Page 37 of Return to the Pack

“Pushing? What I’m doing is warning you. Giving you a heads up to let you know what we’re all dealing with.” My fingers coil, taut and ready. Vampires and wolves are always at each other’s throats.

“Thanks a lot,” Evan mutters. “We might thank you more if you controlled your kind.”

I rein in my frustration. “Look, these fuckers are our enemies. They’re not our kind—they’ve mutated from eating human flesh. And they’re your enemies as well as mine. At the very least, we could do everything in our power to stop them, if not by joining forces, then separately.”

Drake gives me a chilly gaze. “We’ll take your words under advisement.” He offers a subtle tilt of his head in Evan’s direction, and they fade from view.

“Vampires,” I mutter, rolling my eyes. Then, I turn to head out of their goddamned territory inside my pack’s preserve.

I love the feel of the night as it blankets me with its soothing darkness. All my senses grow acute. In human form, they’re still dumbed down, so I shift into a wolf. This way, I can smell everything, see sharper, hear the drop of a mouse whisker twenty yards away. As I lope toward my truck, I detour through the woods that line the swamp. I wish Luna was with me. I’m going to have to bring her hunting with me again. In fact, the thought of a family hunt gets my blood pumping. That would bond us outside the bedroom as much as sharing Luna during her heat did inside it.

Ahead, a small vole has grown still, sensing my presence. I loom over it, barely breathing. Then, I rear up on my hind legs and pounce.

He’s too quick for me and pops into his burrow, away from my waiting mouth. I let out a sneeze of laughter and forge deeper into the preserve.

Ahead, wolf growls ring out, so I stop and sniff the air. It’s pack members, so I trot towards them. When we’re in visual range, we all shift into our human forms so we can talk.

“Hey, Axel,” Kato says, standing next to Borris, Adopha, Chann, Hati, and Lobo.

A sliver of a moon lights the sky behind him.

“Out for a hunt?” I ask.

“Hell, yes,” Borris says. “We’ve all been too focused on repairs after the storm. It’s such an awesome night we thought to head on out and have some fun. You?”

“Same. Well, I had to deliver the news to the vamps that the mutant wolves are definitely the culprits. They attacked their lair again last night.”

“No one on guard after the last attack?” Kato says.

“What a bunch of idiots,” Chann says, shaking his head.

“That’s what I said. They may be cavalier about the whole affair, but we need to prepare for war.”

“Yeah,” Kato says, glancing at Borris. “Warrick already told us.”

“What? When did he do that?” I try not to react, but my blood’s boiling. He’s supposed to run all his plans through me. He’s my Second, not the pack Alpha.

“Um,” Kato says, appearing uncomfortable. “When was it, y’all?”

“This afternoon,” Hati says. He looks as uncomfortable as Kato. “When he brought the weapons.”

I can’t appear unsure to my pack, so I snap my fingers and say, “Oh, right, I did tell him to drop those by. Too much shit on my mind.”

I shake my head, and Kato slaps my back. “I hear you. Life’s crazy anymore, right?”

“It sure is.”

Everyone grins and relaxes out of their moment of discomfort.

“I’d better get back home,” I say. “Dinner’s waiting.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Borris says, lifting his hand in farewell.

“Later,” Kato says. Before he shifts and gets back into hunting mode, he says, “Tell Warrick if he finds any more weapons, we’ll put them to good use.”

“Will do,” I manage to choke out. I turn and stride toward my truck, fuming. Once I start it up, I speed back to the triplets at a breakneck speed.

I skid to a stop in the driveway, throw open the door, and leap from my vehicle.