Her Pack by Tamara White

Chapter Fourteen

The longer Istudy the man who claims to be Luke's father, the more convinced I am he's not lying. I can see the similarities between him and his son, and him and his grandson. The strong jawline, the piercing blue eyes, the golden sun kissed skin. Not to mention the cocky attitude.

Anthony Bairn is currently sitting on the ground by the abandoned house, his hands tied together with silver binding. His human friend, Aiden as he introduced him as, is also on the ground, though not willingly. It took Anthony glaring at him when we asked him to forfeit his weapons. After a tense stare down, he handed over his guns and knives, and made us promise that we'd return them when he was freed from his restraints. Strange things for a human to be holding onto.

I reluctantly agreed, and Jake took off still in his wolf form, and returned with the bindings that he had to be hiding in the van. Weird, but I guess understandable if he's an enforcer.  After Jake returned to my side, he sat on his hindquarters and just glared at the two men while Rick and Jason tied them up.

Once they were safely secured, everyone dispersed to deal with the members of Jason's pack who were harmed. Rick instructed Jake to stay by my side no matter what, and then joined the others in helping injured wolves.

I think the thing that is throwing me off about this whole situation, is that Luke's father hasn't fought to get away. He could have easily put up a fight and tried to bolt through the forest with the help of his human friend, but he gave in easily. If anything, he actually seems willing to help me. Which I just don't trust.

As if he can sense my thoughts, he grins up at me. "You have no reason to trust me, and I don't blame you with what my son has done. But I promise you, I just want to help. It's why I brought my human friend with me. Aiden has some special skills that could be of use to you."

My gaze turns to the human, his dark hair and light gray eyes watching me calculatingly. I swear he's studying me like a threat. "And just what skills could a human have that would help me?" I ask, my question directed at the man himself.

I know he had guns on him, knives as well, but he gave them up when Anthony told him too. But if he had such weapons on him, then I'd have to assume he knew exactly how to use them. Which begs the question, why didn't he? He could have shot Jason without a second thought but he didn't. Instead, he listened to Anthony and handed his weapons over without much of an argument.

"I'm a hunter." Aiden murmurs, his gray eyes on me and only me. Like he believes no one else around here matters in this moment.

"What, so you hunt animals? How does that make you different from every other human out there?" I ask, my tone filled with confusion. Just because he's a hunter, doesn't really mean much to me. And it doesn't exactly make me confident that he can help in any way. After all, natural wolves are totally different to us.

"No, naive girl, I'm a werewolf hunter." My eyebrows raise, my surprise clear. "One of your kind killed my family a long time ago. I vowed to hunt them down and kill them, and after many years of killing your kind, I finally found the person who was responsible for their deaths. Now, I'm here to exact vengeance on the wolf who killed my family. But I need you to help me find him."

"Let me guess, it was Luke." I drawl, understanding where this is going. His vendetta is for Luke, Anthony's son. Which leaves me wondering just why he would bring this hunter to kill his son, even if he is Luke.

Anthony looks torn as Aiden explains. "Yes, it was Luke who stole my family from me. When I finally found him though, Anthony tried to appeal for his son, to save his life. So we came to an agreement. If I could prove the type of man his son was, he would owe me his life until the day I could kill his son. Only once his life was taken, could he be free from helping me."

I blink, not quite sure I understood that. I direct my gaze to Anthony. "You are going to let him kill your son? And you're going to help him?"

Luke's father looks anywhere but me, his gaze landing on the ground as he finally speaks. "As much as it pains me to kill my own son, he is a lost cause." His gaze lifts to mine and I see the turmoil swirling in his blue eyes. "My son has hurt too many people, my wife included. He has not only ruined the lives of people we know and love, he has killed our society as a whole."

His gaze flicks to the hunter. "Aiden is not the only hunter out there, Danielle. Many have sprung up over the past few years, all because of the way Luke has ruled the packs. Wolves who couldn't stand to live under Luke, left the packs to live out their own lives, free from his rule. But it is not just peaceful wolves who've gone and integrated into human society. There have been a few wolves who simply want to hurt the humans for sport. And rather than hunting them down himself to avoid any notice coming to our species, Luke has simply let those rabid wolves out there to do as they please. It has drawn too much attention to our kind and now the hunters exist. Aiden is not only here to help you track Luke down and remove him from the equation, he also wants to come to an agreement with you. He wants your help to rein in the wolves killing humans, otherwise he and his kind will be forced to act, and soon, they won't make distinctions between a wolf that is innocent or guilty."

My eyes move to Aiden the wolf hunter and he smirks at me. "I'm very good at my job. I've had years of practising. And I can guarantee that if you don't find a way to bring your kind to heel, my kind will kill them all. Not just the ones killing humans, but any we come across. We won't make distinctions. We will just annihilate the threat to our way of life."

I blink a few times, shocked by his callous words. "You would truly kill innocent people, regardless of whether they were innocent or not? That would be like me going out there and finding your family, to kill them simply because I could."

His eyes narrow, and in an instant, I can see the intent in them. "That is exactly what your kind is currently doing. And I'm a big believer in karma. So if you were to leave your wolves on the loose killing innocent humans, then it's only natural that our kind returns the favor and kills innocent wolves. Or you could do what a leader is supposed to do and get your people under control."

I simply stare at the man, not quite sure how to respond. I've dealt with humans all my life, but none of them knew my secret.  Yet here I am, faced with a human, who not only knows about wolves and their existence, but hunts them too.

If he was a wolf, I'd be forced to make him submit, show him who's the one in charge. But I find myself thrown off by him and his attitude towards wolves. Although for the good of my kind, I know sooner or later, I'll have to make a deal with him to protect the rest of my species. I can't exactly have hunters going around killing us off one by one.

Rather than deal with it right now, I chicken out. Glancing down at Jake in his wolf form, I ask. "Are you okay to watch them alone? I think I'm going to find Jason and the others, and see if they need help."

He cocks his wolfy head, and I can see the laughter twinkling in his eyes. He knows as well as I do that I'm taking the cowards way out. His head nods in the affirmative, and I throw one last glance to Cam's grandfather, and his hunter friend before walking away. I can't deal with them now. I should focus on problems I can deal with.

So many wolves are still down for the count, with others sitting by their side, bandaging wounds with scraps of clothing. Other wolves who have already passed from this world have been moved over near our van, laid down side by side. It hurts my heart to see them but they lost their lives trying to protect their pack, which is an honorable way to die.

I just wish they hadn't lost their lives in the first place.

As I move among the people, I spot Jason and the others. Jason and Jonnie are hovering over a man that seems to be tossing and turning, his mouth wrapped around a branch to stop him from crying out in pain. His moans are muffled, but they are hard to distinguish from the many other people who are in human form trembling with pain.

Mitch and Rick are over by someone in wolf form, who is also in pain from their sustained injuries. So much so that it's preventing him from shifting back. Instead, he whines pitifully and it makes me feel so helpless. I don't know where to begin to help.

I can feel Jake's gaze on me with each step I take, and I know that when I glance back, he's looking after me. If there was any sign of imminent danger, he'd abandon his post to come to me. I think the only reason I got the freedom to walk to them myself is that he won't be able to lose sight of me.

When I reach Jason, he and Jonnie rise to their feet. "Is everything okay?" I ask, glancing between them and the man on the ground. My gaze goes back to Mitch, just as Rick gets up and heads over to me.

"Has Vivienne been called yet?"

Rick nods having heard my question. "Not Vivienne, but I called Eli. He said he was sending a fleet of vans to us, and that he would have a team of trained pack members coming to assist us in bringing the injured and dead back to his pack."

I glance around, wondering just how many vans his pack has access too, because it would have to be a lot to take this many people back with us.

"How long do you think it'll be until they get here?"

"Eli said they're going to defy the speed limits as much as they can, but it'll still take at least an hour before they get here." Rick lets out a slow sigh. "Which is why I need to ask for your help. I wouldn't if there were any other option but right now, I don't see one."

"Of course. I want to help. I just didn't know how. What do you need me to do?"

Rick glances to Jason, his eyes pleading. Which tells me he's seeking his permission. Jason clears his throat, his eyes meeting mine for a moment. They are filled with so much pain, that he can't meet my gaze for long, when he directs his gaze back to the man on the ground. "Most of these wolves are from my pack, or sought sanctuary with my mother. But I can't help them." His breath shakes as he continues, like each word is hard for him to speak. "They need to heal but they're simply too depleted of energy after everything that has happened. If you wouldn't mind, I want you to share your energy with a few of them. Just so they can shift, and then heal the worst of their injuries. I mean, I understand if you don't want to. I know it's not the best scenario, because it will deplete you and make you vulnerable but I don't know what else to do." He finishes rambling, his eyes fixed on the ground but I feel his pain through the bond we share.

He knows to ask me such a thing goes against the very thing he believes in. To put his Alpha Queen and mate at risk, for the sake of saving a few people. But it is a risk I am most definitely up for taking. Especially if it can save lives.

I step around Rick and step into Jason's space, placing a comforting hand on his arm. "I want nothing more than to help. I know you're worried about me, but you don't need to be. So long as I have a few mates around me, then I can pull on you guys for a little boost if I get too low. But if I can save someone’s life, then we both know it's worth it."

His gaze lifts to mine, and the love I feel from him has the words tumbling from my lips. "I love you, Jason. This is your pack, your family. Which means they are my pack now, and my family too. I would do anything for them, just as I would for you."

He pulls me tight, and in the blink of an eye, his lips land on mine, robbing me of the ability to breathe. His kiss is full of passion, lust and pure unadulterated need. Just as soon as it began, he backs away, his eyes filled with promise. "Thank you." I open my mouth to tell him he doesn't need to thank me but he silences me by holding a finger to my lips, a sly smile on his lips. "Don't argue, just accept it."

He pulls his finger away when he's sure I'm not going to argue, and I turn to the man on the ground, dropping to my knees. He stares at me, pain clear in his eyes. "I'm sorry you're hurting, but I'm going to do my best to help you get better. Just relax." I place a hand over his head and heart, letting instinct guide me and energy to flow through me and into the wolf at my knees. The moment I see it working, I know this is the right choice.