Seduced by Wolves (5 page)

Chapter Five

Not even the brisk wind swirling off
the hillside dampened his lifting spirits as he watched Selena
laugh with a group of female shifters out walking their young ones.
The deep worry lines he feared would be etched permanently on their
faces started to smooth. Selena’s presence here already soothed his
people even if she didn’t know it.

As his mate she would become Pack
healer. Her nursing background was a plus but her giving, gentle
nature was her true virtue. His people needed balance, comfort. She
was the perfect fit beside his commanding presence. Selena would
smooth many rough edges, not just his.

His chest tightened as she rocked the
newest addition to their Pack in her tiny arms. Madeline Roch just
turned three months last week. She was old enough to know Selena
wasn’t her mommy but the intimate way they snuggled as another gust
of wind blew and the sparkle lighting Selena’s eyes would have
fooled most anyone. And he knew if giving her children kept such
immense joy on her face, he’d do so in a heartbeat.

“For a man who spent months searching
for her, I’m surprised you haven’t marked her as your own
yet.”

Zane tore his gaze from Selena,
fighting through a drugged moment before turning his attention to
Jesse. “It’s complicated,” he told one of his closest hunters and
friends.

Jesse looked toward his wife and
daughter standing beside Selena, then past them to the narrow
street lined with modest homes. “He’s been in the gym all morning,
working himself ragged but I think he’ll come around soon
enough.”

Zane waited, thankful to know where and
how Cory faired, knowing his fellow hunter hadn’t stopped by to
ease his worry over that. “Go ahead and speak your mind,
Jesse.”

The other hunter crossed his arms over
his chest, still watching the interaction between his wife and
Selena. “Just think you might be asking for more than Cory can
give, is all.”

Zane breathed in the fresh, crisp air.
While thankful his men trusted him with their thoughts—challenged
him even—he wasn’t one to break under the scrutiny. The decisions
he made as Alpha were respected. Without that, you had dissent. The
beginnings of which were stirring in the pack youth. “Cory knew
what I would demand in return for him searching Selena
out.”

He watched the open curiosity on the
faces of the Pack youth as they passed Selena. His scent would be
on her, a protection and warning of sorts, but not enough for them
to understand she was his permanently. His wolf howled in his mind,
aching to finish the bond.

“A three way bond. Is it even
possible?”

Zane knew everyone had doubts but his
research spoke of the possibility and he’d cling to that for all he
was. Cory had been in his life for as long as he could remember.
The richness of their history—sexual and otherwise—was so thickly
intertwined there was no other way. He was a stubborn bastard who
wasn’t letting anyone go.

He gave Jesse a long stare, the end of
the conversation clear. His fellow hunter cleared his
throat.

“In the meantime I thought you might
like to know that Aden went missing last night.”

Sliding his hands deep in his jean
pockets, Zane ignored the impulse to shred something with this
latest piece of awful news. Aden wasn’t a Pack youth coming of age
and unable to control the bloodlust. He’d been vocal about his
displeasure with the Pack, a man they thought might actually be
organizing the youth to try and stray.

“Want me to put Cory on it?”

He shook his head, knowing Cory was in
no shape to track the possible rogue today. And if he was honest,
he selfishly wanted to keep Cory close because he had no intention
of mating Selena without his lover present too.

Something that needed to happen soon so
she had the full protection of the Pack. Not to mention once she
officially became his mate her soothing nature could further ease
the undercurrent of tension the growing number of rogues were
causing. Her very presence a catalyst to soothe.

“You and Jenkins go. Scope out his home
and check the latest surveillance videos of the last known rogue
hangout. Let me know what you find.”

The early winter wind swirled around
them again, carrying Selena’s potent scent and awakening the beast
within. The wolf wanted to claim his mate, demanded he mark her as
his own. When she turned and smiled and began to walk toward them,
he felt the electric charge surge through him, mesmerized by this
unseemly pull her presence caused.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,
Zane. Him vanishing at the same time your mate arrives stinks
something royal.”

The wolf clawed the confines of his
mind, eager to find the solution to the growing number of rogues
that kept multiplying despite him and his hunters work with the
youth. They had no solid evidence that Aden had turned rogue, no
proof that he was guilty of anything more than meeting with the now
dead rogues sometime within a day of them turning.

He held out his hand when Selena neared
and wrapped her into the crook of one arm. “Leaving Pack protection
only draws more attention to his activities. Not a smart move on
his part. No matter what it coincides with.”

Jesse took off toward his wife and
daughter while Zane used the opportunity to steer Selena in the
opposite direction. He slowed his pace, matching her short strides,
reveling in the intimate moment of two lovers walking together. She
shivered against him when the wind picked up, wrapping the heavy
wool sweater he lent her tighter around her slim frame.

“Not a winter person?” He smoothed his
hand down one arm, drawing her close, already aching to turn around
and take her back to bed.

“I’d hibernate if I could.”

He smiled at the pleasant image her
statement conjured, pictures of Selena curled up in his bed, his
body wrapped around hers, Cory on the other side. Sex in the
air.

“You could.” He stopped them in front
of the vacant, fenced lot, tipping her chin up to so he could lose
himself in the sparkle of her eyes. “In our bed.”

Our bed.

It didn’t matter whether he meant his
and Selena’s or Cory, his and Selena’s. Within the span of twelve
hours, she already owned part of it. Just as she owned part of him
and would forever now. It didn’t matter that officially he hadn’t
mated her yet. Once he had a chance to speak to Cory, to soothe his
lover’s doubts, together they would.

“So why are we out braving the cold
today?”

Zane looked across the lot, empty but
for a row of benches and storage lockers along one edge. The tangy
scent of sweat and blood clung to the area. “Training
day.”

Selena turned into him, sliding her
chilled hands beneath his sweatshirt and around his waist. Burying
her head into his chest, she murmured. “Maybe try putting it in
non-wolf speak.”

He smiled. With his mate beside him,
the one woman it felt like he’d known forever, it was easy to
forget she wasn’t a shifter, wasn’t aware of their society’s rules
or activities. He tangled his fingers through her unbound hair,
keeping her close, listening to the comfortable beat of her heart
against his chest.

“Once a week I invoke a fighting circle
and let the Pack youth take turns sparring with me.”

Selena pulled back as far as he’d let
her and peered up at him. Her delicate scent filled his nostrils,
invigorating him, heating his blood even as she worried her lower
lip between white teeth.

“Sounds dangerous.”

He shook his head, knowing whether she
understood the importance of this training activity today or not
was less important than her accepting his participation. Of not
being afraid for the rowdy teenagers when he pushed their
boundaries and taught them self-control.

“Far less dangerous than what would
happen if they didn’t learn to control their beast. As wolves we
possess greater strength than most and it’s important they learn
their limits now in a controlled environment before one provoking
on the streets cause them to snap.”

She slid her hands higher up his back,
as if trying to burrow into his skin. Whether she attempted for
warmth or just because she needed the physical contact didn’t
matter. He went hard within seconds.

“Suppose that makes sense. So why am I
here?”

When she lifted her angelic face to
his, slowly rubbing her belly against his throbbing shaft it was
all he could do not to turn around and carry her back to his home.
“Because I can’t resist the opportunity to show off.” He teased
with a cocky grin.

And I don’t want you out of my sight
until we’re fully mated.

“I suppose I might be able to swoon a
little for you.” She batted her eyelashes in mock appreciation. “Of
course it will be because my feet went numb.”

He swallowed his worry as he led her
into the lot where various teens and some of his fellow hunters
gathered. The foreign emotion threatened to choke him enough lately
as it was.

“I really want you here and you’ll see
why soon enough.” He guided her to one of the benches and settled
her atop it, pulling a wool blanket out from a nearby bin and
laying it across her lap. Leaning close, he kissed the tender spot
beneath her ear, heat rushing through him at her small shiver and
whispered “Besides, getting you warmed up later will be all kinds
of fun.”

* * * *

Cory hadn’t intended to walk within
half a mile of the training circle today. Teaching the youth was a
task Zane personally oversaw, leaving the rest of the hunters to
focus their attention on tracking rogues and keeping their quiet
Pack safe. But when he scented Selena’s soft fragrance on the
breeze, her delicate signature not woven with that of his lover,
rage overrode common sense.

Zane was wasting precious time by not
mating her, fooling with a bond as sacred and old as time itself.
He and Selena belonged together. The two of them. Period. Anger
weaved through his every cell as he strode to the vacant training
lot. Each quick step closer brought the familiar scents of Zane to
him as well as the overwhelming sweetness of his mate. The hurt
over losing Zane now, over losing Linnea all those years ago riled
his temper further. Marching right up to the fray, he stopped,
ignoring the startled stares his presence evoked.

“Ian, go have Selena check your wound,”
Cory growled as he waited impatiently for the teenager to exit the
fighting circle, fury racing through his blood.

The second Zane remained in the ring
alone, Cory sprinted inside, resisting the urge to let his claws
loose as he shoved him forcefully with both hands. “What the hell
is the matter with you, Zane?”

His temper escalated further when the
Alpha refused to defend himself.

“I’m sure you’re about to tell me,
love.”

The near smirk on his lover’s chiseled
face fueled a hot rage and Cory shoved him once more, this time
letting his claws out to scratch Zane’s bare chest. His partner
finally retaliated, slamming his fist across his punching shoulder
and driving Cory backward.

Regaining his composure, he stepped
right back into the Alpha’s space. “You didn’t seal the bond with
Selena, dammit.” He all but shouted on a vicious growl. “And
everyone here with a working nose scents your indecision. You’re
hurting your Pack.”

He slashed outward again, Zane easily
sidestepping his lethal claws.

“I told you I want you there with us.”
Zane grated, as they circled the ring, drawing a crowd. Their
relationship was no secret in the close bonds of their Pack but
never had they fought against each other even in
training.

Cory ignored the wide-eyes of the teens
around them. His soul had nearly been lost all those years ago when
Linnea died. He wouldn’t put himself through the torture again.
Wouldn’t subject Zane to a similar fate. “I said no, Zane. Accept
it.”

When Zane shook his head, sweat
flinging from his face, Cory lunged. Dropping low, he swung his leg
in an arc, knocking Zane flat on his back. A few stunned onlookers
hollered, having never seen their Alpha downed but Zane rolled and
sprung back up. Before he could turn, Zane connected his boot with
the back of Cory’s knee. He roared in agony as he hit the hard
earth.

The feminine shriek startled him and he
lifted his head off the ground, his eyes locking on Selena’s tear
streaked face. Damn. Ian had his hands around her waist, holding
her back but just barely. She was a fighter, he’d give her that.
When he shook his head, mouthing it’s okay, she stilled.

Zane’s thick-soled boot pinched one
clawed hand to the ground as he bent low and fisted Cory’s too-long
hair in his hand. He leaned close enough for him to scent the raw
essence of his lover beneath the sweat and dirt from the training
session. On any other day he would welcome being able to scrub it
off Zane’s body, but not today, possibly not again for a long
time.

Cory could hear the quickened beat of
his heart, no different from when they made love. He groaned in
miserable frustration, his mind and body torn about doing what it
wanted and what was right.