Sylvia's Torment (Enforcers and Coterie Book 2) (11 page)

Chapter Fifteen

A mistake. Fuck.
She thought their kiss was a mistake. His stomach knotted, worried he’d made her uncomfortable. Would she request a transfer? No, no, she wouldn’t. Sylvia didn’t run from problems. At least, the old Sylvia didn’t. What would the new one do?

Fuck!
He raked his hand through his hair before shutting down all his emotions. The shimmering rage Shawn caused mixed with fear over losing Sylvia created a bad combination.

He also contained the flickering lifemate bond. Damn thing flared to life at the worst possible time, giving him a horrible glimpse into her thoughts. Intruding hadn’t been his intention. She didn’t know about the bond, and any stray thoughts of his she’d assume were from the Alpha link. On rare occasions he’d accidently spilled over to his two Betas, as they were the closest to him, both in distance and emotion.

While he cared for Zmitro, Sylvia had a special place in his heart.

Years ago he’d recognized her as his lifemate and had spent the whole time suppressing the bond. She’d made it quite clear she didn’t want him as her mate when they first met and reinforced that fact several times in the passing decades. At least, he had thought she didn’t want him. She hadn’t pulled away when he’d kissed her, though.

Now he had no idea what the hell to think.

Give her time. Let her heal first and stop fucking pushing her.
His exasperated thoughts stopped him dead for a moment. He’d waited this long for her, what was a little more time in the grand scheme of things?

Patience would win in the end.

With a shake of his head, he continued towards the house. Admittedly, he wasn’t the greatest prize. He had a temper, although he tried not to lash out in anger. More brutish looking than handsome. A little on the controlling side, a quality that came with the Alpha territory. Oh, and bullheaded, couldn’t forget that endearing trait.

Yep, definitely not the brass-ring prize women hoped for.

He shrugged off his self-doubts. Now was not the time to mope like an emo teenager.

His bare feet, damp from the grass, left footprints on the porch stairs. No sound accompanied them. His mind had shifted into predator mode, planning different ways to take down his enemy.

Derek entered the kitchen. While he used the sitting room/library as the main meeting area for the pack, the kitchen was the heart of the house. Here his pack stopped by for meals, relaxed and informal. The panty and fridge were always stocked, ready at a moment’s notice for company.

An island divided this room, one side filled with cupboards and appliances, the other side left open. A stainless steel fridge and stove gleamed in the light, giving the kitchen a professional appeal. Every imaginable gadget lined a huge metal shelf near the full-sized deep freezer. A large oak kitchen table with twelve sturdy chairs took up most of the open space. A small china cabinet displayed wolf knickknacks, joke gifts from Sylvia. Each birthday she delighted in giving him a wolf-related present, the gaudiest ones she could find.

His Deltas crowded around the center island and lounged at the table, laughing and joking together. The noise level died as they turned their attention to him. Nine in total, more so than any other pack, they maintained law within the packs outside of Toronto. The Deltas had a position of trust and authority, one they would never abuse. While anyone strong enough could challenge to become a Delta, the Alpha had the ultimate say. And Derek would not accept anyone into his tight circle if they would harm any of his packs.

He nodded to them as a whole.

Zmitro leaned against the island and crossed his arms. Black hair fell across his forehead, obscuring parts of his facial scars. With a raised eyebrow, he mouthed, “What’s wrong?”

A tight shake of Derek’s head was the only answer Zmitro would get. This would remain between him and Sylvia. His mother and Markus knew of his feelings for Sylvia but they had no pack interactions with her. As an Alpha’s lifemate, her life would be cherished above all other pack members. She didn’t need the added pressure of other wolves questioning her or giving well-meaning advice.

A moot point anyway as they hadn’t progressed that far.

He turned his attention to the others in the room. Two of the Deltas, Isaac and Emma, were ignoring each other. Must’ve had another fight. With their constant snapping at each other, they were worse than siblings. Hell, even the twins didn’t give him as much of a headache as these two.

Luckily for them, their little spats didn’t interfere with their jobs. If it had, the solution would have been a transfer to another pack. And a damn hard decision that would have been as they were both vital to him. Instead, he let them fight it out unless one went too far.

Emma smiled and inclined her head toward Derek as she turned her back on Isaac. Derek bit his cheek. Amusement tickled his throat, and he coughed to cover the laugh.

Outrage contorted Isaac’s face at Emma’s action.

Turning one’s back on a werewolf either meant they trusted the other person wholly or the wolf was weak and not worth worrying about. This looked to be a case of the latter and not the former. Isaac must’ve really ticked her off this time.

The rest of the Deltas watched the drama with varying degrees of enjoyment.

“Aw, Emma, don’t be so cruel,” Tariq chided. Bright green eyes danced with laughter. “He can’t help being a child still.”

Rafi and Kurt, identical twins, stood on opposite sides of the room. They struck identical poses, leaning casually against the wall with hands tucked into their identical hoodies. Telling them apart was near impossible.

“I’ve told you before, sweet Emma, Kurt and I will treat you right. Come to our bed.” Rafi winked at her, an odd sight from someone who dressed like a street thug. It was more menacing than enticing, and the stud in his eyebrow glinted in the light.

Kurt grunted in agreement.

“Up yours, all of you,” Isaac growled.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Nadia soothed, falling into her natural role. As the Omega, the healer of the pack, she disliked strife. A rare werewolf, she also held the position of Delta, a role generally thought of as too demanding for a gentle Omega. Her light brown eyes, hidden behind lavender contacts, held a hint of reproach toward Kurt and Rafi.

“Sorry, Nadia,” they singsonged together.

The teasing didn’t quite mask the underlying tension in the room.

The door behind him closed with a nearly silent click. A glance behind showed Sylvia pressed against the door. Isolating herself from the pack. That wouldn’t do. She needed the touch and closeness of her packmates to heal. Knowing she wouldn’t accept it from him, not at this moment, he sent a message solely to Zmitro.

Bring Sylvia to the others.

With a slight nod, Zmitro sauntered over to her and put his arm around her shoulders. She balked, but he ignored it.

“Come, my pretty flame, we’ve been without you for too long.” He placed a kiss on the side of her head then closed his eyes. Derek met Zmitro’s gaze when he opened his eyes. Joy and sorrow warred within his friend.

Zmitro guided her to the island.

He watched as the others descended upon her, needing to reassure themselves she was home. Even the twins detached from the walls to hug and kiss her. They had all felt the rift her loss had caused, the unraveling of their strength. The Alpha normally kept a pack secure and held back aggression. With Derek clinging to the edge of sanity, though, her captivity had devastated and destabilized everyone.

Clearing his throat, he drew attention away from Sylvia. He didn’t want her overwhelmed. She might push them away, and, even though the Betas would understand why, the rejection would sting.

Breaking apart, they settled into two rows of chairs arranged in a semi-circle, keeping Sylvia in the middle. Zmitro stroked her hand for a moment before he pulled back to lounge in his seat.

“We’ve had a delivery. We suspect Shawn sent this for Sylvia. He’s not stupid enough to get his own scent on it, but perhaps one of his lackey’s did.”

He lifted his hand and the necklace dangled between his fingers. Touching only the top links, he had avoided contaminating it with his own scent.

They passed it around, each one sniffing it. While they couldn’t isolate the gift-giver’s personal smell, each one would now be on alert for any of the possible suspects.

“There was also a card. It stated he’d sent me the flowers and knew I didn’t like them. How could he possibly know that? We didn’t refuse them,” Sylvia said, her voice trembling a little. Arms hugged around her midsection, she seemed to shrink into herself.

Heather swore and muttered vicious things she’d do to the lowlife if she caught him. Derek gave her a bloodthirsty grin. Shawn was fucking with the wrong pack.

Isaac smiled winsomely at Sylvia. “Ah, Sylvia, you always know how to liven up the day.”

He softened his words by leaning over to kiss her temple. Her eyes fluttered shut, and her lips moved. Counting?

“Always the flirt.” Emma muttered. She flopped back in her chair and crossed her arms, shooting a glare at Isaac. Zmitro tweaked her short green hair and she shifted to rest her head on his shoulder. A low growl erupted from Isaac and Derek sent him a private message.

Knock it off before I take you out back.

Isaac immediately shut up. When Derek had to discipline his wolves, they fought him one on one in wolf form. Since he was a massive wolf and stronger than those under him, the offender soon learned to follow Derek’s rules to the letter. No one, with the possible exception of Zmitro, wanted to tangle with him.

“Shawn also accosted Sylvia on the streets. He wants me to attack him so I’ll be labeled as a rogue. Bastard knows he can’t take me in a fight.” Derek cracked his knuckles.

“Uh, boss, she’s not the only one.” Heather interrupted. “We’ve had pack members come to us, complaining of Alphas hassling them. There are three others working with Shawn.”

“Why the fuck didn’t anyone tell me this?!” Derek exploded. They’d kept important pack information from him?

Nadia replied, her voice soft yet firm, “You had enough to deal with. We were handling it for you.”

“Zmitro, why can’t I kill this bastard? Give me a damn good reason why I can’t or I’m hunting him down.”

Zmitro didn’t say anything, just slanted his gaze towards Sylvia. The anger drained from Derek, leaving him bone-weary. One wrong move on his part would leave Sylvia vulnerable when she needed support.

He spun away from the other werewolves, needing a moment to collect himself. Stalking over to the fridge, he grabbed the water jug and poured himself a glass. After he drained it, he placed the glass in the dishwasher and rejoined his pack.

“We need to catch them harassing other pack members. Alphas are not to involve submissives in these kinds of matters. It destabilizes the pack. We catch Shawn, or any of the others in the act, then I can follow protocol and take the fucker out. Everyone will stay here, so pick a room and get comfortable. Sylvia will switch rooms. She’s taking mine while I take hers.” He stopped when Sylvia roused herself to protest. “My room is the most protected one in this house. You will be moving.”

Her arguments died in her throat. With lowered eyes, she tilted her head and exposed her throat. A submissive pose, and it stung him. He didn’t want her submissive to him, but with the matter of her safety, he’d be ruthless.

“Yes, Alpha,” Sylvia muttered with a hint of acid colouring her words. Good, she hadn’t lost all of her sharpness.

“I want us patrolling the streets. Zmitro, find out where they’ve been spotted, and we’ll work out the most common areas. I want one more to help out since Sylvia won’t be joining this patrol. The submissives aren’t trained soldiers, and I don’t want them involved in this petty squabble. Perhaps the mages will help. Having a werewolf brawl in Toronto wouldn’t benefit anyone.”

Calling in Alphas from his other pack would show weakness. If he couldn’t handle an Alpha looking to replace him, then perhaps he should be replaced. Under different circumstances, he’d agree. Shawn changed those rules when he worked behind the scenes, colluding with other Alphas to take him down. Despicable behaviour.

“Maybe they’ll send Jackson over,” Sylvia said. “Or perhaps Victor since Jackson might be busy with Julia.”

Derek let out a slow, steady breath. The mage’s name on her lips caused a kneejerk reaction. Years of dislike were hard to turn off, and the mere mention of Victor was enough to blacken his mood.

“Yes…or perhaps Markus if he’s not on assignment,” Derek countered, preferring to owe a favour to his friend and not the mage he detested.

Tariq, Rafi and Simone whispered amongst themselves. None of them liked the idea of interacting with Markus. Justifiable. Markus had a lot of power at his fingertips. Made no difference to Derek, though. They would work with Markus if he ordered them to do so.

They knew the punishment for disobedience.

If a wolf defied him again, he banned the offender from the pack. While it seemed a paltry punishment, it hit a wolf where it hurt the most. A werewolf without a pack faded away, starved for touch and community. If Derek had been the Alpha of a smaller pack, it wouldn’t matter so much, as the wolf could petition to join another. However, he was Alpha to all of Ontario. The offending wolf would have to leave the province in order to find another pack.