Big Wicked Wolf (Shadowpeak Wolves Book 1)

by Sadie Carter

  “Tell me about this place. Let the demons out.”

  “Is this where he locked you up?” He moved to a small, coffinlike container that rested against the wall to his right. He didn’t touch it, but he could see the silver joining, and could only imagine the pain and fear one would suffer inside it. He turned to see her shivering, trembling from what looked to be a combination of shock and sheer, blinding terror.

  “I used to be so afraid I’d run out of air. Sometimes he’d move it, pretend he was going to take me away in it, b-bury me alive.” Her voice started to crack, a lone tear traveling down her cheek.

  He crouched down in front of her. “He can’t hurt you. No one will hurt you again. Understand?”

  She nodded.

  “And the bed?” She looked up at him in surprise, and he knew he had to tighten the lid on his rage. “Did he…”

  She shook her head.

  “No, he never did anything to me sexually, he wasn’t ever interested in me like that—this was his playroom. He’d bring women down here and play with them. He used to have whips set out on that wall.” He looked over to where she nodded at the bare wall to his left. He could see small hooks where they must have hung.

  “I don’t know where they went.” She looked around as though they would suddenly reappear.

  “It doesn’t matter, baby. This place can’t hurt you anymore. Not if you don’t let it.”

  “I was so terrified that he’d be here, waiting for me. I got partway down the stairs, and I just couldn’t move any farther, I was so afraid. But then I must have tripped, or I don’t know, it felt as if something pushed me and I fell. D-do you think he pushed me?” She looked up at him, tears rolling down her pale face.

  “Zachary is dead, sweet. I promise you, he’s dead, and he cannot hurt you anymore.” He walked toward her and, pulling her up, sat on the bed with her clasped tightly in his arms.

  “You can’t let him win, baby. You have every right to hate this place, to be afraid, but you don’t have to do it alone. You don’t have to deal with this all alone.” Placing his fingers under her chin, he tilted her face up.

  “Will you let me help, sweet? Together, we can fight him. Together, we can beat anything.” He watched her eyes, saw the fear, the indecision. Then she nodded her agreement, and he smiled at her, leaning down to kiss her lightly.

  He pushed the hair away from her face, rocking her slowly as she shook and cried. It appeared the emotional overload of the last few hours had finally hit her, and she slowly collapsed, safe in his arms.

  Cooper just held her until the storm of tears passed. If he could, he would take her pain and make it his own. But he couldn’t. All he could do was be here for her, help her through this as best he could. He set her gently on the bed, smiling softly at her as she immediately reached for him.

  “I just thought you might like to put on your clothes, sweet. I mean, I like you this way, don’t get me wrong, but Marcus is outside, and I don’t want him thinking we kept him waiting while we were having a little party for two.” He deliberately kept his voice light, teasing, as he dressed her. A frown creased his brow as he took note of the bruises on her body, running his hand over them lightly.

  “You got these when you fell down the steps?” She nodded, pulling on her clothes.

  “Looks as if you fell pretty hard, sweet.” There was blood from a gash on her head. His frown intensified, thinking of the bolt across the door. But when he saw her shiver he pushed his thoughts aside for the moment, relaxing his face once again into an expression of calm.

  “I couldn’t get back out; the door wouldn’t open. I fell apart, and the wolf took over. It was safer. She wasn’t so scared. She’s not a coward like me.”

  Shame colored her voice, and he made sure his voice was very firm when he spoke.

  “A coward is someone who is too afraid to face their fears. You, my sweet, have far too much courage for my liking. I’d prefer it if you were a bit more afraid. At least then you’d stay where I put you,” he said wryly before pulling her up onto her feet.

  “Stay where you pu— Ahhh!” A squeal of pain interrupted her rampage as she placed weight on her left ankle.

  “What? What is it?” Cooper grabbed her, holding her steady as she swayed.

  “My ankle,” she said between pants of pain. “I hurt my ankle when I fell.”

  Cooper lifted her by the waist, setting her back on the bed before he grabbed her foot.

  “Shit! How did I miss this?”

  “What?”

  “It looks like a sprain. It’s swollen. We’ll fix it up when we get home. Come on, sweet, let’s get you home.” He swung her up in his arms gently so as not to bump her bruises further.

  Chapter Eleven

  Laney let out a sigh of relief as Cooper laid her down on the couch in their living room. She now knew what the expression “roller coaster of emotions” meant. She’d just ridden the double dipper twice and had a nauseated stomach as proof. Leaning back, she closed her eyes, letting herself fall into that pleasantly dreamy place between consciousness and unconsciousness. When her leg was raised, and something cold applied, she simply lay there, too tired even to open her eyes.

  “Don’t go to sleep, sweet.” Cooper squeezed her thigh, and she grumbled impatiently. “I want Mace to check you before you sleep. You could have a concussion.”

  “I’m fine,” she mumbled sleepily, and she was because Cooper was here. She knew he would never let anyone get close enough to hurt her. “Don’t need no doctor prodding at me.” She snuggled down deeper only to have him pull her back up. Opening her eyes, Laney glared up at him grumpily, but the glare she received in return trumped hers, telling her he wasn’t giving in on this.

  “I didn’t ask if you wanted him prodding at you, sweet. He will prod at you, and you will do as he says. Understood?” His voice was calm, but she could hear the steel underneath. Laney sighed in exaggerated impatience.

  “Fine. But it’s up to you to keep me awake.”

  “Oh, I’ll keep you awake all right.” He folded his arms, staring down at her.

  “You want to explain to me just what you were doing, going to that house by yourself when I expressly forbid you to do so?” he asked in a calm voice.

  Gone was the concerned lover, the soul mate who’d made her promise to let him fight her battles with her. Here in front of her was the protector, the enraged warrior who’d feared for his mate’s life.

  “Forbid me? You forbade me to go?” Her arms folded as well.

  “No one knew where you were. If I hadn’t come home early, you’d still be there. Terrified and alone.” His voice remained low, but there was steel running through the middle.

  Cooper blew out a breath, running his hands through his hair. “I’m not trying to be harsh. But I need you to be safe, Laney. You are everything to me. I cannot stand by and let someone or something hurt you, even if that someone is you.”

  He sat beside her. “I’m not trying to control you, that’s the last thing I want. I just want you safe.”

  “I’m used to taking care of myself,” she said stubbornly.

  “But it’s not just you anymore, sweet. There are two of us now.”

  “So, does that mean I get to boss you around?” She raised her chin.

  “Don’t be getting any ideas, sweet. There can only be one pilot in this relationship. You can take over once in a while, but I’m in charge.”

  She crinkled her nose at him. “You are such an arrogant wolf.”

  “And you love me for it.”

  “What are you doing here anyway? You’re not due back for a couple of days.”

  “I couldn’t get hold of you. Then I felt your terror through the mating bond and knew I had to get back.”

  “So you’ll have to leave again?” She tried not to let her disappointment color her voice.

  He smiled. “Nah, I’ll let Reed visit the other Alphas. I was sick of talking to them anyway. I’ll let him have all th
e fun.”

  “He’ll be thrilled.”

  * * * * *

  The doctor had come and gone, and Laney found herself lying peacefully on the sofa, her foot resting on a pillow, a blanket laid over her body. As Cooper walked out with the doctor, Marcus walked in.

  “Hey,” she said softly.

  “Hey yourself, baby girl.” Marcus sat on the sofa across from her. There were lines of concern at the corners of his mouth.

  “Sorry if I worried you.”

  He sighed, rubbing his hand over his shaved head. “Why would you go there by yourself? Any one of us would have gone with you.”

  “I did it for Cooper.”

  “For me?” came the incredulous query and she looked over to find Cooper leaning against the doorframe, a deep frown on his face as he stared down at her.

  “Why the hell would you go there for me?” he growled.

  She flinched slightly. “I was so sick of feeling like a coward, scared of that place, scared of my memories, scared of my own shadow. I want to be strong, unafraid, a proper mate to you. And after I got the phone call I decided to—”

  “Wait.” Cooper held up a hand. “Back up. What phone call?”

  Laney relayed the phone call she’d received before she’d taken a trip into memory hell.

  “So, someone claiming to be your father rings here, but instead of calling me or your brothers or even Justin, you decide to wander off by yourself to an abandoned house. Where you ended up falling down the stairs and being locked in the basement, the place where your father tortured you for years.”

  “She was pushed.”

  Cooper nodded while Laney glanced at Marcus in shock.

  “Pushed? But who would push me?” She shivered slightly. Cooper stalked toward her. He gently lifted her before sitting with her on his lap, his hand rubbing soothing circles on her back.

  “I don’t know, sweet, but I intend to find out.”

  “Did you recognize the voice?” Marcus asked. “Did you sense anything before you fell?”

  Laney thought fiercely before shaking her head. “I don’t think so. I thought I’d fallen. And the voice on the phone, well, it sounded like Zachary. But that’s impossible, right?” She looked up at Cooper for reassurance.

  “He’s dead, sweet,” he comforted her. “But someone definitely wants you to think otherwise. I want a tap on the phone. Get Cain over to Zachary’s place and see if he can find evidence that anyone was there. I didn’t smell anyone, but I was focused on finding Laney. She will need to have a bodyguard. When she’s not with me, I want someone we can trust with her.”

  She might have protested, except a bodyguard sounded like a good idea. She just didn’t feel safe anymore.

  “Who would do these things? Who would want to harm me?”

  “I don’t know, but we’re going to find out,” Cooper told her.

  “There’s one more thing,” Marcus spoke up as he stood. “You may be small, but you’ve never been powerless. One of the reasons Zachary hated you was because you were so strong. He could see it, we could see it, the whole damn pack could see it—so how you missed it, I don’t know. You may have been the runt, but Zachary and certain members of the pack were worried that one day you’d come fully into your power and overtake them all.”

  Marcus shook his head, making the earrings in his right ear glint as they reflected off the light. “Sure, you’re small, but you’ve got an aura of power, and it’s only going to get stronger. Female werewolves come into their power later. You’re just starting to come into yours. Laney, we would never have sent you away by yourself if you weren’t strong. I know of few werewolves who could have survived as long as you did alone. You’re one of the strongest wolves I know.” He kissed her cheek and then left.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever heard him say that much at once,” Cooper commented.

  “Me neither,” she said. “And he believed every word.”

  “Because it’s true. Come on, let’s go to bed.” Cooper stood with her held tightly in his arms and carried her down to the bedroom.

  She let Cooper strip her and place her under the covers.

  “Now go to sleep.”

  “Bossy man.”

  “Bossy Alpha,” he countered.

  “Did you check for spiders?” she asked tiredly.

  “Spiders?” he queried softly, waiting for her to fall asleep.

  “Spiders in the bed, someone put spiders in my bed.” She fell asleep, completely missing the growing look of fury on her mate’s face.

  If she’d seen it, she might not have slept quite so deeply.

  * * * * *

  The smell of frying bacon greeted her as she left the bathroom, a growling stomach prompting her to limp her way into the bright kitchen. Thankfully, her ankle felt much better. She was amazed that it was already midday. But then again, she hadn’t been sleeping much lately, and yesterday had taken a lot out of her.

  “Morning,” she said. Cooper turned from the stove, his gaze roaming over her quickly.

  “You shouldn’t be standing on that ankle,” he said gruffly, crossing his arms.

  “It’s okay, hardly swollen, see?” She walked forward a few steps, her limp barely visible. Yay for fast healing!

  It must have been enough to convince him, because he nodded, indicating she should take a seat at the counter.

  Laney sat down slowly, chewing her lower lip. “You’re mad at me.”

  “You’ve been keeping secrets from me, Laney.” His voice was more wolf than man, a growl of masculine temper. “That stops now. You’re going to sit down, you’re going to eat some food, and you’re going to tell me what the hell else I need to know.”

  Laney sat without argument and spent the next thirty minutes telling her mate everything that had happened over the last few days. When she’d finished, she stared with some fascination at the muscle tic he’d developed by his mouth.

  “Anything else?” he asked, his voice very calm and controlled. It was worse than if he’d yelled.

  “No, that’s all. What a week, huh?” she replied in a falsely cheerful voice before standing and taking the dirty dishes to the sink, careful to keep her gaze from his.

  “What a week? Let’s recap, shall we? Someone cut the brakes on your car. They tormented you with spiders. Called you, pretending to be your dead psycho father. Then pushed you down a flight of stairs and locked you in the same basement where you were abused, and all you can say is ‘what a week’?”

  As Laney watched him, he paced the kitchen before coming to a stop in front of her.

  “Why in the hell didn’t you tell me any of this, Laney? I am your mate. I have the right to know when your life is in danger.”

  “Well, ‘in danger’ might be a stretch.”

  “‘A stretch’, she tells me calmly as if I’m overreacting! She’s pushed down a flight of stairs, and I’m overreacting!”

  “Umm, who are you talking to?” she asked, frowning.

  “The Universe, God, anyone who will listen, because you sure as hell don’t. Oh no, not my mate, she goes on her merry way, doing whatever the hell she likes.” His voice was calmly controlled, but there was a hint of tiredness in there she’d never heard from him before.

  “The thing that concerns me most is that you don’t trust me enough to let me protect you. That you won’t follow what I say when it counts and that you’ll end up hurt, or worse. That makes me afraid, and I don’t like being afraid. When are you going to figure out that you are incredibly precious to me? My life.”

  Tears filled her eyes as she realized just how much he loved her because she knew that there was very little her mate feared.

  “I trust you. I really do. But I didn’t want to be a victim again and I didn’t want you to think I couldn’t handle everything.”

  “Just because I want you safe doesn’t mean I see you as weak. I never have. That doesn’t mean I don’t get to protect you. I do. Because you mean more to me than anything in
the world.”

  “I feel the same.”

  “If circumstances were reversed and I kept something so big from you how would you feel?”

  She’d be furious. Terrified. She got it now and she felt awful for not telling him.

  “You’re right, I should have told you.”

  “We’re in this together. You don’t have to prove anything to me.”

  “I won’t keep anything from you again. I do trust you with my life. I want to give you everything you need. “

  “Promise me that you will never keep anything from me again.”

  “I promise.”

  He took her mouth with his. He was hot, hungry and fierce. He nipped at her lips, grasping hold of her ass tightly as he pulled her against him. His scent entranced her, filled her with lust. With need.

  “Strip. I want you naked.”

  She pulled off her clothes, watching as he quickly did the same. He picked her up and moved into the living room before sitting on an armchair. “Now suck my cock, woman, before I explode.”

  Grinning, Laney knelt on the floor between his outstretched legs, watching his throbbing cock hungrily. She used one hand to grasp the base firmly while she moved her other hand to cup his balls lightly. Using her tongue, she licked the small drop of creamy precum that decorated the tip. Inserting her tongue into the small slit, she delicately licked, delighting in his moan of approval. Sucking just the head of his cock into her mouth, she heard him groan in reaction.

  “Stop playing around, sweet, and suck me.” He lightly tapped her cheek, and she pulled back to look up at him.

  “But I like playing,” she pouted.

  “Play later. I want you to suck me off. Now.” He used his hands to direct her mouth back to the tip of his cock.

  “Open up and take me.” One hand clasped her chin while the other guided his cock into her open mouth. In and out he pumped gently, softly, before she took over, sucking him in deep. She slowly slid her mouth over him, gliding down the thick shaft, taking as much of him inside her as she could.