Once Bitten

dangerous supposition to make about a werewolf even if his pack didn't have the same hang-ups about witches that the rest did.

The thought alone was enough to bring her image to Caleb's mind. Liza. He had the usual mix of emotions when remembering her. Lust and anger. Fury and possession. He took a deep breath to compose himself. He couldn't have her. Hell, she'd probably mated someone else by now. His wolf rose close to the surface of his mind and growled its displeasure.

“Well?” Zach asked.

“We'll find someone tomorrow.” He ignored the second question and answered the first.

He couldn't take a woman in his current state. Even with Zach around to rein him in, he couldn't be sure he wouldn't damage her.

“Stubborn,” Zach muttered. “I'm going to get a drink. You know where to find me when you snap out of this.”

He grinned. “And if I don't you'll start without me?”

“Exactly.” Zach left, but his chuckles still filled the air.

Caleb picked up his phone and started to dial, but hung up before he finished. If something was wrong in Redhawke, someone would have called him, right? Either his father, Grant, the alpha, or his beta, Henry. Or hell, even Liza. According to his sources, she was paladin now, a kind of cross between security expert, police chief, and gatekeeper. According to werewolf lore, the paladins were werewolf knights who protected Charlemagne. Not only were they heroic, they also could not be corrupted. Could not be turned away from their cause. Every modern werewolf pack had one paladin. They filled so many jobs that Caleb wasn't sure he could list them all.

Perhaps the most important was that as the pack's knight, the paladin was defender against not only pretenders to the throne but also threats from outside. Threats from other packs. No one would gain access to the alpha or beta without her approval first. Unless, like him, they had private numbers and family ties that couldn't be denied.

He had mixed feelings about her occupying the paladin position. Her devotion to the pack had never been questioned. She'd never endanger it. The future alpha in him approved. The man and wolf, not so much. He would never be as important to her as the pack. He would never be the center of her world. Yet, he was proud of her accomplishments too. He knew that of all the pack's senior soldiers, she was the best qualified. The smartest. The superior fighter. Hell, she ought to be. He'd helped train her.

With a growl, he grabbed a beer from the fridge, twisted off the cap, and tossed it into the garbage as he paced. Alpha heirs often spent a few years traveling and living among other packs.

It helped cement alliances among the packs. But he'd been here in Maine for five years, and that was excessive. He was on borrowed time. Eventually he'd have to go home to Florida and take over the pack. He'd always known that. But eventually was drawing closer every day.

Not because anything was wrong at Redhawke, but because he and Zach were starting to make the pack nervous. They were the two strongest males, stronger than the alpha and the beta, and their heirs. There was a simple solution—a blood oath to Zach's father. But that easy answer was impossible. To do so, he'd have to forfeit his claim to Redhawke, his father's pack, and that wasn't happening. But it was clear his welcome in Maine was wearing thin. There'd been some pretty pointed hints after the last council meeting. It was only family ties that prevented him and Zach from getting tossed out since he was the alpha's and beta's youngest son. Which just further complicated the situation.

When Caleb went home, Zach would go with him as his beta, and he could let his dominant nature loose. It would be good for both of them. So why did they hesitate?

He poured out the rest of the beer and forced himself to be brutally honest. Two reasons.

Zach would have to swear a blood oath to Redhawke to officially take his place in the pack.

Caleb was loath to force that on him and he knew Zach wouldn't hesitate to do it when the time came. Caleb loved him too much not to feel guilty about being the cause of Zach's break with his family.

Then there was Liza. He'd left because of her, put as much distance between them as he could, and had hoped like hell to get her out of his system. The anger and bitterness and sense of betrayal hadn't left him the way he'd expected though. Was it idiocy to stay away so long because of a woman? Yeah. But it was the only armor his heart and soul had. Because if, when, he went home, he knew he'd want her, crave her just as strongly as ever. After tossing the empty bottle, he grabbed his keys. Maybe if he joined Zach for a little carnal fun, he'd quit seeing her in his mind.

Not fucking likely.

Chapter Two

Being a witch in a bar full of unfamiliar werewolves should have made her edgy. If they knew what she was, she wouldn't be welcome. Not that they'd greeted her with wide smiles and open arms. Sidelong looks spoke of caution and curiosity. Instead of worrying about possible hostilities though, she sat brooding into her beer at a small round table in a dark corner.

It's not that she wasn't uneasy. Hell, right now she could redefine the word. But for all the wrong reasons. The door opened, letting a burst of icy winter wind whirl through the room, and her head snapped up. Watching, waiting to see who would come through the opening. Her sigh of relief was misplaced considering her mission.

Find Caleb. Bring him home.

She remembered the alpha's order. Use whatever means necessary. Her heart twisted in her chest. She'd stood shivering on his front porch and tried to explain that she shouldn't be the one to go, that he'd left home because of her in the first place, but Grant refused to hear it, insisted she was the one to bring his son home.

The door opened again, and she shoved aside the longing to see his familiar face, reminded herself she was here to do a job. Nothing more. Nothing less. In and out, Liza, minimal heartbreak.

Around her, the bar filled up and the crowd got rowdier. She watched the females with barely restrained jealousy. Remembered the way Caleb had thrust her away from him after their only night together. His insistence, his furious vow, that he wouldn't risk mating with a human, and a witch at that, wouldn't take the risk his sons might be…less than him. Oh, he'd known exactly where to strike her with that. Right at her pride, right at the insecurity that drove her.