Off in the distance, she felt Heather’s panic growing, screaming out to her.
“Get off me!” she howled, trying without success to knee him in the balls.
Instead, he bent down and sniffed her hair. “But you smell so pretty.” Then he stopped and his expression went from taunting to serious. “Fear. I smell fear. You’re not lying.”
“North east of here! Help her!” she cried out.
He scrambled to his feet and shouted out to his pack mates, and then shifted. Katrina shifted too. They all raced northeast, easily outrunning her, and she fell behind, following them.
It occurred to her as she ran that she could possibly escape now, because they were all distracted – but no. She had to help Heather. She couldn’t leave until she knew the little girl was all right.
Ahead, she heard shouts of rage, followed by howls and terrible gurgling noises that she recognized. Wolves were dying.
By the time she got there, it was all over.
Three shifters lay dead on the forest floor. Maddox and his men had already shifted back into human form. Carver was kneeling and comforting Heather, who was crying into his shoulder.
“Heather! Did they hurt you?” Katrina cried out. Good God, hadn’t this cub been through enough already?
Heather rushed over to Katrina, who wrapped her arms around her protectively. “Those men tried to take me!” she wailed. “Why did they try to take me? I didn’t want to go with them!”
“What were you doing out here?” Maddox asked her.
She wiped at her face with her arm. “My daddy drank his medicine from the bottle and fell asleep, and I couldn’t wake him up, and I got bored,” she sniffled. “I just wanted to go for a run.” A very common cub thing to do, and on her pack land, she should have been safe.
Maddox’s face went dark with anger. “Take Heather to Caroline,” he said to Carver. “And alert everybody, nobody goes in the woods alone until this is resolved. Double up on security. Meeting in one hour with everyone on the pack council.”
“Wait, isn’t Katrina coming too?” Heather asked anxiously. “I need her to protect me.”
“I’ll see you later today, and this time we’ll do two French braids. With ribbons. But only if you go with Carver right now with no arguing,” Katrina said. Heather perked up immediately, and let Carver scoop her up and carry her off without complaint.
As Carver headed back towards the common area, Maddox glanced over at Katrina. “How did you know Heather was in trouble?”
“I’m a Sensitive. I have a natural tendency to pick up on very strong emotions of anyone around me. I’m surprised I picked up on Heather being this far away from me; I must have really formed an emotional bond with her. And then again, her panic was really strong and I tend to pick up on negative emotions the most, unfortunately.”
Maddox nodded curtly. “Good talent to have.”
“What will happen with her father?”
“He’s out of the pack. He’d been warned before.”
“Ouch.” Katrina winced. “Rehab?”
“We offered before, he turned it down. When we escort him off the property, we’ll offer it again. He can do it or not, his choice. Unless he can prove to us that he’s rehabilitated, he’s lost his cub and his pack.”
She sighed. It was sad for Heather; she wished there were an alternative.
“You think I’m being overly harsh?” Maddox asked, surprising her. He actually cared what she thought?
“Well, I…No. I just wish circumstances were different, but they’re not. I understand why you’re laying down the law. You’ve given him plenty of chances. He’s not supervising his own child, and being raised by a binge-drinking alcoholic is terrible for her. I hope he decides to accept help.”
Maddox turned his attention back to the three dead shifters. “I need to know who sent them.”
“I swear they smell familiar,” Katrina said.
She walked closer, peering at the three dead men, their blood staining the forest floor, their lifeless eyes staring at the sky.
A shock ran all the way through her body. “I know them,” she says.
Maddox let out a growl.
“Are they members of your pack?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No. They’re in a pack that my stepfather wanted to take over. It’s Tristan, the Alpha of the Lowlands pack. And his Beta. And his brother. I don’t understand why they were here.”
He glared at their bodies. “Isn’t it obvious? Retaliation for taking you hostage.”
“It’s just not how my stepfather would operate. He wouldn’t send a relatively weak Alpha and two men onto your property to grab a cub. I mean, you saw how ineffective they are. It would just make him look bad, and also, nobody goes after cubs.” At Maddox’s scornful look, she said with exasperation “Seriously, you jerkoff. That’s the kind of thing that would bring the Council of Elders down on his head. He wouldn’t want to risk that.”
The Council oversaw Death Challenges, but they didn’t usually get involved in day to day pack affairs – unless someone had violated the Covenant, the code of conduct that governed all wolf shifters. Cubs were off limits. Nobody went after another pack’s cubs.
Maddox glanced back at their bodies, his brows drawn together. “Maybe he came after us to impress your stepfather.”
“No, if anything, from what I’d heard he was so against my stepfather taking over his pack that he was ready to accept a Death Challenge, even though he was sure to lose. This makes no sense at all.”
“Well, they’re here, and somehow or other I get the feeling that your stepfather was behind it. It’s time to end this,” Maddox said. “We need to go back now. Things to do, shifters to kill. Let’s move it.”
Katrina let him lead her back to the main pack area, with a dull feeling of despair settling deep in the pit of her stomach. No matter who won, hearts would be broken and things were going to change forever for both packs.
Chapter Four
Maddox had Katrina wait outside of his office. She’d requested the opportunity to speak to her family, and he’d granted it. Why not? It just rubbed their snouts in the fact that he’d taken her hostage.
First things first. He was being put through to Roman, who apparently had been expecting his call.
He leaned back in his upholstered leather chair, phone held to his ear as it rang. Carver stood by the door, arms folded over his chest, watching.
Maddox heard a click on the other end. “Hello?” Roman’s voice was cold and betrayed no emotion.
“Nice try. Your idiot minions failed,” Maddox said in a low, rumbling growl. “They died like cowards, howling for mercy.”
“I challenge you to a Death Match in the arena,” Roman Coffman said quickly, without even asking what Maddox meant.
“Took you long enough. Name the date and time.”
“Noon. July First.” Now, that was a surprise. Did Roman need an entire month to get prepared? Every Alpha was always in a state of readiness for a challenge. Maddox was sure that Roman trained daily and kept in peak physical condition – just as Maddox did.
“How about tomorrow?” He wanted to get this over with.
“Are you hard of hearing? I said July First.”
Maddox growled at the insult – but he had no choice. Since Roman had been the one to issue the challenge, he got to pick the date. Maddox had just never heard of the time being expanded out so far.
He almost felt as if Roman had rushed to issue the death challenge so he could pick the date – but why? What possible advantage would there be to waiting a month?
If it had been any longer than that, he’d have appealed to the Council. Hell, he could even appeal to them now. He thought about it. Of course, the entire time they were waiting, he’d have to keep Katrina here – to return her would be a sign of weakness.
Speaking of which…
“Fine. Spend your month training, old man, not that it will help. And now, your stepdaughter wants to speak to you
. I’m going to put you on hold while I wait for her, because I’ve reached my tolerance level for the Mordhaus pack today.”
He set the phone down, and gestured at Carver, who went to fetch Katrina.
Katrina walked in, looking wary, and came behind the desk. He inhaled deeply through his nose, before he could stop himself. Why did she have to smell so damn delicious?
He picked up the phone again. “Even though you are weak, and unable to control or protect the members of your pack, I choose to permit you to speak to our hostage.”
He handed the phone to Katrina, ignoring Roman’s snarls of anger and shouts of rage. Something about Maddox drowning in his own blood, blah blah blah.
* * *
“Roman! Please quit yelling! It’s me,” Katrina said. “Is everyone all right?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t they be?” Roman said, sounding offended, as if she were questioning his leadership. She wished she could ask him about what was happening in town, and why everyone was so upset with their pack, but with him in this mood, it wasn’t the best time. She also couldn’t talk about it in front of Maddox.
Frustration welled up inside her. Roman seemed to listen to her pretty well when she talked to him in person, when her mother was there. He pretty much worshipped the ground her mother walked on – not surprising, because her mother made the perfect trophy wolf and was every bit as socially ambitious as Roman, if not more.
Yet another reason she needed to get off this damned property – she really needed a face to face with him.
“How badly have they mistreated you?” Roman asked. “I need to report all of their violations to the Council of Elders.”
“They have not mistreated me. Other than kidnapping me, I mean. But I’m being fed well and nobody has abused me. They are behaving according to the Covenant.” The Covenant had specific rules about how hostages were to be treated.
“I doubt that the Killingworth pack ever follows the rules of the Covenant,” Roman said, his voice cold.
Katrina bit back an angry response. Was he calling her a liar? What the hell was up his butt today?
“I can only report what I observe,” she said stiffly. She wasn’t being particularly diplomatic, but screw it. He was being a dick, and she’d never seen the point of fake social niceties.
Maddox was standing next to her, leaning on the desk. She tried not to let it distract her; whenever he was close to her, she felt that warm flush sweep through her body, and her heart sped up as if she’d just run a marathon. She prayed he didn’t notice; he was stuck up enough already.
“Your mother wishes to speak to you.” Roman’s tone was frosty. “Janet! Can you come here?”
She heard a rustling sound, and then her mother’s aggrieved voice. “Katrina, dear, you will of course remember to represent our pack well,” her mother said.
Katrina felt a ripple of exasperation roll over her. She’d been kidnapped, and that’s what her mother had to say to her? Not that she should be surprised.
“Of course I am,” she said impatiently.
“Remember your manners. We must show those beasts that we are superior to them. You are eating with the correct forks and spoons, of course?”
The only time Katrina bothered to eat with the proper forks and spoons as she’d been taught in etiquette school was when she ate with her family. She tried to make sure that happened as infrequently as possible.
“Mother, they use one set of silverware. For heaven’s sake.”
“Good!” her mother crowed. “Then, ask for a proper table setting, and when they refuse, you need to say very loudly that it doesn’t surprise you that these beasts never learned proper table manners. Oh, I know, say that they must have gotten their etiquette training at the dog pound.” She sounded utterly delighted with herself.
Katrina rolled her eyes. “Yes, that’ll show sure show them. In fact it’s a little harsh. It might make them cry.”
“Katrina Coffman, are you disrespecting me? And in the presence of another pack? I can not believe all of the money that I’ve spent trying to teach you to behave properly, and even after all this-”
“My last name’s not Coffman! It’s Hagan! You married Roman, I didn’t!” she yelled, and slammed the phone down on the receiver.
Maddox sat there on the table, trying to suppress his laughter. “Would you like me to rustle up some more silverware for you?”
“I swear to freaking God!” Katrina stamped on the floor. She began pacing. “Seriously. I’m being held hostage and the only thing my mother cares about is making sure that I announce that our family is better than everyone else. My mother is the shallowest, most pretentious-” then she stopped and bit her lip. She’d just insulted her pack – in front of their mortal enemies. Everything that she was saying was true, and she’d lashed out because her mother had hurt her feelings by as usual caring more about appearances than she cared about Katrina, but she shouldn’t have revealed this to an outsider.
“Forget I said that,” she said.
He raised an eyebrow, looking puzzled. “Forget you said what?”
“Thank you.” Great, and now thanks to her mother, she owed Maddox for actually being decent. She couldn’t decide who she was maddest at right now.
“Thank me for what? By the way, your stepfather requested that the Challenge be held in one month.”
“An entire month?” She stared at him. “What the hell? Why?” She felt uneasiness ripple through her. Roman had reasons for everything that he did. He was a master manipulator. Was he planning on doing something to Maddox in the meantime? She was tempted to tell Maddox to test all of his food before he ate it, but then she’d be collaborating with the enemy.
She forced her concerns down. This was what it meant to be a shifter. Alphas challenged. They protected their pack, they kept order, sometimes they died doing it.
“I have no idea.” Maddox shrugged, not seeming at all concerned. “But you know that I can’t send you back before then.”
She’d be stuck around this infuriating slab of man meat for an entire month. Ever since he’d grabbed her back at the town common, her animal instincts were going crazy. Something about his touching her…all of a sudden, his mere presence made her body betray her, sending shivers of arousal through her whenever he got near.
She couldn’t want Maddox. The Killingworth and Mordhaus packs were oil and water, they didn’t mix. She could just imagine sauntering up to her mother and stepfather and announcing “Hey, Maddox Killingworth is my new mate!” It would be a toss-up whether her stepfather would ban her or kill her. Or ban her dead body.
As if Maddox even wanted her for a mate, she reminded herself. It wasn’t like he was offering.
She needed to stay away as far away from him as possible. She’d just throw herself into helping out with planning out the bridal shower and wedding day festivities and do her best to pretend he didn’t exist.
“We’ll have clothing brought to you,” Maddox told her. “We can give you a TV and DVD player. And you can go out during the day, as long as you have a guard.”
“I’m tired,” she said stiffly. “I’d like to go back to my prison cell, I mean room.”
As she turned to walk out of the room, with Carver trailing after her, Maddox called out “Katrina!”
She turned back, with a quizzical look on her face.
“Thanks for saving Heather today. You could have used that opportunity to escape.”
“Don’t remind me,” she muttered, and let Carver lead her back to her room. Good God, if her stepfather ever found out that she could have escaped but stayed behind to help a Killingworth cub, there would be hell to pay.
Chapter Five
It was noon, and the Bitter Brew tavern was crowded.
Carver set his beer stein down and scowled. Damned Mordhaus pack. They’d been an arrogant, obnoxious, in-your-face bunch of assholes, as far back as he could remember – and they’d gotten even worse when Roman Coffman took over.
>
As for Katrina, he saw the way Maddox looked at her – even if Maddox didn’t realize it himself. Yet. He’d always suspected Maddox had a thing for her, going back years. He was actually kind of worried about Maddox, not that he’d ever tell his Alpha that.
Bambi, the coyote shifter who’d come to meet him, put her hand on his knee and ran it up his thigh. He felt his cock harden and swell, straining at his jeans.
“What are you looking so grouchy about, wolfie? You’re with me.” She fluttered her lashes at him, and he grinned. They had a casual thing where they got together from time to time, and he always looked forward to it. That was exactly what he needed today – a break from the drama back on pack property, a little afternoon delight.
“And aren’t I a lucky wolf.” He leaned forward and kissed her hard, cupping his thrusting his tongue into her mouth. There was no emotion there, no tenderness, just deep, hungry need, and she responded eagerly, in kind.
When he finally pulled away, she let out a high pitched giggle. “I need to go use the little girl’s room, and then we should swing by my place. You haven’t broken my bedsprings in a while, you naughty wolf.” She winked at him and slid off the bar stool, sauntering off towards the bathroom.
Okay, her penchant for cutesy talk was starting to grate on his nerves a little bit, but it’s not like he actually much spent any time with her outside of the bedroom. No big deal, he told himself.
One of the wolves at the bar let out a loud howl of approval, and he turned to see what the wolf was looking at.
Well, hello. A stunning female brunette wolf shifter had just walked through the door. Her long, straight brown hair was thick and shiny. She wore black jeans and a tank top and motorcycle boots. Yes, please, he thought.
Damn. Now he was sorry he was with Bambi. If he hadn’t agreed to meet her today, he’d have gone for that she-wolf in a heartbeat.
She met his gaze and headed straight for him. Well, this was awkward. Could he get away with asking for her number while Bambi was in the bathroom? It’s not like he and Bambi were exclusive – she’d been with a hyena shifter the night before, one of his friends had told him.
Taken By The Alpha (Timber Valley Pack) Page 4
