Page 55 of Wulf’s Pack

Thank goodness for Easton. He’s remarkably levelheaded. It could be from all his years of mixed martial arts. That takes hard work and discipline, and it’s necessary to keep your head in a fight. That patience and laser focus is really coming in handy right now.

The bear, a rather large, dominant black bear, roars. It’s a soft roar, though. He’s more vocalizing his annoyance than threatening us.

We need to shift.

My wolf mentally digs his heels in, but he’s not completely losing his shit anymore. Easton seems to be helping him remember we’re here for a purpose.

Without turning his back on the bear, Easton looks at me and pins me with a stern gaze. “Alpha. You need to shift back.” His voice has just a hint of dominance. It’s enough to make my wolf take notice, but not enough to be seen as a challenge.

I growl, but it has no heat behind it.

“We will find her faster if you back down. This shifter is not a threat. He isn’t the one who took your mate. He may be able to help us, but he won’t shift back while you’re on his turf threatening him.”

The bear grumbles his agreement.

Easton’s right. You’re wasting time. Shift back.

I know I’ve won when my wolf huffs. He’s not happy, and he’s not calm, but he’s thinking rationally. He gives up control, and I shift. The bear chuffs. I rise to my feet slowly and bow my head, baring my neck slightly in a show of submission. “I apologize.”

Now that I’m back in control, my feelings are really hitting me.

Embarrassment, frustration, disappointment.

I take a breath and lift my gaze. I can berate myself later.

It’s counterproductive at the moment. “I had no intention of approaching you in such an aggressive manner. We picked up your scent on Main Street and were hoping you might be able to help. I was a block away when my mate’s pain and fear came through my bond.

” I suck in a ragged breath, and in a thick voice croak, “Wherever they have her, they’re hurting her.

” I grasp my hair, pulling roughly at the strands.

“But that’s no excuse for losing control. Forgive me.”

A long moment passes where the bear stares at us. His human coworkers stand sentry behind him. One even has a shotgun in his hands. Not that the weapon would do much to stop an angry wolf.

Easton and I wait. There’s not much else we can do.

The bear grunts again and lifts on his hind legs.

His bear disappears, and a burly man with a hairy chest and full beard takes its place.

He’s well over six feet tall and easily 250 pounds.

He crosses his bulky arms over his barrel chest and plants his feet shoulder width apart, throwing out dominance and intimidation without a shred of concern that his junk is hanging out there for all the world to see.

Not that I care about my nudity either—aside from the fact that I’m yet again down another pair of pants.

I’m not cowed by his aggression. His dominance is fairly equal to mine. I’m pretty sure I’m stronger, but he’s got the size and physical strength that would make it very hard to beat him in a fight if he’s got any training at all.

I meet his stare with confidence, but also with as much respect as I can convey.

It’s the right move. Strong alphas respect strength in others, but will always rise to a challenge.

Their pride won’t let them back down. When he realizes I’m not trying to dominate him, he relaxes a little. “I know you.”

The tension bleeds out of the garage, and the humans and Easton all relax.

“You’re that wolf. The one in the siren’s clan.”

I give him a nod. “Wulf Winters.” I step forward, hand outstretched.

He takes it slowly and gives me a casual shake without taking his eyes off me. “Brett Masters.”

“Nice to meet you. Sorry again for barging in half feral.”

He waves off the apology, but he’s still watching me. Studying me as if he’s still trying to piece together a puzzle. Suddenly, the light bulb clicks on, and his gaze sharpens. “That was you on the news last week. In front of the FUA. Your mate is the omega that saved the grizzly.”

My heart clenches at the mention of Carl, but I still puff my chest out with pride for my mate.

“That’s correct. Skylar recently escaped her former pack, who tortured and abused her and kept her prisoner for nearly a decade.

Thanks to that footage going viral, they found her.

I’m ashamed to say they got past her security, and they have taken her.

They’re powerful, they’re evil, and they’re out for revenge.

I have no doubt their alpha plans to kill her, but he’s going to make it last.”

Rage sweeps through me at the thought, and my eyes flare with the glow of my wolf. A growl rumbles in my chest. Easton places a hand on my shoulder, and I take a breath, putting a tight lid on my temper. Losing it again will not help.

“They kidnapped my mate. They’re hurting her. And as soon as I find them, they’re going to pay for that with their lives. I’m going to rip them all to pieces until every last one of them is nothing but a pile of unidentifiable mush.”

My wolf howls his agreement, and I start to shake with rage and bloodlust.

There’s no questioning the promise in my voice. Even the humans, who can’t sniff out lies, recognize the truth in my vow.

Approval washes over Brett’s face. He gives me a nod and says, “I can help you. Come with me.”

He turns on his heel and exits the garage without waiting to see if we’ll follow.

He knows we will. The humans step aside, putting plenty of space between us as we pass them.

It’s the first sign of unease they’ve shown since I showed up.

Brett must be a good man to have earned such loyalty and trust from a group of humans. It makes me like him.

He leads us around the side of the garage to a staircase at the back of the building. “Your wolves showed up about three hours ago,” he says as he climbs the steps to an apartment above the shop. “Rolled into town and cased the streets until they found Jemma.”

He clenches his jaw so hard I can hear his teeth grinding. His knuckles pop when he balls his hands into fists. His rage is as potent as my own. “Jemma?” I ask.

“Coyote.” He stomps up the rest of the stairs and glares down at me.

The anger isn’t directed at me, but the situation.

“Works at a burger joint on Main. According to the owner, a group of about five men came in for lunch, but when Jemma came to take their orders, they asked her some questions, then dragged her out of the restaurant. Betty said they were a bit rough with the manhandling. She tried to stop them, but they shoved right past her. Said they looked dangerous. Scared her to death. She called the police, but by the time they showed up, the wolves were gone, and Jemma with them.”

He closes his eyes for a moment, and when he opens them again his bear is looking out through them. “Seems they forced her to take them back to her pack’s compound, and then they took it over, killing the alpha and the beta.”

I grit my teeth, and Easton curses. Victor Santos needs to die. The sooner, the better.

Compartmentalize, Wulf. Stay focused. They’ll be dead soon enough. I shake myself from my internal thoughts and concentrate on the conversation. “How did you discover this?”

I get an idea when Brett pushes through the front door of the apartment and the smell of shifters hits me. Coyotes. Two of them. Females.

Easton and I follow Brett inside to a smallish living room.

He gestures for us to take a seat on the couch and starts rooting around in his fridge.

“The beta’s wife and daughter were doing some shopping over in Flint when they attacked.

The alpha warned them through their pack link to stay away.

Ashlyn said their connection to the alpha was severed first, and minutes later her mom’s mate bond was broken. ”

My stomach lurches, and Easton gasps. Brett gulps, and in a lower voice says, “Melanie’s mate was the pack beta.”

I want to be sick. I don’t know this woman, but my heart aches for her.

My brother, Rook, lost his mate decades ago.

It nearly killed him. He lived a sort of half-life until he met Nora.

If Nora wasn’t a siren with the ability to consume even the most broken of men, he would still be drowning in grief, a shell of the man he once was.

Now that I have a mate myself, I can’t imagine the thought of losing her.

It would destroy me. I nearly went feral just knowing she’s in pain, and we’re not even fully bonded yet.

For the woman to lose both her alpha and her mate within minutes of each other…

I can’t fathom the horror she’s going through.

Brett grabs a couple of beers from the fridge, and after popping the tops open on the side of the counter, he hands one to Easton and me, then disappears into his room.

He comes back dressed and holding an extra pair of clothes.

While I quickly pull them on, Brett grabs himself a beer and sinks into an armchair with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

“Did the coyote woman survive the loss of her mate?” I ask, though I’m afraid of the answer. I’m honestly not sure which fate would be worse—survival or death.

Brett drags his sorrowful gaze to me. “Time will tell,” he says softly. His eyes flick toward a short hallway, where I assume the two women are staying in a bedroom. “She’s alive, but she’s not really there at the moment, you know? Sort of checked out mentally.”

I wince. A heavy silence settles over the room.

Brett lifts his beer to his lips and drains it in one pull.

I sip mine much slower. I’m not a fan of beer, but I could use the drink right now.

I don’t care that my shifter metabolism will burn through the alcohol in minutes. It’s the thought that counts.

Easton breaks the silence. “They’re here now? How did you…”