Heart of the Pack Read online

  “I miss her so fucking much, Bro,” Alessio whispered.

  Sergio envied his brother. He could never say the words aloud, even to his own flesh and blood. So he said nothing and continued staring at the sky. Michella’s gravestone stood only a couple of inches from him. Sergio knew what the inscription said. He picked the words out together with Alessio.

  Beloved sister. Amazing friend. Our heart.

  And those fucking humans took her away from them.

  Sergio dragged himself up. Why did Alessio insist they meet here for the one-year anniversary of her death? He thought he finally understood why.

  He settled on his knees, touching the gravestone. Alessio brought him here to remember why they were doing this in the first place. If Michella were alive, she would only need to take one good look at him. Remind him what he was missing out on, that he needed to fix his personal problems before tackling the problems of others.

  “Feel better?” Alessio finally asked.

  His brother helped him up. They stood shoulder to shoulder for a couple of more moments.

  “Yeah,” Sergio answered. He touched Michella’s gravestone again. “We’ll come visit you again, Little Sis.”

  Chapter Two

  They walked back to the parking lot in companionable silence. When Dino and Raul spotted them, they looked alarmed, and Sergio glanced at Alessio.

  “Alpha, did something happen?” Raul looked over his shoulder as if feeling for a threat.

  “Nothing. We had a disagreement and sorted it out,” Sergio explained.

  “You look better,” Dino remarked, studying him a little closer.

  Sergio remembered being pissed at Dino months ago. Dino had been Michella’s lover, but he’d always wondered why they never mated. He finally realized Dino wasn’t Michella’s intended mate. These two men swore their loyalty to him, though. They wanted blood, vengeance for their loss, the same as him.

  Would avenging his sister bring his pack peace? Sergio didn’t know, but he had to try. Somedays, the anger was too much. There was too much hate in his heart, and Sergio needed to let go, to feel his teeth against the throats of the fuckers who killed her.

  He looked at Raul. “I need to see Logan.”

  Raul hesitated.

  Alessio voiced their concerns. “Is that a good idea?”

  Logan had been the Omega his sister had saved, but Michella hadn’t just given her life for him. She had also passed her gift of empathy.

  Sergio looked to Raul expectantly.

  “I’ll give him a call. Come on, Alpha,” Raul finally said.

  Sergio didn’t like that, being given orders. He reminded himself that pack didn’t come first. Mates did. The logic worked if one wasn’t the Alpha, though.

  “Dino, come with me. I’m meeting a new lion pride in town,” Alessio told the other werewolf, probably understanding Sergio’s need to be alone with Raul and his mate.

  “Roger that. See you later, Raul, Alpha.” Dino nodded to their direction.

  Sergio got into Raul’s car. Once Raul started the engine, Sergio asked, “Why isn’t Logan attending pack meetings?”

  “We’re expecting another pup. You know that.”

  “You aren’t telling me everything.”

  Sergio didn’t know why, but Logan’s presence soothed him. Michella had picked him for a reason. They were different in every way, yet Logan reminded Sergio of her.

  Raul blew out a breath. “I knew no one can keep anything from you.”

  By now, Sergio knew how to handle his wolves. With so many to take care of, he couldn’t spend time with all of them, but he knew when to listen when someone had something important to say.

  “Logan’s not feeling well. The emotions he’s picking up from other pack members puts him on edge,” Raul explained.

  “He still can’t control Michella’s gift?” Sergio asked, frowning.

  “Yeah, the last time we went to a pack meeting, we had to leave early. He was having a migraine, and with the baby growing in his belly…” Raul trailed off.

  “I understand.”

  Sergio looked out the car windows, and Raul made the call. They passed by the familiar landmarks of the town. Darkfall Mountain was his home. Sergio and his siblings founded their pack here, watched it slowly grow. They defended Darkfall from mercenaries, other animal groups, hunters, and any enemy who assumed they were weak. They had proved their strength a thousand times over, but it wasn’t enough. It was never enough.

  “We’ll be there in ten minutes,” Raul said and ended the call.

  With Logan about to give birth anytime, Sergio knew Logan had stopped working temporarily and remained at home.

  Raul updated him about the comings and goings of his men. When Michella died, Raul and the other wolves felt lost. Some of the shifters were rescues, and others were lost souls looking for meaning in life. Some rebelled, unsure of their place in the pack. Sergio offered them a choice—to be truly part of the pack and become involved or to find a new home.

  Most stayed. Raul and his men were a welcome addition to their operations and Sergio trusted them enough to deploy them on important missions.

  “We’re here,” Raul announced, parking the car.

  They went up to Raul and Logan’s apartment building. Before Raul could slot in the key to the front door, it opened, revealing Logan’s smiling face. The Omega looked much bigger compared to the last time Sergio had seen him.

  “Hey, babe. I wished you’d warned me earlier. I could have prepared something.”

  Logan ushered them in and began waddling toward the kitchen. The Omega was getting big, Sergio noticed. He should tell Raul to take some time off his duties. Sergio remembered how he’d been when Ron was about to give birth—always apprehensive and thinking if his mate needed anything.

  “Sit down,” Raul chided. “Let me get the drinks. Alpha, beer fine with you?”

  “There’s no need to fuss,” Sergio replied.

  Raul got two beers from the fridge anyway along with a glass of Coke for Logan. They settled in the living room.

  “I’ll give you two time to talk. I need to take a shower anyway,” Raul said.

  It was a show of trust to Sergio. Usually, werewolves were overprotective around their pregnant mates.

  “So, what brings you here, Alpha?” Logan asked. The Omega sighed as he settled into the armchair close to the fireplace.

  “It’s my sister’s death anniversary, but you know that already.”

  Logan nodded. “Feels like a lifetime ago. Somedays, I wonder why you aren’t mad at me.”

  “She would have gotten herself killed one way or another. Michella never did value her own life,” Sergio answered dryly, staring at his beer.

  What was he doing here bothering Raul and Logan? He should be with Alessio, meeting the new animal group that had pledged its allegiance to their cause.

  People needed a face, a person to talk to. They flocked to Darkfall, certain he was some kind of last hope. He wondered if he already disappointed some of them. Sergio seriously needed to get his shit together.

  “You’re wrong,” Logan said calmly. “She valued life, celebrated it when she was still alive.”

  If any other wolf said that to Sergio, he would have snapped back, reminded them that he was the Alpha. With Logan, it was always different. Like his sister, Logan could probably already sense something was wrong.

  “You’re so tense lately,” Logan said. Unlike most shifters, he was not discouraged by Sergio’s silence. “Making taking a day off would help you relax. I know Will’s in preschool. Why don’t you surprise your mate? You and Ron could do something together. How long has it been?”

  Sergio groaned. “Not you, too?”

  “You know Ron and I are friends, right?” Logan reminded him.

  Sergio did. Ron, Logan, and the other mated Omegas in the pack occasionally met together for God knew what. It drove their dominant mates up against the wall with worry sometimes.


  “Stop reminding me how I’m such a horrible husband. I didn’t come here for that.”

  “Then what did you come here for?” Logan crossed his arms.

  Sergio blew out a breath. “I don’t know.”

  “I remind you of her.”

  Guilt rammed into him. It was the truth. Logan and Michella might be worlds apart, but they shared similarities, too. Despite being an Omega, Logan had the strength to bring the remains of his broken pack to Darkfall at Michella’s urging.

  “That’s fine,” Logan said. Sergio ought to feel guilty for letting the Omega carry on the conversation alone. “I don’t mind.”

  Sergio thought about Ron and their fight that morning. “I’m fucking things up, not only for Ron and my son but for the pack, as well.”

  Logan leaned forward and touched his hand. The gesture wasn’t sexual, merely reassuring. “No one expects you to take all the burden, Sergio. Lean on others for a change.”

  “It’s not that easy, not when everyone’s depending on me—the pack, our allies—and I don’t like not knowing when our enemies will strike.”

  Logan pulled away. Sergio rubbed at his temples.

  “They have the upper hand.”

  Sergio didn’t know why he was repeating what everyone else knew.

  Sick of its losses and facilities being shut down by Sergio’s people, Alpine Industries had combined forces with the pack’s long-time enemy the Order of the Knife. The order wasn’t made up of human fanatics who trained all their lives to hunt the paranormal. Money didn’t interest them like the mercenaries Alpine employed.

  It didn’t help Alpine finally perfect the drug that gave the humans an edge, temporarily giving them the abilities of shifters. That had been the reason why Alpine had been kidnapping and experimenting on shifters.

  Reminding himself of the stakes if he failed didn’t help soothe his nerves. For weeks now, the Alpha wolf in him was frustrated, eager to be cut loose from this massive responsibility. Sergio would never admit it to anyone else, even Ron, but he had considered it.

  He could take Ron and Will and run far away from Darkfall. Let the others find a new Alpha and handle the mess, but it was merely a passing fancy. He would never forgive himself if more people died.

  Hell, every time a pack member passed away, one of the many bright lights that formed the pack bonds went out. It gutted Sergio, worse than any physical wound he’d taken. It like a vital piece of him had been cut away.

  Sergio was sick of telling their loved ones the same old story—that their mate died for a good cause; that someday, a time of peace would come; and that their sacrifice was worthwhile.

  It was all an elaborate lie.

  Good PR.

  “What are you still doing here, Alpha? Go see Ron. Make up,” Logan suggested.

  Sergio realized some time must have passed since he was lost in his thoughts. All that while, Logan hadn’t said a thing, merely sipped his soda.

  “You know, if your sister were alive, she’d tell you to stop wrecking yourself like this. It isn’t too late to fix whatever it is you think you’ve broken,” Logan said.

  Sergio shook his head. “By declaring war on these humans, I tore the pack apart.”

  A hand shot up. His wolf didn’t consider Logan’s slap dangerous, though.

  “You did what was right. If you took shit from them like the other packs, what would happen? They would continue taking shifter families, slowly decimating our numbers.”

  “Logan, remember who you’re talking to,” Raul said in warning. The other werewolf looked like he just came from the shower.

  “It’s fine. He’s right.” Decision made, Sergio rose to his feet. “I’ve already taken up too much of your time.”

  Chapter Three

  “Are you sure?” Raul asked.

  “Absolutely,” Sergio replied. Coming to see Logan was a good decision. No one else would tell him to wake the fuck up and stop procrastinating and feeling sorry for himself—only Logan.

  “There’s a different look in your eyes, Alpha,” Logan said. The couple walked him to the door. “If you ever feel like you need someone to talk to, I’ll always be here.”

  Raul shot his mate a quizzical look, but Logan only shook his head.

  “Thank you,” Sergio said, meaning him.

  Logan blushed. “It’s not every day your Alpha comes up to you and thank you.”

  “Don’t think too much of it,” Sergio said with a grin.

  Head feeling lighter, he rang Alessio and told him he was taking the day off.

  “Fucking hell. If I had known seeing Logan would have helped, I would have pushed you to see him a long time ago”—Alessio sighed—“although you decided to take a break on a damn busy day.”

  Frowning, Sergio asked, “What’s wrong? I’m driving to the pack house right now.”

  Their pack house was the restaurant the three of them had opened a long time ago and their main source of income. Lately, though, they’d been using Esteban’s Pasta Mania as a sort of headquarters, where pack members and carefully chosen allies were welcome.

  “It’s fine. Noel and his pack are here. Come to work tomorrow. You need this.”

  Sergio thought about it for a second. Noel Sandoval was the Alpha to a small roaming pack, but their help had been invaluable in finding another Alpine testing facility. Despite being a relatively new ally, Sergio trusted Noel.

  “Okay, I’m leaving it to you.”

  Alessio chuckled on the other end. “This is new. Usually, you’ll bite my ass off and remind me not to screw up. I won’t disappoint you.”

  Ending the call, Sergio wondered if it had really been that hard being around him later. Parking the car in their garage, Sergio checked the time. It was only nearing noon. Usually, he’d be at the restaurant, busy working out plans or talking to a leader of a particular animal group.

  Sergio had faced plenty of monsters and tackled hundreds of scenarios in his short life. Why did he feel nervous confronting his mate?

  Their love life was practically zero at this point. After Will’s birth, things took a turn for a worse. After Sergio declared Alpine their enemy, he no longer had time for his family.

  He should have brought some kind of peace offering, flowers or chocolate maybe. The moment he got out of the car, something wonderful teased his nostrils—the smell of something baking.

  Sergio entered the front door, careful not to make a sound. He didn’t announce his presence immediately. Their house had an open kitchen. From his corner, he watched his mate work. The slender Omega wore the apron Sergio gave him for their birthday the year before, the one that read “I’ll Bite if You Disturb Me.” It had been a gag joke. Sergio never expected Ron to wear it all the time.

  His mind took him to how he and Ron had met. After the pack had suffered heavy losses from an attack from the Order of the Knife, Sergio decided to form an alliance with another pack. To seal the deal, he had needed to mate the then Alpha of the Silverback pack and Ron’s father.

  Sergio had been expected to wed the Alpha’s daughter, but he had fallen for Ron instead. His heart soared with emotion, remembering the state he’d found Ron in. Ron was the bastard son of the Silverback Alpha and had been treated like a prisoner in his own home.

  The first time Sergio beheld the slender, fiery, blond, and blue-eyed Omega, he knew. This was the one man he’d been waiting for his entire life, his mate. Never before had Sergio wanted anyone more than anything. Selfishness to possess Ron in anyway had driven Sergio then, nearly igniting a war between his pack and the Silverback pack.

  That had been only two years ago, yet it felt like a lifetime. During the time they’d lived together, he’d watched Ron grow as a person. Sometimes, Sergio was one fucking idiot. Standing a couple of meters from him was the man he loved with every fiber of his being, the bearer of his child and his soul mate.

  Had Sergio ever told Ron how fucking proud he was? When Ron moved into Darkfall, he had been apprehensiv
e, fearful Sergio’s wolves would never accept him into the fold. Michella had been the first to welcome Ron with a smile.

  Finally, Sergio sent a tug along their mate bonds. It had been a long time he’d done that, too. As the pack grew, each werewolf life force that connected to his Alpha beast felt like a chain. He’d forgotten the fact he wasn’t alone, that Ron formed the other half of him.

  Ron looked from mixing his latest batch of brownies, shocked to see him there. The Omega jumped.

  “Sergio? What are you doing here?”

  The Omega looked uncertain as Sergio eliminated the distance between them.

  Sergio. Not hon, not baby, not Alpha. Shit. Had Sergio fucked things up that badly?

  “Um. You’re scaring me,” Ron said. “Say something.”

  There was a spot of chocolate on Ron’s left cheek. Only the counter separated them. Unable to help himself, Sergio leaned forward and licked away the chocolate. Ron froze as Sergio kissed his way to Ron’s lips. Gripping the back of Ron’s neck, Sergio slanted his Omega’s lips for one heated kiss.

  Hunger, long denied, sparked inside Sergio. His cock thickened, but desire wasn’t one-sided. He could smell Ron’s arousal, feel Omega’s beast sniffing at him, eager to sate its needs. Taking it forward, Sergio pushed between Ron’s lips. Ron opened his mouth wider, pliant and submissive.

  Fuck.

  How could Sergio have forgotten this, that he was the luckiest man in the world?

  Pissed about the counter between them, Sergio thrust his tongue down Ron’s throat. Had he ever fucked his mate senseless on the kitchen table? It would be easy to bend Ron over the counter and claim what was rightfully his. Ron wouldn’t fight him, Sergio knew. He could sense the longing in Ron, the loneliness. They might sleep in the same bed, but tackling each day felt like a battle. Sergio usually fell asleep, exhausted.

  How could he let things fall into this state?

  No. Sergio needed to say his piece before he and Ron lost themselves in each other. Sex wouldn’t make the problem go away. It would help, but Sergio didn’t want a quick-and-easy fix. He wanted to make things right.