by Martha Woods
Lucas. What had his brother been doing here? He heard the front door open and immediately knew it was his housekeeper. But there was no scent of Sky. Farah stopped when she saw him.
“Oh, you’re back. I hope you two kissed and made up.” She frowned when she saw his face. “What is wrong, sir?”
“Sky isn’t with you.”
“No, I left her here. Her car is outside.” Her eyes widened, detecting that something was wrong. “She is not here?” Her accent was more pronounced and thick with concern.
Liam shook his head, a bad feeling settling in the pit of his stomach. “My brother was here.”
“Which one, sir?” She had been with him since he arrived back home and had picked up on his family dynamics. She knew enough to know that one of his brothers didn’t like him so much.
“Lucas.”
Farah erupted into lines of rapid French. “She is in trouble, I can feel it. She’s terrified.”
“What? How do you-”
She held up a finger and went still. Liam stepped back when her eyes took on a pure white appearance. He drew in a breath. His housekeeper was a witch?
“She ran north, toward the river. She’s hurt,” Farah whispered as if she was in agony.
Liam’s heart lurched. “Where exactly is she, Farah?”
She swayed, holding on to the dining table. “I don’t know for sure.”
“You’re a witch,” Liam murmured in disbelief. His gaze roved over her.
Farah rolled her eyes. “Oui monsieur. What were you expecting, an old hag with a pointy hat and broom stick? Damn stereotypes,” she muttered. Seeing the look on his face, she said, “Just like you have always thought me peculiar, I have always known that you are very strange.” She cocked a brow.
Liam’s mouth fell open. She knew what he was. “How-”
“I always know things, boy. Just like I knew you needed love in your life and put a spell on that job ad you had me post. Sky responded so she is the one for you. You had better go and find her now.”
Liam gazed at her stunned, but quickly recovered. He bolted through the door at superhuman speed. He didn’t bother to shift so as not to frighten Sky when he found her.
* * *
Cayden heard the wolf before he saw it. The massive animal was standing over someone, going crazy. Anger brought his blood to a boil. It seemed the abomination had an innocent human trapped. But why wasn’t it attacking? It was almost like the animal was going crazy. He inched closer and saw blonde hair spread out on the forest ground. Cayden muttered a curse. It was a woman.
He moved toward the beast with deadly purpose. His eyes widened when he saw who lay on the ground. His heart stilled.
“Skylar.” She was deathly still and pale. “No.”
The wolf’s head swung to him and it growled. Cayden heard a soft moan and felt relief rush through him. She was still alive. He couldn’t spare her a second glance as the wolf sprang toward him, fangs bared. Cayden fell to his back, using his legs to kick the wolf over his head. Agilely jumping to his feet, he spun and walked to the beast.
“It must be my lucky night,” Cayden whispered. “I finally get to kill my first shifter here in Boulder Junction.”
The wolf rolled over and malevolence shone in its eyes. Cayden grinned, anticipating the attack. He pulled his blade from the strap on his thigh and sprinted forward to meet the shifter halfway. Flipping over the animal’s head, he spun midair and sank his blade deep. He landed on his feet and lifted the blade to sink down again. The wolf howled and kicked its hind legs, sending Cayden flying into a tree.
“Son of a bitch,” he muttered when the wolf took off. He got up and glanced at Skylar. He couldn’t leave her. Then he heard a voice in the distance calling her name. It was Conway. For once, he was happy to know that the man was around. Conway would find Skylar and get her to safety so he could go after the monster.
He took off in the wolf’s direction, following the trail of blood.
* * *
Skylar moaned more out of annoyance than the pain shooting through her entire body. Something wet kept slapping against her cheek.
“Ew, what is that?” she groaned, forcing her eyes open. There was a tongue lapping at her face. “What the hell?” She glanced sideway and opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out.
“Get away! Get away!”
The wolf whined and nudged her jaw with its nozzle. It then lay down and rested its head on its paws. That’s when she realized that it wasn’t the same wolf that had chased her and tried to kill her. That one was full brown. This one was brown with spots of white. It was staring at her with golden eyes that suddenly changed to brown. She gasped. Its eyes seemed human. She got the impression that the animal was smiling at her.
“Hi,” she whispered. “You aren’t trying to eat me. Interesting.”
The wolf tilted its head and huffed.
“Any chance you could help me up?” she asked and laughed, feeling ridiculous for talking to the animal.
When it shook its head, her smile fell. The wolf grunted and she could swear she heard a chuckle. The entire night was beyond strange.
Skylar attempted to sit up and gasped. The wolf lifted its head and whined. “You’re right, I should stay down.”
“Skylar!” The voice was a welcome sound.
“Liam,” she croaked.
Her eyes swung to the animal when it stood up and howled and Liam came running through the bushes seconds later. “Sky.” His jumped to the wolf. “Michael.”
“Michael?” Skylar repeated. “What -”
He reached her side. “Sky, talk to me. Are you alright?”
“I’ve been better.” She let out a breath, happy to see him. “I can’t believe I’m alive.”
“Jesus, Sky, don’t scare me like this again.” His fingers ran over the gash on her forehead.
“Um, you don’t seem at all perturbed by the gigantic wolf that you called Michael.”
Liam glanced behind him. “Yeah… um, he’s harmless.” The wolf growled and Skylar grabbed Liam’s arm with her uninjured hand. Liam snorted. “He’s all bark and no bite.” He suddenly turned serious. “Where is he, Michael?”
The wolf turned its head and Liam’s jaw clenched. “I’m going to kill him.”
“Liam, why are you talking to the animal? What’s going on?” She stared at him, confused.
“I’m going to get you home, Sky. I’ll explain everything later, I promise.” Lifting her gently, he winced when she groaned. “I’m sorry.” He turned to the wolf and nodded, throwing Skylar into more confusion when the animal dipped its head and ran off.
Chapter 12
“She is fine, Mr. Conway. She isn’t going anywhere.”
Farah’s whisper pulled his attention from a sleeping Skylar. He rubbed a hand over his face and sighed. “Don’t be so sure.” When he told her the truth about him and his family, she was going to run for sure.
“If she loves you, she will stay.”
“She never said she did.”
Farah sighed and patted him on the shoulder. “Well, she’s all patched up. You should get her to bed.”
“I don’t want to wake her.” And he didn’t want to jar her and cause her any more pain either.
Farah grunted. “What I gave her will knock her out until morning, trust me. She won’t feel a thing. Get her to bed, sir. I’m going to rest and you should too.”
“I don’t need much sleep. I’ll be up half the night wondering how the hell Sky got away from my brother.” In his experience, humans didn’t fare well when being hunted by a shifter.
“Oh, that hideous thing on her necklace is laced with a protection spell,” Farah said nonchalantly. “It’s a damn good thing I gave it to her. I lied about it being a family heirloom so she would feel pressured into wearing it,” she added with a chuckle.
Liam swallowed. “Thank you.” All the witches he’s ever heard about weren’t nice, but Farah had helped to save Skylar’s life
and he would love the woman forever.
“Anytime, sir. So we’re okay, right? I mean with me being a witch… do I still get to keep my job?”
“Of course. There’s no way I’m giving up a cook like you.” He grinned and she smiled back before leaving.
Liam gathered Sky in his arms and carried her to his bedroom.
* * *
He marched toward the cabin, shoving several members of the pack out of his path when they tried to stop him. Word had spread that Lucas had attempted to kill Liam’s woman and everyone was on high alert, anticipating his retribution.
“Liam, stop right there, son.”
“Out of my way, Isaac,” Liam hissed, giving his father a snarl.
Isaac stood his ground, blocking Liam’s path. “I can’t allow you to challenge Lucas this night, Liam.”
“All of a sudden your precious pack laws can be broken? Lucas harmed my woman and that means I get to challenge and kill the bastard. Pack rules. Now get out of my way.”
“Son -”
“Don’t call me your son.” Liam shook with rage, his control over his human half quickly vanishing. His eyes flickered and claws replaced fingers.
“Liam, please calm down.” His mother’s weak voice seeped into his raging mind.
He glanced up at her leaning against the door, barely able to hold herself up. He softened just a bit. “Mom, get back inside.”
“I heard what your brother did.” A single tear slid down her cheek. “There is no excuse for his behavior but he’s your brother, Liam. I don’t see why the two of you can’t talk about things.”
Letting out a mirthless laugh, Liam shook his head. “You’re damn right, Mom. You don’t see, you never see.” She didn’t see the deplorable way her husband treated her or his children. She didn’t see that if she stayed she would die faster. Seeing the tears shimmering in her eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to say those things.
“Liam, you have every right to want to kick Lucas’s ass but you might want to wait until the asshole can actually stand on his own two feet before you do that.” Liam turned to his brother, Michael, with a frown. Humor sparkled in his eyes. “It won’t be much of a fight if you kill him now. He’s injured. You were right about the presence of a hunter in town. Stuck a silver blade in Lucas’s hide. I would say he deserved it for what he did you your woman.”
Liam’s interested quickly shifted from his anger. “Did you see him?”
“The hunter? No, I don’t even know if it’s a he or a she. Caught a glimpse of someone chasing Lucas. I didn’t want to leave the woman so I didn’t follow.”
Liam let out a breath. He had to put his need for vengeance aside. If the hunter followed Lucas back to the village, everyone was in danger. As much as he disliked what their wolf pack stood for, there were many innocents.
“We have to get rid of the hunter.”
Isaac took a step toward him. “I’m glad you’ve come to your senses, boy. You sound like you’re ready to take over after I’m gone.”
“This had nothing to do with me accepting the role you seem to think I have to take.” He didn’t want the title of alpha but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t fight to protect his people. “I still have family here,” he made a point of looking at his mother and Michael, “That I care about.”
Isaac’s jaw clenched and he snarled, “Don’t start with me, boy. I won’t allow you to embarrass me in the eyes of shifters everywhere. You will do as I say and take charge of this damn pack.”
Liam’s wrath mounted instantly his eyes turned deadly and he growled, “Or what?” His lips curled with contempt. “You forget that I’m stronger than you, old man.”
Father and son stared each other down, tension sizzling between them. “Please, stop.”
“Stay out of this, woman,” Isaac snarled in response to his wife’s soft plea. “It’s your fault my children are all disappointments. They’re weak like you.”
Liam watched his mother’s shoulders droop but she didn’t respond. He rushed toward his father. “I should kill where you stand you -” A strong grip clasped his upper arm, pulling him away.
“And we’re leaving,” Michael stated with a chuckle.
Liam pushed him off when they reached the covering of the trees. “What in the hell do you find funny about any of this?”
Michael shrugged. “The fact that falling in love has turned you into the biggest idiot.”
“I never said I was -” He paused. Wait, was he in love?
Sending him a knowing smirk, Michael walked off leaving him to follow. “That’s what I thought. God, I hope I don’t turn into a fool like you when I find my mate,” he murmured.
“Watch it, little brother.”
He held up both palms. “I’m just saying, you’re acting unlike your usual cool, logical self, man. You show up here, ready to kill your brother, throw an insult Mom’s way and you challenge our old man at the risk of the entire pack coming down on your ass. There’s no way I could have save you if that had happened.” He shook his head. “Are you fucking possessed or something?” He slapped Liam’s shoulder. “Of course, if you had been torn to piece back there, I would still be here to comfort your woman. She’s one fine looking - oomph.” Michael snickered as Liam slammed him against a tree. “You’re so easy.”
Muttering a curse, Liam released him and raked his fingers through his hair. “Sorry. I’ve just been on edge lately.”
Smoothing his shirt, Michael said, “No shit. So, what’s the plan?”
“Plan? For what?”
“Everything. Our hunter problem, our family, your decision about becoming alpha.”
Liam huffed. “First of all, we need to discover who the hunter is. Second, the whole family thing is my problem, not yours. Third, I almost gave in to taking leadership of the pack just to see Mom smile before she dies but then things changed.” When he gave in to his feelings for Skylar, he knew he couldn’t lead a group of wolf shifters and keep her in his life. It was her or the pack.
Michael sighed. “The family is my problem too, Liam. In fact, this family is the biggest pain in my ass. Mom is delusional and dying, Dad is the biggest asshole alive, Lucas is right behind Dad in the asshole department. And you, well, I missed you, Liam.”
He swallowed. “I told you to come with me.”
Michael gave him a sad smile. “Someone had to stay with Mom and keep some semblance of sanity among those animals.”
Guilt pricked Liam and he stopped walking. Michael turned to him in askance. “Do you think I was selfish for leaving?”
“No. You had a chance to live the life you wanted and you went for it. I admire you for doing that. There’s always a choice, brother. You made your choice to liberate yourself and I made mine. Sure, I could have gone with you but I never really craved the human way of life like you did. And I’m more like our mother. So a part of me staying had to do with my vision of keeping everyone together, maybe even changing the old man and Lucas.” He shrugged. “I failed miserably just like Mom did.”
Liam shook his head when he saw the grin on his brother’s face. “How do you always manage to find humor in everything, you freak?”
Michael shrugged. “It’s a gift.”
“She’ll like you. Skylar, I mean.”
He smiled. “Well, I look forward to meeting her. Officially. I should go back and make sure all hell didn’t break loose.”
“It’s not too late, Michael. You can still leave the pack. Maybe stay with me. You can work with me as well.”
“The billionaire business man suits you, not me. But thanks.”
Liam nodded and clamped a hand over his shoulder, giving him an affectionate squeeze. “We’ll talk soon.”
Chapter 13
Her eyes opened and blue orbs landed on him. He smiled, relieved. “You’re awake.”
“Liam?” Blinking rapidly to clear her vision, Skylar slowly sat up. She glanced around, realizing she was in his bed room.
Liam studied
her closely. “How do you feel?”
“Like I fell out of a tree,” she murmured, looking down at her bandaged wrist. “Damn, I just had to break something. I was never very graceful so a broken bone was bound to happen sooner or later.”
He got up from the chair where he had sat and kept vigil. “You remember what happened?”
“I remember everything. How could I not? Tonight had to have been the most bizarre night ever. There was this strange man but then he disappeared and all of a sudden some mutated, overgrown, freak of nature wolf was chasing me -”
“It was two nights ago, Sky.”
“What?”
“You’ve been sleeping on and off for two days. Whatever Farah gave you kept you sedated. We were afraid you would be in shock or in too much pain so she gave you something to help you sleep.”
She lifted a hand to her head. “I lost two days?”
Liam frowned seeing the panic in her eyes. “It’s alright, Sky. I don’t care if you missed work.”
“It’s not that. I had something to take care of. You know what, never mind. I can go into town tomorrow.”
“The hell you are. You need to rest and I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
He thought she would argue and was surprised when she didn’t. Instead, she let out a breath and reached for his hand. “You said you would explain something to me, you know. About the fact that you were somehow communicating with that big, friendly wolf.” She shook her head. “I’m so confused, Liam. What in the hell happened tonight - I mean, two nights ago?”
Damn. She just had to remember every detail. He stared into her eyes and an ache forming in his chest. He was going to lose her because he had to tell her the truth. This was why he avoided relationships and love. It no longer made any sense for him to deny that he had fallen hard for the vivacious woman sitting on his bed. He perched on the bed beside her and ran a finger down her cheek.