by Helen Scott
Her Shadowed Wolves
House of Wolves and Magic Book Three
Helen Scott
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Also By Helen Scott
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright
1
Nina
My footfalls crashed through the trees as I chased after the wolf in front of me. If he got away from me, we’d be in trouble, so I dodged through the trees and ducked under branches as best as I could, while also jumping over downed logs and boulders. My heart hammered in my chest as I moved.
For a moment, I thought I’d lost sight of him, but then the silver fur appeared contrasted against a brightly colored bush, and I altered my course slightly to stay on his tail. Pun intended.
My legs pumped under me, my muscles screaming at me to stop and rest. It had been a long time since I’d run this hard, and it almost reminded me of running as my wolf. It’d been more than half my life since my wolf was last out, but in my memories, I always ran faster and farther as a wolf than I did in my human form. Plus, it always felt like I’d recovered faster from my adventures, but that could have also been because I was a kid and a ball of energy.
A deer startled in the woods as I came crashing through, and I knew that the wolf would chase it. After all, we were supposed to be out here looking for dinner. The white flag of its tail bounced through the trees as I ran after it. At least it was easy to follow, or it was for a while before the undergrowth became thicker than I could easily get through.
A playful growl from right next to me startled me, and another wolf appeared by my side. If it wasn’t for the gunmetal gray of his coat and the vivid jade eyes staring at me, I would have been worried. Knowing that it was Blake and that he was probably just checking on me to make sure I was still following quickly quelled my fear.
We hadn’t run as wolves—well, the guys hadn’t—for a few days because of Jax. We’d set fire to his home, I escaped along with my mates, and we all knew there was no way in hell he was just going to let us go. Being in our wolf form also made our scents stronger. Don’t ask me how it worked, I just knew that it did. I mean, it wasn’t like I could explain how to change into a wolf either. It was just one of those things that happened.
A switch from one of the bushes smacked into my abdomen as I let it go too early, making me grunt as it smacked against the tender flesh of my stomach wound. The bullet hole had healed, along with some of the internal injuries that Blake’s doctor friend had patched up, but the area where the fragments of the silver bullet had sat for a little while was still in rough shape. It was good to get my blood flowing by running and moving, and make sure that nothing healed too tightly.
The last thing I wanted was for my body to hurt every time I turned to one side or did a sit-up or something, so we’d taken to running and sparring until I was strong enough for us to actually begin the climb up the mountain to try and find the oracle.
It wasn’t just me though, the beating Jax had given Micah was worse than I’d first thought. His eye socket had been fractured, and the fact that he’d shifted with it in such a dangerous state meant that he could have lost his eye if the magic hadn’t healed it correctly. Fortunately, at least for the moment, the magic of the shift seemed to be on our side, barring the fact that my wolf still wouldn’t leave her cage.
I followed Blake’s wolf through the woods, having lost Roman’s a while ago, when the undergrowth got thicker. The dark gray of his coat was harder to keep track of than the lighter silver of Roman’s though, and I got the feeling he’d had to loop back to me a few times.
When we came to a space between a few trees, Roman was standing there, still in wolf form, and it struck me again exactly how large he was. My eyes were stuck on the bulk of him standing between the trees like some kind of old god. Most shifters were bigger than natural wolves, almost double their size. To most people, we were a terrifying sight, and I was sure we were the cause for legends of fearsome creatures in the woods that had risen over the years.
It was a second later that I noticed that the deer we’d been chasing was dead at his feet and blood painted his muzzle. Thanks to the unusual coloring of his fur, it just looked wet. I didn’t have anything against hunting for our food, but it was taking me a while to shake my city sensibilities. I just wanted to have some pizzas delivered or something.
That wasn’t about to happen though, so I’d accepted hunting as part of my new life. It didn’t mean I wanted to see the blood and gore though. I edged backward a little and gave the corpse of the deer a wide berth. At least it looked like the kill was quick.
The air seemed to shimmer around Roman’s form as he shifted from wolf to man. “Dinner.”
“I assumed as much,” I said, not really wanting to think about the dead animal at my feet. Why was it I was totally fine buying raw meat at the grocery store, but the minute I saw a dead animal, I couldn’t think about how we were going to eat it without feeling a little twist in my stomach? That didn’t seem very wolf-like of me.
“I’ll carry it back. You run ahead with Blake, get Micah ready for a bigger meal than we thought,” Roman said looking down at the carcass.
“We should stay together,” I replied as I shook my head. The tang of the deer’s blood in the air was thick and almost overwhelmed the loamy scent of the woods.
“You think we were followed?” Roman asked, his gaze shifting beyond me as he analyzed the woods beyond my shoulder.
“No, but I don’t want you to get caught alone.” I tried to reframe my concern.
“We haven’t been bothered by Jax’s wolves since we burned their woods. I don’t think they’re going to come after us just yet, considering all the places I poured the gasoline. They have enough to deal with right now without worrying about us. Besides, I can take on a couple of his pups.” Roman grinned at the end, and the wolf peeked out from his eyes.
It was obvious that I wasn’t going to win this argument. Not with the wolf still mostly in control. To a degree, he would demand that I stay with him, since I was his mate, but my safety was even more important, so getting me back to our camp would be paramount. We’d set up some basic traps and defenses around our small camp, and it was about as safe as we could make it.
Finally, I sighed and said, “Fine, but if you’re not back in an hour, then I’m going to come look for you. Alone.”
A snarl ripped from Roman’s lips. “Blake and Micah won’t let you.”
“I can get around them if I need to. Don’t make me.” I stared directly into his eyes as I spoke and let the threat hang heavily in my voice so he knew I wasn’t messing around. He was an alpha for all intents and purposes, and I knew he considered me part of his pack, just like I considered him to be part of mine. That also meant that staring him down wasn’t the best idea,
but it would help his wolf take me more seriously, so long as he didn’t think I was challenging him for his position in the pack.
A low growl seemed to leak from him like air escaping a balloon, only more hair-raising and blood-chilling. It was an odd sound coming from a human instead of a wolf, but no less effective. Instead of responding to it though, I just turned and walked away.
He wanted me to go back to the camp, so I would, but I was serious about my threat and he knew that, which was the important part. I kept a slower pace returning since I didn’t have to try and keep up with Roman, and it let my body relax a little now that I wasn’t pushing it quite so hard.
Blake ran alongside me, happy as a clam apparently, if the way his tongue was lolling out the side of his mouth was anything to go by. The two of us made good time, and the silence was nice for once. I’d been so used to living my life alone, only chatting with a few people a day outside of the customers at the garage, that having people around me all the time was intense. Having Blake by my side as we ran through the woods was comforting, and I appreciated it.
After a while, all the trees started to look the same and my human nose couldn’t pick up our scents anymore. My pace slowed even further, and when Blake realized what was going on, he bounded ahead and showed me the way. I never knew I needed these three men in my life, but I was so glad they had turned up.
When we got back to camp, Micah was adding more logs to the fire and had a good stash set aside for later as well. It was going to get cold out here in the woods, but we’d managed to snag some of the camping gear that had been in the back of Ray’s Jeep when we left the motel.
“Welcome back, beautiful,” Micah said, pushing to his feet from the chair he’d been perched on with a smile on his face.
I moved straight to him, hugging him as tightly as I could without hurting either of us.
When we broke apart, he asked, “Where’s Roman?” I didn’t miss the concern that danced over his features either. I knew he was trying to hide it from me, but we were starting to know each other well enough that even subtle things would give away our moods and thoughts.
“He’s fine, took down a deer, so he’s carrying that back and wanted to be all macho alpha about it and do it alone,” I grumbled, rolling my eyes for good measure.
“A deer?” Micah’s eyebrows raised in surprise.
I nodded.
“We’re going to need a bigger fire if we’ve got to cook a whole deer.”
“Roman still needs to butcher it first. I don’t think the wolf was in any mood to do a field dressing on it,” Blake said from behind me.
I turned to glance at him, finding him fully naked after his shift, and I couldn’t help but peruse my mate. His long chestnut hair hung loose over his shoulders, and his gray-green eyes that saw too much caught my gaze. He gave me a knowing smile, which I returned as I continued my perusal. Muscles for days, a body that would have been carved from marble had he been alive when the greats were. He’d certainly put the David to shame.
“We should talk about the plan for tomorrow.” Roman’s voice rang out as he emerged from the trees into the little camping area we’d created. The deer was slung over his shoulders, and there was a trail of blood going down one side of his body. He looked like some kind of nudist mountain man, and I wasn’t sure whether I was more turned on or grossed out.
Hint—it was turned on.
He put the deer down and grabbed a rag and a pack of wet wipes to start cleaning himself up as we talked. “The plan is to go and find the oracle, right?” I asked as I sat on the ground not far from the fire.
“Yes,” Roman replied carefully. “But we don’t have any idea where she is, other than on the mountain.”
“So what do you propose?” I asked, trying not to get frustrated when I knew we were all doing our best.
“We make our way to the top of the mountain and then work our way back down. We should avoid the Shadow Forest though.” Roman began to butcher the deer, and as much as I wanted to walk away and not watch, I couldn’t.
“The shortest route to the top of the mountain is through the Shadow Forest. Why do you want to avoid it?” Blake asked, confusion causing a small V shape to form between his brows.
“There is another faction of shifters that live in the woods. They’ve made their home there for decades and don’t like shifters like us. They believe us to be corrupted by humans by not staying true to the old ways or the wolves that live inside us all. They’re dangerous to cross paths with and would not welcome us in their territory.” Roman didn’t look up as he spoke, just focused on his work.
I didn’t know what to say. I’d never heard of these other shifters before and had no idea what they were like if they just lived in an enclave in the woods, but part of me couldn’t help but wonder if they might actually help us. I mean, if they thought that the alphas of the current packs were corrupted by humans, then since we were on the run from them, maybe they’d help.
When I said as much aloud, Roman actually looked up from what he was doing and said, “It’s not just alphas that they think are corrupt. It’s all of us. Anyone who’s lived among the humans is considered tainted.”
“Okay, so we’ll travel up the mountain along the edge of the forest. There’s a road that runs along there so it shouldn’t be that difficult.” Micah shrugged as he went to put another log on the fire.
“There’s only the one road though,” Blake replied, rubbing the stubble that was covering his chin and jaw. “If Jax suspects where we’re going, and he very well might, especially with me being with you, then he could block that off. Do you think he knows about the Shadow Forest wolves?”
Roman nodded. “All alphas are briefed on them when they take the position. They’re supposed to keep their wolves away from the woods so that the ones that live inside aren’t bothered and it doesn’t start a pack war.”
My stomach twisted in knots. “So let me get this straight, our choices are either going up the road on the mountain and possibly—” Blake raised an eyebrow at me. “Okay, probably encountering Jax or at least some of his stooges, or go through the woods and encounter some shifters that think we’re tainted by humans and deserve to be put down because of it?”
“That about sums it up,” Roman agreed.
Well, fuck. How the hell were we going to find the oracle if we couldn’t even get up the mountain?
2
Nina
We’d banked the fire and gone to bed, all of us snuggling in our sleeping bags, but I couldn’t seem to get warm. I wasn’t sure whether it was the coming trek or the idea that we might have to invade someone’s territory just to get through, or possibly even fight some of Jax’s wolves. Whatever it was, it felt like my whole body was fighting it.
I was so damn tired of fighting.
Fighting for my freedom, for the right to exist without having to have the permission of the nearest alpha, fighting to be able to choose my mate, to keep my mates, for the right of us all to survive. Not to mention the eternal struggle that was going on inside between me and my wolf. I just wished she’d come out of her cage already, but she was just as stubborn as I was, so I knew it wouldn’t happen until she was good and ready.
“I can hear you shivering from over here,” Blake whispered. “Come over here and get warm.”
I unzipped my sleeping bag and climbed out, the air outside of my little bundle of warmth even colder than I’d expected. I could see my breath, even in the dark, as I crawled into Blake’s sleeping bag. He reached over and pulled on the zipper, closing us in. Immediately, I started to feel warmer, but that didn’t mean that Blake didn’t flinch when I ran my fingers over his chest.
“By the gods, woman, were you even in a sleeping bag over there?” he hissed at me before grabbing my fingers and shoving my hands between his legs.
“I mean, if you wanted me to do something, you could have just asked,” I teased.
“You know I just want you to get warm. The groi
n is one of the warmest places on the body, so it’ll heat your hands up faster, even if it makes my junk shrivel up to get away from the ice cubes you’re currently calling fingers.” He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close.
I was practically rubbing myself against him anyway, since he was so warm, so I didn’t mind. His hands rubbed up and down my back, and for a moment, I thought I might actually relax, but I was wrong. Blake’s arms were like twin bands of heat around me, and though my skin was warming up, my mind and my soul were still frozen in the same thought pattern I’d had when I lay down to go to sleep.
Nerves had jangled through my body every time I thought about the future recently, even more so now that I knew we were going to see the oracle tomorrow, or at least that was the goal. Would I finally get some damn answers? I hoped so, because if she talked in riddles and circles, then I wasn’t sure whether I’d be able to restrain myself.
“What’s wrong, love? You feel like you’re wound tighter than a drum and your shoulders are like cement blocks.” As though he needed to demonstrate, his fingers pressed on my shoulders and the back of my neck. My muscles were unyielding and ached under his slight touch.
“I’m just nervous about tomorrow, about what’s going to happen with the oracle, you know?” I shrugged the shoulder that wasn’t resting against the ground and snuggled slightly closer to him, breathing in his warm, summery scent. Part of me wanted to try and bottle his scent, the fiery, coppery vibe mixed with the masculine undertones made my heart pitter patter in my chest, and I was willing to bet it’d do the same to other women and we’d make a fortune.