Her Shadowed Wolves (House of Wolves and Magic Book 3)

by Helen Scott

  Shock rolled through me. Another mate? When I glanced at Nina though, she seemed to know already, surprise not present on her face, just curiosity.

  “Nina, we don’t care if you have fifty more mates, but we need to leave before he loses control and shifts. If he does, he’ll kill us all, whether he means to or not,” Tate said. Evidently, he’d subdued his opponent, since the guy was now pinned under his knee and had his hands bound behind his back. Nina looked over her shoulder at Tate and took a step toward him.

  “Shut up! Traitor! What do you want, Antonia? Answers or more questions? Peace or being part of an unending hunt?” The rage flowed through Jax again, and it was almost a visible thing. His veins bulged on his arms and in his neck, one particularly distracting one throbbing on his forehead. He looked ready to combust. The blotchiness on the skin of his neck was creeping higher, and it was moving at an alarming rate, faster than I’d ever seen before. If it hit his eyes, we were all completely fucked.

  30

  Nina

  I didn’t know why I’d hesitated, why I’d waited so long to leave, why I’d even entertained the idea of staying with Jax to get answers. It wasn’t that I wanted him as my mate. I wasn’t even sure if he could be, since I could meet his gaze and not feel anything. I desperately wanted answers though. No more mystic dreams or weird shit like that. No, I wanted some actual answers.

  We’d made it to Tate’s car, which they’d apparently driven here from the hospital, and piled in. Roman and Micah were, unfortunately, naked, since neither of them could shift their clothes as well, but I wasn’t about to complain about that. They sat on either side of me, while Tate drove and Blake rode shotgun.

  None of us spoke as Tate floored it and drove away from the weird little campground they’d set up to keep me in. It was like Jax and his men had forgotten how mate bonds worked. The guys and I could feel each other, and the farther away we were, the tighter, more stretched, it felt, which would always help us find one another. I had no idea if the guys could sense each other or whether or not it was to a lesser degree if they could, but I knew I could sense each of them and, in turn, they could sense me.

  As the scenery rushed by, everything felt like it was spinning around in my head. The more that happened, the more questions I had, none of which I was going to get answers to unless I found that damn oracle. If I could even find her.

  “So where are we going?” Tate asked after we’d been driving for a while.

  I hadn’t really thought about it, but my mouth was already forming the words, “Back to Shadow Forest.”

  I saw Tate glance at me with surprise in the rearview mirror before looking to Roman, then Micah on either side of me. The move irritated me, like he needed permission from my two other mates before following my instructions. If that was how it was going to be, then we’d need to have a little chat. When his gaze met mine once more after checking the road, I didn’t think that was the case though. It seemed more like he was checking on all of us.

  We hadn’t walked away unscathed from the fight with Jax, if you could even call it a fight. I knew he’d held back. I also realized that his own men were scared of him shifting into his wolf, which was one of the things that had given me more questions than it had answered. I knew someone in the car was bleeding, I just wasn’t sure who. I hoped it wasn’t Blake. The last thing we needed was for him to be seriously injured again.

  “We can go back to our campsite, the one where we were attacked in the rain. I doubt they’ll look for us somewhere we’ve already been,” Micah suggested.

  “And if they’ve left someone watching the site?” Roman asked, clearly in a bad mood, though I didn’t really blame him.

  “They didn’t. At least not while I was still part of the pack,” Tate replied.

  “Jax’s wolves didn’t want to enter Shadow Forest. I think between that and what Micah said, it’s our best bet.” I began chewing on a fingernail, nervous that Jax’s wolves would find us there anyway. He promised that I would be hunted to the ends of the earth, and I had no doubt of his sincerity.

  Roman began giving Tate directions, and I knew he was on board with the idea. Blake had been oddly quiet though, and it made my heart thud in my chest as I thought about everything he’d been through. I reached out and gently touched his shoulder. “You okay?”

  He nodded. “Just not particularly excited about going back to the forest where I almost died.”

  “Understandable,” I said, squeezing the round curve of his shoulder gently. “Do you feel like you’re recovering from everything?” I couldn’t keep the nerves from my voice, and Blake turned to look at me, piercing me with his green-eyed stare.

  “I’m okay, love. Just a little tired.” He offered me a smile, but it wasn’t as brilliant as it usually was. The events of the last few days were wearing on all of us.

  “We should have some food at the campsite still, unless they destroyed everything, plus we can stop at the MiniMart on the way and grab a few things.” Roman sounded like he was making a complex plan in his head, and I just hoped that there was some more immediate food involved, because I was starving.

  We were all quiet for a bit while Tate drove, but eventually, I asked, “Did Jax sound even crazier than usual to anyone else? Or was that just me?”

  “Oh, he’s fucking lost it,” Blake said with a bark of laughter.

  “Yeah, it’s just been getting worse the longer he’s been trying to get you,” Tate added.

  “Oh, good. I always wanted to drive a man batshit crazy, this just wasn’t how I imagined doing it,” I snarked.

  “You drove me crazy a while ago, I’m just better at hiding it,” Roman replied, completely deadpan.

  “I think the same can be said for all of us,” Micah added.

  I saw nods coming from the men in the front seat, and I had to smack Tate on the shoulder. “You haven’t even known me long enough for me to have driven you crazy yet.”

  “Listening to you have sex in the shower while I’m laid up in a hospital bed is plenty,” Tate said with a chuckle. His smile only grew wider when he glanced at me in the rearview mirror again and saw the blush that was climbing my cheeks.

  “Fine. You have a point,” I grumbled at him.

  We all fell quiet again, it was only when we pulled up to the MiniMart that I realized I’d have to climb over Micah or Roman to get out, since they were both still naked. They both looked at me expectantly as though having me scrambling across them was some kind of prize. I wasn’t about to pick between them, so once Tate and Blake were both out of the car, I climbed through the space between the front seats and out the passenger door.

  Was it graceful?

  No.

  Did it disappoint them?

  Yes.

  I didn’t care though, not when there was food on the line. It was only when I caught someone in the parking lot staring at me that I realized I was still in my blood-soaked scrubs, which meant I couldn’t go into the store either. Fortunately, Tate had already popped the trunk and was grabbing some clothes out of the packs we’d stashed there so Roman and Micah didn’t have to remain naked.

  The pack that was open was only men’s clothes, but I didn’t really care. I wasn’t about to go hunting around for my clothes when I didn’t need to. Besides, being soaked in dried blood meant that I was standing out like a sore thumb, so the faster I changed that, the better. I found an oversized—well, oversized for me—T-shirt and pulled it on over my scrub top, then pulled my arms out of the scrub top and wiggled it up through the neck of the T-shirt until I could pull it off entirely. I couldn’t do the same thing with the bottoms though, so I just had to yank them off and pull the pair of boxer shorts on as quickly as possible. Not that anything was exposed, since the T-shirt was so long, it just felt that way.

  “And here I thought I was going to get a show,” Blake said with a smile from the other side of the trunk.

  “Later,” I replied with a wink.

  “I’ll
hold you to that.” His eyes had darkened, and I knew that it was important for us to reconnect physically soon. We both needed the reassurance that would provide.

  Roman and Micah both exited the car, pulling on T-shirts and wearing some loose basketball shorts. I couldn’t stop myself from staring at them, my gaze flicking from one to the other as I took in the bodies they were covering. When this was all over, we were going to have a naked week or something where none of us would be allowed to wear clothes.

  “Whatever you’re thinking, beautiful, stop it,” Micah said with a chuckle. “Can’t hide a hard-on in basketball shorts.”

  I shook my head, and we all walked into the tiny store that was on the side of a gas station. The scent of gasoline was overpowering pretty much everything else, but once we were inside, I could scent the cleaner and the cigarettes behind the counter, along with all the processed yumminess that lined the aisles.

  Running my fingertips along all the brightly colored packages and hearing the plastic crinkle under my touch was enough to make me giddy. I grabbed a few bags and carried them in my arm like a baby as I progressed down the aisle.

  “Hurry,” a raspy voice said behind me.

  I’d noticed the woman in the aisle earlier, making some serious life choices between a package of regular Oreos and lemon Oreos. It was a no-brainer to me. Regular were superior, with double stuffed being at the very top of my cookie preference list. I turned toward her though, wondering if she needed some help or something, and found her staring at me. Her eyes were that same swirling gray I’d seen on the woman at the hospital and then again in my dream with the oracle.

  It couldn’t be, could it?

  “Are you okay, ma’am?” I asked.

  “Hurry, little wolf. You and your mates are running out of time.” The woman’s eyes were wide, as though she was scared, and when they cleared, when the gray faded to blue, she gave me the strangest look before hurrying out of the store.

  We needed to find the oracle now, and I wasn’t waiting for any damn signs like a raven on my heart or whatever. That bitch had a lot to answer for, and if she wasn’t careful, she’d be answering my questions at the claws of my mates. Hurry, she said, like I didn’t have time to eat or drink or sleep. A knot twisted in my stomach. What if I didn’t? What if she was telling the truth and I was almost out of time?

  Want to know what happens next? Click here to preorder Her Hidden Pack, book four of the House of Wolves and Magic series!

  Also By Helen Scott

  Don’t forget to check out Helen’s other series!

  Magical Midlife in Mystic Hollow

  (Cowritten with Lacey Carter Andersen and L.A. Boruff)

  Karma’s Spell

  Karma’s Shift - Coming Soon

  Immortal Hunters MC

  (Cowritten with Lacey Carter Andersen)

  Van Helsing Rising

  Van Helsing Damned – Coming Soon

  Prisoners of Nightstone

  (Cowritten with May Dawson)

  Potions and Punishments

  Incantations and Inmates

  Curses and Convicts - Coming Soon

  Legends Unleashed

  (Cowritten with Lacey Carter Andersen)

  Don’t Say My Name

  Don’t Cross My Path

  Don’t Touch My Men

  Twisted Fae

  (Cowritten with Lucinda Dark)

  Court of Crimson

  Court of Frost

  Court of Midnight

  The Hollow

  (Cowritten with Ellabee Andrews)

  Survival

  Seduction

  Surrender

  Salsang Chronicles

  (Cowritten with Serena Akeroyd)

  Stained Egos

  Stained Hearts

  Stained Minds

  Stained Bonds

  Stained Souls

  Salsang Chronicles Box Set

  The Wild Hunt

  Daughter of the Hunt

  Challenger of the Hunt

  Champion of the Hunt – Coming Soon

  Cerberus

  Daughter of Persephone

  Daughter of Hades

  Queen of the Underworld

  Cerberus Series Box Set

  Hera’s Gift (A Cerberus Series Novella)

  Wardens of Midnight

  Woman of Midnight (A Wardens of Midnight Novella)

  Sanctuary at Midnight

  The Siren Legacy

  The Oracle (A Siren Legacy Novella)

  The Siren’s Son

  The Siren’s Eyes

  The Siren’s Code

  The Siren’s Heart

  The Banshee (A Siren Legacy Novella)

  The Siren’s Bride

  Fury’s Valentine (A Siren Legacy Novella)

  Standalones, Shared Worlds, and Box Sets

  The Sex Tape (Cowritten with Serena Akeroyd)

  Spin My Gold (Cowritten with Lacey Carter Andersen)

  Buttercup

  Neve

  Acknowledgments

  I would like to thank you most of all, as the reader, for giving me a chance to entertain you and invite you into my world. Thank you so much. I hope you enjoyed it!

  A big thank you to my cover designer, Rebecca Frank, for helping me bring these books to life, and to my editor, Meghan, and my proofreader, Jutta, for making sure that the readers get the best possible version of the book.

  Thank you to my family for helping me pursue my dream and putting up with my wandering mind.

  Last, but not least, thank you to my husband for pushing me to share my stories with the world. Thanks for putting up with me every day, babe. You’re amazing!

  About the Author

  Helen Scott lives in the Chicago area with her wonderful husband and furry, four-legged kids. She spends way too much time with her nose in a book and isn’t sorry about it. When not reading or writing, Helen can be found absorbed in one video game or another or crafting her heart out.

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  Her Shadowed Wolves

  House of Wolves and Magic Book Three

  Copyright © 2021 by Helen Scott

  Cover Design © Bewitching Book Covers by Rebecca Frank

  Editing by Bookish Dreams Editing

  All rights reserved.

  This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author, except for the brief use of quotations in a book review.

  This book is intended for adults only. The sexual activities represented in this book are a work of fiction intended for adults. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are used fictitiously by the author. Any resemblance to actual places, events, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.