Pack Challenge (23 page)

“Okay. Go—”

Sara and Angelina slapped their hands over Miki’s mouth before the word “fetch” could come out of it.

They pulled her over to one of the food tables.

“
Are you out of your ever-loving mind
? Everyone here
but us
is like Sara,” Angelina snarled. “And after seeing them in action I’d rather not fuck with them!”

Miki gave that innocent smile. “It was just a little experiment.”

“I don’t want to know.”

How sweet. Her friends were having one last fight before she left.

Tomorrow she’d leave with Zach. Back to her original home with the man she loved. She wasn’t sure, but she thought her father would be happy about that. She knew her grandmother wouldn’t be. That thought made her giddy.

The last thing they were doing before they left was throw this all-night rave for Marrec and his Pack. Seemed only fair after they helped her tear a whole Pride to pieces.

But the mere thought of leaving was sending her into a full-blown panic attack. How was she going to leave her best friends? These crazy bitches had risked their lives for her, accepted her for who and what she was, and were there whenever she needed them. She knew she should

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tell them that. She knew she should tell them how much she loved them.

Instead she turned to Angelina and glanced down at the four-hundred dollar shoes on her friend's feet. Sara raised one eyebrow and grinned.

“Those are nice gold-colored shoes, Santiago.”

“Actually they’re champagne. My signature color. They look fabulous on me, don’t they? I just found them…ya know…lying around.” Sara tried to think how she was going to do any of this without these two. Already the females of the Pack were waiting for Sara to give them orders. She didn’t know what to tell them, although “Move out of my way” seemed to be quite effective at the moment. And thankfully she knew music and DJs because apparently she was partnering with Zach to take over the club business from Yates and Casey. Considering she had no idea what she would do with the rest of her life just the week before, it was kind of startling to suddenly be “in charge” of anything.

Especially a thriving business. She didn’t want to disappoint them or Zach. She especially didn’t want to disappoint herself. Deep down she knew she could do it. Unfortunately that knowledge didn’t stop the panic from causing her to hyperventilate in the bathroom just ten minutes before.

Then again maybe she couldn’t do this. Maybe she shouldn’t leave.

Just because she could suddenly shift into a wolf at will didn’t mean she should leave what she knew best. It definitely didn’t mean she should change her whole life for some guy she just met. Hell, they hadn’t even gone on an actual date. Christ, did wolves date? And if they did date where did they go? To dinner at a restaurant or hunting down some deer? Nope. Nope. She couldn’t do this. She was nobody’s Alpha Female.

She’d have to tell Zach to forget it. He could just take his big cock and go. Yup, that was the plan. Good plan.

That’s how it started in the bathroom, too, and in a few more seconds the hyperventilating would begin again…

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Zach’s big arms snaked around her body from behind. He kissed her neck and pulled her close against him and, suddenly, it all felt right.
He
felt right. Him and his big cock.

“Ladies.” He nodded at her two friends. “Hope you’re having a good time.”

They both grinned in return, momentarily distracted from the oncoming slap fight.

“Great little party,” Angelina offered with one of her dazzling smiles.

“Thanks.” He snuggled closer to Sara. “Dance. Eat. Everything’s on the house for you two.” He paused. “But please don’t ask our Pack to fetch anymore.”

Sara and Angelina cringed as Miki rolled her eyes. “It was just an experiment. Honestly.”

She turned to walk away but crashed into her own personal shapeshifting stalker.

“Hey, Miki.” Conall smiled. “I think you dropped this.” He handed Miki the tennis ball.

“Dude!” Zach barked.

“What?”

Zach gave a brutal snort of disgust and walked away.

They were polite enough to wait until Conall followed after his friend, asking Zach to tell him what he did wrong, before the three friends burst out laughing.

“No one is safe around you three.”

Sara turned to find Marrec behind her. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. “Thank you so much, Marrec. Thank you for everything.” And she wasn’t only talking about the fight with the Pride. She was talking about the last twenty years.

“You’re welcome. But are you trying to get me killed?” Sara opened her eyes and saw Zach watching her from fifty feet away.

He definitely didn’t seem too pleased. “Or maybe you’re trying to get

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yourself killed?” Sara looked and saw Marrec’s wife glaring at her.

Funny, the woman had made her graduation dress and had always invited her to every Marrec family event. Now she acted as if Sara were some hooker on the street trying to pick up her husband.

Sara pulled away and looked at Marrec. “I can never come back here, can I?”

“Sara, you’ll always be welcome here. But never as Alpha Female.” Sara gave a half-smile. “So I can never come back here, can I?” Marrec smiled like a proud father. “That’s my girl.” She stepped away from him. “Have a great time tonight. Everything is free for you and your Pack. Enjoy.”

“We will.” He turned to head back to his mate.

“I’ll miss you,” she whispered, knowing he would hear her. He nodded once and walked away.

“Are you okay?” Angelina put her hand on her friend’s shoulder. All three of them had been close to Marrec, for varying reasons he was the only father they’d ever really known.

Sara took a deep breath. “Yeah. I’ll be okay.” She was feeling such a huge sense of loss she wondered how she could face the rest of the night.

Miki appeared at Sara’s elbow but she glared at Angelina. “You know, I wasn’t doing anything wrong.” Apparently she had been arguing with Angelina in her head for the last ten minutes. “Just seeing what their play-drive is like. That Conall guy clearly has a big play-drive.”

“They’re not dogs, you idiot.”

“Um…I know you didn’t just call me an idiot.”

“Um…” Angelina imitated back, “I think I just did.” Yup. There went that sense of loss. Sara realized when she left the next morning there would be no tearful goodbyes with these two. This wasn’t goodbye. These crazy women would always be her best friends.

Besides, you never get rid of friends like these. They follow you to hell so they can torture you for eternity.

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When Angelina poked Miki in the shoulder with one manicured fingernail, Sara left. Zach had disappeared, but she followed his scent into the woods.

Zach leaned against a tree. He was about half a mile away from the rave, waiting for Sara. And he knew she’d find him.

He smelled her lust even before he heard her. Shit. His dick went hard again.

“You runnin’ away from me already?” Now that she’d healed and become what she was always meant to be, Sara moved with a grace and power he found amazing. She was truly becoming the ultimate she-wolf and loving every minute of it.

“Nope. Just trying to figure out how I could live in California all my life and never once say ‘dude’. But after hanging out with you three bitches for five days, I suddenly sound like an idiot.” She punched him in the shoulder. “Dude. That’s harsh.” Sara grinned and Zach rubbed his eyes with his palms. “You’re going to make me crazy.”

“It’s a gift.”

He decided to change the subject. “Your friends arguing, how long will that be going on anyway?”

“Finger pointing just started. Next there’ll be yelling. Then, depending how bad it gets, a good old-fashioned slap fight. So it could take hours.” Her friends were definitely crazier than she was, but only marginally.

“Interesting. Any nudity involved?”

Sara nuzzled him under his chin and Zach leaned in and smelled the fresh scent of her hair. “Sorry, mister. No other bitches for you. You’re stuck with just me. Golden Retriever Sara.” He laughed. “Who?”

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She kissed him. “Forget it.”

“Gladly.” He ran his hand across the scarred side of her face. She didn’t flinch away, but instead leaned into it. “You’re sure about this, right?” He’d never asked her if she wanted to go home with him. He’d assumed, but he was starting to realize assuming anything with this woman was a bad move.

“I don’t know. California. Actors. Hollywood.” She stuck her tongue out. “Yuck.”

“Don’t stick that thing out unless you plan to use it. And it’s Northern California. Completely different from Southern California.

Worlds apart. Besides, you were born there. Not here.”

“I may not have been born here, but I was made here. And don’t you forget it.”

“Is that a yes or a no?”

Busy sliding her hands under his T-shirt and running her fingers over his abs, Sara wasn’t remotely paying attention. “About what?” He sighed—deeply—and for some unknown reason that seemed to make her chuckle.

“Are you coming with me?”

“Sure. But on one condition.”

Zach closed his eyes. “It involves
them
doesn’t it?”

“They’re my family. So that means every Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Fourth of July, and because Angelina’s Catholic, Easter. You attend dinner and you’re cheery.”

“I’m never cheery,” he stated flatly. And honestly.

“But for me, you will be.”

He shook his head in resignation. “Fine. Whatever.”

“Good. Then yes, I’m coming with you.” She grabbed his hand and began to pull him back to the rave. “Now, feed me, wolf. Your mate’s starving.”

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“Sara. Wait.” He stopped walking and tugged on her hand. “I think they want to say goodbye.”

Sara frowned as he motioned toward the forest. A female, the Alpha of the full wolves, walked into the pale light cast from the rave. Her Pack stood behind her, the dozen pairs of eyes watching Zach closely. They still weren’t sure he was good enough for Sara. He smiled. Without even trying, Sara earned a loyalty from man and beast he’d never seen before.

The female brushed against Sara, her big body pushing against Sara’s legs. She circled them once and returned to her Pack. Zach waited for them to leave, move on silently into the night, but the female had one more thing she had to do before she could let Sara go.

The she-wolf tilted her head back and howled, her Pack joining in.

But when the Packs at the rave howled back, both Zach and Sara exchanged startled glances.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Zach whispered in awe as the howling continued. “Three Packs.” He ran his hand down Sara’s back. “Three Packs howling to you, baby.” Sara turned and looked at her mate, a frown flitting across her beautiful features as recognition dawned. “It was you the other night, wasn’t it?” she asked quietly as she brushed his hair out of his eyes.

“That howling I heard that wasn’t like the others. The one I felt…” She closed her eyes for a moment, the memory washing over her. “It was you,” she repeated as her gaze again focused on him. “You called to me.” Zach didn’t reply. He didn’t have to. She already knew the answer.

Instead he gripped his mate tight around her hips, pulling her into him.

Sara nuzzled her face against his as she trapped him against the tree with her long body.

“I thought you wanted to go eat?” he growled low as her hands moved down his body. A few more inches and she wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

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“You better fuck me first, wolf.” She unzipped his jeans and slid her hand inside. “Your mate’s starving.”

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Shelly Laurenston

Subtle, demure, delicate Shelly Laurenston is a 2005 EPPIE Award Winner and 2004 CAPA Winner.

A misplaced New Yorker trapped in Los Angeles, Shelly is constantly plotting and scheming her way back to civilization—think "Escape From New York." When she isn't playing video games, polishing her brass knuckles, or writing, she's trying to keep her dog, Maximus Psychotixus, from turning the local cat population into Happy Meals.

Shelly is also the author of the award-winning TO CHALLENGE A DRAGON as well as PACK CHALLENGE, GO FETCH!, HERE KITTY, KITTY! and A PRIDE CHRISTMAS IN BROOKLYN. She also has her first print book out now, MAGNUS HEAT.

www.shellylaurenston.com

[email protected]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shellylaurenston

Coming Soon from Shelley Laurenston

The Distressing Damsel
in PRINT! ~ August 2006

Go Fetch
~ September 2006

He’s a shape-shifting wolf, she’s a psychic and his other half. In order
to catch a killer, Caelen has to rely on his Seeing Eye Mate. Coming to
Samhain Publishing October 24, 2006.

Enjoy this excerpt from

Seeing Eye Mate

(c)2006 Annmarie McKenna

“Get away from the window, my mate.”

“You know, we really need to talk about that,” she muttered, ignoring his softly issued command. “This is the weirdest thing. There are these two dogs—”

Her feet flew out from under her, making her tummy flip as she went down beneath Caelan’s crushing weight. His arms wrapped around her, protecting her from what should have been a rough landing and she fought to catch her breath through her squished lungs.

“They’re just dogs, Cael, it’s fine,” Eli announced.

Tieran blinked slowly, trying to refocus on her upside-down world. Eli was staring out the window and Caelan’s chest vibrated along her arm with his fierce growling. He nuzzled her throat to a more open position and his sharp teeth rasped along her neck.

She jerked her head away, suddenly very aware of her surroundings.

Who wouldn’t be when their lover was planting more than a love bite at a very vulnerable spot?