As they drew closer to The Winchester, Eileen noticed a big utility van parked across the sidewalk ahead of them. She wondered if she hadn’t noticed it earlier because it blended into the night on the unlit street. Or maybe it hadn’t been there before?
“Look at that van’s paint job. It looks like a stake-out van in a bad TV show.” She laughed.
Cain nodded. “I’ve always wondered why people in those shows don’t notice the cable truck parked on their street day and night for a week straight.”
They were a few storefronts away from the van when suddenly the side door crashed open. There was an ear-splitting sound of metal grinding and a terrible BOOM when it slammed to a stop. Eileen expected every light on the street to flip on, but they were surrounded by commercial buildings. No one else was around to hear the noises on the street.
She froze and time came to a standstill as two masked men jumped from the van. One had an aluminum baseball bat, and there was a horrible crack as the bat made contact with Cain’s arm. In the same instant, she was knocked to the ground by the other man. He knelt on her chest, crushing her ribs. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. Her attacker gripped her neck in his hands as he turned his head to the side, distracted by the fight between Cain and his partner. Eileen took advantage of the brief window of opportunity and started to beat on his dick with both of her fists.
The man roared, let go of her neck, and slammed her wrists to the sidewalk. Wait, her attacker was screaming. Or was someone else screaming? The scene was absolute insanity, and she couldn’t put the pieces together. There was a blur of gray and her assailant fell off of her.
Cain. He had shifted. The wolf was bigger than she would have ever imagined, and his eyes glowed as his enormous mouth snapped at the attackers. Cain turned to the man with a bat, and bit his ankle, tearing away pieces of flesh.
Their van came to life and someone in the passenger seat yelled to Cain’s prey. The first man beat the wolf with his bat until his partner was free of the vice-like jaws, and the two retreated back to the safety of their van. The driver didn’t even wait for the door to close before he sped through a store’s parking lot and down the alley that ran behind the businesses.
Cain came to Eileen and sniffed her head and wrists. Seemingly satisfied that she had no wounds, he nudged her to her feet. She was in a daze as she picked up Cain’s clothes and followed him to The Winchester. She dug through his pockets, pulled out his keys, and unlocked the door. Safety.
The wolf was limping slightly as she followed him up the stairs to the apartment. He climbed onto the bed, stretched out on his side, and began cleaning himself.
“I need a shower,” Eileen said. She felt detached from the whole situation and a shower sounded like the logical thing to do. When she emerged, human Cain lay on the bed.
“Come here.”
She obeyed and crawled into bed next to him, pressing her naked body against his. She shook, “Cain, what—“
“Shh.” He kissed her forehead. “I’ll take care of it in the morning.”
She leaned into his kiss and closed her eyes. “We’ll take care if it tomorrow.”
The rising sun crept through the windows as Cain purred, reached over Eileen’s shoulder, and dragged her body closer to his. He kissed her forehead and sighed. The delicate intimacy of it made her feel so safe. He ran the tips of his fingers down the side of her body. They grazed her breast, dipped into the hollow of her waist, rose again to climb her hips, and came to rest cupping her buttocks. He pulled her tightly against him and placed a leg over her knees, anchoring her in place.
“Stay,” he whispered.
It wasn’t a question, and she tipped her head back to look at him defiantly, a sharp response on the tip of her tongue. But she was still feeling warm and heavy from sleep, and she needed something to balance the night’s trauma. His hand had left a trail of sparks down her body. She could feel his heat against her pelvis. His dick was coming to life with irregular pulses. Eileen nuzzled into his massive chest and wiggled out from under his leg, hitched her leg over his, and anchored her bent knee over his hip bone. She ran a hand down the back of his arms, appreciating the definition in his triceps and forearms. Cain was so powerful; there was an exciting sense of danger that came with those muscles. He could claim her, control her, with hardly any effort. Her core fluttered at the thought. She reached behind her ass and pulled his hand over her thighs towards her cunt.
Cain’s breathing was heavy and she wished she could see his face, but she was still curled forward into his chest. His dick was hard now and pinned between their bodies, and his hips rocked instinctively against her. Eileen smiled to herself knowing that she was responsible for his growing need. She reached her arm farther, sliding their fingers inside of her. Exhaling, she drove them deeper, loving the feeling of fullness.
In a burst of movement, Cain pulled his hand free of hers and pushed her onto her stomach. He held her wrists to the small of her back and asked, “Is this okay?” His voice was rough and low, straining to maintain control. He shifted her to her side, pinning his arm underneath her and causing him to pull her wrists lower. His free hand brushed loose strands of hair away from her face while he waited for her answer.
“Yes,” she said as she tested his grip, trying to free her wrists, but his hands were fucking strong. Her heart raced as she struggled.
Cain relaxed a little and softly added, “I will let go, if that’s what you want.”
“No. I like it,” she said earnestly. She was excited to see what came next. He smiled and kissed her neck as he drew her hands lower, pulling them past her ass and stopping just behind her thighs. Eileen’s shoulder blades pinched together, forcing her chest to open, and pushing her breasts closer to Cain’s hungry mouth.
“Do you like this?” She did. She felt as if she was splayed out for him. He dragged his teeth against her collarbone and she nodded her head, unable to catch her breath.
“Speak,” he ordered.
“Yes,” she whimpered. Pain shot through her wrists to her shoulder blades as he held her firmly in place. She re-adjusted her leg and tried to grind against his hip bone needing something, anything to relieve the tension that had been building inside her. The growing ache in her shoulders just added to her need.
Cain’s mouth moved onto her nipple and teased her, scattering light nips everywhere but the tip. She groaned and pleaded feverishly, “Cain, Cain. Stop. Fuck. Me.”
He didn’t stop. Instead, he grabbed her waist and forced her to stop moving. “I don’t take orders,” he said as Eileen’s eyes flew open. “But asking never hurts.” She stared at him defiantly. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction, arrogant fucking wolf. His eyes never left hers as his free hand and traveled between her legs.
Cain smirked. “No?” He dipped a finger between her folds, making her whimper. He circled her clit, barely touching it, offering absolutely no relief. “How about now?” he whispered into her neck. She shook her head, refusing to answer him.
“Speak.”
“Fuck you.”
He pulled on her wrists and growled against her ear. “Just ask, Eileen.”
He moved his hand and pressed the tip of his cock against her, pushing the head inside before he pulled back and left her empty. He paused and eased into her again. Eileen shifted her weight, wanting to sit on top of him. Eileen struggled against his grip, panting desperately. Cain pulled her wrists again as he slid farther inside her.
“Ask.”
“Please...” she pleaded. She could only play this game for so long. And he had pushed her to her breaking point. She would say anything, do anything just to have him.
Cain grinned as he hooked an arm under her knee, opened her hips, and drove his entire length into her. Eileen let out a primal groan. He slammed into her again, rolling on top of her without letting go of her wrists. She cried out as his cock filled her, stretching her to her limits. She loved being at his mercy. She didn’t last ve
ry long, and when she came, Cain tightened his grip on her wrists, bending her to his desires, only adding more pleasure to her orgasm.
CHAPTER EIGHT
CAIN
Cain wished he could spend the entire day with Eileen, tangled in sheets, lazily exploring each other’s bodies. However, it was time to get back to reality. They’d been attacked. Eileen had been harmed. He wasn’t able to defeat them last night, but now he was on the offense.
“What do the police know about the assaults?” He and Eileen were sitting on his couch, sipping coffee, staring at the lake. He’d reached out to Heath’s pack, and Eileen had already called her sisters. They were gathering an army to put an end to this chaos.
“They don’t know anything. I tried to do research for the New Haven Herald, but my pitch was never approved, so I didn’t get very far. I talked to the first victim. She was alone and attacked from behind with a weapon. She didn’t mention a car or van. I spoke to the victims of the second attack too. They were also attacked from behind. They didn’t see anything either. The victims had cell phones and wallets taken. I know victims one and three are witches. I grew up with them.”
“Have you seen any local news stories on the muggings?” Cain asked. There had to be more information out there. How could there be no witnesses?
“No, nothing specific. I mean, the news didn’t even have the information on the van or the masks. That seems like info the police should have given to the public.”
The door behind them slammed open, and Eileen jumped. Cain put a hand on her thigh, hoping to calm her. Heath, Neil, and the rest of the Wildwood pack filed into the apartment, followed by Cara, Grace, and Brianna. Furniture was rearranged, and everyone settled into a circle. Cain fought back laughter when he caught Brianna making dirty hand signals, gesturing to the bed and Eileen. Everyone saw her accusation. The wolves didn’t need half-assed sign language to know the nature of Cain and Eileen’s relationship. They could smell it.
The group was briefed on the previous night’s events and Cain’s intention to catch and punish the offenders.
“So you’re going the vigilante route?” Cara asked skeptically.
Heath snarled. “If they had stuck to humans, we would let human law handle it.”
“All right,” Eileen said mildly, trying to calm Heath down. “Cain and I were trying to collect all the information we know about the previous attacks. No one else has seen their vehicle or their faces, and the muggers got away with credit cards and cell phones. I think it’s bizarre that no one heard the assailants before they were attacked. The sliding door on the van was loud enough to wake the neighborhood. I think they didn’t give a fuck that we heard them because we could see them coming.”
“Okay, so.” Neil practically bounced in his seat. “They might have another car. Or they parked farther away from their other victims. Or the driver and passenger attacked the other victims, so they never had to open the side door. Or it all happened so fast that the victims just don’t remember the noise that surrounded the attacks.”
“Thanks, Neil,” Eileen said flatly. “So the door means nothing. But why were Cain and I attacked from the front? They’ve evaded the cops for four muggings, and now they decide to switch things up?”
“Maybe they’re getting comfortable? Or they wanted you to see them.” Neil looked like he was trying to complete a jigsaw puzzle in his head; he kept staring at a blank wall and twitching his fingers. “So why would they want you two to see them? Also, it bothers me that these assaults are muggings. These guys could get a purse and a phone by knocking their victims down and searching their pockets. Maybe deliver one solid punch to deter the men from getting too macho. But beating them so badly that they’re hospitalized for days? That’s overkill.”
“What did they smell like?” Heath directed his question to Cain.
“They weren’t shifters or witches. Maybe vampires? I can’t say whether I heard heartbeats or not, so they could be human too. They smelled like detergent and cleaners. Like their clothes were freshly washed, and the van had been detailed.”
“Think about it.” Neil was still in his own world churning the facts around his head. “You’re a petty thief. You want twenty dollars in cash and a cell phone you have to sell some shady way for a hundred bucks. You’re picking your targets. So you select the guys who are three hundred pounds of muscle? Granted, the tiny lady is a liability, but still. Oh, and what were they doing waiting on that street? It’s all commercial businesses that are closed for the season. I think they wanted one of you.”
“The attacks did start when you all came to town,” Grace said. “But I’m not sure how anyone could have attacked the other men thinking they were Cain. And the first attack was a woman. So how do you explain that?”
A gruff voice came from the corner. “Can’t you witches just cast a spell to give us these answers, and trap the bad guys in a rock for all of eternity?”
Eileen and her sisters stared at the wolf.
“And you are…?” Cara asked. Cain could smell the anger rolling off of her.
“Sampson. I’m just saying, you’re witches, let’s take advantage of that.” Sampson glared at Cara, unfazed by her challenge.
Cain nudged Eileen, encouraging her to head off Cara and keep everyone on track.
Eileen jumped right in. “That’s not really how magic works, or at least it’s not how we practice magic. The TV never gets your species right, same goes for us.” She turned to the rest of the group. “So either Cain or I were the target of this attack.”
“You don’t have any enemies,” Cara grumbled. “They must have been after the wolf. Who has he offended?”
Eileen whispered, “Malcolm.”
“No,” Cain and Heath barked in unison. There was no way Malcolm would double-cross him like that. When the packs split, he’d given Cain his word that there would be peace. A wolf’s word meant something.
“Think about it.” Eileen countered. “What wolf would let half his pack leave without putting up a fight? And then Cain thumbs his nose at the whole fucking hierarchy by going solo. Cain said that Malcolm is stuck in the dark ages, and that he rules like a king. Would a king just accept a challenge to his authority? And Malcolm is a businessman. Heath’s pack is now competition. Maybe all of the attacks are just trying to create trouble for Cain and Heath. A new wolf moves into town, and suddenly witches are being brutalized. And when it didn’t come back on Cain, Malcolm just went directly for him.”
“That seems like a stretch. Maybe the witches are the target. Although, why were the attackers so clean?” Neil said. “If they knew you were a wolf, they would have known to wash everything using solutions with heavy perfumes.”
Cain growled. “No. Malcolm would have had to hire humans to perpetrate the attacks. He would never do that.”
“He has,” Heath said.
Everyone looked at Heath. “I’ve heard around town that the other wolves in the New Haven pack refused to fill the jobs we left. He had to hire humans to do the manual labor.”
“Could the muggers have thought they were getting wolves all along?” Eileen asked. “But that doesn’t explain the first attack. All the victims were around the same age and same build. They were bigger men. I mean, next to you, they would have looked like awkward sixteen-year-olds. But without a comparison, they would look solid.” Cain noticed that her eyes traveled from his shoulder to his thigh when she mentioned his size.
“But I also don’t think that we can ignore the fact that two of the victims were witches.” Eileen continued. “Could they just be targeting creatures?”
“So what do we do to solve the mystery and vanquish the bad guys?” Grace asked, her eyes lit with excitement.
Cain answered, “We’re going to set a trap.”
CHAPTER NINE
EILEEN
“If we set a trap, what guarantee do we have they’ll fall for it?” Eileen asked. “And what will we do when we catch them?” She was unsure how far
Cain had thought it through.
“We’ll give them a message to take back to Malcolm,” Cain answered.
Eileen furrowed her brows. “You aren’t even convinced Malcolm is behind it.”
“Only one way to find out.”
“So how can you be sure you’ll catch them?” she said. “There’s no pattern to the times or places when they attack. The only constant is their targets, which might be witches and wolves.”
“I can come up with some kind of spell,” Grace interjected. “Just something simple. I’ll ask that the goddess brings the muggers to me and protects me. Then one of the pack could walk me home from The Brew.”
“That might work,” Cain said. “Do you think it could be that simple?”
Grace nodded. “They aren’t jewel thieves; they’re thugs jumping random creatures walking around late at night.”
“And I’m leaving.” Cara stood up and collected her things. “I’m glad you’re safe, Eileen. Grace, you shouldn’t do any of that. And I’m not getting involved in a witch-wolf revenge plot. If you decide to go to the police, let me know.”
“Cara,” Eileen said, reaching out to her sister.
“Nope.” She didn’t slow down or look back. “Call me when you’re done with this stupidity.”
Eileen didn’t bother chasing her. She knew she wouldn’t be able to convince her sister to stay and help as long as they were planning on using magic.
“Okay, so,” Grace said briskly, ignoring the awkwardness left in Cara’s wake. “Eileen and I have a spell to cast, and we will meet you all at The Brew in a bit.”
“Wait.” Eileen put up her hand. “We need to figure out the plan here so we aren’t overheard scheming at the bar. Your spell. What are we going to do? Which wolf will walk with you? How will we make sure the pack is near without being seen? What exactly will we do with the assailants if we catch them?”
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