Alpha Pack 4 - Hunters Heart (21 page)

which consisted of a pair of soft, worn jeans, shitkickers,

and a snug black T-shirt with a swirly gold pattern

embossed on it that she claimed set off his blond hair. He

rolled his eyes, but let her have her way. Whatever turned

her on was fine by him.

Daria had brought over a pair of snug jeans and a

button-up plaid shirt with a brown pattern that went well

with her coloring. She looked like a yummy piece of

chocolate, and shook her head, grinning, when he told her

that she would make a tasty dessert.

Once he and Daria were dressed, they met the others at

the hangar where they would take three SUVs to the

Grizzly. Everyone was going except for Nick and Micah,

and of course Zan and Phoenix, who were still on

vacation.

As usual, Ryon took the wheel and motioned for Daria

to ride shotgun. Jax, Kira, Aric, and Rowan climbed into

the back.

“Do you have your own car?” Daria asked as he pulled

out, leading the caravan.

He glanced at her. “I’ve got a new Challenger, red with

black stripes.”

“Nice,” she said. “I prefer the old ones, though.”

“Me, too, but old muscle cars are for people who have

a lot of time to tinker with maintenance, and I’m not that

handy in the garage.”

“You’ll have to show it to me sometime.”

“I will.”

The six of them chattered all the way to the Grizzly,

Ryon’s friends asking Daria about herself. They were

especially curious about her job, and thought it was cool

that she studied real-life wolves. They stayed away from

the subject of her being turned into a shifter, however, and

for that he was grateful. He was working on getting her to

embrace that side of herself, and didn’t need them

stressing her out.

The bar was hopping when they arrived, but not too

crowded. Ryon and the other guys found an unoccupied

corner and pushed several tables together to give them

plenty of room, then seated their ladies and elbowed in.

Ryon sat beside his mate and put an arm around her,

pleased when she leaned into him comfortably. After

watching three of his friends pair off and being nagged by

envy for months, it was awesome to have his own woman

at his side.

After ordering a round of drinks, they settled in,

laughing and talking to those in their immediate vicinity.

Ryon couldn’t keep the smile off his face. His friends

seemed to genuinely like Daria, and were very

welcoming, making sure she was included in the

conversation. She, in turn, got along well with them.

Especially Blue and Noah, both of whom she seemed to be

a bit sweet on. He wasn’t bothered, though. He and his

wolf knew Daria belonged to them.

They had a great time, eating, drinking, and making

merry as one hour became two, then three. The evening out

was a hit—until two seedy-looking men approached their

table. The newcomers zeroed in on Kalen, eyes narrowed.

Not everyone noticed them at first. But Ryon did, and he

set the nacho he’d been munching on down on his plate,

wiping his hands. Then he scooted his chair back a little,

ready to spring into action if he needed to.

Jax and Hammer noticed the men, and did the same. One

by one, the Pack became aware of the tension, and the

lighthearted talk stopped. By now, Kalen was leaning back

in his chair, sneering at the two rough, dirty men. Clearly,

they’d met.

“Hello,” Kalen said with deceptive pleasantness. “You

guys didn’t learn your lesson before? Back for more?”

Well, crap. Just what they needed, Kalen’s hillbilly

tormentors of a few weeks ago coming around to spoil

their evening.

One of them spoke up, showing an unfortunate set of bad

teeth. “Our friend Billy seems to have disappeared off the

face of the earth. We been lookin’ for ya for a while now,

figured you might shed some light on where he’s at.” For

emphasis, he spit out of the side of his mouth—and the

wad landed in the middle of Mac’s salad.

Kalen’s poor mate stared at the food, paling. Kalen’s

chair scraped on the floor, and he stood.

The Sorcerer was an imposing sight in his black leather

duster, raven hair falling around the green kohl-rimmed

eyes glittering with cool anger. Only an idiot would’ve

messed with a man like him, and Ryon knew these two

more than qualified.

“Why would I know anything about Billy?”

The two assholes had no clue that their stupid buddy

had ended up as demon food, literally—Malik ate him.

Kalen knew damned well what fate had befallen the

town’s most unsavory character, and he wasn’t sorry.

“’Cause you fought with him right here in this bar. You

had reason to want him gone,” the man said in a nasty tone.

“From what I hear, so did half the county.” Kalen

cocked his head. “Billy was a thief, a liar, a bully, and he

physically abused his family. I don’t know anybody else

who’s all that concerned about him.”

“I think you’re a liar! Why don’t you step outside so me

and my buddy can kick your ass!”

At that, Ryon and his Pack friends stood. Ryon grinned.

“Well, as long as you want to make it an unfair fight, you

two can take on all of us. Sound good?”

The men stepped backward, not looking so eager in the

face of those odds. Ryon knew how they must look, a wall

of muscle against two scrawny dickheads.

“What the fuck is going on here?”

Ryon had never been so glad to see the sheriff.

Deveraux stomped up to the group and took in the standoff.

Waving a hand at the two miscreants, he boomed, “You

two? You’re banned from the Grizzly, you idiots! Get the

hell out of here before I haul you in for disturbing the

peace, public intoxication, and anything else I can think

of.”

“But, Sheriff—”

“Get out!”

Muttering, the pair shot Kalen a glare before shuffling

for the door. Once they were gone, Deveraux shook his

head and frowned at their group. “Once again, you people

are in the middle of the shit. I’m going to have an ulcer the

size of a fucking watermelon in no time flat. And
you
.” He

pointed at Daria, then at a man across the bar before

continuing.

“See that guy in the booth over there? He’s a reporter

for the local paper, and he’d love to interview you about

the body you found, not to mention who your friends are

and what the hell you’re doing with them. You want my

advice—and nobody fucking appears to—I’d get going

before he notices you’re here and he gives us all a

buttload of publicity nobody can afford.”

Immediately, Ryon felt stupid for bringing her out.

“Sorry, Sheriff. I assumed their interest in Daria had died

down enough that it wouldn’t be a problem.”

The older man looked exasperated. “It might have if

mangled bodies would stop turning up. As it is, you might

want to get lost. Because here the little buzzard comes.”

The buzzard being the reporter, with a nice camera in

hand and a gleam in his eye.

“Shit.” Ryon held out his hand for his mate, and she

took it. “Come on, baby. Anyone else leaving?”

“Me and Mac,” Kalen said. “If my mate is ready.”

Mac nodded and rose from her chair, giving her salad a

glare of disgust. “I am.”

“You guys go on,” Jax told Ryon. “The rest of us will

be back soon.”

Ryon pulled Daria toward the door, ignoring the

reporter’s calls to wait. He wasn’t about to subject his

mate to any publicity, especially when it could harm her or

his team in the long run. On the way out, he saw a flash,

and cursed. That’s all they needed, pictures of the Pack out

there in circulation and perhaps ending up in the wrong

hands. He hoped the sheriff or one of the guys confiscated

them.

In less than a minute, they were on the road, heading

back to the compound. Ryon threw his mate a look of

apology. “I’m sorry, honey. I wanted you to get out and

have fun.”

“I did,” she said, smiling at him. “It’s nobody’s fault

that reporter was there, and we were going to leave soon

anyway.”

“I’m sorry about the two assholes,” Kalen put in. “I had

trouble with them and a friend of theirs before.”

Daria glanced back at him and Mac. “People like them

live to cause trouble, and they never learn. It’s not a

problem.”

They talked the rest of the way, Kalen sharing some of

his experiences as a Necromancer while Daria listened in

rapt fascination. When the Sorcerer offered to let her sit in

on a session sometime, she declined with a laugh.

“Oh, I don’t think talking to dead people are my thing.

I’d love to see some magic, though.”

“Anytime.”

At the compound, Ryon parked the SUV in the hangar

and they said good night to the other couple, who walked

off whispering quietly, Kalen’s arm securely around his

mate. Ryon took Daria’s hand.

“Stay with me tonight?” His chest tightened as she

weighed her answer. Then the band loosened when she

smiled.

“I would love to.”

And so, he ended a near-perfect evening with his mate

wrapped in his arms.

He couldn’t think of a damned thing that made him

happier.

• • •

Daria awoke to two sharp points grazing her neck. Lips

nibbling. As the fog lifted she squirmed and swatted at the

minor irritation. A masculine chuckle rumbled in her ear,

and the nibbling continued. More scraping. Awareness

kicked in and she realized those were his canines, and

little tendrils of pleasure began to spread through her

body.

“Wake up, beautiful,” Ryon sang. “Rise and shine.”

“Ugh.”

“Not a morning person?”

Giving up, she rolled over and peered up at his smug

face. “Used to moving when I’m good and ready.”

“Too bad. We have to eat breakfast. Then we’re going

for a run.” He kissed her nose. “Unless you’re backing

out?”

“Are you kidding? I’m not a coward, my mate. I don’t

wimp out once I’ve made up my mind about something.”

“Good for you,” he said in approval. “Hungry?”

“I could eat.”

“I’ve got a few MREs in the kitchen . . .” He tossed her

a grin as he rose from the bed. Naked.

“Ha, you’re a funny guy.” She eyed his tight ass,

disappointed when he pulled on a loose pair of shorts.

“Just teasing. I can cook, as you know.”

“That you can, and you do a fine job. What am I

getting?”

“Hmm. Omelets and toast?”

Her mouth watered. “That sounds great.”

Forcing herself from his cozy, king-sized bed, she put

on her jeans and shirt from the night before and padded

after him into the kitchen. She observed her mate

appreciatively as he went about getting out the stuff for

their breakfast, shirtless and more scrumptious than any

food.

“You like ham and cheese?” Opening a package of

meat, he sniffed. “It’s still good.”

“Sure. I like just about anything that goes in an omelet.”

“Then you’re in luck, because I make the best ones in

the whole compound.”

He wasn’t joking. Gesturing for her to sit on a stool at

the bar, he got out bell peppers, onions, salsa, and

mushrooms to go with the ham and cheese. Next, he

poured two glasses of orange juice—which he then topped

off with champagne.

“Mimosas?” she asked in delight. “You’re going to

spoil me rotten.”

“That’s the whole point. You deserve to be spoiled.”

As she sipped her mimosa, he chopped the veggies and

dumped them into a pan with melted butter. The delicious

aroma filled the small kitchen and made her stomach

rumble. He stirred them, refilled her drink, and then began

beating the eggs, adding a bit of milk.

“To make them fluffy,” he explained.

Yes, indeed. She could get used to having Ryon spoil

her. In every way.

In two larger pans, he poured the eggs so he could make

them both at the same time. Soon the sautéed veggies were

added, then the cheese and ham. Slicing four thick pieces

of sourdough bread, he shoved them in the toaster.

In minutes, he was ushering her into a breakfast nook

seat at the table by the patio door, where he served their

plates with finesse.

“My lady, your breakfast.”

“Oh my God, this smells awesome.”

“Tastes even better.”

At his pointed look, she picked up her fork and took a

bite. “This is wonderful. You’re going to do all the

cooking in this relationship, right?” Instantly, she realized

what she’d said, as well as the significance—she was

coming to accept their mating. What’s more, she was truly

enjoying her mate.

So did he, and he gave her a soft smile as he sat. “You

bet. As long as you’re mine, I’ll cook whatever you want.

Whenever you want.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

“I hope you do.”

When they were finished eating, she helped him clear

the table and wash the dishes. Finally done, he turned to

her and wiped his hands on a towel.