Heart of a Wolf

by K. D. Friedrich

Anger flared in her eyes as if some haunting enemy struck her. "You have no right to make that claim."

  "I have every right." Irises the color of warm-melted chocolate stared at him. "We need to talk about our past if we plan to have a future, and, Win, a future with you is all I can think about."

  She pushed herself away from his plea. "No, Tristan. Too much time—"

  He grabbed her arm, pulling her against him. "Centuries could pass and I'd still know you were mine. You know it. I know it. Shit, even the cat out there knows it," he said through gritted teeth.

  This wasn't how he pictured his claim at all, but her denial pushed him over an already narrow edge. He cast a glance at the woman and child huddled on the nearby cushion. Their wide eyes were filled with fear.

  Tristan took a deep breath trying to calm his wolf. Mating heat made him volatile like a wildfire and burn just as hot. He lowered his voice.

  Winter lifted a brow. Her gaze locked on where his hand shackled her. "Let. Me. Go. Now."

  A sudden jolt of magic zapped him. He let her go and jumped back.

  "I can't believe you just did that," Tristan snapped.

  Winter offered a smirk. "I don't like be manhandled."

  "You have no problem being manhandled by Aric." He growled out the last word.

  Several taps on the opening to the cabin drew their attention from each other. Jax glanced back and forth between them. A sheepish stare graced the cat’s face.

  "Did I just interrupt something?" He waggled his brow. Cassie giggled.

  "What do you want?" Tristan growled at the lion. Adrenaline once again flooded his veins with blood. Blood now poured from the wound Winter had opened wider. He held his ripped shirt to the wound.

  "We're coming up to a beach on the left. I see a house."

  Tristan nodded. Yet, his attention remained on Winter. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jax frown before focusing on Winter. "You okay, sweetheart?"

  "She's fine," Tristan answered.

  Jax scowled. "I didn't ask you. I asked her."

  "I'm okay. Thank you, Jax."

  He inclined his head, accepting her confirmation.

  Tristan tied the ripped sleeve around his wound as tightly as he could. With a growl, he swiped his jacket from the bench and tugged it on. He reveled in the sharp agony of each tug.

  "You're welcome." Jax smiled. He jerked his thumb at Tristan. "Wolves are a grumpy bunch."

  "Get the hell out of here," Tristan shouted. Jax's laughter disappeared out the door.

  "You need to get this stitched," Winter said as he started to stand.

  "I'll live." With the wound yes, without her…not a chance.

  Tristan tossed her one last glare before storming out of the cabin.

  Chapter 12

  The bone-gripping chill struck him like a swift slap to the cheek. The sleet and freezing rain had slowed to a drizzle, but the icy wind continued to whip around the bay.

  With his enhanced vision, Tristan made out the outline of the house Jax mentioned. Darkness shrouded the home. Many of the houses along the water tended to be seasonal. Tristan hoped this was the case with the large structure before them.

  Ten years of exposure and tensions remained high when it came to human-supernatural relations. Some humans didn't like supernaturals hanging out in their neighborhoods, no less breaking and entering into one of their homes. So, there was no need to direct any unwanted attention their way.

  Unfortunately, they had to take the risk. He needed to get the women and pup off this death on water and into a warm dry place. The alpha within him demanded he see to their care. The mate in him compelled him to get his female safe and sound. At this point, nothing mattered, but their security.

  "Bring the boat around there," ordered Tristan. "We can hide it somewhat on the other side of the jetty."

  Jax nodded, then maneuvered the vessel around the opposite side as instructed.

  Tristan had to admit the cat knew his way around a boat.

  As he surveyed the Victorian that sat on a slight hill, surrounded by dunes and grass, he sensed Winter's presence moments before she spoke. "Is it empty?"

  "It appears so." Salt water and fallen snow were all he smelled in the air.

  They edged up to the dock. Lifting his nose, Tristan scented the air again for a final check of humanity.

  No humans. Not for some time.

  Tristan turned to Jax. "All I smell is trees and sea. Either the house is closed for the winter or vacant."

  Jax tightened the robe to the dock. He straightened. "I don't smell anything either. I'll shift and give the place one last check before we venture in."

  Jax shimmed out of his clothes, shifted, and trotted up the creaking wooden planks. Tristan eyed the cat until the darkness swallowed his muscular silhouette. A few moments later, Jax returned. He had shifted back.

  "All clear, captain," he declared with a salute.

  Cassie popped her head out of the cabin. "Is it safe?" Her fear was a bitter tang in the air.

  Winter nodded. "Come on, let's get you both inside." With Olivia tucked tight in her arms, Cassie followed Winter and the others onto the dock.

  "Can you cloak it?" Jax asked Tristan motioning toward the bobbing vessel. "They see this, and we're caught for sure."

  Tristan hated to admit it, but he doubted he had enough power to cloak the craft. The blood loss and battle left him depleted. He needed to shift and fast in order to heal. The healing cycle worked quicker once a shifter changed into their animal. If he used his magic it might take him longer to heal. He couldn't afford to be down any longer than necessary. They were counting on him.

  "I got it." Winter lifted her hands.

  "You're ready to fall down. Let me—" Her palms glowing in the darkness interrupted Tristan. Energy spiked in the air. "Winter, damn it…I said—"

  "I have enough strength for this," she snapped. Her gaze never left the boat.

  With a swift wave of her shimmering hand, the boat dissipated until nothing remained but a blurred mist.

  Winter swayed. She slipped on the icy wood and fell forward. Tristan caught her before her knees hit the dock.

  Usually, an easy task for a witch, cloaking called for a simple manipulation of space and energy. Most witches learned the spell before their teen years. However, when a witch hasn't been able to access the elements for as long as Winter, it can be as draining as raising the dead.

  "Woman, you're so damn stubborn."

  She smiled up at him. Her eyes heavy, her face pale. "Maybe, I just wanted you to carry me." Damn, if his heart didn't melt in his chest.

  "I'd carry you across hell and back."

  With a yawn, she burrowed her cheek closer to his heart. When her small hand slid around his neck, she let out a sigh of contentment that went straight to his hardening cock.

  He was such a prick. She lay in his arms too exhausted to walk, fresh from being kidnapped, poked and prodded like a science experiment, and his dick strained against his sweatpants harder than a steel rod.

  Disgusted with himself, he forced back the arousal with a disappointed growl. She deserved better than a pup unable to control his fucking erection. He strode up the wood planks with her locked in his arms and stark determination tensing his features.

  The sleet and rain had changed over to a light snow, yet the wind continued to punish any exposed skin. They all hurried up the dock toward a series of steps leading to the back deck of the house.

  Jax held up his hand, bringing everyone to a halt.

  The cat eyed the window frame. He frowned. "No sensors on the inside of the window." He glanced up and scanned the house’s exterior wall. He then surveyed the surrounding area. "I don't see any cameras either." He smiled and shook his head. "It doesn't look like the cheap-ass humans alarmed their home."

  Tristan wrapped his palm on the doorknob and closed his eyes. The lock clicked.

  "You witches sure do come in handy," said Jax.

  Tristan ignor
ed the lion's comment and carried Winter inside the kitchen. Cassie, with the child propped on her hip, followed close behind him. Tristan lowered Winter to a nearby chair. He squatted in front of her. "Are you feeling any better?"

  She nodded. "A little."

  "Liar," he said with a smirk.

  "I need sleep," she confessed.

  He knew exactly what she meant. Supernaturals may be stronger than humans, but they had their limits. These last few days had fully tested those boundaries. Jax tried the lights. "Shit, the storm must have taken out the power. No electric means no heat." Jax frowned.

  "There's a fireplace in here," said Cassie from the other room.

  "We can't risk being found. If a neighbor notices the chimney billowing smoke and calls the cops, we're screwed." Jax picked up the cordless phone sitting on the kitchen counter. "Phone is out too."

  Tristan sighed. "I guess we'll have to try to get in touch with Magnus and his crew tomorrow." He glanced out the window. "We should be safe here for the night. I doubt any humans will be coming in the next few hours. From the smell of it, there hasn't been anyone here for a while."

  Cassie rested her hands protectively over her stomach. "What about the men…the ones that held us captive. What if they find us? What if—"

  "They won't risk exposure by going door to door searching human neighborhoods for us." Tristan drew closer to the human. "We will be safe lying low in here until morning. You are safe. I swear it."

  Cassie nodded, but didn't seem convinced.

  Olivia scooted closer to Cassie's belly, then tugged at Cassie's shirt. The little girl rubbed the human's protruding tummy.

  "I know you're hungry, baby girl. I doubt there is anything here." Cassie patted Olivia's head.

  Jax squatted in front of the little girl. "Let me look around, pumpkin." He stood and headed off into shadows of the house.

  "You should get some rest," Tristan said to Winter.

  "So should you," she countered.

  He grinned. "I knew you cared."

  "Hey, look what I found in the pantry. Who's in the mood for cereal and fruit cocktail?" Jax held up a box of Cheerios and a large can. "We're eating like royalty tonight." He winked at Olivia and gave her a playful poke in her belly with the cereal box. She giggled.

  Cassie gasped. "That's the first time I ever heard her laugh." Tears gathered in the woman's eyes. She hugged Olivia tight.

  "Well, if I can help it. It won't be the last time." Jax hurried over to the cabinets and grabbed some bowls.

  While the others sat around enjoying the food Jax found, Tristan took an ice-cold shower, a welcome relief from the heat plaguing his blood. Not to mention, it felt fantastic to rid himself of the gore from their escape.

  When finished, he returned back downstairs.

  "That shower must have been fun." Jax grinned.

  "It was eye opening."

  Tristan glanced over his shoulder to find Cassie and Olivia heading up the stairs. Winter followed behind them.

  Winter gave him one last glance. He wanted to go to her, but he doubted she'd welcome his company. She needed rest and he needed to protect them.

  Turning back, Tristan stared out the window at the shoreline. The winds no longer howled. Light flurries drifted past the glass panes, and the breaks in the clouds to the west made the moon spear through, lightening the sky a deep shade of gray and smoky black. He might have considered the scene beautiful if it weren't for the crazy humans hunting them.

  In the distance, across the water, a glow crept over the surf. The vessel continued past without stopping. The labs lost valuable specimens tonight. They'd search well into the night, but they wouldn't find them. Winter had cloaked the boat with precision, her powers strong even with her weariness.

  "They're looking for us." Jax joined him at the window. The cat kept his gaze in line with Tristan's.

  "Yeah, they lost a lot of money tonight." Tristan stretched his neck. He fought exhaustion. He didn't have time to sleep. An alpha never rested when his pack faced danger.

  "You think they'll come here?"

  "I doubt it. They won't risk further exposure. They don't want to draw attention to themselves any more than they already have. That's exactly what they'd be doing if they start banging on doors in the middle of the night. But we have to leave first thing."

  Jax nodded in agreement. "I'm heading up. I'll check on the girls."

  Tristan stretched his neck. "I'll keep watch down here."

  "You need rest my friend. Your arm needs to heal."

  "I'm shifting. They'll be time to rest when the women and child are safe."

  An alpha put his people and those under his protection before himself. How could he rest when a threat still loomed over them? Shifting would not only aid his healing, but with his animal free, he'd have full access to his senses. Nothing and no one would sneak past him.

  Jax nodded. "True enough. I'm shifting too. I'll stay on guard upstairs. My cat's been restrained for too long. He grows restless easily now."

  Jax took the steps two at a time and disappeared around the corner. With Jax gone, the house fell still once again.

  Too tired to use magic to vanish his clothes, Tristan pulled his shirt over his head and shimmed out of his sweatpants. Fighting the weariness, he embraced his wolf. His shift, although painful due to the bullet wound in his arm and the drugs still lingering in his system, gave him an instant sense of relief.

  A light footstep made him spin with a threatening snarl. He narrowed his eyes when he found Winter lurking in the shadows of the living room. She needed rest, damn it. What the hell was she doing hiding in the dark?

  "You remember me, don't you?"

  Of course, the wolf remembered her. It would be like forgetting its own soul.

  She drew closer. She had spoken to the wolf, not the man. Her tone, like always, lightened when she spoke to his beast. Even though Tristan and his wolf shared a body, the wolf held his own state of being. He growled and gave a soft yelp, pleased to be with his mate. The wolf wasn't aggressive, never toward his mate.

  She smiled. The wolf loved when she smiled. The man in him agreed. Her smile warmed every part of him as if bathed in midday sunlight.

  Winter stepped closer. The wolf lifted his snout higher and took a deep breath, filling his lungs with her unique scent. He offered her a low, deep growl when she lifted her hand toward him.

  Her hand stilled. "Don't you growl at me, you bad wolf. You know I mean no harm." Her delicate hand came to rest on his shoulder a few inches above his wound. His eyes closed. Long fingers settled in his fur. He jerked his head back and licked her forearm. She laughed. "I missed you, too, boy."

  Even though his wolf had free reign at the moment, the man huddled inside, reveling in the beauty of her touch. Yes, they both missed her. His wolf showed how much by rubbing his entire body against her, knocking her off her feet. She fell on her ass, laughing as his wolf continued to collapse on the floor before her, exposing his belly and throat to her caresses. Alpha wolves rarely exposed their vulnerable areas. His mate deserved his trust.

  She sat with him quietly for a while, watching the distant waves. The clouds parted, revealing a full moon blurred out with a thin light mist. The urge to howl came over him, but he resisted. He didn't need to draw any attention to them. His wolf's cry could be heard for miles.

  Her hand continued to run through his thick coat. She scratched behind his ear and he rolled on his back, giving her access to his belly again, his wolf content in the company of his mate.

  "I wish I could forget the past," she whispered.

  He sat up at her words. His ears erect, pivoted in her direction. When she didn't add to her confession, he nudged her hand with a whine.

  Once again, she petted him.

  The mistrust he found in her eyes as she gazed down at him made him whimper. She didn't trust him. Even after the hell they'd been through these last few days.

  How could she still take the word of
a scheming, vindictive female she hardly knew over him? A man she'd know all her life.

  Ten years and he continued to pay for someone else's vindictive lies. Granted, the evidence seemed indisputable. The damn she-wolf had answered his door in nothing but a T-shirt, his scent all over her. Not because he mounted her, hell no, but because she chose to roll in his bed as he lay passed out on the couch.

  Needless to say, he replaced the bed. How the hell could he sleep in it? Even now, he got sick thinking about the stench she left behind. Not to mention, what the bitch's games had cost him.

  Truth, he never touched that conniving bitch, Lina. He may have been drunk, but there wasn't enough alcohol to make him forget what Winter meant to him. How could he even think of fucking anyone else after the kiss Winter and he shared that night?

  No damn way.

  He sighed. Fate was a cruel bitch at times. It had given him a mate younger than him by almost a decade.

  When she was a child, his need to protect her consumed him. No more than a pup himself, he acted like an overprotective bodyguard at times, raising a few eyebrows in his pack. He assured everyone, including himself that his bloated need to keep her safe derived from their family's devotion to one another. Their parents were lifelong friends after all.

  When she hit her teens, however, his need to protect her exploded into a deep attraction. So young and innocent back then, Winter had no idea how her mere presence affected him, and he didn't want her to know. He feared his passion would scare her. Shit, it scared him at times.

  To protect her, he stayed away from her as much as he could. He sought other females to satisfy his monthly heats. Humans, shifters, it didn't matter. They fulfilled his base needs for a time, nothing more. Soon, even they couldn't satisfy the wolf's need for his mate.

  Tristan thought shielding her from his intense desires by seeking his pleasure elsewhere would save her from him, but all his womanizing had done was hurt her further, creating doubts he may never erase.

  He's made mistake after mistake ever since. His biggest blunder was not dragging her ass back home, back to him as soon as she left.

  Needing to talk to her, he morphed back. He groaned from the sharp pain the sudden shift caused his shoulder.