“I’m angry that they feel I’m an invalid,” Riley muttered, looking away from Abigail.
Abigail tried to look at Riley’s face, but she hid it with the hair. “Who?” That wasn’t something she had been expecting.
“My Pride. They love me and say I’m a part of the team. I’ve fought off nearly every threat against me, yet they still put me to bed and say, ‘let us take care of it,’ like I can’t help or shouldn’t.”
“You think they might not respect you?” Abigail was still writing this all down. Now, Abigail was getting to the root. Riley was fiery and passionate. She was hurt and victimized. She needed power again, to feel in control, and those around her weren’t giving her that. Abigail realized she may need to talk to Brenton, but she would give the Pride a chance to work it out themselves. She wasn’t going to take this to Riley’s Alpha and lover until she felt it was absolutely necessary for Riley’s health and, possibly, safety.
“Yes and no. They respect me as a person, but not a member of the Pride who can handle the work. Which is just so fucking wrong!” Riley snarled at her hands. “I fucking did it. I saved them like they saved me back in March, but when we got back here, they tell me that they want me out of it. Like I can’t…I can’t fight my own battles,” Riley clenched her hands, making fists. “I killed four of the five hunters who broke into my room. I protected myself at the diner when they came for me. But no, I’m Riley, the little cheetah who shouldn’t be in the fight to begin with.”
“They want to protect you.” Abigail’s heart was breaking. God, this girl had lived through so much already. She was such a fighter, and she found herself in a world of strong males who just wanted to care for her. And it was all so at odds.
“They taught me to protect myself and don’t trust me to do it!” Riley roared. Abigail did her best not to flinch at it. “They don’t…they don’t trust me.” She sat down on the couch. “After everything, and I’ve asked them to so many times, they don’t trust me.”
“Are you sure?” she asked softly.
“That’s what it feels like,” Riley muttered.
“Maybe you should have a real talk with them,” Abigail offered. Time to call out something else she’d noticed. Sometimes, her job was tough love. “Not an argument, since that seems to be your natural state.” Like she was firing back at Abigail with even the most innocent questions.
“Haha.” The sarcasm was dripping from that. Abigail nearly smiled as Riley continued. “So funny.” Abigail was glad to see some humor still in her. It meant she wasn’t just a fighter, but one who could fight past it all.
“And very true. You have such a temper. You swing from fine to furious in a heartbeat. I wouldn’t classify you as mentally ill in any way. I think it’s just a product of the life you’ve led. So, when someone says something that pokes you in the wrong way, you end the nice conversation and immediately fly into biting and argumentative.” Abigail stopped writing and looked Riley in the eye. “Try not to fall into the temptation of being abrasive and have a real talk.”
“Sure. Are we done here?” Riley tapped her foot.
“We’re done whenever you are. Brenton has my number. I’ve told him to give it to you, so you can reach me without needing to go through him. It will make it easier to ask for help. I’ll be in town for a little while, as well.”
Abigail watched her storm from the room and let out a long breath. Feisty. Brenton had been right. Yesterday, Abigail was wondering if she would have a job. Today she was wondering what kind of crowd she’d walked into. Riley was a force of nature, and an inspiring one at that. Abigail wished she had that girl’s gumption and fight. She didn’t, though. She was only a doe shifter, not a predator that could fight back like that; she could only adapt enough not to get eaten.
She waited for a moment and Brenton walked in.
“How is she?” Brenton asked immediately.
Abigail looked over to the Alpha and gave a small shrug. “I can’t tell you that yet, Brenton,” Abigail answered, standing up. “I’ll tell what you already know, instead. She’s upset. Obviously.”
“Of course,” Brenton growled softly. “Doctor-patient confidentiality?”
“I can promise that if I feel she’s a danger to herself or others, I’ll let you know,” Abigail said, trying to ease him. “But that’s the last thing I want to do. Violating her trust would end any chance I have of helping her if she needs it.”
“Fine.” Brenton gave up gruffly.
Abigail stood up and smiled at him. He was just worried about her. She could appreciate that. “I’m going to settle into my hotel,” she told him quietly. “Would you like me to come back later or tomorrow?”
“Let’s try tomorrow for my other Pride members. They all went running off after her. I’m about to follow,” Brenton replied mildly, his gruff, disappointed attitude already gone. That well-maintained image of his. He let it slip when talking about Riley, but nothing else, it seemed. “I’m certain James is back with your car, or will be any moment.”
“Thank you,” Abigail answered. “Tell me, if you can, what’s going on with the wolves?” She was curious. Why was Thomas here with James and Antonio, but not Chris? Why had the brothers split?
“As far as I know? Chris wants to fight the new Alpha of his old Pack. Thomas and the others aren’t interested in more fighting,” Brenton informed her, picking a piece of lint off his navy-blue suit.
“They would get obliterated,” Abigail gasped. “Surely Chris Marek isn’t that stupid.”
“Know a lot about it?” Brenton inquired, giving her a look.
“My family is from the South Dakota Herd, and I’ve followed the news coming out of the area. Well, I follow all of the news,” Abigail told him.
“You’re Herd?” Brenton raised both his eyebrows. “I’ve never met a shifter from one of those.”
“Rare, I know,” Abigail said, nodding. “We prey shifters have been spreading out more and more as humanity gets more advanced. Technology and such.”
“Of course.” Brenton hummed. “Have you met Thomas and the guys before? Being from South Dakota?”
“No,” Abigail answered honestly. She didn’t offer any more information - like that she’d been in the same room with them before. She was never actually introduced to any of them, therefore they had never met.
Shifters were very good at almost-but-not-quite lying when they had practice - and they all had practice. Something in Brenton’s eyes told her that he knew exactly what she’d just done. A narrowing of his eyes, just minutely.
“It’s not important,” Abigail added. “I’m here to work. You called me, not the other way around.”
“Good point,” Brenton muttered, looking away from her to his window behind the desk. It looked over the woods behind their home. “I got you the best room they have at the hotel. It’s for as long as you work for me. Have a nice day, Miss Harris.”
“Thank you, Alpha Kingson. Have a nice evening. I’m glad I can help your Pride through this.” She nodded to him and began walking for the door. He politely opened it for her and she picked up her bag.
“Call me Brenton before I feel old,” he called after her as she walked away. She turned back towards him. “Alpha Kingson reminds me of my father.”
“Oh!” Abigail nearly cursed. He’d already said to call him Brenton. When he’d said Miss Harris, she’d fallen back into formality. “My apologies. I won’t do it again.”
“I know,” he responded, locking his office door.
She took that as her moment to leave before she shoved her foot in her mouth. As she got closer to the front door, a male walked in, holding her keys. She could smell the wolf from a couple feet away on.
“You must be Abigail,” the male said absentmindedly, holding out her keys and not really looking at her, as if she really wasn’t there. “Need to have so much stuff?”
“You must be James,” Abigail retorted, taking her keys. “And I’ll have as much stuff as I f
eel I need, thank you.”
He looked toward her sharply, his eyes coming into focus, and she saw his eyebrows raise slightly. “I’m sorry,” he quickly apologized. “I didn’t mean to be rude. I’m just really distracted and kind of in a bad mood.”
“It’s fine.” Abigail accepted the apology without complaint. These shifters had been through a lot, and she knew they would be edgy. As long as it didn’t become a habit, she would expect some slip-ups. She once had a patient try to attack her and call her all sorts of names. By the end of his treatment, he’d been one of her favorites. He was a sweetie who was just having a hard time.
So she would let these shifters slip up. She would call them out, but she wasn’t going to hold it against them. For now, at least.
“Would you like me to walk you to your car?” James asked, following her as she began to walk toward the front door again. She smiled over to him, happy to see a gentleman in him.
“No, thank you, James.”
With that, she got out of the mansion and made it to her car. As she slid inside, she looked back to the mansion and took a deep breath.
What in the world had she just signed up for? Between the wolves and Riley, Abigail knew she was going to have her hands full for this.
3
Thomas
“I’m going to find you guys a place to stay. Somewhere where you can regroup.”
Thomas raised an eyebrow at Brenton. He liked the lion, but he wasn’t expecting any more charity than he’d already been given. And Brenton was a feline, so there had to be a price for this.
“What do you want?” he asked, preferring the direct approach.
“For you guys to get out of my house,” the lion answered him, his lips turning into a small smile. “I feel like it’s been too crowded. Nothing personal. It’s just been a few days and I am tired of having so many people in my house.”
Thomas couldn’t relate to that. Wolves like him? They grew up in huge communes, huge circles of families, with large houses and massive pieces of property. Dozens, sometimes a few hundred of them, would claim an area and live in huge communities.
But Thomas recognized feline shifters weren’t wolves. And he was a second Alpha in the lion’s home. He considered it for a moment. They had been out of the compound now for nearly a week and, while it was nice of Brenton to keep them here for as long as he had, it was definitely time for Thomas and his guys to get their shit together. Thomas just wasn’t sure what that would be.
“I have money to pay for it,” Thomas told him. “I’m not totally out of funds. I can get the guys and I a place. Might take a few days.”
“I know a piece of property on the other side of town, has a little four bedroom farmhouse,” Brenton informed him, leaning back in his chair. “We could work together to make it happen.”
“Why?” Thomas frowned at him. What was this lion’s game? Thomas didn’t need his money. His friendship, certainly. He wasn’t opposed to a strong ally now that he was the Alpha for a Pack of three, but he didn’t know why Kingson wanted to make him financially beholden.
“You helped her,” he whispered, and Thomas suddenly understood.
He’d found Riley Stern, the Pride’s little cheetah female, on the outside of the compound’s hunting grounds. She’d been cut and bruised, exhausted from the hunt she’d been on. Thomas took her to the cave he’d found and been hiding in. He’d survived his own hunt and taken refuge, hoping any of his brothers, the rest of the inner circle, would make it out as well. He’d been alone until she was there.
“This isn’t a matter of debt,” Thomas growled softly. “I wasn’t-”
“No,” he snarled back. “It’s a gift. Accept it. You helped her. Not just on the outside, but to rescue all of us. You always say it was all her, but don’t take me for a complete idiot. You’re a prior Recon Marine, Thomas. You came up with the plan that kept her alive, and I know it. You were as much a part of rescuing us from that hell-hole as she was.”
Thomas nodded a few times, looking away from Brenton. He was a strong Alpha, but he would bend a little to the lion behind the desk. This was his home and his…territory? Felines didn’t keep territory like wolves did, but it was clear that Wild Junction and the surrounding area belonged to Brenton - if not financially, then in spirit. A shifter didn’t live here unless they had his permission or were here first, like the bear shifter, Sheriff. Good older guy, that one. Reasonable and easy to get along with.
“Fine,” Thomas conceded. “You can buy us the house… but I want the title in my name, with it going to James or Antonio if anything happens.”
“Fine,” he huffed, smiling again. “I’ll get it worked up for you. It’s going to take a few days. The current occupants are renters, but they will be vacating in the next few days as the owner tries to sell. It’s a fixer-upper. That okay with you?”
“Totally,” Thomas chuckled. “We’re wolves, Brenton. We can handle fixing up a nice little house. We like that kind of work.”
“Yeah, I just pay someone to handle it,” the lion chuckled back. “Better for the economy.”
“Lazy cats like to sleep,” Thomas pointed out, sitting down finally.
Brenton threw his head back and laughed. “I’m glad we can still get along after that…argument we had in the field a few days ago,” he added, in that mild tone. Thomas remembered it. It wasn’t so much an argument as a mild disagreement about Brenton’s handling of Riley. The lion was trying to shelter her, and it was going to backfire. “I’m not going to be your friend, though, Thomas. Be close with my Pride - that’s no problem - but don’t expect it from me.”
“Why not?” Thomas inquired, leaning back in his seat. That wasn’t what he’d expected.
“I have a hard time with other Alphas,” Brenton admitted. “I never could have played the second like you did with Chris. I don’t want my issues with other Alphas to cause any strain on new friendships, though.”
“Ah,” Thomas sighed. He understood now. Brenton was a solo Alpha with a small Pride and even though he was young, he was aware of himself. He was also dominant as hell, too dominant to handle any challenges to his authority. Thomas was strong and dominant, but he didn’t have it in him to be someone like Brenton Kingson, and in a large wolf Pack, it wasn’t necessary. “I’m not sure why I did either, as a matter of fact.”
“Really?” Brenton frowned at him.
Thomas searched for the words. How did he explain to Brenton the tale of his place in South Dakota? He liked the lion enough to be real about it, but it was difficult. “Chris was driving the Pack into the ground,” he explained. “I was already on my way out of the Marines with nowhere to go when I heard. Decided to make my way home to save the Pack.”
“And you didn’t want to fight your brother to be the better Alpha,” Brenton concluded.
“Yup,” Thomas huffed out, nodding. “I couldn’t do it. I would have won, could have, but he’s my brother. So I took the place of the previous second, knocking that piece of shit completely out of the Pack. He was bad news. I helped Chris stabilize his inner circle and turn the Pack back around. Then I settled.”
“It worked for you. I wouldn’t doubt that they all treated you like the Alpha when Chris wasn’t around,” Brenton chuckled. Thomas shrugged in response.
“They might have,” Thomas agreed, in the most noncommittal way he could.
A knock at the door had Thomas standing, but not Brenton. Zachary Woods, the dangerous white tiger, stalked into the room.
“I heard about the meeting,” Zachary snarled.
Thomas raised his eyebrows as the tiger glared at the other Alpha.
“Thomas, we can finish talking later,” the lion groaned. “Sound good?”
“Perfectly fine with me,” he said, heading for the door. He wasn’t going to get too involved in the Pride’s business, and he was thankful they weren’t trying to drag him in on it yet. He had a Pack to worry about. A small one, but a Pack nonetheless.
He hustled up the stairs of the Kingson mansion, slowing down before he got to the door of the top-floor rooms he and the guys had been given.
He was an Alpha now. He’d wanted this for so long, but it also shook him a little. He was now responsible for the lives of others, and was the face of them to the world. He’d basically filled the role when Chris was off whoring, which was often, but this was different. He would no longer get a reprieve. All the decisions would be his, and he had people relying on him to do more than temper an irresponsible brother.
Thomas leaned on the wall outside the door and just stayed there for a moment. He was at a loss. He couldn’t believe that just over a month ago, he was the second in one of the biggest wolf Packs of North America.
They had thrown it all down the drain in a fit of anger, one he’d been against. He’d followed Chris to go cause trouble out of duty. He and three other members of the inner circle had been outvoted.
“Thomas?” Antonio popped his head out of his door and gave him a confused head tilt. “You all right, my man?”
“Thinking about the guys,” he admitted. “And how woefully unprepared I am for this.”
“I miss them too,” Antonio mumbled, looking down. He pulled his door open wider, inviting Thomas in. “Let’s talk, my man.”
Thomas went in and found James laid out on the bed.
Nine healthy wolves went into a hunter’s compound. Four of them were still alive, and they had little to nothing left. Chris was long gone already, off to try and reclaim power he never deserved, and Thomas was here, trying to clean up the pieces of his broken Packmates.
He didn’t start talking as Antonio went to sit at a desk. He looked over his ‘new’ Pack, these brothers of his in every way except blood.
Prey to the Heart Page 3
