Dangerous Wolves

Chapter 10

Why would she leave me? The pain and anger had more or less combined, a serpent winding its way through every thought and action I had. Its head wound up in my stomach, biting and sinking venom into my veins. I wasn't sure which I felt stronger, I just knew this betrayal hurt.  

"Alpha, you can't leave the Pack on its own without a plan. How are we supposed to know what to do?"  

I'd shifted back and was in the process of packing a suitcase for my trip. I knew where she was going, due to Maxx. Apparently his Pride was looking for him, had put a bead out on him; he'd left more than 5 years ago. I was pretty sure they were going there, though I wasn't sure why. Did Cat know more than she let on?

I cursed and threw a shirt in the case, hating this. Hating that I could do no less than chase her, find her. The feelings I had for her tugged at me, kept me reaching for her even knowing that she wasn't there. She'd so suddenly become my everything, worth more to me than my life, my Pack. I would stop at nothing to have her back with me.  

"You'll figure it out." I muttered, shoving a 9mm pistol into a holster and a silver dagger into the one at my back. Yeah, I felt like I was preparing to go to war...and in a way, I was. I knew that no matter what they were doing at this Pride's door, the chances weren't high that they were going to escape alive. If I managed to make it before they were slaughtered, I was going to need every weapon at my disposal, including my Wolf form.

I took apart a sniper rifle and put it in its place, every part organized. Marly gaped at me as I strapped another dagger to the harness on my back; there were three in total. On my wrist, I added throwing stars, perfect for when I ran out of daggers or bullets. I put some ammo magazines in my suitcase, adding some on the inside of my leather jacket.

"Marly," I sighed, refusing to look at her, "go get my Beta."  

She left without a word, leaving me to finish the job. There were two more weapons I needed before I could leave; my other pistol, and my sword.  

"Yes, Alpha?" Breenan strode in, hair ruffled and a bit of scruff growing on his chin.

"I need you to watch the Pack while I'm gone. I know that Sheeba's your mate--you were never very subtle about it--and I know that it's a very...trying time for newly mated Wolves. Trust me, I know. Which is why I hate asking this of you, but I have to go get my mate." 

Breenan nodded, a small smile on his face.  

"I doubt I'll have as much trouble as you've had, sir, but I can do it."  

I let my shoulders sag with relief, one problem lifting it's weight from my shoulders. I moved around the room, throwing important things in my bag as I came up with a basic plan for the Pack. 

"I want the Pack to tidy up her house. Don't buy anything for it; she'll want to do that herself. Just...clean the blood and wash the dirty clothes and vacuum, etcetera. Keep the children close to the parents; never leave them unattended. They could become a potential target. There shouldn't be too much to do, beyond listening to important complaints and deciding outcomes. If you need help, call me. But only if it's an emergency; I could be trying to stay downwind and don't need noise alerting my enemies. Clear?"

"Yessir."  

"Good. Now go get my Katana."  

He raised his brow but didn't question my demand, instead leaving to take it from the guards in the guest room. I never left home without it, and it was always guarded. An important family heirloom, it meant quite a bit to the Pack, to me.

"Here." He returned with it in its elaborately decorated scabbard, holding it out to me. 

"Thank you." I strapped it across my back, where the daggers lay.

"Don't you think you're going a little...overboard?" he ventured, leaning against the wall. 

"No, because these are lions with an insane Pride leader. He went crazy a while ago, Breenan, but no one thought to put him down because he wasn't affecting the rest of the Weres. Now, my mate is going into his territory with the lion they've been tracking. A lone wolf, in the middle of a Pride of lions determined to protect their leader. Going overboard, Breenan, would be taking a bazooka with me." I told him, zipping up the suitcase. I wasn't bringing that much; hopefully none of what I had brought would be necessary. I slipped my leather jacket on over my black t-shirt, checking the pockets to make sure the magazines were still in there, along with my phone.

"Are you planning to massacre all of them?" 

I snorted, yanking the case off the bed and onto the floor, popping the handle out.  

"Hopefully they won't be stupid enough to make me."  

"Sir..." he moved behind me as I strode out of the bedroom and down the hall toward the garage, protest evident in his voice. 

I stopped, turning to face him. He halted, not fazed. 

"If I have to kill them all to keep my mate safe, no matter that she's disobeyed me and fled, I will. Don't worry; killing an entire Pride of lions will just enforce my reputation. There won't be any Weres willing to mess with me. And if I don't, then I'll have shown mercy, and that too will make me seem like a kinder person. Now, you have instructions, follow them. I will be taking the car."

I spun on my heel and dragged the suitcase behind me into the garage, hitting the unlock button on the car keys. I tossed my luggage into the passenger seat and went around the front of the little Porsche to the driver's side, relishing for all of three seconds the sound of the engine starting before backing out and speeding down the street. I wasn't going to waste time; even on foot, there was a chance that she could reach Kansas before me, and set herself up for death.

_____ 

Cat's POV 

I kept moving forward, certain that by now Wolfe had noticed I was gone. My fading scent had surely given it away, even if he didn't want to use his nose. By now, we were close to the border, having run part of the time in our other forms and hitching rides with nice truck drivers. The Pride loved their wide open spaces, flat land where they could run freely.  

Maxx was getting antsy, though I refused to look at him. How could he just kiss me like that? Didn't he realize that there was nothing between us? No matter the spark that went from my lips to his, the feeling of it being right, there was no way that anything could happen. Anything. I refused to question, even for a second, my own fierce denial, shoving those thoughts into a box at the back of my mind.

"Cat...we're close." his voice rasped over my senses, intoxicating. God, when did this start? When did I start noticing how attractive his voice was?  

"I know." I took a deep breath, ignored the scent of Maxx filling the air around me, and sniffed for a hint of old lion. The Pride leader, if you will.

"He doesn't really leave his domain; he sends other people to check the border for him."

I stared at him, an eyebrow raised. Was the Pride leader really that bad? He was too lazy to do his job? If I wasn't likely to be killed for what I was doing now, they'd surely rip me to pieces for trying to fix something that they didn't want to fix. 

I couldn't scent anything past Maxx; as I was in foreign territory, that could get me killed. Every now and then he'd glance at me, sensing my frustration. 

"Why is your scent so strong?! I'm mated to Wolfe and not even his scent is like this." I blurted, throwing up my hands. He stopped, turning to face me fully. 

His eyes gave him away.

"No. No, Maxx, that can't be. I'm mated to Wolfe; I can't have two mates." I protested, folding my arms. He snarled at my mate's name, fangs dropping over his bottom lip.

"Apparently you can; you know how lions work."

I shook my head, refusing his words. He had to be lying. Or maybe Sheeba was his mate? I eyed the silver wolf sitting next to me, her muscles tense. No, she was mated to Breenan. 

No way it could be me.