Enforcer - 1. Chapter 1

The massive auburn-brown colored wolf stopped and scented the air. Nearly twice the size of a natural gray wolf, he was a born and bred predator. He was in his element, stalking through the forest, hunting for his prey.

The animal’s nostrils flared and his ears twitched as he patiently waited for instruction. His eyes scanned the trees, searching. The hint of a scent followed by the tiniest of sounds drew his attention to the left.

Another large wolf, black as pitch, slowly, stealthily, emerged from the trees. He was strong and powerful, the king of this forest.

Alpha.

The alpha wolf’s intelligent eyes caught the moonlight, glowing a bright amber in the dark. Behind him, a small wolf with fur as white as snow stepped from the trees to stand by his side. The black wolf moved in a step, instinctively taking a protective stance in front of his little mate.

Alpha turned and met the auburn wolf’s eyes. He tipped his head and motioned with his snout, drawing a circle.

Jed nodded in acknowledgment at the order, then scented the air again. The other pack members were close.

And so was their prey.

With the alpha’s blessing, Jed took off, his auburn fur a blur as he ran through the woods, darting amongst the trees. He felt the wind against his face, against his fur and he was exhilarated.

He scented the pack beta nearby and closing in, but ignored him. Trey would catch up, or he would miss out.

Jed tuned out all other distractions, concentrating solely on the deer.

Swinging around the frightened buck, Jed steered the animal toward the middle of his pack-mates, attempting to box it in. As he turned on his paws, a sharp stab of pain bit through Jed’s back, reminding him of that fight from months past. And his failure.

Anger and frustration tore through Jed, and he leapt without thinking, funneling all of those feelings into the kill. He took down the buck, cleanly snapping its neck with his powerful jaws and massive teeth.

His stood over his kill and snarled triumphantly.

Only when Colton’s black wolf approached did Jed realize his error. The alpha always made the kill, and the alpha-mate was always the first to eat.

As soon as he caught Colton’s narrowed gaze and lip curled in a snarl, Jed dropped his eyes and tilted his head, baring his neck in deference. He slowly retreated away from the deer, moving backwards until he stood in the shadow of a large tree.

He watched as Colton grabbed the buck in his powerful jaws and dragged it to his mate as an offering.

Parker’s white wolf sniffed at the carcass, and once he found just right spot, tore off a chunk of meat with his jaws. Once he swallowed down a couple of bites, he moved to allow Colton to eat. After Colton got his fill, Parker then dragged the deer as best as he could to the center, signaling the others to join in.

Jed knew it was now his turn to enjoy the kill, but he stayed back and watched. Trey, Curtis, and Stan all moved in. Stan’s mate, the Kodiak bear shifter named Buck, watched with interest as he usually did, but he never joined in the feast. As a bear, he wasn’t much interested in animal meat, though you could often find him snagging fish from the river when he was in this form.

A sharp twinge in his back made the anger surge in Jed again. His failure with the rogue wolf had left him damaged. Scarred. Broken.

Now he carried the scar on his back between his shoulder blades where that crazy fucker Ethan had stabbed him with a silver knife, poisoning his blood. When he shifted to wolf, the scar became a white patch of fur, where it currently throbbed and itched like a motherfucker.

Jed threw his furred back against the nearest tree and rubbed against the bark, bringing temporary relief. Aware the others were now watching him, Jed turned and ran deep into the woods.

The last thing he needed was their curiosity. Or worse, their pity.

He needed to be alone right now. A good run would help. It was the only thing that did.

* * * *

Jed Stone emerged from the trees naked and dirty, his muscles tired and aching. The muscles surrounding the scar on his back throbbed with every movement. It was always the worst just after a shift, which was infuriating. Usually an injury felt better after a shift, when the body magically reconfigured and repaired itself. Unfortunately, a shift couldn’t repair extensive silver damage.

Despite the scar in the middle of his back, the rest of Jed’s nude human shape was a sight to see: well-muscled and well-hung. His hard muscles were covered in a dark auburn fur in all of the right places. Standing at six feet plus six inches tall, wide as a tank, his body was built for the job he was bred for. He may have been only nineteen years old, but he had the body of a fully developed man.

Jed was the enforcer for Timber Pack. He acted as the pack’s lead soldier and bodyguard. It was also his responsibility to keep the pack members in line. There wasn’t much to do with a pack of only eight, but Jed took his duty seriously.

Hell, protecting Parker, the Alpha’s mate, was how he ended up with silver poisoning in the first place. He may have saved Parker’s life by keeping the rogue busy until Colton and Trey arrived, but he couldn’t help but feel like he had failed. He should have killed that psychotic wolf.

Jed froze in his steps when he heard the unmistakable sounds coming from the first cabin. Parker’s whimpers and moans were intermingled with Colton’s rhythmic growls and grunts. Skin slapping against skin. The bed thumping against the wall.

Jed looked down between his legs. His cock hung limp, completely disinterested in the sounds of the couple fucking.

He’d accidentally seen Colton and Parker fucking on more than one occasion. The odds were better than not; they were still in that newly mated phase, and they went at it like goddamned rabbits. The monthly hunt always seemed to push Colton’s libido into overdrive. Parker was lucky he was able to walk the next day.

Jed had watched Parker suck Colton off in the back of a school bus once after one of their away games. It was damn hot, and he beat off to the memory on more than one occasion. Of course, he would never share that with Colton. He wanted to keep his balls and his dick right where they were, thank you very much.

Jed understood, though. A good run or hunt was a powerful aphrodisiac. Not that a young lycan male needed much to get going. Hell, the wind blowing across his cock used to be enough to give Jed a hard-on. Not anymore.

Not since the stabbing.

Jed swallowed the lump in his throat, and walked back to his own cabin with his head hung in shame.

* * * *

The next morning Jed had an appointment with Doc. He normally hated going to the doctor, but he was eager to go this time, hoping for good news for once.

The veterinarian worked out at the national forest’s ranger station. While officially a wild animal vet who worked with the park service, Doc was in reality a medical doctor who specialized in lycan medicine. Doc was a member of the neighboring Forest View Pack, but he was obligated to help any who needed him, despite pack affiliations.

Doc was a friend of Buck’s, which made Jed a little nervous. The two men tended to gossip like hens, which was how Buck knew pretty much everything that went on with the Forest View Pack.

“You’re not gonna mention any of this to anyone, right?” Jed asked through clenched teeth as he buttoned up his shirt. The scar on his back throbbed from Doc’s prodding.

“Of course not,” Doc replied. The man with salt-and-pepper hair smiled warmly. “I protect all of my patients’ confidentiality. Even your alpha won’t know what we discussed here.”

“Thanks,” Jed muttered. “So… um… about the other thing I told you about? You know…” Jed let his eyes drift down to his crotch momentarily, then back up to Doc.

Doc’s smile slipped away as his face took on a sympathetic look Jed had seen way too many times now. “It’s a side effect of the silver poisoning. Give your body time to heal, Jed.” Doc stopped to make some notations in Jed’s medical file before he turned back to him. “I’m pleased to see you’re gaining back some of the weight you lost. It tells me your body is healing itself. Things are on the right track. Just be patient.”

“Right. Patient.”

Doc patted Jed’s shoulder. “There’s a good lad.”

Jed left Doc’s and got into his truck. He wanted to fucking punch someone. Starting with Doc.

He drove, not really thinking about where he was going. Jed ground his back teeth as his hands gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white. His mind was busy alternating between feeling anger and wallowing in self-pity. He had swallowed his pride and told Doc his cock was broken, and what did the man do? Not a goddamned thing. Fuck that shit. Didn’t they make pills to fix that? But no, Doc just said to give it time. The man sounded like a broken record.

Before Jed knew it, he was pulling his monster of a pickup truck in front of his parents’ house.

While their pack had an unspoken treaty of sorts with the Forest View Pack, a lot of the Forest View wolves didn’t like it when they came into the city. Especially Alpha Forrest’s son, Seth.

Too damn bad.

It wasn’t like he planned on running into any of them anyway. After he dropped in to say “hello” to his folks, he’d be heading back home.

He shut the engine off, jumped out of the truck, and walked toward the open garage. A pair of legs stuck out from underneath the old candy apple red Dodge Charger that seemed to be up on blocks inside the garage more than it was out on the streets.

Jed didn’t need to draw in the scent to know who it was. He kicked at one of the boots. “Hey, Zef.”

Jed’s younger brother pushed his wheeled mechanic’s cart out from under the car and sat up. He rubbed his forearm across his sweaty brow, leaving behind a smear of grease. “Hey, bro. What’s up?”

At seventeen, Zef was younger than Jed. He was still living at home of course, and was going to be a senior at Forest View High School in the fall. Like all of the Stone boys, he was built big and wide, a chip off the old Stone block. All of the boys looked alike and some people had trouble telling them apart if they didn’t know them. Zef was not quite as tall as Jed, and he still had a bit of a boyish face, accentuated with pink cheeks and the inability to grow a full beard. Zef was damn proud of the patch of auburn hair on his chin though, so Jed didn’t tease him about it. Well, not too much anyway.

Unlike Jed, Zef didn’t play football. He was on the wrestling team. Too bad. He would have made a great lineman with a body built for blocking.

Jed strongly suspected his brother got a kick out of rolling around on the floor with other dudes. Whenever Jed teased him about it, Zef adamantly denied it was sexual and got pissed off. He denied it maybe a little too strongly.

“You get this piece of shit running yet?” Jed joked. Jed was good with cars and trucks, but his brother was good too.

“Fuck you, man.” Zef laughed. “She purrs like a kitten.” He reached back and lovingly stroked his hand across the fender. “She just needs a tune up is all.”

“Right. A tune up. If you need help, let me know. Mom and Dad around?”

“Mom’s making dinner, but Dad’s out. Pack business. You staying for dinner?”

“Nah, I gotta head back to Timber.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Jed didn’t miss the disappointment in his brother’s voice, even though Zef tried to shrug it off as if it wasn’t a big deal. He and Zef had always been tight. Being the closest in age, they shared a bedroom for most of their childhood. Since Jed had moved out to the camp with the others, Zef was stuck at home with their annoying little brothers, Asher and Duggar. At least he had his own bedroom now.

“I’m gonna go talk to Mom. I’ll see you around.”

“Cool. Maybe we can go mudding or something soon.”

“Yeah. Of course. Maybe after I get back from Conclave?”

“Cool.” Zef lay back down on his cart and pushed himself under his car.

Jed went through the side door, ending up in the mudroom. “Hello?” Jed called as he wiped his boots on the welcome mat.

His mother, Martha Stone, called out from the kitchen. “Jed? What are you doing here?”

Her red hair was pulled back from her round face to hang at her shoulders. Though she had six kids, you couldn’t tell by looking at her. Jed knew it was because she stayed active, going for regular runs and just keeping up with her crazy family. Martha and John Stone were true soul mates and the love between them was apparent when they were together, by the way they looked at each other, by the way they were always touching.

Maybe it was because of the silver poisoning, but Jed’s thinking had changed. Jed never really gave any thoughts of mating before. He was fine playing the field, loved it actually. After that fight, things changed for him. Instead of getting sick, he could have died. Now he saw how his parents were when they were together, and one day Jed hoped maybe he would have what they did.

But the way his body was broken like it was, what kind of man would even want him?

Jed accepted a warm hug from his mom. Closing his eyes, he held on for as long as he could, basking in her warmth, and the comfort of her scent. He probably looked like a big baby clutching her the way he did, but he didn’t care.

When they finally broke apart, he shrugged. “I was in town and wanted to say ‘hi.’”

Martha frowned with concern. Reaching up to Jed’s face, she brushed her fingers across her son’s cheek. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

Jed shook his head. “Nothing, Mama.” She studied him for a moment, and Jed had to avert his eyes out of guilt. He didn’t want to lie to her, but it wasn’t really something he wanted to talk to his mom about. “It’s quiet in here.”

“Ash took Dug to the beach.”

Jed lifted a brow. “Yeah?” He couldn’t imagine his bratty sixteen-year-old brother wanting to hang out with the equally bratty twelve-year-old. “How’d that happen?”

“Ash just got his driver’s license.”

“Oh.” Jed nodded in understanding. When he first got his license, he drove his little brothers all over the place just to get to use the car.

“You staying for supper?”

Jed shook his head. “I have to be heading back.”

“You sure? There’s plenty.”

“Yeah, I really gotta get going. I just wanted to say ‘hi’ since I was in the area.”

“Before you go…” She disappeared into the kitchen and returned carrying a large, deep-dish pie. “Apple. Your favorite.”

Through the lattice crust, Jed could see the chunks of apple. The smell of cinnamon made his mouth water. “Thank you, Mama.”

“You don’t be a stranger. I don’t care what Alpha Forrest says. You are welcome here any time. You’re family. You hear me?”

“Yes, Mama. Say ‘hi’ to Dad for me.”

Martha pulled her son close for one last hug, and then pressed her lips to his cheek. “You take care of yourself.”

“I will.”

After one final squeeze and a quick kiss on his mother’s cheek, Jed left the house with an apple pie in his hands and a smile on his face.

* * * *

After arriving back home at Camp Timber, Jed parked his truck next to Trey’s car. Getting out of the truck, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he took in the place that had become his home.

The pack had taken over the abandoned camp after Colton had been exiled from the Forest View Pack. Colton somehow managed to talk Alpha Forrest into selling him the land. The little town of Timber, Oregon was also included in Colton’s territory. Colton had taken their pack name from the camp and the town.

Jed didn’t regret it for a second when Colton asked him to join his pack. Of course Jed would. He’d follow Colton anywhere.

Situated along a river, near the edge of the Tillamook State Forest, the land was prime real estate to a small pack of lycans, just starting out.

The camp’s boarded up cabins were a disaster, and it took some time to get them habitable, but now the place looked great. The cabins that could be easily salvaged had been refurbished. The grounds were neat, and the common building had been repainted. Parker had planted flower boxes along the common building’s walkway, giving the area a bright splash of color, and creating a fragrant floral scent.

The pack-mates spent most of their free time in the common building. It housed a restaurant-grade kitchen and a dining hall big enough to seat the entire camp. A lounge area had been carved out of a corner of the dining hall, with sofas and chairs, as well as a big TV and a gaming system.

Walking into the common building, Jed headed straight for the kitchen to put the pie away. For just a second, he debated putting it in his own cabin’s mini fridge, and keeping all of the yummy goodness to himself, but he decided to share it. Everyone loved his mom’s pies, and they didn’t get them often enough as far as Jed was concerned.

On the way back to his cabin, Jed could hear noises and voices coming from the back, down toward the river that ran behind the camp. He cut between two of the run-down cabins that hadn’t been renovated yet and leaned against the back corner to watch his pack-mates.

Shell and Curtis were sitting on a blanket by the water’s edge. Shell was holding the swell of her enormous belly with one hand and the base of her spine with the other, looking downright uncomfortable and miserable. She looked like she was ready to bust. Curtis desperately tried to soothe her with some ice cream and other snacks from a basket. It didn’t look like it was working.

Curtis Lakewood was Shell’s mate. Shell Wilson was Parker’s best friend, and they were the last pair to join Timber Pack, after Buck the bear and his wolf mate, Stan McCoy. Jed liked Curtis. They played on the football team together in high school. Even though he was new to the school his senior year, Curtis worked well with the team and turned out to be a good wide receiver.

Jed had helped the expecting father build an addition onto their cabin. They would definitely need the extra room with the baby coming soon.

Even though Curtis had turned Shell with a mating bite, she still hadn’t shifted due to the fact she was pregnant. With each cycle of the moon, she got crankier and crankier. Having suffered through his mom’s pregnancies, Jed knew exactly how crazy a woman denied her shift got as the months progressed. Jed tried to give her as wide a berth as he could.

There was an unexpected change in the air. Jed smelled Colton before he even walked up. He turned to look at his alpha.

Colton had come straight from his training class, still wearing his deputy training uniform: navy blue cargo-style pants, and a white polo shirt with the county sheriff’s emblem and “trainee” stitched on the left breast. His beard was trimmed close, and his black hair was styled neatly. He looked quite professional. Grown up even. In that moment, Colton reminded Jed of a young Carlton Butler. Colton’s father was also a sheriff’s deputy, as well as the first beta of the Forest View Pack.

“Everything okay?” Colton asked as he clapped his hand on Jed’s shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze.

Jed nodded, steeling his features. Colton knew Jed had a doctor’s appointment today. Jed couldn’t lie to his alpha, but a little sugar coating never hurt anybody. “Great. He says my body is healing very well.”

“That’s good to hear. What else did he say?”

Shell smacked Curtis’s hand away from her as she mumbled a curse, thankfully drawing Colton’s attention.

Colton looked back at Jed and shook his head. “Be right back.”

The alpha walked up and squatted down next to Shell, and put a hand on her shoulder. The calm that washed over her was visible even from where Jed stood. Colton didn’t even have to say anything. She looked up at Colton and smiled, then turned to her mate. “I think I’ll have some of the chocolate raspberry.”

Curtis nodded, pulled the top of the pint off and gave his mate a spoon. When he leaned in and kissed her cheek, she turned to nuzzle her cheek against his.

“I love you,” Curtis whispered, and she returned the sentiment.

Parker and Trey stood on the wooden boat dock Jed had rebuilt, watching Colton’s interaction with Shell. Parker had a proud grin on his face.

Trey jumped into the water with a loud “whoop,” and then Parker did the same.

“Colton,” Parker called out. “Come race with me.”

With a grin on his face, Colton stood up and yanked his boots off, then stripped down to his underwear. Before he took off, he looked over at Jed and tipped his head, indicating for Jed to come join them.

Jed shook his head and gave what he hoped was a reasonable facsimile of a smile before turning to walk back to his cabin.