Stripped (Wolves of Mule Creek #2)

by Katharine Sadler

  Zane held my hand the whole way, even when we had to walk in single file, his fingers tight around mine. We couldn’t go much faster than a quick walk, because there was about a half inch of snow on the parts of the trail without tree cover and it was slick. We'd only gone a little ways when two big, brown wolves stepped into our path and growled. Zane growled right back and the wolves backed off a few steps.

  Their fur rippled and, in moments, they were two naked men standing in front of us. Zane slapped his hand over my eyes, like I'd never seen a naked man before. I might have shoved his hand away, but he was being way too adorable and I found everything about him perfect in those moments before goodbye.

  “Zane, dude. We were worried about you. Thought you and Abby had run off with Alice,” a gruff voice I assumed was attached to one of the two men said.

  “Alice?” I said. “What happened?”

  “No fucking idea,” the gruff voice said. “She's just gone, vanished. She took the clothes we'd given her and some food. The pack's all out looking for her now.”

  “Can't figure out why she'd run. We were fixin' to take her back to Aspens Whiten in a few days.”

  I had a pretty darn good idea why she'd run, and I felt like an idiot for not figuring it out sooner. I waited until Zane said goodbye to the two men before I spoke.

  “She's gone to Leopold,” I said. “She's still under the compulsion.”

  Zane frowned, but he didn't look surprised. “You can't think of another reason she'd want to go back sooner?”

  “I know she wanted to get back to her family, but it's suicide to run into a dark forest.”

  “Unless you've been compelled and don't know any better or you know someone's out there waiting for you.”

  “And now she's out here in the snow and the cold.” I started off down the mountain. “We have to find her.”

  “No,” Zane said, yanking me back. “You need to get a hot shower and some dry clothes and you need to stay in my house, under guard. If Alice's out here, Leopold could be out here, too.”

  I hadn't thought about that. “She's my responsibility. If I'd been more observant or asked more questions, maybe I—”

  “No. There's no way you could have known. Come on, you're shivering so hard I can barely understand you.”

  “I'm fine,” I said, though I was shivering so hard my teeth hurt and... was that a bear on the path ahead of us? “Never mind, maybe I'm so cold I'm hallucinating.”

  “Nah, that's Fitz,” Zane said. He waved to the bear and dragged me down the mountain.

  Together we hurried to his place. “You should go,” I said. “The sooner you get out there, the sooner you can find Alice.”

  He nodded, his gaze already distant. He was already thinking about the hunt. “Get in a hot shower and warm clothes. I'll be back as soon as I know something.”

  “I'll be fine,” I said. “Just go.”

  He pressed a fast, hard kiss to my lips and left.

  I took my time in his shower, turning up the heat until I'd stopped shivering and my teeth had stopped chattering. I dried off and realized I'd left my bag of clothes at the barn. I pulled on a pair of Zane's sweatpants and a sweatshirt, rolling the waistband of the pants about six times before I felt safe enough not to trip over them. I pressed my nose into the soft fabric of the sweatshirt and drew in a deep lungful of his scent. I had it so bad.

  In the living room, Julie was sitting on one end of the couch and the other end was piled high with blankets arranged in a cozy nest. “Wow,” I said. “That's a lot of blankets.”

  “I brought some from my house in case Zane didn't have enough,” she said. “Wolves run hot, so we don't usually have a lot of blankets around.”

  On the coffee table, she'd laid out a spread fit for a queen, chips and popcorn, three different dips, a cheese and cracker plate, and a bowl of grapes and strawberries. “Did you leave any food in Zane's pantry or fridge?”

  “I'm eating for two,” Julie said. “And you must be starving after spending the night on top of the mountain.”

  I crawled into the nest of blankets and got comfy. “Are there no secrets around here?”

  “None.” She gave me a sad smile. “It's one of the things you probably won't miss when you go to Denver.”

  “I have a feeling I'll miss more than I think I will.”

  “Chips?” she asked. “Or cheese and crackers?”

  “Chips first. I'll try the cheese after.”

  Julie passed over a full-sized bag of French onion potato chips. Apparently, Julie liked junk food. “Where'd these come from? Zane said he doesn't keep processed crap at his house.”

  “He doesn't.” She wrinkled her nose. “Totally missing the biggest perk of being a werewolf, insanely fast metabolism.”

  “I definitely wouldn't mind some of that,” I said, digging in.

  “I love your idea for Zane's yoga videos,” she said, munching on popcorn. “I'm sorry he didn't take it well, but give him time and he might come around.”

  “What did Axel think?”

  She shrugged. “He hated it. He wants to lay low, avoid notoriety and fame, but the pack needs an income the vamps and the council can't touch. He hates your idea, but he admits it's a good one and he's going to go forward with it and all your other ideas as soon as we get Leopold to back off.”

  “Council?” I'd seen the video, along with the rest of the country, of Julie and a camera crew confronting the council planning to execute Axel for revealing the existence of werewolves to the world. I knew the council existed, knew they executed misbehaving wolves, but I wanted to know more.

  Julie nodded, rubbing her belly. “A group of wolves, vamps, witches, and other supernatural creatures who are supposed to protect the secrets of the supernatural world and look out for us, protect us.”

  “But you don't want the council's help?”

  “They've unofficially sided with the vamps in our case. The vamps bring in more money for the council and the council wants more money.” She chewed thoughtfully. “I think there might be something more to it, though. There are other werewolf packs in the country that would probably be fine with teaming up with the vamps, trading blood for money or something. The vamps and the council are fixated on this pack and this territory.” She shook her head and sighed. “It's like they think we're sitting on an oil well.”

  “Or a gold mine? Have you all checked there's nothing valuable here?”

  She shrugged. “As well as we can, but we don't have any geologists in the pack and we don't really want to tip off anyone else if there is something valuable here.”

  “If it's about the land, about something here, why doesn't the council just tell you about it?” I asked. “Who cares who discovers the gold or the oil as long as the council gets a cut?”

  “Which is why Clarissa and Axel don't think it's anything like that. They think there's something only the vamps can tap into, something that will make the council wealthy or powerful, maybe both.”

  “But they want the pack, too, right?” I asked. “It doesn't make sense.”

  She stuffed more popcorn in her mouth. “Nope. It doesn't.”

  I leaned back against the couch, stuffing chips in my mouth and thinking. “I should talk to Leopold.”

  Julie sat up straight and looked at me. “Zane would never let you do that. If Leopold bites you—”

  “I know,” I said. “But maybe he won't bite me if I flatter him and pretend I want to be with him. I could get some answers, find out what the vamps are really after.”

  “Why would he tell you anything?”

  “He'd tell me if he thought I was on his side.”

  She shook her head, eyes wide. “He's too strong,” she said. “I can't take him on and I'm a werewolf. He'd kill you as easy as snapping his fingers.”

  “You could teach me some tricks, in case I get in a tight situation. I shouldn't need them, though. I'm really good at convincing men I want them, especially when they're egotisti
cal assholes who think the world owes them something.”

  She rubbed her belly. “We should just watch a movie and eat, this is a really bad idea.”

  “If Alice's with him, maybe I can get her away from him,” I said. “I can save her, too.” I knew the risks. I understood how sick I could get if Leopold bit me, I understood he could kill me if he didn't believe me, and the idea terrified me, but I was the only one who could get the answers the pack needed. I could do this one thing for Zane, for his pack, and then I could leave for Denver with a clear conscious, knowing I'd done everything I could to help him and the pack.

  She shook her head. “This is crazy, Abby. If anything happens to you, it will break Zane's heart. If I help you and something happens to you, I'll never forgive myself.”

  “It's not your choice. It's mine. Maybe I need to face Leopold, or I'll be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life wondering if he's coming for me. If I give in to him, if I pretend to want him, maybe he'll lose interest and let me go.”

  “That's a huge, unlikely maybe. The most likely outcome of this crazy idea is that you get killed and Leopold comes after the pack twice as hard. It's not worth the risk.”

  “And what's the risk if I don't go?” I asked. “The pack is broke now. How long will it take to start making money and getting the pack strong again? If the pack is starving, Leopold will just waltz in and take over.”

  “We're not starving. We've got enough food to last a month or two, enough to get us through until we start implementing your ideas and start bringing in money.”

  I sighed. Maybe she was right. There was no point in me risking my life if the pack was going to figure it out anyway. “Maybe you could teach me some moves,” I said. “Just in case I do have to face off against Leopold, or a mugger in Denver.”

  She smiled, but she gave me the side-eye like she didn't really trust me. “That's not a terrible idea. I can teach you a few things.”

  ***

  It was noon the next day when Zane finally showed up, with Axel in tow. They both looked exhausted, filthy, and morose. So downtrodden I didn't want to ask what had happened or how it'd gone.

  “Oh, no,” Julie said, slapping a hand over her mouth as soon as they walked in. She'd stayed the night, teaching me what she could in her pregnant state and then watching a movie with me. She wrapped her arms around her husband and kissed his cheek. “I'm so sorry, baby.”

  My chest tightened and my eyes burned. I knew it was bad as soon as they walked in, now I was having the awful feeling that nothing would ever be okay again. Zane walked over to me, weary and worn, and wrapped his arms tight around me. “We didn't find her, but we found…” He pressed a kiss to my cheek. “I'm sorry, baby. We found blood and the scent of Leopold in the same area.”

  Tears spilled from my eyes and down my cheeks. No. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. “She could still be alive, though, right?”

  “There was…” he swallowed. “There was a lot of blood. If she's still alive, she's being kept that way by Leopold. Which means she'll be even more deeply in his thrall.”

  “But there's still a chance we could help her,” I said. “We need to find her. We can't just leave her with him.” I felt sick. Sweet Alice in Leopold's control. “Shouldn't the council do something?”

  “They should. Whether he's killed her or just enthralled her, it's a punishable offense. She has family in Aspens Whiten, someone's going to notice.”

  “I'll make the call as soon as I get home,” Axel said, sounding beyond exhausted.

  He and Julie left. I ran a hand through Zane's hair, pulling out twigs and leaves. “What do you need?” I asked. I wanted to make sure he was okay, but already my mind was working, trying to figure out what I could do for Alice, how I could help her. I knew the council couldn't do much, or wouldn't, and I wouldn't ask the pack to get involved. That could start a full-out vamp werewolf war.

  He sighed, leaning heavily against me. “I want to go back to this morning. Hell, I'd like to go back to last night and stop her from walking into those woods.”

  “No one could have stopped her.” The words felt empty, hollow, something I had to say because I didn't blame him, but words I didn't honestly believe, because I did blame myself. If I'd noticed Alice wasn't completely free of the compulsion, if I'd stayed at the barn instead of running into the woods with an elderly lady, if I'd thought about someone other than myself, maybe I could have prevented her death, maybe I could have saved her.

  Zane stroked my cheek. “You couldn't have stopped her either,” he said, like he could read my thoughts or just knew me well enough to guess what I was thinking.

  “What do you need?” I asked again, wanting to change the subject.

  He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I need a shower, food, and you.”

  I forced a smile, my throat tight with unshed tears. “Go get a shower. I'll find something for you to eat.”

  He moved slowly to the bathroom. From the looks of it, he was beyond exhausted. I should stay and take care of him, but I needed… A knock at the door stopped me. I opened it to Aron, standing on the porch, his expression grim.

  “Need to talk to Zane,” he said.

  “He's in the shower. What's going on?”

  He looked behind him, as though looking for guidance, before facing me. “While the pack was out looking for your girl last night, someone broke into the grocery store and the diner and destroyed what was left of our food supply. Axel needs Zane at the barn for a meeting as soon as possible.”

  “I'll let him know.”

  I started to close the door, but Aron shoved his hand in the way. “Shit was fine here until humans started showing up. You and your dancers brought this on our pack.”

  I rolled my eyes. So typical to blame the outsider, the one who's different, for all your problems. Typical and idiotic. “The vamps were after your pack long before I showed up, and I'm pretty sure Julie Jacobs saved your asses.”

  “She's a wolf,” Aron said, but I could see the hard edge to his anger recede just a bit. Maybe not such an idiot, maybe desperate and worried and grasping at straws. “How do we know you didn't tell Leopold where to find our food stores?”

  I bit my tongue hard. It wouldn't do any good to remind Aron that both the grocery store and the diner were labeled with three-foot letters. “I didn't tell him,” I said. “But I'm sure the council will set things right.”

  “I doubt it.” But he took a few steps back and shook his head. “This is the only home I know.”

  “Then you stand your ground and you fight,” I said. “Leopold is trying to demoralize you, but you're wolves. You run out of groceries, you can shift and hunt in the woods.”

  He nodded, rubbing his lips together in thought. “Suppose we could for a bit. Longer than that and we'd over hunt the native prey animals.”

  “You only need a little time,” I said, feeling my own time slipping away. “I need to check on Zane.”

  Aron nodded and didn't argue when I closed the door. I dashed back inside, grabbed my purse from the master bedroom, Zane's keys from the kitchen counter, and ran outside, just as I heard the shower shut off.

  I sprinted to his truck, threw myself inside, and raced down the narrow driveway to the street beyond. Aron and Payne had relaxed, now that Zane was back, and they were chatting on the front porch when I peeled onto the street from Zane's driveway. The tires slid on the six inches of snow over the dirt road, but I managed to keep the truck on the road and gunned it as fast as I dared. Aron and Payne shouted and raced after me, but I was in no mood to be caught. I needed to see a vampire about the woman he'd kidnapped.

  ***

  I parked in front of Leopold's place, a sketchy idea of a plan bolstering me even as my stomach roiled at the very thought of seeing him again. All my hopes hinged on Leopold wanting to break me without compelling me, on him wanting me to go back to the wolves to continue to spy, if either of those things had changed, I was in huge trouble.
My hands shook as I crossed the parking lot and approached his door. I was lucky that Leopold lived alone. Apparently, he didn't get along well with the other members of his coven. I knew vamps could go out in the daylight, but I'd received most of my visits from them after dark. If I was very lucky, they were weaker during daylight hours. All I knew for sure was that he wasn't going to hurt anyone else I cared about ever again. I had no idea how I was going to make sure of that, but I would never forgive myself if I didn't at least try.

  I knocked on Leopold's door and made no effort to hide my fear and my sorrow. I had to knock several times before he opened the door, groggy and disheveled like he'd just woken up. He stayed in the shadows of the doorway and smiled a wicked grin. “To what do I owe this pleasure?” he asked.

  I looked up and down the street, like I was terrified of someone seeing me. “Can I come in?” I asked. “Please. I know it's not Wednesday, but I don't have anywhere else to go.”

  Leopold's grin widened and he stepped to the side to let me into his house. “The werewolf's not as hospitable as you'd hoped?”

  “No. He's horrible. He—”

  He spun and slammed me against the closed front door, his arm against my throat, choking off my air. Crapola, hadn't seen that coming. “That's better,” he said, his voice raspy, his eyes lit with pleasure. “You should always fear me. Never forget how easily I could end you.”

  He stepped back, letting me fall to the floor, and I gasped for air, catching my breath and rubbing my neck. I took a moment to think while I forced air back into my lungs. When I rose to my feet slowly, he smiled like he hadn't just been thirty seconds away from ending my life. He gestured to one of the stiff, leather couches. “Sit, my dear. Can I get you anything? Tea or cookies?”

  “No,” I said, finding it hard to speak. “I'm fine.”

  He scanned me from the top of my head to my toes. “You certainly are fine. It will be a pity to have to kill you, unless you can give me a good reason to keep you around. After that stunt you pulled with the fake cops, I shouldn't have let you in my house still breathing.”