A cold sweat broke out across her skin. She squeezed her eyes closed, opening them again quickly. The horrific scene continued, only this time there was no one to stop her from screaming.
***
Jared’s large head swiveled at the sound of the girl’s screams.
“No time now, bro, we’ll deal with whoever that is later.” Evan lunged forward, his leg muscles working in fast bursts of speed to pass Jared. Jaws wide, the juvenile hit his mark, taking a chunk out of the demon’s leg
“Something’s not right. I took care of her when I secured the perimeter.” Jared’s confusion was evident in his thoughts.
“What? Lover boy losing his touch with the ladies?” The blood smeared across his muzzle made him look more like a character from a horror movie than a wisecracking teen wolf.
“You wish, baby brother,” Jared snorted, but irritation laced his thoughts. The weight of Aidan’s stare jerked his attention from the woods, and he howled in frustration.
What the hell was he going to do now?
***
Shaken, Tanya crawled back to her spot by the tree. Sinking to her knees, she wrapped her arms around her middle, trying not to hyperventilate.
“I’m just stoned, right? Please let me be stoned,” she muttered, but knew otherwise. What she witnessed was real. In the back of her mind she knew she was going into shock and there was no one to help.
Earsplitting howls sent goosebumps across her flesh. Covering her ears, she scrambled back to dark cover, huddling into the roots of the largest tree she could find. She’d wait it out, and if lucky, she’d make it home and call the police.
Hurried footsteps grew louder, and fear spiked her adrenaline. She molded her body further into the shadows. Not knowing who or what approached, she braced for the worst.
An unbelievable scent, warm and earthy with a hint of musk floated past her nose. A gradual calm swept over her, even as her breath hitched in her throat. Her shoulders relaxed out of her ears, and the feeling worked its way down to her toes.
“Feeling better?” A rich, masculine voice asked.
Her tension ebbed to the point of sleepy and she nodded. “Don’t eat the brownies. Bad trip,” she mumbled.
The deep voice chuckled. “I can imagine.”
Tanya tilted her head, a silly smile on her face as she tried to focus on the man standing above her. “You!” Her eyes widened and she smacked the back of her head on the tree.
“And…she’s back.” Jared chuckled again.
“Ouch! Damn it!” With a faint hiss, her fingers slid to the sore spot on her head. “Who are you? Did you see what happened?”
Squatting beside the backpack he left behind, he unzipped the top. “Drink this,” he replied, handing her a bottle of water. “It’ll help with the cotton mouth.”
“I’m not stoned.” Her hand shook, but she accepted the water. “Though it would explain a lot, if I was.”
He grinned. “I also have some ibuprofen.” He gestured to her head. “For your bump.”
She shook her head, clearing what was left of the lethargy. “Did you see what happened?” She winced, realizing she was repeating herself.
“I think we’d better take this slow,” he said. “You do realize you panicked and passed out, right?”
“I don’t panic. I’m a lawyer.” She cringed at how senseless and self-important that sounded. “What I meant was I’ve faced worse in my line of work.”
“I doubt it, but if that’s what you need to think, knock your judicial socks off.”
“Okay, then. Explain. I can’t seem to remember much, except—” Her voice cracked, and she drew in a ragged breath. “This is insane. We should call the police.”
He didn’t say a word. Just watched from where he squatted by his pack.
“Fine. I’m used to doing things myself.” Annoyed she tried to stand, but a wave of dizziness pitched her forward.
In a blur of movement, his arms were around her waist. “Hey, take it easy.” He steadied her against him for support. “Besides, we can’t call the police. We’re in a dead zone. Try your cell if you don’t believe me.”
Skeptical, Tanya fished her phone from the front pocket of her jeans and ran a thumb over the touch screen. No bars.
“Great. What are we supposed to do, now?”
The air was cool on her skin, though his arms were warm as he held her loosely around the waist. Acutely aware of him and their close proximity, she put her hands on his chest and pushed herself back. “I’m okay, now. Thanks.”
“You’re sure?”
She nodded, taking another step back.
He was at least six foot four. Standing this close she had to crane her neck to look at him, though her own height was above average for a woman.
From the feel of his chest, she guessed his body was lean and muscular. The complete opposite of her full, soft curves.
His hair was thick, curling to just past his collar, and in the dark it seemed almost black. For a moment she wondered what it would feel like between her fingers.
“If we can’t call for help, we’ve got to do something,” she blurted, conscious of her own wandering thoughts. “We can’t just leave those poor people.”
“You need to calm down. You’re upset, and I get it, but believe me, the matter is well in hand.”
Tanya flung her arm out, unconvinced. “What are you talking about? We’re the only people here! In case you weren’t paying attention, a bunch of enormous wolves ripped that creature to shreds, whatever it was. Who knows where they are now, or if they’ll attack again?”
Without waiting for an answer, she flicked her gaze toward the parking lot, hesitating only a moment before twisting around ready to run. Her sudden turn sent her crashing forward, and she lost her footing again. She went down hard, hitting the ground with an audible huff.
“Are you all right?” he asked, helping her up once more.
His hands were strong against her waist, and she ignored the zing from the very male feel.
“Yeah,” she muttered. “Looks like I owe you, again.”
In the dappled moonlight she saw his eyes were a clear blue. Self-conscious heat warmed her cheeks at the way he looked at her. There was something about him, something she couldn’t quite explain. Unusual.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Tanya. Tanya Richards—” Before she could continue, a piercing howl echoed in the near distance and she scrambled closer, digging her fingers into his forearm.
Breathing hard, the air tasted fragrant and loamy on her tongue, but it was his scent, wild, earthy and entirely masculine that calmed her.
Resting against him, she was exhausted and scared, but still very much aware of the extremely male body pressed against hers. Through her thin blouse, she felt every muscle in his arms as they held her. She felt the rise and fall of his chest as though it moved in tandem with her own.
His hand innocently rubbed her back in composed, fluid strokes. Her body reacted to his simple touch, and she squeezed her eyes shut, dismissing the dampness between her legs as a by-product of panic and adrenaline.
Great, Red Riding Hood. You could be ripped apart any minute, by the big bad wolf and his roid-raged friends, but you get the hots for Prince Charming.
Ashamed, she focused instead on the unanswered questions still in her head. What the hell kind of creature was that? Was it alone? How many others had it killed? What about the wolves?
As if reading her mind, he tilted his head toward the wooded trail that continued across the parking lot. Following his line of sight, Tanya watched a set of glowing, yellow eyes watching them from the edge of the tree line.
Wide-eyed, mouthed, “What the hell?” but his only response was to put his finger to his lips.
Something else was happening, but she was in no position to argue. Fear knotted her stomach and she lurched away, retching into the leaves.
With an exhale, he stepped behind her to hold her hair away
from her face. “It’s all right. I told you, everything’s going to be okay.”
Tanya wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Yeah? And how is that?” she snapped. “Can you explain what the hell happened here?”
Before he could answer, another wave of queasiness hit her. He held her until the dry heaves passed, and then steered her toward the base of the tree.
“I can explain, but it’ll have to wait. Right now I have something I have to do, but I promise you’ll be okay as long as you stay put.”
Tanya leaned on the wide trunk. She sucked in breath to quell her remaining nausea. “You do you, but I have to get out of here.”
“Please, trust me. It’s not safe. I’ll make sure you get home, but right now you need to stay here. I won’t be far.”
“I’ve been hiking these woods since I was a teenager. There are at least three other paths I can take that avoid the crime scene.” She winced at the words. “We have to contact the police. I’m an attorney. I know the consequences better than anyone if we don’t.”
He put his hands on her shoulders and urged her toward the tufted grass beneath the tree. “You’ve got to trust me. Don’t go anywhere. If you leave, I won’t be there to help if something bad happens.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but something in his eyes told her to drop it. Cracking open the bottle of water he gave her, she took a small sip. “When you put it that way, I don’t have much choice.” She hiccupped. “Do you want my cell phone? Oh, right, I forgot…no signal.”
His mouth curved into a half smile.
“No worries. I won’t be far.”
Tanya shivered, and he unzipped his hoodie, draping it over her shoulders. Their eyes met, and she swore it looked as if he wanted to say more, but a shadow crossed, and he frowned. “Just promise you won’t move from this spot.”
She could only nod.
The look he gave her seemed almost regretful, as though he didn’t want to go, but he turned and took a step toward the trails end.
“Hey, what’s your name?” she called after him.
He glanced back with the most beautiful smile. “Jared.”
“Thank you, Jared,” she answered, lifting the water bottle in salute. “You’re coming back, right?” A rush of nerves left her queasy stomach in the dust at the thought of being alone.
“Of course,” he murmured, and without missing a beat he turned and leapt straight into the air.
“Whoa! What are you, part cat?” Her vision blurred, and she rubbed her eyes.
The hair on her arms stood on end as the air sizzled and snapped, filled with static and the distinct odor of raw electricity. When her eyes refocused, she saw his clothes shred as he transformed in a flash of white to a large, silver wolf.
“Holy shit!” Tanya sputtered, clamoring to her knees. Dropping her water bottle, she scrambled back against the tree, away from where Jared’s body shifted and reshaped.
I’m having a brain bleed, she thought, as the majestic wolf landed effortlessly on the ground before taking off toward the trail lot.
Chapter Three
She promised not to move, but she couldn’t make herself stay. Keeping within the tree line, she clamored until she crept close enough to watch the same wolves she saw earlier raucously greet the silver wolf as he padded toward the pack.
“Impossible,” she breathed.
Her mind was a huge question mark. She stared in stunned disbelief, as every fairy tale she heard as a child, every legend and myth paraded across her thoughts.
The wolves moved almost military in style, practiced and with obvious rank. It was unbelievable, yet there it was front and center.
Where did they come from? How was it they even existed? They had to be protecting something. But what? She was both frightened and intrigued by the irrationality. It was surreal. Like being caught in a virtual reality game.
Tanya’s mind reeled watching the events unfold. Jared’s wolf was sinuous, graceful in its movements but undeniably predatory. Every muscle rippled and bunched with brute strength. As a man, he’d been strong, quick-thinking and determined. Watching his raw strength now, Tanya wondered what other similarities he shared with his wolf.
The better to eat you with my dear.
Closing her eyes, she pictured his sexy mouth, and the low, husky timbre to his voice.
He could eat her any day of the week and twice on Sundays.
She remembered the hard planes of his chest and his well-defined arms as he held her against him, wondering how those muscles would feel under her fingers as she glided along his skin.
As if reading her thoughts, the silver wolf twisted his head toward where she sat, hidden. He looked at her with such intensity, a blush fanned from her throat to her ears.
This was crazy. She was having an out-of-body experience, only her body had a mind of its own. More like the mind of a porn star. Or worse yet, the mind of a sex-starved, overworked attorney.
She had to approach this rationally. Like any other difficult scenario, regardless of how surreal. Identify all the moving parts, and then put the puzzle together.
Looking at the wolves, she tried to figure out where Jared fit in pecking order. It was clear he was older and larger than the two smaller wolves, but the large black one was definitely their alpha.
He was bigger and stockier than the others, and moved with more power, yet Jared’s wolf was faster and more agile. When the black one howled, the sound was abrupt, a command. It pierced the stillness, and as if on cue, a low yip answered from another trailhead. A smaller, russet wolf padded from the darkness. The animal was accompanied by a man, and unlike Tanya, it was obvious he wasn’t there by chance.
The wolves made fast work of clearing the area, each taking a piece of the creature and carrying it into the woods. When they didn’t come back for Jesse and Marlene’s remains, a shiver of worry passed that Jared wouldn’t come back for her, either.
“Damn.” Did he plan to leave her in the open by herself? Maybe he took her earlier bravado as gospel and decided to let her find her own way home.
Crouching down, Tanya crawled toward the edge of the deserted parking lot and then sprinted across to the second trailhead. She stayed low and listened, waiting for her blood to stop pounding in her ears.
The wolves were about a hundred feet from where she hid, and she crept forward quietly, keeping her distance. When she got to within thirty feet of them, she stopped, flattening herself to the ground.
The man had built a ring of stones, somewhat like a campfire, only bigger. He packed it with dried wood, leaves and loose bark while the wolves paced, rumbling low.
Someone had tossed the creature’s remains into the circle. Dried grass and some kind of herbs were thrown in as well, and with a flick of a match, the whole thing went up in flames.
The burning herbs were fragrant, but underneath there was a pungent, almost rotted smell, and the flame itself sizzled and sputtered as if choking on something foul.
Thinking the smoke would camouflage her, Tanya moved in closer. The wind changed and the large black wolf raised his snout, turning in her direction. He stalked toward her, his dark lips pulled back over his sharp teeth.
“Oh, crap!” Tanya struggled to get to her feet. “Jared! Jared!” she screamed, stumbling backwards.
She landed on her butt and scuttled back, legs and feet scraping and kicking dirt and leaves as she tried to push herself away.
With a growl, Jared leaped over the alpha’s head. Landing hard, his large paws hitting the ground in an explosion of dirt and rock before he turned with teeth bared at the black wolf.
The dark wolf stopped and growled low, the two posturing, as each waited for the other to strike.
The man who built the fire stepped forward, walking between the two wolves like they were nothing more than a pair of stone library lions.
“Who are you and how do you know Jared?” he asked. His face dark with suspicion.
Tanya stuttered. �
�I…I just met him. He…he saved me from that…that…thing!” Her hand shook as she pointed toward the fire.
Jared’s wolf stood directly in front of her. He growled and snapped, and it wasn’t hard to measure his intentions.
“Seriously, Jared?” The man standing raised one eyebrow.
The silver wolf gave three short yips and pawed the ground, scoring deep claw marks into the earth. To Tanya it looked as if he’d drawn a line in the dirt, daring them to cross.
“You…you speak wolf?” The words sounded ridiculous in her own ears, so she couldn’t blame the dude when his eyebrow hiked even higher.
There was a snap and spark and suddenly a dark-haired man stood in place of the black wolf. He was completely naked, and Tanya’s eyes widened as he moved toward them.
“You’re sure, Jared?” The dark-haired man’s attention was on the large, silver wolf, his voice ringing with skepticism.
He paced back and forth, shaking his head. “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, little brother.” His voice held more than a casual warning. “She hasn’t a clue as to what’s happening. Don’t you think you’d better explain things?”
From the exchange, Tanya guessed the dark-haired man wasn’t just the alpha, but also Jared’s brother.
The man turned and gave her a cold look. “We need to finish what your curiosity interrupted. You’ll have to come with us when we’re done. There is much to be discussed.”
“Look, I didn’t mean to disturb whatever it is you’re doing.” Tanya put her hands up in front of her. “I’m grateful Jared stopped me before I stumbled onto that creature and got myself killed, but the fact remains I know those people you left on the pavement.”
She spared a glance in the direction of the parking lot. “Someone needs to notify the authorities, not to mention their families, and I’m sure as hell not going anywhere with you. I’m calling the police and then I’m going home.”
Lip curled, Aidan stared at Tanya, and a low rumble started at the back of his throat.
The Wolf's Secret Witch: Howl's Romance (The Sentinel Brotherhood Book 1) Page 2