Page 23 of Wulf’s Pack

Chapter

Eleven

I don’t know if Carl heard the cry for help down the bond, but he slams through the restroom door right behind me. The scent hits me the minute we spill into the hallway. Skylar’s, mixed with several strange wolves.

“Four. All alpha males,” Carl says, taking his own deep breath. It’s not a question, and I trust his nose implicitly. Bears have one of the best senses of smell in the animal kingdom.

“Can you tell which way?”

The bathrooms are down a dim hallway that has an office, and a janitorial closet. Beyond them is an emergency exit. Carl takes a sniff in both directions, then growls toward the club. He’s on the move before he even gets the words out. “Back through the main hall.”

We run back into the club. Luckily, it’s a weeknight and the club isn’t wall-to-wall bodies.

We follow the trail and see Skylar being dragged toward the exit flanked by four wolves.

I shift the instant I see them and let out a series of sharp barks to get club patrons out of the way.

Behind me, a vicious roar shakes the room.

The crowd freezes. The men taking my mate glance back long enough to see me coming.

Three of them shift while the fourth keeps dragging Skylar toward the exit.

I plow straight into the three wolves, not hesitating for a second.

I’ve fought in battles before, and my wolf is definitely a warrior, but he’s practically rabid right now.

I let him take over. The strongest of the three wolves dives at me.

We clash together in a snarling heap of teeth and claws.

A second wolf joins the fight, and I have to start defending more than attacking.

From the sounds of it, Carl is in his own battle with the third wolf.

A third unfamiliar roar that sounds distinctly feline rings out in the room, but I don’t have time to worry about it.

These wolves are a lot stronger than the rogues I fought off yesterday.

They’re much better trained too. It takes me a minute before I get the upper hand on the wolf and take him down, but he’s taken a chunk out of my shoulder, and the second wolf nearly eviscerated me.

I dodge his claws enough that I’ll need stitches or a healer, but my bowels stay where they’re supposed to be.

When I’m knocked to the ground, the wolf grows confident, giving me just the smallest opening to his throat. It’s all I need.

When I’ve taken the second one down, I see that the fight is over.

Carl, still in his bear form, is standing over the third wolf, and the cougar shifter who’d been chatting with us at the bar is standing guard in front of Skylar.

At her feet is the fourth wolf still in his human form. He’s been ripped to shreds.

I nearly knock the lioness over in an attempt to get to my mate.

After a quick check, I can tell that she’s fine physically—not a scratch on her—but I can still hardly feel her wolf.

Something is wrong. I want to shift back, but my wolf is distraught.

I push my nose into her stomach and let out a whine.

I need to feel her wolf. Where is her wolf?

Skylar digs her fingers into the fur on my head and rubs soothing strokes down my neck. Her hand is trembling. “He found me,” she says, fear in her voice.

I shift back and take her face in my hands. “What’s wrong with your wolf?”

Her eyes mist over. “It’s another collar like my last one.”

I lift her chin to get a better look at the collar. It’s different from the last one, not as fancy. I try to take it off, but it won’t budge. “It’s spelled,” Skylar reminds me softly. “You just killed the man who could remove it.”

I growl down at the dead wolves. If I could, I’d bring them all back to life so I could kill them again, slower this time. I have to take a breath to calm my rage. My voice still shakes with it when I say, “Please tell me he was your alpha.”

Her gaze falls back to the men on the floor, and she shakes her head. “Victor’s too arrogant to come for me himself. These men weren’t even in his inner circle.”

My eyebrows climb at that. “They were all strong alphas.”

Skylar shudders and wraps her arms around herself. “Victor only lets strong alphas into his pack.”

A pack of only strong alphas? “How in the world did he keep them all from constantly challenging each other?”

Skylar just stares at me, waiting for me to get it. I feel a little dense when it clicks. “They had an omega to keep the peace.”

She nods. “He needs me. He knows where I am. You’ve killed his men. He’ll see this as a challenge. Victor never backs down from a challenge. He’ll come again, but with more firepower, and he doesn’t fight fair.”

I hate the smell of fear wafting from her.

Hate seeing it in her haunted eyes. I pull her into my arms. “We’ll be okay.

We know to be ready now.” I pull back and rub my hands up and down her arms. “But you need to tell me everything you know about Victor and his pack. No more avoiding it. We can’t prepare for an enemy we don’t understand. ”

Skylar nods. Her eyes fall back to the four dead shifters.

She shivers, and that spark that started to grow in her since we met is completely gone.

She’s frightened and defeated. It’s the most broken I’ve seen her look.

I hate it. I grip her shoulders and force her to look at me. “We’ll be all right. I promise.”

Her absent nod is heartbreaking. She doesn’t believe me.

I sigh and turn to Carl. “Call Gorgeous. We’re going to need the FUA on this one.”

My attention turns to the cougar next. She’s shifted back to her human form. I hold my hand out to her. “I can’t thank you enough. This wasn’t your fight.”

My wolf surges forward. “No!” I shout, but my beast takes over.

Once I’m on all fours, I try to stop him, but he’s too determined. I claim the cat almost as quickly as I claimed the bear. The woman accepts, and just like that, my pack is up to eight.

I’m horrified. So horrified I can’t even shift back to my human form. I’m sorry . I tell her through the pack link. You don’t have to accept me.

The woman stares at me a long time. Finally, out loud, she says, “You don’t remember me.”

It’s not a question.

I try to think, but I don’t remember ever officially meeting her. I’ve seen you around. I recognize you.

She shakes her head. “It was about ten years ago. I moved down from Wisconsin, hiding from an abusive ex hell-bent on forcing me to be his mate. I was tired, destitute, and traumatized. You took one look at me, poured me a drink on the house, and listened to my story. You put me in touch with people who helped me find a job and a place to live. I was able to get on my feet and start a new life because of you. And when that asshole showed up looking for me, it was you who took him down and called the FUA.”

Her calm tone as she tells her story serves as a distraction to my panic, but I still can’t seem to shift back.

I’m freaked out that I’m trapped, but my wolf doesn’t want me trying to talk the woman out of joining us, or have me release her.

In my wolf form, I’m running more on his instincts than my own.

I’m a little worried he wants to stay in wolf form until I’ve claimed every shifter in the building.

I try to focus on the conversation, hoping that it won’t take long for my wolf to give me back control.

I can’t remember the incident she’s talking about, but to be honest, I’ve helped a lot of wayward souls over the years and taken down more than my share of assholes.

I’m sorry I don’t remember specifically.

She holds up a hand and shakes her head, but she smiles. “I’ve watched you over the years. You’ve helped countless underworlders of all different races without expecting anything in return.”

I squirm, uncomfortable from the praise. It’s not the big deal she’s making it sound like. My job at this club puts me in a position to get to know a lot of people. I probably have more connections than any other underworlder in Detroit. It’s not a big deal to help out every now and then.

“Not a big deal for you,” she says, meeting my eyes with a direct gaze. “It was everything to me. I’m glad I was able to return the favor, and I’m honored to join you.”

I’m stunned. Cougars are very solitary. They’ll mate and stick close to their immediate families, but they don’t join packs. Her resolute acceptance must be what my wolf was waiting for. He pushes us forward and circles her, rubbing his scent all over her before he finally gives me back control.

I shift and stumble back from her. I have no idea what to do with myself. Skylar is at my side instantly, lacing our hands together and leaning her head against my shoulder. “Everything’s okay now,” she whispers.

Everything is definitely not okay.

It’s not until Gorgeous pushes through the crowd and lets out a low whistle that I realize every underworlder in the club is standing in a circle around us, watching on with fascination.

I hadn’t noticed them. I hadn’t even noticed Terrance is here until he shouts in his booming voice.

“Show’s over! Go about your business, or get out of my club! ”

The crowd disperses very reluctantly, but after a few menacing glares from a perturbed troll, they wise up and scatter. I’m left standing among a handful of dead wolves, naked and bleeding. My new beta and third are in a similar state.

“Who were they?” Gorgeous asks, toeing at the dead wolf still in his human form.

“My old pack,” Skylar says with a shiver. “I don’t know how they found me.”

Gorgeous cocks an eyebrow. “You made national news last night. Footage of you saving Carl has been plastered all over TV and the Internet all day.”

I curse. How had I not thought of that? Of course they found her.