Baby and the Wolf by Victoria Sue

 

Chapter One

Ryker wasn’tsure why he was nursing a beer when he had a million things and probably a million people—okay, so that might be a tad of an exaggeration—needing his attention back at the pack house. Maybe he just needed a minute. He groaned to himself. Maybe he needed to get laid. Something to sort out why he’d been in such a bad fucking mood all month. He’d even snapped at Chrissy yesterday, which had nearly caused her to take out his knuckles with the drill she was wielding to fasten their latest cabin together. They’d been getting a little tight on space up to yesterday when they rehomed five omegas and their pups. Seth and Jesse had been fantastic, but there was only so much they could do with their small area of cabins, and he hoped Zeke was having luck with the land he’d gone to look at. It was in Tennessee, which was fine, but what they really needed was the parcel next door.

Maybe that was it? The uncertainty? He didn’t need a run. Backing onto the Blue Ridge Mountains, they were hardly lacking in space or opportunity, but something was rubbing him the wrong way. He felt weird. Maybe the smell of the place was too strong for his shifter nose. He nearly snorted. The thought that anything about his six-foot-four brick shithouse frame would be sensitive was laughable.

He heard the raucous laughter from the group of humans at the bar and lowered his head. Don’t get involved. He’d noticed the smaller guy with them right away as he had trailed in after them, and his wolf hadn’t caught his scent, which had made the animal curious. He was downright gorgeous, with floppy black hair that fell in waves and ridiculously bright blue eyes. They were definitely humans, though, as the others all smelled disgusting, especially the bigger guy, who had ignored the barman’s request to smoke outside. He was probably the boyfriend of the smaller guy. As Ryker watched, he threw his arm around the smaller one, pulled him in close, and tossed Ryker a sneering glance that screamed, “He’s all mine, fuck off.”

Ryker tilted his head and gazed at him, knowing his alpha wolf was irked at the not too smart challenge, even for a human. The move the guy had made could never be confused with protection or affection. It screamed ownership, which was ironic that he should object seeing as how he knew wolves were jealous, possessive, dominant SOBs with their mates, and Ryker knew with half a chance he would be one of the worst. But this was just odd. Not that blue-eyes seemed exactly scared—more like numb, if that was the right word. He didn’t seem to be objecting to where the bigger guy wanted to put his hands, or was it that he knew protest was futile? Ryker inhaled slowly, trying to smell any fear. Fear had a bitter smell that made his wolf want to sneeze to get rid of it usually, but he couldn’t sense anything. He must be overreacting. Either that or the cloud of thick cigarette smoke was screwing with his sense of smell. The bigger man leaned over to pick up his beer just as the smaller guy locked eyes with Ryker. He met blue eyes for a moment, while the man stared at him almost assessingly. Ryker was definitely tempted, but the bigger man seemed to realize he didn’t have all of blue-eyes’s attention and dragged him into the group. Ryker frowned. He noticed the wince on the smaller man’s face, but then he turned his back on Ryker quite deliberately.

His wolf didn’t seem impressed, but then his animal had been acting a little odd since they’d come to this same bar a month ago. It had been nearly empty then, but his wolf had caught the scent of something he didn’t like. Ryker was passing through. This biker bar wasn’t even in his rescue area officially. He’d just been restless, and while he always needed to be careful, his wolf was riding him hard, and he didn’t know why. He should go. He didn’t like being this far away. They had omegas at the pack house who would get ripped to shreds if the shifters they were running from ever found them, and Ryker wouldn’t risk anyone just because he had wanderlust.

But it didn’t explain why his wolf was behaving oddly. Unless he was getting senile. His lips curved in amusement. He might be thirty-six in human years, but since he would live at least another eighty, he wasn’t even close to middle-aged yet.

The smaller guy hadn’t attempted to turn around, telegraphed nothing to say he needed help or was even uncomfortable, so Ryker let it go. He met the barman’s eyes as he stood up and threw some cash on the table. The barman nodded, understanding Ryker wouldn’t be coming back.

Outside, Ryker headed to the far end of the parking lot. He passed the rows of bikes he’d seen when he came in and knew they belonged to the humans at the bar. He’d parked out of the way in case he changed his mind and decided he did need a run, but to be honest, he just wanted to crash. He climbed into the truck and started the engine, fiddled with the radio to find something he liked, and drove to the entrance. He glanced in his rearview mirror at the bar and resolved not to return, then returned his gaze to the front.

“Fuck,” he swore as the figure loomed up out of nowhere, and he slammed on the brakes reflexively. If he’d have picked up any more speed, he would have hit him. He yanked the truck into park, but before he could move, his driver’s side door was pulled open. Ryker gaped at the smaller guy from the bar.

“Please. Please,” he begged, and his eyes widened as a shout went up from over by the bar. “I-I…”

He wobbled on his feet, eyes going glassy. Ryker lunged, his wolf reflexes making him try to dive from the cab to get to the man before he hit the deck, but he wasn’t quite fast enough. Shit. Had he hit him with the truck? Had he cracked his head? Ryker reached out to the pale, almost alabaster face and touched his cheek to slide his hand around and feel for an injury, but he never got that far. The second he touched him, Ryker’s heart faltered, almost stumbling over itself in shock, then picked up such a thunderous beat it sounded in his ears. His skin prickled. Nerve endings all seemed to fire at once, and his skin seemed too tight to contain his wolf. For a stunned moment, Ryker thought he would lose control of his shift, and that hadn’t happened since he’d been a teenager. He took a breath when his lungs screamed their emptiness, and almost blindly, he stared at his hand where it still lay on the man’s cheek. This couldn’t be what he was imagining though. There was no way he could have such a connection with a human. Ryker had decided the mating instinct was just going to bypass him altogether. But as his wolf howled in his ear, Ryker almost closed his eyes in defeat. It was impossible. Wolf and human pairings happened, but they were always fraught with so many problems, Ryker didn’t think they were worth it. Apart from the obvious danger that humans could find out about them, the culture shock was usually too much.

He should know. I should fucking know. No, it wasn’t going to happen to him.

The man moaned and turned his head. Ryker looked back at the bar. He could hear raised voices and knew the man had been missed. He’d been scared. The man moaned again and tried to open his eyes and shivered. Ryker took in the trembling man. Getting involved in human trouble always spelled disaster, but he also knew he couldn’t just leave him. His wolf wouldn’t let him, even if the human side of Ryker was sorely tempted. He could just drive to the nearest ER, he supposed, knowing full well as soon as the thought was formed, it wouldn’t be happening.

He grunted, reached under the man, and lifted him as he stood, the man’s light weight—too light—not giving Ryker’s powerful arms a second’s trouble. The guy gave a startled “eep” as he opened his eyes, but Ryker didn’t have time to explain as he heard shouting. He deposited the man on the passenger seat and closed his door, shoving the stick into drive and gunned the truck. He glanced in the side mirror and saw more people spilling from the bar, but he was fast enough and far away enough by the time he took a right in a couple of hundred yards, the humans would have no chance of catching him.

He looked over at the guy. “What’s your name?”

Huge blue eyes focused on his. “Emmett.”

Ryker blew out a frustrated breath, knowing damn well he couldn’t go to the pack house now. He would need to head back into town.

“I’m Ryker. Did I hurt you?” he nearly growled out.

Emmett shook his head. “I have a condition,” he whispered. “I pass out if I’m shocked, anxious, that sort of thing. It usually only lasts for a moment.”

Ryker grunted, but sheer relief rushed through his body so quickly his hands trembled on the wheel. “Where can I drop you?” He ignored his wolf’s deep growl of disgust. Now that he knew he hadn’t run into Emmett, Ryker was calming down. He didn’t know what that had been back there with his wolf, but it was probably just shock that he might have hit someone. Humans were fragile, after all. And he needed to get rid of this one as fast as he could.

“I—” Emmett looked through the windshield as if the dark night would throw up some suggestion. “I guess a bus stop, or a shelter?”

Ryker gazed at him in disbelief. “We’re not going to find a shelter within at least thirty miles, and then one with a bed at this time of night would be impossible.” And there was no way. Even dominant as he was, his wolf wouldn’t let him leave Emmett somewhere unsafe. He didn’t answer, but Ryker could almost taste the sudden tang of tears. “Something tells me you didn’t plan this through, huh?”

Emmett shook his head and hunched in the corner.

“What about the sheriff? I know—”

Emmett reacted like he’d been shot. “Anywhere here,” he said desperately. “Just drop me.”

Ryker all but rolled his eyes. He had no intention of abandoning the guy on the side of the road. He was a hundred and twenty pounds soaking wet, if that, and April got damn cold at night. Thanks to his wolf, Ryker didn’t feel it, but he knew humans did. He could feel his animal practically pacing in his head and groaned silently. “Look, I’m staying in a cabin about five miles west. Just for tonight.” Or I am now. “You’re welcome to stay tonight, then you can give some thought to where you want to get dropped tomorrow. I can take you to a friend’s?”

Emmett shot him a tremulous smile and nodded. Ryker nearly shook his head. Emmett didn’t know him from Adam. He could be a vicious predator, and the irony nearly made him laugh. All he knew was the guy in the bar had to be pretty scary for Emmett to want to get away this desperately. He pointed the truck toward the cabin. He didn’t ask questions because he couldn’t afford to care about the answers. Humans were trouble, he reminded himself.

It had been a couple of months since Ryker had been to this cabin. The pack kept them dotted around the surrounding areas for shifters needing temporary help without needing the pack house. It was always restocked after the last occupant, so he knew they would be okay tonight. In the morning, he’d give Emmett some cash if he didn’t have any. He could even see if the human side of their operation could help him. He never involved himself with that side of things, but he knew Zeke kept some apartments for vulnerable humans who got themselves into difficulties or who were running from abusive spouses. They were generally given help for a short space of time to get on their feet. He could do that. He could make sure Emmett was safe. Ryker swallowed a growl. He would have to make sure he was safe, or the chance of getting his wolf to leave was zero to none.

But because he also couldn’t seem to leave fucking well enough alone, he asked, “You’re sick?”

Emmett seemed to hunch in on himself, and Ryker could have bitten his tongue. He’d turned off onto the track that eventually led to the cabin before Emmett answered.

“I’m not sick—it’s just embarrassing. Kind of like fainting at the sight of needles, that sort of thing. It has a fancy name, but if I’m careful, we think I’ll be okay.”

We think? That didn’t sound sure. And who the fuck was “we”?

Ingrained habit made Ryker drive the truck around the back out of sight and cut the engine. They sat for a moment, Ryker’s wolf still very invested in the human. Ryker opened his door, which seemed to prod Emmett into action, and he scrambled out, following him inside. Ryker kept a keen eye on him, but he seemed to be staying upright, even if he shivered. Ryker wouldn’t normally bother with the lamps as his sight in the dark was just fine, but he knew Emmett’s wouldn’t be. He pulled the blinds closed as well. “Bathroom’s through there. You’ll find supplies, so help yourself. Hungry?”

He nearly smiled at Emmett’s hopeful look. Nearly. He didn’t want to get carried away and make the human think he enjoyed his company. Nothing so rash. In no time he’d opened a couple of cans of soup and gotten some partially baked bread from the freezer. He turned the oven on, knowing it wouldn’t take long, and got out a couple of bottles of water. He could do coffee, but their options were black or with powdered milk, and he wasn’t fond of either. Emmett came out of the bathroom just as he was ladling the soup into bowls, and he nodded to the table. Emmett slid into a chair, and Ryker put some soup in front of him. He returned a moment later with the bread. “No butter. Do you want coffee?”

Emmett looked up as if he were startled Ryker had spoken to him. “Thank you. This is wonderful, and no, I don’t drink coffee.”

Ryker watched as Emmett managed to put away a bowl and a half of soup and easily his body weight in bread to the point Ryker got up halfway through and put some more in the oven. He nodded in satisfaction, although why he should care what the human ate was beyond him. He inhaled unobtrusively again. He knew Emmett had washed up because he could smell the soap, but there was something else underlying that. He didn’t know what, and his wolf seemed utterly fascinated. It wasn’t a scent exactly. If he hadn’t known better, Ryker would have said Emmett wasn’t human, because human scent was usually pretty obvious. The weird feeling of connection he’d experienced in his truck he stubbornly dismissed as lust. He’d started out the night convinced he needed to get laid. Maybe that was it.

There was a small bedroom, and after they’d eaten, he showed Emmett where it was. “But that’s your bed,” he said in surprise.

Ryker shrugged. “I’m happy with the couch.”

“But I can’t take—” He cut off the words when he saw Ryker’s face and just amended his protest to “Thank you.” Ryker nodded, then turned to leave, and Emmett put out a hand to stop him.

His wolf reacted like he’d been shot, and Ryker jerked. Emmett snatched his hand back as if it had burned. “Sorry,” he choked out and nearly ran inside the room, pushing the door shut with a little too much force.

Ryker scowled. He should get his grumpy ass to the couch and forget all about the human.

Two hours later, Ryker opened his eyes at the warning his animal gave him. He lay completely still and watched the shadowed figure of Emmett creep about the room. For a human, he was actually quite stealthy, which surprised him. He narrowed his eyes as Emmett sighed, barely audibly, and came over to the couch. He doubted Emmett could see his eyes slitted open, and he kept his breaths slow and even. What the fuck was he doing? He’d bypassed Ryker’s wallet, which was on the small table, and he seemed to be staring down at Ryker with a puzzled look on his face. Ryker kept still—almost unnaturally so—and much to Ryker’s total shock, he felt the barest touch of lips on his. Emmett breathed heavily as if the exertion was affecting him. He straightened, and at that moment, Ryker realized he was fully dressed. Emmett sighed again and turned silently for the door. Before Ryker even took a moment to question his sanity, he’d shot up and clamped his hand around Emmett’s arm and yanked him back around to face him.

He opened his mouth to ask exactly what the fuck Emmett was doing, but then the scent his wolf caught robbed him of breath. A delicious shiver of such glorious intensity raced over him in an erotic wave, and he was immediately hard. Emmett trembled, but Ryker didn’t smell fear.

He smelled arousal.

Ryker pulled Emmett flush with his body instinctively and slowly lowered his lips.