In the dining room, she noticed the lights were off and the house was quiet. She felt a draft. The sliding glass door was open. She hobbled outside and saw Mika’s clothes neatly folded on the chair by the balcony. On the railing was her ruined shirt. Odd. What in the world are they doing with that? Mika told me he got rid of it. Why would he lie to me about it? Why are his clothes outside? Does he have a thing for streaking?
October ran her hands over her arms, feeling the chill of the night seeping into her bones. She pulled the plaid shirt Mika had given to her closer to her body and pressed the collar to her nose. His musky scent lingered even after she had washed it. It was another thing that made her feel close to him. When she settled down to sleep, the heady aroma kept him in her mind. Then the dreams would begin. Elliot would wake her up and remind her that she was safe. Now they had abandoned her to the night.
Where did they go? Why didn’t they tell me where they were going? The stars above gave more light than the thin crescent moon did. Each little jewel dotting the sky was a hope cast across the darkness by some little child or hopeful spirit. She used to wish on stars. Now when she gazed up at them, she didn’t see desires waiting to be fulfilled. October saw the light of dead rocks that was just reaching Earth. Once upon a time, she used to believe in fairy tales, but those dreams had died when the reality of the world had hit her. No one had answered her prayers while she was kept caged. She didn’t know what she believed in anymore. Was it the will of the universe that she was kidnapped or that she had escaped? Maybe it had happened so she could meet the two men who had saved her.
Now you’re just reaching for straws as to why you’re attracted to both of them.
She smiled, and another part answered her. Because they are totally hot in different ways and you want them in bed with you.
Maybe. But would they go for that?
The breeze cooled her a little more. In the distance she heard the shrill howl of a wolf. Fear and horror buzzed along her nerves. The hair stood up on the back of her neck. He’s found me. Where are Mika and Elliot?
She glanced around and saw the only route of escape was through the house or down the stairs. The bay came again. This time it was closer. A minute passed, and another cry filled the air, answering the other wolf. Maybe it isn’t him. Maybe it really is just wolves. It’s possible the mountains are full of them. Or maybe he has a pack and he finally healed enough to track me down.
Below her, two forms emerged from the trees. Two large wolves, looking like Great Danes on steroids, trotted toward the deck stairs. She slunk back into the shadows to watch them. Each step they took, her fear intensified. Knots twisted and turned in her stomach, growing tighter as the wolves got closer. She retreated until her back hit the wall. From her vantage point, one of them had silver fur that gleamed even in the little slice of moonlight. The other was darker and blended with the night. They were a contrast of darkness and light. Her eyes widened when their shapes transformed before her eyes, their muscles rippling. The crack of bones drifted to her ears, and the cries that came from their throats were a mixture of animal and human. They shivered and soon went from standing on four legs to two. The thunder of her pulse filled her ears. A cold sweat had broken out over her body. I’m not seeing this. This isn’t happening. It brought her back to seeing her captor do exactly the same thing. She hadn’t been sure of her eyes then either. What made it even worse was when the wolf forms stopped shifting, the men who appeared were the two she was struggling with feelings for.
Elliot came up the stairs first. “At least this time you were able to pick up a scent.”
“I guess having two noses is better than one.” Mika slapped him on the back and chuckled.
“You’re both monsters!” October cried out and stepped from the shadows. Her terror remained, but it was fast turning into resentment.
Mika and Elliot froze. The rage built in her, and it didn’t matter they were both naked and gorgeous. Elliot’s wiry muscles were cut into his pale skin. There was a crisscrossing of scars on his thighs, but the rest of his body was perfect. Mika had more definition of his muscles, but he wasn’t overpowering. The knobs of his nipples stood out in the cool air. When her gaze settled on their semierect cocks, she fought the images of the three of them in bed together. That’s never going to happen now. Not now that I know what they truly are. October shook off the lust that mingled with the anger, tore her gaze away from their lower anatomy, and fixed her eyes on their faces. Their twin shocked expressions told her they had never expected her to discover what they truly were. Mika held out his hand and stepped forward.
“Stay away from me!” She stuck out her crutch to keep them away.
“We’re not going to hurt you.” Mika tried to go to her, but Elliot caught his arm and shook his head. He growled, but remained where he was.
“Not going to hurt me? You both lied to me.” Wetness dotted her cheeks from the tears of frustration that boiled through her. “Was this some kind of game to you? You were trying to fatten me up and then invite your cohorts to come and get me when you thought I was healed enough to get away. Are you both in their pack?”
“That’s not it at all. Will you let us get dressed and go inside so we can talk about this?” Elliot asked.
October worried her bottom lip. She didn’t see that they were going to bound off and contact the other wolf who had kidnapped her. That didn’t mean, once they got inside, they weren’t going to bind her up, rape her, and then give her to her kidnapper again. At least out here she had the advantage, although she knew she couldn’t handle the both of them if they rushed her.
“No. Tell me what’s going on. What are you going to do with me?”
“Baby, we’re not going to do anything to you except answer your questions.”
“I’m not your baby,” she snarled at Mika.
“October, listen. We didn’t tell you about us because we didn’t want you to be frightened. After what you told me about the men who kidnapped you, I knew if you learned the truth, then you’d think exactly what you do now. That we were monsters.” Elliot tried to go to her, but she jabbed at him with the crutch.
“Aren’t you?”
“No. We’re not. Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. But how would you really have taken it? You’re freaking out. There is a logical explanation for all of this. Please, let us put some clothes on, because unless you want us to drag you back into bed, then you certainly have us at a disadvantage.” Mika inched toward his clothes.
The vision of her between their naked bodies flashed through her mind. The heat of the image flushed her skin, but she shook it off. They’re trying to distract me with their handsomeness and then get me to trust them so they can tie me up and deliver to me the ones who held me captive. She could see the men dashing in and going for some rope to bind her so she wouldn’t escape. Mika slipped into boxers and a T-shirt. He threw his pants to Elliot.
“I’m not wearing those ratty things.”
“Shut up, and put them on. The temperature’s dropping, so don’t freeze your nuts off.” Mika chuckled.
“Will you both be quiet so I can think?” October growled.
Elliot clammed up and pulled on the pants. They were loose on his frame. She shivered, but pushed off the cold. They aren’t going to influence me. She was already in way over her head and felt trapped. The sense of normalcy she had was collapsing like dominoes, one by one. The more she found out, the more reality was unraveling.
“Why did you keep my shirt?”
“It has the scent of the wolf that captured you all over it. The others in the pack haven’t been able to pin him down. It’s like his smell disappears. We needed it to hunt him down,” Mika explained.
“Why didn’t you call the authorities about finding me?”
“It’s more complicated than just telling the cops. If we call in outsiders, it risks exposure, and we can’t have that. It has to be handled internally. Even telling the pack leader about you pose
s questions. That was the reason we brought in Dawn and swore her to secrecy.”
She nodded. “There’s something you’re not telling me. The way that you and Dawn were fighting. Elliot said you got thrown out of the community. You mean you were exiled from the pack. Why?”
Mika ran his fingers through his hair. She could see he was uncomfortable. The muscles tensed in his chest. His shut his eyes and looked at the deck. “Can we go inside, please?”
“I’ll make some tea, and we can talk about this,” Elliot commented.
“Fine. Go inside.”
The two men went ahead of her, and she limped inside. October closed the door behind her. Elliot went into the kitchen. Through the cutout, she saw him putting the kettle on the stove and then getting mugs. Her stomach coiled and turned. Should I run, or hear them out? Neither had shown her any hostility. She shook her head. I can’t do this. They’re only going to twist me around their little fingers and stow me away until they can get their pack here. Then I’ll be in the same position I was in before. Maybe they’ll eat me instead.
Mika sat down, but stayed a seat away from her. Elliot set the cups of tea on the table and then sat across from her. The smell of peppermint permeated the space and helped to calm some of her frayed nerves. Fingers of dread walked down her spine as she thought about them turning on her.
She prayed they wouldn’t. October wrapped her fingers around the warm cup. It oozed into her flesh and helped calm some of her frazzled anxiety. Mika stirred the tea with his spoon and then met her eyes. There was something haunted about him now. The normal cheery mood he was in had retreated, and the light in his eyes had died. Whatever had happened between him and Dawn weighed on his heart. The same way this confrontation was. She could see it as his whole body slumped forward. Does that mean he cares for me? Elliot took a sip of the tea, and it didn’t seem to bother him that it was scalding.
“So what happened?” she asked again.
Mika stared into his cup and played with the string of the tea bag. “Dawn and Dominique were always close, like twins. They were less than a year apart. I was dating Dawn before Elliot ever met Dom. When he saw her, he was in love. He came back here and made a life with Dominique so he could claim her for a mate. I never told Dawn what I was, not until her sister let it slip. She was scared and asked me a lot of questions. Dominique was all for making the change and joining the pack. After a while, Dawn came around. I never pressured her. We were in the middle of making love. I had warned her that there was no pulling out at the last moment, because the beast takes over. She balked, but I had already lost myself in the moment. I bit her, and she turned. She went to the pack leader and said I forced her into joining. That I nearly raped her and bit her for the fun of it. They wouldn’t hear my side. So they severed my connection with the pack, making me an outcast. I’m alone and can’t hear my brother and sister wolves anymore. Elliot was gracious enough to let me stay with him. But he was also dealing with his own tragedy and needed me, I think to keep him sane.”
October questioned Elliot. “What transpired with Dominique?”
Elliot glanced at her. The sadness in his eyes clouded her heart, and it filled the silence between them. He drew in a long breath. The corners of his mouth were pulled tight, and his skin was paler than normal. “There are risks to everything. She was all set to join me and be my mate. We made love, and I bit her. I tried to be gentle, but that moment always hurts, no matter what. I kissed her, and she smiled at me before the change fever took her. The next couple of nights, I stayed by her side while she burned up. I prayed it would break. After the third day, when she should have awoken, she took her last breath and died in my arms. That day my heart gave out. Mika had been exiled for about a month, and I took him in. Dude saved my life.”
He forced a smile and then peered at October. Wetness lined his eyes, and she knew he was reliving everything that had happened that fateful night. The grief and the guilt he carried around were drowning him. She understood now why he had kept her at arm’s length and why Dawn hated Mika so much.
“So are you keeping me here so you can turn me into a monster too?”
“No!” both of them said in unison.
Mika grabbed his cup and lobbed it across the room. “How could you even suggest that?”
He got up and stomped back outside, slamming the sliding door so it bounced back in the track. October shrank back in her chair at the display. He pulled off his clothes and sprinted down the steps, changing into wolf form as he did.
“We would never turn you into a wolf. You have to understand you’re Mika’s ticket back into the pack. The wolf that kidnapped you is insane. We don’t know much about the other one, but I can assume the same. The best hunters in the pack can’t find them. If Mika can apprehend one or both of them, then he hopes he can be welcomed back in. For a wolf, being cut off from the pack is like losing your hand or some part of your soul. Wolves are connected on a mental level so we can hear one another’s thoughts when we shift. Mika’s link was severed, so he’s alone and struggling through his life. What Dawn did was wrong, but she was acting out of anger. Try to see this from his perspective. You were a godsend. On your clothes was the kidnapper’s scent. We went hunting for them tonight. We were never going to tell you about this. We figured when you got better, we’d ask you to take us back to the place you escaped from, and then we’d bring you home. Now you know our secret and can never tell anyone. If you’ll excuse me, I’m tired, and I’m going to bed.”
October remained silent as Elliot left the room. She watched the night and wondered when Mika would return. Everything they had told her ran rampant in her head. It made sense, and yet it didn’t, because their kind wasn’t supposed to exist. Yet they did. The men she had come to care for were both hurting inside and bleeding. She had demanded they tell her the truth, and it had ripped open the old wounds. Guilt over what had transpired washed over her. October wasn’t sure how she could deal with them being werewolves, but they hadn’t hurt her. They had gone out of their way to aid her. Now she had pushed everything back in their faces. It dawned on her that they weren’t akin to the ones who had kidnapped her. They were the true monsters, and Mika and Elliot were her guardian angels.
Chapter Eight
Mika ran through the woods until his heart was pumping and he was out of breath. The blood sang in his veins, and October’s words raced though his mind. Even in wolf form, with the animal so closely meshed with his being, her statement stung him to the core. It showed how different she was from him. How human. She would never understand the true ways of the wolf. The night and the moon imbued him with power. That rush helped him push the thought of her out of his mind. Not that October wouldn’t linger, because she was so damn sexy. Now when he thought of her, Dawn’s image flashed in his mind. Elliot had been right. It was best if they just let her go back to her normal life. His attraction to her was a physical one. He could get over it and focus on finding the rogue wolves that were hunting innocent women and leaving their bodies. He dashed through the forest, feeling the boundaries of the pack territory to his left. The prickles of the pack land pushed against his fur and made him shake. If he crossed into their land, the others would be on him in seconds. He had been issued one warning early on in his banishment, that if he ever traversed into the terrain again, then he would be killed.
Stopping in the center of a clearing, he hung his head between his legs. His chest heaved from running so hard. Drawing in the cool night air, he fought the fury that rolled in his soul. Nothing was safe with him. He lifted his nose and caught a familiar scent. It took him a moment for it to register. He gazed into the scrub and saw a pair of gleaming yellow eyes. A growl rumbled over his lips, and he took a step forward. The other wolf entered the glade. His pelt was midnight black, allowing him to blend completely with the shadows. Mika drew his lips around his teeth and snarled. Now was the time. Here was his chance.
Without a second thought, he sprang, and sank hi
s fangs into the scruff of the other wolf’s neck. He wrapped his legs around the wolf’s middle and slashed with his fangs. The rogue was bigger than him and with a powerful shake threw him off so Mika landed on his back. The sudden pain shocked him. The other wolf trotted over to him with a big, wolfy grin. His tongue hung out of his mouth, and there was an evil gleam to his eye. Mika tried to turn over and regain his feet, but the other wolf stepped on his side and lowered his jaws to Mika’s throat. The weight of the wolf held him down, but he kicked and caught his claws on the underbelly of the scoundrel. He yelped and jumped off of Mika. He got up and stood against the other wolf, teeth bared. The rogue stood his ground and wasn’t going to move out of his way. This time the beast head-butted Mika, and then he wrapped his jaws around his left foreleg and bit down. Mika yelped when the teeth scraped along his bone. He waited for the killing strike, but it never came. Instead he heard another growl, and then the pain in his leg was gone. The other snarled at the wolf that had saved him.
It took Mika a moment, but he rose and saw Dawn’s blond pelt before him. With a rustle of the bushes, the other wolf had escaped. Dawn transformed before him. He wasn’t going to switch his human shape in front of her and give her the satisfaction of seeing him bested by the other wolf.
“Getting yourself into more trouble?”
He growled, but didn’t show his teeth.
She chuckled. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone. Let me see your leg.”
Mika hobbled forward. I will not let her see me in pain. She poked at it, and he winced. Then she released him.
“It’s not broken. He bit you to the bone. You’ll have scars, but nothing to worry about. When you shift back, the wounds should be about healed. Run back to your human girlfriend, and maybe she can take care of you.” She shifted back into a wolf, went into the woods, and left him.
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