Alpha Pack 1.5 - Black Magic Read Free Page B

your fault,” Mackenzie said, frowning. Gently, she pushed aside a lock of hair and examined the bruise on his
    temple. “We need to get some ice on that and your lip to keep the swelling down.”
    The attention from the woman of his fantasies both pleased and embarrassed him. “I’m good. No need to draw more
    attention to myself than I’ve already had.”
    One of the doc’s friends, a skinny blonde with big breasts, leaned toward him from her perch on her barstool. Lifting a brown longneck bottle, she reached out, attempting to touch it to his lip. “Poor baby,” she crooned, raking him from head to toe
    with a heated look. “I’ve got something cold right here to make it better.”
    Kalen eased back, avoiding the woman’s touch. The last thing he wanted was to encourage one of Mackenzie’s friends to
    flirt with him. The blonde’s eyes widened in surprise at his withdrawal, and he gave a laugh, thinking that she definitely wasn’t
    used to being refused. “Really, I’m fine, but thanks . . . I’m sorry, what’s your name?”
    “Amy,” the blonde said, recovering a bit from his blatant rejection of her attentions. “That’s Shannon, and it seems you
    already know Mac.”
    “Hi,” Shannon, a brunette, said shyly.
    “Yes, I know Mackenzie,” he affirmed, deliberately using her full name, then giving her a warm smile. “We work together.
    I’m Kalen.”
    The blonde nodded. “Oh! So you two are coworkers at the research place. Cool.”
    “Yeah, cool,” he muttered. Christ, he hoped he hadn’t blundered. He no more looked like a scientist than Criss Angel would.
    The few locals who knew about the fenced and well-protected compound situated deep in the Shoshone believed it to be a
    government-run medical research facility. Period.
    Only the Alpha Pack’s and the doctors’ most trusted family and friends knew the whole truth; that the compound housed a
    team of shifters whose job was to be called anywhere in the world on a moment’s notice, to eliminate the world’s most lethal
    human and supernatural enemies. Nor did folks know that the “medical research” facility housed there was actually the Institute
    of Parapsychology, and their role was to learn all they could about shifters and other paranormal beings in order to keep them
    mentally and physically healthy.
    To his relief, Amy and Shannon seemed to accept his “job” without question and moved on to new subjects, probably
    because being a “medical researcher” just wasn’t that interesting. Soon, Amy and Shannon became engaged in a lively
    discussion of the available man-booty in the bar, leaving Kalen free to lean over and whisper in Mackenzie’s ear.
    “We need to go.”
    Pulling back, she eyed him in concern. “Why?” she asked in a low voice, making sure they weren’t overheard. “Has
    something happened?”
    He knew she was referring to an emergency at the compound, perhaps with injuries she needed to attend. “No, nothing like
    that. It’s just this feeling I have.” The urgency of his message gave him an excuse to touch her arm, stand so near that her light,
    floral scent drove him crazy. His cock threatened to roar to life, and he took a deep breath, fighting to regain control.
    “Something bad is hanging around. I don’t know what it is, but when I heard you’d gone out I got worried. I came to make sure
    you got back safely.”
    She glanced at her friends, who weren’t paying attention to them, and looked to Kalen again, expression concerned. “You
    could’ve called me instead of risking coming out yourself.”
    Her worry on his account, twice in one night, did something funny inside his chest. “I called, left you a message earlier.” He
    pointed to the purse hanging from its strap on the backrest of her stool. “Guess you haven’t checked your phone, so it’s a good
    thing I planned to show up anyway.”
    Her face colored. “Sorry about that. I know I should look at it more often when I’m