On the Prowl by Kate Rudolph

3

"She's my sister,I have to go." Stasia paced back and forth in the living room of the farmhouse while the pack watched her move. She cast a helpless glance at her mate, begging for his agreement.

But Owen had an uncharacteristically grim expression on his face. "Stasia…" Whatever he needed to say, he couldn't get the words out.

"You aren’t stable enough," Andre said, saving him from delivering the blow himself. He liked Stasia. He really did. She was good for Owen. But she'd only been a werewolf for a bit more than a month, and she didn't quite have control of her shift. Given the likelihood of cameras swarming around Em, they couldn't risk Stasia giving them away. Not only that, Stasia would not want the spotlight on her.

But she was adamant. "I have control. I'm a doctor. If I don't have control, people get killed." Her eyes flashed gold as she made the statement, and her lips pulled back to reveal too sharp teeth.

Andre raised his eyebrows as if that answered that. A little bit of eye shine wouldn't give them away, but it was just the first step. What if her fangs dropped? Or her claws came out? What if she shifted all the way? He didn't say any of it out loud, and he didn't have to. Owen grabbed her hand and stopped her pacing.

"She's my sister. She needs help." Stasia sounded desperate.

"I could go," Bryan Vega piped up from where he sat on the couch in the corner of the room.

"No." The denial came from all of them.

"We don't need another accidental pack member," Leland Rowe said with a glare at the young wolf.

"That was one time. And I had been shot," Vega protested, his face a mask of indignation.

"That doesn't change the facts," said Gibson. The major surveyed them, his steely gaze taking all of them in and analyzing what would be best.

"My schedule is free," Rowe offered with a grin.

Andre tamped down the growl in the back of his throat. Rowe was a good bodyguard. Even if he was a party boy. He could do the job just fine. But Andre didn't want him around Em.

And why was that?

He had no claim on the woman. He didn't even like her. She was, at best, a distant acquaintance. He owed her nothing. And he should just be happy that Rowe wanted to go and be done with it.

He was anything but happy.

"I'll do it," Andre spoke before the thought fully entered his mind.

That quieted everyone. Gibson gave him an unreadable look. "That could work," he said cautiously.

"I offered," Rowe challenged with a bristle. He glared at Andre as if Andre had taken away a particularly juicy meal.

"I’m pulling rank." They didn't fall back on their military ranks all that often. Things had gotten so weird after they were drummed out of the military that clinging to old hierarchy didn't make any sense. They were all equals when it came to knowledge about werewolves. Except when it came to Gibson. He didn't necessarily know any more than they did, but he was their commanding officer now. It was hard to ignore a CO even years out of the service.

Of course, pulling rank wouldn't be enough to get Gibson to agree. "I'm not a super fan," Andre said to make his case. "I'm not sure I’ve ever heard one of Em's songs. I'm not going to get starstruck. I can keep my head on the case." Though the fact that he was campaigning so hard for the job might have said otherwise.

"Can you?" Rowe glared, and Andre had the faint worry they'd end up coming to blows. Why did Rowe want this so bad? "And just because we talked about music doesn't mean that I'm a super fan. Who the hell talks like that?"

Andre knew he was fighting too hard. He didn't normally get excited about things, and he certainly didn't let his desires show. But now that he had offered, he wanted to be the one to go out there and protect Em. There was some kind of supernatural threat and he needed to uncover it and get it away from her. She had already been dragged halfway into this life when her sister was turned into a werewolf right in front of her. They owed it to her to keep her safe.

It didn't matter that she annoyed the shit out of Andre. It didn't matter that they had clashed the one time they'd met.

It didn't matter that he had been three seconds away from kissing her.

He pushed that thought away. It was irrelevant.

He had a job to do.

"What did she tell you?" he turned and asked Stasia. The call between the sisters hadn't been long. And Em had been lucky. Only Jackson and Hunter had left to head back to the city. He, Gibson, Stasia, Owen, Rowe, and Vega were all still at the farm and ready to discuss the job. They could act quickly.

Some of Stasia's nervous energy melted away as she spoke. "She found something that looked like a werewolf tore it up. She sounded freaked. But then she had to go do sound check. There's a concert tonight."

Andre almost scoffed, but held it back. It sounded like someone had played a little prank and Em was freaked out. "Doesn't she have security of her own?"

She nodded. "Yes. I've met them. They're a good team. But they don't know anything about us." Stasia gave a look around the room. "And it's not like Em will want to reveal the secret. I don't know if it's anything. But she doesn't get hysterical. She's about as level-headed a person as I've ever met."

"Is there such a thing as a level-headed rock star?" Rowe smirked.

Andre wanted to shove him for insulting Em, even though part of him agreed with that statement. It took a special brand of crazy to crave fame.

"That's my sister you're talking about." Stasia glared.

Owen growled. He didn't need to say anything. And the growling was new, ever since he had mated with Stasia. If that was what came from finding a mate, then Andre hoped he never did.

He was a human who’d happened to turn into a wolf. He didn't need to bring those traits into his human form.

"Sounds simple enough," Andre said, as if it was already decided. "I'll show up, take a look around, and determine whether or not it looks like a prank. And if she has some sort of supernatural foe, then I'll deal with it."

"Do we think other wolves exist?" Vega asked.

"I don't know, but I'm about to find out."

Two years ago, he and his pack had been kidnapped by some sort of evil sorcerer in the woods all while they were stationed in Germany. One ritual later and they were turning into wolves. But Stasia was the first evidence they had that they could make other wolves, and they had no idea if other packs existed.

Magic had to exist; Andre had witnessed it with his own eyes, even if he didn't know how common it was or if witches and warlocks were still a thing of legend. But were there other wolves? Or were they an anomaly?

It was time for him to go find Em and find out.