Page 30 of Dawn of the Pack

I just glared at him from my corner, fist wrapped around the leash as if I could gain some sort of control by holding it. Just, I think bitterly, like a dog carrying his own leash in his mouth.

Nielsen raises the electrified wand and slides it through the wide mesh of the cage. “I wish I could say this won’t hurt a bit, son, but that’d be a lie. It’s gonna hurt, and it’s gonna hurt a lot. If it makes you feel any better, I tested it on myself first. You’ll survive.”

And then, with no warning, he stabs the prod into the flesh of my right pectoral. I have a split second to imagine our rolls reversed some day in the future before the pain becomes so extreme I can’t help crying out. In a coincidence I’m certain Nielsen didn’t plan on, the searing magic combined with actual electricity is enough to knock me out completely.

Chapter Thirteen

Jared

“I don’t like this at all.” Milo’s growl is deep and throaty, conveying a barely restrained fury I’ve never heard from him before.

“Me either, but she’s gotta do what she thinks is best.” I pause for just a second before I ask, “Hey, you okay, man?”

He swats angrily at a tree branch as we continue walking toward the clearing, and doesn’t answer. It’s cold out tonight, the moon lamp-bright in the dark, cloudless sky. Our breath forms clouds of vapor as we walk, matching the crowd surging from Harridan House as we trudge along together. Dried leaves cover the trail, making for a noisy crunch with every step. More people appear from the shadows between the trees, taking the shortest distance from the parking area behind the greenhouses to the clearing.

“I’m fine,” he answers finally. “I’ve just been… annoyed lately.”

That definitely feels like an understatement.

“Did something happen? Is there something you’re not telling us?” When he doesn’t answer immediately, I add, “You know we’re always here for you, right?”

Milo’s eyes dart my way for a fraction of a second, then return to the moon-bleached path ahead. “It’s no big deal. I’ll get over it.”

“If you say so.”

In truth, I’m sort of worried about him. I don’t know if it’s the rescue mission getting to him, or the stress Lily’s under;or that she’s so insistent on getting Derrek back in the first place… or maybe it’s just because he still doesn’t like the way Derrek eyes our mate.

Either way, something changed drastically the day after the unfortunate homecoming dance and he’s not talking. But I don’t have the time to probe him for answers, because we’ve arrived at the clearing and it’s barely five minutes till midnight.

We follow the crowd until they split, household staff joining the outer tree line and Lily, Landon, Milo and I, along with her ‘guests’ and security, heading straight for the center. Lily glances around at the murmuring crowd, and as if they feel her eyes, they quiet down as one.

“Good evening, Smoky Falls!” She greets them with a wide smile, and I can see the pack returning the grin as if following from cue cards. “It’s my honor to spend another midnight run with you all. First, you may have noticed that we have a few guests with us tonight. These gentlemen are from Pack Montrose-”

A wave of gasps and hisses rises from the crowd, forcing Lily to wait before continuing. “They’re from Pack Montrose and they’re my guests,” she emphasizes the last word forcefully to drive home the point. “They’ve come to potentially help us retrieve someone important to me that the Montrose alpha took, but they wish for me to prove my worth as an alpha before they take that risk.”

Now the crowd is furious. An angry rumble rises as they react to this news.

Lily’s voice lifts to compensate. “I am happy to provide them with this demonstration, and I expect that you all will serve as witnesses without interfering. Is that understood?”

The rumbles quiet down to a dissatisfied murmur, and Lily smiles in response. “Excellent. Since we’re just a couple minutes out, I think it’s best we prepare ourselves for the shift. After our little demonstration, we’ll head directly out for our run!”

The pack begins stripping in unison, peeling off warm layers and exposing their bodies to the icy wind that’s rattling branches overhead. I follow suit, unzipping my puffy vest and dumping each piece of clothing on top of a pile of leaves. My eyes stay trained on Lily. As she pulls off her own clothes, she reveals gleaming white skin that seems to be made of light itself. All of her soft curves catch and reflect the moonlight. So much skin I haven’t gotten to explore yet…

Saliva gathers in my mouth and I swallow it down with difficulty; my throat seems to have closed. Lily gives the appearance of focusing solely on the task at hand, but I know the look of concentration she wears; she’s reaching out with her alpha senses, keeping tabs on everyone without making it obvious.

The Montrose guys are stripping in a tight circle, the security team surrounding them still in full gear. It suddenly occurs to me that the security team is there to protect the visitors from us, and not the other way around. Given the way the surrounding pack is sending distrustful glares their way, I can’t blame my mate for her caution.

Milo, Landon, and I form a tight semi-circle behind Lily once we’re clear of our clothes. It’s so cold I can see the heat rising off our bodies, and those of the crowd, like veils of steam in the moonlight.

“Are you sure about this?” Landon’s voice is gentle, just asking and not questioning her.

She turns to face us, a hard smile on her lips. “I’ve got this. Don’t worry about me.”

Lord help me; my eyes dip down, just a moment, to take in her perfect breasts and the dark triangle where her legs and hips meet. I clench my hands to restrain myself from reaching out and gripping her ass to lift her to my height. My mouth floods with saliva once again, and I readjust my stance to position my hands in front of my crotch. I should not be getting myself turned on right now.

Lily’s eyes drop to my hands, and her determined expression softens into a teasing grin. “Jared, is it a little cold out here for you?”

“What? I mean, yeah it’s cold, but that doesn’t mean… I mean, I’m fine. Are you?” My stammering is incredibly embarrassing, but apparently all the blood has left my brain. I glance sideways and see immediately that Landon is in the same boat, obvious discomfort etched across his face as he tries, and fails, to avoid ogling our mate.

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