Charmed by the Wolf

by Kristal Hollis

“Your mom told me about your home life as a child. I get that your parents weren’t the best role models, but neither were my aunt and uncle.”

  “Did you tell her that you are pregnant?”

  “No.” Nel shook her head. “I haven’t said a word to anyone.”

  Nel’s tentative smiled reeled him in. “We can do better than your parents and my guardians did, Tristan. At the very least, we have to try.”

  * * *

  “You’re not having a heart attack.” Arms crossed over his chest, Rafe leaned against the counter in the hospital room.

  “Just because your father is a doctor—” Tristan paused, gasping for air “—doesn’t make you one.”

  “You’re having a panic attack.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Chest hurt? Light-headed? Can’t breathe?”

  Tristan nodded.

  “Feel like you’re dying?”

  “More like a black hole swallowed me and I can’t get out.”

  “Panic attack,” Rafe said confidently. “I used to get them after Lexi died.”

  “What do I do?”

  “Stop panting. Hold your breath if you have to, but slow down your breathing or you’ll hyperventilate.”

  Tristan held his breath for a ten count and slowly let it out. After several repetitions, the tightness in his chest began to ease.

  “What was the trigger?” Rafe poured Tristan a cup of water.

  “I might have accidentally claimed Nel.” Tristan downed the entire contents in one gulp.

  “Ah, hell.” Rafe scratched his short beard. “Define might have.”

  “It was just a nip, barely broke the skin.” Tristan pointed to the spot on his neck that corresponded to where Nel’s mark would’ve been. “But she’s pregnant.”

  “That’s a mate-claim.” Rafe stared at him, eyes pinning Tristan without a flicker of doubt. “There’s not a might have in that scenario.”

  “This is a goddamn nightmare.” Tristan rubbed the back of his head, his hair damp along the hairline.

  Nel’s pregnancy wasn’t the issue; what he couldn’t accept was claiming Nel without her consent. Instinct be damned, he would never force her to remain in a mateship with him.

  Tristan swung his legs over the side of the hospital bed. “I can’t, I won’t do this to her. There must be a way out.”

  “What does Nel want?”

  “She wants to try to make things work, for the baby’s sake.”

  “If she’s not unwilling, then do it.”

  Tristan shook his head. His fever was gone and the virus had likely run its course, but his muscles were sore and he felt tired. “Look at my family history. Not one happy mateship for as far back as anyone remembers.”

  Nel would grow to resent him, it was inevitable. Tristan would be in a state of constant expectation, waiting for the day it happened.

  He loved Nel. Loved her enough to want her happiness more than his own. And, he would do everything in his power to ensure she would be.

  “Do me a favor,” Tristan said. “Don’t tell anyone about the pregnancy, not even Grace.”

  “I don’t keep secrets from her, Tristan. She’ll sense something is off.”

  “You know how news travels. I just don’t want Gavin to get further involved. His initial disapproval nearly caused Brice to lose Cassie, and Grace left you after Gavin’s convoluted plan to manipulate her blew up in both of your faces.”

  “We came through it,” Rafe said quietly.

  “Because of the mate-bond?” Tristan studied his friend, mulling over his thoughts. No need to hurry him along. Rafe always took his time and never spoke his mind until good and ready.

  “I don’t think you should worry,” Rafe finally said. “There is a biological component to a mate-claim, but the real issue is a mate-bond.”

  Tristan’s anxiety shot through the roof.

  “No one in my family has ever experienced a mate-bond. I don’t think it’s possible for it to happen to me.”

  “Just follow your instinct. If it leads you to her, well, there’s your answer. If it doesn’t, that’s an answer, too.”

  Chapter 33

  Tristan in the kitchen in the mornings was just as sexy as in bed at night.

  Fully recovered, he bebopped around the breakfast bar, clearing dishes while Nel finished her coffee.

  “I’ve decided to break the apartment lease. Three flights of stairs are a lot for you to handle.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” She put down her mug.

  “When you’re nine months pregnant, do you really want to go up and down that many stairs?” Tristan looked over his shoulder. “How about when toting the baby, a diaper bag, a stroller?”

  Good point.

  Tristan flashed her a smile, but ever since he’d learned of their predicament, his eyes didn’t warm her quite as much.

  He returned to the dishes. The subtle tension in his body becoming more pronounced. “I checked the online listings and found a few houses in Maico that look nice. Or the Co-op has a great lot between the resort and the sanctuary where we could build. My dad’s crew is fast and good. We could move in before the baby comes. What do you think?”

  Nel sat down her cup. Tristan had been at the cabin for a week, and they hadn’t discussed anything further into the future than supper.

  “I think you’re making plans without involving me in the process.”

  “Isn’t that what I’m doing now?”

  “You’ve asked me to choose from your preferences here. I don’t remember you asking me where I want to live.”

  “Are you saying you don’t want to live in Walker’s Run?” He turned, drying his hands on a dish towel.

  “Maybe.” She wasn’t sure and definitely didn’t want to make any snap decisions, especially since a major one had already been decided by circumstance.

  “Nel, my pack is here, my job is here. I have responsibilities, commitments. My entire life is in Walker’s Run.”

  “And mine is in Atlanta.” Nel’s stomach churned, but it wasn’t from morning sickness. “I teach in a small private school. They’re expecting me to come back in two weeks. Plus, I have the charity gala with Gilbert. Would you seriously ask me to give up my first showing or the opportunities that may come with it?”

  He answered with a slight shake of his head, his eyes dark and turbulent.

  Nel’s watch beeped. “Time to go.” She slid off the bar stool. “Can we talk more about this later?”

  “Absolutely.” He wrapped her in a warm, comforting hug. Then he tipped her chin and kissed her madly. Deeply. Possessively.

  “Any more of that and I’ll be late.”

  Tristan walked her to the car. “I’m working noon to midnight. I can put a roast in the Crock-Pot for your supper.”

  Nel held her hand to her mouth. Lately, the only meat she could stomach was chicken. “Take it to your aunt on the way to work. I’ll pick up a rotisserie from the market.”

  Tristan kissed her again, lightly and full of longing. “Have a good day.”

  “Be safe.”

  “Always.”

  * * *

  “Come with me, right now.” Jaxen’s icy fingers wrapped around Nel’s wrist. He grabbed the basket in her hand and dropped it on the floor inside Anne’s Market.

  “Let me go.” Nel yanked but his grip held firm.

  “We don’t have much time.” He began walking at a fast clip, pulling her alongside him. “We have to hurry.”

  She dug in her heels. “If you don’t tell me what’s going on, I’m going to scream until the cops come.”

  “We’re wasting time.” Jaxen’s blue eyes were nearly colorless and his face had gone pale. “He’s hur
t, Nel. Hurt bad.”

  “Tristan?” A soul-piercing cold swept through Nel.

  Jaxen nodded. “I’ll take you to him.” He resumed a brisk walk with Nel in tow.

  A sliver of caution ran through her mind.

  “Why you?” she panted over staccato breaths. “Why did you come and not someone else?”

  “I saw you come in here when I stopped at the pharmacy to pick up my mom’s medication.” Jaxen pushed open the glass doors. “Got the call from Nate while waiting in line. Figured you would want to know sooner rather than later.”

  Nel’s heart couldn’t decide if it wanted to claw out of her chest or up her throat. All it knew was that she needed to get to Tristan.

  The light rain that had been falling when she’d arrived now came down in earnest. Soaked the moment she stepped off the walkway, Nel darted behind Jaxen to his car. He didn’t wait for her to fasten the seat belt before squealing out of the parking lot.

  Nel prayed. Prayed for a lot of things. Mostly, she prayed their child would not grow up fatherless.

  “You passed by the hospital.” Nel’s anxiety grew.

  “He isn’t there. It wasn’t safe to move him.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “Meadowbrooke. He was on a domestic violence call there when it happened. Those family squabbles can turn deadly.” Jaxen kept his eyes focused ahead, his fingers locked around the steering wheel like steel bands.

  Something didn’t seem quite right. Slowly, she reached for her purse. Before her fingers wrapped around the cell phone inside, Jaxen snatched the purse and tossed it in the back seat. “There’s no one to call. Everyone is on their way.”

  Lightning flashed in the sky and her soul rumbled with the thunder above them. A cold sweat swept her skin and Nel doubted very much that anyone was headed to wherever Jaxen was taking her.

  Chapter 34

  “Tristan.” Locke’s dark eyes flashed and his craggy face looked more annoyed than usual. “Have you heard anything I’ve said?”

  No, not really, because he was a bit frazzled. He’d stopped by Ruby’s on the way in. She was sick, so instead of the roast he’d planned to put in the Crock-Pot, Tristan had decided to defrost and cut up a chicken for soup. He’d accidentally let it slip that Nel was pregnant. Ruby would tell his dad; his dad would tell his mom.

  Everything would spiral down from there.

  “Are you getting sick again?”

  “No, I’m just tired.” A lot had happened over the summer and he didn’t have his bearings yet.

  The sheriff returned to his monologue, but Tristan’s thoughts drifted again, his senses homing in on something he couldn’t quite register until it erupted from deep within and manifested as a cold, primal fear.

  Nel!

  Tristan flew to his feet, his chair sprawled on the floor.

  Locke’s face registered annoyance.

  His heart beating harder, faster, Tristan pulled out his cell phone. “Pick up, pick up, pick up,” he chanted but the line kept ringing.

  “What’s going on?” Locked demanded.

  “Something’s happened to Nel.” Tristan rubbed his temples, trying to think.

  For god’s sake, he was the one people called when in trouble. Why was he having a brain freeze?

  He paced. The dizzying rush he felt was definitely from fear not entirely his own.

  “Sheriff, I have to go.” Tristan didn’t wait for authorization to leave. He bolted out of the station, dashed through rain and climbed into his truck.

  Nel, where are you?

  At the cabin? The resort? The market? Stranded on the highway?

  He had no idea where to start looking for her.

  Dammit. He should’ve asked Rafe about how to use the mate-bond rather than trying to figure out how to block it.

  He closed his eyes. If he could feel Nel’s panic, she could likely sense his.

  Calming his mind, Tristan followed his instincts and reached out telepathically.

  “Nel, sweetheart. What’s wrong?”

  Her frantic voice kept running through his mind, calling his name.

  “Nel!” He forced his thoughts to be stern. “Calm down.”

  If she couldn’t calm herself, he’d never sense what he needed through the static.

  “Tristan!”

  “I’m here, baby. What’s wrong?” He opened his eyes, cranked the engine and tore out of the parking lot with his lights flashing and the siren wailing.

  “Jaxen. He’s taken me...”

  “Where, Nel? Where has he taken you?” Tristan couldn’t explain why, but he headed toward the market where Nel should’ve been.

  “Are you all right? He said you were hurt.”

  “I’m fine, sweetheart. Tell me where to find you.” Tristan slowed for the lights, but when the traffic stopped in all directions, he shot through the intersection.

  “We’re in a house.”

  Well that didn’t narrow the possibilities much. “It’s new. No furniture.”

  “Do you know where?”

  “Meadow something.”

  Now he knew he was headed in the right direction. Meadowbrooke was just east of town.

  “Tristan? Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. Are you safe?”

  “For now. But Jaxen is still here. I hear him walking around the house.”

  Tristan exhaled a tight breath. “Hold on, sweetheart. I’m coming.”

  Chapter 35

  “Where is she?” Drenched, Tristan stood in the doorway of an unsold home in Meadowbrooke, a new housing community his father’s construction company helped build.

  Jaxen’s humorless grin distorted his mouth. “I knew if I rattled her, you would come.”

  “I’m not going to ask again.” Teeth gritted, Tristan stepped inside the house as thunder exploded in the sky. “Where is my mate?”

  “I told you, cuz. I don’t hurt women. You, however...” Hatred glittered in Jaxen’s eyes. “I will take great pleasure in hurting you.”

  “What’s this about?” Tristan stepped left, countering Jaxen’s every move. Nel was somewhere in the house, and until he figured out where and how to get her out, Tristan needed to keep Jaxen talking and distracted. “Still blaming me for your banishment?”

  “This goes back much further,” Jaxen snorted.

  “To the day you pushed me off the rock?”

  Their steps fell in rhythm so that they were circling each other in the barren room.

  “All this time, I thought you were mad at me for leaving your scrawny ass—” Jaxen made air quotes “—to get help. Damn, cuz, I never thought you actually remembered.”

  “Why did you do it?”

  “Don’t remember that part, huh?”

  Tristan shook his head. The entire day was a blank.

  “You’re the reason I grew up without a father, Tristan.”

  “He died in a car accident. How is that my fault?”

  “It wasn’t a fucking car accident, you bastard!” Jaxen swiped the spittle from his mouth. “Suzannah’s brothers dragged my father out of our house in the middle of the night and ripped out his goddamn throat because of you!”

  As a law enforcement officer, Tristan had stared unfazed into the eyes of madmen. What he saw in the depths of Jaxen’s gaze chilled him to the core of his being.

  “Let Nel go, Jax. She’s innocent in all this. Once she is safe, you and I can settle this however you like.”

  “She is safe. I’m not going to hurt her, though I am going to kill you.” Jaxen’s cold laughter slithered down Tristan’s spine. “It’s perfect, don’t you think? I grew up without my father, your child will grow up without you. Like Nate stepped in, I’ll be there
for your kid. I’ll even go a step further and claim Nel as my mate.”

  “Over my dead body.”

  “That’s the plan.” Jaxen advanced, shifting midstride, and launched.

  Tristan blocked the large wolf’s strike, but the momentum threw him backward and his head cracked against the drywall. He slung the wolf to the floor.

  The animal swung around, eyes focused on Tristan like icy daggers; ribbons of spittle dripped from his snarling mouth.

  “Jaxen! Don’t. This won’t end well for you.”

  The wolf hesitated for a mere second. Tristan caught the animal midleap. They tumbled to the ground.

  Large, sharp teeth snapped at Tristan’s face. He shoved the animal away, but before Tristan got to his feet, the wolf whipped around and clamped his jaws around Tristan’s calf. The wolf’s teeth tore through his khaki pants, sank deep into his muscle and ripped away the flesh.

  Tristan ignored the pain throbbing through his leg. He had to stay focused on the task of subduing Jaxen. The slightest distraction could result in devastating consequences.

  Even with his size, Tristan couldn’t successfully fight the wolf in his human form. He had to even the odds.

  Using his uninjured leg, he kicked out, striking the wolf’s ribs with enough force to send him flying across the room. Tristan shifted, everything in his body disintegrating from the eruption of energy responsible for the transformation.

  Jaxen’s paws scratched the wood floor as he barreled toward him. Tristan, touching only his three good legs to the ground, charged head-on. The collision nearly knocked him senseless. Jaxen dropped, looking as stunned as Tristan felt.

  They shook off the disorientation and circled each other. Since they were equal in mass and strength, it was going to be a helluva battle.

  Jaxen attacked. His nails sliced down Tristan’s shoulder. Tristan responded with a defensive bite.

  They wrestled throughout the living room, smashing the front window as they fought for dominance. Tristan had a hard time guarding his left side. Jaxen knew his weakness and sought every opportunity to work his way into Tristan’s blind spot.

  Blue lights flashed outside. Help had arrived, but Jaxen remained a viable threat to Nel and the baby.