Prey to the Heart

by Kristen Banet

  They all looked at Heath. He was pale, knowing what was about to happen. So far, none of the wolves had survived the hunt.

  It was three hours later when they took him out. They replaced him with two foxes, a couple of youths.

  “They selling you guys?” one of the foxes asked. James shook his head.

  “Hunting us,” Thomas whispered.

  As if right on cue, the dogs began to bark and bay. Cheap domestic howls echoed through the warehouse. James looked over to the foxes and watched them both go wide-eyed.

  “Heath is number four,” James told them, locking down his feelings.

  A gunshot rang out, signaling the beginning of the hunt.

  James shifted into wolf form and began to howl, along with the rest of the inner circle. Cheering on their brother, hoping he would make it.

  An hour later, three gunshots marked the end of it.

  James collapsed and was thankful he was in wolf form.

  He couldn’t cry in wolf form.

  James woke up to another body in the bed, arms around him, pulling him nearly into a lap. His face was against a chest, a male chest.

  “It’s a dream, James,” Thomas whispered in the dark. “It’s over. We buried them. We’re out.”

  “I miss them so much,” James mumbled, feeling a flood coming. He felt the tears fall. Wolves grieved privately. This was private. This was Pack at its purest. He shouldn’t have pushed it away for so long.

  Abigail was right: he needed to just let this happen.

  Tony was rubbing his back, huddled on his other side as Thomas just told him over and over again that it was okay, that it was never going to happen again. They would rebuild and make new futures, and they were safe. They would live for their fallen.

  “Let it out, James,” his Alpha murmured. “Let it go.”

  He did, nearly howling from the pain in his chest. His heart was broken, his brothers lost. His family and life destroyed. He only had Thomas and Tony, and they only had him. This was what arrogance and a weak Alpha got a Pack.

  Death and ruin.

  “What time is it?” James groaned when he was done. It felt like his soul had been ripped from his chest, but it also felt cleaner. He’d finally let it happen, and he’d been allowed to share it with his Alpha and Packmate.

  “Three in the morning,” his Packmate told him quietly. “Think you’ll be able to get some sleep?”

  “How did you guys know?” he asked, sitting up and looking between them. He rested his back on the headboard like Thomas was doing.

  “You were nearly howling in your sleep,” Thomas informed him. “We knew.”

  “I’m sorry, guys,” James mumbled, rubbing his face.

  “Don’t ever apologize,” Tony snarled, reaching out to slam a hand into James’ stomach. “Fucking idiot. This is Pack, we’re allowed to see this with each other. We don’t fucking bottle it up that much, you damn prick. Thomas and I are supposed to be the people you can fucking share with, you shithead.”

  “Fuck, Tony, I’m sorry,” he growled, and stopped Tony from hitting him again. “Stop.”

  Thomas whacked his stomach instead. James felt like a pup for a moment, getting beat on by his older brothers. Well, he thought this was what that felt like. He was the oldest person in the room and he’d never had brothers.

  “I did it because it was funny,” Thomas chuckled. “The face you’re making is hilarious.”

  “I bet it fucking is,” he snapped.

  “Does this mean we get normal James back?” Tony asked, sitting up to lean on him. “Because I don’t like you cranky, my man.”

  “I thought I was doing pretty good,” James muttered, glaring at Tony on his shoulder.

  “For the rest of the world,” Thomas told him. “The felines have no idea you aren’t just a nice guy. Abigail…not so much.”

  “Let’s keep it that way then.” He groaned. “Plus, she’s a therapist, I should expect her to see through it.”

  “Let’s get back to sleep,” Thomas said, sighing with it. “Lie down. We’ll stay.”

  “I don’t need you to,” James mumbled petulantly. He sank down into his pillows and realized he might need them to.

  Thomas and Tony had ignored him.

  This was healing for wolves. Bodies, warm, reminders of the living. That’s why they had been okay with the arrangement in Kingson’s mansion. They needed it. It wasn’t sexual, just Pack and family. They were stronger together, and the hunters had been smart to lock them in different cages and rob this sense of family from them.

  “Stop thinking, James, and go to sleep,” his Alpha mumbled. They weren’t really touching. Leg over another leg, an arm casually thrown over another arm. Reminders they were there, and it was okay.

  “I want more,” James whispered, thinking about how much he liked having his Pack with him, the warm bodies, the community. “More Pack, more wolves, more anything.”

  “What?” Tony mumbled. “Thought we decided not to go back to that.”

  “Not a full Pack…just more,” James admitted softly. “I miss having a full house. I miss the fucking pups running around. I miss that sense of…”

  “Family?” Thomas filled in. He felt his Alpha give a sigh. “I want more too. We’ll figure out something and hopefully stay out of trouble in the process. Maybe we can join Colorado? Be an offshoot? Who knows.”

  “No,” he groaned. “Not that.”

  “Then what?” Tony growled softly, his head under a pillow.

  “I don’t know,” James conceded. He just knew he wanted it.

  “We’ll talk tomorrow,” Thomas mumbled. “Sleep now.”

  James finally got back to sleep, still thinking about this mysterious more he wanted. He wanted a return to something like what he knew, but he wanted it differently. He just didn’t know what that could possibly be. What could replace what they had and still be glorious and fill the hole in his chest?

  This time he dreamed of hunting a doe.

  11

  Abigail

  Abigail arrived promptly at noon with a bag of things she knew she would need for this run with the wolves.

  “What have I gotten myself into?” she asked herself for the tenth time that day. “I’m crazy.”

  She parked next to their vehicles, the trucks and a pretty blue sports car, and got out. She grabbed her bag from the trunk and walked up to the front door, which opened before she could knock.

  “Welcome!” Antonio laughed, waving her inside. “Come in, come in. We’re going to have a bite to eat before we go out.”

  “Oh?” She raised her eyebrows at him and stepped into the farmhouse.

  “I mean, if you, pretty doe, want to run with hungry wolves, we can do that too,” Antonio chuckled. “Though it might cause a problem when we decide to hunt something down for a snack. You would make a good one.”

  Abigail shouldn’t have been bothered by the statement. Predator shifters could eat in their animal forms, their bodies well-adjusted to the idea of processing raw meat, and they only had one stomach. She usually ate before shifting since she couldn’t eat in doe form. Her human body wouldn’t be able to process the vegetation she tried to ingest in doe form. The fact that they were going to eat before going out, not wanting to hunt with her around, was kind of them.

  But there was a part of the statement that had felt insanely sexual in that Antonio way. More ‘eating the doe’ jokes that sent her mind to other places.

  “To the dining room, Abby,” he whispered in her ear, a bit of humor in his voice. The heat over her ear and the silent laughter she could feel from him gave her chills and made her hot. Unacceptable and wonderful all at the same time. They got to her in the worst ways.

  What have I gotten myself into?

  She jumped and kept walking, trying to push the idea out of her mind. She saw Thomas and James waiting in the dining room, a huge plate of sandwiches between them and four plates set out.

  “Sit, eat,” the Alpha gr
eeted her, waving at a chair next to him. “If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it right.”

  “Of course,” she mumbled, sliding into the seat. He dropped four of the half sandwiches on her plate and pushed it closer to her. She picked up one and looked inside.

  “Tuna salad or chicken salad are your options. I gave you two of each,” he informed her, smiling.

  “Why?” Abigail asked, still looking in them.

  “Protein,” he chuckled. “You’ll need it. We’re going to get to running today. I want you to really cut loose.”

  “Wonderful.” She sighed and took a bite into the tuna one first. It was delicious, and she wondered who the cook of the group was. “Who made these?”

  “I did,” James mumbled, covering his mouthful of food. “Like it?”

  “I do, thank you,” she said, smiling at him before taking another bite.

  They ate in peace, Antonio sitting down to shove a few in his mouth as well. It wasn’t pretty, but it was funny. She giggled as Antonio started to choke from going too fast and James slammed a fist onto his chest, making him cough harder. He was okay in the end, laughing and coughing as he drank water with Thomas telling him that he could slow down next time.

  When they were all fed, Thomas stood, and the others did as well. She moved a bit slower, standing up and grabbing the plates from the table until Thomas took her wrist and stopped her.

  “Guests don’t clean my table,” he said seriously, softly growling at the end. James took the plates from her and she was left there being held by Thomas until there was nothing for her to clean. When he released her, she frowned at him.

  “I took my plate to the kitchen yesterday,” she reminded him.

  “And nearly dropped it on the floor,” he retorted, breaking into a smile. She should have kept her mouth shut. “Plus, we didn’t know you were done eating. Little doe, you should have given it to James. At least you let him clean it. But you won’t be coming here and cleaning up after us. That’s a no-go.”

  “Moving on,” she muttered. “Is there a room I can use to get ready?”

  “Get ready?” Thomas’ grin faded into confusion.

  “Robe up?” Abigail said with a confused look back. What did he expect?

  “Uh,” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Prey. You don’t just…strip down with the Herd and shift?”

  “Uh, no,” she laughed, shaking her head. “And what happened in the woods a few weeks ago was a one-off. I was supposed to be alone.”

  “Um, you know the one we talked in? You can use that one,” he told her, pointing. She nodded to him and walked away, taking her bag with her. She could hear him and the others whispering for a moment about it. They thought it was weird, and she could let that slide. To them, it was unusual.

  She undressed after she locked the door and folded her clothes on the bed for when she got back. She pulled out her favorite navy blue terrycloth robe from her bag and wrapped it around herself. Predators might be fine just shucking off their clothing and walking around nude, but she was not. She was raised with some propriety. The Herd robed up and met in the field with a small gathering barn where they would throw parties. Then they would disrobe and shift without seeing each other’s bodies. Keep some sense about it.

  “We’ll be out back,” Thomas called through the door.

  “Okay!” Abigail called back, listening to them shuffle out the backdoor. She spent a few minutes reminding herself why she was here. She was going to feed the doe a little, and hopefully put it at ease. Let it run in the woods a bit more, since it was begging to constantly, every time she went out to hike and saw the trees. This wasn’t about the wolves. This was about her. They were just kind enough to do this for her.

  She left the room and walked quickly out the back door. She tried not to watch the wolves peel off articles of clothing, but that was a sight. Hard backs, well-cut abs, strong legs and arms. She turned away from them and let the robe slip off her shoulders and shifted the moment she knew she wouldn’t get caught in it. They were probably still busy with their own clothing, so they wouldn’t have seen too much.

  Not like they hadn’t seen it all before, she remembered. They had seen all of her, and she had already seen all of them.

  She turned in her doe form and saw the wolves there, waiting.

  “Ready to run?” Thomas asked in her head. She bobbed her head and he began to trot away. She followed, letting Antonio walk next to her.

  It started easy as they made their way into the woods, then Thomas picked up the pace. She wasn’t working too hard to keep up, though she was careful since she didn’t know the land. She could easily take a wrong step and hurt herself if she wasn’t paying attention.

  They kept the pace for a long time until Thomas brought them to a clearing and fell into the grass.

  “How’s this? Let you hang out here for a little while,” he chuckled in her head.

  She looked around and wandered to explore the clearing more. It was pretty, a small thing with sunlight able to peek through the trees. She felt something race through her and couldn’t stop the excited jump she gave.

  “I think this will work for her,” Antonio laughed.

  “Hmmm, good,” Thomas said absentmindedly. She still didn’t say anything as something playful took hold of her.

  She jumped and kicked and pranced around like she had at the stream. Her doe was happy, and Abigail couldn’t resist that happiness. Her laughter rang in her head and probably the wolves’ as well.

  “Thank you,” she finally sent them, bowing over to touch noses with Thomas. “I haven’t been out like this, and safely, in…”

  “How long?” James asked.

  “Years,” she admitted.

  “Well, you can come out here any time,” Thomas informed her. “Just give us a heads up and I’ll make sure one of us can bring you. This is important to the health and happiness of us shifters.”

  “The Herds do this at a minimum,” she sighed. “Just enough to feed the animal’s need and get out of the house. We’re just so human compared to other shifters. It’s harder for us to embrace the animal, partially because it’s dangerous.”

  “I know,” Thomas chuckled. “But now you can come out every day if you want.”

  “Thank you.” It was the sincerest thanks she’d ever given to someone. Her heart felt so light and happy in that moment, knowing she could come out here and enjoy the wilderness and feel at peace with her dual natures. She knew the predators always had a hard time with balancing the beast and the man, but no one really realized how hard it was for the prey as well.

  “Want to play a game?” Antonio asked, rolling around the grass.

  “Like what?” She watched him roll in the grass and dirt, wondering why he would get his beautiful coat so dirty.

  “We can play Chase,” Antonio answered brightly.

  “You mean…”

  “He wants to play chase. You run, we chase,” James growled happily. “We play it with other wolves normally, but you are probably a much better runner than we are. Could be fun.”

  The idea thrilled her in a way she didn’t expect, and she thought there was no harm in it. It probably kept their instincts sharp and she knew she wasn’t in any real danger after looking into Thomas’ blue eyes and watching his big head bob in a nod.

  “Do you want to?” he asked, tilting his head.

  She didn’t answer; she just took off into the brush.

  “Cheater!” Thomas howled, and she laughed back at him, darting deeper into the woods.

  She kept running, weaving through the trees and bushes. She kept her mind on finding a secure path where she couldn’t trip on anything. She wasn’t really running, though; it was more like bounding.

  She heard growls and barks, footfalls of the wolves close behind her. It was thrilling and exciting and even a little scary. She loved it. It reminded her of playing tag as a child or running from her sister, that thrill of being chased. She
took a sharp turn, wondering if it would throw the wolves off her trail. If she lost them, she would cut back and meet them and declare herself the winner.

  She didn’t lose them, though, and things heated up as she noticed one was beginning to run alongside her but couldn’t get closer since she started drifting to the left away from him.

  She looked forwards and hit the brakes.

  She shifted back to her human form, staring into the large stream she’d nearly fallen fifteen feet down into.

  An arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back from the ledge.

  “We caught you,” Thomas whispered in her ear, something in his voice rough, heated and sensual. “Funny thing about wolves, we know how to herd our prey where we want it.”

  Her heart gave several large thumps as he held her, her back to his chest. His large, rough hand turned her slowly and she looked up into those light blue eyes. Her thighs clenched, and she could feel how hot her core was, begging for attention as the blood in her head rushed down to the area.

  His heart was doing the same thing as hers. She could hear the other guys coming closer, but she wasn’t just caught by the wolves. She was trapped in Thomas’ eyes.

  “What do I get for the catch?” he asked softly, his hand on her hip now while the other rose to trace her lips.

  “I don’t know,” she whispered back, letting him come down to capture her mouth. She shouldn’t have, but everything in her body screamed to let it happen. She would let his mouth take hers, let him claim her just the once. His hand roamed to her ass and her instincts were telling her to roll into the grass and let it all happen. She’d been caught, and this was what happens when a doe gets caught by wolves. She gets eaten, devoured by them.

  “Mmm.” Thomas sounded thoughtful with that noise. “I hope you realize that wolves share their catches, little doe.”

  She moaned softly as he squeezed her ass and pulled her hard against his body, letting his erection press into her stomach. She wasn’t surprised by a second body coming behind hers, large hands trailing up her sides and ribs to tease the flesh of her breasts. Kisses on her neck and hot breath on her ear gave her shivers that had nothing to do with the December air.