Saving the Wolf: NORCAL SHIFTERS, #3

Chapter 1

Rose

If someone had asked Rose Zahn two weeks ago what she’d be doing tonight, dining with people she despised while trying her best not to spew the meal she’d spent hours creating wouldn’t have been on the list. Had anyone cared, Tuesday nights usually consisted of popcorn and sappy movies, sitting around with her sister and best friend in their pajamas, laughing like loons, and knowing that regardless of what happened outside their home, they’d always have each other’s back.

Now, she had no idea if they lived, or if they prayed for death.

She had to let go of that for the moment and concentrate on the task at hand. Survival. It amazed her that the males shoveled food, laughed, and held conversations like one big, happy effing family. Unless the family name was Manson, kidnappers and their victims were not friends, now or ever. No, not victim. She was no one’s victim—not for long. Rose’s chest ached watching the other four women, wondering what they’d do when the opportunity to run appeared.

These shifters may not have been as vicious as she’d expected based on the taunts of their human captors, or the filthy shifters who’d housed them until these assholes took Rose and her band of merry, unwilling mates into custody.

The new clothes, the hearty meals, and the promises of a good life—none of it mattered.

Of the men at the table, only one of them shared a bed with a woman, and from what Rose could tell, Lindsey went to his bed voluntarily. However, Christian demanded Merren not mark her or actually have sex—alpha’s orders.

It didn’t go unnoticed by any of them how much attention Merren paid Kaitlin for the first couple of days, but none of the wolves touched them, so Rose didn’t understand Lindsey’s motives. Then again, the rest of the women could do whatever the heck they wanted—Rose was out of there.

Allegedly, the women could pick their poison, so to speak, when they met the rest of the pack. Were it not so insulting, Rose would find it almost amusing that these animals thought all would be fine and freaking dandy, just because instead of getting parceled out like Christmas gifts, they could select the male to spend the rest of their lives with.

One glance at Kaitlin, the youngest of them, and Lindsey’s sister, told her she’d already chosen. Kaitlin looked at Christian as if he hung the moon and stars for her. As far as criminals went, he didn’t seem half-bad, but Rose could never respect a male who’d resort to buying a woman.

This is good. You outdid yourself tonight, the one they called Harvey said before he shoveled another mouthful of the hearty venison stew into his mouth.

Do as thou wilt, but harm thee none. Words her mother and auntie repeated each time they trained in secret floated through Rose’s mind.

How many times had her mother droned that stupid phrase? Enough that kicking the snot out of someone for calling her sister fat or Sherry a tar baby made her guilt radar ping.

If her mother or the goddess watched, they both had to know harm was not her intent, but freedom. And not just hers, but the only two people left on the planet she cared about—Iris and Sherry. One a sister by genetics, and the other by choice and love. Perhaps the powers that be would forgive Rose for these transgressions.

If not…

The alpha will be pleased. Merren, a male she’d never want to be left alone in a room with, gave her an oily smile. At least your cooking skills will make up for your… He sneered as his gaze roamed down her body, pausing at her chest. Other shortcomings.

Must you be an asshole? Harvey asked.

I know exactly what I look like, thank you. Oh, she knew; she’d always been the odd girl out. With flaming red hair like her mother’s and taller and damned near more masculine than the boys growing up, Rose had never been one of the popular girls. She’d crossed the bridge of caring what anyone thought of her many years and tears ago. You know, you could always just let me go, so you don’t disappoint your wolfy lord and master.

The jerk bared his teeth, and a deep growl rumbled in his throat. Asshole. Too bad there wasn’t a way to single out his plate for more of the thornapple. That would be one karmic debt she’d happily pay. But she’d taken enough chances cooking two pots of the stew using Kaitlin’s vehement dislike for onions, and the fact that none of the women cared much for venison, as an excuse to make two batches. And as pathetic as it made her feel, Rose really didn’t want to kill the men. She just needed them incapacitated for the evening.

Allegedly, the pack behind the abductions knew everything about the women. It looked to her like they didn’t do such a good job. By the time they recovered from the meal, they’d regret their choice for top chef.

Dinner passed…nothing.

They even scarfed down leftover blueberry cobbler from last night. Not one sign of fatigue or nausea—nothing.

Crap.

Whatever bard described failure as stinging should be punched in the junk. A paper cut stung—this crap felt like someone had taken a blowtorch to the soles of her feet.

Rose looked down at the plate she’d been washing for the last three minutes, and then sat it in the empty side of the deep sink. Anything to keep from dropping it. What now? She sighed and lowered her head. Not only her body, but also her determination sagged, and she placed her hands against the sink to keep herself upright.

Hiding her feelings didn’t matter; the males would continue to chalk it up to hormones or that she was adjusting to her new reality. The dishes blurred as she prayed to the goddess for help.

She asked for help in not failing these women, as she had her sisters. Hope that life could find some semblance of normality in a world gone mad. And, most of all, humility and forgiveness for being oh so wrong in keeping so many secrets from Iris and Sherry.

They had a right to know the history of both families and how they gained the talents they were born with. But now, it looked like they’d never know their true identities or how she’d dishonored the ancestors.

Hey, it’s going to be okay. Kaitlin, Lindsey’s sister, picked up the dish towel and started drying the plates and stacking them on the counter. They don’t seem too bad.

Yeah. Easy for Kaitlin to say. She wasn’t sure about Kaitlin; something about her didn’t sit right. Kaitlin seemed like a woman adept at playing sweet and innocent, acting the victim, while sharpening her claws. I just… She shook her head. What was she thinking? Never would she or should she share anything personal with this woman. Kaitlin may have a good heart, but her weakness would betray them all.

I’m not your enemy. Kaitlin placed a stack of plates in the cupboard and leaned her hip against the counter.

Maybe not, but I didn’t want to bet my life on it.

You’re a fucking genius, Melody said as she skidded into the kitchen with a grin wide and bright enough to light the forest surrounding the cabin. Talk about a killer meal. She shook her fists and did a little dance, shaking her hips from side to side.

What? Kaitlin tilted her head, looking like a confused and wounded bird. Her meal was good, but—

Shut up. Melody stopped dancing. As she glared at Kaitlin, her eyes went from sunshine to stormy. As far as I’m concerned, we should leave you here with them.

A glass slipped through Rose’s fingers, exploding against the tiled floor, shards spraying and tinkling against the tiles. Please tell me—

Maybe she’d eaten some of the wrong stew. This was all a dream, a hallucination. Yeah, that had to be it, because hoping she’d finally managed to catch a break would be too much to—

I have no idea what you did, but you are the bomb dot com. Daphne, the last of the hostages, said as she all but sprang into the now silent kitchen and wrapped her arms around Rose in a hug that threatened to crack her ribs.

Are they dead? Rose wasn’t sure what answer she hoped for or expected. And right then, she didn’t care.

Oh my God… Kaitlin slapped her hand over her mouth and ran out of the room.

Rose didn’t have time for genuflecting—they needed to leave. What’s the status on the wolves? she asked the grinning Lindsey, whose excitement took her from pretty to beautiful.

"Down for the count. It was freaking amazing; they pretty much just dropped. It was like the goddess shouted timber." Lindsey motioned with her head toward the door.

Rose followed, wary to be too quick to accept the thread of hope until she saw it with her own eyes. Hell, this could be some kind of trap. The last tear that fell from her eye was when they put her papa in the ground. But as she beheld the ten men, sprawled in various positions in the comfortable family room, a few threatened to break free.

The way the males looked would have been comical had the situation not been so dire. With heads angled awkwardly, faces slack, and lips parted like they were in the middle of asking for absolution, they really looked…dead.

A loud snore broke the tension, and one of the other women giggled.

Let’s go. Rose clapped her hands, slipping into what her sister and Sherry used to call drill-instructor mode. You… She pointed at Kaitlin. Go in the kitchen and grab as much food as you can.

Okay. Kaitlin glanced around the room, her gaze pausing on Christian. What about them?

What about them? Lindsey snapped. Get the stuff and let’s go. I’m not about to let my baby sister become a broodmare for these assholes.

I don’t know how much time we have. Don’t forget to grab can openers, drinks, and anything we might need, but do it fast. Rose glanced around the room, hoping like hell she hadn’t forgotten anything vital.

Where we going? Kaitlin asked.

Away from here. Melody walked over to the cabinet, removed a bag of plastic zip ties from a drawer, and got to work.

Rose winced as Melody muttered in Spanish and ratcheted the plastic down until it dug into the fragile skin of their thick wrists. Kaitlin’s squeak returned Rose to the here and now. Just like the wolves lying on the floor, they had to look out for themselves first and foremost.

Go. I want to be out of here as quickly as possible. Rose clenched her fist and moved to the side table to look for the keys to a vehicle.

That seemed to spur everyone into action. Melody finished securing the prisoners, and Rose made a mental note to ask the woman if she grew up on a ranch. Not only did she zip tie their hands behind their backs, but she also had the men lying on their stomachs with their hands and ankles hogtied. Miss Melody was a regular rodeo gal.

Rose jogged out to the two Suburbans, checking which had the most gas, and then disabled the second. With no time to do a proper job, she ripped cables out, tossing them in the back of the vehicle they’d take, and then slashed the four all-terrain tires—and the spare. Pleased with herself, she scoured the car. Taking the advice she’d given Kaitlin earlier, she removed everything even remotely useful.

Satisfied she’d done all she could outside, Rose glanced at her watch and jogged back into the house and upstairs, taking them two at a time, praying to the goddess in gratitude and asking for guidance—and a whole lot of luck.

I grabbed our stuff. Daphne raised two tote bags and grinned.

Good job. Rose stepped out of the way and looked around the room the five of them had slept in the last three nights. Do you know if they have weapons?

I don’t know. It’s not like they need them to keep us under control. Not with that fang shit going on. Daphne shuddered.

Daphne sat the bags at the top of the stairs, and the two of them searched