Page 3 of Wulf's Pack
I shrug. “If I wanted a pack, I wouldn’t have left mine. I’m a lone wolf, honey. You’re wasting your time.”
Her jaw clenches. “You’re nearly one hundred years old.”
I understand her skepticism. Most wolves start feeling the urge to mate around fifty or so. I’m ninety-seven, and I’ve never once felt the inclination. I don’t know why. I’m not gay. My wolf’s never been interested in any male wolves either. He’s justnot concerned with settling down. No one has ever caught his interest.
My eyes flick back to my mystery woman. She’s definitely caught my interest.
“Your wolf should be screaming at you to take a mate by now.”
I drag my eyes back to the she-wolf in front of me. “And yet, the only thing he’s urging me to do right now is run.”
The woman gasps again, and the next thing I know I’ve got a face full of beer. “Asshole!” she shrieks.
By the time I’ve wiped the beer out of my eyes, the four wolves from the other end of the bar have come to the woman’s defense. They’re gathered around her, glaring at me. “There a problem here?”
I lift my hands. “No problem, as long as the lady learns to take a hint. No means no, and all that.”
That earns me a chorus of snarls. I don’t know why I’m baiting these men. Wolves are always protective of females. These men may not be her pack, but they don’t take kindly to me disrespecting her. Yet, I can’t help myself. My wolf is agitated. Much more than normal. I stare the leader down. He bristles and shouts, “I challenge!”
I clench my jaw. My wolf is on the surface. I’m barely restraining him. “For what? The female? No need. You can have her.”
The man roars. “Fight me, you coward!”
Normally, I’m a very patient, easygoing man. My wolf is strong, and he’s not easily rattled. But with all four of these men challenging me, I do something I haven’t done in decades. I snap. I hop over the bar in one lithe movement and am in wolf form before I hit the ground. Instantly, all four of the male wolves shift as well. I wait for the sorcerers to scramble away from us and to safety. The others don’t give them the samecourtesy. The man who called challenge attacks. He’s quick, but I’m no inexperienced pup.
Usually, when I have to fight other wolves, I let them wear themselves out and take them down with as little violence as possible. But right now, my wolf is restless. After a few swipes of my challenger’s claws, I get tired of waiting and go for his throat. I use more force than necessary and slam him to the floor, pinching off his airway. I hold him down, choking him until he submits.
He stills, accepting his defeat, but his buddies don’t like that. The three of them jump me all at once. I let go of the first man, but I’m not quick enough to avoid their surprise attack. One of them jumps on my back and the other two flank me, coming at me from both sides. Claws and teeth tear through my skin in several places. Once the three of them have me distracted, the strongest one, the one I’d already beaten, jumps into the fight and lunges for my throat. It supremely pisses my wolf off, and shit gets real.
I’m out for blood. I throw the wolf off my back and turn to the wolf on my right. He’s not expecting me, and I chomp down on his front leg, shattering bone between my teeth. He howls and backs off, but the leader takes his place. I get an opening and go for his neck. Making him submit didn’t work, so this time I don’t hesitate. I rip through flesh and tear out his throat. He goes down.
Seeing their leader dead, the other three back up. They get down on their bellies and whine. These men are submitting to me. Not just conceding the fight, but offering me allegiance. I killed their leader, which in the shifter world means I take over the pack. There’s no way in hell I’m going to accept them as mine. I’ve never wanted to lead. Strangely, though, my wolf hesitates. I try to shift back, but he fights me. He wants this victory. He wants to claim these men.
I have no idea what’s going on. As much as I’ve never craved a mate, neither have I been interested in a pack. I don’t want to lead. I’ve been especially content since I joined my brother’s clan. A clan is not a pack. It works similarly, but is different enough to appease my wolf’s need for freedom. It helps that the clan is small but very strong. We’re more of a family than anything. My brother is the only other wolf in the family, and in our ragtag group of underworlders, I’m smack in the middle of the pecking order as opposed to being at the top. It’s been nice.
So why is my wolf about to ruin that and claim these men as pack?
“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?”
The room shakes with a roar as my best friend, boss, and clan leader, the only troll in Detroit, stomps up to the bloody scene. The three wolves still lying flat on their bellies whine again, and the she-wolf who stood back and watched as they fought and died for her honor steps forward. “These men challenged Wulf,” she tells Terrance. “He beat their leader fairly, so they jumped him.” She waves a hand at the dead wolf at my feet. “You can see how that turned out.” She shivers, and I can smell the lust wafting off her. “Such a strong wolf,” she purrs.
She moves toward me and reaches out like she’s going to bury her hand in my fur. My wolf doesn’t like it. As much as he’s ready to claim these men as pack, he’s not willing to take this woman as a mate. She’s not the one for us. Not willing to let the woman touch me, I snarl and snap at her hand. She pulls back fast enough that she barely saves her fingers from being bitten off. I’m not playing around. If she tries anything more, she’ll end up on the floor next to her champion, and she’ll be just as dead.
When I snap at her, she glares at me. “I am a suitable mate!”
I growl in response. I take a step forward, ready to fight her, and Terrance holds out a hand to stop me. “Easy, Wulf.” He glares at the woman, crossing his arms over his chest. “Doesn’tseem like Wulf’s interested in a mate, and his beast is on edge. Leave, before you get hurt.” He looks at the other wolves and adds, “And take your pack with you.”
The woman scoffs and waves toward me. “They’re not mine, they’re his.”
Terrance throws me a startled glance. “That true?”
I want to say no, but my wolf wants to say yes. I freeze as the two sides of me war with each other. Terrance can sense my distress. “Wulf,” he demands. “Shift.”
Being a troll, he has no alpha command. He can’t force me to shift. It’s only my loyalty to my clan leader that allows me to shift back without claiming the three wolves as pack. Once in my human form again, I take a deep breath. My wolf is still riding me, but I’m not physically fighting against his instincts anymore. My head clears, and fear takes over. What the hell was that? I was so close to claiming a pack. My wolf nearly took full control.
“Wulf?” Terrance asks. “Are they yours?”
I shake my head at the wolves still submitting to me. “I refuse the position of alpha. Take your fallen leader and go.”
