WEREWULF JOURNALS 5: HUNTING CHASE Camille Anthony www.loose-id.com Warning This e-book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. Loose Id® e-books are for sale to adults ONLY, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers. Werewulf Journals 5: Hunting Chase Camille Anthony This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. Published by Loose Id LLC 870 Market St, Suite 1201 San Francisco CA 94102-2907 www.loose-id.com Copyright © April 2009 by Camille Anthony All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this e-book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without prior written permission from Loose Id LLC. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions. ISBN 978-1-59632-909-6 Available in Adobe PDF, HTML, MobiPocket, and MS Reader Printed in the United States of America Editor: Maryam Salim Cover Artist: April Martinez Dedication To Kate Douglas because she loves my Wulves almost as much as I love her Chanku! Prom Night “What do you mean, she’s gone?” Chase didn’t know which irked him more…that he’d bellied up to Andrea’s pleas, putting all his business on hold to fly out for her prom night, or that she wasn’t home waiting for him. She should have known he’d come once he realized how important his presence was, and how seriously she wanted to attend the function. “What part of, ‘she’s gone’ do you need me to clarify for you?” Fortrayn McCallum stood in the doorway, hazel eyes gleaming with biting humor. Chase swallowed back a growl, refusing to give his quasi nephew more fodder for his self-righteous fun machine. “Who did she go with? Rosa?” Fortrayn shook his head, grin widening. “Nope, Rosa and Drew are in the family room watching the Disney channel. Wanna join us?” Chase grimaced. “I’ll pass. You’re enjoying this too much, nephew. If she didn’t go with Rosa, then who escorted her? Hunter? Melody?” Fort made no effort to hide his widening grin. “No and no. She went with her date for the evening.” Every function stilled within him. Heart and lungs shut down only to bound back online, pulse ratcheting into hyper phase. He couldn’t think, couldn’t get past the massive wound opening in his spirit. Chase wanted to scream, to collapse in rage even while his eyesight narrowed to a pinpoint focus, colored in red. From what seemed far away, Chase heard Fort’s gasping breaths, a gurgling cacophony of words that meant nothing. He thought Taylor was hollering, heard Rosa storming up the hall, screaming something about her mate. He ignored everything but the feel of his nephew’s neck compressed between the tightening claws of his morphed fingers. Cursing, Taylor stepped up, tried to wedge a finger between Chase’s thumb and fingers. “Alpha, think…you’re not going to want to go through with this.” “The hell I don’t!” Chase gritted from between clenched teeth. His fangs had emerged, rendering his voice hoarse and guttural. Fortrayn did some shifting of his own, taking on the bulk of his fighting form. “Back the fuck off me, or let’s fight!” His voice emerged as guttural as Chase’s. “I’m not the cub I was three years ago.” Reining back his anger, Chase eased his fingers around the younger wulf’s neck. Breathing hard, he confronted the man he’d left in charge of his mate’s safety, her fidelity. “Where is she? Who is with her? By the Moon, Fortrayn, I will kill you if you’ve allowed her to be…” He couldn’t even finish the sentence, couldn’t bear thinking of her being with another male. Shit, he’d waited for her, denying himself. He’d be damned if he’d stand by while some snot-nosed punk sampled what he’d been starving for. Fort swallowed, pushed his relative’s hands away, and snarled. Fingering his throat with one hand, shooing his agitated mate off with the other, he barked, “Rosa, go back to Drew. I’m fine. Chase and I are just having a little talk.” When it looked like the small plump woman would stay and argue with him, he ordered, “Go on. I’ll rejoin you in a moment.” He slanted a glare at the blond wulf. “He’s not going to do any more manhandling, are you, Uncle?” Dragging in a calming breath, Chase wordlessly shook his head, cautiously eyeing Rosa. She got up in his face, shaking her finger under his nose. “I’m tired of you and your distemper, hijo de puta! Every time you come around, you pull some shit like this, getting my family all worked up. Just remember, one day soon I’m going to be your mother-in-law. Mess with me, and I will make your life hell on earth.” Chase watched her stomp back down the hall. “Did she just call me a son of a bitch in Spanish?” Fort’s raised hand did nothing to hide his fang-revealing laughter. “Nope. That would’ve been a compliment. She called you a whoreson. No offense to Aunt Louisa.” Chase shuddered. “God, she’s fierce!” Fortrayn stared at him awhile, eyes filling with sly humor. “I could warn you about falling apples and trees and shit, but that would take away from my well-earned enjoyment in the coming few years.” His eyes went flat, playtime over. “Come on in, Uncle. We really do need to talk.” Still mired in anger, Chase followed Fort’s rangy, jeans-clad body into the kitchen, feeling like an overdressed fool in his tux and black tie. “I really don’t have the time for…” Fort turned on him with a scowl. “Yeah, that’s what you told ’Drea when she asked you to escort her. Man, do you have any idea how long it took her to work up the courage to ask?” Chase opened his mouth to speak, but Fort was there, busting his chops before he could get a word in edgewise. “Dude, you ignore her, always have. Yeah, she’s a teenager, so she loves all the presents and things, but they don’t really mean anything. I mean, you shower her with gifts, but she’s smart enough to know they cost you nothing. You don’t even pick them out yourself. There’s no emotional involvement in a freaking BMW, which, by the way, is moldering in the garage, still brand spanking new, having never been driven.” He’d gathered up a head of steam. “And while we’re at it, once you and she have mated, you can spoil the hell out of her, since you’ll be the one living with the consequences. However, as long as Andrea resides under my roof, don’t fucking ever go over my head again. We’d told her there would be no car until she was eighteen.” Chase stopped himself from offering excuses. He didn’t see the need to inform the younger wulf that Andrea hadn’t bothered telling him she’d already asked and been told no. “You’re right, Fort. I shouldn’t have given her the car without first checking with you and Rosa. I apologize.” Take that, you pompous asshole! Chase would have wagged his tail if he’d been in fur. He could be reasonable when he wanted to, and he bit back a bark of laughter that his ready capitulation had stolen Fort’s righteous thunder. “Well, that’s all right, then. But Chase”—hazel eyes clashed with hazel—“you can’t buy her. She’s not for sale. Smothering her with things is not the way to make her fall in love with you.” Chase stiffened. “I don’t require her to love me. I’m in need of a mate, and she’s an available breed. Don’t try to make more of this than there is.” Fort bit off a laugh. “You have got to be joking me. You don’t really expect me to believe that shit, do you? Fucked anyone lately?” Fort’s disbelieving expression made him uncomfortable. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, averting his gaze from the unrelenting glare focused on him. To his own amazement, Chase felt his face heat. His hands fisted in his pockets as Fort continued to heckle him. “Well? Why don’t you answer the question? Played bury the bone with anyone since before Andrea’s Quinceañera?” When no answer was forthcoming, Fort detonated the last bomb. “Or are you still getting hard and getting off staring at her picture?” The snarls coming from Chase’s mouth would have scared a sane man. Unfortunately, Fortrayn was neither sane nor a man, but a damn brave wulf. During the event three years back, when he’d still been a wet-behind-the-ears new adult, Fortrayn had confronted him in defense of Hunter’s home and bitch. Knowing he faced failure, Fort had still held his ground, willing to be seriously injured—perhaps even killed—for what he believed was a just cause. Now he battled with words, but his outlook seemed exactly the same. He’d go down hard before he allowed harm to come to those under his care. Chase couldn’t help but find that admirable. Where is she? Who is touching her, telling her how beautiful she looks? He wanted to maim the nameless, faceless lucky bastard. Who is standing beside her, usurping my place? He had to find out. Chase ran his fingers through his hair, nerves so on edge he wanted to scream. It was more urgent than simple need, more like a poisoned burr under his skin. He simply couldn’t stand the thought of another male being wh...
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