Her Pack

by Candace Wondrak

  Maia blinked, hands clutching the curtains around her. She didn’t want to say she was shocked, because that would mean she had very little faith in the men of her kind, but…she was shocked. Alarick, the alpha of this trio, had listened to her. He hadn’t even glanced in her direction, even though she was standing behind a mostly see-through curtain, wet and naked.

  Not that she wasn’t grateful for it—she was—but…it was the weirdest thing. A part of Maia kind of wanted him to try to sneak a peek. Which was dumb, because she’d told him not to. What the hell was up with her lately? She couldn’t decide which way was up and which way was down; everything was topsy-turvy.

  She slid the curtain aside and went for the towel, drying her body off. She wrapped it around her hair before she dressed herself; Maia left her socks and boots off, because there was hardly a worse thing in the world than trying to put on socks right after a shower. The cotton just didn’t want to move.

  Maia moved her to look at herself in the mirror, meeting her own grey eyes. In her old pack, the one she’d grown up in until she was ten and bartered away like a commodity for protection and allies, she’d known who her father was, because his eyes had been the same color. Most pups didn’t know who their fathers were, because mates were passed around and the kids raised by the whole pack. Maia didn’t know if she was lucky to know or not; her father had turned away from her just as everyone else did when their alpha offered her to Jackson’s pack.

  With a soft sigh, she undid the towel around her hair, rubbing it along her scalp to further dry it. She searched through the drawers until she found a comb. Not a brush, because these manly men didn’t own a single feminine thing, but a comb would work well enough. When she was finished untangling the wet knots and parting her hair, Maia left the towel on the sink and returned the comb to its rightful drawer.

  Leaving her socks inside her boots near the vanity’s vase, Maia sluggishly opened the door and stepped out. Instantly, the smell of a home-cooked meal entered her nose, spices and meat and…fries? It’d been far too long since she had anything greasy and good.

  Alarick and Farkas stood over the plates near the kitchen’s island, arguing about who would get the larger burger. Farkas said something about putting in the most work—Maia somehow knew he meant the most work with her—while Alarick rebuffed him by saying that he’d put in more work at the diner to clean up her mess. The instant they noticed her, their arguing abruptly stopped, and both pairs of eyes turned to her.

  Maia thought about saying something along the lines of I hope some of that is for me, but the scent of smoke and sweat behind her stopped the words from coming. She spun, turning to face Grimm, who’d emerged from the second bedroom, wearing a new shirt. A plain black t-shirt that hugged every muscle beneath its fabric. Her eyes slowly traveled up, meeting his.

  She remembered what happened before, how he’d held her against a wall not too far from where they now stood. Maia felt her inner wolf buck, wanting to break free to…to what? Have his arms hold her again, this time more tenderly? To have his hips ground against hers harder, to feel the growing press of his…she stopped herself before thinking that particular thought. Once she thought about that, there’d be no turning back. Her inner wolf would be as good as claimed.

  Her skin grew warm beneath his dark gaze, and before she knew what she was doing, she clenched her inner thighs.

  God, no. This couldn’t be happening. She could not let herself want to be with these wolves.

  Just…no.

  Maia quickly moved aside, noting how Grimm had shifted his gaze to the others almost immediately. As he walked by her, she could feel the sheer strength coming off him, his wolf begging hers to follow.

  There was no way Maia had stumbled upon a pack that she had a natural connection with. What were the odds? Yes, she was getting older in shifter years, and most women her age had already been mated, so perhaps it was also due to the fact that her wolf craved mating, but…it couldn’t be just that. There was more to it, more that Maia was beginning to feel, in spite of desperately wishing she would not.

  “Maia,” Alarick spoke once Grimm was beside him. Now, he allowed his eyes to travel along her, what he hadn’t done when he brought her the towel. Now he unabashedly checked her out. Suddenly her dress felt too short, too revealing, her chest and arms too bare. Just as she started to fidget, he added, “You used my shampoo.”

  Farkas gasped. “Oh, God, no! Tell me you didn’t use his shampoo? Not because it’s his shampoo, but because it’s for dandruff, which you certainly don’t have—”

  Reaching over to punch him lightly on the side, Alarick quickly said, “It’s not for dandruff. I don’t—”

  “Have an itchy, dry scalp?” Farkas offered with a smile, completely unaffected by the side blow. “Don’t be embarrassed, buddy. It happens to a lot of people. Not a lot of wolves, but a lot of humans.”

  The alpha forced out a smile as he returned his attention back to Maia. “I don’t have dandruff,” he said. Behind him, Grimm coughed, which caused him to glare sharply at the tallest packmate. “What? Do you have something to add, Grimmwolf, or is this conversation already as awkward for you as it is for me?”

  Grimmwolf. What a fancy, original name, Maia thought, slowly moving out of the hall and to the island the others stood around.

  “I’m just hungry,” Grimm spoke seriously, his hands splayed on the counter. “I know nothing of your dandruff.”

  A muscle in Alarick’s jaw tensed as he said, “I do not have—”

  Maia wanted to remain dour, to frown and keep them all at a distance, but she found herself laughing. Laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation—the dandruff talk, the fact that Alarick seemed kind of miffed she’d used his shampoo, Grimm’s reluctance to say anything about it, other than he wanted to eat.

  As she laughed, each of the three turned to look at her. Feeling the need to explain, Maia said, “You guys are the weirdest pack I’ve ever met.”

  “Hey,” Farkas said softly, as if he were only speaking to Grimm and Alarick, “I think that was supposed to be a compliment, but I’m not sure.” He leaned on the island, grinning at Maia. “Can you follow that up with something else? Maybe a compliment to our varied but annoyingly handsome looks?”

  Maia’s gaze moved to the takeout containers, which had been emptied and arranged onto four plates. Burgers and fries, enough to fill each of their stomachs, and then some. That measly piece of toast felt like nothing in her belly, so she said, “It’s hard to hear you over the smell of that food.” She meant to say it exactly how she said it, shooting Farkas a look over the counter.

  Farkas’s grin grew wider, as the other two wolves remained silent. “I like you,” he said. “I think you should have the biggest burger.” He pushed the plate with the thickest, juiciest burger toward her. “After all that prairie dog, you need a good, filling meal.”

  Hyper aware of everyone’s eyes on her, Maia took the plate with a nod. “I would appreciate it, Farkas, if you never say the words prairie or dog again. At least not in the same sentence, next to each other.”

  “Watch it, Maia,” Alarick warned. “At this rate, you’ll turn into one of us before nightfall.”

  Maia didn’t want to become one of them, not really. It wasn’t to say she liked being alone, because that would be a lie, too. She wasn’t a loner. Being around other wolves had always made her feel more at home. Lately, being on the run, she’d almost forgot what it felt like—to laugh, to smile, to be content. After what happened with Zak, she’d started to believe that those things were all behind her, that she’d never know any happiness again, because she didn’t deserve it. She was a killer, the worst kind.

  The kind who would kill their future alpha, and not even in a fair fight. Maia had caught Zak off-guard, for he’d been too busy trying to get her dress off to pay attention to what she was doing with her hands.

  This pack made her laugh, in spite of herself. They made her wolf want to roll
over and beg to be claimed. These men made her human form burn with desire, regardless of how much she fought against it.

  And it had only been one day.

  Bonds between shifters formed quickly; it was their nature. Maia wanted to run, to hate these wolves on sight, but her instinct guided her in the opposite direction. She liked them. She wanted to hear Farkas go on and on about whatever was on his mind, make him stumble over his words awkwardly. She wanted to watch Alarick defend himself against his packmates’ assault, all the while knowing that none of them would truly ever challenge him. Yes, Maia even wanted to feel Grimm’s arms around her again, dammit.

  But…if they knew what she did, they would never trust her. They might still want to mate with her, but they wouldn’t like her. And, strange and unnatural as it was, Maia didn’t want that. Being around them, warming up to them, she wanted them to like her for who she was, not what she was.

  They’d never trust her if they knew what she did.

  A wolf who had gone after her alpha before could try to do it again, and no matter how much she would argue her case, these men would never understand. They were males; they didn’t grow up thinking that they were only a few rungs above worthless, beyond their bellies. They weren’t looked upon purely for carnal purposes. What Maia had gone through, traded between packs, set to mate with her new pack’s future alpha—they’d never understand.

  They’d also never understand how she could’ve killed Zak. He was, for all intents and purposes, her master. Her alpha. She should’ve let him do whatever he wanted to her, even if it wasn’t time yet for the claiming. Human forms were different; the claiming could only happen under a full moon (or so their tradition said) while they were shifted into wolves.

  Maia knew she was different. She knew she should never have felt so against Zak. By all accounts, she should’ve wanted to give herself to him. But she didn’t. From the very first moment she laid eyes on him when she was ten years old, the day after her pack had traded her, she’d known then she didn’t like him. Zak could’ve jumped off the tallest bridge in the world with nothing to catch him except metal spikes, and she wouldn’t have cared even a little.

  Maybe she was defective. Maybe her inner wolf wanted to mate but not connect. Maybe her wolf was just in heat, and it was only a matter of time until Maia threw herself at one of these three.

  It wouldn’t matter. As soon as they knew the truth, they wouldn’t want her beyond her body, which was exactly what she’d run from before. If…or, rather, when it came to it, Maia would run again.

  This time, though, she had a feeling she wouldn’t want to. She would want to stay.

  Chapter Fourteen – Maia

  Grabbing a plate, the one with the smallest burger, Maia was the first to wander into the living room and plop herself into the recliner in the corner. While she was starving and could most definitely eat the largest burger, she didn’t want to seem like a pig. Plus, these guys were being nice to her—even if it was only to try to get her to like them—and she didn’t want to take too much advantage.

  God, Maia still could not believe how crazy the day had been. Would she have met these guys if she hadn’t ventured into town and gone to the diner? Alarick owned it, Farkas owned part of it, so it had almost been like…fate. Stupid, because she didn’t believe in fate. If she believed in fate, she would’ve thought her and Zak were meant to be, and clearly they weren’t. Because he was dead.

  Because she killed him.

  Okay, Maia had to stop herself from constantly thinking about it, otherwise it would start to show on her face. I’m a murderer would flash in bright neon lights above her head and the guys would kick her out, which then would put her on the run again…she’d have to start eating prairie dog again. Her stomach tensed at the thought. Those little things weren’t too tasty; there wasn’t much meat on them, and what meat there was…it was stringy. And the soft yelp they let out when her wolf’s muzzle bit into them the first time—Maia was a horrible person all around, wasn’t she?

  As she started to eat, she resolved herself to never think of prairie dogs again and to forget her past with her old pack, with Zak. Maia would stay for a while, see what this town could do for her, provided this pack didn’t suddenly turn sides and try to take her against her will. She’d do her best to fight them off, of course, but she didn’t believe they’d do it. Granted, it hadn’t even been a full day yet, but the men were comfortable around each other, each having different personalities. None of them fit into the stereotype of what a male wolf shifter was, other than the ruggedly handsome part.

  She liked them, these guys.

  The men were slow to shuffle into the living room after her, Farkas still babbling on and on about Alarick’s shampoo. Farkas and Grimm moved to the couch; Farkas propped up his feet on the coffee table, his plate on his lap, while Grimm hunched over, wolfing down his food while saying not a single word. Alarick, out of habit, moved to his chair. He nearly sat on her.

  Maia’s head rose to meet his blue-eyed stare, and he quickly said, “Right. Sorry. It’s just, that’s my spot.”

  Did he expect her to move? Maia kept looking at him, eyebrows risen. Inside, her wolf was restless. She wasn’t so much challenging the alpha as she was…wanting to see his reaction. “I know,” she said. “It smells like you.” Balancing her plate on a single leg, she used her hand to point to the carpet. “You could sit there, because I’m not moving.” She knew she might’ve come off as a little snippy, sort of bitchy, but she didn’t care. She wanted to see how Alarick would react.

  Jackson would’ve laughed a fake laugh, grabbed her by the arm, and forcibly dragged her off the chair, spilling her food and not caring a single bit. He was a good enough man, but when his wolf was challenged in any way, he became furious. Would Alarick be the same? She wondered, for he seemed to take the teasing from his packmates well, but teasing him about his shampoo and taking his spot were two different things.

  Alarick gazed at her strangely. Not angrily, just…confusedly? “You want me to sit on the floor. You are aware I’m the alpha here?” He didn’t sound mad; if anything, he was slightly amused and trying not to show it. He was also trying not to stare at her bare legs, for they were bent, her feet tucked under her backside.

  Both Farkas and Grimm had paused in their eating to watch. Grimm’s expression was, well, grim, while Farkas grinned, dimples on his cheeks.

  Great. Dimples. Maia was relaxed enough with them to notice dimples.

  “Yes,” Maia finally spoke, doing her best to ignore the damned dimples—because dimples on a man were about the most amazing thing ever—returning her attention to Alarick, who stood over her with his head tilted, as if he was trying to understand what she was doing. “And the alpha does what’s best for the pack.” Or he should, in theory. Before he got any ideas about her pack status, if her statement meant she wanted to join them, she added, “And I am a guest here. You do want me to be comfortable, don’t you?”

  Alarick sighed. “Fine, but next time, I’m running to that chair and you can take the couch. Farkas and Grimm can take the floor.”

  As Farkas barked out a “What?” Grimm started to move, but Alarick held up a hand as he sunk to the carpet.

  “It’s all right. Really,” he said. “I’ll take the floor…this time.” Alarick shot a glare toward Maia, but it did not hold an ounce of true anger. A mock glare, through and through. One that didn’t fit on his face, but he remained handsome nonetheless.

  They all were attractive. Maybe it was because they were new to her, or because they were being kind instead of horrible and demeaning, like Maia had anticipated. Maybe her wolf was just shocked at their behavior, having been conditioned for so long to think no one would want her beyond her breeding capabilities. But she knew that wasn’t it. Her wolf had connected with these three, and if she had to leave, it would hurt.

  Strange to think how leaving them might hurt more than leaving her old pack had.

  As Alarick
began eating, Farkas muttered, “Wow. Not even a day and she already has Alarick bowing to her like a queen. Have I died and gone to wolf heaven? Is this a dream? Alarick once broke my wrist for that spot—”

  Mouth full, Alarick said, “I did not.”

  “Did too—”

  Swallowing, Alarick cut in, “I did not. I’d never hurt either of you. Don’t try to paint me in a bad light.” His blue stare moved to Maia. “Don’t listen to half of what he says, Farkas likes to talk just to hear his own voice sometimes.”

  While Farkas readied a comeback, Maia said, “I kind of figured that one out already. He was a nonstop chatterbox while you were gone.” She stuffed a fry into her mouth. “He told me you challenged your old alpha, but he didn’t tell me why. Why would a level-headed wolf such as yourself do something so stupid?”

  She heard a soft rumble from Alarick’s chest—so that got him a bit angry. Still nowhere near as angry as Jackson would’ve gotten for merely taking his seat at the head of the table, but a bit miffed.

  “He should not have told you that,” Alarick whispered, shooting a glare Farkas’s way. The wolf in question ducked his head to his plate and focused intently on his food, shoveling fries into his mouth so fast that he wouldn’t be able to take part in this conversation. For once, he didn’t want to talk, which seemed to annoy Alarick further. “I was young. Fifteen? Sixteen?”

  Grimm nodded.

  “Sixteen,” Alarick said again. “I didn’t like him. My wolf didn’t respect him.”

  Farkas had swallowed the food he’d stuffed into his mouth to butt in, “Don’t forget the pretty wolf you wanted as a mate.” The look Alarick gave him after he spoke silenced him. If looks could kill, that look would be the death of everyone in the room.