by Crystal Dawn
Aristotle
The Strong Pack 2
By Crystal Dawn
2014 Copyright by Crystal Dawn
Cover by Crystal Dawn using clip art from the Art Explosion CD
Dedicated to my beta readers and Jennifer. You guys are all the best.
Any resemblance to persons living or dead is simply a coincidence. The entire story is a product of the author’s imagination.
Table of Contents
Jericho
The Strong Pack 1
Prologue
Chapter 1
My Sherona
Chapter 2
My Way
Chapter 3
The Next Move
Chapter 4
Trouble
Chapter 5
Mated
Chapter 6
Belonging
Chapter 7
Pure Blooders
Chapter 8
Hunters
Chapter 9
Here’s hoping
Epilogue
The Strong Pack 3
Judah
Cousins of the Moon 3
Frankie’s Forever
Southwest Pack 2
Dare Me
The Warriors of the Vinii by Corre Deepe
Xanterie
Jericho
The Strong Pack 1
Jericho is Aristotle’s son and future alpha of the Strong pack. He’s not the settling down type which isn’t uncommon with alpha wolves who have long life spans. He goes on a blind date assuming T.J. is a pity date. He is surprised in more ways than one when not only is she knock his socks off gorgeous, but she turns out to be his soul mate. What follows is an attempt to woo a very resistant mate and a situation that seems funny to everyone but Jericho and T.J. Other forces want to keep them apart, but Jericho’s heart is set on T.J. and he won’t let her go without a fight. It’s a fight his father backs all the way.
While all this wooing and protecting is going on, T.J.’s sister makes an unexpected and rare visit. Aristotle sees Sherona and immediately knows she is his soul mate. The problem is she’s a writer and perhaps an adrenaline junkie since she goes to the most dangerous places in the world for her stories. He tries to protect her by sending a guide follow and watch over her, but he is at the end of his rope. Next time she comes to see T.J. she will have Aristotle to deal with.
Prologue
Sherona shifted in the ditch she lay in waiting for the soldiers to pass by. As much as she enjoyed writing about political intrigue, social conditions, disease and war, she’d had enough of the hardship and was ready to pass the torch to somebody younger and more idealistic. She’d gotten the reputation she needed to sell her articles without going out into the field as often or maybe even at all. The problem now was the big bad wolf that lay in wait for her back home.
His eyes had watched her every move like the predator he was and having found his prey. She could feel his desire even though she was human and couldn’t smell it. Her skin had tingled when he had bumped her and she was sure it was on purpose. She noticed when they stood close that his nose had sniffed her scent. His eyes had begun to glow which a sign his wolf was near the surface ready for action.
It wasn’t that the man wasn’t attractive. He looked like Jericho’s older brother not his father. He carried his authority and power around him like a mantle and she found it appealing. Males with strength had always appealed to her. They probably always would, but she wasn’t ready to settle down yet. She might not ever be.
The bar was home and with T.J. mated, the apartment was available. She had taken too many risks for her stories lately and now she just knew it was time to make a change before it was too late.
Aristotle
Chapter 1
My Sherona
I remembered the moment our eyes had met for the first time. My Sherona’s eyes had widened in shock making me wonder if she had felt the same gut wrenching recognition I had felt when I saw her. It was like I was seeing a missing part of myself that I had never realized was gone. I had heard other wolves try to describe the moment their soul mate made herself known to them but none had ever managed to adequately explain how hard it hit them. I felt an exhilaration I wasn’t sure I could survive. It was like being hit by lightning on one side and frozen by ice on the other. All these conflicting feelings and then the worry set in. What if she doesn’t want me?
I examined her closely for any and all reactions. I could see she wanted me physically. The problem was going to be her refusal to accept it. I had planned to take action, but I had waited too long. I could still remember how I felt the moment I had been told she ran away. My heart hurt so much I feared I was having a heart attack. I was usually so quick to take needed action but it seemed she was quicker still. It was the raw fear I had seen when she figured out what she was to me and I to her. As super naturals my kind embraced their soul mates. She was human and therefore didn’t understand she feared me and what I could mean to her.
I’d missed her so much even though we hadn’t mated. An emotional bond had formed that I couldn’t deny. I looked in the mirror at the face that greeted me each day and had changed so little over the years that I’d been pack alpha. I’d worked hard, put my pack first, for the most part and kept my sexual relationships strictly sexual since my mate had died leaving me to raise two little boys. Since I met Sherona, there had been no sex for me other than what I got in my dreams. My sources said the same was true for her. That made me rest easier, but I still didn’t have her at my side where she ought to be. That would change very soon.
I had an especially erotic dream last night that had ended in me howling my release to the moon. I’d dreamed that Sherona had finally come back to me and that this time she would stay. She hadn’t known I was the real reason she couldn’t stay away any longer, but I knew and that was enough. My dreams were full of the imagery but I had learned over the years to figure out what things meant and this dream would be no different.
I had chased her through the woods which meant she wasn’t going to just come to me. I would have to win her or take her. Either way worked for me just as long as I ended up with her. I was dominant even among alphas and I took the lead in the bedroom. I didn’t use whips or chains, even though I had considered tying up my errant mate and dragging her home. I had thought about it more than once and even come close to doing it. It rankled me that she wouldn’t give in to the pull I knew she felt as much as I did. She wasn’t wolf yet, but she had the traces in her blood so the pull wasn’t as strong as mine, but I knew it tugged at her relentlessly.
I had made the decision to wait her out so that when we got together she wouldn’t resent me. I was old enough to have learned patience and had the strength to overcome my needs, by hand when necessary.
It was hard for a wolf to deny the bonds to a soul mate and I had suffered for it. I had lost sleep and I had lost my temper with others that hadn’t deserved it, but I had not been so high and mighty that I hadn’t gone back to apologize. Some of those close to me and even some not as close had figured out what she was to me. Even the short time I had been around her with my pack present had been enough that many were aware of her importance. Other wolves didn’t sense the soul mate bond so much as they recognized the behavior it brought out in a wolf.
I knew we would have a lot to overcome. I also regretted that I’d slept with a few of the females in my pack. I knew it would probably come back to haunt me as those kinds of things often did. I had honestly never thought I would meet the one. All wolves revered that perfect mate, but few ever expected to find him or her. I would prepare my pack for their new alpha female as best I could, but in the end she woul
d have to stand up for herself. From what I knew of her, Sherona would manage to overcome any obstacle that might be placed in her way.
I knew she would return soon, T.J. was in the last month before the pup would come and everyone was excited about having a baby around the house. Wolves in general loved pups and we hadn’t had one around in a while. I was so glad things had worked out with T.J. and Jericho. They had finally worked out all the issues and accepted that they were mates. T.J. was the picture of maternal bliss and Jericho seemed to have found the recipe for mated happiness.
There were children in our pack, but each child was precious since there seemed to be fewer all the time. I imagined Sherona round with my child and my heart ached for the day that would come. I needed to get my head away from my private life and back on pack business.
I had a meeting ahead with much to discuss. A neighboring pack had been making forays into our territory. It hadn’t bothered me until a female had been taken. We had gotten her back the worse for wear and that was simply unacceptable. It was time to take a stand and show them the power I had by using it on them.
If I was being honest, I had to admit I looked forward to using my alpha power. I was restless and thoughts of Sherona tied me in knots. This would be an opportunity to burn through the excess energy that flew through me.
Jasper my hunter, would find them for me. My judge Edward would want to decide their fate, but I wasn’t sure I would let him. I needed a fight and this would be a good one. I wouldn’t waste time with the lower riffraff, I would go straight to the pack alpha. He had been warned and now he would be judged, by me.
“Hey,” Jericho said as I looked up from picking up my son from the doorway. He was my pride and joy. One of the two males I loved more than any. I wondered if that number would change as T.J. came into view with Jericho by her side, holding her hand.
Her belly was round making me think of her sister and the children she and I might have some day. It brought a smile to my face.
T.J. fanned herself. “Ari you look naughty right now with that devilish smile. I’m not even going to ask you where your thoughts are.”
She didn’t need to ask anyway since she knew where my thoughts always were. I thought of her sister constantly and everyone close to me knew why. I dreamed of her every night and longed for her every day. Nothing had ever felt like what I felt for her. I grew closer to her in my dreams. I felt like I knew and understood her better every night from the talks and the sex we had in our dreams as we slept. I felt like she was there with me, but I couldn’t be sure until I saw her in person if she was really there.
“She’ll be here anytime,” T.J. said in an answer to the question I hadn’t asked. She was almost spooky like that with the way she sometimes seemed to know what someone wanted before they ask. Sometimes before they knew themselves.
“Tell me about when the two of you were growing up again. I love to hear those stories,” I encouraged her.
“Sherona was always my hero. I was small for my age,” she said.
“You’re still small for your age.” Jericho interrupted and was rewarded with a smack on his butt.
“Anyway, Sherona always stood up for me. It wasn’t just me though, she hated seeing anyone bullied. She started working on the school paper so she could write about students picking on those smaller and younger than themselves. I don’t know if it really helped, but it sure seemed to. That’s when she discovered her passion for writing and exposing the evils and inequities of the world.
She was a champion of the underdog, the righter of wrongs and keeper of the faith. She was the best big sister anyone ever had and she still is.” T.J. wiped at a tear trying to run down one cheek as Jericho gave her a hug.
Listening to T.J. talk about Sherona gave me warm fuzzies too. I could just imagine Sherona doing all those things and more. But she wasn’t here yet and I needed to deal with pack business now so I could make time to deal with my personal business later.
I called a meeting which would surprise no one. It was time to grab the bull by the horns. An apt comparison when talking about the low life alpha we were about to deal with.
My pack had a hunter, judge and slayer. Those positions were based on old traditions few packs followed anymore. The traditions were from Europe but that was where most of the packs in this country had originated from. These were the males I most counted on in times like these. They were my war council and it was war I feared we would have no choice but to declare.
My judge Edward, was my second hand and I relied heavily upon him to see that we followed all wolf laws. That way the council couldn’t step in or take action against us.
Jasper my hunter, had already done his job by investigating all the activities that had led us to this point.
My slayer George, would enact whatever punishments were decided for the prisoners and the remaining members of the enemy pack. Thomas and Earl, my last two betas, would also be present to help plan our strategy.
Deloris, my personal assistant, buzzed me to let me know my betas had arrived so I let her send them in.
I indicated Jasper my hunter, would begin. He would give us the reason to fight or not to. “Alpha, betas,” he said with a slight bow. Sometimes he was dramatic for such a quiet man. “This pack has made incursions into our pack lands regularly. The only pack to be more insolent in recent history was the James pack. This is a small pack made up mostly of rogues and outcasts but only a handful are dangerous.”
As was inevitable, someone raised their hand. Being a polite man Jasper nodded at Thomas so he could speak.
“How can a handful of rogues be dangerous to us?”
“They can bring unwanted attention on us. Not just the council, but the humans that are blissfully unaware of us can be informed in the rudest possible way. It is their intention to bring any fighting out into the open. I also fear they may have a small supply of something new called a blood drug.”
“I’ve heard of this. It’s made with vampire blood and makes a wolf almost unstoppable but it allows him to be controlled by another,” I interjected.
“Yes Alpha. You are correct. It’s a horrific drug to use on wolves and terribly addicting. Withdrawal is painful and sometimes kills the wolf.” The others were now taking things more seriously as they should have to begin with.
“Why haven’t I heard of this drug?” Thomas asked.
Jasper looked at him with his eyebrow raised until Thomas flushed a light red.
“It’s been a problem in Missouri and the places where other states border it. It has the potential for becoming a problem everywhere. So far the council has managed to stem the tide largely because of council member Damon McDougal, his wardens and the military who gave him use of a special team. The witches and the vampires are helping too. They are using this to show the three groups can work together successfully.”
“I’ve never even heard of this Damon, although the name McDougal is familiar,” Thomas protested.
“As well it should be. That family has had major players in politics for hundreds of years.” I frowned at Thomas. He wasn’t impressing me with his ignorance. “Perhaps you should catch up on your history and politics before joining us in this type of discussion?”
Thomas hung his head. “I’m sorry Alpha. Maybe I can catch up afterwards. I’ll listen since I can see I have nothing to add.”
I nodded. I felt a touch sorry for him since politics had never been his strong suite. He dealt with security at our businesses and that didn’t require this kind of knowledge.
“So you recommend we leave them be?” Earl questioned.
“No,” Jasper said. “Just the opposite. I want to attack them where they live and as quickly as possible. If we wait they’ll draw out one of our impulsive youngsters. Once that happens, the game is lost.”
We all sat back and looked at each other. This was the time to discuss other options or vote for Jasper’s suggestion. I would go last since my vote was the most important.
“I agree,” said Edward.
The vote went around the room with all positives.
“I will finish this. I agree, we will attack as soon as possible. Each of you tell me when that will be possible.”
“I was expecting this and my males will be ready in an hour if needed,” Edward said.
I expected that but he only had five assistant judges to prepare.
“My hunters will also be ready then,” Jasper added.
This surprised me since Jasper had fifty hunters or more at any given time. They were the core of our soldiers in this war. He chose the fastest and best after the leadership positions were filled. They trained continually so they would be at their best when called upon.
“I hate to be less prepared but I wasn’t aware of the urgency of the matter. Still two hours would see my best males ready to go.”
Again, this was within my expectations. George my slayer, had a twenty wolf squad. He had one female that had proven herself a worthy slayer. She was near the top of his unit. He had so many underlings for situations just like this.
We might find ourselves in a position of carrying out justice on the spot to multiple wolves. Two hours would be needed because most in his unit, all but the top five, had homes and jobs a distance away. That was why he had a calling circle. He called his top two and they started the calls. I looked at Thomas and Earl waiting for them to speak.
“I can have a large number in two hours, but it will be a day or more before I can pull in all the reserves,” Earl explained
“I think I can get what you need in six hours unless you’re calling in major forces. That will take days,” Thomas said looking at the floor.
“What are there numbers Jasper?” I asked so I would know how many we needed.
“I believe there are two hundred give or take. At least half are female, youngling, aged or impaired.”
“So we need to be able to fight a hundred and deal with the others afterwards?”
