Wild Hearts_A Wild Lake Wolves Prequel

by Kimber White

  I don’t know why I felt the need to cover for him, but I just didn’t want to deal with any more turmoil. My father stood at the sink, splashing cold water on his face. I approached him cautiously, keeping the kitchen table between us.

  “Dad, why don’t you let me draw you a hot bath? You look like you could use some rest.” He dropped his shoulders and let out a heaving breath. I let my mind go to the normal things. Get my father settled. See to Grandpa. Wait for Harold to get home. If I thought too long about everything I’d just seen out there in the woods, I didn’t know how I’d make it through the day.

  “Don’t handle me, Patricia. I’m a grown man.”

  “Well, we were worried about you. You’ve been gone a whole day. You didn’t call, you didn’t leave a message. You had us worried sick. What happened to you? Why don’t you let me take a look at that cut on your eye? It looks infected. Have you been out in the woods all this time?”

  My father whirled on me. Anger flashed in his eyes, but it immediately softened as he

  focused on me. “I’m sorry. I just lost track of time. I wanted to check on the feed crops up near the point. Didn’t you hear those wolves howling the other night? We can’t have ‘em here. It’s been going on for three nights now. That’s why I left. Somebody’s got to protect this farm. Hopefully, I just took care of that for good. What were you doing out by the cabin all by yourself, honey? You know I don’t like you riding that far away from the farm. What if you’d fallen and hurt yourself?”

  I bit my tongue past the urge to remind him he was the one who had apparently fallen and hurt himself.

  “Are you okay though?” I asked.

  My father shot me a smile that melted my heart. It was so difficult to stay mad at him sometimes. He pressed a kitchen towel to the cut on his eye and plunked down at the kitchen table. “I’m fine. I just need a meal in me and some shuteye. Where’s your brother? The stalls need cleaning.”

  “Harold’s at school, Daddy. He’ll be back in a few hours.”

  Dad nodded. “Well, I guess it’ll fall to me then. You think you can manage your grandfather?”

  Tucking a hair behind my ear, I forced a smile. I loved my father with all of my heart, but it scared me how little he really seemed to see me. I’d been managing my grandfather by myself for years as well as him and Harold. And now…God, if I closed my eyes, maybe I could convince myself I’d just imagined the last hour. It couldn’t be real. Could it?

  “We’ll be fine,” I finally said. “You sure you don’t want me to call for the doctor to get a look at that eye of yours?”

  My father waved a hand. “Naw. I just lost my balance and hit it on a rock. It’ll heal up fine.”

  “If you say so. Let me fix you a plate. You’ve got to be starving.”

  My father grumbled a little, but sat quietly while I took leftover fried chicken from the icebox. He liked it cold.

  “Thanks, pumpkin,” he said. “What would we all do without you?”

  A hard lump formed in my throat as I leaned down to kiss him on the top of the head. “Well, you’re never going to have to find out. Are you sure you’re okay? We were worried, Daddy.” I stumbled over my words but found the strength to steady myself. If I fell apart now, I might never be able to pull the frayed ends of my nerves back together.

  He picked at the skin on a drumstick. “I’m fine. But, I need to get back out there. I’m worried about those wolves, Pat. I’ll wait until your brother gets home, but we need to set some traps.”

  “That’s a good idea,” I heard myself say, but the words burned like acid through my throat. The wolves. Pain blossomed along the ridge of my shoulder in the exact place I’d seen my father’s shot tear into the gray wolf. My knees turned to rubber and I sank into the chair next to Dad’s. I couldn’t let him do it. And I couldn’t very well tell him what I’d seen. Though I had no earthly explanation for it myself, I knew in my heart I had to warn the gray wolf. The minute the idea formed inside of me, it burned through me with an urgency that took my breath away. I had to get to him. Fast.

  “You okay, Pat?” he asked. “You’re looking a little peaked yourself.” He reached across the table and put the back of his hand to my forehead.

  “I’m fine,” I said, pulling away from him.

  “You’re burning up. Why don’t you go lay down for a little bit?”

  “No. I’m fine, Dad. Honest. You just finish your lunch. I need to ride into town and get a few things for supper. I’ll be back before Harold gets out of school.”

  My father grumbled a half-hearted protest, but he knew better to try and stop me. Now that I had him under our roof again, I hated leaving him, but I just had to. It took everything in me not to tear out of that kitchen at a full run. No matter what, I had to figure out a way to keep my father from finding those wolves. Instinct flared within me, driving away all common sense except for one thought. If my father succeeded, if he hurt those wolves, something awful would happen to him and to all of us.

  Dad and Grandpa yelled something after me, but I couldn’t hear it. I moved with singular purpose. As I headed out the front door, I grabbed Grandpa’s shotgun and tucked it under my arm. It wasn’t that I meant to use it, but maybe if I could keep him from it I could fix this.

  I wouldn’t understand what drove me that day until much later. In some ways, I never understood it. But, every cell in my body hummed with the urgent need to head beyond the lake and back to the cabin. Reason left me and instinct took over. I think it drove Rascal that day too, because he seemed just as eager as I was to light out toward the woods and run. Something in his heart as well as mine guided our path. As the sun beat down on my back and my hair flew wild, we reached the edge of the lake.

  As Rascal burst into the clearing, my heart stopped. Rascal reared back, nearly unseating me as he kicked his front legs into the air. His sharp, shrill whinny scared the birds out of the trees. I struggled to keep my grip on Dad’s shotgun as Rascal settled himself and let me slide off his back. He stomped a hoof in warning then side-stepped, choosing a shaded patch of grass to watch me from.

  I turned toward the lake. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. A strong breeze lifted the hair off my neck as I went to the water’s edge. Gooseflesh prickled along my spine and I knew I wasn’t alone. I pointed the barrel of the shotgun toward the ground but gripped the stock hard, ready to swing it up and take aim if I needed to. A shadow moved to the left of me and my breath went out in a whoosh.

  Luke McGraw emerged from behind a gnarled oak tree. He’d been waiting for me. But how could he have known I’d come back? The hard-cut muscles of his bare chest glistened in the sunlight as he stepped out of the shadows. He was barefoot wearing nothing but a tight pair of blue jeans. My eyes traveled up and up as he approached me. As he held my gaze, those steely blue eyes betrayed the secret he could no longer keep. They glinted silver, the pupils narrowing to points. Though the man stood before me, solid and strong, the eyes of the wolf met mine, stirring my heart and soul.

  One breath. One heartbeat. Just those few inches separated us and the world I knew melted away for good. I should have been afraid, I think. I wasn’t. I’d seen something not meant for human eyes. And yet, some deeper part of me had always known. This. Now. I felt born for it.

  “You’re hurt,” I said, amazed I was brave enough to speak first. I reached for him. A chunk of flesh had been torn from his shoulder where my father’s bullet grazed him. Just like it had back in the kitchen, an echoing flare of pain worked its way through my own shoulder. It was just one more thing that shouldn’t have made sense to me that day, but somehow did. I felt Luke’s pain. Luke went still as a statue as my fingers hovered above the jagged wound. Dried blood caked just above his clavicle, but the wound itself had stopped bleeding. In fact, it had already partially healed.

  Luke caught my wrist. When his fingers closed around my flesh the world turned upside down all over again. I blinked hard against the kaleidoscope of colors flashi
ng behind my eyes. A current of energy seemed to flow from Luke to me and back again. When my vision came sharply into focus, I saw something flicker behind his eyes as if the contact churned his insides as much as it had mine.

  “Patricia,” he said, his voice choked with an emotion I couldn’t yet name. I was the one who had watched wolves turn into human beings, but something about me seemed to shock Luke just as much.

  “It was you, wasn’t it? I asked. “Last night on the rocks. That wolf was you.”

  My voice sounded so distant to my own ears. Warmth flooded through me, starting at the point where Luke’s flesh touched mine. My breath caught and my pulse raced. The wolf was Luke. Luke was the wolf. He’d seen me. He’d watched me naked, pleasuring myself. I should have felt ashamed; instead, fresh desire coursed through me, settling low in my core.

  “Don’t be afraid,” he said.

  “You shouldn’t...I wasn’t...I thought I was alone.” Even as I said it, I knew it was a lie. I’d felt him last night. I’d been reckless and wanton and all the while, I knew in my heart he was there.

  “I shouldn’t have come,” Luke said. His eyes hardened and he let go of my wrist. The absence of his touch sent a chill through me. It gave birth to a craving inside of me I couldn’t yet name or didn’t want to.

  “But you did. You’re here.”

  “Why aren’t you afraid of me?” he asked.

  The question took me off guard. “Who says I’m not?”

  When Luke’s face broke into a smile, new heat flared within me. “Well, you’re brave or you’re reckless. Either way, I’m sorry. I know this is probably a lot for you to take in.”

  “You’re a wolf,” I said. “And you’re a man. I suppose it should scare me, but somehow it doesn’t. Either that or I’m cracking up. I’ve heard stories you know. Legends. Mostly from the Odawa tribe that lives not far from here. They tell them around the campfire to scare the kids from Wild Lake and keep them on our side of the town line. Are you a monster, Luke Mcgraw? Did you come here to eat me alive?”

  He closed the distance between us, looming large above me. My pulse flared anew and a streak of desire went through me. For a fraction of a second, those silvery wolf eyes of his flashed and I knew with absolute clarity what Luke McGraw did want from me. It took everything in me not to give it to him. Raw lust rose between us with an intensity that made me tremble. If he’d kissed me then, I’m not sure I could have resisted. I knew I didn’t want to.

  But he didn’t kiss me. Not then. A muscle jumped in his jaw and I sensed the pain of restraint behind his eyes. Luke took a step back and cast his eyes downward.

  “I shouldn’t have come at all,” he said. “It was against my better judgment. I’ve made trouble for you. It’s the last thing I want.”

  “Why did you? Come here, I mean.”

  He didn’t answer. Luke looked skyward and new pain etched his face. God, the urge to reach up and smooth the lines of worry from his brow burned so strong.

  “There aren’t very many places for...people like me to find refuge in anymore. If it had just been me alone, I never would have stayed long enough for you to see me. You wouldn’t even have known I was here.”

  “But, it’s not just you.” I grew bold, taking a step toward him. Compelled by a force I couldn’t control, I did reach up and try to ease the worry from his face. I touched his cheek. His skin burned so hot beneath my fingertips. Luke flinched. He brought his hand up and closed it around my wrist again, gently drawing me away.

  “Patsy!” My brother’s shout startled me. I took a staggering step backward and Luke dropped my wrist. His body went rigid as Harold rounded the corner riding Barney bareback. He pulled hard on Barney’s mane, stopping the horse short. Harold’s wild eyes went from me to Luke and back again. Harold slid off Barney’s back and ran up to us.

  “Mr. McGraw,” Harold said, his voice cracking. “Oh, shit, I’m so sorry.”

  “Harold!” I scolded. But, swearing was the least of Harold’s worries. His eyes widened as he looked at me. Something dawned on me as my brother’s face went white and he apologized to Luke McGraw again. He knew. Harold knew what Luke was.

  Under the shade of trees, Rascal neighed behind me as two more wolves burst through the trees and stood shoulder to shoulder behind Luke. They were smaller than Luke’s wolf; one was gray, the other red. My heart leaped back into my throat as Harold’s distress took on new meaning. Those weren’t just two more wolves. They were Charlie and Marcus, Harold’s friends.

  “Harold,” I said. “What is going on?”

  “You should have told her,” Luke said, squaring his shoulders he eyed my brother with a look that sent him quaking.

  Harold looked at Luke, then me, as he worked out who he had more to fear from. When his eyes settled on Luke and the Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat, I knew the answer. Harold dropped his head and walked up to Luke. When he turned to face me, I took a step back.

  “Aw, Patsy. Don’t be sore at me. Just let me try to explain.”

  “Explain?”

  The air shifted as Charlie and Marcus’s wolves took slow, lumbering steps toward us. My fingers played along the stock of my father’s shotgun and the trees themselves seemed to come to life.

  Rascal and Barney grew skittish. Barney reared up on his hind legs and his big, black eyes grew wide as five more wolves came out of the woods, surrounding us. I raised the shotgun and went to Harold’s side. Though I kept the gun pointed at the ground, I racked a round and widened my stance. All around me, the wolves closed in.

  Chapter Six

  “Patsy, don’t,” Harold said. He stepped between me and Luke and put his hands up in a conciliatory gesture.

  “Harold, don’t move!” I kept my eyes locked with Luke’s as I gripped the shotgun, still keeping it pointed down.

  Two of the larger wolves padded over to Luke’s side, baring their fangs; their growls became a low, menacing hum. Luke stayed calm. His wolf eyes glinted silver and he made a clicking noise. He communicated something to the other wolves and they moved away from me, receding back into the shadows of the tree line.

  “We should go,” Luke said, addressing Harold. “I knew this was a bad idea. We’ll be gone by sundown.”

  “Go? What? You can’t!” The desperation in Harold’s voice startled me. He lunged toward me and put a hand on my arm where I held the shotgun.

  “Patsy, put that thing away. The McGraws aren’t going to hurt us.”

  The McGraws. My head spun as seven pairs of wolf eyes stared at me through the trees. Luke didn’t move. He stood tall and straight commanding the creatures with the subtlest of gestures and flash of his eyes.

  “Is this how you got hurt?” I asked, and anger roiled within me. He knew. Harold knew all along what Luke and the others were and he’d kept it from me. For the first time, I felt like I didn’t know my brother at all.

  Harold didn’t answer me. He kept his attention focused solely on Luke as if the man could compel him to do his bidding the same as he could the wolves. “Mr. McGraw,” he said. “You don’t have to leave. I can fix this. Just give me a few minutes to talk to my sister.”

  Luke’s expression changed. He looked back at me and the corners of his mouth twitched as if he were holding back a smile. Once again, when he trained his full attention on me, my blood started to simmer. God, it seemed like Luke McGraw could command me with a look just like he could the rest of the wolf pack. I glowered at him and tightened my grip on the shotgun. He raised a quizzical brow and cleared his throat.

  “We’ll be gone by sundown,” Luke said and a tremor went through me. I had to bite my tongue past the urge to tell him not to go. But that was an absurd thought. I didn’t know him. He was a stranger and a trespasser. Above all of that, there could be no doubt that this man was dangerous.

  “I’m sorry to have inconvenienced you,” Luke addressed me.

  Inconvenienced? It seemed an impossible word for what Luke McGraw had done to me. I lo
oked from him to Harold. My throat ran dry and my words left me. Just that tiny infuriating flicker of a smile on Luke’s face belied his emotions as he looked at me. Then, he turned and let out a sharp whistle. The wolves behind him whined and fell into formation.

  “Where will you go?” Harold said.

  Luke turned. His face had hardened. “That’s not for you to worry about. You’ve done enough for us. I thank you. Now, tend to your family and I’ll tend to mine.” Luke gave me one last smoldering glance before he turned his back. He dropped his shoulders and raised his chin. I gasped as his hands hit the ground, becoming giant white paws. He shifted with such smooth power and grace, it left me awestruck and shuddering. His silvery fur shimmered in the sunlight and his shoulders rippled with strength. Those pale eyes bore straight through me. In human form, Luke McGraw seemed able to hide some of what he was thinking. As a wolf, his expression was raw and feral. He wanted something from me. My fingers trembled on the barrel of the shotgun and I looked away first. Luke’s wolf turned toward the woods and led his pack away. As soon as he was gone, a chill went through me, leaving me shaking as I turned toward my brother.

  I didn’t even know where to start. Harold looked at me with such a pitiful expression I wanted to comfort him at the same time I wanted to throttle him.

  “Werewolves?” I managed to get out.

  Harold pursed his lips and rolled his eyes as if I’d just said the stupidest thing he’d ever heard. “Werewolves are for fairytales, Pat. They prefer the term shifters.”

  I slung my father’s shotgun over my shoulder. “Are you kidding me?”

  “Look, I know it’s a lot. But, you’ve seen what they are. I didn’t mean for you to find out like this or really even at all. Now that you have, doesn’t it feel like you should have known it all along?”

  I opened my mouth to answer him but couldn’t find the words. The true answer was yes. God help me, but yes. I should have been shocked. The knowledge of what Luke and the others were should have driven me to the loony bin. Except it didn’t. Harold was right. It did feel like I should have known all along. It felt natural, almost obvious, as if I were meant to know.