Slap, slap. Slap, slap. The sound of water hitting the rocks, again and again. He allowed the rhythm to carry him away, to soothe his troubled mind. Even now, as the wolf, he was in turmoil.
He needed her. He wanted her. Now that he had tasted her and felt her skin and heard her sighs, there would be no forgetting. She would be more impossible to leave behind than ever.
And she suspected something. She knew there was something different about him, about all of them. She wanted answers. And she deserved them.
And he deserved her. The wolf would not be denied.
Slap, slap.
He turned his head, his ears pointed in the direction of the sound. It was too loud somehow. Unnatural. Like there was something more than just water hitting the rocks at the western side of the beach. He paddled through the water, not bothering to go back to the shore. Besides, it was nice to stretch out his muscles, to enjoy the sensation of his body cutting through the faint current.
What was that? Something black caught up in the rocks. It was all tangled up on something, and the waves slapped it against the rock over and over. He was careful to avoid the sharp edges beneath the surface of the waves, stretching out to take hold of the object with his teeth.
He swam back to the beach, holding whatever it was. It tasted like wet wool after being soaked in saltwater, and that was exactly what it was.
He dropped it on the sand far from the water, careful not to let it wash back out into the sea. It was a hat.
No. It was a ski mask, with holes cut out for the eyes and mouth. And nobody had seen it before now? Of course not—he turned and looked, realizing the mask would have been impossible to see from the beach.
Nudging it with his nose, he managed to look inside. The bright moon helped illuminate what was inside, wrapped up in the wool.
Two long, blond hairs.
His breathing grew heavy. This was it. He would shift and send the hat in for processing. Something was bound to come up. Even with the saltwater washing away evidence inside—skin cells and such—the hair had held on.
If it wasn’t for the partiers down the beach, he would’ve howled in triumph.
The wind shifted, bringing a new scent with it.
Not new, per se. He knew it well, but he hadn’t smelled it since he’d reached the beach.
He scrambled, taking the hat with him, trying to find somewhere to hide. She was coming. Who’d let her wander to the beach? What were they doing up at the house?
He had to shift back, was all, but then there’d come the question of why he was naked—his clothes were folded, sitting on the sand further up the beach. She was coming closer. She’d be practically on top of him in a moment or two.
He managed to hide, somewhat, in the dunes. His clothes were still too far away to reach. This was all wrong. He should’ve shifted in the water and pretended he was skinny dipping, but he had to protect the ski mask too, and he couldn’t come out of the water holding it in his hand with no explanation.
This was what she did to him. She left him senseless, unable to account for himself. He’d never been like this before, not over anyone, not even when he was fully human, before the testing and the torture and the changes they made to his body, to his mind.
There she was. He crouched low, inside the grass, and watched her step foot on the sand. She wore the same outfit she’d had on before—no swimming, he guessed.
The scent of her skin, her warmth, reached out to him. It wrapped itself around him, making him pant and growl low, deep. He needed her. She was right there! In front of him, practically!
She was his. She would always be his. His for the taking, his for always. It was foolish to hide from her, to hold himself back when his deeper instincts wouldn’t be denied.
For Kara’s part, she had no idea she was being watched. Or she knew—thanks to the cameras hidden in the dunes, the rocks—but didn’t care much.
He still couldn’t understand why she was out there alone. Even now, when his wolf consciousness was so much stronger than his human mind, he knew it was wrong for her to be on her own, alone, defenseless. How long would it take someone to make it down there from the house if an attacker showed themselves on camera?
Too long. It would be too late for her.
And with that in mind, he stayed where he was. Even with the risk of her discovering him, he felt better knowing he was there to protect her. She still didn’t see the risks she took.
Sal had died on that beach.
And then it hit him. That’s why she was there. He stopped growling, lowering his chin to his paws while she looked around on the sand. Wondering where Sal had died.
He would’ve told her if it made her feel better. He would’ve held her hand. Instead, he watched as she took a few deep breaths and wiped away stray tears. She shook her head, muttering to herself—he could barely make out what she was saying, the wind carrying her voice away from him, but he thought it had something to do with needing him.
Of course. She needed him now. Now that she knew the depth of the lies she’d been fed her whole life, she needed Sal. She needed to know somebody had been honest with her, that somebody had her best interests at heart rather than their own.
Jace wanted that for her too. Anything, so long as it eased the ache.
When she jumped a little, like she’d been startled, he almost jumped with her. What did she hear? He turned to look up, toward the house, expecting to see someone approaching. He’d been too wrapped up in her to notice anyone approaching.
And he was supposed to be protecting her.
There was no one coming from any direction. Only then did he know she’d somehow heard or sensed his presence.
She was staring at him.
And the way her lips pulled back from her teeth—not to mention the pulse which started to race so loud he could hear it from where he stood—told him she was on the verge of shrieking.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
No.
She had to be dreaming.
This couldn’t be real. It couldn’t! Things like that didn’t exist!
But it was real, and it was the biggest wolf she’d ever seen. Too big to be a dog—but too big for a wolf too. More like a bear, only a bear wouldn’t be crouched in the dune grass like it was about to pounce on her.
She went completely still, like her whole body had turned to ice. What was she supposed to do? She could escape into the water. Maybe. But wouldn’t it come after her?
Wolves could swim, couldn’t they? Of course they could. If a wolf wanted her, it would follow. There wasn’t even any driftwood out there on the sand to fight it off with.
She wanted to scream, but she couldn’t seem to take a deep enough breath. When she tried to force a sound from her throat, nothing came out but a squeak.
This was it. This was how she would die. Her last moments would be spent staring into the brown eyes of a wolf, eyes that sparkled in the moonlight, framed by jet-black fur. Eyes that stared straight at her.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered. Was it a prayer? Prayer was what she needed—prayer and a gun, but she didn’t have a gun. “God, please don’t let me die here. Please help me.”
Maybe the wolf heard her whispers. No, that was stupid. She wasn’t thinking clearly. Wolves didn’t understand things like that. What a stupid idea. She was panicking, her mind racing faster than her sense could keep up with.
Still, there was no denying that the wolf’s head lowered like it was responding to what she’d just whispered. It was uncanny, the timing.
It took a step toward her. “No!” she squeaked. There was no moving—her feet were rooted to the spot like the sand around them had turned to cement—but she could whisper. “No, please, don’t.”
Could it smell her fear? Of course. That was what animals responded to, the scent of fear rising from her skin. She could practically smell it herself. Sour. It made her nose wrinkle.
The wolf stopped moving. Damned if she didn’t wonder again
whether it understood what she was saying. That was impossible—she knew it—but she couldn’t help hoping.
“I—I’m not going to hurt you,” she murmured, then laughed at herself. “Right, Kara. Like you could hurt a wolf. Like you’d stand a chance if you tried.”
The wolf’s head tilted to the side like it was trying to make sense of what she said.
“Yeah, I know. You don’t understand a word coming out of my mouth.” She laughed softly, struggling to keep her voice upbeat. Positive. “It’s okay. Just… you know. Run off to your home. Go ahead. Shoo.” Was this really happening? Was she telling this supernaturally enormous wolf to shoo?
Laughter floated her way from further down the beach, and even in this state, she wrinkled her nose at it. Those idiots. “Hey, there’s a party going on down there,” she called out, pointing. “Do you hear them? Mm, I bet they’re tasty. Go off and eat them, okay? I never did like them. Pretentious morons. The guy always angling to get close to our family, thinking it’ll help him somehow. I don’t know what he thinks he’ll get out of it, but some people just like to collect important friends. You know?”
The wolf didn’t know. The wolf stayed where it was, staring at her with the head tilt in place.
“What the hell is my life?” she gasped, laughing again. “I’m trying to convince a wolf to kill the people down the beach instead of killing me. I’m talking to it like there’s even a chance of it understanding a single word I say. Why? Because I’m losing my mind, obviously. There’s no other way to explain it. Nothing in my entire life makes sense anymore, so I’m gonna go off and talk to animals and be that crazy woman in the supermarket who mutters things to myself all the time while carrying a cat in a harness across my chest.”
The wolf let out a growling noise that sent the hair on the back of her neck standing straight up. “Okay, I’m not much for comedy,” she admitted, backing away toward the water. Even knowing she was coming so close to it wasn’t enough to prepare her for it lapping around her ankles. She jumped, shivering, and the wolf growled again.
“Please, okay? Please, don’t kill me.” She looked off toward the house, asking herself if there was time to run. No, she’d never make it. She’d have to hope the wolf wandered away on its own. The second she made any sudden moves, it would be on her.
It was toying with her, wasn’t it?
Probably not. In the part of her mind still capable of thinking rationally—a dwindling part, for sure—she knew there was no way this wolf understood anything. It wasn’t playing around, trying to make her think she was safe before it pounced. It couldn’t think such complex thoughts.
It started slinking over to her, its belly low to the sand.
“No. No! Stay there, oh, please,” she begged. Her legs turned to cement again, or maybe it was the wet sand she stood in. Either way, there was no moving, no matter how she tried. “Please, don’t kill me. Just stay where you are. Please, my mom will die if anything happens to me. She’s been through so much. I can’t leave her with nobody.”
The wolf stopped, staring at her, its ears pointed upward, its nostrils flaring. Now that it was out of the grass, she saw the full length and width of its body and couldn’t help but marvel at the sheer size of it. Her heart pounded. Her body trembled from head to foot at the sight of the monster.
A monster with soft, brown eyes. Eyes that stared straight into hers.
A shudder ran through her, though she didn’t know why. Terror? The cool water shocking her system? Or was it something more?
Those eyes were so familiar.
What a stupid thing to think. Impossible, too. She’d never even owned a dog in her whole life. How could this animal be familiar?
She didn’t know how, but it was. Nothing could change the fact that she knew those eyes.
The wolf faced off with her for what might’ve been forever before lowering its head until its chin touched the sand. What was it doing? Was she supposed to do something in return? What the heck was happening around her? Had she finally lost it?
“Kara? Kara, where are you?”
The wolf’s head snapped up, and Kara let out a low moan. This was it. The thing felt threatened and because of that would pounce on her and tear her to pieces before whichever one of Jace’s teammates found her.
Jace’s teammates…
Her mouth opened in surprise a split second before the wolf turned and fled, kicking up sand. She was halfway to following it before she shook herself out of whatever stupor she’d been in. What was she thinking? Was she actually considering following that beast to find out where it came from?
Zane appeared at the dunes, flushed and out of breath. “We’ve gotta put a bell around your neck, girl,” he muttered, hands on his knees. “You’re gonna give me a heart attack by the time this is all over.”
She stared at him, uncomprehending for a moment. There was too much happening in her head to make sense of any one thing. The wolf. The eyes.
“You okay? What happened?” He walked across the sand, his head swinging slowly from one side to the other. “You alone out here?”
“No,” she whispered. “I mean, I wasn’t.”
“Who was here? Where did they go?” He tensed all over like he was ready to attack somebody in her defense.
“No. No, I don’t mean that way. There was a wolf…” She stared off in the direction the wolf had escaped, into the woods which bordered the western edge of their property. “I’m sure somebody must’ve picked it up on the cameras. It ran up to the lawn and across.”
“A wolf? Are you sure about that?” He snickered. “Wolves aren’t common around here, are they?”
“I have no idea.” She stepped out of the water, still staring off in the direction of the wolf’s escape. “But it wasn’t just a dog. And it was huge, enormous. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“It ran away?” Zane asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You’re shaking. I think you might be in shock.”
“I know what I saw,” she snapped, glaring at him.
“Hey, hey, I’m not telling you you’re wrong. I’m saying whatever you saw shocked you badly. Come on, let’s get back to the house where you can relax.”
She shook off his hand. “Did you take lessons from my father on how to make me feel like a moron?”
“Huh?” He looked and sounded genuinely surprised, which she knew ought to make her feel bad, but it didn’t.
“Don’t patronize me, in other words,” she warned. “I don’t like it. I know what I saw. It’s gone now, obviously, but it was here. I’m not in shock. I’m surprised, and I was scared out of my wits, but I’m not in shock. Okay?”
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel like I was patronizing you. I won’t do that again.” He looked up and down the beach one more time. “Come on, though. It’s not safe, you being out here in the open. Not while you’re alone.”
She couldn’t argue. Not only did she not have it in her to do it, but he made a good point. “I just wanted to see where… I mean, Sal…” If this was Jace, she’d be able to explain much better—or maybe she wouldn’t have to. Maybe he would’ve understood without her explanation.
Yes, she thought that was exactly what would’ve happened.
“I’m sorry,” Zane said again. “I really am. But if you wanna come down here, just let somebody know. We’ll come with you. We’ll even hang back a little to give you privacy.”
“Okay. Fair enough.” She started to follow him up the beach, feeling stormy inside. Helpless. Questioning her sanity. Was she finally breaking down, for good, thanks to everything unraveling around her?
Movement out of the corner of her eye froze her in place. For a wild, insane moment she thought for sure the wolf had come back, that it wasn’t satisfied leaving the beach without her in its jaws. She let out a soft yelp which was supposed to be a plea for help from Zane but came out as something practically inaudible.
There was no need to ask for help,
anyway, since it wasn’t the wolf coming out of the woods.
It was Jace.
And he was barefoot.
Who the hell walked barefoot in the woods?
Zane didn’t seem to think there was anything strange about it. “Hey, whatcha got there?” he called out, referring to something Jace held in one hand as he crossed the grass.
Barefoot. Why was he barefoot?
“I found something earlier, in the water,” he explained, a little breathless. Was it her imagination, or was he deliberately avoiding looking at her? “I walked into the woods, hoping there was a trail to follow. But I didn’t find anything. I didn’t even stop to put my boots on before I started out. I’ll regret that later, I think.”
Would he? She didn’t know why he would since his feet looked perfectly fine under the hem of his jeans. Not a scrape on them. They didn’t even look all that dirty.
She looked back up at his face, questioning. He still didn’t look her way, giving Zane some mumbo-jumbo explanation of where he’d walked and what he was hoping to find. “It led me nowhere,” he concluded with a shrug. “But I think this can be a huge help to us. It might be the key to everything.”
“A ski mask?” she whispered when she recognized it for what it was.
“Do you keep ski masks around here?” Zane asked.
She shook her head. “Why would we? We stay here in the summer. All our ski equipment is at the Westchester house. Besides, none of us wears anything like that.” It occurred to her how painfully spoiled that single statement made her sound. Before meeting Jace, she never would’ve thought twice about it.
He’d messed her up all around, hadn’t he?
Their eyes met, and again, she felt that same shiver of recognition that she’d felt on the beach.
While staring at the wolf.
Yes, she was good and messed up now.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
That was a close one.
Too close and he knew it.
Wolf Shield Investigations: Boxset Page 20