Free Alpha Call by BA Tortuga Page A

protected the pack.
    “Yes. Yes. For Steph and Shaw.” Jordan took a deep breath,
focusing, blinking at him. “What do we do?”
    “We’ll get someone on both scent trails. Sam is good, but
not as good as Kerry or Liam. One following Steph, one Wendy. We start
patrolling the city in twos. I want full-on grids. He doesn’t know this place
as well as we do. He should stick out like a fucking sore thumb.”
    Jordan nodded. “Someone needs to stay with Shaw. I’m going
after Steph’s trail. She’ll be panicked.”
    “You’re not going alone.” Every instinct was telling him to
find his mate, but he knew it was all connected.
    “No. No, because this time, we show him all together why you
don’t mess with our pack.”
    “Hell, yes.” That summed the whole damn thing up. It was
time to mobilize and get rid of the threat.
    Then he would hunt down his mate and love her into a puddle
just to keep from spanking her ass.
    Stubborn woman.
    Stubborn, amazing woman.
    He just hoped he caught up to her in time.

Chapter Ten
     
    Wendy followed Jack’s scent, nose to the ground as she ran.
Motherfucker. She’d found the truck, following the road from the mountain for
hours.
    She’d been sore, limping, when she came onto the Ford, but
all it took was a whiff of Steph’s scent—newly wolfen, scared, with the coppery
hint of blood, for her energy to surge to the fore.
    Bastard.
    She was going to rip his throat out.
    Wendy was so damn mad, but that was good. It overtook the
fear, made it possible for her to keep going. He was in human form still, which
scared her.
    Stephanie could take any human when she was in wolf form,
right? So, how could Jack have taken her? Christ, what had he done to her?
    Wendy put on speed, her head down, paws slamming into the
dirt. She had to keep Jack from hurting Steph. Had to. That would redeem her
for putting up with his shit all that time. The smell got stronger as she ate
up the distance between them.
    Where the hell was he going? She didn’t know the town as
well as she could yet, didn’t know all the far-flung places.
    She slowed as the trees began to thin. If he was in human
form, he’d have a weapon. This could be a fucking ambush. The pads of her feet
felt raw, as if she’d cut them.
    Staying close to the trunk of a tree, she sniffed, head low.
Steph. Steph.
    The sound of a deep growl had her ears twitching. Her
hackles rose, her back drawing up. She was panting, the fear starting to ride
her but she had to get to Steph.
    She crept forward, at least until Stephanie yelped, the
sound pure pain and Wendy went barreling out, teeth bared.
    The clearing was just big enough for the cage and Jack
wasn’t there but he had been two seconds ago. She could damn well smell him.
    Steph barked, scared and hurting, paws battering at the
cage. She growled softly, trying to get Steph to hush. Soon, soon Steph could
get out. Jack first.
    Sniffing the air, she backed toward the cage, ears
swiveling. Where are you, you fuck?
    The rustle of leaves was the only warning she got before
damn near two hundred pounds of furious muscle slammed into her, smashing her
into iron bars.
    * * * * *
    Brett was going to rip this guy’s head off.
    He’d let his new mate distract him, wanting to be gentle
with her because she was upset. A tiny smile played about his lips. Okay and
because she was as hot as dropping water on a skillet.
    This asshole was a threat to his whole pack and to his mate,
and it was time Brett took him down.
    He followed Wendy’s scent, the whole thing as easy as if
she’d stamped those cartoon footprints on the earth. He’d feel her anywhere.
Anywhere on…
    He stopped short, a wild, hurt, scared sound that wasn’t
Wendy ringing through the air. Jordan’s new mate.
    Rage burned in his chest but he slowed after that, nose to
the ground, ears tilted forward to catch any sound. No booby traps.
    The next sound he heard was her, his lady, snarling low, the
sound a clear, violent warning.
    That