Sondrae Bennett - The Wolf Within

Jason? She’d never heard him so worked up. As the Premier, he usually kept a cool head. Picking up the phone, she dialed Brendan, then Gwen, relaying the message. Something told her everyone should be present.

Julie watched her three brothers stalk into the bookstore, her eyes widening as she saw the way Ethan struggled to restrain Jason. What the hell was the matter with him? His glare searched the room, and she sensed the feral rage inside him as it passed over her.

Without warning, Jason snapped his teeth at Ethan, who jumped back in surprise. The moment he was free, he ran for the coffee counter where Samantha stood.

Julie watched the scene play out, mesmerized by the depth of emotion. Jason grabbed Samantha, his hands running over her as if checking for injuries before cradling her in his arms. She looked bewildered, but clutched his back, whispering in his ear. Whatever she said seemed to work as his body slowly drained of tension.

Longing filled her as she took in the scene. But even as she wished for the comfort of her lover’s arms, they surrounded her. She knew it was Brendan without having to look. His familiar embrace and scent eased her tension. As his lips brushed against her neck, she leaned her head against his shoulder.

“Gwen? What are you doing here?” She looked up in time to see Gwen cross to Ethan.

“Laurie called, said there was a family meeting. Did you not want me here?” she asked, a thread of unease entering her voice.

“Of course I do, pet. I just couldn’t call while trying to wrestle one-hundred and ninety pounds of enraged wolf.”

Oh no. Realization struck as she looked at the clock above the counter. Not even eleven o’clock. There was only one reason why her whole family would have ditched work and flocked to the bookstore. The stupid surprise gift. She looked at Laurie who met her gaze with no apology.

Julie sighed, resigned, and Laurie took it as her cue to move to the front door and turn the Open sign to Closed.

Trapped.

Brendan watched his mate as they gathered around some tables. She wouldn’t meet his gaze, which worried him more than he’d like to admit. Why wouldn’t she look at him?

“Julie got flowers and a bottle of champagne delivered this morning.” His head shot up. Flowers and champagne? He pushed down a growl. Julie was his . “She said it was from an ex, but the note in the trash was addressed from someone different. It wasn’t particularly worrisome, except for the fact that Julie panicked while reading it.” Laurie passed the note around, and Julie glared at her sister.

“You went digging through the trash,” she accused. Brendan put a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her while inside his gut burned with jealousy and worry.

He looked at the note as Jason passed it to him. The Premier hadn’t let go of his mate since entering the bookstore and held her on his lap, refusing to let her have her own seat.

Brendan read the words, and the growl he’d tried to contain burst out.

“Who the hell is Jay?” he asked, holding back his snarl. Julie flung a glare at him, but he couldn’t help himself. His emotions were too close to the surface. Instinct screamed at him to bundle her onto his lap and hold her the same way Jason held Samantha.

She glanced around the room, searching the faces of her siblings. It bothered him that she sought support from others. Everyone must have shown her the same determination he did, because she clenched her fist and whispered a curse toward the ceiling before looking at him, an apology in her eyes.

“Do you remember the guy I told you about when you–” She paused, sparing a quick glance at her brothers before clearing her throat, “uh, brought pizza to my place?”

He nodded, remembering the moment of fear she’d tried to conceal. At the time, she’d said it was over.

“The flowers were from him. But I met him a few towns over and never gave him any information. Just my name. My first name.”

“Who is this guy?” Danny asked, looking down at the card.

“He hit on her. She said no.” He explained what he knew. Whoever he was, he was stalking the wrong girl. Brendan would rip him limb from limb just for scaring Julie.

His mind flashed to her broken apartment door. Whoever this man was, he’d signed his own death warrant.

“We’ve got bigger problems,” Jason announced, clasping his arms around Samantha’s waist. “We got a letter at the office this morning,” Danny took over, “threatening Samantha if we didn’t agree to back some policy being passed through the shifter council. It’s a ridiculous proposal and would undoubtedly set all canine and felines against each other. I don’t know why the cheetah prides are trying to get it passed to begin with.”

“Why is that a bigger problem than Julie’s letter?” Brendan asked, looking around the room. Both issues were concerning.

“This is my mate,” Jason said, as if that explained everything. Brendan felt his face flush with anger.

“And this is my mate and your sister! You’re just going to abandon her whenever something more important comes up? She needs your protection too.” How dare they think of Julie as an acceptable loss. He’d always thought of the Callahans as nurturing, but this was a side of the family he’d never expected. Throw the youngest and weakest to the wolves, so the rest of them stayed safe. Was this typical behavior for her family? If so, he’d take her away so quickly their heads would spin.

“Brendan, calm down. None of us are abandoning or ignoring Julie’s problems. We just need to figure out how to keep both of them safe,” Danny said from across the room.

“No. This thing with Samantha is more important,” Julie contradicted.

Brendan swung toward her as she spoke. He opened his mouth to ask what the fuck she meant by “no,” furious she would deny her own safety, but Julie cut him off. “The letter is a real threat. This Jay guy is just kind of creepy. We need to look at this logically and not let emotions get in the way. Samantha is in real danger. We need to keep her safe.”

“We need to keep you safe!” What the hell was wrong with everyone? Couldn’t they see the same danger he saw? “It’s not solely the note, Julie. I didn’t tell you before, because I didn’t want to worry you, but I didn’t break your front door. Someone else did. My blood runs cold imagining what might have happened had I not been there.”

There was no disguising her shock. Her mouth hung open, and she stared back at him, stunned. He had wanted to keep this from her. To eliminate the threat before she knew the danger. As her mate, his job was to protect her and keep her happy. He didn’t want her to doubt his ability to do both.

Well, that added a new level of fright to the whole situation. What if Brendan hadn’t been at her apartment? She shook her head, not wanting to imagine the possibilities. Thank God he hadn’t listened to her rejection.

The broken door flashed through her mind and she paused, recalling the damage. Something wasn’t adding up. The more she thought about it, the less sense the whole situation made.

“Who would have the strength to break the lock like that?” she asked. There’d been claw marks around the handle, and she’d thought Brendan’s wolf, eager to see her, had done it in his haste.

“Probably a shifter. Whoever did it must have been strong,” Ethan told her, clutching Gwen’s hand. With danger so close, the men felt compelled to keep close tabs on their mates. A threat to any one of them raised the collective alarm.

She mulled over the information as she looked around the room. She’d always been good at puzzles, and this whole situation was certainly puzzling. But it wasn’t logical to assume two separate threats were out there at the same time.