands up to ward off any swings from Eva.
"Please calm down, miss," he said. "I know you've been through a traumatic experience. We're here to help you."
She started to lower her guard as Donovan's words disarmed her. Then she was convulsing and screaming as Jerry rose behind her and slammed a Taser into her neck, sending thousands of volts through her body.
Eva's mouth foamed and she hit the ground, still shaking.
"Why did you do that?" Donovan asked. "I had her calm."
"Lousy bitch kneed me in the balls," Jerry said. "She's lucky I don't bring her up on assaulting a peace officer."
Neither man noticed Rowan behind them. His eyes were more wolf than man now, every vein in his body threatening to explode out of his skin as he flexed his muscles. It was hard to see straight; everything was a haze of red as the rage filled him to the brim. With one powerful yank he snapped the cuffs in two, freeing himself from their bondage.
Both men turned as a powerful growl escaped his lips and he began to shift.
"The fuck?" Jerry asked, his voice a mixture of shock and fear.
Donovan didn't speak; he just started screaming as the giant wolf slammed into his chest, knocking him into Jerry.
"He's a fucking werewolf!" Jerry screamed, trying to pick himself up off the ground.
Rowan completely bypassed Donovan; instead he moved to quickly end Jerry's miserable little life. The bastard had harmed his mate; this was the end for him. It only took one bite for his powerful jaws to nearly sever the sheriff's head from his body.
Donovan called out in fear, trying to back away. Rowan began to advance on him slowly, growling louder with each step.
"Oh, please!" Donovan hollered, tripping over a rock and hitting his ass hard. He continued to scoot backwards, Rowan just a few feet from him. "I was just following orders! I never agreed with that piece of shit! Please let me go!"
Rowan stopped just inches from his face. Donovan was a good kid; he didn't deserve to die like this. But Rowan had rules that he had to observe. He had already let one person live and now she was the reason he was faced with more humans seeing his true form. There would be an investigation; people would wonder where the sheriff and deputy of Cedar County had gone. All of those thoughts were in the back of Rowan's head, drowned out by the animal that he had become. Unchained primal thoughts pounded through his head, demanding blood and vengeance.
Nobody could know about the pack, nobody.
Chapter 23
Eva opened her eyes, trying to remember how she had ended up on the ground. It had all happened so
fast; the nice deputy was coming towards her and then she felt a powerful sting in her neck and everything went black.
She rubbed the base of her neck where it met her shoulder, feeling blood and crusty skin. She shuddered and pulled her hand away, looking around. She was lying in the back of Rowan's Chevy, commotion all around her.
Where's Rowan? she thought. All she wanted at this moment was for her mate to hold her, but he wasn't anywhere close by. Instead she saw other wolves, in human form, bustling about. She sat up in the bed, looking for her mate, but she immediately felt woozy, having to settle onto the wheel well.
She didn't recognize these wolves; they were all combing the area looking for something. Finally her eyes rested on two objects covered by a blanket beside another pickup truck—bodies.
Oh my God, she thought, the reality of the situation dawning on her. Rowan killed both of them.
She looked in front of the truck, finally finding Rowan standing in the distance, talking furiously with Aster. They were standing closer to the forest than the vehicles, both of them animated in their conversation.
"Hey, you okay?" an excited voice asked from the foot of the truck bed.
Eva turned to see Rain standing down there, looking stunning with her black hair pulled into a ponytail on top of her head. She wore a black tank top with no stomach, revealing her flat midsection.
"Yeah," Eva responded, rubbing her neck. "The fucker tased me or something."
"Yeah, he did," Rain said, climbing into the truck bed and plopping down on the bed rail beside Eva.
"What the hell is going on?" Eva asked, glancing around at the commotion. She immediately felt at ease with the familiar Rain sitting next to her, even if they'd only hung out once. Rowan seemed a million miles away while he had it out with his alpha.
"Rowan's wolf couldn't stand you being harmed," Rain said. "He lost his cool and killed both of them while he was shifted."
"So he did kill them," Eva said to herself, feeling a little sick to her stomach. Was killing so easy for an enforcer like Rowan? Or were all wolves able to kill so easily?
"So here we go again," a sarcastic voice said from the cab of the truck. Eva turned to see Eden walking from the front of the truck, a look of disgust on her arrogant face. Eva shot the older female a death look as she continued to drone on. "Rowan has lost his mind and killed someone he shouldn't have, again, because of you."
The way she said those words were so accusing, so biting. Eva recoiled, feeling like she had been slapped in the face by the older wolf. She heard a low growl and turned to see Rain with her eyes fixed on Eden.
"This doesn't concern you," Rain said, her voice growing deeper and throatier.
"Oh, it doesn't?" Eden said, laughing. She had made her way to the tailgate now, looking up at the two younger women. "Our top enforcer just killed the sheriff and first deputy from the next county over. You don't think that concerns all of us? They're going to wonder where he went, and they'll come looking."
"Aster will know what to do," Rain said, standing up and shielding Eva.
"He will?" Eden asked. This time she laughed a deep belly laugh. "You're killing me here, child. He hasn't known what to do the entire time he's been in control."
"I haven't had any complaints," Rain said.
"You were just a pup when he took control," Eden said. "You have no idea what you're talking about."
"Why did you come over here, old woman?" Rain said, her words sounding deadly sharp. "Did you just come to bother us?"
"Watch your words, kid," Eden said, her eyes narrowing. "If this human bitch hadn't come in and poisoned Rowan's mind, then we wouldn't have these problems. She keeps putting herself in danger and he comes to the rescue, putting us all in jeopardy."
"It's not her fault," Rain said, stepping forward. "You should leave."
"Make me," Eden said, crossing her arms.
"With pleasure," Rain said, moving forward.
"No, stop!" Eva shouted, rushing forward and putting her arms around Rain's waist. "It's not worth it!"
Eva felt herself getting dragged through the bed. Rain had an inhuman strength and Eva was doing nothing to hold her back.
"Please!" Eva shouted again.
"I've had enough of this decrepit old hag!" Rain shouted. "I'm done with her."
Eva felt helpless. She didn't want there to be any more violence on her account. Rain was right: there had already been enough bloodshed because of her.
"What is going on here?" a voice boomed through the air.
All three women snapped their heads around, seeing Aster and Rowan walking up to the truck. The look on Aster's face immediately cowered Eva. He was not in the mood to be messed with. Rowan had a similar look of absolute anger on his face.
"I was just letting the human know what kind of trouble she's caused our pack," Eden said, crossing her arms defiantly.
"She is my mate and she has a name," Rowan said, getting about two inches from Eva's face. "You will address her as such."
"You are not my alpha," Eden said, putting her hand into Rowan's face and shoving him away.
He turned back, looking like he could barely restrain himself. Eva stood up, unsure of what to do. If any man had touched her like that, Rowan would have killed him. He had already done it three times. Should she react the same way and attack Eden? It would be suicide if she did so, because the she-wolf would tear Eva to pieces.
Fortunately, Aster was already on the case. With blinding speed, much faster than Eva had ever seen Rowan move, he was in between Rowan and Eden.
"Calm down, brother," Aster said to Rowan.
"Listen to your alpha," Eden said, a sneer appearing on her face.
Aster spun around to face her quickly, his hand shooting out and grabbing her by the throat, lifting her at least two feet off the ground.
"Whoa, hey! Aster!" Rain yelled, forgetting her previous quarrel with Eden and moving to defend her fellow female.
Eva felt a huge knot form in the pit of her stomach, nearly doubling her over. There was so much violence, she didn't know if she could handle it anymore.
Rowan put his hand on Aster's shoulder, trying to pull his beefy arm down.
"Brother, this is the old way," Rowan said. "We don't observe that way anymore. Let her go. We don't put our hands on females."
Aster lowered Eden to the ground, his body tight like a wolf ready to pounce. Eden grabbed at her throat and looked up at Aster, hurt in her eyes.
"I will not suffer such insolence," Aster said, still fuming. "Rowan is top enforcer and top beta. You will respect him and his mate."
Eden looked back and forth between Rowan and Aster like she was trying to decide who to address first. Finally she turned to Aster first and bowed her head. "Yes, alpha. As you command."
Then she turned to Rowan, the sneer returning to her face. "I deserve any punishment my alpha deems fit. If he wants to physically punish me, then that is his prerogative."
"Why you little…" Aster said, starting to move forward again before Rowan's hand shot out and grabbed his shoulder.
Eden gave them all one more snotty look before turning and strutting away, her hips swaying confidently as she walked.
"What is happening to this pack?" Aster asked Rowan after Eden was gone. "We have never had this much infighting."
"She's jealous," Rowan said. "Pure and simple."
"She can be jealous somewhere else," Rain said, interjecting herself into the conversation. Both men turned to look at her, shocked that she was interrupting their conversation. "I like Eva and I want her to stay. She's a better mate for Rowan anyhow!"
A smile formed at the corner of Rowan's mouth as he looked at the younger female. "Don't worry, Rain, she's not going anywhere. I've grown rather attached to her."
Eva smiled back at Rowan. She felt the same way. She also didn't have any choice anymore now that the neural link had been formed. She didn't know if it could ever be broken; from what she had gathered from the way R
owan had spoken about wolf relationships, it couldn't.
"Good!" Rain said, sitting down on the back of the tailgate. "Do you need me for anything?"
"Can you take Eva home?" Rowan asked. "I have business to attend to with Aster."
Eva stood up now, feeling a bit of anger. It was obvious Rowan felt it because he looked up at her, a look of sadness in his eyes. "You can't just shuffle me away. I'm a part of this now, too! They attacked me."
"I understand, beautiful," Rowan said, trying to sweet-talk her. "We have to talk pack business and you've been around too much violence. I can't take the stress anymore."
Eva recoiled in shock. He even felt her desire to escape all the violence of the situation?
"You can't take the stress?" Aster asked, looking back and forth between them. "Have you established a bond?"
"We have," Rowan said, smiling up at Eva. "It is very strong."
"For him," Eva said. She could feel Rowan, but not as strongly as he felt her. His emotions were distant in the back of her mind—while hers were apparently setting up shop in the forefront of Rowan's mind.
"Fascinating," Aster said. "I have never had the bond."
"You've never claimed anyone and mated yourself to them," Rowan said.
"I would have," Aster said, a look of sadness briefly sweeping across his face. "I agree with Rowan, though, Eva. I need him sharp, and if you're stressed out then we need to remove you from this situation. Go home, watch TV, read a book, take a bath, something."
"Wait for me for the bath part," Rowan said, winking at her.
"I don't think we'd fit in the tub together," Eva said, laughing.
Rain turned to her, looking embarrassed by the candid conversation. Aster looked like he couldn't give a damn what was being said.
"Will you let me take you home?" Rain asked.
"I will," Eva said, still smiling. Rowan was better than anyone else she'd ever met at calming her down. But she still wanted to talk about the violence with him later; it bothered her how easily he was able to kill. If this had been normal society he'd be a murderer and she would be avoiding him at all costs, but here in Bucklin it just seemed like the order of the day.
