Page 21 of Diners, Damsels & Wolves

Twenty One

Thomas

A n oversized hand swiped across his desk. Papers and his tablet flew across the library. Tom yanked books from the shelves, tossing them at random. Seizing the edge of the desk, he upturned it, his chair nowhere to be found.

He was furious. No, fury wasn’t strong enough. He wanted to murder. He wanted to tear them limb from limb with his teeth. He wanted to paint the forest with their blood.

When Emmanuel told him what happened to Clarissa’s home, he’d lost his shit, shifting right there in his office. Destroying his shoes and shredding his clothes, howling and spitting. He was fairly certain most of his furniture was now broken.

Emmanuel leaned against the far wall, arms crossed over his chest, waiting. He was tall as the other shifters but leaner. His hair was a mop of messy brown curls falling past his shoulders, leaves stuck in them from his run.

When Tom stopped tossing things about, Emmanuel resumed the story.

“The home nurse and aunt got out alive, but the aunt is in the hospital. Sara’s there with them in her uniform. She said Clarissa didn’t recognize her so she can keep a watch on her without raising any concern. I went to the trailer. It’s gone. That was no normal house fire, boss, they wanted them dead.”

He growled.

“I found the scent,” Emmanuel continued. “It matched the scent that was on you after the bear attacked her in the parking lot. I tracked it almost fifty miles north before it disappeared into a lake. I didn’t smell any of the other bears. Either they sent him on a lone mission, or he went rogue.”

Forcing the rage down, the wolf let go of Tom’s body. Phasing back, he pulled a new set of clothes from his stash in the office. He hadn’t lost control of his wolf like that since he was a pup.

“Where is Clarissa now?” he growled.

“Still at the hospital, Sara’s staying with her for now,” Emmanuel said. “Boss, wait. You don’t want to hear this right now but I gotta say it. It’s been weeks since she was attacked in the parking lot. That’s a long time for a shifter as unstable as a bear to wait.

“What if they only attacked her because you were with her? Taking her to the picnic, introducing her to all the other Alphas, you marked her as your mate. She’s a human who can’t shift. If they wanted to get at you, she’s the easiest target.”

Tom froze. He hadn’t told anyone she’d broken it off with him. It had taken every ounce of his strength to walk away from her in front of the diner, to not let his wolf instincts take over and toss her over his shoulder and lock her in the mansion to keep her safe until this was all over. But he’d done it, and it broke him.

He prayed his absence would keep her safe. If the bears were tracking him and the pack, they would have caught on she wasn’t in his favor anymore. If they stopped being seen together, she would be safe. At least, that’s what he’d told himself when he walked away.

Clearly it hadn’t worked.

The front door slammed shut. Seconds later, Maria pushed her way into the office.

“What the hell are you doing here?” His patience was zapped. Maria was healing, but he could still see the angry red mark on her face from yesterday’s attack. “You should be resting, Maria.”

“Tom, I need to talk to you.” She stopped short. “What the hell happened in here?”

“You heard about the fire?” Emmanuel asked her.

“That’s why I’m here,” she said, turning to Tom. “Clarissa’s necklace, didn’t you recognize it?”

“What are you talking about?” he asked.

“There’s a lot more to this than we realized. I think we need to call Thressa.”

Tom blanched, staring at her like she was insane.

“I know you hate witches, but she’s my friend and I think she can help,” Maria said. “Tom, this isn’t random.”

“You’re right, it’s not random,” Tom said. “They’re picking out the members of our pack who are defenseless. The ones who can’t shift to protect themselves. Emmanuel, stick to her like glue, don’t let her leave the mansion.”

“Thomas!” She was furious. He didn’t care.

“Call Sam if you have to and get a hold of Brittaney—she and the other small shifters need to be warned. If they try to flee, the bears will chase them. Get them all at the mansion until this is over.”

“Sure thing, boss.” Emmanuel pulled out a smartphone and started typing.

“Thomas!” Maria yelled. “You need to listen to me!”

“No witches, no leaving the mansion,” he said.

“You can’t keep me here!”

“Yes, I can.”

After storming out of the house, he slammed the door to his car. Speeding to the hospital, he called his second-in-command.

“Sam, you heard what happened?” he asked.

“Yeah, I did, boss,” Sam said.

“The bears are picking off the weak members of the pack, the small shifters and the ones who can’t shift. Maria is on house arrest in the mansion until this is over and Brittaney and her clan are moving in for protection. I got Emmanuel started on it, but I need you to help him.”

“Maria is going to be pissed.”

“She already is, and I don’t care,” Tom said. “The first attack against Maria was a message, the fire at Clarissa’s—they were trying to kill her. I won’t let that happen to either of them. I need you and Tori to reach out, any pack member with a human mate, or who’s pregnant, anyone who can’t shift needs to be warned.”

“Alright, boss. If you aren’t helping Emmanuel, what are you doing now?” Sam asked.

“I’m going to the hospital to get Clarissa, then I’m going hunting.”

“You sure that’s such a good idea, boss?”

“What do you mean?” Tom asked.

“Well, if the bears think you abandoned her, they might leave her alone.”

“I can’t, Sam. I can’t .” He didn’t have the heart to tell Sam he’d already tried that, and he’d snapped after four hours away from her.

“Alright then.” Sam accepted it easier than Tom thought he would. “I’ll pack a bag for Maria and head over to the mansion now. And I’ll call Sara, I’ll get her to coordinate a hunting party. They’ll be waiting for you at the trailer.”

“Sara’s busy playing cop.”

“Got it, I’ll call Nathon,” Sam said, and Tom hung up the phone.

Parking at the hospital, he paused. How was she going to react to seeing him there? Could he take another rejection from her? It didn’t matter though; her life was on the line.

Stalking up to the building, he stopped in his tracks. The older couple from the diner were helping her into a car. Of course, she’d need a place to stay. A pang shot through him; she should be staying with him. He alone could protect her, but only if she’d let him.

“Clarissa,” he called out.

Making eye contact, she stiffened. Her face was pale and drawn, her eyes bloodshot. And yet, there was relief undertoning her wanton features. He had a chance!

Jogging to the car, he called to her. “Clarissa, please, we’re the only ones who can protect you.”

Relief vanished, and her face hardened. Getting in the backseat, she slammed the door and locked it. Giving him sympathetic looks, the two men got in and started the car.

Watching her drive away, he felt sick.

How the fuck was he going to fix this?

How could he make her see the shifters, his pack, weren’t the dangerous ones? She was safe with them. She was safe with him. Did she not understand the lengths he would go to protect her?

If she wouldn’t let him protect her, he’d eliminate the threat. He would make her safe any way he could.

Getting in his car, he drove the back roads. Stashing his 4Runner next to the others in their usual clearing, he stripped, then phased. Pounding through the woods, he picked up the scents of the others. They were waiting for him a mile north of the trailer, hidden among the trees.

“ Report, ” he thought at them.

“ Brittaney corralled the bunnies and other rodents, they’re all hunkered down in the mansion, ” Nathon replied. “ Some of the other out-of-town shifters have decided to stay. They don’t want to be on the move if the bears attack. Some of them are moving into the mansion tonight. ”

“ Sara’s patrolling the apartment over The Barrel, then she’s getting some rest. She’s going to stay at the diner tomorrow to keep an eye on Clarissa, ” Luna thought. “ Tori is contacting every pregnant pack member and moving them into the mansion. ”

“ Maria is throwing a fit, but Emmanuel and Sam are keeping her put, ” Michael added.

“ There haven’t been any more attacks. We’ve got the emergency lines monitored; we’ll know immediately if there’s another fire, ” Dan thought.

“ Good. ” Tom paced. “ Emmanuel tracked the bears to a lake fifty miles north of here. It’s possible the bear did this on purpose to throw us off. I suggest we set up a perimeter, moving further out from the trailer until we run across another trail. Our goal is to find them or find their den. Are we ready? ”

“ Yes, Alpha! ” they thought in unison, and they took off through the woods.

Tom channeled all his energy into his run. His paws beating against the forest floor, he kept his nose sharp. He thought about that night in the parking lot. How the blonde man had yanked Clarissa down, tossing her across the lot. The lust rolled off him in palpable waves as he held her down.

Tom’s blood boiled. He wanted nothing more than to find the blonde man, to sink his teeth into him. He wanted to hurt him. He wanted to take everything Clarissa had ever suffered and unleash it onto him tenfold.