Beck's Pack

By Kay Doherty

Beck Landusky is new to being a wolf shifter. Having grown up an orphan surrounded by humans he finds pack life to be fascinating though not without difficulty. His only experience with shifters is from the pages of the paranormal romance novels he would find in his foster mother’s bookstore. Some things come to him naturally but for those that don’t, he relies on his mate, Shawn, and his friend and pack prophet, Jett, to help him learn.
Shawn Montgomery is slowly adjusting to his role as Silver Springs Pack Alpha while also helping his young mate find his place among the pack. Beck only recently learned what he is and still doesn’t have a complete understanding of what it means to be omega and mate to the Pack Alpha. While Shawn is struggling to find his balance between his new mate and his responsibilities to the pack, a sense of foreboding hangs over him. Shawn’s rival, Thurston Demers, Pack Alpha of the Golden Plains Pack has been entirely too quiet.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kay Doherty
• Release date: Jul 3, 2023
• ISBN: 9781954265042

Book preview

BECK’S PACK

Kay Doherty

Books by this Author

Contemporary Romances

Blind Date

Only You

Wounded Heart

Paranormal Romances

Sugar Cookies & Mistletoe

Hearts of Fire

Hearts of Blood

Hearts of Magic

Hearts of Destiny

Beck’s Wolf

About the Author

Kay is an omnisexual/polysexual who lives in Colorado with her poly-family. Her house is overrun with cats and dogs. Family is important to her so there are daily texts, frequent visits to her parents, and constant banter with her brothers. She happily suffers an addiction to coffee and Mexican food. She loves to read and write and can easily become consumed by it for hours, much to the dismay of others. On occasion she can be convinced to venture out into the world of the living despite being annoyed with the sun shining in her face.

Email (public address): [e-mail]

Facebook: @kaydohertyauthor

TikTok: @kaydohertyauthor

Website: kaydohertybooks.com

Acknowledgements

For all my friends, family, and readers – thank you. You’re the reason I share my stories with the world.

BONUS

Stay tuned – the first several chapters of Kay’s paranormal romance, Hearts of Fire, follows the conclusion of this novel.

CHAPTER ONE

Summer is making a beautiful entrance, Beck thought as he stepped onto the patio and raised his arms up toward the sky in a full body stretch that felt amazing. His spine cracked and he sighed in relief. His body was stiff after reading on the couch for hours without moving. Shawn had disappeared into his office with Nick, Cain, and Max to discuss God knew what kind of pack business. Beck had made the mistake of asking once and nearly fell asleep from boredom when Shawn started talking about territory boundaries and something about a dispute over a dog and chicken. He felt bad for zoning out. Shawn smiled at him when he realized Beck was daydreaming and said he understood.

Beck placed his hands on his hips, taking in the beauty surrounding him. While growing up in Drummond he’d thought the views from town were beautiful, but nothing compared to the splendor of Silver Springs, located on the gentle slope of a mountain with forest on three sides and the valley spread out below, dotted with small family-run farms. At the farthest end was a cattle ranch. He’d learned early on the pack steered clear of that area. Horse and cow were a wolf’s choice of food only when they were desperate and since the Silver Springs Pack was a shifter pack, they avoided that option all together. It was easier to have a steak or burger as a human than risk getting shot by a rancher while hunting as a wolf.

Today the sun was shining in a cloudless sky with the occasional gust of wind. The manicured green lawn eventually gave way to wildflowers and forested landscape to the west. Small patches of snow still clung to the most shaded areas within the trees as the temperatures slowly began rising into the sixties. In the next week or two the weather was predicted to warm up to the seventies and low eighties. It was the perfect time of year as far as Beck was concerned. Shawn liked it colder, but Beck loved warm weather and being able to lie outdoors in the sun, especially in wolf form. The sun heating his fur was a new experience Beck had immediately fallen in love with. As soon as the night temperatures were steadily in the fifties and sixties, he was going to ask Shawn to sleep outside as wolves. He had never done it before and he was excited to try it.

Adjusting to pack life had been easier than he’d expected; everyone he had met so far welcomed him and Ellie with open arms, but he was getting bored. His life in Drummond had been simple. He worked at the bookstore with his mom and spent the rest of his time reading. Every so often, he’d attend a party thrown by friends from high school or have a dinner date. Now that he was in Silver Springs and officially mated to the Pack Alpha, his life had changed drastically. There were monthly pack runs, dinners with family and friends or other pack members, trips around all the pack lands to check on families and businesses alike, as well as territory lines that needed to be patrolled to ensure security, and of course, meetings with the pack prophet, Jett, as well as being consulted himself. There were always little things that came up daily that Shawn or Beck had to deal with. Beck didn’t mind being busy, but he missed the bookstore and seeing his mom every day.

He hadn’t planned on reading as long as he did. He had long since given up setting alarms because the likelihood of being interrupted was high. Shawn’s meeting was running long and Beck had managed to finish his book. Beck pulled out his phone to text Ellie. It was nearing one in the afternoon, but he had a feeling she hadn’t stopped for lunch yet. Without him working with her, she was doing everything at her new store by herself, which she had always loved doing. Unfortunately, it meant she often became busy and forgot to eat. He also wanted to see how her new place was shaping up.

Cain had helped Ellie negotiate a deal on a two-story brick building in downtown Silver Springs. The store was located on the first floor while the second had two, one-bedroom apartments. For now, Ellie lived in one of those apartments while she renovated the second so she could rent it out. One day, she would move in with Cain, but they were taking their time getting to know each other. Beck suspected it was because Ellie was not only a human; she was also six years older than her mate. Cain didn’t care about the age difference. He willingly gave Ellie the space and time she needed with the compromise that he could visit her whenever he wanted, which he did daily unless pack business took him out of town.

Beck hit send on the text inviting Ellie to lunch. There was an awesome pizza parlor in town located inside an old theatre Beck loved going to. There were other places in town he liked as well, but there was something about the parlor’s ambience he thoroughly enjoyed. His phone rang in his hand, displaying Ellie’s name. He picked up to her slightly-out-of-breath voice.

Hello there handsome, she said.

Hi. Why are you breathing heavy? Wait! Please don’t answer that.

Beck grimaced. That was probably not a question he should ever ask his mom again now that she had a man in her life. Ellie chuckled.

I was making a pot of coffee at the drink station and left my phone under the register. I jogged over to it when I heard the text chime. Why is your mind always in the gutter these days?

I have a mate and I know what he’s like so I figure yours is probably the same. Horny bastards.

You’re not entirely wrong there, but I think he’s still in a meeting at the pack house.

Oh, right. It’s been hours and I forgot he was here. Does it feel weird to say pack house? It kind of feels weird to hear it.

No stranger than it was when Cain shifted into a wolf right before my eyes and then later learning my son could do the same.

I concede to your logic.

You always do. Ellie’s laugh was joyous and made Beck smile. What are you up to today?

Nothing. I finished the mystery novel you gave me and now I’m hungry. Want to meet for lunch at Power’s Pizza Parlor?

There’s the teenager I’m used to. Sure. Power’s is fine. Are you walking here or are you going to be brave and drive?

I’ll walk. It’s beautiful out today. Plus, I’m pretty sure the truck keys are still in Shawn’s pocket from the breakfast run this morning and I don’t want to interrupt his meeting.

Text me when you get close, then. See you soon.

Ellie hung up and Beck shot off a quick text to Shawn letting him know he was having lunch in town. He tucked his phone away, took a deep breath of fresh air, and then started the walk downhill to Silver Springs.

CHAPTER TWO

Shawn ended the video call and rolled his neck. A chorus of groans filled the office as everyone seated around the conference table did their own stretching. The meeting with Alpha Torres with the Tres Rios Pack in southwest New Mexico had been important and necessary, but he’d forgotten how much Torres liked to talk. Left to Shawn, the meeting would have taken half the time.

Damn, Nick said. His back gave a loud crack as he twisted in his seat. He twisted the other way and suffered another equally loud snap. I get that inter-pack relations are important and all, especially with Dirk moving down there to be with Sasha, but why does playing nice have to take five hours?

Agreed. Ellie made me breakfast this morning, but she cooks like a human and it wasn’t nearly enough. For the past half hour I’ve been expecting my stomach to growl loud enough for Torres to complain about being interrupted. Cain stood up, placed his hands on his hips, and arched backward.

Shawn rubbed his eyes and then his neck muscles. His entire body was stiff and he hadn’t seen Beck since breakfast earlier in the morning. The short text he’d received earlier wasn’t nearly enough to quell the desire to see his mate. He glanced at his friends. Nick was the Pack Beta, Max and Cain were the head guardians, and all of them had mates of their own. Shawn was the only one of the four who was officially claimed and he remembered the days before claiming Beck had been rough on him. Nick and Max were mates to the pack prophet, Jett. Cain’s mate turned out to be Ellie, who was very human and technically Shawn’s mother-in-law. She was technically Beck’s foster mother, but for all anyone cared, Beck was her son, blood related or not.

How are you guys holding up being separated from your mates this long? he asked.

I have a constant itch under my skin, Max answered.

Cold block of ice in the chest for me, Nick chimed in.

Like I can’t get enough air into my lungs, Cain said.

Shawn nodded. He had experienced all those sensations at different times when he’d been separated from Beck. The itching sensation he’d been able to alleviate with no-strings-attached sex during the fourteen years Beck had been missing. Once he’d found him, the chest pain and shortness of breath were unavoidable. Nothing but having his mate back in his arms would resolve that discomfort.

Please tell me this gets better after the claiming, Max said.

Yeah, sorry. It doesn’t. Shawn wished it had, but he’d claimed Beck twice and he still couldn’t breathe normally if he was away from the little wolf for too long. It takes longer to set in, but it doesn’t disappear completely.

Great. Nick rubbed his chest and shared a glance with Max.

The two had a rare situation among wolf shifters where they had the same mate. Shawn supposed it was lucky the two had fallen in love with each other first. Sharing a mate would have been far more difficult if they’d been strangers or even friends. Even being in love the way they were, sharing Jett was going to cause problems. The prophet was a handful in his own right, but navigating a relationship between three people would have its own unique set of issues. All Shawn could do was be there if Nick needed a sounding board or to quietly get drunk.

Are we done, Alpha? I’d like to check on Ellie before starting my guard duties tonight.

You and Max can go. Beck texted earlier and said he was having lunch with Ellie so when you get there, send my little wolf back home to me.

Cain grinned as he picked up his notes and pen. Will do, Alpha. See you at shift change in the morning.

Max gave Nick a kiss and then followed Cain out of the office, closing the door with a soft click behind them. Nick stared at him for a moment before speaking.

Something is bothering you.

Shawn grinned. You know me well.

Yeah, Nick chuckled. So well, in fact, I know a few minutes more of silence and you’d have been pacing the room like a trapped lion. What’s up?

You ever get the feeling things are too quiet?

Every time Jett hasn’t yelled from the other room for more than an hour, I get nervous. I never know if he’s left the house without telling us, if he’s doing something we’d prefer he not do, or if he’s just lost in his head drawing or mixing concoctions.

Is he hard to handle?

Shawn always thought Jett was high strung and dramatic and figured he’d be a struggle for whoever his mate turned out to be. When he had learned Jett was mated to Nick and Max, Shawn thought it was an odd yet perfect match. Max was energetic and playful, allowing for Jett’s wild behavior, while Nick was steady and could be strict at times, which would keep Jett’s excess in check.

"Believe it or not, he’s scared, distrustful, and starved for love and affection. It may look like Max and I are spoiling him, but we’re not. He needs that attention, desperately. So, yes, he’s a handful, but he doesn’t mean to be. Now, back to you, boss man."

All right, then, Shawn said with a nod. I’m anxious because it’s been awfully quiet on the Golden Plains front. I completely understand Thurston hunkering down to lick his wounds, but not for this long. It’s been months without a peep and I can’t help but believe he’s using this time to plan an attack.

I’ll send out a patrol tomorrow to gather intel. See what he’s up to.

Yes, do that. How is the guardian recruitment going?

The usual. Got a lot of young, eager pups that aren’t ready. There are five good seeds that can be trained up nicely and about ten or so who may or may not wash out. The rest I’ll send home with a ‘try again in a year or two’ and a pat on the back.

Shawn nodded and then grunted. Loosen the entry guidelines a bit and allow another five to ten in and do the same during training. Let a few in that normally wouldn’t make the cut. I want to bolster up our numbers securing the pack territory lines and protecting those on pack lands. Depending on the news your informants come back with, I may issue a pack-wide Congregate Order.

Nick winced. At least you’re doing it during the summer months. A lot of the outlying families will just pitch tents on the compound lawn. Nick’s facial expression said it all.

But?

"We have a couple