Mountain Wolf

by Amber Ella Monroe

  Dane helped her off the bike and put their helmets away. All the while she was assessed the row of shops situated just on the outskirts of Aspen Valley. Besides the post office, there were several retail and restaurants along the main street. There was even a fresh produce stand adjacent to the lot where Dane had parked. From recollection, the town of Aspen Valley was larger in acreage than population. However, it was one of the biggest shifter towns in the U.S.

  "Welcome to my birth place," Dane said, taking her hand.

  "Looks cozy," she said.

  People started coming out of their shops with their immediate attention fixed on them. Suddenly, it was Trina who felt like the alien here. She was a human in the shifter's part of town. She even wondered if they were partial to her being here.

  Dane led her by the hand down the paved walkway, nodding and lifting his palm up to acknowledge the spectators. Then it dawned on her that she wasn't the one they were entranced with. It was Dane. They regarded him like any citizen would regard the President or any influential person, if he ever came into town. Several of them bowed as he passed by their doors. There was no mystery now—these people knew Dane very well.

  He stopped in front of some double doors and held it open for her. "I've got to pick up some paperwork and then we'll head over to my old cabin."

  "How many homes do you have?"

  He bit his lower lip and seemed to contemplate her question. "There's the mansion where I mostly do business from. I'm usually there five days a week from sunup to sundown. And then there's my old cabin which is where I used to crash before I got the mansion. My mom's house, which just got burnt to the ground, was mine. And I have about a half a dozen other properties on Justice Enterprises’s portfolio too."

  "Well, of course," she said. "I keep forgetting that you're wealthy. But you're so down to earth."

  "That's because even though I like making money, I never let the money make me. There's no changing who I am deep down inside no matter what title I have."

  "Good." She smiled. "My father. I need to make sure he's okay." She dug her cell phone out of her purse.

  "I sent Brock out already to speak with your father. He and Marcia will be moved to a safer home. One of my rentals out west in the city."

  "You think of everything, don't you?"

  "You are my priority now. I take care of you and that includes your father."

  They entered another door and approached a counter. A woman stood behind it, flipping through papers and applying a stamp. She stopped what she was doing as Trina and Dane reached the counter.

  "Good morning, Alpha. What can I do for you?"

  Trina gasped and executed a sharp ninety-degree turn. She glanced up at Dane, whose expression was unreadable. "Wait a minute! Alpha?" If she had registered correctly, the woman had just called him Alpha, which in shifter terms was reserved for the leader of a pack.

  "Yes, Trina. I'm Dane Magnus. Alpha of the Aspen Valley Wolf Pack."

  Her blood rushed hot through her as an emotion kin to deception filled her heart.

  "You never told me," she said.

  "I didn't think it would matter before we signed the paperwork, but with everything happening I haven't had the chance to officially tell you."

  "Officially? What happened to just telling me? This isn't what I signed up for. You led me believe that you were just some wolf down and out on his luck with your parents' land being snatched from under you." She folded her arms across her chest. "You could have told me you led a wolf pack."

  The woman waiting behind the counter brought her hand up to her lip in shook and her eyes were wide with curiosity.

  "I need you to understand something." Dane ushered Trina aside, out of earshot but not out of eyesight. "None of that information would have mattered to our agreement had I not found out you were my intended."

  She shrugged out of his grasp. "What do you mean?"

  He took her forearm and pulled her against his chest again. "We agreed to split after six weeks? What does my being the Alpha of this pack have anything to do with the end of our agreement?"

  "You could have been truthful. You dug into my past like I was filling out a freaking job application. You know almost everything about my personal life."

  "Let's take this outside and somewhere in private. We have a lot to discuss. I told you that."

  "As far as I'm concerned…" She snatched her arm away from him, putting several feet of space between them "…there is nothing more to discuss. You had plenty of time to tell me about your position before and after you fucked me. What did you think?" She didn't pause long enough for him to answer. "That I would want more of your money when I found out?"

  Dane studied her. "I recall telling you the main reason why I couldn't make this arrangement with a woman in my own pack. Because of that reason…but once I met you, once I knew who you were…I knew you weren’t like that.

  She swallowed. "It's because you don't want commitment…"

  "That was the reason," he said. "Was."

  "Let's keep it that way." Trina frowned and backed away.

  "Where are you going?"

  "This marriage of convenience doesn't require me to live anywhere near you. The papers have been signed. At the end of six weeks, contact me again and I'll release the deed for your land."

  She tore off into the hallway.

  "Trina, wait!" Dane called out to her just as she exited the building.

  Trina didn't look back as she headed down the sidewalk toward the bus station she noted on the way in.

  What was wrong with Dane Magnus anyway? What gave him the right to demand that she stay with him all of six weeks, enjoy sex with her, mark her throat, and toss her aside after the deal was done?

  Something didn't feel right about this at all, but Trina picked up her pace anyway. As if on instinct, her hand went up to rub the area where Dane had insisted there was a mark. She rubbed hard at her skin, but that only made her flesh burn. When she lifted her fingers, the mark was still burning hot.

  Someone stumbled into her, reminding her that she wasn't paying attention to where she was going. They growled. Literally growled. "You might want to watch where you're going before you hurt yourself."

  "Sorry." She scoped up the case then ran like the wind to the bus station stop that she saw when Dane first brought her in this neighborhood.

  Her stubbornness urged her legs forward, but her cognizance wanted her to remain behind with Dane Magnus.

  Chapter 17

  Trina made it to the Aspen Valley bus station, but she was still mulling over her decision to flee from Dane. To get to Cross City, she had to wait on one of the state buses that crossed county lines. According to the schedule, there were only two or three leaving out per day and she'd made it just in time to catch the last one. The station was nearly empty, but then she remembered it was Sunday. She sat on a bench near the parking lot and waited there hoping that Dane wouldn't track her down. There was no doubt that if he could track a stranger's scent that he could track hers.

  A large black van pulled up alongside the curb, coming to an abrupt stop in front of her. She almost pounced from the bench since it looked like the van wasn't going to stop.

  A guy in a black jumpsuit hopped out of the passenger's side. "Hey there. You're looking a little lonely."

  Trina frowned and without a word, she rose from the bench.

  "Where are you going? Don't leave so soon. We have a little proposition for you."

  Before she could call out for help or run, the man in the jumpsuit rushed forward and gagged her. The sharp blade pressed to her side warned her that this wasn't going to be a good proposition to benefit her at all.

  "If you scream, I'll shoot. Now get in the van or I'll throw you inside."

  Trina shook her head frantically, but the man shoved her inside anyway. Nausea consumed her, and she blacked out on a cold metal floor.

  Chapter 18

  Trina woke up with her hands tied behind her an
d secured to the back of the chair. Her legs were also tied to the chair. Her mouth was still gagged with a filthy bandanna. Her mind was foggy. Her brain swirled with images trying to comprehend so many things. When her vision cleared, she couldn't even tell where she was. It wasn't home, building, or anything. The sound of water dripping onto the rocky ground told her that they were in some kind of cave. It was damp and smelled of moss. The only light came from the opening that was partly obscured by tree branches.

  She bit into the bandanna.

  "You're awake," a male voice said.

  This time the man in the black jumpsuit remained in the back while a taller man in a business suit took the lead. He had a knife with a sharp blade, which he placed against Trina's shoulder.

  "We can talk about this proposition I have for you right now.“ He unsecured the knot and threw the bandanna down on the ground.

  "Who the fuck are you people?" she demanded. "Where am I?"

  "Hold your horses right there, ma'am," the man in the business suit said. "We weren't planning on doing any introductions."

  "Why did you kidnap me? Why am I in this cave?"

  The business man straightened out a newspaper and pointed to something on it. "There was a marriage certificate recently filed with the courts. It has your name right here."

  Trina glanced briefly to see hr name printed alongside Dane Magnus's.

  "How do you know that's me?" she asked.

  The guy in the black jumpsuit handed the man in the business suit her purse. He fished out her driver's license. "You're a long way from home, Ms. Trina Daniels. Or should I say Mrs. Magnus."

  "What do you want with me?"

  "My partner and I have been eyeing a specific lot over on Cedar Loop Trail. Does the name ring a bell?"

  She swallowed.

  The man pushed the blade against Trina's throat. "Does it?"

  "Yes."

  "According to courthouse records, you're now the owner.”

  Trina didn't say a word.

  "Do you value your life, Ms Daniels?"

  "Of course."

  "Then I assume you'd like to leave this cave alive."

  Her blood boiled through her. "What do you want?"

  He produced another set of papers. "Your signature. Right here on this dotted line."

  "Hell no!"

  He grabbed a fistful of her hair and forcefully pulled her head back. "I'm not playing fucking games with you, lady—"

  "This is no way to treat a lady," she protested, writhing in her chair.

  "You're right. Any lady who opens her legs for a half breed freak of nature is no lady at all."

  Trina almost threw up her lunch in disgust and anger.

  "You don't seem to understand, so let me break it down to you," he continued. "By blood, Dane and I are related…and no, before you get any ideas, I'm not a fucking animal. While tracing my lineage here in Aspen Valley, I discovered that his mother was my distant cousin, five times removed. I had claims to the land which obviously he abandoned, but then my claim was denied the moment the marriage was entered into records."

  "Liar."

  "Why would I lie about being related to a measly animal? Nonetheless, I need a simple favor from you, but maybe perhaps I will be doing you a favor. Once you sign your name on the bottom line, you won't ever want for anything again. You don't have to spread your legs for those animals like a whore for cash anymore. You can be free from this slutty lifestyle."

  "You arrogant bastard!"

  He held out his arms and chuckled. "Well, isn't it true?"

  What did he know of her? Why couldn't people just mind their own business and stop snooping in her life?

  "I don't trust or believe you," she said.

  "Do you trust or believe that animal Dane Magnus?"

  She paused. "Yes, I do."

  "Are you sure?" he taunted. "You were running…you were alone."

  "I don't have to answer to you."

  "Well, he didn't tell you why he decided to claim the land officially, did he?"

  "Because it's his. It was his mother's. He needs it for his Pack," she said, her irritation growing rapidly within her.

  The man in the suit laughed loudly. "You're a fool. Once he gets what he wants, he's going to throw you aside like trash. Those wolves do this all the time. They take what they think they're entitled to by using whomever is most gullible. That animal is sitting on a goldmine and he knows it. But you can stop him from using you right this very minute. All you have to do is sign here and you'll be paid handsomely upfront plus future interest. I'm a businessman of my word."

  "You're the damn fool. I would never—"

  Trina felt the mouth of the gun pressing at the back of her skull.

  "I won't hesitate to blow your brains out. I'll have your signature on this paper either voluntary or involuntarily. You decide!"

  "You're a stupid motherfucker," she told him. "My signature won't help you! Do you think you can just strip a man of what's rightfully his? Even if I die here and you temporarily get what you want, you'll be dead before you can enjoy the fruits of your laziness."

  The man came around and wrapped his hand around her throat, cutting off her speech and her oxygen.

  "You sassy-mouthed bitch!"

  Gunfire erupted from outside and a man cried out in bloody murder. The man in black jumpsuit peeked outside and then scuffled back while trying to reload his gun.

  "We've got company," the man in the jumpsuit cried out. "It's them damn wolves!"

  "Fuck!" the man in the business suit exclaimed. "They're like vultures."

  Before they could say another word, a mahogany wolf shot into the cave and dived at the gunman. Two shots were fired, but both missed the wolf. The man in the business suit scurried behind her chair. Another wolf shot through the cave. This time the fur was black and shiny like night. His fangs were barred and his snout glistening with fresh blood. Another large-sized wolf blocked the entrance to the cave.

  Trina took in a shaky breath and tried to wriggle free of the ropes binding her.

  "Stay back, you wolf, or I'll bury this knife in her throat," the man in the business suit warned.

  Dane growled and barked several times. On the other side of the cave, the man in the black jumpsuit was clutching his side and stumbling all over the cave. The blood gushed from his open wound with every step he took. The mahogany wolf shifted instantly as if by magic. It was Brock. He bend down and picked up the lone gun from off the ground.

  "Alpha, he's done for. It's your call. Kill him or not?" Brock asked, aiming the gun at the man in the jumpsuit's head.

  "No…no…no, please. Don't kill me."

  Dane shifted, his wolf fur disappearing in waves of energy around him until the man appeared. "Leave him. Let him suffer. If he dies, he dies."

  The man in the jumpsuit huddled in the back corner of the cave whimpering.

  Dane's eyes shifted to her, his gaze looking haunted like a man who had lost it all and was seeing a glimmer of hope as if for the first time in years.

  "Hello cousin," the man in the business suit said.

  "Let my woman go!"

  "I'll need compensation before I do that. We all know you're rolling in it, so why don't you break me off a piece of it?” the businessman asked.

  "That's not the way it works. You can't just run up in our town and lay claim to what you like," Dane told him.

  "Ah, but I just did. And as soon as I made it known about who I was and how valid my claim was, you and your little wolf posse want to intervene."

  "You have the order of events mixed up. That home and that land has always been mine."

  "It's been sitting there for years…rotting. You didn't want it and now you do!"

  "Rotting or not, the home and the land was and is still mine. Do you know what you burned to the ground?"

  "I do. By having Anderson burn that shack to the ground, I confirmed what most elders in this community already knew. That rotting home was all a fr
ont because you know what's sitting under it."

  There was silence as Dane and Brock exchanged glances.

  "Yeah, that's right. Oil. You knew the oil was in the ground and you've been sitting on the land all this time."

  "You've been snooping a lot more than I have, haven't you?" Dane replied. "It's too bad you won't be raping my lands or my Pack home to drill any oil.

  The sound of police sirens blared, growing louder as they neared. The cruisers came to a screeching halt outside the cave.

  "You dirty dog, you," the man in the business suit exclaimed. "You got the cops involved in this."

  "That was a curveball you didn't see coming, huh? Did you think that I was going to be the lesser man and play these mind game tactics with you? You better be glad I called in the cops," Dane said, as several armed police officers filled the little cave. "I don't have time for games, cousin. You didn't stop at trespassing on my land. You touched my woman. I was going to kill you, but that wouldn't give the courts the evidence that I need."

  "Blair Fendman, you're under arrest for wire fraud, falsifying documents, arson, and kidnapping," one the cops said. "Release the woman, put down your knife, and place your hands behind your head."

  "Insane," Blair Fendman said, but he did as he was told.

  Dane ran over to assist her in untying the ropes as the cops exited the cave with both of her kidnappers in handcuffs.

  Trina rose and immediately wrapped her arms around him.

  "I thought I'd lost you," he whispered in her hair.

  "I'm sorry I ran off like that. I should have trusted that you'd tell me about everything."

  "That's okay, kitten," he said. "It'll take more than you slapping me and running off to get rid of me."

  "Hey! I didn't slap you," she reminded him.

  "You did once." He winked.

  "Oh…you still remember that."

  "I'll never forget it." He smiled and kissed her forehead, holding her securely against his chest. "Now you're coming with me and I won't be letting you out of my sight ever again."

  "You know what?" she teased. "This wasn't in the agreement and I think it calls for some amendments."