Werewolf Nights (The Pack Trilogy Book 2) (8 page)

He was barely cognizant of anything else, moving on pure instinct, he took two enormous leaps and finally, he took her in his arms. Oh finally, Petra was home. Really home.

In his arms where she belonged, hanging on for dear life, squeezing the breath out of him as she screamed his name repeatedly and ran both hands over his face as if she had to memorize the very feel of it.

For the briefest of moments they paused, Petra with both hands cupping his face, Raya with one hand on her shoulder and the other snaking around her waist.

Then she flung both arms around his neck and leaped as she always had. He’d been delightedly ready, and one large hand caught her tight butt in midair. The other shot around her back and slammed her slender torso flat against his own. She tightened her legs until her thighs were clamped around his slim waist, and then she slowly, gently laid her head on that so-familiar muscular chest. She felt and heard his heart beating heavily, she knew it was for her, and finally Petra let go all that she’d been restraining out of fear and confusion.

She bawled out her misery, her confusion and her ecstasy all at once, tears running heedlessly down Raya’s shirt in a seemingly endless flood. The more she cried, the more she needed to and it hit in wave after wave. She was shaking from head to foot with the sheer power of the emotions wracking her slender body.

Raya, who’d never seen Petra shed so much as a tear in the centuries they’d known each other, was moved beyond all reason to tears himself; as incredible as that was. He bent his head over the smaller one plastered to his chest and allowed himself to relax for the first time since that shot had been fired at her weeks ago.

Her wails gradually tapered off to whimpers, then moans.

And when he heard that first moan, all the relaxation left his large body as though it had never existed. He went from a weeping mess of emotion to a completely aroused Alpha wolf in less than a second. He forced himself not to move in case she wasn’t ready for the intensity of intimacy. But then a small sound reverberated through his chest, evidently coming from Petra. And he knew that sound all too well. He raggedly told her to stop the growling, or he’d not be responsible.

It was as if she’d been waiting for him to say that. For a moment, the growls intensified until her body was reverberating with them, but then in one smooth movement she raised her head off his chest and attacked his mouth in a searing, salty, growling kiss.

Everyone in the small room jumped as an incredibly deep growl echoed across the space. All bowed their heads in respect as the Alpha prepared to claim his mate and there was a concerted rush toward the door.

Instants later, as Raya kicked a desk laden with computers across the room where it hit the wall making all its contents shudder. The lovers changed, and the complicated dance began.

Both wolves circled each other, Raya’s nose under Petra’s tail. She yipped and coyly sped up. There was a noise as something brushed against the door at the top of the steps: Raya whirled, faced the steps, and emitted a loud, ferocious growl. Satisfied that no one would enter, he turned back to his mate who was now on her back, all four dainty paws in the air.

He stalked around her once, then a second time, his head held high and ears pricked forward. Then he gave her a sharp nip on the throat and she regained her feet, having proved her submission. He trotted around her until he faced her, then he extended both front paws and lowered his head: an Alpha’s way of showing honor and respect to his mate.

She barked once, and he regained his feet. For one moment they stared into each other’s eyes, then she whirled away from him even as he leaped toward her. The two movements were so perfectly timed that he landed directly on top of her and plunged deeply inside her, then stopped.

He remained locked inside her for a short time, Petra growling deep in her throat, her head hung, eyes closed in bliss. Then he pulled out and they both changed.

She flipped around into his arms and he lowered them both to the floor. Then he began kissing her everywhere, soft butterfly kisses alternating with sharp nips. Petra’s growls grew in intensity and desperation as she arched her back.

He kissed his way to her core, took her in his mouth and sucked. Circling her clitoris repeatedly and rapidly with his tongue until she thought she’d go mad. She wasn’t growling anymore, oh no. Full-throated screams echoed off the walls as she thrashed her head from side to side, long hair spreading out around her head in wavy tendrils like a halo.

Finally, she grabbed his thick hair and yanked him upward: once again, he slammed into her, but this time there was no pausing. He pulled out and thrust into her deeply again. She screamed, threw herself upward and locked her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck. One more slow, deep drive and they both lost control.

He grabbed her ass and lifted it into the air, then hauled her down onto his cock repeatedly. The sensation was exquisite, and Petra began screaming in time with his pumping. Faster, faster until suddenly he dug his nails into her ass and impaled her deeply.

She felt him explode inside her, and that did it for her. She followed him over the edge, barely realizing that both were howling in tandem.

He finally collapsed on her, and they lay listening to the pack’s howls from above.

Triumphant, relieved howls.

Their Alpha was back.

Chapter Ten

Lying on the cold, hardwood floor amidst pieces of broken plastic and glass, the Alpha felt better than he had in years. Maybe he’d been too complacent, he thought now. But having almost lost her, he’d never be complacent again.

He’d never been that terrified before. That hopeless. That ready to die, just to join her.

“Elinor,” she suddenly said from her usual spot just below his chin.

“Elinor who?” he asked lazily, scratching her back with his nails so lightly that he was barely touching her. It was her favorite thing, next to sex.

“The rat, remember? I helped her out in Paris when we were doing some charity work. She was in a packed church while I nailed the offer to the wall. Got her a job in one of our bars.”

“How the hell did she wind up with the Rats, then?”

“They were on one of their first recruitment binges, and she caught someone’s eye. She’s really pretty… has this pale blond hair, pale blue eyes with black rings around her pupils.” She went silent for a moment. “I always felt it was my fault for putting her in that bar. They’d never have found her, otherwise. The homeless know how to stay off the radar.”

“Well, she’s lived all this time and beyond. Has to be worth something?”

“Not the way she’s been living,” Petra said gloomily.

“We need so much information. How many there are here, who’s leading them. And who the next victim is. I’d normally never place you in danger, but so many lives are at stake. Can you speak to her? Find her?”

“Yep. We’ve stayed in touch all these years, although we only write a couple times a year. I always have to watch what I say and I never write from home.”

“Can you get her to meet you somewhere?” Raya wondered. What a help that would be.

“Depends on where she is. If she’s still in Europe, probably not. Bastards don’t give her enough money to live, much less fly here.”

“Do what you can. I need to look into how the evacuation is going.” He gave her a long, lingering kiss, then reluctantly stood and trotted up the stairs to his own office.

Out of fourteen packs, twelve had already been to Harry’s and were en route to Inconnu. One was making their way to Harry’s still, and one had refused to budge.

Their neighbors in Mississippi, no less. Raya sighed. Now why would an Alpha refuse to seek refuge with his pack? Especially on Inconnu, known to be one of the most beautiful spots on earth. Impregnable safety barriers, and the fact that very few ever got to see it (again for safety reasons). And now packs had a once-in-a-lifetime chance of viewing, even staying, on the island and this Alpha refused?

It was almost enough to make a wolf suspicious.

***

Petra shot off a quick email to Elinor. It was safer than calling or texting her. She simply asked where the girl was.

To her surprise, there was an almost instant response.

“I’m right here in the good old U.S. of Assholes,” Elinor wrote. “What’s up?”

“Raya! I got her. She’s right here in the States. What do you want me to ask her?” Petra asked from her large desk in their office.

“I need to know how many Rats are in the States now and why! What’s this war about after all these years? Just ask her that.”

Petra typed the email up as fast as she could and hit SEND. This time there was no immediate response, to her frustration. She went on and responded to dozens of her own emails; pack business she’d ignored for far too long. But then the phone rang. The caller ID simply read, ‘Unknown Source’. Curious, Petra took the call.

“It’s my ass if I get caught, we have to do this fast,” Elinor said. “I don’t know how many Rats are here. No idea. Something has changed on my end, Petra. I have Shelley to look after now. My ten year old daughter. It’s not me I’m worried about so much as her. I’ve seen what they do to traitors.” Her voice was shaking.

“We won’t let anything happen to either one of you,” Petra assured her. “We’ll get you both out, first. Now what can you do to help with this insanity?”

“Pssst,” Raya hissed at her. “I don’t know this Elinor and sure don’t trust her. Don’t go making promises!”

“I can’t blame him,” Elinor said to Petra’s horror. Evidently, she’d heard what Raya had said. Petra was mortified. “If you swear you’ll take care of Shelley, I have information right now.”

“We’ll take care of your child no matter what,” Raya said. “Don’t worry.”

The phone went silent for a moment.

“Mickey’s got plans for another Alpha,” she finally said.

Petra’s eyes went wide.

“Who and when?” Raya snapped out.

“Some Chinese-named guy in Kentucky. Chin or something and I’m sorry, but it’s tomorrow night.”

Raya leaped for his desk. “Christos. Chen!”

“Thanks, El. Chen and Raya have been close for centuries. You may have just saved one of Raya’s best friends.”

She hung up the line just as Raya started putting out calls. The first was a conference call with Chen and Itchiko.

“We need to visit you tonight, Chen. Seems you’re next on the Rat hit-list.” There was a brief explosion of anger from the other Alpha. “Enough! I know damn well you won’t evacuate and leave your damn booze, so we’re coming. Itchiko, round up ten of our best, book them to move out of here tonight and arrangements for a hotel in Lexington.”

“Right,” Itchiko said and hung up.

“How’d you know about our bourbon?” Chen asked. “Nobody knows we make it here. I’m Chinese for crying out loud. Who’s going to buy expensive Kentucky bourbon made by a Chinese werewolf?”

“Oh, come off it, Chen. The brand has been solid for more than a century,” Raya pointed out. “As for how I found out, give me a break. You haven’t made any efforts whatsoever to hide that business from me and you know it. For two centuries you needed help financing your pack, and all of a sudden I start receiving regular checks paying off the debt. No explanation of anything, they just appeared in the mail. Then back in the 30’s you had that outrageous housewarming party, remember? And we got a look at your new digs. Petra even nicknamed it Tara! How am I not supposed to know you have a successful new business?”

“I wondered if you picked up anything when I finally paid off our debt,” Chen said, a grin in his voice. “You never said a word, though.”

“Figured you wanted it on the down low for a reason. Did get curious enough to fly out to Kentucky long before you got Tara, when you were living in that subdivision house. It was simple. Followed you to work one day, and I could smell that place miles before we arrived. The minute I saw that name I knew. Owlinmoon Fine Bourbon? Oh, that’s sneaky, all right. Owl… in… moon? Even the logo was tricky with the night bird in front of the full moon, with the shadow of the howling wolf on the mountain peak in the background. You tricky Chinese.”

Chen sobered.

“I never meant to hide it from you. Not you. But you never said anything, so I didn’t think you knew. I should have known better, eh?”

“Do you keep any at Tara?” Raya wondered.

“You’d best believe it. I have hundreds of cases of our finest years stored in a couple of cellars. Got a case I’ve been saving for you, too.”

“The Rats will be happy as hell to clean you out. Bet those cases would bring a small fortune at auction.”

“Not small by any reach of the imagination. There are barrels in Tara’s depths that are a hundred years old; from our very first draft. Many from prohibition, several held back in my personal stock from every year that we worked to build that house,” Chen admitted. “You think the Rats know?”

“No idea, but we’re not taking any chances. Especially now that I know I’ve got a personal interest in one of those priceless kegs!”

“I need to go pack,” Petra mumbled as she shut her computer down.

“The hell you do. You have to stay here. Think about it. The Rats hit New York, Pennsylvania, and now Tennessee. See that line on the map in your mind’s eye. What’s that mean to you?” Raya asked.

Petra pouted, then suddenly saw what he meant. The Rats barreled through West Virginia and were crossing over to hit Kentucky! After Kentucky was Tennessee, and then only Mississippi stood between the Rats and Louisiana. They were coming a lot faster than expected.

They’d be in New Orleans soon, far too soon.

“Shit,” Petra said, mouth in a straight line.

“Precisely,” Raya agreed. “Do whatever you need to, but get the Pack the hell out of here. We both know they’ll refuse to go, so use your imagination but get it done. I have a bad feeling about all of this, like there’s something we’re missing. Something huge.”

“Raya, I was about to say the same thing to you. I can feel something headed our way, and it isn’t pretty.” She shuddered.

He came around her desk, pulled her to her feet and kissed her with rising passion. Then he pulled himself away and headed for the door. She whimpered in protest.

“If I keep that up, I’ll never get out of here,” he shot over his shoulder, a mischievous smile spreading over his lips.

***

Later that afternoon, Petra stood at the end of a table in the Heureuse Manor conference room, addressing the pack. She told them about the Rats and their accelerated timetable, and that they had to evacuate for their own safety.

She was laughed out of the room, much to her chagrin.

“What did you expect?” Andre said quietly when the others had left. “This has been our den for almost two centuries. You expect the top pack to simply walk away from our most cherished home, even as our Alpha and our samurai rush to the rescue of another pack that refuses to jump ship as well?”

She sighed.

“I suppose not.” Petra thought for a couple of moments and then an evil grin spread across her face. “You know Itchiko went with Raya to Chen’s place. That leaves us without a Protector in our time of need!”

Before Andre could say a word, Petra opened a locked drawer in her desk and withdrew a beautiful old sword. She moved to where Andre was sprawled in one of their comfortable leather chairs. “Andre, kneel before your Alpha’s mate.” It wasn’t a question, and the werewolf had no choice in the matter whatsoever. It showed on his resigned face as he moved to do his Alpha’s mate’s bidding.

Once he was on his knees with his head bent, Petra said, “Andre. In the absence of our Alpha, I stand in and declare that you are now Lupeinescu Pack Protector and shall remain as such until Itchiko is able to take up those duties again.” She took the point of the sword and placed it under his chin, forcing his head up until she could see his eyes. “Do you agree to the sacred burden of ensuring Pack Lupeinescu’s safety to the best of your abilities and will you give up your life to protect this pack if need be?”

Andre’s eyes widened. Whatever he’d expected, this wasn’t it. This was an honor beyond all honors; he was aware of that. To Petra’s shock, the man’s eyes filled with tears as he responded, “Yes. With all my heart, I’ll protect the pack up to and including my own death and I’ll do so with pride.”

Petra held up the other object she’d taken from the drawer: an ornate gold bottle. She motioned for Andre to open his mouth. He did so, and she sprinkled several drops from the bottle onto his tongue. “Blood to blood. You now have the blood of the pack in your own veins. Any threat to Pack Lupeinescu shall be a threat to you.”

She gently tugged Andre to his feet, then took the sword and sliced both of their forearms: blood dripped steadily to the hardwood floor before she took his arm and pressed it against her own, the blood from both wounds mingling freely. Instantly a small light illuminated in her head. The same light was seen in Raya’s and Itchiko’s minds. Andre was now an official pack protector. It wasn’t something that could ever be taken away, even when Itchiko returned to duty.

“That’s that,” she said and turned to put the sword and bottle away.

“I can’t believe that just happened,” Andre said quietly. “A whole part of my mind opened up. I never knew of this! You, Raya and Itchiko; you’re in my head. The whole pack is, as well, but they’re all grouped into one light.”

“Oh hell! Speaking of the entire pack, I should warn you…”

The office door burst open, and the other six pack members rushed in amongst shrieks of joy. They threw themselves on Andre, hugging and even kissing him. His eyes grew enormous.

“… that they’ll want to celebrate,” she finished with her own grin.

Chapter Twelve

Early Friday morning, Itchiko took the lead on checking out Tara’s defenses and warning system. On horseback, he, Chen and Raya rode around the perimeter of the seven hundred acre property. It only took a few hours, as each took a separate section and shot video.

Seated in Tara’s formal dining room, Itchiko went over the findings.

“Well, you do have some security measures. You made sure to protect the main drive and the other small road points of entry, which is good. Ninety-five percent of your perimeter is wide open and that ain’t no good, as you’d say.”

“What can we do in such a short time?” Raya wondered. “Those Rats could be here now for all we know. Going by past attacks, though, they hit after midnight.”

“Still isn’t nearly enough time,” Itchiko said as he punched buttons on his tablet. Finally, he had an entire outline of the property on-screen. “Look. If we place motion detectors at these spots, the entire perimeter will be secure. Then we can place surprises around the second ring, at these locations.” He pointed at twenty-four small red X’s which comprised a circle that lay a hundred feet in from the outer one. “Finally, we secure Tara itself and the cellars specifically. Any thoughts?”

“Inner circle ‘surprises’ have to go,” Chen said. “You’ll blow up deer and other creatures.”

“It’s either them or your pack?” Itchiko asked.

“Neither can be harmed.”

The Alpha stood his ground, and Raya had to hide a smile. Not many people stood up to Itchiko; none, really. Himself included. The man was a samurai and had been such for centuries. To be in his presence was to sense an incredibly powerful warrior with laser sharp focus.

Indeed, Itchiko frowned and took a step forward. At a glance from Raya, though, he subsided. “All right. Plan B it is then. No casualties, but they might wish they were dead.” He went on and explained as the other two listened with growing amazement.

“Christos, who would ever think of such a thing?” Raya asked when Itchiko was finished. “And where do we find the, uh, supplies?”

Itchiko banged away on his tablet for several moments. “Ah! Got it. You familiar with Rednut Street?” he asked Chen, who nodded. “There we go, then. We send a couple of men with a truck, that’s all.”

“And five more trucks to pick up fifty or sixty casual day laborers,” Raya said. “There’s no way to get this done otherwise.”

“Let’s do it,” Itchiko said as he stood.

***

Petra’s phone rang just as the squad of trucks pulled out of Tara. She answered to hear a whispering, nervous Elinor.

“Good news! First, Mickey’s putting off the attack on that Kentucky Alpha. Instead of Saturday, now they’re going Tuesday. Even better, I told a few very close members here that I was going to leave and join your pack. All five want to do the same, and one of them is about to be tagged to step up to the third ring!”

“Hold on, I have to let Raya know that,” Petra said. She made a quick call to him, and then got back to Elinor. “Okay, now. What’s the third ring?” Petra asked.

“Mickey’s weird setup. First ring is him and maybe four of the people he’s known forever and trusts the most. Second ring is related by blood to the first, although not only relatives are selected. The third ring are people who have done outstanding service for the Rats. Only people in these rings lead a decent life. The rest of us are penniless,” she whispered.

“Tell me about this person about to enter the third ring, then. What did he do for the Rats?”