Wolves for the Bears: Book 5, Grey Wolf Pack Romance Novellas (9 page)

He carefully walked towards them,
concealing himself in the trees.  He came close enough to hear them but hopefully not close enough for them to notice. 

Okay so he was technically spying on them but h
e told himself he was only doing this to make sure nothing... untoward happened. 
Like that asshole male wolf fucking his mate! 
He was just protecting her. 
At least that’s how he justified it to himself
.

He froze,
ice cold horror washed through his body.  Luke was kissing his mate.  And his mate was... just standing there, allowing him to take her mouth.  His beast howled.

The bear was enraged, he wanted to shift.  He wanted to throttle the male wolf
.  He wanted to wrench his mate away and force her to submit to him.  He was the only one who was allowed to touch her!  No one else! 
Mine!

Andy ground his teeth but didn’t move a trembling muscle.
  He wanted to be furious at Mac but how could he be?  She wasn’t actually doing anything wrong.  He hadn’t truly claimed her.  As far as she was concerned he had used her for sex twice before going back home to his wife.  He hadn’t even told her he loved her...
which he did
.  She was in theory free to do whatever she wanted.  He was just having a hard time making his beast listen.

She had warned him that she wouldn’t wait for him forever
, he had just hoped that it would be a little longer than this...

He had to get out of there, he couldn’t breathe.
  His body felt like it was on fire.  He stumbled backwards uncaring as to the noise he was making.  They were too wrapped up in each other to notice him he thought bitterly.

He rushed away from the gathering, indifferent
to what people thought of him and completely forgetting about his wife.

He fumbled to get into his truck and drove away
hastily.  His mind was tormented by the image of his mate kissing another man.  Remembering her sweet, pretty lips pushed against the other male’s cruel mouth was excruciating.

He gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles whitening.  He drove faster, shaking his head to and fro.  Willing the
image to go away.

God he needed his mate, if only things weren’t...
complicated
.

Chapter Eight

25
th
October

Andy slumped over the bar.  It was his night off work and yet he had found himself gravitating to Bar Luna.  Kim had looked at him in surprise but of course she had served him.  He had never been in the bar as a patron before, only to work.

He was now on his fifth beer.  Not to mention those eight he had drunk at home before coming out.  Shifters could hold their drink, and god knows Andy was a big guy, but even he had his limit.  He was now starting to get a little tipsy.

He motioned to Kim for another beer and she gave him a disapproving glare before placing it in front of him.  What’s her problem? 
She’s not my wife, she can’t ruin my life...

Andy was feeling i
nordinately sorry for himself, and it was all everyone else’s fault. 
He suspected that might be the beer talking though.

His bear perked up through the semi-drunken haze and started growling menacingly. 
What now?

Andy groaned internally as Luke confidently pushed his way into the bar
, followed by a few pack members.  Luke was beaming, they were frowning.

One of the younger wolves, Hunter he though seemed to be trying to reason with Luke. 
“The Alpha wouldn’t allow any pack member to...”

Luke snorted. 
“Yeah well, he’ll change his tune when I’m mated to his sister.”

Hunter raised an eyebrow at him.
  “Really?  You and Mac?”

Luke glowered at him
before his expression turned cocky.  “It’s only a matter of time, you’ll see.  Then when we’re bonded the Alpha will listen to me and see sense, or if not I’ll just go ahead and do it and then when it’s done he won’t be able to do anything about it.  He wouldn’t harm his sister’s mate.  He wouldn’t want to hurt her.”

Another pack member called Jimmy prickled, he regarded Luke with disgust.  “So you’re just using Mac...”
 
All the boys younger than her adored Mac, she was like an older sister to them
.

“Hell no!  Me and Mac belong together, always have done... it’s just a happy coincidence that she happens to be the Alpha’s sister.”

Hunter shook his head.  “I really don’t think that Adam would forgive...”

Luke smirked at him.  “Try not to think little Hunter, you might hurt yourself.”

Luke turned away ignoring the aggravated looks of his pack mates.  He searched up and down the bar but neither Kim nor Joe were anywhere to be found.

Luke noticed Andy and sidled up to him. 
“Hey bro’ get us some beers.”  He ordered arrogantly.

Andy eyeballed him in distaste.  He slowly took another swig of his beer. 
“Get your own damn beers... and I’m not your bro’.”

Luke huffed at him
.  “Asshole.”  He muttered.

Andy’s body trembled as his bear prepared to push forward, he was angling for a fight. 
Andy stood up from the stool, his slight sway didn’t detract from how daunting he was.  At six foot nine he towered over the younger wolf flexing his considerable muscles.  To Luke’s credit he didn’t even flinch.

“
Fuck you wolf!”  Drawled Andy.  He had been itching to punch someone. 
Anyone
.  And now it looked like he was going to get his chance.  It was just fortune that the one person he truly did want to beat to a pulp had turned up.

Luke
growled at him as his eyes flashed to amber and his claws lengthened.  His pack mates stepped in front of him, trying to calm him down.  No one had ever seen Andy lose his temper, and truthfully no one ever wanted to.  Angry wolves were difficult enough to handle, an angry bear would be even more gruelling.

Andy snarled as his own claws sprung free, his eyes became jet black.
  His body quivered in anticipation.

“Let’s just take it easy guys.”  Hunter tried reason.  “There’s no need to fight.”

The two angry males howled in disagreement. 
There was every reason to fight
.  It wasn’t spoken but each knew why, they could sense the tacit grounds for their animosity. 
Mac
.

They both wanted her, and consequently didn’t want each other to have her.
 

Jimmy and another pack mate Casey grimaced at one another before tentatively stepping in front of Andy. 
They really hoped they didn’t get killed trying to save a worthless ass like Luke, there were so many better ways to die... but pack was pack.  You had to protect your family, even the members you didn’t like. 
Plus Luke bought them beer
.

“Come on Andy.”  Said Casey with more than a hint of pleading.

The rest of the patrons were starting to take notice of what was happening.  Luke struggled against Hunter, eager to get to the bear.  Andy let out a full bodied roar, a deafening silence fell over the bar only broken by the irate yell of a pissed off she-wolf.

“What’s going on here?”  Kim stood before them hands on hips.

Andy and Luke continued glowering at one another.  The three other wolves looked a little guilty, almost looking down at their feet.

“It’s nothing...”  Began Hunter.

“We were just...”  Interrupted Casey.

“Messing around.”  Finished Jimmy.

Kim looked at them through narrowed eyes.  “Yeah well I don’t like fighting in my bar.  You three stooges,”  she said pointing to Hunter, Casey and Jimmy, “are free to stay.  The two trying to start fight club,” she pointed at Andy and Luke, “should leave.  You can come back when you’ve cooled off.”

With that she swept away
.  Luke irritably shrugged out of Hunter’s loosening grip.  Throwing a look of hatred at Andy she stamped out of the bar.

Andy bared his fangs and snorted.
  The three young males jumped back.  Under the fractious glare of Kim who was standing at the end of the bar he picked up his beer and swallowed the remainder down in one gulp.  He thumped the bottle down on the bar exhaling loudly.

He threw some bills down and steadily walked out the bar, the patrons quickly getting out of his way.
  Stepping out into the cold night he inhaled a few deep lungfuls of air.

His senses were a little dull becau
se of all the alcohol, but in the time it would take him to walk home he would be cured.  Although he was still pretty pumped from the
almost
fight with Luke.  His bear was buzzing with excitement.  He wanted to hunt down Luke and finish what they started.

He started walking slowly. 
He needed to get rid of some excess energy.  Perhaps a nice long run in the woods would help.  It would certainly tire him.  Maybe he should go hunting.  The thrill of the chase, taking down another animal would certainly get rid of some of his agitation. 
Maybe he should visit Mac...

His beast yowled in glee at that
thought.  Unconsciously he started walking in the direction of her house.  Being with his mate would certainly burn off some excess energy, and definitely get rid of some of the tension pervading his body.

Yes, the more he thought about it the more he liked the idea of going to see her.
  He did feel a small niggle of doubt in the back of his mind.  She hadn’t been overly thrilled at the sight of him the last time he saw her... but perhaps he could sway her. 
The thought of holding her down and showering her delectable body with kisses until she gave in and cried for him to take her sprung to mind. 

He grinned at that
, the alcohol haze slowly lifting with each step he took.  He stepped out into the street and heard a throaty roar of a car engine.  A fast moving, dark vehicle was driving straight at him.  He leapt aside as quickly as possible as the vehicle unavoidably headed in his direction.

Andy
heard the sickening crunch of metal hitting flesh as the vehicle clipped him.  Shooting pains spread through the right side of his body as he smacked face down onto the sidewalk.  The vehicle carried on down the street at the same relentless pace.

His bear bellowed in fury
as Andy gingerly tried to stand up.  His body protested at the pain and he ground his teeth, trying to stop himself from screaming.  It could have been a lot worse though, with his healing rate in a few days he’d be back to normal.

He stared in the direction of the retreating vehicle. 
That was no accident
.  The headlights of the vehicle were switched off and they drove directly at him. 
Two guesses as to who was driving
...

His bear was furious, wanting to track the wolf down and shred him.
 
Andy however had a better plan.

*

Mac snapped off the TV and stretched out her limbs. 
Time for bed
.

She’d had a
surprisingly good day at work.  Winston had been up to his old tricks, he had actually turned up in the town library naked.

Terri the librarian had found it pretty funny
but had called the station, she didn’t really want any young children to see him in all his glory.  Mac and the newest recruit Deanna Hardison a bobcat shifter had rushed over.

Terri and Deanna, as she herself had done, marvelled over Winston’s giant testicles.
  Unluckily for Terri her mate Mal had turned up at that moment and became enraged at another man flashing his mate.  In between bouts of laughter at watching Deanna cautiously stalk the old man round the library Terri and Mac tried to pacify Mal.

Mac was pleasantly surprised to find that
Deanna actually beat her own record for catching Winston, managing it in just under nine minutes.

When they brought Winston back to the station Mac proudly told Gabe about Deanna’s success.  Gabe had promptly
hooted with laughter while Deanna turned a fetching shade of crimson.

After work she and Deanna had gone for a quick bite to eat at Pizza Moon.  As much as she liked her pack mates it was nice to actually work with someone new, and to work with another woman.
  They enjoyed their meal before Deanna had to rush home, she was supporting her grandmother and younger siblings and was needed to make sure everyone got their dinner and did their homework.

Mac feeling at a loose end had headed over to the
nearby outlet mall.  She bought a pair of jeans, boots and, feeling daring, a bright red mini dress and some lacy red underwear that the shop assistant insisted she needed to wear with the dress.  She knew in her heart she would never wear them outside her house but it gave her a small sexy thrill just to own them.  Perhaps she could just wear them in and around the house...
yes perhaps she could wear them to do the vacuuming
.

Coming home Mac had popped some popcorn
, put on her pyjamas and settled in to watch TV, she laughed along with some Simpsons reruns before deciding to go to bed.

Yep, today had been a good day. 
So why did she feel so restless and tetchy?

Oh right, her mate Andy
.  She had barely even caught glimpses of her mate since the pack pot luck.  The night Luke had kissed her...

Thankfully she hadn’t seen Luke since that night either.  She must have been crazy contemplating dating him again.  When she was a teenager she had been besotted with him.  He was a couple of years older than her, the captain of the football team, he could have any girl he wanted yet he wanted shy little awkward Mac.

She knew that she was well liked in the pack, she was like a little sister to the older members of the pack and a big sister to the younger members.  But until Luke no one had ever wanted her
sexually
.  They’d dated for over three years.  Luke had waited until she was ready to lose her virginity.

Although in truth he had teased her until she was desperate to be with him.
  They would make out, and he would arouse her until she was on the edge of release and then he would just stop.  He got her so riled up she practically begged him to sleep with her. 
He was pretty smug when that happened
.

They did everything together.  At the time she thought they were in love, and were just close.  Now looking back she realised Luke was actually clingy
and controlling.  He used to pick her up in the morning and take her to school, he would meet her for lunch, and then pick her up after school to drive her home. This continued even after he graduated.  He would stay with her while she did her homework and not leave until she was going to bed. 
She scarcely had a moment alone to herself.

She hardly had any friends, Luke’s possessiveness tended to put them off, and by spending nearly every waking moment with him she didn’t have time for anyone else anyway.  Adam had hated Luke, but at that time Adam wasn’t the Alpha, that was her father Gideon, and he didn’t seem to mind about Luke’s behaviour.
 
Gideon wasn’t particularly interested in his daughter’s social life
.