Pack Gems by Kuro Kusai, WhiteWolf Aura (year 2 reading books .txt) 📕

To hear Taylor tell it, she was lucky Mason had come in time before Cal used the last of his strength to wrap his jaws around her throat.

To hear Calvin recall it, it was in complete awe. He confessed to Mason that Taylor had calmed him, making him come out of his blood-lusting, lupine survival instincts. Some random stray simply didn't do that to a dominant wolf that had lost himself to his baser instincts.

It was then that Mason realized the raw potential Taylor was holding back, the power she had.

She claimed to hate alphas because of the power they lorded over her…but she had no trouble telling him or Axel no.

Maybe it was all in her mind.She was at a young, vulnerable age when her Alpha had abused his power.

Or maybe…Maybe she was aware of her own dominance and was too afraid to, as she put it, "enslave the weak" She didn't want to order because she knew how unpleasant it could be to have opinions taken away.

Mason brightened a degree.

If that were the case, he had some hope.

She didn't even have to issue a single command by his side unless she wanted to.

He could explain to her he wasn't a power hungry Alpha that squashed opinions that opposed him, he did what was good for his pack as a whole—and didn't order a single command more.

And whether she wanted to accept it or not, wolves were attracted to her, unconsciously listened and watched her—Taylor was a wise, magnetic Were, one born to lead.

"Axel's car is stopping in for gas, should we do the same?" Daren broke his concentration.

"Ah, sure, let's get it over with. Fill the tank quick and I'll get some drinks and snacks."

His own stomach growled in anticipation.They had been driving for hours upon hours nonstop, eager to reach Kaden and Taylor before they magically got wind of their plans and ghosted from their reach yet again.

They had briefly entertained the idea of flying there, but they hadn't wanted to go through security with the weapons and other gadgets they had that wouldn't go through airport security.

"Get me a Fanta!" Akira called, getting out of the car to stretch his legs.

"Seriously? What are you, twelve?" Daren snorted, already taking the pump off the hook.

"Orange soda is a timeless drink, don't belittle it—"

Mason didn't hear the rest of Akira's defense for the disgusting drink because the gas station door closed behind him, issuing a cheery jingle.

A balding elderly man barely spared him a glance before going back to his Sudoku with a renewed fervor.

"Twenty on pump two," a woman told him, throwing the money down on the counter.

The man nodded in reply, it seemed he wasn't much of a talker—but the woman didn't seem to get that vibe from him as she continued, "Barely made it here…"

Mason lost interest and made his way down the drink aisle grabbing waters, cokes, and one orange Fanta.

"—I mean, there wasn't another gas station for miles. I thought I was gonna have 'ta push her home." The woman joked.

Mason next browsed the snack aisle.

"Yeah, we are the only stop for a good couple miles and more." The man grunted a reply, "It mostly used to be a truck stop until the other gas station's closed down."

Mason had pretzels, trail mixes, and M&M's in his arms when he picked up a bag of chips.

He froze in his tracks.The scent was unmistakable. Taylor.Grant it, it was faint—but it was there.

He loosened his death grip on the bag and cradled it gently, as it was his only link to her.

Walking up to the counter, he pushed aside the woman still blathering about…something.

He issued an "Excuse me" he didn't really feel; his gaze only on the old man behind the counter. "Was there two women in here a few days ago? A tall, tan, brunette, gold eyes and a dark haired Latina—"

"With a bigger fella?" he interjected "Yeah, sure, I remember them. Don't see very many beauties like that come through our doors. Thought the poor things were getting harassed by the giant guy but they settled down after some talkin' and went quietly with 'im."

Mason nearly dropped his wallet on the floor.

The man didn't seem to notice as he carried on, ringing up his items.

"The guy I recognized. He's a regular here, drives a pristine little silver rig. Never caused any trouble, although he looks rough enough."

"How big was this guy exactly?" Mason's knuckles were clenched white.

"Did they say where they were headed?"

Mason didn't know when Axel had come to stand beside him in place of the woman, but he did now, and he looked just as outraged as Mason felt.

"Ah, now that I don't know. I wasn't really listenin', a glance now and then—although, those glances told me he was at least six feet and stocky enough to bench four of those girls, no sweat."

Mason bit the inside of his cheek to keep for baring his teeth in fury.

Feeling almost robotic as he accepted his card and receipt back, he thanked the man and stiffly walked back outside. He could feel Axel beside him in a similar state.

He was all the way to the car when Axel's low voice reached his ears, "When I get my hands on that damn girl, she's going to wish she never even dreamt up this grand escape."

Mason had to agree.

"Did you get a good read on his scent?"

"No. Too many people filtering in and out."

"It was by pure luck that I even picked up on Taylor," He held up the chips that had come in direct contact with her, "But I think his scent is on there too. It's hard to pick up among all the other unfamiliar ones, but I smell a foreign Were scent."

Axel took a sniff and nodded,"Well, at least we know we're heading in the right direction."

Yeah, but it wasn't the best clue to find.

Mason sniffed the bag one more time, memorizing the odd smell.

He was going to find the bastard and make him regret breathing the same air as his mate.

~Taylor's POV~

 Taylor stretched, reveling in the fact that there were no other wolves in the whole house—well, aside from Kaden, who was still slumbering in the next room.

The house was empty except for the beds, plain and smelt of PineSol in an attempt to wash out the smells of it's previous residents.

It didn't work with her nose but it was a nice gesture.

Shaking the covers off her body, she ambled to the kitchen in search of food.

Quickly finding out it was just too much to hope for, she finger-brushed her hair and prepared herself for the outside world the best she could.

Opening the door, her first step was halted as she encountered a basket.

It was a simple straw hand-basket with a bright tie-dye cloth covering the contents in the center.

But she didn't have to look to know that the mystery objects hidden from view were of the food variety.

Taylor's first reaction was joy.

Obviously she was starving and some wonderful person took pity on her plight.

However, that thought was dashed just as quickly as it was thought up.

Who was this thoughtful person and why didn't they show their faces? It wasn't in her nature to put her trust in some random person's kindness—although her stomach urged her to today.

"See, this is why I wanted to deliver it in person! Look at her, just staring at it in suspicion."

A voice came from behind the fence of their temporary front yard, it seemed that they were trying to be stealthy by whispering but doing such a terrible job that she could only glance at the spot in wonder.

"Shh! Aw, crap! She's looking this way, I think she knows we're here!"Another voice hissed back.

It was then one of her spies decided to abandon their stealthy observations and vault over the fence and into view.

It was none other than Cleo.

"Morning!" She waved and was already skipping over to Taylor.

With a curse, the other spy jumped over the fence to halt Cleo's progress across the lawn,"I'm sorry about this," the woman grimaced, "I tried to tell her to leave you alone but she has taken a fascination with you and your friend…"

The woman had slightly almond-shaped eyes that swirled a hazel green from their depths. Her hair was a light, sand blonde that cascaded loosely down her shoulders.

"I knew they'd be hungry!" Cleo pouted and struggled from her grasp.

"We're leaving."

"But Tessa!"Cleo dug her feet into the lawn.Watching the scene in mild amusement, she gave in,"Would you…like to come in and share some with us?"

Tessa released her grip from Cleo in surprise and she bounded away, cheering in joy. "Yaaay! Absolutely!"

"Oh, but..." Tessa hovered in the doorway as Taylor followed Cleo inside.

"What? Don't want to follow your friend into the wolves den?" Kaden grumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, "Smart move."

It wasn't until about three blueberry muffins in that Tessa started to un-tense her shoulders.

It turned out she was a WereCat, puma to be specific, and it seemed she had some rather unpleasant run-ins with the Wolves who took the Cat vs. Dog grudge to the extreme.

"That's crappy." Taylor devoured the last breakfast item in the basket, "Were they the wolves in this place?"

"No," Cleo chirped in, "But they are just as jerkish."

"Well…can't wait to meet them." Taylor felt her lips twitch in a snarl that was already becoming synonymous with the Wolves here.

"Agreed," Kaden started in on the cookies which Cleo, her mind replaced "runt" with her rightful name after one delicious bite, so expertly baked.

Taylor was inspecting the cookies she found hiding at the bottom of the basket when she heard the thundering blast.

l Axel's POV l

Axel walked through the cloud of dirt and debris blowing around in the air and looked around the community.They came in through the hole in the perimeter wall, landing in some unlucky person's yard.

Faces peered out from the lit up windows, some scared, others angered. People had started to file out into the streets to figure out what was going on.

All kinds of Weres stalked forward, slowly making their way towards him.

A few of the scents were familiar to him, but before he could start to identify what kind of species of Were, he heard a shout coming from his left—Axle froze.

"Sean! Stop!" Kaden's voice rang out and it took him a second to realize something was barreling towards him, giving him just enough time to dodge the attack.

Axel backed away and assessed the man, a tiger. A damn Siberian Tiger.

He had known one back in the military and they were quite sadistic…and hard to kill.

Axel's team engaged in battle, fighting with vigor at the growing number of Weres in what he could already see was going to be a hugely unfair fight. The Weres knew his pack was made up of Wolves, however most of his team had never encountered the wild and different Weres-breeds barring their fangs in front of them.

His attention swung back to Kaden as she stood frozen in-between them with indecision, her dark hair and his necklace both swaying in the breeze—he couldn't help but smile. Although it didn't last long, thanks to