WOLF TAMER (Claiming My Pack Series Book 1) Read online

  She deserved to be saved. I had to save her, and my wolf felt the same. Our heart begged us to do something.

  Wolfie.

  The simple nickname held weight, a heavy aura that only pushed me to raise my head up to the moon above and howl as loudly as I could.

  I howled and howled, letting the sound float on the night sky and hoped it would reach my friends. My family.

  This girl only looked to be around five, two years younger than me, which left me even more confused and worried as to why Hunters with guns were chasing after her in the middle of the night. She can't be human.

  Or that's what I hoped. There were no female wolves in these parts. To be honest, there was no one around these parts, period. We lived in the mountains, away from the mini towns and big city. It was for our own safety. We are endangered, after all.

  "We'll wait for her to heal and see what she remembers. That wound on her head may have done a lot more damage than we think. Throwing her into the foster care system would be suicide."

  "She WILL go to foster care when she heals. We already have a deal with those packs of wolves. We're not letting that girl stay. She'll be a distraction and only bring trouble."

  "You don't know that!"

  "Shut it, Dolly! You're just defending the little twat because you've always wanted a daught-"

  The sound of Dolly's hand hitting Rogan's cheek silenced the room. I lowered my gaze to the ground, but my wolf urged me to enter the dimly lit living room. I did just that, slowly walking into their sight and up to a still trembling Dolly.

  I knew she'd be crying, upset with Rogan's words. Sam always told us not to talk about children around Dolly. Especially girls.

  It wasn't like Dolly truly couldn't have kids. She had tried a few times. All of them had been something called a miscarriage, and each one broke her heart until she stopped trying.

  Her trouble having a baby was the reason why she dedicated her life here and didn’t mingle with other adult women.

  'They ask too many questions,' Dolly would always state with a small smile on her face. I didn't want her to be sad. She was too kind to be crying. Rogan was just being the ass he always was.

  I reached out to hold Dolly's hand; she looked down with her tearful golden eyes and met my light silver ones. "I want her to stay, Dolly. She's special. My wolf likes her."

  The wolf side of me wasn't much for words. It wasn't as if I liked to talk much either, but he'd rather I do the talking unless he really had to prove a point. Dolly's sad eyes softened and she knelt to pat my head.

  "Do you like her, Ian?"

  "Yes. She has kindness in her, Dolly. Can't she stay?" I begged, staring directly into her eyes. I never asked for much. I was happy to be here, but I knew how it felt to be alone. I didn't want this girl to be alone. Especially if she was a wolf.

  "You're really going to listen to a-"

  I turned my head and, with a blink of my eyes, my wolf was in control and ready to leave a mark on Rogan to shut him up. I didn't need to move for him to stop talking, and Sam got up to walk over to us.

  "Easy with the glare," Sam instructed, trying to divert my attention from our target. Me and my wolf didn’t like Rogan at all. If we didn't get our way with this because of him, he'd wake up in a lot more pain than he'd ever imagined.

  "Ian."

  A few seconds passed before I turned to look at Dolly. Her eyes showed she understood my anger. "How about this. We'll let the girl stay here until she's healed up and can tell us if she has any family. If she does, she gets to go home."

  A frown formed on my lips and my wolf retreated to let me listen to the rest of the deal so he could analyze if it was beneficial.

  "But if she doesn't, we have to at least see if a few foster homes will take her. I don't know if she'll respond well, and if she doesn't, she can stay here. Do you understand?"

  My wolf didn't see the harm in the plan, even though I didn't want to be away from the girl. If she did have a family...I guess I'd have no choice but to let her go.

  "If...she has to go away, can we still be friends?"

  Dolly smiled, and a gentle expression formed on Sam’s face. "You sure can, kid. I think it would be a good plan since you two are close in age."

  "Doesn't sound like a good plan to me," Rogan huffed, but everyone ignored him.

  "Good. Now, you should be sleeping. You don't do well without enough sleep," Dolly pointed out.

  "Can I stay with the girl a bit longer?" I asked. "What if she has a nightmare?"

  Dolly and Sam exchanged looks. "You can stay with her, but you can't tell her you're a wolf, Ian," Sam stressed.

  "Why? Isn't she one?" I asked, giving them confused looks.

  Rogan mumbled something under his breath before he walked out of the living room and out the door, slamming it behind him. Sam shook his head and Dolly sighed.

  "I don't think she knows, Ian," Dolly admitted.

  "Like me?" I asked. When I first got here, I didn't know what I was. It was hard to adjust, but the others made it easier. It would be tough for the girl though. That's what I thought, anyway.

  "Somewhat like you, Ian. There's a problem though." Dolly pursed her lips.

  "Problem? Is she still hurt? Is she sick?" I asked, my wolf and I feeling worried something bad would happen. Sam moved to stand next to Dolly and knelt down and placed his hand on my shoulder.

  "It's difficult to explain. We won't know until we can run some tests on her, but someone did something to seal her wolf."

  "Seal her wolf! She...can't shift? Won't she die?!" I exclaimed with wide eyes. My wolf snarled in my mind. We didn't want her to die. How could someone do such a thing?

  Dolly placed a hand on my cheek and I turned my attention to her. "We don't know, Ian. We have to figure this out. Female wolves are different from males. We don't know where she's coming from or if her family were endangered wolves like you guys and were in hiding. We have to figure this out slowly, but you can't tell her what you are. You have to promise me this or she can't stay here."

  I lowered my gaze to the floor, my wolf and I trying to figure out if this was worth agreeing on. We were smart enough to understand what Dolly was saying, but it was hard to promise something like this. I didn't want to hide who I was. I really liked her. I wanted to tell the truth.

  "Ian," Sam said softly. "You'll be able to tell her one day. Just not now. If you tell her what you are and she ends up returning to her family or a new family, it puts you and the rest of the guys at risk. Do you want them to get into trouble?"

  "No," I whispered. "But...I don't want to lie."

  "You're keeping a secret to protect your new family, Ian. It's not lying. Maybe once we figure out what is going on and if this girl does end up staying with us, we can slowly introduce her to this world. For now, you have to let her adapt. She may have lost her family and friends. Let's focus on making her happy and seeing if she has anyone to return to, okay?"

  "I guess...I'll stay with her in my wolf form for now. Can I do that?" My wolf wasn't going to sleep, obviously, but maybe it would help if she woke up to us rather than a random boy in her room.

  "That's fine. If she wakes up and we aren't there, you let us know," Dolly replied with a small smile.

  "Okay. I'm going now," I announced, giving Dolly a quick hug before I waved to Sam and moved toward the stairs. I had climbed two-thirds of the way when I picked up their conversation.

  "He's fond of her already," Sam pointed out.

  "They could be mates," Dolly suggested.

  "Could be. Still doesn't add up as to why she was being Hunted. A few of the boys are scouting the area, and I'm going to go assist. There must be a blood trail. If we can find out where she ran from, we could determine if her family was murdered or not."

  "She won't do well in foster care, Sam. You know what they do to girls in these parts. She's innocent and pure. I can't allow it." Dolly's voice was thick with emotion, and I crouched down to get a peek at the two
of them.

  Sam sighed and moved to hug Dolly. "Don't cry, Doll. I'll keep my eyes on her, you hear? We just got to prove to Rogan she won't adapt well and she can stay here. We won't turn a blind eye like others have in the past."

  Dolly nodded; her quiet sobs reached my ears and made me sad. I silently made my way up the remaining stairs and down the dark hall to the last room. Opening the door slowly, I poked my head through the small space and scanned the room that was lit by the moonlight that shone through the window.

  I slipped into the room, closing the door as quietly as possible, not wanting to disturb the little girl who was fast asleep beneath the covers. I moved to her bedside and watched her little chest move as she breathed.

  Dolly had cleaned her up and put her in a nice white dress. The picture and dagger she'd been holding were on the nightstand; Dolly said earlier that if she woke up, they wanted those items nearby so she wouldn't freak out.

  None of them had touched the silver locket that was around her neck, not knowing if it was a normal necklace or an heirloom of some sort. Shifter traditions were different depending on the pack, area, and family you were raised in.

  Tampering with anything and not having the knowledge about its origin was dangerous. That's what Carter always lectured about.

  The little girl whimpered, turning slightly, which made me notice the tear that rolled down her cheek. My shoulders sank and I immediately slipped under the covers to hug her. She cried for a minute or two, still deep in sleep, before she settled once more, snuggling against me like I was a warm teddy bear.

  My wolf decided this would be the time to shift back, both of us feeling tired and figuring it would be safer to shift now rather than later.

  Shifting was super easy now, but it had been really painful before. We'd been practicing a lot lately thanks to Levi's added assistance and now it was almost like second nature. The shift was quick and the little girl didn't notice.

  She snuggled even closer to me, and a little smile formed on her lips. "Wolfie."

  If I could smile, I would be grinning from ear to ear. Her unconscious acknowledgment made me and my wolf happy and gave us peace of mind that she'd hopefully accept us.

  I knew it was selfish of us to want her to stay, hoping she didn't have anywhere else to turn to, but my heart wanted her to be here. She deserved to be here with me and maybe even the others.

  It could have been just my feelings or the fact I never had a friend who was a girl, but I silently wished for a future she'd still be in with me. Regardless of whether she had a family or not.

  Please...don't leave us.

  THREE MONTHS LATER...

  * * *

  ~HARPER~

  "Harper Blake. Five years old, suffering from amnesia and post-traumatic stress disorder. So far, she's been to six foster homes. Her recent family didn't last 24 hours before they called us to take Harper away because she was causing all kinds of ruckus. She giggles to herself and seems to talk to her 'imaginary' friend. As a professional who has dealt with many children who have experienced a tragedy as she has, my opinion is that it's going to be a lot harder for her to blend into a new family. I don't know if you'd understand, but families in these parts want a...well...normal child."

  I moved away from the door and walked over to the bed Dolly had given me to sleep on. I climbed onto the pink sheets and pulled the blankets over my head.

  "Sad."

  I twiddled with my fingers, the bandages on them only a reminder of the trouble I'd gotten into yet again. Very sad...

  I was sad. Very sad, and my imaginary friend knew it. She understood me. Could feel me. She'd been there since the day I woke up in this place.

  Three months ago, my family was killed. Mommy, Daddy, and Brother were dead, and now I was an orphan. We had no other family, and I had nowhere else to go to.

  Dolly and Sam were my "temporary parents," and I was supposed to be put into a new home. I didn't want to go anywhere else. Everywhere I went, the families were mean or did things my wolf and I didn't like.

  Family number one was too happy. Whenever the "agents" who were helping me find a new family were around, the family would have wide smiles and would be so kind to me. But the first night spent there, I slept in the basement on the cold floor and got called a doggy.

  My imaginary friend didn't like that, and she told me to get out of there. I broke the window and ran away. I don't know how I ended up back at Dolly and Sam's house, but I did, and they were surprised.

  Family number two was plain mean. One look at me and it was a "get out you mutt." I didn't know exactly what a mutt was, but my imaginary friend didn't like them either. We broke their vase which made me happy, but I did feel bad because I knew it wasn't nice to break things.

  Family three and four didn't last long either. Two weeks for each of them and again, I was back at Dolly and Sam's after having a tantrum at family three's place and having nightmares every night in family four's place.

  Family five was the longest I'd lasted--a month with them. It could have been because I was left alone in their basement while they went on vacation. I tried to be good, to obey the rules they set out for me, but being home alone was scary, and my imaginary friend told me to cry loudly all night long.

  I did just that, and a friendly police officer found me and brought me back to Dolly and Sam's. He even gave me a lollipop and told me if I ever had trouble again to find a phone and dial the number on the card he gave me.

  His name was Officer O’Neil. He was best friends with Sam and said he'd keep an eye on me. I told him about my imaginary friend, and he didn't think I was crazy like the doctors and agents thought I was. He was kind like Dolly and Sam.

  That was why when I reached family six, I called him. It wasn't because I was trapped or anything. The mommy was nice, and they didn't have any other kids. I was supposed to be their first, and the mommy made me cookies and did my hair.

  The problem was the man. He wasn't a good dad. He wanted me to do strange things, and my imaginary friend told me not to. I trusted my friend more than a strange man who wanted me to take baths with him. Just because I couldn't remember much about my family didn't mean I was stupid. If my friend told me it wasn't supposed to be that way, it wasn't, until someone I trusted said otherwise. I didn't have many people I trusted now.

  During my two week stay there, I met a kitty. She was super tiny, but I liked her. She was super active and loved to run around and play with me. I called her Muffin.

  This man wanted to take Muffin from me. He said dogs and cats didn't get along. I didn't understand. We didn't have a dog, and Muffin and I loved each other already. Even my friend loved her. If I didn't do what he asked, he'd cut Muffin's neck with the kitchen knife. I didn't think that was nice. Muffin must have been like me, staying with that family for food and water, but they didn't love her as I did. I couldn't let them kill her.

  But what the man wanted me to do was scary. I didn't want to do it. When the man was getting the bath ready, I took the wireless phone, Muffin, and some cookies from the cookie jar, and I ran away.

  It was raining and really cold out, but I didn't care. I kept Muffin in a blanket I took and found a box to hide in and called Officer O'Neil. I didn't know the place properly, but there was a pizza store opposite my box, and that was how he found me.

  That was right before a dog of some kind tried to attack me and Muffin. I fought back though, using my fingers to claw at it, and my imaginary friend helped too. Officer O'Neil came just in time when the dog tried to jump on me after I'd thrown it against the wall.

  He shot something at it and it limped away. I hoped to never see it again because it was scary. Officer O'Neil said it was a wolf, or that's what he said as he spoke on the phone to someone.

  He brought me and Muffin back here to Dolly and Sam's, and now the man was in jail. The agents said they would try again to find me a family, but I was tired. I didn't want a new family anymore. I wanted my mom, dad, and brothe
r back.

  The agent tried to talk to me, but I shouted at them. Why did I need a new family? Why couldn't I stay here? Here was safe. Dolly was nice to me. Sam was nice to me.

  I wanted to meet the little boy too. We hadn't gotten to meet yet, but he'd bring me cookies when Dolly and Sam weren't looking. We never got to introduce ourselves, but I liked him. My imaginary friend liked him too. He was good.

  Dolly, Sam, and Officer O'Neil were talking now, and I was supposed to rest. I couldn't sleep though. I didn't want to go to another family. Everyone was mean. Why would I want to go again and be called mean things or have to do weird things like taking a bath with an old man?

  I heard small scratching noises against the door. I moved out from under the blanket and walked to the door after I fixed my pink dress.

  "Muffin. Don't scratch the door. She'll know I'm here."

  I opened the door and my teal eyes locked onto a pair of silver ones. The boy was slightly taller than me, which meant I had to look up just a bit to meet his shocked gaze. He blinked those silver eyes and his face began to turn red.

  What always stood out about him was his green hair. Not really dark green like grass or light green like lettuce. It was like my eyes, a mixture of blue and green, but I didn't know the nicer name for it. Either way, it really made him stand out to have such a hair color, and his silver eyes always caught my attention.

  Another thing that caught my attention was the mark on his neck. It was pretty, having different swirls on it, but I didn't know what it meant. Either way, it made him look cool.

  He wore a grey t-shirt and Batman pajama pants, and he held a plate of chocolate chip cookies. Muffin moved to my feet, sat down, and looked up at me.

  "Meow."

  From the moment I met her, her tiny meowing made me happy. She was so tiny, and her black fur was so soft. She had pretty eyes, one of gold and one of blue. The man didn't like the cat because he called her weird. To me, her eyes were different and were what made her even more beautiful.