I come back to my office only to have my cell go off, and it’s my father.
“Max has been arrested for attacking another guy.” There’s more that he wishes to say, but I sense it’s not a public conversation.
“Who would be stupid enough to arrest him?”
“The chief, of course,” he snarls.
We both hate that prick, and so does much of the town. His incompetence, laziness, and all-around asshole persona makes him a terrible sheriff. “I have to go down there. I swear I could kill that motherfucker.”
“If you don’t get rid of that guy soon, he’s going to get himself killed.”
“I know. He should have never been hired in the first place.”
“Tell me about it. I didn’t have a say in that shit, or I would have picked one of our own.”
By the time I get off the phone with him, I’m furious. I drop my head, shaking it slowly. This is not what I needed to hear today. Fucking stupid-ass kids. I hang up the phone and call Daphne to come into my office. “What’s going on?” she asks as she enters and closes the door. I go over the conversation with my father.
“This doesn’t help your agitated mood.”
“No, it sure doesn’t, but I have to go, so take it easy and send me anything you need done. We open in a few days, and you’re already close to bursting.”
“Thanks, Turner.”
I run out of my office, past my receptionist and to the elevators. It takes only a minute to get down to the lobby, but I’m anxious and pissed off. I’m barely in my truck when my father calls again.
“What’s going on?”
“I got your brother out. Meet me at the house, please.”
“Okay. I’m on my way now,” I snarl, ending the call and speeding off toward my parents’ home. I need details about what happened and why he was arrested in the first place. Chief Anderson’s pressing my buttons. He doesn’t know that he’s crossing a dangerous line, but he’ll learn the hard way.
As soon as I arrive, my sister’s sitting on the sofa with my brother, and my parents are on the loveseat while my mother holds my father’s hand.
“Would anyone care to elaborate for me?” I demand.
Aria sighs and then starts to speak. “Timmy came up to me and was harassing me as usual, then this guy I don’t know approached and told Timmy to back off and that I was his, so he kissed me, and then knucklehead over here overreacted and clocked the guy just as the chief walked by.”
“Who’s the bastard that kissed you?”
“He’s a shifter from the Wolfe Creek pack.”
“Son of a bitch.”
“It was just on the cheek. Max is being ridiculous. All of you are being ridiculous. It was nothing but someone protecting me from that damn grabby human asshole.”
“I’ll deal with Timmy later, but I want to talk to the Wolfe Creek pack leader. I need a word with their people.” I send a text to my Beta, Mark. Set up a meeting with the Wolfe Creek Alpha for the day after tomorrow. I look up at my family, feeling their nervousness swimming around the room. “I’m not going to let this go.”
“Come on. It’s stupid,” Aria argues.
“Stupid?” I question, and she cowers, sensing my anger as the Alpha. I feel bad immediately because she’s my little sister and she’s young, but I will not have my will overruled. Sitting next to her, I say, “I just want to talk. I don’t want them coming after us.” She nods in acceptance.
Leaning over, I punch my brother lightly in the shoulder. “Now how did you get out?”
“I’m the mayor. Who’s going to argue with no one pressing any charges? Although that asshole chief wasn’t too happy about it.”
“He can go fuck himself. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get home and get some fucking sleep.”
I should let this go. In my head I know it’s not worth a war, but I can’t stop the words from coming out of my mouth. As the Alpha, I have to show strength when another pack starts shit with us.
Are they trying to fuck up my multi-billion-dollar business? Wolfe Creek isn’t the only vacation resort in the area. Mine runs like a well-oiled machine, and I refuse to let anyone throw a wrench into my perfectly operated business. Unlike their pack, we have a lot of humans running around in all capacities. Some regrettably so, like the chief, so we’ve learned over the years to tame our inner wolf unless it’s a full moon, but that doesn’t mean I won’t do everything to protect my family.
I say my goodbyes because I’m tired as hell and make my way home. As soon as I’m in the house, I hurry up to my bathroom to shower. Washing my weary bones, I close my eyes and think of my nightly visitor, my temptress, my doom and glory. Each image is vivid, wild, intense, and stars just one delectable creature.