Protecting His Wolf: A Hot Paranormal Fantasy with Witches, Werebears, and Werewolves (Weres and Witches of Silver Lake Book 7) Read online

  Protecting His Wolf

  Weres & Witches of Silver Lake

  Book 7

  Vella Day

  Copyright © 2017 Vella Day

  Protecting His Wolf

  Copyright © 2017 by Vella Day

  Kindle Edition

  www.velladay.com

  [email protected]

  Cover Art by Jaycee DeLorenzo

  Edited by Rebecca Cartee and Carol Adcock-Bezzo

  Published in the United States of America

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-941835-32-6

  Print book ISBN: 978-1-941835-33-3

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief questions embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  Down on her luck and stranded in a town she’s never even heard of, werewolf Lexi Laramie is on the run from her enemies. Fearing all is lost, Lexi puts her trust in a mysterious and sexy stranger offering to rescue her.

  Immediately drawn to Lexi’s sexy smile and intoxicating scent, Sam Pompley knows he’d do anything to protect his destined mate. Giving her a safe place to stay is an easy remedy. As Lexi and Sam grow closer, their attraction ignites. But when Lexi’s past comes back, she refuses to put Sam’s life in danger. Will she shatter her own heart just to save the man she loves?

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  About the Book

  Epigraph

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Excerpt from Waking Her Bear

  Other Books by the Author

  About the Author

  Beneath the calm and shimmering surface lie intrigue, power, magic, and danger.

  Welcome to Silver Lake—where appearances can be deceiving, and what you see isn’t truly what lies below.

  Chapter One

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  *

  Lexi Laramie ground her teeth together. “Are you crazy? You have no right to sell me. It’s barbaric!”

  Bill Laramie lifted his hand and slapped her so hard across the face that she stumbled backward, slamming against the sharp edge of the trailer’s kitchen counter. Pain shot up her spine, but she refused to show how much his actions had hurt her, both physically and mentally.

  Lexi was so damned tempted to kill the bastard right here, right now, but she wanted him to suffer with the poor decisions he’d made in his life. Let the gambler he owed money to come after him and dole out his own brand of justice.

  Release me, her wolf begged. I can take him.

  He’s not worth it.

  Her dad was a wolf too, and while he had been strong in his youth, in his current drunk condition, he was a mere shell of a man. His once thick brown hair, now in need of a haircut, was peppered with gray. His broad shoulders were beginning to round from lack of exercise. She too had been devastated by her mom’s death, but did she go out and get drunk and gamble every night? Hell no. She mourned her mom while keeping a job.

  He raised his hand once more, but she wouldn’t let him strike her again. She swiped the blood trickling down her cheek, ready to defend herself. Could she kill him? Probably. Her Wendayan mother had imbued her with great strength and agility. Deciding to use that talent instead of her ability to shift, Lexi executed a roundhouse kick to his midsection. As expected, the old man tumbled on his ass and landed with a grunt. Lexi stood over him. “Don’t. Ever. Hit. Me. Again. You understand?” She refrained from saying what she might do if he did.

  His eyes darkened with fury as he half rolled over. “You will pay.”

  “Me?” Lexi stepped back, clenching her fists at her side. “How much money do you owe this time?”

  Her father lifted up onto his elbows. “Ten thousand dollars and he knows I don’t have that kind of cash. Justin Kapok said we’d be even as soon as I hand you over to him. And don’t think you can hide. The man has enough resources to find you no matter where you are.”

  Her stomach churned with a strong ache. Kapok was a known gangster in their wolf Clan. Months ago at a bar, he’d tried to convince her to hook up with him, and she’d said no. Apparently, that had been the wrong thing to say to such an influential man. That night he’d made it clear that his goal was to find a powerful mate to help him climb the Clan ladder—and she fit the bill perfectly. Asshat. He had bragged that once they were together, he’d have her popping out pups, one right after the other to increase the Clan’s population. She wasn’t against having a lot of kids—just not with him. For Justin, the concept of love seemed totally foreign to him.

  “What possessed you to play poker with someone of that man’s caliber?” she asked, aching in so many places, but especially in her heart.

  “He asked me to play.” Fear for his life suddenly replaced the angry lines around his eyes and mouth.

  She loomed over him again. “I’m twenty-four years old. Last time I looked, human trafficking was illegal.”

  The dim light from the one lamp in the trailer’s living room flickered, casting a sickening yellow pall over the room. Spittle dripped down her father’s chin, but he didn’t bother wiping it away. He rose to his feet, teetered, and then tapped her chest hard. “You’re my daughter. I raised you, spent money on you. I can do whatever I want with you.”

  He was delusional. “You need help. Serious help.”

  Quicker than she thought possible, Bill Laramie grabbed her arm and shook her. Lexi had had enough of being manhandled. Stealing herself against the upcoming pain, she slugged him hard, and he folded like a weak collapsible chair. Damn, her hand hurt.

  His head hit the stained carpet and his eyes rolled back in his head. He was out for the count. Good. Lexi should feel guilty that she’d had to resort to violence against her father, but if she hadn’t defended herself, no telling what he might have done next. Probably tie her up and then call Justin to come get her, and she couldn’t let that happen.

  “You shouldn’t have hit me,” she said to the unconscious man. In her mind and heart, the pitiful person on the floor was no longer the man she used to care for. The man she remembered had been clean and funny. When he wasn’t out working
one of his two jobs, he’d played with her and her brother when they were growing up. What a shame that man had left this earth long ago.

  “You are no longer my father. I’m leaving, Bill, and you will never find me.” It didn’t matter he couldn’t hear her; she needed to say it.

  Blood caused by the blow had congealed on her cheek, but right now she wasn’t worried. Her wolf would heal her soon. With a heavy heart, Lexi spun on her heels and ducked into her temporary room at the far end of the trailer. She’d been stupid to agree to move back into his filthy hole in the wall last month, but Bill had been so convincing. He told her that with her help, he could clean up his act. What a crock. The man hadn’t even tried.

  Lexi quickly packed one bag. Less than five minutes later, she was out of there, not daring to look over her shoulder. Once outside, the cold Vermont air bit into her skin, but at least it convinced her she was still alive. It was close to midnight, and even though she had excellent shifter vision, she needed the moon’s light to guide her, since her vision had blurred from the sheen of tears.

  Unfortunately, as soon as Lexi slid into her 2001 Toyota Camry and twisted the key to start the engine, she flooded it. “Come on, come on.”

  After waiting a minute, Old Betty fired up and she took off. Lexi hadn’t reached the edge of Windwood, Vermont before it occurred to her that while Bill wasn’t savvy enough to find her if she charged down south, Justin Kapok was. Damn. Credit cards would leave a trail of her travel. That meant she’d need cash.

  Slowing down, she fished her phone from her purse and dialed her brother’s number. He answered on the second ring. “What’s up, sis? Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

  “Funny.” She didn’t need to remind Ronan that her temporary teaching job had ended in December, and she hadn’t found another position yet. “Look, I’m sorry to bug you, but I really need your help.”

  *

  Sam Pompley held up his beer mug and tapped it against Connor McKinnon’s shot glass. “To a job well done,” Connor said. “Any time we take down a you-know-what, it’s a good day.”

  “Amen.” Sam tossed back his drink. Shouts from the back room echoed through McKinnon’s Pub and Pool. Someone must have won a game.

  Their case involved a Changeling who had tried to swindle one of the storeowners in town. The owner happened to be a fellow clansman of theirs, and he had immediately contacted McKinnon and Associates for help. After tailing the culprit for a few days, they’d caught the bastard with the stolen merchandise and returned it to the store. The best part was that they’d been able to bring the thief in, and he’d been arrested—not the usual end for a Changeling.

  “For me, the game changer was when you were able to get close enough to the man to do a mind meld on him,” Connor said as he set his empty glass on the bar top.

  Sam leaned back and smiled. “I can still see the guy’s face after he realized he’d led us right to the stolen compressors,” he said before draining his glass.

  Connor chuckled. “I bet the bastard will be pondering for years to come how that happened.”

  “That’s why I love what I do.”

  They both laughed. Connor waved to his brother Finn, who was tending bar. “As much as I’d love to stay out all night and talk about our company’s highlights, I have to be up early. From the sounds of the winds out there, a winter storm is rolling in, and I don’t want to get caught in it like I did that one time last winter.”

  “I thought you enjoyed romping in the snow.” Connor was a werewolf.

  “I do, but it’s not smart to attract attention in the middle of town.”

  Sam wasn’t a shifter, but he understood the need to be circumspect. “We see wild animals crossing the street from time to time. I don’t think it would attract too much attention if you hoofed it.”

  “You’d be wrong. People think bears are cute, but wolves? They’re touted as a menace to society because they eat the farmers’ chickens. It’s not like I haven’t been mistaken for a real wolf and been shot at.”

  “That would suck.”

  Finn waltzed over, and Connor slapped a twenty on the bar. “You leaving so soon?” Finn asked.

  “Work calls or rather my bed calls. This should cover both our drinks. Keep the change, little brother.”

  Finn grinned. “Thanks.”

  “You didn’t have to do that,” Sam said.

  Connor clasped a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “You deserved it after helping catch that thief.”

  Sam slid off his stool. Both of them had parked in the alley in back because all the close spaces up in front had been taken. Bad weather always brought people inside. As they stepped out back, a strong blast of wind snaked up Sam’s jacket, forcing him to button up. A scraping sound in the direction of the dumpster caught his attention. “What’s that?” he asked.

  “I sense a shifter.” Connor stopped, looked around, and then headed in the direction of the noise.

  The wind whipped around the alley, lifting the snow covering the ground and shooting swirls into the air. Unfortunately, the fresh air wasn’t enough to mask the stench of the trash. Sam caught up with Connor just as he lifted the lid of the big trash bin.

  “What the hell?” Connor said. “It’s a female wolf. At least she’s small enough to be one.”

  Sam peeked in. A small wolf was inside, her face smudged with some kind of food goo. Her eyes widened, and then a low throaty growl escaped. While Sam wasn’t a shifter, he knew that werewolves or any kind of shifters didn’t dumpster dive. “What are you doing in there?” he asked, knowing full well he wouldn’t receive a response.

  Connor nudged him. “She’s obviously hungry.”

  That much Sam had figured out. During his many tours in Afghanistan, he’d seen hunger, and it tore at his heart every time. He addressed the pretty wolf with the gold and brown snout. “If you shift, I’ll buy you dinner.”

  The wolf shivered and then bared her teeth in a highly aggressive manner. Not to be deterred, Sam edge closer, and the poor creature backed up despite having little room to maneuver. While he was no shifter expert, from her body language, he could tell the poor thing was scared.

  “If she shifts, she’ll be naked, and I doubt she’ll like that,” Connor said.

  Sam hadn’t been thinking. He whipped off his jacket and placed it on the rim of the dumpster, trying to ignore the brutal cold seeping into his skin. “Put this on and then come out.”

  He nodded at Connor that they give her some privacy, and they then jogged back to their respective vehicles. As Sam unlocked and then slipped into his four-door truck, the jacket disappeared. He started the engine and turned the heat to high, watching and waiting. A minute later, a petite woman crawled out wearing his camouflaged wool Pea Coat. The fabric covered her butt, but not much else, causing something inside him to spark. What the heck was that about? Okay, those legs of hers were attractive, but enough for a blue spark to fly off his hand?

  She darted down the alley to an old Toyota Camry, and he winced at what it would be like running barefoot. While it was lightly covered in snow, rocks protruded randomly, making the way painful. Their dumpster girl, however, acted as if she was moving across a soft carpet. When she reached her car, she grabbed a handful of snow and rubbed it over her face to clean it. Once she finished doing the same to her hands, she jumped in the back of her car, hopefully to change.

  A few minutes later, a knock sounded on his window. The woman was holding out his jacket. Instead of lowering his window, he pushed open the door, and she jumped back.

  “Thank you,” she said before turning away.

  Sam snatched his coat, slipped his arms in the sleeves, and jerked it up and over his shoulders. “Wait. My offer still stands to buy you dinner.”

  She shook her head. “I’m not fit company.”

  Connor’s door eased open, and he stood next to his car.

  “Where are you staying?” Sam asked in as non-threatening a tone as possible, hoping she didn�
�t say her car.

  She wrapped her arms around her shoulders and rubbed them. Thankfully, she wore a down jacket and a wool cap. “I’m just passing through.”

  “That didn’t answer my question. You have to sleep somewhere.” If she owned a car, why was she looking for food in a dumpster? Her speech sounded educated, so she probably wasn’t a thief. “Do you need any money?” Sam pulled out his wallet and extracted the only two bills in there. “Here’s forty bucks. Go buy yourself some food.”

  “I can’t. Thank you though.”

  Before he could stop her, she ran off and hopped into her car. Normally, he would have shrugged, content that he’d tried to help, but something about this delicate creature spoke to him. He refused to address how his sexual interest had flared. It must have been that second beer he’d had.

  “What’s she doing?” Connor asked as he stepped next to him.

  “Leaving, I guess. I tried to give her money, but she wouldn’t take it.” Her engine sputtered, and then the car chugged a few feet and died. She slapped her hand on the dash then lowered her forehead to the wheel.

  “I’m going to see if she needs help,” Sam said.

  Connor reached out to stop him. “Let her come to you. It’s less intimidating for her that way.”

  His friend had a point. “I’ll give her a few minutes, and then I’m stepping in.” While he hadn’t been a mechanic in the service, he knew his way around a car engine.

  They returned to their warm vehicles and waited. Sure enough, five minutes later, their little dumpster girl stepped out from her car, the wind buffeting her so much she had to battle against it.

  As much as Sam wanted to shield her from the weather, he believed what Connor said; their little wolf needed to approach them. This time when she knocked on Sam’s window, he rolled it down. “Change your mind?”

  “Kind of, since my car seems to have run out of gas.”

  He didn’t need to ask why she didn’t buy some more. “The offer for money still stands.”