Scar (2 page)

“True, considering I don’t have any children. But this is not the time to lose your head. The pack needs you and let’s face it, whoever took him will have their hands full. That little heathen is the devil incarnate.” Myka crossed his arms over his chest.

“Regardless, Keen is still a child,
my child
, and I want him found
yesterday
.”

Myka walked farther into the room. “The boy probably wandered off. We both know he has an insatiable curiosity.”

“He likes to play, he’s a boy, but it’s more than that. I feel it in my bones. I want you to put a sentinel in every fucking town between here and the city and make them understand I want them searching for Keen. I also want our allied packs notified that Keen is missing. Send them pics of him in both human and wolf form. ”

“That’s quite a few men. There will be no one left to guard the town.”

“Are you refusing to follow my orders, brother?” Rhys growled

“Not at all. I’m only thinking of the protection of our people.” Myka took a step back closer to the doorjamb.

“Understand something. There is nothing more important to me than Keen. When I find out who took him I will rip off their heads and 6

Scar Kassanna

defecate down their throats. Then I will leave their body parts scattered in the woods surrounding this town as a warning that nobody—no fucking body—takes what’s mine. Do you really want to stand in my way, Myka?”

A knock on the doorjamb drew their attention. Keen’s nanny, Lori, stepped over the threshold. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot from the tears she’d shed. “Keen’s scent has been found in the woods. Security is requesting that you come immediately.”

Rhys was up and out the room and shedding his clothes as he ran down the hall. He shifted into his wolf and rushed through the front door as someone opened it. He basked in the breaking and reformation of his bones as he became the monster of old lore. Skidding to a stop at the end of the walkway, he raised his nose to the air and pumped his hind legs as he put on a burst of speed toward the woods. His nails dug into the soft grass as his paws carried him closer to the last known place his son had been. He veered off onto the trail. Clumps of dirt and vegetation flew up behind him as he ran full out into the forest.

7

Scar Kassanna

Chapter Two

Wallis stared at the glass shards littering the ground. He walked around the sedan, hoping the kid had cut himself jumping out the window and hadn’t been able to get far. Lifting his face into the wind, he sniffed the air. A miasma of aromas filled his senses: the baby powder scent of the pup and a sweet smell of fruit from one of the strippers in the club.

The strong smell of citrus enveloped him. Fre that was what the other girl called her. A shiver rolled down his spine as he held her scent in his lungs.

He exhaled. She belonged to him and he needed to find her but duty first, for now.

He slid his phone out the case attached to his waist and tapped in the code to unlock it. Wallis scrolled down the phone book and stabbed the minute phone icon.

“Wallis, you better be calling to tell me you’re somewhere in the compound.”

“Not exactly.” Wallis walked to the driver’s side of the car, opened the door, and dropped into the front seat.

“I don’t like ‘not exactly.’”

“The pup escaped.” Wallis dropped his head back onto the headrest.

“How the hell did a six-year-old boy get away from you? All you had to do was pick him up from our contact. A simple snatch! What the fuck were you doing that allowed a pup to escape?”

“I think I found my mate, Roman,” Wallis whispered.

“I don’t give a damn if you found religion, Wallis, find the damn puppy”— a beep broke the line. Roman kept talking— “now!” He hung up.

Wallis grunted as he exited the car. The pup couldn’t have gotten far.

He started tracking the kid at the broken window.

8

Scar Kassanna

***

Fre danced in her seat, singing to the latest song on the radio. The pup, who had been curled up asleep at her side, woke up and howled as she hit a high note. The sun had risen, warming the once-brisk air that blew through the window and errant hairs from her ponytail trailed across her face. She pushed the tresses behind her ear before reaching out to scratch Cannonball behind his. The long drive to her cabin in the Smoky Mountains gave her time to think, and in the dark of night there really wasn’t anything else she could do. She’d thought about names for a good couple of hours and nothing else seemed to fit. He was a beautiful little guy. His fur was mostly black with striations of white and gray around his ears, muzzle, and paws. He looked like a shepherd. Cannonball yawned, stretched, and started to walk back and forth in his seat.

“You okay, little guy?” Fre ran her thumb over his brow.

He licked the digit and started to whine. Moving away from her hand, he jumped on the door and started scratching. Then he jumped to the floor and started to walk in circles.

“Oh. You have to go to bathroom, don’t you?” She cut across interstate traffic to the blare of horns and a few one-fingered salutes as she nodded her head in apology.

Fre jerked to a stop on the highway shoulder and jumped out the cab.

She ran to the passenger side door and flung it open.

“Not in the truck! Bad, Cannonball.” She lifted him up and walked a few feet down the embankment, placing him in the soft grass around her feet. He looked up at her and plopped down.

“I thought you had to go?” She squatted down next to him and urged him toward a thick patch of vegetation. He tumbled over then righted himself, jumping to his feet and lowering his head. Cannonball growled.

She tapped him on the nose with her finger. “No growling. I saved your butt, remember?”

The puppy shook his head and snorted. He cocked his head, then 9

Scar Kassanna

jumped up, planting his paws square on her chest. They both toppled over.

Fre laughed as Cannonball climbed over her, delivering wet puppy kisses to her exposed skin. She gripped his legs to lift him off her when someone cleared their throat. She angled her head, scrubbing the grass with her hair, and spied black boots.
Shit
. She rolled over to her hands and knees.

“Ma’am, you are aware it’s not safe to play with your dog on the side of the road, right?” The highway patrolman slid off his glasses and placed them in his pocket.

“Well yeah, but Cannonball had to tinkle and we sort of evolved into the playing,” she answered drily.

“May I see your license and registration, please?”

“Okay, but why? When did it become against the law to stop and take a leak.” Fre stood up and grabbed Cannonball to take him to the truck.

She opened the door, dropped him in the seat, and reached for her bag.

In her peripheral vision she saw the officer place his hand on the butt of his gun. She closed the door and eased around to show him she had nothing to worry about. Holding her purse up, she dipped her hand into it.

The policeman pulled his gun and started yelling.

“Drop the bag!” He aimed the gun at her, his finger curled around the trigger.

“Dude, you really should lay off the caffeine. I’m only getting…” She held out her arm to offer the cop her purse.

“I said drop the bag and turn around slowly. Face the door and place your hands on the vehicle.” He eased closer, the soles of his shoes scraping the gravel.

“Really, fuck you. This is damn racial profiling. At least tell me what the fuck I did?” Fre slowly turned with her arms raised. She placed her palms on the door. Behind her she could hear the cop talking.

Cars whipped by and the pressure from the wind pressed her against the cab. The patrolman stepped in behind her, wrapped his fingers around her wrist, and yanked her arm back. She felt the cold bite of steel circle her wrist and turned her head to glance back as he gripped her other hand.

10

Scar Kassanna

His thigh rubbed hers as he kicked her legs apart and skate his hand up and down her body, lingering at her hip. He flipped her around to face him once he’d secured her.

“You never should have taken him,” the cop sneered.

“Who?” she asked, bewildered. She’d only taken a puppy from an irresponsible owner. Fre bit her lip and ran scenarios through her head.

Could it be about Cannonball?

A second car pulled up, except this one was a sheriff’s car. The officer pushed her to the side. She cried out when the protruding edge of the truck bed dug into her back. He opened the cab door and Cannonball launched himself at the man, growling. He latched his claws into the cop’s uniform and nipped at his chin as the cop swirled around.

A door slammed and Fre looked up in time to see the deputy rush to the officer’s aid. Her puppy yelped when he grabbed the little guy by the scruff of the neck. Cannonball twisted in his grasp and bit down on the officer’s hand. The deputy dropped him and her puppy positioned himself between her and the men. He set one paw in front of the other, lowered his head, curled up his lips to show his teeth, and growled.

Well damn
. She chuckled when the men took a step back. They stood at a standoff, the cops talking into their radios and her fur ball standing guard, emitting a low snarl whenever the men got too close to her. The sun was approaching its zenith, and the day was getting increasingly warmer when a Jeep pulled up on the shoulder and vanished from her view. Fre had already dropped down to lean back against the wheel well of her vehicle. Tired, she couldn’t hold back the taunt that escaped her.

“Don’t tell me a pup that couldn’t be more than six months old has the ability to hold off a couple of grown men.” Her pup’s ears went up as the two men left their patrol cars and started toward them. She sat up and called Cannonball to her, fear welled up in the pit of her stomach like bile that the policemen would harm her new pet. She called out to the men. “Hey, listen, call the dog catcher or something. He’s just a puppy. I mean, really, what do two big burly men 11

Scar Kassanna

like you have to fear from my little guy here.” She struggled to her feet, pushing up against the body of the truck. The men stopped short.

Cannonball whimpered and dropped in place.
What the hell?
She glanced around.

“They may not fear the pup but they damn sure need be scared of me.” A deep, guttural voice carried over on the breeze.

Fre wouldn’t swear to it, but she was sure she saw Cannonball cover his eyes with his paws. She turned her head to the side and saw the owner of the voice as he rounded the front of the truck. Her mouth went dry.

Mercy.
The man was tall, and she had to look up as he stalked closer to her. He had angular features, a sharp nose, high cheekbones, and deep-set eyes. There were a few days of stubble growth on his chin but she could just make out the cleft. She arched a brow as he moved into her personal space. The smell of pine and fresh air enveloped her. Clear hazel eyes, more moss green than brown, held her gaze. A lock of pure white hair fell forward. He brushed it back, and it mixed with the thick, shaggy black locks that covered his head. She noticed a vertical scar that started at his eyebrow and ended at the corner of his mouth. A brown leather trench coat hung off his shoulders and covered a light V-neck sweater. She could make out a dusting of dark chest hair at the tip of the V. Fre tried to work up enough moisture in her mouth to swallow.

The stranger smiled and she felt the hot rush of dampness flood her pussy. She pressed her thighs together. His gaze dropped and just as quickly lifted, his smile widened exposing even white teeth.

“Keen, get to the Jeep.” The puppy jumped up and hesitated, staring at Fre. “Now!” the stranger barked.

Fre watched the pup run with his tail between his legs. “Was it necessary to yell?” She enquired as she dropped her head back to meet his stare. “Apparently you’re important so who are you and what can you do to get these cuffs off me?”

He turned his head and crooked his fingers. “Remove them.” The highway patrolman scurried over and unlocked the restraints.

12

Scar Kassanna

“Thank you.” He nodded at the officer.

Fre rubbed her wrists as her rescuer went to talk to the policemen. She studied the man with the commanding voice and make-you-cream-your-panties smile. Heavens above but he was sexy. Snorting, any man that looked like that had trouble tattooed on his body somewhere. She turned on her heels and pulled the truck door open. She reached for her keys and realized they were in her bag.

“Are you looking for this?” He held up her hobo bag.

“Can I have my purse? I’d like to get the hell out here before those cops change their minds.” She sighed.

“I find it very interesting that Keen latched onto you the way he did. I live in a town not too far from here. I’d like to invite you to come and stay as my guest.”