Rogue: Bay Harbor Wolves Vol. 1 Read online

  Rogue

  Bay Harbor Wolves

  Vol. 1

  By. B.A. Stretke

  Copyright © 2020 by B.A. Stretke

  Published by Superiorland Publishing

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person (living or dead), place, or event is purely coincidence.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Considering his size, the wolf went down easier than expected. For all the bluster and rage, he had very little to back it up with when it came to an actual altercation. Derek stood looking down at him intent on finishing this; the wolf was too big of a threat to ignore. This wolf was a murmurer, an instigator, the type of individual who shot at you from the bushes or sent others to do their dirty work. The last wolf this man sent in an attempt to take out Derek sleeps this night somewhere at the bottom of the bay.

  “Your brother is unfit to lead this pack. He will be brought down and so will you.” The wolf roared and attempted to catch Derek unaware as he leapt to his feet and struck out at him. It was a miss as Derek once again brought him down with a jab to the mid-section and a knee to the face when he bent forward.

  “He sends you because he is incapable of handling anything himself.” The wolf was becoming desperate. “I will see him removed and destroyed. You can’t stop us. Many others follow me.” He shifted and jumped to his feet but again he was too slow. Derek didn’t shift, he didn’t need to, he took him to the ground once again pinning him in a chokehold. The man’s wolf was as clumsy and inept as he was.

  “Henrik didn’t send me Kent,” Derek stated flat and to the point as he continued to tighten his hold. “Henrik is a great Alpha and leader; his only fault is being a little too trusting of his own kind. Luckily, he has me to ferret out the frauds.” Derek saw the change in the wolf’s awareness and further tightened his grip as Kent tried to shift back perhaps to carry on a further discussion which Derek had no time for. “I’ve been watching you and yours for some time now and rest assured, I will eradicate every fucking one of you from this Pack.” With that, he twisted and snapped Kent’s neck and held on until all life drained away from the traitorous wolf.

  Derek stood and flung the body of the wolf across his shoulders and carried him to the edge of the bay. There he tossed him in to join his henchman at the bottom. He then drove over to Kent’s dwelling located in a less prominent section of the Community and torched it intending to send a clear and deadly message to his followers.

  …

  Leo Russo locked his apartment door and headed to work. He passed people on the sidewalk on their way home having finished their day but his was just getting started. This was his second week working as a bartender at the Black Dog Cocktail Lounge located inside the Indigo Hotel.

  The hotel was situated near the shore in the town of Eastport giving it a gorgeous view of the bay. It was also only a few blocks from his apartment if you took that one dark alley that was nothing at five in the afternoon but scary as hell at two in the morning. He only took it when he was especially tired and confident that there weren’t any derelicts hanging around. So far, he’d been lucky, but he didn’t take that route often.

  He hurried through the side door to the lounge and ducked into the staff breakroom. With twenty minutes to spare, it gave him a few minutes to settle in before his shift started. The Indigo was one of the larger hotels in the area and attracted the higher-end clientele which translated into good tips.

  It had been renovated with the Black Dog lounge and Pino’s restaurant being added eleven years ago when Henrik Vaughn purchased the property. Vaughn and his associates have owned and operated it ever since and were the ones to turn it into an exclusive, upscale location. Leo hadn’t seen much of the hotel apart from the lounge, restaurant, and coffee shop but the place smelled of money, influence, and power.

  Leo hadn’t met the owner, few had according to what he’d heard from staff in the two weeks he’d been there. The Vaughn Corporation occupied the top floor of the hotel, but access was by a private entrance and a private elevator. No riff-raff allowed; Leo grinned.

  “Leo, I know you just got here but could you get behind the bar and give Sam a hand. The happy hour crowd is showing up and it’s larger than usual. Must have been a hard day for everyone.” Mike the manager was rushing around as was typical. He was a little high strung but extremely competent from what Leo had observed. He was tall and thin as a rail and not much of a looker, but he made up for it all with a ready smile and real knack with people. He could calm the rowdiest customer and apparently get someone to start their shift fifteen minutes early without complaint.

  “Sure, let me hang my jacket and I’ll be right out.”

  “Thanks.” Mike’s big smile and a pat on the shoulder made you think you were doing him the biggest favor ever. He was a nice guy, but Leo didn’t kid himself and knew that it was all surface. If he pissed him off the friendly veneer would be gone in an instant.

  …

  “I’ll have Derek straighten him out. The Corporation can’t be involved.” Henrik Vaughn, Alpha of the Bay Harbor Wolves picked up his phone and called his brother Derek, the pack fixer. Derek Vaughn could get any job done quickly, cleanly, and above all quietly. When it was best that Henrik or the Pack not be perceived as involved, at least not directly, they called on Derek to take care of the problem and he always took care of the problem. Derek was a bit of a rogue and everyone knew it.

  Situations that were messy, interfering or dangerous to the welfare of the Pack and its businesses were his forte. People came around to his way of thinking or they came up missing. The man was a legend and a nightmare; tall, dark, and deadly with a heart of solid stone. He wasn’t a monster but according to those who dealt with him, he wasn’t far from it.

  Derek was the younger brother of Alpha Henrik Vaughn. Henrik, when forming his pack so many decades ago, had offered Derek the position of Beta and then Enforcer and also a dubious position of Commander but Derek shunned titles. He preferred to be on-call as needed and not responsible for a position or people beneath him in rank. He worked for and answered only to his brother, Alpha Henrik and no one else and that’s the way he preferred to keep it. There was a rogue streak in Derek that couldn’t tolerate the constraints of an official position.

  As it turned out fixer, as Henrik and his Beta Zayn referred to him, became his calling. Low profile, few words, and a heavy hand was his signature approach. He operated outside human and pack law as needed to maintain the best interests of his Alpha and his Pack.

  “Derek, I know you just got home but I need you to pay a business call on Councilman McCrory. He has indicated to other Council members that he’s not on board with us buying the lot from the city that lies adjacent to the Hotel. I need you to convince him that opposing the purchase is not a good idea.” Alpha Henrik laid it out.

  “Consider it done,” Derek stated and then hung up. He’d just gotten back from the coast where he completed a heated contract settlement with several suppliers. The Hotel was growing and so were their needs but not everyone understood that it was not good practice to try and gouge a Wolf Pack. Derek cleared up their misunderstanding and the contracts were delivered to Henrik yesterday.

  He grabbed his coat and headed out. It was nearly midnight and it was well known that McCrory frequented his side piece on Friday night so now see
med the perfect time for a visit. Derek knew McCrory wouldn’t be inclined to call the authorities to the residence of his girlfriend considering his wife thought he was playing cards at the fire hall.

  Derek made it his business to know the business of others. Especially enemies, dignitaries, and authority figures. Secrets were common and explosive among such people and Derek knew where all the bodies were buried in this town.

  …

  It was an hour before quitting time and Leo was dead tired. The crowd kept coming and business was brisk all night with several parties breaking out as friends and acquaintances met up. It was a good night but draining. Keeping a smile in place and welcome banter at hand was hard to maintain for eight hours. “Go ahead and take a short break,” Leo called to Sam who was just as beat as he was. “I can handle this.” He assured him as Sam moved out from behind the bar and into the back room.

  Mike approached the bar and motioned him over. “You and Sam can leave as soon as we shut the doors. Toby will clean up and I’ll finish the till.” Mike slapped the bar and gave Leo a half-smile. “You two did well tonight so go home and relax.”

  “Thank you.” Leo wasn’t sure what else to say. He wasn’t used to a boss taking on extra jobs just to be nice. Unfortunately, their busboy and dishwasher, Toby didn’t get the same offer. But Toby didn’t have to deal with the customers or listen to their complaints, so it was fair enough he supposed.

  Just before 2 a.m. as promised, he and Sam clocked out and left the hotel. He stuck his head into the kitchen to let them know he and Sam were leaving but Mike and Toby seemed to be in a serious conversation, so he didn’t intrude.

  It was nice to get an earlier start on his walk home. Being as rung out as he was, Leo was looking forward to a shower and bed. Although it was late, there were still several people on the street, so Leo stayed aware. Eastport wasn’t crime-ridden or anything, but they had their share of petty offenses and assaults. Leo always tried to be aware of his surroundings especially while walking home late at night.

  He zipped his jacket up and hunkered his head down against the cool spring breeze and hurried his steps. The sooner he got home the sooner he could truly relax. It wasn’t long before he was faced with the big decision of taking the dark alley or walking around it which added roughly five minutes to his time.

  A slight pause and then he headed into the alley. It was quiet and vacant, as far as he could see, and besides this was Eastport no one was going to attack him. He kept talking to himself as he hurried along keeping his eyes and ears open. The end of the alley was in sight and he put on a little extra speed eager to get out of that dark place and into his warm apartment. Those were his thoughts when the first punch landed against the side of his head bouncing it off the brick wall beside him.

  …

  Derek exited the apartment off Main and headed for the Hotel. McCrory came around quite rapidly dropping his idea of opposing Henrik’s bid for the property nearly as soon as Derek showed up. Derek had come to a time in his life where he didn’t always have to make threats. His presence was intimidating enough and was often all it took to change minds. It was a reputation that he worked hard to cultivate over the years of helping to make this town the home of the Bay Harbor Wolf Pack.

  He was walking into a dark alley when he noticed a fight but dismissed it as soon as it came into his view. Other people’s business, he told himself and tried to keep walking. He stopped and glanced to the side. It was two on one, not too outnumbered if the one had any skill. Although, there was a vast size differential. The one was quite small, and he wasn’t doing well

  He sized up the situation and found it impossible to walk away. “Why the fuck am I caring?” He again tried to move on, but something pulled him back and rather than question it, he turned and headed towards the brawl.

  The small one was taking a real beating but was trying to hold his own. The man knew how to take a punch, keeping his chin tucked to his shoulder and his mouth closed with his jaw clenched while rolling with the punches. He must have been in such situations before, was the random thought that passed through Derek’s mind. He grabbed one of the attackers by the neck and pulled him away from the smaller man.

  The other man turned on him then but suddenly with a gasp took a shaky step back from the attack he was about to attempt. The fear on his face was most gratifying. Unfortunately, the one he held by the back of the neck continued to try and fight, so Derek rammed his face into the brick wall and held it there. The small man who was the victim of these brutes leaned against the wall and took a deep breath, probably his first since this attack started. Derek found that he was oddly satisfied by the man’s relief.

  “We’re sorry.” The one stated and repeated over and over. “We didn’t know.” He added.

  It was then that Derek got the rush of awareness that he’d hoped to never experience. He didn’t have the time or a place for this in his life right now. He slowly turned to regard the small man leaning against the wall and was shocked by what he saw.

  There he was half beaten, panicked, gasping for breath and handsome as hell. This short redhead with the honey hazel eyes was his mate. “Fuck.” Was the only word that could express his feelings at that moment. He failed to control his wolf for a split second and his face half shifted as the wolf lurched forward to get a look at their new mate.

  In an instant, the small man jumped away from the wall and started to run. The scent of his shock and fear filled the air as he tore out of the alley. Derek paused a moment to control his wolf and then tossed the man, whose neck he still gripped, to the ground at his friend’s feet.

  “Touch that human again and I will kill you both.” Derek would give them this one warning and if they knew him, they knew that one warning was all they would get.

  “We’re sorry.” The one stated again. “We didn’t know.”

  “Now you do,” Derek stated flatly. With that, they saw their exit and took it.

  Derek stood silent and still as he stared after them but was seeing only the fear that had washed over his mate when he saw the dark shades of Derek’s wolf. Tilting his head to the side, he took a deep breath breathing in his mate’s heady fragrance.

  He’d tracked many in his long life, but none had been as simple and straightforward as following this man. His mate’s scent filled not only his senses but his entire being. It awoke his wolf who paced eagerly in the back of his mind and pushed him to find their man.

  …

  Leo couldn’t believe how stupid he’d been going into that alley. Five minutes was all it saved him, and it ended up costing him dearly. Those two were like professionals working in tandem to take him apart and they nearly did, if it hadn’t been for that stranger who happened along.

  Leo slipped off his jacket and shirt and made his way into the bathroom before discarding his jeans and the rest. He needed a hot shower before thinking about what had happened. His cuts and bruises would do better after soaking in a hot shower. He wasn’t thinking clearly, and he wasn’t going to think about anything until he cleared his head.

  Unfortunately, that was not to be. The moment he calmed the image of that man came rushing into this mind’s eye. He was very tall and although muscular he was not thick. His body was striking in an unattainable way. No matter how hard Leo worked at it he could never achieve such a build. His walk was casual and natural, and he was not deterred by the violence he encountered. He handled those men like they were nothing, mere nuisances in his way. Leo was captivated by the man until . . . no, he told himself, he would not think about it.

  The soothing rush of hot water cascaded over his head and shoulders. It eased the pain and brought him a small amount of comfort from the night’s events. Leaning his forehead against the warm tile of the shower wall he once again saw that face. It had to be a trick of the light. There was no other explanation for what Leo saw.

  When the man first entered the alley, his face was shadowed but Leo could clearly see dark hair a stron
g jaw and a pair of ice-blue eyes. But when the man grabbed the first guy and rammed his face into the wall, he turned to look at Leo and his face contorted. It looked less human and more like a beast. His teeth were too long, his brows just a dark ridge and his gaze wase savage. Leo shook his head and tried to rethink the vision, but it was there burned into his brain and he couldn’t see it any other way.

  He finished and toweled off and then checked himself in the mirror. He hadn’t looked at himself prior to the shower figuring he’d look better after. He noticed a growing bruise around his left eye, scratches to his face and a plethora of bruises to his body. The stiffness was setting in as was the way with beatings. He gave a hollow half-grin at himself in the mirror. “Thought I’d left this shit behind me, but apparently not.”

  He took a couple of pain relievers and pulled on his boxers and headed for bed. He had a studio apartment, so the living room and bedroom were the same room. It didn’t matter, it wasn’t as if he were planning on inviting company over anytime soon. With that thought came another raging back at him, the man in the alley.

  His dark magnetism was undeniable and now lying in bed and finally at peace for the night Leo’s thoughts would not let go of the incident in the alley or the stranger who saved him. Monster, beast, man, it didn’t matter he saved Leo when he didn’t have to.

  …

  Derek followed the scent for about a block where it stopped. It was Reinhart’s Furniture Store it had three apartments on the second floor which they rented out. His mate was in one of those apartments. The knowledge that his mate was but a few yards away was causing an excitement that reached his wolf. It took all of his control to resist forcing himself inside to capture and claim his timid human.

  He satisfied his eager wolf by doing quick research on the occupancy of this building and coming up with the likely name of his mate. The three studios were rented to John Morley age sixty, Angela Fiche age thirty-four and Leo Russo age twenty-three. His mate was easily deduced. Leo Russo was his name and a fine one it was. He moved in two weeks ago and his prior residence was listed as Napierville IL, a suburb of Chicago.