Wolf Hollow (Wolf Hollow Shifters, Book 1)

by Nikki Jefford

  Water sloshed against Tabor’s legs as he rushed for the shore. Zackery’s eyes went wide right before he jumped behind Peter.

  “Wait a minute, Tabor,” Aden said, holding out his arms. “You have every right to be angry. We all know what Garrick and Zackery did, but the only reason we found you is because Zack did the right thing and told Sasha what happened and led us to you.”

  Tabor stopped short, gnashing his teeth while Zackery cowered behind Peter.

  “He should be banished right here, right now,” Tabor said.

  “The pack will decide his fate—his and Garrick’s once we return safely to the hollow.” Aden straightened his back and shot Sasha a curious glance. “Why isn’t Sasha shifting?”

  She turned her head and stared into Tabor’s eyes. His shoulders dropped.

  “She was shot in the leg before killing her attacker. Are the other three humans dead?”

  “Yeah, they’re dead,” Aden answered.

  Emerson nodded. “I think we’ve all had enough action to last us several patrol cycles. We should get back. Everyone’s worried.”

  “Especially Heidi,” Peter said, walking forward. “She’s been worried sick about you.”

  With Peter taking steps toward Tabor, Zackery darted behind Emerson, who gave a huff of disgust and rolled her eyes skyward.

  Aden released a deep breath, glancing at Sasha again. “Well, I guess her wound will hold until we return to the hollow. The bullet will need to be dug out as soon as she shifts.”

  “Let’s get out of here. This place gives me the creeps.” Emerson squinted at the treetops, frowning.

  As the others crouched down to shift, Tabor remained standing as though he had no intention of joining them. Sasha gave a low, forlorn howl then pushed her animal aside, pain stinging her leg as she shifted. Blood flowed fresh and hot from her thigh and the sight made Aden and Emerson hurry to her side.

  Sasha shook her head. “I’ll be fine. I need a moment alone with Tabor.”

  Aden and Emerson looked at one another.

  “We’ll catch up,” Sasha insisted.

  Emerson’s nose wrinkled. “You should really shift back, Sasha.”

  Sasha growled in answer.

  “Hey, it’s your blood,” Emerson said, lifting her hands in front of her shoulders. She looked at the males standing around and flipped back her blond hair. “Let’s get going. If Sasha and Tabor don’t catch up soon we’ll come back and drag them by the scruff of their necks.”

  Peter sniffed in amusement and crouched over the ground—his actions mimicked by Zackery.

  Emerson’s irises pinged between Sasha and Tabor. “Try not to take too long,” she said with a sultry wink.

  Aden shifted last. The others waited for him, except for Zackery who inched his way toward the tall grass like he couldn’t get away from Tabor fast enough. They all trotted off with Aden casting one last glance back before disappearing into the grass.

  Water dripped down Tabor’s chiseled torso, glistening in the late afternoon sunlight. He folded his arms over his chest, which made it impossible for Sasha to do what she’d imagined the entire run down—throw her arms around him and never let go. It would have been difficult with her palms pressing firmly against her thigh, but she could have managed with one arm.

  “You didn’t bring Wolfrik or Raider along?” Tabor asked moodily.

  “They’re guarding Garrick back at the glade.” Sasha lifted her chin northward and locked her eyes on Tabor. “Now you want to tell me what’s bugging you, besides the obvious, before I bleed out?”

  He hadn’t left her as she’d first believed—hadn’t broken her heart—but he soon would if he kept treating her with such cold indifference.

  Tabor’s eyes flicked over her thigh, arms remaining folded. “Emerson’s right; you should shift back.”

  “I’m not shifting back until you explain why you’re behaving like a coldhearted mongrel.”

  Tabor hissed at the last word, arms dropping roughly at his sides. “I saw you with Wolfrik after the attack at the bluff. I overheard you making plans to discard me so you could be with him.”

  Anger sparked like a solar flare inside Sasha’s chest. “I don’t know what you heard, but it couldn’t have been that.”

  “He asked what you were going to do about me and you said I’d understand right before flinging yourself into his arms.” Tabor sneered.

  Sasha groaned in frustration and pain. She rocked in place, her head beginning to feel woozy. “I told him I’d be there for him—as a friend—that you’d understand. What you saw was a brief hug between friends before we parted ways.”

  Sasha’s chest rose and fell, hot air pushing through her nostrils in rapid bursts. She wanted to grab Tabor by the shoulders and shake him for assuming the worst; she wanted to smash her lips against his and kiss away the past three days. Most of all, she wanted him to join her side and show her they’d be okay.

  Tabor hung his head, shaking it slowly. “I thought I’d lost you again. Twice in one day. I didn’t know how much it could hurt.” He sucked in a breath.

  “I thought I lost you too,” Sasha said softly. “I thought you’d chosen to be with the wizards rather than claim me.”

  “Never.” Tabor looked up, eyes flashing bright green.

  “What a fine mess we got ourselves into.” Sasha sighed. “Our wolves wouldn’t have been so easily deceived. Let’s promise to always be honest with one another—to ask if there’s ever any doubt about anything.”

  “In that case, tell me what happened with that human back there.” Tabor took a step toward her, arms still folded. “He’d seen you before.”

  Sasha’s laugh held no humor. What were the chances she’d run into the same group of humans who had accosted her that day in the suburbs? It had turned out to be her lucky day, but it could have just as easily gone all wrong. When Zackery stopped their group to shift and explain the bit of parkland and campsite in the distance, Sasha had devised the plan of going in first in case humans had seen Garrick’s smoke signal and gotten to Tabor first. She’d worried they might be keeping watch the way they had in the suburbs and didn’t want to alert them to their whole group. She would go in first, on foot, so they wouldn’t know for sure that she was a shifter. If she got in without being seen or surrounded, she would yell Tabor’s name to signal to the group they could join her, and to distract possible humans to go looking for her while she circled round stealthily and found the pit Zackery had described to her.

  She’d been shot, but they’d been lucky. It would have been much harder to get to Tabor if there had been men on lookout shooting at them before they could make it into the parkland.

  Sasha inhaled sharply, trying to ignore the sting in her leg as she told Tabor that the men in the parkland were the same that had come upon them in the suburbs during their failed supply run. She told him the foul things they’d said to her, especially the one named Duke.

  “I should have killed him.” Tabor grit his teeth together.

  “He was mine to kill.” Her lashes fluttered. “Let’s go home now.”

  Tabor dropped his arms and looked at her hands covering her thigh. “I can try and get that out now.”

  Sasha shook her head. “We’ll clean it back at the hollow.”

  For the remainder of the journey back, Sasha stayed in wolf form, along with Tabor and the rest of their group. They paused only long enough to drink water where they could find it and for Tabor to devour a rabbit as it attempted to reach safety beneath a wall of thorny bushes.

  Upon reaching the hollow, they split into two groups—Aden, Emerson, and Zackery headed for the glade while Sasha, Tabor, and Peter continued directly to the den where Sasha waited patiently on her hind legs beneath the shadow of a tree. Tabor disinfected a sharp knife in a fire made outside the medical shed and Peter kept everyone
back—telling them there’d be time for questions once Sasha’s wound was treated. They still crowded around as close as they dared. Senses alert, Sasha picked up on their agitation, along with Tabor’s concern for her. He didn’t need to say it out loud. Once they’d both shifted, he’d remained near her every step of the way—sometimes running at her side, sometimes behind, and often running ahead to make sure the path was safe.

  He moved in and out of the shed briskly, his eyebrows furrowed and lips turned down. While he prepped everything, he stole quick glances at Sasha that deepened the wrinkles on his forehead until everything had been laid out and he spoke gently to her.

  “Sasha, it’s time.”

  She followed him inside the shed, shifted, and took Tabor’s outstretched hand as he helped her rise to her feet and lay on a blanket that had been placed on the table. She bit down on the piece of wood he gave her, nearly biting it in half when she felt the searing hot pain of the blade through her thigh. Shot and stabbed—two experiences she hoped never to repeat, though it was a relief to have the bullet removed from her body.

  Heidi came in afterward to keep pressure on the wound with fresh rags while Tabor set the knife and bullet aside and scooped out salve from an open jar. Once the wound was cleaned and wrapped, Heidi handed Sasha a sundress and a pair of jeans and a top to Tabor.

  As Sasha pulled the dress over her head she asked, “Where’s Garrick?”

  Heidi frowned. “Raider is still guarding him in the den.”

  Sasha pushed herself off the table and smoothed the dress down to her knees. She’d have to walk the whole way to the den in order to avoid reopening her leg wound. Ignoring the ache in her thigh, Sasha left the shed only to run into eighteen of the den’s adults.

  Farley stepped in front of the group and announced, “We’re coming with you to make sure justice is served.”

  “Garrick and Zackery should be banished!” Melissa yelled.

  “Yeah!” the women around her cried.

  Ford stood at the back of the group, arms folded over his chest. “That’s for the council to decide.”

  “Sure, that would be fair with his son and two other elders making up the majority,” Melissa scoffed.

  “We can’t afford to lose any more elders,” Ford insisted.

  “Save your breath for the pack meeting.” Farley huffed.

  As soon as Tabor stepped out of the shed, dressed, the group quieted and stared at him. The silence continued until Farley broke it by walking over and slapping him on the back.

  “Good work, Tabor. It’s great to have you back home where you belong.”

  Dana pushed her way through the group to get to Tabor, fanning her face with both hands and blinking back tears. “Thank heavens you’re unharmed. We’ve all been imploring the moon and stars for your safe return.”

  Tabor rubbed the side of his nose and moved his weight from one foot to the other. “Thank you.”

  Sasha was glad to see members of the den supporting Tabor, but it was time to deal with Garrick—and Zackery, though she felt their punishments should be different. She walked up to Tabor on steady legs, ignoring the throb in her right leg with every step, and reached for Tabor’s hand. His eyes met hers and locked at the same time his fingers closed around hers in a firm hold that made her chest bloom with hope that after finding their way to one another, nothing, and no one, would ever keep them apart again.

  They led the way down the trail to the glade with the group breaking into twos, keeping to human form for the walk over as though in solidarity.

  When they reached the glade, the unmated shifters were there waiting, standing around in groups of three or more speaking in hushed voices that died out when they saw the procession from the den. Garrick sat on a tall stump with his feet touching the ground on the opposite end of the clearing, sitting tall and proud, watching everyone as though the rest of the pack was on trial, not him. Raider stood alone on one side of Garrick, jaw shifting from side to side while Aden stood with Jager and Palmer on the other. Francine stood near her mate, hands on her hips. There was no sign of her newborn, whom she must have left at the den with Trish.

  Zackery sat on a nearby log, shoulders hunched, staring miserably at the ground. No one stood around him—not even his supposed friends. The bonfire had been built up to a smoking mass and burned like a reckoning.

  Once they were near enough, Jager nodded at Sasha. “Aden told us everything. It’s good to see you’re okay.” His eyes searched her bare legs, coming to a rest at her thighs where he squinted as though trying to see through the sundress’s peach-colored fabric.

  Sasha’s lips drew back. “I’m not the one you should be worried about.” Her attention snapped to Garrick as she turned her body to face him. “Your life should be forfeit for what you did to a fellow pack mate, but I suppose we’ll have to settle for banishment.”

  Garrick had the nerve to raise his brows slightly and shrug. “What I did, I did for the safety of the pack.”

  “No, what Tabor did was for the safety of the pack,” Sasha snarled. She rarely lost her temper, but she felt her face heat as though her head had been shoved into the bonfire’s flames. “What you did was personal, but you won’t have a chance to harm another pack member ever again.”

  Jager cleared his throat. Sasha ground her teeth and faced him, heart turning to stone.

  “You better back me on this one, Jager.”

  His shoulders dropped and that’s when Sasha noticed how very old and tired he looked. Jager shook his head sadly before speaking.

  “Humans are, without question, the cruelest of the species. Our wolves are killers, it’s true, but we live in harmony with nature and loyalty to our pack just as our ancestors did before us and continue to, to this day. It is a sad day when a shifter turns on another.” Jager sucked in a shuddering breath. “A sad, sad day. As sad to this old man’s heart as the day we lost so many to the vulhena.” He blinked several times before continuing. “Loyalty is what separates us from humans. To lose that—” He swallowed loudly.

  Moments before, Sasha had been impatient to run Garrick out of the hollow immediately—and to lead the charge—but seeing Jager choke up put a temporary freeze on her temper. This was a shocking blow that would affect every member of their pack.

  Jager cleared his throat. “I would like to propose putting Garrick and Zackery on probation.”

  The fire roared back up Sasha’s throat and steamed out her ears.

  “And punishment as well,” Jager said quickly.

  “Unless the punishment involves a deep pit without food or water, I don’t want to hear it.” Sasha snarled.

  “We cannot afford to lose any more pack mates,” Palmer said, his voice lifting as though to address the birds nesting in the branches overhead. He looked around at the pack mates who had gathered, his gaze sweeping over Sasha.

  Typical, she thought, grinding her teeth. Her jaw ached from all the pressure she was putting on it.

  Palmer shook his head. “Nor can we let such treacherous actions go unpunished, which is why Jager, Raider, and I would like to propose Garrick’s immediate removal from council—for life. For Zackery’s part, we propose the gravest of all punishments, that he may never claim a mate.”

  There was a collective gasp and sidelong glances cast in Zackery’s direction. A shiver of despair went through Sasha. To be denied a mate for life was considered the worst punishment—short of banishment—but it would serve as a strong and lasting reminder of his actions and a powerful warning to others. Garrick’s proposed punishment, on the other hand, wasn’t nearly grave enough.

  “I agree with Zackery’s punishment.” Sasha looked over at Zackery, but his eyes were still focused on the ground. “He must suffer the consequences of his actions, but I believe he still has a place in Wolf Hollow after coming to me with Tabor’s location and leading our group there.
But Garrick shouldn’t be allowed on the council or in the hollow. We should not give asylum to unprincipled, disloyal, vulgar, vile, gutless mongrels.” The insults rolled off Sasha’s tongue with many more fighting to get through her teeth.

  Garrick’s eyes narrowed.

  “It doesn’t matter that Garrick’s not on council; he can’t be trusted,” Hudson said.

  “That’s why we suggested probation,” Palmer said. “If he steps out of line again, the council will take actions.”

  “We don’t feel the current council is representing the whole pack,” Heidi fired at him. She glanced back at her den mates, most of whom nodded. “Which is why we insist on adding at least two shifters from the den to the council.”

  Watching Heidi address Jager and Palmer, Sasha thought how refreshing it would be to have another woman on the council with her. Heidi would be a wonderful addition if she didn’t mind taking time away from the den for meetings and announcements. Sasha wouldn’t have thought about it before, but seeing the way Heidi spoke up and rallied the other pack members made her an excellent candidate.

  Palmer put his hands on his hips. “I’m a member of the den and council.”

  Heidi’s lip curled when she looked at him. “We want members who care more about the well-being of the pack then their own personal interests. The council needs fresh blood.”

  Garrick cracked his knuckles and glowered at Heidi. “The council decides council business, not you.”

  Peter growled. “And the pack has every right to run you out of the hollow, so I’d keep my mouth shut if I were you.”

  Sasha’s fists tightened. If there wasn’t such a large audience, she would have charged Garrick and punched him repeatedly in the face for doing the same to her chosen mate.

  Beside her, Tabor remained silent, as he had in the den. She hated to think he felt he didn’t have a voice in pack matters after everything he’d been through.