Running with the Pack: Cannon Pack, Book 3 (11 page)

“She was beautiful with brown fur. I remember she had a white paw.” Lauren pulled the bedspread higher. “She was amazing and powerful, and I couldn’t believe I’d destroyed her.”

The horror struck Daniel, wiping strength from him. The world around him spun, taking him to another time, another day. He saw Torrie at his feet, cold and lifeless, her blood staining the grass. Pain ripped through him as it had that day and he groaned, unable to stop its flight. He closed his eyes, willing the image to leave him in peace, forcing the agony out of his body. At last, it did, leaving him shaken and breathless.

The woman he had taken to bed, the woman he liked, was the hunter who had killed his mate. Lauren had murdered his Torrie. The room closed in on Daniel to squeeze the air from him, stripping him of reason, leaving only his instincts. He reached out, his fury compelling him to kill her. She misinterpreted the gesture as reaching out to comfort her and his growl swept from his gut to strangle the air in his throat. He saw his hands opening before him, ready to encircle her neck, ready to press his thumbs to her throat, to choke the life from her.

“Daniel? Are you all right?”

His gaze met hers and held. Without meaning to, he searched her eyes and was stunned at what he found. A sorrow deeper than he’d thought possible floated just below the surface, tearing away his fury. No evil murderer resided behind those eyes. No brutal killer lurked in those velvet pools. What he found was Lauren, open, honest and concerned. Making an unrecognizable sound, he wrenched his hands away from her, then whirled and rushed from the room.

Lauren sat on the edge of the bed, trying to see through the closed door. Daniel had departed two days earlier, his features a work in agony and rage. For a moment, she’d thought he would turn that anger on her. Then, almost as suddenly as it had appeared, the anger was gone. He’d dashed out of the room before she’d had a chance to find out what had happened. Would he ever return? Since then, the only person she’d seen was the guard who’d brought her new clothes and food.

“Where are you, Daniel?”

She would’ve gone after him if the guard outside her room had allowed it. She wanted to explain further, to make him understand that the werewolf she’d helped slay was her first and only kill. He had to know that she had changed that night, that her goal was to help his people. Even if it meant putting her own life in jeopardy.

She touched her fingertips to her lips, remembering how they’d felt after he’d kissed her. Who would have believed that she’d have sex with a shifter? And she was fairly certain he hadn’t planned on having sex either. But she was happy that they had. Lying on the bed, she closed her eyes and relived the experience.

Daniel had treated her like no other man ever had. He’d taken her to the brink, almost to the edge of force, yet still leaving her with the right to refuse him. His lovemaking had left her breathless yet full of vitality. His masculinity had given her shivers, making her feel like a damsel in distress and he the valiant knight who rescued her then claimed her for his own. His lovemaking was more than practiced sexual moves. He was powerful yet gentle, arousing her with his hands, his mouth, his tongue. She couldn’t help but compare him to John and found John’s horny escapades unemotional, almost impersonal. If she could choose between them, she would take Daniel without thinking twice about it.

Lauren shot up, swinging her legs to the floor. She’d choose Daniel, the werewolf alpha, over John, her boyfriend? She shook her head, wondering at her thoughts. Although she planned on breaking up with John, how could she choose a shifter over a human male? The idea was ridiculous. Especially when Daniel had left her so abruptly, so strangely. Sure, he wanted her body, but what about everything else she had to offer? Would he ever want her heart? Could she ever give her heart to him?

Daniel Cannon was everything she’d always hungered for in a man: sexy, courageous, confident and a natural leader. He was the type who made women’s heads turn and men wish they were more like him. Yet she could sense another side to him, a softer side that was so rare. She heard it in the inflection of his tone when he asked her questions. That softer side was what she ached for in her life.

But he’s a werewolf.

Maybe if she reminded herself enough, she would stop thinking of him in such attractive terms. She paced to the door, reached for the doorknob and steeled herself for whatever might happen next. Gripping the handle, she wiggled the knob and, to no surprise, found the door locked. She was the pack’s prisoner. Yet instead of alarm creeping up her spine, a nervous excitement took its place. She wasn’t simply the pack’s prisoner. She was
his
prisoner. And although she wouldn’t have admitted it out loud, she couldn’t help but get excited at the prospect. What would being Daniel’s prisoner be like? Would it mean crazy wild sex? Consensual and otherwise?
God, I hope so.

Shocked at her brazenness, Lauren wiggled the knob again. She had to try to escape. If only to save herself from her own wanton thoughts, thoughts that would place her in more peril than she was already in. Once he was finished with her sexually, what would he do to her? Suddenly, she didn’t want to stick around and find out.

“If only they hadn’t taken my cell phone away,” she murmured.

The door opening sent her scurrying to the opposite side of the room. Tucker, the tall white-haired god of the pack, closed the door behind him and winked. “Hey, darlin’. I thought I’d better check on you. To make sure everyone’s treatin’ you right.”

She inhaled, suddenly aware that sex, especially nonconsensual sex, could happen with shifters other than Daniel. In fact, she was at the mercy of the entire pack. Drawing herself as tall as she could, she plastered on a brave face and sent him an unspoken warning not to try anything. “I demand you let me go.”

His laughter echoed around the room. “You demand, huh? Wow, that’s a good one.”

She tried not to let him see how flustered she was. Her meanest face hadn’t fazed him. “That’s right. Let me go now and we’ll call it a truce.”

“Darlin’, shifters don’t make truces with hunters.” He moved closer, eating up the distance before she knew he’d started walking.

Lauren placed her back against the wall and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from screaming. Tucker brought his face, emotionless yet with amber eyes flashing, within an inch of hers.

“They won’t stop until they find me, you know. And when they do, they’ll, they’ll…” What would John and the others do? Fight an entire army of shifters? Hell, she doubted John would even look for her. He probably thought she’d given up on the hunt and gone home.

“Are you talking about your hunter friends, darlin’? And your boyfriend, the leader? Either way, we’ve taken care of that.” He rested his hands beside her head, trapping her.

What had they done? Had they found John and the others and killed them?

Tucker brought out his claws, his eyes growing a darker gold. Growling, he ran a claw down her cheek, pressing hard enough for her to feel the sharpness of his nail, but not hard enough to break the skin. “Don’t worry, darlin’. You’re safe with me.” His gaze slid down, then back up, pausing on the rise and fall of her chest.

“Daniel won’t like it if you hurt me.” Lauren wasn’t sure why she’d blurted it out, but she had to hope Tucker believed her. His eyes widened, then narrowed, unnerving her.

“Is that right? So you and Daniel are what? Buddies now?” His gaze landed on her chest. “Bosom buddies maybe?”

She didn’t respond, letting him interpret her silence any way he wanted. Besides, how could she answer when she didn’t know what Daniel thought of her?

“Hmm. That’s interesting. I’m gonna have to speak to Daniel about you, aren’t I?”

Tucker pushed away and strode to the door, leaving her shaking and breathless. She stumbled to the bed, falling on it before her knees gave out.

“What the hell am I going to do?”

“Daniel. We need to talk.”

Tucker’s appearance at the door to his study was expected. Still, he wasn’t ready for the discussion he knew was ahead. Daniel held up one finger, motioning Tucker to remain silent until he’d finished his phone conversation. This was one conversation that came before anything else.

“Lance, your Uncle Jason is right. You can’t throw a bee’s nest at your sister and expect not to get into trouble. Even if the bees were gone.” He hoped his son couldn’t hear the smile in his tone. “I don’t care what Tracey did to provoke you.” He listened a little longer, letting the young boy vent his frustration. “Okay, Lance, I’ve heard enough. I realize it’s hard, but I know you can handle whatever your uncle decides. I’m proud of you.” He laughed at his son’s response. “No, not because you hurled the nest at Tracey, but because you’re going to take your punishment like a real alpha. Goodbye, son, and give your sister a kiss for me.”

“Like he’s really going to kiss his sister?” Tucker chuckled. “If I know Lance, he’ll probably punch her on the nose and tell her you told him to do it.”

“You’re very likely right.” Daniel slumped into his office chair, the good mood he’d gotten from talking to his children gone. He glowered at the papers strewn over his desk. He’d spent endless hours hidden in his den, trying to work before the call. But the only thing he’d managed to do was think about Lauren. She was like a drug that had instantly trapped him in an addiction and he couldn’t shake the aching need to touch her, to taste her, to take her. “Go away. I’m busy.”

“Can’t.”

Daniel snarled at his right-hand man. “Then this better be good.”

“Don’t you think it’s about time you decided what you’re going to do with her?”

“I don’t have time for this.” Daniel returned his attention to the file folder, although he knew that wouldn’t dissuade Tucker from entering. Sure enough, Tucker wound up flattening his hands on his desk to position his face a foot from Daniel’s.

“So you’re not worried that we’re going to have the human authorities looking for her? Two days is long enough, man.”

Two days? The time away from her had seemed like an eternity.

“Did you leave a message at her office like I told you to?” At Tucker’s nod, he waved the man off. “Then we have no problem. As far as anyone’s concerned, she’s out of town, taking care of a family emergency.”

“How long do you think that excuse will hold? Especially when it wasn’t Lauren who left the message? Besides, this wasn’t the plan. We were supposed to mess a hunter up to put them on the alert that we’re on the offensive. Not take one of them captive. Especially one of the hunters who killed Tyler. I know we don’t normally resort to revenge, but I’m not sure we can let his death go. The pack is up in arms about it.”

“Your job is to make sure she’s safe.”

“And I’m doing that. But holding her prisoner is too much trouble and could lead to major complications.” Tucker flopped into a chair. “Something more is going on here. Something you’re not telling me.”

Daniel kept his head down, pretending to work. “You’re imagining things.”

“Then why not do what we planned? Let’s rough her up a little, then turn her loose to hobble on home and lick her wounds. Maybe even let the pack think we did worse to her. She’ll tell all her hunter friends about her narrow escape from the evil werewolves and they’ll know we strike first now.”

He could almost feel Tucker’s questioning scowl burning a hole in the top of his head. “Trust me, Tucker. We’ll get around to that soon enough. For now, she stays where she is.”

“Holy shit, Daniel, do you have a soft spot for the little dentist?”

Daniel fought the flame inching up his neck and into his face. “Don’t be stupid. She’s a hunter.”

“Yeah, but she’s also a woman. An attractive, sexy woman. Of course, you’d know just how sexy since you were the one playing tongue-tag with her in the dental chair. Is this more than simply finishing what you started with her?”

Daniel gave up trying to ignore him and leaned back. “I am aware of her sexuality. But that doesn’t mean I can’t keep my mind on business even if I decide to have some fun with her.” He averted his gaze from his friend’s, fearing he’d see the lie.

“So you’re saying you can keep your head about you? All while keeping your dick inside her?”

The animal within him roared, fangs sprouting and wolf ears lying down. His vision changed, the amber in his eyes coloring the world. “Watch it, man.”

Tucker held up his hands, palms out. “Hey, don’t go getting riled up. I don’t care if you want to tap that. But do it and get it over with. As long as it’s just sex, it’s okay by me. But we will have to let her go at some point. Very soon, in fact.” His scrutiny grew more intense. “You want her for sex and nothing more? Right, Daniel?”

That answered one of his nagging questions. The others hadn’t heard them having sex that first day. Or at least word hadn’t spread. “What else?”

“I mean, I’m only asking because you Cannon brothers like taking human mates.”

“Human, yes. Hunter, no.”

“What about Jason’s mate? She was a hunter.”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but her adopted father was a hunter. She never wanted to hunt and, in fact, she already had shifter blood in her.” Not to mention the fact that she’d never killed any shifters. If only Lauren hadn’t already killed. “Besides, I already found my mate, remember?”

“Sure, Daniel, sure.” Tucker’s tone was low and soft, the challenge in his tone gone. “But you know Torrie wouldn’t want you to be alone for the rest of your life. And there’s the council’s recommendation to consider, too.”

Recommendation, his ass. Command was more like it. Daniel struggled to make his inner wolf heed his warning to back off. But Tucker wasn’t helping. “Keep Torrie out of this.” Twisting his mouth, he wrestled the transformation into submission. “And stay out of my personal life.”

Tucker shot him a confused look. “Hey, man, where’s all the hate coming from? I’m on your side, remember?”

Daniel saw the hurt on his friend’s face and regretted his words. Tucker had proven his loyalty and friendship many times over, becoming more than a friend. Hell, he was as close to Daniel as Daniel’s brothers were.