Soul of the Pack Read online

  “You won’t. I promise.”

  * * *

  Ripp’s body was drained and exhausted. Her runs with Storm were nothing like running with a werewolf. Caden’s wolf was so much faster than she was, so much more agile, but for most of the run Caden kept doubling back and encouraging Ripp to keep going, and Storm had the time of his life running with another wolf.

  Ripp’s ego and determination kept her running as fast as she could, even though she had no hope of competing with Caden. It wasn’t easy on her to be lagging behind. In the human world, she had always been the biggest, the strongest, the fastest, but that advantage disappeared here among fully fledged werewolves.

  Caden was not what she’d first thought. Their first skirmishes were fueled by distrust, and Caden’s drive to protect her pack. Now she saw someone who was tough but fair, and very loyal to her pack.

  She ran up the driveway to Caden and Lena’s den, unsure if she would have the energy to make it to the door. As they approached the house, Caden sped off out of sight, eager, she guessed, to see her mate, and Storm followed.

  Ripp couldn’t run another step and stopped a few hundred yards from the den. She bent over, bracing her arms against her knees, trying to get her breath back.

  Wolf lesson one had certainly helped. She didn’t have the energy to feel aggressive. Ripp heard Storm bark repeatedly, then come running back to her, spinning in a circle.

  “What is it, buddy?” She looked up and growled softly.

  Kyra was sitting on the front steps of the den, and suddenly she felt all her energy returning. It was clear her wolf wanted Kyra, but could she be enough for her? And—more important—could Ripp trust herself not to hurt Kyra?

  “Hi, Ripp.” Kyra followed Storm as he ran off toward Ripp. She looked gorgeous, muscles taut and fresh from exercise. She had the biggest urge to lick Ripp all over, especially that wolf tattoo on her chest. She wanted to get up close to that more than ever. But would Ripp even want to talk to her? She hoped her little idea would get through to her.

  Ripp came running and sat beside her. “Hey.”

  “Morning,” Kyra replied. Ripp didn’t seem as angry as last night. She made a fuss over Storm and gave him a kiss, and then he quite happily ran off.

  Kyra took a breath and started the speech she had rehearsed in her head. “Ripp, I’m sorry—”

  “No, I’m sorry, Ky. Last night I was angry, confused, and just lashing out at the people I care about.”

  She cares about me. “You were?”

  Ripp nodded. “You did nothing wrong. I had my own secrets just as much as you had the Wolfgang secret.”

  “I’m sorry anyway,” Kyra said. “But if it makes a difference, right from the start I could feel you were a wolf. I knew there was something different about you.”

  “But I’m not a whole wolf, am I?” Ripp said sadly.

  Kyra took Ripp’s hand. “You have the soul of a wolf, but you’re more than that. You’re Ripp, and whatever you choose to do will be perfect.”

  “It doesn’t feel like that. It’s like I’ve been cheated of the life I could have had being brought up here.”

  Kyra patted the hardback book on her knee—her high school yearbook. “I was thinking about that. You know, it’s not common for a wolf to be unmated at my age.”

  Ripp raised a questioning eyebrow. “Isn’t it?”

  “No.” Kyra shook her head, and then she opened the book in front of her and turned to the pages covering graduation. “You see this picture of me?” Kyra pointed to a picture in a prom dress.

  Ripp grinned. “Yeah, you look beautiful.”

  Kyra felt heat blushing her cheeks. “Thanks, but look at everyone else’s pictures.”

  Ripp gazed over all the pictures of couples on the pages. “You’re on your own? There’s no way you didn’t have a date, Ky—you’re gorgeous.”

  “I’m on my own for a reason, Ripp. I had a lot of people ask me to prom, but I felt there was something wrong. All through school I felt there was someone missing. Not all, but most wolves find their mate in high school, but no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t find that missing part of me.”

  “What missing part?” Ripp asked.

  “We wolves believe that the Great Mother pairs us up with our destined mate. We mate for life, there’s only one wolf who has a place in our hearts, and it’s our job to find them.”

  She could hear Ripp’s breathing grow faster and her heartbeat match its pace. “And you never found yours?”

  “No, there was someone missing from our group of friends at school, someone who I was meant to meet. I had no idea why I couldn’t find that person, and in fact before you arrived I was thinking that I needed to move to another friendly pack in Ireland or Scotland, to find my mate. But then…”

  Ripp moved closer, and Kyra had the biggest urge to pull her into a kiss, but she had to get this out.

  “Then someone arrived in Wolfgang County who should have been brought up here. Did you realize we were born in the same year, Ripp? We would have been classmates.”

  Ripp went from looking at her lovingly to looking at her like she was prey, the best kind of prey. She caressed Kyra’s face with her hand and inched closer to her lips. “Oh, yeah?”

  Kyra felt pulled into Ripp’s beautiful blue eyes. She ran her tongue along her erupting canines. “Yeah,” Kyra breathed.

  “Your eyes are turning yellow, Ky.”

  “My wolf likes you a lot,” Kyra replied.

  Ripp leaned into Kyra and rubbed her cheek over the side of Kyra’s face, unconsciously following her instincts to rub her scent over Kyra. Kyra moaned when Ripp pressed her nose into her hair and neck and she heard Ripp growl.

  Kyra’s heart was beating out of control. This wasn’t meant to happen, but she couldn’t stop.

  Ripp’s lips touched her so softly, so tenderly, that she moaned softly. She felt Ripp smile, then trace Kyra’s lips with her tongue.

  Kyra opened her mouth to allow Ripp’s tongue to enter, but when they heard the front door open, they jumped apart. Caden, now dressed, was standing there, arms folded with a knowing grin on her face.

  Caden said, “Ripp, you’re moving on to wolf lesson two a bit too quickly. Kyra—Lena wants to know if you’re staying for breakfast.”

  Kyra’s face was on fire, but she said to Ripp, “Am I?”

  Ripp grinned. “Oh, yeah.” Then she turned to Caden. “Give us a second, please?”

  She opened Kyra’s yearbook. “You want to make this picture complete?”

  Kyra nodded, that was exactly her plan. “I want to show you what you missed at school.”

  Ripp leaned in and kissed Kyra’s cheek. “Let’s make the past right.”

  * * *

  One week later, Ripp and Storm were settling in to Caden and Lena’s den. Ripp went to work at the ranch each day and took lessons from Caden in control and what to expect if she went through the change.

  Lena was resting, at Caden’s insistence, after work. Storm lay with his head across her legs, snoozing happily. Guarding her while Caden and Ripp were busy.

  He really seemed to enjoy living with them and having a wider family. Storm had really taken a shine to Lena over the past week.

  Both Ripp and Caden explained that he saw her as the maternal figure in the family. She dished out the food each day to them, plus he sensed she was pregnant, and wolves loved nothing more than having cubs and protecting them.

  Lena liked having Ripp staying with them. She was Caden’s family, and having a full house gave her a nice warm feeling. When she watched Caden and Ripp together, she saw their future with their own child. Caden was firm but had unlimited patience with her younger cousin, and she would have the same with their own children.

  She moved the iPad that was lying on her stomach and rubbed the ever so slight bump there. Everything was more intense now. She was equally hungry for food and Caden most of the day.

  She hungered for Caden while she was
apart from her, and that need made her behave so differently from the Selena Miller who had arrived in Wolfgang County.

  “Hey, Little Wolf, you are going to be so happy. You’ll have the best Pater, and now a big cousin, since Ripp’s come home to us. Isn’t that great?” This little bump was everything she’d ever wanted and never thought she’d have. “God knows what Mother and Father would think.”

  Lena felt her mate’s presence before she heard the back door bang, and then she heard Caden’s footsteps coming up the stairs. Storm jumped up to greet her.

  Caden walked in and ruffled his ear, while keeping one hand behind her back. “Go and say good-bye to Ripp, Storm.” Storm was off like a shot and Caden closed the door.

  “Is Ripp all ready?” Lena asked.

  “Yeah, though I’m sure I saw her hands shaking. I’m still not sure this is a good idea. It’s too soon for her to be getting involved with mating.”

  Lena adjusted her glasses and said, “Lighten up, Cade. Kyra’s got something special planned. It’s really sweet actually. The principal let her have the gym—” Lena’s words died in her throat when Caden pulled a plate from behind her back. “Is that…?”

  Caden grinned proudly. “A beef sandwich. I hunted it down for you, my mate.”

  Lena sat up and threw her iPad aside, her mouth watering already. “It’ so big.”

  Caden walked closer, held the plate out to her, and said teasingly, “I filled it all up.”

  “Oh God.” Lena didn’t know whether to eat the sandwich or Caden. She was both hungry and turned on, a strange side effect of pregnancy. Then she smiled as a memory floated across her mind. “You know, when I first met you, I had a very special fantasy about you.”

  Caden raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Tell me more, Goddess.”

  Lena took the plate and sat back, resting the plate on her stomach. “I fantasized about eating a beef sandwich, with you in your Stetson and nothing else, cowboy.”

  Before she could register that Caden had left her side, Caden had flashed across to the hook on the back of the door and returned with her Stetson.

  “I can give you your fantasy, Goddess. Eat,” Caden told her.

  And as Lena took her first bite, Caden began to unbutton her shirt. Life was never boring with Caden. She always made their relationship so much fun.

  “Faster, cowboy,” Lena said, and she bit down on her delicious meat. She hoped Ripp and Kyra were having as much fun.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Ripp was more nervous than she had ever felt. Tonight she was taking Kyra out on their first official date, but it wasn’t only a date. It was, as Kyra put it, a chance to make the past right.

  She pulled up at Kyra’s house, and Kyra walked out in the same prom dress that Ripp had seen in her yearbook. She was beyond gorgeous. Xander walked out behind her and stood with her arms folded, simply staring, warning her without saying a word.

  She had no idea where they were going tonight. Kyra had planned it all, and Ripp was surprised when she directed her to drive to Wolfgang Academy. They pulled up in the parking lot, and Ripp said, “What are we doing here?”

  Kyra squeezed her hand and smiled. “Wait and see.”

  “Did I tell you that you are beautiful?”

  “Just the twenty times, but I can hear it all day. Let’s go.”

  Kyra led her by the hand into the school, and Ripp got some uncomfortable flashbacks from the lockers and the empty classrooms.

  “Are you okay, Ripp?” Kyra said as they reached the gym doors.

  “Yeah, some bad memories from school,” Ripp said.

  “You wouldn’t have had bad memories if you’d come to Wolfgang Academy. I wanted to give us both something to change the past, and this is it.”

  Kyra opened the doors, and Ripp was surprised to see the floor covered with balloons, disco lights shining down making everything look magical, and ten couples in prom attire dancing slowly on the floor.

  “Wow, Ky, you did all this for me?”

  “We all did. These are my old classmates and closest friends. They should have been yours.” Kyra led her in and the couples walked to them.

  Dezzie led a smiling, big dominant male. “Hi, Ky. Ripp—welcome to your prom.”

  Ripp was starting to get a bit overwhelmed. She wasn’t used to people being kind or welcoming to her. “Thanks, I really appreciate this,” Ripp said.

  Dezzie looked adoringly at her mate and said, “This is my mate, Joel. Joel, this is Ripp.”

  “Hey, good to meet you, Ripp.”

  “You too.” She went to shake his hand, but he pulled her into a bro hug. They were really welcoming.

  “Let’s introduce you to the rest of the crazy high school pack, and then we can dance…and smooch,” Dezzie said with a wink.

  Ripp looked at Kyra and she was blushing and looked adorable.

  Joel winked and added, “Then you can get to the best part of prom. Lookout point.”

  * * *

  Ripp parked at the lookout point. She was so glad Caden let her borrow her new truck—it was so much more comfortable than her old beater.

  The nerves Ripp felt at being alone finally with Kyra were intensified by the silence between them. Her mouth was dry, and she struggled to find something to say.

  Kyra must have sensed her nerves because she put her hand on her thigh and said, “Are you okay, Ripp?”

  “Yeah,” Ripp said, her voice higher pitched than usual. Joel had said this was the best part of prom, but it was terrifying at the same time.

  The fire that had been ignited in her when they’d danced and Ripp stole a kiss was now burning more fiercely with Kyra’s touch, and it was spreading.

  What if she couldn’t control her hunger, her need for Kyra, just like her first time she slept with someone?

  She searched for something to say. “So…this is where all the high school kids come after prom?”

  Kyra smiled. “Yes, and on dates.”

  “But you didn’t?” Ripp couldn’t even think of anyone else bringing Kyra here. That fire of want in her belly was stoked by her anger.

  “No, I told you. My wolf wasn’t here yet.”

  Ripp turned to Kyra and cupped her cheek. “I don’t want anyone near you, ever.” She surprised herself at the possessive proclamation and was ready to apologize when Kyra smiled and returned her touch.

  “I don’t want anyone else, Ripp,” Kyra said.

  Kyra trailed her fingers down Ripp’s face, then her neck. She could feel Ripp was tense and nervous, wanted to relax her. Ripp’s eyes closed, and she moaned when Kyra lightly scratched her nails down the open neck of her shirt.

  “Ky, don’t do that.” Ripp groaned.

  “Why?” Kyra replied.

  “Because I want you so much.” Ripp pushed away abruptly and sat back in her seat with her hands covering her eyes.

  Now she was concerned. Did Ripp really care for her? “Ripp, what’s wrong? If you don’t want me, what’s growing between us, just tell me.”

  “No,” Ripp said, “I want you so much, Ky, that it hurts. My wolf inside me feels like it’s clawing to get out, and I’m frightened of hurting you.”

  Kyra moved closer. “You could never hurt me, Ripp. I know you wouldn’t.”

  Ripp took her hands away from her face but didn’t look at her. “I did hurt someone once.”

  “What do you mean?” Kyra said.

  Ripp kept her gaze forward, looking across the lake. “The first time I was with a woman.”

  Kyra wasn’t expecting that answer, nor the intense anger that rushed through her body. Her mind was conjuring up images of a woman touching her mate, and she wanted to bite something and chase the images away. But Ripp wasn’t her mate—yet.

  “Who?” Kyra said in a voice tinged with a growl.

  “Just a woman I met one night I went out to my first gay bar. I’ve always had a really high sex drive, and I’ve always been frightened of the way it makes me feel.”

 
; Kyra had to try and contain her own anger just to keep Ripp talking. “How does it make you feel?”

  Ripp sighed and ran her hand through her dark hair. “Aggressive, like I’m out of control of my body. It’s like this mist of hunger—a hunger for sex—comes over me.”

  Kyra turned Ripp’s head gently to meet her eyes. “That’s what being a dominant wolf feels like. It’s normal, normal for a wolf. You just didn’t know what you were.”

  “No, it’s more than that. I was too rough—I asked to bite her shoulder.”

  Ripp had a look of shame on her face and it hurt Kyra to think Ripp had carried this pain.

  “She called me an animal,” Ripp continued, “kicked me out of her place, and I’ve never let myself be with anyone again. There’s something wrong with me, Ky, something wrong with what I want.”

  Kyra cupped Ripp’s face. “There’s nothing wrong with you. We mate-bite. It’s a natural instinct, although we aren’t supposed to do it till we are mated.”

  “You do?” Ripp said. “I always thought there was something broken, something bad in me.”

  Kyra knew she would have to coax the dominant wolf out of Ripp, since she was so tense. Her friends had given her pointers.

  “Just like you thought your reflection in the mirror was wrong, you just didn’t know who you were and”—Kyra unbuttoned Ripp’s shirt enough that she could see and scratch her nails down her wolf tattoo—“what was normal for a wolf.”

  Ripp closed her eyes and groaned. “I don’t trust my body, Ky.”

  While one hand trailed over her chest, Kyra’s other hand went around Ripp’s neck and pulled her close.

  Ripp pressed her face into her hair. “God, I love the way you smell.” Ripp moaned.

  “Tell me how your body feels, and I’ll tell you how mine feels,” Kyra said. She wanted to show Ripp that what she felt was normal for a wolf.

  “My teeth and fingers ache, my heart is thudding like it’s going to burst, and I have this ball of hunger low in my stomach.”

  Kyra whispered in her ear, “What does that hunger want?”