Raber Wolf Pack Book Three (11 page)

“I know, baby, let’s get this other shit worked out and make sure the property is secure.” I don’t want to crush her excitement, but shit has to be done. I look to Xavier. “I’ll up the security around the perimeter. I know you hate using the live wires, but I think we need to turn them on.” He nods. Electricity, here we come.

A knock at the door has me sniffing. Nana O and Grams.

“In,” Xavier barks and Sabrea tenses in my arms, no doubt from Xavier’s clipped tone rather than the ladies at the door. I nuzzle her cheek and temple, giving her my scent to calm her. When he’s pissed, he doesn’t hold back and now is one of those times.

“Hello,” Nana O says as she enters, followed by Maggie—or Grams, I guess.

“What answers you got?” Xavier orders and all focus is on them, all of us hanging on their every word. We need this. We need a break. This shit has got to stop.

Nana O’s shoulders slump in defeat. “Marvin told us what he could, but it’s not much.” She shakes her head. “The lights he can’t see, has no idea why it’s happening and what power it is that’s so strong.” She looks back and forth between the males before continuing, seeming to choose her words carefully. “You are right that the pack is coming after us because of you six. We need to find the crystal. It needs to be a priority.”

“Priority? We’ve had our water supply on our own land bombed. Somehow they got in and out without our cameras detecting or our wolves smelling them, which means they could be at our front door at any time, and you want me to make the crystal the priority? On top of that, Camp thinks my father killed his family!” Xavier roars, the anger hanging thickly in the room.

“Because if they have it, your powers won’t matter. We may as well lie down and die right here, young man. That crystal will determine who will come out ahead in this. Will the Lobo rule all the wolves or will you?” Grams states mater-of-factly, a bit of a motherly edge in her tone. The end isn’t a question, more like a challenge.

“Fucking hell.” Xavier puts his hands in his head then lifts up to her. “We had it. We had it here. Then it disappeared again.”

“Then someone stole it?” Nana O asks, looking at Grams.

“Marissa!” Sabrea shouts, standing up and scanning the room. “She’s the rat. What if she took it?”

“Mal,” Xavier snaps, “search everything of Marissa’s and even her parents’ rooms. Thoroughly.” He says the last word with a firm nod, one meaning that Mal can use any means necessary.

“On it.” Mal leaves quickly.

“While we wait on Mal, we need to talk about Camp.” Xavier looks to Sabrea. “Is that all that Marissa said?”

“Yes. Camp found out about the legend and went to the Lobos. Camp believes your father killed his family.”

“I want him brought to me, now,” Xavier orders, his fury coming down a notch, but not much.

Time for my voice of reason. “Boss.” His eyes snap to mine, but he says nothing. “Going to pick him up could be a trap, exactly what the Lobos want. Us, away from our pack, so they can take us out in small numbers. We have to remember Marissa’s words.” Sabrea stills in my arms but I keep going. “Individually, they can pluck us off, as the six of us and our pack, it’s much more difficult.”

Max steps forward. “I’ll bring him here. Let the females practice and I’ll get him.” His tone is lethal and Kenly visibly shrinks back.

“No,” Xavier barks. “Gary. Get him to take a few of the guys. You’re one of the six. You aren’t going anywhere.”

Max nods and picks up his phone, dialing.

“Good. We don’t have much time. In my gut, I can feel this is all coming to a head quickly. Nana O, Grams,” he says, getting their attention. “You need to help the females with their powers.” Xavier rubs the bridge of his nose in frustration. “I feel it. It’s coming.”

Sabrea

“FOCUS.” MAGGIE,
Kenly’s Grams, places her hands on my shoulders while Nana O, Zara’s grandmother works with Kenly.

My mind is a jumbled mess and nothing is coming in clearly at all. Everything seems to be taking over what little wits I had inside this head of mine. I know I’m just frustrated. I know that I need a break. We’ve been going at it for hours, but I don’t have any time to lose at this point.

My wolf has been fairly quiet, just enjoying not being in the box she used to be in, having totally obliterated it. After her first kill and the sex with Thor, she slept, a lot. I feel horrible for her. She has been locked up for so long that everyday things that should be second nature to her are brand new. I think she’s just taking everything in and her patience is much better than mine at the moment.

The scream that escapes my lips is the loudest cry and I can feel it all the way in my bones. I pick up the chair and heave it across the room, watching it sail into the wall and crumble into a pile of dust on the carpet of the sunroom. My breaths heave as I try to control them, but I get nowhere. Nowhere at freaking all. I’m so frustrated!

“Do you feel better now?” Maggie asks calmly, like she’s used to this kind of aggression being taken out.

“A little,” I answer, honestly. At least that crest I was feeling didn’t push me over the edge and I was able to get it out.

“Now, time to refocus,” Maggie says, coming to stand in front of me and not giving me any more time for my outburst. She grabs my hands, holding them up to her chest as her eyes penetrate mine. I focus on that connection between the two of us, letting my breathing settle back to normal. “When you were able to move those objects, what was inside of your head at the time?”

I think back to the chair that moved from beneath my sister before she could sit. I close my eyes and remember each single moment as if it was branded in my memory.

Sydney was being her usual asshole self, calling me names and behaving like an overall raging bitch. My parents weren’t around, but some of the elder wolves were trying to cut her off. I came back with some smartass comments that only fueled her mouth more, pissing me off, and egging me on to keep at her too. Inside my head, the most beautiful array of clouds filled me. They were fluffy, white, and up against a robin-egg-blue sky and I remember thinking of serenity. That it was peace.

As that thought passed a calm like no other settled in my body. At the time, I thought to myself
chair move back
and it did immediately.

“Fluffy white clouds on a blue sky backdrop,” I blurt out, opening my eyes to Maggie. Her smile spreads wide, like I’ve seen the light, and I guess in a way I have.

“Good job. Now, close your eyes again and search for your clouds.”

The pressure to get this right weighs heavy on my heart. I try not to think of the next exercise I have with Thor to work on shifting, but it doesn’t escape me. I breathe out deeply and try to center myself. Need to find the clouds.

My wolf whines and my attention snaps to her. She is roaming around freely, her nose sticking high in the air and smelling as she moves. I’m compelled to follow her. I pass by lights of every color of the rainbow, each one leading the wolf down different paths in their life. The purple one passes and I smile at that one, which will bring me home to Thor. Through pathways dark and light, I enter a corridor and my wolf stops at the edge of one of the tall brown doors. Her nose sniffs the bottom and her claw comes out, scratching the exterior of wood. This is the one I need.

“Found it,” I whisper, shocked, but keeping my eyes shut and focused. I turn the brass knob and step through the door, my heart pounding hard. The beautiful blue sky shines back at me with thousands of white puffy clouds littering it. What I don’t remember is the large green field covered in wildflowers that my wolf is currently running through like she’s never been to a better place in her life. And the sad thing is, she hasn’t. This is as much of a journey for her as it is for me.

A voice chimes in my head,
now
. I open my eyes, focus on the basket on the coffee table, asking it to sail across the room. In moments, the daisies that were inside the basket have spilled out on the other side of the room, the woven basket lying beside them. Holy shit!

“I did it!” I scream, turning to Maggie. Her smile deepens.

“You did, child. Do it again.” She doesn’t give me a second to bask in my happiness, but I’m on too big of a high to even think about it.

Time after time, I do it. My wolf stays and plays in the grass, but when I pull her out and make her start all over again, just checking to make sure she can find it again, she does every time. Words can’t express how excited I am.

“How’s it going?” Thor says and I send a pillow straight for his head with a smile. He catches it with ease, not letting it ruffle him even a bit. The smile on his face is sexy as hell and my wolf lifts up her rear in invitation. Down girl, not the time. “That good huh?”
We’ll get to that very soon
, he says, reading my thoughts, and I bite my lip to suppress the groan. He slaps my ass, only making me wet.

“I can do it. I’ve tried over and over and over again. I can do it!” I leap into his arms and kiss him hard. I may not be able to take him right now, but I want those lips. He kisses me deeply and I love every second of it.

Step away from Thor
. The words ring in my head and I pull away a fraction of an inch.
Step away from Thor
, is repeated again. Who is saying that and why do I feel so compelled to follow the words?

“What’s wrong, Sabrea?” Thor asks, giving me a strange look. I don’t know how to answer him. Instead, I hear the voice again.
Step away from Thor.
Somehow, and I’m not sure why, I do. I step away from Thor and look around the room.

Kenly stands behind me, a huge smile on her face and her arms crossed against her chest. “You!” I accuse, pointing my finger at her and only making her smile widen.

“I can do it!” she yells and I run into her arms, hugging her with all my might. Holy shit! We got our powers together.

“What’s going on?” Zara’s voice comes from the side of us. She’s been with Natalie helping her cope with the sudden explosion and all of her fears. Even when Lily got back and helped the little ones’ emotions, Zara refused to leave her side.

Both Kenly and I turn to her excitedly. “We know how to use our powers!” we exclaim and a huge warm smile spreads across Zara’s beautiful face as she runs up and joins in our hugging.

“The light?” she asks, and both Kenly and my face falter a bit, which she reads right away. “No worries. We’ll get it! Now, show me.”

We each show Zara and it feels so good to have control. I didn’t realize how much I was in need of it until now. But I need it, badly.

“All right.” Thor smiles, shaking his head at our theatrics at showing Zara. “Sabrea, you’ve got something else to practice.” Changing into a wolf. I can do this. She’s ready to play and with the boost of confidence that I feel, I’ve got this. I walk toward him, but his eyes land on Kenly. “You do that shit again, I’ll have your mate tan your hide.” Kenly laughs as do I.

I follow Thor down to the basement since he thinks that going outside right now isn’t exactly safe. At least not until the guys get everything secure. I agree with him. The same nerves float through my belly and I hope that my wolf and I can do this. We have to be able to do this. She’s not in a box anymore. She’s roaming free ever since the fight with that bitch Marissa, but I can’t help the fear that once I change, my wolf will end up back inside that box again.

Maggie, Nana O, Kenly and Zara all follow us down. “I’m going to stand over here away from the females, Sabrea.” Thor talks to me like a child, but I know it’s just for my pack mates’ own good. No use in ripping their heads off for being near my mate and all. “You’ve got this. Change and then change back.” He says it so simply, and heads toward the back corner of the room as I step into the middle.

All right, wolf, let’s see what you’ve got. It’s a strange feeling having my wolf pace back and forth. She’s always been so confined to one place that the feeling inside of me is strange. Nice, but different. I suck in a deep breath, connecting with her. I strip out of my clothes and stand in front of the room.
It’s time
, I tell her and I immediately shift into a wolf, my body contorting. I sniff the air around me and smell my mate and the females instantly. I trot up to Thor and stand in front of him on guard. No one gets him. Mine.

His fingers brush through my fur and I love every second. It’s the most fantastic feeling. The only thing better would be for him to change so we can be together in wolf-form. “Change back, Sabrea,” he says softly, but my wolf doesn’t want to and I can’t blame her. With all my strength, I force her to walk through the light. I sit naked on the floor, not bothering to cover any piece of me up. No need. Modesty is not part the wolf language.

“You feel okay?” Thor asks, bending down to the ground and checking me over. I let his words sink in. My wolf is still striding around outside, not inside of a box.

“I think so. I need to do it again.”

Thor nods and rises as I shift back into a wolf. I continue this over and over again, until my body aches and my eyes begin to droop.