Wolf Who Loved Me

by Lydia Dare

  Finally, she turned and ran in the direction he herded her, into the forest.

  ***

  Maddie’s blood ran cold when the wolf snapped his teeth at her. Blast it! They were now too far from the castle for her to cry for help. Why had she let him push her into the forest when she’d been so close to home? His sharp teeth did have something to do with that. If only she’d been a hoyden, she could have tried to scale one of the forest trees, but she’d never been a climber and she doubted her sodden kid slippers would be much help with a tree trunk.

  Heavens, she was nearly out of breath!

  Maddie ran, with the wolf at her feet, his gait long and lupine, his pace slow and methodical, his footfalls soft and quiet. Periodically, he would shift from one side to another, forcing her to change her path. The trees and bushes, heavy with rain, clutched at her clothes and hair. The run was nothing more than play for the wolf. For Mr. Hadley? Certainly she’d been mistaken and Mr. Hadley hadn’t turned into a wolf in front of her very eyes! But he had, hadn’t he? The idea was too ludicrous to believe.

  Off in the distance, Maddie saw a light glowing through the trees. A beacon of hope. If she could just reach the light, there had to be some human nearby, didn’t there?

  Suddenly, the wolf growled, and he darted out in front of her. He didn’t want her to reach the light, apparently. Well, Maddie would gladly return home. She turned in that direction and began to run, but then she felt a tug at the back of her gown.

  He’d caught her!

  The snarling beast had his teeth sunk into her skirts. Still, Maddie fought, struggling to free herself. She would not give up without a fight. But then she felt him touch her shoulders and he shoved, toppling her to the ground with him on top of her. Dear heavens! A wolf had her pinned to the forest floor.

  “Don’t say a word,” a low voice growled in her ear.

  Mr. Hadley! She recognized his voice, which didn’t exactly soothe her fears. She just wasn’t mad. At least she didn’t think she was.

  “Let me go,” she managed to squeak out. She squirmed beneath him, the soft forest floor wet beneath her hands.

  “That was three words, Lady Madeline,” he said.

  Maddie glanced over her shoulder and barely made out her attacker’s face in the darkened forest. It was Mr. Hadley! Scar and all.

  “And don’t move,” he ordered.

  But Maddie couldn’t move if she wanted to. His body was pressed down the length of hers from shoulder to toes. He was much warmer than the ground she lay on. She groaned her response.

  “Dear God.” He rested his head on her shoulder. “What am I to do with you?”

  “Let me up?” she suggested.

  “If you’d stop talking, I could think.”

  But that seemed the wrong thing to do. If she could keep him from figuring out what to do with her, perhaps she could escape. “I won’t tell anyone,” she promised. “Just let me go home.”

  He sighed heavily. “Why did you have to be in the stables?” He sounded truly pained. “Dash will have me drawn and quartered for this.”

  Lord Eynsford knew that Mr. Hadley was capable of turning into a wolf? Then it was the marquess’ fault for allowing the beast to roam around the countryside, but Maddie didn’t think voicing such a thing was to her benefit. “I’ll never tell him.”

  “It’s too late. You already know.” He groaned as though the words were ripped from his soul. “Dear God. You know.”

  “I-I don’t know anything.” And, truly she didn’t. What was she to know? That one of Robert’s friends was able to transform to a wolf? That was insanity. She wouldn’t have to worry about being leg-shackled to Lord Gelligaer or one of the others. She’d find herself in a dark room in Bedlam if she muttered any such thing aloud.

  “Stop talking,” he grumbled.

  Maddie sank deeper into the muddy forest floor. “Please, Mr. Hadley, I’m freezing. Please just let me up.”

  “You’re cold?” he asked, surprise lacing his voice.

  Of course he was as warm as a stoked fire in winter. Maddie nodded. “I can’t run any farther, if that’s what you’re worried about.” She could run all the way to London, if he’d just let her go.

  “W-well,” he hedged. “The problem… I just…”

  Heavens! Why wouldn’t he just spit it out and help her up? “Mr. Hadley, please!”

  “I-I don’t have any clothes with me.” The words came rushing out of his mouth.

  Of course she knew that part. She’d seen him in the stables, naked as the day he was born, right before he sprouted a tail and snout. Who would think such a creature would be squeamish about nudity? He’d turned into an actual wolf, for heaven’s sake. There were much bigger issues than the lack of his clothing.

  Maddie tried to edge her way out from underneath him, but he was so large, so heavy. “If you let me up, I’ll give you my shawl.” Not that the drenched muslin would cover him, but while he tied it around his waist, she could make a run for it.

  “Very well,” he agreed, though he didn’t sound pleased.

  Maddie wasn’t pleased either, not with any part of this terrible night. Not watching a man actually turn into a ferocious animal. Not running for at least a mile in sodden shoes while being growled at by the ferocious animal. And not being crushed into the mud by the very same ferocious animal, though at the moment he was a man, wasn’t he?

  Mr. Hadley slowly rose to his feet. “Can you hand it to me, without… turning around?”

  Maddie pushed up on her elbows and pulled the sopping muslin from her shoulders. Then she wadded it up in a ball and tossed it in his direction, though a bit more forcefully than was needed.

  As Mr. Hadley turned around to retrieve the shawl, Maddie knew her best chance of escape had come and she couldn’t let it pass. Her very life might depend upon it. So she scrambled to her feet and dashed toward the glowing light in the distance. After all, the light, wherever it was, had to be closer than Castle Hythe. “Help!” she called.

  “Damn it to hell!” Mr. Hadley yelled somewhere behind her.

  But not far enough away for Maddie’s comfort. Why hadn’t she thrown the shawl even harder?

  Maddie pushed through the trees, hoping beyond hope she could reach help before he was on her again. But he was much faster than she was, and within only a moment or two, he caught her about the waist and both of them tumbled once again to the forest floor.

  “Get off me!” she demanded, as he rose above her, his head limned by the light of the moon.

  “I thought you couldn’t run any farther.”

  “I lied.” She squirmed beneath him, managing to slide from beneath him a bit. Mud squished against her back. He reached for her skirts, as though by constraining her legs, he thought to constrain her. Maddie kicked at Mr. Hadley with every ounce of strength she had and heard a very satisfying curse when her foot found his nose.

  An inhuman growl escaped him, echoing through the night, terrifying Maddie even more than she had been. Heavens, she’d broken his nose. Would he break her now in return?

  Mr. Hadley grabbed her skirts and dragged her back beneath him. “Be still!” he ordered.

  She got a good glance at his face in the moonlight. His nose was most assuredly broken, as it looked crooked on his face. Between his nose and the scar on his cheek, he appeared the most fearsome creature of nightmares.

  “Please just let me go home. I’ll never tell a soul anything I’ve seen.”

  He scoffed. “Am I to take the word of a professed liar?”

  Maddie winced. That might not have been the smartest thing to confess a moment ago. She wasn’t quite certain what to say to convince him otherwise.

  He looked pained all of a sudden. “You can’t run off. Not until we sort this out.”

  What was there to sort out? Maddie just wanted to wake up in her bed and forget all about this awful dream. “What do you want me to say?”

  “Hush!” he ordered and clamped his hand over her
mouth.

  A moment later, a man broke through the trees and stood just a foot away from them. “Oh, dear God,” the man breathed.

  “Renshaw?” Mr. Hadley winced. “What the devil are you doing here?”

  Who in the world was Renshaw? Better yet, would he help Maddie out of this predicament?

  The new fellow, Renshaw, cursed under his breath. “Ever since he met her, my life has been turned upside down. But there’s no way in hell, I’m getting drawn into this.”

  “Beg your pardon?” Mr. Hadley asked.

  Renshaw shook his head in what seemed like frustration. “Her ladyship has lost her fool mind if she thinks I’m getting involved in some madcap scheme.”

  “Cait sent you?” Mr. Hadley loosened his grip on Maddie. “Why the devil would Cait send you here?”

  Renshaw swore again. “She said you’d be in need of a driver. She didn’t say anything about needing clothes or the defiling of women.”

  A driver. That’s where Maddie knew Renshaw from. He was Lord Eynsford’s driver. Why did the marchioness send a driver out to find them? How did she know they were even lost?

  “The lady is hardly defiled.” Mr. Hadley frowned. “Tell me, did Cait happen to mention a destination?”

  “Gretna,” the driver complained. “Certainly wouldn’t be the first time she’s made me dash across Britain as though the devil chased me.”

  “Gretna?” Mr. Hadley echoed as he scratched his chin. But then a look of resignation overtook his features. He sighed heavily and nodded. “That is a very good plan, actually,” he said. Then he rose to his feet, in all his naked splendor, and reached a hand to Maddie. “Come along, my lady.”

  Maddie could only gape at him, at all of him, standing before her. And then his words began to sink in. Gretna? Certainly he didn’t think to elope with her! “No, no, no.” She shook her head. “I’m going home. I’m not headed to Scotland.”

  Without another word, Mr. Hadley bent at his waist and plucked Maddie out of the mud. Then he tossed her over his naked shoulder. “Lead on, Renshaw. Time is of the essence.”

  A beleaguered sigh escaped the driver. He shook his head and then turned back toward the way he’d come through the woods.

  He couldn’t take her to Scotland against her will. “Take me back to Castle Hythe!” Maddie yelled at the driver. “Do you know who I am?”

  “I’m sure he doesn’t care,” Mr. Hadley remarked.

  “My grandmother will have your head!” Maddie threatened. “The Duchess of Hythe will have your head!”

  “Indeed she will,” Mr. Hadley agreed, “if she catches us. Therefore, I suggest you drive your team as far and fast as they’ll go, Renshaw.”

  The driver nodded, the cluck of his tongue the only noise as he tromped across the forest floor.

  Hanging upside down, Maddie spied the glowing light she’d seen earlier. The farther they walked, the brighter the light shone until she was finally able to see that it was a lantern on the side of the Eynsford traveling coach. If she had managed to escape from Mr. Hadley, she would have run right into the arms of the coachman and still not have been any better off than she was at this moment. What a lowering thought.

  The driver opened the coach door as though he was preparing to take them to a formal soiree or ball. “I’ll see you hanged for kidnapping,” Maddie vowed.

  “Fast as you can,” Mr. Hadley directed to the driver as he placed Maddie on a coach bench.

  “Of course. It’s always ‘fast as you can,’” the coachman complained. “There’s a travel blanket inside, sir. You probably should use it.”

  Maddie glanced at Mr. Hadley’s very naked person. Certainly he didn’t think to ride anywhere with her like that. “You’re naked,” she blurted, as heat crept up her face. But she suddenly couldn’t take her eyes off his broad shoulders. She was quite intrigued by the light dusting of hair across his chest. And then her gaze traveled lower, to a narrow line of hair that went from his navel down to his…

  “Yes, I’m naked. How very observant of you.” Mr. Hadley stepped inside the coach and settled on the opposite bench. “And if you don’t stop looking at me like that, I’ll take you up on the offer your gorgeous little eyes are making.” He smirked at her from across the coach.

  Maddie covered her eyes with both hands as the coach door closed. Good heavens! How in the world had she gotten herself into this situation?

  She heard him moving about on the other side of the carriage as the conveyance lurched forward. What was he up to? Looking for rope to bind her wrists? Or a knife to hold to her throat? Maddie peeked at him through her fingers. The coach lantern swung outside the door, making shadows dance around the interior. Still she couldn’t clearly see what was transpiring on the opposite side. “What are you doing?”

  His gaze flicked to her across the coach. “Renshaw said there was a travel blanket.” Apparently, having found it, he raised it for her inspection. “You may have it, or under the circumstances, I’ll make use of it myself, if it would make you more comfortable.”

  A strangled laugh escaped Maddie’s throat. “Under the circumstances?” she echoed, incredulity lacing her words. “What circumstance would that be, Mr. Hadley? The fact that you are a wolf? The fact that you’re kidnapping me? Or the fact that we are headed to Scotland and you don’t possess a stitch of clothing? Pray tell me which circumstances you are referring to.”

  Eight

  Wes spread the travel blanket across his lap and let the end fall across his bare legs. What a god-awful evening. Lady Madeline couldn’t even look at him. And what was he doing? Racing for the Scottish border before her brothers could catch them. And then what? He couldn’t force her to marry him. He wouldn’t want to even if he could.

  Of course he’d adored her since the first moment he saw her, three long years ago. He’d dreamed about sharing her bed since that very evening. But not like this. Not kidnapping her and eloping, for God’s sake.

  But what other choice did he have? Once they were married, her future would be tied to his. She couldn’t tell anyone what he was. If she did, she’d be known as the wolf’s wife, and that would never do for a Hayburn. Cait was right, though how she knew what he needed at the exact moment he needed it was a complete mystery.

  Across the carriage, Lady Madeline swiped a tear from her cheek. There was no doubt, this time, that her tears were most assuredly his fault.

  “I’m sorry,” he offered lamely. But he truly was sorry.

  Her eyes widened in surprise, and she sat forward on her bench. “Your nose.”

  What an odd response to his apology. “My nose?”

  “It was crooked.” She leaned closer to him. “I-I broke it when I kicked you.”

  Ah, yes, that he remembered clearly. “I suppose I deserved it.”

  “Indeed.” She nodded. “But it doesn’t look crooked anymore. I was certain I broke it.”

  Wes grinned despite himself. Then he wiggled his nose back and forth with his finger. “All fixed. Not to worry.”

  “How is that possible?”

  “One of my many talents. I heal quickly. So if you’re planning on doing me any more bodily harm, you should reconsider. It will only make me angry.”

  “You heal quickly?” She sat back against the leather squabs. “What are you, Mr. Hadley?”

  There it was: the question he’d never thought to answer, at least not from her. After all, Lycans lived by a strict code. And one of the covenants was not to reveal the nature of one’s beast to any human, with the exception of one’s mate. Which, of course, was exactly what Lady Madeline would become. He might as well confess the truth to her. Perhaps it would help her accept their fate more easily. “I’m a Lycan.”

  “I beg your pardon?” She scrunched up her perfect little nose.

  “A Lycan, a werewolf,” he explained.

  “A werewolf,” she echoed under her breath, as if the entire idea was too much to take in, although she’d already seen him in the flesh.
Or in the fur, which was even more damning.

  “Yes, though we don’t like to use the term.”

  “Why not?”

  Honestly, Wes wasn’t certain. He shrugged. “It’s considered offensive. Used as an insult generally. But it is a bit more descriptive to laymen’s ears, and I think it’s only offensive if the person it refers to takes offense. I don’t mind if you call me a werewolf. In private, of course. I’m sure you understand.”

  She laughed a little hysterically. “I don’t understand a thing, sir. And I’m hoping to wake in my bed in the morning and discover this was all a terrible dream.”

  If she’d lanced his heart with a dagger, it would have been less painful. “I know I’m not the sort of man you were supposed to marry, but that can’t be helped, Lady Madeline.”

  She frowned at him. “It’s not too late to return home, Mr. Hadley. Your secret is safe with me. I swear it.”

  Wes shook his head. “If it was just me, my lady, I’m certain you could talk me into giving up my soul. But there are others I have to protect. And the only way to do that is by either killing you or marrying you. I do hope you prefer the latter as I’m not capable of the former.”

  “I suppose I should be grateful for that.” She regarded him with a serious expression. “You do know my father will never give you my dowry if we elope.”

  Her fortune was the last thing on Wes’ mind. Protecting his brothers, Cait, and the children ranked much higher. “We’ll manage without it,” he replied. After all, he’d survived his entire life without a fortune. He couldn’t miss what he’d never had.

  “And I’ll be a social outcast.”

  “You mean you’ll be a Hadley.”