Wolf Pack (20 page)

“No, man,” Cole assured him. “It was the best conversation I’ve ever had with them.”

“Really?” Zak was obviously surprised.

Cole nodded and took a pull of his beer. “When I left they were angry at me. Hell, I was angry at myself. I couldn’t control myself and I’d accidentally challenged my Alpha. Luckily he allowed me to leave with the understanding that I wouldn’t return.”

“That’s harsh,” Zak said.

He shook his head. “No, I deserved it. Trust me.”

“Still, you were a kid, and he should have tried to teach you to control your instincts, but he kicked you to the curb,” Zak said.

That’s how Cole had always felt, but his parents hadn’t supported him. “I thought my parents would come with me. I never expected them to wash their hands of me.” And that had been the last time he’d let his heart get broken. He’d kept everyone at arm’s length, even the partners he’d been closest with, until Kendra had taken him by surprise.

“Some people should never have kids,” Zak said. His tone was so sad that Cole gripped his shoulder hard in comfort.

Zak shook himself—a full body movement—then grinned. “But that’s one reason you’ll be such a great Alpha. What you’ve been through? Not many Alphas can relate. You’ll help others.”

“I’ll do my best,” he said.

“And look around you.” Zak waved his hand. “You not only have a pack of wolf shifters here but you’ve introduced them to other species. Not only will the pack thrive but you’ve built a bridge between entire shifter communities of the city. As much as the Coalition and everyone in the town have tried, no one has accomplished what you have.” Zak’s voice held pride.

Cole shuffled his feet while staring down because he knew he was blushing. He was getting used to praise—he received it from Taylor and Kendra often, but to hear it from Zak? He was almost emotional. He finally nodded.

“What’s going on over here?” Cody questioned as he joined them.

“Just shooting the shit,” Zak answered then winked at Cole.

“Huh.” Cody glared at him before he turned to Cole. “So you’re joining the softball team, right?”

“Yeah.” Cole was actually looking forward to it. He hadn’t managed to get to the batting cages in a while. Not that his two babies were being neglected. Kendra took them for a walk every morning and then again when she returned home from work while he worked with Taylor.

Some of the teenagers in the pack had also become dog sitters for Cocoa and Chloe and Kendra had even had to make a schedule of who was responsible for what day because they had started fighting over the responsibility.

Cole had felt bad for the trouble but Kendra had assured him that it showed how much the teenagers wanted to be included in anything that had to do with the future Alpha.

The dogs hardly ever stayed at his house anymore. Since he spent so much time at Kendra’s they did too. Cocoa had made friends with a gray pit-bull pup and a brown mutt that could keep up with his energy. Chloe, being more easygoing and calm, to his shock had bonded with a small black-and-white kitten that belonged to one of the little girls. The two of them, full of food, were even known to curl up under one of the tables together.

Even his damn dogs knew where they belonged.

Several times over the last week, Cole had almost brought up moving into Kendra’s house on a more permanent basis but he’d chickened out. It was too fast and he knew it. Still, he wanted to call her cute little cabin home.

He glanced over to her and saw her with her arm around a freckled teenage girl. His heart warmed and he made the decision to bring it up this weekend.

Taylor had been on at him about dividing his time better. He’d do that also.

“Good,” Cody said. “We need you. Luca sucks.”

It took Cole a minute to put together what Cody was talking about. He’d once again gotten lost in his head.
Oh, the softball team.

“I do not suck,” Luca defended as he walked up.

Everyone laughed.

Zak shook his head. “You really do, man.”

“You play softball?” a new, younger voice asked.

Cole glanced over to the new arrivals. A couple of the boys, Jeremy and Sammy, who he’d grown close to, joined them. They both helped take care of Cocoa and Chloe, so Cole actually remembered who they were.

“Yeah,” Jamie answered him. “We play in a league with shifters.”

“Can anyone play?” Jeremy, the seventeen-year-old, blond and blue-eyed kid asked.

“Sure.” Jamie shrugged.

“Are you interested?” Zak asked.

Both boys brightened. “Yes!”

Their enthusiasm was charming.

“We used to play at school but as soon as the pack came out we were kicked off the team,” Sammy explained.

“What?” Cole barked. “Why?”

Sammy shrugged. “Some of the human parents complained that we had an unfair advantage. So all shifters were banned from playing school sports.”

“That’s not fair,” Cole commented. It was also dangerous. Young shifters needed to get their excess energy and aggression out. Playing organized sports was a great way for them to learn control and sportsmanship.

“Taylor tried to fight it but the school board wouldn’t listen,” Jeremy informed him.

Maybe Taylor couldn’t do anything, but Cole was an agent with the Coalition and part of their responsibility was to make sure that the newly public shifters were treated fairly.

Punishing young shifters for something they couldn’t change was a violation of rights. He looked at Zak when the tiger shifter growled.

Zak’s jaw was clenched. “What school do you go to?”

Sammy paled and took a step back.

Cole placed his hand on Sammy’s shoulder to let the youth to know it was okay. Sammy relaxed under his touch.

“Lake Worth High, but the school board banned any shifter from playing. I have a friend whose family isn’t out as shifters and he gets to play but he has to be really careful that no one finds out. He’d be expelled from school and unable to graduate,” Sammy said.

Zak nodded once. “I’ll look into it.” He glanced over at Cole. “We need to talk to some of the other species and if we can’t get this taken care of quickly we’ll see about adding more teams to our league.”

The look on the boys’ faces was pure hero worship. Jeremy shuffled over to him, and Cole smiled at him.

“I’m really glad you’re going to be Alpha,” he said.

“Me too.” He nodded back.

“We’ve got to tell the others.” Sammy was pulling Jeremy away.

As they ran off, Cody sighed. “Are we ever going to get humans to accept us?”

Cole had never thought about something like school sports. He wondered how much more his pack was getting pushed aside for. Jobs? College? It was something he’d bring up to Taylor.

A few men walked up, and Cole excused himself from his friends so he could speak with them. The break with his friends had done him good and he felt like he could do another round with the pack members.

He really didn’t mind the gatherings like this, but he preferred a more intimate setting. Small groups were easier for him to handle. He liked getting to know his pack members, not the casual talks he’d gone through today.

He actually wanted to get to know his people.

Like the guys asking him about what he did for the Coalition in front of him. He could talk shop all day. But he wanted to know about their lives.

“Hey.” Kendra slipped her hand in his. “Can you come with me?”

“Sorry, guys,” he told the pack members.

They passed his group of friends who were all smiling.

“Everything okay?” he asked Kendra quietly.

“Yes,” she assured him. “Come on!”

Zak grabbed Cole’s bottle from his hand as Kendra actually hauled him after her. She was a lot stronger then she looked. He always forgot that but he needed to remember that the woman he’d fallen in love with was a firecracker. He grinned.

Kendra pulled Cole away from the crowd to head deep into the woods that surrounded them. She wasn’t worried that they’d be followed since it had been Taylor’s idea that she take Cole for a break.

For the last three weeks, Cole had gone above and beyond in training to be Alpha and learning about his new pack. Taylor was pleased while Kendra remained proud. She’d not doubted that Cole would be a great Alpha even though it was obvious that Cole lacked the same confidence.

“Where are we going?” Cole asked as she continued to drag him away. “I was talking to that guy.”

“Bryan, first-year college student, and he’ll get over it,” she responded.

Cole laughed. “Okay, but it was still kind of rude,” he commented.

“Like I care,” she snapped.

Okay, she did, but since Cole had started working with Taylor in his free time, Kendra wasn’t seeing a lot of him except when he crawled in bed late at night. Some evenings he was even too tired to do more than give her a quick kiss before he was asleep. When Taylor suggested Cole might need to get away from everyone, Kendra had jumped at the chance to steal him.

“Kendra!” Cole stopped and jerked her back. “Stop.”

She huffed before turning toward him.

When he smiled at her, Kendra warmed from the inside out. Just one look and she would do anything for him.

“Come here,” he ordered.

Without a word, she shuffled over to him. He cupped her face and she peered up at him. Cole laid a soft kiss on her mouth. Kendra shivered with need. This was what she wanted. Well, not exactly, because he wasn’t buried inside her, claiming her for his own, but the touch of him felt great. Could she miss someone when they were still there every day? Kendra would never have suspected the answer to be yes to that question but that was what she was facing.

Kendra dug her fingers into his strong shoulders to anchor herself to the here and now and not worry about the last few weeks.

“I’m sorry,” Cole said after he’d pulled away.

“Why?” she panted.

“For neglecting you,” he told her.

She started to shake her head, but Cole tightened his hold.

“No, listen to me,” he insisted. “Between helping Zak close the rogue case and learning about and training for the Alpha position, I have been distracted. That’s not fair to you.”

“It’s okay,” she assured him. It wasn’t like she could complain. That would be shitty of her. She’d been the one to push him into doing what she knew he’d wanted. To tell him now that she felt abandoned and lonely wasn’t fair.

Cole nipped her chin. “It’s not okay. Taylor says that I’m working too hard and need to make time for other things. He’s right.”

The glint in his gaze was scorching her. She breathed deeply and caught the scent of his arousal. So at least they were on the same page.

“So you were taking me somewhere private?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Let’s go.” He offered his hand.

Kendra linked her fingers with his and tugged him along. The path was clear so it was easy to follow. After they’d passed the big white boulder where a lot of the pack would stash their clothes for a shift, she went off the path and walked left.

The silence between her and Cole was comfortable. It was nice under the canopy of the tree leaves with the birds still making their music of greeting. She’d been leading Cole around at a pretty quick pace but slowed down some. Maybe she didn’t need to rush straight into sex. Yes, she wanted Cole, however it was the intimacy and friendship she craved.

Cole chuckled, and she snapped her head to him.

“There we go, breathe deep, keep control of yourself,” he ordered. “I’m not going anywhere so just relax. You feel better?”

“Yeah,” she admitted. “I guess I got caught up in my head for a minute there.”

He released her hand but put his arm around her shoulder to pull her close as they strolled along. “Let’s enjoy how beautiful it is here.”

Kendra could agree to that.

“I like how cool it is in the middle of the forest. It’s the only time that it’s not one-hundred degrees,” Cole shared. “That doesn’t mean we won’t get naked, though.”

“I hope not,” she teased.

“Shh,” he murmured. “Take in nature.”

Snuggled into his hold, she closed her eyes but didn’t worry about tripping or anything. Cole wouldn’t let her fall.

The scent of the water not far away along with the other sounds of the wild grew louder. Either she was paying better attention or the forest was welcoming them.

“We have to make sure we do this every couple of days no matter what,” he murmured.

That sounded like heaven. Not only was Cole agreeing to spend more time with her but he was making plans. This was actually the first time he’d spoken about the future except when he’d brought up becoming Alpha.

“Look there.” Cole pointed.

They stopped walking. She glanced to the side and saw two small foxes running along the ground. “Aww,” she whispered. “They’re so cute.”

“Now that we’re alone.” Cole turned her to face him. “Let me do this.” He kissed her deeply, making her open her mouth and accept his tongue.

Oh God.
She loved it when he just took control. Cole lifted her off her feet and she wrapped her legs around his waist to rub against him. His hand went under her T-shirt, the heat scalding her.

She broke away, panting in desperation. “Cole.”

“I know what you want.” He strolled forward, still holding her. “What you need.”

Her back hit the bark of a large tree but she didn’t care. She clung to Cole as he buried his face into her neck. He breathed her in before he began nipping at her flesh. Kendra shuddered and did her very best to rock her hips. She needed the pressure against her pussy. Anything that would take her to the edge between pleasure and pain.

“Wait,” Cole ordered. “Take what I give you.”

She hissed but submitted and relaxed.

“That’s my girl,” Cole told her.

She slid down his body so her feet met the ground. Cole stepped back before he tugged her top over her head. Her bra quickly followed.

Kendra raised her eyebrow. “Your turn.”

The rumble in his chest was sexy as hell but he did whip his own shirt off. Kendra didn’t waste time getting her mouth on his skin. She licked from his chest down to his stomach. Cole tangled his fingers into her hair and held her there, not allowing her to go further.