Found in Flames Read Free

had been making it hard to hold her steady over his shoulder and, more importantly, her screams would only have drawn unnecessary attention. It was bad enough she’d called the police. Police always complicated things, and now that this woman had gotten involved, the situation was more than complicated enough. He’d have preferred to leave any humans out of it.
    At the very least, he’d rather have brought Justin’s body back to the pack for a proper burial. Instead of leaving it in some filthy alleyway to wind up just another ‘John Doe’.
    Dammit.
    His Beta was gone. One of the few whose loyalty Luka was certain of, even over the fear of the witch or the nearness of the First Family. Justin was one of the first wolves who’d come to him, so long ago, looking for protection and a place to belong. Justin’s loyalty, and willingness to help Luka keep the others in line, was what had really made him their Alpha. Sure, he’d already had the attitude and the strength for it, but attitude and strength were also common traits in a Rogue. Another wolf taking orders from him, fighting for him—that was what distinguished an Alpha from a Rogue. Justin had done a lot for him, and now he’d even died for Luka’s cause. Given his life in a fight that he’d unwittingly inherited.
    That fucking witch had taken another piece of Luka’s family. And, like the first time, he’d been forced to let that smug little human bastard escape. Only he hadn’t even gotten in a good punch this time. At least he’d left a mark before.
    The woman hanging over his shoulder moaned and her heartrate increased. She was waking up. And what the hell had a human woman been doing there, anyway? She’d clearly been terrified and completely ignorant of the danger she’d just put herself in, so he had to assume that she still didn’t realize what had really happened. Luka couldn’t imagine the witch even knew her name, let alone kept her company. In all the time he’d been tracking the witch, Luka had never seen him socialize with ordinary humans. But Justin certainly hadn’t been familiar with her. So she had to have just been in the wrong fucking place at the wrong fucking time.
    What mattered was the witch had tried to kill her. That meant she was in danger, at least as long as the witch kept breathing. And that was the real reason Luka was bringing her back to his temporary territory. Whoever she was, she’d just become a high-priority target of his mortal enemy. Only, whereas he knew what he was doing, this naïve woman hadn’t shown any signs of understanding the first thing about the paranormals in the world. She would absolutely get herself killed if he left her alone now.
    Just fucking great.
    “Alpha!” two female voices chorused as he stepped into the clearing that was the heart of their temporary home. Predictably, the twins Vanna and Morgan came rushing up to him, both having already shed the clothes they were ‘forced’ to wear in populated areas. They were the youngest matured females in the pack. What’s left of it. And they were always hanging off him, likely hoping he’d pick one of them as his mate. Little did they know he never intended to take a mate at all.
    But tonight their expressions were different, and he scented concern on the air. “Alpha, what happened?” Vanna asked, hands clasped in front of her chest.
    “Emily said she thought she heard Justin scream,” Morgan added, her longer hair the only thing obscuring her breasts.
    “Is everyone back?” Luka asked, ignoring their questions and looking past them. If they’d heard from Emily then he imagined Emily and Max, who were newly-mated and practically joined at the hip, had both returned. He was less sure about Russell, and Justin’s younger brother, Chad.
    “We’re all accounted for, Alpha,” Chad called from several feet behind him. With the wind blowing in his face Luka hadn’t even smelled him. “Except for Justin.”
    As Chad and Russell