Free Pack Beta (Were Chronicles Book 11) by Crissy Smith Page B

we’ll be able to plan better.”
    “And if they are waiting for you?”
    Chase eyed his brother. “We can take them.”
    “You sound sure of that. We don’t even know who or what they are.”
    “Only one way to find out,” he replied seriously.
    “Why am I being the voice of reason?” Max asked grumpily. “Usually it’s you who tries to talk me out of dangerous situations.”
    Since his brother had a point, Chase really had to think about his answer. Waiting for the Alpha made the most sense, however, since they didn’t know when Shawn would return, that could put off the search for hours.
    He wasn’t willing to wait that long. He had been shot at, his friend injured and Kayla stalked. He wanted to know the hell was going on and he wanted to know now.
    “We should go or they’ll get too far away,” he told Max.
    Waiting for several tense minutes, relief flooded him when Max nodded. “You take a group of shifters. I’ll go with Angel and follow behind. We’ll leave Alex, Cassie and Justin here to wait for Shawn and Marcus.”
    “Okay, the tracks seem to follow Goldman’s trail. We’ll spread out from there if you two stay on it,” Chase suggested.
    “Keep your ears open,” Max warned.
    He slapped his brother on the back before rejoining the others.
    “Are we doing this?” Jacob questioned when he reached them.
    “Yeah.”
    The younger Wilson grinned. “It’s been a while since I’ve hunted.”
    Shaking his head, he tried to hide the amusement at the younger man. Jacob was one of the best trackers the Pack had. His job at the Canyon as a park ranger also gave them an advantage. “Let’s shift and do this.”
    They broke off into smaller sets. Chase stayed close to Kayla as she pulled her shirt over her head.
    “Stay close to me,” he whispered. “If they get their hands on you, they win.”
    Her eyes widened and she glanced around nervously.
    “You don’t have to come.”
    “Yes, I do,” she corrected. “I need to.”
    “Okay.”
    Since it was normal for Pack members to run together as a unit, most shifters didn’t have a problem with nudity. But Chase found himself wanting to shield Kayla’s body from the others’ view. He knew it was ridiculous but he couldn’t help it.
    His wolf wasn’t interested in logic and, when it came to Kayla, his wolf made its presence known.
    Chase had always seen the animal inside him as a separate but full part of him. Sort of like the other half. When he was in his other form, he felt complete.
    It bothered him that his brother would never know the feeling.
    Max had lived his entire life without the ability to transform. Although Max could still feel his animal, not being able to shift was hard to deal with.
    Chase had spent the last ten years trying to find out why Max was different. When the Alpha in West Texas mated with a woman who was also a non-shifter he thought he had a good opportunity to get answers.
    So far, the Texas Pack was able to change the old feelings that non-shifters weren’t as important to the Pack. Sadly, Chase hadn’t been able to put together all the pieces yet.
    He was still working on answers, though.
    Glancing over at his brother, he saw Max kissing his mate, Cassie, deeply. Chase grinned as he dropped to his knees. Kayla fell in front of him.
    He nodded silently, telling her to go ahead.
    Kayla’s shifted quick and flawless. Waiting until she had changed into a beautiful tan-coated wolf, Chase was glad he’d gotten to watch. To be able to see her with his human vision, he could appreciate her that much more.
    He wanted to run his hands over her soft fur and make her rumble in pleasure. Since he didn’t have time for that now, he already planned on how he would get her in wolf form again.
    Not wanting to be aroused in his other form, he took several calming breaths before he started to transform.
    Changing into his wolf was a quick process. A tingle started in his body as he pictured the animal coming forward. He