Tales of the Winter Wolf, Vol. 3

by R. J. Blain

  Lurching upright, I stood over my female, snarling between wheezed pants.

  “Richard,” my female gasped.

  Sanders sighed, shaking his head. “At the rate we’re going, we’re never going to get into the cars, let alone get Richard to his Porsche. But I think Desmond’s almost pissed enough he might actually make a run at Richard. Either works, I guess.”

  “Get away from my puppy,” Desmond ordered, and I recognized the anger in the human’s voice and saw the wolf reflecting in his eyes. His rage crested, searing my nose with its intensity.

  I answered his challenge with a snarl. Maybe my female carried some of Desmond’s scent as his puppy, but she was mine. I had claimed her as my own, and I wouldn’t let him take her from me. She belonged to me. She had shared my den.

  Mine.

  “That got him going. This should be interesting. Ten on Desmond,” Sanders said.

  “Pack pride; twenty on Richard,” Frank replied. The two humans smacked their furless paws together.

  Without shifting my gaze from Desmond, I steadied my stance, lowered my head, and bristled.

  “A hundred on Wendy,” the older female said, stepping forward. I twisted to face her and I met her yellow-eyed glare. “Charles, if you ever want back into the house, you’ll back off and shut up. Please.”

  Desmond’s teeth clacked together as he obeyed the female.

  “As for you, Richard.” The older female drew closer, flexing her paws. I hunkered down and tucked my tail. Unlike with the males, I couldn’t scent any anger about her, although I heard it in her voice.

  My female wiggled out from beneath me. “Mom?”

  “Nicolina, be quiet.”

  Distress and worry surged in my female’s scent, and I twisted to comfort her, whining.

  “Richard Murphy, you’re talking to me right now,” the older female snarled, and I flinched at the command in her voice, turning to face her. When our gazes met, she pinned me in place with the force of her and her wolf’s will. When she reached me, she seized my muzzle in her paws, forcing my head up. Touching her nose to mine, she breathed in my scent. I trembled.

  “Change,” she ordered.

  I heard startled cries before everything went black.

  When I managed to crack my eyes open, my vision blurred. Wendy’s scent filled my nose, and with effort, I realized my cheek rested against her shoulder. One of her hands supported my neck. I shuddered, sucking in a breath through clenched teeth.

  The metallic sweetness of blood teased my tongue.

  “That should do it,” Desmond’s mate murmured, shifting beneath me. The rough fibers of a blanket caught on my raw skin. “How long?”

  “Forty-five minutes,” Desmond reported.

  Wendy sighed. “At least he didn’t bleed too much this time. I was worried he would for a few minutes there. I’m not sure how much he has to spare.”

  “I can’t believe you did that.” Desmond was somewhere nearby, though I couldn’t force my vision to focus enough to locate him.

  “It was either that or watch him brawl with you. Males,” Wendy grumbled. “Give an inch and they’ll take a mile just because they can.”

  “He threatened our puppy,” Desmond growled.

  My mate’s mother huffed. “Tissue paper is more threatening. The only danger she was in was when he tripped over his own paws in his haste to come between our puppy and what he perceived as danger. The threat was the half-cocked witch with the Taser and you know it.”

  “Fine,” Desmond snapped.

  My uncooperative eyes failed me when someone knelt beside me, but my nose informed me it was Frank. “I think he’s coming around. Richard?” He pressed his fingers to my throat. “His heart rate is still way up there.”

  Swallowing, I gathered my wits enough to croak, “Ouch.”

  “Hey, Richard. Lights are on and someone’s home?” Frank pressed the back of his hand against my forehead. “He’s burning up.”

  Despite the physical contact, I couldn’t find the pack bonds that were supposed to tie us together. I shuddered. Nothing remained, and the void ached as though someone had taken a blow torch and seared the inside of my head.

  I didn’t want to remember.

  “Richard?” Frank asked, giving my cheek a gentle slap. “Come on, talk to me. In English would be nice, but I’ll take a growl or snarl.”

  Growling satisfied him more than it did me; making the sound added to my growing nausea.

  Running his hand along my throat, Frank slid his fingers beneath Wendy’s hand. “Your neck’s a mess, Richard, and I don’t know how much changing helped knit the bones. I’m going to let you decide. We can take you to a hospital and run you through the machines, see how badly it’s broken, and get you into a brace. Alternatively, we can take you to Alex, see if we can sort out the rest of the mess, and hope changing a few times will take care of it.”

  I shuddered. Hospitals served their purpose, but the thought of losing control among so many sick and injured added to my nausea. My other choice wasn’t much better.

  Even if Alex was still bound to me, I couldn’t feel him, nor could I find any sign of my pack. I already hurt; the holes where my pack had once been were as still and quiet as graves. The fear of remaining alone choked off my breath.

  “Richard,” Wendy murmured.

  “Where’s Alex?” I asked, unable to force my voice about a hoarse whisper.

  “He’s about two hours away, waiting for us to meet him,” Frank replied.

  Fragments of memory taunted me, but I couldn’t make sense of them. I had been with my mate, but I couldn’t smell her nearby. “Nicolina,” I gasped. “She was there.”

  A shudder ran through me. I had turned on my mother, and when my father had attempted to retaliate, I had gone for his throat as well. Everything after was an incoherent blur.

  Had I killed my mate?

  “Richard, Nicolina’s fine,” Frank said, bumping his forehead against mine. “You gave her a bit of a scare, but you didn’t attack her.”

  Desmond sighed. “She’s passed out in the SUV.”

  “Fucking SUVs,” I grumbled.

  “Charles, be a dear and get the back of the Mercedes down and cleaned up. I’ll sit in the back with Richard,” Wendy said, her tone warning against arguing.

  Grumbling curses at me, at his SUV, and at his mate, Desmond obeyed.

  Sanders sighed. “We get the best-case scenario, and he acts like he wants to rip our faces off. Unbelievable.”

  “Hey, Sanders.”

  “Hey yourself, Richard. Good to see you mostly in one piece. Didn’t think we were going to find either one of you alive for a while there,” the Alpha replied, crouching next to me to give my shoulder a squeeze. “If Yellowknife doesn’t want you, we’ll take you.”

  The anger in Frank’s scent spurred me into saying, “He’d kick your ass, Frank, which means I’d have to kick his ass.”

  “You’d try,” Sanders said, rising to his feet. “Your eyes are dilated to hell.”

  “I don’t have to see you to hit you,” I grumbled.

  “Offer’s open.”

  Leaning against Wendy, I burrowed closer to her, groaning at the pain the motion caused. “Frank’s mine.”

  “Prove it.”

  Guilt had a scent, and I reeked of it.

  Pain sapped me of my will and strength, but it was the guilt that left me as easy prey for the Alphas, who situated me in Desmond’s SUV to their liking. I ended up entangled in a nest of blankets in the back, my head pillowed on Wendy’s lap.

  With a gentle touch and soothing word, her wolf influenced mine, quieting him and leaving me to deal with the consequences of what I had done. I remembered attacking my mother and father, living up to my threat of killing them if they hurt my mate.

  The memory of my Nicolina sprawled on the floor, unconscious from a single blow from my father, only added to my guilt. If I had been stronger, if I hadn’t been so submissive or afraid, my fath
er never would have been able to strike her. That I had killed my parents didn’t bother me nearly as much as the knowledge my inaction could have killed my mate—and that I had once again become a monster.

  Alex didn’t remember; he had been too young. My mate would never forget.

  Even if Frank could pull me back into the pack through Alex, the fears I had buried and thought well-hidden resurfaced. If I was capable of turning on my flesh and blood, no one was safe from me.

  My mate had gotten lucky, that was all. Next time, if I let there be a next time, I’d kill her without realizing what I was doing. She wasn’t like her mother, so submissive even a mad wolf thought twice against striking her.

  By the time Desmond parked, I had come up with one plan. First I’d go to Yellowknife, then I’d head north. Without the pack bonds tying me down, it’d just be a matter of time before I was another wolf in a tundra full of them. Frank would care for Alex, and Desmond would care for my mate.

  What there was of a bond between us would grow frail and deteriorate. My wolf and I believed in her, but she hadn’t accepted us, not in truth. She would be free. Within a moon, all I would be to her was a bad memory.

  Wendy slid out from beneath me, touching her fingers to my throat.

  “How is he?” Desmond asked, killing the engine.

  “Not good,” his mate replied. “He’s hardly moved since we got him in the car. His eyes are glazed. I’m putting my money on shock.”

  When Desmond popped open the back, Wendy wiggled out from under me and hopped out.

  The sun was rising, bathing the curving road and trees beyond in golden light. Gray haze cloaked the distant mountains.

  “Alex,” Desmond called, sitting on the bumper of his Mercedes.

  My brother stifled a yawn as he approached. “He changed? I thought you were bringing him as a wolf.”

  “My mate had other thoughts on that, and since he got through it, I decided it wasn’t worth the time to give you a call,” Desmond replied. “I’m not going to lie, Alex. It was pretty bad.”

  “So Nicolina said. A squeegee and bucket?” Shaking his head, Alex hopped into the back with me, sitting cross-legged beside my head. He ran his fingers through my hair. “I want to kill them each time I see them. The only thing I’m upset about is that I didn’t get to help.”

  My brother sighed and flicked my ear with his nail. “You’re thinking about doing something stupid, aren’t you, Richard? Well, whatever you’re thinking about, stop it. Wait until you see what they did to your car.”

  “I don’t care about the stupid car,” I grumbled, grimaced at the pain the motion caused, and burrowed under the blankets.

  “I’m confused. You’ve been muttering about how you wanted to kill both of them for years. You finally got to do it, and now you’re sulking?” Alex yanked the blanket off my head, grabbed my ear, and twisted. “You’re the one being stupid.”

  I yelped.

  “You’re noisy,” my mate grumbled, yawning. She draped her arms over the back of her seat, staring down at me. Her hair was still a tangled mess. Mud, blood, and leaves clung to her. “Can’t we just go home? All I want is a bath.”

  I froze, meeting my mate’s gaze, holding my breath. A shiver ran through me.

  I could have killed her, and the thought was enough to bathe me in cold sweat.

  “Oh. I get it,” Wendy said, snapping her fingers. “This is what Frank was talking about. Oh, Richard. You are a stupid idiot.”

  My mate’s stare held me, pinned me in place, and she ruthlessly refused to let me lower my eyes.

  “Welcome to the wonderful world of Richard Murphy,” Frank announced. “He’s a case study for control freaks and guilty consciences. How are you holding up, Alex?”

  “I’ve got a headache,” my brother complained. “Now I understand why you all get cranky when Richard’s upset. Is he like this all the time? It’s creepy.”

  “What feedback are you getting?” Frank took hold of my brother’s arm, pulled him out of the SUV, and took his place next to me. “Once he’s linked with us again, you shouldn’t get much from him if anything. He’s used to spreading himself around a lot, and right now, all he has is you. We can do this one of two ways, Richard. We can finish what was started and go through the hassle of a challenge, fight, bloody each other up, and otherwise make a mess, or you can cooperate and let me see if I can link with you through Alex. I’m not giving you a choice. You’re coming back into the pack, and that’s final.”

  “Offer’s still open!” Sanders called out.

  “I’m gonna kill him. I swear, I’m going to turn around and I’m going to bite his face off,” Frank snarled. “Sanders!”

  “What are you talking about?” my mate demanded. “What’s Sanders offering?”

  Desmond snorted. “They’re competing, Nicolina. Essentially, Richard is up for grabs to the first pack who can subjugate him. Alphas will fight for the chance to get him. Hell, I can think of a lot of packs who would do a lot to have Richard as their Alpha. Frank’s lucky that Sanders likes Richard, or they’d already be challenging for the right to have him.”

  “Why would anyone want Richard?” my mate demanded.

  “Ouch,” Alex said. “That’s just mean, Nicolina.”

  Sanders howled with laughter. “Poor Richard.”

  “I’ll kill him myself,” I growled, narrowing my eyes as I considered if it was worth the misery to get up and tear a strip out of Sanders.

  “I was being serious. Why would anyone want Richard?”

  Wendy grinned, slithering into the back with me. My eyes widened as she lifted my chin with a finger. “Nicolina, take a good look at him. He’s single. Every bitch on the continent wants him. With looks like his? I bet half the men in his pack question their sexuality at least once a week. You have no idea what you’re missing out on. He’s gorgeous as a human, and as a wolf? He’s divine. Darling, we really should play with him.”

  My face burned. With her so close, I couldn’t help but notice how the playful smile on her lips made her that much prettier. “Wendy!”

  My mate sucked in a breath. “Mother!”

  “Oh, that was a two for one special.” Frank laughed. “You should see your face, Richard. You’re red. Wendy, you’re so cruel. Desmond would never let Richard anywhere near you. Don’t torment him.”

  Desmond joined his mate, pushing her aside until he pressed his nose to mine. “I don’t know, Frank. She’s been a very, very good girl lately. Good girls should be rewarded. Maybe I’ll take that witch up on his offer and make him mine.”

  “Dad!” my mate shrieked.

  “We’ll take very good care of you, Richard,” Desmond murmured, shifting closer to me until his brow pressed against mine. “Without your pack backing you, Richard, you’re all mine.”

  “Share,” Wendy demanded, nipping her mate’s throat. “I called dibs on him first.”

  My mate whimpered. “This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening. My mom and dad have lost it. This can’t be happening.”

  Seizing my chin in his teeth, Desmond growled. He slid a hand around my neck, and when he found the break, I gasped from the burst of agony stabbing down my spine and into my skull. “Give up, Richard. It’s hopeless. What my mate wants, she gets, and it looks like you’re on the menu tonight.”

  Wolves howled in my head. I had no recollection of how I had escaped Desmond, but I was behind my mate, keeping her between me and her hunting parents. My breath came hard and fast.

  My mate’s fury burned my nose, singeing my throat and lungs with its acrid bite.

  Howling his laughter, my brother knelt behind the seat, pointing at me. “Your face.”

  “He ran away, Charles,” Wendy whined.

  “Sorry to interrupt your fun, Desmond, but Frank’s out cold, and I think I see a few more bodies strewn across the parking lot,” Sanders said, grabbing a blanket and tossing it at me and Nicolina. My mate ducked and it landed on my head. “No one wants
to see you naked, Richard.”

  I froze, sucking in a breath. “What?”

  “You’re naked, Richard,” Sanders repeated, shaking his head with a sigh. “I’m so sorry, Nicolina.”

  My mate’s fury intensified. “Someone’s going to die for this,” she hissed.

  Between Wendy, Desmond, and my mate, there was going to be a murder: mine. I shook my head to clear it, but the howling, calling cries filled my ears. “Frank? What’s wrong with Frank?”

  “You flattened him, Richard,” Sanders explained, climbing into the back of the SUV to kneel next to Alex. “You panicked.”

  I pointed at Desmond, who grinned at me before cuddling with his mate. “They… they…”

  “I told you,” Alex said, his tone smug. “You should have bought him flowers and dinner first.”

  Sanders held out another blanket. “I know, Richard. I wouldn’t wish those two on anyone, even you. Nicolina, I apologize for your parents. They’re even more shameless than Richard, who looks like he’s ready to die from embarrassment.”

  “Richard has an excuse,” my mate hissed, grabbing the blanket. Without facing me, she held it so I could take it. “The rest of you, however…”

  I shivered despite the blanket, pressing my back against the front passenger side seat. The cacophony in my head quieted, leaving me numb and tired in its wake. “I flattened Frank?”

  “I’m okay, I think. You have the finesse of a rabid moose,” Frank complained with a groan. “Jesus, Richard. Couldn’t you use something other than brute force for once?”

  “What are you talking about?” I demanded, my temper fraying as my confusion grew. I slid to the floor, struggling to catch my breath. My mate twisted around. Alarm soured her scent.

  “Richard? Dad, he’s wheezing.”