Hang Em' Up: A Bad Boy Sports Pregnancy Romance Read online

  “Have a seat.” Gavin said as he stood up from his. “If my brother insists that you know everything then we will tell you.”

  Allison waited anxiously for Nate to speak.

  “Your husband was Jimmy Iker, and he was our cousin. His father was our mother’s brother. Now his father passed away a decade ago, but his uncle, our uncle Frank, is the leader of a pack called the Black Blood. Frank is a heartless, cruel, selfish man with no morals and even less compassion. He runs his pack like a heard of criminals. He orders them to steal, extort others, hurt or kill anyone who gets in their way. His ruthless ways have caught the eye of law enforcement agencies and even though our kind has connections in a lot of places, he can only mess up so many times. So members of other packs have started to distance themselves from him. Even my father, who is an evil man himself, has stopped interacting with that pack.” Nate took a deep breath. “Now this is where you come in. You killed Jimmy.”

  “But I killed him in self-defense.” Allison said.

  “Frank don’t see it that way.” Zander told her.

  “Jimmy was beating me. He broke two of my ribs. I had to have my jaw wired shut.” She explained to them. “He probably would have killed me if I didn’t grab his gun from the nightstand in time.”

  “The police charged you at first.” Nate said.

  “But the case was dismissed.” Allison began shaking when as she thought about the ordeal.

  “You were only charged because Frank knew some people in the right places, but even they couldn’t make the charges stick because of the brutality of your beating.” Nate told her as he put his hand on her shoulder. “But Frank is a man of vengeance and he wouldn’t let you be. He decided that he was going to hunt you down and kill you himself, but you disappeared for a year and he couldn’t find you.”

  “I moved away with my cousin in Florida because of everything I went through. I only moved back because I wanted to be near my friends again, but I couldn’t take the way people looked at me and I received a few threats and mysterious things in the mail or on my doorstep.”

  “That’s because Frank and his pack do not just kill, they toy with their prey first.” Brett said. “I should know, I used to be one of them.”

  “So when my friend Sarah called to tell us that the Black Blood pack was after a human friend of hers, we decided to help you. We made a plan to bring you here and move you in next door, into my house so I could keep an eye on you. We didn’t think they would find you here. We did everything we could to keep it a secret, but someone must have ratted us out and now they are here to get you.” Nate finished.

  “That is a lot to take in.” Allison said as she thought about everything that had just been said to her. “So, the house I am renting is yours and Sarah is a werewolf?”

  The men looked at her and she knew there was something else they weren’t saying.

  “They killed Sarah.” Nate’s hazel eyes were peering deep into hers.

  “Sarah, no.” She closed her eyes as tears fell down her face. “This is all so overwhelming. I need a minute. Is there a bathroom or something. I just feel like I’m going to have a panic attack if I don’t have a minute alone.”

  “Come here.” Nate took her by the hand and led her upstairs to his bedroom. She sat down on his bed and tried to regain herself. He started to leave her alone, but she called him back.

  “Wait.” She was breathing steady, like she always did when she felt panicked. It helped her get rebalanced.

  She looked up at Nate who was still naked and covered in blood. She should have been disgusted or scared, but all she saw was a pair of intense eyes.

  “Was it all pretend?” Allison asked him.

  “What do you mean?” He stepped towards her but she put her hand up.

  “Was sleeping with me part of your plan? Was any of it true?” She looked down at the floor when his eyes were too beautiful to handle. “Did you only have sex with me so you could keep an eye on me?”

  “No, that is not why I was with you.” He got down on his knees in front of her. “Listen to me, I brought you here so that I could protect you, but from the moment I met you it has been so much more. We just met, but I feel connected to you.”

  “Nate.” An older man was standing in the doorway of his bedroom.

  “Dad?” Nate jumped to his feet.

  There was an awkward moment as the three of them didn’t speak and Nate stood there bloodied and naked. His father was not as tall as Nate, but his shoulders were broader and his arms were bigger. He had short salt and pepper hair, but he didn’t look old, instead he looked matured.

  “Get dressed and meet me downstairs.” His father said. “Alone.”

  The man disappeared as quietly as he had shown up.

  “That is your father?” Allison asked as she stood to her feet.

  “Stay here.” Nate threw on some pants. “I need to find out what is going on.”

  He leaned forward and kissed her lips fast. As he left the room, she fell back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling in disbelief. What had happened to her life? The moment she had shot her husband she knew that her life would be changed forever, but she’d had no idea about the chain effect that it had started.

  How could she have?

  Werewolves and pack leaders were not of her world, so she was clueless. This meant that she had been married to a werewolf and never even known it. Jimmy hadn’t always been a horrible husband. At one point, they had been in love and he had been good to her. He was always a bit private though and didn’t like for her to know his every move. His secretiveness had led her to believe he was cheating, but not in the way he was, at midnight to run the woods on all fours. But his infidelity was not what had broken up their marriage or caused her to leave him, that would be his short temper and massive rage. The first time he had hit her she believed it was an accident. He hadn’t meant to smack her in the face. That is what she told herself. The second incident was undeniable though because he had given her a black eye and a bloody lip. Still, she took him back after three days. Jimmy was always so believable with his sincere apologize and pink roses. How could she not give him another chance when he was begging her on his knees?

  So it went on like that for a few years until one day she had enough. This time Jimmy had pushed her down the steps and spilt her head open. She lied to the doctor at the hospital and said she had fallen, but she decided that she deserved better than that. She filed for a separation and demanded that Jimmy move out. He did and for a while she didn’t hear from him, until the night he showed up with two dozen pink roses and a determination to win her back. Allison refused to let him in but he overpowered her and came in any way. After he had beat her half dead, he sat down on the couch and watched TV like nothing had happened. She remembered the gun he had left behind in the nightstand by her bed. Crawling and dragging herself along, she slowly made it there without him noticing. But as she got the gun in her hand he found her. He took one last swing at her when she pulled the trigger.

  She had survived one werewolf, none could be as bad as him.

  Chapter 10

  Nate’s kitchen looked like his had grown up with all the werewolves in it. Not only were Zander, Gavin, and Brett crowding the table, but his father had also brought two other members of the pack, Mike and Wade. Both the men were loyal to his father and neither were ones to be crossed. They were rough and tough with no fear of dying and an appetite for blood. Mike was his father’s age and Wade was in his early forties.

  “Are you here for Sarah’s body?” Nate asked his father.

  “No, I have bigger things to worry about.” His father acted as though Sarah’s death was not important at all.

  “She was a member of your pack. Don’t you care about what happens to her body?” Nate stared at him. He shouldn’t be surprised, his father was a heartless man.

  “I care more about what her death means. It is against rules for a pack member to be killed without justified cause.
This means that we can revenge her death.” His father looked happy at the thought of a fight. “But we don’t need to have a war on our hands. That is why I’ve called for a meeting with the Black Blood pack tomorrow. They will be here at noon.”

  “Here?” Nate raised his voice. “I am not a pack member anymore. My house and land are not at your disposal for meetings with them. I don’t want them here on my property.”

  “Too late. It’s all set up.” His father motioned in the air like there was no point in arguing. “Besides, you want this situation with your pretty girlfriend up there to be over with, correct?”

  “Yes.” Nate crossed his arms.

  “Good. It’s settled then. We will sleep here tonight.” His father had a way of telling instead of asking, but Nate knew better than to argue with the stubborn man. He had grown up with him and knew that he always got his way. Instead, he just shook his head and left the men alone in the kitchen. They could do what they wanted anywhere else in his house, he would stay locked in his bedroom with Allison.

  “Is everything okay?” She asked as he reentered.

  He didn’t answer, rather he just shrugged his shoulders and locked the door behind him.

  “I am going to jump in the shower. Stay here, please.” He kissed her forehead as he walked by.

  A hot shower was just what he needed to escape the day that awaited him tomorrow. It had already been an eventful past few days, but tomorrow would be intense. The two packs rarely hung out together, let alone had meetings to negotiate issues. Both pack leaders were ruthless and hardheaded, so it was bound to end up in a fight. He just hoped that this would give him the chance to end their vengeance against Allison so he could give her back her life.

  The water was warm on his aching muscles as he tried to relax in the much-needed shower.

  “Can I join you?” Allison asked as she popped her head into the shower.

  He had said enough today, he was done talking, instead he reached for her and pulled her naked body into the shower with him. Her curves were magnificent. As the water washed over her breasts he took his mouth to her nipples and circled them with his tongue. The moan from her mouth was sexier than anything he had ever heard before. He spread her legs and buried his face between them. She tasted like every bad desire he had ever wanted to come true. Her hands grasped his hair and pushed his head further between her legs as he licked and swirled his tongue inside of her. He could feel her body began to tremble as she started to climax, but he wanted to be inside her while she went over the edge.

  Quickly, he stood to his feet and pressed her against the shower wall. He entered her slow and fully and felt her tighten around him. Thrusting with every passion inside of him, he plunged in and out of her. She cried out his name and it was too beautiful for him to hold back any longer. He went over the edge with her, climaxing more intensely than he ever had. It was a long moment before they separated, and when they did he pulled her lips to his once more.

  “None of this was planned.” He told her once more.

  She nodded and smiled. He hoped she realized how much he cared about her. Falling asleep next to her was surprisingly easy, as he thought he might be too worried about the next day to sleep, but her presence was soothing. Perhaps knowing that she was safe in his arms is what allowed him to relax.

  The next morning would be a whole other story though as he woke to nerves and hesitation. They had slept later than he had wanted and noon would come fast. His father was downstairs reading a paper and sipping on coffee as though it were just another day. Of course his father didn’t care about Allison or Sarah so he wasn’t upset like him.

  “What is the plan?” Nate asked him as he sat down at the table across from him.

  “Plan?” His father laughed. “We don’t need a plan. We are just going to talk to them and get a few things worked out.”

  “You and I both know that is not how pack meetings end up. They never go as they are supposed to. We need a backup plan for when things go south so we don’t end up weak and vulnerable.”

  “That is not necessary.” His father went back to reading the paper.

  “Uncle Nathan, I think he is right.” Brett said. “We should at least discuss what happens if they attack.

  “Maybe we could talk about escape routes in the yard and quickest ways back to the house.” Mike suggested to his pack leader.

  “No.” Nathan put the paper down and looked at the men. “I said it isn’t necessary.”

  The room went quiet as no one talked back to the leader.

  “Fine.” Nate said. “But be prepared because they play dirty.”

  “Well, are you ready?” His father asked the men in the room. “The rest of the pack should be here any second. We will wait outside. Grab the girl.”

  “Allison doesn’t need to be there. She will stay here for her own protection.” Nate told him.

  “They demanded that she be there. Frank just wants to say his peace, but she will not be harmed. Plus, do you really think she would be safe here alone? They could sneak in here while we are meeting them.” His father threw the paper down and stood up. “Get the girl or I will send Mike up for her.”

  Chapter 11

  Allison was reluctant to go with Nate to the pack meeting, but he insisted that he would not let anything bad happen to her. Still, as they walked through the field behind his house with his former Red Moon pack, she couldn’t help but be intimidated. There were probably forty of them altogether. They were varied in ages, both male and female. Nate had explained that it wasn’t the whole pack, but only the adults. The woman may not have been as big as the men but they were just as fierce looking. Even the one who looked like any run-of-the-mill mom, the kind you can see in any playground --with three kids and a bag full of healthy snacks-- had a look in her eyes that Allison knew would switch to a badass fighter at the drop of a pin.

  “Just stay behind me and don’t say anything. We aren’t in the pack so we don’t have to be up front.” Nate told her as they came walking up on the others. The Black Blood pack had about the same amount of members but they looked even meaner. They were all wearing black and she wondered if they dressed like that every day, or of it was just for the meeting. Either way, it was effective, because they looked like one huge black storm coming upon them as they got closer.

  “Hello Nathan.” The man she assumed to be their leader shook Nate’s dad’s hand. “It has been a while.”

  “Yes it has Frank.” Nathan said as he shook the man’s hand.

  The man took his sunglasses off and she could see his eyes; frozen icy blue with shades of gray fog, it was the wolf that had attacked her in the woods. The men talked to each other quietly for a few moments. Allison did not feel good about the situation she had found herself in. There were forty some wolves dressed in black waiting to rip her head off, and as she tried not to stare at them she saw Roxy up front and center, and the look on her face was clear. She was there to kill.

  “Alright!” Nathan yelled. “We have come to a decision. As you all most likely know by now, this woman shot and killed a member of the Black Blood pack, Jimmy Iker.” He pointed at Allison. “My son, Nate, has been involved in a plot to save the woman from harm and revenge by the pack. Now, Frank demands that we hand her over so that his pack can punish her for killing their pack member.”

  Members of the Black Blood sneered and snarled at Allison.

  “Now there is another issue!” Frank yelled out to the crowd. “One of the Red Mood pack members that was trying to keep us from that woman, got killed by someone from our pack. Sarah Timbers was not a fighter and I have to agree with Nathan when they say she was killed without cause, which is against the rules of our kind.”

  Now members from the Red Moon were making remarks and demanding justice for their friend.

  “So what do we do to make this right?” Nathan asked the crowd. “We are going to hand the woman over to you!” He pointed at Allison. “She’s all yours!”

>   “Father no!” Nate screamed.

  A few members of the Black Blood stepped towards Allison and Nate growled. Zander, Gavin, and Brett all jumped in front of them.

  “Wait, that is not all!” Frank yelled out. “We are going to make this fair. To show our good faith and apologies for Sarah’s death, we will hand over her killer for your pack to punish as you see fit. Roxy!”

  “What? What are you talking about?” Roxy pushed away the pack members that came towards her. “Stay away from me.”

  Allison watched as the members all looked around confused.

  “Give me the woman.” Frank yelled out to Nate.

  “No.” Nate screamed. “And I will kill anyone that tries to take her.”

  “You are not even a member of the pack anymore, Nate.” His father warned him. “You can be killed without question, by any one of us if we feel like, so why would anyone listen to what you say.”

  “Then I challenge you!” Nate said.

  “Ha. You challenge me. You must have lost your mind.” His father laughed.

  “No, I challenge you, and if I win I will be pack leader and I can change this deal.” Nate motioned for his brothers and cousin to guard Allison so he could fight.

  “Wait.” Allison called to him. “What is going on?”

  Nate didn’t answer her, instead he just kissed her forehead and then headed towards the crowd that had now gathered in a circle to watch.

  “Son, you know that a challenge must end in death right?” His father asked him.

  “Yes, I am well aware of the rules.”

  “Good, then I shall enjoy killing you.” His father grinned as he changed from his human to wolf form.

  Allison watched helplessly as Nate did the same. She could not believe how excited people were to watch them fight to the death. The pack members were smiling and cheering. It was disgusting and disturbing. And as the two wolves, father and son, began to circle around each other, she felt sadness for them. This was hardly a way to live or die. Nathan was a bigger, darker wolf, and it was easy to tell the difference between the two. Suddenly, Nathan pounced on his son and went for his throat. Allison jumped in fear as she was thought he had bitten him, but Nate had moved in time and was going back at his father. They were ferocious and barbaric, as the people around them yelled and cheered them on.