Running with the Pack: Cannon Pack, Book 3 (19 page)

Lauren could see it now. Tala must think she was a wacko. In fact, she’d be lucky if she didn’t call the mental hospital. “I know it sounds like I’ve inhaled way too much nitrous oxide—I’m a dentist—but I’m telling the truth. So help me God.”

“O-kay. Let’s say I believe you. Why would werewolves—and there’s more than one, right?” She continued at Lauren’s nod. “Why would they take you? Did they have a problem with their dental care? I can see how that could cause problems, what with their big teeth.”

“Tala, please. I’m serious.”

Tala’s smile faded, her expression grave. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t make fun of you, but you can understand how difficult this is, can’t you?”

“Sure. I understand your hesitancy.” Lauren took the leap of faith in her new friend. After all, she was asking her to make a big leap, too, by believing her. “Look, Tala, I have a secret. A secret that can explain why they chose me.”

“O-kay. What’s your secret? And are you sure you want to tell me?”

Tala’s tone was the type doctors used with mentally confused patients, but who could blame her for her skepticism? “Yes, I want to tell you. I’d like someone to know this besides the people who are involved in it.”

Tala leaned forward, her face a blend of pity and concern. “You’re not going to tell me you’re part of some kind of weird cult, are you?”

Was the hunter group a cult? Not in the strictest sense of the word, but it did have similarities. “Yes and no. My boyfriend is part of a hunting group.”

“Are you talking about hunting animals? With guns? And I’m assuming out in the countryside, right? Not that I condone such things, of course. I prefer a more humane ways of dealing with animals.”

“My group hunts in the mountains sometimes, but most of our hunts are in the city.”

“That’s kind of dangerous, isn’t it? I mean, an innocent person could get shot.”

“We’re careful not to let that happen.” She let out a sigh. This wasn’t getting any easier. “What we hunt is the hard part.”

Why didn’t Tala seem more surprised? She didn’t seem concerned in the least about what Lauren had told her.

“You hunt werewolves. Is that right?”

She was ashamed and unsettled by Tala’s easy guess, but she had to admit the truth. “That’s right. Or at least I used to. And that’s why the werewolves took me.”

Tala grew quiet, unnerving her even more. When she finally spoke again, it was Lauren’s turn to be shocked. “I believe you.”

“You do?” But how? Hell, she wouldn’t have believed her story had she not lived it. “Why? I mean, telling you that werewolves exist was hard enough, but to say they’re talking werewolves? Well, that’s just stacking lunacy on top of craziness. But you really believe me?”

“Absolutely, I do. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to give you a hard time, but I had to be sure you believed what you were saying. I’ve seen a lot of strange things.”

“Because of your work as a vet and a consultant for the zoo?”

“Because of that as well as other reasons.”

“Other reasons?” Suddenly, Lauren didn’t like the way the conversation was headed. Or the way Tala was looking at her. Like Tala was sizing her up. She rose and edged toward the door. “Uh, you know what? It’s really late. How about I call a cab and wait for it outside so you can get back to sleep? Can I borrow the money to pay for it? I’ll pay you back tomorrow. I swear.”

“Who’s our guest, Tala?”

Lauren twisted in the direction of the voice and Tala’s smile. A large man with long black hair and sparkling, dark eyes pulled Tala into his arms and kissed her. The kiss, lingering long enough to make Lauren uncomfortable and even a bit aroused, finally broke apart.

“Devlin, this is Lauren Kade. Lauren, this is my husband, Devlin.”

Hard dark eyes clamped onto her, stiffening her body. Lauren hoped her unsteady legs would hold her. Panic started to strangle her breath again and she thought about running but doubted her legs would carry her very far. “This is your husband?” Why did he look so familiar?

Should she try to make a break for the door? Yet she doubted she could make it past either Tala or her large husband.

She stood as straight as she could and studied the solemn-faced man, all while trying to quiet the alarm bells clanging in her mind. Their eyes locked onto her, glinting flecks of amber. How had she managed to jump out of the skillet and into the fire? “Tala? Is your husband… Are you a werewolf?”

“Uh-huh. I’m Devlin’s mate and proud of it.”

Had she run back into the pack? Lauren closed her eyes and wished she was in Daniel’s safe arms.
Daniel, please help me.

“Lauren, calm down. Everything’s okay. Devlin won’t let anyone hurt you. Will you, honey?”

“Not as long as you’re not out to hurt us.” The amber flecks shown in his eyes, taking over more of the cool brown and warning of the animal lurking below the surface.

“Not me.” She looked longingly past him toward the door. “I love werewolves.” She inwardly winced at her pitiful attempt to placate them. And judging from Tala’s and Devlin’s expressions, they weren’t buying it. In fact, they seemed to be playing with her the way a cat plays with the mouse he’s about to eat.

“By the way, Lauren, I use my maiden name for business, but my married name is Tala Cannon. Devlin is an alpha in the Cannon pack.”

Lauren took off running as though her legs had planned on escaping all along and had forgotten to tell her mind. But she didn’t get far. Devlin’s strong arm wrapped around her, picking her up and plunking her down on the couch. “Stay.”

She obeyed him, too afraid to do anything else. “You’re a Cannon? Oh, shit. That’s the group that kidnapped me.”

“It is?” Devlin took the armchair next to the sofa and Tala sat on the arm. “Why did they do that?” His narrowed eyes zoned in on her, warning her of the raw power he controlled.

“Don’t you know? I mean, you’re an alpha. You’re Daniel’s brother, aren’t you?” Mentioning Daniel’s name calmed her. If Devlin was anything like his brother, maybe she could rest easy.

“I’ve been out of the state for a while. And yes, Daniel’s one of my brothers. But the pack has never kidnapped anyone. Exactly who took you?”

“Daniel, Tucker and the others took me. They caught me when I got separated from the rest of my group.”

“Which group is that?”

Lauren didn’t want to tell him. Once he found out she was a hunter, who knew what he’d do. She looked at Tala and sent her a silent plea although she knew it useless

“Honey, Lauren is a hunter. Or used to be.” Tala held up her hand to calm his flash of anger. “Now hold up. Don’t react too hastily. Remember that Sydney grew up with hunters, so don’t jump to conclusions. Let’s hear what she has to say first.” Tala gestured for her to hurry up and explained, “Sydney is mated to the other Cannon brother, Jason.”

Encouraged by Tala’s readiness to listen, Lauren told them everything from the first day she met John to the way Daniel had helped her escape the mansion. By the time she’d finished, she hoped she’d gained a little of their trust. At least enough to keep her safe until they contacted Daniel.

“What the hell is going on?”

Lauren flew off the sofa to find a very sexy, but none-too-happy Daniel striding into the room. She barreled into him, relief swamping through her. She was safe now that he was here.

Daniel held her at arms’ length. “Lauren, why the hell did you come here? I helped you escape and, instead of running to freedom and a human friend, you come to a shifter’s home? You’re just lucky I came to talk to my brother.”

Okay, maybe she wasn’t safe after all. The emotion of the past few days, the fear and anger, welled up inside her to reach a boiling point.

“Back off, buster.” Daniel actually took a step back, almost making her smile. “I did go to a human’s home. Or at least I thought she was human. How was I to know she’d mated a werewolf? It’s not like they had a welcome mat saying ‘Werewolves Welcomed’, ya know?”

“She’s right, Daniel. She just stumbled onto us.” Tala slipped her arm around her husband.

Lauren pointed at Tala, emphasizing her point. “Yeah, that’s right. I had no idea that I’d gone from one house of shifters straight into another one. But at least this one has fewer werewolves to contend with. Plus, I don’t think they plan on locking me up.” Worry replaced her irritation, lessening her strength. “You don’t, do you?”

Devlin raised his hand, silencing the others. “If I have a say in this matter—and as an alpha I do—then I think locking her in the mansion and throwing away the key is a damn good idea.”

Chapter Nine

“Oh, my God.” Lauren struggled to pull in the next breath. Was she born under an unlucky star? Or was her crappy luck her own fault? Not that it mattered now. She was knee-deep in trouble.

“Hang on. I didn’t set her free only to have you take her right back.” Daniel took her by the arm, helping her to make it back to the sofa. “We made a mistake in kidnapping her.” He closed his eyes and heaved a big sigh. “
I
made a mistake in kidnapping her.”

“Why did you take her in the first place?” Devlin crossed his arms, a silent defiant gesture.

“My plan was to go on the offensive. Instead of always running from the hunters and reacting to what they put in motion, I wanted to hit them first for once.”

“Like a preemptive strike?”

“That’s it exactly. I wanted the hunters to feel what it was like to be the hunted. Haven’t we all had the same idea at one time or another?”

A few moments of silence passed as the shifters reflected on Daniel’s words. Lauren had to admit, if Daniel’s idea was to make hunters know how shifters felt, he’d certainly made his point with her.

“I get that. I do.” Devlin relaxed. “Bro, I understand where you’re coming from. Torrie’s death, then what happened to Mysta and Tyler made you want revenge, but changing a policy we’ve held for years was not your decision to make. You should’ve gone to the council first. Or at least presented it to Jason and me.”

“Yeah, I know. I realized my mistake the second we found our hunter.” He glanced at her. “But by then, it was too late.”

Lauren wanted to touch him, to tell him he was forgiven. Instead, she resisted the urge and looked to Devlin. “So does this mean you’re not going to throw me to the wolves again?” She shot them a tentative grin.

Devlin’s laugh sounded a lot like Daniel’s and the fear stiffening her spine disappeared. Did that mean she was safe at last?

“No. We won’t send you back.”

“Even though you wanted to lock me up and throw away the key?” Hell! Why couldn’t she keep her yap shut for once? Devlin’s laugh eased her fear again. If she could bottle the Cannon brothers’ laugh, she’d make a fortune.

“You should never have been taken in the first place. But, Daniel, why the escape? Why not tell the pack that you made a mistake?”

Daniel took his time to answer, his uneasiness obvious in the rigid way he sat, his gaze aimed at his brother. “I could have when she first came. But I kept her, using the time to—” he cleared his throat and glanced at her, “—interrogate her for hunter information. I was stuck and, by that time, the pack wouldn’t accept letting her go.”

The admission of how he’d led the pack on was difficult for Daniel to admit, but she loved the flutters in her stomach. He’d never interrogated her except to ask how she’d gotten involved with the hunters. Not once had he asked her to reveal any sensitive information about John and the others. Instead, he’d asked her questions about her life, her family, her dreams. That had to mean only one thing. Daniel did care for her. Although they’d come together for strange, even sinister reasons, he’d saved her because he’d grown to care for her. But where could this lead? He was shifter and she was human, a hunter in the eyes of his pack.

“I think we have three choices.”

Lauren couldn’t help but catch the hopeful tone in Tala’s voice. “Really? What are they?”

“First, we could take you back to the pack and try to convince them to forget the initial plan. If Devlin backs you, they just might go along.”

“Even if they do, most of them will want to continue going on the defensive. Including Tucker.” Daniel kept his gaze on his sister-in-law. “Next choice.”

Tala didn’t appear fazed by his discounting her first idea. “Or we could get her home and let her friends, her fellow hunters, protect her.”

Daniel let out a caustic guffaw. “Right. Because they protected her so well the first time. Again, next choice.”

Devlin reached out to take Tala’s hand. Lauren noted how tenderly he touched her, encouraging her with his eyes as well. Could she and Daniel ever find that easy understanding? “I can see one other choice. She’s still safe and alive because of Daniel. So, I think the best thing to do is for Daniel to make sure she stays safe.”

“None of those are great choices.” Devlin tracked his fingers through his hair, a gesture that reminded her of Daniel. “But if anyone can do it, Daniel can. We’ll tell the pack that he’s using her, gaining her trust by staying with her in the city. But only to get leads on future hunts, not to harm her or any other hunter. We’re going back to the old way. No harming hunters except to stay safe. To do otherwise would cause a war that would last years and cost many lives on both sides. And I’m not prepared to do that.” He studied his brother. “Is this what you want to do? Do you want to keep her safe?”

Daniel didn’t hesitate. “Yes.” Lauren’s elation, however, was short-lived. “But Lauren has to make a promise in return.”

“What promise?”

Daniel took her hand, nodded at Devlin and Tala, and started for the door. “We’ll talk about it at your place. Right now, I want to put more distance between us and the pack. They’re already on the hunt for you.”

Lauren glanced over her shoulder at Tala and Devlin, and couldn’t help but wonder. She’d already jumped from the pan into fire. Was she now fueling the flames?

Daniel took Lauren home, watching and listening for any sign of the pack. Staying in the city wasn’t new to him, but staying in a human’s—hell, a hunter’s—home was different, disconcerting. Especially when he couldn’t trust his usual pack contacts. Until the other shifters accepted Lauren’s release and their return to the pack’s prior way of dealing with hunters, he had to be careful whom to trust.