Mr. Red Riding Hoode

Dark shapes streaked past him. Oh, God. They were going to circle him. Circle him and take him down like a wounded deer. His coat had seemed dark enough for the moonless night, but who knew what wolves could see?

Did it look like blood?

Fuuuuck.

Wait. No fuck. No fucking whatsoever.

Graciela had called him her mate, right before she turned fuzzy.

Mate.

He had to let them know he really wasn’t into furries. Or pony play.

Would that be wolf play?

Ew.

Lights in the distance caught his attention. He didn’t think the werewolves would want to ick out their guests by feasting on his gory remains in front of them.

This was what he got for wanting to see a pretty girl get naked. He was never going to look at naked girls again.

She’d been awfully pretty, though—

A howl rent the night air, and Steve shuddered.

I’m dog food.

He stumbled into the open, his breath coming in freezing pants, his legs numb from the knees down from plowing through the snow. There. The car park. If he could just get to…

Shit, fuck and damn.

Ben was leaning against his car, buck naked. The hood was up, and his ex-best friend was holding something that looked suspiciously like wires. Ben held up his hands, his expression wary. “It’s okay, Steve.”

Steve didn’t even hesitate. He veered off, heading for the front doors of the lodge. If he could get inside, maybe he could call for help. The National Guard would know how to deal with this, right?

Did they even have silver bullets?

Fuuuck.

He was almost to the door before he realized Dave was there, the huge man’s arms crossed over his chest. The floodlights outside lit the grin on his face, making his teeth gleam. Apparently he ran faster than Ben, because he was wearing unbuttoned jeans. At least he wasn’t rubbing his bare ass up against the glass.

Ben’s naked ass had been on his car.

Ew.

Wait. Were those fangs in Dave’s mouth?

Steve wasn’t hanging around to find out. He booked it for one of the other doors leading into the lodge.

Before he got three steps, a small wolf stepped in his path. Steve instinctively veered away, unwilling to get his ass bitten for stepping on its tail. He slid on some ice, going down on said ass with a grunt.

The wolf settled itself down, laying its muzzle on its paws with a soft whine.

Steve sat there, his butt sore even through the padding of his coat, and stared.

The wolf wagged its tail, a pup ready to play. Tag, maybe?

He had a sudden vision of himself as the rope in a tug-of-war game.

Steve almost hyperventilated and tried to booty-scoot away. “Uh. Nice puppy.”

He could almost swear the wolf rolled its eyes.

Steve continued to butt-walk backward until he hit something that felt suspiciously like legs. He looked up and got an eyeful of a part of Rick Lowell he never wanted to see again. “Ugh.”

Rick rolled his eyes and crouched down next to him. “No one is going to hurt you.”

Steve might have felt better about that if Rick hadn’t wrapped a massive paw around the back of his neck. “So you’ll kill me quick?”

Rick sighed, the sound full of exasperation. “See that little wolf over there?”

“You mean the one with its butt up in the air?”

The little wolf looked ready to pounce on him. Was this the pack alpha or something?

“That’s Chela.”

He blinked, then shook his head and blinked again. “She’s your alpha?”

Rick started to laugh. “No. I’m alpha.”

That, at least, made sense. Rick had presence, that special something that made other people sit up and take notice even when he wasn’t speaking.

“Hey, Stevie.” Ben settled on the cold, hard ground next to him. “You okay?”

Steve shot him a disbelieving look. “What do you think, asshole?” He blinked in shock. Was he seriously baiting a wolf? “Forget I said that.”

Ben bit his lip. The son of a bitch was this close to laughing while Steve was still debating whether or not he was terrified enough to pee his pants. “If I told you that you’re safe, would you believe me?”

“Dude. You’re Team Jacob.”

He recognized that laugh. Dave had joined them and now crouched behind Ben, who’d begun to shiver. “You’re a Jacob fan?”

Ben glared at his lover. “You aren’t?”

“Nope.”

“You like that emo vampire?”

“I’m more Team Winchester. Those boys are hot.” Dave grinned and winked at Steve, obviously trying to reassure him that all this was nothing more than a bad dream brought on by bad oysters or something. After all, everyone was naked.

Except usually it was Steve who was naked in those kinds of nightmares. “Can I go now?”

Ben grimaced. “We…kinda tore a part out of your car.”

“I don’t think you’ll be leaving for a while.” Why the fuck did Dave have to look so smug?

“Listen to me.” There was something about Rick’s voice that had Steve snapping to attention. “You know what we are now.”

Yeah. That was why Steve was considering a lifetime trip to Moscow.

“We are the Poconos Pack, Wolves who have been in this area for centuries. I am their Alpha, their leader. Ben is our Marshal, our enforcer if you will. The Pack’s physical well-being is in his hands. Dave is my Beta, my second-in-command, and Ben’s mate.”

Mate. That was the word Graciela had used just before she’d…

He swallowed hard. He wasn’t ready to think about that yet. His gaze drifted over to the little wolf who was suddenly a lot closer than she’d been a moment before. He could just make out the gleam of her golden eyes as she settled down in front of him, much as she had when she’d first run out in front of him. Only this time her gaze kept darting between himself and Rick.

Oh God. It really was Graciela.

“Ted is the Marshal’s Second. He acts as Ben’s Beta, if you will, enforcing the law and helping to see to the Pack’s well-being. He has as much say as the Beta, Marshal and Omega in how the Pack is run.”

“And Graciela?” His voice sounded gravelly and loud as hell.

“She’s the Pack Omega.”

Something in him tightened at that. Even he knew that in wolf packs the omega was the one who got to eat last, the one who got beat up on when the other members needed to work out their aggressions. He didn’t like that.

He wasn’t sure why, but he didn’t like it one little bit.

Rick must have felt the way he stiffened, because he continued in a quieter tone. “Chela is a treasured member of the Pack. The Omega sees to the emotional needs of the Pack, ensuring that it remains happy and healthy on a mental scale. She works closely with Ben to see to it that everyone has what they need, and if they find problems, they bring them either to me or Dave.”

“Congratulations! You’re her mate.”

Ben sighed, but his gaze never left Steve’s face. “Goddamn it, Dave. Can we give him a second to