“Tabor is the cutest guy I’ve ever seen,” Lisa said. “Do you think all the men in the hollow look like him? Well, not like him, but, you know, toned and muscly like that?”
“According to Elsie they do,” Charlotte said.
“Oh my gosh. Really?” Lisa said.
They’d all met Tabor briefly when he escorted Elsie to Balmar Heights, but he had only stayed one night—eager to return to his mate and help protect the hollow. What had transpired since he left Elsie here?
Witches and wizards emerged from their villas, joining Elsie and her group on the cobblestone road. They all walked, as though in a parade, toward the gated entrance. Lazarus was already there, greeting Tabor with a clap on the back. Beside them, Sasha kept her eyes trained on the strangers closing in around them as though they meant to challenge rather than greet her. Tabor was shirtless over a pair of torn jeans. A light green dress with faded stains and poorly stitched holes sagged over Sasha’s fit frame. They looked like they’d put on the hollow’s worst possible clothing before trekking to Balmar Heights.
Unable to hold back any longer, Elsie ran ahead of her friends and launched herself at Sasha. The mistrust melted from her pack sister’s eyes as a smile lifted her cheeks. Sasha hugged Elsie in a tight embrace. “We missed you,” she said.
“I’ve been so worried.”
“Everything’s fine now,” Sasha said.
The pureblooded wolf shifter was one of the most fearless females Elsie had ever known and she was proud to call her “sister.”
Elsie pulled out of Sasha’s arms and regarded her brother for several seconds. He offered her a grin. Whatever annoyance she’d felt at being dumped on the mountain disappeared the moment she saw him back at Balmar Heights, unharmed.
Elsie walked the four steps to her brother and threw her arms around his middle, squeezing tight.
“Good to see you again, sis,” Tabor said, rubbing her back.
“Took you long enough,” Elsie grumbled. But she couldn’t help returning his smile. “What happened?”
Tabor looked around the gathering warily. “Is there someplace we could talk in private?”
“Certainly,” Lazarus said in a booming voice. “Make way, everyone. My son and his mate have traveled a long distance. They will rest at my villa. You may all wait outside to say your goodbyes to my daughter.”
The crowd murmured as it parted to let their family through. Elsie was no longer the focus of attention. Everyone’s eyes latched on to Tabor and Sasha.
Only when Tabor and Sasha were inside Lazarus’s villa, away from the crowd, did Tabor share what had happened with the humans.
Tabor sat at the dining table with Lazarus and Elsie, but Sasha paced along the backs of their chairs, eyeing the ceiling, walls, furniture, and appliances mistrustfully. She had taken a quick sip from the glass Elsie offered before setting it down as though it might bite. She folded and unfolded her arms as she paced, ever alert.
Meanwhile, Tabor told them that the first group of humans to approach Wolf Hollow had all been quickly killed. But while the pack was preparing for battle, a second group of humans, led by their leader, Hawk, had snuck in undetected.
Elsie’s body tensed the moment she found out that Hawk had gotten his hands on Kallie and tried to use her to bait Wolfrik.
She forgot her own problems the moment she heard her friend had been put in danger. She grasped hold of the water glass in front of her brother. The water inside boiled and steam rose from the surface. Sasha stopped her pacing and stared with wide eyes.
Realizing what she was doing, Elsie yanked her hand back.
“Sorry,” she said sheepishly. “I’ll get you a fresh glass of water.”
Lazarus raised his eyebrows, lips twitching before he pointed a finger at the glass and said, “Frio degio.” The water abruptly ceased steaming. “It’s safe to drink again,” Lazarus announced.
Tabor’s attention locked onto Elsie, not the water. He leaned over the table and reached his hand for hers, brushing his fingers over hers.
“Kallie’s fine. More than fine,” he added. “We took care of the humans, including Hawk, and celebrated with a claiming ceremony between Wolfrik and Kallie.”
“What? They’re mated now?” Elsie’s jaw dropped. “And I missed the ceremony?”
“It wasn’t much of a ceremony,” Sasha offered with a wry grin, “more of an official claiming.”
Elsie’s lower lip pouted. “But I missed it.”
She wanted to shout with joy that her friend had managed to win over the wild wolf, but she also hated missing out. Kallie had become her closest friend in Wolf Hollow and Elsie hadn’t been there to witness her big moment. She felt like she’d been cheated, all because Tabor had insisted on sending her away. She turned her eyes to him and glared.
“You’ll be around for the best part—when she gives birth to her first pup,” Sasha said.
Once more, Elsie’s jaw dropped. “Kallie’s pregnant? Really?”
Sasha grinned. She’d managed to stand still for over a minute beside the table. “Really. And that’s not all.” She looked at Tabor and nodded. They shared a grin.
Tabor cleared his throat. “Elsie, you’re going to be an aunt.”
“What?” Elsie shrieked. She jumped out of her seat and ran over to Sasha. “You too?”
As Sasha nodded, Elsie threw her arms around her. She squeezed, but not too hard, even though Sasha’s stomach was as smooth as the last time she saw her. Elsie drew back, beaming at her in excitement.
Both Sasha and Kallie were pregnant—what wonderful news!
Lazarus stood, too, more gracefully than Elsie. He walked over to Tabor and placed his hand on his shoulder. “Congratulations, son.” He stared across the table at Sasha, eyes practically glowing green. “And congratulations to Sasha.”
Sasha narrowed her eyes slightly. She’d never hidden her mistrust for Lazarus. Elsie hoped that one day she’d see that Lazarus posed no threat. He was a strong and just leader to his coven, and a protective parent who loved her and Tabor as much as any father could.
“It was nice of you both to deliver the news to us, but why did you walk here?” Elsie asked.
Tabor winced and rubbed the back of his neck. “We have a packmate waiting at the bottom of the mountain to bring up a woman badly wounded. She is human, but not a threat.”
Elsie narrowed her eyes. Humans were always a threat, and she didn’t want this one in her territory. She had already endangered the Wolf Hollow shifters. The human didn’t need to go bringing her bad juju up to Balmar Heights.
“She doesn’t belong here,” Elsie said. That didn’t mean they wouldn’t take her in, but she needed to say it.
Tabor pursed his lips. “Aden will be disappointed if you don’t take her.”
A smile burst over Elsie’s cheeks. “Aden is here?” She looked over Tabor’s shoulder as though she might catch him striding in all tanned, bulging muscles, and kind smiles. The werewolf was the exact opposite of William—a secure and attractive male who would never smother a female. She thought maybe he’d taken an interest in her when they’d traveled in a small group together to find lost pack members. If it came down to Aden and Zackary, she might have to pick the bolder one of the two. Her stomach sank. Both males were strong, sweet, and thoughtful, but she’d only ever imagined one set of their lips on hers. Zackary, always Zackary. She couldn’t explain it. Kallie didn’t understand. No one else would if they knew.
“This packmate of yours is unmated?” Lazarus asked hastily, a gleam in his eyes.
He and Elsie were of the same mind. She needed to secure a mate before her time ran out.
“Uh, yeah.” Tabor scratched his head and squinted at Lazarus. “Will you take the woman in? He won’t bring her up unless we give him the okay.”
Lazarus waved his hand impatiently. “Send him up.”
Sasha stood rigid, cool gaze on Lazarus the way Elsie used to catch her glowering at pack elders. “Do y
ou not need to discuss it with your people first?” she challenged.
Lazarus faced Sasha with a flirty smirk. Elsie saw her brother in his face, but, from her brother’s growl, she could tell he didn’t like their father flashing it at his mate.
“The men will be happy for another woman. Perhaps she will turn into one of their forevers.” His tone took a seductive lilt that made both Sasha and Tabor narrow their eyes.
Elsie, on the other hand, felt encouraged by this idea. Maybe William could nurse the woman back to health and focus his attentions on someone attainable. She gave Tabor a reassuring smile.
“She will be treated with the utmost care. We have healers, shelter, comfort, and food. I imagine she will never wish to leave once she spends a day at Balmar Heights.”
Tabor grunted. “She’s been unconscious for days. She might not be lucid enough to appreciate the luxuries you have to offer.” Tabor glanced around the kitchen.
Ignoring the censure in Tabor’s tone, Lazarus continued to smile. “What better place to wake up than Balmar Heights?”
“You should send Aden up,” Elsie said cheerfully. “The human can have my room since I am returning to the hollow with you.”
Tabor’s gaze softened when he looked at her. “You still want to come back?”
“I’ve been counting the days.” Elsie put her hands on her hips for emphasis.
Her brother’s eyes crinkled when he smiled. He turned to Sasha and they carried out a brief whispered conversation in which she caught them arguing over who would shift and call Aden to come up the mountain. Tabor didn’t want any of the wizards gawking at Sasha naked, and Sasha didn’t want to stand around waiting.
“I’ll be quick,” Tabor said. When Sasha made a growling sound, his tone tightened. “Stay with my sister.” Tabor stormed out before Sasha could object. She glowered at his back instead.
Oh boy, they were both stubborn type-A alphas who never gave in easily. From what Elsie had observed, it fueled the passion between them. They were always sneaking away for personal time in the forest, Tabor’s cabin, and Sasha’s cave. It gave Elsie a thrill of anticipation to imagine doing the same with a male of her own. Alpha personalities abounded in the pack, regardless of gender. Wolfrik—the last shifter to claim a mate—was most definitely alpha. Raider too. She saw Aden and Zackary more as puppy dogs—cute, sexy ones, who would be loving, loyal, and protective of the female they mated and deadly to everyone else. Elsie didn’t want an alpha. Like her brother, she thought of herself as a dominant, take-charge kind of individual. Gender and size had nothing to do with it. All William had ever seen when he looked at her was a sweet, delicate female. He too easily forgot about her bite.
While Sasha waited, she rubbed her arms, glancing frequently at the ceiling as though to make sure it hadn’t lowered to crush her.
“We can wait outside,” Elsie suggested.
She didn’t have to ask twice. Sasha had already started toward the door.
Out on the front patio, Sasha paced, clutching her fingers while casting furtive looks in the direction of the gated entrance.
“Will our wolves be running back to Wolf Hollow?” Elsie asked to take her pack sister’s mind off her unease.
Sasha’s brown eyes met Elsie’s.
“Yeah. Not taking the clothes—they’re rags anyway. Heidi’s trashed this dress with rabbit guts.” Sasha glanced down at the stained dress. “There’s no getting the bloodstains out.” I could get them out, but I kept that to myself as Sasha continued. “We need a supply run. Since we killed so many humans in the attack, it’s probably safe for a time.” Sasha pinched the short hem of the dress and wrinkled her nose.
“At least baby clothing doesn’t take up much room,” Elsie offered with a warm smile.
Sasha went back to pacing. She rubbed the back of her neck, staring in the direction Tabor had disappeared as though that would bring him back faster.
Lazarus stood so close to Elsie their shoulders nearly touched. “I wonder what kind of powers the baby will have?” he mused, eyes on Sasha.
“Shh,” Elsie admonished. “She’s spooked enough already.” Lowering her voice, she added, “I wonder what they will name the baby.”
She was so excited to be an aunt and to hold her little niece or nephew in her arms. Babies were a rarity at Balmar Heights. Early miscarriages were sadly common. Their coven thought they were all cursed, and that once Elsie claimed a shifter, the curse would be broken. It was a relief that Sharon’s due date wasn’t for another seven weeks. Elsie didn’t want to be blamed if something went wrong. She didn’t believe she was responsible for the coven’s trouble with fertility, but it weighed on her that some did. “Too much power in constant proximity is overwhelming our ability to produce strong, healthy babes—sort of like inbreeding,” Lazarus had said. The first group to arrive had managed to breed the first generation of Balmar Heights’ witches and wizards. Unfortunately, Lazarus’s forever had been barren, but he had no trouble impregnating two wolf shifters after her passing. The rest of the tribe didn’t think they should mix with shapeshifters. Elsie doubted they’d have a problem with a human woman, though. Her father had told her it had been common for wizards to breed with humans before the fall.
A flurry of witches and wizards lined the street as Tabor and Aden—carrying a limp woman—made their way to Lazarus’s villa. Aden was topless and barefoot like Tabor. He wore gray faded sweatpants that would have been baggy on any other male on the mountain but were too short and strained against Aden’s muscled legs.
Sasha stopped pacing and lifted her chest as the males approached. All traces of her former irritation gone.
Aden stood over a half a head taller than Tabor. He towered over everyone, and the muscles of his torso were like chiseled crags in a mountain range. His full head of thick brown hair was always trim and well groomed, despite living in the wild. Elsie wasn’t the only female raking her eyes over the striking werewolf as he stepped ever closer. She caught Charlotte and Mia clutching one another as though they might faint without support. Maybe she should have felt a tingle of possessiveness, but she’d always been practical—like her father. She saw Aden as an attractive potential mate. Love and forever feelings would have to come later. Elsie didn’t have time to nurture them now.
“Aden!” she called happily, walking toward him once he reached the edge of the yard.
She’d expected to see his dimpled smile, not the strained one he gave her as he cradled the brunette woman’s skinny drooping form against his chest.
Elsie’s smile faded like twilight. She’d always considered herself skilled at reading body language—observing others had been a favorite pastime of hers growing up. Her peers had preferred gossip and experimenting with their powers, whereas Elsie enjoyed listening in and deciphering facial expressions.
Aden’s wrinkled forehead expressed unease, but he didn’t dart glances at the gathered wizards the way Sasha did. He kept glancing down at the unconscious woman in his arms. Elsie didn’t need to be a soothsayer to predict that no one in the coven had a shot at the human. Not to mention she could cross Aden’s name off her extremely short list of potential wolf mates.
Still, she considered the upside. This just made things easier.
Ha! Another voice laughed. Easier, Elsie? Really? Your brother despises Zackary. Hates him with the blinding hot plasma of the burning sun.
Well, he should try meeting Brutus. Zackary wouldn’t seem so bad if her brother met the big bad bear.
Aden followed them to Elsie’s room on the villa’s second floor. She removed her backpack from the bed. The clothing, toiletries, and book would have to wait until her father came to visit since she was running back with her packmates.
Tabor pulled the blankets back on the bed then Aden tucked the human in gently.
“She’s in a coma,” Lazarus said as their small group stood around her. The rest of the coven had been made to wait outside. “We will see that she receives the proper n
utrients while we work on healing the trauma to her head.”
Aden loomed over the unconscious woman; his arms folded. “Do not force her to wake too soon. It could do more damage.”
“My father is an excellent healer,” Elsie said.
He only frowned.
“There’s nothing else we can do for her,” Sasha said from the doorframe. “We should go.”
Aden leaned beside the woman. At first, Elsie thought he intended to kiss the human, but his lips were at her ear, whispering. The intimate gesture made her heart ache with longing for a mate who would look at her with such tender devotion. Something must have happened between Aden and this intruder while he guarded her in the southern caves. She’d have to ask Kallie what she knew once she returned to the hollow.
“You must be hungry after your long trek. Stay for a quick bite,” Lazarus encouraged.
“We’ve already been away too long,” Sasha said.
Aden was the last to leave Elsie’s room. Outside, the coven waited around, chatting animatedly as though they were having a block party. This was the most excitement Balmar Heights had seen in years.
Charlotte and Mia hugged Elsie when she stepped out. This time, her friends had tears in their eyes.
“We will miss you so much. Promise you’ll visit after you claim a mate,” Mia said urgently.
“Of course.” Elsie had to blink back tears gathering in her eyes.
“And bring your mate along for us to meet,” Charlotte added.
Elsie’s laughter was cut short when William stepped over, stormy-eyed. He had a disapproving frown on his lips that reminded her more of a parent’s than a boy her age. There were no tears in William’s eyes—not even longing. Tiny yellow sparks tinged his green eyes that usually gleamed with an unsettling mix of hostility and possessiveness. It brought out Elsie’s inner wolf instincts, warning her of danger.
Well, she’d be far out of William’s sight in a matter of minutes. That knowledge made it easier to paste a smile over her lips.
“I wish you all well,” Elsie said, including William in her final goodbye.
Moon Cursed (Wolf Hollow Shifters Book 4) Page 3