Anthony stepped to the side, his eyes flicking to mine. I still had my arms wound around the tree, and I hoped Chelsea didn’t notice that I wasn’t shackled and start firing that crossbow. She moved closer, keeping a safe distance from Anthony.
“Did you ever stop to think that I had a life before becoming a werewolf?” she asked.
Honestly, I hadn’t even thought about it. I was an only child, and both of my parents were dead. When I was bitten and transformed into a wolf, I wasn’t leaving anything behind by coming up here and living with my new pack. In that moment, I felt like a horrible person. Chelsea had been moody since the change, and I brushed it off thinking she just needed to get used to it. Was I really so wrapped up in my own stuff that I didn’t see her pain?
“I thought not,” Chelsea snorted. “Well, I did. I had a boyfriend, and we had been talking about getting married before this happened.” She held out her hands to signal herself. “We’re not permitted to be with humans. Not that Joel would want me now any way.” Her eyes burned with her hurt and anger, singeing me from the inside out. “And it’s all your fault.”
“Actually,” it’s all his fault.” I nodded toward Anthony.
Chelsea swung her arm around and pointed the crossbow at him. His hands shot up in surrender. “Way to throw me under the bus, Anna.” He shot me a displeased look, and I shrugged. So maybe I was still angry about the kiss and my reaction to it. Looking at Chelsea, he said, “Anna is right in that she didn’t have anything to do with it. She was just as much of a victim as you were.”
Okay, so now my tactic to get the focus on Anthony made me feel like shit. Why couldn’t he be the asshole we all knew him to be? It would be a lot less confusing. “But,” he continued, “kidnapping you was all Eve’s doing.”
So instead of throwing me under the bus, he was throwing his dead girlfriend out there. I guess he was still the asshole. Not that he wasn’t right, but was it really all Eve?
“She had a vendetta against Anna and knew she could trick her if she had you. Anna would never let harm come to an innocent.”
“But she did!” Chelsea snarled. “I was innocent, didn’t know a fucking thing about your world until my chance meeting with Anna. Talk about bad luck.”
I had run into Chelsea at Wal-Mart while Wade and Adam were trying to get me used to being around humans. It just so happened that Chelsea was working there at the time. When I ran into her, Eve and her goons had been following me and kidnapped Chelsea knowing that I would fall into their trap to try and save her. So, in a way, it was kind of my fault. Just being associated with me had targeted Chelsea. Since I didn’t have family to hold as captive, Eve used the next best thing.
“I’m sorry,” I told her. “Really, I am, but it could have been worse.”
“How?” Chelsea asked. “I turn into a fucking animal every full moon and had to break Joel’s heart. He thinks I fell out of love with him.”
“It happens,” Anthony muttered, his eyes on me.
Ignoring him, I said, “You could have died from the infection of the bite. Yes, you were unlucky by being targeted by Eve, but you were lucky that the magic in the wolf saliva chose you to become one of us. Most people do not make it through the transition.”
“You wanna know what really sent me over the edge?” Chelsea asked, kneeling down so that we were eye level. She couldn’t hold my gaze, but she tried. At my shrug, she continued. “That,” she nodded toward my chest. I looked down and found my engagement ring hanging from my necklace. “I lost everything, and now I have to live through you getting it.” Her eyes flitted over to Anthony. “Then again, how long could it possibly last when you’re cheating on Adam with his brother? Trouble in paradise already?”
“I … didn’t cheat on him … not really,” I stuttered, but that’s exactly what it felt like. I had kissed a man while engaged to another. “It was just a test.”
“I don’t know what that means, and I don’t care,” Chelsea said, standing. She pointed the crossbow at me. “Looks like I’ll be doing Adam a favor by ridding him of a cheating fiancé.”
“Chelsea, listen,” I said, pretending to still be bounded by the shackles. I twisted my body so that I could see her better. “I know you’re angry about what happened, but it does get better, and I know it’ll take some time to get over Joel, but what about Wade?”
Her face scrunched in confusion. “Wade? What about him?”
Now it was my turn to be confused. “He likes you … a lot. Hasn’t he told you?” I was grasping at straws, but I needed an opening, one where that damned crossbow wasn’t aimed right at my face.
Her eyes volleyed between Anthony and me. “I’m not like you, Anna. I actually loved Joel. We had been together for four years. I planned to spend the rest of my life with him. I can’t just turn that off and hop into bed with another man.”
I should have been angry that she just called me a slut, but I was more ashamed of myself. I wanted to tell her that I did love Adam, but then how could I kiss his brother and enjoy it? I thought about Adam finding out and the anger his face would hold, how he would look at me differently, and I crumbled inside.
“You’re right,” I told her. “I’m a bad person, but then so are you for orchestrating this entire thing. You hired vampires to kill me. Isn’t that worse than kissing another man?” I let my words sink in and watched her eyes brighten with fury. “By the way, how the hell did you have the money to pay them? By the sounds of it, it was a big paycheck.”
She smiled. “That’s the beauty of my plan. While cleaning Adam’s house for our arriving guest, I came across his safe, and his key was just sitting in his desk, tempting me. It was his money that would have paid for your death. Priceless, right?”
“And the vampires?” I asked. “How did you contact them? I’ve never even met one until they showed up here.”
She smiled as she thought about her plan, impressed with herself. “Wade took me to that seedy little brothel, Wild Things, in town and I met the most interesting people. It’s amazing what people will tell you when they’re drunk off their asses.”
“Well,” I said. “It looks like you thought of everything.”
“Not everything,” she said. “I didn’t expect you to turn into the mythical white wolf, or survive the vampires after they kidnapped you.”
The memory of walking to our house after I escaped the vampires filled my head. Chelsea had been surprised to see me, but at the time, I thought it was because I was naked or the change in my eye color. Now, it all made sense. She hadn’t expected to see me again.
“And one other thing,” I said.
“Oh yeah?
“Yeah.” I slowly fisted a handful of dirt into my hand and whipped my arm around to fling it at her face. “You didn’t expect me to break my silver shackles.”
She clawed at her face, trying to rid her eyes of the debris. I shot up and jumped into action. Reaching for her hand, I held it up so that if she fired, the arrow would shoot straight into the air and not into Anthony or me. Chelsea snarled and kicked out, watching me through the slits in her puffy eyes. Together, we went down, me on top of her. I kept a firm grip on the arm holding the crossbow and straddled her stomach.
“Give up, it’s over,” I told her.
Anthony walked over to the two of us and fought the crossbow out of her grasp. He aimed it at Chelsea but she continued to fight me. Fed up, I pinned both or her arms to the ground and growled in her face.
“Stop.” I coated my words with the authority of my wolf, feeling the tingling power seeping through my skin.
Chelsea’s body became still. She closed her eyes and began crying, the sound distraught and haunting.
“Kill me,” she whispered, opening her eyes. They were red from her tears and the dirt I had thrown in them. “Please,” she pleaded. “I don’t want to be a werewolf. My life ended the day I had to walk away from Joel.”
“I’m not going to kill you,” I told her. “You’ll go to
a special supernatural prison where you can come to terms with your new life and hopefully enjoy it.”
She began bawling, big sorrowful sobs falling from her lips. “Please … just kill me.”
I slapped the side of her face hard enough to stop her breakdown. “Is losing a boyfriend really worth killing yourself over? Do you think he’ll kill himself over losing you?”
“It’s not just him,” she snarled and spit into my face. “I hate what I have become. Do you understand? I hate it.”
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and wiped away the spit on my face. I thought about everything she had done, but especially how she almost killed Adam. That was enough to turn my patience into full-blown rage.
“Fine,” I said, jumping off her. “You want to die?”
She didn’t make a move to get up. Instead, she lay on the ground, her arms outstretched as she stared up at the canopy of trees. As I stared at her, I wondered how someone could loathe herself as much as she did—to the point of welcoming death with open arms. She was lost in a sea of pain and loss, and nothing I said would change her mind.
“Give me the crossbow,” I said to Anthony, holding my hand out.
“I’ll do it,” he said.
I turned toward him. “Give me the fucking crossbow.”
He held it out of reach. “You’re angry now, but when that dies down, you’ll regret pulling the trigger. Let me do it, I’m the heartless monster, right?”
We stared at each other for a moment, and then he walked around me and poised the arrow over Chelsea’s heart. My own slammed against my ribcage with the knowledge of what was coming.
“Thank you,” Chelsea whispered right before she closed her eyes.
A whoosh of air sounded and ended in a thump. Chelsea gasped, her hands coming up to grasp the arrow sticking out of her heart. Tears trickled down her cheeks and dampened the ground beneath her. Red stained her shirt, seeping through the fabric, and then her head lolled to the side and the life left her eyes.
Two days later, and I was packed and ready to leave. I had done my best to avoid Anthony, but he kept popping up. He would send me secret smiles that made me nauseous. The guilt of knowing what those smiles meant ate at me, and lying to Adam didn’t help either. I wanted to tell him, confess to everything, but I was too afraid of losing him. What logical man would stay with me after something like that? Still, I knew the truth would eventually come out, and I had to be ready for it.
After talking with Sage and Leif a few times, I learned that there were stories of having the Chante mark removed. They didn’t know if there was any truth to the stories, but it was enough to give me hope. If ridding myself of the mark that bound Adam and I together meant I could also rid Anthony of his bizarre bond, then I would do it. I knew it wasn’t the sole reason why Adam and I were together. A scar did not determine how I felt for Adam. I had been telling myself that repeatedly, working myself into believing it.
Wade ended up leaving the mountain after I told everyone what had happened with Chelsea. He didn’t say it, but I knew her death and betrayal hurt him. Maybe he felt guilty for not making his move sooner, thinking it could have helped take her mind off her previous boyfriend. Since I had been with her in the end, I knew nothing Wade could have done would have helped. Adam informed me that some werewolves would either commit suicide or go insane from not being able to handle their inner beasts. No matter who pulled the trigger on the crossbow, Chelsea’s blood was on my hands. Her life changed the moment Eve learned she knew me.
I fingered the necklace I had taken off her, a bird emblem made out of mother of pearl. It was a reminder that things are not always what they seem, and the heart can drive a person to do crazy things, but mostly, it was a reminder that I was responsible for an innocent woman losing her life.
“You ready?” Elle called through the house.
“Yeah, just a second.” I headed into my bedroom to retrieve my purse and found Anthony playing with my cell phone.
“What the hell are you doing in my room?”
He held up my phone and tilted it back and forth. “Programming my number into your phone,” he said. “I told you, once the truth was out, there was no avoiding it. Enjoy your trip, and keep an eye out for my messages.” He handed me my phone, moving past me with a smile on his face.
“Anthony,” I said in a harsh whisper, hoping no one could hear us. He turned, crossing his arms across his chest. Again, I thought about how much he and Adam looked alike, and I hated it. “Please, just stop. Just forget about what happened, and let me be happy with Adam.” If there were any truth to the removal of the Chante bond, then I wouldn’t have to plead with him. I yearned for that day.
“You knew the rules before I kissed you, Anna. You cannot deny you felt something, so I will do everything in my power to make sure you remember it.” Without another word, he turned and headed down the hall. My stomach plummeted when Adam stepped into view. He smiled at me, and I felt it like a jab in my chest. He deserved someone better than me.
“You ready?” he asked. “Elle’s having a cow out there.”
I cleared my throat and shouldered my purse, dropping my cell inside. “Yeah, I’m ready.” I held the tears back as I headed down the hall toward the only man I had ever loved. It was just like me to screw something this perfect up. Run away before things get too serious, my inner voice said, reminding me of my relationship M.O. Maybe kissing Anthony was my subconscious way of self-sabotaging what I had with Adam.
As I moved toward Adam, I made a silent vow that I would do everything in my power to rid myself of the strange reaction I had toward his brother. I just hoped New Mexico held the answers.
Embracing the Wolf Playlist
“When she says Baby” — Jason Aldean
“She’s Country” — Jason Aldean
“Say Goodnight” — Eli Young Band
“Bring it on Home” — Little Big Town
“A Little More You” — Little Big Town
“Flute of the Moon” — Native American Flute
“Catch My Breath” — Kelly Clarkson
“Perfect” — Sara Evans (Anna & Adam’s song)
“If I Didn’t Have You” — Thompson Square
“Different Breed” — Carter’s Chord
“Only With You” — Jason Reeves
“Trying” — Lifehouse (Anthony’s song)
“You” — Chris Young (Adam’s song for Anna)
“Turn Me On” — Norah Jones
“You’re Going Down” — Sick Puppies
Music plays such an important role in my writing. I cannot write without it otherwise, I stare at the screen like a zombie. I hope you guys enjoy the songs I’ve selected for Embracing the Wolf’s playlist.
Stephanie Nelson never dreamed of becoming an author. As a teen, Stephanie wrote notebooks full of poems but never imagined writing a novel. She began reading paranormal books in her mid-twenties and fell in love with the alluring monsters and twisting storylines. It was her love of books that gave her the idea to write her own. Her first book, Craved, reached #1 on the Amazon bestseller’s list and #5 on the Barnes & Noble bestseller list. Though an author’s life is a very complex and busy one, she loves every second of it.
Stephanie lives in the Midwest with her husband and their furry children. When she manages to drag herself out of her office, Stephanie enjoys reading, fishing, playing video games and spending time with her family.
Connect with Stephanie
www.StephanieNelson.com
www.Facebook.com/AuthorStephanieNelson
Twitter - @stephnel1
To be an author you have to be a little insane. Our minds are constantly running, filled with things most sane humans don’t think about. I have to thank the following people for helping keep me on the right side of insanity.
First, a HUGE thanks to my husband, Eric. I never would have proceeded with this whacky idea of writing books had you not encouraged me to do so. Perfection is a
myth, but you’re the closest to it I’ve seen.
Next, I have to thank my writing buddies who let me know I’m not alone in my journey. Your guys’ friendship and support helps get me through some tough days.
I have to thank my family for their continued support. You guys amaze me every day and I will forever be grateful for having you in my life.
To my FANTASTIC readers who encouraged me to finish this book as quickly as I could. You have no idea how thrilled I am that you guys love Anna as much as I do. You guys are the reason why I do what I do. A million thank you would never be enough.
Thank you to my editor, Madison Seidler of Madison Says, Kristin Leigh of Kristin’s Editing Service for proofreading, Amanda Lenz for being an awesome beta reader, and Mel Gannon for the awesome cover.
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Embracing the Wolf - Book #2 (Anna Avery) Page 24