Pack poisoned, p.1
Pack Poisoned, page 1
part #2 of Thrown to the Wolves Series
© 2021 J. Kearston
All rights reserved
No part of this work may be duplicated, reproduced, or transferred by any means, without the written approval of the author. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual people (living or dead), places, or events is purely coincidental.
Please note: This series is meant for adults and portrays darker situations such as descriptive, graphic scenes of blood and violence (including torture, but at the hands of our main characters, not to them), sexual scenes, and heavily deals with the topic of mental instability. While I would love for you to read my work, never do so at the risk of your mental health.
*Cover by Nichole Witholder at Rainy Day Artwork*
Table of Contents
Copyright Page
Pack Poisoned | Thrown to the Wolves | Book 2
Chapter 1 | Sabrina
Chapter 2 | Boden
Chapter 3 | Sabrina
Chapter 4 | Reid
Chapter 5 | Sabrina
Chapter 6 | Damian
Chapter 7 | Sabrina
Chapter 8 | Slade
Chapter 9 | Cinjin
Chapter 10 | Sabrina
Chapter 11 | Boden
Chapter 12 | Cinjin
Chapter 13 | Reid
Chapter 14 | Kaige
Chapter 15 | Sabrina
Chapter 16 | Damian
Chapter 17 | Sabrina
Chapter 18 | Sabrina
To be continued in Pack Punished | mybook.to/PackPunished | And you can join my monthly newsletter here - | https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/j0u7n4
Pack Poisoned
Thrown to the Wolves
Book 2
Chapter 1
Sabrina
We’re here for Sabrina.
The ensuing silence has everyone, even the pissed off mob, turning their attention away from me and towards the three strangers. I can only imagine what’s racing through their heads, especially since several are clearly on board with the idea of simply killing the remaining Hawthornes and being done with their family once and for all. As far as they’re concerned, if I don’t have any mates, I’m up for grabs.
While it seems like mated individuals are left alone after everyone’s been officially claimed, that respect apparently doesn’t apply to these four. Reid said that their parents were sons of bitches that even they weren’t upset to see gone, so whatever damage they did to warrant being slaughtered didn’t die with them.
I’ve gone from nobody wanting me, to way too many. I’d like to go back to being invisible now, please.
“And who the fuck are you?” Bo demands, standing beside Slade to block me partially from view as the twins pull me back into the house.
Even with Emmy’s new band of merry men, Lizzie’s mates, and... mine, there’s no way that I can see this ending well. Sure, they held their own a few days ago, but we had the element of surprise on our side with me guiding Slade and Cinjin through the hallways to pick people off. Now? We’d be screwed. Supposedly, these are the cream of the crop, brought in to seduce Emmy to the dark side. I’m not really sure what makes alphas and betas different from anyone else, but I can at least figure out based on size alone that betas are built like damn tanks. And the other night? I didn’t see anyone of that stature amidst the sea of bodies.
Now there’s six against our two, if we’re counting Thane on our side. But he has no loyalty to the pack, hasn’t even been officially claimed by Emmy yet beyond verbally. I wouldn’t be surprised if they decided to grab her and abandon ship rather than risk any of their lives. After all, I’m not their problem, and this isn’t their fight.
Smart people don’t get involved. They pick self-preservation every time, and it’s why you can’t ever rely on them for help.
Unnaturally bright, orange eyes meet mine as the blonde stranger gently suggests, “Let’s take this somewhere more private, yeah? No need for an audience, much less an unsavory one like this lot. Far too stressful even for my liking, so I’d imagine you feel similarly.”
An odd sense of peace washes over me with his words, and I’m able to draw in my first deep breath since everything exploded around us. With my long exhale, the situation feels less impossible to figure a way out of, and I sink into Cinjin and Reid’s hands, leaning into them for support.
“Sabrina?” Reid murmurs in my ear.
Something about the concern in his tone nags at the fringes of my mind. Sluggishly, I attempt to reassess everything with a more critical eye despite the desire to latch onto the familiar sense of comf- Wait a minute.
Scowling, I shake my head. “I’m fine, he just voodood me.”
“What are you talking about?” they demand in tandem, but the ominous rumble coming from Slade’s chest pulls my attention forward before I can explain.
“She’s not yours to toy with,” he warns. “Leave her be.”
Cin catches on first, realizing that the stranger was pulling the same comforting mojo that Slade used to calm me down when the house was under attack. “But he didn’t touch her.”
I watch a muscle in Slade’s jaw tick, but he doesn’t comment. Biting my tongue, I rapidly put together the few pieces I have to work with. It’s an alpha trait, so we know the blonde with the Xanax voice is one. If Slade has to touch me for it to work, and this guy doesn’t...
Yep, we’re royally fucked.
“You shouldn’t be toying with her either,” the blonde easily responds with calm defiance, casually biting a hangnail.
As the tension mounts, one of the original alphas separates from the crowd, striding across the lawn towards the driveway with his small following. Malachai, I believe. “Emmeline’s made her choice, I've no business here anymore.”
Another follows suit. “Someone call me when it’s time to divvy up the property so I can throw my name in the pot.”
It breaks the spell, the others trickling away as well. When Victor and his remaining handful of men are left, we all watch with bated breath to see if he’s going to walk away too, or take the risk of trying something with only his pack to back him up.
Maddox still has a gun pressed to the alpha’s temple without an ounce of fear in his soulless eyes. I’ll admit, I was stunned when Emmy picked him; the man looks like he belongs in a biker gang instead of inside the Hawthorne mansion. I’m pretty sure the blood stains on his jacket are fresh, like he killed someone on the way over and didn’t care enough to change, showing up out of obligation rather than any sort of actual desire, but if Emmy has anything, it’s the ability to see right past the masks people wear.
Victor takes a tentative step back, and when Maddox doesn’t pull the trigger, another. Face pinched and neck red, I’m sure he’s choking on all of the insults and threats he wants to spew our way, but is wise enough to know they would get his head blown off. That look of sheer, utter loathing, though? He’s going to become as big of a threat as Stonewood, if not more so. His gaze flits from me to Emmy, raking over everyone in between so that we can see the promise of revenge in his eyes. Finally, he settles his glare on Thane, his beta that abandoned him to stand by Emmy’s side here rather than drag her back under Victor’s reign.
Only Cinjin’s arm around my waist keeps me upright when the sudden gunshot makes me jump, my injured leg threatening to give out at the painful jerk. He quickly pulls my face against his chest, spinning so that his back is facing the open doorway as another ten shots are fired in rapid succession.
Ears ringing and eyes squeezed tightly shut, I wait for the floor to open up and swallow me whole, heart sprinting out of my chest. The other day may have been a crash course introduction to my new life, and really, it’s not like violence in general freaks me out. Hell, I had to catch and kill my own dinner enough times when I was dumped in the woods as a kid, left to find my way home or die trying. But the memories from the other night are still too fresh, the terror of being hunted instead of being the hunter putting me on edge. The feeling of claws ripping my flesh to ribbons as that twisted monster tried to drag me to the grave right alongside him...
“Ssh, mon soleil, it’s alright.” Slade’s soothing voice accompanies his hand on my back, and the painful pressure in my chest instantly lessens. Not only from him working his magic, but knowing that of all of those shots, none hit him, not like the bullet that tore through his ribs the oth- “We’re all alright,” he insists more firmly, like he can sense the direction of my thoughts.
Swallowing, I nod rapidly into Cin’s chest. As that sense of calm spreads throughout my body, I pull away, mentally punching myself in the face.
You’re a master of going with the flow and adapting. You’ve already had your mental breakdown over this whole surprise marriage and being a defective wolf thing, so pull yourself together. You don’t have to be a badass, but you need to at least not be a burden.
If I’m going to be a weak-ass not-wolf, I’ll need to get creative on how to pull my weight so that I’m not such a weak link. Hell, look at Emmy. She’s a master manipulator, able to navigate social cues like a second language and play people to her advantage. She can shift, but can’t fight, and has been coddled her entire life. That doesn’t mean she’s useless, even though she needs protecting.
It doesn’t matter if I’m defective if I can file one of my broken pieces into a shiv.
“Of course we are, Emmy loves to surround herself with sociopaths.”
Cin chuckles, brushing his knuckles down my cheek and pinning me with pale blue eyes that flawlessly conceal his an
Slade’s touch suppresses the last bit of fear that I couldn’t reason away myself, and I finally feel more like my old self. The one before these men came into my life and tore it apart, stitching it back together with genuine affection, and wicked sex. Add in a stiff drink, and it’s everything a girl could ever wish for.
Leeching off of Cinjin’s energy to cope, I bat my eyelashes innocently. “Maybe if we stay perfectly still, he won’t notice us and leave.”
He bursts out laughing. “Like a t-rex?”
It’s always easy with Cinjin, and I feel like a real jackass for being so caught up in everything I was losing, I wasn’t giving enough credit to what I gained. I don’t regret taking the time to get my head on straight so that I could look at everything objectively instead of letting my thoughts be dictated by emotion, but I do regret how much it must have hurt him and Boden when I walked away, though that’s exactly why I needed to.
Their pain didn’t outweigh mine, and it wasn’t my responsibility to make them feel better while I was falling apart, too. I’ve seen enough people fall into that guilt trap; shoulder the burdens to keep everyone else happy like their feelings weren’t as important, and it slowly killed their spark.
And I get not one, but two husbands? Potentially four? There’s going to have to be some hard lines to ensure it’s an equal relationship so that I don’t become crushed under the weight of expectations that I’ll never be able to meet. Recognizing my own limits is a big part of that, because no matter how much I like them, or their acceptance of hierarchy because of how they grew up, that’s not how I was raised.
The world does a fine enough job reminding me that I’m not important, that all of us are replaceable. So I refuse to be treated like I’m lesser in my own home, which may very well be why none of my previous relationships lasted long. Well, that, and my slumbering canine parasite, but nobody’s perfect.
Forcing myself to turn around and face my fate head on, I watch Maddox stride past eleven bodies like it’s any other day, joining Emmy and her other mates. She simply smiles, not saying a word. Shockingly though, once he’s before her, Maddox shifts on his feet, a faint crack appearing in his indifferent mask.
“He would’ve been more of a threat if I let him leave,” he declares, as if defending his actions, or maybe seeking her approval. “It would have been stupid to wait around for him to retaliate.”
“Very proactive and wise, I agree,” Emmy praises, rising up on her tiptoes to peck a quick kiss on his cheek that has the man going rigid. “I’m admittedly biased though, because I’ve hated the man for years and was over here hoping that your finger might ‘slip’ for the past five minutes.” Maddox simply huffs out a breath, clearly uncomfortable and at a loss for how to deal with her attention.
And then there were four.
Now that everyone else has either left or been killed, only Adrian and the three strangers remain. Between Slade’s influence bolstering my nerves and Maddox’s display, I’m feeling ten times more confident in our place in this situation. While I know that these men are dangerous, they aren’t the only ones here who are. Fuck, I watched my guys kill, what, sixty or so people a few days ago? And I shot two, for sure killed one, so I’m going to lump myself in with the dangerous crowd for bragging rights, if nothing else.
Shifting my weight to my good leg and disregarding Adrian, I meet the newcomers’ gazes head on rather than flinching away from their intimidating trio. I wouldn’t have a chance in hell in an actual fight, can’t even run right now, so I need to be smart. Emmy plays her weakness to her advantage, capitalizing on their protective and possessive instincts; I can do the same if necessary.
Hierarchy. Dominance. These men aren’t like the ones that I’m used to dealing with, and I need to stop thinking of them as such. They aren’t men with dark secrets, they’re an entirely different breed of human that I’m only starting to scratch the surface of understanding. While I naturally expect to be treated with respect in any relationship that I find myself in, it’s not freely given elsewhere in this world. I have to earn it, and that’s not going to happen cowering behind my... mates.
That’s still going to take some getting used to.
“So, what do you mean, ‘here for Sabrina?’”
Beneath short-shorn chestnut hair, dark green eyes narrow on my face as one of them crosses his arms over his chest. That accusatory stare flits from me to the men surrounding me, not bothering to hide his hostility. “Exactly what it sounds like. We’re here to take you home.”
I scrunch my face up in confusion. “I’m gathering you don’t mean my apartment, so what are you considering ‘home’? With you three?”
Low growls surround me, and I place a hand on Bo’s back as he steps in front of me, inching out to the side so that I can carry on my conversation while appeasing him. Cin isn’t faring much better, taking up a position flush against my back and banding an arm around my stomach with Reid on my free side. Slade keeps his distance, but by his deceptively casual stance, it’s intentional.
“Not quite,” he replies, locking his sights on Slade. “Back home to your fathers, where you’ll be safe until they declare your match.” He raises an eyebrow with a smug smirk. “And it would appear she bought herself as much time as she could for help to arrive, since there’s less clean up to be done than we anticipated.”
It takes me a second to decipher his meaning, but when it clicks, I take a step forward, scowling. “Oh, fuck off! You know damn well that I have no clue who you are, and how quickly I claim my mates isn’t any of your business.” A grimace replaces my scowl as I shift back to my good leg, and I don’t stop Reid when he pulls me into his side to support my weight, fighting to conceal my heavy breaths from pushing myself too far. “We’ve been a little busy burning corpses, and the stench is a bit of a mood killer, thank you very much.”
The one with pitch black hair and eerie, red ringed, silver eyes takes a step closer, canting his head as his nostrils flare. “What’s wrong with her?”
Emmy fakes a cough into her fist. “Where to start?”
Shooting her a withering look, she simply winks, and I take a deep breath at her subtle reminder. I’m getting as worked up as everyone else, and rising tensions won’t bode well for any of us. Picking fights only works if you’re ready to put your money where your mouth is.
Masking my pain as an annoyed retort, I mockingly declare, “Been spoiled being waited on hand and foot, so now standing this long feels like a chore, is all. Foot's asleep, so no need to get your panties in a bunch.”
The scar across Adrian’s eye runs all the way down to the corner of his lips, setting his face in a permanent scowl that perfectly matches his demeanor. “She is the spitting image of her mother. Sounds like her, too.”
Attempting to laser his face off with my glare, a hell of a lot suddenly starts to add up. If he knows my mother, of course he was staring at me all throughout Emmy’s final engagement dinner. I bet the minute we left he went tattling to whoever she was running from; her pre-assigned mates, apparently. No wonder nobody likes Adrian; he’s a fucking nark.
“We clearly have a lot to discuss,” Reid smoothly declares. “Perhaps we could at least attempt civility for Sabrina’s sake, if you’re actually here with her best interest in mind.”
Begrudgingly, Slade agrees. “Let’s head into the living room and get this mess figured out. It might help keep tempers in check, and she can get off of her feet.”
The blonde appears the calmest of any of them, but even his patience begins to wear thin, not buying my excuse. “She’s hurt?”
The resounding oppressive silence is broken when Slade finally speaks, always shouldering the responsibility of everything despite it never being his fault. “We were attacked a few days ago. We suspect the bodies behind you were involved in it, and possibly a few of the men that just left as well. While we walked away without any casualties on our side, it wasn’t completely unscathed.”
While the other two look thoroughly pissed off and open their mouths to start shouting, the blonde waves a hand to shut them up. “Days ago? Why hasn’t she healed yet? Were her injuries that severe?” His gaze rakes over me slowly, searching for anything that he might have missed on his first assessment, like he expects me to collapse at any moment.
