Underwater!
He’d been struggling. Drowning. Was he dead?
Where was he?
He tried to pull himself onto all fours, but a splitting pain throbbed in his leg and his limbs were too shaky, unable to support his weight. Settling back down, he lay on the floor. He preferred to act, but his wolf form was in command now and it demanded rest. Seth tried to take control by shifting, but he lacked the energy. The wolf’s fatigue dragged them both under.
Some time later, a door closed, waking him up. Footsteps approached.
He forced himself to snap out of the mind fog. He’d regained some of his lost strength so it didn’t feel like he was being dragged back down to a dark void. When he tried to stand, he discovered he was now on two legs; he’d shifted to human form while he slept. His head hit something above, preventing him from standing upright.
Blinking several times, he discerned the outlines of a cage surrounding him.
He’d been captured.
He grabbed at the twisted steel in the enclosure, shaking it. His wolf clawed inside, itching to lash out and break through the barrier. Fury rose as quickly as a snap of fingers, but he fought to control it. He tamped the rage down so he could keep his wits. He had to assess the situation before reacting blindly, landing him in greater danger.
A woman entered the room. He sniffed and caught a human scent. It was a pleasant, feminine one unlike any he’d known. One that reminded him of berries and sweet cream.
Human.
Fuck. What in bloody hell had happened?
When she approached and saw him, she dropped the mug in her hand. It crashed to the ground, its contents splashing him. Hot, but not scalding. It was tea with milk and sugar; the scent was unmistakable.
“Oh my God!” She covered her mouth.
“Oh my God is right,” he repeated as the fury returned. What the hell was he doing in a human’s cage?
“What—how—” She blinked and reopened her eyes, staring at him from wide eyes.
“That’s what I’d like to know.” He tried to stand, but the cage wouldn’t permit it so he continued to kneel. The movement instigated pain shooting out from his leg. Right, something had stung him while in the water. That wasn’t as important now, not when he was in the most dangerous place he could be—trapped by a human. “Who the bloody hell do you think you are locking me in a cage?”
“I—uh—I didn’t!” she protested. “It wasn’t you. It was an animal.” She searched around the room as if looking for answers. “Liam, if you’re playing a joke to get back at me,” she called out into the hallway, nervousness coming through her frustrated tone, “it’s not even close to being funny.”
“I don’t give a fuck who this Liam is,” Seth said, “but this isn’t a bloody joke.” He grabbed at the bars and shook. “So hurry up and get me out of here!”
***
Hailey backed up as the naked man in the cage shook the bars, glaring at her.
She backed away. It couldn’t be happening. There couldn’t be a man where the wolf had been. She exited the room and closed the door. What had happened?
She’d helped put the wolf into the cage, for goodness sake. She’d felt its fur. She’d pulled out stingers and had treated the wound.
Now there was a man in there? What kind of sick joke was that?
It had to be a joke. Liam had to be playing a trick on her since he was the only one who knew about the wolf.
“Liam,” she called out. “Liam. I’m telling you, this isn’t remotely funny!”
She pulled out her phone and called him but hung up when she heard his voicemail.
Where the hell was the wolf? And who was the man in the cage? How would he have even made the switch? Her workspace, where she nursed injured animals and nurtured native plants, was connected to her cottage. She would have heard movement of that sort. It hadn’t been easy to move a tranquilized wolf. He couldn’t have managed it alone, either, and she doubted he would have told anyone what they had found since they’d agreed not to until after they’d shared the news with their father.
Her mind raced, seeking any sort of explanation. After that almost herculean effort they’d gone through to save the wolf, hauling it in the net onto the boat and tranquilizing it, it didn’t make sense for Liam to plan some sort of switcheroo. Even though he was her big brother, he wouldn’t mess with her to that extent.
Hmm, what else could explain the replacement of a wolf in a cage with an angry man?
Someone must have found out about the wolf and had taken it. Planting a man in its place had to be an effort to scare her. Yes, that was a more likely scenario. With all the opposition from nearby farmers on her father’s plan to rewild the grounds of the estate, it had to be some kind of sick scare tactic.
Then where was that poor wolf? If they hurt it, a defenseless animal…
No, it couldn’t have been one of their neighbors. How would they have known? The wolf wasn’t visible as it was covered up in the back of Liam’s truck, so nobody would have seen them transport it to Hailey’s cottage.
So what could have happened?
***
Seth had to calm down. Scaring this human would not help matters. If she was afraid, it would not end well for him. When humans feared wolves, the wolves were usually the ones who ended up hurt. Raina’s mother had been killed by one, shot by a hunter in the Highlands.
Humans could not be trusted. How many other animals had they killed in their brutal and violent regime to eradicate them due to fear? Or worse, their “sport” of hunting—not for food even, but for fun?
He had to be careful around this one. What was that saying about honey catching more flies? Well, he’d be the sweetest pot of honey, and she’d be the bear who couldn’t resist.
In a level voice, he called out, “Pardon me, lass. I didn’t mean to frighten you. Could we talk?”
After several heart-pounding moments, the door opened with a creak. The human female peeked in with wide eyes, as if expecting some kind of monster to leap out and attack her. Then she entered the room.
She had dark auburn hair pulled into a high ponytail and wore black glasses, which revealed a set of wide, confused eyes. For a moment, he pictured her with the hair down and glasses off, wild and untamed like a wolf shifter rather than a cautious human. His wolf had definitely taken notice of the female, watching her with intense interest. She wore a white coat, like one a doctor or a lab worker might wear. That didn’t bode well. The last thing he’d let happen was to have her poke and prod at him like some sick kind of curiosity experiment.
“No need to be frightened,” he said. “I don’t know how I ended up locked in this cage, but I’d like to get out. It’s cramped. I won’t hurt you.”
She opened her mouth and closed it twice before saying, “What happened?”
“What do you mean?”
“Where’s the wolf? What did you do to it? You better not have hurt it.” She raised her hand and dropped it. “A wolf was in there. Now there’s you.” She raised a finger and demanded, “Where is it?”
Despite his anger, her demand was amusing. She tried to cover her fear and confusion with false authority.
Stifling a smirk, he replied, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t lie to me.” She moved closer, raising an index finger. “Did someone put you up to play a joke?”
Her eyes were a remarkable shade of blue mixed with gray. If she wasn’t a human, he might have considered her attractive.
“Joke?” he repeated. “What wolf?”
“The one I saved from the ocean, dammit!”
So, she’d rescued him. It all came back to him now. The boat. Her aiming something at him. The net he’d struggled with. The gun that had lulled him. She’d shot him when he was trapped in the net.
Saved? More like trying to kill him. “You shot me,” he spat.
Shite, he shouldn’t have said that. It had come out automatically in his anger as
he fitted the pieces together.
Her brave expression faltered. “I didn’t. There was a wolf. It was drowning.”
“And what did you do to this wolf?” He laced the final words with as much sarcasm as he could muster to downplay his previous admission.
“Hauled it onto the boat before it sank under the waves again and drowned.” She touched her forehead and gazed at him. “Why would you say I shot you? I tranquilized a wolf. Which coincidentally is missing, replaced by you. Who put you up to this and why? Are they trying to scare me from my work?”
She breathed so heavily, her statements came out between audible pants. For several moments, he assessed her while debating how to respond. She’d tranquilized him and hadn’t tried to kill him. That was a wee bit reassuring.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Let me out of here so we can talk—and figure out what’s happened.”
She scanned the room. For backup? A weapon? “All right. Let me get you something to cover up.”
Ah, perhaps she wasn’t looking for something to defend herself with after all. Humans were so modest about their bodies. Silly, since it was their natural state. At least she’d deemed he was safe to let out.
She unlocked the cage and turned her head, presumably to offer him privacy. He climbed out of the cage and pulled himself upright.
***
Hailey averted her eyes as he climbed from the cage, naked. “I’ll be right back.”
She trekked into her cottage to retrieve a towel from the bathroom. What the hell was going on? A naked man was in her workspace. The wolf was gone.
She glimpsed her pink bathrobe hanging. That would cover him. Most men would scoff at the idea of donning a woman’s pink bathrobe.
But, not all….
Forget the robe. She shook her head, focused on the bizarre situation. Maybe Liam had been right yesterday—she drank salt water or accidentally took some sort of hallucinogenic that made her think the wolf she’d rescued had been replaced by a man. One whom was quite striking, she might add. Snorting at the ridiculousness of the situation, she shoved that thought away. It had to be a fantasy—why else would her mind conjure an image like that?
She grabbed a clean white towel that would cover him. When she returned to her workspace, he was examining the papers on her desk. With his back to her, she couldn’t help dropping her gaze to his buttocks. Holy hotness, the guy had muscles everywhere—even there. Her gaze traveled up to scan his sculpted back and broad shoulders. Yes, she had to be imagining all this.
He turned to her, swinging body parts in her direction. “Rewilding, what’s that about?” He pointed to some papers on her desk.
“Here, cover up.” She turned away, averting her eyes as she offered the towel, but somehow ended up looking at his naked body parts dead on. “Oh my God, I’m sorry!”
She covered her mouth to stifle her squeal and dropped the towel. When she bent down to grab it and began to rise, it put her in a precarious position before him.
He offered his hand and pulled her up. Then he laughed. It started as a chuckle but morphed into a full-blown guffaw. The sound was strange amid all the high tension, but it helped to pierce it. She cracked a smile herself. She hadn’t played that part smoothly at all.
He took the towel from her outstretched arm and she turned away, counting to five to give him enough time to cover up.
“You’re safe now,” he said with a hint of amusement.
When she glanced at him, he’d wrapped the white terrycloth low around his waist, covering his goods. Her gaze traveled up to his chest, which was just as contoured, tanned—and huge—as the rest of him.
“You don’t seem as terrified as when you first walked in here.”
“Because I know this must be some messed-up dream or something.” She drew her eyes up to his face.
He jerked his head. “You don’t think this is real?”
She sighed and glanced up at the ceiling. “I don’t know what to think.” Shaking her head, she remembered her manners. “I’m sorry for however you got in there. I’m not sure how it happened—if you’re in on some prank or what. But anyway, you were in a cage, so I feel awful. Can I get you a cup of tea? Something to eat?”
“Aye, I could eat.” He glanced outside the window, which overlooked the tiny flower garden she maintained. “Where are we? Your papers mention the Highlands. Is that where we are?”
“Yes. This is my father’s estate, northwest of Inverness.” She scrunched her face. “You really don’t know where you are?” Either he was a good actor or this wasn’t some prank. “Please, come and make yourself comfortable.”
She led him outside the workspace and into her cottage, a bright open design with plenty of windows that consisted of a living area and small kitchen. Although she motioned to the beige suede sofa, he didn’t sit. While she puttered around in the kitchen to put together a plate, she sensed him moving behind her.
“You live here?”
His voice was rich and smooth, like warm caramel dripping over a bowl of vanilla ice cream.
“I do. It’s a small cottage with a workspace on my father’s estate. Needed some independence, you know?”
“I understand.” With a one-sided grin, he added, “I’ve sought some myself lately.”
Without that furious glare, he was handsome. His face had a rugged, masculine appeal, which was softened by his shoulder-length, sun-streaked hair that reminded her of a lion’s mane. The smile added another level of attractiveness, one that affected her with a heady rush that coiled in the pit of her stomach.
What was that smile about? A private joke?
“Where is your father?” he asked.
“He lives in the main house, not far from here.”
He peered into the open door to her bedroom. “Does anyone live here with you?”
“No,” she admitted after hesitating. “But I’m close enough to the main house so there’s always someone nearby.” She didn’t necessarily fear him for some reason, but still, as a single female alone with a stranger male in her house, she had to be wary.
She brought him a cup of tea and a sandwich to the dining room table. “Roast beef and cheese sandwich, okay?”
“Aye.” He sat and wolfed it down, not bothering to pause for conversation.
How long had it been since he’d eaten? “You must be famished,” she said. “I’ll bring you another one.”
After she brought him a second sandwich, she sat down with him with her cup of tea, heavy with milk and honey. “What’s your name?”
“Seth,” he said between bites.
“Seth what?”
“What do you mean?” He appeared perplexed.
“What’s your last name?”
He straightened and put down his sandwich. Why did that simple question rattle him?
“We don’t use them where I’m from.”
“Okay then.” Where could he have been from where they didn’t use surnames? Sure, she didn’t know everything about Scottish culture, and even though she was born there, she’d never met anyone who didn’t use a surname. “Where are you from?”
He leaned back and replied, “What’s your name?”
“Hailey,” she replied. “Hailey Crenshaw.”
“Where are you from, Hailey Crenshaw? You have an accent I don’t recognize.”
“I was born here in Scotland, but my family moved to the States when I was a kid. Spent most of my time there. My dad moved the family back while I was still in college in Montana, and I returned after I graduated.”
“With your mum?”
Ouch, he hit her with the pang before she’d even taken a sip of tea. She stared at her cup and took a sip to fortify herself. The warm liquid flowing down her throat was soothing; it had been her mom’s answer to many of life’s problems—sit down with a cup of tea and after that, things won’t seem as bad.
He was watching her carefully. She’d never been able to mask her emotions and they were pro
bably spelled out on her face. “No. She died when I was twelve.” After swallowing, she forced out the answer to the question that often followed. “Cancer.”
“I’m sorry,” he replied with a sincere tone. “I lost my mother when I was young, too.”
Their eyes met for a highly charged moment. Nobody understood the loss of a parent like another who experienced the same ache. “How old were you?”
“Seven.”
He’d only been a boy. How much harder that might have been, if he didn’t quite understand what had happened? She straightened. “What about your father?”
He broke the gaze, tightening his jaw with a bitter expression. “Never met him.”
Eek, that appeared to be a touchy subject. He wasn’t happy about whatever the situation was with his dad. “So,” she began, searching to steer the conversation elsewhere. He still hadn’t replied to her earlier question, so she repeated, “Where are you from?”
He hesitated, studying her, before he replied, “An island.”
“Which one?” she prodded. Her mind fired, seeking the connection between this man, the wolf, and the island that was reported to have wolves.
“A private one,” he replied with a steely gaze, a clear attempt to shut down her questions.
Although his tone didn’t deter her from her questions, the intensity in his amber eyes made her tremble for a different reason. Ignoring the discomfort, she powered on. “What happened to the wolf?”
He tore his gaze away so quickly, she knew she’d hit on something big. When he returned it to her, that unusual color rang so familiar. She’d seen them before. Eyes that were human-like, but on an animal’s face.
“No,” she said. “It can’t be—you can’t be…”
“Can’t be what? I didn’t say anything.”
“Your eyes. I know them. I’ve seen them.” She leaned forward with excitement, knowing she was right. “In the wolf.”
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