Chapter 1
The Tulsa Pack
Things had certainly changed a lot since the thirties. Not everyone agreed if it was for the better or the worse. His pack had flourished, most members owned businesses of some sort or worked for those owned by the pack. He’d sent some of his males, the ones that had been with him from the start, to college. Cade was a lawyer, sharp as a tack once he’d decided it was what he wanted to do. Grant, the quiet one that looked out for everyone was the pack doctor.
Harvey had become an accountant. He’d been the youngest of the originals and the most serious. Jack was his mechanic, he ran the pack’s garage which did both mechanical and body work. Jack was a genius when working with anything with a motor. His beta, Tanner, well, being beta was a full time job. He oversaw the security and enforced pack as well as council law. He headed the pack enforcers, they had a dozen or more at any given time.
The pack had grown into one of the largest around. JC didn’t like assholes which many of the alphas of the smaller packs in his area had been. As new members joined giving information about alphas that did heinous things, the council had encouraged him to take those alphas out. Rogues or renegades had swelled his ranks from all over the country when they heard he was fair to everyone.
It didn’t hurt that the pack itself was wealthy. They didn’t need money from their members to support them. JC loved the ladies, but he would never force one as so many other alphas had done. Someday he hoped to find a she wolf to make him whole, but he’d wait to mate until that happened. Meanwhile he ran his bar, it catered to supernaturals. Wolf Springs, the surrounding town was magically warded so most humans couldn’t find it.
His pack pretty much ran itself most of the time. His members were happy. Everyone knew happy wolves were easy to handle. They did their full moon runs once a month and celebrated all the appropriate holidays. JC went before the council once a year to inform them of whatever they thought they needed to know. Their pack had treated with many packs, even the St. Louis pack now that it had a decent alpha.
JC had to admit life was good. If he missed having a mate with a couple of pups, well right now he had the single life. Mitzy, his main squeeze for now, thought he’d change his mind and mate her. Never going to happen, he’d told her so but she ignored him. She was hot, but she could be a real bitch, no pun intended. When he found his mate someday, he wanted someone with a sweeter disposition.
She needed to be kind as well as sympathetic to the females of the pack. Yeah, Mitzy would never do. He ought to send her on her way, but he was too lazy to hunt a replacement. She was also a good waitress, reliable and efficient. The males liked her, but the females not so much. The bitch was nicer to the males because she liked her tips. It was time to sever their relationship.
The female in question walked by as it was closing time. She put a little extra swing into her walk. Maybe one more night together. Mitzy knew how to scratch his itch. That might sound animalistic, but he was a wolf and so was she.
The next day was back to work as usual. “Hey, Boss. I needed to talk to you. As I’m sure you are aware, I was seeing Donita.” Tanner said.
“My bartender? Yeah, I heard something about that.” JC admitted. He wasn’t liking the way things were sounding.
“We split. She just packed up moving across the country to Washington State. I figure she didn’t give you notice.”
“You’re right about that.” JC observed. He could get mad chewing Tanner out for dating an employee, but he was doing the same thing. “I guess we’ll put Sheila in until we find someone else.”
“Sheila? Are you sure?” Tanner asked.
Sheila wasn’t the best, that was for damn sure, but she was all they had. “Slim pickings around here. Start putting the word out so we won’t have to use her for long.” At least he hoped they found someone else.
“Sure thing.”
JC poured himself a cold one. It didn’t look like Tanner was going anywhere so he poured one for him too. “Something else on your mind?”
“You ever wonder if we’ll ever find our fated mates.”
“I may have thought about it once or twice.”
“So what do you think?”
“The goddess will send them to us when she’s ready. Nothing we do will speed it up. Best thing we can do is enjoy the time we have as single males. Drink good alcohol and ride some wild females. That’s what I intend to do.” His eyes moved to Mitzy.
“You know she thinks you’ll mate her.” Tanner offered.
“I’ve told her countless times it will never happen.” Mitzy looked up smiling at him. The gleam in her eyes was obvious even from here.
Tanner snorted. “I see she’s taking you seriously. Find a new bartender before you tell her you’re through. Once you do, she’ll be outta here. Then you’ll be short a bartender and a lead waitress.”
“Is that what happened with Donita?”
“Yep. First she giggled, she thought I was joking, as if. What kind of male jokes about that? Then she started crying. Finally she got pissed and started throwing things. Broke half my dishes and nearly took my head off.”
“Were you honest with her up front?” JC asked.
“I certainly was. A little bit of fun I said. Let’s not take any of it serious I said. We both have fated mates out there I said.”
“Well, what did she say?”
“It’ll fill in the time with some fun, she said. She knew better than to take a male with my reputation seriously, she said. Donita is too smart to fall into that trap, she said. You think every female will fall in love with you so I’ll show you that’s not so, she said.”
“Did she say what changed?”
“You stayed so long, she said. I thought I meant something to you, she said. You never even looked at the other females, she said. You bought me flowers, she said.”
‘You bought her flowers?”
“I did not. That one was your fault.”
“Mine? I didn’t buy her any flowers.”
“Mitzy wanted flowers for the tables on Valentines. Red roses to symbolize romance since many of the mated males brought their females for the event we had. You remember, steaks and strawberry marguerites?”
“Yeah, we made a killing. How is that buying her flowers?”
“There were some leftover because you took out half a dozen tables to make a dance floor. Donita was the one who put the flowers on the table. When she saw some were leftover, she grabbed them and jumped in my arms. ‘Can I have these?’ She asked. ‘I don’t care what happens to them.’ I told her.”
“You’re kidding?” JC asked his beta.
“No, why does everyone think I’ve suddenly developed a damn sense of humor?” Tanner asked.
“Females are crazy. She thought letting her keep leftover flowers was a romantic gesture?” Now he began to think about anything he might have done that Mitzy had taken wrong.
There were so many things. She’d gotten her best bonus ever last year. It was because she was that good, but had she misconstrued it? Last winter when the snow was bad he’d let her stay in the rooms upstairs because she had a long drive in bad weather. No one was using the room anyway. It also meant he could be sure she’d be there to cover her job.
He’d bought her countless meals, of course he’d bought them for the whole staff whenever they did really well and worked hard. JC had bought her a uniform, along with the other staff. There’d also been flowers used as Christmas decorations he’d let her take them home afterwards. Fuck! So many little things he’d thought nothing of, but would she twist them into romantic nonsense?
It was time to stop putting off the breakup. Good sex wasn’t enough to keep the relationship going. Not that it was a relationship. It was a convenient arrangement that didn’t seem so convenient anymore.
“Just look for a replacement for Donita.”
“What if she changes her mind then wants to come back?” Tanner asked.
“She quit, left the bar high and dry because her sex life didn’t work out the way she wanted. Stamp her file not to rehire. I can’t abide drama or someone that can’t manage their private life.”
Tanner looked relieved. JC didn’t blame him. A female that didn’t know when to let go was too much trouble. Donita had done them all a favor by leaving. Some might feel he was cold, but personal business had no place in his business. Donita was a good bartender, she would get another job easily. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt her chances of getting another job. JC didn’t believe in being petty.
Looking around the bar, he noticed it was packed. Trey was tending bar. The guy was one of Jack’s mechanics, but he liked money so he worked other jobs at night. He covered the bar on the two nights a week Donita was off. Maybe he could talk Jack into covering one more night a week, at least until they found someone. The guy was a workaholic. He worked four other nights at the bowling alley leaving only one night free. That night he usually got a female and did the dirty.
He could still do that after work if he covered the bar that night. Bartenders made good tips here. Donita had done better, but males tended to be the best tippers and Donita was a hot she-wolf. She knew just how to work the customers to get the best tips. Now a new bartender could learn to wring the best tips out of the customers. There was little doubt she would want to comeback when she missed the good pay she made here, but that door was closed.
JC spoke with his beta a little longer while they waited for the rest of the inner circle to arrive. He was the alpha, but it took more than a leader to run a pack. Tanner was his second. He’d been his right hand male since the day he’d organized his club.
They got quiet as Tanner stood pacing away from him. He wore the black leather jacket all the club members wore. The club name, Ravenous Wolves, was on the back with a picture of black wolves howling at the moon, their fangs dripping with saliva as they prepared for the hunt. It symbolized his group at the time. Not just the club, but the small pack he’d organized. The club was still made up of the hungry hunters, but the pack had gone through a major metamorphosis.
Where there had only been unmated males, now there were families as well. Females, children, fathers, but none of his original members had mated. The families had all been added as rogues joined their ranks and he defeated small pack alphas that didn’t take care of their people.
A lot of alphas were challenged all the time. He rarely was because the fight would be fast and brutal. JC had no time to play around with would be warriors who thought they were better than him. It was hard to say how large his pack was because members stretched out all the way to the borders with only around twenty-five percent of the pack living right here on pack lands.
That was part of what this meeting was about. The council wanted numbers and names. Why was hard to say, but he’d learned early to avoid trouble with them. Give them what they want or as close to it as he could. It used to be the most corrupt group of wolves anywhere, but recent changes had been kind to the wolves. Good males like Damon McDougal had gotten inside where they could make changes for the betterment of all their kind.
There were still some bad apples hiding in the shadows, but things were so much better. The money they now paid into the council was much less likely to line someone’s pocket and more likely to go where it was needed. As an alpha, he didn’t mind paying his share if it was used properly. He and his pack did a lot of good without much help from the council. If he was honest, they’d ask for his help, but he didn’t really need theirs. It didn’t hurt to keep them happy, just in case.
The council was the one that handled human law enforcement for their members. They were supposed to help with any legal matters the wolves needed help with. His pack didn’t need their help, they had Cade. His number three often helped the council, but they never helped back.
His number four was the pack healer. Grant had gone to college to learn healing from the humans then he’d stayed among the witches to learn supernatural healing. The male had turned out to be a natural. The pack had several nurses and medics because their small hospital was in high demand. It wasn’t just the members of their own pack, but people came from all over to be healed by him.
There were so many patients, they’d expanded several times and the hospital actually made money for the pack. Other healers wanted to come here to learn from Grant so they’d started a small private college that Grant was president of. JC didn’t know much about it and as long as it broke even, he didn’t care. The pack made money from the apartments they rented the students and the other things they bought locally.
Harvey was their accountant. He was five in pack hierarchy. Some upstart might think he was an easy target to get their rank from, but he was no pushover. When the suit came off, the muscles were easily visible. The pack owned an accounting firm Harvey ran for them. They only took the best and the brightest. Accounting degrees were available at their college so he had first choice of top students there.
Jack the mechanic was number six. He was a great guy, but he looked like a brawler. Probably because he was. Sometimes he filled in as a bouncer because he just loved knocking heads together so much. His biggest disappointment was a night without a fight. He ran the packs huge garage. They had ten bays that they used to work on customers repairs, but two extra bays where Jack restored antique cars. His cars always sold high and were in demand. It was impossible to put them out faster than he could sell them. Pack got the first shot at buying them when they were finished in order of pack rank. JC would buy them all if he could. That’s how great they were.
The other guys wandered in one at a time until they were finally all present. Some meetings were top ten, but most were just the six of them. “So what do we have to discuss at this meeting, Tanner?”
Tanner looked up like he’d been caught off guard. “Me?”
“You called the meeting, didn’t you?” JC asked.
“Yeah, but Cade’s the one that wanted it.”
All eyes turned toward Cade. “The council wants an updated list of all pack members.”
“We already knew that.” JC observed.
“They want it by Monday.” Cade explained,
“How do they think we can get it that quick?” JC asked.
“They don’t seem to realize how hard it is or maybe they don’t care.” Cade noted.
“Did you talk to Damon?” JC asked.
“He’s not available. Some kind of family situation.” Cade observed.
“I hope it’s not the kids.” JC declared.
“It’s extended family. They volunteered that much.” Cade offered.
“We’ll do our best. What else?” JC asked.
“Tyne wants to talk to you.” Cade said.
“Tyne Wolf?” JC asked.
“The one and only. I’ve never heard of anyone else with that first name.” Cade admitted.
“What’s he want?” JC asked.
“Don’t know. He wanted to discuss it with you.” Cade observed.
“Okay, I’ll call him after the meeting. Now I need some help finding a bartender and a waitress.” JC instructed.
“You two finally moved on?” Jack teased with a smirk.
“I don’t know what you mean.” JC declared.
“You and Tanner have been messing with the help. I’ve been expecting trouble for a while.” Jack observed.
“Tanner and Donita parted ways. I’m waiting until we have a bartender to break the news to Mitzy.” JC admitted.
“Warn us so we can stay home that night.” Grant advised.
“It won’t be that bad. I was honest with her.” JC insisted.
“Won’t make no difference. You’re going to be on the receiving end of hell unleashed.
“Mitzy is a reasonable person.” JC observed.
“Since when? If that’s true, why the extra waitress?” Harvey asked.
Well he had him there. “Better safe than sorry?” JC hoped.
“I need to go to supervise the census takers.” Cade informed.
“You do that. We need to keep the council happy.” JC noted.
“Since when?” Cade asked.
“We always try to keep them happy. Not our fault they’re unreasonable.” JC informed.
Cade left with Grant heading back to the hospital soon after. Harvey went next, but he was probably helping with the census since he kept tabs on a lot of numbers. “So what do you think Tyne wants?” Jack asked.
“Don’t know. As soon as your nosy ass leaves, I’ll call him and find out.” JC admitted.
Jack let out a very unwolflike snort. He jumped up heading toward the door as he shot twin birds behind his back toward JC. “That’s just rude.” JC said as Jack chuckled while he walked away.
JC picked up his cell phone. He didn’t talk to Tyne much these days, but they’d been pretty close years ago. He’d helped JC with the pack when he’d first got it going. A spot had been his if he’d wanted it, but he refused. The male had big plans and while it had taken him some time, he’d finally built a well-known security business. That business was number one with supernaturals. It made him wonder if it was anything related to that.
Hitting the button, he listened to the phone ring. “Tyne speaking.’
“Hello. This is JC, Cade said you needed me to call.”
“Good to hear from you, Man. How long has it been this time?”
“About ten years, but who is counting?”
Tyne chuckled. “You are apparently. I need to bring my mate with me to come by to see you.”
“You’re mated?” JC asked stunned.
“Yeah, Moe is one hell of a gal.”
“Human?”
“White wolf. She changed and is expecting the first pup soon. They’re having a baby shower in the other room. I have to thank you for calling when you did. She made me stay while they were playing games.”
He could almost hear Tyne shudder. “She made you?”
“Fated mates have their own type of power over a male. Someday you’ll understand.”
“Okay.” JC wasn’t so sure about that. “So what’s going on?”
“There’s a girl, a friend of my mate. She’s in some trouble making her need a place to lie low.”
“You want me to take her? She got any skills? Can she waitress?” JC asked.
“I suppose she can, but she’s a hell of a bartender. She put her way through college that way. It’s just for maybe three months or so.” Tyne guessed.
“Send her to me. I have an opening for a bartender. There’s a room upstairs she can stay in until something else is found. She better be as good as you say.” JC was sure she had to be better than Sheila no matter how bad she was.
“I’ll let her know. Her name is Destiny, parents are hippies. Could you text me the address? It’s been a long time.”
“Just did. Did you get it?”
“Got it. Thanks buddy. You know you could come here to see me. I’d even introduce you to the white wolf.”
“You know Ariel?”
“We’re family. She lives just down the road. Her mate and I were army buddies. Blake, he’s one hell of an alpha.”
“I might take you up on that. I’ve always been curious about her.”
“Just call before you come so my mate can prepare.”
“Sure thing. I’ll keep an eye out for my new bartender. Congrats on the mate and pup.”
“Thanks.”
The line went dead, but JC sat in his chair for a while thinking things through. Three months would give him plenty of time to advertise to find a permanent bartender. Luck was with him, or so it seemed. A waitress, he wasn’t even sure he’d need one yet. That was up to Mitzy. If he had a chance to train one part time, though, that would just be the smart thing to do.
“What did Tyne want?” Tanner asked.
“You won’t believe this, he’s sending us a bartender for three months.” J. C announced.
“Sounds like Lady Luck is on your side.” Tanner admitted.
“It never hurts to have her there.”
“We’ll keep looking for a permanent one, right?”
“Absolutely. A spare never hurts.”
Tanner left to take care of business leaving JC there to mull things over. He’d forgotten to ask if the female was human or something else. What the hell, it didn’t really matter. There were humans in his pack, mates that didn’t have any wolf in them so couldn’t change. None of them had caused any problems so he didn’t expect any now.
There was enough work to keep him busy until quitting time. He’d always put in long hours. It was another reason the pack had done so well. None of his inner circle was afraid of hard work. These days much of the work was paperwork or managerial, but it was work that required a lot of time. They’d always agreed they’d work hard now so they could take family time once they mated and had pups. If that ever happened.
JC had always thought he’d be the first to mate. He’d lead the way as he did in everything else, but now he wondered if it would ever happen. Tanner’s words had stirred up his own doubts. Fated mates had been all, but a myth in their community until the white wolves had been rediscovered, yet when he was younger, he’d been certain he would find his perfect one.
He’d known he would someday lead a pack, it had happened. The prosperous life he’d anticipated was here. In the visions he’d had of his future the only thing he’d not achieved was to be mated with pups. Now it was all he thought about. Mitzi was alright, but she was too far from the female he needed to stand at his side. It was his decision, but all his inner circle agreed she was just the wrong one.