Page 14 of Claimed By the Alpha Pack

Laughing, I get to my feet and head back to the cutting board. “I’m swearing off men for a bit. I need to date me for a little while. Get to know the new me, ya know?” Shaking my head, I laugh, watching my daughter. “I’m not saying no to a casual drink or brunch. I just can’t do heavy emotions right now.” The sound of the knife blade cutting through the meat to the cutting board is the only sound filling the space. Until my daughter drops the mother of all diaper bombs. Poor Andrea turns green and Grams swoops in, taking my daughter away to be changed.

Poor Andrea rubs her nose and shakes her head, trying to clear the scent from her nostrils. “Dang baby girl, that was foul! How can someone so small make something so rank?”

I full on belly laugh and have to sit the knife down on the cutting board. Sadly, I don’t remember the last time I could laugh so freely. Every day away from Hunter seems better than the next. I think taking the chance and leaving was probably the best decision I had ever made. “Yeah, she definitely drops major bombs.” The thought crosses my mind that this is probably one of the more carefree me moments I’ve had in a long time.

A soft laugh escapes my lips as I package the steaks. “What’s so funny?” Doing a double take, I look at Andrea, trying for the life of me to figure out how she got so close, so fast.

“Nothing, it’s kind of sad, really.” Forcing a smile as I continue with my task.

“It’s something. You went from smiling to blah.” Tilting her head, Andrea forces me to look at her. “Talk to me. It’s what friends are for. I want to help you.” The slight whine of her voice pushes me to spill my guts to her.

“It’s been forever since I’ve felt like me. That I’ve been happy and able to laugh.” My eyes plead with her for understanding. “Hunter was controlling. Domineering. His way or the highway once I moved in with him. His house, his rules, is what he told me.” My heart sinks as I realize the level of abuse he subjected me to over the last three years. “It took over two years for us to have Ashina only for him to dismiss her because she didn’t have a dick.” Anger flairs within me, thinking about his dismissal of my daughter.

“You’re better off without him, sweetheart. One day, your knight in shining armor will sweep you off your feet.” Andrea’s smile is radiant and her voice rings with truth. My treacherous heart flip-flops hoping against hope that she’s right.

Hugging her tightly. “I can only hope that you’re right. One day, I want to know what real love is like.” Softly, I sigh and walk away to look out the bay window. Another black wolf and a rust-colored one are feasting at the slab watching the house. “Andrea, look the wolves like my offering!” I’m excited to see the wolf I met earlier has friends.

Shaking her head, she laughs. “Those three are trouble, but not in a terrible sense.” Grams returns and hands Ashina back to me and leaves to head home. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to them. They’re friendly.” Arching a brow, I slip my daughter into her carrier and strap her to my back.

As we head to the backdoor, I stop and grab the bag of scraps I was going to toss onto the slab and carry it with me. How Andrea isn’t terrified of going near the wolves amazes me. Following behind Andrea and down the back stairs into the yard, my gut fills with dread and yet wonder. The rust-colored wolf wags its tail at Andrea’s approach while the two black wolves remain back by the slab.

“He’s beautiful.” My voice is barely above a whisper.

The rust-colored wolf turns and looks at me, tucking its tail between its legs. It drops to the ground and belly crawls towards me, whining. “He’s an Omega. He’s showing he’s harmless.” Andrea’s words soothe me as I watch his actions. He seems worried and almost as uneasy as I am.

My instincts tell me this wolf won’t hurt me, so I reach into the bag and hold out a long strip of venison to him. “Take it, it’s yours.” I swing the end close to him and he gently catches it and takes it scooting back.

The black wolves remain at the slab, so I toss hunks of meat to them. Once the bag is empty, I look at the rust-colored wolf and smile, watching him before backing away. When I feel I’m far enough away, I turn around and head back home.

Tonight is going to be an adventure.

Chapter 10

Conrad

~Werewolf - Motionless in White~

Out on patrol with Griffin was an experience I will never forget. His mind is in a thousand places all at once and all because Barrett came home smelling like Gracie. Griffin was on him like a flash and took him hard and fast right in the middle of the living room. Ethan was on edge the entire time until Griffin bent Barrett over the couch and Ethan could fuck his mouth.

My brothers were like two mindless sex driven teenagers. Barrett came no less than four times, getting fucked by my brothers. Their knots were a brilliant shade of an angry red, hitting Barrett with it hard and fast. Griffin mumbled, asking for consent before sinking knot deep into Barrett’s ass. The minute Griff did, he cried out, shooting his load everywhere. Ethan sunk his knot into Barrett’s mouth. Barrett pulled back briefly to grip his knot hard as Ethan’s hips shuddered.

Griffin keeps replaying that moment over and over in his head, giving my wolf a boner that just won’t die. It’s the opening morning of the human hunting season and we are making sure no one is poaching. Griffin freezes on the trail and I almost run into him. When the wind shifts again, the faint scent of Gracie drifts over to us. A very faint trace of Ethan’s scent hangs on the shrubs near where we are. At least he checked the place out before he went to work.

Instinctually, Griffin’s wolf heads down wind of its mate to observe her. There’s Gracie about twenty feet in the air and downwind of the deer on the other end of the creek. We watch and wait patiently for her to make her shot and when she does, part of me celebrates. Our mate can provide for herself. She might not hunt like we can, but she can kill. A soft human mate would never survive our lifestyle.

We know the moment the deer dies, having heard it huff out its last breath. Gracie lowers her bow, then glances at her watch. Her eyes immediately find the doe again, watching it until a soft beep of her alarm sounds. Our mate is as smart as she is beautiful. When I look away from Gracie, Griffin has already disappeared. I follow her, keeping her safe as she tracks her kill and retrieves her arrow. Just like old man Michaels before her, I watch her pray and thank the deer for its sacrifice.

I want nothing more than to shift and help her drag the doe back to the cabin. Sadly, Griffin has ordered us not to reveal that we are shifters until she accepts us as men and feels the pull of the bond. I watch her with bated breath as she prepares the deer, then leaves the offering. Just as I am preparing to emerge from the woods, Griffin does. His wolf is larger than his identical twin’s and mine. Gracie stares at him in wonder and thanks him. She literally thanked his wolf. His ego is going to be hell to deal with later.She backs away, heading home before turning around. Good girl, never give a predator your back.

“Griff?” Calling out to him, I step out of the woods and move to the slab.

“Yeah?” His tone screams distracted as he chews some of the venison in his mouth.

“Do you believe me now?” Rubbing the length of my body against his, I try to lend him my strength. An Alpha without a mate can easily go insane, lost to their wolf. Sadly, his identical twin, our brother, is losing that battle.

“I do. I just hope she can save Ethan.” Through the bond all littermates share, I can feel his pain and worry. Bumping his shoulder, I try to comfort him. Looking up, I follow his gaze and I see Gracie and Andrea in the window.

“What did I miss?” Barrett’s jovial tone filters through the bond we share with him as our Omega.

---