Page 74 of Kidnapping Their Third

“I know the alpha,” Kimble said, then his voice lost a little confidence. “Or I knew the alpha of this pack. I’ve been feral for a few years; I hope she’s still in charge.”

That didn’t give Pike any confidence at all. The car was going so slow that when he lifted his foot off the gas pedal, it rolled to a stop almost before he touched the brake.

“I won’t go any further,” Pike declared. He didn’t want to go against Kimble, but he couldn’t risk getting attacked by a large wolf pack in their own territory. The drive had trees on one side and large rocks on the other, making it impossible to turn the large car around. He was going to have to back up. Finessing the Caddy into reverse, Pike put an arm on the seat to help look through the back window and almost yelped in surprise.

Standing right at the Caddy’s rear bumper were half a dozen people, their angry expressions well-lit by the bright reverse lights.

“Oh shit!” Cora cursed, giving voice to Pike’s startlement. “Where did they come from?”

“What are you doing in our territory, bear?” a person shouted from the front of the car. They looked forward to see seven more people gathered there. A round woman glared at Pike through the windshield, her eyes glowing with power. This had to be the alpha.

“Annette!” Kimble called out, a wide smile on his face.

Annette’s mouth dropped open, and she put both hands on the hood to lean forward. “Maksim?”

“Yes,” Kimble said. “I’ve returned.”

“Is it really you?” Annette cried out as whispered conversations broke out among the other shifters.

She marched around the car and rapped on the window insistently. Pike rolled it down and then was forced to lean away as Annette pushed most of her body into the car. She took a few deep breaths while staring at Kimble intensely, as if searching his face for answers.

“It is you,” she whispered. Her face rapidly went through a bunch of emotions: surprise, pain, relief, and finally impatience. “It’s about fucking time you got back!”

***

Cora

Cora’s first impression of the wolf pack, once they got the Caddy parked and everyone inside, was friendliness.

There were roughly fifty people in the pack and about half of them lived on the Palomar Mountain compound with the rest visiting on a regular basis. The building Annette led them into reminded Cora of Caleb’s dorm. The first floor was mostly an open floor plan with a large industrial-looking kitchen at one end and the rest of the space full of tables, chairs, couches, and TVs in various configurations. Unlike Caleb’s dorm, this place was tidy with the only mess confined to a small area scattered with children’s toys.

Kimble radiated happiness as he took it all in. “I remember all this.”

“Half the rooms are empty because we’ve sent the last of the teenagers to college,” Annette explained with a wave of her hand to indicate the upstairs. “All the cabins are full, and two of our families are expecting cubs soon.”

“The pack is healthy under your leadership, Annette,” Kimble praised.

Annette blushed. “As our benefactor, you’re responsible for our prosperity as well. We were a struggling pack of ten when you first took us under your griffin wing.”

“That was many years ago,” Kimble said with a dismissive gesture. “The pack has paid me back tenfold over the last century. Besides, I probably wouldn’t even have a home right now if it wasn’t for this pack. You have my deepest gratitude and a promise to reward all of you properly.”

“Did he say century?” Cora asked Pike. She tried to whisper but realized too late that everyone was going to hear her no matter how quietly she spoke.

All eyes turned to her, and she pressed back against Pike. “Um, I’m sorry if my question wasn’t appropriate or something. This is all kind of new to me.”

“We’re happy to help you learn,” Annette said without a trace of mockery. “Maksim and my great-grandfather made a Blood Pact. He let the pack live on his land and provided shelter for our human forms. In exchange, we kept him safe during the day. It used to be a common exchange between packs and vampires, but unlike other vampires, Maksim never took advantage of us. He paid us wages, paid for our children to attend the schools of their choice, encouraged us to open businesses, and even wished anyone well if they wanted to leave. I remember the day my beloved uncle, the old alpha, died.”

Annette turned to face Kimble. “You cried for him.”

“He’s cried for all of us,” someone else said. “He’s been at the bedside of almost every dying wolf.”

“I’ve loved all of you as family,” Kimble said, his voice thick with emotions. Cora felt a little jealous of all the history these people had with the man she’d always seen as alone in the world except for her and Pike. The addition of this wolf pack was going to take some getting used to.

Annette looked like she was ready to shed some happy tears. “How could we not love the vampire who mourns like a wolf?”

Then she flung herself at him in a hug. Kimble started to hug her back but to Cora’s absolute shock, Pike growled and moved past Cora to pull the alpha off Kimble.

“My vampire!” Pike said, stepping between her and Kimble. Seeing Pike’s blatant possessiveness made Cora feel a little better about her own insecurity.

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