To Chase A Wolf

by Sara Kimball

  The Colonial Pack was the next to enter, the women impressively attired in red, white and blue, and she was dragged over by Elizabeth to smile and make small talk there. But the fact that Dupree had not appeared made Alex feel twitchy. However, being followed around by Gareth all night did make her feel a little better. The man acted like he was her shadow, hovering behind her and refusing to move when others tried to cross between them.

  In addition, Alex could see Moira across the room, interfering whenever Mitch tried to head Alex’s way. Which he attempted to do every ten minutes or so. Alex was thankful that Moira was willing to act as a buffer, distracting the infuriating man and focusing his attention on herself. Alex was even pretty sure at one point Moira was pretending to flirt with him as Elizabeth moved her around the room and away from him.

  Finally, a little over an hour after the Gold Pack had entered the room, Dupree and the others of the Everglades Pack arrived. She noted that his was the only Pack that didn't have any females with them, and wondered if he ever brought females or if he had killed his harem off and didn’t have any left. The roiling guilt, anger, and frustration was hard to hide, but she managed.

  In a giant snub, Elizabeth didn't take her to the Everglades Pack when their current conversation had wound down, which is what she had done every time before when a new Alpha came into the room. Instead, she brought Alex back to Lincoln in preparation for sitting down to dinner. The inner doors were opened, leading to another section of the room, where tables were adorned with elaborate table settings, each crowned with a large bouquet of ferns in their center. Alex approved of the lack of flowers for centerpieces, which would have been overwhelming for their noses in such a crowded room. Instead, the ferns offered a nice forest background scent.

  Lincoln led Alex around the room, inspecting name placards until they found their seats. Gareth had snagged his from another table, and took the seat next to Alex, putting the other placard—for one of the Mexican Pack Betas—in his old place. They sat down to eat and be entertained by various local talents which included several singers and ended during the dessert course with a comedian. The Alpha of the Texas Pack stood between performances to introduce each new act, and soon enough Alex found herself relaxing and enjoying her time.

  At least until Dupree made his first move. It was during dessert, as she enjoyed the lemony cake with creamy frosting, humming softly at the flavor on her tongue, when a voice behind her whispered softly. “I bet you’d enjoy my cock like that too, little slut.”

  Lincoln had been called away to speak with his grandmother at a different table nearby. However, Gareth was still stuck to her side. He reached for the other man just as Alex shot to her feet, her fork clutched in her fist with a small smear of frosting on it. Gareth’s grab missed and Johnny stepped back and just out of reach.

  The Texas Alpha, as though sensing trouble, hustled over to settle the situation. “Ah, Mr. Dupree, just the man I was looking for. I believe one of the Canadian wolves had some questions for you if you’d be so good as to follow me?” He put his arm around Johnny’s shoulders and led him away from Alex.

  She sat down quickly and so did Gareth, though she noticed his eyes were flashing amber and taking in the watchers around them. Lincoln himself was looking upset, but when Alex nodded at him in reassurance he clenched his jaw and stayed where he was at. After a moment he walked over to where Dupree was still chatting with some Canadian wolves and tried to gain his attention. Johnny looked at him dispassionately and walked away.

  The rest of the night, in which the Packs were intended to mingle socially, continued in this vein. Johnny trying to approach Alex only to be derailed by various others. He never got as close to her as he had the first time. Lincoln kept trying to get the man’s attention, but to no avail. Dupree never turned his attention Lincoln’s way, just kept focusing on Alex.

  Mitch did managed to corner Alex at one point, while Moira was in the restroom. He approached her and Gareth as they were speaking to a Beta and his mate from the Colonial Pack and Lincoln was still occupied with several other wolves. The Beta and his mate left at the look on Mitch’s face, and Alex turned to her brother, waiting impatiently for him to speak.

  “Congratulations on your mating, little sister.”

  Conscious of all the ears nearby, Alex pressed her lips together tightly to contain the words that wanted to slip out, nodding slightly. “Thank you.”

  “I was hoping we could speak in private tomorrow. Without your watchdog.” His eyes flicked over to Gareth.

  Alex didn’t have to say anything, as Lincoln came over at that moment and put an arm around her waist comfortingly. “I’m sure a meeting can be arranged, but Gareth has agreed to be Alex’s guard during the Conclave, so his presence is non-negotiable. As is mine.”

  Mitch nodded and set up a time with Lincoln. Alex felt a little miffed at her life being arranged without her consent, but she knew that her meeting with Mitch would be better in private. Less of a chance of innocent passerby getting injured in the fracas. And I intend to cause a fracas.

  Shortly after, Lincoln whispered in her ear and they left, climbing into the limo with the others shortly behind. When they made it back to their room Alex was never more glad to remove all her jewelry and finery, placing it all carefully back where it came from. Lincoln shucked off his tuxedo and threw it over a chair, not caring where it landed, as he joined Alex, smoothing his hands up and down her body.

  It wasn’t hard for him to convince her to stay naked as he brought her down to the soft mattress, covering her with his form. The stress of the day and the dinner fell away under his hands and mouth, and soon they were panting from their exertions, happily laying on the bed next to each other in satisfaction.

  Lincoln’s fingers trailed small circles over her tummy, which was just as slim as before. He wondered when his child would start to show, and thought fondly of the days to come. Then his thoughts turned darker, thinking about what had almost happened earlier.

  “I’m sorry about Dupree getting that close to you. I talked to Gareth, and it won’t happen again.”

  “I know that you don’t want me to put myself in his way, but I was thinking, and I could—”

  She was cut off by his adamantly stated, “No.”

  “Lincoln, if he makes a move towards me, all you and Gareth have to do is step in and kill him, and it’s still justified. I’ll be safe.”

  He had gripped her hand in his and pressed it to his chest. She noted that his heart was beating hard and stopped trying to persuade him, understanding that he was trying to tell her something important, even if he hadn’t used words.

  She slipped her hands around his neck and pulled him in for a soft kiss. “I won’t. I know the thought of him hurting me—us—scares you, and I won’t do it. I promise.”

  He rubbed his face on her neck and chest, and started another round of lovemaking. Afterwards, they chatted for a little bit about how to question Mitch and what she hoped to gain from her discussion with him.

  “I’ll try to be on time. I have that business meeting first with the Colonial Pack. We’ve been trying to get them to approve this trade for years, so it may take some time.” He studied her face. “Will you be okay while I’m gone?”

  “I’ll be with Gareth, and I know that you’ll get there as soon as you can. Don’t worry, I can handle my brother.”

  It was late before they finally rested.

  ///

  Gareth changed, slipping the note out of his tuxedo pocket and studying the writing again. He tucked it into his jeans before heading towards the elevator down to the lobby. It was only a few minutes before he was on the Riverwalk, striding to the end that held the stage, the large cement steps becoming seating for an audience. When he arrived he saw several groups of people clustered around, but a shadow moving up above caught his eye, and he headed that way.

  The shadow stopped ahead of him, and Gareth stood close enough to speak softly with the other wolf.
“What do you want?”

  The Canadian wolf from the West Pack swallowed but quickly spoke. “You are needed at home. Things have gotten bad. Really bad.” He made a weak gesture with his hands. “We get refugees sometimes, and the stories they tell…” He looked at Gareth, pleading with his eyes and voice. “You are the only one that can help.”

  The wolf took off then, without saying anything else, and Gareth meandered back towards the hotel, his thoughts occupied with his memories of home.

  ///

  Johnny finished shooting up in the bathroom and then went back to the bedroom. Dr. Rundell had warned him not to take too much, but it wasn’t lasting as long as it once had, so he often needed a second dose during the day. When he entered the room, the prostitute he had picked up on the street bared her top half to him. She pushed him onto the bed and climbed onto his lap, undoing his pants before starting to ride him. He was hard, but staring at her with disgust, bored already. Her hair wasn’t the same shade as Alex’s. Her body was shaped a little differently. She smelled wrong.

  Anger filled him as boredom faded away. How dare this little bitch parade around pretending to be something she’s not?

  He grabbed her throat and flipped her under him, fucking her roughly. She mewled in protest and tried to pull his hand away, but he just gripped her tighter, using his other hand to twist her nipple until she screamed in pain. The more she struggled the more he enjoyed it. He didn’t notice that she was gasping for air, and that eventually her struggles slowed and then finally stopped. And he didn’t bother to clean her up or cover her naked form as he called his men in to take her body away.

  “Dump her in the river or something. I don’t care. Stupid bitch.” He spit on her and went into the bathroom to shower her smell off of him.

  From the Journal of Elizabeth Harcourt, 2018

  Lincoln’s friends called me today and relayed the most important piece of information that I have heard in a long time. Lincoln has finally chased after a female. A werewolf at that. And she got away.

  I am over the moon. We have started putting plans into motion, because if she is the one for him, I don’t want her slipping through his fingers for a hundred years until they bump into each other again.

  Chapter 20

  Alex didn’t want to wake up in the morning, feeling more tired than usual, and Lincoln let her sleep in. It was almost eleven when Gareth knocked on the bedroom door, telling her she only had an hour to get ready before her meeting with Mitch.

  Alex slogged off to the shower and got ready quickly, but hesitated when looking in the closet. There weren’t any garment bags labelled ‘meet your detestable brother and tell him off’ so she chose the next best thing, which was something she was familiar with. Granted, the soft grey slacks and creamy colored silk blouse were a lot nicer than any of the ones she was used to, but it was still slacks and a nice shirt. The shirt had little cap sleeves that showed off her toned arms, and was cool enough for the hot weather.

  They were running out of time when Alex finally emerged, and Gareth grabbed some bacon and wrapped it in a napkin for her. He started to make an egg sandwich with some toast and the over easy eggs—all of which had cooled—but she stopped him.

  “I know I’ll drip some of that yolk on my shirt, and I know this outfit is worth too much to ruin. I’ll just eat the bacon. That’s fine.”

  He stood there with the toast in his hand before putting it back on the plate, harrumphing slightly. “Lincoln had meetings with Elizabeth but I was told by them both to make sure you ate something good.”

  She huffed at him, grabbing a piece of toast and folding it in half, cramming it into her mouth and throwing the crust back on the plate. “’appy ‘ow?” She asked, her mouth full. He chuckled and waved his arm at the door, escorting her down the elevator to the car, which they rode to the venue.

  They made their way to the ground floor room Lincoln and Mitch had arranged the meeting to be in, and Alex waited by the sliding doors, which looked out over a small walled garden. Surprisingly they were still the first ones to arrive, and Alex looked around for the best tactical spot to position herself, Gareth, and Lincoln. And maybe Elizabeth if she decided to party crash.

  The room itself had been stripped of a bed, instead a couch and some arm chairs made a small grouping on one side of the room, and a table and chairs sat on the other. Alex decided to sit with her back to the window, facing the entry, which meant she was on the couch. Just after she got settled she pulled her phone from her pocket and checked it, seeing a message from Lincoln.

  Got caught up in a negotiation deal. I’m up two floors and down a hall, so I’ll be there as soon as I can. Sorry. Love you.

  Alex relayed the information to Gareth, who stationed himself beside the couch, though standing. It was only a minute or two before Mitch entered, alone.

  “Please sit.” She indicated the chair across from her, and Mitch looked at her and Gareth ruefully as he moved forward.

  “I was expecting Elizabeth and Lincoln to be here, I’m surprised.”

  She shot him a flat look. “Don’t be. They’ll be here soon.” Alex wasn’t actually sure if Elizabeth was coming or not, but if Mitch felt off kilter at the thought of Elizabeth Harcourt, then all the better for her.

  He nodded and sat, his demeanor very formal, as it always was.

  Alex figured she might as well start. She and Lincoln had figured out their tactic last night, so she might as well put it to use. “I have a few questions about what happened a month ago. Why did you have your men attack me, try to shoot Moira and kidnap me?” Before he could open his mouth she continued, “And you might as well tell me your plan for shooting me with that terrible drug that put me into heat. I realize you wanted me to mate with Lincoln, but the why is what I’m not sure of.”

  Mitch had slowly cocked his head to the side while he listened to her, and then he blinked at her when she mentioned being in heat. Without bothering to answer her, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a number.

  “Get some men to track down our missing hire crew. I have some questions for them.” The voice on the other end asked quickly which crew. Mitch narrowed his eyes. “The ones that are missing. Ryan, Michael and Oscar. And do it quickly James. I have some questions that they need to answer.”

  He hung up and put his phone back in his pocket, adjusting his suit so that it sat perfectly. “I apologize for the interruption. First and foremost, I did hire a crew to,” he hesitated, “shall we say recover you and bring you home. However, I had given them implicit instructions not to harm anyone in the Gold Pack, and not to harm you. They interpreted my direction differently, and were duly chastised for it.

  “However, when Mrs. Harcourt told me you were with a bodyguard—which I assumed was Lincoln—I knew she was going to try and get you two together. There was a possibility for an alliance between her Pack and our own. I would like to make it very clear that I never instructed the wolves I hired to use any chemical on you. I didn’t even know there was such a thing. I asked them to pretend to attack again, rile Lincoln’s protective instincts until he had no choice but to claim you to keep you safe.” He sat stiffly for a moment. “I understand being in heat can be quite…distressing, and I apologize that you had to experience that so young. Believe that the culprits responsible will be apprehended and dealt with.”

  Alex sat there, wondering if she could even trust what he was saying. She figured she had better listen to the rest of his story before she made a judgement. Or I could see myself just kicking him in the nuts. “I met Royce Levine the other day.”

  He nodded. “He said as much to me in a phone conversation we had.” His voice sounded tired.

  She studied him, and what she saw made her ire deflate. He looked…exhausted. Not like the psychopath she had created in her mind, but rather worn out. “Why did you ever think that giving me to Johnny Dupree as a means to end him was a good idea?”

  Mitch’s jaw clenched. “I wish
Levine hadn’t been so free with that information. However, now that you know it, there isn’t any taking it back.” He smoothed his suit, and the gesture seemed almost nervous to her, even though his face was impassive. “You were probably too young to pay attention, but year after year I watched Dupree’s illegal activities encroach on our territory. I tried everything I could to get father to act, or to seek an alliance with another Alpha to get rid of Dupree. He would do nothing.

  “However, at the time father died, it was bad, and I realized if I didn’t do something quickly, then we might be facing major repercussions in our communities. I couldn’t have that. I had to protect the Pack. You were the only thing I could offer him that he would accept. Although he has taken money from me recently. I’ve been trying to get cut into his drug trade so I can learn about it and take it down from within, but he’s been rather shifty about it. Donating money is the most he’s let me do so far. And I fear by the time I am let inside the inner circle it will be too late.”

  Alex shook her head. “You fool.” Mitch opened his mouth to protest but Gareth interrupted him.

  “You have no idea, do you?” He pulled out his phone and opened some video files, pressing play before handing the phone to Mitch. “This is what he is doing with your money. Our men did some research and found his lab. This was saved in his files.” There was the sound of a man screaming, talking crazy, and then a thumping noise started. Alex hadn’t heard about any videos, but as the sounds continued she was more than glad she hadn’t heard it before now. The thumping noise continued until the man was whimpering pathetically. Finally Mitch locked the screen and handed the phone back to Gareth.