Packs defense wolf defen.., p.1
Pack's Defense (Wolf Defender Book 1), page 1
Pack’s Defense
Copyright © 2023 by Heather Karn
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Published by Scribbling Pen Publishing
www.scribblingpenpublishing.com
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Cover by Burning Phoenix Covers
www.burningphoenixcovers.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, brands, trademarks, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or the publisher.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
To all those who encourage me to continue writing in the First Blood world.
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Also By Heather
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Bump in the Night
First Blood
Over ten years ago, on a worldwide live broadcast, the President of the United States announced himself to be a lion shifter. He’d then proceeded to shift on screen for all to see. The world as it was had ended and a new world was put into place, one where supernatural creatures outnumbered the humans.
All supernaturals were entered into Classifications: Magic Users, Shifters, Blood Drinkers, Others, and Threats. The Others consisted of those who didn’t fit into any of the other Classifications and whose numbers were small.
Laws were created to keep everyone equally responsible for keeping order. However, some creatures were inherently evil, and most police forces could no longer handle the crimes by the Threats: those creatures who were more dangerous than other species, like Vampires and Werewolves.
The Elite military program was instituted from this need to help alleviate the Threat problems. Bases were built across the country and civilians were Interviewed to join. The Elite’s mission is to keep cities safe and help reduce crime from the Threats, and anyone else whose mission is to harm the general public.
Mika
* * *
Major Raven Cartana was not a man to keep waiting. When he called a meeting, it was best to show up early. At least that’s what I’d been told by everyone at my Elite base and his base who I’d spoken with about the meeting.
My first meeting with the renowned leader and I was late.
Busting through the stairwell door on his office’s level—since I hadn’t bothered waiting in line for the elevator—I rushed through the halls, peering at the nameplates on every door. It might’ve been faster to ask for directions, but this early in the morning, there was no one around. They were still waiting downstairs in the parking garage for the elevators to bring them up or not even awake yet. I was likely the only one with a six o’clock meeting. Even though I hadn’t overslept, which I’d feared more than traffic, I was still late.
Knocking on the frosted glass door as I entered the outer office, I gained the attention of a remarkably beautiful woman behind a desk. If I wasn’t in such a hurry, and covered in sweat, I might’ve tried flirting. The seductive smirk she sent my way said she would’ve liked the same.
“Do you have a meeting with Major Cartana?” Even her voice was alluring with its almost purr-like quality. Just what creature was she?
“Yeah. Mika Thornton.”
The inner door opened with a brisk tug, and I jumped as my gaze met the man standing in the doorway. “I thought I said to be prompt.”
If the name on the office door hadn’t been enough to tell me who occupied this office, the bright magenta eyes of the man standing before me would’ve confirmed it. Raven. A Vamlure. Blood Drinker.
“I didn’t count on the crazy morning traffic from the hotel,” I hedged, hoping that didn’t sound lame. It was the truth.
He cocked his head. “You stayed at a hotel?”
“My supervisor set up the arrangements.”
Grunting, Raven stepped aside and waved me into the office. “I’ll have to remind Garfield we have on base housing for visitors. Fay, find out what’s open where Mika can move into after the meeting.”
The secretary nodded. “Yes, sir.”
They had base housing for guests? We had nothing like that. My base was one of the originals and was a refurbished apartment building. Well it had been refurbished eons ago. The place was back to smelling like mildew, and there was no housing within it.
“Take a seat.” Raven indicated two chairs across from his desk, so I did as directed. “You did a great job with the task we sent you. Our forensic auditors were lost for months and you found our answers in a week.”
I shrugged. “Finding the hidden accounts of a wolf pack alpha isn’t all that hard if you know where to look. I assume the information you needed was in those accounts.”
Raven gave me a sharp nod. “It was.”
“Is that why I’m here?”
“Yes. This situation is…delicate.”
A knock on the door interrupted Raven as a man with thick dark hair stuck his head into the office. “Hey boss. Sorry I’m late.”
“Get in here, Jackson,” Raven growled, but it held a hint of humor. An odd combination. “You’re late.”
“You knew I would be,” Jackson snickered as he closed the door and plopped into the chair beside me. As he did, I caught a whiff of wolf, same as me. “So, boss, what’d I miss? Did you tell him the good news yet?”
“No.” This time, Raven appeared rightly irritated. “You interrupted.”
“Darn. Okay, keep going.”
Just who was this man? Didn’t he know of Raven’s famous temper? If he did, it didn’t bother him. By the goofy grin he wore, Jackson didn’t seem to care.
I gave my attention back to Raven. “What’s going on? Why am I here?”
Major Cartana arched a brow at the newcomer. “You want to tell him?”
In mock shock, Jackson set his hand over his heart. “Me? Ruin your fun? Never.”
“Jacks, you’re sleep deprived.”
“You live in a house with a female who’s pregnant with two pups, who can’t sleep much, and has the weirdest cravings at two in the morning.” He grinned wider. “Did Shannon send you yesterday’s pictures of the baby bump? She yells at me every time I try to call it a puppy bump, but it doesn’t stop me from trying.”
Rolling his eyes, Raven pinned me with his hard stare, choosing to ignore the other wolf. “We don’t have any wolves here who are knowledgeable in ‘financial speak.’ This particular alpha, though his pack loves him, can be a bit slippery. We’ve been trying to pin him for a number of crimes, but we didn’t have the staff capable of doing it.”
“So why me?”
A soft, wicked grin lifted Raven’s lips from my question. “He messed with the wrong people. Last September, Alpha Nolan was paid to send wolves to the northern edge of the panther pride land to stir them up and leave the Elite we had in hiding there unprotected. Those Elite were attacked, and nearly killed and kidnapped. Help arrived just in time. Before that day, his actions hadn’t hit so close to home. He messed up. I personally know the team he left vulnerable: two former paper pushers and a rookie. I’m taking this personally, and this will be his downfall.
“However, like I said, he’s slippery. I need to send wolves in to question him. He has the greatest respect for his kind, and he won’t even allow non-wolves on the Alpha House property. However, no one else around here, wolf or not, knows the records you were able to dig up better than you, Mika. That’s why you’re leading this. Jackson will be your backup. Though he comes off as an airhead, he’s quite capable of holding his own and giving you support in any way necessary.”
“Except for the paperwork part,” Jackson added with a chuckle. “I’m one of those wolves without a financial background.”
“Questions?” Raven directed, ignoring the other wolf.
Questions? What question wasn’t running through my head? This man had access to my service record. He knew everything I’d ever done and not done.
“I’ve never been assigned to any field work,” I reminded him, and Raven shrugged.
“It’s why Jackson’s going along to assist you. He’s had nothing but field work. What else is bothering you?”
“I only have the informa
“Probably shorter than me,” Jackson threw out. “I left mine at eighteen. Anyway, you’re worrying too much. Just let me do the talking until I need your financial guru-ness.”
“My what?”
“Enough.” Raven cut Jackson off. “You two have your assignment. If there are no other questions, Jackson, take Mika back to his hotel and pack up his things. Fay should have his housing information ready. You’ll have plenty of time to talk about details and tactics. Do not mess this up. If you do, Jacks, I’ll have your hide.”
Jackson pointed a finger at me. “And what about him?”
“Consider him your trainee for the next few days. His failure shows on you. Dismissed.”
Snorting, Jackson shoved to his feet and slapped me on the shoulder. “Come on, trainee. Let’s get you all caught up so Rave doesn’t skin me.”
I followed the wolf from the room where he grabbed some paperwork from Fay, who winked at me. Jackson wasn’t in the mood to wait for me to speak with her as he headed from the office. It was just as well. If this mission ended badly, I’d never see her again. I’d likely be fired or sent right back to my dank office in Colorado.
“Raven’s not as bad as the rumors make him out to be,” Jackson stated the second the elevator doors closed behind us. “He was my team leader for years, and my most important lessons were learned from him. The one I know for certain is he never puts his people in situations where he’s not fully confident in their abilities. He knows if anyone can crack Nolan, it’s us.”
“Well I’m glad someone has that much confidence in me because I don’t have any confidence in myself about this mission.”
“Can you talk fast?”
I arched a brow at him. “Yes.”
“Can you talk ‘financial speak’ fast?”
“Yeah.”
“Perfect. Let me do all the talking, and when I turn the time over to you, that’s your cue to shove as many papers at him as you can and explain them as fast as your motor mouth will go. Get him all confused and panicked. He’ll screw up then. Trust me. We have this.”
That was our tactic? Have me talk fast? We were so screwed.
Jackson motioned at my head. “By the way, I like the look. Are you going for a young silver fox? I mean, is the gray natural or dyed?”
I stared ahead into my reflection in the elevator doors, at my wavy hair, which desperately needed to be cut. “Natural.”
“Hey, it looks good on you.”
Yeah, I wasn’t even twenty-five yet and my hair was highlighted gray. Not even half of it was my natural smokey brown. The day I’d turned twenty, I’d found my first gray hair, and it had been downhill from then on. It had even aged me, making me appear older than I was, and the females weren’t interested in a male who appeared past his prime. Physically, I’d never been in better shape. I may sit behind a desk all day, but I kept in shape. My father, my former alpha, had drilled it into our pack that an attack could come at any time. We had to be prepared. So, I kept physically strong and trained.
Even with all exercise, I wasn’t appealing because of my gray hair.
“Let’s stay focused,” I urged.
Jackson nodded and offered me a hand, which I took. “Jackson Lathe, but you can call me Jacks.”
“Nice to meet you.” I took my hand back as the elevator doors opened, revealing the parking garage.
Jackson led me to a large SUV and we climbed inside. My dinky rental sedan was on the next level down, if I had my directions correct. With practiced ease, Jacks maneuvered the vehicle from the space and drove from the garage.
“Which hotel?” he asked as we approached the main gates.
I listed off the name and road, and wasn’t at all surprised when he didn’t need to punch it into a GPS. He worked this city, the whole of it. There wouldn’t be many places where he needed directions to reach his destination. A hotel was likely a hot landmark around here.
“What if we can’t upset Nolan and get information from him?” I asked, hoping to plan for the worst possible scenario.
He shrugged and blew through a yellow light which changed red as we passed under it. “I know Nolan. The firmer the evidence we can throw at him, and a high quantity at a rapid rate, the more he’ll fumble. Either way, we’re bringing him back to the base for a formal interrogation. However…”
The way he held out the word and paused didn’t offer me comfort on this matter. My stomach was still a mess. Jackson could probably smell my apprehension.
“Yeah?”
“Nothing.”
I didn’t like that, so I took a guess at where he’d been heading. “Is he violent?”
“I’ve never seen it if he is. I’ve only heard how peaceful he is. Still, if he surprises us, don’t be afraid to defend yourself. I’ll do what I have to do to go home to my mate and future pups every night.”
I nodded. Taking a deep breath, I steadied myself, and also attempted to sniff out the mate scent on him. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t pick up the smell of wolf.
Chuckling, Jackson pulled into the hotel parking lot. “She’s a Witch, not a wolf. Don’t bother overworking your sniffer.”
I’d been that obvious? We were so dead. Well, I was dead. Jackson could probably defend himself well enough to escape since I assumed he’d been in a lot of life or death situations. While I trained, I hadn’t fought another wolf in years, though I did have a great deal of experience prior to my desk job.
It was as if Jackson could read my mind. “You up for a spar or two?”
“I brought workout clothes, so yeah.”
“Nah, I mean in fur. Sparring with the wolves here has gotten boring. We need new blood, and I need to see how you hold up in a fight.”
“I hold my own.”
He grinned wide. “I’ll be the judge of that. Go get your stuff. You’ve got five minutes.”
It was my turn to roll my eyes. “I’ll be back when I’m back.”
“You’re no fun.”
“My job is searching for financial trails, and I love it, and you expect me to be fun?”
“Get lost.”
Laughing for the first time since arriving, I jogged to the front door and entered the lobby. Skipping that area, I headed to my room and packed my meager belongings. I’d been told I wouldn’t be here for more than a few days, so I’d packed light. This needed to wrap up quickly. I didn’t want trouble. My dinky office was becoming more desirable.
The only highlight of this trip would be sparring with Jackson and discovering who’d come out on top.
Mika
* * *
Jackson had chosen to forego the large gym a level above us and opted for a smaller practice area, this one composed of lines painted on the wood floor. A quick overview introduced me to this base’s most competitive sparring sessions. In the spar, the opponents had to stay inside the lines of each square marked on the floor. There were varying sizes, and Jacks stopped us at one of the three smallest squares. Whoever was kicked from the square first lost the match.
“You really don’t have anything like this at your old base?” he asked, and not for the first time.
I chuckled and watched as he stripped off his black uniform shirt, revealing large muscles…which thankfully I could compete with. Perhaps I was a silver fox and my hair gave people the wrong idea, as did my loose button up shirts, but underneath, I was built like a rock. One of my nephews even referred to me as a brick wall, which he’d run into more than once because he wasn’t paying attention to where he was running.
