by Jacey Ward
The key turned effortlessly, as though James had been waiting for her to come closer, as if he’d been able to hear her moving around. Sasha frowned and made to step back but the door was thrown back with such force that she only just missed being caught by it – and a strong hand caught her arm.
“Sasha,” said the tall, burly man, as an evil glint caught his eye. “You’ve been causing Torin all kinds of problems.”
“James, is it?” Sasha replied, ignoring the quickening of her heart. “Torin hasn’t mentioned you.”
“He wouldn’t,” James said, offhandedly. “Although I fully intend to take over from him once you’re out of the way.”
Sasha bit back a cry of fright, trying to keep her thoughts calm. “Take over?” she asked, as he began to pull her out of the room. “Take over what?”
James laughed quietly, sending a ripple of fear into her stomach. “I forgot, you don’t know.”
“I don’t know what?”
He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Like I said, you’ve been causing Torin a ton of problems. I plan on showing him, and everyone else, how true revenge is supposed to be carried out. And that’s going to show everyone how weak he truly is.”
Sasha swallowed the lump of fear in her throat, beginning to resist as he pulled her along the hallway towards a room she didn’t recognize.
“Don’t start with me,” he warned, “I’m not afraid to spill your blood, and I’ll rip your throat out if I have to.”
He said the words so calmly, so quietly, that it took a moment before Sasha could react to them. She began to struggle in earnest, growing cold with the awareness that Torin was not in the house. She was alone, desperate to fend James off and retreat to the sanctuary of her room. If she could take him by surprise, then perhaps she would have enough time to grab the key from her door and lock herself inside.
A low, angry growl rattled through James’ chest, sending shivers all through her. Slamming her up against the wall, he glared down at her, his eyes narrowing. They seemed to glow with just a hint of gold and, remembering how she had seen the very same thing the night Thomas had attacked her, Sasha went weak with fright.
“That’s better,” James whispered, grasping her hair with one hand and pulling it so hard that her head was forced back. “You’re mine, Sasha. I’ll prove to Torin that he’s weak to have feelings for you by taking away the one thing that’s stopping him from behaving like the leader he should be.” He grinned at her wolfishly, his eyes glowing still. “You’re going to do everything I tell you,” he whispered, one hand tightening on the back of her neck as he pressed his body against hers, giving her no doubt as to what he intended. “And, if you’re lucky, I might just let you live.”
Sasha tried to scream but James’ mouth landed on hers, his teeth biting forcefully on her lower lip. She shoved him, hard, only for something big, something huge to break them apart, sending James to the floor.
Torin.
Sinking to the floor, Sasha pressed her hand to her mouth, stemming the blood as she watched Torin with wide eyes. He was shouting at James and James was screaming back at him, but the fear that raced through her drowned out every sound. She had no idea what they were saying.
Then, to her utter shock, Torin’s entire body began to change before her very eyes. Bones emerged from his back, his whole form tensing and burning with energy. Sasha screamed aloud as Torin’s body continued to change. She scrabbled back against the wall in a desperate attempt to shield herself.
A wolf. Torin was a wolf.
She couldn’t take it in.
James laughed darkly and transformed himself in an instant too, his wolf smaller than Torin’s but clearly strong. Sasha closed her eyes tightly, screaming silently as the two wolves began to fight.
It was only when the thundering of their paws began to move away from her that she finally opened her eyes, seeing the larger wolf chase after the smaller one.
With strength she didn’t know she possessed, Sasha pushed herself up to her feet and hurried back towards her own room, her fingers trying desperately to grab onto the key in the lock. Her hands were slick with sweat as she tried to grasp it, finding it an impossible task. The growls and yelps from downstairs had her heart thumping with fright until she was forced to give up.
Slamming the door shut, Sasha sank down against it, her mind still screaming at her.
“What is going on?” she whispered to herself, her hands at her mouth as she tried to make sense of what she had seen.
A sound unlike anything she’d ever heard before had her scrambling to her feet and moving to the window. She’d never known wolves could make sounds like that. There was almost a roar, a sound of victory that could only mean one thing.
The smaller wolf – James – limped away, blood dripping from his muzzle. She had no idea where he was going but relief ran through her regardless. He was gone from the house, even though that left her trapped with a crazy wolf man.
Sinking to the floor, Sasha tried not to hear the human like cry that came from downstairs, even though it echoed through the house towards her. Torin must be hurt.
What am I doing?
Her hands trembled as she opened the door, hearing Bramble’s barks coming from downstairs. Torn, Sasha stayed in the doorway, not sure whether to go downstairs or remain in the safety of her room.
“James is gone,” she told herself, taking one small step into the hallway, her eyes searching for him in every shadow. “And you’re going to go and see that the guy who stopped him is okay.”
Maybe he’d let her go now, too.
Reminding herself that Torin hadn’t hurt her, hadn’t laid a finger on her, Sasha began to make her way down the stairs, cringing at every creak and groan that came from the wood.
“Torin?” she asked hesitantly, as she moved into the nearest room. “Torin? Is – is everything okay?”
A cacophony of happy barking told her that Bramble was in the room next to this one and, unable to stop herself, Sasha hurried towards it and opened the door.
Bramble was all over her in an instant, jumping up at her until she had no choice but to pick him up, laughing quietly as he licked her face. She held her dog tightly, her heart bursting with happiness.
“You can go.”
Torin’s dark voice came from within the room and, despite her clamoring anxiety, Sasha pushed the door open a little further – only to catch her breath. Torin was standing by the wood burning stove, entirely naked. His back was to her, and Sasha could see deep scratches in his lower back. His thigh seemed to have a bite mark and, as he looked over his shoulder at her, Sasha saw another few scratches across his cheek.
“I said you can go,” he said, harshly. “Just leave. I’m sorry I ever did this to you.”
Sasha’s first instinct was to run, but something about him made her stay exactly where she was. He must be in a great deal of pain and, although she still couldn’t understand what had happened, the desire to help him began to burn deep within her.
“Didn’t you hear me?” he asked, a little more angrily. “Just go. If you want to press charges, so be it.”
“I can’t just go,” Sasha replied, setting Bramble down as she averted her gaze. “You changed – I don’t understand.”
“You don’t need to.”
“I want to,” Sasha replied firmly. “You saved my life too, Torin.”
He grunted, shaking his head. “It wouldn’t have happened if I’d never brought you here in the first place.”
“I have a lot of questions,” Sasha said, softly. “And I will leave, but I want some answers first.” Moving towards him, she cleared her throat and tried her best to keep her eyes on his face. “That’s the only way I won’t press any charges,” she said, softly. “I want answers and you’re going to give them to me.”
He frowned at her, his eyes confused. “I thought you’d be taking this opportunity to get as far away from me as possible,” he said, quietly, grasping a towel from the n
earby chair and throwing it around his waist.
“I probably should be doing that,” Sasha admitted, surprised at how little fear she felt. “But the truth is, Torin, I’ve realized that you’re not going to hurt me. You can’t bring yourself to do it.”
He dropped his head and sighed heavily, pain spreading across his features. “That’s because you were right,” he whispered, as blood dripped from his cheek onto his chest. “I saw the house. I didn’t want to believe it. But I have no choice now.”
Sasha felt relief spread all through her, right to the very tips of her fingers.
“Let me clean up first,” he said, lifting his head. “Then we’ll talk.”
Chapter Twelve
Torin flinched as Sasha wiped at the wounds on his back, trying his best not to react to her.
“I don’t understand why you’re doing this,” he growled, turning his head away from her. “I thought you’d be out of here by now.”
“I don’t understand why I’m doing it either,” she murmured, pressing the cold cloth firmly against his skin. “Call it killing you with kindness.”
Torin closed his eyes and shivered, putting it down to the coolness of the cloth as opposed to anything else. A hiss escaped his lips as she put a light covering of antiseptic cream on his wounds, even though he hadn’t wanted to display any kind of weakness.
“So, are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Sasha asked, as she sat down opposite him beside the fire.
Torin held up one hand, asking her to wait. “Just let me get dressed and find something to eat,” he muttered, more confused than ever over Sasha. “Then I’ll answer any question you’ve got.”
Hurrying out of the room, Torin climbed the stairs to his bedroom and pulled on whatever clothes he could find. He made do with just a t-shirt and jogging bottoms, glancing at himself in the mirror for a moment.
Man, he looked rough. Terrible, in fact.
Then again, it wasn’t every day that the reality of his brother being a cold-blooded killer hit him head on. Not to mention the betrayal he had faced down from his second-in-command.
Sighing to himself, Torin muttered darkly to himself, threw open the bedroom door and marched back down the stairs, fully expecting Sasha to be gone.
Instead, she was sitting exactly where he’d left her, although she’d made them both some coffee it seemed. Torin frowned, running a hand through his hair. He didn’t understand what she was doing here still. He’d terrified her. She’d been shaking, scared and in fear for her life, and now here she was, looking at him with compassion, those dark eyes of hers holding his gaze.
“I need to know what happened,” Sasha said, quietly, as he sat down. “I can see what you’re thinking, but the truth is that I have to know what I saw. I can’t go home without knowing.”
Torin grunted, picking up the coffee mug with one hand. “It’s not important, Sasha.”
“It is,” she replied, firmly. “You see, there was something about the murders that never made sense until now. I think you might be able to tell me whether I’m on the right track or not.”
“Why would you want to hear from me?” Torin asked, gruffly. “I kidnapped you, remember?”
“I’m aware of that,” Sasha murmured, with a wry smile. “After all, I was the one kicking and screaming to get away not that long ago.”
Torin looked at her, sitting there so calmly, and something in him shifted. Was it admiration? Respect? Whatever it was, it grew within him, making his lips curve into a half smile.
“You’ve got strength, Sasha,” he said, heavily. “You should be calling the police right now and instead, you’re sitting here looking after me.”
Sasha lifted one shoulder. “You looked after me too, Torin.”
“I kidnapped you.”
She gave him a half smile. “Let’s forget that part. There’s been something going on with you for a few days now and I want to know what it is….and then you can tell me what that wolf thing was all about.”
The calmness in her expression surprised him. Any other human who saw him shift would, most likely, run screaming from him. But not Sasha. There was that cool, collected look on her face that told him he wasn’t going to get anywhere trying to dodge her questions. He hated that her smile had his resistance to her softening, aware that his desire for her had never really gone away, no matter how hard he’d tried to deny it.
“I went to Thomas’ house.”
Her eyes widened at once. “And?”
He sighed, his shoulders slumping. “I – I’m sorry, Sasha.”
She gave him a small smile, her eyes never leaving his. “What did you see?”
The words came to his lips but he held them back. He didn’t want to say them aloud, as though doing so would scream the truth for everyone to hear.
“Torin,” she said, softly. “What did you see?”
“The truth,” he replied, his lips moving almost unwillingly. “I saw the truth, Sasha.” Passing a hand over his eyes, he sat back with a groan, only to scowl and move forward as his damaged skin hit the chair. “I should never have kidnapped you. I was angry and upset. I convinced myself that I knew Thomas – he was my brother after all! I told myself that this was all a set-up, that you were after him just to make yourself look good. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, a scapegoat that you’d chosen to shoot.” Pain ricocheted through his body, his heart shattering into pieces. “My brother,” he continued, hoarsely. “My brother was a murderer.”
Much to his shame, tears pricked at his eyes, the grief and pain becoming too much. He’d been so fucking sure, refusing to believe that Thomas could have been the depraved monster that the media made him out to be.
Lifting his tormented eyes to Sasha, he saw her looking back at him with a strange expression on her face. It was as though she was able to forgive him for what he’d done because she recognized the pain he was going through.
“I can never, ever expect you to forgive me,” he said, humbly. “Sasha, I should never have taken you. I didn’t want to believe what you said about Thomas. I was looking for someone to blame.”
He gestured at her, hopelessly. “You were the one in the line of fire. When I took you, I didn’t really know what I was doing. I wanted you to pay for taking Thomas’s life, but then I couldn’t bring myself to do anything to you –” His gaze slid over towards the dog who was lying, contentedly, in front of the fire. “The more I wanted to hurt you, the more I knew I couldn’t,” he finished, looking away from her. “You do whatever you have to, Sasha. I deserve whatever you send my way.”
There was a long pause. Torin felt a heavy burden settle on his shoulders as he waited for Sasha’s judgement to fall. By kidnapping Sasha, he’d wrapped himself in inevitable consequences that would mean his pack and his business were in danger. With Thomas gone, he was in charge of his father’s whisky business in its entirety and now, given that he was most likely going to go to jail, the whole thing was in danger.
“Oh, Torin,” Sasha sighed, settling back in her chair and looking over at him. “I’m so sorry.”
Torin blinked furiously, lifting his head up to look at her. That was the last thing he’d expected to hear.
“I’m sorry for what you’ve gone through,” she continued, shaking her head. “I can’t even begin to imagine what you’ve been battling with on your own.”
“You – you understand?” he asked, flabbergasted. “Sasha, I had plans to hurt you – badly.”
“But you didn’t,” she said, calmly. “And you saved me from James. I’m not saying that what you did was okay, but that I can understand what was driving you to get revenge.” She gave him a sad smile, her eyes fixing on his. “I won’t be doing anything, Torin. I’ll be going back home to enjoy the rest of my holiday and then, when it’s time, I’ll go back to work.”
He stared at her. “That’s it?”
She shrugged. “That’s it.” Tilting her head, she looked at him with an intensity he ha
dn’t expected. “You know, Torin, you’re like two different people. The man who was screaming in my face, hauling me back into the house when I tried to escape, and this man who is being open and vulnerable, his heart breaking practically in front of me.”
Heat climbed into his face. “I have to be open with you,” he mumbled, running one hand through his hair. “You need to know why I did what I did.” A strange desire ran straight through him, the desire to ask her to stay with him a bit longer, so that he could prove he wasn’t the monster she’d seen. Pushing it away, he closed his mouth tightly, reaching for his coffee mug.
“So,” she said, softly. “Can you explain that wolf thing to me?”
Torin caught the way she shivered, realizing that she wasn’t as brave as she was putting on.
“Did it scare you?”
She gave a choked laugh, folding her arms over her chest in an almost protective gesture. “Scare me?” She looked at him again, her smile fading. “Yeah, you could say that. I was terrified, actually.”
“Well, you really don’t have worry about it,” he said, softly. “We’re shifters.”
Her eyes widened. “We?”
“My pack,” he explained, wondering whether she was really going to just accept what he was saying. “Everyone who works at the whisky factory is in my pack.”
He saw her lips twist, her brow furrow as she thought about what he’d said.
“So, everyone who works there can do what you do?” she asked, sounding confused. “Really? Everyone?”
“Everyone, yes,” he confirmed, with a half-smile. “There are more of us than you think, although this is a heavily guarded secret.” His rueful look made her smile. “I should never have shifted in front of you but I had no choice.”
There was a prolonged silence. Torin watched her body language, seeing her tense and then, as she watched him, slowly begin to relax.
“I suppose that makes sense,” she said, slowly, looking as though she didn’t really want to say the next part. “One thing we could never work out was why there were animal teeth marks on the victims.”