by Jane Hinchey
"Honey?" Rhys cupped a hand around the back of her neck and tilted her face to him, noticing her shining eyes.
"Everyone's so nice," she whispered.
"You're not used to nice," he realized. And it was true. She wasn't. She was used to mean, angry, cruel. The way his pack was one big happy family—well, except for Sophie, who was sulking as far away from them as she could get—this was what she'd dreamed of but never, in her wildest dreams, ever thought actually existed.
"Sophie's pissed." Levi joined Rhys at the end of the deck. Leaning against the railing, they watched the women clear away the remnants of their meal.
"She has no reason to be," Rhys muttered, annoyed at the woman’s behavior.
"I'm starting to think Sophie's been biding her time," Levi mused.
"What do you mean?"
"This jealous behavior? She clearly has feelings for you—"
"If I'd known, I'd never have let her join the pack."
"And she knew that. Which is why she's kept them hidden. Until now. I'm far from being an expert when it comes to the female mind, but I'm guessing she's spent all this time hoping you'd change your mind."
"What? No way."
"She gave you time to pursue her after you slept with her. You didn't. So she joined the pack to get close to you. And it's worked. She's your PA, sees you most days, is very much involved in your business and life."
Was Levi right? Had Sophie been harboring feelings for him all along? It made a weird kind of sense. The day he'd returned from Violet, she'd taken the day off work. The first time she'd taken time off ever. When she'd returned, the sexy outfits and heavy makeup had started.
Shit. This was why he never got involved with a member of his pack. It created all sorts of havoc, and he knew that when he did take a mate, she wouldn't put up with having his ex-girlfriends in the pack. Nor would he expect her too.
Once the meal was finished and everything cleared away, the women drifted toward the barn and the men toward the trees out back.
"You shift separately?" Kasie asked.
"Keeps jealousy to a minimum. No male likes to see others eyeing the naked body of his woman. And vice versa,” Rhys said. “And please don't tell me your pack doesn't allow its women this privacy. I don't think I could stand it." She couldn't assure him of that, so kept her mouth shut.
Her silence spoke volumes.
"We'll probably be a couple of hours. You'll be okay?" he asked.
"I'm going to have an early night. Headaches starting to kick in." The last couple of hours had been a roller coaster of emotion, and she wasn’t lying. Her head was thumping.
"Should I call the doc?" He was instantly concerned.
"No. Honestly, I'm fine. Off you go, have fun." She turned away and headed inside, leaving him no choice but to go to his pack, who could be heard howling for him.
Upstairs, she gathered her gear from Rhys’s bedroom and moved into a room at the far end of the hall. It was smaller, but still plenty big enough, with a timber-framed queen bed, a dresser and walk-in robe, plus ensuite. She threw her bags into the walk-in robe and sat on the edge of the bed, fingers tracking the embroidered pattern on the white comforter. The room was decorated in neutral tones—the same dove gray walls as the rest of the house, a cream colored rug at the foot of the bed, a white comforter with matching pillows, and white curtains at the window. Flowers in a jug on the dresser gave the room a splash of color.
Her mind drifted over the events of the evening, the way Rhys had handled Sophie privately, not subjecting her to humiliation in front of the pack. The way the rest of the pack got about their business—their camaraderie, free of bristling hostilities, no one trying to feel up an unwilling female. And the women—Kasie didn't know what to think. In her pack, women fell into one of two categories. They were either afraid of the males, or they weren't. And if they weren't, it meant they put out for the males—whoever, whenever—and enjoyed it. Sex was like currency, and certain women of the pack used it to their full advantage. Kasie fell into the first category; she hadn’t wanted any of the males and was on her guard constantly, fearful that should she get caught alone, she'd be raped. Rape went unpunished. In fact, it was almost celebrated. Thank God she'd had Todd to protect her.
And he'd been right. There was a better way, a different way. She hadn't been one hundred percent convinced when he’d told her of other packs that weren't cruel and hateful. He'd been researching other packs secretly and had been in talks with an Alpha in Nightshade Falls, who issued an invitation for them to visit with a view to having them join his pack. Then Mack found out. Now Todd was dead and she was on the run, Mack's threat ringing in her ears.
"I'm going to slit your fucking throat and kill anyone who helps you!" he'd screamed after her as she sped off in the Jeep.
5
Blood. Red wolf. More blood. Screaming. Pain, pain, pain. Red wolf leaping. More blood, so much blood. Blood dripping. Snarling. Jaws snapping. Silence. Blood.
"No, no, no! Todd! Todd!" She sat upright in bed, screaming. Her bedroom door slammed open and Rhys rushed in. His eyes swept for the threat before coming to rest on her, pale and trembling in the middle of the bed, skin coated with a sheen of sweat.
"You're safe." Rhys was beside her, running his hand down her back, brushing her hair back from her tear-streaked face. She looked at him, gray eyes unfocused, unseeing, breath heaving, sheets clutched tightly in clenched fists.
"C'mon, baby, come back to me," He soothed, his voice gentle and low. He brushed her tears away. "It's just a dream. Just a dream. You're safe." Slowly, her eyes focused on him. Saw him. Shuddering, she dropped her head, gathering herself.
"Tell me about it."
"No." She shook her head, her hair covering her face. She didn't want to relive it again. It was bad enough that it haunted her sleep, preying on her when her defenses were down.
She slid out of bed, heading for the bathroom. Rhys moved to follow, but she held a hand out. No. She needed a few minutes to herself. She knew he wanted to fix this for her, but there were some things even he couldn't fix.
She splashed some water on her face and dabbed her face dry. No more sleep for her tonight, although it looked like dawn was approaching. She returned to the bedroom, where Rhys sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for her. He still wasn't happy that she'd moved out of his bedroom, but he was giving her the space she so desperately needed and for that, she was grateful.
"I know you want to know," she began, shuffling from foot to foot, "but I'm not ready. Because then you'll want to fix it, and I'm not ready for that, either. I'm not sure I'll ever be."
"Woman," he growled, standing up.
"Rhys, please, I need you to hear me on this. I just need some space. I'm going outside to exercise. Can you just let me do that? Please?"
"This discussion isn't over, Kasie. Go, have a run, do whatever it is you need to do, but we will talk about this."
She didn't answer. She simply pulled on a black pair of yoga pants and a matching tank, drew her hair back into a ponytail, and left the bedroom. Out back, she walked barefoot to the lawn and began to stretch, going through the routine she'd memorized, one that allowed her mind to find a semblance of peace while her body strengthened. Stretch after stretch, pose after pose, slowly moving, holding her posture, limbs trembling, body covered in sweat.
"You know, from here it looks like you can kiss your own ass," a voice said.
Kasie's eyes flew open and she looked, upside-down, at the man standing on the deck. Slowly, she released the pose, coming back to a standing position.
"Doc," she greeted. She needed to wipe the sweat from her face, but she hadn’t brought a towel with her. Instead, she pulled her tank up to dab at her sweaty forehead, exposing her midriff. By the grin on his face, she'd bet the doc enjoyed the view.
"I see you're feeling much better."
"I am. Can you take these out now? They're itchy." She indicated the dressing still on her forehead, now
peeling at the edges.
"That's why I'm here. Come on inside and we'll get those stitches out."
She followed him into the kitchen, surprised to find Ana there.
"Hey, I didn't know you were here."
"You've been in your own world out there for the last hour." Ana smiled, handing her a glass of water. "Drink this, then you can have coffee."
Ana returned to the stove, where she was cooking up a storm. Kasie could hear voices and various noises throughout the house.
"What's going on?" She hopped up on the stool Doc indicated, drinking her water.
"On the weekends we're all in and out of here, catching up, chilling. Sometimes we don’t get to see each other much during the week because of work, and since our pack is close, we tend to hang here. Rhys has tons of space. Sometimes a few of us sleep over."
"Hold still," Doc muttered, pulling and snipping as he removed the stitches from her forehead. It didn't hurt, and Doc was standing back admiring his handiwork within minutes.
"All done. You'll probably have a small scar."
"Scars don't bother me, Doc. What's one more to add to the collection?" She winked at him and hopped down from the barstool. "I'm just going to take a quick shower."
When she came back downstairs wearing cut-off shorts and a white tank with a loose gray vest over it, the kitchen was crowded. Looked like all the pack was here. Rhys, seated at the head of the table, caught her eye and smiled. Most of the seats were taken, so she took one further down, next to a girl with an edgy white bob—Naomi. Although her hair was white, she was far from elderly, with her goth rock outfit, black leather skull wrist guard, skull earrings, and skull print leggings. Kasie guessed she was about twenty. Naomi smiled at her.
"Saw you doing your thing out the back there. Pretty amazing."
"Thanks. Got into it a few years ago. A great form of exercise and a great way to calm your mind as well."
Piling her plate with bacon, eggs, and fried tomatoes, she dug in.
"Could you teach me?" Naomi asked, mouth full.
"Er. I've never taught anyone before...I'm not sure..."
"Please?"
"Tell you what, why don't we find a beginners class in town and I'll go with you? Once you've got a few lessons under your belt, maybe I can take over from there."
Naomi slapped her on the back, beaming. "Awesome."
Kasie smiled back at the other girl's enthusiasm. Then her eyes landed on Sophie, who was sitting to Rhys’s left. She was laughing at something he'd said and kept placing her hand on his arm. Kasie's blood boiled and her wolf growled, not happy about a female touching her male.
Her male?
She looked down at her plate, pushing a lone scrap of bacon around with her fork, pondering her relationship with Rhys. Was that what she wanted? A relationship?
She didn't belong to his pack and she didn't have any claim over him, but seeing another woman flirt with him was pushing her to her limits. Yet another thing she'd never experienced. Jealousy. She looked back up at the couple at the head of the table, only to find Rhys watching her. He sat back in his chair where Sophie couldn't reach him with her oh-so-casual touch. He arched a brow at her. She looked away, confused by the whole situation.
The whine of drills and thud of nail guns echoed off the walls of the workshop, the scent of sawdust heavy in the air. Along the walls were workstations with various bolted-down pieces of equipment, along with tools hanging on pegboards. Who knew there were so many sizes of hammers, screwdrivers, spanners, and whatever all the rest were?
The center of the workshop was dominated by the roof trusses that were being constructed, ready for transportation to the building site. Along the left side of the workshop, metal stairs led to a mezzanine above the workshop, where the offices were located—one for Rhys when he was here, one for Levi, and an open reception area where Sophie was set up. Gatekeeper to Rhys.
Tucked beneath the mezzanine was a unisex bathroom with toilet, shower, and hand basin, as well as a kitchen that housed a fridge, sink, and microwave, plus a beat up old table that had definitely seen better days. And finally, a storeroom that contained about a dozen filing cabinets—those extra large ones that housed blue prints—and lockers where everyone stored their gear while working.
It was Kasie's second day on the job, and she headed straight to her locker to stash her backpack, thanking Rhys over her shoulder for the ride in. She'd been shown her workstation yesterday, in the painting area. Tucked away at the back of the workshop, her tools were brushes, rollers, and a variety of paints, stains, and sealants required for different jobs. A big yellow cage that was kept padlocked housed all of the paint. Apparently local youths liked to break in and steal spray cans.
A big tub of a sink sat against the wall, stained with years of paint clean up. Above the sink was a louver window. She pushed the slats open now. Ventilation was important to keep from getting high from all the fumes. She also flicked on the big extractor fan that helped with air flow. Pulling on safety ear muffs and a pair of industrial strength rubber gloves, she grabbed the container of tar-based sealer from the cage and poured a portion into the old tin she'd been using yesterday, ready to get to work priming the six-meter lengths of wood that were ear-marked for floor joists for the Redmeadows project.
The work was tedious, but she found satisfaction in it. Dipping her brush in the liquid solution, she'd brush her way the entire length of one piece of wood, then back in the other direction with the next piece, and once more on the final piece. She could comfortably fit three lengths on the two sawhorses she'd set up. Once one side was coated on all three pieces, she'd flip them to the next side and repeat the process until all four sides were coated. Because the sealant was tar-based, it was sticky—hence the gloves.
Then she'd give them all a second coat before propping them up against the wall to finish drying while she moved on to the next batch. They'd be cut to size on site, where the builders would seal the raw cuts with the same preparation she was using.
She'd been at it a couple of hours when she glanced up to see Sophie making her way toward her. Today, she wore charcoal gray slacks, the requisite stilettos—how did she walk in those things?—and a dusty rose blouse that was unbuttoned just enough to show cleavage. Her hair was twisted into a neat bun, not a stray hair in sight. Kasie straightened up, pulling off a glove to shove the ear muffs down so they hung around her neck. She waited.
"I have some paperwork you'll need to complete so I can set you up in payroll." Sophie waved a sheaf of papers in her hand.
"Yeah. About that. I work for cash."
"If you want to get paid, you'll need to go on the payroll. End of story. We don't do cash payments to trailer trash like you."
"Trailer trash? Really? That's the best you got?"
"We both know what you are." Sophie's composure slipped a notch, icy anger burning from her dark eyes. "A whore who's used to getting paid for 'services rendered', a desperate slut who's chased him here, to what? Extort cash out of him?"
Kasie straightened her spine and eyed the other woman mockingly.
"Honey, I'd give it up to that man for free. He's delicious, and he certainly seems to like what I've got to offer. He keeps coming back for more. You're just upset because he had a taste of you and sent you on your way. Take a hint and stop chasing the man, I'm embarrassed for you."
A dark flush crept up Sophie’s face and her hands clenched into fists, crumpling the papers she held.
"You fucking bitch!" Stepping forward, murder in her eyes, she dropped the papers, grabbed the can of sealer, and tossed the contents over Kasie’s chest.
"Mature." Kasie kept her cool. Only just. This black-haired bitch was really starting to try her patience. Did she think throwing sealant on her was going to get her scared? Oh no, it took a lot more than that to rattle Kasie's cage. This stupid woman had no idea.
She stood, hands on her hips. The sticky solution had soaked her tank and was now starting to wo
rk its way beyond the waistband of her jeans, trickling down her legs, but she remained motionless as she watched Sophie storm off, heading back upstairs.
"Everything okay here?" Billy stopped on his way to the bathroom, eyeing the mess.
"Everything is fine. Dropped the can, clumsy me." She got to work with some paper towel, soaking up the spill and dumping it in the trash.
"You'll need to change, or your shirt is going to stick to your skin. There are some work overalls in the storeroom. Dig through 'em and see what you can find that'll fit." Billy watched for a second longer, then continued on his way.
Scraping up the soggy papers, Kasie binned them as well. No way she was going to give them her info, anyway. Staying hidden meant staying off the grid.
Grabbing a clean rag and a bottle of white spirits, she wiped down the floor. The concrete would bear a stain from the spill, but it wouldn't be the first time and certainly wouldn't be the last. Her clothes, on the other hand, were ruined, and that really pissed her off. She didn't have much. All her worldly possessions had fit into the two duffel bags she had with her. A collection of jeans, shorts, tanks, a couple of jumpers, and a dress or two.
Following Billy's instructions, she rummaged in the storeroom, pulling out the smallest pair of overalls she could find, which of course were massive. In the bathroom, she stripped. Even her underwear was ruined. Wadding her trashed clothes into a ball, she shoved them into the bin, the anger that hadn't surfaced during her confrontation with Sophie now making an appearance. Her chest, breasts, and stomach were stained brown, and sticky on top of that. Bloody tar.
Tipping the white spirits into her bare hands, she wiped them over herself. The smell was so potent it made her eyes water, but the sealant was lifting. She rinsed her hands and used paper towels to wipe away the residue before repeating the process two more times, finally satisfied she'd gotten it all off.
Someone knocked on the door to use the bathroom.
"Give me a minute!” she yelled, quickly turning on the shower to rinse the white spirits off and get rid of the godawful stench of it. Then she shrugged into the massive pair of overalls. Thankfully, they were long sleeved, so she didn't need to worry about being naked beneath them. She rolled up the sleeves and the hems, then shuffled out of the bathroom in search of a rope to use as a belt.