Wild Instincts - Complete Edition (Werewolf Erotic Romance)

by King, Claudia

  "I'll do whatever I can," Niya said. "Rowan wants me with a patrol, but I'm not very quick with my leg. I might be more help back here with you."

  I saw Thorne wince as she mentioned her leg, but Niya only smiled at him, giving a faint, almost imperceptible shake of her head.

  "Like I said," Ethan added, "I don't know how much use I can be. Rowan's going to notice if I go missing. He's relying on me."

  "I—" Sabi began, shrinking in towards Niya. "I can't really fight."

  "Can you run?" Thorne said.

  She hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "I can run."

  "Good," he continued. "Then I'll need you to be fast and quiet. Ethan will be out on patrol, so he'll know what's going on with Rowan and the rest of the pack. He'll be able to keep an eye out for anything suspicious, any wolves trying to sneak through or anyone headed towards the camp. You can be our messenger and make sure we stay in the loop once Cyan and the Mine Pack arrive."

  "Okay." Sabi nodded suddenly, a fleeting smile lighting up her face, and for a moment her tired eyes shone with a hint of beauty.

  I returned the smile as reassuringly as I could, but beneath the surface my heart ached to think of what the Mine Pack had done to her to bury that beautiful sparkle beneath so much anxiety and fear. I prayed that she, too, would come out of this in one piece.

  "But what are you going to do?" Ethan asked. "There'll be three of you protecting... I don't know, twenty others?"

  "Four of us," Niya chipped in. "Agatha won't go down without a fight."

  Ethan rubbed his chin, the impatient drumming of his heel resuming. "That's still three of you and one old woman against the Mine Pack."

  "We'll bring everyone here," Thorne said. "There's only one way to get into the orchard, and we'll be guarding it. They won't be able to surround us or take us by surprise."

  "But they will have you backed into a corner."

  "Better backed into a corner than out in the open," Thorne said. "A group of young and elderly werewolves won't be able to outrun a pack of hunters. There's no point in having an escape route if it won't do us any good."

  I looked at Thorne, seeing the grim look in his eyes, the concern beneath the surface, but also the determined exterior that lent such authority to his words. He was making the hard choices, like a good leader had to.

  "Besides," I added, "it might not even come to that. If Rowan challenges Cyan, if he wins, we'll be safe. And even if he doesn't, the Mine Pack will probably be too busy dealing with the others to come snooping around here."

  Ethan and Niya nodded, but the hope of everything going smoothly wasn't something we could bet on. We had to prepare for the worst if we were going to make it out of this and protect the rest of the pack. Sabi only squeezed her trembling hands together, a fleeting glance in my direction telling me all I needed to know.

  They'll come.

  "There's one other thing," Thorne said. "The Mine Pack might be out for blood, but we lived with Cyan's pack for a long time. They're not bad people."

  "Maybe they're not, but if the alpha leading them thinks differently it's not going to do us much good," Ethan said.

  "No," Thorne conceded. "They'll follow Cyan, but I'm willing to bet most of them won't have their hearts in it. When Baya found us last night she didn't have to tell Lyssa a thing. She could've disappeared back into the forest and we'd have been taken completely by surprise when the others arrived. I doubt we'll be able to convince any of them to turn on their alpha, but they won't be happy about working with the Mine Pack. If we can talk to them, we might be able to stop things from getting ugly."

  "We won't have much chance of running into them if we're holed up here at the orchard," Niya said.

  "I know, but if we do... I know plenty of our old friends would rather stand up to the Mine Pack than help them attack innocent people. If there's any chance for us to avoid fighting, we have to take it."

  Ethan nodded slowly, his restlessness seeming to ebb. "Well, it's a plan, I'll give you that."

  "It's a good plan," Niya said. "And more than that, we'll have a good leader. I know if things go bad Thorne will be there to make the right decisions."

  "Let's hope so," Thorne murmured. I gave him a sharp nudge with my elbow, and he looked at me before smiling. "Alright, I will."

  "I'd better get back to camp," Ethan said, standing up. "Rowan will be wondering where I am. The patrols should be going out soon."

  Thorne nodded. "Sabi, you go with him. You can stick with the patrol and report back to us once anything happens."

  The frail girl nodded and sprang to her feet, a kind of frantic energy in her eyes.

  "I'll go find Agatha and let her know what's happening," Niya said. "We'll gather everyone and bring them here as soon as Rowan and the others move out. And speaking of Rowan," she glanced at Thorne, "we should let him know what we're doing. I don't think he'll try to stop you. If he's got any sense, he'll know deep down you're the best person for the job."

  "But does he trust me?" Thorne replied.

  Niya hesitated, and I took Thorne's arm.

  "After tonight, he will," I said.

  Dusk was falling by the time Rowan and the last of his patrols departed. Thorne and I stood together in the orchard, looking over the small gathering of people we were now responsible for. There were seventeen of them, five children and twelve adults who were either too old, frail, or infirm to be much use anywhere else. One middle aged woman in particular had a dazed, vacant look in her eyes, and kept having to be guided back to the group by a patient Agatha whenever she began to wander off, mumbling something about going home under her breath.

  The children sat in the laps of grandparents and kindly elders, barely speaking as they cast frightened glances at the pair of strangers tasked with keeping them safe. Some had been reluctant to come, Niya had told us, especially once Rowan voiced his misgivings about Thorne's plan. But Agatha had managed to calm the alpha down and persuade the others to come, and Rowan had been too preoccupied with the rest of his preparations to argue any further. The atmosphere was tense and strained, and it was clear that some of our group were almost as worried about Thorne as they were the impending attack.

  "You should go and talk to them," I whispered in my mate's ear as the shadows lengthened across the orchard.

  "And say what?"

  "Just reassure them. Let them know you've got a plan. Promise to keep them safe."

  Thorne sighed, but squared his shoulders and nodded, striding over to the group with his chin held high. I kept my distance, letting him have his moment alone with them. The group seemed hesitant at first, but one of the children asked him a question, and Thorne crouched down to speak to the young boy with a chuckle and a playful smile on his lips.

  After that the tension seemed to dissipate a little, and the others began asking him questions, their eyes raised expectantly as he laid out his plan with confidence and concision. He made sure not to ignore anyone, and never retorted when the more sceptical members of the group sent their veiled digs his way. By the time the moon was up the group were huddled closely together, chatting away almost as though this was any other night around the campfire.

  Agatha hobbled over to me and leaned a hand on my shoulder, nodding towards Thorne and his band of new followers.

  "See? That's what a leader does," she said. "He brings people together."

  "I never would've thought Thorne was one for social situations," I replied.

  "Oh, he isn't. That poor boy's the least comfortable one of the lot, chatting with kids and trying to reassure grouchy old folk he's not going to eat them alive if they give him a funny look. But he does it anyway, because that's what he needs to do."

  I nodded, and then reached up to clutch the hand resting on my shoulder. "Thank you, Agatha, for everything you've done. I know we haven't been here long but... I don't think I've ever known anyone who's helped me as much as you."

  "Oh, don't flatter me," she chuckled, giving my hand a p
at. "A lot of us lose contact with the people we're used to turning to when we become werewolves. I just do my best to fill that void. You must have a family of your own out there somewhere that you can rely on, hmm?"

  I lowered my eyes, shaking my head slightly as I thought of my parents and Ellie, wondering whether I'd ever see them again. "They were the ones who always relied on me."

  "Well, now you've got Thorne," she said. "You can rely on him, and who knows, maybe one day that family of yours will show up again. I'm sure they'd be proud of you, finding such a nice young man to settle down with."

  I smiled faintly. "Maybe. Are you going to be okay, Agatha? If things go bad?"

  The old woman grunted. "I can still move just as quick as I did twenty years ago. It hurts, mind, and goodness if it doesn't make my wolf grumpy, but I can do it. Don't you get distracted worrying about me."

  A sudden howl cut through the night, sharp and piercing in the distance. Conversation amongst the group halted immediately, all faces turned in the direction of the far-off noise. A second howl sounded in response a few moments later, farther to the east, somewhere along the edge of the Wood Pack's territory.

  "It's the patrols," Agatha said. "It sounds like your old friends have arrived."

  I glanced at Thorne, and he rose to his feet, returning the look. It was time.

  We moved the group away from the orchard's entrance. Thorne, Niya and I took up positions on either side of the narrow path as we scanned the darkness with our keen animal eyes, hidden in the shadows. The minutes ticked by like hours as we crouched in silence, listening to the distant howls of Rowan's patrols as they roved along the outskirts of the Wood Pack's territory.

  Whatever was happening, it seemed to be unfolding slowly. Perhaps the attackers were hiding, holding back, or trying to bait Rowan into making the first move. I pawed at the ground anxiously, my claws raking through the grass as my heightened senses prickled with every rustle and flicker in the distance. I could see Thorne's shining green eyes on the other side of the path, barely visible in the shadows as he waited patiently, never blinking or making a sound. Niya crouched beside me, slinking away every few minutes to check on the others before returning.

  The moon was shining brightly when we began to hear more howls. Not the low, keening tones of Rowan's patrol leaders, but savage, whooping yelps of aggression, all coming from the same direction. They were the same howls that had pursued Thorne and I to the edge of the Wood Pack's territory when we first arrived. I tensed, and felt Niya rest a heavy paw atop mine. Whatever was happening, the Mine Pack weren't playing it quiet any longer.

  A sudden rush of black fur streaked through the long grass in the distance, accompanied by the heavy beat of running paws. I coiled my hind legs in anticipation, ready to pounce, my heart thumping so loud I could barely make out the sounds of the approaching creature as it moved closer. The black wolf burst out of the grass with a low yip, dashing directly down the path towards us, and I braced my paws against the ground.

  "Wait," Niya hissed in my ear, shifting back into her human form. "It's not one of them, it's Sabi."

  I hesitated, the coiled tension in my muscles preventing me from relaxing. I watched the wolf as she moved closer, and soon enough I picked up on the slightly wild look in her eyes, the way they flitted back and forth in agitation, the slightly scrawny, ragged look of her body. I forced myself to relax, letting out a long breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding.

  Niya stepped out of the shadows and waved Sabi in silently before retreating back to her position at my side. Thorne darted across from the other side of the path, the three of us taking on our human appearances as we hunkered down in the dark.

  "What's going on?" Thorne asked, keeping one eye on Sabi and the other on the path behind her.

  "They're here," she panted, "but they're— they're not attacking yet. Rowan keeps sending his patrols to chase them down, but they keep moving away, like they're afraid."

  "Is Cyan there?" I said.

  Sabi nodded. "Ethan and I saw him moving past us. He's got his whole pack with him, he even brought the children."

  "What children?" Thorne frowned. "Cyan never had any children in his pack."

  Sabi hesitated, uncertain. "Neither do the Mine Pack. They don't allow it."

  "What exactly did you see?" I said, an uneasy feeling rising in my stomach.

  "I think there was just one, a young girl. She wasn't in her wolf form. I don't— I don't think she wanted to be there."

  "Maybe she didn't have a wolf form to change into," I said, the nausea rising. "What did she look like? How old was she?"

  "Um, I don't know." Sabi's eyes flitted anxiously, afraid to meet my increasingly intense stare. "Maybe ten? We were a long way off, I don't know. I think she had short-ish hair. It looked blonde."

  I pressed a hand to my mouth to stifle my sob of panic, turning to Thorne and grabbing him by the collar.

  "It's Ellie, it has to be! He's got my sister!"

  Thorne took my hand, trying to steady me. "We don't know that for sure. Even Cyan wouldn't—"

  "He's working with the Mine Pack! What wouldn't he do?! Why else would he have a little girl with him, who else could it be? He knew where to find her, he knew where we were headed before we ran off... and he knows how much I care about her." I ran a hand through my hair, trying to control the building panic that threatened to sweep away every last trace of my rational thought. "I can't stay here, I have to go find her."

  "That's exactly what he wants, Lyssa," Thorne said. "If it is Ellie, he's using her to draw you out. Damn it..." He growled, shaking his head. "I should've known he'd do something like this. He didn't set off knowing he'd have the Mine Pack behind him. Cyan isn't an idiot, of course he'd have some backup plan to draw you out if you ended up with another pack to protect you."

  "I have to go after her," I said. "Even if it's what he wants, I can't let him hurt her! I won't let him make her like us, not at her age." My head throbbed, my senses foggy with the weight of the realisation. The thought of anything happening to Ellie was unbearable. If Cyan had already taken her from our home, dragged her all the way out here...

  I broke away from Thorne, hot tears on my cheeks as I made a run for the path, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me back before I'd managed to take a single step.

  "We don't even know where he is!" Thorne said, locking his arms around me as I struggled. "Listen to me, Lyssa, look at me!" He cupped my cheek with a palm, forcing me to stop, to breathe, to get a grip on my emotions as the soothing voice of my mate pierced through the cloud of panic. "We'll find him, and we'll get her back, I promise."

  "What about the plan?" Niya said.

  Thorne growled. "There is no plan, not for this. Sabi, stay here with Niya. You two and Agatha will have to look after the others until we get back. If you get so much as a sniff of the Mine Pack closing in, you howl for us."

  "Thorne, the two of you won't be able to do anything against Cyan's whole pack by yourselves," Niya said softly.

  "I'm going," I replied, my fingers digging into Thorne's arm as I struggled to steady my shaking body.

  "And I won't let her go on her own," my mate said, squeezing me tight.

  Niya glanced from one of us to the other, her expression pleading, but nothing in the world could have made me change my mind at that moment.

  "Sabi, where's Ethan?" Thorne said.

  "He was near the old sawmill when I left. We saw Cyan in the woods just north of there."

  Thorne nodded, relaxing his grip on me and clutching my hand. "Then that's where we'll go. Come on, we can't afford to wait."

  The pair of us shifted into our wolf forms, Thorne bounding down the path ahead of me as I sprinted to keep up, my pulse pounding with fear and adrenaline as we made our way into the night.

  I glanced over my shoulder to see Niya and Sabi looking after us, before screwing my eyes shut and baring my teeth, focusing my thoughts on Ellie as I followed the thumping sound of Thorne
's paws.

  —9—

  Fates

  The night air was sweet and humid with the taste of the forest, laced with the phantom scents of dozens of different wolves. They had been here recently, all of them. I could smell the earthy tones of the Wood Pack mixed in amongst the far more familiar scents of my old friends from Cyan's pack, though their presence was no longer as reassuring as it had once been. Almost imperceptibly buried beneath the others was the faint scent of coal dust, the mark of the Mine Pack.

  I raised my muzzle and glanced at Thorne, pawing at the ground in agitation as he sniffed through the trampled undergrowth, trying to determine the direction Cyan and his pack had been travelling when they passed by here. We'd made our way to the old sawmill near the edge of the Wood Pack's territory, but Ethan and his patrol were long gone. Their fading scents had led us from the overgrown building to this spot, but there had been so many werewolves moving through this part of the forest recently that it became difficult to track them.

  The howls in the night were constant, some of them frighteningly close, and in the distance the crashing sounds of large groups tearing their way through the bushes were a perpetual reminder of the danger we faced out here by ourselves. The fear of getting caught coiled around my stomach like a snake, squeezing harder every time the bushes rustled or a spooked critter darted through the darkness nearby.

  But it was nothing compared to the fear I felt for my sister. Every time I lowered my muzzle to the ground to sniff through the assorted scents I didn't know whether to feel panicked or relieved when I caught no trace of Ellie. Perhaps she wasn't even here, perhaps Sabi had gotten it wrong. But if she was, and I couldn't find her...

  I whined in frustration, bounding past a clump of trampled fern and burying my nose in the carpet of dead leaves and broken twigs, searching desperately for any trace of my sister. Thorne growled sharply. I looked up at him, my mate meeting my gaze and jerking his head in a beckoning motion. I hurried over to him and he lowered his muzzle to the ground, encouraging me to sniff. I breathed in the mixture of scents, at first finding nothing but the same musky smells of several different werewolves, and then I caught it. It was the bitter, rubbery smell of worn trainers, mixed with a hint of asphalt. I latched on to the scent, moving a few steps forward, and soon the sickeningly familiar smell of my sister reached my muzzle. It reminded me of plaid shirts and scuffed knees, and a bedroom carpet we'd shared night after night, crouched over pages of unfinished homework.