Beneath the Dust (Force of Nature Book 4)

by Amber Lynn Natusch

  I didn’t have an answer, so I kept my mouth shut and walked on.

  By the time we reached the infirmary, Kat had fallen a step or two behind. I pretended not to notice her apprehension and pushed the doors open to find a room full of the injured in various stages of healing. Doc made her way over to brief me on who was still struggling even after my attempt to heal everyone in the yard. I followed her from patient to patient, working hard to call on my power through the thick walls of concrete and tile surrounding us.

  When I finally finished, I was sweaty and panting.

  “Remarkable,” she said under her breath.

  “How is Brunton?” I asked, ignoring her roundabout compliment.

  “He’s sleeping.”

  I looked over to the far corner of the room, where he was lying on a bed—dead to the world around him—and found the female wolf standing near the foot of it. She stared at him, fists balled at her sides, jaw clenched tightly.

  “I’ll check on him,” I said before heading toward the patient in question. When Kat heard me coming, she walked away.

  I placed my hand on the leg that had nearly been ripped off and channeled a little extra healing energy into him—what little I had left. He stirred under my touch but never woke. The coma-like state the wolves entered to heal never ceased to amaze me. “Rest,” I whispered before releasing him.

  I turned to find Kat eyeing me from Doc’s side.

  “Shall we go see if we can find something to eat?” I asked, hoping to cheer her up with the promise of food.

  “Yeah,” she said dismissively, looking past me to Brunton, “but there’s something I have to do first.” She gave Doc and me a look that silently told us to fuck off, then headed to Brunton’s bed. I nodded at Doc, and she led the way out.

  I grabbed the door before it swung closed and looked back to find Kat bent over Brunton, whispering something in his ear. Whether she was wishing him well or telling him to suck it the fuck up and get off his ass so we could go after the responsible party, I couldn’t tell. But I had my money on the latter.

  Because Kat.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  When Kat didn’t join me in the kitchen, I decided to head for bed. Exhaustion was setting in, and it was about as subtle as a two-by-four to the head. Grizz was nowhere to be found, which unnerved me a bit given his behavior that evening, but I welcomed the time alone all the same. It was so hard to come by.

  Then a knock on my door shattered that fantasy.

  I opened it to find a forlorn-looking Knox standing there, his hair a tousled mess and dark circles shadowing his eyes.

  I pulled him into the room and closed the door.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

  “I’m fine.”

  “Fine? Really? That’s what you’re going with? If I had your fancy little internal lie detector, I think it would be calling bullshit right about now.”

  My apparent irritation prompted a harsh exhale from him. He sat down beside me, propped his elbows on his knees, and buried his head in his hands.

  “I’m sorry. I just…I’m struggling with what happened today…what could have happened. I’m trying to hold it together, but I guess I’m doing a shit job.”

  He shot me a playful glance, but it lacked any of his normal mischief. His eyes were too sad to sell it.

  “You don’t always have to hold it together, you know. I mean, it’s not like I ever do, and nobody seems to mind. If that’s because I’m a girl, then we need to have a serious discussion about traditional gender roles and the patriarchal society that fosters them, even in the supernatural community.”

  That earned me a genuine smile. “I’ll pass on that lecture, thanks.”

  “Smart boy.”

  He quirked his brow. “Boy?”

  “Man…dude…individual…whatever! You know what I mean!”

  He leaned closer. “Do I?”

  “You’re engaging in avoidance behavior right now, and I feel I should caution you about the negative ramifications of not dealing with your feelings—”

  “Have you been watching daytime TV again?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe. But that’s not the point.”

  He sighed, then flopped back onto the bed. I lay on my side and stared at him as he gazed at the ceiling.

  “I know it isn’t.”

  “Then why don’t you tell me what’s eating at you?”

  He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, steadying himself for the conversation about to take place. “I didn’t realize how hard it would be to return to New York—the shit I would have to face here.”

  My heart dropped to my stomach. “Do you want to leave?” I did little to hide the horror I felt at the idea. He reached down and took my hand in his.

  “I’m never leaving you, Piper. That’s not even an option. But there’s a pressing reality I can’t escape, and today was a grim reminder.”

  I swallowed hard. “You don’t want to be alpha here again…”

  Another deep breath. “I left this city for a reason, Piper. But even more than that, I left my position as alpha—I had to get away from it.”

  “But you’re still an alpha, Knox. I don’t understand how you could handle that in Alaska but not here.”

  “Because my pack in Alaska was so much smaller, and they were practically chosen in some weird, cosmic kind of way. They all just showed up over time, like they were drawn to me. Like I was calling to them somehow.”

  “And here?”

  “Here it’s the complete opposite. The sheer volume of wolves alone is daunting, and some of them are…well, like Mack. Some of their moral compasses never point north. Keeping them on the right track was exhausting, and my lie-deciphering ability that everyone thinks is so handy comes at a price when I’m here, for whatever reason.”

  “What’s the price, Knox?”

  He shifted his gaze to me. Behind the sadness in his eyes was fear.

  “Their connection to me took its toll—the nonstop assault on my senses. And my mind…” He didn’t look away until he saw the realization in my stare.

  “You went mad.”

  He nodded. “Your boy Merc and I have more in common than you probably ever bargained for.” He let out a bitter laugh. “Two unstable lovers—not sure how you’re going to manage this, Piper.”

  I slipped my hand in his. “I’ll manage it just fine, and so will you.”

  He rolled onto his side to face me. “How can you be so sure?”

  I smiled. “Because you didn’t have me last time. I calm Merc’s madness—I have some experience in this matter.”

  “So you think you’re a seasoned veteran, do you?”

  “I mean, I don’t want to brag, but…yeah. I think I’ve got this.”

  He reached across the narrow expanse of comforter that separated us and cupped my cheek.

  “I think you just might.”

  His lips fell soft against mine at first, an uncertainty there that hadn’t ever been there before. It was strange coming from Knox—from an alpha with animal instincts—and yet there we were, bodies pressed tight together in my bed. A place we’d never lain together before; another first in a life that was sure to run short on those soon.

  But his hesitant pace didn’t last long. It quickly gave way to an urgency I understood all too well; one I’d shared with Merc only nights earlier. I shoved down the guilt that rose within me as I stripped off my clothes and his and gave in to the part of me that was so connected to Knox that, at times, it was hard to tell where I ended and he began. And it was no different in my bed.

  He rolled me onto my back and was soon on top of me. Truth be told, we hadn’t had sex in a bed since our first time in Alaska. Nature always seemed to be our backdrop, but at that moment, with his firm body on top of mine and his hips between my legs, I was happy to settle for Egyptian cotton sheets.

  “I can’t lose you, Piper,” he said as he pushed his way inside.
r />   “You won’t,” I gasped as he plunged in deeper this time, an edge of desperation in his pace. I wrapped my legs around his waist, gripped his biceps hard, and held on for dear life as our bodies rocked together. I kissed my way down his cheek to his neck and buried my face there, inhaling the fresh scent of his skin. Something stirred deep within me, and I nipped his shoulder, my teeth digging hard into his skin.

  His low rumble of approval vibrated through me, egging me on. He thrust harder with every scratch and bite and slap, the violence in my actions driving him. If he wanted to return my behavior, he never did. He took it out on one spot and that spot alone.

  And I couldn’t have been more pleased.

  My body tightened as the end neared, and his hand tangled in my hair only seconds before my body shook with sweet release. As it did, he jerked my head back so I could see him. His glowing eyes met mine, telling me all I needed to know.

  The wolf in the man approved of my antics.

  The howl he let loose told everyone else in the mansion the same.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  After a quick shower, we made our way down to the kitchen, which I’d come to realize was little more than a 24-hour diner. Some of the pack were already down there for a late-night snack. Or early-morning snack. I literally had no sense of time at that point.

  “Do you guys ever stop?” I asked, looking at the mounds of food on their plates. When they looked back at me, their cheeks gaunt and skin pale, I realized why they needed it. They’d offered themselves as food for the wounded vampires, and now the food needed to eat. “Oh…sorry. Carry on.”

  They laughed and shook their heads, and I made an ‘oops’ face at Knox.

  Kat, Foust, and Jagger entered seconds later, looking stressed but healthy, for which I was most grateful. But it made Brunton’s absence so much more palpable.

  “Move,” Kat said, shoving a younger wolf away from the fridge. She started pulling out what little food was left and tossing it to the boys. “Surely one of those witches could have food magically delivered here. It’s the least they could do…”

  Once she’d pilfered all she could, she closed the door and made her way over.

  “If it would save my life somehow, Beatrice would have to,” I said with a laugh.

  Kat’s sharp eyes narrowed. “I’m not joking.”

  “I can see that.”

  “I never joke about food.”

  “None of you do. It’s a wolf thing, I guess.”

  “I’d say it was a male thing,” Jagger added, shooting a glance at Kat, “but you kinda blow that theory to shit.”

  A serpent’s smile cut across her face. “That one and so many more…”

  Just as Jagger’s cheeks flushed, Brunton walked into the kitchen, rubbing his hand over his face. He was clearly exhausted from having expended so much energy healing. I was amazed he was even upright at all. He grunted something as he passed, head hung low like he lacked the strength to lift it. We all looked on as he rummaged through the slim pickings left in the fridge. The room was as silent as a grave.

  But when he popped out of the fridge, food in hand, that silence was broken by howling laughter.

  “Oh my God…that’s fucking priceless,” Jagger said between hysterical outbursts.

  Foust and Knox were too overcome to talk at all. As Brunton stared at the group, I saw the reason behind their reactions. Someone had written ‘KAT IS THE SHIT’ in black marker on Brunton’s face—and that someone was the grinning lone wolf standing next to me. I covered my mouth to hold back my laughter, but it was a challenge to say the least.

  “Kat…I think I love you,” Jagger said, clutching his cramping abs.

  The female of the hour took a bow. “It’s some of my better work.”

  Groggy and confused, Brunton wandered over to the stove and grabbed a stainless pan. He stared at his reflection until he pieced together what had happened. Once he did, he merely placed the pan back down and started eating.

  “What’s this?” Foust asked, calming himself. “Nothing to say about your forehead graffiti, bro?”

  Brunton shrugged. “Could have been worse.”

  Kat’s self-satisfaction fell a notch. “I was going to draw dicks all over your face, but you were half-dead at the time, so it seemed in poor taste.”

  Brunton dumped his food into a bowl and hauled himself up onto the counter. We watched him eat with nervous wonder.

  “You feelin’ okay, Brunton?” Knox asked, genuine concern in his tone. “We didn’t expect you to be up for a few more hours, and you’re taking this way better than I’d have thought…”

  The typically surly wolf just chewed his food in silence.

  “Maybe I should have drawn the dicks…,” Kat muttered under her breath.

  “Doesn’t matter what you drew, kitty cat. It matters that you bothered at all,” Brunton said before shoveling more food into his face. The dare in his eyes as he stared at her over his bowl spoke volumes.

  “It was the least I could do,” she replied, a sly smile overtaking her face. A well-placed mask.

  “The very least,” he agreed. “I’ll be sure to return the favor one day. Might want to sleep with one eye open for a while.”

  “Planning to creep into a woman’s room in the middle of the night? That does seem like your style.”

  Another shrug. “Guess we’ll find out soon, won’t we? And don’t bother putting clothes on to sleep, just in case. Modesty doesn’t suit you…”

  A new tension settled over the kitchen—one filled with Kat and Brunton’s love/hate relationship. I’d hoped that his near-death experience would help sort them out, but not even that had brought the blurred line between them into focus. Maybe nothing ever would.

  Maybe they really did just love to hate each other.

  “While you two figure out if you want to fuck or kill one another, can we get back to the matter at hand?” Knox asked.

  “Which is?” I leaned back against the counter, prepared to get caught up on the meeting I hadn’t known was in progress.

  “How we’re going to take down the fey king.”

  A frost settled over the room like winter had rolled in overnight.

  “We heard all about your meeting with Mack,” Foust said. “The king is going to continue to be a wild card in this until he’s no longer a factor, isn’t he?”

  Knox raked his hand through his damp hair and nodded. “He is.”

  “Liam can still go to Faerie—”

  “I know what Liam can do,” Knox interrupted. “Nobody is going back there.”

  Foust, ever the diplomat, lifted his hands in surrender. “We were just trying to come up with a plan.”

  “Well it’s not going to involve setting foot in Faerie, got it?”

  All of Knox’s wolves nodded obediently—even Brunton.

  Kat, however, cocked her head to the side, looking ready as ever to pick a fight with the edgy alpha.

  “If the king and his lands have lost so much power—and he has undoubtedly expended more since you were there—then maybe this is the perfect time to strike. The coven queen hasn’t reported a missing witch since we intervened. If he required so many before we realized what he was doing, then surely he’s at a disadvantage now.”

  “Are you willing to bet your life on that?” Knox asked, pushing off the counter. “Because I’m not.”

  “I’m not saying you should risk yours—”

  “No,” he said, cutting her off, “I’m not willing to risk yours.”

  Her mischievous smile grew further. “Mine isn’t yours to risk, remember?”

  A chorus of low growls echoed through the kitchen. At first, I thought the boys were angry at the thinly-veiled challenge in Kat’s words, but when I surveyed their expressions, their reasons became clear. Whether Kat liked it or not—whether it was official in only their minds—the boys saw Kat as pack. There would be no changing that, come hell or high water.

  Brunton put his bowl
down and headed toward her. He didn’t stop until they were nearly nose-to-nose.

  “No,” was all he said.

  “No?” Kat replied, voice teeming with feigned amusement. “No what?”

  “Just no.”

  Kat looked past Brunton to me as if he weren’t a wall of brooding wolf on the brink of losing control. I guessed the love vs. hate thing was a lot clearer on his end; or maybe he, like Kat, wanted to be the one to end the other if and when he saw fit. Either way, it was pretty clear that he had no intention of letting the fey king have the honor.

  “Piper, do you think now would be an appropriate time to remind the boys what a lone wolf is—”

  “We know what a lone wolf is,” Brunton said. “What you don’t seem to understand is what a pack is—how they work. You’ve been here in this vampire-infested mansion too long to remember, so let me take a second to remind you.” He leaned closer to her, and for the first time ever, I noticed their size difference. “You might not have accepted us as yours, but we’ve accepted you as ours, so whatever reckless bullshit you think you’re going to pull, you aren’t.”

  “Because you’re going to stop me?” she asked, the challenge clear in her tone.

  His jaw flexed as he mulled over her question. He didn’t react in his typical surly, brutish way, which seemed to shock not only me but everyone else in attendance.

  The fuck-or-fight pendulum had swung yet again.

  “We all will.”

  Kat’s gaze turned to Knox. He gave one quick nod in agreement. Her blue eyes blazed golden for the briefest moment before she tucked the animal away inside the woman.

  “Suit yourselves,” she said, releasing those words with a put-upon sigh, “but remember this little chat when the fey king shows up and tries to kill everyone yet again. I’m not above saying ‘I told you so’.” Her eyes darted back to Brunton and his graffitied forehead. “Might want to wash that ASAP. I hear permanent marker can be a bitch to get off.”

  I watched as the tension in his body slowly gave way to his normal confident stance.

  “I never have trouble getting anything off.”

  Kat smiled wide and patted his cheek. “Not yet.”