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He’d shut it down, squashed it so fast that her head had spun and he’d kept her at arm's length ever since. In the pack but always on the fringe not belonging to it. Then he’d dated Hayley, he’d believed them to be the perfect pair, and she’d died a little inside every time she watched them together.
She’d wanted to leave the pack then, she’d almost asked him to release her, but the bond had with her family was too strong and she hadn’t wanted to be separated from them.
RYAN COULDN’T STOP thinking about the bruises that had marred the soft flesh of her back, and he growled thinking about the beating she’d had to have taken to be marked as she was. Yet he hadn’t smelled anyone else on her skin.
There was no blood, the area hadn’t been disturbed. It simply didn’t make sense to him. He wondered again if Dawnecia had attacked her, demanding payback for the insult she’d been dealt. He’d smoothed things over as best as he could, explaining that Kelly was young and not in control of her maturing emotions, but the explanation had sounded false even to his ears.
She was significantly older than Dawnecia, and when Alpha Delgado pointed out that fact and chuckled, reminding him that it was normally the males that fought not the females, Ryan had tacked on another thousand dollars he’d already agreed to pay in restitution to the Sourwind pack.
He scowled; it wasn't the money that bothered him. The Coldridge pack was well off and financially stable. What bothered him was that he normally didn’t think about Kelly, so having her take up so much of his time and energy was grating on his nerves. He had too many responsibilities to be consumed with thoughts about a girl who stayed out doing God knows what for days, fighting because she couldn’t control her animal side as she matured.
Why would she do it though? His wolf whined at him, pacing as if Ryan’s body was a cage.
It didn’t like the picture the man was painting of the woman, and became increasingly restless. Ryan felt the discordant note resonate through him. His wolf wasn’t happy. It was rare that his wolf and human sides were at odds, and he found it unsettling since he usually had much better control.
Shaking himself out of his introspection, Ryan vowed that he’d find whoever had hurt Kelly. If it wasn’t Dawnecia then that meant that someone within his pack had issues that would need to be dealt with.
The lives of shifters were often prone to violence. It wasn’t uncommon for man and beast to war for supremacy, fighting for dominance for positioning within the pack, but he’d never condone the kind of vicious treatment it would have taken to harm Kelly the way that she had been.
The women were fierce in their own right, holding their places, but they were often more cunning and as a result less physical than the men. Knowing that he had to do something, Ryan opened the mental link he shared with his brother.
He found himself sitting in Jace’s kitchen drinking coffee while his brother’s mate Sara cut a slice of cake for him. Ryan felt his ears heat up when his brother grabbed Sara’s hand and sucked the vanilla frosting from her thumb, it was a completely erotic gesture and he fought not to be affected by the sexual tension that was instantly created.
Ryan shifted uncomfortably in his chair while Sara melted against Jace and cleared his throat with unnecessary enthusiasm to remind them both that they weren’t alone. The soft scent of Sara’s embarrassment permeated the room, and her cheeks were stained pink as she pulled away and excused herself.
As one of the newest members of their pack she was still nervous around him and the power that his alpha exhibited. His brother on the other hand had no such qualms. Instead, he watched his mate leave the room, his gaze devouring her until she was out of sight.
Jace turned with a grin on his face and Ryan felt a stab of jealousy slice through him as he watched his brother’s happiness.
“Sorry. Sometimes I still have trouble adjusting to mated life and to being back among the pack. It can still be unsettling at times and difficult to remember that others are around.” His brother’s facial expression turned serious, and he kicked out the chair across from him silently inviting Ryan to join him at the table. “What’s up, bro?” Jace asked, his gaze searching Ryan’s
Briefly, Ryan explained finding Kelly that morning and how bruised she’d been. He wasn’t surprised when Jace was just as confused he’d been.
“We need to find whoever did this to her. I won’t tolerate this type of thing happening in the pack. Challenges for positioning are supposed to be sanctioned and monitored.” Ryan said, while fighting to keep his temper under control. The life of a lycan could be vicious since it was often difficult to maintain control of their more animalistic traits, but it was no excuse, and he wouldn’t stand for this sort of aggression in his pack.
“I don’t understand what anyone would gain from beating Kelly though, she doesn’t hold much favor with the pack, most of the women who sought her advice in the past have stopped doing so. She’s pretty isolated from anyone. There wouldn’t be anything to gain. So to hurt her the way you’re describing suggests that it was done maliciously.”
His brother’s tone was neutral but Ryan still felt the weight of the unspoken accusation. The women of the pack had respected her. They had sought her out and he knew it was his fault that they no longer did so. How they treated her was a direct result of his behavior towards her. He’d kept her at a distance for so long that the rest of the pack had started to distance themselves as well as if they found her lacking or didn’t trust her.
Ryan bowed his head as shame swept through him. It was true that how he treated members of the pack governed how others did as well. He’d just never stopped to consider the impact keeping his distance from Kelly would have on the others.
“I need to figure out who hurt her Jace.”
“How can I help?”
“I’m not close to her. She resists telling me anything, even though I’m her alpha, but she may tell you or Sara something.” Ryan hated the closeness that Jace had cultivated with Kelly even as Ryan pushed her away.
“Sending my mate on a recon mission?” Jace asked, humor heavily coloring his tone. When Ryan didn’t laugh with him his brother sobered again. “I’ll talk to Sara.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
The monthly pack meeting was later that evening and everything in Kelly screamed at her to stay home. She didn’t want to see Ryan and with her heat ramping up and the suppressant drugs not working to their full potential she knew being around a bunch of males would aggravate her wolf.
She groaned at the knock on her door, wanting to growl at whoever dared to disturb her. She debated not opening the door, but the persistent banging was almost worse than anything else she could imagine the person on the other side inflicting on her.
Kelly sniffed as she neared the door, trying to determine who was on the other side, and was shocked when she realized that she couldn’t tell who was there. She couldn’t smell them at all. It sent a shaft of fear piercing through her chest until it was hard to breathe.
“Kelly, are you ok?” She recognized Sara’s voice as she spoke from the other side of the door. Kelly managed to turn the doorknob and let Sara in. The fear was beginning to dissipate but she knew if she could smell it her fear would be hanging thick in the air.
