Pack Gems by Kuro Kusai, WhiteWolf Aura (free ereaders TXT) 📖

eyes to the ground and somehow managed to open the back door without looking for the handle.

"Thank you." Mason inclined his head politely to the wolf.

At least he acted civilized.

Taylor figured she'd have had to scold him by now. He must've felt guilty about Kaden getting kidnapped in his territory.

Axel's comment had been quite the low blow.

He then proceeded, unpolitely, to stuff Taylor into the car first, followed by him and Akira

.Daren rode shotgun-- which was odd considering it was an Alpha's spot but really, at the moment she was too gone to care.

With three werewolves in the backseat, it was uncomfortable at best and Taylor was trying her hardest to merely not kiss glass.

Mason noticed she didn't have any breathing room and his solution was to plop her unceremoniously into his lap.

Taylor squawked at the sudden intrusion, noticing her new placement she immediately regretted wishing she had more room.

She missed her glass wall friend that she had bonked her nose on three times from abrupt stops and sharp turns,

"What the hell?!"

"I'm giving you more room." Mason looked down at her, far too close to her face.

"By invading my personal space," Taylor snapped as the car stopped short again causing her forehead to hit Mason's jaw, "Would you freakin' drive right!"

She realized she had braced her arms against Mason's chest to help avoid further impact, with a grimace she yanked them away as if he had burnt her.

"S-sorry," The wolf driving glanced in the back briefly, flashing a pair of nervous grey eyes.

"Be nice." Mason's breath on her cheek made her look back to him.

"Me?" Taylor couldn't think of a much more coherent statement with his face so close.

Mason's eyes danced like the persistent embers of a dying fire.

His light copper hair was strewn about and fell into his eyes…it looked like he had taken a nap during the flight.

Lucky.

Glad he could relax.

Psh.

She had to get drunk.Not easy to do being a Werewolf and having an uncooperative stewardess who couldn't understand how two girls were standing and demanding for more alcohol instead of passed out cold hard in their seats.

The things she did so she could tolerate flying.

She hadn't realized she'd been scowling until Mason's hand reached out to smooth her crinkled brow.

"Personal space!"

He just gave her a slow smile, "You didn't respect my personal space when you spent the night in my bed."

"Don't say that!!" She blushed, realizing everyone in the car was turning a discreet ear in their direction, "It wasn't like that!" She tried to explain to the eavesdroppers who were too afraid to meet her eyes.

"Aw, don't be like that." Mason prodded, turning her face back to look at him so he could flash her a devious grin.

Don't be so damned charming, you bastard. She knew when she was sober it would be much easier to resist his forlorn attempts.

"You're scowling again. Do you always space out this much when you're drunk?"

Taylor tried to ignore his scent as it pounded against her senses.

It was a futile effort as her brain cataloged and picked apart the unique smell.

It was a smooth, soothing scent that wrapped around her in teasing tendrils.His scent was a rich pumpkin pie kind of smell, loaded with sharp spices and hinted with a twinge of earth, pine and fur that all Weres shared.

Before her slowly recovering mind could stop her, she spoke the simple truth,"You smell nice."

He blinked several times before breaking into a low laugh.

It was that action that caused her to realize her mistake, it became blaringly obvious as if the sentence was posted and highlighted over her head in yellow.She groaned inwardly.

"Giving me compliments?" he had recovered from his laughing fit but his voice still held great amusement, "I should get you drunk more often."

Taylor tried to focus back on the road but with each bump the car endured as it started to follow the road less traveled, her back bumped it Mason's chest. It wasn't long before Mason wrapped his arms around her front and pulled her back against him.Taylor gave a growl so low, he could have only felt it vibrate through her body.

"Shush," His arms relaxed against her stomach contently, "This is quite the drive. You might as well be comfortable."

She knew there was a reason why his point didn't matter but at that moment, she didn't care.She was warm and comfy, not wedged between a glass and an Alpha.

Taylor stretched her back against him and then proceeded to lean her head back, trying to find a comfortable body part that could be used as make-shift pillow.

She found purchase on his shoulder where she could breathe in Mason's scent without getting caught.

= Mason's POV =

"And here I thought he'd have to be dying before he got that much affection from that one." Daren laughed softly from the front seat.

"Shut up."Mason dared a small whisper that he hoped still conveyed his rage at the fact his moment was being ruined.

"I know, I thought he was going to lose it when she complimented him." Akira made googly eyes at him.

Mason lifted his lip in contempt and was just about to retaliate when Taylor's head dipped from his shoulder to under his neck.

He froze and wished he could have kept his heartbeat in check, his wolves hooted in silent laughter.

"He's gonna spike all her drinks from now on." Akira grabbed his sides from laughing so hard.

Mason ignored them as she nuzzled against his neck.Her nose breathed in deep gulps and her mouth would puff out warm little bursts of air that gave him the chills.

And it was in that moment he realized…He had it bad.And he didn't really care what they were saying at the moment.

Taylor was His.Theirs.

He corrected his thoughts as he felt his wolf—who had been quite tense among Axel's wolves— settle down peacefully.

.::. Kaden's POV.::.

"You are so out of it."

"On the contrary, I think I am perfectly okay." Kaden replied to Connor as the dark green Chevy Trail Blazer rounded a particularly sharp corner, and because she didn't have the strength to stop it, caused her head to bump against the glass.

She turned to Connor, who rode shotgun, glared and said, "This doesn't diminish the fact that I am perfectly okay."

"Yeah, sure," He sneered at her.

Kaden shot him the bird, then turned and leaned her back against the door, now facing Axel.

"So I have a question." Kaden stated.

"Shoot."

"How did they know when to come get me back in Kansas?" Her eyes were staring down at the seat between them.

She could physically feel Jordan and Connor tense, also eager to hear an answer.

Axel, heaved a heavy sigh, and turned sad eyes to her. "We don't know yet. Mason, Taylor and I narrowed it to someone in his pack. Someone who's alliance has wavered."

"So you guys don't know. Okay. How long has it been since then?"

Axel considered that question and responded with, "No more than a day and a half."

"Oh." She murmured just as the Chevy made another turn, and she once again bumped her head on the glass behind her.

"Ow!" What was up with her and head injuries?

Axel, who sat beside her in the spacious car grunted and pulled her across the seat.

"Hands off…handsy! I demand food first!"

"I have obliged several times. Who do you think paid for all the Oreos and Funyuns? Therefore, I get to be handsy," He gave her a playful grin.

"Perv! And those didn't count. I had to share with everyone."

"Oh, so what you're saying is you want me to take you out. On a date. Just you and I?" His eyes, which were back to their light emerald, twinkled with delight as he put his arm on the edge of the seat behind her head.

She turned to him, "Well, yeah. That'd be nice."

Oh shit.

Did she just say that out loud?

Damn!If she wasn't tipsy, she would never have told him what she really wanted.

Him to herself.

"Well, as soon as you're better we can--

"NO!" she exclaimed before back peddling into a more rationale tone, "…I mean, I'm uh, out of it. I have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about."

Kaden, in a desperate attempt to distract herself; tried to focus on her bond with Taylor, but not only were they both buzzed, it felt like Taylor was sleeping.

"Well, as soon as you do, we can have a nice dinner. It's the least I can do because you got hurt under my protection. For now you might as well rest."

"Psh, I'm not tired." Even she could smell the lie. Kaden was still exhausted and far from full recovery— therefore, needing as much rest as possible. It didn't help that Axel's scent reminded her of cookies—sweet and warm.

Axel looked at her, gave an exasperated sigh and made her lean into the crook of his arm.

"Axel, I don't want t-"

"Sleep, woman!" He snapped.

With one last glare up at him, she scoffed and fell asleep lulled by his scent.

l Axel's POV l

His wolf had finally regained control, and he could enjoy this moment.

Her steady breathing told him that she was no longer having nightmares.

When they had been in the orange…ish van, Kaden had started tossing and turning— followed quickly by whimpering in her sleep.

As much as he'd hated to wake her, he didn't want her to suffer anymore.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, his stomach instantly filling with butterflies.

Her face was almost healed from whatever the bastards had put on it.He stroked her soft cheek and she turned to nuzzle his hand. It was the cutest thing he'd ever seen.

She looked serene just propped up against him, sleeping like baby.It betrayed what she really was—a feisty Latina, ready to take on anyone standing in her way.

That thought made him smile.She was different.

He'd never really chased after a woman, not the way he was after her anyway.

Sure, he'd had lovers, but this one was different. Axel wanted to claim her as his, and so did his wolf counterpart.

"Hey, umm, boss? You done making kissy faces at your girl?" Connor asked amused from the front seat.

Axel shot daggers through his eyes at his second-in-command for having interrupted this rare and precious moment, "What is it you need?"

"Just curious. What's gonna happen to Audrey? I hope it's not something too bad."

"Considering she left in the middle of her shift to go get a coffee, yeah I'd say she's gonna get it bad." Axel understood he was pretty close to Audrey, they had shared a womb, but that didn't mean he would go easy on her. What she had done was irresponsible and had gotten his Kaden hurt.

Connor conceded the point and turned back around.

They would be arriving anytime now. The road they were on ended at the beginning of his estate.

There was a sign posted stating "No Trespassing: Private Property" just before the pavement gave way to a smooth dirt trail wide enough for incoming and outgoing cars to pass each other comfortably.

On the right side there was nothing but grass and trees.It looked like a public park, with benches placed against random trees— he'd meant it to be that way so his wolves could enjoy nature comfortably.

To the left there was a great lake, spotted with trees along it's edges. There was a stone trail leading from the lake back to his home, which was just a little further down.

It was a two-story Victorian style home.The front entrance had a huge arch with wooden double doors; behind the house, about a quarter of a mile back, stood hundreds of acres of woods— all belonging to him.The dirt trail gave way to a cement pool that surrounded the base of the house.

Pulling up to the house there was a red Camero, and a black Cavalier parked outside.The Camero was Andie's, while the Cavalier belonged to Connor.

Jordan steered to the left where he could park his Chevy in suit next to the others, closely followed by the Mercedes.

Everyone was about to get out of the car when he paused,"Ummm…"

How could he possibly make Kaden wake up