The Reluctant Wolf (Book 1 Cloverleah Pack) (3 page)

“You didn’t pick up on him either until you decided you were hungry.  The way this wolf has been covering his tracks it could have been months before we even knew he was here.  Sure I noticed a new ride
parked in town over the past few weeks, but I didn’t think anything of it…Did any of you?”

The men all looked at each other.  In light of their business it would have made sense if all of them had noticed when there was a new bike in town. Seemed like none of them, apart from Troy, had even picked up on it.

“What’s he riding, Troy?”

“
Looks like a modified 1980 Harley XL 1000, Sportster model.  Seems to carry drag pipes, the smaller ape hanger bars and an old school low seat.  Got an awesome paint job on the tank - metallic blue with a silver wolf head on it.  Would love to know who did the paint work on it - it is really well looked after.”

“Well the man has taste at least.” Kane said with a smile.  He rode
an original black 2007 Harley Davidson XL1200 Nightster whenever he felt the need for a cruise and he was quietly pleased that his mate, for the want of a better word, seemed to appreciate bikes enough to not only own one, but obviously look after one as well.

“I don’t think his ride is the issue here, Kane, as you well know.  What’s your pretty boy hiding?”  Griff went straight to the heart of the issue as per normal. 

The men all looked at each other.  It was one thing to hide what they were from humans but it was a really rare case when a fellow wolf hid from his own kind.  Common courtesy would have required Shawn to seek out any wolves in the area when he had moved in and at least asked for permission to stay in the area even if he didn’t want to be part of the pack.

“Maybe” Dean spoke up in his quiet voice.  “Maybe he didn’t know…”

“Know what, about us?” Griff cut across sharply.  Dean flushed and shut his mouth.  The smallest one in the pack Dean was only five foot six, with deep auburn hair and a pale complexion.  He was an Omega wolf, unlike Kane’s and Griff’s Alpha status and the twin’s Beta.  Kane had found him homeless in a bus shelter on one of his trips to the big city; about three hours drive from Cloverleah.  The boy turned out to be an amazing artist and was responsible for many of the custom paint works in the shop. 

However Dean never spoke up very often so it was easy for the older and bigger members of the pack to shut him down, as Griff had just done.  Kane threw a warning look at his closest friend and indicated that Dean was to continue.

“Well yes, in one way,” Dean continued. “We aren’t a very big presence here and unless someone actually comes to the shop, or we happen to bump into them in town there is no real indication to visitors that we are here.  We do keep a low profile after all.  But no, I wondered if maybe he didn’t know he was a wolf.  Maybe he is a half or mix…”  Dean’s voice dropped to a whisper at the idea.

Kane thought about the
combination of smells that had swirled around Shawn when they met.   The more he thought about it the more he thought the little wolf could be right in one way at least. 

“Shawn knows about his wolf all right,” he said.  He looked across at Griff as they both remembered the eye shift Shawn had quickly covered up in the diner.  “Maybe,” he continued, “maybe he is something more than just a wolf.”  Kane looked at Griff and his friends as they all pondered that possibility.

Scott spoke up.  “I remember a bloke I met in a club one time.  He had an Alpha wolf father and a witch human for a mother.  This bloke had been drummed out of his pack because the magic this bloke was capable of was, well, arousing to say the least.”  A small smile flitted across his face.  “He tasted amazing.”

“Keep your head out of your
pants for a minute would you.” Kane’s voice bought them all back to the present problem. He thought back to his own home pack - just because they were all full wolves and all expected to meet full wolf mates did not mean that other alliances didn’t happen. 

Kane had heard of many cases of cross-breeds between different types of shifters, of wolves mating with humans and even of wolves mating with other paranormals like vampires. His uncle absolutely hated the idea as much as he hated the thought of gay wolves.  But just because he hadn’t come across it himself personally didn’t mean the possibility wasn’t out there.   He looked at his closest friend.

“What do you think, Griff, now you have met him.  Could he be more than just wolf shifter?”

“I think he would have to be, seeing as he has kept himself hidden for all this time.  Problem is that if his home pack has
an issue with ‘what’ he is, then chances are they are looking for him and that could explain the whole need to hide.  That could bring problems down on us if you engage with this guy.”  Griff looked thoughtful for a moment before facing his boss.

“So what should we do about this Kane?  It’s your call.”

Kane looked around his small but solid pack.  They were all fiercely loyal to him and each other.  He couldn’t deny the hope that came from the possibility that maybe if he could find a mate, then they could too.  But to knowingly ask for trouble by bringing in a wolf that was so damned determined to hide wasn’t something he could decide on his own.

“Nope, actually I think this is something we all need to decide for ourselves.  Majority vote.”  Kane looked them all in the eye.  “I can’t deny the fact that I want to know more about a man that can straighten my dick so fast before I have even seen him.  I know his scent calls to me and my wolf.  Maybe he is my chance at a mate, in which case of course I want to pursue it.” 

Hmm do I ever, he thought as a vision of Shawn naked burned behind his eyes. Shutting down that thought as quickly as it came, he continued.

“But my first responsibility has always been to you as a pack. We know this guy is hiding who he is, or more specifically, what he is.  And face
it; we don’t even know exactly what he is ourselves.” 

Gorgeous, perfect and edible, was what he was
.  Kane shifted his feet as another dose of arousal hit him.  With effort he shut down his thoughts of Shawn for another time when he had more privacy, and focused on the men who were watching him closely.

“So let’s he
ar it.  Your honest thoughts on this.”

Typically it was Griff that spoke up first.  Stretching himself to his full height he laughed as he said, “we have never run from trouble before and I for one am all for you having a chance of
a mate because then maybe there is hope I can find someone for my own little self.  I say go for it.”  The others laughed which helped ease some of the tension in the room.

The twins looked at each other.  At times they almost seemed to share a telepathic bond.  Facing back to Kane Troy said, “We think you should go for it too.  If he is your mate then he comes under our protection.  We don’t care that he obviously has other talents apart from being a wolf shifter - you know we all meet our mates for a reason.”

Kane looked at Dean.  As the smallest member of the pack Dean hated violence and conflict of any kind. He was the softest, kindest man, or wolf for that matter, that Kane had ever met.

“And what is your thought on this Dean?” He asked his little Omega quietly.

“I just want you to be happy boss.”  Dean faced the larger man and peered up locking with his eyes.  “Now you know the possibility of a mate exists, surely you want to follow that through regardless of the trouble he might bring with him.  Who knows, he may have powers that could have a positive benefit on our pack - our mates make us stronger.  I think you should go for it.”

Kane let out
the breath he didn’t even realize he had been holding.  If any of his friends had said ‘no’ then he would have walked away without a second thought.  Okay, maybe he would have had more than second thoughts, but they would have been in private and his pack members would never know.  Kane wasn’t bad at hiding things either when he had too.

“Thank you,” he said, quietly. “That means a lot to me, all of you.”

“Now that’s settled boss, you just have one little problem.” Of course, it was Griff that bought up the obvious.  “How you gonna make time with someone who doesn’t want to be around wolves?”  His friend might be laughing at him, but Kane knew he had a valid point.  Shawn had high-tailed it out of the diner as quickly as he could without being rude about it.

“Okay, you have a good point there Griff.  I think, what we need, is a subtle plan of attack.”  Kane smiled at the men as they all looked at him.  “You guys have all made complaints that I haven’t allowed you all time to eat, or get laid…” with a look to Scott.  “What I propose is that you Griff, find out what shifts Shawn is working at the diner.  Troy, you are our computer whizz.  Find out from the realty place in town any places that have been rented out in the past month so we can see if we can get a handle on where this guy lives.” 

“Then, once we have this information, I will arrange for each of you, in pairs to be at the diner, having a meal, on me.  I want a minimum of two of us at the diner every shift that boy has.  If he is in trouble, and he clearly doesn’t have any back-up, then I want us there for him.  He will also get to know the scents for all of you through the diner and hopefully come to realize over a period of time that while we know he is there, that we aren’t bothered about it.”  Kane was warming to his idea the more he thought about it.

“Wouldn’t it be easier if you just went in there and asked him out?”  Scott always preferred the direct approach when he was looking to get laid so it wasn’t surprising that he wouldn’t understand the subtlety of Kane’s plan.

“No.” Kane was firm on this.  “For the next two weeks I am not going to the diner at all.” Oh boy, his wolf was not happy with him - Kane had never been backward about going after what he wanted.

“Why the hell not, he is your mate?”  It was Scott who asked the question, but the rest of them seemed just as confused.

“Because, if I go near him he will bolt for sure.” 

Kane willed them to understand.  Even now he knew this man was too important to him for him to blow this.  If Shawn left town in the dead of night it would be really hard to find him.  Kane wanted him to feel safe here, in Cloverleah, with him and his pack so he had to take the long way around this courtship.

“No talking to him or seeking him out.  Just go to the diner like regular customers but make sure you are there at the beginning and ending of each of his shifts.  He will know that you guys are there, but I don’t want him spooked. Let him see we are not a threat to him. Are we all clear on this?”

Troy and Scott nodded.  Dean looked at him and asked, “But won’t that be really hard on you?”

Kane pulled at his pants that were still trying to strangle his dick. 

“Harder than you know,” he admitted with a smile.  “But come on guys, I have given you guaranteed time off for the next two weeks at least and I am fronting for meals, so how about we get some work done.”

Scott, Dean and Troy all filed out of the break room and went back to work.  Griff lagged behind.

“Do you really know what you are doing boss?” He asked.

Kane walked closer to his friend his voice soft and deep against Griff’s ear.

“Do you have any idea how hard this
is
going to be for me?  Knowing he is just down the road and not being able to go and see him, at least for two weeks. I would have him caught, fucked and mated in the next ten minutes if I thought it would do any good.  But I have got to go with my gut here and my gut says if I overpower this boy, he is going to run.  I gotta give him time to understand we don’t pose a threat to him.”

Griff patted his shoulder.

“Just as well we got a lot of work on then, aye boss.  By the way, what happens in two weeks?”

“Then, my friend, he and I are going to have a one-on-one chat and I am going to find out why he won’t acknowledge the attraction he obviously felt in the diner today.  Then if he runs, I am going to catch him, fuck him so hard
he weeps and claim him.”  With an almost feral grin, Kane went out into the workshop.

Chapter Four

Shawn didn’t know what to expect when he got to work the next day but he spent the whole day nervo
us and on edge.  Knowing a wolf’s possessive nature he fully expected to see Kane waiting for him when he got to the diner but all was calm.  He hurriedly went out the back and got started on his prep.

About fifteen minutes into his shift his own wolf sensed the presence of two wolves in the diner - from what he could tell it was Griff and one other.  All Shawn could sense from the second wolf was that he was an Omega.   Shawn just kept working and after about an hour he sensed when the two wolves left.  Later that evening about an hour before his shift was finished he sensed another two wolves - this time the Omega and one other.  But when Shawn went to leave for the night they didn’t stop him or try to say anything to him.
Shawn didn’t know what to think.

When he did get home that night he went through his videos again but he didn’t see anything there to worry him either.  But he was still filled with a sense of uneasiness…and he had to admit to himself a slight touch of loneliness.  He had observed the wolves that had come into the diner that day.  He could see that the men were obviously good friends and that they seemed to care about each other.  But it had to be more than coincidence that Shawn didn’t notice any wolves in town during the three weeks prior and now in just one day since meeting his mate he had come across another two plus Griff.

And so it went on through the rest of the week.  Shawn came to recognize four different scents in all - Griff, the Omega and two Betas that appeared to be twins at least in looks.  To Shawn the scent signatures of the two men were completely different but he could tell that human’s might have trouble telling the two men apart.  Every day there would be two wolves at the diner at the beginning of his shift and another two at the end of it.

By Friday night Shawn was on edge and he couldn’t work out why.  The other wolves had not come near him; hadn’t tried to engage him in any way except for Griff who would say
‘hi’ when he saw Shawn in the diner.  But apart from that there was nothing. And no sign of Kane at all.  Fortunately Friday nights were really busy in the diner and he was rushed off his feet.  Shawn’s back was aching and his feet hurt as he worked his way through to the end of his shift.  His wolf sense had picked out that all four wolves had come into the diner that evening and every now and then he could catch snippets of their raucous conversation every time the kitchen door opened. Shawn listened intently hoping to hear something about Kane but all the talk seemed to revolve around was some order they had just got finished.

As he was finishing up Shawn recognized another feeling, deep in his chest.  He was hurting, he realized.  Kane, his mate, had obviously arranged for members of his pack to keep an eye on him but he hadn’t made an appearance himself.  Shawn had believed that Kane had wanted him as much as he wanted in return but now days later with no contact he felt himself wondering if perhaps it was Kane who was rebuffing him.

Okay, he thought, well that was really silly because I didn’t want him as a mate anyway.  There is no way I am going into a pack situation again.  Then another thought struck him.  What if the wolves weren’t keeping an eye on him for Kane, but because they recognized he wasn’t an ordinary wolf shifter - maybe they saw his ‘Other’ as a threat to them.  And with that thought came the crushing realization that there is no way that Kane would ever want him because he was so bloody different.

Wrapped up in his own head Shawn almost didn’t hear Trisha come and tell him he could go home.  He gathered his stuff and then took the time to wrap and take home his knives as well, that he usually left at his work station.  He had the weekend off work and he was going to do some serious thinking about whether or not he could stay in Cloverleah any more.  Every fiber of his being yelled at him to go and find Kane and force Kane to reject him to his face. 

But his strong sense of self-preservation recognized this was a really dumb idea.  He was tired; it had been a long week.  He had barely any sleep as every waking thought seemed consumed with his mate.  Shawn had spent the entire week with his body throbbing with arousal.  No matter how many times he had jacked off, it didn’t make any difference.  He knew he just needed to get home and try and rest - he would work on his problems over the weekend.

Pushing through the kitchen doors he looked up at the table of wolves when Griff said his normal
‘hi’.  Too tired to speak he just waved a hand and kept moving through the diner.  Once outside he took a deep breath and headed over to his bike.

Engrossed in getting his backpack stuffed in one of his bike
’s saddlebags, he didn’t realize he had company until he heard Griff say, “Nice bike.”  Straightening up quickly he turned to see all four of the wolves standing behind him.  Shawn’s entire system went into fight-or-flight mode, but none of the men came any closer.  Three of them were looking around the bike while Griff stayed on the sidewalk just smiling at him.

Okay, he could do this.  Talk about the bike.  He knew that the men all worked at some place called Custom Rides in town, so of course they would be interested in a new bike in town.  Struggling to remind himself that not every wolf was out to kill him
, at least not at first, he relaxed enough to rumble out, “Um yeah, I restored it myself.”

“What,” one of the twins were talking now. “That is awesome work man. Did you do the tank as well?”

Shawn looked down at his dark, metallic blue tank with the airbrushed silver wolf on it.  It was all his own work and something he had been really proud of.  Shame was every time he left town he had to repaint the thing into something different.  Stupid really but Shawn had a love for customized tanks.

“Yes,” he said. “That’s one of my designs and I did the work myself - I did everything on the bike myself.  I seem to be handy like that.” 

He took another deep breath and smiled across at the sight of the twins and the omega all now huddled beside the motor, noting the modifications he had made.

“Those are some pretty handy skills all
right; you should come into the shop sometime.  We’re just down the road.”  Shawn turned to see Griff speaking to him and pointing down the street where he could faintly make out the Custom Rides sign - strange he had never looked for it before.

Just as he was about to answer Shawn became aware of a white
pickup cruising down the road, heading towards them.  Quickly he could sense two men on the back of the truck and two in the front - all humans.  As the pickup got closer he could smell gunpowder and gun oil - hunters.  Panicked he yelled “get down,” before he heard two quiet pops and then felt the shots that rang out in the quiet of the night as they slammed into his body.

“Gotcha Shawn,” he heard as he went down.  The
pickup sped off with the sound of laughter ringing in the night.

Pain radiating through his shoulder and his leg
, Shawn didn’t pay any attention to the men who were with him.  He knew he had to get away before the idiots who shot him realized they hadn’t actually killed him yet. He knew that none of the other men had been hurt because the bloody hunter’s aim had been totally pointed at him and he had taken both of the shots he had heard. But already he could feel the impact of the shots still in his body.  A present from his father, he could feel the magic in them stripping him of his strength, his ability to heal and his reason for living.

He felt the twins lift him and he struggled in their grip.  “Steady,” He heard one of them say.  “We are just moving you to the alley so you can shift.”

Griff was speaking into his phone.  Shawn couldn’t hear what was being said but he caught the words “mate…shot…alley.”

He struggled again as the men put him down.  Then the Omega was in his face speaking to him but he couldn’t make out the words.  As the smaller man kept on talking Shawn could eventually make out what he was trying to say - shift, he needed to shift to his wolf state otherwise he was going to die.  The bullets his father had made just for him worked on his magic but when Shawn was in his wolf state his magic was protected.  These men with him didn’t know that, his father didn’t know that, but he did.

But in his wolf state Shawn knew he could hurt anyone of them if they touched him.  His own protective wards, tattooed into his skin flared up every time he was in any kind of pain.  The force of that magic would hurt the smaller Omega and anyone else who was touching him.

“Stand back…move away from me…please.  Don’t want to…hurt you.”

Not understanding the reason for Shawn’s words, after all they were shifters themselves, the four men looked at each other but all stepped away.  Drawing on the last of his strength, Shawn focused on the image of his wolf in his head and with his last bit of strength he shifted.  His last coherent memory was hearing one of the men go “Wow,” before he blacked out completely.