Her Pack

by Candace Wondrak

  “You did it for a female?” Maia asked, having the sudden urge to not eat. It wasn’t as if she knew these wolves that well, but she’d thought Alarick was better than that. Apparently male wolves were all the same, when it came down to it.

  “Not only for her, but…partially,” Alarick said, blue gaze flicking to her. “She was his, and his beta’s. She was pretty, been with our pack since I was born. She was older than me, but younger than him. Deserved better. Mostly, though, I did it because I didn’t think he was a good leader. He didn’t make choices based on what would be best for the group, for the pack. He only did what was best for him, for his beta, and their mate. He ruled with fear, not respect.”

  Maia had to keep herself from making the comment that it sounded like her old alpha. Jackson was…sometimes respectable. Most of the time, though, he was rash. How he ever became alpha was anyone’s guess, and why he’d picked Zak to take his place…well, she shouldn’t be thinking of that.

  Instead, Maia said, “But he let you go, even though you lost.”

  Alarick was pained as he replied, “Yes, but sometimes a wounded wolf is worse than a dead wolf. It wasn’t a mercy—it was a punishment. Most lone wolves don’t last long. He wanted me to suffer before I died.” There was a pause before he added, “It wasn’t like I got off free. I was wounded, hurt. The only reason I’m here today is because these fools left with me.” Even though he said these fools, it was obvious he thought them anything but.

  “Well, I couldn’t just let you wander off and die in the woods, could I?” Farkas said, finishing off his plate. He set the empty plate on the coffee table, glancing at Grimm on his left. “And this one, well, he’s nicer than he looks.”

  Maia had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at that, because out of the three of them, Grimm had been the only one to chase after her, to touch her in a way that was most certainly not okay…yet it had riled up her wolf, and not in a bad way. Her inner wolf had betrayed her almost instantly. She probably should’ve known then that she was in trouble when it came to these guys, and not realized it only recently.

  Grimm did not like the attention. His eyes cast downward, avoiding the stares of each of the other three people in the room. He’d been the first to finish his food, and he ran a hand through his hair, his mouth thinning into a straight line between stubble that was so thick it was only a level or two away from beard status.

  “He is,” Alarick agreed. “Don’t his let his actions make you think less of him. It’s been…years since we’ve seen a female wolf, longer than that since we’ve seen an unclaimed one—”

  Abruptly standing, Grimm shook his head, muttering, “It’s no excuse.” He went down the hall, shutting himself in his room. If he wasn’t a six-and-a-half-foot tall beast of a man, Maia would’ve made the comment that he was acting like a child, but…

  She didn’t. Partly because he was a six-and-a-half-foot tall beast, and partly because she could tell that he truly regretted what he’d done to her earlier. At least this side of him did; his wolf probably wanted to do it again, and do more.

  Farkas got to his feet. “I’ll comfort the baby.” His flippant tone fell flat, and he became serious before he followed in Grimm’s footsteps.

  “When will he get over it?” Maia asked quietly. If she could get over it (or realize that her wolf kind of liked it), surely he could do the same? If he’d taken her right then and there, then yes, they would have had a problem. But he didn’t.

  Alarick glanced at her, concern for Grimm dotting his features. As mushy as it was, it warmed her heart to see him show such care for his fellow wolves. Jackson would’ve laughed and belittled anyone in the pack for showing the amount of regret Grimm had. The more time she spent with these wolves, the more she was reminded that they were nothing like her old pack.

  Maybe that was why staying suddenly didn’t seem so bad.

  “If you leave, he might not,” Alarick answered, almost too honest. “If you decide to stay…”

  “If I decide to stay,” Maia spoke, far more hesitantly than she’d ever spoken before, “would I have to stay as your…mate?” God, she still hated saying the word. It made her spine tingle, her palms grow sweaty. There was something so inherently final about it that made her want to run in the opposite direction. “Or could I stay as a packmate?”

  She was stupid for asking such a thing. Why would they want her to stay if she wouldn’t be their mate? Maia would only be another mouth to feed, another wolf in need of a bed in an already too-small home. They didn’t need another packmate; they only needed a mate, as most male shifters did.

  Maia did not let herself feel hopeful, because she didn’t want to be let down. Coming into anything, she’d learned that expecting the worst was what was best for her; hoping for the best only got her let down time and time again.

  She did not want to be let down.

  Chapter Fifteen – Alarick

  Not certain if he’d heard her right, Alarick studied her. Maia was lost in her own thoughts, her stormy eyes almost vacant. Whatever dominated her mind, whatever she was running from, it must’ve been bad. Did she have a run-in with a wild pack? Did she run from her own pack, not wanting to be responsible for the future generations of the pack? He wasn’t a female shifter, so he couldn’t understand what it felt like, but he knew the opposite side of it. He was a male, and his wolf went crazy around her.

  His wolf wanted to claim her, regardless of how she felt about it, but he would not be a monster. Just because something inside him urged him to do it, did not mean he had to do it. Sometimes he felt like strangling the townies when they came to the diner and were difficult, but he refrained. This was no different, except it was his wolf that clawed and whined when she was near or in sight.

  Okay, so it was a little bit harder than that.

  Alarick stared at her, watching as she set her plate aside, only half-eaten, and started to twist the bottom of a tendril of hair, wrapping it around her finger absentmindedly. He didn’t know what to say, but he tried. “You…you’re thinking of staying?”

  He wasn’t sure why it shocked him so much; wasn’t it what they all wanted? It’s what he wanted, at least. For her to stay, for her to choose them over a life on the run. For her to let them protect her from whatever it was she hid from. To hear her say it, to know that she was thinking about it, made him happier than he’d ever admit aloud.

  Maia finally moved her grey gaze to him, the finger toying with her hair dropping to her lap. “I…you know how it is. I’m sure you’ve felt it. Our wolves, they…they like each other.” To say his wolf liked her would be the year’s biggest understatement, but he kept quiet as she added, “I know we got off on the wrong foot—you guys did kind of kidnap me, you know—but you’re nothing like the wolves I used to know. I…don’t take this the wrong way, but it’s not just my wolf who likes you. I like you guys, too.”

  It wasn’t the world’s best confession, but Alarick found himself speechless anyway. He didn’t expect this. He honestly thought she’d want to run. Knowing that she was thinking of staying, that she liked them, was more than he could ever have hoped for.

  “I’m not saying I want to become your mate, but…I want to know if you would settle for another packmate,” Maia whispered.

  There were a thousand things Alarick could’ve said in response. A thousand and one things he wanted to say, but he settled for a single thing: “Packmates run together.”

  A smile slowly formed on those luscious, full lips. Lips that Alarick wanted to kiss very badly in that moment, but he didn’t. “I’m quicker than I look,” she said, “and a lot faster than I was in the diner. Do you think you can catch me once our wolves are free, Alarick?”

  The way she spoke it, almost like a challenge. Alarick felt his inner wolf tremble in anticipation, and he smiled in return. What could he do, in the face of such a beautiful creature? A flawless, wild, untamed and unclaimed female shifter? “I look forward to trying,” he murmured, watchi
ng as she brought her arms around herself, running her hands along her arms, as if to hide the fact that chills had swept over her body from his words.

  Oh, the little wolf was asking for it, wasn’t she?

  Once she thought she had the goosebumps on her skin under control, Maia asked, “I assume you have somewhere to run that’s free of cows?” She had no idea.

  Alarick nodded, though he could not take his gaze away from the way her chest rose and fell with every breath. Her skin had grown flushed, slightly pinkened from their exchange. It wasn’t only her wolf that felt connected to them; her human form did, too. Maybe she would agree to be their packmate, and then their mate.

  “We’ll go tonight, see how you do,” he said.

  Maia shot him an unimpressed look. “Careful, alpha. I just might leave you all in the dust.”

  “You shouldn’t. It would be a terribly cruel thing to do.”

  She fought a smile, but it broke out anyway, and it was one of the most beautiful smiles Alarick had ever seen. She looked a few years younger than him, but she was mature. She didn’t act like the typical twenty-something. She was perfect for them, for him.

  Maia slid her feet out from under her, standing in a fluid motion as she offered him a hand. “Shall we inform the others? Maybe Grimm will stop pouting,” she offered.

  “I wouldn’t count on that,” he said. “Grimm is…” Alarick’s voice trailed off the moment he accepted her hand, getting to his feet. He stood a foot taller than her, their palms connected and so very warm. He felt a flicker of excitement grow somewhere below the torso, and while there were many things he wanted to do in that moment, he didn’t want to scare her, or repeat her encounter with Grimm, so he only pulled away. Perhaps a bit too quickly. “Grimm is the master of brooding.”

  She didn’t seem to notice how flustered he was, for she only said, “I bet he’s good at other things, too.” Maia walked past him, to the hallway.

  Alarick sharply looked at her, wondering how she meant it. Good at what? He was good with cars, not so good with people…surely she didn’t mean it sexually, did she? The thought that perhaps she had sent his mind scrambling.

  No, no. She couldn’t have meant it like that.

  Did she?

  What if…no, Alarick wouldn’t let his mind go that far.

  He trailed after her, padding noiselessly on his feet. The door to Grimm and Farkas’s room was open, and Maia stepped inside with no hesitation whatsoever. Such a complete switch from before, though he was still too caught up in what she might’ve meant to pay much attention to the scene before him.

  Their room held two beds, one on each side of the longest wall, and two short dressers below the window on the wall opposite the door. Plain grey walls, nothing hanging. It was a clean room, not a stray sock in sight, which was good, because Alarick didn’t want Maia to think they were animals, that if she stayed with them, she’d have to pick up after them like some kind of housewife or maid.

  Grimm sat on his bed, his large frame hunched over. He stared at his hands, at his knees, ignoring the feeble attempts Farkas made to make him feel better. Farkas stood near the bedframe, his incessant talking trailing off when he realized they were no longer alone in the room. Of course, their shifter ears had to have heard them, but maybe he was trying to be polite, to get Grimm’s mind off it.

  “So,” Maia said, moving between Farkas and Grimm. Farkas instantly looked interested in whatever it was she was going to say, while Grimm’s figure stiffened. “We’re going for a run tonight.” Boy, she pulled no punches, never beating around the bush, did she?

  When Grimm said nothing, Farkas played along, “A run? Don’t tell me Alarick strong-armed you into it. And here I thought better of our alpha—” The expression Alarick gave him shut him right up.

  “It was my idea, actually,” Maia said, shooting a grin at Alarick. Her voice came out easy, falling onto his ears like velvet, honey made into sound. He could listen to her go on and on for hours. “Not the running part, but I agree with Alarick. We should test the waters out, if I’m going to stay as your packmate.”

  Both men in the room were speechless, utterly stupefied and confused. Unsurprisingly, it was Farkas who said, “You want to join our pack?” He refrained from mentioning the word mate, which Alarick was proud of. Surely it did not escape either of their notices that she had said packmate and not mate.

  “If you’ll have me, of course,” Maia said, eyes moving to Grimm. “Will you have me?” Though it was an open question, her focus zeroed in on the quiet one; she wanted him to answer, and as the silence permeated the room, Alarick shifted on his feet, feeling the need to turn, to run.

  But that would have to wait for tonight.

  It was a while before Grimm lifted his head, meeting her gaze. His voice was the utter opposite of hers; grating, rough, strong. He towered over her, a beast in human shape, but his face carried a gentleness that even dirt and stubble could not hide. “Why?” he asked in a whisper, or as low as his voice could get.

  “Why do I want to join your pack, or why am I asking you if you’ll have me?” Maia tilted her head, her long, red hair tumbling over her shoulder in a cascade of brilliant color. “You are all kinder than the wolves I’ve known—and it took me hours to see it. I know what your wolves want to do to me, but your human nature is stronger, even if you slipped up. As for the second one, I want to know whether or not you’ll have me, Grimm, because if not, I’ll go.”

  Her final two words caused Grimm to snap and say, “No. Don’t.” He coughed, regaining his composure enough to add, “Stay. I won’t let my wolf free again, I promise you.”

  Maia gave him a sweet smile, a smile that Alarick was actually jealous of. He wanted to be on the receiving end of that full-lipped smirk. “Don’t make me a promise you can’t keep. We’re going running later, and unless those legs of yours are superhuman, you’ll have to shift into your wolf to keep up.”

  The look Grimm gave her was intense, a look that Alarick couldn’t say he’d seen before on his packmate. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he whispered, his funk, his brooding attitude completely gone, just like that. Maia had somehow said just the right thing.

  Farkas looked at Alarick. “Does Roy know about this run tonight?”

  Heaving a sigh, Alarick said, “No. I’ll head over to the diner and let him know.” He didn’t want to leave the house, leave Maia, but if they were to go running, he didn’t have a choice. Roy had been kind enough to let them use his acreage, and he wasn’t about to take advantage of him now by not giving him a heads up.

  As Alarick left the room and started to make his way to the front door, since his truck was on the driveway and not in the garage, Maia followed him, asking, “Who’s Roy? Another wolf?” Such an innocent question, a question whose answer would be sort of complicated.

  “No,” Alarick said, pausing as his hand touched the doorknob. “He’s a wolf in spirit, though.”

  “A human knows about your pack?” The shock was evident in her voice, but still, it was nothing but sweet sugar, and he was an insect, needing a dose. “How? Why? Isn’t that…” She probably was about to say wrong, but maybe she knew that sometimes what went along with wolves’ tradition wasn’t right.

  Really, as long as the human didn’t report them to the government or try to catch them and conduct experiments on them or something, what was the harm in them knowing?

  “Roy is trustworthy,” Alarick told her. “He’s known about us for years. The only new bit of information he’ll be finding out will be about you. You…you probably ran into him, actually. He’s the cook at the diner.”

  “Does the waitress know about us, too?”

  Alarick smirked at the thought of Violet finding out. That girl was…something else. She was already too full of drama from mostly her own making. “No, Violet doesn’t know, and I want to keep it that way. She’s already got too many problems of her own.”

  Maia pouted. “So you tell the weird chef but
not the cool chick waiting tables. Sexist much?” With a sigh, she muttered, “I kind of liked her. She seemed…relatable.”

  “First off,” Alarick spoke with a chuckle, “Roy isn’t weird. Secondly, Violet is not as well put together as she looks. You know, if you plan on staying here, with us, you should get a job. Violet’s always complaining that her workload is too much—”

  She took a step closer to him, cutting in, “Are you offering me a job, Alarick?”

  Was it such a hard thing to understand? Alarick wanted to retort, but he was too focused on the way his name fell off her lips, rolled on her tongue. Those things were not good things to focus on, given the fact that she desired to be a packmate. Unless she told him otherwise, he should forbid himself from staring at her lips for too long, among other things.

  So instead of saying what he really wanted to say, Alarick forced himself out the front door as he said, “Let’s see how you do on the run tonight. Then we’ll talk.” Yeah, that was a witty thing to say, right?

  Right?

  Never had Alarick doubted himself more than when he was around Maia. She made him feel self-conscious, a strange way to be when not once in his life had he ever second-guessed himself. Even when he’d challenged his old alpha, he’d never regretted it. The life he had with Farkas and Grimm? Wouldn’t trade it for the world. Not even twenty-four hours after meeting her had Maia made him feel like an idiot, and she knew what buttons to press to rile him up just a bit.

  His wolf liked her. It went without saying, but it needed to be said. His wolf yearned for her something fierce. It would take every ounce of his willpower, every last bit of self-control that he could muster to keep himself from her when they ran tonight. He was strong, stronger than his wolf. If he could not contain the beast within while shifted and running with her, then Alarick did not deserve to remain the alpha.

  Chapter Sixteen – Maia