“This is the shooting range. There is also an archery range outside for crossbows, very enjoyable. Fencing and sword work is done in a room that we passed on our way in. Hand-to-hand combat work like judo and Krav Maga is done in the smaller practice floors upstairs.
“All of my guards are trained here by Dorian Metz. Dorian has been in charge of training for forty-five years. He’s the reason I went into the Army and got into the Rangers. I was hard as nails at nineteen because I’d trained with him my entire life.
“Were we allowed to compete, he is good enough to medal in shooting at the Olympics. He’s also a black belt in karate and is incredibly skilled with knives and Japanese long swords.
“I will oversee all your training. But he will help when needed.”
Nina wrinkled her nose as Lex began to look over the different handguns behind the counter. “Training?”
Lex chose one and unlocked the trigger lock. He turned and pulled open a drawer, popped out the clip and laid the gun, clip and a box of ammunition down. “You’re my mate, Nina. My place in this Pack as Enforcer is a dangerous one. As such, it’s dangerous for you too. That means you have to be trained to defend yourself and also to be on the offensive if necessary.”
“Okey-dokey. But I hope you know that I’m rebuilding my shop. Not that I don’t mind backing you up and kicking anyone’s ass who threatens you. But I’m a florist, Lex.”
He grinned and kissed her forehead. “I know. But you need to be trained. Everyone in the Pack receives some level of training and everyone ranked Ten and above receives a great deal more.”
He then watched her load the bullets into the clip and put the clip into the gun. He had her do it over once more and nodded. “Good.”
“Yeah. It’s not exactly rocket science.”
Just then a man walked through the double doors. “Alexander, my boy! You’ve brought your mate to me. Are you going to turn her over to my care?”
Nina raised a brow and Lex chuckled. “Dorian!” He hugged the man and turned to Nina. “Dorian Metz, this is Nina, my mate. And I’ll handle her training. Well, except for swords.”
The man was the smallest werewolf Nina had seen. Most of them were at least six feet tall and bulky in some way. Dorian Metz was about five seven. He was totally gray and had the most piercing light blue eyes. He studied her, taking her measure.
“You don’t trust me with your stunning little wolf, Alexander?”
Lex snorted. “No, Dorian. My stunning little wolf is tough. She can handle herself quite well. It’s you I’m protecting.”
Both men laughed and Nina looked at Megan and rolled her eyes.
“Okay, now can you two do the secret handshake already? Or is there spanking involved and some sort of secret ritual?”
Dorian got quiet for a moment and narrowed his eyes at Nina, who actually was beginning to regret her glib comment. Thank goodness his face broke with a huge smile and he pulled her into a hug.
“Oh! I do like this one, Alexander. You need some humor in your life. You’ve always been too serious. She’ll keep you in line, I think.”
The rest of their time was spent shooting. Lex was impressed with how well she did. Every shot had hit the target and once he’d begun giving her pointers about how to stand or hold the weapon, she began to improve even more. Clearly she was a natural and her improved reflexes due to the change would help her become an excellent shot.
They’d said their goodbyes and headed back home, where Lex promised a hot bath and Nina heartily endorsed the idea, her muscles already beginning to ache from shooting.
* * * * *
Jack Reed, the Alpha of the Rogue Clan, stared down his nose at Carter. Things had changed in a big way for Jack. Only days before, Carter’d had the upper hand and now not only had the other wolf been busted down to the bottom of the ranks in Cascadia but Warren Pellini, the spokesperson from the Pellini Group—read werewolf mob here—came to see him about Carter’s debts.
Pellini and Jack had had an interesting discussion about the virus and the cold hard fact that with Carter at the bottom of the Pack, he didn’t have access to the records and finances that he had before. That made him more than useless, it made him a liability.
“You did a very stupid thing, Carter.”
“Look, how was I to know she’d get a gun and empty an entire clip into me? That bitch needs to get dead and I won’t rest until she is.” Carter’s voice was laced with menace and no small amount of fear.
“The question is, Carter, why the fuck would you think it was a good idea to challenge the Enforcer’s mate to the death on the night she was introduced into the Pack?” Jack’s hand slammed onto the desk for emphasis.
“It was a great plan! She needs to die, I had the right and the ability to kill her and I took it.”
“Yes, a really successful plan, that. Kudos,” Jack said dryly.
“So I made a mistake. I’ll fix it.”
“You can’t fix it, Carter. You’ve lost your position and your power. I can smell their magic on you. They neutered you.” Jack’s face twisted into a sneer as he referred to the metaphysical stripping of his status and power performed by the governance council.
“I can get it back! You owe me. I got you in. I got you data. I got you the virus when you were just nickel and diming people in two-bit scams. If it weren’t for me you wouldn’t be sitting on the biggest gold mine ever.”
“Yes, yes. And while I appreciate that, your usefulness has come to an end, Carter. You have no further access to the data we need. And we don’t need it anymore anyway. The information was key but we can move forward without it. I can offer you a place with the Rogues. We can use runners.”
“Runners? How dare you insult me? I’m Third in the largest Pack in the West! I am not a runner!”
Jack reached out and shoved Carter back into the chair. “Were Third. And I am aware that you think we’re crude and stupid. That we aren’t fit to shine your six-hundred-dollar Italian loafers. But the shoe is on the other foot now, pardon the pun. We are smart enough to have engineered the theft and reproduction of the lycanthropy virus. All of those little errands that failed? You fucked up. Those failures were caused by your own men and the ones you chose from my ranks. Clearly, Carter, they weren’t very well equipped for the job.
“But really, at base? You have no power. You have nothing to offer us. I offer you a place with us because you have nowhere else to go. You can’t stay with Cascadia. We both know that you’ve become a very big liability. I can’t just let you stay there. We can’t risk exposure.”
Jack sat back down and smoothed his tie. “Lastly, you have Lex Warden on your ass. You know as well as I do that he won’t rest until you’re dead. You tried to kill his mate. I’ve seen the man rip the fucking head off an opponent without breaking a sweat. Before I left Cascadia I saw a battle. A group of Rogues, my predecessor and his minions actually, launched an attack on Cade and their father. There were nine wolves in full prime and they were armed.”
Into the story now, Jack leaned back as he relived the memory of that night eight years before. He took glee in scaring the hell out of Carter with the very real specter of Lex Warden.
“Lex waded into the group and began to change. He began to literally rip the other wolves apart with his bare hands. It was bloody and the screams, my god, I can still hear them today. The Alpha of this Pack challenged Lex and Lex reached out and—I shit you not, Carter—reached out and pulled his motherfucking head right from his body and tossed it down at his feet. Covered with blood, he turned to the remaining wolf who’d fallen to his knees, and grinned. That wolf ran and I never saw or heard of him again.
“Cade and Henri had just watched it all, supremely convinced that Lex would handle the nine wolves. The guard had helped him a bit you understand, but I watched Lex Warden kill six wolves with his bare hands. He never drew a weapon.”
Jack stood up and walked around to lean on the corner of his desk. “So you see, y
ou aren’t long for this world without the protection of this Pack. Lex Warden is the lycan version of the boogey man and you tried to kill his wife.”
“Are you threatening me?” Carter stood, incensed but sweating profusely and shaking after hearing the story he’d heard rumors of for years. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with! Who I have behind me. Don’t push me, Jack. Don’t you dare threaten to kill me. My friends in high places wouldn’t like that.”
Warren Pellini stepped into the room and nodded once to Jack. He turned his hazel eyes on Carter.
“Warren! Thank god. Did you hear what’s happened? These fool Rogues are threatening to kill me! The girl is still alive. That laptop is still out there. If there’s anything on it we’re fucked.” Carter slumped back into the chair and sent a smirk to Jack.
Moments later, it dawned on him. “Warren, what are you doing here? Did you hear of my trouble and come to help? There are ways, you know, for me to get my power back. Spells the old ones can do. Then I can make the last of my payments to you.”
Those hazel eyes never flickered with a bit of emotion. In a cool voice Pellini said, “No one is going to perform that spell for you, Carter. Getting your power back would only happen if you performed an extraordinary act for the Pack. And Lex and Cade would be the ones who’d make the final decision. You tried to rip Lex’s mate and Cade’s anchor apart. Oh, and now she’s a wolf. With incredibly high status and power to match, and she’s guarded twenty-four hours a day.”
Warren leaned against the desk and crossed his ankles with faux casualness. He studied Carter for a few moments. “How far you’ve fallen, Carter. Sweating in my presence like an unranked wolf. Oh wait, you are an unranked wolf.” The laugh that came from his lips was icy.
“Your debt has been discharged. Jack and I have a deal.”
Carter stood up. “You’ve forgiven my debt? Really? Thank…” Carter’s eyes blanked and the life fell from them as the silver bullet raced through his brain.
Warren pulled an invisible thread from his suit jacket, looked back at Jack and then nodded to his Enforcer. “Dump it in Cascadia territory. Let it be known that he had a great deal owed due to gambling debt and now that he had no real salary from the Pack he had to pay in another way. That should buy us some time.”
“What if they know about the virus?”
Warren shrugged. “If they knew about it, they’d have sent the Enforcer out already, don’t you think? The Wardens are nothing if not proactive. I’m betting this laptop is either a fantasy or has nothing on it. Didn’t you say there were things built into the program for the lycanthropy virus that would be impossible to break and if they did, just getting in would trigger destruction of the information?”
“For anyone but the finest hackers, yes. The wolf who fed Carter information was a good friend of Tommie’s and Tommie told him that the program was unbreakable. The woman is beautiful and strong willed. But she’s a florist, she’s certainly no hacker.” Jack lit a cigar and handed another to Warren.
“You’ve taken care of the wolves who set that fire at the woman’s house and her business?” Warren asked.
“Yes. They won’t pose any more of a problem than Carter will. Idiot. Attacking the mate of the Enforcer was a stupid, stupid thing.”
“Yes, well. He’s no longer an issue for us. The time has come for us to start trials on some humans. We can’t very well ransom this virus if it doesn’t work.”
Chapter Eight
Nina slowly sank into the water with a long satisfied sigh. The water was just hot enough. Her core body temperature was starting to rise as Lex had explained it would. That part was kind of nice as she was one of those people who was always cold.
She’d just closed her eyes and fully relaxed her body when she heard Lex enter their bedroom and kick the door closed. The new intensity of her senses was a bit overwhelming and she wondered what it would be like once she fully made the change.
He entered the bathroom and her body tightened up and her insides calmed as his scent hit her. It was like he was this cherished thing and the hottest, sexiest man to ever walk the planet—warm milk and Brad Pitt all in one.
“What are you smiling about?” he asked softly.
“Warm milk,” she answered opening her eyes to see him there with a mug and a plate with cookies on it. She certainly wasn’t going to say Brad Pitt. Lex came bearing chocolate chip cookies and chai tea, milky and sweet like she preferred it. Hell, he was better than Brad Pitt.
“Do you want some warm milk?” He started to move back toward the door and she put her hand up.
“No. Thank you, darlin’, but no. I was just thinking that you were like a hot sex symbol and comforting warm milk all at the same time.”
The worry passed from his face and those lips quirked up a grin. “You looking to get lucky, ma’am? You’re looking pretty damned good there naked and wet.”
“Oh, now, you see, I think I’m already getting lucky here with this plate of cookies in the hands of an incredibly sexy man.”
“You’re full of shit. But I like it. Cade made them, he bakes when he’s upset.”
Nina opened her mouth to say something but closed it and slid beneath the water. When she came back up Lex was staring at her with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.
“You were going to say?”
“You know what I was going to say, therefore it isn’t nearly as fun.” She grabbed a cookie and stuffed it into her mouth. “And anyway, his girly ways make good chocolate chip cookies so who am I to complain that he’s the amazing baking Alpha?”
Lex chuckled and started to head out.
“Uh, hello?”
He turned around. “What is it, beautiful?”
“Is the honeymoon over so fast? Before we’ve even had a wedding?”
He looked confused.
She sighed. “Lex, it’s midafternoon and a naked woman is in your bathtub. You were planning to…? Grout? Go bake? Shine your obscenely expensive shoes? Ravish your wife?”
She got to her knees and held out her hand. “I think you’re dirty. Really dirty. You need a bath.”
“Oh! Well you were tired and you had a crappy morning and…”
“Babbling again.”
Laughing, he tossed his clothes off and got into the deep tub with her with a wince. “Damn it, Nina, this water is hot.”
Rolling her eyes, she moved over and straddled his lap. “Thank you for the cookies.” She kissed one eyelid. “And the tea.” She kissed the other. “Thank you for being concerned about me.” His lips were beneath hers and felt carnal and fleshy and delicious. She grazed them with her teeth and he opened his mouth and pulled her to his chest tightly.
“You taste so good, beautiful,” he murmured against her lips and then her chin and neck as she tipped her head back, allowing him access to the hollow of her throat. As she did it, she felt her wolf move within her. Be moved within her by the submissive act of baring her neck to him.
He growled low, the sound trickling from his lips. With gentle but firm teeth, he took the tendon at the side of her neck and bit down. A shudder of orgasmic pleasure rolled through her, she whimpered as the sensuality of the moment flooded her.
“Oh, Nina, god.” Lex moaned, leaning his forehead against her breastbone, panting.
“What? Lex, fuck me now. No foreplay, no preamble. Hard, deep and fast. I need you to.” She stood and he looked up her body into her face. His pupils were wide and his normally green eyes were deeper, the flecks of gold more pronounced.
“Nina, my wolf is very close to the surface. It’s near the full moon and with the claiming and your change, it… I don’t know if I can be gentle right now. Just let me catch my breath.”
She reached down and grabbed his cock in her hand, her face nose to nose with his. “Did I say I wanted gentle?”
He stood so quickly she didn’t even see it. She found herself facing the wall, slightly bent, hands flat against the tile above her head. He leaned o
ver her and kissed the back of her neck while his fingers tested her readiness. His breath quickened to find her so wet and as she’d asked, the head of his cock found her gate and nudged into her body.
Hips tilting, her body gave invitation and she was unable to stop another whimper of entreaty as he braced his hands at her hips and took her the rest of the way in one long thrust.
Hard and fast, he fucked into her body, hilting with each long thrust. The excitement at being so used by him—no, not used—possessed, wanted, desired by him, was overwhelming.
Moving one of his hands, he placed it, palm cupping her pubic bone so that his fingers slipped over her clit with each dig into her body. This brought a violent shudder of sensation with each pass.
“Is this what you wanted, Nina?” he said low into her ear.
“Yes,” she hissed as the first sensations of her orgasm began to manifest. “You feel so good, Lex. Please, more.”
“More?” he asked, lips at her ear. “More what?”
“Fuck me. Harder. I need you to be in me harder.”
And he bit her again, this time across the back of her neck, essentially holding her in place as he fucked her. Climax rocketed through her system. Her eyes closed against it as the tide pulled her under. She wondered what that scream was until she realized it was her own. Her cells swelled with endorphins, pussy slick with honey to ease his way, inner walls clasping and fluttering around his invading cock.
“Jesus, Nina, that’s so good,” he growled around her neck and thrust one last time as he unleashed his own orgasm deep into her body.
For several long minutes afterward, they stood there, still entwined in each other, regaining breath. When Lex pulled out he was gentle.
Bending down, he opened the drain as he turned on the shower head. “Let me get your hair.”
He washed her hair as she leaned against him. Afterward, he helped her out, handing her a warm, fluffy towel. There was a sore spot on her neck and she turned, catching sight of the bruise where he’d bitten her.