Rescued by His Wolf

Rescued by His Wolf

by Calandra Hunter

Copy right 2018 Calandra Hunter

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author or publisher except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or deal, is purely coincidental.

License Notes

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1. Lucas

Lucas Parrish’s night was not going well. The day had started out well enough, with the excitement of finally being a proper officer of the Shifter Law Enforcement Services. He had received his first assignment last week, and spent the first few days after that making arrangements and calling his new boss, Matthew Blackwell, who ran the SLES agency in the town of Wethersville, human population 20,000, shifter population about 800.

Lucas had hoped he’d be in Wethersville by now, but it was a little after midnight and he had pulled over at a gas station to ask for directions. The route hadn’t looked very complicated when he had checked it beforehand, but he’d gotten lost somehow. His phone was on its last legs, and he figured he was better off asking another human being than his phone.

Since he was also getting hungry, he had bought a BLT sandwich and a soda can along with a map of the area. The older man behind the counter was drawing on the map with a pencil. Right, here’s us, and here’s Wethersville, he said.

Lucas nodded along. Looks like it’s nearby. Maybe if he’d just kept driving, he would’ve found a sign a few miles down the road.

Yeah, only about sixty miles, the man replied. Let’s see, if you go on from here, you wanna get off the highway here. He circled another point on the map. Can’t miss it, it’s past a big sign for a local casino.

How long will it take me to get to Wethersville?

The man eyed the map thoughtfully. Well, you’re new here, so definitely more than an hour.

Lucas sighed. He had already messaged his new boss around six, saying he would be late. Then in the evening, he’d messaged Blackwell he’d be even later, and eventually that he’d be there tomorrow instead.

Blackwell’s last message back had been brief. Just get your ass down here ASAP.

Lucas understood why Blackwell hadn’t been pleased. The main reason why Lucas had been assigned to Wethersville was because of reports of a wolf shifter gang harassing nearby small towns and villages. Lucas had read the file, and the gang of petty criminals had been in the area for years, but they had only turned their attention to Wethersville recently.

Blackwell had been asking the main SLES offices for assistance for a while, insisting that he was understaffed and didn’t have the resources to deal with everything, and he had requested two or three extra officers. He had only gotten Lucas, who was supposed to start work officially in two days. Blackwell had wanted him there today, so he could meet his new colleagues and get settled in his new apartment.

Lucas had wanted to make a good impression on his new boss, but he was pretty sure that by getting lost like this, he could forget about that. Great.

The man behind the counter shrugged. There’s a few shortcuts, but they’re all dirt roads and let’s face it, you don’t want to risk that.

He really didn’t.

His wolf was sulking, insisting that they leave their car and bags behind and continue on four paws. He’d be able to find Wethersville by scent, surely, and their new boss would be very impressed with their dedication.

Lucas shared his wolf’s disappointment that they were letting their new pack down. Good point. Right, what do I need to look out for after that casino sign?

The man leaned over the map again and opened his mouth, then the sound of tires screeching to a halt outside made them both look out the window.

Lucas’s wolf perked up, on full alert. Who would pull up like that at a gas station in the middle of the night? Were they in trouble? Did they need help?

Someone’s in a hurry, Lucas said, glancing at the man behind the counter. The man looked nervous, stepping back as he looked at the door. Lucas turned to look at the door as well.

A young man hurried in as soon as the door slid open to let him. He was in his early twenties, wearing dark jeans and a blue jacket that hadn’t been zipped up. His dark blonde hair was mussed, as if he had been running his hand through it. He looked around, his bright eyes zeroing in on Lucas.

It was like being punched in the gut, and Lucas found himself leaning on the counter behind him for support. The young man was his mate. His wolf was howling at him to go towards him, but Lucas was still feeling dazed. He took a deep breath, intending to calm himself down, then realized that that had been a terrible idea.

He was hit with the wonderful scent of his mate. He smelled fresh, reminding Lucas of citrus, but there was also the sweetness of vanilla in there, along with a whiff of plastic, no doubt from the car he had just parked outside. Lucas wanted to bury his nose in his mate’s neck, in his hair, to get a good noseful without the distracting scents from the rest of the store.

His mate walked over to the shelves furthest away from the door, pretending to be interested in the various bags of candy, all the while keeping an eye on the door.

I, er, I need to go and check on some stock.

What? Lucas asked, turning around. The man behind the counter looked worried, his eyes darting over to the door as well. What’s going on?

Nothing, nothing. Look, you already paid, so take the map, the man told him. If you head out now, you’ll be in Wethersville before one o’clock.

Lucas opened his mouth to point out that there’d be little point in arriving in Wethersville in the middle of the night, and anyway, he still needed directions, but the man had already scurried off through a door that had a STAFF ONLY sign on it.

He folded up the map and huffed. He didn’t like whatever was going on around here. His wolf was on high alert too, and not just because of his mate.

A few more cars pulled up outside. Going by the noise, they were bigger and more powerful than whatever car his mate had used. Lucas looked at his mate, who had crouched down, now pretending to be interested in the lowest shelf.

Lucas took a few steps towards him, now more determined than ever to figure out what the hell was going on, and the door to the store slid open again. Lucas paused, but didn’t need to take a deep breath to recognize that scent.

Wolf.

He looked at the three men who had come walking in. The one in front was in his late forties or early fifties, streaks of gray in his short beard. His hair was buzzed short, and his eyes were dark as he scanned the store. He was tall and broad, wearing a leather jacket over a dark shirt, and clearly the leader of the trio.

The other two were a little younger than Lucas, probably in their early twenties. Their clothes were a copy of their leader’s, dark with a leather jacket, and they were well over six feet as well, though not as broad. They glanced at their leader first, then also glared around. One of them looked at Lucas, and his eyes widened in surprise.

They were clearly not used to seeing other wolf shifters around here. Lucas gave the trio a friendly smile, then wandered over to where his mate was still crouching down, and pretended to look at the candy as well. This close, he could smell his mate’s fear, and he wanted nothing more than to crouch down and wrap his arms around the young man and tell him everything would be fine.

He told himself firmly he had no idea why these three guys had come in, or why his mate was scared, and that his mate would freak out if Lucas did wrap his arms around him.

He kept looking at the candy bags, watching the three wolf shifters from the corner of his eye as they walked around the store. He felt something pull on his trousers.

Hey, his mate whispered, looking up at him. Did three massive guys just came in? With leather jackets?

Lucas nodded slightly.

His mate muttered something under his breath, then looked up at Lucas again. His blue eyes were pleading. Help me out?

He nodded again, without thought. Of course he would help.

His mate stood up, giving him a big, fake smile. Here we go! he said cheerfully, giving Lucas a bag of Kit Kats. The candy you wanted.

Thanks? Lucas replied, staring at the bag for a moment.

Right, let’s leave some money on the counter and then get going, his mate added, still with a strained smile on his face.

Yeah, we’re running late, Lucas said. He walked over to the counter, grabbing his sandwich, his soda and his map and stuffing them in the pockets of his jacket, then left a couple of dollar bills on the counter. Let’s go.

They walked over to the door, but the leader moved to stand in front of it, arms folded across his chest. Not so fast.

Lucas stood in front of his mate. Is something the matter? This guy