Page 2 of Alpha Wolf Finds His Coyote (West Coast Coyotes #3)

RYKER

Counting cash is supposed to be meditative, but every rubber band that snapped across my knuckles just ratcheted up my blood pressure.

The warehouse was already sweltering, and the air reeked of dust, sweat, and bloody money.

Literally. There were three stacks of blood-soaked bills that I’d put aside to deal with later.

Occasionally sorting through bodily fluids was one of the downsides of my job.

I sat at a folding table in an otherwise empty office that we referred to as “the counting room.” My neat rows of bills were scattered when a brown grocery sack was dropped down in front of me.

“Thanks.” I didn’t bother to look up. Money was delivered all day, every day. I didn’t ask questions from the messenger. The note inside would tell me everything I needed to know. Who it was from, how much was collected, and if any debtors didn’t make their payments.

It wasn’t an advanced system, but it kept my family and the broader pack out of prison. At least for tax evasion and laundering reasons. If they ended up in prison for other reasons, that wasn’t my problem.

Peeling through the stack, I separated the twenties, fifties, and hundreds before dropping them into the counting machine. The note inside the bag was transferred into my ledger, then I put that pile into a bank deposit bag.

A shadow lingered by my elbow for a moment before he took off, leaving me to my numbers.

The day dragged on with a tension in the air that I’d come to expect after a weekend of territory drama. Apparently, some bears had been sniffing around the compound, and Estaban, our pack Alpha, had the security teams working double shifts.

But I kept my head down and out of the drama.

I didn’t have time to pay attention to every rumor about someone skimming, snitching, or sleeping with someone they shouldn’t.

And for the most part, everyone respected my role and gave me space.

They called me a human calculator as a joke, but as the person who made sure they got their cut of the pot every week, I was everyone’s best friend.

After too many hours hunched over the table, I stood up and stretched out my back, feeling the muscles pull and release as I glanced out the warehouse window.

Somewhere past the fence line, a coyote howled, and everyone went on instant alert.

It wasn’t a playful kind of howl that we all echoed during pack gatherings, but the deep, urgent alarm of bad news.

Despite the work waiting for me, I was curious to see what the commotion was about.

There were whistles and yells and coyotes running all over the place, as I watched from the safety of the window. But after a moment, the cause of the ruckus became clear.

There was a wolf in the compound.

“Stay back, kid.” Arthur was one of the older alphas in the warehouse. He could have retired years ago, but he loved supervising the shipping department and would probably never leave. “A rogue wolf from up north.”

The main doors opened and several people piled inside.

Even at a distance, I could tell the enforcers had really done a number on the intruder.

They dragged a man by the armpits, and I wasn’t entirely sure if he was conscious or not.

He was wearing boxer briefs but clearly hadn’t had a chance to change into anything else before being apprehended because he was naked otherwise.

His face was smeared with blood and his dark hair matted with sweat and dirt.

And he was big. Even hunched over, he looked like he could bench-press my entire body with the stacks of muscles and tight flesh.

Scooting away from Arthur, I went back to my room and locked it up, making sure to set the security system before stepping back toward the main floor. As the keeper of the money, my first responsibility was to protect pack funds with my life.

If someone ever stole from us because of my negligence, it really would be my life on the line. And with so many coyotes in the building, I couldn’t take any risks.

The enforcers tossed the guy into the center of the room, scattering a table of pills in every direction. The wolf didn’t resist even though he was obviously an alpha. “Ry, you should probably take a break while we deal with this.”

“Deal with what? What did he do?” I crossed my arms over my chest, surprised by how steady my voice was.

“Spying on us. Won’t say what his business is but that he just needed to come here.” Carmine spat at the ground and kicked the man in the side. “Says his name’s Theodore Eyolf.”

I looked down at the man who glared back at me with a swollen, bloodshot eye. There was something about his defiant expression that made me want to help him. “Doesn’t look like he’s here to hurt us.” I took another step closer. “Where’s Esteban?”

“He’s heading back from the farm.” Carmine grinned, displaying a set of canines that were deadly even in his human form. “Said we should get him to talk or else he would.”

I shook my head and sighed. “Take him to the supply room. I’ll handle it.”

Arthur’s jaw dropped, and he came to my side. “You’re not serious, Ryker. He’s an alpha.”

“He’s not armed and he’s barely conscious. Just let me see what I can get out of him before you guys do any more damage.”

The enforcers exchanged looks, clearly disappointed they wouldn’t get to rough him up any further. But I outranked them, at least on paper. “Whatever you say, kid.”

They grabbed the wolf’s arms again and moved him into the supply room.

There was a support column in the corner, so Arther secured the man’s wrists in front of him around the pole and then stepped out of the room.

He leaned close to me before he left, whispering so only I would hear him.

“Esteban’s gonna have your ass if this backfires. ”

“I’ll be fine.” I nodded, already questioning my own sanity to send the enforcers away. “Esteban trusts my judgment.”

“He trusts your numbers. Not your rescue missions.”

I shrugged, pretending not to hear the second part. “Somebody’s gotta be the grown-up.”

As soon as we were alone, I pulled up a step stool and took a seat just out of arm’s reach of the stranger. “I’m Ryker Lopez. You’re Theodore, right?”

The wolf grunted and adjusted his arms to be more comfortable. “Yeah, but people call me Teddy.” He looked at me, and I caught a flicker of recognition when he deeply inhaled. His expression changed as he sized me up, really taking notice of me.

I didn’t hate it.

“I can get you some water and something to eat.” I didn’t want to leave, but he looked thirsty and exhausted. “It’ll just be a minute.”

He nodded after a minute and sighed. “Thank you, Ryker.”

I went to the kitchen and grabbed a few water bottles and my lunch from the fridge. It was just a roast beef sandwich and a pudding cup, but my stomach did a weird fluttery thing when I thought about the mysterious alpha eating the lunch I’d prepared.

Teddy accepted my offering and immediately drank half a bottle of water in one gulp.

For a second, I let myself just stare at his throat, the way it worked when he swallowed and the hint of stubble along his chin. “You here to spy on us or just get yourself killed?” I kept my tone light but carefully watched his face for any hint of deception.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and sighed. “Neither. I left my pack up north and felt compelled to come here. I’m not entirely sure why.”

Leaning against the door jamb, I crossed my arms and studied him. “Why did you leave your pack?”

His gaze locked with mine for the first time, and my breath shuddered. “I didn’t want to be a part of what they were doing. Too much blood on their hands, and it was starting to stain mine.”

I cocked my head, not buying that was the real reason.

“Lockwood, right?” I’d heard about Toren Eyolf.

He led one of the more violent wolf packs.

We didn’t do business with them for a variety of reasons, not least of which was that they hated coyotes.

The feeling was mutual. “What made you think things would be different here?”

He scoffed and tugged on the cables restraining him to the pole. “Obviously, they aren’t.”

“Your pack and ours aren’t exactly allies. Coming here means you’re either incredibly stupid or incredibly brave.” I chuckled and ran my hand through my hair, slightly restless around the handsome alpha.

“Probably both.” He shrugged and caught my gaze again. “But once I started running, my wolf led me here. Not sure why.”

We sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes while he ate half the sandwich and then offered me the other half. I wasn’t hungry, but the olive branch felt like an important gesture, so I took the sandwich and sat closer to him.

“You smell like cotton and humans,” Teddy said around a mouthful of food. “Like money.”

I grinned and glanced down at my hands to take a whiff. “Yeah? I guess that tracks.”

“Does it?” He smiled for the first time. A brilliant white that softened the sharp edges of his bruised jaw and swelling eyes. “You the owner of the building or something?”

A flush started behind my ears and began a slow creep down my neck. I covered it by opening a fresh water bottle and handing it to him. He accepted it, brushing my fingers with his as he stared right at me. “No, just the money guy around here.”

“The money guy. Must be nice.” His smirk was intoxicating.

Why did it make me want to crawl right into his lap? “Yeah, well, it usually is. But now that I’ve basically taken responsibility for you, I’m not really sure what to do next.”

He nodded, then glanced at the door. “You trust your people?”

“Enough to know they’ll do what Esteban says, not what I say.”

We sat in silence as the adrenaline from earlier faded and was replaced with a heavy calm.

I watched the way his chest moved when he breathed, the way his hands curled around the water bottle.

There was nothing threatening about him, but something in his scent made my heart race.

It wasn’t the usual alpha stench of thick cologne and sweat.

It was something else. Something I liked a little too much.

Eventually, Teddy asked the question I couldn’t answer. “What are you gonna tell your boss?”

“I don’t know,” I said quietly. “What should I tell him?”

Teddy looked up, his eyes unexpectedly soft. “That I’m a good guy and… maybe you want to get to know me better.”

“Maybe I do.” I didn’t totally understand why he said that or why I did, but I knew it was true. I nodded, my throat too tight for words. “I’ll go call Esteban. Don’t try to run. You’ll just piss off the enforcers again.”

“Don’t worry.” He softly chuckled and raised his hands to remind me that he wasn’t able to move. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Oh, right.” I released the ties that bound him, and as I leaned close, I caught a whiff of his scent. A warm and earthy aroma that wasn’t quite like any alpha scent I’d encountered before. It lingered in my lungs and made me want to pull in even more of him. “I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

As I walked out of the room to call the boss, I told myself the lightheadedness I was feeling was just adrenaline, but I knew the truth.

It was him. The wolf. My wolf.