Reluctantly Lycan (Dakota Wolves Book 1)(15)

Being in his arms equaled being home. They'd grown up together. He'd  been her first friend, her first kiss, her first lover. That was what  made the betrayal so painful, especially when she'd been carrying his  child. But despite his hotheaded nature, she knew he was a good guy.  Maybe they could find their way back to their destiny.

~*~

Kaden shot out of bed when he heard the rallying howl of his pack mates.  He'd forgotten about Marala, accustomed to sleeping alone, and she was  slung off him to the side, bounced a few times on the mattress, and  barely missed being knocked to the floor. He stole a glance back, saw  that she was on her feet, and darted out the door.

Jak had come out of his room at the sound of the howls.

"Stay here. Both of you," Kaden said as he opened the front door and  stepped outside. Not surprisingly, neither listened. Though, they did  remain on the porch as he stalked toward the ruckus.

Nashoba was in wolf form, snapping at the heels of a human as Blake and Luke held the man up by each arm. Levi led the way.

"You!" Kaden yelled, closing the distance between him and the intruder.

"You know this guy?" Levi asked. "We found him snooping around the  property. Had a camera and this … ." He handed Kaden a tiny item.

"Yeah, we've met. What is this? A dart?" Kaden's entire body shook as he  tried to keep himself in check. The wolf did not need to be out right  now.

Levi nodded. "Could have been used on Mason."

"Impossible. This guy was in New York when I received the call."

"Unless he had someone working for him."

"True enough," Kaden agreed.

Taylor lifted his head and spit, blood splattering near Kaden's feet. "I'm really pissed your boys bruised up my pretty face."

"What are you doing here and what do you know about this?" Kaden showed Taylor the dart.

"I followed Brynnara. Left my car a good distance down the road and hiked. Found the dart on the trail."

At the mention of their sister, Blake and Luke bared teeth and nearly shifted.

"Let him go and step back, boys."

They shoved Taylor forward and he fell to his knees. The wolves had  worked him over good. Busted lip and swollen, black eye. Kaden knew the  guy was hurting pretty bad.

"Why are you here?"

"I wanted to make sure my girlfriend, Marala, was okay." He lifted his head and managed a half-hearted wink in her direction.

Most of the town's residents had gathered to watch. Gasps and whispers  drifted to Kaden's ears. "It's a death sentence to speak of my mate in  such a manner. Aside from the fact you've seen one of us as a wolf." He  cracked his knuckles, preparing to beat the man to death as a  demonstration.

"No!"

Kaden turned around to see Marala running. She positioned herself in front of Taylor. "Don't. This is not the way."

More shocked voices. The gossip and disrespect was getting old. "It's the law of the pack," Kaden said.

"I'm not your mate." She kept her voice steady and firm, not breaking  eye contact with him. "You're killing no one. I'll clean him up and he  can go on his way. Brynnara, help me."

The girl didn't move, afraid to defy Kaden. She looked to him for permission.                       
       
           



       

"Go ahead, Brynn. We need to keep him around for information," he said,  grabbing Marala by the arm and leaning in close to whisper in her ear.  "Defy me again in public and you will regret it."

Mara gulped, but held her head high as she led Taylor toward the house. Brynnara lowered her gaze as she ran after them.

"Nashoba, stand guard. Make sure the human doesn't try anything else  stupid and keep Mara safe. The rest of you, with me, we're going to Old  Finn's."

Nashoba, still in wolf form, entered the house with the women and Jak.  Kaden knew the wolf would kill the human at the slightest provocation.  He hoped it came to that. Then the blood would be on Nashoba's hands,  not his.

"Taylor, what are you thinking?" Marala asked, stealing a glance at Nashoba who was sitting a short distance away.

He smirked, but winced and gingerly touched his lip. "Hey, it got me here with two beautiful women, right?"

Brynnara frowned. "I didn't tell him anything when he came to the shop. I swear."

"It's okay. We know," Marala said.

She used a cloth to wipe off the excess blood while Brynnara held an  icepack against Taylor's eye. He turned slightly to look at the large  wolf. "I had to find out if all this wolf talk was true. I'm curious by  nature. I honestly wanted to make sure your ex wasn't holding you  against your will or something, too."

Jak stood next to Nashoba and crossed his arms. A second guard. Though much smaller and nowhere near as violent.

"This is my home, Taylor. You have to leave."

"Brynn wants me around, don't you, baby?" He smiled at the girl, but she wouldn't agree.

"Humans don't live with us," she finally responded.

"It has happened. Rarely. They didn't receive the honor by sneaking onto  our personal property and disrespecting the pack leader. That's for  sure." Marala frowned. "Kade will never forgive me for taking up for  you."

Taylor slowly got to his feet, holding an arm over his ribcage. "So my  ego gets me in trouble sometimes. Let me make it up to you. Figure out  this dart mystery."

Nashoba gave a low growl. Pack business wasn't shared with outsiders.

"Nothing you can do."

"Sure there is. Who's Mason? I heard the name when we were outside. The  man talking to your ex seemed awfully anxious to accuse me."

"Well, yeah. You had a weapon."

Brynnara placed the ice pack on the counter. "May I go now, please?"

"Sure. Thanks," Marala said. Nashoba moved, letting the young woman leave.

"I like her," Taylor said.

"She'll be mated soon, so you'd best look elsewhere."

"Does it make you jealous?" He grinned, forgetting about his facial injuries again and cursing at the pain.

Marala sighed. "Would you two leave us alone for a couple of minutes? On the porch is all I'm asking."

Nashoba lifted his head at Jak in a nod and her son opened the door, letting them both out.

When they were gone, Marala lowered her voice. "No, I'm not jealous.  When a female comes of age, she goes into the forest clearing for her  ritual and chooses a mate who will bond with her. Then she'll shift the  first time afterward."

"Brynn did seem anxious about her birthday. Wait, does bond mean fuck?"

"Basically. It's primitive and crude, but we're animals and that's how  it works. There are usually more males than females, so it's an honor to  be chosen," she explained.

Taylor appeared disgusted and intrigued at the same time. "You did that?"

"This is personal, Taylor, but no, I didn't. I was pregnant."

He sat back down, standing too much for his sore body. "Tell me about Mason."

"He went missing while Kaden was in New York. Levi was in charge. That's  why he's so intent on finding the boy. None of them can find him and  wolves are good trackers," Marala explained.

"Do you think you can arrange for me to talk to Kaden alone about it? I can help."

"Why do you want to help?"

Taylor shrugged. "Because I'm supposed to."

~*~

Kaden hated leaving Marala alone with the human. He knew about guys like  that. Where Kade would rip pants off, Taylor would talk a woman out of  them. If he were being honest, he didn't think Marala had serious  feelings for the guy. He also didn't think the guy had anything to do  with the kidnapping. One thing was for sure, he had eyes for Brynnara  and the brothers were not happy about it.

Blake and Luke, usually mellow, raged during the entire trek up to Old  Finn's. Brynnara had wanted to date boys from school, live as a human,  begged not to change. The brothers, being her guardians, firmly refused.  Now, she'd led an intruder home.                       
       
           



       

Levi mentioned a few more times how odd it was for a human to "find" the  tranquilizer dart when the wolves had searched the area.

Kaden sighed. His thoughts and emotions ranged from one extreme to the  other. Holding Marala had been heavenly, bringing back memories of the  warm nights of his youth underneath the moon. But she defied him at  every turn. But maybe she saved him from making mistakes.

The chance of finding Mason alive dwindled with each passing hour. Kaden  didn't have time to babysit humans or make a wrong move.

"Hey there. Bringing the party to Finn's?" Finn asked. The old man had a  long scraggly white beard and short, unevenly cut, frizzy hair.

"We're going to sniff around and see what we can find. Show us where you saw the person."