Wren's Pack (Leader of the Pack Series Book 1) Read online

  Wren’s Pack

  Leader of the Pack Book 1

  BE Kelly

  Contents

  Nix

  Wren

  Husk

  Nix

  Wren

  Husk

  Nix

  Wren

  Husk

  Nix

  Wren

  Epilogue

  Jed

  Hudson

  Kara

  Ringer

  Sophie

  Ringer

  Sophie

  Blaze

  Gemma

  About K.L. Ramsey & BE Kelly

  K. L. Ramsey’s Social Media

  BE Kelly’s Social Media

  Works by K. L. Ramsey

  Works by BE Kelly (K.L.’s alter ego…)

  Wren’s Pack (Leader of the Pack Book 1)

  Copyright © 2022 by BE Kelly

  Cover Design: TMT Book Cover Design

  Formatting: Mr. K.L.

  Imprint: Independently published

  First Print Edition: April 2022

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.

  Nix

  Nix Ladd walked into his father’s kitchen, looking for his brother, Husk. “You see that dumbass anywhere lately?” Nix growled. His brother had borrowed his favorite t-shirt and shifted while it was still on his damn body, tearing it to shreds.

  “I assume you’re talking about your brother,” Akin asked. “And no, I haven’t seen him all day.” Nix held up the rags that remained of his shirt and shot his father a look. Akin sighed and shook his head. “That’s what you get for lending Husk your stuff man. First of all, he’s bigger than you are, and second—he’s usually in a hurry to shift and hunt. You know he doesn’t always strip before he takes off.”

  “Yeah well, I didn’t let him borrow this shirt and the dumbass wouldn’t need to steal my shit if he stopped busting out of his stuff. Jesus, Dad,” Nix grumbled. “How do you deal with him? He’s twenty-five years old and acts like a fucking toddler.” Akin chuckled and turned his attention back to the burgers he was frying in a skillet.

  “You hungry?” his father asked. Nix nodded and pulled out a chair to sit up at the kitchen table.

  “I’m always hungry,” Nix said.

  “You boys are enough to eat me out of house and home,” Akin teased. Nix thought it was comical the way his father still referred to him and his brother as “Boys”. He was going to turn twenty-seven in just a few weeks and he and Husk hadn’t been boys for quite some time—even if one of them still acted like a child.

  Husk strolled into the kitchen completely out of breath, sweat dripping off his naked torso. Nix could tell his brother had just gone out for a run. All Husk seemed interested in was working out, their MC, and women. Nix knew that the last part was more than true since they shared the women they picked up at their club. Sharing women with his brother was as natural to him as breathing—they had just always done it.

  “Sure, now you don’t wear a shirt,” Nix grumbled.

  Husk shot him a sheepish grin and shrugged, “Yeah—um, sorry about your favorite shirt, man.”

  “Stop going into my closet and taking my shit,” Nix shouted, throwing the shredded shirt at his sweaty brother. Husk caught it and laughed.

  “I’ll go shopping soon. I need new stuff anyway. I’ll replace your shirt for you while I’m out,” Husk promised.

  “You wouldn’t need so much new shit if you would just remember to take your damn clothes off before you shift,” Akin grumbled.

  “I can’t help it if my wolf is in a hurry to get out. He likes to stretch his legs and he gets anxious,” Husk defended. Akin made a humming noise in the back of his throat that was usually a sign that he wasn’t buying the bullshit either of them was trying to sell him. He handed both Nix and Husk a plate full of food and nodded to the table for Husk to join them.

  “I should shower up first, Dad,” Husk said. His brother scrunched up his nose as if he smelled something bad and Nix had to agree that his brother smelled awful.

  “I agree with my brother. He smells like a wet dog, and I don’t want to smell him while I’m eating dinner,” Nix taunted.

  “Your shower can wait. I need to talk to you both and it’s pretty serious,” Akin said. His father’s middle name was serious but judging from the look on Akin’s face, he wasn’t exaggerating this time.

  Husk pulled out his chair and sat next to Nix, shooting him a shit-eating grin, “Guess you’ll have to choke down your burger, Nix. Me and my stink aren’t going anywhere.” Nix groaned and turned back to his father.

  “Talk fast, Old Man,” Nix ordered. Akin nodded and took a big bite of his burger.

  “The hunters want us to do a little job for them,” Akin said around a mouthful of food.

  “I thought we were out with them. I mean—isn’t that what you told Ringer?” Nix asked. They worked for the hunters a while back. That was how they met Ringer. They turned him on orders from one of the human hunters—his name was Angelo, and the guy was seriously off his damn rocker. Nix had only met the guy a few times but each time he did, Angelo droned on about making a shifter army for the impending war. The problem was—there was no damn war. Hell, Nix knew that the human hunters and shifters were getting along lately. They even called a truce with Trace and Rios’ little club, Perdition.

  “I know what I told Ringer and I’ve stayed true to my word,” Akin barked. “I told him that we were out of the making shifters business, and we are. He was the last human we turned and as far as I’m concerned, things will stay that way.”

  “What the hell do the hunters want us to do now?” Husk asked.

  “They want us to turn a seer,” Akin almost whispered. He threw his burger back onto his plate and pushed it back from himself.

  “A seer—as in someone like Aylen and Kaiah?” Nix asked. He wasn’t liking their new assignment. The hunters paid them well and had enough shit on his father to put him away for a damn long time. That was if the shifters didn’t get a hold of Akin first—they’d just rip him apart for betraying his kind. Hell, they’d tear all three of them apart for what they had done for the hunters over the years. He didn’t care how much money they could make from the human assholes—he wanted out, once and for all.

  “Yeah,” Akin breathed. “They want us to turn Kaiah.”

  “Shit,” Husk grumbled. Nix felt the same way about their next target. Kaiah Nez was a friend. Hell, she had stayed at their place when Rios and Aylen were on the run from the hunters.

  “Isn’t she with that protective older wolf—Gray I think his name is?” Husk asked.

  “Yeah, and if he sticks his nose into this, we’re supposed to take him out,” Akin said. “It’s a shitty situation boys but what else can I do? Listen, I’ll handle this one on my own. I don’t want you two tied up with my mess with the hunters. You’re out as far as I’m concerned but this might get messy and if things go south, I need to know that I can count on you both.”

  “You can’t just go off and turn a seer, Dad,” Nix protested. “Kaiah Nez is too powerful—she’ll see you coming for her, and you could be
walking right into a fucking trap. Plus, isn’t she already a shifter?” he asked.

  Akin shrugged, “No idea. I think she’s half and half like her sister, Aylen, but according to the hunters, she’s never shifted. “

  “Why do they want to turn her?” Husk asked.

  “No idea,” Akin grumbled. “But you know I have no choice, right? I have to do this, or they’ll hand me over to either the authorities or shifters. Either way, I’m a dead man.” Nix knew his father was right but there was no way he wanted to get mixed up in all this. He considered everyone over at both Reckoning and Perdition’s clubs to be his friend. He couldn’t do this to them.

  Husk stood and slammed his hands down on the heavy wooden table. “I won’t stand by and let you or them do this to Kaiah,” Husk shouted. “If you want to follow those asshole’s instructions and do their dirty work, you’ll have to go through me to do it.” Husk threw the shredded shirt on the table and walked out of the room. Nix had to admit, he felt the same way, but he worried about his father. If he went up against the hunters, there would be hell to pay, and Nix was sure they’d all be paying.

  “Well,” Nix said, standing from his seat. “I guess Angelo’s going to finally get his war.”

  Wren

  Wren Rios was sitting in her brother’s bar, sulking about Trace ignoring her. Sure, she was a shock to both her brothers. Finding out that she had a whole other family she never knew about came as quite a shock to her too but that didn’t mean that they couldn’t all get along. Trace had stopped talking to their father altogether since he shared the news with both him and Rios that he had an affair a little over twenty-two years ago with her mother. She was sure that hearing that their dad cheated on their mother with hers had to be hard to take but there wasn’t anything she could do to change that fact. She was the product of their one-year affair and finding out that Santiago RiosSr., not only her father but a wolf shifter to boot was quite a shock.

  Rios sat down on the barstool next to her and bumped her shoulder with his own. “He’ll come around,” her brother promised. They both looked up at Trace who was cleaning every damn glass behind the bar he could get his hands on. Didn’t matter to her oldest brother that he had just cleaned all of them about an hour ago. “We just found out about you a few weeks ago,” Rios said. “You just have to give us some time to adjust to all of this.”

  Wren sighed and turned on her barstool to face him. “It’s been four months since your father broke the news about me to you both,” she corrected.

  Rios smiled and nodded, “Well, time flies when your wife is nine months pregnant and busting your ass at every turn. Aylen was pregnant with Ryker when Dad told us and with his birth and then having to go up to Canada, I lost track of time—but you’re right. It has been four months since he told us about you. And, for the record—he’s your father too.” That was something she was trying to forget actually. She was in the same boat as Trace when it came to her relationship with her biological father. Even when he had to have heart surgery, she tried to stick around and be there for him, but their relationship was rocky, at best. As far as she was concerned, she didn’t have a dad, nor did she need one. She and her mother had done just fine without him all those years and they’d be all right if he just left them the hell alone.

  “Why do you think he finally decided to tell us all about him and my mother—you know?” Wren said, making a face.

  Rios chuckled, “You’re twenty-two years old, Wren. I think it’s all right for you to say the word ‘Sex’,” he teased. She had no problem saying the word, but she was a lot less experienced than her brother gave her credit for. Her mother made sure that she lived a sheltered life. Hell, she had spent her first twenty-two years believing her mother when she told her that Wren was conceived through immaculate conception. As far as she knew, her mother had never had sex because she never saw her mom with a man. In fact, in all her twenty-two years, her mother never really even talked about men except to tell Wren to steer clear of them because they were nothing but trouble.

  So, she didn’t date like the rest of the girls in high school and when it came time for her to go away to college, she just stuck with her good girl persona, not wanting to rock the boat. She graduated last year with a perfect 4.0 GPA in accounting and was highly sought after in her field. She started her job at a local accounting firm and even though it wasn’t her dream job, she still loved it. She loved numbers and everything that they represented. Math wasn’t a guessing game and numbers never lied to her as her mother had.

  After she found out about her mother’s deception, she moved out of her childhood home and found her place in town. It was a small bungalow style home and she bought it with her savings, without help from anyone. That’s how she wanted to live her life now—on her own, making her way. Wren didn’t need anyone’s approval yet here she sat in Tito’s while trying to get her oldest brother to pay her just a few minutes’ attention. At least Rios wasn’t still shutting her down and mean-mugging her every chance he got. He started coming around about a month ago and Wren had to admit—it was nice having a brother. She had always been an only child and that sometimes got to be lonely. Now, she not only had two brothers but their wives and kids to count as her family. It was a lot to process.

  Two guys walked through the front door and Rios didn’t even bother to turn to see who it was. “We’re not open yet,” he shouted over his shoulder.

  “Then you should lock your fucking door,” the smaller of the two growled back at him. Wren worried that her brother’s hot-headed nature would end up with him in a fight with her stuck in the middle. She turned to size up the two men who didn’t make a move to leave and lord, they were big guys. They reminded her of the shifters who met in Tito’s and were part of her brother’s pack—Perdition. She worried that even given Trace’s abilities and Rios’ size, they might be in trouble.

  Wren hopped down from her stool and crossed the bar to stand between the two big men who stared her down. She was always known as the “peacemaker” around her college dorm. If a few of the girls got into a fight, she’d step in and try to smooth things over. It was who she was, and Wren just hoped she’d be able to keep the peace now.

  “How about you two just come back in two hours when the bar opens?” she offered. The bigger of the two guys chuckled and towered over her.

  “And you are,” he asked. Wren took a step back from him and cleared her throat.

  “I’m Wren,” she said, holding out her hand. The big guy took her offered hand into his and it felt like electricity tingled up her arm. She pulled her hand free from his and looked him over as if he offended her in some way.

  “Shit,” Rios barked from the bar. Her brother quickly made his way to the front of the bar and shoved her behind his body before she could protest. “What the fuck are you two doing here?” he asked. Wren peeked around Rios to where the two men were still watching her.

  “Who are they?” she whispered to her brother. The smaller guy laughed and looked around Rios to where she was hiding.

  “I’m Nix Ladd and this is my brother, Husk,” he said, clapping the bigger guy on the shoulder.

  “No,” Rios growled. “She’s my little sister and you two won’t be laying on the charm,” he shouted. Trace finally put down the shot glass he was meticulously cleaning and rounded the bar to back Rios up.

  “Why the fuck are you two here?” he asked, repeating Rios’ earlier question.

  “Now, is that any way to greet your old friends?” Nix teased.

  “We aren’t friends,” Rios challenged. “Your father has helped us out of a few jams but that doesn’t qualify us as friends, man.” Trace stood by his brother effectively blocking Wren’s view of the two gorgeous men. She wanted to protest but she also knew that if Rios had a problem with them, the two were probably bad news. She hadn’t gotten to know Trace very well yet, but she trusted Rios.

  “Fine,” Husk said. “I guess we came all this way for nothing.” He
turned to leave, and his brother started to follow him out.

  Rios and Trace looked at each other and Wren could see the worry on their faces. “Hold up,” Rios called. “If you two are here then where’s your father?” he asked.

  The big guy turned back and smiled at him, “You were always the smart one, Rios,” Husk said. “Akin’s the reason we’re paying you a visit. He’s going after Kaiah Nez.” Wren had met Kaiah a few times and she liked the woman. She wasn’t much older than Wren and the two seemed to hit it off. She stepped clear of her brother’s bodies and around to face Nix and Husk.

  “What does your father want with Kaiah?” she demanded. Wren tried to look tougher than her five-foot-two stature, even resting her hands on her hips for good measure.

  “I like your sister, Rios,” Nix said, smiling down at her.

  “You keep your fucking hands off our sister,” Trace ordered. She looked up to Trace and smiled.

  “Aww, you do care,” she sassed. “Good to know.”

  “Not now, Wren,” he chastised. “We can talk about my feelings and shit later. How about you two answer my sister’s question. What does Akin want with Kaiah Nez?”

  “To turn her,” Husk said. “And we plan on stopping him. You in?”

  Husk

  Husk stood his ground hating that they were wasting time with this whole pissing match they had going on with Rios and Trace. The two guys looked about ready to beat the shit out of him when he touched sexy little Wren. Hell, she just about set his skin on fire with just one touch and there was no denying that he wanted her. His cock seemed to wake up after being out of commission for way too long. Taking women home and fucking them with Nix had become so routine, that he was almost disinterested in that life anymore. Sure, he loved sharing women with his brother, but his inner wolf was ready for some new prospects and Wren Rios seemed to fit that bill perfectly.