Wolf's Pet

Thank you to everyone who has made comments on this group of stories. I've really appreciated the feedback. Some of you are reading my mind, and some are giving me great ideas. Either way, I'm enjoying your reactions.

I'll keep trying to give updates quickly. If I try to write longer chapters I'm afraid it will become too cumbersome for me and I'll just take forever. This is working so far. We'll see how long I last.

Just to warn you, no sex at all in this chapter. But don't worry, it will return in the next one, I promise.

lilgirlsix

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"Wow, Lila really got you good there." Jeff winked at Trina behind James' back as he disinfected the wounds that had already started healing. "Maybe you should stop trying to get between mates." Jeff acted nonchalant as James glared at him.

"I'm not going to get between Gina and her mate if that's what you're implying. Besides, I was told in no uncertain terms to leave and give them time to get to know each other." James winced as Trina cleaned out a particularly deep gash. Or was it the thought of his little sister acting like Lila? Would she have if he'd tried to come between them? Well, she was a Werewolf, she probably would have.

"I heard Craig is having a hell of a time getting that house cleaned up in town. Maybe you should get out of here for a while and give him a hand." Jeff thought it'd probably be best to get James away from all these newly mated pairs. He knew how much James had been hoping to find his mate at the last inter-pack gathering. But it didn't happen. It had to be hard to watch his sister and two of his friends find their mates within a week. Getting out of here for a bit would do him good.

"OK OK I'm out of here." James hopped off the table, his back already feeling much better. By tomorrow he'd be good as new, but for now, he was a little slowed. Guess he owed it to Craig to give him a hand since he helped make the mess. He smiled, that was one hell of a fight.

The driver of the black SUV saw a flurry of activity. Geez, looked like someone was doing a remodel. There were trucks and ladders and wheelbarrows. James looked up as Craig walked out of the house with a clip board in hand and looking very official. "How's it going? Need a hand?"

Craig looked up and laughed. "Sure, now you're here. Where were you five hours ago when I thought sure we'd never get done. Luckily the damage to the walls wasn't as bad as I'd thought. The hardest part was matching the paint." Craig looked at his watch, 8:30 am. "Not bad time at all. Cole and Karen have the woman at a diner a few miles from here. I think we're done, and you got out of a real day's work."

"Oh yea, cops don't work. We just risk our lives every day." James pretended to be annoyed.

"Whatever dude. So let's go over to that diner and get something to eat. I told Cole the signal we were done was when I walked in and ordered breakfast. Thank God it isn't lunch. I don't think they could have kept her there that long." He turned to the Omega's picking up their tools and equipment and loading the trucks. "Great job everyone. The Alpha will be pleased. See you all back at the compound. Let's go eat James."

Craig hopped into his truck and took off without even waiting for James. That was just like him, James thought, and shook his head. Craig was single minded when it came to food. And women. He managed to keep Craig in sight and followed him to the diner. James was wondering if she'd be anything like Karen. He knew Gary had found all these women and had specifically put each male with one. Was there something special about them? Maybe that was something to look into later.

Sarah was wiping the tears from her eyes as Karen finished the story, somewhat altered, of what had happened. Of course the details about the Werewolves were left out, but the gist of the story was there. "Oh Karen, I'm so sorry that happened to you. I hope the police find that bastard soon. He needs to go to jail. He needs to have someone beat the shit out of him!" She reached across the table and took Karen's hands in hers. "At least you're safe now." She looked over to Cole who sat close to Karen, almost touching her. Sarah could see the protectiveness. He would never let Gary near her again. Good.

"Thank you Sarah. I should have kicked his ass out a long time ago. I put up with him for six months. I just felt bad for him. But I should learn to trust my own instincts. They're usually right." She looked over at Cole and smiled brightly. She knew she was right about him. He looked back at her and winked. He understood what she meant. So did Sarah.

Cole looked up at the two men who walked in the door. Hallelujah, the house must be finished. James and Craig walked to a booth, sat down, and started looking at menus. That is until James started looking around the room. What the heck is he looking for? Cole watched his eyes darting. And then saw it, he was scenting the air. Cole took a whiff of the diner. He smelled bacon, coffee, and lavender and licorice, which of course was Karen's scent. No other Were's were in the diner. No way. James' mate must be in this diner somewhere. That had to be it. He scanned the room looking at all the women. There were quite a few scattered about. The waitress stopped at their table, but James didn't seem interested in her.

When he heard Craig ordering breakfast he squeezed Karen's hand. She looked at him for a second and then understood. From this point on, as soon as Sarah said she was ready to go they wouldn't try to stall her.

"Karen, I'm worried the same could happen to me. I was going to have Paul evicted, but now I'm scared he could go crazy and hurt me the way Gary hurt you. To tell the truth, I always thought Gary was a little more sane than Paul."

Karen saw the frightened look on Sarah's face. "Maybe I can get some of my friends from work to scare him off Sarah. People like Gary and Paul are afraid of real men. They're only big men when they're beating up on someone defenseless. I'll talk to my friend Brett about what he might be able to do. OK?" Sarah seemed to relax. Karen knew Paul was at the compound and Sarah wasn't in any danger at the moment, but she couldn't tell her that. "When does he usually get home from work? I'll see if he can find a way to sort of run into him before he gets home. I'll give you a call and let you know."

Sarah sighed with relief. "That'd be great, thank you so much. He gets off work at six and is usually home about 15 minutes later. I'm really glad we ran into each other at the hospital this morning. Although I'm sorry it was under these circumstances.". Sarah yawned and looked like she was trying to make herself stay awake. "I think it's time I get home. I'm about to fall asleep. Let's keep in touch?"

The two women got up and hugged as Cole paid the bill. The three of them walked past Craig and James on their way to the door. Cole saw the hungry look on James' face as Sarah walked by. You gotta be kidding me, he thought. "Karen I'll catch up in a minute, Sarah it was really nice meeting you." Cole smiled as they walked out the door, and he blocked James from leaving the booth.

"Get the fuck out of my way Cole. She's mine!" James made an attempt to push Cole out of his way, but he wasn't budging.

Craig rolled his eyes. "James, Cole has a mate, remember? Think for a second. She's been living with a psychopath stalker. Do you think she wants another one? You can't jump her like she's a bitch in heat. She's human. You're going to have to court her, get to know her. You have to go slow!"

James looked impatient, he'd waited for years. She was his! If he didn't claim her someone else could. Paul. But she was safe as long as they had him at the compound. "I get it, I get it." He watched through the window as his mate said good-bye to Karen and got in her truck. It took everything in him not to chase after her and take her now. But Craig was right. "I promise not to hunt her down and mate with her OK? But I can't sit here and eat bacon and eggs." James stood up and stormed out of the diner, walking past a startled Karen and leaving, driving the opposite direction from Sarah.

He had to admit, the best decision he ever made was not to go after Sarah. Cole and Craig were right. He'd scare her away and then she'd never be his. Of course he hadn't come to that conclusion until after the ten mile run in the woods. And it helped when he found a nice juicy wild boar. Much better than bacon any day. Now he understood why his mated friends were lost when their mate wasn't with them. He felt like his heart had been torn out of his chest, and he'd never even talked to her! He couldn't imagine what it would be like to be separated from Sarah after they had physically mated. The only thing that helped, according to his friends, was the mental bond. He wondered what that would be like. Kind of like the Alpha bond with Carr?

He'd make a point to talk to Karen and find out all he could about Sarah. Maybe she would have some ideas about how to handle this. After all, her situation was eerily like that of Sarah. Was Gary able to tell that these human females were meant to be Were mates? Did he know their unique scents? Only the mate was supposed to sense it. Was he able to? Is that how he knew? Another thing to look into. Just the thought that Gary knew she smelled of almonds and eucalyptus made his blood boil. If those two rogues weren't already in custody, he'd be ready to hunt them down right now.

His calm demeanor was slowly disintegrating. Maybe it'd be a good idea to think of something else. Gina! He hadn't even thought of her in hours. That was what he'd do, check on Gina and Ben. He made his way to the security wing.

James watched from outside the room while Gina and Ben stared into each other's eyes. His little sister had always been so shy she'd barely speak to a male. He really had thought she'd never get close enough to one to even find out if he was her mate. Even though he had his doubts at first, in fact he'd been ready to rip her away from Ben, he realized now that she deserved to be happy like anyone else. They'd spent the whole night like this. Carr was probably right when he'd sent James away and had Bryant stay instead. But at the time, James was almost ready to argue with his Alpha. He should have known to trust Carr's instincts. Why let an overprotective brother get in the way of the mating instinct. He shuddered to think of what he could have done if his wolf had taken offense at the male Omega. And besides that, he never would have met Sarah.

Ben saw James watching him through the glass. "Why is he staring at me Gina?" He smiled when he said her name. Everything about her made him smile. He'd been a fool to leave with Gary, but then again, if he hadn't, he never would have met Gina. Just the sound of her name brought on feelings he'd never had before. His wolf had been none too happy with him when he'd left the pack. In fact, he had been thinking about returning, especially when he'd heard that Gary was on the run after the debacle at his woman's house. But now his wolf was ready to mate with the most wonderful woman he had ever seen, with the most beautiful black hair that fell past her waist, and black eyes to match. And her scent, his wolf was doing back flips over her scent, sandalwood and honey.

"James is just protective. He'll be OK. He'll just have to get used to me not being at his beck and call anymore. Time for him to find a mate of his own instead of relying on his little sister to pick up after him." She smiled towards her brother who couldn't help smiling back. Gina knew James would accept her new mate. He just had to accept that she was 87 years old and it was way past time for her to mate and have cubs. At the thought of having children she looked at Ben and melted at the sight. Although he wasn't anywhere near as tall and muscular as the Betas he was perfect for her. He was just under six feet tall, a good half foot shorter than James, with unruly strawberry blond hair and sea blue eyes. Her wolf couldn't wait to run with him in the forest and mate and be his for eternity.

The Alphas came into the room and Ben and Gina immediately stood up. Carr was impressed with how Ben had reacted since being taken into custody. He had been respectful at all times of Carr, the Betas, and especially Gina of course. He definitely had a good upbringing. And he thought Gina would bring out the best in him. He could see James out of the corner of his eye and chuckled to himself, remembering when one of his sisters had found her mate. Cole had been ready to kill the male that came to claim her. Their father had to order him to stand down or go to his room. Carr had laughed so hard he couldn't breath, and Cole turned beet red and said nothing more . Course he was just a cub then.

"Ben, how are you this morning?" Carr walked into the room slowly, not wanting to startle the Omega. Omegas were skittish to begin with, but add into that everything that had happened in the last day, and he didn't want to scare him away. What would that do to Gina?"

Ben took Gina's hand in his and looked at the Alpha. "We're fine Sir, I think we'll be very happy here." Gina was glowing as she looked up at him. "I was thinking Sir, I know you have no reason to trust me, but I want to contribute to the pack. I want to earn my place here. I'm a computer programmer and IT specialist. Gina said you've been having some networking issues, and I'd really like to see if I can fix it for you." Ben was so nervous speaking with the Alphas that he hadn't taken a breath.

Carr looked at Lee. She arched an eyebrow at him and smiled. He turned back to the new pair. "Ben, I think that's a great idea." The Alpha towered over the new pack Omega, but Carr had a way of making his pack members feel like they belonged to a family. Ben immediately knew he was going to like it here. "Gina, why don't you show Ben around the compound and introduce him to the other Omegas. I'm sure you can make him feel at home." Carr knew Gina couldn't wait to get out from under the watchful eye of her brother and his friends. The other Betas thought of her as a little sister too, and she needed time with her new mate without feeling like she was surrounded by babysitters.

"Thank you Sir, thank you." Ben was all smiles as Gina took him by the hand and pulled him out of the claustrophobic interrogation room.

"James." Carr saw how he was watching them as they left. "Let them go. They'll be fine. Lee and I both have nothing but trust in him. Really. We know his heart. It's with Gina and only Gina."

James looked to his Alpha and knew he and his mate could sense deception or guile. He let out a long sigh and nodded. As always, Carr was right. He had to learn that his little sister had grown up. It was time to let her live her life. And it was time for him to live his, with Sarah. He just hoped he would be able to convince her.

Carr and Lee walked away hand in hand. Carr had phone calls to make, and Lee figured she could be moral support. The walk to the main house always seemed so short when she wanted to spend time with him.

Jeff had his hands full at the hospital. If this kept up he'd need a few more nurses. He'd talk to Lee about it later. Right now, he had to deal with getting Paul out of here.

"Be sure to double that dose of sedation. It seems to wear off pretty fast with him, and I don't want him waking up during the transfer to the holding cell." Jeff was worried about moving the rogue out of the hospital. Not that he wanted him to stay. Disruptive was an understatement. He leered at all the females, making obscene comments and gestures. He yelled at the males that they would all die. He looked down at the sleeping prisoner, took his vital signs, noted them on the chart, and nodded to the orderlies and guards to take him. He watched the gurney wheeled away and prayed he'd never see that crazy Were again. There was something "off" about him. It hadn't even been 24 hours since his injuries. He was healing fast even for a Were. In a way he wished he could study him. Some biological difference he guessed.

Jeff turned away and went back to his other patients. He looked at the two boys brought in earlier today with broken legs. Stupid cubs, always falling out of trees. Wolves don't belong in trees. Luckily they healed fast. They'd be out of here by tomorrow. And then maybe he and his staff could get some rest. Steve would be out of the hospital by late tonight and Trey maybe the end of the week. That throat wound was taking it's time.

Carr had stalled all he could. He had no choice but to call the Crane Alpha. He wasn't looking forward to it. They had never gotten along well. In fact, he had the distinct impression that Crane thought he was unfit to be Alpha of the Baxter pack. He sighed loudly and Lee laughed. She knew he didn't want to make this call. She'd probably call him a big baby. He picked up the phone.

"Crane, this is Baxter. I have the rogues from your pack. We'll deal with Gary, he attacked the mate of my second and one of my Betas. But the other one is all yours. Paul is his name."

Lee watched as Carr started grinding his teeth. She knew that could only mean something bad, very bad.

"Kill him Baxter, now! Don't waste any time. If you have him under your control kill him. I made the mistake of banishing him. I couldn't believe how evil one of my own kinsman could be. But he is beyond evil, and meeting up with Gary made him even worse. He has no redeeming qualities. Hurry, before its too late!"

"What the hell are you talking about? I thought nothing scared you. What's different about this Were Crane?"

"There was always something odd about him, even as a cub. He has incredible strength Baxter. More than any Alpha. The only thing that stopped him from trying to take my place as Alpha is that he isn't very strong mentally. He needs to be led. I was able to control him until he decided I wasn't worthy of his abilities. He latched onto Gary and became his lackey. He is brutal with females and males alike. He killed several of my Betas in training bouts, supposedly accidents, and one female who didn't want to go to his bed. That was the last straw. But I just couldn't make myself do it. He was my sister's cub. So I banished him. I'm sorry Baxter, this is my fault. If I had done my duty to the pack to begin with, this wouldn't be in your lap now. I hope someday you can forgive me."

"Let's hope there's nothing to forgive you for Crane. I'll call you later." Carr put down the phone slowly and looked to his mate to regain his composure. Just the sight of her helped him to calm down. "We may have a problem." He dialed the hospital. "Jeff, have you moved Paul yet? Was he sedated enough? Do you think there's any chance he could wake up? No? OK, thanks. I'll go check on him in the holding cell." He glanced over at Lee who was standing and ready to leave with him. "Stay here Love, I don't want you anywhere near the prisoners."

She nodded and sat back down. She didn't want to let him go alone, but she also knew if he felt this strongly that she was in danger she'd only be a distraction.

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Paul could feel the movement of the gurney. Fools thought he was sedated. They would find out soon enough he was smarter than all of them. He couldn't wait for them to find out. And they would pay for their treatment of his Alpha and himself. When Gary took over this pack they would all pay. They were so easy to fool. He was able to feign unconsciousness so easily. They never guessed their drugs had no effect on him.

"Isaac, un-cuff him so we can move him into the cell." David had pulled back the straps on his legs and was ready. Isaac nodded and they both picked up an end of the rogue and lifted him off the gurney.