Howled Promises (Cider Falls Shifters Book Two)

Rehlik, timber wolf shifter and owner of the Cider Falls bar Brewz, rapped his knuckles on the worn counter and waited for everyone to settle down. When it was quiet, he looked at the group he’d called together for the monthly meeting of the town’s business owners and cleared his throat.

Let’s get this meeting started so we can all get back to our lives, he said.

There was a chorus of hear, hear from everyone.

Last month we discussed funding from the alliance to hire another security officer, he said. The alliance approved the request for funding, so we’ll be able to hire another person to help keep our town safe.

Any word on who the hell is causing problems at the border? Constantine, the owner of the town’s diner, asked.

Rehlik looked to Weston, head of the town’s security force, and the big male cleared his throat. Not officially. Unofficially, we’re catching all kinds of crazy scents along the border, so we believe that whoever is messing around there is using extracts to mask their scent.

Rehlik stifled an irritated sigh. As a town for the misfits of the supernatural world, they were sometimes targeted by purebred shifters with the intention of driving them away. Cider Falls was a hidden gem—the mining town had been entirely abandoned and he’d bought it for next to nothing. After setting it up as the headquarters for his pack with the Federal Shifter Alliance, he’d advertised it as a place for any and all, no matter if they were exiled from their own group. He carefully screened the people who came to town to ensure that no criminals brought trouble into their streets. Lately, however, someone—or more likely, a group of someones—had been setting traps around the border of the town in the hunting territories. The patrols, led by Weston, had found them, but it was disturbing that no one seemed to be able to figure out just who the hell was messing with them.

Diem, owner of the town bookstore, said, What about cameras? When the first trap was found, we discussed putting up motion cameras.

We can do that, Weston said, but they can’t catch everything. Cameras can give people a false sense of security. It’s better for us—at least for the time being—to tell our people to stay away from the edges of our territory and hunt deeper in the woods.

Rehlik nodded in agreement, but he was thinking about when a group of purebred lynxes came looking for one of their exiled people and hunted them in the woods. For the five years he’d been in the town, Rehlik and his right-hand Trace hadn’t had too many problems, but it seemed like recently there was an uptick in these instances.

We need to get to the bottom of it, Rehlik said. Let’s double up on the patrols for now. And when you post the security officer job, maybe you can find someone who’s got experience with this kind of thing.

Weston nodded. I’m sure there will be some good candidates. I can double patrols for a while, but we can’t keep that up for too long because we don’t have the personnel.

Why don’t you just ask the others in the pack to help out? Archer, part-owner of the gas station, asked. I’m willing to take a shift patrolling if it means we can keep our people safe.

Rehlik looked at Weston. Let’s have a town hall meeting tomorrow night and get volunteers.

I’ll handle it, Weston said, making notes in his phone.

Now that that’s settled, let’s move on. Anyone got any new business? Rehlik asked.

Constantine said, Next week’s the anniversary celebration. Are we all set for food and supplies?

Rehlik nodded. I’m finalizing the order today.

Good, Constantine said, nodding. He looked at his phone. I still need someone to sit in the dunk booth.

I think it’s obvious who should do it, Weston said, grinning in Rehlik’s direction.

Yes, definitely, Mona, the head of the decorating committee, said. It’ll be a big hit.

Fine, fine, Rehlik said. If it’ll make everyone happy, I’ll take a turn in the booth, but only if Weston agrees also.

I’m game, Weston said.

Then that’s it, Constantine said. Let’s just hope the weather cooperates.

August in Kentucky could be sweltering, stormy, or mild, depending on Mother Nature’s mood. The forecast called for the celebration day to be hot and dry, but time would tell.

If that’s everything? Rehlik asked.

When the group nodded, he thanked them for showing up and sent them on their way. Once the bar was empty, he headed to the small office he shared with Trace. Trace was not only his right-hand male at the bar as the manager, but also his second-in-command of the pack. When he’d come to Cider Falls on the heels of being ousted as alpha from his timber wolf pack, he’d started a new pack, deciding that everyone would be welcome, regardless of what they could or couldn’t shift into. Even though he was a purebred timber wolf, he didn’t think like one.

Purebreds tended to like other purebreds and dislike any that weren’t like them. Rehlik was one of those odd ones who thought it shouldn’t matter whether someone was a different sort of shifter or a mixture of different shifters or other supernatural creatures, so long as they were a decent person. He’d wanted to bring his pack into modern times and allow mixed matings and children to co-exist among them. In the end, that thinking was what had brought his downfall in the pack. They were happy to stay mired in their old-fashioned ideology.

Sitting in the worn chair, Rehlik swiveled and looked at the desk and the work that beckoned. He had a million things to do—not only as alpha but as a business owner. For a moment, his wolf whined in his head. If only he could find his mate, then he’d have someone to be his alpha counterpart. But it wasn’t just the workload that made him wish for his mate...he was damn lonely.

Pushing the thoughts of the empty bed that awaited him away, he turned on the computer and set into the tasks to complete before the bar opened at seven. There was a pool tournament on Saturday, and he needed to make sure they had enough drinks and food for the crowd, and to secure the grand prize of an online retailer gift card worth two hundred and fifty dollars. And he needed to finalize the food and drink orders for the celebration.

His mood darkened as he thought about the traps on the edge of their town. They needed to figure out who the hell was setting traps and stop them. He was fairly certain it was a shifter group, but whether it was purebreds with a chip on their shoulder or a band of exiles looking to run out the current residents and take over, he didn’t know. There was no way in hell that Rehlik would allow anyone to hurt his people or drive them away, but they had to catch the bastards first.

Opening the web browser to the food distributor form, he filled it out carefully and tried not to think about what might happen if those traps started coming into town or residents’ backyards. No one would be safe, and that was not the point of Cider Falls. Deciding to make a patrol run himself, he worked fast to finish the orders and then texted Weston that he was going to head out on a run around town.

Keep me posted if you find anything, Weston texted back.

Will do. Who’s out now?

Dillon and Cody.

Tell them I’ll be around so they don’t wonder what’s up.

Keep your eyes peeled. Can’t have our alpha with a busted leg from a trap.

You bet.

Rehlik walked out the back of the bar and stripped, leaving his clothes and phone on the picnic table. Then he shifted into his timber wolf form and shook himself out. He hadn’t shifted in a few weeks—he’d been too busy. It felt damn good to be in the fur.

Bounding off into the woods, he kept his eyes and ears alert for anything out of the ordinary and made the rounds around the perimeter of Cider Falls. He made a mental note to start making regular patrols. It would only help things if there were more of their people looking for danger, and he was happy to be part of the solution. He just hoped that whoever was setting the traps would be caught soon. The thought of one of his people getting injured spurred him to decide on a second circuit around town before he even finished the first.

He was the alpha. It was his job to keep everyone in town safe, from the most vulnerable babies to the older shifters who just wanted to live out their lives in peace. He was good at his job, and he’d do anything necessary to ensure that no one was harmed.

Weylyn brushed the sweat from her brow and sat back on her heels. She had just finished planting a burgundy-colored mum in the flower bed that lined the front of her mom’s house. Her mom’s birthday was in a few days, and the only thing she’d asked for was to have mums planted for fall, and Weylyn was happy to oblige.

Oh that looks so nice, her mom, Penny, said when she stepped off the porch. I love the burgundy and yellow together.

Weylyn pulled off the gloves and smiled. "I do too. I need some more plant food. I’m going to