The Beast in Him

  The scent of panic.

  By the time he made it down the front porch stairs, a She-wolf slid to a stop in front of him. She barked and turned, running off. The others shifted and followed after her. Smitty took a second to look back at Mace standing on the porch stairs. “Stay here. Protect Erik.”

  “Got it. Go.”

  He did, running and shifting simultaneously. He caught up with the rest of them as they neared a ridge.

  Smitty could smell they were nearing another breed’s territory. Wild dog. Jessie Ann’s territory.

  Lord, what had Sissy Mae been thinking?

  As Smitty and the others made it over a small ridge, they saw them. There were about three dogs to every wolf, and there were at least four dogs on Sissy.

  Shaw roared in anger and charged toward the dogs tag teaming Ronnie Lee. Smitty headed right for his sister and Jessie Ann, immediately recognizing her scent and markings.

  Besides, only a dog with a grudge would go after Sissy Mae the way she was. Sissy held her own, but she was weakening fast. Still, Jessie Ann kept at her. Sissy would turn and try to take a chunk out of her and Jessie would dance away from her. Then another dog would attack her flank, and when Sissy would turn to fight them, Jessie Ann would come back.

  Smitty knew he had to get his sister and the She-wolves over the territorial boundaries they were mere feet from. He had to do it fast.

  But the wild dogs cut in front of him, zigzagging past, blocking him. Blocking him from Jessie Ann.

  Pissed, he batted the dogs out of his way, barreling through them when he could, and, without hesitation, went straight for Jessie Ann. Fangs sank past fur and into vulnerable flesh and muscle. She let out a cry of pain and twisted away from him, releasing Sissy Mae in the process. Jessie Ann jumped back several feet and stared at him. Then she tried to dodge around him to get back to Sissy. Smitty cut her off, baring his fangs in warning. She snarled back and again tried to go around him.

  His Packmates were desperately trying to get the other dogs off Sissy Mae so she could limp her way back to Shaw territory, but the dogs wouldn’t let her go. When two were knocked off, two more attacked.

  When Jessie Ann tried to go around him again, he batted her back. She stared at him and he wondered if she’d run off. Lord, what if he made her cry?

  Then, in a moment that he’d remember until the day he died, sweet, innocent Jessie Ann Ward charged him head-on.

  They went up on hind legs and clawed at each other while biting at the most vulnerable areas. She bit into his muzzle and he clawed her throat.

  Her Pack, hearing their Alpha’s fight, came running. Smitty let them. He let them go at him, tearing into him. He let them, but he didn’t back off Jessie Ann. Not until he knew his sister was safe.

  And Jessie Ann never backed off him. Not once. She went after him like she would have any other predator. Coldly.

  When Brendon Shaw roared again, Smitty knew his Pack had gotten Sissy over the boundary. He snapped at the dogs on his ass and shoulders, and backed up until he made it back into Shaw territory. The dogs came right up to that line, one long row of them. That’s how they attacked—in a line, until they slipped off to surround their prey, ran it down, and ripped it apart.

  Smitty knew this was part message, part revenge. The message letting the Smith Pack know that, without an invite, traipsing onto wild-dog land would get them killed. But the revenge…Well, apparently eighteen years of resentment had just exploded way past that punch in the face.

  Brendon stepped forward and stared at Jessie. Her eyes moved from Smitty to Brendon and back again. Finally, she gave a brief yip, turned, and trotted back into her territory. Bushy white, brown, black, and blond tail up and swishing proudly. With another yip, Jessie’s Pack followed.

  With one last shake of his head, Smitty turned and followed after his Pack and wounded sister.

  Chapter 24

  With all those stitches covering a good portion of her body, Sissy looked sewn together. The dogs had done a lot of damage but none of it lethal. Just painful. She probably wouldn’t even get the fever, that important step their bodies took when fighting infection, but she would definitely have scars. A lot of them.

  Yeah, Jessie Ann had known exactly what she’d been doing.

  “I warned you,” Brendon said again to Ronnie Lee. “I warned you not to go into dog territory.”

  “Yeah,” Ronnie said with a shrug, and a wince from her own pain, her own stitches, “but I thought you were being sarcastic. I mean…they’re dogs.”

  “True. And they kicked your ass.”

  “There were two thousand of them,” Sissy shot back.

  “I told you they had their pups this weekend. It doesn’t matter if there’s one million or one, wild dogs will do whatever necessary to protect their pups. End of story.”

  “Yeah, but—”

  Shaw slammed his hand down on the metal kitchen table, nearly buckling it. “No buts! I don’t even have room to complain about this. Or demand retribution. Their attack was completely warranted. I told you I hadn’t gotten permission for you guys to go off my territory. And Marissa and I can only go within a mile of their den. Even Mitch doesn’t go over there and he’s a dumb-ass!”

  “I heard that!” Mitch yelled from the living room.

  “Shut up!”

  Sissy sighed. “Look, y’all, I’m sorry. Okay? I didn’t think it would be a big deal. Now I know.” She looked at him. “Sorry, Bobby Ray.”

  “Don’t apologize, Sissy Mae. It’s something any of us might have done when we’re running down lunch.”

  “I wouldn’t have done it,” Shaw muttered, but quieted down when Ronnie Lee glared at him.

  “This changes everything, don’t it, Bobby Ray?” Sissy asked softly.

  Smitty sipped his beer before speaking. He hoped the beer would deaden the pain around his stitches. He had far less than Sissy Mae but enough to cause discomfort. Yet, due to their biological makeup, in a few hours they’d have to remove the stitches or risk the skin healing over them.

  “Yup,” he finally answered. “I reckon it does.”

  “You’re a Smith male, Bobby Ray. It’s not like you can do any different.”

  “I know.”

  Sissy poured herself more orange juice. “Then I guess you better get on over there.”

  “Yup.”

  Shaw looked between them. “What are you two talking about?”

  “Make it quick, Bobby Ray. Like Daddy would.”

  Bobby Ray grimaced, but nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

  “Wait. What are you two planning?” Shaw demanded.

  Ronnie sighed. “Mind your own, Brendon Shaw. This is Smith business.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  When they all stared at him, he threw his hands up. “Fine. But I gotta tell you, I praise the day I was born a cat.”

  Jess literally tore the still-beating heart from her opponent’s chest and forced him to look at it.

  Her twelve-year-old nephew glared at her. “You are mean,” he accused.

  “Suck it up, Boy Scout.”

  He threw down his controller and stormed off.

  “Next!”

  Sabina and Phil’s fourteen-year-old son jumped into the vacated seat on the couch.

  “Nice facial lacerations there, by the way.” The boy had his father’s sarcasm, coupled with his mother’s brutal sense of humor. Smart-ass.

  “Like these lacerations, do you?” she asked. “Good. You’ll look like this when I’m done.”

  The bell for the next round rang, but before she could recover from an aerial kick to the head, Danny called for her from the front porch.

  She paused the game. “Don’t even try and cheat, brat.”

  “I don’t have to. I’ll destroy you without it.”

  “Dreamer.”

  Jess grinned and walked through the living room, her Pack involved in different forms of relaxing activities. From chess and checkers to role
-playing games with pen, paper, dice, and their imaginations to video and computer games to yoga…which just seemed weird.

  But her grin faded when she walked out onto the porch and found a human and clearly brutalized Smitty waiting for her. Okay, so maybe she’d done more damage than she’d given herself credit for.

  He leaned against his truck, arms crossed over his chest. To the untrained eye, he looked relaxed. Composed. But she knew that look. She saw it once, years ago, seconds before Smitty beat the living hell out of his older and larger brother for sleeping with Smitty’s whore girlfriend at the time.

  “What do you want, Smith?”

  “We need to talk.”

  If he thought she was getting off this porch, he was high.

  “So talk.”

  When he realized she wouldn’t come to him, he pushed himself off his truck and walked up the stairs. He stared down at her and she fought the urge to stroke his face, do whatever she could to help take away the pain she knew he suffered.

  He didn’t say anything, and she quickly grew impatient with the long Smitty-silence. “Well? I’m waiting.”

  Big arms crossed over his chest, Smitty gave a sad sigh. “I underestimated you all along, didn’t I?”

  Jess shrugged. “Probably.” Everyone else had, why should he be different?

  “What happened this morning…” He gazed off into the woods, then shook his head. “I have to say, I never saw that coming.”

  “Your sister was on my territory. I have pups here. What did she or you expect?”

  “I expected you to let her get over territorial lines. I expected you to let her walk away. The Jessie Ann I thought you were would have done that. Because you didn’t, do you know what that makes you?”

  Jess knew she didn’t want to hear this. She didn’t want any more hurtful words or, even worse, hurtful silences between her and Smitty, but there was no avoiding it now. “What, Smitty? What does that make me?”

  Amber wolf eyes locked on her and she saw fangs as he opened his mouth to speak. Her own claws slowly slid into place, prepared to tear and render as necessary.

  “Mine, Jessie Ann,” he finally said. “That makes you mine.”

  Jessie stared up at him like he’d grown a second head. Even her claws had receded. He’d seen them slide out, and that had only confirmed what he already knew. She would have ripped him apart if he’d made a move on her. Jessie Ann had a vicious streak a mile long and ten miles deep and nothing turned him on more.

  “I’m sorry…” she said softly. “What?”

  “What did you think would happen, Jessie Ann?” Smitty asked calmly. “You attacked my She-wolves when they were trying to leave your territory. Mauled my sister after just apologizing to her the other day for punching her in the eye. And tore open my face with your teeth when I tried to protect her. And you did it without pity or remorse or a lick of conscience. Sorry, darlin’, but that makes you prime Smith-mate material.”

  Looking away from that beautiful face and those big shocked eyes, Smitty examined the surrounding acres. He immediately spotted a big unused barn. Perfect.

  “Come on, Jessie.” He took hold of her wrist and kissed her palm gently. “Let’s do this right, darlin’.”

  Yeah. He’d do this right. Slow and easy. Just the way Jessie Ann deserved. No Smith mate-mauling for her. Even if that’s what he wanted to do, he’d give her what she needed.

  Smitty walked to the top of the porch stairs with Jessie behind him when she stopped abruptly, bringing him up short. He turned and saw that Jessie had secured one foot against the porch railing, locking her in place. Then she jerked him back and slammed that small fist of hers right into his already abused face.

  He dropped her arm and covered his bleeding nose.

  “What in the holy hell was that for?”

  “Oh, you don’t know? Well, let me do it again until you figure it out!”

  Grabbing her under the arms, Smitty lifted her up until they were eye to eye. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “The barn? You were going to take me off to the barn like we’re walking to the local store?”

  He smiled and let out a breath. “Jessie Ann, if you wanted something fancy, you just had to say.”

  “Fancy?”

  “Yeah.” He carefully placed her back on the porch. “We can wait until we get back to the city, and then we can go somewhere real nice. Just what you’d want. I know you’re used to better now, and I should have thought of that before. I’m sorry.”

  When she plowed that fist into his stomach, all he could do was stare at her.

  “What was that for?”

  “You think it’s all about money? Is that what you think?”

  “Woman—”

  “Don’t you ‘woman’ me. For you to think I’m that shallow and insipid and that it’s all about money is just rude!”

  “Then what do you want?”

  She threw up her hands. “Everything!” She stepped away from him. “And until you can give me that, we have nothing else to say to each other.”

  Without another word or punch, she walked around him and headed back to the house.

  He followed. “Jessie Ann—” But she slammed the door in his face, leaving him standing outside in the cold.

  Jess leaned back against the door, fighting tears she’d never allow to come. He wasn’t worth one damn tear. Not one.

  She glanced around the room and every dog stared at her. Pup and adult. All she saw was sympathy and warmth. They all loved her as only dogs could. They knew what she wanted. What she needed from Bobby Ray Smith. Because they understood her completely. Even if he didn’t.

  Sabina walked up to her and handed her a bag of dark chocolate chips.

  “Here, my friend.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You want hug?”

  Jess nodded, feeling particularly pathetic but not caring. Sabina hugged her tight, then her Pack was there in one massive group hug that would completely freak out most people.

  Ronnie jumped when the front door slammed open, and she blinked in surprise when she heard Bobby Ray Smith of all people yell, “She is driving me insane!”

  He yanked off his jacket, threw it across the room, and stormed into the kitchen. She scrambled over Shaw and the back of the couch, making it to the kitchen as Smitty grabbed hold of a bottle of tequila from one of the cabinets.

  “Oh, no, you don’t.” She took hold of the top and yanked. He yanked back. “Bobby Ray, you give me that bottle this minute.”

  Bobby Ray snarled at her—he’d never snarled at her before—and yanked the bottle with one hand while shoving her back with the other. Ronnie stumbled back and watched as he unscrewed the cap. He almost had it to his lips when his sister walked up behind him, slammed her foot into his instep and, when he gasped in pain, snatched the bottle from his hand.

  “What happened?” she asked, walking to the other side of the kitchen.

  “None of your damn business.” He stormed toward her. “Now give me—”

  Sissy Mae held the bottle up, aiming right for her brother’s head. “Just try it.”

  Smitty stared at his sister, probably debating whether she’d really hit him with it. He had to know she would.

  “I’m out of here.”

  They watched him storm out the back door, strip, shift, and take off into the woods behind Shaw’s house.

  Ronnie let out a breath and looked at her friend.

  “What?” Sissy asked. “You think I’d waste all this good tequila on that fat head?”

  “Well, you did have me worried.”

  The rest of the day went by slowly and uneventfully. Jess mostly stayed in the kitchen with May under the pretense of helping her bake cakes for Johnny’s birthday the following day; but since she couldn’t bake anything but chocolate chip cookies, she really stayed in there because no one would bother her. May said little and Jess sat in a corner and re-read Tolkien’s The Two Towers for perhaps the ninet
y millionth time.

  But even J.R.R. couldn’t distract her from thoughts of Smitty. It hadn’t been easy walking away earlier. But she knew she had to. Knew she had to walk away and not look back. Not if she wanted all of him. The man who came to her that afternoon might as well have been a full-human for all the passion he showed her. A Beta with extremely low expectations of his mate.

  As soon as he took her hand, she could see their lives played out in front of her. Nice quiet, simple lives with about as much passion and love as you could get out of a vibrator. She’d rather be alone than live that way. She’d only known her parents fourteen years, but what she always felt certain in was their love of each other. It was passionate and wild and beautiful, and she was the product of that.

  If she wanted a solid but passionless relationship, she’d start returning Sherman Landry’s calls. But she didn’t want Sherman Landry or the boring relationship he could offer. Jess wanted more. And in that disgusting bathroom off the turnpike, she really thought she’d found that with Smitty. Then he’d pushed her away. Not comfortable with what he’d felt. With the Smith inside him.

  Sure, she could tell him what her problem was. She could tell him how she wanted a true Smith mating because that’s how she’d know she meant everything to him. But she knew Smitty enough to know he’d simply fake it to make her happy. He’d take her to bed, fuck her stupid, maybe get a little rough with her, and mark her. But it wouldn’t change a damn thing. It wouldn’t make him okay with who he was and always would be simply due to his DNA strain.

  Jess now realized, as she dragged herself up to her room on the top floor, that she’d never have him—hell, never want him—until he could accept who and what he was. You had to accept it before you could go beyond it. Instead, Smitty probably spent more time fighting his desires than moving to the next stage of his life.

  It broke her heart, but to be blunt, it wasn’t her problem. As her mother used to say, “Some things a body just has to figure out on their own.”

  Jess walked into her room and closed the door. She really hoped she could shake this by tomorrow morning. They had a full day planned for Johnny and she wanted his seventeenth birthday to be a blast for him. What she definitely didn’t want was to bring the whole thing down by being a sad sack.