Page 10 of The Werewolf Cowboy
Chapter 3
Katy was gone. Kidnapped by someone in her own damn pack. The crazy thought swirled around Grayson’s tired, stunned brain as Aiden and several other male Lupines milled about the parking lot of The Bar.
Kyle Morgan, a good cowhand and one of the best trackers in the West, was inside trying to nail down the scents. With the deluge of smells, from stale beer to old vomit to cloying perfume, it presented a real challenge for an ordinary Lupine to find who was involved. But Grayson had faith in Kyle.
Drunk Charles had taken Katy. Why, he didn’t know, but damn, he was going to find out.
Crouching down by the spot where Charles had parked his sedan, Aiden examined the ground and then looked up. The yellowish glow of the sodium lights picked out the fierce amber in his gaze, the alpha’s wolf howling at the abduction of one of his own by one of his own.
Grayson headed for the alpha, ignoring the glares of the other males. At Aiden’s side, Darius, the alpha’s second-in-command, lifted his handsome face to the wind, sniffing the breeze.
Aiden straightened, dusted off his hands. “Tell me what you know.”
Grayson told him for the third time. “Charles was acting drunk, but I couldn’t smell more than a couple of beers in him. If I’d known there was a threat to Katy, I’d never have left her side.”
“Not your responsibility,” Darius said coolly.
It’s more my responsibility than you know.He gave the beta a level look. “I’d be shirking my duty as a male to not be worried and pitch in to help find her. Right duty of every red-blooded male Lupine to protect a female. And if you tell me to butt out, I’ll track her on my own.”
Darius gave a rough nod, while Aiden simply assessed him, saying nothing. The silence didn’t bother him. He was used to silence when other male Lupines sized him up, wondered what the hell he was about, not being pack and all. Lone wolves were regarded with suspicion in this stretch of the West, and rightly so. A lone wolf could prove to be a dangerous Lupine, going rogue against his own kind, making trouble or, even worse, exposing their secrets to the Skin world. Lone wolves had no alpha to reel them in when they headed toward trouble.
But Grayson had survived here alone, and he’d been careful never to draw any attention to himself. Maybe alpha ran through his blood as well, for he refused to lower his gaze before the powerful Mitchell pack leader.
Gaze locked to his, Aiden finally nodded, touched the brim of his Stetson as a sign of respect. A little tension eased, but it did nothing to chase the battalion of butterflies swarming in Grayson’s guts. Katy was missing, and every damn second they wasted on posturing was another second she slipped farther away.
A big silver pickup roared into the parking lot, stopped before the dumpster. Out spilled Katy’s five older brothers and her parents. Grayson steeled his spine. While Mary, Katy’s mom, had been polite to him, Dave and sons had glowered at him at the barbecue when Katy personally wrapped up a few extra biscuits for him to take home. Grayson suspected they didn’t want their girl anywhere near a lone wolf.
An unknown factor in their well-planned lives.
“What the hell is he doing here?” Dave jabbed a thumb in Grayson’s direction as he addressed his alpha.
Mary put a hand on her mate’s arm. “Dave, please, settle down.”
Aiden walked over to Dave, put a calming hand on the other Lupine’s shoulder. “Ease up, Dave. He’s helping us.”
“Oh? How do we know he’s not the reason Katy went missing? Holly and Sherry said the bartender told them he was the last person to speak to her!” Tom, the eldest brother, was yelling in Grayson’s direction.
Guilt speared him as Grayson wondered about that himself.I should never have left her alone.
“Grayson is the one who called me to alert me to the fact she’d been kidnapped,” Aiden said mildly.
It wouldn’t do any good. The father and brothers had it in their minds that Grayson was the enemy, so he turned and walked toward the dumpster. He circled it, resisting the urge to call upon his long-dormant wolf. He could find Katy without the beast surfacing. He’d tracked enough stray cattle.
“Moore, you have something to do with this. I know it. I can smell it. I ought to whip your ass!” Katy’s father shouted.
“Dave, take your family and go home. We’ll handle it here,” Aiden ordered.
The older Lupine bristled. “She’s my daughter.”
“I know,” Aiden said. “And if by chance Charles brings her home after a joy ride, wouldn’t you want to be there to comfort her?”
Grayson could smell Mary’s fear and panic. Katy’s mother looked at her mate. “He’s right, Dave. Let them handle it. Kyle’s the best tracker, he can find her. Maybe she’s already home by now. I hope she’s home, I can’t bear it if anything happens to her…”
She began to cry. “Katy’s a strong Lupine, but there’s such evil in this world. Aiden, find my daughter.”
The alpha gave a brusque nod, and Dave slid an arm around her shoulder, leading her back to the truck as their sons trailed behind. Grayson felt a gnawing ache in his gut at Mary’s distress.
Katy had to come home. Whoever did this would pay.
