He was laughing quietly, but uncomfortably. He seemed totally out of his depth with the idea of hearing about her bedroom behavior with Easton. She pulled Dark Prince’s reins, slowing him down to ride beside her shaman.
“Are you okay?” she asked softly. The other men took the signal and rode a little ahead of them.
“Just trying to get used to this, and quickly, so that you don’t think we aren’t serious. It’s good to see you know how to handle those two, though.” He gave her a weak smile. “I’m not into those sorts of bedroom games, Adalyn…”
“I would never ask you to be in them,” she promised softly. “Not unless you want to be in them. Then I’ll extend the invite.”
“Thank you. I was hoping you would understand.” He seemed nervous now. “I wouldn’t mind sharing the bed with them if it meant being with you…I think. I just don’t think I could do the…”
“I understand,” she swore. “I…William and I didn’t play games that often. We had a mostly normal sex life. Those two are just exciting.”
“This is a weird conversation to be having before the other stuff.” He chuckled, looking down at his hands.
“It is, but you seemed like it was on your mind, hearing me and Easton.” She smiled. “Always talk to me. I won’t run anymore.” She couldn’t. Not if they were going to work so hard for her.
“That’s good to hear,” he said, looking back up at her. His auburn hair was tied back like normal, but some escaped over his face. He was gorgeous and she wanted to taste those soft lips.
Do it. Stop running.
She leaned forward and claimed them tentatively. It was strange and awkward, trying to kiss a man as they rode next to each other, but they made it work. It was a simple one, just their lips touching. She could get the barest taste of him. Their tongues barely grazed each other as their lips parted and then it was over, the horses moving away from each other, no longer tolerating riding side to side.
Tobias wore the most dazzling, shocked look on his face. She looked away from him, smiling, and rode back up to the front of their group.
Valen was smirking next to her a little way down the road.
“Really?” he asked her softly.
“How did they take it?” Adalyn nodded back at Easton and Remy, now at the back of the group. They were switching places all the time, carrying on different conversations.
“They ignored it, as if it didn’t bother them. It was good, the best way for it to start out. Was that a test?”
“No. I decided I wanted to kiss Tobias, so I did. I didn’t think of those two until now, actually, and they haven’t said anything, so I figured I would ask.” She shrugged. “You four are the ones who made this little plan.”
“You seem to be falling into it without a problem.”
“I was already fucking two men, and dealing with feelings for a third. And now you.” She tilted her head to the side and looked at him, even raising an eyebrow. “This fixes my problems with you four fighting. And I get an even better sex life. Why would I have a problem with this?”
“I love how practical she is,” Easton said in the back, obviously not talking to her. She glanced back and saw he was leaning to Tobias to say that.
“She’s practical in the same way you can predict a storm. You know it’s coming. You know the way it works. It’s still a storm, even if it makes sense.” Tobias smiled warily at the Nephilim. “But you’re right. She’s always had a good head on her shoulders.”
“A good head for trouble,” Valen corrected, grinning back at them.
“Excuse me!” She reached out and tried to swat the Russian on the arm. He evaded, laughing. Remy joined in, laughing loudly as well. Tobias and Easton, her quiet boys, they just smiled at the scene in front of them.
They were really proving it could work. They were trying so hard to talk to each other and be natural. Every moment she got to witness it, she was filled with with emotion. She knew part of it was an act as they adjusted, but it was something.
Of course, it’s still the first day. This could go terribly wrong at any point. I shouldn’t really get my hopes up. But then I think about having three or four men in my bed. I mean, what kind of woman with any self respect says no to being in the middle of this group of guys?
I’m going to need a bigger bed.
They rode on, watching the sun begin to dip. At Remy’s suggestion, they were riding slow. As the sunset glowed over them, she looked back at him. He’d been quiet for much of the trip, not as active as he normally was.
“Remy?” she asked softly. “How are you?”
“I’m fine.” He smiled but it seemed off. “Just ready to get tonight done. I think we all need a break. I know I do.”
Easton was now looking concerned. “You can run for days.”
“I’m just not feeling one hundred percent, I guess.” He shrugged. “A couple days off would be nice. We spent two weeks planning for last night and now we’re back out tonight. I think I’m just tired.”
Tobias was the one who slowed down to ride beside him. “May I?” her shaman asked her hellhound.
Remy nodded and Tobias reached out, touching Remy’s forehead. It was that classic healer touch. Impartial, but also caring. He was looking for any idea of what was wrong.
“Hm. I don’t sense anything unusual. You might just be tired.”
“That’s okay. Tonight shouldn’t be so bad,” she said, smiling. “Then you can rest until you’re feeling better. You should have said something before we left.”
“I thought I was still tired when I woke up, but I can’t shake it. I’ll be okay.” Remy was putting on the typical man act. Nothing was wrong unless he was dying, and even then, she figured he would never admit if he was feeling too bad.
It made her a little worried, going in with someone feeling under the weather. There’s five of us, though, and we have way more at our disposal than the humans. This should be easy.
She hoped. She really, desperately hoped. She didn’t need another bad night.
25
Remy
Itchy. Remy felt itchy and somewhat hot. Tired, too. He didn’t like it. He’d never been sick before, but this felt like sickness. It was strange, not to feel comfortable in his body and not know what was causing it.
As night fell, it only grew worse. He should have been trying to hang out with the others, watching Easton and Tobias try to talk to each other, and Valen keeping the group in a good mood. Adalyn was always laughing, and the sound was music to his ears. However, not feeling well, he felt snappy and didn’t want to say anything.
“Remy, how far are we?” she asked him once the sun was behind the horizon.
“Close. We can probably leave the horses soon and go on foot for stealth.” He tried not to give away how bad he was feeling when he spoke.
“That close? Are we going to need to leave the road soon?” It seemed like the question was to herself. “We’ll stop here, dismount, and tie the horses. Don’t worry about anyone stealing them. Dark Prince will take care of it.”
“Even coyotes? Can he handle those?” Easton asked, moving to the side of the road, which was more of a trail at that point.
“You should trust Adalyn when it comes to her stallion,” Remy said, then wanted to hit himself.
“Yeah, Dark Prince can protect them. He did with the werewolves,” she reminded Easton, smiling. She pulled off next to him, and then they were all getting off the road and dismounting. “Tie yours and he’ll guard them. He’s protective of his herd, and your gelding and Remy’s mare are his now.”
Remy did as she ordered, leaning against the tree out of sight for a moment. He rubbed his face, hoping the feeling would go away. His face was hot but his body was cold now. He wanted to shiver from it, but also jump into a cool pond. He didn’t like it. The night sky was hazy when he looked up at it.
What is wrong with me? I need this to stop.
He was breathing hard. He was sweating, but he was so
cold.
“Remy?” Adalyn called out. “Hey, we need to keep moving…” She walked around his tree and gasped. He didn’t want her to see him and waved her away, hoping she would go.
“I just need a minute. Promise.”
“Are you running a fever?” She was suddenly right next to him, touching his face. “You’re burning up. Tobias?”
The shaman was there now too. Warm, healing hands touched him and Tobias hummed. “He is running a fever, but I don’t know the cause. Can you make it the rest of the night? Do you want to wait here for us? You can point us in the right direction.”
“No. I can keep going. I just needed a minute.” He straightened up, shaking his head. “We’re a team, right? I’m not going to let any of you down.” His neck itched. A lot of him itched, really. Something was terribly wrong, but he was going to do his job. He was a deputy of Redstone and he was going to help Adalyn help the town.
“Remy…” She held his cheeks. “You can’t stay—”
“No,” he snarled, angry that she was trying to make him less than the others. Why would she do that to him? She released him and backed away.
“Okay. Then we keep moving. This should be quick, and then we can get you home.”
He nodded and began to walk. He didn’t want to shift and see what it would be like in his hellhound form. He left the group behind, going out into the front and forcing them to follow him.
“Has he ever been like this before?” Adalyn asked someone behind him.
“No. I’m hoping it’ll pass,” Easton answered softly, loud enough for him to hear as well. “Just leave him be. If it’s not slowing him down, there’s no reason to stop him if he doesn’t want to stop.”
“Okay…” Adalyn didn’t seem convinced.
Remy was glad that Easton believed in him. He had no idea what this was, but he wasn’t going to stop for it. Not until this mission was over. He led them closer to the humans.
Something feral began to prowl in him. His hellhound wanted to come out and play. His animalistic side. He wanted to sink his teeth in these meat bags. He wanted to tear them limb from limb. He resisted growling, shaking his head as he tried to shake the sensation. He was used to this. He once lived in that sort of mindset. Why it was haunting him tonight, he could only guess.
Maybe it’s this feeling. Maybe I just hate being sick like this and I’m angry about it. That makes sense.
He finally stopped and waited for the group to catch up. Adalyn moved to his side, but smartly kept her mouth closed about him. He was sweating worse now. His skin itched beyond relief. He was scared to rub his neck, remembering how Lawrence had his teeth there. If the Alpha tried that now, he would probably kill the werewolf for it. It was fortunate they handled that quickly.
“One hundred feet that way,” he told them when they all stopped, looking in the same direction as him. “Can you see the light of their campfire?” He could, in the middle of a small outcropping of trees.
“Remy, I want you with me. Valen and Tobias, go around the other side through the trees and don’t let them find you.” She grabbed Valen before he could walk way. “Remy, any idea how many?”
“No. Just following the scent of the one.” He couldn’t do any magic like that. Is she serious? He ground his teeth.
“Okay. We’ll play this carefully. Easton, stay with Remy and I. We’ll pinch them.”
“Give me Easton and take Tobias for Remy,” Valen suggested. “Easton can contact you when we’re in position.”
“Good idea. Having the healer for Remy is a better option.” She sighed.
Remy wanted to reach out and strangle the Russian. He was fine. He would be fine. He couldn’t stop the growl, but didn’t move.
She eyed him before continuing. “Easton, I’ll leave calling the attack up to you, then, since you’re the only one who can talk to all of us without being heard.”
“Yes ma’am.” Easton nodded, eyeing Remy as well. He didn’t like them all watching him, staring at him like he was going to do something or drop dead any minute. “Be careful.”
“You too.” She waved them away.
Remy stepped back, rubbing his face as Easton and Valen walked away into the dark. He wanted to shift and attack now. He itched so badly. He scratched hard at his neck and his leg. What is wrong with me? I have to make it through tonight!
They waited, and he was thankful they were ignoring him. He didn’t want her motherly pity. He didn’t need it.
“Remy, stop,” she ordered.
“Stop what?” He had no idea what she was talking about. Scratching himself?
“Growling. You’re making a lot of noise. What’s going on with you?” She stepped closer to him and he moved away.
“I don’t know. I’ll be fine. I’m sorry.” Fuck. Now she’s going to think I can’t do this job even more.
“It’s okay.” She looked away from him and he felt awful.
Finally, they heard Easton in their head simultaneously.
“In position, about sixty feet from them. Start moving forward. You have ten minutes to get into position.”
She started walking. Remy fell dutifully in behind her, his hands twitching, his palms now sweating. His muscles were tense and everything hurt now. Every bit of him was sore and straining. He hadn’t felt this way since his grandparents tried to keep him from shifting back into his hellhound form. They would restrain him in such a way that shifting would hurt, so he wouldn’t want to. He wanted to be human like they wanted him to be, but he wasn’t comfortable being in his human form like he was in his disgraceful hellhound form. They would rather him pretend to be human forever than ever show anyone his form.
“Remy, you will need to see a proper doctor tomorrow,” Tobias whispered as they followed behind Adalyn. “May I check again to see what’s wrong?”
“No,” he snarled, too loudly. Adalyn looked back over her shoulder at him.
He moved away from Tobias, not wanting the shaman to touch him.
She stopped and they stopped with her. He saw the pocket-watch come out. He thought about how she bought it on their second day on the job, saying she needed to start paying attention to the time better if they were going to be official. She had buried William’s with him and wanted one for herself anyway.
Just the thought calmed him for just a moment. Such a mundane moment. Then he focused on the ticking of it.
Tick. Tock.
That had him agitated again. He tried to keep silent, he really did.
“Go,” Easton ordered in their heads.
Adalyn pulled her weapon, with them following suit. They jogged forward, Adalyn continuing to lead. Remy had his rifle up, ready to take out anyone.
“Everyone on the ground!” she yelled. “I’m Sheriff Lovett of Redstone. You’re under arrest!”
“Holy shit! We’ve been caught, boys!” one of the humans jumped up, a gun coming up with him. Someone took a shot and the human screamed, dropping to the dirt.
Remy could smell the blood. It had his instincts going wild. They were on the hunt. He could eat tonight. He snarled, lowering his rifle to focus on the downed human. A leg injury.
“On the ground!” Easton roared, pushing a human down.
“Don’t run!” Valen commanded, grabbing a human trying to get away.
“We didn’t do anything!” a human yelled out, a plea of innocence.
“Nothing, my ass,” Adalyn snapped. “We’ve been fighting with you lot for ages. Are there more of you?”
“No! We’re the last! We were leaving tonight, we swear!” another human gave them up.
“Were you? Too late.”
“We used to have more guys, but you’ve done killed all of them!” the human sobbed. “Please. We’ll go. We don’t want no more trouble.”
“You broke the law,” Adalyn snapped. “You attacked members of my town. Legal land owners.”
“Just some damn werewolves. They got the best land…” an older man grumbled out. Remy snap
ped his gaze over to the older human, growling low. “Beasts. We got to feed our cattle, too. Why do they get to own the land? The land should be for everyone.”
“That’s not the way the world works. You tried to kill them, too. Let’s not forget that.”
“They tried to kill us first,” he retorted.
“No, they tried to scare you. You’re the one who showed up with silver bullets and a posse.” Adalyn was staying truthful, calling them out.
Remy just waited for one of them to run.
And he got his wish. One slipped from Tobias and took off.
“Get him!” she ordered, not pulling up from the one she was holding. “Easton, Valen, Tobias, handcuff as many as you can. Remy, go!”
He began to shift, the itching finally unbearable. This would help, he hoped.
With a growl, he began the shift.
But something was wrong.
26
Adalyn
There were things in life one could expect. A human next to her beginning to scream and kick away? Expected. Another pissing himself? Expected. Her own growing fear at what she saw? Expected.
But whatever Remy was becoming was very unexpected.
Bipedal was the first problem. He wasn’t dropping down on all fours. His hands didn’t become fiery paws. No, they became fiery claws on furred, animalistic hands. His muzzle extended from his face, but not far enough, not the right shape. It looked and sounded painful, as well. She could hear bones cracking and moving around. His tail did eventually pop out and grow. Massive spines broke out of his back, much larger than the ones he normally had. His normal horns burst from his forehead and another pair curled around his ears. His canines grew longer and longer. Drool dripped down from the snarling jaws.
“By the gods,” she whispered. He had the were fever.
It was really all she could say as the beast in front of her turned its head to her. She didn’t dare move. She had two options. One was to stand very still and not pose a threat and hope he didn’t kill her. The other was to try and run or fight. I don’t like those options.
Werewolves and Wranglers Page 22