Lost Wolf (A New Dawn Novel Book 4)

by Rachel M Raithby

  “Regan, please,” her mother begged.

  A tear slipped down Regan’s face, but she refused to allow any more to fall, to acknowledge the heartbreaking sorrow inside of her. “They’d have helped me heal, but instead, I stayed frozen in time, trapped in the cage you put me in. Until Tyler came along and reminded what it felt like to live again. Until he made me see I didn’t die with Megan, I lived. But the life I was living wasn’t a life at all, and if Megan could talk to me right now, she’d tell me so. She’d congratulate me for finding my mate, and she’d love me despite everything, even if she didn’t quite agree.”

  Regan struggled from Jackson’s grip and went to Tyler. Helping him up, she looked back one last time at the parents she’d accepted as lost, and said sadly, “That’s what family does, but I’m not sure you’ll ever remember that.”

  Walking away, her arm around Tyler keeping him upright, Regan felt a shard of her heart break off and fall to the ground. There it would stay, broken and bleeding with the parents she knew where doing the same, but Regan could no longer stay with them. She couldn’t live in a cage anymore. Tyler had set her free, and it was time she spread her wings and flew.

  Chapter 57

  “What was that about?” Katalina asked, sitting up in bed as Bass hung up the phone.

  “Tyler tried to reason with Regan’s parents and received a beating for his troubles. Jackson says he’s handled the situation, and Karen is seeing to Tyler’s wounds, but I think I should go over there. He’s my wolf too.”

  “I’m coming with you,” Katalina replied, getting out of bed and pulling on some jeans and a sweater over her pajama top. “What was Tyler thinking?”

  “I imagine he was thinking how much his mate was hurting and he needed to do something to make it stop.”

  “But still… he could hardly get down the stairs two days ago.”

  “Powerful thing a mate’s hurt.”

  Katalina nodded sadly. The two had far too much experience on the subject.

  When they arrived at Jackson’s, it was to find Tyler’s face bloodied and swollen.

  “Did you fight back at all?” Bass asked.

  Tyler looked up through half-swollen eyes. “He wanted blood, so I gave him mine.”

  “And I’ve told him”—Regan glared crossly— “his blood isn’t responsible for the death of my sister, and he was an idiot to try reason with my father in his state.”

  “I don’t think reasoning with him in any state would have helped,” Katalina said. “I hope you haven’t injured yourself further.”

  Karen looked up. “By some miracle, his back wounds haven’t opened up. It’s just his pretty face that took the damage.” She shook her head at Tyler. “What were you thinking, boy?”

  “I was thinking that Regan wasn’t okay, and I needed to do something,” Tyler snapped.

  “I’m fine,” she insisted, and even to Katalina’s ears, the statement sounded like a lie.

  “You are not, babe. You’ve been obsessively training since I was attacked, spending every spare minute running, sparing, and weight training.”

  “I’m making up for lost time.”

  His expression softened as he cupped her cheek with an unsteady hand. “You’re hiding from the loss of your parents.”

  “Fine,” Regan snapped, rubbing at her eyes that had suddenly filled with tears. “What would you like me to do, sit around all day crying?”

  “If that’s what you need to do, then yes,” he murmured, brushing away the stray tears. “Cry, scream, but don’t hide.”

  “I can’t, Ty. I can’t stop and spend all day sitting around here looking at my boxes and being reminded my own parents chucked me out… I just can’t.”

  “Then don’t,” Bass answered, all eyes going to him. “Don’t sit around here. Come home with us.”

  “To Dark Shadow?” Regan answered hesitantly. “But Ty—”

  “Tyler could have returned home days ago. He’s here for you, and I support that if that’s what you want, but from where I’m standing, it seems like you need a change in scenery. If only for a little while.”

  Regan glanced at Tyler then Jackson. Katalina wasn’t sure if he wanted to throttle Bass or agree with him.

  “I’ve already welcomed you to Dark Shadow, but I never said I welcome you as a River Run wolf,” Bass added.

  Katalina’s chest hurt with pride and love. The words Bass was saying weren’t an easy gift to give. There were members of their pack who didn’t agree with the alliance, that were struggling with the move to the new site. But it seemed, just as Bass had promised her, he was going to make their world fit, even if it killed him. And Katalina’s heart healed a little more, and she was certain Regan’s did too.

  “Well, I think things can be decided in the morning. For now, what you both need is sleep,” Karen ordered, eyeing Tyler and Regan. “Jackson, make sure this one doesn’t sneak out of your house alone again.”

  “I’ll try my best. Though I didn’t let him out the first time,” Jackson answered.

  “Can’t keep up with my wolves, hey?” Bass smiled.

  Jackson crossed his arms over his chest. “I wasn’t expecting the idiot to try to kill himself.”

  “Come on, you,” Katalina jumped in, dragging Bass to her side. “Stop winding up my father.”

  The use of father seemed to calm Jackson a little as she’d hoped. The trials of an alpha’s daughter and mate were never simple. She imagined she’d spend the rest of her life fielding jokes and defusing tension.

  “Take it easy, Tyler. We’ll speak tomorrow,” Bass said. “Jackson,” he continued, with an incline of his head.

  Katalina hugged Regan, then Jackson goodbye, then smiled at her grandmother who’d she’d forgiven, but hadn’t quite healed the relationship between them yet. “Rest up, guys. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Walking from River Run to Dark Shadow, Bass was quiet beside her. Katalina left him to his thoughts as she gazed at the clear, star-studded sky. It wasn’t until they were winding through the trees, their wolves in their gazes to see in the dark, that Bass finally said what had been rolling over in his mind.

  “Something Tyler said has me thinking.”

  “What’s that?” Katalina asked, already knowing she’d not like the answer.

  “He wanted blood, so I gave him mine. Tyler was half right; the man wants blood.”

  “But spilling Dark Shadow blood is pointless. The man’s not one of us anymore.”

  “Exactly. So let’s give him the right blood.”

  “Bass, I don’t like what I think you’re saying.” Katalina came to a standstill and faced him. “The man’s with Indiana. And killing him won’t bring Megan back.”

  “No, it won’t,” Bass agreed. “But it doesn’t mean it won’t help. We’re animals at our core, primal and savage. Blood for blood. That’s how it works. Only Noah’s never had that blood and it’s eaten him up inside.”

  “But how are we going to reach a man who’s surrounded by our enemy? An enemy, I might add, who has destroyed half our home and continues to wound us.”

  “We aren’t,” he replied, his gaze fierce and determined, causing Katalina’s stomach to flip. She knew what he was planning, she knew, and it terrified her.

  “No. No, Bass, you can’t.” She took hold of his hands, squeezed, pleading with her eyes. “No.”

  “I can. I need to, for Tyler, for Regan.”

  “Bass, it’s too dangerous. Dark Shadow needs you. It needs its alpha here and in one piece.”

  He cupped her face and brushed his thumbs over her cheekbones. “Katalina, don’t you see, this is what my father trained me to be. To be a shadow that walked through enemy lines unseen. My entire life I was trained to be the weapon that would walk as if a ghost and destroy Jackson once and for all.”

  “But you didn’t kill me, Bass. That’s not who you are. That’s not how your fate played out.”

  “It’s not all of me, no, but it is a part of me. I
need to do this, for Ty, and to repay a debt Dark Shadow owes.”

  “Then take others with you.” Her heart was in her chest, but it slowed its beat, each loud, steady boom like the tick of a clock. She’d known the day she’d met him loving him wouldn’t be simple, that becoming part of the wolf world would test her in ways she’d not known, but it was a reality Katalina couldn’t have avoided. And one she wouldn’t want to, despite all she’d seen and done.

  “I’m only a ghost if I’m alone. Have faith in me, my winter wolf, faith that I’ll come home. That I’ll come back to you.”

  Standing on her tiptoes, Katalina pressed her mouth to his, drawing his life into her body, his scent, his taste. She clung to him one last time before letting him go. “You’re going now, aren’t you?”

  He nodded, stepping back into the shadows and almost becoming invisible to her already.

  “Be safe. Come back to me” she whispered. He’d disappeared from her sight, becoming one with the night. Her shadow wolf.

  “I love you.” His voice drifted from the trees. “Always.”

  Chapter 58

  Bass was well aware his move could leave his pack without an alpha. Leave them scrambling and vulnerable to attack as they dealt with the loss, but he was also aware of the voice telling him it had to be done, and the task had to be completed alone. It was a voice that had been with him for as long as he could remember, an internal compass of sorts guiding him through life. It was the voice that told him his father’s leadership was wrong. That the fear that hovered over his childhood and pack wasn’t right or normal. It whispered in his ear—an angel or devil he wasn’t sure. Bass only knew he’d been ignoring that voice as of late and doing so had created a rift between him and Katalina, a rift he hoped this move would help heal, and hopefully heal those connected to his pack.

  He’d not ignored the voice consciously, but self-doubt had dulled its intensity. Too many losses and not enough wins had left Bass feeling like a failure, feeling like maybe he was no better than his father after all.

  Today, though, it had been clear. He knew deep down to his core that this was his job to do, and his alone. His father might have been cruel, he might have treated Bass as a weapon and not a son, but his father’s actions had their uses. And today Bass would use them.

  Journeying to Indiana in wolf form took most of the night. He had little time left until dawn, and contemplated waiting out the daylight. But there was an urgency in his blood, a need to return to his mate, his pack. So Bass slipped through the trees, a living ghost. His fur was as black as night, his feet silent and nimble—a lethal blade on the hunt.

  Getting passed Indiana’s patrols was the easy part; finding Richard was the difficult task. It was a job that would have to be done by sight and not scent as Bass couldn’t recall the man’s smell. He remembered the man’s face though, remembered his cruel eyes, the flatness to them as if he felt no emotion at all. And his smile. He remembered it distinctly—a smile that said I’m untouchable, a smile morphed into charm if need be, a mask to fool the unsuspecting victim.

  Scanning the quiet area, Bass took in the scene. He understood in a way why Castor wanted Dark Shadow as his own. Even burned to the ground the land was nicer. Kyle, it seemed, hadn’t been much nicer than Castor as an alpha, and its people lived mostly in tents, though there were a few cabins. These Bass planned to check first. Knowing Richard as Bass did, he knew he’d never slum it in a tent. No, Richard would want the best that was on offer.

  Shifting, he padded quietly on human feet, dashing from the cover of trees to the wall of the first cabin. Carefully, Bass peered inside the grubby window but found Raven and her grandmother asleep inside. The darker side of himself contemplated slipping into their cabin and slitting their throats but that voice, or maybe it was Katalina’s this time, told him no. Cold-blooded murder wasn’t what he was about.

  Skipping the middle cabin because it made sense to have the alpha in the center, Bass headed for the far side and third cabin. His heart was a steady drum in his ears, his mind filled with cool, killing calm. This part of himself was the predator at his core. The wild wolf, the part that could have so easily been made into a mindless weapon.

  Looking through the window, Bass found his target. The question now was how to leave without alerting anyone else.

  Richard had company in the form of a woman laid curled on her side beside him. She wasn’t touching him, wasn’t curled around his body or facing him, which told Bass she wasn’t Richard’s mate and most likely wouldn’t mourn his death. For a moment, Bass allowed the imagine of Katalina wrapped around his body in sleep to fill his mind. He used the image to remind himself what was at stake, to remind him of the mistakes he made would hurt more than himself.

  Deciding on a plan, Bass selected a few stones from the ground and tread quietly to the edge of the cabin wall. There he threw the rock against the wall near where Richard’s head lay asleep. On the second throw, he heard movement inside, throwing the last of the stones onto the ground in front of the door, Bass took a steady breath and waited, back to the wall, vengeance like a song in his blood.

  Richard, as he hoped, got out of his bed and came to inspect where the noise had come from. The cabin door bashed open, causing Bass to cringe and pray no one else came to see what the noise was about. Dawn was fast approaching. Already the sheer blackness of night was giving way to the gray of daybreak.

  Moving with the speed of a serpent, Bass reached out, wrapping his arms around the man’s throat in an attempt to cut off Richard’s air supply and render him unconscious. He was slightly shorter than Bass but wider in build. Bass struggled to hold him as Richard fought back. Clamping a hand over the man’s mouth to muffle his yells, Bass locked his arm around the man’s throat, squeezing to the point he was worried he’d snap his neck.

  Richard slammed himself and Bass into the cabin wall behind him, knocking the air from Bass. The noise seemed like a thunderous boom in the quiet of early morning, but no one came running and finally, Richard faltered, his movements becoming heavy, his efforts sluggish until the man slipped unconscious.

  Bass only paused for a second to drag in a breath when Richard fell limp to the ground, but the creak of a board had him jumping to his feet, spinning around. Heart leaping in his chest, Bass lunged at the woman who’d shared Richard’s bed, covering her mouth before she had time to scream and knocking her unconscious.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered as she gave up her fight, and he laid her back onto the bed.

  Every second longer was becoming more and more dangerous. Dragging Richard up and heaving him onto his back, Bass quickly ran for the trees and the cover of shadows, only stopping briefly to snatch up a discarded rag, and a pair of shorts that hung on a washing line.

  Running with the speed only an alpha possessed, Bass covered as much ground as possible before he had no choice but to stop and bind Richard’s hands and mouth. Ripping the rag in half, he first tied the material around Richard’s wrists, then gagged him. The man was coming to when Bass picked up a discarded branch and snapped it so that one end was jagged. As realization dawned on Richard’s face, Bass smiled and slammed the branch through Richard’s gut, making sure the hit wasn’t fatal but would render the man from shifting.

  “Can’t have you shifting on me now, can we?” Bass said softly.

  “Castor will have your head for this,” Richard mumbled around his gag, panting with pain.

  Bass laughed. “The man wants my head anyway.”

  “And your bitch.”

  Bass slapped Richard across the face, causing him to fall backward and jar the branch in his gut. He cried out, face scrunching up, and eyes filling with hatred.

  “You’ll treat my mate with respect, and Castor will find that she’s not so easily tamed and will not bend under his will. Or anyone’s will for that matter.” Bass dragged Richard to his feet, shoving him forward. “Get walking. We’ve got a long journey ahead.”

  “She’ll
bend eventually,” he mumbled. “You all will.”

  Bass didn’t answer. Instead, he pushed Richard from behind, reminding him whose will he was currently under. Bass would face whatever fate was bringing him. It would come one way or another, but one thing was for certain, he’d sooner die than bend. Katalina right along with him.

  He was no one’s weapon but his own, and he’d stand as the shield of his pack until his last breath.

  Chapter 59

  Waiting until morning before she informed her pack’s inner circle, Katalina then popped outside to call Jackson. After ending the call, she couldn’t decide on his reaction to Bass’s plan, and while a huge part of her had wanted to tell him in person and stay with River Run until Bass returned, she also knew her place was with Dark Shadow. The pack needed to see Katalina strong and not concerned.

  “Are you all right?” Nico asked, taking her hand as he stood beside her.

  “Yes and no,” she answered, leaning her head on his shoulder. “I know he’s still alive and not in pain, so that’s a start, right?”

  “Bass and his crazy schemes. I’d thought he’d given them up.”

  “I think he had, and that was a problem. Because the place those plans come from is the Bass we need to get through this war in one piece.”

  “I think you’re right,” Nico answered with a sigh. “They’ve voted to keep this news from the rest of the pack. No point causing unrest if he’ll be home soon.”

  “When, Nic, when he’ll be home soon.”

  Nico slung an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. “Sorry, I didn’t mean he wouldn’t be returning, just the time part. Want to come and hang with Livy and me? I think she’s cooking pancakes as we speak.”

  “Pancakes sound awesome.” Katalina smiled, remembering there was family in Dark Shadow too. “I hope she makes that chocolate sauce she did last time. It’s a wonder you’re not fat living with Liv.”