by Liv Brywood
Lucian nodded. “I agree. I think we should keep this quiet for a while. The element of surprise will help us.”
“What’s your plan for flushing out the person responsible for the attacks?”
“Attacks?” Gwen asked.
Lucian said, “We think his fall might not have been an accident. It’s too much of a coincidence.”
She looked up at Nosh with wide eyes. “You said it was safe here.”
“It is. No one would be bold enough to try anything in the den. There are too many other wolves around.”
“What if they already have?”
“What do you mean?”
Gwen said, “After I arrived, you were doing better, but then you suddenly took a turn for the worse. At the time, I chalked it up to a flare up with your fever. But what if it wasn’t? What if someone tried to poison you?”
Lucian frowned. “Are you sure?”
“I don’t know for sure. But…”
Nosh said, “Since we can’t confirm whether or not I was poisoned, let’s just focus on what we do know. I was pretty out of it for the first few days. Who would’ve had access?”
Lucian said, “Someone in really good condition. You have to scale the mountain to get to the ledge you were on when you fell.”
“No one’s supposed to travel through that area. It’s sacred space for my family,” Nosh said.
“But everyone knows you go up there on the anniversary of your parent’s death.”
Gwen flinched. “I’m sorry about your parents.”
Nosh nodded and bit back the emotion rising in his chest. “It’s been six years. I was up on the mountain mourning.”
She squeezed his forearm. “Whoever caused the first accident should be ashamed. Interrupting a private memorial is disgraceful.”
Lucian said, “And dangerous. Do you remember anything from the day you feel off the cliff? Anything at all? An impression, a glimpse of someone? The sensation of not being alone on the mountain?”
Nosh released Gwen. He paced the length of the room. “I keep wracking my brain trying to figure out what happened that day but I can’t remember anything.”
“Keep trying. Right now we have nothing to go on and we need something.”
“Okay.”
Lucian said, “I’m going to tell a few of the wolves we know we can trust.”
“Who?”
“Fadian, Mazus—”
“Mazus!” Gwen’s gaze whipped from one man to the other.
Nosh froze. “What?”
She bit the edge of her lip. “Well… it’s just…”
“Spit it out.” Nosh instantly regretted snapping at her, but her hesitation grated on his already frayed nerves. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.”
“I just don’t want to accuse someone who may be innocent,” she said.
Lucian said, “Why would you think Mazus is behind this?”
“A few days ago, I went up to the stream to gather water. I had told Mazus to stay and tend to Nosh but he followed me. I didn’t even realize he was behind me until I heard a branch snap. It scared the hell out of me. Why would he do that? Why would he sneak up on me?”
Nosh cocked his head to one side. It was strange that Mazus would follow her instead of just offer to go with her. But he was an odd guy.
Lucian said, “Maybe he didn’t know better. Mazus had opposed Nosh’s appointment as alpha, but he’s been loyal to Nosh ever since. He’s a little weird and awkward, but harmless.”
Gwen dropped her gaze to the floor. “You’re probably right. I do tend to get jumpy around people I don’t know very well, especially when I’m in the forest alone.”
Lucian said, “I’m sure that’s all it was. But just to be on the safe side, I’ll keep this between me and Fadian.”
“And the guys who went up the mountain to check its stability,” Nosh reminded him.
“Right. I guess it’s not going to be much of a secret.”
Gwen said, “Maybe we should leave for a while and go back to my den.”
“No, I can’t leave my pack.”
“But it’s not safe here,” she said.
“I’m not going to let someone run me out of my home. I’ll be careful, but in the meantime, I want everyone who knows about this to be on alert.”
Lucian said, “We can’t risk another accident, so stay put. Only let Gwen gather water and food. That will keep whoever’s trying to harm you from having easy access.”
“I want her to have a guard when she goes outside,” Nosh said.
“I’ll take her myself.”
“Good. Well, get some rest. We’ll figure this out,” Lucian said as he walked toward the door.
“Will do.”
After Lucian left, Nosh turned to Gwen. The fear that had been gone from her eyes for the last few days had returned. His heart clenched.
“If you want to return home, I can have Lucian escort you.”
She sat on the edge of the bed. “I’d rather stay here right now. Who knows what other traps have been set in the forest.”
***
Hours later, Gwen stood at the threshold of Nosh’s room. He slept soundly, so she didn’t want to wake him. She carried an empty water bucket in each hand. He’d need more tea when he woke, so she needed to take a trip to the stream.
After leaving Nosh, she searched the den for Lucian. He’d made her promise not to go anywhere without him. But she also couldn’t wait around for him every time she needed to get water.
She found one of the older wolves at the entrance to the den. “Have you seen Lucian?”
The grey-haired man shook his head. “Not since he left with the hunting party. Why?”
“I just wondered if he was around.” She didn’t want to admit she needed a guard for something as simple as gathering water. They were probably being too cautious.
The man shrugged. “I’m sure he’ll be back in a few hours.”
“Okay, thanks.”
She contemplated waiting for Lucian to return. But he wouldn’t be back for hours and she needed the water now. She could probably get any of the wolves to accompany her, but was that any safer than traveling alone? Any one of them could be the person trying to kill Nosh. What if she chose the wrong person?
No, it would be better if she went alone. She couldn’t expect someone to hold her hand every time she needed something.
She hurried through the front gate and quickly walked up the trail. The faster she got this over with, the better. She’d be back in the den before Nosh could wake up and worry. When she reached the stream she breathed a sigh of relief. See, it wasn’t so bad.
She quickly filled the first bucket. But as she bent to scoop another bucket of water from the stream, a dark shadow stretched to block the sunlight. She dropped the bucket and whirled to face the person standing over her.
“Mazus, what the hell? Why do you keep doing that?”
“Doing what?”
He offered his hand to help her up, but she avoided it. She brushed at the muddy water which clung to her butt.
“You can’t keep sneaking up on me like this.”
“You’re so jumpy.”
“I’m cautious,” she bristled.
Mazus smiled with his mouth but the gesture didn’t reach his eyes. The cold brown pools of darkness swept across her form in a way that made her shiver. Even the hot summer sun couldn’t keep her warm.
She wrapped her arms around her chest. “What do you want?”
“Nothing. I just happened to come up to the river while you were here.” He waded into the water and retrieved the bucket.
As he handed it to her, she snatched it away. “Thanks.”
“You should be more careful when you come up here. The forest can be… dangerous.”
He stepped toward her. She backed up into the stream. Icy water swirled around her ankles, but it did nothing to stop her racing heart. Her gaze darted around the forest. Someone had to come by soon, right? This was the
closest water source to the den. One of the other wolves would have to come up eventually, right?
The muscles in her legs tensed with the urge to run. But she didn’t want to look like a frightened rabbit. This was Mazus, not some stranger in the woods. Yes, he was a little weird… okay, really weird, but that wasn’t a good enough reason to go screaming and flailing into the woods. She’d just started feeling comfortable around men again. She wasn’t willing to give up what little progress she’d made just because Mazus was a little off.
But her resolve faded when he took another step forward. She held the bucket up as if to ward him off. “Stay away.”
He chuckled. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I don’t trust you.”
“I’m one of Nosh’s best friends.”
“I just want to get some water and leave.”
“I’m not stopping you.”
She didn’t want to turn her back on him for a second. The water would have to wait. She eyed the path behind Mazus. He stood between her and the trail.
Mazus said, “You should go home. Nosh is back on his feet and he doesn’t need you anymore.”
“I’m not leaving until he sends me away.”
“I heard about the accident with the loose rocks.”
“There have been a lot of accidents around here recently.”
His eyebrows slashed down. “I’ve only heard about one.”
“Nosh isn’t so sure that he fell off that cliff.”
Mazus’s hands fisted at his sides. “Why would he think that?”
“It’s just not like him. He’s been to that cliff hundreds of times. He wouldn’t have just fallen. And the boulders were set to fall. It wasn’t an accident.”
He lunged forward and viciously grabbed her wrist. She shrieked and dropped the bucket.
Mazus snarled, “It was an accident. You better not be putting other ideas in his head.”
A bolt of panic rose up in the form of a scream and blasted from her throat. The frantic cry of sheer terror echoed through the forest scaring a flock of black birds from the trees. In a cacophony of flapping wings, they took flight.
She couldn’t stop screaming even when Mazus released her. She wanted to run, but her feet wouldn’t cooperate. She wanted to punch and kick him, but her body froze. The only thing that worked was her voice.
She dropped to her hands and knees. The entire world closed in on her with enough force to steal her breath. She couldn’t think. She couldn’t move. All she could do was scream.
Mazus gripped her shoulders and pulled her to her feet. The immediate need to escape overwhelmed her but her body reacted on its own accord. Kicking, screaming, fighting, she wouldn’t stop until she was free. But his grip tightened.
The world dropped away as she knew deep within her soul what he was about to do. The frantic attempt at escape was useless. She couldn’t defend herself now just like she couldn’t defend herself nine months ago. In an instant, she stopped fighting. A catatonic haze descended to wrap her in a state of disconnected peace. Whatever he did now, she wouldn’t feel it.
As he pushed her to the dirt, she turned her head to the side. She couldn’t watch. She refused to burn the image of his feral eyes into her mind. One set of terrifying eyes watched her in her nightmares, she didn’t need another.
Mazus dropped to his knees. He loomed over her. “You know what’s coming.”
“Just kill me,” she wailed.
She couldn’t go through it again. She wouldn’t survive another attack.
Mazus sneered. “Look at me.”
When she refused, he grabbed her face with one hand and squeezed. Her teeth bit into her cheeks. The pressure forced her lips into a distorted pucker.
He bent toward her. His hips hovered just inches from hers. “Be a good little slut and kiss me.”
A snarl rumbled behind him. As he turned away from her, he was yanked up and hurled away. She blinked back tears as Nosh’s face hovered over hers.
“Are you okay?”
A flash of movement caught her eye. “Look out.”
Nosh narrowly dodged Mazus’s fist. He instantly punched the other man in the chest. Mazus staggered back but didn’t fall.
Gwen scrambled to her feet and hid behind Nosh. “He was going to…”
“What the hell did you do?” Nosh snapped at Mazus.
“She was asking for it. You should have seen the way she’d been looking at me.”
“I never—”
Nosh snarled, “You’re done, Mazus. You’re lucky I don’t kill you right now.”
“Kill me? You can hardly walk. You’re like a fucking cat with nine lives. Why can’t you just die?” Mazus screamed as he lunged at Nosh.
Gwen jumped out of the way as Nosh slammed his shoulder into the other man. They circled each other, both kicking up dust. Mazus jabbed Nosh in the rib. Nosh stumbled back giving Mazus the opening he needed to rush the wounded wolf.
Gwen felt the crack of Mazus’s fist against Nosh’s face as if she’d been hit. She couldn’t just stand there and let Mazus kill Nosh. She frantically searched for anything she could use to hit Mazus. When she spotted a broken branch, she swept it up and raced toward him.
She swung with every ounce of strength left in her body. The branch shattered across his shoulders. She stepped back, stunned. Why would it shatter? She stared at the stump in her hands and watched as a sea of termites fled its hollow center.
She screamed and dropped the useless weapon. Mazus brushed wood fragments from his shoulders.
“You little bitch.”
She turned to run but he was faster. He pushed her to the ground and kicked her ribs. White-hot fire stabbed through every nerve ending. She gasped, unable to draw another breath.
She curled into a ball and waited for him to strike again. When he didn’t, she opened her eyes. Nosh and Mazus circled each other. Both men crouched in a fighting stance.
Mazus said, “You never deserved to be alpha. You’re too weak.”
“Stryde chose me. He knew you weren’t trustworthy.”
“Trustworthy? I’ve been at your side since you took over. I’ve been following your orders and doing your bidding for months. No one questions my loyalty. They all trust me. Once you’re dead, I’ll finally be able to take my rightful place.”
“That will never happen.”
“It should have happened already. You should have died when you fell off that cliff.”
Nosh’s muscles tensed. The twitch in his jaw worked overtime. “You threw me off the cliff when I was mourning my parents.”
“Obviously.”
Nosh sprang forward and tackled him. As they rolled closer to the stream, she couldn’t tell where one man began and the other ended. The flashing fists and kicking feet molded them into a ball of chaos. She picked up a large rock and prepared to throw it at Mazus. She couldn’t risk hitting Nosh so she moved closer.
Mazus rolled on top of Nosh and pinned him to the floor. His hands wrapped around the other wolf’s neck.
Now! She hurled the rock at the back of Mazus’s head. It hit with a resounding crack. But he didn’t fall. He simply turned and glared at her with absolute hatred. He rose up from Nosh and stalked toward her.
She shrieked and ran into the woods and slammed into Lucian.
The wolf grabbed her upper arms. “What’s going on? Why are you screaming? Where’s Nosh?”
Unable to speak, she pointed toward the stream.
Lucian hollered, “Over here.”
Several wolves crashed through the woods. As they raced past her, she collapsed against a tree. As she slid down the rough bark, the world dissolved around her.
Chapter 9
Nosh staggered to his feet just in time to spot Mazus crashing through the trees on the other side of the stream. He started after him but two steps later, he stopped. A sharp pain in his side brought him to his knees.
Footsteps pounded through the dirt.
Lucian
raced up to him. “What happened? What’s going on?”
“Mazus attacked us.”
“What?”
“He went that way.” He pointed.
Lucian yelled. “Fadian, Edon, Mazus attacked Nosh and Gwen. Get him and bring him back to the den.”
Fadian and Edon shifted into their wolf forms and bounded into the woods. Lucian turned to Nosh. “Tell me what happened.”
“I don’t know. I heard Gwen screaming and I found Mazus on top of her.”
“Shit. Did he…”
“I don’t think so. Where’s Gwen?”
“In the woods.”
“I need to go to her.” Nosh fought the nausea roiling in his belly. Whatever discomfort he was feeling would have to wait. He had to make sure Gwen was okay.
He called out to her. “Gwen, where are you?”
When she didn’t answer, the hairs on the back on his neck stood on end. What if Mazus had circled back to kill her?
Nosh dashed through the woods screaming her name. As he rounded a thicket of blackberries, he spotted her sitting at the base of a tree. She looked up with a glassy gaze, as if she was looking through him, not at him.
“It’s me. It’s me,” he whispered over and over.
As he reached for her, she cowered. Her eyes went wide and she pummeled him with her small fists.
Nosh held her thrashing body at arm’s length. “Honey, stop.”
She blinked rapidly before dropping her arms to her side. She collapsed against him. “Oh, God.”
He pulled her close and held her while she sobbed. “Shh…”
“He was going to kill me.”
“I know, sweetie. I got you. You’re safe now.”
She pulled away. “Where is he? He’s coming. He’ll find me.”
“No. Lucian sent the hunting party after Mazus. He won’t get far. We’ll catch him.”
“Then what? Are you going to kill him?”
“No. But we’ll find a way to punish him.”
She looked at him with wild eyes. “He almost… he was going to…”
Nosh’s heart lurched. To think that she’d almost suffered another attack. How did he miss the signs? How did he not see that Mazus was dangerous? What kind of alpha was he if he couldn’t protect her from someone who was right under his nose?