Table of Contents

Part 6: Lost

Chapter 1 ~ Bettina

Chapter 2 ~ Reeve

Chapter 3 ~ Mather

Chapter 4 ~ Bettina

Chapter 5 ~ Lysander

About the Author

Sneak Peek at Part 7

~ How do you choose when even the fullest moon isn’t enough to light your way? ~

Bettina ~ Dammit, I’m a baker, not a fighter. Definitely not a fighting werewolf. But I’m not sure if I can fight the need within me to yield to the call of the wolf born. I’m not even sure I want to… But life with the Rogue Mountain pack is dangerous, and I might not be strong enough to become what they need...

HEART OF THE PACK is a paranormal shapeshifter BBW romance serial in seven parts. The stories contain adult language and graphic sexual situations. Rated M for mature and W for wild readers only.

Sign up for Elsa Jade’s New Release & Sale Alert

ElsaJade.com

Copyright © 2016 by Elsa Jade

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as factual. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be scanned, reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.

Chapter 1 ~ Bettina

With the exception of the watery winter sunlight streaming through the front plate glass, Tanzerbrot Bakery was exactly the same as the night I’d locked up, walked out the back, and got bitten by a fucking werewolf. I knew it was the same. And yet…

Since baking morning required all hands on deck—see, there was a good reason I’d abandoned Reeve and hightailed it back to town…besides panic and stubbornness, I mean—Nickie and Sheba were both in. They flowed through the domestic dance of baking and working the till. They chatted with each other and the customers, all easy body language and eye-crinkling smiles, as usual. Maybe a little more than usual since no doubt they’d had an easy work day yesterday without me around.

I was the sour note.

I dropped a whole damn tray of brötchen. I burned the back of my wrist on the upper element of the oven. When I accidentally put hand soap in the commercial dishwasher and triggered a tsunami of white bubbles across the kitchen floor, Sheba tossed me and my admittedly over-loud cursing out into the alley while Nickie mopped up.

I slumped against the back door, my floury, throbbing hand pressed to my lips to hold back any more expletives.

Or tears.

The small awning over the back door kept most of the misting rain off me, but at least I could blame the weather, even unfairly, for my damp cheeks.

Sheba gently eased down my hand and wrapped a cold towel around the burn. She brushed back a lock of hair that had escaped my bun and bandana and met my miserable gaze. “Want to talk about it?”

I opened my mouth and realized this was part of what Annalee had meant about never being the same again. My throat seized up rather than try to say the word “werewolf” to someone who…wasn’t. Maybe my wolf hadn’t risen, but the instincts of a wild thing remained.

I shook my head. “Carmen told you what happened the other night, didn’t she?”

Sheba bit her lip. “Those feral dogs jumped you.” She smacked her head with her wide-open palm. “And then I brought you right back out here. I’m sorry. You’re probably PTSD-ing. No wonder you gave Elliott the wrong change.”

I didn’t even remember shortchanging my neighbor down the street. I was suddenly so glad for my loyal employees covering my back. Since he ran the town clinic, of course he’d asked about the dog bite—Carmen had passed along my lie that I was going to the ER in Medford after the attack—and I’d been so flustered I would’ve gladly given him the whole till to make him stop talking about it.

“You and Nickie are great for taking care of things while I was gone.” I hugged her.

She hugged me back. “Jeez, it was one day. I think we can handle one day.”

“One day. Yeah.” I snuffled. Oh god, if she or Nickie had been the one closing up when Lysander attacked… I would never have forgiven myself.

Of course, I would’ve never known.

One of them would’ve been in Reeve’s arms right now, or waiting for Mather and Conlan to come… While I was making the doughnuts.

A strange restlessness shifted in my gut, the same feeling that was leaving me out of kilter with my placid baking day routine.

“Do you want to take another day off?” Sheba peered at me. “It must’ve been pretty scary to face that, knowing it could’ve been as bad as what happened on the other side of the mountain.”

I stiffened. “What happened?” I vaguely remembered Carmen trying to call the deputy sheriff after I’d been bitten, but he’d been busy on a call over the pass. “Last I heard, Frank was still looking into it.”

Sheba blew out one of those pursed-lipped breaths that was half guilty of gossiping and half excited to share. “It was a meth lab. Whoever busted it didn’t take the drugs, but they took all the money before they wrecked the place.” She swallowed. “And they killed the two cooks and a couple of distributors who were there. Frank said forensics thinks they used dogs—something with really big teeth—to tear the druggies apart. Never had a chance.” She looked down the alley as if it suddenly seemed different to her too. “Maybe some of those dogs got loose and came over here…”

I shuddered. So much for protecting my little circle with the bliss of ignorance. “Did Frank say what the cops are doing to find these…” I choked a little—“these people?”

“Whoever they were, they took the dealers’ trucks. So I know there’s an APB alert on those.” She shrugged. “But I’m guessing they’re long gone by now.”

Not so much. I pushed away from the wall. “I need to start another tray of brötchen.”

Sheba rubbed my shoulder. “Nickie did that already. It’s fine.” She peered at me. “Are you going to be okay?”

Forcing myself to give her an approximation of the smiles she’d been distributing to our customers along with the morning sweets, I nodded. “I guess I’m just so used to working that one day off destroys my vibe.”

She gave me a searching look. “Okay. Well, the lunch rush will hit soon and then you won’t have time to think about anything else.”

“That sounds perfect,” I said truthfully.

When we went back inside, after washing up and fixing my hair, I focused on the work. Considering how cute and delicate a lot of our baked goods were, there was a lot of hard physical labor: lifting, mixing, punching down, carrying. Our delivery driver who picked up specialty pretzels and loaves of pumpernickel for our accounts in Medford showed up late so we had to hustle to get him loaded and out the door before the front room filled with hungry folk. In the distraction, my muscles finally found the familiar rhythm and my mind thankfully blanked.

Until I turned around from emptying grounds from the coffee machine and found Annalee and Lowe peering into the display case. I stumbled a little and scalding droplets dribbled across the fresh burn on my wrist. I winced at the sting. And at the sight of Lowe dressed in my favorite boy jeans, a neon pink T-shirt, and a pair of my wedge flip flops that were a size too small for him.

I hadn’t thought of bringing him a change of clothes for when he changed. But that was his own fault since I hadn’t actually thought of bringing him along at all. I’d just wanted—needed—to run. Annalee had refused to be left behind and Lowe had appointed himself our guardian, a point he’d made clear with the shining points of his teeth when I’d tried to shove him away from Domingo’s truck.

I hadn’t been afraid of him, but I had feared he’d run back to fetch the others. And bringing him down the mountain as our escort had felt like a concession of sorts, since I had no doubt I’d be justifying my actions to Reeve at some point. Probably sooner rather than later.

Letting out a wisp of a sigh, I went to the other side of the case. “Hey, guys. See anything you want?”

Lowe lifted his gaze to meet mine and gave me a lopsided smile glinting with white teeth.

I glowered at him. “Besides that.”

Annalee was still half bent, her nose not quite on the glass, her mouth softened wistfully. Tiny raindrops glinted like sequins in her short, dark curls. “It all looks so good.”

The tightness in my chest eased a bit. Nothing else made my day quite like assuaging such longing, even if only for the minutes it took to turn a cupcake into a few crumbs and lickable fingertips. “What’s your favorite flavor?”

She curled her lips inward as if she could already taste it. “Strawberry.”

“Then I have the treat for you.” I plated two puffy, pink-glazed triangles. “Scones made with Mount Hood strawberries. Almost impossible to find outside Oregon. We pick and freeze them ourselves so we can have a little taste of spring even though the November rain.” I looked at Lowe as I slid the plates across the counter. “It matches your shirt.”

His jaw dropped in a silent, decidedly canine laugh.

I shook my head in partly faked exasperation. “There’s a little table open in the back corner. Go sit, and I’ll bring you some tea too.”

Annalee looked at her plate. “I don’t have any money.”

“My treat,” I said.

I kept an eye on them while I brewed up a delicate jasmine mint in one of the teapots Oma had brought with her from the Old World. Annalee had fallen asleep on the ride into town and had been barely able to drag herself up the steps to my apartment after I’d tucked the stolen truck into the garage. Like Reeve, she’d been so badly hurt, but I hoped the rest meant she was really recovering. When Lowe had tried to follow me to the bakery, I’d snarled in his face and told him to stay with her. He’d fallen back to his haunches with a look of surprise in his wolf-yellow eyes and done as I commanded.

I wondered if she’d figured out how to find me, or if he’d just followed his nose.

Well, they were here now so of course I’d feed them.

I assembled a tray and took the teapot and three mugs to the little table. Lowe had placed himself between Annalee and the rest of the room, and his body was angled to jump free at any provocation.

But for all his attentiveness, he’d managed to devour his scone already.

“Good thing I brought another,” I told him as I sat and pushed a blueberry muffin in front of him.

He huffed under his breath.

Annalee had done okay on her scone, but she took the cup I handed to her and wrapped her hands around the thin china as if she needed the warmth more. “Thank you. For breakfast. For letting me come with you.” She had to lean sideways to see around Lowe. “You’re so lucky to have this place.”

“I am,” I murmured. Sometimes I forgot that, and I could always use the reminder.

Even if sometimes I wanted more.

“And you can stay as long as you want,” I continued. “I know the apartment isn’t much, but the couch wasn’t too bad, was it?”

She shook her head. “Better than being chained in the forest.”

Lowe and I both cast hasty, surreptitious glances around the room.

“No one can hear us,” Annalee said. “And even if they did, they wouldn’t understand and they’d forget. They wouldn’t want to remember.”

Too bad the same wasn’t true for us. But that was what she meant by not being able to go back. Like when I couldn’t force myself to tell Sheba what had really happened. We were changed even if we weren’t werewolves.

“Still,” I said, “maybe best not to overshare.”

When she lifted one shoulder in a shrug and stared down at her tea I felt a little like I’d kicked a puppy.

I reached over to touch her hand. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but we’re in it together. That I can promise you.”

After a moment, she raised her gaze to mine and nodded. Then she looked past me. “Speaking of together…”

I twisted my head to follow her gaze to Reeve.

My heart jumped so hard I had to let out a little gasp to release the pressure in my chest. God, just seeing him… Hidden in my dirndl skirt that I always wore on bake day as homage to my heritage, my thighs tensed with the urge to leap from my seat and run to him. Damn it, I’d just run away from him and the hopeless longing I felt around him.

Despite the ferocious scowl twisting his mouth.

Our gazes locked and his nostrils flared. Lots of people inhaled appreciatively when they walked into the bakery, but he looked like he wanted only one delicacy.

Me.

But I wasn’t on the menu, I reminded myself. I was no good for his pack, worse for their long-term health than any of the occasional sweet treats in my shop. He was being protective and possessive, but I’d do whatever was necessary to save him and his pack from his best and worst instincts. Including fight him.

I glanced back at Annalee who had shrunk back in her chair. I didn’t blame her. Reeve was definitely on the hunt. Even Lowe looked uneasy, one arm hovering in front of Annalee. Or maybe his muffin.

I pushed to my feet. “Stay here,” I told them.

Annalee mumbled under her breath, “Don’t let the children see mommy and daddy fighting.”

I might’ve laughed or rolled my eyes, but from the anxiety lacing her tone, I thought maybe she’d seen too much of that. I blocked Reeve before he’d gone more than a few steps.

With a reassuring nod at Sheba and Nickie who were both staring at the looming, moody male, I held out one hand toward Reeve, directing him back toward the door. “Outside, please. You’re scaring people.”

He glowered. “Not you, apparently.”

No, in some wrong way, his simmering wrath warmed me like the ovens on a cold winter morning. When Tommy had pulled such controlling bullshit, I’d called it quits, but I knew Reeve’s fear for and anger at me was legitimate. Didn’t change what I was going to do, but I felt for him, poor alpha prime with the weight of his secret world on his shoulders. And me just another burden.

If I told him that, of course, he would say he was strong enough to take me, along with anything else thrown his way, but I wasn’t willing to be more dead weight.

Whatever was on my face must’ve convinced him that I wasn’t backing down. Or maybe it was Sheba’s shocked expression and Nickie’s more leering one. Regardless, he let me steer him out the door.

The awning out front extended the length of the shop front, so I pushed him toward one end, still out of the light rain but away from the windows and the view of my curious employees. As he backed away from me, my hand on the center of his chest, each booted footstep echoed the thud of his heartbeat against my palm. Through the thin, damp cotton of his black T-shirt, the flex of his muscles reminded me of last night, and a slow counterpoint throbbed in my pussy. Dammit, that wasn’t helping me stay focused on our necessary conversation.

When I stopped, he grabbed my hand and kept it pressed to his chest. I realized the only reason he’d yielded was because I was touching him.

Well, if that helped him listen to me, I supposed I could keep touching him…

I curled my fingers into his shirt, not quite holding onto him. “You come for lunch?”

“I came for you,” he growled. “You deserted me in the middle of the night.”

The vibration of his low voice against my knuckles revved up the thrum between my legs. I clenched my thighs together, throttling the urge to forget my noble intent and clench around him instead. “Deserted you to make desserts.” I looked up into his searing blue eyes, wondering if I could make him listen and understand. “I had a lot to do. And a lot to think about.”

His glare narrowed. “You can think about whatever you want. At the house. Where you’ll be safe.”

“You can’t keep me and your pack safe,” I said. When he flinched back, I tightened my grip on his shirt. “Not at the same time. I haven’t changed, and I know that keeping me around hurts you, hurts the pack bond.”

His jaw tightened. “I don’t know who told you that—”

I thumped my knuckles gently into his chest. “You just confirmed it by not denying.”

His upper lip curled as if he smelled something nasty, but he didn’t contradict me. “We’re strong enough to wait until your wolf rises.”

My throat ached but I had to ask: “And what if that never happens?” I wanted so badly to give in and let him win. But I couldn’t cave for him any more than I could submit to Lysander. Reeve had only the best intentions, and Lysander had the worst, but both would keep me from being me. And I’d fought too long to like myself to give up on me now.

I released my grip on Reeve’s shirt and smoothed the thin cotton over his chest as I tried to explain to him. “I’d never forgive myself if I broke up the band,” I told him with a tentative smile.

He didn’t smile back. “You won’t break me.”

I sighed. “Well, you could break me. The only thing that would hurt worse than Lysander’s teeth is falling in…” I hesitated. “Falling for the idea I might be part of something when I’m really not. I just…I don’t have the strength you do, I guess.”

He gripped my elbows, pulling me a step closer so the heat of his body seeped through my sturdy apron, reminding me of our nights together. “You’re stronger than you think,” he said. “Why won’t you believe that?”

“Because…” The cowbell over the bakery door chimed, and I glanced back, grateful for the distraction.

Annalee emerged under the awning, her steps still faltering a little but her spine straight. “Everything okay out here?” Her gaze flicked to Reeve’s grasp on my arm.

After everything that had happened to her, she’d come out to defend me. That was strength. I wanted to hug her, maybe absorb some of her hard-won determination. Instead, I shook loose of Reeve’s hold and smiled at her. “It’s fine.”

“It’ll be fine when you’re all back where you belong,” Reeve said before I even finished.

I rolled my eyes. “I explained to you why I can’t.”

“And it was bullshit,” he countered.

Annalee flinched, and beside her, Lowe rumbled under his breath.

Reeve glowered at him. “You’ve got even more explaining to do. You go joyriding with the girls again, you call me.”

Lowe twisted his head to one side, and I wasn’t quite sure if it was obedience or evasion.

Annalee took a half step in front of Lowe. “How’s he supposed to call if he can’t talk?”

“He can talk,” Reeve said. “He just won’t. But he will, next time, if he wants to stay on Rogue Mountain.”

I spun on my heel to poke Reeve in the chest I’d so recently been petting. “Don’t you dare make that threat,” I hissed. “Don’t take out your frustrations with me on him or anyone else in the pack.”

For a second, I thought he’d hold the asshole low ground, but then he huffed out a hard breath and spiked his fingers through his dark hair. He looked past me to Lowe and Annalee. “I apologize,” he said, a note of rough sincerity taking the riled edge off his voice. “You’re both caught up in this through no fault of your own, and you don’t deserve my temper.”

Annalee glanced sideways at Lowe—I thought she wasn’t as “creeped out” by him as she had been—as if seeking his consent to speak on his behalf, then nodded at Reeve. “I get it. You’re mad. And scared. Lysander had me for months. I know how he shreds more than your body, how he can make you doubt yourself.”

Reeve’s mouth twisted, and I winced a little. Calling attention to an alpha male’s insecurities probably wouldn’t help him come to terms with his vulnerability.

But to my surprise, he dipped his shaggy head in a gesture of deference. “Yet somehow you survived where some of the toughest males have died. Your understanding would be invaluable against Lysander’s pack, and I was hoping you would tell us more. When you were feeling up to it.” He shoved his hands in the front pockets of his worn jeans, hunching his shoulders a bit as he stared at the ground. “I know we don’t have any right to ask you to stay to help us when you probably just want to forget it all.”

Annalee took a step forward, her gait stronger than it had been. “No, I can’t forget. I want to help you stop him.”

Reeve dragged one boot along the sidewalk almost bashfully. “Well, Mather and Dom are trying to retrace Lysander’s route from where he took you to here, figure out what he was up to, see if maybe they can find a weakness. But they’re having some trouble filling in the gaps.” He peered up through the tumbled black locks of his hair. “Maybe you could look over their work so far.”

Annalee bit her lip. “I…don’t remember everything. Didn’t see it all. Sometimes they’d make me stay in the trunk of the car.”

While Lowe growled softly, Reeve’s eyes iced over, but his voice was still easy when he said, “Whatever you could show us would be more than we have.”

She nodded hesitantly. “Okay.”

He lifted his head. “Unfortunately, in my haste to come find you, I took the only working car. And since Bets borrowed the truck”—his gaze flicked slyly to me—“I left the rest of the guys stranded up on the mountain.” He pulled his hand from his pocket, tossing something small and shiny—a key—to Lowe, who caught it with a quick snap of his fingers. “Car’s parked down the street. Lowe, you take Annalee back home to figure out the timeline.”

When Annalee and Lowe both nodded dutifully, I sucked in a startled breath at the deft way he’d won their cooperation: Lowe got to take the keys to the vehicle and Annalee got the key to regaining her sense of control. Meanwhile, Reeve got exactly what he wanted: everyone back on his mountain.

Well, not everyone. I jutted my jaw, and he must’ve seen it, because he quickly added, “Since Bettina has to work, I’ll stay here until she’s done. We’ll rendezvous tonight to see what’s next.” He took my elbow and marched me toward the bakery door. “But first, let’s box up some snacks for the guys who got left behind. What’s good today, Bets?”

Oh no, he wasn’t going to manipulate me so easily, making me wax poetic about my baking. But Annalee and Lowe were more than willing to point out in the display case what they’d liked and what they wanted to try. Nickie batted her lashes at Reeve as she assembled two big pastry boxes, nearly cleaning out the morning items that we’d normally soon be bagging up as day-olds as we prepped for the afternoon cookie crowd. He grinned back at her, so charming. I hadn’t quite understood that an alpha prime didn’t have to growl and bite—at least not when he didn’t want to, not when he could just smile his happy prey into his jaws.

Okay, I was a little jealous. Not about his smile for my friend but at how freely they fell for him. Weren’t they afraid of being swallowed whole, losing themselves to his powerful draw? Didn’t they worry they wouldn’t be enough to satisfy him?

Or maybe it was just me.

But me was all I had. No pack, no wolf, no self-delusion to back me up.

When Annalee trotted off behind Lowe, clutching one of the pastry boxes, her steps were almost smooth. Only time could heal her body, but Reeve had given her a way to salve her deeper hurts. At the same time, he’d subtly reinforced Lowe’s human guise with a responsibility for the young woman. Yeah, there was a reason beyond birth and badass musculature why Reeve was alpha prime.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I muttered at him as I rang up the order.

“Not right now, I know.” He signed the credit card slip.

I frowned at him and then wrinkled my nose at the tip he’d left. “Good mushroom year?”

“Shaping up to be the best one ever.” He stared down his aquiline nose at me, one brow arched. “Speaking of which, throw on a cup of coffee, will you? I have some work I need to get done.”

As if I’d been keeping him from that. With mug in hand, he wedged himself into one of the small corner tables and produced a tablet from the messenger bag over his shoulder that I hadn’t even noticed. He looked like one of the C-suite vagabonds who sometimes wandered up from northern California on vacations that mostly consisted of checking email. I would never have gone for a guy like that, his nose buried in technology, his mind on commerce.

But of course Reeve was more than that. Much more.

What was I going to do?

He sat there long enough that Nickie gave me a hard nudge. “You should take the rest of the day off,” she said, echoing Sheba’s suggestion but with a much lustier wink.

“We’re too busy,” I said. And we were, which was good because then I didn’t have to keep stealing glances at him.

When the late need-bread-for-dinner crowd thinned, I looked over and he was gone. My heartbeat stumbled for a moment, but I told myself it didn’t matter. I was safe inside my bakery surrounded by all these people…

But it wasn’t my safety I was really thinking about, and even surrounded by others I felt the pang of not being with him. When Nickie and Sheba wrapped up for the day—Nickie with a snicker and a comment about baker groupies and Sheba with a hug and a whispered reminder that I should take all the time I needed—it was almost a relief because at least I didn’t have to keep pretending.

The evening crowd on baking day was always lighter. Probably because everyone in town hit carb overload early thanks to our drifting scent of cinnamon swirl buns. So when the last die-hard coffee sipper finished, I started closing up.

It was raining harder, and the wind sputtered in the winter darkness outside, plinking droplets against the windows that smeared the light from the store sign into streaks of pink and gold down the glass. I loved this place, I did, but tonight, it felt lonely.

And then the cowbell over the door chimed.

The racing of my pulse told me who it was even before I faced him.

Chapter 2 ~ Reeve

The wolf was starving. One cup of coffee and watching her in that flirty knee-length skirt that revealed the pale, nip-able curves of her calves had whetted its hunger to a ferocious edge. Being alone with Bettina in her fragrant shop had all my senses on high alert.

Knowing there was a killer out in the darkness just added an urgency to the tension.

Whiskey-brown eyes half lidded, she watched as I flicked off the neon sign and the interior lights, flipped the CLOSED sign outward, locked the shop door behind me, and stalked toward her.

Just out of arm’s reach, I stopped. “You gonna run again?”

She tilted her head. “No.” She’d gotten rid of the bandana at some point, leaving her brown hair curly and a bit matted from confinement.

My fingers itched to wind themselves in the silky strands, set them free. “Gonna attack?” I rubbed the side of my jaw, the rasp of stubble loud in the rainy quiet. “Probably deserve a good yelling at for muscling in on your territory.” But it was such sweet, sweet territory…

She tilted her head the other way, considering. “You want me to jump you?”

“No.” But I nodded.

Her lips twitched. “Don’t think I didn’t notice how you tricked Lowe and Annalee into going back.”

I grunted. “If you hadn’t tricked them into leaving in the first place…” When she growled low in her throat, I held up one hand. “All right, all right, you didn’t trick them. But you left and they had to follow.”

She sucked her lower lip in and chewed for a moment. “I didn’t make them.”

“You’re wolf-born, and a natural leader too. I watched you with your employees. You don’t have to make them do anything because they all follow you without hesitation.” Unable to stop myself, I closed the small distance between us and ran my thumb over the red flush on her mouth, shining in the shadows. “They want to make you happy, to be with you. I understand.”

“Because you’re an alpha prime.” A quick dart of her tongue moistened her lips. And the pad of my thumb.

The sensation jolted me all the way to the tip of my dick. “Because I feel it too.”

She swayed toward me, and I knew she was reeling with the same potent attraction. Her wolf hadn’t risen—yet—but her desire had, fueled by the bond that existed between us. Maybe it wasn’t the full pack bond but something every bit as intimate.

I smoothed my knuckles along the soft, strong line of her jaw and unfurled my fingers in the lush fall of her hair. Just as silky as I’d remembered. She leaned into my hand with a breathless sigh, responsive as hell, and my cock swelled against the fly of my jeans.

I’d planned to woo her, seduce her—okay, trick her—into coming home with me. But now I knew there was no way we’d make it that far before we both came.

Crashing my mouth down on hers, I looped my arm at the small of her back and quick-stepped her to the counter she’d been wiping down when I got there. With both hands on her hips, I boosted her up onto the counter, our lips still locked.

Moaning, she framed my face and angled my head to suit herself. Tongue attacking and retreating, she teased me with deep, wet kisses until I was panting. I pressed between her thighs, scrunching the skirt higher, and she wrapped her heels behind my ass.

When I lifted my head, her brown eyes caught the rainy glow of the street lamps shining through the window, giving them a wolfy golden light. I couldn’t believe her wolf hadn’t come yet, after everything she’d been through. What if…

I refused to continue that thought. “Let me take you home.”

“Here,” she countered. “I want it here. So I’ll always remember…” When she cut herself off, I realized she didn’t want to think either.

Alpha prime and CEO I might be, with the responsibilities of both, but I was man and beast first, and I could not deny the bounty she offered.

I kissed her slower this time, tracing the plump bow of her lips, tasting the lingering bitterness of coffee beneath the sweetness of her breath. There were more layers to her than the intricate cakes on display, and I wanted to know them all, savor every bite.

But her hands were restless, demanding, skimming up under my T-shirt and along my ribs until I shuddered with need. When I raised my hands, she stripped the damp cotton over my head and leaned forward to press her mouth to the center of my chest above my heart. At the sensation of her lips on my skin, my blood pulsed hot and thick as one of her syrups. If I wasn’t careful, she’d spill me right here…

Her tongue arced sideways, a wet velvet drag over my nipple. I groaned and dropped my hands to her shoulders. I flexed my fingers into the pad of muscle she’d built in service to her little pastries. Her hands weren’t idle either. When a waft of cooler air brushed over my privates, I realized she’d eased down my zipper.

I hissed in a ragged breath between my teeth as she followed the thickening veins of my cock up the shaft to the tender head. She circled me slowly even as my pulse raced. My blood wasn’t syrup—it was molten lava, scorching and dangerous. And she was dancing on the edge of an explosion.

Disrupting her maddening tease, I dropped one arm behind her and dragged her closer. I bent her back over my arm to look down into her eyes.

“You’re torturing me,” I accused her.

“I want to kiss every place he hurt you, make you forget I ever brought you two together.” Her eyes glimmered, not a reflection of the rain outside but restrained emotion.

My chest tightened at her upset. “Completely forgotten,” I said. “But without him, I wouldn’t have found you.” I ran one finger along the neckline of her blouse, lowering the rim until the upper point of her crescent moon tattoo peeked above the white fabric. “Or maybe I would have.”

I lowered my head to kiss the wolf-born mark hidden under the tattoo. The thin, raised line of the scar seemed to spark against my tongue, like a hint of metallic flavor: blood or pine needles or the cold edge of the winter wind. Something wild.

She moaned and threaded her fingers in my hair, holding me close. I tugged her blouse lower, revealing the tough, stretchy fabric of her bra. She shrugged her shoulder, and I slid the strap down, peeling back the layers that bound her. The exposed weight of her breast overflowed my hand, the pale flesh with its dusting of freckles like dark stars in a white night sky. Her underwear shredded under my fingers, and I drew in a heavy breath, filling my mouth and lungs with the irresistible scent of her skin.

Then the hunger overtook me. I circled my tongue around the stiff peak of her breast, laving and nibbling until she clutched at my head, moaning. I switched to her other breast, rolling the flushed, turgid nipple under my thumb while her heartbeat slammed in my ears, and I sensed the frantic rush of her blood beneath my mouth.

She ran her hands down my bare shoulders, making desperate little panting sounds that urged me along. When she gripped the waistband of my jeans and yanked them half down my hips, I almost lost it. My cock surged up between her legs, aiming for the hot, slick folds of her pussy.

I gritted my teeth at the so-close temptation. “I want you to come home with me.”

She clamped her fingers over my hipbones, tugging me closer. “And I want a second Hobart mixer. We don’t always get what we want.”

“Done,” I growled. “Rogue Mountain Industries has been looking for a way to go direct to consumer with high-end, artisan foods from our sustainable forestry products. Tanzerbrot Bakery could be our connection.”

She gaped. “Seriously, are you trying to cut a deal? Now?”

I stroked myself on her. “Maybe savory meat and mushroom pies.” My voice started to crack, and I cleared my throat. “What do you think?”

“Not about that.” She squirmed against me. “Reeve…”

“Do we have a deal?” I almost broke when she reached down and fisted my stiff flesh.

“Savory,” she said. “Right.”

“And you’ll come back to the mountain?”

“You can come home with me,” she bargained. “Tonight.”

I nodded. “Deal.” That was the most I could get from her for at the moment, I could tell.

Also, my cock was about to explode.

With a groan an octave lower than her sigh, I sank into her wet heat. My senses narrowed to just her: lush flesh, soft moans, the musky perfume of her arousal, and the rising flush spreading over her soft skin. I leaned down to kiss her, tasting the flavor that was her alone, heady and perfect.

Tonight would not be enough.

But it was all she had given me, so I made it count. I held her close for each thrust, finding the angle and depth that made her gasp and clamp her inner muscles around me. I focused all my attention on her pleasure.

And it wasn’t just me making her the center of my night. The wolf was relentless in its resolve to bring her down and eat her up. Through the bond, the rest of my pack circled tighter too, on the hunt.

We could never let her go.

Maybe she felt the fierce harmony of my pack on that accord because she froze for a suspended heartbeat. Then she jackknifed against me with a keening cry, grinding her pelvis on mine. The violent contraction of her pussy tore my orgasm from me, hot and shocking as jugular blood. I let out a strangled roar and pounded into her again and again, chasing down the last tremor in her body until she screamed, her heels digging into the backs of my thighs.

Thanking the strength of the wolf, I caught her before she tumbled right off the counter and braced us while we caught our breath.

“Oh my god,” she whispered.

I leaned down to nuzzle her bared breasts and kissed my way up her neck. “Did you leave the oven on?”

Her throat bobbed under my lips as she swallowed hard. “Anybody could’ve walked by…”

I’d sort of thought that was the point, but her embarrassment pricked me. “It’s raining too hard. And anyway, the street lights don’t reach far enough for human eyes to see in here.”

With my mouth on her, I felt her breathing pause, and I swore silently at reminding her that we weren’t the same.

When she struggled at my hold, I reluctantly pulled her upright. She wriggled off me, yanking down her skirt, and I winced at the abrupt separation. It felt as if she tore something even more delicate than my dick.

My spine prickled and I swiveled to face the door. “Someone’s coming.”

“Oh no.” She hopped off the counter, avoiding my steadying hand. “What happened to ‘it’s raining too hard’?”

“Somebody with a reason to be out in the rain.” I stalked toward the door.

She made a strangled noise. “At least put your shirt on. Technically these are still business hours.”

My T-shirt smacked me in the back and I snagged it with a soft growl. I didn’t want anyone having late-night business hours with her except me.

“It’s the sheriff’s deputy.” I didn’t know the man well, but I recognized his uniformed silhouette.

Bettina moaned, not in a good way. “Of fuck. That was definitely a health code violation.”

I gave her a quick grin. “Nothing some bleach won’t fix.”

She scrambled around the counter. “Where’s my underwear?”

“My pocket.”

She glared at me accusingly. “You kept my first pair too.”

“Trophies,” I said. “Like antlers, but softer.”

She sniffed disdainfully as she hustled for the front of the shop. Frank was peering at the door, checking the hours sign and then his watch. He straightened abruptly when she stepped into reach of the streetlight through the window.

She gave him a little wave and unlocked the door, pushing it wide. “Hey there, Frank. Sorry. I was going to sneak out early since the weather is bad, but…” She trailed off when she realized he was looking past her.

I sauntered closer. “Deputy.”

“Mr. Maccon.” He nodded once. “Haven’t seen you around for awhile. Any more trouble with trespassers lately?”

I shook my head easily. “Not since your help last spring.” I’d called the sheriff’s department about uninvited hunters on Rogue Mountain Industries land. Though they’d never found our wolf-wary game, the yahoos had left shell casings and beer cans behind. I’d figured the deputy would know the local troublemakers and suggested he pass along my annoyance and disapproval. I’d intended the warning as a salve to my conscience should my pack find the poachers again, but to my surprise, Frank had called the next day to let me know he’d spoken with the young men’s parents and all was taken care of. He’d even offered to send them around to pick up their trash. I’d declined, but I’d put the deputy in the keeper column.

“Good. That’s good.” He removed his hat, turning the water-darkened brim between his hands. “Convenient to find you here. I was hoping to talk to you. Both of you.”

Chapter 3 ~ Mather

I watched Annalee trace her finger over a map on the kitchen table. Domingo and Conlan flanked her, listening with the attentive stillness of read-to-the-dogs therapy mutts while she painfully recreated Lysander’s route through the months of her abduction.

The old scars I’d though long healed burned on my skin.

I understood and approved of Reeve’s need to bring all the vulnerable ones under pack protection, but I also felt the peril of the unbound spirits haunting both Annalee and Bettina. Their presence weighed on my chest like a heavy hand holding me down, a knife poised above my flesh while a pitiless voice invoked the wolf’s teeth.

Pacing the far side of the kitchen wasn’t far enough to stop me from hearing Annalee’s halting words: “He grabbed us here…he bit us…she died…she’s buried near here somewhere, I think…he hit me…”

In its verbs and violence, Annalee’s story was mine. I had to get away, just for a little while. Strategist Domingo and Conlan the tease would keep her occupied and safe, but I needed some fresh air.

I stepped out the kitchen door. Rain pattered on the dark pines high above me, but the interlaced needles kept the water at bay. For the moment.

I stood there for a time until a soft thump brought me around. Lowe had slipped out after me. He stared at his feet suspiciously as his shoes smacked hollowly against his heels with each step. When he hopped a little jig in a half circle around me, the shoes drummed with him.

“They’re called flip flops for a reason,” I said.

He glanced up at me, jaw dropped in a canine grin. Nature’s child though he was, he’d refused to give up Bettina’s things when he returned to the house. When Annalee had told him he was wearing girl’s clothes and they were too small, he’d just cocked his head and huffed, which made her laugh. Which had been his intent, I thought.

But the faintly spiced scent of Bettina on the pink T-shirt only made my hackles prickle more, as if they wanted to rise off my body and go walkabout without me. The sensation left me restless and hesitant at the same time, not a feeling I enjoyed.

“It has been a very long time since I couldn’t see a clear path ahead,” I mused.

As I wandered deeper into the trees, he fell into step beside me. Silently, I noticed, despite the ill-fitting footwear. Apparently he’d been trying to make me laugh too.

I stopped at a felled forest giant that marked an unofficial boundary of the house grounds and the wilderness of Rogue Mountain beyond. Past here, human hands had had little lasting impact despite almost two centuries of logging, hunting, and exploration in the area. Past here, the wolf side ruled.

At a whispering sigh, really just a breath across my skin, I glanced behind me and saw the yellow-eyed beast.

His lean, powerful beauty was only momentary hampered by the bright pink cotton wrapped around his furry torso. He wriggled out of the shirt with a yip and bounded out of the jeans onto the downed tree.

He looked back at me.

I grunted in annoyance as I picked up the discarded items. “And where’s that getting us?”

He glanced at the dark forest and then back at me, the plume of his tail curled over his spine, as if to say, “It’ll get us over there. Duh.”

But the change had never been as instinctive for me as it was for Lowe. I couldn’t let it, because—unlike this forest which ended in Oregon’s high desert to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west—I wasn’t sure how deep and dark my beast went.

“We don’t have time for a hunt,” I said.

He growled, an octave lower than the first note of a pack gathering song, and I didn’t need a translation: there was always time for a hunt.

My mouth flooded with the taste-memory of blood. But I wasn’t sure if it was prey. Or mine. My scars, hidden behind thick black leather, ached.

I concentrated on folding Bettina’s borrowed clothes on the tree trunk, flip flops neatly aligned beside, as if those fragile constructs of civilized humanity were all that held back the beast. “I never told anyone…”

“Never told anyone what?”

My head jerked up in shock.

It wasn’t Lowe though. He had vanished into the shadows. That damned trickster.

Annalee stood a cautious distance away, watching me, a thick Pendleton coat almost swallowing her slender frame. The lights from the house barely reached this far, and from the way she squinted, I knew she had trouble seeing me through the murk.

Sometimes I had trouble seeing me through the murk too.

I strode toward her, leaving Bettina’s clothes on the tree though I was half tempted to take them with me and leave Lowe to streak naked back to the house. “You finished up with Domingo and Conlan?”

As I approached, she tilted her head to look up at me. “Why’d you leave?” The tone of her question was caught halfway between miffed and hurt.

“Nature called.” I gave her a wry smile, inviting her to share the joke.

She glanced at the pink T-shirt. “Called but you didn’t answer?”

I couldn’t keep my smile in place; some shapes are too hard to hold. “Despite what Lowe would have me believe, not all troubles can be outrun, not even on four legs, and forgotten. Nor should they be.” I gave her a small bow. “As you demonstrated by sharing your experience with our two best trackers. If anyone can extrapolate Lysander’s scheme, it will be them, with your help.”

She gave me a sidelong stare, clearly not convinced. “Is that why you were telling Lowe your secret?”

I held out my hand, gesturing for her to head back to the house. “It was nothing. Never mind.”

“Why’d you start to say it then?”

Because hearing her recount her trials had brought back my own fear…and made me ashamed of never facing it, and because telling Lowe had seemed as low risk as telling the trees themselves.

I had to drop my hand when it curled into a fist. “You don’t need my nightmares, beautiful child.”

She tucked her chin. “I’m not a child.”

“Maybe not technically, but in all the ways that matter to me, you are.”

Despite me looming over her, she widened her stance and stood her ground. “You mean like not having to respect me as an equal?”

A memory of the evil I dreaded cramped in my gut: rage at any backtalk and a lashing coldness that left both body and psyche in shreds. “I do respect you,” I said softly. “I respect your strength, your bravery, your willingness to step up. But you are not equal to the monster.”

Her jaw thrust out, giving me a glimpse of the woman she would become. “I faced Lysander—”

“I wasn’t talking about him.”

Her gaze locked with mine, and for a split second, she faltered. The gemstone brilliance of her bold stare dimmed when she blinked rapidly. She twisted on her heel to flee—wisely—and her wounded ankles wobbled.

I took a step toward her to catch her arm.

But she was already spinning back around. The sharp point of her elbow angled into my gut, although she seemed not to notice the inadvertent blow through the thick pad of Pendleton wool. Her winged brows drew together in a mighty frown.

“So you want me to share how awful my life’s turning out, but you won’t say anything at all about yourself?” Her short brown curls seemed to bristle with her ire.

“My troubles don’t matter—”

“Of course they do.” She flung her arms wide, almost smacking me again. “How can you say that?”

“Because,” I snarled, “Reeve was born to the life, and you and Bettina were bitten, but I asked for this. I asked for the wolf.”

My words seemed to hang in the cold darkness, weighed by some judging hands I couldn’t see. Not the cruel hands that had held that long-ago knife, digging for the beast hidden in my flesh.

With fingers that trembled, desperate to tear and rend, I slowly opened the black leather vest. Her gaze followed the widening vee of exposed skin, and despite the night chill, my body burned with the remembered pain of blood pouring from my wounds.

“I wanted the biggest wolf.” Each word was ripped from me as I revealed another scar. “The toughest beast. The worst monster. I was young, younger than you, and stupid. And I had such plans.” From her wince, I knew we came from the same place and she knew what I meant. “I wanted to never know fear or hurt or weakness again. I told that black magic charlatan to make me the baddest.”

“He didn’t,” she whispered.

“He did,” I countered. “And now I can’t ever let it out.”

A shiver wracked her, but she shook her head harder. “You took care of my injuries,” she argued. “You took me to the bedroom and left me there with just a goodnight.”

I wrenched off the vest, baring myself, as if the wind and rain could wipe away the marks of my terrible choice. “The wolf would have licked away the blood to sate its hunger. It would keep you closer than any chain. That is what I can’t set free.”

“So I’ll never be free either?” Her voice cracked as she turned her face away.

I cursed at myself and gripped her arms, giving her a light shake. “You’re different.”

Her gaze snapped back to me. “Different how? Because I’m a ‘beautiful child’? Because I don’t have a badass wolf in me?”

“Oh, I think you do,” I muttered. That was one explanation for her feistiness. We’d guessed that her wolf was an omega, but maybe we’d guessed wrong.

“I better,” she grumbled back. She wove her arms inside my grasp, resting her hands on my bare forearms. “Because otherwise how else will I be the sang de cor of silly, surly males like Lowe and you?”

I’d been holding her, but now she seemed to be holding me. I lowered my head until my forehead touched her crown. “How else?” I murmured.

She braided her fingers through my dreadlocks and pulled my head lower. “I know I’m young. I know I don’t know everything yet about being with man or wolf.” She stared up at me with bright eyes. “But I can’t go back. I told Bettina that Lysander chose me because he knew I was a victim, with no one to notice or care that I was missing. Not even me.” When I drew a breath to protest, she put one dread-wrapped finger over my lips. “But I know what I’m missing now. And I think I’ve found it.” Her lashes fluttered down then lifted again, wider. “If you’d show me.”

I shuddered in her small hands. “You can’t ask…”

“I just did.” She framed my cheeks and lifted my face. “Change for me.”

“Ask Reeve,” I said, desperation sharpening my tone.

“He’s staying with Bettina tonight.”

“Lowe…”

“Is waiting for us, out there.”

Us. That was the word that undid me. The night wind ruffled the tiny hairs on my body. Hair that was growing longer, thicker, lush as the black forest rising around us.

She released me and stepped back. Bones shifting, muscles spasming, I sank to my knees at her feet. Except for the tidy bandages around her ankles, her feet were bare. How had I not noticed that?

The change seized me, but instead of the knife-edged pain that usually pierced along every scar and left me gnashing my burgeoning teeth, a wild rush of hot and cold swept through me, like icy Ruffian Creek swirling into the upwelling hot spring, one into the other, leaving…only pleasure.

Annalee’s eyes widened. “You’re not a monster. You’re beautiful. May I…?” She reached out.

The pleasure in me expanded, dark and heady, like the fathomless pupils of her eyes. It had been so long… I bounded toward her, shedding the jeans and boots behind me, forgetting the power in this body. She didn’t recoil, though. Instead she bent to bury her fingers in my ruff.

She laughed, her mouth softening. “This is too silky for locs.” Her expression turned solemn. “I can’t see your scars through the fur.”

I let out a breath, not quite a whine.

She put her hand under my muzzle, lifting my face and staring fearlessly into my eyes. “I ain’t afraid of no wolf.” Her voice lilted, almost a song. “And your scars are what you survived. But…” Her fingers feathered back to the tender spot under my ear. “I’m glad they don’t rule you when you’re like this.”

Is that what I’d done? Had I clung to those scars when the wolf would’ve healed me?

I leaned my head into her palm and closed my eyes.

All around me, the night called: the gentle drumming of the rain, the whisper of the wind stroking the pine needles, the pure scent of winter’s peace. Even if it only lasted tonight.

Her fingertips trailed away, and I opened my eyes to watch her straighten. She looked up at the sky. The rainclouds were heavy and low but touched with a faint luminescence.

Somewhere hidden, the moon was rising.

Annalee folded her hands at her throat for a moment then sighed. “I think I’m finally ready now.”

I angled toward the house, to escort her return. I’d put her safely to bed—although she’d probably take even more umbrage at that thought than the beautiful child comment—and then maybe I’d go for a run through the forest with Lowe, to think about…

I glanced back to make sure she was following and all rational thought fled without me.

She unfastened the last button on the long wool coat and let it slide down from her shoulders to the crooks of her elbows. She shivered as the first raindrops reached her bare skin, but she caught her breath and tossed the coat on the big tree beside Bettina’s castoffs.

“I need an all-over-body weave,” she said through chattering teeth as she stood with her hands fisted at her sides. The few days of bakery goodness hadn’t made up for the months of Lysander’s privation, and I bit back an angry bark at the reminder of her suffering.

I took three racing steps back to her and pressed my warm, furred bulk to her thighs.

She put her hand on my head. “Not yours, thank you. I want my own. How… Oh!” She lifted her hand, splaying her fingers just as the clouds tore apart. The moon was still hidden, but starlight glimmered on her long nails like pearl and steel.

She gasped, another quiver seizing her. I ducked my head under her elbow, looping her arm across my back. She held so tight I felt the tremor wrack her, the same as I’d felt only moments ago.

I threw back my head and howled, deep and clear. From the forest, Lowe’s higher octave replied. And a moment later, in descant, Domingo and Conlan joined their voices to mine. Weaving together, the song was an irresistible lure: join us, run to us, sing with us.

Annalee panted against my mane, her nails driving deep enough to leave a mark. This one I would cherish.

She’d held the change at bay for months, the same way I’d tried to restrain the beast, but no longer, not for either of us.

The wolves had come out to play.

I twisted my head to press my muzzle to her bowed head. Her breaths were coming faster now, almost hyperventilating, along with a faint keening. I didn’t want her to hurt or be afraid.

I stuck my wet nose in her ear and licked.

With a startled little squawk, she twisted away. The exclamation morphed to a startled yip as the wolf jumped into her skin.

She shimmered as if all the stars had fallen into her rich, lush fur, dark as the rain-drenched bark of the pines but glinting with threads as golden as summer’s honey. Her four long limbs went all directions before she got them under her with another awkward bound.

She swung around to stare at me and then leaped again as two brindled wolves appeared from the direction of the house. They flanked her, an honor guard, and all three trotted toward me. She bumbled between them a few times, finding her footing, but she was steady when she touched her nose to mine.

I stared into her eyes, the same gemstone glow as her upright shape yet deeper now. Then she lifted her head to the wilderness behind me, her plumed tail curling high.

She cried out again, a tentative sound that rose to a shimmering howl as the moon graced us.

We joined her song, fell into step beside her, and raced into the darkness.

Chapter 4 ~ Bettina

Why was I feeling so nervous about the sheriff’s deputy? I hadn’t done anything wrong. Well, I’d stolen a truck last night. And I’d been harboring a missing girl. And I had material knowledge of a murder. Likely more than one.

And that wasn’t counting the potential ding on my food handler’s license.

Okay, so feeling nervous made sense. But there was nothing I could confess, not without sounding crazy and causing even more trouble than I already had.

I took a cue from Reeve and tried to wait calm and curious despite the urge to fidget and maybe blurt out something inappropriate.

“What’s up?” I tried not to sound too chirpy either. “I already powered down the coffee machine, but I can…” I gestured vaguely toward the kitchen.

Frank shook his head. “I just wanted to apologize for not getting over to see you right away after the incident the other night. When Carmen called, I was on the other side of the pass.”

I clicked my tongue, making a dismayed sound. “Sheba told me some of it.” I met his gaze with sincere sympathy. “What you had to deal with was much worse.”

He inclined his head. “When I came round to take your statement, Nickie said you took a couple days off to get checked out at the hospital.” He waited just long enough that I realized belatedly I was supposed to fill the silence. “I hope everything is okay,” he prodded.

“I’m fine.” When he didn’t look quite convinced, I added the truthful embellishments that were the anchors for any good lie. “I didn’t have to get rabies shots, which was what freaked me out most”—at the time, silly me—“and actually, I’m almost healed up.” I shrugged. “So it wasn’t as bad as I thought.” And I knew that sounded entirely honest.

Because it was so much worse than I could’ve believed.

“Anyway,” I finished, “wild horses couldn’t keep me away from baking day.”

Wild werewolves on the other hand…

The deputy nodded slowly. “I’d like to get your statement now, if you have a minute.”

I had to fight every instinct not to glance at Reeve. “Not much to tell, I’m afraid. I left the kitchen through the alley and the…” I forced myself not to hesitate. “Stray dogs were out there. I think they were scrounging for garbage, and that’s why they attacked me, I guess.” Painfully aware of Reeve’s preternatural stillness, I managed to smile at Frank. “I just smelled too yummy.”

The deputy returned a perfunctory grin. “Could you tell me a little more? You told Carmen they were big dogs. How big? What kind of dogs?”

Behind me, Reeve said quietly, “You think this has something to do with the deaths over the pass.”

Frank eyed him, though not suspiciously. This was a small enough town that everyone knew everything.

Well, mostly everything.

The deputy hunched his shoulders then straightened. “Since word’s going to get around anyway… The trailer was tore up bad. Ripped to shreds really. There were marks.” The hat bent under the spasm of his fingers. “I’ve hunted with pointers and retrievers. Met a lot of herding dogs and livestock guardians. Worked with police dogs and bloodhounds. Saw a Karelian bear dog once. These paw prints and bites were…” He looked back at me. “I’d hate to think of those animals in town.”

I hated thinking about that too. But I couldn’t tell him why. “They were definitely big, but it was late,” I hedged. “And the lighting in the alley isn’t great. Mostly I was focused on fighting them off.”

He sighed, the sound ten percent frustrated but ninety percent tired. “Can’t say as I blame you. Getting a good look was less important than getting away.”

Except I hadn’t really gotten away, had I? Reeve moved up beside me and let out an almost soundless breath that made me suspect he was thinking the same thing.

Frank peered sidelong at him. “What happened out at the old maintenance yard?”

My skin prickled at the abrupt change of topic.

Reeve grunted. “Did we bother Mrs. Rodriguez? Had a few sticks of dynamite left over from when we cleared a stand of burned trees. Didn’t want to leave it lying around, destabilizing, so we disposed of it.”

If I hadn’t know better, I’d’ve believed him. Blasting dead trees was safer than chainsawing sometimes, especially with old wood. More fun too, according to young men of a certain age.

“Mrs. R called first thing, not sure what she’d heard. So I checked out that way after visiting her.” Frank gazed steadily at Reeve. “Left a lot of holes.”

“Which is why I wanted to get rid of it.” Reeve flashed a boy-with-cherry-bomb grin. “Should’ve warned her first, though, sound carrying down valley like it does. Sorry to concern her. And you.”

After a moment, Frank nodded. “Maybe everyone’s a little jumpy, thanks to the gossip.” He tilted his hat back onto his head. “The yard’s decommissioned and on your property, of course, but I’d sure appreciate a heads-up before any future explosions. If you think of something, anything, that might help me keep the peace around here, Mr. Maccon, please let me know.”

“Will do.” Reeve walked him to the door while I stood with my knees locked.

But I managed to give the sheriff’s deputy a wave when he glanced back. He nodded and crossed the street to his heavy-duty truck.

“Does he think the two are connected, the killings over the pass and the explosions at the yard?” Silly as it was, I couldn’t force my voice above a whisper.

Reeve stood at the window until the truck pulled away. “I think he’s one lawman with a lot of ground to cover.”

I grimaced. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Anyone else.”

Reeve finally turned and walked back to me. He touched my cheek. “I don’t want that either.”

But I already knew I didn’t always get what I wanted.

While I cleaned the counter—blushing the whole time—Reeve took out the trash for me and relined all the garbage cans. He was just shutting down his tablet when I finished my last compulsive walkthrough and joined him at the back door.

“I found a couple commercial mixers similar to yours that get top ratings,” he said as I locked the door. “I sent the specs to the bakery email so you can look them over. But I also found a vintage Hobart same as what you have now. Allegedly in great condition, although it belonged to a French bakery.” His lips quirked. “Wasn’t sure how you’d feel about that.”

I felt a little dazed. Partly from counter sex followed by gruesome questioning after a very long day. But also by the idea that someone else cared about my business. I knew Reeve cared about whether I lived or died from the bite of his werewolf enemy, but he’d actually researched something as boring as big ol’ kitchen mixers? For me?

“I thought…I thought you were kidding about that,” I said faintly when we stepped out from beneath the awning into the rain. “Just a heat of the moment thing.”

He wrapped his arm over my shoulder, sheltering me even though I had my cute, bright orange rain slicker on while his T-shirt was quickly soaked. “Heat of the moment? You need another oven too?”

I choked on a laugh. “No. The bakery isn’t big enough for a second oven.”

“Maybe you should think about expanding into the space next door. You already have the distributors. You could easily double production.” His eyes gleamed down at me. “Especially if you ramped up your savory offerings.”

My feet stopped at the end of the alley, and I swayed a little. Despite the flat pavement and solid dumpster, everything seemed to go hazy around me, as if caught between two forms: what used to be and what could be. This was where Lysander, Floyd, and the other wolf had first appeared and changed everything for me.

But somehow, what I was facing now was scarier yet.

Reeve turned me toward him. He gripped the edges of my hood and peered down. “You don’t want French castoffs? We can find something else—”

“No,” I said, too quickly. My voice bouncing off the waterproofed fabric sounded hollow. “I mean, thank you. My oma loved that Hobart. She’d heartily approve of another.”

“But?” He tilted his head. “I sense a but.”

“But how can we think about anything besides…” I shrugged, bumping his hands around my hood.

Raindrops traced silvery threads through his dark hair, but he didn’t seem to notice, all his attention on me. “There was a time I would’ve agreed with you. Except for Lysander.”

“Except for…” I squinted in confusion. “He’s the reason for all this.” I waved one hand vaguely.

“Bets, there’s always a reason to hunker down, to stay stuck in place.” He skimmed down my shoulders, brushing away the rain, then took my hand and tugged me down the street toward home. “After my mother died and the pack disintegrated, I thought I’d be a lone wolf forever. I didn’t want to risk that pain again. But our kind aren’t meant to be alone. So I told myself as long as I kept my pack small and close, as long as we kept to ourselves and stayed on the mountain with our mushrooms and didn’t hope for too much, then we’d be fine.”

I ducked my head but that didn’t dislodge the lump in my throat. “And then I came along and ruined everything. You’re all in danger because of me.”

He growled and bumped my shoulder with his then tugged me closer again. “You ruined nothing. Yes, you brought danger, but you brought…more. Maybe I could keep my pack safe from you”—when I couldn’t hold back a whimper at the pang of those words, he squeezed my fingers—“maybe I could tuck them like beloved stuffed animals in a little girl’s bed, but we’re wolves. That means blood and moonlight and singing. I get it now. Everything I want for them, for myself, means some risk.”

I shuddered. “Lysander is more than ‘some risk’.”

“True.” Reeve stopped under a streetlight and spun me to face him. “But he’s not the one who’s going to stop me from going after what I want: freedom for my pack, a Rogue Mountain Industries partnership with Tanzerbrot Bakery…and you.”

He leaned down to slant his mouth over mine. Not like the urgent, ravishing almost-bite on the counter, or any of the desperate tongue lashings we’d shared before. This soft caress in the cold night rain was slow and deep, as if we had all the time in the world. His lips were so hot against my chilled skin. I leaned into him, wanting to take that heat into me. Our mingled breath steamed in the dark air, rising, and I tasted the wildness in his kiss.

The tightness in my throat loosened, emerging as a helpless moan. I wanted to take what he offered. Not just the mixer…everything.

But wolf-born or not, was I that brave?

When he finally lifted his head, his eyes gleamed bright silver. “Take me home,” he murmured.

I was so sure he was going to try to get me to go back to the chalet, and after his impassioned words, I might’ve even fallen for it. Instead, he let me lead him through the wet, quiet streets, past Oma’s house, and up the steps to the garage apartment. The only sign Annalee and Lowe had been there earlier was the extra crocheted blanket folded at the end of the couch and three clean tea cups in the drying rack beside the sink.

Reeve stood by the door, dripping on the linoleum as he glanced around. “It’s very you.”

Feeling those weird first-date shivers of vulnerability, I hung my slicker on the hook beside him. “Well, you can’t mean small or tidy, so…”

“Bright, warm, open.”

I snorted. “By that I assume you mean I have all the colors, and I’ll probably fuck you again after we shower.”

He switched his attention from my German folk eccentric décor back to me and grinned. “Well, if you insist…” He yanked his T-shirt over his head.

Damn, I was so glad this wasn’t a first date. I couldn’t hold back my appreciative sigh at the ripple of muscles unveiled as he shed his soaked clothes. My fingers twitched with the urge to stroke along the hard biceps and carved belly. “I wish I had a hot spring.”

“I’ll make bubbles on your skin.”

The efficiency shower made for some awkward sexy times, but somehow that was exactly what I needed. Reeve laughed at my extensive collection of scented soaps and lotions and insisted on trying them. All of them.

“Now I know why you always smell so sweet on the outside.” He nuzzled my nape while slicking his bubbly hands down my belly. “What’s inside is even sweeter.”

“I would’ve thought werewolves would want all natural, all the time.”

“That’s a primitive attitude.” He nipped my ear. “I’m more refined than that. I told you I’m moving past the old ways.”

Then he sneezed.

By the time we were both bubble-free, the hot water was running out. But he heated me up again licking the water from my skin as he toweled me dry. I tried to do the same to him but only got halfway down his chest before he hauled me to the bed.

I let him toss me onto the comforter but when he pounced after, I dodged. Before he could regroup, I rolled him to his back. He let out a quick growl of protest—more instinct than dislike, I thought—then sprawled, all long, loose limbs, staring at me with glittering blue eyes. “So you wanna be in control?”

I shrugged, my breasts bouncing in his face. “I wouldn’t even know.”

“Try it,” he purred after he focused again. “You’ll like it. Or I will anyway.”

Leaning down to resume licking where I’d left off, I glanced up at him. His body was slack except for the hard clench of his jaw. And the stiff jut of his cock. I knew how much it was costing him—way more than one vintage Hobart—to let go, to not roll me on the bed and then keep rolling me right up the hill to his stronghold.

With an evil grin, I wondered how long he’d last.

When I flicked my tongue over the small bead of his nipple, his hips bumped up into mine.

“Uh-uh.” I pulled back. “My turn.”

“Whatever you want,” he promised in a hoarse voice. He folded his hands behind his head, his pecs tensing under my nose.

I might not be brave enough to go for everything I wanted, but even the biggest chicken would crow at having the wolf under her command. I went lower, lapping beads of water from the thin trail of hair below his navel. He growled again—instinct and very much liking, if his cock surging up against my throat was any indication.

I flattened my palm at the base of his erection, letting the engorged flesh thrust between my forefinger and thumb. His hips pumped again.

“Stay,” I growled.

“So hard,” he panted.

I leered at him. “So I noticed.”

His triceps bulged, and I knew he was gripping his own hands to stop himself from reaching for me and taking back the control he so desperately wanted. The evidence of his willingness to give in to me roused a flush of damp heat between my legs.

The scent of cool water and musky arousal on his skin only made me hotter, and I licked my lips as I poised over his cock.

“Fuck, Bettina,” he groaned. “Just watching you is gonna make me come.”

I traced the tip of my tongue over his slit, tasting the salty proof of his confession. “Would you just watch while your pack took me?”

“Yes. If that’s what you wanted.”

No hesitation. I gave him a lollipop swirl of approval, circling up the pulsing veins, and he rasped out a harsh breath. For all his dominance, his generosity of spirit came first. “So willing to share me,” I murmured against the head of his thick, velvety shaft.

“I want you to have it all,” he said. “Everything I can give you, including them.”

I cupped the tightly ruched flesh of his sac, slipping one finger farther back. “And would you let the pack take you while I watch?”

“In every way.” His eyes burned silver. “For a long time, that was the only way to find release without hiding what we are. I would share that with you, help you find the truth of what you are.”

Wolf-born. Wolf bitten. But not yet wolf.

I was suddenly aware that even flat on his back he was always the alpha prime, and he was determined to have his way with me, never mind my doubts.

With a growl, I straddled him, using my weight to hold him in place. I still didn’t know what was going to happen—and he didn’t either, despite his trickery and arrogance—but I knew I wanted this.

Raising myself above him, I centered my weeping pussy over his cock and lowered myself by aching degrees, taking him deep. We’d played hard tonight, and my inner walls were both too tender and yet instantly ready.

“You’re so beautiful, Bets,” he whispered. “I’m sorry, but I have to touch you.” He unlocked his hands from behind his head and cupped my breasts.

“If you must.” I arched into his caress, gasping as he kneaded my nipples into long, stiff peaks. A lightning jolt of pleasure shot through my body, flaring brighter as I thrust forward, grinding my clit on his pubic bone. With each bump, the pleasure expanded until every nerve glowed incandescent with desire and delight. His big hands braced me, his hips rising to meet me, so I felt almost as if I was flying loose from the bed and from our troubles, free in a night sky blazing with stars.

I came in a slow, silent supernova, my breath suspended with wonder at the coursing sensation as Reeve spurted inside me, a fiery gush that at last wrenched a strangled cry from deep inside me. He held me at that perfect moment for what seemed like forever, his cock pinning me to the heavens in my mind’s eye.

And then we were both spiraling down, him wrapping me in the comforter and curling himself around me, me with one arm thrown across his broad chest, clasping him tight.

As we drifted off to sleep, his lips brushed my forehead, and his gusting sigh ruffled my hair. The warmth of having him near sank deep into my body.

“Goodnight, little love,” he whispered. “My sang de cor.”

“Sleep tight,” I replied. “Don’t let the werewolves bite.”

Maybe it was because Mather called me little one, and Conlan always said luv, but I didn’t really take Reeve’s endearment to heart as I fell asleep.

And when I woke, I was alone.

Chapter 5 ~ Lysander

Watching my wolves dump the corpses of our fallen into the midnight river, I reflected upon my mistakes.

I’d underestimated this miniscule pack in this nowhere part of the country. Apparently the rough territory had made for tougher wolves than I expected. They’d killed three of mine, stolen the small female, and whisked the wolf-born out from under my nose when she’d been almost in my grasp.

Humiliating. But I had the taste of them now, saw their weaknesses, and I would take great pleasure in claiming their territory and their lives for my own.

My pack had been on the run too long. I realized that now. I’d thought roaming would make us invulnerable. But wolves needed a center, a place to call their own. I’d been on the right track with seeking a female, though I’d had no luck with nurturing an infection to a successful shift. Forcing the change on a wolf-born had been a better idea, one I still had faith in. Ever since I’d bitten Bettina Tanzer, my soul ached for peace.

After one last killing spree.

The soft baker girl hadn’t fallen to her wolf yet. I still sensed my bite on her like a distant voice calling. And I intended to answer her. The call was weaker since the other males had tried to subvert the pack bond, but nothing was set in stone. I would take the wolves who had thought to steal her and I would rebuild my pack. I’d heard rumors of the powerful, vibrant Rogue pack from decades ago, running free in these remote, forested hills. I didn’t know why they had been so diminished to a mere handful, but I would make the mountain our refuge.

“It’s done.” Floyd sidled up next to me, wheezing. The shotgun blast had taken out a chunk of his chest, and his wolf wasn’t strong enough to heal him quickly. Perhaps I should’ve finished the work of the shot pellets, but I wouldn’t waste him without cause.

He’d convinced me not to dump the bodies in the center of town. Though the mayhem sure to follow the discovery of Scratch’s half-shifted corpse would’ve gone a long way to soothe the twisting fury in my gut, Floyd had pointed out the troubles of living in a territory of suspicious humans. Weighing the remains in the swift-moving water would scatter the evidence and confuse the investigation if any pieces were found. Better to deal with death amongst ourselves, law of the jungle style.

I was sure Reeve Maccon would agree. We were more alike than he would probably like to admit. Too bad I was also sure he would never bend his neck to me.

Just as well he was still alive though—for now, anyway—since watching me tear him apart would convince Bettina that I was the better choice for her wolf.

I knew she was close. I imagined I smelled her whenever the wind shifted. Soon…

I grabbed Floyd in a choke hold and dragged his head under my arm. For a split second, he stiffened, trying to pull away, and I thought I’d have to snap his neck. But then he sagged. The thrum of his panicked heartbeat made my mouth water, but the submission calmed the brute inside me.

“Why haven’t we found their den yet?” I loosened my grip just enough to let him speak.

“They own hundreds of acres crisscrossed by dozens of logging roads. Figuring out which one leads to their house will take time.”

“We don’t have forever.” My brute’s hunger was focused on Bettina. I needed to be there when she finally succumbed to the wolf. The beast she was born with, the killer I had roused in her.

“I know,” Floyd whimpered.

I released him. “Go to the place she works. Wait for her. Follow her.” I sneered at him. “Make sure she doesn’t shoot you again.” I would’ve sent a better wolf, but I needed the others focused on tracking the hidden den. Also, I couldn’t trust most of them not to get sidetracked by the tasty distractions of town.

“If she sees me, she might run.”

I looked up at the dark arch of the sky visible between the trees that crowded the river. “She won’t run. We’re all done running.” I redirected my stare to the lesser wolf. “If she panics, tell her I have her mother’s music box.” That would keep her from going anywhere.

Floyd ducked his head as if I still had him under my arm. Which was as it should be.

The Rogue Mountain pack would do the same.

Or the ones who fought my dominance would die.

Keep reading for a sneak peek at Part 7, the finale to Heart of the Pack

Wolf Born: Heart of the Pack Part 7: Beloved

Learn about every new release ~ Sign up for the Elsa Jade New Release & Sale Alert

About the Author

Elsa Jade, author of sexy shapeshifting romances, also writes paranormal romance, urban fantasy romance, and science fiction romance as Jessa Slade and sexy contemporary romance as Jenna Dales. In all her incarnations, she believes in the transformational power of love and is thrilled to share her stories with like-minded readers.

More from Elsa Jade

Mating Season: Wolves of Angels Rest

Hero ~ FREE!

Joker

Rogue

Warrior

Lost Wolf

Ghost Wolf

Cry Wolf

Fighter

Wish Upon a Werewolf

Mating Fever: Masters of the Flame

Dragon Fever

Dragon Fate

Dragon Fall

Intergalactic Dating Agency: Big Sky Alien Mail Order Brides

Alpha Star

Red Shift

Dark Matter

More Science Fiction Romance from Jessa Slade

Queen of Starlight ~ FREE!

Prince of Passion

Assassin’s Hunger

The finale of Heart of the Pack
Part 7: Beloved

Chapter 1 ~ Bettina

In the predawn darkness—which wasn’t particularly early at this time of year—I opened the bakery just like I’d done hundreds of mornings before.

But for the first time, I wasn’t sure it was enough.

Waking up alone two days ago had stung, but I thought maybe Reeve was right to give us some time apart. We’d been going at such a breakneck pace, we needed some quiet and space to think. All the orgasmic screams and clinches didn’t really lend themselves to meditative contemplation.

Last night, I’d gotten together with Carmen before her shift at Swayze’s for a drink and some vegetarian nachos. She’d asked about the “hunka hunka burnin’ love” she’d seen me talking to before I allegedly went to the clinic to have my bite checked out.

“Yeah, we got together after,” I hedged. It seemed like ages ago…

She peered at me. “Got together? And? Your face is redder than the salsa, so don’t try to lie to me.”

I choked on a laugh. “It was every bit as hunka hunka as you might’ve guessed.”

She slapped her hand over her heart dramatically. “Mija, I wanna be you.”

No, she really didn’t, but I couldn’t exactly tell her why.

We talked for a bit about this and that, and I casually steered the conversation around to the murders over the pass since she always had the freshest gossip.

“Heard anything new from Frank?” I didn’t really think he’d put two and two together and come up with werewolf, but weirder things had happened.

I should know.

“You heard that whoever killed them used dogs, right?” She shuddered. “And a security camera on the highway weigh station caught footage of one of the stolen trucks headed toward town here. Which is why Frank was extra worried about the dogs that attacked you.” She touched my hand which was clenched around the margarita glass stem. “Anyway, he was trying to get more resources, maybe call in the Feds, except nobody really cares. It’s hard to feel bad for a bunch of meth heads, but that sort of violent shit comes back to bite all of us, you know?”

Hell yeah did I know. But I also knew there was no way Reeve would want more people wandering around his mountain. If Lysander’s lethal marauding called more attention their way, Reeve’s pack could suffer just as much. More than, since this was their home.

After I left Carmen and headed home, I was so sure Reeve was going to come for me that I ended up falling asleep on the couch waiting for him.

But he never showed, and I woke up feeling that groggy queasiness of having never slept at all. Starting the day’s baking, I ended up eating a bunch of bacon I’d made for the morning biscuits and had to quickly cook off another rasher to fill the usual orders for the early commuters. By the time, Nickie and Sheba came in, it smelled less like a bakery and more like a fast food diner.

Sheba, our resident vegetarian, wrinkled her nose, but Nickie pushed a biscuit her way. “I like this new one. Bierkäse and mushroom, right? The saltiness of the beer cheese is a good balance with the earthiness of the mushrooms.” She kissed her fingertips to her lips in an exaggerated—and rather French—smack. “Das ist gut!” she said in a really terrible German accent. “What made you try that?”

“Just an idea,” I mumbled. But the warm, gooey-in-the-middle feeling I got when I thought about going into business with Reeve—not a euphemism!—was chee-zee with a capital jeez.

But he’d disappeared on me.

No, I wasn’t going to think of him like the other men in my past life: unreliable at their best, damaging at their worst. He had important things to deal with, same as I did.

Even if I’d thought maybe I was one of those important things for him.

I packaged up some of the new biscuits for the day’s driver to take to our distributor for sampling. If they liked it and Rogue Mountain Industries gave me a reasonable deal on wholesale mushrooms, I could add a second baking day.

Despite not hearing from Reeve or knowing what was going on with Lysander, suddenly my day seemed a little more cheery. But the bakery had always done that for me. Maybe, just maybe, all of this had been for the best.

Because my mood was buoyed up, I had so much further to fall when I glanced over at the clang of the front door cowbell and met the wary yellow gaze of the werewolf drifter I thought I’d shot to death.

Read the finale of Heart of the Pack

Wolf Born: Heart of the Pack Part 7: Beloved

Learn about every new release ~ Sign up for the Elsa Jade New Release & Sale Alert