Sasha's Wounded Wolf (James Pack Book 7) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Sasha’s Wounded Wolf

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Sasha’s Wounded Wolf

  James Pack

  By Lacey Thorn

  Sasha’s Wounded Wolf

  by

  Lacey Thorn

  Sasha…

  My life changed forever the day I was attacked. I barely survived. If not for my brother, I wouldn’t have. Learning that my mate had died in an accident the same day made me pray for death. Revenge gave me purpose until there was no more blood to spill. It was a miracle that saved me. One I vowed to hide away and protect with my life. Until an old friend said he had information on my mate’s death.

  Rowan…

  I remember the explosion, the fire, and the darkness that sucked me away from it all. Then I woke to unbearable pain and damage even my wolf couldn’t heal. Fire is a brutal enemy, but it wasn’t what destroyed me. No, destruction came with news my mate had been attacked and killed. I didn’t believe it. Refused to even entertain the possibility. Now, I won’t rest until I find her and put those responsible for separating us six feet under.

  Copyright

  © 2023, Lacey Thorn

  Sasha’s Wounded Wolf

  Cover Art by Supernova Indie Publishing Services, LLC

  Edited by Michele Paulin

  Electronic Format ISBN: 978-1-949795-83-7

  Published by: Lacey Thorn Publishing

  Warning: All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and occurrences are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places or occurrences, is purely coincidental.

  Dedication

  To Rowan & Sasha, you’re survivors. Don’t ever forget it!

  Chapter One

  ~ Rowan ~

  I left behind the cabin we were staying in and walked toward the edge of the woods that surrounded the log refuge. The sky was alive with stars while the moon fast approached a fullness that called to my wolf. We’d both craved the open air since I’d awoken from a medically induced coma. The medical team taking care of me kept me under for nine months. The hope had been that my wolf would be able to heal me given enough time, but there was some damage even my animal side couldn’t walk away from. Instead, I’d woken to the fact two of my closest friends had burned to death while doing their best to cover me and protect me from the flames eating at us. They’d achieved their goal, destroying themselves in the process.

  “Rowan.”

  I glanced over and noted Easton had followed me outside. Both he and Lincoln had been my constant shadows since I’d awoken. I got it. They’d almost lost me, and they weren’t taking any more chances with their alpha. Both men were like brothers to me. Always had been. From our first breath to our last. That was our creed. One that hit even deeper now that I’d faced the flames.

  “I’m good,” I told him, but I knew he didn’t believe me. This wasn’t the first night I’d been unable to sleep. When I managed to tumble off, nightmares of burning flames brought me awake, panting for breath while I used my hands to put out a fire that only burned in my mind.

  “Maybe, it’s time we go home.”

  Easton had said the same thing for the last two weeks. He’d been mentioning it since I’d saved a fellow wolf from a trap and sent her to my sister and her mate.

  “Where would that be?” I snapped. “The Rigton pack no longer exists.”

  “Of course, we do,” Easton snapped back.

  “No. They were absorbed into the James Pack two years after I died in the explosion. In the last eighteen months, they’ve cleaned house. Something I should have done when I was alpha. They’re better off without me. Bastion is the leader I knew he was, and my sister is the safest she’s ever been. Ivy’s found her mate, and he’ll protect her and little Jasmine. They deserve that. The whole pack does. What they don’t deserve is me bringing my shit back to them and having more of them caught in the crossfire of an enemy I still can’t locate.”

  But we both knew I wasn’t only trying to track down the unknown enemy.

  “That’s the stupidest shit I’ve ever heard you say.”

  Easton paced away, body shaking with anger.

  “Someone tried to kill you. If not for Josh and Patrick’s quick thinking, they would have succeeded. Not a word, Rowan,” he warned when I would have interrupted. “Patrick and Josh made their choice and saved your life. Any one of us would have done the same. Gladly. With no remorse.”

  “Knowing it doesn’t make it any easier to accept.”

  I turned my head, pinching the bridge of my nose as I squeezed my eyes shut and remembered the two men I’d thought of as brothers. God, the five of us had been inseparable. It was only natural they rose with me when I became alpha. My brothers. My most trusted pack members. Two of whom were dead.

  “How long are you going to hunt, Ro?” Easton’s voice was low and filled with a sorrow I wouldn’t let myself feel. Not yet.

  “Until I find her.”

  “Lincoln told you about the attack. She was killed. You’ve got to accept that.”

  The same day the truck I’d been in had flipped and caught fire, Sasha had been attacked. I still didn’t have all the details. There were too many conflicting stories, but they all ended the same way. Sasha Volkov was presumed dead. She’d gone over the falls, and it was assumed her body had washed away.

  “They never found her body.”

  Plus, I truly believed I’d know if Sasha were gone. She was my mate. I’d been ready to introduce her to the pack, had called my sister home to let Raina meet her first. Then fire had rained down on me, and I’d woken in hell. No pack. No mate. And a body seared by flames so hot even my wolf hadn’t been able to fully heal the blistered skin.

  “You expect me to believe Nico disappeared after his sister’s death?” I questioned Easton.

  Sasha’s brother hadn’t been there when she was attacked. Many believed he’d gone off to grieve his sister in the aftermath, but I knew better. If Sasha were dead, Nico would burn down the world to avenge his twin. The fact no one knew where he was said all I needed to know. He’d taken her somewhere to protect her, thinking I’d been killed and probably fearing she’d be next.

  For over three years now.

  Whoever was behind what had happened to me and the attack on Sasha had robbed my mate and me of three and half years. Years we could have been loving one another, building a family together, making a life together. Some days, I worried she wouldn’t want to be with me when I found her. My face had been untouched by the flames, but my body hadn’t been so lucky. I’d suffered such severe burns over my chest, back, and arms that the medical team I’d been taken to had forced me into a coma to try to help me heal. My back and right side bore the worst of the scars.

  “If he took her away to protect her, we may never find him.”

  I knew Easton was correct, but I wouldn’t accept that. I couldn’t. He didn’t understand what it was to be mated. None of the nine wolves who’d stuck by my side did. They were all carefree and single, but my heart was no longer my own. It was Sasha’s. I craved her the same way I needed air to breathe. She’d been my first thought when I awoke, and she’d remained at the forefront of my mind every day since.

  “I’m worried about you, Ro.”

  “No need to worry, E,” I assured him. “I’m going to find my mate, claim her as I intended, and destroy the person responsible for trying to kill us.”

  “I’m with you there, but hear me out for a minute. Every time I mention going home, you cut me off.”

  “I’m not going—”

  “Goddamn it, Ro! Listen to me!” Easton roared. “We’re doing everything we can. Spinning our wheels everywhere. The guys are getting restless.”

  “They’re free to go anytime they want. Any of you are.”

  “Fuck you,” Easton snapped. “I’m saying let’s go back and talk to Bastion James and his pack. They’ll help us. Help us find the ghost who ordered the hit on you, on Sasha. They could help us locate Sasha and Nico. Christ, Raina doesn’t even know you’re alive.”

  My heart ached at that thought, but I’d made the choice when I’d first awoken. I’d contacted no one but my father. Knowing he’d hurt himself trying to get to me had hit me hard. I’d needed to make sure he was okay and hearing the emotion in his voice when I’d reached out had guilt assailing me. Our last words before my disappearance had been filled with animosity. My father hadn’t wanted to accept my mate. I hadn’t cared and had let him know he had no say in who I took as my mate.

  We hadn’t mentioned that when I’d called, though. My focus had been on my sister and the remaining members of the Rigton wolves. I’d urged him to make contact
with Bastion James and his pack. I’d known Bastion would take one look at my sister and fall hard for her. Then he’d step in and protect the rest of the Rigton wolves. I’d planned to introduce Bastion and Raina myself. Circumstances may have prevented that, but it had worked out anyway. My sister was now mated to a man worthy of her. I couldn’t ask for more than that. Yet, Bastion had given it to me. He hadn’t just taken the Rigton wolves under his protection. He’d accepted them into the James Pack.

  Knowing my sister and the remainder of our pack were safe gave me the ability to do what I needed. I’d spent nine months in a coma. The first three months after that had been the darkest of my life. My wolf had rejected skin grafts. With intense rehabilitation I’d learned to make my right arm work again. It had been slow and painful, and there had been far too many days where I’d wanted to throw in the towel. Days where I’d questioned why I’d survived. Every time, it was Sasha’s face that pulled me back. Her smile. Her long, dark hair that always smelled like flowers. Her deep-blue eyes that called to my soul as no other ever had. My mate.

  I’d spent the last two and a half years hunting for answers. Who’d planned the attacks on me and Sasha? Why? And where was my mate hiding? She was out there somewhere. Thinking I was gone. The thought of her grieving me made my blood boil. The thought of her moving on without me threatened to destroy both man and beast.

  “I can’t go back. Not yet. But you and any of the others are always free to return. Join the James Pack. Go with my blessing.”

  “And leave our alpha unprotected?” Easton’s face was coated in disgust.

  “I’m not your alpha anymore.”

  “You’ll always be our alpha, Rowan. Pack. No pack. We’re with you to the end.”

  Easton held his arm out, and I took it, clasping it tightly with mine, uncaring of the ridged and twisted flesh that marred my skin. He’d seen it, had changed my dressing when I’d been too oblivious to know what was happening. Nine men had stayed with me. They’d all watched over me, protected me when I’d been locked inside myself, my body struggling to survive. They’d left everything behind. For me. It was a debt I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to repay.

  “Just think about it,” Easton urged. “Please. It’s been three and a half years, Ro.”

  “I know,” I agreed, a growl rattling through my chest. Did he think I didn’t know exactly how long it had been since I’d seen my mate? Held her in my arms and promised her forever?

  “Have you ever questioned if we’re doing this all wrong?” Easton asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Everyone thinks you’re dead. They think Sasha’s dead.”

  “And?” I prompted when Easton paused.

  “Sasha thinks you’re dead.” Easton blinked as if he’d just figured something out.

  “What?” I barked.

  “Sasha will only keep hiding if she thinks you’re dead. What would she do if she knew you were alive, Ro? What would Nico do? Christ, we’ve been approaching this wrong the whole time.”

  “Sasha would come out of wherever she’s hiding to find me. I can’t let her do that, E. She’s safe, right now. I can’t put her back in danger.”

  As badly as I wanted to find her, I wanted to protect her more. I wanted the person who’d planned the attacks on us, but I wouldn’t use Sasha as bait.

  “You’re thinking like a mate,” Easton accused.

  “I am her mate.” There was no tamping down the growl that filled my chest.

  “Then we get in touch with Bastion and have him spread word he knows something about your death. That it wasn’t an accident. That he’s coming for them.”

  “And put my sister right in the thick of it? Fuck no, E. What the hell’s wrong with you?”

  “Think, Ro. Bastion James won’t let anything happen to your sister. You said it yourself. Raina is the safest she’s ever been with her mate. And Sasha. If she’s alive—”

  “She is,” I interrupted.

  “Then she has Nico with her. He won’t let anything happen to her. It’s time to go back, Ro. Time to let everyone know you survived. Finally flush this ghost out of the wind. And when he comes at you again, we’ll be ready.”

  Maybe, I was tired. Maybe, as he’d said, I was sick of chasing the wind. But Easton was finally making sense. I’d been gone three and a half years.

  “Call Bastion. Tell him you want to meet. You, E. Not me. No one knows I’m still alive until I’m ready.”

  He nodded. “Whatever you want, Alpha. I’ll head in. Make the call. If we leave in the morning, we can be back in Rigton County by tomorrow night.”

  “We leave tonight,” I ordered. “Arrange the meeting for two days.”

  Two days. Then my whole world would change again.

  Chapter Two

  ~Sasha~

  I brushed Raine’s dark locks out of his eyes as I hummed a lullaby. My son was my whole world. The only thing that had kept me going when I’d lost my mate. I’d wanted to die. To join Rowan in whatever was next, but he’d left a piece of himself inside me. Raine would be three on his next birthday. A gift and a reminder of how long I’d been without my mate. Three years and six months. Forty-five months. One hundred and eighty weeks. Too long. Too fucking long.

  Dropping a soft kiss on his brow, I finally pulled myself away, leaving his door ajar before heading back to the kitchen and the post-dinner cleanup I’d left behind to enjoy our pre-bedtime ritual. I cherished every moment with my son. The sound of running water let me know I was no longer alone.

  “Hey,” I called as I cleared the doorway.

  “Sit,” my brother ordered. “You look exhausted, Sasha. It’s like you forget to take care of yourself when I’m not here.”

  “I’m fine, Nico.”

  I’d been saying those words to him since the moment I’d pulled myself back from the edge of the madness Rowan’s death had left me in. I’d been ready to hunt down anyone and everyone to get answers. I’d wanted to burn down the world, to make them all suffer the same hell I was. I’d had to settle for killing the ones who’d come after me—or at least, the ones Nico had been able to track down. My twin was as unforgiving as I was. More ruthless and bloodthirsty most of the time.

  “Sit. I’ve got the dishwasher almost loaded. Then we’ll talk.”

  My gaze snapped to him, taking in the formidable male who was my other half. Just as my son had saved me, so had Nico. I couldn’t leave him alone in the world. For most of our lives, it had been just the two of us. Born to one of the few wolf packs left in Russia, our mother had snuck us out of the country as infants and raised us in America. We’d never had the security of a pack around us, but we’d had each other. That was all that had mattered. Until I met Rowan Byrd.

  “You’re thinking of him.” Nico’s hand caressed my cheek before he sat at the table across from me.

  “I’m always thinking of him,” I murmured.

  “I know.”

  There was something in his eyes that gave me pause. His expression.

  “What did you find?”

  Nico was always heading out to follow a lead of some sort. Though he’d tracked down the men who’d attacked me, we’d never found the person who’d ordered the attack. He’d also been casually looking into what had happened with Rowan. It didn’t help that his pack, the Rigtons, had declared it an accident. An accident! What bullshit! Trucks didn’t flip and catch fire as they did in the movies. Something had caused it to ignite. Something that wasn’t natural. I wanted vengeance for my mate. Blood for blood. My son deserved no less.

  “I think it’s time we talk to Rowan’s father.”

  I shook my head.

  “No! Why would I talk to the man who told Rowan I wasn’t good enough for him? That Rowan should look for a woman who’d bring a strong alliance? A man who readily accepted his son’s death without question? I have nothing to say to him.”

  Rowan had told his father about me prior to introducing me to the rest of the Rigton wolves. He’d wanted to wait for his sister to return before making an announcement to the whole pack. His father hadn’t wanted Rowan to settle for me, for a wolf who had no value. Rowan had ignored him. Then he’d died. I’d been attacked. When the dust had settled the only members of the Rigton wolves who’d known about me were gone. There’d been no point in seeking out the rest of the pack, so Nico had gotten me away.