The Alpha Won't Be Denied by Georgette St. Clair Page B

husband, their two children.” The sheriff’s face twitched in a grimace. “My son was born that year. He never even got to meet them.”
    Carver felt the anger inside him swelling. Shifter women and cubs, murdered? Not even safe in their own homes? He wanted to get out there and rend flesh with his fangs. “Let’s go out and find these monsters and make sure they don’t hurt anybody else.”
    * * *
    “There they are,” Delores said.  “All of them,” she added to Virginia, who let out a sigh of relief.  Most of the male guests had joined the hunt, forming teams and fanning out over the countryside. Virginia and the other females had gathered inside the lodge and downed brandy and tried to distract themselves.
    The men ran up to the front door in one big pack, shifted, and came inside the mud room entrance to get dressed. They didn’t look happy as they trooped into the living room.
    But on the bright side, everyone was alive and nobody was bleeding, Virginia thought. She felt the tension inside her uncoil as Carver walked over to her and settled down next to her on the couch.
    “We didn’t find anything,” Sheriff Marsh said, shaking his head. “We followed the scent, but they made it down to the river, where we lost them. We’re going to be stationing twenty of my pack out here around the clock until we catch those things. We’re also going to send patrols out into the woods every day.”
    “Edward did the same thing – ran to the river, so we lost him,” Carver added, speaking quietly to Virginia.
    She was actually relieved. She’d feel terrible if Carver killed Edward, and she couldn’t believe that Edward had been stupid enough to pursue a woman who had been claimed by an Alpha. Surely he didn’t think he could stand up against Carver in a fight? He wouldn’t last ten seconds.
    “I understand, under the circumstances, if you want to end your stay here early. We’d issue refunds,” Clifford said to the assembled group.
    “Hell, no. We’re not going to run out on you while you’re in danger,” Devon said, and the other shifters there nodded. Shifters might scrap with each other frequently, but when faced with a major threat, they always banded together.
    “We’ll go out on patrol with you,” Carver agreed. “I do think that everyone should move to the main lodge, if you have enough room for us. Not quite as much privacy, but much safer.”
    “Absolutely!” Delores said.  “We’ll get your rooms ready immediately.”
                  Virginia and Carver hastily packed their clothes, wrinkling their noses at the bitter scent in the room, which lingered even though all the doors had been left open.
                  They were relocated to a room at the far end of the hallway on the first floor of the main lodge.  It was a generously sized room, with a hot tub and a big, sturdy four-poster bed. 
                  Delores confided that the loved-up couple in the far cabin had insisted that they would be fine, and refused to come to the main lodge. They’d promised that they would call if they heard or smelled anything suspicious.
                  “Isn’t that romantic,” she sighed dreamily. “Well, you two call if you need anything.” She shut the door and left them alone.
                  “Well, this honeymoon is turning out to be far more exciting than I expected,” Virginia sighed, setting her suitcase down by the closet.
                  “Hey!” Carver’s tone was indignant. “You thought a honeymoon with me was going to be boring? Okay, that just got added to the list.”
                  “List of what?” Virginia scoffed.
                  His lips curled in a slow, sensual grin that made her stomach flip-flop. “List of reasons that I’m going to spank your hot ass right now. Let’s see, didn’t tell me where you were going yesterday, thought our honeymoon would be boring,