Connors Pursuit (Amber Woods Shifters)

by Rose, Arabella

  “What we do know is that Duncan was into some crazy dark magic, which is why he was expelled out of the order”

  “Dark magic? How dark?”

  Connor stepped toward her but she took a small tentative step back. He was unable to contain the small growl that escaped his lips. She was still emotionally charged and he did not want to add his dominance to that. Calling on his wolf he took control back and answered her question.

  “We will not know fully until we meet with them. Baby, there is something else. I was unsure if I should tell you this, but I think you have a right to know”.

  Her head which had been staring at the ground snapped up.

  “Tell me”

  “The leader of the order, Samuel, explained to Luke that the longer your wolf is bound the stronger your powers will be. When your wolf is released, your telekinesis will magnify, and we don’t know if that will harm you in the process”

  Lizzy blinked rapidly. Did she just hear what she thought she heard? Her telekinesis was strong, she had proven that a few months ago when she helped the pack infiltrate the compound where female shifters where being held. She managed to disable the weapons swiftly, and to her that had drained her for a few hours after. How the heck could this get any more powerful?

  “Shit, this just keeps getting weirder by the second. Do you know how much energy it takes at the moment to use my power?”

  Connor watched as she paced back and forward, her hand rubbing her face as if to clear her thoughts. Suddenly she stopped, turning towards him, her expression wary. His hands reached out for her but just as they touched she jumped back as if he had burned her. What the hell?

  “Lizzy, don’t do that, it pisses my wolf off more than you can know”

  She began to pace again, her boots making patterns in the gravel.

  “In the kitchen, I felt a burn throughout my body, initially I thought it was some sort of bloody miracle and my body was trying to shift. But it felt different, no matter how hard I tried to get control, it pushed me until I felt only anger. Oh god Connor, what if it was all that contained power, all that energy and nowhere to go?”

  Connor internally grimaced, she had reached the same conclusion as him. All the facts fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. But the one hope they had was the order, if they could reverse Duncan’s magic, they could surely help her to control her powers? Cursing he went to reach her but his phone rang. He let it ring but the caller was not giving up. Lizzy watched as he glanced at the ID, then to the alpha house.

  “Lizzy, Marcus is wanting some answers, I will be back very quickly. Your bags are already in my house, get some rest and we will eat later and talk about this further baby”

  Shaking her head she walked toward the guest house. She needed time alone, her head was a mess and if she was going to meet with the order she needed her head in a better place. As far as she was concerned she was an unknown entity right now, the whole pack must be talking about her.

  “No Connor, I need space right now, I need some time to think, and having you around distracts me”

  His legs crossed the distance so fast Lizzy did not even see it happen. Shifter speed was cool sometimes but right now, she would settle with slow. Inhaling she scented his anxiety and his anger. His hands tilted her head up to him, the green storm swirling to amber, lust and anger reflected back at her.

  “Baby, the more you push me away the more I will chase. Right now my wolf wants to claim yours, make you ours and that time is coming soon. I ache to sink into your depths until we are gasping for breath. Don’t do this tonight, your vulnerable and scared and I totally understand, let me be with you”

  Lizzy knew what her heart was saying, maybe what they both needed was to loose themselves in each other, taking them to the brink, letting all that pent up sexual frustration pour into them. But her head was indeed fucked up and she knew from the past that the only way to clear it was to be alone. Reluctantly, she pulled back. A building growl came from his chest, expanding to his throat before slowly being released.

  “I’m sorry Connor, please, just give me this”

  Connor was clawing with rage and protectiveness right now. His mate was hurting and all he wanted was to take that away from her. And then he opened his dumb mouth, the words came out wrong, the frustration flowing out of him.

  “Maybe I should have left you at the Oakfield pack, to be with those you know. Because, right now, I am not sure if you even know who you are right now”

  The moment the words left his mouth he regretted it, pools of water gathered in her eyes, the bitter scent of pain flooded his nostrils.

  “Baby…….”

  Reaching out she placed her hands up to stop him, his eyes noticing the trembling that vibrated from her fingers.

  “No, I think you have said enough Beta, I think we should both just call it a night”

  With that he watched her walk briskly into the guest house, slamming the door behind her. And didn’t that make him feel like shit, he totally screwed up. His phone rang again, fuckin piece of crap, his fingers gripped the metal in preparation to throw it as far away as possible. He needed to get a grip, every time he was around Lizzy he seemed to lose all sense. Growling that his alpha was obviously wondering where the hell he was, he jogged up to the alpha house. Round fuckin two, here I come.

  Lizzy was furious and hurt all at the same time. The one person she had come to rely on had thrown the truth back at her. Truly, she did not know who she was anymore, maybe he was right and she should have stayed with Oakfield, mated Oliver and said goodbye to her life because right now it was getting out of control. After slamming the front door she scented Luke in the living room. Trying to hold back tears she slumped into the sofa, letting the cushions absorb her. Luke had been drinking a bottle of beer, feet on the table tapping on his laptop. His eyes flicked to her, taking in her appearance. She probably looked like shit, but she did not care.

  “Well I know why I am angry, but I am not sure about you”

  Lizzy smiled softly.

  “I need ice cream”

  Luke grinned knowingly.

  “Uh oh, if there is ice cream involved then it must be bad. Wait there and I will get some, then you can tell me all about it”

  Kicking off her shoes, she relaxed into the comforting fabric, letting her head tilt back, closing her eyes briefly. Moments later, Luke came back with two spoons and one gigantic tub of ice cream.

  “Who said you were getting some?”

  He laughed out loud, passing her a spoon which she quickly took. For the next two hours they talked about each others’s problems until they reached the same conclusion. They were screwed but would not give up. Lizzy had realised she was beginning to fall in love with Connor, even if he did spell out the truth for her. Luke was head over heels in love with Anna and needed to claim her, as he was going crazy when other males were near her.

  “So what you are saying is that having a mate is complicated”

  “Pretty much” he sighed.

  “Do you remember when life was easier?” she quietly asked.

  “Yeah, when we worked at Lunar securities and the only thing to think about was the next job and where you next lay came from”

  Lizzy picked up one of the cushions and bounced it off the top of his head.

  “Luke, you are so crass” she snapped

  “You never used to complain”

  Lizzy could feel her cheeks heat up, her mouth fell open. His hands came up in a placating fashion.

  “Easy she wolf, there is only one female for me now, as there is only one male for you, what happened in the past was right at the time, but now we both have a new path to follow, or chase whichever mood you are in”

  Feeling slight better, and annoyed at herself for getting embarrassed she picked up the remote control. Her mood picked up slightly when she noticed the hammer horror marathon.

  “Well I don’t know about you, but if there is one thing that makes a girl happy, i
ts cheesy vampires and monsters, with lots of fake blood and gore”

  “That makes girls happy?” he asked incredulously

  “It makes me happy, now either be quiet or risk having the remote bounced off your head this time”

  Luke opted for quiet and made himself comfortable. Lizzy was still churned up inside, but right now what she needed was pure escapism to forget about the sexy annoying beta and push dark thoughts about hidden powers to the back of her mind.

  Connor felt as if he spent his life in this damn office, right now he should be sinking his rock hard cock into Lizzy’s warm body, taking and claiming all night. But no, here he was again in his alphas office, staring at Marcus who for the umpteenth time had dragged his hands through his hair. If he was not feeling so pissed off right now he would find it funny that the ends stuck out at all angles.

  “Brianna explained what happened from her perspective but I want to know what you think” Marcus rumbled.

  “Marcus, Lizzy is not sure what happened, she describes it as a burning within her, out of control, quickly followed by anger. She believes that it has something to do with her repressed power and I agree with her. The sooner we meet with the order the better, at least they will be able to guide her in the right direction. For the first time in my life I feel helpless because of something out of my control”

  Standing up he walked to the window looking out on a gentle flutter of snowflakes dusting the ground. Marcus chair scraped against the wooden floor, his boots echoing as he came to stand next to Connor. For a moment they both watched the snow fall in silence.

  “I have managed to secure a private setting for the meeting on Friday night, and spoken with Samuel the leader of their order. I have also explained the situation which happened tonight. He assures me that they can help Lizzy but there may be risks”

  Connor turned in his heel to stand and face his alpha.

  “What kind of risks?”

  Marcus frowned, then folded his arms across his chest.

  “They are confident they can reverse the process and bring her wolf back but dealing with a sudden release of suppressed power could harm Lizzy. They will not know until they meet with her”

  “Fuck! I cannot stand back and let anything happen to her, she is my mate. But if she does not go through with this the consequences could be worse. What a fucked up mess”

  Marcus placed a reassuring hand on Connors shoulder.

  “I understand your anger and your pain, but right now we need to keep Lizzy calm and safe. Samuel believes that any emotional strain could increase her power adding to the episodes like she had in the kitchen”

  Connor cursed under his breath and paced the confines of the office.

  “Shit”

  “What?” Marcus asked.

  “Lizzy and I had an argument, she was really pissed at me, so much so she is staying in the guest house tonight”

  Connor felt the air change as his alpha sat behind his desk again, watchful eyes piercing into him.

  “Then you better fix this Beta, because if this gets worse I will have no option but to banish her from the pack”

  “Understood my Alpha”

  Connor nodded once then left to try and undo the mess he had created, but not tonight, Lizzy needed her space and he did not want to add to her emotional state at the moment. Come morning, they would start fresh and this time he would try and not fuck up the one chance he had.

  9

  Stepping out in the early morning air, her breath came out in clouds of white as she stared at the snow that covered the ground. The marathon horror fest lasted only two films before she dragged her weary limbs to bed. Luke, to her surprise was enjoying himself too much so decided to watch another two. She had not slept at all, the whole night tossing and turning, followed by lots of cursing and crying. All she wanted was for Connor to have held her all night, and maybe other things, her body was craving his so much so that she had even contemplated marching over to the Beta house demanding that he take her then and there. Shaking her head to try and clear her thoughts she stretched her limbs. The pack was quiet, all still asleep, not surprising as it was a ridiculous hour in the morning. Perfect for what she had in mind. She may not be able to shift but that did not mean she could not run on two legs. Her eyes glanced at the Beta house and for one minute she actually thought about knocking on the door. But no, this was a new day and she was damned if the arrogant beta was going to bring her down. Today was about Lizzy, in two days she would meet with the order then do what she does best, hightail it out of there, back on the road to freedom.

  Deciding to take the west path deeper into the forest she pressed play on her Ipod and took off leaving her cares behind. One hour later she looked around in confusion.

  “Oh Lizzy you idiot” she spoke out loud

  So caught up in her music, she scanned the area around her, the fresh snow had covered the tracks and she had obviously taken a wrong turn. No problem, she could still scent. Inhaling deep the smell of the frozen forest assaulted her nose, pine, soil, berries, but she was having a hard time concentrating. Tuning into her wolf who was pacing again she listened for the sounds around her. Growling in frustration her hearing was off as well. Well that confirms it, she thought. These hidden powers are definitely doing something to me. Deciding better to follow her tracks back she turned but stopped. The hairs on the back of her neck rose, an uneasy feeling settled in her stomach, unseen eyes were watching her, she was sure. Inhaling again, an unfamiliar scent drifted over her. So screwed up Lizzy. Remember, new day, the old Lizzy is back.

  “Ok, I know you are there and I’m pretty sure you can see me, so why not grow a pair and face me” she shouted.

  For a few seconds, nothing. Just as she was quite literally going to put it down to her imagination a man stepped into the clearing. Clothed and silent he quietly approached her, his shoes crunching in the snow. Instinctively she took one step back, preparing to fight if necessary. Sniffing, the smell of oil and grease, and the peppery aroma of male shifter made her wolf growl, hackles risen.

  “And just who the hell are you?”

  “Let’s just say Maxwell, and you, I know are Lizzy”

  Lizzy scanned over his form, looking for any signs of weapons but came up blank.

  “Well just say Maxwell, you obviously know my name, what I want to know is what you plan to do with it?”

  He laughed sharply, making no moves to grab her, keeping his distance.

  “I am here to relay a message. Lawson Oakfield wishes to apologise for his sons behaviour and would like to meet with you as he has information about your wolf and your parents you may find interesting”

  Her attention was quickly caught by those words, but she was not dumb, it was obvious a way to get her back in her old pack so that sadistic bastard Oliver could finally live his dream, taking her as his own.

  “Not interested wolf, tell him I said no”

  Again the shifter laughed.

  “He said you would say that, so he told me to give you this”

  As his hands reached inside his pockets, Lizzy crouched ready to attack. Seconds later he held out a small velvet bag, offering it to her openly.

  Snatching it out of his hands, she carefully tipped the bag to empty its contents onto her palm. Two wolf rings rolled onto the palm of her skin. She knew them so well, had asked if she could have one of her own when she was a child. Each time her mother would say ‘not until you meet you mate’. Tears began to form in her eyes, but she blinked them back.

  “What the fuck is this? Some sort of sick joke?”

  “No joke Lizzy. Think of it as a memento”

  “Stop with the riddles shithead”

  Maxwell began to circle her, but she never lost eye contact with him. Never showed fear. He scratched at the stubble on his chin, grinning.

  “Lawson has your brother Brandon held under guard. It took some searching but they found him. That guy was mighty pissed off when we caged him, big f
ucker, but he serves a purpose. So the answer to your riddle is simple. Mate with Oliver and Brandon will be released, if not he will be killed”

  Lizzy felt her world spin. She never dreamed she would ever see him again, her baby brother, alive and contained by a fuckin monster. Steeling herself she snarled at him.

  “Why?”

  “Oh you stupid bitch, can you not figure it out? For disobeying your alpha, your parents were loyal for a time but they served their purpose. Loyalty in Oakfield means giving your life to another, they understood that. You and your brother however seemed to forget that. Lawson is willing to let him go if you return to Oakfield within one week and mate with his son”

  Growling she felt the same surge of anger burn though her, unable to control it she launched at him, but he was quicker. He made quick work of pinning her to the ground, large hands circled her throat.

  “Yeah he said you would do that too. But I am not an assassin bitch, just the messenger”

  Slowly he released her neck, before pushing himself to stand.

  “You have one week Lizzy”

  “How do I know you are not lying?” her voice hoarse and quiet.

  Reaching into his pocket he threw her a small bundle wrapped in linen. As she unwrapped it a lock of hair fell out. Blond locks felt like silk under her fingers. Bringing it to her nose she took a deep breath in. Memories of her childhood flooded her, her brother’s scent was strong, fresh.

  Rubbing her throat, bringing in precious air she watched Maxwell shift and disappear into the forest. Snow melted and soaked into her clothing, causing her to shiver. Why does this shit always happen to me? As she pushed her hands into the frozen ground her hands pressed into metal. Sitting up she lay the two rings beside each other. If she had her wolf back she could take on Lawson, the bastard had it coming. That was putting all her faith in Fridays meeting with the order.

  “FUCK” she screamed at the air.

  Scrambling to her feet, she began to retrace her steps back on the path she had not long run over. Pulling up her hooded sweater, she wanted her music to reflect her mood. Opting for something loud and aggressive she clicked on her rock playlist and raced back to the house.