Wolf Ridge- Complete Series

by Jayne Hawke

  I kept up with him despite his being almost a foot taller than me. There wasn’t a chance in hell I was going to give in and let him win. We shot around a corner and almost skidded to a halt when we found a pair of middle-aged people with guns standing there looking at us. Cole subtly moved in front of me as he assessed them.

  “Cole Loxwood,” the older woman with short pale-blonde hair said sharply.

  She was dressed in smart hiking trousers with an expensive looking shirt. A large knife sat on her hip and another in her boot. She was formed of sharp edges. I was left with the distinct feeling that she wouldn’t think twice about ending someone’s life and had likely already taken many before.

  “Ainsley Blackthorne,” Cole returned.

  My blood ran cold. The man raised his gun just a little, and his eyes hardened into small shards of flint. These were two of the hunters Cole had mentioned. The man hadn’t caught my attention until he moved. He was far less striking with muddy brown hair, a weather-worn look, and almost watery blue eyes. Creases spread out from the corners of his eyes and wrapped around his mouth. His jaw was set, and he looked as though he’d forgotten how to smile.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” the man said, taking a step closer to us.

  Cole squared his shoulders and stared the man down. They were almost equal in height, but Cole had a lot of muscle on the other guy. Cole bristled with aggression, but his facial expression remained almost bored. He wasn’t going to let these hunters get under his skin. I needed to learn how to do that.

  “Actually, it’s you who shouldn’t be here.” I could feel Cole’s smirk. “This is my land,” Cole said.

  Ainsley and the man shared a look. The man’s mouth pinched even tighter, and his nostrils flared. Ainsley narrowed her eyes before she glanced at Cole and back to the man again.

  “Get the hell off my land before I have you taken in for trespassing,” Cole growled.

  His control was slipping, and something told me I was the cause. Having hunters so close to a new garou seemed like a big risk.

  “Be a good boy,” Ainsley said silkily.

  Cole pulled out his phone and typed a number in.

  “You have three seconds,” he said as he put the phone to his ear.

  “Don’t be so melodramatic. We’re leaving,” the man said.

  “Don’t make this mistake again,” Cole growled.

  Ainsley simply smirked as she casually walked around us. I didn’t miss the way she eyed me like a fresh steak.

  We walked on further down the trail in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes.

  “Be careful,” Cole finally said.

  “They know my face now,” I said.

  He smiled at me.

  “They don’t know what you are. You could have been a nice human girl.”

  For a brief moment, there was a flicker of something softer and almost kind about him. His eyes held a gentle glow, and his mouth looked far prettier in a genuine smile. It all faded away, and he returned to his usual brooding self.

  “Come on. You’ll need to run a few miles a day to stay sane.”

  With that, he took off again, leaving me to push hard to catch up. One day I’d beat him. I wasn’t sure how, but I’d do it.

  13

  WE’D CONTINUED OUR run in silence. I didn’t remember the last time I’d run for that long, maybe never. Yet it felt so good. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, it felt even better doing it with him. He wasn’t much of a conversationalist, but his presence soothed something within me and brought a small smile to my face. I guessed that was the pack bond. I knew that garou needed a pack around them - that was a lot of the problem with rogues. They were without a pack, and it sent them insane. Their wolf and human sides fell out of sync.

  I’d been admiring the gorgeous dragon tattoo that wrapped around Cole’s shoulders and biceps. Thick black ink formed the tribal design in great sweeping strokes. Blood red slashes accentuated the curves that wrapped around his muscles and the broad wings that stretched across his shoulder blades. I had to know.

  “How did you get that ink? I thought garou healed through any tattoo attempts.”

  He smirked at me over his shoulder, and I returned the look.

  “There are a few ink witches who can ink garou and fae. It’s not cheap.”

  I’d been toying with the idea of getting a tattoo for a few years, but I’d never been able to settle on a design. I’d always been sure that the right one would come to me when I was ready. That was another thing the rogue had stolen from me.

  “Do garou tattoos have magical properties like the fae ones?” I asked.

  “No. Our magic is limited to shifting.”

  He tensed, and I realised I’d hit a bit of a nerve. There was a lot of tension between the various forms of supernatural, and garou were often considered to be at the bottom of the pile.

  “What’s the deal with the Blackthornes?”

  “They’re a very old hunter family, and some of the most brutal. Ainsley Blackthorne has been trying to pull together a hunter council for the past two years. Hunters aren’t very unified, which is a good thing for us. She wants to unify them and make them more efficient at what they do. She also wants to put witches and fae down, although she’s had the good sense to avoid that fight thus far.”

  I wrinkled my nose. She sounded like a real peach.

  “You said that as long as we stick within the laws, we’re safe, though, right?”

  He shrugged.

  “Maybe. Maybe not.”

  “That’s really helpful...” I said, rolling my eyes.

  “The Blackthornes have interesting interpretations of the laws. No supernatural is entirely safe while they’re in the area. You’d be far better off moving in with me so I could watch over you,” he said flatly.

  I laughed, a harsh sound showing my thoughts on that.

  “Garou are pack animals,” he said sharply.

  He turned his full alpha glare on me, and I raised an eyebrow back at him. I wasn’t going to submit or drop to my belly for him.

  “You’ve done just fine without a pack,” I shot back.

  He exhaled slowly.

  “Are you always this infuriating?” he growled.

  “Are you?”

  Now I was definitely being petty, but he was getting on my nerves. I wasn’t a child, and I certainly wasn’t going to give up my home or Jake.

  “Go home, Rosalyn.”

  We were five minutes away from my building, and he made a dismissive motion with his hand. I wanted to bite him and get in his face.

  I stopped dead and crossed my arms.

  “What are we doing about the rogue? I’m not going to have the council come down on my head because you were focused on something else.”

  “We’re not going to do anything. I will track him down, and you will stay out of trouble.”

  I rolled my eyes. That wasn’t going to happen. That rogue had taken nearly everything from me. This was also my chance to make a difference and established myself in the supernatural community. There wasn’t a chance in hell I was going to be a good little turned and hide at home.

  “Go home, Rosalyn.”

  There was something to his voice that made me want to snarl. It tugged at my feet and pressed against the edges of my mind.

  “Did you just try and alpha me!?” I snarled.

  He narrowed his eyes.

  “You should be walking home.”

  There was some confusion and suspicion in his tone. He’d tensed and was looking at me as though he was trying to see a lie.

  “Because I’m a weak little turned?” I stepped closer to him. “I am not submitting to you, Cole.”

  “Go home, Rosalyn,” he growled.

  The push was harder that time, but it still rolled off me. I smirked. It looked as though his little alpha trick wasn’t going to work on me.

  “Looks like you’re not dominant enough,” I said sweetly.

  He bared his
teeth and I bared mine back.

  “You’re impossible,” he snarled.

  “You say the sweetest things,” I said with a big grin.

  I looked up at the sky and saw that it was later than I realised. Jake would likely be getting home soon, and I wanted to cook him something nice.

  “See you around, Cole.”

  I wandered off towards home, leaving him seething.

  14

  I GOT BACK TO FIND Jake was already home.

  “Did Cole summon you?” he said around the last Pop-Tart.

  Anger began to rise at Jake’s casual tone. Cole hadn’t summoned me. I closed my eyes and pushed it aside. His question was reasonable, as was his tone, I knew that. Cole was the only other garou I had contact with, and that apparently made me somewhat protective over him. That wasn’t entirely unexpected. It was, however, inconvenient.

  “Yeah. He told me some stuff about being a garou and we went for a run,” I said with a shrug. “Have you heard of the Blackthorne hunters?”

  That could easily have turned into something growly with Jake making digs at Cole. I kept my tone light and breezy, not wanting to argue with Jake. Our friendship already felt a little tenuous, and I needed everyone around me that I could right then.

  Jake paused and really looked at me. His eyes hardened and a deep groove formed between his eyebrows. I knew that look of deep concern. It made a stone form in the pit of my stomach.

  “Yea I’ve heard of them. Are they the family that moved in?”

  His casual tone didn’t quite work. I heard the stiffness and saw the tension run through him.

  “Unfortunately. We bumped into Ainsley and what I guess was her husband. Cole told them to get off his land,” I said as I opened the fridge looking for food.

  Jake sighed.

  “Be careful around them, Rosalyn. They’re far more dangerous than the rogue.”

  I curled my lip at the soft fatherly tone. Exhaling slowly, I reminded myself that he was my oldest friend, and he was just looking out for me. We both needed to adjust to my being a garou. I couldn’t expect him to see me as a badass overnight. It still irritated me that he saw me as someone to protect, but I did my best to let it all go.

  The fridge was almost entirely empty. There was a single egg and nothing else. It looked like I was doing a grocery run.

  “Did you get my text about the bakery?” I asked innocently.

  The fact he hadn’t offered any commiseration stung. He was usually my biggest supporter, and that was a huge blow. He knew that the bakery job was important to me, that my dream was to become a star baker. I still hadn’t entirely processed that that dream was gone. I’d been trying to focus on the garou stuff, but tears pricked the corners of my eyes.

  “Sorry, my phone died. What happened?” Jake asked, stepping closer.

  “I got fired.”

  “Oh, Rosalyn, I’m so sorry!” He hugged me tight. “What happened?”

  “I rocked up late, the Mustang wouldn’t start again. Then I kinda burned three batches of muffins. I got side-tracked by my new super hearing.”

  He squeezed me tight and kissed my temple. It felt good to be wrapped up in his arms where nothing in the world could hurt me. I needed that. After everything, I needed to just forget anything else existed for a few minutes.

  “We’ll find you a new apprenticeship.”

  “I... I’m actually going to follow in Mom’s footsteps. Maybe this is all a sign or something. I mean, as a garou I’ll be a better bounty hunter. And I have to take down this rogue anyway.”

  He pulled back and frowned at me. I wanted to brush away the expression and bring back the beautiful smile I was accustomed to. I knew that it was a weird decision, and it had come out of the blue, but I still craved his support.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I think so.”

  He gave a small nod. And that was it. A gentle smile returned, we continued on as if nothing had happened.

  “Well, we’d best go grocery shopping - as you noticed, the fridge is empty,” he said with a lop-sided grin.

  He refused to look me in the eye. Something felt wrong. I felt like I was losing him again.

  “Talk to me, Jake,” I said as I gently prodded his chest.

  He gave me a fake smile. I always knew when he was giving me a fake smile - it didn’t quite reach his eyes, and he tried to look at me for a beat too long as though watching to see if I believed it. I never did.

  “It’s been a long day and I’m starving. That’s all.”

  He shrugged and broadened the plastic smile.

  He was lying. I heard the slight shift in his heart beat and the tinniness of his voice. He never lied to me.

  “Don’t lie to me...” I couldn’t keep the hurt out of my voice.

  Jake dragged his fingers through his hair and looked away. There it was again. I was losing him.

  “Everything’s changed. I’m adjusting to it.”

  I felt as though I’d just been stabbed in the heart. We were supposed to be Sam and Dean, there for each other through everything. Nothing could pull us apart. We’d go to Hell and back for each other. I knew being a garou was a huge shift, but I’d still hoped we’d be able to shrug it off and carry on. Hearing it said out loud made it all too real.

  “You see me differently now?” I whispered.

  He gave me a broad smile. I swallowed hard. I couldn’t take this.

  “You’ll always be my Sam. Just give me a couple of days to get my head around the fact you turn furry now. Ok?”

  He sounded as though he were being honest that time. I let it slide. I hated when we argued. The pain was still there, but I grasped onto the knowledge that he was being truthful and held onto it like a life raft. He just needed a couple of days, and then everything would be as it was supposed to be again.

  “Why don’t we head down to the fancy store a block over? We’ll get a pint of that ice cream you love.”

  “I have to be really careful now I don’t have a steady paycheque,” I said, chewing on my bottom lip.

  He put his arm around my shoulders.

  “Don’t worry about it. You can pay me back with the money from putting the rogue down.”

  “You’re assuming they pay me.”

  I wasn’t entirely sure if I was acting as a paid bounty hunter or just the inconvenient turned. I hadn’t had the nerve to ask Cole or the council for clarification.

  He shrugged.

  “Then you can pay me back with your first bounty. Whatever it is.”

  I hated borrowing money from him and feeling like dead weight, but he was being generous. The ice cream with salted caramel, rich chocolate cookie chunks, and the most sinful vanilla ice-cream base in existence did sound really good. I’d definitely earned it with the day I’d had.

  THE SUN WAS SETTING, and the exhaustion was really starting to hit me. Those five AM starts were killer. Add in everything else that happened, and I was ready to sleep for a week.

  Jake and I wandered down the quiet street towards the fancy grocery store. It was on the edge of the rich part of town. The red buildings took on a soft orange tinge with the pretty sunset that spread across the clear sky. The mountains formed the perfect backdrop to everything, covered in bright green trees. In the winter, they’d be coated in a thick covering of pure-white snow that would draw in skiers from all over the country.

  Thankfully, our little town didn’t usually bring in many tourists; they all flocked to Stowe, some twenty minutes away with a ski resort. We didn’t have much to offer outside of quaint cafes and beautiful walking trails. They usually preferred to stick close to Stowe, as it had everything they needed.

  I was revelling in the peaceful evening, enjoying the beautiful town I was lucky enough to call home, and I didn’t notice the pair of fae that started shadowing us. Their footsteps drew my attention first, quickly followed by the tension that spread through Jake. Once again, I was without my knife. I didn’t know what had gotten into m
e. The stuff at the bakery must have fried my brain.

  The fae were tall, lean, and stunning. They turned every head as they casually got closer and closer to Jake and me.

  “Elves,” Jake whispered.

  I sighed. Elves were vicious and capable warriors. Unlike the ones in the movies, they didn’t often use a bow. They tended to live out in nature, though, and were excellent at taking down predators far bigger than them. I was half their size. As far as I was aware, fae didn’t really have any weaknesses. They didn’t heal as quickly as a garou or a shifter, but they did heal. The right magic was supposed to be able to unravel that, but I didn’t have any magic. Neither did Jake, thanks to his mom’s bindings.

  “Maybe they’re just going to for a nice evening stroll,” I said with a big fake smile.

  Jake gave me a disapproving look and quietly passed me a small stiletto knife that he’d hidden away somewhere. My saviour.

  “Son of Teague,” the taller one in the leather jacket said to Jake.

  “I prefer Jake,” he said coldly.

  The elf’s mouth quirked upwards.

  “Let us discuss your bloodline.”

  “I’d really rather not.”

  They were trying to herd us down into a shadowy alley away from prying eyes. I saw the glint of a knife on the shorter one’s hip. Jake glanced at me and looked at the alley. He was right, we were better off allowing them to take us down the alley. We didn’t want the human police getting involved. That would be a long night, and I was already ready for bed.

  To the casual observer, they looked like perfectly normal humans, albeit rich ones. That wasn’t unusual in this part of the state, though. Their burnished copper and bronze skin was flawlessly smooth, and their clothes were from some top-end boutique somewhere. The taller one wore a t-shirt that likely cost as much as my Mustang. It was simple with a little silver oak leaf over the heart, but the fabric hung perfectly and had the appearance of a high thread count. Their jeans and boots were sensible and designer.