Wolf in the Night

  Published by EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ® at Smashwords

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2022 N.J. Walters

  ISBN: 978-0-3695-0627-6

  Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

  Editor: Jessica Ruth

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  I’ve been on a journey with the Salvation Pack for more than a decade. Each book, each story has been a labor of love. But like every amazing journey, there has to be an end.

  Thank you to all my readers who have embraced the original Salvation Pack and continued to ask for more. Your devotion to this series and this pack has touched my heart. It’s what drove me to write the Next Generation series.

  The release of any book takes a lot of work. Thank you to my editor, Jessica Ruth, and the incredible team at Evernight Publishing for giving me the opportunity to bring this spin-off series to life.

  WOLF IN THE NIGHT

  Salvation Pack: The Next Generation, 5

  N.J. Walters

  Copyright © 2022

  Chapter One

  “I can’t get no satisfaction.” Emma Matheson drummed her fingers against the steering wheel of her ten-year-old pickup, tapping out the beat as she belted out the old Rolling Stones classic.

  “They got that right,” she muttered. Pretty bad when the only action a healthy twenty-five-year-old got was from her battery operated boyfriend.

  In her defense, it wasn’t easy to date—let alone indulge in a booty call—not while living at home. Which was the reason she was on the road at—she glanced at the clock in the dash—nearly midnight. She’d volunteered to take the overnight trip to deliver a piece of custom furniture, with every intention of remedying the problem.

  She’d checked into her motel and gone to a bar to have dinner and scope out the local action. After two hours of being hit on by six men and one woman, she’d thrown in the towel.

  There hadn’t been one single spark among the bunch.

  After all her plotting and planning—all the lobbying she’d done to convince her family she could handle this trip on her own—turned out, she wasn’t a one-night-stand kinda girl. Go figure.

  “Time to face the facts,” she announced to the empty truck cab. “I’m going to die a virgin.” Right on cue, Madonna broke into “Like a Virgin.” Snorting, Emma switched to the next song on her playlist, which happened to be a classical piece.

  Her taste in music was eclectic. It ran the gamut of early rock—Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry—all the way to Foo Fighters and Billie Eilish and everything in-between. It was all thanks to her parents’ influence. They’d been older when they’d met and mated. Long past the age where they’d been thinking about children. Surprise!

  She had brothers who’d been mated when she’d made her appearance in the world. Hell, she had nephews older than her.

  If she’d been human, she’d be visiting her folks in a retirement home.

  Fighting a grin, she grabbed her coffee and took a long swallow. Trying to imagine her active mother and big, strong father ever slowing down was impossible.

  Thanks to werewolf genetics, they were blessed with the gift of long life—twice that of humans. So while her folks were skimming ninety, they both looked like they were in their late forties.

  She made a face at her lukewarm coffee and set it back in the holder. Should have opted for a Coke when she’d stopped to gas up the truck. She rolled her shoulders and cracked the window to allow the cold air to flow in.

  “I should have stayed at the motel.” The sound of her voice helped drive back the exhaustion pulling at her. “That would have been the smart thing to do.” She’d been on the road before it was light this morning, eager to get her journey started. Now all she wanted was to fall into her own bed.

  A yawn caught her unawares, her mouth opening so wide her jaw made a cracking sound. “This is stupid.” But once she’d figured out sex wasn’t on the agenda for tonight, she’d wanted to go home. In hindsight, the entire idea seemed tawdry.

  “What was I thinking?” That she was horny, for one thing. Her need to be rid of her stupid virginity had overridden her common sense. It was one thing to use a vibrator in the privacy of her bedroom, another to have sex with an actual living, breathing person. “I thought I’d walk into a bar, talk to a guy for a few minutes, and take him back to my motel.”

  Not her finest moment.

  Glassy eyes flashed on the right-hand side of the road. She eased up on the gas and passed the two deer without incident. If her father had any idea she was driving this time of night, he’d lose his mind. As it was, she was in for a lecture about safety.

  At least the roads were clear. It was late March, the temperature just above freezing. Excellent conditions.

  “Another hour.” She could make it. Maybe she’d get up early and cook breakfast for her folks. Assuming she could sneak past them tonight, which was nothing more than wishful thinking. No one got by her dad.

  Crash!

  The impact snapped her head forward. The seatbelt pulled tight, preventing her from catapulting through the windshield. Her phone and coffee flew through the air. Her purse upended on the floor. The tail of her truck spun.

  Gripping the wheel, she hung on as she slid off the road. Just before the front end slammed into a tree, she raised her arms to cover her face. The airbag deployed. Metal crunched. Her head struck the side window. The tree trunk snapped and fell partially on the bonnet.

  The silence in the aftermath was deafening.

  Blinking several times, she lowered her arms and took stock of the situation. What the hell had happened? “You’re okay.” Her voice sounded hollow and distant. Her ears rang. Maybe she wasn’t totally okay, but she was alive and in one piece.

  Fingers shaking, it took three tries to unlatch the seat belt. Before she could shove at the door, it was ripped open. A large male filled her vision. She jerked back when he reached for her.

  Ignoring her attempt to get away, he leaned closer. “I saw you go off the road. Are you okay?”

  “I think so.” She rubbed her temple, not surprised when her fingers came back bloody. Her head had taken a hard whack. The rush of adrenaline had her stomach churning and her limbs trembling. “Did you see what happened?”

  He hesitated the briefest of seconds. “No.”

  Inside, her wolf began to growl. While she was tired, she’d still been aware. And right now, she’d swear on her life that there hadn’t been anyone behind her. She would have seen the headlights. Had he been driving toward her?

  Shaken, Emma wasn’t thinking straight, but something about this guy didn’t sit right. He was big and tall with brown hair. The way he was invading her personal space was making her uncomfortable.

  “You need to take a step back.” Where was her phone? She wanted to look for it but didn’t dare take her eyes off him. Her wolf didn’t like him. Not one bit.

  One corner of his mouth edged upward. The expression in his eyes went from concerned to calculating. “Now why would I do that, sweetheart, when I worked so hard to get your attention?”

  Acting on instinct, she swiveled, leading with her fist. He howled when it made contact with his nose. Ignoring the sting in her knuckles and sharp pain in her ribs, she turned her entire body and kicked out with both feet. She
barely missed his balls, catching him in the thigh. When he stumbled back, she slid out of the truck. Her legs buckled, but she grabbed the doorframe and pushed off, heading for the woods.

  Whoever he was, whatever his intentions, she wasn’t about to hang around and find out.

  “You bitch.” He gave a long, low whistle. “Don’t make us chase you.”

  Us? Oh, God, he wasn’t alone. Her head ached. Probably a slight concussion. Her ribs might be cracked, but that wasn’t serious. Wolves were notoriously hard to kill and healed quickly.

  The first howl had the fine hair on the back of her neck standing on end. The second one knotted her stomach. These men weren’t human. They were wolves, like her.

  Running would do her no good. They’d chase her down like prey. Probably enjoy every minute of it. Putting her back to the thick trunk of an oak tree, she took a deep breath and tried to calm her ragged breathing. “What do you want?” If she could figure that out, maybe she could brazen her way out of this. If not, maybe she could figure out a way around them. She’d have to steal their vehicle, since hers wasn’t going anywhere without the help of a tow truck.

  “What do I want?” The voice came from off to her right. “I figured the answer was pretty clear. I want you.” His eyes flashed as he stepped into view. It was a clear night, the moon bright. Even without that, her preternatural vision would have allowed her to see him.

  “I don’t know you.” Her heart was beating a mile a minute, thumping so hard her chest hurt. Or maybe that was her ribs trying to mend.

  “But we know you.” Three more imposing men, big and silent, appeared behind him.

  “You ran me off the road? You could have killed me. Are you out of your damn mind?” Fury was beginning to override caution and fear.

  His growl vibrated in the still night. “Watch yourself, girl. He wants you alive, but it’s a long journey home. You’d heal from a beating before we get there.”

  A cold shiver raced down her spine. Who were these people?

  “Besides, I was careful. I hit the back of your truck. Not the front. We followed you from your motel. We’d planned to take you from there, but you skipped out.”

  She didn’t know what would have been worse, having them grab her there or what she was dealing with now. Back at the motel, there would have been people and possible help. Here she was totally alone.

  She could fight. Her father had made damn sure she was trained and could defend herself. Against one wolf, she’d have a chance. If these men were human, she’d lose them in the woods. But four male wolves? She was screwed.

  “Passed you when you stopped in at the gas station. Took us a while to find the perfect place to ambush you.”

  This wasn’t a whim. This had been planned all the way. “Why? I don’t know you. I’m no one special.” None of this made any sense.

  “Oh, that’s where you’re wrong.” The brown-haired male, the one who seemed to be their leader, took a step toward her. “You’re Mikhail Matheson’s daughter.”

  “That’s right.” Pride had her chin tilting up. She refused to be cowed by the likes of him. “Who wants me? Who sent you?”

  The smile was cruel. “Gregor Gribkov, his former alpha.”

  ****

  Dmitri Gribkov scanned both sides of the road as he drove. His foot pushed down on the gas pedal. The speedometer inched up to eighty. The powerful truck surged forward. He could go faster but didn’t want to risk missing his target.

  “Where the fuck are they?” He’d tracked Ivan Volkov and his crew all the way to the North Carolina border. It had taken almost twenty-four hours for word to reach him that they’d gone on this crazy mission for their alpha. That gave them a full day’s head start, but he’d only been one step behind them the entire way.

  His wolf growled, ready to track and hunt. He’d thought he understood the depths of his father’s hatred. Obviously, he’d been mistaken.

  This latest stunt was a desperate one. Not to mention dangerous. Before he could continue that line of thought, he caught a glimpse of mangled metal just off the road. Another truck was parked further up on the shoulder. He pulled in around it. The front fender was damaged. “Fuck!” They’d deliberately forced the other vehicle off the road.

  Before his truck had finished rocking to a stop, he was out and running, a sense of urgency propelling him forward. He cleared the distance to the wreck in a single leap. The metallic scent of metal and blood filled his nostrils, along with another he knew well. “Ivan,” he muttered. The chase was over. He’d found them.

  A hint of light floral tickled his senses. Not perfume. Not strong enough. Maybe soap. It reminded him of summer. The sight of an upended purse made his stomach clench.

  He slipped off his clothes and embraced his wolf. Fur pushed out from beneath his skin as his limbs contracted and reformed. His head flattened. His jaw elongated, teeth becoming sharp fangs. On silent, claw-tipped paws, he loped forward and began to track his prey. It wasn’t difficult. They weren’t trying to hide.

  Voices pinpointed the location. Keeping downwind, he eased closer.

  A woman stood with her back to a tree. She was about five ten, her build lean. Blood stained her forehead. Her T-shirt had a tear near the neck. It and her jeans were covered in a pale dust, likely from the airbag. Ivan and his crew—Boris, Luka, and Pavel—spread around her, blocking any escape.

  He knew who she was, who she had to be—Emmaline Mikhala Matheson. The woman his father, the alpha of the Sitka Pack, was obsessed with.

  He clamped his jaw tight to keep from growling. As he’d done his entire life, he channeled his fury, using it to center him.

  “What does my father have to do with this?” Her voice washed over him, ruffling his fur like a physical caress. It was husky with the slightest of trembles. His wolf chuffed, interest piqued.

  She might be outnumbered, but there was nothing subservient or reticent about this female. Her green eyes glittered with anger. He raised his nose into the air and caught the stench of sweat and fear on the breeze. She might be afraid, but she wasn’t backing down.

  Everything inside stilled. His wolf stretched toward her, yearning to be nearer. He yanked the beast back under control. Usually, they were in total accord when they hunted, the two of them seamlessly working as one deadly killing machine.

  This woman was trouble.

  It would be easy to walk away. His fate didn’t have to be tied to hers—no matter what his father wanted. Dmitri could lose himself in the wilds of Alaska or slip over the border to Canada. If it came to it, he could go back to the land of his ancestors. Siberia was nice this time of year.

  His wolf dug his claws into the ground, his entire body quivering. The message was clear—walking away was not an option. Not that it ever had been. No way could he leave an innocent woman with Ivan. Not if he wanted to be able to look at himself in the mirror every morning for the rest of his life. People feared Ivan for a reason. He liked to hurt people, to throw his power and weight around against those weaker. He took sadistic pleasure in punishing those who offended him in any way.

  “Mikhail Matheson killed the alpha’s brother. He left his pack and family behind without a backward glance.”

  Another thing about Ivan—he liked to talk. Or rather, he liked people to listen, to impress upon them his importance. Personally, he thought the man was too fond of the sound of his own voice.

  Since this was a story Dmitri had heard a thousand times before, he made a wide circle around the group, coming up behind the male furthest away from the action. Between one breath and the next, he shifted back to human, slapped his big hand over Luka’s mouth, lifted him off his feet, and faded into the darkness.

  His prey stilled. He damn well knew who had him. Was aware how easily Dmitri could kill him. He adjusted his hold, wrapped his thick forearm around the male’s neck, and applied pressure. Not enough to kill but to incapacitate. Luka didn’t even try to fight. Maybe there was hope for him yet.

/>   He’d grown up with Luka Petrov, had eaten meals at his family’s home. For the sake of that childhood memory, he spared him. Not to mention, the shitstorm it would bring down on him if he started killing members of his own pack.

  “They were cowards. They waited until my dad was gone to try to force my aunt to mate. They banished her. She ran and never looked back.”

  The way she stood up for her family spoke well of her. And she was right. It had been a cowardly act. He’d come to the same conclusion when he was still a kid. From a young age, he’d had no illusions about the male who’d sired him. His father had wanted the Gribkov family line linked to the Mathesons through mating. Didn’t matter to him if the woman was willing or not. Gregor was single-minded when it came to getting his own way. It rarely occurred to him that others might object. He was shocked when it happened.

  “Rina Matheson’s purpose in life was to mate with the male her father and alpha chose. It wasn’t her brother’s place to interfere.” Ivan gripped her chin, his fingers digging into her skin. It would leave bruises. They’d heal, but in the meantime, they’d hurt.

  The other two were so intent on the drama unfolding before them, they hadn’t missed Luka yet. Dmitri slid up behind Boris. He choked him until he lost consciousness and lowered him to the ground.

  “My father loves his sister. Aunt Rina found her mate. One who loves and cherishes her.”

  “Weak.” Ivan leaned down until his lips were a hairsbreadth from hers. “A real male takes what he wants, what belongs to him.”

  If he kisses her, I’ll have to kill him.

  “If you think he’s weak, why don’t you follow me home? I’m sure my father would love to prove otherwise, but you’re afraid of him, aren’t you.”