Pack Challenge

  Zach knew the minute she woke up. He felt her whole body tense up. She slid out of bed, got some clothes, and was gone.

  Part of him wanted to stop her. Grab her fine ass and drag her back to bed—he wasn’t near being done with that body. But he was too busy kicking himself in the ass. She was his. Even if she had no intention of letting him near her again, no other woman would ever get close to him. He wouldn’t let them. Bound to her for the rest of his life, the realization did not make him happy. Forget he never wanted this in the first place. Forget he was convinced she might be clinically insane and definitely feral. The bottom line was, she ran. She didn’t kiss him awake or make him breakfast. She didn’t even stop to shower. She woke up, saw Zach lying next to her, and took to the Texas hills. Not a good sign when one was just starting out in a relationship.

  Zach turned over with a sigh and looked up at the ceiling. “You are an idiot, Sheridan.”

  Sara unlocked Miki’s apartment door with her key. They each had a set of the others’ keys for safety reasons. Theory was it was for emergencies only; otherwise, you knocked. This definitely constituted as an emergency.

  She found Angelina asleep on Miki’s incredibly comfy couch and Miki asleep in the recliner. Neither moved when she walked in, so she slammed the door shut. Angelina didn’t move, but one eye opened and focused on Sara. Miki, however, flew out of the recliner, the book she still had in her hand raised as a weapon.

  Sara looked at her two closest friends. “Well…I’m a whore.”

  “Oh, please.” Angie closed her eyes again and turned over.

  Miki seemed equally unimpressed. “Not again.” Miki threw her book on the old coffee table. “Give us a break. And what the fuck happened last night anyway? We leave you alone for two minutes and you up and disappear on us.”

  “We were worried sick,” Angelina added from the couch; her voice muffled because she buried her head into the cushions.

  “I just went for a walk. Then things spun out of control!” Sara yelled the last sentence.

  “Skelly called last night. He’s unbelievably pissed at you. He said to tell you that you are going to pay for the repairs and he’s debating whether to bar your ass.”

  Sara didn’t blame the man, she felt like the whole thing was her fault.

  “So are you going to tell us what happened or not?” This from muffled-Angelina.

  “I need a shower first.”

  Miki took a step back. “You haven’t showered?” She pointed an accusing finger. “You’re still covered in his DNA, aren’t you?”

  Sara started to say something, and then thought better of it. She needed her friends right now. Instead, she stalked off to the bathroom, while Miki and Angelina burst out laughing.

  “And throw out the soap when you’re done!”

  Once clean enough for Miki’s standards, Sara changed into sweats she had left over at Miki’s and filled her friends in on the last sixteen hours, while they ate bacon and eggs cooked by Angelina. Although Sara remained extremely sketchy on the fuck-of-a-lifetime details.

  “So basically,” Angelina analyzed, “you were the bone and they were the dogs fighting over it…uh…you.”

  “I am really starting to hate your analogies.”

  “Whatever. And his cock was huge?”

  Miki choked out past a piece of toast, “So don’t need to hear that.”

  “Enormous.” Sara held her hands up to give an approximate length.

  “Rock on.” Angelina gave the thumbs-up and pushed herself off the couch. “I need coffee. Anyone else?”

  Both Sara and Miki nodded and Angelina moved off to the tiny kitchen right next to the tiny living room.

  “Still hungry?” Miki asked quietly as Sara sopped up the last of the egg yolk with her toast. Sara shrugged. She could eat a ton of bacon and never get full. She loved bacon. Miki’s eyes narrowed as she studied her friend. “Perhaps you’d like a steak? Rare?”

  Sara put her plate down on the coffee table. “Uh…no. Why?”

  Miki shook her head. “No reason.”

  “Okay.” Sara knew that tone—years and years of experience. “What’s going on?”

  “Well, we have a theory.”

  “No,” Angie called from the kitchen. “We do not have a theory. You have a theory.”

  “Whatever,” Miki snapped back. “It’s just that I’ve been analyzing the situation.” Uh-oh. “And based on your recent body change—”

  “Body change?”

  “Increased muscle mass, tone and strength.”

  Sara looked down at herself. She had liked the shape of her abs this morning when she was showering.

  “And increased senses.”

  “Senses?”

  “We practically had to leave the apartment to have a discussion you couldn’t hear.”

  “You mean when you went into the bedroom? No. I heard you clear as crystal and my feet are not inordinately big.”

  “Not if you’re a man,” Angie interjected.

  “Shut up.”

  “Mhhm. Interesting. You could hear us.” Sara could see Miki clicking off some checklist firmly planted in her head.

  “Increased aggression.”

  “I’m not aggressive.”

  “Maybe we should ask Casey about that.” Wow, Miki could be smug. How did she never notice that before?

  “She looked at me funny.”

  “Uh-huh.” Check. “Increased sexual drive.” Sara opened her mouth to protest that one, but Miki cut her off. “When I asked you how you felt yesterday, your response to me was, ‘Horny. Very, very horny.’”

  “Oh. Yeah. I did say that, didn’t I?” Check. “And what does all that prove, Dr. Psychopath?”

  Miki folded her arms in front of her chest. All she needed now was the lab coat. “Werewolf.”

  Sara choked out a laugh. She couldn’t help herself. “Have you lost your mind?”

  “I have proof.”

  “What proof?”

  Miki handed her the book she’d thrown on the coffee table earlier that morning. Sara read the title out loud, “The Truth About Werewolves?”

  “Really good book. Factual. It’s all in there.”

  “That’s your proof?” Sara threw the book down. “All right. No more reading for you.”

  Sara went into the kitchen. She grabbed several more pieces of bacon and hopped on to the counter using only her legs. Angelina looked at her from the corner of her eye. “That’s new.”

  “Cool, huh? Must be my new superpowers.”

  “You keep joking, stretch,” Miki snapped. “But wait until the next full moon.”

  Sara looked at Angelina. “Full moon?”

  “Don’t worry.” Angie pulled coffee mugs out of the cabinet. “You’ve got a good three weeks before that happens.”

  “When your body starts morphing at the full of the moon—don’t call me.” Miki disappeared into her bathroom.

  “We’ve got to get her out of that bookstore.”

  “Wouldn’t help.” Angie pulled milk from the refrigerator and set everything up on the counter beside Sara. Staring at the coffee maker, they both waited for the dark liquid like it was elixir from the gods. “Are you still going to work today?”

  “Yeah. Why?” Sara knew where this conversation was going.

  “Just wondering…” Sara waited for it. She wasn’t disappointed. “…if you’ll be seeing Zach.”

  “I don’t know. I doubt it. I don’t know.” Christ, she sounded like an idiot.

  Angelina smiled softly. “He loves you, you know.” That wasn’t what Sara expected. Not by a long shot.

  She burst out laughing again. “Oh, my God. You’re crazier than Miki is.”

  “But you know I’m right.” Angie pulled the glass pot out of the coffee maker and poured two mugs full of the steaming brew. She handed one to Sara.

  “Look, Ang, he came over, he fucked me. I’m pretty confident that’s the extent of our relationship.”

&nbs
p; Angie shook her head. “He didn’t ‘come over.’ Skelly told us everything. He came there to get you. He was looking for you, Skelly heard that blond guy on the phone with him. And he protected you from that girl Casey. He fought for you, Sara.”

  Sara stared down at her mug of coffee. “I can’t believe that right now.” Putting the untouched coffee down on the counter, she slipped off.

  “Why not?”

  Sara headed to the front door, snatching up her backpack on the way. “Because when he leaves, it’ll kill me.” She opened the door, but looked back once at her friend. “And you said it yourself. He will leave.”

  Sara had gotten down the stairs of the apartment complex when she heard Angelina’s voice from above her. “Sara.” Sara stopped at the foot of the stairs and turned back to her friend.

  “You’re right. He’s going to leave. But whoever said he’d leave without you?”

  Without waiting for Sara to answer, Angelina turned and went back into the apartment.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The conversation with Angelina kept replaying through her mind. He couldn’t love her. Not somebody like him. And she absolutely refused to love him. It didn’t matter how gorgeous he was or how well he fucked. What did matter was that she just didn’t have any faith in love or lovers or people who said they were in love or any of it. So, she wasn’t about to be led down that path. Not for anything or anybody. Especially not for Zach. Never for Zach.

  “Hi.”

  “Nothing!” she snapped for no reason in particular.

  Conall stood there, staring at her. Appearing a tad concerned.

  “Everything okay?”

  Sara took a breath. “Just fine.”

  “Good. Where’s Marrec?”

  Sara motioned to the back room with a nod. Conall headed in that direction. “Is it just you today?” he asked, almost innocently.

  Sara bit the inside of her mouth to stop from smiling. “Yeah. Just me.”

  Shrugging, he disappeared in the back. Sara grinned. That boy had it bad for her brutally honest friend. Poor thing. Miki would eat him for breakfast.

  “What a beautiful smile you have.”

  Again Sara was startled out of her thoughts, but she had no idea who this was. He was handsome enough. Tall, powerfully built, golden blond hair, green eyes, and clothes straight out of GQ.

  Still she should call Angelina, because he wasn’t doing a thing for her.

  “Thanks.” Sara went back to her magazine. She figured the guy only wanted to look around to say he had. He didn’t exactly seem like the Harley-Davidson type.

  “I smell him all over you,” he whispered. “Did he fuck you well, little girl?”

  Sara felt her mouth go dry and a jolt of fear slip down her spine. But she controlled it. Slowly, oh so slowly, she looked up into those beautiful, cold green eyes. Smiled. And punched the prick in his face. The man’s head snapped back, but he seemed more surprised than hurt. Then he looked pissed. He grabbed Sara by the throat and hissed, “Dog’s whore.” Which seemed an odd turn of phrase. Yet before Sara could react to it or this stranger’s hand on her throat, she heard a growl coming from behind her.

  It was Conall. The big, sweet bear chasing after her friend a few minutes ago was gone, and in his place stood a man who on a dark night she’d cross the street to avoid. Behind him, Marrec, and Sara couldn’t remember ever seeing him so angry or dangerous looking. But it was the growl coming from the front door that completely shocked her.

  He stood there. Beautiful as ever, frothing with rage. Zach’s hazel eyes almost black, his lips curled back as he snarled his obvious displeasure. Sara was torn between being scared to death and wanting to fuck his brains out.

  The stranger looked back at her and their eyes locked. His hand tightened on her throat ever so slightly. “I do hope he’s not too attached to you,” was all he said. Then he pulled her close and forced his mouth on hers. Sara screamed and grabbed his face, digging her nails into the tanned flesh, trying to hurt him enough so he’d release her. The kiss lasted only a few seconds, then he was gone. Over the bikes and out the side door. Zach and Conall went after him while Marrec came to stand beside her.

  “Who the fuck was that?” Sara screamed while she repeatedly wiped her hand over her mouth.

  “A problem,” Marrec answered. Then the man who practically raised her did something that was going to freak Sara out for the rest of the night. He sniffed her. “Oh, boy,” he sighed. “Zach’s gonna kill him.” With that, he turned and disappeared back into his workshop.

  At that moment, things just got too weird for her. What did Miki say? Werewolf?

  Sara grabbed her backpack and left.

  They tracked him to the forest. Once safely protected by the trees, Zach and Conall ripped off their clothes, shifted, and tore after the bastard they were tracking. They caught sight of him heading through the trees and up an embankment. He, too, had shifted, moving fast through the forest. Zach circled around while Conall went straight for him.

  The prick charged up one of the old trees, but the branch he jumped on wasn’t sturdy. It broke and he fell. Landing on his feet, he took off again, but he’d lost precious seconds. Zach latched on to his leg while Conall went for his neck. The big cat wasn’t going down without a fight, though. He slashed at Conall, ripping into his muzzle before he could get to the soft flesh of his throat. But Conall kept coming. So he spun on Zach, but Zach wouldn’t let go. Not with the bastard still having Sara’s smell on him. He was going to kill him. But they were near the edge of the embankment. When Conall tackled the cat to get at his throat, their combined weight pushed Zach back to the edge. He saw Conall snap the cat’s neck just as he lost his footing. The ground gave way, and Zach’s body slid down the hillside.

  The last thing he heard before hitting the ground was Conall screaming his name.

  Sara’s pickup truck arrived at her house well after midnight. She’d headed over to Angelina’s house when she left the shop. She knew she couldn’t go to Miki’s. Tell her Marrec had begun sniffing people, and all hell would break loose.

  So, instead, she and Angelina drank iced tea, watched the sunset from the porch, and obsessed over what the hell might be happening in their tiny town. Raves. Strange bikers. Guys randomly attacking shop girls. It was simply getting weirder and weirder every second.

  Angelina offered to let her crash at her place, but Sara wanted to go home. Besides, she had her basic home defense, so she wasn’t too worried. Still, Angelina insisted she take her shotgun to keep in the truck, worried about Sara just getting to her house safely. Not surprising, considering the last few hours.

  Sara jumped out of her pickup and landed on both feet. It took her a second to realize she felt no pain. Perhaps the most glorious feeling in the universe. She couldn’t get too worried about her weird life when her body felt so wonderful.

  She grabbed her backpack, leaving Angelina’s gun in the gun rack—I do love Texas—and slammed her truck door by doing a little spin and bumping it with her hip.

  It caught her attention as she headed toward her front door. Laid out on its side, taking up half the length of the porch. At first, Sara feared it was dead, but as she got closer, she saw its chest and side rise with each breath. So, moving slowly, she went up her porch steps and stared.

  She remembered now. The wolf who had stared at her the other day. Holy shit the fucker was huge! A good two hundred pounds or so. Probably more. The largest dog she ever owned was about one-hundred-and-twenty-five pounds, and when he dragged her across a riverbed to catch a rabbit, she decided never anything that large again.

  Leaning down, she ever-so-gently touched his back paw. No movement, and she could see the deep gash on his side, his fur matted with blood and dirt.

  Briefly, Sara debated whether to go back to her truck to get Angelina’s gun, but instead cautiously moved around him and, after quickly unlocking the door, went into her house. She grabbed the phone and dialed four-one-one. She ev
entually got through to animal control, but they immediately put her on hold. While she waited and watched the wolf from her porch, she saw headlights heading up the path to her house. She watched until they disappeared. Just like that, which meant someone shut them off to avoid being seen. Probably not good.

  “Shit,” Sara got out as Angie’s concerns and the day’s past events flooded her mind. Stuffing the cordless phone into her back pocket, she nearly slammed the door shut, leaving the wolf to fend for himself, but for some completely irrational reason, she couldn’t. She felt she had to protect him.

  “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

  She ran to her closet and grabbed the muzzle she’d used for her largest dog, Rocks, and her own always-loaded pump-action shotgun. She went back to the wolf. His eyes still closed, he seemed to be out cold. Burying all her fear, and any logical thought, she carefully knelt beside him, placing the shotgun at her feet. She put the metal basket muzzle on him, tightening the leather strap that would hold it in place should the wolf try to take her arm off. She grabbed him under the shoulders and dragged him into the house. It should have been harder, but…well, maybe he wasn’t as heavy as she originally thought. Once she had him settled, she went back out to her porch and retrieved her gun.

  An extremely expensive car pulled up to the front of her house and four men got out. All well-built and all well-dressed. Okay. The guy in the shop seemed to have brothers. Not a problem. The four men began to head toward the house, but she pumped the weapon once and aimed at the first one she saw. They stopped moving. They may have even stopped breathing.

  “You’re trespassing. Get off my property.”

  The one she had her weapon aimed at decided he would charm her. She saw it in the way his eyes half closed and his mouth held a small smile. He acted like he already owned her ass. But when he opened his mouth to speak, Sara shot the ground at his feet. All four men stumbled back.