Rae, Beverly - Chasing Cally [Night Runner Werewolves 2] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Special Edition) (11 page)

Cally hurried to her side and saw Carl holding a shotgun. Four men stood behind him carrying weapons ranging from axes to rifles. “I’ll call the sheriff.”

Sara clamped onto her arm. “No. He’ll never get here in time anyway. Besides, Michael and the men can handle them.”

“But they have guns.”

“This is my fault.”

The women turned to find
Lena
standing at the foot of the stairs. Her wide, gray eyes brimmed with tears, and she tugged on her stringy hair.

“No. You can’t blame yourself for whatever Carl does. You and Brittany don’t deserve to be mistreated.” Cally glanced behind the terrified woman at the empty stairs. “Where’s
Brittany
?”

“She’s still in bed and sleeping soundly. I turned up the volume of the radio on the nightstand to cover the sounds of Carl’s shouts. Thank God it takes a lot to wake her.”

“Good.” Sara moved to take
Lena
by the shoulders. “The only thing you need to do is take care of your little girl. We’ll handle Carl and his thugs. I want you to go back upstairs, close the curtains, and not look outside. No matter what you hear. Will you do that for me?”

Lena
nodded, her mouth working but no sounds came out.

“Good. Now get back up there. If
Brittany
wakes up, get her dressed, then turn up the radio as loud as it will go and pretend you’re having a dance party.”

Goose bumps covered Cally’s arms. Sara’s harsh tone left no doubt. Bad things were about to happen.

Once
Lena
was gone, Sara strode over and opened the front door. She stopped when she noticed Cally following her and blocked the way outside. “Maybe you should go upstairs with
Lena
. She might need your help.”

A glance over Sara’s shoulder told Cally where her help was needed the most. Carl and his buddies stood, feet planted apart, scowling at Max and his friends. “This is where I need to be and this is where I’m staying. Don’t try to stop me.”

Admiration filled Sara’s face. “Good.” She turned and stepped out onto the porch. “Is there a problem, Carl Horton?”

Max’s dark gaze skimmed from Sara to Cally. A smile lifted the corners of his mouth before he turned back to Carl.

“You know damn well what the problem is. You people are holdin’ my wife and kid hostage.” Carl’s slurred words were filled with hatred. The men around him seemed as unsteady on their feet as he did.

Michael chuckled then winked at Sara. “We aren’t holding anyone hostage. If anyone has ever held
Lena
hostage, it’s you. Maybe if you weren’t drunk all the time, you’d realize as much.”

Max took a step forward. “She’s finally fed up with you and she wants out. She needed a place to stay and we gave it to her. Now back off and go home to sleep it off before someone gets hurt.”

Carl’s scowl deepened. “You got no right keepin’ me from her. Send her out now and we won’t have no trouble.” His friends grumbled their agreement.

“Let me put this in a way you can understand.” Max took another step closer. “It ain’t fuckin’ happenin’.”

Carl lifted his shotgun and his friends raised their weapons. “Are you ready to die, motherfucker?”

“Aw, man, you know shooting us won’t do any good.” Ranlon crossed his arms, glanced at Max who gave him a nod. “Unless, of course, you have silver bullets in those guns. Do you have silver bullets, Carl?”

Silver bullets? Had she heard him right? Why would the men need silver bullets? Any kind of bullet would kill them.

“Yeah, Carl, do you? Because you know those other weapons aren’t going to hurt us much, either. In fact, it’ll just piss us off.” Nick slid his hand through his red hair, his voice deepening to a growl. “Trust me, bro. You don’t want to piss us off.”

Max shook his head and took another step closer, putting him within striking distance of the big man. “How about this? If
Lena
wants to come home, then we won’t stop her. But if she doesn’t, then we’re not going to let you drag her out of here against her will.”

“I ain’t standin’ for no more of this crap.” Carl cocked the hammer back on his gun and aimed it directly at Max. “I know what you shits are, and ain’t no one goin’ to blame me for takin’ the devil’s spawn outta this world.”

Cally’s heart leapt to her throat.
Please, God. Don’t let him shoot.

But what she saw before her drove her worries away. She froze, not believing what her eyes told her.

Max’s shirt ripped apart, tearing down the middle of his back. His hair grew shorter, his body stockier as he and the other men tore their clothes from their changing bodies. Black hair grew in the place where skin once was, and the cracking of bones splintered the air.

Cally couldn’t move or speak. Turning toward her, Max’s face was no longer the handsome face she’d caressed last night. His dark eyes were gone, replaced by amber ones. A muzzle formed, elongating the mouth. Sharp, dagger-like fangs erupted, and he pulled his lips back then fell to the ground on all fours.

As though time lost meaning for her, the men she’d made love to the night before had disappeared, replaced by wolves. A strangled cry broke from her lips.

These are the wolves I saw. And now Max is one of them.

Sara’s hand on her arm jolted her out of her trance a second before the first shot rang out. The wolves charged the men, knocking them to the ground. Shouts mixed with growls as they struggled, but the men were no match for the large wolves.

Max dug his claws into Carl’s arm and held on. Carl screamed, losing his grip on his gun. The other wolves easily subdued the drunken men, standing over them, their weapons out of reach or broken in two. The battle was over before it had barely begun.

“Cally, look at me.”

But she couldn’t take her eyes off Max to answer Sara’s call. Although she was frightened, stunned at what she’d seen, a part of her marveled at him. Even as a wolf he was gorgeous.

Sara shook her arm. “Cally. Look at me.”

She blinked then found Sara’s eyes, needing to find a hold on reality. “I don’t believe…But it’s true. I see them. They’re…”

“Come inside.”

She couldn’t think, could only follow directions. Letting Sara seat her on the sofa, she stared at the front door, expecting the pack of wolves to charge into the house at any moment. Even in shock, she couldn’t hide another emotion sneaking into her consciousness. Her teeth chattered, not all from fear, but from excitement.

“Tell me I didn’t see what I saw.”

Sara sat next to her, an intent expression tightening her features. “But you did. Believe your eyes because what you saw was real. I’m sorry I lied earlier, but I couldn’t say anything until Max told you. The wolves you saw this morning were our men.”

She shook her head. What else could she do? Believe in the unbelievable? “No. Men can’t turn into wolves.” She laughed, a sarcastic, mirthless sound. “I’m going crazy, aren’t I?”

“No, you’re not.” Max, returned to his human form, stood in the doorway.

She leapt up from the couch and dashed toward the stairs, but Max caught her on the first step. He clutched her arm, whirling her around to confront him. “This isn’t the way I wanted to tell you about us.”

She yanked her arm away and took the stairs two at a time. But Max stayed on her heels, reaching her bedroom door a moment behind her.

“Cally, give me a chance to explain.”

His chest pushed against her back and, as always, his touch sent flames of heat whipping through her. But she couldn’t give in. Not after what she’d seen. “Stay away from me.”

She burst inside, turned to slam the door in his face, but he pushed against it. Hurrying to the other side of the room, she put her back against the wall and tried to think.

Max, the man she’d come to cherish, looked at her. His dark eyes held sadness, his hair was mussed. Written on his face, his love, his desire for her couldn’t be denied. “Please let me talk to you.”

She didn’t know what to do. Her brain told her to run, to jump out the window, but her heart told her she had to stay, had to hear him out. Otherwise, she’d regret it for the rest of her life. “If I was smart, I’d get the hell out of here.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. But if you hadn’t felt the connection we have between each other, you wouldn’t have given me the time of day in the first place.” He took a step closer but stopped when she shivered.

“Don’t try to tell me I didn’t see what I saw.” Her gaze dropped lower, his cock poised and ready. “And cover up. I can’t talk to you while you’re butt naked.”

A slight smile formed on his lips but was gone before he’d finished wrapping the blanket resting on the end of the bed around his waist. “What you saw was real. That’s the way we are.”

“You changed into wolves.”

“Not wolves. Werewolves.”

“So the wolves I saw this morning…”

“Yeah. Those werewolves were Michael and the others coming in from a run last night. We’re Night Runner werewolves and this is our pack.”

She had to sit before her legs gave out. The fear flowed out of her as she sat on the bed then nodded, giving him permission to sit beside her. “Werewolves. I still can’t get over it. So the stories, the rumors? They’re true?”

“They are. Look, I know it’s hard to take in.” He slipped a hand down her back to comfort her.

“Then you lied to me.”

He set his jaw. “I did and I’m sorry. But would you have believed me last night? This morning? Without seeing us shift?”

“Shift?” Her head hurt from trying to understand.

“It’s called shape-shifting. Shifting is when we change into our werewolf forms.”

“Oh.” At a loss for words, she tried to sort through the many questions running through her mind and couldn’t. Instead, she let him pull her closer. Above all else, she needed to feel his warmth.

“Is Sara a werewolf, too? A shape-shifter?”

“She wasn’t when she first met us. But later, once she decided to be part of the pack, Michael bit her and made her one of us.”

She’d thought her life had changed by meeting Max, but she’d had no idea just how much. “And she’s happy?”

“Yeah, she’s very happy.” He took her chin, making her look into his dark eyes still flecked with amber. “I want you to join us. We want you to become part of the pack.”

She inhaled, her heart pounding at the idea. “We? Then all of you have discussed this?”

What would her life be like as a werewolf? She studied him. He wanted her enough to make her one of them? Did she want him as much? The answer came swiftly. Yes. She wanted him more than she’d ever thought possible. In the short time they’d known each other, he’d grown to be a part of her. A part she couldn’t live without. Even if it meant she had to change.

“Then we’d be mated? Is that what you call it?”

“Yes, but you have to understand how the pack works. We’re different from other packs.”

Her eyes widened. “There are other packs?”

He chuckled then kissed her cheek. “There are hundreds in
America
alone. Even more in other parts of the world.”

“How are you different?”

“The pack has to approve of new members, especially any new female members. Sara was our first and she’s our alpha-female. All of us share her until we find our own mate.”

“Will you still have sex with Sara even if I agree to stay with you?” Could she handle Max being sexually involved with another woman? Yet hadn’t Michael done the same thing with her?

“She’s the alpha-female and because she is, we’ll always be drawn to her even after we take our own individual mate.” He took her hand and squeezed. “But we don’t have to have sex with her after we find our own mate. Cally, I don’t want to be with anyone except you.”

“But what about Michael? I thought he was with Sara.” The connection between Michael and Sara was strong. She’d sensed it as soon as he’d winked at her.

“You’re talking about what happened last night. That was different.” He took a deep breath and let it out in a shudder. “I’ve handled this wrong. I should’ve explained first, but I was afraid I’d scare you off. What happened last night was your initiation.”

“My initiation? You mean, into the pack? You did that without telling me what was happening?”

“The pack had to know if they could accept you first before I could tell you about me, about us. I couldn’t ask you until after. But you’re not pack yet. Not until I bite you and you change.” He twisted toward her to take both her hands. “When one of us finds a mate, we bring her home to meet the rest of the pack. If they approve—by being with you in bed—then we find out what Sara thinks. After all, the females have to get along with the alpha-female. If she approves, then you can go through the transformation.”

Cally let what he’d told her sink in. “If Sara says yes—”

“Which she already has.”

“Okay. So now that Sara has said yes, does that mean I’m mated to the others, too?” As wonderful as last night had been, she wanted Max for hers alone.

“No. You’re my mate and no one else’s. Providing you want to stay now that you’ve heard everything.”