Digging the Wolf: a paranormal romance (Werewolves of Crookshollow Book 1)

by Steffanie Holmes

  Something’s not right. Anna loved that car. She’d never let anyone else drive it.

  “Follow that car!” I yelled, leaning over and yanking the wheel around. The truck lurched towards the ditch.

  “I know, fuck!” Caleb batted me away, grabbing the wheel and steering the truck back on the road. He put his foot to the floor. I grabbed the handle as we hurtled towards the Mini.

  We quickly gained on them, but the black-haired driver showed no sign of stopping. I could just make out a large shape slumped across the back seats. Was that Anna? My stomach lurched. The Mini skidded around a corner, fighting for control in the mud. Its right front wheel lost traction on the dirt road, and it pitched into the ditch. The bonnet hit an oak, and buckled around it.

  “Anna,” I screamed.

  “Fuck!” Caleb slammed on the brakes. I threw open the door and leapt from the car before he’d even stopped.

  I landed hard on my feet, flailing my arms to keep my balance. The air reeked of the bad wolf. I ploughed towards the mini. As I reached the back door, I caught another glimpse of that object slumped along the back seat. It definitely looked like a person, tied up with cable. I noticed Anna’s boots flailing in the air. I grabbed for the door handle. Something large and black and furry leapt from the front window and slammed into me.

  I hit the ground hard, my back cracking on the road. The wolf’s claws dug into my shoulders, his sharp teeth snapping just millimetres from my face. Hot saliva dribbled over my cheeks. His black fur gleamed from the rain.

  As I fought with him for control, I forced my own change, my limbs cracking and shifting beneath the wolf’s iron grip. As my snout grew outward and my teeth sharpened, I snapped back at him. I caught his cheek, tearing a piece of skin. He yelped with surprise, then slashed at my shoulder. I winced as he drew blood, pain flaring through my body.

  As suddenly as the wolf was on top of me, he was gone. I heard him yelp as he sailed through the air, his vicious claws flailing for purchase. Another shape hurtled through the air, bearing a distinctive reddish hue.

  Caleb.

  He slammed the black wolf into the earth, his teeth digging into black fur. The black wolf howled as blood spurted between Caleb’s teeth. As quickly as I could, I pulled myself to my feet. My front leg shot with pain as I placed weight on it, but I had to push through the pain. I needed to get to Anna.

  Caleb and the wolf tumbled across the road, their teeth bared, their claws locked tight into each other’s flesh. Blood smeared across the ground. Can’t worry about them now. I grabbed the door of the Mini and pulled. It wouldn’t budge. It must be locked.

  My heart sank into my knees as I noticed the huge dent along the side of the car. It had buckled the door so badly it was now clamped shut.

  Anna!

  I barked at the limp figure, banging on the window with my paw. The shape on the floor wriggled. I heard a strained grunt.

  It was her. Her eyes met mine, wide and full of terror. In a flash I changed back to my human form. “Try to move away from me!” I shouted. She heaved herself up and leaned forward, presenting her back to the window. I could see her hands tied to her sides with tape, her mouth also taped shut. My stomach clenched as I saw blood running down the side of her face.

  I slammed my fist into the window. Pain splintered through my arm as the glass shattered into pieces. Anna screamed through her gag as glass fell into the car. I grabbed a rock from beside the track and used it to bash out the rest of the glass.

  I leaned inside, barely feeling the jagged glass on the edge of the window as it tore at my chest. “This is going to hurt!” I shouted. Anna screamed as I tugged off the tape securing her mouth.

  “Luke,” she sobbed. “Get Derek. He was my friend but he’s really—”

  “I know.” I growled. “Hold still.”

  I transformed back into the wolf, and leapt in through the window. I dug my claws under the tape holding Anna’s arms in place, and sliced through it with ease. She flexed her fingers, wincing with pain, while I freed her legs. She leaned forward and unlocked the opposite door, sliding across the seat and outside.

  I leapt out after her, just as the black wolf – Derek – skidded across the road, Caleb’s jaws clamped around his foot. As the wolves barrelled towards us, Derek’s body shifted, and he became a naked man, his enormous muscles straining as he dragged himself across the dirt, blood streaming from his wound. Caleb growled, trying to dig his teeth deeper into Derek’s leg, but Derek grabbed the wolf around the neck and, muscles tensed, tossed him aside like a cuddly toy. Fuck, he was strong. Caleb hit a tree on the other side of the road, and crumpled into a heap. He didn’t get up.

  “Caleb?” Anna croaked out. Her voice sounded strained, weak. What had this bastard done to her?

  “We meet at last, Lowe.” Derek stood up. He spat out my name, as though it were poison. “I’m pleased both you and your cousin fell for my trap. It will make my work all the easier to complete.”

  “And what work is that?” I demanded, placing my body between his and Anna’s. She wrapped her trembling fingers around my forearm.

  “I’m here to finish what my grandfather started,” Derek hissed. “To destroy the Lowe clan completely, so that Crookshollow will once again belong to the Peytons – wolves who aren’t afraid of their wild nature, wolves who are ready to take their rightful place as rulers of humans—”

  While Derek was talking over his plan, as all criminal masterminds did, I could hear Anna scrambling in the car behind me. I didn’t dare draw attention to what she was doing by turning around, but I hoped like hell she wasn’t being obvious about whatever she was trying to do. I had no idea what until I felt something cold and smooth press against my hand. It was a long sherd of glass. A weapon.

  “Why now?” I demanded, trying to keep him talking. “Robert Peyton killed off my family, for all he knew. Why did he not establish his pack here and rule Crookshollow with an iron heart, as he clearly always intended to do?”

  “After he destroyed your pack, the church decided he was too spirited for this sleepy village,” Derek scoffed. “They sent him up to Ireland, to root out the infidels there. He was killed in a barroom brawl, and his brothers were not fit to fill his shoes as alpha. They disgraced our name with their drinking and gambling, and our family heritage was reduced to a shadow.”

  Behind Derek, Caleb was dragging himself to his feet. He started to change, his limbs slowly contorting and clicking into place. His injuries were slowing down his shift…or was this intentional? Blood oozed from a cut along his leg, but how bad was it really? I still couldn’t shift my nagging feeling that Caleb and Derek were working together…that Caleb wasn’t a Lowe at all, but a relative of Derek’s. That all their fighting was just a ruse to force me to trust Caleb.

  If it’s a ruse, it’s a bloody committed one. He looks seriously beaten up.

  Derek was still talking. “...his son – my father – became a schoolteacher and tried to live among humans. He taught me nothing but shame for my heritage. When I started digging into our history, I knew I had to come back here, to wait for the best time to reclaim our lands. And then Anna found the paintings, and I smelled you on her. I knew a Lowe had returned, and that now was the perfect time.”

  “It certainly is,” I said, my fingers tightening around the glass shard. I leapt at Derek.

  He darted to the side, clearly anticipating my move. I tried to pivot towards him, but he slammed his fist into the side of my skull. My head rang. My vision blurred. I hit the ground hard, the shock of it paralysing me.

  In a flash Derek had grabbed Anna, holding her around the neck, pressing her body against his. With his other hand he dug around in the back of the Mini, and pulled out my crowbar, which he held aloft.

  “You hadn’t even noticed this was missing from your truck. If you come any closer, I’ll stave her head in.”

  Fear coursed through me, mingling with the white hot rage that flooded my veins. He wouldn’t do
this to her. I still had the glass in my hand. I’d been gripping it so tight my own blood flowed between my fingers.

  “Just do as he says, Luke.” Anna cried. “He’ll let us all go if you just give him the caves.”

  Luke. Caleb mouthed, waving his arms. Over here.

  He was in the perfect position. I could toss him the shard as I attacked Derek. If I could grab the crowbar, Caleb could slice his throat before he even knew what’s happening. But that nagging doubt wouldn’t leave me. Why hadn’t Derek checked Caleb was really out of it? If I threw Caleb the knife, and he was really part of Derek’s scheme, I’d be handing him the means to kill Anna.

  Trust no one. My father’s words burned in my mind. My father had lived by that motto, and he’d kept us safe together, alone in the forests my whole life. How could I now trust this wolf who said he was my cousin, with the most precious thing in the world to me?

  But then I remembered Anna’s words. “You have to learn to trust again, to love again. It’s the only way you’ll be truly free.”

  “Fuck it,” I said, and I threw the sherd.

  Caleb caught it in his hands, and as one we advanced on Derek. He swung out with the crowbar, aiming for my head, but Anna chose that moment to sink her teeth into the flesh of his arm, and his swing faltered. I grabbed the bar in mid-air, using the momentum to swing his body around, just as Caleb’s arm went around his throat, the glass slashing against his skin.

  Derek dropped Anna to grab the crowbar with both hands. “Anna, get out of here!” I screamed. She ducked underneath our raised arms, scrambling for the car. Caleb gripped Derek’s face, his hands slick with blood, his face twisted into an ugly scowl as he dragged the glass across Derek’s throat.

  Derek’s grip on the crowbar loosened, and I wrenched it from his hand. His eyes bugged out as I held the tip of the bar against his cheek. “Time to say goodnight,” I hissed. “You won’t be seeing the full moon again.”

  “Don’t kill him,” Anna’s voice penetrated my rage. “Please, you’re not a killer, Luke.”

  The wolf within me surged, begging for flesh. Derek’s wild eyes bore into mine, begging me to finish him, to give him the dignity of a true wolven death. But behind him stood Anna, her back pressed against the Mini. Her eyes wide with fear, her hand clutched at her heart. The pain in her voice tore at my soul. Her whole life had been death, she couldn’t bear any more of it.

  I lowered the crowbar. Derek slumped against Caleb, his body too weak to fight any longer. Caleb kept a tight grip on Derek, pulling him down on the earth. I dropped the crowbar on the earth, and crouched down beside him.

  I wiped the smear of blood over his eyes. Derek stared up at me with blazed pupils, wild and defiant even as his body trembled with weakness. I leaned in close, and said, “I claim this territory for the Lowe pack. You have challenged my pack, and you have failed. You attacked my mate, and therefore, I will not grant you the boon of an honourable death. You are to return to your family in Ireland, and tell them of your disgrace. You may tell them that the Lowe once again rule here in Crookshollow. And if I ever see your face around here again, I will not be so lenient.”

  Derek spat in my face. His warm drool rolled down my cheek. I wiped away the insult, and laughed, laughed right in his face. Caleb joined in, it was the ultimate insult, draining Derek of his last burst of defiance. He slumped to the earth, his hands clasped around the wound in his throat. He was badly wounded, and utterly beaten.

  Someone crashed into me. “Luke…oh, Luke.” Anna sobbed as she held me, her tiny body rocking against mine. I wrapped my arms around her, relief surging through me. It was over, it was all over.

  Anna was safe, the wolf was neutralised; my family honour would be restored. All was right with the world.

  25

  Anna

  Luke let Caleb drive back to the site, while he crawled in the back with me. He didn’t seem to want to let go of me, which suited me just fine. Our lips met in a long, luxurious kiss. I devoured him, the relief of still being alive and of having him alive coursing through my veins. The adrenaline made me dazed, giddy, and his tongue against mine felt like the most incredible thing on earth.

  “I meant what I said before,” Luke murmured against my lips. His arms squeezed me. “I love you, Anna.”

  “I know you do. That scared me.”

  “I understand.”

  “But not anymore.” I wrapped my arms around him, losing myself in his kind green eyes. “Being abducted by Derek…it showed me something, something I should have learned from Dad and from Ben. Life can end in a moment, and all we have is what we’re given. I don’t want to waste a single moment of the life I’ve been given being scared of what might be or what could happen. I want to embrace all of my feelings, all of my dreams, even the scary ones. Especially the scary ones.”

  “What does that mean?” His eyes penetrated mine.

  “It means…I love you too.” The words, once released, hung in the air between us. “And that I want to be your mate.”

  “You do? Even after almost getting killed and your archaeological site being destroyed and everything?”

  “We’re meant to be together,” I brushed my lips against his. My chest swelled with emotion. My voice hitched a little as I said, “I knew it from the first moment we met, but I’ve been fighting it all this time. Well, no more. I’m not going to argue with fate.”

  “If anyone could, it would be you,” Luke kissed my nose.

  Caleb yanked on the brake, and the Mini juddered to a halt on the edge of the campsite. “Get out,” he growled, “before your lovey-dovey shit makes me sick to my stomach.”

  It took a bit of manoeuvring to get out of the car with Luke’s arms wrapped around me, but we managed.

  Ruth and Frances came running up to us. “What’s going on?” Ruth demanded. “The police are still waiting to talk to you. You ran away, he’s naked…it’s as if you two were guilty or something.”

  “Your behaviour has been very uncooperative over this whole excavation,” Frances scolded. “Really, Anna. I’m surprised at you. This is no way to conduct yourself if you want a career as an archaeologist—”

  “My behaviour has been uncooperative?” I fumed. Luke’s arms around my chest reassured me. “I’m the only one doing any actual archaeology here. You’ve been so busy running your own PR campaign, you haven’t even really looked at the cave paintings. I know, because I’ve been researching them, and I discovered that they are fakes.”

  “Oh, be serious.” Ruth flared. “You’re just saying that because you’re jealous—”

  “No, I’m saying that because it’s a fact.” All the built up frustration poured out of me. “The painting clearly shows a band of wolves hunting a pig. The artist has done a remarkable job rendering the pig, so remarkable you can even figure out the particular breed of pig – an Oxford Sandy and Black pig. That breed of pig wasn’t present in England until three hundred years ago.”

  “That’s…that’s impossible!” Ruth spluttered.

  Frances paled. She slumped against the trunk of a tree. I could see in her eyes that she believed me. “No,” she whispered.

  “She’s lying.” Ruth said. “I checked over the painting myself. There wasn’t a singly indication they weren’t genuine neolithic. She just wants to discredit me at any cost—”

  “Anna wouldn’t lie about this,” Frances said, her voice barely above a whisper. She looked ill. I felt awful for destroying her dreams like that.

  “I’m sorry Frances,” I said, and I meant it. “I didn’t mean to ruin everything. I wasn’t trying to prove you wrong, I just wanted to do my own research.”

  “This is a disaster.” Frances moaned.

  “Cheer up,” Luke said. “So the paintings weren’t real. They were still an interesting part of what makes these caves unique, and that uniqueness is now forever attached to your name. And besides, at least one good thing came out of this whole adventure.”

  “What�
�s that?” Ruth demanded.

  “Anna is going to marry me.”

  “What?” I whirled around to face him. Was this another one of his jokes?

  “How about it?” Luke said, his green eyes sparkling. “We’ve only know each other for a few days, but I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. I love your kindness, your passion, your geekiness. I may have lost my family, but with you by my side, I know I’ll never feel alone.”

  “Oh, Luke.” My heart swelled. I couldn’t believe the depth of his feeling, the intensity of his gaze. Between us, the energy that drew us together danced and crackled in the air.

  “What do you say?” Luke gave me a tentative smile. “Want to help me fulfil one of my own scary dreams?”

  “Sure.” I said, not even hesitating. I was done second-guessing love. I wanted to be with Luke, he wanted to be with me, and that was all that mattered.

  Luke grinned maniacally, a sight that melted my heart. He gathered me in his arms. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of Ruth, her petulant mouth set in a firm line, her eyes wide with shock and disgust. But then, I was swallowed up in Luke’s embrace, his deep scent pulling me under. I sank into his kiss, lost in the depth of our love.

  I was alive, and I was the mate of a strong, kind werewolf. It was the most glorious feeling in the world.

  26

  Epilogue: Anna

  Six months later

  The bell inside the store tinkled. Clara glanced up from her magazine, a broad smile falling across her wizened face as Luke and I pushed our way through the beaded curtain and into the shop beyond.

  “There are my favourite newlyweds,” she gushed, racing out from behind the counter to embrace us both. “Let me have a good look at you. Anna, you have such a beautiful tan, dear.”