Pride to Pack (The Mount Roxby Series) Read online

  Her face drops and her wolf throws a wave of anger at me. “Fine.”

  She gets out the car and slams the door. She drops her head into the open window. “Drive safe, Misty. I’ll see you at home in a little while.”

  Misty drives off without a word.

  A very pissed off Bel turns to me and grumbles, “Lead the way.”

  What the hell have I done?

  9. DECLARATIONS

  Rosabel

  As he leads me in silence to a very snazzy black car I realise I may be out of order for being so upset. It’s not as if he has ever really made me think he would ever try to ‘get into my knickers’ as Misty put it. As much as I want to stay mad at him, I feel like I should apologise. Curiously my wolf won’t let me do it. She’s spitting mad at Theo for something.

  I try to break the silence. “This car is gorgeous, what is it?”

  His face changes from hurt and confused to the sexiest smile as he appraises his car. He gently strokes the bonnet. “It’s an Aston Martin, Vanquish. She’s my baby,”

  He unlocks the car with a beep of the remote. It’s just as beautiful on the inside - all leather and a new car smell that wraps around me along with Theo’s scent.

  I’m glad I chose to put my belt on. He isn’t exactly sticking to the speed limit as he zooms through the streets of Mount Roxby. I grip the edge of the seat for dear life, trying my hardest not to rip the leather with my claws, which appear as my fear sets in.

  “It’s okay. I won’t crash,” he says with a laugh.

  “How the hell do you know that? You’re driving like a maniac. Do you know how easy it is to crash a car?” I really shouldn’t be so demanding towards an alpha, but I can’t help it.

  He’s scaring the shit out of me.

  “I’m a werewolf, remember? You know very well we have lots of extra senses and extremely quick reflexes that humans don’t.”

  My claws retract with that reminder, but my grip on the seat doesn’t ease much. “Oh, yeah. I didn’t think of that. I would still prefer it if you slowed down a little.”

  He finally slows down, taking a right turn onto a long winding dirt track. It leads into a large opening that holds a magnificent mansion-style house, surrounded by forest. We pull up alongside a dozen cars parked in front of the house.

  Theo exits the car and I sit admiring the building and the steps that lead up to it. There are only about eight steps but the way the front entry is designed it is majestic. My door opening pulls me out of my trance.

  Theo offers his hand to help me out the car. Such a gentleman.

  He keeps a hold on my hand as he leads me into the house and through to the lounge room, which is full of werewolves. Okay, I should clarify that they’re werewolves in human form. But they are Pack and I’m an outsider. The full moon is tomorrow night and I can feel the tension in the room as they all turn to watch us enter.

  I don’t belong here.

  Theo addresses everyone as we walk through them, still holding my hand. “Thank you for coming at such late notice and hour.”

  Everyone nods in unison. It’s an extremely unsettling thing to watch.

  Once we reach the far side of the room, we stop in front of three chairs that are facing the pack members. Theo stops before the empty middle seat.

  An extremely large, scary looking guy, who’s dressed in leathers, occupies the seat to his left. He looks like he belongs to a bikie gang, not a werewolf pack.

  In the chair on Theo’s right, is Wes. I had thought he must be high up in the ranks. I can tell by the seating arrangement that he’s Theo’s second. That makes Biker Guy his third.

  Theo directs me to Wes’ chair.

  Wes stands from his seat and stands behind it without a word. Theo sits me down in the now vacant seat. It’s against all my natural instincts to have a were standing that close behind me, but unfortunately I have no choice but to endure it.

  Theo releases my hand before turning to the pack. “Please be seated.”

  The pack drops to the floor.

  Once everybody settles into their seated positions, he addresses the room. “First things first. This is Rosabel McGuiness. As you can smell, she’s a werewolf. Unclaimed and unattached to a pack. She’s new to town after travelling from Quilpie, home to a large werelion pride. Rosabel’s been living with this pride since she was a child. She is now trying to find a pack to call home.”

  “Do I need to put her in the census?” Wes asks from behind me.

  “I’ve already seen to it personally. As you all know Dominick Drake is trying to pin the vampire kidnappings on one of us.” A murmur runs through the room.

  “I know none of you are guilty, but none of his vampires are either and no matter how hard we try we can’t seem to come up with a viable lead. We have been working together to solve this mystery but now Dominick has taken something without permission. It belonged to me and was under my protection.”

  I look across to Theo in surprise. Surely he isn’t talking about me and the bite. I’m not his.

  “What did he take?” a guy with a buzz cut seated near the front asks.

  Theo explains and when he finishes, the guy still isn't satisfied.

  “But she isn’t pack, she doesn't belong to anyone. The pact we have with the vampires only protects the pack, not lone wolves. I don’t understand how this affects us, or why it bothers you.”

  Theo looks at me with concern flowing from his emerald green eyes. Through my empathy I feel a wave of guilt coming off him. “I'm bothered because she is everything to do with me. She is mine." He ends his statement on a possessive growl.

  My wolf instantly stands to attention, happy to hear him talk about me in a possessive way. Ours. My wolf sends the word through my mind.

  The tension in the room doubles. Ninety percent of the wolves in front of me are extremely irate.

  "She's your true mate? Why haven't you claimed her? True mates are always claimed at that first meeting between them; from both sides. I’m sorry but Ms McGuiness looks just as surprised on hearing this information, as the rest of us here,” suggests a beefy looking guy in the back.

  Theo gets out if his chair and kneels in front of me. He leans into me. I see nothing but his sparkling emerald eyes as he moves in and passionately kisses me.

  My eyes close and my hands roam around his strong neck, through his soft hair, down his chest and his washboard abs. I forget where I am until he pulls away. I open my eyes, once again seeing the room full of werewolves before me.

  "Yes. That is exactly what I am saying. I will spell it out just in case some of you still don't quite understand. Rosabel McGuiness is my true mate, and I am claiming her."

  His wolf’s energy brushes against me, covering me in his spicy scent.

  That's when I feel my wolf’s energy reciprocate by releasing her sweeter scent and brushing it along his body. I close my eyes and concentrate, feeling every inch of him as she touches him. It feels just as it would if I was touching him with my own fingers. He feels divine. Audience or not, with the feel of him under my wolf’s energy and his wolf touching every inch of me, I’m just about ready to pounce and take him right here.

  I think it’s safe to say he feels the same. If the bulge I see him trying to hide as he stands has anything to do with it.

  As he steps away and turns to the furious pack, I can smell our scents have combined making the most amazing fragrance.

  I have so many questions going through my head.

  Are we mates?

  Does this happen to all mates or is it just a typical werewolf thing, between two wolves?

  An angry scream pulls me away from my questions.

  “That is ridiculous! She hasn't been in town two minutes. You have plenty of females in the pack to choose from. You can’t choose her.” A brunette female is standing in the middle of the crowd demanding everyone’s attention.

  “I AM ALPHA!” Theo shouts. His Alpha power spreads throughout the room making his point.
I can feel it prickling against my skin and I’m not even part of the pack. I dread to think how bad it hurts those he is forcing it onto.

  “Bel is my true mate and I have claimed her.” There’s a deadly calmness to his voice. It sounds scarier than his previous statement.

  A beautiful long legged blonde parts the crowd. She stops in front of him, reaches out and trails her hands down his chest. It’s the same Barbie that was coming onto him in the bar a few nights ago.

  “You haven’t finalised the claim. We all saw she was willing to do it in front of us all, but you didn’t.” She’s referring to my reaction during our kiss. Her hands go lower towards his waistband.

  “I can satisfy you - now and always,” she whispers before planting a huge kiss on Theo whilst her quick and nimble fingers work on his belt.

  I release a ferocious growl, as I pounce towards her. I rip her hand from his belt and launch her across the room.

  She hits the wall with a loud thump and drops to the floor, moaning - right before a large piece of plaster falls, lands on her head and knocks her unconscious.

  I turn away from the crumpled Barbie to find everyone watching in stunned silence. It’s then that I realise what I’ve done. I have attacked a pack member in front of her whole pack - one night before the full moon.

  To top it off, I was unprovoked.

  I’m a dead wolf.

  I turn to Theo in a panic, “Oh god, Theo. What have I done? I—”

  Before I can finish my sentence, Theo cuts me off with a monstrous laugh. Everyone gasps as he throws his arms around me and sighs into my hair. “Oh Bel.”

  Once Theo’s laughter settles and silence fills the room, Wesley speaks up. “Now that’s all cleared up. What are we going to do?”

  Theo releases me. “I have been thinking about that.”

  He sits me in his chair and starts to pace the floor. “The only way to break a tie with a vampire is through said vampires death. That’s going to be tricky. We’re talking about Dominick after all.”

  Wesley nervously clears his throat. “No, I mean, what are we going to do about the elusive vampire kidnapper?”

  “Oh, yeah, that. Well your guess is as good as mine. What I do know is we have to find them, if only to clear the pack,” he says, still pacing the floor.

  “The Pack isn’t responsible, and according to Dominick, neither are the Vamps. Could there be a rogue were doing this? One we’re not aware of?” Biker Guy suggests.

  “It’s a possibility, Billy. There have been reports of a rogue vampire, but for now we should all keep our eyes, ears and noses open for any evidence of a rogue of any kind. We’ll discuss this more at Saturday’s meeting. Stay safe tomorrow. Make sure you’re all at your designated places. Good night.”

  Without a word they all stand and start to file out of the front doors.

  “Can someone get Chloe out of my house on the way out?” Theo asks, pointing to the still unconscious leggy blonde laying in a heap on the floor.

  A young guy, who was just about to go out the door turns, walks to Chloe and effortlessly hauls her over his shoulder, “Do you know where she lives?” he says as he turns to look at Theo for an answer. It’s then that I recognise him as Paddy from the gym the other night.

  Billy ‘Biker Guy’, whom I have decided must be Theo’s third, pats his pockets before pulling out a pen, a crumpled scrap of paper and jotting down what my guess is an address.

  Paddy glances at it as he takes it from Billy’s hand. “Cheers, Billy,” he says, heading out the door with Chloe bouncing over his shoulder.

  The room had emptied leaving Theo, Wesley, Billy and I. I watch from my seat on the chair as Theo leaves the room through another door, Billy and Wesley both follow. Not knowing what to do, I rest my head back against the chair and close my eyes. I could really do with getting to bed soon.

  “It’s much comfier in the other room, you know.” Theo’s gravelly voice makes me jump.

  “I didn’t know if you were discussing pack business. I thought I’d just close my eyes until someone told me different,” I confess.

  He grabs me by the hand and leads me towards the doors to the room he had been in. It must be a dining room. I can now see a beautifully restored antique twelve-seater table pushed against one of the walls. It matches the three chairs Theo, Wes and Billy used.

  Billy and Wesley are sitting on a red L-shaped sofa when we walk into the lounge room.

  Theo pats the seat next to him, suggesting I sit there. When I sit down, Theo throws an arm around my shoulders and pulls me against his chest, and puts his feet up on the solid oak coffee table.

  Once everyone is comfortable the brain storming starts.

  The three men go over ideas on how to find the rogue vampire. I lose interest pretty quickly and close my eyes, listening to the strong heartbeat under my ear, and it’s beating in time with my own. I can feel his voice vibrating through his body and in no time I feel myself drifting off to sleep. Try as I might, I just can’t stop myself.

  ***

  An incessant twitch in my thigh wakes me from a deep sleep.

  I try to move my arm so I can slap the offending body part, only to find it tangled with an arm that doesn’t belong to me. I only have to use my nose to work out who it belongs to. I can feel Theo’s energy pulsing off his body, and his scent is everywhere.

  “If you don’t stop that phone from buzzing, I won’t be held accountable when I break it,” Theo grumbles as he burrows his head under the pillow.

  With that, I realise it isn’t my thigh twitching; it’s my phone vibrating in the pocket of my dress. I take note of the time, quarter past five in the morning, and the caller ID, Misty, before hitting answer.

  “Misty, I am so sorry for not calling,” I apologise, thinking she must have been worried that I hadn’t made it home yet.

  “Theo called to let me know ya’d fallen asleep and he wasn’t waking ya.”

  Theo places his arm over my middle and pulls me towards his body. His energy running along my skin comforts me and I relax into him.

  “I’m not calling about that. Ya’ve got a visitor. I can’t get out of him who he is. He’s in a bit of a state.”

  I sit up immediately.

  Jared has found me. I bet he’s drunk. I hope he doesn’t get aggressive with Misty. He isn’t usually violent unless he needs to be. He isn’t a bad guy.

  “I’ll be right there, Misty. If he gets violent you lock yourself in another room, you hear me?”

  “He doesn’t seem like he’ll hurt me but I’ll keep that in mind,” she says before disconnecting the call.

  I grab my shoes from the floor alongside the bed and start pulling them on. The bed moves as Theo gets up. My mind is running away with me imagining all the damage Jared could cause while I’m on my way.

  God, I hope he stays human.

  Theo appears in my line of sight, crouching before me. He rubs my forearms with his warm hands. “Everything is going to be okay. Let’s go and see what’s happening.”

  Instead of going through the front entrance like I expect, he leads me through a door that brings us out into a garage. I hear the click of a car unlocking and look around the array of cars. It isn’t the black car from last night that flashes its indicators; it’s a 4x4 of some kind. I’m not much of a car junkie. The badge tells me it’s a Mitsubishi and that’s about it. It’s white, if that helps.

  It doesn’t take us long to get to Misty’s. Theo pulls up outside her apartment block and starts to exit the car. I lean over and grab his arm to stop him. “Theo, wait.”

  He closes the door and sits back in his seat.

  I release my hold, allowing my hand to relax against his arm. “You can’t come up. If it’s who I think it is, all hell will break loose if you do.”

  He gives me a worried look. “If there’s a threat I don’t want you going up there without me.”

  “He isn’t a threat to me. He’d never hurt me. But he will be a threat if h
e sees you. Please Theo,” I plead. I need him to let me go up alone. I don’t know if Jared will recognise my change in scent, but if Theo goes up too he’ll flip. He’ll attack Theo and I can’t have that on my conscience.

  “Okay. But I will wait down here, until I hear that you’re safe. If I hear anything that sounds violent I won’t be able to stop myself from coming up there.”

  Knowing it’s the best I’m going to get, especially from an alpha; I grab his face and give him a quick kiss before exiting the car.

  “Thank you,” I shout over my shoulder as I dash into the building.

  I walk into the apartment, expecting the worst. A fight with Jared or worse yet, a bloody Misty if he’d lost it, in my absence. My brain takes a minute to catch up to what my eyes are seeing. My cousin Benji is sitting on the sofa. A suitcase is by his feet and tears are streaming down his bruised and battered face.

  “Oh, Benji,” I whisper, dashing to crouch before him.

  “I’m sorry… he made me… made me tell him,” he says between sobs as I pull him into a hug.

  Misty comes into the lounge from the kitchen with a tray loaded with coffee and cookies. She gives me a worried smile as she catches my eye.

  “Don’t cry, Benj. Did he do this to you?” I ask pointing to his face. Neither of us needs to say the name, we both know who we’re referring to. Jared.

  Taking a few deep breaths he calms down and reaches for a coffee and a cookie. “Yeah, I tried not to tell him. He didn’t want to hurt me, I could tell. But he wanted to know where you were and he knew I could find out. I pinged the GPS on your new phone. I’m sorry.”

  I’d bought the new phone a few days before leaving so Jared couldn’t get a hold of me or ping my GPS. Looks like my purchase was pointless.

  “It was all pointless. I should have just stayed; he wouldn’t have done this to you then.” I reach out and stroke his bruised face as I try pushing away the feelings of guilt.

  Benji smiles at me but it’s sad. “No, you needed to leave. You don’t belong there. You need a pack. You always have.”

  My phone starts vibrating in my pocket. When I look at the ID and see Theo’s name I jump up from my seat and pace to the window.