“Keeping busy?”
Kallie gave a start. She’d been so engrossed in her task she hadn’t heard Palmer enter the garden.
“It’s good to see you back in the den before we leave it behind,” he continued, rubbing a hand over the stubble that had formed over his chin. “Have you made a decision?”
“I’m staying.”
Palmer nodded. Kallie squinted at him, expecting more, especially when he took in a deep breath and released it slowly. “I will miss you.”
She waited, but he said nothing more—didn’t beg for her to reconsider.
Kallie swallowed past the lump in her throat. “I will miss all of you, but I’m going to make sure the pack has a thriving garden to return to.”
Palmer smiled sadly. “You are a good woman, Kallie—too good for Wolfrik. Remember that. I hope we will see you soon.”
Kallie wasn’t about to hug him goodbye, but she felt something other than disgust squeeze inside her chest when she looked at Palmer, and her smile was genuine. “May our ancestors watch over you, your family, and the rest of the pack; and may the eastern woods provide a safe haven until the day you all return.”
Palmer placed his hand over his heart. “Thank you, Kallie.”
He backed out of the garden slowly, but once he was out, he hurried into the bustle of den mates.
Emerson, Jordan, Camilla, and Raider arrived in the den before supper to say their farewells to Palmer, Francine, baby Franny, and Trish. Kallie turned her back to the den after Palmer’s daughters arrived, and went to work brushing dirt off the thick carrots she’d pulled from the earth. Several stalks of celery and sprigs of parsley were waiting in the woven basket. There were carrots, potatoes, and turnips to add to the bounty, which Maureen would expect soon if she was to have time to give them an extra rinse in the Sakhir. Kallie wanted to deliver the basket of vegetables and save Maureen an extra trip. Feeding half the pack was no easy task.
Turning to collect the basket, she caught sight of Palmer and Raider, heads bent together as they spoke in private. They stood huddled, away from the rest of the family, and they were staring in Kallie’s direction. Palmer said something more, and Raider frowned deeply.
Kallie grasped the handle of the basket and turned her back again, cheeks flaming.
Were they talking about her? She didn’t want Palmer discussing her with Raider. He was probably asking him to keep an eye out for her. He had no right. She wasn’t his to protect, nor Raider’s, no matter how good the intention. And she didn’t want Raider anywhere near her. He was like stinging nettle against her skin. At least she knew her presence made him just as uncomfortable. He’d avoided her before; hopefully he’d do them both a favor and continue to keep his distance.
Placing the last of the harvested vegetables inside the basket, Kallie pushed herself off the ground and onto her feet, leaning carefully to grab hold of the bounty she’d collected. With careful steps, she picked her way between the leafy stalks, some towering nearly to her head.
She didn’t dare look over her shoulder as she hobbled toward the dirt trail and made her way to the glade. As she expected, Raider didn’t try to follow her. Soon her shoulders relaxed, and she was rewarded with an outpouring of gratitude when she entered the glade with the full basket. Better yet, Jager sat on a stump and heard Maureen thanking Kallie.
The elder coughed gently. “Maureen tells me you plan to stay and tend the garden.”
Kallie handed the basket to Maureen then limped closer to Jager. “That’s right,” she said. “The garden needs protecting, even if it’s only against the weeds.”
Jager’s chest shook when he laughed. “Very true,” he said. “I will assign you a partner.”
Kallie’s jaw dropped.
A partner?
Jager squinted at her. “We can’t have you all alone in the den, unprotected, and we still need to protect our home from vulhena and mad wolves.”
She swallowed. Jager was right. Once the den cleared out, other foes could sneak in and reach the glade before anyone had a chance to raise the alarm.
“I will assign someone with you tonight at supper.”
“Thank you,” Kallie said.
It took Wolfrik half the day to reach the Manama River on foot. Damn waste of time being forced to use only two legs while he carried a bag, slung over his shoulder. It was stuffed with a cook pot, spoon, jar of dry grains, half a dozen strips of deer jerky, and a blanket.
The night before, Sparrow had complained about being cold and hungry. Aden had guarded her while Wolfrik hunted down a rabbit and dragged it back to be skinned and roasted over an open flame. Turning over his fresh kill to someone else had left him in a foul mood that followed him into the morning.
Aden’s and Sparrow’s expressions mirrored his own. He found them seated six feet apart, outside a cave, arms folded, glaring at one another. Wolfrik nodded in greeting at Aden, then dropped the bag beside Sparrow and yanked the zipper open and began unpacking the bag roughly.
“Here’s your blanket,” he said, tossing it at Sparrow. “And you’ve got a pan, spoon, and dried food—not that it will last you long.”
Sparrow twisted around to glare at him. “If it’s such a nuisance to transport supplies, why not bring me to your pack and keep an eye on me there?”
“You’re not getting anywhere near my packmates,” Wolfrik said coldly.
“My brother might never come.”
“Oh, he’ll come. You and I both know he’ll come for you.” Wolfrik snarled in Sparrow’s face.
Her arms dropped to her sides as she leaned back.
Wolfrik stepped away with a chuckle.
“I don’t know why you’re being such a dick,” Sparrow said. “I want my brother dead as much as you—probably more.”
“Doubtful,” Wolfrik said.
Sparrow bent down for the blanket and clutched it to her abdomen. “Is this the only fabric you brought me?” she demanded. “My clothes are in tatters.”
Wolfrik fought back a growl of frustration. Too bad they couldn’t tie her up and gag her inside the cave. Good thing the werewolf shifter had patience. Wolfrik certainly didn’t.
“I’ll see if we have anything. In the meantime, use the blanket.” He moved over to Aden and lifted his chin. “You good here?”
With his jaw clenched tight, Aden gave a stiff nod. The werewolf shifter looked seriously put out.
“I’ll take guard duty tomorrow night so you can sleep,” Wolfrik said.
Sparrow got to her feet, her mouth gaping open. “You’re leaving me alone with him again?”
Wolfrik rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry about Aden. He has no interest in you.” Wolfrik rubbed his jaw and looked Sparrow over slowly. “But I should warn him about your beastly appetites.”
Sparrow’s eyes strained in their sockets, and the color drained from her face right before filling back up like a tide rushing in beneath a flaming sun. “You’re a motherfucking bastard!” Sparrow spat. She fisted the blanket as though imagining the folds were Wolfrik’s skin beneath her nails.
Wolfrik grinned. Her hatred filled his blackened soul the way oxygen fueled flames.
“I befriended you,” she said in an accusing tone. “You confided in me.”
“Yes, when I was your brother’s prisoner,” Wolfrik said, nodding. His head went still, and his teeth gleamed. “And now you’re mine.”
Kallie twisted the top half of her hair into a knot at the crown of her head and surveyed the den. It turned out she didn’t have a partner so much as guards, a team assigned to watch over the deserted clearing and garden—and Kallie—while she was tending to the vegetables.
The den mates had headed out at first light with their families, leaving the den boarded up like an abandoned human town.
“This feels so weird,” Zadie, an olive-skinned, dark-h
aired shifter, said to her patrol partner, Heath.
The pair of them had appeared after breakfast and circled the clearing surrounding the shacks, tree houses, small cabins, and crude shelters left behind. Rocks formed circles around small pits where fires had burned the night before, but now only ashes remained.
Heath grasped his chin and nodded. “Gives me the willies,” he agreed.
They seemed to have temporarily forgotten Kallie standing several feet away. It was funny how she could live her whole life with her packmates and not really know them beyond the obvious observations. Heath played drums during ceremonies, and Zadie had a calm, fearless presence that reminded her of a warrior queen. She was also extremely close with her younger sister, Nudara.
Finishing their scan of the den, Heath faced his partner. “What now?”
Zadie shrugged. “I suppose we should shift and look around the surrounding woods.” She glanced at Kallie. “Will you be okay for a bit?”
“Yes,” Kallie said. “I’ll stick to the garden and holler if there’s any trouble.”
“We won’t go far,” Zadie said.
Once alone in the den, Kallie pushed aside the kettle-sized rock in front of the shed’s door and went inside to find a dress better suited to garden work. After rummaging through several small folded stacks, she selected a short floral sleeveless dress with a high neckline. The busy pattern wouldn’t show the dirt, and the top would hold her breasts in as she bent over.
After changing, Kallie stashed the yellow dress in her shelter. It was always good to have at least a second dress to wear while the other was drying after a wash in the river.
As Kallie crawled out of her shelter, Heath and Zadie returned to the clearing. They shifted and got to their feet. Heath nodded at one of the hammocks left dangling between two trees.
“All’s quiet. Guess we can relax until supper.”
Zadie wrinkled her nose. “If I lay in one of those, I’ll fall asleep.”
Heath sighed. “I should bring my drum after supper so we’ll at least have entertainment.”
“You’re spending the night in the den?” Kallie asked.
Zadie nodded. “A small group of us. Aren’t you?”
Kallie glanced at her shelter. With a small group sleeping in the den, she wouldn’t have to worry about being left vulnerable in the middle of the night. And it would crush her heart to spend another night in the cabin waiting for Wolfrik when he was halfway across the hollow with his human. She shrugged and said, “Might as well.”
Drumbeats filled the den that night after supper, and flames sparked in the night’s sky after the bonfire in the middle of the clearing had been resurrected. Heath and Alec beat out a hypnotic tempo over their drums. Maureen was still cleaning up in the glade, but her friends Lacy and Jolene sat around the fire, alongside Zadie, Nudara, and Kallie.
It wasn’t her usual crowd. She felt almost as if she’d traveled away from Wolf Hollow and sat someplace else, alongside another wolf pack. Kallie’s chest pulsed with the music. It filled her body with energy and lulled her mind into a trancelike state. She stretched her legs in front of the fire. Its heat caressed her bare flesh like an invisible lover.
Zadie began to sing, and her sister joined her.
“Into the woods. Into the night. They said the end had come. But for those with an animal inside they said the moon would bring salvation. Our guiding light. Our chance to give life. Into the woods. Into the night. Our guiding light.”
Kallie tilted her head back and closed her eyes. The smell of smoke and pine entered her nostrils as she inhaled deeply.
Someone settled over the ground beside her and bumped against her thigh.
“Nice little party you have going here,” Wolfrik said.
Kallie’s eyes fluttered open. She stared into the fire transfixed, feeling as though she’d imagined him by her side.
“You didn’t flee with the den mates,” he said. It wasn’t a question.
Kallie moistened her lips, gaze still following the dancing flames. “I’m needed here,” she said. “Shouldn’t you be guarding the human?”
Wolfrik gave a low snarl beside her. She felt too relaxed to startle at his response.
“Aden’s got it covered. Once her brother is dead we can send her away—or kill her.”
Kallie turned to him sharply, the music fading in her ears. “You’d kill the woman who set you free?”
Wolfrik stared into the fire as though he, too, had become transfixed. “Her brother forced me to kill her lover because he was a wolf shifter. She let me out of my cage to settle a score.”
Kallie studied the smooth angles of his face and sharp jawline. While the rest of his body bore the brunt of his vicious scars, his face remained flawless, gorgeous and cruel, if you didn’t know him. His pupils seemed to catch the flames and hold the fire in their dark gaze. What she saw in that look drew her in and caused her breath to drift from her nose to her parted lips as she stared at him, mesmerized.
“Why did she come here?” Kallie wanted to know.
“She didn’t think her actions through—either time.”
“And the two of you never—”
He grimaced. “I’d never fuck a human.”
“But you’d fuck an invalid.”
Wolfrik grunted. “Is that how you see yourself? Oh, Kallie, how wrong you are. You have more fire in you than you give yourself credit for.”
She felt her body glow at his compliment. “So, what now?” she asked.
“Can we go back to the cabin?”
“My shelter’s closer.” Kallie nodded toward the cocoon of branches and leaves that made up her sleeping quarters.
The other shifters didn’t so much as glance their way as they left the fireside. The thud of drumbeats and hypnotic harmony continued, wafting over them like a gentle breeze.
Kallie crawled into her shelter first. Unlike the cabin, the space was tight, especially once Wolfrik joined her.
As she made room for the hulking pureblood, he fixed her with a hooded gaze.
“Take off your dress.”
As Kallie pulled the garment over her head, Wolfrik removed his pants and shirt. They stood on their knees, hunched over to avoid hitting their heads on the roof.
“Lie down,” she told him. When his nose wrinkled and jaw clenched, she chuckled softly. “My shelter, my rules.”
Wolfrik froze, his eyes narrowed.
“I said lie down.” Kallie nodded at the blanket on the ground.
Taking his sweet time, Wolfrik lowered his body ever so slowly to the blanket—folding his arms over his chest and keeping his legs bent and feet planted on the ground.
With a gentle pull, Kallie tugged one leg, followed by the other, positioning Wolfrik flat on his back, legs stretched and toes pointed at the low roof near the shelter’s entrance.
“I waited for you at the cabin last night,” she said in a soft, scolding voice.
“I’m sorry,” Wolfrik answered gruffly.
“I’m sure you’ll make it up to me.” Kallie grinned as she crawled over his body and seated herself above his hips, brushing against his hardness.
Wolfrik took in a shuddering breath and relaxed his arms at his sides. She backed up and positioned herself over his hips then took him in hand and guided him inside her.
Their bodies stilled as she seated herself on top of him. She brushed her hair back and lifted her breasts, feeling powerful, like a moon goddess who had spirited into camp and chosen a virile, pureblooded male for her pleasure.
She rocked over him, lashes fluttering closed. It wasn’t enough. She wanted more. She pitched forward, the tips of her nipples grazing Wolfrik’s chest, and gripped his shoulders. The wild tangle of her hair fell over her shoulders as she thrust her hips against him again and again, panting and snarling her pleasure. Wolfr
ik’s eyes widened as he stared up at her in wonder.
Kallie moaned as she slid up and down his length. She felt ravenous. Possessed. Greedy. She’d never let herself go so completely.
Wolfrik gripped her by the hips and shoved his pelvis off the ground, crashing against her—into her.
Kallie threw her head back and cried out in delight.
Wolfrik’s thrusts became frenzied and fast like hers. His breath picked up pace, huffing out of his mouth as though he were racing up a mountain. They crested the summit together in one final rise that sent them careening over the edge.
Wolfrik’s nails dug into Kallie’s tender flesh as he exploded inside her with one final, violent thrust. Kallie shrieked as her own orgasm erupted inside her, then she collapsed on top of Wolfrik.
After catching his breath, he chuckled gently below her. “Are you sure you’re not really a wildcat?”
Kallie sat up and swept her damp hair out of her face. “No way. I’m a wolf through and through. Want me to bite you to prove it?”
“You already did,” Wolfrik said with a hooded gaze. “Remember?” He stroked his arm where she’d bitten him that night near the bluff.
Kallie smiled and eased herself off the sexy beast below her. She shivered as she pulled herself free of him.
“Come here,” Wolfrik said, pulling her down to the blanket beside him.
She lay on her side and he scooted close, gathering her into his big arms and spooning her from behind. Her eyelids grew heavy, and sleep soon claimed her.
When Kallie next awoke, she was alone.
She blinked back sleep then put on her gardening dress. Outside her shelter, she found a dead rabbit and assumed Wolfrik had left it for her. It was a thoughtful gesture, but she would have preferred a kiss on the lips.
She lifted her hands over her head and stretched before picking the rabbit up by the ears. The dead animal dangled from her hand as she approached the dormant bonfire in the center of the den. Heath and Alec had shifted into human form while the five she-wolves were still curled up in their fur. The females looked up and stared at the rabbit in Kallie’s hand. She held it up.
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