Leader of the Pack (4 page)

CHAPTER FOUR

As soon as she was out of hearing – human hearing that was – Jared turned to his two visitors with a cold, hard glare. “You’ve scared her to death.”

Maria apologized with a smile. “We’re sorry, Jared, we had no idea she meant so much to you.”

“
Yeah, if we’d known you’d found your permanent lay, we’d have brought the whole gang by to watch the show.” This time Shawn had the good sense to step well away from Jared before he spoke. Still, the heat from his leader’s eyes would have downed a lesser wolf. He threw up his hands in disgust. “Okay, okay. I get it. She’s the one. The love of your life. Your mate. Geese, does being in love have to suck all the humor out of you?”

Maria and Jared shared an amused look, proving it did not. They both knew Shawn had never felt the emotions Jared experienced now. Considered the playboy of the pack, the blonde pup bedded a new female almost every day. Werewolf or human, it didn’t matter to him. But they also knew he’d never been tempted to copulate during a full moon cycle, an act which signaled a wolf’s commitment to his partner.

Over the centuries, the wolf had learned to control the change. The full moon no longer held the devastating power it once had by forcing the wolf to endure the change whether they wanted to or not. Now, a wolf could choose when to take on its animal form. They could remain human during the moon cycle. Scientists of the pack believed this now happened because of the dilution of the bloodline as more and more wolves took humans as mates and children were born of those unions.

But a full moon still made a werewolf extremely dangerous, especially the male of the species. It was a time filled with lust and power. Every sense was sharper and physical strength increased tenfold. In the throes of passion, extreme control had to be exerted not to hurt one’s partner. Especially if that partner was human.

“
We’re sorry we’ve intruded upon you at this special time,” Maria said. “I’m glad you found your mate at last. You’re a wonderful leader, Jared. You deserve be happy.”

Jared knew her words were sincere. They were friends from whelping days and he knew she supported him wholeheartedly as leader of the pack. Unlike the days of old, the pack elected the alpha male. There were no more fights to the death. Not that Jared wouldn’t give his life for his pack. He protected them every day by working with the bureau. He needed to know what the world knew about supernatural beings and what better way to have inside information than working with the government. He would kill without hesitation to protect one of his. Just as he knew his pack members would fight to defend him and his as well.

“
You had no way of knowing. Hell, it came out of the blue. One minute I was on my way to kill a vamp and the next she was there. She knocked me to my knees. I smelled her before I saw and I knew. I just knew.” A huge, silly grin split his face.

“
Can we cut this sentimental crap?” Shawn asked his tone low. “We want to know what happened. Did you find the murdering bastard? We need to wipe them all off the face of the earth!”

“
Not all vampires are evil, Shawn.” Maria’s blue eyes were sad, filled with deep, dark secrets.

“
I’m sorry, Maria.” The other wolf sighed, genuine sorrow in his voice.

Everyone knew Maria and a vampire had hooked up a little over a year ago and their affair had been hot and heavy until the bitter end. One day they were talking happily-forever-after and the next he had disappeared. Jared had tried to find him but had not been successful. There had been no rumors of his death, no trail to his lair. The vamp had simply vanished into thin air.

“
Does she know?” Maria asked.

Did Emily know he was a wolf? He shook his head. “No. But she knows something is different. That I’m different.”

Maria’s smile was full of empathy. If anyone knew the difficulties two different cultures faced, she did. Even with two supernatural beings, she and Cord had encountered their share of bigotry and unacceptance. Sometimes Jared thought the vampire had left to protect Maria from the inevitable backlash as their two worlds collided. He wasn’t too sure he wouldn’t have done the same thing in the other man’s shoes. He’d do anything to protect Emily.

“
Well, this vamp, whoever it is, is off the charts evil.” Jared went to the kitchen to finish breakfast. So much for the sexy romantic breakfast he’d had in mind with Emily. He now had two uninvited breakfast guests. He’d managed to cook everything before Emily had come downstairs. Now he dumped the biscuits into a basket and scooped the scrambled eggs into a serving platter.

“
Just don’t stand there, Shawn,” he ordered. “Make yourself useful and get out some butter and jam.” The other man scowled but obeyed.

“
Maria, would you mind pouring some coffee and juice for everyone?” he asked. He knew Shawn had noticed the difference in his tone when he emitted a low growl. Sometimes it was fun to be the Alpha.

The three had just finished putting the final touches on the meal when Emily came back downstairs. She was dressed in her black jeans and had managed to find one of his t-shirts. It was one of his oldest, washed out and faded. On her it looked adorable. She’d tied the bottom in a knot just below her hips and the stretched out neck slid from one shoulder, revealing the strap of her bra and her smooth creamy white skin. And his mark. If his beast had been a cat, he would have been purring with satisfaction.

“
Come sit down, baby,” he pulled out a barstool. As she took her seat he caressed her neck, his thumb strumming the bite on her neck.

He made sure she had everything she needed before he took the stool beside her – eggs, bacon, potatoes and orange juice.

When Shawn started to serve himself, Jared emitted a low growl.

“
What? I wasn’t even looking at her.” Shawn paused, a spoonful of eggs hovering over his plate.

“
Good,” Jared said, “keep it that way. But that wasn’t what I meant.” He indicated Maria sitting at the island with no plate in front of her.

“
Oh, man, I’m sorry,” Shawn immediately apologized and picked up a clean plate and filled it with food.

“
Thank you, Shawn,” the other woman smiled as he handed it to her.

Jared glanced sideways at Emily. He could feel the questions almost rolling off her in waves. “The males of the pack do not eat before the women.”

Emily put down her fork and just looked at him. He could sense her hesitation and wondered if now was the time she would begin to demand answers about him. About what he was.

“
Why?”

Disappointment flared briefly. But he knew she would accept him when she was ready.

He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know that is how it’s always been. I guess it’s a throwback behavior for when we hunted for our women.”

“
I think it’s wonderful behavior,” Maria said taking a bite of the cheesy scrambled eggs. “I love to be looked after. It’s only when their instincts to protect kick into overdrive that drives me crazy.”

“
We only do what is right,” Jared said refilling Emily’s juice glass before she could ask. From the corner of his eye he saw Shawn take a seat on the other side of the island. He allowed the man to take several bites before he spoke. “You might not want to sit there, Shawn.”

The man looked up, a piece of bacon halfway to his mouth and a puzzled look on his face. “Why?”

“
Emily and I-”

“
Eeww,” Shawn made a disgusted face as he quickly rose, snatching up his plate.

“
Jared,” Emily punched Jared’s arm hard.

“
What? It’s true,” he laughed as he kissed her fisted hand.

“
No, it’s not. Sit back down Shawn, we didn’t do anything,” she said.

“
Well, that’s technically true.” Jared spread apricot jam on a biscuit and placed it on Emily’s plate. When she shook her head no, he frowned until she picked it up and took a bite. “But not for lack of trying. If you two had just waited ten more minutes,” he shook his head remorsefully. “But, I’m sure your juices didn’t soak through the robe you were wearing.”

“
Jared!” This time Emily screeched, the short burst of sound hurting the werewolves’ ears. “How could you?” She buried her red face in her hands.

“
Emily,” Maria smoothed. “It is nothing to be ashamed of. We’re glad you find our alpha so attractive.”

“
Please, please, please, could we talk about something else?” Emily murmured.

Shawn sniffed at the island before shrugging his broad shoulders and sitting back down.

Jared laughed. “The trip to the house was a bust, at least for now. There’s definitely something going on out there, but I couldn’t investigate. Not with Emily.”

“
See what I mean about the over protectiveness?” Marie asked. “If I were you, I’d nip it in the bud right now. Nip, nip nip.”

“
We’ll go check it out for you,” Shawn volunteered.

“
That might be best,” Jared nodded in agreement, ignoring the woman’s comment. He did not need her giving Emily advice. “I need to see someone tonight. We’re running out of time.” Both wolves knew what he meant. If he went hunting during the full moon – and he would to find his pack member – the chances of exposure for them and the vamp would be great. No one in the pack would be able to control him. And they still had to remember how this affected the human world. Someone was killing women and the authorities were demanding answers. If the killings just stopped, there would be too many questions left unanswered.

The pack had been interacting with humans throughout the centuries because they were one of the few species of supernatural beings whose true life mates could be human. But there was always the danger of discovery by the general population. And discovery was something they could not survive. Their early history with humans had been violet and bloody. They had been hunted like packs of wild animals, shot and killed out of superstition and fear, sometimes just for sport. But they had learned to blend in with humanity as they had gained control of the moon’s power.

“
Do you think whoever was in the house is still there?” Emily pushed away her plate.

Jared immediately poured her a cup of coffee. When he indicated the sugar and cream, she nodded. Instead of handing them to her, he spooned the sugar in, watching her to see how much he should add. He did the same with the cream. Before he handed her the coffee, he took a drink, testing the temperature. He then leaned over and kissed her, allowing his tongue to slide against hers so she could taste it. “Is that alright?” he asked.

Emily couldn’t help the shy smile. “It’s perfect.” She cradled the cup between her hands. “I want to go back to the house.”

Jared snarled. “You will not go to any more houses.”

Maria made a pinching motion with her thumb and forefinger before pouring her own cup of coffee.

Emily snickered into her mug. “The house last night was the top choice, but I have other houses I want to check. Rachel gave me the names of five men she thought might be, umm, vamps. I traced them to various houses in the county.” She didn’t know if she should be concerned that saying things like that out loud was becoming easier and easier.

“
What the fuck? You might have the name of the bastard who took one of our pack and you’re just now telling us?” Shawn snarled and lunged across the island. Before he could touch her, Jared had him jerked up by the neck, his hand cutting off his air.

“
Mine
.
”

He could feel the change taking over. His claws extended and his vision turned red. No one dared to touch his mate. Harm her. Especially one of his pack.

He bent his head focused solely on eliminating the threat.

“
Jared,” Maria grabbed his arm. “Let him go.”

His lips pulled back, his fangs fully exposed. “Back,” he ordered.

The woman dropped her gaze but did not let go of his arm. “Emily,” she whispered. “You have to stop him.”

Emily wrapped her hand around Jared’s other arm. “Jared,” she snapped. “Let him go. Let him go now.”

If she’d learned one thing during her years on the force, it was that most men responded to an authoritative voice, no matter who it came from. A woman’s voice usually reminded them of either their mother or a stern school teacher and actually produced better results than a man’s.

When he didn’t release the other man, she rolled her eyes. She might have known Jared was not like any of her usual drunk and disorderlies

She changed tactics and started rubbing the bicep she was touching. “Jared, please let him go.” He stilled, turning to look at her. The beauty of his golden eyes took her breath away.

Maria started to pry away her alpha’s fingers from her pack mate’s throat earning herself a warning snarl. “That’s good Emily. Distract him.”