Connor's New Wolf

by Georgina Stancer

  “I’m surprised that you manage to get anyone to go back to your parents’ house with you.” Connor laughed. “You know, you would probably have better luck if you had your own home.”

  “You’d be surprised how many females are more than happy to share my bed even though I still live with my parents.” Aidan boasted.

  “I haven’t asked, did your parents like the changes to the living room?”

  “Yeah, they love it.”

  “That’s great, I’m glad they like it.”

  “Thanks for your help.”

  “Anytime.” Connor didn’t mind helping out where he could, and he quite enjoyed decorating, not that he would let on that he enjoyed it. The rest of the pack would have him over to do theirs if they found out he liked it, and that would take all the fun out of it.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Sasha has definitely outdone herself this time.

  The accommodation was spectacular. Large spacious double bedroom with en-suite, all beautifully decorated in reds, browns, and golds. The en-suite bathroom was fitted with a walk-in waterfall shower, and the claw footed bath overlooked the mountains.

  Anya took full advantage of the views while she waited for dinner last night. She lit candles all around the bathroom, added some bath salts and essential oils to the water, and relaxed with a glass of wine that she continually topped up. She lazily watched the sunset through the window. The perfect end to a long drive.

  Timing it just right, she climbed out the bath and dried off just as someone knocked at the bedroom door. She wrapped one of the hotels fluffy white bath robes around herself and answered the door. After room service dropped off the food tray and left, she sat on the bed to eat.

  She switched on the T.V and flicked through the channels until she found something to watch. There weren’t many channels to choose from, so she ended up settling for a chick flick, which happened to be the only movie on at that time.

  After eating, she snuggled down on the bed, not bothering to change into night clothes. The fluffy robe was so incredibly soft, she wanted to take one home with her.

  Anya left the curtains open before getting into bed so she could look out at the stars. When she turned the lights out, even with the T.V still giving off some light, she couldn’t believe how clear the sky was. Back home in London, light pollution was a big problem, but not here. As much as she looked for stars from her small balcony, even on a clear night she only ever spotted a few. Here, she could see thousands without even trying.

  Anya was finding it hard to stay awake. When she realized she was paying more attention to the stars than the T.V, she switched it off. It didn’t take long after that for her to fall asleep.

  Her hopes of having a nightmare free night were dashed as soon as she drifted off. It didn’t matter how hard she tried to steer the dream to something else, she was dragged straight to Hell to repeat the same nightmare over again.

  The next morning, Anya regretted leaving the curtains open when the sun beamed through at five thirty.

  After the early morning wakeup call from the sun, and the nightmare, Anya decided to get up. She went for a swim before breakfast, and then got ready to go for a hike. She couldn’t wait to explore the area.

  Anya pulled on her coat and backpack, then headed out.

  Over the years she has heard so many wonderful things about the highlands and she wanted to see if they were true. So far, she hasn’t been disappointed.

  “Where are you going?”

  Anya leapt at the sound of Sasha’s voice behind her as she locked the bedroom door.

  “Bloody hell, Sasha, you’re gonna give me a heart attack.”

  Sasha said, “Sorry.” But she didn’t look it as she tried to hide a grin.

  “Don’t sneak up on me like that.” Anya admonished.

  “I didn’t sneak, you just weren’t paying attention.”

  It was true, she hadn’t been paying any attention to what was going on around her, which was unlike her. Normally, she noticed everything, but since the nightmares had started she was struggling to concentrate on anything, let alone her surroundings. Not only that, but every time she did the feeling of being watched would return. Anya didn’t know what was worse, the nightmares or being stalked.

  “Shall we start again?” Sasha said, with a lopsided grin. “Good morning, Anya.”

  “Good morning to you too.” Anya couldn’t help smiling as well.

  “Now that we have the pleasantries out the way, where are you going?”

  Anya shook her head, still smiling. “I’m just going for a hike.”

  “What? At this time of the morning?” Sasha looked at her as if she was crazy, and maybe she was. Thinking about it, she must be mad going on a hike when she could be getting pampered all day, but even still, she was going.

  “It’s the best time to start for a full day of hiking.” She guessed, having never actually been on a full day’s hike herself.

  “You're going to be out all day?”

  “That's the plan. I don’t mind waiting for you if you want to come with me?”

  “Nah, it’s okay, not my thing. I’d rather just go down to the spa and be pampered all day. Have fun though.” Anya didn’t know if it was her type of thing yet either, but she was going to find out. She has been itching to explore since they got here.

  “Well, the offer is there if you change your mind.”

  “Yeah, I know. I don’t think I will change my mind but thanks anyway. Are you going to be back in time for dinner?”

  “Yeah, I will be.” At least, she hoped so. As long as she didn’t get lost it shouldn’t be a problem.

  I best pay attention then.

  “Do you want to meet in the restaurant for dinner at around seven? Will you be back by then?”

  “I should be, that’s as long as I don't get lost.” Anya said jokingly. The last thing she wanted was to be lost in the Highlands on her first day here.

  “Please don’t get lost.” Sasha said. “I don’t fancy calling mountain rescue to come and find you.”

  “All those hunky highlanders? You sure you don’t want me getting lost?”

  “Ooh, on second thoughts, get lost. You never know, one of the rescuers could be the man of your dreams.” She said with a dreamy expression on her face.

  “More like the man of your dreams.”

  “Nah, I’m too picky. Plus, knowing my luck they would all be married, or old enough to be my dad.”

  Anya shook her head at Sasha. All the times Sasha has tried setting her up with men, she’s not once seen Sasha with a man of her own. Anya didn’t know what the deal was there, and she wasn’t going to pry either, but it did make her wonder.

  “I'll pass, thanks. As long as I stick to the pathways I shouldn't get lost.” Anya said, steering them back to a safer subject.

  “Just to be on the safe side, show one of the reception staff the route you plan on taking, they know the area and will be able to advise where to look for you if you do get lost.”

  “I'm not gonna get lost. I promise.”

  “I know, but still tell someone, otherwise I'm going to worry.”

  “Okay, just for you.” Anya said, giving in even if just to give Sasha some peace of mind.

  “Thank you. Are you having breakfast before you go?”

  “Already had some, got a packed lunch and snacks in my bag, and plenty of water to last the day.” She said proudly.

  “Sounds like you have everything you need. Just don't forget—"

  Anya interrupted Sasha. “I won’t, don't worry, I’ll tell them on my way out.”

  “Okay, I'll see you later. Have fun.”

  “You too.”

  Sasha returned to her room and shut the door.

  Anya walked along the corridor and down the stairs. She made sure to stop at the reception desk and showed them the route she was planning on taking. She hadn’t picked a strenuous route where she might need a guild and climbing gear, it was a well-used on
e that anyone could do by themselves, so she was confident that she wasn’t going to get lost.

  Once that was taken care of, she stepped outside into the fresh morning air. The crisp clean air was perfect. The early morning sun bathed the mountains in golden light. Anya stood admiring the scenery as she breathed deeply, taking in as much air into her lungs as she could before breathing it out again. She did that for a couple of minutes, and then set off on foot for the start of the trail.

  She leisurely strolled up the mountain. It didn’t take long for her to be fully engrossed in the beauty around her. The highland mountains were definitely a thing of beauty.

  Anya lost track of time as she walked through open fields and woodlands, following the trail as it led her further up the mountain. She stopped a few times along the way to take photos.

  It was a good job she bought her camera with the memory card in it, otherwise her phone would run out of space in no time.

  She stopped for lunch when she came to a small clearing with a large enough rock for her to sit on. The ground was a little damp and she didn’t want to risk getting a wet bottom. It was just her luck someone would see her with a wet ass and think she’d pissed herself, so she was thankful to find a dry rock to perch on.

  She looked up while eating her lunch in time to see an eagle flying above her. Anya didn’t know if it was a good sign seeing the eagle or not, but she was going to take it as a good sign.

  When she finished eating, she packed away all the rubbish, and as she stood to leave she noticed a family of deer among the trees. Anya instantly froze so as not to scare them away, and stood watching the graceful creatures graze as they meandered through the foliage.

  Anya was in awe of the wildlife she was seeing. She was glad she decided to go for a hike and couldn’t wait to tell Sasha all about it at dinner tonight.

  Once the family had moved on out of sight, she picked up her backpack and carried on up the mountain.

  ***

  “Are you sure she's heading in that direction?” he asked the demon tasked with following her.

  “Positive. What would you like me to do?” The demon asked.

  He considered the pros and cons of her being found by one of the shifters before replying.

  “Stay with her but make sure you are not seen. If they come in contact with her I want to know straight away.”

  “Do you want me to intervene if they do?”

  “No, I don't want you to be seen by them.”

  If they did come across her, they would just think that she was like any other human. If they realized she was being followed they might stick their nose into his business. He didn’t need to worry about the mercenary assigned to watch her blabbing if he was caught, but it was best if they didn’t know about him at all.

  It was a good job he had assigned one of the demons working for him to watch over her, otherwise he wouldn’t have known that she had gone away, let alone where she had gone. He had ordered the demon to follow her everywhere she went and to report back regularly.

  He didn’t know how long she planned to be away, but it didn’t matter. Either way, she was going to be with him for the next full moon, even if he had to retrieve her from another realm himself. For the time being, it didn't matter where she was.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The morning passed without incident as Connor knew it would.

  After work he spoke with Rush about the dream. He explained as best he could about how she felt closer, but he couldn’t elaborate on how. There wasn’t much that either of them could say or do until they found out the identity of the female. Until then, he just had to carry on as usual, no matter how frustrating it was.

  He couldn’t stop going over that dream, there was something significant about it, but he couldn’t figure out what. It didn’t matter how many times he replayed it in his head, there was absolutely nothing different about it. Did that mean she was closer to his physical location? Or something entirely different?

  Connor pushed it to the back of his mind, as best he could and let himself into his parents’ house. He found his mother, Amelia, cooking dinner and filling a picnic basket. “Mm, something smells nice.” He said as he walked up behind her.

  He leaned over her to grab a warm bread roll that was fresh out the oven, kissing her on the cheek at the same time as a distraction, but it didn’t work. She slapped his hand away and tutted at him.

  “Well, you can keep your grubby hands to yourself.” She said as she nudged him away.

  “Aww, come on Mum, just one little bread roll?” he asked in his sweetest voice.

  “No! You can wait like everyone else. They’re all in the living room.” She said and shooed him out the kitchen.

  “Okay, okay. I’m going.” He said as he backed away from her with his hands up in surrender.

  Before leaving the room, he watched a moment as she added food to the basket.

  “Who’s the basket for?” he asked.

  As far as he knew, everyone was home for dinner. Not that they all lived at home anymore. Both he and Myra moved out years ago, only Caleb and Misti still lived at home because they were too young to leave yet. So, if everyone was here for dinner, then what was with the picnic basket?

  “It’s for Myra, she not staying for dinner.” She answered without pausing, not even to look his way.

  “Why? Where’s she going?”

  “She’s going over to help Kellen with Kayla.”

  “And you’re sending her with food?”

  “I thought it would be nice for them to have a proper home cooked meal for once.” She told him.

  “You know, Kellen does know how to cook, and so does Kayla.”

  It wasn’t the first time Connor told her, but it didn’t make a blind bit of difference.

  Amelia was adamant that they needed a proper meal every so often. Ever since Kellen’s parents died a couple of years ago, Amelia had taken it upon herself to watch out for them, it was in her nature and nothing was ever going to change that.

  When shifters mated, it was for life. When one mate died it was only a matter of time before the other mate followed them into the afterlife. In Kellen’s case, his mother died of an illness and his father joined her a couple of days later, leaving Kellen and Kayla to fend for themselves. Luckily, Kellen was old enough to take care of himself and Kayla, otherwise another pack member would have taken them in until they were ready to live on their own.

  This time she did turn and look at him as she said, “That maybe so, but it doesn’t hurt to have someone else do it for them every once in a while.” She said, turning back to what she was doing. “That poor boy has his hands full just looking after Kayla.”

  He wasn’t going to change her mind, so there was no point in arguing about it. She was right in that Kayla was a handful. Connor didn’t envy the responsibility Kellen had in caring for her, she would probably be constantly locked in her room if it was left to him.

  “So, I take it Myra isn’t staying for dinner?”

  “She’ll be leaving in a minute.”

  “So, she’s still here?”

  “Yes, she’s getting ready to leave.”

  “Who else is here?”

  “What is this?” She said, exasperated. “Question time or something? Go find out for yourself.”

  “Okay, I get the hint.” He said as he turned to leave, adding under his breath, “Such motherly love.”

  It wasn’t quiet enough though. Amelia heard him, she launched a wooden spoon that whacked him on the back of the head.

  “Ow!” he said, rubbing his head. “What was that for?”

  “Thought I’d show you some motherly love.” She said smugly..

  Connor was rubbing the back of his head when he walked in the living room. His father, Kai, was sat in his favorite chair by the window. Both Caleb and Misti were sat quietly on the sofa facing the fire. He hadn’t forgotten about them, he was still going to speak with them. It was only fair that they share the puni
shment if they had anything to do with whatever Kayla was in trouble for. But they weren’t going anywhere for the time being, whereas Myra wasn’t staying.

  He wanted to know if she had any information before confronting the terrible twosome.

  “Hi Dad, where’s Myra?” He asked when he didn’t see her.

  “I’m out here!” she shouted from the hallway.

  “There’s your answer.” Kai said.

  “And you didn’t even have to open your month.” Connor laughed.

  “I know.” He smiled.

  Myra was sat on the stairs putting on her shoes when he walked into the hallway.

  “Mum said you’re going over to Kellen’s.” He said as he leaned against the wall opposite her.

  “Yeah, we’re having dinner and then I’m watching Kayla for a bit.”

  “Do you want me to come with you?”

  “What, for babysitting duties?” She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

  “Yeah, maybe not. Where’s Kellen going?”

  “He’s still trying to come to some kind of arrangement with the Dragons.”

  “Whoa, what?”

  “Didn’t he tell you what she did?”

  “No, I’ve not seen him.”

  Myra took a deep breath and then said, “Kayla managed to get spray paint from somewhere and has sprayed graffiti in a couple of their caves, but mostly in Balzar's cave.”

  “Oh, shit. I bet they’re not impressed, especially Balzar.”

  “That’s an understatement. They are fuming and he's demanding she clean it all off as soon as possible.”

  “I can imagine.” Dragons are the most peaceful species out of all the shifters.

  You still didn’t want to piss one off though, because they were also the most lethal. Especially when it came to protecting what was theirs.

  When she was ready, Myra picked up her coat and Connor followed her back into the kitchen where she could grab the basket before leaving.