Untamed: an Alpha's Love (Paranormal Werewolf Shifter Romance) (4 page)

CHAPTER
SEVEN

As he made his way back to the car, Parker stopped and asked several people what caused the accident, but the answer was always the same. No one had seen where the car came from, and no one could positively identify it. The few children who could remember anything from before the school bus rolled down the embankment had different versions of what had happened. It was a blue car; it was a black car. It came from behind; it came from the other side of the road; it came out of nowhere. Maddie herself had said that the car had come out of nowhere and disappeared just as quickly. Parker asked her again as they drove away from the scene of the accident. She insisted that the car—which she described as large and dark blue with tinted windows—drove straight toward the bus and wouldn't stop until it swerved off the road.

"Just like in a movie," she declared again, adding that the driver of the car was "a man for sure because of the size."

Parker's mind raced the whole way home. He barely noticed the warmth of Charmaine's hand when it wrapped around his.
That was no accident
. Whoever was responsible had counted on a number of factors to work in their favor. First was the unreliability of young witnesses. No one on the bus (except the bus driver, who was dead) had been over the age of thirteen. Second was the location. The embankment and field were in a remote area. If one of the children hadn't called 911 from her cell phone, they might all still be trapped in a smoking, twisted wreck on the side of the road waiting for someone to drive by and notice that they needed help. And third was the element of surprise. Whoever had done this had counted on the shock of frightened, confused witnesses and had slipped away undetected.

From what he could tell, Maddie had the most accurate description of both the car and the driver, which put her in a potentially dangerous position. He didn't count on the police to keep her safe if she gave her version of events, either. They'd have to keep it under wraps and handle it themselves. The last thing he wanted was anyone knowing that his sister had seen the driver, no matter how briefly. God forbid they have another target on their heads.

Local law enforcement dealt with issues in Kreuger and Vella territory with a light hand. Members of both packs were legal citizens of the land, and they obeyed the laws of society for the most part. When special circumstances arose, the police were advised via a network of scouts, some of whom were sheriff's deputies, and they let the Lycans handle it with minimal interference. Parker knew that the old feud was taken about as seriously as a missing cat. Normally, it would be easy enough to keep the police away by playing up the feud, but not this time. There were twelve dead, most of them children. The accident would likely make national news. Someone had to answer for the crime, and in an election year they could count on the sheriff's investigations to continue as long as it took to secure enough campaign funding. They had to sort it out between themselves and quickly.

***

Lena and Dominic were waiting anxiously for their return and he knew he'd have to answer for his sins of omission later, but they were both so relieved to see that Maddie was okay that they barely chastised him at all. He was reassured as Maddie allowed her parents to fuss over her briefly before tucking her phone to her ear with her good hand and heading off to root in the kitchen for a snack. They heard her mention the accident briefly before she steered the conversation toward musings about whether Tyler liked Sarah or if he still liked Allie. He was amazed by her resiliency.
Or maybe it just hasn't hit her yet,
he thought.
I should tell Mom and Dad what the counselor said
.

Within the hour, every local channel broadcast coverage of the scene. He and Charmaine hadn't seen news crews when they arrived, but they must have just missed them, because there was the crash site, live on TV, all of it conspiring to unsettle him once again. The police chief and sheriff issued a joint statement concluding that the accident was caused by someone from out of state.

They placated the public by releasing a composite sketch of the car, but they insisted no one had seen the driver and they would not be pressing a bunch of traumatized children for details. They urged families to grieve and begin to heal without the perpetrator's arrest and offered platitudes that made Parker's blood boil.
Pretty hard to "do our best to move on" when we've just pulled our children from a burning wreck
, he thought.
There are twelve families at least that may never be able to move on.
A sharp throbbing attacked above his eye.

"I can't watch this fucking bullshit anymore!" he fumed, snatching the remote and clicking to rid himself of the droning coverage. Stunned silence filled the room and three sets of surprised eyes stared back at him. His mother's face colored and he felt the heat rise in his own cheeks. Instantly the apology stammered from his lips.

"Ma... Baby... I'm sorry. It's just..." His throat closed and he felt like he couldn't breathe. He stood before he knew that he was going to, a trapped animal fighting itself inside his chest, and bolted from the room. He raced out the front door before he had a second's thought about what he was going to do next.

Getting in the car was out of the question. He had no business behind the wheel when he was so dangerously close to phasing. The yard met the trees not far back. He just had to get there and breathe and focus before he lost complete control. Long strides carried him to the gate at the far edge of the garden. He stumbled as his hand gripped the rusty metal, and he managed to swing it open and pull the latch before the roaring in his ears overtook him.

CHAPTER EIGHT

They all sat in shock, trying to absorb Parker's outburst and hasty exit. It was so unlike him that no one knew what to make of it.

Lena spoke first. "He loves Maddie so much. That must've given him such a scare." She looked at Charmaine and frowned. "Charmaine, honey, you're really pale. You should lie down for a few minutes. Parker will be back. You need to take care of yourself."

Like hell
. She needed to figure out what was wrong with her husband and help him. Parker's unflappability was one of the things she loved best about him, but lately he'd been coming apart at the seams. And it couldn't just be about Maddie; the accident had been awful, but Maddie herself was fine. She paced the room, willing Parker to return and take her home so she could try to talk to him.

When the room started closing in without warning, she had no choice but to let Lena lead her to the den. Although the nausea only bothered her in the mornings, she'd experienced several spells of lightheadedness throughout the day for over a week. Now she felt both shaky and queasy. Lena was right; it would probably be best to just lie down for a few minutes. She obeyed her mother-in-law's orders to put her feet up and have a cool drink of water.
He'll be right back
, she thought as she settled into the overstuffed chair and propped her feet up on the ottoman.
I'll feel better if I close my eyes, just for a minute.

***

A persistent buzzing snapped her awake. The den was half dark and she could hear Lena and Dominic talking in the other room. The hiss of his oxygen was barely perceptible, running under their conversation like percussion. And then the buzzing began again, this time vibrating against the chair, and the inside of her purse lit up.

She reached for the phone, but she didn't recognize the number. It rang again and again. Stopped ringing. Rang again. She watched the buzzing phone for at least three minutes, trying to clear her head and decide whether or not to answer.

It wasn't a family member, not that she could tell. Despite the fact that she wasn't supposed to be speaking to anyone, she had all their numbers programmed in her phone and this number didn't register as a contact. It obviously wasn't a wrong number. They'd have reached her voicemail by now and wouldn't have called back. A friend would have just left a message.

But perhaps it was Parker. She'd been asleep for nearly an hour. He could have gone miles in either direction during that time. Maybe he needed her to pick him up from somewhere. She pressed the talk button. "Parker?"

"No, certainly not." Her skin turned to gooseflesh at the sound of Christopher's voice in her ear.

"What do you want?"

"I hear young Madison had an accident."

Dear God, he didn't
. "Tell me you had nothing to do with it!" she choked.

"No one knows who caused that accident, from what I hear," he continued smoothly. "I suspect the police will never really find out who was behind it. Too bad."

"If you're behind this, Christopher, I swear, I'll—"

"You'll do exactly nothing, just like you've done all along. I warned you what would happen. This is just the tip of the iceberg."

"I don't know what you want from me!" she cried. "I quit, okay? I left the company, and I haven't contacted anyone. I'm staying away, just like you said to do. What else could you possibly want from me?"
Do I really want to ask that question?
she thought a moment too late.

"Is it true, Charmaine?"

"Is what true?"

"Are you Mates?"

"Yes, we're Mates, I told you—"

"And you've
Mated
?"

She blushed at the connotation of his words, but a fire was growing inside her, and she quickly shrugged off her embarrassment. "We're married, actually. We went to Nevada, and we got married. I'm his legal wife now, Christopher, like it or not." Her hands shook at the force of the anger building inside her. He had taken her job and her mother and there was no doubt in her mind that he was involved with the bus accident. He had threatened to kill Parker, and if he was behind the bus accident—and she was sure he was—then he might actually try to murder her husband.

When his voice came through the phone again it was softer but somehow more menacing. "And is it true that his bastard whelp is in your belly? That you've allowed yourself to be ruined by this mongrel whose family has a history of ruining our women and taking our land?"

There's no way that he—
.

Scottie
.

"I'm not carrying any bastard child," she answered truthfully, raising her chin a bit.

He responded with a dramatic sigh. "Tell you what, sweet sister, I'll let you slide on that little lie of yours if you help me arrange a meeting with Parker."

"Why do you want to meet with Parker?" Her mouth was like cotton and she forced the words past the dryness on her tongue.

"Alpha business."

"Can't you just make that arrangement through the regular channels?"

"I've already tried that. He doesn't seem to be available to speak with me."

"Wait a minute... I thought there was a meeting already set up? I'm sure he told me there was."

"I need to see him sooner. Tonight." His voice was still calm, but an urgency lurked just behind it. "One hour."

"He isn't here right now, Christopher. I swear to you, I don't know where he is at the moment. I don't know if I can even find him in an hour."

"I'm sure you'll think of something." A click and he was gone.

CHAPTER NINE

Parker had no idea how far he'd run when he slipped back through the garden gate. It was always strange, returning to human form. His body was exhausted, but his mind was sharper, his senses stronger, as if some of the wildness lingered in his system. He was drenched in perspiration, musky even to himself. He needed a long, hot shower and a night of making not-so-tender love to his wife. It was a thought he allowed himself to luxuriate in for about five seconds before he came to his senses. He had to get her in front of an Elder, and then he had to talk to Jamison. There would be no showers or sex until he got things under control.

For a second he panicked when he walked through the front door and saw his parents but not Charmaine. "Where is she?" he asked wildly.

"She's in the den, resting." His mother gave him a once-over followed by a stern gaze. "Don't upset her. She's not feeling well right now." And then, because she knew where his mind was going, she explained, "It's just general pregnancy stuff, nothing to worry about. She's just a bit queasy. I imagine this day's been a bit rough on her."

"On all of us," his gravel voice agreed. He realized his throat was sore, another after effect of phasing.
Hot tea
, he added to his mental list of needs.

His wife looked small nestled into the overstuffed chair, but as soon as Lena left the room, Charmaine had a vise grip on his arm.

"It was Christopher. He just called me, and he mentioned the accident. I know it was him, Parker, I just know it."

He felt the pain again, a Morse code tapping above his eye. "What did he say exactly?"

Charmaine repeated the conversation, her fingers still clutching his arm. "What do we do?" she whispered fearfully. "Who knows what he might do next? Maddie could've been killed so easily, Parker. I never thought my brother was capable of something like that, but you should have heard him..." She shuddered as she relayed the message. When she was done, she whispered. "He's gone crazy, I think."

"He's provoking me and I don't know why. This can't all be about us being together. Why does he want to meet me tonight?"

"I have no idea, but I don't think you should go." Her eyes pleaded with him, and he was so tempted.
I could just take her home and deal with this tomorrow. Drink some tea, have a shower. Let this gorgeous woman who married me wrap her arms and legs around me and make this all go away.
His desire got the best of him and he allowed himself one kiss, a few seconds of his lips pressed to hers. When he pulled back her eyes were luminous and she was thrumming with a mixture of lust and fear.

"Stay with me," she breathed against his throat. His groin tightened as he considered what he was denying if he pushed her away. "I need you, Parker."

"I have to go," he groaned, every inch of his body screaming that he was an idiot. "If only to find out what the hell Christopher's up to." She was still wrapped around him and he couldn't untangle himself from her. "I want to stay here with you. I need you, too, more than you know right now. But I have to go."

She nodded and reluctantly withdrew her arms. "I should call Scottie. Maybe he heard something."

It was a kick in the gut, hearing his name on her lips after the day they'd had. She might as well just come right out and say he was doing a shitty job of keeping her safe.
Like Scottie would do any better in this situation
, he thought, before reminding himself that if she were with Scottie she wouldn't be in this situation. She'd be perfectly safe.
Fuck
.

He took a deep breath before he answered in as calm a voice as he could manage. "Babe, you can't. Not yet. Let me get to the bottom of this before you make contact."

His phone rang, and without looking at the screen he spoke. "Kreuger."

Jamison's deep voice rumbled through the other end. "Hey, Boss. I heard. Maddie okay?"

Parker felt a rush of gratitude at Jamison's sincerity. "She's good. Thanks for asking. Any news?"

"Vella is behind this, no doubt. What do you want me to do?"

"Christopher's demanding to meet with me in an hour. Go there and stall him, and I'll be along as quickly as I can. It won't take too long."

"Done." Jamison's voice disappeared with a click and Parker turned to his wife.

"My brother." It wasn't a question.

Parker nodded. There were shadows in her eyes, pain in her voice. He struggled to be delicate. "Things may move quickly from here on out. I think Christopher has been looking for any excuse to strike against our pack. You being with me gives him the perfect justification. Baby, I hope it doesn't get too ugly. But you need to prepare yourself in case it does."

"Are the baby and I in danger?"

"Physically, no. You will be safe. But if full-scale war breaks out, we're going to be smack in the middle of it. There will likely be..." His throat squeezed as he struggled to make his words more palatable. "There will likely be losses."
As if she hasn't had enough losses.

"You can't let that happen." Her eyes filled and she wrapped her arms tightly around herself. "I can't lose you, Parker, and I don't want to see anyone else injured or killed over this. Not even my brother, no matter how much I hate him for what he's done."

"Baby..." The throbbing above his eye returned and his palms were clammy. "I wish I could make you that promise. I'm doing my best to contain this thing, but the truth is, I don't think there's any more that I can do."