The Wolf's Choice (The Wolf's Peak Saga Book 4)

by Patricia Blackmoor

  “Didn’t sound like a trip,” Anna muttered as she reached her hand down to help me up. I scrambled to my feet, thankful I had hit the lower cabinet rather than the glass display shelves. My mother would never let me live it down if I had broken something.

  “Are you ready, Hazel?” My mother asked in a tone of voice that suggested she wanted us to leave before I embarrassed myself further.

  “Yes,” I muttered, pushing past Hattie and Lillian as they snickered.

  Once we were back outside, waiting under the awning for our carriage so as to stay out of the rain, my mother turned to me. “What was all that about?”

  I didn’t want to talk about it, didn’t want to admit that I was being tormented by these awful women. “They just like to be mean.”

  “Doesn’t surprise me,” she sighed. “Their mothers are the same way. Catty, teasing you about the most benign things.”

  “Sounds just like them. Now I know where they got it from.”

  “Hattie’s mother was terrible, just a witch of a woman. Still is, though I try to avoid her. That would be my advice for you. Try to avoid them.”

  “I try to, but they always seem to find me.”

  “Predators are always attracted to the weakest prey, remember that,” she said. “Don’t be the weakest prey.”

  “Doesn’t that just mean someone else is weaker and will be attacked?” I asked. “Shouldn’t I find a way to shut them down?”

  The carriage pulled up, and we darted through the rain and climbed inside.

  “If only it were that easy,” my mother said.

  I watched out the window as we started away from town. The rain had picked up, whipping across the English countryside. Perhaps when I got home I’d curl up with a blanket and some hot tea to completely forget what had happened at the dress shop.

  As I looked out the window, something dark darted by the roadside. A moment later the horse whinnied and the carriage jolted. From outside the car the driver tried to steady the horse, but his words were drowned by the wind and the horse’s frantic neighs. My body was jerked back as the horse took off running down the road.

  My mother screamed, and I attempted to adjust myself so I could look out the window and see what had spooked the horse. I was leaning against the door and as the carriage shook the door flew open. I tumbled to the ground, my body hitting the road so hard it knocked the air out of my lungs. My skull cracked against the dirt.

  The last thing I saw before my world went dark was a gray and silver wolf watching from a distance.

  Chapter Seventeen

  I’m not sure exactly how long I was out, but it couldn’t have been for more than a few seconds, though it felt like more. Rain began to trickle down my nose and into my throat and I rolled over on the muddy road, my clothes soaked and heavy.

  The whole world seemed to be spinning, and I coughed, feeling like I might vomit. My hands clutched at the ground as I tried to gather my bearings. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping I could block out the bit of light that penetrated through the clouds. Each time I opened my eyes, it was a lightning bolt of pain to my skull.

  I heard a commotion around me, but couldn’t open my eyes to see what was going on. I heard shouting, the sound of alarmed voices scrambling to help us. My mother was still screaming, but it sounded as if the horse had stopped.

  Next I heard the sound of boots splashing through puddles and felt a hand on my back.

  “Hazel?”

  I knew that voice. It was Adam’s. He rolled me onto my back, and I lifted my hand up, covered in mud, to block out the light over my eyes.

  “Hazel, are you all right?” His voice was urgent and concerned but a little too loud. Like the light, it hurt.

  “Ow,” I murmured.

  I heard another set of footsteps. “What happened?” asked Harry.

  “I don’t know,” I said. Had he not had the sharp ears that came with his lycanthropy, he probably wouldn’t have been able to hear me.

  “Harry, for God’s sake, go check on your mother,” Adam commanded, and Harry went off.

  “Can you move?” Adam asked me, gently wedging a hand between my head and the pebbly ground.

  “Do I have to?”

  “We have to get you home somehow,” he said. “Come here.”

  He began to move his arms, one under my leg, the other under my shoulders.

  “Don’t lift me up,” I protested.

  “Why? Do you think something is broken?”

  “No, I’m all muddy.”

  He chuckled, but it was a nervous chuckle. “You’re not thinking clearly,” he said. “I’m worried about how hard you hit your head. Are you sure nothing is broken?”

  I flexed my arms and legs, and they moved fine. My ribs hurt when I breathed, but not enough that they might be broken. Most likely they would be very bruised, though.

  “I think I’m all right,” I said.

  “All right then, no protests. I’m lifting you up.”

  I didn’t have the energy to protest anymore anyway. Adam picked me up, pulling me close to his hard chest in his arms. I rested my head against his shoulder, feeling his body heat through my wet and muddy clothes. He carried me over to his carriage, lifting me with ease into the car. I kept my eyes closed, letting myself rest against him. His left hand gently ran over my hair, a comforting motion as I struggled to stay conscious.

  “Stay with me, love,” Adam murmured as my eyes fluttered.

  “I’m trying.”

  I could hear my mother coming as she and Harry drew closer to the carriage. She was still in hysterics, and Harry was doing his best to calm her.

  “It’s all right mum, there there,” he said as he helped her inside the carriage.

  “Let’s get you ladies home, and I’ll send someone for the carriage,” Adam said. “Do you think it’s salvageable?”

  “It hit the tree pretty hard, so I’m not sure,” Harry said.

  My mother was still wailing as she and Harry sat down on the seat across from us.

  “Hazel, Hazel, is she all right?” she cried out. Every high–pitched shriek felt like an icepick being shoved into my skull.

  “I think she’ll be all right,” Adam said. He might have thought that, but I wasn’t so sure. Breathing hurt, blinking hurt, everything was pain and I couldn’t even enjoy being held in Adam’s arms as the carriage bumped along. Instead, every jostle sent pain through my ribs.

  I floated in and out of consciousness as we rolled along, pain my constant companion. I don’t remember much of my ride except for the searing pain that filled my body. I remember only snippets of arriving at home and being brought upstairs, Clara and my mother rinsing the dirt off my body before tucking me into bed.

  When I woke, I was very disoriented. It was dark outside. Candles were burning and filling the room with a soft glow. My head still hurt as I opened my eyes and struggled to sit. I sensed movement beside me and turned to see Adam standing up from the chair by my bed.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked, sitting down on the bed next to me and placing a hand on my head.

  I tried to move to get a sense. “I hurt,” I said.

  “That’s no surprise. Doctor Brighton said that you hit your head pretty hard. He said you bruised your ribs, too.”

  I blinked, still trying to get used to the light. “The doctor was here?”

  He frowned. “You don’t remember?”

  I shook my head, but it only hurt more. “I don’t. When was he here?”

  “Yesterday. I fetched him as soon as we got you into bed.”

  “Yesterday? How long have I been asleep?”

  “Let’s see,” Adam said, looking at his watch. “It’s about nine, and we got back around three—”

  “It’s nine o’clock at night?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ve been asleep all day?”

  “You’ve been in and out,” Adam said. “The doctor said you would be in a lot of pain, so he gave you some medicine y
esterday. You were awake for a few minutes at a time. I’m surprised you don’t remember.”

  The last thing I remembered was my mother tucking me into bed after the accident. “Is that bad?” I whispered.

  Adam frowned. “I don’t know. I’m not a doctor. I’ll go into town tomorrow and ask.”

  I rubbed at my forehead. “You don’t have to do that. I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you.”

  “My dear, it’s not an inconvenience at all,” he said, grasping my hand. “I just want to make sure you’re all right. You had a bad accident.”

  I nodded.

  “I have something for you,” he said with a small smile. I tilted my head at him, surprised.

  He reached down and pulled a small gift box from beside the bed. “Can you sit up, do you think?”

  “I can try,” I said. I used my elbows to prop myself up, and Adam slid an arm behind my back to help me sit up. My head pounded as I changed position, but I tried to push it aside and focus on Adam’s gift.

  Adam placed a pillow behind me, and I leaned back against the pillow and headboard and picked up the gift, wrapped in brown paper with a thin string.

  “Oh, Adam, it’s lovely,” I said as I pulled out a silver jewelry box. The top was flat and reflective, like a mirror, but the sides were carved in a filigreed silver. “Oh, it’s beautiful.”

  “I saw that your other one got broken,” he said. “I hope you don’t mind, but I took it upon myself to give you a new one.”

  “Oh, I don’t mind at all,” I said, opening the box and running my fingers over the cream–colored velvet. “It’s perfect.”

  “I’m glad,” he said.

  “Is this what you went into town for?”

  “In part,” he said with a small smile. “I had some other errands, too.”

  “I’m glad you did,” I said. “You must have been just behind us.”

  “It was almost funny. We were a ways behind you, and I had the driver speed up so we could pull alongside you and say hello. But then, as we drew closer, we saw the horse take off.”

  “Did you see what caused it?”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t, did you?”

  “Not really. I saw something fly by the carriage, but I didn’t see what it was. Did the driver give any answers?”

  Adam paused. “Hazel, the driver passed away.”

  “What?” My voice was scarce over a whisper.

  “After you were tossed from the carriage, the horse took off. It left the road and circled a tree. The carriage hit the tree and the driver was thrown, hitting the trunk head–on. He was dead by the time Harry got there.”

  “Oh my God,” I murmured.

  “You have no idea what spooked the horse?”

  “I didn’t see what it was. Although...” I struggled to remember, but the harder I fought to reach back in my memory, the more it hurt.

  “Although?”

  “Before I blacked out on the road, I saw something. A wolf.”

  Adam froze. “A wolf?”

  “It was sitting a ways away, watching everything happen. It was silver and gray. Does that sound familiar?”

  He shook his head.

  “I’ve seen that wolf before,” I continued. “Last week, it was sitting outside in the front yard several nights in a row.”

  “You’re sure it was the same wolf?”

  “As sure as I can be. I asked Harry, but it didn’t sound familiar to him either. He didn’t seem concerned.”

  Adam pinched his lips together. “If it was the wolf that caused the accident, that concerns me. I’ll ask around, see if anyone knows anything about a wolf that looks like what you described.”

  “I can’t imagine why the accident would be purposeful,” I murmured. “I’ve never done anything to anyone.”

  “I know, my love.”

  That thought led to another. “On that note, however, I was attacked at the dress shop.”

  Adam’s eyes widened. “What?”

  “Perhaps attacked is too strong a word,” I said, trying not to overexaggerate.

  “Hazel, what happened?”

  “I was looking at some accessories when Hattie Thorn and Lillian Hilton walked in. They asked me if we were courting, and when I said yes, Lillian shoved me.”

  Adam’s jaw was square. “Did she?”

  I looked over at him. “They seemed quite upset that we’re courting. Last week, they told me to stay away from you. I thought they were just being crazy. I didn’t expect them to actually try to injure me.”

  He didn’t speak for a long moment. “I want you to try to stay away from them.”

  “Oh, trust me, I do,” I said. “They seem to go out of their way to find me.”

  He stayed quiet.

  “Adam,” I said, unsure how to broach the subject, “why would they be telling me to stay away from you?”

  It took a moment for him to answer. “Well, you have mentioned in the past that they’ve been horrid to you.”

  “They have, but never quite like this. They’ve never been violent.”

  He was quiet, but I needed to keep pressing. “Adam, why would they mention you, specifically?”

  “They just want to make you miserable, love.”

  “But they’re harped on it. They threatened me.”

  “I don’t—”

  I closed my eyes, my headache returning with a vengeance. “Please, Adam, tell me the truth. Did something happen with one of them?”

  “Absolutely not,” he said.

  “I won’t be upset. I’m just trying to understand.”

  He brushed the hair away from my face. “Hazel, this I promise you. In the time since I could understand it, I have never had eyes for anyone but you.”

  “All right,” I said. I was still unsure, but his answer was so vehement.

  “I am, however, concerned about you,” he said.

  “I’ll be fine. I’ll rest up.”

  “I don’t like the idea that there’s a wolf out to get you.”

  “I’m sure it’s not like that—”

  “You said that you saw a wolf by the site of the accident?”

  “It could have been a coincidence.”

  “I still don’t like it,” Adam said. “I’m going to ask around, see if anyone knows of a wolf that looks like that. It’s not familiar to me, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be familiar to someone else. I’m going to talk to Harry, too. We’ll be on guard.”

  “That’s a bit of an overreaction, don’t you think?”

  He shook his head. “No such thing. I want to be sure you’re safe.”

  Adam stood up from the bed, his hand still lingering in mine. “I’m going to let your family know that you’re awake. I’m sure they want to check in with you.”

  He leaned down and kissed me gently on the lips. “I’ll see you later, Hazel.”

  “Goodbye, Adam.”

  I watched as he left. As he shut the door behind him, I shut my eyes, trying to block out the horrors of the last few days.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Just as Adam had promised, the following day he sent for the doctor. I was woken in early afternoon by Doctor Brighton, who shown a little light into my eyes as asked me questions.

  “Do you know how many fingers I’m holding up?” he asked me.

  “Three?”

  “Yes ma’am, very good,” Dr. Brighton said as Adam hovered nervously by the doorway. “Do you know who the queen is?”

  “Queen Victoria.”

  “Very good. I think you’ll be all right,” the doctor said.

  “But she was having memory issues,” Adam spoke up, his brow furrowed.

  Dr. Brighton frowned. “Have you had any problems with your memory since you woke up last night?”

  “I don’t think so,” I said, glancing nervously at Adam.

  “The only problems are with remembering the day of the accident?”

  “As far as I’m aware.”

  “You hit your he
ad pretty hard,” the doctor said, reaching his hand back to where the lump on my skull sat. I winced.

  “Yes, I’m not surprised that you had some memory issues with how hard you hit your head. You most likely have a concussion.”

  “What do we need to do?” Adam asked.

  The doctor glanced between Adam and me. “Just rest up, don’t overexert yourself. You’ll be fine in a few days.”

  When Adam and the doctor left, Clara came in with a cup of tea for me. The doctor had also left me a tonic to help with the pain in my head and my side, so I took a bit with the tea and went to sleep.

  For the next several days, per the doctor’s orders, I stayed in bed. With my headache alleviated with the tonic, I didn’t eat much, just some eggs and biscuits. I spent most of the days sleeping, reading, or working on my sampler.

  As I stayed in bed over the next several days, Adam came to check up on me constantly. I wasn’t always awake when he peeked his head in my room, and he never lingered long, but it was sweet to know he was there. Even when he wasn’t in my room, I could hear his voice floating through the house as he spent time with my family, especially with Harry. He hadn’t spent this much time in my home since we were children. I didn’t know if he was doing it to make a good impression on my parents, or to make sure I was safe, but either way, whenever he was in the house, I was smiling.

  Every night I’d glance out my window, checking to see if the mysterious wolf was lingering on the lawn. Whether it was gone because it had already filled its purpose or because Harry and Adam were vigilantly watching for it, I didn’t know. Either way, the wolf didn’t make another appearance. I would have thought that would make me feel better, but instead it left me with a feeling of nervous anticipation to match the pain lingering in my head and sides.

  It had perhaps been a week of bedrest when I finally felt well enough to get out of bed. I woke up one morning and my the ache in my head was just a faint pounding. The light didn’t hurt so much, and I didn’t find myself reaching for the tonic first thing when I woke.

  For the first time in days I shucked off my nightgown and relaxed with a bath. When I finally felt clean, I climbed out of the bath and pulled on a lightweight summer dress. Once my hair was brushed and pinned back, I started down the stairs.