Page 5 of Midnight Hunt (Wolves of Midnight #4)

4

VIOLET

“Rivers’ residence. Vi speaking,” I said in my most chipper voice despite the early hour.

“Oh, Vi, you’re back! We missed you at the initiation last week,” an all too familiar voice responded in an even more chipper tone.

“Yes, Mrs. Bailey, I was sad to have missed it,” I replied to the pack gossip—aka my childhood nanny. Still groggy from barely getting any sleep last night, I picked up my mug of coffee from the study desk and took a sip. “Is Desirae settling in well?”

“Indeed, she is! I still can’t believe I have a hybrid staying in my home. Brings back so many fond memories of nannying you and your brother. It was the biggest challenge of my life, you know, keeping your secret from the rest of the pack. Good thing everyone knows about hybrids now, because Desirae loves to shift. She takes off into the woods every night in wolf form and usually doesn’t come back until dawn. Independent, that one is. Makes sense, since she’s been living on her own for the past decade.”

She finally paused but only to take a quick breath and plow on.

“Still, it’s dangerous for an unclaimed female wolf to be alone. I was hoping that Jagger or Griff could accompany her on her nightly runs, seeing as they are both hybrids. It’s why I called, since she hasn’t come home yet, and I’m a bit worried. And, who knows? Maybe a love match will come of it. It’s time those two bachelors found their mates and settled down.”

I blinked, trying to process the whirlwind of words. My brain got stuck far too long on the fact that she was trying to matchmake Griff and Jagger with Midnight Pack’s newest female wolf. Sure, she was young and pretty, but we still didn’t know much about her. Besides Nora, we’d never initiated a hybrid into the pack before. Desirae had also grown up as a pack outcast because of her abnormal abilities, but she was an omega. I doubted Jagger or Griff would be interested in a non-dominant female.

Right?

Uncertainty squirmed in my gut, but I quickly shoved the feeling aside. No way would my boys be interested in an omega. They needed a challenge . A submissive, docile female wouldn’t give them that. As I opened my mouth to set Mrs. Bailey straight, the rest of her words finally sank in. “Wait, are you saying that Desirae is missing?”

“Well, I don’t want to cause undue alarm, but she’s never stayed out this long before. She doesn’t bring her phone, and I tried looking for her, but I can’t get very far in my human form. I thought maybe Alpha Rivers, Jagger, or Griff could come out since they can shift at will and cover a lot more ground. It would mean so much to me. Desirae is still new to pack land and might have wandered off too far. Any number of things could have happened to her.”

“It’s okay, Mrs. Bailey. We’ll head out right away and look for her,” I reassured the distraught-sounding woman and pushed to my feet. After she thanked me profusely, I ended the call and strode across my brother’s office to the door.

So much for catching up on the emails and paperwork that had piled up during my absence. Normally, I’d tell Kolton about the incident and trust him to take care of it, but the thought of a female wolf going missing so soon after my near-abduction had me on edge. Work would have to wait.

I found my brother and the rest of the family in the dining room, just finishing up with breakfast. My mother caught my eye first. She was bustling around the long table, busily collecting plates that had been picked clean. Now that she was back, we had no more use for our human staff and had let them go. From dawn until dusk, she kept herself busy with never-ending housework and feeding our growing family. Apparently, being strapped to a bed for seven years had given her boundless energy, and she hardly ever sat down for more than a few minutes.

Nora’s parents were no longer staying with us, but there were still ten people living here full time. Plus, the current Rivers’ nanny, Miss Gabby, was coming back to homeschool Melanie for another year. The house was always in motion, and I absolutely loved it.

A squeal drew my gaze across the table to Griff who’d just lifted Luca from his highchair and was in the process of tickling him. The dark-haired boy threw back his head and belly laughed.

“Griff, he just ate. If he spits up, it’s on you. Literally ,” Nora said in exasperation, even as her aqua blue eyes twinkled with faint amusement. The curly-haired ginger sat on the other side of her son’s highchair with a flower-printed cover draped over her. Even after living with us for over a year, she still wasn’t comfortable with nudity and preferred to cover herself while nursing her children.

One of Lillian’s adorable little fists poked out from beneath the cover, and I had to stop myself from hurrying around the table to nibble on her tiny baby fingers. Since I’d woken up before everyone else, I hadn’t been able to properly snuggle with my niece and nephew yet. I’d decided to take a quick shower and jump right back into work, needing to distract my mind from everything that had happened yesterday.

Sleep had eluded me last night as I’d replayed the attack over and over again, fruitlessly trying to figure out what the two males had wanted with me. The only thing that made sense was that they could use me as leverage against Kolton. Challenging the most powerful alpha in America was practically impossible, and ever since the werewolf community had learned of his hybrid nature, challenges had pretty much been nonexistent. But we’d known it was only a matter of time before they started up again.

Kidnapping a member of his family would definitely throw Kolton off his game.

“Vi, you’re back!” a little voice excitedly squealed, dragging me from my thoughts.

Everyone stopped what they were doing to focus on the newcomer. As all eyes went to me, I paused to bask in the attention. When I felt the love in each gaze, a lump formed in my throat.

I’d missed this. I’d missed this terribly .

Before I could respond, little arms wrapped around my waist and squeezed. “What did you get me? What did you get me?” that same excited voice chirped.

“Melanie,” Kolton softly chastised the dark-haired girl clinging to me like an octopus. “That’s not the proper way to welcome your sister home.”

Mellie tilted her head back to look at me, her dark amber eyes rounding innocently. “Sorry, Vi. I can be patient. Do you want to see my new loose tooth?”

Several of the adults around the table chuckled as the seven-year-old opened her mouth and excitedly pointed inside it.

“Oh,” I replied in mock seriousness, peering intently at the somewhat crooked baby tooth. “Looks like I came home just in time. That sucker needs to be pulled.”

As my hand beelined toward her mouth, she jumped back with a petrified shriek. “No! It hurts when you do it.”

“Ah c’mon, Mellie. If you want the souvenir I got you, that tooth is the price,” I cajoled, crab-walking toward her with pincer hands.

“Kol!” she wailed, whirling to seek the protection of her brother.

At the mildly scolding look my mother threw my way, I shrugged and said, “What? That’ll make her think twice about treating me like a gift shop.”

Griff barked a laugh, clearly the only one amused by my twisted sense of humor. He tickled Luca again, who had no choice but to join in on the laughter.

Thoroughly distracted by the cuteness, I almost forgot what I came in here for. Just as I was about to speak, someone else stood from their seat to hug me.

“Welcome home, Vi,” Brielle murmured, her tropical-scented, honey-brown hair brushing my face as she enveloped me in a warm embrace. Like most werewolves, the newest turned-werewolf of Midnight Pack showed affection through physical touch. The only exception to that rule was Jagger, who was still in his chair and silent as a tomb. I could practically count on one hand how many times he’d initiated physical contact with me. “Have you eaten yet? You feel thinner.”

At her words, the laughter in the room abruptly stopped. I pulled back to wave a hand dismissively. “I was too busy catching up with work. I had coffee, though.”

“There’s leftovers in the kitchen. I’ll go get them,” Mom said, already moving toward the kitchen.

“No, Mom, it’s okay,” I hurriedly said, ignoring the looks everyone gave me. “I actually don’t have time for breakfast right now. Kolton, I need to speak with you.”

“Privately?” he asked, raising one dark brow.

Seeing the expectant faces around me, I sighed and shook my head. “No. It might not be a big deal anyway. Mrs. Bailey just wants us to check on her new ward.”

“Desirae?”

“Yeah. She didn’t come home this morning, and Mrs. Bailey’s getting worried. Apparently, Desirae likes to wolf out every night and roam the woods. Something might have happened.”

“I’ll go look for her,” Jagger finally spoke up, rising from his chair.

“Me too,” Griff said.

“And me,” I quickly said before Kolton could say anything. At the penetrating look he gave me, I stood taller and stared right back at him. Almost immediately, the weight of his dominance threatened to pull my gaze downward. Sensing my struggle, Sable pushed to the surface, and I gladly accepted her help in staring my brother down.

After several long moments, Kolton’s mouth curved into a faint smirk. “Fine. But we’re taking the truck.”

“I call shotgun!” I sang, grinning when Jagger grunted his displeasure.

“I need to change my shirt first,” Griff groaned, drawing my gaze to him once more. At the sight of spit up running down his shirt front, I snorted out a laugh.

“Told you,” Nora murmured, struggling to keep a smile off her face.

“I’ll clean him up,” Brielle said and rounded the table to take Luca from Griff.

As soon as his arms were free, Griff yanked the soiled t-shirt over his head. Before I could stop them, my eyes dropped to the golden expanse of his chest and stomach. Every inch was familiar to me, a sight I’d seen countless times before. He didn’t possess an ounce of shyness when it came to nudity, and he often walked the halls butt naked in the evenings. Still, I couldn’t help but take in the hard, lean muscle, tracing each swell and dip until his jeans blocked me from seeing more.

Realizing too late what I was doing, I jerked my gaze away before anyone could notice.

As Griff left the dining room to change his shirt, I made sure to look everywhere but at him. In doing so, my gaze collided with Nora’s. Something flashed in them, and I knew she’d seen. Quickly playing it off, I grinned at her and hurried over to give my baby niece a quick nuzzle goodbye.

“I’m so sorry you were alone during the attack last night,” Nora quietly said before I could pull away. “You okay?”

The question was light and unobtrusive. A simple show of concern.

Although Nora was the alpha female of Midnight Pack, her dominance level equal to Kolton’s, she didn’t push for answers. That respect for personal boundaries was one of the things I loved most about my sister-in-law.

“A little shaken up,” I admitted, knowing the others in the room could hear. I hadn’t told her what happened, but Kolton had no doubt filled her in. News didn’t stay hidden for long in our pack, so the entire household probably knew the gist of it all by now. Gently swirling one of Lily’s fiery curls around my finger, I finished with, “I’m fine, though. I hurt them more than they hurt me.”

Before she could question me more, I let go of the soft curl and straightened.

“Meet you in the car, boys,” I called, forcing myself to leave the dining room and head for the front door. A pack member was missing, and that was all I wanted to focus on right now. Dealing with any trauma I’d experienced from last night would have to wait.

The boys joined me in the garage minutes later, Kolton hopping into the driver seat of the dual-rear-wheeled white truck while Jagger and Griff jumped into the back. Not a second after the engine roared to life, a hand materialized over my shoulder and dropped something onto my lap.

“You need to eat,” Griff said, leaving his arm propped on the back of my seat while Kolton eased the truck from the garage.

I glanced down at my lap to find a blueberry muffin, several strips of bacon, and a handful of breakfast sausages jammed inside a baggie. “Thanks, but I don’t think I can eat right now,” I replied.

“ Eat ,” all three males said in unison.

I threw a scowl at them, but inwardly, my heart melted a little. Growing up with three protective males had been a headache at times, but I’d missed this. It felt like forever since just the four of us had done something together. So much had changed this past year, changes I was still adjusting to.

Knowing it was pointless to argue with the three bossy males, I opened the baggie and removed the muffin. After the first bite, my appetite returned in full force. Less than a minute later, I was licking my fingers clean and reaching for the sausages.

“Are you worried that Desirae was kidnapped?” Kolton questioned me while I ate.

Not surprised that he’d properly guessed my main reason for wanting to come along, I nodded and replied around a mouthful of sausage, “It could very well be nothing, but it just seems weird that a pack member would go missing so soon after I was attacked.”

“I was thinking the same thing. You might not be their sole target, whoever ‘they’ are.”

“My only guess is that someone is trying to challenge you. No werewolf has directly done so since finding out that you can shift at will. Maybe they’re trying to get creative by taking pack members hostage. It gives them the upper hand, at least.”

“It’ll incite a manhunt if the entire pack finds out,” Jagger commented.

“True. I wouldn’t mind hunting the bastards down,” Griff said almost directly in my ear. He was still leaning against my seat, his face practically even with the headrest. Realizing what he wanted, I rolled my eyes and held up a strip of bacon. He took it from me canine-style, using his teeth to swiftly snatch it from my fingers.

“Good boy,” I crooned, reaching back to pat his head.

“Hair,” he yelped and quickly retreated.

“I swear, Griffin, you’re more obsessed with your hair than anyone I know.”

“Hey, appearances are important to me.”

I rolled my eyes again. “You look like a surfer straight from the beach, even during the winter. When’s the last time you wore actual shoes instead of flip-flops?”

“Kolton’s the suit-wearing businessman in this family. My job doesn’t require me to wear a neck noose and overpriced shoes that pinch my toes.”

“Or anything at all,” I muttered under my breath.

“What was that, VJ? You saying I would look better in the nude? Because I will happily take off my—”

“NO!” we all shouted at him in unison.

He chuckled. “You protest, but I see you all checking out this godlike bod when you think I’m not looking.”

I nearly choked on the bacon strip I’d just put into my mouth. Swallowing, I sassily replied, “You wish.”

He suddenly leaned forward again to purr in my ear, “Don’t be coy, Violet Jane. I know you like what you see.”

Feeling a shiver work its way up my spine, I swiveled in my seat and pushed his face back with my open hand. “Get over yourself, Griffin.”

He loudly laughed in reply. When I felt a sharp tug on my hair, I bared my teeth at him and growled, “Try that again and see what happens.”

His puppy brown eyes sparkled with mischief . . . and challenge. When they briefly flashed yellow, Sable perked up in interest.

“You two bicker like an old married couple,” Jagger quietly groused.

Just like that, the playful moment came to a screeching halt.

“Uh, hello? I’ve got a boyfriend, remember?” I snarkily replied. When all Jagger did was slowly raise an eyebrow at me, I stiffly turned around and lapsed into silence.

Thankfully, Mrs. Bailey’s house wasn’t too far away from ours, so we arrived before the silence became too uncomfortable. The second the truck rolled to a stop, I scrambled out. Our former nanny was already hurrying down her porch steps to greet us, her pale face creased with worry.

“Oh, my,” she twittered, flailing her hands comically as she watched Kolton, Jagger, and Griff exit the truck. “I wasn’t expecting all of you to come. Now I feel bad for making such a fuss.”

“No worries, Mrs. Bailey,” my brother said, stopping beside me. “We take disappearances in the pack very seriously, as you know. Even if Desirae is perfectly fine, it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

She bobbed her head enthusiastically, several strands of brown hair escaping her low bun. “I wholeheartedly agree. You can never be too careful. Desirae usually takes a northeastern route through the woods behind the house. I’ll point you in the right direction.”

Instead of chatting our ears off for several minutes like she usually did, the middle-aged woman swiftly turned and led us around the house.

“There,” she said, pointing to a spot along the treeline bordering her backyard. “The trail is faint, but I’m sure you’ll have no problem picking up her scent in wolf form.”

When she turned to stare at us expectantly, Griff chuckled under his breath. “You heard the woman. Let’s get naked.”

For the second time today, I watched him whip off his shirt. But when he reached for the button on his jeans, I forced myself to look away. Kolton and Jagger started to undress as well, and I followed suit, not the least bit embarrassed to be stripping naked in front of them.

We’d been doing this for as long as I could remember, unleashing our wolves to run as a pack deep in upstate New York’s Adirondacks. As children, we’d spent hours every day out in the woods, playing and honing our hunting skills. As soon as I’d been old enough to join them, I’d worked hard to prove that I was worthy of a spot in their inner circle.

Less than a minute later, all four of us were stripped bare. I chanced a quick peek at Griff, only to find his eyes trained on me. My breath caught. He looked away a second later, but not before I’d seen something in his gaze. Something old. Something familiar. Something . . .

I gave my head a sharp shake and banished the thought. I must have seen wrong. We were only friends now. Friends . We didn’t look at each other that way anymore.

The cracking of bone brought me back to reality, and I quickly initiated my own transformation, silently encouraging Sable to take over. She gleefully rose to the surface and triggered the shift. A painful minute later, I stood on all fours. Rather, Sable stood on all fours, her nearly black fur glistening in the early morning sunlight.

She quickly shook off the shift, then full-body stretched with a satisfied groan. Since she’d missed the pack run during the full moon last week, I mentally prepared myself for her rebellious energy. She hated missing out on pack events even more than I did, and I knew she was feeling a bit resentful that I’d chosen to spend the time with Reid instead.

Stick to the task at hand , I warned her through our telepathic connection. I had no intention of wrestling control from her, but I really hoped she didn’t do anything stupid like—

I sighed in exasperation as she whirled and sought out her favorite wolf. Standing taller than a human, Whiskey was a tawny brown color, his sleek coat littered with blond patches. When he saw Sable heading toward him, he yipped with excitement and met her halfway. Their massive bodies tangled together, and they playfully nuzzled and nipped at each other as if they’d been apart for months.

Although they couldn’t speak mind-to-mind, they had no trouble communicating how much they liked each other. When the nuzzling turned into licking—on the mouth —I finally put my foot down.

Sable! I snapped. Don’t forget that I have a boyfriend .

He’s not my boyfriend , she replied, continuing to lick Whiskey’s mouth like a brazen hussy. My spirit and the spirit inside Whiskey’s body —

Used to be lovers on the celestial plane. Yeah, yeah, I know , I said with a mental eyeroll. But Griff and I aren’t a couple, so it’s really uncomfortable when you and Whiskey get all hot and heavy .

I have the perfect solution for that , she purred, shuddering when Whiskey bent his head to nip at her neck.

Don’t say it , I quietly growled.

Start having sex with Griffin again .

I groaned, and she let the sound roll from her throat in an erotic way. The noise sent Whiskey into an excited frenzy, and he started rubbing the length of his body against Sable’s. I groaned again, knowing from experience that they were about to hump. It didn’t matter that they had an audience. Didn’t matter that Griff and I had been telling them not to for the past several months. Whenever they were together, they just did it, and there was no stopping them.

In all honesty, it didn’t really bother me that they were having sex or that I could feel it through my bond with Sable. What bothered me was that their horniness made me horny, and that feeling was always directed at the same person. Which wouldn’t have been a problem a year ago, but it definitely was now.

Just as Whiskey prepared to mount Sable from behind, a low warning growl drew him up short.

Ha! You just got cock-blocked , I crowed, more than a little relieved. I watched with satisfaction as Kolton’s massive dark wolf stared daggers at Whiskey. When Whiskey dared to bark at him in protest, Shadow snarled and bared his razor-sharp fangs.

With a huff, Whiskey backed down, but not before giving his alpha the stink eye. Shadow chose to ignore it. Turning toward the woods, he took off like a shot. Jagger’s equally large black wolf loped after him, and Whiskey and Sable quickly followed suit.

All work and no play , Sable softly whined after several minutes of following Desirae’s scent trail.

Although she’d been stopped from getting her freak on, I could tell she was enjoying the run with her demon boys. It had been ages since just the four of us had run together. We’d been so busy lately with our growing pack, family, and various responsibilities that this outing was a breath of fresh air. I’d felt a bit detached from the boys over the past several months, so it felt good to reconnect with them like this. I knew Sable felt the same.

Burgundy is so lucky , she said, referring to Desirae’s wolf familiar. I’d love to spend each night roaming the woods. Whiskey could join me .

I barked a humorless laugh. Nice try, Sabs. You’d spend the entire night humping him .

Not true. Not every night anyway. We can control ourselves, you know .

Right. You just choose not to .

Hey, a girl has needs. Just because you’re not getting any doesn’t mean I have to close up shop .

I’m not getting any because you won’t let me .

Also not true. I’ll gladly let you hump —

La, la, la, not listening. You have seriously got to accept that I’m with Reid now .

Ha. You haven’t even thought about him once today .

I started to protest, but nothing came out. I’d thought about him. I must have thought about him.

Right?

As I rehashed my thoughts for the morning, Shadow came to a sudden halt. The rest of us skidded to a stop behind him, barely avoiding a collision. When he lowered his head and sniffed at the ground, we did the same. Immediately, Sable scented what had caught his attention.

Blood.

A lot of it.